Maria Energia

Maria Energia's Personal Sustainability Plan

2009-10-03T15:03:00.004-05:00

Baron Edward Manka was born Tuesday, September 29 at 2:47PM. He was 7 lbs., 2 oz. and 21 inches long. My husband and I are getting to know the little man and enjoying every second of it.

Still Composting (I Think) and Company Review

2009-09-27T12:42:00.016-05:00

I started composting about a month ago, when a company called Algreen Products sent me a compost bin to review.

While I think the bin is working fine so far, I'm less than thrilled about the customer service from Algreen. For starters, the instructions for the compost bin were very vague: the brochure suggested watering and aerating the bin, but never said how often to do it. So I emailed the rep that contacted me in the first place. I asked:

Should I be mixing my browns and greens in the bin? If so, how often do I do that? Also, how often should I water the mix? More details like these would be helpful in your instruction manual.

I don't think anything got lost in translation between me (in Minnesota) and the rep (in Ontario, Canada), but he answered my email with instructions on how to make compost tea...

So I emailed him again, clarifying what I was asking - that was 27 days ago and I haven't heard anything back. Although I can't yet comment on how well the compost bin works (my materials haven't composted yet and with the days becoming so cool, I'm skeptical I'll get anything yet this year), I would not recommend this $200 product based on the vague instruction manual (especially frustrating if you've never composted before) and the lack of customer service from Algreen.

Wind vs. Solar: If I Had a Million Dollars...

2009-09-21T07:30:00.000-05:00

David Wescott, Tim Hurst, Jeff McIntire-Strasburg and I got together again recently to debate which industry - wind or solar - we would invest in if we had a million dollars. Check out the podcast here on Earth & Industry.

What I'm Reading...

2009-09-16T08:39:00.002-05:00

Planet Green's "Know the 7 Key Senators in the Climate Bill Battle." You should know them too, especially if one of them represents your state.

New Blog Recommendation: Earth and Industry

2009-09-14T16:17:00.003-05:00

I feel fortunate to be part of the green blogosphere, as there is no shortage of smart, informed and thoughtful sites to visit. And here's another to add to your reading list: Earth and Industry.

Earth and Industry was started by Tim Hurst of ecopolitology and Green Options. The site is a discussion about the intersection of people, planet and profit and how these drivers can lead companies to maximize profits while being responsible and helpful citizens of the planet. It's sure to keep you well-informed, so check it out.

(I am a contributing writer to the site (first post: "What Ever Happened to the Climate Bill?") - although I was a reader of it before I was asked to write for it! Check out the other contributing writers here.)

Midwest Renewable Energy News

2009-09-09T07:44:00.000-05:00

New: Energy Star Toolkit for Houses of Worship

2009-09-08T15:30:00.003-05:00

The EPA now provides Energy Star toolkits to help houses of worship become more energy efficient. (it was news to me that the EPA already has free Energy Star toolkits for other facilities like schools, retail businesses and the healthcare industry).

The toolkit helps building managers track energy usage, climate change emissions, set goals for emissions cuts and energy efficiency, and prioritize investments in efficiency upgrades. They also get:

Technical support from Energy Star
“How-to” guide for analyzing and upgrading the facility (including a detailed Building Upgrade Manual)
Energy equipment and service contractors and utilities
Information about Energy Star labeled products
National and local recognition
Public relations materials to promote your efforts
Marketing Resources

There are about 370,000 houses of worship in the U.S.; if they improved their energy efficiency by 10 percent, they would prevent more than 1 million tons of climate change emissions and represent a cost savings of about $315 million a year.

Houses of worship that use the Energy Star toolkit and meet standards for the program could earn a performance rating and the Energy Star label for their congregation buildings.

via Energy Star and GreenerBuildings.com

New Tool: Climate Wizard

2009-09-02T14:07:00.005-05:00

I'm checking out a new tool called the Climate Wizard, which lets you look at temperature and precipitation projections on a state-by-state or nation-by-nation basis under different climate change scenarios. You can look at past and projected climate data and even break down the data by month.

It's pretty interesting - and a useful tool too: The Nature Conservancy (which developed the Wizard with the University of Washington and the University of Southern Mississippi) is using it to help predict how plants from around the world will behave in other locations: “I can look at the home temperatures of these aquatic plants to see if the climate ranges overlap with Florida and use that as one predictor of whether they might become invasive and cause problems in our habitats," noted Doria Gordon, TNC's director of conservation science.

