The First Green President of the United States

With regards to Obama and his strategies for greening American, his policies may not be perfect, but when it comes to the big picture Barack Obama gets it. The following candid statement of his on the ridiculousness of some of the debate questions gives us an inside look at his approach to solving the climate crisis.

When he was preparing for them during the Democratic primaries, Obama was recorded saying, "I don't consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, 'You know, this is a stupid question, but let me … answer it.' So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f---ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'."

With our economy and financial markets in shambles, it is fair to ask what could a President Obama realistically achieve early in his first term in the White House to put us on the track to energy independence and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. My friend Costa beat me to the punch and wrote a nice summary of the potential green measures taken by the new Obama administration over at Sustainable Research.

The following sites also detail Obama's energy and environmental policies.

Earth2Tech: FAQ: The Obama Energy Plan
Gristmill: Is Obama's energy plan change we can believe in?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr: Obama's Energy Plan will create green gold rush
Reuters: Obama's Energy Plan may be Curbed but not Halted

In addition to some of the action items listed in Obama's policy papers and the aforementioned websites I have a short list of the top priorities that I think the Obama adinistration will address starting during its first 12 months.

1. Launch the $150 billion clean tech venture fund ($15 billion in clean tech investments and grants each year)
   
2. Work on a detailed plan that incentivizes American automakers to retool their factories and start building more hybrid electric and plug in hybrid vehicles. Back in 2006 Obama co-sponsored legislation called "Health Care for Hybrids" where the government would provide assistance for the automakers' employee health insurance in exchange for a commitment and investment by Detroit automakers in more fuel efficient vehicles.
3. Create a National Infrastructure Bank which would be in charge of distributing funding for billions in dollars of new infrastructure and infrastructure improvement projects. My friends - this would be real fiscal stimulus we can believe in.
4. Create the ground work for a national cap and trade system - this probably will not come into effect until at least year two or three of his first term
5. Create an incentive program to reach Obama's goal of 1 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on the road by 2015
6. Re-launch the federal initiative for a carbon sequestration pilot plant (FutureGen 2)

The following details are from the Obama campaign's New Energy for America Plan:

The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:

• Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
• Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
• Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
• Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
• Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
• Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

ENERGY PLAN OVERVIEW:

Provide Short-term Relief to American Families

• Enact a Windfall Profits Tax to Provide a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to American Families.
• Crack Down on Excessive Energy Speculation.
• Swap Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Cut Prices.

Learn More...

Eliminate Our Current Imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 Years

• Increase Fuel Economy Standards.
• Get 1 Million Plug-In Hybrid Cars on the Road by 2015.
• Create a New $7,000 Tax Credit for Purchasing Advanced Vehicles.
• Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
• A “Use it or Lose It” Approach to Existing Oil and Gas Leases.
• Promote the Responsible Domestic Production of Oil and Natural Gas.

Learn More...

Create Millions of New Green Jobs

• Ensure 10 percent of Our Electricity Comes from Renewable Sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
• Deploy the Cheapest, Cleanest, Fastest Energy Source – Energy Efficiency.
• Weatherize One Million Homes Annually.
• Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology.
• Prioritize the Construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.

Learn More...

Reduce our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80 Percent by 2050

• Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
• Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change.

The city of Pittsburgh hires a Sustainability Coordinator

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette the city of Pittsburgh hired Lindsay Baxter to be its Sustainability coordinator. This has been a long time coming, as the mayor announced over one year ago that he was hiring someone to fill this post. Ms. Baxter's background includes a fellowship with the Clean Air Cool Planet organization, and she is currently pursuing a Masters degree in environmental studies at Duquesne University.

The first things Ms. Baxter plans on tackling are reducing energy use in the city's street lamps and vending machines. Her primary focus will be on getting the city to adopt single stream recycling and kick starting the city's participation in the Department of Energy's Solar America Initiative.

Now is the time for a national infrastructure investment initiative

The other day The New York Times' Paul Krugman wrote that infrastructure projects were a great way for the federal government to provide a boost to our struggling economy. Krugman said that the next President cannot afford to be weary of spending money on infrastructure as the well being of our economy should take precedent over concerns of our growing deficit.

I'm a big fan of a massive investment in new roads, bridges, and most importantly, and new rail lines, including high speed rail (I just read that Pittsburgh's maglev project is still alive!). The catch is that we cannot afford for our government to hastily spend this money on things like a bridge to nowhere, or Pittsburgh's very own tunnel to nowhere, and this is way I am in favor of a national infrastructure bank. Below is a excerpt of a post from my technology + politics blog on the proposed NIB.

Cutting taxes or sending out rebate checks does not create sustainable economic growth. Using that money to instead put people to work on building new and fixing existing bridges, roads, and rail would give us taxpayers the highest ROI, but we must spend taxpayer dollars responsibly, and that is why I favor the passing of legislation similar to the Dodd-Hagel National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007. The reason we need a National Infrastructure Bank to stimulate growth through infrastructure investment is that at this point we cannot afford taxpayer money to go towards mores roads, bridges, and tunnels to nowhere. We need a system in place where the best projects are funded based on both their need (like our crumbling bridges here in Western PA) and their potential to spur economic growth. Our very own half billion dollar tunnel to nowhere should be enough evidence in favor of creating a better system and process for approving and funding projects that will make a difference.

Drill baby Drill! vs. Alternatives now!

WNYC's Brian Lehrer show has an awesome series called "30 issues in 30 days," which is a daily segment that he started running late last month. The special segment runs through the end of October and has tackled important issues such as immigration, education, middle east policy, and infrastructure. Last Friday they aired the #1 issue as voted by listeners, and that was energy independence. Drill baby Drill vs. Alternative Energy contains some interesting interviews, such as the one with the guy who traveled across the US in a car that ran on veggie oil, but the interview I want to highlight is the one between David Kruetzer, an energy policy analyst from the Heritage Foundation, a right leaning think tank, and Antonia Juhasz, author of "The Tyranny of Oil."

The debate highlighted the contrasts between the two sides of the energy independence debate - which is the one side's belief that we have enough oil offshore and in places like ANWR so there shouldn't be an urgency to displace oil, or the other side, which says we need start working on replacing oil completely right now. I think I'm in the latter category, although I agree with Senator Obama that it is okay to compromise on additional offshore drilling as long as incentives for renewables are part of the package.

I learn something new every time I listen to a lecture or read a book on energy issues, and listening to their debate was no different. It is well known that the US is #1 in worldwide energy consumption, but did you know that we are #3 oil producing nation in the world? Hard to believe but it is true! (Although Mr. Kruetzer seemed surprised by it!) The full show is at this page or you can listen using the embedded player below.

Highmark is one of Pittsburgh's greenest companies

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield unveiled downtown Pittsburgh's first green roof earlier today. The 22,000 square foot green roof sits on top of the 3rd floor of downtown Pittsburgh's 5th Avenue Place tower. Highmark now has the green roof to go along with its LEED certified data center which is located on the other side of the state. Highmark has a full time Sustainability coordinator and from what insiders tell me they are serious about their commitment to making a difference through sustainability.

This is one small step towards greening downtown Pittsburgh. Over a year ago I called for the city to implement a plan to get all of its buildings downtown to install green roofs. Last August I posted this list of the benefits of green roofs and my vision for Pittsburgh's "Green Triangle." Hopefully other downtown businesses follow Highmark's lead.

below: the view from downtown's Highmark building

Heinz Talks: Climate Change and Energy Policy—Advice to Our Next President

The next president of the United States, whomever he may be, will be faced with crucial decisions regarding America’s federal policies toward climate change and energy strategy.

To address the importance of these issues, The Heinz Awards, Teresa Heinz and the Heinz School for Public Policy invite the public to a free program, Heinz Talks: Climate Change and Energy Policy—Advice to Our Next President at the Mellon Institute Auditorium on Monday, Oct. 20th at 5 p.m.

This marks a pivotal time in our nation's history as a new president takes office, says Lee Branstetter, associate professor of Economics and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and a panelist. "The direction and emphasis of the U.S. government will change and these issues will be treated more seriously than in previous administrations.

"The Heinz Foundation and family have demonstrated incredible leadership in the realm of environmental policy. Our whole region bears witness to this rich legacy of concerned engagement and scholarship in this area."

Teresa Heinz, chairman of The Heinz Endowments, will open the evening and the panel will be moderated by Moira Gunnm, host of NPR’s Tech Nation. The panel includes several esteemed national and local leaders including John Holdren, recipient of the 7th annual Heinz Award for Public Policy and Lee Branstetter, and Granger Morgan, both of Carnegie Mellon University.

A blog called Heinz Talks! has been created for the event.

Details on the event and how you can RSVP can be found here at PopCity.

Debate Question: Manhattan Project or 100,000 entrepreneurs working out of their garages?

Tonight's debate featured a great question on the candidates approach to energy independence. Tom Brokaw asked John McCain if the strategy for achieving energy independence should be the government launching an Apollo/Manhattan Project or having 100,000 entrepreneurs working on energy solutions in their garages. McCain didn't really answer the question, saying that he favored the government getting involved and then handing it over to the private sector. It was not a good answer. I was interested in hearing Obama's answer but for some reason Brokaw didn't let him answer. I have heard most candidates say they favor an Apollo or Manhattan style project. I don't think this is the right approach, and so I dug up a few websites from Obama's positions on energy policy. Here is an excerpt from a speech he made back in February of 2006.

The federal government can help in two ways here. First, we can reduce the risk of investing. We already do this in a number of ways by funding projects critical to our national security. Energy independence should be no different. By developing an Energy Technology Program at the Defense Department, we can provide loan guarantees and venture capital to those with the best plans to develop and sell biofuels on a commercial market. The Defense Department will also hold a competition where private corporations get funding to see who can build the best new alternative-fuel plant. The Department can then use these new technologies to improve the energy security of our own military.

Since he began running for President Senator Obama has proposed having the Federal Government spend $150 billion over 10 years on strategic investments in clean energy projects. While $150 billion is not enough, I believe we need closer to $1 Trillion if we are to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil within 10 years, I do think his plan is a step in the right direction. Here is the link to their short, mid range, and long term energy plans followed by the paragraph on their $150 billion investment plan.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will strategically invest $150 billion over 10 years to accelerate the commercialization of plug‐in hybrids, promote development of commercial scale renewable energy, encourage energy efficiency, invest in low emissions coal plants, advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, and begin transition to a new digital electricity grid. The plan will also invest in America's highly‐skilled manufacturing workforce and manufacturing centers to ensure that American workers have the skills and tools they need to pioneer the green technologies that will be in high demand throughout the world. All together these investments will help the private sector create 5 million new green jobs, good jobs that cannot be outsourced.

A friendly reminder from King Coal

Since I started working in downtown Pittsburgh again I take the "T", our light rail system, into work everyday from the South Hills. A few weeks ago I was entering the Wood Street station and I noticed an advertisement from local coal company Consol Energy. It seems Consol wanted to remind us that even though we think we are being green by taking public transportation the trains that run from the South Hills into downtown Pittsburgh are powered by, you guessed it, dirty stinkin coal. It is too bad that the coal industry puts so much money into misleading advertisements that say coal is a "clean and green" energy source instead investing in clean or cleaner coal technologies. We would all be better off if they did.

Green Jobs Day in Pittsburgh

I was in DC over the weekend so I missed Green Jobs Day in Pittsburgh. Khari Mosley of the League of Young Voters echos Green Jobs advocate Van Jones over at his blog Diondega 412:

Today, the mills and factories that once lined the city's three glorious rivers are gone and some say Pittsburgh's best days are behind us. I say Pittsburgh's best days could be right around the corner. I believe that we have the same type of opportunity our fore-bearers did in the 1860s and 1870s. Instead of investing in heavy rail, coal and building polluting factories, we can create a green industrial revolution that will invest in a new economy that will provide opportunity for all people, while protecting our fragile environment.

I have been called an "eternal optimist," and I hope that Pittsburgh is on the verge of its next economic revolution, but I have my reservations. It's not because of the lack of bright young entrepreneurs and support from non-profits and universities. As I mentioned in a few previous posts there are some promising young green companies in the burgh, particularly in the biofuels space, but what we are lacking is the visionary leadership from our public officials. What is the green vision for Pittsburgh? Instead of being a follower, and a laggard, we need to start thinking ahead of other cities and regions.

We need big bold ideas. Instead of touting Zip Car, which is a fine service, why don't we start a program where our Mayor and councilman use plug-in electric hybrid vehicles? We have some promising young biofuels companies here in Pittsburgh, and plenty of natural gas in our backyard - so let's start talking about converting our entire fleet of buses to both natural gas and biodiesel. Both would give the port authority a significant reduction in green house gas emissions - not to mention improve our air quality and health of our citizens. Our leaders need to take the energy and enthusiasm from people like Khari, Nate Doyno and his guys over at SCB and GTECH, and the great people over at the green building alliance, and start translating it into sound public policy that will help Pittsburgh become Cleanenergyburgh.

