The founder of Earth Day, the late Senator Gaylord Nelson, felt population control is the key to sustainability. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
Earth Day has grown from its counterculture roots. Now there’s a lot of green talk on Main Street. But as Mark Brush reports, the founder of Earth Day might think we’re leaving something out:
Transcript
Earth Day has grown from its counter culture roots. Now there’s a lot of green talk on Main Street. But as Mark Brush reports, the founder of Earth Day might think we’re leaving something out:
In the last several decades, concern about the environment has shifted from college campus protests to board room discussions. There’s a lot more awareness about environmental issues. And the administration in Washington D.C. is much more receptive. That has Earth Day organizers pretty excited.
The man credited for founding Earth Day is the late Senator Gaylord Nelson. He probably would’ve liked all this talk about a green future. But in a 2003 speech recorded by C-Span – the Senator said there was an important topic being left out of the conversation:
“The ultimate key to sustainability is population.”
He acknowledged that taking on population control is a tough thing to do for politicians. But if they’re really serious about taking on environmental problems, he said they’re going to have to get up the courage to talk about population.
Triple-A reports that gas prices are affecting many Memorial Day weekend travelers (Photo by Ed Edahl, courtesy of FEMA)
Nearly 38-million people will travel during
the Memorial Day weekend according to a Triple-A
survey. But they’re not expected to go as far or stay
away as long. And many people are just going to stay
at home because of higher gas prices. Lester Graham
talked with Triple-A’s Nancy Cain about travel plans
this summer:
Transcript
Nearly 38-million people will travel during
the Memorial Day weekend according to a Triple-A
survey. But they’re not expected to go as far or stay
away as long. And many people are just going to stay
at home because of higher gas prices. Lester Graham
talked with Triple-A’s Nancy Cain about travel plans
this summer:
Nancy Cain: “Well, what we’re hearing from a lot of folks is that they’re still going to travel, but
they’re going to travel differently than they’ve done in the past. They’re much more economically
minded. They’re going to be looking for travel bargains, they’re going to be trying to camp out,
they’re going to travel in groups. They’re going to do anything they can to have an enjoyable
vacation while saving money at the same time.”
Lester Graham: “What about those big vacations that require a flight? Are fuel prices stopping
people from going places, far away places?”
Cain: “Triple-A is projecting that about 25 million Americans are going to travel over-seas this
summer. But they’re also going to try to be as economical as they can. Because, as you know,
the American dollar is pretty much at an all-time low. So people will still travel. We think the skies
will be fairly crowded this summer. But definitely much more of people’s discretionary income is
going towards these trips. They’ll have less for other things. And they’re less likely to buy
souvenirs once they get to their destinations. And they’re looking at, you know, perhaps
downgrading a room to a less expensive room, having a bigger meal at lunch versus at dinner
when dinner prices are more expensive. So any way they can, they’re going to be cutting costs.”
Graham: “Are people starting to look at other types of transportation, such as the train, you know,
Amtrak, to avoid the driving?”
Cain: “We think that Amtrak, certainly Triple-A, our surveys, have shown that people are showing
more of a willingness to take either Greyhound Bus, Amtrak, carpool with somebody else. You
know, the glory days of people taking a two-week vacation in July and heading out for two-weeks
to the beach, those days are pretty much gone.”
Graham: “I’m wondering, the hotel industry is a pretty mercenary industry, they’re really going after
travelers. I’m wondering what they’re doing to encourage people to travel, now, with this new
wrinkle in people’s budget.”
Cain: “A lot of the hotels, the big hotels, what they’re doing in many cases is offering, like, discount
cards, they’re offering, you know, gas cards. Everybody’s trying to do what they can to attract
tourists to come back, and go out there and spend. Even though gas prices are at record highs,
tourism is one of the backbones of the economy of this country. So, people want to get out, and,
also, they want to enjoy their vacation.”
Graham: “Trucking companies are starting to slow down to try to save a little fuel. And, I’ve heard
about it – although I haven’t actually seen – that some people are actually slowing down their cars
on the highway. Is that becoming a common trend?”
Cain: “You know, at Triple-A, we’re seeing that more and more. And this is advice we’ve been
giving for years. You know, slowing down on the highway, and even city driving, just five miles an
hour can really improve your fuel economy. And, we’ve said this for years, but now that gas prices
are looking at $4 a gallon, people are starting to follow this advice. Trying to ease up on the gas
pedal, avoiding those jack-rabbit starts and stops. And you can see, people are trying to be a little
more conservative, and thinking conservation when they’re driving.”
