The rate of workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry declined in 2005 for the third consecutive year, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. Approximately 4.2 million injuries and illnesses occurred in 2005. The number translates to a rate of 4.6 cases per 100 full-time employees, slightly less than the 4.8 rate reported last year. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao said that "the announcement of workplace injuries and illnesses in 2005 were at an all-time low is more good news for America's workers and reflects the department's effective worker health and safety strategy: (1) compliance assistance; (2) health and safety partnerships with labor; and (3) targeted, aggressive enforcement against bad actors." Read report here...
Nov 1, 2006
Shocking news about Environmental celebrity Eye-Candy
Sadly… on the internet, if it does not have a “shock” value, celebrity, eyecandy or “get rich” theme no one from the general public will read or return to read even the most important information….
So to my colleagues, educators, regulators, scientists and true environmentalists… I am sorry for the “main stream” content.
While it may personally belittle and embarrass me… helping People and the Planet is not about me, it’s about US.
Thanks for putting up with it to read great content!
Sincerely,
Christopher Haase
P.S. The proof it works is that you clicked this link… again sorry ;-)
Wal-Mart aims to phase out some chemicals
I wounder if Wal-Mart ever heard of ESS pH neutral cleaners ;-)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, took another step Monday in its attempt to be more environmentally friendly when it singled out three commercial chemicals it wants phased out among its suppliers. Wal-Mart aims to phase out some chemicals
YIKES! - The great biodiesel con
This has to be wrong?
In Issue Two of the Olive Press we published an article entitled “The benefits of biodiesel”. Several readers wrote in to refute the claims made therein, referring to an article written by George Monbiot in which he points out that biodiesel enthusiasts have accidentally invented the most carbon-intensive fuel on earth.
Read the full story in The Olive Press (Italy).
Link from Laura B. on Biodiesel
Jay Leno Show Biodiesel-Fueled, Turbine-Powered Concept Car
Jay Leno's bio-diesel monster supercar named the EcoJet. The mid-engined beast, originally sketched by Leno and Ed on the back of a napkin, shares design cues with everything from jet aircraft and Formular One racecars, and even, it would appear, the nose of a Cadillac STS. The Leno-Welburn love child is powered by a Honeywell LT-101 turbine engine running in a modified Corvette Z06 hydroformed aluminum frame with aluminum and magnesium structural and chassis components. The shell's composed of a carbon fiber over Kevlar skin. We've got the full press release after the jump, but check out the gallery via the link below to see the real goods in person. » original news (via-hugg.com)
Read the full post at Green Car Congress.
Watch the state of the lakes ecosystem conference on your own computer
The biennial, binational State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) will present a science-based assessment of the state of the Great Lakes Basin with special emphasis on chemical integrity Nov. 1-3, 2006. Webcast link here (http://registration.mshow.com/ecs/)
| Source: US EPA Region 5. |
How toxic is your body?
She's just a teenager and lives in the country - but Bethan already has 17 different gender-bending chemicals in her blood. As our disturbing tests reveal, many adults have TWICE that... and it's common household products that are to blame...
They seem innocuous but many everyday household products - from face creams to computers and even carpets - contain chemicals that could seriously damage our health. Several studies have recently linked gender-bending chemicals to genital malformation, infertility and cancer.
Last week a study for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) suggested that they could account for the rise in breast cancer - over the past 30 years the number of cases has risen by 81 per cent. Read more here at Source: Daily Mail (UK).
DOE Offers $17 Million for New Cellulose-Fermenting Organisms
A new DOE effort focuses on the yeasts and bacteria needed to convert cellulosic biomass—such as grasses, wood chips, and agricultural residues—into ethanol. DOE expects to provide $17 million for the effort this fiscal year. Letters of intent for the project are due by November 16th. Full read here
High court set to hear power plant case
Arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court are scheduled for Wednesday in a pollution case where the Bush administration is siding against a power company in order to be consistent with its position in the lower courts. Full MSNBC read here
Oct 31, 2006
Sir Nicholas Stern - Thanks for visiting!
