How Obama and McCain voted on environmental issues in 2007

How did Barack Obama and John McCain vote on environmental and clean energy issues in 2007?

By Glenn Maltais

According to the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Obama did OK, McCain, not so much.

Even though both presidential candidates are rigorously touting their environmental credentials, when it comes to walking the talk, the difference between Barack Obama and John McCain appears to be significant.

The national environmental scorecard, a ranking system that evaluates individual U.S. legislators based on their votes on environmental issues, highlighted 15 key votes last year–all of which senator McCain missed, resulting in a 0% score.

It is not uncommon for Presidential candidates to suffer from absenteeism during hectic election campaigns, or to miss roll call votes while being away from Washington for prolonged periods. Nevertheless, Obama managed to only miss four environmental votes, resulting in a 67% score – not great – but a whole lot better than 0%.

As scored by the LCV, McCain’s lifetime average is 24%, well below Obama’s 86%. Granted, this is not the greatest of comparisons, considering McCain has been in the Senate for a few decades, and Obama, a few years…but still, 24%? Not cool.

Out of the 15 votes where McCain chose to be elsewhere, the one that upset environmental groups the most occurred when an important piece of legislation fell one “yes” vote short of passage. The legislation involved tax incentives for renewable energy (set to expire December 31st, 2008) and repealed unnecessary tax breaks for the oil and gas industries.

Unfortunately, when it comes to what is arguably two the most important issues of our time, energy and the environment, McCain’s “straight talk express” may sound like it’s headed for greener pastures, but it appears to be circling the current administration’s big oil wagons. And, that leaves many environmentalists and those striving to usher in a new [clean, domestic] energy era, seeing red.

Oil slick kills penguins in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) — Environmental officials are looking for the cause of an oil slick that has killed scores of penguins in southern Brazil.

Marcelo Duarte of the Santa Catarina state environmental police said nearly 200 dead penguins covered in oil have washed up on the state’s shores since Sunday.

Duarte told The Associated Press on Thursday that the oil probably leaked from a large ship.

This year, thousands of penguins, both dead and alive, have washed up on Brazil’s shores as far north as Rio Grande do Norte state, near the equator.

Scientists are unsure why so many penguins are washing up in Brazil this year, but suspect overfishing near the Antarctic and colder-than-usual ocean temperatures may be to blame.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Photo from Reuters Pictures

Betting on a hot market for syngas

Turning scrap metal and debris into energy may help U.S. ease its reliance on oil

By Robert Gavin Globe Staff / August 25, 2008

NEW BEDFORD – Take a rusting, hulking pile of scrap metal, add a few tons of construction debris, and what do you get?

In the case of Ze-gen Inc., a new source of energy.

Ze-gen, founded four years ago, is using the unappetizing conglomeration to make fuel for power plants.

Borrowing technology from the steel industry, the company turns scrap metal into a 2,800-degree metal bath and injects construction debris deep into the bubbling cauldron. The process produces a clean-burning , or syngas, that can replace natural gas or fuel oil.

Ze-gen has been proving its technology and the quality of syngas over the past year, operating a demonstration plant here that digests about a ton of debris an hour. The company is now considering several sites, primarily in the Northeast, to develop a commercial facility that could eventually process as much as 30 tons an hour and produce enough gas to fuel a plant that could power 20,000 homes.

It expects to begin commercial production at the end of next year.

“We’re solving two problems,” said Bill Davis, Ze-gen’s chief executive. “We’re eliminating wastes that would end up in a landfill and reducing fossil fuels.”

Ze-gen is one of many companies across the nation using gasification technologies to convert plant, wood, and other organic wastes – known as biomass – into syngas. Some like, Ze-gen, are simply making syngas, which has the same chemical components, carbon and hydrogen, as fossil fuels. Others, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinoff InEnTec LLC, of Bend, Ore., are condensing it into liquid to make ethanol.

InEnTec uses municipal solid waste as feed stock and a technology known as plasma gasification, initially developed at MIT several years ago to destroy hazardous materials. The technology essentially creates an artificial bolt of lightning that vaporizes materials. InEnTec applied the method to solid waste, producing a syngas, then introducing a catalyst to change the gas into liquid, which can be blended with gasoline.

InEnTec and a partner, Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc. of California, recently said they plan to break ground on a $120 million plant near Reno, Nev., by the end of the year, and begin commercial production of ethanol in 2010. The plant will process 90,000 tons of waste annually to produce 10.5 million gallons of ethanol. Including tipping fees (the charge for taking the waste), the company projects making ethanol for about $1 a gallon, said Dan Cohn, a cofounder of InEnTec and senior research scientist at MIT.

“Gasification has a lot of potential because the technology is well established and can process a very wide range of feed stocks,” Cohn said. “It has the greatest potential when you can process waste.”

Gasification, which uses heat to turn solids into gas, is indeed a well-established technology. Before the invention of the electric light, many cities and towns had plants that converted coal to gas for street lamps. With oil and natural gas prices soaring, coal gasification has gained new interest, but is controversial because coal gas produces high amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse emission that contributes to global warming.

