Sep 4, 2006
New BioBook - Biodiesel 2020: A Market Survey
A study titled Biodiesel 2020: A Market Survey. Published by Emerging Markets Online in late August, Biodiesel 2020 found the U.S. biodiesel market tripled from 2004 to 2005, growing from 25 million to 75 million gallons. Looking toward the future, biodiesel production should reach 300 million gallon by the end of 2006 and about 750 million gallons in 2007.
Bipolar Disorder Exacts Twice Depression's Toll In Workplace
Bipolar disorder costs twice as much in lost productivity as major depressive disorder, a study has found. Each U.S. worker with bipolar disorder averaged 65.5 lost workdays in a year, compared to 27.2 for major depression. Even though major depression is more than six times as prevalent, bipolar disorder costs the U.S. workplace nearly half as much -- a disproportionately high $14.1 billion annually, mostly due to bipolar disorder's more severe depressive episodes.
Superconductivity Is Key To Conserving Energy, Says Researcher
Dr. Fatih Dogan, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, is working with superconducting materials that might eventually revolutionize the way energy is conserved. Dogan is an author of a new article about the possible mechanisms of superconductivity at high temperatures.
High Levels of Toxic Chemicals Found in Car Interiors
"Sun's Heat and UV Light Exacerbate Toxicity Inside Vehicles, Putting Drivers and Passengers at Risk". "Most people think about cars causing outdoor air pollution, such as smog," said Gearhart. "Now we know that breathing the air and dust inside of cars may be even more dangerous." Another reason to get out of our cars. » original news
The Book That Will Bring Religion And Science Together for social control... Out Tuesday
Yikes... natural social control.
 This is the #1 most e-mailed story on Yahoo News right now. "Scientist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author E.O. Wilson is out to save life on Earth -- literally -- and as a secular humanist has decided to enlist people of religious faith in his mission. The Harvard professor sees science and religion as potential allies for averting the mass extinction of the species being caused by man, as he argues in his latest book, "The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth" (W.W. Norton), due out on Tuesday. Asked whether he could unite two groups with clashing world views, Wilson immediately responded, "I know I can." Picture. » original news |
Workers Die, Shit Happens - By Jordan
What's missing here? Compassion? The concept that accidents can be prevented? That they aren't "just one of those unavoidable things?"
"Sometimes live wires are overlooked," said department spokesman Juan Santos. "So, while [electrocutions are] very unfortunate accidents, they're not uncommon."
"Sometimes live wires are overlooked," said department spokesman Juan Santos. "So, while [electrocutions are] very unfortunate accidents, they're not uncommon."
Worker electrocuted at UNC-CH
A Burlington man touches a live wire while working on lights at Kenan Stadium
CHAPEL HILL - A Burlington man was electrocuted Wednesday at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan Stadium as he and co-workers replaced fixtures and bulbs on the stadium's field lights. Leland S. Williams, 31, died just before noon.
Williams was working on a light bank on the stadium's southeast end, 50 to 60 feet above the ground. According to the state Department of Labor, preliminary reports say Williams was using insulated pliers to cut away insulation when he touched a live wire.
Thanks Jordon!
Sep 3, 2006
Alternative fuels: Biodiesel vs. ethanol
Vegetable oil-based diesel can be made from soybeans (above), rapeseed or palms. Ethanol can be made from corn and is used as an alternative to gasoline.
The International Energy Agency said in July that supplies of biodiesel soared 80 percent in 2005, outpacing a 14 percent increase in the production of ethanol.
