Author Archives: Aaren Smith

Obama admin keeps trying to help coal industry, coal industry keeps whining

by Aaren Smith Posted on November 8, 2013

Obama admin keeps trying to help coal industry, coal industry keeps whining

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It would be nearly impossible for any new coal power plants to meet stringent climate regulations proposed by the Obama administration without using carbon-capturing technology. But never fear, coal industry. Here comes Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, reassuring you that “the technology is ready” — and sprinkling public research funds like fly ash over your sector just to be sure.

Carbon capture involves funneling carbon dioxide produced by power plants deep beneath the ground, where it should do the climate no harm. There’s plenty of space beneath some parts of North America where the greenhouse gas could be stashed (sorry, coal-burning Wisconsin, not so much near you, though). But so far affordable methods for injecting CO2 underground remain out of reach.

On Thursday, Moniz announced nearly $84 million in grants to help make economical carbon-capture technology a reality.

“As part of the president’s all-of-the-above approach to develop clean and affordable sources of American energy, the projects announced today will focus on the next generation of carbon capture technologies — helping to drive down the cost, increase efficiency and ensure America’s continued international leadership in combating climate change,” Moniz said.

When it comes to carbon capture, you can’t just connect a pipe to a power plant’s smokestack and channel the carbon dioxide into the ground — it’s considerably more complicated than that. The CO2 has to be purified and compressed after the coal (or natural gas, or whatever) is burned. That generally involves the use of solvents and membranes. Sorbents, chemicals that absorb CO2, can also be used.

Most of the new grant money will go to teams developing these so-called “post-combustion” technologies. The largest grant, $15 million, will go to one such project by ION Engineering in Boulder, Colo. More than $10 million will fund similar research in Silicon Valley by SRI International. Meanwhile, three of the 18 grants will go to support “pre-combustion” technology. That involves pre-treating the fuel or burning it differently (such as converting the coal into a gas) to make it easier to capture and bury the CO2 that’s produced.

It’s not like this is the first time the federal government has lent the fossil fuel industry a hand as it flails in its efforts to develop “clean coal.” The Obama administration has poured $6 billion into such technologies to date, according to the Energy Department. So much for that “war on coal” we keep hearing about.


Source
Energy Department Invests to Drive Down Costs of Carbon Capture, Support Reductions in Greenhouse Gas Pollution, Energy Department

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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The International Cronut Wars Are On

by Aaren Smith Posted on July 31, 2013

Photo: WynLok

The cronut combines everything that is delicious and unhealthy about both a donut and a croissant. Created a few months back by a New York pastry chef at the Dominique Ansel Bakery, it consists of flaky, buttery croissant dough, folded into a classic donut shape and deep fried, then—as if that weren’t enough—injected with some sort of luscious cream and topped off with icing. Lines of people desperate to try one have formed two hours before the bakery opened.

Obviously, this pastry bonanza could not remain a secret for long. Asia, the Wall Street Journal reports, is already all over it. Bakeries from Hong Kong to Singapore to Japan to the Philippines have already churned out their own versions of the sugar bomb snack—inspiring their own block-long lines of hungry patrons. Some of these shops added a distinctly Asian flare to the scrumptious dessert:

Different bakeries have infused local flavors into their versions. Wildflour Cafe has a dulce de leche option. Banderole, which is already selling hundreds of its croissant doughnuts each day, has green-tea flavored ones and even one with a kawaii, or cute, smiley face on it. The Sweet Spot’s rendition has crushed peanuts, caramel and custard. The end product resembles a mini-doughnut burger with a custard patty.

Even Dunkin Donuts—at least those in Asia—are jumping on the cronut bandwagon. Here’s Quartz:

In South Korea, an adaptation of Ansel’s recipe is now being offered by a global donut and coffee chain, rather than a local baker or domestic pastry chain. A Dunkin Donuts spokesman told Quartz that the chain introduced the “New York Pie Donut” this past weekend. Dunkin Donuts also launched a “Donut Croissant” in Manila a few weeks ago but has no plans to introduce them in the US right now. In South Korea, the pastries are being sold in the high-end Seoul neighborhood of Gangnam, as well as Jamsil and Myungdong.

The original New York creators aren’t feeling too threatened, the Journal reports, given that most of the competition abroad hasn’t sampled the real deal, meaning their version of the cronut is just visual interpretations injected with some imagination. Technically, imitators aren’t allowed to use the name “cronut” since it’s been trademarked by Dominique Ansel, Quartz points out, though China in particular has never given much heed to copyrights. 

