The environment thread

[BigSqwert]

LINK

 

"Holy Grail" of LEDs Will Cost Three Bucks, Last 60 Years

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.30.09

 

LEDs make happy stories; previous ones have headlines including OLED Breakthrough, Breakthrough could change the world, and Major Milestone. And now we add The Holy Grail.

 

Colin Humphries' team at Cambridge University has figured out how to grow gallium nitride on silicon instead of sapphires, making a much cheaper light emitting diode. LEDs can reduce lighting bills by 75% compared to incandescent, but they still cost a lot of money. Humphries claims within five years, the new bulbs will be available, cheap, mercury free, dimmable and designed to last over 50 years.

 

He is quoted the University of Cambridge Newsletter:

"Thi

s

could well be the holy grail in term

s

of providing our lighting need

s

for the future. We are very clo

s

e to achieving highly efficient, low co

s

t white LED

s

that can ta

k

e the place of both traditional and currently available low-energy light bulb

s

. That won't ju

s

t be good new

s

for the environment, it will al

s

o benefit con

s

umer

s

by cutting their electricity bill

s

....

 

There i

s

s

till wor

k

to be done in ma

k

ing the white light from current and future LED

s

le

s

s

har

s

h

–

in the

s

ame way that

s

ome people will cling to incande

s

cent light bulb

s

for

s

ome time to come, citing their more-appealing light, no doubt there will be

s

ome reticence from

s

ome in moving wholeheartedly into u

s

ing LED

s

in their lounge or bedroom."

In the UK alone, use of the new bulbs instead of warm and cosy incandescents would end the need for eight big power stations. No doubt in America, the Light bulb Freedom of Choice Act will be revised to ban them as they will hurt the coal industry and the infrastructure workers building new power plants.

[StrangeSox]

They can have my incandescents when they pry them from my cold, dead hands.

[NorthSideSox72]

They can have my incandescents when they pry them from my cold, dead hands.

LOL

 

[BigSqwert]

All of them will be. But since Tesla is further along the manufacturing curve, their light at the end of the tunnel is closer. And I have a feeling that all these sorts of companies will get some help from the government, in the form of targeted tax breaks to them and to buyers, etc. But some will fail anyway.

 

Also, this is why Tesla was smarter, starting with the pricier models first. That market is less effected by a bad economy than the more price-sensitive buyers.

Tesla's 'Model S' San Jose Factory Might be Dead

by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 01.30.09

 

Recession Squeezing Tesla

Last fall Tesla Motors announced a planned investment of $250 million to build a 500-worker new production plant in San Jose, California, to make its upcoming 'Model S' electric sedan. But since then, economic conditions have deteriorated quite a bit and there's a good chance that Tesla will be forced to look at other options.

 

From the San Jose Mercury News:

The company failed to

s

ecure $100 million in venture financing for the factory in the fall, and now realize

s

that the $450 million it hope

s

to get from government loan program

s

favor retrofitting exi

s

ting building

s

rather than con

s

tructing new one

s

in green field

s

, company

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po

k

e

s

woman Rachel

K

onrad

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aid Thur

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day.

What Tesla will probably do is find an existing industrial site that it can buy and retrofit, and that might not be in San Jose (San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed says he's "disappointed somebody else is going to get a chance at the manufacturing facility for the sedan."). The good news is that 'recycling' an already existing site might actually be more efficient if a proper site can be found.

 

But even if the plant probably won't be in San Jose, there's a chance that Tesla will move its headquarters, R&D facility, and powertrain-assembly shop to San Jose from their current site in San Carlos (that's about 525 people).

 

The 'Model S' is still planned for 2012, but with uncertain loans and no manufacturing plant, I wouldn't be surprised if that date changed some more.

 

LINK

[BigSqwert]

But I thought trying to be more green in the business world is cost prohibitive??? Being green will hurt American business!!

 

/snark

 

Wal-Mart Tests New Diesel-Hybrid Trucks, Reclaimed Cooking Grease and LNG Fuels

by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02. 4.09

 

A More Fuel-Efficient Truck Fleet

 

Logistics doesn't get bigger than Wal-Mart (except maybe the U.S. Military), and so anything they can do to reduce even by a few % is going to have a pretty big impact when measured in barrels of oil or tons of CO2. They have already surpassed one of their goal, which was to achieve a 25% efficiency improvement between 2005 and 2008, and now they are testing some new ways to improve their massive truck fleet with diesel-hybrid, reclaimed cooking grease and liquid natural gas fuels.

Wal-Mart Pilot Program for a Greener Truck Fleet

The 4 new types of trucks that Wal-Mart are testing are:

 

* A full-propulsion Arvin Meritor hybrid that will initially operate in the Detroit area. This dual-mode diesel-electric hybrid is believed to be the first vehicle of its type

* Fifteen trucks operating in Buckeye, Ariz. distribution center near Phoenix, will be converted to run on Reclaimed Grease Fuel, made with the waste brown cooking grease from Walmart stores. In addition, the remaining trucks located in the Buckeye distribution center will operate on an 80/20 blend of biodiesel made of reclaimed yellow waste grease

* Five Peterbilt Model 386 heavy duty hybrid trucks with diesel-electric hybrid power systems developed by Eaton Corporation and PACCAR, that will be based in Dallas, Houston, Apple Valley, Calif., Atlanta and the Washington/Baltimore regions

* Four Peterbilt Model 386 trucks and one yard truck, which operates only on the distribution center property, will operate on liquid natural gas. These trucks are part of a partnership with the Mojave Air Quality Management District and will operate out of the distribution center in Southern California

 

Wal-Mart has also been reducing its CO2 footprint by using "better delivery routes and by loading its trailers more efficiently," as well as improvements to the coefficient of drag of the trucks (so they are more 'slippery' and use less energy fighting air resistance -- a big deal especially on the highway).

 

The new goal set for 2015 is to double the company's fleet efficiency by 2015, using 2005 as the baseline year (which means that the improvement of around 25% already achieved will count as part of that). That's an ambitious goal, but we're sure that all of Wal-Mart's competitors are paying attention and that this kind of effort is helping the whole industry push for more efficiency.

 

Let's remember though that the ultimate goal should be zero greenhouse gas emissions. It takes a very long time for CO2 to be cycled out of the atmosphere, so even if the rate goes down, GHGs are still accumulating. Cleaner sources of energy will need to be found not only for truck fleets, but also for the actual production of goods too. We encourage Wal-Mart, and others, to plan for the long-term.

 

LINK

 

 

[Balta1701]

More than 100,000 acres of Utah wilderness will be protected from oil and gas drilling after the Department of Interior announced today that it will cancel 77 leases issued under the Bush administration. This is among the first actions taken by the Obama administration to protect America’s wild lands. Since December, a coalition of environmental groups – led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), Earthjustice, and the Wilderness Society – have been working to protect these public lands. In December, the coalition filed suit to stop the leasing, and, in January, Judge Ricardo M. Urbina of the U.S. District Court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from moving forward with these leases.

 

“I see this announcement as a sign that after eight long years of rapacious greed and backdoor dealings, our government is returning a sense of balance to the way it manages our lands," said Robert Redford, an NRDC trustee. "American citizens once again have a say in the fate of their public lands, which in this case happen to be some of the last pristine places on earth.”

Breath of fresh air.

[StrangeSox]

Rooftop wind turbine, coming soon to a Costco near you!

 

http://www.physorg.com/news152460451.html

 

(Physorg.com) -- A Seattle man has invented a small wind turbine that can be installed on homeowners' rooftops. The "Jellyfish" wind turbine generates about 40 kilowatt hours each month, which is enough to light a home using high-efficiency bulbs.

 

According to inventor Chad Maglaque, 42, the advantage of the rooftop wind turbines is that people can buy them at big box stores like Costco, and the devices wouldn't require extra expenses and inspections that large-scale wind systems do. Maglaque built a prototype of his turbine for about $100, but expects that each turbine would initially cost $400-$500 if sold in a store.

 

Seeking financial support to continue his project, the West Seattle resident has entered his prototype in Google's "Project 10 to the 100th" contest. The contest celebrates Google's 10th anniversary by awarding $10 million to five innovative inventions. Google received more than 100,000 entries submitted in 25 languages, and has narrowed the field to 100 entries. Starting March 17, the public can vote to determine the top 20, and a Google advisory panel will pick the five winners.

 

According to an article in The Seattle Times earlier this week, Maglaque's YouTube entry for his wind turbine is one of the most viewed among all the submitted projects.

 

The three-foot wind turbine, which has three vertical blades, could be plugged directly into an outdoor electrical socket. The turbine's variable-speed motor is then connected directly to the electrical grid. When its sensors detect an adequate amount of wind, the turbine automatically turns the motor on, generating electricity that can either be used in the home or fed back to the grid.

 

While other small wind turbines have already been developed, most require an expensive converter to transform variable wind energy into a steady current for the grid. Maglaque's design doesn't need a converter, making it easier to use and relatively less expensive.

