http://monitorpowercost.com Monitor Power Costs by Installing a Electricity Monitor Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:14:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 en http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/12/environmentalists-question-coals-place-in-obama-policy/1394/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/12/environmentalists-question-coals-place-in-obama-policy/1394/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:14:02 +0000 admin Self-Assembling Solar Cells
What can a scientist do with salad dressing apart from telling you that it increases the taste of salad manifold? But thats the beauty of this profession. As Newton could give some theories when he saw an apple falling from a tree, salad dressing can inspire scientists towards a brand new type of solar [.]
Posted in: Inventions, PhotoVoltaics, Solar Power

Marine Reserves Work The creation of marine protected areas can lead to the rapid recovery of depleted fish populations, according to several new studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. One study, conducted in a network of 12 marine reserves covering 188 square miles near Los Angeles, showed that since the area was closed to fishing in 2003, heavily-fished species such as blue rockfish have increased by 50 percent.

New iceberg breaks off east end of Antarctica. With the dramatic crash of an iceberg against a glacier that dislodged a massive new chunk of ice, the mysterious continent of Antarctica once again did the unexpected.

Drilling may have caused Indonesia mud volcano A team of scientists said in a report on Friday that they had found the strongest evidence yet linking a devastating mud volcano in Indonesia to drilling at a gas exploration well by local energy firm PT Lapindo Brantas. Lapindo has denied triggering the disaster through its drilling activities, arguing the mud volcano near Indonesia’s second-biggest city of Surabaya was triggered by an earthquake. The hot mud started spewing from the East Java drilling site in 2006 and has now displaced nearly 60,000 people. A scientific team led by Richard Davies of Britain’s Durham University said data released by Lapindo provided new evidence indicating that drilling caused the disaster.

Going for the green. The balmy weather in Vancouver, which delayed some of the Olympic downhill events, highlights the danger warmer winters pose to ski resorts. The situation isn’t as dire in the higher-elevation resorts of the Rockies, but these large businesses still worry that a warming planet could melt their businesses.

Environmentalists question coal’s place in Obama policy. President Barack Obama, a longtime believer in “clean coal,” is launching an ambitious plan to help the energy industry lock climate-changing gases from coal-fired power plants deep underground. However, some are questioning his approach.

A Forecast for Endangered Species Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.In perhaps what will be the most anticipated water supply forecast in California history, the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation today released its preliminary water supply forecast for 2010. The Bureau projects that it will be able to deliver ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/12/environmentalists-question-coals-place-in-obama-policy/1394/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/11/waste-to-energy-continues-to-gain-steam/1393/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/11/waste-to-energy-continues-to-gain-steam/1393/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:46:03 +0000 admin

SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL ATMOSPHERIC INTERACTIONS: A FRESH, SPARKY LOOK We live in a strongly climate-oriented era, where each one of us is called to choose between sides; are we among the “believers” or the “infidels” of the “Global Warming?”. Two decades ago, a part of the scientific community started engaging in intense discussions around the “unusual” temperature trends which, for the northern hemisphere, had been going undoubtedly uphill. The first serious counter arguments regarding the validity of these findings targeted the inherited errors that all observational tools possess. New observations and improved algorithms started to appear fairly quickly, a fact that partially appeased debates and concerns. Skeptics of the global warming theory try to find other kinds of evidence to second-guess the mainstream CO2 increase and steer away from anthropocentric related theories. And suddenly, along came a cloud.

Asbestos Use Today: information from a reader Asbestos is still imported and used in the U.S. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. imported and used an estimated 1,820 tons of asbestos in 2007; see this PDF file from the USGS, please click only if you want to download the PDF. Also, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering a [.]

Waste to Energy Continues to Gain Steam While new energy solutions are being discovered, refined and brought further and further into the public light, something that does not get a lot of headlines is waste to energy. How something like this continues to not be used in the United States is incredible as countries like Japan have been using it for [.] Posted in: Biofuels, Industry, Waste Energy

Consumed by Consumption Last month, I attended my first Solutions Lab in Durham, North Carolina. For those that don't know, EDF is hosting Solutions Labs around the country to bring together sustainability thought leaders from all walks of life. To be honest, I was a little skeptical that the "unconference"-style event (one where attendees [.]

]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/11/waste-to-energy-continues-to-gain-steam/1393/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/10/bill-promoters-looking-for-a-boost-from-professor-in-chief/1392/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/10/bill-promoters-looking-for-a-boost-from-professor-in-chief/1392/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:44:02 +0000 admin Aquamarine Power Makes Riding the Waves More Interesting
Every time we turn around we are seeing something new and exciting in renewable energy forms and Aquamarine Power is the latest in a long line of energy sources to be pumped up about. Aquamarine Power is a company that is developing wave energy. This is a source of energy that has barely been [.]
Posted in: Future Energy, Industry, Wave Power

Is It Possible To Convert To 100% Wind Power? With all the talk of going green, the question had been thrown out many times if there will ever be a time that we can use nothing but renewable energy to power our world. A small island in Denmark is trying answer that question with a resounding yes as they power up every single [.] Posted in: Wind Farms, Wind Power, Wind Turbines

Argentine biodiesel exports seen firm despite law. Argentina is set to implement a law requiring diesel to be blended with biodiesel in the coming weeks, but the nation’s key exports of the green fuel could still rise as production soars.

LATimes: Saving Amazon is most cost-effective way to cut global warming pollution The L.A. Times produced a beautiful series on Brazils Amazon this week, saying what EDF has said all along: Protecting the Amazon not only preserves biodiversity — it also cuts global warming pollution faster and at lower cost than almost any other approach. The destruction of tropical forests causes nearly a fifth of all global [.]

Bill promoters looking for a boost from ‘Professor in Chief’. Shirt sleeves rolled up, President Obama paced on a stage in Henderson, Nev., last week trying to explain why he wants to curb U.S. emissions of heat-trapping gases.

Edible Green Roofs Edible SchoolyardThe Edible Schoolyard in NewYork and Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Foundation, are designing a new schoolyard for Public School 216 in New York that aims to educate school children about food, where it comes from and what real fresh foods taste like. ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/10/bill-promoters-looking-for-a-boost-from-professor-in-chief/1392/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/09/saliva-and-the-pancreas/1391/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/09/saliva-and-the-pancreas/1391/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:02:03 +0000 admin

Saliva and the Pancreas The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, and somatostatin, as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that pass to the small intestine. There may soon be a new weapon in the battle against the so-called “worst” cancer - cancer of the pancreas. A multidisciplinary group of investigators from the UCLA School of Dentistry, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the UCLA School of Public Health and UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has demonstrated the usefulness of salivary diagnostics in the effort to find and fight the disease.

Innovative Technology For Low Income Treadle Pump (Sierra Magazine)Nearly two billion people live off the grid or with very limited access to electricity. ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/09/saliva-and-the-pancreas/1391/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/08/two-key-house-dems-move-to-block-epa-regulatory-authority/1390/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/08/two-key-house-dems-move-to-block-epa-regulatory-authority/1390/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:42:02 +0000 admin

Worlds Tallest Building - Empty Burj Khalifa - ClosedThe world’s tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed just a month after it opened. The viewing area had been the only portion of the 2,717 foot building open to the public and it is now indefinitely closed amid Dubai’s struggle to revive it’s economy.Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the [.]

Is the Volkswagen E-Up the Future of Electric Cars? Consumers surely remember the days of seeing pictures off all the funny looking electric cars. They looked like something out of the Jetsons and were hardly something any of us would be caught dead in. Say goodbye to those old stereo types because the Volkswagon E-Up is raising the bar in electric car technology. YouTube: [.] Posted in: Electric Cars, Industry, Transportation

Why Walmart’s Carbon Commitment Can Make Such a Difference Archimedes said "Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the earth," when explaining the principle of levers.Leverage is the big news about Walmart's announcement today. The company has committed to reducing 20 million metric tons of carbon pollution from its products lifecycle and supply chain over the next five years. [.]

