In defense of Starbucks

By: Jacob Grier
Special to The Examiner
08/24/10 5:27 PM EDT

Starbucks takes a lot of heat from environmentalists for all the trash generated by the estimated 3 billion paper cups it goes through each year. Some of these are recycled, but most of them end up in landfills. What’s often unappreciated is that recycling paper cups is not easy. Separating them from other trash is just the beginning; the next step is finding paper mills willing to take them. An article in the Seattle Timesilluminates how challenging this can be:

The challenge is to convince mills that coffee cups are decent fodder for boxes and other products they make. So far, mill executives remain skeptical, saying coffee cups take longer, and therefore cost more, to process than do other recycled items like cardboard boxes.

"Any time you're asking an industry to change the way it does things — and they have multimillion-dollar pieces of machinery in their mills — they need it to be proved," said Jim Hanna, Starbucks' director of environmental impact. "Once we prove there's a value to our cups, it will create market pull."

"Any time you're asking an industry to change the way it does things — and they have multimillion-dollar pieces of machinery in their mills — they need it to be proved," said Jim Hanna, Starbucks' director of environmental impact. "Once we prove there's a value to our cups, it will create market pull."

The article notes that coffee cups end up in the mixed paper fiber stream, which most US mills can use at only about 10% of a fiber blend. Some Chinese mills can go higher, but they don’t like coffee cups either: The poly coating that prevents the cups from absorbing liquid also makes them harder to process. Starbucks faces an uphill battle trying to turn their garbage into a resource.

Regulations are an obstacle too. In 2006 Starbucks launched cups made with 10% recycled paper. It may not seem like much, but getting these to market required years of research and strict testing to meet FDA standards. From NPR:

George Matthews is executive VP at Mississippi River Corporation, one of Starbucks' suppliers. His pulp company had to prove to the FDA it was safe to drink from a recycled-content cup. That meant eliminating any potentially harmful substances from the high-grade office paper in recycled pulp.

MATTHEWS: The new regulations that the FDA had come out with required testing to be done to really infinitesimal limits. So we not only had to test to those limits but in many cases had to develop the test protocol itself, because it hadn't been done before.

So Starbucks deserves more credit for their work on recycling than many people realize. But is all this effort really worthwhile? Should we start carefully rinsing and sorting our latte cups each morning? While recycling feels good, it’s not always worth the effort and expense. Economist Michael Munger suggests we take price signals seriously:

There is a simple test for determining whether something is a resource (something valuable) or just garbage (something you want to dispose of at the lowest possible cost, including costs to the environment). If someone will pay you for the item, it's a resource. Or, if you can use the item to make something else people want, and do it at lower price or higher quality than you could without that item, then the item is also a resource. But if you have to pay someone to take the item away, or if other things made with that item cost more or have lower quality, then the item is garbage. [...]

"Recycle, regardless of cost!" doesn't solve a problem; it creates one. Laws requiring recycling harm me, the environment, and everyone else. We have to take prices into account, because prices are telling us that we can't save resources by wasting resources.

Obviously environmental externalities may complicate the picture, but he’s right that recycling without considering all the trade-offs is senselessly burdensome.

Fortunately we aren’t yet required by law to recycle our coffee cups, but it’s easy to imagine that happening. My co-blogger Jason Kuznicki notes at The League of Ordinary Gentlemen that Cleveland is installing RFID chips into residents recycling bins to track how often they’re taken to the curb; people who don’t recycle enough will be fined $100.

The costs that go into cleaning, sorting, processing, and finding markets for recycled coffee cups are real. Starbucks deserves credit for trying to overcome them, but if they fail that might be a sign that we shouldn’t waste resources recycling coffee cups. And if consumers want to be green they can take Munger’s advice and follow the price signals: Starbucks offers a 10 cent discount to customers who bring in their own reusable mug.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/Examiner-Opinion-Zone/In-defense-of-Starbucks-101418549.html

Food Scraps In Vermont = Electricity

From The Burlington Free Press (Vermont):

October 4, 2009

A new view of food scraps’ potential

There’s power on your plate

By Nancy Remsen, Free Press Staff Writer

Instead of thinking “yuck” when faced with shriveled brown apple cores, slimly spinach leaves and stinky chicken bones, Dan Hecht of Montpelier thinks “energy.”

“There is value to be derived from stuff we throw away,” he said.

In an age when finding alternative sources of energy is both a state and national priority, Hecht points to the potential in a squandered resource: food scraps.

For one thing, it’s plentiful, Hecht said: “Every city and town in America already possesses a major source of renewable energy, one that does not need to be mined, harvested, refined or transported long distances.”

Hecht is project coordinator for the Central Vermont Recovered Biomass Facility, a research project that’s assessing the feasibility of collecting food waste, mixing it with manure and letting it stew until it releases methane gas, which can be used to produce heat and power, plus environmentally safe byproducts.

“The food garbage is the big innovation here,” Hecht said of this waste-to-energy project, seeded by a $492,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. “Nobody is doing post-consumer food waste.”

Once the research phase is completed in December, the food power project would move from the proof-on-paper phase to proof in practice.

The plan is to tap 14 tons a day of food scrap in the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District, combine it with 10 tons a day of manure from area dairy farms, and feed it into a biodigester to be built on the campus of Vermont Technical College in Randolph. The methane produced would be used either to fuel the college’s heating plant or to generate electricity for the campus.

What’s left — likely a thick, dark liquid — would have several potential uses, such enriching soil on farmers’ fields.

Hecht said this project is intended to produce a roadmap that others in Vermont and across the country could follow to make better use of food scraps. Hecht tries to avoid calling food scraps “waste” because they have so much energy potential: 200 to 400 percent more energy per ton than manure.

Ponder the potential in greater Burlington, with its many eateries, educational institutions and a medical center, Hecht suggested. New data developed by consultants for the research project estimate 245 tons of food materials is produced weekly in Chittenden County.

First step: fetch the food

Start where the food scraps originate, such as the dining hall at Norwich University in Northfield.

