Untitled Document 
Green Exchange is proud to support and participate in this year’s Green Apple Festival on Sunday, April 20th at Chicago’s very own Lincoln Park Zoo.
Bring the family and celebrate Earth Day in a green way – enjoy live music and increase your environmental know-how all at one free festival! And don’t forget to come visit the Green Exchange booth to learn of the latest developments.
Earth Day Network & Green Apple Festival Announce Music Line-Up for
"America's Largest Earth Day Celebration"Eight Free Simultaneous Festivals in Landmark Parks Across the U.S. on April 20th 2008
Green Apple Festival returns to Chicago’s historic Lincoln Park Zoo again this year, hosting an eclectic line-up of musicians and a wide array of not-for-profit organizations and green businesses, all joining together to help create a greener Chicago through awareness and education. As “America’s Largest Earth Day Celebration,” we are excited to announce Chicago’s talent line-up: Derek Trucks Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Meshell Ndegeocello, Bassnectar, Chicago Afrobeat Project, Miss Lori Holton Nash, The Gwalla Gwallas, and of course, our Event MC, Kyle Orton of the Chicago Bears.
Come join us at Lincoln Park Zoo starting at 10:30 am on Sunday, April 20th and help celebrate Earth Day the eco-friendly way!
With a "small footprint, large impact" ethos for 4/20, Earth Day Network and Green Apple Festival hosted the first festival in 2006 in New York City. Since then the event has galvanized music fans, environmentalists, progressive consumers and families in a growing number of cities on Earth Day by providing "something for everyone" events with music performances, family entertainment and interactive exhibits at public locations. In 2007, capacity crowds attended Green Apple events in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, setting a one-day attendance record at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, IL, with over 40,000 people present. Lending weight to the Festival's endeavors is their partnership with Earth Day Network - the non-profit organization founded by the creators of the first Earth Day in 1970.
Produced by Earth Day Network and Green Apple Festival, and presented by Chase, these all-inclusive, interactive and free public events will occur in eight major cities: Chicago IL (Lincoln Park Zoo), New York City (Central Park), Miami FL (Bicentennial Park), Denver CO (City Park), Dallas TX (Fair Park), San Francisco CA (Golden Gate Park) and Los Angeles CA (Santa Monica Pier). The flagship event will be Earth Day 2008 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The talent round up for all eight cities, listed below, represents a wide array of musical styles, offering something for everyone from the reggae rocker to the tune-loving toddler.Chicago
- Derek Trucks Band
- Dirty Dozen Brass Band
- Meshell Ndegeocello
- Bassnectar
- Chicago Afrobeat Project
- Miss Lori Holton Nash
- The Gwalla Gwallas
- Event MC, Kyle Orton of the Chicago Bears
New York
- Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
- Big Head Todd and the Monsters
- Vusi Mahlasela
- Vienna Teng
Washington DC “Earth Day 2008 on the National Mall”
- The Roots & Friends
- Gov’t Mule
- Toots and the Maytals
- Thievery Corp - DJ set
- Warren Haynes – solo acoustic set
- Umphrey’s McGee
- DC Boys Choir
- City Dance
Miami
- Menudo
- Arrested Development
- Baby Loves Salsa
- Caravan of Thieves
Dallas
- Los Lonely Boys
- Martin Sexton
- Junior Brown
- Cas Haley
- The Steps
- George Stanford
Denver
- The Neville Brothers
- The Benevento/Russo Duo
- Rose Hill Drive
San Francisco
- Mickey Hart’s Mass Drums
- Yonder Mountain String Band
- Brett Dennen
Los Angeles
- Taj Mahal
- Ziggy Marley solo acoustic
- Juliette and the Licks
- School of Rock Hollywood Allstars
- The Frequency
- Coby Brown
For more information visit greenapplemusicfestival.com
About Earth Day Network: Earth Day Network seeks to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. It pursues these goals through education, politics, and consumer activism. With year-round programs in environmental education, campus activism, global warming and international issues, Earth Day Network combines the forces of its 500,000 activists and members to mobilize action on the most pressing environmental issues. Earth Day Network has a global reach with a network of more than 17,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries. More than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world. www.earthday.net
About Green Apple Festival: Now entering its third year, The Green Apple Festival was founded by producer Peter Shapiro and Zenbu Media, a music media company that publishes Relix Magazine, Global Rhythm, Metal Edge and Metal Maniacs and co-produces the Jammy Awards. www.greenapplemusicfestival.com
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Green Exchange | 2545 W. Diversey | Chicago | IL | 60647
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Don't Miss out on the Family Fun at Green Apple Festival!
Earth Policy News - Carbon Dioxide Emissions Accelerating Rapidly
> April 9, 2008
>
> Eco-Economy Indicators are twelve trends that the Earth Policy Institute tracks to measure progress in building an eco-economy. Carbon emissions are an important trend to follow because as atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide rise, so does the earth's temperature.
