Posts Tagged ‘environment’

U.S. Now World’s Largest Petroleum Supplier

Wednesday, November 6th, 2013

frackingAccording to many reports, the U.S. has passed Saudi Arabia as the largest petroleum producer in the world. Reuters recently quoted the PIRA Energy Group’s report that stated that the U.S. has passed Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest oil and gas producer.To make matters even more bizarre, the U.S. is no longer the largest importer of crude oil. That title now belongs to China.

This has been made possible because of the growth in shale oil and gas production. According to PIRA’s October 15, 2013 Press Release, over one-third of U.S crude oil production and almost 1/2 of U.S. natural gas production is from shale. In the last four years, U.S production has increased over 3.2 million barrels per day. PIRA went on to say that this rapid growth is unparalleled in the history of the world, has covered most of the world’s growth in demand for the last two years and that the U.S’s position as the world’s largest petroleum producer should be secure for many years.

The Wall Street Journal said that this growth in U.S. production has affected U.S. imports of natural gas and crude oil. They have fallen 32% and 15%, respectively, in the past five years, narrowing the U.S. trade deficit.

On the surface this all sounds good. However, like many issues in the energy sector, things are not that simple and are not always what they seem. While some call this type of oil and gas product “non-conventional sources”, others call it “fracking”. Public support for this type of oil and natural gas production is waning. A poll last month by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that opposition to increased use of fracking rose to 49% from 38% in the previous six months.

In a new report, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) warns about the dangers of producing transportation fuel from oil shale. According to NRDC, studies conducted so far suggest that oil shale extraction would adversely affect the air, water, and land around proposed projects. The distillation process would release toxic pollutants into the air. The NRDC also states that in a well-to-wheel comparison, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oil shale are close to double those from conventional crude, with most of them occurring during production.

Closer to home here in Michigan, things get even stranger. In 2012 and 2013 the state of Michigan auctioned off oil and mineral rights to state owned land in Oakland County. Oakland County is just north of Detroit and is home to over 1.2 million people (including my family) according to the 2010 census. It has 62 cities, villages and townships in its 908 square miles, 35.49 miles of which is water.

According to one newspaper, Jordan Development of Traverse City, paid the state of Michigan $33 per acre during an auction in May of 2012 for 18,347 acres of state owned mineral rights inside Oakland County. Unfortunately, many of these acres are either in parks or under the many lakes that dot Oakland County. Jordan has sunk one well in Indian Springs Metro Park and has leases in Kensington Metro Park.

In addition, Michigan Oil and Gas regulations allows “compulsory pooling“. Under this regulation, in some circumstances, a landowner may not prevent the development of oil and gas reserves that underlie their property. Instead, they are compulsory pooled with neighboring acreage to permit drilling. Furthermore, if hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is used, there can be significant adverse effects on local water sources. According to Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality, Fresh water is needed to hydraulically fracture a well. The quantity of water needed varies based on the type of well being completed with hydraulic fracturing. A vertical well that is hydraulically fractured may use about 50,000 to 100,000 gallons of water while a horizontal well that is hydraulically fractured may use up to 20,000,000 gallons of water or more. Withdrawal of water for oil and gas operations is exempt from the requirements of Michigan’s water withdrawal statute (Part 327 of Act 451 Natural Resources Environmental Protection Act (NREPA))

Traverse City-based West Bay Exploration Co. operates several wells in Southeast Michigan, including the Schoolcraft Well in Livonia, one under the former Northville Psychiatric Hospital and one under Eisenhower High School in Shelby Township. A West Bay spokesman has said that they have been 90% successful drilling in Southeast Michigan, averaging at least 200,000 barrels of oil at each site. Despite environmental concerns, the region’s benefits include jobs, royalties to the cities, state and landowners and locally produced oil and natural gas. According to one article in Crain’s West Bay sells its crude oil yield from the region to Marathon Oil Corp. to refine at its Detroit facilities and feeds its natural gas from sites such as Livonia and Novi into the pipeline of Consumers Energy Co. for distribution to other buyers. (It should be noted that both Marathon Oil Corp. and Consumers Energy are customers of Maxi Container.)

