My Prius V
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: Environment, Consumer products Leave a comment »I’ve owned the car since the end of October. So far, it’s been great.
Solid Waste as Resource
Posted: February 23, 2012 Filed under: Environment, Videos Leave a comment »Via CrispGreen.
A Massive Fuel Cell Farm
Posted: February 22, 2012 Filed under: Environment, Technology Leave a comment »Apple also says it plans to build a massive fuel cell farm at its data center that will use biogas (gas captured from decomposing biomass), which is an even more rare move for an Internet company. Apple’s planned fuel cell farm will be 5 MW when it goes online later in 2012, and Apple calls the project “the largest non-utility fuel cell installation operating anywhere in the country.” Apple notes that it already has a small 500 kilowatt biogas-powered fuel cell at its Cupertino facility.
1000 Euros Over 20 Years: The Horror
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: Environment Leave a comment »Roesler’s position is supported by the pro-industry Rhine-Westphalia Institute for Economic Research, or RWI, which has calculated that solar panels installed in Germany between 2000 and 2011 will cost consumers a staggering 100 billion euros ($130 billion) over 20 years. “The most important reason to cut the solar subsidies is that from an economic perspective, they are simply a waste of money,” RWI expert Manuel Frondel told GlobalPost. “We estimate that the average German household will have to pay 1,000 euros over the next 20 years as a result of the photovoltaic panels installed in Germany up to now.”
So that rings up to 50 euros per year, or €4.17 ($5.52) per month.
And then I think of another number. Reuters:
The government panel has estimated that cleaning up the Fukushima disaster and compensating its victims could cost as much as 20 trillion yen ($257 billion)…
Thoughts on Michael Graetz’ The End of Energy
Posted: February 20, 2012 Filed under: Books, Environment, Washington Leave a comment »Overall, this book passed my test – it was worth the purchase price.
On the negative side, I felt as though Graetz occasionally leans too heavily on a few stereotypes. For example, he repeatedly dredges up the view of environmentalists as being ‘think small’ and anti-growth. But he fails to mention that a number of prominent environmentalists, notably William McDonough, celebrate sustainable economic growth. On a related note, beyond passing mentions of electric cars and recent growth in solar and wind, Graetz doesn’t spend much time at all on recent business activity in clean energy tech. I didn’t see any reference to companies like BrightSource Energy or SolarCity, for example.
LIke I said, though, the book was worth it for me. I particularly appreciated his discussion on taxes as the obvious and rational choice for dealing with carbon pollution and climate change. In that vein, I also liked his hammering away at policymakers who are hamstrung by anti-tax mania and a fear of asking Americans to sacrifice anything. “Congress is especially bad at addressing long-term problems,” Graetz writes. Depressing.
Close Call for Union Station
Posted: February 19, 2012 Filed under: Transportation, Washington Leave a comment »I did not know this. Via ULI:
By the late 1970s, Union Station had fallen into such a state of seediness that some in Congress were advocating tearing it down…But Union Station did not succumb to the wrecker’s ball as many feared. The dire situation awakened citizens groups, public and private constituents, and even Congress, which, with its budgeting and oversight responsibilities, had been part of the problem.
Water Stats
Posted: February 18, 2012 Filed under: Environment Leave a comment »Nice post at Le Monde’s Eco(lo) blog:
Résultat : entre 1996 et 2005, 9 087 milliards de mètres cubes d’eau ont été consommés chaque année à travers la planète. L’agriculture en a englouti 92 %, notamment du fait de l’irrigation intensive des céréales telles que le maïs, le blé ou le riz (27 % de l’utilisation d’eau douce), ainsi que de la production de viande (22 %) et de produits laitiers (7 %).
Sustainable Urban Transport
Posted: February 17, 2012 Filed under: Environment, Transportation, Videos Leave a comment »Interesting.
Cutting Back on Food Waste
Posted: February 16, 2012 Filed under: Environment Leave a comment »Le gaspillage, qui concerne chaque maillon de la chaîne agroalimentaire, atteindrait selon certaines estimations 50 % des denrées saines et comestibles, disent les députés.
Brown Solar
Posted: February 15, 2012 Filed under: Environment Leave a comment »Brown is diving into solar energy. The University is installing an array of solar panels on its new aquatics center that will be the first combined solar-powered electrical and heating system in Rhode Island and the largest installation of its kind in the United States. Earlier this week, technicians bolted down the last of the 168 rectangular-shaped panels on the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center’s roof. The center is expected to open for students on April 13. When it does, the solar panels will generate enough power — 160,944 total watts — to keep the lights on and enough thermal energy to heat the center’s million-gallon pool.
