Planetsave

“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 »

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 .

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.

Image Source:

My guest today is Timothy Hurst, lead writer for Red, Green, and Blue, Green Options political blog.

In his blog, Tim focuses on applied energy politics, and the global green movement. While continuing his education in graduate school, he’s actively involved in environmental advocacy in his adopted home town in Colorado.

Here’s our interview:

My recent interview with David Mills, author of 10,000 Days, got me to thinking about the cultural revolution of the 1960’s and 70’s. Being a product of the depression, my involvement was to sit back and look on in amazement as we seemed to shift into the high gear of a revolt of sorts.

Young people were busy then, ripe with lofty ideals about clean air, clean water, a cleaner environment and making the earth we live on a cleaner and safer place. They spoke out, paraded, chanted, ranted, raved and demonstrated, not all that bad, those efforts did indeed bring about some change.

If you’d rather hear the podcast, it’s here.

Read the rest of this entry »

What happens when a Baby Boomer realizes he still has at least 10,000 or more days to be productive, and maybe finish some of the things he promised to do more than 10,000 days ago?

David Mills wrote a book about it, “10,000 Days, A Call To Arms for the Baby Boom Generation,” a challenge to the 78 million Baby Boomers to, as he puts it,

“Find the spirit that evoked thought and action 40 years ago. Rekindle the internal flame that is still burning like a tiny pilot light in many of us.”

Mills, Producer and Writer for CBS 5’s Weekend Early Edition on San Francisco’s KPIX-TV, states his case in an easy to read style, reviewing the events that shaped the last 7 decades, and how that affected the Boomer’s lives.

David asks,

“Our final chapter hasn’t been written, my fellow Boomers. What will our legacy be?”

“What we did when we were young…or what we did when we were old.”

David’s book is available on Amazon.com, and his website is named, not surprisingly, “10,000 Days.”

Oh, and that’s Dave in the picture, with his grandson, Shea.

Here’s our conversation: