2017- seasons of ..power plant selfies?

How do we define this year? As 2017, a year that many considered exhausting, terrifying, and tumultuous, comes to a close, how do we value it? In the classic song from Rent, “Seasons of Love,” they ask how do you measure a year in the life- “In daylights, in sunsets, In midnights, in cups of coffee?” From the age of 5 to 21, many people have structure; they experience 16 years of summer and winter breaks. Seasons pass and there is always the next gap to look forward to. In adulthood, there are no given moments. We have to create the ones that are important to us. We are left with the question of how we track, measure, and appreciate our years?

I’d like to say I’m measuring my year in terms of where I have been and what I have done. How many new people I have interacted with, cultivated knowledge about and empathy for. How many states I visited for the first time and revisited. How many facilities I wrangled my way into. How many times I sat down to a blank sheet of paper and took the daring step to put my thoughts down, and type the first words of something I would share with the world.

I often find myself writing pieces that justify what I am doing, that show myself what I have done (this one included) and  accomplished on paper. Maybe you do the same.

We, as people, and our years, are worth more than what we produce. There are other great things about our years. 

For me, this year was about learning and exploration. 

View fullsize

One year ago, I didn’t know the difference between transmission and distribution (you don't either? read about how power gets to you).  I would pass large facilities on the highway and wonder what was inside. What were the covered mounds of salt or resources alongside large tanks? How did it get there and where was it going?  While I may not be able to speak to all the piles, I certainly can spot a coal plant, nuclear plant, or incinerator and have an idea of the inputs.

I took the steps to get inside the plants and industry, and indulge my curiosity.  And there were people who thought it was worthwhile, who stood beside me, and even financially supported the investigative endeavor. The George Washington University supported the effort with a grant to fund my travels; the World Resources Institute invested resources in helping me cultivate knowledge and exposure. Then there were the people who invested time and money into my exploration, without knowing what would come of it. Duke Energy Renewables opened their doors to me to their largest solar farm in North Carolina  and showed me around the Renewable Control Center where they watch their renewable assets. The good people at Covanta’s Newark incinerator endured my harassment when I was working to get an invite to “media day.”

View fullsize

Editors, professors, colleagues, and friends asked around and put me in touch with resources. Strangers tipped me off to when a boat was heading out to the offshore wind farm, and I managed to get on it, and have a moment of career awakening. 

People posted on their personal Facebook pages about Electric America and my journey, to share and support the message.

I can say that once I reached a threshold of targeted outreach, the industry was relatively open, receptive even. 

I am choosing to count the doors opened; photos taken; smiling selfies at power plants; and whole-hearted endeavors, of which I’ve experienced many. And, of course, situations in which I felt utterly uncertain, and entirely out of my comfort zone.

How are you reflecting on your year? And what do you value from it? 

Cheers to this moment and the moments that define your 2017 - whatever they may be. Seasons of smiles, new experiences, cold showers, love notes, frozen computer screens, shared desserts or even selfies at solar farms.  

Electricity Production & Storage- Corrections

In the following piece "Why Salt is This Power Plant's Most Valuable Resource" for Smithsonianmag.com I inaccurately described how electricity is produced in the first three paragraphs. I regret the errors. 

Correction:

Power companies are not always making more power than they expect you to consume; they make exactly what you demand. They have enough power plants and technical know-how to make exactly the right amount of electricity at the moment it is demanded by homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals on the grid.

Additional explanation:

There are enough power plants to provide electricity during peak moments, meaning at other times, when demand is lower, some power plants are shut off and sit idle. This can happen, for example, when wind turbines are spinning hard but demand is low and a nuclear plant or a coal plant is already providing sufficient power. The coal and nuclear plants take longer to shut down and start up again.

If power from the wind farms is not needed, the wind farms may be shut down, instead of the coal or nuclear plants, and the potential energy is effectively wasted, along with the environmental benefit.

The swing in energy demand and the longer shutdown and startup times for baseload power plants discourage the use of some renewables, specifically wind power, which is generated mostly at night when winds are strongest.  In short, a lot of electricity, and importantly, clean electricity, is produced at the wrong time.  

That’s where energy storage comes in. Storing energy when it's made and releasing it when it's needed helps keep the grid reliable and paves the way for introducing intermittent renewables like wind and solar to the mix.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE!

For Former NOAA Scientists, an Ocean View with Offshore Wind is Picture Perfect

To Judy Gray and Jules Craynock, a 5 turbine wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean is one great front yard. From their red picnic table and bright flowered garden that wraps around the porch, you can see the five turbines in the distance.  

Judy was a seasonal residence for 13 years before moving to the island full time in retirement with her partner Jules. The plans and timeline for the development of the wind farm started to take shape soon after the couple moved to the island permanently.

The two have had a deep understanding of the climate crisis since the beginning- both studied to become scientists, and worked for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for over 30 years. Judy, a meteorologist, knows the devastating impacts of fossil fuels and human dependence on them. Two days after the BP Deepwater Horizon spill took place, she took on the role Acting Deputy of Research for NOAA.  Prior to that, she was working in fishery research on Prince William Sound when the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred.  Jules was an oceanographer for NOAA and completed projects with the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers

She and Jules have been waiting for this moment for years- the moment when clean, steady electricity is finally supplied to the island. They are overjoyed at the idea of running entirely on renewable energy (on the windy days). 

“ [The wind project] is totally consistent with our ethos, and how we live our lives. " Judy says.

 The couple thought of installing an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for the entire house, which are used on submarines, before the vision of a wind farm and backup electricity from the mainland came to life.  They were tired of replacing electrical appliances every year because the power supplied by the diesel generators regularly operated at 58 hertz, not the standard 60 hz that appliances were designed to run on. Judy mentions that she replaced a dishwasher that hadn’t been used 100 times. The dishwasher was only used during the summer, and only by people who rented the house. 

