The Coolest Fueling Station Ever

These are pictures I took of the Sequential Biofuels Station in Eugene, OR. Isn't it the nicest place to fuel up you've ever seen? Here are a few key features:
* Two grades of Ethanol fuel: E20 and E85 (the latter can only be used in so-called flex-fuel vehicles);
* Two grades of Biodiesel fuel: B5, B 20, and B99.9 (At least o.o1% petro diesel is required for a federal tax credit!);
* A green roof (or should I say green garden!);
* Bioswales to collect rainwater and allow it to seep back into local streams, naturally cleansed by on-site vegetation; and
* It is a brownfield site, so there is active remediation of contaminated groundwater underneath - they are cleaning up someone else's mess!

NPR Climate Coverage

We can never be sure where policy changes come from. In the 1970's, the general public, authors, the media, and politicians, notably Senator Gaylord Nelson, became interested in protecting the environment. From these organic, raw feelings came notable environmental policies like the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act. These laws, despite all of their flaws, are the basis of the environmental protection in this country.

This month, NPR begins their series on climate change. They are reporting on all aspects of this issue and I believe it will continue throughout the year. Now, I don't want to give NPR more credit than they are due. One can never say whether they are responding to market research and simply providing their relatively liberal, educated audience with what they want. On the other hand, maybe they are truly showing leadership in the climate change arena.

Personally, I don't care.

The important thing is that, finally, we are starting to talk about climate change on almost a daily basis. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be a major policy issue in the upcoming presidential election. The one who shows true leadership in this area will benefit and gain votes as a result.

For your part, NPR, way to go. This is the reason I love you.

The Amazing "Planet Earth"

What do you normally do at 8pm on Sunday night?
I would seriously consider planting yourself down in front of the tube to watch Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel. It is an amazing mini-series. I think this show has an amazing ability to share some of the world's most unique places and events - all of them natural.
I think that we sometimes forget about how special we are to have such an amazing rock to live on. The scenes and events captured by these cinematographers are so real, so right-before-your-eyes, that protecting them seems the only 'natural' thing to do.
Sometimes we get so lost in the events that shape our own lives that it helps to see things from another perspective. I think that the folks who created this series legitimately wanted to share the 'natural' world with the 'developed' world. After you watch a show like this, the ideas that Al Gore or other environmentalists discuss have a richer, more concrete context.
This whole concept of 'Global Warming' comes from a line of thinking that many people just don't get - and that is understandable. Our society seems to be somewhat polarized on the issue of the environment, but it doesn't have to be that way.
We are an amazingly powerful animal, we humans. We have the power to flatten, deforest, develop, and homogenize the landscape. But we also have an amazing power to understand, explore, photograph, and protect places. Especially those places we see on "Planet Earth."

Planet Green Game

Hey - got a few minutes to kill? There's a great game to play online that's sort of hip, fun, and educational - all at once! OK, so it has an environmental message, but isn't being Green the cool thing to be these days? Take your new knowledge with you to share at your next elbow-rubbing session with local glitterati!

Check it out at:

http://www.planetgreengame.com/

And - have fun being Green!!

Greening the House?

U.S. House of Representatives Chief Administrative Officer Daniel Beard issued a report yesterday telling members of that body that they should go carbon-neutral. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). Pelosi and Hoyer requested the analysis.

In the report, Beard offers several ways to accomplish this task, including:

• Obtaining 100% of its energy needs from renewable sources.
  
• Converting 12,000 office desk lamps to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) during the next several months.
  
• Directing the Capitol architect to no longer buy inefficient incandescent light bulbs.
• Making CFLs available at cost to the 7,000 House staff members for their own use.
• Purchasing Energy Star products and giving priority purchase to climate-neutral products that offset the lifecycle contribution of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Directing the Capitol architect to install an Ethanol-85 tank, pump and related infrastructure for the use of official vehicles.
  

This is only a start, of course. Much more could be done in the way of setback thermostats and habit changes. However, I think that this report shows how lawmakers are starting to realize that the leadership in the Climate Change arena needs to come from somewhere - why not from our elected leaders?

source: Greenwire -- April 19, 2007

Green is the New Red, White and Blue

Once again, New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman has called for Americans to stand behind a powerful initiative to change America's energy infrastructure in last Sunday's NYT Magazine. I have to say that I agree with his words and I hope you have a chance to read this article before the Times makes you pay to read it. If you miss it, feel free to email me and I can send it to you as a PDF. It's worth a read.

Marsh Fork Elementary School

Marsh Fork Elementary School is located adjacent to a coal facility operated by a facility of Massey Coal. Check out this video which discusses the history of this struggle:

Bees experiencing "Colony Collapse"

Honey bees are amazing. Being a daily consumer of honey, I cannot imagine living without them. It's funny, I never thought I would be worried about the honey bee population. I guess that's the essential problem with natural events: you never know what's coming.

Honey bees have made headlines recently because many Western Honey Bee populations have experienced significant declines. The reasons behind the collapse of so many populations is unknown, but this phenomenon is often called Colony Collapse Disorder.

Scientists are studying the bee decline carefully. There are a number of potential sources of the problem. It may be caused mostly by one factor or, more likely, a combination of a number of different factors, including the fact that fewer people keep bees in the U.S. than in previous generations.

Here's an interesting tidbit: nectar collected from a few plants in common landscape usage are toxic to both bees and humans: rhododendrons, azaleas, and golden rain trees. It seems plausible that these plants are one of the problems. Now, with the suburban fringe working ever farther into farming country, could we be experiencing some negative interactions between suburban landscaping trends and agricultural production?

In California, where the recent set of headlines about honey bee declines seemed to have originated, there is incredible development pressure on the agricultural lands surrounding the big (and even the small) cities. I have no doubt that these newly-arrived suburbanites are bringing in novel species to grow on the rich, formerly productive agricultural land. Could this be one of the factors contributing there? No one knows yet. We will have to just wait and see.

I, for one, am becoming somewhat alarmed, but don't take it from me. Here's what Albert Einstein said: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left."

Bees are obviously important for honey, but their main importance is cross-pollination. In a recent news story from Ohio, I learned that over 75% of our food supply comes directly or indirectly from plants pollinated by bees. Farmers in Southern Appalachia are also worried about low bee populations. It turns out that lots of people are worried about this problem too.

Let's hope this whole thing dies down and nothing more gets made of it. Bees are just one of those animals we can't live without.

Well, I'm going downstairs to have some tea with honey and say a little prayer for my little friends. You should do the same.