A New Frontier for Agriculture
Many people are betting that Agriculture is the bridge to an economy fueled by Renewable resources. BioEnergy, BioFuels, Energy from SuperEnzymes, BioPlastics - essential words for the coming vocabulary.
The Carboydrate Economy: BioFuel
Manure, restaurant grease, tree trimmings, rice straw are all great examples of “one person’s garbage is another person’s treasure. Once thought of as intractable, problematic wastes, they are suddenly the basis for huge new markets as raw materials for electricity and fuel. Soybeans, rapeseed oil, and other crops suddenly are much more than food – they can run cars and buses. They are called “Biofuels” – electricity and fuel that is generated from plant matter. The two most common types in the U.S. are bioethanol and biodiesel. Biodiesel is a clean burning fuel made from domestically produced renewable fats and oils – most commonly soybean oil. It has similar fuel economy and performance as conventional petroleum diesel. Ethanol is now the third-largest use for corn after animal feed and exports.Tests show its use results in a 90% reduction in air toxins, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Rather than contributing to the waste stream and pollution, energy crops open a new market for agriculture, conserve soil, and reduce global warming.Bioenergy is less expensive than other renewable energy sources and can be delivered through the present energy infrastructure. You can pump liquid bioenergy into your car at the “gas” station as […]
The Carbohydrate Economy: Return to BioBased Products
Plastic made from corn? How about carpet, clothes, dishes, and paint? It may sound funny now, but 100 years ago plant matter was the basis of almost all products. Petroleum increasingly replaced plants as society’s fundamental medium and by the 1980s almost eliminated biological materials as a source of products and fuels. Now, due to a confluence of factors – high petroleum prices, low crop prices, increasing environmental costs associated with using petroleum, better technology for making plant-based products, and government support – the tide may be turning again. This transition is not small potatoes. David Morris, vice president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), coined the term “carbohydrate economy” 15 years ago. Shifting society’s engine toward renewable, environmentally benign materials, where farmer-owned manufacturing enterprises process the crops they grow has enormously positive ramifications. By substituting biochemicals – derived from vegetable oils, fiber and grain crops, citrus fruits, nuts and trees – to make industrial solvents, equipment lubricants, paints, and plastics, the environmental costs associated with the production, use and disposal of these products are greatly reduced. Pollution is no longer generated from extracting and processing crude oil into chemicals. End-of-life disposal is also not an issue – the […]
U.S. Paper Industry Nears 50% Recovery Goal
The American Forest & Paper Association reports that the U.S. paper industry recovered 49.4 million tons of paper and paperboard last year, increasing from 45 percent in 1999 to about 48 percent in 2000. The industry association says the 3.5 point percentage gain is among the largest one-year increases. “We are making solid progress toward a goal that was once thought difficult to attain, says Henson Moore, president and CEO of AF&PA. U.S. mills only increased their use of recovered paper by 2.3% in 2000, but production of paper and paperboard declined 2.8%. Exports of recovered paper increased by more than 20% in 2000, with shipments to Canada, China, and Mexico leading the way. Some paper grades such as old newspapers (68% in 1999 to 71% in 2000) and corrugated cardboard (69% to 75%) showed particularly strong recovery rates. Since the industry began measuring progress toward the 50% goal it set in 1995, there has been incremental progress each year. Since then, there has been a 66.6% increase in the recovery rate.