Using biomass as a feed stock is considered more environmentally friendly because plants and trees can be regrown to absorb carbon dioxide created by burning syngas. In addition, keeping waste out of landfills reduces an even more potent greenhouse gas, methane, which is released during decomposition.

Reducing solid waste was a key consideration in the founding of Ze-gen. Davis said more than 300 million tons of waste end up in US landfills every year, about 15 percent of it wood waste from construction. Ze-gen’s idea: Tap the waste’s energy potential.

The company’s engineers determined that channel induction furnaces used in the steel industry provided an energy-efficient way to turn construction debris into a high-quality, clean syngas. The electricity used for the furnace offsets about 15 percent of the energy produced by the syngas, Davis said.

The construction debris is first ground up, then injected deep into the molten metal with ceramic cylinders, much like dipping forks into a fondue pot. The intense heat converts the debris to gas. Heavy metals, such as lead from paint, settle to the bottom of the bath while other contaminants are trapped in crust of silica, known as slag, that forms on top.

Ze-gen raised about $8 million from investors to build the demonstration plant at a New Bedford waste-transfer station. The next step is to find industrial partners to put the gas to work. Syngas is difficult and expensive to transport, so Ze-gen’s plan is to build production facilities near users such as power and cogeneration plants at large factories. Cogeneration produces steam as well as electricity.

Several large companies have expressed interest, Davis said. He estimates the company could make syngas for about 75 percent of the current price of natural gas on commodities markets, and less than half that of fuel oil. Tipping fees for taking the waste could further lower the cost, he said.

As Biomass Power Rises, a Wood-Fired Plant Is Planned in Texas

By KATE GALBRAITH

Published: August 28, 2008 New York Times

The city of Austin, Tex., approved plans on Thursday for a huge plant that will burn waste wood to make electricity, the latest sign of rising interest in a long-dormant form of renewable energy.

When completed in 2012, the East Texas plant will be able to generate 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 75,000 homes. That is small by the standards of coal-fired power plants, but plants fueled by wood chips, straw and the like — organic materials collectively known as biomass — have rarely achieved such scale.

Austin Energy, a city-owned utility, has struck a $2.3 billion, 20-year deal to be the sole purchaser of electricity from Nacogdoches Power, the company that will build the plant for an undisclosed sum. On Thursday, Austin’s City Council unanimously approved the deal, which would bring the Austin utility closer to its goal of getting 30 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020.

“We saw this plant as very important because it gives us a diversity of fuels,” said Roger Duncan, general manager of Austin Energy. “Unlike solar and wind, we can run this plant night or day, summer or winter.”

More than 100 biomass power plants are connected to the electrical grid in the United States, according to Bill Carlson, former chairman of USA Biomass, an industry group. Most are in California or the Northeast, but some of the new ones are under development in the South, a region with a large wood pulp industry.

The last big wave of investment in the biomass industry came during the 1980s and early 1990s. Interest is rising again as states push to include more renewable power in their mix of electricity generation.

Last week, Georgia Power asked state regulators to approve the conversion of a coal plant into a 96-megawatt biomass plant. An additional 50-megawatt plant in East Texas is expected to be under construction by September.

Mike Whiting, chief executive of Decker Energy International, a developer and owner of four biomass plants around the country, estimates 15 to 20 new biomass plants are proposed in the Southeast, though not all will be built. The region is, he said, “the best part of the U.S. for growing trees.”

In California, which has the most biomass plants in the country, momentum is reviving after years of decline. The number of biomass plants has dropped to fewer than 30, from 48 in the early 1990s, because of the closing of many sawmills and the energy crisis early this decade, said Phil Reese of the California Biomass Energy Alliance. Six to eight of the mothballed plants are gearing up to restart, Mr. Reese said, helping California meet its renewable energy goals.

At least three biomass plants have been proposed in Connecticut, and another three in Massachusetts — though last week one of these, a $200 million, 50-megawatt biomass plant proposed for the western part of the state, experienced a regulatory setback because of concerns about truck traffic.

Some environmental groups have opposed the Nacogdoches plant. Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star chapter, said the plant was not “as clean as it could be” in terms of emissions. He also criticized the lack of a competitive bidding process to build the plant.

Pulp and paper companies operating in wooded East Texas have also opposed the plant, which will require a giant amount of wood residue — one million tons each year. They are concerned that there is not enough wood for their industry and the plant. But Tony Callendrello, vice president of Nacogdoches Power, said the company would use only discarded forest residues, mill waste and the like.

“We have no need — and no intention — to go after anything that the forest-products companies would be using in their production,” he said.

U.S. tycoons Bill Gates and Warren Buffett tour Alberta oilsands

As reported in the Calgary Herald

by Jon Harding

Two of the world’s richest people, Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and his friend, American investment magnate Warren Buffett, quietly flew into northeastern Alberta on Monday, where they took in the oilsands, apparently with awe.

Buffett and Gates — No. 1 and 3, respectively, on the world’s richest people list in the March edition of Forbes magazine — were hosted by a group that included Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers at Canadian Natural’s $9.3-billion Horizon oilsands development.

