Most hockey fans know about Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference because of the team's Stanley Cup championship run last season. And recently Ference made headlines for a three-game suspension he received after a hit on the New York Rangers' Ryan McDonagh. But the National Geographic Channel is showing another side of Ference that many NHL fans might not be aware of: eco-warrior.
"Beyond the Puck," a web video series featuring new episodes every Thursday, provides brief glimpses (the videos average only a few minutes) into the off-ice life of Ference and his family as the Edmonton, Canada native goes green. Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki inspired Ference to pursue a carbon neutral lifestyle and helped him start in 2007 the NHL's first environmental program that encourages players to go carbon neutral and think about their impact on the environment.
Today President Obama gave a great speech touching upon issues relating to American energy. He called for a comprehensive energy policy that would end oil subsidies and boost biofuels and other renewables to reduce our reliance on the volatile world oil market that is subject to so much turmoil in the Middle East. Obama told the students gathered at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida that, while his administration is doing everything in their power to tap domestic oil and gas resources, it is politically dishonest to tell the American people that "drill, baby, drill" will realistically solve all our energy problems. The president said that public investments in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies will spur entire new industries and create millions of new jobs. As an example, he cited homegrown algae-based biofuel as having the potential to eventually replace imported petroleum entirely as a transportation fuel for airplanes and automobiles.
It is no secret the fossil fuel industry for years has been funding front groups denying the reality of human-caused climate change and working against clean energy technologies. These attacks on science and reason have amazingly come from the same dirty energy industry that is actually making contingency plans for the effects of man-made climate change. That's right, Big Oil is well aware that the millions of tons of carbon they carelessly pump into the atmosphere is contributing to global warming so they are planning for the consequences, while at the same time spending millions of dollars discrediting climate scientists and misleading the public.
Thankfully, climate scientists like Michael Mann (the physicist and climatologist, not the Hollywood film director) are, to use a hockey analogy, dropping the gloves and fighting back against climate-change-denying think tanks like The Heartland Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Koch Family Foundations, The Manhattan Institute, The Heritage Foundation, The Cato Institute and The Mercatus Center. Mann's new book, titled "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines," is being released on March 6 and is going to expose the moneyed special interests behind the attacks on science and reason and convey to the public the fossil fuel industry giants funneling money to these anti-science front groups.
The title of the book comes from Mann's controversial hockey stick graph, which shows the temperature record over the past 1,000 years and the sharply upward warming trend during the late 20th century.
Click here for a link to an insightful profile of Mann from Mother Jones via The Guardian's Climate Desk.
When it comes to the green economy, sometimes it seems like the United States of America is stuck in neutral while the rest of the world is fully charged up and racing ahead at warp speed.
Take electric vehicles as an example pulled from recent headlines. The Chevy Volt, General Motors' new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, recently became a political punching bag on Capitol Hill by a Republican-led Oversight Committee on a witch hunt against any project related to the Obama administration. Before it was Solyndra and solar energy, now it is the Volt and electric vehicles.
Lack of political will from Republican lawmakers in Congress is really the only thing that is holding back the United States of America from leading the "next industrial revolution"—the clean energy economy that is already rapidly transforming countries like Germany, Brazil, China, Canada and other governments that get it when it comes to giving the market signals with cap and trade programs and taxes on carbon. The fossil fuel industry seems to have the Republicans on too tight a leash for them to make decisions on behalf of the American people and the future of this great country.
Perhaps Gabrielle Giffords can provide some inspiration and convince at least some of the Republican lawmakers in Congress (the Obama administration and most Democrats are already onboard the high-speed clean energy train) that they must break the shackles of the oil, gas and coal industries and begin to embrace renewable power sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, biomass, biofuel, tidal and wave.
Giffords is a big advocate for solar energy because her home state of Arizona is blessed by the sun. She has supported clean energy legislation as well as ending oil industry subsidies and redirecting that money into clean energy research.
When Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) read Giffords' letter of resignation on the House floor in January, she said the following:
"In public service, I found a venue for the pursuit of a stronger America by ensuring the safety and security of all Americans by producing clean energy here at home instead of importing oil from abroad."
This past November I visited one of the finest examples of urban renewal and the greening of cities—New York City's High Line. The High Line is a 1-mile (1.6 km) linear park built on the former elevated tracks of the New York Central Railroad's West Side Line on the lower west side of Manhattan.
The recycling of the railway into an aerial greenway has revitalized surrounding neighborhoods and turned what was once an abandoned, blighted industrial area into one of New York City's biggest and greenest tourist attractions.
L.A.'s 6th Street Bridge with LED street lights. Photo credit: Clean Tech Los Angeles
Cities across the United States are saving energy and costs by installing light-emitting diode (LED) street lights. LEDs not only consume less power for the same amount of luminance compared to traditional lighting, but they also last longer.
There are many LED street lighting pilot projects taking place, including in my former home of Los Angeles, California. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative to undertake the largest green street lighting program in history. According to the Bureau of Street Lighting website, as of February 9 the city had replaced 62,064 traditional light fixtures with LED lights, going from 10,740 kilowatts down to 4,205 kilowatts for 60.8 percent energy savings, or 26,664 megawatt hours. The program has also reduced carbon emissions by 15,766 metric tons and saved $2,357,567 in energy costs. The city expects annually to save $10 million, save energy by 40% and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40,500 tons.