Your articles, ideals & presentations truly help the world understand better.
Thanks, Christopher Haase
Sir Nicholas Stern leads a major review of the Economics of Climate Change and Philosophy at Harvard University; previously Master of Trinity College, ...A Presentation by Sir Nicholas Stern's is available for Download (pdf) This lecture will provide one of the first presentations of the initial findings of the ongoing review.
Audio files of Stern are available here.
- This "global warming" thing... what Watt is what? "Their mantra is best described as another wishful positive feedback mechanism to justify their faith in unreliable models." The bottom line here is that the Stern report is unwittingly correct in one aspect. Stern says that the ...
- Warming threatens world economy, study says The report by Nicholas Stern, who heads Britain's Government Economic Service, calls for a new round of international collaboration to cut greenhouse gas emissions ... Link (via- EcologicalInternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry)
- Pandemic - Ten years to save the planet Observer: The Stern Report will tomorrow reveal that if governments do nothing, climate change will cost more than both world wars and render swathes of the planet uninhabitable. Can the world find the will to act? ...
- Spend, spend, spend plan to tackle warming Sir Nicholas Stern, a former chief economist with the World Bank, may not speak for all of his colleagues across the globe, but he appears to have reached a startling conclusion: climate change could tip the world economy into a ...
Photo via: oxfordandcambridge.be
Homeowners Think Green on Improvements
"Wells Fargo survey found that Americans are showing signs of becoming more environmentally aware and want to take actions that save money, help preserve the environment, as well as add value to their home,".
For home owners dreaming of making improvements, environmentally friendly changes are the top choice, according to a survey released on Monday by Wells Fargo. 24 percent of those surveyed "dream green" and would purchase insulation, double-paned windows, solar panels and energy-efficient appliances, according to the bank's third annual US homeowners study.
Michael Hawthorne - of the Chicago Tribune, Thanks for visiting my Blog.
If you have more articles or comments of interest on BioFuels, GreenCleaners, Green Washing or Energy please send them my way!
Michael, keep writing... we will keep reading ;-)
Christopher Haase
Environmentally Sensitive Solutions, Inc.
ESS, Cleaning the world ...One Solution at a Time.
Here are a few previous Ethanol posts of interest for you:
- Reformulated Gasoline: Five Years Later
- top-eco-cleaners-we-have-winner
- Ethanol vs Biodiesel vs Gasoline
- Ethanol gets up to $6.8B in subsidies
- Ethanol Fool; fleeced or famine
- Ethanol - Americas Big Fat Loser
- Ethanol E85 not UL approved
- Ethanol gimmick
- Ethanol to rob 100's million's of worlds fresh water
- Why gas prices are soooo high.... really.
- `Green' Companies Might Cost You Your Green
- neither-party-cares-about-middle-class
GreenFuel Technologies - Who are they?
They visit my blog... now I visit them.
They have a patented Emissions-to-Biofuels™ (E2B™) process harnesses photosynthesis to grow algae.
With the DOE supporting this... we wish GreenFuel Technologies Corp. the best.
If you need a few EHS pro's to help, let me know ;-)
From their website: (click here to read more)
How It Works
The Emissions-to-Biofuels™ process is a flexible platform for converting CO2 emissions into a range of renewable fuels. The process is designed to be retrofitted to flue stacks with minimal impact to ongoing operations. The process schematic diagram is shown in the following figure: 
Proven tech - The bioreactor productivities suggest annual yields of 5,000-10,000 gallons of biodiesel and a comparable amount of bioethanol per acre!
Pint-sized Car Engine Promises High Efficiency, Low Cost
Seriously, MIT can't do better than this?
Injecting more volatile liquid into the combustion chamber is decades old.
A two stroke direct inject diesel will blow this thing away. Now add propane injection and a turbo to the diesel and we have something efficient. Never mind, there already on the road (and rails).
