Monthly Archives: September 2010

EIA Canadian Crude Oil Imports: Increasing Importance to the United States U.S. consumers are sometimes surprised to learn that our single largest foreign source of crude oil is Canada, which surpassed Saudi Arabia as the leading supplier to the United States in 2004 and has continued to hold that position. Since 1990, total U.S....
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Washington Post – The amount of energy that the average American requires at home has changed little since the early 1970s — despite advances in technology that have made many home appliances far more energy efficient. …A key reason, experts say, is that American homes are getting bigger, which means more space to heat...
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EuropeanTribune (via TOD) ‘Peak’ oil is no longer a fracturing theme. The projections for the year, quinquennium or decade when global oil production would start declining “are now part of history”, underlines Luís de Sousa, member of ASPO-Portugal and collaborator of the blog “The Oil Drum”, talking to the Expresso. “There is a generalized...
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Heating, cooling and dehumidifying air in buildings currently consumes one sixth of all the energy used in the world. Professor Matthew Johnson With the “Cleanair” system Professor Matthew Johnson of the University of Copenhagen has created a device that cuts building energy use by up to 25%. In a real-world test 40 different compounds...
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Economic Policy Institute (PDF) Recent Census Bureau reports show that the U.S. trade deficit with China through July 2010 has increased 18% over the same period last year. Growing China trade deficits will displace between 512,000 and 566,000 U.S. jobs in 2010, as shown in Table 1. These deficits have contributed to the weak...
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Source: U.S. Small Business Administration The annual cost of federal regulations in the United States increased to more than $1.75 trillion in 2008. Had every U.S. household paid an equal share of the federal regulatory burden, each would have owed $15,586 in 2008. By comparison, the federal regulatory burden exceeds by 50 percent private...
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CEPR - NYT columnist Ross Douthat told readers today that: “And as everybody knows, the only way to really bring the budget into balance is to reform (i.e., cut) Medicare and Social Security.” Of course everybody who knows anything about the budget knows full well that this is not true. The budget problem is...
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WASHINGTON (Via Google AFP)  — More than half the oil released from a busted BP well remains in the Gulf of Mexico, a presidential panel was told Monday, as the US pointman lamented a “dysfunctional” response to the disaster. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar meanwhile told the bipartisan commission that the spill had bolstered a...
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AMERICAN HEALTH STATS: All Stats – nationmaster.com Abortions 1,210,880   Age of women at first childbirth 24.9 years old   Breast cancer incidence 21.2 per 100,000 females   Daily smokers 17.5%   Death from cancer 321.9 deaths per 100,000 peopl   Drug access 95%   Heart disease deaths 106.5...
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H.R. 5892 would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct about 240 new studies to determine the feasibility of specific projects. Those individual projects are related to reducing damage from floods, protecting streambanks and shorelines, improving navigation, restoring aquatic ecosystems, controlling aquatic plants, and conserving water. The bill also would authorize the Corps...
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Russia is ready to meet China’s entire demand for natural gas, which amounts to 90 billion cubic meters/year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said Monday…adding that “Russia is a natural partner for China.” Read full here
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“China’s skyrocketing industrialism comes at a price to the environment, according to Canadian scientists who used NASA data to publish a report on worldwide air pollution (PDF) in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The biggest problem appears to be a bright red mass in Northeastern China around the Yangtze River Delta — a rapidly...
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New York Times  – Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries A private company in Maryland has taken over public libraries in ailing cities in California, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas, growing into the country’s fifth-largest library system. Now the company, Library Systems & Services, has been hired for the first time to run...
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Hi EhsDirector,We have received a request to permanently delete your account. Your account has been deactivated from the site and will be permanently deleted within 14 days. Thanks, The Facebook Team. Maybe me not buying into Social Networking is not a big enough reason for you to leave… here are a few more: The...
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Via (NaturalNews) The news about Obama’s health care reform just keeps getting worse — and we only find these things long after the bill has passed, of course. The newest revelation concerns a 3.8% tax on home sales and home rental income which will go into effect in 2013. So if you sell a...
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According to the Los Angeles Times millions of California schoolchildren — and probably millions of children in other states as well — currently have no access to drinking water during lunchtime. Schools are required to have a certain number of water fountains on campus per number of students, but in many cases, they are...
