Free Republic

......And they're not just worried about the athletes. They're concerned that the bad air might trigger cardiovascular problems for people in the stands. Even if the spectators survive the games, they might be at higher risk of developing a blood clot while sitting through the plane ride home. In 2007, researchers at Northwestern University solved the mystery of why greater numbers of people were dying from heart attacks and strokes within 24 hours of a spike in the level of tiny particles that spewed from diesel trucks, buses and coal-burning factories...... What researchers, including lead author Dr. Gokhan Mutlu, pulmonary...

Already, some shippers, truckers and others who don't want to make changes are choosing other ports, according to Knatz, who said port traffic could drop 10 percent to 15 percent.

Olympic Athletes Wearing Masks Could Cause China to Lose Face U.S. Committee Developed a Model in Secret; Jarrod Shoemaker Ponders the Geek Factor By CHRISTOPHER RHOADS and STEPHANIE KANG July 21, 2008; Page A1 U.S. triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker has a decision to make at the opening ceremony of the Olympics next month in Beijing: Should he strap on a mask? Chinese officials insist the notorious Beijing air will be cleaner by August, making such contraptions unnecessary. Concerned about the pollution, the U.S. Olympic Committee is distributing a high-tech mask, developed in secrecy, to its more than 600 Olympians. If athletes...

Your owner does it. And you do it too. If you deny it, I’m going to say that you are the one that supplied it. Have you figured out what I’m talking about? That’s right, I’m talking about air poopies or, what many of you know it better as, farts. “Bo, why must you bring this up in a family oriented blog?” my readers will ask. To which I must respond, “Because farts make me laugh.” (Experts said the slow digestive system of cows makes them a key producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that gets far less public...

According to one energy security expert, unless prosperity exists people simply will not care about climate change. Gal Luft, executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, said on July 11 that the poor have other priorities than global warming. “They [poor people] could not give a damn about climate change because they want 24 hours a day light,” said Luft who cited the example of people living in slums outside Bangalore, India. “In India alone, 600 million people are not connected even to the [power] grid,” said Luft, “When you talk to these people all you...

On the first of June, two men and a rabbit set sail from the port of Long Beach, bound for Hawaii, on a raft made of junk. Their cabin is the cockpit of a Cessna 310, white with a blue racing stripe, salvaged from the desert. It floats on a system of handmade pontoons -- 15,000 plastic bottles held together with recycled nets -- propelled by currents and wind. If it sounds dangerous and makeshift, that's the point. The pilots of Junk, as the vessel is called, want to get your attention. They are Dr. Marcus Eriksen, director of research...

Coal, steel, oil — we think of these old-economy industries, and we picture pollution. Smoggy skies, fouled rivers, toxic waste. As we make the transition to a new economy, we imagine that industrial pollution will become a thing of the past. Mobile phones, laptops, MP3 players — they conjure images of spotless semiconductor factories and the eternal summer of Silicon Valley where the digital economy was born. But the tech industry has a dirty little secret: it has toxic waste of its own. Phones and computers contain dangerous metals like lead, cadmium and mercury, which can contaminate the air and...

The dwindling march of the penguins is signaling that the world's oceans are in trouble, scientists now say. Penguins may be the tuxedo-clad version of a canary in the coal mine, with generally ailing populations from a combination of global warming, ocean oil pollution, depleted fisheries, and tourism and development, according to a new scientific review paper. A University of Washington biologist detailed specific problems around the world with remote penguin populations, linking their decline to the overall health of southern oceans. "Now we're seeing effects (of human caused warming and pollution) in the most faraway places in the world,"...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California on Thursday took a major step forward on its global warming fight by unveiling an ambitious plan for clean cars, renewable energy and stringent caps on big polluting industries. The plan, which aims to reduce pollutants by 10 percent from current levels by 2020 while driving investment in new energy technologies that will benefit the state's economy, is the most comprehensive yet by any U.S. state. It could serve as a blueprint not only for the rest of the United States, ... "This is of tremendous importance, not only for California," Mary Nichols, chairman of...