China for a day

I just watched Tom Friedman discussing his new book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America" on today's Meet the Press. One of the things he mentioned when discussing the book was his chapter titled "China for a day." In this chapter Friedman says he talks about how the US could push through solutions for our energy crisis if the government could just decide to go forward and do it, rather than Congress having to deal with the lobbyists and the red tape within the Washington bureaucracy. If there is one positive about China's communist government it is that when China decides to commit itself to doing things to advance good causes, they get it done.

Here in a democratic republic like the US, we can't afford to wait for the government to do its dance with the lobbyists and special interest groups and then hope that they make the right decisions on big issues like energy policy. That is why Friedman told Tom Brokaw that instead of a government sponsored Manhattan project for energy, he would rather see the "next economic revolution", what he called the ET or energy tech revolution, follow the model created by the Information Technology revolution - supporting and encouraging the start up of 100,000 companies that will attempt to solve one piece of the renewable energy problem.

I have pre-ordered the book, which is officially on the shelves tomorrow (Monday). The book sounds like it will be a hit like Friedman's other efforts. It also sounds like something the eventual President-elect needs to read between election day and their inauguration in January.

Lies at the Podium...McCain lies about his energy policy throughout RNC speech

John McCain, Sarah Palin, and the Republicans want you to believe that they have a real plan for energy independence. They continue to denounce Obama for "opposing nuclear energy" and chant "drill drill drill" or "drill now!" whenever the topic of energy independence comes up. Regarding their distortions of Obama's position on the issue, anyone who has followed Obama's campaign or who saw the last Democratic debate with Hillary Clinton and John Edwards knows that Barack Obama was the only Democrat with a pragmatic proposal for Nuclear power. Obama has stated several times that "Nuclear power has to be part of the mix" when it comes to our long term energy policy, but that we have to figure out a plan for disposal of nuclear waste that makes more sense than shipping spent fuel on trucks and trains cross country to Nevada's Yucca Mountain (McCain supports sending Nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain). Obama does not oppose Nuclear power - but he thinks we should first devise a plan for storing waste rather than diving in and committing to build 40 something new reactors around the country.

The nuclear power lie is not the end of it by any means. Fellow energy collective member and author Joseph Romm compiled a great list of "McCain's 10 energy lies" over at the Huff Post.

Here are few good ones:

My fellow Americans, when I'm President, we're going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much.

LIE #1: McCain has no plan to reduce oil imports -- indeed, throughout his career he has explicitly rejected every plan that might reduce oil imports substantially, including fuel economy standards, biofuels, and renewables. Heck, he even rejected the plan offered by billionaire conservative oilman T. Boone Pickens to aggressively deploy clean energy and alternative fuels over the next ten years (see The real, Luddite McCain: "The truly clean technologies don't work").

We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas.

LIE #4: McCain has fought against wind and solar and alternative energy for his entire career because he genuinely but mistakenly believes "The truly clean technologies don't work" (see "Anti-wind McCain delivers climate remarks at foreign wind company" and "Why McCain hates renewables but pretends he loves them.")

She's tackled tough problems like energy independence and corruption.

LIE #9: Palin has done nothing to help achieve energy independence because there is nothing the State of Alaska can do. As Pickens and EIA and every independent expert keeps telling us, this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of.

Change we cannot afford to believe in: Sarah Palin chose to protect the oil industry over polar bears!

I've been trying to stay non-partisan on this blog but ever since the general election kicked in to gear it has become harder and harder to out of the fray since energy and environmental policy are two huge issues for this election. After last night's Republican National Convention, where Mayor Rudy Giuliani touted McCain's energy policy with shouts of "Drill drill drill!", I feel compelled to get off the sidelines. John McCain used to be the maverick of his party, as he believes that global warming and climate change are caused by man, and he says that energy independence would be a priority of his administration. However, his pandering to the oil industry and the base of his party, who think that lifting the ban on offshore drilling is the best way to ending our dependence on foreign oil, is just more of the same that we've seen throughout the Bush Cheney years - all talk and no action.

McCain's selection of Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin has definitely energized the conservative wing of the Republican party - but what does it say to independent and swing voters who think energy and environmental policy should be at the top of the nation's list of priorities? Sarah Palin is a total reversal of McCain's previous positions on energy and the environment. She believes in drilling in ANWR, she does not believe that climate change is man made. She even went as far as saying that polar bears should not be on the endangered species list because protecting them may "cripple oil and gas development" in parts of Alaska. Here is the full story from this past May; the following is the key snippet on her position:

The state of Alaska will sue to challenge the recent listing of polar bears as a threatened species, Gov. Sarah Palin announced Wednesday.

She and other Alaska elected officials fear a listing will cripple oil and gas development in prime polar bear habitat off the state's northern and northwestern coasts.

Palin argued that there is not enough evidence to support a listing. Polar bears are well-managed and their population has dramatically increased over 30 years as a result of conservation, she said.

Climate models that predict continued loss of sea ice, the main habitat of polar bears, during summers are unreliable, said Palin, a Republican

.

Thomas Friedman wrote that John McCain's turnaround on environmental issues to appease his party's conservative base leads one to wonder how he can still claim to be the candidate who will put America on the path to energy independence.

With his choice of Sarah Palin — the Alaska governor who has advocated drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and does not believe mankind is playing any role in climate change — for vice president, John McCain has completed his makeover from the greenest Republican to run for president to just another representative of big oil.

When even George W. Bush has admitted that climate change is a result of human activity, the Republican party's claim that Sarah Palin is a reformer and an agent of change is about as believable as her claim to have been against the poster child of wasteful pork barrel spending, Alaska's "bridge to nowhere."

New Pittsburgh Transit Blog

I just heard of a new blog that is dedicated to transit and transportation issues here in Pittsburgh. From the blog No Commuter Left Behind's about page:

Ken Zapinski is senior vice president for transportation and infrastructure for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Prior to joining the Conference, he was a strategic marketing analyst for a Pittsburgh start-up tech company. He spent 15 years as a writer and editor for newspapers including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, the St. Petersburg Times, and The New York Times. He has covered areas including technology, economic development, land-use planning, utility deregulation, and transportation. And yes, he has used public transit to commute to work, both here and elsewhere.

Should Streetcars be part of Pittsburgh's transporation future?

