Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art One-half Banana Stems

Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art One-half Banana Stems - www.kevindayhoff.com Address: PO Box 124, Westminster MD 21158 410-259-6403 kevindayhoff@gmail.com Runner, writer, artist, fire & police chaplain Mindless ramblings of a runner, journalist & artist: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, technology, music, culture, opera... National & International politics www.kevindayhoff.net For community: www.kevindayhoff.org For art, technology, writing, & travel: www.kevindayhoff.com

Friday, March 28, 2008

20080326 Too Little, Too Late - Media Discover Mercury in Fluorescent Bulbs by the Business and Media Institute

Too Little, Too Late - Media Discover Mercury in Fluorescent Bulbs by the Business and Media Institute

Each CFL contains about 5 milligrams of mercury. That’s enough for state environmental agencies to recommend complicated and expensive cleanups for accidental bulb breaks in homes.

Related:

20070913 Light Bulb Efficiency Standards

Too Little, Too Late - Media Discover Mercury in Fluorescent Bulbs

Journalists' beloved 'eco-friendly' lights now considered more dangerous than originally thought, after government mandate required their use.

By Nathan Burchfiel

Business & Media Institute

3/26/2008

What is it about government mandates that curse innovation to failure?

Ethanol turned out to be more environmentally harmful than the fossil fuels it was replacing via federal mandate. Now scientists understand the “green” compact fluorescent light bulbs to be dangerous because they contain mercury.

While scientists couldn’t agree on just how beneficial compact fluorescent light bulbs were, journalists on network news shows had widely agreed that CFLs are a good thing.

“They last 10 times longer and they’re really great for the environment,” Kris Connell of Real Simple Magazine said on “The Early Show” March 10.

Each of the three broadcast networks has featured the bulbs and promoted them as energy-efficient, environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional incandescent bulbs. Journalists and others who support the bulbs touted their benefits but rarely focused on the potential risks.

NBC’s “Today” show featured the bulbs on its “Today Goes Green” series Jan. 23, 2008, as one way average Americans can adjust their lives to be more “environmentally friendly.”

“If every American home replaced just one incandescent bulb with a CFL, in one year it would save enough energy to light more than three million American homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars,” co-host Meredith Vieira said.

“Replace just one of your standard light bulbs with one of those curly compact fluorescent lamps,” Diane Sawyer suggested on ABC’s “Good Morning America” April 20. “If every household in the U.S. replaced just one standard bulb with a CFL tomorrow … it would be like taking 2 million cars off the road.”

The Sept. 28, 2007, CBS “Early Show” even said “going green,” including switching from traditional incandescent bulbs to CFLs, was “good for your health, it’s good for your pocketbook, and it’s good for the environment.”

The print media joined in. USA Today called them the “wave of the future” in March 2007. The Los Angeles Times said in April 2007 the bulbs “would be good for the environment and consumers’ pocketbooks.”

With this help from the media, proponents of the bulbs convinced Congress to ban incandescent light bulbs in the energy bill President Bush signed into law in Dec. 19, 2007. The bill increases efficiency standards and effectively bans traditional bulbs by 2014, a timetable considered a victory by supporters like Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., who was the first to introduce legislation that would ban the bulbs.

But what the media ignored or downplayed in the run-up to the ban was that CFLs contain mercury, a highly toxic metal infamous for its presence in thermometers. In the last two years, network news shows mentioned the CFL-mercury link only seven times. Four of the reports came after the incandescent ban had already been signed into law.

Each CFL contains about 5 milligrams of mercury. That’s enough for state environmental agencies to recommend complicated and expensive cleanups for accidental bulb breaks in homes.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection recommended a woman contact a hazardous waste cleanup company when a CFL broke on her child’s bedroom carpet, sending the mercury level to more than six times the “safe” limit. The crew estimated the cleanup would cost $2,000.

The Maine DEP no longer recommends such an expensive cleanup process, but now suggests a 14-point cleanup plan.

The 5 milligrams of mercury are also enough to contaminate 6,000 gallons of water beyond safe drinking levels, according to a March 19 MSNBC.com article that “extrapolated from Stanford University research on mercury.”

