What are the benefits of converting?

• For starters, if you have a little patience and a generous Japanese restaurant nearby, you can get free fuel. While Wendy’s overall doesn’t rank high on the eco-friendly factor, my dad has nearly 100 in the South that use WVO in the form of French fry oil to run their maintenance trucks. Lighter oils - like the kind used for tempura at sushi places are the best and easiest to filter
• Reduces sulfur gas (which contribute to acid rain) emissions by 99%
• And, according to Lovecraft, takes the refineries and war out of the equation

When you run low, you can always head over to Sam’s or Costco and pick up some veggie oil to get you by to your next filling station or you can fill up with diesel interchangeably. It’s not necessarily a permanent solution, but it’s a great temporary option to help get a little extra mileage without getting gouged at the pump. Although, based on gas prices alone in LA, it would probably take you 2-3 years to recoup your costs from a professional conversion (unless we hit $10 a gallon this winter).

The menu’s specialty salads, especially the Antioxidant Orchard and Lemongrass Chicken salads, are incredible and are quick making the chopshop a favorite among celebrities, like LeAnn Rimes and her husband, Dean, who I spied in there while in line. If you don’t come for the amazing and reasonably priced fare, come in for the cute chef and friendly staff or just to support a company that is running their business responsibly.

Out of the three refineries located in Billings, one has a very unique story and position in the world of refining. The ConocoPhillips refinery is the first Energy Star certified refinery in the world (two years in a row). Not bad for an industry that is not highly regarded in public opinion given the current prices we are paying at the pump, but sustainability and environmental factors actually rank very high on the list of priorities for this tightly run operation.

Not only is ConocoPhillips the most energy efficient and least polluting out of the three, it was also the first to form a Citizen’s Advisory Council comprised of community members unafraid to speak up about their concerns with having a refinery located in town - the most prevalent, of course, being air quality control.

Stepping off of the plane (from LA granted), the air in Montana is crisp and clear, which is amazing given the fact that there are three refineries that are emitting sulfur and CO2 among other elements into the air. However, even walking around the Conoco plant, it was hard to smell any evidence of “refining” going on. The community members that I got to speak with (including Stella of local Stella’s Kitchen and Bakery fame) excessively praised the efforts of the Conoco team for this reason and for the EPA air quality reports (which I’ll post on later) showing ConocoPhillips leading the pack in terms of lowest amounts of Sulfur Dioxide and other irritants.

This plant, the smallest of the ConocoPhillips refineries, sits on 200 acres in very close proximity to the town - in fact, when it was built in 1949 it sat right in one of the neighborhoods until it began acquiring the surrounding property to build out a larger campus. What this refinery has been able to do that the others have not, is reach out to the citizens and develop an “open door” relationship with them that has lasted nearly 20 years. The steps that they have taken and the positive economic impact are clearly well received within the tiny community.

However, where the refinery team seems to reach an impasse is where to go from here - how do we get beyond petroleum. You can’t run biofuels through existing pipelines (unless maybe it’s LS9), and replacing the pipelines would be a nightmare. They are a heavy crude production facility though, and they do have the ability to process heavy crude as well as the oil from tar sands in Canada, where all of their crude currently comes in from. Of course, the energy used to produce oil from tar sands is astounding, but it’s certainly open for discussion.

At the end of the day, we are still a petroleum-dependent society, and while we are seeking for alternatives to fuel our energy needs, it’s nice to see examples of big oil companies with good town/gown relationships making strides to reduce their environmental impact. It would be nice if this weren’t the only shining example of that.

I’ll have more information from the tour in the coming weeks!

The original founders: Shane Guffogg , John Scane and Vonn Sumner, will focus on contemporary art as catalyst for good dialogue on current issues and events. The gallery is currently hosting an exhibit on abstract Latino art, called Rebel Legacy and will be offering Artwalk Thursdays as well as hosting an upcoming LA Green Drinks meeting.

