Project: Green Industry

Greener Gardens bill provides tax incentives

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), along with Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced legislation to offer a 25-percent tax credit toward the purchase of lawn, garden and forestry power equipment that runs on alternative energy.

The Greener Gardens Act tax credit is good up to $1,000. Product purchases that would qualify for the tax credit include equipment that:

Is powered by a motor drawing current from solar, electricity or rechargeable or replacement batteries

Has a hybrid-electric train and/or cutting system powered by a generator or electrical storage device combined with a small engine, or

Is powered by alternative power sources and regulated by the EPA

The act would reduce air pollution more than new EPA guidelines “by providing an immediate incentive for people to purchase clean, alternative fuel engines that emit half of the EPA emissions levels and that operate on little or no fossil fuel,” according to a representative in Leahy’s office.

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute has thrown its support behind the bill.

-- Kelli

Three-point plan designed to stimulate economy

The Alternative Energy Association (AEA), a Florida-based nonprofit organization, drafted a three-point plan to stimulate the economy, reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and create new jobs. The group identified three key issues for its plan: Transportation, solar and wind.

The AEA is calling on the Big Three automakers to produce more plug-in hybrids. “60 percent of all daily vehicle usage in the U.S. consists of less than 30 miles of travel,” according to the group. “Plug-in hybrid vehicles use an electric motor for travel up to 40 miles before the gasoline engine kicks in, which reduces gasoline usage so that some vehicles can even get up to 100 mpg. But we are still using foreign oil.”

AEA wondered why one-half of all solar panels manufactured in the world go to Germany? The group discovered some German feed-in-tariff legislation that makes it financially beneficial for homes and businesses to install solar equipment. Lobby Congress to pass federal legislation mandating the same plan and provide financing to new solar panel manufacturers. “Widespread use of solar will create millions of jobs in the U.S. in manufacturing, installation, and maintenance,” says the group.

The wind corridor from New Mexico and Texas north through the Dakotas can produce enough wind power to generate electricity for all of the United States, Canada and Mexico. “This is the world’s cheapest and fastest-growing new energy source, along with being clean and renewable,” according to AEA. “Make Congress provide incentives for wind power infrastructure the way it did for the telecommunications infrastructure and the way it provided subsidies to oil companies for decades.”

Find out what you can do to help implement the AEA’s three-point plan at http://www.alternativeenergyassn.com/.

--Kelli

Cool it, poinsettia growers

Jim Faust, associate horticulture professor at Clemson University, developed the Poinsettia Bract Meter for Ecke Ranch, which shows growers how to grow a cool crop of poinsettias.

Use the Bract Meter to apply the right amount of heat to meet your ship dates. Growers can use the Bract Meter up to 49 days before shipping.

Ecke varieties grown cool over traditional programs realized a 21% energy savings in an energy-efficient greenhouse. Those numbers could double in a less-efficient greenhouse.

Some of Ecke’s energy-efficient varieties include Advent Red, Gala White and Early Joy Pink.

Faust is also working on ways to keep poinsettia cool during shipping to U.S. growers. Faust and Scott Whiteside of Clemson’s packaging science department are researching ways to configure ice packs in insulated cartons to keep the cuttings in good condition. Their goal is to develop a package that can be sent by boat, which cuts costs substantially.

-- Kelli

Biofuels: Not always a good choice

Corn-based ethanol is not the sustainable alternative that’s so often touted, according to a study at the University of Washington, Bothell. The study was published in the June issue of Conservation Biology.

If you polled a big chunk of the United States, most would consider corn ethanol as a good fuel alternative. It’s been on the lips of practically every news reader in the country and appeared in print umpteen times.

Biologist Martha Groom looked at factors such as the energy needed to produce a renewable fuel source compared with how much energy is produced, the impact on soil fertility and effects on food supply when fuels based on crops such as corn and soybeans are mixed with fossil fuels. Based on those factors, the authors determined that corn-based ethanol is the worst alternative overall.

Because such large amounts of energy are required to grow corn and convert it to ethanol, the net energy gain of the resulting fuel is modest, she said.

“It’s foolish to say we should be developing a particular biofuel when that could mean that we’re just replacing one problem with another,” she said.

Switchgrass would require much less energy to produce the fuel, and using algae would require even less. Changing direction to biofuels based on switchgrass or algae would require significant policy changes, since the technologies to produce such fuels are not fully developed, she said.

Reports like this one point to the need of careful consideration when it comes to sustainable products and habits. But will this confusion fuel (no pun intended) mass skepticism?

-- Kelli

Rising costs – justified?

I heard today that American Airlines plans on charging me $15 for my first checked bag and $25 for my second.  Fuel costs, they say. Um, didn’t their executives just get bonuses in the $18 million range? Hello? Am I the only one having an issue with this?

For as “depressed” and “recessed” as this economy is, you would think that the airlines would fall on their knees and give thanks we’re still flying. Still traveling. And I suppose they’ve forgotten the millions of Americans who flocked to support the industry and defy terrorism by returning to the air after 9/11? How soon they forget.

Too bad they have me in a stranglehold. I have choices, don’t get me wrong. And none of them are really good.

Don’t go.  Umm, no. Totally not an option.

Drive. Well, if I drove, then I’d be giving all my money to the oil companies who are even LESS deserving of my hard-earned dollars. Want to talk about crooks. Oh, boy, switch out those exec bonus millions for billions and I see red.

Take the train. I’m a girl with phobias and one of those is riding the train long distance. One wobbly, to and fro trip through Germany to France was enough to cure me of any fascination with rail travel. Not even to Hogwarts.

Walk. It’s a loooong way to San Francisco.

I guess I’ll fly. But you can bet I will absolutely re-think ANY travel plans I have for the future.

--Jennifer

Is daylight-saving time actually an energy waster?

I’m not a big fan of daylight-saving time. I don’t like the hassle of switching my internal clock and every other timepiece that I own on a random day decided by people in Washington, D.C., who don’t have to try and wake me up on the Sunday after the switch.

This year, the date is even earlier.

It’s 5 days after the shift. I should be adjusted, right? Uh-uh.

Why change in the first place?
The reasoning behind the original DST was to move time to allow for more afternoon sunlight from late spring to fall. This took effect in 1916. The plan was to save fuel by reducing the need for artificial lighting during World War I. After the war, DST pretty much fell by the wayside. It was put back into use in World War II, then, for the most part, it was randomly adopted by states. Nearly nationwide, acceptance of DST was ignored until the Uniform Time Act of 1966 took effect.

Things went haywire after that. Currently, legislators can pretty much do what they want with time. For example, in 1973, the entire country observed DST year-round.

Last year was the final cherry on the sundae for me. In 2007, Congress members decided that we needed more DST, so they moved the start and end dates to extend the time by an extra month.

Does it help?
Does DST really save power. Maybe it did in the 1920s, but I know that I use more watts in the morning than I do in the evening. Sometimes in summer, I hit the hay before the sun sets. Regardless of the season, I always get up way before the sun rises. Am I saving any power? Probably not. Am I wasting time setting my clocks over and over? Probably so.

A new study from the University of California seems to confirm this. Researchers looked at energy use in Indiana, which finally adopted DST in 2006. They discovered the time switch caused residents to spend $8.6 million more for electricity. A 2007 study conducted in Australia yielded similar results.

Would you say DST has had any positive impact on the green industry? Many surveys have claimed that retailers benefit from consumers gaining an extra hour of sunlight to spend outdoors. Is this the case with your customers? Do you a spike in sales when the time changes, or would you see a sales increase anyway since DST hits when the weather is warming?

I’m just curious. I’m against DST (and I’m not the only one).

-- Jyme

The amazing power of food

I knew something big was going on when my 14-year-old son starting lecturing me on the benefits of “corn” gas. How ethanol is a cheap and easy substitute for traditional gasoline, how it burns cleaner, takes less to produce and is a renewable resource. This led him to a dissertation of corn as a miracle crop. How companies are looking to use it for everything from fuel to biodegradable pots to PLA-based polymers. From there, it was just a small jump to discussing options that are tried and true -- such as recycling cans, newspapers, magazines, etc. -- to the more out-there kind of stuff.

My very favorite was something I read about from the Pennsylvania Farm Show. The show had a sculpture crafted from 900 pounds of butter. When the show was over, the butter was converted into biofuel. Not a great amount, according to the article, but in the end enough to power a tractor for about 23 hours. Total estimated worth of the butter-fuel was $377.

Apparently there’s more to do with corn and butter than munch on it at the movies.

-- Jennifer

Retailers with an environmental conscience

The push toward sustainability is in full force in Corporate America. Timothy Treadwell, environmental director at Juice Energy Inc., an electricity supplier with a focus on renewable sources, believes retailers who take the initiative on climate issues should be rewarded for their efforts.

Juice Energy and its staff of environmental and energy experts identified 10 companies as frontrunners in the shift to green business:

Patagonia. In 1998, Patagonia became the first California-based company to buy electricity from 100% renewable energy sources and achieved LEED gold certification for its Nevada distribution center. Patagonia is a leader in recycling, with its Common Threads Garment Recycling Program, which recycles used fleece for use in new products.

Kohl’s. Kohl’s is the second largest retail purchaser of green power and the largest among department stores. Kohl’s will complete the largest rooftop solar project in the U.S. next year, with installations at 63 of 80 California locations.

Whole Foods. A natural and organic supermarket, Whole Foods purchases green power equal to 100% of its electricity use.

prAna. In 2005, the outdoor and lifestyle apparel wholesaler launched its Natural Power Initiative to purchase green power equal to the electricity use of all 250 prAna retailers, the company’s corporate headquarters and the homes of all its full-time employees.

REI. REI has committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 1/3 from the 2006 baseline by the end of 2009.

The rest of the top 10:

• UPS.
• Timberland.
• Nike.
• Wal-Mart.
• Target.

--Kevin