Two key house Dems move to block epa regulatory authority. Two top House Democrats introduced a measure yesterday aimed at blocking U.S. EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, mirroring the controversial effort launched on the Senate side by Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/08/two-key-house-dems-move-to-block-epa-regulatory-authority/1390/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/07/engine-emissions/1389/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/07/engine-emissions/1389/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:37:01 +0000 admin The Language of Bees
Bees communicate their floral findings in order to recruit other worker bees of the hive to forage in the same area. There are two main hypotheses to explain how foragers recruit other workers; the “waggle dance” theory and the “odor plume” theory. The dance language theory is far more widely accepted, and has far more empirical support. Honeybees do not only waggle dance to tell hive mates the whereabouts of good eats, they also bump and beep to warn others when big trouble awaits at some of those floral diners according to a recent study.

Help EDAF Get 100,000 Letters for Climate Action If we want to fight climate change, improve our national security, boost our economy and create jobs, then we need the Senate to pass a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill — and do it soon.That's why EDAF has launched a campaign to get 100,000 letters for climate action.We want to make sure ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/07/engine-emissions/1389/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/06/poisoning-the-poor-with-ewaste-in-ghana/1388/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/06/poisoning-the-poor-with-ewaste-in-ghana/1388/#comments Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:48:02 +0000 admin

Google develops prototype mirror for solar energy. Google Inc has developed a prototype for a new mirror technology that could cut by half the cost of building a solar thermal plant, the company’s green energy czar said on Friday.

Environmental Consequences: Asbestos and Human Health When microscopic asbestos fibers are inhaled, they lodge themselves in the lining of lungs. This lays the groundwork for the deadly asbestos cancer, mesothelioma. Perhaps it should come as no coincidence then that rates of pleural cancer (mesothelioma) in oil refinery workers are among the highest of any occupation.

Economic Ratios and Employment Multipliers: Leafing Through the Lingo Whether theyre discussing economic activity in Kenner or stimulus spending in Kentwood, policymakers and analysts often reference employment ratios and economic multipliers to support their arguments. The two figures are mentioned interchangeably when discussing job creation, but there are subtle differences between them that well look at in this post. Direct, Indirect, and Induced EffectsRatios like [.]

Poisoning the Poor with eWaste in Ghana Green issues are sometimes complex. We need to recycle many things, like electronics, but we certainly don’t want to poison others in the process. Efforts to protect the environment and conserve valuable resources must be coupled with proper health and safety procedures. Unfortunately, just saying this doesn’t make it happen. Developing countries are becoming a dumping ground for much toxic waste and proper environmental health and safety is being ignored, both by local opportunists and suppliers of e-Waste from developed nations.

Sharing is Caring: An Energy Efficiency Wiki to Share Knowledge and Best Practices According to recent article by GreenBiz, 2010 is the year for Energy Efficiency. With more awareness of and incentives for energy efficiency, companies and households alike are trying to find ways to reduce energy consumption and cut costs.The goal of Environmental Defense Funds Innovation Exchange is to encourage widespread adoption of innovations and best practices [.]

Weather and Climate in the Face of the “Snowpocalypse” While Washington was buried under several feet of snow, we all needed some entertainment. Fortunately, leaders of the anti-science movement were happy to provide it. Sen. DeMint (R-SC) said: "It's going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries 'uncle,'" while Sen Inhofe (R-OK) built an igloo dubbed "Al Gore's New Home." Sean [.]

