Category Archives: Sustainability

US forests to fuel European power plants – a green supply chain ?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (May 28, 2013) describes exports of US forest generated pellets to replace coal in European power plants as Europe cuts down on fossil fuel use and tries to decrease emissions of carbon dioxide. … Continue reading →

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Sustainable metrics at REI and associated insights

Posted on May 21, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article by Kevin Hagen (http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/articles/what-i-learned-about-sustainability-rei-part-2-metrics-over-intuition?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=businessweekly&utm_campaign=may20) describes REI’s tracking of greenhouse gas emissions in 2011. The company realized that while 10 % of these emissions were caused by transportation of its products, 15 % were the result of employee commutes … Continue reading →

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Cadmium in Chinese rice – what should a consumer do ?

Posted on May 20, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (May 20, 2013) describes the problem of ‘cadmium rice” – a report that claims that 44 % of the rice tested had twice the level of cadmium (0.4 milligrams per kilogram) as considered … Continue reading →

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Can consumers force retailers to develop ethical supply chains for products?

Posted on May 12, 2013 by aviyer2010

In a discussion in the Sunday Review of the New York Times (May 12, 2013), Professor Jerry Davis suggested that consumers can demand from retailers that they develop ethical supply chains, following the deaths of employees manufacturing clothing in Bangladesh. … Continue reading →

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Fair Trade clothing ?

Posted on May 10, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (May 8, 2013) describes a movement to inform consumers about the supply chain used to produce apparel – termed Fair Trade clothing. This is to convince consumers that the clothing was produced by … Continue reading →

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Importing garbage to produce energy in Oslo

Posted on May 6, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (May 1,2013) describes the city of Oslo’s success in using garbage, with recyclable content removed, to generate heat and electricity. With half the city and all schools supplied by garbage generated energy, supply … Continue reading →

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Estimating the impact of new US sulfur limits on fuel on gasoline costs

Posted on April 23, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 29,2013) describes the differing estimates of the proposed plans to limit sulfur in fuel to under 10 parts per million (ppm) from the current 30 ppm. Petroleum executives claim a price impact … Continue reading →

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Lack of coordination across governmental units and pollution in China

Posted on April 23, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 24,2013) describes pollution levels in Beijing and blames the lack of coordination between the ministries managing the environment and state owned enterprises managing the oil and power. Thus, while the pollution control … Continue reading →

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Natural gas use by the US trucking industry – how fast can it happen ?

Posted on April 23, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 22, 2013) describes the growing use of natural gas in the US trucks, with the industry consuming over 3 million gallons of diesel fuel daily. Natural gas use is estimated to cut … Continue reading →

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“Kumbh Mela” logistics challenges in Allahabad, India

Posted on March 6, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (March 3,2013) describes the challenges faced by authorities in Allahabad, India, during the Kumbh Mela, a pilgrimage spot for 80 to 100 million Hindus who arrive over two months, from January to mid March … Continue reading →

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