Quick Afternoon News

Sylvania is making an effort to get consumers to recycle their bulbs.

SYLVANIA Continues Commitment to Lamp Recycling Program with the Inclusion of the United States Postal Service

SYLVANIA recognizes the public concerns over the effects of mercury in the environment and the need for proper CFL disposal. SYLVANIA CFLs use 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. However, because they contain a small amount of mercury, it is important that CFLs be recycled.

Yes, there is a bit of mercury in the CFLs but there is less mercury in the wild with these vs a regular lamp at home which can end up putting a lot more mercury into the environment. 50% of our power comes from coal fired plants and they are the biggest sources of mercury pollution. Recycling a CFL reduces the impact even more only allowing a minimal amount of mercury into the environment.

Democrats are pushing to punish big oil and take away money and now the House may veto the new bill.

House Set to Vote on New Energy Bill

The tax package totals about $21 billion - two-thirds of it coming from big oil companies. It was completed late Wednesday.

Panda Ethanol Receives Air Permit for Sherman County Refinery

Panda Ethanol Inc. today announced that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has granted an air permit for the company's planned 115 million gallon-per-year ethanol refinery in Sherman County, Texas. The facility will be designed to annually refine an estimated 38 million bushels of feedstock-grade corn into a clean burning, renewable fuel for the nation's transportation needs. The biofuel produced by the Sherman plant could displace approximately 2.6 million barrels of foreign oil a year.

Ohio may drill for oil in state parks

In behind-the-scenes discussions, a provision has been advanced that would allow drilling on state lands “covered by concrete, asphalt, gravel, turf, crops or fields that have plants or trees not exceeding 10 years in growth.” The proposal would create a five-member Oil and Gas Leasing board to oversee the leasing of state property for developing oil and natural gas reserves.

technorati tags: alternative energy, CFL, Ohio, ethanol

Wired Green News

Storing sun and wind power
By Martin LaMonica

One company with a novel approach is Massachusetts-based start-up General Compression, which is building a wind turbine that compresses air and stores it underground in caves or other geological structures. The compressed air is drawn when needed and expanded to drive electricity generators.

Rumor: Taiwan mulling a phase out of incandescent bulbs
Posted by Michael Kanellos

Taiwan may soon join the list of national and state governments to impose regulations that lead to the demise of traditional incandescent bulbs. Neal Hunter, CEO of LED Lighting Fixtures (LLF), says there are rumors in the lighting world that Taiwan will pass legislation that would phase out incandescents by 2011 or 2012.

Green disinformation stunt fools media
Posted by Elsa Wenzel

The U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a high-profile collection of 33 corporations and environmental nonprofits, pledged Monday to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2050, and demanded that no new coal power plants be built.

technorati tags: alternative energy, green power, Taiwan, Massachusetts