Cleaning out Landfills and Generating Electricity

As garbage piles up, we dump trash on third world countries, in the ocean, and bury valuable resources.

Instead, we should be recycling it and saving on our electric bills.

Amplify’d from storify.com

Power to the People

As we look for alternatives to energy production we also need to find a means of cleaning up our backyards. With Plasma Gasification we can do both.

Photo by Doctor Gage

Plasma Gasification provides an excellent opportunity to clean up the garbage that we bury every year or dump on third world countries while generating electricity.  The following video describes the process.  This video suggests using trees or coal, but it's municipal waste that we should be using as feed stock not coal or trees.

NRG Energy: Plasma Gasification nrgenergyinc, September 14, 2010 at 12:14

How landfills are built and operated tvjersey, August 12, 2009 at 12:51

"They can cost as much as $2,000,000 per acre to construct."  Money that is paid by the taxpayer.   Why not invest that money into something that can reduce waste by recycling it for reuse while generating electricity?

Instead of paying third world countries peanuts to take our trash, we should recycle it and make electricity from it.

Instead of dumping it into our oceans we could recycle it with Plasma Gasification.  Dumping it into our oceans is a waste of waste, destroys our environment, and kills innocent wild life.  Not to mention we are not taking advantage of technology that could cut down on our electric bills.

Reply Retweet Plastic spells death in the ocean .... http://t.co/DbEIyFr africanpenguin June 9, 2011 at 12:57

Tax Payers and Home Owners pay for waste disposal.  If the waste was being delivered to a public recycling center, ie plasma gasification plant owned by the tax payers who's money is used to create loans to build such things, then garbage men wouldn't have to worry about not being paid and what happened in California and NYC would not occur.  Not only would we want our garbage picked up so it's not an eyesore but we would also want to make sure that we had a steady source of electricity, and our manufacturing plants would want to make sure they were getting the recycled materials from the plant.

NYC Sanitation workers protest constructiontrystar, December 30, 2010 at 18:55

Proposal Tax payers already pay for the trash to be picked up in most places, either directly to the waste companies or indirectly in the form of taxes.  Waste disposal is an integral part of our infrastructure and if not picked up can cause complications for business owners like it did in NYC as can be seen in the above video and may even lead to death as this video states happened in one instance.

Tax payers pay for the cost of landfills at up to 2 million dollars per acre, and we are not going to stop generating garbage any time soon.

Make the Plasma Gasification plant publicly owned.  Pass the savings on electricity and waste disposal to the tax payers in the costs of their electric bills. Read more at storify.com

 

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Recent Advancements in Steel Make it Lighter and Stronger

Recent Advancements in steel promise to reduce weight of vehicles while making them safer. Which in effect means improved gas mileage. The process also takes less energy to produce the steel.

Amplify’d from www.gizmag.com

Self-taught metallurgist creates lighter, stronger steel in a flash

Having been around for a few centuries, steel is what is known as a "mature technology" and the basic process of heat-treating has remained largely unchanged in the modern age. So when self-taught metallurgist Gary Cola approached engineers at Ohio State University claiming to have found a way to increase the strength of steel by seven percent, they were justifiably skeptical. However, after the engineers tested steel produced using the new method, Cole's claims were borne out and the engineers set about understanding what was happening.

Lolla says this unique microstructure boosts the metal's ductility, meaning it can crumple a lot more before breaking. This, coupled with the steel's ability to be thinned and lengthened without losing its strength, make it an ideal process for the automotive industry, say the researchers. Carmakers would be able to build frames that are up to 30 percent thinner and lighter without compromising safety, with the steel also acting as an impact-absorber. Alternatively, the steel could be used to reinforce an armored vehicle without weighing it down.

Cola also says his process is also environmentally friendly as it consumes less energy per kilogram of steel processed compared to traditional methods and uses water instead of oils or molten salt. Read more at www.gizmag.com

 

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An Old Irish Blessing -

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand. http://amplify.com/u/a1582l

Atlantic City Wind Turbines Still Bring Tourism after 5 years

Wind Turbines not only saved 2.5 million for the plant but also has affected local tourism.

