Category Archives: stewardship

How About Cleanest Cities – Forbes is at it again

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http://www.forbes.com/2007/04/16/worlds-cleanest-cities-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0416cleanest.html

Urban
Which Are The World’s Cleanest Cities?
Robert Malone, 04.16.07, 12:10 PM ET

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In Pictures: The World’s Cleanest Cities

There is clean and then there is clean. In the world, as a rule of thumb, the North is clean and the South is dirty. Indeed only two of the top-25 cleanest cities in the world are below the Equator–Auckland, New Zealand, and Wellington, New Zealand.

The cleanest cities are largely located in countries noted for their democracy and their industrialization. The only Asian cities represented are in Japan. There are no top-25 clean cities in South or Central America, Africa and Australia. The U.S. has five of the top 25; Canada, a strong five, with the top spot its city of Calgary; Europe has 11 of the top 25; and Japan has three.

The 25 cleanest cities are located in 13 countries. It may not be accidental that these countries are among the highest in purchasing power parity according to the World Development Indicator database of the World Bank. Twelve are in the top 20, and only New Zealand lags in wealth, at No. 37 on the list of world’s wealthiest. So clean may also mean well-off.

In Pictures: The World’s Cleanest Cities

To be clean a city has to face and solve many problems that otherwise lead to unsanitary conditions and poor health as well as possible economic stagnation. Producing energy for industry, homes and transportation has to be planned and executed reasonably, and this means some form of regulation and control.

To be clean means organizing what is done with waste. Landfills are being closed or filled up. Recycling is the only long-range answer, but this takes civic discipline, a system and preferably a system that turns a profit. Green only works well when it results in greenbacks.

In addition a city has to look closely at its transportation infrastructure (roads, rail, air, subways) and their impact upon being clean or going dirty or staying dirty. The logistics infrastructure is also critical in terms of efficiency that can translate into money and fuel savings that in turn affect cleanliness (air quality, water quality and ground quality).

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More tomorrow.

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Cleanest Places On Earth – I promised I would follow up

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I had my doubts on Friday whether I would find any lists of the cleanest anything. But if a polluter advocate like Forbes has them, everyone must.

Environment

The Cleanest Countries In The World

Christopher Helman, 04.21.10, 12:00 PM EDT

Europeans getting a shower of ash might disagree, but researchers rate Iceland tops in environmental performance.

Iceland is the cleanest country in the world. This may be hard to believe right now, what with the clouds of volcanic ash grounding flights across northern Europe, but according to researchers at Yale and Columbia universities, the Nordic island ranks first out of 163 countries on their Environmental Performance Index.

Researchers ranked countries based on 25 indicators, including water and air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of the environment on the health of the population. (For more detail on the methodology, click here.) A score of 100 is excellent. Sierra Leone ranks at the bottom of the list with a score of 32. The U.S. ranks in the middle of the pack with 63.5. Iceland took top honors with a score of 93.5 thanks to ample clean water, lots of protected nature areas, good national health care and a plenitude of usually clean geothermal power.

Slideshow: The World’s 10 Cleanest Countries

Will Eyjafjallajokull wreck Iceland’s rating the next time the academics run the numbers in 2012? The answer is no. “We do not score natural disasters,” says Daniel Esty, a professor of environmental law at Yale who heads up the EPI and wrote the acclaimed book Green to Gold. The index is weighted to metrics that track how governments are performing relative to environmental policy goals, such as access to adequate sanitation and water, habitat protection and industrial emissions. The amount of sulfur dioxide released from fuel usage counts, not what’s put out by volcanoes.

There are two paths that can take a country to the top of the EPI rankings. First, a country could be gifted with a rich endowment of clean water, diverse biology and not have sullied it with rampant industrialism. That’s how Cuba, Colombia and Costa Rica placed so high.

Alternatively, a country could have industrialized and polluted its environment, but eventually gotten rich enough to start cleaning it up. That’s the case with the European countries that make up more than half of the top 30.

