Even a region known for its water can get a little parched, as shown by the U.S. Drought Monitor late last month. Droughts in the Midwest are far less significant than those in the South, which looks like a swollen, red bee sting in this graphic from the U.S. Drought Monitor. But parts of Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula clearly show areas of severe drought. The National Drought Mitigation Center classifies a severe drought as one that might result in crop or pasture losses, water shortages and imposed water restrictions. Drought in these ...
Oct 5, 2011
EPA awards $1.3M for 2 area projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $1.3 million for two Toledo-area projects designed to put 58 unemployed people to work on Lake Erie restoration projects; $1 million more in Great Lakes funding will go toward controlling invasive plants in Lorain County.
Palisades nuke plant restarts after week shutdown
Operators of the Palisades nuclear plant on Sunday restarted the power generator on the Lake Michigan shoreline after a one-week shutdown following a mechanical problem, utility officials said.
Oct 4, 2011
Largest ever ozone hole in the Arctic
Nature - A hole that developed in the Earth's protective ozone layer over the Arctic this year was the largest ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere and spread over parts of northern Russia, Greenland and Norway, the journal Nature reports. For the first time, the hole was comparable to one that appears regularly over the Antarctic, researchers found.
The ozone layer in the upper stratosphere provides a shield against UV radiation from the sun that can cause skin cancer and catar - Nature
The ozone layer in the upper stratosphere provides a shield against UV radiation from the sun that can cause skin cancer and catar - Nature
Impact of a Bill Similar to S.2877, the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act
Response to Questions about Estimating the Budgetary Impact of a Bill Similar to S.2877, the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act
- Letter to the Honorable Maria Cantwell
This letter responds to your request for information about the methodology the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) would use to estimate the budgetary impact of a bill similar to S. 2877, the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act, which was introduced in the 111th Congress. In particular, you asked about how CBO would apply the "revenue offset" to the estimate of net revenues that would result from enacting the bill. Although CBO did not prepare a cost estimate for S. 2877, we can provide some general information about how the agency has projected the budgetary impact of similar legislation that would limit the emission of greenhouse gases through the issuance of tradable allowances or permits.
Oct 3, 2011
Oct 2, 2011
Honda leads all automakers with 11 LEED-certified sites in North America
In North America's green race, Honda LEEDs the pack. Honda now leads all automakers with 11 certified "green buildings" in North America.
Honda's North American powertrain division in Anna, OH and its Canadian headquarters in Ontario (pictured) both recently earned LEED certification from the nonprofit Green Building Council, bringing the automaker's LEED-certified total to 11 facilities in North America.The nonprofit awards LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for buildings that are designed to minimize energy use and the carbon footprint. LEED certification has become an increasingly popular badge, with automakers seeking the designation for facilities around the world. Honda's first LEED-certified site in North America was the company's Portland, OR parts warehouse, which earned the coveted designation back in 1999.
Continue reading Honda leads all automakers with 11 LEED-certified sites in North America
The Solar Decathlon Winner – #SD2011
After all the scores have been gathered and added, the Department of Energy today announced that the overall winner of Solar Decathlon 2011 is Maryland for WaterShed. Team Purdue finished in second place with INhome, and Team New Zealand finished in third place with First Light.
Solar Decathlon Director Richard King said, "Maryland's Watershed is a beautiful house, judged first place in Architecture, which also performed impeccably in measured contests. This team mastered their strategies to ensure they excelled in all 10 contests," according to the DOE.
Maryland's WaterShed was consistently in the lead throughout the competition and was particularly popular among the locals and most visitors to the Solar Decathlon.
WaterShed features include a solar thermal wall, green roof, a garden, and edible wall system, together with a modular constructed wetland that helps filter and recycle greywater from the shower, clothes washer, and dishwasher. Inside, WaterShed had two liquid desiccant waterfall systems for humidity control and a home automation system.
[+] More info about the Solar Decathlon in Washington D.C.
Credit: Jim Tetro/U.S. DOE.
Dear people who believe that the world will end In 2012,
Dear people who believe that the world will end In 2012,
You realize that the Mayans also believed people were made of corn, right...Sincerely, yeah, we'll be fine.
Oct 1, 2011
Michigan Nuke Plant Venting Radioactive Steam
Susie Madrak
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/michigan-nuke-plant-venting-radioacti
Entergy's Palisades nuclear plant near South Haven on Lake Michigan is venting radioactive steam into the environment as part of an unplanned shutdown triggered by an electrical accident.
