Mean Green

Record high prices at American gas pumps and continued trouble-brewing in the Middle East, Nigeria, and other areas of importance to the oil-driven economy have made it clear to Americans that we are in need of developing many new avenues of energy supply and production. In short, we need to reduce our dependency on oil, for it is ultimately finite and, frankly, the cheap sources of oil (not all oil-just the stuff that is cheap to remove from the earth) are running out. Energy consultants and analysts are insistent that cheap oil has “peaked” or is very soon going to peak. What this means for us is an expensive future-unless we can find new sources of powering our mechanized and electronic civilization, new sources which are alternatives to oil.

We must also switch to alternative forms of energy because our present forms are too damaging to the atmosphere. While this write does not believe that the global warming trend is much, if at all, sustained by the activities of mankind (in short, it’s a natural cycle and there’s nothing we can do about it except prepare for the effects of it), we certainly do contribute at present to the destruction of the environment and to things like air pollution with our energy sources as they are. Coal is another source of energy that we need to wean ourselves off of-again, it is finite, and it is filthy, and the mining of it is dangerous and environmentally disruptive. We can also explore new, streamlined methods for producing electricity that we presently generate so much of via hydro-power so that we are less disruptive of the environment when we have need of constructing things such as large dams.

Developing nations which have turned industrialized in recent decades especially will need the benefits of alternative energy research and development, for they are presently doing much more environmental damage than the United States. The United States, Japan, and some European nations have been implementing studies into and programs for the development of alternative energy sources, and are therefore already leading the way in doing less environmental damage. The developing nations such as China and India need to look to Japan and the West as examples of what research and development to give government backing and private investment currency to. We could also add great robustness to our own economy by being at the forefront of such alternative energy sources development and then marketing the technologies and services to nations like India, China, Brazil, and so on and so forth.

Biofuels from things like “supertrees” and soybeans, refined hydroelectric technology, natural gas, hydrogen fuel cells, the further building of atomic energy plants, the continued development of solar energy photovoltaic cells, more research into wind-harnessed power-all of these are viable energy sources that can act as alternatives to the mammoth amounts of oil and coal that we presently are so dependent on for our very lifestyles. The energy of the future is green.

Ohio is the heart of the Industrial Midwest, and America’s bellwether state, rocked in recent years by the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing sector. Auto salvage and recycling are big business here, and with labor unions—a major power in the state—now onboard with green job efforts, Ohio is rapidly engaging in all manners of environmental projects. Here is the latest in recycling and the environment for the Buckeye State.

Recycling To Be Expanded in Downtown Columbus

Ohio’s capital city is a bustling urban area. With more than 100,000 people working, living and shopping in downtown Columbus every day, solid waste is produced by the ton. With space beginning to look tight in the county’s landfill, and increased concerns about environmental damage, Columbus’ civil and business leadership has inaugurated an innovative new recycling program for the city’s downtown.

The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District is working to provide recycling for 35 property owners in downtown Columbus. It offers a collectively bargained recycling pickup contract for the businesses, offering greater leeway and input as to who hauls the recyclables and when and how they go about doing it. Many wait to see how the unique public-private environmental partnership will go.

Ohio Gets Department of Energy Grant for Alternative Energy

Energy is at the core of many of our environmental problems, and Ohio’s history as a coal producing and coal burning industrial state has heightened awareness of energy’s precarity. With President Obama’s stimulus package in full effect, money for clean energy and other environmental improvements is raining down on the Buckeye State.

Federal stimulus money from the Department of Energy is matching funds raised by a state government initiative to increase Ohio’s utilization of renewable energies—at least $45 million for simply testing wind turbines. Recycling is also getting federal grant money, though auto salvage and recycling may or may not be involved. So-called biofuels—hydrocarbon fuels made from agricultural products such as corn, sugarcane and grasses—get a big boost, as does a new $30 million fund (to be maintained in part by revolving contributions from the DOE) to provide ongoing energy efficiency improvements around the state.

Cuyahoga River’s Comeback Making Waves

The New York Times came to Cleveland this month to report on what the EPA first declared—the Cuyahoga River has turned around. Cutting through downtown Cleveland and for years buffeted by heavy industry, the waterway had become perhaps the most polluted in America. The most famous image was from 1969 when the river actually caught fire and city firefighters struggled to put out the blaze. The Times reports that the iconic image of a river so polluted it could burn was a major inspiration to the nascent environmental movement.

Forty years later this month, things have changed. The EPA is cautious in its praise, noting that the improvements have been remarkable—fish are back, recreation on the river has increased and a fire would be impossible at this point. Things have changed, and with new environmental initiatives in the state, further improvement is anticipated.