Welcome to the March 2010 Green InSight eNewsletter!

Jon Dougal Editor, Green InSight

"Wisdom comes to us when it can no longer do any good."
Gabriel Garcia Marque, Love in the Time of Cholera

This insightful and progressive newsletter is concerned with energy issues as well as a sustainable future. The information is brought to you in living color, free of animal testing, on widescreen digital HD format, and sparing paper use, saving fragile water systems, with our long shelf-life phthalate free plastics, using greedy little electrons to deliver the latest from the far corners of the alternative and renewable energy empire to foster sustainable development. We exalt your feedback and contributions of your latest experiences and reactions to our content. Consider reading this your attitude adjustment hour. Sustainability is not just our mission, it is our passion.

LED Street-Lights are Greenest Choice, Life-Cycle Study Shows

By: Micahel Graham Richard
Date: March 9, 2010
Source: Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com)

Ednote: This article is the latest tech on LED streetlights. But why is it that all the cost savings related to streetlights don’t include any mechanism to provide energy. All those streetlights could be selling energy to the grid and peak time prices and then buying it at night at low price scale prices to light the night. It is obvious that all the revenue stricken municipalities need to cut their costs and LED street lights are an answer. Savings on maintenance, material costs go hand-in-hand with LEDs. LED’s could also be used as a communication mechanism if there were a code established. For instance, blinking lights meant, “do not proceed” through an intersection. Or all Green LED’s mean exit right from the Ball Park Arena, or Green street lights mean Freeway direction. Codes could be built into the commuter consciousness to create certain actions.

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The New Smart Grid

By: Nick Hodge
Source: Green Chip Stocks (www.greenchipstocks.com)

Ednote: “What’s as big as 100 internets- well maybe 1000 internets? So hungry for routers, switches and secure IP, based backhaul communications that it could gobble up $100 billion in worth of networking technology? The Smart Grid!” (from Information Weekly)

Every time I see Southern California Edison’s TV advertising for how they are investing in the "Smart Grid" for their rate payers, I cringe. How stupid we the rate payers are.

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Utilities Will Be Watching You

By: Jon Douga
Date: March 15, 2010

Ednote: Big Brother is watching. You don’t see it, you’re not aware of it, but you’re being photographed 39 times a day in your normal activities. The supermarkets, the bank, the street corner, car wash all have cameras, video feed. Soon even more of your personal freedom will be usurped. How? With WiFi instruments that control your appliances. That intelligent refrigerator you bought that tells the supermarket that your outta milk! Got Milk? Is also monitoring your energy use.

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A Climate Microcosm Lives in Our National Parks

By: Julie Cart
Date: December 6, 2009
Source: Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com)

Ednote: The debate over climate change seems to never end. The recent “Climate Gate Scandal” gave all the skeptics renewed energy to counter the populist view that it was a reality. Countless climate “authorities” tried to make the argument to the naysayers that it was truly undeniable that the earth’s climate was heating up and man was the evildoer.

Not being a scientist, nor anybody with any more than a rudimentary education, but capable of reading and assimilating information with which to make my judgments. I believe it to be true. The world is in deep doodoo! When I read about what Mother Nature is doing about global warming, or climate change I have to believe (yes have faith) that She is the ultimate CEO of life on the Planet. Species migration, plants growing taller, making new chemicals to ward off “Grazers”, changing hunting and nesting habitats ever north and ever south. She must know how to preserve life while temperatures threaten. The recent wolf population introductions and resultant human attacks lay speculation on many issues around messing with Mother Nature. The following article is one of those irrefutable evidence class stories.

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Highlights from the Pharos Blog: The Signal

By: Bill Walsh
Date: March 3, 2010
Source: Healthy Building Network (www.healthybuilding.net)

Ednote: HBN has been a stalwart protector of the commons for years. The work by Bill Walsh, Tom Lent and many others to bring awareness of major issues concerning human health and well being, much less quality of life is a labor of love and passion. Like Environmental Building News their reports on various issues can be taken as gospel, the truth, verifiable. Truth in labeling, much less green labeling, much less ISO 14042 green labeling standards need oversight of potential green washers. The battle really exists as to whether “enviro-friendly” has the same performance as dangerous materials. That is why LCA is so important with product evaluations.

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DOE to Accelerate Algae-Based Biofuel Development

By: Anna Austin
Date: November 11, 2009
Source: Biomass Magazine (www.biomassmagazine.com)

Ednote: The US government can throw huge support to the development of bio-duels should it wish to do so. Creating a market for a product before the product is marketable, spurs investment, and soon pricing matches availability. Economics 101. Dept of Defense (DARPA) and the Dept of Energy are now focused on mass-market development of bio-fuels. This effort should supersede petroleum industry efforts to slow the growth of alternatives to oil based energy.

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What Books To Have In Your Library If You’re A Somebody

Ednote: I am sure our gentile readers have over the years read many books to inform their careers. Benyus, Friend, Hawken, Lovins, Makower, Bucky Fuller, McDonough, McKibben, Revkin, Friedman are names carved into our ultra consciousness by years of live presentations and reference to their work. We all formed hero worship over some of our early authors.

Over time I bet you’ve added to your library various reference books not only for information and future referral, but to impress your peers with how widely read you were. Remember when you wanted to impress your date with how intellectual you were when they came to your apartment?

Well here is you chance to fill your office library with the most important literature of the green marketplace. 3P as they’re known or Triplepundit recently had an online vote for the most popular or necessary books.

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A Clean Well Lighted Place To Inform Your Careers

I was still in college in the 60’s having gone back to school after siring a couple of kids, when the Dummies Brand first made its appearance. Now 50 years later there are as many as a billion titles – give or take a 100 million. Dummies for investing, BlackBerrys, gum chewers, digital hardware, digital photography, and every incantation of Windows in every language known.

Latest to surface in the "sustainable" category titles are some examples below. Additionally you can find Green Careers for D’s, Composting for D’s, etc.

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Interested in sponsoring our next eNewsletter issue? Contact Jon Dougal at (415) 798-1933 or editor@greenmotion.org.