Old but still green - LEED sooo 1960's

Big & Green 2003...history behind LEED Green architecture became a worldwide cause in the 1960s and 1970s in response to growing awareness of environmental degradation and rising fuel prices. The first green architects focused primarily on single-family homes, although some promising work was done on other small-scale buildings. In the late 90's  several rating systems such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) developed by Building Research Establishment in the United Kingdom developed as criteria for evaluating these relatively new design approaches. 

Dutch Pavilion, Expo 2000 (Hannover, Germany).

A prototype for the introduction of nature in physically dense cities, the Dutch Pavilion included a water-reclamation system to capture rainwater and distribute it throughout the building.

From 2003 show: "Sustainable architecture is a potent new movement that could revolutionize the way our buildings and cities are designed and constructed," "This movement emerges from an increasing respect for our environment, combined with a continuing demand for new construction to meet the needs of urban and regional growth. And it recognizes — now more than ever — that energy must be used wisely and conserved."

Wisconsin LEED building mandate update

Lawmaker eases green building bill standards (UPDATE)
State Rep. Louis Molepske Jr., D-Stevens Point, said his bill still would require all public buildings of at least 10,000 square feet — including state, municipal and public school district projects — be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver standards. But the measure no longer would mandate LEED certification.

"We're making it flexible enough so that the (Wisconsin Department of Administration) would determine whether a building is built to an energy efficient standard that, at the base, meets the LEED silver standard," he said. "That way, the third party review doesn't have to be the (U.S. Green Building Council). It can be Green Globes or any similar type of third party audit."
Molepske Jr.

Green Globes was developed by the Green Building Initiative as an alternative to LEED and is the preferred green building standard in Canada. The Green Globes registration and verification cost is about $5,000 to $7,000 per project, which is less than LEED's general certification costs of $10,000 or more.

Nobody challenged the original bill's intent to encourage development of more green buildings in Wisconsin, Molepske said. Instead, he said, the battle has been over how to achieve that goal. He said LEED silver standards should not be difficult for builders.

"It was said in testimony that if you're not already building to LEED silver, you should find a new job," he said. "It's pretty easy to get there."

It's helpful to open the field up to include Green Globes and other certification processes — Truelove said Renschler developed its own certification process that can be done for $1,000 — but he said allowing a third party of the owner's choosing opens the doors to dishonesty. "People are generally good," he said. "But people will also say they're doing things when no one's watching."

Please read full from DailyReporter

'Cool cars' too hot to handle?

LA Times California officials Thursday abruptly halted a controversial effort to slash the carbon footprint of automobile air conditioning. "Cool car" rules would have required a clear reflective glaze on vehicle windows as a way to block excessive sunlight and heat. They were adopted in June by the state's Air Resources Board and were in the process of being finalized.

 "Stakeholders raised several new issues involving performance of electronic devices as they may affect public safety," James N. Goldstene, the board's executive officer, announced. "After listening to this input and accounting for the legal deadline to finalize the rule, today we are announcing that the AB 32 'cool cars' rule-making will cease."

Spokesman Stanley Young said the board would now pursue "a performance-based approach," meaning that auto manufacturers would have to meet a standard for a specific drop in the interior temperature of vehicles, "but they are free to draw on any technology to achieve it. This could be through advanced windows that keep the sun's heat out, but also heat-reflecting paints, different upholstery, or even fans that circulate air and keep the car cool while it is standing in the sun." --Margot Roosevelt

Green-Trust Cornucopia of sustainable off-grid living products

I do not endorse or promote products... but Steve Spence always offers such great ideas just by reading and looking at what his group is doing over at Green-Trust.org.

Here are a few pictures and you can go from there.

 Methane Digester Video and Plans-


 Axial Flux Wind Turbine Plans


 This is the Green Trust Off Grid Water Pump.


 Rocket Stove Cook Stove

Feed in Tariff or pyramid scheme... Not that CLEAR

Is the CLEAR sustainable program economically sustainable?
While current Cap-N-Trade program on the table has clear winners and epic losers...  but, the CLEAR program appears quite different.  I thought 'sustainable' meant spending and living within the means of our resources?

Anchorage Daily News:

CLEAR stands for Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal, and its premise is simple, with a feature familiar to Alaskans -- benefits to every legal U.S. citizen.

It's one of the significant differences between CLEAR and previous Cap and Trade plans.
Unlike Cap and Trade, CLEAR addresses fossil fuels "upstream," at the point of sale. This means it doesn't create winners and losers, and it's much simpler to manage. Of course, taxing the big companies that deliver coal, oil and other fossil fuels means they will pass the cost on to their customers. That's where the benefits come in.

Currently CLEAR takes 75 percent of the tax revenues and divides it up equally in payments to every legal citizen. This means the average middle-class citizen will about break even, without changing habits at all. But what about people who reduce their carbon footprints?

