Wind And Solar Will Soon Become The 'Least-Cost Option' - Yahoo Finance

Wind And Solar Will Soon Become The 'Least-Cost Option' - Yahoo Finance:

It is interesting how quickly the prices of wind and solar have been dropping and are expected to continue.

Obviously, these must be only a part of the solution, unless batteries get to be a whole lot better, a whole lot faster. (Maybe?). The wind doesn't always blow, and the sun doesn't always shine.

One savings for solar, is that it doesn't need to be done remotely. The transport/distribution costs can be much lower. Both sun & wind do not require the massive volumes of water that conventional fossil and nuke need. (Except for the manatees, there is no real reason to heat up rivers and lakes.)

Those folks in the coal industries, even in China, are soon going to find that they are missing the boat. Coal is not sustainable. Once people start to think harder and longer about the externalities costs of coal, it is going to continue the downward spiral from favor.

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EPA loss in supreme court.

High Court Strikes Down EPA Limits on Mercury Emissions http://www.wsj.com/articles/high-court-strikes-down-epa-limits-on-mercury-emissions-1435590069
The EPA must consider the cost of compliance when coming up with rules. That's what the Supreme Court ruled.
Of course it is hard to estimate the cost of the pollutants, that have been going on for a couple centuries now.
With natural gas being so cheap, and most of the conversions already complete, the whole issue is rather mute point.
But it does set back EPA action on CO2 emissions, where is the coal lobby would like to consider the cost of externalities nonexistent.
Still in the absence of Congress and its inability to do anything, you have the problem of the Fed and the EPA trying to do the heavy lifting.

Growth is always good? No matter the costs!

Saving can be hugely benefiting to all. But it doesn't show up in increased sales and higher GDP.
A bigger, newer SUV is always better...
Hmmmm?

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/jun/10/good-natural-malignant-five-ways-people-frame-economic-growth?CMP=share_btn_tw

Sixth mass extinction is here, researcher declares.

Sixth mass extinction is here, researcher declares:

Ouch. It looks like we need to clean up our collective acts. With 41% of amphibians and 26% of mammals on a course for extinction if we don't change our ways.

"To history's steady drumbeat, a human population growing in numbers, per capita consumption and economic inequity has altered or destroyed natural habitats. The long list of impacts includes:

*Land clearing for farming, logging and settlement

*Introduction of invasive species

*Carbon emissions that drive climate change and ocean acidification

*Toxins that alter and poison ecosystems

Now, the specter of extinction hangs over about 41 percent of all amphibian species and 26 percent of all mammals, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which maintains an authoritative list of threatened and extinct species.

"There are examples of species all over the world that are essentially the walking dead," Ehrlich said."

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One of the ongoing roadblocks to full sustainability has been what to do with plastics that are no longer in use.  From the empty prescription bottle that gets thrown in the wastepaper container to the plastic container holding the fish bought at the supermarket, plastic cannot be recycled and is certain to be in landfills forever.  Well, not any more and that is very good news for those who believe in sustainability.  Plastic 2 Oil Inc ( http://www.plastic2oil.com/site/home) in Grand Island, NY, near Niagara Falls has a patent pending process that has been determined to be scale-able for converting plastic to oil with enough recyclable energy to supply part of the energy needed in the process.  The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has determined that the process can be scaled.  The company has completed its first non-exclusive licensing  of its process to Eco Navigation LLC in Victor, NY.

Visitors to the website should read "$8.9 Billion US Annual Impact" for more information on the potential of the technology.

Plastics 2Oil Inc is listed on the OTC exchange (PTOI)

Fast 10 sustainability leadership tips | GreenBiz

'Fast 10' sustainability leadership tips | GreenBiz:

There are great tips.

I really like the "building a business case" tip.  If you can't build a pretty good business case for something, then it makes a case for change that is usually hard, nearly impossible.

Getting ahead means that you can play offense, not defense.

Langert is from McDonald's so he has had his work cut out for him. When McD has tried to introduce more healthy foods, the consumer usually hasn't been buying it... they go to McDonald's for BIG Mac and fries.

McD really grew sales after the Great Recession. Until 2014, when sales slumped (same-store sales). Consumers have been going for healthier foods like Chipotle.
* Check out the healthier Corner McCafe by McDonald's.
* Is Chipotle really healthier than McDonald's?

It would be interesting to see what Langert recommended for McDonald's. Healthier fair would likely be slower fair, ... and in a few weeks, it won't be there.

That doesn't make Langert's advise any less valuable. But in some places it is a whole lot easier to go more sustainable than in others.

Makes you wonder what Hall and Knab (2012) would suggest related to how these 10 tips fit into the profile of a Sustainable Leader?

Reference

Hall, E., & Knab, E.F. (2012, July). Social irresponsibility provides opportunity for the win-win-win of Sustainable Leadership. In C. A. Lentz (Ed.), The refractive thinker: Vol. 7. Social responsibility, (pp. 197-220). Las Vegas, NV: The Refractive Thinker® Press.
(Available from www.RefractiveThinker.com, ISBN: 978-0-9840054-2-0) 

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