Read the entire article: Too Little, Too Late - Media Discover Mercury in Fluorescent Bulbs

Sunday, March 23, 2008

20070418 April 18, 2007 Westminster Road Runners Club Westminster, Maryland Main Street Mile.



Other posts which mention Dr. David Herlocker may be found here: Westminster Road Runners Club or westminster road runners club

19401030 20080321 David Webb Herlocker

20070418 Westminster Maryland Main Street Mile

Carroll County Times photographer, Kyle Nosal, runs to get a photo…

Her article: “Road runners” appeared in the Thursday, April 19, 2007 edition of the Carroll County Times…

Westminster Police officer Tony Ott (gray shirt - center) kept everything moving smoothly throughout the event…

Kenny Carlisle (L) and Tony Ott

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff http://www.livejournal.com/

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams

_____

Other posts which mention Dr. David Herlocker may be found here: For other posts on running or the Westminster Road Runners Club please click on: Sports Running or Westminster Road Runners Club or Westminster Sidewalks and Trails or westminster road runners club or westminster sidewalks and trails. or westminster annual main street mile or sports running or dave herlocker. The Westminster Road Runners Club web site is here: http://www.carr.org/%7Ewrrc/

19401030 20080321 David Webb Herlocker



David W. Herlocker, 67, of Westminster

October 30, 1940 – March 21, 2008

David Webb Herlocker, 67, of Westminster, died unexpectedly but peacefully at his home on Friday, March 21, 2008.

Born October 30, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, he is the son of Donald Herlocker and the late Betty Comfort Herlocker. He was raised in Peoria, Illinois.

He was a 1962 graduate of Knox College and graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1966 with a doctorate in inorganic chemistry.

In 1966, he began a long career teaching chemistry at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College. He served as the Chemistry Department chair department chair for many years. He retired in 2006 and was named an emeritus faculty member. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the American Chemical Society, and other professional organizations.

He began running in the mid 1970s and was a member of the Westminster and York Road Runner Clubs. He was an organizer of many road races in and around Westminster, including the Main Street Mile. After an accident in 1995 left him unable to run, he continued to walk daily with friends. He was a recognizable figure at many races with his loyal canine companion, Badie.

He was a long-time member of Grace Lutheran Church and served on the church council and scholarship committee. He was active in Ardent Folk, a ministry providing meals to those in need.

He was a member of the parent organizing committee which founded the Westminster Montessori School in 1974. He helped to develop and implement the school’s chemistry curriculum. Since his retirement he has volunteered weekly in their science classes.

An avid sports fan, he followed the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, and the McDaniel women’s basketball and volleyball teams. He was a 27-year member of a book club and a lover of history and trivia.

Remembering him are children and partners Caryn Herlocker Meade and Adam Meade of Raleigh, NC and Daniel Herlocker and Ellen Keelan of Brattleboro, VT; father Donald Herlocker of Canton, IL; brother and sister-in-law William and Hilda Herlocker of Kildeer, IL; sister and brother-in-law Linda and Peter Speck of Wanganui New Zealand; grandchildren Evan and Georgia Meade; former wife and friend Helen Herlocker; and numerous friends.

A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 25 at Grace Lutheran Church, 21 Carroll St, Westminster with his pastors Rev. Kevin and Martha Clementson officiating.

Inurnment of ashes will be in Grace Lutheran Church Columbarium.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Grace Lutheran Church in support of the Ardent Folk social ministry.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.fletcherfuneralhome.net.

*****

Other posts which mention Dr. David Herlocker may be found here: ... For other posts on running or the Westminster Road Runners Club please click on: Sports Running or Westminster Road Runners Club or Westminster Sidewalks and Trails or westminster road runners club or westminster sidewalks and trails. or westminster annual main street mile or sports running or dave herlocker. The Westminster Road Runners Club web site is here: http://www.carr.org/%7Ewrrc/


20080316 The Carroll Sunday Eagle: Palm Sunday 1942 was a time of high snow and higher anxiety by Kevin Dayhoff

Last Sunday’s, March 16th, 2008 Sunday Carroll Eagle column was:

Palm Sunday 1942 was a time of high snow and higher anxiety

03/16/08 by Kevin Dayhoff EAGLE ARCHIVE (806 words)

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=885695&CategoryID=19662&show=localnews&om=1

Email this story to a friend

Many people have been commenting about how early Easter is this year. In fact, the last time Easter was as early as March 23 was 1913.

