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San Diego is an urban paradise. Temperatures are always comfortable, the sun shines most days of the year, and locals can spend any day enjoying their time at beaches, museums, zoos, stadiums or any number of shows that occur there. The San Diego Convention center is always booked with events ranging from tech conferences to bridal bazaars and the world renowned International Comic Convention.

Traffic can get out of hand in such a popular place, and paradise isn’t so pretty when seen from the inside of your car in 90 degree weather. The answer to this dilemna lies with smaller electric vehicles that allow drivers to safely speed by traffic with the use of the carpool lane.

Just north of San Diego, sits Aptera, a small company of 15 engineers and fabricators who have produced a sleek, 3 wheel hybrid vehicle of the future. CEO Steve Fambro dreamt up the idea of a safe, fuel-efficient vehicle 5 years ago, when he himself had to deal with the San Diego traffic. His futuristic vehicle design is fundamentally based on aerodynamics (hence the look of a small plane) and environmentally friendly engineering.
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The amazingly futuristic Aptera Typ-1. When will we see these on the roads? (Photo: Aptera)

According to Aptera, “What emerged, after much designing, conceptualizing, and constructing, was a prototype two-seat, three-wheeled vehicle. This first operating prototype achieved a stunning 230 miles per gallon, Building on this success, Steve expanded his Aptera team and created the Aptera Typ-1, which has been re-designed, re-engineered, and refined into a production ready vehicle. We are excited to announce that the Aptera Typ-1 is now available for reservations.”

$30,000 is the expected price-tag for one of these vehicles, which makes them relatively affordable. This electric car is no weakling either: the production model went from 0-60 in under 10 seconds and reached speeds of 85mph without any problems. This little car also has a range of around 150miles between charges, which is plenty for the average daily commute. Solar panels on the roof provide added energy to run to the air-conditioning that keeps the vehicle at a comfortable temperature, even when it is just sitting in a parking lot. The only bad news is that the cars will only be available in California at first

The Aptera is technically classified as a motorcycle, but is a much safer option. The company made an extra effort to exceed the minimum safety requirements, especially because of the publics’ attitude towards motorcycle dangers: the roof can withstand the pressure from rolling over, the doors exceed the necessary strength requirements, the car boasts airbag in seatbelt technology and the frame is designed to take a large impact and redirect the energy around the passenger and driver.

Aptera means “wingless flight” in Greek, and even if the owners of the sleek, white car don’t feel like they are flying, pedestrians will eye the Aptera like something that just arrived from outer space.

If you think about the mission of enterprise resource planning software, in some ways it’s surprising the modules for environmental health and safety compliance weren’t integrated sooner. It is also interesting that at the same time as the major ERP vendors – Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, IBM, and others – were systematically integrating the major business information systems that had evolved, one company, Environmental Support Solutions, a 15 year old company based in Tempe, Arizona, was systematically integrating the environmental health and safety (EH&S) information systems that had similarly evolved as fragmented, tactical solutions.

In both cases, there were compelling reasons why these information systems needed to be welded into one set of compatible, interoperable tools, but while the enterprise vendors knit together software packages for accounting, sales force management, customer service and support, manufacturing logistics, etc., competing to deliver enterprise software products that have been highly visible and delivered explosive growth to their creators, ESS has quietly done the same thing with a host of EH&S systems, and they appear to be the only game in town.

THE INFORMATION CHALLENGE ADDRESSED WITH ESS SOFTWARE

Developing point solutions to regulatory requirements have left companies with hundreds of small databases containing data collected manually from multiple sources. (Source: ESS)

With the 21st century version of the green revolution in full swing, now tempered by a financial sobriety that will make every corporate investment more thoughtful than ever, ESS has put together an enterprise software package to manage EH&S that can be justified financially even in tough financial times. ESS’s integrated EH&S solution has attracted the attention of the major ERP vendors, all of whom now recognize the value of including EH&S modules as part of their comprehensive enterprise software products. Earlier today I had the chance to talk with the CEO of ESS, Robert Johnson, about why they have the right product at the right time.

“We have been doing internal market studies and see five areas of huge growth and interest right now,” said Johnson, “emissions monitoring, compliance assurance, corporate social responsibility, worker health, and safety and environmental performance management. The solutions are currently very fragmented – companies are using spreadsheets for a lot of this and that isn’t going to make it for enterprise reporting.”

Back in 1999 ESS saw this coming, as there was increasing demand from their customers to aggregate the EH&S data they were generating and managing with various ESS modules so they could report and manage the information at the enterprise level. They began development of the “Eco-Hub” which became the core of what is now a completely integrated set of modules. “BP, US Steel, DOW, and others were customers who we developed systems for which eventually led us to evolve this unified system. It takes years of work and millions in investment to develop these systems and to get them validated and tested by customers.”

