Greenversations

For each month in 2009, the Year of Science—we will pose a question related to science. Please let us know your thoughts as comments, and feel free to respond to earlier comments, or post new ideas.

The Year of Science theme for August is Weather and Climate.

How is climate change affecting the things you care about, and how do you think it will affect what you care about in the future?

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

During my 22 year career at EPA, it’s been exciting to work on the environmental issue which has been called the “capstone issue for our generation”: climate change. Climate change affects every individual in every community around the world. The team I am a part of at EPA is working closely with communities around the country to shed light on how climate change affects the things they care about, and to find ways to respond and adapt to its impacts.

There’s nothing more rewarding than meeting the people who are benefitting from the science we’re doing. It’s one thing to work in a laboratory or office and explore strategies and develop tools to help local communities respond to climate change. It’s another thing to actually meet the people whose lives you are touching.

I first had that chance in 2007 when I traveled to Alaska and met people from several Native Alaskan villages such as Shishmaref, Newtok, and Kivalina. I listened to heart-wrenching stories about how they must soon evacuate their coastal villages because homes and infrastructure are being destroyed by rising sea levels, storm surges, and the melting of the permafrost upon which they sit. I was faced with the stark realities of a changing climate, not with some “plausible projection” from one of our climate impacts models.

When I first started working on climate change, people imagined it to be something that wouldn’t happen for another 50 to 100 years. We quickly came to understand that the climate is already changing. It’s changing more and more rapidly as a result of human activities. When we burn fossil fuels to power our automobiles and run our factories and heat our homes, we emit greenhouse gas pollution which contributes to global warming. And we’re already seeing the impacts of global warming on peoples’ lives.

My own appreciation for the critical importance of the work we’re doing in our Global Change Research Program at EPA rose dramatically during that visit to Alaska. We’re empowering people to protect their communities and the things they value by providing the scientific information that enables them to anticipate the effects of a changing climate, developing alternative strategies for them to adapt to change, and providing tools that can help them incorporate considerations of climate change into their day-to-day decisions. We are making a difference in people’s lives.

About the author: Dr. Joel Scheraga is the National Program Director for EPA’s Global Change Research Program in the Office of Research and Development. He has been with EPA since 1987. He is also the EPA Principal Representative to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which coordinates and integrates scientific research on climate and global change supported by the U.S. Government.

Back in the day, when I thought about green plumbers, the famed video game character, an Italian plumber named Luigi, came to mind. But while his hat and suspenders may have been green in color, he fought fanged mushrooms and evil turtles, not inefficient water use and global climate change—and that, it turns out, is what real green plumbers do.

Though they lack super mushrooms inducing gigantism, flowery fireballs, and bouncing stars granting temporary invincibility, GreenPlumbers® have an impressive arsenal:

- They conduct water audits in homes, identifying how much water is used and how much can be saved.
- They replace water-guzzling, leaky toilets, wasteful faucets, and shabby irrigation equipment with high efficiency models.
- They install and maintain water efficient systems like rainwater catchment and greywater systems.

For all their hard work, GreenPlumbers® recently received a 2009 EPA Pacific Southwest Environmental Award.

In the Pacific Southwest, extracting, conveying, treating, distributing, and using water, and then collecting and treating wastewater uses a lot of energy. In California, for example, 20% of the State’s electricity use and 30% of their natural gas use is attributed to water use. EPA estimates 3% of national energy consumption– equivalent to approximately 56 billion kilowatt hours (kWh)–is used for drinking water and wastewater services. Assuming the average mix of energy sources in the country, this adds about 45 million tons of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.

By reducing water use, green plumbers reduce the amount of water flowing through our inefficient water infrastructure to directly reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

My perception of plumbers has been transformed, thanks to these amazing, award-winning Green Plumbers. You can join me in finding certified GreenPlumbers® and learning about their national training and accreditation program at www.greenplumbersusa.com/.

About the author: Charlotte Ely spent two years jumping from office to office through the Environmental Intern Program. She landed in EPA’s Pacific Southwest Sustainable Water Infrastructure and Climate Change program in the fall of 2008, and plans to stay put for a while.