Twice a week, a truck from Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District comes to Norwich and collects 22 totes full of food scraps, said Paul Bento, general manager of dining services at the university. Serving 716,000 meals a year, Norwich ends up with a lot of food scraps: 207 tons last year, Bento said.

The Central Vermont district began diverting food scraps from landfills in 2004, sending the material instead to two composting sites.

“We had identified organics in 2001 as a priority for diversion,” said Donna Barlow Casey, executive director of the waste district. It’s part of the district’s zero-waste commitment.

Because of the largely rural nature of the district, Barlow Casey said the food-scrap initiative has focused on commercial and institutional producers, not residential. That would remain the case even with the added demand of feeding a biodigester, she said.

To satisfy the end-users of the food scraps, the district had to provide contaminate-free material — no plastic wrap or foil, just food.

“We have one the cleanest food-scrap programs in the nation,” Barlow Casey said. “When we talk about contamination, it’s just the tiny stickers on fruit and vegetables. We work with every single business that comes on board. We train their kitchen staff. There is a feedback loop. If we see forks, plastic or paper, we reject that tote. It’s that feedback system that keeps the food clean.”

The totes aren’t small like the composting jars that homeowners may keep on their kitchen counters. They are 48-gallon rolling trash barrels with lids.

How smelly is that? Barlow Casey says putting sawdust in the bottom and layering more sawdust or coffee grounds with the food scraps buffers the odor.

“It does work,” confirmed Bento at Norwich.

Barlow Casey said there are more than enough sources of food scraps in Central Vermont to continue to provide material for the two composters and meet the 14-ton-a-day requirement of the new digester. New data estimate 98 tons of food scraps are produced weekly in the region. The district currently has 77 customers providing 18 tons of food scraps a week. In anticipation of having to ramp up collections, she said, the district just began recruiting new customers.

Collecting and delivering the food scraps is an expense that has to be balanced against the benefits of producing energy from it, Hecht said. In planning how to collect it, he said, “You have to do it with the shortest possible distance.”

Now the power part

There are many variables but fewer unknowns about the process that would transform rinds, bones and eggshells into power once they arrived at the biodigester, proposed for a site on the back portion of the Vermont Technical College campus, Hecht said.

Simply, he said, the food waste would go into a “blender” with some water and the manure to create the feedstock that would be put into an anaerobic digester. Some microbes would break down the organic materials into two byproducts: methane gas and a nutrient-rich liquid.

One of the questions yet to be answered is what regulations apply to this process, Hecht said.

“As of right now, we don’t have specific rules for digesters,” said David DiDomenico, environmental material engineer with the Department of Environmental Conservation. State regulators have been working on revisions to composting regulations, he said. “Our plan is to make it more of an organics rule. We’d like to put in a part for digesters.”

Other pending questions have to do with the best uses for the methane and the liquid effluent.

The methane, for example, could replace the oil that fuels the college’s central heating system and warms 15 buildings, said Frank Reed, a consultant working with Vermont Technical College on the project.

But what about in summer, when heat isn’t needed? Reed said the methane could be used to make electricity. Or maybe making electricity would be the best option year-round.

There also are options to weigh with the liquid effluent. It could be spread on fields, or perhaps used to grow algae in a process that would produce biofuels, Reed said.

Four consultants will provide models to help the college identify the options that best fit its energy goals and wallet. Hecht noted the reports from the consultants will provide others interested in food power with information about alternatives that might work under different conditions than those found at Vermont Technical College.

VTC will decide this winter whether to go ahead with planning and construction. Reed predicted that when the reports come in later this fall, “I think we will find it is feasible.”

What will Chittenden do?

The Chittenden Solid Waste District is pursuing its own research on how to divert more food and other organics from landfills. The district recently requested proposals from consultants for a comprehensive study.

“What is happening now is, we are about to head into the second era of modern solid-waste management,” said Tom Moreau, executive director of the Chittenden district. “This is the second wave of investment, and organics are going to be a big piece.”

Moreau said he is monitoring the development of the central Vermont project. He has no question about the feasibility of the biodigestion process.

“I’m confident it will work,” he said. “It will demonstrate to us in Vermont that once we collect it, we can handle it.”

For him, the challenge is food collection — whether from residents or commercial producers.

“People get lazy. They just want to throw things away,” Moreau said. “How do you collect the material in a cost-effective and energy-efficient way, and how do you get over the yuck factor?”

Contact Nancy Remsen at 651-4888 or nremsen@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

Additional Facts

Key terms when discussing “food power.”

• BIODIGESTER: An airtight container in which anaerobic — meaning without air — digestion takes place over periods that range from five to 60 days. The output from biodigestion is methane gas and a nutrient-rich, liquid.

• BIOMASS: Plant materials and animal waste that can be used as fuel to produce energy.

• FOOD SCRAPS: Food that is leftover from meals plus trimmings from food preparation.

What’s so great about food power?

• Food scraps are available in significant volumes.

• Food scraps produce 200-to-400 percent more methane than cow manure.

• Biodigestion of food scraps captures methane, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

• Food scraps don’t go to waste. Biodigestion creates valuable byproducts.
Source: Dan Hecht

Project facts

• WHAT: The Central Vermont Recovered Biomass Facility is conducting a study of the feasibility of biodigesting food waste along with cow manure to produce electrical power and heat.

• WHO: The project is being carried out by a partnership that includes the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District, Vermont Technical College, Vermont Environmental Consortium and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund.

• WHERE: The biodigester, if feasible, will be built on the campus of Vermont Technical College in Randolph. The food scraps would come from commercial and institutional sources in central Vermont.

• FUNDING: The feasibility study received a $492,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, with addition funding coming from the Vermont Department of Agriculture, the Clean Energy Development Fund, the state and Seventh Generation Foundation. The U.S. Department of Energy has promised $952,000 for advanced design and construction. Total construction is estimated at $3 million.