The savings that accrue to companies who have standardized, automated environmental health and safety information that they can roll up to report and manage at a corporate level get bigger every year. Johnson summarized four areas where ESS software will deliver immediate savings:

1. Investment funds now include in their investment criteria reporting on a company’s performance in environmental health and safety. How well companies manage EH&S is a good indication of how well they manage their financial controls as well as risk in general. There is now a direct connection between how a company manages EH&S and their ability to attract investors and capital.
2. Managing EH&S means reducing events that cause injury and downtime. Unplanned events such as chemical or oil spills, plant explosions; these events can be prevented or reduced by putting in place best practice EH&S systems to lower risk. Accidents create immediate injury and harm but the financial costs continue during the shutdown and cleanup. EH&S systems reduce accidents and reduce downtime.
3. When developing financial best practices, indirect costs often can only be explicitly evaluated using EH&S systems. For example, companies who buy chemicals for their operations historically evaluated these chemicals based on their raw cost. But by overlaying a toxicity index to this cost analysis, the costs of procedures to track, containerize and dispose of very toxic chemicals can be analyzed and added to the total cost, often delivering a different choice than what would have come out of a more primitive analysis.
4. Just pure IT savings can be huge. ESS offers 14 different modules that cover the entire gamut of environmental health and safety issues, and they are all integrated. Most companies have addressed these tracking challenges at a tactical level. But there is increasing need for this information to be available not only for regulatory compliance at each plant, but in consolidated formats. Investors and Directors along with countless government agencies now require data that is totally rolled up for the corporation; aggregate emissions, total incident rates, and other corporate social responsibility indicators.

There are plenty of examples of clients purchasing ESS software and making immediate and substantial savings. In the largest installation ESS has done so far in North America, DOW Chemical replaced 160 different systems in 200 production sites with ESS solutions, after evaluating a variety of options to consolidate these systems. DOW saved over $2.0 million in the first year, just in direct IT expenses. They moved everything into ESS’s Eco-Hub; they literally poured all of the data from 160 different legacy systems into this single solution.

INTEGRATING THE ESS ECO-HUB WITH ORACLE’S ERP SYSTEMS

The interoperability of ESS software allows them to work with the Oracle database, providing relevant data to existing Oracle ERP modules, as well as integrate their own EH&S modules within Oracle’s ERP solution. (Source: ESS)

ESS’s largest installation to-date anywhere was for PetroChina, the largest company in China, with vertically integrated petrochemical operations throughout the country, from wells to refineries to retail outlets. As Johnson put it “they are using every module we’ve got, the entire integrated set, air, water, incident, hygiene, chemical inventory, incident tracking, all of them.” ESS’s software is the only application PetroChina has implemented across their entire organization, and they now have over 70,000 users on this system.

As EH&S has moved out of the individual manufacturing plants and onto the corporate center stage over the past few years, ESS has attracted the attention of major enterprise software vendors, and they work closely with most of the major companies, including Oracle, IBM, Microsoft and SAP. ESS software is platform independent and can run on any database.

Commenting on a recent announcement by ESS of “a unified applications platform for environmental sustainability” with Oracle, Johnson explained “we are tying in with their financial data, asset management, resource planning, and equipment monitoring [in addition to ESS providing their own 14 EH&S modules] because it is all related. EH&S is becoming integrated and critical to the overall IT infrastructure of companies.”

PORTLAND, Maine, October 2008 — IntertechPira is pleased to announce that the 3^rd annual Organic Photovoltaics 2009 conferences scheduled for April 27 – 29, 2009^th at the Doubletree Hotel Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA, US. Co-Chaired by Russell Gaudiana, of Konarka Technologies Inc. and Dr. Dana Olson of the NREL,this year’s program will provide a unique venue for industry experts, researchers, customers and investors to address the opportunities and most critical challenges for the commercialization of OPV technologies.Drawing in part on key examples from the OLED and printed-electronics industries, this forum will provide a multifaceted examination of what is required to transform today’s laboratory-based technologies into large-scale commercial products. Discussion of technological requirements and manufacturing considerations will be complemented by an analysis of market forces to identify not only when OPVs will be widely commercialized, but what role they will play in the context of a growing PV industry.

The conference will feature approximately 18 expert presentations assessing OPV market trends, technical development and application related advances through presentations, question-and-answer sessions and panel discussions. Keynote presentations will be allocated 35 minutes for the speaker followed by 10-15 minutes for questions and discussion. All other presentations will be allocated 25 minutes for the speaker with 5-10 minutes or questions and discussion. Throughout the conference, there will be a number of hosted luncheons, breaks and receptions, which will be held in and around the exhibit area located outside the main conference room.

Two pre-conference workshops will be held prior to the conference on Monday, April 27.

For more information on Organic Photovoltaics 2009 and related IntertechPira conferences, visit the IntertechPira or the Organic Photovoltaics 2009 websites.

Speaker recruitment is now underway.

To submit a topic for consideration, or to request more details, please contact Jessica Johnson at jessica.johnson@pira-international.com or +1 (207) 781-9626.

Members of the press interested in attending, to find out if you qualify for a complimentary press pass,please contact Sheri Bonnell at sheri.bonnell@pira-international.com or +1 (207) 781-9637

On Thursday 10-16-08 I attended the User Group meeting of Plexos Solutions LLC, a boutique firm providing software and consulting to the rapidly changing California electric market. One of the presentations covered issues surrounding integration of renewable energy resources into the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). This is important to sustainable energy investors because virtually all the growth in generating capacity is forecast to come from renewable resources. While the fundamentals of this market have been overwhelmed by broader market conditions this last month, over time the fundamentals provide the tailwind that will lift stocks. And the growth expectations for renewables are very high in the California market.

