Earth Day and Women and the Green Economy
Earth Day Network is engaging women business, government and NGO leaders in its Women and the Green Economy (WAGE) Campaign to accelerate and provide the new thinking and creative power for a global post-carbon economy. The goal is to create a policy agenda for Rio+20 and generate relevant national initiatives that will promote the green economy, secure educational and job training opportunities for women and channel green investment to benefit women. Earth Day Network created WAGE in view of the following facts:
- Women constitute more than half of the world’s population
- Women make 85 percent of all consumer choices
- Women are rising to key positions of power
- Women can lead the way to a sustainable green economy
Women are leading key efforts in the climate and renewable energy discussion, from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who created a new office for women at the State Department, to Dr. Amina Benkhadra, Morocco’s Minister of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment, to Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Together, our most talented and successful women can fast-forward the green economy. Already, WAGE has attracted the following women sustainability leaders to its Global Advisory Committee:
Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, President and Founder, Interfaith Power and Light
Martha Delgado Peralta, Secretary, Mexico City Ministry of the Environment
Martha Duggan, President, Government and Regulatory Affairs, United Solar Ovonic LLC
Marina Grossi, Executive President, Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development
Dr. Pamela Hartigan, Director, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, University of Oxford
Jane Henley, CEO, World Green Building Council
Kristina Johnson, Former Undersecretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Donna Karan, Founder, DKNY
Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Business Advisory Services, International Finance Corporation
Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Mindy Lubber, President, CERES
Daniel B. Magraw, Jr., President Emeritus, Distinguished Scholar, Center for International Environmental Law
Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon Ltd.
Charlotte Pera, Senior Vice President, Director of U.S. Operations, Energy Foundation
Sally Ranney, CEO, Stillwater Preservation, LLC
Stephanie, Rico, Head of External Communications and Marketing, Wells Fargo
Shannon Schuyler, U.S. Corporate Responsibility Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Dr. Lise Van Susteren, Forensic Psychiatrist and Environmental Activist
Mary Wenzel, Director of Environmental Affairs, Wells Fargo
Rebecca Wodder, President, American Rivers
Denice Zeck, Executive Director, American Forum
Jean Oelwang, CEO, Virgin Unite
Denise Bode, CEO, American Wind Energy Association
Katrina Landis, CEO, BP Alternative Energy
Vanessa E-H Stewart, COO, Co-Founder, Soltage
Aimee Christensen, Founder and CEO, Christensen Global Strategies
Maria Fernanda Garza, Vicepresidente, International Chamber of Commerce, Mexico
TopTen Energy Saving Products
TopTen launched a consumer guide giving people around the world the opportunity of making informed decisions on the energy costs of appliances they buy. Topten’s goal is to fight climate change and energy consumption by driving demand and encouraging innovation for super-efficient products in common categories from appliances to electronics.
TopTen provides a real-time list of the very best so consumers can achieve very real cost and energy savings. Energy-efficient products offer one of the quickest, least painful routes to significant greenhouse gas reductions. The most efficient products in common consumer categories such as refrigerators and televisions use up to 50 percent less energy than the category average. Even a modest consumer shift (10 percent of current sales) to the most energy efficient products could have a considerable impact on climate change by eliminating the release 100 million metric tons of carbon-equivalent gases each year.
Founded by the Swiss Agency for Energy Efficiency and WWF, TopTen’s logic is simple. By naming the ten most efficient products in each category, the organizations make it easy for consumers to cut through the clutter of products on the market. And growing demand and publicity for efficient products in turn spurs manufacturers to innovate, accelerating the introduction of next-generation efficiency. The product selection and ranking on the TopTen website is up to date and based on independent research.
- Energy conservation alone is the largest source of all actions to curb CO2 emissions by more than one third in the next few decades.
- Energy efficiency is the quickest, least lifestyle-changing route to planet-saving levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
- If hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide make smart choices for the most efficient products, they will not only save money from increased energy bills, they will also substantially cut global warming and other pollution.
- On average, products on a TopTen list use half the energy of a standard model.
- Their goal is to encourage manufacturer innovation by growing demand for increasingly energy-efficient products, and recognize leaders in the race for energy efficiency.
Kauai Renewable Energy from the Sea
To achieve the goal of seventy percent clean energy by 2030, the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative is working to develop renewable sources of energy. Hawaii must transform the way we meet our energy needs by converting to the clean, sustainable sources. The Hawaiian Islands have abundant natural resources including wind, sun, ocean, geothermal, hydroelectric, as well as temperate conditions to grow energy crops for biofuels.
The ocean that surrounds our islands has long sustained its people, and today new technologies are being developed that will enable us to tap the ocean as a source of energy for future generations. Oceans can produce mechanical energy from the waves. Wave power devices extract energy directly from surface waves or from pressure fluctuations below the surface.
