Lufthansa Schedules Sustainable Biofuel Flights

Posted on July 21, 2011 by quest

Last week, Lufthansa launched a six-month biofuel trial on regular scheduled flights. Christoph Franz, Chairman and CEO of the Lufthansa Group, said: “Lufthansa is the first airline worldwide to use biofuel in scheduled daily flight operations. We are thus continuing to steadily implement our proven and successful strategy for sustainability.” A Lufthansa Airbus A321 with the registration D-AIDG will fly the Hamburg-Frankfurt-Hamburg route four times daily. One of its engines will run on a 50/50 mix of regular fuel and biosynthetic kerosene. The biofuel for jet engines has been approved by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). During the six months test run period, the use of biofuel will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 1,500 tonnes.

As air transport is the only mode of transport that will remain dependent upon liquid fuels for the foreseeable future, the aviation industry and the research community must develop and test alternatives. “Fossil raw materials are finite,” Franz cautioned. He added that next to reducing CO2 emissions the main aim of this long-term operational trial, was to examine the effects of biofuel on the maintenance and lifespan of aircraft engines. The biosynthetic kerosene used by Lufthansa is derived from pure biomass and consists of jatropha, camelina and animal fats. The fuel used by Lufthansa is produced by Neste Oil, a Finnish oil company. Neste has extensive experience in the production of biofuels and has been a successful partner of Lufthansa for many years. Suppliers must provide proof of the sustainability of their processes and meet the criteria stipulated by the European Parliament and the Council in the Renewable Energy Directive. Lufthansa guarantees that the production of its biofuel is not in direct competition with food production and that no rainforests are destroyed.

The use of biosynthetic kerosene is one element of the four-pillar climate protection strategy pursued by Lufthansa with a view to reducing overall CO2 emissions in the air transport sector. By combining a range of different measures – for example, ongoing fleet modernization, technology improvements to aircraft and engines, operational measures such as engine washing or the use of lighter materials and an improved infrastructure – Lufthansa aims to achieve the ambitious environmental goals set out in its strategy. The implementation of new technologies has seen Lufthansa improve its fuel efficiency by over 30 per cent since 1991. Source: Valere Tjolle , Sustainable Tourism Report

PRESIDIO GRADUATE SCHOOL ANNOUNCES NEW PRESIDENT

Kenyan Eco Entrepreneur Turns Trash Into Treasure

Posted on July 20, 2011 by quest

The 2011 Cartier Women’s Initiative Finalist have been announced. The aim of The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards is to support meaningful business projects that combine innovation and audacity. Started in 2006 in partnership with the Woman’s Forum, the INSTEAD business school and Mckinsey, the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards are an international business plan competition for female entrepreneurs who lead creative, financially sustainable and socially responsible companies. The finalist are selected from around the globe. One of this year’s finalists is Kenyan EcoPost founder Lorna Rutto. EcoPost is a Kenyan firm that uses 100 % recycled plastics to manufacture aesthetic, durable and environmentally friendly fencing posts and custom lumber profiles. Plastic waste is a frequent blot on Kenya’s beautiful landscapes. In spite of a government ban on the use of plastic bags, which came into force in 2007 when Kenya was producing 48 million of them, plastic of all kinds and shapes litters the land or piles up in open tips.

Lorna has been troubled by this plastic litter ever since she was a schoolgirl. At the time she used to collect bits left lying around and turn them into earrings, ‘though it wasn’t really the earrings I was interested in—I just wanted to find a way to get rid of all that plastic!’ After graduating in commerce and accounting five years ago, she started a career in banking to play safe in a tough employment market, but ‘something felt wrong; I was working on systems and structures and not with people and science, which had been my other passion at school. I wasn’t comfortable about it.’ Two years ago, she took the entrepreneurial plunge. Her love of the environment found an echo with a young biochemical engineer she met at her first job, now her business partner, who brings his technical expertise to her financial and managerial know-how. After researching potential avenues for their cause they found that plastic was the best place to start, much to Lorna’s delight!

Kenya has barely 2% of forest cover, yet high demand for posts to make fencing around the country’s houses, plantations and huge game reserves. For years these were made from red cedar trees, which are now an endangered species; a presidential directive has made it illegal to chop them down since 2007. Those looking for an alternative can bank on EcoPost, which recycles waste and helps the environment. Utilising dirty plastic to make a product that saves wood is not just an environmental plus, it boosts employment: alongside its 15 permanent staff, to source its raw material EcoPost hires the services of hundreds of women working as casual labor to collect the plastic and sell it to them by the kilo. In its first eight month of operations, EcoPost manufactured 5,000 posts, removing 300 tonnes of plastic waste from the environment. ‘That’s 500 trees that won’t be chopped down,’ Lorna states. And who knows, some might even end up fencing the forests they have helped to save.

Solar Decathlon To Showcase Benefits of Solar Technology

Charlize Theron & Ryan Reynolds Going Green Hollywood Style

Posted on July 18, 2011 by quest

If you can believe the latest word out of Hollywood, Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds and Academy Award winner, film producer and former fashion model Charlize Theron have been dating for months. Both have some pretty strong ” green” activist street creds. Theron also is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. She appeared in a PETA ad for their anti-fur campaign.