>
>
> CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS ACCELERATING RAPIDLY
> Frances C. Moore
>
> Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels stood at a record 8.38 gigatons of carbon (GtC) in 2006, 20 percent above the level in 2000. Emissions grew 3.1 percent a year between 2000 and 2006, more than twice the rate of growth during the 1990s. Carbon dioxide emissions have been growing steadily for 200 years, since fossil fuel burning began on a large scale at the start of the Industrial Revolution. But the growth in emissions is now accelerating despite unambiguous evidence that carbon dioxide is warming the planet and disrupting ecosystems around the globe.
>
> For entire text see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/2008.htm
> For data see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/2008_data.htm
>
>
> For an index of Earth Policy Institute resources related to Carbon Emissions see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/index.htm
>
> And for more information on stabilizing climate by cutting carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020, see Chapters 11-12 in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm .
>
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
16 Ways to Heal Your Home
16 Ways to Heal Your Home
Dear daniel stafford‚
Did you know that here in the US, about 80,000 industrial chemicals are registered for use in all of the products we eat, touch‚ wear‚ and use to furnish our homes… but that fewer than 20 percent have been tested for their impact on human health and the environment?
These include ingredients in our food, household cleaners‚ and body care products. They include chemicals used on and in toys and furniture and clothing and bed linens.
Wouldn't it make more sense to prove a chemical is safe before running the risk of harming people who use the product‚ workers who make it, and the communities where the manufacturing facilities are located?
That’s the idea behind the Precautionary Principle. It turns right-side-up the upside-down way our society makes decisions about risk. The Precautionary Principle requires proof that products are safe‚ and errs on the side of caution.
We’ve built our new Healthy Home Center on our Web site with the Precautionary Principle in mind. We’ve pulled together the best "healthy home" articles from our green-living newsletter‚ Real Money‚ along with new tips and strategies from the spring issue of our Co-op America Quarterly magazine.
We introduce 16 ways to heal your home, and there’s much‚ much more information in the Healthy Home Center.
Please forward this e-mail to your friends, and if you have a blog, myspace account‚ Facebook account‚ or other online site, please share Co-op America’s Healthy Home Center with your readers. Let us know and we'll link back to you in an upcoming e-newsletter.
Here's to healthy homes and a healthy planet‚
Alisa Gravitz
Executive Director
Co-op AmericaBelow‚ we outline the problems with 16 conventional household products. Click through to Co-op America's Healthy Home Center to learn about solutions – ways to heal every part of your home. (Also, all of the linked terms below, like "phthalates"‚ take you straight to our online glossary for a better understanding of the problems some of the worst chemicals can cause.)
1) Conventional body care products – More than one-third of personal care products contain at least one ingredient linked to cancer, and very few products are tested for safety. Some products contain phthalates‚ which don't appear in the list of a product's ingredients -- instead they are covered by the general term "fragrance."
2) Chemical Air Fresheners – Air fresheners contain dangerous ingredients like dichlorobenzene‚ naphthalene‚ and formaldehyde.
3) PVC Shower Curtains – Polyvinyl chloride, also known as PVC‚ the vinyl in your shower curtain‚ is a plastic that’s dangerous to people and the environment at every stage of its lifecycle.
4) Conventional Cleaners – Many household cleaners contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as formaldehyde‚ harsh acids‚ and hormone disruptors.
5) Paints and Stains – Conventional paints contain three chemicals worth worrying about: VOCs‚ fungicides‚ and biocides. Other problematic ingredients can include mercury‚ arsenic disulfide‚ phenol‚ and formaldehyde.
6) Furniture – Some wood furniture can release VOCs from adhesives and finishes. Urea formaldehyde is used in particle board furniture. Most upholstered furniture is treated with flame-retardant polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs).
7) Flooring – Wall-to-wall carpets harbor allergens and trap toxins. Most synthetic carpets and their adhesives also emit VOCs. Carpeting may be treated with benzyl benzoate or other chemicals for mothproofing or to repel moisture.
8) Vinyl Siding – Home siding can be the single largest use of vinyl‚ made from PVC‚ in a home. Vinyl siding often contains DEHP‚ an additive‚ and a phthalate.
9) Wooden Decks and Playsets – Until a few years ago, pressure-treated wood for decks and play equipment was routinely covered in chromium copper arsenate (CCA) to kill insects and prevent rot. CCA leaches arsenic that sticks to the hands and is absorbed through skin.
10) Pesticides – Too many homeowners needlessly use hazardous chemicals on their lawns, and these chemicals can drift into their homes and pollute indoor air.
11) Cookware – Non-stick pans with Teflon or Teflon-like coatings contain polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which break down into the air at high temperatures.
12) Plastics – Hard-to-recycle plastics often contain toxins that can leach into food and water‚ especially when heated.
13) Conventional Produce – Many non-organic fruits and vegetables carry pesticide residue. Twenty-three of the world's 28 most commonly used pesticides are suspected carcinogens, and several are possible neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors.
14) Seafood – Some fish can contain mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Some experts say that FDA and EPA fish consumption limits, established to keep pregnant women and children safe‚ are too lax.