Over the period 2007 – 2012 the CAISO is planning for increases over existing capacity of:

• 5,053 MW of wind, a 187% increase,
• 1,064 MW of geothermal, a 68% increase,
• 946 MW of concentrating solar, a 203% increase,
• 508 MW of utility scale PV solar, a 2,032% increase, and
• 221 MW of biomass, a 28% increase

These are huge numbers representing billions of dollars of projects and electric revenues. Striking are the growth expectations for the two main solar approaches.

The ISO Control Room in Folsom directs the flow of electricity and ensures access to 25,000 circuit miles of high-voltage, long distance power lines. (Photo: California ISO)

In the concentrating solar sector, the state currently has 354 MW of large projects operating with the last one completed in 1990, 18 years ago.

Most of this capacity is owned by FPL Energy, part of a large regulated utility. So the new capacity has to come from a sector that hasn’t, in California at least, been able to construct a project for many years. Equally noticeable it the paucity of publicly traded companies in the concentrating solar sector. Solar Millennium (S2M.DE) is one the few with significant concentrating solar activity.

The state currently has 8 projects with 3,689 MW of large concentrating solar projects in the permitting pipeline. But these numbers are deceptive. Of the 8, two projects are actually “solar/thermal” hybrids like the existing operating projects. These two projects represent 1,180 MW of capacity with 112 MW attributable to solar. The remaining 6 projects are a gamut of technologies ranging from troughs, reflectors, towers, and Sterling engines. These projects are all owned by private companies or municipal utilities and currently don’t present an opportunity for public market investors.

The PV solar sector provides more avenues for public investors to participate via investment in the PV supply chain. If the numbers work out the utility market represents a multi-year, very large opportunity. Let’s take a look.

As of the end of 2007 California had an estimated 279 MW of installed PV in homes and businesses and 25 MW of utility scale projects. This makes sense since the home and business markets are net metering against retail rates whereas utility scale projects have to compete against wholesale markets. So the premise is that PV solar is now becoming sufficiently competitive at the wholesale level to install over 500 MW in the next 5 years.

One of the first test cases was recently announced. On July 10, 2008 the California Public Utilities Commission approved a 7.5 MW contract between First Solar’s (FSLR) FSE Blythe project and Southern California Edison. Unfortunately much of the economic information was not disclosed but some key data can be gleaned from the record. First, the company is projecting an excellent 27% capacity factor for the project, significantly higher than typical estimates for PV projects. But equally important is the company is pursing the development receiving a price at or below the “market reference price” which is based on a highly efficient modern thermal plant. After accounting for some messy seasonal and time-of-use factors I calculate the project will receive approximately USD 0.14/kWh on average plus a 30% tax credit now that the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 passed. If First Solar can make money at this project then they are very near the holy grail of grid parity (at least until the credit expires December 31, 2016). And the utility systems can, according to the CAISO, absorb large amounts of solar power for years to come. Game on.

Mark Henwood is the founder of Camino Energy, an information provider specializing in globally traded sustainable energy stocks.

Jatropha Curcas Tree: An oilseed tree, indigenous to Central America. Produces high yields of inedible vegetable oil which is easily refined into high quality biodiesel. Drought and disease resistant perennial, grows quickly in marginal to poor soil, and begins producing oil bearing seeds for 50 years, two years after planting. It is not generally browsed by animals and livestock. Against other Tree Bearing Oil (TBO) seeds, Jatropha curcas has been identified as the most suitable seed for extraction of oil, and subsequent processing of Biodiesel.

The market for Biodiesel growth in the USA is growing at an alarming rate. From 2004 to 2005, the market for biodiesel in the U.S. grew from 25 million gallons per year to 75 million gallons in 2005. Demand for biodiesel has grown so fast in the first half of 2006 that the existing major biodiesel plants can not keep up.

The U.S. Energy Policy Act (EPA Act) of 2005 stipulates that a specific amount of renewable fuel has to be used in the nationwide gasoline pool, which is likely to increase every year to reach 7.5 billion gallons in 2012,” says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst.

Bio Global Resources Inc., of Dallas, produces Jatropha Oil on company owned plantations in California, and Costa Rica. Through its production of Jatropha oil and Jatropha plants, Bio Global Resources is becoming a dominant player in the emerging biofuels industry.

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Most of the trash that accumulates so quickly is made up of packaging. This makes sense when every item at the grocery store, every new piece of equipment and every toy is safely encased in the cardboard boxes we have gotten so accustomed to. The Integrated Waste Management Board states that of all the solid waste that pours into landfills every year, a third is made up of packaging.

Most boxes are made from wax coated wood pulp. Unfortunately, wax boxes are non-recyclable and non-pulpable which means they go straight to the dump after being used. It is also too costly for retailers that do use boxes to separate these non-recyclable boxes from old corrugated containers so everything gets sent to the landfill.

Eco-Fiber, a San Francisco based packaging company, provides a solution. Their packaging is designed to work better than any wax-coated box, and Eco-Fiber’s products are perfectly adequate for use in a refrigerator, freezer, printer, wallet etc. Their homepage explains that “Eco-Fiber Solutions manufactures competitively priced corrugated, water resistant products that are sustainable, repulpable and recyclable. Based on tested and proven packaging technology, all Eco-Fiber designed products perform as well or better than their waxed coated counterparts. These products are suitable for use in field packaging, for refrigerated and/or freezer conditions and for multiple applications where water resistant packaging is required. Further the packaging can be laminated and is printable”

This produce tray from Eco-Fiber resists fluid migration, has rigid construction, is easily stackable, and can be recycled. (Photo: Eco-Fiber Solutions)

One of Eco-Fiber’s specialty packages can even replace the popular Styrofoam cooler. Their Eco-cooler is easily put together without any glue or staples.

The item arrives flat, but once put together, this water resistant cardboard box works as well as any other cooler. In fact, it is quoted for “indefinite use”. Best of all, it is recyclable, repulpable and biodegradable.

Their other products, like the Eco-bond, is also put together without any glue or staples but still allows for some tough jobs: During the 2008 Boston International Sea Food Show, the corrugated boxes were introduced to one of the toughest markets: Fish and protein retailers require heavy-duty, leak proof and hygienic packaging. Eco-Fiber’s box didn’t just hold up to the freshly caught crab, fish, and scallops, but also the masses of ice that were slid into the boxes first. In the associated press release, CEO Robert VonFelden is quoted saying that their new box is “the answer to the increasingly untenable waste-disposal problem facing supermarkets and large retailers…and the cost is comparable and often times less than wax-based packaging. This technology is not tied to petroleum prices as is wax. Waxed corrugates will only continue climb in production and disposal costs.”

Sometimes the best part about a product really is the packaging.

RE Power’s “5M” offshore wind turbine is definitely the King of wind turbines – a single unit that generates 5.0 megawatts of electricity at full output. With a rotor diameter of 126 meters (412 feet) and a hub height between 90 and 120 meters, RE Power’s 5M unit is the biggest wind turbine available in the world, with a total height up to 183 meters (max. hub height plus rotor radius – 600 feet). It represents the next generation in large scale wind. With this turbine, a 200 tower wind farm would generate 1.0 gigawatts at full output. Wind turbines this big are game changers, because the fewer towers involved, the more efficient wind power becomes, especially offshore.

RE Power’s 5M is designed for offshore use, and testing is now completed on twelve 5M turbines, operating both onshore and offshore.. The first one, intalled onshore in Brunsbuettel, on the west coast of Schleiswig-Holstein in Germany in 2004, has logged over four years of 95% availability. In the Beatrice oil field, 25 kilometers off the Scottish East coast, in open ocean 40 meters deep, RE Power has installed two 5M turbines. RE Power is planning to install six 5M turbines offshore near the island of Borkum in the first phase of a new German offshore wind farm, and to begin series production of the 5M in Bremerhaven.

RE Power 5.0 MW offshore wind turbines. Beatrice oil field, North Sea. (Photo: RE Power)

It doesn’t end there, nor should it. RE Power intends to produce the next size up, a six megawatt wind turbine at the same plant in Bremerhaven.

It is very interesting to wonder at what point the output per unit reaches its practical limit. Are ten megawatt units possible? What about the colossal land-based vertical axis concepts, where a single unit might generate 100+ megawatts? Can wind power get cheaper as unit capacity increases, and who else manufactures multi-megawatt wind turbines?

GE Wind Energy offers the new 3.6 MW Series that, according to their website, “is a larger version of our proven 1.5 MW design, the 3.6 MW machine was specifically designed for high-speed wind sites. With a rotor diameter of 104 meters and a swept area of 8,495 square meters [2.1 acres, the area covered by the three 52 meter fans, turned to the wind], this new wind turbine is ideal for offshore markets worldwide.” The 3.6 Series is the next evolution of GE Energy’s wind turbine fleet and builds on the success of GE’s 1.5-megawatt machines, which are among the world’s most widely used megawatt class wind turbines with more than 8,600 units in service and more than 125 million operating hours.

Not to be outdone, Siemens also offers a 3.6 megawatt wind turbine unit, the “wind power station” SWT-3.6-107. With an 80 meter (or site specific) hub height and a blade length of 53 meters, with one of the three blades pointing skwards this unit stands 133 meters high (436 feet).

Vestas Wind Power Solutions has over 500 3.0 megawatt units installed around the world with their V90-3.0, which actually weighs less than its 2.0 megawatt predecessor. Fuhrlaender has the FL 2500, a 2.5 MW turbine that has a modular design, allowing this output to be achieved using variable rotor speeds, and an assortment of rotor diameters, 80, 90 and 100 meters – as well as lattice towers up to 160 meters. At a hub height of 160 meters and a rotor radius of 100 meters, each unit has an amazing total height of 210 meters (689 feet).

Nordex offers three 2.5 megawatt wind turbine products, the N100 with a 100 meter rotor diameter designed for low speed inland locations, the N90 with both low and high speed variants, and the N80 designed for high winds. Enercon manufactures the E-70 wind turbine with 2.3 MW rated power and numerous steel and precast concrete tower versions – is especially suitable for sites with high wind speeds.” The E-70 has a rotor diameter of 71 meters (233 feet) and a hub height ranging from 58 to 113 meters. At a hub height of 113 meters and a rotor radius of 35.5 meters, this unit has a total height of 148.5 meters (487 feet).

Another company with a wind turbine that exceeds 2.0 megawatts is India based Suzlon Energy, who has a 2.1 MW unit noted on their product page. Gamesa offers three models of “aerogeneradores” that all attain 2.0 megawatts, optimized in various ways with the G80, the G87, and the G90. Finally, AAER Wind Energy offers the A-2000, rated at 2.0 MW, with “an optimized torque control system combining variable-ratio superposition gear (SPG) with individual pitch control of the blades. This means that it can be operated at optimum aerodynamic efficiency throughout the whole operational range.”

When considering wind power, cost and impact are major considerations – wind power is relatively competitive based on cost. But how many wind power stations can you build? Finding sites and establishing transmission corridors is most of the battle with wind power, so the bigger the unit, the better. Still the scale of these machines is daunting – many of these wind power stations have total heights exceeding 500 or even 600 feet. By contrast, the Statue of Liberty only measures 305 feet from the water to the tip of her torch. How many of these units would replace a 1.0 gigawatt nuclear power plant?

At 5.0 megawatts each, and a 25% yield, you would need 800 of these machines. At 2.5 megawatts each, you would need 1,600 of them – that is a very, very large wind farm, on-shore or offshore. If they are placed on a grid a safe distance apart, say 500 meters (remember, they are up to 200 meters tall), then 1,600 of these units would consume an area of 200 square kilometers. At 5.0 megawatts per unit, but 1,000 meters between units, a 800 unit windfarm (25% yield) with generating capacity equivalent to a 1.0 gigawatt nuclear power plant would require 800 square kilometers, over 300 square miles. Each of these units would be nearly twice the height of the Statue of Liberty.

The world’s first 5.0 megawatt wind turbine, operating since 2004 on the southwest coast of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. (Photo: RE Power)

About four years ago the New Yorker Magazine endorsed a Presidential candidate for the first time in its then eighty year history. One should not doubt who they chose, John Kerry, someone who I also voted for. In their most recent issue, a bursting “theme issue” tome of erudite and addictive political commentary, the New Yorker has done it again, endorsing Barack Obama. So should Obama be the next President of the United States?

And should EcoWorld be a platform to make an endorsement, anyway? Perhaps, since we do have a rather clear editorial position when it comes to what we consider agreeable environmentalist ideology – read Rational Environmentalism. EcoWorld, a publication examining environmental issues and green technology from a free-market perspective clearly has as much reason to finally take an editorial position on a U.S. Presidential election as the New Yorker, a culture magazine. And similarly to the global warming debate that is “over,” there are issues surrounding Obama vs. McCain that are inexplicably off the table – indeed too many issues where they alarmingly seem to totally agree.

It would be less than human to not love the way Obama gives us reason to feel we can be a better people, but this must not be a reason to ignore or excuse his ideology. For him to say it is time to “spread the wealth around” sounds like it is time to stop rewarding merit. It sounds like if we work hard, work smart, and play by the rules, it doesn’t matter. Governments should enforce rules to encourage economic competition in a meritocracy, not “spread the wealth around.” And the liberal penchant for teaching virtually everyone that they are the victims of discrimination and are disadvantaged and oppressed, in a country like the United States, is pure nonsense and often merely a ploy to raise taxes and create government jobs. Everyone cares about poor people, or disadvantaged people, but hard work, property ownership and economic growth will make everyone better off. Obama’s base tends to dismiss the importance of markets and profits, and instead prefers government redistribution to correct injustices.

Liberalism, all of it, the ideological base that sustains Obama, breeds corruption at least as powerful and pervasive as conservative or free-market ideologies. But the fallacies of liberalism are more easily rendered invisible to normal, well-intentioned people, because they are obscured by rhetoric so compassionate, so righteously indignant, so protective of the disadvantaged, so caring, that only a hardened cynic would attempt to diminish or deter their agenda, despite its possible flaws. Policy discussion is distorted by wars of words where liberal ideology wields an intrinsic advantage, since they are always ready to do whatever it takes, whatever it costs, whenever it sounds good, regardless of price or unintended consequences.

With the final debates over and less than three weeks before the election, much has been recently reported about “Joe Plumber,” the man who questioned Obama’s proposal to increase taxes on incomes over $250,000 per year. You can work hard and get a leg up, but the tax collectors want extra levies as soon as you cross some progressive line. Progressive taxes, especially when they are severely tiered, undermine upward mobility, they undermine incentive.