PEPCO Says Use Less Electricty

It's hot - for Washington, DC, very hot - a few days of record setting and close to record setting temperatures. Blazing sun, no rain in sight. Imagine DC as a city of roof top solar and the place would be humming. And if residents owned their roof top solar, money would be "staying at home" rather than being redistributed to increasingly multinational energy services corporations. Instead, the following PEPCO email was in the in box to remind us that the infrastructure has it's limits:

PEPCO News Release

Posted by: "Cook, Sybongile (DOES)" sybongile.cook@dc.gov

Wed Jul 7, 2010 12:47 pm (PDT)

WASHINGTON “ Pepco today requested the public to conserve electricity. The call for conservation was prompted by the intense heat wave.

The request is being made throughout Pepco's service territory.

Demand for electricity is expected to increase as the excessive heat and humidity continue. The electric utility asks customers to conserve electricity, if health permits, especially between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Electricity customers can take simple conservation steps:

Close curtains and blinds to keep out the sun and retain cooler air inside.
Postpone using major electric household appliances such as stoves, dishwashers and clothes dryers until the cooler evening hours.
If health permits, set air conditioner thermostats higher than usual.
Turn off electric appliances and equipment that you do not need or are not using.

Conserving electricity will help ensure adequate power supplies. Pepco continues to carefully monitor power supply conditions. It will do everything possible to keep power flowing in the region. If necessary the utility may take additional steps, such as reducing voltage.

Sent by Ladona Williams to DC ESF # 12 DOE, Georgetown Alert Managers, Hazard:Severe Weather, Hazards-Utility Outages, OperationCenters, Public Safety, Ward 1 Groups, Ward 2 Groups, Ward 3 Groups, Ward 4 Groups, Ward 5 Groups, Ward 6 Groups, Ward 7 Groups, Ward 8 Groups, WASA, WMATA (Metro) (e-mail accounts)

Vegetable Oil For Vehicles

From The Gazette, Montgomery County, Maryland

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Silver Spring man converts cars to run on veggie oil

Monday through Friday, Josh Winston sits in an office high above downtown Bethesda, crunching numbers as an accountant.

But come Saturday morning, Winston, 42, puts down the calculator, slides into a one-piece jumpsuit and tinkers with diesel engines and rounds up buckets of vegetable oil.

Winston has a hobby of converting diesel-powered vehicles to run on vegetable oil, grease that cooked chicken fingers or french fries last week.

"It's really pretty simple," the Silver Spring resident said. "Anyone with a pretty basic knowledge of cars or engines can figure it out."

Diesel engines can run on anything oil-based, even something as far-flung as sawdust, Winston said. Switching the hoses and building a new tank for the oil is more a matter of time than expertise.

Four years ago, Winston saw a television segment on diesel conversions and almost immediately ordered a conversion kit for his 1998 Volkswagen Jetta. Since then he has converted not only his own car and an old mini-school bus he owns, but also a half-dozen cars and trucks from up and down the East Coast.

"Well, I sit at a desk all day and that's not much fun," Winston said of his accounting job. "But this, this is fun."

In front of his apartment sits a 1983 Itasca RV, the vehicle of a vegetable oil enthusiast from New Jersey. The owner found Winston through his Web site, www.feedmywheels.com, a side business he has created to convert vehicles to vegetable oil. The average conversion costs a customer between $1,500 and $2,000, Winston said, but the cost is relatively cheap compared with the cost of diesel fuel.

Running a car on vegetable oil, which can often be obtained for free, could save a vehicle owner hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fuel costs per year, Winston said.

"I get my oil from a Chinese restaurant down the street," he said. "At first they were confused about why I wanted it, but we have a nice arrangement now."

Montgomery County has created an online forum for used vegetable oil givers and takers, according to Peter Karasik, section chief for the county's Division of Solid Waste Services.

The 70-member forum, launched in November 2007, puts those possessing used vegetable oil — such as restaurants, bars and other vendors — in touch with people like Winston who want it.

"There's certainly no reason why anyone needs to waste vegetable oil now," Karasik said. "There's a whole host of people who would like it, and our goal is just to hook people up directly."

Although vegetable oil proponents say grease burns cleaner than diesel or gasoline, converting and running a car on vegetable oil is technically illegal in the United States, according to Cathy Milbourn, an Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman.

"The Clean Air Act does prohibit these sorts of homemade conversions," she said. "There are conversion kits that we have certified that we say are suitable, but just vegetable oil is not a clean fuel."

Violating the Clean Air Act carries a $32,500 fine per violation if committed by a manufacturer or dealer, and a $2,750 fine if committed by any other person.

Winston estimated that fewer than 10,000 cars nationwide have been converted. The federal government does not keep records of vegetable oil-converted cars.

Winston said despite the legal implications, he's going to keep converting cars.

"It's probably going to be illegal for a long time until people start using [vegetable oil] regularly," he said. "Even the fine probably isn't worth anybody's time. Everybody who does this knows that and isn't praying that someone from the government won't show up at their door."

http://www.gazette.net/stories/05062009/bethnew200045_32534.shtml

http://www.feedmywheels.com/

Flat Roof Analysis

Some good info from Maggio Roofing:

Flat Roof Analysis

Almost all flat roofs in Washington DC are constructed with main support beams (2x10's) that are pocketed into the side brick walls. On top of these walls sit rafters (2x6's) that are fastened to these main support beams. Then, there is wood sheathing (1x6's) that are fastened into the rafters. The roofing materials are then installed over top of the sheathing.

Current building code requires that this roof structure be able to hold a live load (LL) of 30 lbs per sq foot, a dead load (DL) of 15lbs per sq foot with a total load (TL) equal to 45 lbs per sq foot. The issue at hand is that almost all of these flat roofs have the rafters spaced at more than 24" apart. This means that the code will require this roof structure assembly to hold 90lbs per sq foot. The problem is that this assembly will only have an allowable load of 60lbs per sq ft. What does this all mean? It means that your roof structure does not have the structural support to handle the necessary loads that current building codes calls for. Even though structural engineering requirements are conservative, there is a risk here. In January 1922 the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater in Mt. Pleasant, collapsed under snow from the storm subsequently named for this same collapse. January 14, 1996, during the "storm of the century", Potomac Mills Mall was evacuated due to snow causing metal beams to sag in two places, which caused the ceiling to droop about three feet. Inspectors declared the mall unsafe at that time. These stories have a tendency to be forgotten.

