I'm putting this article on here for anyone who wants to know more about Algae Biofuels or thought i was crazy.
Algae: Biofuel Of The Future?
ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2008) — In the world of alternative fuels, there may be nothing greener than pond scum.
Algae are tiny biological factories that use photosynthesis to transform carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy so efficiently that they can double their weight several times a day.
As part of the photosynthesis process algae produce oil and can generate 15 times more oil per acre than other plants used for biofuels, such as corn and switchgrass. Algae can grow in salt water, freshwater or even contaminated water, at sea or in ponds, and on land not suitable for food production.
On top of those advantages, algae — at least in theory — should grow even better when fed extra carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas) and organic material like sewage. If so, algae could produce biofuel while cleaning up other problems.
"We have to prove these two things to show that we really are getting a free lunch," said Lisa Colosi, a professor of civil and environmental engineering who is part of an interdisciplinary University of Virginia research team, recently funded by a new U.Va. Collaborative Sustainable Energy Seed Grant worth about $30,000.
With the grant, the team will try to determine exactly how promising algae biofuel production can be by tweaking the inputs of carbon dioxide and organic matter to increase algae oil yields.
Scientific interest in producing fuel from algae has been around since the 1950s, Colosi said. The U.S. Department of Energy did pioneering research on it from 1978 to 1996. Most previous and current research on algae biofuel, she said, has used the algae in a manner similar to its natural state — essentially letting it grow in water with just the naturally occurring inputs of atmospheric carbon dioxide and sunlight. This approach results in a rather low yield of oil — about 1 percent by weight of the algae.
The U.Va. team hypothesizes that feeding the algae more carbon dioxide and organic material could boost the oil yield to as much as 40 percent by weight, Colosi said.
Proving that the algae can thrive with increased inputs of either carbon dioxide or untreated sewage solids will confirm its industrial ecology possibilities — to help with wastewater treatment, where dealing with solids is one of the most expensive challenges, or to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, such as coal power-plant flue gas, which contains about 10 to 30 times as much carbon dioxide as normal air.
"The main principle of industrial ecology is to try and use our waste products to produce something of value," Colosi said.
Research partner Mark White, a professor at the McIntire School of Commerce, will help the team quantify the big-picture environmental and economic benefits of algae biofuel compared to soy-based biodiesel, under three different sets of assumptions.
White will examine the economic benefits of algae fuel if the nation instituted a carbon cap-and-trade system, which would increase the monetary value of algae's ability to dispose of carbon dioxide. He will also consider how algae fuel economics would be impacted if there were increased nitrogen regulations (since algae can also remove nitrogen from air or water), or if oil prices rise to a prohibitive level.
The third team member is Andres Clarens, a professor of civil and environmental engineering with expertise in separating the oil produced by the algae.
The team will experiment on a very small scale — a few liters of algae at a time. They will seek to optimize the oil output by using a pragmatic engineering approach, testing basic issues like whether it makes a difference to grind up the organic material before feeding it to the algae.
Wastewater solids and algae, either dead or alive, are on the menu. "We're looking at dumping the whole dinner on top of them and seeing what happens," Colosi said.
Some of these pragmatic issues may have been tackled already by the various private companies, including oil industry giants Chevron and Shell, which are already researching algae fuel, but a published scientific report on these fundamentals will be a major benefit to other researchers looking into algae biofuel.
Published evidence of improved algae oil output might spur significant follow-up efforts by public and private sectors, since the fundamentals of this technology are so appealing, Colosi said. Research successes would also open the door to larger grants from agencies like the U.S. Department of Energy, and could be immediately applicable to the handful of pilot-scale algae biofuel facilities recently funded by Shell and start-up firms.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Stimulus Tax Breaks for you!
The new stimulus plan will provide tax breaks for working americans....97% in fact!The average amount saved would be $1,170. The law, which President Obama signed on Tuesday, contains a range of tax breaks for individuals. Those likely to affect the greatest number of households are the new Making Work Pay credit worth up to $400 ($800 for joint filers); a patch to protect middle- and upper-middle-income families from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax; and expansions of the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit for low-income families.
There are also breaks that address specific situations: a new credit for first-time home buyers, a sales tax deduction for car buyers and a new credit to help pay for college tuition. For people receiving unemployment benefits, the first $2,400 will be tax free.
