Can Oil Companies Be Good Stewards of Our Land?

Austin, Texas: The Wall Street Journal just reported that the  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit on Monday to ConocoPhillips that would allow the energy company to develop the first commercial oil well in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

The permit sets 22 special conditions designed to minimize the environmental impact of the project, and Conoco will pay fees into a special fund to compensate for damage to tundra wetlands, which the corps, in a statement, said would be “unavoidable.”

As both an environmentalist and a businessman, I understand that compromises are needed. My feelings are that this will probably be the most pristine oil project of all time – as the eyes of the world will be upon it.

If this project goes well with very minimal environmental impact, it will open up more of Alaska’s reserves to drilling and development–which can be beneficial to the United States, both in terms of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and for job creation.

If there are environmental problems, any further discussion of oil projects in Alaska will be shelved–probably for decades.

Let’s hope that this project is a success – and we can make further exploration dependent on increased alternative fuel subsidies.

I am certainly for green energy and clean energy.

Our dependence on fossil fuels is destroying our planet through climate change and air quality issues.

We will certainly not wean ourselves from fossil fuels overnight, but we should definitely do what we can to stop supporting Middle East unrest.

Let’s test this job creation project with a tremendous amount of oversight.

We need to increase all forms of energy–fossil fuels for the short term and solar, wind and geo-thermal for medium and long-term security.

Hopefully both sides of the political spectrum can soften their approach to energy and we can move forward on cleaner energy for a better tomorrow.

Tighter regulations mean cleaner fuel projects.

I grew up in New Jersey and can still remember the smell of the refineries.

Let’s clean up our act.

Let’s increase expenditures for alternative fuels from the profits of this new exploration.

It can create a win-win — more jobs, cleaner energy.

That’s a platform I think most Americans can support.

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Robert Piller, President of Eco Marketing Solutions, has over 25 years of experience in running and implementing green marketing campaigns and is a leader in the recycled promotional products industry, including offering one of the largest selections of reusable and organic tote bags, recycled and biodegradable water bottles, recycled pens and pencils in the country.

His company’s website, EcoMarketingSolutions.com, features over 25,000 eco-friendly promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find biodegradable, organic and recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame.

You can also reach him by email (robert (at) ecomarketingsolutions.com) or comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com or below at his Twitter link.

Global Warming.

This term has been kicked around by the partisans and needs a makeover.

I have thought for a while that the term “global warming” does an injustice to those who believe in environmental causes because it focuses only on increases in temperatures.

We had snowfall the past two winters in my hometown of Austin, Texas — and people kept saying that “global warming” must be a hoax–because of the snow.

Let’s see, in the past 12-18 months, just in the United States, we have seen such phenomena as:

• Hurricanes.
• Tornadoes.
• Flooding.
• Wildfires.
• Excessive rainfalls.
• Snow in late Spring/early summer.
• Drought.
• Scorching Spring weather.
• More wildfires.

All due to climate change.

However, the term Global Warming doesn’t state the true picture of the change that is happening to the environment and climate, and it just makes non-believers throw up their hands or smirk when temperatures drop.

Last year, author Tom Friedman wrote an Op-Ed in the NY Times calling the situation “Global Weirding“.  He also makes the claim that the term “global warming” does no favors for the environmental movement.

Let’s change our terminology so that our cause can gain momentum and not get shut down as soon as temperatures drop each winter.

Let’s ban the term “global warming” and look for alternatives.

Global Weirding.

Climate Change.

Anybody have any other terms to explain the weather changes and natural disasters that are happening all over the globe?   Let me know. I’d love to hear them.

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Robert Piller, President of Eco Marketing Solutions, has over 25 years of experience in running and implementing green marketing campaigns and is a leader in the recycled promotional products industry, including offering one of the largest selections of reusable and organic tote bags, recycled and biodegradable water bottles, recycled pens and pencils in the country.

His company’s website, EcoMarketingSolutions.com, features over 25,000 eco-friendly promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find biodegradable, organic and recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame.