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More Tomorrow

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Renters And Energy Conservation – Talking to your landlord

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I know it sounds sorta dumb but if you talk to the landlord about your interest in saving energy…you may find out that he shares your beliefs or is at least neutral about it. If on the other hand he makes rude comments or says something like, “I ain no treehugger”, then you need to drop it. If he seems neutral or somewhat interested. DO NOT ask him to DO anything right away. Follow the tips I have posted here and that are widely available on the web. Then you should causally mentions some of the things that you have done. Look for things that might interest him. Just as an example if you have access to the water heater and he pays the bills…tell him you turned it down and ask if he notice any savings….

http://e-conserve.blogspot.com/2009/04/renters-delight-low-energy-bill.html

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Exploring ways to save energy, money and the environment

Join Dominion in sharing ideas about how to save energy and money while helping the environment. Learn more about energy conservation from our Energy Experts.

Authors

Alison Kaufmann Alison Kaufmann Energy Conservation Specialist
Tom Jewell Tom Jewell
Energy Conservation Coordina

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Renter’s Delight, low energy bill

Even while renting, you have more control over your resources than you think.

  • Buy a water filter and use reusable water bottles instead of buying plastic water bottles.
  • Use CFLs in your light fixtures
  • Stop the junk mail by visiting http://www.donotmail.org/
  • Control your thermostat setting
  • Ask your landlord about making energy efficient improvements for all rental properties
  • Get a green shower curtain, made of organic cotton, like these
  • Use a low flow shower head

Let us know what you do in your place to conserve and don’t forget to share this page with others.

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More tomorrow

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Energy Conservation And Renters – Some utilities say less then others

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Some utilities say nothing at all. Here is a fairly terse response.

http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/WaterandLight/Conservation/r-guide.php

Renters’ Guide…To Outfitting Your Energy Budget

As your publicly owned utility, it is our hope that we can help you become a resourceful and efficient customer. By choosing energy efficient housing and by following energy saving habits you will keep your costs at a minimum. Rental property owners are finding that energy efficient units are easier to rent and require less Renters' Guidemaintenance than inefficient dwellings.

If you are a renter, the following information can help you incorporate energy efficiency into your decisions before you rent and lifestyle choices after you rent, resulting in lower energy costs in your monthly budget. The information is divided into two parts:

If you have any questions or comments please contact the Utility Services Department at Columbia Water & Light, 874-7325.

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More tomorrow.

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Britain Wants “Warm Homes Greener Homes” – Hands out road map to get there

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Tomorrow I will do a piece on the ECOBuild Conference where this was announced in Britain but first the policy.

http://www.herefordshirenewleaf.org.uk/warm-homes-greener-homes-governments-strategy-household-energy-management

Warm Homes, Greener Homes: The Government’s strategy for Household Energy Management

Submitted by ali on Thu, 04/03/2010 – 11:53am

The Government has today published its Household Energy Management Strategy Warm Homes, Greener Homes, setting out its plans for meeting its target for a reduction of 29% in carbon emissions from the household sector. The strategy responds to the consultation conducted on Heat and Energy Saving last year.

The vision:

  • the intention is for every home where it is practical to have loft and cavity wall insulation by 2015;
  • every home in Britain to have a smart meter and display to help them better manage their energy use;
  • up to 7 million households to have had an eco-upgrade which would include advanced measures such as solid wall insulation or heat pumps alongside smart meters and more basic measures;
  • people living in rented accommodation to enjoy higher levels of energy efficiency as landlords – private and social – take action to improve the fabric of properties;
  • wider take up of district heating in urban areas, such as in blocks of flats, in new build and social housing, and in commercial and public sector buildings;
  • a core of up to 65,000 people employed in the new industry of energy efficiency, and potentially several times more down supply chains. Jobs will include installing and manufacturing energy saving measures or providing home energy advice.

Elements of the strategy:

  • New community partnerships and an enhanced role for local authorities, including from 2013, following CERT, a requirement on energy companies to consult with local authorities to deliver local area based programmes; and support for district heating. Where a local authority has a Local Carbon Framework covering household energy efficiency, companies will be obliged to agree with the local authority that their plans are in line with this framework before acting. Some local authorities may provide their own incentives, such as council tax rebates. The ambition in the longer term is that all authorities will take on responsibility for saving carbon from energy use in the homes in their area.

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Please read the rest of the article and go to these links to learn more:

To read the press release click here: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn2010_037/pn2010_037.aspx

For more details and to download the Strategy click here: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/consumers/saving_energy…

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More tomorrow

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Illinois Stewardship Alliance – Wonderful food, great people

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Harvest Dinner: A Celebration of Local Farmers and Local Chefs
Enjoy an early fall FEAST and support Illinois Stewardship Alliance!
We invite you to join us for a special Harvest Dinner to celebrate the abundance of local food prepared by talented local chefs. With scrumptious small plates prepared featuring fresh, seasonal ingredients, you won’t find a more delicious way to support local food and farming in Illinois.
Sunday, September, 19
5:00 p.m.
Inn at 835
835 S. Second St., Springfield
Harvest Dinner: A Celebration of Local Farmers and Local Chefs

Featured Chefs:

Michael Higgins, Maldaner’s Restaurant
August Mrozowski, Augie’s Front Burner
Robb Wyss, Illini Country Club
Zack Holston, Inn at 835
Lincoln Land Culinary Arts Students
Get Tickets:
Individual Individual Ticket $65
“Harvester” Ticket $90 (Includes a seat at a table with Celebrity Chef or Celebrity Farmer and Illinois Wine Courses)
Make checks payable to Illinois Stewardship Alliance and mail to: 401 W. Jackson Pkwy, Springfield, IL 62704
or pay online by clicking here.
Silent Auction:
Help Illinois Stewardship Alliance raise funds, demonstrate your commitment to sustainable food and farm systems in Illinois and get a treat for yourself, friends or family.
If you would like to donate to the silent auction, please contact Dee at (217) 528-1563 or isa@ilstewards.org.
Here are suggestions of silent auction items you could donate:
Silent Auction Items
Locally Produced Food Items
Gift Certificates
Artwork
Gardening/Farming Related Items
Farm Tours
Dinner for Two (or Breakfast or Lunch)
B & B Stays
Gift Baskets
Massage Gift Certificates

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nuff said

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More Tomorrow

oh these folks asked for a link so here it is:

www.platts.com

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The Face Of Global Warming – World food shortages and fires

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It is jam band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD2zkvE_uQg

Well it has started. The SUN came back on and the nearly 3 year solar “quiet” has ended. The next 11 years could be some of the most fascinating and horrific witnessed since WWII, WWI, or the Civil War here in America. I am not jumping for joy or anything but we are going to get closer to the Sun at the same time and our tip towards the Sun…what we call summer is going to “tip” a little more, so it will probably get hot pretty fast. This isn’t bad for a warm up so to speak…But if you want to close your eyes and pretend it isn’t happening you can’t do better then Kelly Clarkson.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4sJMcgeDe0&feature=related

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http://www.theage.com.au/world/russia-bans-grain-exports-as-drought-consumes-crops-20100806-11ohl.html

Russia bans grain exports as drought consumes crops

ANDREW KRAMER, MOSCOW

August 7, 2010

Heatwave, drought and now the wildfires, like this one in the western region of Ryazan, are the worst in Russia's modern history. <i>Picture: AFP</i>Heatwave, drought and now the wildfires, like this one in the western region of Ryazan, are the worst in Russia’s modern history. Picture: AFP

RUSSIAN Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has banned all exports of grain after millions of hectares of wheat have withered in a severe drought, driving up prices around the world.

Russia is suffering the worst heatwave since record-keeping began here, more than 130 years ago.

”We need to prevent a rise in domestic food prices, we need to preserve the number of cattle and build up reserves for next year,” Mr Putin said in a meeting broadcast on television. ”As the saying goes: reserves don’t make your pocket heavy.”

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Must take a music break.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ7FWZcwotM:}

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The abrupt ban – earlier this week, a deputy agricultural minister had said no such measure would be taken – shows Mr Putin retains the right to marshal state power in defence of Russian interests.

Russia’s emergencies minister has warned that the wildfires raging in the west of the country could release radioactive particles from land contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Sergei Shoygu said laboratories were monitoring a potential release of contaminants in Bryansk region, on the border with Ukraine. The region was sprayed with caesium-137 and strontium-90 after the Chernobyl explosion in 1986.

”In the event of a fire there, radionuclides could rise together with combustion particles, and a new zone of pollution will appear,” he said.

The wheat export ban is widely seen as a move to address rising resentment over the heatwave and the fires.

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Go to the article to read the rest. I can’t go on. More next week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svxP2LjBg_4:}

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The Intelligent Optimist – Who knew

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Pretty cool magazine and pretty cool article:

http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/64/passive-power-house/

Passive House: Super energy efficient housing

Ursula Sautter | June/July 2009 issue

The Smith House, in Urbana, Illinois, “has a simple, compact shape that conserves energy,” says its architect, Katrin Klingenberg.
Photo: Passive House Institute US

How a new kind of home which produces more energy than it consumes, can drastically reduce fuel bills and CO2 emissions. Governments around the world are scrambling to address the twin crises of our times—the recession and climate change—by investing in infrastructure and green energy projects. The Obama administration’s stimulus package, for example, contains billions in incentives for alternative power sources and energy-efficiency increases affecting millions of homes. The question is how to identify “shovel-ready” projects that can quickly deliver the economic boost and CO2 reductions we so urgently need. Rolf Disch, an architect and environmentalist in Freiburg, Germany, has an answer: houses that produce more energy than they consume.

“What if each house became a power plant, if it created even more energy than it used internally?” Disch, 65, first asked himself 15 years ago. To design that home, he built on the ideas of the “passive house” movement that started in Europe in the early 1990s. Instead of relying on the electricity grid for power, a passive house taps available energy sources—sunlight, the body heat of occupants, even the thermal gains created by ordinary domestic activities such as cooking, bathing and using electrical appliances. The building is well-insulated and airtight so it retains most of this energy and, through highly efficient heat-exchange ventilation technology, uses it to cool itself in summer and heat itself in winter. The houses are called “passive” because most of the power consumed is collected from ambient energy in the environment. When extra juice is needed, renewable power units supply it, like the solar array on the roof of the residential and commercial complex Disch built in Freiburg in 2004.

“I only ever had to switch on the heating once,” says Stefan Sattler, a 32-year-old lawyer who has rented a penthouse in the Disch-designed complex since October of 2007. Even then, Sattler only needed the extra heat—purchased from the local heating grid—for two or three hours. Since he and his fellow residents sell the surplus energy produced by the building’s solar panels back to the city’s utility provider at a profit, Sattler is one of the few people who opens his utility bills with real glee. He’s earning money from solar power rather than paying for oil or gas. The average unit in the Freiburg complex earns $5,075 a year this way instead of spending $4,625.

Passive homes can save consumers a bundle in fuel bills—and the planet even more in CO2 emissions. According to the German Passive House Institute (PHI), founded by physicist Wolfgang Feist, who co-created the passive house concept, energy consumption can be reduced by up to 90 percent compared to average homes, up to 75 percent compared to newer buildings. While an existing home uses some 160 kilowatt-hours in heating energy per square meter of living space (kwH/m2) annually, residences built to the passive house standard use a maximum 15 kwH/m2.

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More Tomorrow

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Gail Record And The Clarewood Farm – What a hit

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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Springfield-IL/Clarewood-Farm-Bakery/122955644396840?v=wall

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http://www.sj-r.com/features/x487935616/Kathryn-Rem-Clarewood-Farm-Bakery-offers-healthful-baked-goods

Kathryn Rem: Clarewood Farm & Bakery offers healthful baked goods

Posted Jul 27, 2010 @ 10:09 PM

What you may not know, if you buy baked goods from Gail Record at either of Springfield’s two farmers markets, is that she goes to a lot of trouble to make sure the ingredients she uses are locally sourced and grown either organically or in a sustainable manner.

Although she lives in Springfield, some of her ingredients are grown at Clarewood Farm — her family’s 80-acre farm near Loami. Other ingredients, including eggs, come from area farmers.

“When I started working at the farm, I wanted an apple orchard and nut trees and vegetables and fruit and I wanted to bake. I had big ideas. But you have to have time to do it,” said Record, a grandmother who sells under the name Clarewood Farm & Bakery.

The first-year farmers market vendor and former food writer hasn’t given up on her dream of running a thriving sustainable farm, but she’s starting small.

Take flour, for example.

She wanted to grow an acre of wheat, which she planned to make into flour for her whole-wheat baked goods. But when she realized how labor-intensive and difficult growing wheat would be, she decided to buy wheat berries from an organic farm in Chenoa and grind them herself.

Her stand — Saturdays only at the Old Capitol Farmers Market and Thursdays at the Illinois Products Farmers Market — sells cookies, muffins, zucchini bread, granola, scones, whole-wheat tortillas and other goodies. Fruit pies will be offered in the fall.

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Try some:

Hey Springfield Area Locavores,

1)      The Illinois Specialty Growers Association sponsors the Farmers Market Tent at the State Fair.  They are looking for any volunteers to help out with sales. The hours are 11:00-7:00 with breaks as needed to walk around the fair, eat, etc.  Products sold include apple cider slushies, peaches, cantaloupe, watermelon, peaches, ice cream, salads and egg-on-a-stick!    Past volunteers almost always return as they enjoy working this tent.  You will be serving the produce and collecting money.  No rocket science involved, just good ole’ fun!  Thanks for considering.

Please contact Diane Handley by email or phone if you are interested. Diane Handley , Illinois Specialty Growers Association 309-557-2107, handley@ilfb.org

2)       If you have not heard yet, tomorrow night, August 29th, Augie’s Front Burner is hosting a bonus “Local Flavors Dinner” in addition to the regularly scheduled “Local Flavors” lunches and dinners. The menu for the dinner at Augie’s is attached. For reservations call, 217-544-6979.

3)      In celebration of National Farmers’ Market Week Illinois Stewardship Alliance will be distributing free bags of wheat flour at Springfield’s farmers’ markets. Illinois Stewardship Alliance is partnering with the Industrial Harvest project to distribute wheat flour that was purchased through the Chicago Board of Trade as part of a project to learn more about how commodities travel through the system and ultimately give the flour a story. Illinois Stewardship Alliance will distribute the flour at the Old Capitol Farmers Market on Wednesday, August 4 and Saturday, August 7 and at the Illinois Products Farmers Market on Thursday, August 5.  Both white and whole wheat flour will be given away in bags with 3 – 4 cups of flour each.  Stop by and get some free wheat flour!

Sincerely,

Wes King

Illinois Stewardship Alliance

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More tomorrow.

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People Toss HydroCarbons Around Like There Is No Tomorrow

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It is both true and disgusting. When you think nothing could get more cruel or stupid, these things happen…:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7913940/New-oil-spill-in-the-Gulf-of-Mexico-after-tug-boat-strikes-well.html

New oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after tug boat strikes well

A new oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has created a mile-long slick after a tug boat struck an abandoned well off the Louisiana coast.

By Heidi Blake
Published: 9:20AM BST 28 Jul 2010

A crew was scrambled from the Deepwater Horizon clean-up operation after the collision sent a plume of oil and gas 100ft into the air.

The spill in Barataria Bay, which is surrounded by wildlife-rich wetlands, is at least the third leak since in the area since the BP oil catastrophe began on April 10.

The area of ocean 65 miles south of New Orleans would normally be occupied by fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen, but it has been deserted since the BP spill began.

The abandoned wellhead burst in the early hours of Tuesday morning after being hit by a tug boat that was pushing a dredge barge.

About 6,000 feet of boom was placed around the spill, and the Coast Guard was surveying the scene from a helicopter.

Admiral Thad Allen, the US Coast Guard chief, said the oil platform was surrounded by a sheen and a vapour that was probably a combination of oil and gas spewing from the well.

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From one end of the country to the other:

http://michiganmessenger.com/40133/michigan-oil-spill-a-replay-of-gulf-spill

Michigan oil spill a replay of Gulf spill?

By Ed Brayton 7/27/10 3:28 PM

It’s looking like the oil spill from a pipeline into the Talmadge Creek in Calhoun County is going to be a replay of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in at least one respect — the companies, aided by the government, do not want the media to have access to take pictures and video of what is going on. The Michigan Messenger’s Todd Heywood is on the scene and was turned away from one of the primary sites by employees of Enbridge, the company that owns and operates the pipeline.

Heywood was at 12 Mile Rd. and C Avenue at a bridge over the Ceresco Dam when employees from Enbridge turned him away. The employee would only give his name as Mike, and when he noticed Heywood writing down the information he said, “I’m not telling you anything else” and walked away.

A sheriff’s deputy on the scene confirmed that he was not allowed to take pictures there of the oil spill or the wildlife. He then went to the Enbridge command center and was told by Enbridge spokesperson Lorraine Grymala that he would have to go to the Calhoun County Sheriff to talk to them about it.

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More tomorrow

(I mean at this rate I really hope there isn’t…but I am sure there will be>)

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