Green

Environmentally friendly, green ways of living

There are 363 posts filed in Green (this is page 21 of 37).

What the BP oil disaster has shown me

Deepwater Horizon burns

It’s now been three days since BP capped the Deepwater Horizon well and so far this temporary solution seems to be holding. The pause in the gushing oil has provided me an opportunity to think about what it means.

One thing I’ve learned is just how recklessly desperate the world is for oil. This drives a greed-filled drive to meet that demand, no matter what the environmental cost. I thought the wildcatting days depicted in the movie There Will Be Blood were over but that is apparently far from the case. I had no idea before the disaster that tens of thousands of oil rigs are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Another thing I now know is how oil is killing us. Petrochemicals make our modern world: the things they do for us are truly miraculous. At the same time they’re poisoning us. How did we get in this dilemma and how do we get out of it?

This disaster has not only deeply wounded the Gulf of Mexico, it has wounded the concept that we can continue our dirty-energy lifestyle as long as the wells don’t run dry. But they will eventually and that’s a fact. A disaster like this one must never be allowed to happen again.

We’ve had our warning shot. The next one might be fatal to us all.

Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Oven

Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Oven

Check out the Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Oven: a hybrid solar-electric cooker. I’ve been wondering if we could use the abundant sun on our back deck for cooking food, and this solar cooker looks like the perfect solution. When the sun isn’t available to do the cooking, the Tulsi-Hybrid uses electricity to keep your food warm – avoiding spoilage.

I’ve found the Tulsi-Hybrid available online for as low as $240 at the Solar Store.

Sun BD Corporation, presents Hybrid Solar Oven Technology at its finest, it is easy to use, portable, sets up in seconds and is safer to use because there are no dangerous open flames. The Tulsi-Hybrid produces zero carbon emissions!

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The BP oil disaster: we’re all responsible

SF Gate columnist Mark Morford nails the BP/Gulf disaster, pointing the finger ultimately back to us and our insatiable need for more oil. This is exactly how I was feeling about the disaster.

Morford writes:

I think the most disturbingly satisfying thrill of this entire event — and it is, in a way, a perverse thrill — comes from understanding, at a very core level, our shared responsibility, our co-creation of the foul demon currently unleashed.

What a thing we have created. What an extraordinary horror our rapacious need for cheap, endless energy hath unleashed; it’s a monster of a scale and proportion we can barely even fathom.

Because if you’re honest, no matter where you stand, no matter your politics, religion, income or mode of transport, you see this beast of creeping death and you understand: That is us. The spill may be many things, but more than anything else it is a giant, horrifying mirror.

Go read the rest. And then start thinking of where we go from here.

Fighting graffiti on Raleigh highways

WRAL just did a story on the growing problem with graffiti on Raleigh-area highways like the I-440 Beltline, I-540, and I-40. City officials have always been quick to remove graffiti from city-owned and private-owned property, but all state-maintained roads are the responsibility of the N.C. Department of Transportation. Unlike Raleigh, NCDOT has dragged their feet in dealing with this issue and as a result the graffiti has spread.

I sent this email to NCDOT in April:

From: Mark Turner
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 1:38 PM
To: Halsey, Steven M
Subject: Graffiti around Raleigh NCDOT structures

Hello, Mr. Halsey,

Here are some spots around Raleigh with graffiti on NCDOT-maintained structures. I figured it was easier to email you than call:

1. I-40 West, Harrison Avenue overpass: orange graffiti on northside columns.

2. Wade Ave. Ext. under I-40 flyover: brown graffiti on southside columns.

3. Wade Ave. Ext. East at Blue Ridge Rd: black graffiti on southside columns.

4. I-440 West (outer) between Brentwood and Wake Forest Rd: graffiti on brick wall.

5. I-440 West (outer) at Lake Boone Trail: graffiti on brick wall.

6. I-440 West (outer) at Lake Boone Trail: graffiti on median barrier.

7. I-440 West (outer) at Glen Eden overpass: graffiti on columns.

If you are not the right contact for this info I’d appreciate you forwarding me to the proper person. If you have any questions, feel free to call.

