Consumer
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An Eco-Couture Break From Climate Politics
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NY State Passes Green Buildings/Jobs Bill w/Bipartisan Support
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Japan Promises Big Greenhouse Gas Cuts
Apple Quits Business Lobby Over Climate Opposition
Published October 05, 2009 @ 01:36PM PT
Today we iPod Touch addicts and MacBook users can claim one less guilt trip: Apple Computer has become the latest high-profile defection from the US Chamber of Commerce, over the group's opposition to curbing greenhouse gas pollution.
In a letter dated today, communicating the company's immediate resignation, Catherine A. Novelli, the vice-president of worldwide government affairs at Apple wrote, "We strongly object to the chamber's recent comments opposing the E.P.A.'s effort to limit greenhouse gases." Kate Galbraith at The New York Times' "Green Inc." blog snagged the letter and put it online:
As a company, we are working hard to reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions by relying on renewable energy at our facilities and designing more energy-efficient products for our customers. We have undertaken this unilaterally and without government mandate, because we believe it is the right thing to do. For those companies who cannot or will not do the same, Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the Chamber at odds with us on this effort.
On Store Shelves, Sorting the Green from the Greenwashed
Published August 28, 2009 @ 06:00PM PT
Above: Image via Allianz Product Carbon Footprint project
If you're the kind of person who wants action on global warming, chances are that you're also the kind of person who tries to shop his or her convictions.
Chances are you also wonder if you're being conned. With nearly every item on store shelves these days making a claim to enviro-sainthood, how likely is it that every manufacturer's green claims have any basis in fact?
Well, the internet is here to help. Via The Consumerist, here are some online resources that can help you pick out the real green from the greenwashed:
- The Federal Trade Commission's "Facts for Consumers: Sorting Out 'Green' Advertising Claims" advice sheet
- Consumer Reports Greener Choices web site, particularly its Eco-labels Center
- How to spot fake green claims from ShopSmart magazine, another Consumer Reports publication.
- Study: 98 Percent of "Eco-Friendly" Products Make Misleading Claims, published in June by Mother Jones
Now, about global warming specifically: For most Americans, consuming less is simply the single best way to cut our consumer carbon footprint. But when you do need to buy, how can you make purchasing decisions that can have a positive impact on the climate, or at least minimize the negative impact?
After the jump, a few rules of thumb that might help curb the climate guilt:
Oil Lobby Responds to Change.org Questions, Defends Claims on Climate Bill Costs
Published August 25, 2009 @ 08:13AM PT
Above: "Photo of caribou walking alongside the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, taken July 1998 by Stan Shebs." Source: Wikimedia Commons.
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Last week I asked the American Petroleum Institute questions about its criticisms of the American Clean Energy and Security Act -- the climate and clean energy legislation that was passed by the House of Representatives earlier in the summer.
Jane Van Ryan, New Media Coordinator of the American Petroleum Institute, has answered. I've added some extra paragraph breaks to make the text more readable on-screen, and links as relevant to the content.
Do Ms. Van Ryan's talking points hold up? If not, why not? There are a lot of them, so I'm asking the Change.org community to help me out:
Please pick a point or a few to check out, and post your findings in the comments.
More after the jump.
Bicycle-Through: Cycling mom Twitters, gets burger chain to change policy
Published August 21, 2009 @ 01:35PM PT
They call it "drive-through" for a reason -- or so "family bicycling evangelist" Sarah Gilbert learned on August 12, when she was refused service at a fast-food restaurant for being on a bicycle in the drive-through lane.
But she didn't just get mad; she got online, and prompted the company to change its drive-through lane policy for the better.
As the self-selected moniker of "evangelist" might suggest, Sarah Gilbert doesn't simply not own a car; she's affirmatively chosen to not own a car. Gilbert instead transports her three sons, ages 2, 4 and 7, around Portland, Ore. on a custom-built stretch bicycle, which is adorned with the bumper sticker "One Less Minivan." And she'd been served just a few weeks earlier at the very same Burgerville restaurant that was now turning down her order for four cheeseburgers.
So when she got home, Gilbert took action: She posted an exasperated criticism of the restaurant on Twitter -- "burgerville on 26th/powell turned me on my bike away from drivethrough, and not nicely at all, tho i've biked thru before. #bikeunfriendly?" -- wrote the company a letter, and posted the letter on her blog.
One twist to the story is that Burgerville, a regional fast-food chain, wears its eco-conscious heart on its sleeve. The company buys all its power green; uses regional ingredients in season (oh, how I miss those Oregon-grown-blackberry shakes and Walla Walla onion rings since I moved back east); and recycles its cooking oil into biodiesel.
Within hours, Burgerville Twittered back to Gilbert: "Hi Sarah, We noticed your concerns and will be contacting you shortly via direct message. Thank you."
Two days later, Burgerville announced its plan to formally allow people on bicycles to order and pick up food in each and every one of the chain's 39 drive-through lanes.
On its own, this is a small-impact change on the larger canvas of sustainability (making it easier and more practical to live without a car) -- until you multiply your Sarah Gilberts by hundreds or thousands of American cities, and the thousands of businesses they can have an impact on.
