Palm | Kelapa Sawit

Posted by: Johnny Tran

It's no secret, electricity bills have been steadily rising. It's especially noticeable when the Bonneville Power Association no longer provided energy credits for Northwest residents after June 2007. Click for details here:

So what can one do to keep bills at a minimum? Aside from purchasing devices that measure kilowatt usage from electric gadgets (look at the Kill-a-watt entry from January), there are several ways to keep power usage low while reducing your carbon footprint:

Common Reasons

1. Hot and Cold Weather - The weather is cited as the #1 reason by various power companies for higher bills each month.

- During hot months, air conditioning accounts for more than 1/2 the energy bill for most customers. Turning on the a/c to maintain "comfort" in humid conditions substantially increases energy use.

- Bills are often at their peak during cold months since heating is 2 to 3 times more expensive than cooling. People habitually take longer showers in colder weather, increasing the bill from water heating as well.

2. Use of appliances and electronics

A class priority this term is to increase the awareness of "Phantom Power," which is described as consumer electronics and appliances draining power even when not in use. These devices include, but a not limited to:
◦ TVs (Large/plasma TVs have more power and heat, making A/Cs operate even more.)
◦ Stereos
◦ DVDs and DVRs
◦ Cell phone or battery chargers

Cautionary Note: Turning off some devices may require reprogramming once turned back on.

3. Household Size and Activities

Having more bodies uses more power. An increased amount of showers, laundry, cooking and dishes are activities that use hot water can jack up the bill. In most cases, washing through a dishwasher whenever possible minimizes the usage of hot water and soap when compared to hand washing.

4. Length of billing cycle

(From the Florida Power and Light Company:) "A billing cycle is the number of days within each bill. Normally, your meter is read on the same day every month but some months are longer than others and weekends and holidays can sometimes get in the way. Occasionally, an employee can't get to your meter because a gate is locked or a dog is in the backyard, and it’s not safe to enter. As a result, some monthly bills cover as few as 25 days and some as many as 35 days."

5. Don't keep the meter running

Speaking of which, keeping a close eye on your own meter can be very beneficial. Keep all electric bills for at least a year in order to see how much kWh is used on average for each month. On occasion, meter readers don't do a correct reading, which is why having historical information comes in handy.

Also, turn off all power on your circuit breaker and check to make sure the meter is no longer moving.

By keeping these hints in mind, hopefully your reaction will be much more calm than mine once the bill arrives. (=

Worldwide the movement toward green has been the primary focus for everyone. People are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, companies are promoting their green products, and now even the job market cannot escape the green. But this is not ordinary run of the mill green; this is a way to help those in need in hard times, while making an environmentally impact as well. The Green-Collar Jobs Campaign (http://www.ellabakercenter.org/page.php?pageid=5) is dedicated to the green wave. As stated on their website, Green-Collar Jobs Campaign creates opportunities in the green economy for low-income people and people of color. Instead of the typical company looking to make a profit from the green, an organization is reaching out to make a difference in the world, and they are doing so on multiple levels. The concept that the Green Collar Job Campaign is using can easily be applied to many other not for profit organizations. An organization that is already committed to societal change would be able to implement programs to cause more friendly impact on the environment.
This example is a further illustration that the greenwashing has spread to all realms of the business world. However, it can be seen that as long as we as people look through the greenwash and question what is going on, there is the hope that we as a society can make healthy changes without moving to the fundamentalist mindset of GREEN. While continuing my search of green jobs I found another article from an organization that is about environmental justice. It brings to light green collar jobs. We are used to the traditional labels of blue and white collar jobs. The movement truly has enveloped all parts of business. Green collar jobs are everything that relates to the benefit of the environment. This label is being placed on anything and everything wherever possible. Until we are able to get away from this overwhelming urge to be green and contribute to the greenwashing, we will not be able to make a measureable difference; only one that has the label green.

Green Collar Jobs:
* Bicycle repair and bike delivery services
* Car and truck mechanic jobs, production jobs, and gas-station jobs related to biodiesel
* Energy retrofits to increase energy efficiency and conservation
* Green building
* Green waste composting on a large scale
* Hauling and reuse of construction materials and debris (C&D)
* Hazardous materials clean-up
* Landscaping
* Manufacturing jobs related to large scale production of appropriate technologies (i.e. solar panels, bike cargo systems, green waste bins, etc.)
* Materials reuse
* Non-toxic household cleaning in residential and commercial buildings
* Parks and open space expansion and maintenance
* Printing with non-toxic inks and dyes
* Public transit jobs related to driving, maintenance, and repair
* Recycling and reuse
* Small businesses producing products from recycled materials
* Solar installation
* Tree cutting and pruning
* Peri-urban and urban agriculture
* Water retrofits to increase water efficiency and conservation
* Whole home performance, including attic insulation, weatherization, etc.