]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/07/02/pharmaka/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/oil-drilling-threatens-utahs-famous-spiral-jetty-and-great-salt-lake-wetlands/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/06/29/oil-drilling-threatens-utahs-famous-spiral-jetty-and-great-salt-lake-wetlands/#comments Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:21:08 +0000 Courtney Carlisle http://cleantechnica.com/?p=599 Utah has been a second home to me for nearly 20 years. In fact, as I write this, I am looking forward to spending a week at our house near Park City for the upcoming holiday. The state has also long been home to silver mines that continue to taint the local water supplies and force residents to install double osmosis filtering systems just to have potable water.

Public lands within the Utah region and elsewhere have been a longtime target for oil drilling and government granted leases but always with the understand that wilderness and public lands in close proximity to national parks were typically off limits. That is, until the Bush administration decided to green light drilling near national parks in Moab, Utah in 2002. Although park scientists protested that the national parks could take decades to recover from the shock waves caused by local oil derricks, the administration claimed that parks would “barely notice changes,” according to a New York Times article published on February 8, 2002.

In February of this year, proposed oil drilling in the Great Salt Lake region was met with great resistance from residents and local and national environmental groups, such as The Friends of the Great Salt Lake and the Wilderness Conservancy who at the time I wrote this had received nearly 10,000 signatures in protest of the drilling from around the world.

By allowing drilling in this area, we threaten to harm and destroy wetlands that house over 6 million birds during migration season and more than 250 bird species that call the Great Salt Lake region home according to the Nature Conservancy. The wetlands are important to national scientists and the local economy, serving as one of the top places in the nation for bird watching and eco-tourism. Drilling would also potentially damage the “Spiral Jetty,” one of the most famous examples of the Land Art movement developed by Robert Smithson in the 70’s. A recent New York Times article discusses how the Dia Art Foundation is involved in talks to protect Smithson’s masterpiece and stall drilling in such close proximity.

Given the current oil crisis, US residents may wonder why we aren’t becoming more independent and drilling at home. In reality, oil prices are not entirely being driven up by supply/demand issues. I would highly recommend that those people spend more time educating themselves about the economic and market factors involved by visiting our sister site, Gas 2.0 for more information on the politics behind the high prices at the pump as well as read up on the dangerous environmental repercussions from drilling in our backyards.

To help the Napa winemakers and wineries worldwide oversee their crop irrigation and management, Sebastian Payen and Thibaut Scholasch, of Fruition Sciences have turned the science of hydration monitoring into an art. The business partners’ techniques come from the marriage of research and technology that they have developed over more than seven years working at prestigious universities and with premier vineyards.

Using a proprietary technology, Fruition Sciences is able to monitor real time viticulture information and deliver the statistics via a web-based application to the winemakers instantly. The ability to monitor the vineyard status in real time allows vintners to make decisions about irrigation and canopy management that can have immediate repercussions as well as a long term effect on the crop.

The team is currently working with winemakers around the world in California, France and Spain to monitor vine conditions. Implementing this technology at some of the large producers worldwide could have an interesting impact on water usage and vine care and maintenance by leaving a little less up to chance and putting a little faith in technology.

Men - take note - not only are these gorgeous pieces, but they are also guilt-free: as in, the designers source conflict-free stones and recycled gold material when possible. Not to mention the company supports local communities in Africa that are usually affected by poor mining conditions and where most conflict diamonds are a source of funds for civil war. Not exactly the image that you want to conjure when you are admiring your custom designed ring glistening on your finger.

An airline spokesperson commented that early tests showed biofuels cost about half the price of normal aviation fuel and produced half of the environmental emissions. Of course, regulators will have to approve the fuel for “safety” before they can officially convert the fleet, but rising prices for aviation fuel and falling support of the airline industry are spurring the search for an alternative.

This is just a preliminary step and is in a research phase. Alternatives to the jatropha plant, such as algae, exist. Not to mention, availability and infrastructure for international as well as domestic flights doesn’t currently exist and won’t until airlines and fueling companies are able to reach an agreement.

