Going Green

Political leaders, media outlets, and policy organizations are all talking about the green movement and clean technology. From sustainable practices to eco-sensitive urban planning to start-ups tasked with making us more energy efficient, less polluting and healthier for this great blue and green orb we call home, many see the trend fueling the next great economical movement (and hopefully not a bubble ready to pop).

So, how has the Ann Arbor area been faring in this slow starting revolution? Concentrate has looked over the stories we've covered in the last 18 months and come up with a snapshot of the people and businesses that are helping to transform Michigan's rustbelt into a greenbelt.

STORIES:

The Next Evolution In Power: Adaptive Materials
As America's "Arsenal For Democracy" goes high-tech could Ann Arbor become its main innovator? The husband-wife team behind Adaptive Materials thinks so. Developers of long-lasting portable battery cells, this local alternative energy company not only supplies power to soldiers in the field but is also looking to expand their inherently 'green' technology into medical, transportation and consumer markets.

A3C: Greener Than Thou
Green construction may be all the rage but the truth is very few buildings actually achieve a smaller carbon footprint. And then there's the Ann Arbor Architects Collaborative (A3C). Retrofitting an 80+ year old storefront in downtown, the 25 year-old firm has spared no detail in its quest to create a model for urban sustainability.

Tuning in to Greenovation TV
Need practical advice on how to green your home? An Ann Arbor couple has launched an Internet TV channel dedicated to helping you to GIY -- green it yourself.

MASTERMIND: Amanda Edmonds
Dr. Seuss wrote: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not." Amanda Edmonds cares. An environmentalist of a different stripe, she turned her idea for community farms into Growing Hope, an organization with 500 volunteers and, now, a permanent home in Ypsilanti.

PODCASTS:

RADIO CONCENTRATE: U-M Graduates Michigan's Next Generation Of Green Leadership
U-M student Leslie Garrison bucked two local trends: She remained in Michigan after graduation (though she's not a native). And she joined a growing local industry. Garrison thinks the state has what it takes to lead the nation in sustainable innovation. Right down to the first composting toilet.

Radio Concentrate: Making Electricity Underwater
In the race to produce cheaper renewable energy, one U-M professor is looking to harness electricity from the Detroit River using experimental cylinders.

VIDEOS:

Flexsys Knows Which Way The Wind Blows
It's all about efficiency - lighter, stronger, more flexible. Flexsys is taking U-M born innovations into the marketplace (that's called tech transfer for you newbies) to improve wind turbine and aerospace technologies... and, of course, grow our high tech economy.

Hello Again: Recellular
It's not often that Dexter can claim it's home to the world's largest... well, anything. And yet, homegrown ReCellular is just that: the largest electronics sustainability company on the planet, recycling and refurbishing 500, 000 cell phones a month!

BLOGS: 

Jason Bing
Jason Bing manages Recycle Ann Arbor’s Environmental House, facilitating healthy, energy efficient home and workplace construction in Southeast Michigan. Jason weighs in on local and national energy initiatives, issues and ideas.