But poor electricity supply couldn’t dissuade her from finally taking full time residence on Block Island. “This place owns me …it’s breathtakingly beautiful. It’s like a cat- you don’t own a cat, the cat owns you” 

When asked about what is it about Block Island that draws her in she recalls a story of war brides from the second world war who would seek solace in Block Island because it reminded them of the English and Irish countryside.  The beauty is one thing. In true scientific form, she also spewed meteorological figures about how Block Island was created and its geological uniqueness and diversity.

“It’s not a barrier beach in the traditional sense. This is a glacier terminal moraine from the last major ice age. "

She also recalls that as a child her parents felt safe on the island. They would take trips to the island from Connecticut, and  her parents let the children roam free. 

“It’s where the idea of independence first formulated as a core value; this is where I was first able to exercise that value.”

Now her mother resides near by and they all enjoy the New England island life.

And they couldn’t be happier with their new view.

“The fact that we’re getting good power has not really been brought up.” Jules says. 

Invigorated by the change, and no longer in need of an external UPS, they are hoping to complete an extension that involves a solar array and tied electrical radiant floor heating. Now that they are off diesel for electricity, they are also looking to ween off of dependence on propane, and the volatility of market heating prices that they are vulnerable to.  A diversity of heating sources is the next step in securing reliable, affordable and stable energy supply. 

 For now they settle for a beautiful view, and some stable, high quality electricity to go with it.

Jules professes:  “The bottom line is this is all we’ve got. As a populous, we can continue to soil our own nest, or we can pay attention to issues like sustainability, pollution, and try to minimize our impact so that we can figure out how to sustain ourselves.” 

And the Block Island Wind Farm is helping them get there.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

U.S. Renewables Under Attack

 The tax bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate do more than affect real estate, income taxes and inheritance.

The clean power sector is under attack in the House and Senate tax bills. Though each bill uses slightly different mechanisms to undermine the clean energy industries, measures in both bills are expected to have dramatic effects and undercut investment in and the economic vibrancy of the industries. 

Inside Climate News runs through the differences between the bills, which must be reconciled in a final joint bill.  Here's what's clear and consistent in the two:

 The bills favor traditional and polluting energy resources including oil, gas, and nuclear over renewable resources. Bloomberg Markets discusses how the cut of the corporate tax rate undermines clean energy investment, and would disrupt how large solar and wind farms are currently financed.

 The bills further tip the economic scale in favor of fossil fuels, creating an all the more uneven playing field for new and alternative energy technologies and companies. They do this via several clauses. The Senate bill opens the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas companies to drill there and lifts a ban on crude oil exports. The House bill ends the tax credit for electric vehicles, and retroactively changes the tax credit qualifications for solar and wind developers. It also extends nuclear tax credits, while ramping down solar and wind tax credits. And these are just a couple of the highlights of the damage.

The NYTimes reports this week on how the GOP Tax Bill Could Curtail Renewable growth, and the WSJ  adds commentary on the threat the Senate bill poses to the industry and investment in it. On the whole, the industries are looking at serious upheaval and unnecessary disruption.

Investment in utility scale solar farms, like this one shown here, is likely to be seriously disrupted and compromised by the U.S. 2017 tax bill, which is slated to be voted on in late 2017 or early 2018. Greentech Media is tracking where the bill is and the impact of the changes on clean tech and renewables.

why is clean energy is important to the U.S.? 

1. Jobs

I'm the first one to say that power plants should not necessarily be kept open for the jobs they create. But the clean energy industry is providing low-carbon energy and putting Americans to work. As is, low carbon sources of power generation such as wind and solar are growing quickly and employing Americans in various states. The solar industry grew at a rate 12x that of the U.S. economy. This year the wind industry surpassed 100,00 jobs. The solar industry saw a 25% increase in jobs in 2016, and now employs over 260,000 Americans.

 With the electrification of U.S. energy uses, and with a grid powered by 100% renewables, the low carbon or clean energy economy is expected to produce 2 million net full-time jobs in the long term.

(Watch the full interview here, and subscribe to the Electric America YouTube Channel).

2. Clean Air: Number of deaths linked to air pollution in the U.S. outpaces  Deaths from Drug Overdoses

Research presented at the 2016 conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science reported 80,000 annual premature deaths linked to air pollution in the United States. That number is higher than the 64,000 Americans that died from drug overdoses according to 2016 CDC estimates. Deaths linked to air pollution are entirely preventable. Investment in clean energy means less pollution from electricity production and fewer Americans lost. 

3. Slow global temperature rise,  stymie some effects of climate change, such as more frequent and more extreme weather events.

Electricity production is the single largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. According to 2015 data, 29% of all U.S. emissions  are from electricity and heat production (up from 25% in 2010). About 67% of power generated in the United States is derived from burning fossil fuels. Accelerating the transition to a grid powered by clean energy is critical to addressing the warming of the planet, and the effects that cities face. 

What you Can do Today: 

Speak up!

1. Tweet this story using the share icon below, or any other stories linked in this piece.
2. Call your Congressman- the wind industry makes it easy to get in touch about this issue.
3. Thoughts on all this? Comment below!

Women in the Mines and the Age Old Story of Sexual Misconduct in the Workplace

I am standing at my desk in my new home office pondering what to write about. There are boxes all around me: returns to Best Buy and Amazon for the office technology that didn’t quite fit; thank you notes to send out; and an open box of books to return to a kind inn owner who lent them to me during my stay in West Virginia.

