2nd Green Revolution

Yesterday’s post about the Chinese automaker BYD’s announcement at the Detroit auto show begs the question about the future of the automobile. What does the coming decade hold in store for the automobile? Share your thoughts by answering the following poll:

(polls)

- Eric Wilson

Chinese battery maker-turned-ambitious-automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) made some noise recently at the Detroit Auto Show. Scheduled to arrive in the U.S. later this year, their E6 electric vehicle has been the target of much speculation. With an “Fe battery” that may be lithium ion phosphate instead of the usual lithium ion, the Discovery Channel reports that the automaker’s battery is fully recyclable, lasts 10 years, and can move the car 205 miles on a single charge. Pricing for the car may be announced later this spring. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday’s post about fake and real Christmas trees and menorahs developed out of several conversations during the holidays, but was precipitated by an article in The New York Times about the use of so-called rare earth elements in the manufacture of clean energy components. Cradle to cradle design would suggest that all materials used in consumer products ought to be capable of serving some function once the original purpose of the object has long passed. This design philosophy necessitates making components for consumer goods out of materials that can return to the ecosystem with toxification of the soils, water, or atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry »

• The United States is likely to install just one-eighth as much new solar power this year as Germany.
• China is expected to surpass the United States this year as the leader in adding new wind energy capacity.
• General Electric, which has 10,000 wind turbines in the United States, says that to encourage growth in the wind industry, the nation should adopt a target of obtaining 12 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2012.
• Some note that even with the administration’s recent moves, it has spent less than one-fourth of the $80 billion clean energy component of the stimulus package. Administration officials boast that the $80 billion figure is by far the largest amount ever committed to renewable energy.
• Solyndra, a company that makes solar photovoltaic panels in Fremont Calif., received a $535 million loan guarantee to finance a manufacturing plant, creating 3,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs.

Source: New York Times

- 2nd Green Revolution

[image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art]

Over the past month, American Public Radio’s Marketplace has aired a series titled “The Climate Race“. Yesterday’s installment focused on the role that China is playing in the clean energy economy. According to the story, China is churning out solar panels and wind turbines and “it produces more alternative energy than any other country.” However, they are also the top producer of greenhouse gases. Due to the abundance of coal in China, the possibility of carbon capture sequestration (CCS) as a way to reduce emissions has gained traction. During the normal burning process for turning coal into electricity at a power plant, carbon dioxide is captured instead of being released into the atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry »

Several months ago 2nd Green Revolution reported on a story from NPR about toxic drywall imported from China in the post-Katrina building boom. Today, NPR ran a follow up story on the materials. According to the story, “Emissions from the drywall corrode plumbing and electrical systems.” Furthermore, “Homeowners also blame them for headaches and respiratory ailments.” NPR cited a report from the insurance industry that claimed replacement costs of could range from $15 to 25 billion (US). The figure includes “replacing drywall, as well as legal fees, the toll on health and other costs.”

For a link to the follow up story from NPR, click here.

- Eric Wilson

Last month in Sacramento, CA and last week in Denver, CO, The Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) convened to discuss the idea that crude oil supplies have diminished to the point where the amount which remains unearthed is less than that which has already been extracted. The 5th annual ASPO-USA conference presented “three days of information-packed events plus a Saturday pre-event workshop designed to stimulate discussion amongst a wide audience of people in business, public policy, and anyone concerned with resource supply issues.” Read the rest of this entry »

• In San Jose, California, three private partners will produce 900,000 gallons of biogas using German technology and 150,000 metric tons of organic waste generated by San Jose residents (source: New York Times).
• Puget Sound Energy, the electricity provider for the Seattle, Washington region, gets 42% of its total electricity production from hydro-power.
• New York City unveiled the “world’s first scientifically valid, real-time indicator of carbon emissions” on a giant billboard outside Madison Square Garden. The ticker shows that atmospheric greenhouse gases are rising by 800 tonnes a second.
• China’s ban on free plastic bags, imposed in 2008, has “saved the use of an estimated 40 million plastic bags that would have taken 1.6 million tons of oil to produce.”
• Sony has announced plans to produce an alkaline battery that contains no mercury, a chemical that is said to be particularly harmful to humans and the environment.

- Justin Manger

[image source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art]

“There’s really no one country that the current administration is engaging more in 2009 than China.”
- Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA), Co-Chairman of the China Working Group

The above quote gets to the point. China has become the most important country for the United States. Not only are the economic fortunes of both countries linked, but China is the largest purchaser and holder of U.S. debt. There are obvious challenges and opportunities regarding the economy, military, and overall strategy as both countries increasingly battle for power and influence. Aside from these, however, is an area that may not seem as obvious but can have consequences just as great: climate change policy. Nothing substantial can be accomplished in terms of cap-and-trade or international agreements on reducing greenhouse gases without China and the U.S., the world’s two biggest emmitters. Neither country signed the Kyoto Protocol, the mostly toothless first attempt to curb global warming that is set to expire in 2012. The COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference this December is billed as the time to create a new international framework to fight climate change. As the conference gets nearer, some are calling for provisions whereby countries that have advanced environmental technology will be forced to give it to countries that don’t. While the idea is to spread technology that will reduce emissions, there is no intellectual property protection for the companies that developed the technology. If a push for this “compulsory licensing” of green technology is a major part of the agenda, the negotiations will fail. Read the rest of this entry »

Mike Williams, host of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s program One Planet, interviewed United States Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu this past week. In the discussion, Secretary Chu argues that “the consequences of business as usual could be catastrophic [and that] we must change our way of thinking about consumption.” He goes on to say that humans must decrease their consumption of energy. According to his view, humans have wasted significant amounts of energy due to an era of cheap energy. One of the main steps to achieve reduction or consumption is to address the waste, which he sees happening through efficiency measures and taking care of so-called low-hanging fruit.

When Mr. Williams pressed Mr. Chu on the issue of the Kyoto Protocol, the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, and legally binding targets to cut emissions, the secretary would not commit the United States ahead of the meeting, but expressed his hope. Read the rest of this entry »