A Cleaner Way From A to B

As I left off in my previous blog about driving electric vehicles (EVs) around Norway, a big takeaway for me was the importance of an easily available and predictable system of charging infrastructure to the whole experience. The convenience of being able to charge – especially with a direct current fast charger – eases range anxiety and heightens the enjoyment of zipping around in any of today’s growing number of EVs, I discovered. Recent studies in California reveal even more benefits to growing the ecosystem of charging infrastructure and switching from gasoline to electricity.

Figure 1: Utility Factor represents the percentage of miles driven that are powered purely from the battery (rather than the gasoline engine). “PHEV10” stands for a plug-in hybrid capable of driving 10 miles in all-electric mode before switching to gasoline and operating as a charge-sustaining hybrid.

It turns out that more abundant charging stations also result in a cleaner emissions profile for plug-in hybrids (PHEV) – familiar cars like the Chevrolet Volt or Toyota Prius Plug-in, both of which couple a gasoline engine with a battery that can be plugged in and charged. Research from the folks at BMW’s Technology Office in Palo Alto demonstrates that, in actual practice, PHEV drivers achieve a significantly greater percentage of electric miles when you add public and workplace charging opportunities. As BMW’s Peter Dempster explained in a recent CBEY webinar (revisit A Future Vision for Sustainable E-mobility), the ability to use fast chargers is also a big boost to the “Utility Factor” (see below figure) of PHEVs. “We can increase the amount of all-electric miles of a plug-in hybrid or range-extended electric vehicle by up to 15% with workplace, public and fast charging opportunities.” As battery technology improves, charging infrastructure expands, and consumer behavior evolves, we grow much closer to meeting 100% of our mobility needs through domestically produced electricity.

The BMW Technology Office also found that drivers in their EV pilot study in California became much better “energy managers” in their own esteem. Participants reported increased awareness and savvy about their energy use through driving an EV, as they more viscerally experienced their electricity use, thought more about the source of their “fuel,” and could easily see how much power they were using. This kind of behavioral shift could certainly have spillover benefits into other areas of personal energy use, such as in the home.

Yet another interesting result from their research suggests that the growth in renewable energy and electric vehicles could be quite interconnected, as driving an EV seems to increase a consumer’s appetite for clean sources of electricity – whether from home solar or from the local utility. The potential parallel growth of electric cars and clean energy begs to be understood better, and these kinds of dynamics are being researched as I write, helping to further drive the transition to cleaner mobility.

Tommy Hayes is a second year student in the joint degree program between the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Yale School of Management.

Driving Greener in Scandinavia

By Tommy Hayes

As a Californian, I’ve spent a lot of time in the car. Whether it was those family road trips around the American West or my hour-long highway commute to high school, I racked up some serious mileage and developed a love of driving machines by the time I departed for college. There, as an environmental science major, I discovered how beastly my driving carbon footprint is, and learned how transportation-related emissions account for roughly a third of worldwide climate pollution.

So how do I balance my love of cars with my environmental values and determination to improve the quality of our environment? These two forces, seemingly at odds with one another, came together in an exciting way last summer during my internship in Oslo, Norway. Dubbed “the electric vehicle capital of the world,” I could hardly walk a block there without seeing an electric vehicle (EV). Whereas it still seems to be a novelty to spot a Nissan Leaf or a Chevy Volt (or, of course, a Tesla) in the United States, EVs are just another regular feature of their streetscapes.

If simply living in Oslo amidst all these slick, clean cars wasn’t dreamy enough for me, I basically experienced 3 days of fantasy life during the fourth annual Zero Rally. A showcase for zero- and low-emission vehicles, the Zero Rally featured a variety of cars  driving the length of Sweden’s and Norway’s Green Highway – from Sundsvall to Trondheim, a  450km or 280 mile trip – which is fully equipped with electric plug-in, hydrogen, and biofuel infrastructure to refuel along the way. Meant to demonstrate the practicality and performance of today’s growing ranks of clean-running automobiles, I was personally eager to kick the tires of so many different makes and models, but mostly to experience this all-electric road trip from the driver’s seat.