If you're like me and think bringing streetcar lines back to Pittsburgh makes a lot a sense then please register and add your ideas for streetcar lines to the cityLive/popcity transportation plan page.

Van Jones talks to TPMtv about the ecoPopulist movement

I don't know about you but I get fired up listening to Van Jones talk about the green jobs movement. His main point is that the green movement should be the rising tide to lift all boats - meaning green should be the way to create jobs that will employee those who are living in poverty. Right now, he argues, the green movement is too focused on consumerism, where those who are well off being the ones who benefit the most through their purchases of expensive solar panels and eco-friendly products. To learn more about Van Jones and his green jobs campaign check out the Ella Baker Center website.

To all the Pittsburghers reading this, we are trying to get Van Jones to come back to Pittsburgh when we are hosts to next summer's Netroots Nation convention.

Progress on the Pittsburgh Regional Integrated Transporation (PRIT) Plan

Two weeks into the cityLive!/PopCity transportation initiative and I have to say so far so good. We started off with only a handful of individual contributors but the number has been growing steadily. There is about 75 days left so if you want to have a say please register and start wikiing away at The Pittsburgh Regional Integrated Transporatation Plan page. If you are on Facebook join our group.

UPDATE: The Post Gazette's Brian O'Neil covers the PRIT initiative in his column today.

What would a world class subway system look like here in Pittsburgh?

A contributor to the website Pittsburgh 2050 submitted this vision (found in TEQ magazine) for a comprehensive subway system (h/t Costa):

UPDATE: We have tracked down the mystery artist. His name is Ed Shin and you can check out the original graphic at Ed's portfolio website.

Katy McGinty: A Green Gubernatorial candidate for Pennsylvania in 2010?

Last month Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty resigned from her post effective July 18th. Katy McGinty, in my mind as well as the minds of other environmental and clean energy advocates here in PA and across the country, was the primary driving force behind Pennsylvania's transformation from a rust belt state to one of the leading states for clean energy development. Now the question that is on everyone's mind is -what will she do next?

Over at PolitrackerPA blogger Wally Edge wonders if McGinty's resignation signals her desire to run for Governor on 2010:

Kathleen McGinty gave her notice last week to Governor Ed Rendell. McGinty, who has been with the administration longer than most people have stayed with Rendell, has been a star for Rendell. McGinty has proven to be a loyal soldier, articulate speaker and brilliant resource for the governor. With her departure speculation began immediately that McGinty was laying the ground work for a run to be Rendell’s replacement. After talking to a variety of prominent Democratic activists and fundraisers we have confirmed McGinty is indeed making her calls, but there is no mention of a run for Governor at this time.

I attended an event in Pittsburgh this past spring where Katy McGinty spoke about the progress of Pennsylvania's green movement. I left away very impressed at not only her knowledge of the issue but her passion for change. Besides being passionate about PA's green agenda, she stated that environmental issues and economic development opportunities should go hand in hand. "Every environmental issue is an economic development opportunity in disguise" is what she said. Let's hope Pennsylvanians are wise enough to support our first "Green" Gubernatorial candidate if Katy McGinty decides to run in 2010!

A way to improve the efficiency and accountability of pubic transportation

King County Metro Transit's website has a java based applet that shows you the real time progress of its network of buses.

Tracker Map View uses a JAVA applet to display real-time Metro transit vehicle locations. The applet should launch automatically upon reaching this page. If it does not, please check the system requirements. If you have closed the Tracker Map View applet and want to re-launch it again later, please reload/refresh this page.

Would be nice to have something like this here in Allegheny County!

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is Good

When it comes to fresh organic food, the best place you can get it is from the person who grew it - the farmer. In the Pittsburgh, one of the best cities for farmers markets, we are lucky to have numerous options fresh produce or grass fed poultry / beef straight from the farm. The problem is that farmers markets are only one or two days a week and so we still did quite a bit of shopping at the grocery store, that is, until earlier this year when we became members of a local CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. What is CSA you ask?

From localharvest.org:

CSA is a partnership of mutual commitment between a farm and a community of supporters which provides a direct link between the production and consumption of food. Supporters cover a farm's yearly operating budget by purchasing a share of the season's harvest. CSA members make a commitment to support the farm throughout the season, and assume the costs, risks and bounty of growing food along with the farmer or grower. Members help pay for seeds, fertilizer, water, equipment maintenance, labor, etc. In return, the farm provides, to the best of its ability, a healthy supply of seasonal fresh produce throughout the growing season. Becoming a member creates a responsible relationship between people and the food they eat, the land on which it is grown and those who grow it.

Subscribing to a CSA is awesome. Here is how it works. Each Friday for the past several months we pick up a bag or box full of fresh organic greens, veggies, eggs, fruits, etc from a sponsor who volunteers to be the drop off point for the farmer in that neighborhood. We are fortunate enough to be within walking distance from the current sponsor. In most cases you should be able to find someone sponsoring a CSA within a reasonable distance from your home. Our current subscription, which runs for about six months, averages out to be about $20 a week, and in addition to the items mentioned above we have additional options, such as ordering cheeses, whole grass fed chickens, or even ground beef or steaks from grass fed cattle. The variety of the food you get each week depends on the time of the season and of course the part of the country you live in. Right now we're getting a lot of greens - romaine lettuce, kale, spinach, etc, but the contents will vary some between different growers. Pictured at the right is the latest batch of goodies we received from our CSA.

The change in our eating and shopping habits is dramatic to say the least. We no longer purchase meat or greens at the grocery store. In addition to saving us hundreds of dollars a month from our grocery bill, the CSA we belong to gives us REAL organic food - harmful chemicals are not used on its produce. Additionally, we're saving literally tons of carbon emissions since the food is grown right here in our own backyard instead of on the other side of the country.

I encourage everyone reading this, regardless of where you live in the US, to look into subscribing to a CSA. If you want to eat healthier food you can continue to spend your paycheck buying organic at Whole Foods, or you can get the same quality food for less money while having the piece of mind that you are supporting local farmers. What are you waiting for?

The Pittsburgh Regional Integrated Transportation Plan

Join a number of policy wonks, bloggers, academics, and other citizens who are passionate about improving our region's transportation as they collaborate on a new regional transportation plan. This past Thursday CityLive speakers announced the a wiki based collaboration effort called the Pittsburgh Regional Integrated Transportation Plan. A number of us have already begun adding our thoughts to the wiki on the goals, strategies, and the plan itself.

