Energy from Algae

I recently read an article from EcoWorldly that announces italys plan to use Algae (brought into the canals by ships traveling from Japan and Sargassi Sea) by turning it into fuel to turn turbines to supply 50% of the energy needed in venice. They plan to have a powerplant up and running by 2011. This would be a zero emmisions production of energy and personally I think this is an awesome idea. The Algae planned to be used (Sargassum muticum and Undaria pinnatifida???) are a nuisance to the people of venice, clogging and blocking canals. This is what we need to see more of, taking one thing that we dont need and turning into something we do need. I do not know how they plan on making this work and transforming this algae to fuel but this is, to me, a really genius idea. The article I found was short and I really would like to learn more about this. if anyone wants the article here is the site- http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/ If you find anymore information on this, please, let me know.

Organic Cotton

I've decided to do my post on an article that I found about organic cotton. I choose this article for one reason; the new "big thing" is eating organic, even though a lot of people dont understand what organic means and why we would benefit from an organic lifestyle. But, you dont hear much about organic clothing. The first and I think, most important benefit of organic cotton is the greatly reduced danger of ingesting/breathing in the toxins for those who still pick cotton by hand in the cotton fields. Though cotton is mainly picked by machines these days, many developing countries do not have the luxury of cotton picking machines doing their work for them and therefore are exposed, daily, to the harmful chemicals being used by non-organic farmers. Another benefit of organic clothing would be, of course, we are not "wearing" harmful pesticides on our skin. I myself do not know enough about the dangers of specific pesticides to explain exactly what it could do to affect your health, but who does? The fact that you know something could be potentially harmful to you or your families health should be enough to make you want to start changing the little things that could, in the long run, make a positive difference in your health.
I have been trying to introduce more and more organic foods into my diet (which isnt always easy). But, I think it would be easy to just start getting clothes made with organic cottons, keep the stuff we already have, just dont buy anymore clothing made with non-organic cotton. I also read that companies like Nike, The Gap and L.L. Bean are starting to use organic cotton in their clothing, meaning the more we buy, the more organic cotton they use and this would influence other companies to use organic cotton. This would be an easy switch, they even say organic cotton is softer :) so why not? This is just one more little step we could take to do our part.

food for thought

I think that the Green Guide is a very helpful, informative book that has a variety of useful tips. I like the fact that it is a recent publication (2008) because I feel that the websites that are mentioned in the book are current and up to date. The book lists many ideas, relating to sustainability, which I really never gave much thought to before. Some of the things addressed in the readings regarding food made me think about some of the food choices that I make. I think that the most difficult challenge for me is going to be to reduce the amount of meat, eggs, and dairy that I consume. I guess I can start with the “meatless Mondays” idea and take it from there. Suzuki states “Changing your diet could make a bigger difference in reducing your ecological footprint than changing your vehicle.”

I think a lot of times people forget about how their personal food choices affect the whole ecosystem. I know that being conscious of the impact of my food choices on the environment is one of the most effective ways to manage my ecological footprint. Last year I joined a community garden for the first time and I felt a great deal of personal satisfaction from planting, growing, and harvesting my own produce. Not only did I save a lot of money but I also reduced my ecological footprint. I learned a lot from the whole process and I plan to continue to have a garden every summer.

Michael Reynolds, Earthships

Ilya Pentenrieder
Blog Entry

I decided to do this assignment on Michael Reynolds, he is an amazing “green” architect from New Mexico. He designs houses and buildings called Earthships, these are buildings made out of all recycled materials. The walls are made from materials that store heat, such as stone, dirt-filled tires and adobe blocks; and a natural ventilation system. These factors work together with the natural temperature of the ground, and with the sun and the seasons, to heat and cool the house without ever requiring air conditioning or heating.

Right after graduating from architect school he left what he called a wasteful building. In 1971 he started collecting all tossed out beer cans and made a beer can home. He made a total of sixty of these homes, and perfected them so that they were sustainable homes.

His latest invention was the Earthship, which is made to sustain a family of four. Earthships are designed so that the house has many layers and stays at a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it an environment where you can grow your own fruits and vegetables. All the appliances in the Earthship are powered by a solar power system. Therefore Michael Reynolds estimates that the electric bill for a four bedroom, six thousand square foot home with high-speed Internet would be $100 per year.