15) Bed linens – Toxic chemicals that resist flames, water, moths, stains, and wrinkles are sometimes added to textiles like bedclothes. Labels like "permanent-press‚" "no-iron‚" "water repellent‚" and "flame retardant‚" may indicate fabric treatments that off-gas chemicals like formaldehyde and perfluorochemicas (PFCs).
16) Mattresses – Federal laws require mattresses to be fire resistant, so many manufacturers treat the mattress foam with flame-retardant chemicals. The most dangerous are polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)‚ which some manufacturers are phasing out voluntarily.
If you have a blog or a personal Web site, post or link to Co-op America's 16 Ways to Heal Your Home and help us spread the word. E-mail us to let us know you've linked to our site‚ and we'll link back to you in an upcoming blogroll.
Support our work to build a greener economy by donating to our Climate Action program. Help us build a greener energy future for America.
Visit Co-op America's Healthy Home Center to learn more about creating a healthy, happy‚ nontoxic home‚ and find articles on everything from green decks‚ to solar water heaters‚ to keeping allergens out of your bedroom.
Not yet a supporting member? Join today to receive the 2008 edition of our National Green Pages™ delivered right to your door. Membership is only $20 and includes a subscription to our bi-monthly green-living newsletter Real Money, our magazine the Co-op America Quarterly, and a copy of our Financial Planning Handbook. Your membership provides valuable support for our economic action programs for people and the planet.
04/07/2008 TO Enviro-news
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040708EA.shtml
Terra Daily reports: "Scientists from Lancaster and Durham Universities have challenged the controversial idea that global warming is caused by cosmic rays rather than by human activity."
Navy Sonar Blamed for Death of Beaked Whales
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040708EB.shtml
The Independent UK's Michael McCarthy writes: "Anti-submarine sonar may have killed a group of whales found dead in the Hebrides in one of Britain's most unusual strandings, scientists believe."
A Shift in the Debate Over Global Warming
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040708EC.shtml
In The New York Times, Andrew C. Revkin says, "The charged and complex debate over how to slow down global warming has become a lot more complicated. Most of the focus in the last few years has centered on imposing caps on greenhouse gas emissions to prod energy users to conserve or switch to nonpolluting technologies."
World Health Day Warns of Global Warming Risks
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/040708HA.shtml
According to Anna Boyd in eFluxMedia, "This year's World Health Day (April 7) highlights the idea that global warming carries more health risks now than ever and the situation is getting worse, as weather experts forecast raised temperature for the years to come."
Re: UW-Madison News Release--Green gasoline advance
> 4/7/08
>
> CONTACT: James Dumesic, (608) 262-1095, dumesic@engr.wisc.edu
>
> MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREES, BUT GASOLINE MIGHT
>
> MADISON - In 2003, University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student George Huber and colleagues made hydrogen from plant sugars using nickel-tin alloy catalysts in the lab of Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor James Dumesic.
>
> In 2005, the team made a diesel-like fuel from plants.
>
> Today, University of Massachusetts Amherst Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering George Huber has graduate students of his own.
>
> Reporting in the cover article of today's issue of "Chemistry & Sustainability, Energy & Materials," Huber's team announced the first direct conversion of plant cellulose into gasoline components. This "green gasoline" can be created from sustainable biomass sources like switchgrass and poplar trees.
>
> In the same issue, Dumesic and his team at UW-Madison announced an integrated process for creating chemical components of jet fuel using a green gasoline approach. While Dumesic's group had previously demonstrated the production of jet-fuel components by combining separate catalytic steps, its current work shows that these steps can be integrated together and run sequentially, without complex separation and purification processes between reactors.
>
> While it may be five to ten years before these green fuels arrive at the pump or power a jet, these breakthroughs have bypassed significant hurdles to bringing biofuels to market.
>
> "It is likely that the future consumer will not even know that they are putting biofuels into their car," says Huber. "Biofuels in the future will most likely be similar in chemical composition to gasoline and diesel fuel used today. The challenge for chemical engineers is to efficiently produce liquid fuels from biomass while fitting into the existing infrastructure today."
>
> For their new approach, the UMass researchers rapidly heated cellulose in the presence of solid catalysts, materials that speed up reactions without sacrificing themselves in the process, and then rapidly cooled the products to create a liquid that contains many of the compounds found in gasoline.
>
> The entire process was completed in less than two minutes by using relatively moderate amounts of heat. The compounds that formed in that single step, like naphthalene and toluene, make up one fourth of the suite of chemicals found in gasoline. The liquid can be further treated to form the remaining fuel components or can be used "as is" for a high-octane gasoline blend.
>
> "Green gasoline is an attractive alternative to bioethanol since it can be used in existing engines and does not incur the 30 percent gas mileage penalty of ethanol-based flex fuel," says John Regalbuto, who directs the Catalysis and Biocatalysis Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and supported this research.
>
> "In theory, it requires much less energy to make than ethanol, giving it a smaller carbon footprint and making it cheaper to produce. Making it from cellulose sources such as switchgrass or poplar trees grown as energy crops, or forest or agricultural residues such as wood chips or corn stover, solves the life-cycle greenhouse gas problem that has recently surfaced with corn ethanol and soy biodiesel," Regalbuto adds.
>
> Beyond academic laboratories, both small businesses and Fortune 500 petroleum refiners are pursuing green gasoline. Companies are designing ways to hybridize their existing refineries to enable petroleum products including fuels, textiles, and plastics to be made from either crude oil or biomass and the military community has shown strong interest in making jet fuel and diesel from the same sources.
>
> "Huber's new process for the direct conversion of cellulose to gasoline aromatics is at the leading edge of the new 'Green Gasoline' alternate energy paradigm that NSF, along with other federal agencies, is helping to promote," states Regalbuto.
>
> Not only is the method a compact way to treat a great deal of biomass in a short time, Regalbuto says that the process, in principle, does not require any external energy. "In fact, from the extra heat that will be released, you can generate electricity in addition to the biofuel," he adds. "There will not be just a small carbon footprint for the process; by recovering heat and generating electricity, there won't be any footprint."
>
> The latest pathways to produce green gasoline, green diesel, and green jet fuel are found in a report sponsored by NSF, the Department of Energy and the American Chemical Society entitled "Breaking the Chemical and Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels: Next Generation Hydrocarbon Biorefineries," released April 1. (www.ecs.umass/biofuels/roadmap.htm). In the report, Huber, Dumesic and a host of leaders from academia, industry and the government present a plan for making green gasoline a practical solution for the impending fuel crisis.
>
> "We are currently working on understanding the chemistry of this process and designing new catalysts and reactors for this single step technique. This fundamental chemical understanding will allow us to design more efficient processes that will accelerate the commercialization of green gasoline," says Huber.
> ###
> - Media contact: Jim Beal, (608) 263-0611, jbeal@engr.wisc.edu
>
>
>
> ****************************************************
> For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
> news release system, please send an email to:
> releases@news.wisc.edu
>
> For more UW-Madison news, please visit:
> http://www.news.wisc.edu/
>
> University Communications
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 27 Bascom Hall
> 500 Lincoln Drive
> Madison, WI 53706
>
> Phone: (608) 262-3571
> Fax: (608) 262-2331
>
04/08/2008 TO Enviro-news
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040708D.shtml
Ed Pilkington, reporting for The Guardian UK, writes: "One of the world's leading climate scientists warns today that the EU and its international partners must urgently rethink targets for cutting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because of fears they have grossly underestimated the scale of the problem. In a startling reappraisal of the threat, James Hansen, head of the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, calls for a sharp reduction in CO2 limits."
UW-Madison News Release--Prairie chickens lure agri-tourists
> 4/7/08
>
> CONTACT: David Drake, (608) 890-0445, ddrake2@wisc.edu; Carl Flaig, (715) 570-0782, stargazing@tznet.com; Sharon Schwab, (715) 343-6221, SchwabS@co.portage.wi.us
>
> WATCHING THE BIRDS: AGRI-TOURISM COULD HELP SAVE COLORFUL PRAIRIE CHICKEN
>
> MADISON - In terms of entertaining courtship rituals, few animals can hold a candle to "Tympanuchus cupido" -- the drummer of love, commonly known as the greater prairie chicken.
>
> To win the attention of a mate, male prairie chickens inflate their vibrant orange throat sacs and strut around with pinnae standing up like feathery horns, a comical display that has won the birds legions of fans. During the birds' spring mating season, some enthusiasts huddle for hours before dawn to catch a glimpse of the chickens in action.
>
> But for University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers David Drake and Ashly Steinke, the birds' unusual behavior represents an opportunity -- one that could help preserve the chickens' threatened population and benefit area farmers at the same time.
>
> Once prevalent in every Wisconsin county, prairie chickens have been on the state's threatened species list since 1979, as fragmentation and degradation of the birds' native habitat has reduced their population to an estimated 1,200 birds. Drake, an assistant professor of forest and wildlife ecology, is taking part in a five-year project to expand their numbers, which involves transporting chickens from Minnesota to help broaden their genetic diversity.
>
> But that's only part of the solution, he says. The birds need more habitat where they can mate and intermingle.
>
> And that's where Wisconsin farmers come in. During the birds' mating season -- usually marked by the annual Central Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Festival, which this year takes place April 18-20 -- some farmers offer deals that allow nature lovers to watch the birds' rituals on their land. Typically, bird-watchers arrive in the pre-dawn hours, huddling behind plywood blinds to take in the birds' display.
>
> "You get in the blind at 4:30 a.m., and it's still dark, and the birds are already there," says Carl Flaig, who last season allowed the state Department on Natural Resources to place two blinds on his land. "And you start hearing the booming. The sun is coming up, it's an incredible experience."
>
> Flaig says he and his wife, Carol, enjoyed the experience so much that they're expanding to four blinds this year. The couple now offers group tour packages that include an evening Chuckwagon meal and stargazing, the early-morning prairie chicken dance, and a home-cooked farm breakfast.
