GREENING GUILFORD

Shrinking our buildings' carbon footprints

There is no silver bullet.

Robert Powell, an assistant professor at N.C. A&T University, said this to me over lunch Wednesday when I asked him what Greensboro needs to do to address the challenges of climate change and peak oil production. He said we would need a multi-faceted approach with the city first establishing a baseline of how much fossil fuels it uses as part of its signing the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement last year.

Powell (who also happens to serve on a construction advisory group with Guilford County Schools and was part of an initiative to help Glenwood neighborhood get a sculpture garden) has been promoting energy efficiency and sustainability measures for the past 30 years and believes we have reached a time when several groups working in silos are coming together around the same table to talk. But his passion is architecture and he and other professors at the university are working on an initiative, funded by the state energy office, to research programs and building techniques that can be applied commercially and residentially across the state. I'll have details on that initiative later.

Powell is also a fan of architect Edward Mazria, who designed the Mount Airy Public Library, which uses extensive daylighting. 

Mazria also established Architecture 2030, a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization, whose mission is to rapidly transform the national and global building sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the group:

"Credible scientists give us 10 years to be well on our way toward global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Yet there are hundreds of coal-fired power plants currently on the drawing boards in the US. Seventy-six percent (76%) of the energy produced by these plants will go to operate buildings.

Buildings are the major source of demand for energy and materials that produce by-product greenhouse gases (GHG). Slowing the growth rate of GHG emissions and then reversing it over the next ten years is the key to keeping global warming under one degree centigrade (°C) above today's level. It will require immediate action and a concerted global effort."

"Green" building has caught on locally, although some question whether the long-term savings are worth the short-term costs. Guilford County Schools is incorporating green features in its new schools, the new Proximity Hotel is LEED-certified and New Garden Friends School recently announced it is building a LEED-certified arts and athletics complex. I also hear the Greensboro Builders Association will promote green building on the residential level. (Via an Action Greensboro blog, check out Rivercane Village outside of Asheville, which the developer bills as the "largest residential application of solar thermal technology in the U.S.")

Powell said Americans need to stop waiting for government groups to initiate changes.

"It's not going to happen that way," he said. "If it happened (that) way it wouldn't work."

Miracle cars and unrealistic expectations

I often wonder if environmentalists, car manufacturers, politicians and others who believe that the production of hybrid, electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will solve our imminent transportation problems ever talk to real people. The people struggling to pay off their current gas-guzzlers, the folks who live next to junkyards (and don't want to see fields of abandoned and obsolete vehicles multiply) and those who whose prospects for affording a $20,000 Toyota Prius are slim.

In other words, who will buy these cars and what will we do with the millions of cars they replace?

Let me use myself as an example. I drive a 2003 Hyundai Elantra upon which I anticipate making car payments for the next year or so. I plan to drive the vehicle until at least 2013, giving me a few years without car debt. By the time the car conks out, I hope to have transitioned to a car-free lifestyle, but if I haven't I definitely want to pay for the next car with cash, regardless of the gas prices at that time. It makes no sense to me to have a $400 car payment to save some gas money when I can just be more judicious in choosing the places I drive to and have no car payment.

Now, if I can find a used Prius for, say, $5,000 at that time, then great.

Some groups out there that question whether the next-era vehicles we hear about are technologically feasible or economically scaleable, but their voices are not as loud as those heralding the dawn of hydrogen vehicles (which have been in development for about 30 years) and so forth.

One pickup truck marketed by hyrdogen fuel cell manufacturer Anuvu in 2003 cost $100,000! (I tried to access the company's Web site, but it doesn't work.) Another company called ZAP! has a three-wheeled sedan with top speeds of 40 mph for $11,500.

    It seems to be more environmentally-sound and less expensive to just convert vehicles to run on ethanol and biodiesel than to discard fuel-inefficient vehicles. The priority of car manufacturers is to make sure the production of vehicles benefits their bottom line, regardless of the shift in consumer preferences. Well, I argue that most consumers operate the same way. I need to save money on a net basis and if that means holding on to my Elantra as long as possible, then so be it. 

More opportunities to get involved

Mark your calendars for the following events:

Feb. 12: The Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization will hold an open house to discuss the future of transportation in our area.

North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light, a program of the Council of Churches in Raleigh, is training volunteers for a Greensboro-based team to provide Hope Workshops on Global Warming. The program provides training and materials and the volunteer presenters work in teams of two. Trainings are held once a month, usually on a weekday evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Teams exist in Asheville, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh and Winston-Salem.

If you are interested, contact Mark Ginsberg,  outreach coordinator, at (919) 269-8663 or (919) 616-4414. He can also arrange a free energy audit workshop for church congregations.

May 29-31: The Center for the Environment at Catawba College in Salisbury will hold an interfaith conference. 

Keynote Speakers Include
· Dr. Matthew Sleeth, author of Serve God and Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action.
· Gary Gardner, director of research at Worldwatch Institute, a leading source on the interactions among key environmental, social and economic trends.
· The Rev. Sally Bingham, priest in the Episcopal Diocese of California, environmental minister at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and originator of Episcopal Power and Light, the model for Interfaith Power and Light.

For more information, contact Amanda Hooker Lanier at (704) 637-4295.

Oil company admits peak oil is near

This week, Shell Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer acknowledges that the world is running out of cheap oil. His prediction of peak production is 2015, less than a decade away.

Don't knock the amateur

I started gardening for the first time in a shared space last year. My only personal association with a garden before then was through my grandmother, who used to grow some of her own vegetables. The backyard produce did not impress me as a youth (I remember my nana removing husks - and worms - from ears of corn and thinking eewwww). I considered pulling weeds and other yard work akin to slavery.

Now that I'm older, I realize you can't beat local, fresh fruit and vegetables and the work can be rewarding both spiritually and physically. So I decided to experiment with growing my own food. I tried to keep it simple: green beans, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs. I scoured seed catalogues for quality and variety, but ended up getting most of them at Lowe's. The wonderful thing about gardening is that nature is patient with one's ignorance and blunders and the return on investment (a few dollars) is enormous compared to when you shop in a supermarket. I have a newfound appreciation for the bounty of the earth and farmers' work. (In the end, my husband and I collected about 20 tomatoes, a couple cucumbers and some peppers. The green beans shriveled in the sweltering heat and the herbs didn't even come up). I hope to do it again this year.

You might consider that harvest paltry for the hours of work involved. I wondered myself, what am I doing trying to advocate for local eating among family and friends when half of my seeds bore no fruit? It's just simpler to leave this to the "experts."

But empowering us amateurs to experiment with a new way of eating and living is vital to transforming this community into one that is more resilient to global commodity price fluctuations (read: higher food costs), not even delving into the questionable wisdom of genetically modified/clone-derived and over-processed foods. What's important at this point is not so much the amount of practical experience we have, but the mindset change that precedes it. From there, we need education and tools to try it.

I would love to see Greensboro get more community gardens, such as the one in the Glenwood neighborhood. Apartment/condo dwellers need their spaces too. Perhaps several years from now I will join other residents, previously divorced from their source of nourishment, in shedding that "amateur" label.

More events at UNCG

You can't beat a free movie and engaging chat. UNCG's sustainability committee has been hosting viewings and discussion of films on environmental issues since last summer. Following is a list of the remaining films. Hope to see you there!

2/21
UNCG Sustainability Committee Film Series: The Power of Community
This uplifting film tells the story of how the Cuban people survived when they lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1990's: cooperation, conservation and community. Weatherspoon Art Gallery 6:30pm.

3/13
UNCG Sustainability Committee Film Series: Manufactured Landscapes
Photographer Edward Burtynsky's journey to China to document the country's industrial revolution. Weatherspoon Art Gallery 6:30pm.

I have seen The Power of Community and would highly recommend it; I am excited about the opportunity to see Manufactured Landscapes because I was debating whether to scrap together some dollars for the DVD.

4/10

UNCG Sustainability Committee Film Series: Wild Caught
UNCG professor Matt Barr's documentary about the challenges of a North Carolina fishing community. Weatherspoon Art Gallery 6:30pm.

Where is our peak oil debate?

What I don't mean by "debate" is engaging in a he said/she said argument about whether global peak oil production will occur because it will. It is an actual physical, geological phenomenon; U.S. production peaked in the early 1970s. What I mean is, when will Greensboro and the rest of Guilford County engage in public discourse about how to best adapt to this ominous threat to our society? One can argue whether the outpacing of oil and natural gas supply by demand will lead to an unfaltering rise in prices because economic and geopolitical factors will likely cause the prices to become volatile. That presents its own problems. The trouble with American communities is their utter dependence on these fossil fuels for food, transportation, heating/cooling, electricity and economic growth.

Peak oil primers now abound on the Internet, with some oil analysts believing peak oil arrived in 2005 and others claiming we have a few decades left. Then the peak oil discussion breaks down into a few camps: the doom and gloomers who believe peak oil will kill the global economy and modern civilization, the optimists who believe technology will save the day, and the others in between.

If you want a crash course in peak oil, I would suggest checking out Energy Bulletin, which compiles articles, reports, speaches and other dialogue on peak oil and climate change from across the country on a daily basis. Good reads include U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett from Maryland (recent speech given in November) and the Hirsch Report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy. Even Matthew Simmons, an oil investor and advisor to the Bush Administration, believes America is in trouble.

Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) has a different view.

You will need several hours to digest all this. Take your time.

Eventually, however, residents and leaders here will need to address this. How vulnerable is North Carolina and Guilford County? How do we marry the concepts of climate change and peak oil and address them coherently and comprehensively?

