All Posts Tagged With: "Energy"

Who has the most solar panels?

7.11.12 | 5 Comments
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A guest post by Hans Wittich, President of Solar Gaines, a solar panel installation company in Baltimore, Maryland.

Quick, which country has installed the most solar panels? Is it your country? Where does your country rank globally for solar panel installations?

If you’re not sure, you aren’t alone. A recent survey by Applied Materials finds many consumers don’t know how well their country has embraced solar power. According to the survey:

  • 57% of Americans think the United States has installed the most solar panels
  • 43% of Chinese think China leads the world in solar panel installations
  • 52% of India’s population think India has installed the most solar panels

Now, here’s the reality: The top solar installations per country, in descending order, are Germany, Italy, Japan, United States, Spain and China.

Among all respondents worldwide, most (26%) thought the United States leads the world in solar panel installations. Respondents in Japan were most likely (35%) to correctly identify Germany as the world leader in solar panel installations.

Solar Panel Costs on the Decline

Consumer perceptions about the price of solar may be shifting. According to the survey:

  • 55% of respondents believe solar energy is less expensive than traditional energy sources.
  • 68% of respondents in India believe solar power is less expensive than traditional energy sources.
  • 51% of respondents in Japan believe solar power is more expensive than traditional energy sources.

Among consumers who believe solar power is more expensive, 39% believe solar will compete with traditional energy sources on price within a decade.

So how much does solar energy cost? The cost of solar panels is now less than $1 per watt. Given the significant decrease in solar panel costs, 2012 could be the year when residential solar panel installations see their greatest growth to date.

But can solar energy compete on price with coal and other traditional fuels? Yes, and soon, says the research. Applied Materials concludes solar energy will reach a point of price-competitiveness by the end of 2012, much earlier than previously expected.

Conclusion: Education About Solar Energy Still Needed

Consumer understanding of solar energy is improving, but education is still needed. With greater awareness of solar power’s affordability, adoption rates should rise.

Why doesn’t this country have a National Energy Plan?

5.13.11 | 1 Comment
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The Marcellus formation contains a boatload of natural gas; getting it out is another thing entirely

Energy is arguably the most important issue facing our economy, our society and the future of our democracy over the next 50 years. Don’t we want to be prepared?

Recently, I’ve been rethinking some of my assumptions about energy and all the buzzwords, trends, crises and controversies that tag along with that word. Pardon me while I clear my mind of a few strays so I can write coherently. Peak Oil, anthropogenic climate change, Marcellus shale gas, Amory Lovins, renewable energy, cleantech, ARPA-E, energy audits, Dick Cheney, efficiency, IPCC, ANWR, commissioning, biomass, Elon Musk, trash to energy, algae, energy independence, Shai Agassi, greenhouse gases, carbon emissions, whew! That feels better.

Now for the questions that are rolling around in my head . . .

Does it matter if climate change is or isn’t caused by human activity?

Is it even truly possible to accurately predict effects of climate change, given the computer models we have, the chaotic nature of the earth’s climate, and the number of assumptions that must be made?

Does accepting the impossibility of certainty about our future climate make any difference?

Can we power the vast churn of materials through our hyper-consumerist society with renewable energy alone?

And what about the fact that we currently (that’s, TODAY) have all the technology and know-how to make our buildings 75% more efficient – or more?

Did you know that buildings use 75% of the electricity in this country and half the energy in general?

And that about 60% of all electricity is generated by burning coal? (I know that’s true for Maryland; maybe it’s higher nationwide.)

And that whole swaths of the Appalachian Mountains are being leveled to get at the coal more easily? (Byproduct of this: streams in the valleys get filled in with all the gunk, as in, killed.)

And that the Marcellus shale formation is now in the crosshairs of an uncountable number of natural gas prospecting companies? (The track record of whose activities in the West would make your hair stand on end. And don’t even get me started on all the exemptions from our nation’s most sacred environmental – and human health – protection laws that these same industries enjoy in Cheney et al’s 2005 Energy Bill, still in effect.)

How motivating is it to be told that you have to sacrifice in order to be more efficient and harmonious with the earth?

Do you believe it when experts say that overhauling our industrial economy to become radically cleaner and more efficient is the biggest opportunity for innovation and economic development in our nation’s history? That it’s a strategic imperative, a key to national security, and a way to regain our stature as an economic superpower?

In the absence of any coherent national policy, what is there to do?

Fortunately, that last one has an easy answer: plenty. All across the nation, at the local level, states, counties and cities are crafting their own energy policies. They are taking action locally to reduce carbon emissions, retrofit buildings to be more efficient, encourage bicycling, public transit, walking, car sharing and other transportation alternatives, develop food locally, support and promote local businesses, and hold eco-festivals to build awareness and showcase alternatives, among many other activities.

