Industrial Ecology

Live input from the eco-efficiency conference

2010-06-10T13:29:00.000+02:00

The 3rd International Conference on Eco-Efficiency on Modelling and Evaluation for Sustainability:Guiding Eco-Innovation and Consumption in Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands can now be followed via blog messages and short youtube contributions from key-note speakers at The Broker

Industrial Symbiosis Forum - Change of website link

2010-04-08T13:48:00.006+02:00

Dear all

Given heavy traffic and increasing number of authors on the industrial symbiosis forum, I have now arranged for a proper domain to access this forum.

Please use www.industrialsymbiosis.info to access the IS forum in the future.

Kind regards

Abhi

Free MFA articles in Journal of Industrial Ecology

2010-02-23T13:50:00.001+01:00

   It will surprise no one that scientists and policy makers around the globe are concerned that humanity is using resources at rates that are accelerating and often unsustainable. The challenges range from resource availability to the impacts of the extraction and use of those resources.
            For more than a decade, the Journal of Industrial Ecology has published scientific articles on theories, methods and tools to assess these flows of materials and their impacts, in order to contribute to the understanding of environmental and resource problems and to the development of useful solutions. These approaches include material flow analysis (MFA), substance flow analysis (SFA), life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental input-output (I-O) analysis and various combinations, at various scales from micro to global.   The Journal of Industrial Ecology (JIE) is a peer-reviewed international scientific journal owned by Yale University and published by Wiley-Blackwell.
            The October 2009 issue of the Journal of Industrial Ecology and much of the December 2009 issue are devoted to a very practical and timely topic: What is the power of tools such as MFA to support policy and management decision making and what are the real world examples of their use?   With funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. National Science Foundation, the JIE has been able to solicit and compile a wide range of studies on this topic. (The research published here does not, of course, necessarily represent the views of the funders.)
            How has MFA been applied and how useful is it? The answer, as illustrated by the peer-reviewed articles in these special issues, is encouraging. The 13 articles in these two issues - too many excellent articles were submitted to print in one issue - describe a variety of ways in which MFA and related approaches have improved system understanding in real world situations around the globe, particularly relating to problems of resource scarcity, pollution abatement and waste management.
        To make recent successes better known, the entire set of articles from the two issues has been made freely available on the JIE’s web site (http://www.wiley.com/go/ appsmfa/).   A limited number of free print copies are available for students, researchers from developing countries and journalists (contact: indecol@yale.edu)

Paul Anastas is EPA's new research chief

2010-02-20T11:30:00.002+01:00

Paul Anastas, a Yale University chemist who is considered to be the father of the green chemistry movement, is now in charge of EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) Office of Research and Development. Anastas remains firmly committed to green chemistry, which is defined as the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances:

"Sustainable design like green chemistry, green engineering and industrial ecology are absolutely the future of environmental protection", he states.

I think that this might prove to be a very important development towards shifting Industrial Ecology (or at least one aspect of it) to the mainstream of environmental management and practice.

Read full article here

VIDEO: A.Bartlett on Arithmetic, Population, and Energy

2010-02-12T19:17:00.007+01:00

In this video Professor A.Bartlett talks about steady growth and its consequences on a local, national and global level. Steady growth causes exponential increase (of whatever is growing), the consequences of which are (to say the least) poorly understood by most people. His lecture covers themes like population, climate, economics, production-consumption, energy, policy-making, sustainability, and associates everything to the continuous growth (in population, demand, production). Although Industrial Ecology is not mentioned explicitly, and although he seems to overemphasize overpopulation as the source of all bad things, this is a highly relevant lecture that demonstrates a realistic approach and understanding to sustainability.

For more information visit A.Bartlett's personal website

Forest grow faster than ever due to climate change

2010-02-04T14:46:00.001+01:00

Recent studies have shown increases in biomass across many forest types. This increase has been attributed to climate change. Using data collected over the past 22 years from 55 temperate forest plots, scientists found that recent biomass accumulation greatly exceeded the expected growth caused by natural recovery. Furthermore, the biomass increases are in line with globally observed climate-change patterns. Combined, these observations show that changes in temperature and CO2 that have been observed worldwide can fundamentally alter the rate of critical natural processes, which is predicted by biogeochemical models.

McMahon S.M. et al., 2010, "Evidence for a recent increase in forest growth", Proceeding of the National academy of Sciences, published online before print

Read the article online

Bioengineered E.Coli produces biodiesel

2010-02-04T14:23:00.003+01:00

Scientists have found that it is possible to alter the genetic makeup of the bacterium E.Coli and induce it to produce biodiesel. Most bacteria, including E.Coli, make and process fatty acids, one of the ingredients of biodiesel; however, what they do with it often leaves something to be desired when it comes to fuel production. By modifying E. coli, scientists are able to make it produce fatty esters, which are the primary components of biodiesel.

Eric J.S. et al., 2010, "Microbial production of fatty-acid-derived fuels and chemicals from plant biomass", Nature 463, 559-56

Read the article at Nature.com

Industrial Ecology at Walmart

2010-01-02T20:51:00.009+01:00

I found an interesting article about an interesting development that could be of interest for Industrial Ecology... The article was originally published in "Nikkei Ecology" by Bennett Cohen (an Analyst of the Rocky Mountain Institute). I quote below a couple of abstracts. You can find the whole article in this link.

"Back  in  July,  Walmart  made  an  announcement  [of increased interest for the Industrial Ecology community]. Walmart  required that  its  100,000‐plus  suppliers  disclose  the  ecological  impacts  [that  their  products  and  operations  create throughout their life cycle].

Walmart  is  collaborating  with  Arizona State  University  and  the  University  of  Arkansas  to  form  a  consortium  that  will  collaborate  with  suppliers,  retailers,  NGOs  and  government  to  'develop  a  global   database  of  information  on  the  life cycle  of  products'.  Walmart  plans  to  let  anyone  use  the  database.

Once  the  database  is  complete,  Walmart  plans  to  offer  customers  information  on  the  ecological  impacts  of  each  product  it  sells.  The  information  will  be  a  simple, convenient,  and  easy  to  understand  rating.  The  goal  is  to  bring  currently  invisible  environmental  impacts  to  light.  Presumably,  customers  will  gravitate  toward  products  with  a  better  score  on  the  sustainability  index,  shifting  demand  toward  more  sustainable  products,  and  spurring  innovation. 

As  the  world’s  largest  public  corporation  in  terms  of  revenue,  Walmart  has  the  power  to  fundamentally  change  the  rules  of  business.  The  company’s  pioneering  work  on  the  sustainability  index  is  a  giant  leap  toward  the  industrial  ecologists’  quest  to  transform  our  linear  industrial  system  into  a  cyclical  ecosystem."

Is it ?

Emerald City: The sustainable eco-polis of the future

2009-12-16T15:40:00.000+01:00

Emerald city is a collection of the world’s most innovative buildings, utilities and initiatives into one imaginary eco-topia. CNNGO.com published this article were they looked for the best of what already exists or is in development, and integrated them in one city. This project, apart from giving a nice view to a possible sustainable future, serves also as a good list of "state of the art" in sustainability. It includes at least 22 categories of innovations and initiatives, among which: industrial ecology, smart grid, renewable energy, recycling, urban farming, and much more.

Read more: Welcome to Emerald City, sustainable eco-polis of the future! | CNNGo.com

IS/EID/EIN Track at the Sustainable Development Conference, Hong Kong 2010‏‏‏‏‏

2009-12-11T13:41:00.000+01:00

Call for Papers: Sustainable Communities with - not despite - Industry: Industrial Symbiosis & Eco-industrial Development / Networking

The 16th Annual
International Sustainable Development Research Conference
Hong Kong, 30 May – 1 June, 2010
www.kadinst.hku.hk/sdconf10/indexin.html

“A New Agenda for Global Governance”

Track: Sustainable communities with - not despite - industry: industrial symbiosis & eco-industrial development / networking

Chaired by:
Abhishek Agarwal, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, UK: a.agarwal@rgu.ac.uk
Ms Tracy Casavant, President, Eco-Industrial Solutions, Canada: tracy@ecoindustrial.ca
Professor Yong Un Ban, Chungbuk National University, Korea: byubyu@cbu.ac.kr
Professor Geng Yong, Chair Professor on Circular Economy and Industrial Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China: gengyong@iae.ac.cn

Overview

The last two decades have seen an ever increasing interest in Industrial Symbiosis (IS) / Eco-industrial Development (EID) / Eco-industrial Networking (EIN) by policy makers, industry leaders and academics alike. This has led to the implementation of IS programmes and development of eco-industrial parks / networks in many countries.