The Post Carbon Institute has a list of cities that are already taking a stab at it. You need to scroll down the page to see the list. The population of the cities involved range from about 2,500 to 744,000 people and up, so Greensboro/Guilford County has no excuse.

Mark your calendars: three can't miss events

Unfortunately I may have to miss one of these to cover a school board meeting. But if you attend, drop me a line and let me know how it went:

On Jan. 31, The Piedmont Environmental Alliance is hosting "Paint the Town Green - Moving Towards Sustainable Communities" from 7 to 9 p.m. at Green Street United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem. The discussion will focus on how to encourage local governments to invest in sustainability. Free to the public.

Panel Members:

Vivian Fulk, The Climate Project

Elyse Jung, Sierra Club

Cathy Poole, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League & N.C. Alliance for Transportation Reform

Greg Savage, US Green Building Council, Piedmont Triad Chapter

Anne-Marie Scott, Triad Slow Food Convivium

Robert Vorsteg, Winston-Salem Neighborhood Alliance

David Wright, American Institute of Architects

Moderator: Terri LeGrand, Executive Director of Piedmont Environmental Alliance

On Feb. 12, the Rev. Mac Legerton, program director of the new Institute on Sustainable Development, Social Justice and Transformative Learning in Robeson County, will speak  at UNCG from 4 to 6 p.m. in the MacDonald Center of the Curry Building. This is part of the university's Scholarly Colloquium Series. Legerton is a statewide leader in school and community partnerships, rural development, policy advocacy, family support and literacy, youth and leadership development, environmental justice, cultural and place-based education and service learning. Check out an essay he wrote on sustainable development. On Feb. 12, he will speak on the role of education in promoting social justice and sustainability in a multicultural context, according to Kathe Latham at UNCG.

On March 28, UNCG will sponsor "The State of Our State: Wild Things in North Carolina," as part of its 2008 environmental symposium, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the New Science Building auditorium, Rm. 101. Prominent biologists from around the state will be speaking about the state of our state with regards to the flora and fauna of North Carolina. The event is free. 

Speakers:

Richard B. Hamilton has recently retired as Executive Director of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) and is now working with the N.C. Wildlife Federation.

Curtis Smalling is the mountain region biologist for Audubon North Carolina. Curtis conducts extensive breeding bird surveys in the mountains to identify important birding areas. In 2005, Smalling and others investigated the impacts of wind turbines on birds at Beech Mountain.

John Alderman is an endangered species specialist and aquatic biologist who monitors and helps to conserve freshwater crayfish, mussels, snails, and fish.

Alan Weakley is the author of "Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, and Surrounding Areas" and is curator of the University of North Carolina Herbarium, which houses the largest collection of plant specimens from the Southeastern United States. For several decades, he has spent his time documenting and helping to preserve plant biodiversity in the Southeast.

For more information, contact Ann Berry Somers at 334-4978.

Does Guilford have what it takes?

I wasn't so sure a year ago. I thought that despite the county seat's name, Greensboro and the surrounding areas lacked progressiveness regarding sustainability in comparison to other cities, such as Portland and Seattle.

Admittedly, when I first moved here in April 2006 to work for the News & Record, I was more concerned about finding a cheap place to live while I sold my house, learned my beat, met friends and found out what kind of entertainment the city had. But months went by and I started making changes in my lifestyle (partly motivated by tight finances), such as resuming a childhood joy of bike-riding, walking to stores for exercise and gardening. I asked myself, where are all the bike lanes? And man, these neighborhoods are so spread out, I don't know if I have the time and energy to walk two hours round trip lugging bags of groceries (I lived in northwest Greensboro for about eight months). I stared at people standing in the cold rain at city bus stops from the comfort of my five-passenger sedan. When I moved to an apartment in Lindley Park, I had to drive to another neighborhood to start a garden (thanks to a resident's beneficence). And you know the saying, out of sight, out of mind. And when I tried to cut back on my carbon emissions by hanging my laundry to dry, I was told no clotheslines outside. So I bought a rack and hung them in an already crowded bedroom.

Then I learned about climate change and peak oil and shortly realized that what were now inconveniences in a car-dominated society could turn out to be liabilities. Were these issues on the radar of city and county governments and community organizations? Fortunately, I now know that some groups in the county and state are trying to address these challenges and help residents prepare for what is to come over the next few decades: skyrocketing oil and natural gas prices, unpredictable weather patterns and possibly a global economy that must reverse itself and become increasingly local. Peak oil is only beginning to hit the mainstream consciousness and I agree with some who say the subject will likely overtake climate change in public debate this year.

So what are the residents of Guilford County going to do about this? Will we continue to look for the same solutions to our economic and social problems? How innovative can we be in transitioning to a lifestyle that is more local, energy efficient and less dependent on fossil-fuels (i.e. gas-powered automobiles, industrial agriculture). Do we have the political will, resources and persistence to make this area an attractive and viable place to live 20 years from now?