Officials in Ottawa are considering a cool plan to use the ‘cold energy’ stored in snow as a source of renewable energy in public buildings across the city.

Under the plan, snow collected on the Ottawa streets during the cold winter months would be used to keep the city’s hospitals, universities and government buildings cool during the hot summer. Snow collected during the winter normally melts by early June, but, if the plan gets the green light, it will be insulated with wood chips, making it last until September. The icy melt-water could then be fed through pipes to keep buildings cool without the need for expensive, and energy hungry, air conditioners.

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Under the interim final rule, fish and shellfish covered commodities must be labeled at retail to indicate their country of origin and method of production (wild and/or farm raised). However, covered commodities are excluded from mandatory COOL if they are an ingredient in a processed food item.

Food service establishments, such as restaurants, lunchrooms, cafeterias, food stands, bars, lounges and similar enterprises are exempt from the mandatory COOL requirements.

Fast forward to August 2008, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued an interim final rule for mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat meat, perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, ginseng, and macadamia nuts. The 2008 Farm Bill added chicken and goat; pecans, ginseng and macadamia nuts as covered commodities to what had been previously proposed. This interim final rule (IFR) will go into effect September 30, 2008.

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In a video from Reuters Television, which is available at the bottom of this story, two aluminum panels inside the eel’s tank act as electrodes, capturing the power needed to light the tree. Kazuhiko Minawa, who thought up the idea, spent two months devising a system that would capture the animal’s electric power.

Eel’s use electricity to fend off threats to their well-being, or getting a bite to eat. Actually, the eel isn’t an eel at all, it’s a fish, more commonly known as the Knifefish, a relative of the catfish family. Wikipedia says the fish is an obligate air-breather, rising to the surface about every 10 minutes for a gulp of air and then returns to the bottom.

When hunting, or defending themselves, eels can produce electrical shocks of up to 500 volts and 1 ampere of current, enough to do serious, or even fatal harm to a human. That’s why they wind up in public aquariums and not the home fish tank. You’d need a pretty large one at that, they can grow up to eight feet in length and weigh 40 pounds.

Back to our Japanese aquarium. The eel-Christmas tree inventor told Reuters Television that gathering all electric eels from around the world would light one very large Christmas tree.

Video of Eel-powered Christmas tree from Reuters Video.

The whole thing apparently started in the 1930’s when the spelling of the name changed from Fjukeby. Embarrassed and finally tired of all the jocularity, a committee of residents pleaded with the National Heritage Board for the change.

So what’s the fuss? Well, according to the article in The Local a Swedish English-language website, the Swedish word “juck”, essentially means the same thing as Fjuckby’s English component. In addition, villagers complained that the present name makes it difficult to sell property there, or run a successful business.

According to Wikipedia, , the town is located about 15km north of Uppsala. The name has apparently resulted in a certain amount of tourist trade to the small community. That hasn’t helped the situation at all.

Unfortunately, the National Heritage Board said it was following the recommendation of the Institute of Language and Folklore to preserve the name Fjuckby. Which begs the question, if it was named Fjukeby in the 30’s, why was it changed, and what’s wrong with changing it back?

Oh, Fjuckby has a population of about 60, and only 15 residents were involved in the petition for a name change. In it’s ruling, The NHB apparently felt they did not represent the majority of residents in the town.

A writer for The Local ended the story with this observation; “If Fjuckby gets its way it is conceivable that Anusviken, Arslet and Dicken may be next in line for a swift reversal of misfortune”.

In case you’re wondering, Fjuckby and Fjukeby both roughly translate as “Windy Village”.

It was a three minute flight, revving the engines to 98 percent of capacity, but certainly enough to be a nonissue in climb performance and time to attain altitude.

The jet was acquired from the Ukrainian military and is one of the few planes capable of using biodiesel. It has a built-in fuel warming system that keeps biodiesel fluid at colder temperatures.

Doug Rodante, president of Green Flight International said a 20 percent blend of biodiesel and normal jet fuel would work perfectly well in other jet aircraft without modifications. That would mean fewer emissions of carbon dioxide by as much a 50 percent.

