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

2012 Consumer Electronics Show to Highlight Green Tech

by Chris DeArmond on January 5th, 2012

Each year, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) holds the international Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to promote growth and innovation within the consumer technology industry. Since it is the largest, and greenest, technology tradeshow in the world, we’re very excited to see what environmentally-friendly and energy-saving products will be unveiled at this year’s show, to be held January 10-13.

The eco-friendly products being promoted by companies at the tradeshow will be featured in two green exhibits. The first is the Sustainable Planet TechZone, which includes 24 companies, up from just ten in 2008. Though several of the businesses in this group specialize in electronics recycling and efficiency compliance, others may unveil some new, more fascinating products. A few companies that caught my eye were

British Firm Doubles Up with Solar/Wave Power Combo

by Justin Manger on January 5th, 2012

Wouldn’t it be nice to harness the power from all that turbulence in the seas? There are numerous startups working to try to perfect a technique to do just that from waves and tides. What if you could add a solar powered top to that device, creating the ability to harness both sun and sea?

Marine Solar Cells is attempting such a double. The British company led by Phil Pauley makes a hybrid solar and wave energy generator that “captures both wave energy through natural buoyancy displacement and solar energy through photovoltaic cells as natural sun light also reflects from the surface water to increase solar capture by 20%.” Definitely out there, the device is still in the conceptual design stage. However, from the photos below, you can tell that the idea is starting to take shape.

Devices that can generate energy in more than one way or demonstrate other efficiencies are key to the future of a sustainable economy. Some will fail but some will prevail, pushing us toward balance.

Seattle Joins Washington DC in Banning Plastic Bags

by Eric Wilson on January 4th, 2012

Effective in July 2012, plastic bags will be banned in Seattle. This marks the latest in a series of plastic bag bans. Last year California attempted to pass a statewide ban, but to no avail. However, Washington DC has had a ban in place for a few years now. For a list of the pros and cons of both paper and plastic bags, click here.

NPR reports that there is “a provision to charge a nickel fee for the use of paper bags.” The Seattle Post Intelligencer mentions that this is the city’s second foray in the bag ban. “In 2008, after the Council adoped a 20-cent fee on the bags, the plastics industry spent $1.4 million to crush the measure. Voters repealed the fee in 2009.”

The ban is fairly comprehensive.

Christo Projects Are Awesome, But Use the $50 Million for Something Else

by Justin Manger on January 3rd, 2012

From the art world comes the latest wild idea from Christo, the artist who has wrapped trees and draped orange awnings on a winding path through New York City’s Central Park. Last month, federal regulators gave the go-ahead for a $50 million project to install an enormous piece of fabric over the Arkansas River in southern Colorado. As the New York Times reports, “Over the River will include eight suspended panel segments totaling 5.9 miles along a 42-mile stretch of the river, about three hours southwest of Denver. Construction could begin next year, pending final local approvals, with the goal being a two-week display of the work as early as August 2014.”

While the project could generate over $100 million in economic output and bring up to 400,000 tourists to watch the construction and then look at the actually display, the project was held up over environmental and aesthetic concerns. A few points of contention included “road safety in the narrow canyon highway through the installation zone, which extends from the towns of Salida to Cañon City, to potential impacts on wildlife, especially on the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep that habituate the Arkansas River canyon and are Colorado’s state mammal.”

The projects Christo comes up with are often memorable and quite interesting. However,

January 2012 Clean Energy and Sustainability Events

by Eric Wilson on January 2nd, 2012

In the world of clean energy and sustainability conferences, 2012 begins much as 2011 ends. There are only a few conferences and events listed on 2nd Green Revolution’s events calendar. Many universities are out of session until after Martin Luther King Day. However, Emory University in Atlanta is hosting a workshop focused on sustainability in the curriculum. In addition, a smattering of domestic events include an intriguing one day conference in Minnesota on “Green Chemistry” (details below) and the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City, California. A more detailed post will follow shortly about the festival.

Perhaps the most intriguing conference this month is a one-day symposium in Minneapolis on “green chemistry.” The general idea is creating chemicals that are non-toxic. This field could have vast implications in the arena of Cradle to Cradle design. There is another event in Minneapolis this month. One of three forums, the Green Biz Forum is holding one conferences in San Francisco and New York City as well. The New York event is listed below.

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.:

Balance: the Human Body, Economics, Evolution and the Link to Sustainability

by Justin Manger on January 1st, 2012

I’ve talked before about the way running “jogs” loose all kinds of thoughts and allows for connections to be made between seemingly disparate ones. The latest brain buzz came almost two months ago but I’ve only now gotten around to writing it up in some “official” form. So here goes.

Sustainability can be thought of as maintaining balance. There is a happy medium to be reached in being able to use the bounty of resources this planet is endowed with, and yet not go so over the top as to destroy our modern way of life or the health of our species and others through unbridled consumption. We are pretty darn good at using our bounty of resources, but have to work on not going overboard.

Look around and you’ll see other grand examples of the concept of balance.

For one, take the human body. An absolute marvel of time-spanned engineering, you sweat if you’re hot and shiver and get goosebumps if you’re cold in order to maintain a balanced body temperature. Your body regulates levels of sugars, salts, and hormones so that – on the average – you don’t have too much of one chemical racing through your body upsetting the way a balanced system works. There are many more ways the body regulates itself to maintain homeostasis, but let’s leave the examples there and move on to economics.

The market economy, for all its faults, is still the best system we have largely because it strikes a balance. Ideally, it moves money from those who have it to those who don’t (loans, investment, buying and selling of products) and it reaches equilibrium between consumers and producers, and supply and demand. Even the huge fluctuations between economic booms and busts will eventually

Not Your Average Bus Trip: How “Green” is that Green Bus? Part 3

by Heather Perry on December 31st, 2011

I should take a moment to describe the Lovecraft Biofuel conversion done on our bus. To safeguard against any particles that might bypass the filtration system, an additional inline fuel filter causes the engine to stall when clogged, preventing potentially irreparable engine damage. This inline filter came in handy when we broke down in Utah and merely needed to clean it to continue to Colorado. Additionally, the fuel filter was replaced with a heat exchanger, tapping directly into the coolant line, utilizing waste heat to preheat the vegetable oil. Other than changing out a couple of supply lines, the only other significant changes were the addition of an inline fuel pump to improve efficiency when the engine started from cold, and a return line to pump excess fuel back into the tank, further heating the cold oil by mixing it with already hot oil. This conversion allowed for the use of biodiesel, petrodiesel, or waste vegetable oil.

In addition to our objectives of designing and operating our filtration system, recycling waste vegetable oil, and exploring our country, we volunteered at music festivals, allowing us free admission and a chance to continue our green footprint. Our first music festival was Rothbury 2008, in Michigan, designed to be one of the first environmentally friendly, sustainable festivals. We were part of the “Green Team,” in charge of ensuring as close to zero-waste as possible by directing people where to toss their respective refuse as either compostable, recyclable, or landfill.

Our journey from Boulder to Rothbury took about three days, exceptionally longer than anticipated due to underestimated oil-collection stop times, further refinement to our system, and a few scenic stopovers in Omaha, Nebraska, Davenport, Iowa, and Kalamzoo, Michigan. We enjoyed a rinse off in the largest bath of the summer, Lake Michigan. We were even graced with the unforeseen delivery of free, hot coffee drinks fresh to our bus door one morning after an overnight stop in York, Nebraska.

Last Year Denver International Airport Added Another 1.6 MW of Solar

by Eric Wilson on December 31st, 2011

Although the project was completed last year, the addition of 1.6 MW of solar panels to the 2 MW system that provides roughly half the energy needed to power the Denver International Airport (DIA) tram system demonstrates the role solar can have in a carbon economy. The large array partially “offset[s] the environmental and monetary costs of its jet fuel storage and distribution facility, generating approximately 2,450,000 kilowatt hours of clean electricity in the first year of operation and approximately 47 million kilowatt hours during the system’s lifetime.” Yesterday as I flew in from the east, the array could be seen to the north and east of the airport and jet fuel tanks.

MP2 Capital, a leading developer, financier, and operator of solar projects throughout North America, unveiled the project. According to the video from Denver’s Fox 31 (available below), the entire system consists of nearly 7,400 panels. When the panels produce excess energy, the electricity is sold to Xcel Energy, the local utility.

Much like natural gas is seen as a bridge fuel for wind and solar energies, this solar installation primarily provides power for the jet fuel facility. Until biofuels prove viable (which may be sooner than later), here is an opportunity for renewable energy to partner with and help reduce the impact of fossil fuels.

Five Friday Facts: Aluminum Recycling

by Justin Manger on December 30th, 2011

Nashville, Tennessee’s Evermore Recycling is North America’s largest purchaser of used aluminum cans for recycling. It is a joint venture between Novelis and Alcoa.
60 days = time period from when you recycle a can until it reappears on the store shelf
68% = the recycled content in every aluminum can
73% = the amount of aluminum that has ever been produced that is still in use today
95% = the energy and greenhouse gas savings from recycling vs. new aluminum production

Apple Working on New Battery That Could Be Charged Once a Week

by Justin Manger on December 29th, 2011

News has surfaced again that Apple is planning to release a hydrogen fuel cell battery that could power iPhones, iPods, and iPads for at least a week without recharging. Submissions (below) with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, first reported by Apple Insider in October, describe a lighter and more environmentally friendly battery that could keep Apple at the front of technological advances.

A switch from standard batteries that use toxic chemicals to a hydrogen fuel cell that produces water and electricity, would potentially allow for devices that are able to operate for days on one charge, while also making devices lighter. “Such fuel cells and associated fuels can potentially achieve high volumetric and gravimetric energy densities, which can potentially enable continued operation of portable electronic devices for days or even weeks without refuelling,” the filings state. Apple goes on to talk about why such a shift to the new battery would be beneficial not only for consumers but also have environmental and political advantages:

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