(I think they had wooden jelly beans back then.)

But a later Easter doesn't ensure good weather for Holy Week. I wonder how many readers remember the Palm Sunday blizzard of 1942. It was the fifth worse snowstorm in Carroll County history, as folks were greeted by 22 inches of snow on March 29, 1942.

It also included an important "first," as noted in a newspaper article: "Our municipal authorities, for the first time, saw fit to clear the greater portion of Main Street, and some of the important cross streets.

"Whatever the cost, we would say it certainly was an important step. ... The work was done by Thomas, Bennett and Hunter, road contractors, using their large road graders. The removal was rapid and proved to be a most successful method."

That Sunday, just months after America entered World War II, was a time a great anxiety.

One newspaper editorial explained: "1942 will enter in the midst of the (most) destructive war the world has ever known. The picture is a dark one, filled with doubts, uncertainties, a year that will test the mettle of our citizens, our men in service, but there is no doubt that all will stand the test and unite in the defense of our country, our flag and our president."

During that Palm Sunday of 1942, peace on Earth was, unfortunately, not in the minds of all. One fear on the minds of local folks was, "What to do in the event of an air raid?"

At the end of 1941, the "Air Raid Warden for Carroll County," W. Warfield Babylon, published a full newspaper page with detailed instructions as to what to do if the enemy were to launch an air raid on Carroll County.

It was a different time and a different era.

How many of us can remember the "Civil Defense Shelters" scattered through the county? How many had air raid shelters in the basement of their homes?

The air raid instructions began with advice that, alas, could be useful even today:

"Above all, keep cool.

Don't lose your head.

Do not crowd the streets, avoid chaos, prevent disorder and havoc.

You can fool the enemy.

If planes come over, stay where you are.

Don't phone unnecessarily.

The chance you will be hit is small."

Of course, the anxieties of the 1940s have been replaced by the anxieties of 2008, including rapidly increasing prices for essentials, taxes and concerns about the economy.

Yet one challenge Carroll did not have in 1942 was debt. An historical reference to a Jan. 2, 1942 article in The Sun touted that the Board of County Commissioners "paid off $25,000 to make Carroll County debt-free.

"Carroll County was probably the only county in Maryland in 1942 that could claim such a distinction. With a tax rate of 90 cents on $100, Carroll had the lowest tax in the state with the exception of Queen Anne's County. Two-thirds of tax money collected from county residents went to fund schools."

***

Today, Palm Sunday is here and many of us can't wait for spring.

Christians celebrate today as "Passion Sunday" -- the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem to a path covered with palm branches. The crowds that greeted him also waved palm branches. (One can read all about it in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; and John 12:12-19.)

Palm Sunday can appear anywhere on the calendar from March 15 to April 18. If you're like me, you wonder why the dates vary from year to year.

It's because Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the "Paschal Full Moon." To make it even more a mystery, the Paschal Full Moon is not an astronomical event, but a date calculated by folks with a huge Excel spreadsheet in 325 AD.

Really.

Of course, I don't bother remembering when Palm Sunday and Easter occur on the calendar -- I just ask my wife. Women have mysterious powers that allow them to know these things.

Hope springs eternal

Heading back to 1942 again, Bob Hope hosted the 14th Academy Awards at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Best picture was, "How Green Was My Valley."

OK, movie buffs, for this week's Sunday Carroll Eagle coffee mug, what was the other famous movie from 1941, often heralded as perhaps the best film ever made -- yet it did not win the Academy Award for best picture? Here's a hint: In the spirit of spring, think of the word, "Rosebud."

Think you know? Send me an e-mail at kdayhoff@carr.org and we'll draw one winner from the magic hat.

Heck, I'll even fill the mug with jelly beans. (Not the wooden kind.)

When he's not dreaming of spring, Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kdayhoff AT carr.org.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff http://www.livejournal.com/

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams

NBH

*****

The Sunday Carroll Eagle: October 28, 2007 - On October 28th, 2007 the publication for which I write, The Westminster Eagle and The Eldersburg Eagle, (which is published by Patuxent Newspapers and owned by Baltimore Sun); took over the Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun.

“The Sunday Carroll Eagle ” is inserted into the newspaper for distribution in Carroll County. For more information, please contact:

Mr. Jim Joyner, Editor, The Westminster Eagle

121 East Main Street

Westminster, MD 21157

(410) 386-0334 ext. 5004

Jjoyner AT Patuxent DOT com

For more posts on “Soundtrack” click on: Sunday Carroll Eagle

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/search/label/Sunday%20Carroll%20Eagle

20071028 The Sunday Carroll Eagle introduction

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2007/10/20071028-sunday-carroll-eagle.html

Also see: Monday, October 22, 2007: 20071021 Baltimore Sun: “To our readers”

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2007/10/20071021-baltimore-sun-to-our-readers.html

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

20080318 In Carroll County - I’d rather watch it all happen on TV

In Carroll County - I’d rather watch it all happen on TV

March 18, 2008

Recently there has been a push to televise all local government meetings in Carroll County.

And then - last week the story broke that (now former) New York governor Eliot “Mr. Clean” Spitzer, otherwise known as “love client no. 9,” had violated his marriage vows and broken a number of laws by taking “acting lessons” with an “aspiring-singer.”

There is a relationship between the two events and issues. Bear with me and I’ll attempt to make my point…

Governor Spitzer mercifully resigned on March 12 and ended a sensational 48 hours of salacious melodrama of position, power, greed, and human failings.

The ironies abound in this tragedy.

In his previous job as attorney general of New York, he had gained a reputation as a ruthless boar in his relentless crusade against wrongdoing on the part of Wall Street.

To further his own political ambitions, he made it great sport to ruin the reputations of Wall Street executives.

He often used the very same laws that in the end brought about his own demise.

However, anecdotal accounts indicate his unpleasant approaches were not centered on bad folks. He was, by many accounts, an equal opportunity misanthrope, often treating foes and colleagues with equal disdain.

Once he took over the governor’s office he quickly proceeded in going back on as many of his campaign promises as possible and fought with everyone – on both sides of the political aisle.

He raised taxes, added to the state’s payroll, and increased spending by 7 percent. In the paradox of contemporary taxation policy, the more New York raised taxes, the larger the state deficit grew. New York residents and businesses fled the state in astronomical numbers - and as he leaves office, he leaves behind a huge budget deficit and $2 billion in tax proposals.

One of the many golden rules of life is always treat people well when you’re on your way up because you never know when you’re coming down.

In the end, as Governor Spitzer faced a life-altering crisis, he was completely alone with no friends.

I often wonder about this “human” aspect of community leadership when I attend – or watch public hearings on the local Carroll County public access Channel 24 and witness the incivility and hypocrisy.

Locally a leadership void continues to persist. And one wonders why.

Many folks feel disenfranchised and alienated because there are too many “Spitzers” in office, locally, in Annapolis, and nationally, who aren’t doing their job and aren’t honest with us.

Then again, in today’s political environment, why would anyone want to leave the comfort of their families – their jobs, to take on leadership positions in the community where personal attacks and character assassination is a blood sport for those who may disagree with certain decisions?

And astonishingly those who are the most unpleasant are the ones who want others to respect their point of view and have an opportunity to be heard.

Recently there has been a push to televise all local government meetings in Carroll County.

A position I whole-heartedly support because personally attending these meetings is so incredibly unpleasant; why would anyone want to go?

They’re hard enough to watch on television, but at least when we watch them on TV, we can change the channel – or leave the room.

In recent memory I have had a number of folks tell me that they never gave much thought to this or that pressing issue of the day. But after having seen and heard the folks who are against it - - they’re for it.

A case in point is the fella who asked for my position on the airport… I shared with him that both sides have good points – that ought to be heard…

That in the end, the commissioners need to decide what is going to be best the greatest majority of Carroll Countians… That the commissioners are obviously not going to make everyone happy with this issue. There is no silver bullet or win-win.

He told me that he never thought much about expanding the airport until he saw the folks who are against it in action and now he wholeheartedly supports expanding the airport. Hmmm.

And recently in Carroll County; in an interesting twist, some of the folks who have been privately (and publicly) the most unpleasant are now publically claiming they are being bullied and pleading for civility.

I’d rather watch it all happen on TV.

####

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff http://www.livejournal.com/

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams

NBH

20080318 In Carroll County - I’d rather watch it all happen on TV

20080318 Frederick News Post Tourism Council opposes incinerator by Karen Gardner


Frederick County Tourism Council opposes incinerator by Karen Gardner


Originally published March 18, 2008


http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display_comments.htm?StoryID=72590#postComments


By Karen Gardner News-Post Staff

The Tourism Council of Frederick County echoed Monocacy National Battlefield's concerns that the county's proposed waste-to-energy plant, also known as an incinerator, will detract from the historic nature of the battlefield.

The proposed plant would be across the Monocacy River from the park boundary. Last week, the Civil War Preservation Trust said the plant's smokestack would loom over the battlefield.

[…]

Read the entire article here: Frederick County Tourism Council opposes incinerator by Karen Gardner

For more information on Waste Management and Waste to Energy issues please click on: Environmentalism Solid Waste Management; Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Waste to Energy; or… Energy Independence or Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Recycling or the label, Environmentalism.

Monday, March 17, 2008

20080317 More information on Waste to Energy and the future of solid waste management in Frederick and Carroll Counties

20080317 More information on Waste to Energy and the future of solid waste management in Frederick and Carroll Counties

More information on Waste to Energy and the future of solid waste management in Frederick and Carroll Counties

March 17, 2008

Related: 20080317 Recent columns on the future of Solid Waste Management in Carroll and Frederick Counties

Recently a colleague who is opposed to a waste-to-energy solution for the future of solid waste management in Frederick and Carroll Counties e-mailed me some additional information that anyone interested in the current debate may very well want to take a moment and review… I have worked with this person on environmental issues for about 20 years and his view has been consistently responsible and thoughtful. See the information he forwarded me below.

Unfortunately some folks who are against building a waste-to energy facility have mistaken the debate to be about whether to build an incinerator or recycle.

To the best of my knowledge - - as a result of a number of in depth conversations with the decision makers, no one disagreed with me that we need to increase the recycling rates.

The key to my view is that I do not like waste-to-energy or landfilling but I am particularly and adamantly opposed to landfilling and need to provide the decision makers with an alternative until recycling takes care of our trouble with trash. Unfortunately, the only other viable option with what is not currently recycled – is waste-to-energy, which is far better option than landfilling.

In my Westminster Eagle column of March 5, 2008 [Westminster Eagle: Trouble with trash is nothing new, but the technology may be] I wrote:

On February 25, 1996 I was quoted in the paper: “… none of the (current) options of waste disposal are palatable…” Twelve years later I still feel the same way.

Every quality of life we enjoy today has an environmental consequence. There is no silver bullet with trash except 100 percent recycling.

[…]

In the late 1990s, most environmentalists, (including me,) were uncomfortable with burning trash. We were concerned that the benefits of waste-to-energy did not outweigh the potential deleterious impact on air quality.

However, cutting edge technological advances and research, especially out of Germany and the European Union, which have the strictest environmental regulations in the world, indicates that an undue air quality consequence is no longer the case.

In recent years, several EU countries including Germany have essentially banned landfilling in lieu of incineration and recycling.

In consideration of the new cutting edge waste-to-energy technologies, the ability to generate and sell electricity; and the idea of mining, mitigating, and removing all our existing landfills - waste-to-energy appears to be the best solution today, or at least the lesser of evils - as long as a revitalized initiative is concurrently adopted to increase our recycling rates.

The one thing we all can agree upon is that we need to continue to increase our recycling rates.

For me there is no question that the answer to the challenges of solid waste management is recycling.

