We found this Post at Treehugger.com and thought it was worth a mention. So what can be done about Canada’s blight of mountain pine beetles who are savaging forests turning them from carbon sinks to emitters? Well, at least from an economic point of view the Government of Canada think hemp might be one of the solutions. They are investing $235,665 CD to help the District of 100 Mile House launch a hemp production pilot project. This project will “assess the viability of an industrial hemp processing facility, and includes the production of 200 acres of industrial hemp crop demonstrations, product development and test marketing. An alternative source of fibre, industrial hemp can be used in the development of construction products such as particleboard, insulation materials, and countertops.” We have read elsewhere that hemp consumes about 1.7 times its dry weight in CO2 during its growth cycle, but haven’t yet been able to track down a scientific study confirming this. Though we keep looking. One of the sources quoting such a figure, also suggests that “each hectare of hemp could immediately sequester some 22 tonnes of greenhouse gases. Bast crops are able to sequester more carbon than trees in a short 150 day season cycle and yet leave arable land available for food and other crop production in the remainder of the year.” In the meantime the Government of Canada are pursuing this project as “one step closer to a more sustainable, diversified local economy." ::Federal Mountain Pine Beetle Funding for Hemp Pilot Project.
We wanted to update you on the fight to Save Trestles. Please take time to read the following. Posted at savetrestles.com
Surfrider Foundation Action Network Deny the Toll Road Appeal
The Transportation Corridor Agency is trying to revive its plan to build the 241 Foothill-South Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach. They have asked the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to override the California Coastal Commission's denial of the road. Remember, on February 6, 2008 the California Coastal Commission voted to deny the 241 Foothill South Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach. Following thousands of pages of written comments and a 14 hour hearing attended by thousands, the Commission listened to reason and to the law by rejecting the toll road application. Unfortunately the agency planning this Toll Road has appealed the Coastal Commission’s decision to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary is accepting comments from the public on this appeal until May 28th. The people in D.C. need to hear from Californians and people from all over the world who care about San Onofre and Trestles!
Your voice is needed! Don't let the TCA's lobbyists be the only influence on this important decision!
Fatal Shark Attack Closes N. SAN DIEGO Beaches This Weekend
With the weekend forecast promising dry winds and summery temperatures — classic Southern California beach weather — the thousands that typically would be expected to throng the Pacific shoreline will have to decide whether ignoring authorities and taking a dip is worth risking the danger officials believe still exists.
I guess that it was bound to happen some time, but no one new just when. Friday Morning at 7 a.m. a shark arose from the deep and snagged a swimmer about 100 yards of the California coast, at Fletchers cove in Solana Beach, just 15 miles North of San Diego. It is the first time that such an attack has occurred in Southern California in nearly fifty years.
The victim - David Martin - was swimming with a group of tri-athletes off Solana Beach at the time. Martin, 66, died on the beach Friday morning after a shark, presumed to be a great white, lifted him out of the water with his legs in its jaws, leaving deep lacerations and shredding Martin's black wetsuit.
Martin, a retired veterinarian, was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994. Prior to that, the last known fatal attack in the area was in 1959.
Even die-hards said word of the attack gave them pause. Sharks are rare in Southern California, though female great white sharks sometimes come south from their usual territory in the cooler waters of the central and northern coast to pup. Few make the mistake of attacking humans instead of seals or sea lions, their usual prey.
Earlier this year, stories of shark sightings swept the coast from San Diego County north through Orange and Los Angeles counties, the Los Angeles Times reported in late March.
The last fatal shark attack in California, according to data from the state Department of Fish and Game, took place on Aug. 15, 2004, off the coast of Mendocino County. The victim was a man diving for shellfish with a friend. On Aug. 19, 2003, a woman swimmer was killed by a great white at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast.
Overall, shark attacks are extremely rare. There were 71 reported worldwide last year, up from 63 in 2006. Only one attack, in the South Pacific, was fatal, according to the University of Florida.
The university's International Shark Attack File has counted an average of 4.1 people killed by sharks annually worldwide in the past seven years.
The Scottish Government has created the opportunity to award one of the biggest international innovation prizes in history through its plans for the Saltire Prize - a £10 million ($20 million) challenge prize for advances in clean energy.
The Saltire Prize draws inspiration from great innovation prizes of the 20th century including aviation prizes that led to the first crossings of the English Channel and the Atlantic, the Ansari X Prize that led to the first private spacecraft launch and, more recently the Virgin Earth Challenge which saw Richard Branson challenge scientists around the world to come up with a way to remove CO2 gases from the atmosphere.
The details of the prize are still being worked out, so if you have got any great ideas you better get to work.
Anyone interested in a car that costs $3 to fill up, goes 125 miles between fill-ups and does not emit any pollution? Oh yeah, and it only costs about $7000. Any takers?
We found this post on treehugger and thought that it was worth mentioning. The BBC reported this weekend that French company MDI has signed an agreement with innovative Indian automaker Tata Motors to begin production of just such a vehicle. The car, designed by a former Formula One engineer, is a completely rethought-out vision of the automobile, and uses compressed air to propel itself. Other interesting features include brake power recovery and an exhaust pipe that emits clean air. The first few models should be available in India and in Europe by the end of 2008. In the future, the body of the car may be created out of hemp fibre and coated with natural varnishes.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors, is planning to unveil the world's cheapest car during the coming week in New Delhi. The "Peoples' Car," priced at around $2500, will initially be marketed to Indian's rapidly expanding middle class, but may soon conquer other developing markets.
Of course, a car is still a car. Even an air car needs an electric engine to compress the air it runs on, and is made out of materials will require plenty of energy to produce. However, if successful, the air car could prove more sustainable than the electric car. If these concepts catch on, expect it to affect car prices and efficiency worldwide. Who knows, you may even see a few of the little buggies next time you're stuck in traffic.
Mairi Beautyman over at Tree Hugger had a great point, something to think about in 2008. She noted that you better think twice before tossing 'organic' into a sentence. The word is one of 19 words or phrases on Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. "['Organic' is] overused and misused to describe not only food, but computer products or human behavior, and often used when describing something as 'natural,' says a quote on the university's Web site (attributed to Crystal Giordano of Brooklyn, New York). After seeing it refer to bottled water and pancake batter in a spray can, we're going to have to agree.
Other words and phrases on the list: Perfect storm; waterboarding; wordsmith; back in the day; and sweet. via ::Yahoo News Also see ::USDA Waters Down Organic Standards
Your unique spirit and individual personality are not mistakes; there is a plan and a purpose for your life. Pay Attention, when you are being lied to. Please do not be fooled, each one of us is responsible for the decisions we make and the actions we do or do not take.
