Glycerine, a byproduct of biodiesel production, is proving to be a really versatile chemical with this new breakthrough from Oxford University in the UK.
I just received a suggestion from amorris19 that Dow Chemical's Andrew Liveris should be picked as Obama's new Secretary of Energy. He (or she) reasoned that Dow should know firsthand the need to conserve and diversify domestic energy resources; the need to focus on energy efficiency (starting from manufacturing to transportation/distribution to consumer); and the need to accelerate development in alternative energy.
Now that Obama is going to be the next president and the US Congress will be dominated by the blue party, there were a lot of optimism in the green sphere as well as slight pessimism (sometimes diplomatically called cautiously optimism) in the chemical and manufacturing sectors.
The plastic industry has often been heard this year accusing several US municipal governments of making them their scapegoat by supplementing city coffers with taxes or charging fees for the use of plastic products such as water bottle or supermarket bags.
Scientists from my birth country, the Philippines, are said to have developed band-aids made from the fibers of the edible mushroom volvariella volvacea (incorporated in fibrous materials from agro-industrial wastes, alginate or stabilizer and textile fiber).
A very exciting green event is going to be held in January next year in San Francisco.
Plastic producer SABIC says it was able to help Jay Leno's lean green 650 horsepower EcoJet machine to be more fuel efficient using the company's lightweight Lexan GLX resin.
Silicone manufacturer Dow Corning said it made significant progress in reducing their waste partly through its materials conversion program, which converts or recycles its waste, scrap and off-spec silicone materials instead of sending them to landfill or incineration. Materials are then reprocessed into new products that meet customers' specifications.
The Environmental Protection Agency put out its voluntary Responsible Recycling Practices for electronic waste materials, which can be used as guidelines for accreditation programs to verify that electronic recyclers in the US and outside the US are handling, recycling and even refurbishing their materials in a safe and responsible manner.
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It has been a very exciting night waiting for the outcome of a historic US presidential election and I just want to share the news to the green blog readers that Senator Barack Obama won.
Here is a better insight on Obama and McCain's green positions from Sustainablebusiness.com
Here's another energy-based issue that both US presidential candidates seem to agree on: the development of clean coal.
Venture capital investments for cleantech companies have done well for the past 3 quarters, according to both Cleantech Group and Ernst & Young."In light of challenging economic times, the US cleantech market may be entering a transitional period. However, the structural market drivers of the cleantech sector remain intact, suggesting that the prospect for long-term market development is positive," says Joseph Muscat, Americas Director of Cleantech and Venture Capital, Ernst & Young LLP.
"Factors such as technological advances, consumer demand and programs at both the federal and state-level help to create the conditions needed for long-term growth in cleantech."
A report from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) said methane emission in the atmosphere is on the rise again across the globe.