A Standard Chartered Bank report says China will import 8.5 million tons of vegetable oils this year
United States: Schwarzenegger Explains Why He Went Green
ABC News: Just days after California passed legislation restricting greenhouse gas emissions, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said fighting for environmental issues is important, even if that meant opposing the president. "I don't think one should look at greenhouse gas emissions or global warming as a political issue," Schwarzenegger told ABC News. "So, if that policy of fighting global warming is against our, the Bush Administration, then so be it." State ...Link
Future won't favor new nuclear plants
Minneapolis Star Tribune: The climate for building new nuclear power plants in the United States hasn't been this good for decades. The Bush administration is solidly behind them. Some prominent foes have changed sides, embracing uranium-derived electricity as the best available answer to global warming. Boosters are wearing told-you-so smiles. And Congress is doing its best to help. After establishing liability limits and start-up assistance for new plants, it voted last year to offer utilities a variety of ...Link
Forget hybrid cars; conserve and think small
Gore touring the world like a rock star while presenting evidence of catastrophic global warming. He then suggests we buy hybrid cars. President Bush was challenged to explain what he is doing about the high price of gasoline. His response is extending tax credits for hybrids. Thomas Friedman, columnist and author of "The World is Flat," claims Detroit's problems result from failing to develop hybrids. Garrison Keillor interrupts his popular "A Prairie Home . Link
Environmental activists, will go nuts on this new project
It's interesting that NASA has resurrected the "Orion" moniker for their latest moonshot. Before Apollo (and even before NASA was NASA) the US floated the idea of spaceships powered by atomic explosions. The idea was not only plausible, but on the drawing boards! It turned out to be not-so-popular, esp. in light of their incredible destructive power. Physicist Freeman Dyson was one of the scientists who worked on this project. His son George Dyson detailed the early exploits of the original Orion project in his book "Project Orion." Another good clearinghouse for Orion info: orion.ttsw.com
Ethical Corporation: The Last Word - The contrarian - For Ford, what colour is green?
Who’s the biggest cynic?
Set aside for a moment these groups’ environmentally obsessed monochromatic view of social responsibility. Is Ford greenwashing? It’s true that manufacturers will find it easier to meet government-mandated fuel efficiency standards by producing ethanol cars.
"The Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists declared they were “appalled” by the change of Ford policy to a focus on flex vehicles. "
The Ruckus Society, Rainforest Action Network, Global Exchange, and Bluewater Network, which jointly run an anti-Ford website, JumpstartFord, lambasted Bill Ford for “manipulating America”.
Set aside for a moment these groups’ environmentally obsessed monochromatic view of social responsibility. Is Ford greenwashing? It’s true that manufacturers will find it easier to meet government-mandated fuel efficiency standards by producing ethanol cars.
"The Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists declared they were “appalled” by the change of Ford policy to a focus on flex vehicles. "
The Ruckus Society, Rainforest Action Network, Global Exchange, and Bluewater Network, which jointly run an anti-Ford website, JumpstartFord, lambasted Bill Ford for “manipulating America”.
Kerala, India puts kibosh on Microsoft after Coke and Pepsi
Kerala, India recently made headlines for instituting a state ban on the sale and production of Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. Now, they're banning Microsoft from state-run schools:
"We have decided that we will use only free software for computer education in Kerala schools. We have implemented the Linux platform in high schools; it will be implemented in other schools step by step," Kerala Education Minister M A Baby told rediff.com.Link (thanks, Sameer)He said an estimated 56,000 teachers in high schools are getting trained on the Linux platform. Here on, nearly 1.5 million students in the 2,650 government and government-aided high schools in the state will no longer use the Windows platform for computer education. Instead, they have switched over to the free GNU/Linux software.
OSHA has issue a standard -- or at least part of a standard.
This increasingly rare phenomenon happened on August 23 when Assistant Secretary Ed Foulke announced that new Assigned Protection Factors (APFs) for respiratory protection programs are being incorporated into OSHA's respiratory protection standard.
