Use of Food Stamps at Farmers' Markets Rises Nationally

ENN
August 27, 2008

BRATTLEBORO -- A pilot program that began last year in Vermont in Brattleboro and Bellows Falls to allows consumers to use food stamps at farmers' markets is now spreading across the state, and the rest of the country. In 2007, the experimental service was set up at the two Windham County markets. While there were a few glitches with the wireless technology, six other markets are also trying the service out this season across the state.

And at other markets from Maine to Hawaii, farmers are introducing the electronic debit systems that allow low income families to use their federal food assistance dollars to purchase local fruits and vegetables.

The number of farmers' markets across the country accepting electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, transactions increased from 532 in 2007 to 605 as of June 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

USDA Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Nancy Montanez Johner, said both food stamp recipients and farmers have benefited from the success of the program.

"Farmers' markets give food stamp recipients opportunities to improve their nutrition by increasing their consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables," Montanez Johner said. "The Food Stamp Program also benefits local farmers by bringing additional customers to their markets to purchase their products."

In Connecticut, the number of farmers' markets accepting EBT transactions rose from five in 2004 to 18 in 2007. New York saw its overall EBT use at farmers' markets jump 52 percent between 2006 and 2007.

And in Michigan, where two markets were set up to accept EBT sales in 2006, 11 joined the program the following year.

This year, 46 states have at least one farmers' market accepting EBT transactions.

Last year the Brattleboro Farmers' Market recorded $333 in food stamp sales.

Jean Hamilton, the food security and marketing coordinator at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, said the markets this year are off to a good start.

Full Story: http://www.reformer.com/ci_10305009

Santa Barbara County officials give thumbs-up to offshore drilling

Grist
August 28, 2008
Santa Barbara County supervisors on Tuesday voted 3 to 2 in favor of allowing offshore drilling along their coastline -- a move that has no practical impacts, but is rich with symbolism. The Southern California county was hit with a devastating 3-million-gallon crude oil spill from an offshore platform in 1969; it coated beaches, killed wildlife, and helped to kick-start the modern environmental movement. While the vote will do nothing to change congressional and state policy, it shows how attitudes are changing in the face of high gas prices. Fifty-one percent of Californians now say they approve of offshore drilling, up from 41 percent last year, according to polling conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) supports Congress' moratorium on offshore drilling, but the three supervisors who voted in favor of drilling are urging "The Governator" to reconsider, arguing that new technologies make offshore drilling much safer. Opponents say the supervisors are getting their info from faulty studies and point out that new offshore drilling won't actually lower gas prices anytime soon.

Power-Sector Emissions Of China To Top U.S.

Washington Post
August 27, 2008

The carbon emissions of China's electric power sector will jump by about a third this year and surpass the total emissions of the U.S. electric power industry for the first time, according to a report by the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank.

The estimate, gathered from a variety of public data, shows that while China and India are becoming somewhat more efficient in energy use, their rapid pace of economic growth would mean a doubling of their carbon emissions from power plants over the next dozen years.

"We see some marginal signs of improvement in carbon intensity, particularly in some of the major developing countries," said Kevin Ummel, a researcher at the Center for Global Development. "But even with that slight silver lining, aggregate emissions -- the only measure that matters to the atmosphere -- continue to race upward."

Worldwide, power generation accounts for 37 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions and 27 percent of all carbon emissions, including those attributed to deforestation.

The report highlights the challenge of curbing greenhouse gases in time to slow climate change while maintaining world economic growth. China and India have made growth their top priority to raise living standards and many international climate negotiators don't expect meaningful limits on carbon emissions from those countries until after 2020.

But that would spell trouble for the climate, many scientists warn. "We urgently need to cut power-related CO2 emissions," said David Wheeler, a senior fellow at the center.

According to the report, Chinese power plants will produce about 3.1 billion tons of CO2 this year, up from about 2.3 billion tons in 2007. U.S. power plants are expected to produce about 2.8 billion tons of CO2 this year, about the same as last year.

Paul Ting, a veteran oil analyst now specializing on China, said that China relies on coal for three-quarters of its energy consumption. "They cannot get away from coal," he said.

Chinese leaders are increasing the use of natural gas, but Ting said that changes in the composition of Chinese energy would be "very small and very slow."

Moreover, Ting noted, China has maintained tight price controls over electricity rates, giving consumers little incentive to conserve or boost energy efficiency. The government nudged rates up about 5 percent in June, he said, and about the same amount in July.

If all of the power plants being planned for China and the United States are built, China's power-related emissions would exceed those of the United States by 40 percent, the Center for Global Development report said. The United States emits more from transportation than does China because there are more vehicles on the road here.

The United States also spews more carbon dioxide per person than other nations. Electricity usage here produces about 9.5 tons of CO2 per person, compared with 2.4 tons per person in China, 0.6 in India and 0.1 in Brazil, the report said.

The report shows that over the past eight years, global carbon dioxide emissions have grown more than a third to 11.4 billion tons a year. Two-thirds of that has come from China.

Wind and solar power play a much bigger role in the plans for future power generation in the United States than in China and India. In the United States, wind and solar have an 18 percent share, while they account for less than 1 percent in China and India, Ummel said. In China and India, more than half of all planned power plants rely on coal.

Half of the biggest carbon emitters worldwide are Chinese power companies, led by Huaneng Power International, an independent company initially led by the son of former premier Li Peng. The next biggest are the South African utility Eskom, China Huadian Group and the Atlanta-based Southern Co., which has 4.4 million customers and 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity.

Consumers express renewed interest in natural-gas vehicles

Grist
August 27, 2008
High oil prices, increased domestic natural-gas production, and a well-publicized push from a former oil man have all boosted interest in natural-gas vehicles in the United States lately. This spring, the natural-gas equivalent of a gallon of gasoline was selling for about $1.50 less than gasoline on average nationwide. And in some places like Utah, where vertical integration of natural-gas utilities keeps prices unusually low, the difference is even larger. Energy independence enthusiasts in and out of Congress are (naturally) gassed about the possibilities. Right now, the U.S. only imports some 2 percent of its natural-gas supply and new drilling techniques that extract natural gas from shale deposits have analysts predicting a sustained boom in domestic production for years to come. However, a dearth of natural-gas pumps at gas stations is a major hurdle to increased use of the cleaner cars; less than 1 percent of U.S. gas stations carry natural-gas pumps for vehicles. Another infrastructure problem is the lack of commercially available natural-gas vehicles. Honda's Civic GX is the only model currently available, though GM has said it might also get into the biz

Obama would make cap-and-trade program a top economic priority

Grist
August 27, 2008
Setting up a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse-gas emissions would be one of Barack Obama's top economic priorities if he were elected president, right up there with a new health-care system, The Wall Street Journal reports. As part of an effort to cut emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, Obama would auction off pollution permits, raising more than $100 billion a year that could be spent on clean energy, efficiency, and green-jobs programs, among other things. If Congress didn't want to play along, an Obama administration "wouldn't hesitate to use Clean Air Act authorization to regulate" carbon dioxide emissions under the authority of the U.S. EPA, says Obama energy adviser Elgie Holstein. The Supreme Court ruled last year that the EPA has the authority to do just that, but the Bush administration has refused to exercise that power. Obama seems less committed to his proposals to impose a "windfall-profits" tax on oil companies and tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; aides say these plans could be dropped if the price of oil declines or worries about energy subside.

Ending fossil-fuel subsidies would help climate and economy, U.N. says

Grist
August 27, 2008
Ending fossil-fuel subsidies around the world could slash greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 6 percent and help the economy at the same time, according to a new United Nations report [PDF]. Globally, governments spend some $300 billion on fuel subsidies that encourage consumption, delay transition to cleaner energy sources, and mainly benefit the already-rich even though most of the programs are intended to help the poor with fuel costs. "In the final analysis, many fossil-fuel subsidies are introduced for political reasons but are simply propping up and perpetuating inefficiencies in the global economy," said U.N. Environment Program director Achim Steiner. "Governments should urgently review their energy subsidies and begin phasing out the harmful ones." Instead of subsidizing dirty energy, the report recommends employing more direct programs to help the poor as well as enacting tax breaks and other financial incentives to promote cleaner energy sources. Russia is the largest fuel-subsidy spender, throwing down some $40 billion a year mainly to subsidize natural gas; Iran is in second place, spending about $37 billion a year on fuel subsidies.

