INDUSTRY INSIGHT: 
10 Years of Greening
by Michael Severson
Another decade down and it’s time to glance in the mirror at our environmental progress over the last 10 years. It’s with a green thumbs up we can spotlight two of the most important advances: transportation and power generation.
The 2010 Prius Plug-In Hybrid debuted this year with several other plug-ins on the horizon from other manufacturers.
The most stand-out category for a lot of consumers comes in transportation. Though Hybrid vehicles became available in the 1990’s, the demand for them, specifically the front-running Prius, wasn’t great until 2004. Ironically, even Toyota understated their value with limited production, until car sales caught fire that year.
Since the introduction of hybrid cars to the mainstream, there have been over 300,000 registered in the United States alone. With demand so high, hybrid engines have started appearing in every type of vehicle imaginable: from locomotives to aircraft, from SUV’s to luxury vehicles, and everywhere in between. This year, Toyota has released a plug-in version of the Prius that runs exclusively on electric power within it’s electric range, a maximum of 13 miles. With most Americans having a commute of approximately 16 miles each way, a plug-in hybrid would be able to move them to and from work (assuming there is a charging station available) using a minimal amount of fossil fuel. Of course, the question before the house becomes, “Where does the power to charge those hybrids come from?”
Turning to power, as of the year 2000, experts declared we were supposed to have electric cars and get all our power from the sun. Ten years later, we are still relying on coal and other fossil fuels to generate the majority of the electricity in the United States. However, a number of initiatives have paved the way for even greater advances in the next decade. As of 2008, 13.5% of the power being consumed in California was coming from renewables, a number that does not include large hydroelectric power. Today, Californians are getting 20% of their power from those resources, a very positive trend.
In 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger issued an executive order requiring 33% renewables by 2020. As of the end of 2009, the largest solar power plants are located in Europe, but the world’s largest has been proposed, and should start being built this year, which will be 550 megawatts, a staggering amount larger than the world’s largest, which is a meager 60 MWs.
The battle cry for the greening of America is still strong, though the economic crisis seems to have taken front stage. At the same time, smaller, home grown initiatives seem to be holding strong, with organic food and clothing staying en vogue. The good news is that overall, we continue to make progress toward a more environmentally responsible nation thanks to consumer drive and legislation supporting the movement.
It’s time to revitalize and recommit to your own personal environmental protection plan to make sure there is a healthy, sustainable planet for generations to come.