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ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2010)  In recent decades, the rate at which humans worldwide are pumping dry the vast underground stores of water that billions depend on has more than doubled, say scientists who have conducted an unusual, global assessment of groundwater use. These fast-shrinking subterranean reservoirs are essential to daily life and agriculture in...
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Google – Two years ago today, we began Project 10^100 by asking you to share your ideas for changing the world by helping as many people as possible. Your spirit and participation surpassed even our most optimistic expectations. People from more than 170 countries submitted more than 150,000 ideas. We selected 16 big ideas...
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OilPrice.com Natural gas costs about 1/3 the cost of oil in terms of energy content (see graph). What if we could convert natural gas into long chain hydrocarbons and high value chemicals cheaply and cleanly? How would that change the balance of the energies? A cheap and efficient way of turning methane into liquid...
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NY Times The federal loan guarantee program and other aid for new nuclear plants may not be enough to induce Constellation Energy to build a third reactor at its Calvert Cliffs site, 40 miles south of Washington, the company’s president and chief executive said on Thursday.Related? Nuclear waste piles up with no disposal plan...
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Tokyo Institute of Technology, MERSTech and the Office of Naval Research Global’s office in Tokyo have developed the Magnetic Energy Recovery Switch (MERS) harnesses and recycles residual magnetic power that is produced by electrical current. By using a device that controls the flow of electricity, light bulbs can now maximize their potential. MERS technology...
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“The NY Times reports that the Chinese government has placed a trade embargo on all exports to Japan of a crucial category of minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles. China mines 93 percent of the world’s rare earth minerals, and more than 99 percent of the world’s supply...
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Former President Bill Clinton went on a essentially a plant-based diet… living on beans, legumes, vegetables, fruit.”- details and health impact of his newfound whole-foods, low-starch, mostly vegan diet (here). While former Vegan is promoting to “eat meat to save the planet”? The 59-year-old, who lives on the Monkton Wyld Court ‘centre for sustainable...
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BOING2 – In Cool Tools, Oliver Hulland explains how he kills fruit flies with a bowl of apple cider vinegar and dish soap. Fruit flies can materialize in even the most spotless kitchens. Until recently, I had no idea that they could be dealt with in a safe, effective, and cheap manner using apple...
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Image: NASA’s satellite-derived map of air pollution, throughout planet earth, between 2001-2006. Specifically, the “warmer” areas of the color map (yellow, orange, red) indicate higher densities of problematic particles known as fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. These are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, roughly 1/10 the width of a strand of human hair....
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via io9 – The full ramifications of the Industrial Revolution on this planet may never be known, not because the scope of the those changes can’t be measured but because the same rapid, spastic technological changes that hurled industry forward into a new era did the same for science. As such, pre-industrial science didn’t...
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Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (updated daily)
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 U.S. Census Bureau reported the highest it has been in 15 years: NPR: This morning, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on income, poverty and health insurance in the U.S. The poverty rate in 2009 rose by 1.1 percent, to 14.3 percent. According to the agency, “there were 43.6 million people in...
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“There is nothing ‘food-like’ about these substances at all.” For nonbelievers, Foley has this so say: “I don’t want you to believe me. I would rather have you buy a couple hamburgers from your local McDonald’s and follow our instructions on how to create a Bionic Burger for yourself.”
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National Geographic  A new fuel cell is putting a twist on alternative energy from biofuels: The implanted device draws power from chemicals in living animals. Dubbed a glucose biofuel cell, the implant gets its juice from glucose—aka blood sugar—and oxygen, both of which are naturally present in the fluids between a body’s cells. In...
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The average American throws away more than 900 pounds of trash every year. Organic waste degrading in landfills produces methane gas – a gas 21 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Although most landfills vent this gas in the atmosphere, some facilities are exploring how to use it to fuel...
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FoxNews From the administration that brought you “man-caused disaster” and “overseas contingency operation,” another terminology change is in the pipeline. The White House wants the public to start using the term “global climate disruption” in place of “global warming” — fearing the latter term oversimplifies the problem and makes it sound less dangerous than...
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ScienceNews (UPI) — Pakistan is bracing for a major shortage of petroleum products as the Pakistan State Oil company moves closer to a financial emergency, a source suggested. PSO is on the verge of defaulting on its international payments as $190 million in debt is due to foreign suppliers. An official at the company...
