When are Bird Feeders Bad Feeders?

The unintended consequences of helping out where help may not be needed: your fav garden birds.

(Along the same line is humming birds, if you don't keep the feeder water clean and safe, you might be endangering all those hummers you were trying to encourage.)

Sustainability means doing the right thing, as well as making sure that you watch to see if things that you do, don't do what you thought they were designed to.

BBC - Does feeding garden birds do more harm than good?

Solar Investment is Crazy Profitable for Businesses and Good for Homeowners

[Update. The Inflation Reduction Act 2022 has raised and extended the 30% investment tax credit to qualified investments. There are many limitations and additions. See our Blog post here. This makes all the financial discussions below much more profitable. Also, higher inflation and higher power inflation. The below Article was originally published in Summer of 2020.]

 

SBP has done several detailed financial calculators for analyzing both residential and commercials solar projects. SustainZine has a main web page on Solar Profitability where we discuss examples from our Solar Profitability Calculators: https://www.sustainzine.com/p/solarinvest.html ... Here are articles – and YouTube videos – discussing both:

1. Quick Take on  Residential Solar: Solar Invest 2020: Do Good and Save Money Too … See the video related to Residential here: Solar Residential: Good Investment & Doing Good
2. Full Financial Analysis: SolarInvest2020: Residential Solar is Good, but Commercial Solar can be Crazy Profitable! … See the video related to Commercial/Business here: Solar for a Business can be Crazy Profitable: Do Good by Doing Well

YouTube Video on Residential: Solar Residential: Good Investment & Doing Good https://youtu.be/p0pqg4ZeTjY

Dr Elmer Hall talks about the doing good and making money at residential Solar. He discusses that subtilties of the financial analysis for a homeowner, and why it typically is a far better decision than a typical profit analysis would suggest. #SustainZine #Solar #RenewableEnergy #SBPLan

YouTube Video on Commercial Business: Solar for a Business can be Crazy Profitable: Do Good by Doing Well https://youtu.be/ulryBkhsKWg

Dr Elmer Hall talks about the doing good and making money by a business installing Solar. He discusses the financial analysis for a business and why it probably is such a great investment. The investment for businesses has huge tax savings. Plus, the money to pay for power to operate the business is already committed if the building is used. This is Part 2: See part 1 related to Residential as well. #SustainZine #Solar #RenewableEnergy #SBPLan #Profitability #CrazyProfitable 

The Volusia County Water Summit – Stetson Today

The Volusia County Water Summit – Stetson Today:

The water summit discussed here, turned out to be a rather big event. Really good information & analysis. The right people thinking about the right issues.

It seems that everyone agreed to do something about improving water management and water quality in the county. Although this is a non-binding agreement among the players, it is a really big step forward.

Once everyone realizes those few areas where most of the efforts should be focused, it really helps get a concerted effort from all of the players, private, public and individuals.

When we have these wicked algae blooms, that demonstrates a massive overshoot of what our waterways can handle. Such blooms cause problems all the way out to the reefs, accelerating the reef kill-off that has already been accelerating from record warm temperatures and increase acidification.

The quality of life as we know it, is being eroded by the quality of our water and waterways.

'via Blog this'

Sustainability becomes a business law: Organic is more productive

Sustainability becomes a business law:

Two things resurfaced over the last couple days. One is very local to Florida related to Sustainability is the Business Law. It looks at the focus of sustainability from the business view, or from the environmental view; which is the right view. And the answer, of course, is "Yes".  Aiming for a win, win in the business vs. environment tug of war. The old approach of win-lose turns out to be a lose-lose in the long run.

But a separate study by the Rodale Institute, with a 30-year long (and ongoing) study of farming showed organic farming to be a hands-down winner over the mass production methods used in the USA. Actual link to the study is here: http://rodaleinstitute.org/our-work/farming-systems-trial/

That study knocked my socks off!

Now I gotta go socks shopping for new organically grown socks (bamboo-based
maybe?).

A 30+ year field study on Organic farming vs. non-organic (now including GMOs).

Yields up, resources down (water us and drought tolerance), soil quality, profits up…

WoW!.

And, of course, there is a major move in consumer preferences toward healthier foods and more local grown foods as measured by massive moves by such players as Chipotle’s (CMG) and Whole Foods (WFM)… and against the highly processed foods like McDonalds (McD).

