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

Inside the 2013 Department of Energy Budget

by Eric Wilson on February 21st, 2012

As part of the massive $3.8 trillion dollar federal budget proposed recently by President Barack Obama, $27.2 billion was geared toward the Department of Energy (DOE). For those interested, here is a PDF of the DOE budget. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu provided details of the budget proposal as it pertains to his office. In the press release from the Department of Energy, Chu was quoted as saying:

‘The United States is competing in a global race for the clean energy jobs of the future . . . The choice we face as a nation is simple: do we want the clean energy technologies of tomorrow to be invented in America by American innovators, made by American workers and sold around the world, or do we want to concede those jobs to our competitors? We can and must compete for those jobs. This budget request includes responsible investments in an American economy that is built to last.’

For a bit of perspective, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will receive 42.48% of the DOE’s total budget. Nuclear Clean Up, a separate section of the budget is in line to receive another 21.54%. A bulk of the clean up funds goes to Environmental Management (comprising just under 21% of the total budget for the DOE). As part of the NNSA, nearly 28% of Department’s total budget is directed toward Weapons Activities. In contrast, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will receive 8.6% of the funds for the Department. Here is a PDF of the EERE Budget Request.

The aforementioned press release provides the following specifics from the President’s FY 2013 budget request for the Department of Energy:

Update on Tesla: Still Losing Money But Ramping Up

by Justin Manger on February 20th, 2012

Now that the Big Three automakers are back on their feet and turning a profit after imploding during the financial crisis (only Ford didn’t take government bailout money), it has to seem harder than ever for a start-up car company to compete in this brutally cut-throat industry. Tesla Motors, however, is not to be dismissed. In addition to the initial Roaster sports car and their follow-up Model S sedan (due out this July), the larger Model X (check out the Falcon Wing doors) debut seems to be a success as all available pre-orders have been booked. Overall, while the company is losing money, forecasts indicate they will turn a profit within the next year or two.

With three cars currently in the line-up and a track record of sorts starting to form, new business opportunities should be opening up, and confidence in the brand and the company itself seems to be increasing. Revenues for 2011 were up 75% versus 2010. Here are a few highlights from Tesla’s latest earnings statement

Water Reclamation Given Thumbs Up

by Eric Wilson on February 20th, 2012

NEWater, Singapore’s treated wastewater that is used to provide drinking water to the residents of this island nation, has been around for more than a decade. (See the most recent Five Friday Facts for more information). In the United States though, the idea of incorporating water that comes from treatment plants has yet to catch on fully. A recent New York Times article looked at the trend in reclaimed water for municipalities, and not just to irrigate open spaces, but for consumption. The article includes numerous cities that have mentioned or tested (in the case of Denver) the inclusion of treated water along with molecules from more traditional sources like aquifers. “Still, just one-tenth of 1 percent of municipal wastewater nationally was recycled into local supplies in 2010. Only a handful of systems replenish their reservoirs or groundwater basins with treated wastewater.”

In Southern California, where fresh water supplies can be quite low, Orange County has a system in place that has produced water (in addition to electricity from burning methane as the waste decays) for several years. The New York Times provides a nice description of how the water is actually treated:

First, wastewater is filtered through string-like microfibers with holes smaller than bacteria and protozoa. Then it goes through reverse osmosis, an energy-intensive process forcing the water through plastic membranes that remove most molecules that are not water. Finally, it is dosed with hydrogen peroxide and exposed to ultraviolet light, a double-disinfectant process. The result is roughly equivalent to distilled water.

In fact, most tap water and much of the bottled water sold in the United States is distilled water.

Resourcefulness: A Lost Art

by Eric Wilson on February 19th, 2012

One could argue that I’ve overused the phrase “key to sustainability” by this point. An accurate accounting yields the following keys to sustainability: durability, resilience; one non-key; and a missing link. In that vein, I offer my latest addition to the seemingly ever expanding keychain: resourcefulness. In what seems like a trait that holds little value in society these days, resourcefulness may play a large role in helping to reduce resource consumption.

Here’s an example to illustrate my point: the other day we received two packages from two different members of our family. Just one generation apart, I noticed the lack of resourcefulness by a member of the younger generation. The box was one of the US Postal Service’s, the kind you can pick up at the post office, free of charge, never been used, and in all likelihood never to be recycled, let alone used again. The other one was two old Xerox box lids taped together that probably had an intermediate life between topping a box of copy paper and serving on its transcontinental journey as a package.

Recycling and reusing are not really the issue.

When Big Business Is Good For the Environment

by Justin Manger on February 18th, 2012

McDonald’s get trashed – and sometimes quite rightly – for its policies towards the environment, workers, and animals as it serves up billions of hamburgers across the world.

Recent news, however, shows the company also acknowledges it can make improvements and will listen to voices both inside and outside the company. This time it is not Styrofoam packaging that is getting phased out but tiny gestation crates for the female pigs (sows) in its supply chain. By May, McDonald’s is requiring “that its suppliers of pork provide plans for phasing out gestation crates. Once those plans are delivered … McDonald’s will create a timetable to end the use of gestation crates in its supply chain,” according to the NY Times. Currently, 90 percent of the pregnant sows in the United States are in gestation stalls. Gestation cages are typically about 2 feet by 7 feet, too small for a full-sized sow to turn around.

