This is the most promising headline I've read in a while. My father always said, "The momentum is going to end just like it did in the 70s. Money drives everything and when the gas prices went back down everyone forgot about energy conservation." Study Suggests That, Unlike in the ’70s, Energy Lessons Will Last
	Feb 5, 2008	New York Times
	CLIFFORD KRAUSS The oil shocks of the 1970s produced a flurry of attention to alternative sources of energy, but it faded once prices dropped in the mid-1980s. Now, with oil prices again high and climate change moving up the list of public concerns, interest in alternative energy is once again at fever pitch. Is history about to repeat itself? Not likely, according to a leading energy consulting firm. In a report scheduled for release Tuesday, the firm, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, concludes that multiple factors will continue pushing the world toward greater use of alternative energy sources like sun and wind power, regardless of what happens to oil prices. “The focus today on clean energy is not a bubble or passing phenomenon,” the report says. “Unconventional clean energy is now poised to cross the divide and move from the fringes of the energy sector to the mainstream.” What makes today different from the 1970s is growing apprehension about global warming as a threat to political security and the environment, according to the report. That is pushing governments to demand, and subsidize, greater use of alternative energy. “Climate change and putting a price on carbon will change the dynamics of the energy marketplace,” said Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and a leading historian on the oil industry. He noted that with the Chinese and Indian economies growing rapidly, “you need renewables as part of the solution to meet this astonishing demand growth.” The report notes that renewable fuels will remain small compared with conventional fuels for many years, and their rate of adoption will be determined by the intersection of government policies, economic growth rates and technological breakthroughs. But the report projects that rising private and public investment in clean energy — including biofuels like ethanol; renewable power, including wind, geothermal and solar generation; nuclear energy; and techniques to capture and store carbon emissions — could surpass $7 trillion by 2030. In 2007, roughly $125 billion was invested in such energy sources worldwide, said Robert LaCount, lead author of the report, about 20 percent more than the year before. Other analysts say there is no guarantee energy in the future will be cleaner because renewable energy is effectively in a race with other unconventional sources, like liquefied coal, Canadian oil sands and oil shale, which emit higher amounts of carbon dioxide than conventional hydrocarbons. While several major oil companies have joined smaller firms in investing in wind, geothermal and solar energy sources, they are investing far more money at the moment in oil sands. Environmentalists at the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Pembina Institute have estimated that at least 20 percent of the pollution reductions coming from the new vehicle fuel economy standards law, which Congress passed in 2007, would be negated by the additional production and refining of oil sands in Canada by 2020. “Producing more low carbon fuels is all well and good, but their benefits can be washed out if we don’t tackle the threat of high carbon fuels like oil sands at the same time,” said Deron Lovaas, an analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Development of renewable energy sources has taken significant leaps. The American wind industry, for example, expanded its generating capacity 45 percent last year, generating enough power for 1.5 million households. Accounting for 30 percent of the new American power-production capacity last year, wind reached 1 percent of the country’s electricity supply, according to data from the American Wind Energy Association. A recent study by Emerging Energy Research, another Cambridge consulting firm, estimated that as much as $65 billion would be invested in additional wind power from 2007 to 2015, producing a compound annual growth rate of 15.7 percent. The Cambridge Energy Research Associates study projects that installed capacity of geothermal power should increase by 50 percent or more in the next five years as the number of countries using it doubles, to more than 40. . The study also noted serious limitations for clean energy development. It estimated that “meaningful deployment” of technology to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions is at least two decades away. It acknowledged the challenges for nuclear power “with regard to policy, capital costs, waste management — and public opinion.”

According to the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, it looks like program budgets are going up for Energy Efficiency programs exceeding 3.7 billion. That's right. That's a B for billion. This takes into account Canada as well. I am hoping south of the border can be quoted next year as it will be interesting what Mexico is doing around this. I went to CEE last month and found it very helpful in learning the landscape. It gave me a lot of insight and their website is very helpful resource.

2007 Efficiency Program Budgets Exceed $3.7 Billion
CEE Reports on Budget Data for Third Year

This year’s report on the size of efficiency program industry in 2007 shows the magnitude of programs in both the U.S. and Canada. Taken together, these programs, all ratepayer-funded, are now an industry, shaping both supply and demand for efficient products in both markets.

U.S. programs reached $3.1 billion, an 18 percent increase over 2006. While Canada has long sponsored efficiency programs, this is the first year the data have been aggregated in one place. Canada adds another $.6 billion, bringing the total to $3.7 billion. Budgets include commercial and industrial, residential, low income, and load management programs, along with the other expenditures necessary in different regions with varying conditions.

The impact of these programs is also available for 2006. The efficiency program industry saved Canadian and U.S. ratepayers an astounding $5.4 billion in 2006. That figure is based on energy savings of 59,800 GWh of electricity and 162.6 million therms of gas. Thus, efficiency programs abated 36 million metric tonnes of CO2, an increase of 7 million tonnes over 2005 savings.

The CEE report is available in two formats. You can request a printed overview report from CEE, or you can visit the Web site at http://www.cee1.org/ee-pe/2007/index.php3 for details by state, region, and province and by sector.



CEE
CEE is a consortium that brings together efficiency program administrators from across the U.S. and Canada to discover, through conversation, credible, unbiased solutions to issues in the efficiency program industry. As a collective entity, the individual efficiency programs of CEE are able to partner not only with each other, but with other industries, trade associations, and government agencies. By working together at CEE, administrators multiply the effect of their funding dollars, exchange information on best practices and, by doing so, achieve greater energy efficiency for the public good.

Very interesting website...I'd like to know what the downfall to it is. ie. what environmental impact?

http://nomowgrass.com/index.htm?gclid=CITH7JWX55ACFQNCgwod1iw7Ww

NoMowGrass - Eco Friendly, Safe for children & pets.

