Category: Environmental Issues


$1Billion Ghost Town

Filed under: Alternative Energy Sources, Biomass, Breaking news, Environmental Issues, Health Issues, Renewable Energy, solar energy for mobile devices, Solar Energy Technology, Solar Thermal, Uncategorized, Wind Turbine Technology — Leave a comment
May 9, 2012

According to this AP via Yahoo News story, $1 billion ghost town is planned for a 15-square mile area in Lea County, near Hobbs, New Mexico. The goal is to provide a safe location for research projects for next-generation applications.

Sam Cobb, Hobbs Mayor, said the research facility will look just like an empty city about the size of Rock Hill, South Carolina, but will literally be a city without residents.

The town will contain highways, houses and commercial buildings and facilities. Structures will be a combination of old and new, just like any other populated area. While nobody will live there, they could.

Homes will be fitted with all appliances, heating and air conditioning, and plumbing. This way, new technologies of all kinds can be tested in real-world conditions, without disturbing the everyday lives of citizens.

While some researchers are busy testing a new renewable energy technology against existing-technology power grids, other researchers can examine a new smart street-signal system designed to work with self-driving cars, also under test.

Simultaneously, other testers could be indoors collecting data on a new toilet technology design that flushes by the power of human thought. Just wanted to see if you were paying attention…

Environmental and health issues of certain tecnhologies could be examined without fear of harming the town’s citizens. The only thing that apparently won’t be done in the $1 Billion ghost town is destructive testing. At least not intentionally. They hope.

Ground-breaking is planned by the end of June of 2012, with an initial development cost of $400 million. It is believed that the project could create 350 permanent jobs and about 3,500 indirect jobs as part of design, development, construction, and maintenance operations.

The benefits could be even greater, based on the use of the scientific ghost town. Hobbs airport hopes to expand on its number of daily flights to/from Houston, and is working toward securing service to Albuquerque and Denver, and perhaps other cities.

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I feel so good I must be sick

Filed under: Environmental Issues, Health Issues, Renewable Energy — Leave a comment
December 5, 2011

A few days ago, West Virginia Public Broadcasting did a story on Marshall University research findings that diesel fuel additives can harm the liver.

A U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored study conducted at Huntington, West Virginia’s university shows that the nanoparticles commonly added to diesel fuel to increase fuel efficiency can pass through the airways and travel from the lungs to the liver, resulting in liver damage.

Marshall’s Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems found an increase in the amount of cerium in the livers of animals that had been exposed to these nanoparticles. The increase in cerium is associated with elevations of liver enzymes in the blood.

Marshall’s Eric Blough, team leader for the research, says, “As more and more materials are beginning to incorporate these nanoparticles, we think that it is important to try to determine if these materials have effects on the environment or on physiology, so this is a first study to look at the potential toxicity of cerium oxide nanoparticles on the liver”.

According to the report, cerium oxide nanoparticles are also part of polishing agents for glass mirrors, television parts and ophthalmic lenses – the lenses the eye doctor places in front of our eyes and next to our nose and mouth. Where we breathe. After watching the morning news and getting dressed in front of mirrors.

Here’s where it gets confusing. Other studies have shown that cerium oxide nanoparticles also may act as antioxidants, and could have an assisting role in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and tissue damage caused by radiation exposure.

“It’s important to look at both ends of the spectrum, the therapeutic end and also the toxicity end and that’s what this study is doing,” Blough said.

Ultimately, I guess we’ll meet where most of us already live – somewhere near the middle.

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Fighting Fire with… Energy?

Filed under: Alternative Energy Sources, Environmental Issues — Leave a comment
November 28, 2011

The phrase, “fight fire with fire,” doesn’t apply here. Neither does “fight fire with water”.  OK… how about we fight fire with energy? Good idea!

Firefighting technology is advancing beyond water and even flame suppressing chemicals. In the near future, firefighters may have no need for storing large quantities of flame suppressing chemicals, or thousands of gallons of water. Just bring the power source.

