Small Ideas for a Greener World

New Way of Measuring Human Capital

2010-05-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

The standard way economists measure human capital is to take the percentage of people in a country, state, or metropolitan area with a bachelor's degree or higher most scholars measure human capital in terms of population. Instead of measuring human capital or college degree holders as a function of population,Rob Pitingolo measures it as a function of land area -- that is, as college degree holders per square mile.

Richard Florida, The Atlantic (more here)(and here)

Hurricane and Oil Spill

2010-05-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

Coming hurricane season could be a nightmare given the magnitude of the current oil spill. This is what Katrina did to oil stored in the coast.

Ideas for Oil Spill Clean up

2010-05-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some links talking about inventions to help cleaning up oil spills. Also a link to the live feed of the oil leak in Gulf.

Victoria Broje and Arturo Keller of the University of California-Santa Barbara say they have constructed and successfully field tested an improved version of the mechanical skimmer -- the mainstay device for recovering oil spilled on water. More here.

This paper gives a brief history of the use of GIS at the California Department of Fish and Game(CDFG),Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR).Specific examples are cited showing the fundamental use of GIS for planning, and from various spill responses highlighting the GIS as well as advanced technology such as satellite and airborne remote sensing. More here.

State of clean up technology.

Live feed on the Oil leak.

Tap Water Versus Bottled Water (Video)

2010-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

India Considering Water Pricing

2010-02-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

To some extent, in some parts of the country water has been priced, but volumetric pricing is not common in India. In his address, at Water 2010 conference at Quebec City, India's Water Resource Minister Pawal Kumar Bansal, proposed water pricing to reduce wastage, despite being a politically volatile issue. While there is a need for conservation in some sectors, large parts of India still faces accessibility issues- farming as well as residential sectors. Another issue to considered along with efficiency is equity. Particular attention needs to paid to the structure of pricing schedule to make this an effective conservation tool.

A Fresh Idea for Desalination

2009-11-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

Water shortages! Further evidence of a growing problem. Desalination has not caught on as a viable solution mainly due to it's energy requirements. Here is a fresh small idea that could help. A new method that uses about 1/4th of energy to produce a given amount of water from desalination compared to conventional methods. This method works by creating a circuit of positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions. The design is such that it produces a stream of fresh water from salt water mostly using the properties of the salt water itself, small amount of energy, wind and the sun. The idea is so simple yet effective, that it can be operated even at small scales. Here is an economist article on this idea.

Interactive Global Map: The impact of a global temperature rise of 4ºC (7 ºF)

2009-10-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here is more.

Bottled Water Vs Tap Water : Purity Issue

2009-08-31T06:53:00.000-07:00

There is a wide spread belief that bottled water is purer than tap water. It is true in most developing countries and in certain regions of the developed world as well. In the U.S. the EPA mandates that every water utility post for public viewing a report on the quality of the water it supplies. Number of studies have compared the quality of bottled water and tap water and found no significant difference. Here is an example from Cleveland. Below is their conclusion:

Five percent of the bottled water purchased in Cleveland fell within the required fluoride range recommended by the state, compared with 100% of the tap water samples, all of which were also within 0.04 mg/L of the optimal fluoride level of 1.00 mg/L. Use of bottled water based on the assumption of purity can be misguided. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, published a final ruling that requires community water systems to regularly report to the public on the quality of local tap water; there are no similar proposals to determine the quality of bottled water through labeling.

Green Roof

2009-08-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

There is a growing trend where people are planting gardens on top of their roofs. The engineering behind is not complicated, the important aspects being a root guard to prevent roots damaging the structural integrity of the roof and proper drainage. The material used as a growing medium is light weight volcanic soil and small rocks. The benefits are numerous, it reduces the heating and cooling costs significantly, and an opportunity to grow organic vegetables and fruits. The cumulative benefit of everyone or most homes and offices adopting this is a contribution to reducing air pollution.

Gray water - some info and myths

2009-08-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

Gray water is water used in a households for all purposes other than in tiolets. It is water flowing out of the kitchen sink, shower etc. Some states include non-residential users too, for example in Massachusetts,gray water also includes, custodial water used in commercial buildings too. Reuse of waste water is a complex issue, it involves ecological, health and legal consequences. When used for irrigation it affects the soil chemistry and microbial life. Few studies have been done on the long-term impact on landscape plants. Studies from Arizona and California, find boron and Na+ to increase with no significant impact on the plants. But again the definition of long-term can be extended. Does extended use affect the quality of groundwater aquifers? quite possibly. The answers depend obviously on the chemistry of the discharged water. Few states have moved towards regulating the use of gray water, like California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Texas. Residential users can make a difference and minimize chemicals in the waste water by using bio-degradable and organic soaps and detergents. Here is more.

