sustainablog

Update Your sustainablog Feed

2007-11-25T12:58:00.001-06:00

sustainablog.org is up and running, with a snazzy new design and everything. That does include a new feed address, but as Blogger allows me to redirect the Atom feed to Feedburner, all subscribers should still be in the loop. However, if you're not getting sustainablog updates, please resubscribe to the Feedburner address: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/rYNO

Look forward to seeing you at sustainablog.org!

sustainablog.org Is Now Live

2007-11-08T11:03:00.000-06:00

While we're still working out some issues, one thing that is working for the new version of sustainablog is the URL sustainablog.org. I'd be grateful for your bookmarks...

The design will become more distinct shortly, too... we've got our tech team working night and day to get it all working right and looking pretty. Another blog that we've added, Jennifer Lance's Eco Child's Play, is also up at ecochildsplay.com.

sustainablog is moving...

2007-11-06T19:54:00.000-06:00

I mentioned some changes last week, and the first one is nearly complete: sustainablog has moved! While there are some things that still haven't taken effect (like the new URL, http://sustainablog.net, directing to the right place), you can go immediately to the new version of the blog at http://sustainablog.greenoptions.com. Yes, sustainablog is now connected to Green Options -- there's more to tell here, but I'm going to wait until we roll some things out at this weekend's San Francisco Green Fest before spilling my guts completely. And if you'll be at Green Fest, come by and say "Hi!" -- we're in booth 775.

This is just one step in getting sustainablog going strong again... more are on the way. I will publish another post or two here to update you on progress, but will start doing substantive posts at the new site... so come by and say "Hi!" there, too.

Happy Halloween from sustainablog!

2007-10-31T19:12:00.000-05:00

So, clearly it's been a really busy month, so I wanted to make to get at least one post up in October! Happy Halloween -- hope you (and the kids, if you've got 'em) are enjoying yourself... maybe with some Fair Trade chocolate...;-)

My unplanned hiatus over the last month stemmed from some monumental efforts by all of us at Green Options to get some developments in place for the San Francisco Green Fest on November 9-11. We've got some big plans, and, if you're in the Bay Area during the Green Fest weekend, come by our booth and see where we're going... we feel pretty certain that our days of being labeled a "Treehugger clone" (and, hey, there are certainly much worse ways to be perceived) are numbered.

You'll be seeing some changes here in the near future, also. While the Vida Verde collective didn't go quite as well as we hoped (it was a busy month for all of us), I'm going to be back here much more regularly in the very near future. I love my work at GO, but, as I was saying to David today, I do miss being a blogger...

I hope you'll come back by... I'll start giving you reasons to do so again. If you're hard up for some sustainability news, come by and visit my StumbleUpon and del.icio.us pages...

Happy Halloween!

Lighter Footstep: How to Recycle CFLs

2007-09-30T20:33:00.000-05:00

Jeff says: For the combination of price and efficiency, you can't beat compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Yet, the do present an end-of-life challenge with the tiny amount of mercury present in the bulbs. Chris Baskind, editor at Lighter Footstep, and founder of the Vida Verde collective, has some tips for safe disposal of these bulbs once they burn out.

If you're the sort of person who reads articles like this, you probably think pretty much everyone knows about CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs) by now.

Think again. Despite widespread availability and dramatically lower prices -- name brand CFL bulbs go for about two dollars these days -- CFL adoption in the United States remains around 6 percent. The rate is much higher in Europe and parts of Asia. Still, in the largest single consumer market in the world, CFL awareness remains in single digits. Contrast this with a recent survey suggesting up to 34 percent of all Americans believe in UFOs.

Mercury in CFLs

It's not unreasonable to think that even fewer people know CFLs contain mercury. A small amount, sure: the National Electrical Manufacturers Association recently capped 25 watt CFLs at 5 milligrams per bulb. But as adoption rates rise, so does the importance of sending CFLs to a recycler, rather than the landfill.

Herein lies the problem. While retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot have exhibited environmental leadership by bringing CFLs to market, they've been far less forthcoming in taking them back. CFLs can last three to five years under normal use, which means the vast majority of bulbs ever sold are still in service. By 2010, however, The U.S. could be looking at 80 to 100 million improperly disposed CFLs annually if people don't know any better and convenient recycling isn't available. That would represent an intolerable toxic burden to our current methods of waste disposal.

CFL Recycling Options

A issue of this size won't be solved by individual action alone. But if each of us take the initiative to identify our local CFL recycling options now, we can start the process of educating friends and family before their efficient new CFLs are ready for disposal. Want to give it a try? Here are a few places to check:

Your Local Garbage Service

Probably the best place to start is with whoever currently picks up your household trash or recyclables. If you pay for this service, you'll almost certainly find a customer service number on your bill. Give them a call and ask if they offer CFL or mercury recycling. If not, politely suggest they do so. Here's an opportunity to write a letter, attend a meeting, or take some other activist role in highlighting the importance of proper CFL disposal. The appropriate follow-up will depend on whether your trash service is privately or publicly held.

Municipal Government

Whether or not local trash service is provided by a private contractor, your local municipality (city, county, or parish) is ultimately responsible for waste disposal.

Most phone directories have a "blue pages" directory of local government agencies. Try the listing for sanitation services. While curbside recycling is by no means universal, your area may have designated drop-off locations or periodic CFL collections. Should your local agency not have any CFL-specific provisions, ask about safe disposal of mercury or fluorescent tubes.
Retailers

Unless you bought CFLs from Ikea, one of the first major vendors to offer a free take-back program, you're probably going to get some blank stares when you ask the manager of your local store about CFL recycling. It's worth the effort, though: retailers need to know their customers want safe disposal of the goods they purchase. If you bought your CFLs from Wal-Mart, consider contacting their corporate headquarters and asking that they establish a company wide CFL return program.

Earth 911

Earth 911 is probably the United States and Canada's largest online clearinghouse of recycling information. Visit their site and enter "CFL" and your Zip code in the "Find a Recycling Center" field at the top of each page. Alternately, try "mercury" and "fluorescent bulbs." If there's something in your region, it will almost certainly be listed. Earth 911 is currently attempting to expand its coverage to Europe, the first step toward an international registry of recycling options.

