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SF building Yellow Grease to Diesel plant.

This makes more sense than having an independent set up a biodiesel plant, because this plant  will always be functional.  Governments can mandate that companies dispose of the yellow grease in their process.  If an entrepreneur comes along, then instead of a tipping fee, folks who are trying to dispose of the yellow grease will start charging for their waste.

This flips the economics of the biodiesel plant upside down.  Where once they could be paid for taking the feedstock, now they'll have to pay for the same material.  And that could probably kill any margin for setting up the plant.  If the local government forces the disposal of yellow grease through their system, this guarantees a continuous supply.

They might not get paid as much to haul it away as before, but it unlikely that the city will ever be forced to pay for the feedstock.  Thus making sure the plant will always be operational.

Make a functional version of this machine.

This solution is much better than trying to bury the carbon dioxide in the ground, or put it in the middle of the ocean.

Right now, the idea shows them concentrating CO2, taking it away from the atmosphere and then putting it into a greenhouse. Where the plant is supposed to take the CO2, add sunlight, keep the carbon and release the oxygen.

You can try and make algae grow, thereby giving some oils/etc for biofuel.  If this process becomes net energy positive that will be fantastic.  Maybe Branson will be able to support something that will cleanup the plastic islands floating in the gyres.

Wired's article on being green and green myths.

It does go after some concepts (planting trees is always green, organics is the answer)

Others I disagree with, carbon credits are part of the answer, but executed as a carbon tax, not simply given away for free to current polluters. The current Kyoto system is still being evolved, and the replacement will need to be ready for 2012.

China being a leader in alt energy production is right, they are making the most panels and equipment. But China is exporting everything, not using it for domestic consumption.

Nuclear, as part of the solution to Carbon is one that people will need to address.  Some will accept it, others will reject, but the conversation must be started.

Unfortunately, it isn't easy, no simple solutions, no pat answers.  But this is something that needs to be resolved, and inertia/waiting is not an acceptable path.

Give them feedback on how they are driving.

Washingtonpost article on how Prius owners are trying to outdo each other by driving more fuel efficiently.

Some feedback systems are easy to use, having the mpg meter on the console of the vehicle, which the driver is already monitoring works.

But having a small dial near the power outlet?  That may not be as useful.  Nor is trying to monitor your electric meter on an hourly basis.  While feedback is always useful to have, not everyone pays attention when they can.
This is not so much a technology problem, as it is a usability issue. If it is a part of what people already do, then it is fine.  But if you are requiring a new way of doing things for marginal benefit then it will probably fail.

MSBNC on coming Hybrids

I'm glad to see more hybrid cars in the near future. The impact of switching quickly away from gas guzzlers to more efficient vehicles is something that needed to be done.

The useless delaying tactics by the big 3 automakers is impacting them harder than they expected 5 years ago. The nonsense of saying "we're making other alternate vehicles, so we shouldn't worry about hybrids or miles per gallon numbers." The current cost at the pump is pushing consumers to buy more fuel efficient cars. What else can you say when a GEO metro sells on ebay for more than bluebook value?

Or that the gas sippers from the 80's and 90's are looked on with desire, instead of distain for rolling gas tanks?

Chicago Trib story on the increasing value of yellow grease.

It's a great idea to convert used fryer oil to biodiesel.  But understand this, there isn't enough to supply the entire driving population.

I'm a bigger fan of using the biodiesel in maritime use.  It reduces the impact of the ports/harbors.  But that's not the main problem.  The big problem for the converters is getting the feedstock.  And odds are, it will be local government, not the free market that will determine where the yellow grease goes to.

Devine Caroline's article on how long trash really lasts.

The bit that caught my eye was on page 2, where they were talking about how long an applecore could last, or yard waste.  These landfills are essentially carbon sinks.  Taking carbon that was in plants, and putting it away underneath the earth.

Among the "crazy" ideas I've seen, one was to take woodchips/sawdust/etc, and bury them in the desert.

Landfills seem to do the exact same thing, until we dig them up.

In the future, within 100 years, I fully expect us to start using landfills as resources.  The amount of "trash" that's in there, is made up of plastics, metals, organics, etc.  The metals are reusable. Eventually it'll be cheaper to "mine" the trash heaps rather than dig the material out of the earth.  Think of it as a long term form of recycling.

As for the carbon sink element, that's what landfills are doing right now.  Locking away carbon so it can't get into the atmosphere.

USA Today's article on how companies are making money by going green.

And once one company shows it is profitable, then being green becomes a competitive advantage.  Which forces others in the industry to make the same changes, in order to make the same margins.

While early on, going green was a branding/differentiating strategy, it is evolving into an operational strategic decision.  Providing additional money to the bottom line.

Daily Green's article on campuses.
College campuses are essentially small cities. If enough microcosms can make the switch and go green systemically, then it provides a model and a database of lessons learned. Some changes are straight forward, others require an attitude change among the populous.

Looks like the folks in south Florida are getting worried.

As glacier melt occurs, and the runoff goes into the ocean, ocean levels rise.

This will start causing problems, not just in Florida, but in every seaside port and coastline.  The key issue of having freshwater sources contaminated by the encroaching seawater is something to be aware of.  Especially as so many people are living in urban/slum areas on the coast.  Not only will they lose their homes with sealevel rise, they will lose their sources of fresh water.

And if water sources get contaminated, then we will start to understand how water tables work, and how if contamination occurs in one area, it doesn't stay localized.  Desalination technologies are going to become more necessary in the coming years.