A study released by Public Citizen, an environmental advocacy group, has concluded that the entire state of Texas’ power generation needs could theoretically be met by solar power. (I would like to stress the theoretical part.) Heat concentrating solar power was found to have a potential capacity of 148,000 MW in Texas alone, and the report says a 30×30 mile field of photovoltaic solar panels could meet the entire state’s needs.

A separate study by the University of Texas at Austin says that the state could create 123,000 jobs in the manufacturing industry if it were to become a global leader on solar panel production. (The study did not address how many jobs would be created if Texas magically became the world’s leader in production of anything else.)

However before we get carried away with the good news, there are some pretty clear obstacles in the path. Namely the water doesn’t exist to make such large scale solar power generation a reality.

Heat concentrating solar power requires large amounts of water. Unlike other power generating methods solar power plants in their need of sun and vast open spaces do not have the luxury of placing themselves next to sufficiently large bodies of water. You can read about the dilemma of solar power generation and water shortages here: http://wwcpd.org/2009/solar-power-or-solar-death-power-you-be-the-judge/

As for the photovoltaic technology it admittedly needs a lot less water, however it still does require a meaningful amount of water to be trucked in to keep the panels clean. As dust will significantly reduce the panels’ efficiency. The panels are also very expensive so it’s quite unrealistic to expect there to ever be a 30×30 mile field of the panels. That’s 900 square miles, which is over three times the size of the nation of Singapore.

Stepping back into the real world for a moment. Texas is the leading state in terms of wind power generation with a capacity of over 4,000 MW, with the Texas Public Utility Commission saying they could possibly deliver 25,000 MW of wind power to urban centers by 2012. Texas is also home to the world’s largest wind farm, producing 735 MW, and consisting of 430 wind turbines spread over 47,000 acres. [1]

Unlike solar power, wind turbines do not need large amounts of water, and with the immense size of Texas the power generation possibilities are endless. The Texas State Legislature has set a goal of 6,000 MW of renewable energy by 2015, about 5% of the state’s demand, and 10,000 MW by 2025. Including 500 MW of renewable energy excluding wind power. [2]

While those figures pale in comparison to California’s pledge for 33% of its power to be renewable by 2020 (California is currently at 22% [3]), it’s still a step in the right direction for Texas. A large number of leading Texan politicians aren’t exactly known for their belief in climate change, as opposed to say California’s, however there is still a lot to be said about the desirability of meeting your power needs in-house.

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For a city that prides itself on convenience and being cutting edge, it is surprisingly hard to recycle in Hong Kong! There’s no recycling service that you can sign up for at your residence, so I’ve been forced to carry my recyclables three-blocks to some sidewalk recycling bins. It’s also not easy to find said bins, luckily I happen to live near some.

It might also be hard to recycle where you live, but don’t be discouraged as there are other things you can do to minimize your impact. You can try buying biodegradable plastics whenever possible, for instance it’s quite easy to find biodegradable garbage bags. You can also try to lessen your usage of aluminium by making drinks like lemonade or Kool-Aid instead of buying soda pop.

Hong Kong really needs to get in on the green movement. They’re currently trying to implement a recycling service, however, I find it hard to believe it takes the SAR years to do such a thing when they can reclaim the harbour in about ten minutes.

UPDATE: I recently spent some time in Beijing so I thought I would share with everyone an observation on the Chinese capital. Taking a contrarian stance to Hong Kong, in Beijing every trash can also has a separate bin for recycling. I was told this started last year around the time of the Olympics, but it seems to still be going strong. And there you have it, Beijing managing to beat out Hong Kong on such an important environmental issue. PRC FTW!

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I know this is my umpteenth post on the issue of plastic bag levies, however I’ve never been one to resist a catchy headline.

Straight from the land of $7 Dollar coffee, voters in Seattle have just struck-down a city imposed tax of 20 cents per plastic bag. The city council had ordered the tax to begin in January, however the plastics industry bankrolled a lobbyist effort to have the issue put before the voters in a citywide referendum. Well played sir.

The outcome of the vote will probably be attributed to the frugality of recession, however it also says a lot on how people regard environmental issues. In voter opinion polls the environment is often ranked last on the list of concerns.

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The US Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa, spoke recently to press the importance of forest conservation and stressed his agency’s commitment to its future in the United States. His comments sought to point out that forests are crucial in supplying clean water, sheltering wildlife, and mitigating the effects of climate change. He went on to say that the sky might in fact be blue.

Vilsack is perhaps best known for his strong support of biofuels and while serving as governor was a strong supporter of Ethanol additives. I’m still not sure how I feel about biofuels as it seems a little shortsighted to take two things as vital as energy and food and combine them into one item of such importance.

Back to the issue at hand. Key among Vilsack’s policies is reversing former president Bush’s forest planning rule of 2008 and also seeking to reinstate former president Bill Clinton’s ‘Roadless Rule’ which had imposed halts on road construction, among other development, on 58 million acres of national forests.

I firmly believe that deforestation is one of the largest threats facing the world today. And it’s great to see a member of the presidential cabinet taking such a strong stance. Smokey would be proud.

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Obesity has been in the headlines a lot recently, with health care dominating discussions in Washington most of the focus has been on the health considerations and how it seems to be permeating American culture. There was even some controversy when President Obama named Dr Regina Benjamin, a clinically obese woman, to be the nation’s Surgeon General.

And while the health considerations are important, especially if the US adopts some sort of single-payer health care system, I’m here to talk about the environmental impact of an obese population.

A report out of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (man I wish I had a more prestigious sounding source) claims that a lean population such as that of Vietnam would consume 20% less food and produce fewer greenhouse gases than a country with a 40% rate of obesity. The report went on to say that if taken into account, the lessened energy costs of transporting thin people as opposed to overweight individuals could save 1 gross ton per person in annual carbon emissions.

The news that a heavy person has a larger carbon footprint than a normal person has made a few waves in the media, leaving some to question whether we should really be ‘trying to make them feel even guiltier than they already do’. I will make sure to use that excuse the next time I fire up the G4.

Michael Moore should make a documentary about this. Oh that’s right.

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The Indian minister of the environment recently rejected scientific claims that the country’s Himalayan glaciers are melting saying things like ’science’ and ‘facts’ couldn’t replace the knowledge gained by local experience. The scientific community however is maintaining its stance asserting that a large number of the glaciers may disappear entirely by the year 2035 [1]. To stress the importance of the issue, in total the Himalayan glaciers feed rivers that supply water to about 40% of the world’s population.

This comes as the developed world continues to push for more action from developing nations to curb emissions. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, recently appealed to India to embrace a low carbon future and not repeat the mistakes of the developed world in seeking fast industrialization. India has so far rejected the first world’s overtures, joining Brazil and China in refusing to agree to any cuts or curbs to the growth of future emissions.

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At the beginning of the year the People’s Republic of China imposed an outright ban on thin-grade plastic bags. It was widely hailed as a sign of environmental progress in the traditional thinking China, however some were skeptical that the ban might simply be ignored as some other previous ones such as the ban on wooden chopsticks have been.

Seven months later having just come from mainland China I can tell you that the ban is mostly being ignored. On several occasions I was offered thin plastic bags at grocery stores without having requested them. However one place that has taken the ban to heart is Papa John’s. One customer who expressed displeasure at being forced to pay two-Renminbi for a cloth tote bag had this to say when asked to comment: ‘who gives a fuck about the environment?’

In neighbouring Hong Kong the local government has recently implemented a fifty cent surcharge for each plastic bag used in the territory. It seems to be working quite well with a lot of people now carrying their own bags to the store. However it’s only been implemented at large chain stores, meaning the local and smaller stores are continuing to offer plastic bags at the same pace as before.

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An article ran in Men’s Health this month entitled ‘The Truth About Bottled Water’, needless to say I was intrigued to read its sordid tales.

To summarize the contents of the article:

One. Basically bottled water is just tap water but without the government oversight. Twenty-two percent of the brands tested by the Natural Resources Defense Council contained chemical contaminants above state mandated health limits.

Two. If you store bottled water above room temperature for long periods of time chemicals from the plastic might seep into the container’s contents.

Three. Seventeen million barrels of oil are used annually in the production of water bottles. Eighty-six percent of these bottles will be thrown into the rubbish bin instead of being recycled and it’s there they will begin their half-millennia path to decomposition. Now if you can imagine that but multiplied by the worldwide annual consumption rate of 89 billion litres, it’s clear that we simply don’t have enough space in our landfills for all of these plastic containers.

So please everyone, do the earth a favour and drink from your taps occasionally. If that’s not an option due to rusty pipes or you’re living in a country without strong water health regulations, try reusing five-gallon water jugs.

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Many of you know the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, as one of the nation’s most progressive leaders on the environment. His crusades have seen him squaring off against everything from smoking to street congestion.

Earlier this year he strengthened the city’s anti-idling laws to restrict cars from idling for longer than three minutes, however the AP claims that Bloomberg routinely violates his own policies and leaves his official city SUVs idling for hours at a time. See whenever Bloomberg travels around the city he either uses his official SUVs or is trailed by said vehicles. So even when the mayor takes the subway in an attempt to seem in touch with the working man, he’s still trailed by the SUVs. And thanks to the AP’s stalking it would seem that whenever the mayor gives a speech or stops at an official function, his vehicles stay idling.

Hopefully after getting slammed by the AP all of this idling business will stop. I still like Bloomberg for all he’s done, however if hypocrisy were a crime he would be in jail along with the rest of us, and Al Gore.

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In recent years there has been growing support for solar power, this support has accelerated recently thanks in large part to the President’s stimulus package. Solar power is often hailed as a clean, environmentally friend energy source. While that is mainly true, it does have its own environmental impact.

Most power generation consumes large amounts of water, and while solar power uses less water than coal or nuclear, it still does use quite a bit of water. Making things more difficult is that solar power plants are almost always located in the desert, where of course, water is harder to come by. There are alternatives to water based cooling, but they are significantly more expensive.

More than 150 applications for solar power plants are currently awaiting approval in the western deserts of the United States. The water to run that many plants simply does not exist, and the National Park service warns that any water drawdowns in the region would adversely affect the endangered electric-blue pupfish.

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