Triple Pundit2008-07-19T12:28:41ZA fresh approach to looking at business.tag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6Movable TypeCopyright (c) 2008, Andrew BurgerProtecting the Siberian Tiger, and Livelihoods, in northeast China2008-07-19T12:28:41Z2008-07-19T12:08:02Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33342008-07-19T12:08:02ZLooking to report to the international community and U.S. donors, the Wildlife Conservation Society???s???Forever Siberian Tigers??? project team at the Hunchun Nature Reserve in northeast China has put out the third edition of its English language newsletter, in which it reports on recent conservation, public outreach and educational efforts to protect the endangered Siberian tiger, including the implementation of MIST, a conservation management information system.Only an estimated 330-370 adult Siberian tigers are believed to exist in the wild and most of them have been pushed into the mountainous borderlands of the Russian Far East and northeast China. Home to a unique assemblage of plant and animal life, Far Eastern Russia???s Sikhote-Alin and China???s East Manchurian Mountains are two of the rapidly declining numbers of large areas in the world that can boast of an exceptional variety of large mammals, including boreal lynx and wolf, the Himalayan black bear, the Asian sika and temperate region red deer. They are also home to the Amur, or Far Eastern, leopard, a species in even greater threat of extinction. Their numbers have been reduced to a mere 25-30, according to the most recent surveys, primarily due to habitat loss that includes expanding populations, land development and natural resource exploitation, according to the WCS. Andrew Burgerhttp://www.triplepundit.com/andrew-burgerakbweb2@yahoo.comDoing Right, Doing GoodWildlife+Conservation+SocietySiberian+tigerHunchun+Tiger+Leopard+ReserveHunchun+Nature+ReserveAmur+leopardSiberian+Tigers+Foreverbig+catswildlife+conservationwildlife+conservation+ChinaForever+Siberian+Tigerwildlife+management+ITwildlife+management Looking to report to the international community and U.S. donors, the Wildlife Conservation Society???s???Forever Siberian Tigers??? project team at the Hunchun Nature Reserve in northeast China has put out the third edition of its English language newsletter, in which it reports on recent conservation, public outreach and educational efforts to protect the endangered Siberian tiger, including the implementation of MIST, a conservation management information system.Only an estimated 330-370 adult Siberian tigers are believed to exist in the wild and most of them have been pushed into the mountainous borderlands of the Russian Far East and northeast China. Home to a unique assemblage of plant and animal life, Far Eastern Russia???s Sikhote-Alin and China???s East Manchurian Mountains are two of the rapidly declining numbers of large areas in the world that can boast of an exceptional variety of large mammals, including boreal lynx and wolf, the Himalayan black bear, the Asian sika and temperate region red deer. They are also home to the Amur, or Far Eastern, leopard, a species in even greater threat of extinction. Their numbers have been reduced to a mere 25-30, according to the most recent surveys, primarily due to habitat loss that includes expanding populations, land development and natural resource exploitation, according to the WCS. ]]>Working for Healthy, Sustainable Co-Existence Based on more than a decade???s worth of preliminary field surveys and research that began in Russian Siberia in 1996, WCS and local researchers and residents have laid the groundwork for a transboundary network of protected areas and management zones that stretches across China???s Jilin and Heilongjian provinces. The New York-based wildlife conservation organization, which operates the Bronx Zoo, is now working with Chinese and Russian authorities and wildlife specialists to make this a reality. Poorly managed natural resource exploitation ??? the region is rich in timber and a range of precious and industrial minerals - along with land development are the primary threats to Siberian tigers and their co-habitants on the Russian side of the border, while locals on the Chinese side have traditionally relied on raising livestock and forest products for their livelihoods. In addition to preying on villagers??? livestock, tigers and leopards are poached for their fur and their body parts are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Hence, in addition to its conservation work, WCS project team members are working to find solutions that can assure the livelihoods of both the local human and region???s wildlife populations. With WCS research, lobbying and financial support, the Jilin Province protected area was created in 2000 and the Hunchun Tiger-Leopard Reserve established in 2001. Spanning some 100,000 hectares, the reserve provides protected habitat for tigers and leopards running parallel to the Borisovkoe and Barsovy protected areas on the Russian side of the border. The Fenghuangshan Reserve in Heilongjiang in 2002 was upgraded to provincial level.Aiming to create a transboundary network of protected tiger and wildlife habitat, WCS is now working with Russian and Chinese government agencies and has conducted workshops for wildlife managers on both sides of the border. WCS has also provided training workshops for new reserve staff and is working with the Hunchun Reserve and sponsors to establish compensation programs for villagers who lose cattle to tiger depredation. ]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)The Nature of Efficiency: Innovation in Action Part 3: PAX Scientific - Extracting the Mathmatics of Nature2008-07-18T22:47:18Z2008-07-18T22:38:11Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33332008-07-18T22:38:11ZTom Schuenemanhttp://www.triplepundit.com/Tom-Schuenemantschueneman@gmail.comEfficiencyefficient+designindustrial+designnature+design Looking once again to Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn’s book Earth the Sequel – The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming that explores the work people are doing to find real solutions for our current unsustainable energy economy we look, actually, to nature itself. At least that’s what Jay Harmon does, and what led him to found PAX Scientific, based in San Rafael California. Harmon’s fascination with natural systems focuses on fluid dynamics and began many years ago as a boy growing up on the beaches of Australia. This led to a stint with the Australian Department of Fisheries and Wildlife where he worked as a naturalist studying flow patterns of ocean and air currents. Harmon’s intuition allowed him to see in the movement of air and water, and in the materials that flowed through them, the underlying mathematical patterns, the geometry of design, and the natural efficiency it represented. Harmon understood that the nature of efficiency is best expressed in the efficiency of nature. From a cloud comes a fan, a lily becomes a water impeller. Suddenly industrial processes and products are made more efficient. ]]> The Path of Least Resistance is Not a Straight Line Conventional wisdom has generally assumed that the technology required to move gases and liquids – propellers and pumps – should be based on the idea that the path of least resistance is always a straight line. Nature, with its approximately 3.8 billion years of research and development, would disagree, and moves liquids and gases in a swirling path of non-linearity. Attempts to move fluids and gases along a straight path create back-pressure, increase friction, reverse heat gain, and create cavitation. Left alone, nature is more efficient than any industrial system. Go With the FlowThe fascination with flow is not new. Scientists, philosophers, and artists have for centuries explored the design and underlying mathematical principals of nature: the Fibonacci sequence, logarithmic spirals, and the Golden Ratio. Harmon was the first to isolate the underlying geometries of these natural flow characteristics and apply them to technology in what he calls “The Streamlining Principle”. The Streamlining Principle reflects Harmon’s understanding of natural flow and its application to design geometry. The Streamlining Principle is a part of what author Janine Benyus calls Biomimicry (Benyus founded the Biomimicry Institute to advance her ideas). The first application took shape in the form of the award-winning “WildThing” and “Goggleboat” series of watercraft, confirming Harmon’s ideas about applying natural flow into industrial design. From this came PAX Scientific, founded in 1997. PAX Scientific’s mission is centered on bringing the natural efficiencies that so inspired Harmon to industrial fluid-handling design and technology; fans, mixers, pumps, turbines, heat exchangers, ducts, propellers, and more. Further validation of Harmon’s Streamline Principle came from a research partnership between PAX Scientific, Cascade Technologies, and Stanford University. Harmon and PAX Scientific were definitely onto something.  