From all the praise and adoration that organic products receive, you may think that by consuming them you’re the next best thing next to Rachel Carson. Not so fast, my amateur environmentalist. It has been shown that organic products may be better for health, that is true. But a recent study has shown that when it comes to being eco-friendly, organic farming may be sub par. Research from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, reveals that in some instances, organic pesticides can be more detrimental to the environment.

The study says that it is wrong to assume that just because pesticides are organic, means that they are better for the environment. In fact, the opposite may be true. Oftentimes, growers have to use larger doses of the organic pesticide to get the same effect as using synthetic ones. The study measured the effects of six pesticides used to kill soybean aphids: four pesticides were synthetic, two were organic, one mineral and one fungal. Using criteria such as toxicity to humans and wildlife and leaching rate into soil and water, the study concluded that the mineral and fungal pesticides were less effective and more destructive. One particular harm noted from the organic pesticides is that they were harmful to ladybugs and flowering plants which are necessary controllers of aphid population.

This example is only one of hundreds in which organic products could have an unexpected flaw. It is important to pick products that are natural, but they should also promote environmentally friendly practices. This case illustrates perfectly how the end product could be deemed organic, but the practices in place to attain the product are less than green. Moral of the story: organic doesn’t always equal eco-nice. It’s best to evaluate both the product and how it is made, cultivated, etc. in order to make a more green decision.

Controlled fires are often used by forest rangers to reduce the chances of dangerous wildfires. However, new research shows that these prescribed burns can also serve an environmental benefit. According to a study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, an expansive system of controlled burns produces significantly less carbon dioxide emissions than wildfires of equal size. Using satellite observations and computer modeling, the scientists discovered that widespread prescribed burns can reduce fire emissions of carbon dioxide in the Western U.S. by an average of 18 to 25 percent and by as much as 60 percent in particular forest ecosystems.

The scientists used a model that estimated carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires in 11 Western states from 2001 to 2008 based on the mass of vegetation burned. They compared that to the amount of emissions that would have been released if those forests had been exposed to comprehensive controlled burns. The results showed that carbon emissions for the specific states were reduced by an annual average of 14 million metric tons.

Uncontainable wildfires often destroy bigger trees that serve as repositories for large amounts of carbon, while controlled burns target underbrush and small trees, which store significantly less carbon. By eliminating fire-prone underbrush, the controlled burns keep the larger trees’ carbon secured in the forest and out of the atmosphere. Prescribed fires can help offset the significant amount of carbon dioxide released by other sources such as factories and motor vehicles. “While it can be costly to set controlled fires, there is also a cost in leaving forests vulnerable to larger fires,” Christine Wiedinmyer, the lead author of the study, said.

http://www2.ucar.edu/news/prescribed-burns-may-help-reduce-us-carbon-footprint

As awareness grows about the damage that unwanted pharmaceuticals could cause to the nation’s water supply, more government agencies and communities are hiring recycling companies to conduct “drop-off” days or weekends to collect such unwanted medications.

One such drop-off day in the suburbs of Boston, Mass., in the summer of 2008 resulted in a 30-gallon barrel being filled to the brim and overflowing with medications that the residents no longer needed.

At universities and high schools across the country, the dilemma of medications getting into the water supplies or groundwater aquifers has been prominent enough to develop class studies. A “Disposal of Unwanted Medications” curriculum has been developed to help high school youth understand why chemicals from medications are being found in the environment, the harm these chemicals can cause, and what can be done about it. Such courses often have a heavy emphasis on the science behind wastewater.

Part of the dilemma, of course, is that the federal government for years advised flushing prescriptions down the toilet once they were no longer needed. The premise had been it was the most effective way to keep the drugs out the hands of young children in the home. While it was safe and sound advice in that regard, it is now a cause for concern in that testing has shown pharmaceutical waste is getting into the nation’s water supplies via groundwater. An Associated Press investigation a year ago found that the drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans are contaminated with some level of pharmaceuticals.

Not all states mandate testing of water supplies for traces of controlled substances, but it is likely to become more common – as will “drop-off” days for the purpose of incinerating the drugs — which can be costly but is considered safer for the environment.What are the options at this time? Ask if your pharmacy is involved in any program in which unused medications are collected. Ask your local government leaders if the recycling companies they use have any protocol for unwanted pharmaceuticals. Watch for any possible “collection” days or weekends in your area.

Your state health or environmental protection departments may conduct annual “household hazardous waste” collection days as an alternative to special take-back events, and it is possible those events would include unused medications as well as supplies, such as hypodermic needles.Some states are testing mail-back programs, in which the drugs are sent directly to state drug-enforcement authorities for disposal.

