Wisconsin’s first “green” state office building opens in Green Bay

DNR Regional Headquarters awarded LEEDTM Gold Certification

"The $4.7 million, three-story, 34,560 square-foot building became a catalyst for developing sustainable state building guidelines for energy standards, use of day lighting, and recycling. According to Dettlaff, President of Berners-Schober Associates, “ Our staff spent a lot of time collaborating with our State of Wisconsin clients to plan a building that could operate in a more environmentally sustainable way.” Ian Griffiths, project manager for Berners-Schober added, “The focus on the NER building was not as much on gadgets, controls and technology, but rather on a design that integrated form with efficient building systems to improve both human performance and reduce energy consumption. This DNR building demonstrates that commercial office space can be built economically and operate efficiently.”"

MPCA News Releases

MPCA News Releases: "
TV and Computer-monitor Disposal Ban Takes Effect July 1

Saint Paul, Minn.- Starting July 1, 2006, Minnesota residents will no longer be able to put televisions and computer monitors in the trash, according to state law. Televisions and computer monitors are hazardous because they contain up to eight pounds of lead and can cause an environmental problem if discarded with regular garbage.

Minnesota residents can take advantage of the expanding number of recycling options for old electronic equipment including community collection events, retailers, and manufacturers. Recyclers most often charge a fee to handle monitors and televisions.

To see a list of collection events and recyclers, visit www.moea.state.mn.us/plugin/recyclers-household.cfm or call your county solid-waste administrator. Residents of the Twin Cities metropolitan area may also visit www.greenguardian.com or contact their county solid-waste administrators."

Contact: Garth Hickle, 651-215-0224

Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies

"Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies Wasteful energy policies, overuse of resources, water supply shortages, global climate change, and deforestation are just some of the issues experts say need to be addressed for humans to achieve sustainable living on this planet. By the year 2025, an additional 2.9 billion people will strain tightening water supplies, and the world's energy needs will go up 60 percent by 2030, according to the United Nations. LiveScience looks at 10 technologies—some old, some new, some a bit offbeat—that might help make the future a little brighter. "

• Make Paper Obsolete - Imagine curling up on the couch with the morning paper and then using the same sheet of paper to read the latest novel by your favorite author. That's one possibility of electronic paper, a flexible display that looks very much like real paper but can be reused over and over. The display contains many tiny microcapsules filled with particles that carry electric charges bonded to a steel foil. Each microcapsule has white and black particles that are associated with either a positive or negative charge. Depending on which charge is applied; the black or white particles surface displaying different patterns. In the United States alone, more than 55 million newspapers are sold each weekday.

• Bury The Bad Stuff - Carbon dioxide is the most prominent greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. According to the Energy Information Administration, by the year 2030 we will be emitting close to 8,000 million metric tons of CO2. Some experts say it's impossible to curb the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere and that we just have to find ways to dispose of the gas. One suggested method is to inject it into the ground before it gets a chance to reach the atmosphere. After the CO2 is separated from other emission gases, it can be buried in abandoned oil wells, saline reservoirs, and rocks. While this sounds great, scientists are not sure whether the injected gas will stay underground and what the long-term effects are, and the costs of separation and burying are still far too high to consider this technology as a practical short-term solution.

• Let Plants and Microbes Clean Up After Us - Bioremediation uses microbes and plants to clean up contamination. Examples include the cleanup of nitrates in contaminated water with the help of microbes, and using plants to uptake arsenic from contaminated soil, in a process known as phytoremediation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has used it to clean up several sites. Often, native plant species can be used for site cleanup, which are advantageous because in most cases they don't require pesticides or watering. In other cases scientists are trying to genetically modify the plants to take up contaminants in their roots and transport it all the way to the leaves for easy harvesting.

• Plant Your Roof - It's a wonder that this concept attributed to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of Seven Wonders of the World, didn't catch on sooner in the modern world. Legend has it that the roofs, balconies, and terraces of the royal palace of Babylon were turned into gardens by the king's order to cheer up one of his wives. Roof gardens help absorb heat, reduce the carbon dioxide impact by taking up Co2 and giving off oxygen, absorb storm water, and reduce summer air conditioning usage. Ultimately, the technique could lessen the "heat island" effect that occurs in urban centers. Butterflies and songbirds could also start frequenting urban garden roofs, and like the king's wife, could even cheer up the inhabitants of the building. Here, a green roof is tested at Penn State.

• Harness Waves and Tides - The oceans cover more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface. Waves contain an abundance of energy that could be directed to turbines, which can then turn this mechanical power into electrical. The obstacle to using this energy source has been the difficulty in harnessing it. Sometimes the waves are too small to generate sufficient power. The trick is to be able to store the energy when enough mechanical power is generated. New York City's East River is now in the process of becoming the test bed for six tide-powered turbines, and Portugal's reliance on waves in a new project is expected to produce enough power for more than 1,500 homes. Here, a buoy system capable of capturing the ocean’s power in the form of offshore swells is illustrated by researchers at Oregon State University.

• Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion - The biggest solar collector on Earth is our ocean mass. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the oceans absorb enough heat from the sun to equal the thermal energy contained in 250 billion barrels of oil each day. The U.S. consumes about 7.5 billion barrels a year. OTEC technologies convert the thermal energy contained in the oceans and turn it into electricity by using the temperature difference between the water's surface, which is heated, and the cold of the ocean's bottom. This difference in temperature can operate turbines that can drive generators. The major shortcoming of this technology is that it's still not efficient enough to be used as a major mechanism for generating power.

• Sunny New Ideas - The sun's energy, which hits Earth in the form of photons, can be converted into electricity or heat. Solar collectorscome in many different forms and are already used successfully by energy companies and individual homeowners. The two widely known types of solar collectors are solar cells and solar thermal collectors. But researchers are pushing the limits to more efficiently convert this energy by concentrating solar power by using mirrors and parabolic dishes. Part of the challenge for employing solar power involves motivation and incentives from governments. In January, the state of California approved a comprehensive program that provides incentives toward solar development. Arizona, on the other hand, has ample sunshine but has not made solar energy a priority. In fact in some planned communities it is downright discouraged by strict rules of aesthetics.

• The 'H' Power - Hydrogen fuel cell usage has been touted as a pollution-free alternative to using fossil fuels. They make water by combining hydrogen and oxygen. In the process, they generate electricity. The problem with fuel cells is obtaining the hydrogen. Molecules such as water and alcohol have to be processed to extract hydrogen to feed into a fuel cell. Some of these processes require the using other energy sources, which then defeat the advantages of this "clean" fuel. Most recently, scientists have come up with ways to power laptops and small devices with fuel cells, and some car companies are promising that soon we'll be seeing cars that emit nothing but clean water. The promise of a "hydrogen economy," however, is not one that all experts agree will ever be realized.

• Remove the Salt - According to the United Nations, water supply shortages will affect billions of people by the middle of this century. Desalination, basically removing the salt and minerals out of seawater, is one way to provide potable water in parts of the world where supplies are limited. The problem with this technology is that it is expensive and uses a lot of energy. Scientists are working toward better processes where inexpensive fuels can heat and evaporate the water before running it through membranes with microscopic pores to increase efficiency.

• Make Oil from Just about Anything - Any carbon-based waste, from turkey guts to used tires, can, by adding sufficient heat and pressure, be turned into oil through a process called thermo-depolymerization, This is very similar to how nature produces oil, but with this technology, the process is expedited by millions of years to achieve the same byproduct. Proponents of this technology claim that a ton of turkey waste can cough up about 600 pounds of petroleum.
  
  Agree ????

Source http://www.livescience.com/environment/top10_emergingenvironment_technologies.html

New EPA Program Saves Dollars and Makes Sense

"New EPA Program Saves Dollars and Makes Sense"
WaterSense, a new water efficiency program launched by EPA today, will educate American consumers on making smart water choices that save money and maintain high environmental standards without compromising performance.”Efficient products and informed consumers lead to smart water use. EPA’s WaterSense program will provide water solutions that are a win-win for our wallets and our environment. WaterSense just makes sense,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “WaterSense advances President Bush’s cooperative conservation goals through education, not regulation - spreading the ethic of water efficiency and promoting the tools to make wise water choices.”

The WaterSense program aims to raise awareness about the importance of water efficiency, ensure the performance of water-efficient products and provide good consumer information. The WaterSense label will be easily identified on products and services that perform at least 20 percent more efficiently than their less efficient counterparts.

Easily corrected household water leaks frequently rob consumers of eight percent of their water bill. At least 30 percent of water used by household irrigation systems is lost through wind evaporation and improper design, installation or maintenance. The average household adopting water efficient products and practices can save 30,000 gallons per year – enough to supply a year of drinking water for 150 of their neighbors.

Manufacturers can certify these products meet EPA criteria for water efficiency and performance by following testing protocols specific to each product category. In addition, products will be independently tested to ensure EPA specifications are met. These products will be available to families and businesses early next year.

For more information about the WaterSense water efficiency program, visit http://www.epa.gov/watersense"

Why washing your jeans can cost the Earth

Want to save the planet? Wear your jeans two days a week, wash them every fifth day, and let them dry by themselves. Or better still don't wash them at all. And don't even think of ironing them.

This is the conclusion of a report commissioned by France's environment agency on the ecological impact of a pair of denims. The study looked at an 'average' pair of jeans - made of 600gm (1lb 5oz) of denim, lined with 38gm (just over an ounce) of polyester, with six rivets and a button, worn one day a week for four years, washed every third time in a highenergy machine at 40C and, in a singularly French twist, ironed before wear.

