Published on January 14th, 2008
Like this post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.
Here’s the scenario. You’re a young boy living in southern Utah, not far from Nevada’s atomic testing grounds. The mushroom clouds that rose in the sky were fascinating to see, as was the greenish tint that hung in the western sky for weeks. As your family drives from your home along the road to Zion National Park, you notice state troopers warning drivers to roll up their car windows, even when it was quite warm, and you wondered why.
Audio Here:
Years later, your father dies of lymphoma, and you realize it may have been the result of breathing that green air from the atomic testing range. And you finally understand why the state troopers warned motorists about the dirty air. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 9th, 2008
An Atlanta-based company is betting on a sustainable, unending supply of raw material as feed stock, to create a renewable energy source. Human and industrial wastes will soon be processed into a solid, called “E-Fuel”, a replacement for coal or other fossil fuels.
The company, EnerTech Environmental, says it has received $42 million in funding to continue engineering and completion of a commercial-size plant in Rialto, CA, shown in the picture. Four more plants are in the planning stage as funding for the projects is received. The company says it now has $57 million in venture capital. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 9th, 2008
A Canadian company has used the current presidential race to plug it’s coal-to-liquid process. Citing positive statements by presidential hopefuls, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee, Silverado Green Fuel has posted a video on it’s front page, explaining the process of turning low-grade coal into a clean-burning, non-polluting product.
The Vancouver, BC firm claims their initial production costs will come in at $15 per barrel, on an oil equivalent energy basis. Not bad, they say, considering oil is hanging in there at $90 plus a barrel. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 8th, 2008
Here’s a new wrinkle to advertising, photo and film shoots that are tracked and quantified for the amount of pollutants they produce during a shoot.
A London-based environmental engineering firm has created the tracking software, and it’s been used in the production of several TV commercials. Here’s Hoag Levins of Advertising Age with a report.
A link to the original story is here:
Published on January 4th, 2008
What more can one say? CBS shocked the industry with this video of guards sleeping at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. They just happen to be in what they called “the ready room.”
The full story in the Washington Post.
Published on January 3rd, 2008
They’ve done it, and help from other states is on the way. California’s Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed a lawsuit with the US court of appeals challenging the EPA’s decision to block California from implementing tough new standards on vehicle emissions. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is quoted as saying;
“It is unconscionable that the federal government is keeping California and 19 other states from adopting these standards. They are ignoring the will of millions of people who want their government to take action in the fight against global warming. That’s why, at the very first legal opportunity, we’re suing to reverse the US EPA’s wrong decision. By implementing these standards, California would be eliminating greenhouse gases equivalent to taking 6.5 million cars off the road by the year 2020.”
As I suggested in my “Open Challenge to California and all State Governments” of Dec. 20, 15 other states or state agencies are joining the action, including Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 31st, 2007
Have you eaten dirt? I have, usually when some bully shoved my face on the ground or during a football game when a 300 lb tackle sat on the back of my head. My parents told me that several times as a toddler, they’d find me scooping up a handful and putting it in my mouth.
It may have been my way of having a hizzy fit for not getting my way, saying, “I’ll go out and eat some dirt.” Most kids say they’ll eat worms. I never liked worms.
I gave all that up for t-bone steaks and ice cream, but there are people around the world who eat dirt, and like it. Some folks buy what is called “healing clay” at a drug store for a snack. Anthropologist Sera Young of Cornell University believes it’s all part of an ancient craving that has evolved over the centuries. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 28th, 2007
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been ordered to release all documents pertaining to Administrator Stephen Johnson’s controversial blocking of California’s waiver to control greenhouse gasses in that state.
The announcement came in an email released by Public Employees forEnvironmental Responsibility (PEER), saying Johnson has bowed to a Congressional request for the information, following the controversy sparked by his controversial decision.
PEER’s Executive Director Jeff Ruch is quoted as saying: “What made Johnson’s decision so striking is that for months he said he was basing it on the scientific and legal merits and then did the precise opposite. One employee told me ‘I am ashamed to admit that I work at EPA’ and another asked ‘What am I supposed to tell my children when they ask me what I am doing to fight global warming?’”
Johnson has said he will not attend a field hearing of Senator Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA), Senate Environment & Public Works Committee on January 10th in Los Angeles. His appearance before Congress, however, promises to be contentious at best. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 21st, 2007
At a time in history that is so fraught with emotional, environmental and overall psychological stress, it only seems proper to wish everyone who reads this column the very best during these days of celebration.
My wife’s oldest son, Dave Mason, sent this greeting, in hopes of covering all the ideological and generational bases in one fell swoop. With his permission, Sally and I, and the whole family would like to join Dave in celebrating the season: Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 20th, 2007
The federal solar tax credit is set to expire at the end of 2008, slowing the solar energy growth that the US market has seen recently.
On a recent trip to Greece, I was struck by the prevalence of solar hot water heaters that dotted nearly every rooftop in sight in many villages. I learned from locals that it is done mostly to save money. I dream of the United States following suit, but relatively low energy costs among other factors make such technology less profitable. The federal government does currently offer a tax credit for solar hot water and solar electric (pv) systems, but this tax credit is due to expire at the end of 2008. Currently homeowners and businesses can benefit from this credit and save up to 30% on a solar system.
The credits are “absolutely critical for making a market in the United States,” said Rhone Resch, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “What will happen is you will see solar installations start to drop off in the second quarter of 2008 if they are not extended.”
The solar electric market in the United States is expected to increase by over 60% according to Resch. If these incentives expire, it is likely to have a ripple effect throughout the entire solar industry, including solar investments and manufacturing.
An energy bill recently passed the Senate that had three major items stripped from it, including an extending and enhancing the solar tax credit. The $22 billion package would have boosted renewable energy, while cutting tax breaks to oil companies. The White House said it would veto the energy bill if it contained this item and the version of the energy bill that passed the Senate only has items benefiting energy efficiency.
The federal tax credit is the only solar incentive that is currently available to in many states, while some states have their own incentive programs. It is likely that the solar industry will become far more developed in states with strong incentive program, while it may decline in states that only benefit from federal incentives if they do in fact expire at the end of 2008.
Photo credit: Solar Service Inc.
