The eco-mod that stands out is what was discovered by Darin Cosgrove.

Here is Dan learning about Pulse and Glide Fuel Economy – no modifications required:

By adding a boat tail to his 1998 Pontiac Firefly he was able to cut down the drag of his car. This added 15 mpg to the cars performance even thought the car was carrying more weight.

The eco modder modification was constructed out of cardboard, aluminum, and duct tape.

This is no freak occurrence. Darin Cosgrove is the host for ecomodder.com where he lists over 65+ ways to improve the efficiency of a car.

The first of which is the addition of a scan gauge. With 37 gauges in all monitoring fuel consumption, in all cars from 1996 models and newer including hybrids: This device helps you control nearly everything that affects your check engine light; and even turn it off.

The addition of pizza pans to affixed to the outside of each wheel cuts down the air drag in the fanning of the wheel. And it adds an attractive look. There is a picture of this on Cosgroves site.

Another eco modder, Mike Turner has a mod of a Honda Civic that gets 95 mpg.

The wind drag coefficient is as low as 0.17.

These eco modder methods and cars lead the way of what is being done in North America among educated hobbyists to cut down fuel emissions, save money, and energy by doing more with less.

This program focuses on teaching how to work with wind, solar, fuel cell, and other emerging renewable energy technology training.

Portland Community College and Columbia Gorge Community College are offering associate degree programs for Renewable Energy Systems EET Option (RES)

EET stands for Electronic Engineering Technology. This is an associates degree program is a new branch off of this existing program.

The two community colleges will have some classes that are separate, and other classes that are combined.

Portland Community College is the largest college in Oregon. Well over ninety thousand people per term attend this schools five campuses.

The goal of this plan is to be a transitional bridge, to an even better plan that Mr. Pickens feels can be drawn up by someone younger, long after he has retired in fifteen to twenty years.

The meat of the plan is designed to introduce the general American population to the facts of our current condition through awareness.

America needs to hear, see and feel the figures to be fully aware of why the plan calls for us all to move together toward the goal of returning to being an energy independent country.

Although the popular online media has called the Pickens Plan the 1 trillion dollar plan. That is the annual cost over ten years. The total infra structural cost would be ten trillion dollars and even though it sounds costly, Pickens believes that this will be the greatest transfer of energy wealth in the history of mankind, and that this will pave the way for those of us younger than him to design plans that will work sustainablyin the future, using even cheaper forms of energy that will rely even less on foreign production.

The plan starts out by saying that the United States makes up only four percent of the worlds population, yet we use up an embarrassing twenty-five percent of the world yearly oil supply, Mr. Pickens explains on his plan web page. In 1970 twenty-four percent of our oil was from outside the United States. In 1990 we (The United States) imported forty-two percent of our oil. By 2008 weare importing seventy percent of our oil.

The statistics in his plan are clear in stating that of the eighty-five million barrels of oil produced each year, twenty-one million barrels are used here in the United States (only 4% of the worlds population).

That cost, Pickens points out, is 700 billion dollars a year. He also points out that this figure alone in just one year is more than four times the cost of the Iraq wars yearly expense.

This plan calls for a yearly savings of 300 billion dollars of that 700 billion dollar price tag, annually.

As a side note: In just one year, that is enough money saved to cover sending a team of scientists to the nearest planet and back seven and a half times.

In the plan, Pickens goes into slight detail as to why the demand for oil will not be able to be met, and since 2005 has been getting harder and harder to meet. A trend that will continue until the resource is depleted. So, if someone asks the question; Cant we just produce more oil? The plan clearly answers reasonably why we cannot:

Simple and cheap oil is gone.

The United States is the Saudi Arabia of Wind Power. – the plan states.

As a subject heading for what can be done as the first phase of rescuing our country from this current situation that makes an impact.

Producing 22% Wind Power combined in ten years time, with the current 22% of LGN production for transportation instead of domestic energy production, should reduce in 38% our dependence on foreign oil and consequently, save 300 billion dollars a year.

Investing in the wind corridors of the great plains and the solar corridors of the southern states to offset energy production for the grid, will free up the liquid natural gas industry to instead supply a clean fuel for the countrys heavy duty transportation system, reducing our dependence on foreign oil quickly and most importantly, locally.

The Pickens Plan goes into detail as to how investing in wind power and LNG (liquid natural gas) will save us money and free us from using most of the worlds oil supply for only 4% of the worlds population.

Pickens Plan suggests that the 10 trillion dollar transition is not only a cheaper alternative to what we are doing currently but the best one we have right now that builds solid a bridge in search of national sustainability.

Bioplastics came about due to a need to find less pollutive ways to create plastics.

It is possible due to the strength of plant fibers at the microscopic level.

DuPont, Toyota Motor Corp, and Cereplast are pouring money into research and development. Bioplastics are currently made into anything one can turn polyurethane into. Styrofoam products, tupperware, among other products are being made to some degree with manioc, wheat, or potato based bioplastic.

There is research and success coming at this from two different vantage points. One method is trying to change the plants so that theyll mimic plastic. The other is following the nature of the plant to work with its most plastic like attributes.

The biggest producer of bioplastic is Innovia Films. They produce plastic packaging. They employ twelve hundred people around the globe. They produce one hundred twenty thousand tons of bioplastic food wrap a year.

One of the major areas of research is to find alternatives to phthalates that come from natural sources. Phthalates are what make PVC pipes flexible, but they are harmful to the human reproductive system. Phthalates imitate hormones.

Cellulose, starch, polylactic acid (PLA), poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), and polyamide 11 (PA11) are the most common types of bioplastics.

Thermoplastic starch that is derived from maize and potatoes is used in making capsules for medicines taken orally.

PLA is used in Foil, computer parts, and phone casings. The Freedonia Group predicts that this form of bioplastic will be in most demand by 2010.

PHB is used in ropes, bank notes, car parts, and packaging.

Vegetable oil is turned into PA 11. It is used in car fuel systems because it is resistant to heat. It is sold commercially as Rislan.

PHA is the neatest thing on the market. The stuff is created using natural sugars and oils that have been broken down by microbes.

Cellulose-based plastics come from wood pulp. They are used to make wrappers, plastic bags, things of that nature.

Some of these plastics are compostable. Others are bio-resins, which are combinations of bioplastics and traditional plastics.

Bill Collis, CEO of bioplastics startup Trellis Earth says that inorder to not put an added demand on food crops, bioplastics need to find other vegetable sources that dont come from food resources or the land they grow on.

As the change is talked about everywhere, manufacturers of both traditional film, and biofilm can see the shift from traditional plastics tocheaper, cleaner, neater bioplastics, according to Frank Ernst of Treofan; a company that produces both types of plastic.

Sainsburys from the United Kingdom converted five hundred of its product lines to be bioplastics based.

A company leading the way in bioplastic recycling is Interface Fabric (now known as “true textiles”). They have been able to recycle one hundred percent of its waste.

The neatest thing is that when bioplastics degrade in seawater, they become food for fish rather than poison.

With the demand for plastics in the subcontinent of India reaching eight million tones of plastics in the trade year of 2006-07; the demand worldwide for bioplastics is clean. Many countries have a greater demand than India. Its good to know that plants as plastics has become a reality through bioplastics.

Contributed by David Allison

Modern living with regard to life-style comfort. This comfort is centrally caused by the use of environmentally friendly technology.

A progressive advent of the tradition of communal living, the ecovillage focuses on a palatable, sustainable transition from modern life, needed by people who want to detach from an oil (addicted) based lifestyle without giving up the creature comforts.

The benefit of this slight shift in the support network, bases for a lifestyle beneficial to a bioregion, involving both the natural species and the humans who live there.

Ecovillages are linked via the Internet and form a new kind of international community.

This or these communities are communicating to establish safety and success for the people doing this ecological research in infra-structural environmental change. This interconnected dialog via the Internet is a force that keeps these communities from being labeled as one of those weird cult things.

One of the major accountability think tanks is the GEN (Global Ecovillage Network).

Each participating group tests its process with the success of other peer villages who have similar social and ecological goals. This is done both with respect to and apart from possible ethnic, religious, or other differences.

