2 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010 commercialappeal.
commercialappeal.com The Commercial Appeal
What’s in this issue ...
‘It’s the original recycling’
4 Auto salvage yards like U-Pull-It and
Mid Town Auto Parts are making
green while practicing the three Rs
The cutting edge
8 Honda prepares home
13
refueler for new line
of hydrogen cars
NASA’s eco-friendly planes
21 Space agency makes big commitment
to greener skies with new funding
22 TVA project has
good first year
27
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Going Green is a special online publication of
The Commercial Appeal. We welcome your comments
and suggestions. Follow Going Green on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/GoGreenMemphis.
Editor: Kim Coleman, 529-5243,
goinggreen@commercialappeal.com
Community Editor: Emily Adams Keplinger,
keplinger@commercialappeal.com
On the cover: Photo by Kristen Sayres, Special to The Commercial Appeal
Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 3
The Green Page
Megabus.com offers
Memphis service
Megabus.com, the first
intercity express bus service,
offers fares from Memphis to
Chicago ranging from $15 to
$50 one-way, depending on
dates of travel. They also
have a route to Champaign,
Ill.
Harnessing the sun
Solar panels will cut cost,
“The number one reason
customers travel with us is
our low fares. Additionally,
supply power at Ford our customers appreciate
Melissa DiFillippo (left) and Chris Shackleford the convenience and value of
assembly plant (fourth from left) were awarded scholarships to our service including free Wi-
Northwest by Twin Creeks Technologies founder Fi, power outlets and ‘green’
state-of-the art double-
and CEO, Dr. Siva Sivaram (right), and Robert
Tolles (second from left), also of Twin Creeks
Technologies. Dr. Gary Lee Spears (center),
decker buses,” said Dale
Moser, CEO of megabus.com.
Megabus.com now serves
president of Northwest, was also on hand. 33 cities across the
Northeast and Midwest and
seven cities in Canada.
Scholarships for green technologies
Feds paying for a
return to nature
Twin Creeks Technologies founder and chief executive
officer Dr. Siva Sivaram offered words of encouragement
Service is available to and
from hubs including Chicago,
New York, Toronto and
and partnership in his keynote address to faculty and Philadelphia.
administration at Northwest Mississippi Community Megabus.com’s service
College’s opening-day faculty meeting after awarding two also offers environmental
full-tuition Twin Creeks Technologies Scholarships. benefits. Each double-decker
The address and scholarship presentation followed the bus has the potential to
April 2 announcement by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour remove 81 automobiles from
that Twin Creeks Technologies will locate its solar panel the highway and is one of the
manufacturing plant in Senatobia, creating more than most energy- and fuel-
500 jobs over the next five years. efficient ways to travel. The
“There is no reason the Mississippi Valley cannot be the buses are 10 times more
Silicon Valley for green technology,” said Sivaram. efficient than a 737 airplane
Scholarship recipients Melissa DiFillippo and Chris and 25 times more efficient
Shackleford, both of Southaven, are sophomore pre- than a single-passenger car
engineering majors. Each submitted a 500-word essay per passenger per mile.
about the importance of alternative energy sources and
maintained a minimum 3.8 grade point average. Visit megabus.com for
additional information about
Sarah Sapp is the director of communications for the service, schedules and
Northwest Mississippi Community College. fares.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 3

The Green Page

Megabus.com offers
Memphis service
Megabus.com, the first
intercity express bus service,
offers fares from Memphis to
Chicago ranging from $15 to
$50 one-way, depending on
dates of travel. They also
have a route to Champaign,
Ill.
“The number one reason
customers travel with us is
our low fares. Additionally,
our customers appreciate
Melissa DiFillippo (left) and Chris Shackleford the convenience and value of
(fourth from left) were awarded scholarships to our service including free Wi-
Northwest by Twin Creeks Technologies founder Fi, power outlets and ‘green’
and CEO, Dr. Siva Sivaram, (right) and Robert state-of-the art double-
decker buses,” said Dale
Tolles, (second from left) also of Twin Creeks Moser, CEO of megabus.com.
Technologies. Dr. Gary Lee Spears, (center) Megabus.com now serves
president of Northwest, was also on hand. 33 cities across the
Northeast and Midwest and
seven cities in Canada.
Scholarships for green technologies Service is available to and
Twin Creeks Technologies founder and chief executive from hubs including Chicago,
officer, Dr. Siva Sivaram, offered words of encouragement New York, Toronto and
and partnership in his keynote address faculty and Philadelphia.
administration at Northwest Mississippi Community Megabus.com’s service
College’s opening day faculty meeting after awarding two also offers environmental
full-tuition Twin Creeks Technologies Scholarships. benefits. Each double-decker
The address and scholarship presentation followed the bus has the potential to
April 2 announcement by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour remove 81 automobiles from
that Twin Creeks Technologies will locate its solar panel the highway and is one of the
manufacturing plant in Senatobia, creating more than most energy- and fuel-
500 jobs over the next five years. efficient ways to travel. The
“There is no reason the Mississippi Valley cannot be the buses are 10 times more
Silicon Valley for green technology,” said Sivaram. efficient than a 737 airplane
Scholarship recipients Melissa DiFillippo and Chris and 25 times more efficient
Shackleford, both of Southaven, are sophomore pre- than a single-passenger car
engineering majors. Each submitted a 500-word essay per passenger per mile.
about the importance of alternative energy sources and
maintained a minimum 3.8 grade point average. Visit megabus.com for
additional information about
Sarah Sapp is the director of communications for the service, schedules and
Northwest Mississippi Community College. fares.
4 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010 commercialappeal.com

Dave Darnell/The Commercial Appeal

U-Pull-It auto parts removes batteries, fluids, catalytic converters and the tires
from vehicles on their lot for recycling. The autos are then placed on their yard,
and customers purchase various parts they may need for their own vehicles.
After that, the remains go into the crusher for further recycling of the metal.

Recycling cents
Business By Suzanne Thompson
Special to Going Green
thriving for
When a car breaks down, usually it needs some part to
Memphis get it going again, and often a used part will do the trick.
Replacing a broken part with a used one in good con-
salvage dition is one of the most basic of the three Rs — recycle.
“It’s the original recycling,” said Phil Massey, owner of U-
yards Pull-It, one of the city’s largest auto salvage yards.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 5

“We are a recycling facility,” he said.

