Last month, Franken made an appearance at the Crow Wing County/Morrison County DFL summer picnic. I grew up in Morrison County, so I attended, and was impressed with the (relatively) huge turnout. I met Al, but more importantly he took the time to answer some questions I sent him via email about renewable energy and Minnesota’s place in the clean tech revolution.

Maria Surma Manka: What specific renewable energy legislation do you want to see implemented at the federal level?

Al Franken: On a macro level, I’d like to implement a national cap and trade for carbon dioxide. This would make the cleanest renewables cheaper than fossil fuels and reward sequestration of CO2 in the form of planting acreage.

I’d like to see more federal investment in pilot projects for renewables. Representative Collin Peterson has put in several pilot projects for cellulosic ethanol that would be conducted here in Minnesota.

When I have said I want an Apollo Program for renewable energy, I’m talking about making these kinds of investments in renewables, including things like tidal and wave power. The United States has to go back to investing in research and development. This means identifying promising technologies and investing in them.

Maria: How would you open up Minnesota’s markets for renewable energy investment?

Franken: I would refer you to my previous answer.

Maria: What is Minnesota’s biggest renewable energy advantage (i.e. what can we capitalize on in a clean energy revolution)?

Franken: First of all, we grow a lot of corn, the number one feedstock for ethanol. We also grow a lot of soy, which is the number one feedstock for biodiesel. So, obviously, we have had years of experience making both, and our state universities have been doing a lot of the research.

Wind is cleaner, and Minnesota is a very windy state. We’re ninth in the nation. We should really be exploiting that more. Also, I think we should reinvigorate our manufacturing base by building wind turbines in Minnesota. So many of the turbines - the mechanisms that turn the spinning blades into electricity - are made in Europe. Let’s make them here.

Cellulosic is only a few years away and we have prairie grasses, which are perennials and have very deep root systems, making them potentially a very sustainable feedstock.

Right now gasified biomass is being used as fuel in ethanol plants. We got a lot of biomass in many forms; for example, forests, especially in the northeastern part of the state, where we don’t have wind. As cellulosic technology develops, there is great potential in using our forests, managed in a sustainable way, to add to our arsenal of renewable energy sources.

Maria: What is the role of business, government, and consumers in a clean energy future?

Franken: The government has to find ways of encouraging businesses to make clean energy available and attractive to consumers. Government should take the lead in making green buildings, working in partnership with companies that develop green technologies, and by investing in energy-efficient transportation systems - light rail, commuter rail, etc.

Obviously, tax incentives should encourage businesses to develop technologies and consumers to buy energy-efficient products. This is one of those things where everybody has to work together because it’s in everybody’s interest.

Maria: What steps have you personally taken to fight global warming or make your life more energy efficient?

Franken: Right now I’m traveling from Duluth to Minneapolis in a hybrid vehicle - my family Ford Escape. I bike to work, when I can. Biking, as Jim Oberstar might say, converts a hydrocarbon economy into a carbohydrate economy. Of course, we recycle.

But the biggest thing I’m doing is running for the Senate, so that when I get to Washington, I can make sure that the things I wrote about in the first four answers can come to fruition.

Crossposted at Maria Energia.

California Healthy

The book is broken into sections by county, and each includes restaurant listings, wineries, walks and local festivals. By far the best part of this guide are the walks, taking you to beautiful and scenic places, and listing dog parks for healthy fun with Rover. The local events section, although not complete, lists seasonal festivals throughout the region and is a useful tool and one of the book’s strengths.

The restaurant listings are on the other hand are weak at best. Granted, some of my favorite joints are listed, but the descriptions are limited, leaving the reader with little idea of why they should go. Most disappointing is that the list is nowhere near comprehensive. There are thousands of restaurants in SoCal, and the organic and local food movement is thriving, yet California Healthy names only of a handful of the good places out there, and gives the reader no sense of what they have in store.

The book is supplemented with recipes and a cooking guide from Chef Biron of Stanford fame. His additions are thoughtful and delicious, and but slightly out of place. Despite its attempt to be more, California Healthy is a walking book, not a health book. Absent are yoga and pilates studios, bike, skate, and surf rentals, a comprehensive listing of restaurants, holistic health practitioners, masseuses and environmentally friendly spa services, among other truly valuable health information.

LS Power Group wants to build a 750-megawatt (MW) plant near Waterloo, and Alliant Energy wants a 630 MW coal plant near Marshalltown. A new MidAmerican Energy coal plant just began operation near Council Bluffs on June 1.

Local and regional supporters of clean and efficient energy will fight the plants. Besides the economic drain of having to import coal from Wyoming, supporters argue that powering the Iowa’s ethanol plants with coal power does not make environmental sense or economic sense. Cleaner methods of production – like using a biomass gasification system to produce ethanol – is a smarter choice, noted Carrie LaSeur of the Iowa law firm Plains Justice: “Biofuels are supposed to make us less dependent on fossil fuels and reduce CO2. Using coal to power a biofuels plant has the opposite effect…Coal is a thing of the past. Why keep falling back on this old technology, when clean alternatives are out there?”

The Iowa Utilities Board still has to approve construction of both plants, but this situation is duplicated across the U.S., where 150 new coal plants are proposed. Worries about imminent carbon regulation seem to have mixed results: while plans for about two dozen coal plants have been scrapped since 2006, other companies are rushing to build before new regulations take effect, with the assumption that their plants would be grandfathered in under any new emissions requirements.

While more than half of U.S. states have renewable energy standards that require a certain percentage of power to come from renewables, the construction of a coal plant or two can quickly unravel all the good intentions. The left hand has to pay attention to what the right hand is doing here, and we can’t have it both ways if we’re serious about creating a rich, clean energy economy while slowing global warming.