According to some reports, Jordan Oil of Traverse City, the company that bought all of the Oakland County leases at the 2012 auction, states that they will not use the water intensive “fracking” in Oakland County. However, they are only offering landowners $100 per acre for the mineral rights and can use Compulsory pooling to force landowners to accept a 1/8 royalty, which is reduced by the cost associated with drilling. According to some commentators, it can take up to 11 years before the pooled landowner sees any profit, provided, however, that the well is still producing. In fact, the Schoolcraft well used compulsory pooling to assemble the necessary 80 acres. Fourteen homeowners and the County Road Commission had a total of 11.85 of the 80 acres pooled under Order 10-2011 of the Commissioner of Wells. The pooled owners we also assessed with a 300% penalty, in essence they were charged with 300% of the drilling cost, 200% of the completing costs and 25% of the actual equipping costs. The Supervisor of wells capped production at 200 gallons per day and the costs at around $3,000,000. The pooled owners 1/8 royalty is paid after the cost and penalties are recouped. A barrel of oil is 42 gallons. If oil is $100 a barrel, 200 gallons is just under 5 barrels or around $500. If I did my math correctly (and please let me know if I didn’t) it would take over 17 years to recoup the $3,000,000 and that does not include the 300% penalty, 200% penalty or 25% penalty.

It seems to me that while the economic benefits to the economy from increased oil and gas drilling is significant, we need to take a better look at the environmental issues and the provisions forcing homeowners to allow drilling on their land without reasonable compensation. I would support having the amount of groundwater used for fracking to be part of, and not excluded from, Michigan’s Water Withdrawal Statute. I would also support a requirement that the drill operators be required to have evacuation plans,and more stringent safety protocols when drilling near schools, highways, parks, etc., especially in such densely populated areas as Southeastern Michigan. Finally, I would be in favor of the State of Michigan being required to spend part of the oil and gas royalties to further development of alternative energy sources, including solar and wind power.

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Florida Red Tide Kills Hundreds of Manatees

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

Manatees-Dying-Algae-Bloom
Red Tide is the scourge of west coast Florida beaches. For the many years I lived there, this almost yearly algae bloom would kill thousands of fish which would then wash up on the Gulf Beaches and stink. This year the Red Tide has added a new victim, the slow moving, graceful and beloved manatees of the Florida West Coast.

Apparently, Red Tide algae can be toxic when consumed by manatees, as it causes them to become paralyzed. The paralyzed manatees eventually drown as they cannot return to the surface for air. According to the Tampa Tribune, authorities believe that approximately 200 Manatees were killed this year by Red Tide. Even though the bloom has dissipated, manatee deaths can continue for several months as the toxins settle onto the Sea Grass, the manatees major food source. manatees are on the Federal endangered Species List and have been protected by Florida Law since 1893. The deaths this year have reduced the manatee population by approximately 10%.

As any Floridian can tell you, manatees are wonderful mammals. They are gentle vegetarians that can reach up to 13 feet long and weigh up to two tons. They are distantly related to elephants and aardvarks. Manatees have also been known to body surf or barrel roll when playing. They have no major predators, but their biggest foe is us! According to Save the Manatee Club, “Florida’s West Indian manatees have no natural enemies, and it is believed they can live 60 years or more. As with all wild animal populations, a certain percentage of manatee mortality is attributed to natural causes of death such as cold stress, gastrointestinal disease, pneumonia, and other diseases. A high number of additional fatalities are from human-related causes. Most human-related manatee fatalities occur from collisions with watercraft. Other causes of human-related manatee mortality include being crushed and/or drowned in canal locks and flood control structures; ingestion of fish hooks, litter, and mono-filament line; and entanglement in crab trap lines. Ultimately, loss of habitat is the most serious threat facing manatees in the United States today. There is a minimum population count of 4,834 manatees, as of January 2011.”

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo has managed to rescue about 10 of the Manatees affected by Red Tide toxins. All have survived and 4 were recently released into a sanctuary away from the Red Tide and speeding boat propellers.

manatees

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Business Week Cover Proclaims – “It’s Global Warming, Stupid”

Monday, November 5th, 2012
Business Week Global Warming Cover

Businessweek Cover

In the wake of the severe damage to the East Coast from Hurricane Sandy, Bloomberg Businesseek took the unprecedented step to state categorically the “Superstorm” and the destruction and loss of life from the storm, was directly related to Global Warming”. The magazine lists the toll from Sandy as follows:

“At least 40 U.S. deaths. Economic losses expected to climb as high as $50 billion. Eight million homes without power. Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated. More than 15,000 flights grounded. Factories, stores, and hospitals shut. Lower Manhattan dark, silent, and underwater.”

