Energy Experts Discuss Northeastern Energy at National Grid

Norris McDonald, Martin Cook, Carolyn Green, Frank Stewart
The American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) and the Alliance of Black Professionals (ABP)
held an energy forum today at National Grid in Brooklyn, New York with the theme:

“Future of Northeast Energy – What is on the Horizon?”

Panelists included:

Lisa Crutchfield, National Grid

Martin Cook, National Grid

Carolyn Green, National Chair of AABE

Frank Stewart, National President of AABE

Moderator: Norris McDonald, President Center for Environment, Commerce & Energy, African American Environmentalist Association

The forum was held in the Metrotech Auditorium and covered a broad array of electricity, energy and environmental issues facing the Northeast. Some questions considered included: Is there adequate electrical capacity to satisfy the needs of Northeastern states in the next few years? Will energy prices negatively affect the Northeast? How could pending carbon dioxide regulations affect the Northeast? What about the influence of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) on a project 'low-carbon' future? Do you know of any policies that are being put into place to address energy efficiency and alternative technology marketing techniques? How are companies and organizations looking to address the "green divide" to make sure minority communities in the Northeast region are not being left behind? Many other questions were addressed during the forum.

Photo: Stephanie George. Renee McClure, Martin Cook, Norris McDonald, Jose Garcia (kneeling), Carolyn Green, Frank Stewart, Bill Suggs, Akil Friday

New York State Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate Program

Your eligible appliance(s) must be purchased between February 12th through 21st, 2010 to qualify

"New York’s Great Appliance Swap Out" website provides all the information you need in order to participate. This rebate program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), is available to residential consumers replacing existing appliances of the same type with new ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances or High Efficiency ENERGY STAR appliances. A larger rebate will be granted to consumers who recycle their discarded appliances.

Two rebate options are offered under "New York’s Great Appliance Swap Out" Rebate Program. Please click on the links below to view all of the eligibility guidelines for each option:

Option 1 – Single Appliance Rebate (eligible appliances: ENERGY STAR refrigerators, freezers and clothes washers) and

Option 2 – Appliance Bundle Rebate (eligible appliances: High Efficiency ENERGY STAR refrigerators, clothes washers and dishwashers)

This rebate program was made possible thanks to grants issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to States and Territories to provide American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to develop and implement Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate Programs.

More information:

Fill out Rebate Application OnlineCheck the Status of your Rebate Application

Activists To Protest Carbon Trading Summit

The Center supports cap-and-trade and does not support this rally

Activists call for climate justice outside Carbon Trading Summit, warn that carbon trading will fail to stop climate change

• James Hansen, climate scientist, to speak at Tuesday event outside summit, share criticism of carbon trading. Hansen has been an outspoken critic of carbon trading.

• Activists rally, protest outside summit Wednesday. Other speakers include religious community leader, carbon tax expert.

Climate justice activists, many of whom were at the Copenhagen climate summit, will converge outside the 2nd Annual Carbon Trading Summit on January 12-13 to oppose market-based trading of greenhouse gas emissions credits and call for real solutions to the climate crisis.

Participants at the Carbon Trading Summit will include executives from JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Duke Energy and more. Hansen has criticized these companies, writing "they are spending enormous amounts of money to be sure that cap-and-trade is doctored to allow as much business-as-usual emissions to continue as long as possible."

Hansen will be joined by religious community leader Father Paul Mayer, co-founder of the Climate Crisis Coalition; Cecil Corbin-Mark of WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Harlem community organizer; and Charles Komanoff, Carbon Tax Center.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

** Presentation by journalist and climate activist Tina Gerhardt: "From COP 15 to Climate Justice Movement"

When: Monday, Jan 11, 7 pm - 9:00 pm

Where: Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen St (between Houston & Delancey St)

** Press Event with JAMES HANSEN, renowned climate scientist.

Also featuring Cecil Corbin-Mark of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Harlem community organizer; Charles Komanoff, Carbon Tax Center; and Father Paul Mayer, Climate Crisis Coalition, representing concerned members of the interfaith religious community.

