Green Economy: Way to Success! (Plus Download the Free Green Economy eBook!)

 

The stressed lifestyles, health deterioration with abundant smoke that gets pumped everyday into our lungs, exhaustion of valuable fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources are few of the reasons, to combat the environmental crisis!

It?s an intimidating call especially to the younger generations to put into positive effect a lot of dedicated effort to save the universal menace!

Here is an e-book, an initiative by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that boosts of sustainable development and supports the growing importance of green economy.

Why study Green Economy?

1. The needs of the ever-increasing population are difficult to be met on account of scare resources. Land, one of the limited resources is mainly responsible for deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Besides, poverty and illiteracy are some of the drawbacks that curtail the economic development. The economic and social parity is off the balance and there is also an enormous wastage of resources and inefficiency in production.
Hence it?s imperative to change ones perception and adopt green measures to revolutionize an optimistic change. Here are some of the basic characteristics that support the development of green economy

* Green agriculture is capable of nourishing a growing and more demanding world population at higher nutritional levels.

* Green agriculture will reduce poverty.

* Reducing waste and inefficiency is an important part of the ?green agriculture? paradigm

* Greening agriculture requires investment, research and capacity building

* Additional investments are needed to green agriculture, which will deliver exceptional economic and social returns

* Green agriculture has the potential to be a net creator of jobs that provides higher returns on labor inputs

* A transition to green agriculture has significant environmental benefits

* Green agriculture will also require national and international policy reforms and innovations

2. The growing population and climate change can pose to be the major deterrents. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs) can disrupt the environmental balance, thus comprehending the notion behind ?green economy? can empower global development.

3. Green ways propagate usage of renewable resources of energy- solar, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal energy and various innovative methods like rainwater harvesting, compost pits can help reduce the wear and tear of the environment.

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Massachusetts’ Clean Energy Economy Grows 11.2%, Creates 71K+ Jobs

Government investment and support for clean, renewable energy development is paying off handsomely in Massachusetts, where the clean energy economy grew 11.2% between July 2011 and July 2012. The state’s fast-growing clean energy sector now employs 71,523 people at 4,995 clean energy businesses across the state, according to a Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) report released Aug. 16.

“I have said from the beginning of this Administration that, if we get clean energy right, the world will be our customer,” Governor Deval Patrick, who’s serving his second term in office, stated in a press release. “This past year’s 11.2 percent increase in clean energy jobs means that we are getting it right and the world knows it.
“Investing in our nation-leading clean energy agenda is the right thing to do for our environment, our energy independence, our public health and our economic vitality. We owe it to our future to keep this momentum going strong.”

The 11.2% economic growth rate for Massachusetts’ clean energy sector is well above that of even rapidly industrializing countries, such as China. The 71,523 people employed at clean energy businesses recorded by MassCEC in its latest annual report are working in jobs directly related to the state’s clean energy sector. Signs indicate the growth will continue.

“Employers surveyed are optimistic about the coming year and expect to hire more workers in 2013,” MassCEC states in its press release. “Clean energy continues to maintain its place as one of the Commonwealth’s marquee industries, with 1.7 percent of the total Massachusetts workforce.”

MassCEC found that the state’s clean energy sector is a diversified one, with businesses involved in construction and manufacturing to research and development. In its “2012 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report,” MassCEC also “identified a large number of companies that don’t necessarily identify themselves as clean energy companies first, but directly engage in activity related to the clean energy sector — showing that clean energy penetrates numerous sectors of the Massachusetts economy.”

“This report is proof that Massachusetts’ innovation economy is succeeding,” said incoming MassCEC Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Alicia Barton McDevitt, who begins her term on August 20.

“The report affirms Massachusetts’ role as a national and global leader in clean energy development and deployment, and a success made possible by our talented workforce, world-class academic and research institutions, and Governor Patrick’s vision for a clean energy future in Massachusetts.”
For the report, a clean energy business “is defined as an employer engaged in whole or in part in providing goods and services related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, alternative transportation, and carbon management. Clean energy workers are defined as spending at least a portion of their time supporting the clean energy aspects of their businesses.”

"All of the Above" Can't Deliver All the Benefits the Clean Energy Economy Can

In a time of soaring gas prices and record-breaking temperatures, Americans are looking for energy solutions that save money, reduce dangerous pollution, and strengthen our country.
Yet instead of offering targeted policies, many leaders are suggesting an “all of the above” approach to energy development. The idea is that we should throw everything we have at the problem and see what sticks. It’s a misguided strategy that would do more harm than good.
When Republicans in Congress say “all of the above,” they mean oil, gas, and coal, while clean energy gets only an occasional mention. When President Obama uses the phrase, he emphasizes clean energy, but he also wants to expand oil and gas drilling.  Both these formulations amount to a kitchen-sink method of producing energy.
It’s the equivalent of walking into a restaurant and ordering everything on the menu. Most people don’t do that in real life, because we know it costs too much and will make us sick. Instead, we select the best food for the best price.
We can do the same with energy. We can choose the best and bypass the rest.
The best energy solutions deliver multiple benefits at once. Sinking oil and gas wells in communities across the nation may produce more energy, but more energy isn’t all America needs. We also need to create good-paying jobs that stay in the United States. We need to retain our technological advantage in the global energy market. We need to protect the health of our families, our air, and our water.

Only one kind of solution can deliver all those benefits: clean energy. Wind power accounts for 35 percent of new power built in the United States, and it produces zero pollution. The solar industry employs more than 100,000 Americans, and its engineers are pioneering the next generation of clean technology.

Better performing cars are protecting Americans from gas price spikes and fighting climate change at the same time. President Obama recently raised fuel economy standards to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.  Within 20 years, those standards will save drivers more than $80 billion a year at the pump and cut our oil use by more than we imported from Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 2010. Manufacturing cleaner cars is already employing more than 150,000 Americans right now.

Drilling for more oil and gas can’t achieve these successes. It can’t even lower the price we pay at the pump. The Associated Press did a statistic analysis of 36 years of gas prices and oil production and found there no correlation between “how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump.” Yet our dependence on dirty oil and gas has been proven to contribute to asthma, heart attacks, and cancer and to cause climate change.

Fossil fuels will continue to play a role in our society, but considering all the negative tradeoffs that come with them, lawmakers should call for more safeguards. If our leaders want to see more natural gas development, then they should support strong air pollution standards for gas production. If they want to continue to rely on coal-fired power, they should support the first-ever limits on carbon pollution from new power plants that the Environmental Protection Agency will announce soon. Smart safeguards are the only way we can protect our families from the hazards of fossil fuels.

Not all energy options are created equal. That’s why we must focus on the technologies that create the best outcomes for our communities.

People want a forward-looking energy policy. They want cars that go farther on a gallon of gas. They want their children to breathe cleaner air. They want utility bills that don’t cause sticker shock. And they want America to lead the world in technological breakthroughs.

“All of the above” doesn’t deliver those benefits. Doing the best and skipping the rest will.




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Turning Nuclear Power into the Hydrogen Economy

The technology for a nuclear plant to also create hydrogen fuel has been around for decades, according to IAEA member Ibrahim Khamis, Ph.D., who spoke at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) on Sunday, and could help us into the long-heralded “hydrogen economy”.

The term “hydrogen economy” was first coined back in 1970 by former professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University John Bockris during a talk he gave in 1970 at General Motors Technical Center. In short, it refers to an era where gasoline, diesel, and other fossil fuels are laid by the wayside and hydrogen powers our world.

Steam from Philippsburg nuclear power plant

Spin up to 2012, and according to Khamis, we have the technology to convert the steam created at nuclear power plants into hydrogen using a process termed electrolysis.

“There is rapidly growing interest around the world in hydrogen production using nuclear power plants as heat sources,” Khamis said. “Hydrogen production using nuclear energy could reduce dependence on oil for fueling motor vehicles and the use of coal for generating electricity. In doing so, hydrogen could have a beneficial impact on global warming, since burning hydrogen releases only water vapor and no carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. There is a dramatic reduction in pollution.”

Khamis said scientists and economists at IAEA and elsewhere are working intensively to determine how current nuclear power reactors — 435 are operational worldwide — and future nuclear power reactors could be enlisted in hydrogen production.

Most current production of hydrogen comes from natural gas or coal and results in the production of carbon dioxide. However there are smaller scale electrolysis projects in use, a process which sends an electric current flowing through water, splitting the H2O molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, and is more efficient if the electric current is passed through steam.

Experts believe that existing nuclear power plants can be adapted using a low-temperature electrolysis which can take advantage of low electricity prices during the plant’s off-peak hours to produce hydrogen. For plants being designed and in construction, a more efficient, high-temperature electrolysis process can be coupled with thermochemical processes, and is currently under research and development.

“Nuclear hydrogen from electrolysis of water or steam is a reality now, yet the economics need to be improved,” said Khamis.

True, economically viable possibility down the road? Or pipe dream?