Clean Edison Blog

This ‘Monumental Shift’ in the US Buildings Sector May Surprise You 

Conventional wisdom says that buildings are a sprawling, untamable black hole for energy. But a new analysis of federal data shows that the U.S. buildings sector has made enormous strides in efficiency over the last six years — potentially eliminating the need to build any new power plants to support growth in the sector through 2030.

When sustainable architecture guru Edward Mazria looked at the EIA’s latest Annual Energy Outlook, he noticed two surprising things: one, that 2030 projections for building energy consumption continue their steep decline; and two, that America plans to add over 60 billion square feet of new buildings by then. So even as a huge portfolio of new buildings is constructed in the next two decades, the energy needs in those buildings will be low enough to prevent the need for any new power plants to service them, concluded Mazria.

“There is no longer any need to build power plants to meet growth in the buildings sector,” said Mazria. “This is a monumental shift.”

Read More at Green Tech Media

With Carbon Dioxide Approaching a New High, Scientists Sound the Alarm

If uncertainty runs rampant in the global-warming debate, it is in part because scientific data is often too complex to be well understood by anyone but climate scientists.

This month, however, the world is likely to reach a scientific milestone that appears impressively scary even to those with only a cursory knowledge of climate science.

For the first time in human history, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will surpass 400 parts per million, according Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which has been measuring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii since 1958.

“The 400-ppm threshold is a sobering milestone, and should serve as a wake-up call for all of us to support clean energy technology and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, before it’s too late for our children and grandchildren.”

Read more at IHT Rendezvous NY Times Blog

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Q: How did you first get involved in environmental issues and the Environmental Law Institute?

A: Growing up in Michigan our home was across from a forest with a small river. Nature inspired me, and provided clean air and clear water for a young boy to breathe and play in, pushing me to want those great natural resources to continue for all generations.   Much later, as an attorney at the US Department of Justice, I had the privilege of representing the United States in Court, acting to both protect the environment but also to bring environmental enforcement cases against those who violated the law and in so doing often damaging our fragile eco-structure. The cases I was involved in ranged from the Exxon-Valdez oil spill when I first arrived at DoJ, to the Deepwater Horizon/Gulf Oil Spill which I supervised until I left DoJ in 2011 to become the President of the Environmental Law Institute.  ELI has a vision statement that makes me proud to be here, promoting “A healthy environment, prosperous economies, and vibrant communities founded n the rule of law.”  Our wonderful staff works diligently each day to make the world a better place to live in.

Q: What trends are you noticing in how environmental issues are viewed in the public? 

A: The Pew research center has tracked the public view of environmental issues over the years. What is clear is that most Americans support  environment protection. And they care about the economy. I don’t take these two data points as being in opposition. There is no reason environmental improvement has to come at an unreasonable cost to the economy if done well. Instead, I think Americans are telling us they want economic growth and economic security as well as a clean environment and environmental security for future generations. ELI is working to help bring about that reality.

Q: In your opinion, what is the single biggest hurdle facing the attempts to curb greenhouse gas emissions? 

A: The failure of Congress to enact comprehensive climate change legislation had cost the United States its leadership position on this critical issue.  To regain that position, it is imperative for this Administration to accomplish as much as it can through implementing the Clean Air Act.  The three critical decisions by EPA—the endangerment decision, the

greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles, and the tailoring rule–which were unanimously upheld by the DC Circuit last year were a superb start, but there is much more to do.  And, I continue to believe that these regulatory actions should again inspire Congress to act in a comprehensive, bipartisan manner.

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Are you enthusiastic about energy efficiency, renewable energy, green building, electric vehicles, and clean technology? Do you want to promote clean energy as part of a kick-ass blog?

Maybe you’re a strong writer who’s interested in journalism, PR, or social media, and you’re looking to build up your portfolio of clips. Or perhaps you’re a home energy auditor, solar installer, or green building professional who would love a little more exposure for your business.

If this sounds like you, then you might be CleanEdison’s next superstar Contributing Writer! We publish 2-5 blog posts per week that get picked up by top news outlets such as Renewable Energy World, Greentech Media, Scientific American, BBC, and Bloomberg.

We research, write about, and lead the digital conversation on the most exciting things happening right now in clean energy, and we’re looking for people to join our team.

WHAT YOU’LL DO
You will be responsible for contributing at least one blog post every other week over an initial six-month commitment period. The quality of your research and writing should be on par with the pieces already published on our blog.

WHAT YOU’LL GET

• Your name and profile on our blog as a Contributing Writer
• If you’re interested in breaking into journalism, PR, or social media marketing, then you’ll learn everything you need to know from our experienced team and build a great portfolio of clips
• If you’re a solar installer, green contractor, or other clean energy professional, then we’ll help you promote your business
• Free access to your choice of one online courses: LEED Green Associate, LEED AP Professional, NABCEP Solar PV Installer, or BPI Building Analyst

WHO ARE WE?
At CleanEdison, our mission is to promote clean technology and sustainable building practices throughout the United States with exceptional training, education and career assistance. We are a national training provider offering online, in-classroom, and hands-on vocational training to individual professionals, businesses, postsecondary institutions, and government organizations.

HOW TO APPLY
Please email the following to Managing Editor Comly Wilson at comly.wilson@cleanedison.com:

1. A one-paragraph description of who you are and why you’d be a great Contributing Writer for CleanEdison.
2. A sample blog post on energy efficiency, renewable energy, green building, or electric vehicles. Take a look around our blog for inspiration.
3. Links to your social media presence: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, etc.

Welcome to CleanEdison’s new series for the month of April: 18 Actionable Steps Towards Energy Efficiency!

We’ve all heard about the amount of money that can be saved by changing a few simple behaviors and making some adjustments to your home.

But where to start? Who has the time? How much can be saved?

We are here to answer these question in the form of small, actionable steps that you can take each day after work or school that will add up to major savings in the end.

On weekends, there will be slightly bigger projects that will unlock even greater energy savings.

Together, let’s make our homes and communities more energy efficient and our nation cleaner, safer and healthier!

April 18th – Repair, replace and add insulation to your attic

Remember last week when you checked for uneven insulation and water damage in your attic? Well today is the day you do something about it.

Summer is coming and you don’t want to have one day of wasted energy leaking from your attic, not this year at least. Improving your home’s air leaks are the fastest and most cost-effective ways to reduce energy waste and make the most of your energy dollars.

If you found any missing insulation you’re going to want to make sure that every inch of space between the beams is accounted for. If you see fiberglass insulation, you’re probably good, this seldom needs to be replaced – UNLESS it is water damaged. Also inspect dirty spots in your insulation for air leaks and mold. You can seal leaks with low-expansion spray foam made for this purpose.

Don’t forget to use the proper mouth and hand protection when handling fiberglass insulation.

How’d it go up there? Don’t you feel all the money you’re saving?

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NorthEast Solar Sales Surge Through Home Depot

It was the holy grail of solar. Get solar panels on the shelves of a big-box store like Home Depot where do-it-yourselfers shop for home improvement projects, and the solar industry could tap a whole new class of customers.

Except it didn’t really happen that way — at first.

In 2001, Home Depot started stocking its shelves with panels from AstroPower (a company that eventually became GE Solar after going bankrupt). Then, in 2004, Home Depot partnered with BP Solar to offer solar panels and solar installation through the store’s brand. But without a compelling financial offering, the service didn’t take off in a big way.

Fast-forward to 2010. As BP was on the verge of pulling out of the solar market, a range of new solar service providers started making big gains.

Read More at Green Tech Media

Apple Data Centers Now Powered by 100% Renewable Energy

The cloud — that magical place that stores ridiculous amounts of data, from your emails to photos to music — is getting cleaner, at least for Apple.

Apple says in a new environmental report that data centers — the physical places that store all that data — at its facilities in Austin, Elk Grove, Cork, and Munich, and Cupertino are now powered with 100 percent renewable energy.

Apple and others have been under pressure from environmental groups to clean up the cloud in recent years. And understandably so. The New York Times reports that data centers are big, wasteful energy consumers — using a massive 30 billion watts of electric and wasting 90 percent or more of the energy they pull from the grid. That will only get worse as more and more of the world uses cloud computing.