If you want to see a stronger system of rails, bike paths, and rapid bus transit here in Pittsburgh make sure you register and start contributing! Register at www.pghwiki.org

Omelets without Eggs / Fuel without Oil

Over at the Freakonomics blog, Steven Dubner hints that we could be in the process of witnessing what Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter called "Creative Destruction."

From his post "Don't Throw out Capitalism just yet."

The turbulence of the U.S. economy has lots of people railing against capitalism itself, and with good reason: capitalism is inherently turbulent. That’s why the legendary economist Joseph Schumpeter called it “creative destruction.” Not only must eggs be broken to make an omelet, but sometimes people may decide they want their omelets made with no eggs at all.

In business school my strategy processor often referred to Schumpeter's theory of creative description throughout our course on renewable strategy. Creative destruction happens when an established process or technology is displaced by newer, more efficient technologies. Think of the iPod replacing the walkman, or DVDs displacing VHS. Schumpeter was one of the earlier figures to discuss business cycles, and his classic book Capitalism, Democracy, and Socialism served as a rebuttal to Karl Marx, who said that capitalism's natural turbulence would eventually lead to it's collapse and it's replacement communism. Schumpeter's response was that, while Marx had a point that periods of capitalism will experience crisis (like we are with energy prices today), but that instead of a collapse of the capitalist system the crisis would motivate capitalists (like a T. Boone Pickens) and entrepreneurs (the Tesla Motors guys) which would lead to the old way of doing things being destroyed and replaced by new ways (wind / solar energy replacing coal and dirty electricity in the case of Pickens, electric cars replacing gasoline powered cars in the case of Tesla).

Periods of creative destruction aren't always as pretty as the iPod example. When an entire industry goes under there can be a lot of pain during the shakeout and transition to new technologies. If this were to happen to the petroleum fuel industry here in the US be negative consequences - jobs would be lost and shareholders would lose money, but in the big picture we would be much better off compared to what typically happens after these massive "gales of destruction." For one, since we would still have a need for petroleum based products such made from plastics and rubber, most of those 150 refineries who would still be in business producing petroleum derivatives including plastics and rubber. Additionally, since our fuels would be grown here domestically, through renewable fuels such as biodiesel or electricity, we would probably end up with a net creation of jobs for our economy.

Furthermore, there would be tremendous benefits to our economy. Our dependence on petroleum means sending upwards of $700 billion a year in oil revenues to foreign oil producing states, and that figure will only get higher the longer we wait to take serious actions to reduce our oil consumption. Sending all of those dollars overseas creates a huge trade imbalance, leading to downward pressure on the value of the dollar. Eliminating or drastically reducing our imports of oil would make the US much more competitive with the nations who have used their flush bank accounts to gobble up foreign corporations and natural resources.

So how likely are we to see creative destruction within the petroleum fuels industry here in the US? The longer oil and gasoline prices stay at these current levels, the more likely that investment into alternatives would increase to the point where we are technologically capable of replacing all of our petroleum based fuels with non-hydrocarbon sources. Creative destruction is a reason why oil states like Saudi Arabia have an incentive to keep oil prices low, and it is the reason why in the past US officials could press the Saudi Royal family into increasing their supply of oil to the marketplace, and once the Saudi's turned on the spigots, the price of crude oil would drop upon a moment's notice. However, this strategy is no longer effective. The Saudis, the largest producers of oil in the world, are now worried that their supplies may be diminishing. It has been documented that some of the largest Saudi Arabian oil fields are approaching their peak production. The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog had a post on the Saudi oil supply situation not too long ago and I encourage you to read it. Here is an excerpt from some of their interviews:

Even in Saudi Arabia, home to more than a quarter of the world’s known recoverable reserves, the age of cheap and easily pumped oil is over. To tap Khurais, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco, has embarked on the most complex earth- and water-moving project in its history. It is spending up to $15 billion on a vast network of pipes, oil-treatment facilities, deep horizontal wells and water-injection systems that it calls “one of the largest industrial projects being executed in the world today.”

Think Global Warming and the potential for catastrophic climate change is scary? What if top oilman from the largest producer of oil said that their oil was running out?

“Khurais and [offshore field] Manifa are the last two giants in Saudi Arabia,” says Sadad al-Husseini, a former Aramco vice president for oil exploration. “Sure, we will discover dozens of other smaller fields, but after these, we are chasing after smaller and smaller fish.”

After reading the books such as "Oil on the Brain" and following the great Oil Drum blog I'm more worried about us not quitting our dependence on oil before we reach the peak of global oil supply. The risk of a global economic collapse due to an insane increase in crude oil prices could easily result in the next world war if we're not ready to replace oil. This is more likely to happen during my lifetime or your lifetime any of the catastrophic event that are supposed to be a result of global climate change.

The looming crisis of global peak oil and the results of that crisis are why we need to embrace creative destruction by saying goodbye to gasoline powered vehicles and hello to the era of electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells, and other sources of renewable fuels. We can actually create more jobs here in the US by depending on home grown fuel sources, such as cellulosic ethanol, and clean electricity from solar, wind, and geothermal plants. Trying to drill for more oil domestically, which most Republicans are calling for, and now some Democrats are calling for, would only delay the inevitable, which is the absolute necessity that our society stops using petroleum for fuel.

CityLive Presents: Getting There... from Here: Transportation Solutions for Our Region

Pittsburgh Transit Event this Thursday, July 24th, at 6:30PM @ NEW HAZLETT THEATER

“TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS FOR OUR REGION”

Is the auto the most convenient and efficient way to move people around our region? Can new technologies and policies help unite the region and contribute to our urban vitality? Can we use transportation to grow the city, and the region, in the right way?

The Pittsburgh region is ripe for innovation. New technologies present exciting opportunities to move people and goods around more efficiently than ever before. Light rail, extensive riverfront trails, an efficient bus system, car sharing are all heading in the right direction. But that’s just a start. Getting it “right” requires creative planning.

Join us for a charged discussion on how to get from here … to there.

And as a bonus, because we believe that everyone should have a hand in the planning process, we’ll unveil a project which will allow everyone in the region to have a voice in the role of land use and transportation planning, whether you are an urban planner, environmentalist, architect, policy maker, transportation expert, biker, boater or skater.

Get going …. get involved!

