New Wastewater Treatment System

Current wastewater treatment systems cost millions of dollars and a large amount of unnecessary energy to run. Poo-Gloos are a new way to provide wastewater treatment for less money and a lot less energy. Poo-Gloo installation typically costs between $100,000 and $200,000, compared to the systems we have in place now, which cost millions. In order to save energy, ten Poo-Gloos only require one horsepower, whereas other systems require at least 8 horsepower, and most require 40-60 horsepower. Also, these systems that require the extra energy are still not meeting stringent environmental requirements.

Poo-Gloos are domes lined with bacterial biofilm to clean water in existing facilities. They work by having heterotrophic bacteria eat most carbon-based material in sewage water and autotrophic bacteria consume ammonia and nitrogen compounds. These domes are typically placed in traditional wastewater lagoons to meet more stringent standards. There are about 6,000 of these wastewater treatment ponds in the U.S. The company is still trying to make these devices more efficient. At the moment there are still several chemicals that they can not clean up and this may be their barrier to a solution until this can be fixed. Right now they are working on phosphorous removal as well as trickier chemicals such as endocrine-disruptors. Poo-Gloos could be extremely helpful in cleaning up the environment, as well as doing so in a more efficient and costly manner.





http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41040917/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Little Progress Disposing of 34 Metric Tons of Surplus Weapons Grade Plutonium

In the mid 1990s the United States chose a technology that would be used to contribute to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Today the technology is being held out as a solution to America's energy future. The United States and Russia signed the 1991 Stragic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), the two countries had committed to dispose of 34 metric tons of their surplus weapons plutonium to deduce the chance that the material could be stolen or diverted. Both countries were supposed to use a two step process to dispose of the material. The United States decided to focus on a single part of the disposal process, MOX. Russia decided, to stock the plutonium for disposition for future decades. The only condition of the deal is that the two countries would proceed in parallel. Russia is now planning to "recycle" the plutonium to help start its atomic energy future in 2014. To Russia, this would allow them to use all of its plutonium covered by the agreement and the United States would will use some of its plutonium as MOX fuel and immobilize the rest. This is not without risk because immobilized material could be recovered more readily for the use in weapons.

http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/42288

Which Should Live?

Ecology is the branch of science that studies the distribution and abundance of living organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their environment. If you change one part, some other part will change in response to that change. In this case conservationists have been so successful at protecting the endangered birds in a Spanish nature reserve that the birds are now killing the reserve's ancient cork oak forest. The birds are killing the trees because there are 70 nests in each tree and the birds are creating so much feces which affects the soil system around the trees. The birds feces also leads to high concentration of salt in the soil and the salt makes it hard for the trees to absorb enough water. Alternatives at the moment are either moving the birds nests to another location or possibly reducing the bird population in the area. These trees are very important to the reserve because they are used by other endangered species as homes and food. There is clearly a trade-off between maintaining the area for the birds and protecting the ancient cork oak forests so a solution must be made.

http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/42123

How Protected Are U.S. Waterways?

It all started when two challenges were made against the Clean Water Act, one was in 2001, from a company in Illinois they wanted to fill in some old sand and gravel mining pits. Then in 2006 a Michigan real estate developer who filled wetlands to build a shopping mall. Both of them went to the US Supreme Court and in both cases, the Court decided that the CWA protected only “navigable waters of the United States” not all waters like people were thinking. It does not protect thousands of miles of creeks, springs, isolated wetlands, and other bodies of water that are not navigable. They did not say that the waters shouldn’t be protected they just said that the law did not protect it. They are now trying to rewrite the Clean Water Act so that it protects all waters. People are now saying that it is starting to take over their rights if the act is passed to include all waterways which is good but some people say they won’t support it because they think the government should not be able to take over their private ponds and wetlands.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/01/how-much-our-water-truly-protected

Environmentally and Human Friendly Dishwashing Liquids

Most restaurants have a dish washing machine that sanitizes dishes by a final rinse of a chemical sanitizing solution (most often, bleach). The beach solution is very dilute, approximately 1 cap full of bleach per gallon of water. Researchers at Ohio State University recently tested two new dishwasher sanitizers, and found them to be much more effective at removing bacteria from restaurant dishware than the current sanitizers that many institutions are using. These two new sanitizers not only sanitize the dishes more effectively, but they contained fewer toxic chemicals, and were healthier for humans and the environment. These new sanitizers would be more cost effective, because a little of it goes a long way, they would not have to use nearly as much as the current solution that they are already using. These traditional sanitizers contain bleach, which corrodes dishes, damages the environment, and is harmful to skin. These sanitizers also lose their effectiveness fairly quickly with each washing cycle, meaning that the sanitizer kills less and less bacteria with each wash. These new sanitizers have been proven more effective in cleaning and killing the E. Coli bacteria from dishware, they are also mostly made up of natural compounds. E. Coli outbreaks have been on the decline since early 2002, but the CDC estimates that 28% of food borne outbreaks from 1982-2002 started in restaurants and other public food establishments. But people are too lazy to change, they already have this dish washing liquid and so they find no reason to change it. But the benefits greatly outweigh the negatives. With this new dish washing agent, the amount of bacteria and harmful diseases is practically none. Plus it is safer and more cost-effective for humans and the environment.

http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/42280

New York City Vs. Denver-Who's the Bigger Polluter?

A study was done to figure out which cities in the world were the biggest polluters. Researchers studied data from 100 cities from 33 nations. 71 percent of greenhouse gases come from cities but the people who live in the cities, who use public transportation helped lower emissions in some cities. Big cities like New York, London and Shanghai send less pollution into the atmosphere than places like Denver and Rotterdam. Denver's emissions were almost as twice as much as New York City's emissions. "This is mainly attributable to New York's greater density and much lower reliance on the automobile for commuting," said the study. New York City is the home to 8 million people. Chinese cities stood out from the rest of the world because their average emissions were far higher. The study showed that cities with colder weather have higher emissions, and for poor and middle income countries, like Asia, Latin America and Africa, to have lower emissions per capita than wealthy countries. It was found that the highest emissions came from the suburbs, with large single family homes that are far from commercial centers. The lowest levels of emissions came from areas with apartment complexes in walking distance to shopping and transportation.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/big-cities-are-not-always-biggest-polluters

Coral Reefs Moving North!

A study of coral reefs in Japan, has shown that some of the reefs have been moving to different climate zones for about 80 years now. The team of greographers has been analyzing maps from four time periods, starting in 1930. They found that out of nine common coral species, four have been moving north, and two have moved to different temperature waters. Some of the coral species that moved, moved over eight miles a year.One of the scientists says the corals were moving to fight the climate increase, so they moved north. Two ways that coral dies, is a temperature change, and if there is too much acidity from high concentrations of carbon dioxide can weaken it. The water up north is more likely to have high concentraitions of carbon dioxide so scientists think its strange that the coral is going up there. This study their conducting is good to show how marine life is reacting to temperature change. All animals react differently to climate change.

Rising Indoor Winter Temperatures Linked to Obesity?

Rises in obesity may be increasing because of winter indoor temperatures in the United States, United Kingdom, and other developed countries. Winter indoor temperatures have increased over the last few decades. Reduced exposure to cold weather may minimize the need for energy to stay warm and reducing the body's capacity to produce heat. This evidence of winter indoor temperatures in the UK and US examines the idea that exposure to seasonal cold could help to regulate energy balance and body weight on a population level. Increasing expectations of thermal comfort mean that seasonal cold exposure is decreasing and we are spending more time exposed to milder temperatures. Studies suggest that increased time spent in warm conditions may lead to reduced capacity to burn energy. Lowering winter temperatures might have an impact on reducing body weight and obesity.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110124195618.htm

A House of Trash

Dan Phillips and his wife have started a new kind of construction business. The couple founded Phoenix Commotion, which builds houses made entirely out of trash. From wine-cork floors to recycled lumber, these houses are Ecofriendly, low cost, and beautiful to boot! Here's a picture of one of the homes:

Dan challenges his blog readers to look in a dumpster in any common home construction site. 100% of the time, he says, it will be filled with lumber, windows, siding, you name it. He couldn't believe these companies were so wasteful, so he decided to do something about it. To date, Phillips has built 13 homes in 12 years, and he has no intention of slowing down.

Here's the link to the article: http://www.mnn.com/your-home/remodeling-design/stories/texan-builds-artful-sustainable-homes-out-of-trash

And here's the link to Dan's website: http://www.phoenixcommotion.com/

Obama's Clean Electricity Target

Obama has set a target for power plants to produce mostly clean electricity by 2035. He is pushing Congress to eliminate subsidies to oil companies. I don't know if it's just me but this seems a little far off. He has good ideas for moving away from the use of petroleum and move towards nuclear, solar, and wind energy, as well as clean coal and natural gas. However, I think this process needs to be sped up, it is 2011 and I already fear for the future of our planet. If we continue to use the energy of today instead of looking to the future for 25 mores years, it may be too late. I think Congress and the Executive branch should start investing in environmentally friendly and renewable energy today. Problems with speeding this up is the division between Democrats and Republicans. If the people continue to vote people in who don't care about the environment much, oil companies will still get funding that could go to investments in renewable energy. It is important to move to these new energy types now before we enter a bigger crisis and have to make even more changes. They should also promote going green and we should elect candidates concerned with the environment. This is a major issue that needs to be handled now, Obama has the right idea, he just should try speeding the process up a little.
www.enn.com/environmental_policy/article/42276

The Economist Speculates on the Future of Vertical Farming

A recent Economist article asks the question of vertical farming, "Does it really stack up?" In theory, it's a win-win-win concept for the environment, feeding growing urban populations locally, and increasing space for agriculture without more land use. But the reality is that vertical farming is costly energy-wise due to the need for artificial lighting and insufficient space for renewable energy installations on skyscrapers. While many designs exist, no large scale vertical farm has been built yet. However, Will Allen's Growing Power did receive approval this year from the Milwaukee city planning commission to build a five story greenhouse, perhaps marking a step toward the fruition of the first vertical farm.

A major argument for this concept is that not only will these vertical landscapes curb greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating the need for crop transport, but food spoiling — which comes along with the business-as-usual of hauling food over long distances — will cease to be a problem, as the food is both at the source and right at the hands of the consumer. Most designs propose that plants be grown hydroponically, cancelling out soil erosion issues and significantly decreasing water usage in comparison with conventional farming techniques. The standardized interior environment also allows for a year-round growing season.

Due to the nature of a vertical farm being indoors, the nutrient content, temperature, humidity, air flow and lighting can all be regulated. In this controlled setting, plants can be grown with little use of herbicides and pesticides, according to Columbia University's Dickson Despommier, the so-called "father of vertical farms" and author of The Vertical Farm. Hear Despommier discuss vertical farming in this video.

Artificial light poses a big obstacle for vertical farms becoming an economically viable food source. Although such glass towers would provide some natural light to the plants, there would still be the need for artificial light. Otherwise crop production would be uneven, with those crops closest to windows receiving more sunlight. Peter Head, global leader of planning and sustainable development at the British engineering firm Arup explains to The Economist, "Light has to be very tightly controlled to get uniform production of very high-quality food." The price of powering artificial light is costly, weakening the case that vertical farms will be energy savers and curb emissions. Head claims vertical farming proponents will need to figure out how to integrate renewable energy into the design in an affordable way in order for this idea to be feasible on a widespread scale.

Although this method seems to be costly, it's a new and creative way to farm and take advantage of all farm able areas.

Amount of carbon absorbed by ecosystems each year is grossly overstated, says new study

According to a new paper published in Science, current carbon accounting methods significantly overstate the amount of carbon that can be absorbed by forests, plains, and other terrestrial ecosystems. That is because most current carbon accounting methods do not consider the methane and carbon dioxide released naturally by rivers, streams, and lakes.

This new paper suggests that rivers, streams, and lakes emit the equivalent of 2.05 billion metric tons of carbon every year. (By comparison, all the terrestrial ecosystems on the world's continents are thought to absorb around 2.6 billion metric tons of carbon each year). This is, as the lead author of the paper said, is a "major accounting error".

Each year, rivers, streams, and lakes release 1.4 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. In addition, as this new paper explains, rivers, streams and lakes also emit 103 million metric tons of methane every year—equivalent to about 650 million metric tons of carbon. (Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas; a single ton of methane has much larger impact on the atmosphere than an equivalent ton of carbon dioxide.)

It remains difficult to measure methane emissions precisely; methane bubbles may emerge from river and lake sediments suddenly, or at very irregular intervals. Given this uncertainty, these numbers may actually be under-estimates. Even so, the methane emissions calculations alone suggest that we have been overestimating the absorptive ability of the continents by 25 percent

Oil giant plans new platform near feeding ground of critically endangered whale

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company — part owned by Shell — has announced plans to build a major oil platform near crucial feeding habitat of the Western North Pacific gray whale population. Only around 130 whales of the critically endangered Western population exist today, and their primary feeding habitat — off Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East — is already besieged by multiple oil and gas exploration and development projects.

The construction and operation of an additional off-shore platform could have numerous negative impacts on the whales, potentially disrupting feeding behaviours and increasing the chance of fatal ship strikes. Also, a third platform heightens the risk of an environmentally catastrophic oil spill in this sensitive habitat.

"Just around 30 female western gray whales of breeding age remain — the population is already on the brink of disappearing forever," said Aleksey Knizhnikov, Oil & Gas Environmental Policy Officer for WWF-Russia. "The loss of even a few breeding females could mean the end for the population."

Gray whales occur on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. However IUCN classes the critically endangered Western population as separate from the Eastern population, as genetic studies indicate that the two populations probably do not mix.

This idea is not well thought out. It's not fair to the whales to have to live in such a high risk situation. They should find another place, more stable and not as populated with endangered species to find oil.

Worlds Largest Solar Plant

A US based company, First Solar Inc. will be joining forces with a Chinese state owned utility company to construct the worlds largest solar power plant. The plant will be built in northern China's inner mongolia region and covers 25 square miles. The solar plant will generate 2GW when it is fully operationalwhich is equivalent to two coal fired plants. When the project is complete, the plant will be able to generate enough power for 3 million homes.

green energy ties with nuclear in the US

The U.S. Energy Information Administration released data stating that nuclear energy and renewable energy both accounted for 11% of the entire power supply in 2010. While nuclear power use is decreasing, renewable energy is steadily increasing. Within the renewable energy statistics biomass and biofuels accounted for 51.95% of renewable energy in the U.S while hydropower accounted for 31.5%, wind was 10.52%, geothermal 4.65%, and solar 1.38%. The only category of renewable energy that is declining is hyropower by 5.2% compared to the same period in 2009. The fastest growing category is wind which increased by 26.7%, next is biomass by 10%, and solar by 2.4%. In comparison nuclear declined by .5%.

http://inhabitat.com/renewable-energy-now-neck-and-neck-with-nuclear-in-the-us/

Tianjin Eco City

Tianjin Eco City is a 30 square kilometer city designed by surbana urban planning group as a model for chinese cities. The city will feature an advanced light rail transit system and will house 350,000 residents whom will be divided into seven different sectors including a lifescape, eco valley, solar scape, urbanscape, windscape, earthscape, and eco corridors. It will contain sustainable features such as solar power, wind power, rainwater recycling, and wastewater treatment. In order to reduce pollution 90% of traffic in the city will be public transportation. The city's completion date is expected to be sometime in 2020.

http://inhabitat.com/tianjin-eco-city-is-a-futuristic-green-landscape-for-350000-residents/

Methane Levels In The Gulf Return To Near Normal Levels

Only a month ago the disatorous BP oil spill in the gulf released tons of methane gas. Now, the gas levels in the ocean have returned to near normal levels. Surprising scientists at the rate they have returned to normal, the scientists immediately investigated what attributed to this sudden drop. The answer, bacteria that respirated the methane gas out of the ocean. Without these bacteria sealife would continue dying in high numbers. It just goes to show how the world has organisms that can adapt to any situation.


www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110106145436.htm

Bahrainian Farmland Being Destroyed

The 692 square kilometer island of Bahrain already has problems with groundwater sources, and the destroying of the farmland belt is not helping the matter. The population of 1,234,596 is still growing and is in need of more residential space so the remaining farmland is being destroyed to make houdsing developments. Only 30 percent of farmland remains in the rapidly growing small country. Water per capita is 154 cubic meters due to the increase in population and soon will be much less than that. Bahrain is in a crisis and with the limited resources the country has there is nothing that the country can do to quench the thirst of its citizens.

www.globalissues.org/news/2011/01/06/8102

One Man's Trash Is Another's Treasuer

A new energy source has been brought up in the media. The energy source, using household sewage to make electricity. The studies show that by extracting the methane and hydrogen from household sewage, the potential energy of the sewage is increased by 20 percent. The U.S. uses a little under two percent of its power to treat 2,500,000,000,000 gallons of wastewater a year. A gallon of sewage has the energy potential to power a 100 watt light bulb for five minutes. If the water treatment plants could use the energy in the wastewater to power the plant, the U.S. will save trillions of kilowatts of electricity per year.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110105121131.htm