The Treasury Department has told employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks by April 1. Treasury estimates that a typical family will begin taking home about $65 more per month, according to Obama.
A quote I found on CNN quotes Obama saying, TAX SAVINGS
How households may fare under the economic recovery plan.
Income Avg. tax savings Drop in tax bite
Under $19K $476 -95%
$19K-$38K $652 -22%
$38K-$66K $781 -9%
$66K-$112K $1,301 -7.5%
$112K-$161K $2,549 -8.3%
$161K-$227K $3,883 -8.3%
$227K-$603K $5,133 -5.7%
$2.8M plus $39,350 -1.4%
Source:The Tax Policy Center
The stock market's lost decade
More Videos
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Roughly 97% of American households could see tax savings as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to a new analysis by a nonpartisan research group.
The Tax Policy Center crunched the numbers and concluded that the average savings would be $1,179. But how much a household actually gets depends on income, marital status and whether a filer has children. The savings range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
The law, which President Obama signed on Tuesday, contains a range of tax breaks for individuals. Those likely to affect the greatest number of households are the new Making Work Pay credit worth up to $400 ($800 for joint filers); a patch to protect middle- and upper-middle-income families from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax; and expansions of the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit for low-income families.
There are also breaks that address specific situations: a new credit for first-time home buyers, a sales tax deduction for car buyers and a new credit to help pay for college tuition. For people receiving unemployment benefits, the first $2,400 will be tax free.
On Saturday, Obama said the government had already taken action on the broadest of the law's cuts -- the Making Work Pay.
The Treasury Department has told employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks by April 1. Treasury estimates that a typical family will begin taking home about $65 more per month, according to Obama,"Never before in our history has a tax cut taken effect faster or gone to so many hardworking Americans."
Let's hope that this package has what it takes to get the ball rolling again on a stronger consumer economoy!
There are also breaks that address specific situations: a new credit for first-time home buyers, a sales tax deduction for car buyers and a new credit to help pay for college tuition. For people receiving unemployment benefits, the first $2,400 will be tax free.
The Treasury Department has told employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks by April 1. Treasury estimates that a typical family will begin taking home about $65 more per month, according to Obama.
A quote I found on CNN quotes Obama saying, TAX SAVINGS
How households may fare under the economic recovery plan.
Income Avg. tax savings Drop in tax bite
Under $19K $476 -95%
$19K-$38K $652 -22%
$38K-$66K $781 -9%
$66K-$112K $1,301 -7.5%
$112K-$161K $2,549 -8.3%
$161K-$227K $3,883 -8.3%
$227K-$603K $5,133 -5.7%
$2.8M plus $39,350 -1.4%
Source:The Tax Policy Center
The stock market's lost decade
More Videos
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Roughly 97% of American households could see tax savings as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to a new analysis by a nonpartisan research group.
The Tax Policy Center crunched the numbers and concluded that the average savings would be $1,179. But how much a household actually gets depends on income, marital status and whether a filer has children. The savings range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
The law, which President Obama signed on Tuesday, contains a range of tax breaks for individuals. Those likely to affect the greatest number of households are the new Making Work Pay credit worth up to $400 ($800 for joint filers); a patch to protect middle- and upper-middle-income families from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax; and expansions of the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit for low-income families.
There are also breaks that address specific situations: a new credit for first-time home buyers, a sales tax deduction for car buyers and a new credit to help pay for college tuition. For people receiving unemployment benefits, the first $2,400 will be tax free.
On Saturday, Obama said the government had already taken action on the broadest of the law's cuts -- the Making Work Pay.
The Treasury Department has told employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks by April 1. Treasury estimates that a typical family will begin taking home about $65 more per month, according to Obama,"Never before in our history has a tax cut taken effect faster or gone to so many hardworking Americans."
Let's hope that this package has what it takes to get the ball rolling again on a stronger consumer economoy!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
New Commerce Secretary and more Bipartisanship
Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has accepted Obama's proposal of being the next commerce secretary! Increasing this new concept of bipartisanship in Washington. Gregg is known for being fiscally conservative. With another open seat in congress, New Hampshire's governor could have given that seat to another democrat which would have increased the democratic majority to 60.Gregg said he would not give up his seat if it meant it would change the balance in senate. However, the governor will replace Gregg with another republican, Gregg's chief of staff, Bonnie Newman. Newman worked in the White house during the Bush administration and was an assistant commerce secretary during the Reagan administration.