In attempting to encourage the adoption of industrial ecology (IE) principles such planned initiatives by Government have been supported by the use of a range of ‘new’ environmental policy instruments, with many reported corporate and environmental success stories to date. In addition to government policy and programmes, multi-stakeholder efforts have played a key role in the development of IS/EID/EIN initiatives. This provides a rich area of research, especially in examining the performance of such policy instruments, cross-sectoral partnerships and governance around IS/EID/EIN initiatives, and associated corporate strategies and programmes utilised by the international business community in contributing to broader Sustainable Development aspirations.

This Track seeks to attract high quality papers which aim to be both critical and reflective of recent IS/EID/EIN projects and policy initiatives around the globe. This is important for those of us who are keen to see IE/IS as a meaningful concept in the pursuit of sustainability rather than merely a public relations exercise for Government, Facilitators and Corporate Actors. Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome, either in full or developmental form, in the following areas:
• Government Policy and Programmes to promote IS/EID/EIN:
- The Performance of New Environmental Policy Instruments e.g. Regulation, Market-based Instruments, and Voluntary Codes of Conduct
- Government involvement in promoting IS/EID/EIN initiatives
- Government-supported education and outreach
- Development of Performance Evaluation Indicators for Eco-industrial Parks/Networks
• Regional multi-stakeholder efforts to promote industrial sustainability
- Cross-sectoral partnerships and governance for IS/EID/EIN
- Regional government and other stakeholders’ role in the development of IS/EID/EIN initiatives
- Role of facilitators in IS/EID/EIN initiatives and success of the facilitation process
- Planning and development of eco-industrial parks / networks; land use planning
- Transformation of existing industrial parks into eco-industrial parks
- Transferability of IS/EID/EIN successful practices from one context (place) to another
• Cases from industry sectors / corporate actors
- IS/EID/EIN success/failure (case studies)
- The impact of IS/EID/EIN initiatives on Corporate / Environmental Performance and regional sustainability
- Reducing ecological / carbon / water footprint using IS/EID/EIN
• Tools and Techniques of IE/IS e.g. internet based resource / by-products matching system
• Evaluation tools and techniques for IS/EID/EIN projects, including environmental impact assessment and life cycle assessment

When submitting your abstract, please categorise it as TRACK “Sustainable communities with - not despite - industry: industrial symbiosis & eco-industrial development / networking” and THEME "Industrial symbiosis, eco-industrial parks and eco-industrial networking and regional sustainability"

Detailed information and link about how to submit an abstract is available at:
http://www.kadinst.hku.hk/sdconf10/abstract_submission.html

In addition to submitting abstract online, please send a copy of abstract by email to a.agarwal@rgu.ac.uk

Deadline for submitting abstracts: December 31, 2009

For further information please contact:
Abhishek Agarwal, Email: a.agarwal@rgu.ac.uk

Publication

Papers (accommodating the discussion at the conference) will be considered for publication in a special issue of a reputed journal.

Interview: Google on Industrial Ecology

2009-12-02T21:30:00.000+01:00

Ever wondered what Google "thinks" about Industrial Ecology? Wonder no more. A smart little program called "Google Chat Bot" enables us to discuss with Google!

The program works in the following way: by entering three or four words, the system will search for this sentence at Google, find the next word and print that. Then it will remove the first word of the search string, add the found word and repeat.

By entering the words "Industrial Ecology" followed by a verb, Google continues the sentence letting us know what is the most popular understanding of IE in the web. In the following text, the verb used at each query is written in bold, and the sentence that Google Chat Bot generated is highlighted in red. The sentences are combined in a paragraph for easier reading. Keep in mind that Google is deep in wise and that many times in its answers it uses metaphors or riddles...

Google informs us that Industrial Ecology is inspired by biology but also draws on principles from different individual disciplines. Industrial ecology takes a systems view and enables industrial ecologists to tackle sustainability problems. In order to do that, industrial ecology uses the biological ecosystem as a model and a systems engineering approach for managing complexity.

Industrial Ecology was established on September ("Strategies for Manufacture" was published on September 1989) and has grown quickly in recent years. Google recognises IE's global importance by pointing out that it starts in the very centre of the world, while highlighting its additional role as a learning process.

Industrial Ecology is good for both the natural and the social environment since it gives us a way to save more animals while it lets consumers off the hook. It also benefits the economy since it can pay double dividends for business and it also looks for innovative solutions, thus boosting innovation

Google, referring to the history of Industrial Ecology stated that it had its roots in a religious response to environmental issues (the Gaia hypothesis triggered the emergence of some hippie religious movements). But it also highlighted the difficulties that IE faces in establishing its practices and ideas around the world by saying that IE takes place in a landscape called "a battlefield".

The discussion ended with Google revealing to us that IE is based on the true story of the three little pigs!!!

For more discussions with Google visit the Google Chat Bot

Waste Exchange Initiatives (2)

2009-11-27T15:27:00.001+01:00

I uploaded a post some months ago under the title Waste Exchange Initiatives, providing a list of 3 initiatives with brief information for each one of them. Today I came across a 4th one that I think deserves a post of its own. It is the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) in the UK.

This programme is interesting for a number of reasons. It is nation-wide (probably the only in the world of such scale), it is free, it aims at bridging the boundaries promoting synergies between companies from different sectors, it does nothing more than fostering cooperation (there are no incentives involved), it appears to be popular (I wouldn't risk saying successful because of lack of criteria for success) since it has over 8.000 companies as members.

You can find more information and case studies in the official website.

Utilizing agricultural residues for energy production

2009-11-17T09:23:00.002+01:00

Sugarcane biomass, a significant waste product from sugar production, could be a renewable energy source for electricity production, according to research published in the international journal Progress in Industrial Ecology.

Engineer Vikram Seebaluck of the University of Mauritius and energy technology Dipeeka Seeruttun of the Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm, Sweden, have demonstrated that an optimal blend of sugarcane agricultural residues (30%) mixed with 70% sugarcane bagasse (the fibrous residue left after sugar production) can be used to generate electricity at a cost of just 0.06 US dollars per kilowatt hour. That figure is on a par with the costs of other renewable energies, including wind power at $0.05/kWh.

Abstract

This paper deals with the potentials and opportunities of Sugarcane Agricultural Residues (SARs) for green power production in sugarcane-growing countries. It focuses on the possibilities of cofiring SARs with sugarcane bagasse, a similar physicochemical resource which is currently being commercially converted into electricity in state-of-the-art cogeneration plants. It also assesses the climate mitigation potentials of the resource through its eligibility for Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) as well as its socioeconomic benefits. A mix of 70% bagasse and 30% SARs was found to be the most appropriate cofiring option to avoid slagging in furnaces due to the inherent high ash content of SARs; this scenario required a 35% collection of SARs from sugarcane fields, which would increase the net export of surplus electricity in cogeneration plants by around 37% per tonne of cane harvested. SAR conversion into electricity is estimated to displace around 230 kg of subbituminous coal and 560 kg of CO2 per tonne. This feature can enable such a project to be eligible for CERs in line with bagasse cogeneration plants, which already qualify for these emission reductions.

Inderscience article link (needs access to the journal)

Sources: sciencedaily.com, inderscience.com

Make sustainability fun!

2009-11-02T10:29:00.007+01:00

This website is dedicated to showing that by using fun it's easy to guide people to more sustainable decisions. I personally believe this is very important, positivity and fun are strong drivers for decisons, combined with sustainability this results in more sustainable behaviour and more happy people!

http://www.thefuntheory.com/

Students make CO2 footprint calculator

2009-09-11T23:20:00.001+02:00

Two students from the Leiden-Delft MSc Industrial Ecology programme have made a carbon footprint calculator for the website www.doemaarduurzaam.nl; the website where the Dutch public broadcasting organisations collect everything broadcasted about sustainability. The carbon footprint calculator allows for the online calculation of the personal carbon footprint of Dutch citizens.Unfortunately most the calculator itself is only in Dutch.

LCA PhD position at Leiden University

2009-09-11T23:16:00.000+02:00

Those of you that have MSc in IE or related topics can now apply for a PhD position at CML Leiden university. The PhD student will perform Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of farmed aquatic products in Asia. The PhD student will also further develop and adapt the LCA methodology for application in aquaculture. This research will be done in the framework of a large EU project on sustainable trade of farmed aquatic products between Asia and the EU. This SEAT (Sustaining Ethical Aquatic Trade) project proposes to establish an evidence-based framework to support current and future stakeholder dialogues organised by third party certifiers.

Regrowing a Tropical rainforest: a Dutch success

2009-09-10T23:33:00.003+02:00

At TED 2009, Willie Smit (Wageningen) explains how he regrew a rainforest on Borneo (Indonesia) in just a couple of years. The system thinking, the integration of local people and the managment of one of the most difficult eco-systems in the world (a rainforest) is a remarkable success! Link to the presentation.

