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Chrysler promises SUV buyers $2.99 gas, world rolls its eyes

Hank Green — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:50:07 PDT

Chrysler promises that it is working on green cars and advanced technology vehicles, but I don't see it.

GM is promising a gas-electric car with a 40-mile EV range. Toyota is planning on launching an even-more-efficient Prius. And VW seems to have a 200 MPG two-seater in the works.

But Chrysler is addressing its customers' fuel-cost concerns by trying to help them ignore the problem.

Chrysler has just announced that, instead of making its vehicles more efficient (thus saving customers money) it's simply going to charge more for large trucks, and use the money to artificially deflate customers' gas prices to $2.99 per gallon for three years after purchase.

And then the well suddenly runs dry and vehicle owners are stuck with a car that neither they, nor anyone else, wants, in a world where gas costs, at best, more than $4 per gallon.

Of course, Chrysler should be worried. A great deal of its business in its Dodge and Jeep brands are SUVs and large trucks, and SUV sales are not doing well. SUV sales for the month of April are down 33% from last year. That's a HUGE drop, especially when so much of Chrysler's profit comes from these high-markup vehicles.

Not only is this a bad deal for the environment, it turns out its a bad deal for consumers too. The $2.99 offer comes at the expense of giving up other incentives. While the program will only ever save consumers about $1,200, straight-cash incentives on the RAM and Durango are currently worth about $5,000.

Of course, this is all ignoring how extremely short-sighted this policy is. A measly 3 MPG gain would save consumers far more money than the $2.99 deal, while also decreasing demand for oil and emissions of CO2.

But Chrysler, apparently, would rather remain technologically stagnant. Should we let people pretend oil prices will never rise again? Or should we actually do something about the increased demand for gasoline and skyrocketing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. You know where my vote lies.

The good news is that a similar program from GM a few years back (promising everlasting $1.99 gas) was a complete flop. Not only did GM catch a nationwide PR backlash, as Chrysler now seems to be experiencing, but it also saw no increase in sales of large trucks and SUVs.

Via AutoBlogGreen and AutoObserver

Prince Charles gets greener and greener

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:10:26 PDT

The last time Britain's Prince Charles showed up in this blog it was to receive a virtual spanking from me for cruising the Caribbean in a wasteful megayacht. It must be said however that Bonnie Prince Charlie is a huge enviro-hero whose ideas have always been way ahead of their time, especially when it comes to sustainable urban planning.

According to Green Daily, Charles' latest plan is to build a brand new town from the ground up, to make it super duper green, and to populate it with 12,000 people who love to recycle and garden.

The Prince's own Web site has some of the details about the town, to be called Sherford, and the real estate developer working with the Prince has some schematics that make the place look positively delightful, in a Disney-ish sort of way.

As Green Daily describes it, "Cars will be banned in some areas, a huge 390ft wind turbine will tower over a park and a full half of energy needs will be met by renewable sources like wind and solar energy... Construction materials will be mostly found within a 50 mile radius, green roofs will be the norm, and you'll be able to walk between your home, work, and shopping. Or you could ride the bicycle that comes with every home."

That wind turbine sounds like it's going to cause trouble with the neighbors, but let's see how quickly Charles can get this built.

Don Willmott's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.

Asparagus games

Jay Weinstein, Forecast Earth Food Correspondent — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:49:23 PDT

Anyone who enjoys theater of the absurd will get a laugh out of this: Our DEA's policy of subsidizing South American asparagus farmers to wean them from growing coca has been so successful that subsidized Peruvian asparagus are out-competing our homegrown ones here at home.

To make our domestic asparagus more competitive with imports, we're subsidizing American asparagus farmers too, under terms of the past and present Farm Bills. Asparagus are sprouting up in markets all over the U.S. this month. But where are they from?

Head to farmers markets and farm stands to ensure your spears didn't fly thousands of miles on jet fuel.

One astute food writer posted an analysis of the comical asparagus situation on a sustainable food web site. The piece cites a new film about the two-fisted taxpayer giveaway. If that's not enough reason to seek out local asparagus, consider that asparagus start losing their natural sweetness the moment they're picked.

So now, when sweet local asparagus overflow the markets, look for spears with unwrinkled, unblemished skin, tightly packed, pointed tips, moist flesh where they were cut, and defiantly stiff stalks. If you trim the less tender bottoms of the stalks, save them for asparagus soup. On warm days, serve this spring treat chilled, garnished with a swirl of tart yogurt. Peru produces some beautiful folk music. That's a good thing to purchase from that faraway land, not asparagus in springtime.

Asparagus Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped sweet onions

1 bay leaf

1 pound asparagus, roughly chopped (bottoms and scraps are fine)

4 cups stock or water

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

Plain yogurt to garnish

In a heavy soup pot, add the oil, onions, bay leaf and asparagus. Season the vegetables well with salt and white pepper. Cook gently over medium heat until the onions an asparagus are very soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Add stock, bring to a boil, and lower to a simmer; cook 5 minutes more. Stir in peas; remove from heat and remove the bay leaf. Transfer soup to a blender; blend until very smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. For extra smooth soup, or if the asparagus bottoms were especially woody, pass the pureed soup through a strainer . Serve warm or chilled, garnished with a spoonful of plain yogurt.

LifeWire provides original and syndicated content to web publishers. Jay Weinstein, a chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America, is a New York based food writer, editor, and cookbook author. His food articles and recipes have been featured in The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Newsday, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, and numerous other publications. His latest book, The Ethical Gourmet, focuses on ecologically sustainable fine foods. He's currently working on a book about sustainable use of water.

6 stupidly simple steps to save billions of gallons of gas

Hank Green — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:58:05 PDT

OK, gas prices are getting out of hand, and carbon emissions have been out of hand for a long time. So let's kill two birds with, well, five stones.

We generally focus on high technology here at EcoGeek, and how we can save energy with smart designs. But sometimes, there are simpler ways.

An absolutely tremendous amount of gasoline could be saved in America with some very simple measures. Such as:

1. Lose some weight = 900 million gallons of gas
Americans weigh about 24 more pounds per person than we did in the 1970s. That weight, when we're driving, has to be moved around with our cars. Multiplied over the three trillion miles driven in America each year, suddenly we need a lot of gas to move around our extra chub. If we could (preferably through walking and biking) lose those 24 lbs. and reach 1970s sizes, America would used nearly one billion gallons of gas less than we currently do.

2. Intelligent traffic lights = 1,000 million gallons of gas
Studies have shown that altering traffic lights to ensure maximum flow can reduce gasoline consumption in cities by between 10% and 20%. Already, lots of places have traffic light systems that use sensors to detect when and how often to change lights.

But a great deal of traffic infrastructure is still extremely primitive, and most of it is programmed by hand. Researchers have begun to attempt to create traffic lights that can make decisions for themselves. Stoplights might soon communicate with other nearby lights about when they plan on changing, how much traffic they've seen, and what's working for them recently to keep traffic flowing. They will even be able to remember what worked in the past, and use those same techniques in the future.

3. More expensive gas = 450 million gallons of gas (so far)
OK, this isn't necessarily the best solution to our problems, especially since most people who really need to drive can't afford to pay much more for gas. But 2007 showed the first decrease in the number of miles traveled since the gas crisis of the '70s. As gas prices sored to upward of $3 per gallon, people actually drove less. The amount driven dropped by about 10 billion miles. At an average fleet efficiency of 22 mpg, that's 450 million gallons of gas saved.

4. Drive a little slower = 600 million gallons of gas (just for semi trucks)
Recently, with diesel prices topping $4, Con-Way Freight, owner of one of the largest truck fleets in America, decided that it would decrease the maximum speed its drivers could drive from 65 mph to 62 mph. This will save the company 3.2 million gallons of fuel per year. And that's just ONE trucking company going 3 mph slower! If this were expanded to all 1.5 million semis on American roads, it would save 617 million gallons of fuel!

If it the national speed limit were lowered to 65 mph, the savings would be extreme. Already, the U.S. trucking industry is calling for a decrease in the national speed limit, first because the difference in speed between trucks and cars creates possible safety issues. And because it would ultimately decrease the price of fuel.

