Monthly Archives: September 2010

Coal: More Radioactive Waste than Nuclear Power

Alex Gabbard at the Coal pile in front of the Oak Ridge National Lab

Alex Gabbard at the Coal pile in front of the Oak Ridge National Lab

Strange and counter-intuitive as it may seem, burning coal produces more radioactive waste than nuclear fission.  And it’s not regulated.

Back in 1993, Alex Gabbard, of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, published “Coal Combustion: Nuclear Resource or Danger” in ORNL Review. Gabbard built on the work of J. P. McBride, R. E. Moore, J. P. Witherspoon, and R. E. Blanco, also of Oak Ridge, in their article, “Radiological Impact of Airborne Effluents of Coal and Nuclear Plants,” Science, Dec. 8, 1978.

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The Dirtyiest 1% in NYC Produce 86% of the Soot and Ozone

Cigarette Smoke

Cigarette Smoke

Mayor Bloomberg is concerned about air pollution in New York City. Bloomberg has data that show elevated levels of nicotinimides in non-smoking New Yorkers. Believing this results from second hand smoking, he wants to prompt New Yorkers to quit smoking. It’s logical – cigarette smoke contains nicotine.  But what if the body produces nicotinimides in response to particulates and ozone?

Industrial Smog

Industrial Smog

In her piece Use Bio-Heat as a substitute for #2 Heating Oil, the architect Ellen Honigstock of The Toeprint Project points out that 9,000 of the 960,000 buildings in New York City – less than 1% – use #4 and #6 oil – the dirtiest heating oil. Those 9,000 buildings are responsible for over 86% of the soot and ozone pollution in the air.

Honigstock explains:

No. 2 and No. 6 Heating Oil

These particulates contribute to the failure of New York City’s air to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and the failing grade received from the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report not to mention all the unnecessary cases of childhood asthma in New York City’s kids.

Generally speaking, when crude oil comes off the boat into the refinery, the sludgier oil (called residual oil) sinks to the bottom while more refined products, which are less viscous such as propane, gasoline, kerosene etc… (called distillates) rise to the top.

#6 oil is barely refined sludge.  It’s the least expensive of the heating oils and has the highest fuel content which starts to explain why people continue to use it.

It is solid at room temperature.  This means that the entire oil tank must be kept to at least 90 degrees at all times in order for the oil to burn properly.  #2 oil, while more expensive per gallon, burns much cleaner, doesn’t require any additional energy to make the combustion process work properly and typically requires less maintenance than boilers burning #6.

Environmental Defense Fund, with support form the Urban Green Council issued a very informative report called “The Bottom of the Barrel:  How the Dirtiest Heating Oil pollutes our Air and harms our Heath” including a great interactive map showing all the buildings currently using #6 and #4 oil.

There’s more at The Toeprint Project – including how New York City residents can find bio-fuel to heat their buildings.

American Samoa received eight minutes warning before 2009 tsunami – Wikinews, the free news source

People in American Samoa were given only eight minutes warning that a tsunami, which killed 32 people in the unincorporated territory, resulting from the 2009 Samoa earthquake, was approaching. A report published by the United States Congress admits that the warning was issued sixteen minutes after the 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck Samoa. The tsunami killed nearly 200 people in American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga.

The report, written by the National Research Council, describes the length of time between the earthquake and the initial tsunami warning being issued as “relatively long”, and states that the standard time for such a warning to be issued to be around two minutes. The study also revealed that one third of tsunami sensors are not working at any given time.

John Orcutt, a seismologist and head of the committee that wrote the report, described the delay as a “major concern”, but he also said that “a large number of people” in American Samoa “didn’t understand and there were lives that were lost because people simply didn’t take the action to get away from the shore when they felt this huge earthquake. People have to understand the signs of a tsunami and head to higher ground.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, whose purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities, and the Government of American Samoa did not respond to e-mails regarding the news.

via American Samoa received eight minutes warning before 2009 tsunami – Wikinews, the free news source.

Kenyan court jails seven pirates for 2009 attempted hijack of Maltese ship

Via WikiNews:

Kenyan court jails seven pirates for 2009 attempted hijack of Maltese ship:

A court in Mombasa, Kenya has sentenced a group of seven Somali pirates to five years each in jail, according to a statement by the European Union. Anti-piracy mission EU Navfor said the septet were arrested by Spanish navy sailors after attacking Malta-registered cargo vessel Anny Petrakis.

Presiding over the conviction and sentencing, Timothy Ole Tanchut told the men he “…[had] concrete proof that you attacked a vessel in the high seas and I order you to serve five years in prison,” ruling that they will be deported to Somalia after serving their sentences. They have been in custody since May 7 last year when a Spanish crew captured them coming to the aid of the Anny Petrakis. The arrests followed warning shots fired by a naval helicopter.

This is the third pirate gang jailed in the last two years, bringing the total serving sentences in Kenya to around 15; around 100 suspects await trial in custody. Trials have been difficult to arrange owing to issues around finding locations; Kenya has international agreements with the EU, the United States and Denmark, as well as a separate treaty with EU-state the United Kingdom. These allow Kenya to try pirates like these ones handed over by Spain in exchange for support of the nation’s judicial system. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the European Union, Australia and Canada have all chipped in with donations to fund the court.

WikiNews, Friday 24 Septem,ber 2010.

September 11, and the Future of Energy

Combined Cycle Power Plant

Combined Cycle Power Plant

The Combined Cycle Power Plant, “Kombikraftwerk” can harness wind, sunlight, water, and biofuels to meet ALL Germany’s electric power needs, 365 days per year, regardless of weather conditions.  And if it “werks” in Germany, it will work here.

Professor Jurgen Schmid and his colleagues at the Institute for Solar Energy Supply Systems of the University of Kassel, in Germany, with funding from Enercon GmbH, SolarWorld AG and Schmack Biogas AG, have developed the Combined Cycle Power Plant, or “Kombikraftwerk” and proven that they can use wind, solar, biomass and hydro to meet ALL Germany’s electricity needs around the clock regardless of weather conditions. Schmid says.“If renewables continue to grow as they have done in the past, they’ll provide around 40% of Germany’s electricity needs by 2020. We could therefore achieve 100% by the middle of the century.” Information on the Combined Cycle Power Plant is here, and here, at “Germany’s Renewable Energy Information Platform. Continue reading →

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Found this excellent graphic, which tells a story in very few words – the expansion of United States copyright laws over time – on Wikimedia Commons. It was created by Tom W. Bell in connection with his article   Escape From Copyright: Market Success vs. Statutory Failure in the Protection of Expressive Works, I think he makes a persuasive case Length of U.S. copyright protection - image by Tom W. Bell.– but whether or not you agree with his conclusions, this particular point is clear and concise because of Mr. Bell’s infographic.