So okay now let's get things started! Hopefully this bipartisanship concept works in our favor!
So okay now let's get things started! Hopefully this bipartisanship concept works in our favor!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
DISTURBING!
I found this current event as well.... hmmmm. Disturbing.
A suspect in police custody calls himself a "stewmaker" for a Mexican drug lord, saying he disposed of about 300 bodies by dissolving them in acid.
Santiago Meza Lopez has asked for forgiveness from the families of those he says he targeted.
Santiago Meza Lopez was arrested Thursday in Ensenada, Baja California, but it took police 24 hours to identify him. He says he works for drug lord Teodoro Garcia Simental, also known as "el Teo," a powerful drug trafficker.
Meza, who is shown handcuffed and flanked by guards in video released by the government, calls himself "Teo's stewmaker" and says he was paid $600 a week for his macabre duties. The victims, he said, were men who owed Garcia something or had betrayed him.
A native of Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Meza was arrested along with three other people, including a minor female who said she was contracted for a social event. Other people sought by police were in the area at the time but were able to escape, officials said.
Now, Meza is asking for forgiveness.
"To the families, please forgive me," he said in the video.
Mexican police have not specifically said whether they believe that all elements of Meza's story are credible.
He has told police where he buried some of the bodies.
Now authorities, along with citizens groups and the families of the disappeared, are searching for them.
They hope Meza could have information about the location of their friends and relatives.
Authorities say Garcia formed part of the Arellano Felix cartel but is currently said by intelligence sources to be operating with the Sinaloa cartel.
Officials say seven brothers and four sisters of the Arellano-Felix family inherited the Tijuana, Mexico-based drug cartel from Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo in 1989, after his arrest for drug trafficking.
Today, the notorious cartel is split into two factions that have engaged in brutal fighting that has accounted for nearly all the violence in Tijuana, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. More than 400 people were killed last year in drug-related violence.
Eduardo Arellano-Felix, who police said was the last remaining brother to have an active role in the cartel, was arrested in October.
I don't really know what to say about this one besides it may be one of the most disturbing ways i can think of to get rid of bodies and I really never would want this job you could never pay me enough. Well I hope I can sleep tonight!
A suspect in police custody calls himself a "stewmaker" for a Mexican drug lord, saying he disposed of about 300 bodies by dissolving them in acid.
Santiago Meza Lopez has asked for forgiveness from the families of those he says he targeted.
Santiago Meza Lopez was arrested Thursday in Ensenada, Baja California, but it took police 24 hours to identify him. He says he works for drug lord Teodoro Garcia Simental, also known as "el Teo," a powerful drug trafficker.
Meza, who is shown handcuffed and flanked by guards in video released by the government, calls himself "Teo's stewmaker" and says he was paid $600 a week for his macabre duties. The victims, he said, were men who owed Garcia something or had betrayed him.
A native of Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Meza was arrested along with three other people, including a minor female who said she was contracted for a social event. Other people sought by police were in the area at the time but were able to escape, officials said.
Now, Meza is asking for forgiveness.
"To the families, please forgive me," he said in the video.
Mexican police have not specifically said whether they believe that all elements of Meza's story are credible.
He has told police where he buried some of the bodies.
Now authorities, along with citizens groups and the families of the disappeared, are searching for them.
They hope Meza could have information about the location of their friends and relatives.
Authorities say Garcia formed part of the Arellano Felix cartel but is currently said by intelligence sources to be operating with the Sinaloa cartel.
Officials say seven brothers and four sisters of the Arellano-Felix family inherited the Tijuana, Mexico-based drug cartel from Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo in 1989, after his arrest for drug trafficking.
Today, the notorious cartel is split into two factions that have engaged in brutal fighting that has accounted for nearly all the violence in Tijuana, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. More than 400 people were killed last year in drug-related violence.
Eduardo Arellano-Felix, who police said was the last remaining brother to have an active role in the cartel, was arrested in October.
