The Transcendental TechScribe

Wetlands that insist on being wetlands

It's been about a month since torrential rains in June flooded many parts of south-central Wisconsin. Places like Spring Green experienced heavy flooding. What's more, some of the flood waters are still here, a month later.

In De Forest, where I live, the Yahara River left its bank and flooded some basements just a block from my house. Northeast of De Forest the wetlands maintained by the Madison Audubon Society greatly expanded in size and in some cases flooded nearby roads. At Schoenberg Marsh, Harvey Road, which cuts through the marsh, was completely flooded over, and remains that way a month later. This beautiful marsh is on one of my favorite bike routes, so I go by there fairly often. At right is a pic I snapped of Harvey Road just a few days ago. As you can see, it remains flooded over. What was once two adjoining marshes split by a road is now one marsh with a strip of concrete bottom within it.

The birds and other wildlife love it. I saw a large bird's nest (heron, I think) located just to the left of this view of the road. Before the flood, a heron would be too spooked by even the light traffic on this road to nest in that spot. Frogs and minnows could be seen inhabiting the waters over Harvey Road. In short, the amount of habit space at Schoenberg has happily expanded, at least for the time being.

But a happy situation for the marsh life isn't so happy for local residents. At Harvey Road, the change is mainly an inconvenience. The surrounding land was already protected wetlands, so few farm fields were threatened at this particular spot. A few local residents have had to change their commuting routes, and those who come out to the marsh for recreation might have to take a different road. Not so lucky are the many farmers in the region who've seen other low-lying fields turned into de facto wetlands.

Maybe these low lying areas were meant to be wet lands all along? Certainly the recent record rainfall is causing governments and disaster relief agencies to rethink whether low-lying areas should be developed for housing. I sympathize with my neighbors who've been flooded, but wetlands are called that for a reason, and with global changes in our weather patterns accelerating the frequency of "100 year" floods, we could see more former wet lands insist on returning to their natural state. We need to plan for that, while protecting homeowners with better information about flood insurance and flood risks.

Latest story: No easy answers to high fuel costs

Well, I've had my first success in branching out from writing about enterprise software. For the June issue of the Capital Region Business Journal, I wrote the cover story about how Madison, Wisconsin-area businesses are coping with sky-high gas prices. The story covers the efforts of several business owners to curb costs by switching to alternative fuel vehicles or making smaller changes like changing driving and maintenance habits.

The thing that struck me by talking to these business owners is that even the ones who've saved considerable money by buying hybrids or other type vehicles are in some cases still feeling the pinch. For example, the owner of a landscaping business has had success using hybrid sedans for sales and project management, but says that conventional pickup trucks are still the only sure bet for his many work vehicles. A pizza restaurant owner saves bucks by using waste cooking oil from his restaurants to power diesel sedans modified to run on cooking oil, but because of insurance limitations, only a handful of his delivery people can drive the cars. The same business owner says he's also frustrated by the lack of fully electric vehicles capable of handling urban delivery tasks. There are no easy answers, it appears.

Enterprise software's green sins

I've written on this blog about how software can be green. Sure enough, there are applications like route scheduling software that hundreds of U.S. businesses use to ensure their trucks and shipments navigate routes with a minimum of zigging and zagging. Other applications do their part to ensure facilities make the best use of energy. But then there is side of enterprise software that isn't quite so green--that has supported the type of full-throttle globalization that has fostered polluted air and rivers in places such as China.

Specifically, I'm talking about enterprise software that makes it easier for U.S.-based multinationals to collaborate with overseas contract manufacturers. For the past 10 years, I've written about various types of software applications that support the concept--now a common place reality--of "virtual" manufacturing. This includes Web-based product lifecycle management applications that allow for easy exchange of selected design data and design intent, as well as supply chain collaboration software that allows for a brand name  company and contract manufacturers to work seamlessly on factors like scheduling and plant capacity, costs and contract discounts related to material supply, as international trade and logistics. Yes, enterprise software helps make that $80 DVD player and scads of imported toys at your Big Box retailer possible.

