Green Options

This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

Having children is the surest way to send your carbon footprint soaring, according to a new study from statisticians at Oregon State University.

The study found that having a child has an impact that far outweighs that of other energy-saving behaviors. More on this story here.

A quarter-century ago, in the wake of America’s first energy crisis, a young scientist named Amory [...]

This population growth, on the surface, would seem to be a matter of great concern. To be sure, it is indeed a concern in those countries as they seek to insure the survival needs of more and more people. But, as population and economic researchers have shown, population size alone is not the real problem; the real problem is the rate of consumption per capita. Put in this light, we immediately see a dramatic difference between first and third world [...]

Leading the way for other mutual funds, Green Century Balanced Fund released a report on its carbon footprint today. The analysis was independently conducted by Trucost, a leading environmental data and analysis firm. According to the report, the carbon intensity (or carbon emissions per million dollars of revenue) is two-thirds lower than that of the S&P 500(r) Index. Green Century Balanced Fund is also leading other sustainability and socially responsible investment funds, according to the report. Trucost has analyzed sixteen other investment funds who are dedicated to sustainability and social responsibility, and Green Century Balanced Fund’s carbon footprint is almost half the average of these funds.

Why is Green Century Balance Fund’s carbon intensity so low?

Aora-Solar, an Israeli company, has constructed and launched the first solar energy natural gas hybrid electric power plant. The flexibility of their design permits small communities to tap into solar power.

Good-bye honey truck, hello rocks.   A mini sewage treatment plant called BIOROCK beats conventional septic systems on every level.  Using rocks as a medium, BIOROCK needs little or no electricity, requires less maintenance, and produces a super-clean effluent.  It’s scalable down to use for individual homes.  Farms, campgrounds, trailer parks, corporate parks, subdivisions and vacation spots are other likely

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The climate change finger-pointing hit a new level of insanity when a paper was published recently that links overweight people to increased greenhouse gas emissions.

This quick and painless 15 question quiz will shine an LED light on your environmental personality. Do you think you are a Planetsaver? Find out below.

1. Cycle:
a.motor b.bi c.water

2. Take:
a.more b.a seat c.action

3. Vehicle:
a.SUV b.C-A-R c.B-U-S

4. Media:
a.TV b.radio c.book/mags

5. Bikes:
a.for kids b.for exercise c.for most trips

Concrete that maintains itself by healing cracks improves the sustainability of infrastructure through its longer service life and lower maintenance inputs. Now researchers have developed flexible, self healing cement that won’t suffer catastrophic failure when strained in an earthquake.

Houses built out of hemp instead of traditional building materials leave a ‘better than zero carbon’ footprint, according to new research out of the UK.

Aside from helping to combat global warming, building homes from the cannabis plant could also give a boost to struggling rural economies. That’s good news almost everywhere except for within the U.S., where industrialized hemp is still illegal to grow under federal law.

The carbon footprint of the President has been estimated at 41,000 tons per year, equal to the annual amount emitted by about 2200 American households. As the new champion of green energy and energy efficiency, should President Obama’s office be looking for ways to reduce his carbon footprint?

Yesterday, the City of Atlanta announced its municipal carbon footprint and plans to reduce that impact by 7% over the next three years.

[Creative Commons photo by Steve Hardy]

That might not sound like a huge reduction, and I know that 7% (or 37,800 metric tons of greenhouse gases) isn’t going to save the world, but it’s a good first step! It’s the equivalent of 179 rail cars’ worth of coal or protecting 239 acres of from deforestation.

The City of Atlanta released a Sustainability Report outlining where they’re at and where they plan to go in terms of lowering the city’s carbon footprint.