A photo of a grime covered face with a hard hat and pig tails smiled up at me. She was holding a fresh faced curly haired young child in her arms. The cover of “Women in the Mines: Stories of Life and Work” by Marat Moore caught my eye, mind and heart. 

There is probably no moment more pertinent to this book than today. Flip to any news source and you'll hear stories of sexual misconduct in the workplace, and public figures resigning and being fired for inappropriate and illegal acts. In wake of the number of cases of sexual harassment that have come into the public light, and the rise of the #MeToo movement, I realized now is exactly the time to write about women in the mines. Women who endured, persevered and disrupted. Misconduct is rampant, in nearly every workplace, and so too, in the mines.  

Moore writes about the 1970s coal boom, and an increase of good paying jobs accompanied by affirmative action policies which led to an insurgence of women in the mines over the next decade. According to West Virginia records of new hires, women represented .0015% of new coal miners hired in 1973. In 1989, they represented 8.1% of new hires, a growth of nearly 5400% in 16 years (Moore, 331).

Moore relays oral histories from those women who worked in the mines. There are varied stories of different attitudes that women experienced, but sexual harassment at a minimum was consistent. Talk about workplace conduct-  Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be in an underground mine, literally trapped beneath the earth in soot and fume filled conditions for hours on end? Underground coal mining is laborious, dangerous work in particularly unsound working conditions. Unwanted sexual advances or abuse is horrific in any work place. Combine the two and the situation looks bleak. Sexual advances in the coal seam, a male dominated, tightly constrained environment, presents a new perspective of workplace challenges that are multifaceted, pervasive and, in some cases, as suffocating as the seams themselves.

A Men’s club, reinforced

Men behaved poorly and blatantly crossed boundaries, and women were on the receiving end. One woman recounted how her superiors had drilled holes in the women's bathhouse to watch the women as they changed clothing. This was after they fought to get a bathhouse and portable potties in the first place.

On any given night many women would stay up in the evening to be with their children, drive sometimes hours to get to the mine and work the overnight shift.  One woman recounts how men drew images of her in the underground coal mine, and how she suddenly became aware of her big bust which she had never been aware of before. Another woman recalls how moved to the community and was excited to work in the mines. However, she was taken aback by the stigma of being a woman coal miner, and the outright hate that she faced. Even the local priest spouted a sermon directed at her to reinforce a sense of shame and immorality around women in the mines. The women of the mines became a common scapegoat-  men and non-mining women would spew rhetoric we still hear today.  "They’re taking our jobs," the jobs of fathers, brothers and husbands.  There were accidents in the mines that were  intentional acts (see photo with quote below from an African American female miner), but reported as accidents. There was a double standard for women who chose to take legal action. If women reported claims to the union,  all of a sudden they were considered a "union sister," who betrayed the institution. They continued to be shamed, harassed or attacked for reporting on a fellow “union brother." 

"They would take my bucket, or my jacket, and they would put them in a hangman's noose, to give me a message. ....I found out later he was planning to run me down and make it look like an accident" (Moore 131).

The Good fight- Mechanisms & getting crafty

There were some really bad stories. 

Still, one woman saw the overnight mining shift as a better option to support her family compared to working two or three jobs to barely make ends meet. While many women didn’t last very long in the mines, either due to serious injuries from accidents (unintentional or intentional), there were some women who worked up to 15 years underground. And they found some mechanisms for fighting harassment.

Some of the women miners found utility in women outside of the mines, women that did have an impact on the men’s lives: their colleague's wives. One woman threatened to tell a fellow miner's wife they were having an affair if the harassment continued, which was effective at shutting him up. Another called a wife directly who got through to her husband about the harassment and he ultimately refrained.

 Allies-

1.     Friends in the Mines- Supporters on the Job

Some men were protective and served as kind, true friends. At one mine whenever images were drawn of a woman miner, one African American male miner would rush to get down first and erase them before she arrived. I can only guess his actions were driven by a true understanding of what it meant to be a victim of hate and discrimination, but he was still in a position to help. Today he would be what we would consider an ally.

Another woman recalls:

“’I was surprised, because the old-timers took care of me and I had trouble with the young ones. Everybody told me it would be the old-timers who would give me a rough time because they didn’t want women in the mine. But they put me under their wing and took care of me. I think they were raised to take care of women.’”

2.    Family- male relatives that also worked in the mines

Having a brother, father or cousin working at the same mine helped to stop or minimize harassment. In some cases fights broke out when a miner would come to a woman's defense. 

Legal mechanisms & Support- 

I was excited to see legal action discussed and taken through multiple channels. Women miners joined the union, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and took up proceedings against fellow union members. This had mixed success.

Women also bound together to start supporting each other. Some miners gained the confidence to take ownership of their positions in the mines and speak up. Betty Jean Hall founded and directed the Coal Employment Project (CEP).  A 1978 NYTimes article entitled "Feminist Group Assails Coal Industry" discuss how Appalachian women sought out coal mining jobs, and found solace in the CEP support group. 

“At CEP conferences, women miners found emotional support and developed concrete strategies to combat the problem.  Coal Employment Project CEP surveyed women on their experiences of harassment and successful ways to respond, ad published guidelines for legal and contractual remedies” (Moore, xliii)

In one account a woman describes her behavior transformation. She described herself as a "nice girl"  who was likable and hard working in the mines for the first five years of the job.  During that time she was taken advantage of, given the shitty jobs, and generally speaking "walked all over." And then she decided to start saying how she felt, thinking for herself, and showing them up in exams. She used her knowledge instead of hiding it and gained credentials to back the "newfound outspokenness." Her outspokenness, conviction and sense of self enabled her to survive mentally in the position. She was able to put in her decades in the mines, working 15 underground.

today

We still have work to do on changing attitudes and creating an inclusive supportive culture in workplaces. A culture in which men respect women, and are not threatened by them. Where men enable and support women where they can, especially in situations where are they powerful and entitled. 