When: Tuesday, Jan 12, noon

Where: Irish Hunger Memorial Park, Vesey St, 2 blocks west of West St

** Rally and protest action outside of the 2nd Annual Carbon Trading Summit (Embassy Suites Hotel)

When: Wednesday, Jan 13, noon

Where: Irish Hunger Memorial Park, Vesey St, 2 blocks west of West St

Gallery House Raffles Paintings to Plant Million Trees

Two original paintings will be raffled off with the proceeds donated to MillionTreesNYC

Brooklyn, NY: Gallery House is proud to present “EARTH,” an environmentally themed group exhibition. This exhibition in both form and function is meant to celebrate and highlight the challenges our planet is currently facing.

Two receptions will be held during which one original painting will be raffled off with the proceeds donated to MillionTreesNYC, a public-private initiative between the City of New York and New York Restoration Project to plant and care for one million trees across New York City by 2017. The gallery will be open by appointment from February 5th through March 12th.

What: Gallery House Presents “EARTH’”

When: Wednesday, February 10 & Thursday, February 25, 2010 from 7:30pm – 11:00pm

Where: Gallery House 272 Clinton Ave. Brooklyn NY, 11205

About Gallery House

Galley House is a Clinton Hill based organization dedicated to the sharing of ideas pressing our world today. Through our hosted reception, we aim to gather and communicate said ideas through art, music and other types of artistic expression.

About MillionTreesNYC

MillionTreesNYC is a citywide, public-private initiative with an ambitious goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across the City's five boroughs by 2017. By planting one million trees, New York City can increase its urban forest - our most valuable environmental asset made up of street trees, park trees, and trees on public, private and commercial land - by an astounding 20%, while achieving the many quality-of-life benefits that come with planting trees.

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (Parks) will plant 60% of the trees in parks, on streets, and in other public spaces. The other 40% - coordinated through New York Restoration Project (NYRP) – will be planted by private organizations, homeowners and community organizations. Parks and NYRP are working with community partners to assess tree planting opportunities on schoolyards, public housing campuses, health care facilities, business districts, commercial and residential developments, front yards and other private lands.

John Herron Named New CEO of Entergy Nuclear

John Herron, left, has been named president, CEO and chief nuclear officer of Entergy, effective 1 December. In his new role as chief nuclear officer of Entergy, he is responsible for the operation and management of 9 sites and 11 reactors at Entergy’s nuclear plants in Arkansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York and Vermont. In addition, Herron oversees Entergy’s management services for the Cooper Nuclear Station, owned by Nebraska Public Power District.

Herron began his career in the Navy as an instructor at the Nuclear Submarine Prototype School. Herron also held top management roles with the Tennessee Valley Authority in top management roles at their Sequoyah and Browns Ferry nuclear plants. He excelled in subsequent roles at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation and the Cooper Nuclear Station before joining Entergy in February 2001 as vice president, operations at Waterford 3 Nuclear Station in Taft, Louisiana.Entergy advanced Herron into roles in New York as the senior vice president of Indian Point Energy Center then as senior vice president for nuclear operations handling fleet management. He fills his new position created by the retirement of former CEO Mike Kansler.

Herron holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire.

EPA Releases New Mobile Source Emissions Model

An updated version of the Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) model – MOVES2010 – is now available for use to estimate air pollution from cars, trucks, and other on-road mobile sources. The model can also calculate the emissions reduction benefits from a range of mobile source control strategies, such as inspection and maintenance programs and local fuel standards.

EPA will soon publish a Federal Register notice approving MOVES2010 for meeting official state implementation plan and transportation conformity requirements. The MOVES2010 model replaces EPA’s MOBILE6.2 emissions factor model.

Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to update regularly the way it calculates mobile source emissions. EPA is continuously collecting data and conducting emissions studies to assess the air quality impacts of on-road vehicles. As a result of using data collected from millions of cars and trucks gathered since MOBILE6.2 was released in 2004, MOVES2010 provides increased accuracy in emissions inventory results.

For the first time, the model can estimate emissions on a range of scales from national emissions impacts down to the impacts of individual transportation projects. Another improvement is the ability to express output as either total mass (in tons, pounds, kilograms, or grams) or as emissions factors (grams-per-mile, and in some cases, grams-per-vehicle). These changes to how EPA approaches mobile source emissions modeling are based, in part, upon recommendations made to the agency by the National Academy of Sciences.

More information on the MOVES2010 model

Smart Electricity Meters: Real Time Electricity Pricing

The vast majority of people are on fixed electricity meters, which simply measure how much electricity has been used. These are used by the utility company to calculate how much you owe them for the electricity you have consumed.

During the day there are peak times when many people are using a lot of electricity - for example, in the early evening when many lights, tv's, and computers are switched on, and ovens and kettles are being used to prepare meals. In the middle of the night demands drops right off.

A smart meter offers two way communication between the utility company (electricity supplier) and the consumer. When demand is high (and therefore wholesale electricity prices are very expensive) the utility company can pass high costs onto the consumer. When demand is low (and therefore wholesale electricity prices are very cheap) the utility company can pass savings to the consumer. This motivates consumers to use electricity when demand is least so that they can save money.

This video shows the 'In Home Energy Display' by General Electric

The use of smart meters will reduce overall carbon emissions (since thinking about electricity usage tends to make people reduce their overall consumption), and also reduce electricity bills for anyone who makes the effort to time their electricity usage - for example, running the washing machine or tumble drier at night rather than during the day, and turning the dish washer on just before going to bed rather than immediately after eating. (REUK.CO.UK)

Long Island Power Authority Approves 50 MW Solar Project

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) Board of Trustees has approved power purchase agreements (PPAs) with BP Solar and enXco Development Corporation, creating the state's largest source of solar power on Long Island. LIPA's Solar Energy Project will introduce approximately 50 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy generated on Long Island onto LIPA's electric grid. LIPA will enter into PPAs with BP Solar and enXco Development Corp. to provide 32 MW and 17 MW of energy, respectively.

In February 2009, LIPA officials announced the results of a competitive procurement process to install photovoltaic arrays, selecting BP Solar and enXco Development Corp. to provide LIPA with capacity, energy and associated renewable energy credits (RECs) from solar arrays to meet LIPA’s renewable energy goals. Both PPAs require the companies to construct, operate and maintain the project and achieve full operation by mid 2011.

BP Solar will construct its ground-mounted solar system at a cost of $298 million over the contracted 20-year term. enXco will install solar systems on car ports within existing parking lots, at railroad stations and other facilities owned by Suffolk County owned parking lots at a cost of $125 million over the contracted 20-year term.

The effect of the costs of The Long Island Solar Energy Project to LIPA customers is equivalent to approximately .83 cents per month per customer. To defray some of the costs of the solar project, LIPA is actively pursuing funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in the amount of $15 million dollars and has already secured federal appropriations in the amount of $1.75 million. (RenewableEnergyWorld.com, 12/18/09)

Governor Paterson Releases Final NY State Energy Plan

The 2009 New York State Energy Plan (Plan or Energy Plan) sets forth a vision for a robust and innovative clean energy economy that will stimulate investment, create jobs and meet the energy needs of residents and businesses over its 10-year planning horizon. To that end, the Plan provides the framework within which the State will try to meet its future energy needs in a cost-effective and sustainable manner, establishes policy objectives to guide State agencies and authorities as they address energyrelated issues and sets forth strategies and recommendations to achieve these objectives.

The Plan‘s strategies and recommendations have been designed to meet five policy objectives:

 Assure that New York has reliable energy and transportation systems;

 Support energy and transportation systems that enable the State to significantly reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both to do the State‘s part in responding to the dangers posed
by climate change and to position the State to compete in a national and global carbonconstrained economy;

 Address affordability concerns of residents and businesses caused by rising energy bills, and
improve the State‘s economic competitiveness;

 Reduce health and environmental risks associated with the production and use of energy across all sectors; and

 Improve the State‘s energy independence and fuel diversity by developing in-state energy supply resources.

Five strategies are outlined in the Plan, which simultaneously achieve these multiple policy objectives. The strategies are: (1) produce, deliver and use energy more efficiently; (2) support development of instate energy supplies; (3) invest in energy and transportation infrastructure; (4) stimulate innovation in a clean energy economy; and (5) engage others in achieving the State‘s policy objectives.

Large Wind Project Proposed Offshore

The New York City Offshore Wind Collaborative (OWC), a group of utilities and government agencies, is requesting proposals next year from developers for a 350-megawatt wind farm near the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean 13 miles from Queens. It is estimated that the project could cost more than $1 billion and involve more than 100 turbines. The OWC wants developers to finance the project and recoup their costs selling power to nearby utilities, beginning in 2015.

The Center supports the project. (WSJ, 12/9/09)

Holloway New Director of NY Department of Environment

Mayor Bloomberg has appointed Caswell F. Holloway IV, left, as the new commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Protection. The position has a salary of $205,000. Caswell F. Holloway IV, 36, served as chief of staff to Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler since 2006, Mr. Holloway pushed through a plan for a citywide waste management system, oversaw the collection of human remains found at ground zero years after the attack; and drew up plans to revive the unsightly Gowanus Canal.

The Department of Environmental Protection has a budget of $1 billion, a work force of 6,000 and is responsible for maintaining the safety of the city’s air and water supply and collecting sewage. The agency does not develop environmental policy, a task handled by the mayor’s sustainability office. But the agency plays a crucial role in shaping and enforcing those policies. (NYT, 11/30/09)

RGGI States Complete Sixth Successful CO2 Auction

2009 Vintage Allowances Sold at $2.05

2012 Vintage Allowances Sold at $1.86

Proceeds Support Weatherization of Buildings and Other Consumer Benefit Programs

The states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) today announced the results of the sixth regional auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances, held Wednesday, December 2nd. The auction yielded $61,587,120.90, increasing the total amount of proceeds from RGGI auctions to more than $494.4 million. All of the 28,591,698 allowances for the 2009 vintage offered in Wednesday’s auction sold at a price of $2.05.

In a parallel offering, the RGGI states also auctioned allowances for the second three-year control period beginning January 1, 2012. A total of 1,599,000 of the 2,172,540 allowances for the 2012 vintage sold at a price of $1.86. Unsold allowances for the 2012 vintage year may be sold in future auctions according to each state’s regulations.

RGGI is showing that cap-and-trade works: six successful auctions, more than 100 bidders and $494 million for green energy and green jobs. States have chosen to auction nearly all allowances and to invest the proceeds in a variety of programs that reduce emissions, save consumers money, create jobs, and build the clean energy economy. The approach of winter highlights investments states are making to improve heating energy efficiency in homes and businesses. Across the region states are investing in programs to upgrade inefficient heating equipment, improve insulation, and replace old windows and doors.

To learn more about how each state is investing RGGI auction proceeds, please visit:

Additional details about RGGI Auction 6 may be found in the Market Monitor Report for Auction 6

About the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

The 10 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states participating in RGGI (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) have designed and implemented the first market-based, mandatory cap-and-trade program in the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Power sector CO2 emissions are capped at 188 million short tons per year through 2014. The cap will then be reduced by 2.5 percent in each of the four years 2015 through 2018, for a total reduction of 10 percent. A CO2 allowance represents a limited authorization to emit one ton of CO2, as issued by a respective participating state. A regulated power plant must hold CO2 allowances equal to its emissions to demonstrate compliance at the end of each three-year control period.

The first control period for fossil fuel-fired electric generators under each state’s CO2 Budget Trading Program took effect on January 1, 2009 and extends through December 31, 2011. Allowances issued by any participating state are usable across all state programs, so that the ten individual state CO2 Budget Trading Programs, in aggregate, form one regional compliance market for CO2 emissions.

RGGI, Inc. was created to provide technical and administrative services to the states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI, Inc. is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization. The RGGI auctions are administered by RGGI, Inc. and run on an on-line platform provided by World Energy Solutions, Inc. (TSX: XWE).

RGGI Announces Election of New Executive Committee

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI, Inc.) today announced the election of new members to the Executive Committee of its Board of Directors. The new members will serve a one-year term from November 1, 2009. The Executive Committee acts on behalf of the Board of Directors to oversee the activities of RGGI, Inc. The Committee draws upon commissioners of environmental and energy agencies from across the RGGI region.

For 2009-2010 the Executive Committee will comprise:

David Littell, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will serve as Chair;

Pete Grannis, Commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation will serve as a Vice Chair;

Clifton Below of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission will also serve as a Vice Chair;

Susanne Brogan, Commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission, will serve as Treasurer;

Michael Sullivan, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, will serve as Secretary;

Laurie Burt, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will serve as a Member at Large of the Executive Committee;

Mark Mauriello, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, will also serve as a Member at Large of the Executive Committee.

Biographies of Executive Committee & Board of Directors

About the Regional Greenhouse Gas InitiativeThe 10 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states participating in RGGI (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) have designed and implemented the first market-based, mandatory cap-and-trade program in the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Power sector CO2 emissions are capped at 188 million short tons per year through 2014. The cap will then be reduced by 2.5 percent in each of the four years 2015 through 2018, for a total reduction of 10 percent.

A CO2 allowance represents a limited authorization to emit one ton of CO2, as issued by a respective participating state. A regulated power plant must hold CO2 allowances equal to its emissions to demonstrate compliance at the end of each three-year control period. The first control period for fossil fuel-fired electric generators under each state’s CO2 Budget Trading Program took effect on January 1, 2009 and extends through December 31, 2011. Allowances issued by any participating state are usable across all state programs, so that the ten individual state CO2 Budget Trading Programs, in aggregate, form one regional compliance market for CO2 emissions.

Chesapeake Energy Corp Abandons Drilling Marcellus Shale

The Chesapeake Energy Corporation, one of the nation’s biggest gas producers, has decided not to pursue drilling for natural gas within the upstate New York watershed. The Center opposed the drilling in the New York watershed. Although the area holds substantial gas reserves, it is unfortunately in an environmentally sensitive region that supplies unfiltered water to nine million people.

Chesapeake is the largest leaseholder in the Marcellus Shale, a subterranean layer of shale rock that runs from New York to Tennessee. The shale is believed to hold substantial natural gas reserves.

But extracting gas from shale relies on a method called hydraulic fracturing that has stirred broad concerns. Water, laced with chemicals, is blasted down gas wells at high pressure to break the rock and allow gas to flow out more easily. The technology has vigorously expanded in recent years, allowing for enormous growth in the nation’s natural gas reserves.

But the concerns include the use of chemicals, the disposal of wastewater and the danger of leaks and spills into groundwater and deep aquifers. There also has been a string of explosions from Wyoming to Pennsylvania.

Under energy legislation passed in 2005, the industry won an exemption from the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Chesapeake acquired 5,000 acres in the watershed when it bought Columbia Natural Resources a few years ago, and it is currently the only leaseholder in the area. (NYT, 11/27/09)

Cap and Trade Program Lowers Smog Levels in Eastern U.S.

Market Based Program Allows Cost-Effective Reductions of Harmful Air Pollution

EPA released a report showing that more than 103 million Americans breathe cleaner air thanks to a cap and trade program that reduces smog-forming emission of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx). The 2008 NOx Budget Trading Program Annual Report, covering 20 eastern states and the District of Columbia, shows the summertime NOx emissions from power plants and large industrial sources were down by 62 percent compared to year 2000 levels and 75 percent lower than in 1990.

