The Conservation Report

ALGAE-BASED FUEL: Colorado Company Takes Algae-Based Fuel to the Next Level

ANIMAL WELFARE: Activists Throw Flour On Fur-Clad Lindsay Lohan

ASTRONOMY: Sun Shows Signs Of Life: Long-Awaited Solar Cycle 24 Starting To Take Off, Cassini Finds Mysterious New Aurora On Saturn, NASA: A Bubble in Cygnus

AUTO INDUSTRY: Reasons to Bail Out GM, Here’s Why We Need A General Motors (GM) Bailout, You F***er

BALLOT INITIATIVES: Mixed Bag for State Environmental Ballot Initiatives

BIG OIL: In secret agreement, Shell nets 25-year monopoly on S. Iraq’s gas, Blow to Brown as BP scraps British renewables plan to focus on US

CHERNOBYL: Chernobyl. 21 years later

CLIMATE CHANGE: Impact Of Climate Warming On Fish: International consensus on the reality of climate change is now apparent: global warming is ascribable in large part to human activities. It is causing rapid deterioration of the environment and is increasing the threat to biodiversity. However, the mechanisms of its impact are still poorly known, particularly in the aquatic environment., Warming Trend Is Steepest in 5,000 Years, Canada Offers Continental Climate Pact, Lemming Numbers Dwindling Under Warming

CLONING: Frozen mice cloned - are woolly mammoths next?

COAL: EPA Blocks Coal Plant, Could Change Power Landscape

DIESEL ELECTRIC HYBRID: Hybrid tugboat may give local ports a green push

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Water restrictions ordered to help California fish

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE: How Floating ‘Energy Islands’ Could Power the Future

FOSSILS: Marine Plankton Found In Amber: Marine microorganisms have been found in amber dating from the middle of the Cretaceous period. The fossils were collected in Charente, in France. This completely unexpected discovery will deepen our understanding of these lost marine species as well as providing precious data about the coastal environment of Western France during the Cretaceous.

FUNGAS-BASED FUEL: Microbes: Fuel of the Future?, Rainforest fungus makes diesel: Colorized environmental scanning electron microscope photo of Gliocladium roseum, an endophtic fungus that produces myco-diesel hydrocarbons.

FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: New York City’s Green Taxi Program Red Lighted By Federal Judge:

GREEN: Best of what is new in green technology 2008, In Times Square, a Company’s Name in (Wind- and Solar-Powered) Lights: The first eco-friendly billboard is coming to Times Square, entirely powered by the sun and the wind — but there is one small catch.

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: 10 Amazing Buildings Made of Dirt and Straw

HIV/AIDS: AIDS Patient Reportedly Cured, T Cell-based HIV Vaccine Candidate Demonstrates Positive Results: The question of whether or not to continue to pursue the development of T-cell-based HIV-1 vaccines has been a source of controversy following last year’s widely publicized failure of the field’s most promising candidate, a vaccine developed by Merck known as V520.

INAUGURATION TICKETS: It’s time to plan your inauguration trip: Festivities could last 10 days, but hotel rooms, flights to D.C. will be scarce

INVASIVE SPECIES: Scientists: Reverse Age-Old Engineering Or The Great Lakes Suffer

LED LIGHTS: Would You Buy This Funny-Looking Bulb?

LIGHT POLLUTION: Efficiency’s Mark: City Glitters a Little Less: The bright lights of the big city are getting a little bit duller — with just a hint of green.

MARINE CONSERVATION: Sea Snakes Seek Out Freshwater To Slake Thirst

MARINE MAMMALS: Killer Whales Are Discriminating Diners

NATURAL GAS: Does Natural Gas Have an Ally in Rahm Emanuel?

NATURE: Venom Hunt Finds ‘Harmless’ Snakes A Potential Danger, Tiny Radio Tags Offer Rare Glimpse into Bees’ Universe

NANOWASTE: Plants Can Accumulate Nanoparticles In Tissues

NUCLEARIZATION OF ENERGY SOURCES: Mini nuclear plants to power 20,000 homes: £13m shed-size reactors will be delivered by lorry

OCEANS: Mysterious Microbe May Play Important Role In Ocean Ecology: An unusual microorganism discovered in the open ocean may force scientists to rethink their understanding of how carbon and nitrogen cycle through ocean ecosystems., Elusive Microbe Fertilizes Oceans

PESTICIDES: Organic Farmer Murdered After Protesting Toxic Dumpsite: An Indian organic farmer and anti-pollution advocate was shot to death on Monday while in the midst of exposing an illegal dumpsite on his property to the media.

PIRATES: Somali Pirates Seize Supertanker Loaded With Crude

POLITICS: Prop 8 Myths, Fox’s Shepard Smith Disputes Idea That The Media Secured Win For Obama, Senate Dems To White House: Preserve Records (Especially You, Cheney)

POLL: Should Cape Wind be built?