Other Green Job Sites
http://www.greenforall.org/?gfa_splash=1
http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/528

-Josh R

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I thought this article was important in that it makes the point, very vividly, of how many of us in a sense, 'greenwash our conscious' when it comes to our own carbon footprints. I agree with her that carbon offsetting is not a bad thing, but directly to her point it is not and should not be the starting point. Change is difficult, but necessary, far too much is at stake and each of us has the power to make a difference in terms of our carbon footprints. Put down the keys, pump up the tires, get on the bike...

Bob Jellison
Portland State University
Capstone



Artist Pollutes to Criticize Carbon Offsets

Sometimes to make a point, you have to release some greenhouse gas. On September 29, artist Francesca Galeazzi climbed to a pristine spot on the Jakobshavn fiord in Greenland and—to the shock and horror of her fellow travelers—released a 6 kg tank of CO2 gas. “The CO2 came out violently, freezing the air around the nozzle,” she wrote on her website.
Galeazzi’s act of pollution may have been blatant, but it was just a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of carbon emissions each of us produces, and we do so no less consciously. In the U.S., that number is nearly 20 metric tonnes per person per year. Before Galeazzi pulled the stunt, she purchased an equivalent offset from one of the online Gold Standard Carbon Offsetting schemes—demonstrating how many of us justify our bad behavior. Buying carbon offsets seems to be a growing trend among the green-conscious, a form of environmental penance in which you can pay cash to have someone else wipe away your carbon footprint. In a recent interview, Galeazzi explained her criticism of carbon offsets:
Instead of embracing change, we are inventing new mechanisms to greenwash our consciences, in a way. I didn’t want to say that carbon offsetting is bad because I believe it plays a role within our strategy to tackle climate change. But not as a starting point.
Galeazzi was traveling as part of an expedition of artists and scientists organized by Cape Farewell. She kept her performance art piece a secret until the last moment because she wanted to see her fellow travelers’ gut reactions. Some were supportive, many were outraged, and one person refused to talk to her afterwards.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/12/08/artist-pollutes-to-criticize-carbon-offsets/

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For many people, sustainability is just another term or word that is supposed to make the world a better place to live. For others, it is a reality that if sustainability is not dealt with now, this earth may eventually become an uninhabitable place to live.
If you’ve never really thought of how you contribute good or bad to the environment, maybe it is time to stop and examine what can be done to make the world a better place to live, and how you can help. The following are several ways that can help make a difference on this planet.

 minimizing carbon footprints
 Save energy
 Improve and conserve water
 Recycle
 Limit car usage
 Improve natural environment

Although these are just a few ways that can help go green, it is good to start somewhere in doing making a difference.
Every community or county offers environmental programs that can assist in making wiser decisions to help the environment.


C.R.

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As we delve further and further into the marketing tactic of greenwashing, I decided to check out Live Earth. For those who do not recall Live Earth is Al Gore's concert round the world that, in 2007, coordinated concerts in countries such as the U.S., England, Japan, Australia and more. The intent of the concerts were to raise awareness about the global climate shift, as well as encourage less wasteful policies in international business, relations, etc.,. Not surprisingly, an event requiring coordination from multinational for profit corporations such as GE (parent company to NBC Universal where many of the concerts were broadcast), produced an estimated 74,500 metric tons of waste according to a John Buckley of Carbon Footprint and cited in this article at England's Daily Mail.
By comparison, cites the same article, the average Briton, produces 10 metric tons of waste (approx. 22,000 pounds) annually. For us yanks, the 74,500 metric tons equals 163,900,000 pounds of waste. Americans, on average, produce 20 tons of waste equaling 40,000 pounds annually a statistic found here. These numbers are quite staggering considering the concert is meant to be an indicator of change, to help slow global warming. Instead, it would seem the situation will only be exacerbated by any future concerts. In fact there was another Live Earth concert scheduled to take place this December in India, but it was canceled after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai late last week for fear of security issues.
One of the harshest factors is the insistence on the part of many stars to fly in personal jets to their locations. In the research mentioned at the aforementioned Daily Mail article, it is revealed that five of the headlining acts of last year's Live Earth concerts had carbon footprints approaching 2000 metric tons annually. Many celebrities have purchased carbon credits to attempt to offset their carbon production, but these actions may be relatively empty as carbon credits can be purchased at a variety of locations and have differing value.
Ultimately, Live Earth is only reflective of the ideology that global greening and enviro-friendly movements don't have to stand in the way of corporate business and in fact, according to GE Executive Lorraine Bolsinger, quoted here, "what's good for the environment can be good for business, and what's good for business can be good for the environment." The operative word of course being "can."
OTHER RESOURCE(S): Alive Earth - A grassroots alternative to Live Earth.

posted by Jeff Hammond

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Not realizing the size of my own carbon footprint, I have begun taking my own recyclable bags into the grocery store every week when I buy my groceries. This is a baby step towards a “greener me” but it’s an important one.

More and more stores are selling these recyclable canvas bags and usually they are reasonably priced. Stores like Fred Meyer, WinCo, and even Costco have their own bags that they sell which of course you can use at any other store. Sometimes the stores even give them away for free with a purchase of a certain amount of groceries. One of the best reasons to bring your own bags is because it takes an average of 15 to 1000 years for 1 plastic grocery bag go decompose. That is just 1 plastic grocery bag! Using paper bags really isn’t a step up either when it comes to being environmentally friendly. Also according to reusethisbag.com “plastic bags don’t biodegrade but are at risk for degradation” which is releasing toxic particles from the bags (http://www.reusethisbag.com/). The website also claims that 10% of the waste that is found on the beaches are plastic bags.

When deciding on purchasing recyclable bags, watch out for bags that are not made from 100% recyclable products. Lots of the bags that are for sale may contain partial recyclable materials, but they aren’t 100%. This is a type of greenwashing since companies advertise their bags are “environmentally friendly” or “safe for the environment” but actually aren’t.

Not only do I earn $.06 for every bag I bring in the store, I also am carrying fewer bags into my house. I use an average of 5 bags every week for my family of four which is a savings of $0.30 off my grocery bill. Plus the bonus is the canvas bags hold a lot more than the plastic or paper bags so that means fewer trips for me!

~Melanie P.

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With the recent elections coal became a very hot topic in the final 24-48 hours, where statements made by Barack Obama concerning the coal industry were all over the media and used in ways meant to sway voters in coal producing states away from the democrats and over to the republicans. In this recent article as is often the case with GreenWashing it is all in the words, in the case of coal the use of the term 'clean coal' we find out is how the industry is trying to remarket coal and to essentially sell the public on it's continued use. 

In my last blog I defined greenwashing and offered some examples of what greenwashing consists of. In all fairness I would like to also mention the fact that there are companies out there that actually are “green”. According to CNNMoney.com some of the top green companies are Honda, PG & E, and S.C. Johnson are among those that made the list.

Honda is interested in fuel economy and alternative fuel. They have produced products that reduce CO2 emissions and other types of hybrid vehicles. The Honda Civic Hybrid is a relatively new vehicle that Honda has produced. One of their goals is to make it somewhat affordable and increase its availability across the globe.

In a press release from 2006, PG&E made the announcement they wanted to “make San Francisco the greenest city in the nation” (http://www.pgecorp.com/corp_responsibility/reports/2006/poenv_partnering.html). Some of the steps they took towards this were investing $5 million for new solar installations and working with other agencies in looking into other renewable energy options.

S.C. Johnson not only has energy turbines powering one of their plants, they also use something called Greenlist. Greenlist is the process of rating raw materials in order to “protect the planet and its people” and at the same time making quality products (http://scjohnson.com/environment/growing_1.asp).

So we have options to live, drive and clean while being green and the above companies are working towards that common goal.

Melanie P.

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The concept of Greenwashing applies to companies, industry, government, politicians and non-government organizations. As I read the comments and posts of the members of this class as well as conduct my own research online, I cannot help thinking about the massive hypocrisy of many individuals as well. Similar to that of the many organizations that are trying to put a spin on their environmental virtuosity, there are a tremendous number of people who are claiming a disingenuous or insincere commitment to environmentalism or to present and environmentally responsible image. Some examples are those who oppose traditional deforestation practices, but turn around and live in wooden houses and heat their homes with wood fireplaces.