Tests are continuing at Green Flight and the jet has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration for until proved safe to fly long distances. Once done, Rodante plans to fly the jet from Reno, Nev to Orlando, FL in eight stops. After that, he hopes to fly a similarly fueled plane around the world.

Over coffee this morning, we were discussing whether to have a Christmas tree this year. We haven’t had one since our marriage, deciding instead on Sally’s ability to decorate with style and grace. During our talk, we did discuss the difference between natural and plastic, and really didn’t decide on which we’d choose if we were going to have a tree in the first place.

It’s a wonderful time of the year, and this will be my 76th Christmas. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years, and have had some beautiful Christmas trees, some really pathetic ones, and quite a few years with none. What I remember most about Christmas trees, besides the wonderful aroma of a fresh-cut tree, is the first time I saw an artificial one.

Some tree. It was a stick with holes in it, and a bunch of “limbs” covered with plastic needles that you put together and then placed in a stand to look like a real tree. Well, almost. It took a lot of tinsel, angel hair, ornamental balls and an extra string of lights to even begin looking like the real thing.

Most everyone I knew was appalled — who could possibly call it “Christmas” without a real tree? Talk about snobbery! Plastic became more popular though, and as the years rolled on they began looking better and better, but, still plastic. Oh, and I forgot the silver aluminum trees that were introduced in the 60’s. Then came the realization that some families just can’t afford a real tree every year, and suddenly artificial made a lot of sense. Besides, there’s the convenience of not having to vacuum all the needles and dispose of the tree. Just disassemble and store in the closet until next year.

Out of curiosity, I decided to stop at one of those Christmas tree stands operated by a non-profit organization, and price a tree, just for the heck of it. My God, they’re $50 and up. Plastic suddenly looked a little better, although artifical can be very expensive too.

Then we discussed the merits of having a natural or plastic tree when it came to considerations of health. The natural tree won hands down, as long as you don’t let it dry out and catch fire. Artifical trees catch, and retain dust, and if you keep them for years, that’s a lot of dust released everytime they’re used. When we’re finished with them, where do they go? Probably to the local landfill to while away the long years before finally breaking down.

If we chose a natural tree, is it environmentally cool to cut down trees for the sake of a few weeks or days of decoration? We all know that trees help clean the air and provide habitat for wildlife, but are we losing large forest areas? Absolutely not, say growers. Most trees come from Christmas-tree farms, and once harvested, new trees are planted and the cycle begins all over again.

So what are you having this year, plastic or natural? We’ll be treeless, but warm, snug and very happy in our home above beautiful downtown Tucson.

Whatever the case, Sally and Max Lindberg wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Obama attended high school in Hawaii, and he admitted to not applying himself and choosing to have a good time. He was trying to find some identity, and used drugs, to “push questions of who I was out of my mind, something that could flatten out the landscape of my heart, blur the edges of my memory.”as he said in his book, “Dreams From My Father,” It was after he began his college education that Obama recognized he’d wasted a lot of time.

“Junkie. Pothead. That’s where I’d been headed: the final fatal role of the young would be black man,” another quote from his book. He also admitted snorting cocaine when he could afford it, but mostly drank alcohol and smoked weed.

I dare any presidential candidate to be that candid and honest in this very contentious race for the Presidency. Will it hurt Obama? Probably not. It’s already a well-known fact, regardless; I’m sure it’ll be used against him. Politicians can be a vicious sort, but we already knew that.

My concern is about the students he addressed, and how they will relate to Obama. It has been my personal experience that hearing someone talk about how they cleaned up their act while I was still doing mine, sounded great. It gave me the false confidence that someday, I too, could clean up mine. The fact is there may not be another chance. All it would take is one more time “out there” and death will come before freedom. I was among the lucky ones, and with the Grace of God can talk about it today.

The insidious nature of drugs is simply this, some folks never clean up, young people die everyday thinking that someday, soon, they will turn their lives around. I’ve personally seen it happen on several occasions. I sincerely hope Obama’s message to the young people was positive, that those who are involved with drugs and alcohol understand it is a one-way street, and decide now to walk away and get serious about their lives.