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: California gives green light to high-speed train

RECLAIMED OR RECYCLED WATER: NASA astronauts to drink their own urine: As NASA prepared to double the number of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, nothing did more for crew bonding than a machine being launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday.

RECYCLING: Eat & Drink from Recycled Bottles, Recycling By the Numbers: The Truth About Recycling: Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year—but that’s still just 32.5 percent of what we throw out. Here’s how much energy recycling saves and how much that’s worth., Is Recycling Worth It? PM Investigates its Economic and Environmental Impact: Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year. But does it pay off—for the environment or the economy? PM has some real answers.

SCIENCE: New Path Found To Antibiotics In Dirt, Forced Evolution: Can We Mutate Viruses To Death?, Mystery solved: How bleach kills germs, Octopus Family Tree Traced Using New Molecular Evidence, Rock-Eating Bacteria “Mine” Valuable Metals

SEA LEVEL RISE: Mass Relocations Planned as Sea Levels Rise

SOLAR: Mid-East’s Largest Solar Panel Manufacturing Plant to be Built In Dubai, Coating helps solar panels soak up more of the sun

THE MEGAFISHES PROJECT: Giant Prehistoric Fish Rebounding in Canada

WATER POLLUTION: Freshwater Pollution Costs US At Least $4.3 Billion A Year: Pollution by phosphorous and nitrogen isn’t just bad for lakes, streams and other bodies of fresh water. According to researchers at Kansas State University, it’s also bad for Americans’ pocketbooks., Thousands of factory farms will be exempt from needing permits that limit water pollution thanks to a new Bush Administration rule signed today. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency did not adopt improved controls for bacteria and other pathogens that can pose risks to human health and wildlife.

WATER WARS: Atlas of hidden water may avert future conflict

WIND POWER: Pickens Delays His Wind Farm Plan, Largest Wind Farm in World Halted By Credit Crisis, Wind power blights la belle France

YEAR OF THE FROG: Global Warming Link To Amphibian Declines In Doubt

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: 90 Year-Old Giant Tortoise Mates, Lonesome George, the World’s Rarest Tortoise, Isn’t Ready to Be a Dad, Breeding program may fail to produce progeny for Galapagos’ Lonesome George, VIDEO: Last Tortoise’s Hopes Dim

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These solar panels on the Vatican roof will reportedly offset “210 tons of carbon dioxide and this is the equivalent to 70 tons of oil.” From the International Herald Tribune:

Workers began putting photovoltaic cells on the roof of the hall to convert sunlight into electricity. In sunny Rome, engineers say the cells will produce enough electricity to illuminate, heat or cool the hall.

The hall is used for weekly papal audiences during winter and other times of year when the weather is bad.

Pope Benedict XVI’s has made conserving resources an important concern of his papacy.

Video from the BBC NEWS:

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Obama’s energy plan is common sense, since part of his energy plan tackles the federal government. As a former federal government contractor, I noticed a lot of waste—especially how government vehicles are used. Certainly, a large portion of government travel can use either smaller, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Furthermore, he is calling for conservation, and there is nothing wrong with conservation if it promotes reasonable consumption.

An energy plan using electric, hybrid, and PHEVs is far superior to T. Boone Pickens’s plan to put a lot of energy and money to develop the infrastructure for natural gas-powered vehicles. Natural gas is another fossil fuel, but it produces less energy. Personally, I don’t believe we need new coal power plants, and clean coal doesn’t exist. Other highlights of Obama’s energy plan include: (1) developing America’s renewable energy infrastructure thus (2) create green jobs, (3) using cap-and-trade programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and (4) eliminate or reduce our energy imports. Obama also wants to promote energy conservation and efficiency by updating our current electrical grid to smart grid technology. From MarketWatch:

According to President-elect Obama’s website (www.barackobama.com), the Obama-Biden plan aims to “make the U.S. a leader on climate change” and to “put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015.” Other goals of the Obama-Biden plan include:

– Invest $150 billion over 10 years to accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), commercial scale renewable energy, low emissions coal plants, the next generation of fuel infrastructure and the transition to a new digital electricity grid

– Convert the entire White House fleet to plug-ins within Obama’s first year of office

– Ensure that half of all cars purchased by the federal government be PHEVs or EVs by 2012

– Provide a $7,000 tax credit for the purchase of advanced technology vehicles as well as conversion tax credits

– Require 10% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2012

Hat tip to Kevin.

