photo: George Riley

One of the founding principles of earthscreen is that saving the planet should not be viewed as a sacrifice: that we need to underscore the benefits of a sustainable planet and go about seeking change from that perspective. We've been stressing this point since 2004.

NPR today released an article about how quick we are to reduce gas consumption when prices are high but that we jump right back into our SUVs once the prices come down.

Instead, they say they need something more fundamental to motivate people. So efficiency boosters are turning to social marketers to find out how to change energy consumption habits. Social marketing is the use of public media to get people to make the right choices for society.

 

But what works? One effective tactic: fear of death. Social marketers give themselves high marks for getting people to stop smoking. But energy is different. As social marketer Merrill Shugoll of Shugoll Research explains, Big Oil is not the same as Big Tobacco. People need energy, she says — they don't need cigarettes.

The article wraps up with:

Social marketers say there are some things to avoid when you're trying to make people change their energy appetites. A big one is the idea of sacrifice. President Jimmy Carter tried that when he put on a sweater and told Americans to turn down the thermostat. It didn't work.

We couldn't agree more.

Image courtesy of Chiefport

While the U.S. News is dominated by auto company bailouts against the backdrop of a President-Elect who campaigned on investing taxpayer dollars in green technology, it is important to give a hat tip to industrial leaders who have already seen the light.

Treehugger has done just that by profiling 5 CEOs who have led the way in changing business practices from wasteful, dirty, and unsustainable and are now becoming evangelists, at a very high level, for the green movement, not as mouthpieces but by changing their industries.

Topping the list is carpet maker Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface, the largest modular carpet manufacturer in the world. After reading Paul Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce, he completely changed the way Interface does business with the goal of becoming completely sustainable.

The thesis of the book is that businesses, more than anything else, are responsible for the future of the environment. Either they could profit by finding ways to renew resources, or they could destroy themselves along with the earth as they maintained a plunderer’s attitude towards creating profits.

 

Shortly after, he vowed to move his company towards complete sustainability—no easy task for a billion-dollar-a-year factory based company. But by implementing intensive recycling programs, turning to energy-efficient computer controlled boilers, using corn to create carpet, and utilizing solar and wind power, Anderson has made some serious strides towards his goal. And the conserved energy and reused materials have helped Interface’s profits rise.

 

Just as important, Anderson showed the business world that even an international, multi-billion dollar company can go green without dipping into the red.

 

The other four profiled are: Sir Richard Branson, Brad Hole, Rupert Murdoch, and T. Boone Pickens.

Though the polls show that California's Proposition 2 -  the Standards for Confining Farm Animals initiative - is winning by a margin of 72 to 10, millions of dollars are being poured into both the Yes and No campaigns.

This initiative simply states that animals raised for food must be allowed to stand up, extend their limbs or wings, and turn around in their confinement.  Though the initiative covers all animals, the fight comes down to the $330 billion egg industry.

The initiative is gaining national attention. The main argument against the prop is that it would destroy California's egg industry and force retailers to import eggs from Mexico.  Proponents, however, believe that the increase in price would be a measly 1 cent per egg.

Grist.org is running a comprehensive article highlighting both sides.

Proposition supporter, The Omnivore's Dilemma author, Michael Pollan gives us the bigger picture:

My hope is that, as on so many issues, California will push the rest of the country forward, and Prop. 2's passage will push companies like McDonald's to change their standards (they're on the precipice already, I'm told) and California's position will become the de facto national position. So whatever messiness we may inherit here, California will, when the history of these brutal practices is written, look visionary.

Treehugger featured a story today about a new efficiency calculator with a Halloween theme.

I hope they upgrade the calculator with additional areas for improvement, like wrapping the water heater and using an Energy Star fridge. As is, you can't really get a complete picture but it's a good start. What I like most about the calculator is that it estimates the savings of both dollars and pounds of carbon dioxide. I put in the numbers for what changes I've already made and the results are $750 and 10,000 pounds of CO2 saved! Try it out.

Recently I posted about Thomas Friedman's new book Hot, Flat, and Crowded.  In it he argues that a Green Revolution is the next best bet for solving the climate crisis which will provide a new path to American prosperity, innovation, and global competitiveness.  

From the Publisher:

With all that in mind, Friedman lays out his argument that if we are going to avoid the worst disruptions looming before us as we enter the Energy-Climate Era, we are going to need several disruptive breakthroughs in the clean-technology sphere--disruptive in the transformational sense. He explores what enabled the disruptive breakthroughs that created the IT (Information Technology) revolution that flattened the world in information terms and then shows how a similar set of disruptive breakthroughs could spark the ET--Energy Technology--revolution. Time and again, though, Friedman shows why it is both necessary and desirous for America to lead this revolution--with the first green president, a green New Deal, and spurred by the Greenest Generation--and why meeting the green challenge of the twenty-first century could transform America every bit as meeting the Red challenge, that of Communism, did in the twentieth century.