Guest Contributor: Mr. Jack Lee

Any company can improve their fuel efficiencies.  It takes work and commitment from the head office to your people on the road and at the job sites.  More and more companies are making changes in their operating practices to cut costs now and to be prepared for even higher costs in the future.

To help you adjust, here are Ten Ways to Cut Fuel Costs:

1. Train and educate your drivers: It starts with the people who have their foot on the gas pedal. Your drivers can control fuel consumption each time they fire up their engines, and proper training can improve fuel efficiency, economy and emissions.  Hard acceleration, speeding and idling are the biggest causes of fuel waste.  Initiate a training course for drivers and reward participation.

2. Decrease Idling: Be aware of the time engines idle.  No longer can we leave machinery and equipment running all day long. Stop your engines! Excessive idling adds to your fuel costs by as much as 50% and can shorten the life of engine oil by 75%, adding more costs. Initiate a campaign to reduce idling time and reward participants. Allowing an engine to idle more than 3 minutes causes expensive damage which harms efficiency, shortens engine life and increases maintenance costs. It all adds up.

3. Start off slower: This is another lesson your drivers must be taught. Jackrabbit starts waste fuel and save less than 3 minutes per hour driving, but can result in using 40% more fuel and increase toxic emissions by 400%! What’s the rush? Ease up on the gas pedal and your efficiencies will improve.

4. Slow down: Speeding is dangerous, it wastes fuel and creates higher levels of toxic emissions.  Speeds over 100 km/hour drastically impact fuel efficiencies – cars traveling at 120 km/hour use 20% more fuel.  Trucks traveling at 120 km/hour use 50% more fuel and they also emit 100% more carbon monoxide, 50% more hydrocarbons and 31% more nitrogen oxides.

5. Lose Weight: Excess weight places unnecessary strain on your vehicle’s engine and greatly affects its fuel efficiency.  By removing as little as 100 pounds you can significantly improve your gas mileage. Check each vehicle and pitch out that unnecessary weight!

6. Use a Fuel Management System: This is the most powerful way to lower fuel costs and increase productivity.  Available systems range from basic onsite refueling (which saves up to 20 minutes in wasted time and fuel each day, per vehicle) to automated fuel tracking (which details every litre pumped into every vehicle by date, time, quantity and fuel type) to telematics (which measures overall fuel efficiency,  vehicle performance, tracks fuel waste due to idling, speeding, etc. and identifies critical areas to improve efficiency and reduce fuel costs and emissions.)  The technology exists so you can become a Fuel Manager and stay on top of your fuel consumption, one vehicle at a time.  It can work for you.

7. Upgrade your Fleet: Whenever possible, invest in modern, fuel-efficient vehicles.  Modern diesel engines are far more fuel-efficient and perform better with modern diesel fuels such as ultra low sulphur diesel and biodiesel.  Though it may seem expensive, new diesel vehicles can save thousands of dollars in maintenance, fuel and productivity per vehicle. Measure each piece of equipment for fuel efficiency and get rid of the bad ones! Replace and upgrade your equipment regularly.  It may hurt now but it will pay you back.

8. Tune-up vehicles regularly: Do you have a stringent, well-managed maintenance policy? Many companies “fix it when it breaks.”  This attitude costs too much in wasted fuel. A well maintained vehicle performs better, improves fuel efficiency, reduces toxic emissions and, in the long run, will cost less to maintain.

9. Pump it up: Proper tire inflation improves gas mileage.  At 4Refuel our statistics show improperly inflated tires can cost up to 2 weeks worth of fuel per year! How big is your fleet?  Two weeks per year per vehicle adds up to thousands of dollars in lost profits! In addition proper inflation results in improved vehicle and braking performance, and increases tire life.

10. Implement Advanced Mobile Asset Management Technology: You can measure and manage your fleet better when you have the right information.  Tracking  miles traveled, average speed and engine efficiency is critical to cutting fuel costs.  This information will help your drivers and managers optimize routes with better planning.  Mapping software and GPS will eliminate thousands of unnecessary miles per week.  Less time on the road means less fuel consumed, less wear on vehicles, decreased expenditures and overall increased productivity, plus lower toxic emissions!

Jack Lee is the President and CEO of 4Refuel Canada Inc.

askthefuelexpert@4refuel.com

The United Steelworkers praised Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for introducing the Security in Energy and Manufacturing Act of 2010. The SEAM Act is aimed at helping to grow the nation’s green manufacturing supply chain.

Senator Brown’s SEAM Act is a companion to Congressman Phil Hare’s (D-IL) bill, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 16 and supported by the USW. Brown’s bill provides for greater opportunity to create good green manufacturing jobs by making available $5 billion in tax credits or grants to companies manufacturing goods and components in the United States that are used in alternative energy projects, such as wind farms, nuclear power plants and solar generation plants.

