General Strategies of Remediation to Pollution Problems

• identify the material or materials that are causing pollution
• identify the sources of those pollutants
• develop and implement strategies to prevent those pollutants from entering the environment
• develop and implement alternative means of meeting the need that do not produce the polluting by product

What is pollution?

Pollution may so many different things from so many sources,
contaminating the air, water, soil, that a simple definition elusive
Pollution is the human-caused addition of many material or energy(heat)
in amounts that caused undesired alteration to water,air or soil.
Pollution is rarely the result of mistreatments of the environment.
The causes of pollution are almost always the byproducts worthy and essential
activities.And the activities include producing crops, providing energy and
transportation, manufacturing products,and of our basic biological functions(excreting wastes)

Deadlines Set for $75,000 Third Annual Environmental Journalism Prize

The Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting invites entries for the third annual $75,000 Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment by media in the U.S. and Canada. Book entries must be postmarked no later than January 14, 2008. All other entries must be postmarked by February 4, 2008. Entrants will be competing for the largest journalism cash award in the world.

Entries covering environment and natural resources topics and distributed in the United States or Canada between January 1 and December 31, 2007 should be sent to the Metcalf Institute, Grantham Prize Program Administrator. The prize is open to all journalism covering significant environmental and natural resources issues, including print, broadcast, and online entries.

Metcalf Institute Executive Director and Prize Administrator Sunshine Menezes said the organization anticipates continued growth in the number of outstanding entries based on recent years of abundant environmental coverage.

"With the 2007 Grantham Prize winning series, Altered Oceans, Los Angeles Times reporters Kenneth Weiss and Usha Lee McFarling exemplified the clear, accurate, and impartial journalism that we hope to see. Given the flood of environmental coverage in 2007, we look forward to receiving entries from big and small news outlets, giving local to global perspectives on the major news of the day," she said.

The 2008 prize jurors will be chaired by Philip Meyer, a Knight Chair in Journalism Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Meyer is the author of the seminal journalism textbook, Precision Journalism, and also of the 2004 book The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age. He was on the Detroit Free Press reporting team that won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for General Reporting for its coverage of Detroit rioting in 1967.

Rounding out the highly respected team of Grantham Prize jurors are:

• David Boardman, Executive Editor of The Seattle Times, and President of the Board of Directors of Investigative Reporters and Editors;
• Peter Desbarats, a former dean of the University of Western Ontario Graduate School of Journalism in London, Ontario, a founding director of the Canadian Journalism Foundation and also the founding chair of its annual Excellence Award;
• Diane Hawkins-Cox, Senior Producer with the CNN Science and Technology Unit in Atlanta; and
• Robert B. Semple, Jr., Associate Editor of the Editorial Page for The New York Times and a 1996 Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial writing on environmental issues.

Contest rules and additional information about the Grantham Prize are available online at http://www.granthamprize.org.

The Grantham Prize is funded by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham through The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. The foundation supports natural resource conservation programs both in the United States and internationally. Jeremy Grantham is a Boston-based investment strategist and Hannelore Grantham is the Director of The Grantham Foundation.

from environmental news

Oil hits new record above $92

Oil rallied to a fresh record high above $92 a barrel on Friday as the dollar tumbled to a record low, Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran and gunmen shut more oil production in Nigeria.

Oil's bullish momentum has pulled in increasing amounts of speculative investment and waves of technical buying have been triggered as U.S. oil pierced successive lines of resistance.

At 8:46 a.m. EDT U.S. crude was up $1.14 at $91.60, off a record $92.22. It is closing in on its inflation-adjusted high of $101.70 seen over the course of April 1980, a year after the Iranian revolution and at the start of the Iran-Iraq war.

London Brent was up 93 cents at $88.41.

Institutional money has been flooding into oil and other commodities since the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates in August.

"It's more or less nobody wants to be short in this market," said Markus Mezger, who manages investment portfolios at commodities hedge fund Tiberius.

But sentiment is now overheated and the supply/demand picture is not so supportive.

"We don't find that prices are supported fundamentally above $80," Mezger said. "On the demand side, the world economy might not be in such a good shape," he said. "Supply is increasing from OPEC from November on and we think there might be a second decision to increase output again."

This might tip the balance of the global oil market into a small surplus for the fourth quarter, he said.

On Thursday the United States placed new sanctions on Iran, the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter, and accused its Revolutionary Guard of spreading weapons of mass destruction. Iran is at odds with the United Nations over its nuclear programme.

An attack on a Nigerian oil rig operated by Italian firm ENI shut 50,000 barrels per day of production and reminded investors that Africa's biggest producer is a long way from restoring order and normal output in the oil-rich delta.

WEAK DOLLAR

Unprecedented weakness in the dollar has been another factor driving prices of dollar-denominated commodities higher.

In anticipation that the U.S. Federal Reserve may cut interest rates next week, the dollar hit fresh record lows against the euro and a basket of currencies on Friday.

While U.S. oil has surged 50 percent since the start of the year, the price rise in euros lags at 38 percent.

Moves by central banks to cut interest rates and pump billions of dollars into financial markets to ease a credit crunch have added fuel to oil's rally. Since mid-August, when the Federal Reserve cut U.S. rates, oil has climbed 30 percent.

At the same time the U.S. and European asset-backed commercial paper market has shrunk by some $400 billion.

Analysts said investor positions in U.S. crude options suggested traders were betting on further rises. A wave of call, or buy, options kicked in on Thursday as U.S. oil broke $90.

"The next big layer of call open interest is sitting on the $100 a barrel strike and this will become the next target if current dynamics allow U.S. crude to rise above $95," said Olivier Jakob of Swiss-based Petromatrix.

In his view, prices are being driven by option dynamics and supported by U.S. policy towards Iran. In an edgy market bullish headlines were being over-amplified, he reasoned.

Higher prices have so far had a limited impact on economic growth and demand but investors are alert to signs the U.S. housing slump is spilling over into the broader economy.

There are some indications of a slowdown in China's demand growth, another big driver of oil's rally.

The gap between world prices and low state-set Chinese prices have pushed refiners to cut runs, leading to some diesel pumps running dry in the southwest of the country.

China's apparent oil demand grew at the slowest rate in 20 months in September, up just 0.3 percent from a year earlier.

from environmental news and reuters

Recycling

Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than if it was made from raw materials.
It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of newspaper.




1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.




1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 3 hours.
Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose.




1 recycles glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again.

China,India biofuel plans threaten water resources

The ambitious plans of India and China to ramp up biofuel production will deplete their water reserves and seriously impact their ability to meet food demands.

China and India, expected to account for nearly 70 per cent of global oil demand between now and 2030, are using cheaper biofuels derived from crops to help power their economies the International Water management said.

"But to grows biofuel crops you need to use more water and land,"a scientist at the institute and lead author of the biofuels said.

India and China which both have over 1 billion people suffer from water shortages, which will only get worse as their food demand keeps pace with a growing population. Their rising income and diversifying diets.

