With gas prices continually in flux, interest in domestically produced bio-fuels like ethanol (E85) is on the rise. These flex fuels have been gaining popularity not only for their lower cost, but also their lessened impact on the environment.

Helping to lessen the impact on the environment even more, Coskata Inc., a leading developer of alternative bio-fuels, announced the successful start-up of its semi-commercial flex-ethanol facility. Unlike other technologies and facilities that often rely on one primary source of feedstock, the company’s flex ethanol facility will be producing ethanol from numerous sources, including wood biomass, agricultural waste, construction waste and even household garbage.

In addition, their patented microorganisms and bioreactor designs will produce ethanol for the same as, and in some cases less than, the cost of producing a gallon of gasoline. This new technology also reduces CO2 emissions up to 96 percent compared to gasoline.

Flex Fuel vehicles that can run on gas, E85 or a combination of both, are already available from major U.S. automotive manufacturers. One of these automakers, General Motors has built 5 million of these vehicles to date.

Article by Eric Klein

Is it me, or are there good reasons to be optimistic at the moment?

An American promise of a Green ‘New Deal’, the UK’s pledge to cut CO2 80% by 2050, their failed plans to exclude aviation and shipping from the Climate Change Bill and then there is a slight whiff of a new economy in the air. It’s an environmentalists dream. Things are going well. Those that used democracy and continually lobbied our governments have won.

But then it was really never a competition. Just a load of people wanting to make a great change.

Obama’s strapline, ‘Change we can believe in’, is heralding a new era. But he never started it, we all did, and he knows that. That’s the difference between the new one and the old one.

But to coin a cliche, the end is just the beginning. The framework taking shape for something great to happen, it’s now up to each and every one of us. The ball has only just starting rolling.

The other day a door to door salesman from nPower came to call with the promise of a cheaper tariff. It surprised him that I choose a supplier that specialised in 100% renewable energy. For me it doesn’t matter how hard times are there is no excuse not to shift to a 100% green tariff when you are juggling for the future. I’m sure life can be adjusted, and luxuries sacrificed to achieve it. For me I never had to, my Eco-fantastic supplier priced matched my existing supply. Now I feel like my energy and my conscious is clean.

If you are wondering what to ‘Green’ next, changing your energy supplier is something positive you can focus your amazing consumer powers on. Consumers in any economic climate are the puppetters of business. Draw the strings and show companies how you want your future to be.

Dirty Old Coal is back on the agenda. Due to public and goverments’ panic around soaring oil prices (which seem to be on the decline again), there are plans the world over for more coal-fired power plants: India has plans to build another 73 coal plants in the next 10 years. There are plans to build over 150 new coal plants in the US in the next few years and my understanding is that China, Germany and the UK all have coal plants somewhere in the pipeline.

The world seem to be divided today between those who wants to go 150 years back and those advocating to invest all our resources in developing green and clean energy technologies. After reading few articles on this topic I must admit I’m rather confused. Coal has a high potential in future energy supply, only once new technology to reduce CO2-emissions from coal combustion will become economically viable. But currently they aren’t and the fact of the matter is that 40% of the global carbon dioxide emissions are due to coal.

If you want to read more on this subject you should read the debate between George Monbiot and Arthur Scargill few months back in the Guardian. The EU Energy Policy Blog also written some illuminating facts about the future of coal-based energy.

The reason for this lengthy introduction is a new Greenpeace campaign. Inspiring, engaging environmental campaigns are difficult to pull out. Especially these days, when the economic meltdown is contributing to the already short and fatigued attention span of the general public in relation to green issues you have to produce something that will stand out and cut through and I think that Greenpeace have managed to pull a nifty little campaign called….CoalFinger:

The campaign is topical and full of funny moments and the microsite is nicely designed with clear, plain English articulation of the problem.

Well done Greenpeace.

There is a misguided perception in some quarters that the looming energy crisis in the UK can only be solved if we accept that environmental damage is inevitable.

The argument goes something like this; if we rely on fuel imports then we are forever at the mercy of foreign governments. If we re-open the coal mines we can become self-sufficient but our carbon emissions will start to increase. If we take the nuclear option then we are left with the legacy of dangerous radioactive waste. The argument usually then goes on to claim that renewables are well-intentioned but will never provide enough energy to meet all our needs.

There is some truth in this latter point but only if we continue with our current high levels of energy consumption and gross inefficiency. A determined and courageous policy of large-scale investment in renewables coupled with energy-efficiency measures (e.g. legislation to compel manufacturers to remove stand-by buttons from appliances, banning patio heaters and standard light bulbs, etc…) could lead us to a truly sustainable future. It is a vision but an achievable vision.

