Green Terms

Definition of Green Washing

by Fritz on December 8, 2008 · 0 comments

Greenwashing is another one of those terms you hear alot in the eco-friendly world. But what does it mean?

Here is a simple, yet concise definition of “green washing”…

The term “green washing” is used to describe companies who overstate their commitment to environmentally friendly alternatives to doing business. By doing so, ad executives (and the people that hire them) are suggesting that you’re so dumb as to be fooled into what an actual substantial change in a product is.

As anyone who has looked into the National Organic Program knows, there are significant difficulties in coming up with a single regulation that covers all of a federally mandated label with a specific definition. Declaring that the nutrition in food must be labeled in a specific way is easy compared to defining “green.”

Education on the underlying principles of the many facets of pollution is really the only way to allow people to understand and analyze products and services by rational merit.

As you can see, the term green washing can pretty much be applied to anyone, by anyone and is often slung at companies unnecessarily. Remember, the key is balanced green living! This green living blog is NOT about green washing by any means!

What Is Clean Coal Technology?

by Fritz on October 29, 2008 · 0 comments

Clean coal: what is it? I have heard this term tossed around so much lately as the presidential race is in full swing and eco-issues are at the forefront. Really, can coal be clean? As you will see, there is not one straight and clear answer…
Clean coal is actually an energy industry term which refers to increasing the efficiency of coal mining, making power plants which use coal for energy generation more environmentally friendly, and/or making coal itself more fuel efficient and clean burning.

Dirty Coal; Carbon Dioxide

Since coal contributes a large volume of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every single year, the idea of cleaning up coal is quite appealing to many consumers and government officials. But never forget this: no matter how much you attempt to clean it up or filter it out, some carbon dioxide is still going to be released into the environment when coal is used for fuel, and other harmful emissions are created as well. The other issue is that coal is NOT a renewable resource and will eventually be depleted.

Clean Coal and GreenWashing

Many environmentalists term the concept of clean coal “greenwashing,” meaning that companies are using the concept to make themselves look better. They argue that since coal is a fossil fuel, investing in cleaner coal technology is not as sound as investment in renewable energy. However, most environmentalists would also agree that if coal is going to be used as a fuel, it might as well be used cleanly.

The creation of coal started millions of years ago, when decaying plant and animal matter began to compress, ultimately forming the world’s coal and petroleum deposits. Coal has been utilized as a fossil fuel for centuries, ever since humans realized that the substance was burnable. It naturally appears in large deposits of brownish to black flaky material, which are mined in large volumes.

Clean Coal Mining

Coal mining and processing can lead to pollution, just as many industrial processes do. Making the mining process itself more clean and efficient is one of the methods for “clean coal technology.” In addition, many countries now chemically wash their coal to remove some impurities. Removing these impurities before burning ensures that they will not be released into the atmosphere, although the chemicals and impurities still need to be appropriately dealt with so that they do not enter the environment. Some critics say this is nothing more than robbing Peter to pay Paul in regards to pollution with coal.

Most coal in the US and abroad is burned in power plants that produce electricity, so cleaning up these plants is another way to employ clean coal technology. Coal burning power plants are often old and highly inefficient. In order to clean them up, signigicant investments would need to be made. Most coal-producing businesses do not have the means to do this.

Clean Coal Smoke Stacks?

Another way companies are cleaning up coal is by adding scrubbers or filters to the smoke stacks at power plants. These filters take out much of the pollutants before they are released. But once again, those filters are expensive and the garbage they collect still must be disposed of somehow and somewhere.

The REAL Clean Coal

The final sort of clean coal (and really the truth behind the concept) is not really coal at all, but an entirely new product known as “gasified coal.” Gasified coal is coal which has been treated to turn it into a gas such as methane or hydrogen. In the process, the carbon dioxide waste is extracted. This gas fuel is burned for energy, yielding cleaner and more environmentally sound coal-based energy. Since natural gas prices began skyrocketing in the late 1990s, gasified coal began to attract attention.

To produce gasified coal, the coal is mixed with a catalyst and subjected to high levels of heat and steam. This causes a chemical reaction, which separates the coal into hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and other inorganic solids which are separated further and filtered out. The hydrogen and methane can both be used for energy production, while the carbon dioxide is often injected deep into the ground or otherwise disposed of. In theory, a coal fired power plant could become zero emission by using this clean coal technology.
As far as finding a balance in clean coal technology, there isn’t one. I honestly don’t think that the politicians even know what it truly means. The only true clean coal is the gas form and that is entirely too expensive to make in our current state of affairs.
So next time someone asks you if you are for or against clean coal technology, you will know how to answer them because you read it here on the Balanced Green Living Blog.

Defining Biodiversity

by Fritz on October 25, 2008 · 0 comments

As a part of the Balanced Green Living blog, we strive to educate you on the buzz words associated with the green movement. Biodiversity is one of those terms. Everyone thinks they know what it means, but asked to define it, they often can only do so in the broadest, most general terms. And frankly, this is one of the fatal flaws of the green movement: that being no one can agree on the basic terms that define it. But we’re not here to solve those problems. We’re here to give you a balanced prespective and defining the term “biodiversity” is a great starting point.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, biodiversity is defined as “the variety of all forms of life, from genes to species, through to the broad scale of ecosystems.” The term was coined as a contraction of “biological diversity” but has acquired its own meaning.

Since 1986 the term biodiversity and the concepts it covers have achieved widespread use among scientists and civilians alike, as a shorthand term for a very grave and complicated set of issues. Its current usage merges a concern for nature conservation and the natural environment with a concern over the increasing extinction of plant and animal species. Briefly, there are three main types of biodiversity:

Genetic Diversity: Differences of genes within a species. For example this is why you might have red hair and green eyes while your best friend has brown hair and blue eyes.

Species Diversity: Differences among both plant and animal species in an ecosystem.

Ecosystem Diversity: Differences at the ecosystem level. Some areas of the planet are deserts, and some are marshes. Each has its own particular characteristics and species of flora and fauna

Biodiversity is what keeps our air and water clean. It regulates our climate and weather, and provides us with sources of food, shelter, clothing, and is the basis of most modern medicine. It improves our quality of life by creating lovely natural spaces where we can refresh ourselves by relaxing, playing, and admiring nature’s great beauty and variety.

Over the years, the biodiversity of such regions as the African rain forests have provided science with the basis for much of the medicine we take for granted. Gingko, horse chestnuts, pineapple, and many other plants, both exotic and domestic have all played a part in maintaining our health and well-being.

A diverse population of insects for pollination-which helps with the growing and development of much of our food-can be, and are, harmed by pesticides. And much of our industry (and financial well-being as a nation) is dependent on fibers, building materials, and other natural resources.

The decisions we make, both as individuals and as a nation affect the web of life all over the planet, therefore it is our responsibility to maintain and sustain biodiversity.
It is only by understanding these relationships that we can ensure our decisions will preserve Earth’s biodiversity for the generations that follow us.

So how does this effect you, the homeowner living in a 300-house subdivision in the Midwest? Well, it may not directly impact you today, but you can make difference just by planting a tree, for example. I know that sounds corny, but remember, plants clean the air and that is the basis for biodiversity.