News-Record.com

Get this. A new vocabulary word for the climate change aware has popped up in recent news articles. "Carborexic" -- short for carbon or energy anorexic, describes people "obsessing over personal carbon emissions to an unhealthy degree, the way crash dieters watch the bathroom scale."

A quote from Australia's The Daily Telegraph:

Head of the University of Sydney Anxiety Disorders Clinic Dr. Mairwen Jones had seen an increase in patients suffering from climate change-related obsessive compulsive `checking' disorders.

She explained that some patients had begun checking their gas and power meters constantly to monitor their usage, while others worried about their petrol consumption and their car's odometer reading.

"A person who says: 'I constantly check the tap', now it's not that they're worried about a flood, but they say 'I don't want to waste water with elevated temperatures and drought, and I'm worried about my impact on the environment.''

Huh?

And The New York Times article says one man who might be carborexic drives his car on waste vegetable oil and has no heating or air conditioning units in his condo. Where does he live? Culver City, Calif., where the average highs reach 81 degrees and the lows 46 degrees, according to Weather.com. Yeah, he sounds like the poster child of irrational behavior.

It's possible there are people whose obsessive compulsive behaviors manifest themselves through energy-related actions, but I don't believe those examples were given in the stories cited. The National Institute of Mental Health defines obsessive compulsive disorder as "an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors such as handwashing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called 'rituals,' however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety."

Now, I'm not a clinical psychiatrist or psychologist, but it seems to me that an example of energy-related OCD behavior is obsessing over a particular setting on the thermostat (i.e. setting it on only odd-digit numbers like 59 degrees or 61 degrees) or some other type of irrational behavior that has no inherent value. People experimenting with lifestyle changes brought about by environmental or energy concerns does not in and of itself signify mental illness.

By the way, you'll find a couple responses to the term "carborexic" here and here.

Now, let's be honest. Lifestyle changes or temporary experiments such as tracking your garbage for a year or eating a 100 Mile Diet, can be a source of conflict in the home if spouses and relatives don't agree. That's the case with any change or big decision, such as starting a business or moving in an in-law. Therapy might be needed in some cases. The difference here is in what's considered culturally accepted or mainstream.

But I think the articles missed an opportunity to generate discussion about the underlying cultural and economic changes occurring across the country. People frequently refer to the Great Depression when talking or writing about our current financial crisis. Let's not forget that during the depression people were quite obsessive about what they used and the money they spent. They had to be.

Even now, families experiencing financial difficulty are trying to figure out how to stretch their dollars and imbue with dignity sacrifices they have to make. I recently heard on an NPR program that one disabled women's funds are so tight that she has gone to eating only two meals a day. And if a family is energy/environmentally conscious and broke, they might be doing a host of things, including setting their thermostat as low as they can tolerate, using fans instead of AC, and reusing plastic bags. All of a sudden, frugal is back in style.

What do you think? Do you think energy obsession is becoming more of a problem? Do you see evidence of this among friends and family in the Triad?

Last week we launched a basic version of our new goGreenTriad.com site, which I wrote about recently. I encourage you to go ahead and bookmark the site now, knowing that we are steadily adding features and content.

The home page now features stories of the day, a multimedia player, and links to a calendar of events and list of "green" organizations. We are working out the bugs and fine-tuning the green organizations page. I encourage you to e-mail me the names and Web sites of any Triad or North Carolina non-profit or government group working on environmental or energy issues that I have not already included.

Later this week I will also start adding fresher news stories to the site and sometime this month newsletter subscribers will be able to start receiving messages. If you have any questions or suggestions about the site, give me a call at 373-7078 or e-mail me at morgan.josey@news-record.com. Don't be discouraged if you send me a story idea and I don't respond right away. I am filing some of them away for a later time when I give them the focus they deserve.

Triad residents have a chance to provide input for a statewide initiative to build local food economies. A meeting will take place from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 at SciWorks, 400 W. Hanes Mill Road, Winston-Salem.

