Energy Solutions Home on Display at State Fair

Builders, environmentalists, and anybody who pays for electricity will have a new exhibition to look forward to at this year's state fair- a home sized demonstration of energy efficiency.

The Energy Solutions Home, part of the Eco Experience exhibit, is a partnership of public agencies, contractors, retailers, utilities, advocacy groups, and other parties, presented by the Minnesota Department of Commerce.  will show a range of energy-saving technologies. There will be a Green Materials and Efficient Appliances Display, a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Condition Display, and a Sustainability Stage for demonstrations. Miniature gardens displaying rain barrels and drip irrigation take the efficiency not only to electricity, but to water as well.

Visitors can even assess their home's performance and look at possible upgrades, including advice on how to finance such upgrades, and a hands-on display that allows fair-goers to tell if their home has good solar potential.

Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman says, "This exhibit is specifically designed to help Minnesota homeowners discover cost-effective ways to improve your home's efficiency and save money."

The Energy Solutions Home will be open August 23-September 3. Daily schedules of fair exhibits, including sustainability exhibits, can be found at this link on the State Fair website, while daily themes for the exhibit can be found here.

Image Source: Windustry

Quick Hits- Frogs, Student Hunger, and Wind

Frogs
Research at North Dakota State University is finding a correlation between habitat availability and gene pool size in northern leopard frogs. Gene pool size is important because a large, diverse gene pool creates a more resilient population that can overcome stresses and adversity more easily. This research may prove valuable as frogs experience habitat loss from the conversion of marshes and prairies into crop production (driven by high food prices), and dry conditions strangle wetlands.

Student Hunger
With youth unemployment high, college debt a crushing burden, and a degree not quite worth what it used to be, college graduates have become a small but growing demographic of the recipients of the Supplemental Assistance Food Program, more commonly known as food stamps. The program is currently at a record high of over 46 million recipients. Although these students are a small minority of those in the program, their participation is growing at a rate faster than that of people their same age with less education (and less debt).

Wind
The Twin Ports (Duluth-Superior) are experiencing a boost in shipping as wind farm projects across the country rush to finish construction before a federal tax incentive ends. The incentive, which provides a break of 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour, is to expire at the end of the year. While the wind industry has seen significant growth in recent years, roughly doubling its capacity between 2008 and 2011, the end of the tax credit could spell hardship for the industry.

Image Source:  National Park Service