The tool has also found that if emissions continue to rise unchecked over the next 100 years, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa would heat up the most, followed by South Dakota, Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois.

via The Nature Conservancy and Climate Wizard

David Wescott and I Talk Greenwashing

2009-08-31T14:35:00.002-05:00

Last week, David Wescott of It's Not a Lecture and I had a conversation on "greenwashing" - when companies attempt to make their products or practices look greener, cleaner, or more efficient than they really are. We also touch on how the media covers green issues and the burgeoning world of online environmental thought leaders. Fun stuff!

You can listen to the podcast below - it runs just under 24 minutes.

Maria Energia Learns to Compost

2009-08-25T19:53:00.006-05:00

Yes, it's my dark, dirty secret: I don't compost. It seemed complicated, I wasn't sure how, and hesitant to spend the money on a bin.

But now I've taken the plunge, thanks in great part to Algreen Products, a Canadian company that sent me their Terra 45-gallon composter to test out.

I got it today in the mail and - not knowing anything about composters - was impressed with how little it weighed and how easy it was for a woman who's 9 months pregnant to haul around. The instructions could've used some more detail, but I put the bin and accompanying shovel together eventually. Then I threw in some dirt, a bag of leaves that have been sitting in my garage for a year, and grass clippings in the 3:1 brown to green recommended ratio.

The holes in the side are for aeration and watering (not sure how you're supposed to water sideways...stick a hose in the holes or just spray down the sides?). I've seen other composters that you turn to get everything mixed together and decomposing...but I guess I don't need to do any mixing with this type of barrel? Any advice is appreciated!

More to come on how this product performs. I hope to get some good stuff out of it before the snow flies in a few months, but the instructions say that it will keep working throughout the winter (which surprises me...even when it's 10 below and everything is frozen?).

If you're interested in getting your own Algreen composter, you can buy one at Garden SuperMart, Home Depot or Amazon.

Random Find: WePlayGreen.org

2009-08-24T13:51:00.003-05:00

Hat tip to colleague Bill Brozak for this interesting find:

WePlayGreen.or g is a group started by Chris Dickerson from the Cincinnati Reds and Jack Cassel from the Cleveland Indians to promote how professional athletes live green and inspire fans to do the same. Athletes from any professional sport can join (see the list here) and many of the testimonials talk about the basics, like recycling.

But they don't just play it safe with easy issues like recycling, they actually have opinions, like limiting the amount of plastics used during sports seasons and this Tweet from Friday: "Bioplastics is really just replacing one problem for another and doesn't address what is wrong with our throw-away culture."

Check them out.

Friday Fun: "In My Prius" Video

2009-08-14T11:48:00.005-05:00

Hat tip to @Treehugger for the link to this hilarious video "In my Prius" by Casual Mafia. I especially love the dancer holding a latte, listening to an iPod with a baby carrier strapped to him.

A Great Resource to Stay on Top of Climate Policy

2009-08-11T11:55:00.003-05:00

VanNess Feldman's Weekly Climate Change Policy Update. I highly recommend it for getting the details on federal climate legislation (VanNess Feldman is a Washington DC law firm).

Midwest Monday: Renewable Energy Degrees Expand

2009-08-03T16:23:00.003-05:00

The renewable energy industry may be struggling in this tough economy like everyone else, but that doesn't mean it's going away anytime soon. In fact, technical colleges are continuing to expand programs to train workers in the industry.

One of the most recent ones in my neck of the woods is St. Cloud Technical College, which will begin offering a two-year degree in energy technology this fall. It is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States and is being launched with a three-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Students who earn the associate degree will be able to work in renewable and traditional energy fields and earn certification in specialty areas like ethanol production, biodiesel production, wind turbine maintenance or solar-energy assessment.

via the St. Cloud Times

Midwest Monday: Renewable Energy News

2009-08-03T16:22:00.000-05:00

Dept of Energy Releases Wind Technologies Market Report

2009-07-27T11:44:00.003-05:00

The U.S. Department of Energy just released its “2008 Wind Technologies Market Report.” It provides a comprehensive overview of trends in the U.S. wind power market. Some highlights:

For the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. was home to the fastest-growing wind power market in the world in 2008, capturing roughly 30% of the market.

U.S. wind power capacity additions increased by 60 percent in 2008, representing a $16 billion investment in new wind projects.

Wind projects accounted for 42% of all new electric generating capacity added in the U.S. in 2008 and wind now delivers nearly 2% of the nation's electricity supply.

Soaring demand for wind has spurred expansion of wind turbine manufacturing in the United States. The share of domestically manufactured wind turbine components has grown from less than 30% in 2005 to roughly 50% in 2008, and that roughly 8,400 new domestic manufacturing jobs were added in the wind sector in 2008 alone.

Texas led all states with 7,118 MW of total wind capacity installed, followed by Iowa (2791 MW) and California (2517 MW). Seven states now have more than 1,000 MW installed, and 13 have more than 500 MW.

Iowa and Minnesota have the highest levels of wind penetration.

Wind power remained competitive in wholesale power markets in 2008, with average wind power prices at or below the low end of the wholesale power market price range.

Find the report here.

Green Blogger Podcast: ACES Bill

2009-07-27T06:57:00.000-05:00

David Wescott of It's Not a Lecture is launching a semi-regular podcast on enviro topics and invited me, Tim Hurst of Red, Green and Blue and Ecopolitology, and Jeff McIntire-Strasburg of Sustainablog to participate in the first one.

In the podcast below, we discuss the question of whether the ACES bill (aka Waxman-Markey climate bill) is a "good start" or whether Congress needs to go back to the drawing board and work out tougher regulations.

We know the audio quality isn't top-notch. We hope to improve this with future podcasts. Many thanks to David for the invitation to participate and to Tim and Jeff for being smart cohorts. Hear the podcast below - it's about 26 minutes. Details and downloads can be found here.

Los Angeles to Dump Coal Use by 2020

2009-07-13T15:03:00.017-05:00

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that his city will completely eliminate coal from its electricity use by 2020.

The L.A. Department of Water and Power (LADWP) currently gets 40% of its electricity from coal plants outside of the state (California itself doesn't have any). With this move, the LADWP expects to cuts its carbon dioxide emissions by up to 60% from 1990 levels (with 1.45 million electricity customers, it's the largest city-owned utility in the nation).

Instead, about 40% of the power the city currently gets from coal will be replaced with renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The other 60% will come from natural gas, nuclear and hydro.

As a result of this decision, a proposed coal plant in Utah was canceled, as the LADWP was to be its biggest customer.

Why now?
The city decided to make the switch to avoid paying more for fossil fuel electricity in the future, when carbon regulations (both California's state regulations and federal ones, like a cap-and-trade policy) increase the cost of doing business with fossil fuels. Not to mention the "costs to society," like higher medical bills for lung-related diseases such as asthma.

However, the Mayor's office noted that eliminating coal power will mean higher electricity rates in the short-term (although LADWP expects its rates to remain competitive with the rest of Southern California). Deputy Mayor David Freeman explained:

"The rates are going to go up. There is no way you can bring in renewable energy and not have some rate impact when you replace coal. But the value to society even aside from global warming is going to be positive."

This is a straightforward message that people will need to hear as cities and states continue to replace their dirty electricity sources with clean ones. There may be modest, short-term increases in electricity costs, but the long-term savings from cleaner, unlimited energy and a healthier, cleaner society will outweigh those costs - especially when combined with energy efficiency improvements (as Los Angeles is doing) to further drive down energy demand.

via VanNess Feldman Law Firm and Reuters

Midwest Monday: Renewable Energy News

2009-07-13T15:03:00.003-05:00

Scientific American Podcast: Wind Power Potential Quantified

2009-07-01T14:02:00.005-05:00

From Scientific American's handy "60-second science" podcast comes data from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Click the link to hear about calculations that U.S. wind turbines could produce 16 times the electricity we now use.

Hat tip to Dave Erickson again for this one!

Details on Climate Change Bill

2009-06-30T11:31:00.005-05:00

By now, I'm sure you've heard that sweeping climate change legislation (the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)) passed the House last Friday 219-212. Eight Republicans voted in favor of it and 44 Democrats voted against. The bill will gradually lower climate change emissions to 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.

