Dirt-Powered Clock Hooks Up to Your Houseplants

From the very same innovative designer that brought us the soil-powered LED lamp comes a clock that also runs on dirt. Marieke Staps’ soil clock has copper and zinc electrodes that plug into the soil. Inhabitat explains that “The soil functions as an electrolyte, or conductive medium through which an electrical charge can flow. The natural metabolism of biological life produces enough electricity to keep the clock working.”

But if your plant dies from lack of watering, so will the clock – you’ve got to keep the soil moist.

Sure, this is no miracle invention – it’s a simple electrochemical cell – but it’s still cool, and the promise of harvesting energy from soil certainly doesn’t stop here. It could be a valuable asset in third world countries, where anodes and cathodes could be made from scrap metal. It’s certainly an idea worth investigating further.

Link [Inhabitat]

Turning Rotten Bananas into Bricks of Fuel

In some African countries, like Rwanda, bananas are plentiful – and so are their discarded peels. But one thing that’s not plentiful is affordable fuel for cooking, lighting and heating. Researchers at Nottingham University have found a way to use the resources that are available by turning rotten banana peels into briquettes that would not only provide fuel but also help reduce deforestation by limiting reliance on firewood.

From BBC News:

According to scientists, for every one tonne of bananas, there are an estimated 10 tonnes of waste, made up of skins, leaves and stems.

It was on a visit to Rwanda that Joel Chaney, a PhD student from the University of Nottingham came up with the idea of developing a low-tech approach to turn this banana waste into an efficient fuel source.

Back in the laboratory at the University’s faculty of engineering, Joel showed me how to make bananas burn.

He first mashes a pile of rotting skins and leaves. This pulp is then mixed with saw dust, compressed and dried to create briquettes that ignite readily and throw out a steady heat, ideal for cooking.

“The banana skins bind other materials together really well, they act like glue,” says Mr Chaney.

“We can then either form the material into a ball by hand, or use a press to squeeze the materials together and squeeze the liquid out.

“Once we’ve pressed them we can lay the briquettes outside in the sun, and within about two weeks we have some dried fuel.”

This fuel source is ideal for third world conditions because the briquettes can be made by hand, without any mechanical equipment. Using banana briquettes as fuel would help countries like Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi keep forests intact. These countries currently rely on firewood for 80% of their fuel needs.

We are really blown away by the creativity and innovation that is happening right now in the alternative fuel industry. Add rotten bananas to the list of amazingly unexpected fuel sources that might collectively help us exit the age of reliance on fossil fuels.

Link [BBC News]

Wind Power Gaining Popularity in New York City

New York City is warming up to wind power, as evidenced by the small turbines that are popping up on the rooftops of apartment buildings. The small turbines typically look like table fans rather than the towering white wind turbines seen in large open spaces. These mini turbines supply power directly to homes without first sending it through a utility company’s lines.

From The New York Times:

One major sticking point in the city is that densely packed buildings tend to scatter breezes, making it tough to capture steady gusts. Although this and other kinks need to be addressed before the widespread rollout of small turbines is possible, there are signs of gains.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg stoked excitement among wind-power advocates in August when he announced that he supported putting turbines atop city skyscrapers.

Of the 60 proposals that were later submitted to the city under a request for renewable-energy projects, the majority were wind related, including technologies for apartment-mounted machines, said Jen Becker, a vice president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “It’s definitely something we are looking at seriously,” she said.

The Blue Sea Development Company is building a five-story brick apartment building in the Melrose section of South Bronx that wil be partially powered by 10 1-kilowatt turbines. The turbines cost about $10,000 each and are expected to halve the annual utility bill for the common spaces. The project is designed as affordable housing, with montly rents ranging between $750-$1,089.

The state is offering a break for those who want to install wind turbines by covering half of initial expenses. A provision in the Troubled Assets Relief Program bailout bill also created a national one-time 30% tax credit for the installation costs for homeowners.