Students participate in the Baldwin County Grasses in Classes program to help grow native plants for wetland and dune restoration projects.

Do you want to educate, inspire, and engage students, scouts, park, zoo or museum visitors, or even your neighbors and family members to do something about climate change and how it may affect wildlife and their precious habitats? We (Karen, a former teacher and Mike, who monitors local water quality as a volunteer for the Audubon Naturalist Society) are impassioned about the climate change issue, especially as it may affect wildlife and wild places, and how important it is to get everyone involved in solving the problems associated with it. So two years ago we gathered together educators from 6 other federal agencies to develop the new Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators to help the educator in each of us spread the word on what is at stake and what we can do about it.

It was not an easy task to find and organize staff members from agencies as diverse as National Park Service, NASA, NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, but we were determined to create an educational product that demonstrated a strong, unified voice on climate change and that was built on the efforts of scientists and educators from government agencies that work on issues involving climate change, wildlife and wild places. After two years of meetings, phone calls, emails, data dumps, arguments, hugs, long drives to video shoots, and lunches for grousing and/or celebrating, we are extremely proud and excited about the end result of this truly unique collaboration.

Please go to the inter-agency U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) site where the toolkit is being hosted and see for yourself! Let us know what you think!

About the Authors: Karen Scott is an Environmental Education Specialist for the EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education after spending more than 10 years with EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Programs, Climate Change Division. Michael Kolian is a physical scientist with EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Programs, Climate Change Division.

About the author: Diana Bauer, Ph.D. is an environmental engineer in EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research where she serves as the Sustainability Team Leader.

I have been pleased in the past several months to see the “Green Economy” emerge as a priority for the nation. As an engineer who has been engaged in environmental research, I am particularly excited about new roles for engineering and new opportunities to avoid environmental problems through better design.

When I was in my first job as a mechanical engineer a couple of decades ago, I was dismayed when my colleagues and managers told me that I shouldn’t concern myself with where or how my work was used. My job as an engineer was to solve challenging technical problems. Others had the responsibility of worrying about the broader context, including what technology we should be investing in and how the technology would interact with people and the environment.

Later on, working at EPA and elsewhere, I have met many environmental professionals who were skeptical that engineers could have much impact for preventing or avoiding environmental problems, precisely because of engineers’ narrow focus.

In the years since that first job, I have enjoyed watching and contributing to fields such as Green Engineering, Green Chemistry, and Sustainable Engineering as they emerged and began to mature. These fields will be required as the nation addresses climate change through green energy and invests in transportation, and water infrastructure.

To contribute fully to the new green economy, engineers need to understand the environmental and social implications of their work.

National investments present an opportunity for EPA to collaborate with other departments and agencies across the government to ensure that holistic, multimedia environmental considerations are integrated into the development of green energy technologies, transportation, water infrastructure, and green building. Efforts such as these may reduce the future environmental issues that EPA will have to address with regulation.

One area where cross-government collaboration is already occurring is in Green Building. Commercial and residential buildings currently account for about 40% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and heating. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is coordinating across the federal government the Net-Zero Energy, High Performance Green Buildings Research and Development Plan to dramatically reduce energy consumption in buildings. The plan holistically addresses the challenge by focusing on water efficiency, storm water management, sustainable materials management, and indoor environmental quality.

Cross-cutting agendas such as this one can help engineers of my generation and those following to broaden our perspective and learn how to build a green economy while protecting the air, water, and land.

About the author: Henry Ferland is Co-Director of the Methane to Markets Partnership Secretariat (methanetomarkets.org)

I work in EPA’s Climate Change Division on an international methane reduction program that seeks to reduce climate change by encouraging developing countries to capture and use methane.  While there are costs associated with developing methane projects, there are multiple local co-benefits including revenue from the gas,  increased air and water quality, improved worker safety (in coal mines) and reduced dependence on fossil fuels.

