On August 22, 1834 America astronomer Samuel Pierpont Langley is born in Boston Massachusetts (d. February 27, 1906).  His invention of the bolometer helped him measure infrared radiation, which helped Svante Arrhenius make the first calculations on the greenhouse effect.

Langley’s interest in astronomy began early in his youth with a small telescope owned by his father. By age 20 he and his brother were building their own.  As a young adult he taught at Harvard College Observatory the United States Naval Academy, until 1867, when he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to direct the new Allegheny Observatory and serve as professor of astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. 

In Pittsburgh he researched the Sun and the effect of its solar radiation on the Earth’s atmosphere.  To conduct his research, Langley invented the bolometer to measure infrared radiation, versions of his original design are still used today.

The bolometer is a radiant-heat detector that is sensitive to differences in temperature of one hundred-thousandth of a degree Celsius (0.00001 C) . Composed of two thin strips of metal, a Wheatstone bridge, a battery, and a galvanometer (an electrical current measuring device), this instrument enabled him to study solar irradiance (light rays from the sun) far into its infrared region and to measure the intensity of solar radiation at various wavelengths.  Langley’s measurement of interference of the infrared radiation by carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere was used by Svante Arrhenius in 1896 to make the first calculation of how climate would change from a future doubling of carbon dioxide levels.

In 1886, Langley received the Henry Draper Medal from the National Academy of Sciences for his contributions to solar physics. His publication in 1890 of infrared observations at the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh together with Frank Washington Very was used by Svante Arrhenius to make the first calculations on the greenhouse effect.

By 1887, Langley became Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Secretary of the Institution, where he would serve until his death in 1906, from paralytic stroke.  Pall beareres at Langley’s funeral included the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court Melville Fuller and Vice President Charles W Fairbanks.

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Each month we ask you  to share your "passion" as it relates to sustainability. It's a great way for other participants to learn about what is important to you, and what drives you to do what you do everyday.

It seems that many of us are passionate about developing solutions for people to live healthier lives. There are millions of people who live below the poverty line. These people do not have access to clean water, food and safe housing. Global sustainability and the eradication of poverty go hand-in-hand. One of the key points to the Millennium Goals is to reduce poverty by half before 2015 and to improve the lives of at least 100 million humans before 2020.  

We are fortunate to have many organizations all over the world that are dedicated to helping people get out of poverty. Our friend Sam Daley-Harris from RESULTS (an organization dedicated to ending poverty around the world) was recently featured in a TEDx NJ Libraries talk discussing "Purpose, Poverty, Pitfalls, and Redemption". This video is a great example of the power that one person or group of people can have when they are truly passionate about what they're doing!

I'm happy to introduce our four new EcoTuesday Ambassadors!
 
We have new ambassadors in Portland, Dallas, and Los Angeles, stepping up in huge ways as we transition the cities.  There has been nearly seamless transition, thanks to Jennifer, Ann, Anna and Karen for making this happen.
 
We are excited to have strong teams ready grow EcoTuesday!
 
Thanks so much to everyone out there for joining me in welcoming the new family members!
 
chau,
Nikki
 
HERE GOES - OUR NEW AMBASSADORS!
 
Dallas
Brittany (BJ) Ellis
I am passionate about developing authentic, sustainable relationships in my community. Green Networking is not about "Us vs. Them." It is about you and me. Where can we find a common ground to connect? In other words, let's be friends first, then talk business. My specialty is producing community events that educate, inform, and entertain individuals on sustainability topics such as the environment, health, and wellness. I am also a freelance writer, media consultant and active community volunteer.
   
Gitanjali (Mishty) Deb
As a talented attorney, green consultant and project manager Mishty has workedin both the public and private sectors. She focused her undergraduate studies on economics and environmental science. She continued to the University of Texas Law School were she published several law review articles in the area of environmental regulations with her unique ability to draft innovative and persuasive arguments. She has a talent for being a team player and for forging solid alliances with strategic partners. Her primary focus is to provide practical and sustainable solutions that helps transform long-term business goals into reality while addressing daily operational challenges. 
 
Los Angeles
Lia
I am passionate about holistic living, integrative medicine and sustainability.  For the past several years I have been involved in research in education and mindfulness. Through my studies, I have had the privilege of learning about many different modalities in healing.  One in particular resonated with me so strongly that I am now a Reiki Master Practitioner and Teacher
 
Portland
Gina Binole
Gina Binole has nearly 20 years in the communications business. She spent much of her career as journalist, covering government, business and the environment. She left newspapers and hopped on the dotcom bandwagon in the late '90s before launching her own strategic communications company, GBM Communications in 2001. She joined the Oregon Training Network in February 2010, where she helps educate workers with the hopes of creating a more robust economy.

On July 31st, 1803, Swedish inventor John Ericsson was born (July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889).  Most famous for his design of the USS Monitor, Ericsson explored commercial applications for solar power and build seven “sun engines” between 1868 and 1875. 
The “sun engines” were powered by steam or hot air and fueled by solar energy.

After inventing in England and being forced to give up all of his English patent rights to pay off his debts, Ericsson immigrated to America in 1839.  He is most well known for his engines and maritime propulsion systems, such as the first marine “screw” propeller-driving iron steamship, the USS Princeton (the first propeller driven warship), and the ironclad Civil War warship the USS Monitor. 

While his maritime inventions brought Ericsson fame and success, he found himself deeply distressed about the rapid consumption of coal as a fuel source.  He and his contemporaries already feared it was running out.  To provide society with alternatives, Ericsson explored renewable energy sources such as solar, tidal, wind and gravitational power. 

In one of his many scientific papers on the commercial use of solar energy in the 1870’s Ericsson wrote, "a couple of thousand years dropped in the ocean of time will completely exhaust the coal fields of Europe, unless, in the meantime, the heat of the sun be employed... the skillful engineer knows many ways of laying up a supply when the sky is clear and the great store-house is open, where the fuel may be obtained free of cost and transportation."

In the book Contributions to the Centennial Exhibition (1877, reprinted 1976) Ericsson presented his "sun engines.”  They collected solar heat for a hot air engine.  He built the first one in New York in 1872 and had intended Californian farmers to use the sun engine for irrigation purposes.  However, nothing came of the project.  Several designs later, Ericsson’s engines were a commercial success, but the heat was supplied by methane gas, instead of the sun.

Despite this design modification, Ericsson’s life contributed to the exploration of renewable energy and his efforts paved the way for the advancement of clean technology. 

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