Associated Press, via Quad Cities Online
Iowa Environmental Council

Needless to say, I was very excited by this invitation, and not just because I get to spend a week in the Greek Isles and still call it work. Papandreou's annual Symi Symposium brings together great minds from around the world each year to discuss solutions to global issues. The participants include politicians (several members of various parliaments, and one president), business leaders, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations. This year's theme is "Climate Changes Everything," and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing the perspectives presented on addressing the global climate crisis.

Some minor travel mishaps kept me away from the symposium's first session, "After Kyoto: How to Design a New Global Accord." Now that I'm here, I'm definitely looking forward to upcoming sessions and workshops on energy alternatives, social entrepreneurship, the "Green Economy," and climate change in the developing world. I'll be providing details throughout here, and may even give podcasting a try (there's a studio for it here). I'll also take plenty of photographs… everything is worthy of a picture here!

The Papandreuo foundation has graciously picked up the tab for me to attend and cover this event.

Cross posted at sustainblog

Happy 4th Everyone! I hope everyone is celebrating a very green holiday. We've added several new talented writers this week to give you the latest and greatest on everything green.

Introducing:

Gavin Hudson: He joins us from Seattle, and has worked for the Jane Goodall Institute on their Roots & Shoots program, among other things. He'll be covering the activism beat here at GO.

Christan Wasniewki: She's starting a non-profit called International Poverty Solutions, Inc., which will focus on incubating and/or financing businesses aimed at alleviating international poverty and environmental degradation. Christian will be covering the very complicated world of eco-finance.

Christal White: She is the eco-concierge at the 70 Park Avenue Hotel (a green one!) in Manhattan, and also blogs at I'm Organic's Organiblog. She'll be focusing on eco-travel for us.

Alex Ho: He is based in San Mateo, California, and blogs about green tech at Generation Exe. Alex will do green tech coverage for us, also.

Jason Leggett: He is a Civil Engineer in Huntsville, Alabama, and blogs at Reasic and Celsias. Jason will be covering climate science.

Without further ado, here are my favorite posts from this past week.

Cocoa and Conflict: A Look at Côte d'Ivoire

Chocolate, along with coffee and tea, is one of the most popular Fair Trade certified products available. Côte d'Ivoire is the largest producer of cocoa in the world, and the abundance of this popular ingredient has played a major role in the country's political crisis. A diplomatic source in Abidjan made the comparison that cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire "is the same as timberor diamonds were in Liberia."

After maintaining a stable and affluent country for decades, Côte d'Ivoire fell to a rebellion in 2002 which split the country in two. This led to many human rights violations, with harassment, child soldiers and executions reported on both the rebels and government. The fighting has claimed "thousands of civilian lives and led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people" with over 40% of the population now in poverty. There already exists an arms embargo ban on rough diamonds because of their contribution to the conflict. However, cocoa is still available to on the international market, with an estimated $118 million already used to fund the conflict on both sides.

London Mayor Wants to Crush American Ambassador for Refusing to Pay

The most recent episode in the ongoing dispute over the London congestion charge, once again pits the Mayor against the American Embassy. A congestion charge of £8, around $16, is levied on private vehicles entering a central zone of the vast capital city of Great Britain during working hours from Monday through Friday. The American Embassy, among others, is located in the central zone but refuses to pay the charge for its fleet of vehicles. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is incensed, and he is not one to mince his words.

Referring to the wayward Embassy during a radio talk show last Thursday, he said: “If it was up to me, I would’ve seized their cars and crushed them, but it’s not legal for me to do that. I would've been quite happy to crush the car with the American ambassador in it, quite frankly.

Green Film Review: The Next Industrial Revolution

"When we follow nature's rules, growth is good. The question before us is not growth versus no growth, It is: what would good growth look like? And this is a question of intent, of design. What if we grow health instead of sickness, home ownership instead of indigence, education instead of ignorance?"

In a one hour film narrated by Susan Sarandon about the designer duo William McDonough and Michael Braungart (MBDC), we get a refresher course on Cradle to Cradle design theory. We review waste=food, the role of biological and technical nutrients in production, and why being less bad is no good. The MBDC design tenets result in buildings with net energy returns and products so safe they are edible.

Weekly DIY: Rain Barrels

I've been wanting to put in a couple of rain barrels at my house this year. We put in some garden plants this weekend, and they are going to need to be watered. Rain barrels are great because they help conserve water and cut down the amount of potable water that needs to be used. Rain barrels are commercially available for around $100 (or more). These are more "decorative" (if you find a piece of plastic molded with a wood barrel pattern decorative), but with a drill, some silicone sealant, and a couple of basic parts, you can build a rain barrel of your own.

It is important to remember that this is not drinking water that you are collecting. Without further treatment, there are too many possible problems, from dust and dirt to chemicals (from roof materials) to microorganisms that may colonize an available water supply. There are rainwater catchment systems that are designed for potable water use. These are more involved, and need to have other elements in the system beyond what is being discussed here.

Green Style Spotlight: Little Green Radicals

Parents want the best for their kids, so buying items with organic cotton is the minimum for most. As environmentalists of all different shades of green, being proud and outspoken about what you believe in becomes second nature. In a matter of weeks, babies show their own unique personalities, and their surroundings (clothing included) should reflect that.

London-based brand Hug, well known for their womens wear, recently re-released their unique children's line called Little Green Radicals. Available for babies and toddlers, all items are made from organic, certified Fair Trade, and sweatshop-free cotton in Egypt and India. Also noted on the brand's website: all prints "have been produced using the most ecological water based inks available."

Greening the Golden Years: Bay Area Senior Housing Goes Solar

Today’s guest is Ryan Chao, Executive Director of Satellite Housing, a San Francisco Bay Area not-for-profit corporation, providing affordable housing for low-income seniors, families and individuals with special needs. He is responsible for property management, resident services, financial management and affordable housing development activities for the organization.

The Nutrients We Need are Plant-Based

In my 15+ years of animal and vegetarian/vegan advocacy, I have answered countless questions – some smart, some thoughtful, some antagonistic, some ridiculous, and some over and over and over. Some people seem to think that by virtue of being vegan you hold degrees in nutrition, philosophy, anthropology, animal husbandry, ecology, and the culinary arts and often proceed to cross-examine you on each of these topics. Every vegan or vegetarian has been on the receiving end of someone trying to find a flaw with your lifestyle choice, and it can be exhausting at times.

Luckily for me, I love communicating - through talking (just ask my husband), writing (is anybody reading this?), and other means - and I never get tired of expressing the joy that comes from living a life that reflects compassion, kindness, and non-violence toward others. I am amazed, however, at the questions that arise in people once they encounter a “vegan.” Questions are great; don't get me wrong. But, it's as if people don't start thinking about health, nutrition, and animal rights until someone says the word "vegan” or even “vegetarian."

Tip o' the Day: Paper or Paper with Post-Consumer Materials?

Paper, paper, paper. It's everywhere. Even though it is easily recycled, a lot of paper evades the recycling bin and winds up in the landfills.

Everyday items — toilet paper, facial tissue, napkins, paper towels, and even books and magazines — can be made from recycled paper and can include post-consumer materials.

Weekend Grub: Honey Iced Espresso

Ingredients:

Two shots of espresso (regular coffee will work in a pinch): just make it strong. Use one of the many Fair Trade, organic and shade-grown coffees available. This is a triple whammy that ensures farmers were paid a fair wage, no nasty chemicals are tainting your drink or the environment, and many animals are able to relax in the coffee trees.

1-2 tablespoons of honey to taste. To find some great local honey check out your local farmer's market. And ask if the honey is organic as the problem of disappearing bees doesn't seem to be effecting the organic bee farms though the reason why is still a mystery.

Ice.

2 cups local milk or soy milk (adds a nice hint of nutty flavor).

Brew espresso shots. Put the honey in the hot espresso and stir well to fully dissolve before pouring coffee and honey mixture over ice. Add milk and enjoy a delicious and healthy treat!

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

The family raised an astonishing array of vegetables, fruit, meat, and eggs. They did buy supplies like flour, coffee, and olive oil from the grocery store, but they were able to grow the vast majority of their food at home or buy from locals. Besides Kingsolver’s accounts of the ups and downs of pulling weeds or dodging testosterone-crazy roosters, husband Steven L. Hopp provides fascinating food facts sprinkled throughout the book. He explains that if we all ate just one meal each week made of locally raised organic meat and produce, we could reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil per week. Kingsolver’s nineteen-year-old daughter Camille offers sidebars of meal plans and recipes (my looming zucchinis thank her for the zucchini chocolate chip cookie recipe).

Steven and Camille’s practical commentary provide a good balance to the author’s more subjective arguments for eating seasonally. For example, Kingsolver implies that the reader will have a greater appreciation for food if they can’t eat apples in January, or that hours spent in the kitchen canning vegetables with the family is a happy time that brings you closer. It sounds great to me, but other readers may be swayed less by a touch-feely argument, and more convinced by the scientific health arguments for organic foods and the greater energy independence local foods bring (a typical meal travels 1500 miles to a dinner table). At times, I did get a bit tired of seeing Kingsolver’s world though the rosiest of glasses. Everything appears to be perfect, lush, beautiful, the most delicious, faster, stronger, healthier. I don’t doubt the superior taste and nutrition of locally grown, organic products, but I was waiting for another side to the story – some sort of significant downside or obstacle they had to overcome. The author admits this herself when she recounts telling a friend about a tranquil summer evening spent with Amish friends on a farm. The friend remarks, “What, not even a mosquito to bother heaven?” But perhaps Kingsolver’s point is that it is easier than we think to eat locally. In spite of the endless positive spin, her humor and thorough research were inspiring enough to get me to contemplate making my own mozzarella.

A thought-provoking surprise was Kingsolver’s adamant argument for eating meat – specifically locally bred, organic meat. She aligns herself with a vegetarian position, she says, except that she eats meat. She points out that “every sack of flour and every soybean-based block of tofu came from a field where countless winged and furry lives were extinguished in the plowing, cultivating, and harvest…To believe that we can live without taking life is delusional.” She goes on to explain that the oft-repeated argument that it takes ten times as much land to make a pound of meat as a pound of grain only applies to the kind of land where rain falls abundantly on rich topsoil. Cultures that live on less productive land like the Navajo, Mongols, Lapps, and Masai would starve without their animals. The argument for eating locally produced organic meat is perhaps a more realistic option for individuals who care about where their food comes from and its environmental and energy consequences, but who aren’t going to stop eating chicken or burgers tomorrow.

In the end, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle has a little bit for everyone. For those ready to set the loftiest goals, take the Kingsolver challenge of canning all fall and making meals from home seven days a week. For someone like me who has a love of food, gardening, and cooking, but who isn’t prepared to give up Cheerios (are they local if General Mills is located 20 miles from my house?), I walked away with a renewed dedication to my farmers’ market, an intensive search for local foods at my grocery store, and the knowledge that buying food that grew up continents away is as much of an energy decision as leaving the lights on.

Of course, those of us who aren't designers, engineers or scientists likely come up with questions (perhaps many of them) about these developments. Why does a CFL use less electricity to produce light? Which is the best long-term solution for personal transportation: hydrogen or batteries? And, just how do solar panels turn sunlight into electricity? You're certainly not alone if you're asking these questions…

In order to give you a place to ask about green tech, we've partnered with EcoGeek.org to create "Ask the EcoGeek," a weekly column that will answer some of these questions. Each week, Head EcoGeek Hank Green will choose a question submitted by a reader from Green Options, EcoGeek.org, or another participating site to answer in the column.

Got a question that you think might be appropriate for Hank? Just use the submission form we've created to ask it. Hank's working on his first column (already got some questions from EcoGeek readers)… look for it regularly on Thursdays.

