Coal Is To Clean As Astroturf Is To Grass

Over the past few months, a new phrase has entered the English language, "clean coal."

Ol' GW mentioned "clean coal" in his most recent State of the Union Address. In a recent speech, Hillary Clinton stated that future energy generation should come from "clean coal and renewables." Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia, has used "clean coal" as a way to "marry his green credentials with his concern for jobs."

With all this talk and publicity, "clean coal" must really be something great, right? It must be the energy source that will save us from global warming. It must be our future.

Well, that is what the coal industry would like you to believe.

"Clean coal" is actually the linchpin of a well orchestrated and well funded public relations campaign sponsored by the coal industry.

In 2000, the coal industry formed a group called Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC). This group's mission is to develop "astroturf" support for mining companies, coal transporters, and coal-based electricity producers. If you are unfamiliar with "astroturfing," it is a widespread public relations practice primarily used by politicians and corporations in which a seemingly "independent" front group is formed to create the appearance of a spontaneous, grassroots citizen action. The group is to real grassroots activism as "astroturf" is to real grass.

In 2001, ABEC ran one television advertisement promoting "clean coal" over 900 times in the Washington, D.C. market. In 2002, ABEC sponsored three television advertisements in that same market which ran over 800 times. Also in 2002, ABEC underwrote a program on National Public Radio (NPR) that promoted coal as America's future.

Recently, ABEC has increased their public relations budget from $8 million in 2007 to $30 million in 2008.

In 2007, ABEC sponsored the CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate. In 2008, ABEC sponsored the CNN Republican AND Democratic Presidential Debates. As of January 2008, ABEC had spent over $1.3 million on "clean coal" advertisements in Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina. During a 2008 Democratic Presidential Debate in Nevada, ABEC paid 50 people to walk around around as "human billboards" and hand out "leaflets ... with questions for voters to ask the candidates."

So, with all of this "astroturf," where can we find some real grass?

Well, the facts on coal-based energy prove that there is no such thing as "clean coal."

Coal-fired power plants account for 59% of the total sulfur dioxide pollution in the United States, 18% of the total nitrogen oxide pollution, 40% of the carbon dioxide pollution, and 50% of the total particulate pollution.

Coal-fired plants are the largest source of toxic mercury pollution and the largest contributor of hazardous air toxics.

If these just sound like numbers to you, here is how these toxic pollutants affect your health:

• Sulfur Dioxide (SO2): Gas emitted through burning coal and oil, that converts into acid gases (sulfuric acid) and sulfur particulate matter (pm). Health effects include: airway irritation, heart rhythm destabilization, and asthma attacks.
• Nitrogen Oxide (NOx): General term for NO/O2 hazes formed from burning coal, oil, natural gas, and gasoline. It is a main ingredient in acid rain and ozone smog.
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Gas layer that blankets the planet and traps heat in the lower atmosphere. Global warming affects every ecosystem on the planet with drastic health, environmental, humanitarian, and economic consequences.
• Particulate Matter (PM): Soil, soot, SO2, and NOx particles from power plants, cars, and factories that are tiny enough to penetrate indoor spaces and deep into the lungs. They can trigger premature death from heart attacks, lung diseases, and cancer in adults; and stunted lung growth, low birth weight, neurological impairment, and SIDS in children.
• Mercury (Hg): Toxic metal particles settle in water, contaminate fish, and move up the food chain. Mercury ingestion can result in premature birth, low birth weight, structural defects, learning disorders, heart and neurological defects.
  

The National Park Service (NPS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and several other federal agencies recently released the results of a six year study focused on pollution in our most pristine lands, our national parks. The study found a significant correlation between the presence of mercury and the location of national parks located downwind from coal-based power plants. The mercury levels of some fish in supposedly "pristine" waters were so high as to pose a health risk to eat. And, keep in mind that this study was conducted on lands that we consider "clean" and "untouched."

In the American Southeast, where we live, over 60% of our power is provided by coal-based power plants. These plants dump 30,000 pounds of toxic mercury into our air and water annually. They are also the single largest source of carbon dioxide pollution with over 590 million tons emitted annually.

In 1997 in our home state of Tennessee, an estimated 1,440 deaths, 910 hospitalizations, and 27,100 asthma attacks were attributed to power plant pollution. Overall, Tennessee ranks as the third highest state for toxins released into the air.

