Category Archives: pollution

The Wilderness Society’s Andrew Peters Guest Post – Drill not Drill nowhere

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Andrew Peters sent me this email and at first I thought I would post it as one big comment. BUT just as I was getting ready to hit submit, I thought, “heck this would make a great Post”. So with out any intro, Community Energy Systems first guest blogger:

http://www.wilderness.org/

Actually Andy is an overachieving intern:

From:

Add sender to Contacts

To:

info@censys.org

Hi Doug,

I’ve been reading the Energy Tough Love Blog and appreciated your focus green solutions, so I thought you might be interested in further information on the energy crunch. (You can also find a compilation of expert opinions here). Congress may have just left town but that doesn’t mean finding a solution to high gas prices has become any less pressing. The oil and gas industry has peddled misinformation and downright deceit in order to push the idea we need to drill more to lower prices.

I’d urge you to dig deeper and post the truth about this issue. Drilling everywhere will not provide relief from high oil prices. Not here. Not now.

The price of oil depends on a host of world economic factors, all of which have nothing to do with how much drilling is or is not taking place on our public lands. As a nation, we consume nearly a quarter of the world’s oil output and yet we hold less than 3 percent of its proven oil reserves. No increase in American drilling can meaningfully affect the price at the pump. Already, our country has more drill rigs (1,900) in operation than do all the other countries in the world (1,300).

Destroying some of our wildest places and scarring our beaches might pad big oil’s already overflowing bank accounts but it won’t help Americans.

We have reached the end of cheap and easy-to-extract oil. Supply barely outstrips demand and, as developing countries grow ever more oil-hungry, neither America nor the world will be able to produce enough to sate them. Some in Congress have suggested turning to unconventional sources like oil shale but no viable technology yet exists which can squeeze oil from rock.

Instead, we should recognize that the future lies in investing in renewable energy technology, increased fuel efficiency and more efficient energy technology. With these resources, we can place our nation on firm footing for the future while preserving the country’s wildest places for our children.

Best wishes,

Andy

If you couldn’t access the links above, I’ve posted them below in the order they appeared.

http://www.wilderness.org/gasprices/

http://wilderness.org/Library/Documents/upload/ExpertsOnOilPrices.pdf

http://www.wilderness.org/OurIssues/Energy/DrillingWilderness.cfm

http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html

http://www.dollarsandsense.org/blog/2008/08/economists-letter-on-offshore-drilling.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSL119632920080731?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

http://www.gulland.ca/depletion/endofcheapoil.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/opinion/28mon2.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Gas%20Price%20Follies%20&st=cse&oref=slogin

Andrew Peters

Communications

The Wilderness Society

Phone: 202.429.2639

Fax: 202.429.3945

The Wilderness Society’s mission is to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.

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I Skipped The “Other Electronics” Category When Discussing The Residential Market

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I skipped over the rest of the electronic world for a number of reasons when I was talking about the residential market in this blog partly because it is not a huge savings for my 2 person adult household. So let me say this right up front that this post is kinda about people who leave the lights on. You know who you are and people under 21 who don’t give a shit. A quick caution here, if you unplug your stuff when you are not using it you will have to reprogram it! Still, people travel and if you are leaving your place even for a couple of days, unplugging your stuff is a very good idea. We have been stuck on stupid in this country for 30 years, thanks to Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bushes. So it’s time to get smart.

Besides, this article was sent to me by our Website Genius and so who am I to anger the Gods.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/technology/06green.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

 

An Energy Diet for Power-Hungry Household PCs

By STEVE LOHR

Published: August 6, 2008

In its drive to go green, the technology industry has so far focused mainly on big targets like corporations and especially computer data centers, the power-hungry computing engine rooms of the Internet economy.

Next come the hundreds of millions of desktop and laptop personal computers in households worldwide.

Microsoft, the nonprofit Climate Savers Computing Initiative and a start-up called Verdiem are combining to put a spotlight on the energy-saving opportunity in PCs, and distributing a free software tool to consumers to help them do it.

The potential savings in both dollars and pollution is huge, analysts say, when the estimated one billion PCs in use globally are taken into account. The research firm Gartner estimates that 40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions resulting from information technology and telecommunications are attributable to PCs. Data center computers account for 23 percent, and the rest is attributable to printers and telecommunications equipment.

“If you are going to tackle climate change and curb energy use, you have to deal with consumer devices like PCs,” said Andrew Fanara, a product development expert in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program, which promotes energy-efficient products and practices.

For more than a decade, the federal Energy Star program has developed voluntary power-management standards for PCs, and suppliers like Intel and Microsoft have steadily improved the energy efficiency of their chips and software. But Mr. Fanara estimated that less than half of PCs met those standards, in part because more energy-efficient hardware adds slightly to production costs.

“There are large potential savings beyond what Energy Star can do,” he said.

The free software, called Edison, is a consumer version of the PC energy-saving software sold to corporate customers by Verdiem, which is financed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a leading venture capital firm and an aggressive investor in green technologies, and other venture investors.

Verdiem, based in Seattle, has 180 corporate and government customers, including Hewlett-Packard, which bundles Verdiem’s Surveyor program on its desktop PCs sold to corporations. Though he will not disclose sales figures, the company’s chief executive, Kevin Klustner, says revenue should triple this year.

There are other free tools for calculating and managing PC power consumption, including the E.P.A.’s EZ Wizard, CO2 Saver and a Google energy-saving gadget. But Edison allows the user more flexibility, especially in making the settings as stringent as they want, analysts say.

If a user sets the software to put the machine in a “deep sleep” mode after a few minutes of not hitting a keystroke, the hard drive powers down and the PC sips just 5 percent of its normal energy consumption.

That kind of energy diet is far from standard practice in homes and offices. Half of all electricity consumed by a standard PC is wasted, according to environmental and industry studies.

Household electricity bills could also be trimmed by $20 to $95 a year for each PC, depending on local power costs and the kind of PCs in use, said Mr. Klustner. “What we’re trying to do is raise the visibility of the power consumption problem on the PC desktop and really bring power management to the masses,” he said.

The Climate Savers group, which includes major technology companies and environmental groups, has set a goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from computers by 54 million tons by 2010. That is the equivalent of the yearly pollution from 11 million cars. The goal includes data center computers and PCs, and about half of all PCs are consumer machines.

“This kind of energy-saving technology for consumers is a key ingredient in moving toward that goal,” said Rob Bernard, chief environmental strategist for Microsoft.

The companies said that the Edison software would be available to download on Wednesday from the Web sites of Verdiem (verdiem.com), Microsoft (microsoft.com/environment), and Climate Savers (climatesaverscomputing.org).

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Here is aceeeeeeeeeeeee oh sorry why can’t they shorten it to ACE cubed or something?:

http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/electronics.htm

 Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings: Condensed Online Version

 Home Electronics

The energy use of electronic equipment often goes unnoticed. But as it turns out, an estimated 10% to 15% of all electricity used in American homes can be attributed to the buzz of electronic devices. The vast majority is consumed by home entertainment systems and home office equipment. But small energy users, including portable devices with battery chargers, make up a significant share—not because they use a lot of energy individually, but because of their sheer numbers.

Understanding Power Modes

To minimize the energy used by home electronics, it is helpful to understand the true meaning of “on” and “off” as applied to electronics. It’s rarely that simple! Unlike a light switch that turns a lamp or fixture on or off, many electronics products operate in two, three, or even four modes, and even continue to draw power when apparently turned off.

Mode Definition Examples
Active
(In-Use)		 Appliance is performing its primary function. TV displays picture and/or sound.
VCR records or plays back tape.
Printer prints document.
Active standby Appliance ready for use, but not performing primary function.
Appears on to consumer.		 DVD player on but not playing.
Cordless appliance charging.
Passive standby Appliance is off/standby.
Appears off to consumer, but can be activated by remote control OR is performing peripheral function.		 Microwave not in use, but clock is on.
CD player off, but can be turned on with remote control.
Off Applicance is turned off and no function is being performed.Consumer cannot activatewith remote control. Computer speakers are off,
but plugged in.
TV is not functioning and cannot be turned on with remote.

Below is a table of common electronic equipment and the average energy used in each mode and per year (in order from most energy-intensive to least)

Product

Passive Standby or Off (watts)

Active Standby
(watts)

Active
(watts)

Average Annual Energy Use (kWh)

Home Entertainment
Plasma TV (<40″)

3

–

246

441
DVR/TiVo

37

37

37

363
Digital Cable

26

26

26

239
Satellite Cable

12

11

16

124
CRT TV (<40″)

1

–

73

123
LCD TV (<40″)

3

–

70

77
Video Game Console

1

–

24

16
DVD

1

5

11

13
Home Office
Desktop Computer

4

17

68

255
Laptop Computer

1

3

22

83
CRT Monitor

2

3

70

82
LCD Monitor

1

2

27

70
Computer Speakers

2

–

7

20
Modem

5

–

6

50
Wireless Router

2

–

6

48
USB Hub

1

–

3

18
Printer

2

3

9

15
Fax

4

4

4

26
Mutli-Function Printer/Scanner/Copier

6

9

15

55
Rechargeable Devices
Power Tool

4

–

34

37
Hand-Held Vacuum

3

–

3

29
Cordless Phone

2

3

5

26
Electric Toothbrush

2

–

4

14
Shaver

1

–

1

11
MP3 Player

1

–

1

6
Cell Phone

0

1

3

3
Digital Camera

0

–

2

3

Source: ECOS Consulting, 2006: Final Field Research Report for the California Energy Commission

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Reducing Energy Use

There are several steps you can take now to minimize the energy used by the electronics in your home:

  • Unplug It. The simplest and most obvious way to eliminate power losses is to unplug products when not in use. Search the wall sockets in your house for hidden un-connected chargers and other devices that don’t need to be plugged in. When you detach your cell phone or similar device from its charger, unplug the charger too.
  • Use a Power Strip. Plug home electronics and office equipment into a single power strip with an on/off switch. This will allow you to turn off all power to the devices in one easy step. But remember to keep your power strip in an easy-to-reach location! Once the power strip is turned off, no power will be delivered to the outlets, thereby eliminating power wasted by power supplies. One caveat: home entertainment equipment such as TVs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVRs will need to be reprogrammed or given time to reboot and download information when turned back on. You may want to plug these devices into a separate strip and only turn them off when you plan to be away for more than a few days.
  • Use a Power Meter. Use a power meter to find your leading sources of energy consumption to help you to prioritize which products to unplug or to replace. Plug these devices in between a given appliance and the wall socket to see how much electricity it is using. Two models to look for are the Kill A Watt™ and the Watts Up? Pro Power Meter. For an even more sophisticated, big-picture look at your home’s real-time electricity use, you might also consider purchasing a power use monitor. These devices are programmed to read information from your electric meter and communicate the real-time changes in use through an easy-to-read screen. Some good monitors to look for are The Energy Detective (TED), the Power Cost Monitor, and the Cent-A-Meter.

