Today, the debate continues on whether global warming is myth or fact.  However, what is certain is that combustion of fossil fuels through industrial activities, vehicle exhaust fumes, smoking, use of petrochemical products in buildings, etc, produces by-products which affect the quality of the air which humans breathe.  These by-products are tiny particles, whose chemical composition, particle shape and size are all factors that determine how they impact human health.

The primary by-product of burning fossil fuels is carbon dioxide.  However, this exists naturally in the carbon cycle.  Of more significance in impacting human health are the by-products of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and hydrocarbons.  Suspended particles from these compounds can combine in the atmosphere to form tropospheric ozone, the major constituent of smog.

Carbon monoxide is a deadly toxic gas, undetectable by smell that can harm or kill animals, plants and people.  It is produced during incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.  Inhalation is poisonous and causes headaches, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, light-headedness and, in extreme cases, death.  People with heart disease will be susceptible to more stress on the heart.  Motor vehicles are the primary source of carbon monoxide.

To Be Continued...

http://apoptotic.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/whats-the-deal-with-biofuels/

I have gathered togeather a number of videos on the subject, culled from youtube and google video.

A history channel video:

Here is a long feature length lecture, from scripps, explaining Algae in general from the series on "Perspectives in Oceanography" Very Informative.

"Power of green" on algae:

Here is a decent enough article, intervioewing Craig Harting of Global Green Solutions.

Another Interview, this time with the VP of Global Green Solutions:

Making hydrogen from sunlight:

May 21, 2008: David James explains how to process algae, into three different types of green fuels, using a gasification process. Green gasoline, green diesel and biodiesel can all be produced from the same algae feedstock.

Here is an EXTREMELY interesting lecture by Craig Venter on creating custom made life. This is one of the TED talks. I drew on this article heavily for my previous article.

Here is an interesting, in depth look at algae as a fuel:

http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html

See my previous article for a more in depth look at biofuels and algae:

http://apoptotic.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/whats-the-deal-with-biofuels/

Some highlights from Big Coals Campaign of Lies:

Despite record profits, the oil industry knows the end is near and is madly diversifying into wind, solar and other energy sources. The auto industry, which has long opposed solutions to global warming, is so weakened by sinking profits and its shortsighted bet on SUVs that it's hardly a factor in the debate anymore. But coal knows that global warming represents the end of an era: There is simply no cost-effective way to burn coal without cooking the planet. The industry is currently blanketing the nation with ads for "clean coal," hoping to dupe consumers into thinking that coal is a 21st-century fuel, but it's all PR bullshit.

AND

And even if somebody invents a cheap, efficient way to capture CO2 from existing coal plants, you still have to bury it...When you think about what it would mean to bury the CO2 from even a fraction of the coal plants in the world, the scale of this undertaking gets downright absurd.

AND

The trouble with "clean coal," however, is that it's just an advertising slogan. The industry's front group touts the fact that some pollutants from typical coal plants have fallen by two-thirds since 1970, even while the use of coal to generate electricity has tripled. What they don't tell you is that the industry fought the laws that mandated many of those reductions — and that a big coal plant emits as much carbon pollution each year as a million SUVs.

Don't expect any solutions out of congress in the near-term. A majority of the big coal hubs in the USA are nestled in key battleground states. It will take the next president, hopefully Obama, to use the bully pulpit to expose big coal's pack of lies and mandate a reduction in carbon emissions.

My suggestion to big coal...don't resist change, embrace it! In the meantime, I won't be paying attention to your ads.

comic (c) insertwittynamehere/RealToph (http://realtoph.deviantart.com/)

• In this country there is a huge but little know about business called "Rendering Plants"

Did you ever wonder about where all the dead animals in this country go?  What happens when you take Fluffy to the Vet and have him or her put to sleep?  Have you ever seen a Pet Cemetery behind the Vet Clinic?  Or how about that Tiger you read about that died of old age at the zoo?  Where do those thousand's of deer that are hit and killed by cars go when the state scrapes them off the side of the highway?  They go to what is called a rendering plant.

They recycle dead animals, slaughterhouse wastes, and supermarket and various products known as recycled meat, bone meal and animal fat.  These products are sold as a source of protein and other nutrients in the diets of dairy animals, swine, cattle feed, sheep feed and Pet Foods. Animal fat is also used in animal feeds as an energy source.

This is what happens inside the Rendering Plant

• The rendering floor is piled with the previous days intake. Thousands of dead dogs, cats, heads and hooves from cattle, sheep, pigs horses.... Skunks, rats, raccoons...

• The rendering plant floor is piled high with "raw product": thousands of dead dogs and cats; heads and hooves from cattle, sheep, pigs and horses; whole skunks; rats and raccoon all waiting to be processed.

• Two men begin operating Bobcat mini-dozers, loading the "raw" into a 10-foot- deep stainless-steel pit. A giant auger-grinder at the bottom of the pit begins to turn, popping bones and squeezing flesh.

• Rendering is the process of cooking raw animal material to remove the moisture and fat. The rendering plant works like a giant kitchen. The cooker, or "chef", blends the raw product in order to maintain a certain ratio between the carcasses of pets, livestock, poultry waste and supermarket rejects.

• Once the mass is cut into small pieces, it is transported to another auger for fine shredding. It is then cooked at 280 degrees for one hour. The continuous batch cooking process goes on non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week as meat is melted away from bones in the hot 'soup'.

• During this cooking process, the 'soup' produces a fat of yellow grease or tallow that rises to the top and is skimmed off. The cooked meat and bone are sent to a hammer mill press, which squeezes out the remaining moisture and pulverizes the product into a gritty powder. Shaker screens sift out excess hair and large bone chips. Once the batch is finished, all that is left is yellow grease, meat and bone meal.

There are other alternatives.  There is a host of new "Natural Dog foods" that do not contain rendered animal byproduct.

But what is the best alternative?  The best things to feed animals, (humans included) is what they eat in the wild.  Whole Meats, some plant material and water.  The meat we feed our pets (and ourselves) should be as natural as possible, but since were not going out and killing our own game, we should settle on organic meats if we can.  (Beef raised on soy, oats and grass, not on concrete floors, force fed corn and antibiotics) But you know what?  I'm not feeding my dog a raw meat diet, so I do what I can and buy her "natural dog food" (if there is such a thing).  Yes, it has more corn in it than I would like.  But if I could feed my dog little forest animals (a dogs natural diet), I would.  The same thing for our cat.  It's natural diet mice, moles, voles, squirrel, chipmunk....  When was the last time you saw a cat dive into the ocean and drag out a tuna?

Hey, we do what we can and we live with the rest.

In the interim, if Fluffy passes, please respect him and yourself by giving him a natural burial instead of turning him into another animal lovers next meal.

The good and bad of high oil prices

This week, I came across a wrap-up for my wrap-up. Take a look at One Green Generation's post on the pros and cons coming from high oil prices, and browse the articles that interest you.

I don't know if we've changed our behaviors based on high oil prices, although I'm trying to squeeze more miles per gallon from my car, and Mr. Cheap has been driving his higher-mpg Toyota more than our Subaru this week. Then again, I work at home, so public transit isn't really an issue, and the cost of public transit is more than the gas price of driving Little Cheap to school. How about you all? Are you changing your ways?

Giving & getting green gifts

The holidays are just around the corner ... at least for those who are shopping ahead and planning to give homemade gifts. This week, The Green Parent wrote about how to give green gifts. I've done all of these -- and it's a great reminder that I need to start planning my holiday giving strategy now! I have a few things in mind, but for those things I need to craft, I'd better get cracking.

The cost-benefit analysis of organic food

The Simple Dollar wrote a post titled "Balancing Personal Principles and the Bottom Dollar: The Cost of Healthier Food" that, as I write this, has generated 67 arguments comments. There's a ferocious battle out there over whether organic food is any good. It's a complicated matter, and in the end, I think it's a value judgment -- and most of us have to go with our gut (and sometimes, our wallet!).

In my home, as we have become more committed to holding the earth more sacred, and at the same time a little more prosperous, we have shifted back to a high percentage of organic foods. Local is very important too, but I won't promise to eschew chocolate, never eat a pineapple, give up bananas, or abandon citrus. But we are getting most of our vegetables from our CSA about 60 miles away, some from our backyard; virtually all the meat we are eating comes from our frozen beef that was raised within 100 miles; and I buy organic milk raised in northeastern Colorado, also within 100 or so miles of our home (and perhaps closer).

On the other hand, Mr. Cheap has developed a Pellegrino addiction ... that I hope might wane as the hot weather disappears this fall.

It's all about balance, and I wish you the same.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-657159018832103115]

The Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange will collect, filter and publicize information for the environment and energy-related equity and emission credit trading, and provide a platform for such deals between companies or institutions, according to a statement from Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange (SUAEE), the sole owner of the environment and energy exchange.

"The establishment of the environment and energy exchange can help transfer the past government-administrated energy allocation into the market," said Luo Xinyu, general manager of SUAEE.

The exchange will also provide consultancy, project design and evaluation, fund operation and technical support to equity owners, energy reservation integrators, research companies and investment institutions.

Luo said the public trading of carbon emission credit on the exchange will change the current situation. The sales price of domestic carbon emission credit is lower than international prices.

"Overseas companies now can come to China and buy the carbon credit on the exchange," said Luo. The Kyoto Protocol, effective from 2005, set strict restrictions on carbon emission of developed countries. Many developed economies began to buy carbon credits from developing countries.

Statistics from the United Nations showed that China provided one-third of the world's carbon emission reduction volume, second only to India.

But Wu Jun, deputy director of the Environmental Protection Science and Technology R&D Center in Yixing, said the local government still needs to stipulate specific related rules on company's energy emission credit and enhance its role in monitoring and enforcement.

Ai Baojun, vice-mayor of Shanghai, said in June that the government will step up efforts to raise the energy utility efficiency and reduce emission through industry restructuring and by updating techniques.

Meanwhile, Beijing also set up its environment exchange yesterday. Xiong Yan, president of Beijing Environment Exchange, said that it will mainly provide information on energy reservation related to technical deals, sulfur dioxide and COD (chemical oxygen demand) credit trading and emission reduction of greenhouse gases.

Luo told China Daily that besides Shanghai and Beijing, Tianjin was also planning to set up an environment and energy exchange.

Sourece: China government press release

There have been a lot of studies done on the "psychology of consumerism". Most of these studies have been done by the same people who want to sell you something. After all, it's in there best interest to make sure they know how to push, adjust and stroke you're button's to get you to give up you're hard earned cash.

These studies have identified different types of consumer guilt. The purpose of the identification is to try to figure out how to overcome your guilt, and get you to buy anyway.

One of these is Financial Guilt. Charities often use this by showing you how poorly others are doing. The relationship they are trying to build with you is that you are doing so much better financially than the people who need help, that you will give out of financial guilt. Another type of financial Guilt we feel is when we make impulse or extravagant buying decisions.

Another type of consumer guilt has to do with our health. This is a very common experience with anyone who tried losing weight and slips back into bad behavior's. Eating a slice of birthday cake at an office party when you're on a diet, causes many people to feel guilty. Or anyone who has tried to quite smoking and gave into that one cigarette and then felt guilty enough to say "the hell with it" and go right back to a pack a day. It's easier to participate in the unhealthy behavior than it is to feel guilty about it.

One of the most destructive types of guilt is Moral Guilt. Accepting a piece of diamond jewelry when you are aware of mining and miner conditions of the diamond trade. Buying things like alcohol, drugs, pornography or any number of other consumable items when you have a moral problem with those items.

What does this tell us about ourselves? We make the extravagant purchase. We ingest unhealthy substances and we buy items that go against our moral code. We know why we feel guilty about it, but why do we do it? Because it's easier to indulge in the behavior than it is to feel guilty about it, and it's easier to indulge in the behavior than it is to stop it. In other word's we are weak. We are human.

Environmental Guilt. I have heard a lot of people say that the reason they do things like recycle and buy C.F.L.'s is to "Offset" their Environmental Guilt. This is kind of like having a Diet Coke with your deep fried Twinkie. The idea of offsets became popular when enterprising people realized they could prey on environmental guilt and charge people "Carbon Offsets." In other words, if you fly from the East Coast to the West Coast, you use X amount of fuel which causes Y amount of carbon. If you pay 40 bucks, the money will go to help build wind turbines, thereby offsetting you're carbon footprint. Good idea, but I don't like the psychology behind the sell.

So how do we overcome consumer guilt? All too often we we revert to our old behavior, creating reasons why we shouldn't feel guilty. Sure, we may be the worlds biggest polluters, but China and India come in a close second and third. Combined, they pollute more than we do! I cant stop them, so why should I stop? Why should I recycle, after all, Adam said a while back that only 20% of water bottles are recycled, so how much damage can I cause? Or how about this one. "The bible, in Genesis, says that man has dominion over the earth, the animals and all living things." Or this one. "I'm old. I've only got a few years left and I'll be damned if I spent my whole life working so that in my last years, I have to suffer! Leave it to the younger generation to figure it out!"

Al Gore talks famously about the Earth's tipping point. My question for you is "What is you're tipping point?" How long are you going to feel Financially, Healthfully, Morally and Environmentally Guilty before you change.

After all, the only constant in life is change.