Graham: “So, Nancy, I want to ask you a personal question. What have you been doing differently
because of these higher gas prices?”
Cain: “You know, truly what I do, and I have been doing this, I have made a point of it – when I am
in line, like at the bank, I turn my engine off. It’s just those little things – turning your engine off.
And I do try to think conservatively. You know, plan your trips – so you can go around, and not go
out one place in the morning and somewhere else in the afternoon. And I really do make an effort
to do that, because you can reduce your gas costs. And also what I’ve been thinking about doing,
some of my colleagues have also thought this, you know, maybe we should start carpooling, even
one day a week. That would save some money.”
Advanced, individual meters that calibrate energy prices for each apartment. (Photo by Samara Freemark)
Energy prices are rising, and people are looking
for ways to conserve power. But some rate payers are
saving money without actually cutting their energy use.
Instead they’re changing when they use power. Samara
Freemark reports:
Transcript
Energy prices are rising, and people are looking
for ways to conserve power. But some rate payers are
saving money without actually cutting their energy use.
Instead they’re changing when they use power. Samara
Freemark reports:
It’s Saturday morning, and Ellen and Peter Funk are doing laundry.
The Funks used to do chores when most people do – they would get home from work and
switch on their dishwasher, dryer, and computer. They never really paid attention to
what that meant for their electricity bill.
“I never thought about electricity before. Never, never, never. Except when I got the bill.
But, you didn’t have any control. Because you paid the same price whether you used it at 2 in
the morning or 2 in the afternoon.”
But a couple of years ago the Funks started paying for their electricity differently than the
rest of us. They live in one of only a handful of buildings in New York City that
participate in a Real Time Pricing program.
Real Time Pricing charges consumers a different rate depending on when they use power.
The Funks know that running their dishwasher or turning on a light will cost more at 5
pm than at 10 pm. That’s because they get a color-coded chart every month that breaks
down their energy prices by time block.
“The green here is low. And the green starts at 10 o’clock at night and goes through 1
o’clock the following afternoon. The yellow is medium from 2 to 5 every day. And then
Monday to Friday there’s a high period from 5 to 9. That means stop. I think that’s why
they used red.”
It’s the same concept that makes cell phone minutes cost more during the day. Power
costs more when more people want to use it.
Real Time Pricing can save consumers a lot of money. Peter Funk says his family saves
hundreds of dollars a year by just shifting when they use energy.
“It’s an ongoing savings. We do these things because they make sense economically. We
don’t do it because we’re virtuous, we don’t do it because we’re better than our neighbor.
We just, this is the way we buy electricity because it makes sense.”
Real Time Pricing programs shift around power demand, so fewer people use energy
during peak hours. A Department of Energy study earlier this year estimated that Real
Time Pricing programs could cut peak energy use by about 15%.
That could actually help regions improve air quality and conserve resources by
decommissioning old, polluting power plants. Here’s how.
Most areas have a network of power plants. Usually only a few of those plants – the
newest, cleanest ones – are in use. But when energy demand peaks, the older, less
efficient plants kick in. And those plants spew a lot of carbon dioxide and other
pollutants into the air.
“It’s really not the number of power of power plants, but the ones you have to turn on at
critical times.”
Jim Genarro is a New York City councilman. He also chairs the council’s Committee on
Environmental Protection.
He says the plants that kick in when demand peaks are the worst in the system.
“We have a lot of reserve capacity in the city, but these are the older, dirtier plants, and
when you run those at peak capacity, it really means a lot of pollution.”
And Genarro says those plants cost even when they’re not producing energy. The city
has to maintain them all the time so they can switch on when needed. That wastes energy
and resources. It also means there are power plants that are only used a few weeks, or
even days, a year.
If power companies could cut peak energy demand, rarely-used, polluting plants could
become totally unnecessary. And many could be shut down.
Across the country, nursing homes destroy thousands of dollars in medicine at each facility every day. The medicine is still good. But destroying the drugs has been the traditional way to keep prescription medication out of the wrong hands. A new federal directive might encourage more nursing homes to recycle unused medicines for the use of the poor. The GLRC’s Lisa Ann Pinkerton reports:
Transcript
Across the country, nursing homes destroy thousands of dollars in
medicine at each facility every day. The medicine is still good. But
destroying the drugs has been the traditional way to keep prescription
medication out of the wrong hands. A new federal directive might
encourage more nursing homes to recycle unused medicines for the use
of the poor. The GLRC’s Lisa Ann Pinkerton reports:
In her nursing home room, Genevieve Barns gazes out the window. A
black rosary is draped over her lap. She’s 94 and an oxygen
concentrator, bubbles behind her to help her breathe. She says even this
late in life she’s still abiding by her mother’s lessons.