Top

Buying New Electronics

Home Entertainment Equipment

  • Look for the ENERGY STAR when purchasing a new TV, DVD Player, VCR, audio system, or digital-to-analog converter box. The ENERGY STAR label ensures low standby power use for these appliances — in most cases only 1 watt or less.
  • As of January, 2008, the ENERGY STAR label for TVs will indicate low active-mode power use as well (when the TV is actually on). Under 40 inches, choose a TV with an LCD screen. The average plasma TV uses more energy per year than a modern refrigerator. We do not recommend purchasing any TV with a screen greater than 40 inches at this time.
  • About DTAs and the Switch to Digital Broadcasting
    As of February, 2009, the U.S. will shift to digital-only TV broadcasts (to learn more, go here). Consumers who do not subscribe to cable or satellite services will need a digital TV converter box (DTA) to view programming on their analog TVs.These boxes should become widely available on the market by mid- to late-2008. If you have purchased a digital TV, you will not need a DTA for that TV set.

Simple DTAs are expected to cost around $50.The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will offer consumers coupons to offset the cost of DTAs. Each household is eligible for two $40 coupons. DTAs eligible for the coupon program must meet energy efficiency specifications including a maximum standby power level and automatic power down after 4 hours of inactivity.Additional ENERGY STAR requirements set maximum active power levels for DTAs.To minimize your energy use, look for ENERGY STAR-labeled DTAs if you need to purchase one for your home.

Computers and Home Office Equipment

  • Look for the ENERGY STAR label on any new PCs, printers, faxes, and copiers. Current specifications set maximum power levels for sleep mode power consumption (and, in the case of monitors, active mode power) as well as requirements for power management features.

External Power Supplies

  • Electronic products run on low-voltage direct current (DC) and therefore require power supplies to transform the 120-volt alternating current (AC) supplied at the power outlet. Some larger products, like TVs, stereos and set-top boxes, incorporate the power supply into the body of the product. Others use external power supplies, the familiar “wall packs” that increasingly compete for space in our outlets and power strips. These power supplies consume electricity as long as they are connected to a power outlet, whether or not the product is on or off, and even if it is disconnected! You’ll know a wall pack is using energy when it has been plugged in for a while and it is warm to the touch.
  • A number of manufacturers now offer high-efficiency power supplies (typically “switch-mode” power supplies) and a growing number of products are sold with these improved devices. The best of these devices boast efficiency levels of more than 90%, whereas the worst performers are only 20-40% efficient (meaning they waste more than half of the electricity that passes through them!).
  • High efficiency power supplies are much smaller and lighter than the wall-pack power supplies they replace, saving room under your desk and in your briefcase. ENERGY STAR-qualified power supplies are now available and are being sold with a growing number of electronics products. For more information, check out EfficientPowerSupplies

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So When You Leave The Dorm Room! To go home and stay with Mommy and Daddy for Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter unplug your stuff! When you go to Cancun for vacation or to participate in a girls gone wild film shoot. UnPlUg YouR sTuFf! 

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T. Boone Pickens Is Wrong – It’s not the oil we import it’s what we use it for

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Can you imagine all the dumb things we do with oil? We use it to make fertilizers most of which evaporate or run off. We use it to make plastic bags for God’s sake and then throw most of them in the dump. If we just cut our stupid usages and limited our oil consumption to the necessities like pharmceuticals we could easily cut our oil imports in half.

http://www.reusablebags.com/

Eco-friendly reusable bags, plus facts & news on plastic bag issue

Billions of plastic bags are choking our planet. All of these “free” bags ultimately cost both consumers and the environment plenty:

Each year billions of bags end up as ugly litter.

  • Eventually they break down into tiny toxic bits polluting our soil, river, lakes and oceans
  • Production requires vast amounts of oil.
  • Countless animals needlessly die each year. (more)

Since 2003 ReusableBags.com has been a major force providing facts and news on the global push to reduce plastic and paper bag consumption. Plus, simple actions you can take to help the cause.

As part of the solution our store features a wide range of reusable shopping bags and other innovative, practical products all designed to help people consume less, preserve natural resources and save money too. 

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I can’t reproduce this site because it’s a flash player but it is cool>

http://www.mybagcares.com/

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Even the grocery stores are getting into the act:

 http://www.sustainableisgood.com/blog/2008/05/mystery-surroun.html

 Mystery Surrounds New Whole Foods Reusable Bag

Mystery Surrounds New Whole Foods Reusable Bag

Wholefoods_betterbag

Whole Foods A Better Bag (photo: www.made-in-china.com)

When I started this story last month, I never expected a standard interview request with a designer to turn into a bureaucratic two-step that took us to China and back.

Austin-based Whole Foods Market officially phased out the use of plastic shopping bags on Earth Day last week. 

In December Whole Foods announced their intention to eliminate plastic bags and unveiled their new reusable bag called “A Better Bag.”  Following that announcement we reached out to the bag’s designer to learn more about the design and concept behind this colorful new bag. 

The response we received may be an indication of just how important reusable bags are becoming for Whole Foods. 

The colorful bags are quickly becoming the primary reusable bag the company sells, and their customers are embracing them thanks to their bright fun design, durability, low price and unique look and feel.

Perhaps an indicator of their popularity is the fact they are even selling on eBay.

A Better Bag was designed internally by Whole Foods staff who work on the company’s branded products.  The bag’s graphic design depicts blues and greens and a fresh cut apple.  Sustainable is Good attempted to obtain information on the bag’s artwork for this story.  However the bag’s designer was unable to answer any questions, citing a strict non-disclosure policy Whole Foods maintains with its employees.

 Sustainable is Good contacted the Whole Foods corporate office in March for information on the bag for our story.  Initially we were turned down, being told the company doesn’t speak to “trade publications.”  After some follow up we were then informed a “rare exception” was made at the approval of the director of PR for Whole Foods – the company would participate in our story.