So aside from being a more decent way to treat animals, why is this a big deal? Well, because it is McDonald’s and a move like this has huge and immediate impact on suppliers. The NY Times puts it this way,

China Bans Airlines from Paying European Union Carbon Tax

by Chris DeArmond on February 17th, 2012

At its outset in 2005, the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) was designed to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by factories, power plants, and other energy-intensive installations. At the beginning of this year, however, ETS began imposing the cap-and-trade system on all airlines with flights departing from or arriving at EU airports. In response, China barred its domestic airlines from complying with the system last week.

The Chinese government says the new rules outlined by the EU are both costly and illegal. The China Air Transport Association (CATA) estimates ETS will cost its airlines nearly $127 million this year, and nearly $2.8 billion over the next nine years. Industry air groups cited by the Wall Street Journal say it could cost the entire aviation industry more than $26 billion by 2020. The European Commission (EU executive branch) estimates the increase in airfare to be between €2 and €12, depending on the length of the flight.

In regard to its legality, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) argues that the EU does not have the right to charge non-domestic airlines for carbon emissions. “ETS has violated the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change…and regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization.” Several U.S. airlines also filed a lawsuit against the EU, saying it could not charge for carbon emissions outside EU airspace. However, the European Court of Justice dismissed it in December after ruling it does not infringe on “the principle of territoriality, nor the sovereignty of third countries[...and] does not constitute a tax, fee or charge on fuel.” Other prevailing arguments against the system are that it acts as a trade barrier and impedes international efforts to achieve a more agreeable approach to addressing climate change.

Besides China, more than two dozen other countries have expressed opposition or threatened counter measures to the EU.

Five Friday Facts: NEWater

by Eric Wilson on February 17th, 2012

A recent New York Times article on a wastewater treatment plant in San Diego, California led to this week’s Five Friday Facts. Singapore, a sovereign island nation of just over 5 million people has used effluent, a polite way of saying wastewater, to supplement drinking water for years. Elizabeth Royte mentions it in her book Bottlemania. She submits a sample of “NEWater” as it is known to a taste test. While it didn’t get much notice for its “artisanal” qualities (i.e. mouthfeel), it held up just fine. Some suggest that this could represent a significant source of “fresh” water in the future. Here are a set of five facts about Singapore’s water reclamation.

In May 2000, the first NEWater plant was completed.
There are 4 NEWater plants in Singapore.
The latest and the largest NEWater plant at Changi with a capacity of 50mgd was opened in May 2010.
NEWater now meets 30% of Singapore’s total water demand
By 2060, NEWater is projected to meet 50% of Singapore’s future water demand.

Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Book Review: Michael Pollan’s Food Rules

by Eric Wilson on February 16th, 2012

Compared to The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food (reviewed here), Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual is less revolutionary. Instead, his latest book, published in 2009, is more of a reflection on what he’s learned through writing about food in his previous efforts. Comprised of 64 rules in three parts (What should I eat?; What kind of food should I eat?; and How should I eat?), this short tome reveals a guide for eating “whole foods.” This is not to be confused with the grocery chain, but rather unprocessed foods.

The answers to the three questions that Pollan poses are brief, totaling seven words. In fact, they were introduced in his previous work, In Defense of Foods, where he wrote the following: Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.

Many of Pollan’s rules are self explanatory, but he provides a brief description for many of them to further drive home his point. In all, it took less than two hours to read the book, but the wisdom contained therein goes much deeper. Many of the aphorisms stem from cultural traditions and the days before the commercialization of food.

Several recent posts by Megan Stilley broach similar topics, including the following Pollan rules:

Japan Has World’s Highest Plastic Bottle Recycling Rate; Puts the U.S. to Shame

by Justin Manger on February 15th, 2012

Quick, off the top of your head what percentage of plastic bottles do you think the U.S. collects for recycling?

50%? Nah, Europe doesn’t even reach that, coming in at 48.3%. For the U.S., try more like 30% (29.1% to be exact), according to a report released by the Council for PET Bottle Recycling. Japan, on the other hand – a country without much land to just throw trash in landfills – collects a world-beating 72.1% of the plastic bottles it uses. This is based on a comparison of the three regions. It is nice to see that the rate for recycling has trended upward over the last 10 years in the U.S. and Europe as well as Japan.

As the chart below points out, there is really no comparison to Japan when it comes to this. As described by Japan for Sustainability, the blue line is

SunShot Initiative Aims to Make Solar Affordable

by Eric Wilson on February 15th, 2012

The United States’ Department of Energy (DOE) is working to bring down solar energy costs. The program, known as the SunShot Initiative, “is a collaborative national initiative to make solar energy cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade.” The goal is to drive down the costs of solar energy systems by roughly three-fourths with the hope that it “will drive widespread, large-scale adoption of this renewable energy technology and restore U.S. leadership in the global clean energy race.”

As part of the initiative, Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu announced last month “two opportunities that will engage innovative scientific thinkers from the nation’s top universities to drive transformational research in solar energy.” In order to spur “promising utility-scale solar energy technologies, DOE will make up to $10 million available to support the development of more efficient heat transfer fluids to reduce the cost of energy from concentrating solar power (CSP) systems. The announcement also opens the second round of SunShot Initiative postdoctoral research awards for applied research at universities, national laboratories, and other research facilities.”

Essentially CSP takes the idea that most kids already know:

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