New plan for endangered Bay Area butterfly

San Francisco Chronicle
August 27, 2008

The federal government has designated thousands of acres in California as essential to the resurgence of a rare butterfly, but environmentalists say the Bush administration has once again fallen short of sufficiently protecting a threatened species.

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• It's heating up out there 08.27.08

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday selected 18,293 acres for protection in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The Peninsula is the remaining home to the bay checkerspot, a 2-inch red-and-black butterfly that scientists say is threatened by global warming and suffers from loss of habitat.

Representatives of the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit that has filed dozens of lawsuits challenging the government's record on saving wildlife, say the designation leaves out Contra Costa and Alameda counties and doesn't offer corridors that connect butterflies to food plants.

The butterfly was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1987. Under the law, the Fish and Wildlife Service designated acreage critical to the butterfly's recovery in 2001, and it was sued by the Home Builders Association of Northern California. Fish and Wildlife agreed to settle the suit by preparing a new designation, which was released Tuesday.

The designated land, which is nearly 25 percent smaller than in the original decision, isn't protected like a national park. Instead, it carries certain restrictions on development.

Jeff Miller, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, said his group is reviewing the designation and might take legal action "if it's an extinction plan instead of an aid-to-recovery plan."

Al Donner, a spokesman for Fish and Wildlife Service, said the final acreage is smaller because some of the land originally designated in 2001 had been built over, and some was forestland where the butterfly wouldn't live.

One area that was dropped was Communications Hill, 440 acres in south San Jose, which was developed while the home builders' association was fighting the designation. The agency added 197 acres in the Pulgas Ridge area to provide a connection between Edgewood Natural Preserve and San Bruno Mountain.

Environmentalists are concerned because the bay checkerspot's case is one of the first in which the land selected as critical for a species' recovery lies within two "habitat conservation plans" that haven't yet been approved.

Such plans are voluntary partnerships among public agencies, cities and private landowners. They are difficult to complete, and many are never approved.

Scott Black, an executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation in Portland, Ore., who testified in Congress on the Bush administration's handling of butterfly species, noted that habitat conservation plans are important to provide incentives to landowners. But few of the plans have been finalized, he said. "At the end of the day, it's very hard through voluntary incentives to truly protect the species."

Black said the acreage chosen by the agency isn't enough to protect and restore a species to previous levels. "The act is designed not to just stave off extinction but to recover species. Often times with this administration, that has not been their goal."

Parties are working cooperatively to complete the 520,000-acre Santa Clara habitat conservation plan, said Donner of the Fish and Wildlife Service. The plan is designed to help not only the bay checkerspot but also 14 other animals and 15 plants.

Eminent Stanford University conservation biologist Paul Ehrlich began studying the bay checkerspot in the 1960s. In 2001, doctoral students working with him found that climate change played a role in the butterfly's die-off. As temperatures climbed and the frequency and severity of extremely wet and dry years increased, the Bay Area's annual browning of terrain occurred earlier in many years, killing off plantains, the favorite plant food of the bay checkerspot caterpillar. The bay checkerspot couldn't find food by moving because neighboring habitat had been covered by houses and highways.

For more information on the bay checkerspot, go to: sfgate.com/ZEQO and links.sfgate.com/ZEQR

E-mail Jane Kay at jkay@sfchronicle.com.

Bush admin proposes scaling back speed-limit zone meant to protect right whales

Grist
August 26, 2008
On the same day that President Bush moved toward creation of marine sanctuaries in the Pacific, his administration proposed cutting by 10 nautical miles a speed-limit zone in the Atlantic meant to protect critically endangered right whales. The proposal would cut the area covered by the speed zones to 20 nautical miles offshore from the original 30; ship collisions are the most common cause of death for the 300 or so North Atlantic right whales that comprise the world's entire remaining population. The speed zones would be the first to take effect on behalf of wildlife on the East Coast and would be in force each year during the whale's annual migration, requiring ships to slow to 10 knots. Environmentalists and wildlife advocates have decried the weakened proposal, arguing that the right whale is so extremely endangered that any dip in protections could push them into extinction. The shipping industry has strongly opposed speed zones of any size, arguing that time is money in the shipping industry. A speed-limit zone on behalf of right whales was first proposed in 2006.

Chemicals in plastics tied to sick lobsters

Cape Cod Times
August 22, 2008

A Woods Hole scientist believes he may have found a key culprit behind a mysterious disease linked to a dramatic drop in lobster populations from Buzzards Bay to Long Island.

In research conducted this summer, Hans Laufer found that common man-made chemicals used in plastics, detergents and cosmetics had infiltrated the blood and tissue of lobsters, making them more vulnerable to a particularly virulent strain of shell disease.

ALKYLPHENOL primer

Alkylphenols have been shown to alter hormone activity, causing reproductive and growth problems in plants and animals. Studies have not shown any carcinogenic risk.

* Alkylphenols are found in face makeup, fragrances, hair bleach, hair conditioner, hair dye, shampoo, manicure products, skin moisturizers and cleansers, pesticides, and liquid laundry detergents. Sources of alkylphenols in the environment include beauty parlors, textile companies and pulp manufacturing, but the chemicals enter the ocean largely through discharge from wastewater treatment plants.
* Sediment in areas tested between Buzzards Bay and Long Island Sound show some highly elevated levels of alkylphenols. Although alkylphenols degrade quickly into less toxic elements when exposed to oxygen in the air, they do not break down in water or low oxygen sediment layers on the ocean bottom.
* Lobsters absorb alkylphenols either through their food or by walking through contaminated sediment.
* Scientists speculate that alkylphenols may inhibit lobster amino acids, which bind proteins to other proteins in building a hard shell.

Sources: Marine Biological Laboratory, www.biosolids.org

"We need to use less plastic," warned Laufer, a molecular and cellular biology professor at the University of Connecticut who has been a researcher at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory for more than two decades.

In 2001, Laufer was one of many scientists investigating the mysterious die-off of lobsters in Long Island Sound, when he noticed high concentrations of man-made chemicals, known as alkyphenols, in the blood and tissues of lobsters afflicted with lobster shell disease.

The disease causes gross deformation of the lobster's protective shell, and it can interfere with growth and reproduction. In the worst cases, the shell is so badly pitted it prevents the lobster from molting, resulting in death.

"It looks like the shell has been eroded away by acid," said Robert Glenn, a state Division of Marine Fisheries senior biologist and director of the state's lobster program. Glenn said more research needs to be done to pinpoint the cause of the problem. "We don't have enough of a handle on the mechanism causing the disease," he said.

First seen in Long Island Sound in the mid-1990s, the shell disease quickly spread up the coast into Southern New England and corresponded with a steep drop-off in the lobster harvest.

New York's lobster catch plummeted from more than 7 million pounds in 1999 to less than 3 million pounds in 2000 and less than a million pounds by 2003. The trend continued up the coast to Connecticut, Rhode Island and Buzzards Bay, with lobster landings dropping off quickly over the next four years. The Southern New England and Long Island lobster stock is still at historic low levels, Glenn said.

In 2005, lobster was the single most valuable commercial fishing species in New England, worth nearly $12 million to 132 Cape lobstermen and about $56 million statewide.

Alkylphenols are found in a wide variety of products including many cosmetics, detergents and plastics.

The chemicals are classed as endocrine disrupters: agents that mimic or interfere with the work of hormones. In low-oxygen environments such as heavy sediments or underwater, alkylphenols degrade very slowly. The chemicals enter the ocean through wastewater and septic system effluent, as well as road run-off.

