Will Melting Mammoth Poo Speed Up Climate Change?

by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.17.07

Science & Technology

Though they have been extinct for around ten thousand years, some scientists are now claiming that their remains — of the "organic" variety — are coming back to haunt us. Sergei Zimov, chief scientist at the Russian Academy of Science's North Eastern Scientific station, believes that layers of mammoth waste and organic matter once trapped within the Arctic tundra's permafrost are being lifted back from suspended animation by its thawing. This large amount of frozen dung — more so than many other sources of organic matter, he argues — will accelerate the onset of global warming.

According to Zimov, the thawing of the dung will lead to the reawakening of microbes that have been dormant for thousands of years. He is worried that their activity will prompt the large-scale emission of carbon dioxide and, more worryingly, methane, as by-products. In Yakutia, Siberia, the region of permafrost encompassing the layers of mammoth-era waste covers an area equivalent to the combined size of France and Germany. "The deposits of organic matter in these soils are so gigantic that they dwarf global oil reserves. Permafrost areas hold 500 billion tonnes of carbon, which can fast turn into greenhouse gases," Zimov claims.

While seemingly hard to believe, Julian Murton — a member of the International Permafrost Association — argues that Zimov's theory may not be too far off the mark. He explained that there is indeed "quite a bit of truth in it," and that the "methane and carbon dioxide levels will increase as a result of permafrost degradation." Indeed, a report recently issued by the UN noted the potential threat of the melting permafrost, stating that:

"Permafrost stores a lot of carbon, with upper permafrost layers estimated to contain more organic carbon than is currently contained in the atmosphere. Permafrost thawing results in the release of this carbon in the form of greenhouse gases which will have a positive feedback effect to global warming."

Only time will tell what effects the wide-scale thawing of tons of mammoth dung will ultimately have in intensifying the impact of global climate change. Zimov cautions that those living in surrounding areas should start taking notice as the domino effects of the melting permafrost would likely affect them within the next few years: "Siberia's landscape is changing. But in the end local problems of the north will inevitably turn into the problems of Russia's south, the Amazon region or Holland."

Via ::Reuters: Mammoth dung, prehistoric goo may speed warming (news website)

General Motors Plans 870 kW Solar Power Array

Sep 14 2007

General Motors says it is adding one of the largest solar power installations in corporate use in the U.S. to the roof of its Service and Parts Operations warehouse in Fontana, California. The 870 kW solar power array, that’s 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, will provide about half of the electricity needed to run the facility and will feed enough extra electricity back to the grid to power over 300 California homes for a year.
The Fontana solar array will be installed on GM’s 300,000 square foot warehouse facility and will become operational in December. It joins a similar sized solar installation at another GM Service and Parts Operations warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga.

Constellation Energy will design, build, own, and operate the array. GM has a long-term contract with Constellation to purchase electricity generated from the system.

General Motors estimates that the solar array at its SPO facility in Fontana will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 355 metric tons each year, while reducing its electricity costs by about 10 percent a year.

Safeway To Install Solar Power Panels On 23 Stores

Sep 14 2007

Safeway plans to power 23 California stores with solar energy. The company installed solar panels atop a newly renovated Safeway Lifestyle store in Dublin, California and plans to extend the program to nearly two dozen stores as part of a broader renewable energy initiative.The Dublin store’s solar unit is currently generating electricity to power the 55,000-square-foot retail facility.

Solar equipment at the Dublin Safeway store and other planned locations will produce approximately 7,500 megawatt hours of electricity per year, enough to provide 20 percent of the stores’ average power usage and up to 48 percent of power usage during the peak hours. The entire Dublin Safeway facility utilizes renewable energy. The store’s on-site retail fuel station already is powered by wind energy.

The entire 23-store solar program will remove 10.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide from the air, the equivalent of taking 1,000 cars off the road annually or planting 4,000 acres of pine trees.

Safeway is one of the EPA’s Top 25 Green Power Partners.

There have been many announcements recently concerning solar installations at retail companies:

• Macy’s is installing solar power systems in 26 stores.
• Wal-Mart is purchasing as much as 20 million kWh of solar power, from BP Solar, SunEdison LLC, and PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation, for 22 combined Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs and a distribution center in Hawaii and California.
• Kohl’s is converting more than 75 percent of its department stores in California to solar power beginning in May.
• Target has installed solar panels on the roofs of four of its California stores and plans to install similar systems at 14 more locations later this year.
• BJ’s Wholesale Club has installed solar power systems on the rooftops of two Connecticut BJ’s Wholesale Clubs.
• Costco has installed its second solar-powered energy system at its Lake Elsinore, California warehouse and has announced four more systems in Hawaii and California.
• Staples recently unveiled the largest solar power installation in New England at its 300,000-square-foot retail distribution center in Killingly, Connecticut.
• Tesco, the fourth-largest retail chain in the world, is installing a $13 million solar roof on its five-building, 820,400-square-foot distribution center under construction in Riverside, California.
• Wal-Mart is already using solar power in its experimental stores.

OECD paper says biofuel goals should be scrapped

ENDS Europe Daily, 11 September 2007- Biofuels' potential to reduce greenhouse emissions without compromising food prices and the environment is "very limited", according to a ministerial discussion paper drafted by the Organisation for economic development and cooperation (OECD). The paper urges governments to "cease creating new mandates for biofuels" and phase out existing policies.

It says governments should replace biofuel targets with technology-neutral policies such as carbon taxes, and place more emphasis on energy saving and improving vehicle efficiency. Speaking to ENDS on Tuesday, one of the paper's authors predicted that ministers would "share some of its concerns, but not its conclusions".

The report was prepared for the OECD's roundtable on sustainable development, which meets in closed session in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the potential of biofuels and the impact of policies to promote them. Ministers and government representatives from a dozen OECD countries will attend, along with scientists, business leaders and NGOs.

The paper argues that currently most biofuels typically deliver greenhouse gas emission saving of less than 40 per cent. When fertilizer use and biodiversity loss are taken into account, their environmental impact can "easily exceed" that of fossil fuels. Meanwhile the growth in biofuel production is likely to keep food prices "high and rising" for at least a decade.

In March EU heads of state adopted a target to raise the share of biofuels in transport fuels to 10 per cent by 2020, subject to sustainability criteria and the availability of second-generation biofuels. The European commission is currently drafting sustainability criteria to accompany the new biofuel proposal, scheduled for adoption in December.

But the report questions this type of policy approach, arguing that sustainability criteria are hard to enforce and liable to be challenged in the World Trade Organisation. "Though theoretically possible, reliance on certification schemes to ensure sustainable production is not a realistic safeguard", it concludes.

Moreover, the report adds that biofuel policies like those proposed by the EU establish ambitious targets without an in-depth understanding of how they can be achieved sustainably. "There is a serious risk that biofuel quotas for demand are higher than potential sustainable supply, creating a strong incentive to 'cheat' in the system".

In a reaction to the report Friends of the Earth called on the EU to scrap the proposed ten per cent target and force automakers to "clean up their cars".

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Sugar Technology and the Sony Bio-Battery

Who ever thought that asking your neighbor for sugar could carry more connotations than that of baking necessities? Well, Sony is working on a product that will make your neighbor think twice about your consumptive demands.

Sony recently announced their current activity in developing a new bio-battery. The battery generates electricity from carbohydrates (currently sugar) and utilizes enzymes as the catalyst. The sample battery has proven to be able to output 50 mW, or enough to power a portable mp3 player. This is the world's highest yet for a passive-type bio battery.

According to the Sony Press Release:

Sony developed a system of breaking down sugar to generate electricity that involves efficiently immobilizing enzymes and the mediator (electronic conduction materials) while retaining the activity of the enzymes at the anode. Sony also developed a new cathode structure which efficiently supplies oxygen to the electrode while ensuring that the appropriate water content is maintained. Optimizing the electrolyte for these two technologies has enabled these power output levels to be reached.

The newly developed bio battery incorporates an anode consisting of sugar-digesting enzymes and mediator, and a cathode comprising oxygen-reducing enzymes and mediator, either side of a cellophane separator. The anode extracts electrons and hydrogen ions from the sugar (glucose) through enzymatic oxidation as follows:
Glucose -> Gluconolactone + 2 H+ + 2 e-
The hydrogen ion migrates to the cathode through the separator. Once at the cathode, the hydrogen ions and electrons absorb oxygen from the air to produce water:
(1/2) O2 + 2 H+ + 2 e- -> H2O
Through this process of electrochemical reaction, the electrons pass through the outer circuit to generate electricity.

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Ford to Convert Paint Fumes to Electricity

GreenBiz.com, 31 August 2007 - Ford Motor Corp. announced Thursday it will install its patented Fumes-to-Fuel system at its Oakville, Ontario, Assembly Plant, which will convert emissions from its paint shop into electricity.

The system will launch with an internal combustion engine before shifting to a stationary large-scale fuel cell to boost effectiveness. The company will buy the DFC300MA fuel cell from manufacturer FuelCell Energy Inc. The fumes from the paint solvent will get transformed into 300 kilowatts of green energy.

"The Oakville installation is the first of its kind in the world to harvest emissions from an automotive facility for use in fuel cell," said Kit Edgeworth, Ford's abatement equipment technical specialist for Manufacturing. "It is the greenest technology and offers the perfect solution to the industry's biggest environmental challenge traditionally."

It was developed as a responsible way to remove volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the painting operations' exhaust air. Carbon beads capture the VOCs for use in the fuel cell, which converts it to electricity.

The technology was launched as a pilot installation at the Dearborn Truck Plant using a 5 kilowatt fuel cell. A year later, Ford installed installed technology at its Michigan Truck Plant using a 50 kilowatt Stirling engine to generate electricity.

The Oakville system announced Thursday will launch with a 120 kilowatt internal combustion engine before shifting to the 300 kilowatt fuel cell, which is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 88 percent and eliminate nitrogen oxide emissions completely.

"By using the end-products of enamel and clear coat operations, we are eliminating the exhaust of thousands of tons of nitrous and sulfur oxides as well as CO2 -- a major greenhouse gas," said Andrew Skok, executive director of FuelCell Energy's strategic marketing. "As this application shows, the fuel flexibility of our DFC300MA opens up an entirely new, very large market for us."

The fuel cell unit is slated to begin use early next year, and could eventually spread in use at Ford' other plants.

Also on Thursday, the company said it is developing a new environmentally friendly anti-corrosion technology that reduces water use in automotive paint shops by nearly half, and lowers sludge production by 90 percent.

It is currently being field-tested on a small fleet of Lincoln Town Cars. It uses a zirconium oxide vehicle bath instead of the traditional zinc phosphate bath, which contains heavy metals such as zinc, nickel and manganese.

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Schwarzenegger Meets With German Minister To Discuss Carbon Trading

Aug 30 2007

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, plan to begin talks today about how California could work with the European Union to create a system that would allow companies to buy and sell credits for emission reductions, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

In January, members of EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas’ staff met with Californian officials to discuss how to bring the state into the 27-nation bloc’s trading scheme for greenhouse gas emissions. “We are trying to make their trading scheme harmonized in order to have them linked in the future,” Dimas said at the time.

California’s AB32 bill, signed last year, requires the state to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases to 1990 levels by 2020 and to draft the plan by 2011. The EU states have had dealing with emissions certificates since 2005.

“A big push in reduction will come from a carbon-trade system,” said BreAnda Northcutt, spokeswoman California’s Environmental Protection Agency. “It is the most effective way to achieve our goals.”

The Chronicle reports that, according to a report from Ecosystem Marketplace, California companies like Yahoo, Google and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. have announced that they will buy offsets from voluntary markets.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an alliance of nine northeastern states, wants to start a cap-and-trade emissions program in January 2009.