Since the book was released, we've experienced the worst economic crisis since the 1920's.  This past Friday, financier and master speculator George Soros appeared on Bill Moyers' Journal to discuss his new book The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means. Though Soros seems shaky on the details of what a focus on renewable energy technology entails, his ideas about finance, along with Friedman's details on a Green Revolution provide a welcome and popularly emerging narrative of a new way forward.

Though others have written extensively about this convergence, notably, Amory & L. Hunter Lovins and Paul Hawkins in Natural Capitalism.  What is important now is that because of our economic situation, people are listening.

In Los Angles, we're spread out all over the place.  Within the same city my friends up to 30 miles away in every direction.  That's why Web sites that put me in touch with other city travelers are an important tool to solve the dilemma, "But I don't know enough people near me to make this work.

(Photo: Ryan McVay/Getty Images)

Highlighted at planetgreen.com is a list of the best online carpool resources featuring: Carpool Connect, eRideshare, GoLoco, and Carpool World. This article point out that most of the differences between the services have to do with style and usability.

Here's the review of the site that looks most useful to me:

GoLoco: A sort of mash up between a social site and a carpool service, GoLoco matches rides to prospective riders within its community database. You sign up and create a profile where friends and family can touch base with your projected traveling. GoLoco certainly displays the most personality—it makes arranging carpooling seem like checking in on your MySpace page.

Nobel laureate and atmospheric scientist Paul J. Crutzen observes in an article by the AP that the slowdown in the global economy may temporarily improve the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

Slower economic growth worldwide could help slow growth of carbon dioxide emissions and trigger more careful use of energy resources, though the global economic turmoil may also divert focus from efforts to counter climate change, said Crutzen, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the depletion of the ozone layer.

 

It's a cruel thing to say ... but if we are looking at a slowdown in the economy, there will be less fossil fuels burning, so for the climate it could be an advantage," Crutzen told Reuters in an interview.

 

We could have a much slower increase of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere ... people will start saving (on energy use) ... but things may get worse if there is less money available for research and that would be serious."

Now, this is no reason to hope for a protracted economic slowdown.  The goal of solving the climate crisis is to reduce the harmful effects of climate change while continuing to develop sustainably and with new forms of energy that do not threaten the environment.  On the other end of the economic crisis, however, we may have additional, powerful evidence to show those who doubt the impact of human activity.

The necessity of winterizing our houses is essential for many reasons.  Several stories highlight converging realities that make action vital.

1. The Farmer's Almanac 2009 predicts a colder winter.

2. The US Energy Department predicts high heating costs.  The average increase is $450.

3. The U.K Mail online reports that floods and snow are hitting early in Great Britain with a snow storm in October.

(Photo Credit: Peter Jolly/Northpix)

The Huffington Post has some great pointers.

The simplest alternative energy source to tap in your home is energy saved. By taking a few steps towards increasing your energy efficiency, you can significantly reduce both your energy bills and your household's carbon footprint.

 Areas of focus should be the roof, gutters, fireplace, insulation inspection and repair, plumbing leaks, water heater and more.

Several companies in Germany and in The Netherlands have been working toward creating biofuel out of algae.  Though the technology has been moving forward full steam ahead, the practice has been financially untenable.  However, as long as oil stays above $100 per barrel, the production of fuel from algae becomes financially competitive.  Some producers believe they can get to commercial production within 5 years while other scientists are not quite that optimistic.

(Photo Credit: The AP)

The AP via The Huffington Post has more details about the benefits and challenges:

"This is the ultimate fast-growing organism," says Peter van den Dorpel, chief operating officer of AlgaeLink, which makes bioreactors for speeding reproduction. "Algae is lazy. It eats carbon dioxide and produces oxygen." It has no roots, no leaves, no shoots. "It grows so fast because it has nothing else to do. It just swims in the water."

 

Farming algae doesn't require much space or good cropland, so it avoids the fuel-for-food dilemma that has plagued first and second generation biofuels like corn, rapeseed and palm oil.

 

It can grow in fresh water, polluted water, sea water or farm runoff. It can purify a city's sewage while feeding on the nitrogen and phosphates in human waste.

 

One other really cool benefit of fuel production from algae is that all of the carbon produced in it's manufacturing process can be fed back to the algae as it's food.

Reuters UK reports on Al Gore's appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative and two somewhat radical actions he recommends to protect the planet.

First, he is encouraging young people engage in Civil Disobedience when they learn of  plans to construct new coal plants without a plan to sequester the carbon emissions.  Currently there are no coal plants in the U.S. that do so.  The reason cited is that it would increase the upfront cost of building such plants by 50%.  It is not reported that Gore suggested any specific means of Civil Disobedience and it is probably wise to let young folks figure out the how and the when.

Gore also suggests that the SEC investigate companies for fraud when they try to convince the public that the dangers of global warming are not great.

I believe for a carbon company to spend money convincing the stock-buying public that the risk from the global climate crisis is not that great represents a form of stock fraud because they are misrepresenting a material fact," he said. "I hope these state attorney generals around the country will take some action on that.

I would bet that T. Boone Pickens, oilman slash wind industrialist slash financier of anti John Kerry Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, is regretting his demagoguery right about now.

