In the past couple of years, several documentary films have come out that are focused on the folly of fossil fuels (such as oil, gasoline, and natural gas), and new films have also been made to bring attention to the broader climate crisis. Most of these movies have been critically acclaimed.
Recent fuel films include:
Gasland (2009): about drilling for natural gas by “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing) (Gasland is currently airing on HBO and via HBO On Demand.)
Crude (2009): about the lawsuit on Chevron/Texaco’s contamination of an Amazon community in Ecuador
Fuel (2008): about biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (2007)
Also, in the years since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, several new films have been made about climate change; these include:
Climate of Change (2010: Coming Soon): This film was created to present inspiring, uplifting stories of regular people around the world who have spearheaded a variety of local initiatives to combat climate change.
The Age of Stupid (2008)
Climate Refugees (2009)
The 11th Hour (2007)
Click on the links to see trailers or to learn more about each film. Check sites such as IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Netflix for reviews.
If you’ve seen any of these films, let us know what you thought of them by posting a comment below.
July 26, 2010
In these times of unnatural disasters—such as BP’s out-of-control oil-hemorrhaging drill “spill,” as well as extreme weather events caused by increasing climate volatility—more people are seeking ways to reduce their carbon footprint: i.e., their consumption of fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, and natural gas). We are all essentially junkies—or oiloholics—who don’t know how to live without these substances.
Power plants (especially those that burn coal), transportation (particularly emissions from cars and jets), and energy use for homes and buildings (e.g., for heating and cooling) are the primary sources of carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide and methane. [For detailed information on the percentage of emissions from different sectors, see the U.S. Energy Information Administration: Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report and Architecture 2030’s data analysis.]
Until government and industry help shift our infrastructure and economy away from dinosaur fuels and into clean, renewable energy sources, we’ll never be able to get truly “clean”—so we should all be pushing for government to end subsidies and tax breaks to dirty energy industries and to support cleaner energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, tidal power, biomass, and some types of biofuels—a topic for a future post). But we can also do a lot right now, in our everyday lives, to start getting ourselves less addicted.
In addition to the most obvious steps that can be taken to reduce our direct use of fossil fuels and electricity generated by fossil fuels — such as driving as little as possible and conserving energy and water at home/work/school— there are lots of other ways that each of us can lessen our dependence on filthy fuels. You can do so in every area of your life, from choices you make for your home and household and yard and garden, to your vehicle/transportation, travel, food, and other consumer choices. For example, plastics and many household products (such as common cleaning products and personal care products) contain petrochemicals, so it’s best to choose alternatives to such products (e.g., glass instead of plastic bottles/containers, and all-natural household/personal products).
I’ve compiled this compendium of several online resources that list specific ways that we can start tackling our individual and collective carbon addiction:
July 6, 2010
Take a look at The Green Spotlight’s official Facebook Page for more frequent postings of brief news blurbs and recommended links. And if you have a Facebook account, please consider connecting to the page by clicking on the “Like” button at the top. Feel free to share links, recommendations, or comments with The Green Spotlight community.
July 6, 2010
If you’re thinking about doing a major renovation of your home or building a new home, I hope you’ll avail yourself of the growing number of resources on how to design and build houses that consume very little energy and that produce at least as much energy as they consume (i.e., net-zero-energy homes).
One of the most recent books on this topic is: Energy Free Homes for a Small Planet: A comprehensive guide to the design, construction, and economics of net-zero energy homes, by Ann V. Edminster (Green Building Press, December 2009). The publisher says: “Energy Free is designed to equip building professionals and homeowners alike with a toolkit for creating homes that use no more energy than they produce—this means homes that are free from the vagaries of energy-price fluctuations and that help to free society of the high political and environmental costs of fossil fuels. The author includes…step-by-step guidance on how to make decisions that will yield an energy-free residential project, whether a single-family home or multifamily building, new or existing, in an urban or a rural setting.” For more info about the book, click here.
One approach to designing and renovating homes so that they use very little energy is the Passive House approach, espoused by the Passive House Institute. The Passive House (or Passiv Haus) standard was originally developed in Germany. Passive houses are designed to reduce energy consumption by 80-90% compared to conventional houses. The first new home being built as a Passive House in California is a project of the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM). The home, known as the Blue2 House, is an affordable second unit behind another home in Point Reyes Station; the main house was also renovated using some Passive House techniques. CLAM is chronicling the home’s construction process and progress on a blog.
Other resources worth checking out include: GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, which has published several case studies of net-zero and near-net-zero energy homes; the Home of the Future program from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD); the Department of Energy’s Building America program; and Affordable Comfort Inc.’s Thousand Home Challenge and Deep Energy Reductions programs.
June 3, 2010
These days, more homeowners (and renters) are interested in making green home improvements, and they’re particularly interested in knowing which improvements have a low cost and a high (or fast) payback—i.e., a good Return on Investment, or ROI. A few of the most common suggestions for easy, low-cost projects that reap significant savings (in energy, water, and dollars) are:
- Switch to LED and/or compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs. (Note: When buying CFLs, choose low-mercury products. And CFLs cannot be thrown in the trash; because they contain mercury, they must be recycled by a hazardous waste facility. Some stores, such as Home Depot, collect used CFLs.)
- Switch to Energy Star appliances and electronic equipment when it’s time to replace old units.
- Install Energy Star ceiling fans, to reduce or eliminate the need for air conditioning.
- Switch to WaterSense plumbing fixtures (e.g., dual-flush or other high-efficiency toilets, and ultra-low-flow faucets and showerheads).
- Insulate your hot water pipes; and add insulation to your attic (and/or walls and basement).
- Have a home energy audit done to check for air leaks and identify other inefficiencies or areas that need improvement; a home performance contractor should then make the needed improvements. More and more companies are springing up to offer these services. (One of the first companies on the scene was Recurve, formerly called Sustainable Spaces.) You can search here for a contractor near you who has been accredited by the Building Performance Institute.
For other ideas and helpful cost/benefit assessments, check out this new book: Green Sense for the Home: Rating the Real Payoff from 50 Green Home Projects, by Eric Corey Freed and Kevin Daum (Taunton Press, April 2010). Here’s the publisher’s description of the book: “When does a green home project make financial sense? The authors of this book provide the answer to this and other questions relating to the cost (and relative value) of environmentally friendly home improvements. They walk readers through 50 green home projects and break them down according to the positive impact they have on the environment, as well as the impact they may have (both positive and negative) on the reader’s wallet. They evaluate a wide array of projects, including insulating pipes, weatherizing doors and windows, composting and recycling trash, installing a solar hot water heater, installing green countertops, upgrading appliances, building with reclaimed materials, and installing radiant heat.”
Other recent books include Green Home Improvement: 65 Projects That Will Cut Utility Bills, Protect Your Health & Help the Environment by Daniel Chiras, PhD (RS Means) and This Green House: Home Improvements for the Eco-Smart, the Thrifty, and the Do-It-Yourselfer by Joshua Piven (Abrams).
For additional information and tips, these are some online articles and websites with lists of green improvements that are good investments:
If you’d like assistance with choosing and implementing green home improvements or remodeling strategies, I am a green advisor who can provide this type of assistance through email consultations (or phone or in-person consultations). Click here for more info.
May 6, 2010
Just a quick post to provide links to information on the BP oil drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and some of the key organizations and agencies that are working to minimize the impacts of it and provide emergency rescue and recovery assistance. The oil slick is shaping up to be far worse than BP originally said it could be, and probably even worse than the Exxon Valdez spill. It’s going to be devastating for the ecosystems and animals, as well as fishermen and other people who live in the region. These are a few groups you might want to support, as well as articles linking to other efforts:
Gulf Restoration Network (Donate. Volunteer. )
Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, MS
If you’re on the Gulf Coast, and you see marine mammals (e.g., dolphins, manatees) or sea turtles that have been affected by the spill, please call this hotline: 1-888-767-3657.
To report oiled birds or other wildlife, call this hotline: 1-866-557-1401.
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana: Volunteer registration
“Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Impact: Get Involved“ article (w/ more links) from Huffington Post, posted on GlobalGreen.org
“Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: The What, When and Where…and How You Can Help” article (w/ more links) on Planet Green (Discovery)
For additional info on the spill, see these sites:
And for an overview of BP’s previous accidents and the company’s controversial environmental record, take a look at this Wikipedia page.
As for longer-term solutions to prevent this type of disaster from recurring, the best things that each of us can do are: 1) to demand that all of our governmental representatives support energy conservation and clean/renewable energy legislation, and 2) to decrease our own consumption of oil, gasoline, fossil-fuel-generated electricity, and petroleum-based products, including plastic. (Reducing our demand for oil will help to reduce the need for drilling and exploration to boost the oil supply.) Look for more details on these topics in later posts.
May 3, 2010
