Alright you pack of rabid screaming liberals, even though I know most of you aren't paying much attention to the race for Chairman of the Republican National Convention you would do well to examine the guy who is most likely going to win out. Here's a link with some quick quotes from Michael Steele regarding energy.
http://www.ontheissues.org/International/Michael_Steele_Energy_+_Oil.htm
RNC Chair
3 commentsI Just Hurt My Arm Patting Myself On the Back
4 commentsPosted by Michael Lombard at Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Labels: Anti-resolutions, carbon footprint, TerraPass
Pics from the 2009 International Builders' Show
11 commentsPosted by Michael Lombard at Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Labels: green building, International Builders Show, Las Vegas, sustainable construction
Everyday Green Thinking @ Whole Foods
8 commentsPosted by Michael Lombard at Monday, January 26, 2009
Labels: Lean Blog, Mark Graban, paper waste, Whole Foods
Viva Sustainable Energy Construction Practices!
6 comments
Having been in Las Vegas for the better part of last week I have deemed it necessary for my next blog post or four to involve that wonderfully debaucherous city.
If you are out and about in Vegas you cannot help but notice a massive construction project going on involving what seems to be the most glass I have ever seen in my life. This would be the City Center project by MGM.
Check out how CityCenter is incorporating sustainable design and construction here.
It is very impression some of the design aspects that have been included on a project of this size. Can any of you think of such a massive undertaking in your area that included sustainable construction?
On a side note - it might be time to invest in a new condo!!
Posted by The Doctor at Monday, January 26, 2009
Labels: green building, Las Vegas, LEED, sustainable construction, water conservation
Whiskey & Water
11 comments
Due to the overwhelming popularity of Mike's whiskey post, I thought I'd share this article about a bunch of distillers in Scotland (including those that make Chivas Regal as shown) that are turning their waste into energy in the form of a new power plant. Waste that includes "wood chips, ...a solid grain product removed from the mash during fermentation called 'draff', and a high protein residue left in the still called 'pot ale'" The plant will produce enough energy to power 9,000 homes. I've always dreamed of the day when we can generate power with our trash, a la Mr. Fusion, so this kind of news makes me excited that we may be seeing more things like this in the future. What other industries can think of creative ways to use their byproducts?
Bottled water, which barely existed 20 years ago, is now a huge industry whose products are responsible for tons and tons of unnecessary waste. This is one of those issues that is discussed and debated everywhere, so I'll assume that everyone can agree that bottled water costs a ton more than tap water, creates more waste and may or may not taste better. That being said, how would you feel about a ban on bottled water? Would this reduce the amount of waste, or would people switch to drinking soda? The freakonomics blog discusses why they think there would be substitution to another bottled form of refreshment. I know that when we used to drink bottled water I wouldn't drink it at home, but it was convenient to grab one on the way out the door. We quit drinking it mainly for the cost savings. What do you think? Do you think that the government should stay out of the matter all together, or do you think that this is a great way to reduce unnecessary waste?
What Can I Say?
4 commentsHeaded to the International Builders' Show
5 commentsPosted by Michael Lombard at Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Labels: green building, International Builders Show, Las Vegas, Modular, Palm Harbor Homes, sustainable construction
I drink Maker's Mark (a lot), therefore I am Green?
13 commentsGetting Fat Off The Land
4 commentsPosted by Matt Stambaugh at Thursday, January 15, 2009
Labels: Anti-Greenius, Anti-resolutions, energy waste, Green Living, Lazy Industry
Getting Off my Ass for Obama
2 commentsAfter watching the speech and video describing President-elect Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, I decided to do my small part to support the effort. Here is the e-mail I sent to Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker and to Representative Gene Taylor:
Posted by Matt Stambaugh at Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Labels: American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, Getting Political, Green Collar Jobs, Green Politics
Where the venture capital flows, so flows innovation!
6 comments
Quick lesson for anyone who isn't sure what Venture Capital is, for those of you who do just skip ahead. From Wikipedia-
"Venture capital is a type of private equity capital typically provided to early-stage, high-potential, growth companies in the interest of generating a return through an eventual realization event such as an IPO or trade sale of the company. Venture capital investments are generally made as cash in exchange for shares in the invested company.
Venture capital typically comes from institutional investors and high net worth individuals and is pooled together by dedicated investment firms."
My point to posting this is that one way to find green investment ideas is to take a look at what types of green companies venture capital dollars have been flowing towards. An article I found written by David R. Baker from the San Francisco Chronicle indicates that nearly 46% of the money invested in green technology in 2008 went to solar power companies.