You can also reach him by email (robert (at) ecomarketingsolutions.com) or comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com or below at his Twitter link. We’d love to hear your additions to this list.

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According to a recent story by Resource Recycling, a new study out of North Carolina State University casts doubt on the environmental benefits of biodegradable materials, suggesting that as they break down they release a powerful greenhouse gas.

According to Dr. Morton Barlaz – the co-author of the study who serves as professor and head of the university’s Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering – materials such as disposable cups and utensils made from biodegradable material are broken down by microorganisms that release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

According to the article, the authors of the study, which did not include yard waste and other compostable materials sent to anaerobic digestion facilities, also point to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency numbers that indicate only about 35 percent of municipal solid waste goes to landfills that capture methane for energy use.

Additionally, many of these products are supposed to biodegrade in short periods of time under Federal Trade Commission guidelines, meaning that the release of the gas is hastened.

Now, I realize that the recycling industry has been at arms with biodegradable plastics for a number of years, as it interferes with the quality of the plastic pellets, once they get recycled, and they are difficult to separate out. Recycled biodegradable plastic might accidentally end up in medical equipment and replacement joints and valves that get implanted in patients, so there is certainly some concern.

That being said, it would be nice to see at least one more study on the effectiveness of recycled products on reducing greenhouse gases.

It does seem that the Law of Unintended Consequences may be rearing its ugly head again.

Any other ideas to reduce greenhouse gases?

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Robert Piller, president of Eco Marketing Solutions, is experienced in green marketing campaigns and recycled promotional products.  He has worked to help plant over 25 million trees through his live tree seedling gift program over the past dozen years.  His company’s website, EcoMarketingSolutions.com, features over 25,000 eco-friendly promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find biodegradable, organic and recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame.

You can also reach him by email (robert (at) ecomarketingsolutions.com) or comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com or below at his Twitter link.
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A recent AP story tells of a nonprofit organization called Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, which is rushing to collect genetic material from ancient redwood trees and replanting clones in hopes of restoring the world’s ancient forests and putting them to work cleansing the environment and absorbing carbon dioxide.   Carbon dioxide is one of the leading the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.

The mission of this group is to clone the oldest and largest individuals within the world’s most ecologically valuable tree species, and persuade people to buy and plant millions of copies.

David Milarch, the group’s co-founder, says, ”In our infinite wisdom, we’ve destroyed 98 percent of the old growth forests that kept nature in balance for thousands of years.  That’s what we intend to put back.”

The articles states that scientific opinion varies on whether trees that survive for centuries have superior genes or simply have been in the right places at the right times to avoid fires, diseases and other misfortunes. But Archangel Archive is a believer in the super-tree idea. The group has tracked down and cloned some of the biggest and oldest of more than 60 species and is developing inventories.

Terry Root, a Stanford University climate change expert, said giant tree clones could help fight global warming if large numbers are planted where conditions favor their long-term survival.

The problem as I see it, is that both redwood and sequoia trees cannot grow everywhere.   Perhaps it might be better to find fast growing trees, such as the leucaena plant of the rain forests, which can grow in tropical locations, and other trees that can be grown in other regions.  A one-size-fits-all approach is not practical, as there are many factors that affect tree growth, including soil conditions, temperature and climate, population density, as well as general topographical and geographical considerations.

Hats off to the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive for being pro-active.  They are on the right track.

Anybody else know if any similar tree cloning operations or massive tree planting programs exclusively done to help combat global warming?  I’d love to hear about them.

Here’s to a greener tomorrow today.

You can also reach him by email (robert (at) ecomarketingsolutions.com) or comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.

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I just read two interesting blog posts that I’d like to share with my readers.

According to business guru Seth Godin, for every person killed by nuclear power generation, 4,000 die due to coal, adjusted for the same amount of power produced.

He gets his facts and statistics on energy safety comparisons, including the accompanying chart from this detailed blog post.

Even with the recent Japanese earthquake and its devastating damage to its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, facts will still show that coal production is still exponentially more lethal in terms of production.

Why do we still hear about “clean coal“, when this term is more of an oxymoron than a pipe dream?

Are the supporters of nuclear power going to sit and hide for  few years with their heads buried in the sand as the representatives and lobbyists  for clean coal pick up the slack and continue their television guest spots , new laws and regulations and PR campaigns?

Where does solar fit in?

How about wind power?

Let’ be pro-active and get the facts about the true costs (both in monetary costs and human life and suffering).

Here’s to  a greener tomorrow, today.

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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and recycled promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green.  The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.

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On Tuesday, the White House announced that they are lifting the controversial moratorium on deep-water oil drilling.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement that drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet can resume, so long as rig operators can demonstrate they comply with new safety regulations imposed since the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil-rig explosion that began the three-month Gulf oil spill.

Since this is purely an election-year sop to the business community, it is going to interesting to watch how the government is going to certify these rigs in a manner that is both timely and safe.

As the BP oil spill disaster has proven, unregulated industry will do whatever is necessary to reduce their costs, including ignoring or eliminating safety features. When a government agency/watchdog becomes cozy with industry, it will take more than a simple name change to change business as usual. Issuing a secretarial order changing the name of an agency from the Minerals Management Service to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement does not increase environmental protection. It obfuscates the reality that big business is in charge of regulation.
Read more…

I just saw this website that had a fascinating presentation on the history of the planet’s climate changes ..and what the future may hold.

It is a interesting and interactive site based on 40 possible scenarios and based on as study by the IPCC, the non-profit Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The results can greatly effect world populations, in terms of famines, droughts, warfare, etc.  Global issue can be considered a security threat that needs to be addressed.

This study is an eye-opening look at what our planet can become if steps are not taken by leading countries and economies to address global warming in the immediate future.  It is time that people take a serious look at alternative energy sources, increased sustainability in manufacturing, transportation, farming, as well as other activities, before we pay an even steeper price.

Earth Day cannot be a yearly celebration.  It needs to become a way of life.

Let’s make Earth Day, Every Day.

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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and environmentally-friendly promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive eco-friendly advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green.  The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.

Electrolux is raising awareness of plastic waste in the oceans by putting plastic collected from waters around the world into some of their vacuum cleaners.

In their new initiative, known as Vac From The Sea, Electrolux will roll out a small line of vacuum cleaners made from plastic gathered from oceans and seas, in order to bring attention to how much plastic is ending up in floating around in marine environments and harming animals.

One researcher, Charles Moore,from the non-profit Algalita Marina Research Foundation in Long Beach, California, says a patch of plastic debris weighs about 3 million tons and covers an area twice the size of Texas is floating in the oceans. About 20 percent of the plastic in the oceans comes from ships or offshore platforms; the rest is blown, washed off the land or intentionally dumped, according to a preliminary report issued April 2004 by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

Plastic waste in the ocean has more than tripled in the past 50 years, This is dangerous because not only does plastic that is in oceans kill birds and other creatures, but plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces over time, which is consumed by fish and ends up in the entire food chain.

Perhaps more recognition of this plastic waste growth will serve as a wake up call to the UN and sovereign nations to begin to clean up the seas — or will it take a few more deep oil rig disasters to awaken the sleeping giants?

Here’s to a greener tomorrow, today.

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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and environmentally-friendly promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive eco-friendly advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.

With so much heated rhetoric in Congress about Health Care, I don’t think the White House will take up any additional major undertakings for a long time, especially global warming. It just is not smart political move.

However, it seems major issues such as Climate Control and Global Warming would need to be taken up by a non-partisan committee or commission, made up of 5 Senators from each party, a la the Base Closing Commission set up in the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act in the late 1980s. Read more…

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced that greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and welfare in a decision that should eventually lead to new emissions regulations.

The so-called “endangerment finding” announced today by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is crucial in moving forward on new emission standards for cars, while potentially opening up large emitters such as power plants, crude-oil refineries and chemical plants to limits on their output of carbon dioxide and other gases. Read more…