>
> It's exactly this kind of collaboration that Drake envisions helping restore the birds' population in the state. Drake and Steinke, one of his graduate students, are working to survey farmers and landowners to gauge interest in managing some land as grassland habitat for the birds.
>
> "We want to try and diversify the farm," Drake says, "to allow farmers to manage for grasslands on their properties and to offer them economic opportunities like bird watching."
>
> It can be a win-win situation, he says, offering entrepreneurial farmers such as Flaig a chance to earn some extra income while also creating an essential habitat corridor. "If you can save the prairie chicken," Drake says, "you can save other grassland associated species as well."
> ###
> - Kate Tillery-Danzer, (608) 957-1303, mkdanzer@wisc.edu
>
>
>
> ****************************************************
> For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
> news release system, please send an email to:
> releases@news.wisc.edu
>
> For more UW-Madison news, please visit:
> http://www.news.wisc.edu/
>
> University Communications
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 27 Bascom Hall
> 500 Lincoln Drive
> Madison, WI 53706
>
> Phone: (608) 262-3571
> Fax: (608) 262-2331
>
Friday, April 04, 2008
Re: UW-Madison News Release--Landscape ecologists converge
>
> TO: Editors, news directors
> FROM: Jill Sakai, University Communications, (608) 262-9772, jasakai@wisc.edu
> RE: TIP/LANDSCAPE ECOLOGISTS DESCEND ON MADISON
>
> Next week, Madison will be inundated with hundreds of landscape ecologists.
>
> No, that's not a fancy new name for landscapers. These scientists, specializing in fields from biology and forestry to agronomy and resource management, will converge at the Monona Terrace from April 6-10 for the 23rd annual U.S. meeting of the International Association for Landscape Ecology.
>
> Hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the first time, the meeting brings together people interested in how physical features and patterns in the environment influence the ecosystems they contain.
>
> Imagine looking out an airplane window or tall building, suggests Phil Townsend, a professor of forest and wildlife ecology at UW-Madison. The patterns visible on the land below - such as forests, fields, rivers, and roads - have a powerful influence on the workings of the underlying ecosystems.
>
> "Not all forests are equivalent and not all agriculture is equivalent," he says. By providing the context of space and physical relationships, landscape ecology offers a more complete picture of the critical features of an environment.
>
> Such context also enables scientists to build maps and models that can help predict the characteristics of other areas - an important consideration in conservation and resource management. "The tools of landscape ecology are used extensively by resource managers, especially park managers," Townsend says. "They want to characterize patterns on the landscape, how those patterns are changing, and what effects those changes may have on whatever they're managing, be it birds or water quality."
>
> He and UW-Madison zoology professor Monica Turner, the local meeting organizers, say that bringing the meeting to Madison reflects UW-Madison's strength in the field. "This campus has been seen as a real hotspot for landscape ecology research," Townsend says.
>
> In Wisconsin, such work is helping researchers understand local ecosystems, determine how best to manage the state's natural resources, and examine the impact of human activities such as urbanization, recreational development, and agriculture.
>
> For information about the conference, contact Townsend at (608) 262-1669, ptownsend@wisc.edu.
>
> Dozens of UW-Madison scientists are engaged in landscape-scale research, many on projects that apply close to home. A few of the current researchers and their projects include:
>
> - Ashley Bennett, a graduate student in the entomology department, investigates the impact of urbanization on beneficial insects, such as pollinators and species that help control pest insects. She has found that beneficial populations are lower in urban parts of Dane County than in suburban and rural areas, but that the presence of flowering plants in cities may partially offset the large-scale impacts of urbanization.
>
> CONTACT: (608) 263-0964 (office), (217) 369-4769 (cell), abbennett@wisc.edu.
>
> - Noah Lottig, a graduate student at the Center for Limnology, is studying how aquatic ecosystems such as lakes and wetlands influence carbon in the environment. In studies in northern Wisconsin, he has found that the presence and relative location of lakes within a watershed can affect how organic carbon - such as carbon from plant and animal material - is converted to carbon dioxide. This work suggests that altering the size or distribution of lakes and wetlands may impact environmental carbon levels and changes.
>
> CONTACT: (218) 310-7460, nrlottig@wisc.edu.
>
> - David MacFarland, a graduate student in the department of forest and wildlife ecology, studies black bear populations and distribution in the Great Lakes region, including Wisconsin. He has developed a map of favorable bear habitat throughout the state to help identify areas of likely range expansion as the population increases. His work will help guide bear management to promote health of the population and minimize conflict with humans.
>
> CONTACT: (608) 576-1259, dmmacfarland@wisc.edu.
> ###
>
>
>
> ****************************************************
> For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
> news release system, please send an email to:
> releases@news.wisc.edu
>
> For more UW-Madison news, please visit:
> http://www.news.wisc.edu/
>
> University Communications
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 27 Bascom Hall
> 500 Lincoln Drive
> Madison, WI 53706
>
> Phone: (608) 262-3571
> Fax: (608) 262-2331
>
>
>
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
UW-Madison News Release--Conference on climate change
> 4/2/08
>
> CONTACT: Steve Pomplun, (608) 263-3063, spomplun@wisc.edu
>
> CONFERENCE CONSIDERS RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN WISCONSIN
>
> MADISON - What can - and should - public officials, corporate leaders, farmers, small-business owners, community organizers, and the rest of us do about climate change in Wisconsin?