My biggest takeaway from the Zero Rally was not at all what I expected, though. Driving the Nissan Leaf I was assigned was – just like everybody said it would be – quite similar to driving any other car. The smooth, quick acceleration was fun, but overall the driving experience required no adjusting to. What was interesting was the psychological experience of “range anxiety,” or the worry that an electric vehicle will run out of juice and strand you somewhere you cannot recharge. I must admit that I was previously somewhat skeptical of the whole issue. It takes some serious human error to run into this problem if you have a gasoline engine (“I’m sure we can make it!”), and I figured I would be immune to the stress. True, the distance range of most EVs on a full charge has not yet reached the range of most internal combustion engine cars on a full tank, but I thought the hullaballoo about EV range anxiety was, to some extent, an irrational fear. Not so, I would now argue.

Having now been at the wheel while watching the battery miles (kilometers, in Norway) click down, I can testify that the security of knowing there are charging options between points A and B is crucial to the driving enjoyment of an EV. I definitely took comfort in the knowledge that I’d have the ability to plug in along the unfamiliar journey across Sweden and Norway. For trips that may take you a bit farther afoot from your daily routine (hopefully travel for pleasure), you need the electric support network to be in place, both technically and psychologically.

Also, you don’t want just enough charging stations to make the journey feasible – you want more than what would be minimally sufficient, as unexpected circumstances may require it. Let’s just say, hypothetically, you forgot to charge completely the night before, or couldn’t resist driving aggressively on the hills. Perhaps you got lost and drove extra miles backtracking and searching for your destination, and maybe you failed to put the Leaf into “Eco” driving mode to extend its range. OK, imagine you did all of these things (maybe I did, maybe I didn’t…) and quickly you’ll see the benefits of ample charging stations along your way, exactly as the Scandinavian Green Highway offers. I am a newfound and zealous charging infrastructure proponent, and will hope to see the United States roll out more and more charging stations in the coming years.

Tommy Hayes is a second year student in the joint degree program between the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Yale School of Management.

The Entrepreneurship Side of F&ES

In my first year at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES), I took a class called “The Entrepreneurial Approach to Environmental Problem Solving.” Little did I know, this course happened to be one of the few entrepreneurship courses offered at the school. It provided students with the freedom to brainstorm, develop, and execute a business plan for a venture that would solve a pressing environmental or social issue. In the protected environment of the classroom, my classmates and I shared ideas, expressed opinions, criticized methods, and developed plans. This whole experience kindled my interest in the field of environmental and social entrepreneurship and I was determined to take advantage of all the resources the school has to offer.

As it turned out, there were not many. The School of Management offered few courses on Business Planning and Entrepreneurship but nothing particularly dedicated to the field of social and environmental entrepreneurship.  I knew this needed to change and decided to do something about it.

I talked with my fellow classmates and other wishful entrepreneurs on campus, and I got involved in a project commission by the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale. The project’s goal is to critically evaluate the current state of entrepreneurship environment at F&ES and Yale in general and propose steps to improve and develop structured, resource-abundant entrepreneurship program.

It proved to be a challenging but crucial task to better understand how the Yale can help support and encourage entrepreneurs on campus. Some of the preliminary results showed that F&ES has the potential to fill a niche – be a leader in the emerging field of environmental and social entrepreneurship.

Two of the programs run by the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale are great examples of how young and motivated entrepreneurs on campus can get financing and professional advice to start up their business ideas. The Sobotka Seed Stage Venture Grant and the Sabin Sustainable Venture Prize offer students the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a group of professional investors and complete for funding to launch or further finance their business ideas. As a part of the team that helped facilitate these two programs, I was impressed and fascinated by the scope, complexity, and broad social and environmental impact of the submitted proposals demonstrated. It is satisfying to see the interest people have in both Sobotka and Sabin Prizes and the effort they have put to prepare their proposals.

The need for social and environmental entrepreneurship support on campus is obvious. I am glad to see that CBEY is taking the initiative and is offering not only advice and resources but financing as well to promote and support rising entrepreneurs at F&ES.

Teodora Stoyanova is a second-year student at the Yale School of Forestry. She is interested in promoting environmental and corporate sustainability and learning more about the nexus of business and the environment. 

Senator Blumenthal Shares Thoughts on Climate Change

On the evening of March 27, the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, in conjunction with the Sierra Club, hosted Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT- D) for a panel discussion surrounding climate change, public opinion, and policy. Anthony Leiserowitz (Yale Project on Climate Change Communications) and Nadine Unger (Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry) joined Senator Blumenthal for the conversation, which was moderated by F&ES Associate Dean David Skelly.

Senator Blumenthal started the evening with a powerful assertion that “our world is changing” as evidenced by recent climactic events seen here in Connecticut, from Superstorm Sandy to Winter Storm Nemo. The Senator believes that we have a political window of opportunity, as well as a scientific and natural window of opportunity, to deal with climate change now.  According to Blumenthal, this political window of opportunity is made possible by the Obama Presidency, the Democratic majority in the Senate, and the fact that the majority of the American people “get it.”

In fact, according to Dr. Leiserowitz, the Yale Project on Climate Change Communications has found that Americans are increasingly drawing the connection between frequent extreme weather events and global climate change. These extreme events may be the best hope to make Americans aware of the impacts of climate change on their lives.

According to Dr. Unger, the global warming signal is currently 0.7 degrees Celsius attributed to human activity, but the weather fluctuations we experience in our daily lives are five to ten times larger. Dr. Unger worries that if we wait for the global warming signal to be large enough to feel, we will be living in a completely different planet from the one we live in now, with no ice in the Himalayas or agriculture in the American breadbasket. Leiserowitz’s research indicates, however, that even with a dearth of political and media attention to climate change over the past few years, extreme events have caused a surge in public concern about climate change, with upwards of 70% of Americans believing that such events are worsening.  Senator Blumenthal cautioned that, as he has seen in his two years in the Senate, the will of the majority can be stymied by a minority. If we can organize and galvanize public opinion, however, the quiet majority that is concerned about climate change will prevail.

Senator Blumenthal argued that one important ingredient in finding the political will to address climate change will be convincing the American public that “economic growth and jobs are not in conflict with environmental values.” He has found that in the current economic climate, his constituents are concerned about jobs and the economy above all else.

The panelists disagreed on whether hydraulic fracturing for natural gas is an example of the kind of economic and environmental win-win that appeals to the electorate and to environmentalists. The Senator stated that while fracking presents potential perils, which necessitate safeguards, the potential for more natural gas is a real opportunity. Dr. Unger, on the other hand, posited that the latest climate science shows natural gas to be no better than coal from a climate change perspective, because of methane leakage. Unger believes a more extensive measuring campaign is necessary before we can say anything more definitive about natural gas in the United States. Finally, Dr. Leiserowitz argued that the jury is still out on some of the science around natural gas, with many questions remaining about the lifecycle impacts of gas. On the plus side, fracking is a domestic source of energy and could allay some of energy-related security threats; on the minus side, fracking has allowed natural gas to outcompete renewables.

In closing, Senator Blumenthal offered some thoughts on his vision for the way forward on climate change. He urged the F&ES community and other audience members to help to organize and galvanize the “silent majority” of Americans who care about climate change around economically beneficial environmental changes: building retrofits, renewable energy development, and a “polluter pays” carbon policy. As Dr. Leiserowitz said, an organized electorate could “strengthen the spines of our elected officials,” like Senator Blumenthal, as they fight for climate change legislation in the halls of Congress.

Emily Greenlee is a first year MEM candidate with a background in domestic environmental advocacy and an interest in economics and policy issues influencing clean energy supply. Before starting at F&ES this fall, Emily spent three years as a Litigation Assistant in the New York City office of Earthjustice, a non-profit environmental law firm.

An Open Source Ecological Entrepreneur

Drew Lerer (Yale F&ES 2013) was walking through an electronics store looking for a part to fix his mother’s computer when it hit him – he could use common household electronic parts to build a low-cost particulate air monitor. Sure, this isn’t something that an ordinary shopper thinks about, but Drew had a history with measuring air quality.

Before coming to Yale, Drew had spent years studying air pollution in Berkeley and Argentina. The monitors that he used were extremely expensive ($1500 – $2000), making it virtually impossible for average citizens to get real time reads on their air quality. Since airborne particulates often affect poor communities the most, Drew wanted to develop an air monitor that was cheap enough to give everyone the power of knowledge about their air quality.