Source

The Galesburg Register-Mail newspaper, which broke the story first last April, has two more updates, “From Concept to Company” and “Energy Source Answers some Old Problems,” written by John Pulliam. I’m particularly fascinated with this story because Galesburg is my home town.

Well, Jim, shown in the Register-Mail photo at the left with a fire engine he hopes to convert into a hydrogen fueled mobile power unit, has moved out of the lab at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg to his own plant in nearby Monmouth, IL with 15 employees. All that, he says, in a period of 9 months from concept to reality.

The company’s name, by the way is Akvo Energy America, and the shop is full of engines undergoing conversion to his hydrogen fuel system. Part of his plan is to fuel power plants and desalinization facilities with hydrogen. He plans to use the fire engine as an emergency portable desalinization unit, something sorely needed in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina ravaged that city.

His process extracts hydrogen from water via what he calls plasmatic induction, a form of electrolysis, using electricty to zap water in a small reservoir tank which releases hydrogen bubbles. The bubbles, of course, become the fuel, a never-ending source as long as drinking water is in the small reserve tank. It’s a bit more complicated than that, he uses reserve batteries and solar cells along with non-radioactive carbon rods in the system. Hunt claims one fill-up of rods will power a vehicle for a year-and-a-half; the emissions, of course, are water vapor.

Hunt claims to have a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. and what he called “a couple of pending contracts.” Two major universities are testing the process and he said GM was ready to license his system right now.

Besides the fire truck, a 1995 Civic, a 1976 Corvette Stingray, a Hummer and a pickup truck are waiting for conversion to the system. But before they can go on the highway for testing, they must be verified by the Environmental Protection Agency. This process is underway.

Jim hopes to eventually move his plant back to Galesburg and occupy the now empty Maytag manufacturing plant. Looking ahead, he hopes to have more than 1,000 employees for production and distribution. When would this happen? Maybe in 18 months, maybe more.

I interviewed Jim on my own website in April, the Lindberg Report.org, while he was still a student at Carl Sandburg College. Since Planetsave and Green Options are going through changes that right now don’t support audio, you might want to listen to Jim talk about his invention. As soon as we get audio on this site, I’ll have an updtated interview with Jim.

We’ll keep track of this young man and his invention that may just turn the hydrogen fuel world upside down, especially when billions of dollars are being spent trying to bring hydrogen powered vehicles out of showrooms, when Jim’s research cost $22,000.

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Will the Yellowstone volcano erupt anytime soon? Probably not, but a report in Live Science boggled my mind with the immensity of hot magma boiling beneath the seemingly pastoral serenity of Yellowstone.

According to the article, Yellowstone’s volcanic floor has risen 9 inches in the past three years, which doesn’t seem like much until you understand what’s pushing it upward. There’s an enormous plume of molten rock that begins some 400 miles beneath the surface of Yellowstone, and rises to within 30 miles of the floor. The magma chamber widens out at that point, encompassing some 300 miles across. The article likens Yellowstone’s hidden blob of molten rock as being the size of Los Angeles, and has now risen to a point about 6 miles beneath the surface.

Does this mean an eruption is imminent, not necessarily so, according to scientists who constantly study the 40 x 25 mile bowl-like depression.

A seismologist at the University of Utah, Robert Smith, has been studying Yellowstone for years, and concludes in the article; “There is no evidence of an imminent volcanic eruption or hydrothermal explosion. That’s the bottom line.” He went on to say there were a lot of calderas worldwide that rise and fall over decades without erupting.

All that taken into consideration, the recent uplift has occurred “faster than a previous record of .8 inches per year from 1976 to 1985″.

I don’t know if you’ve seen the recent spate of television specials predicting what would happen if Yellowstone erupted full-force, a scary scenario, especially the predicted effect on the world’s climate! But, what the heck, enjoy Yellowstone, it’s a beautiful, magical place, and if it blows while you’re there, you’ll become a part of history. Think about it.

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The stained glass was designed by Sarah Hall, and is titled “Lux Nova”. The column contains an array of solar cells that collect energy during the day, and creates what the article calls, “a luminous column of light flowing like a waterfall in silvery blue, violet and white.” The ever changing rainbow of color is created by 12 dichroic glass crosses, and woven through the waterfall of light, is the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic.