It's all a bit complicated, but an article in the Laborers Lifelines magazine attempts to explain it:
It's all a bit complicated, but an article in the Laborers Lifelines magazine attempts to explain it:
The respirator supplied in various situations is based on the hazard faced (e.g. dust respirators for exposures to dusts and gas and vapor respirators for exposures to gases) and the expected level of exposure. The goal, according to OSHA, is to make sure exposure inside the mask does not get above the OSHA permissible exposure limits (PELs). Thus, if a standard allows exposures to 1 mg/m3 of dust and exposures are expected to be less than 10 mg/m3, then a mask with an APF of 10 should provide enough protection.The Lifelines article also explains how this new announcement is a sell-out to industry:
The most controversial part of the new APFs is the lack of any distinction between traditional rubber (elastomeric) masks with cartridge filters and new paper masks (filtering facepieces) that breathe through the entire mask surface. Both are given an APF of 10. This decision was based primarily on data from the respirator manufacturers. Labor unions, including LIUNA, and many other groups testified that filtering facepiece masks should only get an APF of 5 because they do not seal as well against the face to keep out contaminants. A 5 would mean they only protect half as well. Yet, OSHA sided with the manufacturers who have been promoting the filtering facepiece masks which have become a larger share of their business.
Thanks Jordan!
Sep 2, 2006
My information was not false?
Although we did submit a review paper to the CMOS Bulletin, in which we emphasized "alternate" research on non-carbon dioxide causes and quoted peer-reviewed sources, we do not conduct basic scientific research. Mr. Rutherford should simply visit our Web site at www.friendsofscience.org to learn about what we really do before he speaks about us again. We are "Providing Insight into Climate Science," as our masthead says, which includes more than the CO2 theory.
Albert F. Jacobs, M.Sc., P.Geol., Calgary.
Going from gas to electric bike
Cutting back on some of my oil consumption, mostly because of expense, partly because of politics. » original news
The Atomic Automobile
Read the full story at DamnInteresting.com
During the 1950s, much of the world was quivering with anticipation over the exciting prospects of nuclear power. Atomic energy promised to churn out clean, safe electricity that would be “too cheap to meter.” It seemed that there was no energy problem too large or too small for the mighty atom to tackle during the glorious and modern Atomic Age.
It was during this honeymoon with nuclear energy– in 1957– that the Ford Motor Company unveiled the most ambitious project in their history: a concept vehicle which had a sleek futuristic look, emitted no harmful vapors, and offered incredible fuel mileage far beyond that of the most efficient cars ever built. This automobile-of-the-future was called the Ford Nucleon, named for its highly unique design feature… a pint-size atomic fission reactor in the trunk.
Thanks to Hannah King, Librarian at DOE’s Virtual Energy Library, for the pointer
From Laura B.
War plunge the world into a second Great Depression.
Bloomberg News: The death of cheap, abundant crude, peak forecasters warn, might unleash war and plunge the world into a second Great Depression. That's not the prophecy of some apocalyptic cult. Willem Kadijk, a hedge fund adviser, is just one new proponent of a geologic theory known as peak oil. Behind this controversial idea is the belief that global oil production is now at or near its zenith. Once the flow crests and starts to decline – and some geologists say it already has – oil will no longer ... Link
US$1 billion to cut Chinese greenhouse gas emissions
SciDev.Net: The biggest agreement so far to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a developing country was finalised this week (29 August). Under the deal, Asian and European companies will pay two Chinese chemical companies more than US$1 billion to reduce their emissions of one of the most potent gases involved in global warming. The World Bank's Umbrella Carbon Facility brokered the deal, which will reduce emissions of the gas – called HFC-23 – by an amount equivalent to 100 million tonnes of ... Link
China's new rapeseed has "record high oil content" for use as biodiesel ingredient
China's Ministry of Agriculture announced Monday that they had bred a new kind of rapeseed plant with a record high oil content of 54.72 percent. The nearly two percent increase in oil content was achieved by the Institute of Oil Crops Research of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences without genetically modifying the plant. When grown in high altitute regions, the oil content was even higher, the ministry said. The plant was developed specifically to produce more biodiesel per plant. Wang Hanzhong, leader of the development team and research fellow of the institute, said that the Yangtze River Valley could produce 40 million tons of biodiesel per year. Rapeseed is also used to make canola oil and has long been used in Europe to make biodiesel. Rapeseed prices increased from $711US per ton at the end of 2005 to the current $822US a ton.
[Source: Xinhua]
[Source: Xinhua]
So much for recycling: Burials in America deposit 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid
So much for recycling: Burials in America deposit 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid—formaldehyde, methanol, and ethanol—into the soil each year. Cremation pumps dioxins, hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide into the air.
