I was reading an Associated Press article entitled, "Solar Valley." The article has another caption stating, "Car-loving Germans are looking for ways to go green." The article changed some of my mixed perceptions of how energy is looked at in Germany. On one hand, German culture seems very centered around efficiency and order, such as their reliable rail system, which would seem to indicate a desire to avoid waste and processes that are highly polluting. Yet, I have read about coal-fired power plants in Germany and some mixed articles on Germany's use of nuclear power, which seem to suggest a less environmentally-friendly attitude. The Associated Press article seems to fit more with the cleaner, efficient view of Germany. In an area that one might not think of as a likely place for solar panel factories to locate--along the Polish border of Germany--"Solar Valley" is emerging. The article notes that Conergy AG "is opening a $340 million solar panel factory this summer." This factory will employ 650 workers, which may triple within one year--surely a boon for both the German and Polish economies. Other companies, such as First Solar, Solarwatt Solar-Systeme, Q Cells AG and Juwi International, also plan to open solar panel factories in Solar Valley. Customers for the solar panels will be located worldwide.

Hopefully, more nations will join Germany's mission to embrace solar energy and to boost local economies by producing the solar panels so badly needed to make solar energy a real contender in the energy market. Germany took an area with former semiconductor plants and moved it into the alternative energy arena. When are parts of the United States with ailing factories going to move with the times as Germany has? When one industry outsources to another part of the world, Germany shows us that a whole new opportunity may emerge to fill that void.

I was reading an article in the Chicago Tribune recently that spoke about the global warming offender: airplanes. The irony is that many who speak about climate change and global warming fly far and fly frequently--e.g. Al Gore. The difficulty is that there is not much of an alternative, in order to get from point A to point B, unless a car can be the mode of transportation. Yet, we all know the cars take their toll on the environment, as well, so what is the best way to get around? Many think of commercial air travel as better for the planet because it's akin to carpooling--i.e. many people going together to the same place. The article mentioned the dichotomy one climate change scientist was in when he was asked to travel to London from the west coast of the U.S., to receive an award. Obviously, a car can't be driven overseas. So, both of these notions seems to weigh in favor of air travel--it's like carpooling and is sometimes the only option. Yet, the article noted that short flights are a bad idea and that cars in that scenario would be better. The reason is that more emissions are created (and fuel used) for ascent than descent, than in other parts of flying. In other words, short commuter flights can do a number on the planet. To me, the real answer at least in the business word, is to limit air travel to when it's really needed. Why in the world do we have all of this videoconferencing, etc. if we are not going to use it? If an inspection needs to be done, then fine, travelling by air may be necessary. Yet, why do meetings and presentations need to be done live when they can be done via electronic means? The real challenge will be how businesses approach air travel in the future and whether they will allow climate change concerns to change their way of doing things. Perhaps even more important will be how individuals look at traveling for leisure and whether people will consider exploring areas closer to home in lieu of flying half-way across the world.

I had an experience at the grocery store yesterday that really bothered me. I was buying some items and the clerk placed one in a plastic bag. I took the item out of the plastic bag two seconds later, placed the item in my cart and told the clerk that I did not need the bag. Like a robot, she continued ringing up my purchases and placed the next items in another plastic bag. Why she did not just place them in the bag I had just returned to her is a mystery to me. She then took the plastic bag that I placed on top of the plastic bag carousel and threw it in the trash. I was upset with myself for not saying anything. Given our rampant consumption of plastic bags in this country and the way in which they use petroleum and clog up landfills, the last thing we need is for people to throw one away that has been used for two seconds. Yet, how many of us have brought plastic bags home and then tossed them in the garbage, when they could easily be reused? I admit to having done this in the past, although I now make sure to use the bags again or bring them back to the store for recycling. The real key seems to be to stop using so many. Some stores sell their own bags to be reused--made of canvas or some other fiber. In my mind, this should be a given for stores to provide. They could give customers an incentive for using them--e.g. a small discount of some sort--and save a lot of money on plastic bags in the process. Otherwise, our wasteful practices are not likely to end anytime soon.

As we were returning from our family vacation in upstate New York, we decided to visit Niagara Falls. On our way through Buffalo, NY, I saw a lot of industrial areas, as expected. There were numerous non-descript factories emitting God-knows-what into the air. There were recognizable names, like Mittal Steel in Lackawanna, NY, just outside of Buffalo. In stark contrast to the less aesthetically pleasing side of Buffalo, was a beautiful lakefront area with boats galore and some really pretty buildings in the downtown area. The two divergent sides of Buffalo are a pretty common scene in many cities--i.e. an ugly industrial side that enabled city-life to thrive and people to have money to enjoy other things. What I didn't expect to see in a city like Buffalo were about six huge wind turbines along the lake--actually, right near the steel plant. I always think of wind turbines as being embraced in areas where the environment seems a bit more on the forefront than Buffalo. Yet, there they were. I never realized how huge wind turbines are until I saw them. Rather than detracting from the lakefront, they looked like outside sculptures and were really amazing to see. I don't know what the turbines were being used to generate electricity for, but it was definitely a welcome sight in an otherwise rather bleak part of town. If Buffalo can move into the wind power spectrum, then why are other cities taking so long to embrace it? Buffalo is a good example of a place that clearly has its share of environmental flaws and yet, someone thought to incorporate wind power into that spectrum. We don't need to wait until fossil fuels are a thing of the past to start using wind power--it's here today. It would definitely be a sight to juxtapose a wind farm next to a coal power plant. What's stopping us from giving it a try?

I was reading in People Magazine how many upscale restaurants are banning bottled water. Instead, some of them will only offer filtered tap water--which is what brands like Dasani already are. The article noted how bottled water is bad for the environment, as 8 out of 10 of the plastic bottles not recycled, will end up clogging our landfills. Add to that, the fact that bottling and transporting water eats up a lot of resources. Further, the bottles themselves are made from petroleum--one more reliance on oil we really don't need. What I find really interesting is that many people don't know or check for the difference between purified water (truly filtered) and spring water, which really could come from anywhere and may not be that pure. Perhaps more people need to pick up the phone and call their local Culligan man--as I did--and place a water filter on the tap and in the refrigerator. The cost of the filter will pay for itself before you know it, given the expense of constantly buying bottled water. The other option is to get a water cooler, like those in many offices, to use at home. Water bottles are very convenient, but they are not good for the environment and they use up a tremendous amount of non-renewable resources. Let's use our tap water rather than driving to the store to pick up water and we can save a lot of energy and space in landfills.