Amplify’d from www.awea.org

After five years, Atlantic City turbines are still a tourist draw

Five years after they were installed, the five wind turbines of the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm have become a continuing source of interest to Atlantic City visitors, according to a recent article at Philly.com, the website of the Philadelphia Inquirer. A few highlights of the article: - Hotel operators in the resort city report that some guests ask for rooms with a view of the turbines, which generate electricity for a major wastewater treatment plant. - The Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA), which owns the treatment plant and the wind farm, offers regular tours at noon Friday and Monday during the summer months. Some 15,000 people have visited the wind farm since its installation. - The wind farm and a solar array at the site generate 60 percent of the electricity used by the treatment plant, saving the equivalent of 24,000 barrels of oil a year.  In five years, the turbines have saved ACUA $2.5 million in electricity costs. More reading: Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm: You can't help but look up, August 27, 2009   Read more at www.awea.org

 

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Colorado Town Reaches for 80% Renewable Energy by 2025

Amplify’d from www.renewableenergyworld.com

A great story of a city looking to - literally - take ownership of its energy future:

...Boulder leaders -- who let the city's 20-year franchise agreement with Xcel Energy lapse at the end of 2010 -- are now considering whether they can get an energy mix for their residents with a larger percentage of renewable energy than what Xcel is offering.

...At the "Clean Energy Slam" event in February, which gave participants two minutes to pitch a vision for Boulder's energy future, a representative of Southwest Generation told the crowd that he believed his company could provide Boulder with an energy mix of 50 percent renewables and 50 percent natural gas by 2014. And by 2025, the company could provide up to 80 percent renewable energy to the city, the representative, David Rhodes, said.

...Jonathan Koehn, the city's regional sustainability coordinator, said adding more renewables is only part of the equation. "We've heard a lot of concern that, perhaps, more clean energy is driving this analysis," he said. "But this is about long-term economic stability. When we talk about what our portfolio might look like in the future, we don't have a predetermined notion of a certain percentage of renewables. What we want is to be able to analyze how we can have long-term stable rates."

It's not just about clean energy and stable rates, however.  The decision to eschew a utility franchise was also about localization, described on a city website as taking more control in determining:

Where the energy supply comes from - Locally produced What types of energy are provided - Renewables over fossil fuels How much we pay for it - Rate control

Local generation of renewable energy will add more to Boulder's economy than importing clean electrons, and if those projects can also be locally owned (perhaps via a community solar project like the Clean Energy Collective is doing in Carbondale, CO) then the economic benefits multiply significantly. Read more at www.renewableenergyworld.com

 

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Scotland Reaches > 30% Mark 2011 and Aims for 100% by 2020

Scotland has reached their goal of getting > 30% of their energy from renewable resources this year and aims towards 100% by 2020. They continue to grow more self sufficient in their energy production and decrease their dependency on foreign countries.

Amplify’d from www.upi.com

Scotland inches toward wind energy goals

GLASGOW, Scotland, June 14 (UPI) -- The opening of two wind power facilities in Scotland help move the country closer to its renewable energy goals, the country's leader said.

Two wind farms, which combined will generate enough power to meet the energy demands of more than 100,000 households, have opened in Scotland.

The government in Edinburgh aims to invest roughly $490 million to develop the next generation of offshore wind turbines. Scotland set a goal of getting 100 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2020.

The government said the current 7 gigawatts of installed or planned renewable energy projects means Scotland is exceeding its goal of getting more than 30 percent of its electricity from green resources in 2011. Read more at www.upi.com

 

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Senate Considering Amendment to Eliminate Ethanol Subsidy

In an ever increasing need to find alternative fuel supplies to decrease dependency on foreign fuel that is destroying the environment and robbing the economy I wonder if now is the best time to do this?



Corn is not the most efficient means of producing ethanol for fuel purposes and should be replaced with more efficient means. Namely Switchgrass, which not only has been reported as being more efficient in it's production but is also better on the land and doesn't need to compete with food production. http://bit.ly/jG2YcO



Farmers have reported that they could use Switchgrass during the crop rotation periods when they are paid to leave their land fallow as they have to have land coverage and Switchgrass could serve this purpose. They state that it is a great way of land conservation. http://bit.ly/lJ9mHw



Switchgrass also has the added benefit of being able to be grown in areas that can't be farmed for food production. This means added jobs, and more food.