“We’re draining the fluids in a responsible
and safe manner. We take the battery out
of the car and dispose of it in a respon-
sible and safe manner and tires are sold.”
The lot at U-Pull-It, a family-operated
business, holds about 2,500 cars on any
given day.
“Cars come and go daily,” he said.
There is a $2 admission fee to enter
the yard.
Prices for parts are uniform regard-
less of make or model.
“Our prices are a set menu, like a
restaurant menu. An alternator is $19.
It doesn’t make any difference whether
it’s a BMW or a Buick. A Mercury or
Mercedes, it makes no difference.”
There’s no inventory of parts, be-
cause it’s a do-it-yourself operation, and
Massey said for that reason they are
unsure which parts have been pulled
from which cars.
Customers must bring their own tools
and take the parts off themselves.
The company keeps an inventory of Kristen Sayres/ Special to The Commercial Appeal
the year, make and model of the cars, Mid Town Auto Parts keeps inventory
which are neatly arranged accordingly. on their parts and services about 400
“Rows are numbered and lettered, so customers a day between walk-ins and
you can easily find the car you’re look- phone calls.
ing for.”
While there is no inventory of parts,
Massey said the employees will provide them. If they can’t keep their cars on the
assistance in advising customers which road, we’ll buy the car from them and put
parts may be substituted from a vehicle it out there, and maybe it will help some-
other than one exactly like their own. body else get parts for their car,” he said.
Customer service is a very important Another auto salvage yard which has
part of U-Pull-It’s business model, and been in business since 1980, Mid Town
Massey likes to think he’s helping peo- Auto Parts, is owned by Larry Walker,
ple who cannot afford to replace their who bought the company five years ago.
cars by giving them access to items they One segment of that company sells
need to keep their cars running. used parts, and two others run scales
“We handle thousands of people every purchasing different types of metal.
month, and we’re able to help most of Walker’s company also charges a $2
6 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
admission fee.
Mid Town Auto Parts does inventory
some of their parts, and Walker said
between walk-ins and phone calls, the
auto salvage end of the business ser-
vices about 400 customers a day.
Walker’s company also keeps an in-
ventory of cars on the lot, and an in-
ventory of used parts that personnel
have removed and keep in stock.
“In inventory itself in our warehouse,
we keep alternators, starters, air compres-
sors, radiators and transmissions. Those
we can look up immediately,” Walker said.
People inquiring about parts have the
four phone lines at his business ringing
constantly.
Henry West (right) removes an alternator from a vehicle at the auto salvage
yard at Mid Town Auto Parts as Reginald Austing (left) watches.
commercialappeal.com
Massey co-owns another auto salvage
business with his father, Massey Auto
Parts in Millington, which is not open to
the public and keeps an inventory of used
parts, dealing in items for newer cars.
“The original family business is
Massey Auto Parts in Millington, and
about five years ago we branched out
and opened U-Pull-It Auto Parts,”
Massey said.
Mid Town Auto Parts offers the ser-
vice of pulling parts customers find on
the lot in addition to self-service, but
does not provide any tools.
The charge for the service is $10 to $15.
“Ladies come in, and if they don’t
want to pull them, we have guys who
Kristen Sayres/ Special to The Commercial Appea
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 7

Tires that have been removed from

vehicles at U-Pull-It will be resold.

Dave Darnell/The Commercial Appeal

pull parts for them. We have a very, very

big female repeat business,” Walker said.
Both companies purchase cars at auc-
tion from insurance companies that
have declared vehicles as total losses,
and from individuals.
The going rate for an individual who
wants to sell a car to a salvage yard is
$50 to $500, depending on the con-
dition of the vehicle.
Both companies also pick the cars up
and bring them to the lot.
Massey sees that aspect of the busi-
ness as somewhat of a service to the
community.
“We buy cars off the street every day.
Sometimes these people keep the cars
in the yard. We take cars that lay down
and die, either by wreck or mechanical Facts and figures
failure,” Walker said. The following are some available facts
After cars sit on the salvage yards for about the North American automotive
several months, they are put through recycling industry.
the final stage of the recycling process, Total annual revenue is estimated to be
where they are crushed and shredded, $22 billion.
so the metal can be smelted and made In 1997, auto recyclers acquired 4.7
into something else. million vehicles for the purpose of recycling.*
“The ultimate demise of the car is Recycling vehicles provides enough steel
to produce almost 13 million new vehicles.
being shredded to provide steel for a Saves an estimated 85 million barrels of
manufacturer who wants to make what- oil a year, that would have been used in the
ever. It’s pure recycling in its finest manufacturing of new or replacement parts.
form,” Massey said. Automotive recyclers provide wholesale
Like all business people, Massey said and retail customers quality parts that sell for
he’s in the business because it’s profitable. up to 50% less than the comparable new parts.
“I’m making money. Going green Sources: Automotive Recyclers Association
should be the green of money, also,” he *Most recent ARA statistical data
said. “It’s a financial incentive to do the regarding the automotive recycling industry
right thing.” compiled from a 1997 survey.
8 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010 commercialappeal.com

Honda's next generation solar hydrogen station prototype is intended for use
as a home refueling appliance capable of an overnight refill of fuel cell electric
vehicles, such as the Honda FCX Clarity.

An at-home system for

Fill’er up refueling a car that

doesn't pollute? It's not
just a pipe dream

By Susan Carpenter eler, and only one currently exists. Tucked

Los Angeles Times
Imagine a world where all it took to
power a car was sunshine and tap water.
That isn’t a pipe dream but, rather, the
reality of emerging technology that
someday could turn your house into a
personal, zero-emission gas station.
It’s called a residential hydrogen refu-
away on the Torrance, Calif., campus of
American Honda Motor Co. behind a se-
curity guard and a locked gate, the sleek
system is designed to power Honda’s lim-
ited-production FCX Clarity sedan and
other hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
The system uses solar panels — a 6-
kilowatt array of thin-film cells, to be
precise — to power a machine the size
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 9

