Waste free breweries!

A scientist pondering the growing problem of brewery waste in Europe has devised a way to tap into the power of beer.

Reuters reported that he and his partners designed a system to recycle spent grains and wastewater to produce energy that can fuel the beer making process. To view the full article go to: http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmInnovationAndDesign/idUS223432603720090710

Measuring pollution at the cemetery

Cemeteries have emerged as the latest battleground in the fight against climate change after the Geological Society of Australia unveiled an international project tracking climate change by measuring the weathering rates of old marble headstones. Turns out they’re not just grave markers, but handy signposts of changing pollution and climatic conditions. But how does it work?

The Geological Society of Australia, CSIRO educators and earth scientists from the University of Sydney have joined the project, led globally by the Geological Society of America, to assess the impact of climate change on headstones by measuring the distance its erosion-resistant lead lettering protrudes from the weathered marble stone.

Weathering rates of headstones can indicate changes in the acidity of rainfall between locations over time. The rain’s acidity, which is affected by air pollution, is used as a measure of climate change and pollution levels. The date of death listed on the headstone provides researchers with a precise timeframe of erosion.

Marble headstones provide accurate snapshots of the impact of climate change because they are mostly made up of mineral calcite and react to rainfall acidity, according to University of Sydney team leader Deirdre Dragovich.

“Because marble headstones are freshly cut when they are placed in a cemetery, the weathering clock is effectively set to zero. In places where pollution has increased, the weathering rates of marble headstones have increased, too,” she said.

For more on this story go to: http://www.goearthtrek.com/Gravestones/Gravestones.html

Article sourced via: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1003581

Energy efficiency could save $700 billion

Energy efficiency – Consultant McKinsey has put a number on the potential savings: $1.2 trillion on an investment of $520 billion over ten years.

CNET reported that the consulting firm recently released a follow-up report to its often-cited economic analysis for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

For the full article go to: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10298412-54.html  This article was sourced via the Resource Recovery Forum http://www.resourcesnotwaste.org/

Soils, trees and oceans fight for carbon bio-sequestration

Soils, trees and the ocean slugged it out as the best methods of carbon bio-sequestration at an Environment Business Australia (EBA) conference in Sydney recently. The forum gave the stage to a scientist, soil carbon campaigner and even an owner of a major brown coal company who argued the mineral’s case for countering carbon and weaning Australia off its Arab oil addiction. The panelists argued the case for ocean sequestration and ‘terrestrial’ carbon locked in trees and soil to be included in international agreements including December’s Copenhagen meeting to lower greenhouse gases.

Ignite Energy chief executive John White, a veteran in the alternative energy and resource management sectors, including with advanced waste processor Global Renewables Limited, said brown coal could play a “significant role” in helping farmlands absorb CO2 and reduce Australia’s dependence on offshore oil through a coal-to-oil scheme.

Dr White, whose company owns the licence for 200-300 billion tonnes of deep seam lignite, a third of Victoria’s brown coal, estimates Australia’s agricultural land has the potential to sequester about 500 million tonnes of CO2.

According to Peter Cosier, executive director for the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, terrestrial carbon must be taken into account if Australia is to meet its carbon reduction targets.

“If we increased sequestered carbon stock in terrestrial landscapes by 15%, it would offset emissions emitted during the entire industrial revolution,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of Soil Carbon, an Australian company that sequesters carbon in topsoil, director Tony Lovell argued the best solution was to put carbon “back where it belongs in the earth”. Soil carbon has not been included in the Federal Government's proposed emissions trading scheme, but the National Farmers Federation recently indicated it was modifying its opposition and was now recommending farmers be allowed to generate credits on a voluntary basis.

Under Soil Carbon’s scheme, carbon is sequestered into the ground near the actively growing roots of pasture grasses, which he said was “cheap, efficient and ecologically beneficial”.

“Australia has the potential to bury one and a half times its emissions in the earth using 58% of the country’s grazing land,” Lovell told the conference. A net gain of organic carbon into soils is a win-win for plants and animals, but a net gain of organic carbon into the atmosphere is a lose-lose.”

Another carbon bio-sequestration solution proposed at the EBA forum was “ocean sinks”, whereby carbon is deposited in the world’s deepest oceans. Oceans Nourishment managing director John Ridley said the upcoming international climate deal should include oceans sinks.

“The oceans have the largest capacity to absorb carbon, compared to both the atmosphere around the Earth and the Earth itself. The oceans hold 40,000 gigatonnes of carbon, while the atmosphere currently stores less than 1,000 gigatonnes,” he said.

For more on this article go to: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1003685

GFC sparks coal shutdown in China

The global financial crisis has allowed China to speed up a campaign to close small coal-fired power plants and improve its battered environment. China, which produces an average of 6.2 billion tons of CO2 each year, relies on coal for 60% of its electricity. Authorities closed power plants with a total of nearly 7,500 generating units, meeting a previously announced goal 18 months ahead of schedule, said Sun Qin, deputy administrator of the Cabinet’s National Energy Administration. "This couldn't be done when power demand was very intense," Sun said. "Due to this financial crisis, the power generation has slowed down, so we took this opportunity to accelerate the shutdown."

Beijing is trying to improve its energy efficiency and reduce surging demand for imported oil and gas by closing smaller, less efficient power plants and encouraging use of wind, solar and other clean sources. The latest closures will reduce sulphur dioxide emissions that cause acid rain by an estimated 1.1 million tons and CO2 output by 124 million tons per year, Sun said. He said the closures involved moving 400,000 workers to new jobs.

Story sourced from www.environmentalmanagementnews.net.

Small Business September to help your business

With over 300 events hosted by 100 organisations across NSW, Small Business September has events to help strengthen your business, sharpen your market presence and increase business opportunities. Most events are free.

Check the Department of State and Regional Development Small Business web site (http://www.smallbusinessmonth.nsw.gov.au/) for details on …

• The launch on 1 September 2009 in Sydney featuring a panel discussion hosted by David Koch
• Marketing and sales seminars
• Business growth and exporting workshops
• Financial planning skills and much more …

AND for a limited time you can win a marketing makeover for your business valued at $15,000.  For details go to: http://ww3.business.nsw.gov.au/sbmsurveys/

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