Making Your Food Purchase a Little Greener: October 12, 2009

I think that it can be agreed upon that food is a pretty big part of our lives. Because food plays such a large role in our existence, it’s not hard to imagine that the production and transport of our food is a big contributor to our overall carbon footprint. Being a conscious shopper and consumer of food is a great way to lessen your impact on the globe. Here are a few things to consider the next time you are in the grocery store:

1. Transportation - Transporting the food that we eat is one of the biggest contributors to the foods carbon cost. When thinking about the carbon cost of a food, it is important to take into account not only the distance that a food has traveled, but also how that food traveled. That is to say, it most likely takes far less fuel to ship French wine by sea to the east coast of the US than it does to ship the same amount of wine from California by land.

2. What goes into the food – Both ingredients and energy input are important to consider in this category. A product that uses many different ingredients will most likely be far more costly than a food that uses fewer ingredients. This is because in addition to the fuel it takes to gather and transport all of the ingredients to a central production site, it takes even more energy to put the ingredients together into the final product. It is also important to consider the environmental cost of the food. For example, beef is a more costly source of protein than beans for several reasons. First of all, the beef accrues the carbon cost of the feed that it eats, while the beans get their energy from the best know renewable energy source, the sun. Secondly, beef has the negative environmental impact of its methane production, while beans have the positive impact of photosynthesis. Third, the production of beef has many more steps and by-products than does the production of beans. Finally, the run-off from feedlots is far more harmful than any by-product of bean growth.

3. Size of operation – Generally speaking, food that is produced by smaller operations will have a smaller carbon cost than food that is produced in larger businesses. We will use the example of vegetable growth to illustrate this point. Larger operations will most likely use more large machinery in the growing and harvest process than will smaller operations and this means that larger operations will use more fuel. Larger operations are also more likely to use larger and more general applications of things like fertilizer and insecticides than will smaller operations. It is also important to think about the size of the provider. Large grocery store chains usually send all of their products to a central distribution site where it is stored and then redistributed to regional branches. Smaller groceries most likely do not have redistribution centers and this cuts out a leg of transportation, which ultimately saves fuel. In addition to added fuel costs, keeping produce cool and fresh while in storage uses energy and chemicals.

While it is true that no one factor is a good benchmark for judging a food’s greenness, using what information you know about a product, you can make informed choices that will help to decrease your carbon footprint. Generally speaking, food that travels a shorter distance, uses fewer total ingredients in its production, and is produced and/or provided by a small organization will be a good choice.

Trains, Planes and Automobiles! October 1, 2009

America’s growth and westward expansion was based on the dominance of the train.  By 1929 the U.S. had one of the largest and most used rail networks in the world (65,000 railroad cars in operation and 265,000 miles of tracks).  Where did this train system go?  Where America once dominated, now we lag behind Europe and Asia who both have extensive and convenient rail systems.

The decline in the dominance of train travel is due in large part to the rise of America as an auto nation.  America’s automobile companies worked to beat the trains by buying rail lines to close them and pressuring Congress to build an extensive highway system throughout the country.  Although these efforts were a huge success for the auto companies, they took their toll on the environment as well as the U.S.’ dependence on foreign oil sources.  This dependence on automobiles has lead to troubles for America, and as these problems have arisen people have looked toward trains once again.

Train travel has the least harmful impact on the environment by leaps and bounds compared to plane and auto travel.  The only method of transportation that is better in walking or biking, clearly not a practical alternative to traveling throughout the country.  The U.S. government recognizes this as a benefit to train travel, and for this and other motives, it created Amtrak in 1971 to provide rail service in the U.S..  Amtrak uses around 21,000 miles of track, mostly pre-existing freight rails, and served around 28 million customers in 2008.  While this is a large amount of people, if anyone has ever ridden Amtrak, they know that the service is incomplete and would not be able to compete against the rails in Europe.  Why does America continue to lag in a much more sustainable alternative to travel?

President Obama recognizes the tremendous potential for growth in the U.S. rail system and has allocated $8 billion to enhance the rail system.  Hopefully this will produce great strides in the rail system and U.S. can lessen its harmful impact on the environment while providing a more pleasant travel experience.

Greening Your Commute – Take Advantage of Bike-Sharing Programs August 27, 2009

This month, Washington D.C. will celebrate the first birthday of its pilot bike-sharing program, SmartBike D.C., which has not only been welcomed by the public, but has greatly succeeded. Within the first ten months of their introduction, the fleet of 120 bicycles had made more than 11,000 trips throughout the District. In reaction to the ready acceptance of the program, city officials have decided to increase the fleet by 400-percent, with rental locations spread throughout the city. Of the 40 new terminals currently being planned, 28 have gotten final approval to build, and should be operational by Fall 2009, expanding service into the District’s outer-reaches.