"It is not even that I believe I, as a cyclist or mama of three or cute redhead or denizen of Southeast Portland, have an entitlement to fast food ordered through a speaker, paid for and delivered through a window," writes Gilbert. "But it is a symbol: of bike-friendliness. Of responsiveness. Of the power of words. Of rationality. Of a local company whose chief cultural officer is obviously not just a cute title.
"I don't really enjoy the world the way it is. I want the windows opened, the barriers taken down, people to get around more slowly and to talk more. I want it to be easier to smile at someone else. I want it to be harder not to know your neighbor. I want it to be safer, lovelier, more ordinary to ride your bike."
(Hat tip to JM)
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Image via Sarah Gilbert's blog entry of March 10, 2009
Questions for American Petroleum Institute's @janevanryan #ACES #ec09
Published August 21, 2009 @ 11:33AM PT
UPDATE, Tues., Aug 25: I've posted Jane Van Ryan's answers.
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UPDATE, 20:48 ET: Jane Van Ryan has responded, via Twitter, that she'll look over my questions and post answers online. Thank you, Jane. Stay tuned, readers...
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August 21, 2009
Jane Van Ryan
New Media Advisor
American Petroleum Institute
Dear Ms. Van Ryan,
I noticed you using Twitter, today, from an energy industry-backed political rally in Lima, Ohio. (I see you're blogging about these rallies, too.)
API's members have such a huge role in the nation's energy and climate policies. The oil and gas industry has already spent $55 million lobbing Congress, According to CNNMoney. It's on track to beat 2008's record-setting $83 million in lobbying expenditures.
Given how much influence this kind of money can buy, I'm encouraged to see you out in the social media scrum, where you can take questions directly from the public and the press.
Since you were tweeting from your mobile phone in Lima, however, it's very possible that you missed my messages. So the salient bits of our not-exchange are reposted below.
I hope you can look them over and get back to me soon with answers.
Best regards,
Emily Gertz
Journalist and Editor
twitter.com/ejgertz
Cut Music's Impact on Climate: Download your tunes
Published August 20, 2009 @ 08:11AM PT
Digital downloads have been blamed for eviscerating the music industry's profit model -- but compared to commerce in compact discs, they're great for the climate.
Get your latest Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce or Lady Gaga via the internet, and you'll cut the energy and carbon dioxide overhead by 40 to 80 percent over distribution of a physical CD, according to a new report commissioned by Microsoft and Intel. The savings come in getting rid of physical packaging, delivery, and the compact disc itself; the range of impact depends upon whether the customer burns the music to a CD.
If you walk to the music store instead of driving, however, the CO2 emissions are about equal with downloading and burning, say the researchers.
So take heart, old-school consumers: If you prefer browsing for new tunes in the aisles instead of online, forestall green guilt by putting on your sneakers and going to the store under your own power. (Consider it a new form of sneakernet.)
Also, downloads of around 260 MB or greater use enough internet energy to make them comparable in carbon pollution with the download and burn scenario, say the report's authors.
"However, as file sizes and Internet energy use are increasing, Internet energy efficiency is also increasing," they write, "thus it is unlikely even in the case of large file transfers for digital downloads to use more energy or produce more CO2 emissions than delivering music via CDs."
A Window (Literally) on Energy Efficiency
Published August 17, 2009 @ 11:42AM PT
Thanks to federal tax credits included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and extended by President Obama in February when he signed the economic stimulus bill, there's been an uptick in business for makers and installers of energy-conserving windows.
Check out these federal tax credits -- 2009 and 2010 might be your year for putting in energy-smart windows, doors, and skylights; roofing and insulation; water heaters and air conditioning, and biomass stoves.
According to a new report from McKinsey and Company, straightforward changes like these could cut US energy use 23 percent by 2020, save the economy $1.2 trillion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons a year.
It sounds simple enough -- until they show up and rip your walls open.
Today, my apartment, including the home office, is the kick-off location for the installation of new windows across my entire three-building co-op.
Not to gripe, really. They're going to be a lovely upgrade to our standard of living, especially given the near-century age of the buildings: Solarban 60 Low-E Glass, which blocks solar heat gain in the summer, insulates better in the winter, and reduces the UV entering the space while transmitting a high percentage of visible light.
(This last helps stop the sun from fading your furnishings, which gets to be a pretty expensive and waste-causing problem if you would rather not have unintentionally two-toned rugs and furniture).
The installers are working hard and doing a great job, especially given the wood rot they've encountered underneath our old window frames. (Par for the course in a pre-war NYC apartment building that has not always been lovingly maintained.)
But it's 90 degrees F worth of hot, dusty and disrupted around here -- and once the crew's finished I'll need to mop the floors, vacuum the rugs, push all the furniture back into place, and soothe the nerves of my cats, who are justly outraged at having spent most of the day imprisoned in their carriers.
So my blog posting may be light for the rest of today. But in the energy-efficient window spirit, here's a selection of energy efficiency and emissions-reducing news:
Clotheslines for Sale: Plethora of Drying Options Online (Treehugger)
New England Frito-Lay Plant Goes 'Off the Grid' (Greener Buildings)
Scotland eyes carbon-capture for North Sea (Financial Times)
China study urges greenhouse gas caps, peak in 2030 (Reuters)
Energy Frontiers: Space Solar, Hot Lots (Dot Earth blog - The New York Times)