The PAX GroupThrough a network of subsidiary companies and master licensee agreements, PAX Scientific brings to market solutions for greater efficiencies in air handling, water and wastewater management, and industrial mixing applications. These companies include the PaxGroup, PAX Water, and PAX Scientific’s newest subsidiary, PAX Mixer:The PaxGroup and its subsidiaries PaxFan, PaxIT, and PaxAuto (this does get a bit labyrinthine) manufacture high-efficiency fan and air movement technologies for the auto, IT, and refrigeration/HVAC industries.Pax Water helps water utilities maintain water quality using Pax’s patented impeller design capable of moving 7 million gallons of water with just one revolving part. Pax Mixer develops and markets rotary and in-line mixer technology for the petroleum, pharmaceutical, and beverage industries. Pax’s designs help these industries reduce energy use, lower capital cost, significantly reduce shear, and provide superior blend times and increased yields. An example of the benefit PAX Scientific’s designs can bring is in every kitchen. A PAX-designed fan for refrigerators is 25% more efficient than conventional refrigerator fans, cutting overall electrical use by 4%, which translates into a reduction of 219,000 megawatts of electricity consumption. Fans are an essential component of every motor, compressor and pump, all of which account for 15% of all electricity consumed in the United States. It adds up fast.  PAX Streamline is the R&D arm of PAX Scientific, currently working on the development and marketing of power generation, propulsion, HVAC, refrigeration, and aerospace technologies. PAX Scientific has a broad team of business and technical advisors including Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and former governor of the Federal Reserve Board and President of VISA U.S.A., H. Robert Heller.From Harmon’s early days on the beaches of Australia, working as a naturalist studying nature’s design, to his work as the driving force behind PAX Scientific and all its subsidiary companies, he has shown that attempting to “improve upon nature” is often the wrong approach to finding sustainable solutions. After all, efficiency is only natural. “To ensure that our actions reflect our values, we endeavor to ask ourselves:does it benefit people, promote prosperity, and tread lightly on the planet” -From PAX Scientific’s mission statement, and a perfect expression of 3P. ]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)No More Chocolate in 20 Years?2008-07-17T23:33:44Z2008-07-17T23:25:28Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33262008-07-17T23:25:28Z The cacao bean is in danger. The Nature Conservation Research Council (NCRC) recently announced that in 20 years time, "Chocolate will be much like caviar today." So what's the deal? Unsustainable farming practices are to blame. Cacao typically grows in rainforest conditions with high biodiversity. Instead, farmers now clear the forest and use hybrid seeds to increase output over the short-term. Unfortunately, this leads to soil erosion and shorter lifespan of trees. Over time, this practice is predicted to lead to an overall shortage of cacao. While many a chocoholic may lament this news, I wish to provide our readers with a little firsthand "reality check." Most of the world's cacao is grown in West Africa. While living in Ghana during my study-abroad year as an undergraduate, I was struck by the fact that, even though Ghana is a net exporter of cacao, most of the country's inhabitants could not afford to purchase a Cadbury or Hershey's bar. Although I shared many a fresh, delicious cacao fruit with my Ghanaian friends, actually eating a chocolate bar was considered a luxury. For Ghanaians, "no chocolate 20 years from now" is now. Such reminders are necessary to place in perspective predictions of ecological change and impacts on human populations. While we, in wealthy, industrialized countries, may fear with trepidation the loss of resources and biodiversity associated with global warming, it is important to remember that half the world's peoples are already living that reality. Shannon Arvizuhttp://www.triplepundit.com/shannon-arvizu/index.phpsla2113@columbia.edu The cacao bean is in danger. The Nature Conservation Research Council (NCRC) recently announced that in 20 years time, "Chocolate will be much like caviar today." So what's the deal? Unsustainable farming practices are to blame. Cacao typically grows in rainforest conditions with high biodiversity. Instead, farmers now clear the forest and use hybrid seeds to increase output over the short-term. Unfortunately, this leads to soil erosion and shorter lifespan of trees. Over time, this practice is predicted to lead to an overall shortage of cacao. While many a chocoholic may lament this news, I wish to provide our readers with a little firsthand "reality check." Most of the world's cacao is grown in West Africa. While living in Ghana during my study-abroad year as an undergraduate, I was struck by the fact that, even though Ghana is a net exporter of cacao, most of the country's inhabitants could not afford to purchase a Cadbury or Hershey's bar. Although I shared many a fresh, delicious cacao fruit with my Ghanaian friends, actually eating a chocolate bar was considered a luxury. For Ghanaians, "no chocolate 20 years from now" is now. Such reminders are necessary to place in perspective predictions of ecological change and impacts on human populations. While we, in wealthy, industrialized countries, may fear with trepidation the loss of resources and biodiversity associated with global warming, it is important to remember that half the world's peoples are already living that reality. ]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)Q&A With Tom Szaky - CEO of Terracycle2008-07-17T22:19:17Z2008-07-17T22:07:55Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33322008-07-17T22:07:55ZAt its inception, TerraCycle began with one product ??? worm poop fertilizer.?? Today, they offer a wide variety of products including cleaning products, rain barrels, tote bags, and more.?? But these are no ordinary cleaning products, rain barrels, and tote bags.?? They are great examples of what we call upcycling.?? They take waste products (like Clif Bar wrappers, Capri Sun pouches, or Coke bottles) and turn them into useful stuff.Now is your chance to ask TerraCycle's CEO, Tom Szaky, all the questions you've been dying to pose.?? At Huddler's Green Home, they're putting together a crowd sourced interview.?? So for the next few days, post your questions in their forums and make sure to vote on your favorites.?? Then they'll take the best 10, send them over to Tom to get answered and we'll publish the full interview here on Triple Pundit.?? What are you waiting for??? Make sure your question is in the mix!Again, the link to post is HERE.Nick Asterhttp://www.triplepundit.com/nick-asternospam@sorry.comDoing Right, Doing Goodwormpoopfertilizer At its inception, TerraCycle began with one product ??? worm poop fertilizer.?? Today, they offer a wide variety of products including cleaning products, rain barrels, tote bags, and more.?? But these are no ordinary cleaning products, rain barrels, and tote bags.?? They are great examples of what we call upcycling.?? They take waste products (like Clif Bar wrappers, Capri Sun pouches, or Coke bottles) and turn them into useful stuff.Now is your chance to ask TerraCycle's CEO, Tom Szaky, all the questions you've been dying to pose.?? At Huddler's Green Home, they're putting together a crowd sourced interview.?? So for the next few days, post your questions in their forums and make sure to vote on your favorites.?? Then they'll take the best 10, send them over to Tom to get answered and we'll publish the full interview here on Triple Pundit.?? What are you waiting for??? Make sure your question is in the mix!Again, the link to post is HERE.]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)2nd Gen Ethanol Moves Forward with NREL-Dow Agreement2008-07-16T21:56:45Z2008-07-16T21:29:35Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33292008-07-16T21:29:35ZAiming to reduce dependence on imported oil, the the U.S. Dept. of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Dow Chemical Company announced an agreement today to jointly develop and evaluate a process that will convert biomass to ethanol, as well as a range of other chemical products, by making use of a new mixed alcohol catalyst developed by Dow.The thermochemical process would cut CO2 exhaust emissions by as much as 80% and not rely on food crops. Biomass, such as the leaves and stem of corn plants and wood waste, will be used as feedstock and first converted into bio-synthesis gas, or syngas, through the application of high pressure, heat, steam and oxygen then converted into ethanol and other useful chemical alcohols by passing it through reactor where biochemical reaction driven by Dow???s catalyst will produce ethanol and other useful bio-based chemical building blocks. The joint evaluation program will focus on improving the mixed alcohol catalyst, as well as demonstrating pilot scale performance and the commercial relevance of an integrated facility, according to a Dow Chemical media release.Andrew Burgerhttp://www.triplepundit.com/andrew-burgerakbweb2@yahoo.comEnergyBiomassbiomass+ethanolbiomass+fuelbiomass+conversionDowNRELCO2+emissions+reductionbiofuelssecond+generation+biofuelcellulosic+ethanol  Aiming to reduce dependence on imported oil, the the U.S. Dept. of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Dow Chemical Company announced an agreement today to jointly develop and evaluate a process that will convert biomass to ethanol, as well as a range of other chemical products, by making use of a new mixed alcohol catalyst developed by Dow.The thermochemical process would cut CO2 exhaust emissions by as much as 80% and not rely on food crops. Biomass, such as the leaves and stem of corn plants and wood waste, will be used as feedstock and first converted into bio-synthesis gas, or syngas, through the application of high pressure, heat, steam and oxygen then converted into ethanol and other useful chemical alcohols by passing it through reactor where biochemical reaction driven by Dow???s catalyst will produce ethanol and other useful bio-based chemical building blocks. The joint evaluation program will focus on improving the mixed alcohol catalyst, as well as demonstrating pilot scale performance and the commercial relevance of an integrated facility, according to a Dow Chemical media release.]]>Biomass to Biofuel, Bio-based Chemicals Biofuel proponents are looking to develop commercially viable second-generation biomass-to-ethanol technology as a way to shift ethanol production away from food crops, such as corn, palm oil and even sugar cane, which have come under heavy criticism again as food prices surge, sparking protests and riots in developing and developed economies around the world. Dow notes that a recent study by the USDA and DOE concluded that there are1.3 billion tons of biomass available in the U.S., the equivalent of nearly 2 billion barrels of oil per year, which is approximately equal to the total amount of oil the U.S. imports each year.While corn ethanol has an energy balance ratio (energy yield over energy required for production) of 1.3 to 1 cellulosic ethanol???s is 6 to 1.Biomass-to-ethanol processes also hold out the promise of improving on first gen ethanol???s carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions profile. The net effect of the process offers a potential 80% reduction in CO2 emissions as compared to fossil fuels, though Dow notes that some fossil fuels will be required for harvesting, biomass transportation and product distribution, at least initially. Thermochemical, as compared to biochemical, processes convert higher percentages of feedstock into fuel. They also enable ethanol to be produced from almost any type of biomass, and of inconsistent quality, such as corn stover - stalks and leaves ??? in one go.In order to gasify the biomass feedstock temperatures in the initial stages of the biomass-to-ethanol production process Dow and NREL will be developing and testing will exceed 550??C.The added attraction of the process producing other bio-based chemicals that might be used to manufacture a tremendously wide range of plastic products is a significant one for Dow. A diversified chemical industry giant with annual sales of $54 billion, the company employs 46,000 people worldwide. ???This agreement exemplifies how Dow uses its technology to generate sustainable solutions that address energy challenges in the U.S., while building our portfolio of alternative energy and feedstock options,??? stated Juan Luciano, Dow???s business president of Hydrocarbons and Energy, in the media release. ???By using ethanol derived from biomass as an alternative raw material or feedstock, Dow is exploring new ways to reduce the cost and volatility of its inputs to produce chemicals and plastics that are essential to a wide range of consumer products.???]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)San Francisco's Grace Cathedral Will Install Solar Power System2008-07-16T20:30:28Z2008-07-16T20:23:38Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33282008-07-16T20:23:38ZTom Schuenemanhttp://www.triplepundit.com/Tom-Schuenemantschueneman@gmail.comEnergysolar+powergrace+cathedralpg&esolarcity In a special ceremony this morning on the steps of San Francisco landmark Grace Cathedral, it was announced that Pacific Gas and Electric will partner with the Cathedral by providing $65,000 for the installation of a new, state-of-the-art solar photovoltaic (PV) power system. Mayor Gavin Newsom told those assembled that this project helps advance the goal of making “San Francisco the greenest city in the country” adding “I commend PG&E for their vision of implementing renewable energy on a true San Francisco landmark. This project supports the City’s goals of increasing the use of clean, renewable power”.PG&E senior vice president Nancy McFadden called this installation another step in promoting the utilities’ commitment to promote ”the use of solar photovoltaic systems and demonstrate that energy efficiency and renewable energy can be incorporated in even the most historic buildings”]]>Power From the HeavensThe third speaker in this Triumvirate was, naturally, from the Cathedral itself, dean Alan Jones: “We’re grateful to PG&E for its generous contribution to Grace Cathedral’s ongoing environmental efforts. This new solar power system will help us conserve valuable resources, and empower us to be a part of the solution to attack greenhouse gases and global warming.” The deal between PG&E and Grace Cathedral was initiated by the hard work of Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, president of California Interfaith Power and Light, an organization founded on the idea that there must be a “religious response to global warming as the moral issue of our time”.The system will be designed and implemented by SolarCity of Foster City, with an expected completion date sometime this fall. I worked for the Cathedral, with Alan Jones and Sally Bingham, from 2001 to 2005 as their chief sound engineer, and am personally very happy to hear that this project will soon come to fruition and make the cathedral a positive example of renewable energy within the faith community. ]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)Home Solar, Minus the Cost, Effort, Worry2008-07-16T18:07:36Z2008-07-16T13:00:03Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33272008-07-16T13:00:03ZIt seems these days you can't throw a rock without hitting a story relating to solar power. So why haven't you got it for your home yet? I bet you've already come up with a list of three reasons, without even thinking. My guess is they fall into these areas: Cost, efficiency (or lack of it) and aesthetics. Oh and let's throw this one in for good measure: Who lives in their home for 15-30 years these days? Not you, and what good will those panels do you on your next home?I found a solution to all of these concerns, and more: Sun Run. What they do is unique, and does quite a thorough job in allaying people's fears. Rather than have you buy, lease, or take out a loan for the solar system, Sun Run retains ownership of the equipment. and guarantees a certain amount of power generation. Come again? Yes. In conversation with Nat Kreamer, COO of Sun Run, I learned about a unique "solar as a service" model that had even I, chest deep in the latest green energy innovations, am considering using their service when I buy a home. Why?Paul Smithpsmith@mresidiomba.orgEnergysolar,homesolar,solarasaservice,sunrun,sunrun,photovoltaic,pv,electriccars,plugin,nissan,chevy,chevyvolt It seems these days you can't throw a rock without hitting a story relating to solar power. So why haven't you got it for your home yet? I bet you've already come up with a list of three reasons, without even thinking. My guess is they fall into these areas: Cost, efficiency (or lack of it) and aesthetics. Oh and let's throw this one in for good measure: Who lives in their home for 15-30 years these days? Not you, and what good will those panels do you on your next home?I found a solution to all of these concerns, and more: Sun Run. What they do is unique, and does quite a thorough job in allaying people's fears. Rather than have you buy, lease, or take out a loan for the solar system, Sun Run retains ownership of the equipment. and guarantees a certain amount of power generation. Come again? Yes. In conversation with Nat Kreamer, COO of Sun Run, I learned about a unique "solar as a service" model that had even I, chest deep in the latest green energy innovations, am considering using their service when I buy a home. Why?]]>On a basic level, it costs less, up front and in the long term. You pay an agreed upon amount up front, typically less then you would on an equipment purchase. Then it gets better: All you're paying from there is a monthly utility bill, at a rate that's fixed for, for example, 18 years. A rate which is already lower than what the utilities in California, where SunRun is based, charge.It gets better. Built in to your agreement is service and maintenance. No additional charge. As Kreamer said to me, your average solar consumer doesn't know the signs of a faulty system the way that you might be with something more familiar, like your car. SunRun, being the owner of the system, has it in their interest to make sure the equipment runs at optimum. Especially with a power generation agreement, for which they will reimburse you, plus interest, if your system doesn't meet the amount they promise.I'm having a hard time seeing a down side to this. Being able to choose which panels you get, (ie the green built Evergreen, or the aesthetically minimal Sharp SRS) how much you pay up front, and know how much you'll be spending, you can then get exactly the system you want. As in enough for 100% of your energy needs. Or more. As Kreamer said, electric cars are increasingly materializing these days, and with some coming from major car makers like GM'sVolt car and Nissan planning to create a broad fleet, starting in 2010.Imagine being able to meet all your energy needs - automotive and household, with zero nonrenewable resources used to generate it. You'd sidestep the common argument of shifting energy/pollution to power plants and, according to Kreamer, run your car for 10 cents a mile, plugging in to your system. Even at today's gas costs, bound to keep increasing, this saves you money, today, as compared to most gas powered cars. And for those of you wondering about what happens to excess electricity generated? It's yours. If your utility does net metering, you can sell it back to the grid.Squashing another big concern is the fact that Sun Run takes care of the insurance for the system, effectively eliminating risk/cost to you as a home owner. Speaking of, what about if you decide to move before your agreement is done? You can either pass on the agreement to the next owner, or buy the system outright, building in this home value increasing option into your sale.Readers: What's your take on this? Seen any better/different arrangements to getting renewable energy for your home? Have any suggestions other than/in addition to solar for economically meeting your energy needs, locally and sustainably? Paul Smith is a sustainable business innovator, the founder of GreenSmith Consulting, and has an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio School of Management in San Francisco. His overarching talent is "bottom lining" complex ideas, in a way that is understandable and accessible to a variety of audiences, internal and external to a company.]