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It's not easy being green
By JACK DOWNS
Design Editor
The more I look at issues around global climate change and our first, few, feeble attempts to do something about it, the more I realize that green is a complicated color.
Here's an example: You are a green go-getter. You're reading this under the illumination of a compact florescent light bulb. In your driveway is a new flex-fuel car. And what's that in the back yard? Oh, it's a giant industrial wind turbine. Good choices, right?
Yes and no.
Compact florescent light bulbs, or CFLs as they are caused in the industry, are a real energy saver and a good choice. But as National Public Radio reported earlier this year CFLs have one hitch: tiny amounts of toxic mercury. Unlike traditional light bulbs, CFLs need to be recycled properly, not just thrown in the dump. Problem is, the EPA hasn't figured out yet how to do that.
Still, I suggest you stick with CFLs, await recycling information and hope that future lighting technology will be environmentally correct for use and disuse.
Flex-fuel cars are vehicles that can use regular gasoline (everyone say BOO!) or a gas-ethanol mix (everyone say YAY). But should we be cheering for ethanol. Probably not, or at least not the way ethanol is being made in this country.
The original promise of ethanol was fuel made from waste and weeds. But as the New York Times reported recently that promise has been delayed, delayed and delayed again. In the meantime the United States has made the stupid and politically motivated decision to produce ethanol from corn. Not only is corn an inefficient tool for the purpose - sugar would be much better - by using a food crop for fuel we've helped create a global food crisis that threatens the nutrition needs of millions. Want more info on this? The Washington Post has done some fantastic reporting on the connection between U.S. energy policy and global hunger .
But even if we had efficient and ethical ethanol, the flex-fuel idea is a tough one to endorse. Flex fuel is about burning different, not burning less. Replace that car with a super-efficient hybrid, or better yet, a soon-to-be available plug-in hybrid, and you get your green status back.
And what about the wind turbine, specifically the large wind farms that are popping up throughout our region right now? Hey, the wind is free and clean, so that's got to be a green winner, right? Well, it's not that simple.
David Sommerstein of North Country Public Radio, in his very thorough piece "Wind Power: How "Green" is it?", demonstrates the complexity in that question. In fact, because of the way our electric grid and generating system works, it is very hard to pin down how much carbon we aren't pouring into the atmosphere because of all these towers and turbines.
So keep the wind turbine for now, but turn down your thermostat (or turn off your air conditioner), because conservation is probably a better long-term strategy.
And I still think you look good in green.