Women are writing their own workplace guides, both aimed at behavior by women and men.  The NYtimes now has a gender editor, Jessica Bennett, who is author of  "Feminist Fightclub: A Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace." (Buy it here; A percentage of your purchase will support Electric America). 

This topic has been the theme of conversations among all my closest friends. And I've started talking to both the  men and women in my life about how gender norms such as the idea that the male is the aggressor, and even outright sexism, is learned and embodied.  That conversation is a starting point for how we can unlearn it, and adopt and act on different principles. 

Compared to the 1980s,  there are probably more allies and stronger legal mechanisms today on the whole. But not in all places. You better believe that an environment with predominantly one race or gender can feel as stifling as a coal mine.  The oil and gas industries have been reported as less diverse the tech industry. Blaire Briody shares crude realities of her time as a reporter in a North Dakota oil boom town in 2017.  Yet others  have persevered and felt  as the Women in the Mines did- that the economic opportunity outweighs the negatives.

Do you consciously think that your office is sexist? Probably not. We're not really conditioned to recognize and discuss it. But often times when diversity is lacking, prejudice finds space to breed.   Even if you don't think it's a sexist work place, if there too many men and not enough women or other voices, especially in positions of power, it probably has those tendencies. A mentor once said to me “Diversity is extremely important in every scenario: in your boardroom, your investment portfolio, and in your energy basket." 

Talking about and seeing energy field- coal mines, oil or gas wells, rooftops or wind farms, is a good place to start.

Finding allies, legal mechanisms, and cultivating diversity, and then letting those support systems give people the conviction to have hard conversations is how we move forward.

To read the complete stories of the Women in the Mines, and gain some new perspective on an age old theme, pick up a copy of Women in the Mines: Stories of Life and Work here (A percentage of your purchase will support Electric America).

I leave you with this from the inside cover of the book:

Coal Mining woman – a song by Hazel Dickens, an activist for miners’ rights.

“I’ve got the woman coal miner blues

Just like you, I’ve got the right to choose

A job with decent pay, a better chance to make my way

And if you can’t stand by me, don’t stand in way.”

We must work together to change the things that’s wrong.

For better conditions, we’ve waited much too long.

Health and Safety have to be a first priority,

And the change can only come through you and me.

Yes the change can only come through you and me.”

What are your thoughts? Are there stronger protections today? Is sexism emboldened?  Comment below.  Also.. did anyone see this?

Tumbling Grapes and Composting on America's Favorite Food Holiday

The frozen grapes toppled out of my bag one by one as I hustled through the metro station to catch my train out of the city. Bursting from my backpack were two large ziplop bags full of frozen vegetable scraps which I was choosing to lug from my apartment in downtown DC to the office freezer in the suburbs of the city. My boss had a garden where she composted, and had graciously agreed to make use of my household scraps to boost the soil.

It was a free option for disposal that was not the landfill.  It was an attempt to recycle food and help it become soil, instead of decomposing and releasing methane into the atmosphere. This was certainly not the most simple, convenient, or efficient system for disposal. But I was going to the office anyway, and you could say it spiced up my morning commute.

The Urban Tumbler (Goes Suburban)

Sticking excess veggie scraps in the freezer instead of the trash wasn’t too big of an ask of my roommates, and they kindly signed on, if for no other reason than to appease my environmental compulsions.

I backtracked through the metro station, picked up fallen frozen fruit and made it to the commercial office freezer to do the final handoff.

Suffice it to say, composting is not mainstream. It’s uncommon and can be a grape spilling hassle. It’s not the norm on the east coast, and not even in all places on the west coast. Lugging compost has become a trademark of the urban millennial, and most environmentalists  take pride in their farmers market drop-offs or home gardens.

Either way though, it's a choice and work,  and no one is incentivizing doing the right thing. 

I did enjoy my composting routine. It helped me be cognizant of what I was buying, using and throwing away, and I challenged myself to use more of the whole vegetable when I cooked.

Since moving back home from DC to the surburbs of NYC, I have not yet figured out how to effectively integrate composting into my day to day routine. In light of Thanksgiving, this beautiful festival of food, I thought I’d reflect on a couple anecdotes and resources to bring our my inner compost-er again, and hopefully yours too.

Food Waste Facts

1. 63 million tons, or 40 % percent of the food grown in the United States, is effectively going from farm to landfill (farm to fill, if you will).

“Every year, American consumers, businesses, and farms spends $218 billion a year, or 1.3% of GDP, growing, processing, transporting, and disposing food that is never eaten.”

2. Consumers make the largest contribution in the chain to food waste.

Household food waste in the United States totals 27 million tons each year or 43% percent of annual food waste.

3. More food than any other item goes to landfill and incinerators.

In the United States, food makes up 22% of the waste stream.

4. Methane from landfills is the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, and accounted for 15 % of emissions in 2015.

Still.. More Gas than Poop

As I casually toss food from this Sunday's holiday prep into the garbage, I thought back to a landfill and waste processing facility I visited in Florida earlier this year.

The Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority (SWA) utility park houses the newest incinerator in the country, a landfill, recycling center and waste processing digester. It is one of the most closed-loop systems I have seen. 

As food and matter decomposes in the landfill, methane is released.  Methane is a greenhouse gas over 25x more potent than carbon. Methane can be captured and used to produce electricity or heat.  But even well managed landfills produce too much methane to use, or haven’t been incentivized or regulated to use all of it. 