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EcoFriend Eco Factor: Lightweight car achieves 102mpg. Manufactured by a Virginia-based company, Edison2 Very Light Car Number 98 has took the top honors in the Automotive X Prize competition with a fuel-efficient engine that gets about 102mpg. The developers took home half of the $10 million prize, while the other two teams got $2.5...
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Brookings Institution… more than two-thirds of  Americans now overweight...Estimated medical costs of obesity are as high as $147 billion a year for 2008, or almost 10% of all medical spending.  This is a substantial increase from their 1998 estimate of $78.5 billion a year. The authors attribute the majority of this increase to higher...
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From ecofriend.org Eco Factor: Solar and wind-powered water purification system. Spectra Watermakers and Trunz Water systems have unveiled a new water purification system for disaster-struck areas that can provide up to 8000 gallons of virus-free potable water each day. Dubbed the Solar Container, the system is powered by renewable solar and wind energy and...
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Tens of thousands of tons of potentially lethal radioactive waste have been piling up across the nation for more than a generation, but the federal government has yet to decide how to get rid of it permanently. “It’s going to continue to pile up,” he said. “Ultimately, there has to be someplace (where) all...
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The CBO’s cost estimate for S. 2812, Nuclear Power 2021 Act  would authorize appropriations for the Department of Energy (DOE) to enter into cooperative agreements with private-sector entities to develop standard designs for small modular nuclear reactors as well as processes for licensing such reactors with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The bill would...
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  …Today, we use 18.7 million barrels a day and produce 5.3 million, so we use three and a half times more oil than we produce. Since 1970, domestic oil production has decreased about 1.5 percent a year. U.S. oil production peaked in 1970 at 9.6 million barrels per day, but even 41 years...
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WashingtonPost The last major GE factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month, marking a small, sad exit for a product and company that can trace their roots to Thomas Alva Edison’s innovations in the 1870s.   Here we have a product, invented by one of America’s Greatest...
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Hesperian: a non-profit publisher of books and newsletters for community-based health care… first book, Where There Is No Doctor, is considered to be one of the most accessible and widely used community health books in the world. Simply written and heavily illustrated, Hesperian books are designed so that people with little formal education can...
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PopSci Schwarzenegger Hopes California’s Future High-Speed Railroads Will Rely on the Chinese, Again Chinese workers built this country’s railroad system 150 years ago, laying track for less than $30 a month in a grand effort to connect the coasts for the first time. Future railroad systems might also be built by the Chinese –...
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80% of all prisoners in America are in jail for drug related charges.  In 2006, over $40,747,203,000 was spent on corrections for drug abusers… and more than one in 100 American adults is behind bars  (NYTimes) Click info graphic or here for more Supporting legalizing drugs is like supporting giving fireworks to preschoolers –...
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Warning – The “renewable oil  theory” is being pushed again….. The Abiotic Oil Controversy Canada Free Press – Since the mid 20th century scientists have known that the fossil fuel theory is bogus and have compellingly demonstrated that petroleum is derived from highly compressed mineral deposits deep beneath the surface. But the most startling...
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Canadians will never go thirsty. With over one million lakes, including part ownership of the Great Lakes, and massive ice fields, Canada is home to nearly nine per cent of the world’s supply of fresh water. But with a population of less than one per cent of the world’s total, Canada has a lot...
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Washington, D.C. — Energy research and technology development achievements, including advances in clean fossil-based systems with carbon capture and storage (CCS), are highlighted in the just-released National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) 2009 Accomplishments report.  * Read the report (PDF). This year’s report, which details research and development (R&D) projects and activities by the laboratory...
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Next100  An iPhone or Blackberry without a battery is just a dead lump of metal and silicon. In much the same way, many experts believe that an electrical grid without energy storage will forever be just a bunch of dumb wires. That’s why PG&E on Friday filed a request with state regulators for funding to study...
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SeekingAlpha The Department of Energy reported that in the week ending August 27th, 2010, U.S. crude oil increased by 3.4 million barrels, gasoline inventories decreased by 0.2 million barrels, distillate inventories decreased by 0.7 million barrels, and total petroleum inventories increased by 4.0 million barrels. Total petroleum inventories moved further into multi-decade high territory....
