2nd Green Revolution

I Don’t Understand Parking Lots

In an op-ed a few months back I alluded to the coming diatribe against parking lots. As a form of land use, parking lots make no sense to me. Conversely, ...

The Angry Pedestrian: An Introduction

Let me say first off that I own a car. I drive. I don't drive a ton, I don't drive everyday, I don't drive to my job, but I understand ...

What Will It Take to Make Mass Transit the Norm?

Will people start consistently riding mass transit when gas prices stay above $5 per gallon? $10? What about when we are paying the true cost of driving (i.e. emissions, disposal)? ...

Designing Cities with People in Mind

I'm not a city planner. I took one class in college, so I don't even pretend to be qualified. However, living in a city and trying to commute without a ...

Earth Day 2012

Celebrating the 42nd Earth Day and 4.5 billion years of earth. Image from NASA Johnson Space Center

Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera Named 2012 European Car of the Year

by Eric Wilson on March 6th, 2012

Just after GM announced a production shut down of the Chevy Volt due to poor sales, it received Motor Trend Magazine’s 2012 European Car of the Year honor. The Opel Ampera, the Chevy Volt’s European doppelganger is produced in the United States, but sold in Europe. The Volt and Ampera are mechanically identical, hence the joint award. In a competition involving 35 vehicles, the Volt/Amprea represents the second straight (partially) electric car to win Europe’s top prize. Last year the Nissan Leaf won the Motor Trend European Car of the Year (in addition to the Japanese and World titles).

Motor Trend’s designation of the Volt as the European Car of the Year represents a sweep of sorts for the car. In addition, it was named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year last year. While sales lagged due to unflattering press coverage stemming from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into post-crash fires, it remains to be seen if Motor Trend’s decision will provide a boost in sales.

Army Not Messing Around with $7 Billion in Energy Projects

by Justin Manger on March 5th, 2012

Over the next 30 years, the U.S. army is aiming to buy solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and other alternative fuels to the tune of $7 billion dollars. Here is the draft proposal in which they are looking for 99 large-scale renewable projects. This is all part of a plan to have renewable energy at or next to various military facilities and have the installations produce more energy than they consume. This move follows a number of recent policy changes in which the armed forces have put more emphasis on going green. Various military branches are all doing something in the space, with the Air Force Academy announcing a couple years ago that they were aiming to soon become energy independent.

The Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville, Ala., will be managing the procurement. There is also the

Chevy Volt Loses Its Charge

by Eric Wilson on March 5th, 2012

Despite rising gas prices and a sharp jump in February sales (as compared to January), General Motors has temporarily halted production of the Chevy Volt, its plug-in hybrid.

According to NPR, “General Motors will suspend production of its Chevrolet Volt electric car for five weeks amid disappointing sales.” The shutdown, which has furloughed some 1,300 workers, will occur later this month and extend through April. GM spokesman Chris Lee points to a decision in California that will allow Volt owners to use the carpool lanes as a possible boon for future sales. Early on, the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrid qualified for similar passes, which enabled drivers of these fuel-efficient cars to drive solo in the high occupancy vehicle lanes.

MSNBC cited another GM spokesperson, Michelle Malcho, as saying that the car maker was planning to keep production in line with sales.

When Big Business Is Not Good for the Environment

by Justin Manger on March 4th, 2012

A direct contrast to this piece about how big business can use its scale for social and environmental good, this post points out the inherent problems in getting businesses to do the right thing. The simple truth is that – in general and in the short-term view – an emphasis on green policies is not necessarily good for business. Take regulations. Until the cost of pollution and other negative externalities are included in the market price for a good or service, businesses will not directly reflect those costs in the prices they charge. Nope, companies would not police themselves. And so you get pollution, irresponsible lending, and cutting social and environmental corners in pursuit of a fatter bottom line.

But one could argue that the maze of regulations, battles with the U.S. Supreme Court, and inefficient big organizations like the EPA actually stifle companies from becoming more environmentally responsible. An already established department or part of government – Congress (oh, it is currently barely working), Treasury, or some other organ – could curb behavior. But a simple, fair, modest “externality contribution” or “clear air bonus” or some other phrase to get around the word “tax” would be so much easier, faster, transparent, and effective than the mazes of regulations, while still allowing the true cost of economic activity to be taken into account. Such regulations often have loopholes that tax savvy companies can exploit anyway.