Article continues
The study, by the research firm Bio Intelligence Service, looked at the jeans' life cycle, from material production to daily use of the garment.

It concluded that a French jeans wearer would damage the environment the least by buying denims made of cotton from a country not too far from Europe with strict anti-pollution laws. Machine washing, tumble drying, and ironing caused 47% of the eco damage the jeans caused - 240kWh of energy a year, equal to using 4,000 lightbulbs, each of 60 watts, for an hour. Dry cleaning was 'an environmental disaster'.

The report's author, Nadia Boeglin, who suggested also minimising impact on the planet by giving jeans away or cutting them down to make shorts, said: 'We focused on jeans but all the things we use daily are a problem ... just by paying attention to a few simple details we could reduce [greenhouse] gas emissions.

Kim Willsher in Paris
Monday June 12, 2006

Governor: New ethanol research center would be waste of money | Chicago Tribune

The three-year-old research center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was built in part with $14 million in federal money. Public and private groups use the center to test ethanol technology.

"The department should not consider wastefully funding a new and completely redundant pilot facility for cellulosic ethanol research," Blagojevich wrote to federal Biomass Program officials.

The newspaper reported that the letter, to be sent Monday, is Illinois' response to a federal request last month for feedback on whether there's interest in a plant designed to convert cellulose from materials such as switch grass and sawdust into ethanol.

A letter similar to the governor's has been sent by Decatur-based Archer Daniels Midland Co., the top producer of ethanol in the nation.

"Let's first make use of the good facilities we have," said Thomas Binder, president of research at ADM.

Martha Schlicher, director of the Edwardsville research center, said revamping the center could cost as little as $8 million and be accomplished in six months.

"We're not starting from scratch so you don't have to recreate everything we already have," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Energy Department declined to discuss the governor's letter, which was obtained by the Post-Dispatch .

The Bright Side of Global Warming

AlterNet: The Bright Side of Global Warming:
* Casual Friday becomes clothing optional Friday.
* Not nearly as many frog species to catalogue.
* MTV's Jose Cuervo Spring Break Brought to You Live From the World Famous Beaches of Nova Scotia.
* History Channel specials on picnics.
* Dive the ruins of Bangladesh.
* Extreme Siberian Summers. In December.
* Less glaciers, more salt flats.
* Wyoming coconuts.
* Deteriorating ozone makes air travel too dangerous for politicians to make trips back to home districts.
* Louis Vuitton full body containment suits.
* A flourishing alligator sightseeing industry on Lake Michigan.
* Dune buggies everywhere dude.
* Monkey wranglers; a north American growth industry.
* A perfect all round tan in less than 30 seconds.
* Aged Duluth Coffee beans.
* Worried about unprovoked polar bear attacks? Don't be. Ever again.
* Ocean front property in Missouri.
* Antarctic pinot noir.
* Real black panthers in Oakland.
* Surfing + Sweden = nirvana.
* So many hurricanes, your name guaranteed to cycle through the list much more often.
* Backyard dwarf banana trees.
* No need to retire to Arizona; Arizona will come to you.

Will Durst is a political comic, syndicated columnist, AM radio talk show host and defense liability."

Ethanol Investment: Golden Opportunity or Fool’s Gold?

Research Reports: "According to fueleconomy.gov, a car that gets 16 miles-per-gallon on gas will get only 12 miles on E85. "

Competition from Gasoline: Ethanol offers the promise of domestic energy independence, but it must be able to compete with gasoline to have long-term profitability. It must also be mentioned that ethanol is at a disadvantage compared to gasoline in mile-per-gallon fuel efficiency. It was also recently reported that the wholesale price of ethanol “was around $3 per gallon compared with about $2.28 for gasoline (before being mixed with ethanol).” Even with GM and Ford having made announcements about producing more flex-fuel cars capable of running on E85, and with more gas stations offering E85, it is questionable whether motorists will find E85 economically justifiable.

Environmental Organizations Warn on Biofuels

Environmental Organizations Warn on Biofuels: "According to an EU-sponsored study, meeting the EU’s target of replacing 5.75% of fossil fuels with biofuels would consume 14-27% of EU agricultural land. To meet the biodiesel target, 192% of 2005 EU oilseed production would be needed, or 14% of the forecast world production in 2012. As a result, meeting the 5.75% biofuels target will force a greater reliance on imports.

Climate change and biodiversity loss are among our most pressing challenges. We must urgently reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. But we must tackle climate change and biodiversity loss in tandem. Biofuels are only part of the solution. Unless we produce biofuels sustainably, we’ll end up with more energy-intensive and environmentally damaging farming practices and hasten the degradation of our ecosystems."