And, personally — whether at home or in your business — here are a few articles to get ideas and inspiration from:

Shift Your Mindset from Hell to Heaven — includes three tips on how to do this

Practical Tips to Save Energy at Home — our most commented-on article. Be sure to read the comments; they push the tips up to over 20 at least.

How Low Can You Go? — about saving energy and money (while also reducing carbon emissions) in business

Nationally, websites abound to help individuals, communities, and companies to become more environmentally friendly and, possibly more broadly appealing, to use resources more efficiently, thereby saving money. A small sampling of those sites:

350.org

Writer / activist Bill McKibben is a co-founder of this site which is dedicated to raising the world’s awareness of the number (350 parts per million) that indicates a safe level of CO2 in our atmosphere. Has enjoyed phenomenal success and attracted wonderfully creative projects that move and inspire.

LowImpact Living

Rate your impact, find local services and products to help go green. Geared to lifestyle and home, but the categories and topics are educational.

Greenbiz.com

A suite of sites including blogs, newsletters, videos, and reports. Includes ClimateBiz.com, GreenerDesign.com, and GreenerBuildings.com. Very high-quality, trustworthy source of news, analysis, and information. Now tracking consumer trends with the “Green Confidence Index.”

Stand for Green

A fun do-it-yourself site for businesses to create a green mission statement and begin to get the word out, so your clients and prospects know you are green.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Architecture 2030, and Building Green

While very different organizations with different missions, what these have in common is their leadership in this conservation part of the cycle. Architecture 2030 has wonderful graphic design, making complex concepts easily understood. Their material is meticulously researched and cited. For the past 10 years, the USGBC has been transforming the design and construction industry with its LEED Green Building Rating System. The Building Green website has impeccable standards, deep research, and lively writing. Independently-researched articles on materials, technologies, systems, policy, and trends are presented both in the journal and in a blog.

Just to Recap

Energy in this country is Job One. How we use it, how we save it, and how we develop new, less wasteful forms of it. In fact, I feel so strongly about this that I’ll just say this: “It’s the energy, stupid.”

A Fictional Letter to the New York Times

4.13.11 | 1 Comment
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This is a preview of some writing I’ve been doing lately. It’s a fictional letter to the editor of the New York Times, written (again, fictionally) on December 12, 2009. Enjoy! Comments most welcome.

To the people of New York City:

I invite you to imagine life fifty years from now. Set politics and religion aside, and just imagine New York in the year 2059.

Going to the Stock Exchange? Better take a water taxi – unless you’re a strong swimmer. The buildings around Wall Street were sealed off years ago on their lower stories and the streets are now navigated with water taxis and gondolas, similar to Venice. The water levels do fluctuate several feet at times, but New Yorkers are quite adaptable.

In fifty years, the coastlines of Brooklyn, Long Island, and the Bronx have been dramatically altered, in many cases beaches and whole communities erased. The resulting move inland has caused real estate prices to rise ever higher – harder still to imagine than a watery Wall Street, I know.

Fifty years hence, higher sea levels have given severe storms much more water to funnel toward the city. Surges of water come from both Long Island Sound and the Verrazano Narrows. Vital infrastructure — hospitals, sewage treatment plants, communication conduits – has been paralyzed by flooding with corrosive seawater. It took decades and billions of dollars to rebuild them, and some were simply abandoned.

Like hot weather? Hope so, because here in New York, in fifty years, we now have close to 50 days a year with temperatures over 50 degrees. And about 600 heat-related deaths each year.

Are you fond of good music and good parties? You’ll have to find them closer to home, because New Orleans no longer exists. It was buried under water about ten years ago and has been left for dead.

Is this just fantasy, or, at best, science fiction? Afraid not. And New York is not alone. Since all life on the planet is connected in an intricate web, the effects are everywhere. Collapsed economies, dying ecosystems, disappearing fresh water sources, floods, droughts, resource wars, and increased terrorism, to name just a few. I’ll give just a few examples, but read on to the end, because I also have very specific advice for how you can avoid or at least mitigate these effects. Think of it as a legacy project. What do you intend to leave behind for your loved ones?

Humanity opened a Pandora’s box with our years of burning fossil fuels and emitting the carbon dioxide that warmed our atmosphere. Once nature began her response, she magnified the effects pretty quickly. Think: runaway freight train.

I had a lot of paragraphs written about species extinction, disappearing forests, dying coral reefs, droughts that have killed millions, hundreds of millions of people homeless from coastal flooding. Millions with no access to fresh water because their sources – mountain glaciers – have melted and gone the way of the dinasaurs.

But you don’t live near a melting glacier, do you? And you probably don’t know any of those people who have been flooded out or starved by famine.

