Published on August 19th, 2008
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In a recent study, an interesting factoid has been discovered. According to a survey of 1,000 American adults, local and national environmental issues are of more concern, than global issues like global warming and climate change.
“The survey’s core result is that people care about their communities and express the desire to see government action taken toward local and national issues,” said David Konisky, who conducted the survey.
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Published on August 18th, 2008
One of the more important things to understand about Georgia - the small country that recently engaged in a deadly struggle with Russia - is that it is one of the hosts of a relatively new, 1 million barrel per day capacity oil pipeline called Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC). That pipeline was constructed with the active encouragement of the EU and the US starting in the late 1990s despite strenuous objections from Russia.
If you take a look at a map of the pipeline, you will begin to understand the geopolitical importance of the effort to provide a path out of the Caspian Sea region - home to a large oil and gas reservoir - that does not pass through Iran or Russia. Until the BTC was completed, there was no way to move Azeri oil out to the rest of the market without going through Russia.
(Aside: The map indicates that a path through Armenia could have been chosen instead of through Georgia, but apparently Armenia and Azerbaijan have a long-standing conflict over a region known as Mountainous Kharabakh.)
Unfortunately, western leaders underestimated the strength of Russia’s objection to losing control over Azerbaijan’s oil and gas resources. They also underestimated Russia’s ability to do something about its desire to reassert control. By biding its time and working in the way of the excellent chess players that they are, Russia has put itself in a position to control (stop?) the flow and there are few acceptable actions that can be taken to change the situation.
One of the few things that has a long term chance of success is a focused program of reducing the importance of oil and gas in the world economy.
My input on that front is to steadily increase the use of uranium and thorium fuels whose supply cannot be severed by an aggressor sitting astride a key delivery path. When electricity and ship propulsion is powered by heavy metal fission instead of natural gas or oil, the importance of owning the valves that supply heat and power gradually dims to insignificance.
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Published on August 18th, 2008
Will Olympics illuminate pollution problem enough for gov’t. to act?
In a recent survey of over 3,000 Chinese citizens, environmental issues emerged as a big problem in the eyes of the majority of respondents.** The 2008 survey, conducted as part of the Pew Research Center’s Pew Global Attitudes Project, found that about three quarters of those surveyed (74%) cite air pollution as a big problem. 66% of respondents ranked water pollution as a big problem.
But not only did Chinese say they were concerned about environmental problems, but they also said something should be done about it. As many as 80% of Chinese think protecting the environment should be made a priority, even if this results in slower growth and a potential loss of jobs. The new data suggest the Chinese people may be struggling with some of the consequences of economic growth.
What I find most striking about these results are: A) That concern for the environment is so salient among the Chinese, that people are willing to sacrifice some economic growth and jobs to take steps towards correcting those environmental problems, and B) That the concern for the environment was based on “pollution” themes. Pollution-based environmental problems are salient because they are visible, tangible, and ‘real’ products of industrial growth (as can be witnessed in this excellent series of short films). These types of problems were also perceived as very important to Americans in the late 1960s and early 1970s, before the U.S. enacted its core environmental policy. Can we expect that to be the next for China? And if so, when will that next step actually commence?
**Methodology: “Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 3,212 adults in China between March 28 and April 19, 2008, a period which followed the March 10 onset of civil unrest on Tibet and preceded the May 12 earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province. The sample, which is disproportionately representative of China’s urban areas, includes eight major cities, as well as medium-sized towns and rural areas in eight Chinese provinces. The area covered by the sample represents approximately 42% of the country’s adult population.”
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Pew Research Center
Published on August 14th, 2008
This year, for the first time in years, the Holy Grail of northern shipping will be a reality for a few weeks. With a Europe to Asia transit length that is 5000 nautical miles shorter than that of the Panama Canal (as well as deeper and wider, therefore accommodating super-tankers too big for the Panama Canal); the opening of the Northwest Passage may signal the start to a sovereignty fight in the Arctic that has nothing to do with oil, gas, or any other kind of mineral exploration. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on August 14th, 2008
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), which works to turn environmental values into national priorities, today added Congressman Sam Graves (MO-6) and California developer Dean Andal to its 2008 “Dirty Dozen” list. Compiled annually, the Dirty Dozen targets current and former members of Congress - regardless of party affiliation - who consistently vote against the environment and are running in races where LCV has a serious chance of affecting the outcome.
Andal has an abysmal record on energy and environmental issues make him one of the worst candidates for federal office in the nation, according to the LCV. The LCV refers to Andal as “the new Pombo,” in reference to former Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee and foe of the environmental movement, Richard Pombo. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on August 14th, 2008
Since 1910, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has calculated the nation’s seafood consumption rates to keep consumers and the industry informed about trends in seafood consumption and trade.
According to this year’s report, Americans consumed a total of 4.908 billion pounds of seafood in 2007, slightly less than the 4.944 billion pounds in 2006. The average American ate 16.3 pounds of fish and shellfish in 2007, a one percent decline from the 2006 consumption figures of 16.5 pounds. But what most concerns NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the Department of Commerce, is the growth in imported farm-raised seafood coupled with declines global fishstocks. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on August 13th, 2008
Despite the fact that a plurality (less than half) of Americans favor a pro-nuclear-energy candidate, more say they would rebuff a candidate who wants to build nuclear power plants than say this about any of nine other possible energy reforms, according to a new Gallup Poll.
The poll, conducted over July 25-27 found that Americans seem more prepared to support candidates who focus on demand-side management (consumer conservation of energy), raising fuel efficiency standards, increasing government spending on alternative fuels, establishing price controls on gasoline, imposing a windfall profits tax on oil companies, and easing restrictions on offshore drilling.