Many of these new terminals will be located near pre-existing transportation hubs, giving customers a varied array of transit options including busses, trains, and the metro. Given these improvements, the program is expected to gain even more momentum, gradually replacing cars and taxis on the Capitol’s streets with SmartBike’s signature red and white bikes.

Similar to other bike-share programs throughout Europe and Asia, SmartBike requires that users subscribe to the service, a cost of forty dollars per year, giving them unlimited use of the bikes. After signing-up, a customer is issued a SmartBike card that can be swiped at any terminal, allowing them to take or return a bike to any of the secured bike racks.

A list of the District’s bike laws, and maps of bike routes can be found here, and SmartBike D.C.’s homepage can be found here. Lastly, the nation-wide cycling promotion group, Critical Mass, has a rapidly-growing branch in the District. They coordinate regular rides throughout the city, and their webpage can be found here.

Cash For Clunkers July 9, 2009

Is there a new law sweeping the biggest gas guzzlers off the road and replacing them with the fuel efficiency of hybrids? Well, sort of. The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) or “cash for clunkers” program has the government shelling out cash for a new more fuel efficient vehicle, from a participating dealer, when you trade in a less fuel efficient vehicle.  So how much cash are we talking about? If the new passenger car gets four more miles to the gallon than the old car then you can receive a $3,500 credit, a 10 mpg improvement can receive a $4,500 credit. Trucks, SUVs and minivans are a slightly different story. You can receive the $3,500 credit with a small 2 mpg improvement and $4,500 with a 5 mpg credit.

Of course there are a few catches.  First, your clunker must be drivable. In addition, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price cannot exceed $45,000 (so forget the Tesla Roadster).  You may also lease a vehicle if the lease is at least for five years, a long time for a lease. You will not get full price for the vehicle you trade in, rather something closer to its scrap value as dealers are required by law to destroy the trade-in. If you plan to take advantage of this deal, you should act fast as the $1 billion appropriated for this program will only be able to give out about $1 million vouchers and will end November 1. However, Congress may extend the program in the fall.

How green is this law really? Well, unsurprisingly, this bill seems mostly aimed at boosting car sales rather than curing the nation’s oil addiction. Many key environmental aspects have been overlooked including increased emissions from car manufacturing, encouraging people to drive more frequently, taking vehicles off the road before the end of their lifetime and replacing them with new (not used) vehicles that receive only slightly better mileage. The green intent behind the bill is clear when, as Reuters puts it, in theory the government will offer up to $3,500 to a driver who trades in a 16 mpg Hummer for a brand new SUV that gets a dismal 18 mpg.

Yet don’t count this program out yet. As taking ‘clunkers’ off the road will help cut the 75 percent of car emissions to which they contribute. It may also help us take a few important steps in the right direction.  More sales of cleaner vehicles could send signals to auto manufactures to improve engine technologies. The program could also encourage Americans to become more conscious about fuel economy, so the next time you go to purchase a vehicle you may be making a more fuel-efficient choice.

To find out more about the program visit http://www.cars.gov/ to learn the fuel economy of your car check out  http://www.fueleconomy.gov/.

Electric Car Evolution: Green Entrepreneurs and Infrastructure June 5, 2009

The keys to the new green economy are fundamental changes in how people do everyday tasks.  To change the way we eat, obtain energy, build, and travel is to change some long-standing characteristics of our most basic needs.  With individuals and families taking it upon themselves to buy local and organic food, the necessary infrastructure, institutions, and farms have co-developed as well.  Of course, the work on renewable energy generation and smart grid technology has been tremendous, and thanks to the stimulus package it has new life.  LEED certifications and the new fields of ecological building and natural building have been coupled with concepts like smart growth and new urbanism to create sustainable buildings and communities.

Transportation, however, has seemingly been slow, at least slower than the other categories.  Recently, transit, bicycling, and walking have progressed, partially due to the likes of smart growth and new urbanism.  But in America, for better or worse, the car is still the dominant means of transportation.  So two real changes need to be made: making alternative forms of transportation more popular, and making cars carbon neutral.  For the latter, we have electric cars and Shai Agassi’s venture, Better Place.

