Planetsave

The NAACP has joined with environmental groups to oppose the construction of three power plants because of concerns that burning the feces will expose poor people to arsenic and other contaminants.

“Everyone wants jobs, but you have to be against a job that on the back end may bring disease,” said William Barber II, president of the state NAACP. “I guarantee you if they attempted to put it in a suburban community or a higher-income area, it would be an all-out fight against it.”

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“Railroads are the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient way to move goods on land.”

Freight trains have evolved over the years, carrying freight in a variety of ways, including taking semi-trailer rigs off the highways and shipping them on flat-cars. If you’re anywhere near a railroad track, you’ll see what are called intermodal trains carrying shipping containers stacked on top of one another, along with trailers and the usual box cars and other forms of equipment.

However, the physical infrastructure in some areas of the country creates a barrier for some railroads who want to stack shipping containers in order to carry more freight. Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s note: Part 3 of the “Human Interaction with Nature” series focuses on an endangered plant species: echinacea. This post, and the accompanying podcast, were created by Bobby Grace, and originally published on Friday, May 19th, 2008.

I spoke with KU professor, ethnobotanist, and Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie author Kelly Kindscher about the sustainability of Echinacea.

Echinacea is a species native to Kansas that is used as a general cure all and as protection against the common cold. In the United States, herbal medicine has gone by the wayside and today the main importer of Echinacea is Europe. The demand has leveled off, but there are still people harvesting the species.

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As I stated in an earlier article, the Navajo Nation is challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in a Federal appeals court, over proposed in situ leach uranium mining on tribal lands. It’s the first time in history that the NRC will be challenged in court for its approval of a source materials license for an in situ leach uranium mine.

The Navajo communities of Crownpoint and Church Rock are represented by the New Mexico Environmental Law Center (NMELC), Eastern Navajo Dine against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) and Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC). They are demanding that a New Mexico mining company, Hydro Resources, Inc., stay off tribal lands.

Eric Jantz, a lawyer with the NMELC, spent some time with me, explaining the lawsuit and that organization’s role in other uranium related issues. I asked him for a briefing on the litigation.

Image: World Nuclear Association

April 26 marks the 22nd anniversary of the 1986 nuclear accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Slavutych, Ukraine. That one incident resulted in hundreds and possibly thousands of deaths, lingering health issues, radioactive contamination of a wide swath of land, property losses and on-going clean-up costs totaling billions of dollars.The Ukranian-American Environmental Association sent out a release reminding everyon of the risks of nuclear power.

I spoke with Kenneth Bossong, co-director of UAEA, about the anniversary, and asked him to tell us more about his organization.

National Geographic Photo

Alan Doering of AURI says agricultural residues and co-products aren’t waste, they’re potential new revenue streams to power the future.

AURI, or Agricultural Utilization Research Institute of Waseca, Minnesota, is a nonprofit organization that develops new uses for agricultural products and ag-processing co-products.

Alan Doering, an Associate Scientist with AURI, filled me in on steps being taken to utilize every bit of what used to be considered products of the waste stream.

Turkey droppings are fueling a power plant that serves 40,000 homes. Syrup derived from the making of ethanol is being used to power the plant that makes the ethanol. And there’s more on this amazing work in my interview with Alan.

That smiling face belongs to MC Milker, head writer for Ecopreneurist where writers focus on sustainable and social entrepreneurship .

MC is well-suited for this project, she spent 20 years in corporate marketing, working for Fortune 500 companies as well as start-ups. She’s taught marketing and public relations at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Hong Kong in China.

Here’s our interview:

Visit Ecopreneurist.

The young man with his firetruck has apparently done it! He’s created a system that converts water to hydrogen gas that’ll run that fire engine, and your car.

His name is James Hunt, I wrote about him and his invention last year. Now, from his AKVO Energy headquarters in Monmouth, Illinois, James talks about his invention and says it’s ready for manufacture and marketing.

He refers to a series of videos he’s produced on YouTube, one of which you can see on my accompanying blog on Gas2.

You can see the series of videos on YouTube .

How many people do you know who would leave the suburbs and settle on an unimproved 160 acres of land, build their home with materials from that land, and then set up their own power grid?

Jennifer Lance has done just that, and it was a pleasure talking with this school teacher-mother, who walks her talk. When she writes about family values in Eco Child’s Play, you can rest assured it comes from her own life experience.

So settle back, and have a listen:

Before going, I want to call your attention to an earlier podcast interview with the Sundance Channel’s Simran Sethi. She is documenting the rebuilding of Greensburg, Kansas, devastated by a massive tornado last May, and also promoting a fund raiser for the rebuilding project.

And while I’m on the subject, check out my podcast interview with Beth Bader, lead writer for Eat.Drink.Better, and contributor to Eco Child’s Play.

The devastation you see above is what’s left of Greensburg, Kansas, after one of the largest tornadoes in history ravaged the town of 1,500 the evening of May 4, 2007. The EF5 twister claimed at least 11 lives in Greensburg, and injured 60 or more.

Simran Sethi, award-winning environmental journalist featured on the Sundance Channel and sundancechannel.com, is documenting Greensburg’s recovery as a “Green City” with her new series The Good Fight. She’s also promoting a fund-raising effort to help citizens rebuild their community.

I had the privilege of interviewing Simran about her series and the work going on in Greensburg. Here’s our talk…

Sethi mentioned the fund-raising efforts of a local group, and this is their website: Greensburg Greentown.

Here’s the Greensburg, Kansas Official Website.

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