Monday, May 14, 2007
Anti nuclear industry beating an old drum about fuel storage accountability
The anti nuclear industry is beating an old drum about fuel storage accountability
Friday, April 27, 2007 @ Atomic Insights
The post discusses the case of three nuclear plants that reported that they could not successfully account for 100% of the fuel material that had passed through their plant. The author however feels that this issue is justg an old political drum being beaten.
Read the full story and the author's response here @ Atomic Insights
Friday, April 27, 2007 @ Atomic Insights
The post discusses the case of three nuclear plants that reported that they could not successfully account for 100% of the fuel material that had passed through their plant. The author however feels that this issue is justg an old political drum being beaten.
Read the full story and the author's response here @ Atomic Insights
PermaLink - Anti nuclear industry beating an old drum about fuel storage accountability posted by Ecacofonix : 4:52 AM
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Saturday, May 12, 2007
Turbines Could Pose Threat To Birds And Bats
Turbines Could Pose Threat To Birds And Bats
Written on May 10, 2007
Wsls.com reports that a government study shows that the rotating blades on wind turbines could pose a threat to bats, night-migrating songbirds, and some hunting birds. The threat is more pronounced in coastal areas. Scientists recommend further studies on the matter.
Source: Wind Energy Investing
Written on May 10, 2007
Wsls.com reports that a government study shows that the rotating blades on wind turbines could pose a threat to bats, night-migrating songbirds, and some hunting birds. The threat is more pronounced in coastal areas. Scientists recommend further studies on the matter.
Source: Wind Energy Investing
Labels: problems, research, technology, wind
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Energy Alternatives Competing For Funding
Energy Alternatives Competing For Funding
Advocates of various sources of alternative energy are beginning to point out the competition's warts. Everyone wants to use the energy crisis as leverage to support his or her solution.
But with limited government research and development money for ways to replace oil, any technology's gain is a loss for the others. So the criticism is flying in all directions.
Read more about the type of criticism each energy alternative is receiving, from this blog post @ Solar Sandiego
Advocates of various sources of alternative energy are beginning to point out the competition's warts. Everyone wants to use the energy crisis as leverage to support his or her solution.
But with limited government research and development money for ways to replace oil, any technology's gain is a loss for the others. So the criticism is flying in all directions.
Read more about the type of criticism each energy alternative is receiving, from this blog post @ Solar Sandiego
Labels: analysis, comparisons, investments, opinions, problems, trends
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health
Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health
Medical Research News, 20-Apr-2007
Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel. But if every vehicle in the United States ran on fuel made primarily from ethanol instead of pure gasoline, the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely increase, according to a new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Z. Jacobson. His findings are published in the April 18 online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T).
Read the full article from here @ Medical Research News
Medical Research News, 20-Apr-2007
Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel. But if every vehicle in the United States ran on fuel made primarily from ethanol instead of pure gasoline, the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely increase, according to a new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Z. Jacobson. His findings are published in the April 18 online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T).
Read the full article from here @ Medical Research News
Labels: analysis, environment, ethanol, problems, research, transportation
PermaLink - Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health posted by Ecacofonix : 6:55 AM
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Latin America Divided Over Ethanol
Latin America Divided Over Ethanol
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez calls the boom in ethanol the equivalent of starving the poor "to feed automobiles." It's not just Mr. Chávez who is questioning whether the benefits outweigh the unintended consequences. Now poultry industry executives, who have seen the price of feedstock go up; Mexican consumers, facing a 60 percent jump in the cost of tortillas; and even environmentalists, who look at the amount of fertilizer that will be needed to grow extra crops, are wondering aloud about the effects of ethanol...
Read the full article from here @ CBS News, 20 Apr 2007 post
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez calls the boom in ethanol the equivalent of starving the poor "to feed automobiles." It's not just Mr. Chávez who is questioning whether the benefits outweigh the unintended consequences. Now poultry industry executives, who have seen the price of feedstock go up; Mexican consumers, facing a 60 percent jump in the cost of tortillas; and even environmentalists, who look at the amount of fertilizer that will be needed to grow extra crops, are wondering aloud about the effects of ethanol...
Read the full article from here @ CBS News, 20 Apr 2007 post
Labels: analysis, ethanol, problems, south-america
Friday, April 20, 2007
Let's get real about alternative energy
Let's get real about alternative energy
Henry E. Payne, Apr 2007
Wind power is intermittent. Wind and sun only run 8 to 9 hours a day.
Solar energy, with possibilities of up to 30 percent capacity factor, produced only 541,000 megawatt-hours of electricity in 2005. The subsidies for solar power are many times that for wind power simply...The capital cost of equivalent coal or nuclear generating plants is far less than the "alternative power" schemes.
These two (solar & wind) energy sources provided less than .4 percent of all the electricity generated in the U.S. for 2005.
Read more on Henry Payne's take on alternative energy from this interesting article @ Charleston Daily Mail
Henry E. Payne, Apr 2007
Wind power is intermittent. Wind and sun only run 8 to 9 hours a day.
Solar energy, with possibilities of up to 30 percent capacity factor, produced only 541,000 megawatt-hours of electricity in 2005. The subsidies for solar power are many times that for wind power simply...The capital cost of equivalent coal or nuclear generating plants is far less than the "alternative power" schemes.
These two (solar & wind) energy sources provided less than .4 percent of all the electricity generated in the U.S. for 2005.
Read more on Henry Payne's take on alternative energy from this interesting article @ Charleston Daily Mail
Labels: analysis, incentives, opinions, problems, solar, wind
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Burdening Brazil With Ethanol, Biofuels
Burdening Brazil With Biofuels
Lúcia Ortiz and David Waskow, March 19, 2007
The prospects of a massive boom in ethanol production to meet demand in the United States is not entirely pleasant. If the U.S. moves to meet a substantial proportion of its fuel needs from biofuels the pressure to import ethanol and other biofuels will mount rapidly, reaching quantities far beyond what Brazil currently produces. Providing biofuels to meet just 10 percent of current U.S. gasoline consumption would require multiplying Brazil’s already sizeable ethanol production many times over. Expanding Brazil’s biofuel industry on such a large scale will create serious environmental and social problems, says this interesting news article.
Read the full article from here @ Tom Paine
Lúcia Ortiz and David Waskow, March 19, 2007
The prospects of a massive boom in ethanol production to meet demand in the United States is not entirely pleasant. If the U.S. moves to meet a substantial proportion of its fuel needs from biofuels the pressure to import ethanol and other biofuels will mount rapidly, reaching quantities far beyond what Brazil currently produces. Providing biofuels to meet just 10 percent of current U.S. gasoline consumption would require multiplying Brazil’s already sizeable ethanol production many times over. Expanding Brazil’s biofuel industry on such a large scale will create serious environmental and social problems, says this interesting news article.
Read the full article from here @ Tom Paine
Labels: brazil, environment, ethanol, problems, trends
UK push for biofuels may harm environment, campaigners say
UK push for biofuels may harm environment, campaigners say
19 Mar 2007 bbj.hu
A UK plan to help tackle global warming by increasing the use of biofuels such as palm oil and rapeseed may do more harm to the environment than good,
environmental campaign groups said.
Fuel suppliers will have to ensure that from April 2008 a certain percentage of their sales come from biofuels, under a UK Department for Transport program. The proposal could see businesses producing biofuels by destroying rainforests and wetlands, threatening endangered habitats and species and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere, according to Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The groups said the government should tighten rules to ensure biofuel producers meet minimum standards on greenhouse gas emissions, and establish "environmental audits” of the entire life-cycle of the fuel, from cultivation through transportation to combustion.
Read the full report from here @ BBJ, Hungary
19 Mar 2007 bbj.hu
A UK plan to help tackle global warming by increasing the use of biofuels such as palm oil and rapeseed may do more harm to the environment than good,
environmental campaign groups said.
Fuel suppliers will have to ensure that from April 2008 a certain percentage of their sales come from biofuels, under a UK Department for Transport program. The proposal could see businesses producing biofuels by destroying rainforests and wetlands, threatening endangered habitats and species and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere, according to Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The groups said the government should tighten rules to ensure biofuel producers meet minimum standards on greenhouse gas emissions, and establish "environmental audits” of the entire life-cycle of the fuel, from cultivation through transportation to combustion.
Read the full report from here @ BBJ, Hungary
Labels: analysis, climate-change, co2, environment, problems
PermaLink - UK push for biofuels may harm environment, campaigners say posted by Ecacofonix : 10:50 AM
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To Save Earth, We Need a Freeze on Biofuels
If we want to save the planet, we need a five-year freeze on biofuels
George Monbiot, March 29, 2007
"Oil produced from plants sets up competition for food between cars and people. People - and the environment - will lose.
It used to be a matter of good intentions gone awry. Now it is plain fraud. The governments using biofuel to tackle global warming know that it causes more harm than good. But they plough on regardless. In theory, fuels made from plants can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by cars and trucks. Plants absorb carbon as they grow - it is released again when the fuel is burned. By encouraging oil companies to switch from fossil plants to living ones, governments on both sides of the Atlantic claim to be "decarbonising" our transport networks," says George Monibot in this interesting opinion piece
Read the full article from the Guardian here @ ZNet Science
George Monbiot, March 29, 2007
"Oil produced from plants sets up competition for food between cars and people. People - and the environment - will lose.
It used to be a matter of good intentions gone awry. Now it is plain fraud. The governments using biofuel to tackle global warming know that it causes more harm than good. But they plough on regardless. In theory, fuels made from plants can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by cars and trucks. Plants absorb carbon as they grow - it is released again when the fuel is burned. By encouraging oil companies to switch from fossil plants to living ones, governments on both sides of the Atlantic claim to be "decarbonising" our transport networks," says George Monibot in this interesting opinion piece
Read the full article from the Guardian here @ ZNet Science
Ethanol agreement could have unintended consequences
Ethanol agreement could have unintended consequences
By Lillian Rose
Recently in the Brazilian city of Sao Paolo, a new partnership was agreed upon by President George W. Bush of the United States and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil. The partnership has special focus on cooperations in biofuels.
