Material-Profits

I.Am.Eco: The State of Renewable Energy in the U.S.

This report was recently released by the Worldwatch Institute and the Center for American Progress. It's titled "American Energy: The Renewable Path to Energy Security."

The report shows where we stand with renewable energy, where we've been, and where we could be going, should certain groups get their way.

I suggest you read it.

S.R. Nunnally
Editor, Material Profits
The Taipan Financial News Network

I.Am.Eco: Back and Ready

Okay, I'm back and ready.

Yesterday, I got my first gas and electric bill in my new house. It's an 1,100 square foot townhouse, middle of group. It has radiator heat and window AC units.

The bill was for 45 days usage, as I moved in at the end of July. In that time, I used 1258 kWh of electricity, for an average daily usage of 28 kWh. According to the bill, the average temperature was 76 degrees.

I also used 12 therms of natural gas, or 0.3 therms a day. I haven't used the heat yet, so my natural gas usage comes from cooking and hot water. One therm equals approximately 94 cubic feet of natual gas. So my daily usage of natural gas is 28 cubic feet.

Let's not forget my daily 4.8 gallons of gas for travel.

Using the calculations for carbon dioxide emissions in pounds found on SafeClimate, my average daily CO2 emissions total 135.26 lbs.

Here's the breakdown:

Gasoline: 93.86 lbs
Electricity: 37.52 lbs
Natural Gas: 3.88 lbs

Clearly, gasoline has the most potential for cutting CO2 emissions. If you recall a couple weeks back, I found that for a 20 mpg vehicle, one pound of CO2 was emitted for every mile driven. Which put my CO2 emissions for daily travel at 10.8 lbs. That doesn't equal what I've found in the calculation above.

I'll work on finding the reason for this. If you have an answer, email me at materialprofits@taipangroup.com. Use the subject line, "CO2 Emissions."

That's all for today.

S.R. Nunnally
Editor, Material Profits
The Taipan Financial News Network

I.Am.Eco: University Competition

MTV and GE are partnering up in a new competition called the mtvU ecomagination challenge. Individuals and teams of college students are asked to submit ideas on how to make their schools greener.

Find out more about the challenge here. This is a great resource for those trying to get businesses and organizations to go green.

(Originally found on ecorazzi.com.)

S.R. Nunnally
Editor, Material Profits
Taipan Financial News

I.Am.Eco: Global Green USA Design Competition

A Global Green USA and Brad Pitt contest started on April 20, 2006 sought to find a sustainable design for New Orleans neighborhoods.

Yesterday, they announced the winner.

GREEN.O.LA utilizes “green building to save money and reduce carbon pollution. Green principles could cut New Orleans’ electricity costs by more than 50%,” says the Global Green USA press release.

You can view the winning designs here.

S.R. Nunnally
Editor, Material Profits
Taipan Financial News