The Green Blogger is off this week celebrating a food-binging holiday (so totally un-green!). The blogger will report back on Monday, December 1, and will regale you about the green state of Black Friday shopping in America as she do her civic duty of helping the US economy.
November 24, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Green Blogger is off this week celebrating a food-binging holiday (so totally un-green!). The blogger will report back on Monday, December 1, and will regale you about the green state of Black Friday shopping in America as she do her civic duty of helping the US economy.
November 21, 2008
To Russia with green love
Consulting firm Frost & Sullivan said Russia should start developing a renewable energy sector even though the country is the world's largest gas producer with rich oil and coal reserves.Oil and gas production regions in Russia is faced with rapid decline, the firm said, and green energy development is imperative.
China tightens food safety
I might be having a deja vu but I thought China already has strict melamine testing rules implemented following the melamine tainted pet food and toothpaste scandals last year?According to ICIS news (subscription required), the Chinese government is proposing new standards to focus on melamine testing following this year's melamine-tainted dairy products scandal. Since September, several milk products in China were found to be tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical used in plastics and adhesives. Recalls were made around the world for dairy products contained with Chinese milk.
Food container ban in California
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) is battling another proposed plastic ban in California this time on food containers.The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) proposed yesterday a ban on polystyrene (the styrofoamy ones) take out containers as well as a statewide fees for plastic bag use as ways to clean out ocean litter.
OPC said full and partial polystyrene food container prohibitions have already been implemented in many California cities such as: Alameda, Aliso Viejo, Berkeley, Calabasas, Capitola, Carmel, Emeryville, Fairfax, Hercules, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Los Angeles, Malibu, Millbrae, Oakland, Pacific Grove, Pittsburg, San Clemente, San Francisco, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Scotts Valley and West Hollywood.
November 20, 2008
Economic slump hits recyclables
You would think that recyclable materials and chemicals should do well with manufacturers and retailers looking for cheaper and more environment-friendly alternatives during a global economic recession.Unfortunately the excess waste of the economic boom era as well as the current weak demand for products (thus the slow-down of manufacturing) seemed to have driven the supply balance to tilt more to its side.
November 19, 2008
Ohio launches Biosoy program
The State of Ohio is seeing green in soybeans, and not just from food and biofuel applications.The Ohio Soybean Council (OSC), Ohio Bioproducts Innovation Center (OBIC) and Polymer Ohio, recently launched its "Cell to Sell" soy technology program to accelerate commercialization of soybean-based industrial products and chemicals. The program will reportedly provide credible, timely source of information to assist Ohio agricultural, manufacturing and research collaborators in the commercial development and utilization of soy-based products.
Why the Big 3 are in the dumps
This could be one of the major reasons why Ford, GM and Chrysler are begging for bailout help in the US Congress: it's because the US car market is lagging behind Europe and Japan in terms of greeness.According to automotive data provider Jato Dynamics, the US car market is slower to embrace fuel-efficient and low-emission cars compared to the European and Japanese car market. Poor selection of fuel efficient vehicles coupled with historic larger-vehicle tastes and relatively low gas prices (before) have all contribute toward a slow green transition in the US car market.
Climate solutions = Jobs
Unlike politicians' vague promises of a green economy, a study from Duke University pinpointed specific carbon-reducing technologies that has the potential for future green job creations in the US, and in fact is said to be already existing in some parts of the US.Researchers at Duke's Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (CGGC) said technologies such as LED lighting, high-performance windows, auxiliary power units (APUs)for long-haul trucks, concentrating solar power, and Super Soil Systems (a new method for treating hog wastes), have already showed evidence of producing economic opportunities based on growth of some US companies that participate along the supply chain of these five industries.
November 18, 2008
Dangling the hybrid carrot
According to several news reports, majority of US folks (including Congress) are against bailing out the cash-strapped Big 3 automobile makers -- GM, Ford and privately-held Chrysler -- but there are worries especially within environmental groups if the financial crisis will push development of US electric and hybrid cars into the back-burner.From water to wine
While the bottled water industry is being besieged by environmental groups with its use of plastic bottles, the plastic industry, meanwhile, is finding a miraculous demand coming from the wine market.Several wineries across the globe are switching some of their wines' bottle packaging from glass to PET (polyethylene terephthalate) to save transportation and packaging costs. Innovative PET wine bottles such as that of plastic producer Constar International, are now said to be shatterproof and oxygen-proof, which protects the flavor, aroma, and color of the wine inside the bottle.
Granite countertops are safe
A study financed by the Marble Institute of America (MIA) reported that granite countertops will not turn anybody into a mutant.
The environmental and engineering consulting services, EH&E, analyzed different varieties of granite countertops and stones (around 115 varieties were tested) and reported that the quantities of radiation and radon emitted from the samples were all below average levels of concentration specified by the US Environment Protection Agency and [or] the European Commission standards.
There had been several media reports that came out in July stating potential radiation emitted from granite countertops, which has become very popular in US kitchens in the past few years.
More on this post...
The environmental and engineering consulting services, EH&E, analyzed different varieties of granite countertops and stones (around 115 varieties were tested) and reported that the quantities of radiation and radon emitted from the samples were all below average levels of concentration specified by the US Environment Protection Agency and [or] the European Commission standards.
There had been several media reports that came out in July stating potential radiation emitted from granite countertops, which has become very popular in US kitchens in the past few years.
November 17, 2008
Green powerless in chemicals
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Center for Resource Solutions awarded late last month their annual Green Power Leadership Awards to 25 organizations/companies who either purchase, supply or develop renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, low-impact biomass, and low-impact hydro resources) across the US.Unfortunately, none of them is from the chemical industry.
The awards serve to recognize the leading actions of organizations, programs, and individuals that significantly advance the development of green power sources. It is curious to see why nobody from the chemical industry is recognized in these awards since it is one of the leading developer in the renewable energy market. And shouldn't the chemical industry be a big purchaser of green power since they helped developed this market in the first place?
Oil weaning should be shared
I was watching the show 60 Minutes where the US President-elect Obama was being interviewed for the first time after winning the election.
According to Obama, despite that the price of oil has gone down energy and a green economy will remain at the forefront of his agenda along with trying to fix the economy.
If the US, along with other developed countries, will be able to curb high oil consumption as well as reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, then that's good news indeed.
The bad news, according to a recent World Energy Outlook report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), is that rising global consumption of fossil fuels mostly coming from developing countries such as China, India and the Middle East will continue to drive up GHG emissions even if countries such as the US, Europe, Japan and other countries under OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) will reduce their emissions to zero.
More on this post...
According to Obama, despite that the price of oil has gone down energy and a green economy will remain at the forefront of his agenda along with trying to fix the economy.
"You know, oil prices go up, gas prices at the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity. And then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it's not important, and we start, you know filling up our SUVs again. And, as a consequence, we never make any progress. It’s part of the addiction, all right. That has to be broken. Now is the time to break it."
If the US, along with other developed countries, will be able to curb high oil consumption as well as reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, then that's good news indeed.The bad news, according to a recent World Energy Outlook report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), is that rising global consumption of fossil fuels mostly coming from developing countries such as China, India and the Middle East will continue to drive up GHG emissions even if countries such as the US, Europe, Japan and other countries under OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) will reduce their emissions to zero.
Weekly News Roundup
A lot of acquisition activities seems to be happening recently in the global solar and markets. I guess with the volatile stock market these days, some companies are ripe for the picking. I do wonder if these M&A activities will continue next year and if this is a good omen or a bad one for the clean tech industry.
For now, here are this week's green news roundup.
Evonik borrows genome tools
Integrated Genomics has licensed its ERGO genomics platform to specialty chemicals company Evonik. Scientists from Evonik's Science-to-Business Center Biotechnology will use the ERGO™ system to optimize their production strains and find new methods for high yield production of specialty chemicals.
Japanese solar plant grows
Kyocera is building a new solar cell manufacturing facility in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, said to be the company's largest plant in Japan. Production is scheduled in the spring of 2010 with estimated output of 300 megawatt to 650 MW by March 2012.
More on this post...
For now, here are this week's green news roundup.
Evonik borrows genome tools
Integrated Genomics has licensed its ERGO genomics platform to specialty chemicals company Evonik. Scientists from Evonik's Science-to-Business Center Biotechnology will use the ERGO™ system to optimize their production strains and find new methods for high yield production of specialty chemicals.
Japanese solar plant grows
Kyocera is building a new solar cell manufacturing facility in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, said to be the company's largest plant in Japan. Production is scheduled in the spring of 2010 with estimated output of 300 megawatt to 650 MW by March 2012.
November 14, 2008
Dow's Energy Plan for America
Maybe our friend amorris19 got something about Dow Chemical's CEO Andrew Liveris being a candidate for Energy Secretary after all. Dow just announced today its own energy plan for America, something like what T. Boone Pickens has been doing before the election but much more expanded to other than just renewable energy.According to Dow, volatile natural gas price in the past 20 years have resulted in a net loss of 120,000 chemical industry-related jobs in the US and more than 3 million jobs in the manufacturing sector.
“The U.S. is on a course to spend more than $500 billion per year to import oil — nearly the amount authorized one time for the financial rescue package recently passed by Congress,” said Liveris “At Dow, we believe a new comprehensive energy policy is critical to the overall economic health of the nation.”
November 13, 2008
Green job hiring
Maybe a low carbon economy might give jobs back not only to the US manufacturing sector (solar, wind, hybrid cars) but to the now jobless members of the financial institution as well.I received an email this week about the growing carbon trading market and the current need for consultants, bankers, brokers, investors and traders:
Dear Doris,
As I’m sure you are aware the Kyoto / Carbon space continues to grow exponentially, and there is an ever increasing demand for talented people who can service the requirements of industry players; whether it be Consultancies, Project developers, Aggregators, right through to Energy trading, Investment Banking and Private Equity.
November 12, 2008
Beef liver in car fuel
The American Institute of Chemical Engineer's (AIChE) Centennial annual meeting in Philadephia next week will prove to be an exciting event especially with its much-awaited 10th annual Chem-E car competition in November 16.Different US university teams will race small cars powered by their futuristic idea of alternative fuels from different chemical reactions such as beef liver and hydrogen peroxide, Mentos® and Coca Cola®, and homemade fuel cells.
Melamine in milk? Use zNose
No, I am not talking about using your nose to sniff bad milk odor in grocery shelves for melamine contamination. The California-based company Electronic Sensor Technology (EST) said they have developed a method using their zNose product for detecting and measuring melamine in less than 3 minutes and without modifying the sample for testing.Glycerine to methanol
Glycerine, a byproduct of biodiesel production, is proving to be a really versatile chemical with this new breakthrough from Oxford University in the UK.Oxford researchers said they were able to produce methanol directly by catalytic hydrogenolysis of glycerine using a precious metal catalyst in industrially mild conditions of just 100°C temperature and a 20 bar pressure of hydrogen gas.
November 11, 2008
Obama cabinet picks
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.
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