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We can save $13,000,000,000,000 ($13 trillion) dollars in future energy costs, and we can create a “$360 billion industry that provides half of the world’s electricity” by switching to renewable sources for our energy. Given the multi-trillion dollar savings, it is easy to understand why the oil companies have continuously sabotaged efforts to build the clean renewable infrastructure. The oil companies have a great interest in pumping as much oil as they can out of the ground and have it consumed by folks like you and me—no matter the cost to our pocketbooks or environment. From ABC News:

The 210-page study [pdf] is one of few reports – even by lobby groups – to look in detail at how energy use would have to be overhauled to meet the toughest scenarios for curbing greenhouse gases outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“Renewable energy could provide all global energy needs by 2090,” according to the study, entitled “Energy (R)evolution.” EREC represents renewable energy industries and trade and research associations in Europe. A more radical scenario could eliminate coal use by 2050 if new power generation plants shifted quickly to renewables.

Solar power, biomass such as biofuels or wood, geothermal energy and wind could be the leading energies by 2090 in a shift from fossil fuels blamed by the IPCC for stoking global warming.

Certainly, building a more sustainable energy infrastructure, which includes renewable energy sources like solar will create new jobs. Kate Galbraith suggests that Joe the plumber will one day be “Joe the solar guy”:

If nothing else, the dialog suggests that “Joe the Plumber,” the Everyman voter who became a totem and a talking point for both candidates last night, might one day be “Joe the solar guy.”

A good look at Cape Wind and the potential of supplying our energy needs by building the offshore wind power infrastructure on the Western Atlantic can be found at the Foreign Policy Association’s Climate Change:

What a great yarn! A smart, successful, committed energy entrepreneur comes along with a solid project to provide enough zero-emission, renewable energy to supply, on a good day, all the stationary power needs of Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, and, if you had plug-in vehicles, a good bit of the surface transportation needs as well. Wind turbines are a proven technology and in Europe, offshore wind farms have been flourishing for years. The project would serve an area that is now subject to considerable air pollution from the ancient power plant that is in place. A devastating oil spill from a barge headed to that power plant occurred only a few years ago. The wind farm will eliminate three quarters of a million tons of GHG a year and provide a much-needed and reliable boost to the New England electrical grid. What’s not to love?!

What are some of the problems people have with offshore wind?

Competing power companies for one, wanting to stick with coal and gas-fired plants. Another stated problem is the “viewshed” issue. Bluewater, very smartly, used computerized graphics to show the folks in Delaware how tiny the “view” issue would be. What I don’t get – and I’ve said it here before – is how you can think of these windfarms as anything other than magnificent. In Europe, as you know, offshore wind is busting out all over. Bluewater’s principal, Peter Mandelstam, is quoted in the article to the effect that “The Europeans see offshore wind turbines as sentinels, protecting them from energy domination by foreign powers.”

Home or residential wind turbines may supplement up to 30% of a home’s electricity. However, the Daily Mail claims that home wind turbines “barely produce enough electricity to power a hairdryer in many houses,” “actually do more harm than good,” are “noisy and unsightly,” and are nothing more than an eco-fashion statement.  The Daily Mail’s report on rooftop microturbines is overly negative, and TreeHugger counters the claims here.

Additionally, the Daily Mail claims “turbines in towns suffer from a lack of wind - as tall buildings block the air supply.” However, I have lived in Britain, and there are residential and rural towns that seem to have a steady supply of wind, especially areas on the Norfolk coast.

The Daily Mail does advocate more traditional methods to save energy such as better insulation, “turning the thermostat down,” and “using low-energy light bulbs.” However, these traditional methods to reduce energy consumption can be supplemented by renewable energy projects such as home wind power and solar roofing. It is important to reduce consumption, because most energy is not wasted living comfortably, but most energy is unnecessarily wasted on “inefficient appliances, lights, motors and vehicles.” Certainly, technology continues to provide cheaper products that produce bigger energy savings, and the same is true for these microturbines. I believe coupled with traditional methods to save energy and solar roofing, microturbines can be a smart choice in some areas.  From MLive.com, MI:

According to Southwest Windpower, the Arizona-based company that manufactures the turbine, Skystream is capable of generating more than 40 percent of a home’s electricity, in some instances shaving more than $500 off energy bills every year.

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Purchasing a wind turbine doesn’t automatically make you energy independent, but it’s a start, said Miriam Robbins, marketing manager for Southwest Windpower.

Nationwide, 2,000 Skystream wind turbines have been sold, Robbins said, adding that she credits the turbine’s simple design for the steady sales.

“Compared to some other small wind turbines, it’s designed to be ‘plug and play,’ ” Robbins said. “It’s not very complex.”

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Unlike commercial wind turbines, which often rise more than 300 feet in the air, residential turbines are sometimes not more than a few feet high and capable of generating electricity at wind speeds starting at 3 mph.

One such model is being developed by E-Net LLC, a technology development company operating out of the Grand Valley State University energy center in Muskegon.

The model, which likely will be put into production in early 2009, could cost under $2,000 and be capable of generating up to 20 percent of a home’s electricity.

More from the NYTimes.com (including the graphic below):

“In an urban environment, more times than not you’re better off with a solar panel,” said Mr. Stimmel, of the wind industry association.

A recent British study of wind on home roofs found that turbines generate less power than installers projected because of lower-than-expected wind speeds. Ian Woofenden, a senior editor at Home Power magazine who teaches wind workshops, estimates that electricity from rooftop turbines may cost $1.50 a kilowatt hour or more. (That is enough electricity to run a hair dryer for an hour, roughly.)

Rooftop wind advocates argue that output will turn out to be healthy in windy areas, and they also think that prices for small turbines will come down as the market grows, altering the economics.

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AeroVironment officials say that rooftop turbines at windy sites in states with costly electricity could pay for themselves in four to eight years, but acknowledge that in places with low power prices, the turbines may never recoup their costs.

In May and June, the 20 Logan turbines combined produced just 1,430 kilowatt hours — less than the average home would use over that time. Airport authorities said, however, that the Boston winds pick up in the fall and winter. Mr. Leno thinks his turbine has generated about 725 kilowatt hours in six months of operation.

“You can say, ‘That’s not a lot,’ or ‘Every bit helps,’ ” Mr. Leno said.

British studies have recently suggested that making and transporting turbines for cities may lead to more carbon dioxide emissions than the turbines save.

Image Found Here

On the Net: AeroVironment, Inc. Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Energy Technology, Charging Systems

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Germany and Spain are leading the world in producing energy from the sun. The potential of solar energy is enormous. However, the development of solar infrastructure to harvest energy from the sun is still too slow. From the AFP.

Last year the world production of photovoltaic models represented a surface of 40 square kilometres (16 square miles) while meeting the electrical consumption of countries like France or Germany would require 5,000 square kilometres, he said.

Under current scenarios, photovoltaic models will represent about 1,000 square kilometres by 2020 accounting for about only 3.0 percent of energy needs in the 27-member European Union, he added.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: $800 Million Prize for Alternative Energy to Power Africa’s Villages

ANIMAL WELFARE: Wheeled Tortoise Gets Around

ANTARCTIC MELTING: “New” Killer Whale Types at Risk From Antarctic Warming

ARCTIC MELTING: Shellfish May Invade North Atlantic As Ice Melts, Hungry Musk-Oxen, Caribou Could Help Warming Arctic

AUTO INDUSTRY: Shaq buys smart fortwo, wears as shoe, Saudi Arabia threatens Nissan boycott over Israeli ad

BIG OIL: ExxonMobil owns the media’s convention coverage Oil Expansion Plans In L.A. Rile Residents

BIOPLASTICS: Biodegradable Plastics Are Good for Atmosphere, Too

BIOPRODUCTS: Dandelion Rubber Could Replace Rare Sources, Silk-Based Optical Lenses Green Enough to Eat

BLOGGING: What Makes for a Good Blog?

CARBON SEQUESTERING: Cattails Shown to Be Effective CO2-Eaters

CHINA: MINI Clubman Rickshaws running around Beijing

CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate Change Caused Widespread Tree Death In California Mountain Range, Study Confirms, West Africa’s coastline redrawn by climate change: experts

COMPOSTING: Human Waste Used by 200 Million Farmers, Study Says

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE: Smokestack heat: Fuel of the future?

ENVIRONMENTALISM: ARE WE ALL STILL ENVIRONMENTALISTS?, The Death of Environmentalism?, FREE & GREEN: A NEW APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, Green but Anti-Government, Pro-Environment, Not Pro-EPA

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: Appeals Court OKs Oil Firms’ Billion-Dollar Award, Companies to end lead wheel weight use in Calif.

EXTINCTION: Extinction Threatens Half of Primate Types, Study Says

FOOD: Half of All Food Produced Worldwide is Wasted

FUEL ECONOMY: Sweden Requires Fuel-Efficient Driving Lessons, Billions of gallons of gas could be saved by “Smart Intersections”

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Oregon Tech To Be Powered Entirely By Geothermal Energy, Google Investing Over $10 Million in Geothermal Energy

GIANT SQUID: Colossal Squid Ripped, Stitched, Hoisted and Moved

GLACIAL MELTING: Huge Greenland Glacier Disintegrating

GLOBAL WARMING: Will Grasslands Overtake U.S. Forests Due to Warming?, Dead Penguins Found Closer to Equator Than Ever Before, Birds Thrown Off by Global Warming, Arctic Tundra Holds Global Warming Time Bomb

GREEN: Colorado Creating US’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Community

GREEN CONSERVATISM: Gingrich Cites Big Oil And Right-Wing Intern To Claim That All Economists Support Drilling, Extreme anti-environment Cheney aide up for top Energy Department post, McCain: ‘I Have Not Missed Any Crucial Vote’ On Energy Legislation

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: Kangaroo Meat Could Help Australia Cut Gas Emissions

GREENWASHING: Shell rebuked for ‘greenwash’ over ad for polluting oil project

HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT: People vs. Monkeys in Singapore

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Calif. Requires Hybrid Cars To Make Some Noise

INVASIVE SPECIES: Invasive Lionfish Explode

MARINE CONSERVATION: NASA Tool Helps Track Whale Sharks, Polar Bears, Bush Seeks to Protect 3 Pacific Island Chains

MARINE MAMMALS: “Ugliest Dolphin” Finally Filmed, Mexico Invests to Save Endangered Porpoise

NANOTECHNOLOGY: Nanomaterial Cleans up Broken Fluorescent Bulbs

NEW SPECIES: Newfound Monkey Species “Rarest in Africa,” Expert Says, New, “Chubbier” River Dolphin Species Found in Bolivia

OCEAN DEAD ZONES: Ocean ‘dead zones’ expanding worldwide: study

PLASTIC: Did Big Plastic Pay Off The FDA???

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Amtrak Gets Funding Boost To Meet Record Demand, Sweden Rolling Out 183 MPH High-Speed Green Train

RECLAIMED OR RECYCLED WATER: Recycled Sewage: Coming to a Tap Near You?

RECYCLING: Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, gets trashy, Old tires make new roads, No Economic Slowdown For Reusable Bags

RENEWABLE RESOURCES: Colorado to Ditch Two Coal Plants, Moving to Solar and Wind, 13 Magnificent Renewable Energy Successes and Failures

SOLAR: IKEA Solar Panels on the Horizon, Miami Gets 600 Solar Bus Shelters, Coal Power Plant Retrofit With Solar, Solar Efficiency Record Broken, Oregon Launching First Solar Highway in the US, Want Solar? Head to Sam’s Club, 2 Large Solar Plants Planned in California, Will Each Be 10 Times Bigger Than Largest Now in Service, Solar-Powered Plane Flies for Nearly 83 Hours, Doubles World Record, Hot Asphalt as Better Energy Collector than Solar Panels?

SUSTAINABILITY: Wal-Mart Pares Costs By Selling Local Produce

WALL-E: Wall*E + Kleenex = Iron*E

WATER POLLUTION: AP: Drugs found in drinking water

WATER WARS: McCain’s Colorado River Gaffe Might Cost Him Key Western States

WETLANDS: Australian Wetlands Threatened

WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING: 14 Tons of Frozen Scaly Anteaters Seized in Indonesia

WIND POWER: New Study Says City-Based Rooftop Wind Power Doesn’t Pay Off, Kites Could Become Major Source Of Wind Power, Wind Turbines Give Bats the “Bends,” Study Finds

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: Huge Insectarium Opens, Lonesome George a Father?

AIR POLLUTION: Aérophile´s balloon turns different colors depending on the air pollution levels, as registered by the air quality organization Airparif.

AMERICAN CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: Biggest drop in U.S. oil demand in 26 years

ANTARCTIC MELTING: Antarctic ice shelf breaking up in dead of winter: Experts surprised that cold hasn’t frozen trend, now expect quicker demise

BIODEGRADABLE: Green Earth Technologies, creator of organic engine products, has released their new automotive lubricant to its G-Oil line, a 10W-30 that has set a new biodegradability standard

CATTLE GRAZING: Federal rangeland managers said continuing to allow cattle to graze on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is harming the rare plants, fish and wildlife the monument was created eight years ago to protect

CHINA: Plight of the Little Emperors: Coddled from infancy and raised to be academic machines, China’s only children expect the world. Now they’re buckling under the pressure of their parents’ deferred dreams.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Cattails could be agents of climate change (The good kind)

CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Vampire hound caught on film?, Farmers claim they have seen the “Dracula dogs” sink their teeth into the necks of terrified livestock

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Mitsubishi’s Electric Car Will Be Released in 2009 for $37,500

ENERGY: Honolulu to air condition buildings with seawater, $21 billion Alaska energy plan proposed: RENEWABLE AND ALTERNATIVE: Inclusion of coal in projects leaves some lawmakers less than happy, Utah four day work week environmentally friendly

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE; SOLAR: How a giant solar tower could power the future

EXTINCTION: Wildlife extinction rates ’seriously underestimated’

FISHERIES: Groups deliver 150,000 comments to Bush Administration calling for withdrawal of proposed rule that would undercut environmental review, stifle public input in oceans & fisheries management, Ocean fisheries protections to be weakened: Bush plan would give industry greater power over fishery management decisions, Since the Parties to the Nauru Agreement signed a Third Implementing Arrangement which among other measures include restricting fishing in the high seas and 100% observer coverage of purse seine vessels, there has been a lot of talk in the media about a new wave in regional fisheries management., Three crew members of the trawler Atria: accused of fish dumping, and the master is accused of failing to record catch correctly

FISHERIES OBSERVER: Fisheries program graduates its first two observers

FUEL ECONOMY: Teen drives on one tank of gas for entire summer

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS AND ORGANISMS: Prince Charles warns GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Geothermal energy will help power Anaheim, California

GLOBAL WARMING: Schwarzenegger confirms link between global warming and wildfires, hits Bush for not believing the science

GREEN: The world’s first eco-disco, Surya, opens for business, Using carbon dioxide as an ingredient in plastics could help reduce the use of fossil fuels, and be another market for waste CO2.

GREENWASHING: Nice jugs part 2: Green packaging or greenwashing

NEW SPECIES: 21 new species of livebearing fish named, British scientists have found new species of oral cavity bacteria which contribute to various mouth problems such as tooth decay, Bird species result of climate change?: A group of scientists are scratching their heads this week as they try to figure out how a new species of bird came to be, way up in the mountains of Vermont

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Navy opposes VA offshore drilling. Period. End of debate., Pelosi indicates openness to offshore drilling vote

OPEC: Opec income hits record as oil prices soar

ORGANIC MARKET: A capitalist dream: Company designs and maintains organic garden in your backyard

PLASTIC BAGS; STYROFOAM: Seattle’s ban on plastic and styrofoam

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Levitating train from L.A. to Las Vegas gets boost: Bush signs law freeing dollars for levitating train from Disneyland to Las Vegas

SALMON: NORWAY: Farmed salmon in hot water

SCIENCE: Science close to unveiling invisible man, A new BBC series makes use of satellite technology to create stunning images of Britain from above, you can also see how everything has become so traceable with the use of GPS technology, Amateur astronomer spies gassy “cosmic ghost”, Bionic bra: Victoria’s circuit: Looking for a better way to charge her iPod on the go, Adrienne So had an idea – could she invent a bionic bra to harness the energy of her bouncing breasts?

SOLAR: New, cost effective solar energy devices from MIT, GM to build world’s biggest rooftop solar station in Spain: US automaker General Motors said Tuesday it will equip the roof of its factory in Zaragoza in northeastern Spain with solar panels to create the world’s largest rooftop source of power from the sun, 90% of Israeli homes solar hot water equipped, Hawaii first state to require solar water heaters, Solar energy creating economic boom for Nevada, U.S. allowing new solar again, Times Square gets solar-powered billboard, India launches climate change plan focusing on solar power, Community solar power, Dyeing to boost solar efficiency by 50%: MIT has perfected a dye technology that could change the solar world as we know it

SUBURBIA: What is the future of suburbia? A freakonomics quorum

UPWARD MIGRATION: Pacific species set to invade warmer Arctic, Atlantic waters

WAVE POWER: Giant rubber snakes to capture wave power?

WHALING: Japan says we are witnessing the death of the International Whaling Commission

WIND POWER: Village of Mackinaw City wind turbine generators: They went on line the day of the ribbon cutting, December 3rd, 2001. In their first 4 days of operation they produced enough energy to power 9 homes for a year. As of the Fall of 2003 they produced over 4,000,000 kWh of energy.

This project has received many positive comments from residents and visitors alike. The residents voice their pride in being part of such a project that brings renewable energy to the region. The visitors are impressed with the way they look. Some go so far as to call them kinetic sculptures., Argentina will produce massive wind power turbines, While U.S. off-shore wind industry struggles, Germany announces 30 new wind farms: European nation sets ambitious renewable energy goals, Debate flares over wind power in Texas

Ken writes:

There are several ways to utilize Thorium, which also has potential economic advantages on the front end (more abundant than uranium and no expensive enrichment required). It has already been used in pebble bed reactors both here and in Germany for commercial power production. There is a company, Thorium Power Ltd which is close to marketing a fuel design that not only converts current light water reactors into Thorium burners, but also enables these same reactors to dispose of long term nuclear waste products from other reactors. Another option actively under development in Japan is the liquid fluoride thorium reactor, which they call Fuji II. This one promises to be the most efficient reactor ever built since it can almost completely burn down the input thorium fuel. It can also be used as a nuclear waste ‘garbage disposal’ for all the long lived transuranic waste from current reactors. Bye bye Yuka Mtn!

Tell McCain and Obama to support research into the utilization of Thorium and write you congress people too. Don’t make this a narrow partisan issue, it is far too important, I’m as blue as they get and I fully support nuclear power. Coal is killing the planet, it’s not the CO2 (which is bad), it is the heavy metals. A single coal plant will dump 30,000 pounds of highly toxic mercury into the sky to fall back into the oceans. Just picture that much mercury in five gallon pails. Probably several hundred of the heavy stuff. Then pick up the pails one at a time and dump them into the nearest river upstream of your water source. Get the picture? Repeat for each of the hundreds of coal fired plants across the country. Repeat for Arsenic, Chromium, Uranium and Thorium. Mercury stays around in the environment for hundreds of years so repeat year after year. Ever wonder where all the mercury in tuna comes from? Oh, did I mention acid rain?

