Troubled Waters

August 10th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner

Two half-hour documentaries will debut Wednesday evening on Planet Green: Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff: Troubled Waters (10 p.m. ET/PT) and Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification (10:30 p.m. ET/PT), produced by the Natural Resources Defense Council and narrated by actress Sigourney Weaver.

As the documentaries reveal, our oceans, freshwater rivers, lakes and streams have become increasingly plagued by dead zones, toxic runoff and dying wildlife. Fish populations are in serious decline, and carbon dioxide pollution is making the oceans more acidic.

Woodruff shows how banks and shores in every part of the world are facing similar threats. Among his interviewees is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., chief prosecuting attorney for the environmental group Riverkeeper.

Acid Test explains that since the Industrial Revolution, the ocean has absorbed 25% of all carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning fossil fuels, causing a 30% increase in ocean acidity. Sea creatures’ shells dissolve, threatening the ocean’s ecosystem.

For Your Organic Bookshelf: Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water, Our World

Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images

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Norway Powers Up with Poop!

March 31st, 2009 - Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese

poopDon’t start pooping into your gas tank, but apparently one person’s year of bowel movements can produce 2.1 gallons of biodiesel.

So, to capitalize on the power of poop, the Norwegian capital of Oslo will convert sewage from a local treatment plant, processing the waste of 250,000 people, into fuel for its 80 city buses, which travel 62,000 miles each.

Compared to normal gas, costing more that 1.0 euro per liter, poop fuel goes for only 7.2 euros. City officials are excited about it:

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It’s extremely good for the climate and also for the quality of urban life,” beams Olaf Brastad of the Bellona environmental organisation.

“I see absolutely no downsides. On the contrary, it is an optimal way of using a renewable energy that has always been there, just waiting to be exploited,” he adds.

The initiative, if extended to Oslo’s second waste treatment plant and complemented with biofuels made from food waste, could provide enough fuel for all of Oslo’s 350 to 400 buses.

“If our entire fleet switched to biomethane, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by around 30,000 tonnes per year,” Anne-Merete Andersen of Ruter, the operator of Oslo’s public transport system.

And despite what you might think. The crappy fuel doesn’t stink. Other countries have gone poop gas too. Kalmar, Sweden is making fuel out of animal poop and so is the Toronto Zoo.

Biofuel is a great move for all three countries, because in right now, the cost of regular gas in Canada is $4.58 per gallon and $7.52 in Sweden and Norway.

Via Cosmo and Discoblog.

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U.K. Supermarket Freezers Heat Up the Planet

February 6th, 2009 - Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese

freezerWe all love supermarkets. In the developed world they’re modern marvels, bringing fresh food to bustling cities. But there’s a problem. All those frozen goodies, thrash the environment.

A recent survey of British supermarket chains revealed refrigerators and freezers contribute 25% of a stores’ carbon-footprint.

Environmental groups say supermarket refrigeration units spew hydrochlorofluorocarbons, greenhouse gases that can be 4,000 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Eek!

The survey ranked popular supermarket chains from 1 to 10. Marks & Spencer and Tesco placed the highest, with Tesco upping its rank by investing in climate-friendly refrigeration, but retailer Iceland ranked last, getting a negative rating; The Herald reports.

Oddly, all of the stores refused to provide information about they are doing to improve operations.

Now, it might not be a supermarket, but restaurant Chipotle greened up their business by installing a wind turbine on restaurants, LEED lighting and more!

Via ENN.

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