Whole Travel Blog

This week, ExxonMobil announced that it will invest more than $600 million into research and development of next-generation biofuels produced from sunlight, water and waste carbon dioxide by photosynthetic pond scum. In a collaboration with Synthetic Genomics expected to last 5-6 years at a new test facility being constructed in San Diego, the hope is to develop the technology to a point where ExxonMobil can invest billions more into bringing it to commercial markets.

Pond Scum: the next source of renewable energy?

Craig Venter, founder and CEO of Synthetic Genomics, said, “There are different approaches to what is truly economically scalable, so we’re testing things and giving a new reality to the timelines and expectations of what it takes to have a global impact on fuel supply.” It’s a big strategy shift for ExxonMobil to move into developing renewable biofuel technology after years of publicly opposing investment in renewable energy. If all goes well, ExxonMobil and Synthetic Geonomics hope to be producing biofuels similar in structure to today’s conventional hydrocarbons, but from completely renewable sources, by the end of the project. You can read more about it at Synthetic Genomics’ website: www.syntheticgenomics.com.

Who owns one of the world’s largest vehicle fleets? Here’s a hint: it’s not Google or even Nascar. It’s the United States Postal Service, purveyors of your daily mail and walkers (er…drivers) of mail routes nationwide. With a fleet of aging, fuel-inefficient automobiles, the USPS recently announced a huge undertaking: replacing 6,500 vehicles with more efficient vehicles, including 900 hybrids and 1,000 alternative fuel vehicles.

Reducing the carbon footprint of your snail mail

The USPS currently has well over 200,000 vehicles in its fleet, so this is only a small percentage of the overall picture, but it is hopefully a proof of concept for the government agency that going green is the way to be.

As reported by the Associated Press a few days ago, the wind seems to be dying down across the United States. The cause of this apparent slowing of our winds is still very speculative, as scientists disagree as to whether it’s even happening on a significant scale. But this study does suggest that average and peak winds have been on the decline since 1973, with some stations in the Midwest reporting >10% drops over the course of a decade.

Wind turbines near Mount Carmel, Iowa, stand still in December 2008.

There are enough questions that even the authors won’t say definitively whether the trend is real or not. But, with wind energy as a potential solution to part of the global warming crisis, it’s concerning that the solution might become useless by the problem.

An article published in Nature today announced the prediction of two French scientists that in the very distant future, the Earth and other planets will collide with each other. Scientists agree that for many thousands of years, the planets will remain true in their orbits, but eventually small eccentriciites could cause Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth to smash into each other.

Is this the end of Earth?

As an important side note, it is generally accepted that in approximately 5 billion years, the sun will have burned up its hydrogen and will inflate into a red giant star, engulfing the entire inner solar system. So, either way, looks like we’re left to our own devices for the next few billion years.

Telefonica, the largest company in Spain, is constructing a 12-building complex to bring 40,000 employees to one main campus in Madrid. The buildings are using a special type of glass to reflect the hot Spanish sun, and panels stick out from the building to act as sun visors. Each of the buildings is to be connected by a covered walkway that will be the world’s largest rooftop photovoltaic installation with 15,000 solar panels capable of producing 4 million kWh annually. Landscaping will be native vegetation which requires minimal water, and that amount of water will be provided by rooftop rainwater collectors.

Distrito C - Telefonica's New Madrid Headquarters

On Monday, Richard Daley, mayor of Chicago, spoke to an audience in New York and said he aims to make Chigago the “most environmentally friendly city in the world.” Much of his plan involves “green roofs”, which usually entails putting plants and even a few trees on top of buildings. Aside from giving nearby skyscrapers a nice view, these roofs help keep the building cool and filter stormwater.

Green Roof

The biggest hurdle for green roofs to overcome is their cost. New York City’s sustainability office found that street trees are more effective than green roofs. Over time, many groups hope to be able to offset the cost by adding bee hives and other sustainable aspects to green roofs, making them more economically viable and broadening their positive impact on urban life. You can read more about Chicago’s campaign for sustainability here.

Working in travel you come across a number of great online products.  TheTravelEditor.com is a source of insider travel tips and recommendations for discerning travellers looking for inspiration and memorable experiences.  They have taken a very hands-on approach to developing their content.  Reviews are written by professional travel journalists, many of whom have actually lived in the destination they are covering.  It is an interesting concept which goes against the popular trend of user generated content.  The argument is user reviews lack authority and editorial quality and the sheer number of them can make them difficult to glean anything useful.  You type in your hotel and get 100 reviews: 50 love it, 50 hate it, and who are these reviewers anyway? 

Thetraveleditor.com is independent, objective and they tell it like it is.  Their articles ranging from sustainable skiing in the Alps, to London’s Top Indian Restaurants are always informative and insightful.

Great Travel Site

Many cities have set up initiatives that reach out to lower income homes to help them become more energy efficient.  Haya El Nasser writes in USA Today that houses in lower income areas often use older, less efficient appliances and are not well insulated.  Some of the most recent efforts to lower energy consumption have come in more affluent areas and public buildings.  In several cities organizations have been giving free energy audits, CFL lightbulbs, and other energy savings devices.

In Denver an initiative called Greenprint Denver was started by Mayor John Hickenlooper.  The director of Greenprint, Michele Moss Weingardener, states that a look at utility data and found that the “highest energy-using neighborhoods [were] the [the ones with the] lowest income.”  Volunteers have travelled around the areas supplying people with CF bulbs, programmable thermostats, and insulation around doors, windows, and water furnaces.  Obviously, energy usage goes down, but it also helps these indivuduals save money.  To read more about these intriuging programs, click here.

*photo by connor.molloy

Recharging electric cars has always been a bit of a pain to get done, but in the Bay Area, it is about to get a lot easier.  The mayors of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland have plans to spend up to $1 billion to put up a service network to make charging your electric rig a lot more convenient.

Better Place, a Palo Alto company backed by private investors, will be building the system.  According to SFGate.com, “The firm proposes installing thousands of parking-meter-size plugs in homes, lots, garages, and shopping centers for an electric fill-up.  Also planned are battery swapping spots, where a depleted power package can be switched for a fresh one withing minutes.”

The article is not clear as to whether the electricity used at the recharging stations will come from renewable sources.  To read the full article, click here.

While many celebrities practice green living and have lent their name to the green cause, whether it’s arriving at the Oscars in a Prius, taking commercial flights (Leonardo DiCaprio), promoting solar energy (Robert Redford), or advocating oil independence (George Clooney), Hollywood itself hasn’t been quick to adopt the green movement.

In an effort to change this, iHollywood Forum is hosting its second annual “Hollywood Goes Green” event in which media, entertainment, and advertising executives will converge to learn how Hollywood can “increase its profitability and at the same time plan a meaningful sustainable strategy.”

Visit their site to find out what specific topics will be discussed.