Green Building & Manufacturing Articles
Carbon Emissions 'Outsourced' to Developing Countries
ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2010) - A new study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution finds that over a third of carbon dioxide emissions associated with consumption of goods and services in many developed countries are actually emitted outside their borders. Some countries, such as Switzerland, "outsource" over half of their carbon dioxide emissions, primarily to developing countries. The study finds that, per person, about 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide are consumed in the U.S. but produced somewhere else. For Europeans, the figure can exceed four tons per person. Most of these emissions are outsourced to developing countries, especially China.
"Instead of looking at carbon dioxide emissions only in terms of what is released inside our borders, we also looked at the amount of carbon dioxide released during the production of the things that we consume," says co-author Ken Caldeira, a researcher in the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology.
Caldeira and lead author Steven Davis, also at Carnegie, used published trade data from 2004 to create a global model of the flow of products across 57 industry sectors and 113 countries or regions. By allocating carbon emissions to particular products and sources, the researchers were able to calculate the net emissions "imported" or "exported" by specific countries
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Consumers Reject Lower Energy Use As The Answer to Reducing Reliance on Fossil Fuels and Energy Imports
NEW YORK; March 9, 2010 - Three out of four consumers are concerned by energy and climate change issues, but nearly two thirds say that using less energy is not the answer to reducing reliance on fossil fuels or foreign energy supply, according to global research by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). The survey of 9,000 individuals in 22 countries also shows that almost nine out of ten consumers want more government intervention in the energy market.
The Accenture New Energy World Survey reveals that:
* 90 percent of consumers are concerned or extremely concerned by rising energy costs and 76 percent by the prospect of energy shortages.
* 83 percent are concerned by climate change and 80 percent by the level of local air pollution.
* 77 percent are concerned or very concerned about their country's reliance on other countries providing oil and gas.
* 89 percent think it important or very important to reduce their country's reliance on fossil fuels.
However, only a third of respondents say cutting energy should be the top priority in addressing energy issues:
* 37 percent say using less energy is the answer to limit their country's reliance on fossil fuels, and 36 percent say that using less energy is the answer to reducing reliance on foreign countries providing oil and gas.
* Two thirds (63 percent and 64 percent, respectively) believe the solution to these challenges lies in developing low carbon sources of energy.
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FuelCell Energy's Brdar discusses growth of stationary fuel cell market
Are large stationary fuel cells the future of electricity production? During today's OnPoint, Dan Brdar, the CEO of FuelCell Energy, discusses the growth potential for the stationary fuel cell market. He explains how stationary fuel cell technology differs from fuel cells in automobiles. Brdar also talks about fuel cell technology's role in a federal renewable electricity standard.
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Green building code introduced
ICC, ASHRAE, USGBC, and IES announce the nation's first set of model codes and standards for green building in the United States.
The International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) have announced the launch of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), representing the merger of two national efforts to develop adoptable and enforceable green building codes.
The IGCC provides the building industry with language that both broadens and strengthens building codes in a way that will accelerate the construction of high performance green buildings across the United States.
For decades, ICC and ASHRAE have worked to develop codes and standards that become the industry standard of care for the design, construction, operations, and maintenance of residential and commercial buildings in the U.S. and internationally. In coordination with the efforts of ICC and ASHRAE, USGBC has been leading a nationwide green building movement centered on the LEED Green Building Rating System since LEED was launched in 2000. The convergence of these efforts in the IGCC is perhaps the most significant development in the buildings industry in the past 10 years.
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Toxic waste weighs on revival of nuclear industry
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Reviving the U.S. nuclear industry could get hung up on the political minefield of how to handle the security, legal and environmental risks posed by a growing mountain of radioactive waste.
The Obama administration, which sees nuclear power as a key part of its policy to meet America's energy needs with more fuels that do not add to global warming, has said it plans to scrap a long-delayed permanent dump site for nuclear waste.
The move probably won't stop new nuclear plants from being built, but could limit the pace of growth in the sector, which has been stagnant since the 1970s.
That leaves the 2,000 tonnes of used fuel already produced each year by U.S. nuclear plants stored at various power plant sites, waiting for a permanent home.
"The whole system wasn't designed to accommodate accumulating waste on site," said Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. "It was designed for the waste to be taken away."
At least one company, Exelon Corp, has said it will not pursue new U.S. nuclear plants at this time, citing the lack of a national plan for waste in its decision.
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Clean Energy Markets: Jobs and Opportunities
This brief discusses how investment in clean energy technologies will generate economic growth and create new jobs in the United States and around the globe. Action around the world means that global clean energy markets will grow significantly in the coming decades. The United States stands to benefit from the development of these markets, but only if it moves quickly to support domestic demand for and production of clean energy technologies. An international climate agreement will influence the ultimate size of global clean energy markets, and comprehensive U.S. climate and clean energy policy will expand the scope of these markets domestically. Well-designed policy will enhance the competitiveness of U.S. firms in the emerging international markets of the 21st century.
Clean energy markets are already substantial in scope and growing fast. Between 2004 and 2007, global investments in renewable energy more than doubled. Forecasts of investment totals over the next few decades vary according to assumptions made regarding the nature of future global climate agreements, with more ambitious and comprehensive agreements creating larger global markets.
* Annual investments in global renewable energy markets could reach $106-$230 billion a year in 2020 and as much as $424 billion a year in 2030 (in year 2000 dollars).
* Over the next decade, assuming strong global action on climate change, cumulative global investment totals for clean power generation technologies could reach nearly $2.2 trillion.
* In the period 2021-2030, with global action, investment totals could be substantially larger, as new technologies achieve commercial viability - for example, global investment in CCS is projected to be $58 billion between 2010 and 2020, but could be nearly ten times higher - $537 billion - over the following decade.
* Markets for energy efficiency improvements also have huge potential; with policy, investment in residential and commercial building and appliance efficiency in the United States could reach a cumulative total of $160 billion by 2030.
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Chu explains the energy efficiency opportunity
"Regardless of what the skeptics may think, there are indeed 20-dollar bills lying on the ground all around us. We only need the will -- and the ways -- to pick them up."
For the next few decades, energy efficiency is one of the lowest cost options for reducing US carbon emissions. Many studies have concluded that energy efficiency can save both energy and money. For example, a recent McKinsey report calculated the potential savings assuming a 7% discount rate, no price on carbon and using only "net present value positive" investments. It found the potential to reduce consumer demand by about 23% by 2020 and reduce GHG emissions by 1.1 gigatons each year - at a net savings of US$ 680 billion.
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More firms getting involved in smartgrid work
A recent new market special issue of The Zweig Letter, the flagship publication of ZweigWhite, outlines the reasons why more firms are getting involved in smart grid work and the myriad opportunities that should be available in this arena.
"With regards to smart grid, we're on the brink of a flood of smart grid projects," says Wanda Reder, chairwoman of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Smart Grid Task Force. "The federal government released $4.3 billion in economic stimulus money for smart grid through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in December," she says.
"There's a lot of opportunity," Reder says. "The time is now. We have more money, more incentive, and more interest in taking this to a whole new level. We're thinking about the consumers more than ever before. With the communication piece of smart grid, it's all about making this a system of systems."
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Automakers urge Congress not to block new emissions limits
Washington -- Detroit's Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp., and six other automakers urged Congress Wednesday not to bar the Environmental Protection Agency from setting the first-ever limits on tailpipe emissions.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers -- which includes General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC, Daimler AG, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG -- sent a letter Wednesday to congressional leaders urging them to reject efforts led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to overturn the EPA's finding that greenhouse gas emissions are a danger to public health.
Dave McCurdy, the alliance's president and CEO, warned that a deal reached last May between the White House, automakers and 13 states led by California would "collapse" if the EPA decision is overturned.
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ZERO-CARBON BUILDINGS
The building sector is responsible for a large share of world electricity consumption and raw materials use. In the United States, buildings-commercial and residential-account for 72 percent of electricity use and 38 percent of CO2 emissions. Worldwide, building construction accounts for 40 percent of materials use.
