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"

ScienceDaily: Telltale Toenails: Dartmouth Study Finds That Arsenic Inhibits DNA Repair

ScienceDaily: Telltale Toenails: Dartmouth Study Finds That Arsenic Inhibits DNA Repair: "'The DNA repair machinery normally protects us from DNA-damaging agents, such as those found in cigarette smoke,' says Andrew. 'The concern is that exposure to drinking water arsenic may exacerbate the harmful effects of smoking or other exposures.'"

Marketplace: 'Green chemistry' hitting the market

Marketplace: 'Green chemistry' hitting the market:

KAI RYSSDAL: When he said it, Timothy Leary was talking about LSD. But the slogan, 'Better living through chemistry,' originally came from DuPont. Actually, the whole catch phrase was 'Better Things for Better Living . . . Through Chemistry.' DuPont's point was chemistry can improve our daily lives. Decades of toxic spills, pollution and Superfund sites might make you think twice about that. But the backlash has inspired something called green chemistry. And now it's moving out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. Here's Sarah Gardner from the Sustainability Desk.

SARAH GARDNER: If green chemists had their way, there'd be no need for massive toxic clean-ups or class-action consumer safety lawsuits, or company spokesmen forced to defend their most popular brands.

DUPONT SPOKESMAN: In fact, cookware coated with Teflon has been used safely by tens of millions of people for over 40 years and is safe when used properly and as directed.

That was DuPont recently, on the defensive over a long-lasting chemical used to make Teflon. That chemical may ultimately prove safe. But the point, say advocates of green chemistry, is to determine safety before products go to market, not after. Paul Anastas is one of the movement's founders:

PAUL ANASTAS: Green chemistry is the design of new products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.

Anastas and fellow scientist John Warner wrote what you might call the bible of green chemistry in 1998. The book challenged chemists to design with the environment in mind. In the past few years companies like Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland and Pfizer are taking a stab at it.

TV COMMERCIAL: I'm back. I'm back. We're back. If you or your partner isn't living life to the fullest because of erectile difficulties. . . .

Bet you didn't know green chemistry is now behind Viagra. Pfizer"

Household cleaning products, air fresheners may pose health risk

Study: Household cleaning products, air fresheners may pose health risk

Source: Environmental Protection E-News, 5/25/06.

Many common household cleaners and air fresheners, when used indoors under certain conditions, emit toxic pollutants at levels that may lead to health risks, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Elminate Worker Protection Office

Department of Energy To Elminate Worker Protection Office

In what may be the waning months of a prematurely lame-duck Republican administration, the orders seem to have gone out from corporate headquarters: Identify any agencies that are doing a good job, or have the potential to do a good job (especially those that might benefit workers) -- and kill them.

The Department of Energy has revealed a plan to eliminate its office for environment, safety and health. The office was created 20 years ago to respond to radioactive contamination of workers as a result of cold war weapons production. Most of the office's current worker safety and health functions would be transferred to an office dealing with security. The current department is headed by an Assistant Secretary, a political appointee, whereas the security agency is headed by a career DOE employee.

The "official" reasoning seems a bit bizarre:

The department says the reorganization will combine some related functions that are currently separated, like safety and security.

***

Deputy Energy Secretary Clay Sell said, "We are trying to strengthen the way we do environment, safety and health policy."

For example, Mr. Sell said, the department had decided to install a Gatling gun to defend the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. "I can guarantee you that's also a safety issue," Mr. Sell said.

Under the current structure, he said, "policy and oversight and enforcement organizations have kind of been splintered."

A Gatling gun?

The DOE Office of Environment, Safety and Health is basically OSHA for the roughly 130,000 people who work for the department and its contractors.

Disposable Workers

Bob Herbert has a column in the NY Times today where he discuss a recent book by economist Louis Uchitell, The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences. Uchitelle argues corporate leaders have overdone it with layoffs:

Mr. Uchitelle's thesis is that corporate layoffs have been carried much too far, that they have gone beyond a legitimate and necessary response to a changing economy.

"What started as a necessary response to the intrusion of foreign manufacturers into the American marketplace got out of hand," he writes. "By the late 1990's, getting rid of workers had become normal practice, ingrained behavior, just as job security had been 25 years earlier."

In many cases, a thousand workers were fired when 500 might have been sufficient, or 10,000 were let go when 5,000 would have been enough. We pay a price for these excesses. The losses that accrue to companies and communities when many years of improving skills and valuable experience are casually and unnecessarily tossed on a scrap heap are incalculable.

Look at that last highlighted sentence again. Now, think about how employers justify their arguments that we don't really need OSHA to be an enforcement agency that cites and fines companies.

No, no, no:

Aside from being like families, employees are our most important resource. If they get injured or killed, we have lost an enormous investment in their skills and experience and must then find and train new workers. That's quite enough incentive to encourage us to provide a safe workplace.

So employees who are trash (despite their skills and experience) when the bottom line calls for it, suddenly become their most valuable resource when it comes to avoiding regulations and enforcement.

Anyway, just thinking.... Disposable Workers By Jordan

Quick conservation of water urged

"Thirsty lawns a target"

Lawn watering, especially irrigation systems, was the repeated target of criticism from symposium speakers. Vickers, a Massachusetts conservationist, said the No. 1 drinking problem in the United States is not alcohol, but lawns.

Wisconsin has an abundance of groundwater to work with, said Todd Ambs, state water administrator. If all of the groundwater were brought to the surface, it would cover the entire state to a depth of 100 feet, he said.

Ambs said that with new laws on groundwater use in place, and a pending nationwide agreement on regulating Great Lakes water, it is time for the state to implement water conservation plans.

'If we do this right, it is my firm belief that Wisconsin will be the center of the water belt of the United States,' Ambs said. 'This is really what I challenge people and urge people to think about and look to the future, for Wisconsin is a state woven in a fabric drenched in water.

'We have an abundant resource but it is not unlimited. If we do this right, I am firmly convinced . . . that it is a key cornerstone to the future of our economy. If we have a good sustainable water use plan for the future, in another 20 to 25 years it is my prediction that a lot of folks are going to be looking back at the Midwest because the Southwest and the Southeast portions of this country cannot sustain their growth.

'They don't have the water. They're stealing it now to make growth happen.'"

OSHA Does The Darndest Things

"OSHA chief Edwin G. Foulke Jr. , a South Carolina labor law attorney," "OSHA Director Ed Foulke Blames Workplace Carnage on Dumb Employees,"

In a year when families lost loved ones in multiple mining accidents and at a BP refinery in Ohio, the labor community interpreted the remarks as a slam at workers, blaming them for stupid mistakes on the job. Overall, there were close to 6,000 fatalities in 2004, the latest year available, plus 4.3 million injuries and illnesses.

What disturbed labor groups, critics of the Bush administration and families of workers who have been injured or killed were not the kids' posters, but the pictures Foulke juxtaposed alongside them to illustrate dangerous workplace practices.

They were a series of shots of workers doing improbable, dangerous things: someone standing on a ladder in a pool changing a light bulb, a guy on a ladder propped up against a power line, a worker repairing a truck propped up on its side, individuals covered in hazmat suits with an onlooker wearing shorts and T-shirt. ("I hope he wore sunscreen," quipped Foulke.)

"Looking at the posters," said Foulke in the speech, "I was reminded of a couple examples of safety and health bloopers that are both humorous and horrible." He repeated the bloopers in a speech a week later to a Georgia trade group.

It wasn't long before the remarks were being discussed on a widely read blog that covers labor-management issues called Confined Space.

Killed 15 to Be Corporate Hero...

In return for its generious donations to the Texas City College of the Mainland and the College of the Mainland Fondation, the Foundation has decided to select BP as its "Mainland Corporate Hero." BP is the first corporation to be recognized as an honoree at its gala.

