Update: Apple supplier Foxconn hit on poor working conditions - Computerworld

...A monthlong investigation by FLA revealed compensation issues, health and safety risks, and issues that have led to a "sense of unsafe working conditions among workers," the organization said in a statement.

FLA claimed it gave Foxconn "a full-body scan through 3,000 staff hours," and surveyed more than 35,000 workers, while investigating three of its factories. Foxconn Technology Group, owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry, is Apple's largest supplier and makes the iPad and iPhone. Independent groups have urged Apple to address the poor conditions of factory workers in China.

Please continue reading at:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225681/Update_Apple_supplier_Foxconn_hit_on_poor_working_conditions

CBO | H.R. 2309, Postal Reform Act of 2011 - savings totaling about $28 billion

H.R. 2309 would change the laws that govern the operation of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Major provisions of the bill would:

• Permit the Postal Service to reduce mail delivery from six to five days per week;
• Transfer about $11 billion in surplus retirement contributions from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF) to the Postal Service Fund;
• Reduce the contribution made by the Postal Service for employees’ health and life insurance premiums;
• Change the payments that the Postal Service is required to make to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund (PSRHBF); and
• Eliminate annual appropriations made to the Postal Service for free and reduced rate mail.

In addition, other provisions of H.R. 2309 would aim to help the Postal Service reduce its costs and increase its income.

CBO estimates that enacting the bill would result in off-budget savings totaling about $28 billion and on-budget costs of about $8 billion over the 2012-2022 period.

Please continue reading at:

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43144

Microbial Fuel Cell Converts Raw Sewage into Electricity

U.S. scientists have developed a fuel cell capable of converting 13 percent of the energy found in sewage into electricity, a process that its developers say could also more efficiently treat municipal wastewater. In a report released at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute describe a so-called microbial fuel cell that uses naturally existing microbes that produce electrons and protons as they metabolize the organic waste. The electrons are collected by an anode in one container, while the protons pass through a permeable membrane to a cathode in a separate container; the voltage between the electrodes produces an electric current. The process is also capable of removing about 97 percent of the organic matter, the scientists say. 

Please read more from source:

http://e360.yale.edu/digest/new_microbial_fuel_cell_converts_raw_sewage_into_electricity/3396/

Americans Flush $5 Billion Down the Toilet Every Year

Dan Lewis, author of the daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”) joins us Wednesdays with surprising facts about the world of business.

The United States government has many different departments—among them the Department of Treasury, the Department of Defense, and more recently, the Department of Homeland Security. Each of these departments has agencies within them, and one of them, the Environmental Protection Agency, hosts the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water. If you ever wanted to know anything about water, they are the people to ask.

The average American uses 90 gallons of water each day [PDF], of which only about two gallons go toward drinking and cooking. In fact, we use twice as much water—four gallons—washing dishes than we do in preparing and eating our meals. Laundry uses, on average, 8.5 gallons of water a day per person, while 25 gallons of water a day per person go toward lawn watering and pools.

In total, the roughly 300 million Americans spend more than $5 billion dollars a year flushing their toilets.

Please read full and follow at: http://www.good.is/post/americans-flush-5-billion-down-the-toilet-every-year/

California nuclear plant to remain shut for probe.

The troubled San Onofre nuclear plant in Southern California will remain shut down while investigators try to solve a mystery inside its massive generators — the rapid decay of tubing that carries radioactive water, federal regulators said Tuesday.

Please read more from source:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5guIr4R1mwJTtia_ulRFb1PDzC-Hw

Capsule helps decontaminate milk, water and other fluids.

Water, milk and other fluids can be purified of radioactive substances with absorbant nanoparticles, according to a new study. Arsenic, lead, cadmium and other heavy metals can also be removed with the technology.

Please continue reading at:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/health-capsule-helps-decontaminate-milk-water-and-other-fluids/article_21249ef6-08d1-5318-a3d5-033de146cf1d.html

Sustainable livestock vow not just hot air.

Australia's 55,000 cattle and sheep producers have pledged to consumers to all be farming sustainably by 2020. They aim to convince urban Australians that red meat production is environmentally, socially and ethically sustainable. The project has won the backing of some notable environmentalists and chefs.

Please read more from source:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/sustainable-livestock-vow-not-just-hot-air/story-e6frg6nf-1226310728566

Feds not to blame for West Virginia mine disaster, safety chief tells Congress.

The nation's top mine safety regulator on Tuesday defended his agency in the wake of a government report that said the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration likely could have prevented the nation's worst coal-mining disaster in nearly 40 years.

Please continue reading at:

http://wvgazette.com/News/politics/201203270170

What the muck?

The Portland Harbor is a toxic embarrassment. And there's plenty of blame to go around. For the past 12 years, some of the most powerful companies in Oregon have lived in fear of an unspeakable beast at the bottom of the Willamette River, a toxic freak that could figuratively eat them alive.

Please read more from source:

http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18986-what_the_muck.html

3D solar towers offer up to 20 times more power output than traditional flat solar panels

While we’ve looked at the development of solar cell technologies that employ nanoscale 3D structures to trap light and increase the amount of solar energy absorbed, MIT researchers have now used 3D on the macro scale to achieve power output that is up to 20 times greater than traditional fixed flat solar panels with the same base area. The approach developed by the researchers involves extending the solar cells upwards in a three-dimensional tower or cube configuration to enable them to better capture the sun's rays when it is lower on the horizon... Continue Reading 3D solar towers offer up to 20 times more power output than traditional flat solar panels

Liquid-like compound could lead to better thermoelectric devices

Thermoelectric materials work by converting differences in temperature into electric voltage. If two parts of such a material experience significantly different temperatures, electrons within it will flow from the warmer part to the cooler, creating an electrical current in the process. Using these materials, electricity could be generated by the temperature differences on the inside and outside of jackets, within car engines, or even between the human body and the air around it ... just to list a few examples. An international team of scientists have now discovered that an existing material, which behaves like a liquid but isn't one, displays particularly impressive thermoelectric properties... Continue Reading Liquid-like compound could lead to better thermoelectric devices

Ford’s most fuel efficient passenger car ever 114 mpg

With the cost of fuel hitting family budgets harder and harder, Ford of Europe has commenced production of its most fuel efficient (and lowest CO2 emissions) passenger car ever. The company’s new Fiesta ECOnetic Technology is powered by a 1.6-liter Duratorq TDCi diesel engine providing 205 Nm of torque that offers fuel economy figures of 3.3 l/100 km (114.7 US mpg) with CO2 emissions of 87 g/km... Continue Reading Ford’s most fuel efficient passenger car ever

Supreme Court Case HIV status being shared across govt agencies

Supreme Court handed down a decision in FAA v Cooper yesterday.  Cooper did not declare his HIV positive status on his flight physical.  At the time, the FAA had started cross-referencing SSI disability status with the pilot physicals, and they found he was getting disability due to his HIV status.  So they fined him and grounded him because he falsified.    This all occurred before we let HIV positive individuals fly (I have a couple in my practice).  So The Supremes overturned a lower court finding that he sustained damages because the HIV status info was shared across agencies.

Please read about it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/us/justices-rule-against-pilot-in-privacy-case.html?hp
 

Infographic: Most teachers Unhappy in the Classroom

Just 44 percent of American teachers say they're satisfied with their jobs, the lowest number in two decades and an 18-point drop since 2008. A growing number of teachers are deciding to leave the profession altogether in favor of a new career path. What's behind the unhappiness?

Please read full and follow at:

http://www.good.is/post/infographic-unhappy-in-the-classroom

#sustainable - WarmDirt keeps plants' roots frost-free

After a somewhat unsuccessful and rather expensive attempt at warming a greenhouse, electrical engineer Dr Craig Hollabaugh rigged up a system that keeps the winter chill away by warming the roots of his plants. The WarmDirt system has already helped his plants survive the coldest of Colorado's cold months, and is now getting ready to provide warmth to seedlings during the expected April freeze. This past season's survivors were all flowers but next winter, the setup will be used for growing veggies. .. Continue Reading WarmDirt keeps plants' roots frost-free

Tomorrow's carbon fiber could be made from plastic bags

Thanks to research currently being conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, our unwanted plastic bags may one day be recycled into carbon fiber. Not only that, but the properties of the fibers themselves could be fine-tuned, allowing different types of carbon fiber to be created for specific applications... Continue Reading Tomorrow's carbon fiber could be made from plastic bags

Gas Leak on Platform in North Sea Forces Evacuation

Ships and aircraft were ordered to stay away because of the risk of explosion. The leak developed as workers tried to cap a well 150 miles east of Scotland.

Please read more from source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/world/europe/gas-leak-on-platform-in-north-...

Bernanke Claims That The Fed Has Averted A Second Great Depression By Bailing Out The Too Big To Fai

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke claims that the Federal Reserve averted a second Great Depression by bailing out the big Wall Street banks during the last financial crisis, and he says that if a similar financial crisis comes along that the correct "policy response" will be to do the exact same thing again.  This was the theme of the lecture that Bernanke delivered to students at George Washington University on Tuesday.  In previous lectures Bernanke has defended the existence of the Fed and detailed the history of Fed activities, but on Tuesday he addressed things that have happened since he has been at the helm of the Fed.  And according to Bernanke, he has been doing a great job.  Bernanke told the students that the "threat of a second Great Depression was very real" and that the Federal Reserve did exactly what needed to be done to fix the financial system.  Unfortunately, the truth is that all Bernanke did was kick the can a bit farther down the road.  You can't fix a debt problem with more debt, and the debt bubble we are living in today is far larger than it was in 2008.  Will Bernanke still be trying to portray himself as a hero when this house of cards finally falls apart?

During his lecture to the students on Tuesday, Bernanke stated the following....

"I think the view is increasingly gaining acceptance that without the forceful policy response that stabilized the financial system in 2008 and early 2009, we could have had a much worse outcome in the economy."

Please read full and follow at:

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/bernanke-claims-that-the-fed-has-averted-a-second-great-depression-by-bailing-out-the-too-big-to-fail-bank

A Hybrid Car With Detachable Engine Proposed - Slashdot

"The SCI hyMod five-door minicar concept is the brainchild of a Romanian team made up of an engineer, a designer, and an automotive journalist. It uses what its designers call a 'dedicated logistics center' forthe transformation from electric to gas-powered, in which the back end of the car containing a battery pack is removed, and replaced with one containing a gasoline engine module that drives the rear wheels. In normal urban use, the battery pack powers an electric motor that drives the front wheels. The hyMod combines elements of range-extended electric cars like the Fisker Karma and the Volt, plus a tiny, compact range extender, and perhaps even the Better Place automated battery-pack swap station."

Please read full and follow at:

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/03/27/2324242/a-hybrid-car-with-detachable-engine-proposed

China: America's Third Largest and Fastest Growing (By Far) Export Market, 2000-2011

Click to enlarge.

Some highlights from the U.S.-China Business Council's recently released report "U.S. Exports to China: 2000-2011":

1. China is now the third-largest U.S. export market, and U.S. exports to China continue to expand rapidly. As a buyer of U.S. goods, China ranks behind only Canada and Mexico—two immediate neighbors with whom the United States has a regional free-trade agreement (see top chart above).

2. Between 2000 and 2011, total U.S. exports to China rose 542 percent, from $16.2 billion to $103.9 billion. Total U.S. exports to the rest of the world increased only 80 percent during this period (see bottom chart above).

Please read more from source:

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2012/03/china-americas-third-largest-export.html

Experts Warn Urban Expansion Puts Humanity at Risk : TreeHugger

With 7 billion people on the planet, things have already begun to feel a bit hot and crowded, particularly in swelling urban centers -- but researchers warn that we've ain't seen nothing yet.

Please read more from source:

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/urban-expansion-puts-humanity-risk.html

One of Japan’s damaged reactors has high radiation, little water, renewing stability concerns - The Washington Post

...Tuesday’s examination with an industrial endoscope detected radiation levels up to 10 times the fatal dose inside the chamber. Plant officials previously said more than half of melted fuel has breached the core and dropped to the floor of the primary containment vessel, some of it splashing against the wall or the floor.

Particles from melted fuel have probably sent radiation levels up to dangerously high 70 sieverts per hour inside the container, said Junichi Matsumoto, spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co.

“It’s extremely high,” he said, adding that an endoscope would last only 14 hours in that condition. “We have to develop equipment that can tolerate high radiation” when locating and removing melted fuel during the decommissioning.

Please read more from source:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/new-probe-at-japans-crippled-nuke-plant-finds-fatally-high-radiation-little-water-in-reactor/2012/03/27/gIQA83d0dS_story.html

Green Blog: $1.2 Million Fine for Indian Point Fire

The fine is viewed as a slap of a wrist in the context of a broader struggle by New York State officials to shut down the nuclear plant.

Please continue reading at: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/1-2-million-fine-for-indian-point-f...

US Army Abandoning LEED Certification..."highlighting LEED certification will be less valuable, if not totally irrelevant."

Written by Philip Proefrock on 27/03/12

While the headline may sound dire, it's not an indication that the US Army is giving up on green building. Instead, the Army has announced it will use a new construction code of its own which is based on the 

ASHRAE 189.1 standard for new buildings and renovations, rather than continue to use LEED or the High Perfromance Sustainable Buildings standards. This new standard will "govern all new construction, major renovations and leased space acquisition." The Army had already adopted ASHRAE 189.1 late in 2010.

Some of the impetus for this change is political. In 2011, Congress acted toprevent any Department of Defense project from achieving LEED gold or platinum certification as part of that year's Defense Reauthorization bill.

Moreover, LEED is fundamentally a marketing program that recognizes buildings built to a particular high standard of performance. At its core, the Army is more concerned about having better buildings that it can operate more efficiently. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Dr. Dorothy Robyn stated that, "With more than 300,000 buildings and 2.2 billion square feet of building space, DoD has a footprint three times that of Wal-Mart and six times that of GSA. Our corresponding energy bill is $4 billion annually." The Defense Department recognizes the importance of green buildings for its overall operational effectiveness.

The armed forces have been one of the biggest early adopters of LEED, and if all of the services are going to move away from using LEED as their standard for improved performance, that is likely to have a strong effect on USGBC, GBCI, and the LEED program as a whole. "The repercussions of this announcement will be widespread," notes Green Building Law Update. "For federal contractors, this is a game changer. The LEED AP credential will be less valuable. Past performance highlighting LEED certification will be less valuable, if not totally irrelevant."

Please read full at: http://www.ecogeek.org/architecture/3725-us-army-abandoning-leed-certification

VW set to pilot e-Golf test fleet in the U.S.

The fact that most major manufacturers are now investing serious amounts of time and money in battery electric vehicle (BEV) development is proof positive that an electric automotive future will soon be upon us. While some, like Mitsubishi and Nissan, are already leading the charge onto the driveways of more and more folks around the globe, others prefer to take a more considered approach. Such is the case with Volkswagen. After giving us a glimpse of its plans for an electric Golf back in 2010, the company has now announced that a nine-month pilot scheme is to start next month in the U.S., to evaluate a prototype electric version of the company's popular hatchback ahead of commercial production... Continue Reading VW set to pilot e-Golf test fleet in the U.S.

US Navy sails 1,200 miles on algae biofuel | TG Daily

Newt Gingrich may mock algae as a source of clean fuel, but the U.S. Navy's got no problem with it. In fact, the Navy is extending - literally - its use of biofuels derived from the stuff.

Last November, a remotely controlled destroyer using a 50-50 blend of algae-derived, hydro-processed oil and a standard petroleum fuel made a 17-hour trek 150 or so miles up the California coast from San Diego to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme. 



That was the Navy's largest-scale alt-fuel demo - until now. According to Solazyme, the U.S. Navy Frigate fleet ship USS Ford just sailed from its homeport in Everett, Wash., down to San Diego using 25,000 gallons of the company's Soladiesel blended in even proportions with F-76 military diesel.

Solazyme didn't say exactly how far the trip was, but charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [PDF] peg the distance from Seattle (about 30 miles south of Everett) to San Diego at 1,228 nautical miles.

The Navy has set a goal of deploying a "Great Green Fleet" powered entirely by alternative fuels by 2016, and of reaching 50 percent alternative energy use overall by 2020. The service has also tested alternative fuel in a yard patrol boat at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and in a landing craft utility off the Virginia coast.

Please read more from source:

http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/62214-us-navy-sails-1200-miles-on-algae-biofuel

Wind turbine thunderstruck by lightning and smashed

On Wednesday (21st March 2012) one of the Wonthaggi wind turbine’s blades was reportedly hit by lightning, causing the blade to split down its length. It’s now hanging from the hub in need of being replaced.

Wonthaggi turbine after lightning strike, March 2012 (Neil Rankine)

Having one turbine off-line will obviously reduce the amount of electricity the wind farm can produce for a while. Clearly any form of generation will have unforeseen mechanical and other breakdowns so I thought I’d see how often coal plants like Hazelwood in the Valley are generating.

Hazelwood has eight generating units and they always seem to have one off-line for maintenance or repair – sometimes two. The actual figure for achieved generation is a bit under 84% (Google ‘green energy markets hazelwood’).

Coincidently, five turbines out of six still operating at Wonthaggi gives the same figure (83.3%). So the availability of the wind farm is about the same at the moment, as Hazelwood power station. In the long term of course the wind farm will have a higher availability than coal fired generation as there is much less to go wrong.

People often say that governing mechanisms can go wrong with wind farms, another potential cause of blade failure, but the same can, and has happened with coal fired steam turbines.

The difference is that the Wonthaggi wind turbine blade failure takes out 2 megawatts for a month or two while it’s repaired, a turbine failure in the Latrobe Valley could take out 500 megawatts for a year or more.

Please read more from source:

http://yes2renewables.org/2012/03/23/wind-turbine-thunderstruck-at-wonthaggi/

"Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith." - Steve Jobs

Organic Or Natural? Can you trust the labels?

The Organic Movement started out well. Get away from chemical foods (and body care products), and only deliver all natural chemical free foods that are healthier and safer. Thanks to government regulations that spell out how much chemical and biological contamination is allowed and still qualify for the organic symbol, Big Agriculture & Bio Tech has figured out how to game the system. And that still does not protect you from salmonella outbreaks, E. coli, etc.

A lot of small producers who want to provide healthy food, can’t or won’t tie themselves to the government organic program, so they call their products “all natural” or “chemical free”, but Big Agriculture has figured out that game as well, and use those labels to pump even more crap into our systems, including GMO, chemicals, and pseudo-food (parts is parts).

The take-away from this is don’t hide behind labels. Know where your food comes from, know what you are eating, and best of all, grow as much of your own as you can. Your body will thank you.

