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Back in early December, on one of those nights when the weather dropped below freezing, suddenly our heater started blowing cold air instead of warm. Uh oh. So we called the company that had just given it a tune-up, and they diagnosed a cracked heat exchanger. Since our unit was 15 years old we decided that replacing the whole system made the most sense.  My partner groaned at the cost (minimum $4,500), but my eyes lit up – it’s not often that opportunities to upgrade to a more efficient system come along! 

I soon discovered I knew next to nothing about efficient heating and cooling. The very next day I ran into Sharon Stroud from the State Energy Office who clued me in that air conditioners have an efficiency rating called SEER and the higher the number the better. Heating units are rated on AFUE, and again the higher the better.  The EPA just last year raised the minimum SEER rating from 10 to 13, but to qualify for Energy Star a system has to be at least 14 SEER.  For a furnace to qualify for Energy Star it has to be rated at least 83% AFUE.  “I can do better than the government minimums!” I thought. 

After doing some research, it turned out that the best I could do with the same type of system I have – a package unit with propane heat and electric AC – was 15 SEER and 80% AFUE.  There are much higher rated systems available – up to 20 or 22 SEER and condensing furnaces or heat pumps with AFUE ratings of 97% - but from what I could tell, to get these numbers would require stand alone units and thus significant overhaul of my duct system. For some reason these package gas/electric systems are efficiency constrained. 

I also learned from Sterling at the SEO’s Information and Referral Office that a system’s efficiency has as much to do with how it is installed and that it is sized properly as it does with the technology in the unit. It is important to get an installer who knows what they are doing.

As an added environmental bonus, systems with higher SEER ratings are also being made now with a new refrigerant that is non-ozone-depleting, known as R-410A (one brand name is Puron). Under the Montreal Protocol the current widely used coolant R22 (Freon) is to be phased out by 2010. 

So I went with the 15 SEER/80% AFUE package unit with R-410A. It’s got a multi-speed blower, and a two stage gas valve, which also boost efficiency. It cost about 40% more than your basic 13 SEER unit – which is not an insubstantial amount. According to one energy calculator I used, I won’t necessarily recoup that extra $2000 in energy savings for 15 or more years, though I should get a small tax credit from the Feds. But the environmental benefit and peace of mind was clearly worth it to me.

Luckily we also have a woodstove (stay tuned for a future blog post of my efforts to replace that air-pollution-machine with a clean-burning variety), so we could afford to spend a little bit of time doing research on some alternatives, but still not as much as I would have liked. I wish I had had more time to investigate geothermal systems for instance – that seems like the cat’s meow for sustainability. Though not as top-notch efficient as I would have liked, I did make some headway on making my heating greener.

If your heater or AC unit is over 10 years old you might consider doing some reconnaissance work now to figure out what super efficient system you’ll be installing next.  Or if you've already done it, please share your experience!

On Wednesday President Bush signed an energy bill that increased fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, with the apparent blessings of the auto industry. The very next day the President’s Environmental Protection Agency denied states the right to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. Coincidence? No, politics. As the New York Times points out:

“Industry analysts and environmental groups said the E.P.A. decision had the appearance of a reward to the industry, in return for dropping its opposition to the energy legislation. Auto industry leaders issued statements supporting the new energy law, which gives them more time to improve fuel economy than California would have.”

The energy bill included standards that will raise fuel efficiency of new cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.  The California ‘Pavley’ law would require a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2016.  While it is true that increasing fuel efficiency means less carbon dioxide emitted per mile driven, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“Let's be clear: the California standard is stronger and more effective than the 35-mile-per-gallon floor established in the new energy law.”

Under the Clean Air Act, California has the ability to set its own air regulations at a higher standard than federal law, and other states can opt to adopt California’s stronger standards. But first California must get a waiver from the EPA, and this is what they just denied. The NRDC again:

“This rejection represents bald-faced political interference with California’s decades-long authority to enforce its own clean air rules.”

Not only that, but it is a blatant disregard for the seriousness of the climate crisis we are facing.  Bush claims that his rather moderate increase in fuel economy which gives the auto industry 13 years to get there is an adequate step to address global warming. I don’t think so. My hybrid car gets 42 miles per gallon today. 

16 states have adopted California’s Pavley greenhouse gas standards but implementation has been tied up in court from auto industry lawsuits. Earlier this year two federal courts ruled against the auto industry, and the US Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the authority and obligation to regulate carbon dioxide as an air pollutant.  States and environmental groups are lining up to sue the EPA over their denial of California’s waiver.  

NC has the opportunity to adopt the Pavley standards too – in fact a state advisory panel to the legislature has recommended we do – and join the fight to do the right thing.  We need to move beyond politics, beyond big money calling the shots, give the power to the people, and get serious about global warming.

I had the great pleasure of hanging out yesterday with my little friend Ainsley. She’s just turned one and is as cute as they come. But to be honest, she was a little grumpy and upset. At first I took it personally and I wondered how we were going to get through the hour – she didn’t want to eat goldfish, or read about puppies, or pretend she was an airplane. I was at a loss.

Then I finally realized, she had some legitimate things to be upset about. Her dad (our own Brian Buzby) was in the other room having a meeting about climate change. Now, you might think she was upset because her dad was in the other room (instead of making goofy daddy faces at her.) That’s what I thought. But we had a little conversation, Ainsley and I, and it turns out she’s mad as hell about climate change and why we’re dragging our societal feet.

To start with, she wanted to know, what’s up with Bali? According to Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, “My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali," where 180 countries are meeting to try to map out a framework for future climate negotiations. The US and other nations that have gotten wealthy off CO2 emissions are, as one article sums it up,

refusing to accept language in a draft document suggesting that industrialized nations consider cutting emissions by 25 percent to 40 percent by 2020, saying specific targets would limit the scope of future talks.

Good grief.

Then there’s the Energy Bill in the US Congress. Ainsley agrees with the New York Times who thinks it is shameful that the President is threatening to veto the landmark Energy Bill that passed the House last week because it might require utilities to get serious about renewable energy. In fact, it seems the Senate has already stripped out the renewable energy provision, in an effort to get the bill voted on later today. The bill does include a deal on raising fuel efficiency standards for cars to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. That’s indeed a victory, but Ainsley, who will be turning 14 in 2020, thinks it still seems like too little too late.

On the topic of cars, I was able to cheer Ainsley up considerably when we heard the good word that a federal district court ruled yesterday that California does have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from car tailpipes. Automakers and the Bush Administration have been fighting California’s “Clean Car” standards which include curbs on CO2 emissions.  As Sierra Club’s David Bookbinder said:

"It’s now time for the Bush Administration’s EPA to get out of the way and grant California the waiver it and other states need in order to move forward with these landmark protections.”

Amen. Ainsley is closely tracking the fate of the so-called Pavley Law (named after California lawmaker Fran Pavley), which is still being held up by the EPA. Several enviro groups in NC will be pushing the NC General Assembly to adopt the California standards in 2008.  That would be one good step forward.

It was a long day for little Ainsley, but before she finally pooped out from all the politics, she reminded me that really the issue is very simple. She wants us – needs us - to get our act together to reduce global CO2 emissions NOW so we don’t leave her a sadly messed up planet.  She’d like to see some polar bears and coral reefs. She’d like there to be less, not more, human suffering in the world. She’d like to be able to say she grew up in an age of enlightenment rather than the dark ages. That’s her take on it anyway. She’d love to read your comments and thoughts when she wakes up from her nap…

Hog poop. There are over 10 million hogs in NC, and almost all of their waste is piped into large open air lagoons and then sprayed onto fields where it runs off into water, sends pathogens into the air, and creates an unbearable stench.

The state put a 3 year moratorium on new or expanded lagoons in 1997, and then extended it several times. It is set to expire this September. In 2006 a study completed by NC State University, as part of an agreement between the state and Smithfield Foods, found that there were a number of innovative technologies that could manage the waste and meet environmental performance standards. Based on the assumptions used in the report, none were deemed economically viable for the industry.