>
> Hundreds of people from across the state are expected to convene at Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center here on Wednesday, April 16, to address that question.
>
> The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies' second annual Earth Day conference will feature more than 40 speakers from government, academia, business, and the non-profit sector on the theme, "Sustaining Wisconsin's Environment & Economy: Responding to Climate Change."
>
> "Our goal is to promote greater understanding of how we affect the climate and of how the climate affects us," says Lewis Gilbert, interim director of the Nelson Institute. Named for Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, the institute is part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
>
> Jay Gulledge, a senior scientist at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and manager of its program on science and impacts, will give the keynote address, "Scientific Uncertainty and Climate Change Risks."
>
> For the remainder of the morning, the conference will examine current actions and future options to cut emissions of "greenhouse gases" that contribute to global warming and to reduce Wisconsin's reliance on energy sources from outside the state.
>
> Representatives of the governor's Global Warming Task Force and the state Office of Energy Independence, both created by Gov. Jim Doyle a year ago, will report on their efforts, as will private-sector innovators in industry, agriculture, transportation, electric generation, and energy conservation.
>
> At noon, attention will turn to the potential impacts of climate change and variability on human health, fish and wildlife, water resources, forests, tourism, and other components of Wisconsin's quality of life, and how the state might adapt to protect public health, natural resources, and the economy. Organizers of the newly launched Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI), among others, will discuss their work and plans.
>
> "It's become apparent during the past decade that more than 100 years of inputs from human activity are already changing the atmosphere," says Gilbert. "Unfortunately, even if we could halt all production of greenhouse gases today, the momentum of climate change resulting from past inputs would continue for decades. So we need to develop strategies both to adapt to the change already in motion and to prevent it from becoming more extreme."
>
> The conference is open to anyone, but pre-registration by April 8 is required. The $25 registration fee covers all conference materials, a continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments.
>
> To pre-register or for more information, see the Earth Day conference Web site at nelson.wisc.edu/outreach or contact Steve Pomplun, (608) 263-3063, spomplun@wisc.edu.
>
> The Nelson Institute conference is co-sponsored by Alliant Energy, Orion Energy, EcoEnergy, Johnson Controls, American Family Insurance, Madison Gas & Electric, American Transmission Company, RMT, Wisconsin Public Power Inc., and Focus on Energy.
>
> Partners in the event are 1000 Friends of Wisconsin; the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection; Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; and WICCI.
> ###
> - Tom Sinclair, (608) 263-5599, tksincla@wisc.edu
>
>
>
> ****************************************************
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Earth Policy News - The Beginning of the End for Coal: A Long Year in the Life of the U.S. Coal Industry
> Earth Policy Institute
> News Release
> April 2, 2008
>
> THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR COAL
> A Long Year in the Life of the U.S. Coal Industry
>
> http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update70_timeline.htm
>
> Lester R. Brown and Jonathan G. Dorn
>
> With concerns about climate change mounting, the era of coal-fired electricity generation in the United States may be coming to a close. In early 2007, a U.S. Department of Energy report listed 151 coal-fired power plants in the planning stages in the United States. But during 2007, 59 proposed plants were either refused licenses by state governments or quietly abandoned. In addition, close to 50 coal plants are being contested in the courts, and the remaining plants will likely be challenged when they reach the permitting stage.
>
> What began as a few local ripples of resistance to coal-fired power plants is quickly evolving into a national tidal wave of opposition from environmental, health, farm, and community organizations as well as leading climate scientists and state governments. Growing concern over pending legislation to regulate carbon emissions is creating uncertainty in financial markets. Leading financial groups are now downgrading coal stocks and requiring utilities seeking funding for coal plants to include a cost for carbon emissions when proving economic viability.
>
> On March 11, 2008, Representative Henry Waxman of California introduced a bill to ban new coal-fired power plants without carbon emissions controls nationwide until federal regulations are put in place to address greenhouse gas emissions. If Congress passes this bill, it will deal a death blow to the future of U.S. coal-fired power generation. Yet even without a legislative mandate for a moratorium, the contraction in financial support for new coal-fired power plants is escalating toward a de facto moratorium. The timeline that follows is witness to what may well be the beginning of the end of coal-fired power in the United States.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> A Long Year in the Life of the U.S. Coal Industry -- Timeline
> On-line at www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update70_timeline.htm.
>
> 26 February 2007 - James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a leading climate scientist, calls for a moratorium on the construction of coal-fired power plants that do not sequester carbon, saying that it makes no sense to build these plants when we will have to "bulldoze" them in a few years.
>
> 26 February 2007 - Under mounting pressure from environmental groups, TXU Corporation, a Dallas-based energy company, abandons plans for 8 of 11 proposed coal-fired power plants, catalyzing the shift from coal-based to renewable energy development in Texas.
>
> 2 April 2007 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and that EPA's current rationale for not regulating this gas is inadequate.
>
> 3 May 2007 - Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signs a bill that prevents new power plants from exceeding 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per megawatt hour of electricity generated, creating a de facto moratorium on building new coal-fired power plants in the state.
>
> 30 May 2007 - Progress Energy, an energy company serving approximately 3.1 million customers in the Southeast, announces a two-year moratorium on the construction of new coal-fired power plants.
>
> 2 July 2007 - The Florida Public Service Commission denies Florida Power & Light the permits needed to move forward with the massive 1,960-megawatt coal-fired Glades Power Park, citing uncertainty surrounding future carbon costs.
>
> 13 July 2007 - Florida Governor Charlie Crist signs an Executive Order establishing "maximum allowable emission levels of greenhouse gases for electric utilities." Under the emissions cap, building new coal-fired power plants in the state seems unlikely.
>
> 18 July 2007 - Citigroup downgrades the stocks of Peabody Energy Corp., Arch Coal Inc., and Foundation Coal Holdings Inc., prominent U.S. coal companies. The decision reflects the growing uncertainty surrounding coal's future in the United States.
>
> 18 August 2007 - After opposing new coal-fired power in Nevada, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that he is opposed to building coal-fired power plants anywhere.
>
> 18 October 2007 - The Kansas Department of Health and Environment denies Sunflower Electric Power Corporation air quality permits for two proposed 700-megawatt coal-fired generators on the basis that carbon dioxide is an air pollutant and should be regulated.
>
> 3 January 2008 - Merrill Lynch downgrades the investment ratings of Consol Energy Inc. and Peabody Energy Corp., two leading U.S. coal companies.
>
> 22 January 2008 - The Attorneys General of California, six eastern states, and the District of Columbia submit a letter to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control opposing the proposed 1,320-megawatt Pee Dee coal-fired power plant. They note that emissions from this plant would "seriously undermin[e] the concerted efforts being undertaken by multiple states to address global warming."
>
> 30 January 2008 - Citing escalating costs, the Bush administration pulls the plug on federal funding for FutureGen, a joint project with 13 utilities and coal companies to build a demonstration coal-fired power plant that captures and sequesters carbon.
>
> 4 February 2008 - Investment banks Morgan Stanley, Citi, and J.P. Morgan Chase announce that any future lending for coal-fired power plants will be contingent on the utilities demonstrating economic viability under future carbon costs. Demonstrating economic viability would require speculation of future costs, imposing a risk on the investment.
>
> 8 February 2008 - The U.S. Court of Appeals overturns two EPA mercury rules covering coal-fired power plants, thus requiring new coal-fired plants to implement the most stringent mercury controls available. Compliance is expected to raise the considerable costs of 32 proposed coal plants, some already under construction.
>
> 12 February 2008 - Bank of America announces that it will start factoring in a cost of $20–40 per ton of carbon emissions in its risk analysis when evaluating loan applications from utilities.
>
> 19 February 2008 - The federal government suspends a low-interest loan program for rural utilities seeking assistance for new coal-fired power plants.
>
> 11 March 2008 - Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) introduce a bill that would block the EPA and states from issuing permits to new coal-fired power plants that lack state-of-the-art carbon capture and storage technology. Since this technology is at least a decade away from commercial viability, if this bill passes it would essentially place a near-term moratorium on new coal-fired power plants.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Source: Earth Policy Institute, www.earthpolicy.org, April 2008.
> Additional details and references at www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update70_timeline2.htm.
>
> # # #
>
> For a strategy on how to phase out coal-fired power generation worldwide by 2020, see Chapters 11 and 12 in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, available for free downloading at www.earthpolicy.org.
>
> Additional resources at www.earthpolicy.org
>
> For information contact:
>
> Media Contact:
> Reah Janise Kauffman
> Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 12
> E-mail: rjk (at) earthpolicy.org
>
> Research Contact:
> Janet Larsen
> Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 14
> E-mail: jlarsen (at) earthpolicy.org
>
> Earth Policy Institute
> 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 403
> Washington, DC 20036
> Web: www.earthpolicy.org
> ---
>
Ordered a new composter
I'll be giving away my old bio-orb composter, which is a black plastic 13 cu ft sphere that you roll on the ground.
 "Additional Product Image"){kind=small}  "Additional Product Image"){kind=small} Specifications at a Glance:
More Information: | The Rolling Composter Especially for Kitchen Scraps It's no bother composting kitchen scraps when you have this convenient tumbler near the back door. Our compact composter is sized just right to handle food scraps, and with a few quick spins, turn them into rich garden gold. When your compost is ready, just wheel it out to the garden. The big hinged door makes access easy. |
GA News - New Earth Summit Meeting Update
GA News - New Earth Summit Meeting Update 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NEW EARTH SUMMIT MEETING UPDATEMay 3 & 4 MISSOULA, MONTANA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-- ANA Free Book Offer Extended-- Why NES Forums?
