So I have no problem with being green. Okay, that is a lie. I have a lot of problems with how people “attempt” to be green, but overall I think I side with Captain Planet. But there is a huge lingering problem with the whole thing, and it all boils down to this question: What does green mean?
I am in the office chair manufacturing and design business, and in our industry “green” is in. But it is new. No one really knows what they are talking about when they say they attain this mystic goal. If they do know what they are talking about, you can assume the person or people they are talking to really don’t know what they are talking about, or the definition of “green” is different for the both of them. In our industry you are green if you are certified green. But which certification? There are a half dozen already floating around out there. They all show that you are trying to be green, but do they really prove that you are green? And what does that even mean?
To illustrate the point, I introduce the following excerpt from an article in the Taiwan Review on solar energy:
In February this year, Taiwanese company E-TON Solar completed installation of solar panels that provide power for London’s City Hall. The total installed capacity of E-TON’s panels now equals some 50,000 kilowatt hours each year–or 1.5 percent–of the building’s electrical needs. That may not sound like much, but it will prevent more than 28,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants from entering the atmosphere each year. Moreover, the project demonstrated the feasibility of retrofitting uniquely designed buildings with solar cells, a task that was not easy given the structure’s domed roof and “eyelash” shading system.
50,000 kilowatt hours each year equals 1.5% of the building out-put, correct? So that means that 3,333,333 kilowatt hours of energy are consumed by that building every year. And using solar panels is saving 50,000. Great, I think… Who in the world even knows what that means! I am not stupid, but I guarantee the average American (British, Taiwanese etc…) does not have a clear grasp on what that number means. Now to my favorite example. The article goes on to explain that by saving 50,000 kilowatts of energy every year, although a mere 1.5% of the buildings consumption, 28,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are spared from being spewed out into the atmosphere. Now who, without lying can really say they have any idea what that means?! 28,000 kilograms eh? I think I ate that much gummy candy back in high school, but I can’t remember. I don’t think the labels were in kilograms back then.
My point (if there is one mixed in all the sarcasm of the above paragraph) is that if we are really going to make a difference (regular people that is) we need to be a) speaking the same language, and b) using metrics that make sense to the lay-person.
Share This