Cheaper, better goods is not necessarily a bad thing, but what the world didn't figure on was the degree to which the explosion of growth and manufacturing in places like China pose challenges for the environment. I think we are seeing the impacts more clearly now as we see China struggle with air and water quality problems in advance of the Olympics. Then there is the price of gas, which experts say is up because demand is up thank due to rapid economic growth overseas. Of course, it's unfair for us SUV-driving Americans to begrudge people in China or India the right to drive their own cars. The rapidly growing economies just need to find a way to balance rampant growth with some serious environmental controls. Here in the U.S., it took decades from the explosion of the late 19th Century industrial revolution until the passage of the Clean Air and Water acts in the early 1970s for us to get some serious controls in place. Hopefully the emerging economies will move faster than we did.

Perhaps I'm just being retrospective (I turned 48 yesterday), but I felt the need to qualify my earlier writing about the green aspects of enterprise software. In short, enterprise software can add to rampant growth dynamics, not just reduce waste within individual companies via specific apps. I even think globalization can be a good thing. We just need to talk about--and better understand--it's upsides and downsides.

Fuel from a petri dish? Let's hope so

 Reading Newsweek recently, I came across a Q&A with pioneering genome scientist Craig Venter. In this remarkable interview with Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria, Venter describes how he and others are working on making fuel from micro-organisms. 

The technology is years, but not "decades" away from commercial viability, Venter suggests in the piece. Let's hope so. We need third and fourth generation bio-fuels technology to develop rapidly. What's more, we need fuels that have high energy content, and that don't compete with our food/agricultural resources. Venter's institute is working on it. If things pan out, some of us might wind up driving VW bugs that are powered by bugs.

Podcast: How Can Software be Green?

I know, software is made out of bits & bytes, not hazardous material, but yet software can be green in the sense that it helps businesses save fuel costs. Tune into this podcast to hear how.

Download toshiba_podcast.mp3

Green supply chain tech that leverages old links

Some of the most promising green technology--like hydrogen fuel cell cars--essentially promises breakthrough benefits, but at a cost. The cost is often associated with having to come up with entirely new designs and product platforms, as well as new infrastructure for operational concerns like fueling. While it's pretty obvious that we need to pursue big breakthroughs, some of the most effective green technology come down to what works with existing products. I found a couple of good examples of this while surfing some blogs recently.

At Chris Sciacca's excellent blog that covers supply chain management technology, Who Said Supply Chains Are Boring? , I came across a video of how a software package that optimizes the way ocean freighters are loaded can be good for the environment. As the video that Chris tracked down explains, by figuring out the best way to load a ship for factors like balance and reduced friction, the loading optimization software allows a ship to glide through the water more efficiently. This helps our planet by burning less fossil fuel than would otherwise be burned, and it doesn't hurt this sort of technology can save companies money.

Another example is the return of sail power to the cargo ship business. But rather than building gigantic carbon fiber sail boats, enterprising vendors have come up with automated sail systems that hoist what looks like a huge kite from the bow of a conventionally powered cargo ship, helping propel it through the water while burning less fuel. Here's a YouTube video from an outfit called SkySails that shows this technology in action.   

Aye mateys, these are both nautical examples, but they also hold something else in common that anyone--even us landlubbers--can apply to broader industries. Both of these technologies leverage existing transportation products and infrastructure. No need to build a whole new generation of boats or fueling infrastructure--just use existing boats, and cost justify the investment in some software or sail automation. Add-on technologies such as these might not be huge breakthroughs, but apply enough of these little efficiency boosters, and our environment will benefit.

Wisconsin Dells: Old Contrasts Blur

My wife and I just got back from a weekend in Wisconsin Dells. We stayed at Whispering Waters, a quiet bed & breakfast tucked onto a wooded hillside along the Wisconsin River just a couple of miles south of the dam on the lower Dells.

We loved it there. Though just a few miles from some o f the tackiest attractions in Wisconsin Dells, it’s an example of the kind of solace and natural beauty you can still find in the Wisconsin Dells area. Wisconsin Dells has long been a place of stark contrasts. On the one hand, in the middle of town by the dam, Broadway Street (Hwy. 13) is lined with kitschy souvenir shops and oddball tourist attractions. If you continue southwest toward the Interstate, you’ll find some of the biggest water parks and motel complexes in the Midwest. But despite their relatively close proximity to the river and the majestic Dells cliffs, much of this commercial excess has stayed separate from the river.