Because buildings last for 50-100 years or longer, it is often assumed that cutting carbon emissions in the building sector is a long-term process. But that is not the case. An energy retrofit of an older inefficient building can cut energy use and energy bills by 20-50 percent. The next step, shifting entirely to carbon-free electricity, either generated onsite or purchased, to heat, cool, and light the building completes the job. Presto! A zero-carbon operating building.
Some countries are taking bold steps. Notable among them is Germany, which as of January 2009 requires that all new buildings either get at least 15 percent of space and water heating from renewable energy or dramatically improve energy efficiency. Government financial support is available for owners of both new and existing buildings. In reality, once builders or home owners start to plan these installations, they will quickly see that in most cases it makes economic sense to go far beyond the minimal requirements.
There are already signs of progress in the United States, including provisions within the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act designed to stimulate the economy. Among other items, it provides for the weatherization of more than a million homes, beginning with an energy audit. A second part calls for the weatherization and retrofitting of a large share of the nation's stock of public housing. A third component is the greening of government buildings by making them more energy-efficient and, wherever possible, installing devices such as rooftop solar water and space heaters and rooftop solar electric arrays.
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Salt 'n Power: A First Look at the Lithium Flats of Bolivia
UYUNI, Bolivia-"Gray gold" may be the key to a future filled with hybrid or electric vehicles. That's because lithium is the most important ingredient in the batteries that power these cars. Even without many electric cars on the road today the lightest metal on Earth is more and more a mining target of multinational companies as lithium ion batteries power an increasing array of electronic gadgets.
Lithium is found in many places on the planet, but among all of them no deposit is richer than the vast salt flats of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, covering more than 10,000 square kilometers of the remote high plains. Lithium is found among these salts, mixed in with brine that lies beneath a saline crust, the residue of an ancient evaporated sea. That lithium-rich brine is the legacy of local volcanic activity transporting the metal to the surface where it could then be leached by infiltrating waters.
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Can Solar Power the World?
Although solar electricity and wind energy are growing by leaps and bounds, they only provide a tiny fraction of today's electrical demand. As global supplies of fossil fuel resources decline and as concern over global climate change increases, however, solar electric systems could become a major source of electricity, along with wind and a host of other renewable energy technologies. But is there enough solar energy to produce enough electricity to meet our needs?
Although solar energy is not evenly distributed throughout the Earth, significant resources are found on every continent.
"Solar energy's potential is off the chart," write energy experts Ken Zweibel, James Mason, and Vasilis Fthenakis in a December 2007 article "A Solar Grand Plan" published in Scientific American magazine. Only two billionths of the Sun's energy strikes the Earth, but as they point out, the solar energy striking the Earth in a 40-minute period is equal to all the energy human society consumes in a year. Solar electric systems on our homes and businesses or giant commercial solar systems could provide us with an abundance of clean energy.
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Small-Scale Hydropower: An Inside Look at Making Renewable Energy
Hydropower is a major source of renewable energy, and it's not just big dams that are supplying all the power. Some are small, low-impact hydropower plants, such as the Bowersock Mills and Power Co. in Lawrence, Kan. This small hydroelectric facility on the Kansas River is planning to expand - a move that would triple the dam's power production with almost no additional environmental impact. Here's a conversation with Sarah Hill-Nelson, who is a co-owner of the plant and has been running the business for seven years. She talked to us about how hydropower works, the business of selling renewable energy, and why she loves her job.
Hydropower History
How much electricity does the Bowersock plant produce?
In an average year we produce about 11 million kilowatt hours (kWh). The plant is rated at 2.35 megawatts (MW). On a good day, we make enough electricity to power about 1,800 homes.
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EnVision Motor Company Launches Family of Electric Motor Cars (EMC) to U.S. Market.
Produced on a European automotive assembly line, Electric Motor Cars family of all electric vehicles includes a 7 passenger station wagon, a cargo van, and a pick-up truck. EnVision Motor Company is the exclusive distributor for this family of electric vehicles in the USA with plans of selling several thousand vehicles in the coming months.
The company has also announced that Gabus Automotive Distributors of Des Moines, Iowa will be the sole sub-distributor of Electric Motor Cars (EMC) in thirty-three states in the US.
All of Electric Motor Cars' vehicles qualify for the full $7,500 Federal Tax Credit and many state tax credits for purchasing a plug in electric vehicle. Proposed MSRP for the fully equipped Electric Station Wagon is less than $30,000 after the Federal Tax Credit for plug in electric vehicles. The warranty period for the vehicles is 3 years/100,000 miles.
The range of these models of electric vehicles is approximately 260 miles between charges and charging is made easy when plugged into any regular household or commercial 110/120 volt outlet. Electric Motor Cars vehicles batteries are sodium based batteries that are non-toxic and fully recyclable.
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SAVING ENERGY WITH WALLPAPER.
Compared with cars and trucks, it's fairly easy to cut energy consumption and subsequently reduce emissions attributed to buildings. But that's new buildings, of course. Most of the buildings on the planet were built before green building became popular and no one has plans to tear the old ones down and replace them.
For older structures some efficiency retrofits can help. Weatherization such as caulking, more insulation in accessible areas, new tighter windows and doors along with upgraded heating and cooling systems, for instance, can improve energy performance. However, all those kinds of things cost money and the pay back can be long. If there's any immediate gratification it's only that a weatherized building will be snugger and more comfortable to live and work in.
For home owners it's safe to say that people want to save on energy bills. But they don't want to spend a lot to do so. One of the least expensive yet effective things people can do is add more insulation to their attics. However, adding attic insulation, while extremely important in efforts to save energy by cutting heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer, is only one part of an insulation improvement project. Doing something with exterior walls is another.
Adding wall insulation to an existing home can be a difficult project, not one most homeowners would tackle. Insulating outer walls can range from adding insulating siding to filling empty wall cavities with blown-in insulation to a major remodeling which can include gutting walls and insulating. Applying rigid insulation to inner walls, then sheathing over the material somehow is another possibility. None of the above are easy and low cost tasks.
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A double standard for natural gas?
The natural gas industry wants to have its cake and eat it, too - after cooking it with some shale gas, of course. Guest bloggers Richard W. Caperton Policy Analyst at CAP, and Tom Kenworthy, a Senior Fellow, has the story of the industry latest effort to bypass safeguards for the controversial drilling technique known as "hydraulic fracturing."
The latest draft of the climate and energy bill being written by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) reportedly includes language saying U.S. EPA would not regulate the oil and gas drilling technique.
Hopefully, this is just wishful thinking by gas companies, rather than a proposal that's actually in the comprehensive, bipartisan clean energy and global warming legislation under development by the three senators.
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Farm, timber, and enviro groups demand forests and farms be part of climate bill, reject "energy-only" bill
In a letter to the authors of the Senate energy and climate bill, some of the most powerful companies and organizations in U.S. agriculture and forestry joined with environmentalists and industry to insist on inclusion of strong incentives for forests and farms in any climate legislation. Guest blogger Glenn Hurowitz, Washington Director of Avoided Deforestation Partners, has the story along with a good video on deforestation.
The letter was signed by groups including the American Forest and Paper Association, the National Alliance of Forest Owners (representing owners and managers of more than 75 million acres of privately owned forestland such as Plum Creek and Weyerhaeuser), the National Farmers Union, Dominion, and the Sierra Club (full letter and signatories here, article in The Hill here).
Here's the key quote:
By providing an affordable means to address climate change, public and private incentives (such as offsets) for forests and farms can help Americans save money while leading the way to a low carbon economy.
The letter represents a rejection by American business and environmentalists of "energy-only" approaches to climate change, such as the Energy and Natural Resource Committee's pollution heavy bill and the Cantwell-Collins CLEAR Act.
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Bringing a blown up WV mountain to JP Morgan Chase
Back in January, the journal Science exploded the myth of clean coal, with a study concluding mountaintop removal (MTR) "permits are being issued despite the preponderance of scientific evidence that impacts are pervasive and irreversible and that mitigation cannot compensate for losses." Guest blogger Anne Polansky has the latest on citizen action against MTR in this repost.
Polansky, a long-time friend and colleague, applies her training in the Earth sciences and public policy to effect positive change in government and the marketplace, with a strong focus on global climate disruption and sustainable energy policy and practices. The awesome poster above is courtesy of thatvisionthing.
You gotta admit, it's creative. Smack in the middle of the floor of an otherwise sparkly clean lobby of a JP Morgan Chase bank branch in Manhattan sits a big pile of dirt, shaped like a mountain. Atop sits a letter to the CEO of the behemoth bank, Jamie Dimon, begging for mercy on behalf of huge mountains just west of here (DC) being blown to smithereens by the likes of Massey Energy to get at the solid black gold laced throughout, the stuff that powers our homes and quite likely, this blog post.
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Strip mining adds to coal's greenhouse emissions, study says
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Mountaintop removal coal mining adds to greenhouse gas pollution by destroying forests and potentially releasing carbon dioxide that was previously trapped inside rock and soil, according to a recent scientific paper.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the Appalachian coal industry are up to 17 percent greater than previously estimated if these types of sources are added to emission generated by burning coal in power plants, the paper found.
So even if power plants deploy carbon capture and storage, or CCS, technology, mountaintop removal will remain an important contributor to global warming, according to the paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology.
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Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining
Yale Environment 360 has won the 2010 National Magazine Award for Digital Media for video for our report on mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. Our video, "Leveling Appalachia," received the prestigious award at a ceremony in New York last week, beating out a distinguished group of finalists that included National Geographic and The New York Times Style Magazine
During the last two decades, mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia has destroyed or severely damaged more than a million acres of forest and buried nearly 2,000 miles of streams. Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining, a video report produced by Yale Environment 360 in collaboration with MediaStorm, focuses on the environmental and social impacts of this practice and examines the long-term effects on the region's forests and waterways.
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The Carbon Footprint of Mountaintop Mining
Mountaintop removal is without a doubt the world's worst coal mining -- responsible for landscape destruction, habitat loss and water pollution throughout Appalachia. As if all that weren't bad enough, new research suggests that the global warming pollution from conventional (dirty) coal-fired power plants are up to 17% higher when greenhouse gas emissions relating to mountaintop mining operations are factored in.
That's according to a new study -- Terrestrial Carbon Disturbance from Mountaintop Mining Increases Lifecycle Emission for Clean Coal -- by two civil engineering professors, James Fox of the University of Kentucky and J. Elliott Campbell of the University of California. The crux of their analysis dealt with the life-cycle components of coal production, such as emissions during mining, refinement and coal transportation.
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Citing "irreversible damage," EPA nears veto of mountaintop removal permit.
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed its first Clean Water Act veto ever for a previously permitted mountaintop removal project, "the largest mountaintop-removal permit in West Virginia history." Wonk Room's Brad Johnson has the story in this repost.
The veto would reverse a permit granted in 2007 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Arch Coal to dig a 2,278-acre coal stripmine and fill six valleys and 43,000 linear feet of streams with the toxic debris. Based on the "unequivocal" evidence that the damage from mountaintop mining is irreversible, the EPA is finally enforcing the Clean Water Act to protect West Virginia's residents:
Coal, and coal mining, is part of our nation's energy future, and for that reason EPA has made repeated efforts to foster dialogue and find a responsible path forward. But we must prevent the significant and irreversible damage that comes from mining pollution - and the damage from this project would be irreversible. This recommendation is consistent with our broader Clean Water Act efforts in Central Appalachia. EPA has a duty under the law to protect water quality and safeguard the people who rely on these waters for drinking, fishing and swimming.
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Responsible Sourcing for the Textile Industry
Addressing the global health threats posed by the textile industry is a daunting challenge, even with more than 35 years of environmental victories under your belt. Yet this challenge spurred NRDC's team of health experts to pioneer market-based approaches that will help solve global industrial pollution problems associated with apparel while improving the bottom line.
Environmental Challenges of the Textile Industry
From the design board to the tumble dryer, textile manufacturing has a huge environmental footprint. It pollutes as much as 200 tons of water per ton of fabric, uses a suite of harmful chemicals, and consumes tremendous amounts of energy for steam and hot water needed in dyeing and finishing processes. Compounding this situation is the fact that the industry has migrated to countries abroad with still-developing environmental regulatory systems, such as China, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, seriously degrading local drinking water resources.
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How Green Are Your Jeans?
Some 450 million pairs of jeans are sold in the United States each year -- 1.5 pairs for every man, woman, and child. The average woman has eight pairs in her closet. Chances are that to make those jeans, cotton crops were drenched in pesticides; fibers were stained with toxic dyes; and the resulting fabric was sandblasted, chemically softened, and ripped and scrunched to create the wrinkles and tears that make new jeans look perfectly broken in.
There is another option: the eco-minded can invest in a pair of jeans woven from organic cotton, dyed with natural indigo, and faded with nontoxic ozone. These eco-jeans are pricier than the conventional pants peddled at your local superstore (though not necessarily costlier than high-fashion conventional jeans), but how much healthier for the environment are they? A close look at America's favorite apparel reveals some surprising wrinkles.
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Why Bailout Chrysler/Mexico? Chrysler, Fiat will produce electric minicar
Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat SpA will produce a plug-in electric version of the Fiat 500 minicar as the first electric vehicle marketed under the automakers' new alliance.
The car will feature a lithium-ion battery connected to an electric vehicle control unit to manage the flow of power to the engine. There are no other details about the car's range or how far it can be driven between each recharge.
Every part of the vehicle except for the powertrain will be assembled in Toluca, Mexico. The battery is being developed by A123 Systems Inc. of Watertown, Mass. Neither would say where the battery will be produced, but signs point to Michigan, where the battery company recently got $100 million in tax credits.
Chrysler separately restated plans to produce a test fleet of plug-in electric versions of the Dodge Ram pickup with a $48 million Department of Energy grant. The Ram EV will have a lithium-ion battery from Electrovaya Inc. and is expected to get 65 percent better fuel economy than the gas-powered version. The automaker canceled plans for a gas-electric hybrid version of the Ram.
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Biofuel Mandates Would Make Corn Shortfall Costly, Experts Say
ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2010) - Grocery shoppers face hefty price increases if bad weather withers a U.S. corn crop that is now tethered to grain-intensive renewable fuel mandates, a new University of Illinois study warns.
A corn shortage, coupled with surging demand to meet government-ordered ethanol standards, could push cash prices to $7 a bushel, the study found, squeezing livestock producers and driving up prices for meat, milk, eggs and other farm staples.
Economists Darrel Good and Scott Irwin say federal policymakers need to forge solutions now to cushion the blow of a shortfall that history shows is a matter of when and how severe, not if.
"We believe everybody will be better off with a reasoned, well thought-out response if a crisis would occur rather than rushed, short-term solutions as the crop is burning up," Irwin said.
Irwin and Good, professors of agricultural and consumer economics, analyzed weather and harvest records in key corn-growing states, projecting U.S. yields based on the five best and worst growing seasons since 1960.
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EPA, DOE ANNOUNCE NEW STEPS TO STRENGTHEN ENERGY STAR
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy today outlined a series of steps to further strengthen the trusted ENERGY STAR(R) program. This action comes at a critical time for American consumers, many of whom struggle to keep up with their monthly energy bills. In addition to third-party testing already underway, EPA and DOE have launched a new two-step process to expand testing of ENERGY STAR(R) qualified products. This week, DOE began testing of some of the most commonly used appliances, which account for more than 25% of a household's energy bill, and both agencies are now developing a system to test all products that earn the ENERGY STAR label. The steps are part of an overall effort by the Obama Administration to improve the energy efficiency of homes and appliances to save families money.
"Energy efficiency is more important than ever to American families," Gina McCarthy, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation said. "As our economy gets back on its feet, ENERGY STAR(R) is an easy way for consumers to save money and help fight climate change."
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BIM needs a mindset change
Changing the way "we think and build" is one of the challenges inherent in adoption of building information modeling, says mechanical contractor Al Prowse, president of H. Griffiths Co. Ltd.
Prowse, who represents the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada on the Canada BIM Council board, says while BIM is poised to revolutionize the construction industry, this technology is in fact "a different animal."
Inherent challenges, in addition to the need for a fundamental change of mindset, are staff training, required upgrades to hardware and software and standardization of systems and procedures.
"It isn't simply a case of taking a two-dimensional AutoCAD draftsman and teaching him to draw in three dimensions," Prowse says.
Prowse was slated to give a presentation on BIM at the Canadian Mechanical Contracting Education Foundation's middle management education conference yesterday in Toronto.
This is the first time BIM has been on the agenda at the biannual conference, targeted at project managers, superintendents, foremen, estimators and other middle managers.
"The key message is: it's coming fast; don't let it bury you."
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GE unveils European wind energy future
General Electric announced Thursday it was investing roughly $453 million to expand wind energy facilities in four European countries.
Expansions plans for GE in Europe include the use of the company's next-generation 4-megawatt turbine for offshore deployment. The new turbine features a drive train system that eliminates the need for a gear box and is the largest wind turbine in GE's fleet.
Ferdinando Beccalli-Falco, president and chief executive of GE International, said the investments would help his company tap the huge wind energy potential in offshore Europe.
"Offshore wind will play a vital role in meeting the growing global demand for cleaner, renewable energy and has a bright future here in Europe," he said.
GE points to studies that show that if all offshore wind farms planned for Europe are completed, the European Union could avoid more than 200 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
The projects could also meet up to 10 percent of the EU's electricity needs, moving Europe closer to its goal of getting 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020.
The four projects in the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Germany could enter operations as early as 2016.
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Can Big Oil buy a watered-down climate exhibit at the London Science Museum?
New wishy-washy statement by museum defends the science, sort of
The media stories have been sensational:
1. Public scepticism prompts Science Museum to rename climate exhibition: The Science Museum is revising the contents of its new climate science gallery to reflect the wave of scepticism that has engulfed the issue in recent months."
2. London Science Museum goes climate science neutral: "A new climate gallery at London's Science Museum, sponsored byRoyal Dutch Shell will step back from pushing evidence of man-made climate change to adopt a more neutral position."
The anti-science crowd has been trumpeting the news, and Anthony Watts even claims credit for duping the Museum into thinking most of the viewers voting on its website were skeptics.
Sadly, the story turns out to be mostly true - and the fact that the exhibit is being funded by one of the biggest oil companies - Royal Dutch Shell - puts the credibility of the entire museum and its science staff on the line.
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LEED certification takes hit
Support for the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program is declining, according to a national survey by law firm Allen Matkins, technical consulting firm Constructive Technologies Group and Web site Green Building Insider.
While 92 percent of 1,600 design and construction professionals surveyed in 2009 said they support green building, only 62 percent said they support LEED certification. The latter number represents nearly a 16-percent decline from 2007, when 77.4 percent of those surveyed said they supported LEED certification.
Survey author Bryan Jackson of Allen Matkins said he started doing the survey four years ago, after his sustainable design and construction clients expressed interest in LEED.
"I was surprised to see LEED continuing to slip," Jackson said. "But in this economy, a lot of people say it costs money to get certified. And if they think they built to the level of LEED, they're not going to spend money and effort for a seal of approval from the U.S. Green Building Council."
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Search continues for sustainable architecture
While skeptics and environmentalists duke it out for the final word on global warming, thousands around the world are investing time and money in renewable energy and sustainable architecture. Grassroots "sustainable" organizations are forming at an increasing pace, with the positive effect of raising public awareness.
Municipalities are setting new "green" building standards, construction requirements and tax incentives. Provincial governments seem to be "out-sustaining" each other. Entire countries are setting ever-higher design and building standards, some with net-zero energy policies.
