Earth Day :: Green Fuel, Vehicles, etc.

So since it's Earth Day I should probably write something insightful about being green. I don't have anything earth shattering but I'll try to touch on a couple things and pound home a few points I've addressed before.

First... ethanol is not the answer! E-15, E-85, E-100... they're all bunk. The basic problem is that according to some studies ethanol actually requires the use of more fossil fuels throughout the production of it than is derived from the end product. Thereby having a net negative production value. In addition to this startling fact is that since most ethanol is made from typical food sources the elimination of this food for the purpose of fuel can and is driving up the cost and availability of said food. As I type this a world food shortage is burgeoning as the prices of grains skyrocket, largely due to the production of ethanol.

Second... mild-hybrids (i.e. Toyota Prius) are not the answer! Maybe people have forgotten that these things use batteries or something. You mean to tell me that Hybrid Synergy Drive has something to do with massive batteries?! Crazy! Well, it's true and the environmental impact from producing the nickel needed for those batteries is quite astounding. In addition to that those batteries, given current technologies, will one-day fail to work as well as they do on day 1 and eventually need to be completely replace, and, GASP, disposed of by means of recycling or other.

Third... plug-in hybrids may not be the answer! So you're telling me I just put this here plug into the wall and then my car will run?! Awesome! Oh, but wait, where's the power from the wall come from? For places like British Columbia that relies primarily on Hydro Electricity taking the energy for your car from "the wall" isn't so bad a transfer, but consider areas like Texas which rely largely on Coal Powered Electrical generation transferring the burden from one fossil fuel to another, that doesn't necessarily burn any cleaner isn't exactly a great solution. Not to mention the rise in your monthly energy bill which hasn't really been a point mentioned much by the auto industry. Hmmmm. And of course with this 'solution' much like that of plug-in hybrids there's still the issues of creating and eventually recycling the batteries.

So what is the answer?! Great question... wish I knew the answer. One thing that is showing some promise though is that of the creation of diesel from nature. And in this case when I speak of creation I'm not simply referring to drilling for fuel from the ground. Two possible options (at least in the mean time) are diesel from trees and diesel from algae.

The diesel tree is something quite awesome. Much like maple syrup farmers in Quebec tap the Maple trees farmers in some of the more tropical regions of the world are tapping the Copaifera langsdorfi tree, a native of Brazil. An acre of these wonder trees can yield approx. 1250 gallons of fuel per year with virtually no further refinement needed to fuel a vehicle. The bad news is that the trees take a good 15 years to mature and they won't exactly thrive in Canada.

A more recent alternative that's still in its early stages has to do with ethanol created from a algae. The result could be more than 100,000 gallons of fuel per acre! There are still kinks to be worked out, but this certainly could be a great answer, at least to the creation of fuels. Work still needs to be done though to extend the range of vehicles.

The fuel efficiency of vehicles measured in miles per gallon has changed very little over the last 100 years. There is some explanation for this in terms of increases in safety equipment and requirements and the resulting increase in vehicle weight but the fact remains that we can do better.

Great Canadians

Canada.com is the easy online source I use for most of my daily Canada-related news. They had a little more credibility a few years ago but lately have been a little more tabloidy, but every once in a while they redeem themselves.

Right now they have a special feature section on Great Canadians. The great thing about this article is that it's not just highlighting the John A. MacDonald's and Terry Fox's of the world, although they were great. The feature highlights all sorts of great Canadians including some regular people who are doing great things.

Some highlights include the Asian business tycoon, Allan Zeman, affectionately known as the Mouse Killer, Alan Bean, a pastor working in Jena, LA., and Laura Louie who refuses to stand by and instead rolls up her sleeves in Mae On, Thailand where she started a clinic that is now self-sustaining.

Sierra Leone :: Part 1 :: The Country

Sierra Leone is on the Western horn of Africa an area often referred to as the Rice Coast. The country is thoroughly marred by it passed as over a span of nearly 40 years the country so near constant political instability, coups, and civil war.

Sierra Leone was first known to Westerners through the slave trade. The island's illicit activities were started in 1670 and the fortress became the largest slave passage on the West Coast of Africa up until it was shutdown by British Parliament in 1808. The slaves that came through Bunce were prized for their rice growing skills and techniques and were highly sought after for the southern coast of the United States. The 1997 movie Amistad is a story about slaves from Bunce Island.