More EHS death facts
- No American has died of old age since 1951... That was the year the government eliminated that classification on death certificates.
- The trigger of death, in all cases, is lack of oxygen. Its decline may prompt muscle spasms, or the "agonal phase," from the Greek word agon, or contest.
- Vultures are now dying off after eating cattle carcasses dosed with diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory used to relieve fever in livestock.
- During a railway expansion in Egypt in the 19th century, construction companies unearthed so many mummies that they used them as fuel for locomotives.
- Eighty percent of people in the United States die in a hospital.
- More people commit suicide in New York City than are murdered.
- It is estimated that 100 billion people have died since humans began.
40,000-Acre Wind Farm Proposed for Iowa
HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) -- Northern Iowa could have one of the nation's largest wind farms by 2008. Iowa Winds LLC wants to build a 200- to 300-megawatt farm covering about 40,000 acres in Franklin County.
'It's not very often you have someone who wants to make a $200 million investment in the county,'' he said. 'That's a huge investment. It's just a win-win for the county.''
Schwarck said Iowa Winds has conducted meteorological studies in southern Franklin County since the company was formed in 2002. The project would be its first wind farm.
Iowa has nearly 900 wind turbines capable of producing 836 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 226,000 average homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
'It's not very often you have someone who wants to make a $200 million investment in the county,'' he said. 'That's a huge investment. It's just a win-win for the county.''
Schwarck said Iowa Winds has conducted meteorological studies in southern Franklin County since the company was formed in 2002. The project would be its first wind farm.
Iowa has nearly 900 wind turbines capable of producing 836 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 226,000 average homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
1 Watt light bulb on market!
Mule Lighting - LED Exit Sign, Emergency Lighting manufacturer: "Series of LED lamps is a breakthrough design. "
Series LED lamps are available in a number of colors and color combinations. Special high-abuse versions, with a sealed circuit board design, are available for the most extreme applications. Mule personnel are always available to work with customers on any special requirements.
Series LED lamps are available in a number of colors and color combinations. Special high-abuse versions, with a sealed circuit board design, are available for the most extreme applications. Mule personnel are always available to work with customers on any special requirements.
- Long life, up to 100,000+ hours
- Significantly reduces maintenance costs
- Standard bulbs consume under 1 watt
- Electricity consumption reduced 80-90%
- Vibration resistant, solid state electronic circuitry
- Internal TVS surge protection
- Low heat generation saves HVAC operating costs
- Variety of sharp, vibrant colors and luminance outputs available
- Wide range of voltages (12 VDC - 277 VAC)
- 120 VAC standard
- Medium base standard
- Investment payback within 1 year
Sep 1, 2006
Fall 2007 EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study
Environmental Protection Agency Grant
http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=10811
http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=10811
News Have a great weekend, I just wrapped up the week in EHS New's below.
Summary of the Week in EHS
Lakeshore Technical College will host We Energies renewable energy workshops on Sept. 13 and 27. Presented by We Energies in collaboration with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, the two workshops are designed for residential customers to learn about renewable energy and systems available for use in the home. Participants will learn how to control energy costs, get tax credits and secure financial assistance to get started with environmentally safe, renewable energy systems. Source: The Sheboygan Press, 8/29/06.
Plasma assisted engines fuel efficient, cleaner
Gasoline, diesel, and turbine engines could soon burn cleaner or be more fuel efficient through the application of Plasma Assisted Combustion, a technology originated and developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and now poised to enter the marketplace. The technology consists of an electronic device that can be attached to an existing fuel injector that applies electrical voltage to the atomized fuel stream prior to combustion - generating a plasma in the fuel. This effect essentially breaks down the long chains of hydrocarbons in the fuel into smaller parts - allowing the fuel to be burned more completely, resulting in more miles per gallon, or reducing harmful emissions.
Source: Physorg.com, 8/30/06.