In the article Businessweek cited:

  • Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota
  • Eric Pooley, senior vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund
  • Mark Fischetti of Scientific American
  • Climate scientists Charles Greene and Bruce Monger of Cornell University

George Lakoff, professor of linguistics at UC Berkely states that Global Warming was the systemic cause of the storm.  Systemic causation is much more difficult to understand. He states:

A systemic cause may be one of a number of multiple causes. It may require some special conditions. It may be indirect, working through a network of more direct causes. It may be probabilistic, occurring with a significantly high probability. It may require a feedback mechanism. In general, causation in ecosystems, biological systems, economic systems, and social systems tends not to be direct, but is no less causal. And because it is not direct causation, it requires all the greater attention if it is to be understood and its negative effects controlled. Above all, it requires a name: systemic causation.

Many commentators and most Climate Change deniers seize upon the more commonly understood direct causation to say that there is no proof that Climate Change caused the recent droughts or that the warming of the ocean caused Hurricane Sandy to be more destructive than previous storms. Instead, if you look at the concept of systemic causation, there is little doubt that the warming of the oceans, and many other factors attributed to Global Climate Change, contributed to the increase in the strength of the storm, and to the loss of life and the billions of dollars in damage.

We need to take off our blinders and recognize that human activity has consequences. We believe in a sustainability model that reduces our carbon footprint while continuing to enjoy the benefits of our post-industrial, highly technological society. For example, I drive a hybrid SUV. It gives me all of the room and comfort of an SUV, but gets over 30 miles a gallon. Here at Maxi we recycle everything we can. Also, throughout the life cycle of our steel, plastic and fiber drums, and our IBC’s we preach reuse. It takes significantly less energy and carbon to clean a drum or IBC for reuse than to scrap the old and make a new one.

But there are many simple things that each of us can do to help reduce our contribution to Global Climate Change. There is a great list from Millie Jefferson, producer, Weekend America®, here are just a few of them:

  • Buy organic, local or fair trade goods. (Maxi buys fair trade coffee and tea)
  • Pay attention to packaging (That’s what Maxi Container is all about. Packaging matters.)
  • Ditch bottled water (see my numerous earlier posts about the evil of bottled water. Maxi uses filtered water for drinking, coffee and tea.)
  • Energy proof your home. (this will save you money as well. Maxi switched its warehouse lighting from Metal Halide to induction, saving 50% on energy costs.)
  • Use native plant species. (Maxi started MiRainBarrel to promote rain water harvesting and works with groups that promote native species for use in a rain garden.)
  • Switch water heaters to vacation mode.
  • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. (The three R’s of Maxi are Reuse, Recondition,then Recycle)

We all have a part to play, we can all be a part of the solution. In absence of a national will to do the right thing and reduce the Climate Effects of our lifestyle, it is up to us as responsible citizens to step up and do, at a minimum, the little things that together can make a difference.

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Cleaning up Concrete!

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Charlie Rubin started reconditioning wooden barrels over 100 years ago. Max Rubin started reconditioning steel drums over 60 years ago. Maxi Container has been reconditioning and recycling industrial packaging since 1980. We didn’t know then that we were “green”. We thought that it made sense to reuse an expensive container over and over. Reuse wasn’t a choice made to save resources, it was an economic necessity during the Great Depression and WWII. Even as we became a disposable society, Maxi Container resisted the pressure to sell “one and done” thin steel drums. We often joke that we are in an industry that people do not know exists and, if they do, do not realize how committed to reuse and sustainability we are as a company and an industry.

Imagine my surprise when reading an article at the Smithsonian website about a new concrete that I learned:

  • Last year, the world produced 3.6 billion tons of cement—the mineral mixture that solidifies into concrete when added to water, sand and other materials. Globally, the only substance people use more of than concrete, in total volume, is water
  • The recipe for making cement calls for heating limestone, which requires fossil fuels.
  • When heated, limestone sends carbon dioxide gas wafting into the atmosphere, where it traps heat, contributing to global warming.
  • Cement production is responsible for 5 percent of the world’s human-produced carbon dioxide emissions.
  • Typically, a cement factory produces nearly a ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of cement.

In steps Nikolaos Vlasopoulos, an environmental engineer at Imperial College in London who worked summers measuring carbon dioxide levels with his uncle at a cement plant in Greece. He has developed a cement that is made with magnesium oxide and magnesium carbonates. These are made by adding carbon dioxide to his mixture. The cement, in some scenarios, is not just carbon neutral—it’s carbon negative. For every ton of Vlasopoulos’ cement produced, one-tenth of a ton of carbon dioxide could be absorbed.

There are several other companies trying to make a better, more eco-friendly, cement. Stanford Professor Brent Constantz along with venture capitalist Vinod Khosla have formed a company called Calera Corp. which has a pilot factory in Moss Landing, CA. Their process harnesses carbon dioxide emitted from a power plant and mixes it with seawater or brine to create carbonates that are used to make cement. Calera says that for every ton of cement they make, they can sequester a half of ton of carbon dioxide.