But Larry Smith, who teaches at the college and is a founding member of its employee union doesnt' think that a company who has been admitted to the willful killing of 15 workers in an explosion last year is deserving of such an award. According to Smith

naming BP a “hero” so close to the 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery is “really bad judgment and insensitive.”...."We think it is not good to recognize them at this point and certainly not to call them a hero,” said Smith.

The union doesn't think the fact that BP was found to be the nation's top polluter among refineries in 2004 helps matters.

Foundation president David Moss says the award has nothing to do with the company's environmental or safety record.

“BP has made some healthy donations to the foundation, and that is something the gala committee came up with to make its selection,” said Moss.

He said the bottom line is what the company had done for the students and what it had done for the college and the foundation.

***

OSHA fined BP $21.3 million for violations related to the explosion, including 170 "Egregious Willful Violations." and the Department of Justice is preparing a civil suit against the company. Last month, OSHA fined a BP refinery near Toledo, Ohio $2.4 million for unsafe operations.

I guess they don't make heros like they used to.

EPA air toxics emissions declined by 42%.

Environmental Protection Agency - Air Trends - Continued Progress Through 2005

The Clean Air Act directs EPA to establish air quality standards to protect public health and the environment. EPA sets national air quality standards for six principal air pollutants (also called the criteria pollutants): nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and lead (Pb).

Looking at Growth and Emissions
Each year EPA looks at emissions that impact the ambient concentrations of these pollutants. These annual emissions estimates are used as one indicator of the effectiveness of our programs. The graph below shows that between 1970 and 2005, gross domestic product increased 195 percent, vehicle miles traveled increased 178 percent, energy consumption increased 48 percent, and U.S. population grew by 42 percent. During the same time period, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants dropped by 53 percent.

From 1990 to 2002, air toxics emissions declined by 42%. These reductions are the result of implementing stationary and mobile source regulations. Seventy-five percent of air toxics emitted in 2002 are included below as volatile organic compound and particulate matter emissions.

CFC ban repairing ozone layer

A new study shows that a ban on ozone-depleting chemicals has led to a slow recovery of the Earth's protective ozone layer. Researchers say within the next 100 years, the ozone layer could be as strong as it was 25 years ago. But there's still a lot of uncertainty about the recovery process.

More ozone FACTS:
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html
http://www.ozonelayer.noaa.gov/science/basics.htm

Message for Dan (Ipods R4 music & Trix R4 kids)

I left this Comment for Danny Joe...
I agree that Podcasts are for the lazy writers and I won't listen anytime soon.

The next Water-Cars patent (100's) filed

From the FOX news 13 segment: Klein just patented his process of converting H2O to HHO, producing a gas that combines the atomic power of hydrogen with the chemical stability of water. "it turns right back to water.

It seems like every 15 years or so some guy comes along and claims to have come up with a way to turn water into clean burning fuel. The thing is, any elementary school student can turn water into hydrogen and oxygen, which burns very nicely, turning back into water when it burns. If Klien has a truly “energy free” way to electrolyze H then he has a true perpetual motion machine.

Klien's website about the efficiency of the process, but if it isn't greater than 100%, then what's the big deal? The welding device seems kind of neat, but I've read comments that dismiss these kinds of welding torches.

I remember seeing an article like this awhile back. http://www.remnantsaints.com/AlternativeUtilities/Transportation/Bob_Boyce/

When you "cook" down any battery it produces excess H gas (everyone knows this).
The trick is, in a car you do have extra electric current to produce H.

In the early 90's my father and I tried this with very little MPG performance gains.
We used a small container filled with acid and an iron rod (basic battery), then “cooked it” until it produced measurable amounts of H.

There have been similar units available for over ten years like this using the “Brown's Gas” idea http://www.savefuel.ca

I was very excited about the HHO car... now sad it is just another "FOX News" Kittens & Mittens Story.

It does appear that the Simpson’s is the closest thing FOX can produce near reality.

