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Global Footprint Network: National Accounts 2005
Global Footprint Network vie EnergyResources
“The world will no longer be divided by the ideologies of ‘left’ and ‘right,’ but by those who accept ecological limits and those who don’t.” Wolfgang Sachs, Wuppertal Institute
Newest Ecological Footprint Data Show Overshoot Growing, “Footprint trading” between Nations
The 2005 edition of the National Accounts, just released by Global Footprint Network, shows overshoot continuing to grow: in 2002, humanity consumed 23% percent more ecological resources than the Earth produced. This is up from 21% for the prior year. Although it is possible to exceed ecological limits in the short-term, this “ecological deficit” leads to the destruction of ecological assets, such as fisheries and forests, on which our economy depends.
(22 November 2005)
See: www.footprintnetwork.org
Sustainable Energy Solutions for B.C.
British Columbia Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA)
n the pages below, we first describe three drivers of a sustainable energy economy, both globally and for BC: (1) global climate change; (2) the imminent shortage of global oil supplies as demand outpaces production; and (3) the imminent shortage of first North American and then global natural gas supplies, as demand outpaces production. These three drivers will require changes to at least 90% of the energy that powers the global economy. If BC makes this transition first, it will be in a position to be a global hub for one of the largest market opportunities in history.
We then suggest clear, practical, economically viable options to meet these challenges, which will improve our environment, our business climate, and our children’s future, while generating many jobs based on local demand. This does not include the substantial potential to provide advice, research & development, and products to the other regions globally that will be undergoing a similar transformation.
Our analysis shows that BC has the potential to generate 84,250 GWh of sustainable, renewable energy (including efficiency savings) by various means, and to create over 400 ,000 temporary and permanent jobs involving smart power and smart end use over the next 30 years, including 25,000 GWh and 145,000 jobs from province-wide energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits.
When we look to the future of transport in BC, it appears that the best opportunities may lie with electric vehicles, with supporting roles being played by vehicles powered by hydrogen, biodiesel and biowastes. We note that BC citizens possess an impressive pool of talents that support integrated approaches to urban transport planning, including walking, cycling, transit, car-sharing, urban design, and smart growth.
When we look to the future of heating, we see major opportunities for solar hot water, ground-source and water-source heat, sewer heat, zero energy building designs, biofuels, and district heating systems.
(November 2005)
The Vancouver Sun writes about the report: Alternative energy sources potentially rich in jobs.
From the BCSEA website:
We are a non-profit association of citizens, professionals and practitioners, committed to promoting the understanding, development, and adoption of sustainable energy and energy conservation and efficiency in British Columbia.
Thanks to Carrie of peakoil-dot-com for the references. -BA
LED hugger
Big Gav, Peak Energy (Australia)
I’ve referred to LED based lighting and its advantages over incandescent lights and fluorescent lights quite a few times in the past. It seems that things are moving along quite swiftly on this front, with TreeHugger posting a slew of reports on the subject lately.
(22 November 2005)
Round-up of LED news from TreeHugger.
Affordable housing goes ‘green’
Alexandra Marks, Christian Science Monitor
Such homes may cost more to build, but cities are encouraging them for their long-term savings.
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NEW YORK – It’s an inside-out apartment house: The boiler is on the top floor, the insulation is outside the concrete walls, and the garden’s going to be on the roof.
On New York’s Lower East Side, this brick apartment house – still under construction – is one of a number of environmentally conscious and energy-efficient building projects.
It’s also one of the more tangible manifestations of a trend taking off in cities across the country: the merging of affordable housing and “green” building. City officials and others are recognizing that energy-efficient buildings, while they may cost a bit more to build, are far more affordable than traditional housing in the truest sense of the word. They cost less to operate and live in, and they provide tenants with a healthier atmosphere that can save on healthcare costs.
(22 November 2005)
Industrial corn: The way forward?
Tom Philpott, Gristmill
A few weeks ago, the New York Times ran a memorable piece on its front business page about corn overproduction in Iowa. Entitled “Mountains of Corn and a Sea of Farm Subsidies,” the piece featured a photo of a monstrous pile of corn outside of a stuffed-to-capacity grain elevator, “soaring more than 60 feet high and spreading a football field wide,” the text informs us.
…At first glance, a problem-solution scenario presents itself. Midwest farmers need new markets for their corn; companies of all stripes need packaging for their goods. Cargill steps in, buys corn, turns it into plastic, and everyone’s happy. Cargill’s corn-plastic arm saw sales surge 200 percent in first-half 2005.
Isn’t this the Al Gore vision come true? The market, goosed by multibillion-dollar subsidies that encourage corn overproduction, is quietly prodding companies to replace fossil fuel with “renewable” energy.
Yet I wonder how much fossil fuel is actually being saved in this bargain.
(22 November 2005)