of a small refrigerator that sips H2O

and breaks it apart into hydrogen and
oxygen gases.
The hydrogen is then pumped direct-
ly into the car, which uses the gas to
generate electricity for the car’s electric
motor. No fossil fuels, no pollution, no
additional strain on the power grid —
and all done at home.
Welcome to the future.
How far into the future? About five
years, according to statements from au-
tomakers and a “memorandum of under-
standing” signed in September 2009 by
manufacturers such as Daimler and fuel
providers including Shell. Honda, Gener-
al Motors, Toyota, Mercedes and other
auto manufacturers have indicated they
likely will begin selling hydrogen-powered
production cars to consumers in 2015.
How quickly will the home hydrogen
refueler follow, and how much will it The scarcity of hydrogen fueling
cost? Honda won’t say. But it’s a stations is seen as one of the biggest
promising technology that advances the barriers to mass use of fuel-cell cars.
trend toward consumers detaching from Home refueling stations would help
a fossil-fuel economy and becoming alleviate this concern.
more self-sufficient.
It’s a future in which American one of the biggest barriers to mass
homes are less reliant on a large-scale adoption of fuel-cell cars.
infrastructure — power grids, water dis-
tricts and the like — and provide at By contrast, electric cars that can
least some of the solutions themselves plug into a home power outlet are get-
via solar panels, gray-water systems, ting most of the attention these days
rainwater harvesting and home-based with the imminent arrival of the Nissan
car-refueling technology. Leaf and Chevy Volt.
Other hydrogen fuel-cell cars already But the enthusiasm of hydrogen-car
exist. Made by GM, Toyota and Mer- drivers, coupled with the promise of hy-
cedes, they currently are available only drogen stations at home, indicate these
for lease, as with the Clarity. Most of fuel-cell vehicles could also be players.
the lessees are in “station clusters,” spe- “They’re going to have to break into
cific geographic areas that have hydro- my garage if they think they’re getting
gen fueling stations. It’s the scarcity of this car back in three years,” said Clar-
these hydrogen stations that’s seen as ity driver Jack Cusick, 41. The assistant
10 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
principal of Newport Harbor High
School in Newport Beach, Calif., was
talking about the burgundy-colored
Honda he’s been leasing and will need
to return in January 2012.
Cusick is one of 20 participants in the
Clarity program, which began in July
2008. Almost 80,000 people worldwide
had applied.
Equipped with seat warmers, satellite
radio, dual climate controls and radar-
activated brakes, among other features,
the Clarity is luxurious. Honda won’t
reveal a price for an individual vehicle,
but when these cars are finally available
for sale, their cost will be comparable
with luxury sedans.
Cusick’s lease is steep: $600 a month.
He still finds the price reasonable be-
cause it includes regular maintenance,
comprehensive and collision insurance
as well as the cost of hydrogen.
Cusick has heard quips about the Hin-
denburg and fielded inquiries about
whether the car is likely to explode —
jokes he counters with questions about
the Exxon Valdez.
“It’s not like their cars run on Pepsi
commercialappeal.com
The Honda
Clarity comes
equipped with
seat warmers,
satellite radio,
dual climate
controls and
radar-activated
brakes, among
other features.
or something,” said Cusick. “I’m driving
a car that spits out nothing but water.”
Jon Landau stops by the Shell station
in West Los Angeles to fuel up his Clarity
at least once a week. He pulls up to the
pump near his exit off the 405 Freeway
and kills the car’s quiet electric motor.
After entering a code into the digital dis-
play at the pump, he connects the nozzle
to the car, twisting the connector to form
a tight seal. Landau said it takes about 50
percent more time to fill his Clarity than
a gas-powered car, but the experience
comes with a benefit: no smelly fingers.
“I’ve found I can get between 230 and
240 miles to the tank,” said Landau, a
producer of “Avatar” who lives in Sher-
man Oaks, commutes to an office in San-
ta Monica and occasionally travels to San
Diego. “There’s no trip I can’t make and
get back here,” said Landau, who initial-
ly leased the Clarity thinking he would
use it only for commuting. Now he drives
it more often than his Mercedes 550S.
“I can’t tell you today that hydrogen
is the answer or that ethanol is the
answer or pure electric is the answer,
but it’s programs like these that will
The Commercial Appeal
lead to the answer,” said Landau, who
was attracted to the Clarity out of con-
cern for his kids’ future and the en-
vironment. “Making a difference starts
with one small step, and if enough peo-
ple take that same small step, someday
we’re all a bit forward. Reducing our
reliance on foreign oil sources, or off-
shore oil sources, it’s very evident we
have to look toward alternatives.”
Hydrogen, as a fuel, can be generated
many ways, including via electrolysis
with solar panels (such as the Honda
system) or wind turbines, as well as
with “bio gas” generated by wastewater
treatment plants.
“The vehicles have progressed more
quickly than the fuel providers,” said
Tim Brown, technology manager for
sustainable transportation at UC-Irvine.
“The cars are marketable, but the ques-
tion is the fueling.”
Part of Brown’s research involves the
siting of future hydrogen stations, which
he says don’t need to be nearly as preva-
lent as gas stations.
According to Steve Ellis, alternative
fuel manager for American Honda Mo-
tor Co., the ability to refuel a vehicle at
home ranks third among the values con-
sumers see of owning an electric vehicle.
The home fueler represents the evo-
lution of technology Honda developed
almost a decade ago. The new fueler is
25 percent more energy-efficient than
the electrolysis system Honda devised in
2001, and it no longer requires a me-
chanical compressor or storage tanks.
Fueling cars at home is the future,
Cusick said.
“Now that I’ve had the opportunity to
not only see a hydrogen car working but
actually drive it, I don’t see any reason
to go back to anything else.”
Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 11
Dream of cheap
hydrogen from
water a reality?
Associated Press
Cheap, clean, hydrogen energy
may not be just a dream anymore.
Energy Technologies CZ, a small
research company, has found success
in technological improvements for
hydrogen fuel. “Our global energy
thirst may now be quenched by wa-
ter,” says Karel Pesel, spokesmen for
Energy Technologies.
As simple and straightforward as
electrolysis of water is, this method
of hydrogen production has been
considered too expensive, burdened
by the high cost of electricity, as well
as by technical issues of storage and
transportation.
“We have made it possible to pro-
duce the cheapest hydrogen fuel ever,
at less than 50-cents per kilogram
(the amount equivalent to the energy
content of one gallon of gasoline),”
says Pesel.
Water is one of the most abundant
natural resources — over 70 percent
of our planet is covered with it —
and no drilling or discovery is nec-
essary. Using this process, clean hy-
drogen fuel can be produced on de-
mand without the need for storage
or transportation.
With small modifications to exist-
ing fuel systems, hydrogen fuel can
12 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
be used anywhere fossil fuels are used,
including producing our electricity
and running our cars, trucks, trains,
boats and planes.
The only raw materials needed to
produce this fuel are water and elec-
tricity.
Along with technological improve-
ments, the company’s research has fo-
cused on using the energy contained
in hydrogen fuel more resourcefully.
By combining a next-generation elec-
trolyzer with new engine technology
to build an Independent micro Power
Station, this fully automated system is
small enough for home or small busi-
ness use. It can produce up to 50
kilowatts of electricity and can recover
heat energy to provide the heat and
hot water that most homes use.
Additionally, this system is capable
of producing more electricity than
most homes need so homeowners will
be able to sell the surplus electricity to
the power grid.
With the push for energy efficient,
“green” transportation, such as plug-in
electric cars, the transportation indus-
try could particularly benefit from hy-
drogen fuel technology.
“Electric cars will now be able to
run much cheaper by electricity pro-
duced in your home by your own pow-
er station. In cars or trucks with build-
in hydrogen fuel generators, it will be
even cheaper since the car alternator
is producing electricity as you drive
and cost of electricity is close to zero
so no more trips to the gas station.
One liter of water can power your car
for almost a 100 miles, and coming
out of the tail pipe will be steam of
pure water rather than pollutants,” Mr.
Pesel said.
commercialappeal.com
What are hydrogen fuel cells?
Like many alternative energy
sources, hydrogen fuel cells are a
relatively new technology that was
originally developed for the space
program. In fact they are similar to
batteries in that they produce
electricity by a chemical reaction
combined with an electrical charge.
There are several advantages of
hydrogen fuel cells over other power
supplies. First of all they are clean — the
only by products are water and a little bit
of heat. Second, they are very efficient.
Gasoline engines, for example, operate
at an efficiency rate of about 20 percent.
Fuel cells have an efficiency rate
between 45 percent and 53 percent.
Hydrogen fuel cells can be used
anywhere electricity is required. Since
their size is scalable they can be made
small enough to power an MP3 player
or big enough to power a town. They
can also be used to provide rotary
power for vehicles.
The automobile industry is looking at
fuel cells as a replacement for the internal
combustion engine. Hydrogen fuel cells
have also been installed to provide power
for industrial buildings and
neighborhoods. Fuel cells have been
predicted by some to replace petroleum
as a power source within 50 to 100 years.
They have broad commercial and social
applications. .
This all might sound great, but there
is a catch: the energy needed to
produce the hydrogen. At the moment
the most widely used energy source
are fossil fuels.
So fuel cells are a promising option,
and the research is getting closer to
bringing this concept to market.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 13