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/michigan-nuke-plant-venting-radioacti
Entergy's Palisades nuclear plant near South Haven on Lake Michigan is venting radioactive steam into the environment as part of an unplanned shutdown triggered by an electrical accident.
This shutdown, which began Sunday evening, came just five days after the plant restarted from a shutdown that was caused by a leak in the plant's cooling system.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Prema Chandrithal said that the current shutdown happened because an object slipped during work on a circuit breaker and caused an arc that took out power for one of two DC electrical systems that power safety valves and other devices.
According to a notice filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the plant is stable and "controlling temperature using Atmospheric Dump Valves."
"The steam that would normally go to the generators, that steam is now going into the environment … through the steam stack," said Chandrithal. "This would have very low levels of tritium."
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.
The plant is monitoring the levels and will report them to the NRC, Chandrithal said.
Peak oil, uranium, phosphorus - Sept 29
- N. American oil output could top 40-year-old peak
- The End of Cheap Uranium
- Peak Phosphorus (video from ABC Australia's "Catalyst")
Arsenic is Life and the View From Nowhere
Felisa Wolfe-Simon. Photo Tom Clynes/Popular Science
Popular Science has run what strikes me as a nicely nuanced profile on Felisa Wolfe-Simon, the young scientist who, along with senior collaborators, made strong claims last December that they induced Mono Lake bacteria to substitute arsenic for phosphorus in their physiology and even in their DNA. I wrote and spoke about the handling of these claims, with some pique, several times. The Pop Sci article follows Wolfe-Simon as, among other things, she poses and talks for a TV program about her findings. People like me, who feel that the hype about these findings runs far out in front of the evidence, find this courting of the press troubling. Yet Tom Clynes, the writer, manages to generate some sympathy for how awkwardly Wolfe-Simon is now caught in the fallout from an over-the-top media press of which she is both part author and something of a victim. I need to give the story another read. But at this point I suspect the challenge I feel to my own stance on Wolfe-Simon speaks to the story's quality.
Meanwhile, I know that part of what unsettles me about this story, regardless of how much sympathy one feels is due Wolfe-Simon (and I generally lean toward sympathy), is how both NASA and her mentors and former lab heads seem to have abandoned Wolfe-Simon. It appears they bought and fueled the bus; put bright lights and banners on it; cheered as Wolfe-Simon... Read on Arsenic is Life and the View From Nowhere
$4 Trillion + Missing Money: What’s the Action?
By Catherine Austin Fitts
Someone called last night to talk about "the missing money" – or $4 trillion plus missing from the United States government. They were keen to figure out what the solution was, given that the US government has had many years to produce audited financial statements.
Read the missing money
New video promoting the wonderful Madison, WI region
By Rick Terrien
I love the area where I live and work. Both sides of my family lived in Wisconsin by 1850.
I recently helped with a video promoting the Madison, WI region. This was for a new economic development initiative called Advance Now.
Watch this video. My contributions are at the beginning and the end.
Sustainability Hacks: Heliostats
Solar panels are a popular item among people who are trying to do more with less but, at least in the past, they have been pretty expensive to install. For some uses, you can forget using solar panels and use the sunlight directly with very little efficiency loss. A device that lets you do that is called a heliostat, which is really just a fancy mirror that you can set to reflect sunlight to wherever you might want it. You could aim it through a window so that it hits your ceiling and diffuses throughout the room or you could point it towards a location where you could collect the sun's energy to heat something directly.
For a really good rundown on how heliostats work and how you can build one, check out this page where you can find all sorts of information. Heck, they even have an Arduino controlling some of them!
Illnesses Associated With Insecticides Used to Control Bed Bugs
Acute Illnesses Associated With Insecticides Used to Control Bed Bugs — Seven States, 2003–2010— Seven States, 2003–2010 Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC) The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, is a wingless, reddish-brown insect that requires blood meals from humans, other mammals, or birds to survive (1). Bed bugs are not considered to be disease vectors (2,3), [...]
The renewable revolution
For a change, here is a non-Cassandric post. The growth of photovoltaic and wind energy has been impressively fast during the past 2-3 decades. We have generated an energy revolution: renewable power has a market and it grows. It is a revolution that can't be stopped any more. read more
Axeon Electric Battery Could Provide EV’s With 35% More Range
Until electric vehicles can provide the same range and convenience as today's gas-powered automobiles, they will not find much of a mass market. UK-based Axeon has announced that their new battery pack could extend EV range by as much as 35% when compared with a lithium-ion pack of the same size.
