Guest Post: Sustainable Development at the University Of St. Andrews

Connor Brownell is a freshman at The University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
---

You know that old proverb that some wise person in your life would tell you after failing to achieve something at first, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again?” Well I am fairly certain that my brother – the usual writer for this blog – has brought that phrase to a whole new level. After what has seemed to be 37 years of him harassing me to write for his blog, I finally accepted the challenge to write a post for Sustainabili-City.

So you’re probably intrigued by the fact that there is a new face on this blog to write articles and are wondering what I have to offer. Well frankly Colin and I are alike in many ways and… WHOA THERE, don’t give up and click out of the page. What I mean to say is he and I are strongly interested in sustainable development and the impact it has on our lives. We also have a superior appreciation for humor, so one could say it’s a privilege to read what occurs in our brilliant minds.

Now let’s cut the cute intro and get to the point. I believe that there is a crucial role for sustainability that sadly most people neglect to realize. The cause of this misjudgment is a current issue brings all types of people together to have mature and professional debates on whether sustainability is truly a threat to our planet*.

I can vouch to this since I am currently studying sustainable development at the University of St. Andrews. Four days a week at I go to a 9 a.m. lecture to learn about sustainable development. So far I have experienced many different incidents where there is a lot of skepticism towards sustainable development. My personal favourite is when we got into small groups and reflected about a current lecture. One of my fellow students took the time to talk about sustainable development and how he believed that it’s a waste of a major to study. Before you get all concerned, I didn’t do anything drastic or stupid at the time to vent my rage towards him. I looked at my WWCSD bracelet and focused my anger into thinking about how bi-winning I am.

What’s great about this blog is it enables people like you and me to share what we find and think about important issues that are affecting us or will in the near future. I plan on posting articles that reflect what I am experiencing here at St. Andrews or what I find elsewhere. There needs to be a thorough push to promote the education of sustainable development and what it entails. I hope to help ignite the spread of sustainable development education by writing here and sharing my thoughts. In the next couple of weeks I am going to be working on a behavior change assignment and what it takes to make people act in a more sustainable manner.

It’s been pretty interesting writing my first little blog post for Sustainabili-City. Next time I plan on having a more focused topic, so hopefully this wasn’t too long and hard for you to read**.


*A screaming competition is a closer statement but I like to give society the benefit of the doubt.

** Successful sexual joke.

Chicago's Infrastructure Project: Electric Vehicle Charging

A faithful reader emailed me this article late Monday evening, and my first reaction was to write up an article right then and there because the subject matter was very exciting...

...then a voice popped up in the back of my head:

BUT WAIT! If I write an article now, that means that I will have to write 4 articles this week to maintain the Monday/Wednesday/Friday structure you have laid out. The HORROR.

So now thanks to my never failing rational/procrastinating side, you are getting this article a bit later, but I promise it is still good!
---

Some very exciting things have been happening lately. No, not the fact that Charlie Sheen has turned his failed career into one of the most exciting one-line quote factories to ever exist (I'm Bi-Winning!).

Chicago is going to start investing deeply into an Electric Vehicle charging network. Exelon has partnered with the city in an effort to roll out 280 charging stations throughout the Chicagoland area, including two sections that will be equipped with solar power!

“ComEd is preparing now for what may be a large influx of PHEVs in the market and managing its impact on the grid,” Kerry Kelly-Guiliano, the Exelon spokesperson, said in an email, referring to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. “And they are putting in place the charging infrastructure to demonstrate that Chicago is plug-in ready.”

The locations for the charging stations have yet to be determined, but Kelly-Guiliano said they would most likely be deployed at places like shopping malls, Chicago’s two airports, and rest stops along the Illinois Tollway in the city.

This is exciting news because one of the biggest hurdles to EV adoption will be the availability of charging stations to help curb range anxiety. By getting ahead of the curve, Chicago is making strides to show early adopters that their investments will be supported.

