Sustainablog

From South Carolina’s The State, news that McDonald’s will start selling organic, fair-trade certified coffee in its New England stores next month:

The deal calls for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to supply Newman’’s Own Organics blend coffee to more than 650 McDonald’s restaurants in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and in the Albany, N.Y., region.

The coffee is certified as Fair Trade, a moniker that assures the beans are produced by farmers who are guaranteed a minimum wage for their harvests and are encouraged to practice organic and sustainable cultivation.

Much like my response to Wal-Mart’s recent moves, I’m skeptical of the motivation here — at the same time, it’s encouraging to believe that the demand for such a product is reaching the point that even a major player like McDonald’s can’t ignore it. And, of course, there’s the fact that McDonald’s coffee sucks (although I should offer a qualifier — I haven’t had any in a long time), so this should be a positive move in that sense.

Categories: organic, fair trade, coffee, McDonald’s

From the International Herald Tribune via the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, an article noting that portfolio managers for renewable energy mutual funds are urging that investors take care when investing in clean energy technology:

The Merrill Lynch New Energy fund has posted stellar returns, with gains of 56 percent in the 12 months through Sept. 30.

Poppy Buxton, a portfolio manager of the fund, attributed the performance to higher oil and natural gas prices, as well as growing concerns about climate change and energy security.

She cautioned, however, against investing in renewable energy based on mood and macroeconomic data alone.

“Although there is a high correlation between the oil price and stock market performance of clean-energy companies, there are other drivers to be aware of,” Buxton said.

“Many companies in the alternative-energy space are small and unprofitable. If market sentiment were to cool and small-cap stocks fell out of favor, clean-energy stocks would suffer, irrespective of commodity prices.”

That view is echoed by Ian Henderson, manager of a natural resources fund for J.P. Morgan Asset Management in London.

“Investors have identified clean energy as an area of growth, but recent history has demonstrated that share-price performance does not always reflect alternative energy needs,” he said. “Valuations and share price movements have been erratic, which seems to suggest that no one is quite sure how best to play.”

I’ll admit freely that some of the complexities here go beyond my basic knowledge of finance and economics, and I suppose these fund managers are concerned about a renewable energy “bubble.” At the same time, the numbers themselves seem awfully promising. It’s interesting that when mentioning slow-developing sectors, fuel cells come up. While readers have noted that this is a promising technology, I have to wonder if the political push towards a “hydrogen economy” hasn’t skewed the markets a bit. If so, does this necessarily mean that other, more proven technologies are safer bets?

Categories: finance, investment, renewable energy, mutual funds

As I’ve mentioned before, the mainstream media has discovered peak oil with a vengeance. Last week, it was on the cover of USA Today. Today, I discovered that Time has jumped on board with a brief debate of the subject between geologist and peak oil guru Kenneth Deffeyes (Beyond Oil) and Peter Huber, peak oil naysayer and co-author of The Bottomless Well. (affiliate links) This debate highlights one of the most interesting elements of this debate: each side tends to address the issue from a very different perspective. While Deffeyes’ argument addresses politics and economics, geology is the cornerstone of his thesis. Huber, and other critics of peak oil, tend to rely on economics, politics and technology to support their position. Of course, with oil and natural gas prices at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the peak oil crowd certainly would seem to have a willing audience for its position. From a personal (and non-scientific) perspective, peak oil resonates at the gut level as well as the logical — something that’s not being constantly renewed has to run out…

Categories: peak oil, debate, Time

From The Oregonian, a profile of Dick and Jeanne Roy, founders of the Northwest Earth Institute. The Roys are retiring from the non-profit they founded in 1993, and are leaving behind a legacy of genuine, concrete progress towards a more sustainable world:

Dick and Jeanne are modest people, so allow me to describe what they’ve accomplished in the past 12 years: They’ve helped put Portland at the forefront of a planetwide effort to create a sustainable future.

They created a series of discussion courses in which 10 people would meet for 10 weeks to follow a guided curriculum created by the institute. More than 70,000 people have participated in those courses. Many of those people became so excited about the concept of sustainability, they began to change the way Portland — and other Northwest communities — work.

When one thinks of cities and regions associated with sustainable thought and action, Portland and the Pacific Northwest should come immediately to mind. Congratulations to the Roys for their seminal role in creating this reality, and best wishes for happy, productive and, hopefully, restful golden years!

Categories: sustainability, education, non-profit, Portland, Oregon, Northwest

From the Prairie Writer’s Circle via Alternet, a brief, direct essay by Bill McKibben on the effects of global warming that we’re now witnessing. McKibben replaces his usual genial style with much more straightforward language:

It’s about time for denial to come to an end. We’re no longer talking about theory, about computer models of what might happen. We’re talking about what is happening, all around the world, with almost unimaginable speed. Other countries have at least begun to try to deal with the problem, implementing small first steps like the Kyoto Protocol. But here in the United States, there’s only a scattering of state and local measures. Washington is governed by a bipartisan consensus that somehow the laws of physics and chemistry don’t apply to us.

McKibben creates perspective by noting that effects we’re seeing (melting permafrost in Russia, the “tropicalizing” of Great Britain, massive shrinkages of Arctic ice and, of course, all those hurricanes) have all resulted from a mere one degree increase in climate temperature induced by humans. “More study” of the data won’t keep this from continuing…

Categories: global warming, evidence, politics

So, I’ve installed BlogAds, but at this point, I’m a bit stumped — usually have no problem figuring these things out. Any advice/info on using it, adjusting size, color, etc., or running my own ad? Much obliged…

This news is a couple of days old, but definitely merits attention:

Renewable energy capacity in the United States supported by voluntary demand rather than regulatory requirements now tops 2,200 megawatts (MW) — up more than 1000% in just five years, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy. The report notes that purchases by large businesses, institutions and governmental entities are driving the growth of the U.S. voluntary green power market.

Green power currently accounts for about 2% of America’s electricity supply, but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy is accelerating development of new renewable energy sources. The report, from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report, shows that renewable generating capacity in the United States installed to meet voluntary green power purchasing soared from 167 MW in 2000 to more than 2,200 MW by the end of 2004.

While I still think some substantive government investment could really break open the floodgates on renewable energy, it’s very encouraging to see this rate of organic growth, particularly because this should continue to help bring prices down and build awareness. Is this simply a matter of companies responding to consumer demand for greener business practices, or do you think the corporate world is catching on to the concept of “doing well by doing good?”

Categories: renewable, energy, growth, business, USA

Interesting story from Houston’s Business Journal about landscaper and entrepreneur Jennifer Appel and her move into the organic lawn and garden care business.

Entrepreneur Jennifer Appel’s business idea took root in an unusual and bittersweet way — it came to her after the death of her cat.

In January 1999, Appel saw her 18-pound tabby, Golden, pass away 72 hours after coming in contact with pesticide residue in her back yard. Already an established landscape architect, the experience turned Appel into a votary for organics.

Not only did it change the philosophy of her existing company, Landsculpture & Design Inc., but it propelled her into a new business. After exhaustive research, Appel created a separate entity, Jennifer’s Landscape Vitamins, in 2004 to produce and sell organic and environmentally friendly fertilizer and compost tea (the goopy brown liquid found at the bottom of a pile of rotting leaves) and the delivery systems that spread the products.

The fledgling company is taking aim at the multibillion-dollar agricultural industry, and is already selling products to farmers as far away as California and Massachusetts. What’s more, Appel has drawn the scrutiny of large multinational chemical companies wondering how this upstart is crashing the synthetic fertilizer and pesticide party.

That’s certainly a party that needs crashing… I’ve been experimenting this year with a corn-gluten based “weed-n-feed” — can’t speak too much to the result because my yard was a true mess at the start. My dog was my main concern, as well as wanting to try out more natural methods. Seems to me that it would do the big fertilizer companies well to take a look at products like Jennifer’s — nature’s had this down for a long time, and the market’s catching on…

Categories: landscaping, organic, environment, business, Houston, Texas

First, apologies for being out the last couple of days: lots going on, though much of it good…

Wal-Mart continues it’s campaign to address at least some of its critics with an announcement of firm environmental goals, including

…increasing fuel efficiency in Wal-Mart’s truck fleet by 25 percent over three years and doubling it within 10 years; investing $500 million annually in efficient energy technologies at stores; and cutting solid waste from U.S. stores and Sam’s Clubs by 25 percent in three years.

Critics are dismissing these goals as rhetoric, and taking note of CEO Lee Scott’s “punt” on the wages issue by claiming that Congress needs to raise the minimum wage. He’s right, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to better wages for Wal-Mart employees. This is getting interesting to watch…

Categories: wal-mart, environment, wages, goals, business

If you were asked “What’s the second greenest city in the US in terms of “square-footage of commercial or industrial buildings with Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design ratings,” would you have guessed Pittsburgh? Me neither, but this article from Pittsburgh’s Post-Gazette makes that claim, and gives much of the credit to Rebecca Flora, executive director of the Green Building Alliance. Pittsburgh has eight buildings with LEED certification, including the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, “the first certified green convention center design.”

Built with a significant amount of recycled materials, the $385 million Downtown meeting and exhibition center features a water recycling system, energy-saving light sensors and controls, and large areas of natural light and ventilation.

“It’s impacted the entire convention center market,” said Ms. Flora. But green building development isn’t limited to public spaces like the convention center or the recently expanded Children’s Museum on the North Side, which also has garnered acclaim, she said.

Smaller projects such as the offices for the Coro Center for Civic Leadership in renovated space on the South Side and KSBA Architects’ offices in a former firehouse in Lawrenceville “are also market transforming,” she said.

Ms. Flora considers green building to be a natural extension of remaking Pittsburgh from a heavy industrial center to a place undergoing critical economic and environmental transitions.

So, while we think of places like San Francisco, Portland and Seattle as havens of green thinking and action, does it make more sense to focus on Rustbelt cities that are undergoing transitions anyway? And what a cool job — where do I send my resume’?

Categories: green building, LEED, Pittsburgh