By Brian Skeele, on March 19th, 2011
Nuclear, coal, natural gas, methane, biochar oil, ethanol, algae bio-diesel, the sun, the tides, the wind, or good old gasoline…each comes with its costs. As we innovate toward a sustainable lifestyle, the refining processes and embedded energy, the delivery system, and all the other externalities come into play.
Currently 60% of the US’s primary electricity comes from coal fired plants. The burning of coal releases mercury into the air. The fish in New Mexico have quite a bit of mercury in them, especially those located downwind from the Four Corners Generating Plants. Fish in the Pacific Ocean have high levels of mercury as well, as the mercury bio-accumulates in the bigger fish, like tuna. The Chinese coal fired plants are the mercury source for our sushi and salmon!
Agricultural crops converted to fuels come with GMOs, fertilizer run off, soil degradation, and embodied production and delivery costs. Local production and supply keeps dollars in the community, building wealth and cutting transportation costs. Talk about complicated….
It’s time to get wiser in our stewardship, by including all the externalities as we weigh our choices. The list is long and wide. Our quality of life, the soundness of the emerging sustainable economy, and a vast range of ecologicial consequences will be profoundly effected if we get it wrong.
I’m committed to building online and real world tools, so we can handle all the complexity and get it right as we make sustainable real!
Here’s a few links to get started…Add your ideas, links, and recommendations!
- dog poop energy
- Natural Gas
- Methane -an aerobic (without air) biological process, with a well balanced fertilizer slurry as a “waste product”