Water and energy production

2009-07-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

Recent results from the U.S. Global Change Research Program are here. This report summarizes the science of climate change
and the impacts of climate change on the United States,
now and in the future. Among other important issues, this reports highlights the linkage between energy production and constraints in water availability. Changes in precipitation levels is going to affect energy from hydroelectric sources. In addition, any kind of bio-fuels like ethanol requires significant amount of water as well. It is estimated that production of a gallon of ethanol requires 4 gallons of water. If alternative energy like bio-fuels are to be viable and sustainable, much research is needed in changing the production technology specially the input-output ratios.

Solar Energy in India

2009-07-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges for a developing country is ensuring infrastructure expansion to keep up with economic growth. Energy is on top of list, making it domestic and sustainable reduces uncertainty - reduced pollution is added bonus. Dr.Manmohan Singh the prime minister of India, recently announced a gradual shift towards renewable energy- making economic development energy efficient. There is an excellent potential for solar energy development in India. It is estimated that India receives solar energy equivalent to 4500-5000 trillion KWH/year. Given that there is unmet demand in the rural parts and growing urban and industrial demand, potential for solar energy is immense. Well, it is not all good news, production of photovoltaic cells has its health and environmental effects - associated with gases used in the production. Effective regulation and enforcement is needed.

Smart Grid City

2009-07-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Boulder,CO is awesome example of a community/city trying to experiment with the smart grid idea. This is an interesting case study to watch. There is many benefits to smart grid and weakness too, here is link to detailed discussion. Here is a question on economies of this operation, is distributed generation/production of energy, economically efficient? Here are couple of interesting papers on this topic.

Getting little kids involved

2009-06-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a great example of getting kids involved and interested in creating a greener world, reducing their waste, composting, gardening, and all that stuff. Small ideas can make a big difference!

here is the link

Water Infrastructure at a Tipping Point

2009-04-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

What differentiates a developed country from a poor nation? Its a long list, quality of infrastructure is in top three. A recent NYT article on our aging water pipes should be taken very seriously. Also here is a excerpt from the EPA report.

There are 240,000 water main breaks per year in the united states...Large utility breaks in the midwest increased from 250 per year to 2,200 per year during a 19-year period. In 2003, baltimore, maryland, reported 1,190 water main breaks—that’s more than three per day.

According to this blog, there were about 2000 leaks across MA,losing about 250 million gallons of treated water.

We need a comprehensive rethinking of our long-term water management plan. Is it just about availability of funding for capital equipment replacement?

Need for more research on water issues

2009-02-21T11:47:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard about it before... water issues run through every economic, environmental, political, sociological, developmental... problems we are facing. One area in particular: energy. Production of energy (all kinds, especially bio fuel) depends on water. Ideas on developing green energy, should take the blue into account.

A very interesting blog on U.S.food policy

2009-02-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

In their recent post, they discuss the evidence on declining nutrient composition in fruits and vegetables. This line in the conclusion caught my eye:

Specifically, we would like to find ways to decrease the inverse correlation coefficients between yield and nutrient concentration or to decrease the negative slopes in plots of nutrient concentration vs. yield.

Here is the link.

Don't just focus on cars!

2009-02-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

Among the sectors that use energy, transportation and residential take the top spots. While much focus is placed on making vehicles more fuel efficient(rightly!), there isn't much buzz around making residences more fuel efficient. Data from DOE, shows clearly that we get most of energy for residential heating from LPG and electricity, solar the only alternative source mentioned is negligible (<0.05). Here is a geothermal map of the North America.

"Geothermal energy is contained in underground reservoirs of steam, hot water, and hot dry rocks. As used at electric generating facilities, hot water or steam extracted from geothermal reservoirs in the Earth's crust is supplied to steam turbines at electric utilities that drive generators to produce electricity. Moderate-to-low termperature geothermal resources are used for direct-use applications such as district and space heating. Lower temperature, shallow ground, geothermal resources are used by geothermal heat pumps to heat and cool buildings.

...3,000 sq. ft. house in Oklahoma City has a verified average electric bill of $60 per month - using a geothermal heat pump. -DOE"

An inspiring case study can be found in Midland, SD. Here a school harnesses geothermal power to heat its building - since 1969. Here is more on the school.

Happy Birthday

2009-02-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

to president Lincoln and Charles Darwin - their 200th!