There would be no need to pollute the environment to save a man-made structure. And no longer would buildings be saved from serious fire damage at the expense of serious water damage. And it saves water. Literally tons of it.

For 200 years, it has been known that electricity affects flames. How? It seems that the carbon particles in the flames are charged and become unstable near the electromagnetic field. In this case, the energy comes from a wand carried by a firefighter.

The wand (perhaps powered by a backpack carried by the firefighter) concentrates energy into a beam to bend the flames around the energy or force the fire to become unstable, causing it to collapses upon itself and disappear.

The technology could be expanded to become part of the normal building logic of homes and businesses. Motor sports could incorporate the technology to eliminate (or at least minimize) a racer’s greatest fear. Plenty of military applications come to mind.

Think about it: Firefighters walking up to a wall of flames, opening a pathway by simply pointing a wand at the fire, and literally walking through the hole at will, while the inferno burns around them.

Sounds like science fiction. So does teleportation. 

OK, so we’re not exactly standing in a star ship’s transporter room watching molecules disassemble and disappear, only to reassemble in another location. But we are doing what scientists call bio digital cloning, which is surprisingly close. The process does an atom-for-atom replication of the original object. But that’s another post!

Given that, fighting fire anything except electricity seems almost primitive.

Check out PopSci.com for more on fighting fires with electromagnetic fields.

 

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500 Birds Found Dead at US Wind Farm

Filed under: Environmental Issues, Renewable Energy, Wind Turbine Technology — Leave a comment
November 9, 2011

The NY Times Green Blog reports: Almost 500 birds found dead at Laurel Mountain West Virginia wind farm.

But not from what you think.

Between Oct. 3 and Oct. 18, 484 bird carcasses were found from over twenty-eight species, including blackpoll warblers, thrushes, cuckoos, and one heron.

The Laurel Mountain facility converts wind power between direct current and alternating current for grid output. The facility consists of a large collection of containers surrounded by utility poles, each with a 250-watt floodlight.

“No dead birds were found near the wind machines themselves,” inspectors reported. Experts think the birds were migrating at night during a low cloud ceiling and in high wind and fog.

These conditions are believed to have driven the night migrants closer to the ground, where they either collided with substation structures or “circled to the point of exhaustion”.

The recommended solution? Turn off the lights.

It’s worked so far.

 

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Are Fossil Fuels the Dinosaurs of Energy Resources?

Filed under: Alternative Energy Sources, Biomass, Environmental Issues, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy Technology, Wind Turbine Technology — 1 Comment
September 19, 2011

This September 14, 2011 Renewable Energy World story addresses Hawaii’s initiatives to transition away from petroleum reliance to biofuels. Because of the state’s remote location and isolation, the state’s energy is nearly 90% petroleum-based. Currently, Hawaii’s electricity rates are three times the US average, and twice that of the second most costliest state.

Hawaii Renewable Energy Development Venture (HREDV) is leading efforts to transition from 90% petroleum reliance on electricity generation to 40% electricity generation from renewable energy by 2030, and a 70% non-petroleum for areas like transportation. These thresholds will be achieved through biofuel energy for existing power facilities instead of new utility construction, and perhaps a mix of geothermal, solar, wind, and sea power technology as the new technology emerges.

This long-range plan is aggressive but there is movement toward these goals. Hawaiian Electric Company and Hawaii BioEnergy have reached a preliminary 20-year agreement to blend biofuel from Kauai with low sulfur fuel oil for use in Oahu’s largest generation station. Recent completion of a new Honeywell demonstration facility is designed to convert forest residuals, algae and other cellulosic biomass into biofuels targeted for Hawaii’s transportation market.

These companies and others are hoping for the agreement to lead to approved contracts; however, opposition exists from Hawaii’s environmentalists and some local communities. Concerns include impact on property values, increased traffic, and possible adverse impact on tourist appeal with new biomass fuel farms and renewable energy generation systems located in strategic locations throughout the islands.

According to the story, serious issues also exist with the transparency (or lack thereof) of price structures for fuel costs from current energy suppliers. Transparency is perhaps another area in need of reform. Regardless, no expert expects Hawaii to lose its costliest energy ranking anytime soon. Even if HREDV success is achieved and 2030 renewable energy goals met, new ways of doing business are never cheap.

Dawn Lippert, HREDV Project Coordinator, gives an overview of their renewable energy initiatives at the Tech Enterprise 2010 conference:

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Biomass Energy – Gaining or Losing Momentum?

Filed under: Biomass, Environmental Issues, Renewable Energy — 3 Comments
August 22, 2011

Biomass is an energy source from organic material, such as plants, trees, or garbage. While seen by many as more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels, biomass is not always considered a true renewable energy source.

According to this Renewable Energy World story, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed emissions limitations on biomass energy until a three-year study on carbon emissions impacts of biomass energy is complete. Bob Cleaves, president of U.S. Biomass Power Association, remains cautiously optimistic in this BiomassMagazine.com article, saying three years is a long time to wait to see if an exclusion to emissions requirements turns into investment incentives.

EPA’s action makes biomass energy more attractive for some utilities. Dominion Virginia Power plans a transition to biomass for three of its older and smaller coal-powered Virginia plants. Dominion Power plans to use excess timber and debris from logging in the area as biomass fuel.

Other utilities are hesitant to transition, preferring to wait until biomass regulations and restrictions are announced. Chris Namovicz, biomass consultant at the U.S. Energy Information Administration, is quoted in the Renewable Energy World article as saying, “Companies are not going to want to make big capital investments until there is more regulatory certainty.”

Biomass is not without controversy. Some maintain a strong anti-biomass stance. The source of the controversy may be embedded within my biomass definition at the start of this blog post. While some see biomass as a positive alternative to fossil fuels, others believe biomass energy is not carbon-neutral, and should not qualify for benefits and tax incentives available for other renewable energies, such as wind or solar energy.

Still others consider biomass to be the opposite of a green energy source. The Biomass Accountability Project calls biomass, “one of the most expensive, inefficient, and polluting forms of electricity generation”. This organization is actively seeking Massachusetts to declare a moratorium on air permits for new biomass projects within the state. If they succeed in Massachusetts, other states could follow.

Maybe a new definition of biomass is needed. Union of Concerned Scientists is working on a balanced biomass definition, one that combines use of organic resources with safeguards protecting critical lands and our living and former-living resources.

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Transition to Renewable Energy Stimulates Economy

Filed under: Alternative Energy Sources, Environmental Issues, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy Technology, Wind Turbine Technology — 1 Comment
August 8, 2011

Science Daily’s article, “Transition to Renewable Energy Stimulates the Economy, German Researchers Say,” describes findings from several studies by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, and Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

Question: Is a transition to renewable energies too expensive in today’s financial climate? Answer: The transition will stimulate economic growth in the coming decade, and any negative impact will be outweighed by positive short-term and mid-term job growth, and long-term benefits of renewable energy research and application across Europe.

Germany is doing more than generating studies. An energy system renovation of a large apartment building in Germany has reduced energy needs by a projected 40%. Actual energy consumption will be measured over the next few years for real-world data, which will drive similar renovations for future sites.

Some may see Germany’s efforts as a knee-jerk reaction to the Fukushima disaster. Regardless of the driving factors, a growing awareness of the benefits of renewable energy is evident within Germany and on a more global scale.

Renewable energy technology is maturing beyond the offer of an alternative energy source. The willingness to rethink how energy is used and re-used is leading us all into new areas of innovation, such as intelligent energy monitoring, passive storage, use of alternative energy states, and adaptable grid designs integrated with existing technology that historically relies on fossil fuels.

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