And, these are just the direct impacts of coal-based power plants.

We haven't even started to talk about the negative health, environmental, and human impacts of the immoral coal extraction process known as "mountaintop removal."

Please recognize that "clean coal" is an outright lie. It is a fabrication created by the coal industry. They have the money to make it look green and clean, but, on closer inspection, you will find that it is all just "astroturf." In the case of "clean coal," the grass truly is greener on the other side of the fence.

So, stay informed and stay on the real grass. Tell Congress to place a moratorium on all new coal-based power plants. And, let's shut down the ones that continue to endanger our health and our environment.

If we do not succumb to the propaganda of the coal industry, we can invest in a cleaner and healthier future for ourselves and our children. It is estimated that 69% of electricity needs in the United States could be met with solar by 2050 and we could be a completely solar nation by 2100.

We already have real "clean" technologies available. Let's use them.

(Cross posted at Life has taught us ...)

Cumberland Greens Bioregional Council

For those in the greater Nashville area, I'd like to let you know of a group that has been around for over 20 years, but has just gone online, the "Cumberland Greens Bioregional Council". It's a good group of folks that have been instrumental in several environmental and social issues in the area. Check us out here. It's free to join, hope to see you there.

Doug

Safely disposing of CFLs:

By now most of us have at least heard of CFLs: Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs.

These bulbs are environmentally friendly because they use less energy than a standard light bulb and have a much longer life span. When broken these bulbs do release small amounts of mercury vapor into the air, the same as other fluorescent bulbs. As a result special care should be taken in disposing of both broken and burned out CFLs.

The EPA has issued guidelines for disposing of CFL waste, for more information go here.

Wake County Community Meeting to discuss drought February 23rd

For more information visit Raleigh Eco News.

Raleigh facing water restrictions in face of continuing drought:

According to this press release from the city of Raleigh in North Carolina, the lake that supplies most of the water for that city and 8 surrounding counties is 8.65 feet below full. Water restrictions have been put into place and there has been a 24% reduction in water usage in the area.

In other drought related news, the city of Atlanta has decided to allow public pools to go ahead with regularly scheduled fill-ups and openings even though the city is under level 4 water restrictions. For more information, check out the Atlanta Water Shortage blog.

The Middle Tennessee area hasn't had any water restrictions placed on it to date, but we are still at a level 4 (Exceptional Drought) on the drought monitor in the middle of our "rainy season". Hopefully local government will take the necessary steps to conserve water in our area, too.

What Is Your "Food Print"?

Following on the heels of a new study by Cornell University researchers, a new buzz word has emerged in the English language ... "food print."

A "food print" is measured by calculating the amount of land that it takes to produce the food that you eat.

In the Cornell study, researchers discovered that a low-fat vegetarian diet needed the least amount of land. This diet only used 0.5 acres per person whereas a diet high in meats and fats used over two acres per person. Yet, these same researchers argued that the most "efficient" diet was one that incorporated small amounts of meat and dairy as these diets used low quality pasture lands more productively. A diet with a little meat and dairy, approximately 63 grams per day, would only require 0.6 acres of land per person.

Now, perhaps that doesn't seem like a big difference to you, but, taking the state of New York as an example, the switch to a low-fat vegetarian diet by all New Yorkers would allow the state's agriculture to support 50% more of the population. Additionally, this would mean that 32% of New York's food needs could be met with harvests produced within the state, as opposed to the current amount of 22%.

Jennifer Wilkins, one of the co-authors of the Cornell study, stated their conclusion quite succinctly, "The key to conserving land and other resources with our diets is to limit the amount of meat we eat and for farmers to rely more on grazing and forages to feed their livestock."

Yet, a true conservation ethic includes more than just tabulating how much land is needed to produce your food. It is also crucial to understand how your food was grown, where it was grown, and how it was processed, packaged and transported. Wilkins emphasized this point, "Consumers need to be aware that foods differ not only in their nutrient content but in the amount of resources required to produce, process, package and transport them."

So, a true "food print" should consider the total impact that your diet has on the environment. This total impact would not only include how much land is required to the produce the food, but also how many petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides may have been applied, how much energy was required to raise those crops and create those chemicals, and how much energy was expended in processing, packaging, and transporting the food.