Fueling the future with citrus waste
To establish ethanol as an alternative to petroleum fuel, researchers are seeking new sources of candidate materials that are cheap, abundant, and sustainable. In Florida, which is one of the world's largest producers of citrus products, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Citrus and Subtropical Products Research Laboratory are looking for ways to use the ~3 million t of wet pulp and peel waste produced every year by citrus-processing companies. The waste could yield 50 million gal of ethanol fuel annually, says Bill Widmer, the researcher heading the project.
Source: Environmental Science & Technology, 8/30/06.
IL: Lt. Gov. praises WMRC biodiesel program
Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn has praised the biodiesel program operated by the Waste Management & Research Center as one of the ways America can reduce its dependence on foreign oil. Quinn visited the University of Illinois to highlight how WMRC uses waste oil from a student dining hall to power its "vegetarian" biodiesel truck. Quinn says such efforts will lead the way to a better future for Illinois.
'Compost effect' may cause global warming to reach crisis point in 2050
Independent (UK): The world faces a catastrophic rise in global warming in 2050 unless urgent action is taken to cut human-induced carbon emissions, a leading academic warned yesterday. Professor Peter Cox, of Exeter University, told the Royal Geographical Society annual conference that temperatures could rise 8C by 2100 because of a "compost effect" which could see carbon dioxide levels increase 50 per cent faster than previously estimated. Currently, around one quarter of carbon ...
EPA Brags About Going 100% Green
Axcess News: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has closed a deal making it the first federal agency to purchase renewable energy, or "green power," equivalent to 100 percent of its annual electricity needs. The agency signed a contract with 3 Phases Energy Services to purchase more than 100 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in renewable energy certificates, effective Sept. 1. The arrangement extends annual green-power purchases to more than 190 EPA facilities nationwide. This ...
Supreme Court case challenges Bush stance on global warming
San Francisco Chronicle: Opening briefs are due before the U.S. Supreme Court today in a case challenging the Bush administration's reluctance to issue regulations to control global warming. California and 11 other states have joined with environmental groups in a legal attack they hope will compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action to curb the release of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. The EPA maintains it has no authority under ...
Brazil Arrests 31 in Environmental Corruption Case
Associated Press: Police arrested 24 federal environmental protection agents accused of falsifying reports and selling illegal permits, and seven people who allegedly bribed the officials, Brazilian authorities said. Federal police said in a statement that the suspects, who were arrested in Rio de Janeiro state on Wednesday, allegedly bought and sold permits for out-of-season fishing and illegal construction. Police said nearly 200 officers participated in the investigation, which began in ...
Ocean Plant Stress Adds More Atmospheric Greenhouse Gas
Voice of America: In the plant kingdom, greener does not always mean healthier. Scientists have found that microscopic ocean algae called phytoplankton actually get greener when they are stressed. A new study finds this is why the tiny plants in a large region of the Pacific are failing to absorb as much of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as they normally do, with implications for global warming. Plants thrive on carbon dioxide just as animals do on oxygen. This is good for the atmosphere because ...
United States: Schwarzenegger makes deals with the Dems
Associated Press: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to cap California's greenhouse gas emissions is just the latest in a string of recent deals with the Democrats that could help him win back the moderate voters so vital to his re-election bid this fall. The deal announced Wednesday between the Republican governor and leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature would make California the first state to limit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases from factories and other industrial ...
Fires and drought ravage southwest China
Agence France-Presse: A major drought affecting millions of people in southwestern China is being called "the worst in a century", as state press reports said searing temperatures had set off uncontrollable fires. Fire fighters and more than 1,500 residents were battling forest blazes that had consumed 67 hectares (165 acres) in the northern part of Chongqing municipality since Wednesday, a report by China Radio International said. Officials in Chongqing were calling the drought the worst ...
Alarm sounds on US population boom
Boston Globe: The United States, now at nearly 300 million people, is the only industrialized country that has experienced strong population growth in the last decade, creating concerns that the boom and Americans' huge appetites for food, water, and land will sharply erode the nation's natural resources in coming years, according to a report released yesterday. The Northeast remains by far the most densely populated region of the nation, but it also had the slowest population growth in the country ...