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For more see:

 www.earthwisebags.com

 www.bravenewleaf.com/environment/2008/04/wal-mart-giving.html

www.shesabetty.typepad.com/shes_a_betty_single_girl_/2007/04/guide_to_reusab.html

www.reusablebags.wordpress.com

 www.reusablebags.com/store/shopping-sets-c-1.html

www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/5806

www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/wal_marts_new_reusable_bag.php

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Help The Environment – Join The Sierra Club Today

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Sierra Club Insider

April 15, 2008: Earth Day: Save Money and Solve Global Warming Green Your World Victory for the Grand Canyon “Green” Nobel Prize Winner Introducing Green Works

View as Web Page | Ensure Delivery | Tell a friend

Earth Day: Save Money and Solve Global Warming
This Earth Day (April 22), we know money is tight, and that energy prices are part of the squeeze so many of us are feeling. And also this Earth Day the challenge of reversing climate change looms large. The good news: We can make progress on both fronts by being more energy efficient and investing in renewables. Even better, shifting from oil and coal to wind and solar and energy efficient technologies will help us build a clean-energy economy, create and keep jobs, end the control the oil companies and other countries have over us and ease global warming. We can do it — and you can help.Step one is to check out our energy-efficiency quiz and chart to see how much money you can save. Then watch our how-to videos and learn to install a low-flow showerhead or wrap a water heater. Do even more by installing solar equipment (for less than $1,000! ) or buying wind and solar power.Time to roll up your sleeves!

| Discuss |


Now How About the Rest of Your World?
You can have an even bigger impact when you help your office, local hospital, schools, or place of worship make better use of efficiency and renewables. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel!We’ve got inspirational success stories and guides (like the “Guide for Congregations “) to get you started. If you’d rather get your city greener, join our Cool Cities campaign where you’ll find great materials and a community of folks who are doing the same thing. Or buy some popcorn and host an Energy Film Festival in your community. And on Earth Day itself, why not volunteer with the Sierra Club in your town?

| Discuss |   

Hey Mr. Green

A Grand Canyon Victory
On April 4, a federal judge issued a restraining order against a mining company and the Kaibab National Forest, halting uranium exploration on public lands within a few miles of Grand Canyon National Park. “We’re pleased that the judge recognized the importance of protecting the Canyon and the possible significant impacts this exploration could have,” said Sandy Bahr, director of the Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter.In December, the Kaibab National Forest had approved exploratory uranium drilling at up to 39 locations just south of the canyon. The Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Grand Canyon Trust took the Forest Service to court in early March for violating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and failing to conduct a rigorous analysis of the cumulative impacts of drilling so close to a national treasure.Read more about the victory here.

| Discuss |  

 

Winning the Gold(man) in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican grandmother and homemaker Rosa Hilda Ramos has been awarded this year’s prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, often called “the green Nobel.” In the shadow of polluting factories in Catano, a city across the bay from San Juan, Ramos led her community to successfully defeat a major polluter in court.She then helped direct the funds from the pollution fine to the permanent protection of Las Cucharillas Marsh, one of the last open spaces in the area and one of the largest wetlands ecosystems in the region. Ramos was nominated by the Sierra Club. Read more about her.

| Discuss |

Powerful Cleaning, Done Naturally
The Sierra Club would like to introduce Green Works, a breakthrough line of natural cleaning products that work as well as traditional cleaners without the harsh chemical fumes or residue. Made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients, Green Works products are a practical way for consumers to live a greener lifestyle without compromising performance.Learn more about Green Works and download a coupon for a discount on any Green Works product.

| Discuss |

Know someone who might be interested in the Sierra Club Insider? Help spread the word by using our online form to tell your friends, family, and co-workers about the Insider or simply forward this Insider on. (Some email clients strip the links out of emails when forwarded. If your email does this, you can also direct friends, family, and co-workers to our online version.)

EXPLORE

Get your Green Karma Here
Earth Day is next Tuesday — What have YOU done for Mother Nature lately? Score some major brownie points (or should we say “greenie” points?) with a week of building trails, restoring wildlife habitats, or digging in the dirt for archaeological remains on a Sierra Club Outings volunteer trip.

Not sure it’s for you? Read what Sunset magazine had to say about us.

Browse volunteer trips.

ENJOY

Calling Sierra Club Radio
Got some extra phone minutes? Dial (509) 895-2537 and you can listen to the latest episode of Sierra Club Radio wherever you are.

This week’s show features Australian pop star Missy Higgins talking about cutting back on carbon.

PROTECT

Spend to Save: Take the Pledge
This Earth Day, why not commit to spending some or all of your economic stimulus check on energy efficiency or renewables like solar and wind energy?By purchasing energy-efficient products, you can cut your energy use — and your energy bills. You’ll also reduce your carbon footprint and help fight global warming.

Take the pledge and join a discussion with others who have made that commitment.

Update My Profile | Manage My Email Preferences | Update My Interests

Sierra Club
85 Second St.
San Francisco, CA 94109
insider@sierraclub.org
http://www.sierraclub.org/

ADM Plans To Drill Pollution Away – One last place to pollute

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As I have said before ADM’s plan to sequester carbon by deep well injection in Illinois is a bad idea. This is an experiment the outcome of which they can not predict. There are at least 2 Toxic Injection sites in Ohio and Oklahoma that they could build a pipeline to and not threaten the environment. A project in North Dakota took that approach and is doing (dare I say it) well.