Companies currently do not

Green Schools National Conference Wrap-Up

by Eric Wilson on March 3rd, 2012

I recently attended the 2nd “annual” Green Schools National Conference (in Denver, CO). I say annual in quotation marks since the first one took place in 2010, albeit late in the year. Unfortunately I did not attend the inaugural conference (I was at AASHE’s national conference, which took place a few days before hand). During the second rendition, I spent much of my time in the exhibit hall, which I heard referred to as a trade show, to give you an idea of how many companies and products were represented. For a full accounting, the conference program guide is available online.

As an indication of the clout carried by the program and the organizers, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan provided one of the keynote addresses. In addition, inspirational speakers like Majora Carter (click here for her TED talk) and former Stoneyfield Yogurt CEO Gary Hirshberg also spoke.

Due to my commitments representing groups in the exhibit hall, I did not get an opportunity to attend the sessions. However, much of the feedback from attendees was positive.

Creative Localization of Solar Power at Japanese Oyster Farms

by Justin Manger on March 2nd, 2012

Big companies that operate worldwide use product localization to cater to the tastes and preferences of the various countries in which they conduct business. At the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta you can taste soda from around the world and discover how some variations are much sweeter than others. In Japan, there is no Diet Coke, but Coke Free that is made without sugar and has no calories. Japanese McDonalds serve yakitori burgers and have much smaller drink sizes to cater to local preferences. Some other fast food restaurants have rice instead of bread for buns.

With energy, a similar kind of localization has to take place. The types of renewable power are highly dependent on the natural environment. Some areas are good for solar power (the U.S. southwest, Mexico, Northern Africa) but you’d be hard pressed to propose a major solar farm in, say, Seattle. Rather, western Washington state uses its plentiful and mighty rivers to produce hydro power.

In addition, depending on the culture, industries, and infrastructure in place, a region should think about creative ways to integrate alternative energies. In the Yatsushiro Sea off of Kyushu in southern Japan, Minamata City and Fuji Electric are testing a unique way to use solar power. Kumamoto oysters are heavily cultivated right off the coast on rafts floating in the sea. The plan is to place solar cells on

March 2012 Clean Energy and Sustainability Events

by Eric Wilson on March 1st, 2012

Numerous events are slated for the United Kingdom this month, including a slew in London. With so many great conferences on U.S. soil though, we highlight a number of those taking place domestically this month. These include a few in Washington D.C., one of which focuses on the military and alternative energy. Check out our full calendar for more information on these other exciting events.

The domestic conferences cover a range of topics from finance to education. In addition, we’ve been compiling these long enough that there are several repeat events showing up. For instance, the Sustainability in Packaging 2012 in Orlando, Florida and Green Chemistry 2012 in Cologne, Germany are standbys from years past.

Let us know of any conferences, events, or festivals in your area. We will gladly add them to our green events calendar. Please send us an email with the event’s name, date, location, description, and website.

Here are a few of the events happening around the U.S:

Chevrolet Introduces “Ecologic” Window Stickers

by Chris DeArmond on March 1st, 2012

A little over a month ago, Chevrolet announced it would begin displaying window stickers highlighting the environmental features of its vehicles sold in the U.S. “Ecologic is simply a recognition of our systematic attention to environmental responsibility and our commitment to monitoring our progress as we continuously work to reduce our environmental impact.” These environmental facts, which will be categorized by manufacturing, driving, and recycling, will appear on all Chevrolet vehicles beginning later this month with the model year (MY) 2013 Chevrolet Sonic.

By focusing on manufacturing, Chevrolet says it will look for ways to further reduce, reuse, and recycle the resources used to create a vehicle on the assembly line. As one example, it points to the LEED Gold Certified Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant, which is expected to save over

New Energy Innovation Hub for Batteries and Energy Storage

by Eric Wilson on February 29th, 2012

Earlier this month Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced “plans to launch a new Energy Innovation Hub for advanced research on batteries and energy storage with an investment of up to $120 million over five years.” The purpose of this newest hub “will be to deliver research leading to revolutionary new technologies.” Applications are due by May 31, 2012. A range of organizations are eligible to apply, including universities, national laboratories, nonprofits, and private firms.

One of the great hopes for the future of renewable energy is improving storage capacity. In order to meet peak demand and provide base load power, there needs to be a reliable, constant supply of energy, which is part of the reason coal, natural gas, and nuclear work so well for generating electricity. They can be stored (some sources more easily than others) and readily come online to produce more electricity when demand jumps. This is not the case for wind and solar, two increasingly sought after renewable energy sources.

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