I was at scouts last night and couldn't watch the State of the Union Address, but as I've browsed through it there are several items that I believe are worth highlighting. The theme was Win the Future, which I guess is the new Hope and Change. In both cases, President Obama wants to exude optimism, which is something, as I've said before, we dearly lack around here. So with optimism in mind, here are a few things worth looking at.
As some of you know, I'm a proud and moralistic environmentalist, so I appreciated the renewed emphasis on renewable energy:
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, June 7, 2010
It's Probably Time For A Little More Optimism Around Here
In the latest iteration of how we treat our planet, we have now released probably between 50 to 100 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and we're probably only about halfway through the the release.
It is the sort of disaster that just makes you sick. Birds and dolphins and fish are dying and people are losing their livelihoods. We care so much about cheap energy that we are willing to downplay or ignore even the most heinous risks to get it. Doing the hard things and making the hard decisions for our long-term good is not a particularly strong attribute for us, and the gulf oil spill is the perfect reminder of that fact.
And this applies to more than just the environment. Israel and Palestine won't make the hard decisions in order to come to peace. The same goes for many other nations, including America, which value short-term benefits and military force over long-term solutions and true and lasting peace.
It is the sort of disaster that just makes you sick. Birds and dolphins and fish are dying and people are losing their livelihoods. We care so much about cheap energy that we are willing to downplay or ignore even the most heinous risks to get it. Doing the hard things and making the hard decisions for our long-term good is not a particularly strong attribute for us, and the gulf oil spill is the perfect reminder of that fact.
And this applies to more than just the environment. Israel and Palestine won't make the hard decisions in order to come to peace. The same goes for many other nations, including America, which value short-term benefits and military force over long-term solutions and true and lasting peace.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Earth Day
And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me. Moses 6:63
The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator. Alma 30:44
If all creation testifies of God, then perhaps we can utilize Earth Day as a sort of testimony meeting. A chance to look around and remember that not only was the Earth created for the temporal benefit of man and woman but also for man and woman to gain a testimony of the Supreme Creator. I think that this balance has been skewed far to the former at the expense of the latter, and Earth Day is a chance to try to reset our way of valuing creation.
As an example of this conflict, consider the sage grouse. This little fella makes his home in, if you can believe it, sagebrush habitat. It just so happens that much of the United States' sagebrush habitat is also oilman habitat, and the more oil wells we sink the less habitat the sage grouse can call home, and the more threatened it becomes. The Interior Department was petitioned to protect the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act and recently made its dissonant decision: the sage grouse deserves protection, but we aren't giving it. Jason Chaffetz showed his lack of imagination in reaction to this decision--"The only good place for a sage grouse to be listed is on the menu of a French bistro"--a variation on a common theme among the anti-environmentalism crowd. (Why would the French eat a bird native to the American West? How about: "I get enough grouse at home from my wife and kids, I don't need it in my oil production facilities," or something?)
So anyway, is the sage grouse just an annoyance to brush aside in our thirst for more fossil fuels, or is it possible that this quirky bird that attracts potential mates by making a rubber-ball-bouncing sound with its chest is something to be valued as bearing record of a Creator? Is it fundamentally ridiculous to put so much emphasis on any single species, such as quirky bird which, seriously, attracts potential mates by making a rubber-ball-bouncing sound with its chest, which is, let's be honest, bizarre and a little gross?
The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator. Alma 30:44
If all creation testifies of God, then perhaps we can utilize Earth Day as a sort of testimony meeting. A chance to look around and remember that not only was the Earth created for the temporal benefit of man and woman but also for man and woman to gain a testimony of the Supreme Creator. I think that this balance has been skewed far to the former at the expense of the latter, and Earth Day is a chance to try to reset our way of valuing creation.