Some big retailers are promoting compact fluorescent light bulbs as a way to save energy. But improper disposal of the bulbs creates a hazard, because they contain small amounts of mercury. Recycling them is about to get easier. Home Depot, the nation’s second-largest retailer, will announce on Tuesday that it will take back old compact fluorescents in all 1,973 of its stores in the United States, creating the nation’s most widespread recycling program for the bulbs. “We kept hearing from the community that there was a little bit of concern about mercury in the C.F.L.’s,” said Ron Jarvis, Home Depot’s...

China has now clearly overtaken the United States as the world's leading emitter of climate-warming gases, a new study has found. The increasing emissions from China - up 8 percent in the past year - accounted for two-thirds of the growth in global greenhouse gas emissions in 2007, the study found.

Costly cleanup Comments 3 | Recommend 0 Local landowner says he shouldn't have to pay for contaminants June 7, 2008 - 3:49PM BY CHRISTINE STANLEY All Ronnie Lewis wanted to do was put up a billboard. So he bought a 50-by-100 foot piece of land north of 48th Street on the west side of Andrews Highway, a prime location to call attention to Dos Amigos, the club he used to own. That was back in 1999. He spent about $4,500. Nearly 10 years later, his little purchase has turned into a big mess. Lewis said he didn't know it at...

WASHINGTON -- While cities are hot spots for global warming, people living in them turn out to be greener than their country cousins. Each resident of the largest 100 largest metropolitans areas is responsible on average for 2.47 tons of carbon dioxide in energy consumption each year, 14 percent below the 2.87 ton U.S. average, researchers at the Brookings Institution say in a report being released Thursday. Those 100 cities still account for 56 percent of the nation's carbon dioxide pollution. But their greater use of mass transit and population density reduce the per person average. "It was a surprise...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District's board of directors on Wednesday approved new rules to charge businesses a fee for the pollution they emit. The group's board of directors voted 15-1 on unprecedented new rules that will impose fees on factories, power plants, oil refineries and other businesses that emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. The agency, which regulates air pollution in the nine-county Bay Area, will be the first in the country to charge companies fees based on their greenhouse gas emissions, experts say. The new rules will take effect July 1.

A celebrated green economy produces pollution elsewhere, ongoing power shortages, and business-crippling costs. Rancho Seco was once a nuclear plant generating over 900 megawatts of electricity; today, its solar panels produce just 4.In January 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stood before the California legislature in Sacramento and delivered his fourth State of the State address since his improbable 2003 election. It was a rhetorical tour de force that would win him widespread acclaim. “California has the ideas of Athens and the power of Sparta,” said Schwarzenegger. “Not only can we lead California into the future; we can show the nation and...

Curbing a notorious form of industrial pollution may ironically harm Amazonia, one of the world's natural treasures and a key buffer against global warming, a study released Wednesday has found. Its authors see a strong link between a decrease in sulphur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and a rise in sea temperature in the northern Atlantic that was blamed for wreaking a devastating drought in western Amazonia in 2005. University of Exeter professor Peter Cox and colleagues created a computer model to simulate the impact of aerosols -- airborne particles that, like sulphur dioxide, are also spewed out by...

Residents took to the streets of a provincial capital over the weekend to protest a multibillion-dollar petrochemical plant backed by China’s leading state-run oil company, in the latest instance of popular discontent over an environmental threat in a major city.

The addition of Al or Al2O3 nanoparticles increases the probability of ignition. Adding aluminum and aluminum oxide nanoparticles to diesel can improve the fuel’s ignition properties, according to a new study published online in the journal Nano Letters. Arizona State University mechanical engineer Patrick E. Phelan and colleagues varied both particle size (15 and 50 nm) as well as the volume fraction (0%, 0.1%, and 0.5%) of aluminum (Al) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles at several temperatures within the range 688 °C up to 768 °C. In a series of hot plate studies, they found that in all cases...

These are just as worthwhile even if you don't believe that human-created climate change is a big problem, or even a reality. * Reducing carbon emissions by making people poorer will never happen. Just ask people in China - now the world's No. 1 carbon emitter - how interested they are in returning to the economic conditions they suffered a few decades ago when their carbon emissions were lower. * Burning fossil fuels is a lousy idea for reasons that have nothing to do with global warming. These hydrocarbons offer important applications as fertilizers and chemical feedstocks, making it foolish...

International chemical company Rhodia is launching two sets of materials for the formulation of deNOx catalysts showing high performance and hydrothermal durability for NOx trap technologies. Rhodia presented the emissions control materials, along with new light weight materials for weight reduction, at this week’s SAE 2008 World Congress in Detroit. Both NOx Storage Catalyst (NSC) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technologies have shown limited efficiency at low temperature (<250°C) and poor durability due to the thermal deterioration at temperatures > 750°C with steam. Rhodia’s new materials address these limitations. Materials for NOx Storage Catalyst technologies (NSC). NSC are sensitive to...

Chrysler’s new Powershift six-speed dual-clutch transmission—developed in partnership with Getrag—will make its debut this spring in international markets on the all-new 2009 Dodge Journey, the 2009 Dodge Avenger and the 2009 Chrysler Sebring, mated to a 2.0-liter turbo diesel. Chrysler says that the new transmissions will deliver a fuel economy improvement of 6%. Chrysler’s commitment to dual-clutch transmission technology is part of the Company’s powertrain offensive, announced last year. (Earlier post.) Earlier in April, Getrag and Chrysler finalized the definitive agreements for the development, production and supply of Getrag PowerShift transmissions for Chrysler in North America. Chrysler and Getrag will...

China has already overtaken the US as the world's "biggest polluter", a report to be published next month says. The research suggests the country's greenhouse gas emissions have been underestimated, and probably passed those of the US in 2006-2007. The University of California team will report their work in the Journal of Environment Economics and Management. They warn that unchecked future growth will dwarf any emissions cuts made by rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol. The team admit there is some uncertainty over the date when China may have become the biggest emitter of CO2, as their analysis is based...

For most of the past century, diesel engines have been associated with smoky, smelly trucks and buses. Now there's a surprise: A new generation of diesel-powered passenger cars is delivering punchy performance and emission levels so low they pass muster in all 50 U.S. states. Boasting good fuel efficiency, the new "clean diesels" may well overtake hybrids in the market for eco-cars. Built mostly by overseas carmakers, improved diesels already account for more than 50% of new-car sales in Europe. North America is the next target. Volkswagen (VLKAY), BMW, Mercedes-Benz (DAI), Honda (HMC), Kia, Mahindra, and others have announced nearly...

Map showing Williston Basin Province boundary (in red), Bakken-Lodgepole Total Petroleum System (TPS) (in blue), and major structural features in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin, according to a just-released assessment by the US Geological Survey (USGS). This latest assessment shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency’s 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil. The assessment also identified 1.85...

In a newly released study, J.D. Power is predicting that sales of hybrid and diesel-powered cars will both more than triple by 2015. Hybrids, which comprised some 2.2 percent of the total market last year, will make up seven percent of the market in 2015 with diesels moving from 3.2 percent last year to 10 percent in 2015, according to the study. Sales of diesels in the U.S., the Detroit News notes, may get a boost from upcoming diesel-powered light-duty pickups like the Toyota Tundra. Volkswagen also expects to sell diesels in larger numbers and has organized a Dieselution tour...

Huber’s catalytic fast pyrolysis process yields aromatic components for gasoline Dumesic’s integrated process delivers higher-weight alkanes suitable for use as a jet fuel. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst reported the first production of high-quality aromatic fuel additives for gasoline directly from solid biomass feedstocks by catalytic fast pyrolysis in a single catalytic reactor at short residence times. The work by Professor George Huber and graduate students Torren Carlson and Tushar Vispute is the cover article in the 7 April issue of Chemistry & Sustainability, Energy & Materials (ChemSusChem). In the same issue, Professor James Dumesic and colleagues from...