Read more at SmartPlanet

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Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that it is not only necessary to do the right thing, but to do it in the right way also. Sustainability is all too often just a fluffy word that implies doing the right thing, it is important to make sure we are doing it the right way.

When it comes to renewable energy, reports generally promote the greenness of these technologies compared with fossil fuels. Most of the time, electricity generated from renewable technologies is considered carbon dioxide free. However, if examined beyond direct emissions and from a life cycle perspective, renewable technologies do have an environmental impact during, for example, the manufacturing or building phase of the system. It is therefore necessary to consider impacts over the full life cycle of a technology, especially when aiming to compare different energy pathways. As clean energy increasingly becomes part of the energy mix, lenders, utilities, and policy makers need the most comprehensive and accurate information on GHG emissions from the various available technologies to inform investments, strategic planning and policy.

The factors that affect life cycle emissions

This information comes from a time, energy, and data-intensive process requiring sophisticated methodology called a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCAs have been used since the 1970’s; however, despite the ever-growing body of life cycle assessments on electricity generation technologies, inconsistent methods and assumptions have lead to a wide range of outcomes, which impede comparison across studies and the aggregation of results.

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By Nicole Miller

The Possibilities of Supercapacitors

Imagine plugging in your smartphone for thirty seconds and then continuing the rest of your day with a fully charged phone. Then imagine plugging in your electric vehicle for less time than it takes to fill up a standard gas tank before running a day’s worth of errands on that one charge. Today, researchers at UCLA may have used some everyday, easily available technology and graphene — a strong, flexible and highly conductible carbon product — to make this dream of energy storage a reality.

The magic is in the idea of a supercapacitor. Typical batteries store a lot of energy, but it takes a long time for that energy to collect. Capacitors charge quickly, but they don’t hold the charge very long. Supercapacitors take the best of both these technologies to create a device that charges quickly and will hold a large amount of energy for a long time. Micro supercapacitors bring this technology down to a scale appropriate for cell phones and laptops.

Micro supercapacitors are not a new idea. The belief is that these devices, which can charge very quickly and which have the potential for hundreds of times more energy storage than typical batteries, might one day have the capacity to power much of what now runs on less adequate batteries.

The major problem has been that the process for creating these micro structures was not cost-efficient, and therefore limited the appeal to investors.

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In Search of Energy Miracles

At a legendary but secretive laboratory in California, Lockheed Martin is working on a plan that some employees hope might transform the world’s energy system: a practicable type of nuclear fusion.

Some 900 miles to the north, Bill Gates and another Microsoft veteran, Nathan Myhrvold, have poured millions into a company developing a fission reactor that could run on today’s nuclear waste.

And on the far side of the world, China has seized on discarded American research to pursue a safer reactor based on an abundant element called thorium.

Beyond the question of whether they will work, these ambitious schemes pose a larger issue: How much faith should we, as a society, put in the idea of a big technological fix to save the world from climate change?

Read more at New York Times

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During his State of the Union Address, President Obama set the goal for the entire US economy to become 50% more energy efficient in the next 20 years. This objective is being hailed as an ambitious but achievable target, one that was endorsed by the non-partisan Alliance commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy.

Back in 2007, the Federal Government set a goal for itself to use 30% less energy than the 2003 baseline by 2015. This is nothing to scoff at, the federal government currently spends $28.8 billion a year on the energy involved in operating its facilities. Leading by example is almost definitely not going to spur the kind of commitment and innovation we need to actually double our energy productivity in 20 years, but it is a crucial first step.

There are some inherent difficulties that the federal government will have to overcome to achieve these levels of energy efficiency. For example, although federal agencies are permitted to retain savings achieved through energy and water reductions, by rule, these agencies can only receive money from Congress. This means that rebates offered by utilities for installing certain technologies or efficiency improvements must go to a general pool, which then gets reallocated back. Funding, bureaucracy, and an old building stock will make it more difficult for the federal government as a whole to achieve Obama’s lofty expectations.

So what has the federal government done in recent years to achieve its own goals, and are these measures enough to meet the new overall goal of cutting energy intensity in half over the next 20 years?

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