Am I Green?

Am I green? Well, yes and no.

I've always had a disdain for environmentalists since the 1970's when I was in college. The regional electric power company was trying to get approval to build a nuclear plant. The local environmentalists were so alarmist and emotional that they had the average person believing that the nuclear plant could blow up like an atomic bomb and no one wanted an atomic bomb near them. The environmentalists weren't necessarily saying this but they weren't trying to clear up this misconception either. I decided then that environmentalists were untrustworthy in their science and used propaganda to inflame emotions. One of the early members of Greenpeace Movement, Patrick Moore, wrote an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal saying much the same.

However, the environmentalists were right about a lot of things in 1970's. We unwittingly were polluting our rivers, land, and the air much like the problems that China is experiencing now. We didn't really think about dumping textile dyes and other chemicals into rivers as a problem. After all the river washed it away or so it seemed. Under the environmentalist movement pressure we made many changes which have made for a better environment in the U.S. We banned dumping and cleaned up our rivers and air. Its not perfect but better than it would have been. Get behind a car in the morning whose catalytic converter hasn't fully heated up yet and see how the air smells. We're much better off.

So environmentalists have raised many valid concerns but as developed nations have worked to clean up the environment, its seems environmentalists have begun to reach for extremes to justify their purpose. For example, the 2008 fad concerned BPA used to harden plastics in toys and bottles. The science was poor but the environmentalists wanted to have its use banned after many years of no apparent harm in favor for other chemicals that we don't have much safety experience with. BPA was the fad of the year for 2008.

So far it doesn't seem I'm green so lets switch gears.

My type of green is not conservation but efficiency. Conservation to me means live in a log cabin and get your water from a spring. Efficiency in the green movement is what I relish. How can we accomplish the same thing or even more with less input.

Let me note several examples of what I mean.

If your gas furnace is over 20 years old, only about 50-60% of the heat produced by the burning gas actually heats your home. The other 40-50% goes up the exhaust chimney. Today's gas furnaces put 90% of the heat into your home. That's a huge difference.

Only 1% of the energy in a gallon of gasoline is used to actually move the driver. The rest of the energy is lost in inefficiencies in the engine, drive train, friction, air drag, and in moving the weight of the car. These are all areas that have opportunities for improving gasoline mileage. We're only at the beginning. Even the weight of the car can be significantly reduced by using carbon fiber composites but strength and safety would still be the same. I believe it is quite possible to create an SUV that gets 40 miles per gallon in the city maybe even 50 with existing technology without compromising the concept of an SUV. (Note I don't like SUV's. I don't think they very functional, so don't think I'm pushing the SUV but they are great for towing.) I think its possible that cars can get 60 miles per gallon or even 100 miles per gallon. Just as we had a goal to get to the moon in 10 years, I would like to see a goal of 100 miles per gallon in 10 years. Too me its not much of a stretch. I would love to see that goal achieved.

I'm for plug-in hybrids like GM's Chevy Volt. Its not the car to save GM, but its headed in the right direction. The average American only drives about 40 miles per day. The Chevy Volt will run on battery power for 40 miles and then another 300-400 miles on its gasoline engine. Yes at $40,000 it will be ridiculous expensive. That's why it won't save GM, but VCR players, CD players, and DVD players were all around $1500 when they came out. Now they practially give them away with purchases of other electronics. You have to start somewhere to get to where you want to go. I think this is totally cool. What if CD players were rejected because vinyl records did just fine at a reasonable price. It takes vision to get there.

I think its cool that Honda has a hydrogen fuel cell car that you can lease now in certain areas that works totally like a regular car (Honda FCX Clarity). It has a range of 280 miles. Honda says "The FCX Clarity is not an experimental or prototype vehicle. It is a certified, assembly line-produced car that can be driven with both pride and confidence" Who even knew the technology was this far. Of course only the nuts in Southern California can lease this car for $600 a month. Not realistic pricing for the rest of us but its getting there. Where will all the hydrogen come from. The answer is natural gas. In fact Honda has been working with Plug Power, Inc. to perfect a hydrogen production unit at home that converts natural gas into hydrogen and also creates electricity for the home.

I think the front loading washing machines that use 20-25 gallons of water instead of 40 gallons are cool. That's a hugh savings. Do we need to use water more efficiently. Why not? Why not do everything more efficiently.

Am I a green nut?

Yes I have most of our electronics on power strips that I turn off before going to bed. It doesn't take much to do and I tried to make it easy on the family. Once they turn on one of the power strips for the day it stays on until bed time so everyone doesn't get frustrated turning things off and on. Everyone adapted immediately without any complaint. I was shocked. And since most days everyone is out for the day (school, errands, work), the power strips turned off at bed time usually don't get turned back on until late afternoon. That means this simple change keeps these devices completely off the grid 75% of the time each day.

Doesn't that sound green nutty? So I guess the conclusion is I'm green, kind of.

"No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood." - Despair.com