He had a knack for computers from years of troubleshooting family and co-worker technical issues; yet, he had never actually built an air monitor before.  After picking up the part he needed for his mother, he went home and tapped into the open source ecology
community and the open source electronics community.

Like the more widely known open source software movement, open source ecology is a network of hundreds of online volunteers that make their own computer codes, hardware configurations and plans freely available online for others to use. According opensourceecology.org, the movement is dedicated specifically to “accelerating the growth of the next economy – the Open Source Economy – an economy that optimizes both production and distribution – while promoting environmental regeneration and social justice.” With the help of the open source community, Drew was able to learn how to build a particulate air monitor.

“What’s really amazing about it is not only do they have the ethos of making everything transparent, but there is a community that has formed around it.  Despite not being an electrical engineer, I can tap into that community and have them give me their knowledge. Knowing that I am not an electrical engineer, they break it down into information I can do something with,” said Drew.

With the help of the open source movement, Drew was able to produce a $25 particulate air monitor in just 2 months, while finishing up his studies at F&ES. The monitor primarily uses parts that are found in common household electronics or e-waste, consumer electronics that are discarded. The only piece that would not be found in the average home is the $12 sensor for particulate concentrations. The computer chip that serves as the device’s brain costs only $3 and has the processing power of a whole computer built in 1985.

Right now, the monitor can only measure particulates, but Drew says it would be easy to switch out the sensor for a carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide or volatile organic compound (VOC) sensor. These sensors are more expensive though, so it would bring up the cost of the device.

Drew is still testing and calibrating the device, but he’s already brainstorming ways that he could bring his $25 air monitor to market and help increase knowledge and awareness of particulate pollution.

Low cost air monitors have tremendous potential for addressing public health issues – the very ones Drew spent years researching. Every year, about 2 million people die from respiratory diseases associated with high particulate concentrations. Most of these deaths are due to cooking with biofuels indoors in the developing world and could be avoided. Drew sees potential for these cheap and user-friendly air monitors to help NGOs and research institutions enlist community members in data collection about particulate pollution in the communities that are most affected. This would increase their ability to get widespread and frequent readings on particulate pollution, and might help convince these communities of the need for cleaner cooking stoves and fuels.

Another potential market for the monitor could be high school and undergraduate science programs. The device could be used as an educational tool to teach young environmental science students about air pollution and promote interest in this important topic.

Drew is still thinking and is open to suggestions on how best to turn his impromptu invention into a social enterprise.

The lesson? Next time you are running an errand and have an idea for a new environment-enhancing device, don’t just throw your hands up and assume that you don’t have the technical skills to bring it alive. There is likely an open source community out there to help you make your idea a reality. The open source ecology movement was a tremendous resource for Drew and will be helpful for other ecological entrepreneurs as well.

Marissa Galizia is a joint-degree candidate with the Yale School of Management and School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Before Yale she worked as a consultant
with IBM Global Business Services and is interested in marketing energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Are McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish Sandwiches Really Sustainable?

By Erin Schnettler, FES ’14

On January 24^th, 2013, the world’s largest fast-food company, McDonald’s, announced that it will display the blue “Fish Forever” eco-label from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) on every Filet-O-Fish sandwich sold at the over 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants across the United States. The “Fish Forever” MSC label on McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish packaging signals to consumers that the product comes from MSC-certified wild-caught Alaskan Pollock and that McDonald’s has met the MSC Chain of Custody standards for traceability.

The Marine Stewardship Council, founded in 1995, is arguably the best-known private organization using market-based eco-label certification processes to promote sustainable fishing practices around the world. Originally, MSC-certified buyers and suppliers catered to a relatively small niche market for sustainable seafood. However, starting in 2006, large companies such as Whole Foods, Walmart, and Target began using the MSC label on some or all of their seafood products to address growing consumer concerns over depleting marine fisheries resources. McDonald’s is only the latest company to capitalize on the growing market trend. At the same time, growing industry demand for MSC-certified fish products is raising questions about whether the MSC is lowering its own standards for sustainability, and certifying more fisheries as meeting the requirements, to meet the sky-rocketing demand for sustainable seafood products.

All this scrutiny raises the question: how does the MSC determine which fisheries are sustainable and which are not? While the MSC’s standard for sustainability consists of a lengthy checklist of criteria, the standards can be boiled down to three essential questions:

• Is the population of a fishery’s target species healthy?
• Do the fishing practices used cause serious harm to other marine life?
• And does the fishery have a good long-term management plan?

If a fishery wants to become MSC-certified, it must hire an MSC-approved independent certifier to conduct a scientific assessment of the fishery based on these criteria. There are currently 190 MSC-certified fisheries, 54 of which received their certifications in 2012, demonstrating the flourishing demand for MSC-certified seafood suppliers.

Despite assertions from the MSC that their certification process remains sufficiently rigorous, accusations of inconsistent and/or weakening certification standards persist. Going forward, the MSC faces a problem that market-based eco-labels from all industries must grapple with: whether to cater to the rigorous standards of their original niche market or to expand their accessibility in order to increase their impact. Whether the sustainable seafood industry, and the eco-labeling industry as a whole, can successfully find this balance remains to be seen.

Erin Schnettler is a first year student at the Yale School of Forestry. Prior to Yale, Erin worked as a Junior Scientist at the University of Minnesota. She is especially interested in science-based solutions to help food (particularly seafood) companies perform both ecologically and financially.

BigBelly Solar has some big ideas to revolutionize how we manage our waste.

By Ben Butterworth, FES ’14

How can waste collection – one of world’s least efficient and resource-intensive industries – leverage the technology of the 21^st century to become more green?

The innovative thinkers behind BigBelly Solar have a few ideas. BigBelly Solar is a Boston-based company founded in 2003 with the goal of making waste collection more efficient. It has developed new, cutting edge waste and recycling containers that utilize technology like solar power, internal sensors, and wireless communication. These tools allow the containers to self-compact and take the guess work out of when to empty the receptacles.

Historically, waste collection has relied on individuals spending hours driving around to check or empty every container for a particular municipality, university or corporation. Now – through BigBelly’s cloud-based CLEAN Management Console and a quick glance at a smartphone – clients can receive real-time data on which containers need emptying and drastically reduce the time and gas required to collect waste. That’s good news for a client’s carbon footprint and its bottom line.

On Tuesday, February 5^th, the Yale Center for Business and the Environment sponsored a lunch conversation with Robert Kutner of BigBelly Solar. Kutner is BigBelly’s Regional Sales Manager for the Northeast and is currently focused on expanding the distribution of the Big Belly System – particularly on college campuses. The company presently has 5,000 components installed worldwide and approximately 200 clients, but there is still room for growth.

Kutner pointed out that the long sale cycle – the time between first engaging a client and finalizing a sale – is one of the main difficulties facing his company. In particular, working with colleges and universities to locate a source of funding for the relatively high up-front cost of installing a BigBelly System can prove difficult and time consuming. Another hurdle facing the company is the perceived threat of the BigBelly System to the jobs of individuals employed in waste collection – particularly within municipalities with strong labor unions. Finally, the company finds itself battling against the inertia of an industry that has been operating in roughly the same way for decades. As Kutner explains, “I like to say I’m competing against the status quo.”

Despite these challenges, the BigBelly System has well-defined benefits that help the product sell itself. The reduced time necessary to complete waste collection frees up employees to contribute in other areas and some universities have reported a return on investment in less than a year through the reduction of costs associated with man power, vehicle maintenance and gas savings. The fully enclosed design of BigBelly components also eliminates the numerous problems created by wind, snow, rain and rodents.

Perhaps its most convincing selling point is that the installation of these trash and recycling containers provides tangible, highly-visible evidence that a university or other organization is committed to their green mission. With schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University having already installed BigBelly Systems, there is a certain amount of pressure on schools to keep up with the curve when it comes to sustainability. Hopefully colleges and universities – like Yale – will see the potential in leveraging BigBelly’s unique technological offerings to revolutionize their waste collection systems.

Benjamin Butterworth is a first year master’s student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Prior to Yale, he worked at Efficiency First, a nonprofit trade association that serves as an advocate for the energy efficient home retrofitting industry. He works on the Blueprint for Efficiency project at CBEY and is interested in energy efficiency and renewable energy development.