Green Options

This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

Reports of the demise of the U.S. dollar may be premature. But when some of the world’s most powerful investors are warning of the currency’s decline, investors take notice. More on this story here.

There are many cynics out there that critique and question the future of sustainable products and businesses. It’s easy to side with them, mostly because it’s difficult to understand what comprises a “sustainable” product which in turn creates a domino chain of skepticism about achievability. The industry is in self-defining mode and most of us lack the degrees in chemistry, biology, natural sciences or any other course of study that might support our inclination to trust what marketers tell us is “safe” and what is not. More on this story here.

Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, has grown quickly in recent decades - at the expense of its estuaries, environmentalist advocates say. More on this story here.

“Worldwide, less than 8% of folks are responsible for 50% of emissions”, according to Professor Stephen Pacala of Princeton, co-author of Stabilization Wedges.

This group has a higher annual income than even the average American. But the US has the highest per-capita energy consumption rate of any nation, out-consuming the five most populated nations combined. Quite recent studies have confirmed what many already knew: that more affluent people consume more energy, and generate more green house gas (ghg) emissions. Thus, making significant cuts in ghg (to slow warming trends and mitigate climate change) without big cuts in this group’s ghg emissions is a major challenge.

The impact of greenhouse gases on global warming in the short term, and the possibility of severe climate change in the medium to long term, promise to create significant and lasting hardships for everyone. But these hardships will fall hardest on the world’s poorest, who are the ones least responsible for ghg-induced climate change.

Excuse Me, Waiter? What Year is this Carbon?

We’re all now well aware of the imminence of cap-and-trade legislation becoming reality. It’s been floated in Congress. It was a major topic on the campaign trail. It has enough support to get through a democratic-led Congress. And the President has verbally committed to such a scheme to numerous world leaders. A recent New York Times article called it “inevitable.”

The United Nations plans to introduce a new carbon offsetting scheme to fund preservation and restoration of the fast depleting rain forests but first it must rectify the discrepancies in the Kyoto carbon offsetting mechanism.

The UNFCCC wants to make the next climate treaty a success but in order to do that it must bring transparency and accountability into the carbon credits trading mechanism.

It seems that after using oil & gas as tool to punish the East European nations for their closeness to the U.S. and showing Europe how dependent it is on its supplies, Russia is further trying to wield power by what seems is an intent to control a major share of the carbon credits market.

According to reports, the first ever carbon auction of greenhouse gases in the United States exceeded all expectations. All, except for the expectation that a ton of carbon would fetch $4.

Africa has so far gone relatively unnoticed in climate change debates, perhaps because it’s seen as a place involved in too many civil wars and too much poverty to be a player in international agreements.

As the largest consumer and small business bank, BofA (NYSE: BAC) can have a major positive or negative impact on the environment. Since March, 2007, the bank has taken on a $20 billion initiative to “encourage environmentally friendly business activity” over the next decade. Applauded by some and criticized by others, just how green is this bank?

Crystalline Tower Office Building in Manhattan

BofA’s new 2.1 million square foot, 54 story tower is being heralded as the world’s greenest skyscraper. This $1 billion glass, steel, and aluminum skyscraper will use significantly less water and energy, while providing a healthy indoor environment.

It features a passive solar design, the use of recycled and renewable materials, and work stations with individual climate controls. Natural elements include the use of rain water and a green roof reduces energy use for heating and cooling. A graywater system will reuse waste water from sinks to flush toilets. A 4.6 megawatt cogeneration plant will generate heat and electricity.

How Do You Go Green With Web TV?

While I know that living a green lifestyle is the best for our family and the environment, I have always wondered about the co-relation between TV and green living choices? I am not one for watching TV as a pastime, especially considering the increase in my internet time in the recent years. However even with the expanding world of web entertainment, I have struggled with how to go green in this area. That [...]