Time Magazine, in the December 22 issue, lists the top ten green stories of 2008. I have listed them below, in reverse order, along with some video and commentary. I look for ward to your comments on the list; it has generated some interesting conversation. Here it is:
10. “Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year: [...]
10. “Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year: Hypermiling. Definintion: driving to get extreme mileage out of your gas.”
Here is a video interview with a man that practices hypermiling. In it he discusses some challenges, strategies, and his success.
For many of us driving is an unavoidable reality; if you have children and live in an suburban area then you know what I mean. I think this video shows that we can all make some difference, even if we never achieve the ranks of hypermiler.
9. “First CO2 Auction. Northeastern utilities bid $38.5 million for the right to emit 12.5 million tons of CO2.”
8. “Indonesia Warms to Less Deforestation. …in November , Indonesia took the first step in setting up a system that would enable Americans to pay to preserve its rain forests.”
Video contains language inapropriate for persons under the age of 18.
This is a great video. It does contain strong language at the end. If there are children in the room use caution. I would not normally include content that I have to accompany with a warning; I think this gets the message across.
7. “Polar Bear Listed. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorpe announced that the polar bear would be listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, the first animal added as a result of global warming, but emphasized that the listing would in no way be used to force reductions in U.S. carbon emissions”
6. “Ethanol Bubble Bursts. The only alternative energy to achieve scale in the U.S. has been corn ethenol, now a $32 billion industry. But scientific studies undercut ethenol’s green credentials, while the biofuel boom was blamed for record prices - killing the dream that cornfields would replace oil fields.”
5. “New Rules: EPA Puts a Freeze on Coal Plants. Dirty, cheap coal generates 49% of the electricity in the U.S. and 30% of the country’s carbon emissions. when an obscure board at the Environmental Protection Agency made it virtualy impossible for the agency to certify new coal plants, it halted more than 100 currrently planned.”
4. “Failure of Warner-Lieberman. With President Bush firmly opposed, the first national carbon cap-and-trade legislation to reach a full vote in the Senate had no chance. As gas prices soared, the bill fell a dozen votes short fo the 60 neede to beat a filibuster”
3. “Offshore Drilling Debate. The chant reverberated from Anchorage to Miami: “Drill,baby,drill”. Despite analyses that offshore drilling would have little effect on thevprice of gas, the slogan cought fire. For now, coastal waters are safe. But the debate isn’t over.”
2. “Congress Passes Renewable-Energy Credits. The tax credits that helped build solar and wind industries in the U.S. were set to expire by the end of 2008, wich would have gutted tha renewable-energy industry. Partisan gridlock prevented them from being passed until they were tacked onto October’s bailout bill”.
Call me crazy, but I seem to be seeing a trend here that money drives our environmental policy. Everything from industries offering to pay in order to pollute, to countries offering to sell the conservation of their forests.
Is there hope? According to Time Magazine’s Bryan Walsh’s number one pick, there just might be.
1. “Election of Barack Obama. When the presidential campaign began, greens might have thought they’d win either way: Obama and John McCain both supported action on climate change. but as the campaigne wore on, McCain re-entered Republican Orthodoxy, declaring his enthusiasm for fossil fuels, while Obama built a program around alternative-energy investment to create green jobs.”
Please comment. I look forward to hearing your opinion on the list. What do you think of the items picked? Are they important to you? Do you think that they are ranked in the correct order?
I received an email advertisement recently from Citi Cards promoting “Greener Banking for a Greener Environment”. It seems that Citi has partnered with The National Arbor Day Foundation in a program to promote paperless statements. The benefits? For every person who enrolls in “Paperless Statements” Citi will donate a tree to be planted “where needed most”.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not promoting consumerism via credit card purchases. I understand that our habits of consuming need to be reformed, if we are to combat the negative effects of product packaging and distribution on our environment. Conversely, for some who are looking for an easy way to take a positive step, changing to paperless statements is a great option. It is nice to see a credit card company take it one step further. Kudos Citi.
The L.A. Times reported yesterday that California raised standards for developers in an attempt to reduce the energy use of buildings by 15% and a 50% reduction in water for landscaping. Across the nation, buildings are responsible for using 39% of energy, 12% of potable water, and 40% of raw materials (U.S. Green Building Council).
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says that the new standards “will ensure that California remains in the forefront of reducing our carbon footprint and conserving valuable natural resources…”
The proposed code changes will be voluntary but are to become mandatory in 2010.
I was talking with my brother the other day about composting, and the use of used coffee grounds in compost piles. In the conversation, he relayed to me that used coffee grounds in his area are in high demand. Why?
According to an articleI read recently, the grounds are rich in nitrogen, providing bacteria the energy needed to compost organic matter. Approximately 2% nitrogen by volume, used coffee grounds are becoming a common replacement for manure in compost piles.
Spinning Composter Item For Sale. Click pic for more details/order.
Where my brother lives there are several coffee shops that make their used grounds readily available to the public. In my community, special arrangements need to be made with coffee shops to procure their use coffee grounds. It is a simple process; go to your local coffee shop and talk with the manager. Make it easy and clean for them to give you their grounds by providing a five gallon bucket with a lid, label it with your name, and return to pick it up at the coffee shop’s convenience.
How to use the grounds:
Spread them on the surface of the soil and cover with leaves or mulch.
Add the grounds to your compost pile.
Layer the grounds with leaves and/or grass clippings and turn once a week.
You do not have to use the coffe grounds all at once. They can be stored in the five gallon bucket or plastic bag. Some have worked the grounds into planting beds, but they will take a few months to break down. Also, the filters from coffee makers can be composted with the grounds.
Besides being good for your garden, using coffee grounds in this manner reduces the amount that will end up in landfills. Keeping these, and other organic materials, out of landfills helps reduce the amount of green house gases produced. As organic materials decompose they produce methane, a gas that is 25 times worse than carbon dioxide.
This morning, enjoy your coffee… just save the grounds.
Fireworks are a national past time. Many of us have fond memories of enjoying them with friends and family. But, could these same fireworks be putting our health and environment at risk?
According to AQMD, the particulate levels in the areas around fireworks displays increase by about 100 times and do not return to normal until midday the next day. These particulates can cause a host of physical reactions including, coughing, soar throats, and burning eyes, with increased risks for people with asthma.
In addition, the particulates from fireworks wind up in the environment. The particles settle on the ground and contaminate waterways. A study, done by the Environmental Protection Agency, found that the level of some chemicals increase by 1,000 in an Oklahoma lake, proceeding a fireworks display.
Disney to the rescue! Among others, Disney has been working to develop cleaner fireworks. One option is ditching carbon-based materials for nitrogen atoms. According to scientists, this will introduce far less smoke into the environment. Another option is fireworks that use nitrocellulose. These fireworks emit water, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide instead of smoke.
With environmental concerns driving the undustry, it looks like there may be a bright future for fireworks. All puns intended.
12:16 pm, the first of the more than thirty divers hit the waters of Grand Traverse (West) Bay in Traverse City, Michigan. Minutes before, the divers were gathering in the parking lot of SCUBA North, a local dive shop. From there, the divers were shuttled across a busy highway in a black and grey Chevrolet Suburban, with gear in a trailer a-tow, to the beach-side dive site. What brings these divers out?
On June 6, 2008, the Grand Traverse Bay received designation as the twelfth underwater preserve in the state; Grand Traverse Bay Unerwater Preserve (GTBUP). According to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the preserve includes approximately 295 square miles. There are several known shipwrecks in the preserve including, John Thursby, A.J. Rogers, Lauren Castle, two modern sailboats and commercial fishing boats. In addition, there may be up to nineteen other vessels in the preserve with historical significance.
“Coastal wetlands are an important feature of the … preserve that provides significant water quality and aquatic habitat functions in the shallow shoreline areas.”
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
The divers were in the bay on a “scavenger hunt” for golf balls, placed in a small portion of the bay by event coordinators. At an event picnic later in the day, prizes will given away, raffle style, according to a number written on each of the balls. At registration, the quantity of balls the participants want to dive for are purchased for a reasonable fee. The proceeds for the event are then donated to the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve.