Along with Joe the Plumber, out west we have Randy the Programmer and his family. They live in California’s Silicon Valley. Both of the spouse had full time jobs. He had a job with benefits for 15 years, and lost it about five months ago. She had a job with benefits for 8 years, and lost it last week. They played by the rules. They didn’t borrow against their home equity, or buy 6,000 lb. SUVs, or take regular vacations. They worked all the time and when they weren’t working they spent time raising their little girl. But if home prices plummet to levels lower than they were twenty years ago, they will lose everything in spite of having been nearly as financially conservative as a Swiss Banker. And as we unravel this mess, Joe the Plumber and Randy the Programmer would benefit from recovery policies that reward them if they kept their debt down, because minimizing household debt/equity ratios requires the civic and financial virtue called thrift. The primary source of financial rewards should be personal responsibility, not government redistribution.

An important factor in choosing the next President that is barely discussed is the behavior of Obama’s longtime preacher, Reverend Wright. Importantly, this is not an indictment of Obama, who apparently has forgiven his preacher for his excesses and risen above this outrageous conduct. But this is an indictment of Obama’s core constituency and much of his braintrust. I love the way Obama’s speeches inspire us to unite, but I disagree with the way his pastor’s sermons invoke divisive outrage and anger. Why did Obama feel he should attend a church for twenty years where the preacher thinks it is ok to speak this way in a sermon? I remember my Methodist upbringing quite well. I remember our Reverend, our preacher, who delivered the Sunday sermon year after year. I remember all the preachers in that church. They were loving, kind men, who would never start saying the Lord’s name in vain for any reason, ever, let alone to curse their own country.

A few days ago I did a YouTube search of videos of Obama’s preacher at work. And what I saw was disappointing. You can find these videos easily enough; this is not a fabrication. If standing in a pulpit and shrieking “God Damn America,” over and over again isn’t preaching hatred, I don’t know what is. Small children and impressionable young adults are there. People down on their luck and all too human, vulnerable to temptation by the notion of finding a scapegoat are there, maybe just that one time. Should the belief systems and ideologies of people who, as a congregation, condone if not nurture such conduct become the core constituency of the President of the United States of America?

John McCain is not the perfect man, or the perfect candidate, and perhaps Sarah Palin isn’t as polished and credentialed as Mr. Obama either. If the fiscal conservatives could have found a presidential candidate with Obama’s charisma, his youth, and his capacity to unite, the excitement of this publication would be uncontainable. If Hilary Clinton had gotten the nomination, we might even have endorsed her as an experienced and reliable fiscal centrist who would be a safer bet than the potentially erratic McCain, whose oligarchy-enabling campaign finance “reform” bill disqualifies him forever from a truly enthusiastic endorsement.

All Presidents bring with them their constituencies and their beliefs, and editorially speaking, this environmentalist publication prefers meritocracy, prefers reverent Christian values, and prefers trickle-down and supply side economics, not victim rhetoric and “spreading the wealth around.” As far as foreign policy considerations go, it may not matter whether McCain or Obama is elected – in fact Obama could be more of a risk than McCain. Like Clinton, who as a liberal could enact conservative driven welfare reform when Reagan could not, the decidedly unbellicose, brilliant orator Obama might actually tip the hinge of fate more easily than McCain, and widen America’s wars instead of end them.

At the end of the day, this election is about what kind of a government we trust to help us all dig out from our debt and build sustainably. For that work and more, we find governments reliant on the base of McCain and Palin will likely welcome and embrace the philosophies we espouse, unlike the base of Obama and Biden. Vote McCain/Palin.

Who will be the monarch? (Photo: EcoWorld)

If you want to imagine the Western Hemisphere’s equivalent to China’s Three Gorges Dam, look no further than the proposed Severn Barrage, which at peak output will deliver over 8 gigawatts of electricity, or about 50% of what the Three Gorges delivers. Even though the Three Gorges output decisively exceeds that of the Severn Barrage, if this massive civil engineering project is ever completed, it will dwarf every other power station in the world.

Environmental groups bitterly oppose the Severn Barrage, and if they are to strive for consistency, they certainly should oppose this monstrosity. The ten mile long dam will connect the English coast to the Welsh coast across the Severn Estuary, one of the largest, most precious, environmentally sensitive estuaries on Earth. Why on earth would any environmentalist support this project, or any tidal energy project, for that matter? The problem, of course, is we have to pick our poison – energy production, like food production – in a world destined to accomodate 8-9 billion people who aspire to live in peace and prosperity, is doomed to be dependent on commercial scale operations that are disruptive and potentially dangerous. Pick your poison. Nuclear? Hydroelectric? Fossil fuels?

The Severn Estuary and the proposed barrage crossings.

The problem with tidal power certainly isn’t the scale – unlike wind turbines, which would have to be installed by the millions to make a dent in global power production, the Severn Barrage is a big deal. But to suggest the 8.6 gigawatt output is “equivalent to eight nuclear power plants” (presumably at 1.0 gigawatt each) is misleading.

Like other intermittant sources of energy such as wind and solar, and unlike nuclear power that operates continuously, tidal energy plants only operate at low tide, which is when the seawater sequestered behind the barrage during high tide can drain through the hydroelectric turbines. Like wind and solar, tidal energy has a “yield,” which in the case of the Severn Barrage is not quite 25%. In terms of actual average output, the Severn Barrage is only estimated to deliver 2.0 gigawatts of electricity, and at this point no serious discussion seems to be forthcoming as to how a fluctuation in grid input of 8.6 gigawatts is going to be offset. If there are designs that can smooth this massive energy flow, how much do they cost?

And what about the financial cost? At an average of 2.0 gigawatts of continuous power, the Severn Barrage will deliver about 17.5 terawatt-hours per year. Rounding up slightly from current estimates (because these projects never come in on budget), the entire project will cost about L 17.0 billion, or about $30 billion. Ouch! That equates to $15 billion per gigawatt-output, an amount that absolutely does not compare favorably to alternatives, including wind – installed, taking into account yields, probably half this amount or less – and certainly not natural gas, which can now be installed at about $1.0 billion per gigawatt output.

At $15+ billion per gigawatt (over $15.0 million per megawatt) installed, the Severn Barrage is a civil engineering boondoggle, being popularized based on global warming alarm and desire for energy security. While energy security is a compelling concern, it should be addressed in ways that reflect fiscal reality. A tidal energy system that costs $15 billion per gigawatt is not a financially competitive investment, even when compared to other alternative energy options. Try marine current turbines, which operate underwater on the ocean floor, or offshore wind – almost anything will cost less than the Severn Barrage, and almost anything would be less of a blight.

The location of the Severn Estuary in the southeast of the U.K.

While we don’t dismiss global warming concerns, only remain committed to publishing credible material from the skeptic community (read our Climate section), one must consider this: It is virtually impossible to eliminate CO2 emissions to the levels the alarmist scenarios declare we must to avoid catastrophe.

It isn’t going to happen, no matter how many precious estuaries environmentalist policies destroy, or rainforests that environmentalist policies burn to grow subsidized “carbon neutral” biofuel. Global warming alarm is being used quite effectively as a trump card in almost every policy debate imaginable, but by the alarmists own logic, it is an utterly futile exercise.

Environmentalists should hope whatever climate changes we’re experiencing are from natural cycles, and return their focus to things that they can influence – the world’s estuaries and rivers, forests and floodplains, wilderness and wildlife; protecting precious natural beauty and eliminating genuine pollution.

Related Links:
Severn Barrage (Wikipedia)
Severn barrage will be costly ecological disaster (Guardian.co.uk)

The President of Finca Leola, Fred Morgan, demonstrates the correct use of a scythe, as he converts carbohydrates into mechanical energy in an economical and fuel efficient manner.

Two year old Teak “pioneer” trees reach for the sky. During the first few years it is essential to keep weeds under control around young trees.

It is pretty much a given that the days of cheap oil are finished. Where we go from here is not known, but we will probably never again see gas for $1.25 a gallon (that was less than 8 years ago).

There is an old story about how, if you put a frog in a pot of cool water and slowly raise the temperature, you can cook it before it knows that the temperature is getting too hot. Supposedly this is due to being cold-blooded. It may or may not be true for frogs (I haven’t cooked any lately to be sure), but we humans tend to be slow to shift in response to changes in our environment.

When fuel was cheap, it made sense to use it (not in the long term, perhaps, but short term), but as the price of fuel continues to climb, what made economic economic sense no longer does. We are in the middle of an experiment here at Finca Leola S.A. of moving away from using fuel as much as possible.

One area where we spend a lot of money every year is commercial weed whackers. We currently have close to 750 acres of trees growing in four different locations. In the early years, you have to keep up with the weeds around the trees. Because the land is not all that flat, using brush hogs, etc, doesn’t work very well. So imagine lots of people with weed whackers mowing 750 acres. Now think about the cost of labor, fuel, and repairs.

In Costa Rica, the Spanish word for weed whacker is motoguadaña. Literally translated, motorized scythe. The word came from Spain, not from Costa Rica. Our workers don’t even know what a scythe (or guadaña) is, maybe because most of the farmland in this part of the country was cleared after motoguadañas already existed. The people use machetes for everything.

As an experiment, we bought several European-style scythes and have been using them. In the hands of a pro, a scythe is just as fast as a motoguadaña (even in the hands of me!) but has other advantages. Most of my work every day is doing what I am doing right now, writing and communicating, so I spend a lot of time sitting. We were paying a worker to cut our lawn with a weed whacker. Now, it is me out there cutting the grass with the scythe, enjoying the breezes, enjoying getting something done while getting the exercise I need. What could be more efficient?

A weed whacker survives about two years in plantation use. This is because they are running every day for 7 to 8 hours. A scythe on the other hand, if used properly and taken care of, may well last 20 years or so. The cost of a good scythe is roughly about a quarter of the price of a weed whacker.

What really adds up is consumables. A weed whacker needs about $6 of fuel here in Costa Rica to run per day. A scythe? Only what the operater eats. What is really nice is that the scythe is lighter and takes less effort to use, as long as you use it correctly. There goes the excuse to eat more!

It would seem that this is a simple solution, but there are challenges to implementation.

The breathtaking vistas of Costa Rica.

Just about anyone can use a weed whacker. Put in the right mix, start it up, and start destroying things. The ability to cut really isn’t based on skill, it is based on machine power. It is a noisy, stinky thing, but it is very easy to use and very effective.

A scythe is quite different. It is all skill and very little power. In fact, you shouldn’t be forcing it. The skill is in maintaining the right angle and maintaining a sharp edge. To maintain the edge, you have to know how to sharpen and how to reshape the edge every few hours. This is done by peening, a lost art if there ever was one – though there are jigs to help make it easier.

Against us as well is that the Costa Ricans think of it as a kind of machete, so they want to use the same motion. This is a sharp cutting motion, where the speed and force of the swing provides the cut. They also want to raise the blade to get a good momentum and hit the grass hard, but both of these are counterproductive. A scythe works by being very sharp and having the grass run along the blade’s arc until cut all the way through, so the idea is to not try to cut too much at a time and to let each clump be sliced in two as it slides along the blade. It took me a while to figure out that keeping the blade down on the ground on the return stroke cleans the grass off and helps with the next cut. It is nearly magical as it works, and truly enjoyable. It takes time, skill, and patience to learn to do right, but the savings are well worth it.

I think this is a key concept: There are many, many things that work just as well without fuel, but they require skill, strength, and being in pretty good shape. Power is a shortcut. I can drop a tree up to about 8 inches in diameter or lop off a limb faster with an ax than with a chainsaw (including the time to fuel and start the chainsaw).

The location of Finca Leola’s four tree farms. While all of them are in Costa Rica’s north-central highlands, it makes sense for each operation to be largely self-sufficient.

Another issue is localization. What I mean is this: The temptation is to centralize everything around a few principle people and make everyone else travel. In the mornings, the office area of Finca Leola resembles an anthill with nearly 100 workers. Everyone shows up, mills around a little and then shoots out the entrance for different locations. But why? Back when fuel was cheap and so was transportation, it made sense I suppose, but as fuel costs rise, we are rethinking this consolidation.

It is a struggle to get people to go directly to the place of work, bypassing the office even though often the office is in the wrong direction. There is a culture that says that if I see you appear on time, you are a good worker, so everyone wants to show up at the office to let the owners know they are good workers – even though it will be another 30 minutes to an hour until they actually are doing anything productive!

As we continue to grow, we have to separate operations more and more. This requires coordination and planning. It also requires more travel by principle people and less by the workers. It is always tempting by those in charge to require everyone to make their lives easier, but that can be very, very wasteful.

A good example of such planning is to have as much processing of wood done at the plantations as possible. This is due to a simple fact: Wood is heavy. The more waste you can remove before transporting it, the better. Part of the waste is water, which can be removed by kilns, and the rest is all the bark and sawdust as you shape flooring, boards, and furniture.

This requires more from those in management. It is much easier to have all your workers show up at one factory so that you can keep an eye on them and all you have to do is go to one place. It is much harder when you have several different locations and each one requires a significant amount of travel over less-than-ideal roads. But when you think what is best for the environment and resources, it makes a lot more sense than requiring, say, 200 workers to travel over those same roads.

On the personal level, I am making a determined effort to use my bike between our locations as much as possible. Between fueling a car and fueling my bike, the best choice is obvious, and here I do have an excuse to eat more. An added budget benefit? I expect to save on medical bills all my life. Many of us have grown up with cars and the convenience of them, even though now it is putting a pretty bad cramp on many budgets just to fill them up. It is very interesting though, that many people will drive to work, and then drive to a gym in order to get exercise, whereas if they combined the two, they could save time and a lot of money.

The average commute in the USA is about 16 miles each way. This is a bit rough on a bike, but very doable if you are in shape. There are many commutes much less than that, say, under 5 miles. And yet, the vast majority of people drive even though it is much more costly. The reason is simple: It isn’t as fast and convenient. After all, jump in the car, turn the ignition, and off you go. Commuting by bike requires some planning and preparation. Although I don’t have to think about what to change into when I arrive or how to clean up, most people do. It also takes some skill. For a good cyclist, 16 miles is a warmup, 5 miles is not even thought about. But for a person who hasn’t ridden for years and years, 16 miles is going to make you feel it, particularly where you sit down. The other challenge on commuting is that the US road system isn’t designed to share the road with bikes, nor are many drivers of cars very conscious of cyclists. I have the advantage there, as roads less than ideal for cars are ideally suited to mountain bikes.

We continue to explore and test options for becoming less fuel-dependent, such as using animal power, water power, and solar power, and our key people are usually quite willing to try new old things. With their support, we are slowly bringing the rest of the workers around.

COSTA RICA’S PARKS & PROPOSED BIOCORRIDORS

Finca Leola’s tree farms (red dots – the one to the right is the first one, the 2-4th farms are clustered around the dot to the left) are located in in the rich, deep soils of Costa Rica’s interior. The dark green on the map denotes existing parks; light green the proposed bio-corridor. (Scale: one pixel = one kilometer)