Easy to maintain, easy to plant.
Once established, NoMowGrass uses less water and energy than high maintenance grasses. . . and ZERO pollution.

Easy to plant over existing lawn or on bare soil.
Naturally short NoMowGrass deters rodent and snakes usually found to hide in taller grasses. Typical blade height is only 3 - 6 inches high.

Yes - it is real grass!

Having a background in communications, I am a sucker for 'wow factor' and for 'factoids. Occasionally I will post just some facts, to have this blog be a resource for such things.

DID YOU KNOW?

Today, US utilities operate about 420 MW of centralized solar generating capacity in California, Nevada, and Colorado. 80% of this capacity has operated efficiently for over 20 years.

The message from Bush is clear. They don't want the U.S. to have a patchwork of state-level policies while ignoring the national issue. But the message from the states is also clear, that the citizens within each state, and within our country, are ready to act responsibly with or without federal mandate. The fact that the states are actually suing now reminds us all of how democracy really works, at the legal level. This is at least a step in the right direction. Now we just have to wait for Bush to leave office to align our country. I agree that a patchwork is not the answer, but if it doesn't hurt, why would the feds try to curb responsible states? You should get bonuses based on it, tax breaks, incentives, rebates, etc. This underlines to me the conflict of interest of economy and ecology in our population. The two are currently separated but should be defined as a common good. Happy 2008!

	California Sues EPA Over Emissions Rules
	Jan 3, 2008	Washington Post
	California Sues EPA Over Emissions Rules 15 Other States Back Effort to Win Waiver to Allow the Setting of Tougher Standards By Keith B. Richburg Washington Post Staff WriterThursday, January 3, 2008; A02 NEW YORK, Jan. 2 -- California, joined by 15 other states led by New York, sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday over its refusal to allow the state to set its own, tougher vehicle-emissions standards to control greenhouse gases and combat global warming. The suit, to which Maryland is a party, was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco two weeks after the EPA's decision to turn down California's request for a waiver that would have allowed it to begin implementing a landmark 2004 state law limiting carbon dioxide output from cars, trucks and SUVs. That law would require new vehicles to cut tailpipe emissions by a third by 2016, which California officials said would result in a fuel-efficiency standard of 36.8 miles per gallon. Such waivers have been routinely granted to California under the 1970 Clean Air Act, which allows the Golden State to set its own air-pollution standards with federal approval. As a result, California has often been a national leader in developing air-quality protections. In denying the waiver this time, EPA Director Stephen L. Johnson said following a single federal policy rather than having a confusing patchwork of state laws would be a more efficient way to combat global warming. In December, President Bush signed an energy bill that will raise vehicle fuel-efficiency standards nationwide to 35 mpg by 2020, four years later than the California mandate. Johnson called that approach a better way to address vehicles' contributions to the greenhouse-gas buildup. In filing the lawsuit, California Attorney General Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr. (D) said, "There's absolutely no justification for the administrator's action," the Associated Press reported. "It's illegal. It's unconscionable and a gross dereliction of duty. "To curb the innovative efforts of California and other states makes no sense," Brown said in an interview. In New York, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that his state will lead a coalition of 15 states backing California's legal right to set its own environmental standards in the face of what he called inaction at the federal level. "The EPA's attempt to stop New York and other states from taking on global warming pollution from automobiles is shameful," Cuomo said in a statement. "By denying New York the right to set global warming emissions standards for cars, the Bush administration is intentionally obstructing our efforts to combat climate change." The EPA's deputy press secretary, Jonathan Shradar, said in a statement: "As the Administrator indicated when announcing his intention to deny the California waiver request, under the recently signed Energy bill we now have a more beneficial national approach to a national problem which establishes an aggressive standard for all 50 states, as opposed to a lower standard in California and a patchwork of other states." He referred questions to the Justice Department. Besides Maryland and New York, the other states and agencies that joined the suit are Massachusetts, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Also yesterday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) sent a letter to the EPA inspector general's office asking for a formal investigation into how the decision was made to deny California the waiver. In the letter to Deputy Inspector General Bill A. Roderick, Feinstein said the agency's administrator appears to have "deviated from standard Administration protocols in making this unprecedented decision," among other things by ignoring the advice of the EPA's technical staff and consulting with the White House before denying the waiver.

I was very pleased to see this article about Florida posted today in one of the dozens of newsletters on energy efficiency I pore through.

Having most of my family in Florida now I was always wondering exactly how green, or not green, Florida was. Seeing so many Hummers and pickups driving around, I feared awareness of the mortality of our environment by Florida citizens was low, or even that they were in denial or didn't care, and maybe they were even behind (or blind) on green state-level leadership, as opposed to such locations as northwest and western states (Oregon, California, etc.), or even such places as the city of New York.

So glad to see the governor of Florida trying to step it up.

