Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat - energy derived from sources that do not use up natural resources or harm the environment. Another term commonly used is alternative energy, which refers to energy generated from sources that have no undesired consequences such as fossil fuels or nuclear energy.

Most of the forms of renewable energies depend in one way or another on sunlight. Wind and hydroelectric power are the direct result of differential heating of the Earth's surface which leads to air moving about (wind) and precipitation forming as the air is lifted. Solar energy is the direct conversion of sunlight using panels or collectors. Biomass energy is stored sunlight contained in plants. Other renewable energies that do not depend on sunlight are geothermal energy, which is a result of radioactive decay in the crust combined with the original heat of accreting the Earth, and tidal energy, which is a conversion of gravitational energy.

Renewable energy sources are most commonly found as the following sources;

Solar Energy

This form of energy relies on the nuclear fusion power from the core of the Sun. This energy can be collected and converted in a few different ways. The range is from solar water heating with solar collectors or attic cooling with solar attic fans for domestic use to the complex technologies of direct conversion of sunlight to electrical energy using mirrors and boilers or photovoltaic cells. Unfortunately these are currently insufficient to fully power our modern society.

Wind Energy

The movement of the atmosphere is driven by differences of temperature at the Earth's surface due to varying temperatures of the Earth's surface when lit by sunlight. Wind energy can be used to pump water or generate electricity, but requires extensive areal coverage to produce significant amounts of energy.

Hydroelectric Energy

This form uses the gravitational potential of elevated water that was lifted from the oceans by sunlight. It is not strictly speaking renewable since all reservoirs eventually fill up and require very expensive excavation to become useful again. At this time, most of the available locations for hydroelectric dams are already used in the developed world.

Biomass Energy

Biomass is the term for energy from plants. Energy in this form is very commonly used throughout the world. Unfortunately the most popular is the burning of trees for cooking and warmth. This process releases copious amounts of carbon dioxide gases into the atmosphere and is a major contributor to unhealthy air in many areas. Some of the more modern forms of biomass energy are methane generation and production of alcohol for automobile fuel and fueling electric power plants.

Geothermal Energy

Energy left over from the original accretion of the planet and augmented by heat from radioactive decay seeps out slowly everywhere, everyday. In certain areas the geothermal gradient (increase in temperature with depth) is high enough to exploit to generate electricity. This possibility is limited to a few locations on Earth and many technical problems exist that limit its utility. Another form of geothermal energy is Earth energy, a result of the heat storage in the Earth's surface. Soil everywhere tends to stay at a relatively constant temperature, the yearly average, and can be used with heat pumps to heat a building in winter and cool a building in summer. This form of energy can lessen the need for other power to maintain comfortable temperatures in buildings, but cannot be used to produce electricity.

Hydrogen and fuel cells.

These are also not strictly renewable energy resources but are very abundant in availability and are very low in pollution when utilized. Hydrogen can be burned as a fuel, typically in a vehicle, with only water as the combustion product. This clean burning fuel can mean a significant reduction of pollution in cities. Or the hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, which are similar to batteries, to power an electric motor. In either case significant production of hydrogen requires abundant power. Due to the need for energy to produce the initial hydrogen gas, the result is the relocation of pollution from the cities to the power plants. There are several promising methods to produce hydrogen, such as solar power, that may alter this picture drastically.

Other forms of energy

Energy from tides, the oceans and hot hydrogen fusion are other forms that can be used to generate electricity. Each of these is discussed in some detail with the final result being that each suffers from one or another significant drawback and cannot be relied upon at this time to solve the upcoming energy crunch.

More than just a fad, building green has rapidly become an industry trend. "$12 Billion was spent on Green Buildings in 2008. This number is projected to grow to $60 Billion by 2013.” -McGraw-Hill Construction, SmartMarket Trends Report, 2008

Building green aims to maximize the efficiency with which buildings use resources such as energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment.

What Is Green Building?
Green buildings are sited, designed, constructed, and operated to enhance the well-being of their occupants and support a healthy community and natural environment. In practical terms, green building is a whole-systems-approach to building that includes:

• Designing for livable communities
• Using sun and site to the building's advantage for natural heating, cooling, and daylighting
• Landscaping with native, drought-resistant plants and water-efficient practices
• Building quality, durable structures
• Reducing and recycling construction and demolition waste
• Insulating well and ventilating appropriately
• Incorporating durable, salvaged, recycled, and sustainably harvested materials
• Using healthy products and building practices
• Using energy-efficient and water-saving appliances, fixtures and technologies

When implemented holistically, these strategies serve to preserve our environment for future generations by conserving natural resources and protecting air and water quality. They provide benefits for us today by increasing comfort and well-being and helping to maintain healthy air quality. Finally, green building strategies are good for everyone's pocketbook by reducing maintenance and replacement requirements, reducing utility bills and lowering the cost of home ownership, and increasing property and resale values.

By: Mortgageloan.com
What’s a “Green Mortgage”?  it’s not what you might think. It is not a marketing or public relations effort. It is a program backed by private and government mortgage programs designed to help you make your home more energy efficient.

Green, or “Energy efficient” mortgages, let you borrow extra money to pay for energy efficient upgrades to your current home or a new or old home that you plan to buy. The result is a more environmentally friendly living space that uses fewer resources for heating and cooling and has dramatically lower utility costs. The types of things that are covered include upgrades that you may have thought you couldn’t afford like double paned windows, tankless water heaters, modern HVAC systems, and new insulation.

At this time, Energy Efficient Mortgages aren’t second mortgages. Though they are created separately from your primary mortgage, they are ultimately rolled into your primary mortgage—so you only make only one payment per month.

Find out more at Mortgageloan.com.

How do you find lenders who can give you an Energy Efficient Mortgage or EE?  Even though EEMs have been available for many years, HUD has not widely promoted their existence or benefits. For that reason, many real estate professionals are not familiar with them. Your current lender may in fact offer an EEM and not even realize it. In fact, all FHA approved lenders can offer EEMs.

It’s probably worth your while, though, to search for a lender who is familiar with the ins and outs of EEM’s and can really guide you through the process.  Here you can access an EEM lender database.

The counties of Benton, Washington, Madison and Carroll in northwest Arkansas are spawning and promoting initiatives to make Arkansas a center of innovative green businesses and business practices.

The focus of this region sprang from an effort to improve the economy of Arkansas but also in response to growing demand worldwide for sustainable products and practices. A number of key initiatives and coalitions are listed below, many of which have received support from Walmart and associated foundations and have capitalized upon the concentration of supplier businesses located near the Walmart Headquarters in Fayetteville.

The Applied Sustainability Center, established in July 2007 with a $1.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation, is based at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business. The Center seeks to accelerate the creation of a sustainable global consumer goods economy by serving as a catalyst for innovation in the retail and consumer goods industries using the “lens of sustainability.”

A related initiative, based in part at the University of Arkansas and in part at the University of Arizona is The Sustainability Consortium, or TSC. Retailers, manufacturers, suppliers, governments, NGOs, researchers and consumers all hold a stake in the sustainability of global product production and use. They all need to more accurately quantify and communicate better standards for more sustainable products and consumption.

Life Cycle Management is a new framework for analyzing the ecological footprint of consumer goods from raw material extraction to consumer use. The three major barriers to more sustainable consumer action are: - (1) Inconvenience, (2) Cost, (3) Confusion. Science-based Life Cycle Management can address all three of these.

For example, a TSC tool in development is Open IO, a research project that consists of an accessible, transparent economic input-output life cycle assessment database that permits complete access to the user desiring a greater knowledge of the development of the database, and allows for model data and results to be available for other applications. Features of Open IO are cradle-to-gate, cradle-to-consumer, and cradle-through-consumer impacts. Open IO allows users to isolate impacts for each stage of the product´s life cycle through the consumer stage.

The Green Valley Network is a non-profit coalition that fosters collaboration and commercialization of sustainability technology. Green Valley bills itself as the “center for the sustainability technology revolution. Green Valley is home to the highest concentration of plant scientists in the world, the corporate headquarters of Wal-Mart, the largest funnel for global consumer demand and the largest proponent of sustainability on Earth, the largest pre-existing supplier cluster with 1,300 consumer goods companies, one of America’s largest oil and gas energy centers, the world’s busiest cargo airport and one of America’s largest agri-business centers with biofuel and eco-tourism opportunities.”

The Green Valley website includes a host of information and statistics that support the positive business environment in Arkansas, which was named in a 2011 CNBC assessment as #1 in the nation for the cost of doing business.

Best Management Practices, or BMPs, can help improve energy efficiency. Developed by experienced practitioners or management and research organizations, they are based upon the best available science.

The following are a selection of BMPs culled from various national, regional, state and local sources. Each is available for download as a pdf.

A practical guide to ways agricultural producers can profit from the growing environmental marketplace from American Farmland Trust, 2010. An in-depth 55-page handbook that introduces and surveys the types of environmental markets, how to get involved including evaluating financial returns and assessing risks, and what farmers and ranchers can do to encourage these markets.

Read More »


This 30-page document developed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with numerous state and federal agencies, provides a comprehensive overview of recommended voluntary practices for energy companies during exploration, drilling and reclamation activities.  The BMPs help ensure that such activities are conducted in an environmentally responsible manner and address the following issues: migratory, threatened and endangered species; wetlands; geophysical and construction activities; vehicle maintenance and chemical handling; gas condensate, well servicing and solid wastes; chemical controls; transmission lines; storm water; reclamation and abandonment; and good house keeping practices for publicly-owned properties. Read More »


This 2011 document from EPA provides an extensive listing of service providers who can assist farm operations in turning waste into energy.  EPA’s AgSTAR Program produces this Industry Directory to assist livestock producers and others involved in developing anaerobic digestion systems to identify consultants, designers, developers, equipment vendors, and other providers of biogas energy services. Read More »


A 293 page guide to the Legal Issues in Farming the Wind on your farm from June 2007 Read More »


This EPA factsheet gives information on trends in use of these manure management systems in the U.S.


Improved performance at competitive costs is promised by this 2002 EPA publication all about anaerobic digestion and biogas recovery for energy. Read More »



This fact sheet explains how to build bins from concrete blocks or wood, and how to add waste and maintain the compost. Read More »


How to make and use a garbage can composter. Read More »


This factsheet differentiates composting from biodrying, with the former leading to good soil amendments and the latter leading to good material for bioenergy production.   It explains the basics of biodrying equipment and methods. Read More »


This factsheet explains the compost process, what can be composted, its benefits, and the major different methods of composting. Read More »

BMPs oriented more specifically toward forest resources, water resources, invasive & native species, farms & agriculture and wildlife habitat are also available on this site.