With fuel economy reminiscent of the late VW Lupo, the new VW Golf Diesel Hybrid Concept seems to address the growing schism between American and Japanese hybrids and European Diesels. Green Car Congress recently reported on the unveiling of the car at the Geneva Auto Show. VW couples a new 7-speed DSG transmission with a 1.2-liter, TDI diesel engine and an electric motor capable of operating in all electric mode. The diesel engine puts out a max of 74 hp and 132 kb-ft of torque, and its electric counterpart puts out 20 kW and 103 lb-ft of torque at...

Oil-burners have mistakenly been given a bad review by some, but evidence shows the powerplants are clean The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recently released its list of the 12 greenest vehicles. Along with the usual hybrids, the list included a natural gas-powered Honda Civic (not sold in Canada), the Smart for two and various small cars such as the Toyota Yaris. On the surface, this list is wonderful stuff. After all, encouraging people to drive vehicles that actively cut pollution is laudable. However, the group showed its ignorance by lumping all of the newest common-rail diesel models in...

Researchers from the UN University found out which business can bring a lot of profit to an investor. It is a construction business, although it does not go about the construction of large shopping malls or grocery stores. It goes about the construction of toilets. Every dollar invested in this business can bring the staggering 900-percent profit. For example, if an entrepreneur builds a 100-dollar bathroom, he or she may have the return of $900 in a certain period of time. Experts studied statistics on the issue and conducted their own research before they came to such a surprising conclusion....

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Gas stations on China's booming east coast were rationing diesel, pump attendants said on Tuesday, despite Beijing's insistence that its refiners will ensure supplies at unprofitable state-set prices. "The line outside our station is at least one kilometer long," said one station manager in coastal Fujian province, who declined to be named because fuel supplies are a sensitive issue. Other stations said they had sold out of the day's supply by noon and did not know if a delivery would arrive on Wednesday. Down the coast in Guangzhou province, China's manufacturing hub, diesel was rationed to 300...

BISBEE — A local man is organizing an effort to clean up trash left behind by illegal immigrants in the Huachuca Mountains on April 5. The cleanup will focus on Bear Saddle and areas west along the Crest Trail. This section of Crest Trail is part of the Arizona Trail that extends from the Mexico border to the Utah border. The event’s organizer, Steve Roark of Hereford, competes in 100-mile long-distance races and he trains in the Huachucas. “I have been running around here for about 1 1/2 years and right away I noticed there are some areas that are...

The diesel-powered Mitsubishi Concept-RA sport coupe is no soot-belching school bus. Diesel-powered vehicles haven’t enjoyed the best reputation in the United States, despite the well-known benefit of impressive fuel efficiency. Consumers have long been unimpressed by other traits, such as their black clouds of exhaust soot, ear-rattling racket and, ahem, let’s call it “stately” acceleration. But an emerging generation of new diesel vehicles looks set to upend those expectations. Some high-performance models will soon exploit the fuel economy benefits of diesel power while delivering the neck-snapping acceleration associated with gas-guzzling cars. Consider the Audi R8 TDI Le Mans, a 500-horsepower...

The 2/4SIGHT engine enables automatic switching between two- and four-stroke mode. Ricardo and a consortium of automotive partners have completed an advanced prototype research program based on the 2/4SIGHT engine concept. This gasoline engine concept uses novel combustion, boosting, control and valve actuation technologies to enable automatic and seamless switching between two- and four-stroke operation, with the aim of delivering significant performance and fuel economy improvements through aggressive downsizing. Simulation results based on a 2.0-liter 2/4SIGHT engine indicate a 27% reduction in fuel consumption while maintaining comparable acceleration performance compared to a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter engine. 24sight2 The 2/4SIGHT...

