Writing in Greenversations, the EPA’s blog, Jeffery Robichaud writes about his travels through the Midwest in a Winnebago to audit regional air-quality monitors in areas around Kansas City and St. Louis. The typically breezy nature of the region inspired one of the EPA audit team members to supplement the Winnebago’s gas-powered generator with wind energy.

And so the mobile air-monitoring laboratory recently acquired a rooftop wind turbine, becoming, as Robichaud puts it, “The Wind in the Winnebago.” When conditions are right, Robichaud writes, the turbine can charge up the Winnebago’s on-board batteries enough to power the entire mobile lab for eight hours “without a single wisp of generator exhaust.”

The addition helps the EPA team not only save on gasoline consumption but cut its own carbon footprint while on the road. Now there’s an example of an environmental agency living up to its mandate: good for you, Jeffery and team!

With gasoline prices in the U.S. breaking new records weekly, for example, law enforcement officials are seeing more cases of cooking grease thefts from fast-food establishments and other restaurants. Why used grease? Because cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel fuel that can be sold at a cool profit.
Grease thieves have recently struck a Burger King in suburban San Jose, California; a Wilby’s Gas and Goodies in Warsaw, Indiana; a Cathay Hut and a Chick-a-Dee in Lewiston, Maine; a fast-food joint in Lavonia, Georgia; and various eateries in Colorado Springs, among other places. The trend has grown to the point where police departments and legitimate grease collecting companies are stepping up enforcement and attorneys are even developing a reputation as “grease lawyers,” the Christian Science Monitor recently reported.

As the cost of various metals — from common copper and bronze to the rarer platinum — go up, thieves are also taking advantage, pilfering everything from historic plaques to catalytic converters (which contain platinum). In New Haven, Connecticut, bronze landmark plaques and fixtures on a war memorial fountain have gone missing. Monterey County, California, has seen criminals take freeway guardrails, road signs, brass fittings from chemical tanks and copper wire from industrial sites. In Saginaw, Michigan, crooks working in the open have ripped aluminum from numerous houses. And around the country, homes left empty because of foreclosure are being stripped of copper pipes and other precious metals.

The metal-theft trend is also being blamed for a variety of accidents and mishaps, as industrial sites and homes stripped of critical parts spring leaks of gases or chemicals. A plant in California, for instance, experienced a toxic spill after parts were stolen, and an abandoned warehouse in Pueblo, Colorado, recently collapsed, thanks apparently to the theft of some critical metal structures. A food pantry serving Roanoke-Salem, Virginia, even lost about $1,500 worth of food to spoilage after thieves took copper tubing from its refrigeration system.

Finally, skyrocketing grocery prices are leading thieves to steal even from food pantry donations, as happened recently from the doorsteps of needy residents in Aloha, Oregon. Fortunately, the U.S. isn’t experiencing nearly as desperate a situation as developing parts of the globe. As wheat and rice stocks hit new lows and prices shoot upward, parts of the world — Haiti, Egypt, Yemen, Somalia and Mexico, to name a few countries — are seeing not only food-related riots, but a rising level of crop thefts, in which people are stealing food directly from farmers’ fields.

The rising incidence of various types of thefts around the country is spurring law-makers to consider a slew of new legislation to discourage the trend. Proposals are now in the works in states including California, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New York and Ohio. In fact, the New York Post-Star reports that 35 states now have or are considering new identification requirements for the copper market alone.

Image credit: Hawyih at Wikimedia Commons, released into public domain. 

The local electric company, Missouri Public Utility Alliance, will purchase excess electricity when available. They will then supply power when there is not enough wind energy available. Excess wind energy will not be stored but rather fed into the city’s high voltage line, making it an intermittent source of power.

Several factors made this smaller scale project possible. The city has a bluff within the city limits with good resources, John Deere’s Wind Energy financing the project, and proximity to the power grid.

Related Posts on Renewable Energy:

What’s Holding Wind Power Back?

Solar Thermal Electricity: Can it Replace Coal, Gas, and Oil?