Commercial Services

There are a variety of for-profit companies which provide CFL and fluorescent bulb disposal by mail. Failing a local option, these firms represent a responsible and environmentally friendly channel for CFL recycling. Lightbulbrecycling.com, for instance, will send you a handy, postage-paid plastic pail which will accommodate about 30 CFLs -- more than most homes will use in many years. Just drop your spent CFLs in their well-engineered pail, and call FedEx for pick-up. The downside is that the service is quite expensive: about $120 per shipment. At today's prices, this almost triples the unit price of your CFL. On the other hand, with the energy you'll save with each bulb, you're still ahead of the game. You'll also know for sure that your CFLs are being recycled in a safe fashion.

What If All Else Fails?

If none of these options are available to you, there's a backup plan: storage.

As their name suggests, Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs don't take up much room. Unless they're broken or otherwise damaged, CFLs will hold their mercury more-or-less indefinitely. Rather than disposing of them with household trash, simply store expended CFLs until recycling is available in your area. A 5-gallon PVC bucket with sealable top can be scrounged from most construction sites or purchased new for less than ten dollars. It should safely contain a couple dozen bulbs. A sturdy cardboard box lined with a heavy plastic garbage bag should also do the trick. Just place your CFL storage container out of harm's way so it won't be dropped, crushed, or otherwise disturbed.

Spread the Word

Once you've located CFL recycling near to home, let people know. Offer to take other people's worn-out CFLs when you recycle your own; organize drop-off programs with churches, clubs, and civic groups; and get the word out about the necessity of safe CFL recycling.

Using less than 30 percent of the power required for a conventional bulb, CFLs represent a tremendous opportunity for energy savings. But they also require special handling if we'd like to keep them from becoming an environmental problem of their own. Feel free to reprint this article in any way. Email it to friends. Be part of the solution.

For information on the proper purchase and selection of CFLs, see the Complete Guide to Living with CFLs.

Donlen Corporation and Sierra Club Launch "Cool Fleets"

2007-09-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

Back in June, the Christian Science Monitor ran an article on the greening of car fleets. Partly to develop green cred, and partly to save money on gas, companies ranging from Abbot Pharmaceuticals (which has a big fleet for its salespeople) to Enterprise and Hertz are adding thousands of hybrids and flex fuel cars to their fleets. While they've had to literally beg for hybrids because of relatively limited production, automakers like Toyota are stepping it up to meet the demand of these big buyers.

That's good news for both the environment and the future of green car manufacturing: because they're buying in bulk, fleet owners and managers can give car makers an extra push towards developing and producing vehicles with higher fuel efficiency and lower emissions. Last week, Illinois-based fleet management company Donlen Corporation released, in partnership with the Sierra Club, its Cool Fleets web tool, which is designed to give fleet managers an extra push towards choosing more climate-friendly vehicles. Noting that fleet professionals need information about environmental impact in context, Donlen CEO Gary Rappeport claims that the Cool Fleets tool organizes this information in a manner that makes the benefits of greener cars obvious:

Fleet managers cannot make effective decisions in a vacuum. Simply looking at isolated carbon data will not provide the complete picture. With this calculator, carbon-conscious decision makers can now reach a conclusion that is well-received by an organization's environmental and finance teams, just as our existing clients also use this resource. ...

...the tool allows vehicle fleet managers to accurately determine and compare global warming and air pollution emissions, as well as fuel and maintenance costs for all types of vehicles. For example, the tool calculates that a hybrid vehicle can cost 22% less to operate, and emits 46% less global warming pollution over a three-year period, than the average mid-size sedan. In addition, the tool provides a financial analysis of carbon output and how it affects the organization's bottom line.

Fleet managers can compare actual vehicles on a wide range of features, including fuel costs based on the actual price of gas in the user's region. Just playing with the tool, I could easily see that while an '08 Toyota Prius has a higher sticker price than a Chevy Malibu LS (both "large compacts"), the fleet owner would make up that difference in fuel savings... and also emit half of the greehouse gases. A no-brainer... right?

Those of us who are passionate about environmental protection tend to argue in those terms, as they're meaningful to us. But business people, however green they may be, need the business case, and the Cool Fleets tool looks like it does a nice job of offering just that. Fleet managers can have their green cred without breaking the bank... what better example of a "win-win?"

Categories: cars, fleets, tool, fuelefficiency, emissions, climatechange, globalwarming, sierraclub, donlencorporation

Maria Energia: The Numers are In -- Renewable Energy Standards Work

2007-09-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

Jeff says: Maria Surma Manka is the publisher of Maria Energia (and, of course, a writer at GO). I've enjoyed Maria's work from the beginning, and am pleased to publish one of her posts as the first offering from the Vida Verde collective on sustainablog.

I recently worked for an energy policy organization in Minnesota, and my colleagues and I worked to get a renewable energy standard passed there. We touted the economic benefits it would bring: the investment in clean technologies, the strengthening of rural economies, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the possibility of the state becoming a clean energy exporter. All this, in addition to cutting global warming emissions, made a renewable energy standard a no-brainer, and it passed – after many years of debate – with flying colors this past February.

But has an RES really changed the landscape of Minnesota and the 24 other states with a similar policy? The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) looked into it and found that huge strides have been made in states that have implemented a renewable energy standard. In fact, all 25 states are reducing emissions, creating jobs, and fueling a clean energy economy.

Reaping the Rewards found that in 2006, more than 66 percent of the nation’s renewable energy was expected to built in states with an RES. In 2007, that number jumped to 70 percent. Clearly, cleantech businesses and investment are going where the rules of the game are clear, the regulatory support is strong, and the state’s economy is open for business.

The global warming impacts are huge as well: RES states will cut emissions by a total of 8.4 million metric tons per year – that’s like taking more than 1.5 million cars off the road. About 1.2 billion gallons of water will be saved because of the decreased reliance on fossil fuels.

Texas has seen some of the greatest impacts of an RES. Besides adding 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy, Texas landowners receive about $9.5 million in royalty payments from wind farm operators.