More from Smithsonian.com:

Kolaches: The Next Big Thing in Pastries and The Tex-Czech Community Behind Them
Can Starbucks Do for the Croissant What it Did for Coffee? 

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The International Cronut Wars Are On

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Are You Thirsty for Better Climate Change Communication?

by Aaren Smith Posted on July 25, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

People are getting tired of the same old story about global warming. They often tune out warnings of impending catastrophe; but it’s not like they trust the deniers, either. The trouble is, the standard global warming narrative is stale and alienating—and perhaps worst of all, stuck in the technical weeds.

That’s why it’s time to apply lessons from the theory and practice of high quality science communication to this pressing issue. And in a new collaboration called thirst:Climate, Climate Desk Live is co-sponsoring an event to feature frame-breaking talks on climate—talks that are both innovative and thought-provoking. The goal is nothing less than to force us to think differently about the planetary future into which we’re hurtling.

Created in collaboration with thirst DC—an innovative science-based creative agency—and ScienceOnlineClimate; (a special DC-based iteration of the highly successful annual ScienceOnline conference for web-savvy science communicators), this event will take place on August 15 in Washington, DC. The venue will be 1776, at 1133 15th St NW (just blocks from the White House). Doors open at 7 p.m., and talks start at 8.

All talks will be specially developed in collaboration with thirst DC’s presentation trainers. The speakers will bring fresh, unconventional storytelling about global warming. Currently confirmed speakers are:

Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones magazine/Climate Desk: “How to Talk to Your Republican Dad About Global Warming”

Jamie Vernon, American Association for the Advancement of Science, science & technology policy fellow: “How to Get Rich Off of Global Warming”

Liz Burakowski, University of New Hampshire, PhD student in earth and environmental science: “How Global Warming Is Melting the Ski Industry”

Tom Di Liberto, Meteorologist and the first “America’s Science Idol“: “The Wild Weather of the Future: What We Know, What We Kinda Know, and What We Kinda Don’t Know”

Melanie Tannenbaum, Scientific American blogger & University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign PhD student in social psychology: “This Is Your Brain on Climate Change”

Other speakers are to be announced.

Hosting the event are the thirst co-founder and creative director, Eric Schulze, and New York Times best-selling author and Climate Desk Live host, Chris Mooney.

So please join us on August 15! For tickets ($15) click here. If you are a member of the media, email us at cdl@climatedesk.org to be added to the press list.

THE PARTNERS

thirst DC is an interactive learning space that hosts nerdy events as an active branding and social experiment. Using the science of creativity and creative productivity (including data and information collected from studies performed on Nobel laureates), we engineer learning, entertainingly. Usually held in a lounge-like environment, thirst curates highly entertaining—but also substantive—live science, fashion, music, and socially conscious talks. Thirst has worked with The Smithsonian, NASA, the National Academy of Sciences, and others, and we increase their awesome by re-imagining their core values in a nerdy manner.

Climate Desk Live is live briefing series sponsored by Climate Desk, a journalistic collaboration dedicated to exploring the impact—human, environmental, economic, political—of a changing climate. The partners are Mother Jones, Grist, Slate, The Atlantic, the Guardian, Wired, PBS’s Need to Know, and the Center for Investigative Reporting. It is hosted by award-winning science journalist Chris Mooney, the author of four books on the relation between science, politics, and society.

ScienceOnlineClimate is the first thematic spin-off of the highly successful annual ScienceOnline conference for web-savvy science communicators. It will take place in Washington, DC, August 15-17. ScienceOnline cultivates the ways science is conducted, shared, and communicated online. They convene a diverse and growing community of researchers, science writers, artists, programmers, and educators—those who conduct or communicate science online—for meaningful face-to-face conversations around timely, relevant issues. ScienceOnline nurtures this global, ongoing, online community and facilitate collaborations which would not have been previously possible.

1776 is a platform to reinvent America by connecting the hottest startups from around the world with the assets of the most powerful city on Earth. In the heart of Washington, DC, just a few blocks from the White House, 1776 is where startups tackling major national challenges in sectors such as education, energy, health care, urban planning, and government can engage to build the future of our economy. For more information, visit http://1776dc.com/ or follow at @1776dc.

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Are You Thirsty for Better Climate Change Communication?

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Scientists Just Measured the True Color of a Far-Off Planet

by Aaren Smith Posted on July 11, 2013

The Pale Blue Dot, Earth as seen by Voyager 1. Photo: NASA / Voyager 1

Twenty three years ago and from 3.8 billion miles away the Voyager 1 probe turned and snapped a photo of Earth—the Pale Blue Dot. The photo showed our Earth as a speck in the dark sky—all of human existence wrapped up in a pixel.