In his research at MBL, Laufer used radioactive alkylphenol molecules to track the chemicals in lobster tissue. He found alkylphenols were blocking a critical amino acid derivative that hardens lobster shell.

Scientists believe bacteria may be responsible for the shell disease. But the lobster can molt to shed a defective shell, and Laufer believes the alkyphenols inhibit a new shell from hardening, leaving affected lobsters vulnerable to bacteria and other opportunistic diseases and predators.

Glenn agrees that alkylphenols "have some relationship to the shell disease puzzle," but he is skeptical Laufer has found the main cause of the lobster disease. He questioned why Boston Harbor, for example, shows little incidence of shell disease, while the pristine Elizabeth Islands have a relatively high rate of the illness.

Glenn's research has found rising water temperatures in the waters south of the Cape could be a prime factor in the spread of the disease.
While lobster stocks in colder waters off the Outer Cape and to the north in the Gulf of Maine show a small occurrence of the disease, concern that the region's most valuable fishery was in jeopardy prompted Congress to appropriate $3 million to establish the New England Lobster Research Initiative. The research initiative has spent $2.3 million on Laufer's study and eight other research projects focused on determining how the disease is spread, how it attacks the shell, and the impact of environmental factors such as pollutants and temperature rise

Solar plane makes record flight

BBC News
August 24, 2008

By Jonathan Amos

Solar plane's 3 day flight

A UK-built solar-powered plane has set an unofficial world endurance record for a flight by an unmanned aircraft.

The Zephyr-6, as it is known, stayed aloft for more than three days, running through the night on batteries it had recharged in sunlight.

The flight was a demonstration for the US military, which is looking for new types of technology to support its troops on the ground.

Craft like Zephyr might make ideal platforms for reconnaissance.

They could also be used to relay battlefield communications.

Chris Kelleher, from UK defence and research firm QinetiQ, said Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer advantages over traditional aircraft and even satellites.

"The principal advantage is persistence - that you would be there all the time," he told BBC News. "A satellite goes over the same part of the Earth twice a day - and one of those is at night - so it's only really getting a snapshot of activity. Zephyr would be watching all day."

Deployment close

The latest flight was conducted at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The Zephyr flew non-stop for 82 hours, 37 minutes.

That time beats the current official world record for unmanned flight set by the US robot plane Global Hawk - of 30 hours, 24 minutes - and even Zephyr's own previous best of 54 hours achieved last year.

However, the Yuma mark remains "unofficial" because QinetiQ did not involve the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale), the world air sports federation, which sanctions all record attempts.

The US Department of Defense funded the demonstration flight under its Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) programme.

This programme is designed to advance the technologies American commanders would most like to see in the field.

"We think Zephyr is very close to an operational system - within the next two years is what we're aiming for," Mr Kelleher said. "We have one more step of improvements; we trying to design a robust and reliable system that will really sit up there for months; and we want to push the performance."

Energy density

The trial, which took place between 28 and 31 July, also included the participation of the UK Ministry of Defence.

The 30kg Zephyr was guided by remote control to an operating altitude in excess of 18km (60,000ft), and then flown on autopilot and via satellite communication.

It tested a communications payload weighing approximately 2kg.

Zephyr should be in commanders' hands within two years

At first sight, the propeller-driven Zephyr looks to be just another model aircraft, and it is even launched by hand. But this "pilotless" vehicle with its 18-metre wingspan incorporates world-leading technologies.

Its structure uses ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre material; and the plane flies on solar power generated by amorphous silicon solar arrays no thicker than sheets of paper. These are glued over the aircraft's wings.

To get through the night, the propellers are powered from lithium-sulphur batteries which are topped up during the day.

"A lot of effort has gone into power storage and light-weighting the systems," explained Mr Kelleher. "Lithium sulphur is more than double the energy density of the best alternative technology which is lithium polymer batteries.

"They are an exceptional performer. We've worked with the Sion Corporation. They've had them in development for years. We're actually the first application in the world for them."

Vulture venture

Zephyr has demonstrated that it can cope with extremes of temperature - from the blistering 45C heat found at ground level in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, to the minus 70C chill experienced at altitudes of more than 18km (60,000ft).

The engineers from the Farnborough-based company are now collaborating with the American aerospace giant Boeing on a defence project codenamed Vulture.

This would see the biggest plane in history take to the sky, powered by the sun and capable of carrying a 450-kilo (1,000lb) payload.

US commanders say the design must be able to maintain its position over a particular spot on the Earth's surface uninterrupted for five years.

QinetiQ is also developing UAV technology for civilian uses.

It has been working recently with Aberystwyth University on field monitoring trials, plotting areas of ground that may or may not need fertiliser applications.

Lightweight plane (30-34kg/70lb) is launched by hand

Coms or surveillance payload of about 2kg (4.5lb)

Flies autonomously and can climb to more than 18km (60,000ft)

By day, Zephyr flies on solar power and recharges its batteries

Advanced amorphous silicon solar arrays supplied by Unisolar

Rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries supplied by Sion Corp

 

Solar plane makes record flight

BBC News
August 24, 2008

By Jonathan Amos

Solar plane's 3 day flight

A UK-built solar-powered plane has set an unofficial world endurance record for a flight by an unmanned aircraft.

The Zephyr-6, as it is known, stayed aloft for more than three days, running through the night on batteries it had recharged in sunlight.

The flight was a demonstration for the US military, which is looking for new types of technology to support its troops on the ground.

Craft like Zephyr might make ideal platforms for reconnaissance.

They could also be used to relay battlefield communications.

Chris Kelleher, from UK defence and research firm QinetiQ, said Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer advantages over traditional aircraft and even satellites.

"The principal advantage is persistence - that you would be there all the time," he told BBC News. "A satellite goes over the same part of the Earth twice a day - and one of those is at night - so it's only really getting a snapshot of activity. Zephyr would be watching all day."

Deployment close

The latest flight was conducted at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The Zephyr flew non-stop for 82 hours, 37 minutes.

That time beats the current official world record for unmanned flight set by the US robot plane Global Hawk - of 30 hours, 24 minutes - and even Zephyr's own previous best of 54 hours achieved last year.

However, the Yuma mark remains "unofficial" because QinetiQ did not involve the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale), the world air sports federation, which sanctions all record attempts.

The US Department of Defense funded the demonstration flight under its Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) programme.

This programme is designed to advance the technologies American commanders would most like to see in the field.

"We think Zephyr is very close to an operational system - within the next two years is what we're aiming for," Mr Kelleher said. "We have one more step of improvements; we trying to design a robust and reliable system that will really sit up there for months; and we want to push the performance."

Energy density

The trial, which took place between 28 and 31 July, also included the participation of the UK Ministry of Defence.

The 30kg Zephyr was guided by remote control to an operating altitude in excess of 18km (60,000ft), and then flown on autopilot and via satellite communication.

It tested a communications payload weighing approximately 2kg.

Zephyr should be in commanders' hands within two years

At first sight, the propeller-driven Zephyr looks to be just another model aircraft, and it is even launched by hand. But this "pilotless" vehicle with its 18-metre wingspan incorporates world-leading technologies.

Its structure uses ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre material; and the plane flies on solar power generated by amorphous silicon solar arrays no thicker than sheets of paper. These are glued over the aircraft's wings.

To get through the night, the propellers are powered from lithium-sulphur batteries which are topped up during the day.

"A lot of effort has gone into power storage and light-weighting the systems," explained Mr Kelleher. "Lithium sulphur is more than double the energy density of the best alternative technology which is lithium polymer batteries.

"They are an exceptional performer. We've worked with the Sion Corporation. They've had them in development for years. We're actually the first application in the world for them."

Vulture venture

Zephyr has demonstrated that it can cope with extremes of temperature - from the blistering 45C heat found at ground level in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, to the minus 70C chill experienced at altitudes of more than 18km (60,000ft).

The engineers from the Farnborough-based company are now collaborating with the American aerospace giant Boeing on a defence project codenamed Vulture.

