Energy efficiency in stimulus bill

The New York Times recently reported about the flood of energy efficiency money included in the stimulus bill passed by Congress in February.
According to the article, over $20 billion is included in the bill, including spending to improve energy efficiency in government buildings, in the homes of the poor, and to fund energy efficiency research. Advocates have said that there is more money set aside in this bill than in any other in history. The largest chunk of money is set aside for grants to state and local governments to improve their buildings and facilities.

This bill provides an opportunity to make lasting changes to government buildings, including weatherizing windows and entrances, modernizing wiring and researching long-term solutions to energy drains, such as too-large skylight in a Knoxville, TN office.

It is crucial to find a balance between near-term spending and long-term impact. State and local governments will be encouraged to file for and spend grants quickly, but many cities and states have not prepared with appropriate building and energy audits. To solve this problem, the grant opportunities should provide time and funding for the governments to complete audits. This will ensure the maximum potential is gained through the stimulus money.

Flower

Software designers, thatgamecompany (TGC), have released a downloadable PlayStation 3 game known as Flower, which was featured today on Slate.

The mission of TGC "is to make commercial video games that communicate different emotional experiences the current video game market is not offering." In addition to Flower, they have a game known as flOw and one called Cloud

Flower is set in a gray world. The player starts inside a gray room where a single yellow flower is the only color. The player can use the motion sensitive controller to control gusts of wind and the soar of a single petal. As the petal moves through the environment, color follows and more petals gather.

Flower breaks the traditional video game format: there are no points, time limits or deaths. There are levels, in the form of simple challenges, but the point of this video game is not to achieve and finish, but to communicate an emotion.

TGC describes it as a "video game version of a poem" and Slate writer Chris Suellentrop says "it is the only game I've played that made me feel relaxed, peaceful, and happy."

French solar industry taking off

An article published by Reuters describes a current upswing in the French solar industry.

The European Union is offering incentives to encourage the installation of solar arrays. France is taking a particular interest in the possibilities of solar energy and hopes to compete with Germany as a world leader. A growing group of French farmers is enrolling in the plan and installing solar arrays on their farms.

Jean-Luc Westphal is the owner of one of the largest integrated photovoltaic systems ever built. An integrated system is distinguished because they are built into existing structures, rather than added on. Westphal constructed five large sheds roofed with 36,000 square meters of solar panels.

The installation has a capacity of 4.5 megawatts, which is approximately enough energy to power 4,000 homes. His enormous investment (€20 million) is backed by a long-term "feed-in" plan with the French government. Westphal hopes to generate about €2 million euro per year on electricity sales.

In America, discussion of renewable energy often focuses on the issue of responsibility: who should be the leader? Government or private industry? Currently, private industry is taking the lead, but the French example may help change that. By setting specific goals for increasing the solar capacity of the nation, as well as offering incentives to install solar panels, the French government has already doubled their capacity since 2006. This is a case in which a strong position by the government has increased confidence levels in the people (and the banks that are investing in private solar arrays). As the US congress moves to tackle energy they should take a good look at France.

Reduce Food Waste

The average American wastes about 25% of the food that they buy. In the UK, food waste numbers are up to one-third. The good news is, much of this food waste can be reduced through fairly simple measures.

The short version: buy less food, serve smaller portions and plan ahead. If all else fails, compost.

The long version can be found through numerous websites with tips and techniques to reduce food waste. Here are a few:

The Daily Green
Love Food, Hate Waste
US News
Green Right Now
My Zero Waste

LED streetlights in LA and NYC

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former President Bill Clinton recently announced a program to replace 140,000 street lights in Los Angeles with LED bulbs. The plan is funded in part by the Clinton Climate Initiative. They are also receiving funding for the $57 million project through a $14 million rebate from Department of Water and Power.

The project is estimated to save $48 million and 197,000 tons of carbon emissions over a seven year period. This is the equivalent to pulling 6,000 cars off the road, according to Clinton.

Clinton also claimed that if every major city undertook a similar project, enough power would be saved to shut down 2 1/2 coal-fired power plants.

New York City has announced a similar plan. They are testing new LED light poles in a small area of the city. If testing proves successful by fall 2009, they may replace all of the city's streetlights (300,000 in total) with LEDs.

Senate to look at global warming

Harry Reid announced last night that the Senate will be looking at energy and climate change this year. He expects that they will begin talks on the energy bill in the next several weeks and hopes that they will take on climate change this summer.

The energy bill is headed by Jeff Bingaman (D. New Mexico), the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. If passed, utilities will be required to source 4% of their energy from renewable sources by 2011. That number will increase to 20% over the next decade.

