Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume V, Issue 2, January
12,
2015
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
I'd say about now that most of
the northern and eastern parts
of the US are about ready for
some sorta climate change,
maybe like up a hundred degrees
or so. Whether or not our
illustrious global leaders can
actually do something positive
about this planet's climate
fluctuations remains to be
seen. One thing is certain: the
fear of climate change is
prompting some of the most
pervasive and far-reaching
regulatory changes imposed upon
society. If we are all very
lucky, these changes will end
up on the balance, for the
better.
So let's look at the basics,
and think about the science
behind the global jitters. If
we consider just one important
slice of that science, the
process by which you, me, and
the stuff we throw away breaks
down and rejoins the
environment occurs at the
molecular level. The smallest
stuff is the lightest, and as
things begin to fall apart, a
lot of those light-weight
molecules are returned to the
resource cycle as gas.
Unfortunately, many of those
gases raise heck in the
atmosphere where they are mixed
with oxygen, sunlight, and the
myriad other goodies flowing
through the
air.
When enough matter gets changed
in the atmosphere, sunlight
can't get through as easily,
and once it does, the heat it
brings can't get back out as
easily. Besides creating air
that is harder to breathe, this
process can upset the patterns
of air flow - like heating a
big pot of water all on one
side - and the air doesn't
swirl around the planet like it
used to. One area gets a lot
hotter; another area gets a lot
colder. Those patterns of
global air movement bring about
what we call "climate", and
messing with the flow on a
global scale causes climate
change.
The "organic" molecules in
plants and animals are not
nearly as well glued together
as, say, the non-organic
molecules that make up plastic,
metal, rock or glass. Organics
break down faster and more
thoroughly, mainly because
other plants and/or animals
(sometimes it is hard to tell
the difference) eat those
organics. In so doing, these
natural processes release
components such as gases and
fine particulates that mix it
up with the air we are all
breathing. The more people we
add, the more organics we break
down, and the more gases and
fine particulate crud gets
released into the air. Yes, you
guessed it: a considerable
amount of climate change can be
traced right back to the
natural process of plant and
animal
flatulence.
We may not be able to plug
volcanoes and the enormous
amount of spewing they
accomplish. Given global
political and economic
realities, we probably can't
really do too much about the
continued massive use of fossil
fuels, or stem the flow of
non-organic pollutants
constantly flooding upward. But
we humans have one target
we can
actually
do something about: we can
manage the breakdown of organic
waste. We can control that
breakdown, and we can displace
other pollutants by using what
we garner from that control.
Controlled conversion of food
waste and sewage to biogas is
one clear, achievable goal, and
communities around the world
are taking the steps necessary
to implement that conversion at
regional scale. Will that warm
up Wisconsin this winter? Well,
it can help, and biogas sure is
cleaner to burn than bunker
oil.
Hey Rube!
Sometime back, the leaders
along the western fringe of
North America agreed to Do
Something about climate change
in a concerted fashion. Lots of
that action has been focused on
advanced beneficial conversion
of organics, especially food
waste. Last week it was
Vancouver; this week, we
spotlight Seattle. Compare
their smart, integrated and
community-wide
approaches.
This Week's Top Story
Viridor's
Energy Recovery Facility in
Oxfordshire County Is Fully
Operational
Viridor has announced that its
Ardley Energy Recovery Facility
(ERF) has been granted an
Acceptance Certificate by
Oxfordshire County, United
Kingdom (UK), marking
completion of the construction
phase and acceptance of the
facility by Viridor from the
contractor.
01/06/2015
The Week's News
US DOE
Releases Notice of Upcoming
ARPA-E 2015
Solicitation
The U.S. Department of Energy
has announced that its Advanced
Research Projects Agency –
Energy (ARPA-E) 2015
Solicitation will be released
later this month.
01/09/2015
SFI Releases
2015-2019 Sustainable
Forestry Standards and
Rules
The international non-profit
organization Sustainable
Forestry Initiative (SFI) has
announced the release of its
2015-2019 Standards and Rules
(Standards) to promote
sustainable forest management
by supporting better decision
making along the entire supply
chain.
01/08/2015
GPC Will
Host Webinar on Biomass
Power
Opportunities
In advance of this year's World
Biomass Power Markets
conference in Amsterdam, Green
Power Conferences (GPC) is
hosting a free webinar focused
on "Biomass Power: Unearthing
the Next Opportunity..."
01/08/2015
Seattle Bans
Food Waste and Compostable
Paper in the
Garbage
The City of Seattle's Ordinance
#124582 went into effect the
beginning of this year banning
food waste and compostable
paper, including pizza boxes,
paper napkins, and paper
towels, in the garbage.
01/07/2015
Clean Energy
Sells Interest in McCommas
Bluff Landfill Gas to Energy
Plant
California based Clean Energy
Fuels Corp. has divested its
majority interest in the
biomethane production facility
located at the McCommas Bluff
Landfill that serves the City
of Dallas, Texas, to minority
interest owner Cambrian Energy
Development LLC.
01/05/2015
The Week's Action
Items
Due
02/12/2015: Proposals to
Develop Annapolis Renewable
Energy
Park
The City of Annapolis, Maryland
is requesting proposals (RFP
15-12 AREP) for the development
and operation of the Annapolis
Renewable Energy Park (AREP) to
convert the property containing
the closed City of Annapolis
landfill into a renewable
energy facility.
01/07/2015
Due
03/04/2015: 1st Stage
Applications to Innovate UK
for Energy
Projects
The United Kingdom's (UK)
Innovate UK has announced
planned investments of up to
£9.5 million in innovations
that will address the need for
a diverse mix of energy sources
and systems over the next three
decades and beyond.
01/10/2015
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