Of course, bakers should use organic ingredients to make this recipe pesticide free! I use organic Sucanat , which stands for Sugar Cane Natural, for all my baking. Sucanat is Fair Trade certified from Costa Rica and is made by crushing sugar cane, extracting and heating the juice, then hand paddling the juice until it dries into porous granules. Unlike refined sugars, Sucanat retains many vitamins and minerals present in sugar cane, such as iron, calcium, vitamin B6, potassium, and chromium.

Strawberry Almond Cream Cheese Tart

Crust:
9 sheets graham crackers
2 tablespoons Sucanat (or other granulated sugar)
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crumble graham crackers by hand or in a food processor. Add sugar, melted butter, and water. Mix/pulse until just moist. Butter or oil a tart pan (or pie plate if you don’t have one) and press graham cracker mixture into the pan to form a crust. Bake for 10 minutes until lightly browned and cool completely.

Filling:
2/3 cup light cream cheese
1/4 cup Sucanat (sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Combine cream cheese, sucanat, and extracts in a medium bowl until smooth. Spread the mixture onto the bottom of the cooled graham cracker crust.

Topping:
6 cups strawberries
2/3 cup Sucanat (sugar)
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds (you can toast these for added flavor)

Yum, Strawberry Almond Cream Cheese TartTo prepare topping sauce, puree 2 cups of strawberries in a food processor, blender, or by hand. It is best to cull the strawberries for the glaze sauce, leaving the prettiest, most uniform strawberries for the actual tart topping. Add Sucanat and corn starch to pureed strawberries in a pan, and heat over medium high heat while whisking. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to low heat for a minute (keep stirring!). Let the sauce cool completely, while stirring occasionally. You can halve the topping recipe, as it makes twice as much as needed. However, I like to freeze the extra sauce for the next time I make the pie or to serve of organic vanilla ice cream.

With the remaining four cups of strawberries, combine with lemon juice and toss. Arrange the berries bottoms up in a circular, spiral fashion over the cream cheese filling. Spoon half of the cooled glaze topping over the strawberries (freeze the other half), then sprinkle the almonds around the outside edge of the tart. Chill the tart in the refrigerator for 3 hours before serving. We sometimes cool our tarts quickly in the freezer, but you do have to be careful and watch that the tart doesn’t freeze.

Several of the vehicles were available to be driven at the ChallengeX event. Of the vehicles that were there, I was most interested in driving the University of Waterloo's entry. Most of the teams (12 of the 17 competitors) were using a B20 biodiesel blend as their fuel and all but one of the others used some form of internal combustion with E85 ethanol or reformulated gasoline. But the University of Waterloo team took a different approach.

The Waterloo vehicle was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell (with onboard batteries for backup) and propelled by front and rear electric motors. When I sat down behind the wheel, my guide from the Waterloo team explained that some of the things in the vehicle that are different from the way we're used to driving a car. There were a number of different sounds, coming from the front and the rear, as various systems came online to start the fuel cell system in operation. Matt Stevens from the Waterloo team explained the whole sequence of operation to me this way:

• when you first crank the key, there's no actual sounds as the no engine rank is required (or possible!)
• when the key returns to on from the crank position, first is a relay clicking meaning the battery is connected and the vehicle is ready to drive. Meanwhile the fuel cells are starting up:
• begins with a quiet hiss as the stacks are filling up with up with hydrogen,
• next the recirculation pumps kick on, making a low hum and a very slight vibration,
• last is the air delivery blower kicking up to pump air into the stacks,
• and voila, 65kW of fuel cell stacks ready to deliver power. Process takes about 10 seconds, but the car is ready to drive on battery power as soon as the first click is heard and the car is put into drive.

Image Credit: University of WaterlooI'm not a test driver. And even if I was, this was just a trip around the block of GM's Renaissance Center headquarters, so it was just four right turns and a couple of stops. I wasn't doing any hard maneuvering or acceleration testing, or anything else rigorous like that. Those tests had been conducted during the preceeding week at GM's proving grounds. Still, I think it was a unique opportunity to have the chance to drive a fuel cell vehicle. I may not ever have one in my driveway, but I've had the chance to drive one.

While the sounds were different from what you are likely used to with an internal combustion engine, the vehicle drove no differently than any other vehicle. It responded to the accelerator in the same way as any other vehicle, and it had reasonable pickup (even with four people in the car) and performed very comfortably. If they'd left the radio in and played it during the drive, it might not have been noticable that there was any difference at all.

I'm still uncertain about the ready availability of hydrogen, and the infrastructure to distribute it. But it's quite a thrill to drive something like this, even if it never makes it into mass-scale production. Hydrogen fuel cell power does have its uses, even if we don't see it become a mainstream automotive fuel. And, though hydrogen may be difficult to deploy across North America or Europe, it may be easier to bring it to other parts of the world, where the current fuel infrastructure is much more limited, and there is less commitment to gasoline and related fuels. So, although it's farther out there than the other entries, the design and engineering in this project are worthwhile. And even if we don't have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in our driveways, we're likely to find some specialty applications using hydrogen as part of a comprehensive power scheme in the future. In any case, the engineering efforts of this team (and others) will be put to good use.

So I spoke with Genesys’ Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Denise Persson, on May 30th.

Green Options: Why is Genesys Conferencing focusing so many resources on efficiency?

Denise Persson: It all started about five years ago. As a European company, we are more environmentally conscious. I’m Swedish, and in Sweden we recycle every single thing. We would never dream of throwing a piece of paper in the trash. So this direction for the company was very natural for a lot of us. We wanted to do all that we could to make it more efficient and more responsible in terms of climate change.

GO: Tell me more about this global certification program and how Genesys is involved.

DP: The Environmental Management Systems is a certification process that we are working towards for all of our European, North American, and Asian-Pacific offices. We are focusing on energy savings and waste reduction, like computers that turn off automatically, recycling programs, and efficient lighting. We even make sure our cleaning company recycles.

