Sustainability : May 2015

Greenest City in the United States

http://ecowatch.com/2015/05/28/greenest-cities-in-america-2/

Past reports have ranked Portland and San Francisco as leaders in the U.S. of sustainable cities, but more recent reports have found different results. Lorraine Chow of EcoWatch summarizes the results of two recent reports in her article titled “10 Greenest Cities in North America,” posted on May 28^th, 2015.

Based on reports from two organizations, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Lorraine writes that “the traditional favorites have not received top billing.” In fact, “Washington, DC can quite literally claim the crown of greenest U.S. city,” according to Lorraine. By providing incentives to invest in ‘green rooftops’, such as rebates on garden installations and credits to reduce storm water fees, Washington, DC has taken first place for the fourth time this year by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. As for energy efficiency, DC placed within the top 5 of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, according to Lorraine.

Zero-Waste Grocery Stores

http://www.businessinsider.com/german-grocery-store-without-trash-2015-5

Original Unverpackt is a new store in Berlin, Germany, is one of the first grocery stores in the world to eliminate all packaging of their food items. Customers can choose an exact amount of each grocery item by using their own containers, which reduces food waste from buying packaged goods in bulk, in addition to reducing waste from packaging. Another zero-waste food store, called Day by Day, recently opened in France and now has 5 locations throughout the country, according to Katherine Martinko of Treehugger.

Packaged Groceries:
food packaging

Non-packaged Groceries:

http://www.businessinsider.com/german-grocery-store-without-trash-2015-5

http://original-unverpackt.de/

http://www.treehugger.com/green-home/good-news-another-zero-waste-grocery-store-opens-france.html

Life Cycle Analysis of Paper Towels

Baseline LCA

Weight 8oz = 0.5lbs

Material: Processed Wood Pulp from Cellulose Fiber w/ Bleach 1.11/lb. X 0.5 = 0.55

Processing: Fiber Extrusion Processing 0.2/lb X 0.5 = 0.10

Adhesive: Urea Formaldehyde 1.9/lb X 0.5 = 0.95

Cardboard: Primary Cardboard .76/lb X 0.25 = 0.19

Cardboard Landfill: 0.39/lb = .195

Packaging Film (Polyethylene) 1.7/lb X (0.5lb/8 rolls per package) = 0.036

Packaging Landfill: Polyethylene .3/lb =0.0187

Transportation: Truck w/ Average Efficiency: .39/ton-mile (Assume 1ton, 5mi) = 1.95
Total: 3.9897

Low Impact Materials

Weight 8oz = 0.5lbs

Material: Recycled Paper Pulp: 0.37/lb X 0.5lbs = 0.185

Processing: Fiber Extrusion Processing 0.2/lb X 0.5 = 0.10

Adhesive: Cornstarch Biopolymer 1.3/lb X 0.5= 0.65

Cardboard: Recycled Cardboard Roll 0.57/lb = 0.285

Cardboard Landfill: 0.39/lb = .195

Packaging Film: Biopolymer from Corn 1.9/lb X (.5/8 rolls per package) = .11875

Packaging Landfill: Biopolymers (PVA, for packaging film) Landfill .22/lb = .01375

Transportation: Truck w/ Average Efficiency: .39/ton-mile (Assume 1ton, 5mi) = 1.95
Total: 3.4975

Efficient Transport

Weight 8oz = 0.5lbs

Material: Processed Wood Pulp from Cellulose Fiber w/ Bleach 1.11/lb. X 0.5 = 0.55

Processing: Fiber Extrusion Processing 0.2/lb X 0.5 = 0.10

Adhesive: Urea Formaldehyde 1.9/lb X 0.5 = 0.95

Cardboard: Primary Cardboard .76/lb X 0.25 = 0.19

Cardboard Landfill: 0.39/lb = .195

Packaging Film (Polyethylene) 1.7/lb X (0.5lb/8 rolls per package) = 0.036

Packaging Landfill: Polyethylene .3/lb =0.0187

Transportation: Truck w/ Higher Efficiency: .34/ton-mile = 1.7
Total: 3.7397

Racing Extinction

The new documentary "Racing Extinction" follows a group activists' journey as they travel raising awareness of endangered oceanic species. The movie, which was produced by the Oceanic Preservation Society, expects to show in theaters this coming fall 2015. The activist team educates people by projecting images and eye-opening facts about ocean wildlife extinction with their special-designed Tesla and advanced projection technology.

Chief Sustainability Officers

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-learned/why-the-csuite-needs-a-ch_b_6058008.html

https://mrhapkido.wordpress.com/

The role of a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) is developing as companies in various industries appoint new administrative positions for sustainability issues such as resource availability, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecological footprint.