Though the Earth is still all we’ve got, in recent years astronomers discovered potentially billions of other planets, many seemingly just like ours. Now, astronomers have found a new, simple parallel between one of these far-off planets and Carl Sagan’s famous blue dot, says the European Space Agency. For the first time ever, astronomers have directly measured the color of a planet in another solar system. And it’s blue—“a deep azure blue, reminiscent of Earth’s colour as seen from space,” says the ESA.

Pale Blue Dots parallelisms aside, though, the planet, HD 189733b, is more like Neptune’s evil twin than a distant Earth.

This “deep blue dot” is a huge gas giant orbiting very close to its host star. The planet’s atmosphere is scorching with a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, and it rains glass, sideways, in howling 7000 kilometre-per-hour winds.

An artist’s rendering of the planet HD 189773b. Photo: NASA / ESA / M. Kornmesser

The planet orbits the star HD 189733 in the Vulpecula constellation, and to figure out its color, researchers used Hubble to measure the light coming from the star, both when the planet was in front and when it wasn’t. Looking at the subtle shifts in the color of the light let them figure out the color of the planet’s atmosphere.

More from Smithsonian.com:

You Can’t Throw a Rock in the Milky Way Without Hitting an Earth-Like Planet
This Is an Actual Photo of a Planet in Another Solar System

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Scientists Just Measured the True Color of a Far-Off Planet

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Sugar Industry Getting a Sweet Deal From Uncle Sugar

by Aaren Smith Posted on June 26, 2013

Mother Jones

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The Wall Street Journal reports today that three giant sugar companies received more than half of all sugar loans in the past year. But there’s trouble brewing:

Disclosure of the loan recipients comes as domestic sugar prices are trading around four-year lows, raising concerns that some processors—who turn sugar cane or sugar beets into the sweetener—may not be able to repay what they owe.

….During the past nine years, the government has lent $8.8 billion to sugar processors. The 2012 loans were granted with an interest rate of 1.125% to 1.250%, depending on the month in which they were issued….In case of a default, a processor would pay the government back in sugar rather than cash; the sugar is then typically sold by the USDA at a loss.

I’ll bet college students wish they could get a deal like that. Instead they’ll soon be getting their loans at 6.8 percent—with no allowance whatsoever for default until the day they die, let alone the possibility of repaying the government in used textbooks or something. Let us all now take a moment to marvel at our national priorities.

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Sugar Industry Getting a Sweet Deal From Uncle Sugar

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Vermont House passes GMO-labeling law

by Aaren Smith Posted on May 13, 2013

Vermont House passes GMO-labeling law

By John Upton

Shutterstock

Members of the Vermont House think shoppers should be told which products contain GMOs.

A historic but cautious attempt to force food manufacturers to label products containing genetically modified ingredients passed the Vermont House by an overwhelming 107-37 vote last week.

If approved by the state Senate and signed by the governor, the bill, H. 112,  would make Vermont the first state in the nation to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

But the measure likely wouldn’t go into effect for two years, and it would not affect meat, milk, or eggs from animals that were fed or treated with genetically engineered substances, including GMO corn and the rBGH cattle hormone.*

From Vermont Public Radio:

No representatives on Thursday argued against the concept of more transparent food labeling. The most frequent point of opposition voiced on the floor concerned a likely lawsuit from the biotech or food industries that the Attorney General’s Office estimates could cost the state more than $5 million.

Rep. Tom Koch, R-Barre, reasserted that he thinks the state would lose a lawsuit on constitutional grounds. He said the law runs afoul of the First Amendment by compelling speech, and it could pre-empt federal authority under the constitution’s supremacy clause by enacting a law that the Federal Drug Administration has not.

“Nobody else has passed a similar bill. They all seem to be waiting for Vermont to go first and lead the nation,” he said. “What they mean is they don’t want to risk their taxpayers’ money; they want us to risk Vermonters’ money. That is a $5 million to $10 million risk, and one I am not willing to take.”

A ballot initiative that would have required GMO labels in California was defeated last year after Monsanto and other corporations spent nearly $50 million on ads opposing it. A national GMO-labeling bill was introduced recently in Congress, but it has little to no chance of becoming law.

Most of the corn, soy, and sugar beets grown in the U.S. are genetically modified, and they’re widely used in processed foods. But shoppers who want to avoid them have no good way of doing so. Requiring food manufacturers to label genetically modified foods would allow people to say “no” to such products.