The Axeon battery pack uses Nickel Cobalt Maganese electrochemistry, rather than the standard lithium-ion phosphate chemistry that is popular in today's EV's and hybrids. Theoretically, the NCM setup would also be 50% smaller and 30% lighter, which would be a huge boon to weight-sensitive EV's.
Right now Axeon is looking for a demonstrator car to plug their new pack into. This isn't the first big battery breakthrough we've heard of, and it isn't likely to be the last. But if Axeon can verify these claims, NCM batteries may replace lithium-ion batteries sooner, rather than later.
Source: Manufacturing Digital
Siemens’ low-energy desal system – Deal or no deal?
At Singapore's International Water Week conference in July, Siemens announced the results of its low-energy electrodialysis desalination system. The project for the Singapore government targeted energy usage of just 1.5 kWh/m3, which is near the theoretical limit* for desalination technology. Siemens operated the Singapore plant for the last three years, and during that period reduced its energy consumption to 1.7 kWh/m3. However, they explained to Lux that the system's opex and capex still needed improvement to be truly competitive with seawater reverse osmosis (RO). Contractually, failing to reach the 1.5 kWh/m3 target holds no penalty. Siemens said that it had completed optimization of the plant, but added that it's still working in the lab to reduce costs. It aims to unveil the product of that work in 12 months to 24 months.
In learning more about this technology, some things stood out to us. First, the system's membrane is 10 times more expensive than the threshold for cost effectiveness. This is especially striking given that it's an off-the-shelf product with no modifications. In addition, the system achieved a relatively low freshwater recovery of 35%. Although electrodialysis systems are not expected to require as much pretreatment as reverse osmosis, this system operated behind an existing ultrafiltration membrane, signifying a best-case scenario. Further, this solely Siemens-driven effort created more than 100 invention disclosures, suggesting the project is at least as much research as development.
While Siemens has proven it is possible to approach the theoretical limits of energy use for desalination using electrodialysis, it has yet to prove it can do so in a cost effective way. Without this, it is unlikely this system will see the widespread implementation implied from the buzz surrounding its press release.
Understanding the reduction in percentage of oil imports in the United States
NPR had a claim - two years ago, America was importing about two thirds of its oil. Today, according to the Energy Information Administration, it imports less than half.
The actual levels seem to be more of a shift from 61-63% imports to 47% imports. 3.8 million barrels per day of lower oil imports but 1.8 million barrels per day is from lower oil usage. A lot of the lower oil usage is because of the higher prices for oil and a weaker economy.
Net imports of oil and fossil fuel liquids have decreased to 8.0 to 9.5 million barrels per day in 2010 and 2011 (average about 9.0 million barrel per day). From 2005 to 2007, the net imported crude oil and petroleum products was 12.0 to 13.3 million barrels per day (average about 12.8 million barrels per day)
The total petroleum supplied to the United States from 2005 to 2007 was 19.7 to 21.4 million barrels per day (average about 20.8 million barrels per day). In 2010 and 2011 the petroleum used has been 18.1 to 20.2 million barrels per day (average petroleum used has been 19.0 million barrels per day).
Domestic crude oil production has increased about 500,000 to 700,000 barrels per day.
Ethanol is up about 100,000 to 200,000 barrel per day and natural gas liquids have increased.
The actual levels seem to be more of a shift from 61-63% imports to 47% imports. 3.8 million barrels per day of lower oil imports but 1.8 million barrels per day is from lower oil usage. A lot of the lower oil usage is because of the higher prices for oil and a weaker economy.
Net imports of oil and fossil fuel liquids have decreased to 8.0 to 9.5 million barrels per day in 2010 and 2011 (average about 9.0 million barrel per day). From 2005 to 2007, the net imported crude oil and petroleum products was 12.0 to 13.3 million barrels per day (average about 12.8 million barrels per day)
The total petroleum supplied to the United States from 2005 to 2007 was 19.7 to 21.4 million barrels per day (average about 20.8 million barrels per day). In 2010 and 2011 the petroleum used has been 18.1 to 20.2 million barrels per day (average petroleum used has been 19.0 million barrels per day).
Domestic crude oil production has increased about 500,000 to 700,000 barrels per day.
Ethanol is up about 100,000 to 200,000 barrel per day and natural gas liquids have increased.