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)Is Greenwashing Good?2008-07-14T23:37:23Z2008-07-14T23:34:55Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33252008-07-14T23:34:55ZIs greenwashing really a disinformation campaign by corporations trying to win over the conscious consumer? Or is it just part of the "growing pains" of becoming a sustainable company? Joel Makower, of Greenbiz.com, thinks it's the latter. He writes, "The rise of green marketing claims is a testament to how quickly being seen as green has become of importance to companies. Isn't that what all of us wanted to see happen?" Maybe...but maybe not. Makower hints that greenwashing may eventually fade as corporations integrate environmental considerations more fully. It could be, however, that greenwashing is symptomatic of a larger corporate contradiction between economic growth and ecological integrity. Shannon Arvizuhttp://www.triplepundit.com/shannon-arvizu/index.phpsla2113@columbia.edugreenwashinggreen+marketingjoel+makowergreenbiz+com Is greenwashing really a disinformation campaign by corporations trying to win over the conscious consumer? Or is it just part of the "growing pains" of becoming a sustainable company? Joel Makower, of Greenbiz.com, thinks it's the latter. He writes, "The rise of green marketing claims is a testament to how quickly being seen as green has become of importance to companies. Isn't that what all of us wanted to see happen?" Maybe...but maybe not. Makower hints that greenwashing may eventually fade as corporations integrate environmental considerations more fully. It could be, however, that greenwashing is symptomatic of a larger corporate contradiction between economic growth and ecological integrity. ]]>Any green is good green. Makower argues that any green marketing is good since it shows that companies are at least starting along the sustainability path. While it is important for consumers to practice scrutiny when encountering green labels, Makower sees reason to cut companies some slack and let them work out the kinks of telling a credible green storyline. He cites a study done by TerraChoice entitled, "The Six Sins of Greenwashing," to show that most greenwashing claims are not "patently false." Rather, most cases involve "sloppy" or "unsubstantiated" claims. Companies are not intentionally trying to manipulate the consumer. It's just that they don't know how to communicate their environmental endeavors effectively to consumers. Better claims = less greenwashing, so the argument goes. "Sloppy" or "unsubstantiated" claims (while maybe not "patently false") are not unintentional. When looking at the wide variety of corporate practices over history, we find that current greenwashing attempts are part of standard operational procedure. Corporations have been using various tactics to maintain societal legitimacy while engaging in otherwise illegitimate practices since their inception. In terms of corporate environmental history, most claims in the past have centered on making amends for ecological damage (end-of-pipe pollution). It is only recently that corporations are being pressured to incorporate ecological principles in product service/design and operations (preventative solutions). The rise of the green consumer, the green investor, green certification programs, industry green associations, and green business "watchdog" organizations have each contributed to a corporate desire to portray a "green streak" within the organization. This is, obviously, easier said than done. Take, for example, GM's "Gas Friendly to Gas Free" campaign. Greenpeace's greenwashing site states, "Despite GM's green rhetoric, the company is still the leading producer of gas-guzzlers and works behind the scenes to undermine fuel economy and emission standards." Thus, it is relatively convenient for marketing departments to construct a green storyline, regardless of the company's actual practices. But isn't something better than nothing? The underlying critique is not about whether companies are "doing enough" or "trying hard enough." It is about the co-optation of the sustainability discourse to further standard corporate practices that lead to continued ecological damage. It calls into question whether, in fact, businesses can pursue economic growth without concurrently adding environmental pressure. The critique also calls upon corporations to be honest about their overall impact. So, what would an honest green claim look like? Well, the plain and simple truth is that almost any green claim can be debunked because, inevitably, business operations do have at least some kind of environmental impact. Almost any green claim can be substantiated to a certain degree as well, depending on how one defines "environmental improvement." Makower's main argument is that at least green is now part of the marketing lingo. I would add, however, that green claims should always be read with healthy skepticism. Rather than cut companies some "slack" for trying, we need to apply more pressure to get companies to try harder, on a larger-scale, and on a faster timetable than ever before to back up their green claims. ]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)ClimatePULSE: Who owns these greenhouse gas emissions?2008-07-14T18:05:33Z2008-07-14T18:00:21Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33242008-07-14T18:00:21ZProtocols for corporate greenhouse gas accounting that are based on the ISO 14064 standards, such as the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol, use the term "scope" to distinguish between different greenhouse gas emissions sources. There are three categories; Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. For most registry???s or reporting agencies Scopes 1 and 2 are considered mandatory while Scope 3 is considered optional.Scope 1 emissions, also known as direct emissions, include any emissions that occur on-site or from company-owned assets. This includes the combustion of fuels, process emissions, and refrigerant leakage. These emissions are aggregated on a facility-level, with the company's vehicle fleet considered as one "facility."Climate Checkhttp://www.Climate-CHECK.comjs@Climate-CHECK.comClimatePULSEghgprotocol,greenhousegasemissions,emissionsscope,wri/wbcsd,scope1,scope2,scope3,voluntaryemissionsreporting,mandatoryemissionsreporting,regulatorymarkets,climatechange,globalwarming,carbonmarkets,capandtrade,cleantech,cleantechnologies,carboncommodities,carbontax,carbontrading,emissionstradingscheme,climateregistry,ccar,chicagoclimateexchange Protocols for corporate greenhouse gas accounting that are based on the ISO 14064 standards, such as the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol, use the term "scope" to distinguish between different greenhouse gas emissions sources. There are three categories; Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. For most registry???s or reporting agencies Scopes 1 and 2 are considered mandatory while Scope 3 is considered optional.Scope 1 emissions, also known as direct emissions, include any emissions that occur on-site or from company-owned assets. This includes the combustion of fuels, process emissions, and refrigerant leakage. These emissions are aggregated on a facility-level, with the company's vehicle fleet considered as one "facility."]]