slamboard

This is a good example of what NOT to buy this Christmas. I am posting from a PC with no speakers, so I don’t even know how bad this gadget sounds. If you want to add some seasonal music to your home or workplace, why not put together a YouTube playlist of music that actually sounds nice?

Here is a really pleasant bit of music that I found, two instrumentalists going through some variations of Greensleeves. This is actually the perfect music for December since some people will hear it and think of the Christmas carol that appropriated the melody and others will simply hear some really old music.

I was just talking about cell phone recycling today. Now the news comes out that Greenpeace has deemed the iPhone to be toxic. One of their main problems with the phone is that the design is an obstacle to easy recycling of the battery. They also strongly disapprove of the lead soldering that exists inside these phones. Government bodies in the USA and the UK have approved the phone with reference to environmental standards.

I have not always agreed with everything that Greenpeace does, but I am happy to see them calling Apple on this. Companies who act like the leaders of an industry need to walk the walk.

I want to bring some attention to the cause of recycling with this post, but I also want to talk about celebrity endorsement.

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) is a non-profit that was created in order to promote the recycling of portable rechargeable batteries and cellular phones. One important function served by their website is directing consumers to their nearest drop off site.

I was interested in the topic when I clicked on a link that somebody had placed in their article about using rechargeable batteries in digital cameras. The image of a familiar face on the landing page caught my attention. Richard Karn appeared in 192 episodes of the popular sitcom Home Improvement. I am glad that he chose something really positive to represent instead of some manly version of the Thigh Master.

People often make the assertion that government and big business are in bed together. I was thinking about that expression and thinking about environmental issues this morning. It dawned on me that everyone on the planet is also in a proverbial bed with the politicians and the multinational corporations.

When I was a young child, I slept at night in a king-sized bed with my older brother and my younger brother. It was inevitable that my younger brother would pee the bed, at least occasionally. My big brother defensively pushed his two younger brothers over to an area that was less than half the bed. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere.

Please note: The sites that I have linked to in this post have not been thoroughly examined and may not be objectively critical or entirely accurate.

Two of the biggest auto makers in America, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler have claimed that they will simply stop selling cars in states that bring stringent regulations related to fuel economy.

That seems like a bully tactic. It doesn’t seem very smart.

The United States District Court for the District of Vermont was not swayed by the arguments of the auto industry. Judge William K. Sessions III made mention of the argument made by the same businesses in the 70’s that catalytic converters were an infeasible imposition on the industry.

If there had been any practical way to make a turn of the phrase “from my cold, dead hands” that would suit people’s resistance to catalytic converters, we might not have them today.

Source: Burlington Free Press

Energy Policy TV has a Climate Change Channel that is being touted as as the prime source for on-demand video pertinent to issues related to energy policy climate change and the environment. I am glad to have the chance to provide a little bit of exposure for this endeavor. Video sharing sites like YouTube sometimes have videos that address these issues but they inevitably lost in a sea of pointless drivel.

I have to say that I was skeptical when I first landed there. There were those far too pretty green and yellow BP logos, and there are autoplay videos that have a whiff of fake man on the streetiness to them. After surfing around a bit more, I did come to find that the channel is in fact a broad based initiative with input from various government agencies, round tables, councils guilds and laboratories. BP, formerly British Petroleum, just happens to be a participant who paid lots of sponsorship dollars, and hence gets their logo on lots of pages.

The Channel is a wealth of video footage. The video that I found most interesting was a keynote speech by Arnold, who is the only guy in American politics who can go by one name. I am talking about impact more than content when I choose this speech as my favorite.

I think that there is soon going to be an administration that is less apt to go along with the desires of the oil industry as a matter of course. I haven’t done my homework, but I don’t think there are any former oilmen in the running for either party. There are no easy solutions for the situation that we are in, but the time is fast approaching when we will have to get to work on the hard solutions. Government is going to have to take drastic, possibly even unpopular steps to reduce pollution. I think a hefty tax on cars with engines bigger than 2.0 liters is a good first step. They should put all the money collected from that into subsidies for hybrid cars or any other efficient alternative including better public transit.

So, in my last post I mentioned the new computer. I’m working at this computer right now. When we get around to installing the important programs in it like DreamWeaver and Photoshop, I will have to go back to an old computer again. We didn’t buy a new desk and chair to go with this new desk top unit. I am actually sitting at an entertainment center at the moment and my next hurts a bit. It’s not very entertaining. I would like to find a good source for used office furniture.

Cubicle Depot has a great business model. It’s good for business and good for the environment. They professionally refurbish office furniture including the typical units that are being used to furnish call centers. Without Cubicle Depot, much of this stuff would end up contributing to the solid waste disposal problems. They operate in the Dallas area. I would like to see this business model being practiced everywhere. Several years ago I did my own miniature version of this enterprise when the company I worked for was expanding. I actually took the desk that had belonged to the founding manager home and installed in a child’s bedroom. It was a huge hardwood built-in unit. I left it in place when we moved later that year.

