The Filth and The Furious - The EPA's Most Wanted

The Environmental Protection Agency is turning up the heat on dirty criminals. Deputy director Doug Parker began compiling a list of the EPA’s “Most Wanted” in March of 2008 to ferret out those who are wanted on criminal investigation of environmental felonies. Although a relatively new endeavor, the list of 21 fugitives reaches back as far as 1996, when a man by the name of Mauro Valenzuela smuggled oxygen canisters onto an airliner, causing the deaths of 110 people when they ignited – causing the plane to crash into the everglades. Included on the roster are Albania Deleon, who ran an operation that hired workers to remove asbestos without proper certification, and two men who are believed to have trafficked ozone depleting coolants.

According to Cornelia Dean’s article in the New York Times, Parker states that the E.P.A. has “’180 agents fully authorized with arrest powers, carrying firearms’ around the country, but that it usually worked with state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as the Coast Guard, the Homeland Security Department, and Interpol.”

While I applaud the idea behind the efforts of Parker and the agency, one omission I found glaringly obvious, was that of the range of penalties for these crimes. While Mauro Valenzuela would likely be brought up on charges that could include homicide, and is as of yet at large, what is to become of the perpetrator who places countless lives in danger in a more subtle manner that may span over a number of years? It has seemed that the victims often must rely on litigation for resolution, and if successful, may wait years for vindication. If ever they do. Twenty years after the massive travesty of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which had been ignored by the behemoth corporation and was cleaned up by good Samaritans, the diminutive sum that they were ordered to pay was again reduced by the Supreme Court. While the Exxon episode may have been deemed an accident and, therefore, not criminal, they’re lack of response is beyond irresponsible. And in cases where people or corporations deliberately act in ways that put the public at risk, they should be penalized in a similar manner as if they used any other weapon.

So, bravo to Doug Parker and the E.P.A for putting a face on environmental terrorists. Let’s hope it’s not just a never seen tribute to the post office wall.

Earth Hour 2008 - What are you doing?

I hope everyone that see this posting will or has participated in Earth Hour 2008.

It is only an hour from 8pm to 9pm YOUR Local time.

For further information on Earth Hour, go HERE

Check out the Earth Hour video.

Is Green Energy Killing Us?

Today as I was cruising the internet, I came across this unsettling story about Green Energy production that is killing areas of China.

A Dark Side Of Solar Power

The growth of the solar power industry is poisoning land in China, according to the Washington Post.

In the rush to make polysilicon cheaply for use in solar panels, a Chinese company reportedly is dumping toxic waste into the ground, killing wildlife and endangering human health.

The newspaper describes green fields in the nation's eastern central Henan Province that have turned snow-white from the powdery waste of silicon tetrachloride, four tons of which result from every ton of polysilicon created. Toxic hydrogen chloride gas and acids waft from the waste.

To blame is Chinese polysilicon maker Luoyang Zhonggui High-Technology, which supplies to rising solar power star Suntech Power Holdings, according to the Washington Post.

To read more about this problem, follow the link:
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9889848-54.html

I have had reservations about some other versions of so called Green Energy, especially BioFuels and Ethanol. Both of these products, as of right now, rely way to much on "new crops" to make fuel. Much like using new trees for paper making instead of using 100% recycled paper or some mix of new and recycled.

Using land to grow fuel instead of food seems short sighted and morally wrong to me. Cutting down diverse forest, such as the Amazon to grow a select plant for fuel or to raise cattle, also comes across as short sighted and morally wrong.

Besides the stupidity of growing fuel on land that could and should be used to grow food, we also have this potential problem. Since they would be growing fuel instead of food, why bother trying to grow it organically? Why bother with doing things environmentally correct and sound? I feel they will, if they have not already done so, start using as many chemicals as possible to try and get the highest yield at the lowest cost with no regard to the environment or our safety. Thus polluting the ground, the water and the air all for the profit of making fuel.

I believe that all commercially made biodiesel should ONLY be used for big rigs and other types of vehicles that typically use diesel as their fuel. If we increase the demand for consumer biodiesel, then we will be unwittingly increasing the negative environmental impacts causes by the production of these fuels.

The only viable alternative fuels that I believe should be used for cars and light trucks, is hydrogen and electricity. Yes, these all need to be produced by something, but we have a wide array of choices in ways to produce these if we choose to make it happen. Such as, Solar (made cleanly), Geothermal (done with little environmental impact), Wind (with careful placement to diminish visual and noise pollution), Wave and Tide energy (new and looking promising) and many others.

As much as I hate nuclear plants, I could see very very limited use of them (maybe by using the plants that exist) to help produce the hydrogen needed for cars and trucks (fuel cells, etc).

Geothermal is the one energy source that I believe has the biggest potential to make the biggest positive impact, in the shortest amount of time and at the lowest cost.

When it comes to Solar Cell production, I believe that this company is far ahead and looking in the right direction.

NanoSolar - http://www.nanosolar.com