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Wednesday, June 29, 2005
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Abstract: Radio frequency identification (RFID) devices may be used to monitor various operating parameters in fuel cells. For example, RFID devices may be used to monitor the voltage of individual cells in a fuel cell stack and thus to check for voltage reversal conditions during stack operation. [FreshPatents.com: Notable Patent Applications - 06/23/2005]
4:12:22 PM Google It! 
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Abstract: A method of trading emission credits wherein a technology provider transfers technology support for an emission reduction technology provider to another party; a technology applier receives the technology support and uses the technology support to apply the emission reduction technology in carrying out an industrial purpose whereby use of the emission reduction technology enables awarding of emission credits which the technology applier receives and transfers at least some of as consideration for receiving the technology support. [FreshPatents.com: Notable Patent Applications - 06/23/2005]
4:10:38 PM Google It!
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This annual report of water quality at U.S. beaches includes information about beach-water pollution, health risks, and state standards and closing/advisory standards. Includes detailed data for individual states and composite data and graphs. Also includes related information on topics such as 10 simple things individuals can do to help improve beach-water quality and protect their health. From the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). [Librarians' Index to the Internet]
4:05:49 PM Google It!
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program has recently introduced three new assessment and analysis software tools for free online. They are the
- Plant Energy Profiler for the Chemical Industry (ChemPEP) - helps chemical industry energy managers determine overall plant energy use, identify major energy-using equipment, review cost distributions, and locate areas of improvement.
- Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Application Tool - helps industrial users evaluate the feasibility of CHP for heating systems, such as fuel-fired furnaces, boilers, ovens, heaters, and heat exchangers.
- Chilled Water System Analysis Tool (CWSAT) - helps you determine system energy requirements and evaluate opportunities for energy and costs savings by applying improvement measures
You may download these new tools, free of charge, and review the entire suite of ITP software tools from the DOE IT BestPractices web site. Here you can also visit BestPractices™ new online software tools forum to help users with questions about software tools. Visit the forum to post questions, share your knowledge, and learn from other users.
The Industrial Technologies Program’s mission is to improve the energy intensity of the U.S. industrial sector through a coordinated program of research and development, validation, and dissemination of energy efficiency technologies and operating practices. ITP partners with industry and its many stakeholders to reduce our nation's reliance on foreign energy sources, reduce environmental impacts, increase the use of renewable energy sources, improve competitiveness, and improve the quality of life for American workers, families, and communities. [ChemAlliance Environmental News]
4:04:01 PM Google It!
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Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its program partners are presenting the 2005 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards in a formal ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences. Six winners will receive awards for innovative yet practical technologies that prevent pollution through cleaner, cheaper, smarter chemistry. During the ten years since the beginning of the Challenge Award program, award-winning technologies have eliminated the use and disposal of over 600 million pounds of hazardous materials and have saved over 500 million of gallons of water.
The 2005 winners and their technologies are:
- Academic Award: Professor Robin Rogers, The University ofAlabama: Using Ionic Liquids to Dissolve and Process Cellulose to Replace Synthetic Polymers
- Small Business Award: Metabolix, Inc.: Ecofriendly, Sustainable Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Plastics Using Biocatalysis
- Industry Awards:
- Archer Daniels Midland Company: Archer RCTM: A Nonvolatile, Reactive Coalescent for the Reduction of VOC in Latex Paints (Designing Safer Chemicals Category)
- Archer Daniels Midland Company and Novozymes: Healthier Fats and Oils by Green Chemistry: Enzymatic Interesterification for Production of No-trans Fats and Oils (Alternative Synthetic Pathways Category)
- Merck & Co., Inc.: An Efficient Synthesis of Aprepitant, the Active Ingredient in Emend®: A New Therapy for Chemotherapy-Induced Emesis (Alternative Synthetic Pathways Category)
- BASF Corp.: Ultraviolet-Cured Coating Technology for the Automotive Refinish Industry(Alternative Solvents/Reaction Conditions Category)
The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge promotes pollution prevention through an EPA Design for the Environment partnership with the chemistry community. Through high level recognition and support, the Challenge promotes innovative developments in and uses of green chemistry for pollution prevention. EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) is leading this voluntary partnership program with other EPA offices, other federal agencies, members of the chemical industry, trade associations, scientific organizations, and academia.
