Introducing EnzymePDX: Portland’s Newest News Source [feature]
Photo: enzymepdx.com
Hello Cascadia! We’re EnzymePDX, a newly-launched online newsmagazine based in Portland. As a new guest blogger on GreenGrowth, we’re excited about contributing to the growing network of sites and blogs that are exploring ways to effect real sustainable change as the world shifts to a new energy paradigm.
The environment, new energy models and sustainability comprise a significant focus of our attention. So far we’ve profiled Portland-based B-line’s innovative pedal-assisted bicycle delivery service, tracked the rise of solar usage in Oregon (we’re on track to triple the number of solar installations from 2008!), talked electric cars with the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association and provided continuing coverage on the $73.5 million Oregon Sustainability Center.
There’s a lot of ground to cover, and plenty of opportunities for sustainable transit, energy and business models to flourish in the Northwest. We look forward to covering the most innovative projects you need to hear about!
Coming soon: EnzymePDX’s Lew Serviss covers the Governor’s introduction of the Nissan Leaf – and takes a test drive!
Ben Serviss
Great to hear! The more information about green energy and sustainability in general the better. Particularly interesting is the tripling of solar installations in Portland given the amount of cheap hydro power in the region. What are the hurdles keeping other regions from similar jumps in sustainable energy (I am thinking sunbelt and other primarily coal powered regions)?
Good question – it might just be that the Northwest culture is more used to seeing the concepts behind renewable energy sources in actual practice, as opposed to theory. I don’t claim to have an answer either – but it’s really only a matter of time before the divide between technology that works and cost effectiveness closes.
The biggest issue is political pressure. Where oil and coal interests dominate the statehouse, you don’t find much of a movement to renewables. The special interests want to keep the government subsidies flowing to them and away from renewables, which makes all the difference when it comes to acceptable price points for power. If you plug a LEAF in to charge in Illinois, you’re burning a lot of coal to generate the electricity. The grid there is the flipside of what it is in the Northwest — about 75 percent coal in Illionois, as opposed to 25 percent in the portfolio of a big utility like Portland General Electric. Here’s a wonderful Scientific American graphic that breaks it down region by region: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=interactive-plug-in-hybrids. Meanwhile, solar is huge and still growing in the desert east of Los Angeles, and wind is growing exponentially in the Midwest. The exciting thing about electric cars is that if they’re charged overnight in your garage, we get to use more of our wind capacity at night rather than throttling back because there’s no demand.