Our Green Streets Blog

Writer Ashyia Hill writes this work on the top 10 countries that take the lead in renewable energy innovation.

With fossil fuel stockpiles running out, the world is in a race against the clock to come up with clean, renewable uses of technology that will meet our needs without hurting the next generation’s ability to meet their needs.  But, which countries are leading the way in renewable energy innovations?

One way to answer this question is by looking at which nations took out the most clean energy-related patents. Economists Antoine Dechezleprêtre and Matthieu Glachant analyzed patent awards by the European Union’s World Patent Statistical Database to see which nations produced the most clean technology inventions between 2000 and 2005.

1. Japan

The Dechezleprêtre and Glachant study found that Japan was responsible for 37.1 percent of innovations related to clean energy between 2000 and 2005. This matches up well with a 2002 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which found Japan’s environmental policies were strict, effective, well-enforced, and properly monitored.

2. United States

The U.S. is the global leader in carbon capture and storage, a method of grabbing CO2 from point sources and storing it so it can’t get into the atmosphere. The United States holds almost 70 percent of CCS patents across the world, according to British non-profit institute Chatham House.

Dechezleprêtre and Glachant found the U.S. came up with 11.8 percent of the world’s green inventions between 2000 and 2005.

3. Germany

In terms of green technology, Germany is best known for its solar panels, although it also uses many other types of renewable energy. The German Ministry for the Environment and Reactor Safety says that over 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity was provided by renewable energy in 2010.

As per Dechezleprêtre and Glachant’s analysis, Germany was responsible for 10 percent of the world’s eco-friendly patents during the studied period.

4. China

China’s growing population is contributing to a bigger demand for energy, and political leaders are investing more into renewable energy for the country. As per the Center for American Progress, China invested $33.7 billion into renewable energy in 2009.

In the Dechezleprêtre and Glachant assessment, China was the source of 8.1 percent of global green innovations.

5. South Korea

South Korea has made renewable energy investing a priority. The South Korean government placed more than 80% of its $38 billion stimulus package into green investments in 2009, according to Forbes magazine.

This small country came up 6.4 percent of the planet’s renewable energy inventions, as per Dechezleprêtre and Glachant.

6. Russia

Like China, Russia has not traditionally been known for focusing on environmentalism, but this is starting to change. Russia’s emphasis on technology and science in education gives this country the potential to become a leader in eco-friendly technology.

In the previously mentioned study, Russia was responsible for 2.8 percent of global renewable energy innovations.

7. Australia

Australia’s status as an island gives it special opportunities and challenges when it comes to environmental decisions. The nation’s prime minister, Julia Gillard, recently unveiled a plan to tax its biggest emitters of carbon dioxide by July of 2012, which would make it the first country to place a price tag on carbon.

Dechezleprêtre and Glachant found that 2.5 percent of green technology-related patents came from Australia.

8. France

As in many European countries, the environment has long been a hot topic in France, and green products are becoming more popular among consumers.

In terms of green inventions, France tied with Australia in the above study.

9. United Kingdom

The U.K. may not produce many renewable energy innovations, but it’s good at importing other countries’ inventions, especially when it comes to wind and water power, according to a Forbes magazine report.

The United Kingdom produced 2 percent of renewable energy innovations covered in the Dechezleprêtre and Glachant study.

10. Canada

Canada isn’t a yet a big player in renewable energy, although a lot of its electricity comes from hydroelectric dams. However, with the use of wind power expanding, Canada has opportunities to pioneer new uses of green technology.

Canada was responsible for 1.7 percent of global green innovations in the patent analysis study.

Although eco-friendly patents and innovations don’t tell the whole story when it comes to a country’s environmental policies, the fact that these countries are investing in renewable energy means they are looking to the future—and that is a big part of the green mindset.

Hill adds: “I was searching for a more modern version of the Dechezleprêtre and Glachant patent study, but I couldn’t find anything on a global scale. Although their study uses information from 2005, it wasn’t published until 2009.”

Ashyia Hill is a business blogger and social media advocate with CreditDonkey, where she helps entrepreneurs evaluate small business credit cards.

Photo: RDECOM

In the 1967 Dustin Hoffman movie, The Graduate, a businessman at a trendy cocktail party said, “The future’s in plastic.” Today, at Seventh Generation and its development partner, Ecologic, a new paper bottle containing laundry detergent may soon have insiders repeating the mantra, “The future’s in paper.”

This March, Seventh Generation is distributing a new liquid laundry detergent bottle made from 100 percent recycled cardboard and newspaper. Seventh Generation’s Natural 4X Laundry Detergent bottle, designed with Ecologic Brands, features a fully-recyclable and compostable outer shell made from 70 percent recycled cardboard fibers plus 30 percent newspaper fibers. A recyclable lightweight plastic pouch is inside. The new bottle uses 66 percent less plastic than a typical 100 ounce 2X detergent bottle, the company reports.

Ecologic was founded in 2008. President Julie Corbett designed a bottle combining a sturdy molded fiber shell made from cardboard boxes and old newspapers with a thin inner plastic pouch and re-sealable cap. She patented her technology and Ecologic Brands was born.

When empty, the bottle’s shell can be recycled with other household paper. The #4 plastic pouch and the #5 cap can go into the plastic recycling bin. The Natural 4X Laundry Detergent will be available on natural retailer shelves throughout the country by the end of March.

Created as an alternative to rigid plastic bottles and laminated cartons, this design features a biodegradable and compostable shell made from recycled cardboard and a lightweight recyclable liner with 70 percent less plastic than a rigid container. Consumers gain the functionality they expect with a re-sealable cap, a rigid outer container and easy-to-grip profile. Disposal is simple: Consumers split open the shell’s side to separate and recycle components.

