Green Daily

Windmills aren't just for jazzing up the mini-putt anymore. A new report from the Department of Energy says that the wind could rock 300 gigawatts of electricity into the grid by 2030, providing 20% of America's electrical needs. The key word here is "could" , since it'll require an approximate 20 fold increase in the amount of wind power being produced, meaning the number of turbines being installed will have to increase from 2000 in 2006 to 7000 in 2017.

However, change is in the, uh, wind. Tycoon T. Boone Pickens is planning to drop $10 billion for a 4 GW wind farm in Texas, and 2008 is set to be a record-breaking year for the number of wind GW being generated in the US. Overall, wind power production reached almost 17 GW last year, of which 5 GW was installed in 2007 alone. And with oil prices hitting new highs weekly, investors are starting to like the look of wind farms on the horizon.

Apart from the obvious benefits of weaning America off of fossil fuels, which still generate about 70% of US electricity (mostly from coal and natural gas) the impact on climate change mitigation efforts would be considerable. It's estimated that if 20% of electrical power were supplied by wind turbines, it could reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuel power plants by 25%.

Read the full report here.

via [Wired]

A new report from the Australian Farm Institute says that farm production in that country could double in the next 40 years. Mick Keogh, executive director of the Institute says that warming could actually increase rainfall and crop growth in parts of the country, and that with a little adaption, most farmers would be able to boost production.

The study disputes earlier research from Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) which warned that climate change would devastate Australian agriculture, reducing output by as much as 10% by 2030.

The conflicting reports demonstrate a couple of things - firstly, Australia's a damn big place, full of different weather and different opinions. Secondly, climate change is nothing if not unpredictable, which doens't make the idea much more appealing.

Since consumers started embracing their inner treehugger (although generally not so much that we're willing to pay a green premium), savvy marketers have been hyping everything from SUVs to patio furniture as if they heralded the dawning of the age of eco-Aquarius. That, in turn, has led to a backlash, with civic-minded bloggers seeking out and slamming organizations perceived as exaggerating their enviro-credentials.

Exposing hypocrisy isn't a bad thing, and false advertising is out and out wrong, moreso when it makes a deceptive appeal to our sense of virtue. However, cynical society that we are, it's easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater by taking more interest in criticizing companies for what they don't do than recognizing them for taking steps in the right direction.

All our actions have an environmental impact, and the only truly benign human is six feet under, peacefully feeding the earthworms and fertilizing the hydrangea. Since we're generally agreed that mass suicide isn't the favoured solution to the current crisis, any steps we take to keep the planet healthy are in some degree going to be half-measures.

In other words, eco-friendly can only exist as a relative concept - no product or process is unequivocally green, but only greener than other products or processes intended to achieve the same goal.

Foul-mouthed and unexpectedly green TV chef Gordon Ramsay wants to move up from terrorizing would-be cooks on his TV show Hell's Kitchen to telling the whole restaurant industry what to do.

In an interview with BBC News, Ramsay says that all fruit and vegetables served in restaurants should be locally sourced and in season. "I don't want to see asparagus on in the middle of December. I don't want to see strawberries from Kenya in the middle of March. I want to see it home grown."

He said WHAT?!? 10 Meanest Gordon Ramsay Quotes

Ramsay feels so strongly about the issue that he's calling for laws which would require restaurants to use seasonal produce or be fined. According to the story, he's already spoken to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown about the idea, no doubt shrieking abuse at jet engine decibel levels, with the terrified head of state cowering behind his desk mumbling "Yes chef, yes chef."

I'm a little torn here. The use of seasonal, local food is a great idea with very tangible social and eco-benefits, especially when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. On the other hand, laws requiring the practice would be expensive and unenforceable, and as an Oxfam spokesperson points out, possibly devastating to African famers who rely on food exports for their living.

Also, if the real-life Ramsay is anything like the person we see on TV, he's such a rude, loathsome bully that I'm inclined to disagree with him just on principle. Still, at least he's using his celebrity to raise awareness for a good cause, and kudos to him if his tirade convinces more restaurants to go locavore.

Can you guess the 10 hottest eco-hunks?

