Alternative Energies -- Truly Renewable

Anaerobic Digestion

• San Jose Advances Waste-to-Biogas Facility Plans, Biomass Magazine, August 2009.
• Wild Rose Farm's Anaerobic Digester by William Katra, April 11, 2009.
• Xcel Investing in Manure Power, Star Tribune, March 4, 2009.
• Anaerobic Digestion in Tulare, California; CA Energy Commission, June 14, 2008.   
• A First for the U.S.: Company Feeds Biomethane into Natural Gas Pipeline, Biopact, January 22, 2008.
• Biogas & Anaerobic Digestion, Penn State University.
• A.D. for Garden Refuse, Sacramento, CA; April 2005.                                           
• Sacramento, CA Signs A.D. Agreement with Sweden, June 29, 2006.                       
• Anaerobic Digestion, California Integrated Waste Management Board, October 21, 2008.
• "With 14 million pounds of cow waste generated in Oregon each day, there's a lot of potential energy just waiting to be utilized." Smart Energy--Biogas Projects. 
• Northwest Project to Build Tire-Filled Digester, Biogass Magazine.
  
• AgStar Program Supports A.D., US Environmental Protection Agency, October 30, 2008.
• "Saddled with Level of Dioxin, Town Considers an Odd Ally: The Mushroom", "I-Team Update: Secrets in the Soil"
• Haubenschild Farms Anaerobic Digester, The Minnesota Project, August 2002.

Fuel Cells

• The Economics of the Bloom Box, grist, February 24, 2010.
• What the Heck is a Bloom Box and Will It Solve the World's Energy Problems?, grist, 2/23/10.
• Fuel Cells provide 24/7 Electricity from A.D. Power Plants in Tulare, CA; Industrial WaterWorld, November 2008.
• "Researchers Report Fuel-Cell Breakthroughs" July 31, 2008. 

General

• Tech Startup's Pollution Detector Aids Enviro Justice Group, grist, March 5, 2010.
• Vermont Scuttles Plans for Reactor, Wall St. Journal, February 25, 2010.
• How Innovative Financing [PACE] is Changing Energy in America, grist, January 27, 2010.
• When it Comes to Energy, Mark Jacobson Thinks Big, grist, January 18, 2009.  For details of Jacobson's "Plan to Power 100% of the Planet with Renewables", see the Scientific American Magazine, November 2009.
• A Little Heresy on Transmission Lines, John Farrell, September 19, 2009.
• How Much Energy Does the U.S. Waste?, grist, September 11, 2009.
• Wes Jackson: Greening the Economy, Preparing for the End of Growth, 2009 Annual Meeting of MN Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology.
• The Top 10 Sources for Energy, grist, August 18, 2009.
• The Good News about Energy Efficiency, grist, August 4, 2009.
• Seven Ways to Fight Dirty Energy, grist, August 3, 2009.
• 10 Ways to Save Money & Be Green, HuffingtonPost.com, July 23, 2009.
• Asian Nations Could Outpace U.S. in Developing Clean Energy, The Washington Post, July 16, 2009.

Hydrokinetic Energy

• FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) Signs Tidal Power Agreement With Maine, Ocean Amps, August 24, 2009.
• If the Site is Right, Researchers Could Bring Tidal Energy to Puget Sound, grist, August 11, 2009.
• Rival Designs Race to Harness Ocean Energy, New Scientist, July 10, 2009.
• Exxon, DNA Pioneer Join on Algae Biofuels, CNN.com, July 16, 2009.

Organics Recycling

• BioCycle
• Potatoes and Algae May Replace Oil in Plastics, Telegraph.co.uk, December 21, 2009.
• Forget Gas, Batteries: Pee is New Power Source, msnbc, July 8, 2009.