Seriously, there are REAL cutting edge engine concepts all over the world improving efficiencies 200-300%. Before big auto will listen... come up with something ingenious that hasn't been done.
I loved the picture enough to post the article (made me giggle) Researchers demonstrating efficiency on a MACbook (more giggles ;-) sweeeet!
MIT researchers will have an engine that can go as much as 30 percent farther on a gallon of fuel than an ordinary engine. Moreover, the little engine provides high performance without the use of high-octane gasoline. Read more here VIA-sciencedaily.com
EPA Voluntary Programs Cut Emissions and Save Consumers Billions
In 2005, EPA’s 12 voluntary climate protection programs prevented 63 million metric tons of carbon equivalent emissions - up from 57 million in 2004, according to a new EPA report released today.
Highlights of the report, Energy Star and Other Climate Protection Partnerships 2005 Annual Report, include savings from the government’s Energy Star program. Americans, with the help of Energy Star, avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 23 million automobiles in 2005 – up from 20 million in 2004 – while saving about $12 billion on their energy bills. Americans also saved a significant amount of energy in 2005 – 150 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) – or about 4 percent of the total 2005 electricity demand.
Other voluntary climate protection programs included in the report are the Climate Leaders Program, the Green Power Partnership, Methane Programs and initiatives that develop clean energy solutions and minimize emissions of other non-carbon dioxide gases. The report details the environmental and economic accomplishments of these programs and outlines goals for 2006 and beyond. (thanks for link Via Laura B. lib.wmrc.uiuc.edu)
Brownout at the EPA
The agency shuts down five public libraries full of environmental data, and employees and activists question the motives. Read the full story at Salon.com (Via - Laura B. wmrc.uiuc.edu).
Warming threatens world economy, study says
Washington Post: Failing to curb the impact of climate change could damage the global economy on the scale of the Great Depression or either world war, according to a report issued yesterday by the British government. The environmental devastation could cost between 5 and 20 percent of the world's gross domestic product, the report found. The report by Nicholas Stern, who heads Britain's Government Economic Service, calls for a new round of international collaboration to cut greenhouse gas emissions ... Link (via- EcologicalInternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry)
Farmers eye carbon as new climate crop
As concerns grow that industrial emissions are fueling global warming, green spaces such as Sen. Richard Lugar’s farm have taken on an unforeseen value that could pay off for farmers. Read full Via MSNBC
Is Wal-Mart Really Saving the World?
Spinmeister of the day award (at least so far) goes to Andrew Ruben, Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Sustainability for Wal-Mart. Ruben was one of the speakers at an opening plenary at the SEJ2006.Baltimore Sun reporter Tim Wheeler introduced Ruben by pointing to Wal-Mart's three environmental goals: that its energy use should be 100 per cent renewable; that it should produce zero waste; and that it should sell products that are are environmentally sustainable. Wheeler asked, Is that for real?
Ruben immediately redefined the goals as inspirational injunctions to Wal-Mart staff. He acknowledged that they are achievable only in the very long term, but he insisted (correctly) that they are no less worthy. And he admitted (or stated, or posited; I don't want to imply anything unnecessary) that Wal-Mart is still in business; the company has not suddenly remade itself as a philanthropic organization.
Ruben's most compelling points were that Wal-Mart is really making headway in addressing some environmental issues. For example, it has retrofitted its truck fleet with auxilliary power units that allow it to save 10 million gallons of deisel fuel a year - reducing its greenhouse gas production by 100,000 tonnes.
Wal-Mart has also started to push compact fluorescents, expanding their presence and visibility in the stores. As a result of this fairly subtle marketing change, Wal-Mart hopes to sell 100 million compact fluorescents this year, resulting in a further saving of 25 million tonnes of CO2.
Oct 30, 2006
EPA Announces New Computer Efficiency Requirements
With an eye to saving U.S. households and businesses more than $1.8 billion in energy costs over the next 5 years, today EPA announced new Energy Star specifications for computers and related equipment. These new modifications are also expected to prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to the annual emissions of 2.7 million cars. Read full via- www.glrppr.org
YIKES! UK issues warning, hires Gore
Unchecked global warming will devastate the world economy on the scale of the world wars and the Great Depression, a major British report said Monday.