The mile-high club just got dirtier. A report by leading aviation experts says that CO2 emissions from air travel are some 20% higher than previously thought, and could reach 1.5 billion tonnes a year by 2025. That's roughly equivalent to the CO2 emissions for the entire country of Russia, with about 141 million people. The percentage of global greenhouse gases produced by planes is also expected to rise from the current 2% to 5% or higher.

The increase comes in spite of cleaner jet engine technologies and flying tactics designed to reduce fuel use and pollution.

The report, entitled Trends in Global Noise and Emissions From Commercial Aviation, was presented at an FAA organized conference in Barcelona last year, but never published.

Also, the number of people seriously affected by aircraft noise will jump from from 24 million in 2000 to 30.3 million by 2025. Good thing we'll all be deaf from iPod use by then anyway.

via [The Independent]

Free the celery! Switzerland could be the first country in the world to give rights to plants. The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology has issued a report saying that plants have certain inalienable rights simply by virtue of being living things, and we can't just do whatever we want with them. In the words of the report, "we may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily."

The report does allow - rather grudgingly - that human life takes precedence over plant happiness, so eating a potato now and again to stave off starvation is probably ok. However, casual violence against say, tulips, is an affront to the dignity of the flower, to avoided at all costs.

Is veggie liberation the next great frontier of social justice? Can we look forward to being taken to court by our hibiscus for underwatering? Will we see a million-melon march on Washington?

Probably not - this concept is a little extreme even for the most committed treehugger, and likely doesn't demonstrate much except that there are people within the Swiss government who have way too much time on their hands. Still, something to think about next time you're torturing steaming that head of broccoli.

The full English language report is available here .

via [The Weekly Standard]

North Americans may talk the green talk, but we're apparently too lazy to walk the walk. The US and Canada came in first and second respectively in a survey which measured the environmental unfriendliness of consumers around the world. The study, conducted for the National Geographic Society, asked people in 14 countries about their lifestyles, including questions on housing, food, and transport, and then gave them a green score on a scale of one to a hundred.

Reasons for the low marks in North America had to do with things like large houses, a preference for driving over public transit, and (not surprisingly in Canada) considerable use of home heating. Developing countries showed a smaller environmental footprint, probably because poverty, which usually involves tiny houses and nonexistent cars, is far less energy-intensive than wealth.

Beside the US and Canada, countries measured in the survey were Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Hungary, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Spain, Japan and France.

via [CBC News]

Global warming and peak oil might sound nasty to you, but for some folks working on green technologies it sounds like "Ka-ching." With growing concern about CO2 from fossil fuels that may or may not be running out anyway, venture capitalists pumped a record $2.2 billion into cleantech last year, says a report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers entitled "Cleantech Comes of Age."

Much of the boom is focused on alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and biofuels with total investment in that area reaching $1.1 billion. However, pollution mitigation and recycling also attracted funding, with 29 recorded deals totalling over $202 million.

It'd be nice to think that the surge in interest in eco-friendly tech has to do with our collective consciences driving us to better stewardship of the planet, but we all know it's because oil is at $123 a barrel and rising, making alternative energy and straight-up conservation look a lot more attractive. But whatever the reason, it's all a step in the right direction.

via [Green Tech Blog]

You may have to wave goodbye to your ant farm - climate change may prove to be a more powerful pesticide than DDT. New research shows that even relatively minor fluctuations in temperature could have devastating effects on insects, especially in the world's tropical regions.

An article in the Independent quotes Curtis Deutsch, who co-authored the study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, as saying that although temperatures are not expected to increase as much in the tropics as at the poles, even a 1C or 2C jump could be fatal for insects already surviving at their edge of their climactic comfort zone.

While that doesn't sound like it's all downside, especially for anyone who's been up north during blackfly season, the repercussions could be pretty ugly. Insects in warm climates are key to a healthy environment, pollinating flowers and plants, carrying away organic waste (read: eating crap) and serving as dinner for various birds and animals. If the bugs fail to adapt to a changing climate, the consequences will be felt all the way up the food chain.

Looking for a practical fashion statement that'll give you cred whether you're in the boardroom or at the latest Al Gore award gala? The UR 202 watch from Urwerk is not only one cool-looking gadget, but it uses compressed air from wind turbines to help keep itself wound. It's as if James Bond and David Suzuki got together and had a child, only for some reason it was a watch.