The two positions receiving the strongest “Less Likely to Vote For” percentages - “Building more nuclear power plants” and “Suspending the federal gas tax for several months” - are both positions Senator McCain has strongly endorsed throughout the summer.
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Published on August 12th, 2008
Ah, the wonders of federalism. Even though Bush is pushing Congress hard for it, the Interior Secretary is prepping “just in case”, and John McCain is a fairly supportive fellow, they all seem to agree that it should be up to states to actually allow the drilling to begin. For offshore drilling to actually happen, the states that are implicated are going to have to get on board, and that’s not necessarily a given.
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Published on August 9th, 2008
The EPA dealt Texas a hard blow on Thursday. It turned down the state’s request for a reduction to our Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). A decision that some environmentalists are sticking in the plus column for biofuels. I can’t say I agree.
It’s not that I’m not on the biofuel bandwagon. I am. Just don’t run the bandwagon on ethanol. Or any other bio solution currently available. Yes they all sound very promising. But we need a strong smart solution, not a promise.
I do think it’s great that biofuels are finally getting real public attention. Especially from the EPA. The agency has so many blemishes on it’s policy record it warrants the Proactive Solution. But a hasty push towards a biofuel solution is as bad as doing nothing at all. And that’s what the RFS is, hasty.
Yes, much has been said about the sustainability of a corn-based solution. And there is that whole food for fuel argument, and the questionable sustainability of the ubiquitous crop. All of which are good arguments. But for me, it’s a matter of how were just shifting the burden from petroleum to corn: that’s not a solution in my book.
And it’s precisely that burden which is being felt in the Lone Star state: their livestock industry is taking a major hit. Why? Because our Renewable Fuel Standard is about quantity, not quality. The current 2008 standard demands 7.76 percent, which is about 9 billion gallons, of renewable fuel. With a definition of a renewable fuel only being “the opposite of fossil fuel,” moving forward to the 2022 standard of 36 billion gallons could be catastrophic.
This is why we cannot afford an EPA Chief who is so myopic. Under Stephen Johnson’s leadership the agency denied California the power necessary to meet these somewhat ambigous goals. A decision that has the EPA scrambling to try to save face while the Democrats are standing at the castle doors with their pitchforks and torches in tow. It’s like a scene out of Frankenstein. But unlike Frankenstien, the EPA is far from green.
Related Posts:
Group Sues EPA for Inaction on Coal Permit
EPA Chief on Hot Seat Over California Emissions Denial
Biofuels Will Not Solve Global Warming: IPCC’s Report Sparks Protest
Image source: Nik Agarwal at The Air
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Published on August 8th, 2008
I met Mr. Chen at a back yard bar-b-que in Tennessee last weekend. We were both passing through the area and happen to have a mutual friend. Admittedly I learned of his interest in sustainability by eavesdropping on a conversation he was having with someone else. My ears tuned in when I heard phrases such as “reclaiming rainwater” and “solar power”. You may be thinking “so what” there are plenty of architects who are applying sustainable techniques to their work. What makes Tien-si Chen different is that he is a Christian Conservative.
In 1991 Tien-si Chen was contracted to build a home addition. The woman who hired him to do the addition wanted the work completed with used materials she acquired from garage sales and throw away piles. Mr. Chen completed the addition and fell in love with sustainable building. He began applying sustainable techniques to his projects.
The remodel in 1991 used recycled materials and also employed passive energy design. He explained how he orients his projects to use the south, north breezeway creating air flow, using shade from trees on the property which reduces energy use. Mr. Chen explains that this is “taking part of nature that God has provided for us and using it in our every day living”. He referred to Frank Lloyd Wright and sharing that each time Frank Lloye Wright designed a building he turned it 60 degrees immediately because doing that creates a relationship with the sun, wind and shade. “Forces of nature that God created for us. He (God) created an environment and when we know how to use it we can benefit from it.” explained Mr. Chen.
He approaches his work as an opportunity to create a solution using green architecture. Applying these techniques to the entire building system from the air conditioning system to the plumbing. He is currently working on a new project in which they are separating all the water flow. For example sewer, shower, and rainwater will flow through different pipes in order to reclaim any possible water that is appropriate to reuse. This is a huge redevelopment project that I am unable to name at this point. When Mr. Chen receives permission from the development a follow-up will be posted to identify the project. He has worked on several projects for the same development company, applying sustainable techniques each time.
Mr. Chen is also connected with a man in Nigeria and is working on large projects there such as a 300 bed student housing building and an eco village. The eco village is a self-sustaining project using wind power and gas from reclaimed methane. This particular project is in the proposal stages.
Passionate about sustainable architecture, Mr. Chen loves to offer solutions for energy efficiency and to promote preservation of the earth he holds dear as he believes it is a gift from God. I asked him about his connections with the directors of these large projects which vary in geographic location from Chicago to Nigeria. My question specifically was “In the board rooms, are people hesitant about your political affiliation and Christianity?” He directly replied, “In that arena, it never comes up.” As we discussed this I discovered no one asks him his political or religious affiliation when they need an architect who is passionate about sustainability. He explained that many of the people he works for are Democrats, supporting Obama and on the opposite side of the spectrum politically. Mr. Chen concluded our conversation by stating “Creating a sustainable future is not political.”
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Photo Credit: Riah’s Photography with permission
In a recent study, an interesting factoid has been discovered. According to a survey of 1,000 American adults, local and national environmental issues are of more concern, than global issues like global warming and climate change.