This email is being sent to you by Global Awakening Press and NES Forums.
This is meant to be an informal meet-up. We are asking everyone who is planning to come to email something about themselves, personal philosophy, questions, ideas, concerns, etc. to aid in initial familiarization before the meet-up. Alex will circulate everyone's information to the group.
The location will be mailed to those who are confirmed and shared some background material ahead of time and. As well, questions, and suggestions, etc. will be circulated up until the last day prior as well so that everyone will have a good opportunity to "chew on things" of mutual interest. This will save a great deal of introductory preliminaries and facilitate everyone getting to know one another better.
We have reserved a block of rooms at nice hotel in Missoula along with a comfortable meeting place where we can put our feet up and carry on with our exchanges. Walks along the river can provide a good outdoor break without interrupting our process.
Contributions will be asked from all to help cover the cost of the room. A simple agenda of general topics that people would like to devote group time to will be made ahead of time. Please email Alex directly (info@pfcn.net) and a compilation will be made and back and forth e-mail discussion shared every week or more often as the occasion arises.
We want to allow ample time on both Saturday and Sunday to discuss ideas for land-based community as well as to have time set aside to share and discuss the issues and concerns of the day amongst ourselves.
Agenda/themes for discussion
Brief Introductions
Awakened Community - what does this mean?
Forming land-based community in Montana and elsewhere?
Future of Earth, Humanity, Ascension
Forming community where you live
New Earth, Earth-2, Earth-3, etc.
Topics suggested to NOT use group time on: The USA national elections and candidates Promoting specific religious or other teaching systems or doctrines
(Of course if there is a specific reading background that is relevant to your personal perspective, please include that in your email to Alex for group distribution.)
info@pfcn.net Subj: "NES Montana"
Compilations will be emailed out a couple of times each week to the group.
Concepts around awakened new community (see posting http://newearthsummit.org/forum/index.p hp? PHPSESSID=01aa782f4b7ad26e533c797d8a0ca476 &topic=13.0 for one example and community forum board for other comments)
Lunch is in room so we do not lose time traveling to restaurants and losing time ordering, etc.
We can go out and continue our discussion walking along the river if the weather is nice.
ANA Free Book Offer Extended~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The book offer for A New America, An Awakened Future on Our Horizon is still open. For more information see link:
Why NES Forums?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is a need to highlight the most significant developments in our ordinary and non-ordinary existence. NES forums provides this and as well as opportunity for commentary -- all in an ad-free environment..
The New Earth Summit Forums are oriented to two closely related yet distinct concerns in the world:
Human evolution as spiritual beings and creating a new social and economic community.
NES Western Montana Meeting May 3-4
Contact Information~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~email: info@pfcn.net~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First Algae Biodiesel Plant Goes Online: April
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080324/0378475.html?printer=1
| Press Release | Source: PetroSun, Inc. |
PetroSun Issues Algae-to-Biofuels Corporate Updates
Monday March 24, 10:48 am ET
The Rio Hondo, Texas algae farm will commence operations on April 1, 2008 as PetroSun's initial commercial algae-to-biofuels facility. The current algae farm consists of 1,100 acres of saltwater ponds that the Company projects will produce a minimum of 4.4 million gallons of algal oil and 110 million pounds of biomass on an annual basis. The Company has dedicated 20 acres of ponds for a proposed algae derived JP8 jet fuel research and development program.
The Rio Hondo algae farm will be expanded in the future to provide the feedstock required by present or proposed company owned or joint ventured biodiesel and ethanol refineries. The Company plans to construct or acquire additional plants in the Gulf Coast region that are reachable via barge up the Mississippi River and its tributaries including the Red River. The previously announced Bridgeport, Alabama refinery will receive algal oil feedstock from this distribution program.
"Our business model has been focused on proving the commercial feasibility of the firms' algae-to-biofuels technology during the past eighteen months," stated Gordon LeBlanc, Jr., CEO of PetroSun. "Whether we have arrived at this point in time by a superior technological approach, sheer luck or a redneck can-do attitude, the fact remains that microalgae can outperform the current feedstocks utilized for conversion to biodiesel and ethanol, yet do not impact the consumable food markets or fresh water resources."
About PetroSun
PetroSun's operations include oil and gas exploration, development and production and algae-to-algal oil alternative fuels production. The oil and gas division is focused on the exploration of the Holbrook Basin of Arizona, the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Australian based prospects. The Company will continue the development of oil and gas reserves in Louisiana. The alternative fuels division has entered the commercial stage of its algae-to-biofuels production technology. The Company plans to establish algae farms and algal oil extraction plants in Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mexico, Brazil and Australia during 2008. The algal oil product will be marketed as feedstock to existing biodiesel refiners and planned company owned refineries. PetroSun is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona with field offices in Shreveport, Louisiana and Rio Hondo, Texas. For more information about PetroSun visit the company's website at www.petrosuninc.com.
Except historical matter contained herein, matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties, which may affect the Company's business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Contact: Investor Relations Jim LeCrone 480-425-4291 Email Contact
Source: PetroSun, Inc.