The modern concept of the ecovillage stands out from both nuclear family household life style, and the of community, in that it focuses normalcy for both the participants and the environment.

The social component in the political thinking of the ecovillage is not a means to do away with what works in modern life, instead, it is a way of taking a look at what could serve a bioregions balance while living comfortably for all the people involved; in order to achieve the ecological goal as well as the social ones.

The ecovillage as a modern research movement has almost nothing to do with its spiritually based counter part: The stereotypical religious commune.

The ecovillage is centered rather, around ecological awareness. The people who live in these communities are just like people who live in regular neighborhoods. By that, it is meant, that these communities are not one of those weird cult things.

Rather, the focus is defined as a partial paradigm shift toward effective use of renewable energy sources. Sources such as communal gardening, bio-swells, shared transportation, solar, geothermal, hydropower, wet land management in the areas of construction, irrigation and other community support systems.

There is a focus on the consideration of social nature and diversity in spiritual well being of the participating individuals. An example of this is children having a safe place to play; men, women and children feeling safe in the community where people are or partially-interdependent than they would be outside the community in a traditional neighborhood sense.

This is, to support participants in continuing to want to be a part of the research that is being done and taught at colleges and universities so that the greater global community can improve general ecological formation or reformation (that is upgrading of) its most environmentally sound practices.

The type of individual that might consider renting an apartment or buying a home in an ecovillage is a person or group of people who want to work at living a modern life style, with the benefit of a village of people who know them; and are interconnected with their well being and with the common goal to create a micro community that is not dependent on oil addiction.

Generally speaking these communities range in size between 50-150 persons. This is considered the ideal size for a community to be able to have successful participants without regard to their personal, ethnic, religious background or lifestyle choice.

This way each community member feels comfortable with the other community members. If the individual is happy in the community and does not feel spiritually threatened by the other members, then socially, the community is cohesive.

This results in community members transition into the more ecologically sound infrastructure with ease and less unnecessary personal or social sacrifices- that usually cause a community to fail. This is based on the GEN research done in communities worldwide.

The GEN has a forty two-page questionnaire that each community member can fill out anonymously. The GEN both compiles the data and also reports back to the community how well they are doing at achieving their ecological goal, and social comfort-ability of the participants.

There is a model called an eco-municipality. An eco-municipality ensures that smaller communities have the trading power of the larger group without loosing smaller community goal effective accountability practices. The largest of which has two thousand participants.

So the transition from something as small as Try-On Farm in Portland, OR– to something as open as EcoVillage At Ithaca, NY–to something as practical as the rebuilding of Greensburg Kansas into an ecocity; is a natural process. It shows the global effectiveness of this kind of experimental global research.

Ecovillages as a minor lifestyle shift are a tool for ecological and socially sustainable research. It is a way to improve on the models we have; and do so with minimal impact on the environment, using renewable sources of energy.

Research with Ecovillages, is clearing a footpath of best practices for every community to live comfortably and in tune with the land around them, as well as with each other, in the decades to come.

Contributed by David Allison

Already, they have chosen six finalists, for their project, and each project shows something special in the area of sustainability that makes them unique, while complying to their goals of 90% net zero energy use and maximizing the livability and health of residents.

WDSU – Global Green – Brad Pitt in New Orleans

From modular construction, cross ventilation, solar convection, natural overhangs, traditional local architectural designs, solar panels, resident gardens, green roof design, wetland and watershed management of waste water, community gardens, and even passive solar water heating, the collection of six finalists bring together their ideas into a union of knowledge in sustainability that on the average is FAR superior to any single project.

Brad Pitt notices one of the problems with skeptics who say that using green building techniques is too costly or that what these people need is housing now; Brad insists that sustainable designs are the way of the future, and our industry needs to learn to go Green now rather than later.

By using competition, Brad Pitt and Global Green USA have brought together some of the most wonderful sustainable ideas in the world, in an area that really does need to be constructed to last another century, but if they choose their designs well enough, these buildings could stand from 500 to 1000 years, the knowledge is certainly there and the professional architects certainly know what New Orleans needs really are.

Probably the most fascinating part of this news is watching NBC interview Brad Pitt and recognize on camera how much he really knows about green building and sustainability, he’s not just showing his image off, he really speaks honestly about what people in the area have known for years.

Low income housing is what they are trying to build, thus the concerns are focused on the problems those people face most; mainly energy consumption and health, and those are the issues the six finalist projects have answered in this philanthropic endeavor.

With mainly Brad Pitt and Global Green USA funding so far, they hope to reach millions of dollars to build a model city of tomorrow, today, for a people in deep need of environmental, social and human attention.

Related:
The Holy Cross Project

Initially, Google will need to hire experts that can help them produce one gigawatt of electrical power that is actually more cost-effective than the production of coal, then spend hundreds of millions of U$ in R&D and projects combined that in the end, make money.

Currently around 40% of the worlds energy is supplied through coal, creating a devastating and lasting effect on the planet; Googles hope, is that through their initiative RE<C more people will see that RE<C can be less expensive than coal is today.

Google will start their initiative by focusing on solar thermal power, wind power tech, enhanced geothermal systems and other possible breakthrough technologies, with cooperation from other organizations in the field, be they companies, labs or universities.

Makani Power Inc and eSolar are two companies Google already works with, while it maintains its ongoing commitments to a clean and green energy future through Google.org and the 2007 goal of carbon neutrality, which is on-track as of Nov. 27^th.

For 2008, the RE<C goal intends to do something that has never been done before, on a scale that seems like something out of a sci-fi novel, moving our tech forward to show that it is possible, right now, to show the world that what is lacking, is just a little initiative.

Hopefully, the new R&D team of renewable energy professionals hired for the RE<C Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal goal will succeed and thus enlightening other states, other nations and eventually, the world, to a cleaner and greener tomorrow, that starts right here, right now, with one companies courage, to adventure in the good of all our planet.

Google Press:
Google’s Goal: Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal
Google’s Current Vision:
Powering a clean energy revolution

Climate regulation, clean air, clean water and an improved quality of life; these qualities look to supplement already existing green building and landscaping guidelines, setting standards that even stand-alone landscaping projects can use.

As an interdisciplinary partnership, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the United States Botanic Garden and many stakeholder organizations are working together, to build not only an acceptable model for sustainable landscaping, but also a useable standard that governments and people can learn to follow more easily.

This is the kind of initiative that helps consumers in the world of growing green trends make the decisions that will not only improve their own lifestyle, but imminently our entire planet.

Mostly, because, subjects such as Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Urban Climate, Biodiversity, Waste Water, Water Pollution, Yard Waste, Public Health and Energy Consumption, just usually are not contemplated when putting together a landscaping project.

The average homeowner, especially the average green consumer, just readily excepts that by doing some landscaping, they are already making the necessary impact on their CO2 emissions, but just a dab of awareness into the subject of sustainable landscaping, can go a long way to getting even MORE green than before.

The landscape is an extension of a green building, so we really do have to ask ourselves about the area around the building as well, because, it is what will make an even bigger impact on the well being of our building users than when restricted to the building structure itself.

How sustainable are those new green condo homes up on the hill? If the answer is VERY, then the next question must be, how sustainable are the public garden and recreation areas between them?

Sustainable Sites is a project that looks to address issues with standards and guidelines, a rating system, pilot projects and a reference guide, with the intention to improve quality of life over the long-term as well as health of communities and the environment.

Hydrology, Soils, Vegetation, Materials and Human Well-being are the key factors to determining how sustainable a given site is going to be.

Water, soil and vegetation are key elements in tracing down ecological footprints that lead to CO2 emission calculations and depending on the non-replenishable resources being addressed, materials are also factored in withone of the common standards, such as cubic meters of soil used to build a house, or cubic meters of timber reaped from so many acres, the fuel to transport it…etc.

The more sustainable human factors of well being however are not yet set in stone and are still far more varied, depending deeply on statistics that have shown an increase in human recovery from illness or disease.

Statistical factors of human well-being include; wide and open green areas, spaces for physical activities, on-site food production and areas for social interaction.

