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LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST INTERVIEW higmagazine.com
MARCH 2010 5 A Letter To You
Thinking back to my childhood days when there wasn’t a care in the world brings back many memories. Smurfs, Alf, Ramblin Rod, even I Dream of Genie topped my charts...
8 Trash Masters
We all do it. Once a week, we rub the sleep from our eyes and stumble out to the curb some of us don our robes, braver ones run out to the curb in their boxers, but we all...
16 Digital Distributors Check out the websites and support those who support us.through a Benjamin or two, you
20 Nature Reinterpreted At Sarah Graham Metalsmithing you won’t find a literal interpretation of a tree or an oyster. Instead her handcrafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry is an artful interpretation of some of the...
24 Lazy Environmentalist Self-styled as the Lazy Environmentalist, Josh Dorfman is an environmental entrepreneur, author, television host, and radio personality. In addition, to being the founder and...
28 Green Collar Growth Recession blues have gotten even the best of us, lately. When your hard pressed to find a one-bedroom apartment for rent under $1,000, and you can’t leave the house for...
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FROM THE PUBLISHER Spring rains always remind me of my childhood. I grew up in a small town in Oregon and when I was young, I always longed for winter to end and the first blades of grass to poke through that soggy, melting snow. Like an annual alarm clock, those green spears signaled something new, a season full of growth and life, a perfect time for the vibrant and the fearless. Well, dear reader, we hope that you are just as thirsty as we are. Here at Have It Green (HIG), we set out to craft a magazine that captures cutting-edge couture, groundbreaking technology, and what’s coming down the turnpike on all things green. Along the way, we met up with the lazy environmentalist, green goddesses, and a duo of potential planet changing trash vaporizers. As I write this, images of spring and hectic family barbeques with tons of food, and literally tons of trash drift into my memory. But wouldn’t it be great if all that trash and food packaging could literally vanish? Well that fantasy ala The Jetsons might not be too far off. In addition to tailgating in the park, one of my fondest family memories was playing dress up in front of my grandma’s antique vanity with my sister. We would play for hours adoring ourselves with her gaudy costume jewelry. Luckily, I’m all grown up now, and I have an eye for more sophisticated and eco-friendly pieces like Sarah Graham’s stunning collection. Yes, growing up can be fun. Not only because it has brought me the gift of fashion-awareness, but it has also instilled in me a deep concern for our planet, and the type of world we might want for our own children. Now that I have grown, I am determined to create something bigger than myself. And you can help me by supporting HIG Magazine’s efforts to grow the eco-savvy movement. Just imagine, if we are successful, spring for your children might be just as green and delicious as you remember. Enjoy….
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WHO WE ARE Have It Green Magazine (HIG) provides a mainstream avenue for progressive thinking people to connect with environmentally sustainable and efficient innovations and technologies entering the world today. We know that for everyone to embrace an eco lifestyle, it requires easy resources to make simple life changes. At HIG Magazine, we believe little changes are necessary to create a “big picture” difference. Whether you just started an eco-remodel on your home or are interested in the latest curriculums available to meet green collar job qualifications, HIG Magazine exposes a mainstream network filled with people and businesses you need to know and can trust are eco friendly. We are the intricate weave of exposure that will deliver the “what’s next” within the eco arena. Through this, we will grow out of this “growing green” mentality and embrace the new, sustainable standards of living.
