Author: Cam Proctor

Doggie Doo Powered

- Cam Proctor 1 Comment

Dogs and cats in the United States produce about 10 million tons of waste a year, according to Will Brinton, an environmental scientist and owner-director of Woods End Laboratories in Maine. If the feces could be harvested into a digestor to trap and burn methane in an effecient cogeneration facility, both electricity and home heating requirements for a small number of homes could be met. This would go a long way to reducing landfill waste and the resultant leachate from organic decomposition, which currently compromises about 5% of the waste stream.

Norcal Waste Systems Inc., San Francisco’s garbage company, plans to test collection carts and biodegradable bags in a city-center park popular with dog walkers. San Francisco runs an aggressive program to recycle bottles, cans, paper and other trash and now diverts two-thirds of its garbage away from landfills.

A picture of the fuel was purposefully not added.

Ultimate Showdown of Solar Destiny

- Cam Proctor

Every two years, international teams fight it out using computer models and engineering expertise at the Solar Decathlon, a kind of Olympics for solar-powered homes. Teams of students design, build and operate houses that are powered only by solar energy. The homes open to the public.

The teams work for two years to develop ways to reduce the cost of solar-powered homes and advance solar technology in general. This year’s competition is special since the US Department of Energy will provide $100,000 (US) to each participating team.

Responsible Care Global Charter

- Cam Proctor 1 Comment

If there was a wine and cheese social for global charters, then the Responsible Care Global Charter would act distinctly different from the others. It would probably hang out by the punch bowl and make idle conversation, friendly but clearly not part of the crowd. Thats because the Responsible Care Global Charter contains several principles geared toward the long-term improvement of risk assessment, risk management, and information on products and their safe handling. In the area of social responsibility, the charter calls for increased dialogue with chemical industry stakeholders.

The global chemical association (ICCA) presented the RCGC at the recent United Nations’ International Conference on Chemicals Management in Dubai. The charter summarizes the new tenets of the global chemical industry’s Responsible Care initiative, which was launched in 1985 to promote continuous improvement in health, safety and environmental performance. Companies from 52 countries have committed themselves to Responsible Care via their national member associations, and recently Bayer and BASF signed the charter.

Great Bear Greatly Protected

- Cam Proctor

ForestEthics, Greenpeace and Sierra Club of Canada, along with industry leaders and indigenous groups, celebrated success after a decade long campaign to protect the globally unique Great Bear Rainforest. The total area protected from the chainsaw equals 5 million acres, twice the size of Yellowstone Park and equal to 6300 of New York’s Central Park. This total includes new and previous protection areas, plus special no logging zones that require the use of more sustainable logging practices for the remaining area. The agreement also sets a new precedent for decision making for local indigenous groups (First Nations), giving them the right to define what happens on their land.

To date, almost half of a $120 million investment package has been raised by philanthropic donors for conservation and sustainable business ventures in First Nation territories. The BC government has committed $30 million to First Nations for economic development. The coalition is hopeful that the federal government will join in this initiative.

California Sails Solar

- Cam Proctor

California’s Public Utilities Commission has voted 3 to-1 to create the largest solar program of its kind in any state in the U.S. The ten-year California Solar Initiative will provide US$2.9 billion to accelerate the transition to clean energy and to reduce the consumer costs of solar electricity. The goal is to increase the capacity of installed rooftop PV panels by 3,000 MW by 2017.

The California program is the second largest in the world, after Germany, and the Vote Solar group estimates the initiative will result in a net positive benefit for California of $1.2 to $18.2 billion, depending on the cost of avoided power and timeframe, and would create 39,948 to 61,458 job-years by 2026.

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