Both the Calera and Vlasopoulos cement have an interesting characteristic in common. They are both white, while normal cement is gray. This means that you can add color to it and that builders, architects and artists can not only use it to make environmentally friendly buildings, but colorful ones as well.

Some of these new approaches to cement are already in use. On Interstate 35W, just east of Minneapolis, the St. Anthony Falls Bridge carries 10 lanes of traffic on box girders borne by massive arching piers, which are supported, in turn, by footings and deep pilings. The bridge, built to replace one that collapsed in 2007, uses components made from different concrete mixes. The mix used in the wavy sculptures at both ends of the bridge is designed to stay gleaming white by scrubbing stain-causing pollutants from the air.

Just like people don’t realize how sustainable industrial packaging can be, who knew that cement could become a green technology? Have you heard of a surprising green product or technology? We would love to hear from you, please leave your response in the comments below.

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Recycling in Jerusalem!

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Plastic bottle recycling bin logo in Jerusalem!

My wife Gail, daughter Michelle and I are on a long overdue trip to Israel.  We have visited many ancient religious sites, museums, open air markets (Souq) both in the old and new cities of Jerusalem.  So what caught my attention the most?  The communal street side recycling bins for both paper and plastic.

Jerusalem does not yet have citywide curbside recycling. While there is a new recycling center that you can take your recycling to, it is underutilized. (See the Jerusalem Post article about it here)

As you might expect for the Middle East, Jerusalem is hot! Everyone carries bottles of water, soda, juice and other liquids to stay hydrated. In the U.S. there usually is no place to recycle plastic bottles while out in public. My family holds onto them until we can get home and put them in our recycling bin. But here in Jerusalem, they have taken a different approach. Every few blocks there are big wire mesh cages with different bottle size holes in them. Jerusalem residents (and tourists) do not have to go far to recycle those empty plastic bottles.

The same goes with newspapers. There are over twenty-two daily newspapers in Israel, a country with only 7.6 million people. Add to this all of the weekly papers including political, sports, and foreign language and you have a large amount of material to recycle.  Again, due to the lack of curbside recycling (I think that it might be impossible to get a truck down some of these narrow streets) Jerusalem has taken a communal approach by installing large paper recycling drums, which are located every few blocks. After years of complaints about how ugly they look and the difficulty of putting anything other than newsprint in them, Jerusalem is now rolling out sleek blue boxes for curbside recycling that will accept all types of paper or cardboard! To find out more about Jerusalem’s new paper recycling systems read Jerusalemite’s article here.

My family agrees that there is much less litter in Jerusalem than many cities we have visited, both in the U.S. and overseas. It is a pleasure to wander its tree-lined streets armed with the knowledge that you can recycle that empty plastic bottle just about anywhere down the street.

Here is some pictures of recycling in Jerusalem, Enjoy!

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RIPA Technical Conference, Indianapolis, IN

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Empty Totes
Earlier this week the Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (RIPA) had their annual Technical Conference in Indianapolis, IN. Maxi Container was well represented with both myself, Richard Rubin, and our Sales Manager, Bob Vannatter in attendance. It was a thoughtful and in depth meeting looking at many issues which affect industrial packaging. RIPA formed a new Product Group to represent companies that manufacturer, collect and recondition Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBC). The other Product Groups, Steel Drums, Plastic Drums, Fiber Drums and IBC’s also had numerous agenda items, including air emissions, use of post consumer regrind in making new plastic drums, periodic certification of design types, and many more.

Again many issues dealt with both Maxi’s and RIPA’s core value of sustainability. I am proud to be a active member of an organization whose purpose is to promote the use of reusable packaging and help its members navigate the complex world of regulations regarding the transport and reconditioning of industrial packages in an environmentally sustainable manner.

For example, RIPA as a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is helping to draft the International Organization for Standards (ISO) Environmental Packaging Standards. Approximately 30 nations are involved in this project to clarify and harmonize environmental issues related to the production, use, reuse, recycling and recovery of packagings. RIPA chair’s the ANSI committee on “Reuse” and is a member of the ANSI committees on “Optimization” and “Material Recycling”.

With the amount of international commerce it will only be through organisations such as ISO, ANSI, and the Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods of the United Nations that we can continue to transport the many chemicals, paints, pharmaceuticals necessary in making the many products we enjoy. We cannot compromise our short term safety or the environments long term sustainability in order to enjoy the blessings of our industrialized lifestyle. Here at Maxi we are committed to finding the balance between the two so we, and our children and our children’s children cane enjoy both a high standard of living the our beautiful natural world.

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