Link to short-on-facts and big-on-hype Fox News story video: http://www.freeenergynews.com/Directory/BrownsGas/

I have yet to hear of anyone who has come up with a way to turn water into hydrogen and oxygen without using more energy than you produce.

Directory:Acetone as a Fuel Additive - PESWiki

# Toyota Prius Owner
* 'Pretty hard to believe that only 2-3 oz. of Acetone could have such a dramatic effect, but my mileage on my Prius went from 43 mpg to over 54 mpg, on the same tank of gas!' (J.; March 21, 2005)
* 'Still getting about 15-20% improvement in my Prius Mileage w/Acetone' (J; April 6, 2005)
* 'Great results in my Prius which is currently in the Tour de Sol Rally. Will post data next week.' (J; May 13, 2005)
* 'Still haven’t finished the Acetone Dyno testing, but it still is helping my Prius and suburban, about 10% on average.' (J; June 7)
* 'Suspended the testing as I have been loaning my car out to different people – too hard to collect data. Still planning to do some Dyno testing when I get some Free time.' (J; Aug. 30, 2005)
# 'I am starting testing using acetone today and looking forward to 60's in my MPG.' (E; May 1, 2006)"
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive

Smoggy Forests - Popular Science

"In 1980, when Ronald Reagan famously said that most air pollution was caused by plants, most people guffawed. Yet he may have been onto something. Scientists have since learned that some flora do produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to smog, and now a study has found that widespread land-management and forest-growing practices are making the problem worse by allowing certain VOC-emitting species to thrive. "
Smoggy Forests - Popular Science:

News: Infant pesticide exposure

New study shows that some newborns may be 65 to 130 times more sensitive to these pesticides than some adults, a level of susceptibility 26 to 50 times higher than previously believed."

Organophosphates may be more dangerous to small children than previously believed.

Some infants may be far more vulnerable to organophosphate pesticides than previously believed, according to a paper published in Pharmacogenetics and Genomics (2006, 16, 183–190).

The new study “raises the question of whether current standards for safe levels of pesticide exposure are sufficiently protective of a vulnerable population,” says Nina Holland, an adjunct professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, and coauthor of the paper.

Current U.S. EPA standards require an extra 10-fold safety factor to protect children compared with adults. But the new study shows higher than previously believed.

Of the 130 Latina women who participated in the study with their newborns, more than 40% worked in agriculture during their pregnancies. The Berkeley researchers measured levels of paraoxonase 1, an enzyme that breaks down the toxic metabolites of organophosphates, as a marker for pesticide susceptibility

Ever wonder where toxic waste goes?

"Hazardous Waste Injection Wells Injection of hazardous waste into deep wells began in the United States in the 1960s. At that time, the chemical industry was looking for a safe, relatively inexpensive method for disposing of high volumes of waste that could be considered toxic. Technology was borrowed from the oil and gas industry to develop this new form of disposal. "

• There are 163 Class I hazardous waste injection wells located at 51 facilities. Most are found in Texas (78) and Louisiana (18). Eleven of the facilities are commercial hazardous waste injection facilities. These are the only facilities that can accept hazardous waste generated offsite for injection. Ten of them are located in the Gulf Coast region while one is located in the Great Lakes region.


• Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to RCRA made UIC regulations (1988) more stringent for Class I hazardous wells.
  

I couldn't make this stuff up.
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/classes.html
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/classi.html

Sink fixtures considered source of child lead exposure

Clif McLellan, director of toxicology services at NSF International (previously known as the National Sanitation Foundation), a nonprofit organization, says that the voluntary standards developed by his group are tough and that most national name-brand faucets adhere to them.

But regulators say that the Safe Drinking Water Act, which specifies the NSF protocol as a voluntary standard for leachability, contains a big loophole. Because the NSF standard is voluntary, it is almost impossible to enforce the law by bringing suit against contractors or suppliers who use devices that don’t meet the standard. “Our enforcement lawyers consider the problem with faucets and other endpoint devices to be so impossible to win that they don’t even try,” says another regulator who spoke off the record.

