Archive for the ‘environment’ Category
Earth Overshot Day
Today marks the day in the year when the human race has collectively used one year’s worth of natural resources. To put it another way, we are on a path to use 125% more resources than the earth can generate in 2008.
You don’t need a science degree to understand that this is not sustainable.
I’ve noticed a strange trend in the public dialogue (particularly in the U.S.) about sustainability. Most people take the fact that living sustainably is difficult in our society and use that to discredit the very premise that sustainability is important or a legitimate concern.
In short, we’ve all got our heads in the sand and we’re proud of it!
Take, for example, gasoline prices. Burning gasonline is a highly unsustainable activity. Not only are we running out of oil, but the contribution to CO2 levels in the atmosphere is accelerating global climate change. In other words, we should probably find a way to burn less gas. In spite of this, politicians are scheming for ways to drive down prices and thereby encourage burning more gas. Huh?
It’s never going to be easy to convert our high-energy lifestyle to a low-energy mode. It’s never going to be cheap. But we had better start now while we still have a little bit of capital left to spend! (Oh wait, I think we just lost that this week as well.)
Filed under climate change, environment : Comments (1) : Sep 23rd, 2008
Milwaukee : 12th Most Sustainable City
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My home for the last 2.5 years. And the U.S.’s 12th most sustainable city?
SustainLane is a new website that uses contributions submitted by citizens around the country to rank cities on 16 attributes of sustainability. By these measures, Milwaukee ranks #12. This is an improvement from #16 two years ago.
Given the empahsis on sustainability in the city and at the state level, I would expect this ranking to improve year over year. We might not catch Portland, but I bet we could make the top 10 in the next decade.
For reference, here are the current rankings for 2008:
- Portland, OR
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Chicago, IL
- New York, NY
- Boston, MA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Philadelphia, PA
- Oakland, CA
- Baltimore, MD
On Milwaukee!
Filed under Milwaukee, climate change, environment : Comments (2) : Sep 22nd, 2008
The new Chevy Volt - Bastard Child of a Twisted Mind?
It’s hard to believe that the Chevy Volt came from a company like GM which is led by the most unapologetic global climate change denier, Bob Lutz. Lutz appeared on The Colbert Report and not only trashed the idea of global climate change, but trashed his own product, the Volt.
ThinkProgress has a whole writeup on the odious Bob Lutz.
Filed under climate change, energy, environment, technology : Comments (0) : Sep 18th, 2008
Drill Here Drill Now Pay Less!
The Republican energy strategy can be be summed up in one (chant-able) phrase: “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less”. Wow, that sounds like a great plan. But will it work?
Sadly, no. Even if we decided to “drill here”, there would be a minimum of 5+ years before any of that oil hit the market. Rome was not built in a day, and nor is the infrastructure required to bring new oil wells online. (Here’s a great example–there are a finite number of drilling ships capable of tapping the oil reserves off-shore. And they’re all booked for the next 3 years.)
So “drill now” doesn’t really mean “now”. Bummer.
Then there’s the question of “pay less”. Any Econ-101 student can tell you that if you increase supply and demand remains constant, prices will decrease. In the case of oil, we have a few problems that must be dealt with before we can “pay less”:
- Demand. Baring total global economic collapse, demand will continue to increase in the foreseeable future. China, India, Russia, Brazil, and a host of smaller nations are developing rapidly. They will probably want some oil as well.
- Supply. The best estimates from the Energy Information Administration put our new production at somewhere around 250,000 barrels a day. That does not represent a significant addition to the 16,000,000 barrels already being produced every day. (It’s about 1.5%) It’s unlikely that the oil markets will be significantly moved by an extra 250,000 barrels/day.
- OPEC. Just yesterday, OPEC decided that oil prices had fallen too far since their high and cut production by 500,000 barrels/day. (Stop here, read that number again, and compare it with the number from point #2 above.) If we think that domestic drilling will give us leverage over the giant oil cartel known as OPEC we are severely disillusioned.
Here’s a pretty graph that ought to put things in perspective:
So, I’ve made the case that “drilling here, drilling now” won’t result in “paying less”. What should we do instead?
Decrease demand.
That same Econ-101 student would tell you that decreasing demand with a constant supply will also lower prices. By golly, that sounds pretty good. How do we decrease supply?
- Improve automobile efficiency. The rest of the world figured out how to do it–even the American auto makers sell efficient cars in Europe! It’s just disgraceful that we’re still driving cars that get 25 mpg (the same efficiency as a Ford Model T)
- Invest in public transportation. We ship trillions of dollars to the Middle East for oil every year and get nothing but oil (and the subsequent pollution) in return. Investments in public transportation would result in local manufacturing and service jobs and would provide options for American travelers.
