The Crier

Spending Green

Extra cash today will make for a cleaner tomorrow

Eugene Morrow · The Empiricist · Jan 29, 2007

Politicians have been sweating climate change for the last decade — mostly whether it’s real or not. Perhaps now that the National Arbor Day Foundation has awarded Capitol Hill the same climate status as parts of Texas, they’ll start worrying about how to stop it. And unless you’re thinking of opening a Cancun-style resort on Lake Erie, you probably will, too.

In the late ’90s, we dreamt of a utopian hydrogen economy. Most people thought fuel would be inexpensive, abundant, and, most importantly, carbon-free within a decade. But most people also overlooked the problem of production. When people finally realized that it takes energy to get hydrogen from water, they also realized that a hydrogen economy would still be dependent on petrol. H2 would solve our climate conundrum only if we could find some way of producing it without burning fossil fuels.

Biophotolysis (a process that uses microbes to produce hydrogen) got a lot of hype around the turn of the century — and for good reason. When certain strains of blue-green algae are grown in sulfur-deprived conditions, they split water into oxygen and hydrogen. And the whole process works on sunlight. But our inability to build biophotolysis reactors large enough to make meaningful amounts of fuel stifled enthusiasm. Despite continued development of fuel cells, our hydrogen hopes will remain largely stagnant until we find a petrol-free way to produce hydrogen in large quantities.

Using E85 is good. Using E85 in a fuel-efficient car is even better.

That will happen eventually, but we can’t afford to wait. In the meantime, however, an abundance of alternative energy sources are begging to fill the gas tank. The most highly touted is a gas-ethanol blend named E85, after its 85 percent grain alcohol content. We’re all familiar with ethanol’s capacity to decrease judgment, but we’re just getting acquainted with its ability to decrease greenhouse emissions. It’s cleaner than gasoline, and releases less CO2 per gallon. This is good news for anyone trying to bring down greenhouse emissions. E85 reduces greenhouse emissions by about 20 percent under current production methods. This sounds impressive at first, but considering that E85 contains 15 percent less energy per gallon than standard gasoline, it’s actually rather paltry. So what does it mean? You have to burn more E85 to go the same distance.

But improvements in ethanol-production technology aren’t far off. Some estimate that cellulosic ethanol production techniques, which are nearing commercial viability, will virtually eliminate greenhouse emissions. The key will be encouraging continued investment in fuel ethanol. So far, prospects look good. Pending legislation could make all autos E85-compatible over the next decade or so.

But you also have a wallet — and in America, that counts for a lot.

Using E85 is good. Using E85 in a fuel-efficient car is even better. If you’re looking to green up your drive a little, you might make sure your next car is E85-friendly as well as fuel-efficient. And finding such a car doesn’t necessarily mean shelling out stacks of cash for a hybrid. Many economy cars are surprisingly fuel-efficient. You may have to rule out that Cadillac Escalade, but let’s face it: Unless your last name is Manningham, your post-grad budget probably won’t have room for that anyway.

Impending improvements in technologies like these are fine, but if you’re reading this article, you probably don’t hold much sway over the direction of energy policy and research. You can write congress. At the very least, you’ll get a letter with a rubber-stamped signature to put on your wall and impress your friends, though this probably won’t help much. But you also have a wallet — and in America, that counts for a lot. Your money gives you the power to influence the future of alternative energy, albeit indirectly.

DTE Energy recently unveiled “Green Currents,” a program that allows customers to pay extra for alternative energy sources. Participants pay about two cents per kilowatt-hour more. This is only another fifteen-or-so dollars per month for the average household, and it pumps electricity from alternative sources onto the grid.

Purchasing alternative energy costs more than simple conservation, but it also has more impact. By purchasing alternative energy you reduce your greenhouse emissions while encouraging its development by making it profitable. If companies see that people are willing to pay for alternative energy, they’re more likely to fund it. As investment in these technologies increases, the industry as a whole will become more efficient and competitive.

At present, the alternative energy industry relies on subsidies, which will be dangerous to its technology in the long run. Subsidies are unreliable and will not make alternative energy competitive with petrol. If alternative energy is going to replace its conventional counterparts, it needs consistent buyers. Paying a little more now will help make that a reality.