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SeattleTimes – Utilities say they are clinging to coal because coal’s abundance makes it cheaper than natural gas or nuclear power and more reliable than intermittent power sources such as wind and solar. Still, the price of coal plants is rising and consumers in some areas served by the new facilities will see their...
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MedPageToday Chest compressions prior to defibrillation are just as good as immediate treatment with an electrical defibrillator for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to analysis of pooled data. “Based on our study, current guidelines emphasizing early defibrillation still are important,” Meier said in a statement. “However, since the outcomes with the chest compression-first approach were...
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Why would you drink more soda? Cut soda, curb childhood obesity, Wow – drinking soda may be bad for you… go figure San Francisco bans sugar soda from vending machines Pepsi Pulling Their Sodas From Schools Worldwide By 2012 Who cares – soda, tobacco, oil and alcohol can hurt you? Save Kids & Planet...
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Washingtontimes Excerpt: Noticeably absent from President Obama’s latest economic-stimulus package are any further attempts to create jobs through “green” energy projects, reflecting a year in which the administration’s original, loudly trumpeted efforts proved largely unfruitful. The long delays typical with environmentally friendly projects – combined with reports of green stimulus funds being used to...
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The Pacific Institute has released a new report titled “California’s Next Million Acre-Feet: Saving Water, Energy and Money that outlines the steps the state can take to come up with its next one million acre-feet of water. All of it would be relatively easy and a whole lot cheaper than trying to drum up...
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Imagine an oil tanker plowing through the ocean, hauling valuable cargo from resource-rich nations of the world to the countries that need it: but instead of oil, the tanker holds millions of gallons of fresh water. It’s not a vision from some futuristic film or doomsday novel, but the present-day intention of companies trying...
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CNS – U.S. Government Loaned Mexican Government More Than $1 Billion to Drill Oil in Gulf of Mexico Last Year; Has $1 Billion More Planned For This Year
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WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Wednesday raised its forecast for growth in world oil demand this year for the third month in a row, mainly due to thirst for fuel in China, the Middle East and Brazil. In its latest monthly report, the Energy Information Administration boosted its forecast of...
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NBFNuclear and defense supplier General Atomics announced in February, 2010 that they would launch a 12-year ($1.7 billion) program to develop a new kind of small, commercial nuclear reactor in the U.S. that could run on spent fuel from big reactors. The General Atomics reactor, which is dubbed EM2 for Energy Multiplier Module, would...
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In a world of rapidly expanding regulations, including Europe’s REACH and RoHS, companies need an effective way to work with their supply chains to collect, track and analyze a vast amount of data. Among other things, companies must determine which materials or parts can be used in production and report regularly to customers, stakeholders...
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Beginning January 1, 2011, it’ll be up to manufacturers to provide collection and recycling for electronics. According to Government Technology, Wisconsin’s new law will require manufacturers to document that at least 80% of what they sell is being recycled. The new program, called E-Cycle Wisconsin, took effect Wednesday, Sept. 1, the rules of which...
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This document presents a broad overview of the U.S. public health response system, recent efforts to improve preparedness, challenges faced, and options for moving forward. Full Document (PDF)
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“‘We have concluded that the Greenland and West Antarctica ice caps are melting at approximately half the speed originally predicted,’ said researcher Bert Vermeeersen.” The new study on Greenland’s and West Antarctica’s rate of ice loss halves the estimate of ice loss was published in the journal Nature Geoscience… SlashDot
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 A new study seeks to shake up the assumption that use of coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, is bound to continue its inexorable rise. In fact, the authors predict that world coal production may reach its peak as early as next year, and then begin a permanent decline. The study, led by Tad...
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While our nations obesity problem has ‘trashed’ health care and insurance rates… the worst is yet to come.   The worst-ever obesity report is out. More baby-boomers and kids will be disabled, die younger and problem will get worsen for several decades. Examiner CBO… From 1987 to 2007, the fraction of adults who were overweight...
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Laura B – Citizens generate household hazardous wastes year round but HHW collection programs are often scheduled just a few times a year. Over the past few years several options have been created that HHW programs can use to help fill in the gaps between collection events, either by referring citizens to collection sites...
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Built by BERG, the BBC Dimensions site allows you to overlay the geographies of historical events and significant places onto more familiar locales. Here’s the Apollo 11 Moon walk positioned over the Statue of Liberty, the size of the radiation cloud if Chernobyl had happened in Chicago, and the Marianas Trench stretching from Manhattan’s...