Now that we can prove the positive, local effects of an RES, it’s time for a national renewable energy standard. The House took a step this year when it passed a measure calling for 15 percent renewable energy, but the Senate to follow suit right away. A coherent national policy will help drive America to forefront of the burgeoning cleantech market at a time when the rest of the world is already clamoring to get there.

Image: Wind Turbines on Minnesota's Buffalo Ridge. Credit: Jeff Ledermann and NREL/DOE

sustainablog Joins Vida Verde Collective

2007-09-23T20:12:00.000-05:00

Things have slowed down a bit here again as we ramp up for some changes and expansion at Green Options. At the same time, though, the number of posts you'll be seeing here will soon start increasing, as I've accepted an invitation from fellow green web publisher Chris Baskind to join the new Vida Verde publishing collective.

Chris has pulled together a small group of top-notch green bloggers that will share our work with each other. Each week, we all submit an unpublished post, and we're all then free to publish any of those posts on our blogs. I'm really honored to be included in such distinguished company; the other bloggers in Vida Verde are:

Maria Surma Manka, Maria Energia
Shane Jordan, The Sietch
Colin Beavan, No Impact Man
Bentley Christie, EcoSherpa
Kevin Bedell, 21st Century Citizen
And, of course, Chris and Lighter Footstep

It's great to be working with such a talented group of bloggers (and friends... we all know each other pretty well, in the online sense). While I've struggled with the idea of bringing other voices onto sustainablog regularly, I jumped at the chance to feature work from this group. While none of us will publish every post from everyone else each week, I'm looking forward to sharing their thoughts with you.

While this will change the nature of sustainablog a bit, I'm not planning to let these folks do all the work (or have all the fun) -- I'll definitely still have plenty to say!

Categories: vidaverde, publishing, green, blogs, sustainablog

Missouri's First Wind Farm to be Dedicated on Monday

2007-09-16T13:35:00.000-05:00

While following Midwestern renewable energy news lately could easily lead one to believe that it's "all ethanol all the time" here in flyover country, tomorrow will be a banner day for another form of clean energy here in Missouri. At 10 am, various VIPs, including Senator Claire McCaskill, will gather to dedicate the Bluegrass Ridge wind farm, the first one in the state. Located north of King City, the wind farm started operation earlier this month, according to the Columbia Missourian. This is a particularly important development for Columbia (the home of the University of Missouri, Columbia), as citizens there approved a renewable energy standard of 2% by 2008 in 2004, and Bluegrass Ridge will help them meet (and probably exceed) that goal.

Bluegrass Ridge will be the first, but it's not the only wind farm in the state slated to go online this year: "Conception wind farm and Cow Branch wind farm, are expected to be up and running by the end of the year,' Associated Electric spokeswoman Nancy Southworth said." AE is one of the developers of these installations; Wind Capital Group and John Deere Wind Energy are also involved. According to AWEA, still another wind farm in under construction: Loess Hills, near Rock Port.

Missouri doesn't have the wind potential of many other states, particularly those to the west of us, but, according to the Missourian, economic factors, including volatile prices of natural gas, have come together to make harnessing that potential much more appealing to investors:

This marked the first year that Missouri had its own wind turbines. This is largely due to natural limitations. Missouri has considerably less wind than other states that produce wind energy, but better technology has finally made wind energy financially viable, especially in northwest Missouri, said Kerry Cordray, a spokesman for the Energy Center at Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources.

Wind's contribution as an energy source will remain limited for now, because it's an inconsistent resource. Wind, for example, typically blows the least during the summer, when demand for electricity is greatest.

"It's important and will remain important, but it will also, for the foreseeable future, remain a supplemental resource," Cordray said, but he emphasized that the industry expects to grow.

Wind power won't be the answer for Missouri, but it's very encouraging to see that both the state government and the business community recognize it can be a part of the mix here. Hopefully, this will lead investors to explore the potential of other renewable resources here in the state: solar and geothermal power, for instance, can both play a role in Missouri's energy mix. In both of these cases, though, this potential won't be harnessed through large, centralized power installations, but through home and business owners installing photovoltaic panels and geothermal heat pumps. The big power plant isn't the only viable model anymore... let's hope that investors big and small recognize that and take advantage of it.

This is good news for the state and the region. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the other wind farms under construction.

Image: Aeriel view of turbines at Bluegrass Ridge. Source: Wind Capital Group

Categories: windpower, windfarm, bluegrassridge, missouri, renewableenergy, midwest

Herb'n Maid: Green Cleaning Comes to the Lou'

2007-09-10T21:07:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I got email from Richelle White, the co-owner of Herb'n Maid, a new green cleaning service in town. While I'm now officially inundated with press inquiries, I thought Richelle and partner Larbi Belkouch's story was intriguing, and wanted to give some attention to their fledging company.

According to the press materials Richelle sent me, she's yet another one of those people who grew weary of working in the traditional corporate world because the values of her employer didn't match her own. She set out to build the kind of company that she'd like to work for, and discovered, upon looking for less toxic cleaning products for her own use, that nothing like a green cleaning service existed in St. Louis. Boyfriend Larbi was a research scientist and the former owner of a janitorial service. The two of them put their heads together, and Herb'n Maid was born.

One part of the launch that I found particularly interesting was the development of their own products for use in clients' homes and buildings. Larbi makes the cleaners himself in small batches with a range of earth-friendly "natural ingredients and essential oils like tea tree oil, spearmint, tangerine, ginger, eucalyptus and — White's favorite — lemon verbena."

So far, the reviews are strong: the company has published numerous testimonials on its website, and Sauce magazine, a local publication devoted to the maxim "Dine, Drink and Live Well!" featured the company in it's Daily Sauce newsletter. Richelle tells me they've been "wonderfully overwhelmed with inquiries."

It's good to see yet another green business not only launching in St. Louis, but also succeeding. People are concerned about the toxins in typical cleaning products, and the EPA notes they have good reason: "In the last several years, a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities." We're not in the market for a cleaning service right now, but should that change, I know who we'll be calling...