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illinois environmental protection agency

1021 north grand avenue east, P.O. Box 19276, springfield, illinois 62794-9276-( 217) 782-3397 james R. thompson center, 100 west randolph, suite 11-300, chicago, IL 60601 – (31 2) 814-6026

rod R. blacojevich, governor   douglas P. scott, director

ILLINOIS EPA NO.: 1150155136

USEPA NO.: ILD984791459                                                  LOG NO.: UIC-143

NOTICE NO.: UIC-01-08                                                        DATE: August 2, 2008

PUBLIC NOTICE

UNDERGROUND INJECTION WELL PERMIT HEARING for ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO., DECATUR

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hereby gives notice of intent to issue an Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit to Archer Daniels Midland Co. of Decatur. The facility’s mailing address is 4666 Paries Parkway, Decatur, Illinois. Carbon dioxide (CO2) generated during fermentation at the facility’s ethanol plant will be compressed then injected through a deep injection well into the geological formation known as the Mt. Simon Sandstone. This formation extends from approximately 6500 feet below ground surface to approximately 8000 feet below ground surface and is capped by a confining layer of shale between 300 and 500 feet thick. The permit would allow construction and operation of a single deep injection well, 2 optional deep injection zone monitoring wells and 4 required shallow groundwater monitoring wells.

Interested citizens are invited to review copies of ADM’s permit application, Illinois EPA’s draft permit and technical fact sheet at the following location:

Reference Desk, Decatur Public Library 130 N. Franklin St. Decatur, IL 62523

A public hearing to address the proposed issuance of this UIC permit has been scheduled for 5 pm to 8 pm, September 16, 2008 in the Madden Auditorium at the Decatur Public Library. The hearing will be held in accordance with Illinois EPA’s “Procedures for Permit and Closure Plan Hearings” (35 111. Adm. Code 166) and 35 111. Adm. Code Section 705.182, copies of which may be obtained from the Agency Hearing Officer (listed below). Requests for special needs interpreters (e.g. sign or Spanish-speaking) must be made to the Agency Hearing Officer by August 20. 2008.

Written comments will be accepted from the public for 45 days before the hearing, at the hearing, and for 30 days after the hearing. Comments must be postmarked by midnight October 17, 2008. Comments and interpreter requests should be made to:

John Kim, Hearing Officer (#21)

Illinois EPA

1021 North Grand Ave. East, P.O. Box 19276

Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276

Phone 217/782-5544

(MORE)

rockford – 4302 North Main Street, Rockford, IL 61103 – (815) 987-7760    •    des plaines – 9511 W. Harrison St., Des Plaines, IL 60016 – (847) 294-4000

elgin – 595 South State, Elgin, IL 60123 – (847) 608-3131     •     PEORIA-5415 N. University St., Peoria, IL 61614 – (309) 693-5463

bureau of land – peoria – 7620 N. University St., Peoria, IL 61614 – (309) 693-5462    •    champaign – 2125 South First Street, Champaign, IL 61820 – (21 7) 278-5800 springfield – 4500 S. Sixth Street Rd, Springfield, IL 62706 – (217) 786-6892     •    collinsville – 2009 Mall Street, Collinsville, IL 62234 – (618) 346-5120

marion – 2309 W. Main St., Suite 116, Marion, IL 62959 – (618) 993-7200

printed on recycled paper


 

All comments submitted will become part of the Administrative Record and will be evaluated by Illinois EPA prior to making the final permit decision. The Agency will respond to comments on the draft permit, specify which provisions, if any, of the final permit may have been changed and indicate whether additional documents have been included in the Administrative Record. Anyone who submits written comments will be notified of the final permit decision. Inquiries about the permit appeal process should be directed to the Public Involvement Coordinator listed below.

The permit application, draft permit, related information and all data submitted by the applicant, as part of the Administrative Record, are now available for public inspection Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the Agency’s headquarters by appointment only. Please contact:

Mara McGinnis, Public Involvement Coordinator (#5) Illinois EPA

1021 North Grand Ave. East, P.O. Box 19276 Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276 Phone 217/524-3288 PLEASE TELEPHONE AHEAD FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO VIEW THE DOCUMENTS.

###

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If this goes bad…it goes very bad.

Children’s Environmental Health Risk – That is if they live long enough to confront Mean No Green

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Their is no such thing as profit, from an environmental perspective. When you take into account the human and environmental damage from industrial waste and product transportation the “extra money” simply and magically disappears. Right into our children. Did we think that if DDT was killing Eagle Babies it wasn’t killing ours? 

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children1.bmp

http://www.childenvironment.org/

Protecting Children Against

Environmental

 Threats to Health

We need to find definitive answers about the relationship between toxic chemicals and health so we can protect our children, now and in the future.


Philip Landrigan, M.D.
Chairman of Mount Sinai’s Department of Community and Preventive Medicine

Why are children now suffering from diseases that were virtually

unheard of a generation ago?

Today’s children are subject to a whole host of diseases that come from toxic environments. These can include some of the following:

  • Asthma
  • Autism
  • Allergies
  • Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Leukemia
  • Pediatric Brain Cancer
  • Birth Defects
  • Obesity
  • Diabetes

Our Mission

The mission of the Children’s Environmental Health Center is to protect children against environmental threats to health.The CEH Center accomplishes this by guiding, supporting, and building the programs of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine of Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Our Goals

  • To support scientific research on the preventable environmental hazards that cause disease in children
  • To design and carry out cost-effective programs to prevent environmental disease
  • To educate medical students, pediatric residents, fellows, pediatricians, obstetricians, and other practicing physicians to become the next generation of leaders in environmental pediatrics and preventive medicine
  • To communicate widely and credibly to policy makers, elected officials, government agencies, and the public the health risks to children and adults from environmental threats
  • To provide credible scientific information to parents, grandparents, teachers and the general public on how to make better personal choices to protect our children

About the CEH Center

Mount Sinai’s Department of Community and Preventive Medicine is renowned for its work in children’s environmental health, occupational medicine, epidemiologic research, and disease prevention. Department Chair Dr. Philip Landrigan and his team of medical researchers are uniquely qualified to identify environmental hazards and protect the health of our children.

Dr. Landrigan is an international leader in public health and preventive medicine. His research helped catalyze the U.S. government’s phase-out of lead from gasoline and paint beginning in 1976. Dr. Landrigan chaired a National Academy of Sciences Committee on Pesticides and Children’s Health, whose report secured passage of the major federal pesticide law in the United States, the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. This is the first federal environmental law to contain specific protections for infants and children. His work as Senior Advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency was instrumental in helping to establish the EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection.

For more information, please contact us at (212) 241-6145.

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 http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/cceh/

MISSION

The Center for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention is a multi-disciplinary collaborative research organization established to examine how toxic chemicals may influence the development of autism in children. The Center’s goal is to contribute knowledge about autism that will lead to new strategies for the prevention and treatment of this mysterious condition.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that typically affects a person’s ability to communicate, form relationships with others, and respond appropriately to their environment. Autistic children are limited in their social interactions, often locking into repetitive behaviors and rigid patterns of thinking.Parents and health professionals have raised concerns about how environmental factors such as pesticides, a variety of chemicals, or even some ingredients included in vaccines may effect the development of the disorder. We are the first center to examine the roles of a wide range of toxic chemicals, genetic predisposition, and the interplay between these two in altering brain development during early life and leading to abnormal social behavior in childrenTo learn more about the NIEHS/EPA Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research program, please click on the following links: U.S. EPA Children’s Centers website (http://www.epa.gov/cehc) and NIEHS Children’s Center website: (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/translat/children/children.htm).

Center Directors

Isaac Pessah, Ph.D., Director – Center for Children’s Environmental Health
Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D., Deputy Director – Center for Children’s Environmental Health
David Amaral, Ph.D., Research Director – UC Davis MIND Institute :} http://www.who.int/ceh/en/

Children are our future, numbering over 2.3 billion worldwide (aged 0-19) and representing boundless potential. Child survival and development hinge on basic needs to support life; among these, a safe, healthy and clean environment is fundamental.

Children are exposed to serious health risks from environmental hazards. Over 40% of the global burden of disease attributed to environmental factors falls on children below five years of age, who account for only about 10% of the world’s population. Environmental risk factors often act in concert, and their effects are exacerbated by adverse social and economic conditions, particularly conflict, poverty and malnutrition. There is new knowledge about the special susceptibility of children to environmental risks: action needs to be taken to allow them to grow up and develop in good health, and to contribute to economic and social development.

  • Each year, at least three million children under the age of five die due to environment-related diseases.
  • Acute respiratory infections annually kill an estimated two million children under the age of five. As much as 60 percent of acute respiratory infections worldwide are related to environmental conditions.
  • Diarrhoeal diseases claim the lives of nearly two million children every year. Eighty to 90 percent of these diarrhoea cases are related to environmental conditions, in particular, contaminated water and inadequate sanitation.
  • Nearly one million children under the age of five died of malaria in 1998. Up to 90 percent of malaria cases are attributed to environmental factors

Our work on children’s environmental health is carried out in the following activity areas:

  • National profiles
  • CEH indicators
  • Capacity building
  • Guidelines, good practice and tools
  • Research

In addition, this web site provides access to a large number of publications, statistics, indicators, fact sheets on children’s environmental health, as well as links to other related WHO and non-WHO sites.

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We are creating a whole medical institution to treated our for the TOXICS we give them. What kind of sense does that make?

Screw The Environment – Humans were meant to pollute and they have the right to pollute

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I never thought I would be citing Kathryn Rem at the SJ-R for an environmental article. Don’t get me wrong she is a dandy writer, in the same league with Tim Landis (whom I regularly “borrow from”), but she usually writes a food column. I read it faithfully because I am a minor foodie, and she usually has cool things to say. In her Seeing Red About Green, she broke a story that I might have missed. Thanks Ms. Rem!

www.sj-r.com/features/x379998865/Kathryn–Rem-Seeing-red-about-the-green-movement

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This is the article that I think she based her article on:

http://industry.bnet.com/retail/2008/07/14/one-quarter-of-consumers-say-screw-the-environment/ 

 Retail Industry

Industry news and insights by Lisa EverittOne-Quarter of Consumers Say ‘Screw The Environment’Two new studies say 10-26 percent of shoppers are “Never Greens,” whose reactions to environmental claims ranges from apathy to outright anger.

Mintel International in Chicago coined the term “Never Green” to describe 10 percent of the shopper universe. A second study by The Shelton Group of Knoxville, Tenn., found that 26 percent of respondents were “hardcore skeptics,” mostly upper middle-class, conservative, middle-aged men.

 reporter Jim Edwards profiles William Coverley, a retired investment banker from Ohio, who just bought his 10th vehicle, a 2008 GMC Yukon XL that gets 14 miles per gallon.

“I don’t care about the environmental reasons and I’ll tell you why,” Coverley said. “All this stuff about carbon emissions, no one really knows about the output of the sun and yet it’s the single most important input behind global warming . . . Are the Chinese going to be environmentalists? Are the Indians going to be environmentalists? Are the Russians? I don’t think so.”

Edwards suggests studying your market carefully before launching green marketing, because emphasizing environmental claims may cost you the business of people like Coverley or Washington accountant Sally Herigstad. She bought organic produce by mistake at Fred Meyer and was dismayed to discover a recently deceased two-inch caterpillar in her steamed broccoli.

Shelton Group CEO Suzanne Shelton found that 46 percent of respondents felt “guilty, skeptical, irritated or unaffected by green issues,” and the same percentage put their comfort ahead of convenience and environmental concerns. The study was commissioned by Shelton Group client BP Solar.

Lisa Everitt

A Denver-based business writer, Lisa Everitt is a veteran of daily and weekly newspapers and trade magazines, including The Natural Foods Merchandiser, Rocky Mountain News, Inter@ctive Week, San Francisco Business Times, and the Peninsula Times Tribune. 

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So in the end that is what the environmental movement is up against.  The environmental Rape Crowd, proud that they are stealing from their grandchildren because their grandparents stole from them. If you think they aren’t vocal, you would be wrong.

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www.screw-the-environment.imgwebdesign.co.uk

www.deadbabyseals.gather.com

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2041643/posts

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODDDu25OG6M

http://screwtheenvironment.blogspot.com/

www.iammamahearmeroar.blogspot.com/2007/09/screw–environment.html

 http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/4/8/214522/1724

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Oil Falls to 121$$ A Barrel – We are all going to die, but it will take awhile and be mildly uncomfortable

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This is the last time I am going to post about nasty icky oil (that we should stop burning anyway) until it falls below 100$$ a barrel. We need the stuff for pharmecuticals, and parts for our satellites/space craft. Stuff that only oil can be used to make. Transportation ain’t one of them and we need to quit using it for that. Oil will be below 100$$ a barrel by the end of August. All of the oil people should be freaking out because we used some 800,000 fewer barrels in May the USA and those kind of changes usually are permanent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080729/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices;_ylt=AshIG6iZs_taqFegOtxj5tOs0NUE

Oil hits 7-week low on demand worries, dollar gain 

By4 STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Business Writer 

NEW YORK – Oil prices tumbled to their lowest level in seven weeks Tuesday as a stronger dollar and beliefs that record prices are eroding the world’s thirst for energy sparked another dramatic sell-off

The drop — as much as $4 a barrel during the day — was a throwback to oil’s nosedive over the past two weeks and outweighed supply concerns touched off by a militant attack Monday on two Nigerian crude pipelines. It was oil’s seventh decline in the last 10 sessions.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $1.89, or 1.52 percent, to $122.84 a barrel in early afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, prices fell to $120.42, the lowest level for a front-month contract since June 10; they have now fallen more than $25 from their trading high of $147.27, reached July 11.

More concerns that crude’s run-up over the past year has pushed prices to unsustainable levels fed Monday’s decline. The U.S. Transportation Department said Monday that U.S. drivers logged 9.6 billion fewer vehicle miles in May — or 3.7 percent — compared to the same period last year, the biggest drop ever for the historically busy summer driving month.

And demand for oil in the U.S. — the world’s thirstiest consumer — continues to fall, dropping by 891,000 barrels per day in May compared the same month a year ago, the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said Monday.

“We’re seeing both statistical and anecdotal evidence of very rapidly weakening demand picture,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill.

The declines accelerated after oil briefly dipped below $122, a key resistance level that triggered technical selling by computers programed to dump oil contracts once prices fall below a certain threshold. The next technical level traders are watching is $117.

“I think we could see $117 a barrel in a one-week time frame, and this market could eventually get to $100,” Ritterbusch said.

Also weighing on prices was a sharply stronger dollar compared to the euro, which made commodities less attractive to investors who have bought oil futures as a hedge against inflation and weakness in the U.S. currency.

The euro bought $1.5557 compared with $1.5752 late Monday in New York.

“It looks like oil is selling off today with the very, very strong dollar and nothing to drive it higher. Quiet seems to be bearish these days,” said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J.

In a further sign high prices are curbing Americans’ consumption for fuel, retail gas prices fell further below the $4-a-gallon mark. The average price of a regular gas fell 1.7 cents to $3.941, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Prices Information Service and Wright Express.

Monday’s attack in Nigeria targeted two pipelines believed to be owned by a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC and was the latest in a two-year campaign of attacks on the country’s oil industry. Shell said a pipeline had been damaged in attacks and that some crude production had been shut down to prevent the oil from spilling into the environment.

The oil company said Tuesday it may not be able to fulfill some oil-export contracts because of the damage. Shell didn’t specify how much oil production was cut by the attack or how long repairs would take.
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 http://in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-34728620080729

‘Abnormal’ oil prices could fall to$80-OPEC pres

 By Muklis Ali

JAKARTA (Reuters) – OPEC should not consider cutting production after oil’s steep two-week decline as markets are now balanced, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said on Tuesday, adding that prices could yet fall another $50 a barrel.

Khelil, who is also Algeria’s oil minister, said oil prices could fall to $70 to $80 in the long-term, if the U.S. dollar continued to strengthen and geopolitical anxieties eased.

“The price today is abnormal at $123 a barrel,” said Khelil, speaking to reporters on a visit to Jakarta to meet Indonesia’s energy minister.

He did not elaborate, but OPEC ministers have said repeatedly that they believe the surge in oil prices is not being driven by a shortage of supply.

Asked if OPEC members should cut supply if oil prices continue to decline, he said: “No, I don’t think so, why should they cut production? They always want to make sure there is good supply and demand and to satisfy the demand.”

U.S. oil prices have fallen by $22 from a record high above $147 a barrel earlier this month amid growing concerns that high prices and slowing economic growth are causing a decline in demand, but prices are still up 30 percent on the year.

“We are not worried about any price, because we don’t decide the price. We just meet the demand,” he said.

Khelil said he did not see any signs of demand destruction from high prices. 
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Oil Is 125$$ A Barrel – We are all going to die!

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Oh sorry, as oil gentily falls to 70 or 80$$ per barrel. Americans will have to come to grips with the fact that the super wealthy just soaked the world for 350 billion $$. The Saudies have to be trembling. Americans travel 40 billion miles less this year. Bummer guys.

State Journal Register Supports Big Oil –

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Last week the State Journal Register solicited a “Guest OP-ED” piece from the mouth piece for the Illinois Petroleum Council that in simple form says we must overcome our current energy crisis by,  Conservation and
fuel economy  (which he instantly discounts), Stronger energy-trading alliances with neighbors, Expand domestic resources, and  Diversify supply.  By diversify he means Nukes. You can read the rest of the slop at:

http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/x833727955/David-Sykuta-We-have-to-get-over-it-and-explore-energy-options

I know for a fact that many people have written to respond against most of his ideas because many environmentalists including Will Reynolds and Diane Lopez always do. I posting my letter here because I sent one and they did not publish it:

Editor

State Journal Register

One Copley Plaza

Springfield, IL 62701

Emailed – 07/015/08

Dear Editor:

 

Dave Sykuta recent guest editorial “Get Over It” (the title of an Eagles song)  was nothing but one long environmental taunt. It had nothing to do with the irrationality we call the Oil Market.

 

Supply is not the overwhelming issue that he makes it out to be. The Iranians have 7 or 8 super tankers full of oil (depending on which report you listen to) parked in their main port because nobody is buying them. Why? Because the price is artificially elevated. Speculators beginning as far back as September of last year have bought up the cheap oil. We are now at a precipitous economic moment. An oil Mexican Standoff. The speculators can’t sell or the price will drop dramatically and hardly anyone is buying because they know the price is too high. Best guesstamates are that at least 40-50$$ of the current price of oil is due to speculators.

 

But the Drillers want to take advantage of this artificial shortage to get more Leases, because in their warped minds the leases that they hold are the leases the other guy don’t. The proof of this is the current 85 million acres that they lease that they won’t explore.

 

Really though nobody cares about the price of oil, what they car about is the prices of gasoline products. That price is being rigged as well. Refineries are at 85% of their capacity because if they ran the refineries at capacity they would lose money. In a perverse market flaw, the more they make the cheaper gas becomes and they lose money. Again the gasoline refiners are using the rigged higher oil prices to run up their profits by keeping refineries at the bare minimum it takes to run this country.

 

All the loud shouting at each other about the price we pay at the pump has obscured the realities on the ground. Oil production has been stuck on 85 million barrels a day now for sometime. Even though everybody has pledged to raise it. That may be the real limit on production and the world may have to learn live with it, discounting the fact that China is hording diesel in preparation for the Olympics.

 

Anyway, “if the drill here drill now” crowd had their way, what would they drill with? Brazil just bought or leased the 160 available rigs in the world to try to extract oil from their new alleged oil field off their southern coast.

 

When an oilman that I trust (there ain’t many – please see There Will Be Blood) T. Boone Pickens pledges to build a 1000 megawatt wind farm in Texas and then pays his own money for an TV advertisement to say why. (hint: we are running out of oil) Then I go with the wind farm guy every time.

 

I believe the Eagles said they would tour again when hell freezes over. Did I miss something?

  

Doug Nicodemus

948 e. adams st.

riverton, IL  62561

629-7031

dougnic55@yahoo.com

 

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AND YET THEY RUN STORIES LIKE THIS IN THEIR Business Section in the newspaper and don’t even acknowledge that they did on their web site:

http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_S_oilprofits22.3ad2ac6.html

Big Oil steers record profits to investors

MONEY: Critics say too much is going into stock

buybacks and not enough into exploration.

By JOHN PORRETTO
The Associated Press HOUSTON – As giant oil companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips get set to report what will probably be another round of eye-popping quarterly profits, just where is all that money going?The companies insist they’re trying to find new oil that might help bring down gas prices, but the money they spend on exploration is nothing compared with what they spend on stock buybacks and dividends.It’s good news for shareholders, including mutual funds and retirement plans for millions of Americans, but no help to drivers already making drastic cutbacks to offset the high cost of fuel. The five biggest international oil companies plowed about 55 percent of the cash they made from their businesses into stock buybacks and dividends last year, up from 30 percent in 2000 and just 1 percent in 1993, according to Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

The percentage they spend to find new deposits of fossil fuels has remained flat for years, in the mid-single digits.

The issue has become more sensitive as lawmakers and Americans frustrated by high gas prices have balked at gaudy reports of oil industry profits. ConocoPhillips is scheduled to kick off the latest round of Big Oil earnings reports Wednesday.

Oil prices are set on the open market, not by the oil industry. But that hasn’t stopped public protests, a series of congressional grillings for top oil executives, and a failed attempt by lawmakers to slap Big Oil with a windfall profits tax.

In the first three months of this year, Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company, shelled out $8.8 billion on stock buybacks alone, compared with $5.5 billion on exploration and other capital projects.

ConocoPhillips has already told investors that its stock buybacks for April to June of this year will come to about $2.5 billion — nine times what it spent on exploration.

Stock buybacks are common throughout corporate America, not just for Big Oil. They shrink the amount of stock on the open market, essentially increasing its value and giving individual shareholders a bigger stake in the company.

But some critics say Big Oil focuses too much on boosting stock prices, in an industry that sometimes ties executive pay to stock price.

And in focusing on buybacks and dividends over exploring for new oil, some critics say, oil companies jeopardize its already dwindling share of world supply.

“If you’re not spending your money finding and developing new oil, then there’s no new oil,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy expert at Rice University who’s studied spending patterns of the major oil companies.

Investor-owned companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron hold less than 10 percent of global oil and gas reserves, way down from past decades. And finding new oil has become harder and more expensive.

No one questions that Big Oil is rolling in cash. The cash the biggest oil companies bring in from running their businesses, or operating cash flow, is four times what it was in the early 1990s.

“It becomes a management decision,” said Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s. “It’s not like they’re going to the board and saying, ‘Well, I can do one or the other or the other.’ The balance sheets are flush with cash.”
 

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