What can small business do to save cash & energy?

A couple of great articles in two magazines: [1] Pitney Bowes' Priority Magazine about what some businesses are doing to do good and well. [2] APICS's Magazine discusses the Green Imperative (my words) and provides some examples.

And an upcoming virtual expo on Green Technology for businesses.

This is what I call "Green (behavior) = Green ($s)".

Green Building Initiative

The mission of the Green Building Initiative is to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches for residential and commercial construction.

Oregon Bioeconomy & Sustainable Technologies Center

Oregon Bioeconomy & Sustainable Technologies Center (BEST) will bring together Oregon's significant R&D strengths in the key emerging areas of clean energy, bio-based products, green building/green development and other related sectors. BEST's primary goal is to accelerate cutting-edge research and to facilitate public/private partnerships to turn that research into on-the-ground business opportunities. Check them out.

The Oregonian gets Bold

Finally - the Oregonian ran a front page article about "biofuels" - that provided insights into this politically savvy, but factually errant approach. [1] They were being very bold - to go against that normal politically-safe notion that (all) bio-fuels are carbon-reducing. And [2] they were mostly right, but lumped in bio-diesel along with (corn) ethanol. There is "good" bio and "bad" bio: consideration for the energy-to-produce relative to energy-content-of bio-fuels needs to be taken into account.

Of course, for some time now, this blog has been discussing the concerns of blindly jumping on the anything-but-oil bandwagon, at the expense of logic. Yes, both supply and demand & importing oil are causing price increases and political instability. And yes, something needs to be done (solutions, elsewhere int his blog)... but (corn) ethanol can't provide the full solution - without causing a run-up in food prices, and increase in carbon-release! Sugar ethanol is much better, but is causing quicker deforestation. Links to the front page and second part of the article.

Say it isn't so!

A new study says that energy-efficiency efforts may actually help use more energy - as paradoxical as that sounds! This points to a need to also focus on renewable energy / technology development!

"Energy efficiency regulations have little impact on saving energy, helping the environment or reducing dependency on foreign oil, finds a new CIBC World Market report."

The Full Report can be found here. And more on the Khazzom-Brookes Postulate.

Another "unintended consequence"? Proof against this is quite welcome!

What cost, bio/ethanol?

From an OSU study: "Ethanol made from wood cellulose netted 84 percent of its energy after production fuel costs were subtracted. Biodiesel made from canola netted 69 percent of its energy after subtracting production fuel costs. And ethanol made from corn netted a mere 20 percent of its energy after subtracting the energy spent to produce it."

Wind, solar, wave and geothermal (with energy-storage technology) offer the highest opportunities energy for self-sufficiency, without having to "burn stuff", which drives up the price of food & impacts the climate.