Definitely Not Overrated

A lot of things in this world are over-hyped, overblown and overrated. Everything from the latest America Idol to whoever is gracing the cover of the supermarket slick mags, we're surrounded by the overrated. But when it comes to Virginia, it's definitely not overrated.

According to a study by Statemaster.com, Virginia ranks five for Best States to Live. The only states ahead of it are either square fly-over states (Wyoming) or too cold for most of us (Minnesota, New Hampshire and Vermont).

Although I'm a transplant from what should be the number one state -- New York -- I have to admit that I've grown to appreciate Virginia for all that it has to offer, and for all that we should care about.

Virginia has one of America's great rivers in the Potomac, and some not too shabby river cousins in the James, Rappahannock and Shenandoah. Not too bad at all.

Virginia has some of the best national parks in the U.S. While almost by definition a national park is spectacular, Virginia has its fair share of great NPs, starting with the Shenandoah, home to mountains, waterfalls, lakes and more than 100 miles of the iconic Appalachian Trail.

Virginia has some of the best state colleges and universities in the U.S, and with them, several of the truly gorgeous green campuses. Ranked #5 by Forbes, the University of Virginia is one of Thomas Jefferson's greatest legacies. But by no means is UVA the only jewel in Virginia's state university crown. Virginia Tech, William and Mary and a number of other public universities rank high on the total value lists published by the major college ranking bodies.

Higher education, national parks, river systems, all of these things pale against the overall historical value of Virginia. Home to America's first permanent European settlement, Virginia can properly be called the genesis of America. Although its history is marred by slavery and some would claim amnesia or plain insensitivity when it comes to that horrible American past, Massachusetts and the Pilgrims just can't hold a candle to Virginia.

A Green Summer Vacation

The unofficial start of summer begins with the coming of Memorial Day weekend less than one week away. Although most of us will get three days to frolic and have the kind of fun that is only a dim memory after a brutal winter, we shouldn't forget why we have Memorial Day at all. With tens of thousands of servicemen and women in hostile territory, it's important that while we pack up the cooler, fire up the grill and set out on the open road, that we remember Memorial Day exists because people have died to protect our country and its core values.

OK, now for the fun stuff. There is a way to kick off summer vacation in an environmentally friendly way and add a little green to the celebration of the Red, White and Blue.

Six Tips For a Green Summer Vacation

1. Drive to your vacation. There's nothing like flying through the clouds to kick off a vacation. But if you're concerned about the environment, taking a plane is, mile-for-mile, more damaging to the environment. Virginia is practically at the center of the eastern seaboard and within a moderate day's drive to some spectacular vacation sites along the Atlantic coast like Myrtle Beach and the Outer Banks to the south, or New York City, the Catskills and Boston to the north. Heading west, after a half dozen hours or so of "are we there yet" from the kids, a family can enjoy Chicago, Memphis and the spectacular Smoky Mountains.

2. Don't use plastic bottles. While a 24-pack of water can be purchased for about six bucks from the local grocery store, using stainless steel bottles to chug water is better for the environment, albeit more pricey. And, they can be used the rest of the summer and even longer, making their cost compare favorably in the long run.

3. Run your car's air conditioner when on the highway. As crazy as it sounds since running the air burns more gas -- and who wants to burn more gas -- it's actually more efficient to drive highways with the windows up and the air on. More efficient driving tips can be found at Edmunds.com.

4. Pick a green hotel. Most of us have seen those silly little cards in the hotel asking us to defer having our sheets changed every day as a way to save on water and on energy used in the washing process. I can go with the same sheets for two days, but most people would rather not while on vacation. That's OK, because the real measure of an eco-hotel is its overall energy footprint. This site lists hotels that claim to be green, and why they think that they are. One sure way to green your hotel stay is to select a hotel near where you'll spend most of your time, enabling you to leave your car parked and to take public transportation. I'll never forget the first time my daughter rode the Disney World bus -- she had never been on a bus before and she was as wide-eyed as you could imagine.

5. Eat Local. OK, you're on vacation and you want to have great food -- even if your children would be content with fast food. Great food is local food. It's fresher and didn't cost the environment as much to get to your plate. Most restaurants that serve locally grown or organic food toot the fact on their websites. Use the hotel internet or your own device to check out the restaurants. This website can help. You'll enjoy the food more and have some bragging rights when you get back home.

6. Finally, prepare your home for vacation. Unplug all of the vampire electronic devices before you leave. Research shows that as much as five percent of the energy used in a home is drawn and wasted by these vampire devices, such as your TV, desktop computer and more. Unplugging these things will lower your month's electric bill while you're away. If you just can't imagine returning to a hot house when you get back from vacation -- get over it. Turn the AC off at home; you don't need to keep the walls cool.

Nuclear? I don't think so

With global warming pretty much an accepted fact, energy policymakers on both sides of the political spectrum are looking for non-carbon alternatives to creating electricity. And while increasing the use of nuclear energy should be a last resort for anyone who cares about the environment because of the risks associated with nuclear waste disposal, whether underground in New Mexico or anywhere else for that matter but the moon, nuclear is gaining ground.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Dominion Virginia Power (the company lighting my home) said that it had chosen a nuclear generator manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (yep, related to the car company). If completed, the reactor would be third nuclear reactor owned and operated by Dominion in Virginia. In all, nuclear energy accounted for 35 percent of the power generated in the state in 2007. To be fair, even if Dominion did move ahead with the plant, it wouldn't come online for at least five years.

Nevertheless, currently when combined with coal at 45 percent, four-fifths of the state's electricity is generated by either the dirtiest fuel known to man, or possibly the most dangerous. Forget explosions and meltdowns. There is no doubt that the waste from nuclear reactors remains poisonous for, oh... thousands of years!

Nuclear is getting a boost these days because it basically doesn't emit green house gases, and won't contribute to global warming. In fact, nuclear has such great benefits that an exhaustive list can be found right on the Nuclear Energy Institutes's website. The site is so nice, with its crystal clear blue sky background, fluffy clouds and pristine, pine encircled lakes.

No photos of Chernobyl or Three Mile Island on this site.

But before everyone thinks that I believe that nuclear is all bad, I don't. It has a place in our energy policy. My issue is the rapid pace of its ascendancy on the list of the non-carbon alternatives to energy production. According to one report, President Obama has more than $50 billion of federal money budgeted to support the construction of new nuclear power plants. I'm sure that some of that is on the radar of Dominion Power.

Fewer than 20 percent of total federal energy subsidies go to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

But Virginia is forging ahead in trying to increase the deployment of renewable energy, especially wind. Next month, the Virginia Wind Energy Collaborative is holding a two-day conference down at James Madison University. Registration is affordable at twenty bucks for one day, and thirty dollars for the two day event. People interested in knowing what's been going on inside Virginia with respect to wind power generation will hear an earful.

Meanwhile, if you care about more balanced energy policy and taxpayer subsidy going to projects that won't make you glow in the dark if they mess up, then sign one of the zillion petitions online and get our Congress and President to make better choices.

Today's The Day

Someone said a long time ago that, "today is the first day of the rest of your life." For those of us who have been hoping for movement in Congress on climate change, we're in the midst of realizing the true meaning of that aphorism.

Senator's Kerry and Lieberman introduced their bill this week and voices on the left and right found it inadequate. The loud voices over at Fox called the bill a global power grab, while at least one the equally strident advocate voice on the other side is angry that the bill doesn't go far enough.

Today's the day.

We're here and consuming energy to support a lifestyle that we like, and around the world billions-- yes, billions -- of other people have the hope and are praying that they can have the life that we have here in the U.S. But those aspirations come with costs, and really no matter how much the climate skeptics want us to hop on their bandwagon, glaciers that have advanced and receded across our global landscape for a long time, are now retreating and not recharging at rates enough to sustain them because where the glaciers are, and where the rest of us are, is here on Earth and it's getting warmer.

Today's the day.

The Kerry-Lieberman (or is it Lieberman-Kerry?) bill tries to make a difference, but like most things out of Washington, the difference is on the margins when what we need is bold action. I have the blessed fortune to telecommute for work a couple of days each week. Actually, if not for out-dated ideas about personnel management, I don't have to be in the office much at all. All of us need to think about climate change and associated energy efficiency as essential, and how our usual way of thinking needs to change for our own greater good.

The green jobs pablum that comes out of Washington and state capitals also needs to be bolder. The so-called cash-for-caulkers program will make homes more efficient and put some people to work, but the long-term effect of it will be small. A "GI-Bill", Marshall Plan, full-court press or some other catch phrase is needed to make a real difference here.

Dealing with climate change by making better energy source choices (wind and solar, and having the guts to build the transmission delivery capacity from generating location to end user) today and realizing that the choices are investments in the future and not just current accounting entries for today, is critical.

Carefully debating the Lieberman-Kerry bill -- without the sound-byte hyperbole, or a jaundiced eye on the next election -- also is necessary. The bill's far from perfect, but today it's a place to start.

Today's the day.