Highlights of the report show that:

The reduction of NOx has helped reduce smog levels by 10 to 14 percent in the NBP region – largely in the eastern parts of the country;

There is a strong association between areas with the greatest reductions in NOx emissions and downwind sites that show the greatest improvements in smog; and

The program contributed to improvements in air quality in 97 percent of nonattainment areas in the east, with 85 percent of these areas now below the smog standard.

The NOx Budget Trading Program is a partnership between federal and state governments to reduce the regional transport of NOx from power plants and industry in the eastern U.S. This market-based cap and trade program was created to cost-effectively reduce NOx emissions during the ozone season. This program provides facilities flexibility to choose their control options including installing control technologies, replacing existing controls with more advanced technologies, optimizing existing controls, and switching fuels. This flexibility and an active NOx allowance market have led to near perfect compliance since the start of the program in 2003.

More information

Homicides in New York City

INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC: Murder in New York

The prime time for murder is summertime. There were more homicides in September than in any other month in 2008: 52. Next highest was August, with 51. Variations, of course, exist. There were 48 homicides last March. September Saturdays around 10 p.m. were the most likely moments for a murder in the city. The link above provides an analysis by The New York Times of multiyear homicide trends. The information — detailing homicides during the years 2003 to 2008 — was compiled mainly from open-records requests with the New York Police Department.

Women, for instance, are less likely to be either victims or killers. Those who were killed — at least 73 women were in 2008 — were almost always murdered by someone they knew — boyfriends, husbands or relatives. From 2003 to 2008, the number of women killed each year by strangers was in the single digits — excluding cases in which the police do not know if the killer knew the victim. Last year, as few as eight women died at the hands of strangers.

Brooklyn — as it has since at least 2003 — led all boroughs in the number of homicides last year, with 213. Last year, the 73rd Precinct, which includes the neighborhoods of Ocean Hill and Brownsville, had the largest death toll, 31. The bloodiest block in Brooklyn was in the 77th Precinct, in Crown Heights, bounded by Schenectady Avenue, Sterling Place, Troy Avenue and St. Johns Place. But the borough with the most homicides per capita was the Bronx.

The weapon of choice is a firearm and each year the percentage of people killed by firearms hovers around 60 percent. Though slightly less than in recent years, at least 56 percent of last year’s homicides were committed with these weapons.

Summer is when people get together. More specifically, casual drinkers and drug users are more likely to go to bars or parties on weekends and evenings, as opposed to a Tuesday morning. These people in the social mix, flooding the city’s streets and neighborhood bars, feed the peak times for murder. (NYT, 9/1/09)

NY Supreme Court Decision on Adverse Environmental Impact

On June 19th, the New York Supreme Court issued its decision in Entergy's Article 78 petition. As background, the Assistant Commissioner decided that adverse environmental impact (AEI) caused by the Indian Point cooling water intake structure already had been established and therefore, Entergy could litigate that issue in the SPDES proceeding. Entergy appealed that aspect of the Interim Decision because Entergy viewed AEI as a threshold question. In other words, if the intake structure does not cause AEI, then there is no need for the best technology available (BTA) analysis. The court dismissed the petition for lack of ripeness.

The court did not hold that Indian Point’s cooling water system causes adverse environmental impact. The opinion recognizes that Indian Point currently operates under a valid SPDES permit. The opinion says the draft SPDES permit, which states that the intake structures cause an adverse environmental impact and establishes cooling towers as the best technology available, are non-final agency action. Therefore, there is currently no valid BTA determination and the contents of the final SPDES permit (including whether AEI exists or whether cooling towers are the best technology available) are uncertain until the completion of the pending administrative process.