The mechanism by which the watch works is described in incomprehensible detail on the Urwerk site, but as far as I can tell the it uses a relatively standard self-winding system, with the mini wind turbines serving to keep the watch from overwinding. While that's not going save the world a whack of kilowatts, it's nice to see this kind of technology being incorporated on such a small scale in consumer items.

No indication of price, but it's made in Switzerland by two guys in black turtlenecks so be prepared to cash in the kids' college funds. That said, if the UR202 is something you can't live without, there's a list of retailers on the site.

via [engadget]

Keeping up with the Joneses may soon mean recycling the Hummer and putting a 4 banger econobox in the driveway. The New York Times reports that soaring gas prices are making compact cars popular again, with1 in 5 vehicles purchased in April falling into the compact or subcompact category. That's an increase from 1 in 8 only a decade ago.

Experts predict that with gas prices unlikely to drop soon - well, ever - the era of the massive SUV may be over. This is bad news for US automakers, who in spite of years of warning from economists, environmentalists, and peak oil conspiracy theorists, have failed to develop a strong line of small cars to match overseas manufacturers like Toyota and Honda.

The trend proves again what we already knew - that people respond to events that hit their wallet, not their conscience. If gas prices hit 10 bucks a gallon, look for strong growth in sales of bicycles, in-line skates, and walking shoes.

The news this week that natural climate cycles may see planetary temperatures plateauing for a decade or so was a gift to climate change deniers. That select group of fact-ignorers have pulled their heads out of the tar sands long enough to declare victory and claim the news as proof that manmade climate change is a hoax, and that humanity can now look forward to a future of worry-free polluting. Excellent stuff, and reassuring.

Unfortunately, real scientists don't agree, saying that the shift may disguise - briefly - some of the effects of global warming, but not much, and not for long. But that doesn't matter, because the war against the truth of climate change is about PR, not science.

I remember back when I was a young whippersnapper, Ma and Pa used to keep chickens in the house, which we treated just like family, except we ate 'em. Course that was afore we found oil out in the yard and moved to Beverly Hills.

In recent years, urban poultry farming has declined in popularity, but with food prices rising and people becoming more interested in eating locally, the practice may be making a comeback.

The Toronto Star reports that more and more city-dwellers are turning towards personal chicken coops for fresh eggs and even meat (even here in Toronto, where it's technically illegal to raise poultry other than pigeons for "sport".)

In other jurisdictions, including many US cities, raising chickens is legal so long as basic hygenic precautions and specific regulations around the size of coops and runs are observed. If it's something that interests you, check out backyardchickens.com, or Green Daily's own resident expert to help you get started.

Next week, the coming trend: backyard cattle ranches.

More chicken-hating porn stars

Adult entertainment superstar Ron Jeremy has surfaced on the PETA website, in a video interview where he opines on what KFC should do to make their food more cruelty free. Jeremy, a man who's no stranger to the phrase "finger-lickin' good", wants the Colonel to raise his prices by a few cents a bucket and invest in more humane farming techniques.

While it remains to be seen how much influence Jeremy will have over the chicken-eating public, he and PETA are a nice fit - an organization committed to public nudity in a good cause, and a man whose drumstick is already familiar to millons of adult film enthusiasts. Can we expect to see Ron crouched naked in a cage in Covent Garden in the near future? And is it weird to be looking forward to that?

Can you guess the nude PETA celebrity?

As if it weren't enough that we're clogging the ocean with bird-choking plastic crap, now it looks like our climate-changing ways are sucking the oxygen out of the seas as well. A research study published in the journal Science says that warming temperatures are responsible for a rapid growth in low oxygen zones in oceans around the world, with potentially devastating consequences for already struggling fisheries.

There are two principal causes – firstly, warmer water simply holds less oxygen. Secondly, oxygen-rich water from the high latitudes that would normally sink and move towards the equators is no longer sinking as deep because it's at a warmer temperature. As a consequence, some oxygen-poor parts of the ocean are expanding both up towards the surface and downwards towards the sea floor, almost doubling in size in some places between 1960 and 2006.

Since most marine life requires oxygen to survive, the trend could ultimately have a serious impact on fish, fisheries, and your next trip to Red Lobster.

via [Wired]