U.S. Government Plans to Phase out Use of Common Pesticide on Fruit, Other Crops

"This pesticide has put thousands of workers at risk of serious illness every year," Erik Nicholson, of the United Farmworkers of America, said in a news release Monday.

Farmworker and environmental groups sued the EPA in federal court in Seattle in 2004, arguing that the agency was wrong to continue allowing a pesticide that could cause seizures, paralysis and death. That lawsuit was settled when the EPA agreed to reconsider the use of the AZM and another pesticide, phosmet.

The environmental law firm Earthjustice said AZM is derived from nerve agents used during World War II. It has been most commonly used in Washington, Oregon, California, Michigan, Georgia, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Source: Associated Press

Renewable energies continued to grow rapidly in 2005, but still only comprise 3%

Renewables are increasingly in demand, BP experts said in the review, published this week. While oil production grew at around 1% in 2005, wind power grew at a rate of 28.6%.

But despite the fast growth, wind power still only generates 0.7 % of the world's electricity.

Wind power played an increasing role in electricity generation in some countries, with Denmark producing 16% of its electricity from wind, Spain - 8%, and Germany 5%.

"Energy consumers around the world are increasingly expressing their desire to consume energy that is both local and green," according to the review, for which BP annually gathers data on global energy production and consumption.

Ethanol and biodiesel production rose by 10% in 2005, but in the end only amounted to about 0.4% of world oil consumption.

Large scale hydroelectric power production, which was found to grow at a rate of 4.2%, was not included in the definition of renewables for the purposes of the review. China remained the largest producer of hydroelectricity.

Overall growth in global energy use slowed in 2005 as hurricanes and political instabilities in the Middle East hit oil and gas supplies, the review found.

BP's experts contributed the slower growth to "dramatic weather" in the US, which the survey found ravaged US gas markets even more than oil markets, "problems" in Iraq and a slowdown in Russian production.

Coal continued to grow fastest of all fuels mostly due to a growth of 10.9% in China, which consumes around 37% of total coal burnt globally, most of which it produces domestically.

BP chief executive Lord Browne pointed to widespread concern about energy security. "Capacity in most segments of the energy industry remains constrained and perceptions of geopolitical risk have increased."

The BP Statistical Review of World Energy can be found at www.bp.com/statisticalreview.

White House Awards Government Agencies That Use Biodiesel

Read the full story at Wisconsin Ag Connection.

The White House presented the prestigious Closing the Circle Awards at a ceremony Monday, and three of the winners use a 20-percent biodiesel blend (B20) to help them achieve outstanding environmental track records. They are the Department of Defense, Naval Station Great Lakes; the Department of Energy Green Fleet Team; and the U.S. Postal Service.

Car Crashes Are More Deadly For America's 75 million baby boomers

Despite driving at lower average speeds than younger and middle-aged drivers, and a greater likelihood of wearing seatbelts, older drivers were more likely to be injured or die in an accident than younger drivers.

According to the paper, published in the September 2005 Annual Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine: "The archetypical elderly driver fatality involves a belted, sober driver pulling into the path of an oncoming vehicle during the day and dying several days after a collision of moderate severity. Pre-existing health issues are often related to the death. In contrast, the archetype for a 30-45 year-old driver fatality involves an unbelted, impaired driver losing control of his/her vehicle at night and dying during an extremely severe, single-vehicle crash."

Ms. Broten retorted: "Anybody who knows me, knows that I drive a hybrid."

Well the auto makers and thier marketing companies must love you.

Although the government announced its energy plan on Tuesday, it didn't publicly divulge at the time that the program would receive only a partial environmental assessment.

Mr. Hampton accused Ms. Broten of acting in secret to hide the government's activities, an accusation the Environment Minister rejected.

"You didn't find [notice of the exemption] in my desk drawer.

"You didn't find it under a rock.

"You found it on a publicly accessible website," she responded.

Environmentalists were also angered by the decision.



If you want to go green... walk ;-)

Seriously - Oil now worth more than gold!

Forget Fort Knox. The rare, yellow metal that have driven people all over the world crazy since the the dawn of time isn't so rare after all. According to Australian researchers, if all the gold at the center of the planet bubbled to the surface, its entire surface would be covered up to 1.5 feet high.

Geologist and Macquarie University professor Bernard Wood says the Earth's "magma ocean" reacted with metals in the "planetesimals" (comet and meteorite dust) during the planet's development. The reaction extracted many of the most important elements like gold and eventually deposited in the Earth's iron-rich core.

Based on the comparison of the Earth's crust with that of meteorites (representing the planetisimals), Wood' says "more than 99% of the Earth's gold is in the core." Wood adds, "It's a nice image to think we could all step outside and be knee-deep in the stuff."

Read full report:
http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1663566.htm

'Green Slime' Returns to Great Lakes

'Read Full Article Here:"It's very much the same story on our coast" on Lake Michigan, said John Berges, a biologist with the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee's Great Lakes Water Institute.

Out-of-control algae look bad and smell worse but there are more serious dangers, the environmental council's report said.

Swimmers and pets who accidentally swallow algae-choked water can get sick. Algae blooms can reduce oxygen levels in the waters, causing fish kills. Some clumps are thick enough to block water intake pipes.

BP faces Alaska oil spill probe

BBC NEWS | Business | BP faces Alaska oil spill probe: "British oil company BP could face a criminal investigation in the US over a massive oil spill in Alaska in March."

The Financial Times newspaper has obtained internal emails which show it is under investigation by a grand jury.

The emails reveal BP has been ordered to hand over a number of documents and other data relating to the leak thought to be caused by a corroded pipe.

A spokesman for the company said BP would provide information showing it had acted properly.

The spill of some 267,000 gallons (1m litres) discovered at Prudhoe Bay field, is the largest ever on Alaska's North Slope region.

BP Alaska, which operates the pipeline, has denied claims it failed to maintain it properly.

Such an investigation by a grand jury could lead to criminal charges and ultimately fines and prison sentences.

BP's safety woes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - BP Plc Chief Executive John Browne said on Thursday that there was a "broken safety record" at its refinery in Texas City, Texas, where 15 people were killed and 170 wounded in an explosion in March 2005.

But he added that the safety problems at the third-largest refinery in the United States were limited to that plant alone and did not extend to the company's other four U.S. refineries.

London-based BP is facing scrutiny from federal prosecutors for the blast, and has also been recently fined for safety problems at its refinery in Toledo, Ohio.

"We had a broken safety record at Texas City," Browne told Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting where BP presented its annual energy statistical review at the National Press Club.

"After a lot of improvement we're learning from the accident at Texas City and I believe we are applying that learning to our refineries in the United States and worldwide in a very rapid way," he said.

When asked if safety problems were spread through its other refineries in the United States, he said, "No. This was a lesson that was specific."

Browne said he has not been asked by U.S. investigators to give a statement about last year's explosion at the Texas City refinery.

A member of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said earlier this month that the board may interview Browne about the blast. The chief executive said on Thursday he had not been asked by CSB to give a statement. Continued...

No reading my Hotmail (the law)

"The court held that Hot Mail e-mails stored on Microsoft's servers were in electronic storage pursuant to the Act, which defines 'electronic storage' as '(a) any temporary, intermediate storage of a wire or electronic communication incidental to the electronic transmission thereof; and (b) any storage of such communication by an electronic communication service for purposes of backup protection of such communication.' If defendants did indeed view the contents of plaintiff's hot mail account 'they would have obtained plaintiff's email in violation of the act.'"

Who's Reading Your Email? Facts You Should Know

Since 1986, The Electronics Communication Privacy Act (ECPA)
established a reasonable expectation of privacy for email by making it
illegal to intercept or disclose private communications in digital form.

But beware. Your email could still be read by others. -
The ECPA doesn't prevent employers from looking at employee
email. The courts have stated that there is "no
reasonable expectation of privacy" in email communications on company-owned
systems. MOST companies and some universities monitor email and web
activities on their systems.

Security Concerns - Depending on
how you configure your email program, even your personal (i.e. yahoo, gmail,
hotmail) email may be stored on your companies computer hard drive. Just like
any file on that drive, this mail is accessible to anyone who gains physical
access to your computer. The email on your hard drive can be read by others
unless your computer is behind a locked door or you have taken precautions, such
as encrypting files or password-protecting your machine. Another option is to
store your mail on a disk or removable drive when you are away from your
machine. By keeping your "personal" email account (i.e. yahoo, gmail, hotmail)
on a your "personal" device (see:

http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/browsers/portable) anyone reading your
email would have to break several state and federal laws to accessing their
personal account and device under
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18
U.S.C. '' 2510-2521,  

TITLE 18 >

PART I >

CHAPTER 47 > § 1030(a)(3) " Hot Mail e-mails
stored on Microsoft's servers were in electronic storage pursuant to the Act,
which defines 'electronic storage' as '(a) any temporary, intermediate storage
of a wire or electronic communication incidental to the electronic transmission
thereof; and (b) any storage of such communication by an electronic
communication service for purposes of backup protection of such communication.'
If defendants did indeed view the contents of plaintiff's hot mail account 'they
would have obtained plaintiff's email in violation of the act.'"