How does this relate to biking to work?  I bike commute down to EPA’s office at 1310 L Street –from Tenleytown, DC - about 20 to 25 minutes to work and about 25 to 30 minutes home depending on lights, traffic, how hard I push it.  This bike commute provides a small personal contribution to reducing climate change but, like methane reduction, has significant co-benefits:

Here’s my personal co-benefit list:

1. May be fastest way to get to work (especially if you live in the city or in nearby suburbs).
2. Reverses the traffic stress paradigm — instead of getting stressed at the sight of traffic — I get happy   as I zip past gridlocked cars on my bike lane.
3. Excellent work-out.  Get a free hour of exercise each day without taking other time out of my schedule.
4. Stress release — grinding up the hill on Massachusetts Avenue is a great way to unwind and decompress after a long day at the office.
5. No fossil fuels equal zero emissions!
6. Great way to wake up and greet the day!

All this said – there are some important barriers to consider:

1. Occasional run-ins with bad or angry drivers.
2. Lack of clear bike lanes on most streets in DC — one must learn to be an assertive bike rider and also learn to pick good routes.
3. Proper gear — expensive outfits not needed — but a good wind layer is important for cold days in the winter and nice raincoat is good for rainy days.
4. Showers and Office Clothes.  If your office is not set up for biking you may need to figure out a system (nearby gym?) for showering and dressing appropriately.  I’ve found it helpful to carry my clothes in a square plastic box in panniers.   It’s also worth investigating using a locker or extra filing cabinet as in-office storage for office clothes.

The bottom-line on bike commuting:  give it a try, and you may find that you arrive home happier and less stressed then before and that’s before considering all the other co-benefits!

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division

On a recent Sunday morning, I went to a local clothing store to purchase a gift bag for a present that one of my kids was taking to a birthday party. I usually keep recyclable gift bags at home, but this day, I had none. Upon paying, I proceeded to put the rather small bag in my purse along with the receipt. The cashier told me that I needed to put the gift bag in a plastic bag because it was store policy not to let customers walk out of the store with unbagged merchandise. Baffled, I placed my purchase in the store bag, but not before telling her that in Europe and some other islands in the Caribbean, stores either tax their customers for their use or simply don’t provide them. Her reply was the same: store policy.

I remember as a child, going with my mother to the supermarket and packing our groceries in paper bags. These were later reused. I fondly recall tearing them at the seams and using the inside for drawing and making crafts. I also remember how brown paper bags gradually disappeared from our lives when plastic ones were introduced in 1977.

Each year plastic bags cause the death of hundreds of thousands of sea birds and marine animals that mistake them for food. Paper, if not recycled, can fill our landfills and contribute in the long run to climate change. Both, paper and plastic require a lot of energy and raw materials to be produced.

But old habits die hard and our local businesses and industries have been slow in adopting sustainable and green practices. Even though some sell reusable bags, when the time comes to pack their purchases, I only see a small number of people using them. Some non-profit and environmental organizations in the United States have proposed a tax on plastic bags to discourage their use. In 2007, the city of San Francisco, California passed a city ordinance to ban plastic bag use in supermarkets and pharmacies. In Ireland, and since 2002, citizens have been paying a tax to use plastic bags. In turn, their use has dropped by 90% and the government has raised money for recycling programs. As more cities and countries declare a ban on plastic bags, retailers and consumers need to be aware that there is more than paper or plastic. And that is Bring Your Own.

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

Recientemente fui un domingo en la mañana a una tienda a comprar una bolsa para poner un regalo que mi hija menor llevaría a un cumpleaños. Usualmente tengo de estas bolsas recicladas para poner regalos en la casa, pero ese día descubrí que no quedaba ninguna. Una vez pagué tomé el recibo junto a la bolsa de regalo y los puse dentro de mi cartera. La cajera, contrariada, me indicó que no podía hacer esto ya que era política de la tienda no dejar salir a los clientes con mercancía en otra cosa que no fuese una bolsa de plástico. Sorprendida, puse mi compra en la bolsa que me brindó no sin antes proceder a indicarle que en Europa e inclusive en otras islas del Caribe los negocios imponen un impuesto a los clientes que utilizan bolsas de plástico o simplemente no las proveen. Su respuesta: política de la tienda.

Todavía recuerdo mis tiempos de niña en los cuales iba con mi mamá al supermercado y empacábamos nuestra compra en bolsas de papel. Éstas eran reusadas luego. De pequeña me gustaba cortarlas por las costuras y utilizar su exterior para dibujar y hacer manualidades. Pero un día estas bolsas color marrón desaparecieron de nuestras vidas y rutinas diarias cuando las bolsas plásticas aparecieron en 1977.

