Monthly Archives: February 2010

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Another ‘EcoHack‘ …  swapped out his twin-tube florescent aquarium lights for LEDs. By running tank water through the aluminum LED mounts he’s transferring excess heat into the water in the tank, in turn saving some of the electricity that would have been used to heat the tank. Couple this with roughly 35 Watts saved...
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The case for the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to stop sitting on a delayed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) coal-ash site contamination rule is even stronger than it first appeared to be, according to a major new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and Earthjustice. The analysis by EIP and Earthjustice...
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Resistance from Columbia County landowners threatens We Energies’ attempt to build 90 turbines for the Glacier Hills Wind Park. Randolph resident Pete DeBoer, for instance, said the utility offered him $2,000 per year and a $5,000 bonus to a sign a contract waiving his right to sue if the sound from two nearby turbines...
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ViaBoing2 BoingBoing isn’t the only place trying out new design ideas today. Information is Beautiful has given us an exclusive preview of a new interactive infographic, designed to make it easy for anybody to parse the data on dietary supplements. Each bubble represents a specific use—or group of uses—for a dietary supplement. The bigger...
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Department of Energy Releases New Estimates of Nation’s Wind Energy Potential for wind-generated electricity, tripling previous estimates of the size of the nation’s wind resources. The new study, which was carried out by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and AWS Truewind, finds that the contiguous 48 states have the potential to generate up...
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HackAday brings us another awesome ‘EcoHack’Looks a lot like the one I installed in my sons room for lighting (via heating duct has been casting his own aluminum heat sinks. He’s working on capturing the heat from a car’s exhaust system and turning it into electricity, kind of like the candle generator....
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The “SMART” in WaterSMART stands for “Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow.”    “The federal government’s existing water policies and programs simply aren’t built for 21st century pressures on water supplies,” Salazar said. “Population growth. Climate change. Rising energy demands. Environmental needs. Aging infrastructure. Risks to drinking water supplies. Those are just some of...
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This footage was taken outside of Thunder Bay , Ontario. These guys are checking hydro tower insulators. Listen at the end for the three things he is afraid of… classic. VIA email from Jim Crowley/Chip Ironic my son and I were going over “electrical safety” for his school homework last night.
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OSHA Quote of the day by Charles Adkins, Fed-OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo.(pictured in Middle row)  “There is no excuse for the lack of attention to accumulation of combustible dusts in any mill or grain elevator, especially given our nation’s history of such horrific combustible dust explosions resulting in a high number...
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VIA LuxResearch (cost$???) Understanding the Budding “Green Building” Market Register now. March 10 2010, 11am EST Nearly 40% of primary energy and a whopping 75% of all electricity flows to the numerous residential, commercial, and government buildings in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The growing trend towards “Green Buildings” promises to...
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Cal-OSHA Quote of the day: “We know that workplace violence is preventable, as has been demonstrated in California, Washington, New York and New Jersey, states that have strong workplace violence regulations.” Go to the full article in Baltimore Sun VIA Cal-Osha
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VIA VisualizingEconomics Ranking the state tax on gasoline from the lowest (Alaska $0.08) to the highest (Washington $0.375) Data From The Department of Energy
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Ozone Air Quality Standards: EPA’s Proposed January 2010 Revisions Source: Congressional Research Service (via DocUticker) EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson signed proposed changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone on January 6, 2010. The proposal appeared in the Federal Register on January 19. NAAQS are standards for outdoor (ambient) air that...
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So remember how the EPA is taking suggestions from average citizens? Turns out, it’s not just the EPA… Anil Dash at AAAS, and pointed out OpenGov Tracker—the multi-agency dashboard that allows you to share ideas with everybody from the NSF to the DOD, and vote on other people’s ideas. Dash—who’s working with the White...
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A small, solar electric system can run a homeowner around $26,000. Public grants can cover about $10,000 of the construction cost, but homeowners are on the hook for the rest because banks don’t lend money to build solar panels…. The city of Milwaukee is trying to break the cycle with loans to homeowners for...
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There are a lot of reasons for wildfires–climate and ecology, periodic droughts, humans. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that in the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, the “vast majority” of wildfires are due to human activity. AP has an interesting website about wildfires from 2002 to 2006. Each year, most wildfires occurred west...