Producing Bio-ethanol From Agricultural Waste A Step Closer

Research conducted by Delft University of Technology has brought the efficient production of the environmentally-friendly fuel bio-ethanol a great deal closer to fruition. The work of Delft researcher Marko Kuyper was an important factor in this. His research in recent years has greatly improved the conversion of certain sugars from agricultural waste to ethanol. On Tuesday 6 June, Kuyper received his PhD degree for his research into the subject."During his recent PhD research, Marko Kuyper greatly improved this method: people can now start using agricultural waste products that contain sugar to produce bio-ethanol on an industrial scale. Delft University of Technology and the Kluyver Centre for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation are working together on this project with Royal Nedalco and BIRD Engineering. These parties expect to achieve large-scale industrial implementation within 5 years."

Michigan Leads Nation in Pollution Prevention Awards

Michigan Leads Nation in Pollution Prevention Awards: "Michigan is leading the nation in developing innovative approaches to environmental protection, a distinction recently noted by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable at the annual National Environmental Summit held recently in Atlanta, Georgia."

National Pollution Prevention Week will be held September 18-26, and many of the more than 1,500 businesses and facilities that participate in the DEQ’s pollution prevention programs will undertake special activities with their employees, suppliers, and customers during this time.

More information on Pollution Prevention Week can be located on the DEQ Web site at www.michigan.gov/deqp2initiatives. Further information on the MVP2 Award can be located on the NPPR Web site at www.p2.org.

Study Shows Our Ancestors Survived 'Snowball Earth'

ScienceDaily: Study Shows Our Ancestors Survived 'Snowball Earth': "New research shows organisms called eukaryotes -- organisms of one or more complex cells that engage in sexual reproduction and are ancestors of the animal and plant species present today -- existed 50 million to 100 million years before that ice age and somehow did survive. The work also shows that the cyanobacteria, or blue-green bacteria, that put the oxygen in the atmosphere in the first place, apparently were pumping out oxygen for millions of years before that, and also survived Earth's glaciation."

Now My Popcorn?

First coffee was going to kill me... now my other vise.
Andrew Schneider in the Baltimore Sun has another interesting story about popcorn lung -- the deadly lung disease caused by exposure to a popcorn butter flavoring called diacetyl.

n April, Schneider wrote an article revealing that Scientists at NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration wanted to intensify investigations into illness caused by flavorings and issue federal regulations to protect workers. But top officials would rather let the flavoring industry's association -- The Food Extract Manufacturer's Association (FEMA) -- take care of the problem and police itself.

Source: www.baltimoresun.com/

Tax My Carbon - Forbes.com

Tax My Carbon - Forbes.com: "our fears of global warming have caused our economy to become littered with subsidies, credits, deductions, tax surcharges, earmarks and research boondoggles. Here's a way to make life simpler: Chuck out all energy legislation, replacing it with a one-sentence statute that levies a tax on carbon emissions. Let's do it big--30 cents a pound. So that people can adjust, start it at 1 cent and increment the tax by a penny a year from now to 2036."

We're talking a lot of revenue--enough, if the full rate were in place today and no one responded with changes in air-conditioning and driving habits, to replace the personal income tax. It would add $1.65 to the price of a gallon of gasoline. It would triple your electric bill if your utility were entirely coal fired. The purpose, though, would be not just to raise revenue but to change behavior. In 30 years' time, coal utilities would get very imaginative about switching to nuclear or finding some way to stuff carbon dioxide down a well hole. You would have long since retired your Suburban.

Now think of the legislative pollution that could be removed. The guzzler tax (up to $7,700) could be repealed; it is, after all, none of the government's business whether I waste gas by driving a big car or by making unnecessary trips to the pharmacy. Repeal mileage regulations (27.5 miles per gallon for cars, 21.6 for pickups). Get rid of the hybrid tax credit (up to $3,400). Forget George Bush's plan to spend $1.2 billion on hydrogen and $150 million on grass clippings.

We could find other employment for the lobbyists who tell us that ethanol is a winner; now, for the very first time, the chemical would succeed or fail on its own carbon merits. We wouldn't need the $2,000 solar credit or the $150 for qualified water heaters or the $50 for advanced circulating fans. We wouldn't need the tax forms for any of these things.

What about all those bureaucrats at the Department of Energy working on renewable energy and energy conservation? They work so very hard, burning the midnight oil. Think of the oil you could save.

GE has gone way beyond "ecomagination" all the way to "ecofantasy."

Of course, there are still those retro companies who talk the sustainability talke, but don't walk the walk. Nabil Nasr, Director of the Rochester Institute of Technology's Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies warns of "greenwashing" by companies who more time and money giving lip service to its environmental goals than actually accomplishing them. Nasr didn't mention any names, but "but noted that some of the major corporations that advertise their environmental consciences with flashy TV spots may actually be masking environmental sins."

