Big-Oil Blues

Hey Mr. Green,
Please clarify the gratuitous swipe at "big oil" that closed your otherwise excellent article about solar and wind power (Sierra, January/February 2009). Privatization? You're probably aware that 90 percent of the world’s oil reserves are not privatized per se, but are in the hands of various national oil companies. --Irv in Missouri City, Texas

I took a swat at big oil because now that its primary raw material is down to $50 per barrel, we might be too willing to forget its capacity for nefarious deeds. True, oil in countries like Iran and Iraq is now publicly owned and controlled. But this was not always the case.

The control of oil resources and oil revenues in these places happened only after considerable struggle. Foreign corporations dominated Iraq’s oil industry from the end of World War I until its 1958 revolution, when the resource started to be nationalized.

Iranians wrested control of its oil from foreign operators in the 1950s. Bolivia only recently managed to renationalize a significant portion of its oil. The war in Iraq has reopened the possibility that foreign companies will at least partly reestablish their past domination.

As the current economic debacle reminds us, it’s helpful to be suspicious of all big businesses—and of governments that do their bidding—and the oil industry is no exception. Dick Cheney and his dealings with industry representatives on his Energy Task Force provided a sobering example of the need for vigilance. We may never know the full results of this group’s influence on U.S. policy, because Cheney refused to fully reveal its deliberations, pleading executive privilege and a Sierra Club-led lawsuit failed to pry loose this information.

Having said this, I reiterate my agreement with Cheney and big oil on one major point: Oil and fossil fuels are going to be a major energy source for quite some time to come. Where I differ with them is the degree to which we must conserve such a precious resource.

Cat Fight

Hey Mr. Green,
I was extremely offended by your reference (Sierra, January/February 2009) to cats as an invasive species whose living outside leads to an alarming disappearance of natural bird and small mammal populations. --Samantha (submitted via e-mail)

After calling cats an “invasive species” and explaining why they should be kept inside, I heard much hissing from cat lovers. Another reader asked: “Why punish the cats when we really need to start talking about population growth? I am tired of dogs and cats being picked on as being bad for the environment when no one is really talking about the biggest invasive species: humans.”

Let me clarify: I used the term “invasive species” for shock value, but I didn't dream up this feline problem just to be mean to cats. The Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy, and other environmental organizations are concerned about the millions of other creatures murdered by cats roaming the outdoors.

The Scoop on Cat Litter

Hey Mr. Green,
What is the greenest kitty litter for my indoor cat? --Carol (submitted via e-mail)

Cats themselves are a much bigger environmental menace than kitty litter. They're an invasive species that kills hundreds of millions of birds and mammals each year, robbing food from native predators like hawks and owls. So I salute you for keeping your feline where it belongs: inside.

The greenest cat litter is made of recycled paper, followed by sawdust, wheat chaff, oat hulls, or other biological materials. But more than half the litter in the United States is made of bentonite--a stripmined clay that leads right to Dick Cheney, which may explain why he raked around in Iraq like it was his personal litter box. Halliburton, where Cheney was CEO, produces about one-sixth of the 3 million tons of bentonite sold each year, of which 1.7 million tons go into cat litter. Quite a waste of a substance that can be used in iron smelting, environmental cleanup, and wine clarifying.

Neither bentonite nor silica gel litter should be flushed en masse, as they can gum up plumbing, but flushing a few particles probably won't cause trouble. Most municipal sewage systems can handle pet waste, but it should not be flushed where sea otters live, since studies have found some of these animals to be infected with toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease carried in cat feces. Because this parasite can severely harm human embryos, pregnant women should avoid handling cat waste.

Saving Money with Solar Power?

Hey Mr. Green,
If I were to put solar panels on my home, would it be cost-effective? I see most solar panels in hot climates, and Ohio can be very cold. I live on a five-acre tract and have the option of wind turbines also. --Sherry in Dayton, Ohio

It may get cold in Dayton, but that doesn't mean you don't get sun. In fact, you get 80 percent as much sunlight in a year as Sacramento, California, whose municipal utility is a leader in solar development.
First, consider the low-tech route: efficiency. The average U.S. household consumes 11,000 kilowatt-hours per year, when many could get by on half as much. Eliminate waste by turning off lights and appliances when not in use, for example, and you could slash your energy costs with no investment.

Wherever you live, take a look at returns over the long haul. At $9 a watt, which is the typical cost in your region, a solar energy system large enough to generate power for an average household would cost roughly $80,000 after rebates and tax credits (or less in areas with stronger incentive programs). In Ohio, as in most states, if you generate more than you use, your excess power feeds into the electricity grid and you earn credit for it, allowing you to draw out as much as you put in--for free.

Still, it would take about 30 years for you to break even, assuming the utility rate goes up 4 percent a year and you put money saved from your energy bills into tax-deferred investments. But you'd keep more than 260 tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere over the life of the system.

Once you nail down the cost per watt for solar, contact wind power dealers and see how their costs compare. It's hard to be more specific about wind power because there's so much variation, depending on windmill height and local topography. You might also consider systems that combine wind and solar if wind blows much harder in the winter than in the summer. These hybrid systems take advantage of seasonal variation. Meanwhile, be thankful that Big Oil hasn't privatized the sun and forced us to pay for it right down to the last photon.