Representatives from CAPP made a presentation to the American power duo, who were pegged by Forbes in the spring as having a collective net worth of a cool $120 billion US and who could be looking for secure places to make resource-related investments now that the U.S. dollar seems to be recovering.

“We were asked to come up and give a general overview on the oilsands and Canada’s role in the world of energy in general, which we did,” said Greg Stringham, CAPP’s vice-president. “They were exercising curiosity, basically saying, ‘Wow, this is neat.’ “

The two tycoons were hosted by, among others, Canadian Natural vice-chairmen Murray Edwards and company chairman Allan Markin, who are among Canada’s wealthiest people.

According to Forbes’ March list, Buffett, 77, known widely as America’s most beloved investor and whose assets are largely held within his Omaha, Neb.-based insurance firm Berkshire Hathaway, was worth an estimated $62 billion US. Computer wizard Gates, 52, who had been the richest man on the planet for 13 straight years, had a net worth of $58 billion US.

The prestigious group made its way to the Horizon site about 100 kilometres north of oilsands hub Fort McMurray. Horizon will be Alberta’s fourth major oilsands mine when first production begins this fall.

The Horizon project has a landing strip, which has been used by Canadian Natural to shuttle thousands of workers to and from the project during its four-year construction.

Canadian Natural spokesman Rob Larson confirmed the tour involving Gates and Buffett happened, but he said Canadian Natural management would not comment beyond that.

One source said Gates and Buffett, who in recent months said he favours investing in the Canadian oilsands because it offers a secure supply of oil for the United States, visited the booming hub to satisfy “their own curiosity” but also “with investment in mind.”

As of 2006, Buffett was an investor in American oil giant ConocoPhillips, which owns sizable oilsands assets in a partnership with Canada’s largest oil company by market value, EnCana Corp.

Alberta’s Athabasca oilsands are one of few oil basins in the world where production is slated to grow in coming years and the massive play has been the focus of global attention.

While the thick, oil-soaked sands are expensive to process — some observers now say oil prices have to be above $70 to $80 US a barrel to make oilsands economics work — there has been a rush by companies into the sector over the past half-dozen years.

There is presently $125 billion worth of new construction being planned, which when combined with operating expenses add up to a whopping $215 billion over the next five years.

In June, CAPP reduced its estimate for oilsands production about 10 per cent to 4.8 million barrels per day by 2020 from a previous estimate of 5.3 million bpd, due to “constraints” unrelated to oil prices. Today, production stands at a little over one million barrels a day.

Labour availability and inflation around labour and materials such as steel stand to create a lag in previous growth forecasts.

The past few months have been particularly tumultuous for the oilsands industry.

Shares of companies active in the region have been hammered alongside falling oil prices, but are considered to be blue-chip, long-term investments.

The industry has also been under siege from environmental groups and foreign governments, including U.S. mayors, who voiced concerns about the industry’s impact on air quality due to its level of emissions, on water quality in the Athabasca River and about the slow rate of land reclamation by industry players.

Industry stalwarts Suncor Energy Inc. and the Syncrude Canada Ltd. joint venture have been mining oilsands crude for more than 30 years, followed more recently by Royal Dutch Shell PLC.

Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake was not aware of the visit by Gates and Buffett, but the politician had been in Victoria since the start of the week.

She said the profile of one of the world’s largest emerging energy plays continues to grow and visits to the area by high-profile investors, politicians and even royalty have become common.

“It’s astounding to me, frankly, the calibre of these individuals to just seem to arrive quietly in our community,” said Blake.

Buffett told Fortune magazine in 2006 that he would begin giving away 85 per cent of his wealth, with most of it going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropic organization.

Marriott Meetings Go Green

Marriott Replaces Meeting Products and Services with Eco-Friendly Alternatives – 4,000 Trees To Be Saved by Just Using Pads Made of Recycled Paper

The average three-day meeting at a Marriott hotel attended by 1,000 people produces more than 12 tons of trash, uses 200,000 kilowatts of power and consumes 100,000 gallons of water. Beginning this summer, Marriott, JW Marriott and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts will introduce a series of meeting products that are eco-friendly and will help guests and meeting planners reduce their environmental impact. Marriott is building on an aggressive environmental strategy by adding new elements to green its meetings. To see more about Marriott’s efforts to green its meetings, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61_-VNLwDcg

Products and Services include:

- 100% post-consumer fiber writing pads
- Bic Ecolutions® pens made from recycled content and biodegradable (Marriott purchases 47 million pens per year)
- Access to recycling containers in or near meeting rooms in many of the hotels
- Meeting rooms set with water service in pitchers or coolers rather than plastic bottles
- Boxed lunch containers made of recycled content, including biodegradable cutlery kits and napkins
- Organic, sustainable and natural food and beverage options in many hotels to include Fair-Trade teas and meeting room chocolate options
- Organic flower options
- Linen-less banquet buffet tables made of 49%-recycled aluminum and are 99% recyclable at many hotels
- Safe-to-donate food given to America’s Second Harvest’s network of food banks

“Our customers have been demanding greener meetings and we feel we can make a difference in the world by taking steps to reduce our footprint on the environment. This is just the beginning of an evolving program that continue to add ‘green’ products and services as they become available,” said Bruno Lunghi, CMP, Marriott’s vice president for event management. “An important element to any successful program is the engagement of our associates. As part of the program, event and sales managers will be trained on what makes a meeting environmentally friendly.”

