Carbonwood Project | Central America
The Carbonwood Project practices “transformational agriculture” by acquiring marginal unproductive land, planting, managing and harvesting non-food source biomass to produce biofuels.
They will plant, manage and harvest a diverse mix of Millettia pinnata, Jatropha curcas, hybrid Paulownia, and Moringa oleifera trees as a socially responsible, transformational tree plantation in the Central America.
The Carbonwood project represents a “farms to fuel” production chain employing a decentralized cost-effective modular biofuel plant model.
Additionally the trees will be useful to remediate heavy toxins from the soil and groundwater and as an erosion control solution on large scale construction projects.
These specefic breeds of trees were selected based on their abilities to:
1.) Grow on marginal afforestation lands;
2.) The trees ability to sequester substantial amounts of CO2;
3.) Representing a non-food source biomass for biofuel production
4.) Been tested, proven, and approved by international agencies for large-scale exportation and can be found on every continent in the world.
The Carbonwood Plantation creates environmental and economic value through:
* Registered Carbon Credits;
* Global afforestation / reforestation / erosion control projects;
* Phytoremediation of contaminated soils and groundwater;
* Non-food-source biomass to biofuel generation;
*Commercial hardwood lumber production;
So go check this great project out at their website.
Its finally here, the 111-horsepower electric-drive motor with 147 pound-feet of torque and its 24 kWh, all so that it can provide the estimated range of “more than 80 miles” on the 15-inch Firehawk GT low-rolling resistance tires. Fiat says that city driving “typically” yields “greater than 100 miles.” The rating is an “estimated 116 miles per gallon” and charging time on a 240-volt outlet is less than four hours. Now they will tour the world to show it off…
Hot on the heels of the launch of the new Fiat 500e all-electric car, Fiat are going on a worldwide VIP event tour to showcase the Italian brand’s commitment to protecting the environment.
In recent years, Fiat have been recognised for producing cars with the lowest level of CO2 emissions in Europe and Fiat S.p.A. has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability indexes (both world and European) for the past four years in a row.
It is hoped that the “Into the Green” VIP event tour will build awareness of the Fiat group’s dedication to environmental advances in automotive technology. The touring event will showcase the Fiat brand at a number of red carpet events taking place across the globe in 2013.
“Into the Green” will promote the Fiat philosophy of environmental responsibility combined with Italian style and great design to celebrities and guests at these events. Many attendees at the events on the world tour are considered to be ‘trendsetters’ and it is hoped that their influence may encourage others to become more environmentally conscious.
The first of the “Into the Green” VIP events took place in LA at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Vehicles featured included the quirky small car, the Fiat 500 and the all-electric model, the Fiat 500e.
I’ve become very interested in projects that normal, everyday people can do that will harness the free power of the sun. This ‘solar flower’ is intriguing, and it can be built very cheaply, or even for no cost if you visit a scrap heap and rummage through your own ‘junk’. What is it used for? “Basically, generating heat. With that heat you can then run external applications such as generating electricity, smokeless cooking, heating and purifying water, making charcoal, anything that heat can be used for.”
A solar energy collector you can make easily using scrap materials.
What’s it for?
Basically, generating heat. With that heat you can then run external applications such as generating electricity, smokeless cooking, heating and purifying water, making charcoal, anything that heat can be used for.
How much does it cost?
Depends. All the materials are things you can find in a corner store or scrap heap, so it could potentially cost anywhere between nothing and, let’s say about €$£50 per device.
How much power does it produce, and how efficient is it?
One square meter of full sunlight is about one thousand Watts of power, which is the collector size for which the SolarFlower is designed (although it can probably drive something twice as large). Depending on the materials used, you can assume at least 50% thermal efficiency overall (probably higher), so that would give you 500 Watts in full sunlight. This is enough to heat 50 litres of water to 100 C in a little over 8.5 hours.
What principle do you use to track the sun non-electrically?
It’s a little complicated to express in text, I’m working on some animations at the moment which will make it clearer.
Basically there are two collector mirrors, one big one that concentrates all the energy you’re going to use to power your applications, and a smaller one attached to it which drives the tracker. When the main collector is pointing directly at the sun the focus point of the secondary collector is sitting just off the edge of a little boiler filled with a small amount of ethanol. As the sun moves off by about a degree that hot spot shifts onto the boiler, which in a minute or two starts the ethanol boiling, the vapor exits into a chamber (metal tin) attached to the boiler, and forces out some of the liquid ethanol in it. That liquid goes through a pipe and pours into the waterwheel assembly, turning it, which turns the gearing, which turns the two collectors into the sun, the hot spot shifts off the boiler, the boiling stops, the vapor in the tin starts to collapse and the resulting vacuum sucks ethanol from a reservoir below the waterwheel and refills the whole system.
It all sits there until the sun moves off again.
The small collector has about a two hour range, so if the sun goes behind a cloud or something the system can catch up to it.
What license / patent / protection is on the design?
None. This is an open source hardware project, and as such is not owned, or able to be owned by any one person or company.
Since the designs have now been published they are unable to be patented by anyone, including the original designer.
At some point the project may take on a Creative Commons or similar license, but it will be one which allows any form of use, including commercial. (In fact you are encouraged to make and sell these things, royalty free).
The only thing you are not permitted to do is stop anyone else making and using them in any way.
As pressure mounts with the upcoming election season is President Obama on track to be the worst environmental President ever? And why are more people not talking about it?
President Obama made many promises that captured the imagination of young and old liberal Americans, now some years later we see he is just a politician like all the others. He will make “pie in the sky” promises to get elected, but when its time deliver you get only excuses about how hard it is, or how his former position is somehow no longer valid. It is ok to change one’s position on an issue as new information becomes available, this is rational I will agree. But how can continuing, escalating and adding to Americas wars in any way be good? He promised to close Guantanamo Bay, immigration reform, create green jobs, take action on climate change, reform healthcare etc, etc. You could argue he has done what he can, but I do not believe that. So here are some of the bigger fails of the Obama environmental policy.
Tar Sands and Pipelines.
Recently tarsandsaction.org held a two week sit in, the White House’s response to this peaceful protest? The Park Police/ D.C SWAT team arrested 1,252 people, even a few famous ones. The Keystone XL pipeline is a danger to eco-systems from Alberta, Canada to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and even as far east as Patoka, Illinois. The Keystone XL has been and is being built in phases. Phase one is from Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Kansas then on to Patoka, Illinois, with a stop off in Wood River Il, this was 1853 miles of pipe completed in June of 2010. Phase 2 was from Steele City to Cushing Ok, another 300 miles of pipe that was completed in Feb. 2011. Proposed by 2013 is a 435 mile extension from Cushing to Port Arthur and Houston Texas, AND another 1,179 miles in a second pipeline from Hardisty to Steele City. The second pipeline is to cross the Bakken formation, to tap domestic oil in pristine lands in Montana and North Dakota, yet another amazing violation of nature for only about a one year supply of oil in the Bakken formation, and oil in the tar sands that takes 10 calories of energy to produce one calorie of oil, that’s a major energy loss.
Air Pollution
Recently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, author and scientist named Joe Romm said that allowing Presidents Bush’s proposed smog regulations to be realized would have been better than President Obama’s recent decision to eliminate regulations all together. He did so after asking the environmental organizations to drop pending lawsuits, then he did the opposite of what was promised.
Joe Romm on Countdown
Oil Drilling
Under President Obama we had the worlds largest environmental disaster in world history. Of course the Gulf of Mexico/ Deepwater Horizon oil spill was not Obama’s fault, but how he and his team handled it IS his fault. And immediately following the final plugging of this well, the President almost immediately allowed drilling permits again, even with no revision of safety and drilling procedures, AND without Haliburton going out of business for their millionth deadly mistake. And while he was at it, the President recently added exploration in Alaska, even more than President Bush had proposed.
Coal
As Appalachian communities suffer from disease, environmental devastation, excessive flooding and water contamination caused by mountaintop coal removal, the President still has not reduced coal usage, or even tried. . The President has had ample time and backing from the Environmental Protection Agency, Army corps of Engineers and the Dept. of Interior, and yet he supported scams like cap and trade and “clean coal”. First of all I think most of us know the pitfalls of cap and trade, but something that I want Americans to know is that there is no such thing as clean coal. From harvest to burn its dirty EVERY step of the way.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear power is often said to be the “clean” alternative, and though it may “burn” more cleanly than coal or oil, it produces waste that cannot be disposed of. On top of this the tsunami in Japan recently pointed out how easy it is to have an accidental meltdown as we do somewhere in the world every decade or so.
C.A.F.O. Closed Animal Feeding Operations and Factory Farms
Though seldom discussed, a lot of pollution, greenhouse gasses and water waste are in the agricultural field. I have never hear the words “factory farm” or CAFO from any Presidents mouth, let alone the “environmental President” which Obama had been labeled when he was elected.
——————————————————————————————-
These are only a few of the lies and short sighted policies that Obama has furthered and that our former leaders used to get us where we are. A lot of promises have fallen to the altar of jobs, I hope all those who want oil drilling or coal mining jobs know they are not providing for their children, but killing them. Obama is sending us up the river with no paddle, and water so polluted that the boat will soon begin to melt…we are sinking…hope you can all swim in coal sludge and nitrates.
Investment in bike paths and infrastructure will not only improve our economy, and take our country in the right direction for our future; it is precisely the kind of investment the American people want and need.
So here are a few stimulating ways to fit bikes into the future.
Rental/Free Use Program – Some cities have a bike rental or free bike program. You drop a dollar in a slot, use the bike as long as you need, and then return it to any station for your money back, similar to a shopping cart in many major grocery chains. The bikes are seldom stolen, and the program pays for itself with saved money from street repairs, traffic signals and traffic enforcement, or rental fees if it is a rental program. This type of program decreases traffic congestion and increases air quality as well.
Bike Infrastructure– Where I live there are no bicycle lanes, it is nearly impossible to get anywhere on bike. Some cities have signals and lanes just for the bicyclists, in exchange the bicyclists have to add things such as pedal powered turn signals and headlights to their bikes. The shared safety makes it better for the bike rider and the car driver and adds jobs in the implementation and support function. And again let’s not forget the reduction in street maintenance needed, less costly repairs, less often!
Bicycle Production – My bike was made overseas, it was a gift some time ago before I had the conscious I do today. But when I do get a new bike someday, I will buy an American made bike (or locally made, if you live in another country). There is a great company right here in New York called Worksman Cycles, quality is important, but so is proximity to your home, if you live in NY Worksman Cycles has both.
Transportation Sustainability Research – What if no one drove their cars for one day a year? or Two? How much pollution and congestion could we save? more research is needed for better bike designs and ideas. What about a 4 seater that can go 35 or 40 miles an hour with electric assist? Add a solar panel and four commuters with a conscience and BAM you have year round safe and clean solution!
Cottage Industry – As bicycle repairs, production and customization increase, so will the industries that fulfill those needs. Jobs are mostly created by small businesses, and what better small business than a bike shop? There is little waste and we can improve it as it grows.
So there you go, some ideas to improve the economy and think ahead.
We need to prepare our economy and way of life for a sustainable future!
Times are hard, and sometimes so is household budgeting. So here are some tips to save you money AND save the planet!
This vampire had a lot of power…over “tweens”
5) Fight “vampire power”– Vampire power is also known as standby power and phantom load. Many gadgets and appliances waste energy just by being plugged in (even if they’re switched off). According to the Energy Information Administration vampire power costs consumers up to $10 Billion a year in the United States alone! So how do you fight vampires? Here are a few suggestions: Unplug things you do not use often, such as the microwave or DVD player, if thats not really an option, go to plan B. Below are some “Smart Strip” power sources, for about $30 or $40 once, you can save possibly hundreds per year. (the average is $200 per year wasted). Here’s a good place to get an estimate with a web app at Vampire Power Sucks.
4) Recycle bottles, cans, newspapers, etc. – This seems like a no brainer, and recyling is up roughly 16% since 1990, but since that last big jump it has stayed at a pretty steady 30%. If your broke most metals will bring a small but welcome extra income.
3) Reduce your food waste/intake –The New York Times reports that the average American wastes 1400 calories of food per day! The daily caloric intake of most people should be about 2000 calories, but often we exceed this, this is especially true for men. In America alone there are over 50 million hungry people. So the math seems easy, 300 million Americans – 50 million hungry = 250 million, if each of these 250 million saves their 1400 calories of wasted food, that leaves 7000 calories per hungry person. That is so much food that we could feed parts of Mexico, which would help end the horrors taking place down there, and the illegal immigration problem would be eased as well, all by reducing food waste. So how do we do this, well first, eat less, especially meat as it is resource intensive. Second use all of what you buy, eat leftovers, shop carefully, control your food more carefully overall from store/garden to plate. And lastly eat out less, restaurants waste TONS of food, so though it may not be what consumer society would suggest, it is the better choice for the Earth, your bank account, and those who are hungry.
2) Drive less – This is a simple one, walk, take a bike, take the bus, carpool or even take a scooter. Gas is expensive, cars are tough to maintain and kill the planet, ’nuff said.
1) Grow your own food – This is habitually my number one tip! Raised beds, bay window spice garden, greenhouses or even just a “hoop house” can produce a significant amount of food and spices for your family. If you find that you cannot do this, try finding a Community Supported Agriculture club in your area, you can usually get a lot of fresh, organic food at a good price.
Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial drilling technique that injects millions of tons of highly toxic chemical fluids into the ground to break apart shale and release natural gas. Even while scientists believe these chemicals may already be poisoning America’s drinking water, the natural gas industry has unleashed a massive 34-state drilling campaign. So here are the top ten reasons why NOT to frack in New York, or anywhere.
10. The Old Paradigm
If we just drill for more fossil fuels, we are only putting off the inevitable, and destroying the environment for short-term gains and profits. We need to develop affordable and sustainable forms of energy; simply finding another finite substitute for oil will only continue the old paradigm and drill us deeper into this insane hole of unsustainability. “Clean” natural gas, during harvesting or use, is a lie!
9. Experts Say Beware
Ronald E. Bishop, Ph.D., CHO who is part of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at the State University of New York, College at Oneonta wrote:
“Over the last decade, operators in the natural gas industry have developed highly sophisticated methods and materials for the exploration and production of methane from unconventional reservoirs. In spite of the technological advances made to date, these activities pose significant chemical and biological hazards to human health and ecosystem stability.”
This is from Dr. Bishops January 2011 “draft” paper Chemical and Biological Risk Assessment for Natural Gas Extraction in New York.France is on track to ban hydraulic fracturing altogether for reasons just like these.
8. Well Pads of Destruction
When hydrofracked and drilled horizontally, wells require large, industrial pad sites, this includes new roads to each well, compressor, and any other access points (such as water). Depending on how many wellheads it will contain, a pad will need to range from 5-15 acres, and of course anything in the way gets destroyed.
7. Noise Pollution
With natural gas production wells have temporary noise pollution from drilling and fracking that will last about a month per well. After the well is set, compressor stations will be needed for every 100 or so wells in order to bring the gas pressure. Compressor stations are permanent, extremely noisy, and run day and night. Not to mention the next category, traffic.
6. Traffic
The considerable amount of trucks needed, 800 to 1500 (avg of 960) loads of water, materials, chemicals, and equipment will ruin small towns and take a huge toll on public roads. The large scale of development planned for the Marcellus, and the fact that it must be fracked, translates to dramatic increases in traffic compared to that generated by drilling conventional wells.
5. Toxic Waste
The “produced water” from the Marcellus Shale is toxic waste. “Produced Water” is the industry term to sanitize this noxious, polluted water. This is a separate category from the fracking fluids because besides the added chemicals, the water picks up hydrocarbons, heavy metals like arsenic, and radioactivity from the shale and becomes even worse than the mix that goes in. In fact a study at the University of Buffalo found hydraulic fracturing causes uranium that is naturally trapped inside Marcellus shale to be released. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, billions of gallons of waste water will be “produced” and will need to be trucked to a disposal site. The most common method of dumping will be Deep Well Injection Disposal, where the waste is forced underground at high pressure into dry gas wells. We take gas out and pump toxic, radioactive waste back in.
4. Air Pollution
Each well site emits constant and signifigant air pollution. Pollution comes from diesel generators, drill rigs, trucks and other equipment, condensate tanks and the flaring of wells. These are all significant sources of VOC’s and nitrogen oxide, which react with sunlight to form ozone. Proposed Marcellus Shale drilling in New York will be high density. In high-density drilling areas in Colorado and Wyoming, rural communities that were once pristine now have ozone levels higher than Los Angeles. Ozone can cause a range of respiratory health problems and lung disease.
3. Danger of Explosions and Spills
A fracking well in Canton, Pennsylvania exploded, spilling thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals over farms, fields and the private property of local families for about 48 hours. The chemicals even flowed into a creek that connects to the Susquehanna River. Unfortunately, because of Dick Cheney’s “Halliburton loophole” for the oil and gas industry, the corporation that runs the well, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, is under no legal obligation to pay for their mess or for the medical expenses of the people that may suffer health problems as a result.
2. Fracking Fluids
Fluid technology for shale gas recovery is mostly owned by Halliburton, you know the guys that messed up the concrete on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and helped cause one of the largest environmental disasters in the world.
Halliburton classifies the fracking fluids as proprietary, this means it’s a trade secret, so they cant be disclosed without damaging the company. Except those in Halliburton involved in fracking, nobody knows for sure what is in these chemicals. Just the ones we do know are horrible and possibly catastrophic. Samples from well blowouts and fluids pits in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico found fluids to contain diesel fuel and more than 200 different kinds of chemicals, over 95% of which have adverse side effects including brain damage, birth defects and cancer.
1. Water Usage
Fracking requires extremely large quantities of fresh water, which the world is running out of. It is feasible that son water could be just as valuable as natural gas or oil. Fracking the requires many billions of gallons of water over decades. It takes 2 to 9 MILLION gallons per frack, and each well can be fractured 4 to 10 times (avg. of 6). This water can be withdrawn from lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, ponds, and wells. Because the water becomes contaminated, it may never be returned to the watershed, rain cycle, or the water supply for some of America’s largest population centers. And there is always the chance of water contamination; Halliburton and Trans Ocean said it would not happen in the Gulf of Mexico too. Fracking is exempt from the Clean Water Act, due to the aforementioned “Halliburton loophole”
How to help:
We have been on the fracking issue a lot here lately, that is because in our state of New York there has been a temporary ban on horizontal hydrofracking pending an environmental review, that ban is about to either end, or be renewed, so the fight is going strong here. The environmental report does not come out until 2012, so the moratorium is needed until at least then, we hope forever. We are up against millions of dollars in energy company advertisements and bribes, so donations are always welcome.
But even if you have no money, please write to, President Obama, your Governor, Senators, Congresspeople, and even your state Senators and local representatives, and tell them that you aren’t willing to sacrifice Americas water supply for a scant number of temporary jobs, a tiny share of the of money, and a whole lot of hot air from the energy companies. The State Senate and Gov. Cuomo renewing the temporary ban on horizontal hydraulic fracturing in New York is a big chance to deal a gigantic blow to fracking in America, and gain enough time to put a permanent ban in place. It also shows that everyone in any state CAN win.
If you fill out this form, we will print the letter on FSC certified recycled paper and send it to Gov. Cuomo, your Senator, Congressperson, or President Obama, for you, for free.
If you live in New York State:
You may also contact the Governor’s office by phone (518) 474-8390
or mail:
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224
State Senators can be contacted here: http://www.nysenate.gov/contact_form
Please see your states website for more information outside of NY.
Grain stocks will be at the lowest levels since 2004 this year, and overall food stores are down dramatically, global warming will only worsen this problem. Food prices as a whole are up, there are nearly monthly riots overseas for food. Unemployment is up while overall purchasing power of the dollar is down. What can average citizens do to protect their families and insulate themselves from this economic downturn? Here are a few environmentally friendly ways that you can survive the economic disaster known as “The Great Depression 2”.
6. Get a Bike – Bikes are a great way to get around, and if you have saddle bags or a trailer you can haul a significant amount of goods. Travel to work, your local store, or just to your neighbors house up the road, a bike will get you there and back again with very little energy.
5. Check Your Insulation – Winter or Summer we waste a lot of energy on poorly insulated homes. Even if its a rental, a few dollars can make a huge difference in the right areas.
4. Electrical use – Cutting back is a obviously the first choice, turn off the lights, get LED light bulbs etc. When you have the money to, invest in an off-grid system consisting of wind, solar, water, or any combination of whatever you have available in your area. If you are technically savvy you can even get cheap kits to make your own solar panels or wind generators, if your not so mechanically inclined, maybe someone you know and can barter with is.
3. Learn A Craft – Basket weaving, candle making, sewing, spinning, knitting, crocheting, construction, or even woodworking. The more you can do for yourself the better, and you can trade the baskets and sweaters if you need.
2. Move in With Roommates – Even if your older, even if your have two families, moving in together and sharing expenses, labor, and resources can be beneficial and is better than both families having a lesser quality of life. Two older couples whose children have moved out could be the perfect pairing to live together. Or even two young couples who are just starting out.
1. Plant A Garden* – raised beds, bay window spice garden, greenhouses or even just a “hoop house” can produce a significant amount of food and spices for your family. If you find that you cannot do this, try finding a Community Supported Agriculture club in your area, you can usually get a lot of fresh, organic food at a good price.
*Many cities will not let you, but if you can, small livestock are also an excellent way to produce some food at home, a single goat or a few hens can give you lots of food and materials, and take little care and food. (goat hair can be spun, and they can be milked, feathers can be used in pillows and bedding, and of course eggs)
These are only a few of the ways you can keep yourself out of the consumer trap and get better quality, ethical, organic products and foods, while surviving the current economic hit that the working class is taking. Think locally, a group of people doing this in a community can easily support each other and make a resilient and diverse economy. Do not wait on the Government to fix the problem, lets roll up our sleeves, get dirty and get it done. Yes you can…do it yourself.
This is a wonderful book that 3 out of the 5 board members of Future Farming own (and other will eventually get a s a gift, but don’t tell them). Its by John Seymour, its titled Self Sufficient Life and how to live it. Check it out, its a great resource.
![clip_image001[1]](https://i1.wp.com/www.futurefarming.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/clip_image0011.gif "clip_image001[1]"){kind=small}
![clip_image001[2]](https://i0.wp.com/www.futurefarming.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/clip_image0012.gif "clip_image001[2]"){kind=small}
![clip_image001[3]](https://i2.wp.com/www.futurefarming.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/clip_image0013.gif "clip_image001[3]"){kind=small}
![clip_image001[4]](http://www.futurefarming.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/clip_image0014.gif "clip_image001[4]"){kind=small}