The one thing I wish this article did say was what types of charging stations they will be rolling out and what the charging time stats are projected to be for these "electric pumps," but I suppose that information will become available shortly.

Short Comment Friday: Bike Path Edition

Welcome to Short Comment Friday!!! This is a new segment spawned purely out of laziness, because lets face it, I'm on vacation in Florida and the 80°F weather has destroyed any ounce of productivity I may have had before I went to the beach.

While I have been down here on Sanibel Island, I have fallen in love with bike riding all over again. This island has bike paths all over the island that allow you travel quicker than you would be able to in a car.

Long story short, I wish all areas were like this.

Now I'm off to have a staring contest with this guy!

Sustainability: Bamboo Cases For Your iPhone Made By Grove

Today's blogpost is a little self-indulgent, but the topic at hand is so clearly awesome that I'm sure most of you won't really mind.

Many of you already have gotten a case for your phone for one of the following reasons:

• Protect your phone from accidental drops (Angry Birds won't protect itself)
• Protect your phone from not-so-accidental throws after a dropped call (Thanks, AT&T!)
• Aesthetic value (These cases can sadly be yours for >$200)
• Disguise your phone to prevent theft (This case may accidentally land your phone in the fridge.)

Historically I have never liked cases because they have always either looked ugly, been too expensive, or made the phone feel clunky. Additionally, I have never liked the idea of purchasing a case that I will most likely not have a use for in 3 years when I get a new phone... at least until now.

I have just received a new case for my phone that is both awesome looking AND sustainable for ~$70!

Unlike most cases which are made from some form of plastic that is typically unrecyclable, this case is made out of bamboo, one of the most versatile and replenishable natural resources available. Bamboo is a member of the grass family, which informs its rapid growth rate (39 inches per day in certain conditions), and because it is a perennial, you do not need to replant seeds after harvesting the bamboo.

These cases are made by Grove in Portland, Oregon where they offer tons of customization to your handmade bamboo case. I went with the tree design because I guess I kind of like nature, but there are tons of other options that you can choose from. Additionally, if none of those preset designs strike your fancy, you have the option to design your own case which they will engrave for a small additional fee.

The only downside is that it took about a month and a half to receive my case, but honestly it was worth the wait. I love the look of this case and it has quickly become apparent that others love it as well.

Thanks to this case, I have already gotten the following comments/questions:

• "Where did you get this case?"
• "What is it made out of?"
• "Are you single?"
• "Why are you in my house?"
• "Stop showing me your case."

Honestly, I just like this product because it serves as another example of how sustainable products do not have to be a burden, and instead can look amazingly nice.

I'll stop patting myself on the back for now, but if you have an iPhone, I really do recommend you get one here.

Boiling Water: Electric Vs. Stove Kettles

This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but apparently Blogger's posting schedule option still escapes me, so apologies for that. I've been thinking about getting my own domain so I can have more control over the entire site and not have to bend to Blogger's constraints, however that would require money being generated from a job that I am still searching for, but I digress...

I recently bought a French press to really kick my addiction to coffee into high gear. Along with the French press I also had to buy a kettle to boil the water, and this is where I had to make a decision. I could either buy an electric kettle or I could buy the traditional kettle which I would heat with my gas stove.

What the decision boiled down to [editors note: PUN!] was determining the least natural resource intensive kettle. Here is a break down of where Chicago's electricity comes from:

• 53% from Nuclear Power
• 36% from Coal Fired Power
• 7% from Natural Gas
• 3% from Wind, Biomass, or Hydro Power
• 1% Other

It is safe to assume that in the morning when I am making my coffee, most of the electricity I would be using is demand-response, which would mean that my electricity would be coming from coal.

Coal is filthy, and while natural gas still takes a toll on the environment, it is still a cleaner alternative, so I ended up buying the traditional kettle that I will heat with my gas stove.

I know that my one kettle isn't going to save the world, but I do think that the act of thinking these decisions through is good practice. It doesn't take much effort to find out where your energy is coming from, and I hope that on some level you begin to think about these options as well.