So the Republicans are fighting to remove competition for the oil companies and the Democrats are trying to fight to maintain the corn based ethanol.



I wonder why we are not taking into consideration the Republican's point that Corn is causing a food shortage, and that it is not making that big of an impact on the environment when we have something that can solve both those problems?



I also wonder why we would want to raise the cost of gas at the pump which is what would happen if we cut the ethanol subsidy.

Amplify’d from coloradoindependent.com

Senate considering amendment that would eliminate ethanol subsidy

The U.S. Senate may vote as early as today on an amendment that would eliminate one of the major government subsidies for the production of corn-based ethanol. The Hill reports:

Those who grow corn and those who make ethanol love this subsidy, but many experts say that it drives up the price of food and skews agricultural land use toward corn that would be better used for other crops, all with little to no benefit for the environment. Read more at coloradoindependent.com

 

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Bill Aims to Boost Military to go Green

As the power companies fight over the tax payers money and the politicians side with them, more and more carbon is pumped into the atmosphere. In a post a few days ago I saw that the scientists said that if we continue to pump as much carbon into the atmosphere as we did last year that the desired mark of only a couple of degrees increase wouldn't be reachable and that we need to do something quick.



It is nice to see that the military is making such strides in breaking their dependency on foreign countries for fuel. The Air Force tested Algae Fuel for a while and recently the Airlines have been approved to use it.



"...as the military market for renewables expands, technology will improve and become cheaper and more practical for use in the private sector. The more renewable energy power we use and the sooner we start using it, they say, the faster we will move away from entanglements with unstable oil-producing nations."

Amplify’d from coloradoindependent.com

Udall-Giffords Security Act would bolster military drive to go green

Colorado U.S. Senator Mark Udall Wednesday unveiled an updated version of the Energy Security Act he worked with Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to introduce last year. The bill aims to boost increasing military efforts to move away from dependence on fossil fuels.

“Osama bin Laden reportedly called our fuel convoys the military’s ‘umbilical cord.’ We risk the lives of thousands of troops each year because of our dependence on fossil fuel in theater and at home,” Udall said.  “We owe it to our troops and the American people to find ways to use energy smarter and more efficiently.”

In a release, Udall said the cost in blood is paired with enormous financial outlays. The military spends $20 billion a year on energy, consuming 135 million barrels of oil and 30 million megawatt-hours of electricity.

No time for politics

In fact, as Udall points out, Capitol Hill lags on the issue. The Pentagon move toward renewable energy has been characterized in the last half-decade by an urgency that doesn’t tolerate usual U.S. energy politics and congressional dithering.

With an annual budget in the hundreds of billions, the military makes its own markets for all kinds of products and services, and energy is no different. Military leaders have simply decided they need to use renewables and have begun ordering technology, circumventing fraught Capitol Hill stand-offs on climate change and turf battles over whether taxpayers should be subsidizing this or that energy-industry sector.

National security analysts underline the added benefit that comes of the military push, pointing out that, as the military market for renewables expands, technology will improve and become cheaper and more practical for use in the private sector. The more renewable energy power we use and the sooner we start using it, they say, the faster we will move away from entanglements with unstable oil-producing nations. Read more at coloradoindependent.com

 

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Amplify’d from www.worldfishing.net

US aquaculture policies released

14 Jun 2011

The US Department of Commerce and NOAA have released national sustainable marine aquaculture policies to meet growing demand for seafood, to create jobs in coastal communities, and restore vital ecosystems.

Foreign aquaculture accounts for about half of the 84% of seafood imported by the US, contributing to the $9 billion trade deficit in seafood.