Big Ag and its supporters resist labeling, likening informational labels to warning stickers on cigarettes and liquor, saying such labels could “alarm” shoppers. Because activists fighting for mandatory labeling often oppose genetic engineering altogether, GMO supporters dismiss their arguments. Take a recent post on the Discover magazine website as an example (the contributor has previously ridiculed GMO-labeling campaigns, but in this post describes himself as ambivalent on the issue):

The “Right to Know” people … say they just want to know what’s in their food. This is a specious argument. The truth is they think there is something harmful about GMOs. Why else would they feel so strongly about labeling genetically modified foods? Yes, the Just Label it Campaign is couched as a consumer rights issue, but really it’s based on fear. Everybody knows this, so pretending otherwise is silly.

That would mean there are a lot of silly people in the world. As the Center for Food Safety points out, 64 countries including China, Russia, and all European Union nations currently have GMO-labeling laws in place. Vermonters could be the first Americans to join the trend.

—–

*Correction: Initially this post incorrectly stated that meat and dairy would be exempt from the GMO ban. In fact, the bill would exempt products from animals fed or treated with GMOs, but genetically engineered animals like the AquAdvantage® Salmon would have to be labeled.

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

tweets

, posts articles to

Facebook

, and

blogs about ecology

. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants:

johnupton@gmail.com

.

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Do dolphins, whales, chimps and elephants deserve "human" rights?

by Aaren Smith Posted on April 11, 2013

green4us

The Drunken Botanist – Amy Stewart

Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet? In The Drunken Botanist , Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol ov […]

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Codex: Tau Empire – Games Workshop

Codex: Tau Empire is your comprehensive guide to unleashing the might of the Tau upon the battlefields of the 41 st Millennium. This volume introduces the four Tau castes, the Ethereals, and their mercenary allies. This dynamic race has begun its Third Sphere Expansion, setting forth into the stars to grow the borders of their burgeoning empire and bring the […]

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Zero Waste Home – Bea Johnson

Part inspirational story of Bea Johnson (the “Priestess of Waste-Free Living”) and how she transformed her family’s life for the better by reducing their waste to an astonishing one liter per year; part practical, step-by-step guide that gives readers tools and tips to diminish their footprint and simplify their lives. Many of us have the gnawing feeling tha […]

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Landscaping Basics For Dummies, Mini Edition – Philip Giroux & National Gardening Association

Create the yard you’ve always yearned for A beautiful landscape reflects well on your house, making it a welcome part of a neighborhood or native terrain. And it dramatically increases your home’s value. Landscaping Basics For Dummies gets you started on turning the little patch of earth you call your own into a personal paradise. Open the book and […]

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How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Tau Empire – Games Workshop

The valiant Fire Warriors, advanced battlesuits and sleek vehicles of the Tau Empire fight at the forefront of their great Third Sphere Expansion. In this Army Workshop, the talented Studio army painters demonstrate how to paint a varied selection of Tau Empire miniatures using the Citadel paint range. Example miniatures featured in this extensive painting g […]

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Paracord Fusion Ties – Volume 1 – J.D. Lenzen

J.D. Lenzen is the creator of the highly acclaimed YouTube channel “Tying It All Together”, and the producer of over 200 instructional videos. He’s been formally recognized by the International Guild of Knot Tyers (IGKT) for his contributions to knotting, and is the originator of fusion knotting-innovative knots created through the merging of […]

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The Honest Life – Jessica Alba

As a new mom, Jessica Alba wanted to create the safest, healthiest environment for her family. But she was frustrated by the lack of trustworthy information on how to live healthier and cleaner—delivered in a way that a busy mom could act on without going to extremes. In 2012, with serial entrepreneur Brian Lee and environmental advocate Christopher Gavigan, […]

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Gardening Basics For Dummies, Mini Edition – Steven A. Frowine & National Gardening Association

Your green-thumb guide to planning, planting, and cultivating a garden With some basic knowledge, the right tools, and a little work, anyone can transform a boring old yard into a beautiful garden. This friendly guide tells you how. From improving your soil to selecting plants and caring for them, you get just the information you need to start playing in the […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes, […]

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Codex: Chaos Daemons – Games Workshop

Codex: Chaos Daemons is your comprehensive guide to unleashing the immortal denizens of the Warp on the battlefields of the 41st Millennium. This volume illuminates the dread servants of the dark gods – the Chaos Daemons. Anathema to all life, these soul-hungry manifestations of base emotion and Warp energy burst from the Immaterium to lay waste the mortal r […]

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Do dolphins, whales, chimps and elephants deserve "human" rights?

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Wyoming and energy companies can keep fracking chemicals secret, court rules

by Aaren Smith Posted on March 26, 2013

Wyoming and energy companies can keep fracking chemicals secret, court rules

By John Upton

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/ Julie LubickWyoming, where the government knows what’s in fracking fluid but won’t tell you.

Halliburton and other companies are pumping chemicals into the ground beneath Wyoming to lubricate cracks created during fracking, which allows sand to slide in and hold the cracks open so natural gas can be extracted. Many residents, property owners, and environmentalists would like to know what mixture of chemicals is being used. The state of Wyoming knows, thanks to a 2010 rule requiring companies to disclose the information to the state government, but officials refuse to release that information to the public.

And now a county judge has weighed in, ruling against the public and in favor of energy company secrecy. From the AP:

A judge in Casper has sided with the state of Wyoming and ruled against environmentalists who sought to obtain lists of the ingredients that go into hydraulic fracturing fluids.

Environmental groups had requested the ingredient lists from the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, arguing that the public needs to know what chemicals companies are putting underground.

They were denied on the grounds that the lists are trade secrets that may be withheld under Wyoming’s open records law. Natrona County District Judge Catherine Wilking has upheld the denial, ruling that the state official who withheld the information acted reasonably.

Environmentalists are mulling appealing this to a higher court. Meanwhile, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) couldn’t be happier with the news that his constituents will remain ignorant of the chemicals that have already seeped into their groundwater.

From the Casper Star-Tribune:

“This decision recognizes the importance of a state-based approach to regulating hydraulic fracturing — one that balances this important method for producing energy with environmental protection,” [Mead] said in a prepared statement Monday.

Which is particularly sad news given that the judge agreed that the environmentalists’ arguments had “substantial merit,” but wrote in her ruling that “the court feels these competing concerns are best addressed through legislative action, or further rule promulgation and are not properly within the court’s purview.”

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

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, posts articles to

Facebook

, and

blogs about ecology

. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants:

johnupton@gmail.com

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Wyoming and energy companies can keep fracking chemicals secret, court rules

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Green Energy Tips That Will Really Help You!

by Aaren Smith Posted on March 18, 2013

Green energy is gaining popularity around the world. That is because green energy not only conserves the natural resources available on this planet, but because it can also be more affordable for most people. Here are some smart ways to introduce green energy to your life, if you haven’t already.

Try using solar heated water in your home. Approximately 25% of yearly energy costs come from heating water. Using solar water panels is an excellent method of decreasing these costs. Because the sun’s energy is utilized to heat up the water, you will not be using as much energy in your home.

Keep your home clean at all times. By constantly cleaning your home, you aren’t allowing dirt to accumulate, which if left alone, you would need to use products with harsh chemicals to clean up. The less often you have to use these environmentally damaging products, the better off everyone will be.

Buying energy-efficient light bulbs is a great way to save money and use green energy in your home. These light bulbs take a couple minutes to use their maximum brightness. This delay allows less energy to be used when turning on the lights in your home, which is a great way to save energy!

The average washing machine uses a lot of hot water. It can use over 30 gallons each load. Cut down on its hot water usage by washing in cold water. Many people struggle with this because they insist on having the water warm. If you’re one of them, try replacing your machine with an Energy Star unit. Many modern detergents clean clothes really well at low temperatures.

Look into using recycled or rechargeable batteries for the items that require batteries. Disposable batteries cost a lot of money to produce and they also contain toxic chemicals which are bad for the environment. By switching to recycled or rechargeable batteries, you will be keeping these chemicals away from our environment.

A simple way to utilize green energy without a huge installation cost or commitment to equipment is to buy green energy from your utility provider. Many utility companies offer customers the option to buy their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, or hydro. This allows you to have a positive impact on the earth without extra maintenance on your part.

Buy a programmable thermostat. An Energy Star programmable thermostat will regulate your home’s temperature year-round, both day and night. Always set your thermostat a couple of degrees less than you think the temperature should be, as you won’t really notice the difference in your home. An Energy Star thermostat will save you about $180 a year in heating costs.

Make energy efficiency a sure thing in your home by installing a programmable thermostat and putting other appliances on timers. Set your thermostat for different temperatures at different times of the day, depending on who is or is not home. Likewise, set appliances on timers that shut them off regardless of whether or not anyone is home.

Whether you want to listen to music or drive across the country, the fact that you’re taking the time to learn how to do it in an environmentally responsible way is commendable. Use what you’ve read in this article to continue doing what’s best for the environment and people around you.

roof decking D60 and Tata comflor are the actual words relating to Green Energy.

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