Prospects can extend to social issues as well, such as community development, or fundraising for a particular cause, such as endangered species’ habitat restoration. The sky’s the limit when it comes to CSOs and their roles in different corporations as the position begins to emerge in the United States and worldwide. Uncertainty about the roles of CSOs has led skeptics, such as writer Christine Bader, to question whether these positions are effective in “driving real change.” In her article posted May 6^th, 2015 titled, “What do Chief Sustainability Officers Actually do?” Christine writes about the emergence of CSOs, beginning in 2004 with the first appointed CSO at DuPont. To paraphrase her article, which was posted in The Atlantic, the largest corporate disasters occurring recently involved companies with executive positions titled in sustainability. Christine gives reference to the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gul of Mexico, and the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh that killed over a thousand people, and injured thousands. Corporate disparities emphasize the need for effective leadership in issues regarding environmental protection and social justice.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/what-do-chief-sustainability-officers-actually-do/392315/

Eco-Homes

In the lower southern slopes of the Khasi and Jaintia hills of Northeastern India, a species of elastic trees, Ficus Elastica, grows across rivers and is used as a reliable bridge for the War-Khasai people. The bridge continues to grow as the long, thin tendrils weave through each other to create a surface walkable for over a hundred feet. These bridges take about 10-15 years grow, but can last for over 500 years as they grow stronger over time.

http://www.earthporm.com/indian-tribe-masters-art-weaving-living-root-bridges/

This plant, or a different type of plant species with similar self-growing properties, could be applied to building an all-natural, self-enforcing Eco-home that grows stronger over time forming a symbiotic relationship with the natural world. Eco-homes would be built with an original wood frame similar to that of a modern home, but with significantly less material. This would serve as a guiding structure for the vines to grow on, as well as provide an inner-protective layer between the growing branches and the interior home. Additionally, building a thin frame for the inner-layer would allow for an interior aesthetic appeal, making the Eco-home comfortable and livable by today’s standards. These homes would most likely benefit people in areas with a warmer climate, considering the complexity of integrating a heating system in a cooler location. Ideally the Eco-home system could eventually be applied to homes in other climates as well, as innovation spurs and creates ways to adapt our modern lifestyles to a sustainable and natural realm.

Ecological Footprint Re-evaluation

Four weeks ago today I made three goals to reduce my ecological footprint. My goals included restricting my diet to local and organic food, purchasing sustainable products, and reducing energy use by unplugging electronics to avoid ghost power.

Can I do more to reduce my EF?

During the past month, I started noticing other aspects of my lifestyle that impact the environment, and questioning ways in which I can limit, eliminate, or improve various activities in my daily life that increase my footprint. For instance, many of the products that I buy that are marketed as being natural, organic, and fair trade. However, these products are often packaged in materials that require recycling or that are non-recyclable, making them inherently unsustainable. I started asking questions like, "does hand washing dishes as opposed to using a dish washer reduce water use?" I found out that the average dishwasher uses about 4 gallons of water per load, and washes about 54 pieces of dishware. Alternative, the average faucet flows at 2 gallons of water per minute.

http://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/built-in-dishwashers-vs-hand-washing-which-is-greener.html

Goal Update

Local and Organic Food

The most challenging goal thus far has been eating only local and organic food, because it required knowledge of locally grown produce and the seasons which they harvest. Many local markets, such as Youngstocks in Bellingham, WA, sell organic produce, which is mostly shipped from Mexico and South America, seems counterintuitive to me. I realized that if I want to buy local AND organic food, I have to get used to buying produce that's in-season. I found a helpful tool, a website called Washington Grown, where they make it easy to see what's in season locally by each month. It also provides recipes for different seasons.

http://www.wagrown.com/crops-by-season/

Eco-friendly products

I started switching the products I use, such as household cleaners and shampoo, with organic products, such as Jason Products. I also learned about different household cleaners, such as olive oil mixed with baking soda, that are natural and reduce the need for packaging. Jason Products use natural ingredients such as Aloe Vera, and they do not have chemicals that are harmful to the environment. However, are products more sustainable if they are made with resources extracted from the environment?

Ghost power

Over the past month, I've been making an effort to unplug all of my electronics when not in use. My electric bill in February was $17.82 and in March it was $15.91. My next bill should indicate whether I successfully reduced my power bill.

New Goals

Ride Bike Twice a week in replace of driving.

Reduce Packaging When possible, avoid buying packaged products.

Find Ways to Reduce Energy Such as hang-drying clothes vs. using drier.

Feeding the Planet with Sustainable Technology

In an article by John Mandyck titled, "Feeding the 9 Billion: How Technology can Reduce Food Waste." By 2050, our population is expected to reach 9 billion, which exemplifies the need for more sustainable agriculture. 1/3 of food produced worldwide is wasted. This represents 3.3 million metric tons of CO2 and according to Mandyck, enough enough to produce the food. The Global Food Cold Chain Council is currently forming with the goal to "green the cold train" by lowing its carbon footprint and reducing waste.

http://www.edie.net/library/Feeding-the-9-billion-How-technology-can-reduce-food-waste/6590