3p Contributor: Pablo
Recent Articles
AskPablo: Should I buy soda in plastic bottles or aluminum cans?
Dear Pablo, Assuming that one can’t break the habit of drinking pop, what kind of container is more environmentally friendly, aluminum cans or plastic bottles (2 liter)?
Aluminum cans take a great deal of energy and natural resources to process and transport. Aluminum begins as bauxite ore, is refined into aluminum oxide, and ends up as blocks of aluminum, a supply chain that can take it halfway around the planet. Next the blocks are heated and turned into large rolls of aluminum before being transported yet again. The sheets are stamped and manufactured into cans, which are then filled and distributed to stores. After weeks or months of travel and processing, the aluminum can is used for maybe a few minutes and discarded.
Continue reading at Salon.com
AskPablo: What’s so bad about bottled water, anyway?
I keep hearing that bottled water is the scourge of the Earth. But it sure is convenient. So what’s so bad about it? And do you have any good alternative recommendations?
Without a doubt, the vilification of bottled water has gained momentum over the past year. It’s a frequently discussed topic in the news and at city council meetings. The city of San Francisco has put a moratorium on the use of city funds to purchase bottled water when tap water is available, and the TV show “Boston Legal” recently featured a courtroom monologue on the environmental drawbacks of bottled water. We all know exotic bottled waters are built on clever marketing, but let me dive into the numbers.
$100 A Barrel? What is the True Cost of Gasoline? (Ask Pablo)
We’ve done it. We’ve finally reached the psychologically important $100/barrel oil. The recent surge that got us there is more likely due to the plummeting dollar than other factors, but nonetheless will ultimately impact the price paid for gasoline at the pump. But even as the price goes higher, there are additional costs that are not paid at the pump. What are they, and who’s paying them?
In addition to the internalized cost of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel we must also consider the many significant externalized costs. Of these externalized costs some are internalized by tax-payers (oil industry subsidies, military patrols of oil shipping lanes, etc.) while others are left for the global population and future generations to bear (climate change damages, global health effects, etc.).
Let’s take 2005 numbers because that’s what I have available (the thought process is what matters):
The average US retail gasoline price during 2005 was $2.240. During that same time period the retail price of US No. 2 diesel (on highway) was $2.402. Additionally, the subsidized rate for agricultural (off highway) diesel was $1.65 in 2005. Since agricultural diesel is essentially the same as on-highway diesel (except for the addition of red dye), the US government (i.e. taxpayers) subsidizes $0.752 of every gallon ($2.402 – $1.65).
AskPablo: About Plastic Recycling
This week I got the following question from Barb:
My community as well as all other surrounding cities here in Ohio only accept plastic with a #1 or #2 to recycle. Why can’t the other numbers be recycled? Is there any effort among businesses to use the most oft recycled plastics (i.e. only use #1-4) or an effort in the “green” community to encourage the use of a select type of plastic so that eventually it’s economically feasible for recycling centers to recycle all plastic containers?
AskPablo is taking a break
AskPablo is on vacation this week. I would like to wish you and your family happy holidays and all the best for the new year. May you be safe, happy, and sustainable.
Pablo Päster
Sustainability Engineer
www.AskPablo.org
AskPablo: Disposable Cups vs. Reusable Mugs
Recently I have been getting more and more questions regarding my very first AskPablo post. Michael and Phil both asked me about paper cups, which were not included in the initial analysis, and I also received an e-mail from Anna. So this week I will recap the results from my very first post and will incorporate an analysis of paper cups as well.
Air-Pooling Politicians?
Car-pooling is so 1990′s… The eco-conscious politicians of today are sharing their private jets in the name of protecting the climate. This week Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen reportedly flew together to sign the Lisbon Treaty. Another private jet transported the leaders of Estonia and Finland to Portugal and the leaders of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium are also rumored to be traveling together. But don’t expect this sort of altruistic behavior from US politicians anytime soon. Too many people here still believe that there even is a debate in the scientific community about the human causes of climate change. Until that changes the politicians will continue to drive their black suburbans and fly in their own planes…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22232138/
The end of Bretton Woods?
The mainstream media doesn’t seem to understand the potential magnitude of changes currently underway in the sensitive international monetary balance. On December 8th Iran decided to no longer accept the US dollar in exchange for its oil. Since the mainstream media did not cover it either, you may not remember that this was one of the last actions of any international significance done by Saddam Hussein before he once again caught the attention of the US (and incidentally, it is one of the first things to be undone after Baghdad fell). It looks like Iran is switching to the Euro rather than the basket of currencies that OPEC is considering in the wake of the US dollar’s recent weakness. An exodus from the dollar would effectively mark the end of the Bretton Woods agreement under which the US currency was established as the currency of oil and therefore international banking.
AskPablo: Katrina’s Trees
When hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast it not only uprooted and killed citizens, but it also killed millions of trees. In fact, Tulane University researchers estimated the number at 320 million. Not only does this loss decrease the amount of CO2 sequestered from the atmosphere, but the trees will actually contribute greenhouse gases to the atmosphere as they decay. I will examine just how big this problem is and explore some possible solutions.
Recent Comments