energyefficiency
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U.S. Carbon Emissions Plummeting
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Obama Administration Moves to Slash Industrial Emissions
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Videos to Watch: Climate week highlights, what's next in int'l talks
Green Tech, Public Good
Published November 14, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
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n a recent opinion piece, writer David Dickson, director and editor of the Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) website and former news editor at Nature, writes the following:
A widely-held myth among climate change activists is that discussing the need for improved technology to mitigate or adapt to climate change detracts from political debates on who is to blame for unsustainable lifestyles — and who should pay for their consequences.
First of all, let me just say: ouch! Is it really fair to say that all climate activists care about is blaming people for spewing out too much carbon and rapping the appropriate knuckles? Come on, Mr. Dickson, there's a reading rainbow of people who care about climate out here talking about all different kinds of things, including, yes, who should change their lifestyles and how. But we also talk about technology. We talk a lot about technology.
Where Dickson's article may be right, however, is that we don't tend to talk enough about how these technologies are going to impact the lives of the world's poor. High-tech developments, after all, occur mostly in rich countries and usually aim to mitigate rich countries' carbon sins.
Another Way to Cut Emissions: Hang Dry
Published November 05, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
We talk a lot about changing our lightbulbs and going easy on the meat in our personal quests to help our struggling planet. But we've been overlooking one big source of domestic energy expenditure: the laundry.
New Scientist reports that a team from Michigan State University has calculated that if Americans would only hang dry their clothes instead of using the dryer, as well as make 16 other simple changes such as washing clothes in cooler water and installing low-flow showerheads, they would reduce their collective carbon dioxide emissions by 7.4 percent by 2019.
I imagine many people don't have room for a backyard drying rack and don't like the idea of washing soiled garments in cool water. There are, however, all manner of drying racks -- ceiling-suspended, wall-mounted, pulley-operated, collapsible, retractable -- that can make drying clothes fit in even the smallest apartments. Washing less-dirty clothes in cool water and saving the hot for the heavy-stain-lifting is one way to conserve on the washing end, as long as you already have enough laundry for two loads and aren't using double the water.
Obama Establishes Enviro, Energy Targets for Federal Government
Published October 05, 2009 @ 05:48PM PT
The Obama administration today ordered federal agencies to aim for aggressive targets to reduce energy use, and incorporate environmental sustainability in federal government operations.
The executive order "Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance," signed today by President Obama, builds off an executive order signed by President Bush in 2007, as well as momentum created by clean energy and energy-efficiency measures funded by the stimulus act.
Under this new mandate, federal agencies must set 10-year energy reduction and environmental sustainability goals within the next 90 days. Clearly identified targets in the order include:
- 30% reduction in vehicle fleet petroleum use by 2020;
- 26% improvement in water efficiency by 2020;
- 50% recycling and waste diversion by 2015;
- 95% of all applicable contracts will meet sustainability requirements;
- Implementation of the 2030 net-zero-energy building requirement;
- Implementation of the stormwater provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, section 438; and
- Development of guidance for sustainable Federal building locations in alignment with the Livability Principles put forward by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
NY Senate's Bipartisan Vote Jump-starts $5B Green Jobs/Bldg Plan
Published September 15, 2009 @ 06:23PM PT
Start spreading the news: A newly-passed law in New York State will use the proceeds from auctions of carbon emissions credits to fund a massive statewide weatherization-and-green-jobs-creation program.
And a Republican state senator bucked the party line to help pass the bill.
Last Friday, the State Senate passed Green Job/Green New York Act. The legislation will channel $112 million in proceeds from auctioning carbon emissions credits (at the market created via the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative) into starting up a $5 billion energy-efficiency program -- which will lower energy costs for New York households, cut the state's greenhouse gas pollution levels, and create thousands of jobs.
Republican State Sen. Thomas Morahan co-sponsored the bill with Democratic colleague Darrel Aubertine. Morahan's support led to a resoundingly bipartisan vote to pass the bill.
Japan Promises Big Greenhouse Gas Cuts
Published September 08, 2009 @ 06:59PM PT
Japan's Prime Minister-elect has announced that by 2020, his nation will slash greenhouse gas pollution by 25% of 1990 levels.
It's a significantly higher target than the one set by outgoing Prime Minister Taro Aso, whose administration had said it would try to cut emissions by around 8% by 2020. , The nation has not yet met its targeted cuts under the current international climate agreement, the Kyoto Protocol.
Prime Minister-elect Yukio Hatoyama could be positioning the world's fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter as an important force in December's international climate treaty talks. Japan has the world's second-largest economy.
He may also be underlining the enormity of the political transition underway in Japan after his Democratic Party's recent landslide victory.
What Is a Green-Collar Job?
Published September 07, 2009 @ 04:19PM PT
"Green-collar jobs" have become a daily facet of the national conversation on energy policy, as well as economic revival. At the most fundamental, these are jobs that link rapid decarbonization of the nation's energy economy, with reviving the nation's eviscerated manufacturing base.
Here's how Apollo Alliance chair Phil Angelides defined green-collar jobs to Time Magazine last year:
It has to pay decent wages and benefits that can support a family. It has to be part of a real career path, with upward mobility. And it needs to reduce waste and pollution and benefit the environment.
The green jobs vision is creating some refreshing new advocacy partnerships, like the Blue Green Alliance, a joint effort of environmental groups and labor unions.
And it's not a particularly partisan issue -- or at least it wasn't a few years ago. The expansion of the green-collar jobs sector got its first major federal boost in 2007, with the passage of the Green Jobs Act, as Title X of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Designing Homes to Survive the Next Hurricane Katrina
Published August 29, 2009 @ 10:54AM PT
Above: Home of the Nguyen family, rebuilt under the Biloxi Model Home Program. Via MC2 Architects.
The struggles of the city of Biloxi since Hurricane Katrina has been largely overlooked by national media. But despite the devastation caused by the massive storm, the city is home to one of the most progressive rebuilding efforts around.
The Biloxi Model Home Project, a spinoff of Architecture for Humanity, is a multi-tiered effort to help residents of East Biloxi - a low-income, ethnically diverse neighborhood that was hit hard by Katrina -- get financing, design services, materials and labor to rebuild their homes.
I reported on the project's progress last year, for Grist.. Several families that qualified to be part of the program got to pick the design they liked best from entries by several architects. They've gotten assistance with the maze of paperwork and requirements to get the government aid they were entitled to, as well as home loans, and they've contributed sweat equity to the building of their new homes.
The innovative designs -- all available for anyone to use on the Open Architecture Network -- often reference traditional architecture of the Gulf Coast, and aim to come in on a relatively lean budget of around $140,000, or $75 per square foot. As with the Nguyen Family Residence, above, they feature shaded porches, ample shuttered windows, and natural ventilation, which are great for a warm and humid climate. They're designed for high energy-efficiency, so that they'll help their low-income owners reduce utility bills. And they are purposefully laid out so that as the owner's needs and financial abilities change, the home can be easily expanded.
The Biloxi Model Homes also conform to post-Katrina revisions of the area's building code. These include requirements that homes be built high off the ground on stilts, to try and avoid being flooded or swept away in the inevitable severe storms of the future, and to withstand hurricane winds of up to 140 mph.