Companies: Markers on the Road to Sustainability
Linking Pay to Social PerformanceShareholder resolutions on executive compensation are one of most contentious issues companies face. This is largely in response to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. It places a ceiling of $1 million that companies can deduct from the income of its top five executives – unless payments meet certain conditions. One of those conditions is if shareholders approve performance-based compensation. As a result, many companies now link executive pay to performance criteria. Companies increasingly link executive pay to social criteria such as diversity, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction, and environmental performance.Almost two-thirds of 106 S&P 500 manufacturing companies say that environmental performance is a factor in senior executive pay. Three-quarters of the 106 companies include it as a factor in operating manager compensation. Companies include Alcoa, Black & Decker, Cinergy, Dow Chemical, FPL Group, Hasbro, Millipore, Phillips Petroleum, Raytheon and Conoco. The Investor Responsibility Research Center’s Environmental Information Service conducted the survey in 2000. “Linking Executive Pay to Social Performance” is a new report by Business for Social Responsibility. [sorry this link is no longer available]. Click on Global Business Responsibility Resource Center. Then click on Governance and Accountability. “Mild” Corporate Greening in EuropeA survey […]
Build It Green – Resources
DOE Unveils EnergyPlusThe Department of Energy (DOE) has improved on its widely used DOE-2 software with its new release, EnergyPlus. The computer program allows architects, engineers, building owners and managers to dramatically lower energy use in buildings while optimizing building performance. The earlier version saved a total of $20 billion, according to DOE.EnergyPlus improves the simulation of whole building approaches in design, planning and construction. Like DOE-2, users can calculate the impact of different heating, cooling and ventilating equipment, and various types of lighting and windows to maximize building energy efficiency and occupant comfort. Now, users can also simulate the effect of window blinds, electrochromic window glazings and complex daylighting systems. Some of the buildings that have benefited from the program are the Pentagon, Monterey Bay Aquarium, San Francisco Airport, Intel and American Express corporate headquarters, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum in Wisconsin. Download EnergyPlus: [sorry this link is no longer available]After you’ve used EnergyPlus to optimize energy performance, you can turn to Atlantic Energy System’s Clean Power Estimator to do the same for solar systems.Enter your zip code and get an estimate of the net annual cost of a PV system (residential or commercial) in your location. The […]
Turner Foundation Invests in Biomass Company
The Turner Foundation, known for its support of environmental non-profits, is the lead investor in Future Energy Resources Corporation, a company working to commercialize a gasification process that generates electricity from biomass products. Considered by many to be a significant technological advance, it is the first process that can use a wide range of feedstocks including grasses, agricultural waste, wood products and municipal waste. The resulting gas can be used for electricity and transportation; it provides renewable energy at an economical price with low emissions. It also provides an important revenue source for farmers. Farmers can market waste that was previously a burden, and plant grasses such as switchgrass that are valuable for crop rotation and to restore eroded land. The first-of-its-kind commercial scale gasifier mixes biomass products with sand and heats them to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, transforming carbon, hydrogen and oxygen to combustible gases. The technology holds the promise of allowing bioenergy plants to compete with fossil fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy provided $27 million to FERCO as a demonstration project at the Joseph C. McNeil Generating Station in Burlington, Vermont. The company was created in 1992 to commercialize a biomass gasification process developed by the Battelle Memorial […]
'Power'ful Resources
New Solar Venture Capital FundSolar Development Capital (SDC) is a 10-year, $28.75 million private equity fund designed to invest globally in PV-related businesses. It will be managed by Triodos PV Partners and invest in companies that distribute PV products or services in unelectrified rural areas in developing nations. Most companies will provide customer leasing or credit that extends payments to overcome the initial expense of installing PV systems. SDC is working with the Solar Development Foundation to support entrepreneurs with funding for management, technical and market assistance. Projects have been identified in Africa, Asia and Latin America.Lead investors are the International Finance Corporation (for its own account and acting on behalf of the Global Environment Facility), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and Triodos Groenfonds. Other investors include AstroPower, Inc., Calvert World Values International Equity Fund, Cordaid, Rabo Sustainability Fund and the Wind Fund. The World Bank Group and several charitable foundations initiated the Solar Development program. Management was awarded to Triodos PV Partners, formed by Triodos Bank Group, Environmental Enterprises, and Global Transition Consulting, who collectively have $280M under management and broad experience with PV businesses. See our Business Opportunities section for a list of VCs that invest […]
Efficient Home Appliances
How to motivate consumers to save money and electricity
Sustainable Forests News: Canada, Brazil and more
Tembec Inc., one of Canada’s largest forest products companies and owner of over 13 million hectares (50,000 square miles) is undergoing Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for all its forest operations. They hope to complete the process by 2005, a “challenging but realistic” timeframe, according to World Wildlife Fund of Canada, the group that secured the pledge. Currently, 19 million hectares worldwide are FSC-certified. The company recently received ISO 14001 certification for all forestry operations, pulp and paper mills, and most sawmills. Both certifications are part of Tembec’s “Forever Green” program to integrate sustainable forest management practices throughout company operations. Another Tembec program, “Impact Zero”, focuses on minimizing the environmental impact of fiber processing activities, also with an implementation target of 2005. Tembec is one of the 30 largest wood product companies in the world with 8000 employees, 39 manufacturing facilities, and gross sales of CA$2.6 billion. Its mills produce more than 1 billion board feet of softwood, finger-jointed and hardwood lumber, flooring, Oriented Strand Board, and laminated-veneer lumber. Tembec also runs pulp, paper, paperboard, and chemical operations. http://www.tembec.comTimber company Cikel Brasil Verde in Brazil announced the company will seek FSC certification of over 140,000 hectares of forestland. This doubles […]
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