Underlying Cause Of Massive Pinyon Pine Die-off Revealed

"U.S. Forest Service's aerial surveys of the region's pinyon-juniper woodlands in 2002 and 2003 revealed significant tree die-off covering more than 4,600 square miles (12,000 square km).

The effect was so dramatic it could be detected by satellite."

Biodiesel plant won’t help nearby farmers

With the announcement of the Imperium Renewables biodiesel mega-project in Grays Harbor County, Wash., biodiesel finally loses its innocence.

Why build a 100-million gallon biodiesel plant in Grays Harbor, of all places?

Not to use Washington-grown vegetable oil – that oil, to the extent it will even be produced in the face of cut-rate imports, will be used near where it is produced, as it should be. Certainly not to use Midwest- or Plains-grown vegetable oil – that oil would have to travel a winding railroad or go through the Panama Canal to get to Grays Harbor.

The Grays Harbor biodiesel plant planned by Imperium will make biodiesel out of palm oil imported from tropical countries like Malaysia. A look at current vegoil prices shows why: Soybean oil is selling for about 25 cents a pound for July delivery, while canola oil is a couple of cents higher. July palm oil is about 19 cents a pound, including delivery to the U.S.

Palm oil is essentially made out of rainforests, which are being bulldozed at unprecedented rates to make way for palm plantations.

In an ironic twist, the destruction of Malaysian rainforests may lead to an upturn in the Grays Harbor economy, which has been depressed since the destruction of Washington rainforests.

There is very little that is “green” about palm oil biodiesel, especially when it is produced at the expense of North American vegoils.

In explaining the size of his proposed plant and the source of his vegoil, John Plaza says in last week’s Capital Press, “We have to be competitive to be sustainable.” There is very little that is sustainable about a 100 million gallon per year palm oil biodiesel plant.

Full disclosure: I am working to develop an all-Washington biodiesel operation east of the Cascades "


Steve Verhey
Guest Comment

Friday, May 26, 2006

Really? June 6, or 6-6-06. "number of the beast," according to the Book of Revelation

Anthropologist Looks At Superstition About June 6 And '666'

The number 666 -- the "number of the beast," according to the Book of Revelation -- conjures devilish images for many, so forecasts of evil, even doom, are rampant regarding dates or places where the number occurs, including next Tuesday, June 6, or 6-6-06.

Yeah! were all still here... just another Y2K bug ;-)

The Environmental Wars : Overview

The Environmental Wars : Overview: "From June 2–4, 2006, the Environmental Wars conference will host scientists, writers, environmentalists, and thinkers from all points along the environmental spectrum at the California Institute of Technology for questions, answers, and opinions.

The conference is hosted by the Skeptics Society, a scientific and educational organization that applies rational inquiry and journalistic research to claims made by scientists, historians, writers and politicians on a wide range of subjects. The society publishes Skeptic magazine, and hosts regular lecture series with past speakers including Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore, Ursula Goodenough, Jared Diamond, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Jennifer Michael Hecht."
http://www.environmentalwars.org/

Earth's Ozone Layer Appears To Be On The Road To Recovery

"'The search for signs of recovery of the ozone layer' by Elizabeth Westhead and Signe Andersen.

Sorting out cause and effect is difficult, but a group of NASA and university researchers may have made some headway. Their new study, entitled 'Attribution of recovery in lower-stratospheric ozone,' was just accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research. It concludes that about half of the recent trend is due to CFC reductions.

Lead author Eun-Su Yang of the Georgia Institute of Technology explains: 'We measured ozone concentrations at different altitudes using satellites, balloons and instruments on the ground. Then we compared our measurements with computer predictions of ozone recovery, [calculated from real, measured reductions in CFCs].' Their calculations took into account the known behavior of the sunspot cycle (which peaked in 2001), seasonal changes in the ozone layer, and Quasi-Biennial Oscillations, a type of stratospheric wind pattern known to affect ozone.

What they found is both good news and a puzzle.

The good news: In the upper stratosphere (above roughly 18 km), ozone recovery can be explained almost entirely by CFC reductions. 'Up there, the Montreal Protocol seems to be working,' says co-author Mike Newchurch of the Global Hydrology and Climate Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The puzzle: In the lower stratosphere (between 10 and 18 km) ozone has recovered even better than changes in CFCs alone would predict. Something else must be affecting the trend at these lower altitudes.

