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

Hertz on Demand: Toward Sustainable Transportation

by Eric Wilson on April 18th, 2012

Can a rental car company really move society toward sustainable transport? Hertz on Demand, a car sharing service from the eponymous rental agency, believes they have devised a way to more appropriately share cars. Currently there are a wealth of these types of services. Occasional Car, eGo Car Share, and ZipCar are some of the companies just to name a few; not to mention ride sharing options like ZimRide and Carpooling.com.

Hertz on Demand (HOD) offers rentals at more than 500 locations worldwide, giving “renters the freedom of car ownership, without the economic, environmental and logistical challenges that come with owning a car.” According to Hertz, each HOD vehicle removes 14 cars from the road. In order to distinguish themselves from the competition, they are offering free sign up and no monthly costs. Many competitors charge a $5 monthly membership fee. Hertz’s hourly and daily rates vary and are available to members only. As a warning, it took a week from the time I “applied” until I was “accepted” as a member.

In addition, Hertz is offering a promotion for those who use another service: “mail us your membership card from any US car share competitor and we’ll give you $75 in driving credits to try Hertz On Demand!” To find other differences between HOD and competitors, check out their comparison site. (Note, this may depend on where you live).

Hertz cites the following benefits of their service (and car sharing in general):

Offshore Wind Project on the Great Lakes

by Eric Wilson on April 17th, 2012

When you think of offshore wind, what comes to mind? Cape Cod, Massachusetts? Great Britain? How about a different “Great”? The Great Lakes to be exact. Governors of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at jump starting offshore wind development in the Great Lakes.

The Department of Energy announced that the “Great Lakes’ offshore wind energy resources could yield tremendous economic and environmental benefits throughout the region, and have the potential to produce more than 700 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind, about one fifth of the total offshore wind potential in the U.S.” As a point of reference, the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) figures each gigawatt produces enough energy to power some 300,000 homes.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn espoused the position that “‘investing in clean energy projects and the development of wind resources helps promote economic development and create jobs, while reducing our dependence on foreign energy sources.’” Meanwhile, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, whose state ranks fifth in installed wind capacity, sees the move as a further sign of his state’s leadership in the arena of wind energy.

In addition to the aforementioned states, several other groups have signed the MOU. The list can be found below:

An Unusual Two For One: Controlling Weeds While Generating Energy

by Justin Manger on April 16th, 2012

Working with Coretec Inc., a manufacturer that specializes in energy-saving machinery and systems, Fuji Electric announced last December that they had come up with a weed-control mat that is now getting attention as a possible new application for photovoltaic power.

Municipalities in Japan occasionally use weed-control mats over soil to keep unused or sloped areas of land free of weeds. Were they to substitute the usual mats with the solar ones, weeds could still be kept at bay while generating some electricity. The mats are thin, lightweight, and flexible and therefore can be easily installed on inclines, embankments, and levees. Possible application could also include unused and sloped areas and alongside roads, railroad tracks, and rivers throughout Japan.

Getting the electricity from the mats to a location or

What Does the Natural Gas Boom Mean for Sustainability?

by Eric Wilson on April 15th, 2012

Both NPR and the New York Times ran stories last week that highlighted the role of natural gas in the U.S. energy economy. NPR interviewed Amy Myers Jaffe, director of Rice University’s Baker Institute Energy Forum. Jaffe predicted that natural gas prices would remain low for the foreseeable future, specifically 5-10 years. The New York Times article details the booming production of oil and natural gas from sources that were virtually dry a few years ago.

What does this mean for renewable energy? For sustainability? The fact that the horizon for natural gas is 10 years demonstrates the continued lack of forward thinking that will be necessary for sustainable energy. Until we re-frame the conversation and consider 100 or 200 years down the road (when the supply of fossil fuels will all but disappear), there is little to no room for renewables to enter the mix. As was alluded to in last week’s op-ed, taking a long term perspective runs counter to so much of instant gratification that society is seemingly predicated upon these days.

The near term benefit of cheap natural gas and higher production of domestic oil pushes the question of sustainable energy back.

Department of Energy to Fund Wireless EV Charging

by Eric Wilson on April 14th, 2012

Nikola Tesla, a major proponent of alternating currents (as in AC of AC/DC; no not the band), envisioned wireless transmission of electricity more than a century ago. Its time may finally be coming as electric vehicles (EVs) start to proliferate.

The Department of Energy recently announced $4 million for the development of wireless charging for EVs. Funding for this initiative comes from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Program. The hope is that wireless charging would negate “range anxiety,” the fear of running out of battery power without being near a charging station.