Green Microfinance

2009-02-10T12:54:00.000-08:00

"GreenMicrofinance (GMf), a pioneer in merging the environmental and microfinance sectors, has been working since 2002 to bring clean, affordable, renewable, locally-generated energy to the two billion at the bottom of the pyramid. While the developing world's adverse impact on global warming is miniscule, the effects of climate change -- such as flooding, droughts, and desertification - have devastating impacts on this population, the world’s most vulnerable. GMf‘s objective is to provide educational, technical, and financial services to assist the global poor's transition to a sustainable, affordable, and healthy energy future."

Here is the link

TED 2009 : How engineers learn from evolution

2009-02-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

TED conference for this year is currently underway, here are couple of wonderful talks. Please visit their site at www.ted.com for more such.

Bill Gates: How I'm trying to change the world now

2009-02-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

More at www.ted.com

Water Crises

2009-02-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

You thought oil has created enough strife, wait till water crises crosses the tipping point. The problem with fresh water availability is not that there isn't enough to go around, it is flooding in one place and dust-bowl at another, and climate change is also affecting the intensity of these weather phenomenons. Here is a nice piece from the BBC, also check out this site to calculate your water footprint. You can check out my article here.

Here are some highlights from the BBC article:

"More than five million people die from waterborne diseases each year - 10 times the number killed in wars around the globe...
...The UN-backed World Commission on Water estimated in 2000 that an additional $100bn a year would be needed to tackle water scarcity worldwide.
This dwarfs the $20bn which will be needed annually by 2007 to tackle HIV and Aids, and, according to the Commission, it is so much it could only be raised from the private sector...
As groundwater is exploited, water tables in parts of China, India, West Asia, the former Soviet Union and the western United States are dropping - in India by as much as 3m a year in 1999. "

Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent

Last place to find internet connection

2009-02-02T08:58:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting article from NYT. This ties in with a previous entry in this blog.

Here are couple of excerpts:

"James Mathu has worked for the Kenyan agriculture ministry in Entasopia for five years, advising farmers on the environment, crop husbandry and soil conservation. The stable Internet link allows him to send information to district headquarters in Kajiado, instead of spending days traveling there and back to deliver monthly reports, which are too lengthy for him to send via cellphone..."

"...Teddy Chenya, who for the past eight months has helped staff the community center for the Arid Lands Information Network, the Kenyan nongovernmental organization running the satellite ground stations, said that younger people were more likely to visit him than older ones, because they had time to spend and were willing to sit down, three to a computer, and learn by trial and error."

- Chris Nicholson (NYT)

TED Talks

2009-01-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

Here is Hans Rosling -Debunking third-world myths, you can explore more at TED.com

Future Food Insecurity

2009-01-30T11:00:00.000-08:00

Came across this study...
Historical Warnings of Future Food Insecurity with Unprecedented Seasonal Heat
David. S. Battisti and Rosamond L. Naylor

" Higher growing season temperatures can have dramatic impactson agricultural productivity, farm incomes, and food security.We used observational data and output from 23 global climatemodels to show a high probability (>90%) that growing seasontemperatures in the tropics and subtropics by the end of the21st century will exceed the most extreme seasonal temperaturesrecorded from 1900 to 2006. In temperate regions, the hottestseasons on record will represent the future norm in many locations.We used historical examples to illustrate the magnitude of damageto food systems caused by extreme seasonal heat and show thatthese short-run events could become long-term trends withoutsufficient investments in adaptation."

Hundreth Monkey Phenomenon!

2009-01-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

Lyall Watson while pursuing his anthropological interests observed some thing interesting in the Japanese Island of Koshima. In a nutshell, when a critical number of monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes, the behavior allegedly caught on with the tribe and the passed on to the next generation as well. This finding is contested, but none the less interesting. Is behavior contagious among the car driving glorified primates as well?. Malcolm Gladwell, thinks so, in his book The Tipping Point he talks about transmission of human behavior. Though this book has been out for a while and a blockbuster, I am not going to give away anything further- read it. Economists, have also observed this effect, it is called Veblen Effect named after Thorstein Veblen. He studied evolutionary economics using the tools from anthropology, sociology, and psychology. In his book The Theory of the Leisure Class, he contends that economic behavior among humans are not driven (atleast not directly) by the objective of utility maximization, rather by social norms - like imitating the Jones - Chinese and Indian consumers wanting an American consumption style. Can sustainable behavior be spread through deliberate caliberation?, is there a tipping point in there?

E-Billing

2009-01-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

Small changes at individual level can add up to big impacts. Electronic payment of bills (E-billing) is a great example. Here are some benefit estimates by payitgreen.org:

By switching to electronic bills, statements, and payments, every year the average household can:¹

Save 6.6 pounds of paper
Save 0.079 trees
Avoid use of 4.5 gallons of gasoline to mail bills, statements, and payments
Avoid release of 63 gallons of wastewater into the environment
Avoid producing 171 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions

Saving this amount of greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of:

The emissions avoided by not driving 169 miles
The emissions avoided by not consuming 8.8 gallons of gasoline
Planting 2 tree seedlings and allowing them to grow for 10 years
Preserving 24 square feet of forestland

Though increasing, number of people involved in E-billing, is moderate. According to a 2008 survey by Harris interactive - a polling organization, approximately 31 million U.S. households use online banking websites to pay their bills, 47.8 million households use bill websites, and 16 million households pay online using both billing and biller sites. Possible reasons for moderate participation could be, inertia in behavioral changes and fear for privacy.

Investing in fire prevention is as important as investing in resources to put them out. Similarly, investing in encouraging green behavior such as E-billing is as equally important as investing in cleaning/preserving the environment.

Green Belt Movement

2009-01-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

Humans transform landscapes, usually for the worse...here is an exception. The Green Belt Movement - grassroots non-profit NGO, founded by Wangari Maathai is greening the landscape. They have planted more than 40 million trees across Africa, preventing soil erosion in critical watersheds, and improving biodiversity. In the process helping hundreds of thousands of women and their families with their rights and those of their communities. She was personally attacked and jailed several times for her efforts to spread the democratic movement against a corrupt government. (more info)

Here is this human's inspiring talk about one of the defining problems we are facing, and I predict would accelerate in the future.

Prius of Housing !

2009-01-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

This is a super low-energy design for buildings called Passive Housing. This design dispenses with conventional heating system and harnesses the heat lost from lighting, appliances ( hug your fridge!) and even human body(we emit equivalent of 100watts, giving a whole new meaning to being warm hearted). With special windows and doors, there is very little heat loss, and the ventilation system keeps the air fresh and clean. Important benefit: uses between 75 and 95% less energy for space heating and cooling than current new buildings that meet today's US energy efficiency codes. Which means smaller carbon footprint. This has caught on as a movement in Germany big time ( first they lead in solar energy now this, they are becoming Greenmany! -sorry couldn't help it) . I see potential for generating some green jobs.
Some links: here, here, and here

reusing construction material

2009-01-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

This sounds so obvious, and simple way to reuse construction material in an innovative way, but I wonder about the extent of practice. Here is example from the "Big Dig" project from Boston, (here) is the article and (here) is the documentary from PBS. Can anyone point to similar efforts in other places?

Micro-Library

2008-12-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

Awareness about making growth greener is minimal in developing countries, especially in India. With about half the population less than age 25, there is potential for education to make a difference. Urban students can be reached about these issues through regular academic mediums. The problem is in reaching budget strapped rural students. Here is where low cost technological solutions can make a difference.

Old computers with moderate configurations can be set up at rural schools/libraries/public offices, connected to the internet. The content delivered will be a collaboration between local partners (teachers/students/NGOs) who can translate the contents from English to their own language. Professors and Students from anywhere in the world can create content (talks, presentations, written materials etc). Further video conferencing can be leveraged for direct discussions. This will not cost much, internet is available in rural India at the cost of $15 per month, computers that are normally discarded by companies will be sufficient for this, content is volunteer driven. A friend and I are planning to do the same in a village in Orissa, India. What do you think?

Green Jobs: A Replicable Model

2008-12-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

GREEN WORKER COOPERATIVES is a South Bronx-based organization dedicated to incubating worker-owned and environmentally friendly cooperatives in the South Bronx. (More here)

Xeriscaping

2008-12-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

What is Xeriscaping? In a nutshell, it is landscaping that conserves water. you can read more about it here and here . While lawns do look pretty, a square meter of it requires about 4 litres per day (estimates vary based on soil, climate, grass type etc). Xeriscape can be beautiful. This is not new in the Western part of the United States. With climate change affecting precipation across all regions, communites with moderate to adequate rainfall will benefit by adopting Xeriscaping, ahead. With water prices being increasingly used to manage peak demands, converting even part of the turf coverage to Xeriscape will yield savings beyond covering the initial costs. What do you think?

Running Green

2008-12-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

It is true that you cannot generate adequate power by running on the treadmill, stationary bikes etc, to power larger equipments, but what about mobile phones? Rigging up a treadmill to do this would be a fun class project across schools. Commercial gyms can also use this to attract green minded customers.

Welcome!

2008-12-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

I have started this blog for exchanging, and discussing green ideas - small - ones. Why small? so it can implemented by people without access to large organizations or funds. Posts will cover environmental dimensions of economics, politics, psychology, sociology, natural sciences....well anything under the sun that stimulates ideas for a better world.