I don't really know what to say about this one besides it may be one of the most disturbing ways i can think of to get rid of bodies and I really never would want this job you could never pay me enough. Well I hope I can sleep tonight!
Mock Congresss
I thought that our experiment of pretending to be members of congress was interesting. It was a good way to better learn and understand how to make a bill a law and the extensive process it goes through. I was a representative from Colorado (D). I was also on the education committee and although my bill didn't make it to the final cutting block I think that during the senate discussion we passed some good bills. It was fun debating with others on why one bill should become a law or shooting down others. I liked this hands on approach to teaching much more than reading the process out of the book. Kate made a great Speaker of the House and I can see her as the next Nancy Pelosi! But what would be really awesome is if we could have this test in a couple days..... :)
Current Event - Murder confession!
I was looking around for a current event and found one i thought was pretty interesting! Read it for yourself.
-Two months before dying, a Virginia woman confessed to killing two women nearly 42 years ago, authorities said Friday, telling police she shot the women because they had taunted her for being a lesbian.
Constance Smootz Hevener, 19, was shot to death at an ice cream shop where she worked in 1967.
Sharron Diane Crawford Smith, 60, confessed in a November 28 interview to shooting the women at a Staunton ice cream store in 1967, authorities said.
"I was just pushed so far," Smith said, according to a transcript of a police interview.
Smith was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Constance Smootz Hevener, 19, and Hevener's 20-year-old sister-in-law, Carolyn Hevener Perry, according to CNN affiliate WVIR.
But health problems forced a postponement of a December court date, WVIR said, and Smith, who had heart and kidney problems, died January 19.
Authorities on Friday said they consider Smith the guilty party and are working toward closing the case.
In a transcript of the police interview, Smith told police she and the women worked at High's Ice Cream. The night of the shooting, she went to the store to tell the women she could not work the next day and took her .25-caliber pistol with her.
"I was just going to tell them that I couldn't work and one thing led to another."
She acknowledged that teasing "about my lifestyle" had gone on for a while.
Asked how the victims knew about it, she said, "How do kids find out about anything? I mean, it was really unusual back then."
She also said her stepfather had sexually abused her, but refused to elaborate on whether that played a role in the shootings or helped push her "over the edge."
"I don't know. I'm not trying to psychoanalyze it," she said.
In other interviews with police, Smith said that she got into a physical altercation with Hevener at the store, which was consistent with evidence at the crime scene, Commonwealth Attorney Raymond Robertson said. Bruises on Hevener's body were inconsistent with injuries that would have resulted from a fall after being shot, he told reporters.
"She expressed shame in herself. I never saw any tears. She expressed her concern for the family members [of the victims], as to bringing closure to this case," police investigator Mike King said.
Smith told police she acted alone, authorities said. But Staunton Police Chief Jim Williams said questions about the case remain.
"There will likely be questions surrounding this case we will never be able to answer," he said.
One of those questions was the whereabouts of the murder weapon, but a late development Friday may have solved that mystery.
In the November interview, Smith told police she gave the weapon to a detective on the police force in 1967, David Bocock, and that he buried it.
"He just said that it was sort of dangerous to have a gun, you could hurt somebody," Smith said, according to the transcript. "He said, 'I'll fix it for you if you want.' I figured it was the best thing to do."
It was unclear whether Bocock, who died in 2006, knew of Smith's involvement in the murders. The two knew each other, as Bocock taught Smith to shoot, but authorities said they were still investigating the relationship and whether Bocock was trying to cover for Smith.
Later Friday, the Staunton News-Leader newspaper reported its circulation manager had turned over to police a .25-caliber automatic handgun.
Kathy Myers told the newspaper that Bocock gave the gun to her now-deceased husband, a former Staunton police officer, in 1981, telling him, "Don't let anybody know I gave this to you."
Myers said she forgot she had the gun until she saw the police news conference Friday, and turned it over to authorities.
I guess better to solve a case late than never. I think if I were the victims family I would be happy to finally have the answers but it would anger me that the murderer had kept that quiet until right before her death. Maybe she was ridding her mind of guilt before she passed. I just think it's really interesting when a case has to be put off and then it is finally solved someday in the future!
-Two months before dying, a Virginia woman confessed to killing two women nearly 42 years ago, authorities said Friday, telling police she shot the women because they had taunted her for being a lesbian.
