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Green Project Terminology: The Language of the Green Wave • 35

nothing says that this can be done with any cost efficiency. So garbage as
an alternative fuel source seems to be many years away. However, tire-
derived fuel (TDF) has proven to be an interesting alternative. According
to the EPA (http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/tires), tires
produce about the same amount of energy as oil and 25% more energy
than coal, and the ash residue may contain lower heavy-metal content
than some coals. Industries that are particularly suited for TDF are paper
and pulp, cement, industrial boilers, and electric utilities. The Rubber
Manufacturers Association (http://www.rma.org), as of their 2006 report,
shows that there are 188 million tires stockpiled in the United States. This
number is continuing to decline, but still presents a significant problem,
or a source of fuel depending on how you look at it.

Wave motion and tides

Wave motion and tides are probably two of the more controversial and
least defined of the alternative energy sources. There has been some study
of both of these alternative energy sources. Ocean Power Technologies
(http://www.oceanpowertechnologies.com) among others have designed
a buoy that is capable of generating power from wave action. There have
been rumors of an attempt to harness the tidal power in northern New
England and into Canada where tidal differences can be 9–12 feet and
more, generating huge volumes of water moving in and out of estuar-
ies and rivers. There is a plant operating in La Rance, France, generating
approximately 240 megawatts of power, but issues of impacts on the area
fisheries may be insurmountable.

smarter oBjeCtives
One way to get smarter about green project management is to get
SMARTER about green project management. What does that mean? Some
of the “more seasoned” of us may recall the old TV series, Get Smart, and
the more youthful readers will certainly know the Get Smart movie that
came out a few years ago (based on that original TV show). The title, and
most of the writing, was very clever, and “played with words.” This would
figure, since the writers included comics Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, and