“Sustainable domestic aquaculture can help us meet the increasing demand for seafood and create jobs in our coastal communities,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Our vision is that domestic aquaculture will provide an additional source of healthy seafood to complement wild fisheries, while supporting healthy ecosystems and coastal economies.” Read more at www.worldfishing.net

 

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Only in Such a Sexually Repressed Country Would Someones Weiner Get So Much Attention

Yeah I am jealous. My weiner doesnt get that much attention. lol



So this guy sends a picture of his weiner to someone. We don't know who it is other than it's not his wife. Some dude somehow gets a hold of it and sends it to this other dude who blogs and he says cool weiner I must tell everyone about it. People approach Mr. Weiner and say yo dude is this your weiner? Which he replies, hmm, I can't tell, it's too small to see in that picture.



Kind of reminds me of King Missles Detachable Penis song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byDiILrNbM4.



So while gas prices are rising due to speculators, the CO2 levels reaching heights even greater, bees dying, job's not getting better, America is too busy talking about some man's weiner.



So where is the logic? Was this girl under age? How did this other dude find the picture, was he a hacker on this girl's site or twitter? I'm not saying Weiner didn't send the picture, what I am wondering is how this other dude that so called found it, found it?



What is the rationale for telling this guy to resign? He lied, sure, there is that. Wonder how many other politicians lie on a daily basis and arent asked to resign? He cheated on his wife by showing his privates to another woman -- maybe, who knows maybe she let's him, many have open relationships, and honestly it isn't anyone's business except hers since she is sleeping with him. So what is it?



I believe in meritocracy. If he is good at his job great, if he sucks then fire him just like any one else. If he breaks a law then enforce it on him just like anyone else. If that isn't the case, then who cares. He is meant to do a job, if he does it well then great. If he doesn't then fire him for that. And that goes for all of them.



Now he is going to go to therapy? For what? Showing off his weiner? For thinking that his weiner was worth showing off? I think the country needs to go to therapy for giving this man's weiner more attention than real issues. If you want to see a weiner go to one of the wonderful, free porn sites on the internet. If that is all we can find on this guy to can him then who cares? Now if we got more... that's news!



I think Chuck had it right when he sang My Ding a Ling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLBfwblps8



I think the moral of the story is quite simple. Big Brother may have been watching us back in the day, but now we are watching you. If you fart, we know. Don't lie. If it's no one's business then say so. I will neither confirm nor deny that is my penis. Be honest, be truthful, and own up to your actions. Yeah, dude that is my penis, I accidentally sent it to some college student and I was quite embarrassed about it. Now here you are carrying it around with you talking about it. Man is my face red!



Yeah it was funny, but is it really worth the guys job?

Amplify’d from www.nytimes.com

From a Twitter Photo to Treatment

FRIDAY, MAY 27: A sexually suggestive photograph is sent to a young woman from the Twitter account of Representative Anthony D. Weiner. It is quickly deleted.

SATURDAY, MAY 28: A Twitter user who has discovered the photograph shares it with his followers and alerts the conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart. Mr. Weiner says on Twitter that his Facebook account has been hacked. Mr. Breitbart’s Web site, BigGovernment.com, publishes the photograph.

SATURDAY, JUNE 11: Amid calls from the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, and the Democratic National Party chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, to resign, Mr. Weiner said through a spokeswoman that he planned to seek treatment and would ask for a leave of absence from the House. Read more at www.nytimes.com

 

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Aint that the Sh!T

Human waste power plant goes online in the UK. 15% of domestic gas needs can be met by sewage. They say they can meet up to 200,000 homes need for gas to cook and heat by 2020. As we worry more and more about renewable resources it's a no brainer. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on not taking a dump any time soon.

Amplify’d from www.gizmag.com

Human waste power plant goes online in the UK

The biomethane project that turns human waste into green gas that we featured in May has now gone live. The project is now converting the treated sewage of 14 million Thames Water customers into clean, green gas and is pumping that gas into people's homes.

The new biogas plant – sited next to the Didcot sewage works in Oxfordshire – has been officially opened by Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, who said: "It's not every day that a Secretary of State can announce that, for the first time ever in the UK, people can cook and heat their homes with gas generated from sewage. This is an historic day for the companies involved, for energy from waste technologies, and for progress to increase the amount of renewable energy in the UK."

Hoped to be the first of many such installations, the process starts when one of Thames Water's 14 million customers flushes the loo. The waste makes its way to the Didcot sewage works to begin its treatment and/or recycling. The solids, or sludge, go on to be warmed up in huge vats so that bacteria can break down any biodegradable material in a process known as anaerobic digestion.

