Tortillas, Ethanol, and High Fructose Corn Syrup

Written on 07/14 at 11:00 AM by Andy Posner 0 comments

Filed under: Huffington Post TreeHugger Job

Note: Every Sunday I write an op-ed article for the Huffington Post.  You can see this article in its original context here

A recent leaked report from the World Bank, stating that 75% of the increase in world food prices is due to biofuels, has served to reignite the food vs. fuel debate. In particular, many are outraged that even as food prices rise corn continues to be used for ethanol rather than tortillas. However, what is lost in all the biofuel controversy is the fact that tremendous amounts of land are devoted neither to fuel nor nutritive food, but rather to non-nutritive uses like tobacco, high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar.

Blame Meat and High Fructose Corn Syrup
The fact of the matter is that if we are really concerned about rising food prices and endemic hunger/poverty, then we’ll have to do more than question the biofuel mandates in the United States and the European Union. In truth, we’ll have to call into question much of our agricultural system. For instance, we might ask the world’s billion or so wealthy citizens to curtail meat consumption, which is not only responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but also uses tremendous amounts of land, water and food--all of which could be devoted to staple crops that the poor need to survive. Or, we might take a second look at the amount of corn that is used for high fructose corn syrup, which does little more than contribute to the American obesity epidemic.

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Residential Wind Installations on the Rise, Some Barriers Remain

Written on 07/11 at 12:51 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments

Filed under: environment Renewable Energy News

I recently discussed the fact that renewable energy projects are becoming increasingly large and centralized, a trend that has led some to fear that the “residential revolution” of small-scale wind and solar in every home would never come to pass.  But now, thanks to “reductions in their size and cost, along with improvements in efficiency,” sales of small wind turbines “have been growing steadily since 1990.” 7,000 small turbines (classified as producing no more than 100 kilowatts) were sold last year, a number that is expected to reach 10,000 this year. These turbines are typically rated at between 2 and 10 kilowatts, are from 33 to 100 feet in hight, and range in cost from $12,000 to $55,000.  (For comparison, large wind turbines are rated at up to 3 megawatts, or 3,000 kilowatts, and stand up to 300 feet tall).

Several Factors Behind the Trend
Several factors are driving the increase in sales.  Concern about climate change and energy costs are certainly important, especially considering that “a 10-kilowatt turbine in an area with an average wind speed of 12 miles per hour can lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to removing 1.3 cars from the road.” But perhaps the most compelling reason to “go wind” has to do with the economics. 23 states in the U.S. offer net metering, which means that if your wind turbine generates more power than you use, then your meter will actually spin backward as you sell that power back into the grid.  Additionally, Congress is considering a measure that “would offer a 30 percent federal tax credit on turbine purchases” capped at $4,000.  That same federal tax credit is already being offered to residential solar installations.  Lastly, various state incentives can further sweeten the deal.

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Small Is Beautiful. . .Right?

Written on 07/11 at 12:26 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments

Filed under: environment Renewable Energy philosophy

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Large scale solar collectors such as this 100,000 square foot array are becoming Increasingly commonplace in the desert

In 1973, a collection of essays titled Small is Beautiful: Economics As if People Mattered, was published by the British economist E.F. Schumacher.  In it, Schumacher argued that our economies had become “too big and too centralized,” defined by dehumanization, mechanization and unsustainable growth.  Instead, Schumacher proposed what he called “Buddhist Economics,” which stressed the importance of decentralization for creating dignified, just and meaningful interactions between people and their work, environment, and the larger world.

Renewable Energy=Global Village?
I bring up Small in Beautiful because one of the most enticing features of renewable energy is its potential for realizing Schumacher’s vision of a global economy that functions at the level of the village. Because new forms of energy production-wind, solar, methane capture-are productive rather than extractive, and local rather than global, they can sustainably support economies that function on a human scale.  When combined with new methods of communication and collaboration (namely, information technology and the open source revolution), a new era can be ushered in, an era defined by the concept of a ‘Global Village:’ powered by the sun, globally interconnected yet culturally, politically and geographically unique.  A global village is self-sufficient (to the extent possible), empowers individuals, and is free from the hegemony of large corporations and institutions. 

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Worried Wind Will Spoil the View? Float The Turbine Out to Sea!

Written on 07/11 at 12:16 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments

Filed under: environment

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There are several ways to deal with the opposition to off shore wind farms: litigation; legislation; proving economic benefits; or siting them only where opposition in minimal. So far, none of those methods have led to a single off-shore turbine being built in the United States. A combination of NIMBYism, red tape, and powerful lobbies have held up proposed wind farms off Cape Cod as well as the Rhode Island coast and elsewhere.  While I am frustrated that the world’s fastest growing source of energy isn’t being installed at breakneck speed in the U.S., I believe it is well worth the effort to continue pushing for more wind energy, offshore or otherwise.  However, alternatives do exist that bypass many of the problems associated with current wind projects.

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Written on 07/10 at 02:02 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments

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Green Microfinance: Advancing Social Equality and Environmental Sustainability in the United States

Click here to download a PDF of my complete thesis. Questions and comments are much appreciated!

My masters thesis in Environmental Studies at Brown University looks at how microfinance--the provision of small…

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A Solution to the Limited Success of Micro-Credit in the United States?

Micro-credit has undoubtedly been a runaway success in developing countries as a tool of both poverty alleviation and economic development.  To date, some 100 million people have been reached by micro-loans, and Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank…

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Tonight, the Oneness of Things

It is late and my mind should be drifting through the colorful abyss of deep sleep, yet instead i find that tonight sleep will not come.  I am like a hungry flower who dreams of bees so ardently that all…

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