For the past few months now I’ve been working toward starting an agricultural business that will be powered by alternative energy, restored to meet green certification standards, and managed with the goal of achieving profitability through sustainable business practices. In order to understand what’s really involved in building a green business, I’ve spent all of my time learning about other organic businesses, researching alternative energy technologies, tracking down grants, loans and funding options, and pitching my project to anyone who would listen.

By centering my business around the concept of long-term environmental sustainability, I am standing up to the status quo, and making a statement that I will not compromise when it comes to doing what’s right by the environment. I know that building a green business from scratch isn’t cheap – I’ve done the research, and I know that it will cost me more to build sustainability into my business than it would were I to throw those philosophies aside.

Money isn’t everything, and I believe that by doing what’s good and what’s right, I can succeed and build the business of my dreams. And while I do understand the practical realities involved in starting a business, buying a farm, and installing all kinds of energy projects, I’m also learning that there are organizations out there who are dedicated to helping people like me grow these kinds of businesses.

A few weeks ago I received a message from a young man named Owen. In his message, Owen introduced himself, explained that he worked for a company called NativeEnergy, and stated that he had been given my business card at the Craft Brewer’s Convention a few weeks earlier. I had been at the Craft Brewer’s Convention (part of the business I am developing is a commercial hop farm), but didn’t recall meeting Owen, and had never heard of NativeEnergy.

Our "test crop" of hops.

NativeEnergy, I’ve since learned, is a carbon-solutions consulting company that helps business reduce their carbon footprint by selling carbon offsets and renewable energy credits, and also by investing in companies that want to install renewable energy projects. Having heard of my plan from my Development Officer (aka “mom”), Owen contacted me to learn more about my project and offer ideas on how NativeEnergy and I could work together.

Founded in 2001, NativeEnergy is based out of Burlington, Vermont, and has helped well-know companies, including Stonyfield Farm, Timberland, and The Dave Matthews Band, to install renewable energy projects and offset carbon emissions. The company helps businesses understand their options when it comes to creating carbon neutral projects, and points organizations in the directions they need when it comes to the early development of their plans. At the same time, NativeEnergy works with carbon emitting businesses to help them offset their carbon pollution.

Since receiving that initial message from Owen, I’ve had 2 productive conversations about my business, NativeEnergy’s initiatives, and what I can do moving forward to try and develop my renewable energy projects to line up with NativeEnergy’s model. And even though I’m still in the early stages of building my business (I don’t even own land yet), the people I’ve talked to have been helpful, enthusiastic and eager to see me succeed. It amazes me that there is a business out there who contacted me, who wants to help me, and who may eventually play a role in actually financing my dream!

When I realized that I had to build this farm, and do it in the greenest manner possible, I empowered myself to challenge the way business has always been done, and make change happen from the bottom up.? So even though I don’t have a farm yet, I’ve already invested time and energy in figuring out what I need to make my farm sustainable. Building a business like this – with a mind to what REALLY matters – is a win-win situation. By planning for the long-term health of the earth and environment, I think that I am planning for the long-term success of my business and my vision.

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Researchers from Purdue University, Colorado State University, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have published a new map of the US that offers a visual picture of this country’s carbon emissions from roads, factories, power plants and neighborhoods. Developed by Project Vulcan, and sponsored by NASA/DOE under the North American Carbon Project, this high-resolution interactive map shows the release and movement of carbon dioxide in greater detail than has been previously captured.

The interactive map is presented in a 5 minute video on YouTube,? and may be viewed here: Revolutionary CO2 Maps Zoom in on Greenhouse Gas Sources.

According to the April 7 press release about Project Vulcan:

To create the Vulcan maps, the research team developed a method to extract the CO2 information by transforming data on local air pollution, such as carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide emissions, which are tracked by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and other governmental agencies.

The Vulcan maps are revolutionary in that they track data on an hourly basis, and show carbon emissions in 100 times more detail than has ever been examined. In the past, carbon emissions were estimated according to population levels, and states reported their carbon levels infrequently. When calculating carbon emissions using this old model, the assumption was that highly-populated regions were the biggest carbon emitters, while rural and sparsely populated regions had lower carbon emissions.

According to data compiled from this new model of carbon emissions however, sparsely populated regions can be big greenhouse gas emitters if they are home to coal burning power plants or highways that cut through vast swaths of uninhabited areas. Researchers were surprised to find that the relatively uninhabited San Juan County in New Mexico is number 6 in nationwide carbon emissions. With 2 coal burning power plants in the county, San Juan’s carbon emissions are higher than those of heavily populated areas such as the Washington DC Metro region, New England and New York City. You can view the top 20 carbon emitting counties in the US here.

The Vulcan Project research is groundbreaking on many levels – the merging of various sources of carbon emissions data onto one map, the ability to track the movement of greenhouse gases over time, the inclusion of a variety of sources of carbon emissions, and the level of detail in mapping the data. With all of this information being modeled onto one map, we have a more complete picture of what carbon emissions in the US look like than ever before. Let’s hope that policy makers and public officials take this updated information into account when they consider where and how to make a dent in the carbon dioxide being emitted into our – and other nations’ – atmospheres.