 

Someone who invests in a more fuel-efficient car, or uses public transportation or reduces home heating or electric bills is essentially putting money in his or her own pocket. Not only will they have reduced their up-front costs, but they'll also be receiving the CLEAR dividend -- about $1,000 for a family of four. We believe it would be more effective for citizens to receive a tax credit or rebate after stating they'd reduced their carbon footprint.

And what about the other 25 percent of revenues? It establishes a development and transition fund for renewable resources, which will create jobs and help battle the effects of global warming. We would support amendments to increase development of renewable energy -- particularly smart grids, solar and wind power and improved transportation options.

The beauty of the plan is it's economically and environmentally sound. Co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the bill fills all of 39 pages -- about 40 times smaller than similar bills. The concept is that taxes and higher fuel costs will encourage a slow transition to renewable energy sources, and that the transition will be eased by the dividend payments to families. As the transition takes place, new renewable research, development and implementation of U.S. industries will provide jobs, as well as cheaper fuel sources for American families.

....One of the defining issues of our generation is how to move to sustainable living and a future with a strong economy, affordable renewable energy, clean air and water, and a healthy environment.

While there is still much to be worked out, the CLEAR approach is a step in the right direction and one that enjoys bi-partisan and industry support, a rare combination to be sure...

Please read more at Anchorage Daily News

100mpg + hydraulic drives... Not New but smart use of energy

Valentin Technologies introduced a 'new concept drive' that theoretically gets 170 mpg.
Hydraulic drives are used on everything from hightech tanks and jets to simple lawnmowers.
While their 170mpg claim will need to be proven, the idea of hydralic fluid drives already has great potential to reduce energy consumption, drive line wear and friction.

My favorite idea is like 'Valentin' to build a 'drop in drive' or 'add on' system to upgrade current gas hog fleets.
I would prefer a turbine system that could run on nearly any source, eliminating nearly 30% of fuel used in our world lost during refining and distribution. But that is sooo 1960's ;-)

Enjoy more turbine at PopSci from Hot Rod Magazine's explanation of these turbines and their fuel (via Jalopnik):

"According to all accounts this went from zero to 150mph in 4 seconds before becoming airborne and sliding out of control."[Turbonique fan site]

Bill Gates Teams Up With Toshiba to Build Mini Nuclear Reactors

Inhabitat

The new nuclear age has officially begun. First President Obama announced $8 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear power, and now Toshiba has teamed up with TerraPower, a Bill Gates-backed startup, to develop hot tub-sized nuclear reactors that only need to be refueled every 60 to 100 years. Continue at Inhabitat

How to use solar and win... Solar Powered Cellphone Towers

Inhabitat - Solar Powered Cellphone Towers in India to Save 5 Million Tons of CO2 and $1.4 Billion

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is poised to mandate that telecom operators power their cellphone towers with solar panels instead of the diesel generators that are currently used.

This may not seem like such a big deal until you think about the numbers – India has approximately 500 million mobile phone subscribers (more than the population of any country except China) and still continues to be one of the two fastest growing telecom markets. That means that even more cellphone towers are going to be set up in the near future.

According to Cleantechnica, the switch over to solar power translates to a reduction of 5 million tons of CO2 emissions as well as a savings of $1.4 billion!

Read full at Inhabitat

REACH Compliance 8 potential Substances of Very High Concern

Nexreg on REACH Compliance

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published proposals to identify eight chemicals as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) and possible candidates for authorisation..Interested parties are invited to comment on the eight proposals by 22 April 2010.

The detailed proposals along with the potential chemicals are available here: New public consultation on eight potential substances of very high concern

Read more from ECHA

Scale of our future... Tiny Mini-Generators Scavenge Energy From Ambient, Random Vibrations

From PopSci  "The vast majority of environmental kinetic energy surrounding us everyday does not occur in periodic, repeatable patterns. Energy from traffic on a busy street or bridge or in a tunnel, and people walking up and down stairs, for example, cause vibrations that are non-periodic and occur at low frequencies," Najafi said. "Our parametric generators are more efficient in these environments."... researchers have built three prototypes and a fourth is forthcoming. In two of the generators, the energy conversion is performed through electromagnetic induction, in which a coil is subjected to a varying magnetic field. This is a process similar to how large-scale generators in big power plants operate.

The latest and smallest device, which measures one cubic centimeter, uses a piezoelectric material, which is a type of material that produces charge when it is stressed. This version has applications in infrastructure health monitoring. The generators could one day power bridge sensors that would warn inspectors of cracks or corrosion before human eyes could discern problems.

The Mini-Generator Tzeno Galchev, University of Michigan

The generators have demonstrated that they can produce up to 0.5 milliwatts (or 500 microwatts) from typical vibration amplitudes found on the human body. That's more than enough energy to run a wristwatch, which needs between one and 10 microwatts, or a pacemaker, which needs between 10 and 50. A milliwatt is 1,000 microwatts.

"The ultimate goal is to enable various applications like remote wireless sensors and surgically implanted medical devices," Galchev said. "These are long lifetime applications where it is very costly to replace depleted batteries or, worse, to have to wire the sensors to a power source."

Batteries are often an inefficient way to power the growing array of wireless sensors being created today, Najafi said. Energy scavenging can provide a better option.

"There is a fundamental question that needs to be answered about how to power wireless electronic devices, which are becoming ubiquitous and at the same time very efficient," Najafi said. "There is plenty of energy surrounding these systems in the form of vibrations, heat, solar, and wind."

These generators could also power wireless sensors deployed in buildings to make them more energy efficient, or throughout large public spaces to monitor for toxins or pollutants.

[PhysOrg]

HUGE - Lower WindEnergy Costs 4 fold & Wind Energy Storage by

A new spin-out company from The University of Nottinghamaims to lower wind energy costs by four times and reduce the cost of storing excess wind energy by five times. NIMROD Energy Ltd is being launched this week by Professor Seamus Garvey. The system is also four times more efficient in terms of the amount of steel and concrete is needed to generate a megawatt. This system and kite generated wind and the improved storage of the uneven energy generated would make wind competitive with the factory mass produced deeper burn nuclear fission systems that I like. It will be good to have more of both to meet growing world energy demand.

The industry has converged on a consensus that large wind turbines should be three-bladed, horizontal-axis machines on top of a tubular tower. This is good up to 150 meters in diameter.

Prof Garvey turbine is dramatically different: a horizontal-axis machine with eight blades — four long and four short. A floating framework replaces the tower, and it converts wind power internally within the blades. Think of a bicycle wheel rotating slowly, and a loose bead on each spoke. The beads represent pistons travelling back and forth inside tubes in the blades, compressing air as they do so.

The baby of the family is a 200 meter-diameter machine producing 18MW in a decent wind and costing less than 40% of the 40 million pounds you'd spend on a corresponding set of direct-generating machines. Her big sisters might easily reach 400 meter in diameter and could be 50% more cost-effective.

Energy-storage capability comes as an added bonus. I am suggesting "energy bags" held down on the ocean floor with ballast weights about 600m below the surface. Ireland has such deep water in the Atlantic suitably close to shore.

To store 10% of our average total daily electricity generation in this way would would cost less than €300m. That would mean 1,000 bags 25m wide when full.

If you think that all of this is hot air, you would be right — in part.
Air compressed to 60 times atmospheric pressure will get hot — up to 630C.
His turbines create energy differently to conventional ones, using falling masses within the blades to compress air.

The technology is uses giant wind turbines to compress and pump air into huge undersea Energy Bags™ anchored to the seabed — or geological formations where deep water is not available. The high pressure air would be expanded in special turbo-generator sets to provide electricity as required — not just when the wind is blowing. It would see vast floating offshore 'energy farms' created off the coastline around the UK.

shown are the prototype energy bags for storing compressed air

Professor Garvey's research has proven that by taking offshore wind turbines to a scale never before imagined — 230m diameter is the baby of the family — and considering some radical redesigns, the total amount of structural material per kW of rated power can be slashed, effectively cutting costs by a factor of four or more. He believes it is possible to store energy at costs well below £10,000/MWh — less than 20 per cent of pumped hydro energy, the cheapest competing technology.

Testing of scale-model prototype Energy Bags ™ has already commenced. A research project funded with €310,000 from the EON International Research Initiative has already funded the development of analysis and design tools for the energy bags and will provide further prototype testing in seawater leading to an energy storage product that will be ready for use in energy systems by May 2011.

 Read full at NextBigFuture

Cheap talk and finding on Modular Nuclear Reactors

Energy Secretary Talks Up Small Modular Nuclear Reactors But Only Provides $39 million in Budget
Steven Chu says one of the most promising areas is small modular reactors (SMRs). If we can develop this technology in the U.S. and build these reactors with American workers, we will have a key competitive edge.

Rod Adams points out - Those are some terrific words, but the message loses some of its impact when the numbers are revealed later down the page. In the 2011 budget, the Administration requested just $39 million for a program aimed specifically at small reactors. That amount of money would not even pay for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission costs of reviewing the license for a single nuclear energy system design certification.
Please read more at NextBigFuture

Leading nuclear fuel waste reduction... China

The first re-use of nuclear fuel in a Candu reactor has started at Qinshan nuclear power plant in China.Over the next six months, another 24 of the 'natural uranium equivalent' (NUE) bundles will be used in two of the reactor's fuel channels. 

If successful over a one-year trial, this practice could help China get more energy from its imported uranium and reduce stocks of highly-radioactive used nuclear fuel at the same time.
Please read more at NextBigFuture.

Green Computing HACK - Geothermal Glory

VIA HAckaDay

Are you still using heat sinks and fans to cool your computer? Lame.

Tearing up your property to bury geothermal coils is definitely the way to go. [Romir] has been working on this for about a month and is just getting back data from the first multi-day tests. Take some time to dig through his original post. It includes something of a table-of-contents for the 35 updates he's posted so far. Closed loop cooling seems to be trendy right now, we just didn't expect to see a system this large as part of a personal project. The last one we looked at used just six meters of pipe.

Half of Indonesia's mangroves gone in less than thirty years

The Jakarta Post reports that, according to the local NGO People's Coalition for Justice in Fisheries (Kiara), Indonesia's has lost 2.2 million hectares of mangroves in less than thirty years, going from covering 4.2 million hectares in 1982 to just 2 million hectares today.
Please read full at mongabay

Much love if the world was a village of 100.

From Toby Ng - More than words can say

See more here

Enviro Fantasy: London in 2050

StrangeMaps - A Piccadilly Fantasy: London in 2050

So it's 2010, and we're not living on Mars, nor even zipping through the sky in flying cars. But neither do we have to bow to our new insect overlords. The promises (and threats) of the future never quite materialise how we once imagined them.

The current paradigm of futurism is of impending climatological doom – a secular, scientific eschatology with clear religious overtones, in the public's mind replacing earlier concepts of nuclear Armageddon (and of course competing with the 'original', Biblical End Times).

That present-day environmentalist prism through which we view the future is illustrated nicely by this map of London in 2050. This Fantasy Piccadilly Line, by artist Nils Norman, is a variation on posters highlighting the tourist attractions above the actual Underground lines. This way of linking tube stations to the actual street plan of London is an interesting departure from the usual diagrammatic presentation of the Tube lines (i.e. the Harry Beck map).

Mr Norman's map "shows a mixture of unrealised and fantastical buildings and systems alongside images of other artists' proposals. The map presents a vision of London as an ecological haven inhabited by Utopian and Dystopian machinery as an alternative to the more typical view of a city dominated by tourist attractions."

In the background are the North London Turbine Fields. A forest of wind turbines is also collectively known as a wind farm. Such farms are a popular method of creating energy in an environmentally responsible (non-carbon, renewable) way. Popular, that is, except with people near projected farms who often cite the visual impact as an objection to the projects.

Please read full at StrangeMaps

This map found as a pdf on this page of Thin Cities,

Today is World Water Day

From The Cost of Energy 

The UNEP (United nations Environment Programme) has release their report Sick Water. From the Executive Summary:

The world is facing a global water quality crisis. Continuing population growth and urbanisation, rapid industralisation, and expanding and intensifying food production are all putting pressure on water resources and increasing the unregulated or illegal discharge of contaminated water within and beyond national borders. This presents a global threat to human health and wellbeing, with both immediate and long term consequences for efforts to reduce poverty whilst sustaining the integrity of some of our most productive ecosystems.

There are many causes driving this crisis, but it is clear that freshwater and coastal ecosystems across the globe, upon which humanity has depended for millennia, are increasingly threatened. It is equally clear that future demands for water cannot be met unless wastewater management is revolutionized.

Global populations are expected to exceed nine billion by 2050. Urban populations may rise nearly twice as fast, projected to nearly double from current 3.4 billion to 6.4 billion by 2050, with numbers of people living in slums rising even faster, from one to 1.4 billion in just a decade. Over a fifth of the global total, 1.6 billion people are expected to live by the coast by 2015. Inadequate infrastructure and management systems for the increasing volume of wastewater that we produce are at the heart of the wastewater crisis.

The way we produce our food uses 70–90 per cent of the available fresh water, returning much of this water to the system with additional nutrients and contaminants. It is a domino effect as downstream agricultural pollution is joined by human and industrial waste. This wastewater contaminates freshwater and coastal ecosystems, threatening food security, access to safe drinking and bathing water and providing a major health and environmental management challenge. Up to 90 per cent of wastewater flows untreated into the densely populated coastal zone contributing to growing marine dead zones, which already cover an area of 245 000 km2, approximately the same area as all the world's coral reefs.

…

Read more updates at:  The Cost of Energy 

• Press Releases March 2010 - Time to Cure Global Tide of Sick Water - United Nations Environment Programme
• Sick water? The central role of wastewater management in sustainable development [home page of the report where you can download the report, posters, etc.]
• The report [6MB PDF]

Battery Evolution... Electric Bike Hack

From HAckAday

This bicycle add-on uses an electric motor to help you out. This way the motor takes advantage of the gearing normally available to the cyclist. What interests us most about the system is the DIY battery work they're doing. The cells are using Lithium Iron Phosphate technology. The li-ion cells you're used to seeing in consumer electronics are actually Lithium Cobalt Oxide. The Iron Phosphate flavor offers longer overall lifespan, better operation between charges over that life, and improved cold-weather performance.  The drawbacks include a 20-cycle break-in period and an affinity for trickle-charging versus faster charging methods.

The 48V cell seen above will provide 30-40 miles of travel between charges. We feel that getting the power plant out of our vehicles is an important step toward energy overhaul but it can only happen if the battery technology makes it possible. Then again, perhaps we're barking up the wrong tree and should have placed our bets on compressed air.