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TRASH MASTERS BY CORINNE KNUTSON
We all do it. Once a week, we rub the sleep from our eyes and stumble out to the curb some of us don our robes, braver ones run out to the curb in their boxers, but we all wheel that big plastic bin curbside. Most of us don’t give it a second thought until the following week, but some of us occupy our half-awake minds with questions like “Did I really fill this entire can?” Or “Holy trash, I wonder where all this packaging and disposable stuff actually goes?” For those more inquisitive trash taker-outers, we have a few fun facts for you. Every day the Miramar landfill, the only active landfill in the City of San Diego, takes in approximately 3,900 tons of trash. The 1,500-acre landfill was opened in 1959 and according to the city will reach capacity and close in just seven years. That doesn’t give us much time to reform our trashy ways. In fact, our modern life is deeply entrenched in stench. Just one missed trip to the curb on trash day can wreak family havoc for the whole week, not to mention reek. But what if we could take that pile of stink and vaporize it! Literally, stick it in a machine and poof! It’s gone. This isn’t as far fetched as you may think. American Standard Renewable Fuels Corp (ASRF), a California-based management and development firm, is poised to make trash a thing of the past. By sticking the stink into a zero oxygen chamber, known as a plasma-arc gasification system. The plasma arc system resembles a small brewing tank that you might find at your favorite brewery. Tiny particles of trash are sprinkled over an energy arc, which operates on principles similar to an arc-welding machine. As particles of trash are fed into the chamber, the intense heat, which can reach temperatures of 20,000 degrees Fahrenheit (11,093 Celsius), or almost two times hotter than the surface of the sun, breaks down molecules into their elemental atoms. Then, in a carefully controlled process, these atoms recombine into harmless gases such as carbon dioxide. And presto — trash is vaporized on the spot. But the good news is
this seemingly magical system doesn’t stop there, this trasheliminator also boasts a few useful byproducts such as: vitrified glass, used in asphalt and street grading, and saleable recyclable metals, which are recovered from the chamber. Next, gas from the poof process, or vaporization process as the ASRF team calls it, is pumped through large pipes to a scrubber and heat exchanger for additional cleaning. Steam from the process is captured and routed directly to a steam turbine, which generates renewable electricity. After cleaning, the gas is routed
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to a gas turbine, which also generates renewable energy. Nothing to scoff at, it is estimated that half of the energy used to vaporize the trash will be used in the actual system and the other 50 percent will be sold back to the energy grid to power our modern homes and handy electronics. The only byproducts from the gas cleaning system are sulfur and hydrochloric acid. Sulfur and hydrochloric acid occur naturally and shouldn’t get in the way of the legion of environmentalist ready to bounce on any new technology introduced in California.
In fact, the system is so green that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already approved the technology. And the Sierra Club has given ASRF verbal approval of their proposed Energy Centers or (ECs). In addition to ASRF’s plasma-arc pièce de résistance, which can consume 2,000 ton of trash per day. Each EC will include: a 24 million gallons per year cellulosic (biomass) ethanol plant, a one million gallons per year bio-diesel plant and a methane-recovery project. Henry R. Finn, Chief Executive
Officer of ASRF says, “Company’s are already using these technologies as individual systems throughout the US, but they are not combining the four systems for maximum efficiency and profitability like we plan to.” According to ASRF, there are currently individual cellulosic ethanol plants in existence in Stockton and Orange County, California. Bio-diesel plants are up and running in Sacramento, California and Houston, Texas; plasma-arc gasification systems are being developed in Tallahassee and Saint Lucie, Florida; and methane-recovery projects are underway at landfills across America. Finn explains that by integrating the systems and using the plasma arc gasification system as the backbone of the system, ASRF is able to utilize literally all
waste except for nuclear. He says, “We can throw anything into the plasma arc system: medical waste, metal, plastics, paints, oil slurries, Styrofoam, furniture, tires, oily water and contaminated soil, coal, and industrial sludge.” Finn continues, “And the beauty is that you don’t have to sort any of this stuff. Basically, the plasma arc can handle anything except for nuclear waste.” And the plasma arc gasification system works by partnering with existing waste management and waste haulers. Identical to what is done today, waste haulers will pick up that stinky grey bin and make their way to the dump, but instead of tipping their truckloads of trash into a lined and prepped landfill site, trash will be dumped into an enclosed waste storage area. From the
storage area unsorted trash will be pushed on a conveyor belt to a massive shredding device that will grind up waste into pieces small enough to be fed into the system. The plasma arc system is the keystone of the EC. Not only does it take in the waste products of the company’s proposed ethanol and biodiesel plants, but it also has the ability to work 24/7, digesting large quantities of animal waste, sewage, and slurries of contamination. Currently many companies pay dearly to dispose of medical waste, animal fat and oil. Instead of paying heavy fines these companies and landfills themselves can have these costly contaminates popped into the plasma arc system for vaporization and the generation
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of clean green energy. This clean energy will be sold to existing utility companies, which may prove to be a lucrative and much needed service. Especially since, many states have taken a similar stance to California in mandating clean renewable energy. In 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 107, which requires California’s three major utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric — to provide at least 20 percent of their electricity using renewable sources by 2010. An ASRF EC could assist the state in meeting these ambitious mandates, with the eventual goal of returning the currently unusable land into a nice park or community center, or gasp, maybe even extending the life of the existing landfill. Wow! Americans really might be able to preserve the planet and leave a cleaner, greener future to their children. By Jove, can you believe it? The total price tag of a completed EC is $350 million and once all plans and permits have been approved, the company says it can have the system operational and generating income within 24 months. To date, ASRF has received letters of support from West Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio asking that the first ECs be built in their states. At the moment, ASRF is on a mission to raise an initial $15 million in corporate capital. Finn says, “These funds will be used to complete our site and design studies and pay for initial
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permits and all the associated costs for our development program.” Bill Hieronimus, President and Chief Technical Officer adds, “Once we have gone through the process of obtaining permits in the states we have already obtained a strong commitment from, we will be in a better position to start the application process, here, in California and specifically in San Diego. We believe that the permitting process may take longer for approval in California than in other states. Hieronimus continues, “We are using a lot of the existing infrastructure at the landfills, as well as proven and existing technology, so we would love to get a fast track process moving ahead in California as soon as possible.” Just imagine towers of rotting trash could be vaporized, recycled and reutilized. With the minimal byproducts of sulfur, hydrochloric acid and steam, ASRF is literally blazing the way in efficient waste-to-energy production and green job creation. The company is poised to turn our nation’s landfills into lucrative renewable Energy Centers, where clean renewable fuels and electricity are produced with virtually zero waste or impact on the environment. Hieronimus says, “The ASRF process is what we should have been doing since the Industrial Age began, but didn’t know how. It is time to make a change for everyone’s benefit.” For more information about the company, please go to www.asrfcorp. com
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By Corinne Knutson
NATURE REINTERPRETED At Sarah Graham Metalsmithing you won’t find a literal interpretation of a tree or an oyster. Instead her handcrafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry is an artful interpretation of some of the most stunning and often overlooked creatures on the planet. Famous not only for her interpretive work, but also for the fine craftsmanship that goes into her artistry, Graham uses conflict-free diamonds, recycled-gold and silver, blackened steel, and Akoya and Tahitian Pearls. Of course, Graham’s newest line titled Radiolarian is no exception to her green, yet gorgeous look. The Radiolarian, which many of us know simply as ocean plankton, was arguably popularized by prints created by German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1904. Graham used the vintage prints as inspiration for her line, but unlike many designers Graham takes the extra time to stare at tiny slides of plankton under a microscope, set-up in her studio. The result of all that squinting, tiny spheres handcrafted of recycled
18-karat Rose and Yellow Gold with delicate branches of Oxidized Cobalt Chrome, expertly adorned with (conflictfree) Cognac diamonds and Tahitian Pearls that catch the light and shimmer like a sea of phosphorescence. Graham says, “Our customers are not the typical fine jewelry clientele. They want a lot more and we try to provide them with that.”
Since starting her business in January 2000, Graham explains that she’s done her homework in regards to her diamond suppliers and refiners. She says, “My feeling is that if a jeweler is based in United States, like myself, they are going to be more conscious of the supply chain and all aspects of their product.” But she cautions it doesn’t hurt to ask your favorite jeweler
about conflict-free diamonds and the effects their products have on the environment. For those unaccustomed to the term conflict-free it essentially means that your bling has been carefully tracked from mine to market, and that the diamonds were removed from a socially and environmentally conscious mine. That said, if you get a blank stare from behind the counter
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after you ask about conflict-free, you may want to spend your hard earned green with a more environmentally-friendly designer or retailer. Although Graham has always spent her time researching eco-conscious materials, she insists that her philosophy is not particularly focused on the environment. She says, “It’s just that we are small, we have a family atmosphere, we pay our people well, and this automatically seems to result in a product that is better for the earth.” Graham says by designing and fabricating everything by-hand in her San Francisco, California studio, she is never going to be able to compete with other jewelers on a price point, but she can make up for this by designing in ethical materials of the highest quality. She says, “It’s all about making something unique, unusual and weird.” All we can say is the organic feel, painstaking details, and science behind Graham’s work is unmistakable. And we can’t wait to see what finds its way under her microscope, next. Check out Sarah Graham’s ecoinspired collections at www. sarahgraham.com
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the LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST
JOSH DORFMAN
Self-styled as the Lazy Environmentalist, Josh Dorfman is an environmental entrepreneur, author, television host, and radio personality. In addition, to being the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vivavi, a company that specializes in contemporary and sustainable home furnishings. Have It Green magazine caught up with Dorfman for a short Q&A session as he was wrapping up filming for his hit television series, also titled The Lazy Environmentalist, which will air for the second season this spring on the Sundance Channel. Q: What can your audience expect this season? A: “One of the things we’ve been trying to do more of this season is investigate the claims of products. We don’t want someone to buy something just because it has the words green written on the bottle. Our mission is to help people determine what is useful and high quality for their business,
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while also being good for the planet. For example, in one segment we were trying to green an interior design, so we show them products and get them to present these different pieces to their clients. The ultimate test is to see if the client will actually choose the green pieces, and if the professional will consistently use them in their business. In addition, this season we are also trying to help some unique professionals such as: a comedian, a baseball player, an exterminator, and even a funeral director with embalming solution!” Q: “You mentioned that the whole idea for your book, The Lazy Environmentalist, was born from you taking long showers? Is that true and can you elaborate? A: At that time, I had my furniture business and I had already dedicated my career to making sustainable products and home furnishings, but
one of my employee’s called me out. She asked me how I could be so committed to finding green solutions, yet I was the worst environmentalist she had ever meet. So after hearing that, I wrote an extremely honest blog about how I was essentially a lazy environmentalist. The truth was that unless it was easy and fit into my life, I wasn’t going to reduce my environmental impact. My philosophy has always been and continues to be — deal with reality.” Q: “OK, so we understand you’re a realist. Were you raised in an environmentally conscious family, or did your passion for the environment evolve?” A: “As kids, we participated in bake sales for refugees and other things like that, but we didn’t do too much for the environment. What opened my eyes was when I moved to China in 1995 to sell Kryptonite bike locks. Our locks were really expensive, so I thought I was going to be a millionaire because everyone rode a bike, but the reality of the situation was that more and more people were opting to buy cars. I wasn’t an environmentalist then, but I understood how the whole situation was not sustainable. It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do about this, but there is still a lot more to be done.” The Lazy Environmentalist airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. on the Sundance Channel By Corinne Knutson
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GROWING GREEN 28
By Corinne Knutson
COLLAR JOBS
Recession blues have gotten even the best of us, lately. When your hard pressed to find a one-bedroom apartment for rent under $1,000, and you can’t leave the house for a night out without going through a Benjamin or two, you must be living in Southern California. But what does Southern California have that few other cities’ can boast about? Well, besides growing mountains of debt, So Cal has a burgeoning green energy market and San Diego in particular is poised to be a leader in Clean Technology. In fact, according to a 2009 Centers of Excellence (COE) report, the San DiegoImperial Region could add more than 2,600 new green jobs regionally during the next three-years. Jobs such as: project managers for construction or design, heating and air conditioning technicians and installers, building performance and retrofitting specialists, building engineers, building controls system technician, energy efficiency managers, energy auditors, and compliance analyst or energy regulation specialists, will grow between 16.6 and 53.2 percent during the next three years. And with green job wages ranging from $34,000 to $120,000, you could be counting your green while greening the planet. Just the type of silver lining that many out-of-work San Diegans might need right now. So you might be asking yourself, what exactly is a green job? And how can I get one ASAP? Fortunately, Have It Green tracked down someone with answers to both of these pressing questions. Chuck Flacks, Director of Research and Policy at San Diego Workforce Partnership, a non-profit organization that funds jobtraining programs for the San Diego region, says, “There are a lot of working definitions out there for green jobs, but one of the best and often quoted is by Phil Jordan.”
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Jordan is the Director of the San Diego and Imperial Region Center of Excellence, and he states that: A green job is an occupation that directly works with policies, information, materials, or technologies that contribute to minimizing environmental impact, and that requires specialized knowledge, skills, training, or experience in these areas. But for frantic jobseekers, Flack cautions that many green-collar jobs aren’t available right this second. He says, “The economy has to catch up to training, new policy, and new building requirements.” An example of this is the Navy Hospital slated to be built at Camp Pendleton. With a $563 million price tag, the 500,000-squarefoot hospital plans to be at least Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certified, which promises to generate various green-collar work in San Diego over the next few years. But with the Navy hospital’s completion date slated for 2013, jobseekers today, might better spend their time at one of the 13 community college programs geared specifically towards green job training. In addition to being in demand, many of these programs have been funded by President Barack Obama’s American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Which means that unemployed San Diegans can receive little or no cost job training in the fields of biotechnology, green jobs/clean technology, healthcare, and construction. Flack says, “The jobs aren’t right now, as the community college programs are just getting off the ground, but there is a lot of training opportunity, and this is where we are encouraging people to focus their energy at this time.” If you are interested growing your green career, we recommend visiting www. sandiegoatwork.com
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