RSVP at the citylive website

Where the greenhouse gases come from

Below is very cool image that shows the breakdown of the activities that lead to global warming. The image comes from a report from the World Resources Institute

Pittsburgh region still baby stepping its way towards sustainability

Back in June Mayor Luke Ravenstahl received praise for creating a $100,000 Green Trust Fund that would be managed by the city's to-be-hired Sustainability coordinator. Question - why are we supposed to get excited over $100k for green initiatives? Is this a joke? First off, during the first mayoral debate in September of last year Mayor Luke stated that he was hiring a sustainability coordinator for the city. We are almost one year away from his statement and the city has yet to hire this individual. Like most of the green initiatives we have discussed here in Pittsburgh, such as converting the city's fleet of trucks to biodiesel, there is no sense of urgency to follow through, and this also goes for any legislative measures that would provide incentives for things like green building.

I am tired of the baby steps. If you look around to other cities that have done more than just talk about "going green", you will find some practical measures that have been taking to reduce energy consumption, congestion, and air pollution, things that increase the quality of life in a region. Some of these green initiatives, like green building, are happening here, although, to be fair we have slipped in the green building rankings to #5 due to the lack of support from our government. The problem is that we cannot walk around town and see with our own eyes that Pittsburgh is committed to being a green and sustainable city. The problem is that a Green Pittsburgh is not visible. The things we can see are lot of press releases, and speeches, and a mayor who is reluctant to give up bottled water in the city-county building, a building that happens to be one of the least energy efficient structures imaginable (they use the AC units during the middle of winter!).

The following is an example of what I'm talking about. When I travel to other cities I can usually tell if they really care about the environment, energy efficiency, going green, etc simply by noticing a few things in their region's airport. And let's face it, the airport is usually the first impression the city makes on someone visiting for the first time. Here is Pittsburgh, based on our airport I would give Pittsburgh an 'F' as a grade for showing the world our commitment to going green. The airport has two monitors over by the passenger trams that show a loop of a presentation that shows off all the great things Pittsburgh has to offer. At one point, the words "A green leader" flash across the scream. I let out a "ha!", and then proceed to the tram, which took me over to the baggage claim area. During several of my trips I have searched the airport for any clues of recycling or sustainability. One would figure that all the newspapers and plastic bottles travelers and employees go through on an annual basis could end up generating revenue for the county if recycled. Well, I finally found a recycling can in the Pittsburgh international airport, at one of the ends of hall in the baggage claim area. It is easy to miss. Here is the picture.



First thing I noticed is that, besides being the only recycling container in the entire airport, it was not right next to a trash can, which doesn't make sense because if you're going to throw something away it's nice to have the option to recycle right there by the trash can.



Now, the following week I flew to Kansas City for a few days. I'm not saying that Kansas City is a green leader or anything, but at least the officials there are conscious of recycling and it's benefits, as evidenced by the recycling bins throughout the airport that are shown below:



Is it too much to ask our county executive to spend a little itty bit of his drink tax revenues to fund a county wide recycling initiative? Think of all the waste that is thrown out in our airport, and our parks, and other areas where the county could easily collect and recycle plastic and glass bottles, and newspapers. The revenues the county could receive for the recycles would be more than enough to pay for this initiative. To the right is a photo I took at one of our county park's golf courses. On a hot summer Sunday afternoon - how many bottles of water/soda happen to get thrown into a garbage can out on the golf course?

Too bad it all ends up in a land fill!

Am I asking for too much? Heck no, but until our leaders are willing to put some public policy behind some of the great ideas from local thought leaders and organizations like the Pittsburgh Green Building Alliance, this region will continue to severely lag other regions who have made sustainability a strategic imperative.

T. Boone Pickens got it half right

Billionaire Texas oilman and corporate takeover artist T. Boone Pickens has been all over the news these last few months about his plan to spend $10 billion on a massive 4,000 megawatt wind farm in Texas. Last month Fast Company magazine ran a piece on the Pickens plan, where the Texas tycoon candidly stated that he was doing it "for the money" and that environmentally benefits were only secondary objectives. Fair enough. Most recently, Pickens launched an internet marketing campaign of his efforts, which includes a website and youtube campaign that highlights his plan for energy independence.

Here is the video presentation from the website:



And the full presentation of his plan from youtube:



On one hand, I think it is a great thing when someone who has the wealth of Mr. Pickens invests in a clean energy endeavor of this magnitude, but I think Mr. Pickens's commitment to natural gas vehicles (NGV) as the solution to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil is a major folly. Why would we spend billions to swap dependence on one fossil fuel source for another?

Here are just a few of problems with Mr. Pickens's plan:

• Under the Pickens plan for energy independence, the US would still be at the mercy of the supply of a fossil fuel since he wishes to switch our vehicles over to natural gas fuel. Peak production of natural gas is supposed to happen a decade or two after the global peak of oil, meaning we will end up scrambling once again to find an alternative to a fossil fuel.
  
• Natural Gas vehicles reduce emissions 20% compared to standard gasoline powered vehicles. This is good but why not shoot for something like hydrogen fuel cell vehicles or electric cars that are fueled by clean energy sources like his wind farms?
  
• The lack of infrastructure for natural gas vehicles is a huge hurdle. If we are to invest the billions we need in new refueling stations why not just spend that money on hydrogen fueling infrastructure??

Fellow green blogger and Energy Collective member Joseph Romm shares an interview he gave on the subject with a major cable network. Mr. Romm called the Pickens plan "Half brilliant, half dumb." I encourage you to check it out.

Katie Fehrenbacher posted a great primer on NGVs over at Earth2Tech titled The 10 Things you need to know about Natural Gas Vehicles.

As the title of this post says, I believe T. Boone Pickens is half right. On his website you will see his map showing the United States's capacity for wind energy - he is correct in asserting that we need major investments in wind energy before we even come close to our potential for wind energy production. One challenge that could hold up wind energy developments is the need to add new transmission lines to carry the new electricity generated by the wind turbines on an already aging and outdated power grid. I don't think that one is a showstopper, however, and I think that if the US were to invest billions into large scale wind projects in the central US, and large scale solar plants in the southwest, we will be able to generate 100% of our electricity needs through clean energy. (In case you were wondering, fuel cells can be used to generate electricity when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing).

Mr Pickens would have really been onto something if he instead insisted on powering electric vehicles with all of that new wind power. Electric vehicles are already here, and as Tesla has shown they are a legitimate replacement for gasoline powered vehicles. Something tells me, however, that T. Boones Pickens, a former wildcatter, has more to gain financially if we replaced our gasoline powered vehicles with NGV instead of electric vehicles. Just a hunch.

Tesla Motors supplying Mercedes Benz with electric battery - what does this mean for electric vehicles?