>Scope 2 emissions, also known as indirect emissions, include any emissions created directly on behalf of the company in the generation of electricity or the delivery of energy via hot water or steam. The reason for accepting responsibility for these emissions is because the company has ultimate control over ???turning on the light switch??? and they directly benefit from it. Under California's AB-32 Global Warming Solutions Act utility companies are regulated based on all of their emissions, including those from electricity that is sold to consumers. This results in double-counting in terms of the regulated utility emissions and non-regulated Scope 2, company-based emissions from their electricity use. However, regulating the aggregated emissions at a utility-level makes sense from a regulatory perspective and quantifying indirect greenhouse gas emissions from electricity use makes sense to individual companies because it is so closely tied to cost-saving efforts from energy efficiency projects. This example should start to demonstrate how complicated GHG legislation can become when ownership of emissions is itself a difficult concept to grasp.The final scope, Scope 3, is a catch-all for remaining emissions that result from the activities of the company. While some protocols recommend Scope 3 emissions sources worth including, what is ultimately included is entirely optional. Many companies choose not to account for and report their Scope 3 emissions and most that do only include emissions from business travel. Some potential emissions sources that can fall under Scope 3 are the shipping of goods (inbound and outbound), emissions from contracted activities (outsourced production, etc.), and even the emissions from resource extraction and product disposal.This cradle-to-grave analysis, while uncommon, is highly valuable. Most of the emissions that occur in a company???s value chain are either upstream or downstream of the company. It???s straight-forward to see the benefit that a company gets from calculating emissions sources throughout its supply chain, including Scope 3 sources. Because of the close correlation between emissions and fossil fuel use understanding a company's upstream emissions helps to understand its exposure to risk from volatility in the global energy markets. Downstream emissions; emissions from the distribution, use, and disposal of products are also important to understand.However, from a regulated point of view, what happens when a company???s distribution contractors are also regulated? One company???s Scope 3 emissions become another company???s Scope 1 emissions ??? once again, the threat of double-counting emerges. This is the main reason that Scope 3 emissions are voluntary.From an environmental perspective the benefit of quantifying greenhouse gas emissions is clear, but the economic benefits are also becoming clear. At ClimateCHECK we strongly believe in this double dividend approach and we guiding our clients through this valuable activity, which often includes a detailed understanding of all 3 emissions Scopes. More and more companies are turning the threat of looming climate change legislation into an opportunity by acting early, getting ahead of their competition, and encouraging optimization throughout the supply chain.]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)Envirofit???s Biomass Stoves Offer Quicker Cooking Times, Less Toxic Emissions, and Sustainable Business Model in Developing Nations2008-07-14T15:28:35Z2008-07-14T15:06:10Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33232008-07-14T15:06:10Z Last week, Colorado-based non-profit Envirofit introduced clean-burning biomass stoves in India, a project that will attempt to reduce fuel consumption, toxic emissions, and offer a sustainable business model to foster local enterprise. In an effort to reduce indoor air pollution in developing nations, Envirofit teamed up with the UK???s Shell Foundation as a part of its Breathing Space program. The cook stoves will reduce toxic emissions by 80%, use 50% less fuel, and reduce the cooking cycle by 40%, according to the organization???s press release. Biomass typically consists of organic materials like wood, crop waste, or animal dung, and for many households in places like India, is the main source of fuel for activities like cooking. Developed at the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory at Colorado State University, the cook stoves were engineered to burn traditionally used biomass materials more efficiently.Ashwin Seshagirishwiners@gmail.comThird World DevelopmentbiomassEnvirofitShellFoundationIndiadevelopingcookstove Last week, Colorado-based non-profit Envirofit introduced clean-burning biomass stoves in India, a project that will attempt to reduce fuel consumption, toxic emissions, and offer a sustainable business model to foster local enterprise. In an effort to reduce indoor air pollution in developing nations, Envirofit teamed up with the UK???s Shell Foundation as a part of its Breathing Space program. The cook stoves will reduce toxic emissions by 80%, use 50% less fuel, and reduce the cooking cycle by 40%, according to the organization???s press release. Biomass typically consists of organic materials like wood, crop waste, or animal dung, and for many households in places like India, is the main source of fuel for activities like cooking. Developed at the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory at Colorado State University, the cook stoves were engineered to burn traditionally used biomass materials more efficiently.]]>Though the cook stoves have been initially launched in India, Envirofit plans on expanding the project to Latin America, Africa, and several other regions eventually. ???There are an estimated 1.6 million deaths per year due to toxic indoor air pollution (IAP). We are proud to be partnered with Envirofit International to introduce clean-burning wood stove technology in India while employing the first market-based business model,??? said Ajit Abraham, a representative of Shell Foundation in India. The goal of this project is also to develop local and regional enterprises by creating a network of dealers, distributors, and village entrepreneurs at various levels. ???Although cooking habits in semi-urban and rural India are steeped in tradition and perpetuated by myths, the response to our stoves has been very strong as each stove has been developed based on extensive market research and local customer insights,??? said Harish Anchan, General Manager of Envirofit India Pvt Ltd. ???We are in discussion with financing institutions for low cost financing options to provide additional options for families to buy the stoves.??? The stoves are available in five models and will range roughly from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 (approx $12-$50). Envirofit first become known for their initiative to retrofit polluting two-stroke engines in Southeast Asia, as reported here on Treehugger. ]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)Changents: How to Be a "Rock Star" Agent of Change2008-07-14T11:39:01Z2008-07-14T11:00:00Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33212008-07-14T11:00:00ZWho hasn???t dreamed of being a rock star? Throngs of fans following your meteoric rise to stardom, listening to your every word, creating a buzz about your latest grand accomplishment, an entourage of followers ready to step in at the slightest need. Wake up, because chances are you might already be a rock star (or perhaps know one), at least the kind of rock star that Deron Triff and Alex Hofmann are looking for ??? that is to say, a rock star ???Agent of Change??? ??? and why they started Changents.com. Rock stars of this genre are people like Elizabeth Redmond, creator of POWERleap, a flooring system that generates electricity from foot traffic (also featured last year here on 3P), or Scott Harrison, working to help alleviate the growing global water crisis. Elizabeth and Scott are two of a growing number of ???Earthkeeper??? Change Agents utilizing the tools and resources available to them at Changents, a new breed of online social media and networking platform developed by Triff and Hofmann. With key support and sponsorship from Timberland, Changents launched in beta on June 8th, but the buzz started back late last year when the project was in ???quiet alpha??? mode. There are many great social networking sites out there focusing on environmental and social issues. Ways for people to connect, share ideas, find common ground, create a buzz. Some of those sites we???ve reviewed here at TriplePundit. As good and useful as all those social networking sites are, Deron Triff and Alex Hofmann want Changents to be something different. Tom Schuenemanhttp://www.triplepundit.com/Tom-Schuenemantschueneman@gmail.comDoing Right, Doing Goodsocial+networkingchange+agentmaking+a+difference Who hasn???t dreamed of being a rock star? Throngs of fans following your meteoric rise to stardom, listening to your every word, creating a buzz about your latest grand accomplishment, an entourage of followers ready to step in at the slightest need. Wake up, because chances are you might already be a rock star (or perhaps know one), at least the kind of rock star that Deron Triff and Alex Hofmann are looking for ??? that is to say, a rock star ???Agent of Change??? ??? and why they started Changents.com. Rock stars of this genre are people like Elizabeth Redmond, creator of POWERleap, a flooring system that generates electricity from foot traffic (also featured last year here on 3P), or Scott Harrison, working to help alleviate the growing global water crisis. Elizabeth and Scott are two of a growing number of ???Earthkeeper??? Change Agents utilizing the tools and resources available to them at Changents, a new breed of online social media and networking platform developed by Triff and Hofmann. With key support and sponsorship from Timberland, Changents launched in beta on June 8th, but the buzz started back late last year when the project was in ???quiet alpha??? mode. There are many great social networking sites out there focusing on environmental and social issues. Ways for people to connect, share ideas, find common ground, create a buzz. Some of those sites we???ve reviewed here at TriplePundit. As good and useful as all those social networking sites are, Deron Triff and Alex Hofmann want Changents to be something different. ]]>More Than Just a Green Profile ???Online profiles can be somewhat tertiary??? says Deron in reference to the basic function at a typical social networking site. The aim of Changents is to help emerging leaders (like Elizabeth and Scott mentioned above) who are making a difference in the ???real world??? break through the clutter by using the latest online tools to build public followings. Our platform enables 'Change Agents' to broadcast their first-hand stories from the field (using real-time Internet and mobile media tools) and build scalable, active fan networks around the world. Fans "Back" change agents by assuming