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Newsletter Team  

Tim Ballard

Copy Editing:

Daniela Diaz 

Contributors:

Lenny Bernstein

John Stevens

Katie Bray 

Mission Statement:

The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute drives knowledge into action, solving societal problems today for generations to come by harnessing world-class environmental, economic, and energy research to support collaborations among researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, government officials, and community activists.

BRSI's

Definition of Sustainability

The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute is an advocate and catalyst for actions that make the earth more sustainable.  Sustainability means creating and maintaining conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling social, economic and environmental requirements of present and future generations. 

BRSI has moved! 

The Green Sage Coffeehouse and Café has generously donated space in their new corporate office, in downtown Asheville in the Legal Building at 14 S Pack Square, Suite LL100.

Feel free to drop in to say hello, and be sure to grab breakfast at the Green Sage on the way!  While our new space is a little more compact, we have the best front porch in town.

Thank you Green Sage for your continued support! For those of you not familiar with the Green Sage, check out their profile.   

Board of Directors

John Stevens

Founder and Co-Chair 

 Professor, UNC-Asheville

Thank you

 Sponsors

Staff

Volunteers

Michael Hull,

IT and Web Development

Teresa Matthews

BRSI Contacts Manager

Phil Pritchard,

Outreach Volunteer

 Anne Marie Doherty

Solarize Team

Corrine Glesne

Matt Menne

Sue Schweikart

Susan Canale

Solarize Team 

Teddy Jordan

Jake Quinn

Solarize Team 

Justin Nemon

Heather Rayburn 

Click here for a 2013 schedule and topics 

Comments?

By Dr. John G. Stevens

The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute (BRSI) had a major wake-up call several months ago. We had an agenda and a vision, but not the human resource and financial capacity needed to succeed.  A paradigm shift was needed.

We had gathered an incredible group of volunteers and a Board committed to making a difference in our community through a sustainability agenda aimed at ensuring a better life for current and future generations.  We have been and are committed to "Knowledge Into Action" as the driver for our agenda.

We needed to reorganize and develop an aggressive agenda.  To this end I resigned as the Executive Director and became Co-Chair of the Board of Directors with Paul Bellows.  We then formed an Executive Committee of the Board consisting of Paul Bellows, Lenny Bernstein, Robin Cape, Randy Talley, and myself, and hired Tim Ballard to be the Interim Executive Director. This group is committed to driving BRSI's agenda and the six of us have been meeting regularly and expending significant time and effort to do so. 

Operationally we have become a "mean and lean" organization by cutting our operational expenses (rent, utilities, and administrative staff) to essentially zero.  We are aggressively seeking funds and developing programs, which are focused on our core agenda.  Also throughout this newsletter are brief reports on some of our new projects - others will be reported in the coming months.

The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute is making-and will continue to make-a difference. Please join us in our efforts!

John G. Stevens

Founder and Former Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute Director

Co-Chair of the Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute Board of Directors

A Note from the Executive Director

Those of you who have followed BRSI probably know me from my work in partnership with the Asheville Independent Restaurants, where BRSI was able to provide technical assistance to a passionate group of restaurants in order to reduce their energy consumption, achieve national green certification, and launch Asheville as America's First Green Dining Destination.

I originally became involved with BRSI after sitting down for coffee with John Stevens.  As a native of Asheville and graduate of the Oberlin College Environmental Studies program, I immediately connected with BRSI's mission. I believe fundamentally in the power of scientific research and economic data to drive sound decision making, and in the need for a triple bottom line approach to environmental action.  John's vision of integrating the scientific expertise, activist passion, entrepreneurial spirit, and business know-how of Western North Carolina into action oriented sustainability programs is as powerful now as it was five years ago.

As we restructure BRSI and launch a number of new projects, you will see a renewed focus on this vision of sustainability action. I look forward to working with each of you in moving our community towards a more sustainable future!  

Tim Ballard,

Executive Director

Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute

How Sustainable Are Electric Vehicles?

 By Lenny Bernstein

Electric vehicles (EVs) are labeled Zero Emission Vehicles. They have no tailpipe emissions and can go a hundred miles or more on the electricity energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline. However, their overall sustainability depends on a number of factors including the source of the electricity used to recharge the vehicles' batteries.

Emissions and Environmental Impact

To get a true measure of the environmental impact of an EV, you need to consider the emissions produced over its entire life, including the emissions associated with manufacturing and disposing of the car and its batteries--essentially the same for all EVs--as well as the emissions associated with generating electricity for the vehicle.