The SEAM Act builds upon the energy manufacturing tax credit in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to encourage a green domestic manufacturing supply chain for alternative energy projects as the nation transitions to energy independence. The section provides for a 30 percent tax credit for investments in new, expanded or re-equipped green energy manufacturing facilities.

The USW strongly supported Section 48c in the Recovery Act, which was so popular that the initial $2.3 billion in credit ran out quickly and many worthy projects had to be put aside awaiting additional credit authority, the union notes.

“The USW supports Senator’s Brown’s efforts to expand and improve this energy manufacturing tax incentive by providing an additional $5 billion in credit or grants to expand and create green manufacturing and good jobs right here in the U.S.,” says USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “A typical wind turbine made by Pennsylvania steelworkers includes 250 tons of steel, three tons of copper, 250 yards of concrete, titanium components for rotator hubs, gears and gear boxes, bearings and many more domestic components.”

Gerard also noted that USW members also make many other alternative and efficient energy products, such as glass for solar panels, goods from recycled paper and energy efficient air conditioning products.

“These are the kinds of good-paying, permanent jobs we need to create if we are to reinvigorate our manufacturing base so it can become a key player in the transition to a clean and green energy future.”

You probably know that wearing lighter colors in the summer keeps the body cooler. You might be surprised to find out that scientists are applying this principle in an attempt to cool urban cities plagued by intense summer heat. A team of scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research suggests that the roofs of buildings should be painted white to relieve urban heat. Although their concept is still under investigation, the team used a highly innovative computer model to help demonstrate how this idea would work.

Urban heat becomes a problem in cities in the summer. Many structures utilize asphalt, tar, and other dark substances in construction and these materials absorb heat very quickly, increasing the temperature in a city by 2-5F. This phenomenon is called the urban heat island effect. Using computer simulations, the scientists showed that if all the roofs in a city were painted white, the urban heat island effect could be reduced by 33% because the white roofs would reflect the heat.

Although the study is still in development, it does show some promising evidence that increasing summer temperatures can be curbed in a very simple manner. The researchers did state that the capacity to which the white paint would curb temperatures did also depend on the structure itself, the density of the roof, and the climate of the location. The researchers also may want to test the implementation of ‘green roofs’ which use plants and shrubbery as a way to reduce heat. Not only can these green roofs mitigate heat, they also add dimension and beauty to an otherwise bland and boiling locale.

Not many Americans can claim to be automobile experts when it comes to maintenance, but most can tell when the tires on their automobiles are losing tread or getting low on air. Mostly, we can all tell when a tire on our car has gone flat. How does the general “health” of our tires affect our environment – and our pocketbook?

It’s been preached often by environmental experts that tires low on air are not only unsafe, but they demand more fuel use. The debate about tires and their effect on gasoline and oil consumption has entered the current green era, and it has resulted in nearly every hybrid vehicle being equipped with low rolling resistance (LRR) tires. LRR tires are designed to minimize the energy wasted as heat while the tire rolls down the road. And it’s not just for the hybrid vehicles. Manufacturers are also developing LRR tires for gas-powered cars and trucks.

The end game for all of this is better fuel efficiency. The Yokohama Tire Corp. reported studies that have shown that a vehicle averaging 15,000 miles a year could enjoy a savings of $100 a year on gasoline (at $3 a gallon) with the generally thinner LRR tires. Proponents of LRR tires use the example of riding a bike with low air in the tires. Because more rubber is on the road, it is harder to pedal the bike. The same theory would hold true with automobiles, as much energy is used to overcome rolling resistance – meaning gas mileage suffers and more carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere.

Properly inflated LRR tires, they reason, provide the least amount of resistance against the road; yet adhere to the same federal guidelines used to control traction, treadwear and temperature resistance as with standard tires.

Those who are conscious about protecting the environment and conserving energy look to LRR tires as a popular upgrade. Aside from the switch to LRR, it is always a good idea to have your standard automobile tires checked when they are cold (at least three hours after being driven) for proper inflation with a reliable tire gauge.

While this may sound like it goes without saying, you may be amazed to find that some of your tire valve stems don’t have caps that seal against leakage. Take a look at those on occasion to make sure they are still on your tires.

Kaiser Permanente will now require suppliers to provide environmental data for $1 billion worth of medical equipment and products used in its hospitals, medical offices and other facilities.

The Sustainability Scorecard is the first of its kind in health care. It will allow Kaiser Permanente to evaluate the sustainability of each medical item it purchases while also encouraging suppliers across the industry to provide greener products for the health care sector. Addressing concerns about products and materials commonly used throughout health care will help create a healthier environment for Kaiser Permanente’s patients, employees and physicians.