We often hear about protestors who complain about wind farms looking ‘unsightly’, spoiling the landscape, killing birds and being noisy.

Living near to a wind farm set in a nature park, we often walk past the windmills. In the seven years that we have been walking this route, we have never seen a dead bird. The noise is a low swirling and humming, which is barely audible.

There is an aesthetic beauty about them too. Not only in appearance but also conceptually in the way they convert a free resource into useful energy, without producing pollution or causing global warming.

How can this be unsightly when compared to chimneys belching out smoke, traffic jams and smogs? And what about the oil that is imported from corrupt regimes, Middle East wars and climate wreaking emissions from what is ultimately a limited and increasingly scarce resource?

We don’t understand this at all.

One of the big problems in taking action to change things is knowing where you are to start with. Lack of public information allows Governments to announce big funding increases, get the brownie points then only later is it revealed that the money was actually allocated some time back under a different scheme but with equal aclaim! Similar is happening with the Governments Green policies and the anouncement this week of a massive increase in wind power projects!

But all of these projects are part of Phase II of the Government’s existing renewables scheme which was anounced last year and initially mooted back in 2004. This years anouncement adds nothing apart from an intention to support domestic generators, but again that’s nothing new, there has always been support of sorts, its just usually ill thought out and implemented! LCBP (Low Carbon Buildings Programme) was a disaster and in my opinion when looking at the way the preferred installers were selected – long established and reputable companies were sidelined, big companies with no experience in renewables were selected – verging on the corrupt!

What to do? Well, I’m developing an online a map of all major renewable energy schemes in the UK. There are loads, most in planning and about half on the map! See www.renewables-map.co.uk what with this most recent Govt smoke and mirrors I will be adding an additional field showing date project was 1st proposed! My own website is www.solarkent.co.uk

References:

• The Crown Estate: Round 1 and 2 Wind Farm Sites: (Initially proposed in 2004)
• The Crown Estate Offshore Wind Farm Map
• Low Carbon Buildings Programme – Wikipedia
• LCBP – problems with initial tender process leading to ongoing implementation problems

ECOutlet.co.uk have sponsored my GreenFestivalMan campaign with two products, including a Puma LED Dynamo Torch.

When I think of dynamo torches I think of big clumsy things, that need continual winding. This torch is the opposite of this . With a new generation 0.5W LED, one minute of winding gives you 20 minutes of light.

Sturdy, and slightly smaller than an average size mobile phone. The torch has 2 light intensities and also a strobe light. The robust dynamo gear tucks neatly behind the torch, preventing it getting in the way.

This is the brightest single bulb LED torch I’ve found to date. Apart from the obvious benefits like never having to buy batteries,or getting cut short in a situation with battery fade, the solid construction of this torch will make it suitable for a wide range of uses: general household use; camping or more extreme uses. (Battery life diminishes quickly in extremely cold environments – no battery, no more problems?).

This torch was perfect at Glastonbury Festival and I have every faith in it for my Arctic Survival Challenge for WaterAid in February 2006.

The Puma Dynamo Wind-up LED torch is available from Ecoutlet.co.uk and other good on-line shops.

One morning I was walking to work in London when I passed a woman unlocking her shop on Old Bond Street. I noticed that all the lights in the shop were on, yet she clearly hadn’t been inside that day as the shutters were still down.

Realising the lights had probably been on all night, I couldn’t shake a sense of curiosity at why she was wasting electricity.

I began to investigate the subject more and found similar concerns expressed on websites like Green Girls Global. I also began to make late night trips to Old Bond Street on my way home to see how many shop owners had the same attitude as the woman I saw unlocking her shop.

I was horrified to discover that nearly every shop on Old Bond Street left at least some lights on after dark even though they were closed.

One night I had a chat with the security guard who has the unfortunate task of patrolling the street at dark. He told me that my fears were right and that most of the shops left their lights on all night. Some were even timed to come back on as the sun went down.

In looking to understand why shop owners may leave their lights on at night I came across two main responses. The first is that it is for security reasons. This I think is a crazy excuse. Surely it would be better to turn the lights off as any thief breaking into a shop with its lights turned off would need a torch to see where they going. The security guards would find this torch light very easy to spot.

The second and more plausible reason is that the shop lights are left on to attract shoppers. This I find more convincing especially on a road like Old Bond Street with its overt sense of wealth and extravagance. However surely we should be putting the fight against catastrophic climate change above mere window shopping? There are so few people on Old Bond Street at night it doesn’t seem worth the bother of leaving all the lights on. Surely the act of saving energy would be a much more powerful and environmentally positive statement to their customers?