The Unlimited Potential of American Wind Power: AWEA

Planetthoughts: First Town in the US to be 100% Wind Powered

Offshore Wind: How Europe Plans to Meet Clean Energy Goals

The Corporate Crime Reporter tells the story in great detail, but here’s the tale in a nutshell:

Thirty-five years ago, Brownfield and Clyde Lear established Learfield Communications, now one of the top college sports radio broadcasters in the U.S. Lear bought out Brownfield in 1985, but Brownfield continued to broadcast for the company from its studios, eventually hosting a daily show called The Common Sense Coalition. On that show, he recently started assailing Monsanto, the multinational king of genetically modified crops and a company known for going after farmers who knowingly or unknowingly grow Monsanto-patented crops.

On his April 16 showApril 16 show, Brownfield characterized Monsanto’s aggressive nature as goonish and Mafia-like. He also said the mainstream, big-money media rarely takes on the issue, pointing out — presciently, it turns out — “The multinationals hate me, like the devil hates holy water, because people that tell the truth aren’t welcome on these major networks.”

Big problem, as Monsanto is an advertiser on Learfield Communications broadcasts.

The sales executives weren’t happy. The news executives weren’t happy. Brownfield’s former founding partner Lear asked him to lighten up. Brownfield said no.

And so it is that Brownfield’s last broadcast from Learfield’s studios will take place at the middle of this month. Lear says he will help his old partner build an Internet broadcast studio in Brownfield’s home, but that Learfield Communications will no longer have any connection to Brownfield’s show.

Brownfield told the Corporate Crime Reporter he couldn’t comment on the matter until the end of the month.

Bet he’ll have a heck of a lot to say after that, though.

I’ll say this now: the guy’s got a lot of guts. And I’ll bet there are plenty of farmers who quietly agree with him.

Each of these branches carries stocks about 100 cars, and about 60% of the vehicles at each branch consist of greener vehicles. In a short call last week, Pat (and colleague Lisa Martini) told me that these branches are not focusing on flex-fuel vehicles, as the fueling infrastructure in Atlanta doesn’t support their widespread use. He also noted that Miller’s decision was based on “the need for green in Atlanta” because of the high amounts of traffic congestion, as well as customer demand for the vehicles. He stressed throughout the call, though, that this was a “grassroots” decision: Enterprise sees itself as a “confederation of local operations (owner Andy Taylor’s phrase), and Miller’s decision reflects any local managers ability to manage his/her fleet to meet local needs. He expects that other regional managers will be watching developments in Atlanta closely.

While I had Pat and Lisa on the phone, I also asked about WeCar, the first car-sharing program in the St. Louis area. Pat told me that WeCar is largely an experiment for the company: “Car sharing is still in its infancy, and there are a lot of people still trying to figure out how it will work, and if it’s scalable. But there’s definitely a demand for it, and this is our offering.” Enterprise has also partnered with Google to offer employees plug-in hybrids for sharing if they don’t bring a car to work at the company campus, and sees this kind of employee benefit model as one among many potential ways that car sharing could evolve.

Finally, Enterprise announced its third-year plans for its 50 million tree pledge. This year’s million tress will be planted in the following locations:

• Huron-Manistee National Forest, Michigan – 445,000 trees, to be planted in May
• Flathead National Forest, Montana – 160,000 trees, planted late May/early June
• Deschutes National Forest, Oregon – 160,000 trees, planted in April
• Forests in Southeastern Manitoba, Canada – 100,000 trees, planted in April
• Plumas National Forest, California – 85,000 trees, planted in May
• Black Forest/ Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany – 50,000 trees, planted this fall

In both of our discussions, Pat has stressed Enterprise’s desire to both succeed financially and to serve as good corporate citizens. It’s fair to be skeptical about CSR claims… but it’s also great to see a company figuring out that green can contribute to their bottom line (and not just in terms of marketing strategy). Given their nature of business, Enterprise may ultimately only be able to offset a percentage of the pollution caused by their vehicles… but that’s a positive direction nonetheless. Let’s hope that these ideas don’t just spread within Enterprise’s “confederation,” but through the industry…

First up was Simran Sethi of Sundance’s The Green, who’s become a passionate advocate for Greensburg’s resurgence. In introducing the first five episodes of The Good Fight (which all focus on Greensburg), she not only lauded the people who she’s come to know in making the “webisodes,” but also noted that the town is hardly a hotbed of radical environmentalism: Greensburg was a town of 1400 people when the tornado struck, and, like many mid-American small communities, had been in decline for several decades. The population had shrunk, the per capita income was below the Kansas average, and young Greensburgians were generally looking for a way out. She heard plenty of disdainful comments about “treehuggers,” and several people had told her that they just didn’t believe global warming is a reality.

Despite a conservative outlook, though, the people of Greensburg recognized the value the could create for their community by embracing sustainable thinking. Sethi also noted that stories such as these point to the need for more depth in coverage of sustainability: not just showing people how to change their lightbulbs, but also addressing the systemic changes necessary to ensure both environmental preservation and social equity.

The webisodes themselves provided a inspiring look at the people of Greensburg and the choices they’ve made since the tornado. Like victims of southern Louisiana’s hurricanes in 2005, Greensburg residents were living in trailers provided by FEMA after the tornado, and desperate to get back to “normal.” The choice to rebuild green meant extending the period of transition for many people… yet the residents in the videos all expressed hope and optimism about their community’s future. Young people were excited about the greening of Greensburg, and economic possibilities looked bright with new wind turbines, a biodiesel plant, and the promise of twenty different manufacturing facilities interested in joining the GreenTown redevelopment project. (A side note: our own Adam Bowman was involved in the production of The Good Fight)

That sense of hope continued as Sethi moderated the discussion with Wallach and Hardy. Wallach (who also appeared in the webisodes) was effusive in his praise for the residents of Greensburg, noting that most people, after suffering the trauma of losing everything, just want to find comfort… quickly. The people of this town, despite their loss, chose to take a “different turn,” and put off that immediate need for comfort in favor of a brighter future. Hardy, in looking at the physical rebuilding of the town, noted that the planners and architects involved in the project weren’t implementing any new ideas in terms of building practices, but the concept of a greener community had taken hold firmly in Greensburg. Not only did the town decide to rebuild to LEED Platinum standards, but also passed a net metering ordinance, making Greensburg the only town in Kansas to offer this incentive for shifting to renewable energy sources. This “community without a town” (Hardy’s phrase) may not be completely rebuilt yet, but was already a very different place.

It was a privilege to both hear the stories that have come out of this little town’s disaster, and to talk with some of the residents themselves prior to the formal program. Dealing with these ideas day in and day out, it’s easy to get caught up in the concepts themselves. Greensburg is just one community showing that a more sustainable way of life isn’t just a pipe dream of the environmental community, though: it’s a practical alternative to “business as usual” that can create real viability for communities struggling with economic stagnation, a shrinking population, and even a life-changing disaster.

You can assist Greensburg’s efforts to rebuild green by contributing to Greensburg GreenTown. The Good Fight will air on the Sundance Channel’s web site beginning on Tuesday, April 22. Many thanks to the Kansas City chapter of AIGA, and other event sponsors, for their contributions.

Image credit: soldiersmediacenter at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Simran Sethi, host of the Sundance Channel’s The Green will moderate a panel on the green redesign of tornado devastated Greensburg, KS. The green salon will feature BNIM Architects’ urban planner, Stephen Hardy and Greentown director, Daniel Wallach. The Sundance Channel will screen segments from The Good Fight Series.

Tickets are only $15, are no one will be turned away for lack of funds… The cocktail reception preceding the forum will feature food and drink from Blue Bird Bistro (and I’ve eaten there… it’s really good!), Eden Alley Cafe, Local Burger, Benzinger Family Estates winery, and New Belgium Brewery. The fun begins at 5:30 pm on April 17th at the Scarritt Building Ballroom in Kansas City. All funds raised will go to Greensburg GreenTown.

I’m heading over to cover the event, so please say “Hi!” if you’re decide to come…

Image source: Kansas City chapter, AIGA

Definitely not as ambitious as some other efforts we’ve seen from major leagues sports franchises, but it’s a start… and Scott told me this was something the team wanted to continue and expand. Since the Lou’ is such a sports town, I’m encouraged… and hope our other teams get on board (hello… Cardinals?). This is great way to promote green ideas.

St. Louisans… if you’d like to go, I’ve attached a coupon for ticket discounts for the event… make sure to connect with Scott. Let us know how it goes.

Discount coupon for Blues vs. Nashville Predators

Image source: St. Louis Blues

As local blogger Steve Patterson noted when WeCar rolled out at Wash, the program appears to be all-hybrid: six Priuses at Wash, one at their medical campus, and nine downtown. Mayor Francis Slay is already singing WeCar’s praises: “It will help the environment,” Slay said. “It will also give people more options as far as commuting. Some people would like to take light rail or the bus to work but they need the flexibility during the day. They can use the WeCar.”

While it’s hard to say if the concept will catch on citywide, or if Enterprise (or perhaps another car-sharing company) will expand beyond these initial locations, I’m excited to see this concept getting a trial run in the Lou’. With the recent shut-down of a section of Interstate 64, metro-area are residents are looking hard at transportation alternatives. Let’s hope more companies see an opportunity for these kinds of experiments… it’s the right time for them!

Here’s part 2 of Brian Liloia’s documentary “Life with Thomas” from the Dancing Rabbit ecovillage in NW Missouri. Part 1 is available here.

You may remember NW Missouri’s Dancing Rabbit from Morgan Spurlock’s 30 Days television series. Resident Brian Liloia is the village videographer, and part one of “Life with Thomas” (shown above) is a part of his DRTV series. Enjoy…!

I’m a few days late on this one, although the green blogosphere in general has been quiet on this news (thank you Grist, Sightline Institute, and It’s Getting Hot in Here!): on Thursday in Milwaukee, governors from nine Midwestern states and the Canadian province of Manitoba signed the Midwest Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. Based on similar agreements in the Northeast and West Coast, the accord commits seven of the signatories to creating a regional cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases by 2010 (Ohio, Indiana, and South Dakota signed on as observers); it does not yet establish a reduction goal (as Grist notes).

While this is accord is only a first step, there’s a lot to celebrate here. Politically, the Midwest is pretty purple: cities tend to be bright blue, while rural areas are fiery red. Culturally, it’s fairly conservative overall: the “Heartland” has meanings beyond geographical location. If governors from both political parties (and the event surrounding the signing was co-hosted by Wisconsin’s Democratic governor Jim Doyle, and Minnesota’s Republican governor Tim Pawlenty) are willing to spend political capital in such a manner, that’s a strong sign that the polls aren’t wrong: the desire to address climate change has reached the mainstream.

Of course, the particular approach the accord takes should appeal across the political divide: the press release from the Midwestern Governors Association highlights a “market-based and multi-sector cap-and-trade mechanism,” and Governor Doyle’s proclamation that the Midwest has the resources to become “the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy.” Nary a word about carbon taxes, renewable energy standards or development regulations. I’m not criticizing the accord for its “free market” language, as I think that’s necessary for broad appeal. At the same time, I’m guessing that making such agreements work will require both public and private action, and government regulation (or, at least, government incentives) will be a part of the mix. We’ll also have to keep an eye of what kind of renewable energy development receives priority placement: if corn-based ethanol remains a synonym for “renewable energy,” we’ve got further to go than this agreement would suggest.

As you might imagine, I’m very disappointed to see that my home state of Missouri isn’t a part of this agreement. The Governor’s office didn’t release a statement on the agreement, and my cursory searches of the Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City Star came up empty… not even an article, much less an editorial. “Show Me” arguments won’t cut it here — Missouri is taking steps in the right direction, but we’re still behind the curve. This won’t just cost us environmentally, but also economically: why not involve the state in an agreement that could create new economic opportunities for businesses, and new “green collar” jobs? I’m mystified… but I’ll keep asking… And, hopefully, the signatory states that border Missouri (Kansas, Illinois and Iowa) will “show us” that this is a smart move.

UPDATE: This morning (11/20), the Post-Dispatch weighed in on Missouri’s total lack of participation in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord: apparently, the governor didn’t even send a representative to the meeting in Milwaukee.

Other coverage:

Sierra Club: Midwest Governors Pledge Blog Action to Fight Warming

Environment News Service: Midwest Governors Pledge to Fight Climate Warming

Pioneer Press: Getting into the Green Groove

This week brings a lot of renewable energy news from the states. So instead of covering just one, here’s a run down on the big legislative action that’s been going down. Do you know what’s going on in your state?