The 2 Asian giants are already struggling to find enough water to grow the food they need. As global crude oil prices race past US$80 a barrel, countries are increasingly relying on biofuels, which produce energy by using organic waste , wood, dung and residues from crops like sugarcane and grains.

China plans to use maize, while India wants to use sugarcane for biofuel production. Both crops relied heavily on irrigation.

China aims to increase biofuels production four-fold from 2002 level of 3.6 billion litres of bioethanol to around 15 billion litres by 2020 or 9% of the country projected gasoline demand.

India is pursuing a similarly aggressive strategy. To meet their biofuel targets India needed to produce 16% more sugarcane and China 26% extra maize.

Crop production for biofuels in China And India would likely jeopardise sustainable water use and thus affect irrigated production of food crops including cereals and vegetables which would then need to be imported in larger quantities.

Are this country-particularly India, which has devoted so much effort to achieving food security- adequately considering the trade-offs involved, especially the prospect of importing food to free up sufficient water and land for production of biofuel crops?

Water scarcity in India has prompted a controversial multibillion-dolar plan to redistribute water within the country to meet future needs.

China is implementing a costly transfer project to bring water from the water-abundant south to the water-short north leaving groundwater resources extensively over-exploited.

In both countries biofuels will add pressure on water resources that already are heavily exploited or over exploited. China and India need a fresh approach to re-look at the way they produce biofuels

The report suggests authorities develop dryland rain-fed crops such as sweet sorghum for ethanol and species such as Jatropha and Pongamia for biodiesel.

This could help reduce competition for scarce water between the crops.

New strait times paper and AFP

Huge Ash Cloud as Indonesia's Mount Soputan Erupts

Mount Soputan volcano on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sulawesi island has erupted, throwing columns of ash 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) into the air, an official said on Friday.

Saut Simatupang, of Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, said that the eruption did not appear to pose an immediate threat to residents, although ash had reached the nearest town.

"From the data that we have, it is only spraying ash without other volcanic material," he said by telephone. "It is not so dangerous but we suggest people wear a mask so they will not suffer from respiratory problems."

The nearest village to Soputan, 2,175 km (1,351 miles) northeast of the capital Jakarta, is located 11 km from its crater.

In August, Soputan also spewed ash and rocks, although Simatupang said that a few days ago the volcano was calm.

A local official said that no evacuation had been ordered.

"The eruption was weak, only sending out volcanic ash and the wind blew to the south while we are in the western part of the mountain," said Ramai Luntungan.

He said that two villages near the mountain, with 1,000 people in each, were not in danger as they were protected by the lie of the land, but that masks would be distributed.

"Based on our experiences, we will only be showered by ash, so we didn't need to evacuate."

Last week, authorities evacuated residents living within a 10-km (6-mile) zone around Mount Kelud volcano in eastern Java after warning it was liable to erupt.

The order to evacuate more than 100,000 people was made after officials declared a maximum alert at the volcano, just 90 km (55 miles) southwest of Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city.

Indonesia has the highest number of active volcanoes in any country, sitting on a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire".

from Reuters and Environmental News

Mazda prepares for "hydrogen society"

Researchers at Japanese carmaker Mazda think cars will in future run on a water component -- hydrogen.

"We have to prepare for sustainable zoom-zoom," Mazda executive Nobuhiro Hayama said on Monday.

"We have to make a link with the hydrogen society of the future."

Mazda uses the term zoom-zoom in its marketing for fun driving, or "the exhilaration and liberation that come from experiencing sheer motion."

Hayama told the Nikkei Automotive Conference in Tokyo that the advantage of hydrogen fuel was that it could be used in internal combustion engines.

There are technical problems to overcome. Hydrogen fuel cells use platinum for catalysts and supplies of platinum are limited.

A hydrogen fuel cell is efficient but Hayama said a hydrogen engine was more practical because no change was needed in the materials and manufacturing process of engines.

However, because hydrogen ignites at lower temperatures than diesel or gasoline, there is a risk of abnormal combustion. This, he said, could be solved by using rotary engines.

A hydrogen rotary engine could also use gasoline as fuel, so would need two fuel tanks, though.

Hayama said Mazda was developing the hydrogen engine with Ford, which has a controlling 34 percent stake in it.

Germany's BMW is also working on hydrogen technology.

from Reuter and E news

Much room for improvement

The 2006 Environmental Quality Report reveals the state of our environment and points to culprits behind the mess.

Hazy air

VEHICLES and power plants that generate the electricity that we use, were the main air polluters last year. Power stations emitted half of all the soot that clouded our sky, and also half of the total sulphur dioxide (a pungent gas which irritates the respiratory system and forms acid rain).

Motor vehicles, vans and lorries in particular, spewed the most oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide, gases which lead to respiratory ailments.

Klang Valley folks breathed in unhealthy air quality 7% of the time last year, and moderate air quality 70% of the time. The air was good only 23% of the time. The valley is prone to air pollution due to its geographical position, industrial and commercial activities, dense population and traffic.

Nationwide, the annual averages of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and ozone were below guidelines, but there is concern over the effects of chronic, long-term exposure. Ground level ozone is of concern as continuous exposure aggravates respiratory ailments, harms vegetation, and leads to smog. Ozone forms when oxides of nitrogen react with hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds in the presence of heat and sunlight.

Murky flows

The main river pollutants are domestic sewage, waste from livestock farms, runoffs from towns, silt from earthworks, leachate from rubbish dumps, runoffs from farms, litter from riverside squatters and mining waste

Last year, 80 river basins were deemed clean, 59 slightly polluted and seven, polluted. This is a marked improvement from 2005, when 80 river basins were clean, 51 slightly polluted and 15 polluted. The seven polluted rivers were Pinang, Juru, Buloh, Danga, Tebrau, Segget and Pasir Gudang.

Last year, domestic sewage and discharges from latex-based factories, agro-based industries and manufacturing industries, fouled 22 river basins.

Domestic sewage and livestock farming waste soiled 41 river basins while earthworks and land clearing turned 42 river basins murky.

Tainted groundwater

Arsenic levels were high in groundwater near a radioactive waste landfill, solid waste landfills, municipal water supply sources and agricultural areas. Groundwater near waste dumps was also contaminated with iron, lead, manganese, phenol and faecal bacteria.

Contaminated seas

Our marine waters showed a higher of Escherichia coli, mercury and arsenic levels last year than the year before. However, levels of suspended solids, oil and grease, copper, lead, cadmium and chromium dropped.

The faecal bacteria E. coli was the dominant pollutant in waters off 71 islands, which included resort islands, marine parks and protected islands. This is because of the discharge of raw or poorly treated domestic sewage.

Pollution by silt was the worst the coasts of Kedah, Perak and Negri Sembilan. Oil and grease pollution were mostly seen in Terengganu, Pahang and Negri Sembilan. E. coli levels were highest off the coasts of Perlis, Kedah, Negri Sembilan and Penang island.

Lead contamination was evident in Terengganu, Kelantan and Perak waters.

Toxic discards

Hazardous waste thrown out by industries more than doubled in the past two years, from 548,916 tonnes to 1,103,457 tonnes. The hike was due to the addition of electronic waste and gypsum waste (511,929 tonnes) from two generators which were previously not reported.