Now that I'm done ranting, I'm going to go ahead and enjoy my coffee! Have a great day!

LEED Design: ConAgra's Food Production

Not to long ago I went on a lengthy rant about how awesome Walgreens is being by rolling out a fleet of LEED certified pharmacies, which you can find here. The main point of my article was that the public benefits from Walgreens' initiative because they are indirectly educated by being surrounded with green initiatives.

Another form of indirect consumer education can be seen with ConAgra Foods. They are the proud owners of the first LEED Platinum certified frozen food manufacturing plant. This is impressive because manufacturing plants are resource intensive, but this proves that companies can still be efficient in their traditional practices while embracing more efficient and modern technologies.

It is a safe bet that ConAgra Foods will advertise their green practices on any products that come out of this plant, which will attract new customers while also turning consumers on to greener practices. This could place new pressure on ConAgra's competitors that could end up leading to more food manufacturers pursuing LEED certification.

This is the direction that I have expected the world to start head, but it is nice to actually observe it happen before my eyes. It may seem like a small deal right now, but down the road we could look back and point to this as the beginning of something big.

And guess who told you about it?

Sustainability Inspired By Food-Coma

Today's blog is going to be a little on the short side for two reasons. The first reason is that the job search is just chugging along, if by "chugging along" I mean a full time job with minimal feedback...but I gotta keep on punching.

The second reason is I just had lunch and now I am slipping into a food-coma which will make it difficult for me to balance between blogging AND job searching, so I am going to have to focus all my energy on the search and sacrifice the blog for the day.

Since my lack of productivity can be linked to food, it probably comes as no surprise that I honed in on an article about cooking.  The entire article can be found here, but the excerpt below pretty much explains what the entire thing is about.

But recently my husband bought me a pan coated in textured ceramic. It is promoted as green because it is made completely without PFOAs or other toxic chemicals, according to the manufacturer. Fab.

But I also love the way the pan feels and performs. Not only does it easily wipe clean of even foods like scrambled eggs with American cheese (no, I don’t make this — my 9-year-old son does), but when I need to brown something, it leaves behind enough bits to make a nice sauce. The weight in my hand is very satisfying, too.

Yes. The New York Times actually published something with the word "Fab." Though I have never watched it, I am fairly certain that The Jersey Shore is to blame for this type of language.

Long story short, here is another example of sustainable products being better for you and the environment while not sacrificing function or style. Seriously. How FAB is this pan?!?!

...Now if you will excuse me, I need to find a job, or at least get an interview...

How To Have A Green(er) New Years Celebration

New Years Eve marks one of the biggest celebrations.  Countries all across the map celebrate all the happenings of the past year and look forward to another year of possibilities.

Utilizing a special kind of backwards logic, many people embrace this gift of new beginnings by raging until the early hours of the morning, often not remembering large chunks of the previous night. I am not one to challenge "tradition," but one of the casualties of this rockstar lifestyle choice is the waste that is generated from this careless attitude.

While having fun this NYE, here are some things that you can do to minimize your ecological footprint:

If you are serving beer, buy a keg instead of multiple cases.

Kegs are reusable as well as more economical.  The only clean up that you are left with are the dishes if you are using reusable cups. 

Buying multiple cases of beer is wasteful because you doubling your waste by having to get rid of cans as well as cardboard cases. As much as I would like to believe that you would recycle all of the waste, the last thing on many drunk people's minds is the proper disposal of garbage, which brings me to my next point...

Provide more recycling bins than trash bins.

Lets face it. People suck at recycling, and they only get worse when they are drunk. I have had parties where I asked people to recycle, and instead they decided that the best place to toss their empties were in a lamp shade.

By providing multiple blue recycling bins and not too many trash cans, people won't have much of a choice to recycle.  The only trick is that you have to make sure that the cups you are handing out are recyclable, but that isn't too difficult.

86 the confetti.

I get it. Confetti is a large part of the NYE tradition. According to the zero amount of research that I did, the tradition of tossing confetti at midnight stems from when ticker-tape parades were cool.