Solar

• World's Largest Solar-Powered Boat Prepares for Carbon-Free Trip Around the Globe, CARE2, March 11, 2010.
•  “10 Million Solar Roofs & 10 Million Gallons of Solar Hot Water Act” from Bernie Sanders, Independent-Vermont, February 5, 2010.
• Rebuilding with Sun Power: SELF Fosters Clean Energy & Community Development, Care2Causes, February 28, 2010. 
• The Little Solar That Could, grist, February 5, 2010.
• 2010 Outlook for Solar in California, grist, January 13, 2010.
• Steven Chu Sets the Record Straight on Solar Energy, Huffington Post, December 14, 2009.
• Solar's Rapid Evolution Makes Energy Planners Rethink the Grid, grist, November 17, 2009.
• SolarReserve's 24/7 Solar Power Plant, grist, November 9, 2009.
• Ralph Jacobson, national -- and local (St. Paul) -- solar expert, provides info on the viability of solar energy production right here in Minnesota.  For more details, see his website at:  www.ips-solar.com
• Click here for info on "distributed energy" & "feed-in tariffs".
• Xcel Energy Finishes Building Boulder's Smart Grid, Big Green Boulder, September 9, 2009.
• Solar Power Goes Underground, MSNBC, November 9, 2009.
• Solar-assisted Coal Plant Coming to Colorado, Big Green Boulder, August 27, 2009.
• St. Paul Couple "Gives Back to the Grid", St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 30, 2009.
• More Sun for Less: Solar Panels Drop in Price, New York Times, August 26, 2009.
• Could We Replace the Nation's Pavement with Solar Panels?, grist, 8/28/09.
• China Racing Ahead of U.S. in the Drive to Go Solar, New York Times, August 25, 2009.
• Washington State May Soon Be Home to World's Largest PV Solar Project, grist, July 10, 2009.
• All About CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) Like photovoltaic systems, CSP relies on the sun to work but is generally accepted to be more cost effective and practical. 
• Solar-Powered Technology to Transform CO2 & Sunlight Into Ethanol, grist, July 26, 2009.
• Nitol, Russia's Emerging Solar Power Star, SpiegelOn-LineInternational, August 26, 2009.
• Some Ideas About Getting Away from Oil Dependence, Star Tribune, September 12, 2008.

Wind

• A Gust of Energy, grist, January 22, 2010.
• One Doctor's Quest to Sound the Alarm on "Wind Turbine Syndrome", grist, November 16, 2009.
• The Long & Wind-Powered Road, PBS NOW, October 29, 2009.

Bioaccumulation

Because the harmful effects of incineration are cumulative, they may take years or decades to finally overpower our immune systems. Independent scientists (researchers who have not been paid by those in the incinerator and garbage-processing industries, who stand to profit by “proving” that burners are safe) studying the effects of burner emissions are discovering alarming relationships between the incidences of serious diseases – cancers, reproductive system disorders, immune system disorders, heart and lung disease, asthma and other breathing disorders (especially the increases in childhood asthma), ADHD and other brain-function disorders in children, and fetal health disorders – and patients’ proximity to burners. For current research, see:

• Air Pollution Increases Infants' Risk of Bronchiolitis, Science Daily, November 7, 2009.
• Duval County, Florida Medical Society Opposes Incineration, 2/10.
• Massachusetts Medical Society Opposes Biomass Plants, Greenfield Recorder, January 26, 2010.
• Climate Advocates Should Build Ties with the Public-Health Community, grist, December 8, 2009.
• America's Most Toxic Cities, Forbes, November 2, 2009.
• "The Price of Pollution: Cost Estimates of Environment-Related Childhood Disease in Minnesota" 
• Minnesota Ranks #7 in Top Ten States in U.S. Incinerating PVC's
• Pollution Can Change Your DNA in 3 Days, Study Suggests, National Geographic, May 17, 2009.
• "Using the Precautionary Principle: A Citizen's Guide" by Paul Connett, November 17, 2009.
• Connection Between Plastics in Environment & Rising Obesity Rates, PBS NOVA: Ghost in Your Genes, 2007.
• MPCA Sees Rise in Mercury Levels in Northern Pike, Walleye from State Lakes
• "Lead, Smoke Exposure in Kids Linked to ADHD"
• "Lead Exposure Endangers Children"
• "An American Life Worth Less Today"
• "Lobbyists Fight Clean Air Rules"
• "The Health Effects of Waste Incinerators: Risk Assessment"
• "MPCA Air Quality Index"
• China's Incinerators Loom as a Global Hazard, NYTimes.com, August 12, 2009.
• "Dioxin and Breast Milk: the French Island Incinerator" 
• "The Inuit's Struggle with Dioxins and Other Organic Pollutants."
• "Dioxin Documentation"
• Panel Finds Smog-Mortality Link, National Academy of Sciences, April 23, 2008.
• BodyBurden:  The Pollution in Newborns, Environmental Working Group, July 2005.
• Toxic Link to Endometriosis, Endometriosis Association, 2005.
• Prevent Cancer Now: Let's Say "No" to Incineration in Canada

EPA/MPCA Regulation

Just because an incinerator – using biomass, garbage, coal or any other solid fuel – meets the current EPA guidelines for emissions does NOT mean that those emissions are safe to humans or to the environment at large.

• Cottage Grove Officials Burning Over 3M Plans, Star Tribune, March 7, 2010.
• Idaho, Four Other Western States Named in EPA Lawsuit, Idaho Statesman, February 1, 2010.
• Everything You Always Wanted to Know about EPA Greenhouse Gas Regulations but were Afraid to Ask
• Shortcomings of Dioxin Monitoring
• "EPA Region 5 Reaches Agreement with Perham Facility"
• "EPA's New Pesticide Testing is Outdated, Crude" 
• Clean Water Laws are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering, NYTimes, 9/13/09.
• "Lawsuit Challenges Bush-Era Exemptions on Burning Waste" 
• "EPA a Failure on Chemicals, Audit Finds" 
• "EPA Overstating Enforcement Record"
• "GAO Questions EPA Plan to Ease Farms' Emissions Rules" 
• "EPA Lets Electronic Waste Flow Freely, GAO Report Says" 
• "Industry Eyes Upcoming 'Waste' Definition to Boost Energy Supply" 
• "EPA Ignored Advisers' Guidance"
• “Bush’s EPA Is Pursuing Fewer Polluters” 
• "Hundreds of EPA Scientists Report Political Interference Over Last Five Years"
• "White House Pressured EPA"

Global Warming

• Cap-and-Dividend is SOOO the New Cap-and-Trade, Care2 Newsletter, February 20, 2010.
• Biomass Blunder: USDA Advocates Burning Wood for Electricity, CARE2, March 6, 2010.
• Why Biomass Wood Energy is Not the Answer, Counterpunch.org, January 12, 2010.
• Health & Safety Risks of Carbon Capture and Storage, Journal of the American Medical Association/JAMA, January 6, 2010.
• Cap and Dividend, On the Commons, 2010.
• "The Story of Cap & Trade", by Annie Leonard, a ten-minute, highly-accessible video about why Cap & Trade is NOT a solution to global warming.
• Green Nightmare: Burning Biomass is Not Renewable Energy, Huffington Post, December 17, 2009.
• "Low-carbon Future: We Can Afford to Go Green", New Scientist, December 2, 2009.
• "They'd Shoot Trees, Wouldn't They?  Climate Laws Encourage Deforestation, Scientists Say", Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2009.
• "Who Says It's Green to Burn Woodchips?", The Independent, 10/25/09.
• "Al Gore Calls on World to Burn Less Fuel & Wood to Curb 'Black Carbon'", April 28, 2009.
• Biofuels Deemed A Greenhouse Threat, New York Times, February 8, 2008.
• Study: Bio-fuels may actually be accelerating global warming, Chicago (AFP), February 14, 2009.
• Next Generation Biofuels: Bursting the New 'Green' Bubble, ETC (Action Group on Erosion, Technology & Concentration), January 15, 2009.
• "Hoodwinked in the Hothouse: False Solutions to Climate Change"
• "A Red Flag on Green Energy Plan" by Mary Stuart Booth, MA Environmental Energy Alliance, Boston Globe, May 22, 2009.
• Persistence Stops a Train--& Global Warming Slowed, grist, August 27, 2009.
• "Fuzzy Logic on Wood-burning" by David Baumann, The Berkshire Eagle, April 11, 2009.
• "Risky Business: Burning Wood & Other Biomass for Energy"
• "Wood Ash: The Unregulated Radwaste
• "The Clean Energy Scam" by Michael Grunwald from TIME Magazine, March 27, 2008.
• "Particles Cause Climate Change: Why Wood Burning is Not Carbon-Neutral" from Science Daily, July 19, 2006.
• "Black Carbon Emerges as a Main Contributor to Global Warming" from World Resources Institute, March 30, 2008.
• Wood is New Coal as Polluters Use Carbon-Eating Trees, Bloomberg.Com, June 2, 2009.
• Damage to Forests from Climate Change by Megan Dold, IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organization), April 17, 2009.
• Key Role of Forests "May Be Lost" by Mark Kinver, BBC News, April 18, 2009.
• Read Rabl, A., A. Benoist, et al. (2007). "Editorial - How to Account for CO2 Emissions from Biomass in an LCA." International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 12(5): 281.
• Incineration of Municipal Solid Waste: Impact on Global Warming, CitizensWasteInfo, 2006.
• "Potential of Cellulosic Production from Municipal Solid Waste"
• "The Biofuel Illusion"
• "Global Civil Society Opposes Charred Earth Policy", Rainforest Alliance, Hamburg, Germany, April 6, 2009.
• "Woodchips With Everything", The Guardian, March 24, 2009.
• "Biochar:  Another False Solution to Climate Change", Organic Consumers Association, March 20, 2009. 
• "Stop Promotion of Biochar!", Ecological Internet, April 2, 2009.
• "Chemicals: Scientists Find New Toxin in Pine Tree Fires"
• "Poultry-Powered Plants Pollute More Than Coal?
• "Why are biofuels losing steam in Europe . . . and barreling ahead in the U.S.?"

Green Jobs

Investing in genuinely non-toxic, sustainable energy production has the potential to create many more new, clean and green jobs for the state of Minnesota and our nation than out-dated incineration technology. Even the 

• Blue Green Alliance  (a consortium of environmental groups and labor unions) promotes this possibility.
• A Big Breakthrough on Green Jobs, grist, September 14, 2009.
• "UN Reports Big Jump in 'Green Energy' Investment"
• California Sticks Toe in Green Chemistry Pond, Miller-McCune.com, July 27, 2009.
• 200 Green Business Ideas, Fast Company, July 23, 2009.
• Green Bounty: Historic Navajo Green Jobs Legislation, grist, July 22, 2009.
• Silicon Valley VC Sees Bright Future for Green Tech, grist, July 20, 2009.

Incineration -- "High Tech"

NAB has learned through its research that there is no technology that is functional today that eliminates the dangerous toxins and particulate matter created by incineration. See

• An Industry Blowing Smoke:10 Reasons Why Gasification, Pyrolosis, & Plasma Incineration Are Not 'Green Solutions', by David Ciplet, GAIA, June 2009
• Say "No!" to TDR (Tire-Derived-Fuel)
• Summary of Studies on Emissions of PAH's, N2O, & CO and
• Gasification by Alan Muller.
• "Sacramento City Council Rejects Plasma Arc Incinerator Project"
• For some background You-Tubes on Plasma Arc, see:Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, PhD, Environmental Consultant.
• For more info, see memo to NAB from Neil Tangri of www.no-burn.org
• and Florida Plasma Arc Facility from Bradley Angel of Greenaction.

Particle Pollution

Particle Pollution has hit the mainstream media!

The YOU Docs: Time to get particular about particle pollution, by Michael Roizen, MD & Mehmet Oz, MN, Pioneer Press, August 7, 2009.

• Aerosols [tiny airborne particles] May Drive a Significant Portion of Global Warming, NASA, April 8, 2009. 
• Bad Breath: Studies are homing in on which particles polluting the air are most sickening - & why, by Janet Raloff, Science News, July 18, 2009.
• EPA: Toxic Air Pollution Poses Increased Cancer Risk in 600 Neighborhoods Nationwide, by Dina Cappiello, Associated Press, June 3, 2009.
• Air Quality in Minnesota: Emerging Trends, 2009 Report to the Legislature, MPCA, see pg. 5 for "Fine & Ultrafine Particles" pollution which is our biggest health concern regarding biomass burning.
• Particulate Emissions & Health: Proposed Ringaskiddy Waste-to-Energy Facility--Ireland, June 2009.
• Pollution Link to Asthma in Womb, BBC News, February 15, 2009.
• Black Carbon Pollution Emerges as Major Player in Global Warming, ScienceDaily, March 24, 2008.
• "Wood Smoke is Rich in Dioxins and PCB's
• Burning Contaminated Wood Releases Dangerous Toxins
• "Changes in Lung Function and Airway Inflammation . . . in a Woodsmoke-Impacted Urban Area"
• The Smokestake Effect:  Toxic Air & America's Schools, USA TODAY, 12/08.
• Nanoparticles Damage Brain Cells, Environmental Health News, November 17, 2008.
• The Health Effects of Fine, Ultrafine and Nanoscale Particulate Emissions from Incinerators The smaller the particulate size, the more insidious and negative its effect on our health.
• Radioactive Americium 241 in the Waste Stream, by Joseph Miller, 8/09.
• Study Reveals Air Pollution is Causing Widespread & Serious Impacts to Ecosystems, The Nature Conservancy & Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, July 21, 2008.
• Breathing Dust and Soot Raises Risk of Stroke, Environmental News Service, June 2, 2008.
• Air Pollution Linked to Blood Clot in Legs, Washington Post, May 12, 2008.
• Aquatic Nanoparticles: Between Water and Rock Science is discovering new information about nanoparticles and their behavior and possible hazards.
• "Air Pollution Blamed for 3% Deaths in U.S."
• Sexual Maturation Disrupted by PCAH's from Incineration, Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2002.

"Waste to Energy" is Wasteful & Uneconomical!

• Waste-to-Energy Incineration is Both Noxious and Expensive, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, February 1, 2010.
• A Burning Issue  The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis thinks that incinerators are bad news for local government and taxpayers and explains why incineration is a financial burden on the municipalities that bought into it.
• Continued Reliance on Incineration is an Economic Threat, by Joseph Miller, Oregon Physicians for Responsibility, January 20, 2010.
• Biomass is Not "Clean", EcoLaw, December 2009.
• 20 reasons why incineration is a losing financial proposition for host communities from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
• Incineration of Municipal Solid Waste: Understanding the Costs & Financial Risks, Durham Environment Watch, April 2006.
• Waste Incinerator Myths (PDF)
• List of Malfunctions Known in Municipal Waste Incinerators, by Neil J. Carman, Ph.D., Clean Air Program Director, Lone Star Chapter of Sierra Club.  Dr. Carman spent 12 years inspecting incinerators & industrial facilities for the state of Texas, working on enforcement cases & lawsuits against polluters.
• Long Contracts . . . 10 Key Questions, Friends of the Earth, April 2009.
• Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Funding for Waste Infrastructure, Friends of the Earth, August 2008.