- Raise the gas tax. We know that demand for gas will drop as prices go up–we’ve already seen it happen. Why not help things along and recoup some of the money ourselves instead of shipping it all to foreign oil producers? The money could then be wisely invested in public transportation. Wow!
- Study the rest of the world. We seem loathe to look outside our shores for lessons on how to do just about anything. Sadly, transportation is one area that we’ve fallen far far behind the rest of the world. We need leaders who are willing to learn from our global neighbors.
The great thing about decreasing demand is that it’s compatible with all energy options. We can continue to use oil. We can start to use more natural gas. Or renewables. Or hydrogen. Or nuclear. And OPEC or China or Russia or anyone else can’t do anything to stop us.
Filed under economics, energy, environment, politics : Comments (2) : Sep 11th, 2008
The stupidity of “intelligent” design
Muttmutt writes:
In retrospect, Twitter is a really stupid medium for discussing something as complex as the nature of science, evolution and the retrograde stupidity that is “Intelligent Design” (aka creationism in a new package). So I figured it was worth my time to provide some basic groundwork for people who think that the complexity of life on Earth is somehow the result of some design rather that the work of natural (rather than supernatural) forces.
I must admit that it boggles my mind. Here we are in the 21st century and we still to have to argue with 14th century ideas.
Filed under culture, environment : Comments (1) : Sep 7th, 2008
The face of the Beijing Olympics
After much balyhooing around the use of pollution-cutting face masks, the U.S. cyclist team walked off their airplane in Beijing donning the aforementioned masks.
The part I don’t understand is why it’s such an insult. It’s no secret that the air quality is bad. Lots of native Beijing residents wear masks every day. If I were competing for the title of best athlete in the world, you bet I’d wear one too.
Filed under Beijing, culture, environment : Comments (0) : Aug 5th, 2008
Bike to work : an update
This week I really hit my stride with the whole bike commuter scene. Somewhat by necesity (my car was in the shop), I rode to work 3 days in a row. After experimenting with a few different routes, I’ve found the optimal balance between distance, traffic, hills, and road conditions (in my case, Wisconsin Ave and State Street). I also discovered realized that my office building has a bike rack on the same side of the building as the gym (& showers) so I can minimize the risk of bumping into anyone in my sweaty condition.
I had my first roadside flat today, but fortunately I had all the necessary equipment to fix it. Surprisingly, it only took about 10 minutes to get back on the bike with a new tube. (I guess I just earned my bike commuter street cred?)
The biking itself is getting easier and faster. I can now consistently make the commute in 30 minutes, which compares very favorably to driving by car. I’ve noticed that I’m eating about 1000 more calories on the days I ride, but I suppose this is in line with the energy I’m using.
Final verdict : bike commuting is easy! fun! inexpensive! green! You should try it too.
Filed under energy, environment, frugal, work : Comments (3) : Jul 17th, 2008
Wilderness Therapy
Filed under environment : Comments (0) : Jul 4th, 2008
Bike to work #1 : success!
After many many months of hemming, hawing, and making up excuses for why I couldn’t, I brought my bike to work today and rode it home. (Since I left my car there, I’m really hoping it doesn’t rain tomorrow morning.)
Initial thoughts on bike commuting:
- It’s shorter (by distance) and only slightly longer (by time). Since I’m taking a more direct, as-the-crow-flies route (as opposed to the highway), i’m shaving off a couple miles from the commute. Plus, since I can use the bike/curb lane and generally don’t need to wait for traffic, I can maneuver much quicker.
- Office buildings need showers. I got pretty sweaty riding home. That’s fine if I have a shower to jump into, but at work I’ll need to use the gym’s shower facilities. My frustration is that the people who run our gym refuse to entertain the concept of bike commuters using only the showers for a reduced rate. (I’m not planning to pump iron while at the office.)
- Very pleasant way to start/end the day. Unlike car commuting, when I have to constantly be thinking about traffic and watching for bad drivers, bicycling is very relaxing. I’m still watching for bad drivers, but I found my mind much clearer. I think it has something to do with the exercise component.
- Total gasoline used : 0 gallons!
- You should try it! I used to think it was too far, too many busy roads, too this, too that. Unless you try it, you’ll never know if you like it.
Filed under Milwaukee, energy, environment, frugal, work : Comments (1) : Jun 24th, 2008
MREA Energy Fair 2008
I went to the MREA Energy Fair yesterday with my friend Chris. It was really great to see so many people excited about renewable energy, conservation, and green living. Here are some photos :
Filed under culture, energy, environment : Comments (2) : Jun 22nd, 2008