In the late 1800's the capital of Freetown became a British Crown colony and the rest of the country a British Protectorate. At this time the country began to be re-settled by many former slaves, many from various tribes and areas. This melding of cultures, tribes, and languages has created a unique kaleidescope in Sierra Leone and helped to create the Creo (or Kreole) language that is spoken in the Freetown area.

In 1961 Sierra Leone gained its independance and became a full member of the British Commonwealth. Unfortunately since that time there has been few periods of peace and political stability. The country has been mired in coup after military coup, civil war, war, and more. The various instabilities got to their worst in the late 90's. Stories of child soldiers high on drugs and forced to slaughter thousands of innocent people are far to clear in recent history. Fortunately early in the 2000's a UN lead peace keeping force came to the country.

2002 saw the war officially announced to be over and May brought peaceful elections were the most recent president from before the war got to its' worst re-elected with a 70% majority. The years following that election saw much stability return to the region and in fact a second peaceful and democratic election was recently held, in September, and a new president, Ernest Bai Koroma, was elected on a platform of reigning in corruption.
Time will tell where Sierra Leone goes from here but there are several encouraging things to watch. A large electric plant is currently under construction and is anticipated to be completed in the near time. Foreign investment which for 2006 was approximately $5M USD is growing rapidly and there is news of a $500M beach & golf resort being built near Freetown! The stamping out of corruption will also be something that will have to be watched closely...

SL Update :: Part 2

Ski Resorts and Vanishing Snow!

As I've blogged before... climate change is real. It's happening. We won't get into the causes, solutions, marketing opportunities, etc. One huge industry that's attempting to battle the brown bandit of climate change are Ski Resorts. What are they going to do if there isn't snow in 50 or 100 years?!

Well, many of them are working hard now to combat that potential likelihood and feverishly putting in extras and non-snow-sports options to not only entice the more sedentary among us and to increase their year-round popularity, but to also improve their no-snow survivability. Many resorts in the Swiss Alps that used to be mobbed for their winter revelry are now attempting to compete in the areas of pop culture, shopping, and spa'ing in addition to their lessening on-hill attractions.

In the meantime, get your snow-on and head up to the Whistler SlopeSide Retreat. They still have great snow in the winter and even more to do in the summer with several world-class golf courses, mountain biking tracks, hiking trails, and more!!!

Pre-Fab Revolution

All the talk these days about environmentally friendly, green choices, sustainability, etc. has sparked a bit of a revolution in the pre-fabricated housing market. Pre-fab homes come in specific size multiples helping to reduce building waste and many of their builders focus on using sustainable building materials such as cork and bamboo lending to their greenness. Traditional ideas of pre-fab housing spark admittedly politically incorrect notions of trailer trash living in double wides. But in the time since those stereotypes were established the industry has grown up considerably resulting in a wide range of manufactured homes that look nothing like a Kid Rock video.

Some of the most exciting developments in pre-fab housing has been the introduction of many new and varied modern takes on the construction method. Pre-fab can lend itself well to the modern home by exploiting the typical boxy frame using them to configure endless possibilities. There have been all sorts of modern pre-fab designs making splashes in main-stream media and home shoes from miniature rustic-modern cabins to full-fledged suburban family homes.

Right here in British Columbia, inHabit modern dwellings, a North Vancouver company has just sprouted building reasonably priced modern bungalows starting at just over $10,000 for a 10' by 10' secure Gear Garage and only $12,500 for the Studio 1.0 which includes double glass doors, one opening window, ceder siding, and 4' by 10' covered deck. Other models are available depending on your needs and budget.

Some other pre-fab favourites include: weeHouse, glide house, and small house. A great source for more info and even more manufactures can be found at fabprefab.com.



On a slightly related note... Modern Cabin by Michelle Kodis looks like a great book showcasing some of the most unique modern cabins gracing some of those great getaway locations in the world.

Green Travel Going Virtual...

Forecasters are starting to predict that in about 10 years time real travel will be largely replaced by virtual travel as the desire and need to be eco conscious alters travel as we know it. But how is this affecting travel today?

Two interesting developments come from a couple of notable airlines: Air Canada and Virgin. Air Canada who has been voted the best airline in North America, to the confusion of many of its' customers, has recently introduced a voluntary carbon offsetting program. This revolutionary program allows fliers to purchase a carbon credit add-on if their conscience leads them to do so. This additional fee is handled by ZeroFootprint a non-profit environmental organization that will take your 'donation' and use it to plant trees within British Columbia.

