Goal For The Green

Just to let you know, On Thursday, November 5th at 12:30 EST, you are invited to a free sneak-preview Webinar, hosted by Robert Watson, GreenerBuildings.com Editor, and “Father of LEED.” It’s called “Building a Sustainable Future: Progress and Trends Toward Improving the Environmental Footprint of Commercial Buildings.”

In case you didn’t know, LEED means, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  It is the Green Building rating system.

The webinar starts at 12:30 pm EST. Here’s the Registration link

During this 60 minute webinar, Robert Watson will present the findings of the soon to be released, 2009 Green Building Market and Impact Report that was sponsored by Johnson Diversey. This report is an integrated assessment of the land, water, energy, material and indoor environmental impacts of the LEED for New Construction (LEED NC), Core & Shell (LEED CS) and Existing Building (LEED EB) standards.

All registrants will have access to a download of the report.

Johnson Diversey President & CEO Ed Lonergan, opens the webinar by highlighting the importance of sustainability in today’s business environment.  He is offering insights and examples, of the company’s work toward improving the sustainability of its customers’ facilities, as well as its own. This presentation will detail Johnson Diversey’s own focus on LEED certification for many of its facilities worldwide.

In these fast-changing times, and with the ever changing economy, it is imperative, that  we have measurement around whether green building choices provide a very high return on investment, and a significant decrease in environmental impact.

I hope you can help in spread the word about this event. Tell anyone  you think would be interested in learning more about green commercial buildings, and corporate sustainability.

Go here to register for the Green Building Webinar.

Sure, hope you can attend.  They are working toward a better and greener tomorrow for us all!

Editor’s Note:  I am bringing this post forward to my front page, because of its relevance and importance.  It is my hope and desire that you will make recycling, and your own personal waste management, a top priority.

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It is the third R in the term reduce, reuse, and recycle. It is the re-making of old materials into useful new products.  The goal of recycling is to reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials and energy usage, which then reduces green house gas emissions. By  recycling, we also lower the  amount of raw waste that would otherwise end up in our landfills. Recycling is the key component in waste management as we know it today.

The convenience of recycling at your curb-side now serves half of the U.S. population.  The top five most recycled items are paper, plastic, glass, aluminum and steel/tin cans.

In 2007, my area implemented the use of single stream recycling.  The company provides 65 to 94 gallon carts in which all materials are commingled.  This means that households no longer have to separate their materials into recycling bins.  Evidence has already proven that this method has increased the quantity of household recyclables.

My area also has a recycle depot.  I have not had garbage service for years, because of an altercation with the company.  I set up my own system in my garage.  It consists of two 32 gallon trash cans, one for plastic and one for trash,and 4 blue recylce bins for newspaper, magazines/junk mail, glass, and cans. We also have an area to break down and stack cardboard. When my children were still home we went to the dump every other Saturday.  Now, my husband goes once every 4-6 weeks, with one 32 gallon bag.  They know him at the dump, and the most they ever charge him is $3.00.  Many times they let him go for free because they know he is a disabled vet.  The average rate for disposal in my area is about $35 a month.  That’s a pretty good savings for not very much work.

Written in association with waste management experts

We have been conditioned to believe that we are in the midst of a severe energy shortage.  Yet, if we were to take a closer look at Thorium, element # 90 on the Periodic Table, we would discover that we have more energy available than we will ever use.

Until he died, Dr. Petr Beckmann, ( Czech refugee from the Nazis) spent much of his career in America promoting nuclear power.  Unfortunately, he was treated as demon by the environmental movement, and much of his work was ignored.

Many green leaders are now admitting to the mistake of rejecting this clean, safe and relatively cheap technology. President Obama, has promised to make energy conservation and the environment among his top priorities.   He has chosen several “climate change” activists to serve as his top officials.   Among them is, Harvard physicist, John Holdren as his presidential science advisor.  He could have a huge impact on our country’s future energy policies.  In his career he has focused on climate change,  nuclear disarmament, and next generation nuclear energy.

As we know it today, nuclear power is obsolete.  Currently our light water reactors use uranium-235.  Not only is this fuel expensive, but it’s byproducts create political problems. The byproducts are a hot topic, because they can be used to create nuclear weapons.  The very reason we adopted uranium-235, was because America needed the materials for nuclear weapons.  Our power plants at the time, provided those materials, thus pushing aside the more superior fuels such as thorium.

Pluses for thorium, is that it is by far more abundant than uranium-235.  Thorium reactors do not produce hazardous waste materials that are useful in manufacturing nuclear weapons.  The waste is far less hazardous and much cheaper and easier to dispose of.  In general, thorium reactors are safer to operate because they produce little radioactive threat outside their shielding.  In fact, thorium reactors cannot experience a catastrophic meltdown.  The fact that thorium plants can’t melt down, suggests that the total energy cost to operate would be much lower.

Another plus, is that thorium reactors can be almost any size.  There have been prototypes made small enough for military aircraft.  This fact alone, makes them more feasible for developing countries to afford, saving the cost of a large-scale infrastructure. They would also be much more appealing internationally, because they cannot be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.  To learn more about thorium energy, read this.

It is my hope that the Obama administration, will reduce reduce barriers to the production of thorium, by taking a serious look at the positive impact it can make.  A shift to thorium as a source of energy, could help create “green jobs”, facilitate economic recovery,  and help environmental and nonproliferation causes.

Update:http://www.energyfromthorium.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7t=1258

If you have any further questions about Thorium there is a very active discussion found at the link above.