California Adopts Landmark Rule to Reduce Toxic Emissions from Off-Road Equipment

This news just in from the California Air Resources Board:

SACRAMENTO - The California Air Resources Board today adopted a pioneering regulation aimed at reducing toxic and cancer-causing diesel emissions from the state's estimated 180,000 "off-road" vehicles used in construction, mining, airport ground support and other industries.

"This regulation will prevent thousands of premature deaths and reduce health care costs for those suffering from respiratory disease such as asthma," said Mary Nichols, ARB Chairman. "It is also the first of its kind in the nation, and, as has occurred with other California regulations, could serve as a model for other states to follow."

Diesel particulate matter, or diesel "soot," was identified as a toxic air contaminant in 1998. In 2000, the ARB established California's Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, which aims to reduce diesel emissions to 85 percent below 2000 levels by 2020. Other sources of diesel particulate matter such as transit buses, trash trucks, cargo-handling equipment and ship auxiliary engines have already been addressed through regulations, along with diesel fuel.

Because many diesel engines lack emission controls and can remain in use for 30 years or longer, they will remain a major contributor to air pollution for years to come. The regulation adopted today will dramatically reduce emissions by installation of diesel soot filters and encouraging the replacement of older, dirtier engines with newer emission controlled models. By 2020, diesel particulate matter will be reduced by 74 percent and smog forming oxides of nitrogen by 32 percent, compared to what emissions would be without the regulation.

The new rule also includes a provision allowing areas that are currently unable to achieve clean air standards set by the US EPA for particulate matter to opt in to stricter regional requirements if incentive funds are made available. The air districts that could take advantage of this provision are the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District; both are considered "non-attainment areas" for particulate matter. Depending on the amount of incentive money made available, these provisions could as much as double the NOx emissions benefits in these districts, setting them on a faster track to meeting their clean air goals.

The requirements and deadlines vary depending on fleet size. For small fleets, which include small businesses or municipalities with a combined horsepower of 2500 or less, implementation does not begin until 2015. Medium fleets, with 2501 to 5000 horsepower, have until 2013, while large fleets, with over 5000 horsepower, must begin complying in 2010. Affected vehicles include bulldozers, loaders, backhoes and forklifts, as well as many other self-propelled off-road diesel vehicles.

ARB performed a comprehensive economic analysis of the rule's impact on business, concluding that the regulation will cost industry up to $3.5 billion over its lifetime. Staff reviewed individual companies' financial records and conducted numerous workshops to discuss the cost of the regulation as well as impacts on individual businesses. ARB also gave special consideration to small businesses (e.g., small fleets have until 2015 to begin compliance, while large fleets must begin in 2010) to ensure that the regulation would not provide undue economic hardship.

The Board's action today also sets the stage for efforts next year to develop similar requirements for the hundreds of thousands of on-road trucks that travel on California's roads every day.

According to ARB estimates, over its course, this rule will prevent at least 4,000 premature deaths statewide and avoid $18 to $26 billion in premature death and health costs.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.

Find out:
About CARB verified diesel particulate filters used on off-road vehicles to reduce diesel particle pollution.

diesel pollution
diesel retrofit

Students Get +1500 Miles Per Gallon

During the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Formula SAE Competition held May 15-20, students from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terra Haute, IN won top prize for supermileage in the college division. They clocked in at 1,541 miles per gallon! Winners of the high school division did even better with an amazing 1,692 mpg!

UW-Madison won the SAE Foundation Cup, plus several other awards, finishing in the top 10 with the only vehicle running on an alternative fuel, using E-85.

The Formula SAE competition is an annual challenge for student teams to design, fabricate and compete with small formula-style racing cars to accomplish various objectives. Team cars are judged on cost, presentation, design, acceleration, skid pad, autocross, and endurance-economy. Entries come from all over the world.

See the Source:
Formula SAE
2007 Results

current issues

Air Pollution Linked to Clogged Arteries

Got high cholesterol? You might want to stay away from air pollution.

That’s the message of a new UCLA study linking diesel exhaust to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which significantly increases one’s risk for heart attack and stroke. Published in the July 26 edition of the online journal Genome Biology, the findings are the first to explain how fine particles in air pollution conspire with artery-clogging fats to switch on the genes that cause blood vessel inflammation and lead to cardiovascular disease.