Categories: green, cleaning, business, service, herb'nmaid, nontoxic, stlouis

Michigan State Named 2007 Campus Sustainability Leader

2007-09-09T19:00:00.000-05:00

On Friday morning, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education announced the winners of its annual Campus Leadership Sustainability Awards, and Michigan State took tops honors in the category for four-year and graduate institutions with over 7,500 full-time students. The awards, which were announced at the organization's biennial Greening of the Campus conference (held this year at Indiana's Ball State University), "recognize institutions that have demonstrated an outstanding overall commitment to sustainability in their governance and administration, curriculum and research, operations, campus culture, and community outreach."

According to AASHE's press release announcing the awards, Michigan State

...has adopted environmental stewardship as a major component of its campus vision. The University has committed to 2% annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through participation in the Chicago Climate Exchange. MSU has committed to meet LEED standards for new buildings and has the lowest electrical consumption per square foot among the Big Ten universities. The University has a wide variety of academic programs and research initiatives related to sustainability, and five times more courses on sustainability are offered this year than in 2000. To coordinate its efforts, Michigan State employs a director of campus sustainability, a campus environmental management systems manager, energy and environment engineer, solid waste coordinator, and an environmental stewardship project coordinator.

A look around the web site of MSU's Office of Campus Sustainability shows a wealth of opportunities for learning about sustainability, and acting upon that knowledge: several speakers series, a "Striding to a Better Future" week in October, and a fund for student-initiated sustainability projects (in PDF). Earlier this year, the university received an "A" from the Sustainable Endowments Institute for its administration's commitment to sustainability on campus; like many schools, though, it received an "F" for endowment transparency and shareholder engagement. The debate over the application of sustainable management practices to university endowments will continue, I imagine; it's good to see, though, that MSU has taken such a comprehensive approach to integrating sustainability into both academics and campus operations management.

The other winners of this year's Campus Sustainability Leadership awards were Chandler-Gilbert Community College (Arizona), Green Mountain College (Vermont), and Middlebury College (Vermont). Evergreen State College and the University of California, Berkeley, received honorable mentions.

Regular readers know I'm a big fan of comprehensive campus sustainability programs. These six schools have set magnificent examples for peer institutions; let's hope the competition is even fiercer next year!

Image: Linton Hall, Michigan State University. Source: MSU Newsroom

Categories: college, university, sustainability, awards, aashe, michiganstateuniversity, middleburycollege, greenmountaincollege, chandler-gilbertcommunitycollege,

Ecomoda: Chicago's Green Fashion Show

2007-09-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

Most of us probably associate "sustainable style" or "green fashion" with the coasts, right? New York, LA and San Francisco, already associated with the hip and fashionable, have certainly earned their reputations as havens for green design, but they're not the only games in town. On Thursday, September 27th, Chicago's sustainability central, the Foresight Design Initiative, will hold it's annual Sustainable Convergence event. This year, the party and socializing revolve around EcoModa, "a juried and invited exhibition of eco-friendly clothing by local and national designers and manufacturers, showcasing what is happening in the quickly evolving eco-fashion realm." The festivities begin at 5:30 at the Notebaert Nature Museum.

While registration just closed for EcoModa entries, those with a flair for design on a smaller scale can enter the DIY Fashion Contest that will also be held at the event. No registration necessary, and prizes will be awarded "for the outfits that most capture the attention of our discerning attendees!"

"High fashion" usually means "high price," but the Sustainability Convergence, as a community event, is quite reasonable, with tickets as low as $25 for students. While I don't have any names of attendees, or designers who've entered the Ecomoda competition, I wouldn't at all surprised to find out that a number of the brighter stars from the green fashion world will be attending.

While not particularly fashionable myself, I'm planning on attending the event, and, of course, writing about it here, and at Green Options. I've thoroughly enjoyed the sustainability-related events I've been to in Chicago, and am looking forward to seeing what green and fashionable means in the Windy City. I've no doubts that people on the coasts will be very jealous if they can't make it...

Categories: green, fashion, style, sustainability, sustainableconvergence, chicago, foresightdesign

Renewable Energy Can Provide a Solution to Homelessness

2007-09-02T14:35:00.000-05:00

OK, on it's face, that sounds like a ridiculous assertion: what does one thing have to do with the other? For St. Louis' Rev. Larry Rice, the answer is "everything." Rice, the founder of the New Life Evangelistic Center, and a passionate advocate for the homeless, believes that training people who've fallen on hard times in renewable technologies may provide them with a ticket to gainful employment and self-sufficiency.

Today's Wichita Eagle points to another effort by Rice to promote renewable energy in Missouri while helping the homeless. The Southwest Missouri Energy Center, just outside of Marshfield, offers a two-year training program, along with housing, that's designed to provide homeless people with the skills they need to participate in the green economy. At the center, trainess don't just learn to install "off-the-shelf" items like solar attic fans: they're also encouraged to experiment using materials at hand:

Built from scrap wood, [center volunteer Hank] Zeniewicz said, are solar stills that produce potable water by using the sun to heat water that evaporates onto a glass cover and flows into a container.

The center even has a solar-powered tractor created by removal of the engine and the bolting of an electric motor to the transmission, with power to a bank of batteries supplied by solar panels attached to the fenders.

It doesn't move quickly, but is powerful enough to pull a wagon and do other chores, [center worker Chris] Allison said.

Much of the center is still in the works, including a biodiesel laboratory, a dormitory for students in the training program, and a visitor's center. The Marshfield center won't be as large as the existing Missouri Energy Center in New Bloomfield (where Zeniewicz got his start with the program -- he was a laid-off auto worker), but will provide many of the same services.

Long-time readers of sustainablog know I've been fan of Rice's work for quite some time: while "creation care" is still a hotly-debated topic in evangelical circles, Rice and his followers are demonstrating on a daily basis that environmental stewardship and economic empowerment can work hand-in-hand. The Missouri Renewable Energy website that the New Life Evangelistic Center started several years ago has been upgraded, and now features some of Rice's media programs on renewables, as well as his writing on creation care, and information on the activities going on at the three renewable energy centers around the state.

Image credit: Missouri Renewable Energy

Categories: renewables, energy, training, homeless, larryrice, evangelical, missouri

Hops Have Feelings, Too!

2007-08-30T10:13:00.000-05:00

Every now and then, I feel the need to plug a post on Green Options. Today's "Greening the Golden Years" podcast may be one of the funniest things we've ever published. Put down that beer, and stop the slaughter... who knew?

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Categories: beer, hops, activism, podcast, green

Drugs and Trash: Energy Alternatives for the Midwest

2007-08-28T19:43:00.000-05:00

A couple of interesting developments on the alternative energy front in the Midwest...

First, did you know that Michigan is a final destination for garbage from Canada and other US states? Me, either, but, according to MLive.com, the state's political leaders now see opportunity in those truckloads of trash:

All that trash coming in from Canada that Michigan politicians have spent years trying to restrain is starting to look like pure gold as a source of alternative energy, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday...

"Something that has been a terrible negative for Michigan certainly has the potential of being something we can convert to energy and a positive for our state," she said during a news conference. "We in Michigan are set to be able to capture our resources and our waste."

Granholm has just returned from a trip to Sweden, where she discovered that the country "...converts almost all its waste to help generate energy that it uses to heat its homes and power its cars." Granholm's proposing a summit with Sweden to get it's assistance in not only developing garbage power, but also forest products, wind and water as energy sources.

The article makes it sound like Michigan is focused primarily on landfill gas as the means of converting trash to energy -- is it just me, or does that not seem like the best approach for garbage that hasn't yet been deposited in a landfill. Wouldn't burning it, in many cases, be preferable?

While burning trash may be questionable, apparently that's not the case for expired prescription medications. According to CNN Money, companies like Illinois-based Stericycle and New Jersey's Covanta are in the business of turning old drugs into energy, and a Milwaukee-based firm, Capital Returns, plays middleman by collecting these drugs and distributing them to the energy companies. CR president Larry Hruska claims "We've got to guarantee that the product we're disposing does not end up in a landfill or contaminate the water table... The best way of doing that is putting it into a facility and burning it."

Most of us have read about drug compounds showing up in drinking water, and possibly even affecting wildlife. I've got to wonder about emissions here, also: couldn't drugs give off some particularly nasty ones? I'm asking... this is a pretty new idea to me.

Blogging buddy Chris Baskind at Lighter Footstep has also written about this one...

Categories: energy, alternativeenergy, landfills, trash, garbage, prescriptiondrugs, michigan, illinois, midwest

Ohio Next to Implement Renewable Energy Standard?

2007-08-26T11:47:00.000-05:00

It's looking like it: according to the Springfield News-Sun, "Backers of renewable energies are ratcheting efforts to get passed this fall legislation mandating that 20 percent of Ohio's total energy come from wind energy production." Supporters of a statewide renewable energy standard believe the time is right, as Gov. Ted Strickland will also be introducing his comprehensive energy plan for Ohio by the end of the year, and many expect him the plan to call for a reduced dependence on coal for electricity production.

This is good news in and of itself, but one of the things I found most interesting about the proposal for Ohio is the singling out of wind power as the technology for meeting the standard. I did a little digging around on existing RESs, and it looks like they all incorporate a variety of renewable technologies into the standard. If this is correct (and I'm not absolutely sure it is), I'm not sure this is the best approach to crafting a statewide RES.

Now, I'm not bashing on wind power; far from it. Environment Ohio, a statewide group working with Ohio Rep. Jim McGregor, chairman of the alternative energy committee, to craft RES legislation, has just released a report on the potential benefits increased use of wind could bring to the state. In addition to the environmental benefits (87% of Ohio electricity is currently generated from coal), EO claims that "a 20% commitment to wind energy by 2020 would result in a:

Gain of 40,000 person-years of employment,
Additional $3.7 billion in wages paid,
Increase the Ohio gross state product by $8.2 billion,
Generate up to $1.5 billion dollars in property taxes to county governments,
Supplement rural landowner’ income by $200 million dollars,
Avoid 170 million metric tons of global warming pollution (C02), which is equivalent to taking over 2 million cars off the road."

Nothing wrong with any of that, and judging from the wind speed estimates map published on the organization's site, wind power could work in much of the state, particularly offshore in Lake Erie. But the American Wind Energy Association doesn't even have Ohio listed in its top 20 states for wind potential (although, admittedly, this is an old listing).

But why mandate wind in any case? Why not mandate renewable technologies, and allow utilities to experiment and find the best solutions? One need only look at the renewable energy potential in the state to see that wind would certainly need to be player, but I'd guess that biomass, methane, geothermal and even solar could also play a part in creating cleaner energy in Ohio. Mandate the standard, mandate actual renewable technologies, and then get out of the way.

I have to wonder if this is a case of only thinking about electricity and energy generation only in terms of large-scale power plants. But smaller, distributed solutions ought to play a role here, too. Whether it's farmers using methane digesters, or homeowners using geothermal heat pumps, these all contribute to a larger percentage of renewable energy use. These kinds of technologies would also have their economic benefits, no doubt -- couldn't utilities themselves get involved in the promotion and distribution of such technologies, and perhaps even create additional revenue streams and renewable energy sources?

Not bashing on Ohio, and not even completely sure that the "wind-only" standard is really what the state is considering. But, if it is, I think it's time to take a step back and consider the ramifications of focusing in on a single technology. Energy diversity seems key to making such standards successful.

Image credit: Ohio Office of Energy Efficiency and NREL/DOE

Categories: windpower, renewableenergystandard, legislation, renewableenergy, ohio

Locavores Invade Chicago

2007-08-22T20:31:00.000-05:00

Wow, that sounds ominous! Rather, in Chicago, and around the Midwest, the local food trend in catching on, just as it has on the coasts. September will see numerous "eat local" challenges being hosted by a variety of organizations around the country, and the Windy City's Green City Market will join in by sponsoring an eat local week beginning on the tenth.

That's good news for locavores in the Chicago area, but, as the Chicago Tribune points out, the local food movement has taken hold around the state and region. That's not only pointing to some healthy profits for farmers, but also signals a shift in how Americans related to the things they eat. According to the article,

"People are wanting to have some control in this world and this is a chance," said Abby Mandel, founder of Chicago's Green City Market. "They get to eat great-tasting, healthful food and save the environment and farmland. It's a win-win and it's something they can do."

Sales of locally grown foods jumped to $5 billion in this past year from $4 billion in 2002, according to Package[d] Facts, the market research publisher. The number of farmers markets has grown dramatically too. Federal officials counted 4,385 markets in 2006; that's up from 1,755 in 1994.

"Supporting local food and local farmers is one of the hottest trends in agriculture," said Jim Slama, founder of Sustain, a non-profit environmental group that seeks to connect growers and consumers through a program called FamilyFarmed.org. "Consumers want to trust where their food is coming from."

Of course, "local" is a bit of broad term, and in the Midwest, where long, cold winters are a fact of life, it's often viewed a bit more broadly then in areas like Northern California. In the Bay Area, true "locavores" commit to a 100-mile diet: everything they eat must come from within a 100-mile radius. Chicagoans are a bit more flexible, so local can mean statewide, or even regionally.

The Illinois state government is also getting into the act:

A proposed Illinois Food, Farms and Jobs Act awaiting the governor's signature calls for creation of an Illinois-based local food system. The legislation calls for farmer training and development, improving consumer access to "fresh and affordable" Illinois-grown food, and developing new food and agriculture-related business.

The city of Chicago has also implemented a program called "Chicago: Eat Local Live Healthy" that is designed to "[create] a climate where the production and distribution of locally grown, healthy food is available, accessible and affordable to residents year-round."

While globalized food production and distribution isn't going anywhere soon, it's encouraging to see so many people reconnecting with what's on their plate. Our ability to disconnect ourselves from the sources of our food is a product of our prosperity: we can afford to buy goods from far-off places, and even have these items picked or slaughtered out of sight. That's convenient; it also turns food, which is intimately connected with place, culture and community, into a mere commodity. When everything's readily available, nothing's particularly special. This has a tremendous environmental impact; it also takes away one element of our sense of self and community. I think you can see that where we buy our food: is it just me, or is a farmer's market a much friendlier place than a supermarket?

We're lucky in St. Louis: in addition to the Soulard Market, which is open year-round, there are numerous smaller farmer's markets around town regularly, and a new store called Local Harvest Grocery opened recently south of Tower Grove Park. Are the farmer's markets, co-ops and community-supported agriculture programs springing up in your neck of the woods? If you don't know, make sure to check Local Harvest.

Image credit: Amy Mingo and Wikimedia Commons (and please note: this image is from a Minnesota farmers market. I went for the idea here...)

Categories: food, agriculture, local, chicago, illinois, midwest

Detroit -Area Startup Sees Gold in Printer Cartridge Recycling

2007-08-21T20:25:00.000-05:00

While printer ink cartridges (at least for a home printer) seem like a small thing, Kirk Goodell tells The Detroit News that over 500 million of these items are produced every year, but less than 20% of them are recycled or remanufactured. That number may go up a bit as Goodell's two-year-old company IQ Cartridge will be have a retail presence established in over 100 Meijer stores around the Midwest by mid-October.

Founded by company president Kristin Kavanaugh and Goodell, the vice president, IQ Cartridges offer something incredibly important to raising levels of recycling: convenience. Currently located in 57 Meijer stores, customers can drop off and pick up ink cartridges, generally with a one-day turnaround. The company also has contracts with a number of businesses in the area, including Eastern Michigan University Computer Center, Ludwig Seeley Commercial Real Estate, and and AllTire, and offers free deliveries (in a subcompact car) to businesses on orders over $50.

While printer cartridges are small things, the revenue projections for the company aren't: with the growing contract with Meijer, the company expects to see almost $1 million in sales this year... not bad for its second year! The company's website badly needs some design help, but there's great information there, including a list of ten misconceptions about remanufactured ink jet cartridges.

While I'm realizing as I read over this that it sounds a bit like a press release, I'm impressed because it looks to me (at least from this one article) that IQ Cartridge has hit upon a couple of truths about green business: first, people will make greener choices if it's easy for them to do so; second, providing that opportunity to potential customers can be profitable.

Like many greenies, I want more people to take bigger steps towards lowering their environmental footprint. I want to see them give, and perhaps even sacrifice to make the world a better place. But, I also realize that a lot of people don't have that level of motivation: they'd like to do the right thing, but aren't willing to make extra efforts. It's easy to berate; it's probably more productive to point out the opportunities this creates for creative entrepreneurs willing to meet the needs of these "lazy environmentalists." If the number of ink cartridges (or glass and plastic botles, etc., etc.) getting recycled increases. that's still a step forward.

Image credit: Elizabeth Conley / The Detroit News

Categories: recycling, inkcartridges, business, iqcartridge, meijer, detroit, michigan

Want to Land a Job that Pays $33,000-43.000/Year Right Out of College?

2007-08-19T12:08:00.000-05:00

Then you'll probably want to take a look at some of the new programs in renewable energy technology. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, that's one of the selling points for Cincinnati State Technical and Community College's new renewable energy technology program, which will launch next month.

The program is the brainchild of the school's electro-mechanical engineering department chair, Larry Feist. Writer Mike Boyer notes that the idea struck Feist while taking a tour at another school:

During a tour last year of the EarthConnection, a learning center at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Delhi Township retrofitted with solar heating panels and other energy-efficient equipment, Larry Feist was struck by all the electro-mechanical controls they required...

Charged with boosting program enrollment, which has dwindled to about 60 to 70 students, Feist saw an opportunity.

While this isn't the first program of its kind in the Midwest, it is the first for Ohio: before the Board of Regent's approved this major, the state had "...a handful of other programs... aimed at training installers in energy-efficient products, but those are targeted workforce-development efforts." This program aims higher, preparing students both for "...work in renewable-energy manufacturing and equipment installation and performing energy audits," and also for continued work on a four-year degree in either electro-mechanical or chemical engineering.

While renewables are definitely cool (or perhaps hot) right now, the opportunity for a good-paying joy upon graduation ought to help Feist meet his recruitment goals (which are currently pretty modest: he'd be happy if ten students joined the program in the first year):

Feist says a graduate of the electro-mechanical engineering technology program can expect to earn anywhere from $33,000 to $43,000 upon graduation. He believes industry's demand for greater energy efficiency will fuel the market for people will skills in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

These salary figures ought to stay high: the article notes that the numbers all look good for renewables in coming years:

These industries recorded nearly $1 trillion in gross revenues in 2006, including about $51 billion in Ohio. The numbers could skyrocket over the next 25 years - resulting in up to 2.2 million new jobs and $220 billion in annual revenues in Ohio and up to 40 million jobs and $4.5 trillion in revenues nationwide - if federal and state governments would make an all-out push for renewables and super-efficient products...