Prying can also take place during transmission of a message.
"Packet sniffing" on the Internet is a continuing problem. Sniffer programs can
capture all data traveling over a network, including the contents of email
messages. Thus it is very important to remember that sensitive or confidential
information may be intercepted.

If you are using another Internet service provider for email
at home or while traveling, it's a good idea to find out what their policy is
regarding the privacy and confidentiality of email. If you use systems such as
hotmail, always sign out when you are done.

Also, anyone who receives one of your email messages can
forward it to other individuals or groups, even if that was not your intent.
Recipients can also archive or print messages. You have no way of knowing when
this happens.

The Bottom Line - Don't send
anything in email that you wouldn't be willing to send in an unsealed envelope.
As a medium of communication, email may lend itself to spontaneity, but the
messages you send and receive can have a very long shelf life. There is no
guarantee about who will read a message, or when.

How to destroy the Earth @ Things Of Interest

Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth
A host of methods for ending the planet as we know it.
www.livescience.com/technology/10ways_destroyearth.html

Using Device To Give CPR Does Not Improve Survival

ScienceDaily: Using Device To Give CPR Does Not Improve Survival: "In a controlled laboratory setting, the device produced greater blood flow to the heart and brain than manual CPR. But when deployed in real-life emergencies, as provided in the study, researchers found that patients were less likely to survive if they received compressions from the device. In the AutoPulse group, survival to discharge from the hospital was 5.8 percent, while survival to discharge in the manual group was 9.9 percent.
“Given that so few people survive cardiac arrest, we need high quality research to learn how to save more lives,” said Sayre.

“On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”

“On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”
"New Yorker Cartoon

Company President Convicted of Homicide In Deaths of Two Workers

The former president of a water and sewer company, Brent Weidman, has been found guilty by a jury of two counts of negligent homicide and two counts of endangerment in the deaths in 2001 of 26-year-old James Gamble and 62-year-old Gary Lanser, who were killed in a confined space incident while working on an underground sewage tank. Last year, Arizona prosecutors Christina Fitzpatrick and Mark Horlings convinced a jury to find the Far West Water and Sewer Company guilty on five of the six felony charges filed against it. In January, a Yuma judge imposed $1.77 million in criminal fines against the company.

This tragedy was unfortunately typical of confined space incidents, where one of the workers killed was the attempted rescuer and two other rescuers narrowly escaped death: "This is but one of thousands of cases every year where clear violations of OSHA standards lead to the preventable deaths of workers. Most employers get away with a relatively small fines (the total OSHA fine in this case was $31, 500), but sometimes aggressive prosecutors can not only punish the killers, but send an important message out to employers nationwide: Workplace killing means jail."

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

DNR Regional Headquarters awarded LEEDTM Gold Certification

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

MPCA News Releases

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

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

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

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

Contact: Garth Hickle, 651-215-0224

Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New EPA Program Saves Dollars and Makes Sense

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

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

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

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

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

Why washing your jeans can cost the Earth

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

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

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

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

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

Kim Willsher in Paris
Monday June 12, 2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Bright Side of Global Warming

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

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

Ethanol Investment: Golden Opportunity or Fool’s Gold?

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

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

Environmental Organizations Warn on Biofuels

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

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

Producing Bio-ethanol From Agricultural Waste A Step Closer

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

Michigan Leads Nation in Pollution Prevention Awards

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

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

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

Study Shows Our Ancestors Survived 'Snowball Earth'

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

Now My Popcorn?

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

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

Source: www.baltimoresun.com/

Tax My Carbon - Forbes.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Underlying Cause Of Massive Pinyon Pine Die-off Revealed

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

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

Biodiesel plant won’t help nearby farmers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Steve Verhey
Guest Comment

Friday, May 26, 2006

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

Anthropologist Looks At Superstition About June 6 And '666'

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

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

The Environmental Wars : Overview

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

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

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

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

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

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

What they found is both good news and a puzzle.

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

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

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