Read more about Marriott’s Environmental Stewardship efforts

Green Ambassadors New World Leaders in Training

Author: Bobbi Miller-Moro

Visiting the Green Ambassadors new facilities in Lawndale, California I noticed right away this program is driving Environmental Charter High School to be like no other. Maybe it was the compost corner and vegetable garden, or where they convert vegetables into biodiesel. Or the First Place award-winning ‘Floatation Machine’ made out 100% recycled products. Either way, this school is unique. I am at the home of The Green Ambassadors (Green Ambassadors website), which is an educational program from the Environmental Charter High School.

Sara Laimon, the magnetic Founder of Green Ambassadors gave me a tour of their new facilities of ECHS and Green Ambassadors, while still in the remodeling and upgrading phase. As the school is moving out of boxes, and organizing their new classrooms she explained the sustainable plans in store for this unique Environmental Charter High School. There is an air of excitement. As I peaked into the classrooms, students were busy with various projects. These students know they are making a difference in our world for generations to come. The Green Ambassador Program is comprised of an elective class taught throughout schools in Los Angeles area, Youth Summits, Green Mobile Embassy, Green Adventures and supported by Green Mentors.

This groundbreaking organization is beginning to explode. The green element of the program is so strong that even during our interview she was selling organic soda to students from her office. In fact we were surrounded by green solutions, hangers made from wheat, recycled binders made from paper, Forest Certified pencils, even donated environmentally friendly, bio-degradable diapers are stacked on her desk in the office she shares with her green partners. “This program is created to breakdown our cultural social paradigms and educate all. Especially the communities that suffer the most from environmental injustices, the inner city, who normally miss the green education on how to advocate for a clean, healthy environment.” Laimon.

Green Ambassadors, a project of Environmental Charter High School, is an environmental education program that empowers youth to become agents of change in their communities and the world. The goals of the program include: Educating and motivating youth, inspiring them to set a “Green” example through open idea exchange and social action; To create a learning environment that will inspire new thought, helping young people to develop confidence in themselves and their future; To network communities, share ideas and empower local and global environmental solutions; To create “Green Ambassadors” for local communities and the world, inspiring hope within us all for a just, sustainable and peaceful planet.

I asked Sara what’s the future you see for the Green Ambassadors?

With certainty she said, “For all schools to have Green Ambassadors around the world. Who are agents of change and the voice of the environment.”

The Green Ambassador elective class at Environmental Charter High School is a required course for every student to take in their 10th grade year where students receive college credit from Los Angeles Trade Technical College. The Green Ambassadors have already been accomplishing their mission through their trainings in initiatives. These initiatives are implemented by youth who are committed to fulfilling Green Ambassadors mission, vision, values, and goals. The Green Ambassador program provides a different way of learning for youth who want to contribute to this planet.

They have been trained in the One Billion Bulbs Youth empowering youth to imagine the possibilities. With a goal of mobilizing the world to replace one billion standard incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs. Plastics are Forever is another initiative where youth empowering youth to create cleaner oceans by banning plastic bags and Styrofoam (polystyrene) in Los Angeles with Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Bring Your Own, Heal the Bay and other non-profits. Green Ambassadors are trained in Biofuels, Organics, Biodiversity, Remediation of our soil, and constructing buildings and structures out of earth friendly materials.

‘Floatation Machine’ made of all recycled products

“Sara Laimon has been a positive light within the sustainability movement for the past ten years. During her career as a classroom teacher, she has guided classes and school groups to create cob benches, convert a diesel car to run on veggie oil, create bio-diesel, and eat organic. Sara has traveled to Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, Greece, and Galapagos finding, sharing, and learning solutions. She is devoting her life to creating and nurturing eco-activists to be empowered to share the solutions of hope.”

Green Ambassadors currently has two teachers. They are unique in that they are well versed in Environmental Studies. “They approached me with a huge desire for a huge change.” Sara shared with me. The names of these incredible teachers are Sandra Valencia who is originally from Colombia, she has taught High School Spanish for the past five years at ECHS and Dorsey High School (LAUSD). She has been an environmental activist for the past five years working with the Los Angeles Biodiesel Coalition, Dorsey High School’s club Global Warriors. Gabriel Azenna, who’s statement is “Green’ isn’t merely a color… but it’s a state of mind”. He adheres to a pragmatic acceptance that human beings may continue to prosper, but only by recognizing and embracing our integral duty as planetary stewards. Beyond the classroom, Gabriel is the Environmental Education Director for Next Aid, a non-profit organization his wife Lauren, co-founded in 2002. Gabriel also sits on the steering committee for the Coalition for a Sustainable Africa; a consensus-based network of NGO’s all dedicated to sustainable development projects on the ground in Africa.
Sara believes that the passion behind the people that contribute to our program stems from a satisfaction that they are investing into youth, that they see what they are doing is bigger than themselves and they contributing to the environment at the same time.

I was also interested in the ethnic backgrounds of The Green Ambassadors.

She explained they started with inner city children, but understand and promote that there is one world and we are the human race working together to create a planet where everyone can live. Therefore we have ‘Youth Summit’ where youth crossing gender, race, and social barriers and are collaborating as youth across the city and nation to inspire, create, and share solutions for a healthy planet.”

“We are tired of the myths about inner-city kids and their apathy towards the environment!” What is unique about our Los Angeles Youth Leadership Clinic is that it is youth-planned, youth- driven and youth-motivated. Youth are driven to improve their local environment.”

Spelled out clearly on their website; “Young adults are creating their own stewardship model by teaching each other, pooling their resources, strengthening their community vision and inspiring people to change. Youth need to see that they are an influential and vital part of the community. The youth of Los Angeles are the next generation of leaders. If they are not included in the community when they are young, they may not stay in the community to be the leaders of the future. These thoughts were recently expressed by Sabina Ibarra, a youth participant in the leadership clinic, Green Ambassadors, and a student at Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, CA.”

In asking how Green Ambassadors improved their your local community? Sara reflects how they have demonstrated training for bio-diesel technology, community battery recycling, training local elementary schools on how to recycle plastics, to be a first in promoting city council ‘ban plastic in our community’, Awareness Day, and Earth Day to name just a few. They also are responsible for Southern California Disposal to switch their fleets of dirty diesel to run on clean burning biodiesel.

“Our strategy through all of our programs is to provide experiences for the Green Ambassadors to acquire knowledge and develop the skills that will not only help them in this program, but also provide them with real-world skills for personal, academic, and professional success. The students take the issue, research and develop solutions, and socially market the solution to their peers and the community at-large.”

The Future

They have not stopped there. Green Adventures are cross cultural global exchanges. After a successful field experience to Brazil in April 2007 with Earthwatch Education, and educating the schools there, they have taken on a new horizon: Columbia. They are currently holding a fundraiser, ‘Support 10 students with the Green Adventure Program’ as they create Green Ambassador Leaders in Medellin, Columbia. Medellin has created several programs that aim to bring peace and environmental action through education. To find out more contact Sandra Valencia sandra_valencia@echonline.org or Sara Laimon at 310.214.3400 ext 118. Visit

(http://www.greenambassadors.org/initiatives.php#Green_Mentors)

They believe that ‘ youth identify an issue, develop a solution, act to bring about the solution, and educate others. The most important part is that young people are becoming empowered to make a difference and are, in turn, empowering other young people. This leads to a community that has youth that are knowledge, active, and know how to make a difference.’
Sara Laimon explained what their Mobile Embassy will incorporate. It will feature a multi-media station and hands-on learning stations on the following topics; plastics, bio-diesel, bio-plastic, solar power, and organic foods. It will be used as the showcase for Green Ambassador to meet, share, and exemplify solutions for our Global Climate Crisis.

With expert assistance from Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Bring Your Own, and a grant from Patagonia, the Ambassadors will transform a trailer into a Green Mobile Embassy (GME), a vessel housing models of green solutions. The Mobile Embassy will serve to teach students from throughout the region about the issues and how they can help to alleviate the environmental problems.” As their site reflects. Jack Assadourian, owner of the Ha-Ha Cafe Comedy Club in North Hollywood (www.hahacafe.com) also donated two school buses that will be converted into biodiesel transportation for the Green Ambassadors.

Green Mentors

“The Green Ambassadors program also identifies and enlists ‘Green Mentors’ who are of college age or above. These Mentors work with the Green Ambassadors to support them in their learning of environmental issues as well as solutions to these issues. Green mentors are benefited by developing their interpersonal skills (empowerment, networking, and enrollment), knowledge (environmental and scientific), and ecological values (biodiversity and interconnectedness). Green Mentors assist the Green Ambassadors to focus on specific issues where students can create social awareness and measurable change.”
If you are a teacher, administrator, parent or student, and want to be apart of Green Ambassadors go to: www.greenambassadors.org. You can contact Sandra Valencia (sandra_valencia@echonline.org) or Sarah Laimon at 310.214.3400 ext 118. Green Ambassadors 16314 Grevillea Ave, Lawndale, CA 902160 PHONE: 310.940.1626

There are several ways you can participate and make a difference in your school, community and planet. You can also go to the ‘Green Coalition’, a

“Green Youth Coalition connects environmental clubs across Southern California via www.becoolbegree.com to create a youth movement.”

Green Ambassadors uses the EARTH CHARTER PRINCIPLES

(www.earthcharterinaction.org)

You can learn more about Green Ambassadors and their Mission Statement: www.greenambassadors.org

They have communities and businesses reaching out to be apart of this unique program. ExitSigns.com environmentally friendly exit signs are a zero energy emissions, zero maintenance, and is zero damage to the environment. Fundraising Green, The Coffee Bean, California Credit Union, 41Pounds.org, Fred Leeds Properties, Smokey’s Muskie Shop, Marc Laimon Jiu Jitsu, Steaz, Peak Organic brewing company, the Sustainable Group, Southern California Disposal, Seven-Star green event experts, Get Hip Get Green, Cuningham Group, Cater Green zero waste solutions, Biodiesel America, Luis Moro Productions and Algalita Marine Research Foundation are a few of the sponsors that have jumped on board. The Official Fundraising Partner of Green Ambassadors are; My Green Spark, Fundraising Green.

The Green Ambassadors left me with an experience of what is right with the world. No matter what your opinions are on the environment, the fact remains they are cutting back on waste. These students, instead of worrying about the plights of inner city school problems, such as gang violence; they are creating an environment for themselves today, for their future that will effect generations to come. Not only are they making a difference for their school, families, and communities, but they are spreading the technology on HOW to be green to schools across the city, states, and now countries.

I left the school inspired, and honored that these incredible teenagers are working on change for my future, and my children’s future.

Let’s start off 2008 powerfully, and create “Green Ambassadors” for all communities inspiring hope for a just, sustainable and peaceful planet.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/causes-and-organizations-articles/green-ambassadors-new-world-leaders-in-training-351482.html

About the Author:

Bobbi Miller-Moro writes on family issues and the environment. She is a filmmaker, artist, and mother of five. Raising her children with her husband in Los Angeles. You can learn more about her at her personal blog store at ThankGodForMommy.com and www.powerfulmothers.wordpress.com

A Green Travel Plan for Everyone and Every Trip

Author: Melissa Evans

Simply put, green travel is travel in which a positive environmental impact is kept to a maximum and a negative environmental impact is kept to a minimum. Keeping your carbon footprint as tiny as possible while traveling will help preserve the entire planet, including that favorite vacation spot you always visit. That being said, traveling green sounds like something any traveler would be interested in, right? Right, but although many travelers may be interested in Green Travel it can seem a little intimidating or complicated and not everyone knows where to start. SO, I put together this Green Travel Plan that makes traveling green easy for anyone, no matter what their shade of green. What’s even better is you don’t have to camp out in the jungle or hike from place to place to make an impact (unless of course, that’s what you’re into). Remember, every little bit counts and following any or all of these steps will add up to a world of change.

A Green Travel Plan for Everyone and Every Trip

Before You Go:
Help be a part of the solution by booking with a green organization like the Green Travel Hub by RezHub.com; they actually donate 20% of the proceeds from every trip to an environmental group so that every trip can make a difference. They donate whether the travel you choose is labeled green or not.

Consider booking with Green Travel Options like green hotels, hybrid rental cars, and carbon offsetting programs. RezHub also offers all these programs.

When renting a car, choose Enterprise. They not only have the largest selection of hybrid and fuel efficient cars available for rent, they also take huge steps for the environment. They’ve pledged to plant 50 million trees over the next 50 years, they donate millions to alternative fuel research, and the list goes on.

Look for hotels with a green certifications or a “Green Score.” In the Green Score program, hotels can earn points and Green Branches for each environmental program they have in place. While some hotels may only have one leaf, keep in mind that even one leaf is a step in the right direction. It’s important to support the green efforts that each hotel takes because it shows management that they are doing the right thing, and it encourages further expansion of green programs. Remember, where one leaf sprouts, another is sure to follow!

Offset your Carbon Footprint. Choosing to go carbon neutral is one of the gateways to responsible travel. It’s easy to do, and it’s inexpensive! We suggest offsetting your carbon footprint with Sustainable Travel International and MyClimate. Their program is the best we’ve seen in that it’s comprehensive and supports both kinds of offsetts. They’ll let you calculate your exact offset, or you can choose a standard donation from $1 all the way up to $500.

While You’re There:
Plan to green-up your stay, and feel good about where you’re going. These are some really simple steps you can take to help green up your stay, even if you didn’t book with a Green Scored Hotel
• Encourage the hotel you chose to go green or thank them for the green programs that they participate in! Speak with the management and let them know that green options are important to you.
• If your hotel has a sheets and towels reuse program, use it. If they don’t, start your own! Let housekeeping know that you don’t need them to replace your sheets and towels every day; this will reduce energy and water usage.
• Turn off the lights, air conditioner or heater, and the electronics in your room while you’re out. • Turn off the water when you brush your teeth, and take shorter showers.
• Bring your own toiletries, or if you use what the hotel provides make sure to take what’s leftover home with you.

Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints…
• When you’re visiting a park or any natural setting, don’t disturb the plants or wildlife. • Never buy anything made from an endangered animal or plant.
• Make sure you save any trash until you find a garbage can, and wherever possible save your recyclables for a recycling drop-off. Check out http://www.earth911.org to find a recycling drop off center in the US.