Cold water from the ocean depths has shown promise as a cost-effective alternative to traditional air-conditioning systems. The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Authority began using a small-scale deep seawater air-conditioning system to cool three of its research compound buildings, and has saved up to as much as $4,000 a month in energy costs.
Hydropower is using flowing water as it moves downstream towards the sea to power turbines and generators which convert this energy into electricity to be used in homes and businesses. There are currently plants on Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui. Renewable energy resources and energy-efficiency efforts can potentially meet a substantial portion of the current electricity needs of the Hawaiian islands.
Kauai Renewable Energy from the Land
Hawaii is rich in renewable energy sources that have the potential to provide future energy. Our geothermal activity, plentiful sunshine, temperate climate, and year-round growing season can all be tapped to provide sustainable sources of energy that are essential for clean energy.
Geothermal energy taps the Earth’s internal heat for a variety of uses, including electric power production, and the heating and cooling of buildings. Many technologies have been developed to take advantage of geothermal energy from hot water or steam reservoirs, and use it to drive generators to produce electricity. Other geothermal resources exist within the hot rock and magma that are miles beneath the Earth’s surface. Today, geothermal energy supplies 20% of the Big Island’s energy needs.
Plants are another source of energy derived from the land. Biomass can be used to produce electricity, transportation fuels, or chemicals. Hawaii has the potential to significantly increase the proportion of clean energy they use for ground transportation through alternative fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol, and electricity for electric vehicles.
Biomass energy also has the potential to boost our agricultural industry directly and indirectly. Biomass can be derived from sugar, with plantations on Kauai and Maui having a capacity to produce a combined total of about 46 megawatts of power. Ethanol made from sugarcane molasses has been produced in Hawaii and mixed with gasoline to produce fuel for automobiles. Used cooking oil is being converted into biodiesel at facilities on Maui and Oahu. Electricity is being produced from refuse and landfill gas. A plant on Oahu produces approximately eight percent of its electricity and processes about 600,000 tons of waste per year, generating electricity that would otherwise have required about 600,000 barrels of oil annually.
Energy Conservation In Schools
A staggering six billion dollars – that is the annual energy bill to run America’s primary and secondary schools. Colleges and universities are also spending billions each year on energy. The least-efficient schools use three times more energy than the best energy performers. But schools in Hawaii can lower their energy bills by 30% or more by adopting a strategic approach to energy management. Schools are a great place to teach Hawai‘i’s children about energy and resource conservation. Schools can lead the way to a clean energy future for Hawaii.
Hawaii’s schools can help lead the way by improving energy performance, and Integrating energy conservation into the curriculum. Schools are central to their local communities and should reflect community values – like energy conservation. Beyond the educational value of creating energy-efficient schools, there is also a benefit to the bottom line. High-performance schools can lower a school district’s costs by up to 30%. Energy is one of the few expenses a school can cut without sacrificing educational quality. And building an energy-smart school doesn’t have to cost more to construct than a conventionally built school.
Hawaii’s schools can lead the way to a clean energy future by serving as classrooms to teach future generations about wise energy use, because the next generation is the key to Hawaii’s future. One of the most valuable lessons children can learn at school is the importance of conserving energy, and it is critical that our schools lead by example and take a proactive stance on implementing energy-efficiency measures.
Kauai Refrigerator Rebates
Kauai’s Refrigerator Rebate Program offers the perfect time to replace inefficient refrigerators with Energy Star refrigerators. KIUC is offering a $250 rebate for the first 360 participants who opt to replace their existing refrigerator with a new Energy Star model purchased between May 24 and June 23. The goal is to reduce electric energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and dependence on fossil fuels, helping to accelerate the state’s Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative goal of 70 percent clean energy by 2030, while also stimulating Hawaii’s economy.
On Kauai, where refrigerators account for a large portion of your utility bill, a new Energy Star refrigerator will use fifty percent less energy than one made just ten years ago, and end up saving you around $75 per year. Rebates are available to residential consumers who do the following three steps:
- Purchase a new, qualified refrigerator model at Home Depot, Kapa‘a Electric & Appliance, or Sears during the rebate period.
- Replace an old refrigerator and haul away the old appliance arranged through the retailer.
- Submit the required rebate application materials immediately, postmarked no later than July 31, 2010.
This state-wide program will help eliminate approximately seven million pounds of carbon emissions from entering Hawaii’s atmosphere and more than 100,000 barrels of oil from being used, over the life of the refrigerators rebated under this program. The program will start on May 24, 2010 and will continue through June 23 or as long as the rebate funds last.
