http://thebest-healthy-foods.com/vegetables-and-fruits/

 

 

Relationship between vegetables and fruits with the human body

Vegetables and fruits that have been known that many common foods for the health benefits of the human body, but many of us do not realize that God has showed the benefits of real vegetables and fruits through the form of and vegetables and fruits themselves, so we can see some examples of fruits and vegetables as below

A sliced carrot as the human eye. As the human eyeball, and the incision line the exact same as the human eye. And the latest science to prove that the carrot works to increase blood flow and function of the eyes to be better

Tomato has four rooms in it and a red. Human heart has 4 rooms and is also red. All research shows that tomatoes contain a lot of work as lycopine Feed for blood.

A set of grape has a swing like a heart shape. Each grain of grape, such as blood cells and all the latest research indicates that the grape is also good for the heart and the food needed by the blood

Canary nuts such as small-sized brain. left  and right of its  Hemisphere, such as cerebrums top, and below it as cerebellums. Even wrinkling and folding in the page such as nuts,  and neo-cortex. At this time we know canary beans    help to give more than 3 dozen neurontransmitters for brain function

Red beans as a form of human kidney, red beans has a function to protect the eye and kidney function

Celery, and stem from the vegetables shaped like a bone. This special food for this is indeed the strength of bones. Bone consists of 23% sodium and this foods also consists of 23% sodium. If you are less sodium in your diet, the body will pick it up from the bone, this causes bones to become weak. This replaces the need for the required body foods for bone

Avocado, pear and fruit needed for the health of the mouth of the womb and the womb of women. Food that looks similar to the female organs. Latest research shows that if a woman eats 1 avocado a fruit sunday, will be to balance the hormones, and the mouth of the womb to prevent cancer. Avocado require 9 months to grow from a small ready to eat. There are over 14,000 chemical nutrients in each food

Fig is a fruit and nut filled depending on the number 2 when they grow  (the same as male organs). fruit Fig agility and increase  sperm mobility and also increase  the number of sperm  sterility  also to prevent the male

Olive fruit shaped like a human egg cell, and Olive nutritious fruit to increase the health and function of egg cells

Orange, lemon, and Citrus fruits are very similar with the female milk gland. And believe or not is a nutritious fruit for the health of milk and lymph gland

Such as the onion body cells. Latest research shows that onions help clear the unused material from the entire cell body. Onion can make the eyes can produce tears to wash the outside layer. Garlic, also helps eliminate material that is not useful and dangerous, such as free radicals from the body

Sweet potato, such as pancreas and have a property to balance  glycemic index for diabetics

So the only view of the vegetables nd fruits that we eat every day, we can infer what the benefits to our bodies that we can get if we consume the vegetable and fruit, and we can also see and understand that there is no creation of God that is not useful, and no human creation that can rival God’s creation as the natural owner of this highway

 

 

 

***************************

Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@... 

"We are the ones we've been waiting for."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HopeForCleanWater/   

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From: "Brad Ashwell, Florida PIRG Legislative Advocate" <action@...>


Subject: Winter Newsletter: Florida PIRG Helps Win New Food Safety Law

Winter 2011 Newsletter Florida Public Interest Research Group Citizen Advocate, Vol. 27 No. 1 From The Director friend As I talk to Florida PIRG staff and supporters, I hear a group of people who are fired up. “How can this be?” you might ask. Isn’t the country in a sour mood these days? Didn’t we just see special interest money wash over and foul our politics this past fall? Didn’t Americans just turn out many of the elected officials who support health care reform, Wall Street reform, high-speed rail and other items on our agenda? Yes, yes and yes. Yet as Justice Louis Brandeis once put it, “the highest office in a democracy is that of citizen.” And we are fortunate to be staffed and supported by a group of citizens who are ready to roll up their sleeves and do what it takes to help our country meet a wide range of challenges to our health, our safety, our democracy and our well being, as you can see in this newsletter. Thanks for being part of it. Sincerely, Brad Ashwell Florida PIRG Legislative Advocate Top Stories RECALLS PROLIFERATE—Last year, there were 56 recalls affecting food products in Florida. The voluntary recall of half a billion eggs took nearly three months. New food safety rules will allow the FDA to order recalls and protect public health. Florida PIRG Helps Win New Food Safety Law The Food Safety Modernization Act, backed by Florida PIRG and signed by President Barack Obama on Jan. 4, increases the power the Food and Drug Administration has to test food for dangerous pathogens, protect Americans from food produced overseas, or recall contaminated food from the marketplace. Florida PIRG’s Elizabeth Hitchcock and other staff met with key senators to implore them to act and improve the bill. Read more . . . Back to top Closing The Floodgates On Corporate Spending When the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow corporations and other special interests to spend more freely to influence the outcome of elections, Florida PIRG predicted the decision would open our democracy to “a raging flashflood of corporate money.” Unfortunately, we were right: Outside groups spent more than $450 million on 2010 federal races—$11 million in Florida—dwarfing all previous midterm elections. Of that, $137 million came from undisclosed donors and almost $80 million went into attack ads. While a challenge, the new Congress can and should take action to mitigate the impact of the court’s wrong-headed decision. Back to top Common Ground on Our Fiscal Future Florida PIRG worked with the National Taxpayers Union to produce a joint report—“Toward Common Ground”—that identified spending cuts that would save $600 billion by 2015. We were able to agree on 31 reforms. Among them, we recommended cutting wasteful subsidies, which would save $62 billion. This includes ending a program that gives taxpayer dollars to some of the most profitable and recognizable multi-national corporations—including McDonald’s, Nabisco and Fruit of the Loom—to run TV ads overseas. You can read the full report on our federation website. Back to top Wall Street Reform Under Attack According to the Los Angeles Times, regulators have had more than 500 meetings with industry lobbyists who want to weaken, delay or otherwise obstruct reforms. Among the lobbyists’ targets is the so-called “Volcker Rule.” The rule is designed to restrict proprietary trading, a practice that allows banks to put your deposits at risk while investing for their own profit—the kind of risky financial behavior that could trigger another economic crisis. Last fall, Florida PIRG and our allies helped mobilize more than 5,000 people to send comments to federal officials, calling on them to keep the Volcker Rule strong. Back to top News Briefs BUYER BEWARE—Jennifer came to us this fall after her 1-year-old son, Jack, nearly choked on a wooden peg from a toy train. She said, “My doctor told me that if I had not seen my son choking I would never have heard him...She told me he could have died.” To Keep Kids Safe, Try The Tube Test As American parents shopped for gifts for their infants and toddlers last holiday season, Florida PIRG researchers warned not to trust federal safety standards to keep kids safe from choking hazards. Florida PIRG advises parents to use a toilet tissue tube to test whether a part poses a choking hazard. If a piece from the toy fits through the tube, it’s too small for a young child to play with. The recommendation was announced as part of the release of our 25th annual “Trouble in Toyland” survey of hazardous toys. Back to top Insurance Exchanges: The Devil In The Details Under the new health reform law, by January 2014 small business owners and people without insurance should be able to pool their buying power and shop for the best deal through a new state health insurance exchange. However, a set of decisions made by state officials will determine how well the exchange promotes competition and holds prices in check. It’s clear which model the insurance companies would prefer, and that’s why Florida PIRG is working on your behalf to make sure we get a strong program that expands care and lowers costs. Back to top A Track Record Of Success Over the last two years, the federal government has distributed $10.4 billion in grants to construct or plan high-speed rail including incremental measures that increase the speed and reliability of existing passenger rail. In a report entitled In a report entitled “A Track Record of Success,” our researchers profiled examples of passenger high-speed rail systems that boosted local economies while reducing traffic on roads and replacing inefficient air travel. Back to top Support Florida PIRG. Contributions by people just like you make our advocacy possible. Your contribution supports a staff of organizers, attorneys, scientists and other professionals who monitor government and corporate decisions and advocate on the public’s behalf. This message was sent to hopeforcleanwater@.... If you want us to stop sending you e-mail then follow this link -- Unsubscribe -- to a web page where you can remove yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

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Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@...  "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridiansAgainstIncineratorsInDisguise/  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTaylorCountyFloridaResidents/

850 584 7087 office & fax    850 843 1574 cell  

 

 

02/15/2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***************************

Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@...  "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HopeForCleanWater/   http://grooups.yahoo.com/group/EANoF/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridiansAgainstIncineratorsInDisguise/  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTaylorCountyFloridaResidents/

850 584 7087 office & fax    850 843 1574 cell  

 

 

 

 

LOL!

 

http://www.frumforum.com/fox-geezer-syndrome#

 

 

Fox Geezer Syndrome

 

 

 *****************************************

Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@... 

"We are the ones we've been waiting for."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HopeForCleanWater/  

 http://grooups.yahoo.com/group/EANoF/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridiansAgainstIncineratorsInDisguise/  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTaylorCountyFloridaResidents/

850 584 7087 office & fax    850 843 1574 cell  

 

Agent Orange also soaked Taylor County, FL.  In the 50's and 60's, Buckeye/P&G sprayed toxic herbicides including the infamous chemical mixture known as Agent Orange on the San Pedro Bay.   In later years, the mill has spread toxic sludge containing dioxins from the pulp-making process over much of the Bay.

The Bay happens to be the water-recharge area for this part of North Florida. 

Joy

 

Thu Feb 17 2011

Toronto Star

Agent Orange “soaked” Ontario teens

by Diana Zlomislic Staff Reporter

Cancer-causing toxins used to strip the jungles of Vietnam were also employed to clear massive plots of Crown land in Northern Ontario, government documents obtained by the Toronto Star reveal.

Records from the 1950s, 60s and 70s show forestry workers, often students and junior rangers, spent weeks at a time as human markers holding red, helium-filled balloons on fishing lines while low-flying planes sprayed toxic herbicides including an infamous chemical mixture known as Agent Orange on the brush and the boys below.

“We were saturated in chemicals,” said Don Romanowich, 63, a former supervisor of an aerial spraying program in Kapuskasing, Ont., who was recently diagnosed with a slow-growing cancer that can be caused by herbicide exposure. “We were told not to drink the stuff but we had no idea.”

A Star investigation examined hundreds of boxes of forestry documents and found the provincial government began experimenting with a powerful hormone-based chemical called 2,4,5-T — the dioxin-laced component of Agent Orange — in Hearst, Ont., in 1957.

The documents, filed at the Archives of Ontario, describe how WWII-era Stearman biplanes were kitted with 140-gallon tanks containing the chemicals, which were usually diluted in a mix of fuel oil and water.

Less than 10 years later, the Department of Lands and Forests (now the Ministry of Natural Resources) authorized the use of a more potent mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T for aerial spraying. The combination of those two herbicides in equal parts comprised Agent Orange — the most widely used chemical in the Vietnam War.

Over the years, spraying was done by both the province and timber companies. Hundreds of forestry workers were involved, but the documents do not give an exact number.

After the Star presented its findings to the natural resources ministry — including copies of the government’s own records and research based on interviews with ailing forestry workers now scattered across Canada — a spokesperson said the government is investigating and has notified Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health.

“We can acknowledge that a mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T under various brand names were used in Ontario,” ministry spokesman Greg MacNeil wrote the Star in an email. Though he confirmed the use of a mixture known commonly as Agent Orange, MacNeil said the government never used a “product” called “Agent Orange.”

Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk, a world-renowned expert on Agent Orange, said the government is “throwing up a smokescreen.”

“There was no categorical brand called Agent Orange,” said Dwernychuk, who for more than 15 years conducted extensive research on the impact of toxic defoliants in Vietnam. “There was nothing coming out of any of the chemical companies in a barrel that had Agent Orange written on it. That’s laughable.

“If it’s got 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D as a mixture, it’s Agent Orange and it has dioxin — I guarantee it,” said Dwernychuk, who recently retired as chief scientist from Vancouver-based Hatfield Consultants.

Medical studies have determined the type of dioxin found in Agent Orange latches on to fat cells and can remain in the body for decades. Exposure may lead to skin disorders, liver problems, certain types of cancers and impaired immune, endocrine and reproductive functions.

Agent Orange may have been employed earlier than 1964 in Northern Ontario but the Star was told access to additional records is guarded by privacy legislation. The ministry said it does not have centralized spraying records prior to 1977 and suggested the newspaper “follow the procedures set up in the freedom of information act” to get a “complete picture of the data.”

The Star’s investigation exposes the first widespread use of these chemicals in Canada outside of a military spraying operation.

The Ministry of Natural Resources said it is working with the ministries of Health, Labour and Environment “to ensure this matter is thoroughly investigated and that worker health and safety is protected.”

The only other case on record of Agent Orange and other toxic defoliants being used en masse in Canada occurred in New Brunswick.

The U.S. military tested defoliants including Agent Orange at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in 1966 and 1967, according to a federal government inquiry that occurred 40 years later.

As of Dec. 22, 2010, the Canadian government has issued 3,137, $20,000 tax-free, compensation payments to people who lived or worked at CFB Gagetown during the years when spraying occurred and were diagnosed with of one of 12 medical conditions associated with exposure as identified by the Institute of Medicine. The federal government expects to approve thousands of additional applications for compensation before the June 30 deadline.

The U.S. military began spraying “hormone herbicides” like Agent Orange in South Vietnam in 1961.

Agent Orange was one of a rainbow of poisonous warfare chemicals that got its name from a band of colour painted on the barrels it was shipped in. The mixture itself was colourless.

“The U.S. military called it orange herbicide,” Dwernychuk said. “It was the American press that labelled it ‘Agent Orange’ because it was more sexy.”

The mixture ate through vast swaths of jungle, exposing Viet Cong strongholds.

Nearly 20,000 kilometres away in Northern Ontario, toxic herbicides were employed to disable a different kind of enemy.

The chemicals targeted what forestry reports described as “weed trees” — including birch, maple, poplar and shrubs — which stole sunlight and soil nutrients from young, profitable spruce species. The hormones in the defoliants caused the broad leaves on these weed trees to grow so quickly they starved to death.

In 1956, with the government’s blessing, Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company in Kapuskasing pioneered the aerial spraying of herbicides in Northern Ontario. The New York Times, which co-owned Spruce Falls with Kimberly-Clark and the Washington Star, printed its Sunday edition on black spruce, renowned for its tough fibres. (Tembec, a company that purchased Spruce Falls in 1991, did not respond to interview requests).

Aerial spraying programs were considered a cheap, fast and effective way to alter the landscape of Ontario’s forests for maximum profit. Timber companies and the government worked together to increase the output of money-making trees like white and black spruce while culling nearly everything else that got in their way.

In the mid-1960s, Spruce Falls held about 4 million acres of forest land under lease from the Ontario government and owned an additional 180,000 acres. The incomplete documents don’t provide a total number of acres sprayed.

After a bone marrow test confirmed he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Romanowich, who worked for Spruce Falls during the 1960s and 1970s, said his first thought was to track down former colleagues.

“My oncologist asked me about heavy exposure to herbicides before I mentioned my work at Spruce Falls,” said the retired maintenance manager who lives in the Niagara region. “There is no absolute confirmation of this type of exposure being the cause but a very strong correlation that should be taken seriously. I am fortunate in that I will now be monitored on a regular basis with CAT scans and blood tests to watch for the inevitable flare-ups that can be treated with chemotherapy.”

He wants others who worked on these spraying programs to have the same chance to receive thorough medical exams based on their exposure.

He contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources in October with no response until late last month, nearly four weeks after the Star began its own investigation.

The government records list the names of five supervisors who worked on spraying programs in Northern Ontario during the 1950s and 1960s. Four of the five have either been diagnosed with or died of cancer. Their job included mixing chemicals and standing in the fields supervising spray campaigns. Teenaged workers are also listed in the records and the Star is working to track them down.

One of them on the list, David Buchanan always wondered what was inside the 45-gallon oil drums he worked with as a 15-year-old at Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company in 1964.

“Even then, it didn’t seem right,” said Buchanan, now a 52-year-old dentist in Sackville, N.S., who has suffered from a series of illnesses doctors couldn’t diagnose. Body-covering hives. Persistent bouts of dizziness. A sperm count so low he couldn’t have children.

“I have had every test known to mankind,” he said.

“I often wondered if some of my symptoms were related to something that happened in my childhood.”

His job as a summer student was to hand-pump vats of brush-and-tree- killing chemicals into the airplane sprayer.

“We got soaked,” Buchanan said. “I can’t remember what we did with our clothes but we stayed in the bush camp during spraying for weeks on end.” He does recall wearing a black rubber apron, brown rubber gloves and rubber boots while mixing and pumping the chemicals.

One document from 1962 recommended keeping an extra supply of rubber balloons handy because “the balloons do deteriorate from the spray mixture.”

As a college student, Paul Fawcett, now 62, also worked on Spruce Falls’ aerial spraying program. He was a 21-year-old “balloon man” during the summer of 1969. His father Don worked for the ministry as a district forester in Kapuskasing.

There was no uniform, Fawcett said, just jeans and a shirt — usually long-sleeves because of mosquitoes and flies. He recalls being covered in a fine mist or droplets from the spray plane.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “We would walk from station to station with red helium-filled balloons on fishing lines and the planes would swoop down.”

He recalled researchers from University of Toronto dropping in on his camp to survey how much spray was getting to the ground.

“They had us lay down ridged, filter papers on the ground or brush while the plane sprayed. We laid them down in a row covering four or five feet.”

Fawcett, now a welder in Hamilton, said he never heard about the results of that study.

Government forestry documents refer to extensive studies that were being conducted on spraying programs at a research facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., but these reports are either missing or misfiled.

Fawcett, whose doctor recently ordered an ultrasound to look into bladder problems, said he had no idea he was working with anything toxic. Aside from the bladder issues, Fawcett said he feels fine.

“It did a good job — what we wanted it to do,” said Clifford Emblin, a former government forestry manager who oversaw chemical spraying programs. “They were using those chemicals in Vietnam, too, for defoliation. Yeah, it was the same stuff. I don’t think anybody knew about the long-term effects.”

The U.S. military stopped using Agent Orange in 1970 after a study for the National Institutes of Health showed that the dioxin-tainted 2,4,5-T caused birth defects in laboratory animals. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs now recognizes more than 50 diseases and medical conditions associated with exposure.

Emblin, a former district manager for the Hearst and Hornepayne areas during the 1960s, recalled one of his forestry employees throwing a fit after his truck got caught directly beneath a spray plane’s flight line.

“The truck got sprayed and the paint came off the truck,” Emblin said, chuckling.

Emblin said his ministry didn’t know it was using Agent Orange until “four or five years after we quit using it, I guess, in the 70s.

“We had five sawmills that were depending on the growth of the (spruce) forest in Hearst to make a living,” he said. “That’s why we were doing it. We managed the land and they paid.”

Romanowich has been diagnosed with a type of cancer common in people exposed to harmful herbicides.
Glenn Lowson/TORONTO STAR

Diana Zlomislic can be reached by email at dzlomislic@thestar. ca or by phone at 416-869-4472

http://www.thestar. com/news/ canada/article/ 940243--star- exclusive- agent-orange- soaked-ontario- teens?bn= 1


 *******************************

Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@...  "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HopeForCleanWater/   http://grooups.yahoo.com/group/EANoF/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridiansAgainstIncineratorsInDisguise/  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTaylorCountyFloridaResidents/

850 584 7087 office & fax    850 843 1574 cell  

 

Due Diligence: How to Evaluate a Renewable Energy Technology

 

 

Due Diligence: How to Evaluate a Renewable Energy Technology

Doing Due Diligence

To people who follow the energy industry closely, it’s a common occurrence to come across announcements from companies proclaiming to have developed the key to the ‘next big thing’ — for solving the world’s energy crisis. Maybe they say they can take any sort of waste biomass and turn it into fuel — ethanol, diesel, pyrolysis oil, mixed alcohols — at very low cost. Or they say they can produce renewable electricity at a price competitive with coal.

The layperson reads the news release and is curious: “Is this real?”

When I am asked to comment on a press release, I try to be cautious with my opinions until I have peeled the onion a bit. There are technologies with real potential, and just because a company hypes their technology doesn’t mean it won’t work. So my opinion on technologies that I haven’t particularly studied will tend to be general and conservative.

But let’s say you are interested in becoming a stakeholder in the process. You could be a private investor, a government entity, or you could be someone from the media who is interested in sorting out hype from reality in order to protect potential stakeholders (such as taxpayers). That requires quite a different level of investigation than rendering an opinion based on a press release, and many people don’t know where to start.

In my own experience, perhaps 90% of the stories you see promoting various technologies are at least exaggerated. So how do you separate fact from fiction and wishful thinking from reality?

Understand the Levels of Scale and the Hurdles that Come With Each Step

It is a huge challenge to take results that were achieved in a laboratory and scale those up through a pilot facility to a demonstration facility to a commercial facility. Each of those steps is a gate, and each of those gates will stop most technologies from advancing through the gate. Skipping steps — for instance jumping from the lab to a demonstration size facility — greatly lowers the probability of success while putting much more money at risk.

There are no hard and fast rules on the borders between these particular facilities; one person’s pilot facility may be another person’s demonstration facility. In general, I think of lab experiments as consisting of one aspect of a technology at scales of ounces or milliliters. Piloting moves up into scales of pounds or liters per day, and will incorporate more pieces of the puzzle into the experiments. Demonstration facilities reach the realm of barrels per day (1 barrel = 42 gallons), and are typically integrated facilities designed to demonstrate that all aspects of the technology work — in conjunction with each other — at that particular scale.

A facility producing 10 barrels a day (150,000 gallons per year) is demonstration size; one that produces 1,000 barrels a day is on the low end of commercial size. To put those numbers into perspective, the average size of a corn ethanol plant is just over 4,000 barrels per day and the average size of an oil refinery in the U.S. is 125,000 barrels per day.

Data Omitted From the Press Release: How and Who to Get it From

Before you even get to ask questions, you may be asked to sign a secrecy agreement. This is a legitimate and necessary step for companies who wish to protect against someone running off with their technology and starting a competing company, or leaking proprietary information to competitors. A secrecy agreement will give you access to information you might never obtain otherwise, and you will often find out very quickly that what companies tell you privately is different from their press releases. On the other hand many companies that are out promoting their technology and trying to get funds will answer many questions before asking for a secrecy agreement — and ideally you want to learn as much as you can before signing an agreement.

Of course if you are a reporter doing an investigative story, you will never sign a secrecy agreement. You are just going to have to dig a little harder to find answers to your questions. In my case, I fall into both categories. I sign secrecy agreements with companies whose technology we may be interested in developing. I do not write about those companies. The technologies I do write on are based on information I have been able to glean through some of the methods I detail below.

As you dig for information, generally the first people you will encounter are those promoting the technology. They will probably be careful and very optimistic with the information they provide. What you really want to do is ultimately talk to an operator or technician who is involved in the day-to-day operation of the process. They will be the ones to tell you about potentially significant issues.

First Questions

The first question to ask is “At what scale has this process been demonstrated?” But that’s just a start, because you will get misleading answers and people will withhold information. They may not tell you that they only simulated some parts of the process. For instance, a biomass gasifier produces synthesis gas (syngas), but there can be problems with the gas quality because of tar formation. If a simulated syngas is used in lab or piloting experiments (e.g., bottled hydrogen and carbon monoxide were mixed together to produce the syngas), that tar issue can be conveniently ignored in the lab and yet be a show-stopper for a commercial plant.

So you have to dig into the details. You want to know the scale of the process that has been demonstrated, but then you also want to know how many consecutive hours it has been run, and you want to know the source of the raw materials and the composition of the final product. Ask about the nature of byproducts and waste products as well. Product quality and waste disposal are both issues that have bankrupted companies attempting to commercialize a process.

Know the Limits of Computer Modeling

Next you have to ask about the assumptions that they are using to model a commercial plant. What is the scale-up factor between what they actually demonstrated and what a commercial plant will be? What are the production volumes in each case? How were the costs estimated for construction of a commercial plant? Have they attempted to skip steps in the scale-up process (e.g., going from lab or small pilot to small commercial scale)? If they are running at lab or small pilot scale and projecting their production costs for a commercial plant, I generally never take those number seriously. There are just too many hurdles between the lab and commercial scale. Small lab scale problems often become much bigger problems at demonstration scale.

You want to clearly distinguish between how much of the process has actually been proven and how much has been simulated with computer models. I saw a recent question posed by a renewable energy developer: Isn’t it true that you can prove a technology through modeling? The answer to that question is ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, the reverse is true: You prove a model by actually demonstrating that the process gives results consistent with the model. But some people will present model results as if they represent reality. Models are merely guides; a model won’t tell you whether a process will work or not. It will give you some guidance, but ultimately you have to take the results from the model and actually run the process. That is how you prove a technology (and validate a computer model).

Biomass Feedstock, Economic Assumptions, and Energy Requirements

You need to ask about the presumed source and cost of the biomass that will be used. As I identified in Bad Assumptions, I believe the assumption of a long-term supply of cheap, free, or even negatively-priced biomass is one of the most unrealistic assumptions companies make, and yet the assumption that commonly results in those claims of $1 or $2/gallon biofuel.

So I want to know what the economics look like if the biomass costs are similar to the cost of hay. I want them to tell me about their costs if the biomass is $100 per ton (and I expect elusive or misleading answers). It is true that there is a lot of wood in the U.S. that has been killed by the pine bark beetle, but it still costs money to process those trees and move them to a facility for conversion into fuel.

The energy requirement for the process is a very important issue, but one that is not generally easy to dissect. But you want to know the types of energy used in the process, as well as the energy balance for the process (the energy of the fuel out over the energy it took to produce it). People will omit all sorts of energy inputs when stating an energy balance. The will assume that they will burn waste biomass in the commercial plant and thus assume low external energy inputs. They won’t count the energy that it takes to grow and transport biomass, and they won’t count the energy inputs to move the fuel to the customer. When you see someone claim an energy return of five or ten to one for a renewable process, those are often the kinds of assumptions they are making. (While it is true that the the economics of using coal as a primary energy input for making fuels may be attractive, such a process can’t rightly be labeled renewable).

Competitors and Former Employees Can Be a Source of Valuable Info

I also want to know about predecessors and competitors. Very little is invented from scratch; almost everyone builds off of previous work. So who came before and did similar work? Who is doing similar work now? How is their work better than that of others? Then you ask the same questions of competitors. This is a very effective tool for sniffing out problems. Competitors are always happy to tell you what is wrong with the other company’s process. On the other hand, many will insist that they are so unique they have no competitors. Don’t fall for that.

Talk to former employees. If there are skeletons in the closet, they may tell you where to look (especially if they are disgruntled). The difficulty here is that they may not be willing to go on the record, but they can provide leads. For instance, an employee will likely be bound by a confidentiality agreement, but that doesn’t prevent them from pointing you to a specific bit of information in a patent that doesn’t mesh with the company’s public claims.

Bring up the company in casual conversation and see where it leads. I did this on a recent trip, where a manager relayed to me that many years ago he had worked for a company that was claiming a breakthrough in turning natural gas to gasoline. I mentioned this process, and he said “Yes, it works but the gasoline has a very high aromatic content.” That was the first time I heard that particular revelation, and yet many countries have very low aromatic allowances for their gasoline. Hence, this was a potential show-stopper, or in any case a good bit of information to have as I continued to investigate the company.

Read Between the Lines and Use Common Sense

Claims like “Ideally suited for landfill waste” sometimes mean “Our economics only work if we are getting paid to take the biomass.” A statement like “Perfect for co-locating with a power plant” can mean “We need cheap steam.”

There will often be specific technical claims that may be outside of your particular area of expertise. For instance, someone claims to be able to run a car on water. You may not have the technical foundation to understand why this isn’t what it claims to be, but you can find lots of information on the Internet that breaks the technical issues down. You can also consult with someone who knows the area. Sometimes you can locate a free opinion. You may see a quote from a professor who is skeptical of the process. Contact them for further information.

Beyond the technical questions, there are the obvious signs. Do the company’s claims appear to be grandiose? If yes, this is a warning sign. Most companies making grandiose claims do not deliver. Do they issue press releases for fairly trivial developments? For instance, I saw a recent press release from a company claiming that a university had validated their (seemingly inflated) claims. Yet there was no actual detailing of which claims were being validated, nor exactly what the results of the university study were. It was a press release designed to draw attention without actually conveying any useful information.

Summary

To break this down into a short “cheat sheet”, here is a summary of some important questions that you want to ask. Try to corroborate answers by talking to employees or competitors.

1. At what scale has the process been actually demonstrated?
2. Is the process currently running?
3. What is the source of raw materials for the process?
4. What is being done with the product?
5. What are the primary energy inputs into the process, and what is the energy balance?
6. Will there be intermediate scale-up steps before a commercial facility is built?
7. What are the key assumptions for a commercial facility (e.g., size, cost of production, location)?
8. What is the presumed source and cost of biomass for a commercial facility?
9. Has the technology been proven on that specific biomass?
10. What prior work is most similar to yours, and who are your perceived competitors?

If you manage to get honest answers to those questions, you will be well on your way to burrowing through the hype to understand the true potential of a process.

 

 

 

 

 **************************

Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@... 

"We are the ones we've been waiting for."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HopeForCleanWater/  

 http://grooups.yahoo.com/group/EANoF/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridiansAgainstIncineratorsInDisguise/  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTaylorCountyFloridaResidents/

850 584 7087 office & fax    850 843 1574 cell  

 

From: "Jon Bleyer, Progress Florida" <info@...>
Subject: Progress Florida Daily Clips 3-1-11

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS The Fix's best state-based political Tweeters By Chris Cillizza Washington Post Note: The Washington Post’s American politics reporter has named Progress Florida one of the “best state-based political Tweeters”. Follow us on Twitter at @ProgressFlorida. Florida citizens gear up to "Awake the State" March 8th (audio story) By Lisa Marzilli WMNF Community Radio Tampa Excerpt: Today on the Last Call we spoke with members of two organizations who are spearheading the Awake the State call to action scheduled for March 8, the opening day of the new legislative session. Mark Ferrulo is Executive Director of Progress Florida and Susannah Randolph heads the group Florida Watch Action. Personhood Florida leader: Many opponents have ‘participated in taking their own child’s life’ By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent Excerpt: Big-name pro-choice groups like Planned Parenthood and Progress Florida have come out harshly against the personhood initiative, calling it a product of “radical anti-choice extremists.” FEATURED STORIES Lawmakers take aim at unions By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News In a move that could bring Wisconsin-style protests to Florida, four Republican legislators are sponsoring bills that would effectively wipe out collective bargaining for government employees. Gov. Rick Scott's Take on Education Reform is Textbook Jeb By Cynthia Barnett Florida Trend Gov. Rick Scott sees the school calendar as arbitrary, Florida's classrooms as a throwback to five decades ago and choices such as home schooling quashed by bureaucratic barriers. Budget cuts likey to kill Florida environmental programs; even Everglades restoration in danger By William E. Gibson South Florida Sun-Sentinel Eager to slash taxes and restrain government spending, Gov. Rick Scott and Republican budget-cutters in Congress are seeking to chop big chunks of state and federal funding for programs designed to preserve the natural environment. Gov. Rick Scott goes to the White House and smiles By Alex Leary St. Petersburg Times Gov. Rick Scott came face-to-face with his nemesis — President Barack Obama — and what did he do? A step backward on civil rights Editorial St. Petersburg Times Just as the Florida Legislature is advised that ex-felons should get more help re-entering society to reduce recidivism and prison populations, Attorney General Pam Bondi wants to make it harder for felons to get their civil rights restored. FLORIDA POLITICS Rick Scott and Florida Inc. By Amy Keller Florida Trend Related: Interview with Florida's Gov. Rick Scott The job of governor and that of chief executive officer of a corporation are very similar, says Bob Martinez, Florida's governor from 1987-91. Florida may face showdown over early 2012 primary By William March Tampa Tribune Florida may be headed for a showdown with the Republican Party and the early primary states over the date of its 2012 presidential primary. For Senate president Haridopolos, a sweetheart book deal By Fred Grimm Miami Herald Writers with less notable achievements than Florida Legislative History and Processes must have writhed in envy. Smith finds few stars in Democratic skies By Daniel Ruth St. Petersburg Times Consider that you are Rod Smith, the newly minted chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, an unenviable task somewhat akin to being given the reins managing the careers of Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan and Amy Winehouse. Rick Kriseman Has Become the Face of Recall By Ralph De La Cruz Florida Center for Investigative Reporting On Monday, I chatted with the man who, either willingly or unwillingly, has become the face of recall. Enterprise Florida names new president at Scott's urging By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau F. Gray Swoope Jr. of the Mississippi Development Authority was hired Monday as president of Enterprise Florida, the organization announced. Gov. Rick Scott loses a reason to slow Amends 5, 6 By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times Three days after Rick Scott was sworn in as governor he set about slowing down the process by which the federal government would approve of two highly popular state constitutional amendments, 5 and 6, concerning the way lawmakers draw legislative and congressional districts. Holocaust survivors to protest Sen. Nelson’s fundraiser By Jay Weaver Miami Herald A group of Holocaust survivors, who once considered themselves friends of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, will be protesting his Miami Beach fundraiser with President Barack Obama on Friday because they say the Florida Democrat has broken a promise to them. Gov. Crist is Now Citizen Charlie By Art Levy Florida Trend Attorney John Morgan has known Charlie Crist since the early 1990s, when Crist was a state senator and Morgan would visit Tallahassee to lobby legislators about tort reform. POLITICAL RACES Voting takes place Tuesday in Florida Senate race By Patricia Mazzei Miami Herald Tuesday is Election Day in the contest to replace U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson in the Florida Senate. To win recall, Mayor Alvarez may need to appeal to new groups By Patricia Mazzei Miami Herald When he was first elected mayor in 2004, Carlos Alvarez was the darling of suburban Hispanics who saw him as a reformer who would clean up corruption in Miami-Dade County. Tampa voters go to the polls today By Christian M. Wade Tampa Tribune Today, Tampa voters go to the polls to choose a new mayor and seven city council members from a crowded field of candidates. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY EPA's new Florida rules roil D.C. By Fred Hiers Gainesville Sun The fight over the federal Environmental Protection Agency's new water pollutant rules for Florida could soon be decided in Washington. Poll: Voters don't like Scott's proposed cut to Everglades funding By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times The Everglades Foundation today released parts of their Terrance Group poll of 607 likely voters on Feb. 13-14. Utility-backed renewable energy legislation returns in the Senate By Travis Pillow Florida Independent State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, has introduced a bill similar to a measure that passed the House last year but died in the Senate, which would have allowed private utilities to charge customers for renewable power. Judge asked to dismiss oil spill claims Associated Press Tampa Tribune BP and other companies sued over the massive Gulf oil spill are asking a federal judge to dismiss many of the claims filed by businesses and people who say they have been harmed by the disaster.  EDUCATION Lawmakers fast-track new teacher merit pay bill By Leslie Postal Orlando Sentinel Florida's first attempt at a statewide teacher merit-pay law was torpedoed last year by a veto from then-Gov. Charlie Crist. Teachers blast budget cuts By Carmen Paige Pensacola News Journal Waving red flags, hundreds of teachers, educational support personnel and residents from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties vowed Monday night to fight off attacks on education. Bright Futures scholarship program faces $100 million funding cut By Scott Travis South Florida Sun-Sentinel Florida's popular Bright Futures scholarship program may suffer big cuts at the same time students are facing rapidly rising tuition at state universities. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Legislative analysts declare Florida's pension fund fiscally sound By Mary Ellen Klas Miami Herald Florida's pension fund is "better funded, incurs lower investment fees and...investment returns are average" compared to other states, according to a new report from the Legislature's policy assessment arm, OPPAGA. Gov. Rick Scott reaches too far to compare state pension problems with Social Security's By Aaron Sharockman St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact Give him credit: Though Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants to eliminate 10 percent of the state work force over two years, and make those who remain pay more toward their retirement and health care, the new governor is at least taking the time in his first few months in office to meet with state employees and answer their questions. Pension reform: Does Florida law give police, firefighters excessive benefits? By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster and Aaron Hale Naples Daily News Local governments across the state have spent the better part of the past five years trying to balance their budgets without increasing taxes. Florida gas prices rise 23 cents per gallon By Anthony Cormier Sarasota Herald-Tribune It was not all that long ago that it cost Traci Furlow $25, at most, to fill up her Oldsmobile. HEALTH AND SENIORS Who advises Florida Gov. Rick Scott on health policy? By Stacey Singer Palm Beach Post His name is Michael F. Cannon, and he’s an economist who works for the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank that was co-founded by Koch Industries’ scion Charles Koch in 1977. State workers don’t see cuts coming By Brittany Davis Health News Florida Gov. Rick Scott has proposed a deep cut in state workers' health benefits -- $7,000 a year for the most popular family plan -- but most state workers seem unaware of it. Fasano camp to Scott on Drug Monitoring Program repeal: You got a better plan? By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has grown increasingly vocal about his opposition to Gov. Rick Scott’s recommendation that the state legislature repeal Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Buchanan, sheriffs push Scott for drug database By Dale White Sarasota Herald-Tribune After hurting his back working out and getting prescription painkillers from an acquaintance, Tyler Quigley battled addiction until it contributed to his death at age 19. Obama admin defends health care reform in court By Larry O’Dell Associated Press President Barack Obama's administration said in court papers Monday that a federal judge in Virginia erred in striking down the centerpiece of its health care reform law. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Suit alleges former Dozier school abused three boys Ben Montgomery St. Petersburg Times They changed the name, pushed out the superintendent, reduced the population of young prisoners, retrained the staff and fired employees caught sleeping on the job. Alternative immigration ‘compacts’ crop up nationwide, and in Sarasota By Marcos Restrepo Florida Independent Last week, as several immigration-enforcement bills made their way through state legislatures, alternative bills and state compacts were proposed to deal with problems related to immigration. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS State senator to cops: Clean up the way you do police lineups By Rene Stutzman Orlando Sentinel State Sen. Joe Negron is on the Innocence Commission of Florida, a panel working to make sure more innocent people are not sent to prison, but the board is not moving fast enough or aggressively enough for him.

Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@...  "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HopeForCleanWater/   http://grooups.yahoo.com/group/EANoF/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridiansAgainstIncineratorsInDisguise/  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTaylorCountyFloridaResidents/

850 584 7087 office & fax    850 843 1574 cell  

Edge of the Future

Back to Opinion

Pathological Profits Make for a Disposable Planet

Michael Parenti

February 28th 2011

 

 

 

 

***************************

Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@...  "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HopeForCleanWater/   http://grooups.yahoo.com/group/EANoF/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridiansAgainstIncineratorsInDisguise/  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTaylorCountyFloridaResidents/

850 584 7087 office & fax    850 843 1574 cell  

 

 

Lawmakers help muddy the waters around us



By CARL HIAASEN

chiaasen@...

A few years ago, residents along the eastern St. Lucie River watched
in disgust as the waterway turned green with a foul slime that
wouldn’t go away.

Health officials warned people to stay away from the river. Birds and
fish got sick. Property values dived to new lows, while politicians
holding jarfuls of crud grimaced for the TV cameras and vowed to take
action.

The mystery ooze was caused by nutrients dumped into Lake Okeechobee
from farms, groves and ranchlands, churned by hurricanes and then
pumped out by state water managers at the rate of 26,000 gallons per
second.

It was a suffocating act of pollution that could easily happen again,
because the polluters still steer water policy, and the politicians.

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, a Republican from Tequesta, recently tacked a
rider on the federal budget package that would prohibit the
Environmental Protection Agency from enacting tighter restrictions on
the amount of phosphorous and nitrogen that may be flushed into
Florida’s public waters.

The EPA rules, devised in conjunction with the state’s Department of
Environmental Protection, have been the subject of several public
hearings. Public comments were 10-to-1 in favor of the regulations.

Critics say compliance would be too expensive for farms, small
business and public utilities. State agriculture officials estimated a
potential loss of 14,000 jobs, a sky-is-falling prediction that will
never come to pass.

Rooney’s lead role in trying to block the pollution guidelines is
interesting because he supposedly represents all those folks along the
St. Lucie who got slimed back in 2005.

In a lame oped column defending his position, the congressman wrote
that the new EPA rules “could cost our state’s economy about $2
billion, and would double the average family’s water bill.”

It’s a preposterous statement, pure fiction, but the aim isn’t to
inform people. The aim is to scare them. The script (and dire
predictions) come from lobbyists for Big Agriculture, municipalities
and corporate interests who freely use Florida’s lakes, bays and
rivers as a latrine.

Rooney doesn’t use the word “polluters.” He calls them “job creators.”

In the coming days, Sen. Marco Rubio is expected to amend the Senate
budget resolution with a similar rider that would bar the EPA from
imposing the new water regulations in Florida. Whether the measure
survives or not remains to be seen.

The main objection to the rules is, naturally, that they’re too
strict. The revised limits on phosphorus and nitrogen — which are
found in sewage, fertilizer runoff and animal manure — were set after
state and federal scientists took about 13,000 water samples at 2,200
locations.

Rooney and others have been pressing for a third-party scientific
review of the approved levels, but environmental groups say the data
is clear and that the time for delay is over.

Toxic algae blooms from nutrient pollution have endangered public
beaches, waterways and drinking supplies. Last summer it was a
100-mile stretch of the St. Johns River that turned bright green, at
an untold cost to the boating and sportfishing industries.

In recent years, poisoned runoff has also been blamed for caustic red
tide outbreaks that have killed thousands of fish and sent tourists
packing (and coughing) along Florida’s southwest coast.

It’s an absolute fact that some farms and ranches will have to spend
serious money to clean up their act. It’s also an absolute fact that
new pollution rules are essential for Florida’s economic future.

In a state that relies so heavily on tourism and outdoor recreation,
dirty water is major job killer. This was painfully evident throughout
the Panhandle after the BP oil spill, but memories are very short in
Washington.

While some agricultural operations in Florida have taken important
steps to reduce harmful runoff, others haven’t. More destructive algae
blooms are a certainty.

And nothing says “Welcome to Florida!” like aerial video of a
scum-filled river or a beach plastered with rotting fish.

Meanwhile, Rooney says he’s a friend of the environment and a big fan
of clean water. He says he favors a “reasonable compromise” on
nutrient pollution, which would be fine if the concept of “reasonable”
was based on science and not big-money politics.

Rooney doesn’t sound much like a serious compromiser when he blasts
the EPA for acting “tyrannically and dictatorially.” For the record,
the modern Clean Water Act has been on the books since he was in
diapers.

Before anything else happens, the congressman wants the feds to
calculate the potential impact of new pollution rules on the
polluters.

If only he was as concerned about the impact of future slime torrents
on the folks who live along the St. Lucie.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/05/2100212/lawmakers-help-muddy-the-waters.html#ixzz1FpnwoQYu

 

From: AboveTheFold AboveTheFold@...
Sent: Sat, March 12, 2011 9:25:30 AM
Subject: Links to articles in today's press about environmental health

Above the fold. News aggregated by www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org	Don't miss the link to today's good news Read today's editorials
Daily links to top stories in the news about environmental health. Explosion rocks Japan nuclear plant after quake. An explosion at a nuclear power plant in northern Japan on Saturday blew the roof off one building, brought down walls and caused a radiation leak of unspecified proportions, Japanese officials said, after Friday’s huge earthquake caused critical failures in the plant’s cooling system. New York Times [Registration Required] http://nyti.ms/i8TD4k Japan nuclear reactor may be in meltdown. Japanese authorities said Saturday afternoon that a nuclear reactor about 150 miles north of Tokyo may be experiencing a meltdown after Friday's massive earthquake damaged its cooling systems. The government is evacuating 20,000 people near troubled facilities, as vapor Is vented to ease pressure. Wall Street Journal [Subscription Required] http://on.wsj.com/gkR3Pt Sirens, evacuations on a frenzied Friday. Tsunami surges heavily damaged Crescent City Harbor and swept a man to his death at the mouth of the Klamath River on Friday. Though no damage was reported in downtown Crescent City, which was devastated by a tsunami in 1964, the harbor was battered and numerous fishing boats were damaged. Crescent City Daily Triplicate, California. http://bit.ly/f6RU8S Japan earthquake may push oil prices higher. The 8.9-magnitude temblor forced the shutdown of a number of Japan's oil refining facilities as well as some of its nuclear power plants. The loss of substantial refining capacity in the world's third-largest economy is likely to inject more volatility into gasoline prices — raising the risk of even higher pump prices for American motorists. Los Angeles Times, California. [Registration Required] http://lat.ms/dFZgpI Maryland Health Department investigating destruction of lead paint records. The state's health secretary said Friday that his department's laboratory has destroyed test results dating back to the 1980s documenting lead poisoning of Maryland children — potentially thousands of records that are crucial to lawsuits seeking damages on behalf of poisoned children. Baltimore Sun, Maryland. http://bit.ly/hAVByb Chemical review. Forty-five million different chemicals are commercially available around the world — and many of these chemicals go untested. Patricia Hunt from Washington State University has called for more stringent review of chemicals. Her letter to the journal Science was co-signed by scientific societies representing 40,000 researchers and clinicians. Living On Earth http://bit.ly/hIOtlY Powerful toxin found in dead sardines. Sardines that suffocated and died en masse this week in King Harbor have tested positive for a powerful neurotoxin that scientists believe  may have distressed 1 million or more fish off the Los Angeles coastline and caused them to swim chaotically into the Redondo Beach marina. Los Angeles Times, California. [Registration Required] http://lat.ms/h0ekid Secondhand smoke linked to diabetes. Cigarette smoke is tied to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, both for smokers and the people around them, a new study shows. And the more secondhand smoke people are exposed to, the greater their risk of type 2 diabetes, according to the paper in Diabetes Care. Reuters http://reut.rs/ebU4Ir London gets extra time to clean up air. Europe has given Britain three more months to meet air quality standards in London or face huge fines, on the condition that the capital steps up measures to tackle pollution. The European Commission said it was giving the UK until June 11 to meet limits on the amount of airborne PM10 particles in the atmosphere or face legal action. Agence France-Presse http://yhoo.it/i90jCx EPA: Abandoned California mercury mine a toxic hazard. An abandoned mercury mine that for decades has sent polluted, orange waste into a creek that eventually feeds into San Francisco Bay is a threat to human health and should be added to a list of the nation's worst polluted places, federal environmental regulators say. Associated Press http://yhoo.it/hcYohB Passive smoking increases stillbirth risk, says study. Fathers-to-be should stop smoking to protect their unborn child from the risk of stillbirth or birth defects, scientists say. University of Nottingham researchers found that pregnant women exposed to smoke at work or home increased their risk of stillbirth by 23% and of having a baby with defects by 13%. BBC http://bbc.in/hVe8yK Betting on green. Vinod Khosla has a different plan to save the planet. He is investing over $1 billion of his clients’ money in “black swans”—ideas with the potential for sudden jumps in technology that promise huge environmental benefits, easy scalability and rapid payback. The catch? Mr Khosla expects nine out of ten of his investments to fail. Economist http://econ.st/ftNV6j Law on light bulb efficiency angers conservatives. American protests against the encroachment of government have been spurred by many causes — tea, of course, and guns, frequently. The latest catalyst: light bulbs. New York Times [Registration Required] http://nyti.ms/gyBoF9 Democrats cry foul over GOP's attempts to tie fuel prices to EPA. House Republicans' move to join the two most politically volatile threads in the Washington, D.C., energy debate -- gas prices and U.S. EPA rules -- sparked Democratic charges of deception yesterday and silence so far from the Obama administration. Greenwire http://nyti.ms/gPwgo3 'Text - don't call,' Government tells mobile users for first time. Mobile phone users have been advised by the Government for the first time to text or use hands free kits rather than make calls. The Department of Health said this would reduce the user's exposure to reduce radiation emitted by the devices. London Daily Mail, United Kingdom. http://bit.ly/eAjiab Water board to begin preparation of civil penalties for PG&E's expanding plume. The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board this week asked staff to prepare appropriate civil penalties against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for its failure to control the spread of the chromium 6 plume in Hinkley. San Bernardino County Sun, California. http://bit.ly/hrmjjt Inside story: How illuminating. Scientists have uncovered the biochemical mechanisms used by living organisms to produce light, known as bioluminescence. They are putting those tricks to a dazzling range of uses, including the detection of viruses and pollution. Economist http://econ.st/dQwK5w Urban homesteaders find ideal ground in Altadena. Neighbors swap produce, honey, eggs and much more in Altadena. This isn't just growing your own, a few clay pots on a condo balcony, say, or a tomato patch next to the rose bed. It's full-on urban homesteading. Los Angeles Times, California. [Registration Required] http://lat.ms/exNuu5 More news from today •>130 more stories, including: •Finding lost frogs •Climate: Producing organic photovoltaics; Polar ice loss accelerating; Climate to devastate wildlife; Aviation's contribution to global warming; China to build 60 reactors over next decade; Europe's climate policy •Consumer product safety database goes online •Much more about Japanese earthquake •Stories from UK, Japan, China, India, Australia, Brazil, Canada •US stories from VT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, WV, NC, SC, FL, MN, IL, KY, LA, TX, MT, AZ, WA, OR, CA, AK •Editorials: Earthquake insurance, 400 dead kids; Gas prices and sane energy policy Shortcuts to stories from today about The good news, Avian flu, Katrina, Climate, Children's health, Air pollution, Cancer, Reproductive disorders, Endocrine disruption, Birth defects, Learning and developmental disabilities, Immune disorders, Environmental justice, Superfund, Water treatment/sewage, Food safety, Integrity of science, Green chemistry. You can also read last weekend's news. Plus: If you were on vacation last week, don't miss last week's top stories... Would you like to display the news stories from EnvironmentalHealthNews.org on your own web site? Check out our RSS feeds. Compiled by Environmental Health Sciences 421 Park Street, Suite 4 Charlottesville, VA USA 22902 www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org feedback@... Having problems viewing this e-mail? View the newsletter online. To ensure delivery to your inbox, please add AboveTheFold@... to your address book. If you received this email from a friend and would like to start receiving our newsletter yourself you may subscribe here. This message was originally sent to hopeforcleanwater@.... You are receiving this e-mail because you have subscribed to receive AboveTheFold. To end your subscription unsubscribe here.

Is the Tree Burning BioMass Plant a "done deal," as the Gainesville Sun suggests?

No, not by a long shot.

Please review and pass along this important information.

Attached:


Gainesville's Bridge --  Ad Layout EDIT D.pdf

 

Gainesville’s "Bridge to Nowhere"

Is the Tree-burning BioMass Plant a "done deal,"

as the Gainesville Sun suggests?

Ten years is too long a time to be tying up a

huge amount of Rate Payer dollars in an

investment that GRU simply doesn't need.

Just ask any freshman business major.

No, not by a long shot.

What we are doing now is moving beyond the

tightly restricted legal challenges of 2010.

We need to bring this issue home to

the Gainesville City Commission.

It is Gainesville’s "Bridge to Nowhere."

The Secret Contract requires us to buy

all the power the plant produces,

no matter if we need it or not.

The price and supply of fuel is uncertain.

The City Commission’s plan is to sell

this expensive excess power elsewhere.

But who’s going to buy it?

There is excess power capacity all over Florida.

Projects are being cancelled or delayed

because electrical usage is down.

And GRU still doesn't have

a single sales contract, a single buyer.

The clock is ticking.

Every one of the administrative cases has been

hamstrung by the governing tribunal's caveat,

that the cost of financing the project, the

cost to the city's Rate Payers, was off-limits.

Time and again, these limited administrative appeals

ruled out evidence that this project

will bankrupt our city.

With all of these bureaucratic decisions from Florida’s

"Permit Approval" machinery out of the way, we can

at last turn back to the central driving issue:

The Sun reported that a biomass company spokesman

promised they will soon reveal the actual contents of

the Secret Contract for the Tree-burning Plant.

It's about time. Therein lie the answers.

The crucial issue on the BioMass Plant

has always been the huge Financial Risk,

a risk that will be borne by the Rate Payers.

Now is the time to extricate ourselves,

before real money goes down the rat-hole.

The potential cost of extrication from

the Contract may turn out to be lower

than the costs if we go forward

with this disastrous Contract –

– a bankrupted city, high utility bills,

road damage, truck traffic, air pollution,

massive water withdrawals from the

aquifer, depleted forests, sickened citizens.

Will the exorbitant cost (over $2 Billion in local dollars)

of this unneeded plant be passed on to Gainesville’s

Rate Payers, regardless that the power is not needed,

not needed for at least 10 years after the plant is built?

Any business proceeding with that model is doomed.

You don't put all that money into something

that you won't need for ten years.

Yet GRU and the City Commissioners are doing just that,

throwing away our Rate Payer money.

It is time to bring the question home.

Out of the realm of the lofty and indifferent

administrative courts, down to our

lofty and indifferent City Commissioners.

They loudly proclaim their standard excuse, that

"these Projects take time, you gotta start early."

The Plant takes only 3 years to build.

How can we get out of this, and what's it going to cost?

Citizens Opposed to BioBurners PO Box 23709 Gainesville FL 32602 (352) 215-9099

 

*************************

Joy Towles Ezell   hopeforcleanwater@...  "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HopeForCleanWater/   http://grooups.yahoo.com/group/EANoF/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridiansAgainstIncineratorsInDisguise/  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTaylorCountyFloridaResidents/

850 584 7087 office & fax    850 843 1574 cell  

 

 

 

State, national Audubons distance themselves from group named in golf-in-state-park bill

 

Some Florida lawmakers have proposed building golf courses in state parks in an effort to create a legacy for Floridian and golf legend Jack Nicklaus, now a golf course designer. It’s been called “the worst idea in history” and the “Worst. Idea. Ever.” #

The bill notes in its clauses explaining the plan that “Nicklaus and Nicklaus Design have a long history of environmental stewardship, with 40 Nicklaus-designed golf courses certified by Audubon International,” and that “Jack Nicklaus was the recipient of the prestigious John James Audubon Special Recognition Award for his environmentally friendly golf course designs.” #

The name “Audubon International” may evoke the National Audubon Society, the conservation group, or its state affiliate, Audubon of Florida (which would lend the project a green veneer), but Audubon International is not affiliated with those groups. A statement from the national group says that Audubon International is supported in part by the United States Golf Association and certifies golf courses as “cooperative sanctuaries.” #

“Audubon does not certify golf courses, or any other development, as being environmentally sound,” the statement says. “Indeed, Audubon very often opposes such development.” #

Here’s the full statement from the national group: #

The National Audubon Society (Audubon) was founded in 1905 for the purpose of conserving and restoring natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife, and their habitats. Audubon is supported by over 400,000 members with state offices, programs, and 500 chapters across the country. #

Audubon receives many calls and letters from people who have confused Audubon with a different organization calling itself Audubon International. Since its inception in 1991, Audubon International, funded in part by the United States Golf Association, has been certifying golf courses that pay an annual membership fee as Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries.  Similar fee-based certifications are available from Audubon International to developers of cemeteries, municipal parks, campgrounds, resorts, stores, industrial facilities, marinas, residential communities and preparatory schools. #

Audubon is not associated with Audubon International in any way.  Audubon does not certify golf courses, or any other development, as being environmentally sound.  Indeed, Audubon very often opposes such development.  Furthermore, Audubon sanctuaries are protected natural spaces for public enjoyment.  No Audubon sanctuary is certified for development. #

We ask your cooperation and care in distinguishing between Audubon and Audubon International, and in clarifying that these various certification programs are not endorsed or supported by Audubon. #

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