These are only a few of the factors that must be considered in calculating your "food print."

I know that this seems quite overwhelming. In the United States, the majority of our food supply is dependent on industrial agriculture, which creates a tremendously negative impact on the environment and is extremely inefficient in its production. It is difficult to opt out of this system that has taken over our country's food supply thanks to corporate lobbyists and years of misguided agricultural policy.

Yet, I hope that this discussion gets you thinking when you next visit your grocery store or farmer's market. Do not turn off your brain and follow that shopping list blindly. Begin to question your food. Sure, you might get some strange look from folks as you interrogate that apple, "Where did you come from? Chile?," but isn't it important to know more about the items that you are putting into your body? It is your body and it is your right to know.

You can make a great difference not only to your health, but also the health of the planet, if you educate yourself about the food chain, buy local products whenever possible, and really think about what you eat.

The fate of the planet is on your fork!

(Cross-posted at Life has taught us ...)

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Drought Resistant Plant #2: Black Eyed Susan

Rudbeckia hirta has many common names: Black-eyed Susan, Blackiehead, Brown Betty, Brown Daisy, Brown-eyed Susan, Yellow Ox-eye Daisy and many more. These beautiful flowers grow in most of North America, the ones pictured were photographed by me growing wild on a remote mountaintop in North Carolina.

The plants can reach up to 3 feet in height and depending on what area you are in they are annual, perennial or biennial. In Middle Tennessee where I do my gardening they come back year after year, but if your winters get colder than ours they may not make it through each year without some extra effort (mulching works well).

The USDA classifies it as being "medium" in drought tolerance, but as with the coneflower I find plants native to our area can at the very least live through even extreme drought, even if they don't produce copious amounts of flowers. And at the height of the drought last summer that was good enough for me!

I typically buy Black-eyed Susans in seedling form from a local nursery, they can be divided in a similar manner to other perennials after a few years.

Do you have other drought tolerant plants that work well in the Southeast? I'd love to hear about them!

Bar 100: Asheville, NC

I found this restaurant while reading She Who Eats and let me tell you I am jealous. I do get to the Asheville area quite often to visit a dear friend and will check this place out next time I'm there for sure.

The premise is that all the ingredients at Bar 100 (opening February 28, 2008 in the front room area of Market Place Restaurant) are found within 100 miles of the location! A locavore's dream come true. I'll be sure to post my own review once I try it out!

Dogwood Alliance tackles deforestation in the Southeast

This morning while scanning my Bloglines RSS feeder I came across this story from Treehugger about the paper mill industry and its affect on the ecology of the Southeastern U.S.

Apparently the Southern U.S. is the largest paper producing region in the entire world! I had no idea how many millions of acres of our forests are cut down each year to produce paper until I read this article.

For more information visit the Dogwood Alliance.

Drought Resistant Plant #1: Coneflower

This year in the garden I plan to "prepare for drought and hope for rain." The weather was so brutal last summer and although I lost quite a few plants and didn't have overwhelming production from many of my vegetables my garden survived surprisingly well. By doing research on drought resistant plants I can educate myself beyond the "oh that picture looks pretty, I'll pick these tomatoes for this year's garden" and also move one step closer to my goal of working with nature more closely, starting in my own backyard.

One plant that I absolutely love (and that is a native of the Southeast) is the Coneflower. Most common in our area is Echinacea Purpurea. I've never successfully started this plant from seed so usually depend on a local nursery for seedlings. The good news is that a two or three year old plant can be (and should be!) easily divided into many more plants. The clump shown in the picture above were planted last year and hadn't had a chance to establish themselves before the drought set in, I am hoping that this year they will produce more flowers.

Bees and other pollinators love coneflower, and as a native plant it typically does very well in a Southeastern garden without too much fussing. The flowers are beautiful and long lasting in bouquets and on the plant.

It's that time again.....

time to start thinking of the garden!

I was reading one of my favorite "frugal" websites today and have to say: I just can't get behind this!

Putting a monetary value on gardening just DOES NOT WORK.

You just can't put a dollar amount on reconnecting with nature. I understand where he's coming from (I really do!) but gardening is so invaluable to me I can't imagine plotting it on a spreadsheet.