“When you add one plus one, it normally totals two,” said principal investigator Dr. André Nel, chief of nanomedicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a researcher at UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute. “But we found that adding diesel particles to cholesterol fats equals three. Their combination creates a dangerous synergy that wreaks cardiovascular havoc far beyond what’s caused by the diesel or cholesterol alone.”

The researchers set up a scenario to investigate the interaction between diesel exhaust particles and the fatty acids found in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol — the “bad” type of cholesterol that leads to artery blockage.

In particular, the team was interested in how oxidation — cell and tissue damage resulting from exposure to molecules known as free radicals — contributes to inflammation and artery disease. Free radicals enter the body through small particles present in polluted air and are also byproducts of normal processes, such as the metabolic conversion of food into energy.

“Diesel particles are coated in chemicals containing free radicals, and the fatty acids in LDL cholesterol generate free radicals during metabolism in the cells,” said first author Ke Wei Gong, a UCLA cardiology researcher. “We wanted to measure what happens when these two sources of oxidation come into contact.”

The scientists combined the pollutants and oxidized fats and cultured them with cells from the inner lining of human blood vessels. A few hours later, the team extracted DNA from the cells for genetic analysis.

“We saw that the diesel particles and oxidized fats had worked in tandem to activate the genes that promote cellular inflammation — a major risk factor for atherosclerosis,” said Dr. Jesus Araujo, UCLA assistant professor of medicine and director of environmental cardiology at the Geffen School of Medicine.

“The interaction left a genetic footprint that reveals how interaction between the particles and cholesterol accelerates the narrowing and blockage of the blood vessels,” Araujo noted.

To duplicate these findings in living cells, the UCLA team exposed mice with high cholesterol to the diesel particles and saw activation of some of the same gene groups in the animals’ tissue.

“Exactly how air pollutants cause cardiovascular injury is poorly understood,” Nel said.

“But we do know that these particles are coated with chemicals that damage tissue and cause inflammation of the nose and lungs. Vascular inflammation in turn leads to cholesterol deposits and clogged arteries, which can give rise to blood clots that trigger heart attack or stroke.”

The researchers’ next step will be to convert the genes’ responses to the pollutant-cholesterol combination into a biomarker that will enable physicians to easily evaluate air pollution’s effect on health, especially cardiovascular disease.

“Once a biomarker is developed, we’d simply need to test a blood sample in order to measure a person’s exposure to particulate matter and determine whether it has reached levels that require medical intervention,” Araujo said.

The American Cancer Society has reported a 6 percent increase in heart- and lung-related deaths for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter rise in particulates.

“Our results emphasize the importance of controlling air pollution as another tool for preventing cardiovascular disease,” Gong said.

See the Source:
Newswise

Find out:
More about diesel air pollution.

air pollution
diesel pollution

New Report by EPA Details Cost-Effectiveness of Diesel Retrofits

The EPA has released "Diesel Retrofit Technology: An Analysis of the Cost Effectiveness of Reducing Particulate Matter and Nitrogen Oxides Emissions from Heavy-Duty Nonroad Diesel Engines Through Retrofits." Available online as a 17-page PDF, the report discusses retrofit options, how they can be a cost-effective strategy for off-road diesel vehicles in reducing emissions, and estimates for various retrofit scenarios.

From the report:
Retrofit projects can begin producing emission reductions immediately and can help State and local governments reduce emissions of PM2.5, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the near term. Retrofits include a wide range of emission reduction strategies available for diesel vehicles and equipment, including:

• Retrofitting engines with verified technologies
• Using cleaner fuels
• Replacing older equipment
• Repowering (replacing old engines with new, cleaner engines
• Reducing idling
• Properly maintaining equipment
• Gaining operational efficiencies

Retrofit technologies are advancing at a rapid pace. The use of established technologies, such as diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) and diesel particulate filters (DPFs), continues to grow exponentially, while new, emerging technologies such as Lean NOx (LNC) catalysts, are steadily improving. Retrofit technologies often vary in the type of pollutant reduced. DOCs and DPFs remove PM from the exhaust, but do not reduce NOx. However, DOCs or DPFs can be combined with a NOx reduction strategy – such as a cleaner fuel – to enhance the emission reduction benefits.

See the Source:
EPA Report

Find out:
More on diesel particulate filters for off-road vehicles such as construction and mining equipment.

diesel pollution
diesel retrofit

Is Your Daily Commute Giving You a Heart Attack?