Everyone, everywhere is talking about energy, global warming, pollution, carbon capture, sustainability, LEED and everything is green.
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Are Utilities Ready for Smart Meters?
The rollout of the highly touted Smart Grid ran into another buzz saw this week, this time in Texas, when hundreds of consumers showed up at a town hall meeting, and the Grand Prairie City Hall, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, complaining that their recently installed wireless Smart Meters were responsible for higher electric bills. That led state senator Troy Fraser to get involved, asking the Texas Public Utility Commission to halt installation of the meters and to initiate an investigation.
The meters were installed by the Texas utility Oncor Electric Delivery, which services roughly three million customers in the area. The company has installed nearly 800,000 of these meters and insists that they are highly accurate. They are now running a side by side verification study, where smart meters have been installed alongside the previously used mechanical meters and show little difference thus far.
That doesn't placate folks like Tricia Lambert, one of the hundreds who have complained, claiming, "My bills average between 1,500 and 2,000 kilowatt-hours, and it goes up a little more in the summer," she said. "That's pretty much where I stayed. The first month with the smart meter was 4,383 kilowatt-hours."
In some cases, like that of John Colbert, there were errors made by meter readers. An audit of his meter found that the smart meter was off by about 2000 kWh. Apparently, the meters are not read automatically. "Any time you've got humans involved in the process, there's always an opportunity for errors to take place," said Oncor spokesman Chris Schein.
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BIMStorm - How will it be implemented in the Los Angeles Community College District's design build program?
Presented by:
Larry Eisenberg - Executive Director of Facilities - Los Angeles Community College District
Kimon Onuma, FAIA - President - Onuma Inc.
The Los Angeles Community College District with 130,000 students, is the largest community college district in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The LACCD consists of nine colleges and covers an area of more than 882 square miles.
Learn why owners like the Los Angeles Community College District and others are interested in implementing BIMStorm in their workflow and see how you can be part of this open process.
April 15, 2010 - 11:30am - 1:30pm - Los Angeles
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Bipartisan HOME STAR Bill Introduced in the Senate
The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (S.3177) was officially introduced in the Senate yesterday, marking another important step in the legislative process that could establish a powerful new retrofit incentive and financing program for American homeowners. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, a Democrat, but has already gained bipartisan support, with South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner signing on as cosponsors of the legislation. The bill now resides in the Senate Finance Committee.
Efficiency First is actively engaged in supporting this important legislation, and we encourage all members to let their Senators know how HOME STAR can help us revive America's troubled construction and manufacturing industries, keep energy costs down for American consumers and scale back on harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Learn how you can spend a few minutes and make your voice heard on Capitol Hill by visiting
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Summary of Key Provisions in the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act
Download: Comparison of Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009 and American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009
* Sets a Stronger Short-Term Target
* Responds Rapidly to New Science
* Protects Clean Air Act Authority
* Increases the Domestic Portion of Offset Programs
* Expands the Scope of the Supplemental Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Renewable Energy Program
* Establishes a Carbon Market Stabilization Mechanism
* Provides Funds for Increasing Renewable Energy and Efficiency
* Frontloads Funds for Carbon Capture and Storage
* Creates Large Programs to Promote Natural Gas Use
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BP closing Maryland solar manufacturing plant
BP will close its solar-panel manufacturing plant in Frederick, the final step in moving its solar business out of the United States to facilities in China, India and other countries.
Just 3 1/2 years ago, in an announcement widely hailed by Maryland officials and promoters of "green jobs," BP unveiled a $70 million plan to double output at the facility and erected a building to house the production lines.
But on Friday the company said it would lay off 320 workers and keep only a hundred people involved in research, sales and project development. BP said laid-off employees would receive full pay and benefits for three months, followed by severance packages and job-placement assistance. The company, unable to sell or lease the building, will tear it down.
"We remain absolutely committed to solar," BP chief executive Tony Hayward said in an interview Friday. But he said BP was "moving to where we can manufacture cheaply."
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