The artist was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Art in 2002, and attended the architectural glass program at Swansea College of Art in Wales. If you’d like to see more of Ms. Hall’s design, this is the link to her website.

The 12-meter wind tower is used as a natural ventilation system for the new, $10 million underground theology library building. The tower was designed by architect Clive Grout in collaboration with Walter Frankl Architects.

Dr William Gray, a pioneer in meteorology bitched slapped Al Gore and all of us for that matter in a packed auditorium at the University of North Carolina. What would cause him to become so irate? The fact that humans are not responsible for global warming of course. It’s the salt levels in the ocean stupid! An Inconvenient Truth is ridiculous! We’re brainwashing our children! His ranting reminded me of Roald Dahl’s Matilda: “I’m Right, You’re Wrong. I’m Smart, You’re Dumb. I’m Big, You’re Little. And there’s nothing you can do about it!”

But then again, Dr.Gray had some interesting points, if not some very chilling facts about global warming and our impact. I actually feel bad for him. His remarks are the polar opposite of the scientific trend, making him an outcast or worse sounding like a madman. However, he may only sound crazy because it makes us mad to listen to someone put our cause to “save” the earth as being nothing but ridiculous. In the end, I think Dr.Gray would agree, that even if global warming has very little to do with our nasty ways, it’s obvious we need to make a change in the way we treat our Earth. From the article:

“Dr Gray, whose annual forecasts of the number of tropical storms and hurricanes are widely publicised, said a natural cycle of ocean water temperatures - related to the amount of salt in ocean water - was responsible for the global warming that he acknowledges has taken place.However, he said, that same cycle meant a period of cooling would begin soon and last for several years.

“We’ll look back on all of this in 10 or 15 years and realise how foolish it was,” Dr Gray said.

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What do we know today, if anything? As my father is fond of saying, ‘I know nothing, I can prove it, ask me anything.’ Recently it has been reported that at CO2 atmospheric concentration levels of 500 ppm, the oceans will stop calcification. It has been well documented that the planet’s southern ocean is no longer acting as a carbon sink. And of course, one million acres of ice disappeared from the Arctic and we discovered that Greenland melted at a rate of 25 percent over estimations during this past season.

For the Cro-Magnon in our mist, be they from the trailer parks or the intelligent design pews of humanistic debauchery, to the ten-thousand dollar suited board and CEO members who still can grunt out the response: “huh, I don’t care.” People fail to comprehend the baseline conceptions of what this foretells. People lament my forecast of an impending ecological disaster. They scream, I kid you not, ‘you can’t tell the future.’ I don’t have to tell the future, all I have to do is deduce the information presented yearly. ‘But, but the scientists say we have at least 100 years.’

In the first place, taking that attitude without committing to changing anything is dooming future generations. The deduction here is simply enough, you are not humane, you are narcissist, more animal than man, striving only to serve self. Do you know what humanity calls a completely self-indulged individual? One who justifies every action they do, a psychopath. Have you as an individual questioned your humane meter lately? If you still possess the ability to glance within the looking glass, you may be very surprised at what you find.

Enough of the free psychoanalysis, what does the above information tell a mind that is capable of independent thought? By now most people in the civilized world should know that the Arctic ice cap reflects the sunlight from the earth, helping to stabilize our optimum temperature. Further we know that the ice melting from Greenland affects the oceans circulatory system. This in effect, when slowed or stopped adds to the problem of the oceans acting as a carbon sink, under the currently defined harmonic balance for our species.

Ever year scientists make predications, at first things dropped by ten fold, than by fifty, than by 25 percent. One thing that is obvious is that the time to severe ramifications is knocking at the planet’s door. You know that little thing called Rapid Climate Change, that so many fail to acknowledge. Let us say that the annual growth rate of CO2 is 2 parts per million instead of the current 1.93. We are now at 381 ppm in the atmosphere. This means we have 119 parts per million to go before the now forecasted point of doom. At current growth rates we are looking at 60 years tops, to get everything under control.

