Jim Harris

investment

DLSC homes decrease GHGs by 5 tonnes each/yr

By

By: Jordana Levine The first of its kind in North America, the Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) is heating its homes with solar energy and reducing five tonnes of greenhouse gases per year in every house.  The community, located in Okotoks, Alberta, has 52 homes heated by seasonal thermal energy storage; the solar heat is stored underground in the summer and used in the homes during the winter. The project, which was first created by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), began collecting solar energy in June of 2007 and, after five years, the community is expected to receive 90 percent of its heat from solar alone. The need for non-renewable fossil fuels will diminish and shift to a cleaner and more sustainable unlimited source of energy: the sun. The DLSC project leader, Doug MeClenahan, says that there are almost no other projects like this one anywhere in the world.  “You could probably count them on two hands.” The community’s space and water heating comes from solar energy, which is collected by 800 panels arranged on garage roofs around the community.  Each panel generates about 1.5 MW of thermal power on a summer’s day. There is a combination of seasonal and short-term thermal storage (STTS), with boreholes in the ground to store the seasonal energy. When heat is transferred to the homes, there is an automatic valve in the basement of every house that shuts off the heat transfer when the temperature of the thermostat in the home is … [Read more...] about DLSC homes decrease GHGs by 5 tonnes each/yr

Intel to open LEED certified building in Israel

By

By: Jordana Levine After much debate and analysis, Intel is preparing to open its first green-registered building.[1]  The research and development building in Haifa, Israel will cost $600,000 of green investments, which will be paid off in just three years.[2] The building will follow the Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) rating system, which is a voluntary, consensus-based standard to develop sustainable and efficient buildings.[3]  The Intel building is receiving the LEED certification for a variety of technologies that the building is being outfitted with; it will have an environmentally friendly construction process with green materials, natural lighting via an internal patio that distributes light from an atrium, efficient electricity and air conditioning and an irrigation system that uses recycled water only.[4]  It is set to open in early in 2010.[5] Intel hopes that the building in Haifa will lead to more LEED certified office buildings and, ultimately, to Intel’s first LEED certified Fab.  A Fab is a semiconductor fabrication plant, meaning it is a factory that fabricates designs for other companies to use as well.[6] Although Intel has reduced its overall needs for freshwater in the long run, the corporation’s water consumption actually rose by four percent between 2007 and 2008.  Intel says this increase is probably because of production growth and the complexity of its new manufacturing processes, which require more water.[7]  Although … [Read more...] about Intel to open LEED certified building in Israel

Green Energy Act could create 90,000 jobs in Ontario

By

By: Jordana Levine The Green Energy Act (GEA) could employ over 90,000 Ontarians in green jobs. The government of Ontario is prepared to initiate the GEA, which focuses on the possibilities for employment if a large investment is made in green practices.  Along with increasing employment opportunities, the program could have a huge positive impact on the environment. The main goals of the GEA are to ensure that Ontario is the country’s leading green economy, create over 50,000 green collar jobs, and generate billions of dollars worth of economic activity as quickly as possible – ideally in three years.  The plan involves phasing out the province’s coal plants by 2014 and shifting the province’s economy so that it is based on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Building the Green Economy: Employment Effects of Green Energy Investments for Ontario is a report done by the Political Economy Research Institute, which gives recommendations and ideas regarding the GEA.  The report identifies two levels of investment that would help the GEA.  The first program is the baseline Integrated Power System Plan (IPSP), which would invest $18.6 billion over the next ten years in: conservation and demand management, hydroelectric power, on-shore wind energy, bioenergy, waste energy recycling and solar power. However, the report also looks at an enhanced green investment program, which is referred to as the Green Energy Act Alliance (GEAA) … [Read more...] about Green Energy Act could create 90,000 jobs in Ontario

Nations everywhere boast a ‘green stimulus’

By

By: Jordana Levine International climate change talks are continuing in Bonn, Germany.  The second round of discussions begun on June 1, 2009, and the negotiating time for the 192 collaborating countries ends in mid-July. By then, they need to reach an agreement with new emissions reduction targets and compensation packages for poor countries that have already been him with impacts of climate change.  These new decisions will be the basis for the final negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009.[1] These discussions on how to replace Kyoto Protocol targets are pushing countries to pump money into a “green stimulus.”  China and the US, who never signed the Kyoto Protocol, are likely to join in the new plans for shrinking greenhouse gas emissions.[2] Canada has set aside eight percent, or US$2.6 billion of its total stimulus package, for green measures.  Although Canada’s emissions have gone in the opposite direction, reaching 26 percent above the 1990 levels and 33.8 percent above the country’s Kyoto targets[3], the country has agreed to cut emissions by 20 percent from 2006 to 2020.  The majority of the money is estimated to increase clean energy and create 407,000 jobs over 5 years:[4] The US is setting aside $112.3 billion for green measures, 12 percent of its fiscal stimulus.  The nation’s first stimulus package, which was approved in October 2008, contained a lot more features than the second one, which was approved February … [Read more...] about Nations everywhere boast a ‘green stimulus’