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Press Release: County Health Rankings—the first set of reports to rank the overall health of every county in all 50 states—were released today by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The 50 state reports help public health and community leaders, policy-makers, consumers and others to see how...
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From WDNR – “Wisconsin has been the last state to use individual permits for large-scale livestock operations. By adopting general permits, we will be better able to make the most of our available time to protect public health and Wisconsin’s lakes, rivers and groundwater,” Stevenson says. “Wisconsin has among the most rigorous permitting standards...
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“The progress made in this agreement will also support the Department of Energy’s broader goal of reducing industrial energy intensity 25% over the next 10 years.” The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) joined with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry leaders to announce a breakthrough agreement on energy efficiency measurements, metrics, and reporting...
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EERE – DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) announces the GTP Projects Database… the database allows users to access details for more than 170 GTP-funded projects. Users can interactively search for projects by state, awardee, technology, partner, and more. Summaries provide details such as participants, funding level, background, objectives, and possible impacts on projects dealing...
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Rothschild have a lot of questions about how We Energies’ proposed $250 million biomass plant project will affect their neighborhood. The community has not heard much about the project since representatives from the state and We Energies visited Rothschild in September to announce plans to build a 50-megawatt biomass plant next to Domtar Corp.’s...
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Full “Presentation is Now Available!” “Global Energy Perspective: Where in the World Will Our Energy Come From?” Nathan S. Lewis, PhD. of California Institute of Technology Tuesday, February 23, 2010 1:30 pm PST Sierra Hearing Room, 2nd Floor, Cal/EPA Building1001 I Street, Sacramento, California Announcement and Presentation can be viewed at cARB Website  
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The Obama Administration is pledging up to $130 million for a multi-agency initiative that seeks to boost regional economies while making buildings more energy efficient. The plan will create an Energy Regional Innovation Cluster that will partner with local governments and building industry experts to reduce energy use. Read VIA EERE news Haase -...
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Ocean Power Technologies has deployed a wave energy device offshore from a Marine Corps base in Hawaii. If this and other ocean energy trials now underway globally succeed, the ocean could yield as much as 200 gigawatts of power by 2025, according to a new report. Read more at DOE 
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Commercial cellulosic ethanol plants are moving ahead in Iowa and Kansas, while demonstration-scale plants are now operating in Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The new facilities will help meet the new federal Renewable Fuel Standard for cellulosic ethanol. Read full VIA EREE News
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ACA Efforts to Address Pending Changes in U.S. Chemicals Management Policy:New and aggressive legislative efforts at the federal and state level are anticipated seeking to amend longstanding policies with respect to management of new and existing chemicals, including critical coatings industry raw materials. To a large extent, the focus is expected to be on...
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The U.S. Department of Transportation has published a hazmat transport rule to revise packing-related definitions, allow more flexibility when preparing and transmitting closure instructions, and clarify documentation requirements.Please read full at paint.org
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 Wattbot launched Public Beta today in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and New York City metro areas* giving personalized recommendations for solar electric, solar hot water, insulation, refrigerators and dishwashers. …find out how you can lower your energy bills with this beta.
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In the last several months the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized three area source rules that may impact coatings, ink, adhesive, resin, and chemical preparation manufacturing operations by requiring add-on pollution controls and work-practice standards to reduce hazardous air pollutants (HAP).  Read more at American Coatings Association
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DOE – The Obama Administration has announced a multi-agency funding opportunity to support an Energy Regional Innovation Cluster (E-RIC). This pilot initiative will spur regional economic growth while developing innovative energy efficient building technologies, designs, and systems. Seven federal agencies released a combined Funding Opportunity Announcement (pdf – 787kb) making up to $129.7 million...
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Major threat to young children online… with web links to other tween games such as Hannah Montana, Bratz and Scooby Doo, the site has attracted the attention of children as young as seven. Quote from kids game developer: “‘The contraceptives and morning-after pills are only one part of the game”…The more often avatars buy...
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Portable Water Filter is Super Efficient, The new bacteria-based water treatment unit, developed by researchers at Sam Houston State University and sponsored by Department of Defense cash. The filtration system is portable (it can be transported via truck) and purifies water in less than 24 hours — a marked improvement over standard waste-water treatment...