Oil Production has increased and will continue to increase in the United States.
Chesapeake Energy expects to increase its net liquids production by 50%, to more than 150,000 barrels a day by the end of 2012. By the end of 2015, the company expects to increase its liquids production by 150%, climbing to more than 250,000 barrels a day. Chesapeake plans to boost its rig count in the Utica shale to 10 by the end of 2011, double the current number, and said it'll be drilling with 20 rigs by the end of 2012 and with up to 40 by the end ....
Global spending on advanced oil, gas exploration tech to hit $10.17 billion in 2011
Although the Arctic has incredible potential energy resources - the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates 90 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 1,668 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas - extracting that fuel will be costly.
A calculated and cautious approach to exploitation will be vital to optimal development, according to the UK-based analytical firm Visiongain. Due to the lack of geological data in the Arctic, oil and gas exploration and extraction will be a high-risk, massive-reward venture in which only the most experienced and wealthy of companies will compete.
Visiongain predicts that global spending on advanced oil and gas exploration technologies, including those used in the Arctic, will exceed $10.17 billion in 2011 and soar to exorbitant levels by 2021. Why all this spending? Well, as the world shifts to discovering hidden oil and gas deposits, the exploration industry will be required to use advanced surveying methods and outrageously expensive equipment. This kind of energy doesn't come cheap.
Continue reading Global spending on advanced oil, gas exploration tech to hit $10.17 billion in 2011
5% health: The risk of catabolic collapse and peak fat in modern health systems
Peak oil, and peak fat, are transforming the logic that currently shapes the global biomedical system. Firstly, because coming energy famines will render one of the world's most energy-intensive systems unsustainable. And second, because until the medical system addresses the causes of illness with the same brilliance with which it addresses the effects, the population will continue to get sicker.
Sep 29, 2011
You're Invited to UWM's Green Roof Ribbon Cutting
On October 18 celebrate the unveiling of UWM's latest green roofs.
Several green roof extensions were added to Sandburg Hall as well as a 50,000 sq ft green roof addition to Golda Meir Library. The Library has also received a new 30kW solar photovoltaic system! See for yourself how renewable energy, stormwater management, and energy conservation have all come together "on one roof".
Part of UWM Sustainability Day October 18, 2011 2-4pm
Presentations, Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Green Roof Viewing and Tours
Several green roof extensions were added to Sandburg Hall as well as a 50,000 sq ft green roof addition to Golda Meir Library. The Library has also received a new 30kW solar photovoltaic system! See for yourself how renewable energy, stormwater management, and energy conservation have all come together "on one roof".
Part of UWM Sustainability Day October 18, 2011 2-4pm
UW-Milwaukee Golda Meir Library,
4th Floor
2311 E. Hartford Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211
4th Floor
2311 E. Hartford Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211
Presentations, Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Green Roof Viewing and Tours
- Speakers: 2:15-3pm
- Green Roof Refreshments: 3pm-4pm
- Viewing and Tours (by sign-up): 3:15 & 3:45
Sep 28, 2011
EHS News daily roundup
Top EHSnews.org Headlines (New extension of this blog ;-)
“People always call it luck when you’ve acted more sensibly than they have.” - Anne Tyler
Environmental
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EPA Scientists Receive Presidential Honor - WASHINGTON –Today two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists were named recipients of the 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which recognizes excellent research and leadership in the sciences. The award is the highest honor bestowed by … Continue reading →
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20 Simple ways to conserve water
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Major river basins have enough water to sustainably double food production in the coming decades
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Seven More Companies Dump Sustainable Forestry Initiative - AT&T, State Farm and Comcast are among seven Fortune 500 companies that have joined a growing corporate movement against the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, an eco-label that a non-profit alleges “greenwashes” environmentally damaging products. The trend began in March when seven … Continue reading →
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Texas Sues EPA Over Power Plant Pollution Rules - Texas filed a petition for review of the EPA’s – the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule – in a federal appeals court, the Houston Chronicle reports, saying the state doesn’t have enough time to comply with the January 1 effective rule. … Continue reading →
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U.S. to investigate protection for 374 water species
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Second giant ice island set to break off Greenland glacier - msnbc: Astonished scientist says he was ‘completely unprepared for the gob-smacking scale of the breakup, which rendered me speechless’ New photographs taken of a vast glacier in northern Greenland have revealed the astonishing rate of its breakup, with one scientist … Continue reading →
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Nissan Leaf first adopters say car exceeds expectations
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Dell Backs Away from Carbon Neutrality, Focuses on Efficiency & E-Waste
- Chemistry Goes Green - The discovery that our lives are filled with so many potential sources of exposure to chemicals with so many subtle but significant impacts has prompted the need for a pollution prevention strategy that goes well beyond … Continue reading →
Health & Safety
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Cantaloupe listeria outbreak: Death toll rises to 16
Dailymail Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in . -
Kansas Firm Recalls Ground Beef Products Due To Possible E. Coli O157:H7 Contamination - Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., an Emporia, Kan. establishment, is recalling approximately 131,300 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
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Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net: Philanthropy’s Role - Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net: Philanthropy’s Role Source: Brookings Institution The growth of suburban poverty over the past two decades raises questions about the ability of nonprofit organizations to adapt to this relatively new geography of metropolitan poverty. These … Continue reading →
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Scientists Discover Genetic Mutation that Causes Parkinson’s Disease - A large team of international researchers have identified a new genetic cause of inherited Parkinson’s disease that they say may be related to the inability of brain cells to handle biological stress.
