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Renowned speaker on leadership, change, future trends, environmental leadership, strategic change, energy efficiency and more.
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Oil and gas subsidies worldwide total $250 billion. Peak oil is upon us. Why companies need to become energy and fuel efficient now. See my National Post column at http://bit.ly/8FU5fH
The International Energy Association (IEA) released its World Energy Outlook to controversy on Nov. 10. The U.K.-based Guardian newspaper quotes IEA sources admitting the agency’s figures for future oil production were inflated because of U.S. pressure. The two separate sources within the IEA want to remain anonymous because they feared reprisals. Now why does this matter? Put simply, future oil shortages are being downplayed.
Read the full article at: http://bit.ly/7gbQYD
My latest column in the National Post exposes some of the risks Canada faces if we don’t get serious about energy efficiency.
Read it here: http://bit.ly/5VWgwo
By: Jordana Levine
Biodiesel can produce 100 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum diesel, depending on the components used to create it.[1] The non-toxic diesel is a new way to decrease emissions from vehicles, without having to eliminate the concept of putting fuel in a car.
Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that is usually made from vegetable oil, reused cooking oil, animal fat. It is most often created through a process called transesterification, meaning the oil is combined with alcohol and a catalyst. This results in the production of biodiesel.[2] The biodisel can be used in any diesel engine and blended with regular diesel in any intensity. While pure biodiesel can emit 60 to 100 percent fewer greenhouse gases than petroleum, a 20 percent blend, called B-20, which is more commonly used, still produces 12 to 18 percent fewer emissions. In fact, even a two percent blend (B-2) has a small impact.[3]
Biodiesel is kinder to the environment than regular petroleum diesel. Not only is it a biodegradable fuel, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, as well as particulate matter from tailpipes, hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide in many engines. Although lower concentrations of biodiesel are often used, pure biodiesel can eliminate 67 percent of unburned hydrocarbons and 48 percent of carbon monoxide compared to petroleum diesel. The numbers change when using different concentrations of biodiesel, but they are still significant.[4]
It also helps fight against global warming because it has a closed carbon cycle, meaning that the CO2 released when biodiesel is burned is absorbed fully by plants that are growing. The plants are then processed and used to create clean fuel again. With fossil fuels, it does not work the same way and the CO2 is left to linger in the air. Unfortunately, it still takes some fossil fuel use to create biodiesel, so the carbon footprint is not completely eliminated.[5] Also, the crops that are grown to create biodiesel release emissions and take up land.
Montreal Biobus
Although it is not yet widely available, biodiesel has been tested and mandates have been proposed for increased use of the diesel. In Canada, biodiesel has been tested on buses in Montreal, Saskatoon, Halifax and Toronto: Toronto Hydro fleet vehicles are using B-5 (five percent concentrations) and B-20;[6] Saskatoon Transit Services is comparing two buses with B-5 with two non-biodiesel buses; downtown Montreal has 155 buses fueled with B-5 and B-20 to examine how biodiesel reacts in cold weather, and also to look at economic and environmental effects of biodiesel.[7]
The Canadian government also helped fund the construction of a demonstration plant in Oakville, Ontario that could produce one million litres of biodiesel.[8] Other plants have been created as well. Rothsay Biodiesel is one example of a company that has built biodiesel plants. The company, which is a division of Maple Leaf Foods, recycles 6.7 million kilograms of food by-products from meat processing plants daily.[9]
Rothsay Bodiesel Plant in Montreal
The US is also jumping into biodiesel. In early May of 2009, President Barack Obama instructed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to form a group supporting the development of biodiesel. The EPA has already started the implementation of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), which says there should be 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022 – enough to cut petroleum consumption by 11 percent. Some states, such as Illinois and Iowa and Minnesota have passed biodiesel mandates.[10]
1 Natural Resources Canada, Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE). http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/fuels/biodiesel/biodiesel-benefits.cfm?attr=16
2 Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA). http://www.greenfuels.org/biofaq.php?id=db0fb154-4132-102b-b3dc-0030488d2a96
3 OEE. http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/fuels/biodiesel/biodiesel-benefits.cfm?attr=16
4 CRFA. http://www.greenfuels.org/biofaq.php?id=c1fa7953-4285-102b-b3dc-0030488d2a96
5 CRFA. http://www.greenfuels.org/biofaq.php?id=f1397af8-4285-102b-b3dc-0030488d2a96
6 OEE. http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/fuels/biodiesel/biodiesel-availability.cfm?attr=16
7 OEE. http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/fuels/biodiesel/biodiesel-research.cfm?attr=16
8 Ibid.
9 Rothsay Biodiesel. http://www.rothsaybiodiesel.com/about/
10 Delta Farm Press. http://deltafarmpress.com/biofuels/biodiesel-epa-calculations-0520/
By: Jordana Levine
If the issues of climate change are not addressed, it could cost every person on earth $1000 a year, or $7 trillion worldwide, says Nicholas Stern, former World Bank chief economist. In the report, Climate Change and Green Jobs: Labour’s Challenges and Opportunities, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) stresses that taking action will cost a lot less than doing nothing.
If the federal government invested $30 billion over ten years to transition to an economy that is consciously aware of climate change, 330,000 jobs would be created and Canada’s GDP would increase by $140 billion. There would be $95 billion added to personal income and $28 billion in energy savings.
Just under half of Canada’s CO2 emissions come from heavy industry, mainly using coal, gas and oil. The report gives the example of the tarsands, which the CLC says are the single most destructive project anywhere in the world, consuming one gallon of oil for every two gallons it produces. The tarsands have already made a hole the size of Vancouver Island, and it is predicted to grow by 400-500% in the next ten years if no changes are made, which would make the area the size of Florida. The CLC urges Canada to stop racing to provide the US with oil and focus on slowing down the use of non-renewable energy in its own country.
The CLC believes that good jobs and a strong economy will only happen if we take into account every area that contributes to a high-quality life, including the economy, jobs, equality an the environment. Both the global economy and the environment will be in major trouble if temperatures rise more than two degrees Celsius, leading to destruction of ecosystems, hugely diminished biodiversity, dangerously high sea levels and extreme weather.
The CLC especially supports four major areas:
• Promoting energy efficiency
• Investing in rail and mass transit infrastructure
• Creating proper fuel efficiency standards
• Developing renewable energy sources
The report stresses the importance of ensuring that policies, such as carbon taxes, do not increase inequality between classes. The biggest polluters should be paying the most and household carbon taxes should only be imposed if 100% of the revenue goes towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A Just Transition Fund is a vital aspect that would compensate communities and individuals for wage cuts, displacement and job losses; it would fund the retraining of these workers and encourage them to work in a greener economy without diminishing the quality of life or contributing to inequality.
Yesterday was historic: US car makers agreed to produce 35 mpg cars by 2016. Wow! My Prius gets 60 mpg now. But US car makers apparently aren’t that innovative. European car makers by 2016 are going to have to get 45 mpg. So this ensures that US car makers market share will continue to decline as oil prices inevitably rise. If you doubt oil prices will rise here’s an interesting tidbit: Chinese consumer are now buying more than a million cars a month — that’s going to increase demand for oil and drive the price up. Just wait till we come out of the current recession and oil prices race back to $147 a barrel.
But back to fuel efficiency: Volkswagen has a 235 mpg car – already. But US car makers need another seven years to take a baby step. Now a truly impressive goal would be to see the US commit to 100 mpg average fuel efficiency by 2016. That’s what I would call a stretch goal. A goal akin to JFK telling the nation that within a decade the US would put a man on the moon — and then eight years later acheiving it.
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