Florida took on new role in '07 on energy issues
	Dec 31, 2007	The Palm Beach Post
	By Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 30, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- At the beginning of this year, Florida was going to be the home of several new coal-fired power plants, including one in Glades County that would be the largest in the United States. Solar- and wind-power projects were nonexistent in the state, no ethanol plants were on the drawing board, and the phrase "low-carbon economy" sounded like something out of an episode of Star Trek. But everything changed in February, when Terry Tamminen went to Tallahassee at the behest of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps the nation's greenest governor. "In the environmental community, folks believed that Florida was prime for some leadership on climate change," said Jerry Karnas, Florida Climate Project director for New York-based Environmental Defense. "We felt the door had creaked open, and we had an opportunity at that point." Tamminen, who had been secretary of California's Environmental Protection Agency, and other clean-energy (NASDAQ:CLNE) advocates sat down with newly inaugurated GOP Gov. Charlie Crist. The goal was to get Crist to mention, during his State of the State address, the crisis of climate change. To the pleasant surprise of the environmental community, Crist went them one better. Global warming, Crist said during his March speech, is one of the world's most pressing issues. But then he called for a group of leaders to meet during the summer to figure out ways that Florida could be more energy-independent and reduce the amount of carbon emissions entering the atmosphere. "It was such a refreshing change of pace," said Susan Glickman, Southern regional director for London-based environmental organization The Climate Group. "Crist broke through the old, conceived notions of what's possible for Florida." Things ramped up even more during a two-day climate change summit the governor hosted in July. Schwarzenegger, Theodore Roosevelt IV and Robert Kennedy Jr. were among the main speakers. At the meeting, held in Miami, Crist signed executive orders requiring the state to slash greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 and mandating that utilities get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable fuels. State-owned buildings needed to be energy-efficient, he said, and Florida's fleet needed to run on clean-burning fuel such as ethanol. He also told the Florida Public Service Commission to get busy figuring out how residents can get reimbursed for excess electricity they generate, as a way to encourage Floridians to add solar energy and other renewables to their homes. At the end, what Crist had done was begin to move the state -- and its power companies -- away from an energy plan that relied on fossil fuels such as coal to meet the electricity needs of its growing population. No one felt that shift in emphasis more acutely than Florida Power & Light Co. (NYSE:FPL) In June, the PSC rejected Glades Power Park, a 1,960-megawatt twin-unit coal-fired power plant. FPL regrouped, filing for permission to add nuclear plants in Miami-Dade County and floating suggestions for wind turbines in St. Lucie County. "We believe additional nuclear power, new solar power (OTCBB:SOPW) projects and efforts to bring wind power to Florida make sense because those energy sources produce no greenhouse gases," FPL President Armando Olivera said in a statement. What also changed was FPL's usual rejoinder to proposals for more solar and wind power capability: Florida's too cloudy, and solar technology is too expensive. And it's not windy enough here, either. FPL denies any shift in thinking, touting its long time energy-conservation programs and arguing that its sister company, FPL Energy LLC, is among the world's top producers of alternative energy. "Our focus hasn't changed," Olivera wrote. "At FPL, we are committed to being part of the solution to global warming, and for years, we've been a nationally recognized clean-energy and energy-conservation leader." Certainly, FPL's parent company sought a much higher profile on this issue in 2007. FPL Group Chief Executive Lew Hay III carved out a portion of the Fortune 250 company's annual shareholders meeting in May to talk about climate change and testified before Congress in June on placing a fee on carbon as the way to get industries to clean up. FPL Group also joined the U.S. Climate Action Partnership -- a consortium of 10 businesses and four clean-energy groups -- to push for a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions. And in September, Hay announced a $2.4 billion clean-energy program that included the building of a 300-megawatt solar plant in Florida. "FPL at the beginning of the year was pushing one of the nation's largest pulverized coal plants, and at the end of the year is looking at solar technology," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, based in Knoxville, Tenn. All of this is in keeping with the nation's heightened attention to renewable sources of energy. But Florida continues to steadily draw people from other states, and the demand for energy will continue to increase. "It's great to have objectives, it's great to have renewables, we have to do that," said Frank Maisano, a Washington-area spokesman for the utility industry. "But you also have to have a view of the larger picture that includes the type of unchecked growth that Florida is going through." That means it will be a challenge for Florida's leaders to keep a commitment to alternative forms of energy while at the same time keeping the air-conditioning running and the lights on. "No matter how much you do with renewables, you're never going to be able to do enough," said Tommy Boroughs, executive director of the Florida Energy Commission and a member of the Governor's Energy Action Team, which was created by one of his executive orders. "What we're talking about doing, it's not going to be quick, it's not going to be easy, it's not going to be cheap. But the sooner we start off, the better." Moving into 2008, utility regulators have to settle on what's known as a renewable-portfolio standard -- the details of requiring utilities to get a certain percentage of their fuel from things such as biomass, solar and wind. Without that, companies won't want to build wood waste-processing plants or solar arrays because the banks won't pony up the hundreds of millions of dollars it takes to finance them without a sure buyer of that electricity. "People say it's naturally going to happen. Well, people aren't going to make it happen unless people realize there is a long-term commitment from the state," said Gaston Cantens, vice president of West Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals Inc., which operates a waste-to-energy plant in its sugar cane fields. Cantens says having a renewable-portfolio standard in Florida will create a market for biomass and other alternative fuels. Throughout the year, utility regulators held meetings on how to increase the amount of energy the state gets from renewable sources. "When you look at the need the state has, we have a growing energy demand, and we need to balance how we meet that demand with cost, energy security, energy diversification ... a number of things we've done over the past two years puts us in a better place," said Lisa Edgar, outgoing chairwoman of the five-member PSC. "It's certainly been an exciting year for energy issues, and I think the commission has done good work." And on the final day of the year Monday, state legislators will get a list of recommendations from the Florida Energy Commission to take up during the legislative session. "This was really a historical year for Florida. How do we continue the momentum?" Smith said. "There are a lot of folks that can be obstructionist to where the governor goes -- the state legislature and the utilities are going to be big players in that. But I'm optimistic." Newstex ID: KRTB-0164-21967823

Bleaders: Yes, there are contrarians out there that do not believe in energy efficiency, and there are, in this case, researchers who have come to the unfortunate conclusion that energy efficiency will not curb energy consumption, but we cannot as a nation or as a world let these types of rather paradoxical and radically simplistic studies move us away from conserving energy at all costs that are reasonable to sustain our world.

It is the conclusion of this study that exactly in the areas where energy efficiency has increased has energy consumption increased, even doubled. Well, that is because we have focused on the areas of greatest energy consumption. But what the study did not find or attempt to conclude is how much energy would have been consumed without these energy efficiency measures. This makes this, in my mind, a bit of a flawed analysis, or at least one worth questioning what the initial premise was.

In conclusion, I do not believe these types of reports are of benefit except to conclude that 'more can be done,' and at this piont, I would say, this writer could have put more of his effort into saving his own energy and the energy of his publisher.

Study: Energy efficiency leads to greater consumption

Filed from Houston 12/27/2007 11:08:48 PM GMT

USA: A new report released last month by CIBC World Markets, "The Efficiency Paradox," outlines how energy efficiency initiatives and regulations often end up increasing consumption. CIBC World Markets Chief Economist and Chief Strategist Jeff Rubin, author of the report, found an "efficiency paradox" in which consumers have been able to use the cost savings generated by more efficient products to invest in additional energy consuming products.

Rubin notes, "While seemingly perverse, improvements in energy efficiency result in more of the good being consumed - not less."

Save some energy over the holidays

This is more from Google on Climate Savers Initiative, in time for the holidays. Google has always been very mindful of the holidays, and has blogged on this initiative many times if I recall. I bet you didn't know PCs use energy even when they are idle. 100-200 watts, that is! Imagine everyone in the country turning off their computers, and what that would do for the environment.

Save some energy over the holidays

12/22/2007 07:20:00 AM

Posted by Bill Weihl, Green Energy Czar

Here's a suggestion for everyone to save energy over the holidays (and at other times!): turn off your computer and monitor or put them into "sleep" mode when you're not using them.

Why? The typical desktop PC uses 100-200 watts even when it's idle. That's the equivalent of 1-2 bright incandescent (read: inefficient) light bulbs. (Note: new PCs that comply with the latest Energy Star specifications consume less than 50-60 watts when idle.)

You wouldn't leave your car running for hours when it's just sitting there. Most of us wouldn't leave a bright light bulb burning for hours when no one is nearby to need the light. So why leave your computer on?

If you're leaving your office for the holidays, turn off your PC. If it consumes 100 watts, that will save 2.4 kWh/day, or over 25 kWh for the next 11 days through January 1st. In California, that will stop about 40 kg of CO2 from being put into the air, and save about $2.50. For every 1 million people who do this, that will stop 40,000 tonnes (metric tons) of CO2 from being emitted, and save $2.5 million. In many areas, it will reduce emissions even further, and save even more money.

The same issue applies at home: turn off your computer or put it to sleep when you're not using it. The automatic power management settings on most computers will put them to sleep automatically after a specified idle period.

If you use a screensaver, set it to "blank" the screen and put the monitor in sleep mode after a few minutes. Screensavers don't have any benefit (other than being nice to look at) on modern displays, and they consume as much or more energy as just about anything else you could ask your computer to do.

You might be thinking, "why now?" This isn't just an issue for the holidays, but this is a good time to remind people. In general, when you're not using your computer, turn it off or put it to sleep. Most computers can go to sleep quickly, and then wake up with all your work exactly as it was when you put it to sleep -- so there's no downside.

If you want to do even more to save energy with your computers and to help the entire IT industry move to higher energy efficiency, check out the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, which we co-founded last June to create a positive "virtuous circle" between the supply of and demand for energy-efficient computers. More than 140 companies, universities, governments, and nonprofits, along with thousands of individuals, have pledged to buy energy-efficient computers and to use automatic power management tools to save energy. As more people make the same commitments, the volume of energy-efficient computers sold will increase, and the very modest price premium they demand today should drop.

Have a great holiday season!

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Cool experiment on recycling below, however what we really need is real recycling, not downcycling.

ecycl-o-sort: not a part of foreplay, but still very important

Posted Dec 23rd 2007 8:05AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Even casual fans of Jemaine Clement could appreciate the Recycl-o-sort -- after all, it's hard to deny the vitalness of sorting out the recycling. In that spirit, a team of MIT students concocted a prototype that automatically sifts through recyclables and deposits them into the appropriate bin depending on makeup. The sun-powered device is currently being tested in Boston's Codman Square area as part of Family, Inc.'s recycling awareness campaign, and it reportedly uses a "turntable" to pass each item through a trio of sensors to determine whether it's aluminum, plastic, glass or just plain rubbish. Call us crazy, but this whole thing just brings back memories of that team building exercise we did back in '99.

[Via Core77]

Tags: green, mit, prototype, Recycl-o-sort, recycle, recycling, solar, solar-power, solar-powered, university

More on CFLS and Dimmer Switches.

3. Can I use a compact fluorescent light bulb with a dimmer switch?

To use a compact fluorescent bulb on a dimmer switch, you must buy a bulb that's specifically made to work with dimmers (check the package). GE makes a dimming compact fluorescent light bulb (called the GE Longlife Plus Soft White Energy Saving Bulb) that is specially designed for use with dimming switches. We don't recommend using regular compact fluorescent bulbs with dimming switches, since this can shorten bulb life. (Using a regular compact fluorescent bulb with a dimmer will also nullify the bulb's warranty.)

http://www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/faqs/cfl.htm#3

Here are more FAQs on CFLs that I cut and paste from GE's site (most likely a very trusted source!)

1. Can I use a compact fluorescent light bulb with an electronic timer or photocell (AKA electric eye)?

2. Can I use a compact fluorescent light bulb in an enclosed light fixture?

3. Can I use a compact fluorescent light bulb with a dimmer switch?

4. Can I use a CFL in applications where I will be turning the lights on/off frequently?

5. Can I use a CFL in applications involving vibration such as a ceiling fan or garage door opener?

6. What should I do if I break a CFL bulb?

7. Why does the color of CFLs seem different at start-up?

8. Do light bulbs (such as fluorescent and compact fluorescent bulbs) give off hazardous amounts of ultraviolet (UV) light?

