My home state is Illinois, and my hometown a little railroad/farming community named Galesburg.We lived on a small farm during my high school years and I became very aware of nature and it's wonders. I loved the out of doors, working with animals, plowing fields and harvesting crops. Those were very good years.After a stint in the Army during the Korean war my broadcasting career took off at the local radio station, a 250 watt "teapot" as it was called in those days. My first job was as an engineer, then the ham came out and I became an announcer/newsman, graduating after several years to a larger market and a stint as a TV journalist/photographer. Cold, wet weather led me to the southwest where I've lived for most of the last 40 years, with a couple of years out to have fun working as a private investigator in San Francisco, and a few years working in Las Vegas hotels and casinos. In all, its been a real ride.After retiring a few years back I became fascinated with the efforts being made to find alternative energy sources. I've watched our environment deteriorate during my lifetime, and now it's my chance to join the chorus of intelligent and caring individuals making a difference one day at a time.
No more solar cells covering a roof, but around the edges of a flat glass panel, as shown in the artist’s representation by NSF.
MIT engineers say they’ve created a new approach to harnessing the sun’s energy that provide windows with a clear view and illuminate rooms at the same time without the need for tracking devices.
According to a news release from MIT , the solar concentrator collects light at the [...]
No Fishing Allowed and Drinking Well Water is Banned
In what was reported earlier as a minor situation, comes news that a uranium leak from one of France’s nuclear power plants has tainted well water and two rivers 30 miles from the tourist city of Avignon, which is currently hosting an arts festival.
According to published reports, the amount of untreated liquid uranium released amounted to 75kg, and was rated as a one on the one-to-seven scale of nuclear accidents. Interesting, just a one, and you can’t drink the water, cannot fish or swim in the two rivers.
The local government is said to have immediately banned the drinking of well water, told residents in Vaucluse not to fish, or eat fish caught from the rivers, ended all swimming and water sports and the irrigation of crops in nearby fields.
Just another reason why uranium isn’t the way to go, it costs the taxpayer way too much money for what he receives.
Take the former Fernald Feed Materials Production Center at Fernald, Ohio, that’s about 20 miles northwest of Cincinnati. The former uranium processing site opened in complete secrecy during the Cold War in 1951. The plant fabricated uranium fuel cores for the U.S. nuclear weapons production complex until 1989, when it shut the doors.
Releases from the plant exposed residents of the small community of Fernald to radon, soluble and insoluble forms of uranium and various chemicals, both in groundwater and from blowing dust. The health consequences to residents and former workers are still being evaluated.
This mean-lookin’ machine may wind up in your rear-view mirror someday, as GM is thinking hard about bringing this 40mpg car to America. Don’t you just love the way some cars take on an actual head-on personality. Engineers must love to do this sort of thing.
It’s called the Beat, and it’s a car that would normally be sold in other markets, such as Asia and Latin America. But with the high price of gas, and GM’s plunging losses ($38.7 billion in 2007), the company that brought you the Hummer may just have to re-invent itself. And, no, it isn’t a hybrid.
The Bureau of Land Management has reversed it’s 22 month moratorium on new applications for solar power development on public lands.
In a statement issued today, the BLM said it will continue to process the applications while, “continuing to identify issues during public scoping underway for the programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).
In the statement, BLM Director James Caswell said:
“We heard the concerns expressed during the scoping period about waiting to consider new applications, and we are taking action. By continuing to accept and process new applications for solar energy projects, we will aggressively help meet growing interest in renewable energy sources, while ensuring environmental protections.”
Most railroads have shown a reluctance to use a biodiesel blend in their locomotives, but the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad has decided to test the concept this summer.
The first biodiesel blend train pulled out of Creston last week, hauling 52 cars of wheat and 500 gallons of biodiesel in the locomotives saddlebag tanks. Officials are using a 25 percent blend of biodiesel in the tests.
The fuel is made by Columbia Bioenergy, located in Creston, which uses canola oil, restaurant grease, soy and other crops as feedstock.
Bonnie Prince Charles, in a symbolic gesture, has converted his 38 year old Aston Martin rag top to run on ethanol, derived from English Wine. Aides said the action was due to the pattern of Royal trips set by the Foreign Office.
Prince Charles Chief Aide, Sir Michael Peat is quoted as saying:
‘Charles only travelled two or three hundred miles a year in the Aston but he wanted it to be environmentally friendly. It just happened that our bioethanol supplier makes the fuel from surplus English wine.’
The Prince has been reducing his carbon footprint, already cutting carbon emissions by 12.5 percent, in line with the Government’s Kyoto target. He has since doubled the target to a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2018.
A Superior Court Judge in Fulton County, Georgia has ruled that construction of Dynegy’s Longleaf plant be halted until it is assured the plant will limit the amount of carbon dioxide it releases.
The original permit would have allowed the plant to emit 9 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, something the court said was unreasonable.
The court cited the Supreme Court’s 2007 ruling recognizing that carbon dioxide is a pollutant under the federal Clean Air Act. It’s the first time any court has applied the ruling to an industrial source.
Commenting on the ruling, Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign said:
“Coal-fired power plants emit more than 30% of our nation’s global warming pollution. Thanks to this decision, coal plants across the country will be forced to live up to their clean coal rhetoric.”
Around the World in 60 Days
The sleek tri-hull Earthrace eco-boat, has beaten the world speed record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe. The biodiesel powered craft traveled 24,000 nautical miles in 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes, finishing its journey by crossing the finish line in Sagunto, Spain.
That beat a record set in 1998 by the British boat, Cable and wireless Adventurer.
Phil Bridge, a 21 year old Product Design student at Sheffield Hallam University, came up with the design, noting that a bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in the UK, and wondered if anyone would be interested in running off with a cardboard bike.
Using Hexacomb board, he’s fashioned a vehicle that will never make it to the Tour de France, but figures it would last for about six [...]
Some Rights Reserved • Green Options Media • San Francisco, California • Legal