Recently, German researchers from the University of Duisberg-Essen found that regularly commuting in heavy traffic or living in high-traffic areas can contribute to atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and an increase risk of a heart attack. Using ongoing data from three industrialized cities in Germany, the researchers found that breathing air pollution at this level created the same damage as inhaling second hand smoke.

They surmised the artery damage was most likely caused by a high concentration of particulate matter from vehicle emissions. This is the first study to establish a direct link to air pollution created by traffic and arterial damage.

“The only immediate protective action that can be taken by people living close to heavy traffic is increased attention to known cardiac risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure,” said Dr. Hoffmann, head researcher for the project. “Over the longer run, community action is needed.”

Using data already on record, Forbes magazine compiled three factors to come up with the unhealthiest commutes in the U.S. They looked at levels of particulate pollution; the estimated time spent in rush hour traffic; and the per-capita fatal car accidents registered for a region. From the collected data, the unhealthiest workday drives are: Riverside, CA; Atlanta, GA; and Los Angles, CA. Apparently LA drivers spend the most time in traffic.

The average American takes 25 minutes to drive to work, during that time the California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimates this time equals 50% of a person’s daily exposure to fine particulate matter – one of the worst pollutants to inhale and a known contributor to heart disease.

See the Source:
Heartzine.com
Forbes

Find out:
The health and environmental impact of diesel particulate matter.

air pollution
particle pollution

Union Pacific Railroad Settles Air Quality Violations with $120,000

This press release was just issued by the California Air Resources Board:

Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, NE, recently paid $120,000 for violations of regulations requiring companies to inspect and verify that their diesel trucks in California meet state exhaust limits.

An investigation by the California Air Resources Board revealed that between 2004 and 2005, UP failed to properly inspect and document its diesel trucks' emissions throughout California.

California's Periodic Smoke Inspection program requires owners of diesel fleets with two or more heavy duty diesel engines to inspect and maintain them, and keep records. This expedites inspections, assures compliance, and guards the state's progress toward federally mandated clean air standards.

"Compliance with our regulations is the crux to clean healthful air for all Californians," said ARB's acting-Executive Officer, Tom Cackette. "We need companies to recognize that Californians demand clean air and that enforcement actions are an extension of their desire to live in a healthy and respected environment."

Most of the money from the settlement was paid into the California Air Pollution Control Fund, which mitigates pollution through education, the advancement and use of cleaner technology, and supports pollution research and related programs. The California Legislature controls the fund through allocations in the annual Budget Act.

$30,000 of the settlement is funding an ARB program operated by select community colleges that provides industry with technical and compliance training. Fleet maintenance personnel from the companies found in violation must go through this training program as a condition of settlement.

Emissions of particulate matter from diesel engines are 70 percent of the air borne carcinogens that Californians are exposed to on a daily basis. ARB has committed to reducing these emissions by 85 percent by 2020.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.

See the Source:
CARB

diesel emissions
air pollution

Air Pollution News for 07-24-07

- An organic chemist and two engineers from Wales believe they have developed the answer to our green house gas problem. “Greenbox” is technology that captures GHG emissions such as CO2 and NOx from a car, turning the vehicle’s emissions into mostly water vapor. The box captures emissions, holds the gases in an inert state, where they are then transported to a bioreactor where algae will turn the gases into biofuels. Eventually the Greenbox will be able to be used on most on vehicles, and possibly even buildings and power plants that emit greenhouse gases.

- The Coalition to Build a Cleaner California is asking new chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Mary Nichols to extend the deadline for reducing emissions on off-road diesel vehicles from 2020 to 2025. The Coalition is made up of representatives from the labor unions, construction companies and the airline industry. The construction industry believes that the proposed regulations will cost up to $13 billion and a loss of 30,000 jobs, causing many companies to retire old equipment, creating a loss of income and jobs. CARB and environmentalists believe that without strict regulations to reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter and NOx, air pollution will put many lives at risk in California. An estimated 180,000 off-road diesel vehicles operate in the state.

- The LA Times reports that China has stopped two environmental reports that would have opened up embarrassing and serious facts on their increasing problems with air and water pollution. China is now considered the most polluted country in the world, with an estimated 600,000 citizens dieing each year due to air pollution. Although China is putting in place stringent regulations, enforcement is often spotty or not implemented at all due to attitudes by regional officials.