During the year, we find that 10-15% of the new roofs we install, require structural work due to sagging, cracked, or broken main support beams. Another 10-20% require rafter repairs due to sagging or rotting conditions. Many homeowners are quick to say, "my house has been here for 80 years and hasn't collapsed, why would it now?" My answer to that is, "What is your life worth? Do you really want to take that risk?" This risk gets worse when negligent contractors start installing heavy solar panels or other roof top equipment without taking the structural loads into account.

In order to meet code, the structure would need to be composed of 2x8's 24" on center or 2x6's closer together (less than 16" on center). So, in order to install solar panels on roofs (since roofs in your neighborhood are composed of 2x6's) you will need to modify the structure to support the new loads on the roof.

If contractors are not getting in the attics and looking at the rafters, then they are putting residents at extreme risk. If they are looking and tell you that its OK, they are either not being truthful or they just don't know the facts. Don't let anyone install any solar panels or other heavy equipment on your roof without having the structure visually seen. This may not be possible most times due to access. In those situations, it is better to assume that the structure is not built to support the load and will need modification.

This means that the only way to install solar correctly (and not put residents at risk) is to install one of the following methods:

1. Remove the roof and install additional main beams (either sister laminated beams or install new)
2. Install new 2x6 rafters sistered to the existing or new 2x8 rafters.
3. Install new sheathing.

OR

1. Install steel I beams that rest on the parapet walls
2. Install solar panels on racking that are attached to I beams

OR

1. Install thin film solar system.

http://www.maggioroofing.com/services/roof-analysis/

11 Kw Home System

President Solar hopes to find its place in the sun

By Thomas Heath
Monday, April 26, 2010; 2

I caught up with Roy Dunbar on the telephone as he was fending off hungry herons trying to poach at his koi pond outside his McLean home.

The former chief executive at Herndon-based Network Solutions has launched a new business called President Solar, which will distribute rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to solar companies that install the panels for residential and small commercial customers.

Dunbar has invested $500,000 already, and probably will invest another $500,000 in the near future. And he wants to make money.

"I have actually been involved and interested in solar for quite some time," said Dunbar, 49, who left Network Solutions last fall. "On the roof of my house is an 11-kilowatt system."

Although the systems can cost thousands to install, Dunbar said federal, state and even local tax breaks and rebates could induce residents and businesses to take the plunge. Solar customers also can sell solar renewable energy certificates to utilities and others on a secondary market.

He has an office and warehouse in Fairfax County and three employees. He is buying the panels in volume from a supplier in Eugene, Ore., called Grape Solar.

"What we are doing is distribution," he said. "But with this market getting so hot . . . I am toying with the idea of setting up an assembly plant," which would manufacture the panels.

The market wasn't hot enough for BP Solar, a unit of the British oil giant that last month announced plans to stop assembly at its Frederick plant because of a big drop in prices for solar systems.

"I know it flies in the face with what just happened to BP Solar, but you might be able to put [a factory] together that makes 60 or 70 jobs on a local scale," Dunbar said.

PVs contain a solar photovoltaic material that converts solar radiation directly into electric current. Dunbar said the solar panels on his roof had stored enough electricity in batteries to keep his home's critical systems running for more than four days during February's "Snowmaggedon."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/23/AR2010042303966.html

Latex Paint Disposal

The DC Department of Public Works web site seems to be of two minds about latex paint (and it's can). First latex paint is listed as "Unacceptable household hazardous waste" and then under a section called "How You Can Help" we are told that latex paint is "not hazardous".

"Unacceptable household hazardous waste and e-cycling items include:

• Air conditioners (Call 311 for a bulk trash collection appointment.)
• Ammunition (Take to the closest police station.)
• Explosives (Take to the closest police station.)
• Latex paint (Dry out and place in the trash.)

How You Can Help

Latex paint is NOT HAZARDOUS. If you have unused latex paint, remove the lid and let it dry out. Then place the can in the trash. You can speed up the drying process by adding some kitty litter to the paint."


Not sure I want to cut through the semantic acrobats of the logic that allows both of those assertions to be true nor do I want to push the limits of recycling possibilities - I just want to get rid of the stuff in as safe a manner as I can given the circumstances...... and it is clear DPW wants me to dry the paint out and put it in the trash.....

So I dried out the paint and left the paint can in the trash container a couple of weeks ago. After the garbage crew came through, I found the paint can left behind next to the garbage can. Other garbage was gone but not the paint can. Hmmmmmm. Will try again.

Local Maryland Biofuels

A Biofuels Bonanza in Our Back Yard

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Every major source of energy used by modern society has an environmental impact -- and all too often it's negative. Fortunately, things may be changing -- especially in the Washington region.

Indeed, those of us who live near the Chesapeake Bay have an unprecedented opportunity to take the lead in a new form of energy that can fuel our cars and heat our homes, while also protecting the environment and sustaining our farmland. The fuel would be made from plants that grow well in our region and would not compete with food sources.

These new biofuels are made from cellulosic (the flesh of plants) resources such as forest slash (the debris left after timber is cut), agricultural crop residues (such as the leaves and stalks of corn or barley), perennial grasses and even algae. The Chesapeake region is home to diverse feedstocks that could serve as sustainable crops for cellulosic biofuels throughout the year.

Because the Chesapeake region is so close to the major East Coast energy markets, our cellulosic feedstocks could be transported inexpensively. Several area universities and research institutes are already working on cellulosic biofuels, and the private sector is showing a growing interest in the industry, as shown by an increase in capital investment and the willingness of many companies to team up to develop competitive technologies.

Imagine that in the next three to 10 years, as the technology comes online, these materials could be transformed into liquid fuels to supplement our more traditional consumption of petroleum-based gasoline and home heating fuels. Given that 43 percent of the nation's home heating oil and kerosene and 13 percent of the nation's gasoline is consumed by the six states in the Chesapeake Bay's watershed, the opportunity is significant.

