The ultimate in sustainability (Jack Bog's Blog)

Mount Hood photo courtesy Chris Markes.

Meter updates every 30 seconds. Click here for
an instant update.
Our complete Portland debt series linked here.

Clearance sale
The bojack bumper sticker -- only $1.50!

To order, click here.

Search this site

... or let Google look around our site -- including comments:

Custom Search

Excellent tunes -- free! And on your browser right now. Just click on Radio Bojack!

E-mail us here.

About

This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on June 23, 2008 12:17 PM. The previous post in this blog was Courthouse vs. steakhouse. The next post in this blog is They're experts about pain. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

Search

Clippings

E-mail, Feeds, 'n' Stuff

E-mail me

[What is this?]

« Courthouse vs. steakhouse | Main | They're experts about pain »

Monday, June 23, 2008

The ultimate in sustainability

We're doing our part as a fuel source.

Posted at 12:17 PM | Permalink

Comments (10)

The next time I hear the "S" word I am going to go insane. It is nothing more then a feel good buzz word that means absolutely nothing.

Posted by Anthony | June 23, 2008 12:38 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability

Posted by Jack Bog | June 23, 2008 12:46 PM

Its still a buzz word. Nothing on earth can be truly sustainable.

Even our sun has a finite lifespan.

Posted by Anthony | June 23, 2008 1:31 PM

There is content to the word, but it's being used to sell all kinds of senseless cr*p.

Posted by Jack Bog | June 23, 2008 1:34 PM

You really know how to prove a point.

Posted by David E Gilmore | June 23, 2008 2:15 PM

A 12 to 15 year payback period, even with big contributions in the form of tax subsidies and credits, is usually a project with poor economic return. I once talked to a Northwest Natural Gas Company official which has a government sponsored project to take methane from a local landfill, and he said the project had turned out to be problematic with impurities and toxins causing the project to have a lower capacity factor than plan.

I recently looked at some of the Energy Trust of Oregon small solar projects, and a number of them have a levelized cost of over 75 cents per Kwh versus 5 to 20 cents for large wind farms and other mainstream projects.

Small renewables are being oversold. It's as though green pods have usurped the left side of the brain in hordes of people in our community. Life has become science fiction ala the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

Posted by Bob Clark | June 23, 2008 2:52 PM

In 12 to 15 years, the thing will have been out of commission for 7 to 10 years. Either that or it will have required a cash infusion of at least the amount it cost to set it up.

Wanna bet?

Sustainability is only sustainable when it comes to government spending.

Posted by cc | June 23, 2008 4:22 PM

The 12-15 year payback was calculated with annual energy cost increases of around 2%. The payback may end up being much quicker than that, given likely increases even in electricity costs.

If you look at the photo on page 4 of the hard-copy version, you'll see two tanks - one to remove the corrosive elements of the biogas (I've forgotten my chemistry, but it's a hyrogen-something chemical), and the second to remove the silica-based impurities in the biogas, before the much-cleaner methane gets to the engines.

And, yes, I work for BES, so feel free to call me a shill, but this looks like it really will work. Plus, we're already putting carbon in the air by burning off a significant portion of the biogas.

Posted by umpire | June 23, 2008 6:05 PM

I'd say the carbon benefit is offset by the cost of government subsidy, meaning the payback is still probably around 12 to 15 years even considering the externality benefit. Even if electricity prices escalate 5% per year, instead of 2%, if the equipment needs to be overhauled in the first 7 years, the payback may still be over 10 years. Seems like another one of those "feel good" public energy expenditures.

Posted by Bob Clark | June 23, 2008 11:14 PM

don't despair over the greenwash market-speak. behind all that, there are people trying to find a way for us to live without destroying ourselves and our habitat.

that said, the word itself goes against nature--nature is cyclical, regenerative, wax and wane and wax again. we humans try to "sustain" the waxing while attempting to avoid the rest of the cycle--wane, death and regeneration.

in other words, we've detached "growth" from the cycle, put it on a pedestal, and worship it as the ideal. but like a plant yanked out of the dirt, it can't last. the cycle has to occur.

but machines that power themselves on their own waste, in my opinion, are a step in the right direction. whether it's a big enough step (or if we should even have the machines) is a different question.

Posted by ecohuman.com | June 24, 2008 11:11 AM

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 26
At this date last year: 15
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269