“It’s a matter of how we were raised, you never wasted anything.”
Barns was on a common medication called Mucinex, to keep her
throat clear, but her doctor took her off of it. Normally, her unused
Mucinex would be sent back to the pharmacy for destruction, but Barns’
nursing home contributes it to a so-called ‘drug repository.’ Barns says it
was a simple choice to give medicine she can’t use to needy seniors.
“Well, everything is so expensive, and when you waste… you’re just
squandering things that should be used by someone.”
Four years ago, Ohio became the first state to recycle sealed, unused
medicine to seniors in need. Ever since, its two drug repositories have
struggled to get more participation. The drugs can’t be redistributed until
there’s enough of any one drug to make a 30 day supply. Then it’s made
available to seniors who otherwise couldn’t afford it.
At Genevieve Barns’ nursing home, the administrator, Denise Day,
collects the drugs in a blue plastic tote…
“We don’t have a huge cliental in this building at this time, but the
amount of medications that get sent back is still quite incredible.”
The bin in Day’s office is filled with pills and bottles sealed in their
packaging. She says what’s here comes from patients covered by
Medicaid; unused medicines covered by Medicare or private insurance
must to go back to the pharmacy for incineration before patients can get
their refund. Day says still, about 2-thousand dollars worth a month,
from just 34 patients, are recycled by the group called Serving Our
Seniors.
Its director, Susan Daugherty, says if every nursing home in her county
donated from just half their patients, the results would be astounding.
“Honestly we could meet and probably exceed the need of older adults
who’ve needed access to drugs that are common to the aging
populations. It could do a whole lot of good with a whole lot of waste.”
The drugs in this region are taken to Buderer Pharmacy. It’s become the
local drug repository. In the backroom shelves of medication go all the
way to the ceiling.
Matt Buderer is the pharmacist. He says the drugs are checked for their
expiration dates and whether they’re eligible for donation.
“And then what we want to do is take these drugs and poke them out of
this thing into a bottle. Making sure that what goes on the bottle is the
lot and expiration date.”
Seniors who’ve signed a waiver and received a card from Serving Our
Seniors can then buy any medication for a flat fee of 7 dollars and 40
cents.
“You can dispense one tablet. You can dispense 15. You can dispense a
billion for $7.40.”
Ohio’s not the only state with a drug repository program. At least
nineteen other states have mimicked the idea. Some states have had
more success than others.
In North Carolina the Board of Pharmacy says it recycles 5 to 6 million
dollars of drugs paid by tax payers every year. That’s a lot more than
Ohio’s program.
Buderer says his state could be matching those numbers, if only there
were more participation.
“There’s good public knowledge out there that large quantities are picked
up daily and incinerated that could be used. So I’m sure that a large
institutional pharmacy knowing that… certainly isn’t saying ‘well, we
don’t care.'”
Buderer says liability is often the reason given for not participating in
the drug repositories. The state’s largest nursing home corporation and
wholesale pharmacy. Both declined to comment for this story.
But now, there might be a bigger incentive. In April, the federal government
announced it will hold nursing home facilities financially accountable for
medicines going unused by patients. The states can still redistribute medicines,
as long as documents show the federal government isn’t paying for the same item
twice, and this acknowledgement of waste with in the system, might just be the
national push drug repositories need to move into the mainstream.
A growing number of electricity customers in Ontario are
using so-called smart meters, which will charge more for electricity
used during peak hours of the day. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Karen Kelly reports:
Transcript
A growing number of electricity customers in Ontario are using so-called smart
meters, which
will charge more for electricity used during peak hours of the day. The Great Lakes
Radio
Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Right now, electricity customers in Ontario pay the same amount to run their
dishwasher at 6 p.m.
– during peak hours – as they do at ten in the morning. But it costs the province
more to produce
that power during peak times.
The heavy demand is a strain on Ontario’s aging electricity plants. So, the
province plans to
install smart electricity meters in every home and business over the next five years.
Ted Gruetzner is with the Ontario Ministry of Energy.
“It allows people to track their energy use depending on the time of day and monitor
when they’re
using power so they can turn their lights off at certain times or use their ovens or
dryers at
different times of day.”
That’s because electricity used during peak hours will cost consumers more. Ontario
is the first
jurisdiction in North America to use this system.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.
The founder of Earth Day, the late Senator Gaylord Nelson, felt population control is the key to sustainability. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
