Monthly Archives: October 2013

Lead Waste

Posted on October 31, 2013 by

Biellow, David. 9 Aug 2012. Recycling Reality: Humans Set to Trash Most Elements on the Periodic Table. Scientific American Almost all lead is recycled, among the only elements on the periodic table to earn that distinction. With good reason, mind … Continue reading →

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Our interlinked infrastructure is so vulnerable one piece can take the others down with it

Posted on October 31, 2013 by

This article by Robinson et al is a very prescient article written back in 1998, long before 9/11 and he also points out how vulnerable U.S. infrastructure is to cyberwar and cyberattacks at a time when our infrastructure wasn’t nearly … Continue reading →

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Hazardous Waste Overview

Posted on October 31, 2013 by

To give you an idea of how much waste is generated, here are some 10+ year old stats from the Department of energy Table AF-2. WASTE FUN FACTS 1 ounce   = NOx emissions generated from 3.6 gallons of gasoline 3 … Continue reading →

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Land invasive species

Posted on October 31, 2013 by

25% of U.S. agricultural gross national product is lost to foreign plant invaders and the costs of controlling them. Exotic species have contributed to the decline of 42 percent of U.S. endangered and threatened species. The chestnut blight fungus, which … Continue reading →

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Groundwater depletion consequences

Posted on October 31, 2013 by

Robert. Glennon. 9 Oct 2002. The Perils of Groundwater Pumping. The excessive “mining” of our aquifers is causing environmental degradation on a potentially enormous scale. Issues in Science and Technology. National Academy of Sciences. Groundwater is more than 25 percent … Continue reading →

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Aquatic Invasive species

Posted on October 31, 2013 by

Allegra Cangelosi. 9 Jan 2003. Blocking Invasive Aquatic Species. Federal law must be updated to stop introductions of nonnative organisms, especially by ships. Issues in science and technology. National Academy of Sciences. Examples of invasive aquatic species Voracious snakehead fish … Continue reading →

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Oceans in danger: excessive fishing, pollution, bioinvasion, acidification, oil spills, eutrophication

Posted on October 31, 2013 by

Carl Safina, Sarah Chasis. 9 Oct 2004.  Saving the Oceans. Two major commissions have proposed far-reaching reform of ocean policy. It’s time for Congress to act. Issues in Science & Technology. National Academy of Sciences. Oceans have been suffering from … Continue reading →

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Book Review of Grain Brain: Extraordinary claim not backed up by evidence

Posted on October 22, 2013 by

[ This is my book review of David Perlmutter’s (2013) Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar–Your Brain’s Silent Killers. And hey, if you want to believe in silly dietary notions despite all the peer-reviewed evidence, I … Continue reading →

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Déjà vu – Lessons learned from the “Peak Oil” crises of 1973 & 1979

Posted on October 22, 2013 by

Preface.  This is a book review of: Howard Bucknell III.  1981.  Energy and the National Defense.  University of Kentucky Press. Bucknell was once the director of the energy and national security project at Ohio State University.  At the time the … Continue reading →

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Carbon capture and storage

Posted on October 15, 2013 by

Capturing even a small portion of CO2 emissions requires a compression + transportation + storage industry with greater throughput than oil extraction; but without the benefit oil provides as an energy input. Coal-fired plant capital costs could rise 40%-75% (as … Continue reading →

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