This would see the biggest plane in history take to the sky, powered by the sun and capable of carrying a 450-kilo (1,000lb) payload.

US commanders say the design must be able to maintain its position over a particular spot on the Earth's surface uninterrupted for five years.

QinetiQ is also developing UAV technology for civilian uses.

It has been working recently with Aberystwyth University on field monitoring trials, plotting areas of ground that may or may not need fertiliser applications.

Lightweight plane (30-34kg/70lb) is launched by hand

Coms or surveillance payload of about 2kg (4.5lb)

Flies autonomously and can climb to more than 18km (60,000ft)

By day, Zephyr flies on solar power and recharges its batteries

Advanced amorphous silicon solar arrays supplied by Unisolar

Rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries supplied by Sion Corp

 

Solar plane makes record flight

BBC News

August 24, 2008

By Jonathan Amos

Solar plane's 3 day flight

A UK-built solar-powered plane has set an unofficial world endurance record for a flight by an unmanned aircraft.

The Zephyr-6, as it is known, stayed aloft for more than three days, running through the night on batteries it had recharged in sunlight.

The flight was a demonstration for the US military, which is looking for new types of technology to support its troops on the ground.

Craft like Zephyr might make ideal platforms for reconnaissance.

They could also be used to relay battlefield communications.

Chris Kelleher, from UK defence and research firm QinetiQ, said Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer advantages over traditional aircraft and even satellites.

"The principal advantage is persistence - that you would be there all the time," he told BBC News. "A satellite goes over the same part of the Earth twice a day - and one of those is at night - so it's only really getting a snapshot of activity. Zephyr would be watching all day."

Deployment close

The latest flight was conducted at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The Zephyr flew non-stop for 82 hours, 37 minutes.

That time beats the current official world record for unmanned flight set by the US robot plane Global Hawk - of 30 hours, 24 minutes - and even Zephyr's own previous best of 54 hours achieved last year.

However, the Yuma mark remains "unofficial" because QinetiQ did not involve the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale), the world air sports federation, which sanctions all record attempts.

The US Department of Defense funded the demonstration flight under its Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) programme.

This programme is designed to advance the technologies American commanders would most like to see in the field.

"We think Zephyr is very close to an operational system - within the next two years is what we're aiming for," Mr Kelleher said. "We have one more step of improvements; we trying to design a robust and reliable system that will really sit up there for months; and we want to push the performance."

Energy density

The trial, which took place between 28 and 31 July, also included the participation of the UK Ministry of Defence.

The 30kg Zephyr was guided by remote control to an operating altitude in excess of 18km (60,000ft), and then flown on autopilot and via satellite communication.

It tested a communications payload weighing approximately 2kg.

Zephyr should be in commanders' hands within two years

At first sight, the propeller-driven Zephyr looks to be just another model aircraft, and it is even launched by hand. But this "pilotless" vehicle with its 18-metre wingspan incorporates world-leading technologies.

Its structure uses ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre material; and the plane flies on solar power generated by amorphous silicon solar arrays no thicker than sheets of paper. These are glued over the aircraft's wings.

To get through the night, the propellers are powered from lithium-sulphur batteries which are topped up during the day.

"A lot of effort has gone into power storage and light-weighting the systems," explained Mr Kelleher. "Lithium sulphur is more than double the energy density of the best alternative technology which is lithium polymer batteries.

"They are an exceptional performer. We've worked with the Sion Corporation. They've had them in development for years. We're actually the first application in the world for them."

Vulture venture

Zephyr has demonstrated that it can cope with extremes of temperature - from the blistering 45C heat found at ground level in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, to the minus 70C chill experienced at altitudes of more than 18km (60,000ft).

The engineers from the Farnborough-based company are now collaborating with the American aerospace giant Boeing on a defence project codenamed Vulture.

This would see the biggest plane in history take to the sky, powered by the sun and capable of carrying a 450-kilo (1,000lb) payload.

US commanders say the design must be able to maintain its position over a particular spot on the Earth's surface uninterrupted for five years.

QinetiQ is also developing UAV technology for civilian uses.

It has been working recently with Aberystwyth University on field monitoring trials, plotting areas of ground that may or may not need fertiliser applications.

Lightweight plane (30-34kg/70lb) is launched by hand

Coms or surveillance payload of about 2kg (4.5lb)

Flies autonomously and can climb to more than 18km (60,000ft)

By day, Zephyr flies on solar power and recharges its batteries

Advanced amorphous silicon solar arrays supplied by Unisolar

Rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries supplied by Sion Corp

Birds 'off the pace' with warming

BBC News
August 20, 2008

French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, scientists have found.

Their data came from a large survey in which volunteer ornithologists counted more than 105 species of bird.

In the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, researchers say that the birds are lagging some 182km behind the increases in temperature.

This lag may be of particular concern to rare birds or species that have very specific food requirements.

"The flora and fauna around us are shifting over time due to climate change," said Vincent Devictor, who led the research project from the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris.

"The result is desynchronisation. If birds and the insects on which they depend do not react in the same way, we are headed for an upheaval in the interaction between species," he told the AFP news agency.

At its worst, this desynchronisation could result in species extinctions, he said.

Slow march

In 1989, French ornithologists began a systematic survey of breeding birds. Sightings are taken at set times of the year in set locations, and follow a standard protocol.

A wide variety of habitats are surveyed across the whole country, including farmland, forests, suburbs and cities.

The result is a dataset that covers virtually all wild bird species in the country, and can be used to track changes over the period.

Chaffinches are among the birds found to be nesting earlier in the UK

On average, bird populations moved 91km northward between 1989 and 2006.

In order to have kept themselves at a constant temperature as the country warmed, they would have had to move 273km northwards, the researchers calculated.

Ben Sheldon from Oxford University, who also studies nature's response to rising temperatures, commented: "At any one site, the community of birds you find there has changed over time.

"Now, more of the species that are found in warmer climates are occurring, but that change is not occurring as fast as the change in temperature is," he told BBC News.

This study did not examine whether the failure to "keep up" with rising temperatures was affecting the birds.

Evidence from other studies suggests it depends on the species involved, their habitat, how their prey are responding to climate change, and what other threats and constraints they face.

A recent study of great tits in England found they were coping well with rising temperatures, changing their egg-laying times in order to adapt to the earlier emergence of insect prey.

But in the Netherlands, the same species is suffering.

"Some species have changed their range hugely over the past two decades," observed Professor Sheldon.

"For example, the buzzard - one of our biggest birds of prey - 20 years ago was restricted to the west of Britain, but has now spread as far east as London."

Another recent study found a number of species in the UK, including the chaffinch, were laying eggs earlier than 40 years ago.

The French team suggests more research on the issue is vital if better conservation options are to be developed.

 

Birds 'off the pace' with warming

BBC News

August 20, 2008

French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, scientists have found.

Their data came from a large survey in which volunteer ornithologists counted more than 105 species of bird.

In the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, researchers say that the birds are lagging some 182km behind the increases in temperature.

This lag may be of particular concern to rare birds or species that have very specific food requirements.

"The flora and fauna around us are shifting over time due to climate change," said Vincent Devictor, who led the research project from the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris.

"The result is desynchronisation. If birds and the insects on which they depend do not react in the same way, we are headed for an upheaval in the interaction between species," he told the AFP news agency.

At its worst, this desynchronisation could result in species extinctions, he said.

Slow march

In 1989, French ornithologists began a systematic survey of breeding birds. Sightings are taken at set times of the year in set locations, and follow a standard protocol.

A wide variety of habitats are surveyed across the whole country, including farmland, forests, suburbs and cities.

The result is a dataset that covers virtually all wild bird species in the country, and can be used to track changes over the period.

Chaffinches are among the birds found to be nesting earlier in the UK

On average, bird populations moved 91km northward between 1989 and 2006.

In order to have kept themselves at a constant temperature as the country warmed, they would have had to move 273km northwards, the researchers calculated.

