Sunday, January 5, 2014

The Mission Of Green Explored





My blog has had the following Mission Statement to guide me in my writing over the past 5 years.

“There are numerous opinions and claims about sustainable and green products.  However, many of these opinions and claims are supported by neither science nor fact.  Green Explored provides the reader with a humorous primer on green and sustainability that is easily understood by the layperson.  Spurious claims are shot down while honesty is applauded.  Those who break the laws of thermodynamics are punished with the Gangrene Award”

I probably have stayed pretty true to the mission statement but have probably become far more cynical and acerbic in the past couple of year.    Several friends who regularly read the blog have asked me to be less acerbic.  Some have also called some of my writing biased.  I doubt the writing is biased but it certainly may have from time to time gone from acerbic to vitriolic and may have even touched on ranting. 

My new year’s resolution is that Green Explored will move away from bitching to informing and will deal with the myriad sustainability issues that face us that range from eco efficiency to fair wages and proper treatment of people.    Some readers have suggested a forum, others have suggested topics such as clean water and healthcare.  I will cover these topics as well as green energy in future blogs and it is my intention to ask others to do guest blogs particularly in health care.

While I was managing “sustainability” at Bechtel ten years ago, I coined a term for socializing the notion of sustainability inside that organization as LEAP.   The L is for Legacy, the E is for Eco Efficiency, the A for Appropriate, and the P for Partnership.   Now more than ever in a world where more people consume more scarce and dwindling resources and more people are at each-others’ throats or in traffic jams all over the planet a LEAP forward is needed.  Green Explored will attempt to debate and then capture and communicate the essences of that required LEAP.

I expect that many who read the Blog will also contribute to the forum that discusses the issues and then formulates the appropriate solutions.   Of course once in a while when big news of the demise of a gangrene imposter happens, I may resort to my shtick as that is a part of me.  But I plan on sticking to the mantra of the LEAP.


10 comments:

  1. Lindsay - your information is invaluable so keep up the good work. Something very strange has happened in this internet age. While we thought that open access to information would lead to enlightenment the opposite has happened. There is simply too much information for the average person to process so self appointed experts - often with no formal training - select the study or data snippet the want to "prove" their case. Now armed with a citation these professors from "Google U" manipulate public opinion. There is no peer review - no critical thinking - it is all a matter of garnering the most "likes" in the court of public opinion. Which then steers decision makers and politicians who can more easily assess which way the wind is blowing so they can gain popularity. So coal becomes clean, wind and solar are suddenly cheap and without environmental consequences. Whereas 15 years ago public advocates were fighting tooth and nail against every penny the utility tried to spend they are now powerless to argue against any renewable project regardless of cost. The green wave like the Tsunami in Thailand simply engulfs any objections or concerns about cost. Unravelling the true cost is simply too complex for many of us - so your expertise is much appreciated! Someone has to point out the Green Emperor is only wearing a "G String"!
    Colin

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  2. Colin Thanks for your comment no doubt the G in String is the Gore String and he certainly won't disappear from my Radar Screen. I think you may want to be a guest blogger and tell us more about LNG and other forms of energy you really are expert in analyzing. Most of the "green policy" is a tax against the average Joe and Jane to give to the operatives of the Complex. The state of Deal Away (Delaware) gives a window to the manipulation of energy bills to fund friends of the family. Al John and your namesake Colin thought that hiding the emissions on page 161 of a 163 page permit application would let them get away with their gangrene project to charge each household over $200 per mwh for a part of their bill. Luckily we found this permit application that showed the truth behind the lies Bloom and its Customers as well as the politicians in California and Delaware had been telling us that they green up the grid. Al just knows to put green in his pocket. Colin let me know when you want to write a guest blog and be my guest.

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  3. Yes, thanks for all you do, Lindsay. I too tire of the green fashionistas undermining the science. I especially loathe the over hyped operatives 'clean' and 'green' when referring to renewable energy systems technologies. The manufacture of solar panels is hardly 'clean'. BELIEVE ME, I am doing my best to compel the renewable energy (RE) technology industry to be more transparent in accounting of ALL externalities involved in the life-cycle impacts (environmental, health, etc.).

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  4. Refreshing resolution! Transitioning from critique to information dissemination is a positive shift for Green Explored. The focus on sustainability, fair treatment, and engaging a forum for collective solutions is commendable. Excited for the LEAP forward!
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