ETHANOL MADNESS PART ONE: End the Great 2006 Bio-Fuels Swindle, by EIR staff The current mania for ethanol, biodiesel fuels, "flex-fuel vehicles," and the like, is creating a financial bubble, within which is a swindle, inside of which is a slippery old methane fart waiting to explode. Members of Congress taking part in the swindle, enthusiastically or not, are going to wind up very smelly when the ethanol party ends, the investment boom collapses, and motorists indignantly demand regular gasoline again. Why should we shift to biofuels for transportation — ethanol, for example? Well, first, we'll get 20% less gas...

WASHINGTON - Democratic lawmakers are questioning a Bush administration plan to eliminate requirements for farms to disclose air pollution from animal waste. Currently farms must report to federal, state and local officials when emissions of hazardous substances like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide exceed certain levels. In a little-noticed proposed rule change published in the Federal Register on Dec. 28, when Congress was on its winter recess, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed eliminating the reporting requirement. EPA argued that the requirement created an unnecessary burden for farms and that the emission release reports weren't acted on at the federal level, anyway....

Pollution Visible From East Asia To North America In New Satellite ImageIn a new NASA study, researchers taking advantage of improvements in satellite sensor capabilities offer the first measurement-based estimate of the amount of pollution from East Asian forest fires, urban exhaust, and industrial production that makes its way to western North America. (Credit: Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) ScienceDaily (Mar. 18, 2008) — In a new NASA study, researchers taking advantage of improvements in satellite sensor capabilities offer the first measurement-based estimate of the amount of pollution from East Asian forest fires, urban exhaust, and industrial production...

We've boycotted Olympic games before-usually for human rights abuses. Considering what's happening in Tibet-AND-the levels of pollution in Beijing- it's time to do it again!!

Topeka — Agreements with Mexico and Canada are setting the stage for construction of a huge highway that will gobble up Kansans’ property and jeopardize U.S. security, representatives from a wide range of groups said Monday. “Through incrementalism, apathy and inattention, our national sovereignty is being sacrificed on a cross of greed, socialism and globalism,� said state Rep. Judy Morrison, R-Shawnee. Morrison has introduced House Concurrent Resolution 5033 urging Congress to withdraw from further participation in the North American Free Trade Agreement and Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. At a hearing before the House Federal and State Affairs...

Ted Kennedy has called Nantucket Sound near his Massachusetts estate “a national treasure” — but that didn’t stop the senator from having oil dumped from his yacht into its waters. A local photographer spotted an oil slick coming from Kennedy’s yacht Mya as Kennedy and his guests left the vessel in a launch following a race that ended in Hyannis, the Cape Cod Today newspaper reported. The lensman was so shocked that he rowed his dinghy out to question the crew member left aboard the yacht. He asked the crewman, “What the hell are you doing?” The crewman said that...

China The new colonialists Mar 13th 2008 From The Economist print edition China's hunger for natural resources is causing more problems at home than abroad THERE is no exaggerating China's hunger for commodities. The country accounts for about a fifth of the world's population, yet it gobbles up more than half of the world's pork, half of its cement, a third of its steel and over a quarter of its aluminium. It is spending 35 times as much on imports of soya beans and crude oil as it did in 1999, and 23 times as much importing copper—indeed, China has...

There's been a lot of talk about the new Trans-Texas Corridor — the next-generation "super-highway" — and opinions are varying. Now the debate is coming to Lufkin's doorstep. On Monday, the American Land Foundation, Stewards of the Range and TURF will hold a workshop at Lufkin's Pitser Garrison Civic Center on how to stop the Trans-Texas Corridor 69. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A portion of Texas citizens have voiced their opposition to the TTC-69 in public meetings held by the Texas Department of Transportation, but believing they are not being heard, four cities and their...

The yacht Mya discharges oil into Sound after 2002 Figawi Race This photograph was taken from shore when the photographer saw Ted Kennedy (the larger shape in the Hyannisport Yacht Club Launch on right) leaving the yacht Mya while it was discharging oil into Nantucket Sound. Photos courtesy Peter Robbins Politician becomes polluter on "pristine Nantucket Sound" By now every Cape Codder has heard our senior US senator Ted Kennedy proclaiming his resistence to the Cape Wind project on Nantucket Sound because, as he said, "that's where I sail." He has called Nantucket Sound "a national treasure", but his love...