Geo-engineering analysed by the Royal Society

2009-09-02T20:01:00.003+02:00

Geo-engineering, also called Earth Systems Engineering, has been a topic of debate within the Industrial Ecology Community for a number of years now.One of the founders of the field, Braden Allenby, as well as David Keith have been working on this topic. The topic is hotly debated because it is quite scary to speculate about technologies that temper with a complex system of which we know so little. On the other hand it might be one of the few solutions we have to prevent radical climate change. Today the BBC reports about a UK Royal Society study that evaluates different geo-engineering options and concludes that engineering proposals to reduce the impact of climate change are "technically possible".

Using Solar Power to Extract Oil...

2009-08-28T21:08:00.004+02:00

Here is a rather unusual use for Solar Power:

"Chevron disclosed...plans to use...solar thermal technology to enhance oil recovery from an aging well in central California. The system will use 7,000 mirrors on Chevron-owned land to reflect light onto a tower to make steam...The steam will be pumped underground to heat up heavy oils and make them easier to extract. Right now, Chevron uses natural gas to make steam."

Sources: cnet, reuters

Mining the Technosphere: a Solution for the Industrial Ecosystem

2009-08-28T20:56:00.005+02:00

Mining the Technosphere: a Solution for the Industrial Ecosystem? from Rembrandt Koppelaar on Vimeo.

This is a slide video of a presentation given by Rolf Widmer and David Rochat at the Oil Drum/ASPO Conference at Alcatraz, Italy in June 2009. Rolf and David work at EMPA and SOFIES on more efficient material management for industrial society. Their talk is about the flows, availability, and recycling of minerals in industrial ecosystems, called Mining the Technosphere: a Solution for the Industrial Ecosystem. The pdf's of the presentation can be found here1 and here2

Waste Exchange Initiatives

2009-08-28T20:42:00.004+02:00

I came across three regional initiatives promoting waste exchange, reuse and Industrial Symbiosis between companies, business and/or households. They are the following:

WasteMatchers: Re-use website for householders & Businesses in Cork City & County. This free exchange website is a joint venture between Cork County Council, Cork City Council, South Cork Enterprise Board and Macroom E. It allows you to pass on unwanted goods to others.
DublinWaste: Waste management website for householders in Dublin. It includes interactive features like Free Trade (pass on or pick up unwanted items for free) and Recycle Search (find local recycling facilities)
Mid-West Regional Authority: The Mid-West Regional Authority has recently become part of a National Network focusing on the concept of Industrial Ecology, where 'One Company's Waste is another Company's Resource'. The Network comprises representatives from the Regional Authorities, EPA, Regional Waste Management Offices and Supply Network Shannon.

GM reduces the amount of Pt per Fuel Cell car from 80 to 30 g

2009-08-19T16:22:00.002+02:00

GM has dramatically reduced the size and the Pt load in their 93 kW Fuel Cell from 80 g to 30 g. This is an important step forward although still far from the 3 g per car which is present in catalysts in conventional ICE cars. Pt availability and price will still be an important hurdle for FC vehicles entering the market with this level of Pt on board. Via green autoblog.

Different results corn ethanol studies explained

2009-08-18T22:56:00.007+02:00

In an online first article by Richard Plevin in de Journal of industrial Ecology the authors explain the differences between a recent study by Liska et al. and the GREET model that is used by regulators in California. It turned out that Liska assumed a more efficient biorefinery and in some cases fails to properly account for upstream emissions. When this is corrected both models come up with 61 g CO2-equivalent per MJ.

The work of Plevin is very important, especially when the discussion on a topic is as hot as it is with bioethanol. It is of utmost importance to clearly understand the reasons for the discrepencies in the results of different studies.

Update: Liska responds to Plevin and the editors enter the discussion.

Ethanol from wood reduces global warming emissions by 46% to 68% per MJ gasoline avoided

2009-08-18T22:38:00.003+02:00

A study from the NTNU industrial ecology group conlcudes that ethanol from wood from boreal forests in Scandinavia could, depending on the system design, reduce global warming emissions of 46% to 68% per-MJ-gasoline avoided, along with reductions in most of the other environmental impact categories considered. Furthermore the study finds that the region's surplus forest-bioenergy resources are vast; use for the production of bioethanol today would have resulted in the displacement of 55% to 68% of the region's gasoline-based global warming emission—or 6% to 8% of Norway's total global warming emissions associated with road transportation. The study was published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology

Marian Chertow on Industrial Symbiosis

2009-08-18T11:45:00.003+02:00

Here is an 8:00 interview with Marian Chertow talking about Industrial Symbiosis. The Yale professor looks at cooperation and material flows between companies as an emergent phenomenon (rather than planned). She brings on examples of Eco-Industrial parks in Denmark, Hawaii and India. Notions like self-organization and closed material loops are introduced. A short, simple and educative talk by one of the veterans of the Industrial Ecology field.

"You remember mutual symbiosis from middle school biology, where two animals – like the clown fish and the sea anemone – form a relationship that benefits both. The same life-cycle principles are now being applied to industrial systems."

My next car....

2009-08-03T10:18:00.003+02:00

I've been telling my friends for years now that our next car would be an electric car (yes ...no car would even be better...). Until now the only options were a very limited Think or a the Tesla gadget car. It seems that there is light on the horizon with the unveiling of the Nissan Leaf that will be for sale late 2010 in Japan, the US and (yes) Europe. This looks like a normal car, has a range of 180 km and can be charged upto 80% in 30 minutes with a special charger. On 220 V a full charge will take 8 hours.

Video of the MSc Industrial Ecology

2009-07-29T20:24:00.005+02:00

Students and teachers on the unique international and interdisciplinary aspects of the Leiden-Delft MSc programme on Industrial Ecology and on what it is all about.

The story of stuff

2009-07-29T10:54:00.002+02:00

Less based on facts and scientific analysis than the Carbon Footprint of Nations in the last post is the very nice 20 minutes animated movie "The story of stuff" by Annie Leonard. This can serve as an eye-opener for people unfamiliar with the concepts of Industrial Ecology, Industrial Metabolism, Life Cycle Assessment, Sustainable Consumption and Production etc.

Carbon Footprint of Nations

2009-07-29T10:04:00.003+02:00

The Industrial Ecology group at NTNU published a website on the carbon footprint of nations, which not only looks very nice but it is also based on a state of the art Industrial Ecology analysis (which cannot be said for most carbon footprint calculators on the web). This makes the website useful for both the general public as well as Industrial Ecology professionals.

Mediterranean diet reduces environmental impact of food consumption by 8%

2009-07-28T21:04:00.003+02:00

A study commissioned by the IPTS Sevilla and performed by TNO and CML concludes that a switch to a Mediterranean diet is not only good for your health but also reduces the environmental impact of food consumption by about 8% (for an average EU citizen).

E-reader has less impact than printed paper

2009-07-28T20:35:00.006+02:00

A studentreport of two students of the Dutch MSc Industrial Ecology shows that average office workers can reduce their environmental impact by switching from printed paper to an e-reader.

Industrial Symbiosis Blog

2009-07-28T16:58:00.002+02:00

Abhishek Agarwal informed about his Industrial Symbiosis Blog, have a look !

French carbon tax

2009-07-28T16:41:00.002+02:00

It is my personal believe that a carbon tax is one of the few real policy measures that might curve the ever increasing carbon dioxide emissions. It is promising to see that more and more countries are looking at ways to implement a carbon tax. Of course this should be accompanied by an equal reduction in other taxes (e.g. VAT, why do we tax added value anyway ?). Just now Reuters published some news on the French plans for a carbon tax in which they also mention the Swedish initiative for an EU carbon tax.

Industrial Ecology is changing the world

2009-07-21T21:38:00.007+02:00

The Times magazine published an article around Christmas entitled "What's Next 2009: 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now". Idea number 10 is named "Ecological Intelligence", a characteristic that will emerge, according to the authors, from the field of Industrial Ecology:

"Using a young science called industrial ecology, businesses and green activists alike are beginning to compile the environmental and biological impact of our every decision — and delivering that information to consumers in a user-friendly way. That's thinking ecologically — understanding the global environmental consequences of our local choices."

Unfortunately the article describes Industrial Ecology as the "science of LCA", ignoring most of what makes Industrial Ecology different and revolutionary (techno/bio-sphere analogy, systems thinking, social aspects, etc.). Although articles like this one help in drawing attention to this "young science called Industrial Ecology", they also hurt the field by popularizing an outdated and oversimplified version of Industrial Ecology.

The article is based on the new book of D.Goleman: "Ecological Intelligence"
Watch a short clip of D.Goleman giving his opinion on the use of Industrial Ecology

Dematerialization

2009-07-14T23:07:00.007+02:00

Dematerialization is the concept of making more with less. Taken from the economic point of view, it refers to the absolute or relative reduction of material required to serve economic functions in society.

There have been various discussions around the subject. Some people think that dematerialization will come naturally as technology evolves (ephemeralization) while others are of the opinion that it should be a well defined pursuit for the society. One way or another, it is very possible that without it, economic growth will come sooner or later to an end.

In the picture above you can see the expression of an interesting, non-scientific argument for dematerialization. It is worth to mention that the picture is from the oldest squat (and specifically from the toilet) in the Netherlands, the "Vrijplaats Koppenhinksteeg" in Leiden.

2009-02-19T17:09:00.002+01:00

On the 25th of March an event is organized in which the students of the Industrial Ecology Master Programme will showcase their work in real-life case studies where Industrial Ecology principles and tools are applied . The event will be a Studium Generale under the title Industrial Ecology in Practice - A Systemic Approach Towards Sustainability.

Visit the website of the Studium Generale

"Can Web 2.0 Outperform Duct Tape and WD-40?"

2009-02-09T15:59:00.008+01:00

Here is an interesting conference at the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale.

________________________________________

February 11th, 2008 4:30PM-6:00PM
Burke Auditorium, Kroon Building, 195 Prospect Street,
New Haven, CT
David Rejeski, Woodrow Wilson Center to speak on Web 2.0
Read the Press Release here.

Upcoming conference ISIE Lisbon

2009-02-08T08:45:00.003+01:00

In June 2009 the International Society for Industrial Ecology organizes the 5th biannual conference on Industrial Ecology in Lisbon, Portugal. These conferences are excellent opportunities to hear about the latest research in the field and to talk to lots of interesting people.

5 DIY Green Building Techniques

2009-02-05T16:52:00.062+01:00

Steve Kornher Flying Concrete Homes

Living Roof- New Academy of Sciences: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

The Farm- Summertown, TN.

Adobe/Cobb/Strawbale- The Farm, Alex's Green Dragon Tavern: Summertown TN

Rammed Earth- Eden Project: Cornwall, England

The pictures from The Green Dragon, at the Ecovillage Training Center, at The Farm in Tennessee, show the progress of the project, which is still in construction. it was constructed to be the largest cobb structure east of the Mississippi. The roof construction pictured above was particularly difficult, as it caved in once and had to be built again. The structure uses a combination of almost all known natural building techniques, the walls are strawbale covered by cobb and then adobe for extra insulation. There is also use of earth bags, such as in the construction of the fireplace face. Earth bags are large strong bags, that you fill with dirt, to create something similar to a sandbag. These are incredibly strong. The Dragon Sculpture and large face inside the structure I made myself and took pictures of the process, I sculpted it out of cobb, which is dirt, clay and straw then covered it with a mixture of adobe and lime to harden it. We then painted it with store bought natural colorings and painted around it as we did the whole building with that orange coloring. Other highlights of the natural building process included custom wood fences that we built with the help of a local construction agency.

The living roof at the New Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park S.F. is the largest example of a living roof. A living roof provides very good natural insulation and the moisture from the grass actually cools the building in the summer and insulates it in the winter. Living roofs can also be executed on a much smaller scale. The pictures of the smaller huts above are again from the Farm. Anyone can create a living roof like this. First spread old or recycled carpet pieces over a wooden foundation. Then spread dirt and and grass seeds on top. water and sunlight create the roof. The Green Dragon shows pictures of a living roof with seeds that have not yet sprouted, another picture from later on shows the building when weeds took hold of the roof. This is not a big deal because the building is still in progress.

The Rammed Earth at the Eden Project in Cornwall, England also uses a variety of natural building techniques. The rammed earth wall above uses techniques possibly old as the Great Wall of China. Rammed earth is similar to adobe and cob techniques, in that the soil is mostly clay and sand. The difference is that the material is compressed or tamped into place, modern forms utiilize heavy mechinisms and even machinery to compress the material.

Steve Kornher is the builder who has made flying concrete a notable building material. "Flying Concrete" or, Lightweight concrete has been used in this country for more than 50 years. Its strength is roughly proportional to its weight and its resistance to weathering is about the same as that of ordinary concrete. As compared with the usual sand and gravel concrete it has certain advantages and disadvantages. Among the former are the savings in structural steel supports and decreased foundation sizes because of decreased loads, and better fire resistance and insulation against heat and sound. Its disadvantages include greater cost (30 to 50 percent), need for more care in placing, greater porosity, and more drying shrinkage.

The principal use of lightweight concrete in Bureau work is in construction of underbeds for floors and roof slabs, where substantial savings can be effected by decreasing dead load. It is also used in some insulated sections of floors and walls.

Lightweight concrete may be obtained through use of lightweight aggregates, as discussed in the following sections, or by special methods of production. These methods include the use of foaming agents, such as aluminum powder, which produces concrete of low unit weight through generation of gas while the concrete is still plastic. Lightweight concrete may weigh from 35 to 115 pounds per cubic foot, depending on the type of lightweight aggregate used or the method of production. In Bureau construction, lightweight concretes have been limited to those whose lightness depends on inorganic aggregates which are light in weight.

Overcoming the Hurtles of Solar Power

2009-01-27T17:16:00.019+01:00

From the sunny olive groves of Spain comes a encouraging story of the advancements in solar power. At the beginning of 2008, the government of Spain enacted the law Real Decreto 661/2007, effective for one year offering cash to installers so that they could sell solar power at competitive rates. It also offered subsidies to utilities if they would buy at premium rates. This made solar power more completion with other sources. Because one of the biggest hurtles of going solar is the expensive start up costs of renting and installing the equipment, with this entry barrier tempered the playing field was leveled a bit. The result is this quote from Yahoo News.

“An enormous explosion in installed solar capacity, over 3 gigawatts in one year, enough to displace up to five coal-fired power plants. This number was far higher than analysts had predicted, but it comes at a significant cost, and not just to people's electricity bills.”

Unintended consequences now that the subsidy is being rolled back, is that the artificially inflated market is now unsteady, with deadlines being fudged, cases of fraud turning up, and installers finding less and less work.

Some solutions to this problem could be to follow Germany’s lead and making the subsidies effective for ten years, by that time the initial investment would be paid off and the foundation more solid. Also because the installation costs are such a hurtle using increased incentives, discounts and tax breaks for implementation of solar and other clean energy technology may also improve the situation.
by Alex Borsody

These picture my friends sent me from Spain

solar panels in an orange field in Spain.

solar panels in olive fields in Barcelona

the bottom image is a giant solar panel in a Barcelona park

Coca-Cola Hybrid Delivery Fleet to Become Biggest in North America

2009-01-16T22:42:00.005+01:00

First the Military now Coke? it seems like every unlikely candidate for caring about just about anything or anybody has taken the initiative to be green, at least in transportation. Corporate responsibility is stepping up now that they see 4 years of Obama maybe? who knows, but they do plan to adding 185 hybrid booklet electric trucks.

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/16/coca-cola-enterprises-hybrid-fleet

2009 The Year of the Electric Car

2009-01-15T22:32:00.008+01:00

The U.S Army recently announced the acquisition of 4,000 neighborhood electric vehicles, coming in both sedan and light truck models and can charge their batteries at any household three pronged. Six Neighborhood Electric Cars (NEVs) were unveiled by the U.S. Army on Jan. 12 at Fort Myer, Va. (U.S. Army), The first six cars were made by Global Electric Motorcars, a Chrysler subsidiary, to be followed by 800 more this year. The 30-mph, lead-acid battery-powered cars are projected to save 11.5 million gallons of fuel over the next six years.

Leaders were already thinking of expanding the program.

"These are the first of the 4,000 we plan to lease over the next three years, but we have 28,000 sedans that we operate in the Army," said Army Secretary Pete Geren. "As we move ahead we will look for more opportunities to take gasoline-powered vehicles off the road and replace them with electrical systems. This is the first step. Across all of our vehicles we are looking at ways to achieve greater fuel efficiency, not just on installations which these are used for but for deployed forces."

2009 is shaping up to truly be the year the electric car is revived as models are rolling out, with this year America’s automakers getting into the race, at the North American Auto Show. Also Mercedes BlueZERO trio (electric car, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell) by Mercedes are now production-ready and will be turning out on the market for low Volume runs during 2010.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3898211

Picture from http://www.defensenews.com

edit

General Motors EV1 TV Commercial

so who did kill the electric car? When General Moters was forced to make electric cars under California law, they came out with this ominous video to "sell" the car. at least partial responsibility falls on automakers, though we can't place all blame. The voiceover sounds so much more frightened or nervous that the intrigued or excited tone you would expect when promoting a product like this.

Hydrogen VS Electric

2008-07-20T01:45:00.002+02:00

Came across this article at Physorg.com. I had been talking about this hydrogen vs electric car issue with a friend and this chart summed things up quite nicely I thought. I haven't read the research behind it and i'm sure there are arguments both ways. Both certainly still have a long way to go technologically but electric has always made sense for me personally due to the simplicity of generation and transmission (that is, once the electricity is created it is not converted to another form again), as is shown in the chart below.

Perhaps it will be a case of hydrogen for certain uses and electric for others (or air perhaps?). What does everyone think about this hydrogen vs electric debate?

Creating GMO's that produce fuel from CO2: A Craig Venter project.

2008-03-01T13:18:00.013+01:00

(UPDATED CONTENT)

Craig Venter, one of the most famous geneticists alive, is working on a Genetically Modified microbe that will be able to metabolize atmospheric CO2 to octane. Although this type of micro-organisms already exist in nature, they do not produce enough fuel for commercial use. That is where Genetics Engineering kicks in. Check out the links.

Article1

Article2

A couple of TED talks from him. In the first one he also mentions his plans for producing clean energy from engineered species

Talk 1

Talk 2

And a link for Craig Venters institute:

http://www.jcvi.org/

Self-healing rubber bounces back

2008-02-22T15:16:00.003+01:00

Interesting and possibly sustainable development from Ludwik Leibler, at the Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution in Paris. Its a new technology rubber, made by molecules that link with hydrogen bonds. If the bonds break, they can be regenerated by simply pushing the broken parts back together. The time of immortal rubbers is close...

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080220/full/news.2008.611.html

The Air Car

2008-02-13T16:49:00.004+01:00

Forget about Hydrogen, electric, hybrid and all the rest, how about just plain old air - compressed that is. Just came across this on BBC News.com and it sounds very interesting.

The BBC reports that:

The OneCAT will be a five-seater with a glass fibre body, weighing just 350kg and could cost just over £2,500.

It also reports that while a 'breakthrough' has been talked about for over a decade, the inventor, Guy Negre has recently struck his first manufacturing deal with Tata in India to produce the car.

What is interesting beyond simply the idea and technology, is that Guy Negre is trying to build sustainability into the business model by encouraging local production and sourcing of materials.

Overall a very interesting concept and one which sounds like it's well positioned to become a commercial reality.

More info:
http://www.theaircar.com/acf/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4
http://business.theage.com.au/air-car-to-call-melbourne-home/20071202-1ee6.html (especially relevant for me being a Melbournian, great news! :))

HighTech-LowCost Lithium Batteries coupled with UltraCapacitors in hybrid cars

2008-02-07T15:31:00.001+01:00

Very interesting development for the hybrid car industry and the electricity storage in general:
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10601407

and for more details on the car:
http://www.afstrinity.net/Jan08-AFSTrinity-XH150-Presentation.pdf
and
http://www.afstrinity.net/afstrinity-xh150-pressrelease.pdf

World’s first carbon-neutral, waste-free, car-free city

2008-01-23T22:19:00.001+01:00

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 13 January 2008 - The WWF and Masdar, The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, today launched a “Sustainability Action Plan” to deliver the world’s greenest city – Masdar City. Located near Abu Dhabi International Airport, Masdar City will be the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, aiming to exceed the 10 sustainability principles of “One Planet Living™”– a global initiative launched by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and environmental consultancy BioRegional.

Masdar City’s electricity will be generated by photovoltaic panels, while cooling will be provided via concentrated solar power. Water will be provided through a solar-powered desalination plant. Landscaping within the city and crops grown outside the city will be irrigated with grey water and treated waste water produced by the city’s water treatment plant.

The city is part of the Masdar Initiative, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted investment in the exploration, development and commercialisation of future energy sources and clean technology solutions. The six-square kilometre city, growing eventually to 1,500 businesses and 50,000 residents, will be home to international business and top minds in the field of sustainable and alternative energy.

A model of the Masdar City will be unveiled on January 21, at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Ground breaks for the construction of the city in the first quarter of 2008.

Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Director of WWF International’s One Planet Living initiative, said: “Today Abu Dhabi is embarking on a journey to become the global capital of the renewable energy revolution. Abu Dhabi is the first hydrocarbon-producing nation to have taken such a significant step towards sustainable living.

“Masdar is an example of the paradigm shift that is needed. The strategic vision of the Abu Dhabi government is a case study in global leadership. We hope that Masdar City will prove that sustainable living can be affordable and attractive in all aspects of human living – from businesses and manufacturing facilities to universities and private homes,” Jeanreneaud continued.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the Masdar Initiative, said: “Masdar City will question conventional patterns of urban development, and set new benchmarks for sustainability and environmentally friendly design – the students, faculty and businesses located in Masdar City will not only be able to witness innovation first-hand, but they will also participate in its development.”

“We are pleased to be able to work with One Planet Living to make our vision a reality,” he said.

Pooran Desai OBE, co-founder of BioRegional and Technical Director of the One Planet Living Communities programme, said Masdar would be the largest and the most advanced sustainable communities in the world.

“The vision of One Planet Living is a world where people everywhere can lead happy, healthy lives within their fair share of the Earth’s resources. Masdar gives us a breathtaking insight into this positive, alternative future.

“In realising the goal of a sustainable future, Masdar is committed to surpassing the One Planet Living Program’s 10 Guiding Principles, covering issues that range from how waste is dealt with to the energy performance of the buildings.”

The One Planet Living programme is based on 10 unique principles of sustainability. Masdar City will meet and exceed each of these, as detailed below.

These targets are to be achieved by the time the Masdar City is completed and fully functioning in 2015.

One Planet Living principle Masdar Target

ZERO CARBON: 100 per cent of energy supplied by renewable energy – Photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, wind, waste to energy and other technologies

ZERO WASTE: 99 per cent diversion of waste from landfill (includes waste reduction measures, re-use of waste wherever possible, recycling, composting, waste to energy)

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT: Zero carbon emissions from transport within the city; implementation of measures to reduce the carbon cost of journeys to the city boundaries (through facilitating and encouraging the use of public transport, vehicle sharing, supporting low emissions vehicle initiatives)

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS: Specifying high recycled materials content within building products; tracking and encouraging the reduction of embodied energy within materials and throughout the construction process; specifying the use of sustainable materials such as Forest Stewardship Council certified timber, bamboo and other products

SUSTAINABLE FOOD: Retail outlets to meet targets for supplying organic food and sustainable and or fair trade products

SUSTAINABLE WATER: Per capita water consumption to be at least 50 per cent less than the national average; all waste water to be re-used

HABITATS AND WILDLIFE: All valuable species to be conserved or relocated with positive mitigation targets

CULTURE AND HERITAGE: Architecture to integrate local values.

EQUITY AND FAIR TRADE: Fair wages and working conditions for all workers (including construction) as defined by international labour standards

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS: Facilities and events for every demographic group

In June 2007, Masdar City received the first World Clean Energy Award from the Transatlantic21 Association in Basel, Switzerland. In September 2007, the city’s design was voted “Sustainable Region/ City of the Year” at Euromoney and Ernst & Young’s Global Renewable Energy Awards.

source: www.masdaruae.com

Maiden flight of the SkySails towing kite propulsion on a newly built cargo ship on the North SeaHamburg

2008-01-23T22:11:00.001+01:00

Bremerhaven, January 18th, 2008.

A newly built cargo vessel was towed by the innovative wind propulsion of the Hamburg-based company SkySails on the North Sea near Bremerhaven, Germany for the first time. The 160m2 SkySails supported the main engine of the 132m long Multi Purpose Heavy Lift Carrier MS “Beluga SkySails” of the Bremen-based Beluga Shipping with approx. five tons tractive force at low wind.

Next Tuesday, the cargo ship will set off from Bremen to Venezuela and gain first experiences with the new system during the maiden voyage. “The maiden voyage marks the beginning of the practical testing during regular shipping operations of the SkySails-System. During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice und significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions,” says Stephan Wrage, Managing Director, SkySails GmbH & Co. KG.

Parallel and in addition to the practical tests on the MS “Beluga SkySails”, the SkySails technology is advanced and optimized for series production readiness on further ships. Stephan Brabeck, Technical Manager at SkySails: “Certainly, the daily routine at sea will still bear many challenges for SkySails. It is thus now particularly important to raise the manageability and robustness of the system to the level demanded by our customers. We will have to face up to many challenges and in the process learn many very valuable lessons.”

The shipping company and the manufacturer calculate that by using the towing kite system, a ship’s average annual fuel costs can be reduced by 10 to 35%, depending on the prevailing wind conditions. Under optimal wind conditions, SkySails estimates that fuel consumption can temporarily be cut by up to 50%. The first results are to be expected in the next few months.

“Interest in the SkySails technology among shipping companies from all over the world has already been high before, but especially during the last year and in light of the rising oil prices it has increased considerably,” states founder of the company Stephan Wrage.

Source: www.skysails.info

Human body heat used to warm up building in Stockholm

2008-01-09T22:15:00.000+01:00

Body heat rising from the head of an athlete. A project from the Swedish state-held property administration company Jernhuset is planning to use the body heat from hundreds of thousands of people who pass through the Stockholm Central Station each day, to heat a new office building nearby.
The body heat from hundreds of thousands of people who pass through the Stockholm Central Station each day will be used to heat a new office building nearby, the project leader said Wednesday. "So many people go through the Central Station ... We want to harness some of the warmth they produce to help heat the new building," Karl Sundholm, of the Swedish state-held property administration company Jernhuset, told AFP. Some 250,000 people pass through the station each day, rushing to catch trains and subways or simply visit the many shops and stores inside.

"All people produce heat, and that heat is in fact fairly difficult to get rid of. Instead of opening windows and letting all that heat go to waste we want to harness it through the ventilation system," Sundholm said.

He said the body heat would warm up water that in turn would be pumped through pipes over to the new office building, which will also house a small hotel and a few shops and is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2010.

"This is old technology, but used in a new way. It's just pipes, water and pumps, but we haven't heard of anyone else using this technology in this way before," he said, adding that Jernhuset expects the system to bring down heating costs in the building by up to 20 percent.

Installing the heating system is not expected to be complicated or very costly, Sundholm said, pointing out that laying the necessary pumps and underground pipes might cost a some 200,000 kronor (21,200 euros, 31,200 dollars).

"For a large building expected to cost several hundred million kronor to build, that's not that much," he said.

Source: Physorg.com

Sony develops sugar powered fuel cell

2008-01-07T12:10:00.000+01:00

Sony has developed a fuel cell powered by sugar. It still is a little bulky but it seems like a nice friendly type of battery.

Coal & oil = bioenergy

2007-11-15T14:10:00.000+01:00

Of course, this is nothing new to Industrial Ecologists: coal and oil are concentrated sunlight, just as "new bioenergy" is. However, if you look at coal and oil as biology instead of chemistry, interesting new ways of harvesting this energy could arise.

Juan Enriquez talks about this in a TED Talk. The presentation is very clear and the message is inspiring, especially from an industrial ecology perspective.

Go see/hear this video!

Juan Enriquez: Why can't we grow new energy? (19 minutes)

Interesting approach to bio-energy

2007-04-12T22:13:00.000+02:00

This was written quite a while ago, but as I was talking to some other Industrial Ecology students the other day about this I realised it's actually a good article if you're interested in the subject. It's very subjective by nature (that's what it's a blog for), but the systems approach is presented clearly.
The whole article is pretty thorough and not exceptionally long.

On a side-note I think it's sad that the author (who goes by the name of Engineer-Poet) decided to stop blogging...

So, without further ado: Sustainability, energy independence and agricultural policy

bibliography of the discovery of global warming

2007-02-06T11:51:00.000+01:00

As any overview it is not complete but it is the most comprehensive list I know.

oil peak is here says CEO energy investment bank

2007-02-04T08:14:00.000+01:00

Interview of Matthew Simmons, CEO of the energy inevestment bank Simmons & Co.

via www.peakoil.nl

Win a 11 day trip to Spain!

2007-01-28T13:52:00.000+01:00

Are you concerned about the environment? Are you working on sustainable development? And did you always want to go to Galicia in Spain?
LHUMP gives you the opportunity to discuss with students from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Hungarya about climate change, forestry, waste, genetic modification, et cetera.

How to win this trip?
Make a plan for your own local environment campaign, and email his plan to info@lhump.nl

When?
The trip will be very soon! We leave 3rd of March, and will return in the Netherlands the 13th.
This means the deadline for your plan will be 7th of February.

Costs
LHUMP asks you 150 euros and a spare of change for the free day in Santiago de Compostela. You will have for this a train trip to Spain, a one night sleep in Santiago and seven days stay in the nature reserve in the mountains of Serra de San Mamede, near Orense.

More information at www.lhump.nl

Good luck!

The national student platform on sustainable development LHUMP

The 3 R's

2007-01-17T15:59:00.000+01:00

The message of environmental awareness is coming through in all forms and shapes, especially where you least expect it, as I just experienced, because I just found out that Jack Johnson (& friends) made a song called "The 3 R's", which goes something like this:

If you're going to the market to buy some juice
bring your own bags and you'll learn to reduce your waste
Gotta reduce your waste

And if your brother or your sisters got some cool clothes
try them on before you buy some of those
reuse
you gotta learn to reuse

And if the first two Rs dont work out
and you gotta make some trash, dont throw it out
Recycle
You gotta learn to recycle

You gotta learn to Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle

'cause three, thats the magic number
yes it is, its a magic number

Isn't it great?! I'm loving this :) And I hope this will become a hit!

HHO gas ?

2006-12-21T09:13:00.000+01:00

"Aquygen™ is made up of oxygen and hydrogen combined in a structure only beginning to be described in scientific literature. We have described it chemically as HHO gas, and the scientific details are remarkable."

Not sure what to think of this. Any ideas what HHO gas really is ?

World's biggest offshore wind farm in UK

2006-12-20T21:41:00.000+01:00

The UK government has given the green light to a consortium of Shell WindEnergy and E.ON UK to build the world's largest offshore wind power project. In total over 440 turbines will be build at a cost of around 2 billion pounds. About 1% of the electricty used in the UK could come from these parks. Via the BBC

Industrial Ecology

2006-12-18T17:53:00.000+01:00

Response to Inconvenient Truth: Film Contest

Ed Burtynsky

2006-11-23T14:38:00.000+01:00

A while ago I saw a link to his work at WorldChanging but somehow I didn't give much attention to it, until it showed up again at Treehugger, this time about a movie that has been made about his work.

And it grabbed me immediately! His work is at the least inspiring to work on an industrial ecology. The most intrigueing is the fact that his photographs are both beautiful (and even the things that he photographs on itself) and shocking at the same time. He makes it look as if we treat the earth as if it's just LEGO (well that's the feeling I get). This means both good and bad things, since the scale doesn't imply if it's sustainable or not (surprise, surprise here's industrial ecology)

The best thing about it all is the fact that Burtynsky is on a mission to make people aware of this. So here I let you know about his work; go see his TED talk, check out his website and let me know if you find out about a theatre showing his movie in the Netherlands (check out the trailer!).

Thermohaline Circulation

2006-11-08T07:56:00.000+01:00

Realclimate has an interesting article documenting the latest studies on the Thermohaline Circulation. For those who haven't heard of it, this
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/10/ocean-circulation-new-evidence-yes-slowdown-no/

China working towards partnerships with African countries

2006-11-06T22:57:00.000+01:00

Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

http://english.people.com.cn/200611/06/eng20061106_318573.html

On Saturday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao proposed that China and Africa should fully tap cooperation potential and strive to bring their trade volume to 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2010.

The figure will more than double the 2005 level, about 39.7 billion U.S. dollars. In the first nine months, China-Africa trade surged to 40.6 billion U.S. dollars, up 42 percent year-on-year.

At the two-day Summit, the African leaders reiterated their countries' firm commitment to the one-China policy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-China_policy

"They (the African countries) reiterated that they adhere to the one-China policy and support China's peaceful reunification," said the declaration.

At the opening ceremony Saturday, President Hu announced a package of aid and assistance measures to Africa including 3 billion U.S. dollars of preferential loans in next three years and the exemption of more debt owed by poor African countries.

(us trade numbers)
http://usinfo.state.gov/af/Archive/2005/Apr/26-505429.html

(eu trade numbers)
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/acp/index_en.htm

my heart's in accra
http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=1096

I4D-day 2006: Fuelling the Future

2006-11-05T20:54:00.000+01:00

On november 16, there is a network day in Amsterdam, called "I4D-day 2006: Fuelling the Future". On this day, the Innovation for Development-network (I4D) will be launched.
The theme of the day is sustainable technological innovation to support the increasing energy demand in the third world.

from their website:

"Students and researchers of technological universities and representatives of other knowledge institutes and companies in the Netherlands will present during the I4D-day 2006 the I4Deas they have for meeting this challenge. Development economists, politicians and representatives of development agencies will go into debate with them. Film and music will tickle the senses in different ways."

If you are into the energy issue, this might be interesting - I looks like a nice multidisciplinary day!

Full program

don't forget to sign up (at their website) if you want to go!

Funny Weather?

2006-11-02T11:58:00.000+01:00

For those of you who have seen the movie 'The Inconvenient Truth' by Al Gore, the following story might be very familiar:

http://www.funnyweather.org/

In any case, this seems like a nice way to introduce your friends and family etc to the complicated topic of climate change in a very funny and easy way.

Plug-in Diesel Hybrids on Google Talks

2006-10-11T22:01:00.000+02:00

As a follow up to the previous biofuels talk by Vinod Khosla, Google Talks now has a presentation on plug-in diesel hybrids. Reed Benet presents an interesting system view where he argues that bio-diesel is more efficient than ethanol from the production stage (growing, gasification) to its use in a diesel engine. He also talks about interesting possibilities of integrating these cars with the electrical grid.

[via The Energy Blog]

Dutch 'Cradle to Cradle' documentary

2006-10-03T00:08:00.000+02:00

The Dutch tv-show 'Tegenlicht' made a very interesting documentary about Cradle to Cradle design, based on and in cooperation with the writers of the book with this title: McDonough and Braungart.
The voice-over is in Dutch but all the interviews are in English, so anyone will understand most of this documentary. It can be seen on-line on the following website (click in the upper-right corner on 'Video: bekijk de uitzending AFVAL=VOEDSEL')

http://www.vpro.nl/programma/tegenlicht/afleveringen/30458986/

For all of you interested in eco-design this definitely is a must-read book and must-see docu :)

Earth warmest for 12000 years

2006-09-27T10:12:00.000+02:00

NASA scientists have published an article about the most recent measurements of global temperatures. Main conclusions:

the Earth is warmer than it has been in the last 12000 years and within 1C of the maximum over the past million years
the Earth has been warming at a rate of 0.2 C per decade for the last three decades
the most prominent effect is on land on the Northern Hemisphere because of melting ice covers which induces a positive feedback by changing albedo
the observations are consistent with predictions that climate scientists made in the 1980s

There is a movie (8.5 MB) on the NASA website which I find particularly illustrative. It shows global temperature changes from 1880 to 2005.

Microfinance & technology

2006-09-24T09:26:00.000+02:00

Funded by Microsoft Research's Digital Inclusion program into(context) is a design research project developed and carried out by two students, one from the Dutch MSc IE programme, at the Design for Sustainability group at Delft University of Technology. The goal of this project will be to research which technology interaction forms are most appropriate for integration into the operational context of microfinance institutions working in East Africa in order to facilitate entrepreneurs accessing micro credit through KIVA. Progress in the project can be monitored at their blogspot.

natuurbeleving m.b.v.

2006-09-06T12:42:00.000+02:00

Natuurbeleving m.b.v. straatmeubilair
Afstuderen Nico Langeveld

woe 13 september
13:45 Presentatie ~ comissiekamer 3 TU Aula
14:30 Toetsing (u wordt niet getoetst)
15:15 Buluitreiking?

Sweden Oil Free

2006-08-28T09:42:00.000+02:00

The commission on Oil Indepence, installed buy the the Swedish Ministry of Sustainable Development, has recently made a plan to make Sweden an "oil free society" by the year 2020. The topic in itself is quite interesting but also the fact that Sweden not only has a Minister of the Environment but also a Minister for Sustainable development is quite interesting. In the Netherlands the Minister of Environment was demoted to a State Secretary 4 years ago when the christian democrats and liberals came to power.

Graduation time !

2006-08-04T10:25:00.000+02:00

Eight of our first cohort of MSc IE students will receive their diplomas on the 23rd of August. This will take place at a historic location the Kamerlingh Onnes Building, birthplace of four Nobel Prizes.

China to invest $100 billion in renewable energy

2006-08-02T12:44:00.000+02:00

Some were already impressed by the $ 2 billion that the US government is investing in the hydrogen economy but the Chinese seem to surpass this effort. The Chinese government plans to raise the installed capacity for renewable electricity to 10 percent by 2010 and 16 percent by 2020. Looking at these percentages one has to keep in mind that in China the consumption of energy has grown at an average rate of over 10% per year for 5 years, thus doubling every 7 years !

Canadian tar sands

2006-07-10T17:29:00.000+02:00

Interesting site with information on the dark side of the exploration of Canadian tar sands.

Do we need a backup plan for the backup plan?

2006-07-06T16:07:00.000+02:00

A newly released article raises some serious questions about storing CO2 underground in geological formations. The study involved the injection of CO2 into a brine and oil reservoir on the US Gulf Coast. It turns out that the CO2 made the brine water much more acidic, which means that minerals are much more easily dissolved, and the integrity of the reservoir could ultimately be compromised.

From the abstract:

"This rapid dissolution of carbonate and other minerals could ultimately create pathways in the rock seals or well cements for CO2 and brine leakage. Dissolution of minerals, especially iron oxyhydroxides, could mobilize toxic trace metals and, where residual oil or suitable organics are present, the injected CO2 could also mobilize toxic organic compounds. Environmental impacts could be major if large brine volumes with mobilized toxic metals and organics migrated into potable groundwater."

A more general explanation can be found here.

[via Treehugger]

Sense and non-sense of blogs

2006-07-04T14:32:00.000+02:00

On the BBC website I found an interesting article on the value of blogs specfically focussed on environemntal issues.

Progress Report on Chinese Eco-Village

2006-06-25T19:51:00.000+02:00

The BBC has an interesting progress report on the Huangbaiyu eco-village project in rural China. Huangbaiyu gained some press partly due to the involvement of some big environmental names. The chair of the project is William McDonough, an architect probably best known for putting the largest green roof in the world on top of a Ford factory.

The financer of the project claimed that he had to make some minor adjustments for financial reasons. This would explain the lack of both solar panels and the special insulation coating specified in the original plans. More curious though is that he found money to add garages to each house (not in the plans) and decided not to face the houses south (bad passive-solar feng shui). In addition to this, some of the locals think that they are very ugly and have concerns about how the lack of a garden could leave them without a reliable income. The situation is summed up by this quote in the article:

"What the small Huangbaiyu experiment shows is the danger of trying to impose a new way of life on people without fully understanding their needs and the realities of their lives."

...but back to McDonough for a second... He's on the editorial board of the Jounal of IE. His writings are very creative and his work with architecture/city planning and product/process design seeks to bridge the gap between IE dreams and reality. Another of his Chinese projects is shown below. With China's rapidly urbanizing population and large amount of land unsuited for agriculture, he proposes holistic designs incorporating ideas such as moving farms onto urban rooftops.

Guantang Chuangye Sustainable Development Demonstration Project

Project links:
China-US Center for Sustainable Development - overview of Huangbaiyu Village
Slideshow of Construction
Project Description from McDonough + Partners

Ecopolis

2006-06-20T18:10:00.000+02:00

The latest issue of New Scientist devotes several pages this month to the environmental transformation of mega-cities. With the UN predicting that by 2007 more people will live in cities than the countryside, creating sustainable cities is more important than ever.

The articles dive into many IE concepts and details some interesting progress that has been made around the world, with one article devoted to developments on eco-cities in China. One of the articles can be found here.

[via Archinect]

Thinking outside of the Barrel

2006-06-18T08:20:00.000+02:00

It appears that Google hosts seminars called Google TechTalks about a wide range of topics. A recent one is about biofuels in the US. They shoot videos on the talks and post them on Google Video.

Check it out

Who Killed the Electric Car?

2006-06-12T15:43:00.000+02:00

Coming soon is a new movie documenting the history of the EV1 electric vehicle in California. Starting in the mid 1990's, GM leased over 800 of these vehicles to consumers. The car was received enthusiastically, but eventually the program was suddenly cancelled in 2003.

GM claimed that they couldn't sell enough cars to be profitable, despite long lists of people who wanted to lease them. Amid public protests, the cars were crushed, which only served to fuel speculation that GM intended for the program to fail despite public support. The article in Wikipedia goes into more detail about allegations related to the project cancellation.

[via Clean Break]

Update: A 20 minute interview with the film director is available here as a video or mp3

Greenspan warns of energy crisis

2006-06-12T14:50:00.000+02:00

Alan Greenspan, a leading US economist best known for his power to scare stock markets with his carefully-worded subtle phrases, recently gave a 3 hour testimony before a US Senate committee recommending a much quicker development of alternative energy sources.

His main concern was that energy prices would push up inflation and threaten the economy. In addition, a terrorist attack on a Middle Eastern oil refinery could raise prices even more.

He further noted that much of the world's oil reserves are owned by governments not exactly friendly with the US. The recent high energy prices have created a "very serious issue" where these governments are receiving tremendous amounts of cash.

He also debunked corn-based ethanol, but spoke highly of the possibilities of cellulosic ethanol. Liquified natural gas was also mentioned as another replacement for petroleum.

Full Article
[via Renewable Energy Access]

Green Steel

2006-06-12T13:46:00.000+02:00

CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, is working on a way to help industries produce cleaner steel. Their idea is to have steel mills use charcoal produced from trees planted to combat salinity.

The charcoal is much cleaner and burns faster than the coke currently used. Further studies have shown that this process can use 65% less CO2/tonne of iron even when including energy for growing, processing, and transport. A more in-depth exploration of the idea can be found in CSIRO Solve Magazine.

UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

2006-05-31T21:59:00.000+02:00

The UN declared 2005-2014 to be the "Decade of Education for Sustainable Development" - unfortunately, it is pretty buried in the UN website. Here is the the URl link to the UN portal. As far as I can see nothing much is happening in the US. Is there something more interesting going on in Asia and Europe ?

Gore makes movie on climate change

2006-05-31T09:11:00.000+02:00

Former vice president Al Gore features in a much discussed movie on climate change. I haven't seen it yet so if anyone can find a good link let me know. Here's a link to a discussion on Nature News.

Climate Change linked to earthquakes

2006-05-30T12:08:00.000+02:00

In a recent new scientist article the possible mechanisms are described of the possible influence of Climate Change on geological processes like earthquakes, tsunami's and vulcanic eruptions. Those interested in the full article create a comment.

€10 billion for Fusion Reactor research

2006-05-30T11:54:00.000+02:00

The €10 billion international project ITER will test whether fusion could become a viable source of abundant and clean energy for the future (via new scientisttech). I wonder what could be done with that kind of money in PV research.

Goldman Sachs Invests in Cellulose Ethanol

2006-05-30T11:40:00.000+02:00

The Canadian company Iogen, a pioneer in producing cellulose ethanol, has announced that Goldman Sachs will invest 30 million Canadian dollars in this technology. Iogen runs the only plant in Ottawa to manufacture cellulose ethanol, though currently only as a demonstration project. Together with Shell and Volkswagen, Iogen is also looking into the economic viability of setting up a cellulose ethanol production plant in Germany. (via GAVE)

Plug-in hybrids visit DC

2006-05-25T08:30:00.000+02:00

This is such a great marketing move... While automakers talked to the U.S. Congress about their problems, one company parked their solution outside. The press release shows quite a few famous politicians taking a ride around Capitol Hill.

As for the price, the current estimate is 10-20% more than hybrids. There's also some interesting discussion about how these cars could be integrated with large-scale renewables to help balance the power grid.

From the calcars.org press release:

On May 18, CEOs of the Big Three automakers came to Washington DC to meet with Congressional leaders and discuss the industry's woes. We saw an opportunity to introduce Congress to a solution using existing technology that can make a big dent in our oil dependence and also help Detroit back to prosperity -- should it choose to take the opportunity. After a whirlwind fundraising campaign CalCars flew in one of its plug-in Priuses from California, and the journey began. This was the first time plug-in hybrids were seen in public in our nation's capitol.

[via BioConversion Blog]

History of energy

2006-05-17T19:19:00.000+02:00

On the10th of june (a very nice date :D) there is an international symposium at the Leiden University with the theme: Energy and Innovation in World-Historical Perspective. The practical info you can find on this site: www.energyhistory.nl. It looks very nice.

Wealth from Waste

2006-05-13T10:41:00.000+02:00

From 1939... IE is so retro

A short excerpt:

SYNTHETIC CHEMISTRY: WEALTH FROM WASTE
This is the first of a series of articles on the romance of synthetic chemistry in which science has solved the mystery for turning waste into wealth.

“Don’t throw that away!” This is the battle cry of the great synthetic chemical industry which makes everything from hair-brush handles to T.N.T. from stuff that was once just waste. If you want to buy some perfume, the odds are that the bottle will contain odors extracted from coal tar, once a nightmare to factories who paid people to get rid of it.
[via Modern Mechanix]

Fuel cell train in Japan

2006-04-29T22:00:00.000+02:00

East Japan Railway Company, also known as JR East, is set to test the world's first fuel cell-powered train. According to Fuji Sankei, the one-carriage prototype, powered by two 65-kilowatt fuel cells, will be able to reach speeds of 100km/hr. Read more at JCN

Tornado Technology

2006-04-25T09:37:00.000+02:00

Veridium is a green technology company that is marketing an interesting method for processing biomass and other wastes in a high-speed vortex. Their website has some videos showing it in action. A more in depth article about the technology can be found here.

From the press release:
"Veridium's Tornado Generator(TM) accelerates compressed air to supersonic speeds in a closed cyclonic chamber where the air is powerful enough to almost instantly grind, flash desiccate and atomize solid and liquid wastes and other materials into micron sized powders. The Tornado Generator(TM) is a completely contained system with no internal moving parts that is powered by compressed air. It can safely and cost-effectively and rapidly process a very broad array of wastes including agricultural wastes, municipal wastes, industrial wastes, and construction and demolition wastes."

[via Greenshift Corporation]

Happy Earth Day!

2006-04-22T21:04:00.000+02:00

As much as we talk about what the US isn't doing environmentally, today they are celebrating the 36th annual Earth Day. I haven't heard of anything similar in Europe... Is this true? If so, then why not? ...the tulips are definitely having a party.

Field Guide to IE?

2006-04-15T22:28:00.000+02:00

So maybe the chapters on LCA and cleaner production are missing, but Infrastructure provides an interesting artistic & explanatory view of the industrial landscapes around us.

From the book's Amazon.com site:
"Replete with the author's striking photographs, Infrastructure is a unique and spectacular guide, exploring all the major "ecosystems" of our modern industrial world, revealing what the structures are and why they're there, and uncovering beauty in unexpected places. Covering agriculture, resources, the water supply, energy, communication, transportation, and waste, this is the "Book of Everything" for the industrial landscape."

Bye Bye Coral :(

2006-04-03T18:11:00.000+02:00

Here is very disturbing news article on the so-called 'biggest loss of ancient and delicate coral in Caribbean waters'. The main causes of this loss are Global Warming and a very dangerous disease called the white plague.
The coral is not only very important for the wild life that inhabits these reefs, but it is also important for people living in the Carribean, as it has reduced harmfull effects of hurricanes and Tsunamis in the past.

Someone's view on IE

2006-04-02T21:02:00.000+02:00

Someone made the effort to send me this cartoon all the way to Norway, and I wanted to share it with you, just in case you haven't seen it yet :)

For the non-dutchies, it says: "New master programme of Industrial Ecology not completely convincing..."
I think it's quite genious, I just love the idea of the flower factory ;)

Innovations Journal - Technology/Governance/Globalization

2006-03-29T00:38:00.001+02:00

innovations is an interesting new journal that strives to go beyond theory and into practical solutions for many of the same problems IE deals with.

One of its editors is Iqdal Quadir, best known for starting a for-profit company that uses microcredit to make cell phones widely available to the poor in Bangladesh. His company, GrameenPhone "has increased the country's GDP by a far greater amount than repeated infusions of foreign aid."

From their website: (entire issue is free for download)

Innovations is the only academic journal of its kind. The most widely read academic journals dealing with the interaction of technology and governance take a 30,000-foot view of both policy challenges and proposed policy solutions. Rarely do academic analyses of global policy challenges begin by looking at innovations. Rarely do practitioner-focused narratives seriously address innovations in their global context. Innovations does both.

The audience for Innovations is a broad community of change agents. The content in Innovations brings together accounts (narratives), accounting (indicators), and accountability (governance). Innovations will be of interest to public servants whose method is entrepreneurial, and entrepreneurs whose projects have a public conscience; innovators interested in analysis, and scholars interested in innovations.

Each issue of Innovations analyzes best local practices in a global context. Innovations is based on two simple premises. The first: while culture and economics do create significant differences among populations, creativity is a characteristic shared by people everywhere. The second: while many pressing societal challenges are global, their solutions are local. Innovations in one place can inform and inspire innovations elsewhere.

Brainiax

2006-03-27T23:26:00.000+02:00

Finally, I always knew it but now it's official... now i know why all you international students have come here, except for Till ;D http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2105519,00.html

I=(P+1)AT

2006-03-27T09:30:00.000+02:00

On a more personal note I would like to let you know that we increased the P in IPAT by one ! Her name is Lina Elisa.

Sustainable Carpet

2006-03-25T13:12:00.000+01:00

The BBC has a very interesting audio interview here (or here) with Ray Anderson, the founder of Interface Corporation. Interface is a carpet company that has gained widespread attention for its innovative implementation of sustainability practices... which is especially interesting considering the dependence of the carpet industry on petrochemicals.

The interview talks about how their business decided to adopt sustainability principles along with their vision for the future where they could close the material cycle with their products. There's also a story on how one of their most successful products incorporates biomimicry, along with how dematerialization of their product led to some surprising LCA results.

Also...
Interface Sustainability Report