Culture and art, such as folklore, theater, music and dance, all seem to have historical equivalents to prove themselves as at the very least useful in the process of well being and the statistics of social interaction, but as of yet, this is an extremely new project that will promote more results as more research and more researchers contribute to it, each in their own specialty.

Research into statistics will allow Sustainable Sites to create standards like those already used in green buildings and, in the long run, will become more and more case specific, as more and more people adhere to the principles behind these standards and guidelines of green spaces until the green space becomes an extension of the green building; not merely a household word, but a household way of life.

When students start making their own models of advanced technologies like hydrogen cars that have only really been taken seriously for about a decade or so, it is obvious that our civilization is actually producing a scientific revolution to mark the field.

Scientific revolutions and shifting paradigms are some of the most fascinating moments for the philosophers of science, and Hydrogen is one of those areas that just sparks life into thinkers of that field on a regular basis.

This is true because generally speaking, neither common folk, scientists or even futurists in sustainability ever really thinkof hydrogen as an alternative fuel source for the long-term to be available within any reasonable amount of time.

Usually, hydrogen is considered one of those utopian ideas to save the world and change the face of the earth that have no place in the down-to-earthness we need right now.

Thus, it tends to fall to the back of our minds, but UWAFTs entrance with the Chevy Equinox (now with a completely remodeled drive-train) into the three-year Challenge X competition to ride across North America is defying the old paradigm in favor of a new one.

This new way of thinking, is a product of two important sponsors; The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors, two organizations that are fulfilling their promises to help save the earth and guarantee energy security at the same time.

While DOE is responsible for advancing the national, economic and energy security of the US, one of their strategic themes is Scientific Discovery and Innovation, or improving the quality of life through innovations in science and technology.

Each team has been on its own, none knowing anything of the others progress until the moments of revelation and choosing freely their objects of study, following those time proven industrial production models that our system uses everyday to make the best cars on the road.

The freedom to choose, the freedom to learn, independently, these schools have the best minds our nation can produce in the area; these are the conditions such great minds as Adam Smith and Descartes set down to council our Western world on how to truly manifest innovation! And it is in these childrens toys, that a revolution in how we see Hydrogen is coming about, faster than expected.

Innovations in science and technology are exactly what Challenge X is all about, promising to reveal some of the most elite technologies that could further the kingdom of automotive design, helping North America to Crossover to Sustainable Mobility by choosing 17 of the best engineering schools on the continent.

With the UWAFTs Chevy Equinox, Hydrogen Fuel Cells find their way ever closer to the top; opening minds and shattering materialistic paradigms of a no-nonsense past in automobile designs.

Taking on tomorrow with the best our nation has, for a more self-reliant and environmentally responsible future, starting today.

Related:
GM Environmental Commitment

What’s New:
Challenge X Media

Glossary of Terms:
Alternative Fuels Glossary

Related Category: Electric

• Chevrolet Volt
• Hybrid Hydrogen-Carbon Process H2CAR
• Tesla Electric Roadster
  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/uwaft-alternative-fuels-team-and-the-challenge-x-competition/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/greensulate-insulation-from-mushrooms/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/greensulate-insulation-from-mushrooms/#comments Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:46:51 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/greensulate-insulation-from-mushrooms/ Could mushroom spores replace conventional foam insulations?

  A renewable source of sustainable insulation from mushrooms that also acts as a firewall (and could even be grown into a whole house) was invented at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is planned to be commercialized under the label Greensulate by Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre as soon as they are satisfied with their research and feel their technology is robust enough to meet demand.

  The insulation is created by pouring a mixture of insulating particles, hydrogen peroxide, starch, and water into a panel mold, Bayer says. Mushroom cells are then injected into the mold, where they digest the starch producing a tightly meshed network of insulating particles and mycelium. The end result is an organic composite board that has a competitive R-Value a measurement of resistance to heat flow and can serve as a firewall.

  While still young, Eben Bayers mushroom insulation invention shows promise as one fifth of the energy used in America today comes from poorly insulated homes and the conventional foam insulation we use are neither from a renewable source of energy, nor biodegradable.

  For a country that is setting the tide for a worldwide green living revolution, Bayers invention is perfect timing.

  Beyond insulation applications, the duo envision modifying the growing mixture slightly to include reinforcing materials that could be used to create strong, sustainable growable homes. Examples of this application include inexpensive structural panels that could be grown and assembled on-site in developing nations where usable housing is scarce and generally hard to obtain, or in disaster areas where temporary housing is essential.

  Sustainable insulation from mushrooms, an environmentally clean firewall technology and perhaps even a more sustainable home that is thermodynamically more efficient than traditional non-biodegradable insulated ones have been; perhaps the time has come to think Greensulate?

  Press Release:
  Commencement 2007: Graduate Develops “Growable” Solution to Energy Issues

  Media:
  Organic insulation could replace traditional
  foam insulation – Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize: Eben Bayer Finalist (adobe pdf file)

  News:
  Science Daily – Article on Mushroom Insulation

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/greensulate-insulation-from-mushrooms/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/climate-savers-initiative-2007/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/climate-savers-initiative-2007/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:12:44 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/climate-savers-initiative-2007/ The Climate Savers Computing Initiative was announced on the 12^th of June, 2007 by more than thirty different high-tech companies such as Intel and Google in order to drive energy-efficient computing; saving 5.5 billion U$ in energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions by 54 million tons per year.

  Everybody knows that since 1998, Google has come from a mere project at Standord to a world leader as a search engine software that has a commitment to knowledge distribution; Intel is a world leader in silicon innovation, developing new hardware that continually advances how people work and live.

  An assortment of famous companies, have also given this same pledge; and reaching this goal by 2010 is most likely going to happen because the world is concerned with glaciers melting faster and faster and our computers are worsening the problem with inefficient energy consumption, even in down-time.

  Climate Savers Computing Initiative is just one more way we can become focused about greenhouse gasses. Currently, we need to make better use of our computers, they need to use energy more efficiently, and we need to make sure that we are keeping them properly when not in use.

  Learning to be one of the next climate savers through the computing initiative of tomorrow, is to work towards a clean and self-reliant utopia for the children of our children today.

  Google Press – On Climate Saver Initiative

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/climate-savers-initiative-2007/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/the-uk-goes-zeh-efficient/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/the-uk-goes-zeh-efficient/#comments Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:28:02 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/the-uk-goes-zeh-efficient/ The UK is ordering new sustainability standards on their modern built ZEH homes for the year 2016, and a showcase was released on the 13^th of June, 2007, Kingspan OffSite, featuring six lighthouse-class homes that have no carbon footprint whatsoever.

  Two bedrooms, sixty percent more insulation, southern facing windows, 93,3 square meters, two and half story with all building materials and components specified to meet gold standards of sustainability.

  Rainwater efficiency, renewable energy sources, passive heating, cooling and ventilation and even a biodigester, this is as off-the-grid as building codes are going to get until 2016.

  The time to go green has come for the UK, and in nine years, every contractor in the world will need to know how to make use of these technologies, vacuum tight insulation is from now a legal part of UK ZEH efficiency.

  Related:
  What is a Zero Energy Home?
  Offsite2007.com
  BBC News – Kingspan Article with Images and Video

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/the-uk-goes-zeh-efficient/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-pledges-to-replace-the-water-it-uses/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-pledges-to-replace-the-water-it-uses/#comments Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:13:56 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-pledges-to-replace-the-water-it-uses/ On the 5^th of June, 2007 at the World Water Foundation (WWF) convention in Beijing, Coca-Cola officially pledges to replace the water it uses.

  Three factors; REDUCE, RECYCLE and REPLENISH:

  1. Reducing the water used to produce its beverages
  2. Recycling water used for beverage manufacturing processes
  3. Replenishing water in communities and nature.

  Launching a multi-year partnership with the WWF to conserve and protect freshwater sources, including seven of the worlds most important river water basins.

  “Our goal is to replace every drop of water we use in our beverages and their production. For us that means reducing the amount of water used to produce our beverages, recycling water used for manufacturing processes so it can be returned safely to the environment, and replenishing water in communities and nature through locally relevant projects.”
  - E. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

  Acting locally and thinking globally, Coca-Cola is really leading the way for innovation in renewable and sustainable business strategies around the world.

