2nd Green Revolution

Late last year Thomas Friedman was interviewed by Anne Strainchamps on Wisconsin Public Radio’s To The Best of Our Knowledge. The focus of the interview was the current green revolution, what we have taken to calling the second green revolution. He argues that everyone must participate if this is to be considered a true revolution.

In the interview, which can be heard here, Friedman claims that today’s measures fail to qualify as a revolution. He cites the general greenwashing of goods and services and argues that the day when every product achieves the highest energy efficiency will mark the next green revolution. What Friedman fails to acknowledge is that a revolution starts with a small force. However, his observation that “people actually have to change” is an important one. Behavioral changes represent the most daunting hurdle. Read the rest of this entry »

With the movement for outdoor education and increasing youths’ general experiences in nature gaining steam, legislation referred to as “No Child Left Inside” (NCLI) passed its first major hurdle. Directly related to the work of Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, NCLI aims to combat what Louv terms nature-deficit disorder.

The state of Connecticut has their own initiative of the same name. Intended to “encourage Connecticut families and visitors alike to enjoy all the recreational resources and outdoor activities available in Connecticut’s state parks, forests and waterways”, the state’s directive aims to reconnect families with Connecticut’s natural environs. Read the rest of this entry »

We are pleased to announce the opening of a very modest “2nd Green Store” on our site. It can be found underneath the “Features” tab in the drop-down menu at the top of our homepage. The store currently has books that we’ve reviewed on the site for sale through Amazon. We plan to add more products as we expand the store this year. This will be one part of our expansion, in conjunction with a website redesign we are working on for release sometime in the next few months. For now, let us know if there are any other books you would like to see in the new 2nd Green Store.

Justin and Eric,

2nd Green Revolution

If you live in Washington D.C., you may want to do some light shopping on New Year’s Day. This Friday, all seven Giant Food stores in D.C. will be bag your groceries in reusable totes. This is Giant’s way of using the introduction of a 5 cent bag tax in Washington D.C. as a clever marketing ploy to get people into its stores. Those totes could come in handy. Starting January 1st, shoppers at all grocery, drug, and liquor stores in the District will have to pay a 5 cent tax on paper and plastic bags they use for their purchased goods unless they bring their own bags. The bag tax, along with having to pay to park on the city’s streets on Saturday (currently free) and extending parking meter times until 10pm (currently 6:30pm in many places), is seen as one way to help close the city’s $104 million expected deficit next year.

The debate over whether global warming/climate change is happening is really kind of moot. Some say it’s happening. Some say it isn’t. Regardless of who is eventually found to be right, the larger international community has decided to use climate change as a rallying point to get consensus, institute agreements, and take action to change the way we produce, distribute, and consume energy.

Here at home, irrespective of the U.S. federal government, there are numerous organizations – including powerful ones like the Clinton Foundation and USCAP - that are influencing policy, legislation, and business. They will use climate change to their advantage even if they don’t necessarily believe in it or even if it really isn’t happening. It’s really beside the point. Local and state governments, the military, homeowners, schools, consumers and businesses are taking action to shift to a new energy paradigm, regardless. Money, both saving and making it, is an awesome motivator; so is increased security and more self-reliance by using a variety of renewable local energy sources. And a clean environment is not bad, either.

“Globalization” is forcing businesses to create, innovate, compete, and save like never before: Read the rest of this entry »

While reading the New York Times online this morning, I came across an interesting ad for a noon webcast today sponsored by Shell energy company. “Energy Challenge: The Role of Government and Industry” will begin at 12pm EST. You can can up to watch the webcast at http://energychallengewebcast.com/signup.php. Here’s the description of the program from the website:

“The future of energy poses vast challenges to government and private industry, as world energy demand is expected to double by 2050 to improve living standards. Join us in this live debate on the roles played by the public and private sectors in addressing the challenges to energy in the 21st century.”

- Justin Manger

Van Jones, appointed as a special adviser for “green jobs” by President Obama, has stepped down after weeks of controversy about his past actions and comments. Appointed as a “czar”, he did not go through the traditional vetting process for administration officials who must be confirmed by the Senate. According to the New York Times, some of his controversial remarks included “his derogatory statements about Republicans in February and his signature on a 2004 letter suggesting that former President George W. Bush might have knowingly allowed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to occur in order to use them as a ‘pre-text to war.’” Speaking on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Jones “decided that the agenda of this president was bigger than any one individual.” Gibbs said President Obama did not endorse Jone’s past actions “but he thanks him for his service.”

For more information and to form your own opinion on the whole matter, here are links to articles from a range of news sources:

Fox News
The Huffington Post
The New York Times
The Washington Post

Before getting involved in environmental and energy issues, Jones was a civil-rights activist in California and author of the Green Collar Economy (his “green” background/vision is summarized in this post). He joined the administration’s environmental council in March.

- Justin Manger

[Image Credit]

At the U.S. – China Strategic and Economic Dialogue here in Washington DC this week, the newsworthy event was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase cooperation between the two countries on energy and climate change. Areas of cooperation have been divided into 10 main categories:

1. Energy conservation and energy efficiency
2. Renewable energy
3. Cleaner uses of coal, and carbon capture and storage
4. Sustainable transportation, including electric vehicles
5. Modernization of the electrical grid
6. Joint research and development of clean energy technologies
7. Clean air
8. Clean water
9. Natural resource conservation, e.g. protection of wetlands and nature reserves
10. Combating climate change and promoting low-carbon economic growth

Below is a part of the Fact Sheet that was released the other day. A PDF of the original signed agreement can be found here in English and Chinese. Read the rest of this entry »

In a clear example of how difficult and contentious it is to implement recycling regulations, New York City has been sued over a law that is to take effect at the end of this month that “mandates free, door-to-door electronics collection, paid for by manufacturers.” According to Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) president Gary Shapiro:

“CEA filed suit along with the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) to challenge the law. Manufacturers recognize that they have a key role in providing recycling opportunities for consumers, and have recycled billions of pounds of electronics through voluntary programs. However, they do not have the only role. The responsibilities and costs for electronics recycling should be shared among all stakeholders, including city and state governments, retailers, recyclers and consumers.”

Who should bear the cost of recycling programs? Read the rest of this entry »

Backed by more than $47 million in stimulus funds, the Department of Energy announced funding for eight projects in seven states to “help accelerate the development and implementation of a modernized and secure electrical grid, a critical piece in delivering renewable energy to American consumers and ensuring an effective, reliable and efficient electricity system across the country.” The money will go to projects that are already underway in order to help test and verify demonstration-scale smart grid technologies that can then be duplicated in other locations around the country. The eight projects and related funding are listed below the jump. More detailed descriptions of the projects can be found at the link mentioned above. Read the rest of this entry »