For more info, read Exposing the Myth of So-Called Natural Foods

Please read full and follow at:

http://www.green-trust.org/wordpress/2012/03/17/organic-or-natural-can-you-trust-the-labels/

Interesting Facts About Farm Water Conservation - Green-Trust.Org

A tremendous amount of water is used globally for agriculture. It’s estimated the world’s population by 2050 will be around 9 billion, and if we do not reduce our water usage, there won’t be enough fresh water to go around. Alternative methods of agriculture (aquaponics for instance), composting toilets, and low flow fixtures can all help! (see http://www.green-trust.org/products/ for ideas)

Infographic by Seametrics, a manufacturer of water flow meter technology that measures and conserves water.

Shared from Green-Trust.Org

@SMBC ... White papers vs grant discussions - classic

Please read full and follow at:

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2559

An environmental group is taking Warren Buffett to task over a proposed nuclear power plant in Iowa - Omaha.com

The group, Friends of the Earth, says Buffett told CNBC last month that the future of nuclear reactor construction is “dead” because of the crisis in Japan. Yet MidAmerican Energy, a holding of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is proposing to build a new Iowa nuclear plant, it says.

The Iowa Legislature is considering a bill aimed at spurring the development of the MidAmerican plant, which would become the second nuclear plant in the state.

The bill, which passed the Iowa House on Tuesday, would allow Mid-American to begin billing customers in advance for the estimated $1 billion cost of developing one or more small, modular nuclear reactors that could go on line as early as 2020.

Friends of Earth published an advertisement Wednesday in The World-Herald that criticized MidAmerican for wanting to “raise Iowans’ electricity rates to fund a new reactor that might never get built.”

“Mr. Buffett, Iowa ratepayers should not be paying up front for a project you don’t think will ever be completed,” the group’s ad said.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110429/NEWS01/704299899/0

New study: Radiation treatments create cancer cells 30 times more potent than regular cancer cells

Excerpt- In the new study, Pajonk and his team irradiated normal non-stem cell cancer cells and placed them into mice. Through a unique imaging system, the researchers observed the cells differentiate into iBCSC in response to radiation treatments. Pjonk reported that the newly generated cells were remarkably similar to non-irradiated breast cancer stem cells. The team of researchers also found that the radiation-induced stem cells had a more than 30-fold increased ability to form tumors compared with non-irradiated breast cancer cells.
Despite all the billions of dollars spent on cancer, the 40 year "war on cancer" has been a losing one by any honest evaluation. One hundred years ago, anywhere from 1 in 50 to perhaps 1 in 100 people could be expected to develop cancer. Now it is estimated that 1 in every 2 men and 1 in every 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. Despite more people around the world developing cancer and dying from cancer every year, mainstream medicine continues to cling to failed treatments which more often than not fail to eliminate the cancer and help cancer spread and return more aggressively than ever. Notably, two of the three major mainstream cancer treatments - radiation and chemo - are themselves highly carcinogenic.

One might think that the new study provided ample reasons to rethink using radiation. However, the study authors looked at the results as an opportunity to continue and enhance the use of radiation by finding ways to control the cell differentiation. What the scientists failed to note is that natural alternatives have already been found which prevent the development of cancer stem cells.

Other sources included:
www.cancer.ucla.edu/Index.aspx?page=644
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213185115.htm

Please continue read more from Tony Isaacs at:

http://www.naturalnews.com/035289_radiation_cancer_stem_cells.html

Please Highlight The Housing Recovery On The Following Chart @ZeroHedge

@ZeroHedge...of New One Family Homes for Sale (source) which at 150,000 is the lowest print... Ever. And no, "it can only go up from 300,000, 250,000, 200,000, 150,000... 0" does not work with us.

Please read full and follow at:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/please-highlight-housing-recovery-following-chart

Student-Loan Debt Tops $1 Trillion - WSJ.com

The amount Americans owe on student loans is far higher than earlier estimates and could lead some consumers to postpone buying homes, potentially slowing the housing recovery, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Total student debt outstanding appears to have surpassed $1 trillion late last year, said officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency created in the wake of the financial crisis. That would be roughly 16% higher than an estimate earlier this year by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Please read full and follow at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577295930047604846.html