Category Archives: Green investing
Treetalker—what’s happening
I’ve looked at several articles, more or less recent, about the future of Wind turbines, as a part of the government’s plans for investing in green energy. Rather than recite the articles themselves, I’m just going to give you my general impression and opinion. Lots of opinion. You may comment, if you like.
There has been a lot of effort into establishing wind power as a more significant portion of energy sources in the US. Biden has gotten the military to agree to a couple of big offshore development areas on the West Coast (you can bet there will be a lot of protest about that.) So, now there is a lot of research and development on remote, floating ocean wind turbines, which would be on huge platforms, as opposed to the ones that are near shore, imbedded in the rock off the coasts.
These things cost a ton of money to make, transport and install, I might add, and only last 20-25 years. Sure, they give us green energy, but their production involves a lot of materials that are anything but green. They are made of all kinds of the normal stuff—steel, plastic, tons of concrete, etc., etc.—and something called rare earth elements (REE), that are part of the magnets that operate the turbines themselves. There’s lots of REE in the earth, but it’s mixed with a lot of other things, so it’s difficult, messy and polluting to mine and process the ore, also, the mining and processing uses vast amounts of water, which is becoming a rarer commodity as time goes on (that’s another issue, however).
We do have one large mine, the Mountain Pass Mine, southwest of Las Vegas, that is scheduled to start processing (rather than sending it to China to be processed) in 2022. It was owned by Molycorp, Inc., which went bankrupt; it’s since been sold to MP Materials. Anyway, you’re welcome to look up information on all that, if you like.
So, anyway, these REE are expensive, hard to come by, and cause a lot of global tension. I mean, why do you think the U.K., Russia, the United States, and now China, have worked so hard to get into Afghanistan? Because they have LOTS of REE in all those mountains, as a largely untapped resource. It would be a huge coup for China to acquire REE in quantity. But with the way things are in Afghanistan and the way the Chinese like to run things, I think it’s going to be very interesting to watch what happens. Good luck to them, I say, and “watch this space,” as the saying goes.
However, I found that there is at least one company, Greenspur Renewables, that is working on turbines that do the job without the use of REE. I know they’re currently operating, but don’t know a lot more than that, so I don’t want to say, “Hey, go out and invest in these guys!”
So this has not been an article that is particularly pro wind energy, but I believe that there will be those who will invent what is needed to move us forward without creating even more pollution. It will take the market to drive it, tho, which is why I think the Afghanistan/China situation is so interesting.
Dragonfruit
Also called “pitahaya” by the Maya, the Dragon fruit is an often-cultivated species of fast-growing, vine-like, tropical cactus. Quite sensitive to temperatures below freezing, it is only grown within a global range that will also not exceed temperatures greater than 100 degrees.
Originating in Central America, this perennial can attach itself to branches, rocks, walls, houses or any other surface upon which it can gain a foothold. It is primarily grown as a fruit crop, but is also considered an ornamental, although it can spread out of control. (from Volume 4-upcoming someday 🙂
My Blog – 10/2/2021
I’ve been watching the news—like, a LOT— for a few years now, but I just can’t take this shrill, incessant harping on whatever’s going on in Congress. I mean, for God’s sake, just leave them to it! Sure, people should call their Congressman and Senators to let them know how we feel—politely, I might add, with no profanity or threats—but the press (and I LOVE the Free Press) needs to take a chill pill. There are LOTS of other things going on in the world, that just might be interesting and informative, and things that might actually be useful to our lives.
I’m not the kind of person who buries my head in the sand about what’s happening to the planet or even what’s happening with us “just folks” in America, but I think the press does not help the situation by dwelling on the negative, almost exclusively, except for the odd human interest story.
I understand that we pay more attention to what’s negative, but it’s a loop that feeds itself, and it doesn’t make for happy, healthy people. Angry people are not healthy.
So turn it off for a while. Watch the football game, or “Dancing with the Stars” or a rerun of the X-Files. Or go out and play catch with the kids.
odds and ends
Diego, the Tortoise Whose High Sex Drive Helped Save His Species, Retires
With the future secured, he’s finally going home. Good job, Diego.
By Aimee Ortiz
Jan. 12, 2020
A member of the giant tortoise species indigenous to Española Island in the Galápagos in Ecuador, Diego was one of 15 tortoises in a captive breeding program at the Fausto Llerena Tortoise Center on the island of Santa Cruz.
Among the males, Diego displayed an exceptional sex drive, so much so, he’s credited with helping save his species from extinction. Approximately 40 percent of the 2,000 tortoises repatriated to Española Island are estimated to be Diego’s descendants, officials said.
Now, more than 100 years old, he is retiring, since the Galápagos National Park announced the end of the breeding program, saying an evaluation showed it had met its conservation goals. (Maybe he doesn’t want to quit now!!)
