EarthTalk® is a weekly environmental column made available to our readers from the editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that only a handful of outdated coal-burning power plants generate a sizable amount of the mercury pollution generated in the United States? If so, is anything being done to clean these sites up or shut them down? - Frank Pearson, Wichita, KS

Our nation’s coal-fired power plants are increasingly being retrofitted with technologies to mitigate the output of various forms of pollution. But a number of bad apples do continue to cause more than their fair share of mercury emissions. This past March the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a leading non-profit, released a report showing that the top 25 emitters of mercury, a potent neurotoxin and a nasty by-product of coal-fired electricity generation, contribute only eight percent of the U.S. electric supply. At the same time, these power plants, which have failed to install readily available pollution controls already widely in use by other plants, account for nearly a third of all mercury emissions by the American electricity sector overall.

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Sometimes I like to write about topics that are simply cool, green news items and are not specifically helpful or useful. This is one of those times.

Apparently scientists have known for some time that hornets create energy inside their exoskeleton. This was discovered after scientist Jacob Ishay noticed hornets were most active when the sunlight was most intense.

Although it’s not clear why the insects generate the electricity and how they use it, the evidence is clear. The yellow tissue traps the sunlight while the darker tissue converts it to energy. We have seen and studied photovoltaic electricity production in plants and bacteria for some time, but never before in insects.

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Grist has released their top 10 green stories of 2010.  They are republished here with my own commentary.

1. Republicans deny climate change (still).  It seems shocking, but yes, the republicans in Congress are still denying the scientific preponderance of evidence that the climate is warming at a dangerous rate.  This includes both current (outgoing) and incoming congressmen and women.  How can this be after so many of them campaigned with climate change as a major component of their platforms?  It’s politics folks.
2. The house passed a solid climate change bill and the Senate promptly killed it in their typically cowardly fashion.  They sliced and diced until the bill had no teeth and made no significant improvements.
3. Bill Clinton cuts out meat and most fish.  Would have been great if his change happened during his presidency, but better late than never.  He has made his dietary change with inspiration from daughter Chelsea and common medical knowledge that meats really don’t help the human body.
4. Big Oil took a gut punch.  California has the most powerful climate protection law in the nation and Big Oil special interests from Texas tried to kill it.  Californians overwhelmingly told Big OIl to shove it.
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Educational institutions are often privileged to experience the latest in building technology.  Why? because they are charged by their communities to be the most forward-thinking, progressive-minded groups.  After all, they’re supposed to apply the latest technology because they develop it.

In addition, institutions of higher learning often receive massive donations and grants to apply the latest technologies.  Even public schools are getting in on the green floor as they realize saving money on utility bills may be part of the solution to shrinking public budgets.

Under ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), over $48 billion was awarded to the Department of Education that can be used for construction and weatherization efforts by schools.

We can expect schools with passive solar technology, green roofs, geothermal heating and cooling, and even integrated photovoltaic generation technology.

Source

Turns out, a lot of people believe we’re punching holes in the ozone layer every time we launch a rocket.  And those holes are contributing to global warming.  This is actually not true, among a number of other public misconceptions.  Here is a roundup of those myths and a few other nifty eco tidbits.

Aerosol Causes Global Warming

False.  The CFC’s made famous in aerosol cans were banned decades ago.  Aerosol cans use safe(r) propellants now so feel free to spray all day!

We don’t trust weather forecasters or climatologists

Weather men and women are not exactly the most accurate.  At least most people feel that way.  So how can we possibly trust climate scientists to predict the weather of the future when we can’t predict the weather tomorrow?

Walmart Actually Goes Green

Well, slightly green anyway.  Walmart is acting on a promise to purchase more local produce and products and offer training to local farmers.  Now, if we can only cut down the size of those energy sucking stores from 100,000 square feet to 1,000.

Starbucks cuts down waste

They go through 3 billion cups per year.  They will not start offering special recycling containers for these cups.  Providing you finish your to-go cup in the store.

More learning to do

Only 45% of people in a new Yale poll understand that carbon dioxide traps heat from the earth’s surface.

Much more learning to do

Only 50% of people believe global warming is caused by human activities.

It’s not all bad news

An increasing number (63%) believe that global warming is happening.

Read more from the Yale Poll or check out more funky eco happenings over at Grist.org

The new cap has been in place since yesterday and BP is starting to choke off the flow of oil as part of a gradual test of the effectiveness of this new solution.  The new cap fits tighter on over the existing pipe and is optimistically expected to cut off all of the spilling oil.

For the first time, we are being asked and expected to create a plan for after the spill.  For nearly three months, the broken well has been spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico.  We have been so consumed with the oil drifting towards U.S. shores and slapping BP’s wrists for their ineptitude that we have been unable to create a strong and achievable plan for long term environmental protection.

BP reports the gradual plan for shutting off the leak could take 6 to 48 hours as engineers slowly shut off valves while monitoring pressures.  It is possible that upon shutting the valves, a new leak could erupt or the cap could prove useless.

When advising Gulf Coast residents to be patient, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was quoted as saying “They ought to be interested and concerned, but if they hold their breath, they’ll run out of oxygen.”  A sticker on the new oil cap says “Think Twice, Act once”.  A meaningful quote coming from a company who has shown it’s inability to follow it’s own advice.

The effects being felt, Gulf Coats residents report drastic drops in tourism and fishing income.  This is devastating the local economy while BP struggles to fix it’s error.  Some experts are claiming BP will never recover from the most environmentally disastrous event in American history.

Personally, I will never purchase from BP again.

Source

Dubbed as the only submarine that could reach the depths necessary to resolve the gulf oil leak, the Mir Submersible could be our solution.  But the problem is, BP won’t ask for it.  The sub commander claims it could be the only quick solution as the sub can dive to 6,000 meters.

There are two subs in action, beginning a search for alternative fuels on the floor of the world’s deepest lake.  A BP representative has said there have been no formal discussions between them and the Russians.  The owners of the subs have indicated only conversations have occurred, when all BP would need to do is call.  The Subs are known to be the best team in the field and have worked in more hazardous environments than the Gulf of Mexico.

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NASA has released time-lapse shots of the gulf oil spill.  Watch the most devastating oil spill in American history unfold in only 2 minutes.  Shocking because it has undone decades of environmental progress and will take 100 years before we will know the Gulf Region the way it was before BP ruined it.

Take a close look at the color.  The oil emerges gray, and quickly turns colors as a result of weathering and toxic dispersing chemicals being liberally used by BP.

If you’re not nauseous yet, take a look at this blatant corporate deceit.  This target demonstrates how the “estimates” of oil spillage changed over time.  What it really shows is how BP was forced to adjust their “estimates” as third party observers got access to more data.  What is shocking is that BP actually thought they could mask the severity of this environmental disaster.

Want an easy step to take?  Sign up to Boycott BP on Facebook.  This may not materialize into anything, but I can certainly pledge to personally never patronize BP again.

We reported not long ago that Kevin Costner had invested $20 million of his personal fortune in a centrifugal device that separates oil from water.

BP has announced that it will purchase 32 of these centrifuge pumps to aid in the cleanup effort. These machines can reportedly filter up to 210,000 gallons of water per day, outputting 99% pure water and reclaiming oil.

Costner has been touting the need for such a machine since he purchased the rights to it nearly 15 years ago.  He recently testified in front of Congress and just today held a press conference indicating the plan for BP to utilize the machines.

As oil still pours from the well, BP’s CEO Tony Hayward took a day off to watch a “glitzy” yach race around England.

Get more information about the situation in the Gulf and find out how you can help.