New York Supreme Court Decision

MIT & Entergy Produce Blueprint to Reduce CO2 Emissions

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Energy Initiative (EI) and Entergy Corporation have teamed up to produce a blueprint for how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal. In March, MIT invited 54 top scientists, policy-makers, industry executives and non-profit leaders to participate in symposium to devise strategies on how to address coal's role in global warming.

Entergy believes that coal plants aren't going away anytime soon because they provide inexpensive sources of baseload electricity both in the United States and abroad. If the U.S. ignores coal in its efforts to curb global warming, the nation's efforts will be rendered useless because China is building more coal plants and needs a technological solution to make coal burn cleaner.

MIT organized the conference, selected participants and published the report. The goal was to find out what's technologically feasible, how low coal emissions can potentially go, and what it would cost to reach these goals. Coal emissions can be reduced by improving the efficiency of existing coal plants, capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide, using bio-mass to supplement coal as a fuel or rebuilding existing coal plants.

The MIT report says that the government needs to spend $12 billion to $15 billion over the next decade to "dramatically expand" programs to demonstrate large-scale, sustained carbon capture and storage technology for existing plants, plus $1 billion annually for ten years to create other options. (NOLA.com)

Natural Methods for Controlling Fleas

By Vacuum Home

As most pet owners know, fleas are often unwanted companions that cause a number of health hazards to both you and your pet. While health risks rung bigger for your pet, flea bites on humans can still transmit other parasites such as worms. Fleas are also notorious for finding niches in your home and will get into any area where your pet sleeps or plays. Normally, the tell-tale sign of a flea infestation is when you see gnat like critters in your home or on your pet. But if you're unsure, run a fine tooth comb and groom your dog or cat. If you find little black knits that look like dirt, then you have fleas; the little black speckles are actually flea excrement stuck to your pet's fur.

Most pet owners revert to flea treatments to solve this problem. However, many flea treatments have toxic elements that are harmful to your pets. There are natural effective ways to eliminate fleas without polluting your environment or poisoning your pet.

While many pet owners thing grooming pets regularly is an adequate way to control fleas, the fact is that fleas are notoriously hard to detect and exist in stages that go beyond just their final adult stage - at which point they become detected. For effective flea control, consider two battlefronts: indoor and outdoor.

Scientific Studies Show Vacuuming Kills Fleas

Fleas have multiple life stage, while adult fleas mate and feed off of their initial host animal, females lay eggs on the floor, furniture, and bedding. After about fourteen days these insects then go through three larval stages before they reach the adult stage.

Recent scientific studies have shown that by merely vacuuming, fleas in all stages of their lives can be eliminated anywhere between 96 to 100 percent, through the combination of brushes, fans and powerful air currents. The flea's journey into a vacuum is a one-way trip that begins when the vacuum brushes rapidly wear away the cuticle, a waxy out layer found on most insects that help them stay hydrated. Minus this protection, adult fleas, larvae and pupae have a tendency to die of dehydration. While often seen as a just a mediocre household tip, vacuuming fleas have now been proven to work quickly quietly and effectively.

The same goes for the unhatched eggs, which also cannot survive the stress of a vacuum. Focus your efforts to the areas where your pet spends most of his time. The problem with this, however, is that although your pet might spend 23 hours a day sleeping in one nook of the room, the other 1 hour a day is spent running around your whole house. Logic dictates that anyplace your pet goes the fleas can (and will) follow. So unless an area is absolutely off limits to your pet (and your pet actually obeys these rules), it will need to be vacuumed just as much as anyplace else. Remember, the goal is total eradication of your fleas; there are no acceptable levels of infestation.

Vacuuming is a great strategy because it involves no chemicals and physically removes the problem. If you are in the market for a new one, try to find a bagless model; this makes it a lot cheaper and easier to use for flea control. Any extra hoses or attachments it might have are good because they will let you get into the nooks and crannies a little easier.