Gasoline and fossil-fuel generated electricity create carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas; sulfur and nitrogen oxides, acid rain precursors and particulate matter, which is a threat to human health. Additionally, fossil fuel technologies incur the costs of production of coal (mountain-top removal, coal ash disposal) and natural gas (potential water contamination from fracking.) Renewable energy sources create no emissions from generating electricity once they are installed, although there are land use impacts and emissions from production of solar panels and wind turbines. So how do EVs and gasoline vehicles compare?

Studies conducted by Argonne National Laboratory show that EVs operated on electricity from a U.S. average of energy sources (including both nuclear and a small amount of renewable energy) produce less carbon dioxide, but more sulfur oxides and particulate matter than gasoline or diesel vehicles. By narrowing in on the electricity mix for North Carolina, we can get a slightly more accurate and similar result. Keep in mind though, that unlike the state average, most of the Asheville area's electricity is generated from coal although we do not currently have as detailed data to share.

What about manufacturing and battery considerations? How do we value a decrease in CO2 emissions against an increase in SOx emissions? The American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy (ACEEE) has taken care of that with their Green Car Book, which utilizes a scoring methodology that incorporates all of the above factors. The Mitsubishi 2012 EV and the 2013 Toyota Prius C hybrid have received the highest score ever given (58). The gasoline Honda Insight also ranked high at 54. The mix of gas, EV, and hybrid vehicles on the Top 10 list indicates that generalizing for technology types is not always ideal, as specific vehicle make and model efficiency and production processes are extremely important. Specific regional electricity generation mixes are also not taken into account in the green car rankings.

Even reviews more focused on practicality have ranked EVs high, with the Nissan Leaf EV topping Kelly Blue Book's 10 Best Green Cars of 2013 list.

Social Considerations

The sustainability of an EV also depends on whether it uses domestic energy resources (from coal or from the sun), or imported oil. The U.S. is a net exporter of coal and currently only about 10% of U.S. natural gas is imported. Despite the projected increase in domestic oil production, the U.S. will continue to depend on imports for a significant portion of its oil supply. Only renewables-fueled EVs and some biodiesel vehicles run on local energy resources.

From a social responsibility perspective, coal production can significantly impact certain communities through mountaintop removal mining, while our reliance on oil imports has an impact on U.S. foreign policy. EVs impact the environment and society much closer to home, which is typically considered a better incentive structure for sustainability.

Conclusion

So are EVs more sustainable than gasoline vehicles? Absolutely, if they are fueled with renewable electricity. If they are not, then it depends on your geographical location and power generation fuel mix. For those of us in North Carolina not producing solar electricity, EVs are much friendlier for the climate and generally a more sustainable automobile option.

Test Drive an Electric Vehicle

Several of BRSI's affiliates and board members currently lease Nissan Leaf electric vehicles and would love to  share their experience with you. We are considering organizing a test-drive event, so please let us know if you are interested in chatting with EV drivers or taking one out for a spin!  

Impact of an EV: A Local Case Study

By Tim Ballard

So what about a real-world example of electric vehicle (EV) ownership? Do EVs actually make sense on the ground? Let's take a look at a case study. Randy Talley, owner of the Green Sage Café and member of the BRSI Board of Directors, recently switched from driving a 2006 Toyota Prius hybrid to leasing a 2013 Nissan Leaf electric vehicle.

From a financial perspective, EVs vary in price, although all are more expensive than their gasoline counterparts just as hybrids are. However, you can now lease an EV for as low as $200/month. From a fuel perspective, the current average cost of a gallon of gasoline is around $3.42/gallon. The electrical equivalent (an e-gallon if you will) currently costs an average of $1.02 in NC.

In our case study, we're comparing an early hybrid to an early EV, so both cost more. The Prius was purchased for a net cost of $23,000 in 2006 (inflation adjusted cost of $26,500) and sold for $7,000 in 2013, for an average inflation-adjusted monthly cost of $230. For the EV model Mr. Talley is leasing, the monthly cost is $200.  

 He averaged 44 MPG in the Prius and now averages 4.1 miles per kWh (135 MPGe) in the Leaf, driving ~25 miles per day in and around Asheville. This average distance is well within the 75-mile range of the Leaf, as are trips two or three times as far. If we assume a standard NC electricity generation mix, we can see that he has reduced his carbon footprint by 38%. If we assume 100% the electricity used to fuel his car came from the Asheville coal plant, his carbon emissions have remained about the same.  

Switching from a typical gasoline vehicle, rather than a Prius hybrid, to an EV would alter the economic cost/benefit but would would create an even greater emissions reduction impact, as would powering the EV on sunshine as local company Brightfield TS allows drivers to do.   

These are real-world numbers, although specific to Mr. Talley's situation. Would would the sustainability costs and benefits of switching to an EV be for you?  

Special thanks to Mr. Talley for agreeing to be profiled in this article.