 At the SWA, they capture the methane, and use it to run heaters that dry poop.  However, there is still extra methane. In fact, 40% of the landfill gas is not used. It is simply burned into the air, or flared off. If you were to get into the facility at night you'd see an stream of gas on fire.  Gas flaring is a common at oil wells where excess gas that comes up with the oil is burned because it is not seen as important or valuable enough to capture. 

Keep it from the Fill

All this talk of eating, landfill and gas got you revved up? Me too. I’m challenging myself, and anyone reading this, to find a way to reduce food waste in landfills (via composting, less cluttered fridge or any other food waste solution) Maybe we can’t get the infrastructure in place to capture all of our Thanksgiving scraps this year, but we can certainly strive to get it ready for next year, and in the new year. I still have yet to find my composting beat, but I will work on it and keep you posted on progress. 

There are many solutions for food waste, including prevention. ReFED lays out solutions to food waste and characterizes them by impacts: waste diversion, financial benefit, jobs created, ghg emissions, water use, and meals recovered.

*Centralized composting ranks first in impact for waste diversion, ghg emission AND job creation.  It can save  18million tons of ghg emissions each year.

When centralized composting seems out of your control, you CAN add your stack to community compost and show that there is a need for centralized composting. 

Here are some composting resources for residential food composting in your area:

1. NYC

Free Drop Off: 

http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/zerowaste/residents/residential-food-waste-drop-off-sites.shtm

2. DC

Free drop off:

http://dcist.com/2017/04/dc_launches_free_composting_program.php

Compost pick up services:

https://compostcab.com/

3. Baltimore

Composting Information:

http://mde.maryland.gov/marylandgreen/Pages/CompostChallenge.aspx

https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/publicworks/recycling/composting/binsale.html

3. Philadelphia

Compost pick up services:

https://www.bennettcompost.com/

https://www.circlecompost.com/

4. Boston

Free drop off: 

https://www.boston.gov/environment-and-energy/project-oscar .

Compost pickup services:

https://bootstrapcompost.com/

5. Raleigh/The Triangle, NC

Compost pick up services:

https://compostnow.org/

So tomorrow your trash bin may be full of food. And so will your stomach. But maybe next year someone else's stomach, garden, or compost bin will be full too. And you can thank yourself and your inner compost-er. 

Enjoy your food coma, and enjoy the company with whom you're breaking bread.

and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU, DEAR READER.

 

A Little Bit of Optimism- 5 Pieces of Climate Hope in the US Today

This week world leaders met in Bonn, Germany to discuss the international climate accords that came out of the 2015 conference in Paris. Recent reports that world C02 emissions have not yet peaked, and that the world is far off from the stabilizing the its temperature leave things looking a little bit bleak. Add to that the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement, now the only country in the world  not committed, it’s easy to feel pure despair. When non-sensical non-science  climate policies have arisen at the federal level and American  institutions and values  are under threat, here are a couple rays of hope.

1.     Data: Steady Access to News & Current Information  

In a time when it is increasingly difficult to find non-partisan, fact-based information there is still a steady stream of critical data coming out of key government institutions, and news organizations.

Most notably, the Energy Information Agency (EIA) reports monthly on a breadth of subjects related to the power sector and its intersection with the economy (industry, transportation etc). The EIA reports are accompanied by backup data to support the results and analysis, and they provide the contact information for the data analysts. The analysts take responsibility for the data ad I have personally contacted them. This promotes accountability and reminds me that people in some areas of the government are doing their job well. What’s best is that the site lists when the next report will be released, again promoting transparency and accountability.

The EIA in conjunction with organizations such as Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Greentech Media, and academic institutions provide quantitative data that propel the energy industry forward, and enable climate action.

2.     Academic Institutions Are Sending Green Signals to the Next Generation

Across the United States higher education institutions are creating environmental, climate, and sustainability focused programs and degrees that train in both the social and  hard sciences. They are training the next generation of professionals and leaders in all fields, and integrating stewardship and environmental management into those discussions.  

What’s more, this commitment goes beyond the classroom. Universities are practicing what they preach by “greening” their energy portfolios. One of the most impactful trends is the procurement of renewable energy. Harvard, The George Washington University,  and American University (just to name a few) have invested in solar and wind farms to power their institutions for the long term. Universities are many times bureaucratic risk adverse institutions, but as large and long-standing energy consumers they have harnessed the economic benefit of renewables and chosen to advance the clean energy industry.

3.      Cities & States Are Flexing Their Muscles

Since the United States pulled out of the Paris climate accords, there have been a slew of leaders from states and cities that have reinforced their independent commitments to the accords and to facilitating a shift to a clean power grid. The Governor of Massachusetts, Republican Charlie Baker  quickly signed on after the United States withdrew. The C40- Mayors are dedicated to creating sustainable cities powered by renewable resources. There is a list of towns, counties, cities, and states committed to that goal. And it’s growing.

4.     Cross Sector Action- Private Sector & Non Profit Partnerships

Big tech companies have dedicated resources to understanding where their power comes from, and securing their power supply with reliable renewable resources. They do this for their own economic benefit and security, but most companies  also have created energy teams or subsidiaries that explore ways to diversify and strengthen their energy baskets. They communicate about their decisions, which advances the industry altogether. Nearly every Silicon Valley company- Amazon, Google, Apple has its hands in the energy game, and many are encouraging a conversation about supply, and the role of  electricity  in climate change.  Global Power Watch, an Electric America partner, is an initiative by the World Resources Institute to map and provide information on all of the power plants throughout world. That initiative is funded by Google.

