10:36 AM
GT
Tonight is the public hearing on the Taylor County Coal Plant!
Barack Obama (whom Oprah says should run for President, not her--good point Oprah) is not a farmer, but he believes in biodiesel and the votes of farmers who produce soybeans and other crops for it. Senator Obama, Democrat from Illinois, spoke last month at an event to celebrate plans for a new biodiesel plant in Cairo, Ill. Read the entire article at All Things Biodiesel blog.
Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla explains his view of biofuels as the replacement source of gasoline by 2030 in the October 2006 issue of Wired Magazine.
10:28 PM
GT
Most people emit about 15 tons of CO2 per year, with Americans producing over 25 percent of the world's carbon emissions.
You can buy your way out of generating your emissions by making a tax-deductible contribution of $11 for yourself (or as a gift) to the Better World Club, an alternative to AAA Auto Club (no endorsement). The money goes to plant forests.
Yikes, maybe we could also drive less, travel in airplanes less and reduce home electricity consumption?
Once you've calculated your carbon emissions, you can offset part or all of them by purchasing green energy certificates from the City utility. These support use of renewable energy in place of fossil fuel use.
One place to calculate your carbon emissions
A place to buy green energy certificates: http://www.talgov.com/you/electric/gfy.cfm
Contributed by Gary Brinkworth, manager of strategic planning, City of Tallahassee Electric
5:33 PM
GT
Fuel by the numbers Gallons of biodiesel that can be made from one acre of soybeans: 50 Arable acres in the US: 427 million Gallons of gasoline used by the average American driver in a year: 464 Drivers in the US: 198 million Arable acres needed to make enough biodiesel for all of them: 1.8 billion
How much sacrifice for the earth? Change a few light bulbs, turn up the thermostat on the air conditioner by a smidge, drive one less trip per week?
It seems that New Zealand adventurer and former oil company employee, Peter Bethune, wanted to enter a speedboat contest run entirely on renewable fuels. Except that instead of soy or corn Bethune planned to use body fat--his own.
After seeing this kind of commitment to the environment in a recent Wired Magazine, I decided to see how he was doing in the race that started in May 2006. Since, as the Wired article pointed out, nobody's butt is big enough to sustain a 27,600-mile journey, he donated the first 100 ml (about a liter of fuel), the rest comes from vegetable oils and other animal fats.
Mr. Bethune was quoted as saying, "Liposuction hurts. I was bruised all over. It was a personal sacrifice." Still, it was a great wasy to promote his speedboat contest for his company Earthrace.
The race is now currently planned for Sep - Oct 2006. He hopes to finish in 65 days - 10 days faster than the current speedboat record. Here's the 27,600 mile Race Route:
Barbados - Panama - Acapulco - San Diego - Hawaii - Majuro - Koror - Singapore - Maldives - Aden - Port Said - Malaga - Canary Islands - Barbados.
His eco-friendly vessel, Earthrace, is a 78-foot trimaran capable of hitting 45 knots (58 mph).
Follow the outcome at Earthrace. *note to readers: NEWS UPDATE: Earthrace has been forced to abandon its record attempt after the boat sustained storm damage just out from Malaga, Spain.
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