Green Building Creates Jobs, Saves Energy, Saves Money

Message to the Transition: Green Building Creates Jobs, Saves Energy and Saves Money
USGBC Advances Green Building as Essential to Economic Recovery

Facing an unrivaled financial crisis, President-Elect Obama and the new 111th Congress have been moving quickly and decisively to develop a plan to revive the economy through swift passage of the single largest economic recovery package in U.S. history. With a commitment to transformative change aimed at catapulting the U.S. into a position of leadership in the new green economy, the incoming administration plans to make a significant down payment on major green initiatives that will spur innovation, put money back into the wallets of hard-working Americans, and create millions of green jobs.

In ongoing talks with the transition’s energy and environment team since November, the U.S. Green Building Council has advanced vital green building policy priorities that will simultaneously create millions of green-collar jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and advance proven opportunities to deliver greener, more energy-efficient buildings.

Already, the President-Elect issued a recent commitment to make the U.S. a global leader in green, energy-efficient government facilities, calling for an overhaul of 75% of federal buildings in an effort to save $2 billion through energy efficiency alone. On schools, the President-Elect has said repeatedly that green school funding will be another priority in the economic package.

These commitments, as well as other green building solutions for strengthening the economy, are powerful reminders of not just where we need to focus immediate recovery investments, but also reflect the experience and ingenuity that has long characterized the green building movement and the work and mission of USGBC. Throughout the country, our members and green building advocates are transforming our nation’s living, working, and learning spaces—creating buildings and communities that embody our shared environmental, economic, and social values and aspirations.

Informed and energized by these successes, and channeling the momentum generated by its recent Greenbuild conference, USGBC will continue to advance innovative and effective policy solutions to assist Congress and the presidential transition in crafting a bold economic recovery plan.

USGBC remains committed to accelerating the shift to a revived and prosperous green economy, and is spearheading the following initiatives in talks with the transition and Congress as part of an essential, solutions-oriented response to the mounting economic challenges we face today:

• Provide Robust Support for Green Schools
  Across the country, thousands of school buildings suffer the effects of age, lack resources for renovation, and offer unhealthy and unsafe learning and working environments. USGBC recommends that the federal government provide robust funding for school construction and renovation projects that comply with energy efficiency and green building standards, in recognition of existing project backlogs nationwide and the vast environmental and economic opportunities they present. USGBC also proposes the creation of a White House Green Schools Taskforce to unite experts from the federal government, states and localities, the nonprofit sector, and other stakeholders to promote green schools as a component of national education, energy, and environmental policy.

• Create a Revolving Loan Fund to Spur Investment in Green Building
  Mounting environmental challenges and a sluggish economy demand that innovative new incentives be created to trigger and support investment by the private sector in green building strategies and technologies. USGBC recommends the creation of a multibillion-dollar revolving loan fund, accessible to state and local governments, to support retrofitting and green building projects that create energy savings and a positive return on investment. Utilizing a revolving loan fund mechanism whereby loans are repaid through energy and other savings from funded improvements could dramatically reduce future federal budget liability for green initiatives.

• Provide Robust Support for Green Job Training
  With unemployment rates on the rise and the health of both the economy and environment in peril, the need for bold action to revive the American workforce is clear. USGBC recommends full funding of the green job training programs outlined in the Green Jobs Act of the 2007 federal energy law to ensure the preparation of America’s workers for the new green economy. Additional incentives are necessary to encourage private employers to seek training for their existing workforces. As an important first step, USGBC recommends the creation of a new tax incentive for businesses and organizations that pay for their employees to participate in training programs administered consistent with the framework of the Green Jobs Act.

• Fund Green Building Projects in Government Facilities
  Across the country, backlogs of public facility projects highlight the need for significant investment to ensure the safety and sustainability of our nation’s public buildings. These projects represent an important opportunity to demonstrate leadership by example in the use of green building practices and energy-efficient technologies, and to create green jobs for the low-carbon economy of the future. USGBC recommends that the federal government provide significant funding to support green building, retrofitting, and energy efficiency projects in federal facilities, in recognition of the tens of billions of dollars in estimated repair and improvement needs reported by federal agencies. Significant investment in green building and renovation projects in state and local public facilities is similarly essential. Full funding of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program created by the 2007 federal energy law is a critical step to this end.

• Invest Boldly in Green Affordable Housing
  The deteriorating state of many public housing facilities compounds the difficulties posed by a troubled economy. Indeed, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities recently reported that state and local housing agencies owning and operating public housing face an estimated repair and maintenance backlog of $22 billion. USGBC recommends that ample funding be provided for green building and retrofitting projects in public housing facilities. The federal Weatherization Assistance Program offers additional, proven opportunities to create green jobs, reduce energy consumption, and increase the affordability and comfort of America’s homes. USGBC recommends that the federal government provide robust funding for this critical initiative.

USGBC looks forward to working with Congress and the new Administration to promote the uptake of policies and initiatives that advance green building, energy conservation, and healthy, livable communities.

Greening the White House 2009

As President Barack Obama moves into the White House on Jan. 20, he has an opportunity to lead by example by making his new home – the “people’s house” – a model of sustainability. A Greening the White House 2009 initiative, looking to energy efficiency and responsible stewardship of our natural environment, would show that change begins at home. USGBC proposes this initiative for President Obama's first 100 days in office as a way to demonstrate, through a metrics-based educational initiative, how best to improve the energy and environmental performance of America’s homes. No building is better suited to lead the way than the White House. USGBC has a rich history of working with past administrations to improve the environmental performance of the White House while respecting the historic and symbolic nature of this treasured building. Informed by its membership and its experience with its LEED® Green Building Rating System, USGBC looks forward to supporting and advising the Administration on this critical initiative.

Supply & Demand?

By Moe Fakih

I remember listening to talk radio in June while filling up my Honda Accord Coupe with 89 Octane at $4.68 per gallon. The oil companies were claiming that refineries have been unable to keep up with demand and that finding new sources and extracting those sources was a costly endeavor - thus $4.78 per gallon in a gas station located in Orange County, California.

People were swearing as they entered fueling stations and they were swearing more upon leaving. It may be interesting to research the statistics on road rage violence during the period where gas was over $4 per gallon.

Today, the United States is on the verge of a major economic meltdown as layoffs are gaining momentum and as the auto industry is eagerly awaiting a loan from the government so they may keep their plants open and keep more American jobs online. If the automakers go under, this will send a shock wave through the economy.

So have the oil companies finally decided to "be nice" and lower prices to help out Joe and Jane American? How can an industry complaining months ago that petrol chemical price hikes were justified since the cost of doing business was high?

It is obvious that market manipulation has been taking place and continues to take place. Today gas is around $1.85 per gallon at the same pump I used in June - that's a difference of $2.83. Has a meteorite full of crude oil landed in some remote desert? How are the oil companies determining this price point? Perhaps the answer wrests with the circle of powerful business interests and bankers that run the show.

I'm not complaining about the price reduction, I'm just asking for a logical explanation based on market dynamics that explains these price fluctuations? Does Anyone know?

Low Carb Diet

By Moe Fakih

In 2006 the California State Assembly passed Assembly Bill 32 - The California
Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).  AB 32 requires the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) to develop regulations and market mechanisms that
will ultimately reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by
2020. Mandatory caps will begin in 2012 for significant sources and ratchet down
to meet the 2020 goals.  State law vests CARB with direct authority to regulate
pollution from motor vehicles, fuels, and consumer products.  

This means that city and county governments must create policies that measure
or quantify greenhouse gas emissions and take action to reduce those emissions.  
Some of these actions may involve creating green building programs, offering ride
sharing programs to reduce vehicle trips, or provide hybrid vehicle only parking
spaces throughout the region. 

In September 2008 The State of California passed Senate Bill 375 (SB 375),
which uses incentives and requirements to encourage local municipalities and
developers to concentrate growth within urban cores or close to public
transportation hubs in an effort to reduce Californians' use of cars, thus reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.  SB 375 makes findings that, based on Item 1 of the
Bill, “Require significant changes in land use and transportation policy in order to
meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals established by AB 32.”  

As a result local governments will be redirecting growth into urban areas which
means taller buildings with access to public transit will become en vogue.  These
same governments need to quantify how greenhouse gas emissions are reduced
either by counting vehicle trips, by calculating the amount of energy saved as a
result of energy efficient buildings, or by other means; however, cities and private
agencies are awaiting more direction from CARB as to how exactly they may reduce
these carbon footprints.  CARB has until December 31, 2009 to report to local
agencies about how to start quantifying and reducing carbon outputs.

So it seems the launch of the green revolution is being mandated by the state to
compel local governmental implementation greenhouse gas reductions.  A few cities
such as the City of Irvine and the City of Santa Monica have begun to aggressively
pursue these measures, and they may serve as test models for other cities to follow. 

Even though they may be able to reduce vehicle trips, local municipalities cannot
control what kind of vehicles people drive or vehicle technologies.  If California or
the nation wants to implement a successful green house gas reduction campaign,
it will also have to address the impact of the automobile directly. The United States
ranks last with regards to fuel economy measures with an average of 25 miles per
gallon per vehicle.  Australia and  Canada average 34 miles per gallon, Japan is at
43 miles per gallon and Europe’s fuel efficiency average is 46 miles per gallon.  

AB 32 and SB 375 will require municipalities to reduce green house gas emissions
by providing a denser mix of land uses with direct access to jobs like in the City of
Los Angeles, create improved mixed use neighborhoods like in Pasadena and
provide access to public transit like the Cities along the southern California
Metro-link transit route. However, if people are unable to link their homes to mass
transit and to jobs, they will continue to drive the most inefficient automobiles in the world. 

Perhaps similar legislation can be passed to compel the auto companies to provide
additional fuel efficient vehicle choices to help reduce green house gas emissions.  
For now it seems most of the pollution reduction pressure is being placed on cities,
counties, transportation engineers, city planners, architects and developers.  Oil
companies and the auto industry will be engaged in business as usual unless the
consumer can compel them to help change direction.  It is only practical to include
all segments of society in tackling the issue of using air as a sewer system especially
the industries that are the grossest violators.

A New Energy Economy

The New Agenda: A New Energy Economy and 5 Million Green Jobs

US Green Building Council

With more than 500 energy and climate advisors, President-Elect Barack Obama campaigned on an aggressive and detailed plan to strengthen the economy, spur green job creation, and protect the environment.

Harnessing the amazing momentum and progress of the green building community, USGBC is now working to promote sound policies in the next administration that will stimulate a green economy, create millions of green jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advance greener, more energy-efficient buildings, and spur green infrastructure. The following policy proposals, advanced by the President-Elect during the campaign, offer particular promise for advancing green building:

• Green Building: President-Elect Obama has proposed the expansion of federal grants to assist states and localities in building more efficient public buildings through the use of LEED. In addition, under President-Elect Obama's plan, all new federal buildings would have to be carbon-neutral by 2025. This plan also would commit all new federal buildings to a 40% improvement in efficiency within five years and would seek a 25% improvement in the efficiency of existing federal buildings within the same period.


• Building Efficiency Goals and Incentives: President-Elect Obama has proposed a goal of carbon-neutrality for all new buildings by 2030. This will be achieved by establishing a goal of 50% greater building efficiency for new buildings and 25% greater efficiency for existing buildings over the next decade. Under the plan, the federal government would award grant funds to states and localities that implement new, energy efficient building codes, and would provide matching grants to states that promote building retrofitting through public benefits funds.


• Green Jobs and Job Training: President-Elect Obama has proposed an investment of $150 billion over 10 years to spur the development of renewable and other technologies, promote energy efficiency, and advance new fuel and smart electricity infrastructure. This plan would direct funding to the manufacturing sector for job training and transition programs, and would create an estimated 5 million new green jobs. Additional training programs, including a Green Jobs Corps for disadvantaged youth and a Clean Energy Corps, have been proposed to stimulate the development of a highly skilled workforce.


• Transportation and Infrastructure: President-Elect Obama has proposed the consideration of smart growth principles in the transportation funding process, as well as renewed support for public mass transit projects. The President-Elect's proposed plan also includes the creation of a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to direct $60 billion over 10 years to infrastructure projects that could create some 2 million new jobs and $35 billion annually in economic activity.

With strong federal support, the green building community will be able to accelerate its spectacular wave of growth and innovation, and help ignite a rebuilt, revived green economy. USGBC looks forward to working with the new administration to support these and other initiatives that create jobs, save money and energy, and promote the creation of sustainable buildings and communities.

A Green Revolution: Creating Green Jobs and Economic Recovery through Green Building

USGBC estimates that 2.5 million new green jobs could directly result from a 100% commitment to energy efficiency in our homes, schools, and offices. Indeed, McKinsey & Company reports that 85% of future incremental electricity needs in 2030 could be met through energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, and industry. For more than a decade, the U.S. Green Building Council's members have been at the forefront of the green building movement. Building by building, neighborhood by neighborhood, we are already witnessing the positive impact of green buildings on the planet, and we are making equally impressive progress in support of the other two "p's" that guide our work -- people and prosperity. Through the deployment of new, green projects, products and technologies, the green building movement is harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit of our country, creating green jobs for the future, and providing opportunities for individuals from all walks of life to enjoy healthier, more environmentally responsible, and prosperous buildings and communities. Informed by our collective experience with more than 2,000 LEED certified facilities and nearly 16,000 LEED registered projects, we must now dedicate ourselves to restoring not only our environment, but also our economy.

New technical expertise and skills will be required to transition from our carbon-intensive economy to the green economy of the future. Large-scale investment in building efficiency and renewable energy, among other areas, can spur the creation of millions of new, green jobs -- reviving domestic industries and communities while advancing our environmental goals.

Building a Green Economy

Building a Green Economy:
Meeting the Needs and Sharing the Opportunities

by Fabian Núñez

California’s emerging green economy continues to grow with astounding momentum and potential. With millions of dollars being invested in that green economy, we need to identify and address its workforce needs.

In 2006, through an unusual partnership between Democratic legislators and a Republican governor, we passed AB 32, otherwise known as The California Global Warming Solutions Act. AB 32 establishes regulations that will phase in a 25 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions from the state’s largest emitters by 2020.

The California Air Resources Board’s recently-released AB 32 draft scoping plan noted that not only will this effort reduce green house gasses, it will add a much-needed boost to the economy. That backs up information we received during the passage of AB 32, when the Climate Action Team – a group of state agencies coordinated by the California Environmental Protection Agency – found that meeting the 2020 limit on pollution will increase the income of Californians by $4 billion and create 83,000 jobs. Another study by UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group and the Goldman School of Public Policy found that investments in green technologies produce jobs at a higher rate than investments in comparable conventional technologies.

Government is also investing in this green future. To achieve the state’s carbon reduction goals it is estimated we need to replace 20 percent of our gasoline consumption with lower-carbon fuels and increase the state's number of alternative-fuel or hybrid vehicles by more than 7 million. To help push this forward, I wrote AB 118 last year to fund incentives for more alternative fuels and to help make clean-car technologies affordable for more Californians. With these incentives, California drivers will have more opportunities to retire their old gas-burning, carbon dioxide-emitting cars, and companies will step up production of clean technologies and fuels.

With all this investment potential, what are we doing to train the workforce we will need? As the author of AB 32, I know first hand how important the promise of green technologies, investment in green industries and a new energy economy are. For me, elected from inner-city Los Angeles, environmental justice and economic opportunity are powerful motivators. I want the economy for our children to be a clean economy. I want the neighborhoods they live in to be clean neighborhoods. A green economy can be an effective path out of poverty.

I want Californians to have opportunities along the entire green spectrum — from high tech work in the lab, to installing one of our million solar roofs, to weatherizing homes and businesses. The dot-com boom of the mid-1990s almost completely circumvented employment of our most vulnerable and underserved populations. This time, I want to make sure that we have the necessary infrastructure in place to ensure no one is overlooked. The green tech and clean tech movement cannot be merely another bubble; it must be a solid and sustainable cornerstone of our economy.

To that end, two years after AB 32, I have also authored AB 3018. AB 3018 adds a green collar jobs special committee to the state’s Workforce Investment Board. The council will be tasked to develop a comprehensive set of strategies including training programs, partnership opportunities, statewide and regional data and funding sources to build the needed workforce.

Under AB 3018, if signed by the governor, The California Workforce Investment Board (WIB) has until April 2009, to establish a Green Jobs Council. The CWIB may utilize its existing members and also call on other state agencies, higher education representatives, industry representatives as well as philanthropic, nongovernmental, and environmental groups to serve as consultants in the development of this strategic initiative.

Among the concrete steps the Green Jobs Council will take are:

• assist in identifying and linking green collar job opportunities with workforce development training opportunities throughout the state, and encourage regional collaboration in local workforce investment areas (LWIAs) to meet regional economic demands;

• create and develop public, private, philanthropic, and nongovernmental partnerships to build and expand the state’s workforce development programs, network, and infrastructure;

• provide policy guidance for job training programs in the clean and green technology sectors to assist and prepare specific populations, such as at-risk youth, displaced workers, veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals, and others facing barriers to employment;

• develop, collect, interpret and distribute statewide and regional labor market data on California’s new and emerging green industries workforce needs, trends, and job growth;

• identify funding resources and make recommendations on how to expand and leverage these funds;foster regional collaboratives in the green economic sector.

I’m excited about the potential of the Green California Community College Summit. A recent news story referred to California’s community colleges as “the modest workhorses” of California’s higher education system. Now, modesty is a fine trait, but the community college system has nothing to be modest about in the role it plays in changing lives and expanding opportunities for thousands of California students.

I am thrilled that our community colleges will be playing a key role in helping provide a trained and educated workforce to meet the needs of our emerging green economy. The needs and the opportunities are so great it will take each of us doing all we can individually and together. And this time we get to start from a new beginning, where we can build social equity and economic opportunities across the board for workers, professionals and entrepreneurs.

I like to say gold built the California economy – but green will sustain it.

Fabian Núñez is California Assembly Speaker Emeritus

A Plan for Creating Two Million Green Jobs in Two Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. holds the potential to generate two million jobs in two years with a $100 billion investment in cleantech, according to new report.

"Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy" describes a green recovery program that could lay the foundation for sustainable economic growth while boosting the country's energy security. The program calls for $100 billion worth of tax credits, government spending and federal loan guarantees to cut unemployment and spur growth in six cleantech and efficiency areas.

"We can be certain that the green recovery program will serve as a strong counter-force against pressures that are currently pushing unemployment up as well as more broadly increasing economic disparities," the report said. "The green infrastructure investments proposed here will also generate significant long-term advances toward creating the clean energy economy we need."

The program targets building retrofits, expansion of mass transit and freight rail, wind and solar power, biofuels and constructing a smart electrical grid.

The package would break down into three investment streams: $50 billion in tax credits to give private businesses and property owners access to building retrofits and renewable energy systems; $46 billion in direct government spending on mass transit expansion, smart electrical grid and public building retrofits; and $4 billion in federal loan guarantees to help finance renewable energy and building retrofits.

Spending the money in these areas would create four times as many jobs as investing an equal amount in the oil industry, and triple the number of jobs paying more than $16 an hour, the report found. It also would lower the unemployment rate from 5.7 percent to 4.4 percent and offset the 800,000 jobs lost in the construction sector.

Some jobs would be found in specialized areas, such as installing solar panels, but most would include existing jobs already being performed throughout the U.S. For instance, investment in wind power generation could create jobs for environmental engineers, iron and steel workers, truck drivers and machinists. Growth in second-generation biofuels may drive demand for chemists, agricultural supervisors and blending machine operators.

The report suggests raising the money by auctioning carbon permits in a national greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program.

Researchers from the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst prepared the report on behalf of the Center for American Progress.

Tidal Power in France

Coming on the heels of the inauguration of the world’s first commercial scale tidal power turbine, Electricite de France (EDF) has announced that it plans to build a pilot tidal turbine system. The plan calls for 3 to 6 turbines to be built with capacities between 4 and 6 MW by 2011.

The location of the site (off Paimpol in Brittany) was chosen due to the extremely strong currents in the area.

While the recently installed SeaGen tidal power system in Ireland was certainly revolutionary, the French plan is as well. France alone has 80% of the potential in Europe for generating electricity from tidal currents—enough to theoretically create 10 million MWh per year.

This is not France’s first tidal power endeavor; The Rance tidal power plant in Brittany was the world’s first electrical generating system powered by tidal energy. The plant, constructed in 1966, outputs about 68 MW of power per year. However, the Rance plant has had severe environmental consequences due to its placement in a fragile estuary.

Fortunately, the new plan will not have such issues—unlike the polluting barrage system used in older tidal plants, the EDF turbines are free-floating.

And the EDF plan has big implications—if all goes well with the pilot project, France hopes to make tidal power an integral industry in the country.

Electric Car Innovation in Palestine

By Nick Chambers

Published on July 11th, 2008

Posted in Electric Cars (EVs), International issues

The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) has reported on two business partners in Gaza who have converted a 1994 Peugeot 205 into an electric car capable of going 110 miles on a single charge using 34 standard lead-acid car batteries.

After more than a year of being blockaded by the Isreali government, Gazans find themselves facing out-of-sight prices for fuel.

Instead of letting that get the better of them, civil engineers Waseem Khazendar and Fayaz Anan claim to have developed an electric motor that is different than other electric motors and allows for improved efficiency.

The converted Peugeot has 15 horsepower and can travel at a top speed of 60 mph. To most Americans this may seem underpowered, but on the 25 mile long and 7 mile wide Gaza strip this amount of power and speed is more than satisfactory — and in reality, it’s probably more than satisfactory for most Americans too.

The business pair say that they already have a few thousand orders to convert gas cars into electric cars, but due to the blockade they only have enough supplies to convert 30-40 more vehicles.

The conversion purportedly costs a mere $2,500 dollars to accomplish. As reported by the CSM, US experts are baffled as to how the conversion could be done for so little money and that using even the cheapest parts available in the US it would cost 3 times as much to do the conversion here.

Kahzendar and Anan are in the process of trying to patent their invention and hope to work together with Israelis to create a multimillion dollar business.

A quote in the CSM from an Israeli businessman after considering the possibility of working with the Gazans sums it up nicely: “I believe that business creates peace, and any peace project is good for everybody.”

Global Warming: Does it Matter?

By Moe Fakih

If you have lived in Tucson Arizona since the 1960s, you have been witnessing that record low temperatures happen much less than they were from 1910 to 1960. The City of Tucson's population is also growing and with an increasing number of people comes a proliferation of concrete and steal. As more buildings and roads are built a heat island develops. Asphalt and concrete absorb heat at different rates depending on how dark the item. Typically the darker the concrete the more heat it absorbs. Lighter surfaces will reflect heat or absorb less heat than darker objects. So as Cities expand, so does their heat absorbing, paved areas; therefor since most major cities are growing, it is believed that heat islands will also increase. Perhaps this contributes to Earth's average mean temperature increases.

The snow is melting on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Kenya. This is a fact. Another fact is that the rain forest at the base of the mountain is being shredded, thus less moisture is whispped up the mountain, less moist air becomes cooled, and less snow is replenishing white caps. Could the fact that the destruction of the local ecosystem have contributed to glaciers dissapearing on Kilimanjaro and not Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth?

Are we witnessing Global Warming or are there other explanations where areas of the Earth is getting hotter or cooler like in Punta Arenas (at the tip of South America), where they have a GISTEMP station record posted on the wall which shows a long-term cooling trend? The middle of Antarctica is also cooling and large glacier sections are getting thicker.

Those are some arguments against Global Warming.

Is global warming a real threat or are there other factors that may explain why the mean surface temperature of the Earth is getting hotter?

Honestly, who cares?

As we watch pundits, politicians, and arm chair politicos debate over whether global warming is a fear tactic to change behavior or a legitimate scientific concern, we should rise above the muck and consider the other reasons why we should design cities so they do not place added strain on resources and the environment, for example. We should consider what products we procure especially when they could come from a rain forest slaughter mill or which region we need to patrol to protect our petrol-chemical intrests. As my friend comments below, humans need to rethink how their behavior affects the environment.

It's not only about Global Warming. It's about how we perceive ourselves in relation to the Country and to the World. Is our job to take care of the bordered fencing on our plot of land? Is our only concern that Conner, Sally, and Alex make it to soccer and cheer practice on time while mom looks for a second job to pay down last year's Holiday expenses? Or should our concerns expand beyond the mind numbing noise, endless chatter and bleeding mass media headlines that help keep us captivated and distracted?

I'm picturing an Ostrich with its head in the sand right now where its wallet, its way of life, its values and its substance is being compromised. It has been sold that having a head in the sand is American, it's good for the economy, and will help fight terror.

It's so much more than Global Warming.

Rethink U.S. goals
by Omar Masry

It seems like every day, I can open up the Register to a healthy debate over the ramifications of global warming and whether global warming even exists or if it's even the fault of humans. As a city planner, I sometimes wonder if it even matters anymore. The climate is changing in ways we can't simply reverse, no matter our intention, and whether it's due to humans doesn't undo the present. What matters more to me, especially as a veteran of the Iraq war, is how dependent we are on unstable areas for the energy that powers so much of our economy.

It's time to ask: Where is our space race? Where is our generation's challenge? Where is our paradigm shift to rethink American?" Heck, even crotchety oilmen like T. Boone Pickens are saying it's time for change. Surely, that change has to be something more than the next iPhone.

Omar's comment is published in the Orange County Register:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/doctrine-oil-congress-2091254-fairness-newspapers

Renewable Energy Jobs Growing Worldwide: Study

By Jonathan Bardelline

Renewable energy accounts for the employment, directly or indirectly, of 2.3 million people worldwide, with the largest gains made where governments support renewables, according to a Worldwatch Institute study.

"It depends very, very strongly on government policy and investment private companies take," said Michael Renner, Worldwatch researcher and author of the "Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding" report. "Even in the years up to now, we have clearly seen countries that give consistent, strong support, for example in Europe, in Germany and Spain."

Using available data, the study estimates there are 1 million biomass and biofuel jobs, 624,000 solar thermal jobs, 300,000 wind jobs and 170,000 solar photovoltaic jobs. Figures include jobs directly in the renewables sector and jobs indirectly related, such as suppliers that provide equipment components.

The data is incomplete due to the fact that one can't look at traditional economic statistics to see the number of renewables jobs, Renner said.

Using what's available, the Worldwatch study shows Germany has 259,000 renewables jobs (a figures estimated to grow to 500,000 by 2020), Spain has 89,000 direct and 99,000 indirect jobs, and the United States, due mostly to support from individual states, had 200,000 direct and 246,000 indirect jobs in 2006.

Renner notes that as renewables jobs have expanded, employment in the coal, oil and natural gas industries have shrunk. In the past 20 years, output of coal has grown by one-third while the number of coal jobs was slashed in half.

Long-term outlooks put the number of wind energy jobs by 2030 at 2.1 million and solar jobs by that same year at 6.3 million. More people will be employed not only in manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels, the study says, but in installing, operating and maintaining the equipment, all jobs that will contribute to local employment growth. Kenya, for example, has 10 large solar photovoltaic companies and 1,000-2,000 solar technicians.

Even though governments have supported the growth of renewables, Renner pointed out that at least in one case, government does not need to increase or maintain high subsidies.

"In Germany for example, the level at which alternative energy, solar, wind and so on are being subsidized deceases each year," he said. "The key is it provide the overall framework that allows investors to say, 'This is something that is not going to lose money forever, this really is a good prospect...this can stand on its own feet.'"

Other factors that have helped renewables grow are guaranteeing renewable energy will be available from the grid and setting guaranteed rates for buying renewable energy.

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/07/11/renewable-energy-jobs-growing

Blankness: Failure in American Leadership

By Moe Fakih

On an overcast southern California afternoon, I rolled my Honda Accord V6 to the fuel pump at a local Chevron station. I quickly remembered those emails blasts calling for a boycott of Chevron and Exxon/Mobile stations to force fuel prices down. That worked well. A few yards away the employees at the car wash were diligently drying off newly washed vehicles. Out of the nine vehicles being wiped down, six were of the sport utility variety.

While stepping out of my car, I scanned the faces of the customers who were waiting to climb into their rejuvenated vehicles. Who are the ones driving the SUVs, I thought? It was difficult to tell because cheerful expressions upon their faces were missing like George Bush from news headlines. A couple of frowns, one gentleman was sitting with his arms and legs crossed, another was staring off into the distance. One lady was looking down blankly at her cell phone.

I swiped my credit card, verified my zip code and proceeded to fuel up on 89 Octane in the automatic fashion I’m accustomed to. Then I realized that I was filling up at $4.01 per gallon. I pulled out my camera phone to record this historic occasion. For the first time it cost me over $50 to fill up my gas tank. Shaking off sticker shock, I chuckled and shook my head, thinking, I’m glad I’m not rolling in an Escalade.

So how did we get here? A revolution took place after Ronald Regan took office in 1980. At that point Americans had lost confidence in their government. John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, the Vietnam War was largely seen as unnecessary and costly in both lives and capital, in 1972 OPEC launched an oil embargo that brought the US economy to its knees, Richard Nixon was impeached for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, and the fall out of the OPEC embargo resulted in double digit interest rates under President Jimmy Carter’s tenure.

A malaise swept across America that enabled Ronald Regan to sweep into the white house on a platform that government was the enemy and change must come from the American people vise-a-vi the private sector. By encouraging business development in the private sector, by propping up large companies, a trickle down effect would take place putting money in people’s pockets. Change was indeed on the way.

One of the first things Mr. Reagan did after entering office was to remove the solar cells installed on the White House roof and gut Carter’s solar program that was seeking to achieve 20% of America’s energy through sun power by the year 2000. Carter’s notion of “conserving” was seen as running counter to Reagan’s “consumer” approach to help stimulate the economy.

"In June or July of 1981, on the bleakest day of my professional life, they descended on the Solar Energy Research Institute, fired about half of our staff and all of our contractors, including two people who went on to win Nobel prizes in other fields, and reduced our $130 million budget by $100 million," recalls Denis Hayes, the founder of Earth Day, who had been hired by Carter to spearhead the solar initiative.[1]

Reagan and Congress stopped pushing new auto efficiency standards, acceding to Detroit's desire to leave them at Carter-era levels. They let the solar tax benefit expire, and the young solar industry went belly-up.

It was time to let the markets work their magic and stop all this government tinkering, Reagan and conservatives said.

But what’s interesting is that as Carter was touting solar energy, he was also deregulating price controls on the oil and gas industry. Regan took the credit for untying the hands of the oil industry to charge “market” prices. However, Carter also pushed a "Windfall Profits Tax" on the belief that decontrol would bring higher prices and, thus, higher profits to oil companies that "really don't deserve them.”[2] Later congress quietly repealed the Windfall Profits Tax.

Now the oil companies are able to dictate price unabated. Congress reduces fuel efficiency requirements for automobiles, and in 2002 small business operators, whether they are farmers, contractors or Realtors received a $25,000 tax deduction if the car they buy weighs over 6,000 pounds or more – a light truck or SUV.

Below is a graph showing fuel efficiency standards since 2002 and into the future. The United States is in last place with regards to fuel efficiency for automobiles.

Figure 1: Actual and Projected Fuel Economy for New Passenger Vehicles by Country, 2002-2018.

American leadership should be placed on the side of a milk carton. Or perhaps a billboard should read, “Have you seen this country?” only to display a map of the United States.

Simply put, the US government since Carter, since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, has been working more so in the best interest of the petrochemical industry and its cousin, the military industrial complex than for the best interest of the American people.

What we are witnessing at the pump today is a culmination of successive administration's (both Republican and Democratic) intention to successfully keep Americans hooked on obsolete technology while espousing free markets, jobs and patriotism.

Jobs surely have been created: in India and China as a matter of fact.

The US market truly is as free as the American Bald Eagle - $4 gas and climbing, an endless war in the Middle East, crumbling housing market, low consumer confidence, mounting household debt, blue states, red states and a deregulated media that is focused more on ratings than on the facts.

How did we get here? Perhaps the blank stares of those people at the car wash may explain it.

---

[1] Koff Stephen, Was Jimmy Carter right?. Energy Bulletin. 1 October 2005. http://www.energybulletin.net/9657.html

[2] Anderson William, Rethinking Carter. Ludwig von Mises Institute. 25 October, 2000. http://mises.org/story/535

Home Brew for the Car, Not the Beer Cup

New York Times
By MICHAEL FITZGERALD

WHAT if you could make fuel for your car in your backyard for less than you pay at the pump? Would you?

The first question has driven Floyd S. Butterfield for more than two decades. Mr. Butterfield, 52, is something of a legend for people who make their own ethanol. In 1982, he won a California Department of Food and Agriculture contest for best design of an ethanol still, albeit one that he could not market profitably at the time.

Now he thinks that he can, thanks to his partnership with the Silicon Valley entrepreneur Thomas J. Quinn. The two have started the E-Fuel Corporation, which soon will announce its home ethanol system, the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler. It will be about as large as a stackable washer-dryer, sell for $9,995 and ship before year-end.

The net cost to consumers could drop by half after government incentives for alternate fuels, like tax credits, are applied.

The MicroFueler will use sugar as its main fuel source, or feedstock, along with a specially packaged time-release yeast the company has developed. Depending on the cost of sugar, plus water and electricity, the company says it could cost as little as a dollar a gallon to make ethanol. In fact, Mr. Quinn sometimes collects left-over alcohol from bars and restaurants in Los Gatos, Calif., where he lives, and turns it into ethanol; the only cost is for the electricity used in processing.

In general, he says, burning a gallon of ethanol made by his system will produce one-eighth the carbon of the same amount of gasoline.

“It’s going to cause havoc in the market and cause great financial stress in the oil industry,” Mr. Quinn boasts.

He may well turn out to be right. But brewing ethanol in the backyard isn’t as easy as barbecuing hamburgers. Distilling large quantities of ethanol typically has required a lot of equipment, says Daniel M. Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, he says that quality control and efficiency of home brew usually pale compared with those of commercial refineries. “There’s a lot of hurdles you have to overcome. It’s entirely possible that they’ve done it, but skepticism is a virtue,” Mr. Kammen says.

To be sure, Mr. Quinn, 53, has been involved with successful innovations before. For instance, he patented the motion sensor technology used in Nintendo’s wildly popular Wii gaming system.

More to the point, he was the product marketing manager for Alan F. Shugart’s pioneering hard disk drive when the personal computer was shifting from a hobbyists’ niche to a major industry. “I remember people laughing at us and saying what a stupid idea it was to do that disk drive,” Mr. Quinn says.

Mr. Butterfield thinks that the MicroFueler is as much a game changer as the personal computer. He says that working with Mr. Quinn’s microelectronics experts — E-Fuel now employs 15 people — has led to breakthroughs that have cut the energy requirements of making ethanol in half. One such advance is a membrane distiller, which, Mr. Quinn says, uses extremely fine filters to separate water from alcohol at lower heat and in fewer steps than in conventional ethanol refining. Using sugar as a feedstock means that there is virtually no smell, and its water byproduct will be drinkable.

E-Fuel has bold plans: It intends to operate internationally from the start, with production of the MicroFueler in China and Britain as well as the United States. And Mr. Butterfield is already at work on a version for commercial use, as well as systems that will use feedstocks other than sugar.

Ethanol has long had home brewers, and permits are available through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. (You must be a property owner and agree to make your ethanol outdoors.) But there are plenty of reasons to question whether personal fueling systems will become the fuel industry’s version of the personal computer.

For starters, sugar-based ethanol doesn’t look much cheaper than gas. It takes 10 to 14 pounds of sugar to make a gallon of ethanol, and raw sugar sells in the United States for about 20 cents a pound, says Michael E. Salassi, a professor in the department of agricultural economics at Louisiana State University. But Mr. Quinn says that as of January this year, under the North American Free Trade Agreement, he can buy inedible sugar from Mexico for as little as 2.5 cents a pound, which puts the math in his favor. While this type of sugar has not been sold to consumers, E-Fuel says it is developing a distribution network for it.

In addition, it’s illegal in the United States to operate a car on 100 percent ethanol, with exceptions for off-road vehicles like Indy cars and farm equipment. Mr. Quinn has a federal permit to make his own fuel, and believes that if MicroFuelers start popping up like swimming pools, regulators will adapt by certifying pure ethanol for cars.

Despite all the hurdles, Mr. Quinn and Mr. Butterfield may be on to something. There are plenty of consumers who want to reduce their carbon footprint and are willing to make an upfront investment to do it — consider the success of the Prius.

And if oil prices continue to rise, the economics of buying a MicroFueler will become only better and better.

Gobi Desert Devouring China

Each year, the Gobi Desert devours 2,460 square miles of Chinese soil, an area roughly the size of Delaware,” writes Free Market Investor Chris Hancock. “Violent sandstorms threaten to conquer Beijing. Dunes now tower just 43 miles from the ancient capital…firmly marching south, like Sherman through the soft Georgia pines, at a brisk 12-15 mile per year clip:

Why is Asia’s largest desert growing so quickly? It is because of a process scientists call desertification. Basically, China’s rapid economic growth comes at a great price, as the fast-approaching desert threatens to blanket Beijing before the Summer Olympics in 2008.

The solution? The ‘Green Wall.’ Beijing officials set aside $8 billion to construct a natural wall of trees spanning more than 2,000 miles.

But they’re no match. Trees need water. And air pollution inhibits precipitation. Researchers from Israel’s Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences found that on hazy days, precipitation from the top of Mount Hua in China’s northwestern Shaanxi province is cut by up to 50%.

Consequently, one-quarter of China currently finds itself buried beneath sand… two out of every three major Chinese cities have less water than they need. Cities in northeast China have roughly five-seven years left before they completely run dry.

Story taken from
http://www.agorafinancial.com/5min/category/todays-5-minutes/

Masdar Plans World's First Green City

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, sultans and shieks - these are foreign terms to us Westerners, but ones we no doubt will become familiar with. If you saw the television program 60 Minutes recently, you may have been awe-struck by the development occurring in Dubai, one of seven states (called Emerates) that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

http://www.masdaruae.com/

Dubai is building as fast as it can & sans environmental regulations. Dubbed the richest city in the world, it has $300 billion in development projects underway, including a skyscraper twice the height of NYCs Empire State Building. Next door, another UAE state called Abu Dhabi is following in its footsteps, but is taking a more sustainable approach. Its fascinating Madscar initiative is an attempt to create the worlds first sustainable city - Arab-style.

In April 2006, Abu Dhabi decided to create Masdar - which means - the Source - in Arabic, a walled city covering 640 hectares. Promoters say it "will be living testimony to the possibility of sustainable cities." The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, the company executing the Masdar initiative, calls it the "creation of a historic global shift to new energy sources and sustainable resource utilization."

In contrast to neighboring Dubai, which is building an energy-consumptive city of glass, steel and concrete towers, Masdar is being designed to run entirely on renewable energy. World renown architect Lord Foster is designing Masdar so that its 50,000 residents will live on streets modeled on traditional souks and medinas - but draped with shades of fabric that convert sunlight into electricity. Canals will run alongside the streets, some of which will be only 10 feet wide to protect pedestrians from the heat, which averages over 40C in the shade during the summer. There will be fields of solar concentrating mirrors in the desert and wind turbines will catch breezes from the Gulf.

Palm and mangrove plantations will create a green belt around the city to provide raw material for bio-fuels, a new industry that, say developers, may one day supplement oil and gas revenues. The tiny emirate is the fifth largest exporter of oil in the world, but it is envisaged that Masdar City will not need a drop. "We want to position ourselves as thinkers and progressives," says Sultan Al Jaber, the chief executive of Masdar. "Years ago in the Middle East we lived in a very sustainable environment. We are bringing that back by creating a compact city where people don't need to use a car."

Adjacent to Abu Dhabi International Airport, the goal is to create a city based on sustainable employment, eventually facilitating a population of 100,000. The first stage of development will set the tone for the entire project; the construction of a state-of-the-art photovoltaic power plant that will deliver the energy required to build the entire city!

The compact, high-density city will be completely free of cars and their emissions; a world model of energy conservation with zero carbon emissions and zero waste. Compared to average urban levels, fossil fuel consumption will be reduced by 75%, water demand by 300% and waste production by 400%. Cycling and walking will be the most common means of travel.

Accoring to the city's master plan, no one will be more than 200 meters from essential facilities, including shops selling locally grown produce. A fully automated, electric Personal Rapid Transit System will provide a flexible and comfortable alternative to private cars. A Light Railway Transport system will link the Masdar development to adjacent developments, the airport and in the future with the center of Abu Dhabi.

Futuristically, developers plan to integrate real time monitoring of energy use and carbon emissions in public spaces. Digital management and intelligent systems with sensors and data mining will provide information to support the decisions of individuals and service providers.

Through a micro-chip-like network of connections, developers plan to coalesce the expertise and resources to enable global technological breakthroughs in advanced energy technologies. There will be a university education and research center - the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (in partnership with MIT) - which will offer Masters and PhD programs in science and engineering disciplines focused on advanced energy and sustainability. Its research and educational institutions and partnerships will search for solutions to mankind's most pressing problems: energy security, climate change and truly sustainable human development.

Special economic zones will attract business and commercial partners focused on the advanced energy systems and technologies from around the world, from start-ups to major corporations.

The city is being designed based on local climate and cultural traditions, particularly its solar movements and prevailing winds. Its orientation captures cooling sea breezes from the North, while its perimeter protects against the warmer desert winds. The Eastern wall facing the airport will be raised to provide a buffer, reducing aircraft noise in the city. Shaded by PV collecting canopies, courtyards and wind towers will draw cooling breezes into the narrow streets and filter harsh sunlight, conjuring images of ancient bazaars and market places.

Construction materials with a high thermal mass will considerably reduce energy requirements. The relationship of one building to the next will provide shading and generate year round useable spaces between them. Solar collectors will be on roofs throughout the city; wind turbines will be placed at its outskirts. The perimeter wall will form an intelligent outer shell, housing the energy, environmental and recycling services.

A solar powered desalination plant will provide a potable drinking water supply. Wastewater will be purified and recycled back to the city. In the process, it will be used to grow tree plantations, contributing to its biofuels strategy.

Carbon Sequestration is Key

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has embarked on an initiative to develop a national CO2 capture and storage (CCS) network. Leaders believe the country can reduce its CO2 emissions by 40%, while increasing oil production by up to 10% and liberatinq large quantities of natural gas by separating CO2 from industrial and energy related sources and delivering them to oil reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery.

In February, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company released an international request for proposals to conduct a feasibility study for carbon sequestration. The study initially targets Abu Dhabi and is expected to later expand to cover the rest of the UAE. The multi-billion dollar CCS program is the largest of its kind in the world and the first to be undertaken at a national level. Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin has been selected to conduct the study, which will be completed by the end of the year.

The firm will evaluate and rank options for onshore and offshore CO2 capture from industrial facilities in Abu Dhabi, and will identify the first project to be implemented as part of the network, provide a roadmap to develop the network and potentially link it with similar schemes across the region.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, says, "CCS is the most promising technology for the reduction of energy-based CO2 emissions and a viable substitute for the vast amount of natural gas currently re-injected into oil reservoirs for pressure maintenance. It's a win-win, reducing CO2 emissions in the country, while increasing oil production and maximizing natural gas availability."

Future Solar Leader

Besides powering the city using solar, Masdar has visions of becoming the premium developer and installer of renewable energy systems in the Middle East and North Africa region. It has entered into a partnership with one of the world's leading renewable energy developers, Conergy AG of Germany.

The partnership will start with solar PV and then span out to fully integrated renewable energy systems including solar cooling, wind and biomass technologies. The partnership with Conergy will support Abu Dhabi's objectives to build local capacity and capability by transferring knowledge to UAE based resources in manufacturing, engineering, project management and finance of large scale renewable energy projects. Conergy will also assist Masdar in identifying and analyzing global trends in alternative energy technologies and translate them into international business opportunities.

The Masdar Clean Tech Fund, L.P. is a $250 million fund that will build a portfolio of cleantech funds, committing about $75 million to 3-5 fund managers. The remaining capital will be invested in co-investments alongside fund managers, direct investments in companies sourced by the Fund and strategic joint-venture investments. The Fund will seek to invest in companies with technologies that are suitable for commercialization in the United Arab Emirates.