I’m curious what other people think of this study. I wonder how they did several things.

Also, I
could not find the exact publication date. The stats were a year or two behind.

Do you all think that the field study is fully accurate?

'via Blog this'

BIG BP payout settlement of $18.7

BP to Pay $18.7 Billion to Settle Deepwater Horizon Spill Claims http://www.wsj.com/articles/bp-agrees-to-pay-18-7-billion-to-settle-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-claims-1435842739
Put a huge amount of the BP litigation behind it.
This would be the same as all the profits that the company has made since 2012. However the payment schedule is 1.1 million dollars per year.
Yes, BP was pretty irresponsible back then. But it still makes one wonder what if it were not such a big company that can afford to make all of the payments and restitution? If this has been done by a small company, or a non-multinational company, then the whole cost of the oil spill would have gone to governments and individuals.
So, feel free to hate BP, but it could have been a lot worse on the pain and recovery side.

Inside the war on coal

Inside the war on coal:

Wow, this is a very thoughtful and well presented article on Coal.

The real demise of coal is too fold: raising costs of trying to make coal a little cleaner (less dirty); and the increase of cheaper alternatives.

Number 1 in all of this is the dirty cheap costs of NatGas which is a by-product of much oil production. We in the US flair about half of the NatGas we produce because it gets in the way of the valuable oil production process.

NatGas is soooo much cleaner to burn and produces only half the CO2 emissions.

As people and communities realize the real costs of burning (dirty) coal, the political will to back coal simply because it is cheap is seriously waning. As the externality costs start to mount, people are less inclined to have the plants in their back yard.

But, the Sierra club can not take that much of the credit. Basic economics is ruling. The EPA wants cleaner coal, which makes it more expansive at the same time that NatGas, wind and solar are all getting better and cheaper.

'via Blog this'

Green, But Mostly White: The Lack Of Diversity In Enviro Movement, 5 parts - JustMeans

Green, But Mostly White: The Lack Of Diversity In The Environmental Movement, Part 1 of 5—Future 500 | Justmeans:

There are 5 parts to this series. It's talking about who is evolved int the Environmental movement, and why there isn't more diversity. And why that is starting to change?

This is a very interesting 5 part series by several authors.

Part 1: http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/green-but-mostly-white-the-lack-of-diversity-in-the-environmental-movement-part-1 by Danna Pfahl

Part 2: http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/green-but-mostly-white-the-lack-of-diversity-in-the-environmental-movement-part-2-of-5-future by Marvin Smith

Part 3: http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/green-but-mostly-white-the-lack-of-diversity-in-the-environmental-movement-part-3-of-5 by Shilpi Chhatray

Part 4: http://3blmedia.com/News/Green-Mostly-White-Lack-Diversity-Environmental-Movement-Part-4-5-Future-500 by Brandon Steele

Part 5: http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/green-but-mostly-white-the-lack-of-diversity-in-the-environmental-movement-part-5-of-5-future by Nick Sorrentio

The last one, by Sorrentio, talks about engaging businesses to help address environmental issues. SustainZine has long promoted serious action by business (and all organizations) in areas where the payback is obvious and near-term. Conservation, as in reducing energy, improved logistics (so less shipping), and telecommuting (so no travel) are all areas that have rapid payback to business and to the environment. So not only area companies making money in doing this, they are helping out the environment in doing this. Plus, it can become a perpetuity of savings, if properly monitored and maintained.

This is something we call in the triple bottom-line business, a win-win-win... and a perpetuity of savings.

'via Blog this'

China Pollution Is Blanketing America's West Coast - Business Insider

China Pollution Is Blanketing America's West Coast - Business Insider:

Oh boy.

We export raw materials and coal to China so they can make finished goods and export them back to us in the West/USA. They don't have the safety worries that we do... Some of the externalities affect only China, but many affect us all, especially those countries and environments closer to the mainland of China.

"Cities like Los Angeles received at least an extra day of smog a year from nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide from China's export-dependent factories, it said.

"We've outsourced our manufacturing and much of our pollution, but some of it is blowing back across the Pacific to haunt us," co-author Steve Davis, a scientist at University of California Irvine, said."