Gypsum, oil and hydrocarbon, dross, heavy metal sludge, mineral sludge and e-waste form the bulk of the waste. The waste had mostly come from industries dealing with chemicals, electronics, metals, pharmaceuticals, industrial gas, rubber and plastic, petroleum/oleo chemicals and batteries, as well as from automotive workshops.

from staronline

To Nature’s rescue

Malaysians from various walks of life share their ideas on saving the world.

WHAT would you do if you were in the seat of power, with clout to influence the state of our environment? What would you do if you were the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment? We posed this question to Malaysians and here are their replies:

“If I were the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, I would ...”

“... walk more and follow our drains (or should I say rivers). There is nothing like being close to the ground to understand what needs to be done. I would also increase the price of fossil fuels and tax all petroleum-based industries (which includes plastics). This tax would be channelled to a special fund to support environment programmes nationwide.” – Dr Reza Azmi, conservation planner and founder of Wild Asia

“... take the lead role to ensure basic environmentalknowledge is passed on to every child. Children must be taught basic things such as the three Rs so that it becomes second nature to them. Schools must be made environmentally-friendly. They can be places where children will learn to love our planet and be responsible for it. It is at this age that they will love animals and want to protect them. I would work with the Education Minister to develop learning tools and project-based activities to keep children interested in what this planet offers us, what are its threats and how each individual, young or old, can play a role in keeping it healthy. There would be loads more that can be done.” – Lara Ariffin, producer

“... pass the death penalty for people who poach the Sumatran rhinoceros and Malayan tiger, ensure that no more forest is converted into urban areas or agricultural land, fight for more budget to improve the environment and safeguard it from further deterioration.” – Julia Ng, programme officer, Traffic South-East Asia

“... enforce rigorously the many laws which are in place, to make a difference. A trinity of anti-pollution laws combined with environmental education and strict enforcement, will ensure that society appreciates and upkeeps a pristine environment. These laws need to control hill-cutting, illegal logging, waste dumping and throwing of plastic bags out of car windows. They must also reward recycling and reuse as efficient means to avoid energy wastage which contributes to global warming. Only when the last tree is dead will we realise that money cannot be eaten.” – Dr Richard Cropp, chemical engineer

“... I’d first and foremost send my entire staff for training on basic compassion for animals. I’d fly down experts from Animals Asia Foundation (AAF), who are respected worldwide for their outstanding work in animal rescue and education, to train all my staff on the ethical treatment of animals. And, it can’t hurt for municipal council officers to attend these classes too. I’d also protect our wildlife in our rainforest, not in zoos and tourists resorts where wildlife like the orang utan is made to cycle and perform kick-boxing. You cannot create a society mature enough to recycle and use less plastic unless you deal with their hearts first. And a healthy heart comes firstly from treating those who are helpless, like this country’s animals, with care and respect.” – Shoba Mano, animal rights activist

"... I’d start a year-long ‘Community for Clean Air and Clean Water’ campaign whereby each community, neighbourhood, village, school or Felda scheme is given cash to commit to one thing to ensure clean air and/or clean water – complete with measurable outcomes. On top of that, the community which best achieves its goals will win a prize and be used as a model to be replicated elsewhere." – Wong Siew Lyn, writer

“... push for Environmental Education to be an official part of the school curriculum – if not as a subject by itself, then as a module or section of the Science subject. It’s good to start them young. I would also keep an eye on existing green lungs and parks to make sure they don’t get bulldozed for development, and try to set up new ones, where possible. I would also review the Environmental Impact Assessment procedures to raise the bar to make sure EIA consultants are doing a proper job and developers do not start work on a project before the EIA has been officially approved. All stakeholders and other relevant parties should be notified of a project development and invited to comment on the EIA report.” – Khor Hui Min, copywriter

“... commute by bus, train and LRT once a week, to see how bad the public transportation is and how it can be improved. I would also encourage other agencies to create more car-free zones in the city and build more cycling lanes. Not only will this lessen traffic congestion, it will lead to cleaner air and less global warming.” – Dennis Quah, college student

“... provide justifications to the Economic Planning Unit, Public Services Department and Treasury to provide more staff and resources to the Conservation and Environmental Management Division. This is the main agency co-ordinating biodiversity conservation but it has only a handful of officers. Although water and air quality are important matters and deserve attention, biodiversity conservation is a much-neglected area.

“There are overlaps between the functions of the Forestry Department, and the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan). Forestry staff mainly enforce laws against illegal logging and pay little attention to poaching of wildlife and non-timber plants. Officers from both departments patrol the forest for different purposes. Therefore, resources are not optimised. I would instruct them to conduct joint patrols but, ultimately, I would merge the two, as is done in Sarawak.

“I would also work with the Housing and Local Government Ministry to ensure that every local council has environment and biodiversity officers. This will ensure that environmental considerations are integrated into planning and management at the local level, in the hope that projects that are detrimental to the environment are rejected early on. I would also meet the Mentri Besar and Chief Minister of every state so that Perhilitan is included in state planning committees. So far, it is usually not consulted when projects are discussed but is blamed when human-wildlife conflict occurs.” – Surin Suksuwan, conservationist

“... make flash floods a thing of the past. I would ensure that the Drainage and Irrigation Department enforces laws on stormwater management in urban areas, development sites and cleared lands. Very often, it is the water runoffs from these places that silt up our rivers and make them shallow, thus causing flash floods.” – Colin Dass, lawyer

“... make financial institutions play a bigger role in environmental conservation, and not just in terms of supporting green campaigns or wildlife research. Conservation concerns should be integrated into how banks operate. For instance, banks should scrutinise the environmental risks and liabilities, as well as social impact, of development projects before financing such schemes.” – Ridwan Mohamad, surveyor

“... amend the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 urgently, to embrace current needs, in light of the levels and sophistication of crimes against wildlife. It has been 35 years since this Act came into force, and amendments are long overdue. Wildlife criminals escape with minute fines compared to the contraband value of the wildlife they profit from. I would push for a new Act to address the need for greater penalties, including mandatory imprisonment, and to seal existing loopholes. It should no longer be possible for wildlife criminals to escape prosecution and punishment because of a legal inadequacy. And I would ensure that the new Act is enforced on the ground, and stretches to actual wildlife protection beyond mere paper protection.” – Loretta Ann Soosayraj, co-ordinator, Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers

“... create a comprehensive and representative protected area system for the country, by requiring all states to set aside protected areas under a single system that enables on-the-ground management, and supported by the required expertise and funding. To achieve this goal, the ministry needs to firmly place the environmental agenda within the portfolio of every public sector agency. I would put a paper to cabinet to, once and for all, set up this protected area system through a single inter-agency umbrella body, possibly under the ministry itself. I would then commit resources to making this happen within five years.” – Anthony Sebastian, president, Malaysian Nature Society

“... ensure that the ministry lives up to its role as custodian of the environment. I would apply my Five Action Plans to make the ministry more effective, responsible and accountable. First, I would review the institutional set-up of the ministry to determine the responsibilities of various departments, and decide whether solid waste management comes under my purview or that of the Housing and Local Government Minister.

