The '#EnvironmentallyFriendly alternative' way #Dominion Energy is cutting 40 acres of grass 'every few days'

By: Ellen Ice
Posted 9:01 AM, Aug 03, 2024

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — "At #SolarFarms in #Chesapeake and #VirginiaBeach, Dominion Energy has found an alternative option to a lawn mower; this one has hooves.

"'It’s an environmentally-friendly alternative, it’s innovative, it’s creative and they do a great job,' said spokesperson Tim Eberly. 'They can eat about 40 acres of grass and vegetation every few days.'

"The flock of 300 sheep and 180 lambs is tended to by a shepherd, along with guard dogs and herding dogs.

“'Our guardian dogs are with the sheep all the time," said Jess Gray with Gray's #Lambscaping. 'They protect the flock when we are not around.'"

[..]

"The goal of the project is to keep the grass below the panels to maximize output. At Bedford #SolarFarm in Chesapeake, one of the sites where the sheep currently graze, the energy generated powers 17,500 homes."

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/sheep-dominion-energy-solar-farms-chesapeake-virginia-beach-aug3-2024

Will #ClimateBill lead to more #mining in #Virginia?

Four of the five 'critical minerals' for electric vehicle #EV batteries have been mined in the state in the past. Will their economics now change?

by Dwayne Yancey August 18, 2022

"The key to electric vehicle #batteries are five so-called 'critical minerals' – #lithium, #nickel, #cobalt, #manganese and #graphite. Four of these five minerals have been mined in Virginia in the past; the fifth (lithium) is suspected in Virginia but has yet to be proven. Will increased demand for these minerals make these deposits economically viable again?

"To some extent, this is unknowable because we don’t know what that demand – and those future prices – will be. In theory, if a single fleck of something is worth a billion dollars, then some company could spend a half billion to dig it out and still make a fortune. We also don’t know whether mining for these minerals will be allowed in Virginia. There’s a large deposit of #uranium in Virginia that’s never been mined and probably won’t be.

"In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court #SCOTUS upheld Virginia’s moratorium on #UraniumMining. There’s a #gold vein in Virginia, too, that’s been mined in the past. There’s also a state study underway over whether to allow or ban gold mining in the future. Even just the potential of gold mining has stirred controversy in Buckingham County. All the minerals we’ll deal with today occur outside the traditional coal-mining country of Southwest Virginia, so who knows what the state or local reaction will be if and when someone proposes to open a mine somewhere else?

"So let’s look at what we do know.

"Electric vehicles may be #EnvironmentallyFriendly in the sense that they’re not spewing #carbon into the atmosphere, but they do require six times more #minerals than conventional vehicles, according to the International Energy Administration – so a lot more #mining will be needed to support electric vehicles than the ones we have now. Mining is generally not considered an environmentally friendly thing to do so here’s a classic trade-off: A green-friendly climate bill is actually going to promote more mining somewhere, if not in the #UnitedStates then somewhere on the planet."

https://cardinalnews.org/2022/08/18/will-climate-bill-lead-to-more-mining-in-virginia/

#Biking the Goods: How North American #Cities Can Prepare for & #Promote Large-Scale Adoption of #ECargoBikes #transportation #cycling #SafeStreetsNow Cargo e-bikes electric cycles specially designed 4 cargo #transportation represent alternative #environmentallyfriendly safer mode 4 delivering goods, services in urban areas. However, lack of #infrastructure, #legal uncertainties, and a cultural and #economic attachment to #motorized #vehicles has hindered their adoption. https://urbanfreightlab.com/publications/biking-the-goods/

Suggestions for best #environmentallyfriendly king bed?

Ready, set… go!

It's the synchronicity of nature that just as we get into the season for boiling up big batches of #cornOnTheCob, the #weeds in the walkway are raging.

When the corn is cooked I bring the boiling water out for weed-killing service. Very effective, #environmentallyFriendly, and a nice #reUse of the energy.

Hello lovely Tooters,

Can anyone recommend a good podcast about sustainable/environmentally friendly living?

Thank you.