PriusChat Forums - Environmental Discussion http://priuschat.com/forums en Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:36:51 GMT vBulletin 60 http://priuschat.com/forums/images/silk/misc/rss.jpg PriusChat Forums - Environmental Discussion http://priuschat.com/forums <![CDATA[It's been a bad week for deniers]]> http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99136&goto=newpost Fri, 21 Oct 2011 03:55:03 GMT First, one of the biggest skeptics admits he was wrong... First, one of the biggest skeptics admits he was wrong.

Yes, this latest study certainly gives deniers the smackdown.
]]> Environmental Discussion Stev0 http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99136 Should colleges mandate all students take a general course about climate, food, and energy? http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99026&goto=newpost Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:23:05 GMT I had to take English, humanities, and math courses to graduate from college. Fine. Now I can write better(barely) and I have a vague memory on how... I had to take English, humanities, and math courses to graduate from college. Fine. Now I can write better(barely) and I have a vague memory on how to derive and integrate various equations which(with a gun pointed at my head) I might be able to identify as Calculus. Fine. How about educating the best and brightest on the issues that most affect mankind. One course, that's all. Maybe it might push a handful more students into picking up the torch in solving the problems. Maybe not. Can't hurt to try. ]]> Environmental Discussion burritos http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99026 Green news and more V2.41 http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99023&goto=newpost Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:02:52 GMT Bringing you your weekly positive Green related articles. Got another heavy week of articles. 15 most creative green roofs... Bringing you your weekly positive Green related articles. Got another heavy week of articles.

15 most creative green roofs

Seven eco friendly gadgets for executives

The Big Question: Can flexible fuel vehicles have a green impact on the environment?

The Big Question: Is geothermal energy the future of clean energy?

Six Handmade Halloween Costumes from Etsy | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Think Outside the Box With These DIY Cardboard Costumes | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Future of Technology - Himalayas: The future of solar?

Happy Halloween! 5 Ideas for Spooky DIY Decor - Planet Green

What Have We Become? Connected Film Dissects Our Dependence on Digital Connection : TreeHugger

Protesters Occupy Berlin Until Evicted by Police (Photos and Video) : TreeHugger

This Blog Action Day, Say No To GMOs & Factory Farming : TreeHugger

Occupy Wall Street Stages Mountaintop Removal Mining 'Die-In' At Bank of America's NYC HQ : TreeHugger ]]> Environmental Discussion eaglesight333 http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99023 Unlike Solyndra, other California solar projects appear on track http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98965&goto=newpost Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:51:05 GMT ---Quote--- Six large solar power plants to help the state meet its ambitious clean electricity goals are proceeding on schedule, according to their...
Quote:
Six large solar power plants to help the state meet its ambitious clean electricity goals are proceeding on schedule, according to their developers. Like Solyndra, they carry federal loan guarantees.

As Republican lawmakers pound the Obama administration for pouring a half-billion dollars into now-bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra, a much bigger federal government bet on green energy looks to be quietly paying off for California.

Six large solar power plants ... carry federal loan guarantees — $7 billion worth in total — which are considered key to attracting private investment in alternative energy.

The plants are expected to create nearly 4,000 construction jobs over the next five years and an additional 250 permanent jobs after they're up and running. All the power generated will be sold to California utilities at fixed prices under long-term contracts already approved by state regulators.

This year, state lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown approved legislation requiring all private and municipal electric utilities to get at least one-third of their power from non-fossil fuel sources by 2020. The so-called renewable portfolio standard is expected to help California meet a legal mandate to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming to 1990 levels by the end of the decade. The law calls for an 80% decrease by mid-century.


Keep reading:
Not all California solar projects compare to Solyndra - latimes.com

. ]]> Environmental Discussion Rybold http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98965 Expansion of US Highspeed Rail? http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98934&goto=newpost Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:07:53 GMT Interesting article on the future of US high speed rail; BBC News - Could the US crack high-speed rail?... Interesting article on the future of US high speed rail;

BBC News - Could the US crack high-speed rail?


Interesting that rail passenger numbers are on the increase in the US too. Perhaps rail has a future again? A high speed east/west rail connection would be interesting. ]]> Environmental Discussion GrumpyCabbie http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98934 <![CDATA["Little Ice Age" possibly caused by reforestation]]> http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98895&goto=newpost Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:35:29 GMT Columbus Blamed For Little Ice Age - Science News (http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/335168/title/Columbus_blamed_for_Little_Ice_Age) ... Columbus Blamed For Little Ice Age - Science News

The initial explorations of the New World brought diseases that wiped out the majority of the people living here, causing cleared lands adding up to the size of California to be reclaimed by the jungle. The rapid, massive reforestation was enough to account for most of the CO2 changes in ice cores from the time and for most of the resulting drop in global temperatures. ]]> Environmental Discussion MontyTheEngineer http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98895 Rechargeable Batteries And Chargers http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98812&goto=newpost Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:20:11 GMT Any recommendations on smart chargers for/and NiMh AA and AAA rechargeable batteries? I have a portable A/V recorder that uses regular AA... Any recommendations on smart chargers for/and NiMh AA and AAA rechargeable batteries?

I have a portable A/V recorder that uses regular AA batteries, and the Alkaline types run out fast. So I really need to use NiMh instead. But I don't know much about these batteries in general, especially things like discharge rates etc. ]]> Environmental Discussion zenMachine http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98812 Green news and more V2.40 http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98793&goto=newpost Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:56:41 GMT Bringing you your weekly positive Green related articles. Had a picture perfect week with the weather here in the Mid-West. Really wish I didn't have to go to work and miss most of it. :P

Top Green Products Found at Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Dana-Farber Cancer Care Center Uses Sustainable Design to Create a Calm Healing Environment | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

New Crash-Proof Electric Vehicle Battery Can be Mass Produced | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Ford Investigates Coconuts As Replacement for Petroleum in Car Parts | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

What

Green megastructures: The world

The Astonishing Story of Real Milk - Real Food - MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Pipeline lobbyist, State Dept. emails disclosed - US news - Environment - msnbc.com

New York Times Blows Lid Off State Department's Outsourcing of Keystone XL Environmental Review : TreeHugger

Bill McKibben Links Climate Change to Corruption in Stirring Occupy Wall Street Speech (Video) : TreeHugger

Near Net Zero Reached at Frito-Lay Plant : TreeHugger

Images from Occupy Wall Street's Protest Camp : TreeHugger ]]> Environmental Discussion eaglesight333 http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98793 New Toyota process could improve biofuels http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98679&goto=newpost Fri, 07 Oct 2011 02:57:57 GMT ---Quote--- Toyota City, Japan � Toyota has developed a new strain of yeast that could potentially improve biofuel production while reducing costs....
Quote:
Toyota City, Japan � Toyota has developed a new strain of yeast that could potentially improve biofuel production while reducing costs.

The company showcased the new development at its Toyota Biotechnology and Afforestation Laboratory in Japan�s Aichi prefecture.
Full Article ]]> Environmental Discussion Tideland Prius http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98679 <![CDATA[Remind me why hydroelectric energy is considered "good energy"?]]> http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98639&goto=newpost Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:03:38 GMT No carbon footprint. No air pollution. Fine. Instead it's an energy source which blocks spawning routes for fish and floods/destroys giant swaths of habitat. All my life, emotionally, I've always regarded it a "good" source of energy. Then I read about the restoration/removal of Elwha river dam which got me to thinking. The marketing people who represent the dam industry are dam good. ]]> Environmental Discussion burritos http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98639 UK petrol/diesel use drops 15% in 3 years http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98626&goto=newpost Wed, 05 Oct 2011 06:46:20 GMT Who said a recession is good for the environment? Well it appears it is. UK petrol/diesel use has dropped by 15% since 2008; BBC News - Drivers... Who said a recession is good for the environment? Well it appears it is. UK petrol/diesel use has dropped by 15% since 2008;

BBC News - Drivers 'cut petrol use by 15%' research suggests

So everybody is skint but the air we breath is a little bit cleaner. ;) ]]> Environmental Discussion GrumpyCabbie http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98626 Not sure we need an ozone thread, but... http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98581&goto=newpost Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:26:36 GMT In one recent envtl. thread here, the question was poses "why don't we hear about the ozone hole any more?"

Unfortunately, Mother Earth also appeared to hear the question, and has given an answer:

Unprecedented Arctic ozone loss last winter

and as soon as time allows I'll get the underlying article in Nature. But for now, I'd like to make two points

(1) Put up capable satellites, look down, and you'll learn lots of things.

(2) Once a long-lived chemical is added to the atmosphere by human means, the response of the system is 'whatever it wants'. The situation is out of our hands, except in terms of reduced emissions going forward.

In this case, the hole (which is in fact a thinning, not an absence) worsened because of temperatures and air-circulation patterns.

One might draw a parallel to carbon dioxide, where the emissions are purely voluntary, though obviously strongly driven by economic factors. The system responses to that have so far proven hard to pin down. At least in a way that leads to broad consensus and agreed actions going forward.

Beyond that there are probably more differences than similarities with O3 and CO2. I'm not calling them the same thing here. ]]> Environmental Discussion tochatihu http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98581 How N. Dakota Became Saudi Arabia http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98563&goto=newpost Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:48:05 GMT http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...023932438.html

One reason for the renaissance has been OPEC's erosion of market power. "For nearly 50 years in this country nobody looked for oil here and drilling was in steady decline. Every time the domestic industry picked itself up, the Saudis would open the taps and drown us with cheap oil," he recalls. "They had unlimited production capacity, and company after company would go bust."

Today OPEC's market share is falling and no longer dictates the world price. This is huge, Mr. Hamm says. "Finally we have an opportunity to go out and explore for oil and drill without fear of price collapse."

... His only beef these days is with Washington. Mr. Hamm was invited to the White House for a "giving summit" with wealthy Americans who have pledged to donate at least half their wealth to charity. (He's given tens of millions of dollars already to schools like Oklahoma State and for diabetes research.) "Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, they were all there," he recalls.

When it was Mr. Hamm's turn to talk briefly with President Obama, "I told him of the revolution in the oil and gas industry and how we have the capacity to produce enough oil to enable America to replace OPEC. I wanted to make sure he knew about this."

The president's reaction? "He turned to me and said, 'Oil and gas will be important for the next few years. But we need to go on to green and alternative energy. [Energy] Secretary [Steven] Chu has assured me that within five years, we can have a battery developed that will make a car with the equivalent of 130 miles per gallon.'" Mr. Hamm holds his head in his hands and says, "Even if you believed that, why would you want to stop oil and gas development? It was pretty disappointing." ]]> Environmental Discussion zenMachine http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98563 Green news and more V2.39 http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98556&goto=newpost Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:40:11 GMT Bringing you your weekly positive Green related articles. Another solid week of articles. Happy October! What... Bringing you your weekly positive Green related articles. Another solid week of articles. Happy October!

What

Top 10 self powered concept cellphones

7 Organic blankets for your kids

Size Matters: World

BREAKING NEWS: University of Maryland WaterShed House Wins the 2011 Solar Decathlon! | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

MIT Unveils Artificial Leaf That Creates Hydrogen Fuel from Sunlight | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

$5 billion more in solar loans guaranteed - US news - Environment - msnbc.com

Protect hundreds more species? GOP angry - US news - Environment - msnbc.com

Texas Getting Barbecued, While Rick Perry Doubles Down On Climate Denial : TreeHugger

Kyra Sedgwick Urges the President to Reject the Tar Sands Pipeline! What Celeb Will Be Next? : TreeHugger

NYC Has Been Buzzing With Apples And Honey : TreeHugger

iPhone Cases Made from Agricultural Waste and Recycled Plastic : TreeHugger ]]> Environmental Discussion eaglesight333 http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98556 Scooters and motorcycles can pollute 90 times as much as SUVs http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98496&goto=newpost Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:23:20 GMT Think Motorcycles and Scooters are Great for the Environment? Wrong! (http://ecomodder.com/blog/motorcycles-scooters-great-environment-wrong/) ... Think Motorcycles and Scooters are Great for the Environment? Wrong!

Quote:
Scooters and motorcycles can pollute 90 times as much as SUVs

Yes, you read correctly. It doesn�t seem to make sense because of the wildly different sizes and fuel consumption of the two vehicles. In fact, it was the EPA that tested a Yamaha YZR R6 and found that it emitted 90 times more hydrocarbons than a Dodge Durango SUV. Hydrocarbons are the pollutants responsible for forming ozone and smog, which is both a serious health risk as well as an extreme eyesore.
I'm not anti-scooter or motorcycle, its just some seem to think they are better for the environment, they aren't. Then again last night friends of mine rolled up in an electric scooter, that's 2 people on one powered by wind.

For the truely green

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...09312230_n.jpg ]]> Environmental Discussion austingreen http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98496