Constance Smootz Hevener, 19, was shot to death at an ice cream shop where she worked in 1967.
Sharron Diane Crawford Smith, 60, confessed in a November 28 interview to shooting the women at a Staunton ice cream store in 1967, authorities said.
"I was just pushed so far," Smith said, according to a transcript of a police interview.
Smith was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Constance Smootz Hevener, 19, and Hevener's 20-year-old sister-in-law, Carolyn Hevener Perry, according to CNN affiliate WVIR.
But health problems forced a postponement of a December court date, WVIR said, and Smith, who had heart and kidney problems, died January 19.
Authorities on Friday said they consider Smith the guilty party and are working toward closing the case.
In a transcript of the police interview, Smith told police she and the women worked at High's Ice Cream. The night of the shooting, she went to the store to tell the women she could not work the next day and took her .25-caliber pistol with her.
"I was just going to tell them that I couldn't work and one thing led to another."
She acknowledged that teasing "about my lifestyle" had gone on for a while.
Asked how the victims knew about it, she said, "How do kids find out about anything? I mean, it was really unusual back then."
She also said her stepfather had sexually abused her, but refused to elaborate on whether that played a role in the shootings or helped push her "over the edge."
"I don't know. I'm not trying to psychoanalyze it," she said.
In other interviews with police, Smith said that she got into a physical altercation with Hevener at the store, which was consistent with evidence at the crime scene, Commonwealth Attorney Raymond Robertson said. Bruises on Hevener's body were inconsistent with injuries that would have resulted from a fall after being shot, he told reporters.
"She expressed shame in herself. I never saw any tears. She expressed her concern for the family members [of the victims], as to bringing closure to this case," police investigator Mike King said.
Smith told police she acted alone, authorities said. But Staunton Police Chief Jim Williams said questions about the case remain.
"There will likely be questions surrounding this case we will never be able to answer," he said.
One of those questions was the whereabouts of the murder weapon, but a late development Friday may have solved that mystery.
In the November interview, Smith told police she gave the weapon to a detective on the police force in 1967, David Bocock, and that he buried it.
"He just said that it was sort of dangerous to have a gun, you could hurt somebody," Smith said, according to the transcript. "He said, 'I'll fix it for you if you want.' I figured it was the best thing to do."
It was unclear whether Bocock, who died in 2006, knew of Smith's involvement in the murders. The two knew each other, as Bocock taught Smith to shoot, but authorities said they were still investigating the relationship and whether Bocock was trying to cover for Smith.
Later Friday, the Staunton News-Leader newspaper reported its circulation manager had turned over to police a .25-caliber automatic handgun.
Kathy Myers told the newspaper that Bocock gave the gun to her now-deceased husband, a former Staunton police officer, in 1981, telling him, "Don't let anybody know I gave this to you."
Myers said she forgot she had the gun until she saw the police news conference Friday, and turned it over to authorities.
I guess better to solve a case late than never. I think if I were the victims family I would be happy to finally have the answers but it would anger me that the murderer had kept that quiet until right before her death. Maybe she was ridding her mind of guilt before she passed. I just think it's really interesting when a case has to be put off and then it is finally solved someday in the future!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration of a Lifetime!
Today was a very historic and epic day. I was afraid that due to my educational duties I would miss the inauguration of President Barack Obama, but as luck would have it I found a way to watch it live. The short oath was incredibly exciting but I was in anticipation for the speech and what analyists have been calling "what will be, one of the greatest speeches of all time." When he gave his speech it was eloquent and perfectly delivered as was to be expected. He talked about the many hardships facing our country and the struggles our country will no doubt have in the next four years. I liked that he didn't try to sugar coat the situation our nation is in. Instead he instilled hope by recognizing our crisis and offering his new administration of hope and that the problems will be met. He said it may take time, but they will be met. Today really brought it home for me that times will change, I truly believe that this country will benefit from this term and there is no question he has been given a tough and trying time to become President of the United States, but I have full faith that he will rise to meet the challenge and get this country on the track to getting back on track. I don't expect miracles but this is a step towards better times. For my generation, who will have to deal with these problems this is a welcoming advance. YAY OBAMA!
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