And so we stay stalled. Being stalled isn’t so bad for the industry, which isn’t really looking to expand anyway, but it is bad for the environment and for the people living near hog farms and sprayfields. (To get a sense of just how bad, watch this 15 minute video from the NC Environmental Justice Network).

Quite a number of bills to deal with hog waste have been filed this year – two more were introduced this week – and it seems like a good opportunity to lay them out and take a look at what does what.

One way to continue to not deal with the problem would be to simply extend the moratorium on new hog waste lagoons for another three years, as a bill by Rep. Dewey Hill (Columbus-D) - H275, Extend Moratorium on Swine Farms - would do. This bill has passed the House Agriculture committee, which is chaired by Rep. Hill himself.

On the other end of the spectrum is a bill filed this week by Rep. Earl Jones (Guilford-D), along with Rep. Pricey Harrison (Guilford-D) and Paul Luebke (Durham-D) - H1822, Phase Out Lagoon and Sprayfield Systems. This bill calls for getting rid of all existing lagoons by 2012, requiring farmers to convert to systems that meet environmental performance standards. It is also important to note that there are some NC groups that want to see an end to industrial-scale Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) all together, and a reverting to pasture systems to ensure humane treatment of animals, reduce antibiotic use and support small farmers.

Then there are three bills which take a more market-stimulation approach by providing financial incentives to farmers to convert their lagoons to better systems. They all have the same name, but there are some important differences. The most comprehensive of the bills is one filed by Rep. Carolyn Justice (Pender-R), along with 33 co-sponsors - H1115, Swine Farm Environmental Performance Standards/Funds. H1115 does four main things: (1) makes the ban on new lagoons permanent and requires any new or expanded hog waste systems to meet certain cleaner environmental standards; (2) provides grants to farmers who convert their lagoons to a cleaner waste management technology; (3) ensures against abandoned lagoons by setting up a hog credit scheme; and (4) provides for well water testing and emergency drinking water for residents whose wells might be contaminated.

Sen. Charlie Albertson (Duplin-D), with 37 co-sponsors, introduced a slimmer version of Justice’s bill - S1465, Swine Farm Env. Performance Standards/Funds - and Rep. Dewey Hill (Columbus-D) introduced a companion in the House, H1254. The Albertson/Hill bill essentially incorporates the first two parts of Justice’s bill – the permanent moratorium on new lagoons and the grant program for farmers – but does not include the protection against abandoned lagoons or the community drinking water fund, which are critical pieces for environmental justice groups and community groups living near hog farms. This week a version of S1465 passed the Senate, and the funding component was taken out and put into a new bill S173, Swine Farm Env. Performance Standards/Funds.

There are also some ancillary hog bills out there. H1504, Certain Limited Permitting for Swine Farms, introduced this week by Rep. William Wainwright (Craven-D) would require the state to issue a permit for a new lagoon if the farmer was prevented from building their lagoon by a local regulation before the state moratorium took effect. And then there are two bills by Rep. Russell Tucker (Duplin-D) that address waste to energy. H1052, Hog Farms/Methane Gas and H1264, Cost Sharing Tied to Energy At Swine Farms. The first, H1052, would require utilities to purchase hog waste generated from methane gas at hog lagoons. H1264 would provide grants for hog waste technologies that reduce greenhouse gasses (such as methane) or produce energy. While these bills seem good on their surface, neither bill ties the energy production to any environmentally superior technology – in other words they allow polluting lagoons to profit from energy production.

Advocates have been working hard for years on finding an acceptable solution to the state’s hog waste problems. (For more background on the hog issue click here). It seems there might be momentum this year to do something more than extend the moratorium again, yet just what comes out the other end of the legislative process remains to be seen. We will keep you updated on hog waste happenings down at the legislature.

It’s nothing new that the Bush Administration is no friend to the environment, but several recent actions by the EPA have really gotten my goat. 

This week the EPA announced that politics will play a bigger role in setting air quality standards – ok well they didn’t really say that outright, but that is the effect of the changes. 

Every five years the EPA reviews air pollution standards for six air pollutants – ozone, soot, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead -  to make sure standards are protective of the environment and public health.  The changes, which the EPA says will “streamline” the process, will add policy considerations to what used to be independent staff scientist review of the science on a pollutant, and will reduce the role of the independent panel of scientific advisors.  Quoted in a New York Times article, Senior Environmental Defense Attorney Vicki Patton summed it up: “They are using this idea of streamlined and expedited decision-making as a Trojan horse to infect the most important decisions the [EPA] administrator makes with politics.”

Lead looks like it might be the first casualty of the new policy. The EPA plans to use this new politically-influenced review process for the lead air quality standards, and the draft staff paper on lead issued this week acknowledges that revoking the standard for lead is an option on the table.  Industry – lead smelters, battery makers and oil refiners - is lobbying for eliminating lead limits. Lead is a highly potent neurotoxin, especially for children. 

Also, on the water quality front, last month the agency approved its final rule that allows spraying toxic pesticides over rivers, streams and lakes without getting a Clean Water Act NPDES permit.  The EPA punts by saying these pesticides are already regulated under the Federal Insecticide. Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), though FIFRA does not regulate water quality or protection of ecosystems. 

If the EPA is going to keep protecting industry over the environment, perhaps it should be called the IPA.

The EPA and Department of Energy have released their list of the most fuel efficient vehicles for the 2007 model year.  The fuel economy leaders are, no surpise, the hybrids - Toyota Prius (60 mpg), Honda Civic (49), Toyota Camry (40) and Ford Escape FWD SUV (36).  The Ford Escape hybrid SUV 4WD model barely made the top 10 (32 mpg) tied with the Mercury Mariner hybrid SUV.  In the middle are solid efficient non-hybrid cars like the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio.   

 If you’ve just got to have a station wagon or a pickup, you can also look up the best and worst in each class.   For instance don’t buy a 4WD Nissan Titan pickup (13 mpg) – opt instead for a manual 2WD Ford Ranger (24 mpg).   For general information see the EPA’s fuel economy website. 

The EPA’s Green Vehicle Guide is also a comprehensive source of information on how each vehicle ranks in terms of fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions.

Do you look at fuel ecomony when determining what car you are going to buy?

WRAL’s newest Focal Point documentary focuses on mercury pollution in NC, a timely topic as the NC Utilities Commission held hearings this week on Duke Energy’s proposed expansion at their Cliffside Coal Power Plant.  The 30 minute show, “Mercury Falling”, takes an in depth look at mercury in fish in NC, how coal-fired power plants contribute to mercury contamination, and what is being done about it. 

The show includes an interview with Dr. David Moreau, Chair of the NC Environmental Management Commission, which is about to finalize rules to control mercury emissions from coal plants – rules environmentalists consider too weak.  John Suttles, Southern Environmental Law Center is also interviewed, along with Martha Keating, a former EPA scientist, and Dr. Debbie Leiner, a pediatrician, both of whom also support strong mercury controls.  The show presents a balanced view and also interviews the power companies and several fishing groups.  My favorite quote was from Sean McKeon, NC Fisheries Association:  “I think the solution really is at this point to eat more fish, not less.”

“Mercury Falling” will air at 8:30 pm on Sept. 2 on WMYT-TV in Charlotte.  You can also watch it online through the WRAL Focal Point website.   Since it is a commercial station, there are a couple of advertisements to get through, including a bizzare rap ad for Pepto Bismal. 

If you watch the show, let us know what you thought of it.

The EPA thinks it is doing a fantastic job keeping the public safe from pesticides, but thousands of scientists seem to disagree. 

This week the EPA released the results of its 10 year review of all pesticides, in a self-congratulatory statement saying US pesticides meet the highest health and safety standards in the world.   The EPA administrator further states:

“By maintaining the highest ethical and scientific standards in its pesticide review, EPA and the Bush Administration have planted the seeds to yield healthier lives for generations of American families.”