Inaction will cost $7 trillion

By

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 … [Read more...] about Inaction will cost $7 trillion

CLC: “There will be no good jobs on a dead planet”

By

By: Jordana Levine To prevent global warming, Canadian experts call for a 25% reduction below 1990 levels of CO2 emissions by 2020 and 80% below by 2050.   The CLC Statement on Climate Change was written for the House of Commons regarding Bill C-30: Canada’s Clean Air and Climate Change Act as a recommendation.  It insists, “There will be no good jobs on a dead planet.” The statement highlights key opportunities to create new jobs that do not generate emissions.  A serious program to retrofit older houses in Canada over 25 years would create 50,000 jobs a year on its own; construction jobs can substitute industrial, polluting jobs.  There could also be opportunities for jobs developing efficient and renewable fuels.  The CLC gives a number of ways that new industries could create more jobs that are kinder to the earth. The CLC insists on creating strategies to regulate practices, encourage public investment and get the government directly involved through taxes and spending measures.  The government will need to be active, insuring that it makes useful investments that will help us transition to an environmentally sustainable, low-carbon economy. The CLC calls for eliminating tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry.  Instead, the government should provide companies with tax incentives to invest in equipment that reduces emissions and that there should be a cap-and-trade system to limit emissions. Emissions caps … [Read more...] about CLC: “There will be no good jobs on a dead planet”

5M US green jobs by 2018 & $284B energy savings

By

The Apollo Alliance calls for investing $500 billion by 2018, which will create five million high quality green-collar jobs.  The Alliance’s first report, New Energy for America (Jan ’04) called for $300 billion of public expenditure to create three million jobs, stimulate $1.4 trillion in new GDP, add billions in personal income and retail sales, and produce $284 billion in net energy savings –- all while generating sufficient returns to the U.S. treasury to pay for itself over 10 years. The 2004 report pointed out that 43% of the global solar power market is controlled by Japan, while European countries control 90% of the wind turbine production. The 2008 report revised upwards the potential for green collar jobs by two million. What accounted for the difference? Well, when Obama was elected President committing to create five million green collar jobs, two million more than the Apollo Alliance’s 2004 report, the Alliance could not very well be lagging the new Prez – so they revised upwards their numbers. That’s my theory. Apollo Alliance Board member Van Jones was appointed Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to the White House Council on Environmental Quality in March 2009.  Jones’ book, The Green Collar Economy,  was a 2008 New York Times bestseller. He launched Green for All  – a campaign to create 250,000 green-collar jobs in urban neighbourhoods. The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of environmental groups, … [Read more...] about 5M US green jobs by 2018 & $284B energy savings

$150B/yr Investment in Building Efficiency gives 2X long-term return of stocks

By

A $150 billion a year can be invested in energy efficiency retrofits of buildings in six major markets with returns substantially better than the stock market and real estate investing.   In 2008 buildings account for 40% of the world’s energy use -- resulting carbon emissions substantially greater than those from the transportation sector.   Aggressive reductions in energy use in buildings in order to reduce the planet's energy-related carbon footprint by 77% (or 48 Gigatons) by 2050 to stabilize CO2 levels as called for by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).   At $US60 per barrel oil, $150 billion a year can be invested building energy efficiency in the six markets which will reduce energy use and carbon footprints by 40% with five year discounted paybacks. That’s a 20% internal rate of return (IRR) – better than the long-term historical stock market returns (10% IRR) and better than real estate investment (16% IRR).   A further US$ 150 billion a year can be invested with paybacks between five and 10 years (10% to 20% IRR) will further reduce energy use and carbon emissions by 12% and bring the total reduction to slightly more than half.   Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Transforming the Market released May 2009 developed by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and published by Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) focused on six markets that produce more than half of the world’s GDP … [Read more...] about $150B/yr Investment in Building Efficiency gives 2X long-term return of stocks