Thanks so much!

Here’s the response I got back:
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Old rails

Trolley to Bloomsbury Park, 1913, Courtesy of N.C. State Archives

Recent work on Glenwood Avenue has turned that busy street into a pockmarked disaster, with construction blocking lanes and backing up traffic. I’ve been avoiding that road to keep my sanity (and my car in alignment). However, I couldn’t help but gawk yesterday when I drove through Five Points because the road work has uncovered rails from Raleigh’s old trolley line.

I’ve always been captivated by the now-defunct streetcar system. I’ve written Progress Energy before, asking them if they have any old trolley maps. Never heard back from them. And I know some downtown buildings used to be trolley-related. But briefly uncovered was hard evidence:trolley tracks!

I didn’t care what drivers behind me thought: I took my time riding up the road in front of the Rialto Theatre, tracing the lines in the exposed concrete. There were the actual tracks, hidden for decades beneath countless layers of asphalt! Yes, I’m a hopeless geek, but I was thrilled to see those steel rails. I also have to admit my glee at hearing how those rails had taken out some of the teeth of the paving machines. Serves them right!

I was amused at the timing, thinking how different the world might be if these tracks hadn’t been buried. Perhaps the Gulf of Mexico would still be alive. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll one day reconsider the wisdom of basing our society on finite resources and the trolley bells will ring once again.

Lapping oil

I’ve been deeply troubled by the environmental disaster taking place in my beloved Gulf of Mexico and caused by the BP oil blowout. It’s been six weeks and still there is no end in sight to this nightmare. It might be August before BP can drill a relief well: apparently the only sure-fire way to stop the leak. In the meantime, a million gallons of crude oil will likely poison the gulf each day.

As much as this disaster upsets me it also made me examine what led to it. By drilling for oil, BP was fulfilling a need: the world’s insatiable need for oil. And that insatiable need is my insatiable need, too. If my car doesn’t get gasoline, it doesn’t go anywhere. That means I can’t get to work, which means I can’t provide for my family. Not a good scenario.
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BP gulf oil spill

I’ve been watching the live feed of the BP oil spill tonight and becoming very depressed. Those submersibles seem no match for the fury of the raging gusher. It makes me think that I’m only marginally less capable of plugging the leak than BP is.

Some experts estimate 39 million gallons have spilled at this point, with little chance of stopping it soon. Frankly I wonder when this leak will ever be brought under control.

The Gulf will never be the same in my lifetime, sad to say. If ever.

Stopping the leak vs. siphoning it

I find it telling that BP’s efforts to stem the massive Deepwater Horizon leak seem to be focused on siphoning the oil from the ruptured well rather than capping the well. BP’s priority seems to be getting the oil, not stopping it.

Also, NPR reported today that, based on analysis of BP’s video of the leak, the flow rate of the leak is closer to 70,000 barrels per day: far higher than initial official estimates. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez dumped 250,000 barrels of oil into Alaska’s Price William Sound. The BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster is pouring an Exxon Valdez-sized amount of oil into the Gulf every four days.

I’m sure glad my kids have gotten to see the Gulf before this disaster because they’ll probably have kids by the time it’s cleaned up. If ever.

Carpooling

A few months ago a new guy named Rob started as a contractor in my department at work. I discovered later that he lives a half-mile away from me, so it got me thinking about carpooling with him instead of driving myself every day. I mean, if you can’t make carpooling work when you both work in the same department and live within walking distance of each other, you can’t make any carpooling work. So, we discussed it yesterday and decided that today we would carpool.

How did it go? Outstanding! Rob met me right on time and we breezed through morning traffic, arriving early in fact. I never missed my car at work today, and when it became time to go home we both left our desks at the same time. It couldn’t have gone any easier.

I enjoy my job but the biggest headache is the commute. If I can continue to carpool, it will make my commute a lot more interesting and I might save a few bucks, too. Pretty good deal!