I'm pasting an excerpt from an email that I just got below. Extra-credit is available to anyone who can reseach this and explain it in their own words.
From the email:
Owl pellets...
Just got a notice from a vendor today that the owl pellets we use in 5th grade will be in short supply next year. Barn owls, which are the source of the pellets, are going through a natural cyclical decline that happens every 10 years or so.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Friday, October 16, 2009
Festival of Music, Dance, and...Renewable Energy!
I was lucky enough to enjoy some beautiful Carolina fall weather last weekend at one of my favorite music festivals. The Shakori Hills Festival is held twice a year in Chatham County in a rural part of the North Carolina piedmont. This farm that hosts the festival is one of the last places you might expect to see a 10 kilowatt photovoltaic system.
Music festivals certainly have a significant environmental impact, but a few years ago a group of friends were camping at the festival when they came up with a great idea for offsetting the festival’s carbon footprint. While the site is only used periodically throughout the year, the sun shines there year-round. The goal of the Solarize Shakori Project is to provide an amount of energy to the power grid throughout the year equal to the amount used by the festivals.
According to The Abundance Foundation, “Each year Shakori Hills uses about 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity during 2 festivals, a fiddlers convention, and other events. To offset our usage we are creating a permanent grid inter-tied solar electric system located permanently on the site.”
In October 2008 the Foundation “kicked off the project by selling photovoltaic cells and raised over $3000 during the festival. The festival attendees were so excited about participating in their own energy usage and being able to make a small donation to offset their own energy by next fall, Shakori will be carbon neutral.”
The group started by doing some research. They calculated that a “10,000 watt (10 kilowatt) photovoltaic system will produce more than 10,000 kilowatt hours/year. In this part of the country we can expect to get on average about 4 kilowatt-hours/day for every 1,000 watts of PV, so the 10 kW system could produce as much as 14,600 kilowatt-hours/year).”
They then came up with a funding plan to allow festival goers a chance to sponsor a cell. Individuals can sponsor a cell for $10 (the 10 kilowatt system will consist of 5200 cells). Corporate sponsors can purchase quarter panels, half panels, or whole panels ranging in price from $260-$1040.
I sponsored a cell last year, and was thrilled to see two panels soaking in the free energy among happy festival goers this fall! It’s amazing to see a more sustainable approach to an otherwise carbon-heavy gathering of people!
Music festivals certainly have a significant environmental impact, but a few years ago a group of friends were camping at the festival when they came up with a great idea for offsetting the festival’s carbon footprint. While the site is only used periodically throughout the year, the sun shines there year-round. The goal of the Solarize Shakori Project is to provide an amount of energy to the power grid throughout the year equal to the amount used by the festivals.
According to The Abundance Foundation, “Each year Shakori Hills uses about 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity during 2 festivals, a fiddlers convention, and other events. To offset our usage we are creating a permanent grid inter-tied solar electric system located permanently on the site.”
In October 2008 the Foundation “kicked off the project by selling photovoltaic cells and raised over $3000 during the festival. The festival attendees were so excited about participating in their own energy usage and being able to make a small donation to offset their own energy by next fall, Shakori will be carbon neutral.”
The group started by doing some research. They calculated that a “10,000 watt (10 kilowatt) photovoltaic system will produce more than 10,000 kilowatt hours/year. In this part of the country we can expect to get on average about 4 kilowatt-hours/day for every 1,000 watts of PV, so the 10 kW system could produce as much as 14,600 kilowatt-hours/year).”
They then came up with a funding plan to allow festival goers a chance to sponsor a cell. Individuals can sponsor a cell for $10 (the 10 kilowatt system will consist of 5200 cells). Corporate sponsors can purchase quarter panels, half panels, or whole panels ranging in price from $260-$1040.
I sponsored a cell last year, and was thrilled to see two panels soaking in the free energy among happy festival goers this fall! It’s amazing to see a more sustainable approach to an otherwise carbon-heavy gathering of people!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Campout! Carolina
Earth Share North Carolina is encouraging residents to show support for North Carolina’s environment by camping out the weekend of October 9th. This is the 3rd annual Campout! Carolina. Last year over 2,000 people took part in this event.
“Pitch a tent in your backyard or favorite North Carolina campsite, turn off or unplug non-essential electrical items, and enjoy an evening outdoors with family and friends.”
When you register to be counted at the event site you’ll also be entered to win 2 four day passes to the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance or a sweet tent from REI. The event site even can even help you find a place to camp.
If you don’t have camping gear, the kind folks at REI are “offering free rental of camping gear including tents, sleeping bags and backpacks on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here to find the REI near you.”
Early October is a great time for camping, and it sounds like a great way to spend the weekend!
Monday, September 28, 2009
The "world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste" city?
I came across this one this morning. I'm looking forward to your comments.