GO: Does Genesys participate in any green power programs?

DP: No we do not – we don’t own our building. However we make sure that we are as efficient as possible in other areas.

GO: Let’s face it, energy efficiency isn’t sexy – how did you sell this initiative to your shareholders or management?

DP: It’s really amazing; we didn’t have to “sell” anything. We are seeing more and more RFPs [requests for proposals] from customers that ask about environmental management plans. In fact, our customers are hearing questions about efficiency from their customers. So we want to implement even more telecommuting options so our customers can reduce their carbon footprints. It’s a very bottom-up initiative and a reason we went for the Environmental Management Systems certification.

GO: What other energy-related measures is Genesys working on?

DP: So far we’ve developed a cost calculator on our website that includes the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions customers save by using our web conferencing services instead of flying to meeting locations. Our customers love that tool.

We’re also doing a lot of surveys of customers' needs. Our next major step is certification by the end of this year, and we also want to educate more of our customers. We want to help them figure out how to implement even more telecommuting practices that cut down on pollution, time, and cost.

I’m so excited about these initiatives. I’m very proud of my organization because we’re doing everything we can on this issue. It’s wonderful to be able to combine something that’s important to me with my job. It’s so important to work for a global company that takes this [climate change] problem seriously.

Genesys Conferencing
ISO 14000/14001 Environmental Management Guide
Office of the Federal Environmental Executive

Today's podcast is available here.

Erik has never been a full-time environmentalist, although he is member of a few national organizations. In a former life he was the CEO of Expedia, although he left the company before its partnership with TerraPass was established. Erik is excited about the new venture, explaining on a recent blog post,

“Back in Internet pre-history, at the dawn of online travel, nobody knew you could even check airline ticket prices online, much less book tickets. Now almost half of all travel is booked online. I think we’re at the beginning of another explosion in consumer awareness, this time in the voluntary carbon markets.”

I spoke with Erik by phone on May 25th.

Green Options: How do you respond to carbon offset skeptics? For example, the argument that offsets are just an easy way for people to pay off their pollution without much sacrifice.

Erik Blachford: I hear that argument a lot, but it’s not accurate as to what TerraPass does. People who buy carbon offsets aren’t just sitting back afterwards and thinking they’ve done their duty. These people are active in other ways, too: they’re very in tuned to the problem and the other solutions. Furthermore, carbon offsets are a voluntary enterprise; no one is forcing someone to buy carbon offsets.

However, there is also a lot of talk about common umbrella standards for carbon offsets, and I think TerraPass and our customers would be better served with them. Our industry needs consumer protection standards. Right now it’s unregulated, and the consumer has to be very cautious. Consumers are taking the initiative and doing the research on which carbon offset programs are legitimate, but they shouldn’t be expected to do all of the work.

GO: What makes TerraPass different from other carbon offset companies?

EB: Terra Pass focuses on helping the individual consumer reduce emissions, rather than only large corporations. We want to help individuals take action to reduce their carbon footprint. We’re also very accessible. The company has a blog where we can communicate with customers and get their feedback and ideas.

GO: You support a number of different renewable energy and efficiency projects. Why did TerraPass get involved in biomass? You don’t see that as a carbon offset very often.

EB: It’s great to be able to work with biomass providers. Energy from biomass is produced by capturing methane from sources like cow manure and burning it. We’ve set up contracts with them, buy credits and register them on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). We are very careful to ensure that our carbon offsets are not counted twice.

GO: I don’t see tree planting – a very popular offset – as a TerraPass option. Why not?

EB: Trees plantings are popular offsets because they’re intuitively appealing. But the science doesn’t hold up enough for us to sell them. Some science is based on the average age of a tree being 80-100 years, but that’s just not always the case. And when the tree dies and rots, that carbon dioxide goes back into the atmosphere. There are some carbon offset programs that focus on the conservation of forests rather than tree planting, and that’s an interesting avenue that TerraPass may explore in the future.

GO: What percentage of carbon offset costs goes to the projects?

EB: We don’t break that out, because we don’t think offsets are commodity products, which is what that kind of breakout would imply. We are more focused on our pricing to consumers, which is competitive though not rock bottom, because it reflects the work we put into researching our projects thoroughly and sticking to principles like matched maturity of credits. We could probably sell offsets for a lower price if we we’re willing to sell credits from previous or future years, to buy blind on the CCX, or to buy forestry projects, but we have decided not to do any of those.

GO: How do you assure customers that their money is making a real difference?

EB: We make sure that the customer knows what we’re doing. We publish a verification report each year and we use three protocols to verify our credits: Green-e certifies our wind power projects, SES certifies our biomass, and First Environment certifies our landfill gas projects.

GO: What are some challenges and advantages of the U.S. carbon market?

EB: The U.S. didn’t sign onto the Kyoto Protocol, so one challenge is that the idea of carbon offsets is still fairly new here. There’s a general awareness of the issue, but carbon offsets still feel more exotic to people than they really are. It’s just a lack of awareness that we need to work on.

However, an advantage is that the American consumer is generally very open to new ideas and is very action-oriented. They want to take responsibility and do something, so the mindset of the consumer is right for a carbon offset market.

GO: TerraPass is well-known for its relationship with Expedia. How do you see that relationship evolving?

EB: We’ve got a great relationship with Expedia. It gets our brand out there and we look forward to continuing our relationship.

GO: I’ve got to say, it’s difficult to find the TerraPass option on Expedia’s site. It kind of gets lost in the shuffle of offers for car rentals and zoo passes.

EB: Expedia has many different lists of add-ons for their trips, so TerraPass is lumped with many other options. But we’re really happy to have the brand out there.

GO: If you could partner with any other company or entity, who would it be?