Hollywood star and Tibet activist Richard Gere is slamming China for its recent bloody Himalayan protest, and is urging the world to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The outspoken Pretty Woman star was horrified at the treatment of demonstrators protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet on Friday, where at least 10 people were reported to have been killed. Gere, chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet and a devout Buddhist, insists there "absolutely" should be a worldwide boycott of the sporting event in August to force China to allow the Himalayan region to decide its own future. The 58-year-old star...

Newsmax.com Ted Kennedy Dumps Fuel into Nantucket Sound Friday, March 14, 2008 9:14 AM Ted Kennedy has called Nantucket Sound near his Massachusetts estate “a national treasure” — but that didn’t stop the senator from having oil dumped from his yacht into its waters. A local photographer spotted an oil slick coming from Kennedy’s yacht Mya as Kennedy and his guests left the vessel in a launch following a race that ended in Hyannis, the Cape Cod Today newspaper reported. The lensman was so shocked that he rowed his dinghy out to question the crew member left aboard the yacht....

Ted Kennedy has called Nantucket Sound near his Massachusetts estate “a national treasure” — but that didn’t stop the senator from having oil dumped from his yacht into its waters. A local photographer spotted an oil slick coming from Kennedy’s yacht Mya as Kennedy and his guests left the vessel in a launch following a race that ended in Hyannis, the Cape Cod Today newspaper reported. The lensman was so shocked that he rowed his dinghy out to question the crew member left aboard the yacht. He asked the crewman, “What the hell are you doing?” The crewman said that...

NxtGen Syngas Diesel Aftertreatment System. NxtGen components are in blue Officials from the Government of Canada, EnCana Corporation and Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) are committing C$5.5 million (US$5.6 million) in financing to demonstrate a new syngas-based diesel emission reduction system from NxtGen Emission Controls. When retrofitted onto existing trucks, NxtGen’s system is expected to reduce particulate emissions by 85% and NOx emissions by 65%. The syngas technology also has the potential to enable manufacturers to increase fuel economy by reducing fuel requirements for regeneration of diesel particulate filters, according to the company. The NxtGen system uses a non-catalytic...

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is announcing strong new pollution controls on the nation's locomotives, ships and passenger ferries. They will have to cut soot by 90 percent and smog-causing chemical releases by 80 percent over the next six to seven years through technology improvements in locomotive and ship diesel engines. Those engines often operate for decades. The pollution improvements would be required of new engines as well as old when they are overhauled. The Associated Press has learned that EPA will announce the new requirements Friday in Washington. These requirements would be in addition to regulations already in...

Washington, DC—President Bush on March 5 at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) called biodiesel the most promising renewable fuel for helping to meet renewable fuels standards. The WIREC conference wraps up its four-day sessions that began March 3. Here are a few of the ways biodiesel was highlighted. "The legislation requires fuel producers to supply at least 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel in the year 2022," said President Bush. "In other words, these just aren't goals, these are mandatory requirements. "I'm confident the United States can meet those goals, and I know we must, for the sake...

The U.S. government’s rush to produce corn-based ethanol as a fuel alternative will worsen pollution in the Gulf of Mexico, increasing a “Dead Zone” that kills fish and aquatic life, according to University of British Columbia researcher Simon Donner. In the first study of its kind, Donner and Chris Kucharik of the University of Wisconsin quantify the effect of biofuel production on the problem of nutrient pollution in a waterway. Their findings will appear in the March 10 edition of the Proceedings of the National Journal of Sciences. The researchers looked at the estimated land and fertilizer required to meet...

As a practicing Catholic, I try to keep up with the latest from the Home Office in the Vatican, but more often than not, I find myself wondering if they know not what they do. For instance, today we hear from officials that they have added to the list of sins Catholics must consider, including “ecological sins”. In the same breath but without a hint of irony, the same officials bemoan the decreasing participation in the rite of reconciliation, or what used to be called confession: Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring...