You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Green in Michigan’ category.
Lots of controversy on a proposed wind farm in Lake Michigan about
1-2 miles off the West Michigan shore. Wind Farms are up and
contributing to the grid in Texas, Iowa, California, Washington, and
Minnesota, which are the top 5 wind power states. Wind power
grew by 39% in capacity over 2008, for a total of 35 gigawatts,
according to the American Wind Energy Association.
A proposed offshore Wind Farm that would cost $3 Billion dollars is
trying to get public support for its plan. The Scandia Wind Energy
LLC say it would create thousands of jobs, primarily constructing the
massive wind turbines in the waters of Lake Michigan just south of
Ludington. The company says that location is positioned to transmit
electricity to Chicago or Detroit areas perfectly.
A new jet engine wind turbine with 4 times the efficiency has interested
the DOE enough to give $ 8 Million in grants for further testing. The theory
is that it would take less electricity to power the turbines, so output would
be doubled. This could be the look of the future, with massive wind
turbines scattered over the countryside and in our lakes.
Grand Rapids is proposing putting two 300 foot wind turbines on land they
own in Grand Haven, on Lake Michigan to power their water plant. If this
project goes forward it would be the first of its type in Michigan.
| Share this post : |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate, the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services, numerous universities, plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.
We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
Holiday traditions to celebrate the winter solstice are common
to every culture around the world. The transition from the shortest,
darkest day in mid-winter to the longest day of light at the beginning
of summer are a common theme to our world.
Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids
celebrates the light by showing the traditions of many countries
and cultures around the world. Besides the forty one gorgeous
Christmas Trees that are decorated as they would be in their native
regions, they also display Kwanza, Jewish, and Buddhist traditional
decorations. New this year is Tet Nguyen Dan, the Vietnamese
celebration of the lunar New Year; pronounced day wen don,
it literally means, “the first morning of the first day.”
Meijer Gardens is celebrating the completion of a $7.6 million
renovation and expansion that was awarded a silver level LEED
certificate in energy and environmental design. The renovation
and expansion was centered around the cafe, visitor areas, office
and storage spaces. The new cafe has a stunning Dale Chihuly
blown glass sculpture of colored glass flowers hanging from
the ceiling.
We have put together a few photos we took at the gardens
recently, so you can see some of the holiday decorations from
near and far. The gorgeous Christmas trees are all 12-15 feet tall
and loaded with beautiful ornaments. This is just a sampling of the
Christmas Traditions displayed here:
Our Holiday Wishes for Peace & Goodwill to all of you!
There are so many golf courses in Michigan, over 900 public courses,
ranking third in the nation in public golf courses and over 400 member
clubs to play. We are crazy about golf in Michigan.
With courses like Spring Lake Country Club, it is easy to see why.
Spring Lake Country Club is an old course, founded in 1911, and it is a
private, member owned facility. From the longest tees, it is 6525 yards.
“Going green” is taken seriously at Spring Lake CC. In May of 2005,
they received the honor of being named a Certified Audubon Cooperative
Sanctuary, only the 14th course in Michigan to be recognized. In 2007,
SLCC was named #1 for total number of bird species counted on the course
in the Great Lakes region and 3rd in the entire country for the Audubon
International North American Bird Watch Open, held in May each year.
Spring Lake CC is seriously into Junior Golf. Don’t be surprised to
see a few future PGA professionals hail from this course. Last year
they had 180 Junior PGA Golfers (aged 7-17) in their Annual Junior
Golf Tournament held in August.
We were invited to play this fabulous course last week by our friends,
Charles and Joann. We had a beautiful day to play golf and enjoy the
aesthetics of this picturesque golf course. Spring Lake CC is heavily
wooded, and indeed, we saw several oak trees with trunk girths of
15-20 feet or more.
75-80 degrees, sunny and a slight breeze off the Lake (Spring Lake is
open to Lake Michigan) is a perfect Michigan summer day. And we
couldn’t think of a better way to spend it. Because Spring Lake is
connected to Lake Michigan, it is a prime resort area and has many
elite homes on the lake.
We are sharing our photo montage of Spring Lake Country Club.
Grab a cart and ride along!