See the Source:
Motoring
San Francisco Chronicle
LA Times

Find out:
See video on how emissions from off-road diesel vehicles are decreased using diesel particulate filters. Watch now.

air pollution
diesel emissions

Technical Sales Position Opening in Emissions Control

CleanAIR Systems, the sponsor of the AirZone Blog, has an opening for the following job position:

Technical Sales - Progressive manufacturing company, CleanAIR Systems, located in Santa Fe, NM seeks a technical sales person to become a part of our sales team. We are a fast-growing company developing cutting edge technology in the emissions control industry and are looking for someone with technical expertise to maintain and enhance our presence in both domestic and international markets. Applicants must possess a Bachelors degree in a technical field and be willing to travel. Position is full-time with great benefits. Salary DOE. Please visit our website at www.cleanairsys.com for a full description of our product line. Resumes should be sent to portega@cleanairsys.com

Biodiesel Generators Bringing Green Power to Hollywood

Green Power Generators™, a new company specializing in custom built biodiesel fueled generators are offering a new line of generators designed to dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in both small and large-scale events and productions. GPG unveiled its new generators to the press and entertainment industry in Hollywood on July 19th.

GPG has chosen to highlight the break-through designs first for members of the entertainment industry, but the generators will be of equal interest for any business that involves high energy consumption.

“We’re very excited to be able to provide the entertainment industry with the only truly eco-friendly energy outsourcing option available today,” explained Tomer DeVito, co-founder of GPG and a television commercial and music video producer. “Generators are the biggest polluters on sets, at concerts and events, and we wanted to change that. We hope to pioneer a change in the way we do things in Hollywood, and beyond.”

Adds Alton Butler, co-founder of GPG and president of Line 204 Studios, GPG’s parent company: “This is a real breakthrough in a business world that is growing increasingly concerned about the environment. The industry standard tier-2 diesel engines are not qualified to burn biodiesel. The available industry standard diesel-engine generators can burn only up to 5% bio-diesel (B5) – if you burn a higher percentage you risk losing your warranty. Currently productions don’t have an option for burning cleaner fuels. GPGs are specially designed to burn the cleanest biodiesel fuels possible”.

In its annual report card issued in November 2006, the UCLA Institute of the Environment put the film industry number two behind the Aerospace industry on the list of industry pollution offenders in California.

“We are proud to support GPG’s efforts to help reduce the entertainment industry’s carbon footprint,” said Debbie Levin, president of the Environmental Media Association. “Very few options exist for producers who want to reduce the emissions on their sets. GPG presents a formidable option that should be a no-brainer not only for Hollywood but for any industry that out sources power.”

See the Source:
Green Power Generators

Find out:
How to reduce emissions even further from emergency and prime power generators using biodiesel by retrofitting with the PERMIT Filter/Silencer from CleanAIR Systems. Although biodiesel certainly reduces emissions by about 50% over regular diesel, a filter/silencer can make a generator even cleaner as well as reduce noise.

diesel emissions
diesel generator

China Fights Air Pollution

According to Industrial Info Resources, China shut down 156 small coal-fired power plants during the first six months of this year in an effort to reduce emissions and comply with a target set by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People’s Republic of China. The total generating capacity of the power generation units is 5,510 megawatts and will meet 55% of emissions reductions set for 2007 by the NDRC.

Treehugger reports one million cars will be taken off Beijing roads in August for a two week trial to test new smog-control measures in an effort to reduce air pollution in anticipation of next year’s Beijing Olympics, representing 1/3 of the city’s cars. Last month, Beijing’s registered vehicles numbered 3 million, more than double from 5 years ago, with about 1,000 cars going on the road every day.

See the Source:
Marketwire

Treehugger

air pollution
environment

What About Diesels?

Last week GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz released a video on the GM FastLane Blog addressing the many inquiries sent to GM about the return of diesel cars to the American marketplace. His reply was confusing.

Lutz explains “Do not assume that the diesel engine is a panacea and is going to make everyone get to a fleet of 36 miles per gallon.”

He continues with the following points:
- Although diesel vehicles traditionally get on average 30% better fuel mileage than gasoline, they have increased emissions.

- In order for diesel cars to be sold in the US they will need to meet strict emissions standards involving more emissions control technology to reduce NOx. Each state’s regulations will vary, with California and the Northeastern states requiring much higher standards.

- The additional technology will add about $2,000 to the price tag of a diesel car.

- The new technology (SCR) will require the injection of urea, adding more hassle for car owners.

- Emissions control technology will reduce the fuel efficiency of diesel engines to only 15% above gasoline engines.

After this discussion of the problems involved with re-introducing diesel vehicles to the U.S., Lutz veers 180 degrees from this position and assures the American public, that indeed, GM is working on developing diesel cars that will soon be available in all 50 states – even in ultra-strict California.

To add to the confusion, CNNMoney.com contacted GM’s Executive Director for diesel technology, Charlie Freese, for comment. Mr. Freese believes fuel efficiency will only drop 5%, still placing the new diesel using ultra-low diesel fuel (to dramatically reduce sulfur) and fitted with emissions control technology to reduce particulate and NOx, at around 25% better fuel economy than a gasoline engine.

And then there’s an editorial by Drew Winter in the July issue of Ward’s Auto World that states the following:
- 50% of new vehicles sold in Europe are diesel powered and get approximately 30% better fuel economy than gasoline powered cars.
- European governments have encouraged the purchase of diesel vehicles by lowering diesel fuel taxes.
- Europe mandated ultra-low sulfur diesel long before the U.S., allowing for cleaner diesel emissions.
- The U.S. will never come close to Europe’s achievements without offering tax incentives for the purchase of diesel vehicles, as well as changing consumer behavior by raising taxes on gasoline.

Commentary by CleanAIR Systems, manufacturer of emissions control technology:

Our country imports more emissions control technology than we export. Creating, solving and inventing new ways to clean up vehicle emissions should be at the very forefront of our country’s technological goals, establishing the U.S. as a leader in this market.

The emissions control industry began in the 1970’s. If we had developed better, cleaner diesel vehicles 35 years ago, we would have decreased the amount of fuel used in cars by 30%. This would have reduced our emissions, reduced the amount of fuel burned, and reduced our dependency on foreign oil.

Innovative emissions control technology takes passion, persistence and the ability to change the norm with new and better ideas that create a cleaner environment.

See the Source:
GM FastLane Blog
CNNMoney.com
Ward’s Auto World
CleanAIR Systems

current issues
diesel cars

Air Pollution and Parkinson's

The University of Toronto has released a new study that ties manganese air pollution produced by industries such as steel foundries to a high risk of Parkinson’s. The study was conducted using 110,000 subjects living in Toronto and Hamilton over a three year period and appears in the July issue of Environmental Research.

The researchers compared the effect of manganese exposure through air pollution generated by vehicles and that generated from industrial sources. They found no association between traffic-generated manganese and Parkinson’s. But exposure to ambient manganese from sources such as steel foundries appeared to add to the natural loss of brain neurons, possibly accelerating the aging process and contributing to the advancement of Parkinson’s disease.

See the Source:
University of Toronto

air pollution

GHG Emissions Bill Introduced

Yesterday (July 11th) Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) and Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) introduced legislature to cut greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2030. The bill presents new rules for power plants, refineries and steelmakers, allowing half of carbon credits for industries to be issued by the government and the other half to either be purchased or reduced by the corporations themselves.

Although the proposed “cap-and-trade” system has environmental critics, who point out that the legislation would create a market for trading greenhouse gas permits, the bi-partisan effort may be more likely to pass as it is considered “mainstream”.

According to John Rowe, chief executive of Exelon, the bill sets aggressive, yet attainable goals, and at the same time builds bridges in order to achieve those goals.

See the Source:
Reuters
Bloomberg

current issues
environment

Diesel Particulate Filter on Off-Road Equipment

Below is a video showing how a diesel particulate filter works on an off-road vehicle. The CleanAIR PERMIT Filter is installed on a diesel loader used at a mine. The CARB verified PERMIT Filter is a custom designed diesel particulate filter used to virtually eliminate emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from diesel exhaust. The video shows before and after emissions testing by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) with a visible, dramatic reduction in particulate emissions (black smoke or soot) using the PERMIT Filter.

WHO: The Best and Worst Countries on Environment

A recent report by WHO put together data from 192 countries to determine the health and environmental risk to its citizens. The study looked at air and water pollution, farming practices, noise pollution, climate change, the ecosystem, UV radiation and hazards involved with the workplace.

Here’s what they found:

- Worst countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Mali and Afghanistan

- Best countries: Iceland, Israel, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Britain and the US

- In 23 countries, 10 percent of deaths are blamed on unsafe water and indoor air pollution

- Low income countries suffer more than high income countries, losing 20 times more healthy years per person each year.