EB: That’s a really good question, but my answer is going to sound really funny. I really want to partner with the federal government. Global warming and emission reductions are a national problem. We need federal action and federal standards to solve it.

Image source: Zimbio

One of my earliest childhood summer memories is of strawberry shortcake; however, it was always made with spongy, store-bought shortcake. I never much cared for the soft, fluffy shortcake, but I thoroughly enjoyed the strawberries and cream. When I made the shift to organic eating and later wanted to provide my children with the same strawberry summer pleasure, I could not find an organic readymade shortcake in the local coop. In my searches for a recipe, I discovered that traditional strawberry shortcake is not made with an airy cake but sweet biscuits. The first time I tried strawberry shortcake made with biscuits, the taste reminded me of a time when people milked their own cows and had small family farms. I felt like I was sitting in a midwestern farm house eating a treat made by my great grandmother.

This recipe, modified from Simply Recipes, is far from vegan, as the rich cream and buttery biscuits complement this summer fruit. To make this recipe organic, use all organically grown, natural ingredients, especially the strawberries and dairy products. Strawberries receive the most pesticides of any crop grown in America, and 90% of commercially grown strawberries test above safe levels of pesticide contamination. In addition, pesticides are concentrated in dairy products, as well as growth hormones and antibiotics.

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

serves 9-16

Shortcake Biscuits (click here for gluten free):
2 1/2 cups of unbleached white flour (can substitute 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of other grains and seeds, such as oats, flax seeds, bran, etc.)
1/2 cup wheat flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar (can use Sucanat, Rapudura, etc.)
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder (aluminum free)
3/4 tsp sea salt
12 Tbsp cold butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (or soymilk)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Into a large bowl, sift and stir the flour, salt, and baking powder. Using a pastry cutter, knife, or fork, cut the cold butter into pea size pieces into the dry mixture. Make a well in the center and pour in the cream. Stir until the dough is just combined, as the dough should be mixed but remain bumpy. Knead the dough five or six times in the bowl. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 3/4 inch thick and 8 inches square. Transfer the dough to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Depending on how many people you want to serve or how large you want your biscuits, cut the dough into 9 or 16 squares (I prefer the smaller biscuits). Place the squares about 2 inches apart from one anther on the parchment lined cookie tray (you may need another tray), bake fro 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Macerated StrawberriesStrawberries and Whipping Cream:

3-5 baskets fresh strawberries
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of strawberries)
whipping cream
vanilla

Thinly slice strawberries and place in a bowl with sugar. The sugar will macerate the berries by softening them and releaSummer Sweet Strawberriessing the juice. Let the strawberries and sugar sit for 20 minutes at room temperature. Whip the cream by adding vanilla and a dash of sugar and shaking vigorously in a jar, stirring rapidly, or using a blender.

To serve, place a biscuit in a bowl or plate, add the macerated strawberries, then top with fresh whipping cream. I prefer a lot of strawberries in proportion to the whipping cream and biscuit. Strawberries are rich in iron, vitamin C, folic acid, fiber, potassium, and cancer fighting antioxidants, and I don't want to miss a delicious bite. Old fashioned organic strawberry shortcake is very rich, fulfilling, and satisfying. Close your eyes, take a bite, and imagine a simpler life.

Editor's note: Since we missed the weekend review last week, we thought we'd give you a double shot this week.

On Memorial Day Weekend, Americans gear up for summer with BBQs, road trips, and camping. This year, for a twist on the Memorial Day camping trip, I attended the Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge Ampitheater in the middle of Washington. The twist was that the festival was carbon neutral, and so was our transportation.

The Gorge Ampitheater is an impressive venue. On the edge of the Columbia River Gorge, the sun sets just behind the stage and the seating is on grass-covered hillside. The view is spectacular, and since Michael Franti and Spearhead were playing, I had to go.

I was thrilled to find out that the concert was carbon-neutral, through a partnership with Sustainable Energy Partner's Carbon Harmony program (which we covered here). And since my boyfriend and I just got our "volksvegan" waste vegetable oil powered VW van up and running, we made most of the trip carbon-neutral as well!

Carbon Harmony projects are not just carbon-neutral, they go a step above by being over 100% offset:

Carbon Harmony is taking the fight against global warming up to 11! Going a step beyond carbon neutral, Carbon Harmony projects result in a net reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.

Carbon Harmony is taking action against climate change so that an event, vehicle, business or project actually has a reducing effect on the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment. We know that there is already too much CO2 in the atmosphere. It isn't enough to just put out less. We need to REDUCE the amount of CO2. That's what Carbon Harmony is about.

For every carbon harmony project, calculations are done to understand what the CO2 emmisions impact would be. Then, a larger amount of carbon reductions credits are purchased to offset the impact of that project and to actually reduce the overall level of CO2 in the air. Harmony amounts start at 10% more than neutral and can go as high as you want.

The more people that get involved, the less CO2 there will be, and the closer we will be to solving the climate change problem.

Going above and beyond carbon-neutral is definitely a good thing! Unfortunately, the way the event was run would never have led me to believe that sustainability was a major focus of the event. The Gorge may be a beautiful location, but the venue's operations certainly don't promote green living. The overpriced campground was full of mowed grass instead of local plants or even trees, there was garbage everwhere, and aside from one recycling tent, I didn't see a single recycling collection container in the campground or the concert venue. I saw toilet paper being thrown into the wind over the concert just for fun. I waited in line for half an hour only to find out that there were no more veggie burgers, and the only other thing that was vegan on the menu was a $5 cup of fries. So, Sasquatch may have been talking the talk, but the venue certainly wasn't walking the walk.

The low level of eco-consciousness at the venue and in the campground, coupled with the steep ticket, food, and camping prices, was almost enough to make me wish we'd stayed home. Then, they shut down the main stage because of high winds. The Gorge is always windy (and just across the river was a beautiful ridge full of windmills to prove it), but apparently it was too windy for the stage to be safe. They rearranged the schedule a bit and thankfully the wind died down in the evening. But, since the schedule was rearranged, I had to choose between Micheal Franti and the Beastie Boys, and would have really liked to see both.