In 2001, chemist David Kimbrough with the Castaic Lake Water Agency, a California water wholesaler, reported that corrosion of brass fixtures and fittings can sometimes be a significant source of lead. He is currently investigating a development of several hundred homes that use PVC water pipes but still have lead problems. “The fixtures and fittings are the only possible source,” he says.

Kimbrough notes that when plumbing fixtures leach lead, water systems engineers may be forced to install complicated and expensive corrosion-control treatment at the plant, and this in turn can conflict with regulations that govern levels of disinfection chemicals and disinfection byproducts. The D.C. lead crisis also revealed such conflicts.

Last summer, the U.S. EPA held a workshop that covered some of these issues. But for the most part, the problem seems to be caught in a catch-22. “Right now, all we can do is cajole and coerce states to get tough with their codes,” says an EPA scientist, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Full report http://www.awwa.org/Communications/journal/archives/j201es3.htm

Popular antibacterial soap ingredient’s presence in environment could be cause for concern

New research suggests that large quantities of a popular ingredient in antibacterial soap could be entering the environment through recycled sewage sludge.

Researchers looking for emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) face a formidable challenge—to “find the needle in the haystack,” says Rolf Halden, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In a study posted today to ES&T’s Research ASAP website (DOI: 10.1021/es052245n), Halden and his coauthors report that approximately 75% of the mass of a popular antiseptic called triclocarban that enters a typical WWTP persists in the treated sludge.
Researchers sampling sludge
Rolf Halden
Researchers sample sludge in a wastewater treatment plant. They have discovered that a common antiseptic additive, triclocarban, persists in sewage sludge at elevated levels.

Their work is the first peer-reviewed field study of triclocarban in sewage sludge and one of the few reports of the compound’s fate during wastewater treatment. The findings suggest that—given the high rate of sewage sludge reuse as fertilizer—a single WWTP can return more than 1 metric ton of triclocarban to the environment. The authors agree that their findings also raise the question of whether triclocarban could be promoting antibiotic resistance in bacteria in the sludge or elsewhere in the environment.

Triclocarban, commercially known as TCC, is a pesticide used extensively as an antimicrobial additive in soaps and body washes; one survey of commercial products found it in 30% of bar soaps. With annual production estimated at 1 million pounds or more, triclocarban is classified as a high-production-volume chemical by the U.S. EPA."

Is God an environmentalist? - Yahoo! News

'Every day is Earth Day if you are a landowner.'

But Earth Day 2006, this past Saturday, marked the greatest erosion in environmental protections in modern U.S. history."

'What Would Jesus Drive?'
Employing the language of stewardship rather than dominion, they talk about "Responsible Creation Care" and ask, "What Would Jesus Drive?" They turn down thermostats and install solar heating in their churches; they collect rain runoff to water organic community gardens. They publish study guides leading groups through questions such as, "Does God care about the natural world? ... What is our connection with the rest of creation? What is the appropriate way for humans to carry out our responsibilities toward nature?"

According to Peter Illyn, founder and executive director of the Christian environmental stewardship group Restoring Eden, they "have a sense of a God that's bigger than just an angry white man who tends to vote Republican."

Yahoo's and the "Daily Shows" answers to EartDay

Yahoo's and the "Daily Shows" answers to EartDay
"Daily Show: Global Warming"
http://events.yahoo.com/earthday06/

EarthDay top 10 list....

EarthDay top 10 list....
 

BELIEVE IT! You can continue
to make a difference...

Contributing to a clean environment should be everyone's responsibility.  By
working together to reduce pollution sources, we can limit the harmful effects
on our children and families.

 

But traditionally, Earth Day is utilized by finger pointing alarmists who scare
the pants off the public with stories of impending disaster and eco destruction
that are wrecking our fragile environment (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/).