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Inhabitat You may be familiar with the dreaded Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a massive soup of plastic debris, flotsam and junk floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Scientists say that ocean currents determine the precise gathering of the junk: the patch lies in the middle of a giant ocean gyre, or...
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Source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids By increasing cigarette taxes by $1 per pack, the states could raise more than $9 billion in new annual revenue to help close severe budget shortfalls, while also reducing smoking and saving lives, according to a new report released today by a coalition of public health organizations. A national...
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From National Academies- Selling Off Nation’s Helium Reserve Helium is used in applications ranging from medical devices such as MRIs to surveillance balloons for national security.  In the Helium Privatization Act of 1996, Congress directed the government to sell essentially all of the U.S. helium reserves by 2015.  A new report from the National...
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NATURE ITSELF IS THE MOST SUCCESSFULLY MARKETED PRODUCT OF OUR TIME Nature as ideology But in the end there is another hidden, largely unconscious, yet even bigger propaganda mechanism going on. Perhaps even the shrewdest political campaign managers are not really aware that political ideas sold using this kind of Biomimic Propaganda, simultaneously promote...
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Naturally occurring methane hydrate may represent an enormous source of methane — the main component of natural gas — and could ultimately enhance conventional natural gas supplies, although some technical challenges remain before commercial production is feasible, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Energy...
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Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently published Houtlining industry requirements for hexavalent chromium standards. Workers exposed to this toxic chemical can develop lung cancer and damage to the nose, throat and respiratory system. Inhaling the chemical’s fumes can cause allergic reactions or asthmatic symptoms, such as wheezing...
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Critics of Wisconsin’s clean energy bill are calling for a sharper focus on specific job creation numbers and a detailed explanation of how much the proposal will cost. “The cost is something we need to know and taxpayers need to know,” said state Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon. “I don’t think anybody’s against green jobs,...
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Lets make it clear that this kind of money could make Wisconsin nearly energy independent and fiscally sustainable creating 10,000 of jobs. Highspeed rail will not… “long-term drain on state transportation money,” in a state currently crippled by transportation overspending. State legislators want hard figures on the annual cost of running a Madison-to-Milwaukee high-speed...
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Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE) is seeking public comment on a proposal to change the Dow Chemical Co. RCRA license. The proposed “major license modification” is part of the January 2010 agreement between EPA, MDEQ (now MDNRE) and Dow. The changes would allow Dow to meet some RCRA obligations by carrying...
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VIA NexReg The Washington Department of Ecology (WA DOE) has released a draft reporting list of 66 chemicals as part of the pilot rule-making process related to the previously enacted Children’s Product Safety Act. Under this Act, the WA DOE is responsible for creating a list of high priority chemicals. The pilot approach calls...
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As you work today, think about this…  Less than half of Americans are taxable, of which nearly half of them pay 0 federal taxes.In other words ONLY 80 Million hard working Americans are paying back the Tens of Trillions of dollars of debt we are accruing.Now when we ask who is going to carry...
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GOOD – To help put things in perspective, think about this: your standard trash barrel holds 32 gallons and a mid-sized passenger car—if pumped full of water—has room for a little more than 800 gallons. So, the difference in the amount of water it takes to produce a pound of chicken and a pound...
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FAS.org    Starting in late 2006, commercial migratory beekeepers along the East Coast of the United States began reporting sharp declines in their honey bee colonies… an estimated 35.8% To date, the precise reasons for colony losses are not yet known. Honey bees are the most economically valuable pollinators of agricultural crops worldwide. Scientists at universities...
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With the new US budget, “42 cents of every dollar the federal government spends will have to be borrowed.” Without a doubt, it is China and Japan that support over 40 percent of that Treasury debt. You can read more details about this potentially mutually destructive behavior in the New York Post on how...
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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,” says study lead author Noel T. Mueller, MPH, a research associate at the Cancer Control Program at Georgetown University Medical Center,...
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DailyReckoning No one knows for sure…Broadly speaking, the period we are in is deflationary. It is a period of credit contraction (at least in the private sector), de-leveraging and depression. How can we be sure? … Take a look at this chart, for example. What it shows is not a ‘jobless recovery.’ It shows...