Despite my disappointments of how the concert was managed, Michael Franti and Spearhead put on a great show of postive, passionate, protest music and made the whole thing worthwhile. I gladly support musicians like Michael Franti and Spearhead that walk the walk (Franti plays for prisoners and soldiers in Iraq, raises awareness of important issues, traveled to the Middle East, and is vegan). Of course, the fact that our test run with the grease system on the "volksvegan" went off without a hitch was a huge bonus to my weekend as well!

I appreciate that popular concerts and events are doing their part to help combat global warming - that's certainly a trend I'd like to see continue. But when the concert experience seems antithetical to the carbon neutrality and eco-consciousness of the event, the green message is only hindered and it makes it all seem like a greenwashing marketing ploy.

Nice try, Sasquatch. It was fun and all, but you can't just slap a carbon-neutral sticker on an event and call it sustainable. Apparently the Sasquatch needs to evolve…

The Lazy Environmentalist

These innovators make it easy for us to integrate environmental awareness into our lives. They understand that while so many of us are concerned about the environment, we don't always have the time, energy, or inclination to do something about it.

I only wish this was written in a less-than-serious voice. In my mind, if you don't have the "time, energy, or inclination" to do something about the environment, than you can hardly classify yourself as an environmentalist. You are looking to alleviate guilt for your conspicuous consumption, a culture of consumption that is devastating our planet. It's exactly the "culture of convenience" that's waging all-out war on our resources. Consider this passage from the chapter on cars:

There really is something for everyone–even those who drive Hummers, the most colossal of all urban assault vehicles…By offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions spewing from your car's tailpipe, TerraPass offers Hummer drivers eco-salvation.

Eco-salvation for Hummer drivers? A little too, oh, oxymoronic, for my tastes. Lazy is definitely geared towards a more high-end clientele, despite it's mention of Wal-Mart as an organic clothing retailer (Yeah, I know what you are thinking…I can't trust them quite yet, either).

Stepping off of my soapbox, for those of us who do have time, energy, and inclination to do something to lighten our footprint still have to buy goods and services, and Lazy provides a well-laid, well-written plan to finding greener versions of those goods and services. If you have to spend money, you might as well spend it on more sustainable products, right?

There are 22 chapters focusing on different products and services, from home furnishing to energy providers to media outlets (what, no shout out for Green Options?) Each chapter begins with a narrative insight into what practices these eco-companies are establishing to go green, then lists several companies, along with their websites and a brief description of what their business does or produces. Reading about different design innovations companies are using was fascinating (BraveSpace's hollow bamboo tables, anyone?), and I'll definitely check out many of the websites listed. If I'm going to save the planet, though, I've got better things to do.

The dryer is the easy part. A clothesline is about the simplest, cheapest alternative to a clothes dryer you can find. But the washer is harder. Hand-washing clothes is a difficult task. And wringer washers are a hand-operated option, but they aren't very efficient. A bicycle powered clothes washer is a more efficient, and much more ambitious project. While it's not likely that most of you will rush out to build one of these for yourselves, it offers a wonderful insight into how far you can take DIY if you are inclined to.

The pedal-powered washer was designed and built by Homeless Dave (who is not really homeless, but whose real name is Dave), a local advocate for community and for human-powered tools in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His website, Teeter Talk, features interviews with "folks from Ann Arbor … Detroit … and beyond" which are conducted on a teeter-totter in his back yard.

HD explains the origin of the concept for the washer began after he had been using a wringer washer for a number of years, but was finding it awkward and unpleasant to use. He wanted to come up with something like a salad spinner that could be used to spin out the clothes more efficently than the wringer was able to. And, as he writes, "the engineers at General Electric, Maytag, or really any manufacturer of automatic washers, have already invented this wheel." So, the inventive portion of the project was just figuring out how to connect an old washing machine tub to a stationary bicycle to provide the motive power for the system.

Image Credit: Homeless Dave

The basic idea is to use a stationary bicycle stand as the power source, and use an assembly of belts and pulleys to connect it to an old, salvaged washing machine tub. Rather than reiterate all of the details here, I will instead direct you to HD's website, which contains extensive details about how he worked out the connection. HD did tell me that, in the intervening time since he first put together his page about the project, he has now replaced the front chainring with a much smaller one, which makes operating the assembly a much more reasonable task. He has also hooked up an assembly that runs a permanent-magnet electric motor backwards, serving as a electrical generator, as well.

I have removed the magnetic resistance unit opposite the pulley driving the laundry spinner and mounted a pulley on that shaft, which drives a permanent magnet DC motor backwards, generating DC current, which is fed through a capacitor and then an inverter, into which ordinary household appliances can be plugged. I managed to fry the inverter (for reasons not fully understood), but when it's replaced, the vision is that I can power an electric fan aimed at the freshly spun clothes hanging on their rack and reduce drying time further.

There are several benefits to this system, in addition to the electricity savings. The grey water from this washing can be recycled for filling toilet tanks or for watering plants. It puts moisture into the air, which is especially good in the wintertime. It also provides an aerobic workout for the rider, which also puts heat (and some additional moisture) into the air, which is also a good thing in the wintertime.

Dave also offered a DIY Challenge idea:

Design a replacement toilet tank lid that accommodates an inverted five-gallon drinking water plastic jug with the bottom cut out plus a mechanism that allows water to fill preferentially from this additional five-gallon reservoir, but if it's empty fills the tank from the water line. Why? I'm tired of recycling the grey water, by waiting to flush the toilet until I have a filled drain bucket from the laundry spinner, then moving the tank lid, dumping the gallon or so of drain water in there.

If you have a suggestion for a DIY mechanism that can allow for automatic refill of a toilet tank from a grey water supply, let us know, and we'll feature your idea in a future Weekly DIY article.