There are not currently many details about how the Senate plans to take on climate change, but we hope they will take a comprehensive look at the situation and discuss ways to reduce not only carbon emissions, but methane and other chemical emissions as well. Specifically, we would like to see attention paid to user emissions (automobiles, aerosols, etc.), power plant emissions, methane emissions from dairy and meat production, and the energy cost of new building.

Growing food is fashionable again in Britain

According to an article in the Telegraph, vegetable gardens have risen drastically in popularity. A survey of over 1,000 people found that 26% are growing their own fruits and vegetables. Many of these people are doing so to save money, but there is an environmental motivation at work.

During the 1970s, a television sitcom called The Good Life made gardening in backyards and allotments fashionable, but its popularity waned. Gardening was generally viewed as a hobby for older people with a lot of time on their hands.

Now, under the encouragement of Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, gardening is becoming normal, and many of the new gardeners are young. The article does not discuss the yield of these individual gardens, nor the effect it has had (if any yet) on produce sales in groceries. However, the implications of a quarter of the population taking agriculture into their own hands are enormous.

- Largely organic agriculture; cuts chemical waste from system

- Reduces carbon emissions two ways: reduced demands for transport of produce; increased production of oxygen through photosynthesis

- Potential health benefits: people are more likely to eat the vegetables they grow

- Increased awareness of global food and environmental issues

Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is a British artist who uses found natural objects to create temporary sculptures. He photographs his work as well, to create a permanent record. His art, some of which can be seen at his website, defies the boundary between the organic and the contrived. That is, we recognize his sculptures as works of art, but the natural media gives his works an almost accidental quality. The photographs of his work seem to capture a private moment in nature, in which art has formed itself. In Rivers and Tides, he says, "I don't think the earth needs me at all, but I do need it."




His philosophy as an artist is to capture the process of the natural world. He writes "I have become aware of raw nature is in a state of change and how that change is the key to understanding. I want my art to be sensitive and alert to changes..."

Sustainable companies win in current economic climate

A new study published by A.T. Kearney, Inc. shows that companies who are committed to sustainable practices are performing well and are often the leaders in their industry. According to an article about the report, this is true in 16 of 18 industries surveyed. The sustainable companies, determined by the Sustainability Index and the Goldman Sachs Sustain Focus list, earn an average of 15% more than their same-industry competitors.

The study also suggested that companies with a sustainable focus tend to have a better focus when it comes to long term planning, as well as "strong corporate governance" and risk management. In other words, it may be that strong companies tend to embrace sustainability as a practice, rather than sustainable companies tend to perform well financially.

Regardless of the order of cause and effect, the fact that companies focused on sustainability are performing better than their peers is great news. Fiscal responsibility has long been a part of sustainable movement--it really is cheaper to use CFLs in place of standard light bulbs--but it has always been spoken of as an aside, or a fringe benefit.

This news may help people see that the term sustainability is not synonymous with environmentalism. Rather, sustainability confers a long-term plan. It is managing resources--finances included--such that they will still be available for use five, ten, twenty and one hundred years down the road. Viewing sustainability as an effective form of risk management or long-term planning may help business leaders who were struggling with the language of sustainability make the transition.

Kindness in Florida

CNN published an article today about Chene Thompson, the wife of a Florida state representative, and Henrietta Hughes, a homeless woman who Thompson agreed to help. Hughes spoke up at a town hall meeting with President Obama on Tuesday. She said that she was living out of a car with her son and needed help. President Obama promised that his staff would work on it, but Thompson stepped forward from the crowd to offer Hughes a place to stay.

This example speaks to being in the right place at the right time. If Hughes had not been able to attend the town hall meeting, her request would not have been heard. Likewise, if Thompson had not been at the meeting, she would not have been able to offer her help. However, the fact that there was a right place and time for this in the current economic climate speaks to the ability of humans to transcend proscribed behaviors and connect, simply, as humans.

Phone Books

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has a program to reduce and recycle phone books. It offers suggestions to reduce the numbers of phone books that you receive from various vendors and gives recycling suggestions.

They also provide a link to the Phone Book Project, an initiative by the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI). The PSI worked with various phone book companies, recyclers and local governments to develop a voluntary pledge for phone book distributors, that includes:

- Opt-out (subscribers can request NOT to get the phone book).
- Environmental production components (e.g., use of recycled content, soy inks, etc.).
- Recycling best practices.

According to Oregon DEQ, only 20% of phone books are recycled on a national scale. By making this information regarding phone book recycling and opt-out policy more public, the amount of phone book waste can be greatly reduced.



Phone Book Project
Oregon DEQ - Phonebooks

TEDTalks - Michael Pollan

The TEDTalk by Michael Pollan, recently published online brings forth a provocative message of hope about commercial organic agriculture. In the video, Pollan discusses a "plant's-eye view" of agriculture. He calls it a literary conceit, by which he means an extended metaphor that is used to elaborate on a given idea. Viewing agriculture from the view of a plant is not so much a way to achieve empathy with vegetable material, but a way to increase our human understanding of the symbiotic relationship we have with plant life.

