2nd Green Revolution

Scanning the local paper during a recent visit to Charleston, S.C., I came upon an article about how Berkeley County is progressing on its plans to sell the methane gas that is produced at the landfill there. According to the Post and Courier, “Officials are negotiating two contracts that could bring the county $1 million a year or more from the landfill’s methane gas, a byproduct of the decomposition of garbage.” Santee Cooper, the state-owned local utility, is interested in purchasing the methane to burn for electricity. Another company is bidding on the project in order to possibly sell the carbon credits that would be generated by capturing the methane.

With a price tag of $2.8 million, the methane gas collection system the county is installing would pay for itself in just under three years at the expected contract price of $1 million per year. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this summer California based Hara Software, backed by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, began a full-court press of sorts in an attempt to push its efficiency software. According to their website, “Hara Environmental and Energy Management (EEM) on-demand software enables organizations to identify and implement sustainability initiatives across stakeholders to increase operational efficiency, maximize shareholder value and mitigate risk.” Since their emergence at the beginning of June, Hara has been all over the news and even to the White House. Chief Executive Officer Amit Chatterjee met with President Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu during the White House’s “jobs and energy innovation” summit. Video of the president’s remarks can be seen below: Read the rest of this entry »

• National trends this year show the biggest spike in gardening among Americans in 30 years. Only $50 in supplies can yield over $1,200 in produce.
• Only two percent of the world’s population produced all of the food. Half of them are over the age of 65.
• San Francisco recycles 66% of its waste.
• Composting can divert about 30% of a family’s (waste or trash) from the waste stream.
• Buildings use 39% of the world’s total electricity consumption.

- 2nd Green Revolution

[Source: Grand County, Colorado Home & Lifestyle Living - Summer 2009]

In a post from the other day, 2nd Green Revolution reviewed Paul Hawken’s groundbreaking 1993 book, The Ecology of Commerce. Throughout his work, Hawken provides insightful information that causes us to rethink our current resource management.

One example of his eye-opening exposé revolves around recycling. Hawken states the astonishing fact that “If the items used in households in America were all recycled, this would reduce our solid waste by only 1 to 2 percent.” How can this be? Estimates suggest that 70 times as much waste is produced upstream. For every kilogram of waste thrown out by consumers, manufacturers produce 70 kilograms. The consumer can only do so much, since they are at the end of the line. Companies must take design factors into consideration on the front end and work to produce goods that do not generate exorbitant amounts of waste or use toxins in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, these improvements could also include implementing changes for the product’s next iteration, the basis for “cradle to cradle” design. Read the rest of this entry »

From WTOP News comes news that the Four Seasons Hotel (http://www.fourseasons.com/washington/) in the Georgetown area of Washington D.C. is testing out a technology that will generate electricity from kinetic energy captured by the cars moving on its driveway. Burtonsville, MD based New Energy Technologies is the company behind the innovative idea to harness energy. Chief executive officer Meetesh Patel remarks, “We’re creating a completely new technology that is capturing electricity from cars that are already moving on the road” and that the MotionPower technology will capture power from cars that are slowing down and will help those cars slow down. Drivers will feel as if they are driving over rumble strips. Patel goes on to point out that there is huge potential for clean energy using the kinetic energy from the 250 million registered cars in the U.S. The company is also testing out their product at a Burger King’s drive through lane in New Jersey. Read the rest of this entry »

In his revolutionary 1993 book, The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability, Paul Hawken describes how companies and the country would benefit from taking a new approach to business. Hawken suggests that the climate in which businesses have operated cannot possibly continue. He points out the need for all products and energy sources to reflect their true cost. In order to achieve these goals, Hawken provides a wealth of ideas toward achieving sustainability.