Reynolds has a strong opinion on architects in the present day. He believes that they are all caught up in their lives, and uppity about their designs when all they are doing is screwing up the world. Reynolds can appreciate modern architecture on an art level, but what good is that if there is a flood coming? "I could try and make them look like conventional houses, but why take a Porsche and make it look like a covered wagon?" Reynolds deploys another nautical analogy: "It feels like I'm crossing the Atlantic on a boat and people have been washed overboard. I'm throwing them a life preserver, and they're rejecting it because it's supposed to be white and I've got a green one."
- Michael Reynolds, CNN News-January 25,2008.

Earthships have proved their viability in the American desert and the Sussex countryside, but if they are to be a credible alternative to conventional housing, Reynolds will have to make them work in cities. In order for this to be made possible Reynolds would have to be given a piece of city land to tear down and use all the recyclable materials to build a community of new Earthships that are sustainable for city life and weather.

I think that Michael Reynolds has proven to many American people and people all around the world that living a sustainable lifestyle is possible, and quite simpler then people thought. The Earthship is one of the best inventions yet in my eyes, and I hope that someday we can all look at this genius idea and take advantage of living wonderful sustainable lifestyle.

again

For years I've seen people carrying around their little pocket bottles of hand sanitizer or Purell antibacterial soap. I always used to joke with them that if they keep killing off all the microbes around them that they're immune system wouldn't be able to handle an attack as well as it might if it had to fight off a microbe once in a while. I always dismissed it as nothing more than a joke, but these people seem to get sick just as often as I do and seemingly battle the sickness for longer.

This week's reading in cradle to cradle touched on an interesting point. They mention that all the anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and even anti-biotics eventually wind up going down the drain and mixing in with the sewage. They state that this becomes a problem when these products kill off all the bacteria that is used to break down the sewage, they basically hinder the process. Whats more interesting is that the only bacteria that survive are the ones that are resistant to these products. We have essentially created the perfect breeding ground for the antibiotic resistant "super bugs" that everyone worries will kill us all. We created these super bugs all because we wanted to kill off the bugs we could have beaten anyway. What irony!

anti bacterials making us sick?

Harnessing Our Waste

Many conversations that I have had about current world issues lately have come back around to the idea of globalization. The system of globalization is the result of wide-spread hunger for instant gratification with disregard for possible long-term consequences. Even the way we have set up our small towns has employed the immediate gratification mentality, and now, as we are learning more about the effects we are having on the environment and seeing ways we can change, it's hard not to look back and wonder why no one put these changes into effect in the first place. 

One big improvement we could make is the harnessing of waste energy. My parents are involved in a project with the city of Burlington that is working to take the energy that is wasted at the electricity producing McNeil power plant, and use it to heat homes and businesses in the area. The plant uses sustainably, locally harvested wood to fuel its productivity, which is great, but there is also a lot of heat that doesn't get used. Currently, the heat that doesn't get used in the process of producing electricity, gets cooled with water and then released into the atmosphere. Wouldn't it be great if, instead of just increasing our carbon footprint, we actually had a use for this waste? In theory, there is enough wasted now to heat most of the buildings in the Old North End for nearly nothing (of course there is the cost of installing new pipes all throughout the ground in that section of town). This is, both socially and environmentally, the right thing to do. The number of people in the part of town (which is one of the poorest parts of Burlington), that would be affected by this would have the relief of not having a gas bill, AND we would not be burning up precious resources twice when we have the option of burning them up only once. It is a win-win, which is why I can't imagine why every power plant wasn't initially built with this idea in place, or at least why they aren't NOW incorporating it everywhere. Much of Scandinavia uses this as a resource and it is becoming more common in China as well. I think it is time for the U.S. to jump on board, it would be a very worthwhile investment.

