Environmental Problems Today

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Permalink Reply by Carrie on July 12, 2008 at 10:01pm

Grist rules! Best enviro blog ever...

I'd say that I was struck by #1, which was the nearly wholesale rejection of new coal plants in the US -- not just by environmental watch groups, but by utility regulators and the general public at large. Also #3, the resurrection / reinvention of a bonafide environmental movement, was also huge.

The Step It Up campaign was pulled together in just 10 weeks by Bill McKibben and six recent college graduates.

They used the internet wisely, played the media and developed a flat, ad hoc, open forum (a temporary autonomous zone) for folks across the country to express themselves according to their community, yet share a cohesive message for an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Brilliant. 1Sky is doing the same.

Something huge is gelling and it's pretty exciting.

Three other big ones (in my opinion) were:

1. The publication of the Fourth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

2. The release of the Global Reporting Initiative's Version 3 guidelines for corporate transparency (actually released in late 2006) and the increasing numbers of corporations who are adopting the guidelines and publicly reporting (warts and all) their social, economic and environmental performance.

3. The inclusion of green collar jobs into the public debate about our energy future, largely in part to movement spokesperson Van Jones (who I was lucky enough to hear speak at a conference this April).

For 2008, I would say that we will see some pretty exciting things -- venture capitalists are pouring money into advanced generation, fuel and energy technologies, so we can hope to see some great breakthrough ("disruptive") technologies in these areas.

We will see a greater gap between the leaders and the laggards -- those corporations who understood the need to transition to a green future and laid the ground work early will prosper. Those who delayed or obstructed will have a lot of catching up to do.

Corporations are becoming more and more hip to the power of engaging stakeholders -- the individuals who are impacted by their operations -- customers, communities, investors, the environment, their employees. There will be more meaningful two-way dialog between corporations and their stakeholders.

More families will try to lower their carbon footprint, embrace energy efficiency, perhaps try recycling or composting; more communities will adopt green building codes and practices, and there will be a greater awareness of the connection between our actions and the environment.

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Permalink Reply by suz on July 14, 2008 at 11:52am

Fortunately Home Depot has a recycling program for CFL bulbs. See below

THE HOME DEPOT LAUNCHES NATIONAL
CFL BULB RECYCLING INITIATIVE
Also Implementing In Store Energy Conservation Program

ATLANTA, June 24, 2008 – The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today expanded its long-term commitment to the environment and sustainability by launching a national in-store, consumer compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb recycling program at all 1,973 The Home Depot locations. This free service is the first such offering made so widely available by a retailer in the United States and offers customers additional options for making environmentally conscious decisions from purchase to disposal. The Home Depot Canada launched a CFL recycling program in November, 2007.

At each The Home Depot store, customers can simply bring in any expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk. The bulbs will then be managed responsibly by an environmental management company who will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.
+++++++++++++++++
I went to one HOme Depot in ABQ and they said they didn't know anything about it but would check. I went to another Home Depot and they took them ... no questions.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Ryder on July 14, 2008 at 11:57pm

test test test

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Ryder on July 15, 2008 at 12:03am

Hi dr d & fellow stud’s:
(The “stud’s” is for students, not “stud”s, just trying to inject some humor into things.)

I chose number 12, the ethanol green story. My additional link is: (http://www.e85fuel.com/information/environment.php)

The Ethanol picture is a mixture, (no pun intended) of conflicting information, limited understanding and misinformation and disinformation. I have studied the ethanol picture fairly well, and so let’s see if I can put some clarity to things.

1. $4 a gallon gas makes ethanol a viable alternative energy source. It is not only used to replace petroleum, but can be converted to make everything from biodegradable plastic grocery bags to jet fuel to more Eco-friendly, plastic computer cases.
2. Most of the current ethanol industry is farm based, with an Eco-friendly focus.
3. Yes, ethanol is taking corn and other agricultural products out of food supplies and impacting food prices. But ethanol and other agricultural derivations are just part of the reason for increases in our-and world-food costs. Inflation, dollar devaluation, increased transportation costs, (gas!), and other competitive factors are a bigger part of the cost picture.
4. The term ethanol is only part of our alternative energy spectrum-and this IS the context in which is should be seen. Ethanol is part of a process of energy change and national self-sufficiency.
5. Ethanol processors have developed energy conversion techniques that can, and are being used on existing coal and related energy sources, that reduce carbon emissions and techniques that actually improve energy conversion!
6. To put ethanol at the top of the list for energy independence is ludicrous! I never said ethanol was thee answer to our energy needs-did you? That is really my key point. To present ethanol as the answer, instead of part of the answer is where a great deal of the confusion starts.
7. Remember grain conversion and related processes include non-salable parts of the stalk. Whether they be corn, rice, sugar or whatever, they use the stalk, root and leaf extensions-in other word the WHOLE plant-and plants are renewable…
8. NASA has spent billions and billions of dollars to send stuff and people into outer space; and a lot of wonder about the real value of the activities. But we have derived many useful benefits form the research and lessons learned. Everything from Teflon, to microfibers, to wonderful medical techniques and devices-EXPENSIVE, but still useful. Ethanol and Agra-energy conversion have already given us benefits-and we didn't have to go to the moon to get them. Do you remember that 10% of the "gas" we use today IS ethanol?
9. Ethanol and Agra-based combustible fuels are in process. I could dwell on individual factors about how it burns cleaner, has fewer toxic by-products, etc., but that’s not the point. The point is we are already deriving benefits from ethanol and will continue to do so; just don’t have tunnel vision and see it as a waste of time and effort. The people involved are dedicated to clean air and energy independence. They are still in their infancy with many benefits to come.

Hope this helps give a little perspective to things.

P. S. I don’t own any ethanol or Agra-energy mutual funds or stocks.

Happy Trails,

ez Ryder

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Permalink Reply by suz on July 15, 2008 at 7:53am

Ethanol is still an evolving storyline. As other alternative fuels are ramped up, competition will increase and I have no idea which will survive and which won't. I'm personally willing to buy it and do.

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