In July 2009 it was announced that Theron’s Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) would form a coalition with LAFC Soccer Club to give soccer fields to rural areas in South Africa. LAFC Chelsea, one of the United States’s most successful and prominent youth soccer clubs, made a three-year commitment to help build a community-wide soccer program for the schools in the Umkhanyakude District. This help includes uniforms, cleats, balls and equipment, along with professional training for local coaches, referees and administrators. “Our goal is to help truly create a safer, healthier and better life for young people in South Africa, especially those living in remote areas, and to ensure that the resources we bring are self sustaining. The three year commitment is so incredible and key to being sure that the program will be around for many years to come”, says Charlize Theron.

Canadian born actor Ryan Reynolds known for his roles in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Waiting…, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal and X-Men Origins: Wolverine wrote in the Huffington Post after the BP oil rig explosion; “What we’re doing is literally the same thing cave men did: we set things on fire to produce energy. There are so many viable alternatives. Wind farms and solar plants, for instance, don’t explode, destroying thousands of miles of marshlands and oceans. That’s something worth focusing on. I started out feeling angry about the spill, and I think a lot of other people did too. Slowly but surely, I’ve been trying to redirect that anger into something positive. And you start to think, “How can we change this? How can we turn this into an opportunity? I see this whole thing as a wakeup call: a chance to shift to cleaner energy and build a greener economy.  It’s easy to vilify Big Oil after a tragedy like this, but there are still hard working people in that industry who need to put a roof over their heads. I firmly believe we can pass clean energy and climate legislation and by doing so, put millions of Americans to work.”

VISIT THE GREEN NEWS WALL

This Organic Food Thing

Posted on July 17, 2011 by quest

The town of Hardwick, Vt., has been celebrated as the scene of a local food revival. In recent years, lots of small farms have started up nearby. Tom Stearns, president of a local organic seed company called High Mowing Seeds, says there are more organic farms per capita within 10 miles of Hardwick than anywhere else in the world. There’s also a thriving local grocery co-op; a busy farmer’s market; even a classy restaurant — Claire’s — where almost anything you eat grew or grazed on land nearby.

But it was Ben Hewitt, as much as anyone, who really put Hardwick and its local food scene on the map. He’s a writer and a back-to-the-land activist himself. He lives on 40 acres near Cabot, down the road from Hardwick, with his wife, their two home-schooled children, and an assortment of pigs, cows and a very friendly dog named Daisy.

Hewitt saw what was happening in Hardwick, and it struck him as unusual, even odd. “Here’s this town: Unemployment rate 40 percent higher than the Vermont state average; median income 25 percent lower; and then there was this thing happening around so-called sustainable ag and local food!” Hewitt says. So Hewitt wrote a book about Hardwick: The Town That Food Saved. Source: NPR By Dan Charles - Listen Here

BMW Launches i Series Electric Cars

IKEA To Host Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Posted on July 16, 2011 by quest

IKEA, a leading home furnishings retailer, today announced a partnership with ECOtality, Inc., a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, to host Blink electric vehicle charging stations at select IKEA stores in the Western United States. IKEA locations being considered for hosting the charging stations include 10 stores in Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington. These sites will be evaluated for feasibility and installation needs; operational charging stations could be available as early as Fall 2011. This initiative represents the first project of its kind for IKEA.

“We are excited this partnership will make charging stations more accessible to the many people choosing to drive electric vehicles,” said Mike Ward, IKEA U.S. president. “Hosting charging stations at IKEA locations known for regional draws furthers our commitment to a smaller carbon footprint and technological opportunities that help protect the environment. This project is part of a global effort to promote the sustainable transport of people.”ECOtality is the project manager of The EV Project, a public-private partnership funded in part by a federal stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Energy made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to provide the necessary infrastructure to support the deployment of EVs. ECOtality is overseeing the installation of approximately 14,000 commercial and residential charging stations in 18 cities and major metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia. IKEA stores are in four of those states.

In addition to this sustainable project, IKEA U.S. has solar energy installations operational in eight locations – including a Denver-area store opening this year in Centennial, CO that also has a geothermal system – as well as solar projects underway at 12 other locations. IKEA, drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, believes it can be a good business while doing good business and strives for its operations to minimize impacts on the environment. Globally, IKEA evaluates all locations regularly for energy conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works with Global Forest Watch to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. Specific U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material (paper, wood, plastic, etc.); incorporating environmental measures into the construction of buildings in terms of energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, skylights in warehouse areas, and water conserving restrooms; and operationally, phasing out the sale of incandescent light bulbs and facilitating recycling of customers’ compact fluorescent bulbs.

GREEN INVESTING

City By The Bay Named Greenest North American City

Posted on June 30, 2011 by quest

San Francisco grabbed the mantle of “greenest” major city in the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, with New York, Seattle, Denver and Boston rounding out the top five U.S. cities. The unique study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and commissioned by Siemens, assesses and compares 27 major U.S. and Canadian cities on environmental performance and policies across nine categories – CO2 emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality and environmental governance.

“The Green Cities Index demonstrates that America’s cities are the driving force behind the nation’s sustainability efforts,” said Eric Spiegel, president and CEO, Siemens Corp. “Despite the fact that we do not have a federal climate policy in the United States—and no federal carbon standard—21 of the 27 cities in the index have already set their own carbon reduction targets. Cities are creating comprehensive sustainability plans, utilizing current technology and proving everyday that we don’t have to wait to create a more sustainable future.”

The study of U.S. and Canadian cities provided some important key findings. Notably, cities that performed best in the rankings are the ones that have comprehensive sustainability plans that encompass every aspect of creating a greener future including transportation, land use, energy use, carbon dioxide emissions, and water. And while there is a correlation between wealth and environmental performance, it is weaker in the U.S. and Canada than in