Another interesting development is that Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson has started a new venture, Virgin Green Fund, in an effort to seek to find and use renewable fuels that are economically feasible and environmentally friendly. The Virgin Green Fund was started with $400M in seed money and will continue to receive profits from both the Virgin Airline and train businesses over the next 10 years. I've read that the anticipated figure is an additional $3B of investment but heard Branson quote a figure of $10B while on Martha Stewart's show.

Maybe we'll still be able to fly in 10 years. Let's hope so, it's a big world out there.

Some carbon offset examples:
Vancouver, BC to London, UK - 1.6T of CO2 per flight - $25.60CDN
Vancouver, BC to Maui, HI - .9T of CO2 per flight - $14.40CDN
Vancouver, BC to Calgary, AB - .2T of CO2 per flight - $3.20CDN

Navigating your Greenity

How do we make choices that are more green? Choices that will help the planet or at least not damage it? How do we reduce our carbon footprint?!

There's so much information out there and I've discussed some of it before. Suggestions that most would agree with include walking whenever possible, buying organic, driving a hybrid automobile, and of course always using paper and not plastic.

This morning I came across some 'facts' excerpted from a new book by Chris Goodall titled How to Live a Low-Carbon Life. NOTE: I call them 'facts' as statistics can be tweaked to serve almost any end goal so as such take this with a grain of salt.

Shattering the great green myths

— Traditional nappies are as bad as disposables, a study by the Environment Agency found. While throwaway nappies make up 0.1 per cent of landfill waste, the cloth variety are a waste of energy, clean water and detergent

— Paper bags cause more global warming than plastic. They need much more space to store so require extra energy to transport them from manufacturers to shops

— Diesel trains in rural Britain are more polluting than 4x4 vehicles. Douglas Alexander, when Transport Secretary, said: “If ten or fewer people travel in a Sprinter [train], it would be less environmentally damaging to give them each a Land Rover Freelander and tell them to drive”

— Burning wood for fuel is better for the environment than recycling it, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs discovered

— Organic dairy cows are worse for the climate. They produce less milk so their methane emissions per litre are higher

— Someone who installs a “green” light bulb undoes a year’s worth of energy-saving by buying two bags of imported veg, as so much carbon is wasted flying the food to Britain

— Trees, regarded as shields against global warming because they absorb carbon, were found by German scientists to be major producers of methane, a much more harmful greenhouse gas

Sources: Defra; How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, by Chris Goodall; Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association; The Times; BBC

Article Link.

Fight Climate Change!!!

Further to my previous post on hybrid cars and the sometimes scewed facts pointing to them being the most environmentally friendly way to go, today I was pointed to a study on climate change. Most of us have been taught that to fight climate change we need to reduce general consumption, make green choices with regards to our homes and transportation, and explore alternative 'green' energy options.

A study released today on the Hidden Cause of Global Warming points to deforestation as the single largest culprit, far outweighing every other environmentally negative action. The study claims that the deforestation that will take place over the next 24hrs will pump more CO2 into the earth's atmosphere than 8M people travelling by jet from London to New York!

The key forests that need to be saved, in light of this studies' findings are the tropical rain forests that line the earth's equator. The Amazon, Indonesian forests and also those of the Congo are crucial to combating climate change. The Kyoto Protocol and other environmental pacts are useful but without the preservation of the worlds great rain forests, which contain nearly 50% of the earth's biodiversity despite only occupying 7% of it's landmass, are moot points.

One option to help save the rainforest is this website: Save The Rainforest. Click it today (and everyday!)
Disclaimer: In this case "with one click" means 'with two clicks'

Fuel Efficiency? The complete measure?

It's a good question: should the environmental impact of a car measured solely by its fuel efficiency?! I would say no.

I recently read an article that compared the impact of a Toyota Prius --the ultimate green car according to many environmentalists-- to a Hummer H2, the enviro arch nemesis.

Surprisingly enough the article stated that when considering more than just the fuel efficiency but taking into account things such as waste produced during manufacturing, fuel efficiency, length of drivability, end waste, etc., that the Hummer is approx. 40% MORE efficient than the Prius.

At the end of the day simple, single-engine internal combustion vehicles such as a Smart car or Toyota Yaris are among the most enviro-friendly cars one could own... or a Hummer.

Article Link.