Super Eco

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Here's a breath of fresh air: Wind energy is blowing up. Thanks to President Obama's commitment to clean energy and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) incentives, wind power breezed to the top of the list of new electrical energy sources in the United States last year. Wind energy and natural gas accounted for 80% of new generating capacity created in 2009, according to a fourth-quarter report from the American Wind Energy Association. The U.S. wind sector added nearly 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity, blowing up previous industry records.

Wind sector outlook isn't completely balmy. Business Wire reports, "Recovery Act incentives spurred the growth of construction, operations and maintenance, and management jobs, helping the industry to save and create jobs in those sectors and shine as a bright spot in the economy. At the same time, the continuing lack of a long-term policy and market signal allowed investment in the manufacturing sector to drop compared to 2008, with one-third fewer wind power manufacturing facilities online, announced and expanded in 2009."

While China remains the world leader in wind energy, U.S. trends paint a bright picture for renewable energy. We've got a long way to go to catch up to their more robust power production—but the winds of change are blowing in!

Photo credit: america.gov, flickr

We're sure you've all heard the news on the climate change accord at Copenhagen: a last-minute deal that falls far short of both global consensus and original goals, leaving smaller nations and many environmentalists feeling betrayed. Emotion is still running high, fingers are being pointed every which way, and nobody seems quite sure whether the whole thing is a conservative success, a decent first step, a neutral flop, an outright failure or a political travesty and environmental tragedy.

Let's look at some of the recent analyses:

• Is the weak agreement Obama's fault? The European reporters I met wanted Obama to lead their nations—lead the world—when in reality he leads a country whose progress on climate change is many steps behind the developed world. (Grist)
• Renewable energy outlook brightens The wind market is heating up in India and China, and some see China solidifying its position as the world's renewable energy trend leader if the United States does not come up with a green energy policy. (Seeking Alpha)
• An outright failure Low targets and dropped goals make Copenhagen's weak agreement an outright failure. (The Guardian)
• What's missing from the current agreement? The most important part of this deal is what's not in it. Crucial unresolved questions will continue to dog climate negotiators into 2010 and beyond. (Treehugger)
• Improved position for Obama at home President Obama may have improved his chances for passing global warming legislation in the Senate by forging an interim international agreement here that puts both rich and poor countries on a path to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. (The New York Times)

It's hard to end the year on such a limp note. We have to hope that individual nations will honor the pledges they've made. We have to hope that these lukewarm results don't have a chilling effect on our ability to affect real change to the conundrum of climate change.

Photo credit: xymonau, SXC

From the Department of Oh, Really?: In case you didn't already have suspicions of your own, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that greenhouse gases are harmful to your health and to the environment. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson laid down the law in a press conference yesterday: "This administration will not ignore science or the law any longer, nor will we avoid the responsibility we owe to our children and grandchildren. Today, I’m proud to announce that EPA has finalized its endangerment finding on greenhouse gas pollution, and is now authorized and obligated to take reasonable efforts to reduce greenhouse pollutants under the Clean Air Act."

We kinda dig Jackson. With the blessing of the Obama administration, she's not-so-quietly changing the face of the EPA from obstructor to facilitator. And this dog has teeth. Jackson and the EPA appear ready to chomp into growing an economy based on clean energy and shaking loose from our dependence on foreign oil.

As for climate change, Jackson has words about that as well. "But the overwhelming amounts of scientific study show that the threat is real – as does the evidence before our very eyes," she notes. "... After decades of this mounting evidence, climate change has now become a household issue. Parents across the United States and around the world are concerned for their children and grandchildren. Governments are investing billions in adaptation strategies. Businesses are investing billions in efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Military planners are projecting new hotspots of instability and conflict. They know that if we do not act to reduce greenhouse gases, the planet we leave to the next generation will be a very different place than the one we know today."

Onward!

Photo credit: flickr, LanceCheungImages

It's getting harder and harder to resist the urge to call President Barack Obama "Daddy Greenbucks." Especially today, when he announced that he's shelling out $3.4 billion in grants to build a smart energy grid that would bring our nation's antiquated electrical system into the digital, green and clean age.

Obama's big cash-money, and I mean big in a "largest-award-made-in-a-single day-from-the-$787-billion-stimulus-package" way, will:

1. Give far more than a face lift to our aging "dilapidated" electricity grid with the addition of 18 million digital smart home meters and reams of energy powered by renewable sources, like solar and wind energy. (But how and how soon can I get a a smart meter?! )
2. Create historically more watts than ever before with less impact on the climate. (Speaking of, the climate bill battle kicks off in the Senate today.)
3. Energize business for 100 green companies in 49 states with deep-green grants ranging from $400,000 to $200 million.
4. Inject tens of thousands of new green-collar jobs into the already-exploding green industry. Hey, kids, it's not too late to change your major.
5. Significantly reduce rolling blackouts (which we deserve and suffer plenty of in power-hungry Southern California).
6. Save some decent utility bill cash for America's energy vampire consumers, that is if we're smart, like this grid. (How? Basically, with the digital smart grid, electricity prices will increase when demand increases and decrease when demand decreases, empowering us to make better, more energy- and cost-efficient choices.)

