Frankly Green

Is There a Green Side to the Super Bowl?

2013-01-31T13:58:39-08:00

Thank, Ryan, for the link and the motivation to make a long overdue post!

Opower, an energy consulting firm, compared the electricity useof 145,000 American households during last year’s Super Bowl with consumption on other winter Sundays when the weather was similar. Power use was down by as much as 7.7 percent, depending on the region of the country. And in the West, where the game ended early in the evening, electricity consumption was depressed until bedtime.

Link to Full Article

How Green is Your Artificial Christmas Tree? You Might Be Surprised

2010-12-18T06:21:17-08:00

By John Collins Rudolf, NYT

Link to Full Article

When it comes to Christmas trees, Americans increasingly prefer plastic pines over the real thing.

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Kim Jones, who was shopping for a tree at a Target store in Brooklyn this week, was convinced that she was doing the planet a favor by buying a $200 fake balsam fir made in China instead of buying a carbon-sipping pine that had been cut down for one season’s revelry.

“I’m very environmentally conscious,” Ms. Jones said. “I’ll keep it for 10 years, and that’s 10 trees that won’t be cut down.”

But Ms. Jones and the millions of others buying fake trees might not be doing the environment any favors.

In the most definitive study of the perennial real vs. fake question, an environmental consulting firm in Montreal found that an artificial tree would have to be reused for more than 20 years to be greener than buying a fresh-cut tree annually. The calculations included greenhouse gas emissions, use of resources and human health impacts.

“The natural tree is a better option,” said Jean-Sebastien Trudel, founder of the firm, Ellipsos, that released the independent study last year.

The annual carbon emissions associated with using a real tree every year were just one-third of those created by an artificial tree over a typical six-year lifespan. Most fake trees also contain polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, which produces carcinogens during manufacturing and disposal.

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Over all, the study found that the environmental impact of real Christmas trees was quite small, and significantly less than that of artificial trees — a conclusion shared by environmental groups and some scientists.

“When you really consider it, if you exchange a couple of days of commuting by car with carpooling or riding a bicycle, you’ll completely overcompensate for whatever the impact of the tree is,” he said. “It’s not such a big deal. Enjoy your tree, whichever one you prefer.”

Everyday Chemicals May Be Harming Kids, Panel Told

2010-10-26T14:37:11-07:00

In this day and age, it is baffling to me that we actually need to INTRODUCE legislation "that would require chemical manufacturers to prove the safety of their products before they're released into the market." Should this not be the de facto standard? Unfortunately not!!

Newark, New Jersey (CNN) -- Of the 84,000 chemicals on the market today -- many of which are in objects that people come into contact with every day -- only about 1 percent of them have been studied for safety, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Tuesday. Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, told a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health that such little oversight means that children in the United States are virtual "guinea pigs in an uncontrolled experiment."

"Our current law does not allow EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] scientists to draw the bright line between chemicals that are safe and those that are toxic," the senator said in the hearing, which was held at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in his home state. Lautenberg has introduced legislation that would require chemical manufacturers to prove the safety of their products before they're released into the market. He said the current law -- the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 -- is too lax, resulting in the banning of five chemicals in the past 34 years. Link to full story

A Lesson in Good Design and Great Thought

2010-10-10T08:33:04-07:00

I recently attended West Coast Green here in SF with my friend Bill H. We attended the keynote address by with Bill McDonough who was, as always, entertaining and engaging. He told the following story about New Oxford College:

The college had a main hall built in the early 1600s with beams 40-feet long and two-feet thick. A committee was formed to try to find replacement trees because the beams were suffering from dry rot. If you keep in mind that a veneer from an English oak can be worth seven dollars a square foot, the total replacement costs for the oaks were prohibitively expensive.

A young faculty member suggested, "Why don't we ask the College Forester if some of the lands that had been given to Oxford might have enough trees to call upon?" And when they brought in the forester, he said, "We've been wondering when you would ask this question.

When the present building was constructed 350 years ago, the architects specified that a grove of trees be planted and maintained to replace the beams in the ceiling when they would suffer from dry rot." Bateson's remark was, "That's the way to run a culture." Our question and hope is, "Did they replant them?"

Extreme Heat Bleaches Coral

2010-09-24T09:15:35-07:00

by Justin Gillis, NYT

Link to Full Article

Thanks to Greg T. for sending this along!

This year’s extreme heat is putting the world’s coral reefs under such severe stress that scientists fear widespread die-offs, endangering not only the richest ecosystems in the ocean but also fisheries that feed millions of people.

From Thailand to Texas, corals are reacting to the heat stress by bleaching, or shedding their color and going into survival mode. Many have already died, and more are expected to do so in coming months. Computer forecasts of water temperature suggest that corals in the Caribbean may undergo drastic bleaching in the next few weeks.

What is unfolding this year is only the second known global bleaching of coral reefs. Scientists are holding out hope that this year will not be as bad, over all, as 1998, the hottest year in the historical record, when an estimated 16 percent of the world’s shallow-water reefs died. But in some places, including Thailand, the situation is looking worse than in 1998.

Scientists say the trouble with the reefs is linked to climate change. For years they have warned that corals, highly sensitive to excess heat, would serve as an early indicator of the ecological distress on the planet caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases.

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“It is a lot easier for oceans to heat up above the corals’ thresholds for bleaching when climate change is warming the baseline temperatures,” said C. Mark Eakin, who runs a program called Coral Reef Watch for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “If you get an event like El Niño or you just get a hot summer, it’s going to be on top of the warmest temperatures we’ve ever seen.”

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Coral bleaching occurs when high heat and bright sunshine cause the metabolism of the algae to speed out of control, and they start creating toxins. The polyps essentially recoil. “The algae are spat out,” Dr. Wilkinson said.

The corals look white afterward, as though they have been bleached. If temperatures drop, the corals’ few remaining algae can reproduce and help the polyps recover. But corals are vulnerable to disease in their denuded condition, and if the heat stress continues, the corals starve to death.

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In Thailand, “there some signs of recovery in places,” said James True, a biologist at Prince of Songkla University. But in other spots, he said, corals were hit so hard that it was not clear young polyps would be available from nearby areas to repopulate dead reefs.

“The concern we have now is that the bleaching is so widespread that potential source reefs upstream have been affected,” Dr. True said.

Even in a hot year, of course, climate varies considerably from place to place. The water temperatures in the Florida Keys are only slightly above normal this year, and the beloved reefs of that region have so far escaped serious harm.

Parts of the northern Caribbean, including the United States Virgin Islands, saw incipient bleaching this summer, but the tropical storms and hurricanes moving through the Atlantic have cooled the water there and may have saved some corals. Farther south, though, temperatures are still remarkably high, putting many Caribbean reefs at risk.

Summer is only just beginning in the Southern Hemisphere, but water temperatures off Australia are also above normal, and some scientists are worried about the single most impressive reef on earth. The best hope now, Dr. Wilkinson said, is for mild tropical storms that would help to cool Australian waters.

“If we get a poor monsoon season,” he said, “I think we’re in for a serious bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.”

Gray is Green: Fact Sheets

2010-09-24T09:06:44-07:00

From my friends at Gray is Green - they have recently published their first series of fact sheets. The fact sheets are designed to quickly and efficiently convey concepts of sustainability to your communities. The first three fact sheets focus on food - meat, fish and corn. You can download them here.

Trash Inc.: The Secret Life of Garbage

2010-09-20T09:12:19-07:00

CNBC’s documentary, "Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage," premiers on Wednesday, September 29th at 9pm ET/PT. Reported by CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla, "Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage," takes an inside look at what happens to our garbage after we throw it out – where it goes, who touches it, and who makes money. Beyond the bags piled at the curb, viewers will see the intricate logistical ballet performed every day by armies of sanitation workers, engineers, and even entrepreneurs, to get rid of – and sometimes get rich from – our trash. Viewers will also get a stunning and surprising look, once we throw something away, at where “away” can be – just part of the exploding worldwide environmental challenge posed by garbage.

Greens Turn to Small-Scale Issues

2010-08-04T17:56:57-07:00

By: Coral Davenport
Click Here for Full article

Climate change wasn’t the only environmental issue on Congress’s agenda over the past three years — it just seemed that way.

With the cap-and-trade bill dead in the Senate, lawmakers and environmental groups are looking to shine the spotlight on a slew of problems that received almost no attention in recent years, such as acid rain, overfishing, polluted drinking water and toxic chemicals in consumer products.

“It’s quite obvious for the last several years that the climate debate has sucked up all the oxygen from other environmental issues,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of the nonprofit group Clean Air Watch. “After the fighting and exhaustion of climate, there are a lot of other issues waiting in the queue.”

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In the coming year, environmentalists and their friends in Congress are likely to focus on smaller, more bang-for-your-buck environmental bad guys: discrete pollutants produced by only one sector or industry that have an immediate impact on human health — and are more accessible in the minds of voters.

The absence of climate change on the agenda “does sort of clear the deck,” Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) told POLITICO. “So we’ll try to fill that vacuum.”

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Similar smaller-scale environmental issues are also on the move. On Tuesday, Boxer chaired a hearing on regulating environmental toxins that could contribute to autism. Last week, House Democrats Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois introduced a bill that would for the first time regulate toxic chemicals in personal products, such as makeup and deodorant. And House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has a plan to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act, which regulates industrial chemicals in consumer products and hasn’t seen an overhaul in 32 years.

“This is something people connect to immediately. This is something where industrial pollution occurs in the womb,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, which is pushing Congress to revisit many of these smaller-scale pollutant issues.

Cook also sees an opening in the next couple of years to strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act. Lawmakers in the Northeast fear that drinking water supplies are being contaminated as companies inject toxic chemicals in the ground to extract new supplies of natural gas. Western members are grappling with perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket flares that has contaminated water supplies in California and Nevada, where the Defense Department has dumped rocket equipment.

To some environmental groups that have devoted countless hours, media campaigns and lobbying expenditures over the past years to tackle climate change, a new focus on a handful of smaller issues seems depressing — an acknowledgement of the defeat on the biggest issue of all.

But Cook said it could also offer an opportunity to build new momentum and coalitions before the inevitable return of the climate debate.

“If you build in the American people’s mind the idea that Congress is taking on environmental issues one at a time, if you have a successful run politically — that could make it easier to build up support the next time you come back to this,” he said.

It's official: Toyota,Tesla, and Nummi

2010-05-20T22:34:06-07:00

Big news in CA today!

Link to Article

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined President and Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation Akio Toyoda, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tesla Motors Elon Musk and Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado to announce an historic new partnership between the automotive companies that will benefit California's economy and environment.

Toyota announced it will invest $50 million in Tesla Motors and will partner with Tesla to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs).

Additionally, Tesla announced that it will acquire the NUMMI plant in Fremont and begin production of its Model S EV in 2012.

Today's action could create more than 1,000 green jobs in California.

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"I think it's very exciting," said Shaiken. "Immediately it provides much needed jobs and, longer term, it means an advanced manufacturing future for California, and especially for the Bay Area.

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"Today is a great day for the State of California. I applaud Governor Schwarzenegger, Toyota Motor Corporation and Tesla Motors for working together to invest in the people of California. These smart businesses will not be disappointed by their investment in California workers and they should be commended for being a central part of rebuilding California's economy.

"The opening of this much-needed facility is a model for how business and government can work cohesively to create and retain jobs, spur investment in local economies, and revitalize our state. I fully support Governor Schwarzenegger's efforts on economic growth and will work right beside him to make California the most optimal place in the world to do business."

Strawberries Are About to Get More Toxic

2010-05-10T09:25:03-07:00

Yet another example of corporate interests influencing decision-makers to make bad decisions. How can anyone honestly say that using methyl iodide, a chemical used to CREATE cancer in laboratory rats, is a good thing? It's not! Make your voice heard! There is a link at the end of the article where you can send your comments. More to come..........

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Caveat eater: Strawberries are about to get more toxic

Link to Article

Ever wondered exactly how powerful the biggest corporate lobbies are? In Washington, note that Republicans support suspected terrorists' "right" to purchase guns, even while maintaining that no other part of the U.S. Constitution or the Geneva Conventions apply to them. And in Sacramento, a pesticide so cancer-causing that it's often used specifically to create cancer in rats for medical experiments was just proposed for approval for use on the state's strawberry crop.

The state's own Department of Pesticide Regulation had advised in a report against approving the gas, methyl iodide. And several Nobel prize winners asked the U.S. EPA not to approve it. (It did.) According to farmers, there are a number of alternatives to the stuff, including solarization, anaerobic soil disinfestation and natural pesticides. And it's especially important to use safe materials only in strawberries, which hold the chemicals they're treated with. (More background in this TGL post.)

Lobbying for methyl iodide, we have a single company, the largest pesticide manufacturer in the world, Arysta LifeScience. The Strawberry Growers Commission — the people who employ the people who'd be breathing the stuff in — had weakly declined to take a position.

The state is accepting public comment through June 14. Let them know that people trump profits.

Correction: Approval of methyl iodide has been proposed but not yet finalized, pending public comment.