The rich get green, get green, get green, get green...
| Get Rich: The Eco-Advantage | |
 | Every few years or so, American companies and consumers embrace the concept of green business. But something seems different about our current green awakening. This time, the action is being driven as much by markets as morality. Here's a look at 50 of the most intriguing companies that are helping to drive today's green revolution. You might say they've found a way to do good and get rich. Read full story (from inc.com)
|
 | THE INDUSTRIALIST |
 | THE ROAD CREW |
 | THE BUILDERS |
 | THE CONVERTS |
 | THE PIONEERS |
 | THE FUTURISTS |
 | THE INTEGRATORS |
| THE BUILDERS |
Leading Greenspirit, not failing with Greenpeace
Patrick Moore of Greenspirit believes - Fifteen years of Greenpeace campaigns later I had some new insights. It was time to switch from confrontation to consensus, time to stop fighting and start talking with the people in charge. I became a convert to the idea of sustainable development and the need to consider social and economic issues along with my environmental values. I adopted the round table, consensus approach as the logical next step in the evolution of the movement for sustainability.
Little did I realize at the time how this would bring me into open and direct conflict with the movement I had helped bring into the world. I now find that many environmental groups have drifted into self-serving cliques with narrow vision and rigid ideology. At the same time that business and government are embracing public participation and inclusiveness, many environmentalists are showing signs of elitism, left-wingism, and downright eco-fascism. The once politically centrist, science-based vision of environmentalism has been largely replaced with extremist rhetoric. Science and logic have been abandoned and the movement is often used to promote other causes such as class struggle and anti-corporatism. The public is left trying to figure out what is reasonable and what is not.
For more details fro Patrick Moore : Hard Choices for the Environmental Movement
EPA Tightens Up Power Specs For PCs
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday (Oct 24) the first update in seven years to its Energy Star program for power saving PCs. On average, the revised requirements for the Energy Star program will require PCs to be 65 percent more power efficient than current models." » original news
Job and Environmental Blackmail
| Now that a few religious groups are starting to think that maybe blowing up entire mountains, removing the coal, and then dumping the leftover debris into neighboring valleys and streams (also known as "mountaintop removal") isn't what God intended us to do with her earth, the coal companies are politely informing them that although they're well-intentioned, they're also misguided:
Well, that's not precisely how they word their defense of mountaintop removal, but it's the general idea. Their exact words were:
|
Oct 29, 2006
Blaim game - How sport is killing the planet
Guardian: One of the reasons why so little has been done to stop climate change is that everyone makes an exception for themselves. We can all agree, for example, that there are too many cars on the roads, while insisting that we cannot possibly leave ours at home. The same problem applies to businesses: the people who run them might agree that collective action urgently needs to be taken, but unfortunately their sector is just too important and its requirements too demanding. This seems to be the ... Link (via EcologicalInternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry)
More Pandemic - The End of the World As We Know It?
Huffington Post: In a week or so, the New York Review of Books is going to publish an article by James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia hypothesis (in which the Earth is viewed as more than an ecosystem, closer to a living being, that can be healthy or diseased, and can change, through evolution, from one state to the other). Lovelock will declare that the Earth's temperature is about to rise five to eight degrees centigrade (depending on where you are -- more at the poles, less in the tropics), and that ...Link via (EcologicalInternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry)
Pandemic - Ten years to save the planet
Observer: The Stern Report will tomorrow reveal that if governments do nothing, climate change will cost more than both world wars and render swathes of the planet uninhabitable. Can the world find the will to act? Gaby Hinsliff reports It is almost Halloween, and Rachel from San Francisco is worrying about pumpkins. She saved last year's decorations to use again, and recycled rather than bought new cards to send: there will be no waste once the pumpkins are carved, with the family eating ... Link (via: EcologicalInternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry)
Oct 28, 2006
Ethanomics - good for ADM, bad for farmers
Ethanol, for all its clear, yellow goodness, really is a cloudy thing. The ethanol situation in American is especially confusing. No one has a complete handle on the politics of biofuels, the price of oil, and all the ways to turn different types of biomass to ethanol. Thankfully, the confusing picture doesn't stop people from trying to figure it out. Why am I thankful about this? Because if they did, I wouldn't have much to write about, now, would I?
