The CEI , the wonderful organization that brought us the pro CO2 ads last week, have graced us with another gem. In this ad, they humorously attack Gore’s cross-country travelling to get the word out on global warming as a major contributor to CO2 emissions. What do they care though, to them CO2 is life, not a pollutant.
This is nothing new, in fact last year there were 396 landfills in the US were doing just this. What is surprising is that they all aren't doing it. Basically when organic matter in trash decays, it produces methane gas, which is a greenhouse gas. Read about how a landfill works.
Methane is also highly flammable and it can be used as a fuel. It's also very dangerous, so it's important that it's managed in a responsible way. Leaking methane is heavier than the regular atmosphere so it can flow into low lying areas literally suffocating trees and animals that can't escape. So to manage the problem, landfills will install a network of pipes to collect the gas so that it can either be burned off or used to power electric generators.
One landfill on Long Island, NY simply uses retired locomotive engines which operate 24 hours a day burning fuel from the nearby landfill. It's a creative use of the byproduct of our waste, not exactly a renewable energy source, but it's better than not using it at all.
Read More» [CNN]
A man from Colorado is the first person to receive a rebate check from his power company Xcel Energy. Xcel offers a rebate program that pays homeowners $4.50 for every watt of power generated from at home solar panels. Eric Daub's house pulls power from the grid at night but during the day it puts even more power back. Eric invested just over $50,000 to install the panels on his roof, but at the rate he's going he should be able to earn that money back through rebates and federal tax incentives.
Xcel Energy pays $4.50/watt of power generated, up to 10,000 watts. The utility only services a handful of states currently: Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Read More » [Rocky Mountain News]
2005 was a record breaking hurricane season in a lot of respects. There were a record number of named storms and a record number of those storms were classified as category 5. One of those category 5 hurricanes, and also the first hurricane with a name starting with a 'W', had something the others didn't have, 185mph winds. Hurricane Wilma would go on to become the most powerful recorded hurricane in the Atlantic.
I'm really getting sick of writing about these guys, but damnit they have their own category under bullshit, so I guess I have to. The folks at Media Matters have a short little video clip of a 'Fox correspondent' (see note below) spouting another gem of fair and balanced reporting. Someone needs to give these guys a lesson in analogies. According to them Gore is to global warming what Nazi propoganda is to the Holocaust. Congratulations Fox, you're an expert at comparing apples with apples!
Note: This guy isn't really a Fox correspondent, but he might as well be since he's part of the same corporate funded machine of untruth and confusion.
Earthshine is the light that's reflected off the dark part of the moon, and is created by sunlight reflecting off the Earth to the Moon and back to the Earth again. The amount of information stored in earthshine is amazing. By studying the qualities of the light that is reflected off the dark side of the moon, scientists can determine many qualities of the planet doing the reflecting. The luminosity of the earthshine can be used to indirectly measure Earth's albedo, or reflectivity. This may be useful for global warming measurements as it gives scientists a global scale measurement for the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth vs. being reflected away.
Any American who complains about the prices at the pump obviously hasn't vacationed in Europe. The prices are actually comparable, except they buy gas by the liter over there while we buy gas by the gallon. So it's true, the US pays roughly 1/4 - 1/2 of what is paid just a short hop over the pond. Yet European refineries still pay the same for a barrel of crude, so what's the difference? Taxes.
Here's an interesting article about the value of getting an energy audit on your home. Using various techniques, the auditors look for energy leaks in your home and make recommendations on how you can fix the problems. Whether you're out to save the environment or just want to save a buck, this might be the right thing to do if you own your home.
Read More » [The Toronto Star]
It's doubtful this will ever become mainstream…unfortunately. If you live in a rural area, have some time on your hands and don't mind getting some government permits, this might be the way to go. The article tells the story of a man in Chicago who saves .65¢ a gallon on his fuel costs by setting up what is essentially a moonshine still in his backyard. I'm getting thirsty thinking of all the possibilities.
The 34% increase in US ethanol production this year is great, but it's had an interesting side effect. It's driven up the price of corn which may in-turn affect your wallet at the grocery store. The theory is that as the cost of corn increases, chicken, pork, and steak will become costlier to produce driving up their prices as well.
I'll be happy to pay a premium for certain animal products for the sake of increased ethanol production and less CO2 emissions. The truth is that meat production takes a horrible toll on the Earth's ecosystems as it is. According to the EPA, industrialized agriculture is responsible for roughly 25% of global methane emissions which is another greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. I'm not a vegetarian, although I should be. So should everyone else if they want to minimize their impact on the climate. I'll have to write a separate post on this subject in the future.
Read More » [Planet Ark]
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