Aurora Energy staff members take a break from their latest installation project to show off a 72-cell photovoltaic panel.

***THE SIGNAL AIRS FRIDAYS AT NOON & SEVEN P.M. 88.1 WYPR***

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This Friday, we visit with some local entrepreneurs who’ve built their businesses on principles of environmental sustainability…

• We drop by the Dogwood Deli and Restaurant, where the seasonal menu is designed around organic, locally-grown ingredients
• We stop in at Sprout, an organic salon that treats customers’ hair with natural, non-toxic dyes and shampoos
• We check out the Furbish Company, a real estate development firm that specializes in green roofs and alternative heating and cooling systems
• And we talk with WYPR economist Anirban Basu about trends in the budding ‘green economy’
• We investigate the growing movement toward solar power in Maryland, a state that hosts America’s largest silicon panel manufacturing plant – BP Solar - and the country’s biggest solar services provider – Sun Edison. Commercial enterprises and private residents alike are flocking to the alternative power technology in the wake of sharp spikes in local utility rates and concerns about global climate change. (Here’s a list of relevant links about solar: BP Solar, Sun Edison, Aurora Energy LLC, and the MEA Solar Grant Program)
• And we meet Emily CD, an artist whose rambling walks through the alleys and vacant lots of Baltimore provide inspiration and raw materials for her work