Green Sexy

Stratmore Paper: A Eco-Friendly Paper Company

My wife went to The Art Store to test out a new acrylic paint, and there were door prizes for the attendees at the end of the demonstration session.   It  was just so fitting that my wife won the Strathmore Windpower Sketch sketchbook!  Strathmore is the first and only U.S. paper manufacturer to use wind generated electricity to run their paper mills.  The paper in this sketchbook is also composed of 30% post-consumer fiber and is acid free. 

So, what are the environmental savings derived from Strathmore using wind power and recycled paper at their mills? 

• 13 Million lbs. toxic air emissions not generated (CO2, SO2, NOX)
• 8,581 barrels of crude oil or 1,960 tons of coal not used
• 14.5 million miles not driven
• 94,500 trees not  cut down
• 40 million gallons water/wastewater flow saved

Not bad, eh?  The Strathmore Windpower Series sketchbook is one Green-Sexy product!

Natural Gas & The Pickens Plan: A Solution or A Scam?

So, you may or may not have heard of T. Boone Pickens before, but basically he's a former oil man worth $3 billion dollars who is now throwing his weight behind the green energy movement.  His plan, aptly named "The Pickens Plan", involves building massive windmill farms in the Midwestern states, effectively supplying 20% of the nation's power, thus freeing up the 22% of power normally derived from natural gas, and using this natural gas to fuel a good portion of our transportation.  This way, Pickens claims that we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil by one-third.

Sounds good to me---sign me up!  But wait---before we get all carried away, buoyed up on a wave of emotion, let's look at the two main components of his plan:  wind and natural gas. 

First of all, building all of these windmills and the infrastructure to support them will cost (according to Pickens) an estimated $1+ trillion dollars!  Now, that is obviously a lot of money, but wind energy is a renewable resource, so once the parts are in place, it is the gift that will keep on giving.

Natural gas, on the other hand, is ike the much-bedeviled maligned oil, a nonrenewable resource.  Granted natural gas burns much cleaner, and is far more abundant in North America than is oil, but its reserves will eventually run out.  According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), there are 1,190.62 Trillion Cubic Feet of technically recoverable natural gas in the United States.  By "technically recoverable", that means the figure includes natural gas that is "undiscovered, unproved, and unconventional natural gas."  So, while that number seems like a lot, not all of it is "technically" there.  Also, according to the Oil and Gas Journal, World Natural Gas Reserves by Region as of December of 2006 has the amount of technically recoverable natural gas in the world at 6,183 Trillion Cubic Feet, which leaves the United States with only 3% of the world's store.  And guess which region has the most natural gas?  Why, it's the Middle East, of course, with our good buddies Russia in close second!  So, in the end, won't the United States still be dependent on the Middle East for its transportation fuel?  Now also understand, T. Boone Pickens has long been a champion of natural gas as a preferred fuel source because his company, Clean Energy Fuels, Inc., owns and operates many natural gas fueling stations in the West and Midwest and is the nation's largest supplier of natural gas for transportation purposes.   Let's just say that Mr. Pickens won't be walking away from this deal empty-handed.

Now, with all of that said, I am still very excited about the prospect of having such an influential man on the green side for once, but I am a bit skeptical of the natural gas angle.  While I think natural gas vehicles are a great innovation, and certainly less polluting, how viable is natural gas as a fuel source?  By replacing a good amount of oil with natural gas as a transportation fuel, one has to ask how far that will get us?  I see this as a very temporary fix, as neither oil nor natural gas will be around forever.  In any case, Pickens has already purchased over 600 windmills from General Electric, so I am very optimistic that he already has begun to have a positive impact on our nation's energy crisis.

The Pickens Plan---Why Him, Why Now?

T. Boone Pickens, Jr. has seen the light; namely the blue flame of natural gas and the sun shining off the blades of wind turbines.   It wasn't always this way; you see, Pickens was born into an oil family, and later built his fortune via oil and the takeover of other oil companies.  Pickens spent many years steamrolling his rivals, many of whom were environmentalists.  He spent obscene amounts of money supporting Republican candidates, and even gave the maximum $250,000 to help get good 'ol fellow oil man George W. Bush back into office for another four years.  So, with a track record like that, why has Pickens renounced his Republican ties and embraced the mantra of those environmentalists he used to bury?  One must first examine the tenets of his energy initiative to fully understand his motive.

I first learned of his new energy initiative, which he has aptly named "The Pickens Plan", via a television commercial that he produced.  Pickens states very clearly that he thinks the cost of oil (and not just in terms of dollars) is detrimental to our nation.  He proposes that we utilize the strong winds of the Midwestern States (which he has dubbed the "Saudi Arabia of wind power") by building the world's largest windmill farm to help produce 20% of the nation's power (as opposed to the current 1%).  He does acknowledge that it would take more than 1 trillion dollars in investments to make this a reality, but he states that "it's a one-time cost. And compared to the $700 billion we spend on foreign oil every year, it's a bargain."  With wind power easing our dependence on foreign oil somewhat, Pickens then proposes that we divert the natural gas that currently accounts for 22% of our nation's energy supply and use it to fuel natural gas powered vehicles.  That way, says Pickens, we'll reduce our dependence on foreign oil by one-third.

Boone told the Associated Press, "I'm doing it for America", and not for personal gain.  Hey---just look at the fact that Boone plans to spend $58 million of his estimated $3 billion net worth on an advertising campaign for his plan.  Doesn't that give credence to his claim of altruism?  In addition to his out-of-pocket expenses for his advertising campaign, he will also drop a pretty penny on all the windmills he vows to put up.  In fact, Boone's company, Mesa Power, has just placed an order in May 2008 to purchase 667 windmills from General Electric.  That is a very promising development that shows that Pickens plans to put his money where his mouth is.  However, the flow of money is not just coming out of his deep pockets---he expects a large return from the natural gas angle of his plan.  You see, Pickens' company Clean Energy Fuels, Inc. "owns and operates natural gas fueling stations from British Columbia to the Mexican border."  Thus, if there's more natural gas powered vehicles on the road, then they'll need stations to fuel up at---Pickens-owned stations. 

But hey, I don't necessarily begrudge a man for trying to turn a profit---especially on an idea that may prove to be beneficial to the energy health of our country.  Pickens has been a self-serving man his whole life, but the difference this time is that he is also trying to do something beneficial for more than just his cronies and shareholders.  There are many obstacles in his way, many of whom are oil companies that he used to rub elbows with.  Of course there's also politicians whose support he'll need, and I'm not sure he'll have enough dollars to grease all of their palms.  In any case, his large public profile and his equally large bankroll gives the renewable energy crowd some more hope for a cleaner, greener future.

Tune in next time for an examination of our nation's natural gas reserves and how it may impact The Pickens Plan.

 

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Proposed Wind Farm: Hamlin, NY, part 2

On Thursday, April 10th, 2008, I attended a public hearing on the Hamlin town board's proposed wind tower regulations.  This is the second public hearing (here's a link to part 1) on this issue that I've attended, and both were emotionally-charged affairs.  The majority of the residents who had signed up to have their say in Thursday's hearing were in opposition to having a windmill farm in the town of Hamlin.  Citing the need to "preserve the town's rural character", more than one resident expressed the opinion that a windmill farm would transform the largely rural town into an "industrial area".   Others, in essence, accused the town board of having a vested financial interest in the project or of being intimidated by the windmill company or by the threat of lawsuits brought on by landowners who have already entered into agreements with the said company.

The most impassioned pleas came from some of the residents who would live directly in the area where the towers would go up.  The biggest point of contention is the town board's proposal that windmills have a minimum setback of 1,200 feet from any residence and 600 feet from any roadway or property line.  Paul Carr, a professor of engineering management at Cornell University, called those distances "dangerously inadequate", citing the dangerous prospect of ice chunks being flung far off the blades or the possibility of a blade breaking.  He expressed the opinion that "setbacks for these towers should be at least four times the height of a tower."  Thus, if the height of the tower was 400 feet tall, then the setback should be at least 1,600 feet.  Many residents of the town are pushing for a setback of 1,700 feet, not from the residence, but rather from the property line.  Other concerns raised were things like light flicker, sound pollution, aesthetic issues and how that might impact home owners' property values, and general concerns about health and well-being.

With many waving signs that read "1,700 foot property line setbacks" and "Protect the People", the message conveyed by the majority of the residents who spoke at the hearing was pretty clear---we don't want a windmill farm in our town.  So, were there any in attendance who spoke in favor of the prospect of windmills in Hamlin?  Yes, there were a few...and by a few I mean about four out of the thirty-plus people who chose to speak.  One man cited the fact that government subsidies wind power and that it may help ease the tax burden for the town's residents.  The same gentleman also stated that if people were so concerned about bats flying into the blades of a windmill, then they should also try to ban things such as trees, barns and cats' mouths, which have also been known to cause the demise of many a bat. 

Overall, this issue has been a divisive one for the residents of Hamlin---many homeowners have placed signs in their front yards, either in support of windmills, or in opposition to them.  The wind-friendly signs I've seen read "Clean and Green", whereas the opposition posts signs that read "kNOw windmills".  This is a big issue to wrap my head around, so this is the second post in a series of four regarding this issue at this particular juncture.  Keep checking over the next two weeks for additional posts on windmills in Hamlin, NY.

We May Lack the Infrastructure for Wind Power

To me, wind power is the greatest thing since sliced bread (or at least since flat screen televisions)!  My wife and I get 100% of our electricity from wind power through New Wind Energy, a product of Community Energy, Inc.  I bought myself and my wife windmill t-shirts this Valentine's Day!  I have a windmill decal on my car window.  Yeah, you could say that I've got windmills on the brain.

Then came the disheartening news---the headline of a recent USA Today article read: "Wind energy confronts shortage of transmission lines."  I immediately dove into the article to discover that the meteoric rise in wind farm construction is beginning to outstrip the capacity of high voltage lines to transfer the energy to cities; cites which are often times hundreds of miles away from the wind farms.  This shortage of adequate power line capacity is sure to slow wind power's advancement and could inhibit some states' renewable energy mandates.  You may say, "Let's string some new wires and get moving, folks!"  Unfortunately, it's easier said than done.  As stated in the aforementioned article:  "Wind developers won't go ahead with projects until transmission lines are in place, and utilities are loath to build the lines until they're sure the developers won't back out."   So often times, it becomes kind of a waiting game where the players may be more apt to fold than play their hands.  And unfortunately, folks, while a wind farm can go up in as little as 18 months, a transmission line can take from 5 to 10 years to get going. 

I'm not sure what the solutions are, but all I know is that with wind power presently supplying only 1% of our country's energy, if it is to become our future energy savior, then we'd better figure something out!

Artifex: The Winds of Change!

While shopping for a nice Valentine's gift for my wife on Etsy.com, I came across a t-shirt that I just had to have!  Sooo...I bought myself a nice little Valentine's gift (I also got my wife some stuff too), and at the same time I got the environment a little gift.  How so?  Let me tell you...

Chris Reagen and his brother Tim are the co-founders of Artifex Shirts.  While studying at the University at Buffalo, Chris attended a lecture put on by Reverb, which is an environmental organization founded by Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner.  Four days later Chris had the honor to have front row center seats to a lecture by Al Gore!  Well, that's when Chris decided to get his green on!  With his website making abilities and his brother's screen printing hobby, they created an organic t-shirt company.  Chris (who is presently a Latin teacher in Boston) chose the word "Artifex" for their company's name because it means:  artist, artistic, artful, or creative.  When you take a look at their shirts, you'll see that the adjectives fit.  All of their shirts are printed on 100% organic cotton purchased from econscious.net, an organic clothing company.  Now, not only are the t-shirts cool, but they also help support renewable energy efforts!  You see, $3 from every shirt sold will be donated to Native Energy, which is a Native-American majority owned renewable energy company.  Not only will you look cool in your windmill t-shirt, but you'll also feel cool knowing that your purchase will provide for carbon offsets and will help fund the production of a windmill facility in South Dakota!  Artifex Shirts---that's one Green-Sexy company!

You can check them out at www.artifexshirts.com, www.myspace.com/artifexshirts, or at www.artifexshirts.etsy.com.

Proposed Wind Farm: Hamlin, NY, part 1

After I finally launched my Green Sexy blog yesterday, this notice appeared on my mail box:
Naturally, I was interested and very glad to receive it because I was not aware of the meeting taking place.  I attended.  There were probably about 100-120 residents present.  This is a huge decision for our town. I missed the very beginning of the meeting and I am not sure how many turbines are proposed, it is large scale and I thought I heard at one point that 40 were proposed.  As of yet there are no wind turbines in Monroe county which lies on the southern coast of Lake Ontario. The picture to the right is one of four sections of a notice that was on my mail box. For more information, check out the Hamlin, NY website for a little more information about the proposal.  The meeting yesterday was the presentation of a task force charged with exploration of the issue which made recommendations for steps and actions to be followed before development of the land for use as a wind farm.  I have to get going.  I'll post more about the notice and the meeting as well as my thoughts later.  In the meantime here is a link to the American Wind Energy Association to learn more.  Stay tuned to the next 3 parts of the notice on my mail box.