roles as virtual team members.Essentially, members are either Change Agents or Backers of one or more Change Agents (or both). A Change Agent is an individual or group (generally personified by one or two ???faces???) with an innovative project or tangible plan on making substantive change within a particular social issue (corporate responsibility, climate change, disaster relief, education, environment, human rights, refugees??? to name just a few). A Backer is a supporter of a Change Agent???s mission. It???s a simple concept, but often the most powerful ideas are also the simplest. Make love, not war. BackersChangents provides the platform for the Change Agent to tell their story, attracting Backers interested in interacting with and helping the Change Agent in one or all of five different roles. Those roles are:Fan ??? A fan supports the cause from the sidelines, following the story and cheering the Change Agent on.Buzz Builder ??? Got a bit of a following yourself? Access to any sort of platform? Take a more active role and shout about it from your own mountaintop.Angel ??? Everybody loves somebody with a knack for raising money. Every Change Agent needs money in support of their cause. (Note that this is available to Change Agents with a 501c non-profit status.)First Responder ??? If you???re able to act quickly when a need arises, get on the Change Agent???s ???short list???.Advocate - Not afraid to speak "truth to power"? Help create change from the inside.Backers are able to choose any one or combination of these roles, and to change them later. Through these various roles, Backers create a motive force behind the Change Agent, helping to achieve real goals both online and off. Still just in early beta, Changents offers supporters plenty of opportunities get behind Change Agents.Change AgentsMembers of Changents can nominate either themselves or someone else as a Change Agent. Eleanor Dowling of Changents walked me through the site and with her gracious help got me started as a Change Agent centered around my work as the publisher of GlobalWarmingisReal.com. I first became a member, found a couple of great rock star Change Agents to back, then got inside and ???under the hood???. That???s when I began to fully realize the power that this platform has. Within minutes of nominating myself as a Change Agent, I had imported the rss feed from my blog (I can also start one at Changents, but there is no need to do both), set up Twitter, import pictures and video that help tell my story, and have access to a phone number to leave audio blogs from wherever I am in the world (toll-free in the U.S.). The secret is taking the time to create your compelling story, perhaps with a bit of attitude and humor (humor! please!), and blending the platform's tools in a unique way to best complement your own goals and agenda. And it seems to work. While Changents was designed with the Millennials , X, and Y generations in mind, it isn???t lost on old ???late baby-boomer??? like yours truly. Just a brief sampling of what I can do for my own project:I can send out Action Requests (official call-outs for help) from my Backers (writers, policy wonks, Wordpress experts, etc.) or to announce a particular need, special event or meet-up.I can use Twitter to post quick updates about breaking news before I have a chance to write a full blog post, or use the audio blog function to leave a quick rant or call to action. Videos and photo albums help tell the story and inform backers and browsers of important issues. And when I finally get around to creating the video ???A Global Warming Primer???, I can go to my base of backers to find someone more talented than I am in producing videos.It???s a platform designed for flexibility, and it all integrates seamlessly with the major social networking platforms like Digg, Facebook, and MySpace. Truly, the more I got into working my Changents story, the more excited I became about the possibilities of the platform (feel free to become on of my Backers!)A Ripple Becomes a WaveAnother unique feature at Changents is the ???Ripple???. The Ripple is an online representation of ???rippable??? actions taken by Changents members, rippling through the internet, sparking actions from others, and building the ripple into a wave of action. Building Grassroots Momentum for Positive ChangeI???ve taken the time to walk you through Changents because I believe that most TriplePundit readers are themselves Change Agents or support the idea of proactive and visionary change in a world where the status quo simply doesn???t cut it anymore. I think that???s the central idea behind this blog. Deron, Alex, and their team at Changents have created a unique platform of online media tools and social networking to harness the power of grassroots momentum that can create a powerful force for change in the world. That all might sound a bit highfalutin???, but change won???t happen sitting on the sidelines. A ripple becomes a wave.It is a revolutionary world we live in, and this generation at home and around the world has had thrust upon it a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived. Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation; a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth; a young woman reclaimed the territory of France; and it was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and the 32 year-old Thomas Jefferson who [pro]claimed that "all men are created equal.These men moved the world, and so can we all. Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. *It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.* Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.-Edward Kennedy, from his Eulogy for his brother, Robert]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)Offsets: A Regular Part of a Diet Light in Carbon?2008-07-14T11:39:01Z2008-07-14T10:49:09Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33222008-07-14T10:49:09ZThe past few weeks I have been trying to wrap my head around the difference between compliance offsets (carbon offsets a company purchases in order to comply with carbon reduction commitments like Kyoto or AB32) and voluntary offsets. Aren't they just the same product with different packaging and intention?Not exactly. If you have been following any of the scoping plan discussions about AB32 implementation you'll know that the role offsets will play is pretty controversial. To get the 'why' straight we've got to start at the beginning. AB32 is a piece of legislation that requires the state of California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and it charges the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to figure out how to get there. We have this wonderful strong commitment, we know the state will be working hard to reach this goal, but the type of restrictions that CARB will select, which industries will be hit hardest, and how they will be required to meet the new carbon limits are all up for grabs.Jennifer Boyntonhttp://www.presidiomba.orgjennifer.boynton@presidiomba.orgClimate ChangeAB32OffsetsKyoto The past few weeks I have been trying to wrap my head around the difference between compliance offsets (carbon offsets a company purchases in order to comply with carbon reduction commitments like Kyoto or AB32) and voluntary offsets. Aren't they just the same product with different packaging and intention?Not exactly. If you have been following any of the scoping plan discussions about AB32 implementation you'll know that the role offsets will play is pretty controversial. To get the 'why' straight we've got to start at the beginning. AB32 is a piece of legislation that requires the state of California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and it charges the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to figure out how to get there. We have this wonderful strong commitment, we know the state will be working hard to reach this goal, but the type of restrictions that CARB will select, which industries will be hit hardest, and how they will be required to meet the new carbon limits are all up for grabs.]]>There are many different types of plans on the table right now for AB32 implementation, and to be honest, they give new meanings to old fashioned words: "auctioning" "cap and trade" "upstream caps" all frequently heard plans or parts of plans. I could go on and on about what these different proposed plans mean (and I might in a future blog if Nick will let me!) but I mention them now just to point out that who will be affected by AB32 and how are still very much under discussion. One of the big topics of discussion is offsets- whether they will be "limited" or not, and if so, by how much. Limitation in this context refers to the question of how much of a company's carbon inventory can be reduced through the purchase of offsets. In a scenario with unlimited offsets, a company could meet the entirety of its required carbon reduction by purchasing the requisite number of offsets. In an unlimited offset situation, that manufacturing firm does not have to make any efficiencies to their processes at all???they can just make some quick purchases and continue on with business as usual. This is problematic because whatever emissions that firm was producing are still going into the atmosphere. Offsets are probably going to be a reality of the plan CARB comes up with because it will just be too difficult and expensive for firms to meet the targets solely through reductions. But, we want them limited so that the way business is being done can be shifted to a new low-carbon business marketplace.If offsets are a part of the solution, companies will likely