5. More people per car = 1,500 million gallons of gas
If every car in America that transported one person instead transported two people, we'd save about 8 billion gallons of gas per year. But we'll aim lower. If just 20% of these solo-driver trips became two-passenger carpools, we'd use 1.5 billion fewer gallons of gas per year.

6. Increase mileage to 35 mpg = 55,000 million gallons of gas by 2015
This needs to be said. The current average fuel economy of an American car is 22 mpg. It would be lower if there were no law in place requiring that efficiency. The auto industry has been fighting any increase for decades. We finally have a law on the books that will increase the average to 35 mpg by 2020.

But if we, in America, had 35-mpg cars today, like they currently do in Europe, we would use 55 BILLION less gallons of gas. Looking back through the rest of the list, this trivializes the rest of the options.

Each of these measures would, without a doubt, help us deal with the supply shortages and environmental implications of our massive oil addiction.

New nanomaterial doubles CO2 storage

Jozef Winter — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:42:08 PDT

As much as we reduce our current output of CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it has become apparent that these efforts, while absolutely needed, will only mitigate the effects of global warming, making carbon sequestration as necessary tool in our fight against climate change.

Unfortunately, many popular ideas on how exactly to sequester the CO2 are simply not practical, though some new ones are quite promising. A new team of French researchers, led by Gérard Férey at the University of Versailles, have decided to skip the pumping of CO2 underground and focus their efforts on nanotechnology, breaking a record in the process.

Their new material, dubbed MIL-101, has been officially called “the best carbon sequestration material” bar none. 1m³ is capable of holding 400m³ of gas, compared to the 200m³ that the best commercially available technology can provide.

MIL-101, also known as chromium terephthalate, can accomplish this because its structure is only 2.9 to 3.4 nanometers thick, giving the substance a surface area of over 6000m² per single gram. The structure is also porous, which allows the small CO² molecules to become trapped, making it ideal for carbon capture directly from power plants, tailpipes, and smokestacks.

The technology also holds great promise for the storage of methane and hydrogen gas, making it a possible candidate for fuel storage in fuel-cell powered vehicles.

via Ecolectic, Physorg, and CRNS (if you can read French)

Blogger exposes fake global warming skeptics

Hank Green — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:36:15 PDT

Kevin Grandia, who we are proud to be well-acquainted with through working together in the eco-blogosphere, has just been through a bit of a saga.

Curious about the Heartland Institute's list of "500 prominent scientists" who deny global warming, Kevin decided to contact some of the folks on the list.

He put together a list of 150 email addresses ... simply the addresses he found it most easy to acquire. After only 24 hours, he'd received 45 emails from angry scientists saying that they, in no way, denied anthropogenic global warming.

It turns out that the Heartland Institute had never told the scientists they were going on the list, nor did they check to see if these people actually had any doubts about the causes of climate change. Just a sampling of quotes from emails Kevin received:

"I am horrified to find my name on such a list. I have spent the last 20 years arguing the opposite."

"I have NO doubts ... the recent changes in global climate ARE man-induced. I insist that you immediately remove my name from this list since I did not give you permission to put it there."

"Please remove my name. What [they] have done is totally unethical!"

The Heartland Institute has been publicizing this list for years, and not a single journalist took the time to check the names on the list. The Heartland Institute has now distanced itself from the list and withdrawn its claim that the institute is supported by 500 prominent global warming skeptic scientists.

But the institute has yet to apologize.

Kevin deserves a great big "thank you" from the world. Check out DeSmogBlog and, if you think he's as awesome as I do, you might even consider donating to help him keep DeSmogBLog alive.

VW will sell a 200-mpg car in 2010

Hank Green — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:01:09 PDT

So you're excited about the 2010 Prius with its modest mileage gains. Or maybe you really want a Chevy Volt with a 40-mile all-electric range.

2010, as we've noted, is going to be a good year for green cars.

But, well, this is ridiculous.

VW has been talking for a long time about its 1L concept, so called because it uses a measly 1 liter of gasoline to go 100 km. For us Americans, that translates to about 230 miles per gallon.

Of course, the amazing mileage comes at a price. The car is tiny, more of a toboggan than a car. The single passenger actually sits behind the driver, like in a small airplane.

The tiny engine will only get the car up to about 75 mph and, as such, VW doesn't expect to sell a lot of them. Safety concerns might also keep the car from being a best seller. But, since it does have four wheels, it will have to meet all of the normal safety regulations for cars.

VW will continue to release details on the car, but it is firm that this vehicle will be produced by 2010. And, in terms of pure efficiency, its only real competitor will be the 300-mpg Aptera.

Via MotorAuthority and Gas2

My new TV is coming! Now, about my old one...

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:55:42 PDT

It's on the way! The announcement that my local cable provider, Time Warner Cable, had doubled the number of available HD channels to 50 was the push I needed. I went online, did my research, and ordered a (not-too-big-and-wasteful) 32-inch LCD TV that should arrive later this week. Hooray for me.

Now, what about the 27-inch Sony Trinitron that has been my constant companion since 1994?

We've been through a lot together: elections, Olympics, Absolutely Fabulous. What am I to do with this big glass-and-plastic monster that suddenly looks positively antique sitting on its stand?

My current plan is to take the easy way out and post it as a free giveaway at Craigslist. If you can haul it, you can have it. My hope is that it will go to someone who can really use it, or at least to someone who can sell it on and make a few bucks. The truth is that the TV has pretty much no value, if what I've seen on the site is any indication. I could also try FreeCycle, but I find it to be harder to figure out than Craigslist.

Since I've made my purchase online, I can't take advantage of any real-world store's offer to pick up my old TV when they deliver my new one, but I was happy to see that Sci Fi's DVICE blog recently did a useful roundup of the recycling policies of all the major electronics stores. This guide could help you decide where to go to make your next big-box purchase whether it's a TV or some other large appliance.

As for me, if this blogging gig continues to go well, maybe I'll budget for a new Energy Star-compliant air conditioner this summer, and then I'll have another toxic and antique appliance to dispose of.

The asthma and car connection

Mel Peffers — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:23:22 PDT

This post is by Mel Peffers, a project manager in the Living Cities program at Environmental Defense Fund.

May 6th was World Asthma Day. Since car exhaust can lead to asthma as well as global warming, we thought it would be a good time to highlight the importance of not idling your car or truck engine.

What makes idling especially bad for health is that drivers tend to idle in gathering places -- by sidewalks, schools, playgrounds, homes, and offices. Breathing in pollution close to the source is more dangerous than farther away.

Take a look at the evidence.

Tailpipe exhaust may cause asthma

Tailpipe exhaust from both gasoline- and diesel-burning vehicles contains the pollutants that produce ozone when combined with sunlight and heat. Ozone occurs mostly during the summer months. A warming planet means more hot days and thus more ozone.

Breathing in ozone irritates and inflames your lungs, and repeated exposure can reduce lung function. There’s a lot of evidence that ozone makes asthma worse.

But the Children’s Health Study in California found evidence that ozone causes asthma. The study also found that children can suffer irreversible lung damage as adults from breathing smog.

On top of that, diesel exhaust contains particulate matter (soot). This has long been known to cause a variety of health problems, including aggravated asthma (see CARB report on health effects [PDF]).

As with ozone, there is evidence that diesel exhaust particles may cause asthma and not just worsen it.

California kids aren’t the only ones to suffer from tailpipe-induced asthma. A 2005 NYU Medical Center study showed that asthma symptoms among children in the South Bronx doubled on high-traffic days.

Conversely, reducing ozone can improve asthma rates. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the city closed downtown to private cars for 17 days. During this time, daily peak ozone levels dropped more than a quarter and hospitalizations for asthma fell by almost one-fifth.

Fight global warming, save money

There’s no reason to idle your vehicle engine. As I explained in a previous post:

Today’s engines don’t need a warm-up period.
If you’re stopped for more than 10 seconds, your car uses more gasoline to idle than to restart.