 

This constant doom and gloom information discourages many individuals from
making even the slightest change, as they perceive that individually they can
have no impact on this global problem.

 
a
That couldn’t be further from the truth… The fact is that if just a
third of the US made better choices in their daily lives to conserve and
preserve there is a good chance of eliminating many of these problems.

 

BELIEVE IT! If a third of us agree to stand
against the gravest threat in human history and do our part collectively, we can
make a huge impact.

 

What's more, many of the ideas that protect the environment also save money.
That helps the economy and dependence on outside energy sources.

 

So what can you do? Quite literally, YOU
can stop “Tons” of emissions and waste from entering the environment
by following some good and practical ideas. I have included a list below of
little things you can do today and every day to make a difference.

 

Earth Day should be a celebration of our individual commitment to protect the
environment and how each one of us continues to make a difference. Celebrate
the fact that releases of toxic chemicals dropped 42% from 1998 to 2003*!

 

 

Pass this email on to anyone who cares to make a difference!

 

Thanks for caring,

 

 

Christopher Haase

Director of Environmental, Health and Safety


ESS,
Inc. Winner of the "Excellence in Environmental Performance Award"


Email: haase@neutralsolution.com

Voice (262) 238-5576

Web: www.neutralcleaner.com

 

 

HERE IS MY EARTH DAY TOP 10 LIST!

1. Donate your old phone

2. Recycle your old computer

3. Convert your light bulbs

4. Driving differently and get hybrid results!

5. Turn down the refrigerator and air conditioning

6. Plant a tree, bush or plant in your backyard

7. Properly dispose of hazardous household waste

8. Recycle batteries for free or even make $

9. Remove hazardous cleaners

10. We have already made a difference...

 

 

1. Donate your old phone?

HopeLine(SM) phone has recycled more than 600,000 phones since 2001. In 2005
alone, nearly 150,000 pounds of batteries were recycled through the national
HopeLine(SM) service!

Possible tax benefits…
http://www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline

 

 

2. Recycle, but don’t donate your old computer?

According to the U.S. EPA, nearly 250 million computers will become obsolete in
the next five years. As more companies, organizations, and individuals find
reasons to upgrade their computer equipment, the problem of disposing of old
equipment grows.



Don’t give away your problems! Contact the refurbisher or recycler before
donating…

Out-of-date computer systems can be more of a burden than a blessing to schools
and nonprofits, as it can cost them up to $400 to bring a pre-Pentium computer
up to today's standards. Donate computers to a recycler or refurbisher, rather
than directly to these other groups.



Computer Recycling Resources

There are approximately 400 nonprofit and school-based refurbishers in the U.S.
A Large listing of non-commercial refurbishers in the country can be found at:

• Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) Program Web site (http://www.techsoup.org/mar/mars.asp).

• The National Cristina Foundation (http://www.cristina.org/)
lists a network of refurbishers online and at 203-863-9100.

• Computers for Schools also operates a network of non-commercial refurbishers
online and at 800-939-6000 (http://www.pcsforschools.org/).

 

 

3. Convert your light bulbs!

When your light bulb burns out, swap it with a fluorescent or LED bulb ($3 to
$6). If every U.S. household replaced a burned-out bulb with ENERGY STAR bulbs,
the cumulative effect would prevent more than 13 billion pounds of CO2 from
entering the atmosphere – which is like taking more than a million cars off the
road for an entire year. Other light saving conservation includes turning off
unneeded lights, open the curtains and bring natural sunlight into your home
when feasible.

 

 

4. Just driving differently and maintaining your car
can save TONs (http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/23/Autos/hybrid_alternatives/index.htm)
!

Paying attention to the fuel efficiency in your car may be the single best thing
you can do to prevent pollution. All of the things on this list save on gas
(saving you money) and can provide near “hybrid” results during normal driving:

• Use your cruise! It cuts down on other unnecessary speed
changes which can eat up gas. An Edmunds.com's test, got almost 14% better
mileage using cruise control.

• Drive less or share a ride – once a week saves 1 ton of CO2 a year!