It’s nice to see NYC thinking outside the box. It definitely doesn’t seem like the ideal place for wind energy to take off, but more power to them for making it work.

Link [The New York Times]

World’s First Sustainable Dance Club

Sure you like to party, but did you know that dancing could help power your favorite club? Check out this video which profiles the Sustainable Dance Club in Rotterdam (NL).

According to The Lohasian,

The club uses proven technologies such as grey water circuits, sustainable (renewable) materials, wind turbines and solar panels. But goes even further by integrating human movement and human experience into the sustainability design.

Moving, sweating, body heat all interface with the environment, from powering LED lights through a movement powered dance floor, to changing wall colors effected by body heat.The innovative design truly pushes the boundaries of sustainable thinking, by creating an incredibly interesting value chain between the DJ who is to inspire the club attendees who power the “light show” and various other elements of the the club – creating the ultimate atmosphere and experience.

For more information, visit sustainablerotterdam.com.

New Volage Electric Car Capable of Reaching 160mph

If you thought the Tesla Roadster was cool, get a load of the newly-unveiled ‘Venturi Volage Roadster’, a fully electric roadster capable of reaching 160 mph.  The Volage, which debuted at the Paris Motor Show, boasts 295 horsepower and 171 pound-feet of torque, enabling it to go from 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds.  One of its most notable innovations is its revolutionary suspension/propulsion system that fits two electric motors within each of its wheels.

From Inhabitat:

Michelin has outfitted the Venturi Volage with a new breed of in-wheel tech that it calls Active Wheel Technology. The idea is to fit as much as possible within the wheel envelope – in this case the entire active suspension, electric motor and brakes . This frees up enough space for a slim and lightweight carbon-fiber chassis that weighs in at 2,369 pounds. It also means that each wheel will be independently powered, which provides for a significant amount of additional control over the vehicle.

Of course, that is not the only impressive thing about the Volage. It is, after all, a fully electric roadster with a top speed of nearly 160mph and a range of 200 miles. And it is very cool looking. The Venturi Volage is currently planned for production in 2012.

Now that is one sexy electric car! Check out the rest of the details at the Venturi Volage website.

Link [Inhabitat] + [Venturi Volage] via [EcoGeek]

New Nightclub in London Gets 60% of its Power from Dancing Clubgoers

Last weekend saw the grand opening of Britain’s first ‘eco-nightclub’, “Club4Climate”.  The London club features a high-tech dance floor that generates power from the people who are dancing on it.  The dancer’s body movements cause the floor to generate an electric charge that is said to produce an estimated 60% of the club’s energy needs.

From Atypical Events:

Club4Climate was started by a property developer named Andre Charalambous, who goes by the alias of “Dr.Earth.”

The entrance fee to the club is just £10 but upon entrance, customers are must sign a pledge promising that they will work to curtail climate change.

Customers who arrive at the club on foot or on bikes will get in for free, although they will still have to sign the pledge to fight climate change.

The green efforts at Club4Climate don’t stop at the electricity-generating dance floor, the venue also sells organic drinks in polycarbon cups and the bathrooms are equipped with waterless urinals and low flush toilets.

The club also has its own solar power and wind turbine system, and any excess power will be donated locally.

60% is a pretty high number! If it’s correct, we love this – this is some major eco-innovation.  The website is kind of hilarious (check out Dr. Earth), with a tagline of “all you have to do is dance to save the world” and the statement that “Dr. Earth wants you to be environmentally aware, but he sees no reason why environmental awareness and hedonism shouldn’t go hand in hand. They are not mutually exclusive.”

Check out the video below:

Link [Atypical Events] + [Club4Climate]

Wildlife Group Presses Poor Nations on Carbon Emissions

Third world countries’ carbon emissions are rising fast, but they’re insistent that they have a right to continue expanding their economies via cheap but dirty fossil fuels as long as their emissions don’t reach the higher per-capita emission rates of industrialized nations.  But, by some reports, countries like China and India may already be surpassing the world’s industrialized powers in terms of CO2 emissions.  Valli Moosa, president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), told delegates at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona that poorer nations need to take responsibility.

From Dot Earth:

“It is not good enough for big developing countries to take absolutely no responsibility just because the biggest contributors to climate change are the developed countries,” Mr. Moosa said at the opening ceremony of the congress, held every four years under the auspices of the IUCN.

“America and industrialized nations must lead the way,” he said. “Developing countries like my own must become part of, and abide by, the same set of transparent and enforceable rules,” he said. Mr. Moosa’s comments came ahead of climate-treaty talks in December in Poznań, Poland, that are aimed at pushing forward negotiations on a new global agreement on cutting emissions – and where concerns about allowing emerging economic superpowers like China and India to pollute as much as Western countries is almost certain to be a key stumbling block.

It’s understandable that nations like China and India are putting concerns about carbon emissions on the back burner, since they’re simply trying to improve their economies and by extension, the lives of their citizens.  And, cheap fossil fuels probably seem like the only option for them – after all, that’s how industrialized nations like the U.S. got to where we are today.  But, Moosa is right – developing nations can’t go on as they are without doing major damage to the earth, and we’ve got to give them a better example. It’s definitely time to start showing developing nations that they can be prosperous without harming the environment, and we can only do that by aggressively implementing green energy technology in our own countries.

Link [Dot Earth]
Photo credit: Flickr user Wolfiewolf

State of the Economy: Problems Around the World

What’s the state of our economy? Well, let’s just say things aren’t looking so hot. This video from GOOD magazine outlines the problems facing the U.S. and the world.

From YouTube:

If we’re addicted to oil, our twelve-step program should begin with admitting that we have a problem. As the price of oil creeps higher, finding new energy sources is more important than ever. But the search for alternatives, combined with environmental disruptions, is putting new pressures on other essentials like food. There are some things that are going well in the world. Right now, the economy is not one of them.

Animation & Design by Chris Weller
Directed by Max Joseph
Music: “Genesis” by Justice

John McCain is About as Green as a Barrel of Oil

John McCain has been trying to sell us the message that he’s ‘green’ for months now.  Between the false promises he spouts at every opportunity and his laughable line of ‘eco-friendly merchandise’, McCain is doing everything he can to appear just as environmentally responsible as his opponent, Barack Obama.  Too bad most of us are aware that it’s simply not true. Despite McCain’s attempts to greenwash his record and how he would run the country given the chance, his record shows that he’s about as green as a barrel of oil.

From Salon.com:

The facts are clear. All you have to do is look at his voting record. It reveals that McCain has long been one of the strongest opponents of clean energy in Congress, with a record matching that of James Inhofe, the most hardcore global-warming denier in the Senate, who comes from the heart of the oil patch in Oklahoma.

Recently the Associated Press noted that “McCain has not shown up for eight Senate votes last year and this year to extend [renewable energy] tax credits, which expire at the end of this year. The last such vote was July 30.” Yet at an Aspen Institute meeting in August, when McCain was asked about those missed votes, he simply lied to the audience.

As for McCain’s “long record of that support of alternate energy,” consider the votes on renewable energy funding and a federal “renewable portfolio standard” (RPS) that he did show up for this decade:

In every case, McCain voted against renewables, as did Sen. “Global warming is ‘the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people’” Inhofe. On the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the biggest congressional effort to push alternative energy in more than a decade, McCain voted against it along with just 11 other senators. Even Inhofe voted for it.