Arlington, Virginia is where I currently reside and this forward-looking county across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. is installing LED street lights as well. Arlington's project is funded by the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program and local capital funds. In 2010 the county spent $1.5 million to replace 1,800 existing streetlights with LED fixtures. Arlington plans to replace all its street lights with LED technology, a move that will save the county $1 million per year.
LED street lights are a smart and efficient way for cities to save money, save energy and save the environment. Expect to see many LED street lights in cities across America and the world.
A Turkish Airlines plane at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport.
August 28-29, 2011 -- After traveling around Europe by train and Israel by bus for one-and-a-half months this past summer, including working on a kibbutz for two-and-a-half weeks, it was time to fly back home to the United States. I took Turkish Airlines from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport to Istanbul Atatürk International Airport and then an 11 hour flight from Istanbul to Washington Dulles International Airport.
An airport shuttle picked me up at my hostel in Jerusalem very late at night and made the rounds to pick up more people—all Orthodox Jews—in different neighborhoods in West Jerusalem. We then drove to Ben Gurion, the best-secured airport in the world. Being the only non-Orthodox passenger in the van, I was singled out with questions upon arriving to the security checkpoint just to drive into the airport. The security guy asked me to take off my hat and then asked me where I was going. I was tired and irritated, and answered loudly "Washington, D.C.!" Once you finally enter Ben Gurion, you must wait in a long security line where you will be asked pointed and personal questions to make sure you don't have any bad intentions once you board that plane. Your luggage will also be thoroughly examined and, as in my case, will sometimes be double checked by airport security. Sometimes passengers will be taken for another line of questioning and inspection if the authorities are not satisfied with the first round of questioning. While it can be a maddeningly frustrating and humiliating experience, Ben Gurion will not take any chances when it comes to security, which is why it is the safest airport in the world to fly into and out of. It is not a pleasant experience to be looked at with suspicion, especially at 4 a.m. before a long flight. But it is the reality of Israel and there is some comfort in knowing all the intense security precautions that took place once you finally board that flight. It was around a two hour flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul.
Although half of Istanbul is on European soil (it is the only metropolis in the world situated on two continents, the other being Asia) and it is the third largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and Moscow, my initial impression upon arriving at Atatürk airport was more Eastern and Muslim than Western and secular. It was somewhat of a culture shock after having traveled around Europe and Israel to see passengers arriving on a flight from Barcelona who were almost entirely young bearded Muslim men in full Islamic garb. The international terminal was an interesting mix of religious Muslims and secular Turks and visitors from across the world. I was wearing a Jerusalem t-shirt from the Old City and I was definitely getting some not-so-nice stares from the Muslims making their way around the terminal.
The international terminal at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport.
The security precautions to board my flight to Dulles were like nothing I have ever experienced. There were at least three rounds of thorough baggage checks and questioning. Some passengers were taken aside and questioned even more. And there was a security check just to enter the boarding area. The authorities at Atatürk do a great job in making sure everyone has a safe flight to their destination.
Turkish Airlines is a world-class airline with fantastic service. We even had our own chef! It was a wonderful flight up until we hit some bad turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean, just east of Boston. The pilots had to change to a more southerly route at the last minute but couldn't avoid the incredibly choppy weather front. We were violently tossed and turned and everyone was praying in whatever their faith was (I became an Orthodox Jew for about 15 minutes). It was a harrowing experience. Moments like these, when you feel out of control at 35,000 feet, are the times when you really feel blessed to be alive.
There is no way around it, turbulence is no fun. But it is part of flying and I've started to learn to embrace the bumps as part of the total experience of flying. I now enjoy flying a lot more knowing to expect turbulence. So when it is a smooth flight it's even better, but when we hit a few bumps it's no big deal because I can just look back at that awful turbulence I experienced on the Turkish Airlines flight and be reassured it likely won't get that bad again, and if it does I'll know that I got through it before and I'll get through it again. It is also good to remember that the perception of turbulence in the passenger seat is almost always worse than the reality from the cockpit seat, where the experienced pilots are in control and know what they are doing. Educating myself about the mechanics of air travel and and the science behind turbulence has really relieved much of my anxiety and fears. I suggest Googling "airplane turbulence" to find websites that will help you understand turbulence and way to overcome fears and anxiety when it occurs. Education and awareness are really the keys to enjoying your flight and even learning to welcome turbulence as a normal, everyday in-flight experience.
The airplane finally reached smoother air after about 10 to 15 minutes of turbulence and the prayers changed to thanking God, the heart beats slowed down and the adrenaline stopped flowing. The descent into Dulles was relaxing and enjoyable. Turkish Airlines has cameras on the nose and underneath the plane and as we approached Dulles, passengers were treated to the view of the runway from the cockpit and the landscape passing by below the plane.
Having gone through major security checks at Tel Aviv and Istanbul, it would have been nice to know I was home and could leave Dulles right away. Not the case. A border patrol agent marked me down for a further inspection, so I had to wait in line at a Department of Homeland Security area for international arrivals for another 45 minutes to be questioned again about my travels through Europe and Israel and my flight from Istanbul. I finally was approved to enter back into the United States.
From when I left the hostel in Jerusalem to the moment I collapsed in my own bed in Arlington, Virginia, it was a total of around 18 hours of travel time. When you didn't get any sleep the night before, have to go through three rigorous security checkpoints, sit on an airplane for 11 hours and have to suffer through some bad turbulence, you will sleep like a baby. And that's exactly what I did.
Here are more pictures of the trip from Istanbul to Washington, D.C. Click here for the Flickr set.