Second, I would review the capabilities of my staff and give them training, to ensure that they are competent.

Third, I would set up a technical advisory working group of my officers, specialists, academicians and professionals, to guide the ministry. We would meet regularly to foster greater public-private consultation. I would formulate policies only after consultation with them. It would be premature for me to implement ad-hoc policies and actions that could be counter-productive. Take for instance, the call by many to ban plastic bags. To me, it is the disposal of plastic bags that is damaging the environment, not the bags themselves. If citizens dispose of the bags carefully and insist on better landfill management to recover and recycle the bags, then perhaps we would not have a problem.

Fourth, I would set up an information centre to document all environmental problems and issues, so that we can learn from past mistakes. It will also be a resource centre for the public to enhance their environmental knowledge.

Fifth, I would set up an Environmental Crime Scene Investigation Department. Many environmental problems would be avoidable if detected early. It is the lack of diligence and monitoring that usually leads to environmental disasters.” – Ng Han Kok, mechanical engineer

from staronline

Sultan wants a clean-up for Klang

THE Selangor state government and enforcement authorities have been told to come up with practical action plans to overcome dirty environment, traffic congestion and crimes in the Royal Town.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who issued the directive in his address when opening the Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery, said there was a need to improve the cleanliness in the Klang district, particularly the housing and commercial areas.

Also present were Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo; Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim; state secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud; state exco members; MPs and state government officials.

The Sultan also said the Klang river needed serious attention.

“I am not satisfied with the level of cleanliness of the Klang river, which used to be clean and clear.

“I have commented on the matter when I visited Klang district three years ago and efforts to clean up the river ought to be continued,” he said.

He added that the police, the municipal council, Works Department, state government and related authorities should discuss and find solutions to ease traffic congestion in the district especially during the peak hours.

He said the traffic jam problem in Klang was critical when vehicles heading towards Klang from Shah Alam every evening.

“If the problem is not settled quickly, it may lead to more problems and cause dissatisfaction among the people,” he said, adding that the traffic problems could also affect the arrival of tourists to the district.

He also said the police and the people have an equal responsibility to work together in a bid to prevent crime.

from staronline

Scientists ramp up ability of poplar plants to disarm toxic pollutants

Scientists since the early '90s have seen the potential for cleaning up contaminated sites by growing plants able to take up nasty groundwater pollutants through their roots. Then the plants break certain kinds of pollutants into harmless byproducts that the plants either incorporate into their roots, stems and leaves or release into the air.

The problem with plants that are capable of doing this is that the process is slow and halts completely when growth stops in winter. Using plants in this way, a process called phytoremediation, often hasn't made sense given the timetables required by regulatory agencies at remediation sites.

Scientists led by the University of Washington's Sharon Doty, reporting in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say that genetically engineered poplar plants being grown in a laboratory were able to take as much as 91 percent of trichloroethylene, the most common groundwater contaminant at U.S. Superfund sites, out of a liquid solution. Unaltered plants removed 3 percent. The poplar plants ½ all cuttings just several inches tall growing in vials ½ also were able to break down, or metabolize, the pollutant into harmless byproducts at rates 100 times that of the control plants.

While federal regulations allow the growing of transgenic trees in greenhouses and controlled field trials for research purposes, they do not allow the commercial growing of transgenic trees. A transgenic plant is one in which its genetic material is manipulated. Sometimes only its own genetic material is altered and sometimes genetic material is added from other plants, bacteria or animals.

The work being published this week raises the interesting question of the potential for using transgenic trees on sites where toxic plumes of pollutants are on the move in groundwater.

"Small, volatile hydrocarbons, including trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, carbon tetrachloride, benzene, and chloroform, are common environmental pollutants that pose serious health effects. Some of these are known carcinogens," Doty, an assistant professor of forest resources, said.

Trichloroethylene is a heavily used industrial degreaser that's made its way into groundwater because of improper disposal. Both unaltered poplars and the transgenic poplar plants produce the enzymes to break down trichloroethylene, C2HCl3, into chloride ions ½ harmless salt that the plant sheds ½ and recombines the carbon and hydrogen with oxygen to produce water and carbon dioxide.

The transgenic poplar plants just do it a lot faster. The enzymes used to metabolize the contaminants are from a group called cytochrome P450 found in both plants and animals. Poplars have a lot of P450s and Doty said scientists hope to eventually sort them to find ways to manipulate the plant's own genes to ramp up pollution degradation. In the meantime they are conducting experiments inserting a gene that produces cytochrome P450 in mammalian livers, in this case the livers of rabbits. Poplar genes producing cytochrome P450 is expressed in all their cells, but not at the rates achieved by the transgenics.

"We overcame the rate-limiting step by causing the poplar plants to overexpress the first enzyme in the degradative pathway," Doty said. "Using the mammalian gene is just a step toward the day when we understand the poplar P450 genes well enough to use promoters to enhance production of their own enzymes that degrade contaminants. With the plant's own genes, the results should be even better."

Mammalian cytochrome P450 has already been used in transgenic plants that can detoxify herbicides applied to fields to kill weeds. Japanese researchers, for example, published findings in 2005 about using a human gene to make rice plants degrade a suite of herbicides, something they said could help reduce the load of herbicides in paddy fields and streams.

Along with the trichloroethylene tests, the new results also found improved rates of uptake from solutions of chloroform, the byproduct of disinfecting drinking water; carbon tetrachloride, a solvent; and vinyl chloride, a substance used to make plastics. In air pollution experiments using 6-inch plants in closed containers, the transgenic plants had increased absorption of gaseous trichloroethylene and benzene, a pollutant associated with petroleum.

Work on phytoremediation at the UW has been funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy.

Doty and her colleagues plan to do additional experiments to determine the detoxification rates when poplars are grown in soils, and to ensure that plant tissues do not harm non-target organisms, such as bugs that might chew on them.

Sites with contaminated groundwater are treated in a variety of chemical, physical and microbial ways, says Stuart Strand, UW professor of forest resources and a co-author of the paper. In some places the groundwater is pumped out of the ground and the contaminants allowed to evaporate into the air. In other places sugars pumped into the ground can clean contaminants but make the water anaerobic ½ oxygen starved ½ and can produce other toxic byproducts, he says.

"It's destructive, disruptive and expensive," Strand says.

Some people see transgenic trees as risky. "As researchers we want to make sure such concerns are addressed and risks minimized. In the case of contaminated sites, we're already facing bad situations where the use of transgenic plants may reduce the known risks from carcinogens and other hazardous pollutants in the environment. Our ultimate goal is to provide a more rapid way to reduce the amount of carcinogens, one that is affordable so many sites can be treated," Doty said.

Because there is concern that transgenic trees might get into regular forests, Doty and her colleagues believe poplars may be a good choice, she said. Poplars are fast growing and can grow for several years without flowering, at which time they could be harvested to prevent seeds from generating. And unlike some other kinds of trees, branches of the hybrid poplar being studied do not take root in soils when branches fall to the ground.