The end result of this process is biogas, which is further cleaned up before being fed into the gas grid. It takes around 20 days from flush to finish for the process to complete and will produce enough renewable gas to up to supply 200 homes.

The average person is said to produce about 30kg/66lbs (dry weight) of sludge every year. This means that if all the 9,600 waste treatment facilities in the UK similarly processed sewage from the whole population, it could meet the annual gas demand of over 200,000 homes. A study by the national grid has indicated that up to 15 per cent of domestic gas needs could be met by biomethane as soon as the year 2020. Read more at www.gizmag.com

 

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Airlines Approve Algae Fuel

Amplify’d from www.climatespectator.com.au

GREEN DEALS: Airlines approve algae fuel

The Air Transport Association says airlines have gained technical approval to use fuel processed from algae and other organic waste and inedible plants for up to 50 per cent of their fuel needs, Bloomberg reports. The preliminary decision by ASTM International is expected to open up the $140 billion a year aviation fuel industry to a host of new biotech and biofuel competitors and suppliers, including several algae start-ups in Australia.

ATA spokesman Steve Lott described the decision as a “regulatory breakthrough” that will be a boon to newly emerging startups. Boeing vice president of Environment and Aviation Policy Billy Glover told Bloomberg that developing a renewable fuel supply was a critical part of the industry’s strategy for achieving carbon-neutral growth beyond 2020.

Airlines will be able to begin using bio-derived fuel after final approval is delivered in July. GE, the biggest jet engine maker, says a 50 per cent blend will not have an impact on engines. The decision comes as the European Union tries to force airlines to cap emissions or buy permits from next year.   Apart from algae, bio-fuels are expected to be processed from inedible plants such as jatropha and pongamia to make renewable jet fuel.

Last month, the CSIRO release a report which recommended that Australian airlines should aim to source 5 per cent of their total jet fuel requirements from bio-stock by 2020, rising to 40 per cent by 2050. It said Australia had the resources to provide 46 per cent of the aviation fuel needs of Australia and New Zealand by 2020, and 100 per cent by 2050, if it chose to do so. Qantas has already signed agreements with aspiring producers of fuels from urban waste, and from algae, and is looking to build its first refinery in the next couple of years. Read more at www.climatespectator.com.au

 

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Over 111 Free Ebook Websites Jun 2, 2011 3:06am by jodydavis in Arts & Entertainment Check out over 111 different websites for free ebooks collected in one place or search them for free ebooks using the search engine at the same location. The link below for search engine shows a screencast on how to use the search engine since it is a bit unorthodox as Pearltrees is for curating web sites and doesn't provide a search engine for those sites. Amplify’d from storify.com Free Ebooks Pearltree Over 111 free ebook sites with a search engine to search all of them at once curated on Pearltree. over 111 free ebook sites with a search engine to search all of them at once can be found at http://bit.ly/lnEwH2 Check out over 111 websites that give away free ebooks in one location.  Or if you know what you are looking for search the over 111 free ebook sites for free ebooks with one search engine. Search for Free Ebooks using the Search Engine. http://screenr.com/JCTs Come check out the site and let us know what you think! Read more at storify.com

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Famine and Disease to Spread as Bats Die

My title sounds a bit bleak, but when ya think about it, that's really what is at risk. In this "Circle of Life" that we were taught in 8th grade or lower grade biology, everything is tied together. Some people may like bats, some may not. Don't matter. The question is how do you like the proliferation of West Nile carrying Mosquitoes? How about bugs that damage our food sources? How would you like to walk out side and have to make your way through swarms of insects and creepy crawlies that are everywhere because their natural predators died off? Don't worry, because if that happens, most likely they will be our next food source... and we will be theirs. -- How you like those little flying rodents now? lol
All dark joking aside, it's pretty bad. Bugs are nasty. They kill flowers, trees, plants, they are ugly and they don't respect the chain of command where I as a human rule. They compete with the destructive powers of humans, and anything that can compete with humans for being destructive has got to be kept in check. I could use pesticides but that kills off bees which allow me to have flowers and grandmas apple pie... and I really like grandmas apple pie!