This was exciting stuff in the early 1900s. You know what else was exciting? Dressing like this.

I think it is time we start making some traditions of our own that don't involve shredding countless pounds of paper just to be thrown in the air. Every year they say they are able to clean this up, but I'm calling shenanigans because there is no way they get all of it.

Rent a limo with other people or use public transportation.

The vast majority of people go to hotels or other venues to ring in the new year. Aside from the obvious point to not drink and drive, it benefits the environment when you share rides or use public transportation.

Less cars on the road means less carbon being emitted into the atmosphere.

A Sustainable Holiday: Gift Giving

The holiday season is officially here, which means that most everyone will be buying one another gifts to be hastily unwrapped and enjoyed.

The gifts are great.

The togetherness is great.

The wasted paper? Not so much.

One solution to all this waste is by wrapping your presents in reusable bags.  One of my friends posted a link to BAGGU, a company that sells reusable bags that can be used in any sort of situation. Clearly there are other places you can buy these bags, and many outlet stores already distribute reusable bags, such as Urban Outfitters.

You can then decorate these bags with ribbons and tissue paper.  By using tissue paper, it seems like you are defeating the purpose of abandoning wrapping paper, but this is still better because you are giving someone bags that they can use again and again.

Granted, not everything can be fit into a bag, such as the Tesla Roadster I have been asking for every year, but this is still a good step in the right direction.

Sustainable Architecture: Taiwan's Green Building

The other week I talked about an energy efficient building down in Miami and how it is defying the view that ecologically friendly building practices are not as pleasing to look at as other ‘traditional’ forms of architecture.

I believe that post speaks for itself and supports my point, but today I wanted to highlight a building that is going to be in constructed in Taiwan because it is truly groundbreaking in design.

This building is set to be constructed in 2012 and will have a minimal ecological footprint as it is designed to collect and purify its own water from rainfall and will be heated through geothermal power.  It will also generate electricity through solar and wind powers.

Most notably, the design looks like something out of a video game (probably because it was inspired by them according to Romanian architect Stefan Dorin). As you can see from the above picture, the building looks similar to a tree and its leaf-like observation pods will move up and down the ‘trunk’ of the structure.

This is a great example of how green architecture can be really cool while also stimulating the local economy through increased tourism.

I’m fully aware of how our markets aren’t exactly friendly towards new construction projects in America at the moment, but it would be great to see some cities eventually follow Taiwan’s lead and invest more in these cleaner and edgier buildings.

Google Is The Best

Yesterday I drove through Indiana which has fields of wind turbines visible from I-65, which truly is a cool site.  It is hard to understand why people think that these turbines are so ugly, especially after you drive through Gary, Indiana which is infinitely less aesthetically pleasing.

This caused me to think of probably the understatement of the century:  Google is great.

Clearly, on the internet front, Google reigns king.  However, it looks like Google is planning on being a large contributor to our nation's energy system in the future.

Recently, Google has decided to be a major investor in a 350 mile cable on the east coast of the United States which will support up to 6,000 MW of off-shore wind energy.

The price tag of the entire project will be $5 billion and will help power around 1.9 million homes with clean energy.  Google has already invested tens of millions of dollars into this project and will continue to do so as the project is developed.

Google clearly recognizes that there is a lot of money to be made in this arena which informs their large initial investment, so one can hope that other large companies follow in their footsteps.

Post-Thanksgiving: A Solar Solution To The Aftermath

Thanksgiving is great.

Food, family, more food...what isn't too love?  I'll tell you what. The cleaning (and the feeling like you can never eat again).

However, I do believe I have found a project that can help cut down on some of the garbage you may have accrued from Thanksgiving Festivities in a sustainable fashion.

Many people spend the night before Thanksgiving drinking with their family and friends. Then, as tradition dictates, they sleep in until the football games start and then spend the better part of the holiday eating and drinking again.

This generally unhealthy process leads to a lot of "soda" cans stacking up.  However, I found a website that teaches you how to make a solar heating panel from these spent "soda" cans.  The full tutorial can be found in the following link:

"Soda" Can Solar Heater

Inside this glass case are 180 cans painted black and stacked on top of one another.  According to the creator, he says that he as achieved temperatures between 80 and 120 degrees.

If this is interesting to you, I really do suggest that you visit the above link and get the details on how to make this.  It is incredibly simple and a good way to handle the buildup of cans that can occur over the holidays (even though if you have gone through 180 cans in one holiday, you probably need to seek help).

If this isn't interesting to you, just do us all a favor and make sure you recycle as much of your trash as possible - it isn't that hard.

A Rare Opportunity For Sustainability In New Orleans

It is easy to see that I am passionate about all things clean energy related.  However, it isn't as easy to see how these things are applied in real life because for the most part the application of clean energy and sustainable practices is scattered randomly across the nation on a small scale.

In New Orleans it is a different story.  Yes, Hurricane Katrina was a terrible event that is still indescribable on so many levels...but if there was a silver lining to this tragedy, it is the opportunity to rebuild the city in a cleaner, more sustainable fashion that can serve as an example for the rest of the nation.

Recently I was down in New Orleans observing the impact that the oil industry has had on the area (particularly with the Deepwater Horizon spill).  Aside from seeing a spider eat an entire frog right before my eyes*, I also visited the Lower Ninth Ward which was the hardest hit area in New Orleans during Katrina.

*Awesome.

The interesting part about the Lower Ninth is that the opportunity to rebuild a whole section of a city is rare at best because it is typically impossible to justify the costs of tearing down an entire neighborhood in order to rebuild.  Tragically, the majority of the Ninth was destroyed, but moving forward it can now be rebuilt in a more sustainable fashion.

This is exactly what some organizations such as Global Green USA is doing right now.  Global Green is building new homes in the Lower Ninth which are LEED Platinum certified which is the gold (platinum) standard of energy efficient building.

I had the pleasure of walking through one of these homes and they really are quite impressive.  Solar panels on the roof, incredibly efficient appliances, energy monitoring software, responsible water usage in the bathrooms, and much more - these homes are amazing.

Also, there is no feeling that you are sacrificing comfort which I feel a lot of people assume when they hear about sustainable living.  The rooms are spacious and the materials are nice.  If you were to walk into this house without knowing that it was LEED certified, I would be willing to bet that most people wouldn't recognize a difference between these homes and other newly built homes in other areas.

It is wonderful to see that there are people out there that recognize the opportunity for sustainability in New Orleans and I hope that this becomes more and more common in other cities across the nation as time goes on.

Does Sustainability Mean Sacrificing Aesthetic Value?

One of the shallower complaints about alternative energy, most notably wind energy, is that the structures are not aesthetically pleasing.  These complaints hit a fever pitch during the debates about placing a wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod in the Nantucket Sound when old rich people said that it would ruin the scenery.

The fact is that these wind turbines would have been barely visible from the shoreline, amplified by the fact that most of the people fighting Cape Wind are over 60 with worsening eyesight, really rubs me the wrong way...but that is neither here nor there.

Today I stumbled across some pictures of some gorgeous sustainable architecture that can be found in Miami.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but these are great examples of the unlimited possibilities of green architecture and why we need to keep on challenging ourselves to be more efficient without thinking that we need to sacrifice style.

Estimated completion in 2011.
(http://www.oppenoffice.com/)

View from inside.
(http://www.oppenoffice.com/)

For more information and pictures, go to GreenMuze or Oppenheim.

The Importance Of Sustainable Food Markets

Sitting back last night, I realized that I have spent a ton of time talking about alternative energy and energy efficiency technologies - it is almost like I want to get a job within those industries (hire me, please).

To switch it up today, I'm going to talk about the importance of moving towards a more sustainable food market because many people just aren't aware of the dangerous situation we are moving towards with our current food consumption rate.

