2nd Green Revolution - Part 22

Beer Wrapped in Roadkill: The Ultimate in Recycling or Ultimately Grotesque?

by Justin Manger on October 4th, 2011

What to do with animals hit and killed by vehicles on the roads? Throw them in the woods to decompose? Leave them on the road to eventually be flattened away by car tires? Send out roadkill teams to clean up and dispose of the animals? Wrap them around $765 bottles of beer?

If you’re looking for something different and like the taste of 55% alcoholic beverages, “The End of History” from the Scottish company BrewDog could be for you, if it weren’t  already sold out. The 12 bottles that were made have already been purchased and have been shipped to their customers in various “taxidermied” animals: four squirrels, seven weasels, and a hare, all of which were roadkill. At 55% alcohol, “It tastes more like a whisky and you have got to handle it in that way as opposed to the way you would handle a normal beer,” according to an MSNBC interview with the company. “It contains juniper berries and nettles, and its taste has hints of cinnamon, orange and an ‘American hops’ flavor.” And as for the use of roadkill? “We wanted to

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Google Invests Big in the Green Energy Revolution

by Chris DeArmond on October 3rd, 2011
Last week, Google announced a $75 million “initial investment” in San Francisco-based Clean Power Financethat will help as many as 3,000 homeowners secure financing for solar installations. Google stated the move “makes business sense” and will help accelerate residential solar installations. It also will bring its total investment in the development and deployment of clean energy to over $850 million.Even with government subsidies and tax credits, the cost of a residential solar array is often too high for most homeowners. For instance, if Google’s investment reaches 3,000 residences, that equals a price of $25,000 per home. Moreover, solar installers can’t always provide customers with financing options due to lack of capital, and the highly fragmented solar market makes it difficult for outside lenders to enter the marketplace.Fortunately, Clean Power Finance has developed an open platform that addresses these issues. It works by connecting solar installers (who sign up to gain access to customers) with investors like Google, thus giving customers better access to financing.

Essentially, Google purchases solar arrays for homeowners (while retaining ownership), the installer builds it on the homeowner’s roof, and homeowners agree

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Sustainability – Hijacked by the Establishment

by Eric Wilson on October 2nd, 2011

Sustainability has (un)officially become a buzzword. It feels like this happened a few years back, perhaps around the time 2nd Green Revolution was founded. However, evidence points to a more recent and sinister shift. The term has seemingly been hijacked by the “establishment.” This is not a conspiracy theory mind you, just an observation. Companies that do not have sustainability as a core component of their business model  have realized there is value in exploiting the term. It is important to ask if environmental concerns are indeed compatible with the market economy. Taking this a step further though acknowledges that there are multiple components to sustainability, not just the environment.

Sustainability has hundreds of definitions, but the truest in terms of environmental sustainability refers to harvesting goods (energy and raw materials) at the rate they are replenished, while economic sustainability is defined by benefits outweighing costs. As the economy slowly shifts to a sustainable one, and perhaps a regenerative economy, there will be a role for nonrenewable resources. These serve as the foundation of the current economic system. However, labeling oil and gas companies as sustainable energy (or clean energy for that matter) is a complete misnomer. Yes, they will be vital in the transition to renewable and hopefully sustainable fuels. But they are not sustainable energy sources. Deriving oil and gas from plants and animals on the other hand is renewable. Whether it is ultimately sustainable remains to be seen. Just because a fuel comes from a renewable source (i.e. it is replenished within our lifetime), does not mean it is sustainable. Good luck capturing methane from a cow’s flatulence.

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October 2011 Clean Energy and Sustainability Events

by Eric Wilson on October 1st, 2011

As we mentioned earlier this week, the 21st annual Solar Tour is taking place throughout the Washington DC area. This is one of several events in and around the nation’s capital. Check out the 2nd Green Revolution’s calendar for more information. The big annual event in the green building industry, Greenbuild, takes place early in the month up in Toronto. There are a few other conferences taking place in Canada, including “Moving Business Toward Sustainability” which is listed below.

There are several education based conferences as well this month. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, which 2nd Green Revolution covered last year, takes place this month in Pittsburgh. In addition, the North American Association for Environmental Education is also holding its annual conference in October.