That’s why we loved our stay at Whispering Waters. Even though we were pretty close to the restaurants and attractions of Wisconsin Dells, we had solitude, woods, and the river. This same logic gave me mixed feelings over our dinner choice the first night at an upscale steakhouse at the new Chula Vista resort. This big complex hugs the river on the eastern side of the Upper Dells along River Road.

I was troubled by this mega resort because it so closely borders the riverside of the Upper Dells. Don’t get me wrong--this place isn't as tacky as the theme parks found closer to the Interstate. It is well decorated, and the steakhouse is as swanky as any you’d find in downtown Chicago. But as I munched on my tender steak from a window seat, overlooking the cliff tops of the Upper Dells, I couldn’t help but think that this mega-development is just too darn close to the river.

I’m sure the developers had to follow strict environmental guidelines in the building Chula Vista, but this place is huge. The buildings and parking lots must span dozens of acres.

On speaking with our hosts at the B&B, I hear there was much local opposition to another new development, this one called Grand Cambrian  resort. It too will be right along the river’s eastern shore, but south of the dam on the Lower Dells.

Again, I’m sure the developers had to meet plenty of environmental guidelines in getting this complex approved , and its designs seem tasteful, but again, Grand Cambrian is troubling because it blends a mega resort with the river itself.

We managed a quiet weekend in Dells, but sadly, it appears the old contrasts to found in Wisconsin Dells are blurring. I preferred the purity of the old contrasts. If you wanted kitsch and a bite to eat, you could walk Broadway St., but still get on a tour boat and soon be awed by the river. If you wanted to focus on nature, there are plenty of state parks or little wooded resorts near the Dells in which to confine your stay. I don't doubt that the new, river-encroaching resorts will be good for the economy, but I prefer the old contrasts.

Surely these new resorts were scrutinized for potential concerns such as non-point source pollution that tends to occur when you build acres of asphalt and roofs tops where there was once forest and field bordering a waterway. I think the real issue--beyond raw environmental science--is one of land ethics. As Aldo Leopold, the great conservationist once wrote about managing our natural resources, "a land ethic, of course, cannot prevent the alteration, management, and use of these resources, but it does affirm their right to continued existence--and at least in spots--their continued existence in a natural state."

Maybe the powers that be up in Wisconsin Dells need to rethink their land ethic.

 

 

 

On our biofuels destiny

Every time I drive into nearby Madison, Wisconsin, I pass a gas station that sells e85 ethanol fuel along with gasoline, which these days, contains up to 10 percent ethanol. Like everyone else, the first thing I notice is the surging cost of gas--upwards of $3.55 a gallon now in Madison. Meanwhile, this same store is selling e85 for $2.79 per gallon. This has me wishing I had a flex-fuel vehicle capable of running on the much cheaper e85.

But is e85 really that great of a deal for the individual motorist, or for the common good? And if e85 is good for us, is it a viable, long-term solution, or will some other fuel source do a better job? I got some insights into such questions at the opening sessions of "Wisconsin Biofuels Destiny: Food, Fiber and Forest Products for the 21st Century," a conference put on the Wisconsin Technology Council  at UW-Stevens Point in mid-April.

        The short take of what I learned is that Wisconsin's corn-based ethanol industry is booming, and that today's mainstream biofuel--e85--is becoming more attractive for consumers with the right vehicles and fuel access given skyrocketing gas prices. The more complex take I got from the conference is that biofuels made from wood pulp, grasses, and other cellulosic plant material could be the longer term answer to our fuel needs, and could help revive Wisconsin's faltering paper mill industry in the process.

        Let's start with the outlook on e85. Joshua Morby, executive director of The Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance, presented some numbers on the rapid growth of the ethanol industry in Wisconsin. The first corn ethanol refinery in Wisconsin opened in 2002, and today, there already are seven refineries making corn-based ethanol in the state, and two that make biodiesel. These ethanol plants, once fully operational, could produce 500 million gallons of ethanol annually, says Morby. Nationally, 30 biorefineries opened just last year, he says, increasing annual production by 32 percent.

        But for consumers at the pump--e85--a blend that contains 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gas-- can be hard to find. In 2006, Morby says, there were fewer than 30 locations in Wisconsin selling e85. That number doubled in 2007, and today, stands at more than 100 locations. But, he concedes, "it's still hard to find these places."