Cool Batteries last longer.

Batteries: A number of studies have shown that storing batteries in the freezer helps them retain their charge longer. This is less true for alkaline batteries (freezing extends their shelf life by only about 5%) than it is for NiMH and Nicad batteries often used in electronics. Keeping NiMH batteries in the freezer can boost battery life by 90%.

Read all at Huffpost daily green 10 Weird Things in My Freezer

When you never try you can never fail OR succeed

Quote of the day VIA Cal-OSHA Reporter

"When you go out and you accomplish something" you are "subject to controversy."

Responding to a state senator's question about why the board is under such scrutiny these days.

Haase - Disclaimer for everyone I have 'appeared to have judge':
I would only judge people I already have respect and hope for.  There would be no gain in judging anyone I could not hope to help or offer constructive suggestions for.  My wife and I consider this  'sharing of different constructive ideas and opinions', the strength of a good marriage.
For co-workers and colleagues, true progress. The 'art' is always a balance of respect and constructive input.

Achilles Heal - ego

Pepsi Pulling Their Sodas From Schools Worldwide By 2012

I never drank much soda, but gave it up completely when I found out just two a week could raise my cancer risk 87%* Now Pepsi is taking the initiative to remove it from schools.

Consumerist -  This is a bit of bittersweet news for those of us who remember sneaking down to our high school music room to score a can of Pepsi from the machine between classes -- PepsiCo has announced that they've volunteered to pull all their beverage products out of schools around the world by 2012.

For students here in the U.S., this is nothing new. Both Pepsi and Coca Cola stopped selling their sodas in American schools 4 years ago. But this latest move pulls Pepsi drinks out of all schools (with students age 18 and under) in 200 countries.

Coke did recently announce that they would stop sales in primary schools around the globe, but that the company would continue to sell their products to high school students if their schools wanted them to.

"We believe school authorities should have the right to choose what is best for their schools," a rep for Coke explained.

Meanwhile, even the people at the Center for Science in the Public Interest had something nice to say about PepsiCo's announcement.

"We applaud Pepsi for its global commitment," a rep for CSPI said. "But shame on Coca-Cola for insisting on targeting high school students in most countries around the world."

Do you think this reflects a genuine interest from PepsiCo in curbing childhood obesity? Or is it merely a PR stunt to get people to ultimately drink more Pepsi? Read full at USA Today

*WebMD  ''People who drank two or more soft drinks a week had an 87% increased risk -- or nearly twice the risk -- of pancreatic cancer compared to individuals consuming no soft drinks,"

Rig count & profits down, Oil Prices up - Natural Gas Historic low

From EIA quarter report...  total income -59%
Based on these figures future pain and volatility is inevitable...

• Crude oil prices in Q409 were 39 percent higher than in Q408 and 24 percent higher than the average for the fourth quarter of 2004-2008 (in Q409 dollars).

• Natural gas prices of Q409 were 36 percent lower than in Q408 and 47 percent lower than the fourth quarter average for 2004-2008 (measured in Q409 dollars).

Please see full report by EIA here

Comprehensive guide to "Organic" and other food labels

Via Boing2 - A sane, hype-free guide to natural food certifications. Which labels can you trust? Which are marketing hooey? And how much do we really know about "Certified Organic"?

Everywhere you look, food is trying to impress you with how natural it is, but the message is vague and often misleading. What does "organic" actually mean? What separates "grass-fed" from "free range"? We're separating real, meaningful labels from eco-hype.

Read more from  The LifeHacker and  Washington Post

And the one of the most comprehensive resources in determining what a label really means comes from Consumer Reports' Eco-Labels verifier, a search and index tool that covers a wide variety of labels. From generic labels applied in spirit to state-specific co-op certifications, there's a really good chance anything you're looking for is in there.

Other tools

 

The Beef Label Decoder as an interactive tool to help you figure out what the label on your USDA Organic beef label is trying to tell you. If you're interested in finding out more about your milk, Where Is My Milk From? can answer exactly that question, if you type in the stamped code off the top of your carton.

Not included above are many state-wide and regional certification labels, which are, as previously mentioned, covered more in-depth at Consumer Reports' big label chart and search tool.

AT&T's New ZERO Charger

Not huge but something we can all do is nice.

In case you didn't know -- though if you're a reader, you probably do -- that cell phone charger you have plugged into your wall socket is pulling power even when you're not charging your phone. AT&T figures that enough power is wasted in the U.S. alone to power 24,000 homes for a year. That's why they've gone all eco-savvy on us and announced their new ZERO charger. More » By Consumerist

Peak Rare earth, Lithium and future options

As discussed yesterday... a sustainable energy future requires sustainable resources for raw materials production.
If the costs for raw materials for solar, wind and batteries continue to skyrocket and resources dwindle, how is this and different paradigm? The key will be to build these energy resources around sustainable resources. Simple math that appears to be very hard for the 'green energy' community to comprehend...