Back in May, however, unions representing 9,000 EPA scientists released a statement calling the EPA’s ethical and scientific standards into question. The statement, picked up this week by the New York Times, sounds the alarm that the pesticide review had essentially been captured by the pesticide industry: 

“We are concerned that the Agency has lost sight of its regulatory responsibilities in trying to reach consensus with those it regulates, and the result is that the integrity of the science upon which Agency recommendations are based has been compromised.” 

The scientists have mainly been concerned about organophosphate and carbamates – an especially toxic class of chemicals.  The EPA’s review did result in banning use of one of these chemicals – carbofuran – which has been linked to many bird deaths, but allowed the continued use of 32 other controversial pesticides.   

The EPA is also recommending stopping the use of lindane, a particularly potent and persistent neurotoxin, in all agricultural uses.  Lindane, however, can still be used in lotions and shampoos used to treat lice and scabbies.  As one advocate points out:

“Lindane is no longer allowed on pets or seeds, why are we still allowing use on kids?”

Meanwhile over in India, the Indian Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released a study on Wednesday which found high levels of lindane in soft drinks throughout the country.  The Indian government has evidently developed standards to regulate pesticide residue in sodas, but it has been blocked from finalization by industry opposition.  

Same old story.  We gotta get the money out of politics and the politics out of our public health!

We've been talking a lot about trash lately -- landfills, in particular.  But it seems trash is also one of the leading threats to the ocean, according to a new report.

The United Nations Environment Programme issued a report last month that provides a general overview of the threats to deep sea ecosystems.  The report is fairly general in nature, but includes several pages of “fast facts” (pulled from various sources) about oceans, including the following:

• In the Central Pacific, there are up to 6 pounds of marine litter to every pound of plankton. Over 46,000 pieces of plastic litter are floating on every square mile of ocean today.
• Plastic waste kills up to 1 million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish each year.
• Ballast water (from ships) often contains species that as ‘aliens’ colonize new environments to the detriment of native species and local economies.  Today 95% of the Black Sea’s biomass is made up by the Atlantic comb jellyfish, accidentally introduced by ballast water. 
• In the last 50 years, levels of human generated noise have increased dramatically in our oceans, doubling every decade for five decades running in some coastal areas.
  

An Inconvenient Truth
3.5 Stars (out of 5)
Emily Kirby

Al Gore’s documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, premiered in the Triangle this past week. The film is composed of footage from slide-show presentations on climate change Gore has given all over the world. He estimates he’s presented the slide-show over 1,000 times, everywhere from San Francisco to Singapore to Sao Paolo, and all of this practice is evident in the clear, concise explanations he gives on the causes and effects of global warming. He uses a series of easy-to-understand charts and graphs that all point to the same (inconvenient) truth: humans are responsible for global warming and if we don’t act immediately we’ll be responsible for the destruction of our planet. Americans, the worlds’ biggest polluters, play the greatest role in this destruction.

The documentary gives a refreshingly intimate picture of Gore, who speaks almost reverently of lazy summer days spent outside in his Tennessee youth, and cracks jokes on himself and the current administration. His passion for the issue is evident; he has spent the last several decades crusading for a national awareness on global warming and for many years was the sole voice on Capitol Hill.

An Inconvenient Truth includes footage of the 2000 presidential election debacle with flashbacks of Supreme Court proceedings, a red-then-blue-then-red again Florida and - -how can we forget-- hanging chads, when, for a while there, our next president hung in the balance. There is much speculation on what the political climate in the United States and world would be today if the Supreme Court had come down in another man’s favor six years ago but one thing is clear: we wound up with an administration that refuses to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, has rolled back pollution standards, hires its environmental advisors out of Exxon, and refuses to recognize mans’ effect on the rapid warming of the planet.

An Inconvenient Truth plays at the Colony in Raleigh, the Chelsea in Chapel Hill, and the Carolina Theatre in Durham.