        Another plus for ethanol, says Morby, is the often overlooked employment boon. The typical ethanol plant, he says, employs about 40 people. And of course, the corn is grown largely by U.S.farmers, with local or regional cooperatives owning many of the refineries.

Now the negatives for e85. One big concern is that it gets significantly fewer miles per gallon than gas. Morby says a 40 cents a gallon price differential makes up for the lower mileage. He also acknowledges that corn-based ethanol is taking heat for everything from driving up food prices to bolstering the market for genetically modified corn. Then there is the debate over whether ethanol actually has a net energy balance. According to a U.S. Dept. of Energy publication about ethanol myths & facts, each gallon of corn ethanol produced delivers one third or more energy than is used to produce it, but there are researchers who say it has a negative energy balance.

These e85 questions merit another post, but for now, it's safe to say that corn-based ethanol is seen by many as a flawed biofuel. Even proponents of corn-based ethanol say that other technologies, including cellulosic biofuel, should be pursued to solve our fuel needs. "Ethanol and biodiesel are part of the solution to energy independence, not necessarily the entire solution," as Morby told conference goers.

        Biofuel made from grasses, corn stover, and wood pulp--known as cellulosic materials--could be a big part of the eventual solution. At the conference, I chatted briefly with Timothy Donohue, principal investigator with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, one of three major centers established by the U.S. Dept. of Energy to accelerate the science needed for bioenergy breakthroughs. I asked Professor Donohue how far out we are from seeing cellulosic ethanol come to market, and he said that generally, the first cellulosic ethanol is being made from grasses and corn stover, with wood pulp as a source further down the line.

Wood pulp and other biomass from the lumber and paper industries could shape up as one of the best sources of biofuels. At the opening day of the conference, two UW-Stevens Point professors--Don Guay and Eric Singaas--gave an overview of their research on creating an integrated forest biorefinery that can work with multiple feed stocks, and create multiple products.

This biorefinery could use miscanthus grass, corn stover, or wood pulp and other woody biomass as raw materials, including under-pulped material from mills, slash and waste from lumber operations, and even laminated paper that is hard to recycle. But the goal isn't simply to turn all this matter into ethanol. Instead, their process would separate three key components in the material (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin), create what they call a "sugar platform" from the separated materials, and convert the sugars and lignin into products.

Two key outputs would be methyl butenol, which has a higher energy content than ethanol and could be used to produce a next generation biofuel, and isoprene, which could be used to manufacture rubber, replacing a carcinogenic chemical known as butadiene. "We don't want to make ethanol," Guay told conference goers. "Ethanol is a fine first generation fuel. We want to make something more energy dense, and more equivalent to today's gasoline or diesel fuel."

        What's more, the researchers envision that a forest biorefinery could be retrofitted to existing or closed paper mills, potentially reviving the sagging paper industry in Wisconsin.

  So here we have a biofuel with higher energy content than corn ethanol, that doesn't drive up the price of food, and that can be made with biomass that isn't even used to make paper. What's not to love? Mainly, it will take time. Guay says the bench testing for such a forest biorefinery will take a year and half to two years to complete, and then pilot testing could take another two to three years, putting commercial readiness roughly five years out on the horizon.

Another huge question such research raises is whether the booming corn ethanol industry is simply a temporary market. Again, that question merits another posting. For now, ethanol and biodiesel producers are thinking of ways to future-proof their facilities against market changes, such as biodiesel refineries that are built to use multiple feed stocks instead of just one, like soybeans.

My overall take is that our biofuels destiny isn't settled around one technology. Morby seems on the mark in saying that corn-based ethanol needs to be part of the answer. We will see if corn ethanol turns out to be more of a transitionary technology.

Tales from a scribe: my blog's purpose

I've created this blog as a way to share my musing and additional information from my reporting and writing. Over the past 12 years, I've made my living writing about enterprise software used in the manufacturing industry for everything from collaborative product design to factory-floor execution. Now I'm transitioning into writing more about core innovations and technologies. Topics I'm taking on include environmental issues such a biofuels. But I'm not limiting my writing to any one industry or technology. I plan to use this blog as a way to communicate information that doesn't make it into my published articles, and to share what inspires me and interests me in my business and technology writing.