  Through water stewardship, Coca-Cola is looking to eventually eliminate every last ecological footprint they have ever cast in the world; either directly or indirectly, this is their pledge, and by 2008 they wish to have every single Coke affiliate in the world actively fighting the environmental battle on all fronts.

  The Coca-Cola Company’s environmental protection efforts include:

  1. Global water stewardship
  2. Package design, recovery and reuse
  3. Energy and climate protection – address the areas that are most important to its business and are where the Company can make the greatest impact.

  By setting goals and targets to reach eventual global sustainability in water use by 2010, Coca-Cola is taking the slow and steady path to long-term success that will create a positive impact on every country they touch.

  The Coca-Cola has already been leading the way with WWF for years, now, their influence is growing, such as with FEMSA and their partnership with SOS Mata Atlântica in Brazil to replenish three million hectares of Atlantic Rainforest.

  The biggest breakthrough in this battle to zero their ecological footprints occurs in their giving back to the earth through programs that center around community awareness, productive water use, sanitation, hygiene, water supply and watershed management.

  If their focus on the most important river water basins in the world, including:

  • The Yangtze (China)
  • Mekong (S.E. Asia)
  • Rio Grande/Rio Bravo (US and México)
  • Rivers and Basins of the US (Southeast)
  • The Mesoamerican Caribbean Reef
  • The East Africa basin of Lake Malawi
  • Europe’s Danube Rive.

  Taking back these main rivers at their core, is the only the beginning, but it is a moment of truth for the world! The first moment of truth in 2,500 years when our civilization first learned to sacrifice rivers for Greek and Roman convenience!

  From the looks of things, it would appear that Coca-Colas pledge to replace the water it uses and the ongoing commitment to the biosphere are genuine, and if achieved, will change the world we live in for the better, teaching us to correct our habits in accordance to the Earths already perfect water cycle.

  Coke Press Release

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-pledges-to-replace-the-water-it-uses/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/balance-point-homestead/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/balance-point-homestead/#comments Sat, 24 Mar 2007 04:08:24 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/balance-point-homestead/ Balance Point Homestead is a passive solar energy off grid home in the Mohawk Valley, upstate New York.

  David and Sarah’s self sufficient passive solar home is totally off the grid, is not a part of the buy back program and was never intended to be.

  It was always meant to be an example of how renewable energies are readily accessible to everyone, to even the most average people.

  This passive-active solar home was built in 2002 to prove that passive works in the North East United States, where most people tend to think it is just far too cold and without enough sun.

  The house uses eight photovoltaic solar panel arrays that together, generate almost 1 full kW of electricity, plus a single aeolic generator that also provides 1kW.

  That is the electricity, but what really makes Balance Point Homestead a work of art, is the unique passive design that collects thermal solar energy and redistributes itself in a more sustainable way.

  The first technique was the use of southern facing windows with heavy insulation that has been meticulously sealed to impede seeping heat; a big factor in passive homes.

  Once again, this was done by the home owners themselves, inspecting the contractors work with detail at every stage of insulation, as they were average contractors and were not experts in the building of a solar passive home such as Balance Point Homestead.

  Secondly, the solar hot water heating panels provide all the domestic hot water in the summer months and most of it during winter months.

  Both the wood stove and hot water (gas) heater can use propane as an emergency heat source, but with additional renovation, the house will no longer need propane to heat the water in winter, as the dump load from the aeolic generator will be used to heat water electrically.

  This is a creative use of the aeolic generators dump load (excess electrical energy), as most homes usually would use it to provide the grid with added electricity or simply would not have any use for it.

  Balance Point Homestead is a fine example of how efficient and sustainable, passive solar homes can be in the North East United States, even completely off grid.

  Balance Point Homestead is an example for everyone, that even youcan do this, no matter who you are; simply having the passion for a better, more sustainable tomorrow, and the willingness to go after your dreams are enough to create your own passive solar homestead off grid in New England

  Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8439811714819849636&q=solar

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/balance-point-homestead/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/school-garden-in-santa-maria-is-supported-by-osh/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/school-garden-in-santa-maria-is-supported-by-osh/#comments Sun, 18 Feb 2007 02:47:19 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/school-garden-in-santa-maria-is-supported-by-osh/ Orchard Supply Hardware based in San José California is supporting the efforts of Miller School in Santa Maria, with over 1,000 U$ in gardening supplies and cooperation to build a state-of-the-art school garden.

  Volunteers, teachers andelementary students working together in the garden is traditionally what school gardens have always been about and Miller School is doing something that goes beyond just the community; this style of teaching is inevitably one of the surest ways to guarantee a more sustainable future for our nation.

  School gardens help kids get close to nature in a very up close and personal way, and because gardens can be so metaphorical, teachers can get a lot more out of them than just how we are all interconnected through the web of life, however, that is the biggest point.

  School gardens can teach our younglings to respect nature and enjoy it, can help second language children build associations with their surroundings, and even lead into artistic activities like a paintings by Van Gogh and mostly, sustainability is the future; that means teaching our children about what is going to happen in their adult lives.

  Systems Theorists agree that this interconnectivity that we all share in this biosphere is at the very least a sensitive thing, and through our actions, we determine outcomes that effect all life on earth.

  Politically, socially and economically; our world will be controlled by children, and the earlier we instruct them in solutions to the future problems that will effect our existence, the better chances we will have of preserving our way of life.

  School gardens give so much to a child and this communion is symbolic to sustainability in that it can teach more about how we are a part of the planet than any global-studies eighth grader class can.

  Thank you Miller School, OSH and other schools, businesses and governments that are taking eco-living into school gardens, thereby bringing connectivity to the next generation.

  Related:
  santamariatimes.com

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/school-garden-in-santa-maria-is-supported-by-osh/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/bio-bubbles/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/bio-bubbles/#comments Sat, 03 Feb 2007 19:13:33 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/bio-bubbles/ Excel-Aire makes Bio-Bubble; a 100% degradable bubble packaging that turns to water, CO2 and harmless biomass through the d2w (degrades to water) oxo-biodegradable additive process.

  Bio-Bubble is oxo-biodegradable, has been comprehensively tested, is environmentally safe with no compromise to product features or performance and is completely recyclable either as a plastic or an organic.

  Excel-Aire knows that 90% of all plastics ever made are still out there somewhere, be they in landfills, rivers, lakes, in use or not, they will take up to 200 years to return to the earth in landfills alone in some cases and we throw so much non-biodegradable plastic away by the hour!

  Excel-Aire is dedicated to making a commitment for a brighter and more sustainable future, one that is worthy of our children’s children, without compromising the quality plastics we use from day to day.

  Oxo-biodegradable plastics are the conventional polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene with an added proprietary mixture that accelerates the breakdown of chemical structures in the plastics themselves.

  The remaining product is amenable to conversion by microorganisms, offering a source of food, in turn the microorganisms change these conventional plastics into carbon dioxide and water, both easily consumed by the ecosystem.

  Oxygen in the air forms different molecules that are many times smaller than the original plastic and molecules (forming water beads around the original plastic).

  This is a natural process for any plastic, but with the oxo-biodegradable additives (such as d2w), this process is many times accelerated, catalyzing this reaction in a fraction of the time it would take without the additives.

  Bio-Bubbles are just as good as conventional bubble plastics in practice, but once thrown away have proven in field tests that the oxidative degradation caused by the additives make the molecular chains shorter and wettable, allowing the ecosystem to clean up within weeks instead of aeons.

  Bio-Bubbles have been engineered to begin their breakdown after one year, giving any products at least that, in shelf life.

  Contact with sun or water is a sure way to begin the process as d2w (the oxo-biodegradable additive used in Bio-Bubbles) is fully programmable.

  Anti-oxidants are used to make sure that oxo-biodegradable plastics can withstand the processing conditions and are slowly consumed over time usually between one to two years depending on the product and its uses of course.

  The oxo-biodegradable additive used in Bio-Bubbles is d2w, which can control the speed and onset of degeneration.

  The more heat, water and stress on the product itself the more it will speed the breakdown process; less of these things will slow the process down.

  The active ingredient in d2w is a transition metal salt (very low levels) and is not toxic to sensitive plants or animals; perfectly safe for food packaging.

  Bio-Bubbles are recyclable, composted as organic material (NOT PLASTICS), but if allowed into a post consumer recycling stream for plastics, the degradation process is arrested and Bio-Bubbles immediately behave as non-degradable plastics do.

  If for some reason the Bio-Bubbles are recycled with non-degradable plastics they are still just as recyclable as traditional plastics and can even be safely turned back into biodegradable plastics again with a fresh addition of d2w.

  Excel-Aires Bio-Bubblesan oxo-biodegradable plastic packaging that does the same job their bubble packaging has always done in the past.

  Bio-Bubbles can be returned to the earth in a clean and healthy manner than that used until now, showing that our countrys industries are searching more and more to be responsible stewards with less and less ecological footprints.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/bio-bubbles/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/green-construction/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/green-construction/#comments Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:01:37 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/green-construction/ Green construction faces obstacles but is on it’s way to become a more “known” industry.

  Buildings That Breathe – Green Construction is Coming of Age by Sally Deneen and Brian Howard

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/green-construction/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/google-philanthropy/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/google-philanthropy/#comments Tue, 19 Sep 2006 20:49:19 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/google-philanthropy/ As a for-profit organization, Google Philanthropy will spend three million in Google stocks on sustainability projects for developing nations such as Ghana in Africa.

  Offering possibilities for venture capitalists and start up companies in the area of sustainability is only the tip of the iceberg, Google Philanthropy intends to reach out into the areas of disease and poverty as well, through organizations related to their own business, such as technology and information as long as the focus is on those really in need.

  Non-for-profit organizations cant do that kind of thing, as they usually have their hands tied with the kinds of charity they can and cannot spend money on.

  With a for-profit status on the other hand, Google Philanthropy is willing to pay taxes and give up the packaged advantages with non-for-profit outfits for a little freedom as to where the money goes and into what they are investing.

  The first sustainable startup according to Katie Hafner of the New York Times: (quote:)

  The philanthropy is consulting with hybrid-engine scientists and automakers, and has arranged for the purchase of a small fleet of cars with plans to convert the engines so that their gas mileage exceeds 100 miles per gallon. The goal of the project is to reduce dependence on oil while alleviating the effects of global warming.

  While an ambitious ideal, the concept behind Google Philanthropy is beautiful and ethical with a supply of practicality; that is 100%, all Google.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/google-philanthropy/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/remote-military-renewables/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/remote-military-renewables/#comments Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:23:47 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/remote-military-renewables/ Remote military bases in Western Iraq migrate to renewable energy sources as cheaper in the short term.

  As of August 11^th 2006, the US Military in charge of western Iraq has made the firm decision to migrate to renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar.

  The decision was made due to the ongoing threat of rebel forces in the area, that frequently attack with random precision; armed convoys of refined fossil fuels, used to generate power in remote areas.

  The use of renewable resources should drastically reduce the current costs, as these transports are far too expensive in terms of the highly armed and trained security forces that would be of more use elsewhere.

  By using renewable resources in remote areas of Iraq, soldiers need not disappear protecting military power generation based on fossil fuels.

  InsideDefense.com NewsStands Rati Bishnoi comments on this issue in detail.

  Renewable resources such as wind and solar energy in Iraq are profitable for life and less expensive for military spending.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/remote-military-renewables/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/pataki-energy-plan/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/pataki-energy-plan/#comments Tue, 08 Aug 2006 00:53:55 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/pataki-energy-plan/ Governor George Pataki (New York) calls for fuel efficient cars, tax credits and development of alternative fuels as an energy plan. He offered this 10 year plan on the same day an Alaskan pipeline was shut down for repairs which could enhance his possible presidential run.

  Patakis Remarks @ a National Press Club Luncheon, Washington DC Monday, August 07, 2006

  “It is time for a real commitment to diversify our energy supply, to achieve greater energy efficiency across the board, and to build our national strength and our global competitiveness through greater energy self-reliance.”

  “Let’s replace the equivalent of every drop of OPEC oil – 25% of our current consumption — with greater efficiency, greater domestic production, and greater use of petroleum alternatives, and let’s commit to doing it within the next ten years.”

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/pataki-energy-plan/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-in-thailand/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-in-thailand/#comments Wed, 19 Jul 2006 18:03:20 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-in-thailand/ Established in 2005, the Thailand Institute of Packaging Management for Sustainable Environment (TIPMSE), is a non-for-profit organization sponsored by Coca-Cola, that fights for a more sustainable future in Thailand.

  TIPSMEs most recent conquest has been a MoU or Memorandum of Understanding for the development of waste segregation, collection and recycling models at two well-known Thailand Universities in June; Thammasart University and King Mongkut University of Technology.

  According to Coca-Cola:

  The institute promotes post-consumer selective waste collection and recycling and integrated waste management — targeting a 10% reduction of post-consumer packaging waste over the next 5 years.

  The institute is funded solely by contributions from five core packaging supply industries (glass, paper, metal, plastic, aluminum) and relevant businesses, such as the Coca-Cola System in Thailand.

  The Coca-Cola system in Thailand, with other large multinational companies, played a major role in establishing TIPMSE. The institute works closely with Brazils CEMPRE (Business Commitment for Recycling) to promote integrated waste management systems for developing countries.

  Coca-Cola is taking measures to promote a more sustainable future that go beyond the United States. Coca-Cola is a global company that thinks globally and is doing something for the future that goes beyond targeting their own pockets.

  Coca-Cola systems in Thailand is just one more example of thinking globally while acting locally.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-in-thailand/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainability-in-new-orleans/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainability-in-new-orleans/#comments Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:38:12 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainability-in-new-orleans/ Hurricane Katrina gives birth to Sustainability Projects in New Orleans

  With a 3 Million US dollars investment from Ameriquest Mortgage Company and associates and the genius of young university architecture students from Tulane, the rebirth of a sustainable New Orleans will receive its first example.

  With the reconstruction of the historical New Orleans Rescue Mission into a sustainable Family Center for those in temporary displacement and transition, the city begins its first sustainable project for a greener future.

  When Katrina hit, Tulane students thought the project was over for sure, but instead, they will lead the way to what is according to Stephan Verderber, professor of architecture at Tulane University, said to be an “opportunity” for sustainability.

  “In a historic city like New Orleans, where the majority of construction is decades or even centuries old, there is an opportunity to rebuild many of the city’s structures in a sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly way that is unprecedented in this country,”

  “The Family Center Project brings together the expertise of the City’s architectural, building, education and nonprofit communities to set a standard for re-building in New Orleans. This immense opportunity is truly the silver lining in an otherwise devastating situation.” – Stephan Verderber

  The company responsible for the construction will be HomeAid, a non-for-profit builder of temporary housing for the homeless founded in 1989.

  HomeAid has done more than 115 houses nationwide and includes 17 chapters in 11 states. HomeAid is perfect for the job, with experience and know-how that will make a difference combined with Tulane designs and Ameriquest private investments.

  Knowledge, together with Perseverance and Charity are sure to embrace the cause of sustainability in the new, New Orleans of the future, where history and future are turning the flame further towards Hope.

  Related:
  Homeaid Tansitional Housing

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainability-in-new-orleans/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/green-roofs/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/green-roofs/#comments Sat, 20 May 2006 05:13:53 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/green-roofs/ Green Roofs in Urban Landscapes

  It has been some 50 years since Germany began to pioneer a trend in urban development known as the green roof. MSNBC posted on the April 27, 2006:

  The planted rooftop of the American Society of Landscape Architects building in downtown Washington is a model of the techniques used increasingly to cool temperatures, filter air, and lessen the burden on sewers by absorbing rainwater.

  Some have seen them with their own eyes and others have seen pictures, but everyone knows that a garden on the roof is a splendid thing as long as everyone can enjoy it, not just the birds.

  To add to that thought, most people seem to think that a green roof is expensive and high maintenance, the ASLA building roof project in D.C. cost some 1,000,000 US$. But that might just be a paradigm worth double-checking

  Experts say green roof installation can be as cheap as $9 per square foot, and increased property value, energy cost savings and longer life for the roof can offset the investment.

  Which is to say simply that the new tendency for architecture in urban spaces is the green roof. Not just because architects want them, but because homeowners and business people want them too. More and more government officials are getting interested in putting people back in contact with nature, and for good reason.

  Green roofs cut down on air-pollution; they are visually enchanting and from a medical point of view, would unofficially help immensely in the fight against civilizations new diseases; unofficially aggravated by bad urban planning.

  Health is the number one reason for lobbying in the direction of green roofs, but it isnt an isolated issue that only concerns the urban landscape. Everything humans do to mother nature comes back to haunt us, time and time again.

  The conservation of rainwater through non-polluting methods that are ecologically sound is just one of the most important advantages to green roofs. Ecological landscape architect projects such as the column sky gardens from GreenRoofs.com are a perfect example of how this fever is catching on.

  While the USA has but a fraction of the green roof space that Germany has over the last 50 years of development, the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities organization did a study with their members and discovered that from 2004 to 2005, the green roof space grew 80 percent. Definitely a trend that seems to be rising in our culture.

  Every month, more and more solutions to green roofs become available to the average homeowner with little money to spend on repairs. The GreenGridR DIY Kit, to be released in May, a business of Weston Solutions Inc. is just one example of how things are generally going in that direction.

  The Skyland and Garick partnership with their rooflite^TM is the first American name brand to hit the market – PR News:

  As the green roof industry matures in North America, rooflite(TM) certified growing media products will meet the needs of our customer base that require the availability of roof top growing media when and where they need it,” said Rick Mahoney, managing partner forThe Garick Company.

  Green roofs in urban landscapes are taking back the forest little by little. And the growing trend is a good sign that new breakthroughs in research and development will show how important this concept really is for our future way of life.

  Gardening and rainwater catchment systems together dont need to be heavy things that threaten to cave in. Nor do they need to be systems apart. A garden on the roof is a way to store and filter water that is very safe and economical as well as aesthetically appealing and very low maintenance.

  Gardening on the roof can be cost effective, low maintenance and a great party attraction that boosts the value of the building.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/green-roofs/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-forestry/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-forestry/#comments Sun, 14 May 2006 16:55:45 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-forestry.html Sustainable Forestry – Strategies for replenishment

  Sustainable forestry is about protecting the future of our biosphere, making sure we have air to breath, and clean water to drink. But it is also about making a global economy sustain its needs for wood in the present as well as the future by adopting strategies that promote replenishment, jobs and a healthier greener environment, offering more forest space for biodiversity. At the current rate of consumption, for paper and wood, forests are being cut faster than they are being planted, making forests into a decadent resource that should be replenished. Forests are an ecosystem, and as such they play an essential role in how the world we live in, the wildlife habitat that occupies any given forest must also be given incentive for that delicate balance to succeed. Water is another crucial element that helps a forest thrive and gives life to all the living things on earth. Sustainable forestry is about ensuring the future of our forests, enhancing our wildlife habitat, and protecting water.

  Short term orientated goals that revolve around limited resources are something that in the electronic fiber optic internet world, we tend to live with… At least until something critical and disastrous happens and there is nothing else we can do but acknowledge the problem. Sustainable forestry concerns itself with the way we manage our forests in the here and now, so that 60 years from now, there will be more trees to cut than there are now. That is a difficult task, especially because it deals with long term goals. Old growth trees for example take anywhere from 700 to 2000 years to grow and if we plant only after they have been cut down, we will still have to wait far too long to see any kind of return on our investment economically. However, the situation is more than just economical. Old growth forests are a part of our ecodiversity and help keep the balance between forces in mother nature. Sustainable forestry keeps the balance between those forces.

  Animals like the Pacific North West spotted owl (late 1980′s) that seem to be going into extinction eventually either adapt (as did the spotted owl), or they die. In the case of death, the biodiversity becomes a tragic loss. Tragic because without sustainable forestry, we cannot continue our way of life on this planet, nor can the creatures who live in the forest. Wildlife is a part of the sensitive structure that envelops our planet, and the more consumers become aware of this dilemma, the more consumption will be regulated by the consumers themselves as we move into a new era, where it is considered fashionable to be ecologically correct when buying.

  Sustainable forestry also develops strategies to help plant forests that can grow naturally and healthy with the proper balance of wildlife by using insecticides that are ecologically correct and keep the water clean. One of the hazardous things an individual can do to a forest is poison the waterways with insecticides that are not made up of the ecosystem itself. Sustainable forestry practices a biologically sound method to achieve the same goals as forest owners who use unsafe methods, but sustainable forestry in doing so is protecting the environment from water pollution that kills wildlife, and creates imbalances in the forest.

  To keep the future of our forests secure and enhance the wildlife habitat through increasing biodiversity and protecting life giving natural sources of water, sustainable forestry helps create strategies that protect both the economical needs of the global market now as well as the needs of our future generations on this planet.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-forestry/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-fisheries/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-fisheries/#comments Sun, 14 May 2006 16:52:49 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-fisheries.html Sustainable Fisheries – Enhancement and wise use.

  Sustainable fisheries look to secure protection, enhancement and wise use of fisheries resources for our current needs globally and the needs of our future generations to come. Sustainable fisheries are those that look to develop a more sustainable natural use of our ocean’s fish, thereby securing food, economy and health in a cleaner, friendlier present and future. Small Community-Based Fisheries are most endangered by the current methods of using this natural resource and sustainable fisheries look to prevent the extinction of species and securing their proliferation as well as simultaneously managing our global consumption, development and strategies. Sustainable fisheries also protect the interests of the fish market by using selective consumers who are aware, demand for sustainable fishing habits and certified fish for consumption with special attention to brand names.

  Fish are more than food they are an integral part of our ecosystem. Diversity is one of the main factors that sustainable fisheries search to enhance, as the biggest problems in the 19th century with whaling was the rate at which whales could be hunted with modern technology until they were almost on the verge of extinction. Sustainable fisheries search for strategies that will prevent ecological disasters like extinction and promote the eco-diversity that is necessary to maintain the delicate balance of the biosphere. Isolated fisheries and smaller communities that live off of fishing, need far more support and management than the ocean going natural resource but without protection and incentive, fish as a natural and safe food supply can be commercially hunted until there are no more of that species available, thereby harming the environment, economy and future. Sustainable fisheries look to secure food for both healthier global economies and biodiversity in the ocean.

  Community based fisheries, need to search for sustainable practices in order to survive and to offer something for future generations that will also secure their own needs. Management is a major issue in this sense, both when talking about watersheds and ocean diversity. Obviously a natural environment will also offer a far healthier product for consumers and the world. Consumers are always demanding a healthier meal, and when sustainable fisheries use natural strategies, the kind of development will be both felt economically and environmentally. With careful planning of any current situation, strategies can be developed that include the environment, people and economy their production stimulates, both on a local and global level. The market for sustainable fisheries will eventually change as the ethical and environmentally friendly strategies are implemented.

  As a basis for marketing sustainable fisheries, the clear cut goal of short term economical feedback and profit needs to be overlooked while investing not only in an idea, but also in a revolutionary niche that is appearing more and more everyday. The idea that seems to consume marketing professionals in sustainable fisheries is of consumer awareness. Making consumers aware of the situation and the kind of product they are buying will enhance the sales and proliferate the distribution of sustainable practices throughout the economical niche. Once the consumers are aware of the situation their demands will change as can be seen from the example of “organic fruits and vegetables” as opposed to those that use “pesticides.” The demand for a product that highlights green practices and green eating can also enhance the credibility of certified fish. That is, once faith has been bestowed in any given brand name associated with sustainable fisheries, the FDA certified fish introduce entirely new standards of what constitutes “healthy” fish.

  One of the greatest advantages for the future is in what kind of food we eat. And more and more the understanding of what it means to have more retrograde eating habits gains in popularity, especially once the consumer awareness begins to hit the market, and demand creates a kind of tendency. Sustainable fisheries concentrate on fish as a natural resource, weather they come from fresh water or saltwater, but the intention to maintain the biodiversity and ecology of their environment through sustainable practices of replenishing are what will guarantee better food, economy and health for generations to come. Management of these resources (especially in closed or limited areas) is of vital importance to the success of any strategic plan, thereby enhancing the economy and creating cultural development. By using consumer awareness, sustainable fisheries offer a market that creates a specific kind of demand for both product and quality of the product.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-fisheries/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-development/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-development/#comments Sun, 14 May 2006 16:49:14 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-development.html Sustainable Development – Environmental sensitivity

  A good definition of sustainable development is easily stated by the UN:

  “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

  And within this area there are three basic points of reference for international organizations such as the UN. Sustainable energy development is the first priority, as it is the founding of any modern civilization. Sustainable development of industry and production is the second priority in the UN. While in third is the sustainable development of the biosphere (air pollution, Ozone, the rainforest…etc) or the environment.Sustainable energy development is important to the world as a number one priority, because political views aside (and most everyone is as fierce about this as abortion right now), the world is based on energy supplies that are not easily renewed in any profitable way for the next 50,000 years or so. At the current rate of consumption, it is quite possible that we will find ourselves competing for black oil supplies in almost absurd ways within the near future if we are not already!

  An excellent example of how we need to work on sustainable energy can be seen with China. China is currently subsidizing its gas stations both forcing the oil companies to make discounts as well as offering lower prices to consumers?!!? Some people say that is communism, but when in fact it is not, it is pampering! Communism is not based on short term goals as limited resources such as oil are communism is based on long term goals that gradually bring progress! Instead of investing 4.2 billion US$ in securing oil reserves, China could invest 4.2 billion dollars in sustainable energy development, but no, they choose the former rather than the later, in an attempt to imitate the west?!?

  The problems countries like China are and will face in the future are not “their” fault by any means. The problem is paradigm. The problem is how humans look at the world. And even here in the US our founding father John Dewey the philosopher who invented pragmatism made this paradigm very clear, “if it works then I will do it.” The problem is current energy consumption is not sustainable and will not continue working if we keep doing things the way we do! We need to understand this, or else, by the time people actually start investing in sustainable energy development, the world will already be going through a serious energy crisis.

  When we talk about the sustainable development of industry and production we are talking about the basics of our human civilization. Trucks that carry things from one side of the country to the other, factories that build toys and cosmetic packaging, paper mills, wood cutting, oil refineries, plantations… everything that is a commodity. Industrial sustainable development means creating an entire network of economies and politics that keep us from either the shopohaulic monster that thinks not of the calories of tomorrow nor the isolated artificial island sustainable sovereign nation state floating in the middle of the Atlantic cut off from the world.

  Sustainable development for our industries means doing something that is low impact on both humankind and the environment, and when well supported by excellent sustainable energy resources, we begin to live a brighter better now and a brighter better future for generations to come.

  Sustainable environment development, this means that once we have concentrated on correcting our current resource management challenges, balanced our industry in a way that will lower the impact on future generations, we can look toward the planet as a whole. Global warming is not an imagined thing. Maybe the world is not going to destroy itself, but if we want to be sure that we are building a brighter here and now for a longer future, we need to take action to preserve the biosphere’s equilibrium. Mother Nature built so many forests, rivers, lakes, streams, mountains, deserts and winter landscapes, yet little by little it disappears.

  Without these resources, we cannot breath or drink. The more we destroy, invade and poison the simple parts of nature that most people tend to take for granted, the more future generations will have to be troubled by inconveniences like air pollution, fishless lakes and illnesses (such as psychosomatic and oncological challenges) that spread from city to city like plagues. Sustainable environment development, searches for solutions that appease not only the earth, but humankind as well, in a balanced and productive manner.

  Sustainable development such as in the UN definition, of guaranteeing the needs for ourselves and future generations to come, means prioritizing sustainable energy, sustainable industry and sustainable environmental recovery. If we choose to develop a more sustainable source of energy for the general population, transportation, industry, home and office now, we will be able to make the complete change over when the time comes without causing Y2K syndromes. By securing sustainable industry based on sustainable energy, we guarantee that food, production, computers and everyday economy survive as well. Environmental development through sustainable recovery is the most vital step in the process of sustainable development, as it addresses the planet we live on. We exist because of this planet and without it, our species would perish. Perhaps one day we may discover a secure method for removing ourselves permanently from the biosphere, but as there is so little research done on this, we still could not survive without it.

  Sustainable development means working from within these three areas as much as we can in all manners and walks of life. Sustainable development is not merely a way of acting locally or globally, it is a new frame of mind, a new paradigm that the whole world must embrace, if we are to migrate from limited resources to a brighter and healthier way of life on this planet. The other alternatives are less enjoyable.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-development/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-business/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-business/#comments Sun, 14 May 2006 16:45:41 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-business.html Sustainable Business – The result of crisis

  
  Sustainable business exists as the direct result of crisis. Every time we suffer an energy crisis, we stimulate creative solutions. Those solutions don’t always come from within any specific field such as the oil industry, but more often than not those people who are directly affected by the crisis, the people. Sustainable business is just breaking the surface of a fine layer of ice that has frozen over the eyes of those before us, a paradigm. Short term equity is slowly being replaced by the popular belief in long term equity, and with every year that goes by, business strategies tend to recognize their failures from the 1980′s and 1990′s. Capital investment floating around the area of sustainable business is a direct result of the slow and growing acceptance of a market that is not merely profitable, but the very near future.

  Thomas Kuhn came up with the idea that paradigms only change in accordance to popular belief in science and method. As would be true in his theory with economy as well, if he is correct. Most people know this and accept it but not everyone is willing to drop their old beliefs for something new and unknown. Ghandi is quoted as saying “All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” And as we find our world falling through the Industrial Revolution and flying into a new era of Space Age modern electronics, limited resources will soon be replaced by cleaner, safer and more environmentally friendly products of the Environmental Revolution. Sustainable business is concerned about how we treat our planet, but also how we treat ourselves and our future generations, in a way that will make the “quality of life” we live to only enhance with time.

  Quality of life can be determined in the world of capitalism as equity. Equity in sustainable business looks to produce long term profit with ethical strategies that reflect both sustainable as well as capitalist thinking in a kind of balance. Sustainable businesses use their equity as a way of convincing their consumers and stockholders alike that their strategies will bring profit to the business and the community by helping the environment. Most strategies that improve sustainable business equity are those that use rainwater harvesting, solar energy, wind energy, sustainable sewage recycling, as well as sustainable food and/or agricultural production. Not every business is a green business and there are a lot of businesses that simply do not have the means to make the transition over to a sustainable business, which is why investment capital in green businesses is growing all the time.

  Capital investment is a way for entrepreneurs with vision to take a hold of the kinds of long term risks that are going to be a wealthy profit for those willing to make their way through today’s paradigms and to the financial breaking point of “zero”/”even” revenue. From the breaking point on, sustainable businesses become a serious threat to the way we do business today, because “time” changes our economical, political and cultural situations. Sustainable business needs come hand in hand with progress, if we become radical and start shutting down all the logging factories in Oregon, we might save the last 4% of our national old growth, but we will affect the stability of those families that make their way of life off of the jobs provided by the logging industry. Investor capitalists make choices about what they invest in based on what those choices “will” do in the long run (as well as at present) and if any of those choices require radical measures by the business at any stage, then the strategic plan is scrapped and new strategies are planned for. Sun Tzu once said, “if war is to be waged, there must be at least 1000 pieces of gold per day of the campaign in the royal treasury, if the campaign stretches on longer than the treasury can pay for, then the campaign will be a failure.” Planning well has been a financial importance for at least 2,500 years since then and sustainable business makes sure that planning well of the ethical choices in a campaign are also taken seriously.