“To sustain an Underwater Preserve by enhancing education, research and preservation of our Great Lakes and maritime heritage, and by the promotion of tourism and public recreation.” Mission Statement of GTBUP
This is not the first time that divers in this community have gathered together in an attempt to protect the environment. According to Bob Thorpe of SCUBA North, there is a twenty year tradition of diving events, in the Traverse City area, that have raised money for nonprofit organizations. Beyond raising money, the SCUBA comminuty here pitches in on a regular basis to clean up the area water. The day prior to the fundraising event, a group of divers cleaned up garbage from the bay floor.
“The SCUBA community is more concerned, I would think, about the (equatic) environment. It is what they are here to see.” Bob Thorpe
What is the issue? The EPA may adopt a rule, that has been pending since last June, that will make it easier to build coal-fired power plants near national parks. Instead of focusing on reducing the impact of a new pollution source, the rule would change the way the EPA calculates the impact. According to John Bunyak of the National Park Service’s Air Resources Division in Denver, instead of looking at peak periods of pollution, the new rule would use annual averages.
National Parks Conservation Association representative, Don Barger, compares it to someone puting one hand in a block of ice and the other in a fire. “Your average temperature is just fine, but your hands are not.” (AP)
“This is difficult time for many American families”
“Rising gasoline prices and economic uncertainty can effect everything from what food parents put on the table to where they go on vacation.”
President Bush
In his Saturday radio address, President Bush blamed Democrats for high gas prices. According to Bush, the Democrats in Congress are blocking his energy proposals. Bush wants Congress to lift it’s ban on offshore drilling. There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one by executive order signed by his father in 1990 and the other imposed by Congress. Even Bush’s brother Jeb opposed offshore drilling when he was govenor in Florida.
Bush says that offshore drilling has the potential of yielding 18 billion barrels of oil. According to Congress, oil companies already have 68 million acres of federal land and water under lease, outside the ban area, that are not being developed.
Perhaps Bush should revisit his “energy plan”. As for the rest of us, we will continue to search for and utilize alternatives to oil energy.
According to Laurie David and Cambria Gordon, co-authors of The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming, the United States produces “25 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide, making us the biggest polluter on the planet.” This can be an intimidating fact. How can the average American family have a positive impact on such a global problem?
Here are five easy things your family can do:
1. Green Lights: You can help save 500 pounds of CO2 in one year. That is the same as taking 4.7 million vehicles off the road for a year! How? Replace your regular light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs. Generally, these compact bulbs use one-third of the energy of an incandescent bulb. Green lighting, along with turning off lights when not in use, can save your family money in energy costs. Saving the planet = saving money …… welcome2green!
2. Paper or Plastic? Neither! To make a dozen plastic grocery bags, requires roughly the same amount of petroleum needed to drive a car one mile. Paper bags require the cutting and processing of trees that will take decades to re-grow. Also, consider the amount of energy used to cut down, transport, and mill trees for those paper bags. The solution - switch to reusable canvas bags. Consider how many bags you brought home from the grocery store on your last visit. Now think of all the bags you would save by reusing canvas bags!
3. Say Bye-Bye to Bottled. Water that is. Approximately 2,500,000 plastic water bottles get thrown away and make there way to landfills every day. It takes these bottles an average of 1,000 years to break down. In addition, most of the caps on these bottles are not recyclable. So, even if you are doing your best to recycle your plastic water bottles, you may still be creating unnecessary waste.
4. Recycle!!! I know this is not the first time that you have heard this, but it is one of the easiest and most effective ways to help. Recycling alone can reduce your families pollution by up to 95%. Imagine that! This is not limited to, recycling plastic, glass and paper. It can include such practices as donating unwanted items for others to use. Buy used items yourself, my wife enjoys shopping for antiques.
5. Welcome Others 2 Green. The world does not need to be filled with eco-experts for us to enjoy success. Talk to your community, friends, and family about all things green. Write a comment on this site. Share your knowledge, experiences, successes, failures, and resources with others. Continue to explore websites like welcome2green.com. Together, we CAN make a better future for Mother Earth.
Fireworks are a national past time. Many of us have fond memories of enjoying them with friends and family. But, could these same fireworks be putting our health and environment at risk?