I could also go on about worldwide instability of governments, social structures, and economic systems. About the intensification of the divide between “haves” and “have-nots.” Between rich countries in temperate zones, where wealth and technology provide a buffer against climate risk and poor countries close to the equator that are deeply exposed to the twin climate hazards of flood and drought.

But that’s all pretty abstract and far in the future. Reading that probably didn’t even raise your heart rate.

I’ll also refrain from going into detail about fuel costs and trade embargoes that have wreaked havoc with world economies. About political and climate refugees who are increasingly hopeless, funneling into global terrorist cells and crime syndicates.

Because, let’s face it. In fifty years, you may very well not be alive, having lived a full life and died well.

Ah, but your children or grandchildren, nieces or nephews will still be around to clean up the mess.

Today, scientists and policy makers are currently arguing passionately back and forth over what to do about all this. Some even question whether climate change is real, or whether it’s caused by human activities, or whether it’s happening now. Wonder no more, because here are the answers to those questions:

Yes, yes, and yes.

Besides, and this is harsh, the earth doesn’t care what you believe in.

That out of the way, let’s roll up our sleeves and talk action. If I lived fifty years in the future, I would have a unique perspective on things. In that spirit, here are my suggestions, offered with deep respect and in no particular order. I have divided them into two categories: 1) shift your thinking and 2) things to do now.

Shift your thinking (or, suspend disbelief, even just until the end of this letter):

  • Don’t fall prey to the schism of believers and non-believers.
  • Don’t rely too much on the science, especially when it threatens people’s values. This will only create resistance and denial.
  • Find ways to talk about the same thing, not a middle ground. There is always a place where people have more in common than we have differences.
  • For those of you who think climate change is a lot of hooey, putting major efforts into innovations in energy efficiency and renewable, clean energy is still the greatest economic development opportunity since the early days of the industrial revolution. Possibly ever. Look around. It’s not just the European countries who are investing heavily in this; it’s also China and India. You don’t want the U.S. to be left behind, do you?
  • This is not about instituting world government, taking away civil liberties, or redistributing wealth.
  • Climate change is not a distant threat, a “what if;” it is already upon us.
  • Never underestimate the critical role of public discourse, civic values, political leadership, cultural habits and economic interests, even spiritual beliefs. Science, wealth and technology do matter, but culture and politics trump them.

Things to do now:

  • Put about 75% of your efforts on making everything in your economy as energy-efficient as possible. Start with buildings, transportation, and agriculture. You have all the technology and knowledge you need to make it all at least 50% more efficient right now. By the way, that 50% is a very low number. I could just as easily have said 85%, but I didn’t want to sound too crazy.
  • Put another 75% into investing in innovations in clean energy sources. No, nuclear doesn’t count. Sorry. And, yes, I realize that adds up to more than 100%. Have I mentioned that there’s plenty of work for everyone?
  • Plant trees. Lots of trees, everywhere you can.
  • Hate to say it, but you’re going to have to build levees and sea defenses. People are already talking about and even designing them. You just didn’t know until I told you.
  • Do not allow fear or despair, or even anger to be your only response.
  • Stop arguing about things that do not matter.
  • Look at your neighbors, smile more. Dance.
  • Look inside; the answers are all within you.
  • And never, never forget that you belong here. This is your home. Humanity is your family. You can design any future you want.

This is a country founded on a hatred of tyranny. Failing to do everything you can to address climate change now is a form of intergenerational tyranny. This generation would, in effect, be imposing its will and wasteful way of life on future inhabitants of this planet, dooming them to the suffering that we residents of 2059 see on a daily basis.

Are We Hot, Flat, and Crowded Yet?

8.12.09 | 0 Comments
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaOJrJ_oqFU[/youtube]

Today we have a guest review of "Hot, Flat, and Crowded," by Peter Van Buren of TerraLogos Energy Services . (Yes, they are re-branding! Expect the full roll-out of that in early September.)

First, the title bothered me. Plus, I am to the point where I am unable to take in any more information about how bad things are.

However, after the 12th good friend told me that I really should read this book, I checked it out from the library. They were right – it is excellent.

Friedman pulls no punches about what the future holds in store for us. But, he shows us the "quintessentially American opportunity" inherent in this crisis and encourages us to rise to the occasion.

I have pieced together some of my favorite excerpts on a downloadable PDF . They include utility company CEO’s extolling the business benefits of energy efficiency, and Green Hawks in the army explaining how to out-green Al Qaeda. My favorite, though, is the speech by a 12-year-old Canadian girl to world leaders at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. Her appeal is even more poignant and important today (page 6 of the excerpts).

She and I encourage you to Go Code Green !

(Editor’s note: if you live outside of Baltimore, MD, and you want to purchase the book, get it at Powell’s , the enormous independent bookstore in Portland, OR. In Baltimore, I encourage you to support one of our wonderful local stores — Breathe Books or The Ivy.)