Dell Declares It’s “Carbon Neutral” [Earth2Tech]

Carbon scheme is broadest in world The Age

Carbon scheme is broadest in world | theage.com.au

For information, news,views and free graphics - Australian and international - go to

antinuclear

One for the 'potential' list - George Wilson and Melanie Edwards of Australian Wildlife Services have just published a paper in the Early View section of Conservation Letters entitled Native wildlife on rangelands to minimize methane and produce lower-emission meat: kangaroos versus livestock.I am particularly moved by this one for several reasons: (1) it is one of the first really good policy pieces on why we should be eating more kangaroos and fewer sheep and cattle in Australia, (2) it moves past the ridiculous welfare issues that have prevented people from embracing kangaroo harvest in this country, (3) it provides an excellent model for reducing our reliance on non-native livestock for protein worldwide, (4) I love eating macropods (flavour, nutritional value, tenderness - see basic cooking instructions below), and (4) I was responsible for editing the manuscript for publication in Conservation Letters.

Hard-hoofed livestock pastoralism has been the economic backbone of Australia since Europeans first managed to scratch out a living on this harsh land. It has always been a bit of a battle raising largely European-adapted livestock (cattle, sheep, goats) on the driest inhabited continent in the world, but the innovative and persevering Australian cocky has managed to pull it off. However, such livestock pastoralism has been implicated in the extinction of at least 20 mammal species and threatens around 25 % of the plant species listed as endangered in Australia (Wilson & Edwards 2008). It's also becoming more difficult to raise water-thirsty livestock as our rainfall dwindles with climate change.

Now as Wilson and Edwards point out, there are many carbon-related benefits for switching our protein dependency to kangaroos. The kangaroo's gut fermentation system produces vastly lower amounts of methane (one of the nasty greenhouse gases responsible for heating up the atmosphere) than livestock rumination, so raising more kangaroos instead of livestock makes good environmental and economic sense under existing and proposed carbon-trading markets.

More from the biodiversity conservation angle, if more Australians replaced at least one meal per week with kangaroo meat (many Australians do not eat kangaroo because it was associated with the diet of poorer immigrants and ex-convicts in our early history; others shun it for iconic or welfare reasons [even though they wouldn't question tucking into a good beef steak or lamb chop]; one often finds kangaroo meat next to or only in the pet meat section of your average supermarket!), our rangelands would be much better off in the long run. In fact, it makes good environmental sense to eat some of the many feral animals that also abound in Australia - feral goats, camels, deer and rabbits. They're tasty, generally contain less fat than beef or lamb, and a reduction in their population density will have enormous benefits for Australia's fragile environment. Go on! Eat a roo or a feral today!

CJA Bradshaw

P.S. Just for the uninitiated in the fine art of macropod cuisine, the following points may help you make the switch:

• Make sure you dry your cut of meat well prior to cooking (an effective way is to remove it from the plastic covering, dry off both sides with some paper towel, and then place on a plate in the fridge for a couple of hours and cover with a clean tea towel)
• prepare a marinade of red wine, a touch of vinegar, a little olive oil, some treacle, a bay leaf, and a little pepper and salt and soak the meat overnight (preferably), or at least for a couple of hours prior to cooking
• I get the best results using a very hot barbecue grill - heat for a good 20 minutes prior to cooking.
• Cook the meat quickly on high heat (2-4 minutes on each side, maximum). Only turn once.
• Place the cooked meat on a clean plate and cover with aluminium foil for at least 5 minutes
• Slice the rested meat into thin pieces and enjoy with your favourite Cabernet Sauvignon!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="453" caption="copyright Mike Lester, Rome News-Tribune"][/caption] ]]> http://loralie.wordpress.com/?p=47 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:17:20 +0000 Loralie http://loralie.wordpress.com/?p=47 Yep!  I already finished my Brussels Lace Camisole.  Well, actually, know it's more of a Brussels Lace Vest.  I just really thought that I wouldn't be able to wear it with the slit neck they show.  Plus it looks pretty cute as a vest.  I had the EXACT amount of yarn that I needed!  Wow!  Lucky!

I wore it with my new, super dark skinny jeans.  I thought that they looked especially good with this.  The jeans are such a clean cut style that they offset the fuzziness of the vest.

I've already begun (and half way finished) another project!  I started the little accessories bag in Handknit Holidays -- the Counterpane Accessories Bag by Carrie Brenner to be exact.  I love the cute scallop pattern!  I think I may finish the other side tonight (it's such a quick knit) and the finishing tomorrow.  Here's the first side:

Once again I used my stash instead of what they call for (it calls for La Lana Wools Bombyx Silk, which is too expensive for me and I definitely don't have lying around!  Although I wish to try it -- someday).  Instead I used up some royal blue Shine Sport from Knit Picks!  I think it looks really good in such an intricate pattern, and it's really soft and fun to knit with!  The only problem is it splits a little more than some other yarns, but really hard at all.