Ben Sheldon from Oxford University, who also studies nature's response to rising temperatures, commented: "At any one site, the community of birds you find there has changed over time.

"Now, more of the species that are found in warmer climates are occurring, but that change is not occurring as fast as the change in temperature is," he told BBC News.

This study did not examine whether the failure to "keep up" with rising temperatures was affecting the birds.

Evidence from other studies suggests it depends on the species involved, their habitat, how their prey are responding to climate change, and what other threats and constraints they face.

A recent study of great tits in England found they were coping well with rising temperatures, changing their egg-laying times in order to adapt to the earlier emergence of insect prey.

But in the Netherlands, the same species is suffering.

"Some species have changed their range hugely over the past two decades," observed Professor Sheldon.

"For example, the buzzard - one of our biggest birds of prey - 20 years ago was restricted to the west of Britain, but has now spread as far east as London."

Another recent study found a number of species in the UK, including the chaffinch, were laying eggs earlier than 40 years ago.

The French team suggests more research on the issue is vital if better conservation options are to be developed.

Birds 'off the pace' with warming

BBC News

August 20, 2008

French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, scientists have found.

Their data came from a large survey in which volunteer ornithologists counted more than 105 species of bird.

In the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, researchers say that the birds are lagging some 182km behind the increases in temperature.

This lag may be of particular concern to rare birds or species that have very specific food requirements.

"The flora and fauna around us are shifting over time due to climate change," said Vincent Devictor, who led the research project from the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris.

"The result is desynchronisation. If birds and the insects on which they depend do not react in the same way, we are headed for an upheaval in the interaction between species," he told the AFP news agency.

At its worst, this desynchronisation could result in species extinctions, he said.

Slow march

In 1989, French ornithologists began a systematic survey of breeding birds. Sightings are taken at set times of the year in set locations, and follow a standard protocol.

A wide variety of habitats are surveyed across the whole country, including farmland, forests, suburbs and cities.

The result is a dataset that covers virtually all wild bird species in the country, and can be used to track changes over the period.

Chaffinches are among the birds found to be nesting earlier in the UK

On average, bird populations moved 91km northward between 1989 and 2006.

In order to have kept themselves at a constant temperature as the country warmed, they would have had to move 273km northwards, the researchers calculated.

Ben Sheldon from Oxford University, who also studies nature's response to rising temperatures, commented: "At any one site, the community of birds you find there has changed over time.

"Now, more of the species that are found in warmer climates are occurring, but that change is not occurring as fast as the change in temperature is," he told BBC News.

This study did not examine whether the failure to "keep up" with rising temperatures was affecting the birds.

Evidence from other studies suggests it depends on the species involved, their habitat, how their prey are responding to climate change, and what other threats and constraints they face.

A recent study of great tits in England found they were coping well with rising temperatures, changing their egg-laying times in order to adapt to the earlier emergence of insect prey.

But in the Netherlands, the same species is suffering.

"Some species have changed their range hugely over the past two decades," observed Professor Sheldon.

"For example, the buzzard - one of our biggest birds of prey - 20 years ago was restricted to the west of Britain, but has now spread as far east as London."

Another recent study found a number of species in the UK, including the chaffinch, were laying eggs earlier than 40 years ago.

The French team suggests more research on the issue is vital if better conservation options are to be developed.

Birds 'off the pace' with warming

BBC News
August 20, 2008

French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, scientists have found.

Their data came from a large survey in which volunteer ornithologists counted more than 105 species of bird.

In the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, researchers say that the birds are lagging some 182km behind the increases in temperature.

This lag may be of particular concern to rare birds or species that have very specific food requirements.

"The flora and fauna around us are shifting over time due to climate change," said Vincent Devictor, who led the research project from the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris.

"The result is desynchronisation. If birds and the insects on which they depend do not react in the same way, we are headed for an upheaval in the interaction between species," he told the AFP news agency.

At its worst, this desynchronisation could result in species extinctions, he said.

Slow march

In 1989, French ornithologists began a systematic survey of breeding birds. Sightings are taken at set times of the year in set locations, and follow a standard protocol.

A wide variety of habitats are surveyed across the whole country, including farmland, forests, suburbs and cities.

The result is a dataset that covers virtually all wild bird species in the country, and can be used to track changes over the period.

Chaffinches are among the birds found to be nesting earlier in the UK

On average, bird populations moved 91km northward between 1989 and 2006.

In order to have kept themselves at a constant temperature as the country warmed, they would have had to move 273km northwards, the researchers calculated.

Ben Sheldon from Oxford University, who also studies nature's response to rising temperatures, commented: "At any one site, the community of birds you find there has changed over time.

"Now, more of the species that are found in warmer climates are occurring, but that change is not occurring as fast as the change in temperature is," he told BBC News.

This study did not examine whether the failure to "keep up" with rising temperatures was affecting the birds.

Evidence from other studies suggests it depends on the species involved, their habitat, how their prey are responding to climate change, and what other threats and constraints they face.

A recent study of great tits in England found they were coping well with rising temperatures, changing their egg-laying times in order to adapt to the earlier emergence of insect prey.

But in the Netherlands, the same species is suffering.

"Some species have changed their range hugely over the past two decades," observed Professor Sheldon.

"For example, the buzzard - one of our biggest birds of prey - 20 years ago was restricted to the west of Britain, but has now spread as far east as London."

Another recent study found a number of species in the UK, including the chaffinch, were laying eggs earlier than 40 years ago.

The French team suggests more research on the issue is vital if better conservation options are to be developed.

Solar plane makes record flight

BBC News
August 24, 2008

By Jonathan Amos

Solar plane's 3 day flight

A UK-built solar-powered plane has set an unofficial world endurance record for a flight by an unmanned aircraft.

The Zephyr-6, as it is known, stayed aloft for more than three days, running through the night on batteries it had recharged in sunlight.

The flight was a demonstration for the US military, which is looking for new types of technology to support its troops on the ground.

Craft like Zephyr might make ideal platforms for reconnaissance.

They could also be used to relay battlefield communications.

Chris Kelleher, from UK defence and research firm QinetiQ, said Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer advantages over traditional aircraft and even satellites.

"The principal advantage is persistence - that you would be there all the time," he told BBC News. "A satellite goes over the same part of the Earth twice a day - and one of those is at night - so it's only really getting a snapshot of activity. Zephyr would be watching all day."

Deployment close

The latest flight was conducted at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The Zephyr flew non-stop for 82 hours, 37 minutes.

That time beats the current official world record for unmanned flight set by the US robot plane Global Hawk - of 30 hours, 24 minutes - and even Zephyr's own previous best of 54 hours achieved last year.

However, the Yuma mark remains "unofficial" because QinetiQ did not involve the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale), the world air sports federation, which sanctions all record attempts.

The US Department of Defense funded the demonstration flight under its Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) programme.

This programme is designed to advance the technologies American commanders would most like to see in the field.

"We think Zephyr is very close to an operational system - within the next two years is what we're aiming for," Mr Kelleher said. "We have one more step of improvements; we trying to design a robust and reliable system that will really sit up there for months; and we want to push the performance."

Energy density

The trial, which took place between 28 and 31 July, also included the participation of the UK Ministry of Defence.

The 30kg Zephyr was guided by remote control to an operating altitude in excess of 18km (60,000ft), and then flown on autopilot and via satellite communication.

It tested a communications payload weighing approximately 2kg.

Zephyr should be in commanders' hands within two years

At first sight, the propeller-driven Zephyr looks to be just another model aircraft, and it is even launched by hand. But this "pilotless" vehicle with its 18-metre wingspan incorporates world-leading technologies.

Its structure uses ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre material; and the plane flies on solar power generated by amorphous silicon solar arrays no thicker than sheets of paper. These are glued over the aircraft's wings.

To get through the night, the propellers are powered from lithium-sulphur batteries which are topped up during the day.