It seems weird that expansions result in surplus furniture, but the reality is when people have designers involved and lots of cash flow, they usually want all new, all coordinated furniture. It’s great to have someone like Cubical Depot to take the unwanted furniture and spruce it up making it available to smaller businesses or even individuals.

I read somewhere recently that there are over 100 major brands of bottled water on the market.

Many of these products are just tap water that has been filtered. The two major soft drink companies both sell purified water that uses public supplies as their source. This marketing confounds me a bit, but I am more upset by the premium waters that have sources like Fiji. How does it make sense to put water in bottles and then expend a whole bunch of energy in the form of diesel to bring it half way around the World to sell it to someone who is already paying taxes that go towards piping a similar product into their home?

Leaving a used item at a drop-off box that has the word recycling written on it is technically not recycling. I was shocked to find out just how much of the electronic waste generated by developed countries ends up being shipped to a poorer country where the components are dealt with in an irresponsible way by underpaid workers who toil in an unsafe environment.

This issue is not addressed in the press release that I have read today. I can only assume that Sony is no more responsible than most other large corporations with regard to this practice. If anybody can point me to some source stating where and how these Sony products are going to be recycled, I would be happy to comment on it.

I want to present this press release to my readers. I hope it sparks some interest with regard to the Kyoto Accord. Much of the media focus in relation to carbon emissions focuses on political wrangling. In the end though, it is up to industries to find ways to practice what the politicians are preaching…

BRITISH GAS LAUNCHES GREENEST ENERGY TARIFF

9 August 2007: British Gas has announced it is launching two new green energy tariffs, Zero Carbon, which will be the greenest tariff available on the domestic market and Future Energy. British Gas has launched the tariffs, in response to the increasing demand for green energy products.

Householders signing up to the Zero Carbon tariff will:
• reduce their household energy carbon emissions to zero through Kyoto compliant offset schemes which will meet the new Defra requirements
• help fund a direct increase in investment in renewable energy generated in the UK
• contribute to the new British Gas green fund which will:
o invest in developing new renewable technologies such as wave power
o oversee a programme to help schools in the UK reduce their CO2 emissions

Gearóid Lane, Managing Director British Gas New Energy said,”Our new tariff responds to consumer demand for truly green energy solutions. It is essential that customers have confidence in green energy tariffs and that their credibility is not damaged by tariffs that claim to be green but in reality do not deliver any incremental environmental benefits. Green tariffs are moving from niche to mainstream products and we’re leading the industry by offering a tariff that will do more for the environment than any other product currently available.”

Under the government’s Renewables Obligation (RO), electricity suppliers in the UK are already required to produce an increasing percentage of their electricity through methods such as wind farms which, unlike traditional power plants, produce zero carbon emissions. For 2007/2008 this figure is set at 7.9%.

In a recent report, the National Consumer Council (NCC) raised concerns that some energy suppliers are packaging electricity which is produced under the RO scheme as “green”, yet it delivers no additional environmental benefits. The NCC called on energy suppliers to take steps beyond their legal requirements and offer green energy tariffs that provide genuine additional environmental benefits, in particular CO2 emissions reduction.

British Gas worked with Global Action Plan and The Climate Group’s “We’re in this Together” campaign to develop Zero Carbon which goes further than any other green tariff in meeting these requirements offering consumers the only zero carbon option on the market.

The tariff carries a premium of £84 per year, reflecting the higher cost of producing energy through lower carbon emission schemes.

Virginia Graham, Chair of Global Action Plan, said, “The British Gas Zero Carbon tariff delivers on all three of the essential requirements of a green tariff which are: additionality, transparency and verifiability. As such it is a very welcome new offering in the market. Consumers signing up to the tariff can be confident that they are getting 12 per cent more renewable energy than they would otherwise have got. The carbon emissions from their electricity and gas will also be offset with emissions reductions from projects accredited by the United Nations.”

Zero Carbon is one of the first initiatives launched through the ‘We’re in this Together’ campaign, which was launched in April 07 as an alliance of some of the UK’s biggest brands who are all working to help their customers reduce their impact on the climate.

Dr Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group and founder of ‘We’re in this Together’ said, “We’re committed to offering people ways to make a real impact on climate change through Together.com. We’ve worked with British Gas to ensure that Zero Carbon is a genuine step forward in delivering more environmental benefits than any other tariff currently available.”

British Gas’s second green energy tariff, Future Energy, offers an alternative green electricity tariff at a premium of just £20 per year. Customers signing up to this tariff will contribute to a green fund which will provide solar panels and other renewable energy technologies to UK schools. Money from the fund will also be invested in development of future renewable technologies and sources.

To sign up customers can call British Gas on 0845 604 0055 or visit www.britishgas.co.uk