5.     The “Clean Energy Economy” is a powerful force.

Not only is the clean energy economy a thing, but it’s a documented and impactful phenomena. In 2016, the Department of Energy put out its first jobs report, the U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER)  characterizing jobs by industry. It noted whether jobs fell into the category of “Traditional Energy and Energy Efficiency," and which ones contributed to low carbon electricity production. The report ties together in one place the carbon and economic impact of the energy industry. The solar and wind energy trade organizations, SEIA and AWEA, are also reporting on jobs growth.  In January 2017 the second annual report was released. As of the 2017 report, 800,000 Americans contribute to low carbon electricity production, and about 32% of the U.S. construction industry work in energy building efficiency projects, totaling over 2 million Americans.

Do you have other optimistic tidbits? Comment below. 

In Vets We Trust: U.S. Military Veterans on the Front Lines of the Power Sector

It wasn’t long into my time documenting the American power sector that I noticed a trend- veterans rule, and rule the power industry.  Everywhere I went I met people serving the energy industry who had served the country in the military- field technicians, plant operators, planners.  And it wasn’t in just in one job, or at one type of plant. I met veterans at incinerators and solar farms alike.

When I commented on the number of people with military backgrounds to one of tour guides at a local incinerator, she spoke of the trend as if it was standard operating procedure, something that simply made sense. Anecdotally she pointed to how they handle pressure and have the skills to move quickly to maintain operations and power production.

More times than not the veterans I met had served in the Navy. Whether or not they had served on a nuclear submarine or their role was directly tied to the nuclear reactor, living on a submarine  yields a level of self-sufficiency, and urgency that aligns with the demand and circumstances of power plants. The industries are catching on, and bringing in veterans.

According to the Nuclear Energy Institute  about one quarter of all nuclear plant workers are veterans.

As I began to research this trend, I came across groups and initiatives that actively support it.

Veterans in Energy is a professional society “by veterans for veterans,” dedicated to supporting veterans that choose a career in energy, with resources for recruiting, incorporating and retaining veterans in the field.  Within the energy industry, trade groups have committed to increasing the impact of vets in various sectors. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) announced in 2015 a goal of for the industry to employ 50,000 veterans and family members by 2020. This was an effort to the support “Joining Forces,”  initiative created by Michelle Obama to stimulate veteran employment.   The Veterans Energy Pipeline is a project by the American Petroleum Institute to strengthen veteran careers in oil and gas.

Back at the Duke Energy Renewables office in Tarboro, I met four people that staff and manage the nearby solar arrays, all with military backgrounds

Veterans bring their skills to the energy industry, and the industry enables veterans to continue to serve the country in critical ways with meaningful and substantive careers in civil society.

Click on the photos below to learn about veterans in the energy industry.

Thank you vets. 

Paul

Solar Technician

Tarboro, NC

Ceaso

Manager, Solar Operations

Tarboro, NC

Navy

James

Solar Planner

Tarboro, NC

Navy

John

Solar technician

Tarboro, NC

Navy

“Compared to the other places I’ve been, this is a dream job”

— Paul, Solar Technician, Tarboro NC

The Rural Sound: What I Learned about Life & Careers from West Virginia Christian Radio

One of the best parts of taking a cross-country road trip, besides the fact that my grandchildren will not even be able to conceptualize the “American road trip” with the advent of self-driving and flying cars, is the radio.  The experience of overlapping stations fading in and out, signals and static on the road is simultaneously one of the most frustrating and enlightening parts of a trip. It reminds you that you are on a road trip, driving from state to state, landscape to landscape. The gargle of signals reminds you to stop and take a look around.

The radio channels and programs in a state are an observer’s first clue about the population, demographics, culture, and physical landscape of the state. You get a feel for the area based on the stations available, the content of those stations, as well as signal strength.

Despite the drastic technological changes in the automobile industry and among communication platforms, the radio is one of the few technologies that still exists in every car, regardless of the model, make and year. Some may have varied accessories to complement it- cassette players, CD players, Aux cords, Sirius or XM radio, but radio is standard. It is both a contemporary and idyllic part of the dissemination of information in the United States, an integral string in the fabric of American media.

During my travels I have come to appreciate NPR and local affiliate stations. However, in some places, for example in the rural mountains of West Virginia, NPR didn’t come through. One particular trip I was traveling from the eastern to the western part of the state toward Kentucky and there were virtually no stations available. I flipped between channels and I heard snippets of Christian talk shows on repeat. Just as I was deciding whether I’d throw on a CD, a program rang through discussing tactics to recruit, welcome and integrate members into church so that they remained involved and active members. Recruiting and maintaining churchgoers didn’t seem too relevant to me. That was until they said this:

“No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

It is such a simple quote, and encapsulates a fundamental truth of how people relate to one another. They were saying you can’t save or enlighten newcomers, or get them to motivate them in the church until they know you really care about them.  This applies in so many contexts and settings, and  in virtually every professional setting.

No one cares about your business, problem or your solution., ie how you can contribute, until you connect with someone on a personal level. It likely will be about a different topic, or a shared interest, and as long as it’s from an authentic place, it is unfailing.

The most successful politicians, teachers, doctors, lawyers (insert professional here), are able to do their jobs most effectively when they have shown they care and gained the client’s trust.

You could be a genius about farming, but until the farmer knows you have his back, and you are a buddy, there’s no way he’ll give you the time of day to provide a solution (even if it’s ultimately in both of your best interests).

I think back through my journey driving from NJ to Florida, and all of my experiences- shattered stereotypes, facts learned, museums visited, unique interactions, and yet this one quote stays with me.  Showing interest and empathy in someone’s life is how I get information on the ground- it is critical to relationship building, and to journalism. Talk to people like they’re neighbors, and show them you care, and they’ll respond. Simple, to the point, and remarkably effective.