(Photo Credit: First photo: Reardon, USGS, 2001; Second Photo, Stebinger, Glacier National Park Archives, 1914

Fed's Announce Chesapeake Plan

Virginia is one of a half dozen states and the District of Columbia that can claim the Chesapeake Bay watershed. News May 12 from the Environmental Protection Agency about plans to clean up and restore the Bay to its natural beauty is welcome.

The important thing is to hold the plans of the EPA, the Department of Agriculture and other federal and state agencies that have pledged to improve the bay to the letter. A day before the announcement by Administrator Jackson, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation announced that it had settled a lawsuit against the EPA because it claimed that the government was slow to move on previous promises.

It's critically important to note that previous promises, commitments, etc., never really amounted to much. In fact, various federal administrations have been smiling and promising in front of cameras about restoring the bay since 1972 when the Clean Water Act was passed, and more specifically since 1983 when the governors of the watershed states of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland met.

Depending on which advocacy group you ask, the results these past twenty years to clean and restore the Chesapeake are either dismal or abysmal.

The fact is, the Chesapeake Bay is a priceless natural resource, and the largest estuary system in the U.S. The streams and rivers that flow into it are the sources of fresh water for many residents in Virginia and Pennsylvania because the James, Potomac, Rappahannock and the Susquehanna. The Susquehanna provides about half of the fresh water that flows into the Chesapeake.

The bay and its sources are important. Period. Keeping them healthy is vital to the economy all along the Bay and its water sources.

Little Things; Paper Cups

This Saturday I'm running in a 5k near my house. The course will wind its way through a regional park and give the runners a chance to view some nature while they huff and puff. At about the two mile mark the tables will come out and lined up on each one will be rows of paper cups filled with water.

Ignoring for a moment how much water will be spilled and wasted on the ground (that's for another post), I wonder if the organizers of this race and other races realize the environmental effect of their events from all of these paper cups?

According to a post on the Mother Nature Network's website, about 58 BILLION paper cups are used each year. Not all of those are used by runners and walkers at the hundreds of events held each year, but enough of them are.

Why? Most runners use a reusable bottle of some kind when they're training. Why not use one during the race? A couple of years ago my wife and I entered a half-marathon in Richmond. We had reusable water bottles. Carrying the bottles the 13.1 miles didn't slow us down, and not having to jostle at the water table probably helped us by a minute or two.

Granted, to carry enough water to make it through a marathon could be difficult. But again, what do runners do when training? Some of the teams that sponsor runners have water stations along the training course, but even then, the runners frequently top of bottles held in their hands or attached to the waists.

Energy conservationists are making great strides in convincing consumers that doing little things -- swapping out incandescent bulbs, running dishwashers and washing machines while full instead of half-empty -- I think that it's time more of the races around Virginia and the country make a move and reduce the use of those little things, paper cups, and make a big difference on our environment.

Local

There are all kinds of movements popping up these days. One that I've been thinking a lot about lately is the push to "buy local." At its foundation, buy local folks encourage the purchase and enjoyment of fresh food, crafts and other things, that without looking at the labels you'd never know were grown or manufactured thousands of miles away. For example, I'm on my way to a conference in Phoenix and while packing glanced at the label of a shirt -- Bangladesh.

Bangladesh? According to the World Bank the country's about 56,000 square miles in total area, or about 10,000 square miles smaller than Florida. The country packs an amazing 162 million people in that space, or about half as many who live in the U.S. Oh, and its about 8,000 miles from Sterling, VA.

Definitely not local; and someone there made my shirt. A year or so ago, I heard about a book written by woman whose family tried not to buy anything made in China. While to me their quest was more of a lark, the problems they faced in finding things manufactured someplace else was tough, and illustrated a real truth: we get so much of our stuff from so far away.

But while trying to find things like tennis shoes or kids toys made locally may be difficult, this time of year there is no problem finding fresh produce and even meats. May 1 opens the Fairfax County Farmers Market, as well as other markets throughout Virginia.

Buying local produce has benefits across nearly all shades of green. For example, sustainabletable, a buy local advocate lists a range of environmental benefits from buying local, including boosts to the local economy, reduced pesticide use (and less runoff) and less fossil-based energy being used through shorter travel distances for your food.

Most people don't know this, but California is where most of our green stuff comes from (red stuff, too, like strawberries.) According to Beachcalifornia.com, ninety-nine percent of U.S. almonds, prunes, figs and walnuts come from California. I bought almonds a few days ago and never thought twice where they came from. A little closer than my Bangladesh shirt, but what's a few thousand miles once you get over 3,000?

Can I do without almonds? Sure. Should I? Don't know, but it certainly doesn't hurt to pause to think about the real cost of those almonds when I'm sprinkling them on my oatmeal -- or the cost of everything else that we buy -- on the environment .