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- Note from my Niece working for an NGO in Guatemala, Hola a todos,…I’d like to introduce you to Guatemala City’sMunicipal Garbage Dump. The dump is located in a natural ravine in the center of the Guatemala City.  The ravine spans about 40 acres of land.  All the garbage from the 3.5 million residents...
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(a) how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and(b) how he treats people who can’t fight back.” Source
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Nissan’s all-electric LEAF will be built in a retooled Smyrna, Tennessee, factory as a result of a DOE loan. Credit: Photo courtesy of Nissan North America, In EERE – DOE announced January 28 that it has closed its $1.4 billion loan with Nissan North America, Inc. to build an advanced battery manufacturing facility in...
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(WhiteHouse) President Barack Obama unveiled on February 1 a $28.4 billion budget request for DOE for fiscal year (FY) 2011, including $2.36 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The proposed budget aims to reduce unnecessary energy use, boost renewable energy sources, and strengthen clean energy research as the...
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EPA – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on behalf of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, will hold a meeting in Chicago on Feb. 12 to discuss plans and get recommendations on Asian carp control efforts. The committee will answer questions and listen to comments from the public. A second meeting will be scheduled in...
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The following is from the CBO’s Web site (www.cbo.gov)Summary and Cost estimates for the bills S. 1830, Federal Agency Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2009 S. 2859, Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2009 S. 1453, Bureau of Reclamation Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2009
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Join Lux Research’s (Wednesday, February 10, 2010 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST)  first-of-its-kind analysis of how bio-based materials will compete with oil, and when and how they’ll reach the elusive goal of “petroleum parity.” Learn:   • How biofuels and biomaterials costs stack up against petroleum-based products • What performance metrics biofuels and biomaterial...
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ARB is now registering facilities that produce ethanol or biomass-based diesel for use in California. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff has posted the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Biofuel Producer Registration Form on the LCFS website here  
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From Cal-OSHA reporter “Today’s budget affirms this administration’s strong commitment to vigorous enforcement. OSHA received over 100 inspectors in our 2010 budget, as well as an additional 25 requested in 2011. We are also moving 35 inspectors from compliance assistance activities to enforcement.” U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who says that the...
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…by 2008, the biofuels were the largest volume, and also the fastest growing, alternative liquid fuel.  If we corrected for energy density but also excluded the tar sands that is sold directly as bitumen, this would be even more strongly true. There are four kinds of liquid fuel alternatives to crude oil in actual...
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Please thank Shirl Kennedy over at DocuTicker for bringing this up and for the  link U.S. Fire Administration Adults age 65 and older are at a higher risk of death from fire than any other age group. According to the USFA report Fire in the United States Fifteenth Edition, older adults account for approximately...
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Linked from Shirl KennedyDocUticker According to the 2010 Quality of Life Index published by InternationalLiving.com the U.S. is less free than Lithuania, Hungary, Malta and 42 other countries. “You can blame much of it on the Patriot Act,” says Dan Prescher, Special Projects Editor at International Living… since the passage of the Patriot Act,...
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From DailyReporter  (AP) — Radioactive tritium, a carcinogen discovered in potentially dangerous levels in groundwater at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, has now tainted at least 27 of the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors — raising concerns about how it is escaping from the aging nuclear plants. The leaks — many from deteriorating underground pipes...
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“Towards a Sustainable Japan — Corporations at Work” JFS Newsletter In April 2009, panasonic unveiled its Eco-Ideas House at the Panasonic Center Tokyo showroom in Ariake, Tokyo. Making the most of natural light and wind, both natural assets, the house showcases ways to more efficiently use energy and resources. It promotes the concept of...
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“ERCO’s efforts – which involved a major voluntary investment in their Port Edwards plant – have dramatically reduced mercury released into Wisconsin’s air and demonstrated that what’s good for the environment can be very smart for business,” Frank said. Prior to the conversion the operation of the mercury cell technology resulted in the emission...
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MADISON – Wisconsin is making the most of a historic opportunity to tap into $475 million in federal funding set aside for President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 2010….  Potential applicants voluntarily shared their proposals with DNR. Galarneau and other DNR Great Lakes staff reviewed scores of the applications that groups and governments...
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