Category Archives: waste

EPA Gets Tough With Downwind Emmissions – Old news but good news

Posted on by
Reply

It appears that without CAP and TRADE the EPA is going ahead on its own. Expect Lawsuits followed by settlements as far as the eye can see.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2010/0706/EPA-moves-to-cut-power-plant-emissions-to-fight-air-pollution

EPA moves to cut power plant emissions to fight air pollution

Citing health benefits of reduced air pollution, the EPA on Monday proposed requiring power plants in the central and eastern US to dramatically curb emissions by 2014.

y Mark Clayton, Staff writer / July 6, 2010

The Environmental Protection Agency moved Tuesday to dramatically curb power plant emissions across the central US and East Coast, a step the federal agency says will significantly reduce health and pollution impacts across that 31-state region.

Skip to next paragraph

Responding to a 2008 court ruling, the EPA proposed sharp cuts in emissions from some 900 coal-, natural gas-, and oil-burning power plants – a 52 percent reduction in nitrous oxide (NOX) and 71 percent cut in sulfur dioxide (SOX) by 2014.

The EPA move is intended to bring the federal government into compliance with a decision by the US Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., that overturned the Bush administration’s national Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). The court found that rule failed to substantially maintain air-quality standards among states or meet statutory deadlines – and it ordered the EPA to come up with a new rule.

Tuesday’s proposal – which is expected to be challenged in court – is aimed at enabling “downwind” states to develop air-pollution reduction plans based on knowing in advance how much pollution would be drifting across their borders from “upwind” states. The so-called “transport rule” would mean much tighter federal requirements for SOX and NOX emissions reductions for upwind states.

“This rule is designed to cut pollution that spreads hundreds of miles and has enormous negative impacts on millions of Americans,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement. “We’re working to limit pollution at its source, rather than waiting for it to move across the country. The reductions we’re proposing will save billions in health costs, help increase American educational and economic productivity, and – most importantly – save lives.”

Curbing power plant emissions can have a large economic impact, with the cost to health and the environment from eastern power plants today exceeding $200 billion annually, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

The EPA says its action will save an estimated $120 billion in health benefits annually by 2014, including avoiding up to 36,000 premature deaths and 1.9 million days of missed work or school due to ground-level ozone and particle pollution, the agency estimates. Such benefits would far outweigh the annual cost of compliance with the proposed rule, which the agency puts at $2.8 billion in 2014.

“This will be one of the most significant steps EPA can take to clean up the air and improve public health,” Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, said in a statement. “This cleanup plan could literally prevent thousands of premature deaths each year and make it possible for tens of millions of others to breathe easier.”

:}

More tomorrow

:}

Gulf Of Mexico Gusher – It kills some big stuff but it is the little stuff that matters

Posted on by
Reply

While there should be some worry about big stuff like dolphins, pelicans and shrimp, the stuff to worry about is the small stuff, the worms, planktons, and snails. The bottom of the food chain next year is what the real worry should be. Once they are killed off, the top of food chain dies off too.

:}

Sampling For BP Contamination In The Mississippi River Delta

LEAN and Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper have begun a sampling project in collaboration with the six other Save Our Gulf Waterkeepers. The sampling project will cover the Gulf Coast from Galveston Bay in Texas to Apalachicola Bay in Florida.

Sampling In The Delta

The sampling project will look for the presence of the components of crude oil and dispersant in the environment and what happens to them over time. Click the picture above to watch a short video of a recent sampling trip or go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5q25IPi3QA

SaveOurGulf.org

Visit SaveOurGulf.org to get more information about the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster from Waterkeeper organizations across the Gulf Coast and donate to Save Our Gulf!

:}

More tomorrow

:}

Gulf Gusher Is Plugged – President vacations on the Gulf Coast

Posted on by
Reply

Everything is fine. No news is old news. Emergency over. Forgetaboutit. The modern news cycle and the short term memory public moves on. We need our gas. We need all our unnecessary  commercial STUFF and we need to get back to school. So what if 10 percent of the nation is unemployed by the corporate capitalists. So what if Russia just burned and Pakistan just drowned. This in from LEAN.

Don’t forget: If there is oil out there we must find it.