9. How does a compact fluorescent light bulb work?

10. What compact fluorescent light bulb do I buy to replace a 60-, 75-, 100- or 150-watt regular bulb?

11. How much heat (or infrared radiation) is emitted by regular, halogen, and compact fluorescent light bulbs?

12. What is Energy Star® and why are many compact fluorescent light bulbs Energy Star labeled?

13. How can I get lighting product catalogs and sell sheets?

What to Do if a Fluorescent Light Bulb Breaks (According to EPA)

Caught this link on Boingboing.net. CFLs and fluorescent bulbs are energy efficient but they have to be handled with care. This is one of those balancing acts our planet demands of us, which is why we need to look at the big picture. We save on one thing, and what are the environmental implications. Put another way, if we save on the environment by disposing of things in a responsible way, what energy impact is that?

In any case, it's important to be educated, and I encourage you to continue to use the new energy efficient light bulbs and LEDs whenever possible.

Here is what you do if your fluorescents break in your house. Remember - they contain trace amounts of mercury so handle with care. They also contain massive amounts of 'energy savings' which is absolutely critical going forward. Make sure to screw them in every light bulb you can. I heard they don't work on dimmer switches, so I'm going to look into that and report back.

EPA is continually reviewing its clean-up and disposal recommendations for CFLs to ensure that the Agency presents the most up-to-date information for consumers and businesses.

Learn more about compact fluorescent light bulb's from the ENERGY STAR program

Frequently Asked Questions about Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs and Mercury (PDF) (2 pp., 71K, About PDF)

Find fluorescent light bulb recycling programs in your area

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines:

1. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.

2. Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a sealed plastic bag.

   1. Use disposable rubber gloves, if available (i.e., do not use bare hands). Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes and place them in the plastic bag.

   2. Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

3. Place all cleanup materials in a second sealed plastic bag.

   1. Place the first bag in a second sealed plastic bag and put it in the outdoor trash container or in another outdoor protected area for the next normal trash disposal.
      Note: Some states prohibit such trash disposal and require that broken and unbroken lamps be taken to a local recycling center.

   2. Wash your hands after disposing of the bag.

4. If a fluorescent bulb breaks on a rug or carpet:

   1. First, remove all materials you can without using a vacuum cleaner, following the steps above. Sticky tape (such as duct tape) can be used to pick up small pieces and powder.

   2. If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister) and put the bag or vacuum debris in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash or protected outdoor location for normal disposal.

First CO2-free coal power plant announced

This looks interesting, though I'm skeptical when it says CO2 free when it looks like the CO2 is really being captured. Not sure that's the right wording.

• Story Highlights
• Coalition wants to siphon off CO2 and pump it into underground reservoirs
  
• Mattoon, Illinois, will host the first full-scale power plant using this technology
  
• The plant won't actually burn coal but gasify it
  
• The system yields several gases which are processed into hydrogen
  
• Next Article in Technology »

By Sean Captain

(PopSci.com) -- Coal is almost the perfect fuel. It's cheap and absurdly abundant -- especially in the United States, which has the world's larges reserves. There's just that tiny problem of massive climate-altering carbon dioxide emissions. Or is there?

The FutureGen Alliance -- a coalition of private power companies and the U.S. Department of Energy -- thinks it can make power cleanly by siphoning off the carbon dioxide and pumping it into underground reservoirs. The Alliance spent the past year evaluating four locations around the country that applied to host the first full-scale power plant using the technology; and today it chose Mattoon, Illinois as the winner.

Unlike a regular coal power plant, the FutureGen plant won't actually burn coal but gasify it by exposing powdered coal to oxygen in a high-pressure heated chamber.

The system yields several gases which are processed into hydrogen, which burns in a turbine to produce electricity, and carbon-dioxide, which is pumped into deep geologic formations that researchers expect to hold the gas indefinitely.

Proponents say that gasification is easier than capturing CO2 from a regular power plant because it produces it produces a smaller volume of exhaust and it easily traps most other pollutants from coal, such as Mercury. E-mail to a friend

Copyright © 2007 Popular Science

Update on international climate negotiations

Update on international climate negotiations

12/17/2007 09:05:00 AM

Posted by Karen Wickre, Google Blog Team

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reached agreement in Bali on Saturday on a roadmap to reach a new international climate change agreement. Several Google.org team members attended and have shared their thoughts on some of the themes of the conference: putting the Bali roadmap in context, climate change and economic development, local government actions, and an introduction to the negotiations. We hope you find these writeups informative.

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As I sit at my desk wondering what I'm going to blog on today, I am drinking out of a mug today that says:

Renewable Energy:
4.5 Billion Years without an Outage.


Two points to bring up from this.
1. Mugs are great marketing tools because the message sits on your desk for years.
2. That is funny, and also true.

Gore makes Nashville home more 'green'
	Dec 14, 2007	CNN
	NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Al Gore, who was criticized for high electric bills at his Tennessee mansion, has completed a host of improvements to make the home more energy efficient, and a building-industry group has praised the house as one of the nation's most environmentally friendly. Al Gore recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global climate change. The former vice president has installed solar panels, a rainwater-collection system and geothermal heating. He also replaced all incandescent lights with compact fluorescent or light-emitting diode bulbs -- even on his Christmas tree. "Short of tearing it down and staring anew, I don't know how it could have been rated any higher," said Kim Shinn of the U.S. Green Building Council, which gave the house its second-highest rating for sustainable design. Gore's improvements cut the home's summer electrical consumption by 11 percent compared with a year ago, according to utility records reviewed by The Associated Press. Most Nashville homes used 20 percent to 30 percent more electricity during the same period because of a record heat wave. Shinn said Gore's renovations are impressive because his home, which is more than 80 years old, had to meet the same rigorous standards as new construction. "One of the things that is tremendously powerful about what the Gores have done is demonstrate that you can take a home that was a dog, an absolute energy pig, and do things to correct that," Shinn said. Al Gore bio * Born March 31, 1948 * Father Albert Gore Sr. was a U.S. senator from Tennessee from 1953 to 1971 * Graduated from Harvard University with honors in 1969 * Enlisted in U.S. Army and served in Vietnam War as a reporter * Was a U.S. congressman from 1977 to 1985 and U.S. senator from Tennessee from 1985 to 1992 * Elected as vice president under President Clinton in 1992 * Unsuccessfully ran for president in 2000 * Married to Tipper Gore; four children and two grandchildren Sources: Alliance for Climate Protection, CNN Gore bought the mansion in the Nashville suburb of Belle Meade in 2002 for $2.3 million. It houses his offices and those of his wife, Tipper, as well as a commercial kitchen for formal events. Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider declined to say how much the couple spent on the improvements. "The Gores decided to take a series of steps over time that might be logistically or financially out of reach for many Americans," she said. "But they were fortunate enough to have the ability to do so. "But everyone can get started, whether it's changing light bulbs or purchasing green power." In February, a conservative think tank criticized Gore for using an average of 16,000 kilowatt hours a month for an average monthly bill of $1,206 in 2006. The typical Nashville home uses about 1,300 kilowatt hours a month. Gore has said the criticism was unfair because the 10,000-square-foot mansion was undergoing extensive remodeling. He said this week that "global warming denier" groups were trying to discredit him because they don't like the attention he has given to climate change. "You're going to have people try to attack the messenger in order to get at the message. They have not been able to succeed," Gore told CNN from Norway, where he picked up the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work. "The only way to solve this crisis is for individuals to make changes in their own lives," he said. The Green Building Council's certification program has four levels, with platinum being the highest followed by gold. Gore's home was one of 14 to earn gold status and the only Tennessee home to earn any certification. Electricity usage at the home remains well above regional averages, but Gore's power consumption decreased by 6,890 kilowatt hours, or 11 percent, between June and August, despite the heat wave. Gore's electric use increased again after he had to take his solar panels off-line in August so his new geothermal system could be integrated into the system. But his natural gas use has dropped 93 percent in the three months since the geothermal pump was activated. Impact Your World * See how you can make a difference When the Gores' heated pool is hooked up to the system later this month, their energy use is expected to decline more, his spokeswoman said. Gore has also said he invests in renewable energy such as solar and wind power to balance 100 percent of his electricity usage. Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said the size of Gore's house limits how much he can cut his energy consumption. "We all need to evaluate what we legitimately need in square footage," he said. Still, another owner of the same house likely would not have been as dedicated as Gore to reducing energy consumption, said Smith, who also serves on the advisory committee for Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection. "I promise you the energy use would be as high, if not higher," he said. E-mail to a friend Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All About Global Climate Change • Al Gore

More farmers seeing wind as cash crop Dec 14, 2007 Chicago Tribune By Tim Jones Dec. 14, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune News Service delivered by Newstex) -- BAD AXE, Mich. -- At a time when most people choose to avoid the harsh winter winds that roar past corn stubble and whip up billowing dust clouds over table-flat fields, farmers in the Thumb of Michigan now talk about catching the wind and all the money that comes with it. Michigan's first commercial wind farm -- a collection of 32 towering turbines that conjure visions of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" -- is scheduled to begin operating in a few weeks, spurring for some a near-gold rush mentality in this sparsely populated area. Thousands of dollars in a guaranteed annual harvest come with each windmill placed on a farmer's land, and that lure has gone a long way toward interrupting the horizontal sameness of vast corn and bean fields. "I can't wait till they get going," said Bob Webber, who turned over easement rights to a portion of his property in Huron County for a proposed second wind farm, with 42 turbines. "I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of them. ... This would be a big deal for me," Webber said. For generations the tallest structures in the agricultural Midwest have been grain elevators, but the rapid growth of the wind-power industry is altering the landscape in states such as Iowa, which has about 960 turbines, and Minnesota, which has about 860 turbines, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group. Iowa and Minnesota rank third and fifth, respectively, in annual electrical power generated by wind (Illinois ranks 11th), and a utility executive in Detroit said he envisions the tip of Michigan's Thumb planted with more than 1,000 wind turbines. The 32 Michigan turbines reach 400 feet from the base to the tip of the rotor blade and are projected to provide electricity to more than 15,000 homes served by Wolverine Power Cooperative, in western and northern Michigan. Because of consistent wind speeds that buffet the Thumb, a region that juts into Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay, "Huron County is the sweet spot," said Trevor Lauer, vice president of retail marketing for DTE Energy Co. (NYSE:DTE) The Detroit-based electric utility has bought easement rights to 30,000 acres in the county, taking advantage of good winds and what appears to be a path of least citizen resistance. "Agricultural land and wind play together very well," said Lauer, adding that wind power has "reached a tipping point. It's no longer a question of if but when, and to what extent." Last month TPI Composites announced it will open a factory in Newton, Iowa, to build wind turbine blades. That will be the fifth turbine parts manufacturer that has set up operations in Iowa in the past two years, driven by a soaring national demand for turbines. During the first nine months of this year, Texas, the nation's leader in wind energy, installed nearly 600 turbines. An additional 136 were scheduled to be installed by the end of the year. "The world of wind has been substantially reshaped in the past three or four years," said Randall Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association. "There's a rush of capital into it." There is, of course, a wide chasm separating the dream of large-scale alternative power and the actual implementation of it. Energy transmission problems and political obstacles -- namely resistance from people who find the turbines ugly or a Cuisinart-like threat to birds -- loom large. Wind power accounts for a mere 1 percent of energy generation nationwide. And turbine proposals in resort and seaside areas such as Cape Cod have provoked loud protests. Federal tax credits are a vital lifeline to the industry. But the investment in wind power is taking root in sparsely populated areas of the Midwest and across the country, due in large part to state mandates forcing utilities to generate a certain percentage of their electricity -- say, 10 to 20 percent -- from alternative sources. At least two other wind power ventures are under consideration in Huron County. Michigan's entry into wind power is notable because this state, by virtue of its long marriage to the automobile industry, is perhaps the ultimate fossil fuel state. State officials say the wind farm due to open around Jan. 1 will save Michigan residents $4 billion on power generation over the next 20 years. "This makes a statement very clearly that we think renewables (energy) will be part of the future," said Craig Borr, executive vice president at Wolverine. The more immediate beneficiaries of the gradual move to wind power are people like Bob Krohn, who owns about 1,500 acres near the town of Pigeon. Krohn spends most of his early mornings with longtime friends, downing coffee at a round Formica table at the Dutch Kettle, a keep-your-hat-on restaurant where the most expensive item on the menu is $5.85. The three turbines on Krohn's property will earn him $18,000 to $30,000 a year, he said. "We're so used to seeing them now," said Krohn, whose turbines are among the 32 in the $90 million project developed by John Deere Wind Energy. On a recent frigid night in Bad Axe, DTE officials invited 250 people to a hotel for a prime-rib and open-bar schmooze designed to sell the virtues of wind power. In Huron County, where the median family income of $42,400 is 15 percent below the national average, the utility is preaching to a sizable choir. Mary Jahr, a waitress at the Dutch Kettle, said if she and her husband got windmills on their 160 acres in the western part of the county, "I might be able to quit working." The support, however, is not unanimous. In the northernmost part of the county, along the shore of Lake Huron, critics have raised objections about the windmills' potential harm to birds and property values. This is a lake resort area, popular in the summertime. It's an eagle nesting site and part of the migratory path of thousands of tundra swans. "Our township is unique because it is resort and agricultural," said Louis Colletta, the planning commission chairman for Lake Township. The township last month rejected DTE's request to set up testing towers to measure the speed and consistency of the wind. Colletta said there are many questions to be answered about the wisdom to installing windmills, "and we can't go at it too fast." In that regard, Huron County is a microcosm of the national debate. Russell Lundberg, director of the Huron County Building and Zoning Department, said there is growing acceptance of wind power in the county. People see it as a way of preserving farmland and the historical heritage of the region and, at the same time, embracing new technology. "What would I rather have in my back yard? A subdivision of homes or a coal-burning power plant?" Lundberg asked. "We're going to hear both sides on this issue, but there will be more wind farms here, no question about it." ------ (c) 2007, Chicago Tribune. Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

EU Threatens to Boycott US Climate Talks

By MICHAEL CASEY
AP Environmental Writer

AP Photo/Dita Alangkara

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BALI, Indonesia (AP) -- European nations threatened Thursday to boycott U.S.-sponsored climate talks next month unless the Bush administration compromises and agrees to a "road map" for reducing greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

With the U.N. climate conference in its final hours, Nobel laureate Al Gore said the United States was "principally responsible" for blocking progress here toward an agreement on launching negotiations to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

But the former vice president urged delegations to reach the required unanimous agreement before the conference's end on Friday, even if it meant putting aside goals for emissions cuts.

"You can do one of two things here," Gore said. "You can feel anger and frustration and direct it at the United States of America, or you can make a second choice. You can decide to move forward and do all of the difficult work that needs to be done."

The United States, Japan, Russia and several other governments refused to accept language in a draft document suggesting rich nations consider cutting emissions 25 percent to 40 percent by 2020, saying specific targets would limit the scope of future talks.

European nations and others argued that numerical goals are essential reference points in efforts to curb global warming.

All sides agree it is impossible to deal with climate change unless the United States is involved. It is the world's leading emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and the only major industrial country that did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

President Bush views his own climate talks as the main vehicle for determining action by the U.S. - and, he hopes, by others. The Jan. 30-31 session in Honolulu is a continuation of September talks at the White House called the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change.

The U.S. has invited 16 major economies, including European countries, Japan, China and India, to discuss a program of what are expected to be nationally determined, voluntary cutbacks in greenhouse gas emissions.

But the EU warned it would stay away unless Washington drops its opposition to mandatory cuts.

"No result in Bali means no Major Economies Meeting," said Sigmar Gabriel, the top EU environment official. "This is the clear position of the EU. I do not know what we should talk about if there is no target."

The main goal in Bali is to kick-start two years of intense dialogue about how to slow global warming and head off scientific predictions of rising sea levels, worsening floods and droughts, and losing plant and animal species.

Yvo de Boer, the U.N. climate chief, said he worried the U.S.-EU deadlock could derail any consensus in Bali on how to proceed.

"I'm very concerned about the pace of things," he said. "If we don't get wording on the future, then the whole house of cards falls to pieces."

The U.S. delegation said that while it continued to reject inclusion of specific emission cut targets, it hoped eventually to reach an agreement that would be "environmentally effective" and "economically sustainable."

"We don't have to resolve all these issues ... here in Bali," said Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, head of the American delegation.

Also Thursday, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is remaining in Bali longer than scheduled because of the "very critical phase of the negotiating process" at the climate conference.

Ban has spoken to Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a number of times on the issue, and would be holding round-the clock talks with all countries there, including the U.S., Okabe said.

The Kyoto Protocol requires 37 industrial nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions an average 5 percent below 1990 levels by the pact's expiration in 2012. Australia was the latest industrial country to ratify the pact, soon after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was elected.

Bush rejected the Kyoto pact on the grounds it would harm the U.S. economy and its provisions did not apply to poorer but fast-developing nations such as China and India, whose emission levels are growing fast.

China and India have called on the West to take the lead in cutting emissions and insist they will not agree to any targets that would slow the pace of development. But neither publicly says whether they would support emission targets.

Appearing at the U.N. conference four days after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on alerting people to the threat from rising temperatures, Gore challenged delegates packing a meeting hall to forge an agreement with an eye on history.

"Instead of shaking our heads at the difficulty of this path and saying this is impossible, how can we do this, we ought to feel a sense of joy that we have work that is worth doing that is so important to the future of human kind," he said.

"You have everything that you need, we have everything we need except political will. But political will is a renewable resource."

Gore criticized the United States as "principally responsible for obstructing progress" in Bali, raising loud cheers from the delegates. But he also urged them to reach an agreement, which he said a future U.S. administration would likely support.

"Over the next two years, the United States is going to be somewhere it is not now," he said, noting that all Democratic and several Republican presidential candidates support mandatory emission cuts.

"I must tell you candidly that I can not promise that the person who is elected will have the position I expect they will have, but I can tell you I believe it is quite likely," Gore said.

Kristen Hellmer, a member of the U.S. delegation, said Gore's assertions were untrue.

"The U.S. is being open and working very constructively with the other countries that are here," she said. "We are rolling our sleeves up and really working to come up with a global post-2012 framework."

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How Much Greenhouse Gas Does California Swine Produce?

By Alexis Madrigal December 12, 2007 | 8:55:00 AMCategories: Climate, Dataset

A question we often find ourselves asking is just how much raising swine in the great state of California contributes to global warming. Now, with help from the data released by the Air Resources Board, I can definitively tell you that raising swine in this state generated 0.116149133041726 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of burning 1.3 million gallons of gasoline.

The US is balking at capping its greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels, but here in California, a law known as AB 32 has done just that. Implementing the policy required that the state do a complete inventory of its GHG emissions from 1990 on, so it could actually determine what the cap should be. That meant calculating the emissions from hundreds of sources from dairy cows to jet fuel to passenger cars.

Here at Wired Science, we figure that you are nerds like us who love data, so we made the ARB spreadsheet a little friendlier, calculated gallons of gas equivalents out of the metric tons of greenhouse gases, and have posted the Excel doc for 2004 in glorious detail here: California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Breakdown. Take a look and find your very own favorite greenhouse gas emissions category.

UPDATE (5:50PM): By popular demand, here's a Google doc of the sheet.

There's also a serious side to seeing this data. My hope is that our readers will get an idea of where, exactly, greenhouse gas emissions are coming from because it's not all passenger cars and factories. Natural gas for heating, oil refining, dairy cows, nitrogen in fertilizer, and dozens of other sources contribute to the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change.

This is discouraging stuff. As this spreadsheet makes clear, many parts of our modern processes are dirty, generating carbon dioxide(CO2), methane(CH4), and nitrous oxide(N2O). But it's also heartening to see this big huge problem -- global warming! -- broken down into categories in a spreadsheet. We can look, line-by-line, at major areas where we can reduce our emissions through efficiency and innovation.

Often, when we think about energy efficiency in a category like homes, we think about its operating efficiency, but it takes a lot of energy (and therefore emissions) to create the house in the first place.

Take manufacturing cement, the 33rd most polluting activity in California. A company called CalStar announced they got $3.4 million last month from Foundation Capital to commercialize their eco-friendly cement. They are a long way from producing enough cement to fulfill demand, but it's a good step towards redesigning the building material system.

Pour the foundation with CalStar cement and then use Serious Materials EcoRock for drywall, and you start to see an ecosystem developing that will allow you to build a green house that generates a lot less greenhouse gases.

Carbon gases: Green Exchange takes root soon
	Dec 13, 2007	USA Today
	Paul Davidson, USA TODAY A star-studded cast of energy and environmental brokers and investors is launching a new exchange for trading credits that offset the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The Green Exchange is expected to sharply expand the fast-growing market for trading greenhouse gas and renewable energy credits, says Peter Fusaro, chairman of consulting firm Global Change Associates. The exchange will start in the first quarter. Its partners are Nymex Holdings, parent company of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the world's largest energy exchange; Evolution Markets, the biggest broker of environmental credits; and investment banks including Morgan Stanley , JPMorgan , Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch . "You have the largest energy exchange partnering with the largest environmental brokers," Fusaro says. Today, countries that ratified the Kyoto treaty have agreed to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. European countries have adopted a cap-and-trade system that limits carbon emissions by utilities and industries, with companies that exceed their cap buying allowances from those that fall under their limits. Many of the trades take place on the European Climate Exchange. But the United States has not joined the Kyoto treaty, so the market for trading carbon credits is voluntary. For example, a corporation can offset the greenhouse gases it produces by purchasing carbon credits, or offsets. Such credits can help subsidize the planting of a forest, for example, which removes carbon from the atmosphere. Many banks and other investors are eager to invest in carbon offsets because Congress is expected to impose a cap-and-trade system in the USA after the 2008 election. That's expected to boost the price of U.S. credits from $2 to $5 per ton of carbon to $30 to $50 a ton. Today, trades are typically completed on the Chicago Climate Exchange or by brokers, such as Evolution Markets. The Chicago exchange, however, handles a relatively small volume for traders, who must be members, and no third party guarantees their quality, Fusaro says. Evolution, meanwhile, cannot assure the credit-worthiness of buyers and sellers, says company President and CEO Andrew Ertel. The Green Exchange will provide a clearinghouse that alleviates both concerns. It also will handle a much wider array of products, including European allowances, voluntary U.S. pollution offsets and renewable energy credits, which help subsidize wind farms or solar plants. The exchange will list products on the vast CME Group Globex computer platform, which is used by banks and institutions to trade agricultural and energy products, allowing them to easily participate in the new exchange. Uniting big energy brokers "will create more emission reductions at lower prices," Ertel says. The U.S. market for voluntary credits is $100 million a year, but the worldwide market for carbon allowances is about $60 billion. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.