Abu Dhabi is competing with Dongtan, China, which is trying to create the world's first zero carbon city on an island at the mouth of the Yangtse. The emirate believes it will win the race. "We are seeing a transition from the industrial age of human civilisation to the ecological age," says Peter Head, a director of Arup, the British engineering firm that is building Dongtan.

Study: Oil Decline Brings Risk of War

Steep decline in oil production brings risk of war and unrest, says new study

· Output peaked in 2006 and will fall 7% a year
· Decline in gas, coal and uranium also predicted

Ashley Seager
Monday October 22, 2007
The Guardian


Oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico at sunset. Photo: Larry Lee/Corbis


World oil production has already peaked and will fall by half as soon as 2030, according to a report which also warns that extreme shortages of fossil fuels will lead to wars and social breakdown.

The German-based Energy Watch Group will release its study in London today saying that global oil production peaked in 2006 - much earlier than most experts had expected. The report, which predicts that production will now fall by 7% a year, comes after oil prices set new records almost every day last week, on Friday hitting more than $90 (£44) a barrel.

"The world soon will not be able to produce all the oil it needs as demand is rising while supply is falling. This is a huge problem for the world economy," said Hans-Josef Fell, EWG's founder and the German MP behind the country's successful support system for renewable energy.

The report's author, Joerg Schindler, said its most alarming finding was the steep decline in oil production after its peak, which he says is now behind us.

The results are in contrast to projections from the International Energy Agency, which says there is little reason to worry about oil supplies at the moment.

However, the EWG study relies more on actual oil production data which, it says, are more reliable than estimates of reserves still in the ground. The group says official industry estimates put global reserves at about 1.255 gigabarrels - equivalent to 42 years' supply at current consumption rates. But it thinks the figure is only about two thirds of that.

Global oil production is currently about 81m barrels a day - EWG expects that to fall to 39m by 2030. It also predicts significant falls in gas, coal and uranium production as those energy sources are used up.

Britain's oil production peaked in 1999 and has already dropped by half to about 1.6 million barrels a day.

The report presents a bleak view of the future unless a radically different approach is adopted. It quotes the British energy economist David Fleming as saying: "Anticipated supply shortages could lead easily to disturbing scenes of mass unrest as witnessed in Burma this month. For government, industry and the wider public, just muddling through is not an option any more as this situation could spin out of control and turn into a complete meltdown of society."

Mr Schindler comes to a similar conclusion. "The world is at the beginning of a structural change of its economic system. This change will be triggered by declining fossil fuel supplies and will influence almost all aspects of our daily life."

Jeremy Leggett, one of Britain's leading environmentalists and the author of Half Gone, a book about "peak oil" - defined as the moment when maximum production is reached, said that both the UK government and the energy industry were in "institutionalised denial" and that action should have been taken sooner.

"When I was an adviser to government, I proposed that we set up a taskforce to look at how fast the UK could mobilise alternative energy technologies in extremis, come the peak," he said. "Other industry advisers supported that. But the government prefers to sleep on without even doing a contingency study. For those of us who know that premature peak oil is a clear and present danger, it is impossible to understand such complacency."

Mr Fell said that the world had to move quickly towards the massive deployment of renewable energy and to a dramatic increase in energy efficiency, both as a way to combat climate change and to ensure that the lights stayed on. "If we did all this we may not have an energy crisis."

He accused the British government of hypocrisy. "Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have talked a lot about climate change but have not brought in proper policies to drive up the use of renewables," he said. "This is why they are left talking about nuclear and carbon capture and storage. "

Yesterday, a spokesman for the Department of Business and Enterprise said: "Over the next few years global oil production and refining capacity is expected to increase faster than demand. The world's oil resources are sufficient to sustain economic growth for the foreseeable future. The challenge will be to bring these resources to market in a way that ensures sustainable, timely, reliable and affordable supplies of energy."

The German policy, which guarantees above-market payments to producers of renewable power, is being adopted in many countries - but not Britain, where renewables generate about 4% of the country's electricity and 2% of its overall energy needs.

State of the Paper Industry Sees 'Green Wave' Changes Coming Quickly

State of the Paper Industry Sees 'Green Wave' Changes Coming Quickly
Source: GreenBiz.com

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Oct. 3, 2007 -- The new report, released by the Environmental Paper Network, examines how the paper is made today in the face of growing environmental awareness in the U.S., and calls for major changes across the industry to reduce impact and increase sustainability.

The Environmental Paper Network (EPN) is a coalition of environmental organizations seeking socially and environmentally sustainable transformations within the pulp and paper industry. The group's "State of the Paper Industry" report has been billed as the first to comprehensively address how the industry sources its materials, addresses supply chain issues, deals with end-of-life for its products, and its impacts on communities and the climate.

The need for this assessment, the group says, is that a "green wave" is sweeping North America, with ever-increasing numbers of consumers and companies seeking to address and minimize their impact on the environment. In recent months, companies across many niches of the industry have adopted green paper policies, including Victoria's Secret, Williams Sonoma, Staples, FedEx-Kinkos and Random House.

"The good news is that a shift within the paper industry has begun, and corporate leaders are emerging across every sector to embrace new tools for responsible choices, responsible production and major climate, health and forest benefits," said Joshua Martin, Environmental Paper Network Coordinator.

Martin said the report offers a vision and a challenge to the paper industry and hopes to set a baseline of environmental data that companies can use to make significant progress in coming years.

The report's findings detail a list of negative environmental impacts, including:

• The paper industry is the fourth largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions among United States manufacturing industries.
• Paper accounts for 25 percent of landfill waste, the largest of any single component.
• Paper production accounts for over 40 percent of the world's industrial wood harvest
• Paper production is one of the world's largest consumers and polluters of fresh water
• Paper production continues to come into conflict with indigenous and other communities around the world over land rights, culture, human health, and livelihoods

But at the same time, the green wave cited by the report's authors include significant opportunities for companies to embrace:

• Growing market demand for environmentally responsible paper products
• Growing acreage of Forest Stewardship Council certified sustainable forestry
• Cleaner production and alternatives to chlorine bleaching
• Increasing recovery of waste paper
• The emergence of innovative, corporate leaders.

Among the improvements the EPN would like to see from the industry are responsible, certified forestry practices, paper recyling and recovery, a move to reduce paper consumption by its customers, and a shift toward clean production that reduces bleach and toxin emissions.