Ford to utilize solar energy in

assembly plant for the Focus

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Group leaders work on a pre-production 2012 Ford Focus at the Michigan
Assembly Plant in Wayne. Solar panels will be installed at the plant later this
year and are expected to save Ford about $160,000 a year in energy costs.

By Christina Rogers can store 2 million watt-hours of energy,

The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co. is tapping the sun’s
energy to help power production of the
next-generation Focus and hybrid-elec-
tric vehicles coming to market.
The automaker will install 500 kilo-
watts of solar panels later this year at its
Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne,
along with a battery storage facility that
enough to power 100 homes for a year,
the company said.
The project is being touted as one of
the largest solar installations in Michigan.
Ford expects to save about $160,000
a year in energy costs by using the
panels, which will stand in an unused
parking lot.
The automaker has invested heavily
to transform the former full-size SUV
14 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
plant in Wayne into a site for man-
ufacturing smaller, more fuel-efficient
cars. It starts production of the new
Focus later this year. Production of the
Focus Electric starts in 2011 and fu-
ture hybrid-electric vehicles in 2012.
“Our Michigan Assembly Plant is
going to be the next-generation vehicle
center of the universe for awhile,” said
Jeff White , electricity supply manager
for Ford North America. “It just makes
sense to bring this solar project to (the
plant) so we can better understand
how sustainable energy is developed.”
The installation includes 10 charging
stations to power battery-electric trucks
used to transport parts to the plant.
The solar panels, however, are un-
likely to put a big dent in Ford’s energy
costs, said Oliver Hazimeh , head of
management consultant PRTM’s global
e-Mobility Practice in Southfield, Mich.
They can be useful in supplying
power for lighting and other small de-
vices, but won’t generate enough elec-
tricity for heavy machinery, he added.
Rather, the project is a good way to
enhance the company’s green image
while helping it learn how its new
generation of electric cars fits with the
power grid, Hazimeh said.
Ford’s energy costs run about $9
million a year. It plans to store the
renewable energy and use it to offset
the high cost of electricity during peak
demand periods when utilities typi-
cally charge more for power.
In Europe, Ford is using renewable
energy to power plants in the United
Kingdom and Germany, where it has in-
stalled wind turbines and solar panels.
About 3 percent of Ford’s energy
use worldwide is supplied by renew-
able sources.
commercialappeal.com
Ford aims to reduce carbon
footprint of global supply chain
Ford Motor Company, building on its
success in measuring and reducing its own
carbon footprint, plans to survey suppliers
on their energy use and emissions.
Ford’s goal is to understand the carbon
footprint of its supply chain and use the data
to eventually create a broad-based carbon
management approach for its supply chain.
The suppliers include companies that make
commodities such as seats, steering systems,
tires and metal components, which require
more energy to produce. While many of these
suppliers already measure their emissions,
the project would facilitate collaboration and
sharing of information that can drive
significant emissions reductions and help
meet future regulatory requirements.
“Climate change has the potential to
affect all parts of our business, and is
connected to other important issues — from
water availability and energy security to
human rights,” said Susan Cischke, group
vice president, Sustainability, Environment
and Safety Engineering. “Understanding the
carbon footprint of our supply chain is a
crucial part of our comprehensive global
strategy to reduce greenhouse gases.”
THE DETAILS
Ford is surveying 35 top global
suppliers to gain a better understanding of
their greenhouse gas emissions footprint as
part of a broader effort to reduce carbon
emissions within the auto industry.
Ford’s supply chain approach builds on
its success in measuring and reducing its
greenhouse gases.
Ford is working with World Resources
Institute, World Business Council for
Sustainable Development and the Carbon
Disclosure Project in an effort to identify
appropriate data from suppliers.
Ford intends to share lessons learned
and lead collaboration with other
automotive companies through the
Automotive Industry Action Group.
— Associated Press
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 15

A.J. Wolfe/The Commercial Appeal files

Drivers make their way down Union Avenue during the evening rush hour past a
Citgo gas station. Automakers are concerned about consumer demand for their
electric cars without high gas prices as a driving force.

Cheap gas worries Detroit

It’s hard By Tim Higgins
Detroit Free Press
to sell an
DETROIT — Talk about an
electric awkward position: General
Motors, under pressure to be
car when profitable and start selling
stock again, is benefiting from
gasoline relatively cheap gasoline.
But in a few weeks, the De-
prices are troit automaker launches the 40-
mpg Chevrolet Cruze, then this
down fall the electric Chevrolet Volt —
of which ultimate success could
easily hinge on high gas prices.
“That’s perverse,” Joseph
Phillippi, a longtime industry
consultant, said of the small
car situation. “I say perverse in
the sense that we want gaso-
line prices to go up so we can
be successful selling a car that
we make maybe 25 percent of
the variable gross profit that
you make on the Tahoe.”
Such a concern has long
stalked the executive suites at
GM headquarters in Detroit.
It’s something that GM exec-
utives acknowledge in private
16 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
and public conversations as a concern.
Bob Lutz, who retired from GM this
spring, was sounding the alarm at last
year’s Detroit auto show with warnings
about low gas prices and suggested that
U.S. consumers need more incentive —
such as higher fuel taxes — to drive
fuel-efficient cars.
“If gasoline stays cheap, then the
American public says, ‘I’m not inter-
ested in that; I will keep my Tahoe
longer.’ It puts us in the industry in a
position where we are at war with the
customer,” Lutz said at the time.
The current average price of a gallon
of regular unleaded gasoline is nowhere
near the $4.11 national average in July
2008, the highest recorded.
“Right now, we’re anticipating that
gas prices should hold fairly steady
through the year,” Nancy Cain of AAA
Michigan said.
It was during the summer of 2008
that Toyota’s hybrid-electric Prius saw
impressive sales while GM, with its
truck and SUV-heavy lineup, took a hit.
As the overall auto market has im-
proved, so have GM’s fortunes, helped
also by a restructured balance sheet.
During the first three months of this
year, GM turned its first quarterly profit
since 2007 and saw sales go up 16.8
percent in the U.S. compared with last
year during that time.
A big part of GM’s sales growth has
come from crossovers and SUVs.
Experts say GM and other automak-
ers need to make these fuel-efficient
vehicles, in part, to meet new U.S. gov-
ernment fuel-efficiency requirements.
As the economy improves, there’s an
expectation that gas prices will creep back
up as global demand increases. That’s the
assumption that GM has been operating
commercialappeal.com
What is the Volt?
General Motors unveiled the idea of an
extended-range electric vehicle at the
2007 Detroit auto show, capturing the
imagination and attention of the
automotive industry.
The vehicle has been fast-tracked and
is slated for official launch late this year,
showing up in select parts of the country
before a later national rollout.
The vehicle will be built at GM’s
Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant.
GM officials have said they expect to
make just 4,000 to 5,000 within the first
few months and perhaps 10,000 within
the first full year. Eventually, GM could
make up to 60,000 a year.
The Volt will be able to go 40 miles on an
electric charge alone, GM has said. After
that, an onboard gasoline generator will
produce electricity to power the vehicle.
under for years and why executives have
been pushing for a high-quality small car
and an electric vehicle program.
Tony Posawatz, Volt vehicle line direc-
tor, said current gas prices shouldn’t af-
fect the Volt because initial volumes are
expected to be low as the company rolls
out the vehicle first in regional markets.
“If gas prices are two bucks a gallon
in the beginning of the 2012 calendar
year, that will be a challenge for us —
no doubt,” he said.
Klaus-Peter Martin, a Chevy
spokesman, said GM is confident that
the Cruze will appeal to consumers
based on a number of factors, such as
performance and styling, along with fuel
economy. “Good fuel economy is very
desirable no matter if a gallon of gas is
$2.50 or $4,” he said.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 17

1. The most important first step

you should take, if you want to
improve your car’s mileage is...
A. Buy a new car
B. Buy a notebook and a pen
C. Switch to the most expensive
gasoline
2. What’s the best way to
improve your gas mileage?
A. Inflate your tires
B. Change your air filters
C. Let up on the lead foot
3. What is hypermiling?
A. A form of driving designed to
get the most out of each tank of
gas
B. Driving after drinking too
much coffee
C. Using Google maps to find the
shortest distance from point A to
point B
4. Which of the following is a
common hypermiling trick?
A. Using maps
B. Running or “floating” stop
signs
C. Using cruise control
5. Warming up your car in the

