Cancun And Trains – I keep trying to focus on the residential market

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

But stuff just keeps coming up that is too wild or too woolly to not at least post it. I mean why in the world would you turn down money for high speed rail? The upgrades and new crossings and crossing guards are worth it.

http://www.forconstructionpros.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=25&id=18770

Calif., Fla. Big Winners as U.S. Redistributes Rejected Grants

Jason Plautz, E&E reporter, E&E News PM

California and Florida were big winners as the Obama administration announced the redistribution today of more than $1 billion in high-speed rail grants abandoned by incoming governors in Wisconsin and Ohio.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood officially killed projects in those states after a monthlong dispute with the two Republican governors-elect, Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Ohio’s John Kasich.

Both Republicans campaigned against the rail projects, saying they would leave their states on the hook for operating costs and take away road-repair money. And both requested permission to redistribute the funds to other transportation projects.

But the Obama administration insisted the states’ stimulus grants be spent on high-speed rail, sparking protests by Wisconsin manufacturers that had been banking on the rail project and jockeying among states seeking fresh cash.

The administration has now reshuffled $1.195 billion — $810 million from Wisconsin and $385 million from Ohio — and is sending it to 14 states. The biggest grant, $624 million, will go to California, while $342.3 million will go to Florida and $161.5 million to Washington state.

Then there is all the mucking around in an alleged Climate Change Conference. Here is what the Climate Change disbelievers have to say. But really for all they are accomplishing couldn’t they teleconference?

http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/10/hypocrisy-alive-and-well-at-cancun-climate-conference/

Hypocrisy alive and well at Cancun climate conference

By Amanda Carey – The Daily Caller

Bio | Archive | Email Amanda Carey

From November 29 to December 10, delegates from 194 countries gathered in sunny Cancun, Mexico to “lay the ghost of Copenhagen to rest,” as one dignitary put it. After last year’s chaotic, disastrous and worthless climate change conference in Copenhagen, the goal this year was simple: avoid further embarrassment.

The focus has been on hashing out details for a global climate fund, extending the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012, and establishing an official agreement among developed countries to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by about 40 percent by 2020.

But in the middle of all the global-warming demagoguery and calls for developed nations to shell out $100 billion per year by 2020 in climate reparations to help less-developed countries cope with the unfair burden of climate change, one thing has very obviously not changed: the hypocrisy.

Yes, hypocrisy was present in Cancun just as it was in Copenhagen in 2009, Ponzan in 2008, Bali in 2007, and the many other climate change summit cities before them. As hundreds of officials travel in gas-guzzling jets and carbon-dioxide emitting cars to the conference site and stay in luxurious, high electricity-consuming resorts, the carbon footprint of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is ironic, to say the least.

More next week

Consumer Reports Can’t Be Wrong – Heating, Cooling and Water Heating 56% of residential energy use

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

Something to think about as the weather here gets very cold and nasty. Insulate everything.

http://www.greenerchoices.org/energytips.cfm

You can make a difference

ANATOMY OF YOUR HOME ENERGY BILL AND HOW TO SAVE

This section looks at the environmental impact of our energy consumption, some simple ways to use less of it, and the many positive benefits that can result.

Home heating and cooling: 45 percent
In most households, heating and cooling account for the biggest single chunk of your energy bill. The good news is there are many ways to cut those costs.

Choose energy-efficient furnaces or air conditioners that are the right size for your home.

Properly insulate your home (especially the attic), including the duct system.

Contact your utility company for a free energy audit. If your utility company doesn’t offer free audits, try the do-it-yourself tool, from the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Programmable thermostats, insulated windows, and ceiling fans can also help lower your energy bill. A programmable thermostat, for instance, can cut heating and cooling costs as much as 20 percent when you use it to reduce the temperature 5 degrees at night and 10 degrees during the day when heating (or raise it an equal amount when cooling). Watch how we test programmable thermostats and get recommendations on choosing a thermostat (full report available to subscribers).

Hot water: 11 percent
Overall, water-heater technology hasn’t changed much in recent years. There are, however, newer, instantaneous heating models (with no tank) that can save you up to $50 a year in energy costs, although they cost more initially. Solar hot-water heaters are gaining in popularity as an alternative for or supplement to conventional water-heating units. For more information, visit the Department of Energy online or National Center for Photovoltaics.

Set your water heater to 120 degrees, it can save up to 10 percent in water-heating costs compared to a 140 degree setting.

Wrap an insulation blanket around your hot water pipes and storage tank.

Replace a showerhead that is more than 10 years old with a low-flow model. It can save up to half the hot water used for showering.

More tomorrow

The Atlantic And Christian Science Monitor Both Run Major Energy Articles

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

First up the Christian Science Monitor.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2010/1108/New-energy-climate-change-and-sustainability-shape-a-new-era

New energy: climate change and sustainability shape a new era

A new energy revolution – similar to shifts from wood to coal to oil – is inevitable as climate change and oil scarcity drive a global search for sustainability in power production. But even the promise of renewable energy holds drawbacks.

New energy: climate change and sustainability will shape a new era in which renewable sources such as solar power will ultimately replace oil. A solarplant near Seville, Spain uses mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays onto towers where they produce steam to drive a turbine, producing electricity.

Marcelo del Poso/Reuters

“Tonight I want to have an unpleasant talk with you,” a somber President Jimmy Carter said gravely into a television camera on an April night in 1977.

This article is part of the cover story project on the future of energy in the Nov. 8 issue of The Christian Science Monitor weekly magazine. Subscribe here: http://tiny.cc/4zeuu

Gareth Fuller/AP

Global Resource Depletion OR Recycling A Waste Of Time – Which is it

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

shhh It’s Jam Band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hntXAO_Rq7c

OK so which is it, are we running out of stuff or not? Is 6 Billion people too many or not? Have we cut down way too may trees or not? I believe these answers are knowable. Are the Ocean’s fished out or not? Is Global Warming happening? The issue seems to be Price. If Global Warming were happening then carbon would be expensive. But what if price isn’t the issue when capitalists and nations treat resources as if they were “free”.

:} http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9sraruD8ho&feature=related :}

http://www.planetthoughts.org/?pg=pt/Whole&qid=3267

Blog item: Recycling? What A Waste.

By Jim Fedako

This fall, school kids across the country will again be taught a chief doctrine in the civic religion: recycle, not only because you fear the police but also because you love the planet. They come home well prepared to be the enforcers of the creed against parents who might inadvertently drop a foil ball into the glass bin or overlook a plastic wrapper in the aluminum bin.

Oh, I used to believe in recycling, and I still believe in the other two R’s: reducing and reusing. However, recycling is a waste of time, money, and ever-scarce resources. What John Tierney wrote in the New York Times nearly 10 years ago is still true: “Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America.”

Reducing and reusing make sense. With no investment in resources, I can place the plastic grocery bag in the bathroom garbage can and save a penny or so for some more-pressing need. Reducing and reusing are free market activities that are profitable investments of time and labor.

Any astute entrepreneur will see the benefit of conserving factors of production. Today, builders construct houses using less wood than similar houses built just 20 years ago. In addition, these houses are built sturdier; for the most part anyway.

The Green’s love for trees did not reduce the amount of wood used in construction; the reduction was simply a reaction to the increasing cost for wood products. Using less wood makes financial sense, and any entrepreneur worth his profit will change his recipe to conserve wood through better design or by substituting less dear materials for wood products.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pojL_35QlSI&feature=related

http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2010-10-20/global-resource-depletion

Published Oct 20 2010 by The Oil Drum: Europe, Archived Oct 20 2010

Global resource depletion

by Ugo Bardi

André Diederen’s recent book on resource depletion

I have been thinking, sometimes, that I could reserve a shelf of my library for those books which have that elusive quality that I could call “modern wisdom”. Books that go beyond the buzz of the media news, the shallowness of politicians’ speech, the hyper-specialization of technical texts. That shelf would contain, first of all, “The Limits to Growth” by Meadows and others; then the books by Jared Diamond, James Lovelock, Konrad Lorenz, Richard Dawkins, Peter Ward and several others that have affected the way I see the world.

I think I’ll never set up such a shelf, I have too many books and too few shelves; many are packed full with three rows of books. But, if I ever were to put these books together, I think that the recent book by André Diederen “Global Resource Depletion” would make a nice addition to the lot.

The subject of resource depletion, of course, is well known to readers of “The Oil Drum”. So well known that it is difficult to think of a book that says something new. Diederen, indeed, succeeds in the task not so much in reason of the details on the availability of mineral commodities that he provides, but for the innovative way he describes our relation to the subject. In other words, Diederen’s book is not a boring list of data; it is a lively discussion on how to deal with the implications of these data. It is a book on the future and how we can prepare for it.

To give you some idea of the flavor of the book, just a quote:

(p. 43) “… it isn’t enough to have large absolute quantities (“the Earth’s crust is so big”) and to have all the technology in place. (p. 33) … we have plenty of water in the Mediterranean or Atlantic Ocean and we have ample proven technologies to desalinate and pipe the water to the desert, so, why isn’t the Sahara desert green yet?”

This is, of course, the crucial point of resource depletion: what counts is cost, not amounts (I plan to use this example in my next talk!). Diederen is an unconventional thinker and he goes deeply into matters that, in some circles would be thought to be unspeakable; for instance (p. 41)

Price? Really. More next week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a9mx1IVZzU&feature=related

Hungarian Responsible For Toxic Spill – Doesn’t think he is

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

It’s Jam band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1bxlDAjGCo

This appears to say it all:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/15/hungary.sludge.ceo/

CEO doesn’t ‘feel’ responsible in Hungary spill, but will aid efforts

By the CNN Wires Staff

October 15, 2010 10:55 a.m. EDT

(CNN) — The CEO of the Hungarian company behind a huge toxic spill on Thursday said he doesn’t know whether he’s responsible for the disaster, but added, “I have moral duties and I will fulfill them.”

Zoltan Bakonyi, the chief executive of the MAL aluminum plant, spoke with CNN’s Diana Magnay a day after he was released from jail pending trial. Bakonyi was detained on Monday, accused of public endangerment and harming the environment.

:} http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBc9B8JXCP0&feature=channel :}

“It’s said I should be responsible although I don’t feel it,” Bakonyi told Magnay. He insisted that MAL was in compliance with all Hungarian safety regulations and pointed out that he has only been CEO for two years. Bakonyi argued that the problems presented by the reservoir and the accumulation of toxin in it stretched back 25 years or more.

But he added that it is his “moral duty” is to “help” and put his energies “120-percent into the aid effort.”

Bakonyi categorically denied that a hole was present in the reservoir in the days or weeks before the spill happened. Bakonyi said he had visited the reservoir in the weeks before the spill happened. But, he said he hadn’t seen the photo released by the The World Wildlife Fund showing one of the pools of sludge — a byproduct of the process to turn bauxite ore into aluminium oxide — leaking into a nearby field. The WWF says the photo was taken in June.

Bakonyi also denied the spill was a consequence of overproduction or improper payment of workers. He maintained that there was no way to anticipate the accident. “The only way anyone could have imagine this happening,” he said, “was in a terrorist attack.”

MAL has “an idea” about how the spill occurred, but Bakonyi won’t comment on what it is. He says no statement on causes will be released until Hungarian authorities complete their own investigation.

He may have an idea??? More next week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkWGwY5nq7A&feature=related

The Massive Hungarian Toxic Spill And ME – You may wonder

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

I put off posting about the nasty and unconscionable toxic spill in Hungary because I felt a little guilty. I said in an earlier post that I was kinda bored and having a little difficulty posting because after the Gulf Spew and Russia caught on fire talking about more down to earth topics and residential energy issues was…well…not exciting. Then I said something like we could always wish for another disaster. So then the Hungary Dam Failure happened and I was …ahhh … sheepish. But today and tomorrow we shall make amends.

http://www.peopleandplanet.net/?lid=29373&section=37&topic=23

‘Hungary must lead drive to defuse East Europe’s toxic time bombs’

Posted: 12 October 2010

As efforts continue to prevent a further spill from a toxic reservoir near the Danube, WWF has called on Hungary, as president-elect of the EU, to mount a major push to reduce the large stockpiles of poorly maintained mining wastes across eastern Europe.

The call from WWF comes as emergency operations continue to head off an increasing risk of further large scale flows of toxic aluminium processing sludge from the broken reservoir above the town of Kolontàr. The initial breach of the reservoir walls killed at least seven, inundated six villages and sent a caustic alkaline plume towards the Danube.

Kolontar, Hungary, inundated by the tide of toxic sludge now heading down tributaries of the Danube. Photo credit: WWF Hungary

WWF has issued a photograph showing that the reservoir wall was clearly degraded and leaking more than three months before the disaster. Work has nearly finished on a secondary dyke, 1500 m long, 30 m wide and 8 m high through and alongside Kolontàr, to reduce damage from any further spills.

“The human and ecological disaster at Kolontàr – the greatest chemical disaster in Hungary’s history – has made clear the need to re-assess current regulation of such mine waste sites and begs the question how many other ticking time bombs there are in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Gabor Figeczky, interim CEO of WWF-Hungary.

Mining and mineral processing tailings dams – presumably including the Kolontàr reservoir – were listed as a priority concerns in a 2004 comprehensive study on mainly eastern European hazardous and toxic waste sites from the European Commission’s Joint Research Center.

Overall, however, environmetnal pressure groups say that information on sites,and on the risks they present, is extremely poor. WWF released a list of recent Danube releases of toxic wastes and some of the major hazard areas last week, “but it is by no means provides the kind of exhaustive analysis that is needed,” said Andreas Beckmann, Director of WWF’s Danube-Carpathian Programme.

More tomorrow.

Army Deploys Alternative Energy In The Field – Funny cause the fight is over an oil pipeline

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

The irony of this amazing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/science/earth/05fossil.html

U.S. Military Orders Less Dependence on Fossil Fuels

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

Published: October 4, 2010

With insurgents increasingly attacking the American fuel supply convoys that lumber across the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan, the military is pushing aggressively to develop, test and deploy renewable energy to decrease its need to transport fossil fuels.

Last week, a Marine company from California arrived in the rugged outback of Helmand Province bearing novel equipment: portable solar panels that fold up into boxes; energy-conserving lights; solar tent shields that provide shade and electricity; solar chargers for computers and communications equipment.

The 150 Marines of Company I, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, will be the first to take renewable technology into a battle zone, where the new equipment will replace diesel and kerosene-based fuels that would ordinarily generate power to run their encampment.

Even as Congress has struggled unsuccessfully to pass an energy bill and many states have put renewable energy on hold because of the recession, the military this year has pushed rapidly forward. After a decade of waging wars in remote corners of the globe where fuel is not readily available, senior commanders have come to see overdependence on fossil fuel as a big liability, and renewable technologies — which have become more reliable and less expensive over the past few years — as providing a potential answer. These new types of renewable energy now account for only a small percentage of the power used by the armed forces, but military leaders plan to rapidly expand their use over the next decade.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the huge truck convoys that haul fuel to bases have been sitting ducks for enemy fighters — in the latest attack, oil tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan were set on fire in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, early Monday. In Iraq and Afghanistan, one Army study found, for every 24 fuel convoys that set out, one soldier or civilian engaged in fuel transport was killed. In the past three months, six Marines have been wounded guarding fuel runs in Afghanistan

More Tomorrow.

Cleanest Places In The World – This one the US did not make

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

Not even close which as it should be. But when they picked the worst, they picked all third world countries. I mean really. Unless you have money no one wants to live in a third world country. What is the point? Also much of the pollution there is created by US corporations one way or another. Anyway.

http://blisstree.com/live/cleanest-and-greenest-places-in-the-world-71/

Thursday, October 25, 2007 – 12:54 am ET

Cleanest and Greenest Places In The World

By: Noel

I delved deeper into the study done by Reader’s Digest as I have talked about in my previous post. After all, come the day I decide to go live in another country, I would certainly want to live in somewhere green.

As per the authors of the study, they said, “It’s an inescapable fact: People living in affluent countries tend to be better educated, enjoy a higher standard of living, live longer lives and have a brighter future. The downside: Their material wealth results in a larger carbon footprint.”

Anyhow, here are some of the top ten lists that you may want to know about as per the results of the study.

10 best countries

Finland
Iceland
Norway
Sweden
Austria
Switzerland
Ireland
Australia
Uruguay
Denmark

Cleanest Cities In America According To Travel Girl- Grrl I mean

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

Travel Grrl, You know the superhero travel agent that flies faster then a speeding Concorde. Well she had a little help from CNN, but I am sure these places are clean. It is just a list however..from 2007 so some of them could have gotten dirty…

http://www.ranker.com/list/cleanest-cities-in-the-us/travelgrrl

Cleanest Cities in the US

By TravelGrrl

Based on CNN and travelandleisure.com 2007 poll of over 60,000 Americans.

1

Minneapolis

Hennepin County,Minnesota
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome,Lake Harriet,Lake of the Isles,Meeker Island Lock and Dam,Saint Anthony Falls,Target Center,Armatage, Minneapolis,Audubon Park, Minneapolis,Bancroft, Minneapolis,Beltrami, Minneapolis,Bottineau, Minneapolis,Bryant, Minneapolis,Bryn Mawr, Minneapolis,CARAG, Minneapolis,Cedar-Isles-Dean, Minneapolis,Centr

151.255305644

Central Time zone
2

Portland

Multnomah County,Oregon,United States

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland,Mill Ends Park,Oregon Health & Science University,PGE Park,Pioneer Courthouse,Rose Garden Arena,Arbor Lodge,Argay, Portland, Oregon,Arnold Creek,Ashcreek,Beaumont-Wilshire,Benson Hotel,Brentwood-Darlington,Bridgeton, Portland, Oregon,Bridlemile, Portland, Oregon,Brooklyn,Burnside Triangle,C

376.584271243

Pacific Time Zone

1851-02-08
3

San Diego

California,San Diego County,United States

Cox Arena,Mission Bay Senior High School,Point Loma Nazarene University,University of California, San Diego,Berkeley,Estudillo House,Allied Gardens,Balboa Park,Black Mountain Open Space Park,Black Mountain Ranch,Cabrillo National Monument,Carmel Mountain Ranch,City Heights,Clairemont, San Diego, California,College Area,Colombia,Core,Del

963.734575856

Pacific Time Zone
4

Austin

Texas,Travis County,United States

Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium,Lake Austin,Lake Travis,Mike A. Myers Stadium,Town Lake,UFCU Disch-Falk Field,Arnold Bakery,Austin Community College,Austin History Center,Austin State Hospital,A. J. Jernigan House,Blanton Museum of Art,Brizendine House,Brown Building,Bryker Woods,Camp Mabry,Canyon Creek,Carrington-Covert House,Cathe

767.283977687

Central Time zone

1839-12-27
5

Seattle

King County,United States,Washington

Ballard,Capitol Hill,Qwest Field,South Lake Union,Space Needle,University of Washington,Arthur Foss,Atlantic, Seattle, Washington,Beacon Hill, Seattle, Washington,Belltown,Bitter Lake,Brighton,Broadmoor,Bryant,Cascade,Cedar Park,Central District, Seattle, Washington,Cherry Hill, Seattle, Washington,Crown Hill,Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen

369.073305723

Pacific Time Zone

1851
6

Denver

Colorado,Denver,United States

Cherry Creek Neighborhood,Denver Mint,INVESCO Field at Mile High,Pepsi Center,University of Denver,Washington Park, Denver,80204,Alamo Placita,Auraria, Denver, Colorado,Berkeley, Denver,Capitol Hill,City Park, Denver,Civic Center, Denver,Colorado Governor’s Mansion,Community College of Denver,Coors Field,CU Online,Denver,Downtown Aqua

401.189158291

Mountain Time Zone

1858-11-22
7

Charleston

Charleston County,South County

Blackbaud Stadium,Charleston Southern University,Family Circle Magazine Stadium,Johnson Hagood Stadium,Market Hall and Sheds,Nathaniel Russell House,Charleston School of Law,Coming Street Cemetery,Dock Street Theatre,Gibbes Museum of Art,South Carolina Aquarium,College of Charleston School of Business and Economics

461.276882451

North American Eastern Time Zone
8

Santa Fe

New Mexico,Santa Fe County,United States

College of Santa Fe,Georgia O’Keeffe Museum,Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian

96.8655553266

Mountain Time Zone
9

Honolulu

Hawaii,Honolulu County,United States

Aloha Tower,Falls of Clyde,Hawaii Tokai International College,Les Murakami Stadium,Stan Sheriff Center,Waik?k?,Alewa Heights,Halawa,Hawaii Kai,Honolulu Zoo,Iroquois Point,Kahala,Kakaako,Kalihi,Kapolei,Makiki,Manoa,Moanalua,Moiliili,National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific,Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu,Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii,Salt L

271.948751585

Hawaii-Aleutian time zone
10

Chicago

Cook County,Illinois,United States

add comment

Edison Park, Chicago,Lincoln Square,

Do NOT, and I repeat do not ask me to explain this last choice… I was totally with it up until number 10. More tomorrow.

Cleanest Places On Earth – I promised I would follow up

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Doug Nicodemus

I had my doubts on Friday whether I would find any lists of the cleanest anything. But if a polluter advocate like Forbes has them, everyone must.

Environment

The Cleanest Countries In The World

Christopher Helman, 04.21.10, 12:00 PM EDT

Europeans getting a shower of ash might disagree, but researchers rate Iceland tops in environmental performance.

Iceland is the cleanest country in the world. This may be hard to believe right now, what with the clouds of volcanic ash grounding flights across northern Europe, but according to researchers at Yale and Columbia universities, the Nordic island ranks first out of 163 countries on their Environmental Performance Index.

Researchers ranked countries based on 25 indicators, including water and air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of the environment on the health of the population. (For more detail on the methodology, click here.) A score of 100 is excellent. Sierra Leone ranks at the bottom of the list with a score of 32. The U.S. ranks in the middle of the pack with 63.5. Iceland took top honors with a score of 93.5 thanks to ample clean water, lots of protected nature areas, good national health care and a plenitude of usually clean geothermal power.

Slideshow: The World’s 10 Cleanest Countries

Will Eyjafjallajokull wreck Iceland’s rating the next time the academics run the numbers in 2012? The answer is no. “We do not score natural disasters,” says Daniel Esty, a professor of environmental law at Yale who heads up the EPI and wrote the acclaimed book Green to Gold. The index is weighted to metrics that track how governments are performing relative to environmental policy goals, such as access to adequate sanitation and water, habitat protection and industrial emissions. The amount of sulfur dioxide released from fuel usage counts, not what’s put out by volcanoes.

There are two paths that can take a country to the top of the EPI rankings. First, a country could be gifted with a rich endowment of clean water, diverse biology and not have sullied it with rampant industrialism. That’s how Cuba, Colombia and Costa Rica placed so high.

Alternatively, a country could have industrialized and polluted its environment, but eventually gotten rich enough to start cleaning it up. That’s the case with the European countries that make up more than half of the top 30.

More Tomorrow

Community Energy Systems

Censys.org

Category Archives: stretching a concept