Amplify’d from news.nationalgeographic.com

Bats May Be Wiped Out by Fungus in U.S. Northeast "Distressing" disease spreading throughout U.S. and Canada, expert says.

Though the situation looks bleak for bats, humans also have cause for concern, Frick said. That's because the flying mammals eat a lot of insects—such as mosquitoes—that damage crops, spread disease, and generally pester people.

"All the bats affected are insect predators," Frick explained, "and an individual bat can eat its own body weight in insects each night." Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com

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Now that's Got to Sting - CCD

Colony Collapse Disorder was making a buzz a few years ago. The threat of the Honeybee becoming extinct. And as we all know about the birds and the bees, this is a big deal. The declining Honeybee threatens to take with it fruits, vegetables, and nuts. One Third of our food types would be lost if we were to lose the bees. Recent funding for honeybee research has declined. As this was a 2006 video I wonder why we have not been able to figure out the problem and come up with some solution in 5 years. Needless to say, we need to stick a boot up some politician's and scientist's posteriors so I can have my slice of Apple Pie in the next decade. If we don't have Apple Pie, does that mean we are no longer American?

Amplify’d from video.pbs.org

Nature  Silence of the Bees

See more at video.pbs.org

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Another 7 Quake Due in Japan within days

Amplify’d from www.businessinsider.com

Another Magnitude-7 Quake Is Probably Coming To Japan Within Days

Image: ap The biggest aftershock from the Japanese monster quake is likely to come in the next few days. Japan's Metereological Agency says there is a 70% chance of at least a magnitude-7 quake in the next three days, with a 50% chance in the three days after that, according to Japan Times. Dozens of smaller quakes followed the Friday's magnitude-8.9 quake. A magnitude-7 quake would be the biggest, equal to the one that leveled Haiti last year. The quake, if it comes, could do irreparable damage to Fukushima Nuclear Plant. Read the latest on the nuclear crisis here > Read more at www.businessinsider.com

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The Future of Education

Politicians give a lot of lip service on educating the children. They speak of not allowing any child to be left behind. Then they cut the funding for education and still we get a lot of Johnny's who can't read. The educational system was decent for it's time. lmao. Finally, decades later, after we have had the technology for years, a nice gentleman comes along and implements a system that utilizes multimedia technology to not only educate the children for free, but also provides a method by which children can't fall between the cracks of the system. This is a must see for my educator friends, adults with children, and those who love to learn. I would love to see this system grow to include free education for adults around the world. For now, it would be nice to see it implemented in our school systems.

Thanks Raederle Phoenix W. for posting and qutequte for bringing this to my attention on Amplify.com

Amplify’d from www.ted.com

Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education

See more at www.ted.com

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Vanessa Mae - Destiny

Amplify’d from www.youtube.com

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Switchgrass - Tomorrow's Ethanol Plant

Switchgrass is supposed to be 20x better than corn for Ethanol production. It's hardiness allows it to be farmed in areas that can't be used for food production. It can be cut and baled with standard farming equipment.

Amplify’d from bioenergy.ornl.gov

Biofuels from Switchgrass: Greener Energy Pastures

Test plots of switchgrass at Auburn University have produced up to 15 tons of dry biomass per acre, and five- year yields average 11.5 tons—enough to make 1,150 gallons of ethanol per acre each year.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) believes that biofuels—made from crops of native grasses, such as fast- growing switchgrass—could reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, curb emissions of the "greenhouse gas" carbon dioxide, and strengthen America's farm economy. The Biofuels Feedstock Development Program (BFDP) at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has assembled a team of scientists ranging from economists and energy analysts to plant physiologists and geneticists to lay the groundwork for this new source of renewable energy. Included are researchers at universities, other national laboratories, and agricultural research stations around the nation. Their goal, according to ORNL physiologist Sandy McLaughlin, who leads the switchgrass research effort, is nothing short of building the foundation for a biofuels industry that will make and market ethanol and other biofuels from switchgrass and at prices competitive with fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

Switchgrass can be cut and baled with standard farming equipment.