Cada año estas bolsas plásticas causan la muerte de cientos de miles de aves y animales marinos que las confunden con comida. [http://vidamarinapr.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html ] El papel, si no se recicla, puede llenar nuestros vertederos y contribuir a la larga al cambio climático. Tanto el papel como el plástico requieren mucha energía y materia prima para ser manufacturados.

Hay un dicho que dice que los hábitos viejos son terribles de cambiar y nuestras industrias y comercios locales han tardado en adoptar prácticas de sustentabilidad y amigables al medioambiente. Aunque algunos venden bolsas reutilizables para llevar la compra, es muy poca la gente que veo utilizándolas. A veces me siento diferente cuando indico en la tienda que mis compras van en bolso reusable. Algunos grupos sin fines de lucro y organizaciones ambientales en los Estados Unidos han propuesto un impuesto a las bolsas plásticas para desalentar su uso. En San Francisco, California, hay una ordenanza municipal desde el 2007 que prohíbe a las farmacias y supermercados utilizar estas bolsas. En Irlanda, y desde el 2002, los ciudadanos pagan un impuesto por utilizar las bolsas de plástico. Estos han logrado reducir su uso por un 90% y ha ayudado a sustentar económicamente programas de reciclaje. Mientras más ciudades y países prohíben su uso, más informados necesitan estar los consumidores sobre sus opciones que van más allá del papel y el plástico. Su mejor opción es traer la suya.

My name is Ashley, and this semester I have the privilege to work at the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education. I am so excited to spend the next couple of months writing blog entries in order to give middle and high school students a voice to express their own thoughts and feelings on issues like global climate change. Let me start off by mentioning a few things about myself.

What brought me to Washington D.C…

Originally I am from Bolingbrook, Illinois which is about 30 minutes away from Chicago. I am finishing up my last year at Indiana University with a degree in Public Finance. During my junior year in college, I heard about this exciting program called WLP, the Washington Leadership Program. The second I heard about WLP, it instantly caught my attention. WLP offers students the opportunity to spend a semester in Washington DC, in my case, during an exciting time of the year; the presidential election. Students get the chance to experience DC during a fun time in their life, gain practical experience in an area of interest, meet influential people, and take classes up on the Hill. How amazing is that? Not bad for a student.

I wanted to work at OCHPEE after learning the office focuses on environmental health threats and contributes in so many ways to helping parents as well as middle and high school students become environmentally conscious. During my time here at OCHPEE, I want to hear your story including your activities to address global climate change. Your activities can inspire others.

Let’s get started on this week’s topic.

Today many kids are driven to school by their parents rather than taking the bus, walking, or riding a bike. This increases traffic and energy use. Choosing to walk, ride a bicycle or school bus, or even take public transportation, reduces air pollution. Air pollutants can harm kids and cause respiratory problems. Children have respiratory systems that are not fully developed and they are often involved in activities where they breathe deeply and take in toxic air pollutants. Because October 8th is International Walk to School Day we want to hear what you are doing to reduce energy use getting to and from school and other activities. Have you talked to your friends and classmates? What has your school done? Your activities can inspire others so tell us what you’re doing. Send us pictures.

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

Lea la versión en español a continuación de esta entrada en inglés.
Some links exit EPA or have Spanish content.

Last year I was having a conversation with former Region 2 Deputy Administrator Kathleen C. Callahan about recycling. I told her about the many things we were doing in our household of six to reduce our carbon footprint and recycle as much as 60% of our waste. She encouraged me to share the experience. I forgot about her suggestion, until a few weeks ago when I had to prepare a presentation on the issue for an EPA outreach event.

For most people “carbon footprint” is still an unfamiliar term. During this specific presentation, I wanted to engage the public in seeking solutions. To explain things in laymen terms, I revisited my conversation with Kathy and incorporated many of the things we are already doing at home. Many of these are outlined in EPA’s Climate Change page.

For starters, we bought and remodeled an old house in Puerto Rico. We sought to take advantage of nature by installing windows and doors that let light and air in. Our garage door is perforated allowing cross ventilation and light inside the house while providing us with security and privacy. Thus, we rarely have to use compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) inside the house during the day. Also, all of our appliances acquired or replaced since 2003 are Energy Star. Since our weather is sunny most of the year, I have two clotheslines to air-dry our clothes. This is not an easy task, but the reduction in our greenhouse gases emissions and energy bill is worth the effort.

Around the house, strategic planting of native and tropical species reduce the amount of heat from direct sunlight and provides us with a lush backyard. A special insulating treatment in our concrete ceiling reduces the temperature during very hot days and ceiling fans keep the house cool even during 95F degree temperature. In our bathrooms, efficient showerheads help us save water thus reducing our carbon load.

Our shopping habits have changed dramatically in the last three years helping us recycle and compost more. We try to buy most of our fruits and vegetables from local farm stands and anything else has to come in a recyclable package.

Even though we still have a long way to go to further reduce our carbon load, please share with us the innovative and creative ways you have minimized your carbon footprint.

Reduciendo nuestra huella de carbono

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini se unió a la EPA en el 2002. Labora como especialista de relaciones públicas en la oficina de EPA en San Juan, Puerto Rico donde también maneja asuntos comunitarios para la División de Protección Ambiental del Caribe.

El año pasado conversaba sobre reciclaje y reducción de desperdicios con Kathleen C. Callahan, ex sub-administradora de la Región 2, cuando me sugirió plasmar por escrito las medidas que tomábamos en nuestro hogar de 6 para reducir nuestra huella ecológica y reciclar hasta un 60%. Olvidé la recomendación de Kathy hasta hace semanas atrás cuando la agencia fue invitada a participar en un evento masivo y me asignaron una presentación sobre la huella de carbón para educar a los asistentes al evento sobre el tema.

Aunque para muchas personas el término “huella de carbón” es desconocido, tenía como meta hacer una presentación sencilla y en la que pudiese involucrar al público en la búsqueda de soluciones. Al preparar la presentación recordé todo lo discutido con Kathy e incorporé muchas de las cosas que hacemos en nuestro hogar. La mayoría de las medidas tomadas en nuestra casa están sugeridas en la página electrónica de la EPA sobre cambio climático.

Cuando comenzamos la búsqueda de una residencia decidimos que ésta fuese vieja para salvar el preciado espacio verde de nuestra isla. Remodelamos de acuerdo a la ventilación cruzada de la residencia y aprovechamos la abundante luz al instalar ventanas y puertas, incluyendo una puerta perforada de garaje, que permitieran el paso de la brisa y evitaran el encendido diurno de nuestras bombillas compactas fluorescentes. Además todos nuestros enseres adquiridos y/o reemplazados a partir del 2003 son Energy Star. Ya que nuestro clima tropical es soleado gran parte del año solemos tender la ropa al aire libre, lo cual no sólo ahorra energía, pero reduce las emisiones de gases de invernadero.

Alrededor de la casa, la siembra estratégica de árboles nativos y especies tropicales reduce la cantidad de sol directo que recibe esta además de brindarnos un patio fresco y verde. En cuanto al techo de cemento, éste fue insulado con un tratamiento especial que reduce la temperatura aún en el día más caluroso al igual que los ocho abanicos de techo instalados en los cuartos y áreas comunes de la casa. Adicionalmente, instalamos duchas eficientes en los baños para ayudarnos a ahorrar agua y reducir nuestra huella de carbón.

Por último, y no menos importante, hemos cambiado drásticamente nuestros hábitos de consumo en los últimos tres años. Tratamos de comprar menos alimentos enlatados y adquirir nuestras frutas y vegetales de vendedores independientes o que tengan empaque mínimo. El resto de nuestras compras tiene que estar empacadas en envases reciclables y no patrocinamos el uso de bolsas plásticas. Ahora reciclamos más y hacemos composta para abonar nuestras plantas con los desperdicios orgánicos.

Aunque todavía nos quedan muchas cosas por hacer para reducir nuestro impacto ecológico, ¿me encantaría conocer qué medidas creativas e innovadoras ha tomado usted para minimizar su huella de carbón?