Of course, there are many people and organizations that are becoming more aware of the impact our footprints are leaving on the environment and are working to make an effort to become more environmentally friendly. It is the hypocrisy and dishonesty that is creating another significant layer of concern.

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With our country’s current condition it is important for us to start thinking about alternative energy sources as the main staple for our energy supply. Solar power is one option for an alternative energy supply. There are a few good sites with information pertaining to solar energy: http://www.solarelectricpower.org/, http://www.solarelectricpower.org/, http://www.bp.com/subsection.do?categoryId=9013380&contentId=7026147

Solar power options not only cut back on our carbon footprints but also have the ability to turn free sunshine into valuable power. I believe that it is important to start the discussion process on how to shift our power trends to more sustainable forms than we are currently using.

Angela Logan-Connolly

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“Energy myths and truths” … PGE, August 2006

Nice succinct article that debunks some of the myths of energy saving behaviors.

Among the ways to actually save energy are …

ALWAYS turn incandescent lights off but it’s OK to leave CFL’s on if they are going to be used within 15 minutes.
ALWAYS lower the thermostat night. In terms of setting daytime temperature, it takes the same amount of time to raise temperature to 70 whether the thermostat is set to 70 or 90 degrees so setting it higher in hopes of getting to 70 faster is pointless. Same holds true in reverse for air-conditioning.
CFL’s provide the same pleasing quality of light as incandescents. They are very different from the flickering and distracting ones that have been used for years in offices.
It takes the same overall amount of energy to boil water from cold or hot tap water since energy has already been expended in heating the tap water.
As with incandescent lights, turning a computer off uses less energy than leaving it on. It’s a misconception that the on-off action uses more. The new “sleep” features on some computers saves a lot of energy.
Finally, hot water in ice cube trays actually freezes faster than cold because it losses about 25% to evaporation!

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/pf/20010223c.asp

~LA Blair

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“The environment: Myths and Facts” by Max Schulz, 2007

In this article, Schulz states that the public currently seems to believe that only solar and wind power are both truly renewable and environmentally friendly whereas coal and oil lead to pollutants and carbon emissions. He takes the position that there are many misconceptions here and that the use of coal and oil is less damaging that generally thought. He cites some facts that may lessen the perceived negative impact of coal and oil. Included among these suggested facts are that “clean coal technology” is constantly improving, that there are increasing government regulations in terms of emissions and that the current Alaska pipeline has caused much less ecological damage than conservationalist foretold. This latter item addresses the current resistance to further drilling in Alaska. Schulz states that the benefits in terms of added domestic oil far outweigh the perceived negative consequences.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/energymyths/myth13.htm

He also argues that even Al Gore in “An Inconvenient Truth” stated that 30% of carbon emissions come from wood fires in un- or under-developed countries. Further to this, Schulz cites Iain Murray of The Competive Enterprise Institute. Murray speculates from that if more clean coal-burning power plants were used in these countries there would be an actual reduction in carbon emissions. There is no hard evidence of this at this time.

It was interesting to read a different point of view in terms of the degree to which carbon emissions from coal and oil negatively impact our environment and their relative merit vis a vis the “big picture”.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/energymyths/myth13.htm

~LA Blair

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Over the weekend my roommates and I decided we were going to give this whole composting thing a try.. A few short,unproductive hours later, it slowly leaked out that none of us had the faintest clue as to where we should begin.. Thus our journey for answers began and I am here to share a little of the information we uncovered with you, beginning with an awesome site I found at wisegeek.com summarizing the benefits of composting.

This website discusses the benefits to your soil including the improved drainage and moisture absorption, and the greater supply of nutritional supplements available for your greenery. Furthermore, compost helps to clean up contaminated soil by reducing toxic runoffs. And, as an added bonus, it helps to prevent erosion!

There are also economic advantages enticing us to roll up our sleeves and dirty up our hands, including the money you will save from not having to purchase artificial soils. Also, as mentioned on this site, it decreases the amount of fertilizer, pesticide, and water necessary for growing strong, healthy plants, leaving a little extra money in your pocket!!

I can only skim the surface of all the information packed into the wisegeek website. Please refer to the link below for more information!

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-compost.htm

I also came across this great video that the Sierra Club created offering step-by-step instructions on creating a compost pile. Another simple way for us to play our part in protecting the planet!