Many cities, including New York, have laws against idling, but they’re rarely enforced. We need better enforcement, but we can make a difference with our own actions and behavior.

So in honor of World Asthma Day, switch off that idling engine. You’ll curb global warming pollution, save money on gasoline, and help everyone to breathe better.

Blimp wind turbines take test flight

Philip Proefrock — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:04:26 PDT

Magenn Power Inc. has moved forward and begun testing a prototype of its Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS) inside an old U.S. Navy airship hangar before beginning outdoor trials at a customer's site in a few weeks.

The MARS is a lighter-than-air turbine that is tethered to the ground between 300 and 1000 feet (roughly 90 to 300 meters) with conducting cables which transmit electricity to the ground. It is basically a blimp with its body configured with blades to catch the wind in order to generate power.

The MARS can be quickly deployed without extensive site-preparation or construction and can reach higher into the atmosphere than traditional turbines, making it better suited for use where the land is not flat.

It is also better suited for providing power to remote, off-grid locations. Because the equipment is lightweight and readily transportable, it could make access to power for remote villages easier to supply.

And, with its much higher reach, it provides an opportunity to use wind power in locations where a tower mounted turbine would not get enough wind to be useful.

Magenn plans to begin installing its turbines starting next year. According to the company, four units are expected to be installed in 2009.

The first MARS turbines are going to be roughly 25 x 65 feet (7.6 x 19.8 meters) and will produce up to 10 kW. Apparently plans for a smaller-sized MARS turbine have been put aside for now. However, future versions of the MARS could reach much larger sizes and be capable of generating up to 2000 kW.

The company says the price for a 10-25 kW MARS unit is yet to be determined, but is expected to be in the range of $3 to $5 per watt -- comparable with current wind technology.

Previously on EcoGeek: Spinning Blimp Wind Turbine

via: GreenTechMedia and EcoTech Daily

Xcel Energy announces $100 mil for 'smart grid'

Jozef Winter — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:22:49 PDT

Xcel Energy, the leading provider of wind energy in the United States has just announced that it plans on building the U.S.'s first fully integrated "smart grid" in Boulder, Colorado.

The idea behind a smart grid is to integrate high-speed communication technologies with the electric grid, allowing for real-time, two-way communication between the utility, the consumer, and throughout the distribution grid.

This is a logical, yet giant step forward since existing grids really offer little in the way of information to either their own relay stations or the end user. With the new system customers can have programmable control devices installed in their homes, allowing them to automate home energy use and the integration of infrastructure will "support easily dispatched distributed generation technologies (such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with vehicle-to-grid technology; battery systems; wind turbines; and solar panels)."

Customers will also have information at their fingertips, seeing what the cost of electricity is at any given time, and being able to choose the actual source of their electricity, be it from natural gas, coal, or renewable sources.

From a network perspective, the grid will be able to do some pretty impressive stuff. Xcel envisions a "self-healing" grid that will divert power automatically if a transformer or line goes down, ensuring that all areas of the grid are always provided with uninterrupted service.

If lines freeze in cold weather, stations will have the capability of increasing the power through those individual lines, creating great electrical resistance and thus warm them, melting the ice.

This great video on Xcel's site does a great job of explaining in detail the inner workings of the system, definitely worth watching.

How cheap is that electric bike really?

Peg Fong — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:08:27 PDT

It's a no-brainer. Bicycling is cheap transportation and good for the environment. But not all bikes are created equal and while they're all cheap compared to cars ... some can seem a bit steep.

And then there's the whole pedaling thing ... call me lazy, but I like the idea of my vehicle moving me, instead of me moving my vehicle. It's certainly a less green alternative, but far greener than a car.

Unfortunately electric bikes can cost upwards of a couple of thousand dollars, but an extraordinarily inexpensive option is being produced by California company Currie Technologies.

The $350 hybrid electric bike 388-PP can reach top speeds of 18 miles per hour and the range is 15 miles.

A rack-mounted regular sealed lead acid rechargeable battery powers the all-terrain bike. The battery, which is detachable, takes between two to four hours to charge up.

The good news is this cheap bike is available now for purchase. The bad news is if you're looking for something light, this probably won't cut it. The bike weighs a whopping 76 pounds, and so if you run out the charge, it's going to be a heavy haul with that battery weighing you down.

And the rechargeable battery has a short life span of between 200 to 300 charges before you need to buy a new replacement one from Currie for $120.

Via TreeHugger

The race to create the first solar airplane

Peg Fong — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:25:41 PDT

The last barrier to greener transportation is up in the air, and if these newly designed planes can get up there, the future of air travel may look decidedly different.

While cars have been going green for decades, airplanes have remained behemoth fuel-gulping modes of transportation. EcoGeek put together a list of ways in which air travel is getting greener ... but there's a long ways to go.

That's bad news for anyone who has to travel for business reasons or can't resist that getaway to an exotic locale. But while nowhere close to being ready for commercial use, there is some green in the distant horizon. A French and a Swiss company are both trying to complete the first viable solar-powered plane.

The Solar Impulse Project, which we've discussed previously is backed by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, aims to use only solar energy to keep its aircraft up both day and night. The Solar Impulse plane hopes to be about 1,500 kilograms of "take-off weight" and is constructed around a skeleton of carbon fiber-honeycomb composite.

French company Lisa Airplanes is putting its efforts into the Hy-Bird project which plans to fly around the world with a 100 percent clean electric airplane powered only by solar energy and hydrogen. For take-off, the Hy-Bird will use solar photovoltaic cells affixed on the wings and on the horizontal tail and for on-board power supply. A fuel cell will then power the aircraft for cruise flight and an electric engine will propel the plane.

Booking a seat on-board won't happen any time soon. Both Hy-Bird and the Solar Impulse Project hope to take trial flights next year, but only one person will be on each of these planes. Meanwhile, unmanned solar airplanes are already in the air, with one that will be able to fly almost indefinitely is planned for the near future.

Via Inhabitat

Carectomy week in review

Joshua Liberles — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:51:49 PDT

HGTV “green home”: Complete with gas-guzzling SUV!

Has green-washing hit a new low? HGTV has completely missed the point of what it means to be sustainable with its new Green Home Giveaway sweepstakes.

The winner gets a fancy “green” home in Hilton Head, SC, complete with energy-efficient appliances, eco-floors, amenities, doo-dads, etc.; a membership to the local water-sucking, pesticide-spewing golf course; and a hybrid SUV. Of course all of these prizes are carefully branded and marketed through the HGTV programming.

Bicycle City: Perfection, sans picket fences?

Bicycle City sounds like a place I’d like to live. By planners’ description, its highlights include a “walkable, urban design; vibrant local economy; eco-friendly, sustainable design; organic farming; human-powered transportation; strong and diverse community; active healthy lifestyle.”

By contrast to most urban areas, Bicycle City doesn’t have “pollution, traffic jams, parking lots, national franchises, strip malls, stress, chemicals, or 'cookie cutter' ” designs.

Glastonbury Festival celebrates green transport

The annual Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is encouraging concertgoers to leave their cars at home. A full third of people attending the three-day celebration (akin to Woodstock, but in the English countryside) will commute by public transport (including via coach and rail) and festival organizers are encouraging all who attend to car-share, if they must commute by vehicle. “The aim is to reduce the number of cars which come to the festival,” organizers say.

Cars cause a scentless spring

Cars have made us fat, diseased, cash-strapped, and disconnected from one another and ourselves. Now, thanks to air pollution caused by cars and power plants, we don't even have the scent of flowers to appreciate. As National Geographic reports, the potency of the smell of flowers has been reduced by as much as 90%.

Simple tips to green your kitchen

Virginia Lacy — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:54:48 PDT

We often receive questions about how people can reduce their home energy and water use — and the bills associated with them.

We are strong advocates for saving energy and water by simply using them more efficiently. People shouldn't have to make large sacrifices to conserve, accomplishing less with less. In fact, we often help our clients achieve more with less.

While there's a lot to be said for installing efficient lighting, changing out old appliances for Energy Star models, replacing drafty windows, or re-fitting your sinks with low-flow fixtures (which will pay for themselves over time), what about when you don't have any money to invest?

