Category Archives: solar power

California’s carbon market roars back to life.

by BeauNicxupin Posted on August 23, 2017

And pretty much nobody is happy about it, except maybe Nestlé.

Since 2011, 23 national parks had ended the sale of plastic water bottles to cut down on trash and litter. Before the ban took effect at the Grand Canyon, for example, water bottles made up 20 percent of the park’s total waste. But on Aug. 16, the Trump administration ended the six-year-old policy that enabled the ban, welcoming plastic bottles back to the Grand Canyon, Zion, and other national parks.

Bottled water companies had lobbied against the Obama-era policy for years. Coincidentally, the National Park Service’s statement on the reversal echoes the industry’s arguments: “It should be up to our visitors to decide how best to keep themselves and their families hydrated during a visit to a national park.”

Lauren Derusha Florez, Corporate Accountability International* campaign director, is calling for park superintendents to resist. “We know that many of our parks want to do away with bottled water,” she wrote in a blog post. “Let’s make sure they know that we support them in that move, even if the current administration doesn’t.”

*Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Florez as the campaign director at the Sierra Club.

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California’s carbon market roars back to life.

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Trump reversed a plastic water bottle ban in national parks.

by JocelynCamp63 Posted on August 22, 2017

The fossil fuel industry has largely applauded the administration’s assault on environmental policy, like green-lighting controversial pipelines. Oh, and don’t forget that Trump “canceled” the Paris Climate Agreement.

Now, Politico Pro reports that some industry insiders say the Trump administration’s hasty environmental rule–scrapping has gone too far — and they’re getting worried about what might happen if disaster strikes.

“Every industry wants regulations that make sense,” Brian Youngberg, an energy analyst, told Politico. Trashing too many rules could lead to an environmental catastrophe, and might prompt even stricter regulations down the road.

Imagine a major disaster occurred — say, one akin to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. People might not look kindly upon President Trump’s executive order in April that reversed Obama-era restrictions on offshore drilling. Trump’s move abolished key safety improvements and opened up environmentally sensitive areas in the Gulf, the Arctic, and the Atlantic Ocean to potential oil drilling.

If a disaster were to happen, an anonymous source at an oil and gas company told Politico, “[W]e’d be painted with it as an entire industry.”

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Trump reversed a plastic water bottle ban in national parks.

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Psst, Zinke — national monuments create jobs just the way they are!

by Fbvisitsmy Posted on August 22, 2017

The fossil fuel industry has largely applauded the administration’s assault on environmental policy, like green-lighting controversial pipelines. Oh, and don’t forget that Trump “canceled” the Paris Climate Agreement.

Now, Politico Pro reports that some industry insiders say the Trump administration’s hasty environmental rule–scrapping has gone too far — and they’re getting worried about what might happen if disaster strikes.

“Every industry wants regulations that make sense,” Brian Youngberg, an energy analyst, told Politico. Trashing too many rules could lead to an environmental catastrophe, and might prompt even stricter regulations down the road.

Imagine a major disaster occurred — say, one akin to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. People might not look kindly upon President Trump’s executive order in April that reversed Obama-era restrictions on offshore drilling. Trump’s move abolished key safety improvements and opened up environmentally sensitive areas in the Gulf, the Arctic, and the Atlantic Ocean to potential oil drilling.

If a disaster were to happen, an anonymous source at an oil and gas company told Politico, “[W]e’d be painted with it as an entire industry.”

Link to article:  

Psst, Zinke — national monuments create jobs just the way they are!

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, Green Light, LG, ONA, Ringer, solar, solar power, The Atlantic, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Psst, Zinke — national monuments create jobs just the way they are!

Recycling Solar Glasses After the Eclipse

by AthenaFatnowna Posted on August 21, 2017

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Plenty of people are rocking eyewear today with funky rectangular paper frames.

In peak demand for the Aug. 21 solar eclipse in North America, these specs are all about protecting the peepers. As you probably know, it’s not safe to look at the sun without appropriate eyewear. Regular dark sunglasses are not sufficient protection, according to vision safety information from NASA and the American Astronomical Society.

ECLIPSE GLASSES. PHOTO: SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE/NATIONAL CENTER FOR INTERACTIVE LEARNING

With the buzz about the exciting event darkening the daytime sky, eclipse glasses equipped with solar filters have sold out at retail stores and online vendors. Some variations are plastic. Others are bamboo. Lots feature relatively inexpensive paper frames.

About 2.1 million paper versions provided by Space Science Institute/National Center for Interactive Learning in partnership with other organizations were distributed by thousands of libraries in the United States. American Paper Optics in Tennessee sent out a press release stating that the firm would be working to produce 100,000,000 pairs of eclipse glasses. American Paper Optics is among various vendors with products meeting safety standards as listed on the American Astronomical Society website.