Each year our country has to assume more than $300 billion in additional debt just to finance our oil needs. This is jeopardizing our economy and our national security. And while corn-based ethanol has helped ease our dependence on foreign oil, some are concerned about the effect that devoting more acreage to corn will have on water quality and the impact that increased corn demand for ethanol production has had on food prices.

This year, the Chesapeake Bay Commission's Chesapeake Cellulosic Biofuels Project explored the feasibility and viability of next-generation biofuels and determined that the Chesapeake Bay region is strategically positioned to lead the nation in establishing this promising new industry. But to truly lead, we must lay down policies that favor the advancement of these technologies.

The commission has presented a road map for us to lead the nation in sustainable, homegrown, next-generation biofuels that will benefit farmers, the economy and the Chesapeake Bay. The three major areas where action is needed are the production of feedstocks; natural resource protection; and marketing and infrastructure. The public sector, particularly state government, can play a vital role in developing this industry in these areas. And while many decisions related to the development of the cellulosic biofuels industry will be made by the private sector, our goal of economic, environmental and social sustainability can be best achieved through the cooperative efforts of the public and private sectors.

We must act now to design and implement effective policy and legislation to seize the opportunity before us. The future environmental quality of our Chesapeake Bay, the strengthening of our agricultural communities and our energy future depend on our actions today.

-- James W. Hubbard

Annapolis

The writer is a Maryland state delegate, a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission and chair of the Chesapeake Cellulosic Biofuels Project.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100303408.html

Home Wind Power

New, interesting wind turbines - from SF Chronicle:

Taking tiny steps toward capturing the power of wind

San Francisco startup offers small turbines as one way to offset the cost of electricity

Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, June 24, 2007

On many afternoons, the wind saws so strongly through Chris Beaudoin's neighborhood above the Castro district that he can lean directly into it and not fall over. So, after 20 years of watching the trees whip and bundling up in thick sweaters to walk the dogs, he's buying a residential wind energy system he hopes will cut his power bill by 30 percent.

The heart of this system will be two graceful turbines that look like oversize Ikea lamps. They are the brainchild of Todd Pelman, a marine and energy engineer by training and a resident of another of San Francisco's notoriously windy neighborhoods. His new Bernal Heights business, Blue Green Pacific, seeks to capitalize not only on San Francisco's wind, but on its other plentiful natural resources -- open-minded residents like Beaudoin and the desire to be one of the greenest cities around.

Whether Pelman's "micro-wind" project is successful may also depend on something else San Francisco has in abundance -- red tape and high costs.

"When you're doing something like this, you continually doubt," Pelman said. "But I know a lot of successes in our marketplace have been just that -- disruptive technology or trying to create demand for something that doesn't quite exist."

Pelman, a 34-year-old with thick, black sideburns who looks more like a lead guitarist than an engineer, spends a lot of time in the garage. Not ripping power chords, but monitoring the performance of the first and only working Blue Green Pacific wind turbine. Installed on his roof, the prototype's name is Maggie, after the youngest child from "The Simpsons." The production model, which Pelman is working on now, will be Lisa, the next-oldest Simpson.

The road to the turbine-topped yellow house on Roscoe Street began in Germany, where Pelman worked as an engineer on consumer products. Knowing he and his wife would be moving to the blustery neighborhood above the Interstate 280 gulch, he started shopping for a wind turbine in a part of the world known for its use of renewable resources. But, after finding few options, he decided to build his own.

Rather than the typical, horizontal-axis, windmill-style turbines most people think of -- the Altamont Pass wind farm is a prime example -- Pelman's steel, aluminum and plastic machine has a vertical axis and no sharp blades.

It looks as though someone has sliced a hollow cylinder from top to bottom and twisted the two pieces around a pole, reminiscent of the double-helix of a DNA strand.

The 7-foot-tall turbine and generator on the roof capture the power and send it to an inverter that converts direct current to alternating current. From there, it feeds into the electrical panel, where it helps offset power supplied by PG&E.

If Pelman can reach his efficiency targets, a one-turbine system could contribute about 10 percent of a typical home's annual energy needs, or about 300 to 600 kilowatt hours per year. Adding more turbines -- Beaudoin is scheduled to have two -- increases the energy output.

It also increases the price, particularly for startup technology that requires expensive manufacturing in a high-cost place of business. Pelman estimates he will have sunk $200,000 of his own money into the project by the time he starts production, he hopes within the next year. The target price for a one-turbine system is $5,000 (not including state and federal rebates that could knock about $1,500 off the price).

Beaudoin will pay about $18,000 for his system. However, he will receive technological updates down the line, and his unit will provide Pelman and San Francisco with valuable data about the viability and scale of the system. Armed with that information, Pelman anticipates that he can raise money from Silicon Valley, where alternative-energy technology is the latest thing.

"A solar unit to take care of all my electrical needs would be about $75,000," said Beaudoin, a flight attendant whose work brings him to countries where wind and solar energy sources are the norm. "I figured why not experiment with wind and see where it goes? I think there's more flexibility there, and although it doesn't generate as much, you don't know where it will go."

"We have to start stepping up to the plate on this micro-scale," he added. "This resource that we use is finite."

For the average household, a $5,000 system would pay for itself in eight to 11 years, depending on the price of conventional energy, Pelman said.

San Francisco officials are publicizing their push to harness as much wind and sun -- and even tidal -- power as possible in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and become known as the most eco-friendly city in the United States.

Last week, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced the third city-supported study of tidal power in two years and the Board of Supervisors approved measures requiring that 51 percent of San Francisco's power come from renewable sources by 2017. Next year, the city's Public Utilities Commission plans to break ground on a 12-story headquarters using wind and solar power to satisfy nearly all of its energy needs.

But while solar has been used in urban and suburban environments for decades, wind power is less proven.

Renewable energy designer Reinhold Ziegler, who is working on the PUC building and who helped develop the Altamont Pass project, argues that in cities, wind power may be better suited for commercial buildings, which reach higher into dependable wind streams and have more surface area for turbines.

"There's so much turbulence and obstruction in San Francisco, it's unclear how these (residential turbines) will work," Ziegler said.

