Spring 2014
http://solazyme.com/videos
(5th video on page)
Watch from minute 16 to get an overview of the company’s mission and his views of sustainability. See entire video to learn more about Solazyme, the company using algae as a biofuel amongst many other things.
There are lots of kits and do-it-yourself instructions on-line to convert your diesel car to biodiesel – for example http://www.greasecar.com/products
This recently-released study suggests that the benefits of using corn waste for cellulosic biofuel will be reduced sustantially, due to carbon loss from soil that does not have the residue remain on the field.
According to a 2012 study by DOE, biofuels made with corn residue were 95% better than gasoline in greenhouse gas emissions.
It wasn’t the earthquake or flood that caused the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant to explode and release toxins, it was the subsequent failure of the cooling systems due to the power shutdown.
A new location for the plants has been proposed, and NIMBY isn’t a problem. They are in the process of designing a nuclear floating platform to put in the ocean miles from the coast and at 100 meter depths. This would diminish all tsunami and earthquake concerns if the platform is far enough away from land. “The biggest selling point is the enhanced safety.” The ocean plants would use the surrounding water in case of an emergency cooling shutdown.
The article only lists advantages to the offshore nuclear plants, but I’m sure there is an equal amount of disadvantages such as transferring the energy to land…what else would dissuade people from investing in this alternative?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140416112956.htm
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/unexpected-loose-gas-from-fracking/950/
A survey of hydraulic fracturing sites in Pennsylvania revealed drilling operations releasing plumes of methane 100 to 1,000 times the rate the EPA expects from that stage of drilling, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Natural gas as an energy source for electric-ity production is less of a contributor to global warming than coal only if less than 3.2 percent of methane escapes during production. Recent measurements estimate that between 2.3 percent and 17.3 percent of gas escapes.
This article in the NY Times paints a rather scary picture of the beginnings of fracking in rural China.
Poplar trees, especially genetically modified poplars, have been in the news for their ability to decontaminate the ground of chemicals, specifically oil. In the link, the specific contaminant is TCE…an industrial solvent. The poplar trees absorb the water with the chemical over a period of about three years, the tree is cut down, and then put into a landfill.
This process seems unsustainable at first, but removing the contaminated ground takes more work and money. Also, poplar trees are fast-growing and short-living, so they’re the perfect candidate for the task.
What are some ways to test the efficacy of the poplar trees? How is it impacting landfills? Can we do anything else with the “used-up” trees?
Last weekend I was looking into some hiking gear when I came across the Biolite CampStove. This little gadget is a pretty revolutionary outdoor cooking accessory. Not only does the Biolite contain a wood-burning cooking fire, but also features a small fan, which accelerates the energy release from the fuel. Reliance on wood is a key feature that promotes sustainability. Most long distance hikers on tend to use portable, gas stoves to do their cooking because they are reliable. However with availability of a stove that efficiently turns firewood into energy, consumer tastes will compensate a little.
In a addition to relying on a more sustainable source of energy than traditional gas stoves, the Biolite CampStove has the ability to transfer heat into electric power. It uses a Thermoelectric Generator to power its external fan, as well as provide 2W of power output at 5V through a USB port. Although this technology is preferable to gas heat which tends to have a greater environmental impact, it still has more of an environmental impact than portable sources of solar electricity.
What do you think? In a hypothetical situation where you had to hike a great distance like the Appalachian trial, would you consider carrying this item? How could the Biolite corporation implement this thermoelectric technology to benefit people in developing nations?
http://www.biolitestove.com
While reading more about the fracking in our state’s Macellus Shale I came across two articles that highlight fracking’s penchant for creating societal friction.
Here is a an excerpt from a Lancaster Online article, where a panel of Pennsylvania Quakers shared their perspective of fracking and its toll on their community.
“First they frack the community, then then they frack the land,” she said, at one point tearfully. “If you’re familiar with the tragedy of the commons, that is what happened to us. We could not hold together as a community.
“They set neighbor against neighbor. Families break up, family farms break up, fights happen. The greed and outrage machines begin on both sides. Bullying arrives.”
Another article from thinkprogress.org is reporting that the, “oil and gas company, Hilcorp, is trying to use a 1961 Pennsylvania law that would allow the company to bundle properties of people who don’t sign drilling leases with their neighbors who do, meaning that even landowners who don’t sign leases will be forced to allow drilling under their land if enough of their neighbors sign leases.”
In case you missed it – see NYTimes story
One advantage of converting to renewables would be less of these messes (recall the much larger Deepwater Horizon spill in spring and summer 2010).
If you only have time for one of these links, I’d start with the interactive 50-State Roadmap. For each state that you click on, a wealth of stats and info are provided regarding that state’s own route to 100% renewables.
The creator of this roadmap was Dr. Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, who believes that this goal is well within our reach if we can just muster the social and political will.
Here are two short articles on Dr. Jacobson from:
The graphite used in lithium ion batteries primarily comes from China and graphite pollution is negatively impacting air and water quality. Unfortunately, lithium ion batteries are vital to many clean electric vehicles in the US, including those manufactured by Tesla.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-14/teslas-in-california-help-bring-dirty-rain-to-china.html
As nearly 95% of the state of California remains in a drought, new desalination plants are being considered.
A new 50 million gallon/day plant is on track to open Carlsbad, Ca in two years, and several other communities in the state are considering similar solutions. However, the ecological impact and the high price that are still inherent to desalination are causing many towns to hold to out for cheaper sources of water.
Russia has long been a major supplier of natural gas to Europe (Germany is its largest customer), giving it much influence in the region. But this could change in the not too distant future – see this NYtimes article
While doing research for our class project I came across an article on a LEED platinum rated organic farm located outside of Seattle.
Not much to the article, but it was interesting to see a (small) farm being LEED rated.
One of the links from the article related to the farm’s gearless tractor elevator by the ASME, What Makes an Elevator Green?, is worth checking out too.
First a chemical spill, now a coal slurry spill – see story in LA Times
This is news from December, but I thought the blog could use a little pick-me-up.
tl;dr Warren Buffet’s subsidiary, MidAmerican Energy, has ordered $1 billion worth of wind turbines from Siemens AG to be used in projects in Iowa.
It’s nice to see a bit of progress here and there, especially after having to listen to Donald Trump fighting the off shore wind project in Scotland for the past two years because he feels it will negatively impact the view from his planned golf course and hotel.
Notable quotes:
“If Congress were to remove all the subsidies from every energy source, the wind industry can compete on its own.” –Tom Kiernan, chief executive officer of the American Wind Energy Association
“MidAmerican expects to close some coal-powered plants in 2015 as the price of wind power continues to slide.” — Adam Wright, vice president of wind generation and development for MidAmerican
“Power from wind is now cheaper than power from newly built natural gas plants.” –Amy Grace, a wind analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance
I saw this article while reading NPR news on my phone the other day.
Out in the Dakotas there is a formation called the Bakken shale, which contains a lot of oil and gas that has recently become economically recoverable due to hydrofracking technology. Basically they are flaring off (burning) huge amounts of cheap natural gas to get at the oil, which is a much more lucrative product on the open market. Sustainable????
And industry has apparently promised to do better, see this NYT article
© 2025 Sustainability and Built Systems
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
Recent Comments