• Keep your car tuned up. It can double fuel efficiency and add to another ton
of CO2 a year!

• Slow down and watch your braking.

• Using “lighter” viscosity oil can save 2-3 mpg in cold weather.

• Keep starts and stops smooth.  “jackrabbit” starts and abrupt stops waste gas
and cause extra wear.

• Maintain tires and keep wheels aligned. Low tire air pressure is dangerous -
and costly. It creates a drag on the engine, prematurely wears out tires and
burns more gas. Misaligned wheels, worn wheel bearings or dragging brakes also
can reduce fuel economy by 10%

• Use your air conditioner wisely. Running your air conditioner can waste gas.
Use fresh air at low speeds. On hot days, park in the shade and open the windows
a few minutes to let hot air escape.

• Lighten the load. Added weight lowers fuel economy. Removing extra “stuff” in
the back and trunk can make a difference.

• Avoid traffic. Stop-and-go traffic takes a drastic toll on fuel usage. If at
all possible, plan your trips to avoid periods of peak traffic congestion.

• CAR POOL – It is more fun to drive with a friend than no one at all

• Plan your errands. Try to combine short trips with your daily commute on the
way home from work.

• Fill up in the morning. You’ll get slightly more fuel for your dollar if you
fill up when it’s cooler outside. (Cooler gasoline is more compact.) Over time,
the savings can add up.

• Perform routine car care. Dirty air filters and oil filters, worn spark plugs,
neglected oil changes and problems with the emission-control system can reduce
fuel economy.

 

 

5. Turn down refrigerator and air conditioning!

Your refrigerator and air conditioning may be responsible for 15-25% of your
electric bill.

• Don't set the thermostats too high. Even 1 degree will make a
big difference.

• Clean the condenser coils with a vacuum. This one, very simple thing can
improve the efficiency of your refrigerator & air conditioning unit by a third!

 

The other big users of energy in your household are your hot water heater, your
washer and dryer, and your dishwasher. Each, in its own way, can be inefficient.
Here are some things to try:

• Either turn the hot water heater down a couple of degrees, or turn on the
"energy conservation" setting.

• Buy insulation for your hot water heater at a local store and insulate the
pipes as well.

• Install a timer on your electric water heater to turn off at night and just
before you wake up.

• When possible, hand wash dishes by using a “low foaming” cleaner (http://www.neutralcleaning.com/Low%20Foaming.htm).
Over time, that will save a few loads in the dishwasher, conserving energy &
water.

• Use a good dishsoap that does not require heat boost or wasteful pre-rinsing
of dishes.

• Wait until you have a full load to run the dishwasher.

• Wash clothes in warm water, not hot. The clothes will be just as clean, and
cut energy use by 50%.

• Don't over-dry your clothes. That will save 15%.

 

 

6. Plant a tree, bush or plant in your backyard

Yes, it’s the oldest trick in the book but trees clean air, break winds to save
energy and add shade to lower cooling costs. While plants and bushes can also
help, think of ways to use less water with them. And make sure you water your
lawn sparingly. All of these will conserve water & energy.

 

Consider this… According to the “American Forests'” I would have to plant 60
trees to offset my family’s negative impact on the environment. Find out what
you can do using the CO2 calculator at:

http://www.americanforests.org/resources/ccc/

 

 

7. Properly dispose of hazardous household waste

Every spring the average household has countless bottles, cans and other
containers full of hazardous chemicals that can ALL be disposed of properly or
even better, recycled! Contact your trash collection service to find out where
you community household waste drop off center is. Or visit:
http://www.p2rx.org to find a collection spot
in your area.

 

Here is a short list of hazardous household waste (Full list:

http://www.neutralcleaning.com/Toxic%20Hazardous.htm)

• Batteries (see recycling article)

• Aerosols

• Paint

• Cleaners

• Air fresheners

• Automotive products

• Drain cleaners

• Polishes and pesticides.

