renewable energy Archives - countyfairsusa.net

Sustainability at County Fairs: Are They Going Green?

Sustainability at County Fairs: Are Fairs Going Green? Think about what a county fair actually involves. Thousands of visitors over several days, hundreds of food vendors running fryers all day, diesel generators humming behind every booth, and mountains of single-use cups and packaging piling up by the hour. It is a lot. At CountyFairsUSA.net, we have been covering county and state fairs across America since 1999, and one of the most notable shifts we have observed in recent years is how seriously many fairgrounds are taking their environmental footprint. Sustainability at county fairs is no longer a fringe conversation. It is becoming part of how the best fairs operate. The Environmental Reality of Running a County Fair A multi-day fair that draws tens of thousands of visitors creates significant waste and energy demands. Food waste, plastic packaging, fuel consumption, and water usage all add up fast, especially when you are feeding a small city for a week straight. The good news is that awareness has grown considerably. Fairs across the country are now implementing green programs that include solar power, waste diversion, water conservation, and energy-efficient products, and many are partnering with public agencies and private companies to support sustainable practices at fairgrounds. CA The question is no longer whether fairs should go green. It is how fast they can get there. Waste Reduction: Where Most Fairs Start Food waste and single-use plastics are the most visible sustainability problems at any large fair, and they are also where the most progress is being made. Fairs that are serious about going green tend to start here because the impact is immediate and visible to attendees. The Marin County Fair in California has built one of the most aggressive zero-waste programs in the country, collecting more than 28 tons of recycling and 80 tons of compost in a single fair season, and achieving a 92% waste diversion rate over more than a decade. Marin County Fair They have also banned single-use plastic bottles entirely from vendor sales and installed water refilling stations throughout the fairgrounds. Common waste reduction steps fairs are taking right now include: Replacing single-use plastic cups and utensils with compostable or reusable alternatives Setting up clearly marked recycling and composting stations throughout the fairgrounds Requiring food vendors to use eco-friendly packaging as part of their vendor agreements Partnering with food banks and shelters to donate unsold food at the end of each fair day Collecting used cooking oil from food vendors and converting it into biodiesel [...]

Farm Power, The Cash Crop

The Operating Profit Margin Ratio (OPMR) for farms is probably the best or fairest way to compare different farms, of different sizes, with equipment of different ages and conditions, and a thousand other variables. One case study of a West Central Indiana farm shows the average OPMR for the five years between 2010 and 2014 to be 0.2449, or about 25%. In the very next year (2015), because of very wet conditions, corn production was considerably lower. Combined with lower crop value at market, the OPMR was into negative territory (-0.0356), or a loss just over 3½%. In 2016 it was expected to be on the plus side by 4.61%. A New Strategy - How to Turn Your Farm Power into a Cash Crop With a little thoughtful planning and investment, you could decrease the costs of operating your farm by eliminating your need for electrical power from the grid. This amounts to better profit in good years and lower losses in the bad years. There’s even a way to do this for free. All along the northern edge of your property, or any space where shadows are not a problem, you could contract with the local electrical facility (or an agent) to place their frame mounted solar panels where they won’t shade your crops. They can produce “green power” for the utility, which can then be exchanged for valuable carbon credits. (David Suzuki. et al, 2008) This depends on the net metering (Polaris, 2017) rules where you live which are supported by 43 states, Washington, D.C., and 4 territories currently (SEIA, 2017). Some states inexplicably forbid selling power back to the utility. Speak to your local political representative to get this changes if your state still hasn’t joined the 21st century. . In many cases, carbon credits are so highly valued that the utility often pays more per “green” kilowatt than they charge their customers! If that’s true for you, you have a cash crop which requires no planting, no fertilizing, no harvesting, and no maintenance. Even without the bonus payment, you still get “utility rates” for your excess energy, which is provided as a credit towards your overall use, or acts as a bank where you can withdraw it for free if or when you need it yourself. The money is generated by energy users (corporations or household users) that that elect to pay slightly more for their power to demonstrate environmental responsibility, to feel better about themselves, or to help promote more green energy production. Many [...]