After enjoying the eclipse experience, lots of observers are likely deciding what to do with their solar glasses. Here’s what you should know:

Recycling

Remove the protective solar-filter lenses before tossing paper frames into the recycling bin. While recycling rules vary in different regions, if the frames are paper or cardboard, they’re likely acceptable with other paper recyclables, according to Patrick Morgan, recycling specialist for Oregon Metro in Portland. The solar filter doesn’t belong in traditional household recycling, he says. Most paper products are recyclable, unless they feature a moisture-resistant coating, such as frozen food packages.
Toss out the solar-filter lenses. Or perhaps phone a camera store that processes film and ask if they recycle that type of film, suggests Brooks Mitchell, education coordinator for the nonprofit Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
Trash unwanted plastic frames, which likely would not be acceptable with traditional plastic recycling, says Morgan and other recycling representatives.
For any questions, phone your local recycling authority.

Solar eclipse. Photo: NASA.gov

Reusing & Repurposing

Display the glasses as a souvenir. Mitchell says he’ll likely hang them on his bulletin board. The glasses, he says, will serve “to remind myself of the awesome celestial experience.”
Depending on the style and instructions, the eclipse glasses may be reusable, at least for a limited time, as long as the protective filter is not scratched, punctured, torn or damaged in another way. Read instructions printed on or packaged with the glasses. Because the glasses are so inexpensive, some solar observers say you should avoid the risk of saving an older version for the future, even if the packaging does not specify a time limit. (By the way, the next total eclipse in the United States rolls through the sky April 8, 2024.)

Astronmers Without Borders

 and partners are launching a project to distribute eclipse glasses to schools in South America and Asia for eclipses in 2019. Information about where to submit glasses is going to be featured on the organization’s

Facebook

 page.

For an extra effort to repurpose the glasses, ask officials at schools, libraries and recreation programs if they want them for astronomy activities, says Irene Pease, board member of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York.
Be innovative. “I wouldn’t mind a pair of eclipse-filter earrings … as an astro-fashion statement,” Pease says.
Kristan Mitchell, executive director of trade association Oregon Refuse & Recycling Association, says the glasses are so dark, she may devise a way to repurpose them as a sleeping mask.

Image: Shutterstock

Read More:

Everything You Need to Know About Paper Recycling
The 5 Weirdest Things You Can Recycle Through Terracycle
Top 10 Companies Using the Sun for Power
About
Latest Posts

Patti Roth

Patti began her writing career as a staff writer for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Still based in Florida, Patti serves as editor for Fort Lauderdale on the Cheap. She regularly writes about environmental, home improvement, education, recycling, art, architecture, wildlife, travel and pet topics.

Latest posts by Patti Roth (see all)

Recycling Solar Glasses After the Eclipse – August 21, 2017
University Recycling 101: How College Students Go Green – August 16, 2017
Bike Baristas Create Coffee with Their Own Pedal Power – June 28, 2017

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Recycling Solar Glasses After the Eclipse

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California scientists are calling for the largest U.S. investment in climate research in years.

by cassidy281 Posted on August 17, 2017

That’s all kinds of scary. If there’s one place on Earth that would be the worst possible spot for a giant volcanic chain, it’s beneath West Antarctica. Turns out, it’s not a great situation to have a bunch of volcanoes underneath a huge ice sheet.

In a discovery announced earlier this week, a team of researchers discovered dozens of them across a 2,200-mile swath of the frozen continent. Antarctica, if you’re listening, please stop scaring us.

The study that led to the discovery was conceived of by an undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh, Max Van Wyk de Vries. With a team of researchers, he used radar to look under the ice for evidence of cone-shaped mountains that had disturbed the ice around them. They found 91 previously unknown volcanoes. “We were amazed,” Robert Bingham, one of the study’s authors, told the Guardian.

The worry is that, as in Iceland and Alaska, two regions of active volcanism that were ice-covered until relatively recently, a warming climate could help these Antarctic volcanoes spring to life soon. In a worst-case scenario, the melting ice could release pressure on the volcanoes and trigger eruptions, further destabilizing the ice sheet.

“The big question is: how active are these volcanoes? That is something we need to determine as quickly as possible,” Bingham said.

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California scientists are calling for the largest U.S. investment in climate research in years.

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Court says pipelines — not Exxon — are to blame for a major oil spill.

by JuanaPino371714 Posted on August 17, 2017

That’s all kinds of scary. If there’s one place on Earth that would be the worst possible spot for a giant volcanic chain, it’s beneath West Antarctica. Turns out, it’s not a great situation to have a bunch of volcanoes underneath a huge ice sheet.

In a discovery announced earlier this week, a team of researchers discovered dozens of them across a 2,200-mile swath of the frozen continent. Antarctica, if you’re listening, please stop scaring us.

The study that led to the discovery was conceived of by an undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh, Max Van Wyk de Vries. With a team of researchers, he used radar to look under the ice for evidence of cone-shaped mountains that had disturbed the ice around them. They found 91 previously unknown volcanoes. “We were amazed,” Robert Bingham, one of the study’s authors, told the Guardian.

The worry is that, as in Iceland and Alaska, two regions of active volcanism that were ice-covered until relatively recently, a warming climate could help these Antarctic volcanoes spring to life soon. In a worst-case scenario, the melting ice could release pressure on the volcanoes and trigger eruptions, further destabilizing the ice sheet.

“The big question is: how active are these volcanoes? That is something we need to determine as quickly as possible,” Bingham said.

More:  

Court says pipelines — not Exxon — are to blame for a major oil spill.

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, green energy, LAI, LG, ONA, Ringer, solar, solar panels, solar power, Uncategorized, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Court says pipelines — not Exxon — are to blame for a major oil spill.

The world’s largest volcanic region was just discovered in Antarctica.

by WilliamsLockyer Posted on August 17, 2017

That’s all kinds of scary. If there’s one place on Earth that would be the worst possible spot for a giant volcanic chain, it’s beneath West Antarctica. Turns out, it’s not a great situation to have a bunch of volcanoes underneath a huge ice sheet.

In a discovery announced earlier this week, a team of researchers discovered dozens of them across a 2,200-mile swath of the frozen continent. Antarctica, if you’re listening, please stop scaring us.

The study that led to the discovery was conceived of by an undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh, Max Van Wyk de Vries. With a team of researchers, he used radar to look under the ice for evidence of cone-shaped mountains that had disturbed the ice around them. They found 91 previously unknown volcanoes. “We were amazed,” Robert Bingham, one of the study’s authors, told the Guardian.

The worry is that, as in Iceland and Alaska, two regions of active volcanism that were ice-covered until relatively recently, a warming climate could help these Antarctic volcanoes spring to life soon. In a worst-case scenario, the melting ice could release pressure on the volcanoes and trigger eruptions, further destabilizing the ice sheet.

“The big question is: how active are these volcanoes? That is something we need to determine as quickly as possible,” Bingham said.

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The world’s largest volcanic region was just discovered in Antarctica.

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The European Union is considering an electric car mandate.

by Gustavo Stanfield Posted on August 16, 2017

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The European Union is considering an electric car mandate.

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More bad news for the coal industry with layoffs in Mississippi.

by MellisaVerbrugg Posted on August 11, 2017

According to a new study from the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project, the current presidential administration has collected fewer civil penalties and filed fewer environmental enforcement suits against polluting companies than the Obama, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations did at the same point in office.

The analysis assesses agreements made in the Environmental Protection Agency’s civil enforcement cases. For abuses under laws like the Clean Air Act, the Trump administration has collected just $12 million in civil penalties, a drop of 60 percent from the average of the other administrations. Trump’s EPA has lodged 26 environmental lawsuits compared to 31, 34, and 45 by Bush, Obama, and Clinton, respectively.

The marked decrease in enforcement likely has to do with the EPA’s deregulatory agenda. Since confirmed, administrator Scott Pruitt has systematically tried to knock out key environmental regulations, especially those created during Obama’s tenure.

The Project notes that its assessment is only of a six-month period, so future enforcement could catch Trump up to his predecessors. Or he’ll continue to look the other way.

“I’ve seen the pendulum swing,” said Bruce Buckheit, who worked in EPA enforcement under Clinton and then Bush, “but never as far as what appears to be going on today.”

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More bad news for the coal industry with layoffs in Mississippi.

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Scott Pruitt doesn’t want to politicize science.

by TiffaniHarper Posted on August 11, 2017

According to a new study from the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project, the current presidential administration has collected fewer civil penalties and filed fewer environmental enforcement suits against polluting companies than the Obama, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations did at the same point in office.

The analysis assesses agreements made in the Environmental Protection Agency’s civil enforcement cases. For abuses under laws like the Clean Air Act, the Trump administration has collected just $12 million in civil penalties, a drop of 60 percent from the average of the other administrations. Trump’s EPA has lodged 26 environmental lawsuits compared to 31, 34, and 45 by Bush, Obama, and Clinton, respectively.

The marked decrease in enforcement likely has to do with the EPA’s deregulatory agenda. Since confirmed, administrator Scott Pruitt has systematically tried to knock out key environmental regulations, especially those created during Obama’s tenure.

The Project notes that its assessment is only of a six-month period, so future enforcement could catch Trump up to his predecessors. Or he’ll continue to look the other way.

“I’ve seen the pendulum swing,” said Bruce Buckheit, who worked in EPA enforcement under Clinton and then Bush, “but never as far as what appears to be going on today.”

Read this article:  

Scott Pruitt doesn’t want to politicize science.

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, ONA, PUR, Ringer, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Scott Pruitt doesn’t want to politicize science.