ABC News: A president who doesn't acknowledge the virtually universal consensus among scientists that mankind is dangerously overheating its home planet stands to be upstaged by a governor -- a fellow Republican -- who does. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reached a deal with state Democrats today on legislation that would make the state the first to impose across-the-board strict greenhouse gas emissions cuts on industry, energy plants and businesses -- the same sort of regulations a ...
U.S. must use less foreign oil
Associated Press: U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar challenged automakers to make sure each car sold in the nation is capable of running on alternative fuels to help reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil. More than 1,000 auto and oil industry representatives attended an energy summit co-sponsored by Lugar and Purdue University on Tuesday. But the Indiana Republican's ideas -- including tougher fuel economy standards -- met resistance from industry officials who said they already were doing their ...
China: Denies Droughts Caused by Big Dams
Inter Press Service: China's worst drought in fifty years has forced Chinese leaders to defend their record of building vast hydro-engineering works at a time when the country's finite water resources are increasingly depleted by population growth and rapid economic development. Authorities have vehemently denied that continuous drought and shortage of drinking water in southwest China, which has affected the lives of 17 million people, are somehow related to the completion this year of the Three Gorges ...
Global Warming Feedback Loop Caused by Methane, Scientists Say
National Geographic: In the ongoing debate over global warming, climatologists usually peg carbon dioxide as the most dangerous of the atmosphere's heat- trapping gases. But methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, might be even more problematic. According to Tessa Hill, a geologist at the University of California, Davis, more methane is released into the atmosphere from ocean deposits during periods of warming than previously thought. This expelled methane ...
United Press International: The newest source of biofuel, an oil alternative, could be algae that feed off of polluting factory emissions, researchers say. "Looking for economical ways to produce biofuel is, shall I say, popular these days," Amir Drory of Kibbutz Ketura, Israel-based Alga Technologies told United Press International. Companies try making the oil alternative from "agricultural products, all kinds of creatures, or fermentation," Drory said. AlgaTech, with Drory ...
The Greening of Work (Original post by By Laura B.)
Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times.
When Toyota Motor Corp. moved one of its divisions into an environmentally friendly, or “green,” building in Torrance three years ago, it expected to save on its energy bills. The building offered natural lighting, electricity-generating rooftop solar panels and water recycling.
But something else also happened. Employee morale jumped while absenteeism fell. The overall energy and worker productivity savings more than offset the added cost of making the facility environmentally friendly.
Ethanol keeps gas prices high?
|
|
Rain gardens — a growing idea taps stormwater
Read the full story in the Grand Rapids Press. (Original post by By Laura B.)
GRAND RAPIDS — Patricia Pennell is happy to help you create a beautiful rain garden in your yard — even if you don’t know or care much about the harmful effects of stormwater runoff.
Ocean plankton absorbs less CO2 than expected
Even phytoplankton are letting us down when it comes to global warming. These microscopic ocean-dwelling plants, which were thought to be gobbling up atmospheric carbon dioxide, are apparently not doing as well as was hoped. In the past, satellite images of ocean colour were the main tool for measuring photosynthetic biomass: the greener the ocean the more CO2 was being taken up by the phytoplankton. This idea now seems to be misleading. » original news
Renewable energy museum planned
Read the full story in the Peoria Journal Star. (Original post by By Laura B.)
Bruce and Joyce Papiech are determined to spread the word about renewable energy sources.
They have created Sustainable Energy Education (SEE), an approved not-for-profit company. They plan to build a 40,000 square-foot museum complex in Sublette near the GSG 40-turbine wind farm, which they also own.
Congressman aims to eliminate SUV tax breaks
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Tax breaks benefiting buyers of sports-utility vehicles fly in the face of a good energy policy and are costing American taxpayers billions of dollars a year, according to a report from Rep. Edward Markey. "It is incredible that the Bush Administration and Republican Congress can be so blind as to leave these tax loopholes in place while our dependence on Middle East oil soars, the price of gasoline spikes, and our soldiers are mired a war in the Middle East," said Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts. » original news
Is Canadian e-waste an environmental disaster in waiting?