Clearly, wind turbines won't work in every neighborhood. In fact, Pelman received a call from a would-be customer in the Mission District, but there wasn't enough wind to make it feasible.

"There's not going to be hundreds of megawatts of small wind coming out of San Francisco," said Johanna Partin, renewable energy program manager for San Francisco's Department of Environment. "But if it does become affordable for building owners and allow them to offset their entire electricity usage, it's a good thing."

San Francisco's topography, which helps create the gusts and microclimates Pelman and others so covet, also creates its well-known views. That means clearing planning and building hurdles and overcoming any neighborhood opposition.

Pelman worked closely for more than a year with his neighbors, his city supervisor and planning officials to win approval for his turbine in Bernal Heights, which has among the strictest rules on height requirements.

Although Pelman points to the "visual noise" of satellite dishes, chimneys, vents and antennas, it is clear that until specific codes governing turbines are written, wind turbines and their impacts will have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Pelman and the Audubon Society are also monitoring his turbine to see whether it kills any birds (there have been none so far). Pelman said the vertical axis and opaque appearance of his turbine are safer for birds than traditional turbines.

Building a business, building a market, building community support are just some of the challenges Pelman faces.

He acknowledges the rise and fall of the renewable- energy revolution after the 1970s oil crisis. But his sense as a businessman, a power engineer and a consumer tell him that this time, it's different.

"There's certainly the possibility that it's a trendy thing, especially if energy prices stay low and go dormant," he said.

"But the reality is it's undeniable that the way we conventionally make and use electricity and our relationship with energy are not sustainable. In the end we have no choice," he said.

"I know our efforts have an impact in opening this market up. The extent of that impact will have to be determined, but we have to try."

E-mail Kelly Zito at kzito@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/24/BUG3OQK6MJ1.DTL

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Todd Pelman shows how the turbine on his roof works. His startup, Blue Green Pacific, makes the units for individual homes. Chronicle photo by Kurt Rogers

Photo: KURT ROGERS / THE CHRONICLE

Generating energy from your rooftop. Chronicle graphic

Future Stovetop?

Space-age stovetop eliminates pots, pans and cookbooks

Bonnie McCarthy


Feb 23rd 2010 at 10:00AM

Look out Judy Jetson, Electrolux plans to make pots and pans seem so last century. Henrik Otto, world renowned director of Global Design for Electrolux in Sweden envisions smart kitchens of 2050 as a cross between the Sci-Fi channel and the Food Network.

Designed to address a population the UN predicts will live mainly in cities (74%) and exceed 9 billion world wide, Otto and his team believe the future lies in appliances that are energy efficient, serve multiple functions and relate to the architecture of the home in a symbiotic (read networked) way.


"I am a strong believer that the only way we can create a sustainable world is through technology," said Otto in an interview with WalletPop. He admits, however, there are some things that should never change. "I don't believe in the Star Trek style where you push a button and your food appears ... there's an emotional satisfaction to sitting down and eating something you have created."

It's the preparation part that's getting a makeover. Heart of the Home is Electrolux's high-concept answer to what might happen in 2050 after we buzz home in our jet packs from our fulfilling, clean energy jobs.

Introduced this month at DesignBoost in Stockholm, Heart of the Home is an amorphous, shape-shifting cooktop-countertop-cookbook-computer that responds to touch. Domestic gods and goddesses of the future will use their fingers to outline the desired size and shape of a pot on its surface, next they will press down with their hand to determine the depth of the bowl or pan. "It's like 3D shapes moving under a skin," said Otto, who explained that the cooking recesses could also be moved around on the counter to accommodate changing need. Similar to how the screen on an iTouch can expand or contract with the flick of a finger.

The rockin' range will also provide cooking counsel, literally at your fingertips. When ingredients are placed into the cooking holes on the countertop, the smart stove will suggest recipes and preparation ideas. Otto said he envisions this feature as a way for people to try new flavors, herbs, and ingredients. Not sure what to do with those turnips, throw 'em on the stove and let technology be your muse.

Otto wants to make it clear, however, that they are definitely in the development stage. "I want to explain that it is a concept," says Otto, "I'm a strong believer that a concept triggers reactions ... and like any concept, it is based on what we know today." He points out that 30 years ago, people would have had a hard time imagining a cell phone without a dial or push buttons that can play music, movies and more. The idea, says Otto, "is to provoke a discussion."

Otto says the closest thing we currently have to something amorphous like Heart of the Home are the 3D sculptures some artists are creating with magnetic liquid and magnetic fields.

Bottom line, how will we clean this thing. Spaghetti sauce? Chili? Otto points to current nano-covered surfaces, fabrics and windows that don't require washing. I'm all ears. He also suggests that we may not have the "luxury" of using water to wash our dishes and clothes in 40 years, but may instead use special cloths or products.

If Electolux's vision of the future is true, copper pots and cook books could go the way of rotary phones, card catalogs and privacy. It begs the question, WWMD (what will Martha do?)!

Otto says companies that excel in the future will be those who look forward and consider the needs of a changing world. "If you think the products you have today are ever lasting, you're on your way out...we don't want to be filling warehouses with products we can't use."

Although, there's no way to predict what Heart of the Home will eventually cost, like all good technology, if consumers wait long enough it will eventually go on sale at Costco or Sears. In the end, it may not be more than what we already pay for snazzy showpiece ranges ($3,000-$12,000), and if you figure in a 14-piece set of stainless steel, All Clad cookware from Crate and Barrel ( $1,149.95), and some counter-top mixing bowls (OXO at Target $25.89) that you will no longer need to buy and store, the price tag may not be totally out of this world.

Start saving up for that kitchen renovation now (you've got 40 years!), home cooking is headed out of the frying pan and into the future.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/02/23/space-age-stovetop-eliminates-pots-pans-and-cookbooks/?icid=main|main|dl3|link3|http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/02/23/space-age-stovetop-eliminates-pots-pans-and-cookbooks/

Kitchen Light

Is your kitchen glaring at you?

