2nd Green Revolution

Growing Up in LA

A few weeks ago I was talking with another transplant from Los Angeles who also became interested in environmental sustainability. She asked what it was that got me interested in ...

Happy Birthday, 2nd Green Revolution

It has been three years to the day since our first post at 2nd Green Revolution. From that beginning, the number of visits to the site has tripled each year, ...

52 Japanese Municipalities Now Energy Independent

Given the dearth of natural resources, new concerns over nuclear power, and a "mottainai" mentality, it seems natural that Japan should look to put in place policies and develop technologies ...

Efficiency is not the Key to Sustainability

Justin has written a few posts about the importance of getting outside; one titled "Encroachment" and the other "The Set Aside". This post follows up, but takes the idea in ...

My Issue with Keurig Coffee Cups

The new rage is K-cups, also known as Keurig individual cups of coffee. Not only do these individual coffee cups have individual packaging that is not recyclable, it also has ...

Automakers Unveil Electric Vehicles at Detroit Auto Show

by Chris DeArmond on January 13th, 2012

Despite the fact that hybrid and electric vehicles accounted for less than 3 percent of cars sold in 2011, they dominated this week’s Detroit Auto Show for the second year in a row.

While several hybrid/electric vehicles revealed at the show were concept cars—for example, the hybrid Lexus LFLC sports coupe and the iconic Acura NSX hybrid supercar—many pre-production vehicles were also on display. Ford introduced a plug-in hybrid version of its top selling Fusion family sedan, which will be sold alongside a traditional hybrid variant. By 2020, Ford executives say plug-ins and hybrids will account for 10 to 25 percent of vehicle purchases. On Monday, Volkswagen introduced

FFF: Americans Ate a Ton in 2011 (Literally, 2,000 pounds)

by Eric Wilson on January 13th, 2012

From a recent NPR article, this week’s Five Friday Facts are about food consumption in the US last year.

1,996 pounds, or nearly one ton. This is an estimate of how much — by weight — the average American eats over the course of one year. The figure comes from economists who crunched food consumption data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
We consume about 630 pounds of milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream per year. About 31 pounds of cheese alone sailed down our gullets and about 185 pounds of chicken, turkey, pork and beef per person (though beef consumption is trending downward).
Wheat and other grains total 197 pounds.
While we eat about 273 pounds per person of fruit most of it is water weight. Few Americans eat the recommended five fruits a day. While we do get some 415 pounds of vegetables into our diet each year, the most popular choices are corn and potatoes.
141 pounds of sweeteners (including 42 pounds of corn syrup a year), and 85 pounds of fats.

Here’s a bonus fact from the article:

EPA’s New Website of Top Greenhouse Gas Emitters

by Eric Wilson on January 12th, 2012

As a follow up to a post the other day titled “Top Polluting Power Plants in North Amer ica,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled a new website yesterday that is dedicated to identifying the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the U.S., including carbon dioxide and methane.

As stated on the EPA’s site, “This tool to gives you access to greenhouse gas data reported to EPA by large facilities and suppliers in the United States.” The site provides an interact map using Google’s map function to display the various locations of top emitters throughout the United States as well its various territories and protectorates. In addition to the map interface, data is presented through tables, charts, and graphs. The search function allows users to type in the name of specific facilities or general locations. One can also search by sector. The site includes the following sectors:

Filthy Beijing Air (Photos)

by Justin Manger on January 12th, 2012

How dirty is the air in Beijing? “Beyond index” hazardous, for one. It also looks just nasty. The photos below paint a very hazy and unpleasant picture. The pollution this winter in China’s capital city is in stark contrast to the winter view here in Tokyo, where the cool air and winter air patterns sweep the city sky of haze and fumes leading to beautiful views of the skyline (as can be seen in the last two pictures below) and Mount Fuji.

Wild and Scenic Film Festival – January 13-15

by Eric Wilson on January 11th, 2012

As mentioned in this month’s calendar post, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival takes place this week. Starting this Friday (the 13th) and running through the end of the weekend, the festival is put on by the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) in Nevada City, California. This year represents the 10th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival and is considered the largest film festival of its kind.