have high restrictions on the type of offsets they can purchase (verified!) and the vendors they can purchase from. The offsets market for compliance offsets will hopefully be highly regulated and specific so as to avoid double counting, additionally, leakage and permanence issues that were discussed here.Compared to all that controversy, voluntary offsets are pretty easy to understand, at least in terms of the who, what, why. Voluntary offsets are the ones you hear most about, the ones I've been yakking about these past few weeks. Voluntary offsets are the ones a person or a company might buy to offset a plane trip or an event. They are a goodwill purchase, borne out of the desire to do the right thing and go low carbon. They can't really hurt anything, and they might actually help if the offsets you purchase are high quality.In both consideration of both voluntary and compliance offsets we want the offsets to be high quality, but it is much more important that they be so in the compliance discussions because we have actual targets to meet, and we want AB32 to push us to a new way of doing business. That can only happen if carbon emissions get reduced at the source and those offsets are reliable. ]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)Airline Travel Set to Increase Up To 600% By 2050 As US And Europe Row Over Carbon Offsetting2008-07-14T06:14:23Z2008-07-11T23:15:06Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33202008-07-11T23:15:06ZIt???s easy to be angry about the watered down global environment deal hammered out last week in Japan. But when it comes to some personal issues, few of us are willing to budge an inch either. Are you prepared to cut back on your trips by plane? Airline travel is set to grow by 200 to 600 percent by 2050. And carbon emissions are not routinely compensated for by most airlines.Angelique van Engelenangeliquevanengelen@contentclix.comairlinetravel,carbonoffsetting,icao It???s easy to be angry about the watered down global environment deal hammered out last week in Japan. But when it comes to some personal issues, few of us are willing to budge an inch either. Are you prepared to cut back on your trips by plane? Airline travel is set to grow by 200 to 600 percent by 2050. And carbon emissions are not routinely compensated for by most airlines.]]>In years to come, the airline industry itself will be doing a lot to clean up its act, if only because it endears customers. Some US airlines are already offering passengers the chance to personally offset greenhouse gas emissions. Continental Airlines recently launched its Sustainable Travel International, which is a fund in which to fund the purchase of carbon offsets. Delta Airlines announced a similar program one year ago. Internationally, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Blue, and SAS are also offering passengers carbon offset options.These are all laudable initiatives, but at industry level, little is being organized in the US. Unlike in Europe, where lawmakers are subjecting the airline industry to limited carbon emissions. The rules are effective from 2012. All airlines landing in Europe, including overseas planes, will then be required to offset their greenhouse gas emissions or face a ban on landing rights to European airports. US government and airline officials are furious about this. They have recently started to make their own preparations to reduce airline pollution. The Wall Street Journal reports that the US plans to collaborate with 15 international countries to make a start at the upcoming meeting in Montreal organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This is a Kyoto Protocol recognized forum created specifically to address the issue of airline greenhouse gas emissions.It is not exactly clear what US airline officials or the government are going to agree on, but the plans are almost certainly totally different in nature to those made by the European Union. Officials from both the US and the EU say a row has erupted over the EU's ???green ultimatum??? to US airlines not participating in carbon dioxide emissions. The European rationale goes that any airline not offsetting their carbon emissions has an unfair competitive advantage. That can't be tolerated, hence the proposed penalties. But American airline officials complain that the EU airline proposal violates an important international aviation accord signed in 1944 in Chicago. In this light, it will be interesting to see what transpires from the Montreal meeting at the end of this month. Already, US participants are lobbying other countries intensely to drum up support for a climate change guidelines, rather than strict rules. Insiders don???t hold out much hope, saying that the organization that hosts it, the ICAO, has since its own inception a few years ago, not achieved many of its goals. US officials have invited the EU to participate in the talks. Europeans are strong believers in carbon offsetting and not without reason. It is expected that airlines will reduce their carbon levels by 3% in the first year of carbon trading on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Base line are levels reached in 2004-2006. The airline sector is of prime importance in the EU???s overall effort to reduce greenhouse gas by 20% in 2020 compared with 1990 greenhouse gas levels.But there are downsides too. A study by the Association of European Airlines estimates that Europe's 35 airlines will be faced with total carbon emission reduction costs of ???5.3 billion ($8.36 billion). Financial analysts say that the number is way higher than these airlines??? combined operating profit (???3.7 billion last year). Ultimately the traveller will end up paying most of the extra costs. Earlier estimates put the costs of reducing greenhouse gas to around $27 per ticket. In a sense this ain???t a bad thing because airline passengers might find it comforting to contribute some funds for their polluting travels.Financial analysts predict that airlines, many of which are on the verge of financial troubles due to high fuel costs, are going to face way worse times if they don???t make preparations to offset their carbon emissions. Why? Negative public perception is considered as much of a risk to airlines as high fuel costs. Not only might airlines run reputational risks if they don???t make sure they take environmental issues seriously, but they even might have difficulties getting financing if they don???t live up to the standard. That is because bankers are beginning to demand green credentials in return for cash. Flight Global, a trade magazine for the airline industry, reports that ???A risk manager will [...] as a matter of course take account of a business???s holistic impact on the environment and will subject that to the same level of audit scrutiny as he would traditionally give to a business???s balance sheet???. That's pretty hefty.If you are interested in finding out ways to reduce your carbon footprint as a frequent airline passenger, check out these tips in a recent Globe and Mail article. Angelique van Engelen is a freelance journalist in Edinburgh, Scotland. She runs AmplifiedGreen, a blog about environment and business.]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)Intel???s Grove Calls for Dual-Fuel Vehicles, Used Vehicle Retrofits2008-07-14T06:14:23Z2008-07-11T11:55:24Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33192008-07-11T11:55:24Z It's hard not to notice, generally speaking, the stark differences in cultures, personalities and characters of leading lights in the energy and IT industries, particularly when it comes to strategic planning, organizational management and R&D, and especially when it comes to public relations and thinking ???outside the box???. The apparent contrasts stand out when it comes to developing renewable energy and clean technology for power generation and transportation.OPEC controls some 40% of world petroleum reserves ??? and that???s likely to increase in coming decades - giving it tremendous influence over its customers. The situation is analogous yet fundamentally different to that of Google in the Internet search engine marketplace, where a market share of more than 50% affords it the leverage to define the nature of American advertising, points out former Intel CEO Andy Grove, now a consultant to the company, in a July 10 article, ???Our Electric Future,??? published by The American magazine.The difference between controlling energy resources - read oil ??? and advertising are great, however, Grove points out. ??????the stages on which Google and OPEC play are dramatically different. Advertising is a big and important business, but energy is the lifeblood of all economies. Like drinking water or oxygen, we simply cannot be without it. So a supplier of energy can have significant control over customers???even nations.???Andrew Burgerhttp://www.triplepundit.com/andrew-burgerakbweb2@yahoo.comLeadershipSmart+carselectric+vehiclePHEVplug-in+electric+vehiclestransportationsmart+transportationgreen+transportationIntelIntel+alternative+energyAndy+Groveelectricity+transportation It's hard not to notice, generally speaking, the stark differences in cultures, personalities and characters of leading lights in the energy and IT industries, particularly when it comes to strategic planning, organizational management and R&D, and especially when it comes to public relations and thinking ???outside the box???. The apparent contrasts stand out when it comes to developing renewable energy and clean technology for power generation and transportation.OPEC controls some 40% of world petroleum reserves ??? and that???s likely to increase in coming decades - giving it tremendous influence over its customers. The situation is analogous yet fundamentally different to that of Google in the Internet search engine marketplace, where a market share of more than 50% affords it the leverage to define the nature of American advertising, points out former Intel CEO Andy Grove, now a consultant to the company, in a July 10 article, ???Our Electric Future,??? published by The American magazine.The difference between controlling energy resources - read oil ??? and advertising are great, however, Grove points out. ??????the stages on which Google and OPEC play are dramatically different. Advertising is a big and important business, but energy is the lifeblood of all economies. Like drinking water or oxygen, we simply cannot be without it. So a supplier of energy can have significant control over customers???even nations.???]]