A Special Shout-out to Plug-In Olympia

I just wanted to reach out to Plug-In Olympia and thank them for posting the I-5 electric highway article on their blog list. It's great to see that my blog is helping others in Washington State spread the word about electric vehicles and sustainability in general.

A quick bit about Plug-In Olympia:

Plug-In Olympia’s Mission:

To educate individuals and businesses, within the State of Washington and especially Thurston County, regarding the need to encourage usage of electric vehicles and thereby promote sustainability;

To encourage installation of electric vehicle plug-in outlets by businesses, cities, State and public agencies for their customers and employees;

To maintain a reference list of these plug-in locations.

Essentially, a ground-level beacon of information source on and advocate for EV infrastructure in Washington, Plug-In Olympia, I salute you!

I took a quick spin through their blog roll and found this gem that ranks EV preparedness among 50 cities in the US - unfortunately subscription is required to see the full article:

Cities counted among the Leaders include: Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and SEATTLE.

Click here to view the full report's methodology of ranking the cities.

Biodiesel from Sewage Sludge Costs Just 10 Cents More than Regular Diesel!

The key difference between biofuels that are truly green (say, cellulosic ethanol) and those that aren't, like corn-based ethanol, is the biofuel's source: is it a valuable food product - like most blends of ethanol - or is it genuinely a waste product?

I think we can all agree that there is no doubt that sewage sludge is the very definition of a waste product. According to a new EPA report, biodiesel generated from the sewage sludge leftover after wastewater treatment costs just 10 cents more per gallon than conventional diesel.

The secret ingredient is the addition of oil-producing bacteria that create the biofuels as a waste product during photosynthesis. Research at Arizona State University showed that genetic engineering of these photosynthetic bacteria can help to maximize the biodiesel output they release. Potentially, this type of sewage-generated biodiesel could be on the market for as little as $3.11 per gallon (less than regular gas in Seattle, thank you very much!)

There are a few potential stumbling blocks here, though. According to Inhabitat, 

The best practices for getting biodiesel this way have hardly been worked out yet, according to the study by EPA scientist David Kargbo. Among the biggest problems is finding a way to collect sludge that is high in lipids — the material the reaction uses — ensuring that traces of pharmaceutical chemicals don’t make it into the fuel. Finally, regulators haven’t even begun to assess what it would mean to transfer large amounts of sewage sludge to private companies for processing into biodiesel.

Operationally, it seems like retrofitting all of our sewage-treatment plants to create large amounts of commercially-viable biodiesel could be very challenging. But compared to other biodiesel alternatives like waste vegetable oil from restaurants or soy-based biodiesel from the Amazon rainforest, the idea is looking more attractive every day.

Via: Inhabitat

I Thought Ford Was Dead...Now they're in the Algae Business, Too?

Ford may not have willingly accepted federal bailouts to save itself from its catastrophic management policies, its bloated unions, and its shoddy models that doomed it to dinosaur status by 2009. A quick visit to Detroit will confirm just how desperate times are for the American auto industry.

But increasingly, Ford is looking more and more relevant by the day. I think they were about the last major player you would expect to get involved in something as innovative as cellulosic ethanol.

According to Inhabitat, Ford has hired a team of scientists to investigate algae-based biodiesel as a major source of new energy for future models.

One of the scientists described the basis for this research program:

“Algae have some very desirable characteristics as a potential biofuel feedstock and Ford wants to show its support for any efforts that could lead to a viable, commercial-scale application of this technology. At this point, algae researchers are still challenged to find economical and sustainable ways for commercial-scale controlled production and culturing of high oil-producing algae.”

I never thought I would live to see the day that: 1) Ford has sustainability-focused scientific research rather than just churning out the latest SUV; 2) they could possibly be ahead of the curve in one day releasing a mass market vehicle that runs on algae biofuel.

Though I'm half cringing when I say this, you go Ford!

Who lives in the pyramid at the Top of the Smith Tower? These lucky bitches...

When I was a freshman at UW, I was looking for a part-time job. I came this close to landing a job working as an elevator operator and tour guide for the Smith Tower, the iconic 1914 skyscraper where this incredibly lucky family lives in the pyramid at the very top.

This has to be one of the most sought-after, out-of-this-world penthouse apartments in the entire city of Seattle. It's like being a 21st century pharaoh in your very own terra-cotta pyramid.

According to the NYTimes article linked above, one of the residents is an energy and recycling executive, and his wife is childhood friends with Dale Chihuly. It's good to have a dream, right? Especially one that involves having a giant glass ball in your attic and living at the top of a 35-story urban legend.

Via: NYTimes

One more reason to see the Amazon before it's all gone

The Amazon rainforest is the world's hotspot for biodiversity, more so than any other ecosystem. This is almost a cliche, thanks to Planet Earth. But just how much of a hotspot? How many potentially revolutionary plant and animal discoveries are we missing out on each day we burn it to the ground?

According to the World Wildlife Fund, scientists have discovered over 1,200 species in the past 10 years in the Amazon. That equates to a new species to science every three days for a decade. 

This includes included 637 new plant species, 257 fish species, 216 amphibian species, and 39 mammal species. Click here for the full report.

Many of these species have proven to be the missing ingredients to life-saving pharmaceuticals, or the key source of new components for industrial applications. Some of our most everyday products, from rubber to chocolate to bananas to anti-malarial drugs originated in the Amazon.

Rio acari marmoset, one of the new species discovered since 1999

Unfortunately, our own foresight as a species is lacking. Since 1960, about 17% of the Amazon has been destroyed and paved over to make room for new cities, cattle ranches, and soybean plantations (even those used to make Brazil's famously "green" biodiesel). This equals an area twice the size of Spain.

This is one more reason we need to refocus our efforts to protect what many scientists call the "Earth's lungs" for their incredible absorbing powers of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Without this crucial carbon sponge (not to mention the biodiversity within), we are shooting ourselves in the foot in the battle against climate change.

Via: World Changing

Amazing Hanging Garden from Japanese Artist Shinji Turner-Yamamoto

Aside from the horticultural expertise it would clearly take to get a full-size tree to grow completely upside down, roots suspended midair, this art installation in an abandoned church in Cincinnati is pretty freakin cool!

Here's the artist, Shinji Turner-Yamamoto, discussing the project in more detail:

Via: GOOD

Electric highway soon to be a reality on the I-5 Corridor, but will we like it?

Electric cars are certain to remain a green novelty/luxury item if there isn't a readily accessible network of charging stations to refuel them. On the other hand, no government will be willing to make the massive infrastructure investments needed to make charging stations as ubiquitous as the corner store if they believe no one will buy electric cars. Is it the chicken or the egg?

This is the dilemma that planners are facing as they develop an electric highway of 15 charging stations along I-5 in Washington State. Two charging stations will be located at either end of the Washington State border, including the highly-trafficked US-Canada crossing at Blaine.

The chargers will take 15-30 minutes for a complete charge and will be located on the private property of a for-profit business, replicating the experience of driving into any gas station - food, drinks, shopping, and car servicing could be part of the package.

The project is administered by WSDOT and a $1.3 million US Dept of Energy grant, and is part of the West Coast Green Highway program that one day hopes to extend from Canada to Mexico along I-5. Washington could become a springboard for other, more advanced EV infrastructure if this initial spur - the first of the WCGH - is a success. Not slow to follow suit, the State of Oregon has recently secured a $2 million federal TIGER II grant to do a project of the same scale within its borders. 

Unfortunately, the program is far from a complete solution to the problem of lack of EV infrastructure. 

There are currently no plans to create any EV options for East-West highway traffic. So any EV drivers attempting to Seattle from Spokane or Idaho (which has exactly zero charging stations in the entire state) would be shit outta luck. 

Hawaii was originally conceived as the poster child for EV infrastructural success, as it is an island where no single car trips could possibly exceed the battery range of the vehicle. However, news coming out of Hawaii after four EV charging stations were installed there is hardly encouraging:

To date, four public charging stations have opened in Hawaii. “It's pretty sad,” Leone said. “Nobody wants to install them because the cars aren't here, and people are reluctant to buy the cars because the infrastructure isn't there yet.”

San Francisco-based Better Place's revolutionary battery-swapping technology was briefly considered as a solution to the impediment of having to wait 15-30 minutes for a full battery charge. However, WSDOT turned this option down, allegedly due to problems with the standardization of battery models in the more popular EVs on the market today: the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, and electric Ford Focus.

According to the project manager,

“In theory, it seems like a good idea, and it might work” in countries smaller than the United States, such Israel and Denmark, where swapping programs are in fact underway and technologies are more homogeneous. "

Until these technical issues are resolved, it may be that the I-5 electric highway will end up being about as useful as the Seattle Center monorail or the South Lake Union Trolley (SLUT) - expensive, privately-financed toys that are flashy, high-tech, and contribute about zero to getting us out of our gas-guzzlers.

For more info, be sure to check out updates from the West Coast Green Highway project.

Via: Crosscut