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The California governor is at it again, this time telling a British magazine that he had never used drugs, this in the face of evidence he acknowledged using marijuana in the 1970’s, and we all remember the documentary of 1977, “Pumping Iron”, where he was shown smoking a joint.According to the article, Schwarzenegger told CQ marijuana, “That is not a drug, it’s a leaf.” He went on to say his drug was pumping iron. The governor’s press agent, Aaron McLear said the comments were made in a lighthearted context during an interview with Piers Morgan, one of the judges on “America’s Got Talent.”

And how interesting this so-called “lighthearted” comment in view of the fact the governor vetoed his state legislatures latest bill on industrial hemp. Read the Yahoo! News article, it’s worth a laugh or two.

By: Anthony J. Gerst:

It is difficult for many urbanites to realize the significance of the Farm Bill. Grant it the United States is now a net importer of foodstuffs, how and why has this happened? The Farm Bill is crucial to this nation. It affects the aspects of all Americans daily. From environmental issues like fertilizing Iowa’s cornfields to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, the Farm Bill affects you.

Hailing from Iowa, Senator Tom Harkin is the Chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee in Washington D.C. The good senator fights a noble battle for the people of this nation. I offer this quote from a recent communication with his office. “The senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony from Rhonda Stewart. . . her food stamp benefits run out toward the end of the month. . . It is simply unacceptable for American families to go hungry. So my farm bill will include overdue updates to the food stamp program.”

In a recent release from the Gulf Restoration Network, they express concerns over the upcoming Farm Bill legislation. They point out that the increased production of corn is having dire effects upon the Gulf Coast. Rest assured that these concerns are not unheeded by the Chairman of this distinguished committee. Tom Harkin however most work within the framework of governmental compromise to achieve anything. I quote, “But for this to happen, we need to make major investments in research. We need to ramp up production of new energy crop such as biomass… To do these things, we need new investments in the farm bill’s energy title.”

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Dan Purkis, a consultant engineer, puts home-brewed fuel into the tanks of his 4×4, even though he is based in Aberdeen - the oil capital of the UK.

He admits that messing about with old chip fat is not for everyone but adds: “It’s interesting and fun and it reduces my impact on the environment?

“When I looked at my lifestyle I realised that fuel was the greatest energy user in my life.”

You can buy conversion kits from £700 but Mr Purkis has made his own.

He told the BBC’s You and Yours programme: “No special tools were required and nothing was beyond the ability of a typical DIY enthusiast. Most of the parts were bought second hand or salvaged from scrap yards.

“I recycle used vegetable oil from a local hotel. They throw away between 50 and 100 litres a week which would otherwise go to landfill.”

Once he gets it home, he puts the oil through a series of refinements:

• Allows sediment in the oil to settle to the bottom of the bottle
• Pumps and filters the top 70% of the oil; it is pure enough to put straight into his car
• Treats the remaining sludge and converts it into biodiesel by adding methanol and caustic soda
• Heats the oil, causing it to react with the caustic soda

The waste product from this process is glycerin, which has to be washed out of the biodiesel with soap and half-water to half-fuel. He then composts the glycerin. Mr Purkis says his car runs better on biodiesel: “It’s smoother - better lubricated.”

Even though he is a qualified engineer, he insists that it is not a difficult process.

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Richard Brunstrom, the Chief Constable of North Wales, advocates an end to UK drug policy based on “prohibition”. Yes, he means making heroin, crack, cocaine and marijuana all legal and regulated. Is it crazy, preposterous or just plain logical?

From the article:

In his radical analysis, which he will present to the North Wales Police Authority today, Mr Brunstrom points out that illegal drugs are now cheaper and more plentiful than ever before.

The number of users has soared while drug-related crime is rising with narcotics now supporting a worldwide business empire second only in value to oil. “If policy on drugs is in future to be pragmatic not moralistic, driven by ethics not dogma, then the current prohibitionist stance will have to be swept away as both unworkable and immoral, to be replaced with an evidence-based unified system (specifically including tobacco and alcohol) aimed at minimisation of harms to society,” he will say.