It is only a matter of time until market forces and economics will prove recycling more cost effective that landfilling and waste-to-energy. As that develops we need to be compelling and persuasive and that simply is not going to happen if the proponents of recycling are condescending and unpleasant.

Nevertheless, once again - the challenge remains what do we do until we increase the recycling rates – what do we do with the remaining materials. I remain adamantly opposed to landfilling.

The manner in which I continue to feel is the best way to dispose of any remaining materials is co-composting. However, at this point that methodology is not currently economically feasible.

See below for the statement: ‘the fact remains that dumping garbage in a landfill site is far more environmentally destructive, damaging, and disgusting than an incinerator” in context…

In the first installment of my 2-part series in The Tentacle, I wrote: [The Tentacle: March 5, 2008 Making Trash Go Away – Part One ]

Meanwhile many of us have grave concerns that we can currently recycle our way out of our present predicament. In 1970, when I first began speaking out for recycling, the Central Maryland recycling rate was essentially zero.

Almost four decades later it is only around 30 percent. Doubling the recycling rate in five years, as has been suggested by incinerator foes, may be difficult in light of the fact that it has taken us four decades to get the rate to 30 percent.

Besides, interestingly enough, in Carroll County, on April 21, 1994, when a county “Waste-to-Energy Committee” rejected the idea of building an incinerator, the 23 members “instead recommend(ed) aggressive recycling programs… to extend the life of the” landfills in Carroll County.

Folks who believe that increasing recycling rates in the near future is the answer are dooming our community to another disastrous round of landfilling.

Until we can get the recycling rate to 100 percent, I wholeheartedly agree with what I wrote in the 2nd installment of my 2-part series in The Tentacle: [The Tentacle: March 6, 2008 Making Trash Go Away – Part 2 ]

In 2006, the waste-to-energy issue blew up in the Toronto Canada mayoral election; which prompted Christopher Hume to write in “The Hamilton Spectator”:

“It’s time for the opponents of incineration … to wake up and smell the garbage… Opponents should travel to Europe to see for themselves how a state-of-the-art incinerator works. One thing they would see immediately is that two-thirds of each plant is devoted to filters, scrubbers and the machinery of emission cleaning.”

Mr. Hume wrote: “And even if the criticisms by … opponents were justified, the fact remains that dumping garbage in a landfill site is far more environmentally destructive, damaging, and disgusting than an incinerator.”

Many of us who follow environmental issues closely could not agree more with Mr. Hume, who said that most of the objections to incineration “are based on information that’s thirty years out of date.”

If you have not had a chance to read my 2-part series in The Tentacle – it can be found here: http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41

_____

Meanwhile, my colleague who is opposed to waste-to-energy forwarded me the following material to review:

"When we look at thermally treating a tonne of mixed waste in a modern incineration facility (in this case data is from the most efficient facilities currently operating in Europe), recycling that same waste would result in about 5.4, 1.6 and 2.6 times the energy savings than incinerating with electricity recovery; heat recovery; or combined electricity and heat recovery respectively."

"When we compare energy producing technology used in Ontario, incineration contributes the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to coal fired technology, mass-burn incineration contributes about 33%, and gassification about 90% more GHG emissions per Kwh of electricity produced."

http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/about_wrap/environmental.html

Excerpts from the foreward to the report: "Environmental Benefits of Recycling: An international review of life cycle comparisons for key materials in the UK reycling sector." May 2006 (no old reports here!)

"The results are clear. Across the board, most studies show that recycling offers more environmental benefits and lower environmental impacts than other waste management options."

"Again, the results are clear and positive. The UK's current recycling of those materials saves between 10-15 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year compared to applying the current mix of landfill and incineration with energy recovery to the same materials. This is equivalent to about 10% of the annual CO2 emissions from the transport sector, and equates to taking 3.5 million cars off UK roads."