Despite my stance on traditional uranium-based nuclear power, I do believe in using and promoting new technology to solve our energy problems – sans major impacts to the environment. If the claims and feasibility of thorium-based nuclear energy are true then thorium-based nuclear energy should be part of the debate.

Here is a reason why we need to move away from dirty energy sources such as coal: Mercury pollution from an unknown source or sources is currently a huge problem in the Great Salt Lake and for waterfowl that feed on the brine shrimp inhabiting the lake.

Big chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Safeway and Whole Foods Market are offsetting their energy costs by integrating solar power into their “immense, flat roofs.”

John McCain is a snake-oil salesman. His energy policy might sound great to the average American, but is John McCain’s all of the above philosophy, that promotes both alternatives and offshore drilling together, the best policy to meet present-day energy demands? Certainly, it is not the best policy.

I do not trust McCain’s energy policy, because he has a poor record on both environmental and energy issues, which are interrelated. Furthermore, his straight talk approach implies business as usual or the status quo, and his straight talk approach on energy is a farce to falsely comfort Americans from the reality that we live in a finite world with finite resources.

Given McCain’s poor voting record on environmental issues, and his close ties to the oil industry (see how big oil rushed money to McCain after he “reversed his opposition to the federal ban on offshore drilling” at the Washington Post), does McCain really have a new energy policy that is both imaginative and applicable in today’s world? I don’t think he does, because we have heard the same rhetoric from the Presidency of George W. Bush. We haven’t seen any significant policy or infrastructure to meet both energy and climate change demands come from the Presidency of George W. Bush. What we have seen from the Presidency of George W. Bush on energy and climate change is foot dragging. In fact, states have taken the lead in building the renewable energy infrastructure, and the federal government has not. I don’t trust McCain’s energy policy, because I hear and have heard the President make the same pitch. However, I do have some questions for John McCain:

1. What does the McCain energy policy actually do? What are the numbers?
2. Who are the projected winners and who are the projected losers (and please don’t say the American people are winners)?
3. What is the role of renewable energy in the McCain all of the above philosophy towards energy policy? Again, what are the numbers?
4. What is the role of nuclear power in the McCain energy policy? Numbers?

I think McCain is the one who is out of touch with America. Just like the gas tax holiday, McCain is wrong again, because given the world demand for oil, offshore drilling is a drop in the bucket, and isn’t worth the risk. Furthermore, I think his recent attacks on Obama for recommending that properly inflated tires save energy shows he is further out of touch. From TIME:

But who’s really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

More data is here to refute McCain’s claim that Obama is out of touch with America for recommending that properly inflated tires save energy:

Earlier this year, we cosponsored the Alliance to Save Energy’s Drive Smarter Challenge. As part of this campaign we advocated maintaining proper tire pressure as one simple step consumers could take to increase fuel economy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It’s more important than you may think. For instance, did you know…

• The Department of Energy estimates that 1.2 billion gallons of fuel were wasted in 2005 as a result of driving on under-inflated tires.

• Fuel efficiency is reduced by 1% for every 3 PSI that tires are under-inflated.

• Proper tire inflation can save the equivalent of about 1 tank of gas per year.

• Proper tire inflation also reduces CO2 emissions.

• Experts estimate that 25% of automobiles are running on tires with lower than recommended pressure, because people don’t know how to check their tires or don’t realize that tires naturally lose air over time.

Below are the voting records of both John McCain and Barack Obama from the League of Conservation Voters. McCain has a voting score of 0%, so between both candidates, who do you trust on environmental and energy issues?

Obama responds to McCain’s out of touch attacks: “It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.” Furthermore, Obama actually mentions updating the electricity grid, which is perhaps the most important factor in promoting energy efficiency (and this video illustrates why I am voting for Obama):

On the Net: League of Conservation Voters - The Independent Political Voice for the Environment

I agree with Image Found HereRick Haglund 100%:

When $140-a-barrel oil destroyed sales of full-size pickups and SUVs in May and June, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. took radical steps to shift production away from trucks to cars.

GM’s future car-laden product plan is based on oil prices rising to as high as $150 a barrel by next year. But what if oil falls to $70 a barrel and gasoline drops to around $2 a gallon?

Demand for big SUVs could again rise, forcing automakers to reallocate billions of dollars they just shifted to development of new cars back to trucks. That’s not exactly helpful to bottom lines already bleeding red ink.

A reprieve in oil prices also would hurt efforts to develop alternative energies that make us less dependent on foreign oil and reduce harmful greenhouse gases. That’s happened before.

It has happened before. Former Democratic president Jimmy Carter endeavored to develop a renewable energy infrastructure for America. He even set solar panels onto the White House. However, after taking office, former Republican President Ronald Regan removed the solar panels from the White House. You might think that today’s auto industry and consumers are too smart to be trapped by oil again after record oil prices, but I would not bet my life on it. Neither groups saw our current predicament coming even tough there were plenty of warning signs given by environmentalists and within our economy.

And to think Exxon didn’t even want to pay any damages in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker. I wonder how Exxon Mobil will spend their $11.68 billion 2Q profits. Will the oil giant use its profits to aggressively develop alternative or renewable energy sources, update their infrastructure to deliver their oil to the markets more efficiently, remedy the carbon they help pump into the atmosphere, or will they continue to keep everything at a bare minimum to milk as much profit from our pockets as possible. These big profits yield big power and political influence. That’s scary.

I really like Al Gore. He is brave, and I am a fan of his voracity to tackle climate change and our energy problems. Recently, he called for 100% of our electricity needs to come from truly clean and carbon-free sources by 2018. As a result, shock and awe ensured, but he did exactly what he needed to do, which was stir a debate.

On the Net: Al Gore’s speech given at the D.A.R. Constitutional Hall: A Generational Challenge to Repower America

AIRLINE INDUSTRY: British PM blasts polluting ‘ghost’ flights: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday that airlines flying empty planes simply to maintain valuable airport slots were “unacceptable” due to their environmental impact.

ANIMAL WELFARE: Trend alert: Pill-popping pets, 16 stingrays in Brookfield Zoo exhibit killed: Water in fish tank gets too hot for them to handle, Bunny beheadings: Over 40 rabbits have been have been mysteriously murdered since last summer in the Ruhr district of Germany

ARCTIC DRILLING: Interior Dept. Opens 2.6 Million Alaskan Acres for Oil Exploration

ASSISTED COLONIZATION; ASSISTED MIGRATION: Should we move species to save them?

CAPE WIND: Cape Wind: The legal challenges

CLIMATE CHANGE: Some thoughts on testifying in front of Congress, Something strange is happening at the coldest, driest place on Earth

CONSTITUTIONAL HEALTH: Al-Marri and the power to imprison U.S. citizens without charges, The political establishment and telecom immunity — why it matters, Suing George W. Bush: A bizarre and troubling tale: U.S. officials went to extremes to stifle our legal challenge to Bush’s warrantless surveillance — but a federal judge says the program is criminal, anyway.

DEVELOPMENT; POPULATION GROWTH: Growing pains in the land of Bollywood

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric cars take over: 17 electric cars you must know about

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE; CLIMATE CHANGE; AL GORE: A generational challenge to repower America: This speech was given today at the D.A.R. Constitutional Hall, Mr. Gore, how do you feel about 90 percent?: Blogosphere responds reservedly to Gore’s call for 100 percent renewable electricity in 10

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Delta smelt moves towards endangered status as ecosystem collapses

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: Schwarzenegger criticizes Bush White House on environmental policy, Cheney wanted to delete major parts of environmental testimony

EXTINCTION: Evolution & extinction

FISHERIES: Big old fat fecund female fish: The BOFFFF hypothesis and what it means for MPAs and fisheries management

GLOBAL WARMING: Global warming sends Russian researchers fleeing

HIV/AIDS: Senate agrees to triple anti-AIDS funding

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Overworked hybrid engineer dies

HYBRIDS: Grizzly-polar bear hybrid found: But what does it mean?

NATURE: Eight new natural wonders inscribed on World Heritage List

NEW SPECIES: New primate species discovered on Madagascar: Number of known mouse lemur species increases to 16

NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES: Reflections: The death of gallium

NUCLEAR ENERGY: Do nukes have a bright future? Maybe not.

OCEAN DEAD ZONES: NOAA and Louisiana scientists predict largest Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” on record this summer: Mississippi River flooding is major contributor to size of this year’s dead zone

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Bush lifts oil drilling ban, wants Congress to act, The Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969: A lesson in offshore drilling, Naomi Klein debunks Bush’s offshore drilling plan

OIL: New Iranian oil field discovered, ‘Two oil men’ to blame for high gas prices, Pelosi says

OPINION: Let’s get rid of Darwinism

SCIENCE: Humans and machines will merge in future, Flatfish fossils fill evolutionary gap, ‘Missing link’ flatfish has eye that’s moved halfway across its head, Flatfish fossils fill in evolutionary missing link, Incredible pictures of Mars - and they look surprisingly like some parts of Earth

WALL-E: Will Cockroaches Inherit the Earth?: What Wall-E gets wrong about the apocalypse

WIND POWER: Deep-water turbines get Mass. congressional support , New Texas wind power project is massive

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: Selling SeaWorld, Busch Gardens: Could InBev do it if it wanted to?

ZOONOTIC DISEASES: Ebola-like virus returns to Europe after 40 years

AIRLINE INDUSTRY: Deeper cuts to come in U.S. airline service

ANIMAL WELFARE: Animals adrift after midwest