Update: As pointed out by Jason in the comments to my last post, it has been confirmed that none other than Tesla Motors will begin supplying Mercedes Benz with an electric battery to power Mercedes' new electric car, rumored to begin production in 2010. This is huge news to EV advocates and I think it shows how automakers are hesitant to invest too much into Hydrogen vehicles since it is taking the governments so long to provide the necessary refueling infrastructure. This news backs up my claim that electric vehicles are the fastest way to energy independence.

The biggest concern with EVs is that right now the majority of the electricity for charging the vehicles will have to come from dirty GHG emitting coal or natural gas poewr plants. If we want to replace our oil addiction with more electricity usage something has to give, and right now that means a decision between new coal plants or new nuclear plants.

Constantine "Costa" Samaras, a clean energy advocate and PHD candidate at Carnegie Mellon, wrote a report with one of his colleagues on how cleaner power sources are needed in order for plug in electric vehicles to have a positive impact on GHG reduction. Here are some quotes that summarize their report:

The potential for PHEVs to achieve large-scale GHG emission reductions is highly dependent on the energy sources of electricity production...If large life cycle GHG reductions are desired from PHEVs, a strategy to match charging with low-carbon electricity is necessary.

...For large GHG reductions with plug-in hybrids, public policies that complement PHEV adoption should focus on encouraging charging with low-carbon electricity.

Back in May Costa wrote this note to me explaining their study (my apologies for not posting sooner!):

We have a new paper out in Environmental Science and Technology looking at life cycle GHGs from plug-in hybrids, including battery production and use of cellulosic ethanol. It it titled "Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles: Implications for Policy". The policy headline is the types of power plants installed in the next two decades will not only affect how much we can reduce emissions from electricity, but also from vehicles if we plan on plug-in hybrids playing a substantial role. If you want to buy a PHEV two or three vehicle purchases in the future, the types of plants installed today will be in the mix that powers that vehicle. While maybe obvious, it is missing from the current discussion on PHEVs, which assumes decarbonizing the power sector as external to the PHEV discussions and policy, when in fact it is a critical system component. We also find that running on traditional coal, PHEVs have higher life cycle GHGs that ordinary hybrid vehicles.

Our press release is here:

http://www.cit.cmu.edu/media/pr_08_apr25.html

and a post at Green Car Congress about our paper is here:

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/04/study-meaningfu.html

Best,
Costa

Tesla Motors announces new $60k sedan

The Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, announced just yesterday that Tesla motors has agreed to locate the production of its new Model S sedan within the State of California. The new electric powered 5 passenger sedan will go for around $60k ($35k less than Tesla's two seat roadster) and will be able to travel roughly 230 miles per charge. Now this is what I am talking about. I've always thought that electric vehicles offered us the quickest path towards energy independence. I was happy to hear that GM was investing in the plug in technology with the Chevy Volt, but at 40 miles per charge that vehicle is a joke next to the Tesla models. Tesla plans to start production of the new model sometime in 2010. An even cheaper vehicle with a price tag of around $30k is expected to be announced in the near future.

Governor Rendell's Energy Independence Bill finally approved

Finally, after almost a year and a half of wrangling over a 40 cent a month tax, the majority of Governor Ed Rendell's legislation for Energy Independence was finally approved by the state Senate during the 2009 budget negotiations. The new legislation, , which originally was for $850 million, will consist of $650 million in spending on a number of clean energy and energy conservation initiatives with the biggest chunk - $180 million, going towards solar power programs for residences and businesses ($100m) and capital investment ($80m) to lure new solar power manufacturers to the commonwealth. This is great news for Pennsylvania and, despite not getting the full $850 miillion, it is a big win for Ed Rendell, who may have his eye on the Secretary of Energy position. It is also a big win for DEP Secretary Katy McGinty, whom I feel should make a run for Governor in 2010. Both the TRIB and PG have more on this great news.

If you are buying a hybrid - the Prius is the smartest bet

Last month I blogged about my Toyota Prius test drive and how it left me wanting more in terms of fuel efficiency. Well, the following shows that it could have been worse. This nifty table from Edmunds.com shows you a comparison of the hybrid price premiums for all 2008 models, along with the number of years it would take to recoup your investment. One thing I think is worth mentioning - there is no non-hybrid Prius, so I think in terms of ROI the Prius should be an even smarter investment compared to say, a Toyota Camry hybrid, which gets you an extra 7 or 8 MPG for $3k more than the non-hybrid Camry.

21 billion barrels in proven oil reserves won't last long

So John McCain caught wind that the United States has 21 billion barrels of domestic proven oil reserves. That was his justification for lifting the federal ban on offshore drilling during his love fest with the oil and gas industry in Houston earlier today. Regardless, the fact that we do have 21 billion barrels of oil reserves shouldn't give anyone any comfort since the United States will consume that amount within fewer than three years. McCain's solution is a short term fix that chooses political expediency over energy independence for future generations.

Below is a table of the top oil consuming nations. The US consumes about 21 million barrels of crude oil a day. This is a little over 7.6 billion barrels a year, and that figure will rise as our daily consumption rises. It should be clear that 21 billion barrels is not that much crude oil and not worth the cost that comes with offshore drilling and drilling in environmentally sensitive areas.

For John McCain and those fact-challenged Republicans who think that drilling in ANWR and off of our shores is the solution, I suggest you start educating yourselves. A good place to start is the wonderfully informative The Oil Drum blog.

World Oil Consumption for 2007

#1	United States:	20,730,000 bbl/day
#2	China:	6,534,000 bbl/day
#3	Japan:	5,578,000 bbl/day
#4	Germany:	2,650,000 bbl/day
#5	Russia:	2,500,000 bbl/day
#6	India:	2,450,000 bbl/day
#7	Canada:	2,294,000 bbl/day
#8	Korea, South:	2,149,000 bbl/day
#9	Brazil:	2,100,000 bbl/day
#10	France:	1,970,000 bbl/day

No longer a Maverick

John McCain, Republican nominee for President and the artist formerly known as "the maverick," now supports lifting the federal ban on offshore drilling. Today, John McCain spoke to the big the oil companies in Houston and has told them that the answer to high gas prices is to drill for oil off the shores of places like Florida, a state the relies on heavily on its beaches and ocean wildlife for its tourism industry. John McCain is now going along with the Republican party line that says the United States should start drilling in federally protected lands, such as the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and said that the individual states should have the right to "choose to permit exploration" on these lands.

The problem that McCain and most Republicans, including my Congressman, Tim Murphy, have is that the volume of oil reserves in places like ANWR is so small that its impact on oil prices in the global market would be negligible. A recent report (May 2008) by the US Department of Energy Report agrees, and concluded the following:

Additional oil production resulting from the opening of ANWR would be only a small portion of total world oil production, and would likely be offset in part by somewhat lower production outside the United States. The opening of ANWR is projected to have its largest oil price reduction impacts as follows: a reduction in low-sulfur, light crude oil prices of $0.41 per barrel (2006 dollars) in 2026 for the low oil resource case, $0.75 per barrel in 2025 for the mean oil resource case, and $1.44 per barrel in 2027 for the high oil resource case, relative to the reference case.

So the DOE report states that drilling for oil now would only move oil prices by about 40 to 50 cents a barrel. What does this do for us at the pump? This translates to an average savings of around how about 5 to 6 cents for a gallon of gasoline. The report also mentions that the crude oil wouldn't even be available to refineries until 2013. So how does that help us now John McCain?

It doesn't, and it should be clear that the negative impact on wildlife in ANWR is not worth the tiny benefits resulting from drilling for oil there. But John McCain doesn't see things this way. Here is an excerpt from his speech to the energy industry down in Houston today:

Quite rightly, I believe, we confer a special status on some areas of our country that are best left undisturbed. When America set aside the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, we called it a “refuge” for a reason.

But the stakes are high for our citizens and for our economy. And with gasoline running at more than four bucks a gallon, many do not have the luxury of waiting on the far-off plans of futurists and politicians. We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use.

We can do this in ways that are consistent with sensible standards of environmental protection. And in states that choose to permit exploration, there must be an appropriate sharing of benefits between federal and state governments. But as a matter of fairness to the American people, and a matter of duty for our government, we must deal with the here and now, and assure affordable fuel for America by increasing domestic production.

We should set the highest goals for ourselves for the years and decades to come, and I am a believer in the technologies that one day will free us from oil entirely. But to get there at all, a more pragmatic approach will serve us better. In the short term, we must take the world as it is and our resources where they are – even as we press on with new and cleaner sources of energy. We must be bold in our plans to break our strategic dependence on oil, and over the next two weeks, I’ll be offering a vision that will be bold. But we must also address the concerns of Americans, who are struggling right now to pay for gasoline, groceries, and other necessities of life.

What is certain in energy policy is that we have learned a few clear lessons along the way. Somehow all of them seem to have escaped my opponent. He says that high oil prices are not the problem, but only that they rose too quickly. He’s doesn’t support new domestic production. He doesn’t support new nuclear plants. He doesn’t support more traditional use of coal, either.

Each major election year the Republican party call for drilling in ANWR and try to blame the Democrats for the high oil prices since they are blocking drilling on that land. Not too long ago I received a mailer from my congressmen, Tim Murphy, that showed a map of our oil reserves and said that in order to lower gas prices we must drill off shore. This is pure political BS and it shows a lack of knowledge of the realties of the geopolitical world of crude oil. In 2004, a similar report from the DOE said the same thing as the 2008 report, but that didn't stop the Republicans from politicizing high oil prices back then either.

Here is the link to McCain's speech, and here is one to the DOE report on ANWR from May of 2008. John McCain may be one of the few Republicans who believe in Global Warming and Climate Change, but lately it seems like he is more likely to follow the non-leadership of the Bush administration on ending our dependence on foreign oil, since focusing on diminishing domestic oil reserves instead of new forms of renewable fuels is just delaying the inevitable - which is the economic catastrophe that results when global peak oil is reached and oil prices are so high that today's $4 a gallon for gasoline looks cheap.

How has $4 gas impacted your life?

I am a firm believer that we've finally reached a tipping point now that $4 gas is here. Here in Pittsburgh, a region that hates things like car pooling and public transportation, more people are more willing to sacrifice the comfort of their vehicles and morning radio shows for a ride on the bus or light rail. More people think twice about making a trip across town - and making a 2 to 3 hour trip to visit friends or family requires one to consider the fuel implications of doing so.

How have you changed your driving behavior now that gas is $4 a gallon? Below are my observations and some of the things we are doing at the Schultz household.

1. The T station lots in the South Hills are booked to capacity. Finding an open space at 8am is near impossible. When its not too hot out I try to walk to a nearby T station, which is almost 3/4 a mile from my doorstep. The lot there is tiny and its impossible to find a space there after 7:30am so when I can't walk I drive about a mile to the Castle Shannon station which has a much larger surface lot.

2. Do you still fill up while at the tank? Since filling up once a week now eats up about half of my monthly disposable income I only pump enough gas to get me around to where I need to go, so I'm now only putting in $20 to $25 in the gas tank each week. Since the mpg of my car sucks that means I can drive about 100 to 120 miles a week, and hopefully I can stretch that into the next week but when I have to drive to and from the airport each week that's not likely.

3. I am considering buying a bike instead of a car when my lease is up. My wife just took a job in downtown Pittsburgh so during the week she won't need to drive. When I work in town I take the T, but often I work either out of town or somewhere that is not accessible by the T (most of Pittsburgh unfortunately!). We need at least one car, but owning two is now a waste. A bike will allow me to take short trips around town when my wife needs the car on weekends. Again - this will force us to drive less and it will save us a ton of money.

4. When will we start to see real plans for a comprehensive rail system in the Pittsburgh region? I am lucky to live in the South Hills and be within 1 mile from two T stops, but all Pittsburghers - those to the north, east, west, should have access to the T along with those of us who live south of Pittsburgh.

Green is Good is Back!

Following a month long hiatus I am back, I have plenty to blog about. Below is a photo I captured at the airport this afternoon. The thought of some random individual doing some guerilla marketing for my blog just gets me all fired up!

Buses finally rerouted out of Market Square

Almost two years after the late Mayor Bob O'Connor proposed rerouting the PAT buses out of Market Square the first step in Mayor O'Connor's plan to revitalize Market Square was reached today, when the bus routes were finally shifted to some of the streets outside of the square.

It is good to see something that we've talked about for so long coming to fruition. I have said for a while now that allowing the buses and cars to cut right through the heart of Market Square on Forbes Ave made the meeting place less pedestrian friendly. The County argued that it would be too difficult to reroute the buses. The citizens and proponents of the route shift thought they were full of it, and today's news should demonstrate that no matter how resistant people here in Pittsburgh are to change, persistance pays off.

Next up - Forbes Avenue will be closed at the point where it meets Market Square. Also, an architect for the redevelopment of Market Square has been chosen and has presented three options for the new Market Square. The options can be viewed here.