The President announced the historic $3.4 billion (!) greenbacks for green energy at a Florida solar plant just moments ago. He said the country's ailing electrical system "wastes too much energy, it costs too much money, and it's too susceptible to outages and blackouts."

Obama wasted no time moving on to an aggressive pitch for nationwide greenhouse gas cap legislation that he said will "finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America." Apparently a few Senators missed that memo.

Photo credit: The White House/Joyce N. Boghosian

The White House isn't so pallid white anymore, in all the very best ways—and none so inspiring to us here at Super Eco as its green initiatives. President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the first family are very much walking the talk when it comes to taking care of the hearth of the nation in an eco-friendly, sustainable way. Now, the Obamas are taking aim at LEED certification for the White House itself. As the Green Guide reports:

According to government officials familiar with greening efforts, the Obama White House intends to be the first White House to earn LEED certification, a system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to measure and reward buildings and communities that implement green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance.

“LEED certification of the White House is absolutely possible and viable,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and president of USGBC, which has offered to help advise the White House on the process. However, Fedrizzi noted, it will not be easy because of the building’s historic status and the security required to protect the President and his family.

“A normal building is already a challenging assignment, and this is something that’s a historic structure, one of [the] nation’s most historic structures,” he says.

Here's something you may not realize: the Obamas didn't have to start from scratch to paint the White House a deeper shade of green. What the Obamas bring, though, is the interest, energy and fresh new faces it takes to color the White House and its activities a greener shade of sustainable.

• Victory for a White House garden
• The first garden: A fertile source of green ideas
• The first soil: Dirty business at the White House
• New White House chef is a lunch revolutionary
• Group urges first family to eat it (homegrown organic food, that is)

Photo credit: Whole Foods

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Americans could open a dialogue about health care that actually centered on health? We don't think it's at all far-fetched—and neither does Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, who wrote an editorial for The Wall Street Journal that criticizes President Barack Obama's proposed health care reform and suggests healthier diets as part of a proactive public health plan.

In Mackey's words: “Unfortunately many of our health-care problems are self-inflicted: two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese. Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.

"Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat. We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and even past 100 years of age.”

This is worthy of a public opinion firestorm? The Huffington Post put together an entire roundup of rants on the backlash, including a poll indicating that 57% of its readers declared they would not be setting food inside Whole Foods again. ... wait, people are boycotting Whole Foods because Mackey thinks Americans should avoid preventable diseases through better nutrition? Certainly people may disagree with the criticisms Mackey levelled at Obama's reform proposals, or they may observe that it's opportunistic for Mackey to suggest that people eat healthier (but then again, this is the CEO of a food chain—what were they expecting?). But pulling an ostrich maneuver over the idea of healthier food?

We smell a tinge of desperation in the air, the scent of consumers and companies who are deathly afraid that their "way of life"—toxic, fattening, artery-clogging or not—may be assailed if "healthy" foods are "forced" upon us. As environmentalists and natural health advocates, we may find this reaction befuddling, but we must remember to react with compassion to the feelings of people who perceive real discomfort and a real threat in the idea of changing their ways. Easy does it ... And stay tuned to Super Eco for more simple, unthreatening ways to green your entire life.

Photo credit: kthom84, SXC

According to the Juneau Empire, the U.S. Forest Service has agreed to sell timber to a Ketchikan mill in a roadless area of the Tongass National Forest after approval for the sale from the Obama administration. From the Empire: "Orion North timber sale is the first such awarded since Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced in May he would personally review all timber sales in roadless areas of national forests in the next year. He's doing that while the Obama administration takes some time to review the Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which banned road-building on about 58 million acres of national forest land nationwide but has been challenged since it was issued."

A group called Roadless Now has been urging President Obama to fulfill campaign promises to protect roadless forests. The Tongass National Forest, a 17 million acre temperate rainforest in southeast Alaska, is the largest national forest in the United States. Most of its area is part of the temperate rain forest ecoregion and home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The forest is home to about 75,000 people who are dependent on the land for their livelihoods, including several Alaska Native tribes.

We'll be watching to see how this procedural tangle sorts itself out—and hoping that the logging remains minimal, in the meantime ...

Photo credit: phault, flickr

Check mate, fossil fuels. Green energy investments have finally one-upped fossil fuel investments on a global scale. The official score: Solar, wind and other clean power technologies: $140 billion. Coal, natural gas and petroleum: $110 billion. Who's the referee declaring global green victory? None other than the United Nations. I'd say they're a pretty credible source. See for yourself.