The company is also debuting their biodegradable wash powder that is hypoallergenic and fragrance free for the most sensitive of skin - perfect for washing your unmentionables. The lingerie wash is available at A Brief Affair for $8.50.

1. Ego Cup from Funkwerks - This plug n’ play speaker phone syncs with Bluetooth enabled handsets and slides easily into the cupholder for easy storage when driving. I love that it’s so easy to set up and doesn’t require lengthy instructions to use or block vision by hanging from the rear view mirror. This is especially important for residents of California and other vicinities that are going hands-free on July 1st.

2. Bluetooth earpieces - no doubt Samsung makes some of the best quality, more affordable earpieces, but for talking in the car, the Yada YD-V1 is a great system (especially for those who tend to forget to bring their earpiece with them.) The universal phone cradle sticks onto your dash or wherever its most convenient for your to reach it, and also has a holder for the earpiece, which gets up to 6 hours of talk time and has 105 hours of standby time. The set auto powers on when you turn on the engine and hangs up with the push of a button or when you re-cradle the earpiece.

3. One other option for the less tech-savvy, is the plug in earpiece. Simply plug it into the jack on your phone and insert into your ear - no need to worry about syncing or answering an incoming call from another system. This is as basic and functional as it gets if you don’t mind the wire hanging down. Most phones ship with these in box or you can pick one up to match your phone at mass retailers, like Target.

While research has shown little correlation between cell phone use and cancer, in a recent New York Times article, the FDA admits that the studies did not take into account long term exposure to the radiation and notes that the best brain surgeons try to limit their exposure through use of ear pieces and speaker phones when they can.

Regardless of the healthy risks, studies have convincingly shown that cell phone use on the road leads to an increase in the number of accidents; so, this summer, try out one of the options above.

Aprons are available online and by email through www.calliemicks.com and range in price from $44 to $48 per apron. Also check out the adorable children’s line! Warm chocolate chip cookies aren’t the only reason little girls everywhere will want to mimic their mom’s in the kitchen.

Committed to supporting healthy arrivals and a toxin-free environment, their site offers some excellent suggestions for gifts. Organic crib mattresses, sheets and burp cloths will give the new mom one less thing to worry about.

They also offer products to indulge mom and dad as well as baby after a long day (and night) of taking care of their new bundle of organic joy.

Encouraging all eco-chic ladies to reduce their carbon footprints from the size of an Ugg to a Manolo, the very fashionable Ecostiletto.com is launching this month.

Taking the content formerly accessed on greengirlguide.com (which many of you know is sadly being shut down by Nat Geo), the new destination will maintain the mantra of “If green is the new black, shouldn’t you know what you are wearing?” by providing information about Beauty, Fashion and the green Life, in addition to featuring Eco Celeb interviews.

Helmed by media maven and Green Girl Guide co-founder, Rachel Sarnoff, Eco Stiletto is designed to offer information (not guilt green fashionistas into buying just to buy or into giving up our guilty pleasures) on eco-savvy as well as stylish brands. The site is set to launch at the end of the month, but you can go ahead and get your name on the mailing list.

Fashioned from street banners, billboards and wallscapes used at events and typically made with non-biodegradable materials to withstand wind and rain that would typically end up in landfills, the company neatly cuts and folds the scavenged materials into functional form.

The hydrocarbon based biofuel mimics fuel properties of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, which allows it to run through existing pipeline infrastructure and run in any vehicle, setting it apart from other biofuel products. While LS9’s Designer Biofuel emits the same amount of greenhouse gas as regular crude oil and petroleum products in a combustible engine, the company purports that ultimately that they will have a much smaller impact since they don’t have to drill for the feedstock. Their product also produces twice the energy of regular petroleum products; so, it requires half of the amount of feedstock to yield the same amount of energy.

Aside from the environmental questions of emissions, the company is also competing with the challenge of moving this laboratory production to full scale industrial production.

The patent filing discusses placing the solar technology behind the LCD screen of the devices so that the panels would absorb ambient light without adding additional width and bulk to the device. While the technology could be difficult to implement (Motorola filed a similar patent for their mobile devices in 2001 but is yet to be able to successfully integrate solar technology into their devices), having a company as large and influential as Apple roll it out could mean cross product integration with iPods and MacBooks in addition to the iPhone.

The company takes a lot of knocks for not being environmentally conscientious, but downloading tracks and movies instead of buying copies and using maps on mobile instead of printing directions does help limit impact. Making their products more energy efficient is a winning venture for the mega-brand.

While the use of air-friction isn’t new in the world of clocks (since the 18th century, it has been used in chiming clocks), the Urwerk design duo refined the systems to include dual turbines in their 202 model to automatically wind and prevent over-winding the classic timepiece.

The first series of watches out from this team ran around $150,000 USD. So, there is no doubt that these pretty pieces will be pricey. While the price point may not be realistic for the masses, the UR 202 creates an interesting intersection between technology and design while bringing time and space a little closer together.

To ensure that her company is truly adhering to sustainable and responsible practices, the mother of two, who created the company for her little girls and other like-minded mothers, uses recycled cotton as well. By using recycled cotton, Twirls and Twigs designs helps keep an estimated 5 billion pounds of waste from hitting US landfills. The company uses pre-consumer remnants that have already been dyed and would have been needlessly discarded.

These nostalgic designs and comforting characters are enough to inspire flights of fancy in children and adults alike.

Fortunately, some hotels and travel companies are getting the message and are making changes to help conserve and reduce impact. Several options exist to minimize your footprint on the road and in the skies this summer.

• Make the summer educational as well as exciting by choosing a volunteer or eco-vacation; Sierra Club, Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) offer enriching programs and truly unique experiences with emphasis on being good environmental stewards.
• Stay close to home - some of the best places to visit may be right in your region of the country. Use this time to spend less time on the road or in the air and exploring your own area or community.
• Purchase carbon offsets when you fly. Travel sites and airlines, such as Expedia and Continental let passengers purchase carbon offsets as they are booking their flights. Continental also has one of the newest fleets in the industry, making it a slightly better choice when booking travel. They have spent close to $20 billion in the past decade to reduce their emissions. Virgin Atlantic is another option if you are flying internationally - they are the first airline to fly using biofuels, which has drawn a lot of praise and criticism. From 1990 to 2000, greenhouse gas emission levels have doubled in the US and the UK.
• Patronize hotels with eco-friendly practices and make sure that you let the hotel know that their environmental stewardship played a role in your decision to stay with them. Don’t forget to do your part by hanging up your towels if you don’t want them to be laundered. In the hotel industry, it is generally recognized that a towel on the floor will be washed and replaced, but hanging towels will be left. Linen reuse saves Marriott hotels between 11 and 17% of hot water and sewage usage.
• If you are going on a road trip, take the car that gets the best gas mileage and has the lowest emissions. You can also rent hybrids or eco-friendlier cars just for the trip through Orbitz, which also offers eco-tourism packages or through a major rental car company, such as the Hertz “Green Collection” program.
• Consider taking a trip on a train or cruising. Flying produces 19 times the greenhouse gas emissions of trains and 190 times that of a ship. Check out the Hot Deals section of Amtrak for some good economical options and a unique way to see the country this summer.
• Pack your own meals and snacks. Not only will this save a little cash, but you can help reduce the 1.8 billion tons of trash that is created by fast food and quick service take out every year.

Well, if it’s a Jimi, then rest easy. Not only is your wallet made of recycled and recyclable material, it is also made sweat shop free in the US by a company that gives 1% to the Planet. Jimi, the “wallet for people who hate wallets” comes from a socially responsible company with an eye for form and function. You can put just about anything in your wallet that you want. It even has a money clip that slips out for easy access when you don’t want to carry the whole case.

I have already filled my compact and bright Aqua Jimi chock full of cards and cash - it’s the perfect beach and pool accessory this summer. It even comes complete with a hole for a lanyard to wear around your neck or clip inside a bag or purse for quick retrieval.