For more detail on how members voted and the compromises made, here are some helpful resources I've found:

See how your Rep voted (via Grist)

Details on the compromises made to pass ACES (via VanNess Feldman Law Firm)

A state-by-state impact of cap-and-trade's cost (via FiveThirtyEight)

Video: Nonprofits Partnering with Business on Conservation

2009-06-29T16:36:00.001-05:00

This is an interesting video featuring one way nonprofits are partnering with big companies on energy/conservation issues (via Fora.TV).

Hat tip to Dave Erickson for the link.

House to Vote on Climate Change Bill this Week

2009-06-23T14:08:00.003-05:00

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (aka "ACES" aka the "Waxman-Markey bill") may get a vote on the House floor this week, surprising many of us who thought the road from committees to the floor would be a much longer one.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the vote will likely happen Friday. Meanwhile, supporters are still working out deals with detractors like Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN), who opposes parts of the bill that he says put a disproportionate burden on farmers.

One of the most significant details so far, reports Climate Progress, is a concession to Rep. Peterson that gives the country's electric co-ops that have under 4 million MW of capacity (so some of the smallest electricity producers) a free 0.5 percent of the cap-and-trade program's valuable emission allowances. Thanks to this, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said they are "not going to stand in the way of the passage of the bill."

More negotiations are happening throughout the week, including around issues like the definition of "renewable biomass" and the EPA's authority to consider indirect emissions (such as land-use changes) when calculating biofuels' impact.

Pelosi and others seem confident they'll have the votes they need by Friday. Stay tuned...

via Politico and Climate Progress

Duke Energy CEO on Colbert Report

2009-06-17T11:48:00.005-05:00

Duke Energy's CEO, Jim Rogers, was on the Colbert Report yesterday to talk about "clean" coal technologies. He didn't directly answer Colbert's question as to how many clean coal plants Duke Energy currently has (answer: they don't exist yet), but he did explained how carbon sequestration works and why it is an important part of cutting climate change emissions.

As President Obama and Congress get closer to an agreement on regulating carbon, look for more utility CEOs and others from the fossil fuel industry in the media, positioning themselves as part of the solution to the climate problem. Which is fine - we need everyone at the table and coal is certainly going to be a part of the energy mix for years to come - but let's not forget about the proven technologies we already have in front of us: energy efficiency and renewables.

Wind power companies investing heavily in America, like Vestas, and associations like the American Wind Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association had better be positioning their experts and solutions in the media as well: One fight is in Congress to get climate legislation passed, but the other is with the mainstream public to support that change; educating us that renewable energy is not "alternative" or hippie, but is already a viable and reliable industry.

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Americans' Six Views on Climate Change

2009-06-15T07:11:00.000-05:00

Yale University and George Mason University recently released a study of 2,129 Americans ("Global Warming's Six Americas 2009") that categorizes the country's view on climate change into six categories:

The Alarmed (about 18% of the population): Fully convinced of the reality and seriousness of climate change and are already taking individual, consumer, and political action to address it.
The Concerned (33% and the largest group): Also convinced that global warming is happening and a serious problem, but have not yet engaged in the issue personally.
The Cautious (19%): Global warming is indeed a problem, but are unsure whether the problem merits immediate attention, or whether it is as widespread as stated. They don't see it as a personal threat at all.
The Disengaged (12%): Do not know too much about the issue and have never taken any kind of interest in it. Relatively oblivious to the debate.
The Doubtful (11%): Not exactly sure that global warming is happening, but if it is, it certainly isn't caused by humans (i.e. it is a natural occurrence).
The Dismissive (7%): Very sure climate change is not happening and are actively involved as opponents of a national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Interestingly but not surprisingly, these groups tend to behave in similar ways when climate change solutions are presented that also have personal financial benefits. For example, all categories of those surveyed support actions that save them money; the Dismissive group is just as likely to make energy efficiency improvements on their home as the Alarmed group. All six groups also support rebates for the purchase of energy technologies like solar panels and fuel-efficient cars.

These past few years have seen the pragmatic environmental community get more sophisticated in its messaging of climate change solutions, and this study supports those efforts to move away from "sky is falling" rhetoric and more towards commonsense actions and policies that are beneficial to the planet, the economy and people's wallets.

via Softpedia, Yale University and Global Warming's Six Americas 2009