By Domenica Marchetti
Thursday, February 18, 2010; PG04

Light has been on my mind a lot lately. Perhaps it's all that sunshine glancing off the snowdrifts recently deposited by Mother Nature.

Probably, though, it's because whenever I'm in my kitchen, I am pinned beneath the clinical glare of a monstrous 45-by-16-inch fluorescent light fixture situated over my island. Just a few feet away, a second one (22 by 22 inches) stares down from above the sink. The effect is far from soothing, and in fact rather unsettling, as though my kitchen were a morgue and my island an autopsy table.

The good news, as I contemplate a kitchen overhaul in the (hopefully) near future, is that lighting in kitchens has changed a lot since the previous owner of my home remodeled the space some 15 years ago.

"We're seeing a lot of kitchens being created with layers of light," says Ken Anderson, president of Task Lighting in Kearney, Neb. Those "layers" come from myriad sources: general lighting through small recessed ceiling fixtures; task lighting over the sink or range and under cabinets; and accent lighting. "Every time you turn on a switch you can change the look of your room," Anderson says.

Kitchen designer Mary Galloway of Onesta Design in Alexandria agrees, saying she views the kitchen as a place of many scenes set, in large part, by how it is lit. "You think about someone cooking, someone eating, someone snacking at midnight," Galloway says. " . . . Your lighting needs change depending on the scene."

Recessed lighting, which provides the general lighting in many kitchens these days, has come a long way, says designer Jennifer Gilmer of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath in Chevy Chase. Most types now use smaller cans than the once-standard six-inch size, and incandescent bulbs have been replaced by more efficient lights.

Indeed, just as we've seen the proliferation of tiny, bright LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs on trees and roofs during the holidays, so are these energy-efficient lights making their way into the kitchen, not only in recessed lighting but also in task and accent lights.

"They produce a tremendous amount of light, and they're very small," says Anderson, whose company makes numerous LED fixtures, including under-cabinet and interior cabinet systems. While they run at least twice the price of their incandescent counterparts, Anderson says, under-cabinet LED bulbs use about one-fifth the energy and last up to 50,000 hours, compared with a typical 800-hour lifetime of incandescent ones.

More and more kitchens are also adding accent lights -- those that draw attention to a particular appliance or decorative piece, the inside of a cabinet, or the so-called toe-kick space just above the floor -- though the latter seems to have its detractors. "I would say that 50 percent of our customers love the toe-space lighting, while the other 50 percent see no point in it," says Anderson. Its primary function (and appeal) is that it can softly light the kitchen at night, he says.

Pendant lights continue to be popular. They are "a good way to add color and some bling," Anderson says. Gilmer says the sheer variety in styles makes pendant lighting a good option for almost any kitchen. In fact, it was a pendant light that helped solve a puzzle for one of Gilmer's clients. "This particular person has contemporary tastes, but we needed something that would fit in with the traditional look of their Georgetown brownstone." In the end she chose a pair of spare, vessel-shaped frosted glass and chrome pendants to hang above the sink and adjacent cream, black and gray mottled granite countertop.

Gilmer is also fond of track lighting, which she says is "making a comeback. . . . They're sleeker and they run off a thinner track." It is a practical choice for apartments where recessed lighting may not be an option, she says.

The question to consider with all these lighting options is how do you manage them? The answer, increasingly, is with a wireless radio-controlled system. It is a costly feature: Prices for such systems start at about $500, not including the cost of components such as dimmers and switch plates or labor. But Galloway says these systems are especially energy-efficient, and they allow you to program any number of settings -- prepping, dining, entertaining and so on -- to achieve the desired effect with one click. "Because there's more lighting coming into kitchens, you almost need to have a system like that in place," she says, "otherwise you'll end up with a bank of 15 switches on your wall."

Though even that would beat my current, perpetual "autopsy" setting.

Domenica Marchetti is the author of "Big Night In" and "The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy." Follow her on Twitter (@domenicacooks).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/16/AR2010021604630.html

Upward Mobility - An E-Bike in China

A member of China's People's Liberation Army rides an electric bicycle in Beijing. The "e-bikes" are especially popular in big cities, where urban realities provide at least some disincentive to car ownership.

Photo Credit: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg

Putting the brakes on pedal power
Bicycles give way to automobiles, but e-bikes keep two-wheel tradition alive

By Keith B. Richburg and Zhang Jie
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Of all the signs of China's growing prosperity -- the gleaming new office towers, the glitzy shopping malls and designer boutiques -- perhaps the most visible is on Beijing's streets and highways, where noxious traffic jams have replaced the free flow of bicycles.

Domestic sales for cars and sport-utility vehicles passed a million a month in November, making China the world's new automobile capital, at the expense of one of the world's great bike cultures.

Bicycles were ubiquitous in Beijing not long ago -- the preferred mode of transportation for millions of Chinese. Major streets boasted wide bike lanes, sidewalks carried ample parking space for bikes, and bikes usually had the right of way at intersections. But lately, public space for bicycles has been shrinking under the tyranny of the car.

"The drivers are very aggressive. They won't wait for you for a second," said Wang Litang, 65, a retired government worker who still takes his singing thrush on long bike rides, the cage dangling from the handlebars, a common Chinese practice. "The road belongs to them now."

But the battle of the byways is not over yet, as two-wheeling enthusiasts have a popular new competitor in the marketplace that is giving the car a run for its mileage. It's the electric bicycle, or e-bike, which operates on a rechargeable battery. While China is on target to sell more than 12 million cars this year, it is also on track to sell 20 million e-bikes, if trends hold from 2007 and 2008, when 20 million e-bikes were sold each year. E-bikes are proving most popular in Beijing and other big cities, where some commuters are realizing that owning a car may bring a certain prestige as a sign of affluence but also comes with gasoline prices, parking fees, the odd traffic ticket and the notorious traffic jams.

"My family bought our first car in the 1990s, but we sold our car last year," said Bai Liping, 45, a saleswoman in an insurance company and an e-bike rider. "Having a car is not that convenient, compared with an e-bike."