The latest to attempt to get an overview of the corn and soy landscape is Tom Philpott, who writes about "Ethanomics" over at Grist. His story's subhead says it all: "The shining promise of ethanol doesn't add up for farmers." The somewhat longer (but still short) version Philpott describes is that low corn prices help corn processors like ADM, not farmers. Even with ethanol demand pushing corn prices up, and farmers banding together to invest in their own ethanol plants, farmers may not be able to make any real profit in the ethanol biz because - thanks to everyone having the same idea at the same time - we're about to enter a time of excess ethanol. ADM, with deep pockets and the drive to buy up small ethanol producers, will weather the storm. For farmers, Philpott doesn't see the clouds breaking quite so nicely.
[Source: Grist/Tom Philpott- VIA autobloggreen.com]
The latest to attempt to get an overview of the corn and soy landscape is Tom Philpott, who writes about "Ethanomics" over at Grist. His story's subhead says it all: "The shining promise of ethanol doesn't add up for farmers." The somewhat longer (but still short) version Philpott describes is that low corn prices help corn processors like ADM, not farmers. Even with ethanol demand pushing corn prices up, and farmers banding together to invest in their own ethanol plants, farmers may not be able to make any real profit in the ethanol biz because - thanks to everyone having the same idea at the same time - we're about to enter a time of excess ethanol. ADM, with deep pockets and the drive to buy up small ethanol producers, will weather the storm. For farmers, Philpott doesn't see the clouds breaking quite so nicely.
[Source: Grist/Tom Philpott- VIA autobloggreen.com]
Amazon destruction at lowest level since 1991, Brazilian government says
Good news from Brazil. Deforestation in the Amazon is on the decline. Due to strict environmental regulations Amazon destruction is at its lowest since 1991. The Amazon rain forest is the world's largest remaining tropical wilderness, covering 60 percent of Brazil, an area larger than Western Europe. » original news (via-hugg.com)
EPA Dives into Water Efficiency
Looking to expand the water efficiency market, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its first set of specifications to certify professionals in this field. Under the agency's WaterSense program, the specifications set technical requirements for certifying landscape irrigation professionals. Certification programs that meet the EPA's requirements will earn the WaterSense label. » original news (Via-hugg.com)
Companies Come Clean About Environmental Violations
PHILADELPHIA - Eight companies that voluntarily disclosed and corrected environmental violations had penalties waived by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the result of an EPA policy that has been successful in getting companies to make good-faith efforts in self-policing their own environmental compliance. » original news (via-hugg.com)
Spend, spend, spend plan to tackle warming
Guardian: Line up all of the world's economists end to end, the old joke goes, and they would still fail to reach a conclusion. By Monday afternoon the gag could sound a little hollow. Sir Nicholas Stern, a former chief economist with the World Bank, may not speak for all of his colleagues across the globe, but he appears to have reached a startling conclusion: climate change could tip the world economy into a terrible recession and we must start spending serious money to stop it. Commissioned ...Link (via EcologicalInternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry)
Pres. Bush will meet with Big 3 chiefs; alternative fuel incentives on the agenda
Leaders of GM, Ford and the Chrysler Group will finally meet with Pres. Bush in November. The confab has been postponed twice. A White House spokesperson said the meeting will be mid-November but no specific date has been set. It won't be before the elections to avoid political baggage dragging down the agenda. Incentives for alternative-fuel vehicles are likely to be a hot topic.[Source: Reuters via CNN Money VIA autobloggreen.com]
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