Begun in 1965, the program on Pinzón Island started with the last 2 males and 12 females, plus Diego, a 30-year old male from the San Diego Zoo who is believed to have been taken from Española Island in the 1930s.
For many years, feral goats overran the island, competing for food and destroying the habitat. Conservationists have worked to restore the island’s habitat, including the growth of cacti, which are a main source of food for the tortoises.
There are more details on the breeding program here. And here.
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Photo: Laurent Gillieron. AP
Climate Crisis Will Reshape Finance,
Andrew Ross Sorkin,
January 14, 2020
Laurence D. Fink, the founder and chief executive of BlackRock, announced Tuesday that his firm would make investment decisions with environmental sustainability as a core goal.
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager with nearly $7 trillion in investments, and this move will fundamentally shift its investing policy — and could reshape how corporate America does business and put pressure on other large money managers to follow suit.
Mr. Fink’s annual letter to the chief executives of the world’s largest companies is closely watched, and in the 2020 edition he said BlackRock would begin to exit certain investments that “present a high sustainability-related risk,” such as those in coal producers. His intent is to encourage every company, not just energy firms, to rethink their carbon footprints.
“Awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance,” Mr. Fink wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The New York Times. “The evidence on climate risk is compelling investors to reassess core assumptions about modern finance.”
In recent years, many companies and investors have committed to focusing on the environmental impact of business, but none of the largest investors in the country have been willing to make it a central component of their investment strategy.
In that context, Mr. Fink’s move is a watershed — one that could spur a national conversation among financiers and policymakers. However, it’s also possible that some of the most ardent climate activists will see it as falling short.
More details here.
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Photo: Tyler Varsell
Climate Fwd – One Thing We Can Do: Fix Recycling
by Eduardo Garcia,
January 15, 2020
For years, we relied heavily on recycling operations in China to take our waste. But that came to an end in 2018, when Beijing barred the import of recycling materials. The result is a waste crisis that has caused at least dozens of municipalities to cancel curbside recycling programs, with many more implementing partial cuts. Huge amounts of recyclables are now going to landfills.
Experts say that we would need to implement changes across the board. Legislators may need to pass laws requiring manufacturers to use more recyclable materials, companies would need to build much-needed recycling infrastructure and people would need to recycle properly.
Cities can’t do all that. But they can play an important role.
For a possible model, consider San Francisco, which runs one of the most successful waste-management programs in the United States. Through recycling and composting, the city manages to keep around 80 percent of its waste out of landfills.
San Francisco’s program has been years in the making. In 2000, it introduced the “fantastic three” citywide curbside collection program with separate, color-coded bins for recyclables, compost and trash. In 2009, it passed a law requiring residents and businesses to separate their waste.
Other policies include bans on hard-to-recycle items including single-use plastic bags and polystyrene packaging and an ordinance requiring food vendors to use compostable or recyclable food containers.
San Francisco’s system is built on a highly unusual partnership with a single waste company. That company, Recology, has had a monopoly on handling San Francisco’s waste for almost 90 years. That no-bid, no-franchise-fee concession has come under harsh criticism over the years.
More here.
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Also, in “Spotlight On” –
Glistening Inkcap
This is a common edible fungus found all over the world. It grows in dense clusters on rotting hardwood and disturbed ground sites. Under humid conditions, it can also grow indoors on rotting wood. In one instance it was discovered about four hundred feet underground in an abandoned coal mine, growing on wooden gangways and props used to support the roof. The Glistening inkcap can be highly productive, with several successive crops appearing during one fruiting season.
The entire cap surface is covered with reflective cells that look like flakes of mica, which give this mushroom its name.
It is edible, and is enjoyed in omelets and sauces. Nutritionally, it contains a very high concentration of potassium, but also accumulates heavy metals from exposure, so it should not be collected from roadsides and other areas that may be exposed to pollutants.
The scientific community has found the Coprinellus micaeus of interest since 1601, when it was the subject of a monograph by Carolus Clusius in The History of Rare Plants. As this mushroom is plentiful and easily grown in laboratories, it has often been the subject in studies of cells and the processes of spore production.
Bioactive compounds have been isolated from Coprinellus micaeus. One was found to inhibit the enzyme that aids cancer cells to resist chemotherapy, and one has been shown to have some modest potential as an antioxidant. (From Volume 1 of Secret Voices, Coastal Redwood Companions)
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And, don’t forget my books, Secret Voices from the Forest – Thoughts and Dreams of North American Trees, are on sale on Amazon.com. p.s. There are some weird people offering them for sale, sometimes for hundreds of dollars! Don’t be fooled. The list prices are $28.95 for Vols. 1 & 2, and $32.95 for Vol. 3.
See ya later, alligator.
news from (and about) the trees 