Doing a little can go a long way

In this week's reading of the green guide it was telling us and giving all sorts of hints and ideas on how to make our ecological footprint better. The first thing of topic was talking about homes being a practical size house for our needs rather than having a giant house when there is only two people living in it, some easy tips that where given to help save us money and out environment is to shut of the lights when we leave the room, but to also change out lights to cfls or halogen lights which might cost a little more but in the long run, but last longer and use less energy which will make you money to spend a little extra money. all throughout the chapter it breaks your house down into different sections on how you insulating your house better and fixing the drafty area's in your home is'nt a hard thing to fix and will cut your fuel bill down a good chunk, or also being aware of the phantom power that your appliances even if they are shut off still draw and suck power, or when you leave your house fro work you can turn down your thermastat beacuse why does it have to stay warm when no one is there. The chapter does a great job providing you with ideas and tips how to cut costs and use less of things that in reality gives us more, it also makes you more aware on how simple practical changes do make a defference. This chapter is good at explaing different things because i think many people are nieve and dont really realize all the simple little things that you can do, does make a difference even if it is changing your lightbulb.

Sweet Pond

After our discussion of design in class today, I decided to look up eco-homes in Vermont and see what designs people had used that fit out landscape and environment. In southeastern Vermont there is a community under development called the Sweet Pond Eco-Community. This community is a group of nine eco-houses built in an apple orchard surrounding a beaver pond. Picturesque right?
The design is actually quite simple, using two simple shed form, using sheltering and the low-lying structure for passive solar.



It's basically two boxes stuck together with varying roof angles. They also plan to incorporate things such as shared parking structures, shared septic, and shared water to limit land use. While these are all fine and dandy, I am still waiting for a residential home that is 100% eco-friendly, or at least above the 75% range.

Taking into account the landscape, environmental challenges, and challenges of an eco-friendly home, the conventional ideas of a house or home may not be applicable. Say you were to incorporate a living machine into your home, it would need to be a proper size to support several people and the waste that they produce, and rather than have a room dedicated to your living machine, you would need to find a way to incorporate it aesthetically into your living spaces.
I met someone the other day who had decided to build a 100% eco friendly home using a slightly altered conventional farmhouse design to blend better in the Vermont community and architectural landscape. I wonder if conventional design and aesthetics and another system that will have to be completely remade to become sustainable.
We have said in class that this is an opportunity to rebuild every system. Does that apply to cultural aesthetics too?

H2O

Through my research on Sandra Postel (my chosen subject of my in-class presentation) I have been thinking a lot about water.

            What is water? Quite simply, it is the nectar of life without which all life will parish.   Here in America, I don’t think that urgency of the world’s water supply is regarded as dire and important as it is.  This is because we live in a place where we have access to bountiful amounts of clean, fresh water to drink, bathe, wash our cars, and water our plants and lawns.  But in other corners of the world, clean fresh-water is scarce.  We have all seen the commercials on TV for children.org where the advocate is holding a dirty but beautiful child, talking about how she lives in a place where she is forced to drink and bathe in dangerously contaminated water, and play in under-managed leach fields…When here in America we flush our toilets with water that is more suitable for those children to drink.  My point being, we do not see on a daily basis, the urgency of the situation.

            Postel’s contributions to research on water include causes such as the Global Water Policy Project: http://www.globalwaterpolicy.org/ and the Worldwatch Institute: http://www.worldwatch.org/.  I encourage everyone to check out these sites!

            Eventually our attention must shift to these issues, before it is too late.  That day is rapidly approaching and the consequences of non-action are even more undesirable than we can imagine from our comfy lives in America where we are sheltered from the extremes of this dire situation. 

growth

I believe that in order for us to start moving in the direction of sustainibility we need to define the way we grow as a civilization. instead of growing materially we need to start growing with our thoughts and experiences.Every civilization has its cap on what it can do and how it can think. If we dont think outside of the cap we have created then we cant grow as a civilization. So if our society is so bent on economic growth why cant we put the energy we expend on growing economically to growing mentally. If we all grew mentally then materialistic ideals would not be as important making it easier to give up our paridigm we have created today. Then we can grow with the grains of the earth instead of growing against them making our planet a more hospitable place to live. In washington D.C a big group of people meditated to try and reduce the crime rate by 25%. The police commissiner said it was imposible but it actually happened the crime rate was reduced by 25%.One can only imagine if everybody gave off good vibes like that there would be no crime. This is the way we need to grow with our thoughts.