As Salon notes, part of the reason McCain consistently votes against renewable energy is likely the fact that he’s technologically out of touch.  He has claimed that “the truly green technologies don’t work”, saying that “most every expert” he knows believes that even if we maximized renewables in every way, the contribution they would make is “very small”.  He also disagreed with T. Boone Pickens – the noted conservative Texas oil billionaire who’s now pushing wind power – that renewable energy could meet the demand over the next 20 years, a fact that even the Bush administration admits to.  If even Bush sees the truth of green technology and McCain doesn’t, you get the idea of how much trouble we’ll be in if this guy wins.

Link [Salon]
Photo credit: EarthFirst composite/AP

Einstein Refrigerator Invention May Come Back Into Vogue

When Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard teamed up back in the 1930’s, one of their ideas would go on to change the world forever: the atomic bomb. As destructive as that invention was, they might be happy to know that another invention of theirs – an eco-friendly refrigerator that runs without electricity – could have a role in the fight against global warming nearly eighty years later.

From The Guardian:

Modern fridges are notoriously damaging to the environment. They work by compressing and expanding man-made greenhouse gases called freons – far more damaging that carbon dioxide – and are being manufactured in increasing numbers. Sales of fridges around the world are rising as demand increases in developing countries.

Einstein and Szilard’s idea avoids the need for freons. It uses ammonia, butane and water and takes advantage of the fact that liquids boil at lower temperatures when the air pressure around them is lower. ‘If you go to the top of Mount Everest, water boils at a much lower temperature than it does when you’re at sea level and that’s because the pressure is much lower up there,’ said McCulloch.

At one side is the evaporator, a flask that contains butane. ‘If you introduce a new vapour above the butane, the liquid boiling temperature decreases and, as it boils off, it takes energy from the surroundings to do so,’ says McCulloch. ‘That’s what makes it cold.’

McCulloch believes that the Einstein-Szilard refrigerator can be tweaked so that it’s up to four times more efficient. Plus, since the fridge only needs enough energy to heat a pump, solar power can be used.  McCulloch’s version of the fridge is still in prototype mode, but he hopes to have it close to commercial-quality shortly.

Link [The Guardian]

Google Considering Wave-Powered ‘Data Barges’

Google may be moving their data centers offshore (and toward green), if the patent they applied for is any indication. It seems as if they’re seeking to cut power costs and avoid paying property taxes by placing their supercomputers on barges anchored 3-7 miles offshore, where they would use wave energy to power and cool the computers.

The Times Online has it:

In the patent application seen by The Times, Google writes: “Computing centres are located on a ship or ships, anchored in a water body from which energy from natural motion of the water may be captured, and turned into electricity and/or pumping power for cooling pumps to carry heat away.”

The increasing number of data centres necessary to cope with the massive information flows generated on popular websites has prompted companies to look at radical ideas to reduce their running costs.

Data centres consumed 1 per cent of the world’s electricity in 2005. By 2020 the carbon footprint of the computers that run the internet will be larger than that of air travel, a recent study by McKinsey, a consultancy firm, and the Uptime Institute, a think tank, predicted.

Technology experts dubbed the offshore data barges ‘a computer army’, drawing reactions across the web with titles like, ‘If Google was Iran, wouldn’t we be scared right now?’  A lot of questions have arisen about the idea, including the fact that 7 miles offshore is within the jurisdiction of many states, the fact that security could be an issue and that having the exclusive right to attempt such a thing would prevent other companies from achieving similar carbon-cutting progress.  Google has refused to clarify the plan, saying they often file patent applications on ideas that may or may not ever become reality.

Seems like a pretty smart move to us.  If, as noted by The Times Online, the carbon footprint of these supercomputers could outweigh that of air travel, something should be done about it now, and the idea of using wave power is pretty innovative.

Link [The Times Online]

Great Green Job of the Week: Center Director for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located in Golden, Colorado, is seeking a full-time Center Director with experience in engineering, science or a related discipline.  The NREL is a leader in the U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to secure a green, economically sustainable energy future for America.  The NREL mission is to develop renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and practices, advance related science and engineering and transfer knowledge and innovations to address the nation’s energy and environmental goals.

Job Title: Center Director
Job Status: Full Time
Location: Golden, Colorado

Job Summary:

Provide technical vision, strategic leadership and guidance, capability and intellectual asset stewardship, and management and direction for the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). Provide leadership to develop the strategic direction of the NWTC to be relevant to the evolving needs of the wind industry, to the accomplishment of Department of Energy (DOE) Wind and Hydropower Program and national energy goals. Develop and enhance technical capabilities relevant to advancing wind energy while delivering world-class, quality research, development, validation, and testing results. Represent NREL’s efforts in wind technology R&D at technical, business, and stakeholder events, both nationally and internationally.

Duties:

• Manage assigned facility resources to ensure safe and effective operations. Manages and follows all ES&H programs, policies, and procedures applicable to center to ensure and maintain a safe work environment.
• Manage staff resources, including: hiring, coaching, counseling, motivating, and evaluating performance. Ensure staff understands and are compliant with policies and procedures, creating a supportive work environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship and that enables staff to reach their full potential. Manages the implementation of equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and sexual harassment programs, policies and procedures within the center.
• Lead and guide the execution of research, development, testing, and demonstration programs ensuring the delivery of quality products. Oversee center planning and budgeting to ensure fiscal responsibility.
• Participate as a member of the Renewable Electricity and End Use Systems Directorate leadership team and on NREL’s senior leadership team to contribute to business strategy development, new initiatives, and integrated capability and program development.
• Engage with DOE to understand strategic directions and to serve as a technical advisor on science and technology issues. Develop opportunities for collaboration that will advance DOE’s strategic goals.
• Engage with the wind and utility industries and with a representative advisory panel to stay current with market trends and seek feedback on NREL’s wind efforts.
• Partner with NREL’s Laboratory Program Manager and with other center directors supporting the Wind and Hydropower Program to help assure sponsor satisfaction.

For requirements and preferred qualifications, see the job listing at GreenJobs.com.  Prospective candidates can apply online at www.nrel.gov/employment/.

NYT Columnist Thomas Friedman Discusses Energy Technology

New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman appeared on “Meet the Press” earlier this week to discuss the need for ‘energy revolution’.  Friedman is currently on a book tour in support of Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How it Can Renew America. Friedman discusses the need for competitive, innovative work in alternative energy across the world to get things back on the right track.

“ET, energy technology, is going to be the next IT.  The next great industrial revolution.  And I’m a big believer that which country dominates that economic revolution, that industry, is going to have the most security, the most respect, the most competitive industry, and the most healthy population.  I want that to be our country.”

Friedman makes a number of excellent points.  Green can lead this country into a golden age of productivity and happiness.  Let’s hope that more people begin to realize how important energy technology really is to the future of America and the world.

Link [Grist]

New Solar Dish from MIT Powerful Enough to Melt Solid Steel

MIT students have created a new solar dish that is powerful enough to melt solid steel. While photo-voltaic solar technology has long been known as relatively inefficient in its current form, the new way to concentrate solar energy developed by the MIT students is far more powerful, and very inexpensive to build. Known as a ‘parabolic collector’, this way of harnessing solar energy has yet to be researched intensively. The students created their parabolic collector out of aluminum frames and mirrors.

From Inside Tech:

The MIT team believes that their lightweight, inexpensive device holds the promise of revolutionizing the power industry and providing solar power to even remote regions.

The key piece is the 12-foot dish, which the team assembled in several weeks. The design is exceedingly simple and inexpensive. The frame is composed of aluminum tubing and mirrors are attached to it.

The results are staggering – the completed mirror focuses enough solar energy at its focal point to melt solid steel. The energy of typical sunlight is concentrated by a factor of 1,000. This was showcased during a demonstration, in which a team member held up a board, which instantly and violently combusted, when brought within range of the focal point.

By directing the dish at a more practical target – water piped through black tubing – steam can be flash created, offering instant means of producing energy or providing heating.

