Hurricane Sandy: Gas Rationing NYC

Disasters often cause us to reconsider the old way of doing things, for example last year Hurricane Irene was a major disaster in my area.  Mayor Bloomberg's gas rationing program in response to the damage and ensuing shortage of gasoline following Hurricane Sandy was issued for the city of New York to limit gas consumption.  This terrible storm badly damaged the city, particularly the subway, which many New Yorkers rely on for daily transportation.  In response, denizens of the city loaded up on gas to power generators and alternative transportation vehicles.

The ban restricts the ability to purchase gas based on the last digit of the owner's license plate.  If it ends in an odd number, that individual can buy gas on odd days, and vice versa for even days/last digits.  The only other gas rationing I have experienced was in crowded Beijing, China.  They take it even further, wherein drivers can only drive on odd/even days.

Although no one likes their liberties being restricted, there is definitely the potential for good to be accomplished through a rationing strategy.  My idea is to promote gas rationing, but make the incentives positives rather than negative.  Offering benefits for those of us who choose to only purchase a small amount of gasoline per week/month, or offering cheaper public transportation.  In addition, I think gas prices should be increased, and the additional tax used to offset damage caused by pollution.

These suggestions take time to implement, but this is the exact type of external benefit or cost that supply and demand economics fails to accurately capture.  The maximum marginal value to society is not reached at the supply and demand equilibrium price and quantity.  By limiting gas consumption through raised prices or artificially lower quantities, it will encourage more efficient use of the precious fuel.  This non-recoverable, polluting resource consumption must be curtailed, and it won't happen organically.

Use Natural Lighting and "Air Conditioning"

This is part of my series: 20 Ways to Go Green that Make a Difference. This series discusses practical ways we can go green in our lives, that will have a measurable effect on the environment.  This is an alternative to the many lists that offer 100+ suggestions, many of which are not easily applied to our lives or the impact is minimal. 

The summer is coming, and that means long days and hot weather.  For many people this means high bills from central air conditioning.  This is one of the most wasteful and unnecessary creature comforts that human society has.  While it is comfortable and pleasant, there are plenty of ways that we can mitigate the environmental waste and damage caused by these creature comforts.

Since summer is coming, the days are going to be much longer.  This means that we will not need to waste as much electricity on lighting, since days are going to last longer.  It is important to harness as much natural light in both office and residential settings.  Large, well placed windows will allow us to bath in the radiance of the sun, and avoid wasting electricity for artificial lighting.  This is fairly straight-forward, but the design of many buildings does not effectively take advantage of the free solar lighting offered.  To make this change, demand windows and natural lighting.  Also, if you have it available to you, make sure to take advantage of it, and consciously turn off lights if they can be avoided.  Furthermore, get out and enjoy the sun, especially for those of us who live in the northern part of the country, take advantage of long summer days and get outside in the evenings rather than watching TV indoors.  Have a bar-be-que, play sports, or just lounge outside with a book.  Free lighting everywhere!  I also try to take advantage of this in the winter, by going to bed earlier, so I do not need to waste electricity at night.  Candles are great, especially before bed!

As far as natural "air conditioning" this is a bit more difficult.  Obviously, everyone loves the cool comfort provided by central air and fans, but do we really need it?  No, humans are well adapted to warmth, and we sweat out all of our excess heat.  Instead of using a fan or the air conditioner, open up the windows!   This goes for both the car and the house.  No need to waste gasoline by using your air conditioner, just slow down and roll down those windows and drink in the breeze.  Although there is a chance that pests may get in your house, its not much of a bother, just get a screen!  If it gets unbearably hot, try to use low levels of air conditioning, rather than cranking it up to the highest setting.  Most of the time, you just need a little bit of conditioning rather than the frigid cold in the middle of July!

Green Investing

This is part of my series: 20 Ways to Go Green that Make a Difference. This series discusses practical ways we can go green in our lives, that will have a measurable effect on the environment.  This is an alternative to the many lists that offer 100+ suggestions, many of which are not easily applied to our lives or the impact is minimal.

 

Today's topic is something many of you have probably not considered in the course of your green education.  That topic is green investing.  You may have a 401k for an employer, an IRA from your parents, or an account at a brokerage.  Your investments make a difference.  Just like every dollar you spend, every dollar you invest is a vote of support for that company.

There are many ways to invest greenly.  You could invest directly into an alternative energy company, but that opens you up to the risks of not being diversified.  To counter that you could consider a green mutual fund like Gabelli's SRI Green Fund.  This fund invests in socially conscious firms and you benefit from having professionals in the investment world managing the day to day of your money for a marginal fee.

iThere are a number of organic and natural foods companies you may want to consider directly investing in.  These include Whole Foods Market, the organic grocer, or Lifeway foods, makers of Kefir and other healthy foods.  It is also as important what you do NOT invest in as what you do actually make an investment in.  Things to avoid are industrial farmers, makers of GMO altered foods or seeds.  I am not going to list their info here, as I do not want it to be misconstrued as support, but do your research and make sure not to invest in companies or in funds with holdings in these types of corporations.

A final option you may want to consider is a micro-loan.  This is a direct loan to an individual, often in a poor country, for them to make a business.  Kiva is the largest marketplace for this type of a loan.  Although many do pay back their loans, I would not consider this a viable investment strategy and should be considered more as entertainment or charity.  I have heard success stories and it is an option you may want to consider.

  

As always, it is important to think about what you are doing and to act intentionally.  Although all investors are in search of the "green," not all of them care about being green on the way to profits.  You can make a difference by both NOT supporting the offenders and by supporting the green energy firms who are creating new products and services to make our planet better!

Disclaimer: Although I do work in the investments field, I am not a registered investment advisor.  These are solely my opinions and should not be taken as investment recommendations.

Drive Slowly

This is part of my series: 20 Ways to Go Green that Make a Difference. This series discusses practical ways we can go green in our lives, that will have a measurable effect on the environment.  This is an alternative to the many lists that offer 100+ suggestions, many of which are not easily applied to our lives or the impact is minimal.

As I mentioned in yesterday's tip, driving is one of the largest contributors to pollution.  In addition to driving less often, the manner in which we drive can have a huge impact on the environment.

Every time you hit the brakes you are wasting energy expended to get you up to that speed.  Driving slowly, at or below the speed limit will make you waste less from braking.  Also more fuel is used to attain and maintain higher speeds, which means driving slower will conserve gas.  Speeding up to 70 MPH from 55 MPH does not save you much time on your commute, so don't do it.

Another benefit is safety on the roads.  As a reader of this blog, you are someone who cares about going green you do not want to ever do harm to others.  Driving fast is not as safe, and by driving more slowly, lowers the risk of accident.  If a car accident occurs, expensive new parts or even a replacement is not a good use of resources, especially if it could have been avoided by driving slower.

Another green driving tip is to always maintain your car with scheduled oil change and emissions checks.  This limit damage done to the environment by dirty emissions.  This will also lower the rate of break downs and save you from costly repairs and replacements.  Not idling in your car, when it is unnecessary, will also conserve gas.  Turning the AC off and opening your windows will help the environment as well.