Spring Lake Country Club
18496 Fruitport Rd
Spring Lake Michigan 49456
616-842-4200
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Photos by Bonnie Westbrook
Forest Hills Michigan – Home to a Growing Public School District
We just received the Superintendant’s News Letter with all the Forest
Hills Public School news. Of course, there was talk of budget challenges
and difficult times. Even school districts that are well-funded, like Forest
Hills Public, are having budget issues because of state funding reductions.
Forest Hills is focused on student education, and is still reducing
administrative overhead. 76.7% of the school budget is spent on
classroom and instructional support.
2009 Forest Hills School News:
- 3 Teachers recognized on state & national levels for excellence
- Conserved 1.9 million in reduced energy costs
- ALL Forest Hills Schools receive Green Certificates
- Received David D Smith Award for Environmental Stewardship
- Growing enrollment while 80% of Michigan districts are declining
- 2007 Bond Issue allows investment in infrastructure
- 10,100+ students, 2nd in size in Kent County, 23rd largest in
Michigan, out of 552
- 2009 Student MEAP Scores Highest in Michigan
Grand Rapids Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
What’s the Impact of Paying Bills Online? : TreeHugger has a great article
that shows exactly how much energy you can save and how it will affect
your local environment. Gone are the days when we can say, “ Oh,
my little contribution doesn’t matter in the overview of environmental
change. Each of us has an impact and we can each change our world
one bill-day at a time.
I went to the Payitgreen.org site and used their green calculator to
see how much I am saving by going online to pay my bills.
In one year, I will save 7# of paper, 65 gallons of water, 3.3 gallons
of gasoline, and 146# of greenhouse gases. WOW!! This amount of
greenhouse gases is equivalent to 144 miles not driven in my car, 2 trees
planted( and grown for 10 years), & 20 square feet of forest preserved
from deforestation.
I had no idea my little effort would make such a dent in our environment.
I’ve paid most of my bills online for quite a while. Won’t you join the
online gang and make your effort at greening our environment a little
bit better?
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Arbor Day Festival Ada Park & Arboretum Free
Saturday, April 25 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Donations accepted
Bring your family out to the Locke Arboretum at Ada Park for this festival
of events to celebrate Arbor Day. Ada Park will be set up with activity
stations for all ages including workshops on tree pruning and care,
backyard wildlife habitats, nature displays, conservation exhibits,
youth crafts and games, wildflower & tree walks and fishing for kids.
Special "tree theme" snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
One free tree sapling to each family as supplies last.
Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Photo of Ada Maple Tree by Bonnie Westbrook
I assume we are all trying to do our best at saving the environment and
doing our small part in protecting our planet, but sometimes the obvious
is overlooked.
I am a bibliophile (a.k.a. book-aholic) I love books. I collect books,
I read books. Books area large part of my life. Do I buy books? Yes,
but I usually do the “green “ thing and borrow the latest best seller
from my local library.
Once I have read a novel, I usually don’t reread it. So why waste the
paper, trees, and space to own books for a short period of time.
This has never made sense to me when I could go to the public
library and request anything I could desire to read. I go online in
my jammies and when my requested book comes into my local branch,
they notify me!
Your local public library also has movies on DVDs and books on CD’s
and books on tape. All for free. And by using your local library, you
are making a small effort to improve the environment.
So do the “green thing” with your reading. Visit your local library.
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Cascade Township Public Library Photo by Bonnie Westbrook
I feel like George Jetson is moving to Michigan. I just read a Treehugger article
about a new magnetic train proposed for Michigan in a Detroit to Lansing run.
It will be a magnetic train powered by solar and hydrogen. Wow, the Jetsons
seemed so out there when we were younger but all those far fetched ideas are
becoming everyday reality; such as smart machines, exercise machines,
robotic household help, and the visual phone. We don’t have a talking dog
or fly to work yet but who knows, anything is possible.
Talking dog?
The magnetic train system would be built along I96 expressway. It would
stop at local exits for commuters to get off and drive home or just have a
refreshment break from traveling. The rail would include fiber optic cables
for communication. All this is proposed to be built with private funds and
powered by hydrogen and solar power. I am not sure when this is supposed
to be started but the announcement alone is a glimpse into our future.
Transportation is changing and I am not surprised that Michigan will be at
the forefront of these significant changes.
Would you ride in a magnetic train if it were available to you?
Grand Rapids – Ada Real Estate – Five Star Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
GRMiRealEstate's Weblog 