As an example of this conflict, consider the sage grouse. This little fella makes his home in, if you can believe it, sagebrush habitat. It just so happens that much of the United States' sagebrush habitat is also oilman habitat, and the more oil wells we sink the less habitat the sage grouse can call home, and the more threatened it becomes. The Interior Department was petitioned to protect the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act and recently made its dissonant decision: the sage grouse deserves protection, but we aren't giving it. Jason Chaffetz showed his lack of imagination in reaction to this decision--"The only good place for a sage grouse to be listed is on the menu of a French bistro"--a variation on a common theme among the anti-environmentalism crowd. (Why would the French eat a bird native to the American West? How about: "I get enough grouse at home from my wife and kids, I don't need it in my oil production facilities," or something?)So anyway, is the sage grouse just an annoyance to brush aside in our thirst for more fossil fuels, or is it possible that this quirky bird that attracts potential mates by making a rubber-ball-bouncing sound with its chest is something to be valued as bearing record of a Creator? Is it fundamentally ridiculous to put so much emphasis on any single species, such as quirky bird which, seriously, attracts potential mates by making a rubber-ball-bouncing sound with its chest, which is, let's be honest, bizarre and a little gross?
Friday, March 6, 2009
Save Your Energy
This article from the most recent National Geographic has probably sent me down the path of action, instead of just scheming, in terms of energy conservation. Any headway I've made in energy conservation up until now has always been within my comfort zone. I believe it is time, though, to start conservation tactics that take us out of our comfort zone.
For instance, we have a very nice gas dryer, excepting the fact that I recently broke the selector knob and now we have to use a pair of pliers on it. I know that natural gas emits far less greenhouse gas (GHG, for the environmentally cool) than coal or oil, but I can't help but think that air-drying our clothes outside during the hot, dry Utah summers would be the better approach. Not necessarily an easier approach, in fact it may be a pain in butt, but the upside in terms of saving emissions and money in the form of lower bills could be tremendous.
I have perhaps the world's crappiest gas lawnmower. My goal was to upgrade this spring to a new one, but I have recently become aware of a rising tide of reel, or push, mowers. Yes, the old push mower, as seen here . . .
. . . is now hip again, as seen here:
He's happy because it cuts just about was well (unless you are trying to pulverize twigs and leaves), it emits zero GHG (as opposed to gas-powered mowers which emit 11 times more per hour than your average car), it is way more quiet (you can now listen to your iPod whilst mowing), and he happens to be getting in shape because it is powered by human muscle.
A huge amount of energy is wasted by appliances, no kidding, but specifically appliances that are turned off but still plugged in, or in standby mode. This is called Vampire Energy and is costing you hundreds of dollars a year and emitting, on a national level, millions of tons of GHG into the atmosphere. So the first step, of course, is to turn off those unused appliances like computers, TV's, lamps, DVD players, and Wii's. The next step is to start unplugging. This has the potential to become extremely annoying, I imagine, and I'm not sure I want my little kids to have to start plugging in the TV to watch it in the morning (though the TV is the most blood-thirsty vampire of them all), but the positives once again outweigh the negatives.
My dream, by the way, is to install a solar panel on the garage roof. There is significant headway that needs to be made first in terms of marital relations in my particular case, but this has the potential to be a big deal. There are significant tax credits on both the state and federal levels for renewable energy purchases, including solar panels. This is one that probably won't save you a ton of money, though, in the short term. Even over the long term, say 5-10 years, it may be a wash. But think of the satisfaction of not relying on the grid that is powered, depending on where you live, almost exclusively by dirty coal-fired power plants. Think of the tons and tons of GHG that you won't be emitting, instead relying on the energy provided by the great Giver of Clean and Renewable and Free to Everyone Energy, the sun. Think of being able to turn on your lamp when everyone else on the block has lost their power because some teenager threw his shoes on the powerline down the street. You probably wouldn't even have to worry about unplugging your TV at night. I can picture a time in the not-so-distant future where most houses have a solar panel for their personal use.
The whopper, though, is your car. Americans are driving less recently, but we still have some major progress to make. The average American drives around 33 miles a day, which is staggering. Most of that comes from the commute to and from work. The culprit is the desire to live farther and farther out in the suburbs and exurbs, resulting in sprawl. Factor in that a gallon of gas creates over 19 pounds of CO2, and you will find that the average vehicle (and how many vehicles do you own?) will emit somewhere around 12,000 pounds of CO2 per year.
Small changes in driving habits can save thousands of pounds of GHG every year. Driving slower, inflating tires properly, planning ahead and making mulitple errands at once, taking the train or bus, carpooling to work and school, and actually walking places (like to church!) are some ways to save gas. I know I'm not alone in considering this the most difficult area of improvement. We love the mobility and freedom that come with driving and it is nearly impossible to give it up. But if we are going to make a difference for our children, this is an area way outside our comfort zone where we can make the largest improvements.