Even though these things are true, Doty and her co-authors imagine that transgenic trees planted at contaminated sites would involve high levels of containment around where they are being grown.

"Commercial use of these trees requires federal regulatory approval and monitoring, and regulations are becoming increasingly strict for transgenic plants intended for biopharmaceutical or industrial purposes, including phytoremediation," the co-authors write in their paper.

from E news

Effects of Cold Water

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive.
A cardiologist says if everyone who reads this message sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life. Read this & Send the link to a friend. It could save a life. So, please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about.

Get from yahoo mail

Would chopsticks be effective with potatoes?

Potatoes may soon join rice as a staple diet for China's 1.3 billion people as the nation searcher for alternative crop to deal with a sharp decline in farmland, state press report.

China is facing increasing difficulties in feeding its massive population partly due to the widespread conversion of its farming areas into industrial zones and residential areas, as well as the impacts of global warming.

Potatoes, which can grow in dry areas not suitable for rice, are now being seriously looked at as a way to get more food from a smaller area, the China Daily said, citing a study from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

"A slight increase in yield for each hectare of land used in potato farming would help meet the huge food demand of the growing population,"the academy's vice president, Qu Dongyu, said.

"potato is definitely the most nutritious staple food. It is rich in vitamin C,B, proteins and minerals."China's arable land has shrunk to 122 million hectares, just above the government- set "red line" of 120 million hectares that is deemed necessary to feed the country

From star paper and AFP

Save the Environment, Use Your Computer

Save the environment, use your computer. Here's how: the EPA estimates you can save up to $75 per year by activating the power management functions on your desktop computer. Support.com offers tips to consumers to help them save both energy and money by reducing the power consumption of their computer. The company offers remote tech suport for consumers fighting frustrating computer problems at home.

Desktop or laptop, you can save energy by:

1. Turning your computer off completely when you know you will not be using it for more than several hours, such as overnight.

2. You can still save energy when your computer is not shut down completely by setting the power management functions on your computer to put both your monitor and computer (CPU, hard drive, etc.) into “sleep” mode after a certain amount of time of non-use, which saves energy when you are not actively using your computer. Set your monitor to go into standby mode first, followed by your computer.

Remember, there are some things which will prevent your computer from going into sleep mode. Use the following guidelines to make sure your computer is properly sleeping:

1. Certain applications, such as some games and third party software, will run in the background and prevent your computer from going into sleep mode. Be sure to close these down completely.

2. If you use a virtual private network (VPN), disconnect it when you’re not actively using it, since VPNs can prevent your computer from entering into sleep mode.

3. Some applications which continually scan can prevent your computer from going into standby mode. Shut off Wi-Fi antennas and infrared ports when you are not using them to prevent this from happening. Anti-virus software can be set to scan more periodically yet still be safe.

4. Some Web sites will not allow your computer to enter into sleep mode because of active advertisements and banners. Close down all Web pages when you are not viewing them to allow your power management function to work properly.

5. If you have set a screensaver (like that fish tank) for your monitor, you may not realize that it is actually wasting energy by preventing your computer from going to sleep. A blank screen is the best screensaver so let your computer go to sleep to save energy instead (it won’t sleep with the fishes).

6. Peripherals, which are plugged into your computer, can also prevent your computer from going into standby or “sleep” mode. Unplug your peripherals when they are not charging or synchronizing.

Don’t limit your energy savings to just your monitor and computer. Other things you can do to help save energy in your computing use include:

1. Increase your memory (RAM) to reduce disk usage, which can be a power draw.
2. If you have a desktop computer, upgrade to an LCD flat panel monitor instead of a CRT monitor, which can account for half the energy use of a desktop computer. According to the EPA, the use of an ENERGY STAR qualified monitor can save up to 85% of the electricity used by a standard model.

3. Did you know that the power supplies for your peripherals (such as your mobile phone or iPod) still draw power even if the peripheral is not plugged in? If you plug all your electronics into one surge protector, you can easily switch them all off when you leave the room or go to sleep.

4. Shut off that printer. Printers also have a sleep mode that still consumes a significant amount of power.
5. Replace wireless mice and keyboards with wired mice. Wired mice and wired keyboards use relatively little energy and they avoid unnecessary wasting of batteries.

Carbonfund.org, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects globally, estimates that the average American is responsible for 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year. In fact, the United States , with four percent of the world’s population, is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, emitting almost 25% of global carbon dioxide each year.

“Reduce what you can; offset what you can’t.’ That’s our motto,” said Steve Offutt, chief operating officer at Carbonfund.org. “support.com and Carbonfund.org are a perfect example of that motto: support.com provides the technical expertise to help people reduce and we can help them offset the rest. We are pleased to be their partner in the fight against global climate change.”

for more visit www.carbonfund.com

from environmental new

Reader's Q&A: Coral Reefs And Hybrid Cars

Q: I’ve heard about the die-off of coral reefs due to global warming. I’ve also read that coral reefs themselves store carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the main global warming gases. So if coral reefs are dying out, isn’t that a double whammy that increases the CO2 in the atmosphere? -- Tom Ozzello, Maplewood, MN

According to marine scientists, the world’s coral reefs—those underwater repositories for biodiversity that play host to some 25 percent of all marine life—are in big trouble as a result of global warming. Data collected by the international environmental group WWF (formerly World Wildlife Fund) show that 20 percent of the world’s coral reefs have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate sign of recovery, while about 50 percent of remaining reefs are under imminent or long-term threat of collapse.

Most scientists now agree that global warming is not a natural phenomenon but a direct result of the continual release of excessive amounts of CO2 and other “greenhouse” gases into the atmosphere by human industrial and transportation activity. And the small but prolonged rises in ocean temperature that result cause coral colonies to expel the symbiotic food-producing algae that sustain them. This process is called “bleaching,” because it turns the reefs white as they die.

But researchers working with the Coral Reef Alliance have found that while coral reefs do store CO2 as part of photosynthesis, they tend to release most of it back into the ocean (so they are not what are known as “carbon sinks”). As such, the release of CO2 from dying coral reefs is not a major concern.

Of course, the ocean itself is a large carbon sink, storing about a quarter of what would otherwise end up in the atmosphere. Landmasses (and their plants) soak up another quarter of all the CO2 emanating from the Earth’s surface, while the rest rises up into the atmosphere where it can wreak havoc with our climate.

Recent findings indicate that the Antarctic Ocean is getting less efficient at storing CO2, and this raises serious questions about the ability of our oceans to handle everything we throw at them. The study’s authors fear that “such weakening of one of the Earth’s major carbon dioxide sinks will lead to higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the long-term.”

Not everyone is forecasting gloom and doom. Some Australian researchers believe that coral reefs around the world could expand in size by up to a third due to increased ocean warming. “Our finding stands in stark contrast to previous predictions that coral reef growth will suffer large, potentially catastrophic, decreases in the future,” says University of New South Wales oceanographer Ben McNeil, who led the controversial 2004 study that was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Geophysical Research Letters. “Our analysis suggests that ocean warming will foster considerably faster future rates of coral reef growth that will eventually exceed pre-industrial rates by as much as 35 per cent by 2100,” he adds.