Incineration of Muncipal Solid Waste:

Understanding the Costs and Financial Risks
http://energy.pembina.org/pub/1448
(overall link to the four individual links posted below)

http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/Incineration_FS_Climate.pdf
http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/Incineration_FS_Pollution.pdf
http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/Incineration_FS_Energy.pdf
http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/Incineration_FS_Costs.pdf

From the Energy fact sheet:

"When we look at thermally treating a tonne of mixed waste in a modern incineration facility (in this case data is from the most efficient facilities currently operating in Europe), recycling that same waste would result in about 5.4, 1.6 and 2.6 times the energy savings than incinerating with electricity recovery; heat recovery; or combined electricity and heat recovery respectively."

"When we compare energy producing technology used in Ontario, incineration contributes the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to coal fired technology, mass-burn incineration contributes about 33%, and gassification about 90% more GHG emissions per Kwh of electricity produced."

OTHERS

PDF of Friends of the Earth

"Greenhouse Gases and Waste Management Options"
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/greenhouse_gases.pdf

PDF FOE "An Anti-Green Myth: Incineration Beats Recycling" http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/myth_incineration_recycling.pdf

Link to abstract of Jeffrey Morris' "Comparative LCAs for Curbside Recycling Versus Either Landfilling or Incineration with Energy Recovery"

http://www.springerlink.com/content/m423181w2hh036n4/

This from Earthjustice:

"In another critical case, the EPA attempted to avoid classifying thousands of waste burning installations as 'incinerators' so they could operate under less stringent regulations. But our lawyers convinced a Washington D.C. federal district court judge this was illegal, resulting in the strongest air pollution controls being placed on these highly toxic incinerators. Earthjustice also challenged the emissions limits the EPA adopted for brick and clay manufacturers, which are far below the law's requirement. Our victory in this case forced the EPA to impose the strict emissions standards set by the Clean Air Act on these facilities, which are spewing some of the worst pollution imaginable into our air."

Covanta was recently highlighed in Kiplinger's personal finance journal as one of: http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/10/25green.html

25 Stocks to Invest in a Cleaner World

Not all greentech is speculative. We've identified solid companies that should profit big from addressing climate change and encouraging the use of alternative fuels. And you'll profit, too.

By David Landis and Andrew Tanzer From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, October 2007

You don't have to be a tree hugger to believe that climate change and energy efficiency will be significant investing themes for years to come.

The National Petroleum Council, a U.S. government advisory body, says existing supplies of oil and natural gas may not meet soaring global demand over the next 25 years. A shortfall could be a windfall for companies that can supply cheaper alternatives to fossil fuels.

RELATED LINKS

Five Green Up-And-Comers

Green Investing is the Next Big Thing

Meanwhile, the focus on global warming promises to lead to greater regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions. Already, the European Union has instituted a quota for carbon emissions in response to the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty that went into effect in 2005. The U.S. did not sign the treaty, but a number of states are acting on their own to limit these pollutants. In addition, Congress passed an energy bill in 2005 that offers subsidies for various new energy technologies, and it is considering another bill this year.

Clearly, these trends will produce stock-market winners and losers, but not all of them are obvious. Makers of wind turbines and biofuels will surely benefit. But so will makers of rail cars and auto-emissions controls.

We've sifted through the implications and put together the Kiplinger Green 25, a list of companies we believe will get a big boost from the growing focus on climate change and the move toward alternative fuels. Our picks vary widely in size, and four are based overseas. Some of the stocks may be expensive, and shares of some of the smaller companies may be volatile. But we think all will do well over the long term. In addition, check out our separate profiles of five up-and-comers -- small (with market values of less than $1 billion), more-speculative companies that someday could grow into green giants.

COVANTA

An alternative approach to power generation that is already commercially viable is to get it from garbage, and the leader in waste-to-energy facilities is Covanta. The company operates 32 plants that burn trash and municipal waste to make steam and heat for power generation. Trash haulers pay the Fairfield, N.J., company to take the waste off their hands. This form of renewable energy is especially competitive in places such as New England, where landfill space comes at a premium. Besides, while there may be shortages of oil and natural gas, it's hard to imagine that there will ever be a shortage of a superabundant source of renewable energy such as trash.[Although no new plants have been built in ten years, existing contracts obligate municipalities and counties to supply trash fuel inexpensively].

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Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams

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