My attached solar greenhouse

My attached greenhouse is 8'x18', and attached to the south side of my solar heated home. I built both in the mid 80's for little money.

The greenhouse initially cost me about $300 to build, but it was single glazed then. I started out by pouring a footer, and laying up 6" blocks, which I then externally covered with 2" of foam board, topping it off with an 8" treated sill plate. I had found some 46"x76" sliding glass door replacement tempered glass for $15 each, so I framed with 2x4's to fit them. I initially used corrugated fiberglass for the roof, it lasted about 10 years, then I replaced it with twinwall polycarbonate, which is much better. I have a pea gravel floor over the soil, a scrounged brick pathway, and 4 55 gallon drums of water for thermal mass. The drums support benches, and line the house wall. I put in a planting bed and shelving for plants, and my wife found out she liked growing plants so much it started her out in the greenhouse business.

The attached greenhouse serves to start plants in January, then in February we transfer them to the 22'x48' freestanding greenhouse. The attached greenhouse also is an airlock in the winter, as it covers an entrance door, which we open in sunny cold weather to help heat the house. I also installed an exhaust fan through the adjoining wall, which I wired to an AC thermostat, so it can come on at about 85*F greenhouse temperature to blow warm air into the house, useful when we are not home. The adjoining wall also has a window with a lower vent space below it, when we are not going to be home during sunny cold weather, I removed the insulated cover to the vent, so air can be returned to the greenhouse from the house, it has a 4 mil flap on the greenhouse side to prevent reverse flow. I have large screened vents in both east and west ends for warm weather ventilation, and in summer I cover the roof with 60% shade cloth.

The greenhouse provides heat, acts as an airlock, provides a place to grow food and house plants, it helps us earn a living by providing a place to start plants to sell, it is a great place to hang out in sunny cold weather, all in all, we really like it. You can see some pictures of it here.

I live in central Tennessee.

Greetings From Angel

Hello everyone! My name is Angel and I'm excited to be one of the contributors on the blog!

The Southeastern U.S. sometimes gets a bad rap where progressive ideas are concerned, but my experiences thus far are telling me that there is a diverse community in our region working towards a sustainable future. My goal is to seek out these groups and individuals and introduce them to our readers, sharing the changes I'm making in my own family practices as we go along.

Happy New Year!

Building Our Solar Dream

In 1982 my wife and I bought 34 acres in Tennessee, and started to build our dream home, passive solar space and water heating, earth sheltered, post and beam framed, slipformed stone, with cedar cordwood infilled south wall. We had some money from selling a house I remodeled, but funds were tight, so we did all the work we could ourselves. We hired a track loader to excavate a 25' by 65' recess into a south facing hillside, and then hand dug footer trenches, poured 15 yards of concrete in them, and started slipforming stone walls. We placed locally gathered stone into the forms and mixed concrete with a gas mixer to fill around the stone. Once set up, the form could be moved, using the same forms over and over again to move down the walls. I then felled and ripped posts and beams from oak trees on our property. I also cut Eastern Red Cedar (Juniper) into 16" lengths to stack for drying. After framing and decking the original shed roof, we poured another 15 yards of concrete with the help of friends and neighbors for a slab. We floated the slab surface for texture, and stained it a dark brown to improve solar absorption. After 15 months of drying time, we could wait no longer for the cedar to dry further, so we started building with it. First I built a shaving horse and using a drawknife, I had to peel all of the bark from the cedar. I later learned that if I had cut the cedar in the spring, when the sap is up, it would of peeled more easily. Laying two strips of sawdust rich mortar along the inside and outside of the wall, I laid the 16" cedar lengths onto them, filling the inner space with insulation. This way there is no continuous mortar bond through the wall to transfer heat. The cedar cordwood wall was labor intensive, but cost little cash to build. Everyone likes the way it looks and smells. However, soon after moving in we noticed drafts where the wood meets mortar— air infiltration. When the wind blew rain through the wall, I knew I had to cover the outside of the cedar.

Original cordwood wall before it was stuccoed over. I first used 6 mil plastic, covered with hand split oak shakes. It helped with the infiltration, but insects found the shakes provide a good home, several types of wasps, even a bat moved in. I finally removed the shakes and plastic, tacked 5/8" closed cell Styrofoam board over the cedar, and stuccoed over the entire outside wall. This stopped the insects and infiltration. I now do not recommend cordwood walls for dwellings, as the rate of expansion/contraction with humidity changes is very different for mortar and wood, infiltration is inevitable, unless you tightly cover the outside wall. For the past 20 years, we have been living in a solar collector-otherwise known as a direct gain passive solar home. It is naturally well lit, thanks to many large, evenly spaced windows on the south wall. These appropriately shaded windows allow direct sunlight to reach the back of the building in winter, but allow no direct sunlight inside in summer. The light which does enter strikes the textured, brown concrete floor, slipformed stone walls, and large stone fireplace, gently warming these surfaces which absorb and store heat, moderating temperature fluctuations. Having insulation on the exterior of the building allows these thermal masses to remain at or near room temperature, absorbing heat during sunny days and radiating warmth at night. This makes interior temperatures very stable, naturally staying warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Because the floor and walls are doing double duty as thermal flywheels, temperatures also remain very even throughout the house.

This simple system is effective enough to require backup heat only after cloudy days in December, January, and February. My only backup heat is a large stone fireplace, modeled after the high thermal mass Russian and European designs. Mine also provides domestic hot water. My space and water heating bills are near zero. Sometimes there are minor problems with having sunlight entering your home. At times I find a certain chair too brightly lit for comfort, but I just move to another. This is the advantage of spreading the windows out along the southern wall. You have some solid wall in between windows, to minimize glare and provide some shaded areas. I suppose the sunlight also helps fabrics fade, although I haven't noticed this occurring. People in more populated areas may have some privacy concerns with a lot of large windows facing their neighbors, but this can be designed around, possibly going to a Trome wall, or indirect gain system. An attached solar greenhouse, or sunspace, can provide heat, food, beauty, and additional room. Plants thrive in them. My 8' x 18' attached solar greenhouse cost $250 to build, and my wife enjoyed it and what it can do for plants so much that we now have a 22' x 48' freestanding greenhouse for her plant business. Properly placed vegetation is also important, even for houses with no solar aspect. Deciduous trees, shrubs or vines on the east, west, or south sides will lose their leaves in winter to allow sunlight in, while providing cooling shade in the summer. Evergreen foliage on the north side will buffer winter winds. Solar hot water can be added to existing structures, as I did to my house ten years ago. I am now past the point where the money I invested in the solar water heater equals the money I would have spent on electricity to heat water. Consider the fact that in the next five to eight years you are going to pay the cost of a solar water heater, whether you buy one or not. It's your choice-you can invest in solar now, demonstrating your support for sustainable energy, and getting free hot water after your payback period, or continue to pay ever-increasing energy bills, which indicates your support for maintaining the status quo. Cooling passive solar design is not just about heating. Many solar design considerations also help with summer cooling. Thermal mass resists overheating, direct earth contact through slab-on-grade, and earth sheltering all contribute to cooling in hot weather. The most efficient shape of building for maximum winter solar gain is elongated along the east-west axis, giving a large south facing wall and smaller east and west facing walls. This design also minimizes unwanted summer heat gain on the hot east and west sides. Radiant barrier placed in the attic or roof system can reflect 97% of radiant heat, keeping the excess solar gain in summer from the living spaces. Light colored roofing also helps. Vegetation is usually the best shade, because it is later arriving in the spring, when we need more solar gain, and usually provides shade into fall, as well as proving its own evaporative cooling effect. As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, our energy costs will also continue to rise. Getting heat from sunlight is economical, ecological, dependable, readily available, time tested, powerful and empowering. This free and equally distributed energy source arrives at our homes almost daily. Let's all try to make better use of it, for our own well-being as well as the planet's.

A New Blog For The New Year!

Greetings all! And, Happy New Year!

For the New Year, we are launching this collaborative blog, "Living Green in the Red States," which will highlight progressive lifestyles, activities, and resources happening within one of the most conservative regions in the United States, the American South. We already have several contributors who have much experience in a variety of sustainable subjects, such as green parenting, sustainable agriculture, local foods, and sustainable energy. If you would like to share your own experience and become a member of the blog team, please leave a comment so we can get in touch with you.

We look forward to developing this blog into a useful resource for all of those folks working towards a more sustainable Dixie!