Read the full story at Canada.com. (Original post by By Laura B.)
That state-of-the-art personal computer in which you invested more than a thousand dollars as little as two years ago is now worth nothing. Actually, less than nothing. In accountants’ terminology, it’s now a liability — not an asset.
The reason lies within.
Nestled safely within the womb of your user-friendly computer system lurks a conglomeration of contaminating chemicals, heavy metals and plastic compounds that collectively have been proven to cause neurological disorders, a variety of cancers, kidney failure, endocrine disruption and a host of other ills to virtually all parts of the human body.
China nomads on energy's cutting edge (USA Today)
In China, coal is the main source of energy. It also contributes to polluted skies and respiratory disease. As the government works to get 15% of China's energy from renewables by 2020, it is beginning with villages. With a government subsidy, a photovoltaic solar unit is affordable for inhabitants.
EPA to co-sponsor Green-Diesel Technology conference in Chicago
WHAT: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5’s Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative will co-sponsor “Tools and Incentives for Green-Diesel Technology: Lower Emissions, Higher Profits,” a two-day conference on financial programs that fund diesel emission reduction and fuel-efficient technologies for heavy-duty trucks and locomotives. Topics include freight movement and finance, grant and loan programs, and tax incentives. Participants will work together to develop new finance tools and incentives for green-diesel technologies.WHO: EPA Region 5 acting administrator Bharat Mathur, Illinois Department of Transportation secretary Tim Martin, LaSalle Bank senior vice president of surface transportation Rob Hart and other senior-level policy officials in the finance, trucking and rail industries as well as policy-makers in state economic, environmental, energy and transportation agencies.
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 6, 11:30 a.m. until Thursday, Sept. 7, 2:40 p.m.
WHERE: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 230 S. LaSalle St., Chicago.
More information and the latest agenda updates are at www.epa.gov/midwestcleandiesel. To register, e-mail Julie Henning, henning.julie@epa.gov, (312) 886-4882.
China breeds rapeseed with record high oil content for biodiesel
Read the full post at Biopact. (Original post by By Laura B.)
Earlier we had a close look at China’s ambi- tious biofuels pro- gram, and we noticed that the country’s biodiesel industry was underdeveloped, compared to its already large ethanol production capacity. That is now about to change. China has bred a new kind of rape- seed with a record high oil content in a move to develop its biodiesel industry, the Ministry of Agriculture announced. According to Xinhua, the new rapeseed has an oil content of 54.72 percent, nearly two percentage points higher than the previously reported highest oil content, according to a test report from the ministry.
G8 Leaders For $50 Billion Global Solar Fund
"President Gorbachev has called for strong commitments to sustainable energy and warned of the dangers of continued reliance on oil and gas and nuclear power while relegating renewable energy to secondary status. Gorbachev, Green Cross International and its American affiliate Global Green USA, have urged the G8 to make significantly increased investments in renewable energy, including the creation of a $50 billion Global Solar Fund over 10 years." » original news
NASA and Boeing join Brazil to develop biokerosene aviation fuel
Read the full post at Biopact. (Original post by By Laura B.)
Earlier we wrote about biofuels for aviation, reporting that Argentina’s air force carried out the first tests with green fuels in a large aircraft (a C130). We also pointed out the many challenges facing the production of biofuels for airplanes. Now America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Boeing are teaming up with Brazilian biofuel company Tecbio to develop biokerosene (”biojet”).
Iowa offers 100% biodiesel “at the pump”
Read the full (short) story at BrownfieldNetwork.com. (Original post by By Laura B.)
One-hundred percent biodiesel is now available at the pump in some Iowa locations. Prairie Land Co-op is offering B100 at its cardtrol pumps in Ellsworth, Hubbard, and Ackley, Iowa, and B50 at its pumps in Garden City, Iowa. This is the first time B100 is available at the pump.
Public Doesn’t Understand Global Warming
Read the full story at GreenBiz.com. (Original post by By Laura B.)
Recently, the David Suzuki Foundation conducted a focus group about global warming to see where people are at in their understanding of this complex and challenging problem. The results? Let’s just say they were disconcerting, to say the least, says Dr. Suzuki.
Quote of week: "I'm not judging people, I'm judging their actions. It's the same type of distinction that I try to apply to myself, to judge, but not be judgmental." Jeff Melvoin
Have a great weekend
!!!
Christopher Haase
(ESS, Environmentally Sensitive Solutions, Inc.)Director of Environmental, Health & Safety
ESS, Cleaning the world “One Solution at a Time”
Doyle announces mercury guidelines
| Read the full article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
|
It's Not Rocket Science: Making Sense of Scientific Evidence
http://www.llrx.com/features/scientificevidence.htm
Paul Barron reviews the advanced search query features in Google, Yahoo, and other search tools as applied to locating publicly accessible Web-based information on toxic substances and the law. He also comments on the reliability of scientific evidence about toxic substances.
EPA Becomes First Federal Agency to Be Powered 100% Green
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has closed a deal making it the first federal agency to purchase renewable energy, or “green power,” equivalent to 100 percent of its annual electricity needs. The agency signed a contract with 3 Phases Energy Services to purchase more than 100 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in renewable energy certificates, effective Sept. 1. The arrangement extends annual green-power purchases to more than 190 EPA facilities nationwide.
This green-power purchase brings the agency total to nearly 300 million kWh per year, which is equivalent to 100 percent of the electricity EPA uses nationwide annually. It is enough electricity to power 27,970 homes for a year.
“At EPA, we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “For 35 years, EPA has been greening our nation’s landscape. By committing to alternative, renewable power sources, the agency is meeting the president’s call to green our nation’s energy.”
The green power purchasing program began in 1999, when EPA’s Region 9 laboratory, in Richmond, Calif., became the first federal facility to purchase green power equal to its total annual electricity consumption. Since then, the program has steadily expanded to offset demand for conventional electricity sources by supporting such renewable energy sources as wind power, geothermal sources, and biomass primarily through the purchase of renewable energy certificates, or RECs.
RECs help reduce emissions associated with conventional electricity sources. On an annual basis, EPA’s total green power purchases offset more than 600 million pounds of carbon dioxide roughly the amount 54,000 cars emit during a year.
EPA worked closely with the Defense Energy Support Center on this latest green power procurement. The contract, which continues through Sept. 30, 2007, supports the development of wind farms in California, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.
As the first federal agency to purchase 100 percent renewable energy, EPA continues to be an active partner in the agency’s own Green Power Partnership, a voluntary public-private program that promotes renewable energy.
More information: (Original post by By Laura B.)
EPA green power purchases: http://www.epa.gov/greeningepa/greenpower.htm
Green Power Partnership: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/
Mammoth $200M Wind Farm Proposed in Iowa
| HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) -- Northern Iowa could have one of the nation's largest wind farms by 2008. Iowa Winds LLC wants to build a 200- to 300-megawatt farm covering about 40,000 acres in Franklin County.... Full read here |
Last ice age triggered the release of methane
Periods of warming from beneath the ocean, according to U.S. and French researchers. Once in the atmosphere, the methane would have acted as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas.
Three States Award Nearly $33 Million for Biomass Projects
Biomass energy in Illinois, Washington, and Wisconsin has received a boost in the form of $33 million in grants and loans announced by their governors. Pennsylvania is also offering a grant to fund projects that increase biodiesel and ethanol use and production.
GM - nuclear power can generate the electricity needed to produce large amounts of pure hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles.
The public's negative perception of nuclear power, of course, is the drawback. But 20 percent of the electricity produced in America is created with nuclear energy. Hopefully more efforts like those from GM and INL will help change attitudes here and the hydrogen economy can grow.
Basically, nuclear reactor designs have improved over the years and now incorporate more safety features. Best news, a small uranium pellet yields the same energy as 149 gallons of oil and it's emission free. More specific, a pound of nuclear fuel could make enough electricity to produce the hydrogen equivalent of 250,000 gallons of gasoline through hydrolysis.
|
Post By Mike Magda on reactor |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)