:}

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lowermississippiriverkeeper/sets/72157624713485348/

BP Disaster Continues to Wreak Death and Destruction

LEAN member and New Orleans photographer Jerry Moran revisited Raccoon Island on August 8, 2010 to find more of the same death and destruction that he found on his visit on July 18, 2010.

A Dead Pelican On Raccoon Island August 8, 2010
A Dead Pelican On Raccoon Island

Of his July 18, 2010 trip to Raccoon Island Jerry wrote:

“death is everywhere and I mean everywhere, even though visible oil is much less an issue, which concerns me greatly. A lot of the birds that weren’t dead, were obviously poisoned, almost acting drunk and dazed. Some were hardly walking, and some were alive, but lying where they will surely expire, some were actually fighting each other for food(surely contaminated)…….It is really hard for me to believe that nothing can be done to curb what is no less than the extermination of our beloved state bird, along with thousands of other birds and animals. There are not many times where I have just stopped shooting and left….yesterday was one of those day’s.”
A Dead Red Fish On Raccoon Island August 8, 2010
A Dead Red Fish On Raccoon Island

Of his August 8, 2010 trip to Raccoon Island Jerry wrote:

“The difference this time was that there were not as many (living) birds…… probably at least 60% less but just as much death if not more. Pelicans, Seagulls, Bull Redfish, Drum….you name it it was dead on the beach.  Oil had hit Raccoon Island last week and the island was obviously manicured, BP had set up tents on the 2 adjoining Islands.  All of the boom that was on the island and on top the jetties was gone, and the island was flat where it once had a more natural terrain….two of the pelicans had died very recently, and it was most disturbing that one of them was hooked to a sparkle beatle (a kind of fishing lure) which was tangled in dead mangrove…….I have no doubt that either Wildlife and Fisheries or BP workers had to have seen this Pelican while alive and just left him there to die.  A lot of the dead birds stomach cavaties were open and a brown sludge covered the inside, with the scent of oil.”
A Dead Juvenile Bird On Raccoon Island August 8, 2010
A Dead Juvenile Tern On Raccoon Island August 8, 2010


SaveOurGulf.org

Visit SaveOurGulf.org to get more information about the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster from Waterkeeper organizations across the Gulf Coast and donate to Save Our Gulf!

:}

Mira-Cool is a fraud and a scam – Please see my letter to the SJ-R below

Posted on by
Reply

I was wrong in one respect. The Cool Surge which was last years ploy to rape this market was actually a little swamp cooler, which might have some basis in fact, if you live in death valley. However these new babies are straight up theft. As a friend of mine put it, why not just fill up a bucket with ice and let your fan blow over it. Or as my mom says, just stand at your kitchen sink and run cold water over your wrists. Either one is more effective than this stupid machine.

:}

Editor

State Journal Register

One Copley Plaza

Springfield, IL 62701

Emailed – 8/2/10

Dear Editor:

The full page ad in the July 21st edition of the SJ-R is a scam if not a fraud. The title promises air conditioners but the devices are actually fans. These devices were called Cool Surge last year now they are called Mira-Cool. The first thing to note is they offer free devices. This is probably the largest part of the scam because everyone will call in to try to get the free ones, and I guarantee they will be “out of them”. This lets the operators create a nationwide “suckers list” which they can use to sell other scams.

The devices consist of nothing more than a fan and several “cold packs” that you freeze in your freezer. You insert the packs in the device and then the fans blow cool air back at you. They cost well over $200 a unit to purchase, yet for $140 you by an energy efficient air conditioning window unit that will cool a single room for pennies. For $40 dollars you can buy the fan and the cold packs yourself and achieve similar results. But it is a really bad idea from an economic standpoint. I mean you are using your freezer (expensive) to freeze the packs, and your electricity to power the fan.

The bigger issue is how effective would this “cooling effect” really be? If your room is say 80 or 90 degrees, it would take all the stored cold out of the freezer packs in a very short time. Then the temperature goes back up while you are refreezing the cold packs. They could never cool a room to anything like a comfortable temperature and this puts at risk any seniors or other people, susceptible to high heat, at risk of dieing. Be smart. Buy an efficient air conditioner. Cool a single room and save your health and a heck of a lot of money.

Doug Nicodemus

948 e. adams st.

riverton, IL  62561

629-7031

dougnic55@yahoo.com

:}

More tomorrow

:}

:}

The Face Of Global Warming – World food shortages and fires

Posted on by
1

It is jam band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD2zkvE_uQg

Well it has started. The SUN came back on and the nearly 3 year solar “quiet” has ended. The next 11 years could be some of the most fascinating and horrific witnessed since WWII, WWI, or the Civil War here in America. I am not jumping for joy or anything but we are going to get closer to the Sun at the same time and our tip towards the Sun…what we call summer is going to “tip” a little more, so it will probably get hot pretty fast. This isn’t bad for a warm up so to speak…But if you want to close your eyes and pretend it isn’t happening you can’t do better then Kelly Clarkson.

:}

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4sJMcgeDe0&feature=related

:}

http://www.theage.com.au/world/russia-bans-grain-exports-as-drought-consumes-crops-20100806-11ohl.html

Russia bans grain exports as drought consumes crops

ANDREW KRAMER, MOSCOW

August 7, 2010

Heatwave, drought and now the wildfires, like this one in the western region of Ryazan, are the worst in Russia's modern history. <i>Picture: AFP</i>Heatwave, drought and now the wildfires, like this one in the western region of Ryazan, are the worst in Russia’s modern history. Picture: AFP

RUSSIAN Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has banned all exports of grain after millions of hectares of wheat have withered in a severe drought, driving up prices around the world.

Russia is suffering the worst heatwave since record-keeping began here, more than 130 years ago.

”We need to prevent a rise in domestic food prices, we need to preserve the number of cattle and build up reserves for next year,” Mr Putin said in a meeting broadcast on television. ”As the saying goes: reserves don’t make your pocket heavy.”

:}

Must take a music break.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ7FWZcwotM:}

:}

The abrupt ban – earlier this week, a deputy agricultural minister had said no such measure would be taken – shows Mr Putin retains the right to marshal state power in defence of Russian interests.

Russia’s emergencies minister has warned that the wildfires raging in the west of the country could release radioactive particles from land contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Sergei Shoygu said laboratories were monitoring a potential release of contaminants in Bryansk region, on the border with Ukraine. The region was sprayed with caesium-137 and strontium-90 after the Chernobyl explosion in 1986.

”In the event of a fire there, radionuclides could rise together with combustion particles, and a new zone of pollution will appear,” he said.

The wheat export ban is widely seen as a move to address rising resentment over the heatwave and the fires.

:}

Go to the article to read the rest. I can’t go on. More next week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svxP2LjBg_4:}

:}

Algae To Fuel – What is the current status

Posted on by
Reply

Jack Lundee asked if he could do a guest post. I am not fond of algae as a fuel source. Well, I am neutral about it. I think it is counter productive to continue to lust after liquid fuels. Still given the second article I list it is plausible as they say on Myth Busters.

http://everythingleft.wordpress.com/

Fed-Funded Algae Fuel Research making a Strong Comeback

Algae fuel is a biofuel, which is derivative of algae. In 1978, Former President Jimmy Carter pulled the trigger on a 25 million dollar research project into algae fuel production. To make a long story short, the project was somewhat unsuccessful because of the inability of scientists to find a way to make the organisms produce lipids gifted enough to be turned into biofuels, that is, in a high volume, low cost style.

One of the biggest concerns during early research was the fact that burning this algae fuel still released CO2 into the air. Nonetheless, the burning varies much so in that it doesn’t produce any new CO2 emissions like that of fossil fuels. This was a minor concern however, as the fuel was never really able to be inexpensively mass produced.

Now, there are definite signs of hope in the field of algae-based biofuels, as a number of firms and fortune 500 companies are delving into the research, investing billions of dollars. Alternative energy and carbon emission reduction efforts are widespread, funded by large collaborate organizations like the Clinton Global Initiative.  Fathered by ex-President Bill Clinton and Doug Band ( http://politicalinsider.blogs.heraldtribune.com/10498/clinton-heaps-praise-on-band-family/ ),  the CGI ( http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/ )  has made large strides in the San Francisco Bay area, reducing fleet emissions in large numbers. Even more recently, Google made an astounding investment of $38 million dollars into wind farm production.

Ultimately, Exxon Mobile has been one of the largest cooperators/investors into algae-based biofuels, setting aside nearly $600 million dollars as of 2009. In their quest for alternative energy, they joined with Synthetic Genomics Inc., to research and develop next-generation biofuels produced from sunlight.[ http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/07/14/14greenwire-exxon-sinks-600m-into-algae-based-biofuels-in-33562.html ]

But why algae? Here are some major reasons why algae would be a great substitute:

  • Grows in a wide range of climates
  • Lower water intensity than corn or cellulosic ethanols
  • Ability to potentially mitigate CO2
  • Liquid fuels formed are the only one of their byproducts
  • Byproducts are potentially the most valuable

All in all, the 40 percent lipid yield of some species (according to some studies) can produce up to 10,000 gallons of oil per annum (1 acre). This is far more productive than Soy or cellulosic ethanol, which range between 50 to 2700 gallons. [ http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html ]

As in any study, there are drawbacks, and for most companies, it’s the failure to indentify the right strains of algae for high lipid concentration. Also, there are elements like contamination or predation, and dealing with the complicatedness of de-watering and oil withdrawal; all processes which have yet to be perfected.

On July 1, the department of energy (DOE) announced the investment of $24 million for approximately 3 different research groups. Their mission is to target all these obstacles in the mass production of algae-based biofuels. Sustainable Algal Biofuels Consortium, Consortium for Algal Biofuels Commercialization and Cellana LLC Consortium will all perform separate tasks in hopes of igniting an algae fuel based society.

Jack Lundee – Follower of all things green and progressive.

:}

http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/08/03/converting-algae-into-fuel.html

By Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation

The algae that keep salmon and shrimp a bright pink might keep jet airplanes and automobiles running someday.

It’s no secret that government, scientists and industry are devoting considerable resources and talent to developing renewable, cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly energy sources, the path to energy independence and to reducing the harmful effects of burning fossil fuels.

Click here to find out more!

One solution could come from the fatty acids produced by certain species of salt water algae.

“All photosynthetic plants take water, sunlight and carbon dioxide and make either sugar or fatty acids,” said Dr. William L. Roberts, a professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University. “We want the ones that produce a lot of fatty acids.”

He and his colleagues, four biologists and three engineers, are working on ways to produce and extract these fats from Dunaliella, a microscopic species of algae, and convert them into fuel on a large scale, much larger than is possible today. Their research is funded by $1.99 million over four years from the National Science Foundation as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The North Carolina State University project is one of several teams in the nation studying the potential of algae as an energy source, and with great promise. This year the Department of Energy has awarded more than $100 million for bio-fuels research, an investment that includes a recently announced $24 million to specifically address the challenges in the commercialization of algae-based fuels.

“This is going to be one of the most important and dominant industries of the future because we will run out of fossil fuel,” Roberts said.

:}

More tomorrow

:}

BP Thinks It Is Time To Scale Back – Tip toe tip toe tip toe

Posted on by
Reply

UPDATE FROM THE GULF FROM LEAN

Where has all the BP oil gone?

The question, ‘where has all the oil gone?’ has been answered in the media in recent days by scientists providing much speculation about how the oil may go away but little hard data about what is actually happening in the Gulf. We cannot let the future of the Gulf rest on speculation.

The danger of this conjecture is that people are already beginning to tune out and assume that everything is fine, even within the spill response.

So, where is the oil?

Oil in grass between Oyster Bayou and Taylor’s Bayou, St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana, July 30, 2010, Photo Credit: Antonia Juhasz. Oil in grass, St. Mary’s Parish, La, July 30, 2010, by Antonia Juhasz.

The BP oil can be found on the shores of St. Mary Parish. Just yesterday, July 30, 2010, stretches of shoreline along St. Mary Parish were found that were significantly oiled. This area was believed to be safe from the spill and was not given any attention by Unified Command. Even the St. Mary Parish President thought that they would not receive oil. (1)

Oil South end of Oyster Bayou, St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana, July 30, 2010, Photo Credit: Antonia Juhasz. Oyster Bayou, St. Mary’s Parish, La, July 30, 2010, Photo by Antonia Juhasz

The BP oil can be found under the shells of post-larval blue crabs all across the northern Gulf of Mexico. As reported in a previous E-ALERT, researchers in Mississippi had found post-larval blue crabs with oil under their shells. Now the researchers have given another update on their findings and it is sobering. Nearly all of the crab larvae that the researchers have collected to date, from Grand Isle, LA to Pensacola, FL, have BP’s oil under their shells, but it doesn’t stop there. Chemical analysis suggests that the crabs may also contain the Corexit dispersants used on the spilled oil. Only time will tell if this contamination will affect commercial harvests but equally troubling is the potential for toxic materials to make their way into the food chain as these tiny crabs are important food sources for a host of other sea creatures. (2)

Yellow oil droplets can been seen under the shell of a post-larval blue crab. Yellow oil droplets can been seen in a post-larval blue crab.

Scientists saying that the effects of the BP oil spill will be minimal are speculating from very little data. It may make the media happy and the news more interesting but it is not good science to speculate on the outcome of the oil spill studies before they are even well underway.

The BP oil can also be found in “plumes” of dispersed oil floating around deep under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers at the University of South Florida have confirmed that these “plumes” are, in fact, clouds of BP’s oil. (3)

Because of the massive use of dispersants, which conveniently shield the impacts from view, the real damage is much harder to quantify. The dispersal of the oil has caused an unknown, but undoubtedly very large, portion of the spilled oil to be mixed into and spread all through the Gulf waters in tiny little bits.

The damages caused by this sub-surface oil may not be apparent for some time. Like the crabs; the juvenile forms of fish, shrimp and many other species as well as the plankton they feed on will be exposed to the toxicity of the oil and the dispersants.

Imagine your city filled with smoke from a large fire. Now replace the air with water and the smoke with tiny droplets of dispersed oil and you have a better sense of how the ‘plumes’ of oil are impacting sea creatures.

That damage is difficult to quantify but to dismiss it as minimal is irresponsible. Many commercial and sport species in one of the most biologically productive areas of the world are being exposed to a mixture of materials that are known to be toxic and we really don’t know what the effects will be.

It is too early to be speculating about the impacts of the millions of barrels of BP oil on Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. It is especially problematic when its done by scientists in the media. We need to be focused on figuring out what actually is going on in the Gulf with thorough research and sound data.

The real answer to the question is this: significant amounts of the oil are still out in the Gulf environs and we really don’t know what the long term effects will be.

1. Antonia Juhasz, “BP’s “Missing Oil” Washes Up in St. Mary’s Parish, LA,” The Huffington Post 30 July 2010, .

2. Dan Froomkin, “Scientists Find Evidence That Oil And Dispersant Mix Is Making Its Way Into The Foodchain,” The Huffington Post 29 July 2010, .

3. Sara Kennedy, “Researchers confirm subsea Gulf oil plumes are from BP well,” McClatchy Newspapers 23 July 2010,

:}
More tomorrow.
:}

Take The Energy Pledge – But check appliance and other claims carefully

Posted on by
1

As has been reported the Energy Star Program has some fraud going on.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_10153_12605_NB_showPledge?adCell=W4

I will do my part to save energy and help fight global warming. I pledge to:

I pledge to…

Switch out at least one energy-inefficient light in my home with an ENERGY STAR qualified one. lights (max. 50)

learn more >

If every American home replaced just one light with an ENERGY STAR light, we would save about $700 million in annual energy costs while preventing 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to the emissions from about 800,000 cars.
Switch out my energy-inefficient appliances with ENERGY STAR qualified appliances for my kitchen and laundry (select all that apply):

learn more >

Sears has the largest selection of ENERGY STAR qualified appliances. If every refrigerator, dishwasher and clothes washer purchased in America this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save $640 million in energy costs while preventing 4.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to the emissions of 385,000 cars.
I plan to switch out the above appliance(s) within the next (select one):

learn more >

Sears is the first national retailer that is recognized as part of the Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Refrigerators and room A/C units contain freon and are recycled through the RAD program. If every refrigerator being replaced was recycled properly, Americans would prevent 8 billion pounds of GHG emissions, equivalent to the emissions of 700,000 cars.
Switch out my energy-inefficient electronics with ENERGY STAR qualified electronics (select all that apply):

learn more >

Sears also has a large selection of ENERGY STAR qualified electronics. If all electronics purchased in America this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save more than $300 million in annual energy costs while preventing 4 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to emissions from more than 350,000 cars.
Optimize the energy-efficiency of my home heating and cooling. I will:
Switch out my energy-inefficient heating and cooling equipment with ENERGY STAR qualified equipment (select all that apply):

learn more >

Sears provides both a wide variety of ENERGY STAR qualified heating and cooling equipment as well as servicing. If every American home optimized the energy efficiency of its heating and cooling system, sealed all obvious leaks and added insulation, we would save more than $15 billion in annual energy costs and prevent more than 75 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to the emissions from more than 15 million cars.

learn more >

Sears will help you find and submit rebates available in your state to make sure you get the most money back on your purchase. Check out the Rebate Map on our website or ask a Sears Blue Crew Associate for information.

learn more >

Thanks to customers like you, Sears received the EPA’s 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award. Everyday more people choose a Sears ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED product and join millions of Americans, who prevented 45 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 alone with the help of ENERGY STAR qualified products. With more ENERGY STAR qualified appliances than anyone, the Responsible Appliance Disposal program, and hassle-free rebates, Sears makes going green easy.

Tell Us About Yourself

(Required) indicates a required field.






Would you like to receive quarterly emails from ENERGY STAR with energy savings tips?
Would you like to receive offers, updates and sale alerts from Sears?

Take the Pledge for a chance to win a suite
of Kenmore ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances.
See official rules See what you can win

By taking the Pledge, you acknowledge and agree that: 1) Your personal information submitted as part of the ENERGY STAR Pledge will be shared with both the EPA and with SEARS and 2) that EPA’s use of your personal information shall be governed by the EPA’s Privacy Policy, and Sears will handle your information in accordance with the Sears Privacy Policy.

:}

More tomorrow.

:}

Waste Heat To Electricity Through Silicon Nanowires

Posted on by
1

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

What ever happend to a great innovative idea. In Early 2008 everyone was a twitter about this story. Why?  Because half to one third of the energy we generate is wasted. Then:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GadgetGuide/story?id=4173214&page=1

Scientists Claim Energy Breakthrough

Simple Device Converts Heat Directly to Electricity, Which May Mean No More Batteries

By LEE DYE
Jan. 23, 2008

Scientists are developing a new device that could have a profound impact on global energy supplies by converting wasted heat into electricity. It could potentially have an impact on everything from power plants to cell phones, and it came about because of a serendipitous discovery that had eluded scientists for half a century.

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have found a way to use ordinary silicon to convert heat to electricity. The technique could mean that some day you will be able to recharge your cell phone with electricity produced by your own body heat, and enormous amounts of energy that is now wasted could be recycled.

“We feel that this is a breakthrough,” said Arun Majumdar, a mechanical engineer and materials scientist with joint appointments at the Berkeley lab and UC Berkeley. “I’m very excited about this.”

Astonishingly, Majumdar and his colleagues didn’t set out to achieve what they have done.

“It was serendipitous,” he said. “We never planned for it.”

And perhaps even more surprising, they did it with a material that most scientists thought would never work for this purpose — ordinary silicon, a cheap, abundant material that is the foundation for the multibillion-dollar semiconductor industry.

Majumdar and his fellow researchers, including chemist Peidong Yang, a noted leader in the rapidly growing field of technology at the incredibly small “nano” scale, reported on their work in the Jan. 10 issue of the journal Nature. It’s not clear yet why the device they have created works.

“We don’t have all the answers at this point,” Majumdar said. But laboratory experiments show that it does, indeed, work. At least on a small scale. The device, placed between a hot plate and a cold plate, produced enough electricity to power a light bulb, although they didn’t do that demonstration. Instead, they measured the current flowing from the hot plate toward the cold plate, and it was sufficient to claim success, he said.

:}

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PenutnCkyx8&feature=related

or this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAF-cEThNWU&feature=related

:}

NoW:

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/silicon-heat-cheap-energy-gets-1-million/

News |  Energy Efficiency

Michael Kanellos: May 3, 2010

‘Silicon + Heat = Cheap Energy’ Gets $1 Million

Exotic waste heat startup Alphabet Energy gets more fun

Alphabet Energy, which says it can make electricity for around $1 a watt out of waste heat in factories or data centers, has raised $1 million from Claremont Creek Ventures and the CalCef Clean Energy Fund.

Waste heat — which is one of our favorites sources of energy here — essentially revolves around capturing heat from engines and machinery and using it to run things like water heaters or converting it into electricity. The U.S. consumes around 100 quads (100 quadrillion BTUs) of energy a year, and 55 to 60 quads get dissipated as waste heat, according to Arun Majumdar, the UC Berkeley professor who came up with a lot of the technology behind Alphabet (he now runs ARPA-E, the advanced projects group inside the Department of Energy). Thus, there is a lot of waste heat out there and it could be cheaper than solar. Alphabet estimates it could be a $200 billion market.

Heat-to-electricity can be accomplished in two ways. Companies such as Recycled Energy Development (RED) and Ormat have successfully retrofitted factories to capture waste heat, but these systems largely rely on mechanical engineering. Heat is captured and then channeled into productive uses. One of RED’s showcase projects — coming next year — is a system at West Virginia Alloys, a silicon manufacturer, that will generate 45 megawatts of electrical power from the waste heat generated by factory operations. The company uses 120 megawatts at the current time, but the waste heat system will effectively allow Alloys to recover about one-third of the power it now buys but wastes. Fuel cells can also be used to harvest waste heat.

Semiconductors could potentially be the next wave for the industry, and this is where Alphabet comes in. Traditional waste heat chips — heat goes in one side, electricity comes out the other — cost around $20 a watt and are made out of bismuth telluride. Alphabet won’t say what its semiconductor is made from, but sources say the chief material is silicon nanowires.

:}

More next week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nTcDU73gLs&feature=related

:}

MIRA-COOL Is A Scam – Plain and simple

Posted on by
3

Every year I do a post on this. Briefly these devices area rip off. They all consist of fans that blow air across ice packs. A fan that size costs 10 or 20 bucks. The ice packs cost are 5 bucks a piece. So for 30 or 40 bucks max you could do the same thing for yourself. They want to sell you 2 units for 400 $$$ a piece. The Ad in the State Journal Register is a teaser Ad that offers the first one free but that is a total lie. They just want you to call the toll free number to get you on their sucker list…

But at a deeper level think of the physics involved. You use your refrigerator freezer to freeze the packs. Then you use the electricity to blow that “cool” back at you. And it dissipates into your hot room. That sounds expensive to me. You would be better off using my beloved mother’s trick of holding your wrists under cool running sink water. That will cool your whole body down in minutes and it is virtually free. Last year when they were selling these things as the Cool Surge, Consumer Reports (an excellent magazine) had this to say:

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2009/06/cool-surge-portable-air-cooler-consumer-reports-review-swamp-cooler-heat-surge-universal-techtronics.html

June 10, 2009

Negligible cooling nets Cool Surge portable air cooler a Consumer Reports Don’t Buy judgment

You can buy a decent small window air conditioner for as little as $140, as we found in our July 2009 report on air conditioning (available to subscribers). Or you can spend more than twice that amount—$298—for the Cool Surge portable air cooler (shown), which promises to cool an average-sized room “up to ten degrees” using the same energy as a 60-watt lightbulb. (Watch our exclusive video, below.) The Cool Surge might sound appealing when you consider the roughly 500 watts needed to run even a small air conditioner. Ohio-based Fridge Electric LLC, which markets the Cool Surge, has even offered a two-for-one deal in full-page ads in The New York Times and other newspapers. But our tests show that when it comes to cooling a room, the Cool Surge is likely to disappoint you at any price.

The Cool Surge is essentially an evaporative cooler (also known as a swamp cooler) that bases its cooling claims on a concept thousands of years old. The unit’s reservoir holds about a gallon of water and two reusable ice packs like the kind that go into lunch boxes and picnic baskets. The chilled water wets a curtain inside, and a fan moves air through it much the way a breeze would blow air through moistened fabric centuries ago. No compressor, no condenser, no refrigerant gas.

Could that ancient principle cut it in today’s “average” room? Consumer Reports tested two samples of the Cool Surge in the same lab we use to test air conditioners. At just over 200 square feet, our test room is actually a tad smaller than the roughly 227-square-foot living room in a typical new home, and, therefore, should be easier to cool. We controlled conditions around the room to simulate an 85°F dry summer day with a relative humidity of just 57 percent.

:}

But hell just type Mira-Cool into a search engine and you will find all sorts of complaints. More tomorrow.

:}