Global Potential for Biodeisel is "ENORMOUS"

One of the renewable energy sources that's attracted a lot of attention is biodiesel, obtained by converting the fats and oils in agricultural products into a burnable diesel fuel. At the moment, a lot of biodiesel production occurs in small-scale pilot programs, but a report completed by the University of Wisconsin's Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) indicates its global potential is enormous: over 400 billion liters annually, well more than double the amount of diesel the US burns every year. The report also provides a detailed look into what may be more significant questions: can this potential be realized and, if so, how?

The report lays out a compelling rationale for a focus on biodiesel. The fuel can be refined from existing sources of lipids using a process that operates at normal atmospheric pressures and temperatures, and can work across a range of scales from local to industrial. Production works with plants that grow on marginal lands, and research is underway to develop lipid sources from algae that live in salt water...

arstechnica.com

Global Views

The Globalization of Hunger

At first, the numbers don't seem to add up. The world produces more food than ever—enough to feed twice the global population. Yet, more people than ever suffer from hunger; and their numbers are rising. Today, 854 million people, most of them women and girls, are chronically hungry, up from 800 million in 1996. Another paradox: the majority of the world's hungry people live in rural areas, where nearly all food is grown.

The root of the problem is the inequitable distribution of the resources needed to either grow or buy food (also known as poverty). World Food Day is an equally good time to call out one of the main culprits of the crisis: industrial agriculture, the very type enshrined in the Farm Bill that's currently before the US Senate.

The Farm Bill has far-reaching implications for farmers and food systems the world over. It is set to perpetuate a process whereby heavily subsidized US factory farms overproduce grains that are dumped in poor countries, bankrupting local farmers, who can't compete with subsidized prices. We've begun to hear a bit about the plight of these farmers, but few people know that most of them are women. In fact, women produce most of the world's food. They do so on small plots of land, working hard to feed their families and generate enough income for things like school fees and children's shoes...

theseoultimes.com

Dave Longo was born and raised in both Toronto and Mississauga. In 2004 he moved to Meaford, Ontario to expand this operation. Dave has been involved with birds since he was six years old, first successfully breeding zebra finches when he was 11. This was the same little boy you saw walking home with the baby Robin that fell from its nest and brought it home to feed cut up worms and insects. His enthusiasm engaged him to search for more interaction with birds and started working for the retail pet industry when he was 18 where he has to date raised over 100 different species of parrots through this and his own collection. He started with his first large parrots at the age of 20 and now has over 100 pairs of approximately 80 species of parrots. Dave's main interest lies in rare species of parrots that are in need of help due to their endangered status in aviculture and their endemic habitat. So far he has achieved two Canadian first breeding awards and has assistants help with daily operations throughout the season for the birds. Dave's interests not only lie with birds, during this period, Dave also attended the University of Guelph for Ornithology, Herpetology, Zoology and Marine Biology. His experience that relates to this has bred and kept numerous types of marine and tropical freshwater fish as well as reptiles for several years including 10 species of snakes, 4 species of chameleons, 11 species of geckos, 13 species of turtles, tortoises and even poison arrow frogs. Dave loves adventure, and has a passion for fast cars, speed and adrenaline. He owns his own street rod, a 1959 custom built Volkswagen Beetle. He also is very active in water sports, surfing and snow boarding. He also enjoys soccer, bungee jumping, rock climbing and nature photography to name a few. He has been a disc jockey for over 20 years and hopes to one day operate his own nightclub. He is also in the middle of building an ideally designed aviary that will include 50' outdoor flights for each pair of birds. His primary operation is Longo's Aviaries Inc. and a division of this is an agency that provides specimens for zoological institutions and private facilities worldwide recognized as Zoo Trade International. Dave is actively involved in several organizations and avicultural communities around the globe. For his young age Dave has seemed to accomplish quite a lot and continues to be a dedicated aviculturist and conservationist who will have the welfare of every other species come before man. Dave feels it is most important that us as aviculturists and breeders must share valuable information to ensure successful captive propagation of rarer species to relieve the pressure of wild caught specimens.

www.longosaviaries.com

THOUSANDS PLEDGE TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOTTLE

Cities, celebrities, students, religious communities and environmental and corporate accountability organizations urge support for public water systems

A broad range of national and local organizations, cities, celebrities, student groups and communities of faith launched the Think Outside Bottle Pledge today calling on people to choose public tap over bottled water.

The Pledge supports the efforts of local officials to invest and build confidence in public water systems. Momentum has been growing over the last year for cities and consumers to reevaluate corporate control of water sources, including city water systems. The explosive growth of the bottled water industry, fueled by misleading advertising, has contributed to a loss of confidence in public water systems.

However, scientific studies have shown that bottled water is on average no safer than tap water, and may sometimes be less safe, containing elevated levels of arsenic, bacteria and other contaminants.

What’s more, up to 40 percent of bottled water comes from the same source as tap water, which is highly regulated for its safety to consumers. In contrast, the bottled water industry is regulated by the FDA, which lacks the capacity to fully monitor bottled water plants and largely relies on bottlers to police themselves.

This summer the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution, with leadership from the mayors of San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis, supporting municipal water systems. U.S. consumers currently spend $15 billion a year on bottled water. At the same time, there is a $22 billion funding gap between what cities need to spend on water infrastructure and the money available to them.

In the face of shortfalls, cities in the U.S. and around the world are turning increasingly to private corporations to manage public water systems – sometimes at great expense to the public and to the overall quality of service.

Bottled water also takes a toll on the environment, and city budgets. Last year, at least four billion pounds of plastic bottles ended up in city waste streams. It can cost cities more than $70 million in dumping and incineration fees alone. [ix] Furthermore, making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil last year and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions...

www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org