Zero Waste

• For current info on Zero Waste, see the following websites:  American Environnmental Health Studies Project, Zero Waste International Alliance, Grassroots Recycling Network, & California Resource Recovery Association.
• US EPA report of Sept. 2009 shows how waste reduction & recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
• Non-profit Product Policy Institute (PPI) mission is to prevent waste & promote sustainable production & consumption practices through good public policy & governance.
• "Built to Trash: Is Heirloom Design the Cure for Consumption?", In These Times, October 21, 2009.
• Nudging Recycling from Less Waste to None, NYTimes, October 20, 2009.
• Slide Show Demonstrates Zero Waste on Nantucket Island, NYTimes, October 8, 2009.
• BEWARE!  Is It Really Zero Waste? 
• Soil Is the Solution, 6th Annual Zero Waste International Alliance Conference, November 2009.
• Smart Meters Save Energy, Water and Dollars, grist, January 28, 2010.
• What You Should Know About Plastics & the Benefits of Plastic Recycling, Clean Energy Coalition of W. Wisconsin, January 2009.
• Wastepickers of the World Unite at Climate Talks, Google.com, 11/8/09.
• Austin, Texas - Zero Waste
• 95% of Cape Town's Green Waste Recovered for Organic Composting, Organic Consumers Association, September 17, 2009.
• It's Garbage--& it's on the St. Paul Council's Agenda, Star Tribune, August 5, 2009.
• Carver County Composting a Model for the Nation, KARE 11, August 2, 2009.
• One Silver Lining of the Economic Downturn, Star-Tribune, August 2, 2009.
• A Scrap of Decency, NYTimes.com, August 4, 2009.
• Plastic Bags Outlawed in Mexico City, Los Angeles Times, August 24, 2009.
• New Washington County Waste Center to Open in August 2009, click.
• The Nation's Most Ambitious Recycling Law, by Gavin Newsom (Mayor of San Francisco), HuffingtonPost.com, June 23, 2009.
• San Francisco OK's Toughest Recycling Law in U.S. by John Cote', S.F. Chronicle, 6/10/09.
• The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard, a 20-minute, highly-accessible video about how to move toward sustainability and zero waste.
• What a Waste; Recycling Food, by Addie Broyles of Austin,TX American-Statesman, Star Tribune, June 14, 2009.
• Downtown Atlanta Recycles Itself into a Zero Waste Zone by Erin Levin, April 23, 2009.
• If Frederick County, MD Does not Proceed with an Incinerator, What is the Alternative? by Caroline Eader, April 16, 2009.
• Reduce Trash Sent to Incinerator, Cape Cod Times, March 17, 2009.
• A Trashed Economy Foretold: Intake at Landfills Has Been Falling, Washington Post, March 14, 2009.
• New Project to Make 11 Islands Waste-Free, Associated Press, February 12, 2009.
• Resources Promoting Waste Minimization & Opposing Incineration, Oregon Physicians for Responsibility, January 2009.
• Austin Passes First Zero Waste Plan in Texas, January 16, 2009.
• Zero Waste Activism Takes on Global Warming, Rachel's Democracy & Health News #989, December 11, 2008.
• Pollution Credits Let Dumps Double Dip, Wall St. Journal, 10/20/08.
• Ten Points on Zero Waste, Guy Crittenden, July 22, 2008.
• Zero Waste for Zero Warming, GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives), 2008.
• Recycling Means Business, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2006.
• St. Paul Environnmental Roundtable (a very forward-looking set of recommendations adopted by St. Paul City Council in April 2006)
• European Parliament Adopts Strict Waste Reduction Law, 2/13/07.
• Oakland resolution, 2006.
  
• San Francisco resolution, 2002.
  
• The State of Delaware, one of the most pro-business states in the nation, passed strict legislation banning the construction of new garbage incineration facilities. 
• Executive summary (PDF) of the report "Resources up in Flames: The Economic Pitfalls of Waste Incineration versus a Zero Waste Approach in the Global South"
• Aiming for Zero Waste: Ten Steps to Get Started at the Local Level (PDF)