Last month he told the NY Times that he would never vote for a Democrat.  It seems Pickens may be cutting off his nose to spite his face as he will need Democrats for the subsidies he seeks as a scheme to underwrite his new-found-religion, wind power.  I am all for subsidizing sustainability but Pickens is finding that he may not be the most effective messenger.

climateprogress.org writes about a speech Pickens gave to the National Press Club in which he laments his message is falling on deaf Republican ears in Washington.  His observation also underscores the point that Republicans in Congress and John McCain do not really believe in an “all of the above” energy policy.

Pickens says all they are interested in is "drill, drill, drill" despite the window dressing to the contrary.

Here's the video:

Grand Central Terminal (I still call it Grand Central Station) is one of the most magnificent places in the world.  It is the largest public transport hub in the world and has always been the leading symbol of metropolitan hustle and bustle as 185,000,000 people travel through each year.  With 125,000 daily passengers it is already an icon of  green transportation as those rail passengers are not commuting in 125,000 cars.

But wait!  There's more!!  

Here's a great video about the other measures the terminal is making to make it even more green.  Some of the major efforts are 60,000 CFLs, recycling, and turning excess steam into air conditioning.

Watch:

Treehugger.com is running several articles covering conflicts between neighbors over environmental issues.  They range from the aesthetic to the violent.

(Getty Images via TreeHugger.com)

First up is a story about a blind man who responded to a complaint by his neighbor complaining about the site and smell of his compost pile for his homegrown garden.  The article goes on to talk about the "not in my back yard" mentality, literally, as wind turbines begin to show up in residential back yards.  A similar conflict arose when the notoriously green Kennedys didn't want their view obstructed in Nantucket by a wind farm on the horizon in the ocean.  Since we are in an all hands on deck point in history it is time to redefine what is beautiful. I think a healthy planet without energy wars but with compost fed veggie gardens and windmills is a beautiful thing.  It is time for a massive media campaign on shifting aesthetics of a clean and healthy planet.

The second story is disturbing.  In Australia, an elderly man was beaten to death by an activist neighbor because the older gentleman was watering his lawn, even though he was doing so according to regulations that allow lawn watering before 10AM and after 4PM on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Violence will never bring us closer to a healthy planet and it flies in the face of the holistic goal of creating a healthy environment in every respect.  Ghandi and Dr. Martin Luthor King's vision was not tied exclusively to race and we all need to remember that.   The author of the article sums up the causality this way:

At least in my view, this is a perfect example of one of the potential "retail" effects of climate change as opposed to the "wholesale" effects of whole nations and states going to war with each other.

This author points to what could be called a "Waterworld Effect" where it's everyman for himself.  Though it is wise to point out the potential pitfalls of such a realignment of tensions we must make every effort to treat each other civilly.  This is another reason why a massive re-education is imperative if we are all going to get along and work toward the same goals.  Though this education initiative is required wide-scale, I would bet that the best suited for the job are the non-governmental entities rather than government itself.  Mothers Against Drunk Driving, love 'em or hate 'em, have been incredibly effective in reducing deaths caused by drunk drivers.  It is time for an environmental NGO to take the lead in educating our societies about the shifting aesthetics of our changing world and to pitch that we are all in this together.  Lawsuits and violence are no solution at all.

U.S. News & World Report outlines the concerns of leading scientists that climate change will have an increasingly negative impact on individuals' health.  Using projection models, here are several of their concerns:

Painful kidney stones. Because of higher temps and more dehydration, the crystallized calcifications that must be passed—often painfully—through the urinary tract could plague an additional 2.2 million people a year by 2050, researchers estimate. The current "kidney stone belt," which includes southern states like Florida, the Carolinas, and Arkansas, could extend up into Kentucky and northern California.

 

Exotic infections. Dengue fever, malaria, and encephalitis, while not exactly household names, have seen U.S. outbreaks and upticks in incidence in recent years. Mosquitoes and plankton, which flourish in warmer water temperatures, play a key role in transmitting such diseases.

 

Algae-related complaints. Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, thrive and bloom in the rising temperatures of bodies of water, from municipal water systems to the Great Lakes and Florida's Lake Okeechobee. The algae have been linked to digestive, neurological, liver, and dermatological diseases.

More

Grist.com weighs in not the nuts and bolts of fuel efficiency and has some great facts and pointers.

Some highlights:

The venerable car group (edmonds.com) found that using cruise control improved gas mileage by 7 to 14 percent, except in mountainous terrain.

 

Where you set the cruise helps, too. Driving at 50-60 miles per hour keeps fuel consumption down, so if cruise helps you follow the speed limit, then it has an additional benefit (conscience does make cowards of us all).The government has estimated that each 5 mph over 60 costs you 26 cents per gallon.

It helps to get these facts and figures deeply drilled in the brain so that while driving one can hear a ca-ching, ca-ching with every vroom vroom, sudden acceleration, or sudden stop. I wonder if anyone has ever developed a gas gauge that shows dollars and cents spent in real time in addition to volume left in the tank. Hmmm...