Making Sustainability Metrics Fun
Pablo is a Sustainability Engineer who uses his unique background to answer readers' sustainability-related questions. Pablo is a Sustainability Engineer and VP at ClimateCHECK. He is a graduate of the Presidio School of Management and earned his engineering degree from Cal Poly. 
He answers readers' questions with regards to such technical issues as energy consumption, efficiency, life cycle analysis, and environmental footprints of business. His perspective is that of a seasoned engineer with the added business sense that comes with an MBA in Sustainable Management.
On this day 20 years ago, June 23, 1988, James Hansen, head of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that it was 99 percent probable that global warming had begun. With 20 years of lost opportunities behind us, the need for definitive action is growing ever greater. So what better time to answer your question?
When I saw Sir Nicholas Stern, author of the 700-page "Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change," give a talk at the University of California at Berkeley in March 2007, he was asked this same question. I liked his answer because it didn't start with changing your light bulbs for the curly ones. In his opinion, the most important impact that individuals can have on climate change is by expressing our concerns and opinions to our elected officials. Individuals' actions are important but are almost symbolic if not widely adopted. Only government policies, applied across various sectors of our economy and society, can bring about the sort of wide-scale action required.
Continue reading at: http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/ask_pablo/2008/06/23/ask_pablo_climate_change/
With gas prices breaking new records every day I am wondering, is it better for the environment to fly or...[read more]
A friend just found out that he has major termites in his house. He has no choice but to take...[read more]
I would like to use LED lighting to replace all my existing lighting. Over the long run, will I be...[read more]
Is it environmentally better to keep my 1986 Mercedes-Benz W126 or buy a new hybrid? This is a question I...[read more]
I've read in more than one place that 100 square miles of solar panels in the U.S. would meet all...[read more]
The great diaper debate of disposable vs. cloth now has a new dimension thanks to gDiapers, flushable nappies that are...[read more]
I am trying to decide whether to have a second child. I am wondering about the environmental impact that an...[read more]
Should I discard my still-working standard incandescent bulbs and replace them with compact fluorescents, or wait until they die a...[read more]
Valentine's Day is coming up, and I feel I should get my significant other some flowers. But I've read that...[read more]
Dear Pablo, Assuming that one can't break the habit of drinking pop, what kind of container is more environmentally friendly,...[read more]
I keep hearing that bottled water is the scourge of the Earth. But it sure is convenient. So what's so...[read more]
Thanks to readers like you, AskPablo has enjoyed overwhelming success over the last 66 weekly columns. Since we began tracking...[read more]
We've done it. We've finally reached the psychologically important $100/barrel oil. The recent surge that got us there is...[read more]
This week I got the following question from Barb: My community as well as all other surrounding cities here in...[read more]
AskPablo is on vacation this week. I would like to wish you and your family happy holidays and all the...[read more]
Recently I have been getting more and more questions regarding my very first AskPablo post. Michael and Phil both asked...[read more]
When hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast it not only uprooted and killed citizens, but it also killed millions of...[read more]
This week a frequent reader presented me with a common dilemma. "Does the fuel economy improvement of a hybrid really...[read more]
Now that turkey day is behind us the holiday season is in full swing. Despite my annual Grinch-like attitude, it...[read more]
This week Jamie asked me about the climate change impact of her company’s vehicle fleet and the options for reducing...[read more]
Many people have asked me about the feasibility of "clean coal" paired with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a...[read more]
When we read the words "Water, water everywhere, nor a drop to drink [sic]" from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The...[read more]
Despite its name, Greenland is anything but green (which I can appreciate since my name is also a bit misleading...[read more]
Kristina recently needed new car tires so she asked me where the old ones go. She wasn't referring to the...[read more]
This week's question comes from Richard. He asks how the price of Carbon Dioxide is determined. Unfortunately for me this...[read more]
This week I was asked by Craig how many trees his office kills each year. In order to give him...[read more]
This week I was asked by George about helicopter emissions. Recently Astrum Helicopters announced that they will be offering helicopter...[read more]
This week a reader asks about how much the now open Northwest Passage will save in shipping emissions. This year,...[read more]
While the business world is abuzz with talk of green and sustainable business practices, it's important to remember that workplace...[read more]
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