Top Stories
US Senate's top climate skeptic accused of
waging 'McCarthyite witch-hunt'.—reliability high.
"The US Congress's most ardent global warming sceptic is being accused
of turning the row over climate science into a McCarthyite witch-hunt
by calling for a criminal investigation of scientists. Climate
scientists say Senator James Inhofe's call for a criminal investigation
into American as well as British scientists who worked on the UN
climate body's report or had communications with East Anglia's climate
research unit represents an attempt to silence debate on the eve of new
proposals for a climate change law." Story at Reuters.
Winter Sports Champions Fight Canada's Tar
Sand Industry.—reliability medium.
Winter-sport athletes have been speaking out against Canada's tar
sands industry, blaming it for contributing to global warming and
harming snow sport. "Increasing concern over the impact of global
warming on the future of snow sports is putting a spotlight on Canada's
oil sands industry, the country's fastest growing source of global
warming pollution and the dirtiest form of oil in the world. In
conjunction with athlete protest, Sierra Club launched a U.S.-based
"Love Winter, Hate the Oil Sands" campaign that includes ads targeting
winter sports enthusiasts, a new website and tens of thousands of
emails asking Americans to sign a petition to President Obama." See Celsias
site.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Pepsi Refresh Project Goes Viral.—reliability
high.
Video: "In an example of a major consumer goods company using social
media to market itself via a sustainability message, PepsiCo’s Project
Refresh video has garnered more than 465,000 viewings on Youtube. The
video, which implores consumers to apply for grants for projects
related to energy efficiency, the environment and other areas, is part
of Pepsi’s refocused marketing campaign." From Environmental
Leader. [PepsiCo
believes this campaign will sell more drinks than a Super Bowl ad.]
Study: Wind now accounts for 20% of Iowa's
power.—reliability high.
"A new study shows wind energy production in Iowa is continuing to
grow and now accounts for up to 20 percent of the state's electricity.
At the same time, the study released Wednesday says electrical costs to
consumers in Iowa have remained stable and are among the lowest in the
nation." Story at Des
Moines Register from AP. PDF of policy brief here.
[So when you think
wind power, after you think "Denmark", think "Iowa".]
Special Report: How Green Certification
Programs Address Smoking/Nonsmoking.—reliability high.
Compares some of the many green certification programs for hotels on
how they handle smoking issues. Finds that there is great variation
between the programs in terms of whether properties with smoking rooms
can be certified, and great inconsistency within the programs
themselves. Full story in Green
Lodging News. [Whether you think
smoking in lodging facilities is an environmental hazard or not, this
article reveals the craziness that arises when there are many competing
certification schemes, some of them created by interested parties.]
The power of cow manure: Is it too noxious?—reliability
medium.
Converting cow manure into biogas and then burning it in
internal-combustion generators to make electricity turns out to emit
too much NOx for California's regulators. Dairy operators have to
decide what expensive emissions-control equipment they will install,
and need to deal with complex permitting rules. See Los
Angeles Times Greenspace blog. [The obvious
alternative is to clean up the biogas and sell it to the local gas
utility, rather than burn it on the farm. Utility-scale gas-fired
generators are much more efficient and are already permitted. Or it may
be sold for home heating and cooking. This is being done by at least one
large dairy in California.]
Science,
Technology and Economics
Genetically engineered tobacco plant cleans
up environmental toxin.—reliability high.
Researchers at Centre for Infection at St. George's University of
London have genetically engineered tobacco to produce antibodies to a
widespread environmental toxin, microcystin-LR, which is produced by
toxic pond scum and makes water unfit for use. They demonstrated that
the antibodies could inactivate the toxin in water in a laboratory
setting. See EurekAlert.
See abstract here.
[Hooray! After
talking about plant-produced-antibody environmental cleanup for more
than 25 years, we finally have a laboratory example! Microcystin
containing 'blooms' are a problem worldwide, causing liver damage.
Tobacco may not be the best way to treat them. Lemna anyone?]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]