Besides the lower costs for parking, and the convenience of whipping quickly through intersections, she said she spends far less on maintenance than she did on a car. E-bikes need their batteries recharged overnight, and the battery typically lasts about a year before needing to be replaced.

They are also relatively inexpensive, from about $219 for the smallest models to about $366 for the largest, fastest variety.

"The real sweet spot will be if China's e-bike explosion leads to the development of electric cars and the infrastructure for charging these e-vehicles," said Alex Wang of the Natural Resources Defense Council office in Beijing, and an avid e-biker. "China is probably better positioned to make this leap than any other country in the world."

But interviews with several e-bike owners showed that convenience, not the environment, was foremost in riders' minds. "It only takes us 15 minutes from here to our store," said Zhang Shu Mei, 39, who was at Beijing's Eastern Suburban Market loading up her e-bike with goods for her grocery store. "We feel freezing riding on this e-bike in the cold wind. But there's no other choice. What would we ride if we don't use this?"

The growing popularity of e-bikes also seems to be threatening the dominant position of traditional bicycles, at least in the big cities. According to the China Bicycle Association, the peak for traditional bicycle sales in China was in 1988, when 40 million bikes were sold. That number has steadily dropped, and it has stabilized at around 20 million locally, with more Chinese bikes sold for export.

The nature of the bicycles being sold here has changed, said Niu Qing, general manager of the bicycle association. Urban Chinese are increasingly buying mountain bikes and multi-geared bikes, to be used for weekend recreation, instead of the old-fashioned commuter models.

"The bike is transforming gradually from purely a traffic tool to an entertainment and body-building measure," Niu said, adding that predictions of the death of the bicycle in China may be premature. "The industry is not going into a nose dive like people think," he said. "It will never vanish."

There may be one unintended side effect of the explosion of e-bikes and fewer people going to work through pedal power: According to the Health Ministry, 22 percent of Chinese adults are overweight and 7.1 percent are obese. In the cities, those numbers rise to 30 percent overweight and 12 percent obese. The statistics mark a dramatic rise from the 1990s, the ministry said.

"People are lazier than before," said Jin Shan, director of the sports culture research center at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences. "Before, no matter how far it was, the bike was your only choice. Changing from bikes to cars and e-vehicles is one reason Chinese people are getting fatter."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/14/AR2009121403411.html

More Electric Vehicles for the USPS

The USPS fleet consumed 121 million gallons of fuel in 2008, costing the agency about $1.3 billion. (Nikki Kahn/the Washington Post)

Correction to This Article
This article incorrectly said that the Postal Service spent roughly $1.3 billion in 2008 on fuel. The amount was for fuel and maintenance costs.


Time for Postal Service fleet to go green, lawmaker says

By Ed O'Keefe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 17, 2009; A31

From horse-drawn wagons to stage coaches, trains and 18-wheelers, the U.S. Postal Service has used virtually every mode of transportation to deliver the mail. But a New York lawmaker says it's time for the mail service to start using at least 20,000 electric vehicles to stamp out the agency's environmental waste.

The Postal Service said it operates the largest civilian fleet of vehicles in the world, with about 220,000 vehicles traveling more than 1.2 billion miles each year. The agency's entire fleet consumed 121 million gallons of fuel in 2008, costing it roughly $1.3 billion, officials said. Agency vehicles average 10.4 miles a gallon since most drive slowly and make frequent stops between mailboxes.

Rep. Jose E. Serrano (D-N.Y.) wants to put the postal fleet to use during off-hours to help alleviate the nation's overworked power grids. He introduced a bill Wednesday that would give eventually give $2 billion to the Energy Department and Postal Service to convert current mail trucks or manufacture new ones that use vehicle-to-grid technology or V2G, as it's known.

The technology allows electricity to flow from plug-in electric or battery-powered vehicles to power lines, feeding excess electricity to the vehicles when they're not in use. In this case, postal vehicles would become temporary storage units for electricity. When necessary, power grids could retrieve electricity from the vehicles.

Delaware began rewarding consumers who use V2G this year. It compensates them for electricity sent back to the grid at the same rate they pay for electricity they consume.

An August report by the Postal Service inspector general said Serrano's proposal would be feasible if the government provided funding. The start-up cost for the project would be $65 million, Serrano aides said.

"We have to act quickly to move the USPS to sustainability, both in their operations and for the sake of the environment," said Serrano, chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles USPS matters. The Postal Service will lead the world in electric vehicle use if the bill passes, he said. Aides noted that the bill's introduction was timed to coincide with President Obama's trip to Copenhagen for the global climate change conference.

The Postal Service knows firsthand about the effect of the "green" movement. Revenue and mail volume have dropped significantly in recent years as Americans opt for eco-friendly, paperless online options.

"There is no better time for this move, and I look forward to making it happen," Serrano said.

The Postal Service first experimented with electric vehicles in 1899 as it started to phase out the horse and buggy, spokeswoman Sue Brennan said. Serrano's proposal is one of several that would make the postal fleet more eco-friendly, and the Postal Service is testing several electric or hybrid vehicles, Brennan said.

Thirty electric vans transport the mail to processing facilities near Serrano's district in New York City. More than 43,000 mail vehicles can run on alternative fuels, and 584 ethanol-powered trucks are in use in Minnesota, Brennan said. Some mail carriers in Arizona and Florida use bicycles to make deliveries, while other carriers in those states, California and the District have tested three-wheel electric vehicles. The T3 battery-powered vehicles can reach speeds of 12 miles an hour and carry a maximum 450 pounds of mail. Mail carriers have also tested hybrid vans produced by Ford and General Motors.

"This legislation uses the unique characteristics of the Postal Service's existing transportation network to rapidly increase the market for electric vehicles in the United States," said Ruth Y. Goldway, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission. "It provides well-deserved support for the Postal Service and a reasoned plan for the simultaneous development of the electric grid and non-polluting automobiles."

The idea has also gotten a nod from organized labor.

"We'd be totally supportive," said James Sauber, chief of staff at the National Association of Letter Carriers.

"Considering the severity of the recession, it would be a win-win," Sauber added.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/16/AR2009121604163.html