>The US of Oil, Pilgrimages to Riyadh Oil dependence and failed energy policies - along with the rise of new economic powerhouses China and India, which has prompted OPEC to turn its attention to its big and fast-growing customers in Asia- have led to a precipitous decline in American influence and economic power, according to Grove.???The episode came to mind earlier this year when I read about President Bush???s visit to Saudi Arabia. His main mission was to ask the Saudis for greater petroleum output. According to press reports, his request was unceremoniously rejected by the oil minister, who did not even appear to be embarrassed. Such an exchange would have been inconceivable as recently as a decade ago. Our standing in the world of oil has fallen a long way in a short time,??? Grove writes. Briefly recounting the failed efforts of successive US administration???s to reduce, much less drive to zero, our dependence on foreign oil, Grove notes. ???After Nixon, president after president set similar goals. Every target was missed. We became more and more dependent on imported petroleum. Net energy imports doubled between 1970 and 1980, and then again by 1990. Not only did America fail to meet the goals, but the goals themselves were unwise. A faulty goal leads to the wrong actions; so even if we execute flawlessly, we fail.???Electricity: The Path to Energy ResiliencePolitical leaders have a tendency to fail to recognize the gravity of a situation, and then procrastinate and hesitate to take timely, sufficient adaptive and remedial actions, according to Grove, and he argues that the US may be in exactly this type of situation at present.???As national policy, we must protect the U.S. economy from interruptions in the supply of such a critical commodity [energy]???whether those interruptions are related to natural or political causes. I believe that the appropriate aim is to strengthen our ability to adjust to such changes???to strengthen our energy resilience. We can do that by increasing our reliance on electricity.??? Almost wholly dependent on gasoline and diesel, transportation, which accounts for more than half of US petroleum consumption - will be the ???hardest nut to crack,??? Grove continues, and hence making real progress in building up US energy resilience cannot be made without converting a significant share of transportation to electricity, which he calls ???the stickiest form of energy.???While this is a huge and challenging task, technologies exist that, while not ideal, can get us off to good start, Grove argues, alluding to the history of the PC industry. ???The first personal computers, for example, were little more than toys. They fascinated cognoscenti and hobbyists, but compared to the mainframe computers that were the workhorses of that time, they were limited. PCs quickly grew in capability and eventually reached parity with mainframes and then surpassed them in efficiency and computing power. Such approaches, of starting low and moving up, have been named ???disruptive technologies???.???Require Dual Fuel New Cars and Incentives to Retrofit Existing Vehicles The U.S. government should take the lead by requiring that a growing percentage of new cars and trucks be built with dual fuel capabilities. The problem there is that this will take too long. ???No matter how fast the production of dual-fuel cars is ramped, replacing the bulk of the approximately 250 million cars on the roads in the United States with new cars will take a decade or more. ???As with PCs, the work of advocates and hobbyists shows the way out of this dilemma,??? Grove writes. There are enterprising folks who have experimented with converting existing gasoline cars into electric cars by removing the gasoline engine and replacing it with an electric engine. Some are working to devise ways in which existing gasoline cars would be converted to dual-fuel cars. As with the new dual-fuel cars, these cars would give first priority to the electric power stored on board, and switch to gasoline only after the electric power is exhausted.??? Fortuitously, gas guzzlers like pick-ups, SUVs and vans ??? some 80 million of them on the road today ??? are the easiest to convert, and doing so should be ???our first priority,??? Grove argues. ???The instincts of conservationists have been to improve what is already pretty good???compact cars with decent fuel efficiency. Our national priority to decrease the amount of oil-based energy dictates that we go after the low-mileage part of the fleet first. ???Estimates show that converting these vehicles to dual-fuel operation, even with electricity providing no more than 50 miles of driving range between daily recharging, could cut petroleum imports by 50 to 60 percent???a stunning opportunity. ???]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post)More Recycled Paper Needs to be Used2008-07-14T06:14:23Z2008-07-11T10:00:00Ztag:www.triplepundit.com,2008://6.33182008-07-11T10:00:00ZOver the past three years the book industry needed three to four million tons of paper which translates to at least 60 million trees worldwide. The paper industry ranks number four in carbon dioxide emissions among manufacturing industries. The Society of American Foresters released a 2007 study titled the State of Americas Forests which acknowledged that the U.S. is one of the biggest ???producers and consumers of forest products.??? U.S. consumption of forest products is greater than its production by 4.2 billion cubic feet.Gina-Marie Cheesemangmcheeseman@netscape.comResourcespaperindustry,bookindustry,recycledpaper Over the past three years the book industry needed three to four million tons of paper which translates to at least 60 million trees worldwide. The paper industry ranks number four in carbon dioxide emissions among manufacturing industries. The Society of American Foresters released a 2007 study titled the State of Americas Forests which acknowledged that the U.S. is one of the biggest ???producers and consumers of forest products.??? U.S. consumption of forest products is greater than its production by 4.2 billion cubic feet.]]>About 42 percent of wood harvested is used make paper, according to the Environmental Paper Network???s (EPN) The State of the Paper Industry. Forests store around 50 percent of all terrestrial carbon. Among manufacturing industries the paper and pulp industry is the fourth biggest emitter of GHGs, and releases nine percent of all manufacturing carbon dioxide emissions. Paper that ends ups in landfills instead of being recycled gives off methane which has a warming effect 23 times greater than carbon dioxide. One-third of all waste in landfills is paper, and landfills account for 34 percent of human-related methane emissions, according to the EPN???s study. The EPA identified paper decomposition as one of the largest sources of landfill methane. Only 37 percent of U.S. pulp is produced from recycled paper, but 45 percent of tissue products are from recycled content. Thirty-two percent of U.S. newsprint is from recycled paper. The EPN estimates that if industrial countries used 60 percent recycled paper for fiber and increased production efficiency by five percent, the worldwide consumption of wood fiber would decrease, and would use 56 percent less wood fiber.The Green Press Initiative (GPI) lists the benefits of using recycled fiber as opposed to virgin fiber. One of the biggest benefits of using recycled fiber is that it emits 38 percent less GHGs. Recycled fiber also uses 44 percent less energy to produce, and conserves up to 34 mature trees for every ton replacing virgin fiber. GPI released its Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper in 2007 which calls for the book industry to shift its use of recycled fiber from the five percent estimated to 30 percent by 2012. Big publishing houses announce goals to use more recycled paperSome of the big publishing houses have goals to use more recycled paper. In 2006 Random House launched its Environmental Paper Initiative with the goal of increasing its use of recycled paper tenfold, to 30 percent, by 2010. In 2006 only three percent of its titles were printed on recycled paper. Last November Simon & Schuster announced its commitment to using at least 10 percent recycled paper. By 2012 S&S wants to 25 percent of all its paper to be from recycled fiber.Thomas Nelson recently developed a program to reduce the company???s paper consumption by at least 30 percent by 2012, and will use at least 20 percent recycled fiber.Scholastic, the textbook publisher, set a goal to increase its use of recycled paper by 25 percent within the next five years which will cause a reduction of 23,988,000 lbs. of GHG emissions.]]>(Please click the headline if you would like to comment on this post) |
|