RSVP for the meeting by e-mailing amber_polk@ncsu.edu.

The event is one of several being held throughout the state this year by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, a partnership between two universities that seeks to develop and promote food and farming systems that protect the environment, strengthen local communities, and provide economic opportunities.

The center will incorporate participant feedback into a statewide action plan that it will complete next year. The center also received a $3.15 million endowment from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to help with this effort.

The center intends for the state plan to:
1. describe key elements of our current food system and define key terms;
2. identify the diversity of people, businesses, and organizations involved in and impacted by North Carolina’s food system;
3. highlight specific efforts and partnerships underway across our state and within different sectors of the food system to achieve greater “localness” in our food system; and
4. identify opportunities for action, and propose priorities, both in the short and long term, that will enable us to make progress toward shared goals.

Update: The Oil Drum will be providing a series of analyses and commentary on the World Energy Outlook. The Oil Drum is a superb collaborative energy analysis site so I encourage you to check it out.

The International Energy Agency released its much-anticipated, exhaustive (and leaked) 2008 World Energy Outlook today. The major concern? Constrained investment in a global recession will prevent companies from providing oil when we really need it.

Find the executive summary here and an easily digestible fact sheet here.

From the Financial Times:

"The organisation found that even with investment, the fields were declining at 6.7 per cent and that this rate was accelerating. That means that 45m barrels a day would have to be found and produced in the coming 22 years even if world demand remained completely unchanged. As it stands however, the IEA expects demand to rise from 85m bpd in 2007 to 106m b/d in 2030, making the challenge that much greater....

Many of the most sharply declining fields lie in developed countries, including in areas such as the North Sea and Alaska. This means the west will become less and less of a player in terms of production, while Persian Gulf countries become more important.

The west’s declining importance applies to its role not just as a supplier of oil but a customer. "We think OECD oil demand has peaked,” Mr Birol said, adding: “The OECD countries’ role in the energy world is becoming less and less important.”

Obviously, oil supplies are not our biggest problem right now, what with demand tanking and prices at roughly $60 per barrel. But what happens when demand picks back up?

Oh, and if you still have time after reading the IEA report, check out what the U.S. Government Accountability Office has to say about when we will see widespread carbon capture: No time soon.

Good summaries of carbon sequestration here and here.

Update (Friday): I took a look at the report and found some good points, particularly about states overlooking the importance of energy conservation in lowering fossil fuel-powered electricity demand. People often pay lip service to this but at the end of the day utilities and their employees are worried about revenue and jobs. And consumers want their big screen TVs and computers.

But consumers can have direct control over their energy use and wallets by reducing energy use, not just through weatherizing but through changed habits and dependencies. And it's going to become more important with all the layoffs taking place. Ways to curtail energy use include reducing the number of appliances and gadgets one uses at home, hanging laundry on clothes lines with perhaps neighbors sharing dryers during cold and rainy weather.

The Cato report argues that states would do better to focus on the goal rather than the method so as to not unfairly benefit a few industries while shutting out others. Moreover, it's unclear what the net impact will be of massive use of solar panel projects, wind farms, biomass/animal waste conversion and so on. For example, not everyone is happy about Fibrowatt's chicken waste burning plants in North Carolina. And what will be the economic and environmental impacts of converting land to biomass production?

Still, I would be interested in seeing a comparison study between subsidies and incentives provided for the established fossil fuel, nuclear and hydroelectric industries and those for renewable/alternative energy. We obviously cannot redo the past but I wonder how developed the fossil fuel and nuclear energy industries would be without government taxpayer support during the 20th century. Perhaps the situation would be better. Perhaps it would be worse.

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A new report out by the Cato Institute questions the economics of the renewable energy portfolio trend where states are requiring utilities to supply a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable energy. Twenty-six states have renewable portfolio requirements, including North Carolina, whose lawmakers passed standards in 2007.

Note: The institute espouses a "market-liberal" vision and opposes government planning mandates:

"Market liberals appreciate the complexity of a great society, they recognize that socialism and government planning are just too clumsy for the modern world. It is--or used to be--the conventional wisdom that a more complex society needs more government, but the truth is just the opposite. The simpler the society, the less damage government planning does. Planning is cumbersome in an agricultural society, costly in an industrial economy, and impossible in the information age. Today collectivism and planning are outmoded and backward, a drag on social progress."

I'll have comments on the report later, but feel free to chime in.

More than 100 people representing about 50 groups attended the city's Community Sustainability Council gathering on Thursday night. The advisory group wanted to tap into the existing environment and energy-related projects happening in the city and incorporate those ideas into its recommendations to City Council next year.

Participants divided into about a dozen different groups to brainstorm next steps for the CSC with topics including waste management, maintaining nature in the city, renewable energy, land use policies, water resources, transportation and local food production.

Some of the ideas: Neighbors pooling funds to purchase and install insulation in homes; church competitions to reduce energy consumption; wildlife education; improving public transit; incentivizing reduced water use and developing distribution networks for locally produced foods (i.e. processing plants and food preservation classes).

The CSC's report is due to council in March next year. I'll be following the group's work over the coming months to see how it influences the promotion and adoption of related initiatives.

Plus, a couple announcements:

* Green Drinks Greensboro meets on Wednesday at the Proximity Hotel's Print Works Bistro.

* UNCG students will present on Tuesday, Dec. 9, a community-oriented performance examining topics related to the "Going Green" movement. The inter-disciplinary performance will feature research relating to many different topics including: food production, wildlife conservation, economics and public policy, as well as sustainable design and a look at the practice of corporate "Greenwashing."

The performance will be staged in the auditorium of the Ferguson Building, located on Spring Garden St. on the UNCG campus. The approximately half-hour long show begins at 7:30pm and will be followed by a short question and answer session with the students as well as a small reception. The event is free and open to the public.

* Also, the Really Really Free Market returns to The HIVE on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving):

What: Really Really Free Market
When: November 28, 10 am - 3 pm
Where: The HIVE, 1214 Grove Street, Greensboro, NC
How Much: FREE!
Contact: Kathy Clark at 336.409.9195 or Chelsea Simpson at 617.913.5964

"Here's how it works: Bring stuff you don't want or need. Leave it for others to take. Then look through all the stuff that other people have brought. It's like a yard sale, only FREE! Books, clothing, kitchenware, electronics, art supplies: you will find these and many more for FREE!

As well as loads of free stuff, there will be gift-making demonstrations, free musical performances and free food. Avoid the crowds and credit card debt. Consider buying nothing at the Really Really Free Market!"

Check this out.

Update (Sunday): More recycling information: Salvage America, a private Greensboro recycling company, says it will take your old plastic shopping bags.

Check out this interactive animated video on the process of single stream recycling, released just before America Recycles Day on Saturday. (Go here if the video doesn't show well.)

One of the concepts I tend to explore on this blog is that of decentralization or relocalization of commerce, food production, energy distribution and government, a process being promoted across the country by some community groups, grassroots activists, ecologists, private citizens, and in some cases, economists and businesses.

What does decentralization look like today in our complex world? It's not so clear cut because we have seen decentralization and centralization of various industries and institutions take place simultaneously. For example, the Internet has decentralized communications and the mass media while at the same time contributing to the consolidation of newspapers and television networks, and the music and movie industry. But in general, the 20th century was largely about the centralization of commerce (into transnational corporations), agriculture, energy production and distribution.

Water management also followed this trend as more people migrated to urban areas, requiring the construction of large water and sewer treatment plants. These plants carried the benefit of providing safe drinking water on a consistent and timely basis, while ameliorating drought, controlling floods and serving industry. Expanding regional water supplies also worked in an era of lower population densities, but now governments are increasingly fighting over already vouched for rivers and lakes.

Ironically, Robert Hirsch's recent memo to the peak oil community is only helping to spread the message.