For detailed descriptions of these winning technologies or more information about the program, go to EPA's Green Chemistry Awards web page. [ChemAlliance Environmental News]
4:03:14 PM Google It!
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EPA has announced the availability of the environmental fate and effects risk assessment for the pesticide carbofuran, and has opened a public comment period on this document. Carbofuran is an N-methyl carbamate insecticide and nematicide used to control foliar and soil pests on food and non-food crops. EPA is developing an Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (IRED), for carbofuran through the full, 6-Phase public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and safety standards.
The Agency developed this ecological risk assessment as part of its public process for making pesticide reregistration eligibility and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that pesticides meet current standards under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). A human health risk assessment is expected to be issued for public comment later in the summer 2005.
The risk assessment is available through the EPA's Edocket. Comments on the document must be received by August 23, 2005. For more information, contact Stephanie Plummer, Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-0076; fax number: (703) 308-8005; e-mail address: plummer.stephanie@epa.gov. [ChemAlliance Environmental News]
4:02:15 PM Google It!
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California officials are looking to curb electricity use by water agencies and consumers. In an article in California Energy Circuit, Christine Keyser says water-related energy use could nearly double by 2015 without significant conservation and efficiency measures, 6/24/05. By ckeyser@earthlink.net. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:58:36 PM Google It!
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For 10 years, Rick Piltz worked for the U.S. federal program that coordinates global climate change research. He got fed up, quit, and now he's talking. In an interview with Paul D. Thacker of Environmental Science & Technology, he explains what the White House is trying to hide, and why journalists need to be more vigilant, 6/22/05. By p_thacker@acs.org. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:57:39 PM Google It!
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Two new books, "Green Living" and "Paper or Plastic," offer tips on how greens should spend their, uh, green. Grist Magazine's Michelle Nijhuis checked them out and has a review, 6/21/05. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:56:58 PM Google It!
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What would happen if all of the vehicles in the U.S. swapped gas tanks for hydrogen fuel cells? For one thing, thousands of lives might be saved. So concludes a new Stanford University study. Story by Brian Handwerk appears in National Geographic, 6/23/05. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:56:04 PM Google It!
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Ethanol, touted as an alternative fuel of the future, may not be all that energy-efficient, concludes a California scientist. His findings raise questions about its widespread use. Details from San Francisco Chronicle correspondent Elizabeth Svoboda, 6/27/05. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:55:30 PM Google It!
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Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News contends the city rushed to build a high school on the site of an aircraft plant that generated thousands of pounds of hazardous waste before shutting down. He says the contaminants are finding their way into the air that students are now breathing. But officials insist the school is safe, 6/28/05. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:41:08 PM Google It!
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The Senate approves a broad-based energy bill that would provide tax breaks and incentives to encourage domestic oil and natural gas production, along with billions more to boost renewable energy sources, nuclear power and conservation. The Washington Post's Justin Blum provides an in-depth look, 6/29/05. By blumj@washpost.com. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:40:33 PM Google It!
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When leaders of the world's major industrialized nations meet next week, their cars will run on a blend that contains a fuel made from straw, which its Canadian makers say can help fight climate change. Reuters reporter David Ljunggren has the story, 6/29/05. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:39:55 PM Google It!
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By generating and publicizing uncertainty about the scientific underpinnings of proposed action on air pollution, global warming, the health effects of tobacco and other subjects, industries have been able to ward off regulation and buy valuable time. So contends a former Clinton energy staffer in a story from the Austin American-Statesman's Jeff Nesmith, 6/26/05. [SEJ: Environmental Journalism Today]
3:39:18 PM Google It!
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This new Web site features an interactive hybrid vehicle buyer's guide, an interactive "under the hood" feature for technophiles, a guide to hybrid consumer incentives, tips for quicker access to the most popular models, comparisons of hybrid vehicles on the market, and vehicle reviews. [EERE Network News]
3:38:29 PM Google It!
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A newly approved law in Nevada creates new incentives and standards for green building within the state. The law also changes the state's renewable energy requirement—extending the targets while allowing credit for energy efficiency efforts—and modifies a solar power program. [EERE Network News]
3:37:50 PM Google It!
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Pennsylvania awarded $10 million to 17 energy projects on June 23rd, including six projects to produce power from wind energy, biomass, and waste heat; three energy efficiency projects; and four research projects involving biofuels, solid-oxide fuel cells, solar cells, and silicon for solar cells. [EERE Network News]
3:37:15 PM Google It!
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Via sustainablog:
From the Washington Post via Eco-Portal, an article on efforts by colleges and universities across the US to incorporate sustainability measures on campus. The article focuses on Berea College's new "Ecological Village" apartment complex, but also cites examples from schools large and small that are trying to reduce their ecological footprint:
They are driven by everything from the rising cost of natural gas to student activism, and the consequences can be significant for local air pollution as well as energy markets: Yale University emits as much as 2.3 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, more than 32 countries, but that's a 13 percent drop from its 1990 levels. Harvard University, meanwhile, now ranks as the country's second-largest university buyer of renewable energy.
"Those of us who study the environment but don't incorporate what we know into how we operate as an institution, we are failing in our educational task," said Berea College President Larry D. Shinn, who has made environmental sustainability central to his school's mission. "Most of us humans, especially Americans, don't understand what a precarious situation we're in relative to human-nature interactions."
In a related story, Green Car Congress points us to news that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln:
...will switch the 870 vehicles in its fleet—including tractors, mowers and off-road equipment in addition to passenger vehicles—to biofuel blends.
The University will use E-10 (10% ethanol) blends in all its gasoline-powered vehicles, with the exception of 26 flex-fuel vehicles that will burn E85. Diesels will use a B2 soy biodiesel blend.
This follows on a 20 May executive order by Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman for all state agencies using fleet vehicles to use E85 and biodiesel (whenever available within a reasonable distance) while operating the state’s flexible-fuel or diesel-powered vehicles.
3:29:00 PM Google It!
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Via sustainablog:
That's how the San Francisco Chronicle editorial page characterizes a push in Sacramento to expand investment in solar power through the "Million Solar Roofs" initiative in the state senate. This editorial offers a balanced view of the possibilities and drawbacks of a wide expansion of residential and business solar power, but the editors, as well as the bill's authors, Republican John Campbell of Irvine and Democrat Kevin Murray of Los Angeles, believe they can accelerate a process that's already begun on its own. And California certainly has plenty of sunlight!
I wonder if any of our California reader know this: what kinds of provisions does California have in place for existing buildings to adapt solar power? It would be a shame if solar power underwrote futher sprawl...
3:27:14 PM Google It!
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Via sustainablog:
While I (like many bloggers) am always enthralled by the big ideas of sustainable development, Curt at Alternative Energy~Renewable Energy points us to a site that has tons of practical ideas on how to conserve energy in the home. Just browsing over the suggestions, I'm impressed, especially by ways they encourage parents to get their kids involved through games. On one item, I'd suggest an alternative: rather than an energy audit, get a "whole-house" audit, as they consider all of the interlocking systems within a house (thanks to the Earthways Center for that tip). Overall, though, these kinds of ideas demonstrate how easy and practical conservation can be for almost anyone.
3:26:16 PM Google It!
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A few days ago in his essay extolling the virtues of Syracuse, NY, as a location that could readily adopt to the challenges of peak oil, Steve Balogh made mention of the area's beer-brewing capacity as a mark in it favor. It turns out that Syracuse breweries can do more than just produce beer, according to this article from RenewableEnergyAccess.com:
A defunct beer brewery north of Syracuse, New York will soon start churning out more booze. This time, it's a clean fix for cars all over the Northeast.
A new $157 million dollar ethanol production facility called Northeast Biofuels (NEB) will be one of the largest ethanol producers in the nation and part of a growing shift in the biofuels industry beyond the traditional Midwest....
Developers and the project's supporters alike believe the new facility, located at the Riverview Business Park, will be a major part of ethanol's expansion beyond the Midwest corn-states. NEB estimates to use 41 million bushels of corn, much of it to be purchased from New York farmers, to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol a year. The ethanol will be marketed for use primarily in New York State and the Northeast as a clean burning, oil saving gasoline additive. While the overall value of ethanol and biofuels for reducing the US' dependence on foreign oil is still under debate ( this post from the Commons Blog, for instance, brings up some important questions about the energy used to produce ethanol), home-grown fuels, for now, can certainly jump-start our move to cleaner energy sources. And we've certainly got to appreciate these developers' ability to look at a defunct brewery and see an opportunity like this...
3:18:29 PM Google It!
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Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) has announced it is once again working to offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with its 2005 Annual Conference, being held in Washington, DC, in November. [ENN Business Headlines]
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Via sustainablog:
From PRWeb, an announcement that the Queenstown Harbor golf courses in Maryland will offset all of their carbon emissions with purchases of green tags from NativeEnergy. This is an additional step for the course's owners, who from the beginning have attempted to make their property "green" (and not just in the golfing sense of the word):
In 1990, Atlantic Golf purchased 750 acres of farmland in Queenstown for its flagship course, and wanted to ensure that the design of its new activity would not only maintain the natural environment, but also improve local water quality and animal habitat. "We've succeeding in that, and now we are going further to completely offset Queenstown Harbor's climate impact by purchasing renewable energy credits from NativeEnergy," says Bill Shirk, President of Atlantic Golf. The purchase will also help the Schrack family dairy farm in Pennsylvania to better manage its impact on waters leading to the Chesapeake Bay by building a manure digester that generates electricity from methane gas. The farm-based renewable energy program has been officially named Remooable Energysm. Admittedly, when I think of sustainable land use, golf courses aren't the first things that come to mind. And while the idea of turning farmland into links will likely always rub me the wrong way (and, I should say, I'm not a golfer), I admire Atlantic Golf's attempts to minimize the ecological footprint of this operation.
3:06:11 PM Google It!
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Via sustainablog:
That's the concept Fairmont Hotels and Environmental Media Association want to promote in their new partnership. The first item of business: a star-studded event to promote the partnership:
On Sunday, the new partners took time out from their respective day jobs of running luxury green hotels and pitching environmental messages to the TV and movie industry, to host a star-studded "Green Power Baby Shower" at Santa Monica's Fairmont Miramar. Attended by a multi-generational celebrity mix that included "Meet the Parents" actress Blythe Danner, plus Noah Wyle, Laura Dern and Ming-Na, all with families in tow, the event brought eco-chic to everything from safe cleaning to family travel.
Demonstrating that green truly has gone mainstream, the sponsors also covered a lot of ground. Alongside early advocates like Whole Foods Market, Silk soy, and Begley's Best cleaner from actor-advocate Ed Begley Jr., trendsetters like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher also discovered recent global entries including the Toyota Prius, Johnson Seafarms, Ltd.'s introduction of their U.K. salmon, and The Fairmont Mayakoba, opening on Mexico's Riviera Maya this fall. While I won't say I travel a lot, I've made several trips in the last two months, and continue to notice that the "Green Hotel" concept seems to be catching on. Just recently I've stayed in lodgings ranging from Boston's Lenox Hotel to a Motel 6 outside of Milwaukee, and in both cases I saw heavy promotion of their efforts to conserve energy, for instance. Is the lodging industry ahead of the curve on this?
3:04:54 PM Google It!
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In Science, Vol 308, Issue 5730, 1837 , 24 June 2005: The pollution reductions and health gains that would follow from powering cars and trucks with hydrogen are well understood in principle, but a detailed analysis of those benefits would be useful. Jacobson et al. (p. 1901) present such a model study of the effects of converting the entire United States vehicle fleet to hydrogen fuel cells or fossil fuelelectric hybrid vehicles. The use of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles reduces pollution and adverse health effects in all cases, but to what extent depends on how the hydrogen is produced. In the best case, the generation of hydrogen by wind power may make it a more economical fuel than gasoline when all costs are considered. Article abstract at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/308/5730/1901. [This Week in Science]
3:03:47 PM Google It!
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© Copyright
2005
Laura L. Barnes.
Last update:
10/25/2005; 12:11:07 PM.
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