The Nuts and Bolts of Kauai Solar and Battery Storage

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) is a small utility. It provides electricity to about 33,000 homes and businesses on Kauai and has about 25,000 active members. Energy cooperatives are organizations that provide power to their customers, who own a share of the cooperative as  members and ratepayers. The organization is run as a nonprofit, and in the case of KIUC, owns the power plants, and the transmission and distribution infrastructure to bring the electricity to the customer.

Rural electric cooperatives serve 75% of the geographic U.S., but only 12% of the population because there are fewer people to serve per mile of transmission line in rural areas. Cooperatives were founded as a way to electrify parts of the country where investor-owned power companies didn't want to go because it was less lucrative.  Because member-owned cooperatives have no shareholders, the cooperatives serve only their members (the electricity customers) and their employees. 

The cooperative model, especially in rural area or islands, has produced amazing developments in the power sector, and innovation that some for-profit companies have not been able to achieve.

In March of this year, KIUC and Tesla completed a solar and battery storage facility in Lihue, Kauai on a former sugar plantation

 It is a 13 MW solar farm ( 2600 times the capacity of the average 5kW PV system found on an American rooftop), with an accompanying 52Mwh worth of battery storage, making the installation one of the biggest battery energy storage facilities in the country, behind utility scale battery deployment in Southern California. There are 272 Tesla Powerpacks set up next to 55,000 solar panels  According to KIUC, there are many sunny days when 90 percent or more of day time electricity demand is met by the island’s solar farms. The batteries can power 4500 homes for four hours, or about 18% of the island’s homes. 

On islands it is often easier to make the financials work for new, creative power solutions because they typically face a high price of electricity to start.

This is also part of the reason that Block Island Wind Farm came to be, which is the only operational offshore wind farm in the United States, which serves Block Island and its cooperative power company (Block Island Power Company). Prior to receiving power from the wind farm, Block island was also dependent on diesel fuel, importing nearly 1 million gallons of diesel every year.

Kauai is still dependent on oil for a large part of its power supply. About 60% of the electricity on the island comes from oil power plants, and the other 40% from renewable energy sources, including solar+battery, hydropower and biomass. The solar and battery storage facility displaces 1.6 million gallons of diesel per year, enough to fill a Tacoma truck 76,000 times.

Hawaii has a state goal to be powered by 100% renewable energy sources by 2045.

7 Days in a Green Home - Top Takeaways from My Stay in One of the Greenest Homes in the Country

When I was offered the opportunity to exhibit my photography at the sustainability/tech conference, VERGE 2017, I reached out to the west coast climate network for a place to stay. Sven Thesen returned my call with an offer for a bed and a warm meal. I spent an entire week living as the family lives in “Project Green Home,” a LEED platinum, net zero energy, passive house.  This all electric home uses approximately 80% less energy and water than the typical U.S. house. It was not only fun to stay in, but was actually more comfortable, luxurious, and fruitful than any other place I have stayed.

This LEED platinum, net zero energy, passive house uses approximately 80% less energy and water than conventional American homes, savings on bills and impact on the planet. More detail on the Palo Alto home on the Project Green Home website.

How do they do it?

The family has set up a structure to create a closed loop system within their home, and does what it can to reduce waste wherever possible. The Thesens recapture and reuse water, food, and energy, and it was inspiring to see how they benefit from their well-designed, environmental, and economic home. It is a beautiful house designed with lots of windows and sky lights for natural light, extensive garden space, rooftop solar, and three electric vehicle charging stations. There is even a tree trunk that serves as a feature column in the living room.

The thing that was so wonderful about staying with the family was that they don’t make you feel bad about how you live, or even expect you to join, but I did take note of some amazing features and reaped the benefits. 

Here are my favorite parts of the green home:

1.     Hot Water that You Don’t Have to Wait For

You know that moment when you turn the shower on and get bored waiting for it to heat up? Maybe you grab a glass of water, start your nightly stretching routine, or plug in your phone, all while the water is running, wasting water cleaned to drinking water quality. No one wants to step in before it’s steaming, which is why I was so impressed with the design at Project Green Home.  Next to every water system there is a small white button you press before you need the water. Water (heated by an electric heat pump) is kept hot in the insulated pipe loop. Pressing the button triggers the pump to circulate hot water to that specific area of the home. Give it 2 minutes and you’re good to go. You turn the handle and by the time you step in you feel steaming, luscious flowing water that you’re actually using and enjoying. No more cold quick showers, or buckets of water wasted.

2.     An On-site Pump and Platform Where You Can Fuel Up (Literally and Spiritually)

I was searching around the exterior of the house for a place to do yoga. After a lap through the vegetated back yard and garden, I noticed that there was a hard flat surface in the front yard that meets every yoga need. It met my goal of being outside, and had enough room to lay out my mat and move around. What was it you ask? It was the stone fuel pad alongside the electric vehicle charging station, aka their driveway. There is no way in hell I would ever sprawl out to do yoga on the concrete of a gas station, but an EV charging station at my home? That’s a different story.  It dually serves as a place for the car to be parked and plugged in, and a lovely (and oil free) landing spot for a meditation session when the car is out being driven. It was clean with no sign of any oil or leaking fuel (because the car doesn’t use oil or gasoline – it’s electric!). The flat stone is perfect against your feet during a tree pose or a good downward dog. Sven’s wife has not been to a gas station in 8 years.. I repeat, 8 years. A spot for filling your car and your soul- what more could you ask for from your home?

3.     Luxury Shower- Water Pressure that you Crave

When I hopped in the low-flow shower, I had no idea what I was in for. I had experienced the moment of exhaustion when you’ve been traveling in a different time zone and just need a shower, but decided to sleep and get to it in the morning. Little did I know I had put off what would be one of the best shower experiences of my life.  The water was steaming (see bullet one), and equally important, the pressure was amazing.