Rare Earth Updated via Boing2: Life imitates Avatar. Danger Room reports, "The House Committee on Science and Technology's investigations and oversight panel is holding a hearing today on rare-earth metal supplies, focusing on China's near-monopoly on the stuff. As we've reported here before, China has raised concerns by threatening to limit exports. And to make matters more complicated, U.S. mining companies are dependent on China for processing."

Peak Lithium Update Via PeakEnergy -
The large scale future production of lithium tends to focus on Bolivia, which has the world's largest lithium resource soaked into the coating on the world's largest salt flat, the Salar De Uyuni.

The subject of Peak lithium has been raised from time to time (with recent commentary at Seeking Alpha and The Oil Drum) with Jack Lifton (author of the Seeking Alpha article) arguing that lithium supplies will be insufficient to meet our needs while Keith Evans argues there is more than enough resources available.

Oh yeah, make your own OLED's

The University of Wisconsin is hosting a tutorial on how to make your own Organic Light Emitting Diodes. This is so amazingly awesome.

We want you guys to make some. Someone make your own matrix and display some patterns on it and submit it. Please. Though we've seen lots of uses for OLED screens, we never really delved into the process of creating them. It looks much less complicated than we would have imagined. Read more at MakeZine

via HackAday

Help from CRS for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Disaster Response

VIA DocUticker: 
OpenCRS -  In the aftermath of a major disaster, communities may need to rebuild, replace, or possibly even relocate a multitude of structures. When recovery activities take place on such a potentially large scale, compliance with any of a number of local, state, and federal laws or regulations...the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.) may apply.

... compliance criteria applicable to historic preservation, floodplain management, endangered species, air quality, and farmland protection have been considered. This review is required not only to meet NEPA obligations, but also to ensure that the project being funded does not violate applicable environmental law.

...To address issues associated with the NEPA process, this report provides an overview of the NEPA process as it applies to such projects, identifies the types of projects (categorized by federal funding source) likely to require environmental review, and delineates the types of projects for which no or minimal environmental review is required (i.e., those for which statutory or regulatory exemptions apply) and those likely to require more in-depth review.

Lawsuit questions whether cutting-edge research is moving too fast for safety regulations to keep up

VIA PopSCI: "Pfizer Employee Claims Company Fired Her After Infection From An Engineered Virus"

A former Pfizer scientist is suing the pharmaceuticals giant after alleging she contracted an artificial, HIV-like, virus created by a colleague. In her lawsuit, Becky McClain claims Pfizer unlawfully dismissed her while she suffered bouts of paralysis brought on by the man-made virus. Pfizer denies these accusations, and says McClain simply didn't come to work, and only linked her problems to engineered-disease exposure after she was fired.

According to McClain, researchers in her lab genetically engineered an artificial lentivirus, a class of viruses that also includes HIV. McClain believes that she became infected by the virus due to faulty safety measures, resulting in complete body paralysis as often as 12 times every month.

For its part, Pfizer claims that its facilities maintain the required level of safety, a position that OSHA agrees with. Pfizer contends that they responded to McClain's initial complaints about the failure of lab safety devices, and that she refused to return to work even after Pfizer offered to transfer her to a different area. Additionally, Pfizer also claims that McClain's illness could not have resulted from the escaped virus, since it was not engineered from a human virus, or with the genetic code needed for reproduction and infection.

Most likely, we will never know if it is Pfizer's virus that caused McClain's health problems. The court case will focus mostly on safety procedures in the laboratory, not on what exactly from the lab caused the illness. Also, Pfizer refuses to release the genome of the suspected virus, preventing both identification of the disease, as well as the development of a possible cure.

Ouch.... please read full at The Hartford Courant

Photo from Discovery Article here on AID's

Update:

"I was very pleased the jury found that Pfizer did retaliate against me for speaking about unsafe conditions at the Groton lab and for making a report to OSHA." Becky McClain, former Pfizer scientist, about a $1.37 million award in her favor

Enegy Quote of the week - ASPO

"Carbon-based fuels, in their cleaner forms, must keep carrying the load. Renewables just cannot ramp up fast enough to replace them. Let's consider what gas can mean for the future. The real future, not the pipe dreams of the hydrocarbon deniers." - James Mulva, CEO of ConocoPhillips

And another nice one: By John Dizard, the Financial Times
“I think it might not be a bad idea to examine the faith-based assumption that the US has a virtually unlimited supply of natural gas from shale formations that can be extracted at a low price for the indefinite future. Perhaps the few people who think shale gas will be produced at a higher cost, and more slowly, than generally believed should be heard out, rather than be executed or sentenced to work in the salt mines.”

Another HHO scam/pitch or good 3R's of battery tech?

