What a difference a year makes – car tech

Secretary Steven Chu, from the Department of Energy and a Nobel Prize winner, enlightens us on the Auto Industry, in his 2010 talk. I located this video after publishing my post on “Greener Rides” and thought that I would share it with you to underscore the innovation taking place in transportation around the world. As Chu states we must continue to produce or manufacturer here in the United States and not only embrace a services-driven economy for sustainable long term growth.

For those of you with children in your lives, what a great conversation to have about the near future and their role in designing new and better transportation. You might consider taking the Matchbox Cars, Legos and Lincoln Logs or better yet imagine the destiny of our communities using items gathered from your recycle bin! New generations will create visions and plans for future infrastructure, cities, buildings, food, health, and medical systems, communications as well as education to name a few societal arenas that will benefit from an innovative Year 2500 point-of-view!

Now, go invent the future, it will be here before you know it! – alex

Greener rides to ponder

You are going places in 2011 but how are you planning on getting there?

Assuming you are driving a car that is no longer safe, reliable or meeting your family’s needs and you are in the market deciding on a vehicle that is more fuel-efficient, has lower emissions vehicle and one that minimizes our growing dependence on foreign-oil. Below is a list of greener rides that you might want to consider in getting you where you are going.

There are several innovative options outside of the conventional petroleum-based gasoline engine. I will focus on just a few here today.

Systems and Technologies:
All electric – a battery electric drive and no emissions
Charging Stations – free-standing electric battery chargers
Electric Highways – series of charging stations along a high traffic corridor
Hybrid – a gasoline engine plus an electric motor
Plugin electric – use “dryer” type plug to connect to the grid for recharging at home
Biodiesel – a cleaner burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable fuels can be made from soybeans and biomass

Featured Car Options
* Nissan Leaf, newly introduced in late 2010 Nissan’s first all-electric vehicle
* Toyota Prius Hybrid, this car became the game changer in adapting to alternative energy car platforms, it’s unique styling and Hollywood cache brought the spotlight on Toyota becoming the number one car company in the world.
* Honda Civic Hybrid, for that traditional look with greater fuel efficiency.
* Chevy Volt, American’s late entry into the electric game just won honors as the 2011 Green Car of the Year!
* Ford Focus Electric – US company turning around to embrace not only new green tech but overall sustainability and corporate responsibility.
* Fisker Hybrid, if you have lots and lots of money you don’t have to sacrifice styling nor performance.
* Tesla, the whole shopping experience has been redefined by this company’s new age showroom.
* BMW, no sacrifice in engineering in going green with a new entrant by powerhouse “beamer”.
* Mercedes-Benz USA Delivers First Customer Zero-Emission F-CELL Vehicle, luxury and a solid brand.
* Volkswagon with four biodiesel VW models to choose from in the USA.
* REVA India, around the whole world the car game is played in the lower price arena.
* Prokhorov Russia, a snapshot of an affordable entrant in the electric car arena coming from “Russia with Love”.
* BYD Electric Car Company of China - introduced the 2012 ECO at the International Car Show adding to its electric vehicle portfolio. The company’s North American headquarters are in LA.

Even if you are not ready to embrace these technologies, consider learning about the various options available as many experts in the field are confident that by 2030, electric cars will be the new normal in personal and light vehicle transportation. After all, ten years ago you could not imagine the market penetration and use of a smartphone or iPad to change the way we communicate, learn and share information thus providing a shift away from our conventional desktops.

For those of you that are adventurous, head to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show beginning Jan 15th. The rest of you arm chair travelers’ check out the online resources. Another great guide, is the US EPA’s Green Vehicles site.

Of course, there is always a bike to get you where you are going without emissions and a whole lot of health benefits, too.

If you decide to buy a new EV, PHEV, Biodiesel, Hybrid vehicle in 2011 – share your story with our readers.

Happy travels on the journey of life! –alex

Carter’s Premise Home (town) Security

Majora Carter shares some wonderful stories of people who are “taking limes and making limeade” (a green version of lemonade). They are not waiting for national or global solutions to trickle down to their communities. They are hometown heroes finding ways to solve unemployment, to give people new beginnings and to use entrepreneurship at the local level to drive innovation in addressing energy, climate and health issues. Check out Carter’s inspiring TEDx talk and let me know if there are local heroes in your area moving us all towards a new and more secure economy. – alex

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Going Green at the Chamber

Are you a member of a neighborhood business chamber or have experience with a regional Chamber of Commerce? Are you implementing corporate sustainability, environmental stewardship and systems thinking into your organization, committees or discussions?

Here are a few effective, chamber-level programs we recently uncovered:

• Consider membership in a green, mission-based business chamber – the Green Chamber of Commerce. Headquartered in San Francisco, with an aspirational tagline that challenges it’s members to “build an honest economy for all people and our planet.” This newly founded chamber is headquartered in the Bay Area home to many progressives like Smith and Hawken, The Gap, IDEO, Apple, Google, Intel, and Stanford University. Even the city’s Mayor, Gavin Newsom ran for Lt. Governor of California on a deep green platform.

• Surprisingly the Green Chamber’s second chapter is in Las Vegas! It’s the first and only eco-business chapter of its kind in Nevada. Although I’ve never been there, I’m pretty sure the only thing sustainable about Vegas is its 24/7, high-powered, entertainment industry. The rationale must be if you can affect change in a city that consumes enough energy to power the International Space Station, you can do it anywhere.

• Chambers of Commerce across the country have banned together to form an alliance called the Green Business Chamber,. It is one more tool chambers are using to help showcase members who are making an effort to go green. Since this is a cooperative effort among many chambers of Commerce, we are sure that this program will be evolving significantly over the next year. Benefits include: networking, education, advocacy, case studies and in many cases, marketing support for the member organization or its programs.

• An even broader reaching group is the EcoChamber, “the first global green chamber of commerce dedicated to helping organizations create and implement sustainable business practices while counseling them on how to make sound and profitable business decisions driven by the new Green Economy.”

• Among the thousands of Chambers of Commerce in the United States, many now have a Sustainability Committee. Forward thinking cities like Boulder, has a clean tech group; Seattle has a sustainability committee; and Boston offers an innovation forum among its many member benefits.

There are numerous organizations dedicated to green building, clean tech and local economies. By using our well-established chambers as a platform, we can quickly move the sustainability conversation forward by focusing on common issues across a variety of industries and sectors.

Become an active chamber member, consider chamber membership or start a chapter in your market. Then Go Green, and share your groups’ results and benefits with our readers. Keep up the commitment and the business of green! – alex

Roots and Shoots – Growing My Knowledge

These days many people are taking a more active interest in food – from how it’s grown to how it’s consumed. This emerging national trend is happening locally, too. Your Puget Sound area neighbors are learning how to grow heirloom produce, raise chickens, ranch, create value-added food products, organize farmers’ markets and teach others about all of the above.

Earlier this month, I met several such enthusiasts at Snohomish County’s 7th Annual Focus on Farming Conference which attracted over 500 people from around the state. Motivated by a variety of reasons – rejection of corporate life, the sustainable movement, healthy living, stewardship of our vanishing rural lands, hard economic times – participants spent the day learning, networking and eating yummy local products.

There was a variety of interesting knowledge tracks at the Conference. I spent much of my time learning about how to present, market and finance farm products – from production to wholesale distribution and public retail sales.

The conference also included several interesting programs to help someone choose farming/ranching as a career and lifestyle. Representatives guided new and existing farmers through the alphabet soup of federal, state and local supporting organizations. Here are a few I’d like to highlight:

• Cultivating Success: a Washington state program for sustainable, small farms education. For those folks in the Snohomish and North King County area this valuable program is offered through the Washington State University Extension.

• Young and Beginning Producers: a AgVision program from the Northwest Farm Credit Services that encourages and supports young farmers through loans, other financial support and a wealth of education programs.

• Considering a windmill on your rural property to secure multiple income streams? Then you should know that the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, recently announced a program offering renewal energy and energy efficiency loans and grants to farmers and ranchers.

• Future Farmers of America: high-spirited and sparkly eyed youngsters with beautifully embossed emblem jackets who are growing their knowledge in over a dozen education sessions plus two session keynotes. Founded in 1928, the FFA’s “mission was to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population.” According to their website, their goal is to demonstrate that agriculture is more than planting and harvesting– it’s a science, it’s a business and it’s an art.

With a growing push to move our economies closer to home, the Hug a Farmer bumper sticker I picked up at the conference seems more and more likely. That farmer could in fact be my neighbor. Do you ride a John Deere instead of Metro, till a pea patch, volunteer at a local farmers market, grow beets in your backyard? If so, tell us about how you might have cultivated your own new roots and shoots.

The buy, eat and grow local movement is not only a green progressive agenda but might even be a patriotic goal. Thank you to all who are committed to delivering healthy, local food to the rest of us! – alex

Weather or Not – a week’s worth of tips

It has been a blustery few days in the Puget Sound area and that may have prompted some of you to consider the benefits of weatherizing your home. In a press release, Governor Gregoire’s office announced today that the 30th is proclaimed to be a state-wide “Weatherization Day” and that the DOE designates October as National Energy Awareness Month. Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) uses the onset of winter to promote energy conservation, renewable energy, and new technology use in the energy industry. Residents have found that they can save 20 – 30 percent on their monthly heating bills after receiving weatherization improvements like heating system improvements, ceiling, wall and floor installation as well as weather-stripping and other closures of heat-escaping gaps.

Nearly $60 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding from the DOE is at work in Washington State to help weatherize an estimated 7,170 homes and create hundreds of jobs. The State’s Department of Commerce administers Washington’s energy programs, including this additional federal Recovery Act funding from DOE.

Here is a week’s worth of home weatherization tips to enhance your comfort and to save energy and money, too:

1. Wrap your water heater with a blanket designed to minimize heat loss.
2. Seal up the largest air leaks in your home – check utility pipes at the seams, gaps around chimneys and recessed lights in insulated ceilings, and unfinished spaces behind closets.
3. Set your thermostat back when you can accept cooler conditions in the evening and when you are away from you home for several hours.
4. Increase your wall and attic insulation if it is not enough. An insulation contractor can help you determine what is ideal in your area.
5. Replace aging and inefficient appliances especially your refrigerator that typically consumes the most power in your kitchen.
6. Upgrade leaky windows with energy-efficient models or boost your current windows efficiency with weather-stripping and storm windows.
7. Have your heating and cooling systems tuned up. Duct sealing can also improve the energy efficiency and overall performance of your system.

Derived from: ACEEE, Home Energy Checklist

Consider hiring a professional energy auditor to provide you with a whole house energy evaluation or check online for do-it-yourself options and resources. Then spend some time with your local utility company representative or with an online clearinghouse like Energy Savvy and investigate if rebates and incentives are available to help sweeten the deal and encourage your follow through on weatherization and energy efficiency implementation.

And, pay-it-forward if you figured out how to effectively save energy and money share your new found knowledge with your friends and neighbors. You can consider hosting your very own local Weatherization Workshop (and remember that hot chocolate is optional).

Got a warm weatherization story or tip to share, please do so in our comments section and stay warm this winter! –alex

Get Engaged Now – Sustainable Community

No this is not a post about engagements or rings on third fingers (though it could be) but it is about getting involved in your community. Want to get involved in a community project that helps promote your values around environmental responsibility? Maybe your goals are to network, to give back, or to set a good example for your children. Or maybe rather than sit on a dating site or join a meet-up group, you decide to work side-by-side with others who share your passion for all things sustainable.

One great place to learn about the Puget Sound sustainability community is through Sustainable Seattle —and about similar organizations around the world. There are over 50 “Sustainable Community” organizations in Washington state alone, so there might be one right around the corner from you. If you live around Puget Sound, check out what these local grassroots groups are doing in your hood:

Seattle
Sustainable Ballard
Sustainable Central District
Sustainable South Seattle
Sustainable Wallingford
Sustainable West Seattle

Eastside
Sustainable Bellevue
Sustainable Bothell
Sustainable Issaquah
Sustainable Kirkland
Sustainable Redmond

Around-the-Sound
Sustainable Bainbridge
Sustainable Bellingham
Sustainable Everett
Sustainable Whidbey

Sustainable Seattle offers training, workshops and other programs. Here’s something I was happy to discover on their site: this month, the organization is launching its fifth iteration of regional sustainability indicators, based on a model developed in Bhutan and being used in Canada called the Gross National Happiness Product.

Today numerous local, national and international organizations are defining complex parameters and taking surveys to measure sustainability. Sustainable Seattle was the first to create a regional set of indicators 20 years ago, but the task is gaining in complexity. Their fourth round included 4 environments (natural, built, social and personal), 24 goals and 184 interlinked indicators. Survey results can show regional changes over time, and provide data that helps to direct community activism and policy making.

For all of us, sustainable community enhances happiness. Your involvement makes a difference to others and offers personal satisfaction, as well. So get engaged now (no ring required)! –alex

Join me at 21 Acres Sustainable Living Fair

21 Acres Sustainable Living Fair – Saturday, October 2, 2010 10a – 4p

Join me in celebrating food, farming and sustainable living, an informative, fun-filled family-oriented day is planned on the 21 Acres Farm near Woodinville.

Learn about sustainable, organic and local food systems, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Meet and talk to experts in fields of solar energy, small–scale agriculture, green building, sustainable landscaping and much more. Enjoy kids activities, organic local food and eco-friendly exhibits. Workshops are scheduled on the hour throughout the day. The schedule includes:

10 a/A Healthy Sustainable Home –Living Shelter Design and One Earth One Design
11a/Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling –Sundance Energy
12p/Sustainable Landscapes and Design -In Harmony Sustainable Landscapes
1p/Solar U –Sunergy Systems
2p/Green Your Built Environment –King County Green Tools
3p/Living Roofs and Walls –SolTerra Systems

Additional on-going demonstrations throughout the day include: winter gardening; beekeeping; composting; seed saving; cheese making; Taste of the Harvest; draft horse plowing and the kids area, “Is It Fruit or Vegetable?” Tours are also available throughout the day of the Farm and the new 21 Acres Center agricultural building, currently under construction.

Admission to the 21 Acres Sustainable Living Fair is FREE. 21 Acres is located in the Sammamish Valley in East King County at 13701 NE 171st Street, just south of Woodinville.

Situated near the Sammamish River Trail, so consider biking to the event and then grabbing dinner at the Red Hook Brewery (If its sunny then remember to save me a seat on the patio.).

Hope to see you on the farm! — alex

Source: Vanderloop Communications, Press Release dated 9.22.10

Lights, Camera + Action | A Green Movie Club

With the cooler weather and shorter days beginning to arrive in the northwest, I start thinking about one of my favorite indoor activities, watching movies. Building on a earlier post describing a green book club, why not take it a step further to include lights, camera and action with a Green Movie Club. This can be an informative and fun community building event hosted by a community center, city hall, library, bookstore, performing arts space, or local school. Basic equipment needs are a laptop to play your DVD, a screen and a projector (Author’s note: It is suggested that you contact the appropriate movie staffer for permission to show their movie publicly). I listed some suggested green movie theme titles but, there are many other options, too including blockbuster movies with environmental messages such as: Silkwood with Meryl Streep or Erin Brockovich with Julia Roberts.

An Inconvenient Truth
Director-producer: Davis Guggenheim created this Oscar winning documentary with former Vice President Al Gore’s plea for the environment resulting from climate change.

A Passion for Sustainability
Director: Eric G. Stacey shares the pathway inspired by the Natural Step Network taken by several Portland, Oregon based businesses.

Food, Inc
Director: Robert Kenner’s Oscar-nominated documentary explores the food industry’s detrimental effects on our health and environment.

Fresh
Director-producer: Ana Sofia Joanes looks at the reinvention of our food system in America.

H2Oil
Directed: Shannon Walsh investigates the environmental and human impact of extraction from Canada’s oil sands.

Tapped
Director: Stephanie Soechtig reveals the dark side of bottled water and it’s industry.

Trashed
Director: Bill Kirkos provides an investigation of the garbage business and a resulting look at American culture.

Who Killed the Electric Car?
Director: Chris Paine seeks the story behind the short life of the GM EV1 electric car.

If you decide to host a local sustainable movie series, consider inviting a speaker knowledgeable on the film’s subject to introduce the film and promote a wrap-up social forum to discuss some of the issues raised by the movie. Additionally, create a fundraiser – pop your own locally sourced popcorn, serve in compostable bags, make your own organic lemonade and encourage patrons to bring their own mugs, offer home-baked healthier treats, and use your concession booth to support your favorite local charity. Rotate community volunteers to staff the concession booth and, before you know it, this experience will serve as a catalyst for new connections and conversations among neighbors.

Please share with our readers any other titles that you would recommend for a Green Movie Club. If you decide to direct your own local event tell us how you produced it, the main actors involved and review and rate the experience from one to five stars.

Lights, cameras and see YOU at the movies!.– alex

Sustainability Solutions Labs | Seattle Style

The folks from EDF Innovation Exchange and DigIn have joined forces and developed a series of Solutions Labs around the country. As a key member of the local Planning Committee, among other duties, I focused on Outreach and Engagement. I joined this effort after hearing the key organizers say that these events would “provide leading thinkers and “doers” from business, academia and organizations with the opportunity to explore the next generation of business sustainability — one in which we can grow profits for our companies and create positive impact on the planet”.

This year, there are ten events in various cities and Seattle was lucky number seven venue on the list. This event, hosted by Seattle University on August 10, 2010, a gorgeous summer day at their deep green campus. We were all welcomed by Dr. Tim Leary, Executive Vice President of the University followed by Charlie Cunniff, Director, Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment who underscored the importance in aligning business and civic agendas to drive sustainability and innovation. Beth Trask, reminded us all of the long history that EDF has in promoting corporate social responsibility from their early days as a partner to McDonalds in significantly reducing packaging waste.

Our day’s facilitator was Odin Zackman, from DigIn, a San Francisco area consulting firm that focuses on social change at a variety of scales from the individual to large international companies. DigIn helped lead an organic process, structure and goal setting behind each respective city’s Planning Committee.

The Lab’s design charette format included Conversation Catalysts, Steve Lippman, Microsoft; Kevin Hagen, REI; Ben Packard, Starbucks; Jean Brittingham, Brittingham Partners; and Gifford Pinchot, Bainbridge Graduate Institute shared anecdotes from their own personal experiences as pioneers in sustainability underscoring the need for identifying the “right” metrics and for sometimes ignoring underlying assumptions in identifying “challenges” and biases within your organization. An example was the unanticipated value gained from performing a life cycle assessment. Originally this company thought that a product’s transportation environmental costs would be the top priority for the company in its effort to reduce it’s environmental footprint yet they then learned that it accounted for half of GHG generated by the company’s commuting employees.

A variety of discussion themes had been proposed through Planning Sessions and the Event’s wiki including:

• Sustainability as a Strategic Approach to Market Advantage
• Effective Collaboration for Sustainability
• Sustainable and Socially Responsible Investing
• Reducing Your Corporations Climate Footprint
• Logistics, Policy and Finance for a Regional Food System

I participated in several sessions but will share my learnings from the Transforming Organizational and Corporate Culture: Inclusion and Sustainability. The question was posed, how can we get shared accountability for sustainability across silos? Possible solutions discussed were to match sustainability goals to top-level business results across all business units, connect compensation and incentives at every level to sustainability (employees, executives, board, business units, human resources, etc), create a continuous learning environment at all levels of the organization and look for case studies from other sectors to inform processes, metrics and outline potential resources. Don’t look for “buy-in” but for ownership and start with those individuals that show a passion for the mission.

We all did lots of talking, listening, and networking and we did establish some next steps including the organic formation of work groups to tackle some of the various issues. If you would like to be a part of future discussions or engaged on a “Solutions Team” then check out the Solutions Lab 2010 Wiki.

If you participated in a Solutions Lab share with our readers what you gained during the experience or what good works groups you are now involved in as a result. Thanks for sharing in my story. – alex