To spread my concerns I created a website called www.bondstreetbaddies.com which has the aim of publicising which shops leave their lights on and which are going green.

Obviously this is a problem that blights many streets and I’d encourage anyone interested in this subject to find ways of drawing attention to it. I’d also encourage people to ask at their favourite shop whether they turn off their lights at night and if not why not?

At first glance, the above choice seems pretty straight forward. A new hybrid, like the Toyota Prius, gets much better mileage, so how can it not be the greener choice? A recent article on Cut Your Carbon Footprint says that in many cases buying a used car is actually better for the environment.

How is this so? What your everyday mileage numbers don’t take into account is the amount of energy used up in actually building your car. If you buy a new hybrid, you drive it off the lot with a carbon footprint equivalent of burning 1000 gallons of gas. With a ten year old Tercel, for example, you don’t have to add that to your carbon footprint, giving you an instant advantage. It could take you years and thousands of miles to overcome that initial handicap before your ‘Eco-Friendly’ car is actually the better choice for the environment.

Certainly, this is simplifying the argument. There is something to be said for buying a hybrid car where the money you spend supports further products and investment in fuel efficient cars. As bad as most car manufacturers are for the environment, the truth is that if they didn’t make any money then we would be even further from having the more efficient and electric cars that are so badly needed to stop global warming.

Ultimately, the decision has to come down to the individual and there is no ‘right answer’ for everyone. But don’t get trapped by looking only at the mileage of a car when there are in fact so many other aspects of the car that contribute to your carbon footprint.

What do Food and Climate Change have in common? Well if you look at this Cars=13% of all carbon emissions and Livestock=18% of all carbon emissions eating less meat or even going Vegetarian/Vegan is better than switching to a hybrid car and even better if you go vegan and own a hybrid!

About 5 months ago I went Vegan and have loved every last bit of it and I feel great being a vegan so I decided to create this post since it is “Green”.

What is a Vegetarian/Vegan?

Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: One whose diet excludes meat and fish but permits milk and eggs.

Lacto Vegetarian: One whose diet excludes meat and fish and eggs but permits milk.

Ovo Vegetarian: One whose diet excludes meat and fish and milk but permits eggs.

Vegan (Strict Vegetarian): One whose diet excludes all animal products.

Why go Vegetarian/Vegan?

• Eating a vegetarian or vegan diet is healthy because you can prevent many diseases and cancers like heart attack, strokes, prostate and colon cancers and can even lower your cholesterol levels, lower your blood pressure, lower type 2 diabetes.
• You are less likely to become obese and you will lose weight and keep it off with exercise.
• You will discover you have more energy to do things, need less sleep and need little to no caffeine to keep you awake during the day.
• Raising livestock for food accounts for about 1/3 of all the US fossil fuels and about 50 of all the water in the US is used by the meat industry.
• Going vegan/vegetarian stops cruelty to the animals you eat because they feel pain too.

(Taken from http://www.sugarrocket.com/vegan/why-i-am-vegan.php)

Daily water usage in the US for…
An omnivore : 4,200 Gallons
A vegetarian: 1,200 Gallons
A vegan: 300 Gallons

Yearly land usage in the US for food…
An omnivore : 3.3 Acres
A vegetarian: 1/2 Acre
A vegan: 1/6 Acre
To make one pound of “food”…
Pound of beef = 2,500 Gallons of water
Pound of apples = 49 Gallons of water
Pound of lettuce = 23 Gallons of water

But don’t take it just from me do plenty of research at your local library, search on the internet on what vegetarians and vegans can eat and what items you can order when you go to a fast food/restaurant.

Also you don’t have to go completely vegetarian/vegan by incorporating a day or meal each week to be vegetarian/vegan friendly.

In conclusion: Going Vegan/Vegetarian reduces animal suffering, consumption of natural resources, makes you healthier and reduces your carbon footprint!

Posts by the Green Girls you may like:

Veganism – Part 1 (The Reasons)

Guest Editor: Vika Lebedeva – 10 myths about vegan

Useful Links:

http://www.goveg.com/environment-globalwarming.asp

http://www.goveg.com/healthConcerns.asp

http://www.tryveg.com/img/vsg0501.pdf

http://www.goveg.com/feat/chewonthis/index.asp

http://www.backwardshamburger.com/

http://www.veginity.com/

http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/index.php

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/

http://myhq.com/public/s/u/susanv/

http://www.viva.org.uk/goingvegan/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD67tltFyAw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05zhL1YUd8Q

Movies/Documentaries to see:

Earthlings

Fast Food Nation

Super Size Me

The Future of Food