Many farmers already grow switchgrass, either as forage for livestock or as a ground cover, to control erosion. Cultivating switchgrass as an energy crop instead would require only minor changes in how it's managed and when it's harvested. Switchgrass can be cut and baled with conventional mowers and balers. And it's a hardy, adaptable perennial, so once it's established in a field, it can be harvested as a cash crop, either annually or semiannually, for 10 years or more before replanting is needed. And because it has multiple uses—as an ethanol feedstock, as forage, as ground cover—a farmer who plants switchgrass can be confident knowing that a switchgrass crop will be put to good use.

And with recent advances in the technology of gasification, switchgrass could yield a variety of useful fuels—synthetic gasoline and diesel fuel, methanol, methane gas, even hydrogen—as well as chemical by-products useful for making fertilizers, solvents, and plastics.

Besides helping slow runoff and anchor soil, switchgrass can also filter runoff from fields planted with traditional row crops. Buffer strips of switchgrass, planted along streambanks and around wetlands, could remove soil particles, pesticides, and fertilizer residues from surface water before it reaches groundwater or streams—and could also provide energy.

And because switchgrass removes carbon dioxide (CO2 ) from the air as it grows, it has the potential to slow the buildup of this greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere. Unlike fossil fuels, which simply release more and more of the CO2 that's been in geologic storage for millions of years, energy crops of switchgrass "recycle" CO2 over and over again, with each year's cycle of growth and use.

Looking down the road, McLaughlin believes switchgrass offers important advantages as an energy crop. "Producing ethanol from corn requires almost as much energy to produce as it yields," he explains, "while ethanol from switchgrass can produce about five times more energy than you put in. When you factor in the energy required to make tractors, transport farm equipment, plant and harvest, and so on, the net energy output of switchgrass is about 20 times better than corn's." Switchgrass also does a far better job of protecting soil, virtually eliminating erosion. And it removes considerably more CO2 from the air, packing it away in soils and roots.

Switchgrass offers excellent habitat for a wide variety of birds and small mammals. Read more at bioenergy.ornl.gov

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Biodegradable Plastic Substitute

Amplify’d from www.fastcompany.com

Biodegradable plastic substitute

Biodegradable. Virtually unbreakable. Acoustic. Translucent. And cheap. It's Zelfo, a material produced from plants high in cellulose: hemp, straw, agricultural waste, even paper. Fibers are extracted, blended with water, compressed, then spray-molded--without glue or resin. Martin Ernegg, a materials scientist from Austria, patented Zelfo in 2000. After some false starts, he's opening his first factory in Australia by spring. Manufacturing is virtually waste-free. The machines are powered by sun, wind, or vegetable oil. Read more at www.fastcompany.com

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Turning Trash into Energy

Plasma Gasification or Plasma Arc Waste Disposal should help us to stop selling our garbage overseas and polluting third world countries while generating electricity here at home. Here is some info for a site in UK. There is also a list of other sites planned in the U.S.

Amplify’d from en.wikipedia.org

Swindon, Wiltshire, UK, Advanced Plasma Power

The heart of this technology, the Gasplasma process, forms the basis of APP’s Swindon Plant, the first Gasplasma facility in the world. Gasplasma is the sequential use of gasification, plasma gas treatment, syngas polishing and gas engine power generation.

A full scale plant will treat 100,000 short tons (91,000 t) per annum of municipal waste and produce:

Enough power for 10,000 homes

Enough heat for around 700 homes

over 99% landfill diversion of feedstock with minimal residues and emissions

Increase recycling rates by over 20%

High performance, high-value aggregate glass (trademark Plasmarok)

Novel combination of three existing and proven technologies (termed Gasplasma)

Negative carbon footprint and lowest environmental impact plant and building

A full scale plant will be 150 metres (490 ft) long, 50 metres (160 ft) wide, and along most of its length only 11 metres (36 ft) high. Above the thermal plant, the roof height is about 14 metres (46 ft), and the single exhaust for the engines 10 metres (33 ft) higher, at only 34 metres (112 ft). The building is approximately the size of a supermarket store and operates under a light vacuum, meaning it contains all odors. The entire process occurs within the building. Read more at en.wikipedia.org

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