That's a big "if," of course, but it's hard to see how even the brownest politicians could ignore this kind of potential for economic growth and job creation. While the feds dither, add Ohio to the list of states recognizing the economic potential of renewable energy and environmental sustainability.

The program's got its first student: Carl Vogt, a 42-year-old computer engineer. Feist is out shaking the bushes, making visits to K-12 classrooms to talk about the importance and potential of renewable energy. With these kinds of potential rewards, I'm guessing he won't have to make much of hard sell...

Image: Larry Feist. Credit: The Enquirer/Ernest Coleman

Categories: renewableenergy, college, major, energy, efficiency, cincinnati, ohio

Begging Off...

2007-08-16T21:04:00.000-05:00

Long couple of days at work, so I'm going to beg off tonight. That doesn't mean I don't have anything to share, though: been hitting StumbleUpon pretty hard the last few days, and there are many interesting and cool stories out there... take a look.

I'll be back tomorrow... g'night!

Massachusetts Ski Resort Harnesses the Wind to Make Snow

2007-08-15T21:09:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd step outside of the Midwest tonight for a look at a great story from the Northeast. I've noted before that the ski industry around the world is taking a hard hit from climate change. This, coupled with the green bent of many skiers and snowboarders, has led numerous ski resorts around the country to begin purchasing renewable energy. The Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock, Massachusetts, has upped the ante, though: they've purchased their own wind turbine, at the hefty price of $3.9 million.

This is a lot of money to buy green cred, but, ultimately, the decision to make such a large investment came down to the bottom line: electricity prices rose by 50% in the 2005-06 ski season, but 7% less skiers came to Jiminy Peak last winter because of warm weather. To help offset the cost of the turbine, the resort will sell part of the electricity generated to local residents. According to the Boston Globe,

By using half of the energy to help power the resort and the other half to power local residences and businesses, Jiminy Peak hopes to receive $138,000 in renewable energy credits and $161,000 for the energy sold to outside consumers in each of the next 10 years. At the resort, windmill-generated energy will replace a third of that produced by oil, coal, or natural gas, powering ski lifts and snow-making machines

It gets even better. The resort's website notes that it its need for electricity peaks at the same time that area winds are the most reliable: in the winter. According to Jiminy Peak's renewable energy page on it's website:

Snowmaking is a critical user of our electricity and at Jiminy Peak our wind resources is the greatest during the winter months, the same time of year that we make snow.
Most importantly we need to protect Jiminy Peak’s financial health and do everything in our power to preserve jobs and the economic stimulation that our resort creates for the local community and Berkshire County. Wind power will provide Jiminy with significant annual stabilization of cost on electricity and will allow Jiminy Peak to project a portion of their electricity costs for 25 years into the future. Due to the significant wind resource here at Jiminy, the wind power is the most economical energy stabilization measure for the resort.

A business case for installing renewable technology? You bet. And when one figures in a $582,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and the $300,000 the resort will make annually from the sale of electricity and renewable energy credits over the next ten years, the cost drops to just over $300,00, plus interest on the loan. There are also the reduced electricity bills. While this level of investment isn't feasible for every business, in this case it seems like a no-brainer.

It's easy to focus on the high costs of renewable technology, but, as this example shows, the benefits of clean energy aren't just environmental: they also create economic opportunity. Jiminy Park can not only breathe a little easier about its energy costs... it may also attract a few more skiers next season who respect that "green cred" the resort has purchased.

Image credit: Joel Glickman and Jiminy Park Mountain Resort

Categories: skiresort, windpower, renewableenergy, jiminypeak, hancock, massachusetts

Rebuilding Green after Minnesota Bridge Collapse

2007-08-14T20:11:00.000-05:00

The environmental impact of industrial and residential development became a hot topic after hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Louisiana coast in 2005, and many called for green rebuilding in the wake of these disasters. On Sunday, the editorial page of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune (registration required) presented similar thoughts on transportation development in Minnesota in the wake of the August 1 bridge collapse. The paper's editor noted that, as the state considers how to best allocate transportation funds after the collapse, taking the environmental impact of new and rebuilt infrastructure into consideration wouldn't just have ecological benefits: it could also save the state a lot of money, and contribute to economic growth. The editorial took a look westward, to Portland, Oregon:

We know, we know. People are weary of hearing about the green, fuzzy and sanctimonious Oregon city that claims to have found urban nirvana. But, as it turns out, Portland's environmentally conscious transportation and land-use policies have saved residents a bundle of money while also nurturing a prosperous economy.

A new report from CEO for Cities, a Chicago-based research organization of business and civic leaders interested in the best urban practices, estimates that Portlanders save $2.6 billion a year because they live closer to work, spend less money on gas and, in the process, avoid wear and tear on transportation infrastructure...

The new report, "Portland's Green Dividend," notes that metro Portland's residents travel 20 percent fewer miles per day (about four miles per day less) than Americans living in other major markets. That doesn't seem like much, but it adds up -- and would add to greater savings in the Twin Cities, which is one-third larger. Money not spent on gas is money not sent out of the local market (primarily to big oil companies), leaving Portlanders to invest more in their homes and the local economy, the report says.

The editors note that the Twin Cities are not Portland, so different political and cultural realities would come into play. Furthermore, "Not everyone would choose to live and work near these 'efficiency corridors,' nor would everyone choose to take transit." The fact that many would, though, would provide for less crowded highways, and more money going to local businesses.

Of course, it doesn't take a collapsing bridge to make people realize that extreme suburban and exurban sprawl, and the "car culture" it spawns, creates a host of environmental and economic problems. The resistance to such "greener" development is pretty strong, though: here in the St. Louis metro area, suburbanites fought against the expansion of the Metrolink light rail system, arguing that it gave "criminals from the city" access to them (because, you know, that's how criminals operate: they carry away the loot from their crimes on public transportation). The commuter mentality has become very ingrained in the past 60 or so years...

I hope this discussion continues in Minnesota. We all pay for the luxury of a commuter lifestyle, whether we live it or not. The Star-Tribune's editors have taken the right approach: this isn't just sustainable development in terms of the environment, but also for economic growth.

Categories: transportation, infrastructure, bridgecollapse, green, publictransportation, sustainabledevelopment, minnesota

New Branch of St. Louis Community College Features Green Building Elements

2007-08-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

Another crazy week... this time, it was the neighborhood's National Night Out celebration on Tuesday (where I was one of the grillmasters), and just plain fatigue last night: these 100 degree days just take it out of you... and finally, packing for a quick trip to go visit family in northern Wisconsin this weekend... where, hopefully, it's a little cooler.

Still, didn't want to let the week get totally away from me here, and I was really pleased to see that the newest branch of St. Louis Community College, in the outlying suburb of Wildwood, has incorporated numerous green building features. According to the Post-Dispatch, the new branch features four cisterns to collect rain water, green roofs, sunlight sensors that dim indoor lights, and even twenty parking space with outlets for plugging in electric vehicles. While campus administrators note that those outlets won't see a lot of immediate use, wiring is in place to add more outlets should the number of electric vehicles used by students or staff increase in the future. And, oh yes... there are waterless urinals (take it away, Bobby...). The campus' web site notes that the branch was built with LEED certification in mind.

I've never seen numbers related to the environmental impact of community colleges specifically. On one hand, they're campuses built for commuters; on the other, they're geared towards local communities -- the P-D article notes that most students to this branch will come from a 30-mile radius (it also notes that's about the driving range for most electric vehicles). While I'm not crazy about the amount of suburban sprawl still spreading out from the city, and think this is an overriding issue we have to confront as a region, I'm pleased to see that the community college district is making these kinds of investments in green technology. Now if we can just get a Metrolink line out there...

Image source: St. Louis Community College

Categories: greenbuilding, communitycollege, greenroof, cistern, electricvehicles, stlouis, wildwood, missouri

States Leading the Way on Renewable Energy Standards

2007-08-06T20:10:00.000-05:00

Saturday's passage of the energy bill in the House of Representatives was a major step forward, and the inclusion of a renewable energy standard (or RES) of 15% by 2020 was just one reason. The bill faces long odds of surviving intact with the need to reconcile it with the Senate version (which didn't contain the RES), and President Bush's threat of a veto, but the 220 representatives who voted for the bill deserve congratulations (and thanks!). It's good to see this kind of energy in Washington (yes, that's a pun... a bad one).

As It's Getting Hot in Here pointed out today, though, the Feds are way behind when it comes to implementing requirements for electricity production from renewable sources, as half of the states have already, or will very shortly, enact renewable energy standards. Illinois was one of the most recent: according to blogger Jesse Jenkins,

The Illinois General Assembly on July 26 passed energy legislation that includes a renewable energy standard (RES) of 10% by 2015 and 25% by 2025, according to WindEnergyWeekly.

The bill passed the House 80-33 and the Senate 40-13 and Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) is expected to sign it soon.

Although the Illinois RES applies to all utilities, the state has a competitive electricity sector and about half of the state’s electricity customers are supplied by “alternative retail electricity suppliers” (ARES), which are not yet covered by the RES.

At least 75% of the standard must be met with wind resources and eligible resources must come from within Illinois initially and may come from Illinois or neighboring states after 2011.

So, yeah, it looks like there are some loopholes that need some tightening there; nevertheless, this should be major: Illinois' market is the fifth largest in the nation, according to WindEnergyWeekly.

Sadly, in Missouri, we're a bit behind: Jenkins also notes that we've set "targets" for renewable production of 11% by 2020, and that utilities must make "good-faith efforts" to meet these targets. Last year, there was an effort made to enact a true RES; it got shot down in favor of the "targets" bill. On the upside, we did pass true net metering this time around...

Back to the bigger picture, though: will Congress have the vision to do what half the states have done already? Or, does that fact lessen the need for federal action? I'm guessing many utilities would like the federal standard, not only because it sets a lower goal (which I'm assuming would override state initiatives), but also because it creates a uniform standard. On the plus side, though, it would show some national resolve for moving towards a cleaner energy future. Still, I'm tempted to say let the states continue what they're doing, as they're setting more ambitious goals, and focusing on the energy sources that will serve them best (i.e., wind in Illinois). The feds may not catch up... but maybe we won't need them to do so...

Categories: renewables, energy, legislation, renewableenergystandard, us, illinois, missouri

Wisconsin Global Warming Task Force Will Spend Tomorrow Listening

2007-08-05T18:01:00.000-05:00

If you're a resident of Wisconsin, tomorrow you'll have the opportunity to tell state government representatives what you think leaders in Madison should be doing to address climate change. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,

The Governor's Task Force on Global Warming plans to conduct meetings in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and La Crosse.

The task force is seeking input about how Wisconsin can take steps to reduce emissions from carbon dioxide - a gas that is produced from car emissions and the burning of coal from power plants. ...

The task force said it intended to make recommendations to Gov. Jim Doyle this year.

While numerous Midwestern states are focused hard on energy issues, I believe this kind of state-level initiative on climate change is fairly unique in our region (please correct me if I'm wrong). While the first question that came to my mind was will Wisconsin follow California and Florida in implementing plans to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases in the state, I also wonder if a major move in the Badger State will draw the attention of other Midwestern governors and legislatures. Michigan's already on board promoting green business development, Minnesota's at work on growing its use of clean energy sources, and, of course, states a little further south have hopped on the biofuels bandwagon (yeah, I know -- still lots of questions to be answered there...).

I wonder if it's possible to get beyond some of the more parochial interests and develop a region-wide climate change compact -- something like what we've seen in the Northeast and West Coast...

UPDATE: MattyBee points out in the comments that Minnesota's already passed a greenhouse gas reduction bill -- 80% by 2050.

Image source: SolveGlobalWarmingWisconsin.org

Categories: climatechange, globalwarming, taskforce, government, governor, jimdoyle, wisconsin