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Empowering safety programs with real-time data visualization - An ongoing reality for safety managers and frontline personnel in almost any industry is the need to record safety incident data. When all incident data is inputted into a centralized database, a safety coordinator doesn’t have to wait for the … Continue reading →
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EPA Releases Strategy to Protect People's Health and the Environment in Communities Overburdened by Pollution - the release of Plan EJ 2014, a three-year, comprehensive plan to advance environmental justice efforts in nine areas, including rulemaking, permitting, enforcement, and science. Plan EJ 2014 aims to … Continue reading →
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Forum Publishes Sustainable Packaging Guidelines - The Consumer Goods Forum, a global trade organization that includes both brands and retailers, has unveiled its Global Protocol on Packaging Sustainability. The aim of the protocol, formulated with support from the packaging industry, … Continue reading →
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Slaughter Introduces Bill to Streamline Pharmaceutical Disposal
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Lots of Green in Green Labels: FTC Watching Certifiers
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EPA Launches Green Products Portal for Pollution Prevention Week
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Vitamin A Supplement Programs Improve Child Survival
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Common painkillers can raise heart risk
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The big C: cancer treatment is increasingly unaffordable
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The Impact of Cutting Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments on the Living Standards of the Elderly
Energy
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Award Honors Matt Simmons
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Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing - The Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing” session at the 2011-2012 Conference Series on Urban Sustainability.
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Obama, High Speed Rail, and the State Of California - High speed rail is big business in other countries like China. America has been trying to get a high speed rail program in action for years with California being at the forefront of the planning. Now, it seems that lawsuits … Continue reading →
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Low-Pressure Tanks Could Revolutionize Hydrogen Storage in Car
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Tidal projects make headway in Australia and New Zealand - Tidal Today has a look at the state of play for tidal power projects in Australasia – Tidal projects make headway in Australia and New Zealand. Overall, the investment climate for renewables, including tidal, is set to improve significantly and … Continue reading →
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U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Underway - and results from the first of 10 contests tallied. Purdue University tied a team from Parsons the New School for Design/Stevens Institute of Technology for first in the affordability … Continue reading →
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Loan Guarantees Finalized for Bio-Refinery, Geothermal, and Wind Projects - DOE has finalized three loan guarantees totaling $625 million in support of an Iowa bio-refinery, a Nevada geothermal power project, and New Hampshire’s largest wind farm.
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Defense Department Speeds Clean Energy Move: Report - The U.S. Department of Defense has been accelerating clean energy innovations to reduce risk to military personnel, boost energy security, and save money, according to a report from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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ISO 50001: From Energy Project to Energy Plan - When it comes to energy, companies have three options: do nothing at all, undertake individual energy projects, or deploy an energy program that pushes lasting performance improvement. Any company that wants to survive, and ideally thrive, in the next five … Continue reading →
- GE Energy Signs $3bn in Contracts - GE Energy has announced more than $3 billion in new customer agreements across its business, including waste-heat recovery, wind turbines, water treatment and a manufacturing efficiency contract with Anheuser-Busch InBev. GE signed a new partnership with global brewer AB InBev, … Continue reading →
Sep 27, 2011
OSHA quote of the day
Daily Journal - "It's a pretty unbelievable statistic, but each year, nearly one out of every 10 construction workers on our state highway construction projects [is] injured on the job."
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