]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/06/poisoning-the-poor-with-ewaste-in-ghana/1388/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/05/reflections-on-copenhagen-the-economics-of-green/1387/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/05/reflections-on-copenhagen-the-economics-of-green/1387/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:17:01 +0000 admin Reflections on Copenhagen: The Economics of Green
Last year’s disappointing climate summit in Copenhagen demonstrated if not proved two important things about “saving the earth”: 1. Sustainability is a very emotional topic for some 2. Sustainability is a financial topic for most Unfortunately, what transpired in Copenhagen is probably the rule, rather than the exception. It was disheartening to realize the events probably represent and reflect the domestic and world population’s perspective on saving the environment. Perhaps due to decades of protesting, a wide array of real or perceived injustices, unruly public demonstrations have for the most part become unproductive. Even the nightly news has lost interest in well meaning protesters being hauled away by force. I recall the first time I saw an eco activist chained to a tree in the seventies, and thinking “how cool is that.” It did not matter what the cause was, I really admired the commitment.

EPA IG report: New Chemicals Program fails to assure protection Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.In a post to this blog nearly a year ago, I noted that many voices in the chemical industry were claiming that EPAs New Chemicals Program (NCP) was robust and served as an excellent model for TSCA reform. My post took considerable issue with that point of view, noting [.]

Upcoming Events: Local Government Adaptation Planning and Processes: Lessons Learned from Miami-Dade County, February 25 Tomorrow at Noon Eastern (11 AM Central) the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) – Local Governments for Sustainability ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/05/reflections-on-copenhagen-the-economics-of-green/1387/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/04/fish-and-wildlife-service-removes-endangered-species-act-protection-from-arizonas-desert-nesting-bald-eagles/1386/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/04/fish-and-wildlife-service-removes-endangered-species-act-protection-from-arizonas-desert-nesting-bald-eagles/1386/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:07:02 +0000 admin

SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL ATMOSPHERIC INTERACTIONS: A FRESH, SPARKY LOOK We live in a strongly climate-oriented era, where each one of us is called to choose between sides; are we among the “believers” or the “infidels” of the “Global Warming?”. Two decades ago, a part of the scientific community started engaging in intense discussions around the “unusual” temperature trends which, for the northern hemisphere, had been going undoubtedly uphill. The first serious counter arguments regarding the validity of these findings targeted the inherited errors that all observational tools possess. New observations and improved algorithms started to appear fairly quickly, a fact that partially appeased debates and concerns. Skeptics of the global warming theory try to find other kinds of evidence to second-guess the mainstream CO2 increase and steer away from anthropocentric related theories. And suddenly, along came a cloud.

Grass-roots organizer jumps from Nature Conservancy to API. The oil industry’s biggest trade group has nabbed Deryck Spooner, one of the environmental community’s top grass-roots organizers, as it ramps up efforts to build a network of citizen lobbyists.

Fish and Wildlife Service Removes Endangered Species Act Protection From Arizona’s Desert Nesting Bald Eagles The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is acting to remove Endangered Species Act protection from Arizona’s desert nesting bald eagles. Almost two years after U.S. District Court Judge Mary Murguias March 5, 2008 rejection of the agency’s last attempt in 2007, a similar decision by Fish and Wildlife has been released for publication in tomorrow’s Federal Register. Today the agency also filed a request with the U.S. District Court to remove an injunction currently in place to protect the eagle. “We conclude that the best information available does not indicate that persistence in the ecosystem of the Sonoran Desert Area is important to the species as a whole,” the new Fish and Wildlife decision states.

Where You’ll Find Us in March On March 3rd, Gwen Ruta will be a EUR ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/04/fish-and-wildlife-service-removes-endangered-species-act-protection-from-arizonas-desert-nesting-bald-eagles/1386/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/03/tune-in-thursday-for-the-latest-on-our-work-with-walmart/1385/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/03/tune-in-thursday-for-the-latest-on-our-work-with-walmart/1385/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:11:02 +0000 admin

How Ground Water Contamination Spreads Why are some wells contaminated and some are not? All wells are not equally vulnerable to contamination because of differences in three factors: the general aquifer chemistry, groundwater age, and paths within aquifer systems that allow water and contaminants to reach a well. More than 100 million people in the United States receive their drinking water from public groundwater systems, which can be vulnerable to naturally occurring contaminants such as radon, uranium, arsenic, and man made compounds, including fertilizers, septic-tank leachate, solvents and gasoline hydrocarbons.