  Not merely war but all crisis situations have been responsible for the need to change our ways. If we do things in an unethical and short term profit manner, we may not feel the consequences in our own life times but our children however, or their children, certainly will. Sustainable business searches to break the ice of paradigms that have become obsolete, and crisis situations have helped stimulate that dialogue. But if we are to avoid this kind of dialogue (based on loss), we should then learn to accept sustainable business as a future with as much risk as any other equity currently on the market, the key however is planning. Planning a sustainable business, either through reinvestment (strategic planning of a currently established business that is migrating to green business) or capital investment through a well constructed and carefully planned environmentally friendly business model means making down to earth choices with vision (not optimism). Sustainable business is an ethical future for a cleaner safer and more balanced way of life.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-business/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-agriculture/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-agriculture/#comments Sun, 14 May 2006 16:41:02 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-agriculture.html Sustainable Agriculture – Basic principles.

  The concept of sustainable agriculture revolves around three basic principles, environmental health, economic profitability and social as well as economic equity. Sustainability has a founding precept that we must meet our own needs here in the present without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own needs. Environmental health means keeping our responsibilities to the stewardship of land, community and future generations.

  Economic profitability, states that any sustainable agriculture must create profitable revenue for the community that it caters to as well as the community that supports it, with proper sustainable management techniques while participating actively in the culture and economy around it. Economic equity is the part of sustainable agriculture that builds a valuable and renewable asset for the long-term, with high potential for growth.

  If an agriculture is to be sustainable, then stewardship is essential. Environmental health is good for the economy of the product, its marketing, the surrounding community and the consumers as well. By making sure that the water, land, wildlife, ecological diversity, riparian streams/plants, livestock and plant production are diversified and biologically economical and stable the farm becomes far more resilient. Perfecting diversity means always striving to obtain integration between livestock and crop cultivation, in accordance to the sustainable precept.

  Economic profitability is not merely an area that depends on how governments treat sustainable agriculture. Economic profitability is also making efficient use of what is invested into the farm externally, or “inputs”. Anything going into a sustainable agriculture is essentially investing in the long-term sustainability of “self-sufficient” scenario, which means inputs should be minimized absolutely. The only input allowed should be biological in nature, such as the sun, a river, wind… etc. Even electricity and fuel should ideally be produced within the system. Management is the key. Usually scientific knowledge and enhanced management techniques are far too inaccessible for current projects, making transitions gradual.

  Economic equity in sustainable agriculture develops the farm or community in such a way that time will only increase the economic value. Current methods of agriculture do not take into account the value of time. Since the mid 1950′s till now, the American government has developed an agriculture that consumes wealthy land and spits back useless desert. As disconcerting as that is, sustainable agriculture fights to repossess the useless plots of land that short-term profit mentality tries to disregard. Economic equity is about long-term goals, long term profit, and long term thinking in general because it will stimulate a future that is ethically productive for ourselves and our future generations.

  Sustainable agriculture can be about reclaiming lost or unproductive plots of land, but it is also about the future. No matter what the condition or situation in any given area, sustainable agriculture fights the battle to achieve everything we need now and protecting the needs of generations to come. Long term thinking like this is what gives sustainable agriculture such an advantage over conventional short term thinking used my the majority of the market today. Sustainable agriculture keeps social, political, economical and cultural conditions in perspective so that low impact environmental and human strategies are effective and successful. With the proper scientific knowledge and enhanced management skills sustainable agriculture overthrows conventional inputs creating a circuit of production that takes advantage of the natural biological laws of mother nature, to produce profitable gain for ourselves and generations to come. Sustainable agriculture is the future.

  ]]> http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-agriculture/feed/ 0 http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-architecture/ http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/sustainable-architecture/#comments Sun, 14 May 2006 16:28:11 +0000 admin http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/?p=4 Sustainable Architecture – Concepts of energy conservation.

  Sustainable architecture is based on the concept of energy conservation. Sustainable architecture design is focused on “all points are zero”, as are sustainable architecture schools. Depending on who’s theory of thermal dynamics a person is studying, the focus in sustainable architecture may vary, but there are six main points to be considered.

  1. Energy Conservation
  2. Design
  3. Materials
  4. Labor
  5. Consumption
  6. Return

  Sustainable architecture schools use the concept of energy conservation as basis for all areas. In accordance to the first law of thermal dynamics, energy cannot be destroyed nor created but it can be converted from one form to another. All energy flowing in, must equal all flowing out plus the change in any system. The second states that all work processes tend toward greater entropy or lowered order (dispersion of energy). The third law deals with maintaining any system at zero (considered impossible). While the zeroth law determines that equality is when any two systems find themselves both at zero (in ideal and uninterrupted space).

  As the laws of thermal dynamics in a more vulgar understanding do not permit perfect sustainability of a system (that is where all points are zero), sustainable architecture adapts itself to the laws of nature by using concepts that most resemble nature itself. Sustainable architecture does not remove itself from the biosphere, it integrates in a way that is of lowest (closest to zero) possible impact between all of natures elements (including human civilization).

  Sustainable architecture design is the concept of “all points are zero” taken into the area of aesthetics in structures and buildings. Of course, all architecture in the end does the final job of making sure a building stays up for a long time, sustainable architecture uses designs not only to get the most out of financial and aesthetic return, but also takes into account social and environmental issues as well. Not just how long a structure will stay up, but how long will it be “useful” to the occupants or users? Will its usefulness grow? These are just some of the questions that lead the debate of philosophical concepts around sustainable architecture design.

  Sustainable architecture also revolves around the kinds of “materials” being used. Materials that are easily replenished, within 50 years, are considered by most studies to be sustainable, however, when there is a question of 50,000,000 years between replenishment, then those materials are considered limited. It may be difficult to determine the lifespan of a single structure, but in most cases, 50,000,000 years is considered too long for any structure to survive (no case studies exist however so this remains theory of course). The few non-renewable materials used in megalithic architecture that still survive to this day, are the leading designs used and imitated for sustainable architecture designs today (like the great pyramids of Egypt for example).

  Materials such as black oil and cement are considered limited, for example, while bamboo and cisal are considered renewable. In either case however, the unit used to measure consumption is a single cubic meter of earth. A house made from bamboo but filled with concrete is just as high impact as that built with cisal yet uses a chainsaw to cut down the bamboo. If any given materials have a return at the end of the life-span, this will also have impact on the sustainability of any materials used. Recycled materials may have the least impact (as they are trash), but they may have no return at the end of a structures life-span.

  Labor in sustainable architecture is based around the concept of building with labor that is also low impact and sustainable. For example, if the labor being used is slave or child labor, the human (or ethical) impact is very high, while if it is the owner doing the work themselves yet she uses a gas guzzling bulldozer to cut down two whole acres of 2000 year old Old Growth Douglas Fir with no regard to the environment, then once again even though certain concepts of sustainability are being used this structure could in no way be considered sustainable architecture. Low impact human labor, is as important as low impact living.

  During the lifespan of any sustainable architecture there is the basic consideration of energy consumption. Not all sustainable structures will consume energy 24/7 until their dieing day, but most all will in some way or another go through daily consumption. In a house, consumption is electricity, heating, water, lighting, sewer and even food and trash. Strategic methods to achieve higher sustainability within any given system during its lifespan will belong to this area. If the house is on or off the grid (perhaps solar or wind energy), has rainwater catchment (perhaps a rainbarrel), a living machine for grey water consumption and sewer water management, a aquaponic/hydroponic food system and a worm bin, then “all points are zero” goals become far more realistic.

  Systems that offer some kind of return to the environment during or at the end of their lifespan are considered more sustainable architecture than those that do not. For example if a house is made from masonry and the cement, bricks, frames and all are put into a land fill when the house is demolished, then it becomes a very high impact structure. If on the other hand it is made from 50 year old cedar that was planted with agro-toxic chemicals that destroyed an entire ecosystem and sacrificed a river, then that wood going into a landfill at the end of its existence will be even higher impact than the brick house, as the cycle of toxic chemicals continues in the landfill.

  Sustainability architecture rests on ideal use of the environment. Imitating nature and consuming directly from nature (sun, wind, agriculture…etc.), while making sure that social and economical needs of the here and now are still met is what makes sustainable architecture design and sustainable architecture schools attain the ever advancing belief in “all points are zero”. Sustainable architecture is about the future and about the future generations that will inherit both our world and our structures, thus a keen eye to the future means more than aesthetics of the here and now, sustainable architecture is about integrating civilization with the biosphere in the lowest energy impact strategies possible.

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