 

 

8. Recycle batteries… free or even make $$$

There's little argument that lead is extremely toxic. Scientific studies show
that long-term exposure to even tiny amounts of lead can cause brain and kidney
damage, hearing impairment, and learning problems in children. But still more
than 40,000 metric tons of lead is lost to landfills every year. According to
the federal Toxic Release Inventory, another 70,000 metric tons are released in
the lead mining and manufacturing process.

 

What can you do? Simple. Drop off used batteries for recycling.

• All rechargeables should be recycled. Many retail stores accept them.

• Buy rechargeable batteries and equipment with rechargeable batteries whenever
possible.

• Many recyclers PAY YOU for your used batteries.

Check out www.rbrc.org or call 1-(800)
822-8837 for a drop-off location near you.

 

 

9. Remove hazardous cleaners...

The hazardous chemicals in common cleaners can not only be harmful to your
family, but they can have detrimental consequences to indoor air quality,
aquatic life and the environment. There are no excuses to use these traditional
hazardous cleaners with a variety of safer cleaners available. (www.neuhomecare.com)

 

 

10. We have already made a difference...


*According to the EPA, the U.S. is already getting cleaner. Releases of toxic
chemicals dropped 42% from 1998 to 2003, even though more chemicals are being
counted. But, don’t kid yourself we all see the looming global environmental
problems, and need to continue change now before we reach the environmental
point of “no return”. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/)
(http://blogs.usatoday.com/techspace/2006/04/a_dark_forecast.html)

 

*http://www.epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri03/brochure.htm

 



Pass this email on to anyone who cares to make a difference.

 

TOYOTA Conclusions of Reformulated Gasoline (CaRFG3)

TOYOTA Conclusions
The use of ethanol will cause:
• Evaporative emissions to increase in comparison to MTBE.
• Significant increases of in-use vehicle evaporative emissions.
• Tailpipe emissions of NOx to increase.

Subject Top Page: California Phase 3 Reformulated Gasoline (CaRFG3): "# Toyota Study: Effects of Ethanol on Emissions of Gasoline LDVs.
* Toyota Presentation (PDF-40k)
* Toyota Tests Data (XLS-40k)"

Ultra-efficient Organic LED Outshines Lightbulb

The incandescent lightbulb is a miracle of modern engineering. It requires a vacuum inside, blown glass and special filaments to work. Yet despite more than a century of refinements, an average bulb emits just 15 lumens of light for every watt of electricity it consumes. As a result, simple lighting accounts for 22 percent of the electricity used by buildings in the U.S. Now a team of engineers and chemists has created a carbon-based series of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that operate at the pinnacle of efficiency while emitting a strong white light.

Electrical engineer Stephen Forrest of the University of Michigan, chemist Mark Thompson of the University of Southern California and their colleagues created the so-called organic LED by combining two layers of phosphorescent diodes--to release green and red wavelength light--and one layer of a fluorescent diode to supply blue wavelength light. Together, they produce white light much more efficiently than current incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. 'A 100-watt bulb is about 15 lumens per watt and we're at about 25 lumens per watt just on the lab bench,' Forrest says.

The diode also requires a lower voltage than purely phosphorescent devices do thanks to its fluorescent component, the researchers note in the paper presenting the finding in today's Nature. Furthermore, because the organic layers are only 10 nanometers thick, and transparent when turned off, they can be built into walls, furniture or even windows.

Challenges remain before light-emitting ceilings can become common. Among other things, scientists will need to find a material to encase the sensitive diodes. 'This doesn't need a vacuum but it does need a moisture barrier and that can be expensive,' Forrest explains. 'The biggest barrier to large scale production is simply cost. It costs very little"

Read on here:
Scientific American: Ultra-efficient Organic LED Outshines Lightbulb

Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae

"example Chrysler's Dodge Intrepid ESX3 PNGV program - a full-size diesel electric hybrid sedan that averaged 72 mpg in mixed driving" http://www.allpar.com/model/intrepid-esx3.html