While the calendar has quite a few listings, it is far from complete. 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 North America (and one in Germany):

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Five Friday Facts: The Nature of Design

by Eric Wilson on September 30th, 2011

A friend recently lent me her copy of David Orr’s The Nature of Design. I read and reviewed his 1994 book, Earth in Mind several months back. In the first few chapters there were a number of interesting facts. I culled a few from Earth in Mind for a past Five Friday Facts and noted that some of the data was dated. The Nature of Design was published in 2002, so the figures may not be as accurate now, though many still hold. Orr’s data deals largely with rates of consumption and our impact on resources.

  • At the most basic level, humans need 2,200-3,000 calories* per day depending on body size and activity level.
  • The average citizen of the United States now uses some 186,000 calories** of energy each day, most of which is derived from oil and coal.
  • By one count we waste more than 1 million pounds of materials per person per year.
  • For every 100 pounds of product, we create 3,200 pounds of waste.
  • Measured as an “ecological footprint” (i.e., the land required to grow our food, process our organic wastes, sequester our carbon dioxide, and provide our material needs), the average North American requires some 5 hectares of arable land per person per year. But at the current population level, the world only has 1.2 hectares of useable land per person. (For comparison sake, here is some old data – 2002 like Orr’s book – from my teaching days: One American consumes as much as 2 Germans, 7 Syrians, 12 Colombians, 26 Indians, 93 Haitians, or 324 Ethiopians.)
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Subaru Aims for 30 percent Fuel Economy Boost by 2015

by Chris DeArmond on September 29th, 2011
With the lowest Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) ranking for imported passenger cars from Asia in 2011 (30.6 miles per gallon), Subaru has announced plans to increase its fleet-wide average by 30 percent. It trails behind Honda (42.1), Toyota (41.1), Hyundai (35.6), Kia (35.6), Suzuki (34.2), Mazda (33.8), Mitsubishi (33.2), and Nissan (33.1). According to Car and Driver, new engines and modified transmissions will increase overall efficiency by 20 percent, with lighter body and chassis components contributing the remaining 10 percent. By 2013, Subaru will also introduce its first-ever hybrid in Japan.

The specific engine changes include all-new, naturally aspirated 2.0- and 1.6-liter boxer-four engines. In the near future, Subaru plans to

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21st Annual Tour of Solar Homes Oct. 1st & 2nd in Washington, D.C.

by Justin Manger on September 28th, 2011

For those living in the Washington, D.C. area, you can visit any of 50 energy-efficient homes around the region this weekend to learn about solar power. 2nd Green Revolution visited a home on the circuit two years ago and found the experience pretty interesting and educational.

Here is the information from an email we received about this year’s event. Download the Tour Guide for free at http://solartour.org/download.html. It will act as your map and your ticket into the homes. More details are available on the solar tour website at http://www.solartour.org.

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Electric Cars – A Practical Man’s Epiphany

by Guest Author on September 28th, 2011

The green movement was a nonstarter for me. The generation gap was never more evident than at my house. While my son studies green technologies at school, I prefer collared greens and the Green Bay Packers. I’m a practical man.

Father and son relationships are a strange thing. On a perfect summer afternoon, we sat together in our lawn chairs, each with a beer in hand, discussing the problems of the world and never once agreeing on anything. They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree but I beg to differ. I don’t know this kid at all.

Then he started in on my truck. My beloved truck. This is the truck that put food on the table, got him to football practice, and landed him a job at a research university placing condoms on ears of corn. Yes, you read that correctly. It was a genetic experiment that I’ve yet to understand but it paid good money and got him to college. Don’t laugh.

Knowing that my truck has almost 180,000 miles on it, he suggested an electric car, which I nixed because of it’s perceived limitations. Then he threw me a curveball.

Electric cars and hybrids are pretty common, Dad. Not only that, they save money on gas…and there are tax incentives. Not just deductions. Tax credits.”

He explained to me that credits are different than deductions in that when you file taxes, you get the full benefit, dollar for dollar, on the purchase.

And now that there are several models available from numerous auto makers, competition has brought the price down to something more affordable, even cheaper than some new trucks.

Keep talking, kid.

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