Ten package designers and developers have been named finalists in the “Package of the Future” competition, a key component of Project 2020: The Consumer Experience, sponsored by DuPont.

During November 2010, Environmental Leader reported about this company’s launch of new packaging that featured 96% post-consumer-recycled  content. This packaging was developed by Seventh Generation and partner, Consolidated Container Company, the packaging is made of resin derived from recycled milk jugs and other plastic bottles.

Guest correspondent, Kate Willson, reports on some of this country’s top sustainable colleges for 2011. She writes regularly about colleges and sent this note accompanying her report: “I am not associated with any of these schools. I honestly chose these schools because I felt that the schools that made A’s were quite repetitive (they made the same initiatives and reforms.) To add some variety, I also wanted to highlight what other of the schools were doing.”

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This marvelous and imaginative home was built in Wales by Simon Dale.

He writes: “This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology. These sort of low cost, natural buildings have a place not only in their own sustainability, but also in their potential to provide affordable housing which allows people access to land and the opportunity to lead more simple, sustainable lives. For example this house was made to house our family whilst we worked in the woodland surrounding the house doing ecological woodland management and setting up a forest garden, things that would have been impossible had we had to pay a regular rent or mortgage.”

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For those wondering if they or their friends have attained the 21^st century status of being electricity hogs, they might wish to get familiar with Michael Bluejay, known to many as Mr. Electricity on his website. He publishes useful information about how much electrical energy various home appliances use, and often waste. He starts off with the second biggest user, the refrigerator (The top rank goes to the air conditioner). In most homes the refrigerator is the second-largest user of electricity (13.7%), right after the air conditioner (16%). (Dept. of Energy).

Bluejay refers to his lifestyle as that of a minimalist, saying saving electricity is about more than saving money. “Saving electricity doesn’t just save money, it also saves the environment.”

He goes on to state this is news to a lot of people. “After all, when you plug something into the wall, it seems clean enough — you don’t see or smell any pollution, like you do with your car. But the pollution is there — it just happens at the power plant.”

What this means to today’s electricity gobbling homeowners involves either using less electricity in certain cases or sometimes just better, or newer appliances. Consumers can start lowering appliance electricity use by choosing more efficient appliances. With most appliances you save energy by using them less, but you can’t very well do that with your fridge. The main way to save money with your fridge is to use an efficient model.

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For those considering building without a septic tank or access to a sewer line, it might be time to look at composting toilets, especially if putrid smells can be avoided.  Swedish-based BioLet has manufactured waterless toilets for 35 years and indicates odor is not a problem, especially in Sweden where waterless toilet systems are required in many places. Here, the average American uses 7,665 gallons of water each year just flushing the toilet.

Just a few years ago mention of a composting toilet brought far more in the way of frowns than applause. As Peter Andersson, BioLet USA’s president pointed out in a press release, “People would go, “A what toilet…?!?” You either quickly changed the subject, or went into an ever-lasting explanation about what it is, how it works and especially why on earth anybody would want to have a toilet that doesn’t flush. Things are changing.”

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As gardeners go, Mohammed Bin Abubakar holds a unique position. He has built a forest where once there were only rushed rocks and the unsightly remnants of an old gold mine.

He serves as the reclamation coordinator at Newmont Mining Corporation’s Brong Ahafo Gold Mine in Ghana which started production a few years ago. One Newmont employee, Gloria Dwummah-Adu, says Abubakar has made a beautiful forest out of this mining wasteland and that many should follow this model.

Fondly, she refers to this 75-acre site as “Bin’s garden.” Now birds sing and the shade from the rapidly growing forest is a welcome relief to all who enter these woods.

Abubakar’s reclamation work began some time ago when Australian-based Normandy Mining employed him. When Normandy was sold to Newmont in 2002, he began working for Newmont Ghana Gold, Ltd. This is a green, well-designed forest that invites exploration.

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Who knows? Perhaps one gateway out of America’s economic doldrums will come from a boom. There are plenty of people looking at what was once just regarded as a tropical and oriental product, bamboo.

As writer Harry Sawyers noted over a year ago in Popular Mechanics, “Bamboo has come into vogue as a green, sustainable resource that’s used for everything from cutting boards to clothing to wood floors. But until now, almost all of the bamboo in products sold here has come from overseas. That could change soon, as new planting techniques may lead to millions of new acres of bamboo shoots in the American South.” Some wonder if a plant like bamboo can revitalize farmland on the Mississippi Delta.

The American Bamboo Society (ABS) was formed in 1979. Today it counts over 1,400 members living throughout the U.S. and in 37 other countries. For those who are interested, the ABS issues a bimonthly Magazine and the Journal to disseminate information about the use, care, propagation and beauty of bamboo.

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Massachusetts’s grocers are decreasing the number of disposable bags being used in an effort to develop sounder approaches for waste management. At the same time, the use of recycled plastics products in the construction field is growing.

Waste & Recycling News reports that early results show the number of disposable plastic and paper bags has dropped significantly in Massachusetts following the implementation of a public-private partnership aimed at discouraging plastic bag use at grocery stores.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Food Association began the program in 2009. The joint initiative to reduce the distribution of disposable bags shows 12 supermarket chains, covering 384 stores report the 25% disposable bag distribution reduction. The state and grocers have a goal of reaching at least 33% by 2013.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the innovative recycling technology at i-plas is being used to develop many attractive commercial and residential building products that may otherwise have gone to landfills. The UK company reports or plastic waste that other recyclers cannot handle are being used to produce a range of recycled plastic products which outperform the traditional alternatives of wood, steel and concrete; products which are technically advanced, commercially successful and environmentally responsible.

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