- All countries are affected by environmental health factors.

See the Source:
WHO Country-by Country Profiles

environment
climate change

CARB Ka-boom!

What’s going on at the California Air Resources Board? The story from the Governor’s office is that CARB isn’t being the tough guy when it comes to air pollution regulations and cracking down on greenhouse gases. So he fired Robert Sawyer, the board’s chairman.

Last week CARB’s executive director, Catherine Witherspoon resigned in protest, saying the agency was being pressured by the administration to “reduce costs and satisfy lobbyists,” which lead to hampering of the agency’s ability to aggressively move forward with the state’s AB 32 commitment for clean air. On top of it all, Witherspoon claims the Governor publicly blamed Sawyer and Witherspoon for not doing more to combat pollution and global warming.

Is the spin getting out of control? Sounds like CARB is going ka-boom!

See the Source:
LA Times
Grist

Find out:
About CARB verified diesel particulate filters

current issues
emissions control

What’s Up with Wind Power: The Good and Not-So-Good

- The Department of Energy (DOE) just released the first “Annual Report on US Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2006”.

- Wind power currently accounts for only 1% of all electricity produced in the US.
- The DOE predicts an increase in wind power generated electricity to reach 7% by 2022. If this goal is to be reached, 36,000 wind turbines will need to be built.

- The top 10 states according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) producing the most kilowatt hours of electricity are:
1. Texas
2. California
3. Iowa
4. Minnesota
5. Washington
6. Oklahoma
7. New Mexico
8. Oregon
9. New York
10. Kansas

- The EPA estimates that a 25-MW wind facility could cover up to 1,500 acres, equal to 60 acres per megawatt.

- 1 MW of power produced by a wind turbine would produce enough electricity for approximately 175 to 300 homes annually (depending on the source of the information). As of March 2007, our national wind energy capacity is 11,699 MW. In comparison, the average size of one US power plant is 213 MW.

- According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, if all US electric power plants were operating at full capacity in 1990, they would have produced 690,000 MW of electricity.

- According to the American Wind Energy Association, 1,700 MW of wind generated power will displace 3 million tons of CO2 emissions each year.

See the Source:
Annual Report on US Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2006
A Problem With Wind Power
Wind Energy Projects

environment
energy

China: Death by Air Pollution

Recent news on China’s devastating air pollution levels has garnered world attention. Here’s a run down on the facts from various news source:

• A World Bank report release at a Beijing conference in March, suggests 400,000 Chinese die every year due to outdoor air pollution. Reportedly Chinese officials tried to have these statistics removed from the report. The government denies they tried to cover-up the numbers.



• Two thirds of the electricity generated in China comes from coal-fired power plants, with the country holding 13 percent of the world’s reserves of coal. With coal being the top producer of greenhouse gas emissions, China is now producing more CO2 emissions than the United States, establishing itself as the No. 1 GHG producer in the world.



• An average of two coal-fired power plants a week are being built in China. Almost all of them are being built with out-dated equipment and no emissions control technology. Chinese utilities believe that using emissions control technology will decrease their power plant’s energy output. Because of this, they are resistant to retrofitting their plants with new technology.



• There is an ever increasing consensus from world scientists that China’s economic growth and the resulting greenhouse emissions will push our environment pass the tipping point of no return.



• China’s emissions from coal-fired power plants are increasing at an annual rate that is double the total emissions growth of all industrialized economies combined.



• China’s environmental agency is blaming public unrest and riots on anger stemming from pollution, with an increasing number of demonstrations taking place over power plant emissions and air pollution.


See the Source:
Council on Foreign Relations
Guardian Unlimited
San Francisco Chronicler

current issues
global-warming

EPA Doesn’t Come Clean on Candidates

The EPA has not provided the public with all the facts when it comes to 55 experts chosen for a special panel that will reevaluate the health risks of particulate matter air pollution.

Last year the agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee criticized the EPA standard for particulate matter, stating there is “clear and convincing scientific evidence that significant adverse human-health effects occur in response to short-term and chronic particulate matter exposures at and below” the current EPA standard. The special panel being selected will reevaluate this statement for further recommendation.

The short list of experts is open for public comment, but apparently the EPA failed to post complete information on their website concerning several of the candidates. Without this information, the public is unable to make an informed decision. Here is some of the information in question according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest:

- Candidate Professor Robert Phalen: wrote a book questioning the link between particulate matter and its association with health problems such as asthma, heart disease and premature death. The book also argues that tighter air quality restrictions are premature. Professor Phalen has received research funding from the Southern California Edison Co. and the Electric Power Reasearch Institute.