"A lot of effort has gone into power storage and light-weighting the systems," explained Mr Kelleher. "Lithium sulphur is more than double the energy density of the best alternative technology which is lithium polymer batteries.

"They are an exceptional performer. We've worked with the Sion Corporation. They've had them in development for years. We're actually the first application in the world for them."

Vulture venture

Zephyr has demonstrated that it can cope with extremes of temperature - from the blistering 45C heat found at ground level in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, to the minus 70C chill experienced at altitudes of more than 18km (60,000ft).

The engineers from the Farnborough-based company are now collaborating with the American aerospace giant Boeing on a defence project codenamed Vulture.

This would see the biggest plane in history take to the sky, powered by the sun and capable of carrying a 450-kilo (1,000lb) payload.

US commanders say the design must be able to maintain its position over a particular spot on the Earth's surface uninterrupted for five years.

QinetiQ is also developing UAV technology for civilian uses.

It has been working recently with Aberystwyth University on field monitoring trials, plotting areas of ground that may or may not need fertiliser applications.

Lightweight plane (30-34kg/70lb) is launched by hand

Coms or surveillance payload of about 2kg (4.5lb)

Flies autonomously and can climb to more than 18km (60,000ft)

By day, Zephyr flies on solar power and recharges its batteries

Advanced amorphous silicon solar arrays supplied by Unisolar

Rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries supplied by Sion Corp

Deal would allow state oversight of chemicals in California

Sacramento Bee
August 25, 2008

An ambitious proposal crafted in the dwindling days of the legislative session would for the first time give state regulators broad authority to oversee chemicals in consumer products.

The two-bill deal, negotiated among legislators, the Schwarzenegger administration and environmental and chemical industry groups, also would lay the foundation for the administration's "Green Chemistry Initiative," which would fundamentally change the way the state handles hazardous materials.

"I think we're on the verge of enacting groundbreaking legislation," said Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles.

Feuer's measure, Assembly Bill 1879, would give the Department of Toxic Substances Control until January 2011 to establish a science-based process to identify and evaluate problem chemicals in their manufacture, use and ultimate disposal.

It would give the department authority to regulate the chemicals, including banning their use in California.

It also would create a "Green Ribbon" panel of scientists to advise the department.

Senate Bill 509, by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, would create a state-run Web site where consumers could search for information on chemical hazards.

State environmental regulators have traditionally focused mostly on problems such as air pollution and hazardous waste disposal, while chemical regulation has been left to the federal government.

But environmental groups have complained for years that federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration move too slowly, when they move at all.

In April 2007, the administration began formulating plans for overhauling the state's approach to dealing with the waves of new chemicals that wash over consumer products each year.

Specific recommendations were to be in place by last month. But administration officials said it would likely be sometime in September before they're done.

In the meantime, elements of the plan were negotiated into the Feuer and Simitian bills to serve as a beachhead for the program.

"This is essential for us to begin to really start looking at toxics in products," department director Maureen Gorsen said. "Right now everything we look at, and have been looking at, are emissions, wastes and discharges."

For example, Gorsen said: "We have lunchboxes that contain lead. When you throw them out, we can treat them as hazardous waste. But a kid could eat out of it every day … and there's not much we can do about it right now."

Feuer said that when he gives talks on the subject, "people are not only surprised to find that the state currently doesn't have authority over products that contain dangerous chemicals, they expect that the state should."

Environmental groups praised the plan as a good first step.

"We're strongly supporting this," said Bill Magavern, lobbyist for the Sierra Club. "Right now, most Californians assume that state government has the authority to take toxic products off the shelves. That's actually not true, except in a very few specific cases where the Legislature has acted. … This would be a really important breakthrough."

The chemical industry has generally been more cautious than aggressively opposed to the proposals.

"Officially, we don't have a position," said Tim Shestek, lobbyist for the American Chemistry Council, "but we're encouraged by it. … This kind of format is much more preferred than what we're dealing with in the Legislature."

Shestek was referring to dozens of bills in the past few years that dealt with individual chemicals or specific chemical groups.

Chemical companies and manufacturers have complained that legislators lack the scientific knowledge to decide what is potentially dangerous, and are too often swayed by emotion rather than science.

Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger indicated while signing a bill that phased out chemicals called phthalates from toys that he was weary of the one-chemical-at-a-time approach.

"I strongly believe there needs to be a systemic way to address these types of concerns," Schwarzenegger said.

That, plus the looming approval of the administration-backed Simitian and Feuer bills, could doom two other bills that seek to ban chemicals from fast food containers, microwave popcorn bags and some plastic baby bottles.

Those measures, Senate Bill 1713 by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, and Senate Bill 1313 by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, were defeated in the Assembly last week, but were scheduled for new votes this week.

Free grocery bags targeted for extinction in California

Sacramento Bee
August 25, 2008

The plastic grocery bag is fighting for its crinkly life.

From the city of San Francisco to Los Angeles County, more than a dozen local governments around the state have proposed or passed plastic-bag restrictions, ranging from recycling mandates to outright bans.

Now, a proposal in the Legislature would put a 25-cent fee on all disposable bags – paper or plastic – given out at drug and grocery store check stands starting Jan. 1, 2010. It has won key support from the grocery and retail industries and faces its next legislative step today.

Those in favor of the fee, led by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, and a collection of environmental groups, point to dirty oceans, sewers fouled with plastic and millions of dollars in litter-cleanup costs. Opponents – mainly bag-industry and taxpayer organizations – say plastic bags draw more blame than they deserve and the fee would be a burden on consumers.

"People have completely lost their perspective," said Stephen Joseph, a Tiburon lawyer who runs savetheplasticbag.com, an industry group.

Both sides expect a fee would drive shoppers to switch to reusable bags. After Ireland imposed a fee on plastic checkout-counter bags in 2002, their use dropped by about 90 percent.

About 80 percent of bags given out in the state's supermarkets are plastic, according to Californians Against Waste, an advocacy group.

Winning over grocers

Powerful grocery and retail industry groups objected to an early version of the proposal that put a fee only on plastic bags. They worried that stores would be pressured to switch to paper bags, which cost about 8 cents each vs. about 1.5 cents for a plastic bag.

Now that the measure – Assembly Bill 2769 – covers both paper and plastic, though, grocers are behind it.

Big supermarket and drugstore chains would rather have a single statewide standard than a growing number of local regulations. Also, doing away with free bags could save them money.

Checkout-counter sacks cost supermarkets on the order of $1,500 to $6,000 a month, according to bag makers. That's a considerable expense in a business where the median monthly profit, after taxes, is about $30,000 per store, according to data from the Food Marketing Institute.

Grocers still worry that the end of free bags would slow checkout lines as shoppers and baggers fumble with reusable bags. But they also don't want to be seen as anti-environment.

"There does need to be some effort to curb plastics," said Ronald Fong, president of the California Grocers Association.

Under the proposal, stores would get a 5-cent to 10-cent cut of any bag fees collected. The balance would go into a state litter-cleanup fund. Small groceries, pharmacies and convenience stores still would be allowed to give out free bags.

The bag fee would be capped initially at $2 per shopper. People in government food-assistance programs would be exempt.

Despite the backing from retailers, the proposal's chances of becoming law appear to have slipped in recent days. Supporters are scuffling over details of the plan, according to a California Retailers Association memo provided to The Bee. Also, the prospect of new taxes to close the state's budget gap has lawmakers leery about raising any other costs for consumers.

Consumer change

Outside two Sacramento supermarkets recently, not one of a dozen shoppers interviewed was happy about the prospect of paying for grocery sacks. Still, most said a fee would indeed change their bagging habits.

"I'm not going to spend the 25 cents," said Susan Geurtze, 48, who was loading 14 plastic bags of groceries into the trunk of her car in the Safeway parking lot on Del Paso Road in Natomas.

"It's the same thing as the price of gas. It would force you to conserve," she said.

Geurtze says she has piles of white plastic bags at home. She reuses many of them but still tosses loads straight into the garbage.

Geurtze already owns several reusable grocery totes. But while she often carries them to farmers markets, she seldom thinks to bring them to the grocery store.

Reuse, recycle?

The plastics industry says California's current bag-recycling law, which took effect in July 2007, should be given more of a chance. The law, also authored by Levine, requires supermarkets and drugstores to provide plastic-bag recycling bins and sell reusable bags.

Before the law passed, the California Integrated Waste Management Board estimated less than 5 percent of plastic bags were recycled. It's unclear whether that has increased.

Some studies have found as many as 60 percent of plastic carryout bags are reused in the home (or while walking the dog), which may contribute to the low recycling rate. Bagmakers point out that Ireland's fee on bags drove up retail sales of plastic trash-can liners as consumers' stashes of free plastic carryout bags ran out.

Standard plastic grocery sacks can be recycled into new plastic bags, but it's a costly process. The top destination for California's recycled plastic bags is a plastic-lumber factory in Nevada, according to Californians Against Waste.

Backers of the bag fee argue that even if recycling could be increased, the number of bags in circulation wouldn't drop much, and the litter problem would remain.

The plastic bag of the future?

For the Sacramento Valley's only major plastic bag maker, Oroville's Roplast Industries Inc., a fee on bags might boost business.

Roplast makes heavy-duty, glossy plastic shopping bags – not the thin white bags targeted by Levine's bill. Roplast's core customers historically have been retailers willing to pay for an attractive bag to give shoppers at checkout.

The company's bags qualify as "reusable" under the proposal, though, and Roplast hopes to expand its grocery store business if the bill passes.

Save Mart already carries Roplast's reusable plastic grocery totes for 25 cents apiece. They're made to hold up through hundreds of uses but fold small enough to fit in a back pocket. They're cheap compared with canvas or woven-plastic totes, which typically retail for $1 and up. Roplast has even secured two reusable-bag trademarks: "The Bag For Life" and "The Bring-Back Bag."

Still, company President Robert Bateman opposes the 25-cent fee proposal, which he says is too heavy-handed. He also worries that each new restriction on plastic bags begets another.

"It's a momentum," he said, "that can't be stopped."

Oreos and Global Warming

Fortune
August 21, 2008

(Fortune) -- What do Oreo cookies made by Nabisco (KFT, Fortune 500), Cheez-It crackers from Kellogg's (K, Fortune 500) or General Mills' (GIS, Fortune 500) Fiber One Chewy Bars have to do with global warming and the destruction of tropical rainforests? A lot, say environmental activists.

The link between the supermarket shelf, climate change and shrinking rainforests is palm oil, a controversial ingredient that may now be the most widely-traded vegetable oil in the world.

Here's the problem: Demand for palm oil, which is found in soaps and cosmetics as well as food, has more than doubled in the last decade as worldwide food consumption has soared. Farmers, in turn, are expanding their plantations, burning forests in Indonesia and Malaysia, where nearly all of the palm oil imported to the United States originates. Deforestation is the primary reason that Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions are the third-highest in the world.

The Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Science in the Public Interest are all campaigning against palm oil. (You can find their arguments here and here and here and here.) Last week, RAN asked about 2,000 volunteers to sneak into food stores across the United States and attach stickers to products made with palm oil.

"Warning!," the stickers said. "May Contain Rainforest Destruction."

The targets of the RAN campaign are three global agricultural firms that grow or import palm oil: Archer Daniels Midland (ADM, Fortune 500), Cargill and Bunge (BG). The goal of last week's stunt was to get the attention of consumer-goods companies, who are being asked to look into their sourcing of palm oil.

"We're working our way down the food chain," explained Mike Brune, the executive director of RAN. "Most customers won't want rainforest destruction and climate change in every mouthful of cookies or crackers, so our plan is to start with the most prominent brands. Once we get some of the top brands on our side, we'll use the power of the pocketbook to convince the 'A,B,C's' (ADM, Bunge and Cargill) that destroying rainforests and increasing climate change isn't smart - for business or the planet."

The agribusiness companies say they are doing their best to buy palm oil that is produced with minimal harm to the environment. All are participants in a partnership, formed by the World Wildlife Fund and Unilever (UN), called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO, which is setting standards for palm-oil cultivation.

Said Mark Klein, a Cargill spokesman, by e-mail: "We are currently working towards having all of our company-owned plantations officially RSPO-certified as quickly as possible in 2008." You can read more about Cargill's position here.

The trouble is, critics say, the RSPO principles as they are now written are vague, don't prevent the destruction of rainforests, and are not well-enforced. What's more, only a handful of palm plantations have been certified to date by RSPO.

"There's currently no palm oil in the world that can be proven to be sustainable," said Leila Salazar-Lopez, who leads RAN's agribusiness campaign. The growing use of palm oil in biofuels has made the problem even more urgent.

Caught in the middle of the controversy are the consumer brands. A handful of companies have already made efforts to buy palm oil that is responsibly grown. The Body Shop says that it gets its palm oil from an organic producer in Colombia. Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, a small firm that makes organic soaps, says that it sources all of its palm oil from small growers in Ghana.

There's precedent for bigger brands to push their suppliers to do better. Several years ago, after Greenpeace attacked McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) for buying soy from the Amazon and contributing to deforestation, the fast-food giant persuaded Cargill and Bunge to stop buying soy from newly-cleared areas while the parties come up with a longer-term conservation plan, which is still in the works.

John Buchanan of Conservation International, which works with Bunge and Cargill, says those companies are trying to improve their practices. "I see them as part of the solution," he said. But he agrees with the Rainforest Action Network that buyers of palm oil need to more actively seek out responsible sources. "It's really important for the market to step up and create demand."

The World Wildlife Fund's Jason Clay, author of the an authoritative book called World Agriculture and the Environment, says that, instead of cutting and burning forests to make way for palm plantations, farmers should be encouraged to grow the crop on already cleared land.

"Global production could be doubled by planting palm trees on degraded areas of Borneo," Clay said. "The advantage is that not a tree would have to be cut." 

When Carbon Offsets Backfire

Mother Jones Magazine
July/August

You don't have to leave the United States for an object lesson in how an emissions offset system can go wrong. Consider Vernon, California: The tiny city and its neighboring communities have some of the highest air pollution levels in the Los Angeles basin—and it could get worse because of one of the world's first offset initiatives.

In the early '90s, Southern California implemented a federally mandated offset program for the toxic air contaminants known as particulate matter. As the demand for pollution offsets increased, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which oversees the program, found itself with a tempting option: Instead of holding on to its small quota of offsets set aside for essential services such as schools and fire departments, it could sell them for a healthy profit. With particulate-matter offsets going for $200,000 a pound, the air district stands to rake in about $420 million. Polluters who buy the offsets can save millions over what they would have paid for them on the open market.

Even though Southern California's air pollution levels have been capped, offsets could have a paradoxical effect on the 100 or so residents of Vernon and the mostly Hispanic and low-income residents of surrounding areas. Vernon, whose motto is "Exclusively Industrial," was already a pollution magnet; its city council welcomed just about any facility that wanted to locate there, including a hazardous-waste dump and a metal-processing plant. There are now plans to use pollution offsets to build a 934-megawatt natural-gas-fired power plant there. That's perfectly acceptable within the rules of the offset program, but it means a greater concentration of toxic air pollutants in an already hard-hit area.

"It's as if the local permitting authorities are saying, 'We already have a national sacrifice area in Vernon; a little more wouldn't make any difference,'" says Pat Costner, science adviser to the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. Or as Angela Johnson Meszaros, director of policy for the California Environmental Rights Alliance, concludes, "Access to pollution credits means pollution in our communities, period."

Daphne Wysham is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, and cohost of Earthbeat Radio.

Rumbling seat: Clean diesels are here

Los Angeles Times
Aug. 18, 2008 »

In certain circles, albeit rather gear- and green-oriented ones, this is a very exciting day. No, not because of the 94 to 105 kg men's Olympic weightlifting final, but because as of today, diesel is officially back.