In chapter four he delves into the necessity of a carbon tax in order to represent the entire lifecycle costs of fuels. Furthermore, Hawken states that the time has come for a restorative economy; what 2nd Green Revolution has referred to as the regenerative economy . In chapter nine he sets forth the following principles to serve as the foundation of sustainable businesses: Read the rest of this entry »

Brad Pitt appeared on NBC’s The Today Show earlier this month showcasing the work his organization, Make It Right New Orleans, has done to help rebuild neighborhoods in New Orleans that were hardest hit after Hurricane Katrina nearly four years ago. Several of the parishes in the city remain devastated and have not benefited from investment and continued support. During his interview with The Today Show’s Ann Curry, the 15 home projects (with a goal of 150 by the end of 2010) already stands as the largest neighborhood of green homes in the nation. Furthermore, Pitt has teamed up with William McDonough + Partners to bring Cradle to Cradle design features to the homes being build.

Following up on a story from last week (on urban infill in Denver), Pitt’s project goes one step beyond the Denver development. In addition to building in the city with environmentally conscious products, the Make It Right New Orleans provides housing for those who cannot afford to rebuild after the storm. A few months ago, 2nd Green Revolution carried a story about toxic drywall, which was imported following the shortage that resulted from a post-Katrina building boom. Projects like Pitt’s help to ensure the health and well-being of the occupants by using products that do not leach chemicals into the ambient air.

In addition to Pitt’s efforts, Global Green, founded in 1994 by activist and philanthropist Diane Meyer Simon, has contributed to rebuilding New Orleans with a focus on sustainability. Global Green is “the American Arm of Green Cross International (GCI), which was created by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future by reconnecting humanity with the environment.” Their mission is “to address some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. In the United States our work is primarily focused on stemming global climate change by creating green buildings and cities.” In New Orleans, they have worked to build the Holy Cross project, which includes 5 single family homes, an 18-unit apartment building, and a community center.

By working together, private and public organizations can rebuild cities in a more sustainable fashion. What happened in New Orleans was (and still is) a tragedy on many levels. However, repeating the same design flaws and energy intensive behaviors do not help to ameliorate the situation. Now is the time for the time to implement bold, sustainable practices for the future.

- Eric Wilson

[image source: GlobalGreen.org]

The website “Environmental Leader” reported that Xcel Energy cut their per watt rebate by one dollar – 22% – to $3.50 (US) last October. At the time, the reduction was most noteworthy not for the dollar value, but the swiftness with which Xcel made the cut. According to the website’s report, the reduction occurred just 30 hours after it was announced. Now news comes that Xcel is considering another cut in the rebate.

REC Solar reported that “Xcel plans to reduce the rebate amount for the SolarRewards program in the next 30, 60, or 90 days.” According to the story, the reason for the three options was to avoid the onslaught of applications that Xcel received when they announced the short turn around in cutting their rebate back in October. Read the rest of this entry »

• Each person in America generates approximately 4.4 pounds (2kg) of municipal solid waste per day (and Coloradoans generate more than a third more than this amount averaging 6.88 pounds per day per person. (Colorado Association For Recycling, 2003).
• Between 1990 and 1996 the recycling of steel food containers resulted in a costs savings of nearly 19 million BTU’s of energy and produced $57 million worth of material. (Office for the Federal Environmental Executive, 1998)
• Recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing aluminum from raw material. (Office for the Federal Environmental Executive, 1998).
  • Recycling old paper instead of using new timber to produce paper uses 60% less energy.
  • The energy saved from recycling steel each year alone is enough to power the City of Los Angeles for eight years.

  - 2nd Green Revolution

Most real keys to doors on hotel rooms have long since disappeared, replaced in large part by those plastic card keys we all know well. They’re light, easy to replace, cheap, fit nicely in your wallet and are an all around convenience. Plus, the hotel can safely and quickly issue a new card if it is lost or stolen, providing a security benefit.

Can they be improved upon? USFI, a company based in Dallas, TX, thinks they can. Green Earth bioPVC Key Card is a 100% biodegradable key card that “will begin to biodegrade in a landfill or compost in 18 months to 5 years” as it says on the back of the card. While 5 years may seem like a long time, many plastics can hang around for hundreds of years before really breaking down. Read the rest of this entry »