But like most trade agreements, there are certain dangers ahead. This alliance will have an environmental as well as a social impact. A Brazilian engineer, Expedito Parente, was quoted as saying in a Brazilian newspaper, “We have 80 million hectares in the Amazon that are going to be converted into the Saudi Arabia of biodiesel.”
Read the full news & analysis report from here @ The News & Tribune
By Lillian Rose
Recently in the Brazilian city of Sao Paolo, a new partnership was agreed upon by President George W. Bush of the United States and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil. The partnership has special focus on cooperations in biofuels.
But like most trade agreements, there are certain dangers ahead. This alliance will have an environmental as well as a social impact. A Brazilian engineer, Expedito Parente, was quoted as saying in a Brazilian newspaper, “We have 80 million hectares in the Amazon that are going to be converted into the Saudi Arabia of biodiesel.”
Read the full news & analysis report from here @ The News & Tribune
Labels: brazil, environment, ethanol, problems, society, south-america, usa
PermaLink - Ethanol agreement could have unintended consequences posted by Ecacofonix : 4:52 AM
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Pros and cons of solar power
Pros and cons of solar power
24 Mar 2007
Vicki Vaughan, Express-News Business Writer - My San Antonio
In this article, the author discusses the pros and cons of solar energy.
One interesting concept discussed is "net metering". If, for instance, you instal solar panels and if you do not have batteries to store excess power, on some days the extra energy being generated by the solar panel can be fed being fed back into the electric grid, thus making a meter "run backward." Known as "net metering," customers who produce electricity at home (or their business) using renewable sources such as solar and wind get credit for any excess power they put back into the Energy grid.
But solar energy is not without its pitfalls, the main issue being cost, says this article.
Read the full article from here @ My San Antonio
24 Mar 2007
Vicki Vaughan, Express-News Business Writer - My San Antonio
In this article, the author discusses the pros and cons of solar energy.
One interesting concept discussed is "net metering". If, for instance, you instal solar panels and if you do not have batteries to store excess power, on some days the extra energy being generated by the solar panel can be fed being fed back into the electric grid, thus making a meter "run backward." Known as "net metering," customers who produce electricity at home (or their business) using renewable sources such as solar and wind get credit for any excess power they put back into the Energy grid.
But solar energy is not without its pitfalls, the main issue being cost, says this article.
Read the full article from here @ My San Antonio
Labels: analysis, costs, incentives, problems, solar
Could crops support biofuel need? Breakthroughs needed?
Could crops support biofuel need? Breakthroughs needed?
March 26, 2007, By Jerry W. Jackson, Check Biotech
Scientists and researchers are grappling for more breakthroughs before ethanol, biodiesel and other fuels of the future are produced in large enough quantities at prices low enough to revolutionize the country's energy independence.
But a concerted effort could enable farms and forests to eventually generate more than 100 billion gallons of biofuel a year, enough to replace the amount of gasoline the United States imports annually, was the opinion from the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council (USA). Read more from this news report @ Check Biotech
March 26, 2007, By Jerry W. Jackson, Check Biotech
Scientists and researchers are grappling for more breakthroughs before ethanol, biodiesel and other fuels of the future are produced in large enough quantities at prices low enough to revolutionize the country's energy independence.
But a concerted effort could enable farms and forests to eventually generate more than 100 billion gallons of biofuel a year, enough to replace the amount of gasoline the United States imports annually, was the opinion from the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council (USA). Read more from this news report @ Check Biotech
Labels: biofuels, ethanol, inventions, problems
PermaLink - Could crops support biofuel need? Breakthroughs needed? posted by Ecacofonix : 7:04 AM
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The inconvenient truth about energy
The inconvenient truth about energy
Mar 25, 2007
Claims from certain quarters of the American left to be genuinely interested in energy independence are ringing hollow. And it is painfully obvious because opposition to just about any kind of energy development comes from, you guessed it ... the left, says this opinion article from The Daily Interlake
Mar 25, 2007
Claims from certain quarters of the American left to be genuinely interested in energy independence are ringing hollow. And it is painfully obvious because opposition to just about any kind of energy development comes from, you guessed it ... the left, says this opinion article from The Daily Interlake
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Geothermal Idea Stalls at Ground Level
Geothermal idea stalls at ground level
By Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | March 1, 2007
Alberta Bennett's determination to blaze a pollution-free path has become an odyssey of Homer-like proportions.
Just as Alberta Bennett is poised to have a geothermal system installed, a new hurdle has sprung up. City officials say this would be their first experience with a geothermal system, and with no regulations in place, they want to proceed carefully before issuing any permits.
Read more from this Boston Globe report
By Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | March 1, 2007
Alberta Bennett's determination to blaze a pollution-free path has become an odyssey of Homer-like proportions.
Just as Alberta Bennett is poised to have a geothermal system installed, a new hurdle has sprung up. City officials say this would be their first experience with a geothermal system, and with no regulations in place, they want to proceed carefully before issuing any permits.
Read more from this Boston Globe report
Labels: geothermal, problems
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