Fortunately, you can still cut your energy and water consumption by spending nothing at all. That's because a lot of your energy and water use depends on how you use what you already have in your house. Using your current appliances more efficiently, in other words, can lower your consumption and your utility bills.

If you're looking to save energy, water, and money this spring, a good place to start is your kitchen. By some estimates, kitchen appliances account for 26 percent of an average household's electricity use. And dishwashing is one of the more water-intensive activities in your home.

Here's a list of easy habits you can adopt to use your kitchen appliances more efficiently:

Oven

Don't open the oven door to check on a dish — use the oven light instead (20 percent of the heat can be lost each time you open the oven door).
Keep preheating to a minimum.
Turn the oven off before cooking is complete (depending on the dish, up to 15 minutes). The heat in the oven will continue to cook the dish until finished.
If you need to self-clean the oven, plan to do it after cooking a meal while the oven is already hot, requiring less energy to raise the temperature to a higher level.

Stovetop

Match the pan size to the element size.
Use the least amount of water and the smallest size pan possible. Otherwise you're wasting energy to heat up excess metal or excess water.

Refrigerator

Let hot foods cool to room temperature before putting them in the fridge. Otherwise the fridge works even harder to bring the temperature down.
Keep the freezer full. The more air you displace with food and beverages, the less cold air you lose when you open the freezer door.

Dishwasher

Run the dishwasher when full; it requires the same amount of energy for a full load as it does for a half load.
Use the "no heat" drying option.
Don't wash dishes twice. Although it depends upon the age of your dishwasher, most dishwashers can get your dishes clean without rinsing them first by hand.

Other appliances

Plug countertop appliances into a power strip that can be turned off after use, saving the energy that would be used by the appliances when in "standby mode." (Depending upon how often you use your microwave, the microwave's digital clock could use more energy than the microwave oven itself.)
You can also simply unplug appliances when you're done using them.

Virginia Lacy is a Consultant with the Energy & Resources Team at Rocky Mountain Institute.

The aircraft that will fly for five years straight

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:43:10 PDT

How's this for a compelling press release opening line: "Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that it has been awarded a contract to develop a radical new aircraft that can stay aloft for up to five years. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) made the award under a program known as 'Vulture.'"

A report in EcoGeek talks about this superplane. "It's a little bit like a spy satellite, except it can operate under its own power, and at much lower altitudes (though still in the stratosphere)."

The accompanying image, of a black flying machine wider than three 767's wingspans and hinged like three quarters of a giant flying "W" festooned with tiny propellers, is something to behold. The theory is that the hinges could open and close as needed to expose the solar-energy-collecting wings to the best sunlight angles all day long.

Cleantech adds that the hinged sections of the "W" are actually three separate vehicles that can launch separately and dock in midair. "The three constituent aircraft are each a complete, self-sufficient airplane with a wingspan of approximately 50 meters, or 164 feet." Can you imagine how amazing this thing would look as it crossed the sky?

Boeing and Lockheed are also in on this contract, and I eagerly await the first YouTube video of this solar superstar actually taking flight. What a compelling solar power proof of concept that will be.

11 great green technologies of the future

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:39:06 PDT

The current issue of Fortune has a thought-provoking roundup and slide show of 11 new green technologies that are easy to imagine being integrated into our daily lives. I enjoyed flipping through them to see what's on the horizon, and given that this is Fortune, all the concepts are deemed to be potentially successful business propositions.

For example, check out the Aptera electric tri-wheel vehicle, a Jestonsesque conveyance that will certainly turn heads on the highway. It looks like it came from another planet.

I was also fascinated by Sungevity, a solar power company whose website zooms in on a satellite image of your roof, calculates what kind of solar system would fit there, and how efficient it would be. Cool stuff. Unfortunately, it's only for Californians right now, but that makes sense since the Golden State is pretty generous with solar subsidies.

Fortune also highlights Makani Power, a somewhat mysterious startup funded in part by Google's philanthropic foundation to discover ways to harness high-altitude winds for power generation. The idea is that higher up (above 1,000 feet), the wind is more consistent that it is at ground level. How do you do the generation up there and get the power down here? Beats me, and the company isn't sharing its secrets just yet, but feel free to take a peek anyway.

Sweet tooth truth

Trystan L. Bass — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:15:07 PDT

Rich and creamy, chocolate started as the food of the gods. Now it's the ideal gift for every special occasion. But behind the dark, delicious morsels lay some unfortunate environmental truths.

If you want to give your loved one a treat that's sweet to the planet, here's some background info and recommended sources.

First, you should know that 70% of the cacao beans used to make chocolate are grown in Africa, mostly in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. Some cacao is grown in South America, the Caribbean, and Indonesia as well. In all of these places, child labor is a big problem.

In 2002, the International Labour Organization released a series of studies about cacao farming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria. This group found that 284,000 children were working on these farms, frequently in unsafe conditions.

Children were handling toxic pesticides, wielding machetes, and working long hours. In Côte d’Ivoire, a third of kids ages 6 to 17 who lived in cocoa-producing households had never attended school.

Plus, these operations are damaging rainforests. According to the World Watch Institute, cocoa farming has destroyed 13% of the original forest in Côte d'Ivoire. Global Exchange (PDF) notes that deforestation has reduced habitat for birds. And overuse of pesticides can backfire and create more virulent pests.

The chocolate industry has taken steps recently to address child labor and environmentally harmful farming practices.

The World Cocoa Foundation created programs with farmers to encourage more sustainable farming and safer working conditions. They partnered with various non-governmental agencies, as well as TransFair USA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the industry still has a long way to go.

If you want chocolate that's guaranteed eco-friendly, your best bet is to look for a fair-trade certification. This means a neutral, international system has certified that the farmers received a reasonable minimum price for their goods. Fair-trade also prohibits child labor and promotes sustainable farming practices that are similar to organic farming.

The inspection and certification process does cost money for a business, so this can increase the price for the consumer, in addition to the higher living wage the farmer receives. But you're getting a product that's been raised under better standards -- as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

TransFair USA certifies cocoa and lists quite a few retail chocolatiers. It's also worth looking for USDA organic certified chocolates; some manufacturers may not get both certifications due to the cost or beauracracy.

Theo Chocolate, Sweet Earth Organic Chocolate, Equal Exchange, and Shaman Chocolates are all organic and fair-trade certified.

I especially like Divine Chocolate. It's well named because the taste is divine, and it's fair-trade.

For more fair-trade chocolates, take a look at Nirvana Belgian Chocolates, San Francisco Chocolate Factory, and Alter Eco.

For organic chocolate, visit Lillie Belle Farms and Sjaak's Organic Chocolates.

Another personal favorite is Dagoba Organic Chocolate (I love the Latte Mocha bar!). These sweets are certified organic and sustainably grown, plus all of the dark chocolates are vegan.

If your loved one loves animals too, maybe an Endangered Species chocolate bar would be a great gift. These yummy bars are made of ethically traded, shade-grown chocolate, and 10% of profits go to different conservancy organizations.

While all of the ones mentioned so far are available online, some types are available in stores too. Newman's Own Organics has several flavors of chocolate bars and peanut butter cups sold in natural food stores and markets like Whole Foods.

The luxury UK brand Green and Black's Organic chocolate is highly acclaimed for its dark chocolates. Use the store locator on the website, and you may find this sweet delight at a Whole Foods or Target store in your neighborhood.

The age of smart chargers

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:35:28 PDT

Many of us, me included, are guilty of leaving the chargers for our various handheld gadgets plugged into the wall all the time, where they constantly draw a few wasted watts and feel warm to the touch. These "wall warts" or "vampires" are easy to corral if you simply put them all in one place on one on/off power strip and then keep the strip off until you need to recharge, but setting that up just seems so utterly exhausting!

Maybe it's time for the chargers themselves to get smarter, to turn themselves on and off as needed and to monitor the gadgets they're recharging so they know when a full charge has been accomplished.