- Candidate Peter Valberg: an employee of Gradient Corporation, conducts consulting services for Carbon Black Manufacturers and an unknown mining company. He has done work for the Engine Manufacturers Association. His employer, Gradient Corporation, is a defense product consulting company that has received monies for writing controversial reports defending such products as cigarettes.

- 11 candidates have an involvement with the Health Effects Institute (this was disclosed). But not mentioned was the fact that the Health Effects Institute receives 50 percent of its funding from the automobile industry.

Send your comments about the short list of candidates to butterfield.fred@epa.gov before July 20. The final committee will be composed of less than half of the nominated candidates.

See the Source:
Center for Science in the Public Interest

Find out:
More about the health impact of diesel particulate matter

particle pollution
emission standards

New Catalyst May Revolutionize Biodiesel Production

Press Release from Iowa State University:

Line up 250 billion of Victor Lin’s nanospheres and you’ve traveled a meter. But those particles – and just the right chemistry filling the channels that run through them – could make a big difference in biodiesel production.

They could make production cheaper, faster and less toxic. They could produce a cleaner fuel and a cleaner glycerol co-product. And they could be used in existing biodiesel plants.

“This technology could change how biodiesel is produced,” said Victor Lin, an Iowa State University professor of chemistry, a program director for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and the inventor of a nanosphere-based catalyst that reacts vegetable oils and animal fats with methanol to produce biodiesel. “

Lin is working with Mohr Davidow Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, Calif., the Iowa State University Research Foundation and three members of his research team to establish a startup company to produce, develop and market the biodiesel technology he invented at Iowa State.

The company, Catilin Inc., is just getting started in Ames. Catilin employees are now working out of two labs and a small office in the Roy J. Carver Co-Laboratory on the Iowa State campus. The company will also build a biodiesel pilot plant at the Iowa Energy Center’s Biomass Energy Conversion Facility in Nevada.

Lin said the company’s goal over the next 18 months is to produce enough of the nanosphere catalysts to increase biodiesel production from a lab scale to a pilot-plant scale of 300 gallons per day.

Lin will work with three company researchers and co-founders to develop and demonstrate the biodiesel technology and production process. They are Project Manager Jennifer Nieweg, who will earn a doctorate in chemistry from Iowa State this summer; Research Scientist Yang Cai, who earned a doctorate in chemistry from Iowa State in 2004 and worked on campus as a post-doctoral research associate; and Research Scientist Carla Wilkinson, a former Iowa State post-doctoral research associate and a former faculty member at Centro Universitario UNIVATES in Brazil.

Larry Lenhart, the president and chief executive officer of Catilin, said the company is now up and running. It has a research history. It has employees. It has facilities. It has money in the bank.

And he said the company has proven technology to work with.

The technology allows efficient conversion of vegetable oils or animal fats into fuel by using Lin’s nanospheres with acidic catalysts to react with the free fatty acids and basic catalysts for the oils.

All that makes biodiesel production “dramatically better, cheaper, faster,” Lenhart said.
The technology replaces sodium methoxide – a toxic, corrosive and flammable catalyst – in biodiesel production. And that eliminates several production steps including acid neutralization, water washes and separations. All those steps dissolve the toxic catalyst so it can’t be used again.

Catilin’s nanospheres are solid and that makes them easier to handle, Lenhart said. They can also be recovered from the chemical mixture and recycled. And they can be used in existing biodiesel plants without major equipment changes.

Lin said the catalyst has been under development for the past four years. The company will market the third generation of the catalyst – a version that’s much cheaper to produce than earlier, more uniform versions.

The technology was developed with the support of grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences and the state’s Grow Iowa Values Fund. Patents for the technology are pending. Catilin has signed licensing agreements with Iowa State’s research foundation that allows the company to commercialize Lin’s invention.

As the company grows and demonstrates its technology, Lin said company leaders will have to decide whether the company will become a catalyst company, will work with partners to develop biodiesel plants or will produce its own biodiesel.

Even though he expects plenty of worldwide business for the new company, Lin said he’ll continue to work as an Iowa State professor.

“I’m not going to quit my day job,” he said. “And I’ll continue to do research in the catalysis and biorenewables area.”

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