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Cops in NY Town Run Out of Gas Money
Police officers in New Rochelle are being told to walk, bike or ride Segways to conserve fuel.
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Cowboys are tough but fuel prices are tougher
Rodeo cowboys are a tough lot, yet some are having to call it quits. Not because of a bucking bronco, but the high cost of fuel.
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The future of fuel bleak
As the high price of oil pushes up the price of a host of consumer items including food, the future of fuel also affects Oklahoma.
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Food, fuel, water crises converging
A specter is haunting the cities and villages of most developing nations, warns a senior official of a World Bank-affiliated organization.
"It's the specter of a food, fuel and water crisis," says Lars Thunell, executive vice president of the Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group.
"I believe we are at a tipping point," he said, because the scarcity of water poses a threat to the food supply just when the agricultural sector is stepping up production in response to riots over food prices, growing hunger, and rising malnutrition.
Speaking at the conclusion of the weeklong Stockholm International Water Conference Friday, Thunell said the growing demand for water is outpacing supply.
The world's current population of over 6 billion is expected to rise to about 9 billion by 2050, with more than 60 percent living in mega cities.
"Since water consumption goes up where there is development and improved lifestyles, we can expect even greater demands on fresh water," Thunell said.
The most water-intensive sector, agriculture, is expanding and industrialization and energy production are further driving demand, he added.
The conference, which was attended by over 2,400 water experts and government officials, ended with an ominous warning: that water and sanitation are not far behind the food, energy, and climate crises.
Summing up the weeklong proceedings, the Stockholm International Water Institute said that slow progress on sanitation will cause the world to badly fail to achieve the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At the same time, weak policy, poor management, increasing waste, and exploding water demands will push the planet towards the tipping point of a global water crisis.
According to UN estimates a little less than 1 billion people worldwide still don't have access to clean drinking water while over 2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation.
The MDGs aim at a 50-percent reduction both in the number of people without drinking water and without basic sanitation. The deadline has been set at 2015. But most of the world's poorer nations are likely to miss the deadline.
Colin Chartres, director general of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) said the causes of water scarcity are essentially identical to those of the food crisis.
"There are serious and extremely worrying factors that indicate that water supplies are close to exhaustion in some countries," he said.
He pointed out that current estimates indicate the world will not have enough water to feed itself in 40 years time, "by when the current food crisis may turn into a perpetual crisis."
Chartres said he and his water science colleagues have raised a warning flag that significant investments in both research and development and water infrastructure development are needed, "if dire consequences are to be avoided."
IFC's Thunell said providing clean water and sanitation services are not only business opportunities but also opportunities to improve lives. He said investors see an opportunity in the $450-billion global water sector, where stocks are performing strongly worldwide. A specter is haunting the cities and villages of most developing nations, warns a senior official of a World Bank-affiliated organizat... more -
First ever hydrogen vehicle 'cross-country' road trip had a lot of help
It turns out that the first ever 'cross country' road trip across the US driven by a hydrogen powered vehicle, the "Hydrogen Road Tour '08", had quite a bit more help than should be expected. Of the flat-bed truck kind.
Though it's said that most of the problem was to do with the lack of gas stations that can power hydrogen cars in the US, I'm still not convinced this is a good media message from the eco-car people... It turns out that the first ever 'cross country' road trip across the US driven by a hydrogen powered vehicle, the "Hyd... more -
Motorists warned over fuel thefts
Motorists have been warned to be vigilant after a series of fuel thefts, including some where petrol tanks were punctured to drain the fuel.
Gwent Police said there were 194 cases of fuel theft in the area between 1 May and 15 July.
Many involved thieves filling up cars with stolen number plates, then leaving the garage without paying.
But the force also warned drivers to be aware of thieves who steal petrol directly from cars.
Some of these cases involved thieves puncturing the fuel tanks and draining the petrol, which Gwent Police described as "an extremely dangerous practice". Motorists have been warned to be vigilant after a series of fuel thefts, including some where petrol tanks were punctured to drain the... more -
Energy firms hike prices
Two of the UK's "big six" energy firms have hiked their gas and electricity prices, creating further difficulties for many households already struggling to pay their bills. Scottish & Southern Energy, which has 8.8 million UK customers, is raising gas prices by 29.2% and average electricity costs by 19.2% from Monday, while rival E.ON also unveiled rises of 26% and 16% in gas and electricity prices respectively. Both firms blamed soaring wholesale energy prices.
SSE's energy supply director Alistair Phillips-Davies said: "The world is experiencing an energy shock of a kind not seen since the early 1970s, but which is likely to have more profound and lasting consequences." Two of the UK's "big six" energy firms have hiked their gas and electricity prices, creating further difficulties for m... more -
Every petrol pump 'will be prepay by 2011'
Every petrol pump in Britain will be prepay by 2011 because of the rise in fuel theft, say industry bosses.
The soaring cost of unleaded and diesel has seen an increase in instances of people driving off from forecourts without paying.
Petrol retailers say their fuel theft bill has risen by several million pounds. Every petrol pump in Britain will be prepay by 2011 because of the rise in fuel theft, say industry bosses. ... more -
What the helmet?
With a claim that bike lanes increase pollution, a San Francisco resident has managed to put the brakes on the city's pro-biking plans. In 2004, San Francisco unveiled a proposal to create more bike lanes and bike parking, aiming to have 10 percent of city trips taken on two wheels by 2010. Enter Rob Anderson, who doesn't own a car but is no fan of cyclists. "The behavior of the bike people on city streets is always annoying," he says. "This 'Get out of my way, I'm not burning fossil fuels.'" Anderson sued the city to make it do an environmental impact review, saying that giving more street space to bicyclists will lead to more air pollution from cars idled in traffic jams. He won, halting the city's plans. Officials are moving slowly on the review, hoping to cover all their bases to keep Anderson from suing again -- as he's already pondering. "Regardless of the obvious dangers," he wrote on his blog, "some people will ride bikes in San Francisco for the same reason Islamic fanatics will engage in suicide bombings -- because they are politically motivated to do so." With a claim that bike lanes increase pollution, a San Francisco resident has managed to put the brakes on the city's pro-biking ... more
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Australian, U.S. Scientists Copy Nature to Produce Hydrogen
Australian and U.S. scientists said they have copied a process found in plants that uses sunlight to make hydrogen from water, potentially a cleaner and lower-cost method of making the gas for use in fuel cells.
By replicating aspects of photosynthesis, the breakthrough could ``revolutionize the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen, touted as the clean, green fuel of the future, cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale,'' Melbourne-based Monash University said in an e-mailed statement today.
Fuel cells currently used as alternatives to gasoline-powered engines in vehicles run on hydrogen that is mostly produced from refining fossil fuels. The new process would rely on renewable sources, rather than oil or natural gas, and use no electricity, said the scientists.
``Hydrogen has long been considered the ideal clean green fuel, energy-rich and carbon neutral,'' Leone Spiccia, one of the scientists from Monash University, said in the statement. ``The production of hydrogen using nothing but water and sunlight offers the possibility of an abundant renewable, green source of energy for the future.''
The method developed by the scientists uses a catalyst system with a coating that can be impregnated with a form of manganese, a chemical essential to sustaining photosynthesis in plant life, said Monash University.
Testing showed the catalyst system was still active after three days of continuous use, producing oxygen and hydrogen in the presence of water, electric energy and light, it said. Australian and U.S. scientists said they have copied a process found in plants that uses sunlight to make hydrogen from water, potenti... more -
Genetically-engineered trees can dissolve themselves into fuel
Worried about all the energy that's required to break poplar trees down into usable fuel? Never fear: We'll just stick some fungus genes into that poplar so that the tree can rapidly ferment itself as soon as it's chopped down. A self-fermenting tree can practically turn itself into fuel. That's exactly the kind of gene-hacking being proposed by geneticists at the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute in California. Eddy Rubin, director of the Institute, has just published a paper in Nature about how trees can be genetically-engineered to be biofuel-ready. Worried about all the energy that's required to break poplar trees down into usable fuel? Never fear: We'll just stick some ... more
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Fueling cars with waste
Imagine if cars ran on household waste, if gas tanks were filled with ethanol made from wood chips. Well, the technology to make it happen is already a reality and companies are now racing to bring this kind of fuel to a gas pump near you. Read More... Imagine if cars ran on household waste, if gas tanks were filled with ethanol made from wood chips. Well, the technology to make it ha... more
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Jack Herer explains why hemp is the #1 Natural resource
Jack Herer, Dr. Roberta Hamilton, and George Clayton Johnson
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Scientists Ask to Plant GM Trees
GM = Genetically Modified. The latest Green Air Filter on biotech forests for fuel.
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Lab makes renewable diesel fuel from E. coli poop
The biotech company LS9 Inc. is using single-celled bacteria to create an oil equivalent. These petroleum "production facilities" are so small, you can see them only under a microscope.
"We started in my garage two years ago, and we're producing barrels today, so things are moving pretty quickly," said biochemist Stephen del Cardayre, LS9 vice president of research and development.
How does it work? A special type of genetically altered bacteria are fed plant material: basically, any type of sugar. They digest it and excrete the equivalent of diesel fuel.
Humans have used bacteria and yeast for centuries to do similar work, creating beer, moonshine and, more recently, ethanol. But scientists' recent strides in genetic engineering now allow them to control the end product.
"So these are bacteria that have been engineered to produce oil," del Cardayre said. "They started off like regular lab bacteria that didn't produce oil, but we took genes from nature, we engineered them a bit [and] put them into this organism so that we can convert sugar to oil."
The company is focusing on diesel fuel, but the microbes can be "programmed" to make gasoline or jet fuel.
The bacteria used are a harmless form of E. coli. And the feedstock, or food for the microbes, can be any type of agricultural product, from sugar cane to waste such as wheat straw and wood chips. Choosing plants with no food value sidesteps one of the biggest criticisms of another synthetic fuel, corn ethanol, because critics say that corn should be used as food, not fuel.
It takes a lot of microbe poop to fill a gas tank, however. Biofuel experts say that processes like those used at LS9 are scientifically viable but that there's still a long way to go before they can address global energy needs.
"Scalability is really the critical issue," said Robert McCormick, principal engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado. "If you've got something that you can make work in a test tube, that's good, but you've got to be able to make it work on a very large scale to have an impact on our petroleum imports."
But del Cardayre says his product has other benefits over traditional fossil fuels.
"What we've done is make the same molecules from renewable sources, so that it can go into the existing infrastructure, be made domestically and in an environmentally friendly way. That's the goal," he said.
The LS9 product does not have the cancer-causing benzene that is in other fossil fuels and has far less sulfur, he said.
LS9 President Bob Walsh says that using existing petroleum pipelines is crucial. Ethanol, for example, requires its own distribution system because it can corrode oil pipelines.
"You can't put ethanol in a pipeline, [and] even your car needs some adjustments to it; whereas the product we're making is going into the existing system, and that's a big difference," he said.
LS9 expects to be in large-scale commercial production in three or four years. But del Cardayre is the first to admit that microscopic oil fields are not a silver bullet for the world's energy woes.
"I doubt we're going to completely eliminate our dependence on oil, but we'll certainly be able to supplement the amount of oil we need in the short term," he said.
Although energy researchers are spending tens of millions of dollars in venture capital, McCormick believes that "just making more" is not enough.
"I think that the answer to reducing our petroleum-import problem and reducing the carbon emissions from transportation is really threefold," he said. "It involves replacement fuels like biofuels, it involves using much more efficient vehicles than we use today, and it involves driving less." The biotech company LS9 Inc. is using single-celled bacteria to create an oil equivalent. These petroleum "production facilities&... more -
Locations of possibly leaky fuel tanks
A state-by-state look at the locations of underground fuel-storage tanks that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is studying to look for possible leaks. There could be more than one tank at each location. FEMA is inspecting tanks in 238 cities in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. FEMA does not have out-of-use tanks in New Mexico and Oregon.
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Alabama
— Montgomery (two locations)
— Andalusia
— Dothan
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Alaska
— Fairbanks
— Anchorage
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Arizona
— Phoenix (two locations)
— Flagstaff
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Arkansas
— El Dorado
— Mountain Home
More locations @ above link A state-by-state look at the locations of underground fuel-storage tanks that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is studying to l... more -
Squeeze fruit seeds, get fuel
Bryan Beer, a citrus grower in southwestern Florida, sees himself as a bit of a pioneer. He's not digging for gold. It's more like he's planting for oil.
He is planting a jatropha tree, a plant that can produce diesel fuel and could one day power a 747. His plans are a little less ambitious; he just wants to plant enough to run his tractors.
"Any kind of relief or help we can get from a cheaper source of oil could impact the agricultural industry tremendously throughout the country, throughout the world," said Beer, whose family has been growing citrus for decades.
Jatropha means "doctor food." It originated in South America, where it was once used for medicinal purposes. There are three seeds within the golf-ball-sized fruit. When pressed, its oil can be used as fuel in any standard diesel engine with zero processing, experts say.
Sound like a pipe dream? It's not.
It's being taken very seriously by companies all over the world, including the Chrysler motor company and Air New Zealand. The airline is planning a test flight in November in Auckland in which jatropha biodiesel will be mixed with diesel fuel.
This is what has farmers, scientists and engineers excited. Video Bryan Beer, a citrus grower in southwestern Florida, sees himself as a bit of a pioneer. He's not digging for gold. It's mor... more -
Algae - a solution to peak oil? Virgin Airlines says "yes," others say &...
Big oil had better start worrying. Common algae from ponds and waste-water treatment plants has been found to produce vast amounts of burnable oil, say researchers at the University of Minnesota, algae produces an astounding 5,000 gallons of oil per acre. Corn, by comparison, produces a measly 18 gallons. Soybean yields 48 gallons. An acre of palm trees yields 635 gallons. Algae has a clear advantage in other ways as well. Land crops use up more resources and require more manpower to grow. Algae, on the other hand, is so hardy that it grows all by itself in conditions that require little to no management. Big oil had better start worrying. Common algae from ponds and waste-water treatment plants has been found to produce vast amounts of ... more
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The truth about HYDROGEN. Is it really safer than gasoline?
When you think of driving a car fueled by hydrogen, are you like the majority of the uneducated public that right away brings up the Hindenburg disaster? Do you think your car will explode in an accident? If you are, please read on and educate yourself and others as to the TRUTH about HYDROGEN!
Hydrogen is SAFER than gasoline!!! When you think of driving a car fueled by hydrogen, are you like the majority of the uneducated public that right away brings up the H... more -
Household waste to power cars
Chemical company Ineos develops technology to make bioethanol from waste.
With soaring oil prices and government policy drives to run car fleets on cleaner energy sources that emit fewer greenhouse gases, biofuels are growing in popularity. But with land being used to grow biofuel rather than food crops the shine has come off their green credentials.
Chemicals company Ineos thinks it has cracked the fuel v food debate with new technology that produces bioethanol from waste. Chemical company Ineos develops technology to make bioethanol from waste. ... more
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