The 'something else' could be atmospheric wind patterns. 'Winds carry ozone from the equator where it is made to higher latitudes where it is destroyed. Changing wind patterns affect the balance of ozone and could be boosting the recovery below 18 km,' says Newchurch. This explanation seems to offer the best fit to the computer model of Yang et al. The jury is sti"

ScienceDaily: Telltale Toenails: Dartmouth Study Finds That Arsenic Inhibits DNA Repair

ScienceDaily: Telltale Toenails: Dartmouth Study Finds That Arsenic Inhibits DNA Repair: "'The DNA repair machinery normally protects us from DNA-damaging agents, such as those found in cigarette smoke,' says Andrew. 'The concern is that exposure to drinking water arsenic may exacerbate the harmful effects of smoking or other exposures.'"

Marketplace: 'Green chemistry' hitting the market

Marketplace: 'Green chemistry' hitting the market:

KAI RYSSDAL: When he said it, Timothy Leary was talking about LSD. But the slogan, 'Better living through chemistry,' originally came from DuPont. Actually, the whole catch phrase was 'Better Things for Better Living . . . Through Chemistry.' DuPont's point was chemistry can improve our daily lives. Decades of toxic spills, pollution and Superfund sites might make you think twice about that. But the backlash has inspired something called green chemistry. And now it's moving out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. Here's Sarah Gardner from the Sustainability Desk.

SARAH GARDNER: If green chemists had their way, there'd be no need for massive toxic clean-ups or class-action consumer safety lawsuits, or company spokesmen forced to defend their most popular brands.

DUPONT SPOKESMAN: In fact, cookware coated with Teflon has been used safely by tens of millions of people for over 40 years and is safe when used properly and as directed.

That was DuPont recently, on the defensive over a long-lasting chemical used to make Teflon. That chemical may ultimately prove safe. But the point, say advocates of green chemistry, is to determine safety before products go to market, not after. Paul Anastas is one of the movement's founders:

PAUL ANASTAS: Green chemistry is the design of new products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.

Anastas and fellow scientist John Warner wrote what you might call the bible of green chemistry in 1998. The book challenged chemists to design with the environment in mind. In the past few years companies like Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland and Pfizer are taking a stab at it.

TV COMMERCIAL: I'm back. I'm back. We're back. If you or your partner isn't living life to the fullest because of erectile difficulties. . . .

Bet you didn't know green chemistry is now behind Viagra. Pfizer"

Household cleaning products, air fresheners may pose health risk

Study: Household cleaning products, air fresheners may pose health risk

Source: Environmental Protection E-News, 5/25/06.

Many common household cleaners and air fresheners, when used indoors under certain conditions, emit toxic pollutants at levels that may lead to health risks, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Elminate Worker Protection Office

Department of Energy To Elminate Worker Protection Office

In what may be the waning months of a prematurely lame-duck Republican administration, the orders seem to have gone out from corporate headquarters: Identify any agencies that are doing a good job, or have the potential to do a good job (especially those that might benefit workers) -- and kill them.

The Department of Energy has revealed a plan to eliminate its office for environment, safety and health. The office was created 20 years ago to respond to radioactive contamination of workers as a result of cold war weapons production. Most of the office's current worker safety and health functions would be transferred to an office dealing with security. The current department is headed by an Assistant Secretary, a political appointee, whereas the security agency is headed by a career DOE employee.

The "official" reasoning seems a bit bizarre:

The department says the reorganization will combine some related functions that are currently separated, like safety and security.

***

Deputy Energy Secretary Clay Sell said, "We are trying to strengthen the way we do environment, safety and health policy."

For example, Mr. Sell said, the department had decided to install a Gatling gun to defend the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. "I can guarantee you that's also a safety issue," Mr. Sell said.

Under the current structure, he said, "policy and oversight and enforcement organizations have kind of been splintered."

A Gatling gun?

The DOE Office of Environment, Safety and Health is basically OSHA for the roughly 130,000 people who work for the department and its contractors.

Disposable Workers

Bob Herbert has a column in the NY Times today where he discuss a recent book by economist Louis Uchitell, The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences. Uchitelle argues corporate leaders have overdone it with layoffs:

Mr. Uchitelle's thesis is that corporate layoffs have been carried much too far, that they have gone beyond a legitimate and necessary response to a changing economy.

"What started as a necessary response to the intrusion of foreign manufacturers into the American marketplace got out of hand," he writes. "By the late 1990's, getting rid of workers had become normal practice, ingrained behavior, just as job security had been 25 years earlier."

In many cases, a thousand workers were fired when 500 might have been sufficient, or 10,000 were let go when 5,000 would have been enough. We pay a price for these excesses. The losses that accrue to companies and communities when many years of improving skills and valuable experience are casually and unnecessarily tossed on a scrap heap are incalculable.

Look at that last highlighted sentence again. Now, think about how employers justify their arguments that we don't really need OSHA to be an enforcement agency that cites and fines companies.

No, no, no:

Aside from being like families, employees are our most important resource. If they get injured or killed, we have lost an enormous investment in their skills and experience and must then find and train new workers. That's quite enough incentive to encourage us to provide a safe workplace.

So employees who are trash (despite their skills and experience) when the bottom line calls for it, suddenly become their most valuable resource when it comes to avoiding regulations and enforcement.

Anyway, just thinking.... Disposable Workers By Jordan

Quick conservation of water urged

"Thirsty lawns a target"

Lawn watering, especially irrigation systems, was the repeated target of criticism from symposium speakers. Vickers, a Massachusetts conservationist, said the No. 1 drinking problem in the United States is not alcohol, but lawns.

Wisconsin has an abundance of groundwater to work with, said Todd Ambs, state water administrator. If all of the groundwater were brought to the surface, it would cover the entire state to a depth of 100 feet, he said.

Ambs said that with new laws on groundwater use in place, and a pending nationwide agreement on regulating Great Lakes water, it is time for the state to implement water conservation plans.

'If we do this right, it is my firm belief that Wisconsin will be the center of the water belt of the United States,' Ambs said. 'This is really what I challenge people and urge people to think about and look to the future, for Wisconsin is a state woven in a fabric drenched in water.

'We have an abundant resource but it is not unlimited. If we do this right, I am firmly convinced . . . that it is a key cornerstone to the future of our economy. If we have a good sustainable water use plan for the future, in another 20 to 25 years it is my prediction that a lot of folks are going to be looking back at the Midwest because the Southwest and the Southeast portions of this country cannot sustain their growth.

'They don't have the water. They're stealing it now to make growth happen.'"

OSHA Does The Darndest Things

"OSHA chief Edwin G. Foulke Jr. , a South Carolina labor law attorney," "OSHA Director Ed Foulke Blames Workplace Carnage on Dumb Employees,"

In a year when families lost loved ones in multiple mining accidents and at a BP refinery in Ohio, the labor community interpreted the remarks as a slam at workers, blaming them for stupid mistakes on the job. Overall, there were close to 6,000 fatalities in 2004, the latest year available, plus 4.3 million injuries and illnesses.

What disturbed labor groups, critics of the Bush administration and families of workers who have been injured or killed were not the kids' posters, but the pictures Foulke juxtaposed alongside them to illustrate dangerous workplace practices.

They were a series of shots of workers doing improbable, dangerous things: someone standing on a ladder in a pool changing a light bulb, a guy on a ladder propped up against a power line, a worker repairing a truck propped up on its side, individuals covered in hazmat suits with an onlooker wearing shorts and T-shirt. ("I hope he wore sunscreen," quipped Foulke.)

"Looking at the posters," said Foulke in the speech, "I was reminded of a couple examples of safety and health bloopers that are both humorous and horrible." He repeated the bloopers in a speech a week later to a Georgia trade group.

It wasn't long before the remarks were being discussed on a widely read blog that covers labor-management issues called Confined Space.

Killed 15 to Be Corporate Hero...

In return for its generious donations to the Texas City College of the Mainland and the College of the Mainland Fondation, the Foundation has decided to select BP as its "Mainland Corporate Hero." BP is the first corporation to be recognized as an honoree at its gala.

But Larry Smith, who teaches at the college and is a founding member of its employee union doesnt' think that a company who has been admitted to the willful killing of 15 workers in an explosion last year is deserving of such an award. According to Smith

naming BP a “hero” so close to the 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery is “really bad judgment and insensitive.”...."We think it is not good to recognize them at this point and certainly not to call them a hero,” said Smith.

The union doesn't think the fact that BP was found to be the nation's top polluter among refineries in 2004 helps matters.

Foundation president David Moss says the award has nothing to do with the company's environmental or safety record.

“BP has made some healthy donations to the foundation, and that is something the gala committee came up with to make its selection,” said Moss.

He said the bottom line is what the company had done for the students and what it had done for the college and the foundation.

***

OSHA fined BP $21.3 million for violations related to the explosion, including 170 "Egregious Willful Violations." and the Department of Justice is preparing a civil suit against the company. Last month, OSHA fined a BP refinery near Toledo, Ohio $2.4 million for unsafe operations.

I guess they don't make heros like they used to.

EPA air toxics emissions declined by 42%.

Environmental Protection Agency - Air Trends - Continued Progress Through 2005

The Clean Air Act directs EPA to establish air quality standards to protect public health and the environment. EPA sets national air quality standards for six principal air pollutants (also called the criteria pollutants): nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and lead (Pb).

Looking at Growth and Emissions
Each year EPA looks at emissions that impact the ambient concentrations of these pollutants. These annual emissions estimates are used as one indicator of the effectiveness of our programs. The graph below shows that between 1970 and 2005, gross domestic product increased 195 percent, vehicle miles traveled increased 178 percent, energy consumption increased 48 percent, and U.S. population grew by 42 percent. During the same time period, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants dropped by 53 percent.