Which countries are the top renewable energy buyers, according to the encouraging U.N. figures? Surprise, surprise. Not us. Try England and the rest of Europe. They're forking over a third of the world's green money for an unprecedented clean tech switch.

Which countries are boosting the demand for sustainable energy the fastest? Again, not us. China, India and other developing countries are. The Johnny Come Latelys to the clean scene are Angola and Kenya.

So where does the United States stack up in the global sustainable energy game? If President Obama has his way, we'll be dropping $200 billion in federal funds over the next decade to “mount a historic effort to end, once and for all, our dependence on foreign oil” and put our money where our green hopes are.

Topping Uncle Sam's prospective green shopping list for support “America's clean-energy future”are wind, solar, plug-in cars and so-called “clean coal.”

Sure, $200 billion might sound like a lot, but it pales in comparison to the estimated $800-plus billion in U.S. tax dollars our government has dumped on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (high human-cost investments in our addiction to foreign oil?). A couple million in green innovation clearly isn't enough, but it's a start, so we'll take it. But the private sector will have to hurry up and jump on the Federal clean bandwagon in a big way to help us catch up. Pronto.

Photo credit: Graham Girard, GreenForAll.org, Flickr

Out of work? Who isn't? Not green-collar workers. No, they're highly-job satisfied, highly-paid and even score bonuses. Bonuses! Anyone remember those? It's true. Green jobs are some of most pink slip-proof jobs out there, according to the world's first ever green jobs survey.

However, this rare ray of job market sunshine is dimmed by one big, shady fact: men in the (male-dominated) green sector earn 18 percent (!) more money than women. Cut it out. I thought today's tree hugger was above the old gender inequity. Oh, now I get it. The study subjects were cubicle-squatting corporate greenies. Cor-por-ate.

Girls, where's Crunchy Granola Barbie when we need her? (Her organic hemp hair is so silky, but it smells kinda' funny when I blow dry it.)

Where in the world are the new breed of green-collar workers? In the exploding clean energy, clean-tech, climate change, LEED certification, renewable energy, and solar and wind power sectors. What?! Green media hype doesn't boast its own category yet? I feel so left out. Really, I do.

Which county is home to the most green industry? The United Kingdom is, with a 28 percent stake in the burgeoning global green economy. The U.S. ranked second, with a none-too-shabby 26 percent share, and the remainder of Europe accounted for 24 percent. Africa placed last, claiming a dismal one percent. Predictable all around.

Some feel-good nuggets from the Carbon Salary Survey (worth mentioning to anyone choosing his or her undergrad major):

• The average salary in the booming climate sector was $76,000. Not bad for mid-level personnel in an industry still in its infancy. 
• The big green guns, upper-level managers, etc., earn six figures easy … and a free lifetime supply of carbon credits to offset their private jets? (Eco writers and green PR flacks make the least cash, bottoming out around $58,000 annually. Sniff, sniff. No surprise there.) 
• Some 68 percent of green workers feel just as lay-off proof as they did last year, if not more secure. More?! Apparently they're on a news blackout, too.
• Half of the survey respondents reported scoring a yearly bonus to the tune of $11,000. The other half reported air. Clean air? At least it's tax free ... for now.
• 96 percent of green collar workers polled were cool and stayed in school, like mama said. If one measly university degree is all it takes, sign me up!
• Green qualifications had little to do with how much green employees were paid for their work. Phew. I might be able to salvage my journalism degree after all.

Well it's about time! The future of global business is looking more green collar than white. Monster.com is out. Greenjobsearch.org is in. Flower power out, wind power in. You get the picture.

Ps. Green-cruiters, you know where to find me.

Photo credit: Jacob Bøtter

How seriously do we take the threat of climate change? It turns out that, no surprise, Americans are all over the map about the concept of global warming and what to do about it (hey, we're a nation of opinions after all). But more than half of us think that climate change is real and a serious threat and that an active national response is necessary. Only 18% don't believe in it at all or aren't sure but feel it's a distant threat.

While awareness of global climate change and its effects is on the increase, people don't always know what they can do to help.

1. Do your small part. All the little things we talk about here on Super Eco, whether from avoiding idling your car to using fewer resources, has a cumulative effect when it's lots of us together doing the same thing. So don't neglect your own power.

2. Talk it up. The more we make this a global issue by acting as if it is one, the more change will come of it. I love how teens are getting involved.

3. Donate. Organizations like Greenpeace have a widespread effect on programs all over the world that are positively impacting the slowing of human-caused climate change.

4. Support big change. Our lives need to change drastically to have the most effect. You can cut your personal footprint by big lifestyle changes like moving to within walking or biking distance from where you work and shop, growing your own food, and sharing resources among a community.

5. Call to action. Write to President Obama and share your concerns. Or call 202-456-1111. Then contact your elected officials, all of them. The more people giving voice to their concerns, the more change will occur as a result. Don't neglect the power of your own voice.