Flow of Venture Capital for Green Tech Companies
What this means is rather large investors are betting large portions of their wealth on solar power becoming a widely used energy source moving forward. It would behoof any investor to take a look at adding a company from that energy sector to their portfolio.
One other opportunity I would like to mention is the same article goes on to talk about the shift in investment from the biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel to the synthetic biology fuel produced from algae. Take a look at this article posted on greenchipstocks.com written this past summer.
There are several companies listed towards the bottom of the article which are worth keeping an eye on for a possible future investment.
Posted by The Doctor at Monday, January 12, 2009
Labels: algae, biofuel, Green Investments, solar power, venture capital
Living Local
5 comments
One thing that I've been trying to do more of is buying and eating locally. I define this as within a 100-mile radius. People 100 years ago got by (with a much smaller radius) and I think I can too without really impacting my lifestyle. There are blogs and websites devoted to this type of thing and while I can't make it an intense focus in my life, I think I can survive the winter (or summer) without produce that has to come from across the world. Produce that has been genetically changed so that it ships better, stays fresh longer, looks prettier, is more uniform in size, but generally tastes worse. I set out to find a farmer's market that I could easily visit once a week and select locally grown produce. What I found is that the farmer's market in Winter Haven, FL has a very small amount of produce grown locally and the rest is probably produce that is bought wholesale (think of the stands on the side of the road). I was hoping to see dozens of local growers selling their products. I think there were two people like that. I'm going to one in Lakeland next week, so maybe it will be more promising. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it.
The next is another in I'm sure a long line of Netflix knock-offs. This time it's Netflix for toys. Via Treehugger, the toys are sanitized and tested and you send them back when your child gets tired of playing with them. I know from experience that kids like some toys and you wonder why and they refuse to play with the coolest toys you buy them so a service like this could prevent waste (like that ball shooting toy that broke after 10 minutes of use). Or it could teach your kids to be absolute toy snobs. I'm not sure, but it's interesting to see things like this becoming more common.
Also, GO GATORS!
Green Gators
5 commentsPosted by Michael Lombard at Thursday, January 08, 2009
Labels: Gators, Maloney, Tebow, UF, University of Florida
Lessons of a Clogged Toilet
7 commentsGood Move HP
3 commentsYou all know what electronic waste is, but did you know that since 2005, it is the fasting growing category of solid municipal waste in the US? According to the EPA, in 2006, we generated 2.9 million tons of e-waste in the US alone. Of this amount, only 330,000 tons (11.4%) was recycled. Part of the problem of the low recycling rates is that not all of the material used in electronics is recyclable, but some think the bigger problem is that there is no incentive for people to recycle their old cell phones, PC's, and printers. I have half a closet full of outdated electronics that I never use, and according to these stats, I'm not alone.
Hopefully those e-recycling rates will change for the better when more companies follow HP's lead, and actually offer consumers cash back or credits for their unwanted electronics.
Screw ebay, I'm going to clean out my closet this weekend: www.hp.com/go/ConsumerBuyback
Revolution in Consumption
6 comments"...we're on the cusp of a change as fundamental as the industrial revolution. But this time the change will be on the consumption side, not the production side."
"...The coming consumption revolution won't be strictly for the benefit of the environment. It will be an economic necessity, driven largely by the huge numbers of retired poor. There simply won't be enough stuff for everyone if waste is allowed. "
"This is the sort of change that could never happen if the economy was in a happy bubble and it seemed that money was abundant. But as the reality of our economic situation settles in, unthinkable options become thinkable. The good news is that the unthinkable options will have lots of advantages."
Posted by Michael Lombard at Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Labels: Dilbert, Green, Lean, Scott Adams, Waste
Portland, Oregon - Land of amazing microbrews, great music scene, and lots of green!
2 comments
In my never ending search for "green" investments I began to wonder what type of investments are major cities making in green? I came across this little nugget from the Office of Sustainable Development in Portland, Oregon.
City of Portland and Energy Trust of Oregon offer $425,000
for innovative, high performance green buildings
I am hoping that there are many more programs like this one out there that I just have not come across as of yet. What a tremendous opportunity this program provides to green building innovators in the Portland area.
On this same topic I found a full article from a Portland Architecture blog.
OSD seeks Green Investment Fund applicants and feedback for new High Performance Green Policy
Do any of you know if there are similar programs in the metro areas where you live?
Posted by The Doctor at Monday, January 05, 2009
Labels: green building, Green Investments, Portland, water conservation
An Inconvenient Check
6 commentsPosted by Michael Lombard at Saturday, January 03, 2009
Labels: convenience checks, Lean Blog, paper waste, Twitter