According to SYRCL, “Festival-goers can expect to see Award winning films about nature, community activism, adventure, conservation, water, energy and climate change, wildlife, environmental justice, agriculture, Native American and indigenous cultures.” A number of documentaries will be included. Among them, Cold Stream Creative is planning the world premier of their film The Next Best West.

ARPA-E Director Majumdar Lays It Out Plain and Simple

by Justin Manger on January 11th, 2012

Modeled after the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the agency responsible for such technological innovations as the Internet and the stealth technology found in the F-117, the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E) within the Department of Energy (DOE) was established to focus on creative “out-of-the-box” transformational energy research. Regarding our current energy situation, this quote from ARPA-E Director Dr. Arun Majumdar sums it up.

Our life in the U.S. today depends on access to energy. We don’t talk about it much, because we take it for granted, but let’s imagine for a second: What if our electricity were turned off for a day? For a week? What about a whole month? Our entire economy, and our lives, would come to a standstill. And what if our oil supply were turned off for a given period of time? We’d be in trouble. In the transportation sector, we have only one fuel—oil—and we import roughly half of it. Those imports cost us nearly one billion dollars a day. And while we may not run out of oil in the next several decades, access to it could be an issue, because of increasing demand around the world. Environmental impact is another issue, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

So whether we consider the input of fuel and electricity to our society, or the output of emissions, either way we have a long-term problem. On one hand,

Honda’s Recent Ups (and Down) in Green Cars

by Eric Wilson on January 10th, 2012

Honda Motor Company’s natural gas powered Civic won the 2012 Green Car of the Year at the most recent L.A. Auto Show. While this is nothing new for the car, it does help balance some of the recent negative publicity surrounding a court case brought against the automaker. Their hybrid Civic has come under fire by some owners for failing to deliver on claims of 50 miles per gallon. As mentioned in an earlier article on 2nd Green Revolution, the mileage standards include credits for advancements like more efficient air conditioning. Whether or not the EPA estimated mileage is misleading or not appears to be in a judge’s hands for now.

Last year the Honda Civic GX, the natural gas version’s official model name, earned top honors on GreenCars.org’s 2011 annual rankings. That marked the 8th consecutive time the Civic won the appellation. Natural gas prices have plummeted with the advent of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). A recent NPR story questions the effect of natural gas’s low prices on the burgeoning solar industry. Earlier this month an article in the New York Times discussed the halting of fracking in Ohio in order to study the series of recent earthquakes in the area.

Lifecycle analysis for green cars must be taken into account.

Current Sustainable Food Trends

by Megan Stilley on January 10th, 2012

After reading a couple of articles about current food trends here are a few fascinating ones. Hopefully one will spark your interest and you will start following the trend.

Eating from the bottom of the food chain: This idea is so intriguing- it seems a little out there but it also makes sense sustainability wise. Serving krill and grasshoppers as menu items seems gross, but at the same time sounds fascinating. As long we don’t wipe out the bottom of the food chain with this new trend, it could be more sustainable since it is more efficient. Eating from the bottom means you are getting all those nutrients and energy directly from the source without it being diluted throughout the food chain until you get to higher species- such as pigs, cows, and chicken- and then consuming those sources of energy.

Food swaps: Food swaps are pot-lucks on steroids.

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Growing Up in LA

Happy Birthday, 2nd Green Revolution

52 Japanese Municipalities Now Energy Independent

Efficiency is not the Key to Sustainability

My Issue with Keurig Coffee Cups

Automakers Unveil Electric Vehicles at Detroit Auto Show

FFF: Americans Ate a Ton in 2011 (Literally, 2,000 pounds)

EPA’s New Website of Top Greenhouse Gas Emitters

Filthy Beijing Air (Photos)

Wild and Scenic Film Festival – January 13-15

ARPA-E Director Majumdar Lays It Out Plain and Simple

Honda’s Recent Ups (and Down) in Green Cars

Current Sustainable Food Trends

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