Mr Brunstrom indicates that there is a growing mood for change. He cites the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology, which criticised the Government for failing to switch to an evidence-based policy approach. The report also includes quotes from former home secretary John Reid, admitting “prohibition” doesn’t work, and the Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, conceding “it drives the activity underground” . There is also supportive evidence from former Chief Inspector of Prisons Lord Ramsbotham, a retired High Court judge, and Scotland’s Drug Tsar, Tom Wood.

As well as hitting the country hard in economic terms – class A drug use in England and Wales costs the country up to £17bn a year, 90 per cent of which is due to crime – there are also a series of socially damaging knock-on effects, he says.

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Working in Haiti, Shawn Frayne, a 28-year-old inventor based in Mountain View, Calif., saw the need for small-scale wind power to juice LED lamps and radios in the homes of the poor. Conventional wind turbines don’t scale down well—there’s too much friction in the gearbox and other components. “With rotary power, there’s nothing out there that generates under 50 watts,” Frayne says. So he took a new tack, studying the way vibrations caused by the wind led to the collapse in 1940 of Washington’s Tacoma Narrows Bridge (aka Galloping Gertie).

Frayne’s device, which he calls a Windbelt, is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines. Frayne envisions the Windbelt costing a few dollars and replacing kerosene lamps in Haitian homes. “Kerosene is smoky and it’s a fire hazard,” says Peter Haas, founder of the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which helps people in developing countries to get environmentally sound access to clean water, sanitation and energy. “If Shawn’s innovation breaks, locals can fix it. If a solar panel breaks, the family is out a panel.”

Watch the video demo

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By: Anthony J. Gerst.

The clock is running out on Bush-Cheney’s global reign of terror. One of their primary objectives still eludes them, an attack on Iran. With all the saber rattling and posturing, not to mention all the ink being run about what may very well become this administration’s biggest bungle, nothing can be found related to the Chinese impact. China and Iran have negotiated extensive trade agreements and a pipeline deal for oil shipments. For that matter, the Chinese, Russia, and Iran have been working on energy related deals that tie in directly to the pipelines and oil reserves of Iran and Russia.

Unless this administration has discussed the proposed carpet bombing of Iran with China, such an attack could result in grave repercussions to the US economy.As China can bring incredible pressures upon the US, not to mention with the weakened dollar, this is the best time for the international community to act together, to establish a new corner stone for international finance.

Bush-Cheney fail to think beyond the pocket books of the oil cartel, with Israeli and Gordon Brown backing a US led strategic carpet-bombing. The White House has been actively pursuing this goal for at least six months. Despite pleas from the Republican leadership, it appears if Cheney can find a way, Iran will be attacked. Cheney’s office this past summer pushed the Joint Chief’s of Staff to redraw plans for an attack on Iran. The focus now is on a strategical strike against the Revolutionary Guards. The administration believes they can defend this, as a response to the invasive activities of Iran inside Iraq. They can site President Clinton’s strategic attacks in the Sudan and Afghanistan to quell the Democrats uproar.

From a former senior intelligence official, according to Seymour M. Hersh’s article ‘Shifting Targets: The Administration’s Plan for Iran:’ “There is a desperate effort by Cheney et al. to bring military action to Iran as soon as possible. . . But Cheney doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the Republican worries, and neither does the President.”

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Apparently, NASA thinks so too. Today, they unveiled their first step using radio telescopes to widen their search for intelligent life in the universe (because we can’t find it at home). Thank you, NASA.

From the New York Times article:

Call it a small step for E.T., a leap for radio astronomy.

Astronomers in Hat Creek, Calif., are planning today to switch on the first elements of a giant new array of radio telescopes that they say will greatly extend the investigation of natural and unnatural phenomena in the universe.

When the Allen Telescope Array, as it is known, is complete, it will consist of 350 antennas, each 20 feet in diameter. Using the separate antennas as if they were one giant dish, radio astronomers will be able to map vast swaths of the sky cheaply and efficiently.

There are some 200 billion stars in the galaxy, and a significant fraction of them have planets. Estimates of the number of intelligent civilizations in the galaxy have ranged from one (or none, if you are particularly discouraged about human affairs) into the millions.

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