KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOL RADIO STATION IMPLEMENTS SOLAR POWER

Green energy solutions are increasingly finding themselves incorporated into various daily processes. Residential and commercial properties are having their lights, heat and technology powered with the of the sun. Corbin High School's radio station is now broadcasting over the wavelengths using solar energy.

WYMT TV reports that the high school, located in Corbin, Kentucky, was able to make the switch to solar energy thanks to a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission for $10,000. Now, brand new solar panels will begin to collect the sun's energy to power the 100 watt transmitter needed for the school's radio station.

Teachers claim that the introduction of solar energy for the radio station is just one move the school is making to include green energy technology and sustainable solutions into the educational facility. Promoting sustainability at a high school may get students thinking about the consequences of their energy use and the energy solution solar and other renewable sources offer.

Students are encouraged to learn about solar energy, according to the news source, and how it integrates with the broadcasting system.
"I've never seen any solar power around here, especially since we're in such a coal area, and since you can run something like this from solar energy is just awesome," student Tanner Broughton, told the news source.

The integration of solar panels into the radio tower required special hookups.

"We do want to make some hard connections to the electric back-up there just to make sure, but at this point the batteries are now fully charged and we're ready to go solar," radio station manager David Colvin, told the news source.

Officials and faculty at Corbin High School are hopeful that solar energy will soon be incorporated into the school's science curriculum, reports WYMT TV.

Sustainability changes for every organization

Sustainability changes for every organization

Climate and sustainability expert Bob Doppelt wrote a recent article published in Business Review USA, in which he offered up six changes that he said every organization is capable of making to cost-effectively reach sustainability.
Doppelt noted the need to revise the classic "more and cheaper is better" approach to business, offering up an alternative mantra for personal happiness and economic success, saying, "sustainable is better, healthier, morally just - and essential to sustain life on the planet."
Doppelt's six cost-effective changes for sustainability begin with his recommendation for businesses to complete a Life Cycle Analysis to fully explore the effects the company's goods and services have on the environment and society. Then, Doppelt advised undertaking an analysis of the company's carbon footprint for all production facilities, and to simultaneously perform an energy audit. These beginning steps are key for helping companies inexpensively discover where there is room for improvement and new ways to save money.
The next change Doppelt offered up was to hold a company-wide dialogue with the goal to establish clear ethics to help manage the company's activities around sustaining the natural environment.
Fourth on Doppelt's list is arguably his boldest suggestion, telling companies to set an ambitious target - something similar to either increasing efficiency or reducing energy use by 30 percent - in an effort to show commitment to the company's initiatives.
The fifth change is to have the company establish a plan to reduce its use of coal across its value chain, completely eliminating coal use in a period of five to 10 years. Doppelt maintains that this is achievable by transitioning to renewable energy sources such as wind or solar while simultaneously working to increase energy efficiency.
Doppelt's final change involves setting yet another ambitious goal, this time to reduce company waste that goes to landfills through the gradual building up of recycling and reuse at facilities.
Once organizations have gone through Doppelt's six changes, he advises them to then continue approaching goals like these in a similar fashion until they have gone through the company's entire value chain.
Today, companies around the globe recognize the necessity to restructure their sustainability efforts, residential households are making individual efforts to do their parts, and entire cities are taking on the sustainability challenge. For example, a recent article in Peoria new source the Peoria Times described how that city developed a sustainability initiative in 2009 in an effort to counter financial hardships and have "positive, lasting effects" on Peoria's future.

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