Welcome to the 18th Edition of the Friday Linkfest, your summary of this week's most noteworthy news. This week, we introduce a new category to the ones you are already used to: Dubious News. For those news that make you go "Well, it sounds good, but is simply just.... wrong?!" But we find in this edition some reasons for optimism, as two important discoveries may bring us closer to the hydrogen economy dream. And potato chips go green. What more can we ask for?
Good news
- A new hydrogen production method puts clean, carbon-neutral hydrogen on the horizon. The method, developed by Penn State researchers uses microbial fuel cells to convert biodegradable organic materials directly into hydrogen. "This process produces 288% more energy in hydrogen than the electrical energy that is added to the process," according to the researcher. Impressive.
- And record-braking hydrogen storage materials for fuel cells have been discovered. These materials absorb a much higher percentage of hydrogen than predecessor materials while exhibiting faster kinetics at room temperature and much lower pressures, and are inexpensive and simple to produce.
- EU legislators voted to extend the carbon emissions cap-and-trade scheme to airlines flying to and from Europe, in an attempt to curb airline emissions, with the key issue being that non-European airlines will be obliged to comply with the new requirements. Obviously, they are not amused.
- And on a lighter note, my love for potato chips dictates that I share with you this exciting new development. Frito-Lay is embarking on an ambitious plan to wean its production plant off the power grid, or nearly so, and run it almost entirely on renewable fuels and recycled water. And they say you're not supposed to eat green potatoes, haha!
A study cautions that the U.K. may have to increase its nuclear power capacity in order to meet its goal for cutting carbon-dioxide emissions over the next 35 year, as it is unlikely that renewable energy sources including wind farms will be able to fill the future supply void that will be left by decommissioning fossil-fuel burning units- And if you thought buying fruit from the other end of the world was OK as long it was sea-freighted, think again. A new report has attributed 60,000 premature cardiopulmonary and lung cancer deaths around the world each year to pollution from marine shipping.
- Soft corals melting away due to global warming is deemed a global marine catastrophe by Tel-Aviv researcher. Soft corals help maintain the health and balance of reef ecosystems and provide protection to numerous animals, as well as a promising source of drugs against cancer and deadly infectious diseases. At this rate of extinction we may never recover certain therapeutic drugs, and humans could not live with wide-spread extinction of marine life, he points out.
- After San Francisco Bay, another oil spill in the Black Sea ravages wildlife off the southern coast of Russia and may take months to clean up.
- A government report reveals that only a third of North-American CO2 emissions are being offset by carbon removing activities. Hmm. Are they perhaps being offset by the following dubious news:
- Indonesia gets paid to NOT chop down their rainforest and there are even proposals to add credits from "avoided deforestation" to offset schemes. Is it just me or does this just sound wrong? What next? Selling carbon credits for NOT building power plants?
- Check out 50 fabulous ways to green your business from Fast Company Magazine. Among big and small ideas, you might find some that are just right for you.
- New website CARMA, Carbon Monitoring for Action, tracks the carbon emissions of every electricity generator in the United States and throughout the world. Just enter your zip code and see for yourself who is the biggest emitter in your area.
- Solve Climate - an American focused on real, practical and effective solutions to solve the Climate Change issue, starting with a push for the tight policies. "America knows what needs to be done to solve the problem of global warming and can easily afford the solutions. SolveClimate's mission is to prove it and to shine a spotlight on our leaders to make them accountable for it."
- And the Wall Street Journal explains why China's carbon emissions can be blamed on the west, as 23% of its emissions come from coal powered production of goods to be shipped elsewhere.(Sorry, subscription only)
