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

Five Friday Facts: Ethanol

by Justin Manger on April 29th, 2011

The use of E-10 Unleaded (10 percent ethanol/90 percent ordinary unleaded gasoline) is approved for use by every major automaker in the world.
One bushel of corn yields about 2.8 gallons of ethanol.
2006 represented the third largest corn harvest in the nation’s history. Ethanol production consumed about 18% of it – some 2.15 billion bushels.
Ethanol production in the U.S. hit a record 4.86 billion gallons in 2006—nearly double the amount produced in 2000.By my calculations (2.8 gallons per bushel, times 2.15 billion bushels yields more than 6 billion gallons.
There are some 6 million “flexible fuel” vehicles on America ’s highways that can run on up to 85 percent ethanol (E85).

Source: http://www.ethanolfacts.com/ETHL2007/quickfacts.html

Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department of Education Announces Green Ribbon Schools Program

by Eric Wilson on April 28th, 2011

In conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday of the Green Ribbon Schools program. Aimed at recognizing schools “that are creating healthy and sustainable learning environments and teaching environmental literacy,” the program is modeled after the Department of Education’s Blue Schools Program. The Blue Schools Program honors the top performing and most improved public and private schools in terms of student achievement.

As part of the press release announcing the program, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was quoted as saying “Preparing our children to be good environmental citizens is some of the most important work any of us can do. . . . It’s work that will serve future generations and quite literally sustain our world.”

Part Two: Is Shale Gas a Bridge to Clean Energy? Possible Water Contamination and a Well Blowout Cause Doubt

by Chris DeArmond on April 28th, 2011

Natural gas is among the cleanest burning fossil fuels, but two unfolding events – possible water contamination and a well blowout – in shale-rich Pennsylvania highlight the potential environmental cost of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”).

In the first case, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released a document expressing concern over rising bromide levels in surface water. The department is concerned that hydraulic fracking, which requires large amounts of chemical-laden drilling fluid, is contaminating water supplies.

“While there are several possible sources for bromide other than shale drilling wastewater, we believe that if operators would stop giving wastewater to facilities that continue to accept it under the special provision, bromide concentrations would quickly and significantly decrease… Bromide, itself non-toxic, turns into a combination of potentially unsafe compounds called Total Trihalomethanes once it is combined with chlorine for disinfection at water treatment facilities.”

The department also asked natural gas companies to stop sending drilling wastewater to treatment plants by May 19. An article in the Wall Street Journal stated that Pennsylvania is the only

Finding the “Greenest” Computer

by Guest Author on April 27th, 2011

Computers and other information technology devices are said to use around $8 billion worth of energy in the United States each year. One of the latest trends that companies are using to offset this use of energy is cloud computing. This enables large companies to be environmentally friendly by using fewer computer processors and by increasing their overall utilization. However, for individuals and small companies, the use of cloud computing providers is simply not economically efficient. But there are many green options available for them as well. A “green” computer is one of the good options. They are built to consume less energy, and therefore emit less carbon, than regular models. Many green computers are also manufactured in more environmentally conscious ways. Purchasing a green computer will help consumers reduce the amount of electricity they use, as well as preserve the environment. After realizing the benefits that green computers present, many consumers wonder how they can choose a more environmentally friendly option. Fortunately, it’s surprisingly easy. Many manufacturers are choosing to produce energy efficient computers. Consumers simply need to know how to find them.

How to Find a “Green” Computer

When looking for an energy efficient computer, the easiest bit of advice is to

Zero Emissions Race Wraps Up in Switzerland

by Eric Wilson on April 26th, 2011

A few months ago we first wrote about Zero Emissions Race, the worldwide “race” to circumnavigate the globe in zero emission, electric cars. In a long overdue follow up, the race ended on February 24th at Palais des Nations at United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. In a reference to Jules Verne, the race took 80 days and traversed more than 28,000 kilometers (17,000 miles) of roads. Throughout the inaugural race, three electric vehicles passed through 17 countries and 150 cities.

According to the race’s website, the objective of “ZERO Race was not about speed, but about vehicle reliability and other criteria such as energy efficiency, utility to every day life, design and safety. . . . The most successful vehicle was Zerotracer, by the Oerlikon Solar Racing Team from Switzerland, followed by German team’s Vectrix, an electric motor scooter. Third place was taken by TREV, from Australia.”

Here is a short video of the contestants driving through the fading Texas daylight:

Eco-trek Reaches Half-Way Point on It’s Drive Around the World

by Justin Manger on April 25th, 2011

While last Friday’s installment of Eco-trek was postponed so we could do our annual Earth Day posting, the Eco-Trek team continued their drive in their Mercedes-Benz F-CELL across Australia. In this installment, the team looks at wave energy and speaks with solo ocean rower and environmentalist Roz Savage. Other interesting stops on their tour can be seen in the video below. We’ve been bringing you the series every week and they’ll be about another 5 or 6 episodes before their journey is complete.

The Hegemony of Nonrenewable Energy Sources

by Eric Wilson on April 24th, 2011

One of the unique aspects about being in school again is the exposure to concepts, ideas, writers, and philosophers that I would not necessarily come across in my general reading. One idea in particular, which was not new, but was covered in more depth than I thought possible this semester, was the notion of hegemony. Largely credited to Antonio Gramsci, a jailed Italian writer during Mussolini’s reign, Merriam Webster provides the following definition:

1: preponderant influence or authority over others : domination <battled for hegemony in Asia>

2: the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group

Hegemony suggests a complete and total domination, one that is so overarching that

Genetically Engineered Crops and Organically Grown Crops: Friends or Enemies?

by Guest Author on April 23rd, 2011

** This question and answer session comes courtesy of an intellectual property expert in the private sector. The first post dealt with intellectual property in the clean technology sector.

Can genetically engineered crops and organically grown crops survive side by side? The following quote from a recent Washington Post piece seems to think they can.

“The two sides are not clashing over the ethics or safety of genetic engineering, in which plants are modified in the laboratory with genes from another organism to make them more pest-resistant or to produce other traits. Instead, the argument is over the potential for contamination: pollen and seeds from GE crops can drift across fields to nearby organic plants. That has triggered fears that organic crops could be overtaken by modified crops. Contamination can cost organic growers - some overseas markets, for example, have rejected organic products when tests showed they carried even trace amounts of GE material.”

The simple answer is that organic-certified crops and plants modified by use of recombinant DNA technology must coexist

Home Sweet Home; Earth Day 2011

by 2nd Green Revolution on April 22nd, 2011

[Image Credit]

Five Friday Facts: Earth Day History Lesson

by Eric Wilson on April 22nd, 2011

In honor of Earth Day, here are five historical facts about the movement.

At the behest of Senator Gaylord Nelson, President Kennedy went on a five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963, which was aimed at raising awareness about environmental issues.*
Senator Nelson created Earth Day as a way to “force this issue onto the national agenda.”
1970: First Earth Day
Shortly after Earth Day, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established, on December 2, 1970 to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection.
President Richard Nixon and Congress established the U.S. EPA in response to the growing public demand for cleaner water, air and land. EPA was tasked with the challenging goal of repairing the damage already done to the environment and to establish guidelines to help Americans in making a cleaner—and safer—environment a reality.

Source: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm
*Source: http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html

Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art

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