The students have even created their own company, RawSolar, to mass-produce the design. The new dishes would provide a return on investment within a mere couple of years, rather than the 10 years or more it currently takes to make your money back on photovoltaics.

This is exactly what we need in green technology – some kickass muscle power! We should be seeing a lot more research in this area soon.

Link [Inside Tech]

Brunton Vapor-AF: Precision Stove Burns Any Flammable Liquid

What a cool bit of green gear for any traveler! Wired reviewed the new Brunton Vapor-AF, a precision stove that’s able to burn any flammable liquid from butane to kerosene. It’s easy to use, looks nice, and pumps out 12,000 BTUs. Perfect for camping, hiking, power outages or anytime you need an efficient little portable cook stove.

From Wired:

WIRED Comes with 20.3-ounce aluminum fuel canister and thick foil windscreen. Stuff sack pocket is a perfect stash for included multitool and jet-cleaning needle. Beerlover’s bonus: Multitool has an integrated opener. Precision flame control for both butane and liquid fuel — we can’t stress enough how fantastic this is.

TIRED No built-in ignition. Legs don’t lock in place. A tad noisy. Plastic fuel pump won’t outlive the brass/aluminum/steel stove. Modest 6-inch diameter from end to end, so no super-wide pots. Two bills for a single burner?

The Brunton costs $180 and is available over at Amazon.

Link [Wired]

<a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FBrunton-Vapor-liquid-butane-Expedition%2Fdp%2FB000P3KHLE%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dsporting-goods%26qid%3D1216745435%26sr%3D8-1&tag=earthfirstcom-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325″>adsf</a><img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=earthfirstcom-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” />

Pellet Stove Madness in Maine: Finding an Alternative to Oil

We may be in the midst of the heat of summer, but record oil prices are forcing many homeowners to start thinking about winter heating already. Those who use heating oil could be in for a nasty shock this year, as the price has risen so much that it can cost up to $5 per gallon. Consumers in the northeast – particularly Maine – are especially reliant on oil, so some folks in areas like Maine are looking for any possible alternative. For many, that means installing wood pellet stoves.

From The Examiner:

Here in western Maine, former ski mogul Les Otten is banking on European wood pellet furnaces with his Maine Energy Systems Inc., which he launched with two other investors. Otten once headed American Skiing Co. and was later a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox.

Otten already has 400 orders even though he hasn’t taken delivery of his first shipment – they’re not due to arrive by container ship until later this month. To fuel those furnaces, he’s arranging for a fleet of trucks to make home deliveries of pellets made at plants in Maine, New Hampshire and Quebec.

Otten, who has a pellet furnace in his home in Greenwood, said it works much like existing forced-water heat systems, except the burner is fueled with wood pellets rather than oil or natural gas. Pellets are made out of compacted sawdust, wood chips or other wood material and look something like rabbit food.

Otten wants to replace 10% of residential heating in Maine with wood pellets. Pellet stoves are ‘flying out the door’ in the state, with consumers paying an average of $4,000 up front but expecting to make that money back in a year or two, assuming oil prices stay this high or get even higher.

Wood pellets are typically made from sawdust created as a byproduct to sawmilling and other wood transformation activities. Since they’re so dense, they burn with a very high combustion efficiency. Pellet heating is a low net-CO2 solution because the CO2 emitted during combustion is equal to the CO2 absorbed by the tree during its growth. New high efficiency stoves have also lowered emissions of Nox and volatile organic compounds, making it one of the most non-polluting heating options currently available.

Link [The Examiner]
Photo credit: Wikipedia

McCain Proposes $300 Million Prize for Alternative Auto Battery

If John McCain has his way, coming up with a new sustainable energy solution will be one big game show. McCain has proposed a $300 million prize to anyone who can develop an automobile battery that best surpasses existing technology.

From CNN:

McCain said the new automobile battery should have “the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.”

“In the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure,” McCain said. “From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest success.”

Obama’s response, per the Detroit News:

“When John F. Kennedy decided that we were going to put a man on the moon, he didn’t put a bounty out for some rocket scientist to win — he put the full resources of the United States government behind the project and called on the ingenuity and innovation of the American people,” the Illinois senator said in a speech in Las Vegas. “That’s the kind of effort we need to achieve energy independence in this country, and nothing less will do.”

McCain’s battery proposal is no doubt an attempt to get back in the favor of some moderate environmentalists who disagree with his views on offshore drilling. If he were really serious about improving battery technology, he’d pledge to invest money in research grants and other incentives. Even with the possibility of $300 million at the end of the road, individuals and small companies would be unlikely to afford the research that would be necessary to create such a battery – more likely, the prize would end up in the hands of some huge corporation. Hardly a way to encourage American innovation. McCain might as well just ready himself for the reaming he’s gonna take in November.

Link [CNN] + [Detroit News]
Photo credit: Flickr user aflcio2008

McCain Wants 45 New Nuclear Reactors by 2030

Once again, Republican presidential nominee John McCain is proving that his ideas about ‘saving the environment’ don’t mesh with the majority of environmentalists’ views. McCain is advocating nuclear power in a big way – he plans to set the nation on course to build 45 new nuclear reactors by the year 2030.

From Reuters:

“If I am elected president, I will set this nation on a course to building 45 new reactors by the year 2030, with the ultimate goal of 100 new plants to power the homes and factories and cities of America,” he said.

There are 104 operating nuclear reactors nationwide at present, which generate about 20 percent of the nation’s power supply.

McCain has argued forcefully for further nuclear plants, seeing them as part of a solution to fighting climate change and establishing U.S. energy independence.

Obama, on the other hand, taking a more realistic stance. Last week, his campaign said that they see nuclear power as an important part of setting the U.S. on a path toward clean energy, but that the issue of disposing of nuclear waste and solving nuclear proliferation concerns are also crucial. On June 20th, Obama said that nuclear power was worth careful consideration but that it was not a panacea.

Link [Reuters]
Photo credit: Flickr user Christopher Peterson

Cooking Grease is Big Business as Gas Prices Soar

Don’t you wish you would have been one of those ‘weirdos’ who outfitted your diesel-engine car to use biofuels? Years ago, when people first started gathering used cooking oil from restaurants to fuel their vehicles, news of it was greeted by the public with amazement and more than a little scorn. After all, gas was still less than $2 a gallon and most people seemed to think we’d never run out. Well, who’s laughing now, bitches? Cooking grease is turning into a booming industry of its own, and the folks who are no longer dependent on petroleum are breathing a big ‘ol sigh of relief as the rest of the population worries about gas prices.

The Chicago Tribune has it:

Restaurants increasingly are being paid for their used cooking oil, icky stuff that historically they’ve had to pay to have hauled away. And sales of kits that allow diesel-powered cars to run on used cooking oil are soaring.

With all the attention, rendering firms are reporting a surge in grease thefts.

Grease’s rising star stems from rising energy prices. Demand for biodiesel is soaring, putting pressure on supplies of used vegetable oil, which can be used to make the alternative fuel.

Restaurants are getting into profit-sharing programs with companies that haul their raw used cooking oil away. Companies that make kits that convert diesel vehicles to burn straight vegetable oil are making money, too – one company, Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems in Massachusetts, expects to double their sales this year and are having trouble keeping up with demand.

Some drivers are still hitting up restaurants themselves to get oil for free and running it through filters to catch stray bits of food before putting it in their fuel tanks. Many, it seems, are also going the route of theft, making the business even more competitive. This cooking grease boom just goes to show that when they’re pinched, people get creative. Let’s see more of it!

Link [The Chicago Tribune]
Photo credit: Flickr user jsbarrie

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