On January 14th, Caledonia was proud to be part of a watershed moment in New York at the United Nations headquarters, where institutional investment leaders were present to construct a unified approach to the importance of a low carbon economy within the industry. Investor groups representing $13 trillion called on US Congress and other global decision makers to “take rapid action” on carbon emission limits, energy efficiency, renewable energy, financing mechanisms and other policies that will accelerate clean energy investment and job creation.
Watch the video below for a summary of the summit.
Southwest Airlines (Ticker: LUV) is implementing measures that will not only further its positioning on sustainability but will improve its efficiency and therefore its profitability.
Weight is a critical element in any aircraft and corresponds directly to flight performance, including fuel efficiency. Over the past two years Southwest has been experimenting with a “green plane” where numerous small improvements in the design and materials used in the seats and the cabin have been tested. The result is a lighter aircraft (by about 472 pounds) that burns less fuel (9,500 gallons less fuel per year). Multiply this approach over Southwest’s fleet and the savings really add up.
“Considering that Southwest flies more than 3,300 flights a day an average distance of 635 miles per flight, the savings would be dramatic. Southwest calculated that it could save 90.6 million gallons of fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.9 billion pounds a year.”
Extrapolate those figures to the aviation industry nationwide, fuel consumption could be cut by 760 million gallons and carbon dioxide emissions by 16 billion pounds a year.
It’s easy to be cynical about the aviation industry from a sustainability standpoint. Planes consume lots of fuel and generate large amounts of carbon dioxide. However we at Caledonia are always excited to see sustainability and profitability complement each other. As Southwest claims, it makes good business sense. Expect other carriers to follow.
You keep hearing about the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill—aka the American Clean Energy and Security Act, ACES, H.R. 2454—but what’s actually in it? Rather than publish the full 946 pages we thought we would provide a summary of the main points.
It’s a long post so you might just want to scroll to the headings that interest you the most.
Renewable electricity standard
The bill creates a renewable electricity standard (RES) that would require large utilities in each state to produce an increasing percentage of their electricity from renewable sources. Qualifying renewable sources are wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, marine and hydrokinetic energy, biogas and biofuels derived exclusively from eligible biomass, landfill gas, wastewater-treatment gas, coal-mine methane, hydropower projects built after 1992, and some waste-to-energy projects.
The RES:
Requires 6 percent of electricity to come from renewables by 2012
Requires 20 percent of electricity to come from renewables by 2020
Up to 5 percent can actually come from efficiency improvements
If a state determines that its utilities cannot meet the target, the efficiency component can be increased to 8 percent and the renewable component decreased to 12 percent
When automakers successfully sued California, they claimed it was unfair for California to impose its own CO2 and fuel efficiency standards upon others. One strong argument was there should be a single national standard. Well, today Obama granted this wish. And ironically, the standards are tougher than those California tried to enact.
So where are the lawsuits and lobbyists now? In the wake of congressional hearings and collapsing financials, Detroit’s swashbuckling has given way to compliant thumb sucking. They even “support” the measure (although there is little doubt they had no choice). Read more…
Practically every community and housing development since WWII has been designed around the automobile. The post war dream of a car (or two) in every garage has been established as a sign of progress and prosperity. So deeply ingrained is this notion, most most U.S. cities have zoning laws actually requiring that every residence be provided two parking spaces.
Today’s changing ideals beg the question, however: can “smart planning” separate suburbia from the SUV? Elisabeth Rosenthal wrote an interesting article in The New York Times recently about Vauban, Germany, where residents have largely given up their cars altogether. Read more…
A poster advertising "Veggie Day" shows a sailor rowing an aubergine
At Caledonia, this story couldn’t escape our attention. According to BBC News, the Belgian City of Ghent is about to become the first city in the world to go vegetarian. Starting this week, civil servants and elected councillors will opt for meatless meals with a weekly “veggie day”. Schoolchildren will also celebrate their own veggiedag starting in September.
Aside from helping to curb obesity, the goal of the measure is to reduce Ghent’s environmental footprint, given livestock contributes more than automobiles to global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.N.
There is also a rumored i-Phone application under development to help the citizens of Ghent remember the day and further to direct them to restaurants and eateries that offer vegetarian dishes. We will keep you posted.
A number of lighting manufacturers have been scrambling to produce a cost effective LED light bulb for the broad market. Now, Netherlands-based Lemnis Lighting, claims its new 6-watt Pharox LED bulb is ready to take the spotlight on the lighting market.
At Caledonia, we’ve been interested in bright ideas like LED light bulbs for some time. We first sampled some in 2008 and were impressed by the energy efficiency and the warm quality of the light, even as compared to compact flourescents (CFLs). LED bulbs also enjoy a considerable environmental advantage over CFLs as they are mercury-free. However, with retail prices then over $100 per unit, the biggest obstacle has always been cost. Although LED technology is nothing new, engineering a cost-efficient, “white light” LED in the form of a traditional incandescent light bulb is no easy task
Supporters of green and clean technology, take heart. The news coming out of Europe in the past few days shows unilateral support for a groundbreaking climate package that is set to have far reaching effects for nations moving toward carbon reductions, increased efficiency, and the pursuit of energy independence.
Under the guidance of summit chairman and French President, Nicolas Sarkosy the 20/20/20 plan is an accord by all 27 member states of the European Union to increase energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions and increase renewable sources of energy, each by 20% and all by 2020. Read more…
Southwest Airlines
A number of lighting manufacturers have been scrambling to produce a cost effective LED light bulb for the broad market. Now, Netherlands-based 