One of the major problems with electric cars is infrastructure.  We have gasoline stations, but we don’t have a place to recharge a car’s battery – until now.  Shai Agassi is a green entrepreneur who started Better Place, an electric car infrastructure company.  They build the electric car version of a gas station.  His vision is to create stations where robots will change your car’s drained battery with a fully charged one, in less than one minute.  Each station will cost about $500,000 and the company has contracts with the governments of Denmark, Australia, Israel, Canada, California, and Hawaii.  So far, Renault-Nissan has agreed to produce electric vehicles with batteries that are compatible with Better Place technology.

This exciting venture presents a start in the fundamental change of transportation.  Consumers were naturally worried about the electric car viability, and these stations provide a measure of security.  This big step will make electric cars a marketable product, and hopefully a common reality.  It takes green entrepreneurs to create these innovations.  Shai Agassi was willing to work out the details and then, most importantly, coordinate diverse entities to make the vision work.  Infrastructure shifts often require these feats of consensus building, and this action deserves our attention.

It Makes Sense to Build Green – Part 6 of 6 (IEQ) February 12, 2009

Building a low impact building means good indoor air quality (IAQ), both for the health of the buildings occupants and for the sustainability of the building. This credit requires minimum indoor environmental quality (IEQ) performance to enhance the air quality of the building. It starts early in the construction phase when the buildings toxins are flushed out and strict monitoring of pollutants and contamination are controlled by air quality testing. In addition to a reduction in air quality contaminants, which can also be attributed to low-emitting materials, the building must also provide adequate capacity for ventilation.

Two prerequisites are required to meet the indoor environmental quality credits. First, the buildings indoor air quality must comply with the code requirements LEED uses. The building is also required to establish an environmental tobacco smoke plan (i.e. no smoking inside the building and only within a certain distance outside of the building). After these requirements are met, this category offers 15 possible points in 8 credits. The construction and pre-occupancy steps must include steps to minimize indoor air pollution in order to to meet the level required once the building is completed. Proper installation and monitoring of the building’s ventilation systems will help meet this requirement. Selecting low-emitting materials, such as adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, carpet, and composite wood and agrifiber products, will reduce air contaminates. Reducing the number of chemicals that ever enter the building will also help you achieve points and more importantly, create a healthier building. Comfortable thermal systems with individual controllability will cut costs and improve worker performance. Using daylight and views along with controllable lighting systems will have the same effect.

Indoor environmental quality is a crucial measure to the sustainability of your building and its occupants, and it works collectively with the other LEED credit categories to construct a low impact, eco-friendly, sustainable building. By following the LEED credits, you can work toward certifying your building and establishing an environmentally friendly building that improves your workers’ health and performance, cuts your cost, reduces environmental impacts from building, and improves the economic sustainability of your building.

As you know if you have read through these posts, there are many steps that can be taken to obtain certification and these will differ based on the building, resources used, and a host of other factors. The system also allows for innovative measures, should you meet the intent of one of the points but are not doing it exactly as specified in the guide. A LEED accredited professional can work with you and the USGBC to determine if the point will apply, not to mention that you get one point just for having a LEED AP on your team!

These posts are meant to be a brief introduction, since we have LEED APs for projects and we often get some of these questions. The US Green Building Council site provides additional information, as well as checklists for each of the different guides.

Bob Dylan Had The Right Idea August 16, 2008

RIDDLE- What’s simple, silent, and completely non-polluting? The Answer My Friend… Is Blowing in the Wind

Air and wind and sun are all free. So why not use them to dry your clothes? Hang drying your clothes is an easy way to save money while reducing your carbon emissions. For about $10-50 you can buy a clothesline or clothes rack that will save you around $100 a year in electricity costs. Now that’s a great return on investment! Some additional benefits of hang (air) drying your clothes:

• Drying your clothes in a dryer puts a lot of wear and tear on them, so you’ll save money by not having to buy new clothes as often.
• You’ll reduce your carbon (CO2) emissions by about 1400 lb. per year.
• Hang dried clothes smell fresh and have no static.
• Drying racks and clotheslines take very few materials to manufacture and require no electricity or fuel to operate.
• It will put moisture into the indoor air in the dry winter months.

A variety of simple indoor and outdoor air-drying equipment can be found in retail stores. Some of the options are:

INDOORS

• Wooden fold-up racks.
• Metal fold-up racks.
• Wall-mounted towel rods.

OUTDOORS

• Cotton rope or plastic coated line tied between two trees or poles.
• Carousels.
• Retractable clotheslines.
• Pulley-operated clotheslines.

If you really don’t like the stiffness of the hang-dried clothes you can always fluff them up in the dryer for a few minutes. Hang drying your clothes is one of the easiest ways to live a greener lifestyle. Better for the planet, better for your wallet!