The state's 21st Century Transportation Committee has asked the General Assembly to consider charging motorists for how many miles they drive in their cars in the state to help raise transportation funds.

Would this fundraising effort work in a recession or just motivate people to drive less (which is in and of itself a good thing)?

In a statement by the N.C. Justice Center:

“North Carolina needs a solution that keeps pace with growing road use,” said (public policy analyst Steve) Jackson. “Taxing road use is equitable, since property owners whose lands motivate heavier travel pay a heavier burden. It's a fair policy that encourages smart development, discourages sprawl, and could be implemented right away.”

The (Budget & Tax Center) proposal, known as the Property Traffic Fee, is not a panacea. The funding mechanism works best in more densely settled urban areas, and would not be an appropriate way to fund the state's major highways.

“The gas and vehicle use tax can do the job there for a few years, at least,” said Jackson. “The PTF is well-suited as a transportation revenue option for local governments right now. Local governments are looking for more revenue options for transportation and this fits the bill.”

Open-space advocates are marching ahead with plans to extend the Mountains-to-Sea Trail through the city's watershed region to Haw River State Park, where a campground for hikers might be in the cards, according to a recent story by fellow reporter Taft Wireback.

Supporters plan to request from Guilford County Board of Commissioners in December $2.6 million in open-space bonds to buy 250 acres key to the proposal.

The mango-banana smoothie was right on target. And the relaxed bohemian atmosphere made me want to kick off my shoes and settle in with a good book. But what really drew me to the Juice Gallery on West Market Street was owner Gael McAllister's declaration that she planned to go carbon neutral by the end of 2009.

McAllister, who opened the shop in March, has already tackled the low-hanging fruit when it comes to environmental stewardship and energy efficiency: a recycling can for customers, conservative use of the heating and cooling systems, compact fluorescent bulbs in the lamps, organic fair trade coffee, and corn-based cups that claim to biodegrade in 40 days. She said she next plans to start a community compost bin behind the shop and purchase carbon offsets from a credible company to cover the energy she does use.

"I didn't want to do it because it's trendy," said McAllister, a Greensboro native. "I want to do it because it's a good idea."

McAllister acknowledges that she doesn't carry the baggage that large, established companies and corporations might have when it comes to going green. She is the sole proprietor and began the transition early on. But she does pay a premium -- about 13 cents per cup -- for the bioplastics.

"That's the one thing about going green," she said. "You've really got to want to do it because in some small ways it will affect your bottom line."

Still, she sees her commitment as a part of a community-wide goal to become more sustainable and she hopes to engage in some friendly competition with local businesses, she said.

Anybody game?

Attention entrepreneurs: North Carolina will soon accept applications for $950,000 in grants available next year through a state Green Business Fund.

The fund awards competitive grants to North Carolina organizations with innovative projects focused on the following areas: development and commercialization of the biofuels industry; development and commercialization of the green building industry; attraction and leverage of private sector investments; and entrepreneurial growth in environmentally conscious clean technology and renewable energy products and businesses.

Businesses with fewer than 100 employees are eligible to apply for a maximum of $100,000 per company. Fiscal Year 2009 solicitation will be available in mid-December. Workshops on grant writing for this program will be held at the following locations:

Dec. 1 - 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cape Fear Community College North Campus Auditorium in Wilmington. The event is free but requires attendees to register.

Dec. 2 - Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College - Enka Campus from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Haynes Building. Please contact Abby Gage at agage@abtech.edu or (828) 254-1921 ext. 5858 to register.

Dec. 8 - Vance-Granville Community College in Building 7 Room # 7107 from 6-9 p.m.Please contact Diane Finch at (252) 492-2061 ext. 3275 or 3240 to register.

Dec. 13 - Western Wake Technical Community College from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Room #118. The event is free; but limited to 80 seats. To register for the workshop, please send an e-mail to caroix@waketech.edu.

For more information, contact Rikard at rvrikard@nccommerce.com, (919) 716-0110.

You can also find out information about grants to recycling programs here.