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/.    “The winners of the childhood obesity infographic design contest sponsored by GOOD and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative are in, and the overall winner calls out Sony’s PlayStation as a major milestone on its timeline of childhood obesity (together with Coke, Pepsi, mall food courts, fructose and high sugar tariffs, TV,...
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Here are details of the subcritical accelerator driven thorium nuclear reactor designed by Nobel Laureate Carlo Rubbia. This reactor was given a supportive article by the UK Telegraph. It has been extensively studied for over 15 years and is expected to have half the cost of existing light water reactors and burn up almost...
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More than 50 million Americans are on Medicaid…The program has grown even before the new health care law adds about 16 million people, beginning in 2014. More than 40 million people get food stamps. Close to 10 million receive unemployment insurance The federal price tag for Medicaid has jumped 36% in two years, to...
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This is a perfect example of how ‘Analyst’ collapse markets, reserves and resources… Gold! CBNC – “Oil Should Be Around $10 a Barrel: Analyst” “I honestly think that if there were no investors using oil as an asset that the price of oil right now would be $10 or $15 or $18, but it...
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(Reuters) – China and Russia have agreed to expand nuclear power cooperation in seven areas, including building floating nuclear power plants, exploring uranium mines, eliminating old plants and developing markets abroad, the China Atomic Energy Authority said.NBF – China and Russia have agreed to expand nuclear power cooperation in seven areas, including building floating...
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Technical Assistance to Brownfields communities (TAB) easy brownfields grant application (EZ) software program  TAB EZ is a grant writing tool to be used for preparation of EPA brownfields grant proposals. Currently, TAB EZ only addresses assessment and cleanup grants; RLF grant proposal outlines may be added at a later date. While we put a lot...
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From NBFAlphabet Energy has a a thermoelectric chip that can be inserted into any exhaust flue or engine to convert heat into electrical power… says its innovation is in both the choice of material and proprietary technology that gives it low thermal conductivity, and makes it highly suitable for both scale and miniaturization—for use...
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Researchers at the University of Michigan have published the feasibility of a two-step hydrolysis-solvolysis process to produce biodiesel directly from wet algal biomass, eliminating the need for costly biomass drying, organic solvent extraction and catalysts. The paper on the process was published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels. “Additional research and process optimization...
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/. “It is not an easy task to compare the environmental effects of battery powered cars to those caused by conventionally fueled automobiles. The degree to which manufacture, usage and disposal of the batteries used to store the necessary electrical energy are detrimental to the environment is not exactly known. Now, for the first...
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Secretary Steven Chu visited Battelle headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, today to make a big announcement about our nation’s electrical grid: an impressive two million smart grid meters have been installed across the country – thanks to the Recovery Act. Secretary Chu says “will give consumers choice and promote energy savings, increase energy efficiency, and...
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David Schaller “Zero-Liquid-Discharge” Wastewater Recycling in Cloudcroft, NM. After a drought in 2006 left the small high desert community of Cloudcroft, NM, completely without water, the town decided to move away from its existing traditional gas chlorination treatment method to a fully reclaimed, recycled “zero liquid discharge” system. Using photovoltaics to provide power to...
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I felt ill this morning reading the headlines that “Environmental fanatic killed after taking hostages at Discovery Channel” (NY Post) Environmental protectionism at it’s worst…The idea of an individual who promotes themselves as someone who wants to protect people and the planet…and then threatens to harm others, goes against the very nature and intent...
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AWEA (Free Webinar) Recent data and analyses have made it clear that the emissions savings from adding wind energy to the grid are even larger than had been commonly thought. In addition to each kWh of wind energy directly offsetting a kWh that would have been produced by a fossil-fired power plant, new analyses...
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WasteCap is partnering with AROW to host a webinar on organics recycling. This webinar will explore three different techniques for approaching food waste recycling, particularly from a commercial perspective.  Register here   Michael Keleman of InSinkErator will discuss the use of anaerobic food digesters as a viable option for food waste diversion from landfills....
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NextBigFuture: Previously white LEDs had a max of about 60 lumens per watt but the new White LEDs have 135 lumens per watt and match the best lighting alternatives The new LED can replace traditional fluorescent bulbs for all general lighting applications, and also be used for automobile headlights and LCD backlighting. Journal of...
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