Green, From the Inside Out: The Benefits of Indoor Plants For Your Home or Office August 9, 2008

Research has shown that indoor air pollution is the cause of many of our common and even more serious ailments; from headaches, fatigue, and toxic and allergic reactions, to asthma, infections, and “sick building syndrome”, etc. Research has also shown that certain plants clean the air by removing carbon dioxide and dangerous airborne chemicals while releasing oxygen for you. But, the benefits of indoor plants don’t stop there. Additional benefits of indoor plants are as follows:

• Are welcoming and aesthetically appealing.
• Reduce light reflection and improve noise absorption.
• Soften harsh areas and hide imperfections.
• Can be used as banners to direct (foot) traffic or to partition off an area.
• Release moisture into the air.
• Can raise morale and reduce stress.
• Just might even enhance creativity and increase productivity.
• Just might make people feel calmer and more optimistic, and therefore, happier!
• Offer an inexpensive, easy to maintain, and locationally flexible way to have your very own “bio-filtration system” for your home or office.

A sampling of recommended indoor plants: Orchids, epiphytic bromeliads, anthuriums, snake plants, broadsword ferns, rubber plants, chrysanthemums, gerbera daisies, spider plants, majesty palm, spathiphyllum, golden pathos, and heart leaf philodendron. Most of us spend the majority of our time indoors, so why not make that air as clean and healthy as possible? Happy greening!

Greening Your Car: Simple, Yet Effective Tips For a More Eco-Friendly Auto August 1, 2008

If we’re going to drive (which most of us do), we might as well make it as environmentally friendly and fuel efficient as possible. No matter what make, model, or year vehicle you have, you can always make it greener. Here are a few ideas to make your vehicle more fuel efficient, save you money, and reduce your carbon footprint:

• Replacing your air filter can improve your gas mileage as much as 10%.
• Using the correct motor oil grade can increase efficiency by 1-2%.
• Properly inflating your tires can improve gas mileage up to 3%.
• Properly tuning your car can increase efficiency by about 4%.
• Observing the speed limit can increase gas mileage by 7-23%.
• Rapid acceleration and braking can reduce gas mileage by 33% on the highway and 5% in town.
• An extra 100 lbs. of weight in your car will reduce gas mileage by 1-2%.
• Removing roof racks and containers when not in use can increase gas mileage 1-5%.
• Avoid excess idling.
• Use cruise control when appropriate.
• Use overdrive gears.
• And, oh yeah… drive less when possible!

For more interesting facts, figures, and fun about green motoring and green cars check out the new KBB Green section on the Kelley Blue Book (the U.S.’ largest automotive vehicle valuation company) website, or The United States Department of Energy’s website, Yahoo also has a list of the 100 top green cars as does GreenerCars.org (just the top fuel-efficient cars, not top 100!).

The Reel Deal in Lawn Care: Pushing Your Way to a Healthier Planet July 25, 2008

9 am- Saturday morning. You’re roused out of your deep sleep by the sound of your next door neighbor mowing his lawn with a gas powered mower. Ugh! Not only are gas powered mowers loud, but they are really bad for the environment! Well, what other ways are there to mow your lawn, you might ask? A great option is a manual (push) reel mower. A reel mower is a mower in which the blades spin vertically using a scissoring action to cut the grass. They typically have between 3 and 7 blades. They’re fairly inexpensive to buy, and easy to use and maintain.

Some good, green reasons to use a reel mower:

• Air Pollution- Every weekend, 54 million people mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants.According to the EPA, a traditional gas powered lawn mower produces as much as 43 new cars being driven 12,000 miles. Or put another way, 1 gas mower running for an hour emits the same amount of pollutants as 8 new cars driving 55 mph for the same amount of time.
• Noise Pollution- A bathroom exhaust fan noise level is 55 decibels. A snowmobile at 50 feet is 80 decibels. A reel mower noise level is 55 decibels, whereas a noisy gas powered mower noise level is 80 decibels. It would take 17 quiet reel mowers to make the noise of 1 of the quietest gas lawnmowers!

There are other options out there. If for some reason a reel mower does not work for you or your lawn, there are electric mowers. Electric mowers don’t totally eliminate pollution, but they produce no harmful emissions, are quieter than gas powered mowers, and eliminate gas spills, refining, and transportation.

That being said, a manual (push) reel mower is your best option. They’re better for the planet and better for you. With a 0 carbon footprint, the grass really is greener on the other (reel mower) side!!! Happy mowing…