As you might expect, it's a cell phone manufacturer that's trying to make this happen. Nokia, which has a pretty good record at pursuing green solutions, is toying with such smart charger.

NokNok, a blog that specializes in Nokia news, has a report and an exclusive video that shows Nokia's "zero-waste" charger in action. "This prototype has a big green button that you simply press to activate the phone to charge. [Nokia's Head of Design Strategic Projects Rhys Newman] also explains that it could be that your Nokia phone communicates with the charger, telling it when it's fully charged, switching it off at the source automatically. Similarly, he speaks of options where the charger could be set to just top-up your phone with a set amount of power."

And while we wait for these developments to come to market, unplug those wall warts!

Dishpan hands go green

Trystan L. Bass — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:33:18 PDT

You've cooked up a tasty meal of fresh, local ingredients. Maybe you even relaxed with a glass of organic wine. Now it's time to clean up after dinner.

What if your charmingly retro house or tiny apartment doesn't include an automatic dishwasher? Can hand-washing the dirty pots and pans still be earth-friendly? Sure, but it takes a little elbow grease.

An oft-quoted study from the University of Bonn, Germany, found that people who hand-washed dishes used 27 gallons of water and 2.5 kWh of water-heating energy on average to clean 12 place settings.

This was dramatically less efficient than the dishwashing machines tested -- they used about 4 gallons of water and 1 to 2 kWh of energy.

But if you just can't afford an Energy-Star machine right now (or, like me, your 1940s kitchen is too narrow for one to fit into!), you can still learn to wash dishes better.

First, install an aerator on your faucet. These inexpensive little devices turn a wasteful sink into a low-flow water saver, and you won't really notice any lack of drippage. Put one in the bathroom sink too, while you're at it. It'll cost you maybe $3 per faucet.

Next, scrape your dishes after eating, instead of rinsing. You shouldn't need to soak them unless food has burned on. And try not to let food sit and dry on dishes, if possible.

When it's time to wash a load, do it efficiently by using dishpans or getting a plug for your sink. If you wash dishes with the faucet running, you might as well pour money down the drain. Your water bill goes up, valuable resources are lost, both you and the planet suffer. Who wants that?

Wash the dishes in a pan of hot water and rinse in a pan of cool water. Or if you have a double sink, use plugs and fill up the sinks.

One eco-bonus that hand-washing has over the machine is that many of the detergents for automatic dishwashers still contain phosphates. Dishwasher detergents are one of the last types of cleaning products in the U.S. still allowed to include this harmful agent. Liquid detergents used for hand-washing dishes are usually phosphate-free, so they don't gunk up our waterways.

How low can you go?

Sam Silverstein — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:26:57 PDT

How far will I go to save energy? I recently read the owner's manual for our dishwasher, that's how far.

Locating the manual was easy: Filing our collection gets done regularly. Actually reading one, however, generally means there's a crisis afoot.

And there is. An environmental crisis. Were there energy savings to be found in how we wash our dishes? And if so, what are the tradeoffs?

I turned to the manual in search of answers. I'll share what I learned by reading it — and by testing the results — so that you don't have to.

Our machine, an Asko ASEA 1502, is made in Sweden, and some critical passages in the manual were lost in translation. The manufacturer relies heavily on symbols to tell the story.

With some squinting, I eventually figured out there are three dials I can turn — or I should say buttons I can push — to save energy.

The first determines the duration of the wash cycle. A second controls water temperature, which can range from 150 to 110 degrees. The third turns a heating coil at the bottom of the machine on or off, for extra oomph steaming away water during the dry cycle.

The most energy-efficient scenario is the shortest wash cycle using the coolest temperature without the heated dry. We were doing the opposite. All three settings on our machine were maxed out, and had been for years.

A week-long experiment was conducted, with lots of settings tested - by which I mean, I futzed with the buttons and then eyeballed the results. Did the dishes suffer?

Yes, a little. They were clean as always. But cooler water evaporates less completely - and with the coil turned off tiny puddles appeared here and there among the otherwise gleaming glasses and plates. Opening the machine and letting the contents air dry helped.

So did giving them a quick twist with a towel prior to stowage. I figure, it's the least I can do to help. And there's no going back. The manual was crystal clear in one regard: "For greatest energy savings do not use heat during drying."

A couple extra tidbits from the week, in the name of every little bit counts:

Dishwashers do themselves need to be cleaned - at least ours does. Scraping clean a series of filters ahead of the drain made a significant difference in how the dishes turned out -more significant than water temperature.

Loading the machine with care also made a difference. Pointing the silverware up in the basket instead of down mattered most. (Sharp knives should point down, for safety.)

Turn off the machine altogether between use instead of leaving in standby mode. Though the energy saved is "negligible" according to the manual, it's a good habit to be in with all appliances, for minimizing the effect of so-called "energy vampires."

We'd been using too much detergent, filling the receptacle each time. The manual recommends this only for "hard" water with high mineral counts. It took two minutes on our local water district web site to learn our water was relatively "soft," requiring just one tablespoon of detergent.

In addition to energy, a fringe benefit was the amount of *time* saved. Running the machine on the most energy-efficient settings took 70 minutes instead of more than two hours — creating plenty of time to read up on my refrigerator.

Sam Silverstein is the editor of Yahoo! Green.

Strategies for the green-conscious air traveler

By Michael Brylawski — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:51:29 PDT

I have a few flights planned for this summer, and I'm not looking forward to them. It's not just the long security lines, crammed seats, and lack of pillows on board.

It's my eco-conscience.

The fact is that flying is a significant and growing source of climate change. Globally, aviation contributes roughly 2-3 percent of all carbon emissions.

High impact
That may not sound like a significant number -- cement manufacturing, after all, contributes at least 5 percent of all emissions.

But carbon from airplanes is emitted high in the atmosphere, which means it has a disproportionate effect on climate change. In fact, scientists attribute a "forcing factor" of two to two-and-a-half times to airplanes' base emissions. Thus, the contribution to climate change may be more like 6-8 percent. In industrialized nations like the UK, where affluence enables more air travel, estimates are as high as 12 percent.

And it's predicted to climb. Airbus and Boeing project a doubling of aircraft in the fleet over the next few decades. Some scientists say that by 2050, aviation will be one of the largest contributors to global warming.

Thus the guilt. Sites like www.flyingsthenewsmoking.com, www.planestupid.com, and the satirical www.spurt-aviation.com add to this feeling.

What's in the numbers
Numerous airports, from Seattle to Manchester (UK) to Vancouver, have undertaken "carbon accounting" to understand the impact of flying. The results are pretty consistent.

Take what Seattle's comprehensive 2006 greenhouse gas inventory found: When you fly, 90 percent of the total is generated by the plane; the airport itself generates about 2 percent; and getting to and from the airport contributes the rest (about 8 percent).

It's tempting to go after that 90 percent by flying on more fuel-efficient planes, avoiding older jets like first-generation 737s and MD-80s and opting for a newer 777 or A320, or maybe even a Q400 turboprop. But as a passenger, in the near term, choosing what you fly is nearly impossible.

There is longer-term hope on tackling that 90 percent, and we at RMI are planning to work with the industry on increasing the fuel efficiency of planes with some of our ideas in Winning the Oil Endgame.

The "negaflight"
In the near-term, however, your best option for tackling that 90 percent is not to fly. As our Chief Scientist Amory Lovins puts it, "sometimes it's advantageous to transmit electrons instead of the heavy nucleii."

To translate: Use your Macbook Air instead of US Air. Three months ago, I was able to keynote a conference from my living room on my video-equipped laptop.

This "virtual presentation" was not perfect, but the client was pleased, it beat the long flights, and I definitely saved carbon.

Sure, I miss the free mini-pretzels. But I also didn't absorb an excess-fuel surcharge-the commute to and from my laptop was pretty short. As technology gets better, virtual meetings will only become a more attractive option.

Other options
Avoiding the trip, or taking a "negaflight," is often not practical. Your client needs to see you in person, or the family is having a reunion. You need to fly.

In which case, to minimize your impact, you have to go after that 8 percent: How you get to and from the airport.

Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to green your trip to and from the airport, and several airports are working hard to help -- the subject of my next article.

Michael Brylawski is Vice President of the Mobility / Vehicle Efficiency Practice at Rocky Mountain Institute.

Ethanol and land use

Robert Bonnie — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:07:48 PDT

This post is by Robert Bonnie, Co-director of the Land, Water, and Wildlife Program at Environmental Defense Fund.

The New York Times recently reported that thousands of farmers are dropping out of the federal government’s Conservation Reserve Program.

The prices for corn and other crops are so high that conservation subsidies can’t compete with what farmers can make by planting the land.

One reason for the high prices is the ethanol mandate in the energy bill Congress passed last year.

Shifts in land use from diverting food-producing land to grow crops for energy -- called "indirect land-use change" -- can potentially negate the environmental benefits of corn ethanol.

There is still much debate on how to measure it, but no question it’s important to consider. One recent study published in Science (Searchinger, et. al.) found that using croplands for biofuels causes a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline when indirect land use change is taken into account.

Unintended consequences such as these highlight the danger of mandating a specific clean energy technology, and the importance of relying on performance standards instead.

What is "indirect land-use change"?

When food-producing land is diverted for energy production, the food that would have been grown on that land must be grown elsewhere. This prompts farmers to convert land not currently in production into cropland.

When grassland or forestland is cleared to grow crops, the carbon sequestered in the soil and trees is released into the atmosphere.

If a lot of new land is cultivated, the resulting carbon release can completely negate the benefits of using biofuels. The New York Times said as many acres as in Rhode Island and Delaware combined were removed from the Conservation Reserve Program, and that’s just one corner of the country.

Not all the land was removed due to U.S. biofuel policy, but it plays a part. Some research has found that U.S. policies can contribute to deforestation in southeast Asia and the Amazon.

Assessing the impact of indirect land-use change is tricky, and experts disagree on how to quantify it. According to the Searchinger study, when indirect land-use change is factored in:

Corn ethanol nearly doubles greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline when considered over a period of 30 years, and emissions remain elevated for 167 years.
Even biofuels from switchgrass, if grown on U.S. corn lands, increase emissions relative to gasoline by 50 percent.

We can’t say whether these numbers are exactly correct, but we can say that indirect land use effects -- particularly tropical deforestation -- are important to consider.

Shaping policy to reduce emissions

Government mandates for a specific technology to lower greenhouse gas emissions risk unintended consequences -- even higher net emissions.

An effective policy that ensures lower emissions has two key components:

A market-based system that rewards less carbon-intensive technologies and land-use practices, whatever they may be.

The Searchinger study suggests that a possible solution to the corn ethanol problem is to use waste products as a "feedstock" (raw material to produce biofuels). Unlike cultivated crops, waste products don’t compete for agricultural land and drive up commodity prices. Sustainably produced cellulosic ethanol made from grasses and wood also may be a viable alternative. Another possibility we’ll discuss in an upcoming post is using algae to make ethanol.

But a policy that specifically mandates corn ethanol doesn’t encourage exploration of these other options.
Performance standards based on full lifecycle analysis, including emissions from tropical deforestation and other indirect land use changes.

There is some recognition of this in current policy, but also an important gap. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) Low-Carbon Fuel Standard and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) both require consideration of indirect land use in assessing emissions.

But the EPA’s RFS exempts corn ethanol from existing facilities from having to meet lifecycle emissions standards.

Biofuels may have a role in our energy future, but only if they’re produced in ways that lower emissions. Performance-based standards and market incentives can prevent the unintended consequences of mandating the wrong technology.

Eating right

Trystan L. Bass — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:39:11 PDT

You've heard of low-carb diets, right? Atkins, South Beach ... but what about a low-carbon diet?

Just like our cars and the power plants the light our houses create CO2 emissions, the food we eat can contribute to climate change. Livestock creates 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, so meat and dairy products have a high carbon count. Processed, packaged goods shipped across the country consume a lot more energy than fresh, local foods.

You can calculate the approximate climate impact of your meal at EatLowCarbon.org, a nifty tool created by the food service company Bon Appétit. Just drag and drop ingredients into your virtual sauté pan, and dish up an earth-friendly dinner.

I visited a couple places where Bon Appétit provides food service and encourages eco-friendly dining. See for yourself how college students and tech workers went low-carb this Earth Day.

Bon Appétit brought its low-carbon diet to more than 400 corporate and university cafés across the U.S. this year. The company contracts with places like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, adidas, Seattle Art Museum, Oracle Corporation, eBay, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Best Buy, and even Yahoo!.

At Santa Clara University, I talked to students and staff to see how they enjoyed the sustainable lunch choices. The response was very positive. An environmental studies major complimented the cafeteria for emphasizing local produce. The students also admired how Bon Appétit and the university worked together to educate people on making smart food choices.

Lindsey Cromwell, the university's sustainability coordinator, pointed out that the low-carbon diet is in line with the institution's long-term goal of going carbon-neutral. "As a Jesuit university, we're concerned with the ethical implications of all our decisions," she commented. Stewardship of the planet -- down to the food we choose -- is part of the life education Santa Clara University provides.

Bon Appétit's Director of Culinary Support, Marc Zammit, gave me a tour of the university's kitchen and pointed out what made the Earth Day meals 'low carbon.'

Cutting out beef is a big part of it, but this doesn't have to mean going totally vegetarian. Raising chicken, pork, and fish uses fewer resources than beef. If you can go meat-free a few days a week, that's great (and pretty healthy too). But trying a tilapia fish taco instead of a hamburger like some satisfied students did is a start.

Cheese is a tough one for many of us to give up. But at the university deli, Zammit showed how you can create delicious sandwiches without a slice of cheese. Yummy spreads like hummus and pesto add creamy texture and loads of flavor without dairy. Definitely worth trying at home!

I also checked out the corporate café at SAP Labs. Executive chef Melissa Miller showed me around her kitchen, where she makes tasty meals like chicken pho. This Vietnamese noodle soup traditionally has beef, but her low-carbon version was just as popular as the standard.

Miller's crew also makes potato chips from scratch -- this avoids packaging, since they can serve them from big glass jars. And fresh chips taste better too! What a treat.

The café also provides crackers for soups in jars (instead of individually wrapped), and condiments like ketchup and mustard are served in refillable containers (not packets). All of this reduces garbage.

This is something we can easily do at home too. Buying in bulk is often cheaper than buying lots of individually packaged items. We'll spend less and have less trash, so it's a win-win.

Both cafeterias encourage diners to use real china and silverware whenever possible. Paper and plastic to-go containers are frequently not recyclable or just not recycled, so they end up in the landfills. At Santa Clara University, the cafeteria uses 7,200 to-go boxes each week. If you stacked them up, that'd be almost as tall as the Empire State Building!

That's something we should remember when we get take-out food or are tempted to use paper plates at home for parties.

Want to learn more about how you can go low-carb? Check out Bon Appétit's low-carbon diet tips, including research behind why this helps the planet.

And get a recipe from the chef at San Francisco's de Young Museum for seafood stew to whip up your own sustainable dinner tonight.

Low-carbon seafood stew

Courtesy of chef Preeti Mistry — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:34:57 PDT

This eco-friendly recipe comes to us from Preeti Mistry, Chef at San Francisco's de Young Museum for Bon Appétit Management Company.

Editor's note: The recipe includes chardonnay wine for flavor. Depending on your location in the U.S., domestic wine isn't always the best choice. Several experts suggest that for people living west of the Mississippi River, wines from California, Oregon, and Washington State are the more eco-friendly choice. For those living in the east, wines from the eastern U.S. and from Italy, Spain, and France are more carbon-conscious.

Ingredients:
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. local fish bones
2 medium size onions, diced
1 jumbo carrot, diced
2 bulbs fennel, diced
¼ cup chopped garlic
1 bunch thyme, picked & chopped
1 bunch oregano, picked & chopped
2 Meyer lemons, thinly sliced
2 cups chardonnay wine
2 fresh bay leaves
2 liters tap water

1 lb. fingerling potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 medium sized shallots, finely diced
2 tbsp. salt
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 lb. local mussels, cleaned
1 lb. local clams, cleaned

Bring olive oil to a medium heat in a large sauce pan. Add fish bones, onions, carrots, and fennel sauté 10 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, oregano, and lemon slices, and continue cooking until bones and vegetables begin to brown. Turn heat to high and add wine. Scrape pot to release flavor, and let simmer until alcohol has burned off. Add water and bay leaves, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring potatoes to boil and simmer until cooked through.

Let broth cool and then puree in batches in blender. Strain broth and set aside.

Heat second portion of olive oil in large sauce pan. Add shallots and garlic and simmer on medium heat for 2 minutes. Add mussels, clams, cooked potatoes, and fish broth, and bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer 8 minutes or until shells open, then add parsley and garlic.

Yield: 4 entrée servings

Chef Preeti's Thoughts

I chose the seafood stew because I have always been a fan of using every part of the protein — in this case, flavorful bones from local fish. They are instrumental in creating a savory base for the broth, which is complemented nicely by the more subtle flavors of local herbs and spring vegetables.

Paired with the fragrant and floral tones of a chardonnay and the natural tartness of Meyer lemons, the result is a hearty, aromatic stew with rich and complex layers of flavor that is light enough to enjoy in the spring, when tomatoes — the more typical base for a seafood stew — are out of season.

Are we ready for climate change's health impacts?

Catherine Malina — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:51:33 PDT

This post is by Catherine Malina, an associate in the Health Sciences Program at Environmental Defense Fund and a survey interviewer for the "Are We Ready?" report.

Environmental Defense Fund released a new report [PDF] today on the U.S. public health system’s state of preparedness for global climate change. It’s based on a survey of local health department directors from across the country. I was one of the survey interviewers.

Is our nation ready to address the public health challenges of a warming planet? Our survey found there’s much work still to be done.

Climate change already contributes to disease and premature deaths worldwide, as populations experience greater health risks from more frequent and intense heat waves, extreme weather events, reduced air quality and infectious disease. The new EDF report, written in collaboration with the National Association of County and City Health Officials and George Mason University, evaluates our public health infrastructure based on a survey of 133 local health departments in 39 states.

Public health officials concerned
The survey, conducted over the course of two months, included health officials in all parts of the country - from Utah, Kentucky and Florida, to Wisconsin, North Carolina and Maine.

In each interview I asked public health directors about their perception of climate-related health risks, and the status and adequacy of their departments' programs in response to these dangers. Directors also described their current or planned activities to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the additional resources they would need to more effectively deal with climate change as a public health issue.

I learned that there is widespread concern about climate change and the public health challenges it presents. This was true from small, rural counties to large, urban centers, and the suburbs in between.

Most of the directors were both personally and professionally interested in the issue, and believed climate change had already taken place in their jurisdiction. Even more believed they would see the local climate change over the next 20 years. I was struck to learn that a large majority thought their area would experience one or more serious public health problems as a result of climate change.

Lack of funding for long-range planning
Tellingly, most of the directors I interviewed saw the public health effects of climate change as an important priority for their department, but relatively few identified it as a top priority. Many admitted they lacked the resources and expertise to fully respond to the challenge. One director said:

We have limited staff and budget, so time is spent on routine issues. We don't have the ability to focus on long-range planning.

Another - one of many - echoed this response:

It would be a priority, but I don't have the funding for it.

Though we're not where we need to be, hearing this made me feel optimistic. Public health directors recognize the challenge ahead and are eager to find solutions.

Where we go from here
Our survey shows that local health directors across the U.S. are looking to state and national leadership for guidance and support. Improving public health's capacity to respond to climate change impacts will require closing a gap in resources and funding, but there are many opportunities to reduce health risks through smart policies that serve both climate and health goals.

For a detailed set of recommendations on how the U.S. can prepare for these health impacts, and to learn more about the survey, check out the full report [PDF].

Solar watches with style

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:25:20 PDT

I was browsing online for a new watch the other day (a mega-time-waster if ever there was one) when I came across a collection of solar-powered watches that don't give the slightest indication that something eco-friendly is going on. The Eco-Drive series from Citizen looks like any other collection of relatively classy mid-range quartz watches, but they embrace some pretty cool technologies that free you from worrying about your battery ever running out.

There's a super-thin disk of silicon under the dial that converts light into electricity through the regular photovoltaic process, and the energy stored in a specially designed cell which doesn't contain the usual battery chemicals and therefore doesn't suffer from the usual charge/discharge cycles that eventually wear out typical rechargeable batteries. In other words, it should last forever.

So how do you know if the watch needs a recharge? The second hand starts to move in two-second intervals. When that happens, a direct light source is needed for as long as the owner's manual indicates. If you're too late, and the watch stops, then you will have to set it again.

It's always good to see solar technology deployed in new ways, both big and small. As for me and my browsing, here's the $295 model I like. (http://www.citizenwatch.com)

Don Willmott's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.

The real thing

Jay Weinstein, Forecast Earth Food Correspondent — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:20:47 PDT

For health-and environment-conscious people who love Coca-Cola, now's a good time to stock up. During the seven days of Passover, the Coca-Cola Company reverts to its original formula, making the soda without high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which it began substituting for sugar in 1985.

This is done as a goodwill gesture to the Jewish community, which is forbidden by religious law to consume grains (including corn, from which HFCS is made) during the eight days of observance. This year, Passover runs from Saturday April 19 through Sunday April 27.

Many in-the-know Coke lovers who are concerned about the prevalence of highly processed corn sweeteners in the American diet for ecological or health reasons, or who simply miss the taste of Coke before the switch (you'll be able to tell the difference, believe me), take this opportunity to stock the pantry with HFCS-free Coke. It's available in most areas with a sizable Jewish population, and is easily distinguished from ordinary Coke by the bright yellow caps on its bottles (regular Coke bottles have red caps), and the Hebrew and English lettering on the cap, indicating that it is "Kosher for Passover."

Reasons for choosing this limited edition cola vary. For instance, the reason Coke substituted in HFCS in the first place was that ultra high-yield corn created record low corn prices. This made the corn-based sweetener much, much cheaper than the cane sugar or fructose (not the same thing as HFCS) that it had used since the 1880s. So much cheaper, in fact, that it slashed the cost of producing the beverage, and allowed for the introduction of super-sized takeout drinks, Big Gulps, free refills, and lots of other avenues to greater consumption. But high corn production is fueled by large chemical inputs like petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides, which cause extensive ecological damage.

It's not that sugar production is a great boon to the environment. It has land and water use problems too. But the increase in HFCS food and beverage consumption has led to increased ecological stresses, dependence on petroleum inputs, and, some say, the obesity epidemic in America today. Now that prices for corn are edging up due to demand for biofuels and a worldwide food pinch, we may see a downsizing of sweetened food product portions, Coca-Cola included. Maybe smaller bottles of Coke aren't a bad thing, either. But in the meantime, Coca-Cola sweetened the old fashioned way with cane sugar is on shelves until the end of this week.

Earth Day 2013: Envisioning the future

By Andrew Demaria — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:18:43 PDT

Earth Day 2008 is upon us. Shouldn't we all take into account issues like dwindling natural resources, water pollution, and climate change every day? Is one day really enough?

Earth Day kicked off in 1970. It was established by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson to "thrust the issue of environmental quality and resources conservation into the political dialogue of the Nation."

Thirty-eight years later, it has done just that-and more. The day has gone international, and so too have the environmental issues that we all face.

Getting the issues on the national agenda is one thing. Encouraging and integrating policy from the solutions already at hand is proving to be another.

Looking forward, what can we achieve in say, five years... by the time Earth Day 2013 rolls around?

I asked this question of Lena Hansen, senior consultant with RMI's Energy & Resources Team. She leads the Institute's work on renewable energy and biofuels, and has additional expertise in demand-side management and carbon strategy for corporations, industry, electric utilities, and governments.

