Tag Archives: 2020
Is Wind Power a Future Pathway for World Superpowers?
Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Brady Gibson.
The United States and China have another area of competition: wind power. What may have seemed as a trivial issue decades ago, wind power has become a pathway to economic power as the globe continues to strive towards green practices and sustainable systems. While Europe leads continents in cumulative wind energy, the United States has led individual nations in this category until 2008. However, as China has taken the lead in this category in 2009 and may continue to hold onto its lead as it’s economy continues to grow and develop clean technology. Once again, the United States and China are in a possible race over an economic resource that will undoubtedly contain economic, social, and political implications around the globe.
What must the United States do to regain its spot as the leader in wind power? Here a few areas of improvement:
1) Currently, wind power in the United States is driven by a federal contract initiated by the Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC), ending in 2012. If the United States can extend this contract to 2020, this will give lenders, developers, and manufacturers room to grow and develop more efficient wind technology and have more time to implement wind power systems across the union.
2) Currently, the Obama administration is striving towards a greener society and a sustainable culture. Policies are currently being drawn up and will most likely be influenced by discussion in Copenhagen. However, a stronger portfolio of renewable resources needs to be developed and implemented by law. A national standard and state standards need to be established for rapid growth in sustainable technology and operations. If wind power can be strongly addressed over the next few years and implemented into a long-term plan, the United States can regain their position ahead of China in cumulative wind power output.
3) Fulfilling the potential of the nations power grid. Nearly 300,000 megawatts of wind power are awaiting access. A thorough upgrade of the nations electric grid is needed to employ the total potential of the nation’s wind power. Approximately 16 transmission development projects, with power lines able to accommodate 36,000 megawatts of new wind capacity, are in the pipeline and scheduled for completion by 2014. Is there nothing more sad than wasted potential?
4) Finally, the United States needs to put its money where its carbon is! Incorporating climate costs into a more comprehensive system of energy output would shift the interests of average citizens and businesses to strive for a wind energy as an alternative energy solution.
As discussion continues to unfold in Copenhagen, global policies for renewable energy and sustainable policies will shape national policies around the globe. The hold of fossil fuels as a token of power may soon run its course, leaving wind power as a viable option for generating economic prosperity. Wind energy is not only a chance to reduce our nations carbon footprint, but it also represents a viable way to improve the unemployment rate, stimulate the economy, regain a leadership role in global energy, and set a better example of the United States government for the world to follow. The ball is in our court and it now comes down to smart decisions.
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Restaurant Compost: A Green Opportunity for Local Development and Sustainable Business
Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by Brady Gibson.
One of the biggest challenges facing the sustainability movement is developing a sustainable culture of sustainability, backed by green institutions, systems, and models that can be tapped into by citizens, business leaders, and government officials. Successful models at the local level can translate to city-wide, state-wide, nation-wide, and eventually the global level. This process is a bottom-up emergence of trial-and-error, community awareness, and a participatory culture. While this can fall onto any institution in the United States, this article will focus on composting food waste in the restaurant industry, backed by examples of city-wide programs.
Before we begin, let’s go over a couple snippets of information about the restaurant industry and food waste management:
- The restaurant industry is the second largest employer in the United States, second only to the government. In 2005, the restaurant industry did $476 billion dollars in sales. With over 900,000 restaurants throughout the United States, green business models are emerging as a critical concept in the restaurant industry.
- Restaurants throw away approximately 30% of their food, about $48.2 billion worth a year, according to the Green Restaurant Association. Restaurants also produce far more garbage on a daily basis than most other retail businesses. The development of successful models of restaurant composting programs and policies could redirect billions of dollars of food waste into compostable resources. A typical restaurant generates 100,000 pounds of garbage per location per year, the Green Restaurant Association estimates. However, 70% of wasted food is estimated to be organic and compostable.
If you read through this carefully, you should have felt not only worry but also OPPORTUNITY. Like most industries in the United States, wasteful systems and behaviors are both correctable and adaptable. Not only can restaurants redirect waste from the landfill to local farms and agriculture, a PROFIT can also be made here. A combination of social responsibility, business ingenuity, and government organization can eventually incorporate a comprehensible composting program in the city of Los Angeles (or any city for that matter) with long term impact on the Triple Bottom line.
Currently, the City of Los Angeles has a restaurant composting program up and running, with 650 restaurants participating. The city provides both trash bins and trash removal and restaurants are only responsible for separating waste. The waste is hauled up to Sun Valley (south of Bakersfield) where it sits, rots, and goes through various stages of composting. Three months later, fresh compost is available to local farmers and businesses. Not only does the compost enrich the soil, acting more like a fertilizer, the composter has the capability to cater the compost to different crops! Sun Valley reportedly runs out of this soil all the time because it is in such high demand. With only 650 restaurants out of the total 8,000 in Los Angeles, am I the only one that sees a chance to improve People, Planet, and Profit?
Perhaps we should tip our hats to San Francisco which has composted 620,000 tons of scraps and food waste since 1996. Recycling and composting became mandatory October 21st, part of an effort to divert 75% of waste by 2010 and eventually becoming a zero-waste community by 2020.
In April 2009, Seattle instituted a composting and recycling program to its local citizens. The local government, via King County and the Department of Ecology, initiated a $100,000 campaign in July and it will go to March of 2010. Through active participation and education of its local citizens, Seattle is striving for a positive impact on the environment and setting an example for other cities to follow. Take a look at their compost guide.
One of the biggest challenges in a comprehensive composting program is there is not a long term successful model of composting for restaurants and citizens to follow. Somebody has to take the first step and its starts at the local level. Business leaders at the local level can influence both private citizens and government officials to initiate a global composting system if they can demonstrate an improvement in their triple bottom line.