There is one idea in the video that is particularly interesting. He speaks about Polyphase Farm, located in Virgina. The farm uses a system called permaculture, in which all the species in the farm perform ecological duties for one another. He outlines the system and the yield: 40,000 lbs of beef, 30,000 lbs of pork, 25,000 dozen eggs, 20,000 broiler chickens, 1,000 turkeys and 1,000 rabbits all from 100 acres of land. "You hear, can organic feed the world?" Pollan says. "Well, look how much food you can produce on 100 acres if you..give each species what it wants."

Pollan continues with his speech to look at how this system benefits the grass on the farm, how the process benefits the growth cycle of the grass and the revitalization of soil. His idea is that on this farm, both humans and nature win. This is outside of the realm of traditional agriculture--even organic, in which there is a balance between humans and nature, in which one always has the upper hand. He says "This is a way to reanimate the world," and if he is correct, than the traditional systems of agriculture may begin to break down. In their place will be this new system, in which agriculture sustains itself and humans serve, not as master or bystanders, but partners with nature.

Altruism in the corporate sector

Today's blog will focus on two recent examples of corporate social responsibility. One focuses on issues of sustainability, the other on hunger and the current economic crisis. Both are calculated efforts to increase brand profile with the potential ROI of an increased customer base.

The first example is Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, a craft brewery based in Chico, CA. Sierra Nevada has already achieved some fame for their 1.3 megawatt solar installation, one of the largest private installations in the country. They have recently announced a plan to convert discarded yeast into ethanol. An article published yesterday at gas2.0 describes the effort.

Sierra Nevada is partnering with E-Fuel Corp in this project which is slated to start in the second quarter and be in full production by the third. The Efuel 100 MicroFueler will be used to convert the "1.6 million gallons of beer yeast waste annually."

As a brewery already known for its sustainable efforts, this announcement strengthens the profile of Sierra Nevada's established brand. This could potentially bring them new customers, as "green" press reports on the story and consumer curiosity is piqued. The plan has a more direct ROI, however, of decreasing fuel costs for the company fleet of vehicles. There is also a potential to distribute fuel to their employees or sell it to the general public.

The second example is of California Tortilla, a fast casual Mexican restaurant headquartered in Rockville, MD. The chain of 36 restaurants announced a "Burrito Bailout Plan" yesterday, which can be read about at QSR Magazine. From February 9th to the 27th, anyone who can present the chain with unemployment papers dating back to November 2008 will receive a gift certificate for a free burrito. The chain has also recently donated 400 pounds of rice and beans to several non-profit kitchens.

The potential ROI for California Tortilla is, again, an increased customer base. In addition to the publicity and press attention they will receive from their announcements, California Tortilla is handing out free burritos to anyone who has lost a job in the past three and a half months. This group almost certainly includes those who have never eaten at California Tortilla, and the chance for a free burrito may bring them in the door. The free burrito plan, along with their donations to non-profit kitchens also work to establish a brand identity, in which California Tortilla makes sure people are fed.

Strandbeests and simplicity

Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist creating kinetic sculptures powered only by the wind. He envisions herds of these strandbeests roaming the beaches with little or no help from man. This video, sponsored by BMW and TEDTalks, reveals some of his processes and the simple thinking behind such seemingly complicated constructs.



At one point in the video, Jansen discusses his reinvention of the wheel. "In fact, this is better than a wheel, because when you try to drive with your bicycle on the beach, you will notice it is very hard to do. The feet just step over the sand; the wheel has to touch everything in between."

Not to dive too deeply into the metaphorical potential of that statement, but Jansen's sculptures represent a world in which the solution is simpler than the problem at hand.

Algae Biofuel

An article published yesterday by bionomicfuel.com discusses recent research developments at Rutgers University and other institutions. Dr. Paul Falkowski has conducted studies in this area for years. Recently, he has been working to make the production of algae biofuel more efficient and cost effective.

"Scientiest Confirm Algae Is the Most Effective Alternative Energy Source." http://www.bionomicfuel.com/scientists-confirm-algae-is-the-most-effective-alternative-energy-source/

Perhaps the most exciting implication of these developments is the idea that algae can be grown almost anywhere. The effectiveness of many energy sources-renewable or otherwise-is complicated by the cost of transportation. With algae, however, municipalities can produce their own algaculture fields to provide energy to the local community. This eliminates the cost of transportation, as the energy can easily be dispersed through the local power grid.

There is the additional benefit that communities would be responsible for their own energy production. This would likely lead to greater consciousness of energy consumption and reduce overall usage.