Topic: Economics | Electricity

Much has been written about the economic impact of an aging population in which fewer workers exist to support retirees. Now, a new study looks at how it could affect climate change, finding that individual carbon dioxide emissions decline in old age as the elderly drive less and buy fewer carbon-intensive goods. Via their consumption patterns, Americans produce a steadily increasing amount of CO2 emissions from age 10 until age 65, when they hit their peak of about 14.9 metric tons per capita annually. After that, the amount falls to 13.1 metric tons by age 80, according to the study by demographer Emilio Zagheni of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany. No data are available for higher ages, but he expects emissions to fall further. FOLLOW: Green House on Twitter Zagheni figured how many dollars an average U.S. resident spends at different ages on nine energy-intensive -- and thus CO2-intensive -- products and services, including electricity, gasoline, and air travel. He found middle-age adults fly and drive cars more frequently than young people, and they use more electricity. The elderly devote more dollars to health care services, which generally produce low levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and fewer to clothing and gasoline. So what kind of impact will this have on climate change? The study says the impact on climate projections will be significant, citing U.S. Census Bureau projections of an increase in life expectancy in the U.S. from today's 78.3 years to 83.1 years by 2050. Worldwide, the United Nations projects the share of people age 65 and older will increase from about 8% currently to 13% by 2030. Yet the study does not expect positive climate benefits for the U.S. in the near term. This is partly because Baby Boomers are the age group with the highest per capita emissions and large numbers of them won't reach age 80 until after 2030. Much depends on the energy mix used by Americans and technological advances, which Zagheni's study does not account for. For example, the impact could be quite positive if electricity could be generated and distributed with fewer emissions, because the elderly use a disproportionate amount of it since they stay home more than younger people. The economic models of other researchers show CO2 reductions through changes in the age structure can only be seen after 2050, when reductions of up to 20% could occur.

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Topic: Inspector General | Independent review

The State Department's inspector general has agreed to probe the agency's environmental review of the proposed, 1,700-mile Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, likely delaying President Obama's decision on the controversial project. More than a dozen members of Congress requested the probe, citing charges by environmentalists that the department was favoring pipeline owner, Calgary-based TransCanada. They announced Monday that Harold Geisel, top official in the IG's office, disclosed the "special review" in a memo Friday to Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns. "The primary objective of the review is to determine to what extent the Department and all other parties involved complied with federal laws and regulations relating to the Keystone XL pipeline permit process," the memo says. FOLLOW: Green House on Twitter On Sunday outside the White House, thousands of activists protested the $7 billion private pipeline that would run from Alberta, Canada, through six U.S. states to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast. They're portraying it as a litmus test for Obama, who said last week that he -- not the State Department -- would make the final decision on whether to issue a permit for the project. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who called for the review, urged Obama in a statement to defer a decision on the permit until the review is done. The State Department initially planned to decide on the permit by year's end but has indicated, amid Obama's comments last week, that the timetable might slip. In August, the State Department issued a positive final environmental review, saying the Keystone XL pipeline would have no significant adverse impact. It defended its hiring of an environmental consulting firm, Houston-based Cardno Entrix, to do the review despite the firm's ties to TransCanada. Environmental groups opposing the pipeline have also criticized friendly emails between a State Department official and TransCanada lobbyist Paul Elliott, who worked on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. In a statement, TransCanada welcomed the review. ""We welcome an independent review by the inspector general's office so that these latest claims by professional activists and lawmakers who are adamantly opposed to our pipeline project can be addressed," spokesman James Millar said. Bill McKibben, an environmental activist and author who's spearheaded opposition to the pipeline, welcomed the review but said the State Department failed to study the global warming that the development of Canada's tar sands would cause. "The only real answer," he said in a statement, "is to send this back for a whole new review -- or, better yet, for the president to simply back up his campaign promises and deny the permit outright."

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Topic: Building | Blog

Green Building Advisor/via Yesterday I reported on the rather heavy-handed actions by Guardian Building Products to shut down a blogger who showed a lousy installation of their product. You could understand them being not very happy about seeing their name all over a lousy installation, and they might have politely asked for the images to be removed. Instead they threatened to sue for "libel, slander, and commercial disparagement." Guardian is a very big company with glass manufacturing plants all over the world, and probably didn't really think twice about this. They should have; it is a teaching moment for all of us, about the power of this medium, and the ability of hundreds of bloggers and tweeters to effect change. The story was picked up by Martin Holladay of Green Building Advisor, who emailed me about it, and within a few hours, just about every green building blog in North America was writing about it. Today the President of Guardian Building Products, Steven Ziessler, wrote a letter to Allison Bailes offering a full apology, with some very telling words. He called it a "social media episode." The surprising thing about an episode like this is how quickly it propagates. There are over 50 comments on Green Building Advisor, many from builders who promised never to use Guardian insulation. My tweetdeck has been beeping all day, with messages like " It's official... As a builder for the past 11 years, I will now boycott Guardian insulation." A mistake like this can destroy a lot of business and goodwill faster than you can imagine; where back in the day it would take months for things like this to percolate, now it happens in hours. The lawyers letter is no longer an isolated threat; there is a community that can respond. Fortunately Steven Ziessler did the right thing, a quick and thorough apology, an admission that he "learned a valuable lesson" and an offer to mend fences and "engage you and interested folks in the merits of improving energy efficiencies." That's music to our ears, that's why we are here. Guardian building products/Screen capture The next social media issue that Mr. Ziessler has to deal with is the company's continuing use of formaldehyde binders in its insulation. In their Revealing the facts PDF they continue to defend its use, pointing out that it still gets Greenguard certification and is way below government standards. This completely misses the point; when given the choice, people who care about what they are breathing are trying to go formaldehyde free. Guardian's competitors are switching to acrylic binders, protesting all the way that formaldehyde at the levels found in insulation is safer than eating an apple. That may well be true, but in a "social media" world, it is no longer enough. Follow me on Twitter and Friend me on Facebook

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