In spite of such theories, the majority of marine scientists remain pessimistic about the future of coral reefs in a warmer world. One can only hope that the optimists are right.

Short of buying a new hybrid or other “green” car, are there ways I can make my existing vehicle more eco-friendly? I bought my car recently and am not quite ready to give it up. -- Bettie Hilliker, Lansing, MI

Choice of vehicle may well be the biggest factor in determining the environmental impact of your automobile-based travels. But a considerable amount of energy is used—and pollutants emitted—in the production of any new vehicle, including hybrids and other more fuel-efficient options. As a result, many environmentalists believe that practicing good driving habits and performing adequate maintenance on an older car are probably better options for the environment than causing the production of a new vehicle.

According to the website GreenerCars.org, there are many ways to green up one’s driving habits. Obeying speed limits, utilizing cruise control and avoiding jackrabbit starts will maximize fuel economy and minimize tailpipe emissions while also preventing unnecessary wear-and-tear. Staying off roads during rush hours is also advisable, as stop-and-go driving burns excess gasoline and promotes smog. Opening vents and windows to cool off instead of using the air conditioner, an inherently inefficient appliance that consumes more fuel and leads to more emissions, is also good advice.

Drivers can also help minimize their environmental impact by keeping their cars well maintained. According to GreenerCars.org, getting regular tune-ups—where a qualified mechanic changes fluids and checks for and corrects problems such as worn spark plugs, under inflated tires, dragging brakes, misaligned wheels and clogged filters—can significantly improve fuel economy and minimize harmful emissions. GreenerCars.org also recommends seeking out low-rolling-resistance (LRR) replacement tires, which are specifically designed to improve a vehicle’s fuel economy, when the original ones wear out.

Beyond regular maintenance, a handful of small companies now sell green-friendly fuel additives that purport to increase fuel efficiency while reducing emissions. Such products—including Bluestar Environmental’s Omstar D-1280X gas additive and Suntec Bio-Energy’s diesel additive—are normally targeted at fleets of vehicles, but individuals are free to use them as well. Owners beware, though: Use of such products could invalidate automakers’ warranties, so read the fine print in your owner’s manual before pouring anything out-of-the-ordinary into your fuel tank.

Of course, getting out of your car altogether—or most of the time—is a far greener choice than driving even a well-maintained new or old car conscientiously. Some employers now offer federally-subsidized “commuter choice” incentives whereby workers can derive financial benefits by telecommuting (working from home), or by walking, biking, using public transit or carpooling to and from the office.

Another option is to join a car sharing service like Zipcar or Flexcar, whereby you pay a modest monthly membership fee and can then rent cars parked nearby by the hour only when needed. The companies operate on both U.S. coasts, as well as in major Midwestern and Canadian cities.

From E magazines

Pact to end deforestation launched in the Amazon

WWF-Brazil joined eight other Brazilian non-governmental organizations to launch a pact to reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon to zero by 2015.

The pact proposes to reduce deforestation by adopting a system of reduction targets through economic mechanisms, mainly based on the payment for environmental services. It also aims to establish a wide-ranging commitment between different sectors of the government and the Brazilian society to conserve the Amazon.

“This is a unique initiative to ensure Amazon rainforest conservation, given its crucial importance in maintaining biodiversity and the global climate balance, as well as preserving the way of life of millions of people who rely on the forest to survive,” said Denise Hamú, CEO of WWF-Brazil.

Scientists estimate that approximately 17% of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has already been destroyed. High deforestation rates are leading to an accelerated depletion of biodiversity and are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to increasing global warming.

The new pact is pushing for a 25 per cent deforestation rate drop in the first year compared to the 1,400,000 hectares of forest lost in 2005-2006, and an overall reduction in deforestation of 6,873,780 hectares in seven years.

It is estimated that 1 billion Brazilian reais (US$547.2 million) would be required from national and international sources to financially compensate those who promote reduction in deforestation, and to pay for environmental services carried out by the forest.

Economic incentives will be directed to strengthen forest governance, including monitoring, control and inspection, and will be used to create and implement more protected areas and indigenous lands.

Brazil’s Environment Minister, Marina Silva, who attended the launch of the pact in Brazil's National Congress, committed the federal government's support for the proposal. She was joined in that support by the governments of four Amazonian states, as well as parliamentarians from different regions of Brazil.

“Only through the mobilization of state and federal governments, the private sector and environmental NGOs can we can reach significant results for the conservation and promotion of sustainable development in the Amazon,” Hamú said.

The nine organizations involved in development of the pact include: Conservation International-Brazil, Friends of the Earth-Brazil, Greenpeace, Instituto Centro de Vida, Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia, Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazonia, Instituto Socioambiental, The Nature Conservancy and WWF-Brazil.

from wwf 17 oct

Bleak U.S. "report card" finds warming Arctic

A bleak "report card" on global warming's Arctic impact released on Wednesday found less ice, hotter air and dying wildlife, and stressed that what happens around the North Pole affects the entire planet.

The report, issued by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also found that weird winds blowing warm air toward the North Pole and unusually persistent sunshine added to the warming trend.

Unlike previous years, when there have been hot spots and cold spots at different times in the Arctic, "winter and spring, the temperatures are all above average throughout the whole Arctic and all at the same time," said James Overland of NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle.

"This is an unusual feature and it looks like the beginning of a signal from global warming," Overland said in a telephone news briefing.

The report gave red "stoplights" to conditions in the atmosphere and sea ice to show scientists have "a high level of confidence that things there are showing dramatic effects due to the warming temperatures," said Jacqueline Richter-Menge of the Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in New Hampshire.

The report also gave yellow "caution lights" -- indicating mixed signals -- on conditions of the Greenland ice sheet, North Pole ocean temperatures, wildlife and permafrost.

There were no green lights, which would have indicated "all systems were OK," according to Richter-Menge.

The NOAA report was in keeping with similarly gloomy news about the Arctic released in recent weeks:

-- On September 7, the U.S. Geological Survey said two-thirds of the world's polar bear population could be gone by mid-century if predictions of melting sea ice hold true.

-- On September 20, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that Arctic sea ice melted to its lowest level ever, a decrease of 23 percent from the previous record and a 39 percent drop from the long-term average.

PERMAFROST AND REINDEER

Environmental observers focus on the Arctic because it has long functioned as Earth's air conditioner, cooling the planet with reliable stores of sun-reflecting sea ice.

The sea ice melts and re-freezes seasonally but recent years have shown a smaller area of maximum sea ice in the winter, indicating it is more difficult to restock the supply of polar ice after a record summer melt like this year's.

Another indicator of climate change is the condition of permafrost, the ground that has been frozen solid for centuries.

Permafrost all around the Arctic started warming up in the 1970s and 1980s, but the warming slowed by the mid-1990s and showed almost no change by 2000, said Vladimir Romanovsky of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

This shows that whatever is causing the permafrost to get warmer, it is consistent around the hemisphere, from Alaska to Greenland to Siberia, Romanovsky said.

Mike Gill of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program noted that Arctic biodiversity has a global impact, since hundreds of bird species and several marine mammal species migrate from the Arctic to all parts of the Earth except the interior of Antarctica.

Gill noted that some reindeer and caribou herds, on which local populations depend, have declined up to 80 percent, while some goose populations have doubled, contributing to overgrazing.

Reuter 17 oct 2007

Technorati Profile

Illegal sand dredging hits supply

Illegal sand dredging activities along Sungai Linggi(seremban), the state's main water catchment, have affected water supply to several areas including the resort town of Port Dickson.

About 500,000 consumers were affected as the treatment plant could not effectively filter water drawn from the river, already considered the most polluted in the state.

State Energy, Water and Communications Committee chairman Datuk Mohamad Rais Zainudin said the dredging activities should stop as the dredges were located less than 500m from the catchment area

He also said the dredging was too close to the plant, and this allowed fine sand particles to seep through the filtering system, causing the water to smell

star 12 0ct 2007

Meet the greener family

DELL’s latest business desktop PC family – the OptiPlex 755 – is aimed at companies looking for a powerful, secure and cost-effective computing solution while wanting to be environmentally friendly.

The range of PCs is greener than its predecessors; it is Energy Star 4.0 compliant and has Gold status from the the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) organisation.

EPEAT (www.epeat.net) measures the environmental impact of desktop PCs, laptops and monitors. Gold status is the highest rating it provides.

In addition to that, OptiPlex 755 comes with the Energy Smart power feature, which helps reduce its energy costs by up to 78%, Dell claimed.

It also ships with several advanced remote-management tools to reduce desk-side service visits by up to 56%.

As with all Dell computer families, businesses can customise the system to suit their needs. They have a choice of four different form factor designs – minitower, desktop, small and ultra. They can also choose from three Intel processors – Celeron, Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad.

Other options include up to 8GB of DDR2 SDRAM; 250GB SATA II hard disk (maximum); and an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 or 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics card.

The OptiPlex 755 is available now and prices start from RM2,365.

for more go to Dell website

Britons top table of carbon emissions from planes

Britons are the world's worst offenders when it comes to carbon emissions from air travel, according to figures published on Wednesday by market research company Global TGI.

Not only are Britain's average air emissions per adult the highest out of the 20 countries covered at 603 kg per year, they are also a third higher than second-placed Ireland's 434 kg and more than double the 275 kg from third-placed Americans.

Scientists say carbon emissions from flights are at least twice as harmful to the environment as those at sea level.

However, the road carbon emissions of Britons at 2.4 metric tons per adult are less than one third of Americans' 7.5 metric tons.

In fact overall American adults have the biggest annual travel carbon footprint in the world at 7.8 metric tons, more than double France's 3.7 metric tons, which comes in at number two.

Third on the list at 3.1 metric tons is Britain, followed by Ireland on 3.0, Germany on 2.4 and Spain on 2.2 metric tons.

India is at the foot of the table with an annual travel footprint of just 200 kg per adult, with second-to-bottom China on 500 kg. But TGI warned that travel emissions in those two booming economies were rising rapidly.

It also pointed out that its figures were calculated per adult, meaning it did not provide overall travel emission details of each country. That would be achieved by multiplying the figures by the adult population.

by Reuters 0ct 10 2007

Lets do more for the environment

It is so sad to see that not many Malaysians are doing their part for the environment. simple things like sorting out rubbish to simple groups like paper, plastic and glass is still not being followed. I am surprised that the level of environment consciousness is still not there. Lets help the environment.
Take your own containers when doing everyday take away..recently i was working in an office in K.L and I was saddened by the number of styrofoam containers in the dustbins, spilling over. Nobody seems to care where those containers go and how they're disposed off.
common guys, those who do take away PLEASE take our own containers, I've done it and I'm proud of it. Those who laugh at you are clearly uneducated about the environment.If we start now, we'll definitely be able to make a difference for our future generations!

Coca Cola and Greenpeace - Cooling the Beijing Olympics

Guess what? There is another big global warming problem — and we're tackling it in a BIG way! It's the chemical gases that make your air conditioner and refrigerator cool, trapping heat and removing it from your beer or your bedroom.

Ironically, these gases, called HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), also do a really good job of trapping heat in the atmosphere contributing to global warming, when they eventually leak out of your car, your old fridge or air conditioner.

HFCs were designed to hold heat and last a long time making them potent greenhouse gases with over 1,000 times the heat trapping power of a carbon dioxide molecule. Not good! And this problem is getting worse as more and more people around the world buy cars, refrigerators and air conditioning. If we don’t stop the rise in HFC pollution, it will wipe out a lot of the gains from clean renewable energy and other measures to stop global warming.

The history of HFCs
The Montreal Protocol ozone layer treaty just turned 20 years old. It was originally created to phase out CFCs (Chloroflourocarbon) and other ozone layer destroying chemicals. But, in their attemps to phase out CFCs, the government inadvertently created a new problem by replacing CFCs with HFCs and other global warming agents. Greenpeace has been campaigning on the ozone layer from the beginning and on this crossover ozone/climate problem for the past 15 years or more. Our work continues today as we push for accelerated phase-outs and destruction of all these hazardous gases.

Panasonic to Reduce CO2 Emissions by 300,000 Tons Over Three Years

Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, today announced its renewed commitment to climate change by adding ecological goals to its "GP3" three-year business plan that completes March 2010. The company also presented its "Panasonic Eco Ideas Declaration" identifying the three initiatives on which its environmental management activities focus.

In its pursuit of global excellence, Panasonic launched the GP3 plan in April 2007, setting goals and milestones such as achieving steady growth with profitability. The company has now added a new challenge in the ecological field to the GP3 plan - reduction of environmental burden in all areas of its business activities. Panasonic will strive to fulfill this ecological responsibility while realizing profitable growth.

As a manufacturing company, Panasonic aims to reduce CO2 emissions from its manufacturing operations in terms of total global levels rather than on a per basic unit basis[1]. Further, the company will count CO2 elimination as one of its main management indicators. The Panasonic Eco Ideas Declaration, as described below, reflects the company's reinforced commitment to the mitigation of climate change as a global corporate citizen.

Global climate protection has been on the agendas of international conferences such as the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, APEC and United Nations high-level conferences. Next year, the Kyoto Protocol's five-year first commitment period (2008-2012) will commence, obliging participating nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. With the increasing concern among the international community in the background, Panasonic has responded by accelerating its efforts in environmental management. This is also in line with its management philosophy that calls for contribution to the society through business activities.

Reduction of CO2 emissions from manufacturing operations

1) Reducing total global amount of CO2 emissions
Even if the total production capacity increases in the future, Panasonic will use the performance level of fiscal year 2007[2] as a yardstick for measuring progress in eliminating CO2 emissions from its 294 manufacturing sites across the world. To be specific, Panasonic aims to eliminate 300,000 tons of CO2 emissions during the three years covered by the GP3 plan, lowering the total CO2 level to 3.68 million tons in fiscal year 2010 from 3.98 million tons in fiscal year 2007. In fiscal year 2011, the company intends to bring it down further to around 3.60 million tons, the level of fiscal year 2001.

2) CO2 emissions, a new management indicator
Starting fiscal year 2009, Panasonic will include CO2 emissions to its critical management indicators including sales, operating profit, inventory and CCM[3] as a method of reinforcing its efforts to address climate protection. In April this year, the company established an environmental performance system to collect monthly performance data on 23 items from the manufacturing locations worldwide and analyze and feed the results back to them for further improvements. The 23 environmental performance data items include CO2 emissions as well as water and energy consumption such as electricity, gas and fuel oil, among others. The system started this month in Japan and will be implemented at all manufacturing locations including overseas facilities in January 2008.

More Than 300 U.S. Hotels Now Certified Green

Almost a year ago, Green Lodging News updated its readers on the progress states have made in creating and supporting green lodging efforts. At that time, it identified seven states with active green lodging programs. Today, at least eight states have one form of program or another. Each program is unique in its own way. These initiatives have become increasingly important over the past year; Florida’s governor, for example, will require his state’s employees to stay at Green Lodging Program hotels beginning January 1, 2008.

California—This state’s Green Lodging Program is run by the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Participants are asked to complete a one-page form that asks questions such as: Does your property use individually packaged amenities? Are programmable on/off timers/sensors used for lighting in low traffic/low occupancy areas? Hotels are determined to be Participants or Leaders based on their survey answers. Properties are inspected by a Waste Management Board representative. There are currently approximately 100 participants.

Florida—The Sunshine State’s Green Lodging Program is an effort by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to encourage the lodging industry to conserve and protect Florida’s natural resources. According to Chris Cate, spokesman for Florida’s DEP, the program currently has 25 certified properties, with another 46 applications in process. Participants must complete an application and commit to establishing baselines for environmental improvement. Once green initiatives are in place, applicants must undergo an on-site audit. Certified hotels must demonstrate ongoing progress from year to year to stay in the program.

Maine—In Maine, the Green Lodging Certification Program is managed by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. Participants commit to using environmentally preferable cleaners, reducing waste, and minimizing energy and water consumption. They benefit from free, ongoing technical assistance from the Maine DEP. Applicants must complete a self-certification workbook. Businesses scoring 100 points in the workbook receive certification for two years. Participants must show improvement to continue in the program. Businesses are randomly selected for audits. Maine’s program, according to its website, currently has 52 participants—up from 20 last November.

Michigan—Green Lodging Michigan is a joint program of Michigan’s Energy Office and the Department of Environmental Quality. It encourages hotels, resorts, motels and bed and breakfast facilities to conserve energy, reduce water consumption, protect air quality, reduce waste and participate in environmentally friendly purchasing. There are three levels of participation: Partner, Steward and Leader. The Partner level is reliant on a self-assessment and achieving a set of minimum requirements. The Steward and Leader levels must satisfy the minimum requirements and also accumulate a specific number of points. Applicants for those two levels must undergo on-site visits. According to an Energy Office spokesman, there are currently eight certified participants and seven properties seeking certification.

New Hampshire—The New Hampshire Sustainable Lodging & Restaurant Program (NHSLRP) “strives to encourage lodging and restaurant facilities throughout the state to continually evaluate operations for more environmentally sustainable means of pampering guests while protecting the place that both we and our guests love.” NHSLRP offers three levels of participation: Endorsing Partner, Environmental Partner, and Environmental Champion. Each level requires a different commitment in focus areas including energy efficiency, water conservation, waste and hazardous waste reduction, and education. Those hotels seeking Environmental Champion status must undergo an on-site audit. There are currently 30 lodging establishments that have been certified by NHSLRP.

Vermont—Green Hotels in the Green Mountain State is part of the Vermont Business Environmental Partnership, a larger public-private partnership program. Properties can participate in the program on two levels: as an Environmental Partner, or as a Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State. To be designated an Environmental Partner, a property must adopt a set of core environmental standards and a total of six elective standards. Once Environmental Partner status is attained, those wishing even greater recognition can strive to have their properties designated as a Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State. Green Hotel designation reflects a commitment to pollution prevention and exemplary environmental management. Each property seeking to achieve designation as a Green Hotel commits to meeting additional standards. Participants in Vermont’s program complete application forms but no on-site visits are conducted. Fifty-seven properties currently participate.

Virginia—The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) runs Virginia Green Lodging as part of the state’s overall Virginia Green program. The DEQ requires hospitality participants to join in “Core Activities” such as optional linen service, recycling, water conservation, energy conservation, and green meeting planning. The voluntary program is self-policing with no on-site audits. Fifteen facilities have been certified as Virginia Green Lodging facilities.

Wisconsin—This state’s Travel Green Wisconsin program reviews, certifies and recognizes tourism businesses that have made a commitment to continuously improve their operations in order to reduce their environmental and social impact. To qualify for certification in the program run by the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative, applicants must score 30 points in areas such as waste reduction, energy efficiency, air quality, wildlife and landscape conservation, and purchasing. Applicants report data such as annual water consumption in order to establish baselines for improvement. No on-site visits are conducted. Forty-four lodging properties have been certified green by Travel Green Wisconsin.

Pennsylvania does not have a formal green lodging certification program but its Department of Environmental Protection does make resources available online for those hoteliers interested in greening operations. The Pennsylvania Green Hotels & Motels website includes a page that lists Green Seal-certified properties in Pennsylvania.

In North Carolina, the Green Plan for Hotels is an initiative of the North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance (DPPEA). It encourages lodging operators to reduce waste, water and energy consumption, and to offer recycling. Participants can join a Green Hotels Listserv to share information about sustainable lodging. The DPPEA provides free, on-site assistance to those interested in greening operations.

Green design

Imagine the enormous environment and economic benefits if every building could do this. they can if they're designed for it. There is no single definition of what makes a building green and any analysis should consider the following:

• sustainable sites: Addresses the size, location, and other effects of the building on its environment
• water efficiency: Rewards the frugal use of water indoors and out
• energy and atmosphere: It covers the installation,verification, and monitoring of heating and cooling system, lighting, and other equipment as well as the use of renewable energy
• materials and resources: Outlines earth-friendly strategies for using local, renewable, and recycled materials, reducing waste and encouraging recycling
• indoor air quality: focuses on reducing indoor gases that can cause harm, and incorporating daylight and fresh air
  

The many faces of housing

In architecture, the issue of housing is never ending.Housing affect more people than other building types. It's a subject matter very close to most people's heart because everyone of use lives in a "house". Housing affects the most people has somehow achieved the least progress

lyric from soad..lonely day

Lonely Day

Such a lonely day .... And it’s mine
The most loneliest day of my life
Such a lonely day .... Should be banned
It’s a day that I can’t stand

The most loneliest day of my life x2

Such a lonely day .... Shouldn’t exist
It’s a day that ill never miss
Such a lonely day .. And it’s mine
The most loneliest day of my life

And if you go
I wanna go with you
And if you die
I wanna die with you
Take your hand and walk away

The most loneliest day of my life x3

Such a lonely day
And it’s mine
It’s a day I'm glad I survived