Support Clean Power Industry

The federal tax credits that support investments in wind and solar power are about to expire. If Congress lets these clean energy credits lapse, 116,000 jobs and $19 billion in investments for 2009 will be immediately at risk.

The clean power industry has been a bright spot in our economy -- providing good jobs, relief from skyrocketing energy prices and solutions to the climate crisis. The industry is poised to make great leaps in scale. Inaction from Washington to slow this momentum would be a mistake -- and could lead investors back to the polluting fossil-fuel industries of the past.

Take action on this one, please! Sign the petition to Congress at We Can Solve It!

Tags: wind tax credit, solar tax credit, support green jobs, take action

Mercury in CFLs Is Problem to Recycle

To tell the truth, I have been using compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) for about 5 years and I have never thought about the problem of throwing them away. I do not know why because I knew NOT to throw away the old-school fluorescent bulbs. Do not put CFLs in the trash as they contain mercury and if they are broken in a landfill, may leak mercury into groundwater.

Below is an article that explains the problems and gives some resources for dealing with CFLs.

StopGlobalWarming.org: Recycling options lag the compact fluorescent push

I was surprised there were not more options; so, I found a few more. If you know of any, please share in the comments.

Options

• Search for recycle CFL on search engine to explore options in your area of the world.
  
• Veolia Environmental Services sells RecyclePaks so that you may recycle CFLs through the mail.
• Ace Hardware stores in Colorado and Illinois are drop off points for CFLs.
• Bring your used CFLs to an IKEA store for free disposal.
• Visit the EPA page on bulb disposal for information on recycling centers.
• Earth911.org allows you to search by zip code for recycling centers.
• Some larger towns have hazardous materials drop off centers.
• Small towns may have a hazardous materials collection day.

Your Best Option is to Take Action

The next time you are making a purchase of CFLs, ask the management of the store where you buy them what you should do with them when they are used. I am going to call the local Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, Lowe's and Home Depot and ask them if they have a recycling program. Call your council person, parish representative, county commissioner, representative or other elected official and ask what they are doing to help with the recycling of these items.

Tags: recycling cfls, cfls contain mercury, take action

Burma Update

More than three weeks after the devastating cyclone in Burma, at least 200,000 people are feared dead and 2.5 million people remain in urgent need of aid.

Most people have still not received the aid they desperately need because the regime continues to deny aid workers free access to operate in the areas most severely affected by the cyclone.

Following reports that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon had secured agreement from Burma's generals for aid workers to be allowed into the country, it was hoped that things would change.

However, it is now clear that the regime is not keeping its word. Aid workers are being denied visas and unable to operate freely in the worst affected areas. The US, UK and France are still being blocked from using their resources to deliver the large scale emergency and medical assistance needed.

Visit the BurmaCampaign website for updates.

MacBook Airs + $1,000 Giveaway

Bloggin-Ads is giving about 2 MacBook Air laptops and $1,000 split to 10 winners. This whole contest is valued at $4,600. The contest is in place to help promote Mike's new blogging strategy on the way his content is typed and the way he discusses blogging in details.

read more | digg story

Bloggers Unite for Human Rights : Darfur

This post is made in support of Bloggers Unite on Human Rights.



My cause is, and has been Darfur. What is happening in Darfur is genocide. The Sudanese government and the Janjaweed they hired have been systemically and ruthlessly and almost totally driving members of certain ethnic groups into the desert to die.

Just imagine . . .

You are a Dafuri woman who has lost her husband, her home and one of her two children to the conflict in Darfur. You walk from the remains of your home in Darfur, through the desert in 120-degree heat, carrying your son, who is malnourished and dehydrated.It is all you can do to put one foot in front of the other. The pathway through the sand is marked with dead bodies of animals and other Darfuri.

You keep walking. Soon, you blink the sun and sweat out of your eyes to see what looks like a well. Perhaps it is a mirage, but water could mean the difference between life and death for you and your son, so you walk towards the well. It is a well, but a soldier guards the well. You reach for the bucket to get some water for your son. The soldier shoots you.

As you sit there, watching your lifeblood draining onto the sands of this lonely desert between Darfur and Chad, you wonder what will happen to your son.

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Imagine . . .

You are a young girl, 12 years old. Your family was killed in Darfur, but you and your brother, 14 years old, managed to make it to sanctuary in Chad. You scavenge what you can find, mostly the belongings of other residents of the refuge that have died. Your brother and you cobbled together shelter from the sun and wait for night to fall.

You cling to your brother, knowing that one of you must leave the relative security of the refuge to find firewood so that you may cook the few grains of rice and some roots you have found. Your brother says that he is the man and he should go. You argue that if he is caught outside, he will be shot. He shrugs and says that if you go out, you will be raped, which will dishonor the family.

You sit there, wondering how life became so warped that you must choose between life for your brother or ostracism and a life alone for you.

Tags: darfur, genocide, bloggers unite

My Eco-Friendly Fantasy Pond

Michael's sister gave us a simple plastic free form pond liner that she no longer wanted. It is shaped like a melted figure 8. We almost died digging the hole for it, but I think it will be worth our trouble when we are finished. We are already looking forward to spending time listening to the water rushing over rocks.

We plan to place river rocks around it and add a water cascade. Then we will go to the river and get some lily pads, water hyacinths and other water plants to place in the pond for free.

One thing I already learned the hard way is that you must put rocks or logs in the pond to help critters exit the pond. It rained the other day and I found two dead frogs in the rainwater in the bottom of the pool. I felt like a killer.

My Eco-Friendly Fantasy Pond

We plan to use solar power to power the circulating pump. Finding the pump and solar components of our pond system was easy. Now, we are researching pool filters to keep the water clear and healthy for fish and plants. We have not found many options for filtering ponds except by chemicals. Now I know why some ponds are colored surreal turquoise--it is from the fungicide!

I visited the ECOsmarte website to see if they offered a system for ponds. The website had been updated since I had visited. I clicked the link for ponds and the first thing I read was:

With the Ecosmarte Pond System you will have a clear, clean, and eco-friendly pond. It eliminates algae, microorganisms, and bacteria, keeping your fish and plant life healthy, without using any chemicals

ECOsmarte Pond System

Close-up of Ionizer

The backwash discharge from a pond using the ECOSmarte pond system is safe for use on lawns and in gardens since it does not contain salt or sodium. Backwash from pools treated with salt water generators can kill plant life, sterilize soil and prevent plant growth.

It will take a few minutes each week to maintain the water quality in the pond. The system eliminates scaling on the surface of the pond liner and equipment caused by hard water. ECOsmarte pond systems may be installed in 30 minutes or less and they are energy efficient, costing about $2 per month to operate. I will talk to the ECOsmarte people about using solar power for their system.

This natural pond system protects the safety of all critters and humans. Neither will be exposed to toxic chemicals like those in chlorine generators. Chlorine is dangerous to handle and the fumes from chlorine may cause breathing problems for people with asthma or allergies. The same thing may be said of salt chlorinators, which produce chlorine from salt, using lots of energy in the process.

The best thing about ECOsmarte is that the donate 5 percent of their profits to environmental charities.

Tags: pond, clean water, ecosmarte pond system

Blue-Green Algae to Save the World

New Source for Biofuels Discovered by Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin | The University of Texas at Austin

Two scientists at University of Texas at Austin discovered how to use photosynthetic organisms, known as cyanobacteria, to make ethanol, which is a type of alternative fuel. These organisms get energy from the sun and use the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to convert it into organic components, such as cellulose, glucose and sucrose. These simple sugars are the major sources used to produce ethanol.

• The new cyanobacteria uses sunlight as an energy source to produce and excrete sugars and cellulose.
• Glucose, cellulose and sucrose can be continually harvested without harming or destroying the cyanobacteria.
  
• Cyanobacteria use carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and can fix nitrogen in the soil.
  

Brown and Nobles are now researching the best methods to scale up efficient and cost-effective production of cyanobacteria, which may be grown in saltwater in the middle of a desert. The researchers would like to create an energy farm to grow the cyanobacteria on about 5,000 square miles of land in either West Texas, Nevada or Utah, which would sustain the U.S. need for transportation fuel.

Tags: cyanobacteria, glucose, cellulose, sucrose, biofuel, ethanol

Help the Polar Bears

We Can Solve It has gotten involved with trying to get our government to take action to protect the polar bears. Just click the banner and take action. I know I have asked for your help with the polar bears before. Give it another go, will you?

Tags: polar bears, global warming, we can solve it, take action

Why the Wind Blows

I am reading a book called Why the Wind Blows : A History of Weather and Global Warming by Matthys Levy. The book is straightforward and easy to read. I have never fully understood global weather patterns, but Mr. Levy is gifted as a teacher, so I am learning.

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I really like how he asks and then answers this question:

What can governments do to stabilize the global climate when improving efficiency and expanding renewable energy is clearly not enough?

At the start of the Second World War, the United States was able to convert a peacetime industrial economy to full war production in the space of less than a year. It also funded, organized and accomplished the development of an atomic weapon in less than five years.

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Think about it . . .

The USA needs to get off their butt and do something. We can lead the world in alternative energy technology and innovation. We just have to shake off the grip of oil and gas interests. Lets take a gasoline holiday for real--forever!

Tags: why the win blows, history of weather and global warming