My brother's website is celebrating it's second birthday today...if you'd like to visit, here's the link!  I also found another cool website!  It's called Carbonrally and it's to stop global warming!  It's pretty fun!  Woo!

Dentro de las posibilidades de alear un Acero se puede hablar de un numero enorme de alternativas, las cuales se siguen incrementando conforme avanza la tecnología es de entender que el objetivo de este esfuerzo es, obtener productos que tengan las propiedades predominantes de uno u otro metal, tales como su resistencia a la corrosión, estabilidad dimensional, capacidad de ser maquinado, peso, tenacidad, etc.

Evidentemente la combinación de uno o mas elementos no auguran por si mismos estas propiedades es requerido, también un método muy especifico para alcanzar esto propósitos.

Como se sabe los Aceros son aleaciones de hierro y carbón con concentraciones de este último de máximo 2 % de peso, dependiendo de esta variable se los puede clasificar de la siguiente manera:

Fundiciones: conocidas como hierro se la puede encontrar en varias clasificaciones como gris, blanca, nodular y maleables tiene contenidos de carbón que superan el 2% y llegan hasta el 4%, su aplicación se da en los bloques de motores y es usual verla en las tapas y rejillas de alcantarillado

“Second Industrial Revolution”, internal combustion engine, electrical technology and chemicals

Industrial developments were interdependent

The Merger of Science and Engineering

• Scientific R+D was appropriated by industrial interests
• Scientific research:
• Increased productivity
• New methods of production
• Required innovation and capital access
• Scientific R+D was long, and expensive, this required excess capital from:
• Traditional manufacturing profits
• Financial speculation
• Industrial consolidation (vertical integration)
• 1920’s: over 500 corporate mergers
• Union Carbide, Dupont
• Union Carbide (carbon, alloys, oxyacetylene, liquid gas, bakelite and plastics)
• Dupont (explosives, gasoline, and automobile applications)
• Science, variety and industrial laboratories
• Petroleum, metallurgy, paper, cement, photography, fertilizers, steel

The Chemical Industry in the US

• Medieval dye technology: plant extracts and acids
• Industrial revolution: batch production, artificial substances
• US industry: Acids, alkalis, inorganic salts
• Industries that used chemicals: textiles, paper, leather, glass, soap, paint, petroleum, rubber, electrical equipment, fertilizers, insecticides, automobile
• Dye industry, textiles and printing
• Before WWI, German chemical companies:
• Initial lead
• Low cost chemicals
• Advanced university scientific research
• Ownership of patents
• After WWI, German patents redistributed, tariff barriers
• US industry: catalytic, electrochemical, organic synthesis and liquifaction processes
• Electrolytic process used to produce salts, soda, chlorine and bromine

The Reciprocal Relationship between Science and Industry

• Science, new processes, monopolies, and patent control
• Science directed by industrial interests, curriculum
• Science/engineering skills brought to mining, petroleum, steel, rubber, automotive industries

Electrical Industry

• Turn of century electrical industry dominated by a few large companies, electrical power generation, lighting, transportation and communications
• Engineers and scientists determined industrial model:
• Patents
• Research laboratories
• Technical training programs
• GE, Westinghouse and ATT
• 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, voice transfer over wires
• Reliable current, efficiency, standardization and reliability
• In 1885 Westinghouse, alternating current

Patents and Innovation

• Patents lasted for 17 years
• Securing of patents and mergers to gain control over patents
• Thomas Edison: Menlo Park, New Jersey, market guide to innovation, diffuse patents
• Complexity, technological systems and a network of innovations, mergers
• Patent maintenance and patent pooling
• Patent protection became more important as industry adopted more science and complexity

Vertical Integration

• Vertical integration: When a supplier of a product merges with a user
• Vertical integration used to reduce transaction costs and to guarantee supply and fixed prices in expensive R+D intensive industries
• Suppliers of raw materials and users of manufactured products
• Vertical integration: internal demand for purity, volume and variety
• Dupont, war, explosives, dynamite, nitroglycerine and black powder

Conclusion: The “Scientific Revolution” in Industry

• Science in industry at end of 19th century required:
• Control and purchase of patents
• Scientific training for employees
• Large scale industrial scientific R+D
• “Scientific revolution” in industry, corporate and scientific advancement

but its sumthin interestin which makes u look at a serious part of global warming...

this is a site for technology and all but take a look at this thing and ur country maybe itll freak u out

http://www.breathingearth.net/

CJA Bradshaw

Comic (c) insertwittynamehere/RealToph (http://realtoph.deviantart.com/)

http://plantaforest.mynrma.com.au/Default-HR.aspx