 

"It's not going to power the whole house," says Maglaque, who does freelance work in product management and strategy for technology companies. "But it's about doing every little bit."

 

If Maglaque decides to push his idea forward, he will have to obtain safety certifications and utility approval, and face other various restrictions. In his project application to Google, he said he would use the contest money to pursue these certifications, as well as to support policy change among governments and utilities to allow the devices to operate.

 

More information:

 

About the Jellyfish Wind Turbine - www.clariantechnologies.com/

 

Google's Project 10 to the 100th - http://www.project10tothe100.com/

[Balta1701]

Good climate change example story from Reuters.

Rising sea levels are causing salt water to flow into India's biggest river, threatening its ecosystem and turning vast farmlands barren in the country's east, a climate change expert warned Monday.

 

A study by an east Indian university in the city of Kolkata revealed surprising growth of mangroves on the Ganges river, said Pranabes Sanyal, the eastern India representative of the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA).

 

"This phenomenon is called extension of salt wedge and it will salinate the groundwater of Kolkata and turn agricultural lands barren in adjoining rural belts," said Sanyal, an expert in global warming.

 

Sea levels in some parts of the Bay of Bengal were rising at 3.14 mm annually against a global average of 2 mm, threatening the low-lying areas of eastern India.

 

Climate experts warned last year that as temperatures rise, the Indian subcontinent -- home to about one-sixth of humanity -- will be badly hit with more frequent and more severe natural disasters such as floods and storms and more disease and hunger.

 

Sanyal and the department of Oceanography at the Kolkata-based Jadavpur University spotted the mangrove plants, a rare phenomenon along the Ganges river belt, where east India's biggest city of Kolkata with 12 million people lies.

 

"We were surprised over the natural regeneration of mangroves along the river bank in Kolkata and it is worrisome," said Sanyal, who teaches in the university.

This is the kind of thing we mean when we start talking about how urgent this problem is. Another few decades and a few hundred million people lose their livelihoods and their food source, and it's irreversible once it happens.

[NorthSideSox72]

So here is a related but strange question... if sea levels are rising... and all sorts of navigation, telemetry and constructions systems use sea level as a basis for the measure of altitude... when does this start causing problems with, for example, aircraft navigation? When do sea levels rise enough (a few feet?), for it to become material?

 

Just something odd to consider. Sea level has been used as a predictable baseline for many things.

 

[DBAHO]

This is back in my home state;

 

WHOLE towns have been declared crime scenes as the toll from Victoria's worst natural disaster leapt to 166.

 

The death tolls in two of Victoria’s hardest hit towns have jumped dramatically in just a few hours.

 

In the latest figures released by police about 2.30am, the death toll in St Andrews leapt from six to 22 and at Strathewen from seven to 26.

 

It is believed the jump in numbers came after rescuers found large groups of bodies were people huddled together as they tried to brave the blaze.

 

Premier John Brumby yesterday warned the bushfire emergency would get worse before it gets any better.

 

"We've still got fires that are not contained," he said.

 

"There is a huge effort to get them under control.

 

"Tragically, we will have more deaths later this week."

 

There are fears the tragedy will have claimed more than 200 lives by the time police complete their searches of towns wiped out by the blazes.

 

The bushfire death toll has now reached 166 dead as police tried to account for the people who perished in the fires.

 

The worst-hit area remains Kinglake where at least 33 perished and grave fears are held for many others, including Paul and Karen Roland and their daughters Caitlin, 14, and Nicola, 12.

 

"They were stuck at their property and had no power.

 

"Then the fire went through and by the time they found out it was too late to leave," Karen's sister Rebecca Trezise said. "We haven't heard anything since."

 

Locals say 22 people died in Steels Creek Rd, near Yarra Glen, including three children seeking sanctuary in a bathtub.

 

Burnt-out cars which became tombs lined bush roads in the central highlands where volunteers were recovering the charred remains of friends and colleagues.

 

Three sisters were waiting near a roadblock outside Healesville when they were told their parents and disabled brother were dead.

 

Two of the sisters' husbands had gone through the roadblock in a desperate search for Faye and Bill Walker and their wheelchair-bound son, Geoffrey, 53, at Narbethong.

 

They found their bodies inside the house, with their car parked outside, packed and ready to go with the key in the ignition and the family dog in the back.

 

The three daughters -- Marilyn, Julie and Vivian -- were inconsolable as they cried and hugged each other at the roadblock when their partners returned with the news.

 

A massive relief effort has been mounted to help those left homeless by the destruction of 750 dwellings in Australia's worst natural disaster.

Its scope was evident at emergency refugee camps at Alexandra and Whittlesea where hundreds of the homeless have converged for help.

 

Hand-written notes and pictures are plastered on walls as survivors desperately try to make contact with loved ones.

 

In many cases, they are facing a gut-wrenching wait for police to scour the towns in which their family members or friends were last seen alive.

 

Victorians told of the horrific final minutes of relatives such as Wandong man Steve Lackas.

 

"I've got to go, I've got to go. The fire was all around him," brother Paul recalled of their last phone conversation.

 

He later found Steve, wearing a fire-retardant suit, in his laundry.

 

In other developments yesterday:

 

PREMIER John Brumby announced a Royal Commission into the calamity.

 

A SPECIAL new police taskforce is expected to be assembled to catch those responsible for some of the blazes.

 

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd branded the arsonists mass-murderers.

 

TRIBUTES flowed in for respected newsreader Brian Naylor, killed with his wife Moiree at Kinglake.

 

THE Red Cross said 5000 people had lost or evacuated their homes.

 

ARMY soldiers and interstate firefighters arrived to help battle those fire still burning.

 

CFA urgent threat messages were last night issued for the Toolangi, Won Wron, Dederang, Gundowring, Gundowring Upper, Glen Creek, Kergunyah South, Mudgegonga, Running Creek, Connellys Creek, Acheron, Crystal Creek, Crystal Creek Road, Scrubby Creek and along Wharregarwen Road .

 

Many other communities remained on alert, among them Healesville where fire-bombing aircraft were battling to douse spot blazes from a looming firefront.

 

Disaster victim identification experts yesterday said it could be months before their work was completed.

 

Insp. Greg Hough of Victoria Police pleaded for the community to be patient and support the police and forensic experts performing their harrowing task.

 

All of the fire-ravaged towns have been declared crime scenes as police start a massive investigation.

 

An angry Mr Rudd spoke angrily of the firebugs suspected of causing much of the carnage.

 

"What can you say about anyone like that there are no words to describe it other than mass murder," Mr Rudd said.

 

"The nation should brace itself for a very challenging time ahead."

 

Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon yesterday toured the devastated Kinglake and Marysville townships and last night told the Herald Sun it was one of the worst things she had ever seen in a long policing career.

 

She said at Kinglake a CFA volunteer approached wanting to know where to report his discovery of the bodies of two people he believed he knew.

 

"You see whole streets that were gone. You couldnt but be shocked and moved. This is easily one of the saddest things I've been involved in," she said.

 

Melbourne's media last night remained stunned by the death of Naylor, one of the industry's revered elder statesmen and his beloved wife.

 

Nine's current senior newsreader Peter Hitchener, who took over from Naylor, told of his sadness at the loss of his longtime friend.

 

"Brian had been a colleague and friend for more than 30 years," Hitchener said.

 

"Brian and his wife Moiree maintained their friendship with Nine staff even beyond his retirement and for me it's a tragic personal link to Australia's greatest ever natural disaster."

 

Alfred Hospital emergency department doctor De Villiers Smit said the blazes were a disaster on a similar scale to the Bali bombings.

 

"This is by far the worst disaster I've ever been involved with," Dr Smit said.

[DBAHO]

[BigSqwert]

This seems pretty cool and it's free.

 

http://beta.zumbox.com/

 

Zumbox delivers paperless mail online – from street address to street address. What used to only be sent as paper mail can now be sent without the paper. How? We’ve created a nationwide paperless postal service with a Zumbox for every street address in the United States, including yours.

[NorthSideSox72]

This seems pretty cool and it's free.

 

http://beta.zumbox.com/

um... isn't that called email?

 

By the way, there is an area that could really use some reform - junk mail. Just like the Do Not Call list, there should be a Do Not Mail list. So much paper and time is wasted on crappy offers in the mail that most people don't want. You could save a lot of money and trees by only having those offers go to people that actually want them.

 

[BigSqwert]

um... isn't that called email?

 

Why Zumbox Is Not e-Mail

What makes this different from email is that it is based on street addresses, and that it is entirely secure. Many businesses have a hard time going paperless because their databases are based on street addresses. Emails are too hard to track, update, confirm, and are not secure, so mailing paper and envelopes is still the primary way to ensure important data gets to recipients. But Zumbox is based on a person's permanent mailing address - exactly what businesses need - and is entirely secure, so that sensitive information can still be sent and received with confidence.

[NorthSideSox72]

OK, so really, its not email - its a spam box. What other purpose could it possibly have? If you want email from someone, you trade email addresses.

 

There is a zero percent chance I ever sign up for something like this. Why would I want more spam?

 

[StrangeSox]

OK, so really, its not email - its a spam box. What other purpose could it possibly have? If you want email from someone, you trade email addresses.

 

There is a zero percent chance I ever sign up for something like this. Why would I want more spam?

 

Exactly. If I want paperless statements from my bank, I sign up for it and provide my email. Why would I want another place for unsolicited offers?

[Soxbadger]

I can see it being useful in very limited circumstances.

 

(Law firms joining the program and then being able to send notices via this system instead of mail.)

 

But other than that, it seems useless to normal people.

[BigSqwert]

more info

Suppose your dog or cat (perish the thought) goes missing. With Zumbox, you can send a notice with a photo (and video, if you like) to all of your neighbors…digitally. You don’t have to know their email addresses, and you don’t have to walk house-to-house. And since Zumbox is a closed system—mail is sent from one Zumbox to another—it provides total accountability. You know precisely where all of your Zumbox mail is coming from. If your neighbor sends an overwhelming number of missing pet notices or Bar-B-Que invites (it can happen), you can opt to block mail from that sender. In this sense, Zumbox represents a new way to communicate and connect with your community (or not).

 

Zumbox is also highly secure. Most companies do not send sensitive information via e-mail. You don’t get your bank statement via e-mail; you get a notification that your statement is ready to view through the bank’s secure website. You then have to login to their website to view or download your statement and pay your bill…all within that secure environment. Zumbox is a similarly secure environment, meeting or exceeding PCI, HIPAA, and BITS standards. In other words, it’s banking-level security, and we take it very seriously.

 

Lastly, e-mail does you no good if you don’t have someone’s e-mail address. There’s a certain irony in the fact that spammers somehow have your e-mail but people or companies from whom you might want to get electronic mail do not. These might include the schools where your children attend or the local theater. By using the street address system, Zumbox enables people to reach you through a secure, paperless medium. And unlike paper mail and e-mail, Zumbox users can easily and effectively block unwanted mail.

 

I guess I'm intrigued because I'm all for having a paperless environment.

Edited February 10, 2009 by BigSqwert

[NorthSideSox72]

more info

 

 

I guess I'm intrigued because I'm all for having a paperless environment.

The few and very rare circumstances where I'd need to get information to a bunch of neighbors quickly (like a lost pet), is far, far, far outweighed by the ridiculous amount of spam that we will get on here. This explanation, from the site itself, is trying to make you feel better. Its a spam terminal waiting to happen.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

more info

 

 

I guess I'm intrigued because I'm all for having a paperless environment.

Better solution - a Do-Not-Mail list, like the Do-Not-Call list. Immediate and affirmative, and would result in a dramatic drop in paper. And it does no bad to the businesses sending them, because people who want them will still get them.

 

 

[BigSqwert]

The few and very rare circumstances where I'd need to get information to a bunch of neighbors quickly (like a lost pet), is far, far, far outweighed by the ridiculous amount of spam that we will get on here. This explanation, from the site itself, is trying to make you feel better. Its a spam terminal waiting to happen.

 

But you will know the exact address of the source of the spam....and can then block that physical address. You will see the 'spam' pretty much like a .pdf of an actual piece of junk mail. Seems like an easier way to get rid of junk mail then the paper version.

 

[BigSqwert]

Better solution - a Do-Not-Mail list, like the Do-Not-Call list.

There are services already in place for targeting mass junk-mailers.

[NorthSideSox72]

But you will know the exact address of the source of the spam....and can then block that physical address. You will see the 'spam' pretty much like a .pdf of an actual piece of junk mail. Seems like an easier way to get rid of junk mail then the paper version.

How many hundreds of thousands of businesses are there out there? Are you going to block every one as they hit you? I wouldn't want to waste that much of my time.

 

if you have a full-on opt-out feature, then it has become no different than email anyway, so what was the point?

 

The easy way to get rid of junk mail, is to get rid of junk mail - not give it a new path to follow.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

There are services already in place for targeting mass junk-mailers.

Voluntary and only apply to specific ones, or small groups - at least, last I looked.

 

[BigSqwert]

How many hundreds of thousands of businesses are there out there? Are you going to block every one as they hit you? I wouldn't want to waste that much of my time.

 

if you have a full-on opt-out feature, then it has become no different than email anyway, so what was the point?

 

The easy way to get rid of junk mail, is to get rid of junk mail - not give it a new path to follow.

The program is closed circuit. You can't have a business make up thousands of fake addresses to send from like you can for email.