Are you winter allows your engine to run

more efficiently.
A. True

mileage
B. False
6. It’s always better to buy a
hybrid.
A. True
minded? B. False
7. To really improve your gas
mileage, you should...
To help prevent disasters like the gulf spill, A. Walk more
we need to reduce our reliance on oil and B. Bike more
driving smarter is one of the quickest ways C. Use more public transit
to trim consumption. Take our quiz to test D. All of the above
your fuel-economy know-how. Answers on page 18
18 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
Answers
1. B. Before you can start
improving your car’s gas
mileage, you have to know
what kind of mileage you’re
getting with your existing
driving habits — which is
why a pen and notebook are
so important. Each time you
fill up, jot down the miles
you got on that tank and the
number of gallons it took to
fill up your car. Divide the
miles-per-tank number by
the number of gallons it
took to fill up, and that will
give you a rough estimate
of your gas mileage. Keep
doing that each time you fill
up so you get an idea of how
good (or bad) your mileage
is; it also helps to note with
each fill-up whether you
spent more time driving in
the city or on the highway,
so you know if you need to
let up on aggressive city
driving or drive slower on
the highway.
2. C. All the choices listed
will provide improvements
in your vehicle’s gas
mileage, but eliminating
jackrabbit starts and not
slamming on the brakes has
the biggest impact. Tests
from the auto website
Edmunds.com revealed that
easing off the gas, for
instance taking 15 seconds
(rather than 10) to get from
0 mph to 60 mph, improved
mileage by 31 percent.
3. A. In a nutshell,
hypermiling means that you
use different techniques to
get the best possible gas
mileage, for instance, taking
your foot off the gas and
coasting down hills, taking
your foot off the accelerator
as soon as you see brake
lights or a red light in front
of you (essentially coasting
to a stop), and driving a
constant (if slow) speed in
traffic jams so you spend as
little time stopped as
possible. Some hypermilers
drive in socks or their bare
feet because they feel it
gives them better feedback
from the vehicle.
4. C. Cruise control can
be your best friend when it
comes to hypermiling or
driving efficiently. Even in
cities, employing the cruise
control keeps you from
speeding up unnecessarily,
and on highways it
prevents “speed creep.”
You may want to avoid
using cruise control,
however, if you live in a hilly
area. In hilly terrain, the
preferred hypermiling
tactic is to ease off the
accelerator as you go uphill
and then regain your speed
as you go down, rather
than wasting gas trying to
maintain a constant speed
as you go uphill.
5. B. Warming up your
car gets you zero miles to
the gallon, actually pollutes
more than if you were
driving and can be hard on
your engine (the mixture of
fuel and air in an idling
engine causes it to wear
down faster). In fact, your
engine warms up much
commercialappeal.com
faster if you’re driving it
than if it’s idling in your
garage, as do the other
systems in your car, like the
heater. So if you’re
accustomed to starting
your car for 5 to 10 minutes
before you leave in the
morning, don’t! You’re
doing more harm than
good, both for your car and
for the planet. The one
exception to this rule would
be if your car is parked
outside; you certainly don’t
want to drive if your
windshield is so frosted
over that it’s unsafe to
operate.
6. B. Sure, a hybrid
vehicle gets better gas
mileage than its same-
model gas-powered
counterpart, but don’t feel
bad that you can’t shell out
extra dough for a hybrid
engine if you can’t afford it.
Hybrid SUVs get the same
or worse gas mileage than
smaller gas-powered cars
like the Honda Fit or Toyota
Yaris.
7. D. This one was
probably a given. Your car
uses the least amount of
fuel when it’s parked in
your garage! So strap on
your walking shoes, saddle
up your bike or buy some
bus coins — it’s the
cheapest way to save gas.
— SimpleS teps.org
For better health and
sustainable living tips,
articles and how-tos, visit
SimpleSteps at
www.simplesteps.org
The Commercial Appeal
EARTHTALK
Researchers weigh pros, cons of ethanol
Dear EarthTalk: Where
does ethanol as an auto-
mobile fuel fit into the al-
ternative energy mix? Is it
better for the environment
than gasoline?
Ethanol — a biofuel de-
rived from corn and other
feedstocks — is already
playing a major role in
helping to reduce emis-
sions from many of the tra-
ditional gasoline-powered
cars on the road today. Ac-
cording to the U.S. De-
partment of Energy, near-
ly half of all the gasoline
sold in the U.S. contains
up to 10 percent ethanol.
By promoting more
complete fuel combus-
tion, this small amount of
ethanol mixed into gaso-
line reduces exhaust emis-
sions of carbon monoxide
by as much as 30 percent.
Ethanol proponents un-
derscore emissions sav-
ings, cost stability
(ethanol is distilled from
domestically grown corn)
and reduced reliance on
foreign oil as benefits of
more drivers filling up
their tanks with E85.
But even though some
eight million flex-fuel vehi-
Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN
A number of “flex-fuel”
vehicles can run on
either straight unleaded
gasoline or E85, a mix of
85 percent ethanol and
15 percent gasoline.
cles are now on U.S. roads,
most of them are not near
convenient ethanol refill-
ing stations and are there-
fore mostly running on
regular gasoline. So while
the capacity and perhaps
demand for a cleaner
burning fuel is there, sup-
plies have not kept pace.
But this may change.
In May 2009 President
Barack Obama signed a
presidential directive to
advance research into bio-
fuels like ethanol and ex-
pand their use.
While many environ-
mental advocates view in-
19
creasing ethanol use as a
promising development,
others are not so sure. Cor-
nell agriculture professor
David Pimentel argues
that producing ethanol ac-
tually creates a net energy
loss. His research shows
that a gallon of ethanol
contains 77,000 BTUs of
energy for engines to burn
but requires 131,000 BTUs
to process into usable fuel,
not including additional
BTUs to grow the corn and
transport it to refineries
and fueling stations.
Pimentel also says that
powering a car for a sin-
gle year on ethanol would
require 11 acres of corn.
If we step up our use of
ethanol and begin putting
our farmers’ yields into
gas tanks instead of on
dinner tables, we could
see a shortage of domes-
tically grown food and
higher prices at the gro-
cery store. Biofuels pro-
ducers are researching al-
ternative nonfood
feedstocks such as algae,
corn stalks, wood chips
and switchgrass.
Send your environmental
questions to
earthtalk@emagazine.com.
20 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
Proposal to replace traditional cargo
system with a high speed version
Associated Press
RebootTheSystem.com announced de-
tails of a proposed American High
Speed Cargo System (AHSCS).
This project has the potential to gen-
erate millions of jobs and spark inno-
vation across a wide range of industries.
The fundamental premise in the pro-
posal is that ocean-based transportation
of cargo is expensive, contributes great-
ly to environmental pollution and is
simply not sustainable as a long-term
global strategy. This will certainly be
true in the coming decades unless a
better approach is found.
The proposed system will consist of a
highly automated network of ports to
manage container traffic from cargo
ships as well as a new purpose-built
high-speed cargo railway system con-
necting the ports. Robotic trains will be
tasked with moving the goods while
under the control of intelligent schedul-
ing systems that will optimize flow and
reduce downtime. New nuclear power
plants, wind and solar energy will be
used to power the robotic train system.
With rising costs of petroleum and
the increasing number of ecological and
socio-political issues surrounding many
of its primary sources, the AHSCS pro-
posal will start moving the transporta-
tion sector in a direction that creates
independence from oil. It could be the
first large-scale project to materially re-
duce the utilization of dirty bunker fuel
commercialappeal.com
Container ships use a type of low
quality fuel called ‘bunker fuel’. This
is a thick and dirty fuel that must be
heated to high temperatures just so it
will flow through the massive engines
used in ships. It is, effectively, like
burning asphalt.
for mass transportation of goods.
The AHSCS project could create mil-
lions of jobs in manufacturing, engineer-
ing and R&D during planning, design
and construction. Once in operation job
creation will be fueled by the system and
the technologies it will foster. The AH-
SCS has the potential to revitalize indus-
tries across a wide range of disciplines,
from ironworks to robotics. It could po-
sition the United States as a major hub
for international commerce for decades.
Details on the proposal can be found at The
American High Speed Cargo System
(rebootthesystem.com/forum/f81/american-
recovery-american-high-speed-cargo-system-
299/).
The Commercial Appeal
NASA is investing millions of dollars in next-generation of eco-friendly planes.
NASA commits to greener skies
Space agency pours cash, ideas into innovation for airplanes
By Katherine Butler
Mother Nature Network
Air pollution is a major problem
plaguing this planet. But now the agen-
cy most concerned with outer space is
taking up the cause for clean air. Sci-
entific American reports that NASA is
commissioning eco-friendly airplanes,
investing millions into the effort.
NASA’s initiative is called N+3, and it
hopes to develop cleaner planes by
2035. Under this project, NASA will
fund designs for planes that use 70
percent less fuel than current aircraft.
Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 21
ZUMA Press
The planes would also emit 75 percent
less nitrous oxide, produce much less
noise pollution and would require less
space for takeoff and landing.
In 2008, NASA awarded $12.4 million
to six teams to develop cleaner sonic
and subsonic transport vehicles. These
teams include representatives from
Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE Aviation
and the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology. NASA is expected to hand out
more money in April 2011. These
groups will be encouraged to reduce
fuel consumption and rethink the gen-
eral design of commercial airplanes.
22 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
Currently, airlines are attempting to
retrofit aircraft to make them more
efficient. Building one from the “rivets
up” is a $10 billion proposition, ac-
cording to Mark Drela, professor of
fluid dynamics at MIT’s Department
of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a
leader of the university’s N+3 team.
As he told Scientific American, “You
literally bet the company on almost
every new plane.”
The Federal Aviation Administration
announced in June that it would pour
$125 million into modifying existing
aircraft to be more energy efficient.
This is called the Continuous Lower
Energy, Emissions and Noise program.
Fuel typically consumes a third of an
airline’s budget, so this is primarily a
monetary decision. As Scientific
American writes, “The Federal Avi-
ation Administration (FAA) estimates
that by 2030, the U.S. fleet of com-
mercial aircraft will consume more
than 110 billion liters of fuel ... and
nearly 160 million people will be flying
on U.S. planes.”
Great strides are also being made in
biofuel and hybrid technology for air-
craft. Boeing has proposed a hybrid
airplane that would run on efficient
fuels and electricity. Boeing claims
that its model could reduce current
fuel use by 70 percent to 90 percent.
Finally, plans are also under way for
the most efficient aircraft possible — a
solar powered airplane with zero emis-
sions. The Solare Impulse project has
already successful tested a prototype,
which at present has a nonpressurized
cockpit and cannot fly above 8,500
miles. Still, experts are optimistic
about its eventual success — and the
success of all clean, green flying.
commercialappeal.com
TVA energy
efficient homes
have impressive
first year
KNOXVILLE — Despite a year of
temperature extremes, the Tennessee
Valley Authority has seen significant
energy savings at its research project
for energy efficient homes.
July marked the first full year of
data collection at TVA’s energy-effi-
cient homes project at Campbell Creek
subdivision in Knox County.
“Power bills for the most energy-
efficient of the three houses totaled
less than $450 for the entire year,”
project manager David Dinse said.
“That averages out to about $37 per
month for a three-bedroom, two-and-a-
half-bath house.”
“With solar panels, super-efficient
materials, better insulation and other
technologies, TVA’s advanced efficien-
cy house is not your typical home. But
this has not been a typical year.”
TVA’s power production peak for
the past year came during a colder-
than-normal January, while this June
was one of the hottest ever in Ten-
nessee, according to TVA records.
“During our first full year of data
collection we recorded remarkable en-
ergy savings even in hot and cold
temperatures beyond the normal ex-
tremes for the TVA service region,”
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 23

Photo courtesy of City of Knoxville

Construction workers install solar panels on a house that TVA and Oak Ridge
National Laboratory have partnered to build in the Campbell Creek subdivision
in Knoxville as part of a research project on energy efficiency.

Dinse said. “In fact, it was in these
most extreme conditions that our ad-
vanced technology home realized the
greatest cost savings.”
The research project is measuring en-
ergy consumption in three two-story
homes of similar size (2,400 to 2,500
square feet) on similar lots with similar
solar and wind exposure. Inside, au-
tomated mechanisms replicate the oc-
cupancy of a family of four, regularly
opening and closing the refrigerator, us-
ing the oven, running the clothes dryer
or taking a shower.
The difference is that one home is an
advanced house with energy-efficient
features, including solar electricity and
hot water, installed during construction.
A second house was retrofitted with
aftermarket efficiency upgrades, includ-
ing a heat-pump water heater. The third
house is a standard, code-certified home
that serves as a control.
The first year data showed that in
hotter periods such as this June, the
advanced house uses only about half the
energy of the retrofit house and less
than a third compared to the standard
house.
“In recent hot weather, the power
meter on the advanced house has ac-
tually spun backward,” Dinse said. “On
what would ordinarily have been hot,
energy-intensive days, the solar gener-
24 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010 commercialappeal.com

ation was actually creating a credit By the numbers

toward the power bill.”
“The retrofit house demonstrates The TVA experimental homes’ energy
that good insulation, efficient appli- comparison data from July 2009 through
ances and routing air ducts through June 2010:
conditioned space produce very good AVERAGE MONTHLY ENERGY USE
results for a moderate investment. Standard: 1,876 kWh
The advanced house features cost
about $30,000 extra during construc- Retrofit: 1,337 kWh
tion and the retrofit upgrades were Advanced: 790 kWh
added for about $10,000.” AVERAGE MONTHLY ENERGY COST
Rudy Shankar, vice president for Standard: $157.77
yechnology innovation in TVA’s En-
vironment and Technology organiza- Retrofit: $114.18
tion, said a full year of seasonal Advanced: $37.15
changes and weather extremes will AVERAGE DAILY ENERGY COSTS
help TVA better understand the
houses’ capabilities and to integrate Standard: $5.19
more of the energy-saving technolo- Retrofit: $3.75
gies into standard homes. Advanced: $1.22
“The first year of analysis under ANNUAL ENERGY BILLS
controlled conditions will provide a
basis for introducing more energy- Standard: $1,893
efficient appliances, better insulation Retrofit: $1,370
techniques and advanced construc- Advanced: $446
tion materials, and help document The energy costs are based on Lenoir City
further savings in the future,” Utilities Board residential rates and bill
Shankar said. “One of the goals of credits for solar generation based on TVA’s
this project is to establish a pipeline Generation Partners demonstration program.
of energy-efficiency products with To learn more, go to
tva.com/campbellcreekresearchhomes.
verifiable savings for implementation
across the TVA service territory.” Source: Tennessee Valley Authority

Do just one thing

Many of us belong to different airlines’ frequent flyer mileage programs. If you
don’t have enough miles to trade in for a free ticket, why not donate them to a
nonprofit organization instead? Most airlines have a “donate” option on their
web sites, allowing you to give instantly. Some airlines let you choose a charity,
while others have designated specific programs that will benefit. In either case,
put those unneeded miles to good use.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 25

HOME ENERGY AUDITS:

Doctor’s checkups for a house
By Susan Zevon
Associated Press

Jim Alexander, a real estate agent in

Atlanta, decided this summer to subject
his own 11-year-old house to an energy
audit.
“If this was something I was going to
recommend to my clients I wanted to
see for myself how it works,” he says.
His verdict: “Home energy audits are
going to change the way we buy and sell
houses in America.”
Alexander hired the company Retrofit
America to conduct the audit, which
showed that by spending about $3,000
— $700 of it covered by government
rebates — he could save several hundred
dollars a month in energy costs.
Some of the recommendations were as
simple as putting a latch on the attic
door so that it would not swing open.
“The auditors not only brought in all the
latest equipment and computer Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press file
technology but they also used their
There are simple steps you can take to
eyes,” he says.
conserve energy in your home, such as
Home energy audits are like doctors’
replacing your incandescent lighting
checkups for the house, says Seith
in the room you use the most with
Leitman, who blogs as the Green Living
energy efficient, fluorescent lighting.
Guy and consults on McGraw Hill’s
series “Green Guru Guides.” And just as
you need to follow a doctor’s advice to cold in winter, drafty or damp, and if you
get healthier, so you need to follow an suffer from allergies or just from high
audit’s recommendations and retrofit energy bills, you should do a home
your house if you want to see savings. energy audit. You also should do one on
If your home is too hot in summer, too any house you are considering buying.
26 GOING GREEN | Sunday, August 22, 2010
How to proceed
You can perform a simple home energy
audit yourself, but you will need a professional
for a thorough assessment that includes
heating and cooling systems.
Begin with a diligent walkthrough of your
house, keeping a checklist of areas you have
inspected and problems you find. The Energy
Star website, Energystar.gov, offers a checklist.
To get started, Chandler von Schrader,
national manager of home performance with
Energy Star, recommends going online to
complete the Energy Star Home Energy
Yardstick, which lets you compare your
household’s energy use to others and get
recommendations for improvement. The
yardstick is intended just to give you a general
idea, not a thorough audit.
Easy fixes
Some simple steps to start conserving
energy at home include replacing
incandescent lighting with energy-efficient
fluorescent lighting in the room you use most.
Other quick fixes may include replacing old
appliances with energy-efficient models.
Beware of some other popular quick fixes.
Windows, for example, cost a lot, and new
ones will not provide energy savings if they are
not properly installed with caulking, and if
leaks in rooms are not sealed.
The comprehensive audit
Von Schrader warns against cheap energy
audits conducted by someone trying to sell
you something.
“Houses are complex and require
comprehensive solutions,” he says. “You should
look at a house in a holistic fashion. If you do
just one thing you may throw others off. For
example, sealing off drafts in an attic may cause
humidity buildup in other parts of the house.”
A complete energy audit requires
specialized equipment, says Matt Golden,
president and founder of Recurve Inc., a
company in the San Francisco area that helps
homeowners increase energy efficiency. That
equipment includes blower doors that measure
commercialappeal.com
the extent of leaks in the building, infrared
cameras that reveal areas of air infiltration and
missing insulation, and duct blasters that use
pressure testing to find leaks in a duct system.
Selecting an auditor
Von Schrader suggests hiring energy
auditors approved by the Residential Energy
Services Network (RESNET) or the Building
Performance Institute (BPI), which set
national standards.
Companies like Retrofit America and
Recurve promise one-stop service for
homeowners, from the audit to financing to
completing the home improvements and
verifying the work is done right. Retrofits may
include air sealing and insulation; duct work;
replacing heating and cooling systems and
water heaters; substituting windows, doors or
appliances; and adding renewable energy
systems, such as solar panels.
Costs
The average cost of retrofitting a house
once it has been audited is $8,000 to
$10,000, according to Von Schrader, and it is
not always advisable to go with the lowest
estimate. “Work done correctly often costs
more,” he says.
Fortunately, there are programs to offset
the costs. Some state energy programs and
utilities offer rebates, which require accredited
home-energy auditors and contractors to do
the work. A federal energy tax credit of $1,500
is available until the end of this year.
Providing rebates to consumers to
encourage energy-efficiency upgrades is also
part of energy legislation making its way
through Congress.
Web resources
energystar.gov; greenlivingguy.com;
retrofitamerica.com;
energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction;
HOME—ENERGY—YARDSTICK
.showGetStarted; energysavers.gov;
resnet.us; www.recurve.com
The Commercial Appeal
Subsidy program wants
farmers to let land run wild
By Henry Bailey
baileyhank@desotoappeal.com
The Farm Service Agency is looking
for a few good acres — much more,
actually — to enlist for use to defeat
erosion, promote clean air and reinforce
wildlife habitat.
The Conservation Reserve Program of
the FSA, a branch of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, will pay
farmers and landowners to voluntarily
transform land that while perhaps
modestly productive for crops could be
immensely valuable for the environment.
The registration period began Aug. 2
and runs through Aug. 27.
“We’re looking at land that’s being
farmed, and trying to put it back into
trees, shrubs or grasses,” said Darryl
Waller, FSA county executive director
for Tate and DeSoto. “It helps our air
quality and our water quality, and it
helps wildlife too.”
Nationwide, the government has set a
32 million-acre ceiling for CRP-listed
land; about 4 million acres can be signed
in, he said.
Contract lengths vary; they can be 10
years for pine, or up to 15 for hardwoods.
Registration is ongoing to list land as
buffers along rivers and streams, but a
general CRP sign-up such as this, Waller
said, is offered only occasionally.
“The offer you get depends on the
‘rental rate’ for that type of soil,” Waller
Sunday, August 22, 2010 | GOING GREEN 27
WHAT FEDS WANT
To be eligible for the Conservation
Reserve Program, land must be:
Cropland (including field margins)
that is planted or considered planted to
an agricultural commodity four of the six
crop years from 2002 to 2007.
Physically capable of being planted
(no restrictions due to easement or other
legally binding instrument) in a normal
manner to an agricultural commodity.
Alfalfa or other multiyear grasses and
legumes grown in a rotation not to exceed
12 years may be eligible for this year.
For more information in DeSoto and
Tate counties, contact the Farm Service
Agency at 662-429-8687 ext. 2. To find
an FSA office in another area, go online
at: offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/ locator/app
said. In his district, the annual rate
varies now from $50 to $105 an acre, a
hefty increase from last year when the
top rates were $80 to $88 an acre.
The FSA bases rates on the relative
productivity of the soils within each
county and the available dry-land cash
rent using data from the National
Agricultural Statistical Service or cash-
rent equivalent as guidelines.
In addition to conservation efforts,
FSA handles subsidy programs, farm
ownership loans and other agricultural
issues.