If the proper way to understand our relationship with earth is one of stewardship, which I believe is true, then we are going to have to make sacrifices and change our lifestyles in order to be good stewards. And just like in the parable of the talents in the New Testament, I truly believe the Lord will reward our willingness to improve upon our stewardships by making the earth beautiful and healthy through our living a sustainable lifestyle.
For instance, we have a very nice gas dryer, excepting the fact that I recently broke the selector knob and now we have to use a pair of pliers on it. I know that natural gas emits far less greenhouse gas (GHG, for the environmentally cool) than coal or oil, but I can't help but think that air-drying our clothes outside during the hot, dry Utah summers would be the better approach. Not necessarily an easier approach, in fact it may be a pain in butt, but the upside in terms of saving emissions and money in the form of lower bills could be tremendous.
I have perhaps the world's crappiest gas lawnmower. My goal was to upgrade this spring to a new one, but I have recently become aware of a rising tide of reel, or push, mowers. Yes, the old push mower, as seen here . . .
. . . is now hip again, as seen here:
He's happy because it cuts just about was well (unless you are trying to pulverize twigs and leaves), it emits zero GHG (as opposed to gas-powered mowers which emit 11 times more per hour than your average car), it is way more quiet (you can now listen to your iPod whilst mowing), and he happens to be getting in shape because it is powered by human muscle.A huge amount of energy is wasted by appliances, no kidding, but specifically appliances that are turned off but still plugged in, or in standby mode. This is called Vampire Energy and is costing you hundreds of dollars a year and emitting, on a national level, millions of tons of GHG into the atmosphere. So the first step, of course, is to turn off those unused appliances like computers, TV's, lamps, DVD players, and Wii's. The next step is to start unplugging. This has the potential to become extremely annoying, I imagine, and I'm not sure I want my little kids to have to start plugging in the TV to watch it in the morning (though the TV is the most blood-thirsty vampire of them all), but the positives once again outweigh the negatives.
My dream, by the way, is to install a solar panel on the garage roof. There is significant headway that needs to be made first in terms of marital relations in my particular case, but this has the potential to be a big deal. There are significant tax credits on both the state and federal levels for renewable energy purchases, including solar panels. This is one that probably won't save you a ton of money, though, in the short term. Even over the long term, say 5-10 years, it may be a wash. But think of the satisfaction of not relying on the grid that is powered, depending on where you live, almost exclusively by dirty coal-fired power plants. Think of the tons and tons of GHG that you won't be emitting, instead relying on the energy provided by the great Giver of Clean and Renewable and Free to Everyone Energy, the sun. Think of being able to turn on your lamp when everyone else on the block has lost their power because some teenager threw his shoes on the powerline down the street. You probably wouldn't even have to worry about unplugging your TV at night. I can picture a time in the not-so-distant future where most houses have a solar panel for their personal use.
The whopper, though, is your car. Americans are driving less recently, but we still have some major progress to make. The average American drives around 33 miles a day, which is staggering. Most of that comes from the commute to and from work. The culprit is the desire to live farther and farther out in the suburbs and exurbs, resulting in sprawl. Factor in that a gallon of gas creates over 19 pounds of CO2, and you will find that the average vehicle (and how many vehicles do you own?) will emit somewhere around 12,000 pounds of CO2 per year.
Small changes in driving habits can save thousands of pounds of GHG every year. Driving slower, inflating tires properly, planning ahead and making mulitple errands at once, taking the train or bus, carpooling to work and school, and actually walking places (like to church!) are some ways to save gas. I know I'm not alone in considering this the most difficult area of improvement. We love the mobility and freedom that come with driving and it is nearly impossible to give it up. But if we are going to make a difference for our children, this is an area way outside our comfort zone where we can make the largest improvements.
If the proper way to understand our relationship with earth is one of stewardship, which I believe is true, then we are going to have to make sacrifices and change our lifestyles in order to be good stewards. And just like in the parable of the talents in the New Testament, I truly believe the Lord will reward our willingness to improve upon our stewardships by making the earth beautiful and healthy through our living a sustainable lifestyle.
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