Enjoy
Enjoy
Friday, September 25, 2009
A Very Earthy Phone
Image Source: NTT DOCOMO
I just can’t seem to get away from this topic, but this one looks different (literally). The folks at NTT DOCOMO have come out with a prototype phone made from…wood! Well, the case at least is “made with the surplus wood of trees culled during thinning operations to maintain healthy forests.” They point out that such a use of surplus wood “helps to preserve other wood resources while strengthening the health of overgrown forests.” It appears to be equipped with the full array of applications that we have come to expect, and it even smells good. “No artificial colors or paints are used, so the cypress retains its original natural appearance and aroma.” The phone’s press release claims that the method used to compress the wood makes it durable, insect resistant, and water resistant.
Once again, the last thing an environmental posting should do is accelerate perceived obsolescence by encouraging you to scrap your perfectly good phone. In addition to being interesting from a forestry perspective, the people at http://www.treehugger.com/ are hoping that the quality of a wooden phone “people might keep them longer than the average 18 months before upgrading again.”
According to NTT DOCOMO, “The prototype was created in collaboration with Sharp Corporation, Olympus Corporation and "more trees," a reforestation project.”
I was unable to find out when consumers will be able to get their hands on these phones. At this point the phones are scheduled to be exhibited at industry trade shows in Switzerland and Japan this fall.
I just can’t seem to get away from this topic, but this one looks different (literally). The folks at NTT DOCOMO have come out with a prototype phone made from…wood! Well, the case at least is “made with the surplus wood of trees culled during thinning operations to maintain healthy forests.” They point out that such a use of surplus wood “helps to preserve other wood resources while strengthening the health of overgrown forests.” It appears to be equipped with the full array of applications that we have come to expect, and it even smells good. “No artificial colors or paints are used, so the cypress retains its original natural appearance and aroma.” The phone’s press release claims that the method used to compress the wood makes it durable, insect resistant, and water resistant.
Once again, the last thing an environmental posting should do is accelerate perceived obsolescence by encouraging you to scrap your perfectly good phone. In addition to being interesting from a forestry perspective, the people at http://www.treehugger.com/ are hoping that the quality of a wooden phone “people might keep them longer than the average 18 months before upgrading again.”
According to NTT DOCOMO, “The prototype was created in collaboration with Sharp Corporation, Olympus Corporation and "more trees," a reforestation project.”
I was unable to find out when consumers will be able to get their hands on these phones. At this point the phones are scheduled to be exhibited at industry trade shows in Switzerland and Japan this fall.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Before we jump on the bioplastics bandwagon…
When I first heard about plastics made from something renewable like corn instead of petroleum, that are biodegradable…I could only say count me in! As I write this I have several pens around me made from bioplastics. I also have a bioplastic cafeteria tray, fork, bowl, and cup sitting on the shelf behind me. But last week I read about another side of these bioplastics.
I first learned that not all bioplastics are biodegradable. But they are still made from renewable resources and that’s an improvement at least. Isn’t it??? Maybe not. Studies conducted by Dr. Tillman Gengross at Dartmouth College have pointed out some of the less green features of bioplastics. His studies have shown that in terms of bioplastics production it’s “almost a wash” with conventional plastics production. “In fact, the energy consumption is significantly higher.”
Accroding to Dr. Gengross:
- Turning oil into a plastic requires considerably less energy than turning corn sugar into plastics.
- Generating glucose (most commonly from corn) requires a significant amount of energy and usually the use of fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, etc.
- Land used for producing this glucose is not sequestering the carbon dioxide in the way it would if left in a natural state.
- Corn grown for bioplastics is competing with corn grown for eating or feeding to livestock.
That’s not all… “if these materials end up in landfills they will degrade in landfills at a rather slow rate. But because of the anaerobic environment in landfills, the carbon that is released is not released in the form of carbon dioxide, it is mostly released in the form of methane. And methane is a very potent greenhouse gas. It’s about twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide.”
Dr. Gengross says he isn't promoting either side but would prefer to see us taking a more critical look “not this fuzzy ‘it’s green because it comes from a renewable plant’ approach.”
Friday, September 11, 2009
Before you rush out to buy that new green phone…
After reading last week’s post I felt like it was contributing to the notion of perceived obsolescence. Remember that perceived obsolescence is the idea that advertisers (or blog postings) make you feel like you need to replace a product to get the latest and greatest version, even if your current product is still working great. Clothing styles are a great example. Cell phones are perhaps my favorite example of perceived obsolescence. If you’re current phone is still in working condition, running out to buy a new one, even a “green” one will have a greater negative ecological impact than hanging on to your current phone. The E-waste associated with disposing of your old phone is a topic too large for this posting. On the production side of replacing your phone (even with a green phone) energy, greenhouse gas emissions, packaging, etc. have to be considered. My intention here is to point out some potentially greener options for you if your phone truly does become obsolete. Next week I’ll take a closer look at the bioplastics that are making many of our new products. Are they as green as we think?
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