The positive aspect of the green movement

Tag : aluminium ware

Ethanol seemed like a good idea, until the studies showed thatgrowing the corn and converting it to ethanol used more petroleumthan just burning gasoline in the first place. It also has theadded detriment of contributing to higher food prices.
What about corn-based plastics that were used for the dishes andplastic-ware the Three Rivers Arts Festival and Phipps Conservatoryturned to in order to be green?
They seem like a good idea, but are they?
Not according to Tillman Grengross, a professor of bioengineeringat Dartmouth College.
"The truth is corn-based polymers have, in my analysis, shown to beless energy efficient and less environmentally friendly than thefuel-based polymers," he said.
They seem like they should be good for the environment because youcan compost them. Some of the plastic even smells like kettle corn.But, there also are real drawbacks.
Mr. Grengross said when a plastic cup, made from traditionalpetroleum-based plastic, is tossed into a landfill it's inert. Theplasticizers, those chemicals added to mold the plastic and hold itin shape, become part of the cup, locked in for perpetuity.
Take the same style of cup in corn-based plastic and throw it inthe compost pile. As it is decomposing, it gives off carbon dioxideand methane, which are both greenhouse gases. Then there is thematter of the plasticizers, which leach into the groundwater as thecorn decomposes around it.
Mr. Grengross said, if, as a nation, we switched entirely tocorn-based plastic, it would take 25 million acres of corn.Currently 3 percent of the fossil fuel we use now goes intoplastic.
"It's perception up against reality," Mr. Grengross said.
Another example in food service is the case in which McDonald'sdiscontinued using polystyrene boxes in the 1990s and moved tocardboard for its hamburger containers. Mr. Grengross said thecompany researched which was actually a greener product and foundthat the manufacturing process for cardboard actually uses morepetroleum. In the manufacture of paper "they use more fossilizedcarbon than the entire material that ends up in plastic," he said.
Yet, the company also found that consumers thought cardboard wasbetter for the environment, so that was why the company switched.
The 2006 mandate by Congress to increase the use of biofuels isanother example of a little bit of knowledge being a dangerousthing.
"All of us who were in the field knew this was a train wreck on theway," said Steven C. Slater, the scientific program manager for theGreat Lakes Bio-Energy Research Center at the University ofWisconsin.
"These issues are all very complex," he said. "What seems to be theobvious answer is not always correct; the correct answer is oftencounterintuitive."
For instance, he said, researchers are now looking at ways to usethe stover, or the stalks and leaves, from the corn plants to makeenergy. The problem in that, he said, is that the combines thatpick corn also grind up the stover, which is then dropped back ontothe fields as fertilizer. If someone finds a use for that part ofthe corn, the energy to collect it, plus the need for additionalfertilizer may outweigh the benefits of the new use.
Mr. Grengross has his own example of how recycling can beunproductive.
When people recycle plastic milk jugs, they wash them out withwater, which has to be treated, pumped to their house, heated(because most people use hot water) and treated at a sewagetreatment plant then when it is poured down the drain. For each tonof recycled plastic, he said, consumers use about 10 tons of waterto clean it.
On the other hand, he said, aluminium recycling makes a great dealof sense because it takes much less energy to reuse the aluminiumrather than to produce more.
Despite the paradox, the positive aspect of the green movement, Mr.Slater said, is that if people try to live in a moreenvironmentally friendly way they will notice the impact they haveon the world.
"If it becomes stylish, it means people are starting to know aboutit," he said. "It becomes more of a cultural norm."
But, he said, the choices people make should be backed up byscience, instead of marketing.
"You have to make sure your decisions are guided by reality and notwhat you hope reality would be."