Her answer was quite profound, and practically speaking, more than achievable:

By Earth Day 2013, the United States will have passed meaningful carbon legislation. Whether in the form of a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade program, this legislation will renew the U.S.'s reputation as a world leader in environmental responsibility, and will support private sector innovation around efficiency and whole-system design.

In conjunction with this carbon legislation, individual states will have begun to adopt energy efficiency and renewable energy policies and programs that are at least as aggressive as those currently on the books in California.

Leading utilities will have shifted their forward planning efforts away from coal-fired power and towards an increased reliance on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

This transition can be achieved through the development of strategies that address the variability of wind and solar power, and the implementation of business models that allow utilities to profit from the sale of ‘negawatts.' [Negawatts are units of energy saved by using power more efficiently or at a more suitable time, and therefore made available to other applications.]

To facilitate this increased reliance on energy efficiency, leading engineering and design schools will have incorporated whole-system design principles into their core curriculums.

Education, innovation, and policy -- all driving toward a world in which we use energy more efficiently, more thoughtfully.

Is Earth Day still a protest, or a day that's furthering the calls for action?

Andrew Demaria is Rocky Mountain Institute's Director of Content.

Charred salmon, or salmonlike char?

Jay Weinstein, Forecast Earth Food Correspondent — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:27:48 PDT

Since American home cooks discovered the joys of grilling fish in the 1990s, countless tunas and swordfishes have been sacrificed at the Weber. But true mastery of the tricky art of fish grilling was easily measured by how well a cook could grill salmon, a delicate-fleshed fish that tastes great with a modest touch of char from a very hot grill.

Experts agree that getting the desired whisper of charred taste without overcooking the fish required a well-seasoned grill, patience not to move the fish before it formed a skin and released from the bars, and an experienced eye for doneness.

Since the early 2000s, though, awareness of health threats posed by farm-raised salmon, pollution and ecological damage wrought by the industry, and general distaste for the artificially colored product coming from salmon farms has led many Americans to turn to more expensive wild salmon.

Of course, the salmon farms were created to meet a demand that wild stocks could never meet. At the same time that demand for wild salmon is peaking, the federal government is taking emergency measures to close down salmon fisheries in some of the most important waterways of the Pacific Northwest.

It seems that massive diversions of river water for agriculture have decimated the salmon populations in the Sacramento River and in the Klamath River Basin. So much for barbecuing them!

With wild and farmed salmon now on the do-not-grill registry, what pink-fleshed fish is left? Enter a salmon relative with a juicy, salmonlike character and a great environmental record: arctic char.

It's larger and less bony than other salmonids like trout, and naturally oily enough to cook well on the grill. These fish can be substituted easily into your favorite salmon recipe. Just cut cooking time in half to account for their thinner fillets.

They are available either wild or farm-raised. Their aquaculture doesn't cause as many eco issues as salmon farming, because these fish naturally school very tightly, gain more weight per pound of feed than salmon, and can be raised in closed "raceways," where escapes into the wild are rare and waste can be contained. Wild stocks also rebound rapidly from fishing pressures.

Char is available in more and more fish markets. If your local store isn't carrying it, ask why. Your grill awaits.

We've come a long way, baby

Trystan L. Bass — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:43:56 PDT

Earth Day is like the environmentalist's Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Fourth of July wrapped up in one.

Some may poo-poo Earth Day as having lost its true meaning, but like Charlie Brown, we can always rediscover the heart and soul of the day.

Stripped of the recent commercialism, the whole point of this day has always been to bring attention to our environment and what we need to do to clean it up.

So what better time than Earth Day 2008 to look at how far we've come in the past 12 months, and to think about what we can do to make our planet a cleaner place in the future.

Top five signs we're on the right track

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize -- Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were recognized for their work to spread the word about man-made climate change.

The Nobel Committee made clear the devastating effect global warming will have on human lives and security. For peace in our times, we have to reverse climate change. And thanks to Mr. Gore's work, millions of people are aware of this.

Prius sales topped 1 million -- The icon for green driving, Toyota's Prius hybrid car, hit a million cars sold worldwide in June 2007. Over half of those cars are zipping around the U.S.

The Prius is Silicon Valley's car of choice -- as evidenced by the dozens in Yahoo!'s own parking lot (and my own driveway). Other carmakers are jumping on the hybrid bandwagon every model year.

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 signed into law -- This U.S. legislation, while far from perfect, has huge potential to increase our country's energy efficiency.

It raises standard gas mileage for cars and light trucks (aka SUVs) for the first time ages to 35 mpg by 2020. And this act bans the sale of most incandescent lightbulbs by 2014. We should see more Energy Star-rated appliances too.

The Vatican called pollution a sin -- When even the Catholic Church is going green, you know the message has spread. Church official Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti said, "You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming, or coveting your neighbor's wife, but also by ruining the environment."

Rev. John Wauck from Rome's Pontifical University of the Holy Cross added that protecting the environment is implied in the Bible's Book of Genesis. Pollution is a variation on the mortal sin of gluttony or selfishness.

Wal-Mart went green -- Surprisingly, the world's biggest retailer has jumped on the sustainability bandwagon. How much of this is green-washing is debatable, but it's true that the mega-store has made some big eco-friendly efforts.

Wal-Mart sold more than 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs in 2007, introduced fair-trade certified coffee in April 2008, and buys 10 million pounds of organic cotton annually.

Considering the company expects 90% of American households will shop at its stores this year, I think it's pretty important that Wal-Mart is doing something green.

We're more aware of climate change than ever before. We know something about how our choices in energy use, travel, and shopping affect the planet and our own communities. Let's pat ourselves on the back... then let's get back to work.

Top five things still we need to work on

Drive less, carpool more, use public transit -- Gas is climbing to $4 a gallon, so really, who wants to drive more anyway? If the nasty emissions don't make you want to share the ride or get out of the car entirely, the cost should.

Start small by carpooling to work a couple days a week. This really isn't that hard for most people, since statistically our commutes aren't long in distance. It's the time spent sitting in traffic that stretches our workday -- but if your city has carpool lanes, you'll zip to the office and back home easily.

Be a conscious consumer, reduce the stuff you buy -- The first step in "reduce, reuse, recycle" is often forgotten, but it's the most important one. The less junk we buy, the less we need to reuse or recycle. We're nipping the problem in the bud.

Do I really need the latest cell phone when I renew my plan? No, even if the company is giving it to me free. The old phone works fine, so why add it to the landfill?

Now personally, I love fashion, but when I feel like having new clothes, I hit the thrift store or look for vintage garb on eBay. At least then I'm not requiring new resources to be used simply for my pleasure, plus I'm keeping stuff out of the garbage.

You don't have to abandon all your possessions and live off the grid, but we can all think a bit more carefully about what we do buy, consider where it comes from, and what we'll do with it after we're finished with it.

Avoid toxic plastics -- We're starting to learn that some very common plastics leach toxic chemicals into our bodies, and these chemicals have been linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and other health dangers.

Two biggies to watch out for are Bisphenol A (also known as BPA) and phthalates. BPA is often found in plastic water bottles and baby bottles -- these containers usually have a #7 in the 'chasing arrow' symbol on the bottom. Phthalates are found in PVC and soft vinyl goods plus in personal-care products like shampoos and lotions. Look for any ingredient with "-phthalate" in the name.

Conserve water -- According to the United Nations, 41% of the world's population lacks access to clean water. The U.S. southeast was hit by a devastating drought last year, and global climate change will continue to screw with weather patterns.

It's always wise to conserve the water we have, and it's easy too. Fix leaks around the house, install a low-flow showerhead, consider drought-resistant landscaping, heck, even let it mellow if it's yellow. I've heard some famous people even do that.

Tell elected officials the environment matters to you (and vote accordingly) -- Our individual actions help a lot. But to make the biggest impact possible, we need our government to act.

Legislation ensures that corporations don't pollute the skies and oceans or use up all our natural resources. Our government can influence other countries to clean up their acts too.

So remind your representatives at the state and federal level that you care about our environment and want them to act with the planet in mind. And in November, when you have a chance to vote for a new president, consider the candidates' views on climate change too.