From 1990 to 2002, air toxics emissions declined by 42%. These reductions are the result of implementing stationary and mobile source regulations. Seventy-five percent of air toxics emitted in 2002 are included below as volatile organic compound and particulate matter emissions.

CFC ban repairing ozone layer

A new study shows that a ban on ozone-depleting chemicals has led to a slow recovery of the Earth's protective ozone layer. Researchers say within the next 100 years, the ozone layer could be as strong as it was 25 years ago. But there's still a lot of uncertainty about the recovery process.

More ozone FACTS:
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html
http://www.ozonelayer.noaa.gov/science/basics.htm

Message for Dan (Ipods R4 music & Trix R4 kids)

I left this Comment for Danny Joe...
I agree that Podcasts are for the lazy writers and I won't listen anytime soon.

The next Water-Cars patent (100's) filed

From the FOX news 13 segment: Klein just patented his process of converting H2O to HHO, producing a gas that combines the atomic power of hydrogen with the chemical stability of water. "it turns right back to water.

It seems like every 15 years or so some guy comes along and claims to have come up with a way to turn water into clean burning fuel. The thing is, any elementary school student can turn water into hydrogen and oxygen, which burns very nicely, turning back into water when it burns. If Klien has a truly “energy free” way to electrolyze H then he has a true perpetual motion machine.

Klien's website about the efficiency of the process, but if it isn't greater than 100%, then what's the big deal? The welding device seems kind of neat, but I've read comments that dismiss these kinds of welding torches.

I remember seeing an article like this awhile back. http://www.remnantsaints.com/AlternativeUtilities/Transportation/Bob_Boyce/

When you "cook" down any battery it produces excess H gas (everyone knows this).
The trick is, in a car you do have extra electric current to produce H.

In the early 90's my father and I tried this with very little MPG performance gains.
We used a small container filled with acid and an iron rod (basic battery), then “cooked it” until it produced measurable amounts of H.

There have been similar units available for over ten years like this using the “Brown's Gas” idea http://www.savefuel.ca

I was very excited about the HHO car... now sad it is just another "FOX News" Kittens & Mittens Story.

It does appear that the Simpson’s is the closest thing FOX can produce near reality.

Link to short-on-facts and big-on-hype Fox News story video: http://www.freeenergynews.com/Directory/BrownsGas/

I have yet to hear of anyone who has come up with a way to turn water into hydrogen and oxygen without using more energy than you produce.

Directory:Acetone as a Fuel Additive - PESWiki

# Toyota Prius Owner
* 'Pretty hard to believe that only 2-3 oz. of Acetone could have such a dramatic effect, but my mileage on my Prius went from 43 mpg to over 54 mpg, on the same tank of gas!' (J.; March 21, 2005)
* 'Still getting about 15-20% improvement in my Prius Mileage w/Acetone' (J; April 6, 2005)
* 'Great results in my Prius which is currently in the Tour de Sol Rally. Will post data next week.' (J; May 13, 2005)
* 'Still haven’t finished the Acetone Dyno testing, but it still is helping my Prius and suburban, about 10% on average.' (J; June 7)
* 'Suspended the testing as I have been loaning my car out to different people – too hard to collect data. Still planning to do some Dyno testing when I get some Free time.' (J; Aug. 30, 2005)
# 'I am starting testing using acetone today and looking forward to 60's in my MPG.' (E; May 1, 2006)"
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive

Smoggy Forests - Popular Science

"In 1980, when Ronald Reagan famously said that most air pollution was caused by plants, most people guffawed. Yet he may have been onto something. Scientists have since learned that some flora do produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to smog, and now a study has found that widespread land-management and forest-growing practices are making the problem worse by allowing certain VOC-emitting species to thrive. "
Smoggy Forests - Popular Science:

News: Infant pesticide exposure

New study shows that some newborns may be 65 to 130 times more sensitive to these pesticides than some adults, a level of susceptibility 26 to 50 times higher than previously believed."

Organophosphates may be more dangerous to small children than previously believed.

Some infants may be far more vulnerable to organophosphate pesticides than previously believed, according to a paper published in Pharmacogenetics and Genomics (2006, 16, 183–190).

The new study “raises the question of whether current standards for safe levels of pesticide exposure are sufficiently protective of a vulnerable population,” says Nina Holland, an adjunct professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, and coauthor of the paper.

Current U.S. EPA standards require an extra 10-fold safety factor to protect children compared with adults. But the new study shows higher than previously believed.

Of the 130 Latina women who participated in the study with their newborns, more than 40% worked in agriculture during their pregnancies. The Berkeley researchers measured levels of paraoxonase 1, an enzyme that breaks down the toxic metabolites of organophosphates, as a marker for pesticide susceptibility