I was forwarded a email regarding a 'secret' battery technology from 'Rob Matthies'. (full linked here)
Nearly every week for the past decade I have been sent information on the 'next perpetual motion machine' or 'energy storage device'... most in the long run prove only that the inventors of the technology were simply wrong about laws of physics, thermal dynamics or energy loss by scale and application (i.e. lost in translation).


But, every now and then the underdog of energy is mentioned - 'R³'
That is an idea that Reduce, Reuses and Recycle (R³) is the best sustainable energy.

Nothing is more true in eco or economics, than ...'what we do not waste we do not have to produce'.

And due to translation loss, it always takes more energy to produce, store and transfer it. Therefore 'R³' will always trump even free energy if we continue to not reuse our waste streams. It is fairly basic math... And on the first pass of this 'buy my invention email, I quickly realized he had 'just another HHO, A.K.A 'browns gas' unicorn power source (he calls his "secret sauce").... yet when I read, I look for the 'good in everything'   Regardless if Mr. Matthies battery claims are proven or disprove in the long run, he provides inarguable 'R³' facts regarding batteries. Sure he is has the typical HHO, 'browns gas' things muddle up for 'experts and engineers' to try to completely disregard his ideas, but when he is right, he is sooo right. Facts they can not argue without grossly ignoring costs or laws of thermal dynamics:

• There are massive cost, resource and longevity issues with current lithium-ion batteries to prove even remotely sustainable from a raw material and recyclable stand point.
• At current energy rates, nearly all forms of 'electrical storage' can not return on cost of initial investment over lifespan, maintenance and longevity costs... even with heavy upfront and annual subsides (ouch).
• Traditional batteries and earth batteries are VERY underrated and offer more hopes than delusions when incorporated into a battery exchange, ultra capacitor and dense core methodlogies.
  

Here are the reference points Rob Matthies makes in his rant:

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Vancouver Gadgeteer of the 'Revived Battery' electric vehicles

Regarding 'Revived Battery':

ROB'S OPINION OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERY PACKS FOR EV'S ­The price is too high. The replacement cost to run my pickup truck on Li-on is $40,000. Furthermore, a Li-on pack might last only 2 years. Worse yet, is the nightmare of tiny sensor wires needed to monitor individual cells, or group of Li-on cells in the pack. Then, there is the unperfected Battery Management System ("BMS") required for each pack. Yes, there are a few companies who have almost all the problems solved, but they haven't brought out a "universal" Li-on battery pack, with a matching, internal BMS, at affordable prices.  

ROB'S OPINION OF SABOTAGED LEAD ACID BATTERIES ­ Here's something you probably didn't know: Lead acid batteries, which are dirt cheap, can have 4X to 10X more capacity, but the big manufacturers aren't selling the high performance models any longer.   Here's a second example: There is a genius battery re-builder, now in Asia due to his frustration with his own US home, who has converted lead acid batteries to contain ten times more energy. His electric vehicles powered by modded SLA batteries do incredible burn- outs. However, he has been hounded out of the electric vehicle community because everybody expected this genius to simply give everybody his knowledge for free. I hope we will soon see boatloads of affordable hyper-powered lead acid batteries coming out of China and Singapore with his technology. These hyper-powered lead-acid batteries, similar to Hawker's Genesis batteries made in the US, can provide Li-on energy densities at slightly-higher-than lead-acid battery prices.  

ROB'S VIEW OF NO-WEAR NEW LEAD-ACID BATTERIES ­ Most flooded and gel batteries wear out after several hundred charge/discharge cycles. Except for one brand, which kept it original capacity for 1,000 cycles, even without my battery revival process. All batteries could be just as wear-proof, if the manufacturers wanted to sell 'em to the public; or, the batteries age prematurely due to less-than-perfect charging cycles. Who mandates these battery charging cycles?  

WHAT KILLS BATTERIES? I learned that not all battery charger companies use the industry-standard charging pattern. At least one brand of battery chargers was able to make batteries last 2X to 6X longer, simply because its charging curve didn't conform to the industry-suggested standard charging pattern. And vise- versa, I found an expensive, highly-regarded, battery- charger that killed a battery in less than 10 cycles. This experience made me realize that there could be an industry conspiracy to make sure that we keep on buying batteries needlessly. Even the CBS' 60 Minutes ran a documentary on how the AA alkalines were originally invented to be rechargeable, but the manufacturers purposely made them non-rechargeable. 

...opt for marine batteries when their OEM (original equipment) batteries die, because the marine batteries will live some 4X longer than the factory original. Here in British Columbia, there are retired fishermen who know how to make lead acid batteries last 30 years on their boats.

THE GOOD NEWS ­ THERE ARE SOME REVOLUTIONARY ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND COMPONENT INVENTORS OUT THERE. ...

a 500W electric scooter that has an ultra-capacitor capability that makes the 500W electric motor perform like a 3000W electric motor, for those steep hills.