Go local…
• Whenever you can, shop and buy from the local vendors. This helps support the local economy, and submerges you in the areas culture.
• Try to avoid the large chains that carry goods shipped in from overseas. All that shipping creates tons of CO2 and the large chains can push the locals out of business (if you wanted to shop at Wal-Mart you could’ve stayed home, right?) .

Give back…
• Consider volunteering some time on your trip. Spending even just one day volunteering makes a difference. Contact not-profit organizations in the area and set something up before you go.
• Check out the Volunteer Travel Hub where you can find the perfect place to lend a hand. These bite-sized volunteer vacations (short term) are free and can be included on any trip!

When You Get Home:
Write a letter or send an email to the hotel you stayed in, the airline you flew and the rental car company you chose. Thank them for going green or encourage them to do so.

Send an email to greentravel@rezhub.com or post to RezHub.com’s Green Travel Forums, if you tell them about how you turned your trip green, you might even win a FREE trip!

Keep these tips in mind while you’re at home too, conserving resources almost always saves you green in the long run. And remember, it really is true that every little bit counts. If each of us took just one of these steps, imagine the difference it would make. I’ll end with a quote from Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Article Source:

About the Author:

Melissa Evans is an avid environmentalist and the Marketing Director for RezHub.com. Having experience in both the environmental and travel industries, she is a green travel expert.

Cracking the secrets of ice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2008

Sandia researchers successfully image ice using scanning tunneling microscope

Sandia’s Konrad Thürmer (shown here) and Norm Bartelt pushed the boundaries of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to image ice – a material believed to be unsuitable for STM because of its insulating nature. (Photo by Randy Wong)

LIVERMORE, C.A. — Taking images of ice a few nanometers thick as it forms bulk ice was supposed to be impossible. A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) shouldn’t work with ice because STMs create images by relying on conducting current, which runs contrary to one of ice’s basic properties—insulation.

But that – successfully using an STM to image ice – is precisely what Sandia National Laboratories physicists Norm Bartelt and Konrad Thürmer did.

“How water interacts with solids is extremely important,” says Bartelt. He points to the design of fuel cells and water purification systems as two areas that could benefit from new STM information. “Getting direct information is difficult, so imaging how small ice crystals grow on solid surfaces is an important advance. This is solid information that allows basic theories to be verified. This was our goal—to provide unambiguous information.”

Ice Cubes or Snowflakes?
Bartelt’s and Thürmer’s research was motivated by Sandia colleague Peter Feibelman’s theoretical research in water–solid interactions. In 2002, Feibelman had a major breakthrough in interpreting water–solid interactions. His research explained why an initial layer of water molecules lies flat on the precious metal ruthenium.

The ice-growth images answer a fundamental mystery about ice: snowflakes form in the classic six-sided symmetrical shape, but at low temperatures, ice grows in a cubic form. This phenomenon is something that has puzzled scientists for 60 years.

What Bartelt and Thürmer discovered was that when an ice film is extremely thin, measuring an average of about one nanometer thick, the water molecules form small, tabular islands of crystalline ice. Once the thickness reaches four or five nanometers, the ice islands join together and start to form a continuous film. In a recent Physical Review B paper, the researchers showed that cubic ice forms when the ice crystals merge. Because of a mismatch in the atomic step heights of the platinum substrate relative to ice, the coalescence often creates screw dislocations in the ice. Further growth occurs by water molecules attaching to the steps that spiral around screw dislocations, creating cubic ice in the process.

Pushing the Boundaries of STM
The STM is a notoriously finicky piece of scientific equipment, and working with ice only increased the difficulty. An STM functions by positioning a sharp, needle-like tip near the sample and then allowing a tiny electrical current to flow across the gap. As the tip of the STM is scanned across the sample surface, the voltage required to position the scanner is used to form an image of the sample.

“Typically, an STM only works if the substrate is conductive,” says Bartelt. Through persistence and patience, Thürmer learned that to image ice, one needs a current smaller than had previously been tried — in fact, three orders of magnitude smaller than what is normally used.

It was Thürmer’s intuitive decision to change the STM’s parameters, namely those for voltage and current, that made imaging ice crystals feasible. Basically, Thürmer found the sweet spot where none was believed to have existed.

The STM was developed in 1981 and earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohr, a Nobel Prize for physics in 1986. “The discovery caused a rebirth of surface science and completely changed the field, but until now, people had not been able to apply it to ice,” says Bartelt. “The fact that we can apply these same methods to ice is very exciting.”

STM experiments don’t always work. “Because you are trying to get atomic resolution, a few atoms on the apex of the tip can completely throw off the experiment,” says Bartelt. “If you are not getting an image, you don’t know if your tip is bad or you are choosing the wrong parameters.”

In fact, the two physicists never expected that they could image thick ice films; they were hoping for a few molecules. Thürmer explains that even after he began imaging thicker ice films, he didn’t trust the results. Instead, he thought they were just misleading electronic artifacts.

Because Thürmer only expected to see films a few molecules thick, he had the STM tip set too close; it was shaving off the top of the films. “For about a month, we thought the films were not really as high as they seemed. We thought the insulating quality of ice made them appear to be higher,” he explains. “I increased the voltage, and the ice appeared to really pop out. Still, I thought it was just the same electronic artifact.”

However, the researchers could not come up with another explanation for why the films appeared so high. Thürmer then purposely grew very thick films and reversed the polarity on the STM, which resulted in an ice carving that proved the thickness was, in fact, real.

The two Sandians are not resting on their initial success; in fact, the two physicists say they are working to build on their breakthrough. Future experiments include putting salts on an ice crystal to see how salts change the crystal’s growth and depositing molecules that react with water, such as atomic oxygen, to determine the exact point on the surface where water dissociates.

“Our ability to image these ice films opens the door to a multitude of exciting new experiments,” says Thürmer.

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Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.

Farmer turns to fruit tree to power tractors

By Rich Phillips
CNN

LABELLE, Florida (CNN) — Bryan Beer, a citrus grower in southwestern Florida, sees himself as a bit of a pioneer. He’s not digging for gold. It’s more like he’s planting for oil.

The jatropha tree contains golf-ball-sized fruit that can be made into biodiesel.

He is planting a jatropha tree, a plant that can produce diesel fuel and could one day power a 747. His plans are a little less ambitious; he just wants to plant enough to run his tractors.

“Any kind of relief or help we can get from a cheaper source of oil could impact the agricultural industry tremendously throughout the country, throughout the world,” said Beer, whose family has been growing citrus for decades.

Jatropha means “doctor food.” It originated in South America, where it was once used for medicinal purposes. There are three seeds within the golf-ball-sized fruit. When pressed, its oil can be used as fuel in any standard diesel engine with zero processing, experts say.

Sound like a pipe dream? It’s not.

It’s being taken very seriously by companies all over the world, including the Chrysler motor company and Air New Zealand. The airline is planning a test flight in November in Auckland in which jatropha biodiesel will be mixed with diesel fuel.

This is what has farmers, scientists and engineers excited.

“It is a superior oil,” said Roy Beckford, an agricultural scientist with the University of Florida.

Air New Zealand says the quality and quantity of the product may be so good that the airline could run the test flight without having to mix the jatropha biofuel with any normal aviation fuel.

Beckford said countries like China, India and Brazil have planted millions of acres of jatropha, but the United States has yet to make that sort of investment.

“We are way, way behind these people,” he said. “But certainly we have the ability, and we have shown that over and over again that we can beat people on technology and applying that technology.”

Beckford has been experimenting to see how the tree grows best. He says jatropha can be grown in soil that is not suitable for most food crops.

“Even under harsh drought conditions with minimal amount of water or moisture, it will survive,” he said.

Jatropha is being tested in nurseries and farms, primarily in Florida and Hawaii, to see if it can be used as a viable alternative biofuel nationwide. Caribbean nations have used jatropha for years as biofuel and a home-made medicine to treat constipation and inflammation, Beckford said.

He says jatropha would probably never be the main biodiesel crop but should be added into the mix of biodiesel crops. “It think it’s going to be part of the equation.”

Beckford’s research is done on a small patch of land in Fort Myers, Florida, where 176 seedlings were planted last year. Some are fertilized; some are not. Some are exposed to insects, and some plants are scattered around the foundation of an old home.

Beckford showed how the jatropha plant thrived right in the middle of the foundation, within the dirt and rocks.

He and his researchers believe that U.S. technology will aid in the growth of the trees. Currently, each tree yields only about two gallons of oil a year.

“In the next four or five years, I think we’ll increase not only the fruits per jatropha tree, but we’ll also increase the amount of oil in each of those seeds,” Beckford said.

Right now, biodiesel is a growing industry but hasn’t made an appreciable dent on the global dependence on heavy crude oil, from which diesel fuel is processed.

The National Biodiesel Board says that less than 1 percent of the 60 billion gallons of diesel fuel used each year comes from biodiesel, most of it produced from soybeans, animal fats and recycled oil. But, the board says, the 20 million gallons of diesel fuel saved from these alternative fuels was the equivalent of eliminating the emissions from 700,000 cars.

Some consumer groups say it’s unrealistic to think that biofuel will replace oil totally. Experts also say the potential savings here may be offset by higher prices somewhere else as farmers use their more crop land to experiment with alternative fuel crops.

“There are implications to dedicating more and more crop land to fuel production rather than food production,” said Tyson Clocum of the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen. “That comes in the form of tighter supplies for food production, and that leads to higher prices.”

Beer says he’s not looking to abandon his family’s citrus business. LaBelle Grove Management has been around for more than 40 years. He’s currently farming 30 acres of jatropha, compared to 2,500 acres of citrus.

Beer is trying to figure out how he’s going to afford to put diesel in his heavy equipment. He has four tractors that each run on 120 gallons a day.

“We have to have these machines running. If we don’t have these machines running and we don’t have diesel fuel, we don’t produce our crops,” he said.

So, for now, Beer is taking a stab at growing his own fuel. Jatropha won’t be a replacement crop for him, but it may help him fill up his tractor.

“To be a better America, we are going to have to have a secondary source besides oil,” he said.