Environment

"When prices are low, liquid elemental sulphur is poured into large blocks to solidfy (sulphur freezes at about 115C) on the prairie landscape for long term storage. Later, when prices are higher, it is remelted, prilled, and shipped to market (often to China). This block is near Cremona , Alberta, Canada. There are a couple dozen such blocks in Western Canada, mostly in the Rocky Mountain foothills, close to sour gas production facilities. The facility is operated by Shell Canada and stores sulphur from the Caroline Gas Plant to the west. The vertical wall here is about 25ft tall." - A.T. via Bookmarklet

"What's the long-term impact of high-priced oil? Rubin says it will spur manufacturing to return to North America and shrink the service sector. We're going to go back to "actually making things," he says, but the transition won't be easy because the infrastructure, technology, training and culture required for it will have to be massively overhauled. Food will be sourced locally — no more lamb from New Zealand and pineapples from Hawaii. Farms will make a big comeback. But it's going to be more expensive. Additionally, the suburbs will depopulate and airlines will go bankrupt." - A.T. via Bookmarklet

"The U.S. Department of Transportation and National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) are hard at work developing new ways to make the air conditioners more efficient and reduce the interior tempteratures in our cars and trucks. What's the big deal? Apparently, a whopping seven billion gallons of gasoline are used each and every year in the United States alone to run automotive AC units, which represents 5.5-percent of the country's fuel use. Burning that fuel emits more than 58 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"Three years ago, U.S. Department of Agriculture employees determined that synthetic additives in organic baby formula violated federal standards and should be banned from a product carrying the federal organic label. Today the same additives, purported to boost brainpower and vision, can be found in 90 percent of organic baby formula. The government's turnaround, from prohibition to permission, came after a USDA program manager was lobbied by the formula makers and overruled her staff. That decision and others by a handful of USDA employees, along with an advisory board's approval of a growing list of non-organic ingredients, have helped numerous companies win a coveted green-and-white "USDA Organic" seal on an array of products." - John via Bookmarklet

"Relaxation of the federal standards, and an explosion of consumer demand, have helped push the organics market into a $23 billion-a-year business, the fastest growing segment of the food industry. Half of the country's adults say they buy organic food often or sometimes, according to a survey last year by the Harvard School of Public Health. But the USDA program's shortcomings mean... more... - John

"In response to complaints, the USDA inspector general's office has widened an investigation of whether products carrying the label meet national standards. The probe is also looking into the department's oversight of private certifiers who are hired by farmers and food producers and inspect products to determine whether they can use the label. Some consumer groups and members of Congress say they worry that the program's lax standards are undermining the federal program and the law itself." - John

"The data center will be powered mainly by hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls, with 90 percent of that energy going towards powering the servers" - mridul via Bookmarklet

See http://ff.im/4IUvb - Bill Sodeman

"Netbook: Sony VAIO P Ultra-Portable: Toshiba Portege R600 All-Purpose Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Desktop Replacement: Toshiba Satellite A355" - Shevonne via Bookmarklet

Would you take a Prius over a Porsche? An Escape over an Escalade? Global research firm Synovate asked more than 13,500 people in 18 global markets if--given that money is not an object--they would purchase a "dream" car or a "green" car. Six of 10 people said they would take the green car. But the deciding factors tended to be more economical than ecological. - Shevonne

NO!!!!!!!!! http://www.porsche.com/usa/ - chaz2b

"Companies like Google and IBM are trying to lead the world in cutting-edge, efficient data centers.  Not to be outdone, on Tuesday Yahoo announced they're hoping to change to future of data centers as well.  The company unveiled plans to build one of the world's most efficient data centers in Lockport, NY and the details do sound pretty exciting." - Shevonne via Bookmarklet

Lockport? That's an interesting choice. - Bill Sodeman

Does anyone have data on ecological footprints of different types of publishing? I'm especially interested in scholarly materials. - Daniel Mietchen via Bookmarklet

A buck at a time, we can make a difference! Here's your last chance to help a worthy environmental charity -- for less than the price of a soft drink. - Chris Baskind via Bookmarklet

"A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered. Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same interrelated colony, and will refuse to fight one another. The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination. What's more, people are unwittingly helping the mega-colony stick together. Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) were once native to South America. But people have unintentionally introduced the ants to all continents except Antarctica. These introduced Argentine ants are renowned for forming large colonies, and for becoming a significant pest, attacking native animals and crops. In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to stretch for 6,000km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast, while another in the US, known as the 'Californian large', extends over 900km (560 miles) along the coast of California. A third huge colony exists on the west coast of Japan." - Live4Emma (L4S) via Bookmarklet

Here’s an incredibly simple dish that won’t heat up your kitchen, is easy on the budget, and prepares in under 30 minutes. - Chris Baskind via Bookmarklet

"Marsh Fork Elementary—and the rest of Appalachia—are still being threatened by mountaintop-removal coal mining. Can new legislation finally stop this devastating practice? I’m haunted by this photo. It’s of a school—Marsh Fork Elementary in Sundial, West Virginia—precariously set about 400 feet downhill from a massive 2.8-billion-gallon pool of toxic coal sludge. The image, annotated and uploaded by the advocacy group Appalachian Voices, has been boiling my blood since I first saw it a couple years back. About 200 students spend their schooldays there. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Massey Energy’s slurry pond is held in place in the hollow above the school by a leaky dam. These dams don’t have the best track record. One Massey dam failed in 2000, dumping 300 million gallons of sludge into streams in Martin County, Kentucky. More harrowing was the 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster, where a dam gave way and, according to the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, “in a matter of... more... - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

so fucked up.... - Ňicķ

"During a recent meeting of the Environment minsters of EU member countries side stepped the issue of declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant." - mridul via Bookmarklet

"There are four tracts in the California desert: the Pisgah between Newberry Springs and Ludlow, the massive East Riverside tract running from Blythe to Desert Center, the Iron Mountain tract near Rice and surrounding Danby Lake, and Imperial, which runs from I-8 to the Mexican border south of Holtville. (Links go to the maps I adapted.)" - John via Bookmarklet

"The base map, from National Geographic’s TOPO software, pre-dates the 1994 California Desert Protection Act and thus shows a smaller Joshua Tree National Monument. Current boundaries of the National Park are shown as a purple overlay. The Solar Energy Study area is indicated by the red hatching. As you can see, the Interior Department’s notion of excluding sensitive areas apparently... more... - John

"Other lands of environmental importance have been included in the tracts as well. The Iron Mountain tract overlies the southern part of the Cadiz aquifer, which is critically important to wildlife in the ranges just north of Joshua Tree. It also lies within the southern end of Ward Valley, sacred land to the Mojave people and excellent habitat for the desert tortoise." - John

I think that this idea is brilliant in its simplicity. I hope it wins the Airbus contest, but even if not, COOs of shipping companies and passenger airline companies (and members of the FAA) take notice. All it requires is coordination. - Chieze Okoye

"The Southern Ocean has lost its appetite for carbon dioxide, and now it appears that the ozone hole could be to blame." - Ňicķ

"On the dingo-free side of the fence, according to a new study, overall biodiversity is actually lower than it is on the side where dingoes are free to roam. The research suggests that invasive predators, once they've established themselves, play an important role in the food web and might actually be good for conservation." - Shevonne via Bookmarklet

I won't say it, nope I won't (thought I'm thinking it). Can't help but think it every time I see the word "dingo". I immediately free associate the words "baby" and "ate" and then the sentence constructs itself in my head and then... But nope, I'm not going to add the modifier "your", nope not gonna do it... wouldn't be prudent... - Barry Wynn

I saw the movie rendition of the true story starring Meryl Streep - Shevonne

"The most complete terrain map of the Earth's surface has been published. The data, comprising 1.3 million images, come from a collaboration between the US space agency Nasa and the Japanese trade ministry." - Shevonne via Bookmarklet

"Nasa is now working to combine those data with the new Aster observations to further improve on the global map." - Shevonne

"Canadian scientists are breeding a special type of cow designed to burp less, a breakthrough that could reduce a big source of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Cows are responsible for nearly three-quarters of total methane emissions, according to Environment Canada. Most of the gas comes from bovine burps, which are 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Stephen Moore, a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, is examining the genes responsible for methane produced from a cow's four stomachs in order to breed more efficient, environmentally friendly cows. The professor of agricultural, food and nutritional science completed primary tests using traditional techniques to breed efficient animals that produce 25 percent less methane than less efficient animals. But more work needs to be done before the long-term impact is known. Moore's study was published earlier this year in the Journal of Animal Science." - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

Great, more biological manipulation, less global warming. Hmm, let me see... - jcunwired

or there's this: http://ff.im/4fQu1 - Ňicķ

"This technique is pretty standard- the main variation lies in how the large group of tuna is located. There are basically three ways to do this. 1) Get lucky and happen to stumble across a large group of tuna visible from the surface in the middle of an enormous ocean. Obviously, this isn’t terribly practical. 2) Attract tuna using floating objects. Stay tuned, we’ll come back to #2. 3) Follow dolphins, because dolphins in the Eastern Tropical Pacific are often associated with large schools of tuna. Dolphins are easy to follow because, unlike tuna, they have to come up for air. For a long time, #3 was the most common way of catching tuna. The problem with this method was that by definition, dolphins are right there- and they get caught in the net as well. Despite the honest effort of many sailors to free dolphins (there is a long maritime tradition of respecting dolphins), by some estimates, around 500,000 dolphins a year were killed as a result of bycatch. As a result of pressure... more... - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

Recall that method #1 isn’t feasible. Tuna fishing fleets rapidly switched over to method #2, attracting tuna using floating objects. It is poorly understood why fish in the open ocean flock in such huge numbers to floating objects, but is a near universal phenomenon. If you put a log in the middle of the ocean, within hours it will be surrounded by fish. It may have something to do... more... - Cee Bee

"Los Angeles started a program earlier this month called “cash for grass.” Residents can now get $1 for every square foot of lawn that they replace with a drought-resistant alternative. In L.A., outdoor uses account for 30 to 40 percent of a household’s total water consumption, and a lot of that is used to keep large plots of grass alive. This could have a dramatic impact on water use. L.A. isn’t alone. Las Vegas already has a cash for grass program, and Roseville, in northern California, just renewed theirs. It would be great to see these spread to other drought-stricken areas. And the sacrifice is pretty minimal. If you replace your lawn with some nice native plants, you can end up with a super-low-maintenance yard that actually looks like it belongs in an arid climate. Ironically, due to a legal loophole, L.A.’s other “cash for grass” program has turned out to be a little bit of a problem." - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

Hmmmm, gonna do more digging on this one. Wonder if it's retroactive. - Anika Malone

"The NRDC did a little legwork and decided that the American Clean Energy and Security Act*, which passed the House last Friday, would result in a lower fuel prices for us all. Here’s their explanation of why: “The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act allocates funding to produce the next generation of clean, fuel-efficient vehicles in the United States, and when combined with clean vehicle performance standards adopted by the Obama administration, the American on-road fleet will become about 25 percent more fuel efficient over the next decade. As a result, by 2020, Americans will drive more efficient vehicles and have lower household transportation costs. Even in the face of rising gasoline prices, cleaner vehicles will save money by sipping instead of guzzling gasoline.” So that’s great. Or is it? Lower gas prices might not be what we need at all. The price of gas will fall as America’s on-road fleet gets more efficient precisely because the companies that sell gas will... more... - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

The thing is, what other countries do will also affect the price of gas. If another war breaks out in the Middle East, or fuel demand increases in developing nations, we may not see lower prices at all. (The reverse also holds true.) So I don't put much faith in fuel price predictions. - John

"New York City has very little land that is not covered with buildings, forcing New Yorkers to find innovative solutions if they want to keep their agricultural production truly local. But while some people grow a few herbs on their fire escapes, Ben Flanner is transforming an entire industrial rooftop into a living garden. Atop a defunct bagel factory in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood—a Polish enclave more known for its pierogies than its organic tomatoes—Flanner dropped 200,000 pounds of dirt on 6,000 square feet of rooftop (by crane), and in so doing brought new life into a mostly concrete neighborhood.Flanner used to work at E-Trade, but decided he had had enough of the corporate life: “About a year ago I came to the conclusion that I’d learned what I needed to learn from the jobs that I’d had,” he says. “And I decided that it was time to put together a plan to move on and continue my learning in a new realm.” He had always had an interest in farming, but the recent wave of... more... - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

there's a growing number of them being built in nyc and brooklyn. i think it's great - Cee Bee

""It sets targets that are too weak, especially in the short term, and sets about meeting those targets through Enron-style accounting methods.  It gives new life to one of the primary sources of the problem that should be on its way out"" coal "" by giving it record subsidies.  And it is rounded out with massive corporate giveaways at taxpayer expense.  There is $60 billion for a single technology which may or may not work, but which enables coal power plants to keep warming the planet at least another 20 years." - Jonathan Lee via Bookmarklet