BAD NEWS.  WITHOUT BATTERY REVIVAL, EV's ARE TOO COSTLY On a per-mile basis, an electric scooter's battery replacement cost is higher than buying gasoline. This economic disparity is the real hurdle for electric vehicles and off-grid solar-powered homes.

Here's the calculation: A 50cc two-stroke gasoline scooter requires $3 worth of gasoline every 100 kilometers. (Don't believe anybody who tells you otherwise.) On an electric scooter, on a worst case scenario, the cost is $20 per 100 kilometers. Based on several Zenn electric car owners who contacted me, the battery replacement cost is $50 per 100 kilometers. For comparison, the gasoline cost for a Nissan Sentra is only $6 per hundred kilometers. However, with battery revival, your replacement cost is zero? Never buy another battery. For $300, you can get the equipment, supplies, and knowhow to revive all kinds and sizes of batteries. You can even turn this into a business, if you like, especially in third world countries and remote islands. The good news is that a few people with knowhow, like myself, never have to buy another lead acid, alkaline, or lithium battery in this lifetime. 

BAD NEWS. EV COMPONENT DEGRADATION NEEDS "SECRET SAUCE" EVERY 2 YEARS ­ Did you know that EV's with individual hub motors were running in Germany in around 1880 or so? You'll find them in the Porsche museum. However, components today will degrade unless you apply a "secret sauce" to them, as NASA does on its space satellites. Proof? Just look at the number of 3 to 4 year old scooters for sale, at huge markdowns, in Craigslist. They no longer perform adequately, even though, as the ads state, they have "new batteries". Good news: The component degradation is reversible, inexpensively.

TAKE ACTION ­ WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET ELECTRIC VEHICLES BACK ON THE ROAD? I suggest the following actions: Do not trust any large manufacturer's possibly-sabotaged information or products. Buy your products and e-books from the small guys and gals who have a proven track record of cutting-edge performance. If you want a durable EV, you must be modify several components, which is not hard to do. Be a Man! Be a Tinkerer! Be a Gadgeteer! Don't be afraid to fix almost all those failing electronic items, like I do, with my "secret sauce".  

REASONS TO OWN AN ELECTRIC SCOOTER OR ELECTRIC CAR An electric bike or scooter makes economic sense if you're now paying for parking meters or for-fee parking lots, e.g. downtown. If you don't need a car, the purchase of an electric bike or scooter, will save you about $6,000 per year. Furthermore, the authoritative book by Terry Taminen,"Lives Per Gallon" states that the fumes from a gasoline car are slowly killing you, the driver, or passenger. What is your life worth? ­ 

RELATED SUBJECT MATTER ­ I am able to revive all batteries except cell phone and lap top batteries. "All" includes even single-use Lithium coil cells, despite the declaration by Battery University and Scientific American that Lithium batteries cannot be recharged. And now here is his pitch... (sorry I can not post sales pitches, but you can read it here)  

Haase - After you 'google' Mr. Matthies and fall into 'the great EV conspiracy theory'. Filter out the noise and obvious 'browns gas' issues and reflect by what is right in his data as it applies the the entire battery and EV market. Even the extra buttons on my calculator prove Rob's math on traditional batteries more right than wrong ;-)

Global warming: temporal patterns of public opinion

Rebooting the Immune System to Cure Diabetes?

Featured in this months PopSci
The ability to reprogram the immune system is one of the most sought-after goals in medicine.
Now researchers are closer than ever to pulling it off in patients with Type 1 diabetes...


Bluestone's drug is what is known as an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody.
The success of anti-CD3 represented the first one-time treatment with minimal side effects that had been shown to stop the progression of Type 1 diabetes in humans.

.... "People finally saw that it was actually possible to make a change to the course of the disease without having to use really toxic immunosuppression," he says. "Sometimes you don't know whether something is going to work until you try it, and then when it finally does, you've got a road map that other people can also use."

Please read full at PopSci

Could Sustainable Waterscraper be key to 2012 survival

This months PopSci brings a beautiful concept for Sustainable Waterscraper

Sarly Adre Bin Sarkum's Water-Scraper Sarly Adre Bin Sarkum, via eVolo

...the most impressive eVolo Magazine entry in this year's competition goes the opposite route, by dropping the building straight into the sea.The whole building would be a self-sufficient, floating, arcology. Wind, solar, and wave power would provide energy, hydroponics and the green space at the top would provide food and oxygen, and the structure would provide housing, work spaces, and areas for recreation. Read full from PopSci

[eVolo Magazine, via Geekologie]

My wonder is if it could survive a 2012 'pole shift'? ...NASA: On the sun, the solar maximum of Solar Cycle 24 in the 11-year sunspot cycle is forecast to occur. Solar Cycle 24 is regarded to have commenced January 2008, and on average will reach its peak of maximal sunspot activity around 2012. The period between successive solar maxima averages 11 years (the Schwabe cycle), and the previous solar maximum of Solar Cycle 23 occurred in 2000–2002.^[10] During the solar maximum the sun's magnetic poles will reverse.^[11]