Of course, we try to answer many of those questions here at GO (paper or plastic? Neither!). But, you may still be faced with decisions that put you in a quandary: you can see environmental benefits in both options, but aren't sure which choice is best. So, we've created a discussion forum for those green quandaries.

Throw your confusion out to the GO community: more than likely there's are members here who can help you make the best choice. Even if you get a discussion going, and there's no clear winner, you know more than you did when you started.

Thanks to GO member serenity_ii for the suggestion — it's a good one!

Many of us will be doing that, also, so it will be a bit slower this weekend. While we do have some very cool posts planned, there won't be a Weekend Review, or Weekend Web Review. We'll be back next weekend with the full range of content features.

Have a happy, safe and green weekend!

This week’s installment of “Greening the Golden Years” is available 

Will Steger, famed polar explorer whose feats include the first confirmed dogsled journey to the North Pole without re-supply, the longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history (1,600 mile south-north traverse of Greenland), and the first dogsled traverse of Antarctica, is now on a new mission. He is an eyewitness to the impacts of global warming, both in the Polar Regions and in his home state of Minnesota. A former science teacher, he has set out to educate people on global warming and the solutions needed to slow it. He returned last week from a four-month trek by dogsled across Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic to interview the Inuit people, who have had to adapt quickly to a new lifestyle because of climate change. Steger will use these interviews to produce a documentary later this year.

I spoke with Will by phone on May 15th. He was in Iglulik, Nunavut; the last stop of his expedition.

Green Options: You’ve traveled both Polar Regions extensively and have documented how climate change is drastically changing their landscapes. What was different about this trip?

Will Steger: This was a new route for me because this was a cultural expedition. We specifically planned the route so we could visit as many villages and talk with as many people along the way as possible. We know global warming is happening and we want to put a human face on it. So we spent a lot of time in villages. Our team included myself, three team members, and three 50- or 60-year-old Inuit hunters. We talked with hundreds of people.

Baffin Island, where I traveled, is like ground zero of global warming because there’s an intact culture that relies very heavily on their surroundings to survive. Changes are noticed almost immediately. Up here, global warming is showing itself most drastically out on the sea ice. As the earth warms, 80 percent of that energy goes into the ocean, which then affects the ice cover. The Inuit are seeing the ice freeze six weeks later, along with earlier break ups of the ice. Generally, the Inuit have had about 8 months where they are able to travel on the ice to hunt, and now that’s cut down to 5 or 6 months. That’s a 25 percent reduction in the amount of time they have to hunt out on the ice, which acts like an extension of their land.

GO: Are the Inuit angry? It is industrialized countries’ pollution that has caused this.

WS: Everyone is talking about global warming up here, there’s no denial about it. But the Inuit are forgiving people. Many of them aren’t worried about it because they can’t change it, and they don’t worry about things they can’t change. They understand that the polluters are industrialized nations, but in general they don’t harbor a lot of anger. They wish we would change, but they’re pretty easy going.

But we still have to take responsibility. Our way of consuming energy is really causing this, and we need to change to avoid the worst of the consequences.

GO: You’ve documented the changes up there before; did anything surprise you about this trip?

WS: Let me first say that no single event “proves” global warming. Global warming is an accumulation of changes happening over time. That said, I did see an effect that really surprised me, and everyone up there was talking about it: There is a large sound called Cumberland Sound. It’s about 50 miles wide and 125 miles long, and we were going to cross it on this expedition. But the ice broke up from the swells from a super storm in the North Atlantic. Everyone was talking about that. So we had to go around it, which was an extra 75 miles. That’s not a major hardship for the team, but it is for the Inuit communities because they depend on the sound for commercial fishing. Now it has shattered the fishing industry. It isn't just abou the environment; it’s the fact that it affects the economy and survival of this entire community.

Another impact really struck me. There’s a place up here they call the “land where ice never melts.” Well, it is melting. The glaciers are shrinking. That was incredibly powerful to see.

GO: Seeing all these impacts from climate change, was this trip depressing or invigorating?

WS: Neither. It was reaffirming: We were ground-truthing the science.

You have to understand that this Inuit culture does not think the way we do. Their world is close to the land. They talk in minute details of the changes in the salt in the sea ice, details that aren’t even in the climate change models. You rely on a lot of satellite info up here, but there aren’t a lot of scientists.

GO: How do the Inuit talk about global warming?

WS: Many of the elders will say the earth’s axis has changed because the sun is rising in a different place. But what’s really happening is that, because our warming planet causes more water to be absorbed up into the atmosphere, they are seeing a diffraction of the sun. It’s like an optical illusion caused by global warming. They also say that the sky color has changed: it’s now a whitish blue in the winter rather than a deep blue. In the wintertime up here, the sun doesn’t rise. But now the Inuit say the light is getting brighter in the winter. Again, the water vapor is diffracting the light in the atmosphere, making it seem lighter.

GO: What are your next steps after you return to the States?

WS: We have a lot of film from our expedition up here. We’ll be heading out to Los Angeles to start producing the documentary. In the summer, we’ll be back up to Baffin Island to do more interviews with the elders.

I’m also back on the global warming campaign trail in November, along with Fresh Energy, an energy policy organization with which I partner. We’ll be educating folks on solutions, specifically speaking a lot with congregations in the faith community.

Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed me to sit on Minnesota’s Climate Change Advisory Group. I’m working with about 50 other people from industry, environmental groups, local and tribal governments, transportation, and agriculture to develop a climate change action plan for the state.

I’ll also be working more with high school students, which I’m very excited about. They must feel empowered to fight this. They’re not taking on the challenge yet, but I think it’s going to happen soon, and I want to be part of it. I want to do now what we did 30 years ago during the Vietnam War; create a movement with young people. That’s when we’re going to see real change.

Cross posted at Maria Energia