July 2009
You are browsing the archive for July 2009.
If you deal with hazardous chemicals — you need a Health and Safety Plan (HASP)
Did you know that if you deal with hazardous chemicals and are a fairly large facility, OSHA requires that you have a Health and Safety Plan? What’s a HASP?
A HASP is document written and implemented by employers that identifies, evaluates and controls safety and health hazards at you business and all facilities. The [...]
What is biogas and how can it decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions?
When bacteria– not oxygen (combustion) — breaks down organic matter biogas is produced. Biogas is methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Municipal landfills, industrial waste lagoons and other structures currently produce biogas. Dairy and hog farms are notorious for it.
There is a way to harness this gas and use it [...]
What does hydrogen fuel technology have to do with global warming?
Hydrogen fuel technology produces energy from water (H2O) The technology introduces an electric current in water to separate hydrogen from oxygen. It is expensive to do but once the hydrogen is derived from water, or even biomass, it can power a fuel cell which is another word for a battery; this type [...]
Market-based Environmental Policy
Here’s a different viewpoint on how to control carbon emissions (CO2e). The Republicans for Environmental Protection would develop pollution standards for utility and industrial boilers based on the percentage of energy produced as opposed to the fuel input to promote efficiency.
That means, for example, that a CO2e cap standard would be derived from the number [...]
EPA Mandates Reporting of Greenhouse Gases
EPA is going to require reports on greenhouse gas (GHG) from “all sectors of the economy”. Various air quality programs require data on other air emissions, but now EPA will require data on GHG emissions to develop its own greenhouse gas inventory. What type of data is going to be required and how [...]
How does a carbon offset forest project work?
There is a lot of talk of a cap and trade law (HR 2454) to combat carbon emissions; whether the Senate passes it is truly up in the air (no pun intended), however, even without a cap and trade law, there are ways to offset carbon emissions.
Forests are a natural way to offset carbon [...]
Environmental Public Health and Disease Tracking
Will the Center for Disease Control’s health tracking network play a role in any new government sponsored health care program? Who knows? But, here’s some information on what it does.
The CDC has a National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network tracks environmental causes of chronic diseases through an integrated system of health, exposure [...]
Some Low Emission Definitions for your Car
What is an Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle? According the the California Air Resources Board it is a vehicle that meets SULEV and PZEV tailpipe emission requirements and also has features that improve mileage (like hybrid drive-train components).
SULEV is a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle that emits 90% cleaner byproduct than [...]
How to Calculate your Carbon Footprint
Here’s a simplistic formula (I got from an article in Forbes magazine from 2008) to evaluate your carbon footprint.
Monthly electricity bill x 105
Monthly gas bill x 105
Monthly oil bill x 113
Yearly mileage x .79
Number of air flights < 4 hours x 1,100
Number of air flights > 4 hours x 4,400
If you don’t [...]
Cash for Clunkers
Here’s the deal on the new cash for clunkers program. To qualify for the cash, your present vehicle must have a trade in value less than $4,500; it has to be less than 25 years old; insured continuously for the past year; and get less than 18 mpg combined, (e.g., a 1984 Ford [...]