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Fill up your car... at your home hydrogen fuel station
A fuel station producing enough hydrogen to run householders' homes and cars has been unveiled today.
The British invention, due to go on sale within two years, is roughly the size of a heating boiler and will cost under £2,000.
Its creators say it will revolutionise commuting, help homeowners slash energy bills, and give easy access to a fuel that does not produce carbon dioxide emissions, helping to combat climate change.
ITM Power also unveiled a Ford Focus that has been converted to run on hydrogen.
The hydrogen generator, which when it goes on sale will be small enough to fit in a garage or home, will use water and offpeak electricity to generate the gas.
It will be stored in a pressurised tank and can be used to provide power for a range of domestic or commercial purposes.
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Full story at link by Daily Mail A fuel station producing enough hydrogen to run householders' homes and cars has been unveiled today. ... more -
Obama is wrong on ethanol
Obama has been making the rounds, extolling the virtues of corn-based ethanol, an incredibly energy-inefficient bio-fuel. It angers me that he does not acknowledge that sugar-cane ethanol is a much more environmentally-friendly and, in the long-term, cost-efficient bio-fuel. The only reason I can fathom he's pushing for corn ethanol is because it's produceable in the U.S., and therefore will garner him votes and support from Great Plains farmers and the American agricultural industry at-large. Obama has been making the rounds, extolling the virtues of corn-based ethanol, an incredibly energy-inefficient bio-fuel. It angers me... more
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Half-Empty Blue Bins: Recycling the Beacon Hill Way
Beacon Hill, a neighborhood of Boston, MA, is littered with trash for collection on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Yet, recycling can only be found on the streets of this historic neighborhood on Fridays, and some bins are less than full. This pod examines recycling in Beacon Hill through the eyes of two residents and the experiences of the director. Beacon Hill, a neighborhood of Boston, MA, is littered with trash for collection on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Yet, recycling ... more
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Worlds Cheapest Car
Tata Motors, India's top vehicle maker, has unveiled a car that will cost $2500, making it the cheapest new car in the world.. In this pod, vc2 producer Siddharth Chadha talks with some people who are anticipating the Tata Nano's arrival and hears from an environmentalist who thinks it's the wrong mode of transportation. Tata Motors, India's top vehicle maker, has unveiled a car that will cost $2500, making it the cheapest new car in the world.. In thi... more
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A Genius Outside the Academy
The Hip Hop Caucus tour featuring Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. Yearwood is a minister, community activist, military chaplain, and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop. A powerful and fiery orator. The Hip Hop Caucus tour featuring Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. Yearwood is a minister, community activist, military chaplain, and one of ... more
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Waterless washing machines to be released next year
A washing machine using as little as a cup of water for each washing cycle could go on sale to environmentally conscious Britons next year.
Xeros Ltd, which has been spun out of the University of Leeds to commercialize the technology, said on Monday the new machines would use less than 2 percent of the water and energy of a conventional washing machine.
Plastic chips are used to remove dirt and stains from clothes, leaving them dry and reducing energy consumption as there is no need to use a dryer after the washing cycle, Xeros said.
A typical washing machine uses about 35 kilograms of water for every kilogram of clothes, in addition to the power needed to heat the water and dry the clothes
A washing machine using as little as a cup of water for each washing cycle could go on sale to environmentally conscious Britons next ... more -
Turning billboards into bags
Binggirl Clemente promotes environmentalism and boosts local economy with her new project - using the cloth from used billboards to create bags. She has created jobs and public awareness of the environment with a simple idea.
Having been to Metro Manila and the surrounding areas, I admire that Clemente's one action can do so much for the Filipino people. Binggirl Clemente promotes environmentalism and boosts local economy with her new project - using the cloth from used billboards to cr... more -
Hell for Leather
Most of us think of leather as 'natural', but this shocking film reveals that the tanning of leather goods - everything from must have handbags to car interiors - can involve up to 300 different toxic chemcials. As this film shows, the leather we wear and use is often produced under appalling conditions by impoverished people in countires like Bangladesh, many of whom won't live past the age of 50 because of their day-to-day exposure the poisonous chemicals involved in bringing cheap leather goods to the masses in the developed world. The toxic legacy of these chemicals goes far beyond the factory, however, since the effluent from the tanneries is often discharged straight into the local waterways where it poisons local people who drink, wash and grow crops using this tainted water. A film that gives a whole new meaning to the idea of 'shoes to die for'. Most of us think of leather as 'natural', but this shocking film reveals that the tanning of leather goods - everything from must have... more
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Maharishi University practices what it preaches
Maharishi University of Management's video describes its Sustainable Living Center. This university specializes in an MBA degree in the field of study, described as "one of the best in the nation". Maharishi University of Management's video describes its Sustainable Living Center. This university specializes in an MBA degree in th... more
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Power industry is on the brink of radical change, warns SSE
"The days of meeting an unchecked demand for energy through monolithic carbon-intensive power stations are coming to an end," the company said in a statement accompanying its full-year results. "Increasingly the emphasis will be on energy efficiency, renewables, cleaned-up fossil fuel plants and microgeneration." "The days of meeting an unchecked demand for energy through monolithic carbon-intensive power stations are coming to an end," the comp... more
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Airbus maker pledges green planes by 2020
The manufacturer of the A380 superjumbo has pledged to produce greener planes powered by radical "step change" technology before 2020 in response to airline clamour for more fuel-efficient aircraft.
Airbus said it would produce planes powered by "emerging technology" by the end of the next decade, as the high oil price becomes a bigger driver for change than the environmental debate. The manufacturer of the A380 superjumbo has pledged to produce greener planes powered by radical "step change" technology before 2020 ... more -
Bush criticises Senate emissions reduction bill
President George Bush today weighed in against a Senate bill that would drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions, warning that it would impose crippling costs on "job creators" and consumers.
The administration threatened to veto a bipartisan Senate climate bill expected to be debated much of this week would cut emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and other greenhouse gases by about 66 percent over the next four decades. President George Bush today weighed in against a Senate bill that would drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions, warning that it woul... more -
Can the ecohackers save us?
Many scientists now believe the Earth can be altered to tackle global warming. But are these geoengineers being overly optimistic? Danny Bradbury investigates Many scientists now believe the Earth can be altered to tackle global warming. But are these geoengineers being overly optimistic? Dan... more
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Amazon Indians lead battle against power giant's plan to flood rainforest
The Amazonian city of Altamira played host to one of the more uneven contests in recent Brazilian history this week, as a colourful alliance of indigenous leaders gathered to take on the might of the state power corporation and stop the construction of an immense hydroelectric dam on a tributary of the Amazon. By Patrick Cunningham in Altamira, Brazil The Amazonian city of Altamira played host to one of the more uneven contests in recent Brazilian history this week, as a colourful al... more
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Pie in the sky: The world's first edible high-rise
Toronto scientist Gordon Graff has created plans for a 58-floor concept building - the SkyFarm - which would grow crops in the heart of the city and could provide enough food for 35,000 people every day. Toronto scientist Gordon Graff has created plans for a 58-floor concept building - the SkyFarm - which would grow crops in the heart o... more
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Last flight of the honeybee?
A bee-less world wouldn't just mean the end of honey - Einstein said that if the honeybee became extinct, then so would mankind. Alison Benjamin reports on a very real threat.
Man will not dominate nature. A bee-less world wouldn't just mean the end of honey - Einstein said that if the honeybee became extinct, then so would mankind. Aliso... more -
It's our World too...from the mouth of babes
13 year old Severm Suzuki, pleads for the future of her generation. "Even when we have more than enough, we are afraid to share."
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The World's Hardest Working Shaman
Western Shoshone leader, Corbin Harney talks about his prophetic conversation with the water
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Oil-loving Alaska governor fights polar bear's new endangered status
Alaska's Republican state governor, Sarah Palin, has announced plans to fight the Bush administration on its decision to place polar bears on the endangered species list. Palin is challenging conservation and environmental data, and sights concerns that the Endangered Species Act ruling will hinder oil exploration in the state.
As we previously reported (see story), the polar bear's addition to the endangered species list had repeatedly been delayed, allowing an oil rights sale, which generated bids totaling nearly $3.4 billion, to proceed in an area that is home to 20% of the world's polar bear population. There are less than 25,000 polar bears in total, and that number is expected to decline by 60% over the next 50 years as the creature's habitat literally melts away.
Palin was the first woman to hold office in Alaska, and was also the youngest governor ever to be sworn in. She likes snowmobiling and moose burgers, and was an athlete and a beauty queen prior to taking up politics. Obviously she didn't win her Miss Wasilla 1984 pageant title by promising to "help children and animals."
http://www.dailymantra.com
Alaska's Republican state governor, Sarah Palin, has announced plans to fight the Bush administration on its decision to place polar b... more -
California air is three times more deadly than previously thought
According to information just released by the California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board (ARB) up to 24,000 deaths a year may be attributed to particulate pollution. The figure is triple that of previous official estimates.
The new data was compiled by USC, who tracked 23,000 people in greater Los Angeles, and the American Cancer Society, who tracked 300,000 people nationwide.
One the reasons that the new estimated death toll is so much higher, is that experts had previously underestimated the dangers of particulate matter, which is too small to be caught by the body's own nose and throat, hair and mucous filtration system, and lodges deep in lungs, causing all manner of health problems such as asthma, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
"Our report concludes these particles are 70% more dangerous than previously thought, based on several major studies that have occurred in the last five years," said the ARB's chief researcher, Bart Croes, in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "There's no death certificate that says specifically someone died of air pollution, but cities with higher rates of air pollution have much greater rates of death from cardiovascular diseases."
As shown on the California Environmental Protection Agency maps above, California has more counties designated for nonattainment of PM-10 (particulate matter less than 10 microns in size) safety levels in the "serious" classification than the rest of the U.S. put together. A similar map also shows widespread non-compliance for PM-2.5 safety levels (a classification for smaller particles) in California.
Not un-coincidentally, according to data compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 1996, the top 5 metropolitan areas in the nation ranked by mortality rates attributable to particulate matter are all in California. The worst offender was Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, followed by Riverside-San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Fresno, and Stockton.
With such toxic air effectively fatally poisoning 24,000 people per year in the Golden State, drastic measures, such as the Bay Area's new pollution tax, are sorely needed.
"Particle pollution is a silent killer," said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "We must work even harder to cut these life-shortening emissions by further addressing pollution sources head-on." According to information just released by the California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board (ARB) up to 24,000 deat... more
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