The Chic Ecologist

Friday Sustainability Report

Here is a sampling of what is being circulated around the green blogosphere, hand picked by the Chic Ecologist. Some of these deserve their own posts, so you may see a more in-depth look soon.

Blue August

I love the ocean, and I am really getting into Blue August, a new awareness campaign put together by Planet Green diving into everything water. From sharks, whales, sustainable fishing and ocean geoengineering, to diminishing aquifers, desertification, pollution solutions and water footprints, its a month of information, action and activities. Hopefully it will help us keep from adding to the Pacific Trash Island.

The Cove Movie

An interesting new documentary movie opening today that takes a hard look at the slaughter of dolphins in a hidden cove in Taiji, Japan. The Cove looks to be a film about dolphins much like Sharkwater was for sharks. I’ll be sure to catch it as soon as I can and you can expect to see a film review posted soon.

Baddass Green Beer

Rock/Rap/Country singer and celebrity Kid Rock has released his own beer, and its green! A surprise to most, it has more to do with the practices of the brewer, Michigan Brewing Company. Biodiesel harvested from the nearby college campus cafeterias of Michigan State University power the brewery generators, and even fuel the companies fleet. The mash waste leftover from brewing American Baddass Beer is then sold to nearby farmers as feed.

While its no New Belgium Brewery, its good to see the macro-brewers getting in on the green scene. To be rolled out nationwide this year

[via MMN]

Amazon Beef

If you love to eat beef, then you may want to take a look at the Beef Amazon Deforestation article by David Cleary of The Nature Conservency. It’s not a PETA piece or a slaughter video, but rather an interesting look at how beef has changed our environment and the landscape of the Amazon. The complexity of managing a conservation effort with the needs and desires of farmers and consumers- the push and pull of supply and demand is astounding. It is a frustrating place that many career conservationists, including myself, find themselves in. Although I read this article a while back, it has really stuck with me and is worth the read.

Image: Smoke from burning tropical forest in Para state, Brazil. Credit: leoffreitas through a Creative Commons license.
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Tags: beer, eco friendly, Green Event, movie review, sustainable

Beer Powered Cars, Ethanol Fuel from Beer Waste – I’ll Drink to That!

Sierra Nevada Brewery did something pretty green and innovative recently- they are converting their waste products into fuel for their automotive fleets. They are using the EFuel100 MicroFueler home ethanol maker along with the bottom of the barrel brewery waste of yeast and sugar to create Ethanol (E85) fuel. It’s starting out as a pilot program for just their own fleet, but they hope to expand it to include employees, distributors, and may go even further with it through E-Fuel’s distribution network.

These refrigerator-sized portable ethanol refineries raise the alcohol content in the mix to 15 percent and remove the water. With 1.6 million gallons of waste created each year (currently sold to farmers as feed), there is quite a bit of potential fuel. Creative waste solutions and environmental awareness are starting to gain traction among many micro-brewery’s, appealing to many of their ‘green minded’ customers. I love to see brewerys go green!

[via dvice]

Tags: beer, Beverages, BioFuels, Ethanol, Fuel

Green Beer

Wind powered since 1999 and supplemented by on site energy production is just the beginning for this sustainable brewery. New Belgium Brewing produces delicious popular micro brews such as Fat Tire Ale, Blue Paddle, and Abbey. The true Belgian style brews were first created in the basement of New Belgium founder, Jeff Lebesch using re-purposed dairy equipment. A commercial (but not too commercial) mainstay since 1991, the company has been changing the way we think of beer. Starting as the largest private consumer of windpower (as voted for by the owners and employees alike), this eco-friendly company has been innovative and imaginative in the way they approach business. Efficient buildings with re-claimed timber, pre-treating wastewater to extract and produce energy on-site, and improvements inefficiencies throughout the brewing process, need we say more?

With core values like:

“Kindling social, environmental and cultural change as a business role model.”
and
“Environmental stewardship: Honoring nature at every turn of the business.”

its no wonder they have their own ’social movement.’

Team Wonderbike is a side project which encourages bike commuting as an ‘elegant solution to so many issues.’ This just goes to show that the involvement doesn’t stop at the workplace. Community involvement, actionable advocacy and sustainable involvement are all practiced whether it is using compostable cups and solar powered stages for events, or partnering with companies to transfer renewable resources. Oh, and did i mention they make excellent tasting beer?

Tags: beer, eco footprint, sustainable business