Volkswagen begins delivery today of its 50-state legal Jetta TDI, the first "clean diesel" vehicle to be sold in the U.S. (Yes, that means here in California too!) It's presumptively the first of a flood of European-made diesels to hit every one of our states, including some exciting numbers by Mercedes-Benz.

Sure, these newfangled diesels are arriving about two model years later than had been expected, but dagnab it, they're here!

Volkswagen is hoping that the technology, which is especially efficient in highway driving, will ...

... be its answer to the hybrid — a fuel-efficient miracle car of sorts — but one that's not as complex and expensive to make as a car such as the Toyota Prius.

Diesels are inherently more efficient than gasoline engines and can squeeze 30% or more miles out of every gallon burned. And unlike the smoky numbers of the 1970s, today's diesels are quieter and peppier and smell better.

The Jetta TDI is EPA rated at a combined 33 miles per gallon for the sedan and 34 mpg for the SportWagen. That compares with 24 mpg for the gasoline-powered versions of the cars.

Of course, the technology involved in making a diesel burner conform to this country's extremely stringent standards — including a fancy NOx storage catalyst that obviates the use of urea (we don't know what that means, either) — is hardly simple, and making cars for the current marketplace took years of planning.

Car product cycles run three to five years, and unfortunately for automakers that invested in clean diesel technology, the cost of diesel fuel in the U.S. ain't what it was five years ago. Back then, it sold for $1.50 a gallon, 13 cents less than regular gasoline.

The national average price for a gallon of diesel is $4.21 today, compared with $2.87 a year ago. That's a 47% increase in just one year. Gasoline, by comparison, stands at $3.74, up 34% in the last 52 weeks.

How times have changed. Diesel costs nearly 13% more than gasoline. And diesel cars cost significantly more — in the case of the Jetta TDI, which starts at $21,990, it's about $2,500 more expensive than the gasoline version. Do the math, and diesel suddenly seems a little bit less economical. 

That said, even some hybrid makers are considering the technology. Honda has a clean diesel in the works, which it calls the i-DTEC, that could top 60 mpg. And Mercedes, which has been floating rumors of electric cars lately, will begin delivering its 50-state clean diesels, known as Bluetec, in November.

— Ken Bensinger

Photo: Clean diesel Jetta TDI sedan. Credit: Volkswagen of America

San Francisco Ponders:Could Bike Lanes Cause Pollution?

Wall Street Journal
August 20, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -- New York is wooing cyclists with chartreuse bike lanes. Chicago is spending nearly $1 million for double-decker bicycle parking.

San Francisco can't even install new bike racks.

Blame Rob Anderson. At a time when most other cities are encouraging biking as green transport, the 65-year-old local gadfly has stymied cycling-support efforts here by arguing that urban bicycle boosting could actually be bad for the environment. That's put the brakes on everything from new bike lanes to bike racks while the city works on an environmental-impact report.

Cyclists say the irony is killing them -- literally. At least four bikers have died and hundreds more have been injured in San Francisco since mid-2006, when Mr. Anderson helped convince a judge to halt implementation of a massive pro-bike plan.(It's unclear whether the plan's execution could have prevented the accidents.) In the past year, bike advocates have demonstrated outside City Hall, pushed the city to challenge the plan's freeze in court and proposed putting the whole mess to local voters. Nothing worked.

"We're the ones keeping emissions from the air!" shouted Leah Shahum, executive director of the 10,000-strong San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, at a July 21 protest.

WSJ's Phred Dvorak reports from a Critical Mass event in San Francisco, a monthly bike ride that draws hundreds of cyclists. She talks with bikers as well as disgruntled drivers.

Mr. Anderson disagrees. Cars always will vastly outnumber bikes, he reasons, so allotting more street space to cyclists could cause more traffic jams, more idling and more pollution. Mr. Anderson says the city has been blinded by political correctness. It's an "attempt by the anti-car fanatics to screw up our traffic on behalf of the bicycle fantasy," he wrote in his blog this month.

Mr. Anderson's fight underscores the tensions that can circulate as urban cycling, bolstered by environmental awareness and high gasoline prices, takes off across the U.S. New York City, where the number of commuter cyclists is estimated to have jumped 77% between 2000 and 2007, is adding new bike lanes despite some motorist backlash. Chicago recently elected to kick cars off stretches of big roads on two Sundays this year.

Famously progressive, San Francisco is known for being one of the most pro-bike cities in the U.S., offering more than 200 miles of lanes and requiring that big garages offer bike parking. It is also known for characters like Mr. Anderson.

A tall, serious man with a grizzled gray beard, Mr. Anderson spent 13 months in a California federal prison for resisting the draft during the Vietnam War. He later penned pieces for the Anderson Valley Advertiser, a muckraking Northern California weekly owned by his brother that's known for its savage prose and pranks.

Running for Office

In 1995, Mr. Anderson moved to San Francisco. Working odd jobs, he twice ran for a seat on the city's Board of Supervisors, pledging to tackle homelessness and the city's "tacit PC ideology." He got 332 of 34,955 votes in 2004, his second and best try.

That year Mr. Anderson, who mostly lives off a small government stipend he receives for caring for his 92-year-old mother, also started a blog, digging into local politics with gusto. One of his first targets: the city's most ambitious bike plan to date.

Unveiled in 2004, the 527-page document was filled with maps, traffic analyses and a list of roughly 240 locations where the city hoped to make cycling easier. The plan called for more bike lanes, better bike parking and a boost in cycling to 10% of the city's total trips by 2010.

The plan irked Mr. Anderson. Having not owned a car in 20 years, he says he has had several near misses with bikers roaring through crosswalks and red lights, and sees bicycles as dangerous and impractical for car-centric American cities. Mr. Anderson was also bugged by what he describes as the holier-than-thou attitude typified by Critical Mass, a monthly gathering of bikers who coast through the city, snarling traffic for hours. "The behavior of the bike people on city streets is always annoying," he says. "This 'Get out of my way, I'm not burning fossil fuels.' "

Going to Court

In February 2005, Mr. Anderson showed up at a planning commission meeting. If San Francisco was going to take away parking spaces and car lanes, he argued, it had better do an environmental-impact review first. When the Board of Supervisors voted to skip the review, Mr. Anderson sued in state court, enlisting his friend Mary Miles, a former postal worker, cartoonist and Anderson Valley Advertiser colleague.

Rhonda Winter/San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

San Francisco cyclists protest bike-plan delays in front of City Hall.

Ms. Miles, who was admitted to the California bar in 2004 at age 57, proved a pugnacious litigator. She sought to kill the initial brief from San Francisco's lawyers after it exceeded the accepted length by a page. She objected when the city attorney described Mr. Anderson's advocacy group, the Coalition for Adequate Review, as CAR in their documents. (It's C-FAR.) She also convinced the court to review key planning documents over the city's objections.

Slow Pedaling

In November 2006, a California Superior Court judge rejected San Francisco's contention that it didn't need an environmental review and ordered San Francisco to stop all bike-plan activity until it completed the review.

Since then, San Francisco has pedaled very slowly. City planners say they're being extra careful with their environmental study, in hopes that Mr. Anderson and Ms. Miles won't challenge it. Planners don't expect the study will be done for another year.

Meanwhile, Mr. Anderson and Ms. Miles have teamed up to oppose a plan to put high-rises and additional housing in a nearby neighborhood. He continues to blog from his apartment in an old Victorian home. "Regardless of the obvious dangers, some people will ride bikes in San Francisco for the same reason Islamic fanatics will engage in suicide bombings -- because they are politically motivated to do so," he wrote in a May 21 post.

"In case anyone doubted that you were a wingnut, this statement pretty much sums things up!" one commenter retorted.

Mr. Anderson is running for supervisor again this November -- around the time the city will unveil the first draft of its bike-plan environmental review. He's already pondering a challenge of the review.

Write to Phred Dvorak at phred.dvorak@wsj.com