Population continues to rise as the years pass, and I guess we have to feed these people as come into this world.  ("People need food? Thanks, Professor!")  Combining the increasing population with our trend of overconsumption and America's quest to make sure that at least 40% of our citizens are obese, obtaining food is already becoming a problem.

One of these problems is already visible in the seafood market.  The Bluefin Tuna has already been overfished nearly to extinction, made only worse by the fact that the market is now pricing a single fish at more than $150,000 which doesn't exactly say, "Don't fish me."

Yay! Charts!

This isn't to say that the Bluefin Tuna is the only fish experiencing problems.  As you can see from the graph above, pretty much everything is under attack.  Do people hate fish and have decided that they must all be destroyed? No.

Instead, it is just that people are not aware of how much work goes into their food getting to their dinner table, and this disconnect leads to increased consumption which then turns into rapidly increasing fishing rates.

A not so simple solution to this problem is to educate people so that they can make smarter purchases when buying their seafood dinner.  I, for one, absolutely love sushi (to the point where I'm fairly certain mercury poisoning is in my future), and lately to make sure that I'm not contributing to the overfishing of fish that are at risk I have been using a guide that CP sent to me the other week, which can be found in the link below:

Seafood Watch Pocket Guide

This guide is wonderful because it allows you to select the region that you are going to be buying fish in, and it outlines the safest choices, good alternatives, and fish that you should always avoid.  Combining this guide with a more responsible level of seafood consumption, we can start to form some habits that will benefit both us and the seafood industry down the road.






Oh...and the fish will probably appreciate the whole 'not going extinct' thing as well.

Sustainable Products Require Certain Adjustments

The original title of this post was 'Sustainable Products Require Certain Sacrifices,' but I decided to change 'Sacrifices' to 'Adjustments' because people generally hate the concept of sacrificing comfort. I also changed the title because what I am going to be talking about in this article should never be viewed as an earth-shattering sacrifice.

Recently, SunChips decided to discontinue their compostable bag in the United States due to "consumer pressure."  By consumer pressure, of course I mean a facebook page - what else could I mean?  In a world where a movie about a website is being considered for an Academy Award, I wouldn't expect anything less from web-based petition movements that are most likely started by some stoned-coed.

At least Canada still seems to be sane by releasing a public service announcement talking about why the bags may be noisier than their petroleum-based counterparts.

I like to believe that market-based forces are the best solution for many of our environmental problems, but this is a fantastic example of how the market can be resoundingly backwards.  I have a hard time believing that SunChips was spiraling into the red because their bags were noisy - the more likely reason is that SunChips (PepsiCo.) was just worried about negative press.

They should have realized by now that America has a relatively short attention span when it comes to these types of stories and they should have stuck it out in the pursuit of doing the right thing while also setting an example for other companies.

As our population continues to grow so will our levels of consumption - which ultimately increases our amount of waste.  It is unlikely that we are going to reduce our intake over night, so the more logical move is to move to more sustainable products that have a minimal impact on the environment - such as these chip bags.

Yes, there will be tradeoffs and adjustments when using these products, but if noise level is our biggest concern when using these products then people need to just deal with it.

Prelude

Let me be clear.

At this stage of my life I know very little about alternative energy, smart grid technology, and sustainable living.

However, this lack of a thorough understanding doesn’t make me blind to the potential of these fields. Instead, every day I look for an opportunity to talk about these emerging industries. This is for two reasons:

• I believe that the more people hear about these things, the less that they will believe that alternative energy and smart energy-distribution systems are some futuristic dream.

• I like sounding smart.

These two points highlight the purpose of this blog (sarcastic self-indulgence and shameless promotion of clean practices).

By discussing these sustainable advances, I am hoping to make my (millions of) readers and Stumblers more aware of the issues while also furthering my own understanding so that I can continue to (think I) sound smart.

I invite anyone to comment on or criticize anything that I say here, because ultimately we will all be benefit from the conversation in the end…hopefully(maybe?).





Probably.