While a Nikola Tesla-like system may not be feasible for sometime, “this funding will accelerate the development of wireless charging technology to provide hands-free, automated charging of parked vehicles. Static wireless charging – or wireless charging when the vehicle is parked – can ensure easy and efficient vehicle charging.”

Multiple projects could potentially be funded in hopes of developing a wireless charging system. The hope is to build a system that would be deployed within a decade.

Double Set of Five Friday Facts: Natural Gas Leads the Pack

by Eric Wilson on April 13th, 2012

When looking at which energy source provides the most energy to the American economy, natural gas topped the charts for 2010 (the most recent year for which data was fully available). Today’s set of facts looks at the breakdown of the various sources and follows up last week’s Five Friday Facts which looked at the technology behind natural gas production.

While natural gas leads the list, it does not represent a majority of the energy consumed. Click here for a graphic generated by the Wall Street Journal which served as the source for this information.

All figures are in British Thermal Units (trillions):

Nonrenewable sources: 66,968 (89.2% of total energy consumed)

Natural gas: 24,781 (33%)
Coal: 22,077 (29.4%)
Crude Oil: 11,669 (15.5%)
Nuclear: 8,441 (11.2%)

Renewable sources: 8,064 (10.8%)

Biomass: 4,310 (5.7%)
Hydroelectric: 2,509 (3.3%)
Wind: 924 (1.2%)
Geothermal: 212 (0.3%)
Solar: 109 (0.15%)

Bamboo Keyboard from iZen

by Justin Manger on April 12th, 2012

You spilled soda on your wireless keyboard and that darn M key keeps sticking.

You broke down and bought a new iPad, then realized you didn’t want to compose long messages by tapping on the glass (perhaps the MacBook Wheel is what you are looking for) and are thinking about a keyboard accessory. Maybe you are just looking for a replacement keyboard or want to try something new. Then it may be worth checking out this iZen keyboard that is 92% bamboo.

From a read over of the specs below, it seems to be a decent potential replacement for traditional keyboards. Being mostly made of bamboo means it breaks down more easily in nature, isn’t made out of plastics that rely on oil for their creation, and is all around more natural. Bamboo grows at incredible rates (40 times as fast as some other types of hardwoods) and can be more sustainably harvested if done right. In case you are worried whether it can handle all that typing,

CFL Bulb Recycling Around 2 Percent

by Chris DeArmond on April 11th, 2012

With all the attention compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) get for saving energy, it seems like the importance of recycling them has taken a back seat. A study by the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers (ALMR) cited in a 2011 Consumer Reports article found that only 2 percent of consumers said they actually recycle their CFLs (24 percent of all fluorescent lamps are recycled). This means the majority of them end up in the landfill, where they are likely to break and release mercury.

While each fluorescent bulb contains on average just 4 milligrams of mercury (an old thermometer contains roughly 500 milligrams), the numbers start to add up. A study by the Solid Waste Association of North America estimates that roughly 500 million fluorescent bulbs (not just CFLs) are thrown away, and likely broken, each year. While coal-fired powerplants represent the largest unregulated industrial source of mercury emissions, releases from fluorescent lamps can accumulate in lakes and rivers, and therefore, enter the food chain.

However, even when accounting for the mercury emissions of broken bulbs, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the use of high-efficiency bulbs actually reduces total mercury emissions. Since they use about 75 percent less

Weather Disasters Set Record for Costs in 2011

by Justin Manger on April 11th, 2012

2011 saw a slew of natural disasters in the U.S. that brought a record of 14 separate weather events with costs exceeding $1 billion each. From hurricanes and floods, to heat waves and droughts, to tornado outbreaks and wildfires, it was a wild year for Mother Nature.

There were over $46 billion in damages tallied during the year, according to the National Climactic Data Center. Tornadoes caused the most damage, costing $26 billion dollars over the course of the year.

It is nearly impossible to say definitively that any weather event or group of weather events has happened because of climate change. However, many scientists say that we have put ourselves in a situation where extreme weather is more likely than before.

Here is NOAA’s ranking of the top 10 disasters last year:

Ball State Completes Largest Geothermal Installation

by Eric Wilson on April 10th, 2012

A few years back we wrote an article about Ball State University’s plan to replace their coal-fired boilers with a geothermal system. As it turns out, the time has come. According to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Office of the Department of Energy, Ball State has completed the nation’s largest ground-source geothermal system for heating and cooling.

Funding from the EERE was made available as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. EERE reports that the university will save an estimated $2 million annually while reducing its carbon footprint by roughly half. The system works by transferring heat from the Earth to buildings in the winter. The reverse, transferring heat from the buildings and pumping it back into the earth, helps cool the campus in the summer.

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