“Kaiser Permanente recognizes we can improve health today and for the future by taking a close look at the products we purchase,” said Dean Edwards, vice president and chief procurement officer. “With Kaiser Permanente’s size and influence, the work we’re doing is continuing to move the industry.”

Kaiser Permanente spends more than $1 billion each year on medical products. By September this year, when Kaiser Permanente’s key supply chain partner, Broadlane, adopts the tool, the scorecard could influence $10 billion in medical purchasing. Kaiser Permanente’s current environmental policies already provide environmental guidelines for products ranging from greener cleaning chemicals to IV tubing free of potentially harmful chemicals. The Sustainability Scorecard goes further by requiring suppliers to provide information on their company’s environmental commitment, use of potentially harmful chemicals in their products and information about product and packaging recycling.

“Kaiser Permanente is continually working to find environmentally friendly products, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and inform public policy to protect the health and safety of our workforce and members alike,” said Kathy Gerwig, Kaiser Permanente’s vice president for workplace safety and environmental stewardship officer. “With our Sustainability Scorecard, we are strengthening the link between sustainability and health.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s top 10 Green Power Partners increased their voluntary green power commitments by more than 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 2009, while 300 new organizations joined the Green Power Partnership. Overall, the 1,200 partners are buying nearly 18 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions from electricity use of more than 1.6 million average American homes.

“EPA’s Green Power Partners are raising the bar for clean, renewable energy use,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “By using green power, they’re doing their part to fight climate change and proving every day that sound environmental practices can also be economically sound.”

Among the top 10 partners, Intel Corp. remains the partnership’s largest single purchaser of green power, increasing its commitment over the previous year to more than 1.4 billion kWh. Kohl’s Department Stores increased its green power purchase by more than 1 billion kWh in 2009, becoming the second-largest purchaser within the partnership. PepsiCo, Whole Foods Market, the City of Houston, Dell, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Cisco Systems, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Johnson & Johnson round out the top 10 purchasers. All together, these 10 leaders are buying more than 7.3 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of more than 680,000 average American homes.

EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,200 organizations to voluntarily purchase green power to reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. Green power is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydropower. Green power electricity generates less pollution than conventional power and produces no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The green power purchases support the development of new, renewable generation resources nationwide.

For more information on the top 50 green power purchasers list, visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top50.htm. For more information on EPA’s Green Power Partnership, visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.

Could the current “green” awareness movement result in millions of Americans and Europeans going back in time?
If so, the place to start this time travel apparently is in our own back yards – and front yards.

The green, weed-free and well-manicured lawns of today didn’t exist in America until late in the 18th century. Before that, a typical rural home would simply have packed dirt or a garden with various plants and vegetables in the front of the home.

Wealthy folks in Europe were the first to start manicuring their lawns and actually defying nature – by trying to make one species of plant, in this case grass, dominate a wide area. Nature, being what it is, will fight that notion and push for a more diverse setting – thus the years-old battle against weeds and other invasive plants on our beautiful lawns.

When industrialists from America traveled to Europe, they came back with the thought that these beautiful, sweeping lawns on an estate were a sign of prestige and beauty.

So it was, the well-manicured lawn was born in America. It wasn’t until years later, with the creation of power mowers and garden hoses that having a green lawn became more practical. And its staying power has been significant, with a major upswing during the Baby Boom era and the creation of the modern subdivision in the 1950s. Until then, taking care of a lawn took too much time and effort for most families.

So, fast-forward to the modern day “green” movement – and we’re back to talking about the environmental and financial benefits of creating low-maintenance gardens or natural prairie plants on one’s property in place of the lavish, sprawling lawn.

There is no doubt that those little patches of green at the homes of most Americans have translated into huge business. Before the current recession took hold, a Gallup survey in the early 2000’s indicated that more than 26 million households had hired “a green professional” and that the number was expected to grow.

Environmentalists estimate that there are about 40 million to 50 million acres of lawn in the United States. Considering that in some parts of the country, an average size lawn can soak in 10,000 gallons of water a month, the amount of water used in greening up our lawns nationwide is staggering.

Slowly, some are switching over to native plants and grasses, some of which need to be cut only twice a year and can also be used to create a “meadow” as a play area for children.

A grass seed known as “eco-turf” seed is becoming more popular, as it is blended with plants such as wildflowers and clover. Most feedback from owners of such a turf claim it holds up better for kids and pets, requires very little water and virtually no fertilizing.

For many, it means putting away the sprinklers and spreaders while saving money and water through a process that actually creates an environmentally friendly habitat on their property.