Do You Know How Much Your Energy Weighs?

6.02.09 | 0 Comments
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photos courtesy of Hugh Pocock

Artist and educator Hugh Pocock sent us some very interesting information today. First, he has a solo show at the Contemporary Museum from May 22 through August 16, 2009. My 7-year-old son would adore the show’s title: "MY FOOD — MY POOP ." It’s a brilliant premise: Hugh weighed all the food and drink he took in and the waste he put out over the course of 63 days. Determining these weights and then calculating the differences between them would represent an approximate measurement of each day’s energy production.

He also kept a daily diary of his interactions, thoughts, and activities throughout the project.  Entries comment on the importance of the sun for all sources of energy, the role of fossil fuel usage in his daily life, and his body’s continuous cycle of energy transfer. It opened up questions like, "where does the energy go after it leaves my body?" I plan to go to the exhibit and report further. The thought that we contain sunlight reminded me of "Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight ," by Thom Hartmann. One of the first points he makes is that we are all made out of sunlight. "Everything you see alive around you is there because a plant somewhere was able to capture sunlight and store it."

Speaking of plants, Hugh is also teaching an urban farming course this summer at various locations throughout Baltimore. One of them is Participation Park , a 1/3-acre urban farm that was founded by artists in winter, 2007. Artists, being such hands-on people anyway, seem well-disposed to thoughtful engagement in such a deeply hopeful enterprise. The course’s blog currently has a lengthy piece with 10 things learned about compost, with gems like this: "Contrary to popular belief, just leaving waste in a big stupid pile does not magically transform it into dirt."

Three cheers for Hugh’s leadership in waking us up and making us more aware.

The Fight On Energy Efficiency?

3.10.09 | 0 Comments
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photo by: alyssa We were wondering if you’ve heard of Blackle? A new Google search page in black, created by Heap Media. Their idea is that having a black screen on your computer can cut electricity demand. Seemingly insignificant? Blackle was also created to “remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy.” I wonder if this might be more effective then the actual energy savings but according to Ecolron a white web page uses about 74 watts to display, while an all black page uses only 59 watts. There is much dispute. Please, tell us what you think. Could this be "green-washing"?

On a local level the fight for energy efficiency is hitting much harder. This just came to me via email with the following concerns from the Green Building Institute. Thanks Janice Romanosky for sending it along:

A key committee in the Maryland House of Delegates will decide this week whether to divert $70 million away from energy efficiency program to bill-payer assistance. The committee will vote as early as Wednesday, so it couldn’t be more urgent. Please call AND fax the Delegates in the areas where you work and urge them to keep the energy efficiency funding in the Strategic Energy Investment Fund as it was passed into law last year.

PRIORITY DELEGATES TO CONTACT:

· Baltimore County – Del. Susan Aumann – (410) 841-3258, fax (410) 841-3163

· Baltimore City – Del. Talmadge Branch – (410) 841-3398, fax (410) 841-3550

· Charles County – Del. Murray Levy – (410) 841-3325, fax (410) 841- 3367

· Montgomery County – Bill Bronrott – (410) 841-3642, fax (410) 841-3026

Please also pass this message along to former clients or colleagues who also believe that energy efficiency is an important part of Maryland’s energy future.

Continued

That’s Not a Green Job!

2.04.09 | 0 Comments
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photo: arranged by Julie

Brad Heavner at Environment Maryland just sent us this email:

This is not the type of "green job" I want to create through President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. The big coal companies want to build factories — factories that can cook coal at nearly 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit, producing black, gunky coal tars that they can process into liquid fuels for war planes.

During the process, they’d release far more climate-changing greenhouse emissions than an oil company would to drill, refine and transport an equivalent amount of petroleum.

And they want you and me to pay for it.

That’s right, industry lobbyists have conspired with a few key members of the U.S. Senate to tack on $50 billion in loan guarantees to the president’s recovery plan — $50 billion that, instead of creating green jobs building wind turbines, or installing solar roofs , or weatherizing homes and other buildings, would subsidize things like coal liquefaction and nuclear power plant construction.

What am I missing? Didn’t we just work like crazy to elect a pro-environment majority to set a course for the cleaner, greener energy economy of the future? Why on earth would we want to subsidize not-so-clean coal , especially if doing so accelerates global warming?

That’s not the green recovery we’ve been fighting for. And that’s why I’m hoping you’ll join me and thousands of our friends and supporters in calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to keep President Obama’s recovery bill clean and green.

As you might have already guessed, this $50 billion giveaway is buried in the fine print of the Senate’s version of the recovery plan, the better to avoid public scrutiny.

Fortunately, our friends on Capitol Hill tipped us off, and now you can help us scrub the recovery bill clean of this dirty provision.

Click here to tell Sen. Reid to take action today.

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