Yuk! :-(

A good economist would argue that  products (say coal, especially the really dirty, high sulfur stuff) that produce negative externalities should be assessed a tax that roughly matches the costs of the externality. Using this logic, we would tax coal (especially high sulfur coal) that goes to a developing country, and tax them even more if they intend to burn the coal without scrubbers and such. This might not stop them from burning coal, but it would make other options more attractive that are cleaner (less negative externalities).

Unfortunately, China has a LOT of coal in the country. They now burn more than half the world's coal each year, so they do have to import it as well.

'via Blog this'

As BP oil spill trial resumes, lying accusations bubble up - CBS News

As BP oil spill trial resumes, lying accusations bubble up - CBS News:

Everyone remembers the  massive Gulf oil spill starting April 20, 2010 and 87 days of spillage.

As we all watched the pictures from the surface oil slick and the underwater cameras at the well head, it was a tale of two oil spills.

BP: trickle ... => Media: deluge
BP: gallons ... => Media: barrels

BP: creek  => river

But the truth is, no one anywhere believed the BP numbers.

They really had no recovery plan. As this article said, they only had a plan to create a plan, if and when they needed a plan.

Disaster recovery plans for businesses have details that have been well thought through. One page for a wellhead breach under water is not exactly a detailed plan.

The dispersant (Corexit) works at the surface with sunlight and such. However about 45% of the Corexit was used at the well head, resulting in oil that was stuck in limbo half way to the surface. At the surface it can be removed and/or treated.

More importantly, apparently, for BP was that at the surface it can more accurately be MEASURED.

The difference between the 4.2m Barrels by Justice department experts and the 2.45mb by BP is almost half. Of course the BP numbers wrong. Is it more than 4.2mb, probably. Less, probably not.

Additionally, however, the $1,100 penalty max per barrel (~42 gal/brl) would be essentially 4 times that ($4,300/brl) if BP is found negligent.

That's the difference between $18B in fines and about $2.7B (BP's low-ball estimates and the lower fine).

There really is, however, lots of blame to go around. The regulatory agency that rubber-stamped everything oil and mining related has now be disbanded in disgrace. The "plans" were the same for all oil drillers. Everyone was doing the same types of drilling, although maybe not quite the lax monitoring/procedures.

AND the government had a limit on the exposure for drillers in a very cozy relationship with the oil companies. It was a paltry amount... with the official rationale of promoting drilling (and oil independence). Of course, that limitation was immediately revoked.

Can you imagine if BP were a smaller player that simply went bankrupt? The good thing about a BIG company with deep pockets (pun) is that you can make 'em pay, and then keep making them pay.

In the end, the oil industry is a far safer place because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Here are some lessons learned (and used).

'via Blog 

Earth Day Number 3 (of 4): Energy Efficiency (EE)

Number 3. Energy Efficiency. The savings for energy efficiency at home (and at the office, church, etc) can easily be 20% to 35% with a fractional investment. Ring up the local power company to schedule an energy audit. With very inexpensive fixes like duct tape, caulk, programmable thermostats, and timers, the utility savings can easily be $30 to $100 per month. (Payback in a couple months.)

ToDo: Buy a couple Compact Florescent Light (CFLs) bulbs and start to use them in place of the most frequently used incandescent light bulbs. CFLs (and LEDs) cost more but they will save $30 to $40 in electricity over the life of the bulb. (Save 5-15% on utilities, payback 2 to 8 months.) Oh, make sure to buy the special versions if the light is adjustable on a rheostat.

ToDo: Get (and program) a programmable thermostat. Adjusting the thermostat 1 degree warmer (and 1 colder in winter) can result in about a 10% savings. 

Info from the Dept of Energy on Home Energy Assessments (Audits). And more from www.EnergySavers.Gov. Wanna do a home audit? Try the Do It Yourself page.

It makes you wonder. If your power company suddenly charged you an extra $1,000 or $2,000 per year, you would break out the shotgun and go have a talk with them about it. Right? (Well, maybe not the shotgun, but ...) 

But virtually everyone everywhere can take $1,000 to $4,000 off of their annual bill, starting within one month. AND, that savings would be realized for years. Forever, really, if you continue to pay attention to the WATTS.

And we are all not doing this.... Why?