Many water efficient technologies have struggled to meet the luxury standards that Americans are accustomed to, and if you’re like me, have come to crave. The idea had disseminated that sometimes you just need more water to get the performance. This shower dispels that notion.  The showerhead provides a flow less than 1.5 gallons/minute (gpm), compared to typical showers that stream over 2 gallons per minute, using 30 gallons in a 15 minute shower. This design saves water while maintaining water pressure. And I never put off a shower again.

4.     Fresh eggs, whenever you want them (on demand eggs)

The beauty of having hens is that you can stroll out to the backyard to collect breakfast. There were always eggs in the house fresh out of the oven (quite literally), and great for morning omelets. Healthy, cheap, and always available.  

The chickens come to the door to say good morning.

5.     Wine, Homemade Goodies, Handwritten Notes- The Fruits of Providing Free Car Fuel

Nearly every time I returned to the home there was a different electric vehicle fueling up at the curbside charging station, one installed on public property, and permitted by the city of Palo Alto.  The Thesen family provides electricity to the community for free. They consider the additional electricity cost a minimal expense and well worth the value of normalizing curbside electric vehicle charging. Their generosity is often repaid via a stream of bottles of wine, notes and other goodies.  Neighbors and community members leave gifts on their curb or doorstep, grateful for their leadership, and to have a nearby fueling station (in this case providing free fuel). Neighbors could buy an electric vehicle and not install a station. The public charging station helps people overcome initial concerns about range and fueling, encouraging the growth of the electric vehicle market.

There are countless examples of awesome design and good living- if you want to see them all, stop by the home for a look around! The next tour is on Sunday October 8th, 1-3pm in celebration of the North American Passive House Network Conference.  Contact Sven at sven@projectgreenhome.org to join.

Learn more about how the Thesen's installed the EV charging station and the cost of electricity to fuel the public here. 

To read about the domestic hot water design and system, go to www.gohotwater.com

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Demand Demand Demand- How the Power of the Purse Drives Green Technology

I walked on the site of Duke Energy Renewables’ largest solar farm, capable of powering about 17,000 U.S. homes in rural Conetoe, North Carolina. It was tucked behind a small plot of RV homes, and was surrounded by agricultural land. The solar field was in an area of small towns and large farm plots.

We got out of the Ford truck close to 11 am, and it was stifling. The area was bug ridden, and the humidity and sheer heat made it almost unbearable to be in the field.

The George Washington University (GW) is powered by 50% solar, and as a GW alumni and Fellow with the university, Duke Energy Renewables agreed to show me where their energy comes from, along with a couple other farms in the area.

This one I visited was an 80 MW site with over 400,000 solar panels covering 800 acres. From every viewpoint, I saw solar.  I climbed a hill, looking down try to maneuver through the ant mounds. I looked up and was overwhelmed with solar. I saw nothing but panels and there was no end in sight.

The farm was developed through what's called a power purchase agreement (PPA), where energy consumers (companies, utilities etc.) buy a certain amount of power at a set price for a long period of time, usually 15-25 years. The companies Corning and Lockheed Martin created the PPA to serve their North Carolina and Maryland operations, respectively.

I was standing on the largest solar farm in Duke Energy Renewables’ portfolio.

It consisted of rows and rows of large solar panels. It also had an enclosed, air conditioned monitoring room where the solar radiance and number of MW produced were displayed on screens. And as with any power plant, there was also a transmission station on the site.

Later in the afternoon I traveled about 30 minutes up the road to a smaller farm, one of three solar farms that GW, GW Hospital and American University developed in North Carolina to serve their energy needs. Together it’s called The Capital Solar Partnership. The three institutions decided that they wanted to be powered by clean energy, and found a power provider to build solar farms within their energy market, PJM Interconnection, and to sell them the power.

Each institution established a PPA with Duke Energy Renewables. In the long run, the institutions save on their energy costs, as the market price per kwh of electricity rises. It’s a way of securing clean power now and energy security in the long term.

This is an especially popular model for institutions and big companies with high energy costs, long term need, and some capital to spend. The developer, for example, Duke Energy Renewables, just needs someone to say, “yes, we will pay for power from this solar farm for the next X years,” and then can securely invest in building the new infrastructure.

As I hopped around from site to site backed by private institutions and companies, something became so clear to me: it’s all about demand. The solar farms would not have been built if these institutions and companies did not have the interest in it, for whatever reason. Maybe it is part of the sustainability goals of the organizations, or a priority of the shareholders, but for one reason or another, they wanted to invest in clean energy to power their organizations.

I thought back to other scenarios when demand made all the difference.

In 2016, I toured Sims Recycling Facility in Brooklyn, NY that processes New York City’s recyclables.

The manager explained to me that right now they have one Chinese buyer that agreed to purchase dirty plastic bags, used by consumers to carry take-out and hair products from CVS and then thrown away.

 The moment that the one Chinese buyer decides that it is cheaper or preferable to buy clean plastic bags, or manufacture elsewhere, and no longer needs those dirty plastic bags they are no longer recyclable in the city.

They have nowhere else to go. No one wants them. And therefore they go to the landfill.

Recycling is not enabled by the technology at the facility, the collection process or consumer behavior, so much as the demand for the material to be used again.

We cannot count on a couple big companies to do the right thing. Or one Chinese buyer to take all of our garbage. We need to be demanding good processes- clean energy, goods that are common enough or malleable enough to have second uses.  We are the demand. When we as individuals band together to each demand something good (a better box, less plastic, fewer receipts, cleaner power), we all win.

So be demanding.   

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize