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 Light Bulb Efficiency Standards Delayed until September

by Chris DeArmond on December 28th, 2011

By passing the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, congress established efficiency standards for light bulbs that were slated to go into effect in at the beginning of 2012. However, due to a provision included in the massive year-end spending bill that eliminates funding to carry out the standards, the date has been pushed back to September 30th. The standards will be introduced in phases over the next three years and set limits on the amount of energy a light bulb can consume to produce a given amount of light (measured in lumens). Since many traditional incandescent light bulbs cannot currently meet the requirement, they will progressively be eliminated from store shelves after existing supply runs out. The Energy Information Administrationpredicts the new standards will save Americans nearly $6 billion in 2015 alone. Here is a rundown of the regulations:

Phase 1 (effective 2012): 72 watt maximum for lights producing between 1,490 and 2,600 lumens. Traditional incandescent light bulbs affected: 100- and 150-watt.

Phase 2 (effective 2013): 53 watt maximum for lights producing between 1,050 and 1,489 lumens. Traditional incandescent light bulb affected: 75 watt.

Phase 3 (effective 2014): Sets two standards. 43 watt maximum for lights producing between 750 and 1,049 lumens, and 29 watts for lights producing between 310 and 749 lumens. Traditional incandescent light bulbs affected: 40- and 60-watt.

When incandescent bulbs are eventually phased out, you’ll still have several options to choose from. For those who want the same color light emitted by incandescent bulbs, you’ll want to buy

Toyota’s New 83MPG Hybrid Goes on Sale in Japan

by Justin Manger on December 27th, 2011

Toyota’s smallest and most environmentally friendly hybrid, the Aqua, hit the Japanese market earlier this week. The $22,000 car is 2 feet shorter than its well known cousin the Prius and gets more than 83 miles per gallon. To be named the Prius C when it eventually crosses the Pacific and goes on sale in the U.S., Toyota is expecting to sell 12,000 units per month in the Japanese domestic market according to Main Nichi Shinbun.

The car is manufactured in Iwate prefecture, one of the areas hardest hit by the March 2011 tsunami. Made by Toyota’s subsidiary Kanto Auto Works,

NREL Announces Breakthrough in Solar Cells

by Eric Wilson on December 26th, 2011

According to a news release from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, researchers “have reported the first solar cell that produces a photocurrent that has an external quantum efficiency greater than 100 percent when photoexcited with photons from the high energy region of the solar spectrum.” What this means is that more energy is leaving the cell than is entering it. If this sounds a bit like “creating energy” to you, welcome to the club.

For a more scientific explanation, the “external quantum efficiency for photocurrent, usually expressed as a percentage, is the number of electrons flowing per second in the external circuit of a solar cell divided by the number of photons per second of a specific energy (or wavelength) that enter the solar cell.” What is significant about NREL’s announcement is that no solar cell had achieved 100 percent external quantum efficiency before now. According to the new release, NREL’s maximum efficiency was 114%.

Earlier this month, a paper on the topic was published in Science Magazine. The article explains that the efficiency was made possible by

A Choice of Words

by Guest Author on December 25th, 2011

To achieve our goal of getting people to care about the peril the planet is in, perhaps all we need to do is change a few words. The first is such a little word it shouldn’t matter but I think it represents the kind of shift we need to make in our collective psyche about how we treat our planet.

Our global society thinks of THE environment. THE environment frames our supportive life systems as an IT, a THING. THE environment is something separate from ourselves. References to THE environment can be something one care’s about on par with caring about THE schools, THE health care system and other progressive issues.

But what if we were to change that little article THE to OUR?

Not Your Average Bus Trip: How “Green” is that Green Bus? Part 2

by Heather Perry on December 24th, 2011

This is the second in a series by Heather Perry. All posts in the series will be available here.

We drove our bus to our first supplying client, the restaurant where Darcy had been working. Consistent with what we would find throughout the rest of our three-month journey, the owner of the restaurant was encouraging in our endeavors, but could assist us little more than vaguely pointing us in the direction of the grease bin out back. Not knowing what we were getting ourselves into, literally and figuratively, we came with no supplies other than ourselves. We looked down into the large metal bin of used frying grease at our reflections, and wondered how we were going to scoop out the oil. We grabbed a gallon milk jug out of the recycling, cut off the top, and made ourselves a scoop. Then we proceeded to reach waist-deep into the grease bin and pour the oil into the 50-gallon plastic storage drum we had in the back of the bus. This was our first experience collecting oil, one that believe it or not, was not significantly altered for the duration of our trip.

With time we did make slight improvements to our collection methods. For instance, we purchased fashionable mechanic jumpsuits to protect our clothes. To store backup oil on the bus, we obtained numerous 5-gallon oil containers, referred to as “cubies,” that restaurants receive clean oil in. We did not, however, advance beyond our reliable milk-jug scoop.

Five Friday Facts: Oil

by Eric Wilson on December 23rd, 2011

The following Five Friday Facts come from Stacy Dewald at Heating Oil Shopper, a Web publishing company that specializes in information about oil production and consumption, particularly as it relates to the business and environmental impacts of oil. For the original article, click here.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Association, Canada is the top source of U.S. crude oil imports as of June 2011, at about 2,085,000 barrels per day. Saudi Arabia is the second top source with 1,164,000 barrels per day as of June 2011. Iraq, Kuwait and Chad are also listed among the top 15 sources of U.S. crude oil imports.
Domestic production of oil is up 60 percent from last year and drilling is at its highest level since 1987.
The Energy Information Administration says that even opening all of the country’s most sensitive geological areas to domestic oil exploration and production would result in a three-cent drop in gasoline prices at best, by the year 2030.
Oil spills happen nearly every day; much of the time, the public is unaware, as many are small. About 300 to 500 oil spills occur every year. Once an oil spill occurs, it spreads through water at a rate of half a football field per second, and it’s nearly impossible to control it.
Currently in the United States, Texas and Alaska account for a large portion of crude oil production. Offshore areas in the Gulf of Mexico and California account for more than one-quarter of U.S. domestic crude production combined. In terms of crude oil distillation capacity, Texas, Louisiana and California account for more than 50 percent of current U.S. distillation operations. Texas, alone, contributes one-quarter of total U.S. crude distillation capacity.

Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Could “Green Routing” Play a Role in Our Future?

by Chris DeArmond on December 23rd, 2011

Though it’s alluring to think that electric and hydrogen vehicles may transform the way we travel, it is more likely that small, incremental changes like route optimization will play dominating roles in our future—at least until we run out of oil. Researchers from the University at Buffalo studying “green routing,” which is achieved when all drivers are traveling on optimal routes, have shown that it would be a more viable way to significantly reduce carbon monoxide emissions than relying on expensive, niche vehicles that return better gas mileage.

By combining results from two advanced computer simulations, researchers found that while green routing resulted in a 27 percent reduction in carbon monoxide emissions, it actually increased the length of trips by an average of 11 percent. This was achieved in part by diverting some freeway traffic to surface streets, and rerouting the traffic that would yield the greatest benefit. Experts see great potential in this idea due to its relatively easy implementation and low cost. Unlike alternative fuels or battery technology, green routing would not require massive subsidies or government mandates to be effective. Instead, it could be integrated seamlessly with global positioning systems (GPS) or online maps. Furthermore, since green routing would not require an infrastructural investment, it would be viable in the near-term future.

However, even when ignoring the limitations of the Buffalo-Niagara study, green routing is far from perfect. While GPS and up-to-date traffic may be able to provide consumers with the most fuel efficient route at any given time (rather than the shortest), it would obviously be effective only when in use. Also, since

Rethinking Food Waste

by Megan Stilley on December 22nd, 2011

I recently read an article in the Urban Farm magazine that discussed how to reduce your food waste. I found it very informative. Since we are currently in a season of consumption, we can all learn some new tips on reducing our food waste. We also need to reduce our food waste since according to a New York Times article, Americans waste one pound of food per day per person. That is a staggering number.
Here is what Urban Farm suggests:

Shop smarter and smaller: Make a grocery list and stick to it. If you make a grocery list, you know exactly what you need and what you will use (hopefully everything on the list). Making a weekly meal plan can help with knowing what you need. If you have leftovers you can plan accordingly by reusing them in another meal or enjoying them as is; there are even phone apps that help with this problem. By making a grocery list and meal plan and sticking to them, you can also help your wallet.

Store your food well: By having your food in clear containers you know exactly what is in the fridge. Unknown items do not get overlooked and forgotten, then tossed out after a couple of weeks. Also make sure to give your fridge a thorough look through often so leftovers don’t get lost in the back and forgotten about.

Watch portion size:

Pepsi and Coke Aim for Viable 100% Plant-Based Bottles

by Eric Wilson on December 21st, 2011

Following up on yesterday’s mention of the advances by Coca-Cola in Japan, a recent New York Times article describes the latest efforts by both Coke and Pepsi to use 100% plant based bottles. In reading Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte (the book review is coming soon, I am almost finished), the battle over which beverage company has the more eco-friendly packaging has been raging for some time. Back in the mid-2000s, Coke and Pepsi were competing to include a greater percentage of recycled content into their bottles. While a bit dated, Royte cites data that as of 2005, Pepsi had achieved 10% recycled content and Coke a mere 3.8% in 2006. Coke had initially pledged 10% by 2005, but had backed off the commitment. A 2nd Green Revolution article from earlier this year noted Pepsi’s unveiling of an entirely plant based bottle.

The New York Times article mentioned that Coca-Cola “plans to work with three companies that are developing competing technologies to make plastic from plants, with bottles rolling out to consumers in perhaps a few years.” As with the recycled content competition, the race to manufacture a plant-based bottle involves Pepsi as well. According to the article, the company also announced “it was on schedule to conduct a test next year that involved producing 200,000 bottles made from plant-only plastic”

Unless the plant-based bottle is cost-effective, there will be no time table for the full scale deployment.

Recent “Green” Developments in Japan

by Justin Manger on December 20th, 2011

From Japan for Sustainability come two quick news tidbits of note. First, a group of researchers at Chubu University has been developing superconducting wires that can minimize electricity loss in the transmission process. “In 2010, the group successfully completed the world’s first experiment aimed at sending direct current electricity through a 200-meter-long transmission line using superconductors.” This would come in handy in moving electricity generated from renewable sources – often plentiful in rural or non-population centers – to the major cities that need the electricity. The team is currently working on a project slated for the Sahara Desert. According to the team, “it would be theoretically possible to generate enough electricity to meet the world’s current energy needs if photovoltaic panels were installed in four percent of the world’s deserts.”

The other piece of news comes from Coca-Cola, a company with a huge commercial presence in Japan. They have made several green moves here, including introducing a partially plant based PET bottle (check back tomorrow for more on plant-based bottles). More impressively, Coca-Cola Japan Co’s 2011 Sustainability Report mentions that the company reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 420,000 tons from its 2004 output (chart below).

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