Diatomaceous Earth is the Natural Solution to Outdoor Flea Control

While pets play and roam outdoors, they're walking flea magnets. If you have pets, you definitely have fleas lurking in your yard, which is why this is one area that has to be target for effective flea control. However, this becomes difficult since you can't exactly vacuum your yard. There are options you can consider if you choose to take control of fleas both indoors and outdoors. One of the the best natural method to kill outdoor fleas is by using diatomaceous earth.

Diatomaceous earth is soil that is essentially crushed up sea-shells. It's an all natural product made from tiny fossilized water plants. These plants have been part of the earth's ecology since prehistoric times. About 30 million years ago, the diatoms built up into deep chalky deposits of diatomite - which are mined and group up to a powder much like talcum powder. The material won't seem that much different to you -it will, however, make a big difference to the fleas.

This type of soil has microscopic, jagged edges that will make tiny cuts on the outside of insects that crawl over it. You and your pets won't notice it, but the soil will cut fleas and cause them to leak water; they will gradually dehydrate and die. Diatomaceous earth is a safe, environmentally friendly way to kill the fleas and other pests that are living in your backyard. You won't do any permanent damage because no chemicals are involved - however, if you have some other insect that you want to live in your back yard for some reason, you shouldn't put this out there.

This lets us breathe a sigh of relief as we no longer have to rely on chemicals or toxins and instead have a simple, easy and efficient way to remove fleas. This is especially reassuring as effectiveness of insecticides has been shown to diminish as time goes on and insects develop a strong immunity to the chemicals.

NRC ISSUES FINAL LICENSING, INSPECTION AND ANNUAL FEES RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending its regulations to reflect the licensing, inspection and annual fees it will charge its applicants and licensees for fiscal year (FY) 2009.
The agency is required by Congress to recover for the U.S. Treasury most of its annual appropriated budget through two types of fees. One is for specific NRC services, such as licensing and inspection activities. This fee is calculated using the current hourly rate multiplied by the time spent by staff performing a service. The other is an annual fee paid by licensees, which recovers generic regulatory expenses and other costs not recovered through fees for specific services. These fees are contained in NRC regulations 10 CFR Part 170 (fees for license-specific services) and 10 CFR Part 171 (annual fees). These fees are paid to the NRC and transferred to the U.S. Treasury’s general fund.

By law, the NRC must recover, through fees to applicants and licensees, 90 percent of its budget authority for FY 2009 (Oct. 1, 2008 - Sept. 30, 2009), less the amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund for high-level radioactive waste activities and from general funds for waste-incidental-to-reprocessing and generic homeland security activities. The total amount of fees to be recovered by Sept. 30 is approximately $870.6 million, about $91.5 million more than in FY 2008.

The FY 2009 fee rule, published today in the Federal Register, includes fees based upon the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009. Approximately one third of the fees will be billed for specific services (Part 170) and the remaining two thirds will be billed to annual fees (Part 171). The hourly rate for Part 170 activities increases about 8 percent from $238 to $257 per hour. The increase in FY 2009 fees is due primarily to an increase in reactor license renewals and new uranium enrichment and recovery licensing activities. The NRC decreased fees for small entities in FY 2009.

The FY 2009 annual fees are categorized by types of licensees/applicants and include the following:

Class/Category FY 2009 Annual Fee

Operating Power Reactors

(including Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning annual fee) . . $4,625,000

Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $122,000

Test and Research Reactors (Non-power Reactors) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $87,600

High-Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,691,000

Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,649,000

UF6 Conversion Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . $969,000

Conventional Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $31,200

Typical Materials Users:Radiographers . . .. . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $22,700

Well Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,700

Industrial Gauges (Category 1C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . $2,700

Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . ... . . . $36,300

NRC estimates that the FY 2009 annual fees will be paid by 104 nuclear power plant licensees, 4 non-power reactors, 19 spent fuel storage/reactor-in-decommissioning facilities, 11 fuel cycle facilities, 7 uranium recovery facilities and approximately 3,800 material licensees. (NRC)