Meet the Rainbow Warrior

The Rainbow Warrior was a former fishing trawler of UK Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF) which later on bought by Greenpeace International. The ship was built in 1955 and originally named “Sir William Hardy” which entered service with MAFF until 1977. Then she was acquired by Greenpeace and re-launched on April 29, 1978 as the Rainbow Warrior. She served Greenpeace until it was sabotage and sunk on July 10, 1985. 

Today Greenpeace has their current Rainbow Warrior which will work to make a difference for our environment such as promoting clean green energy, defending our forests and protecting our oceans.

Review of the Top Ten Environmental Moments of 2010

Below are the environmental moments that marks good or bad contributions to our environment.

Oil Spill. On April 20, 2010 a blowout in BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon rig and continued to destroy marine wildlife and ecosystems. About 172 million gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico according to the estimation of government scientists.

The Bill. With the earnest desire to resolve the heat-trapping emissions that cause climate change, many environmentalists sought resolution on the Senate climate bill. However, after nearly two decades of planning and cajoling and restructuring a program to cap greenhouse-gas pollution and allow polluting industries and financiers to trade pollution allowances, the Senate bill enshrining all this complexity died.

Extreme Heat. No doubt the year 2010 could rank as the hottest year on record. The concentrations or amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were recorded as high as 390 parts per million. This caused heat wave worldwide which led to peat fires in Russia and other forests.

Drought. The big question on the Colorado River, the source of some or all water for more than 25 million people in the Southwest, is whether 2011 will mark the end of the 11-year drought or make the tally an even dozen , forcing federal authorities to declare the first-ever water shortage on the river.

Solar Power. It was a topsy-turvy year for solar power in the United States. The good news was the development of promising new technologies to make solar cells more efficient; the approval of massive solar plants in the California desert; and the expansion of new policies and business practices to encourage their use everywhere from homes to store roofs to parking lots.

Electric Cars. Two new models, Chevrolet’s hybrid Volt and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf went on sale in 2010 and will become a growing part of the national automotive fleet in 2011. But they do not come cheap. The Leaf’s selling price is $33,600, in selected United States markets; the 20,000 slated for sale here have already been reserved. A New York Times reviewer wrote of the Volt, which sells for $41,000, “G.M. has nailed it, creating a hatchback that feels peppy and mainstream yet can sip less fuel than any gas- or diesel-powered car sold in America.” Both the Volt and the Leaf qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

Oil Sands Pipeline. In July, the State Department postponed its decision on whether to approve a controversial 2,000-mile, $7 billion pipeline project to deliver crude oil from Canadian tars sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The oil would be drawn from 178 billion barrels of proven reserves percolating through the sands of northern Alberta; the energy-intensive process of separating the oil from the earth has been the focus of environmental opposition. A decision by the Obama administration on the project — which could allow Canada to export up to 1.1 million barrels of oil daily — is expected in a few months.

Fracking. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been a common method used by the natural gas industry to open up sealed pockets of gas in underground formations. But the impact of the high-pressure injection of water, sand and chemicals on groundwater is not well documented. That has been a matter of sharp concern in eastern states like Pennsylvania and New York, which lie above the gas-rich area known as the Marcellus Shale. New York’s governor, David A. Paterson, rejected a legislative moratorium on such drilling, replacing it with his own, which lasts until July but narrows the definition of the prohibited kinds of drilling. While the companies are eager to start their drills, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a study, mandated by Congress, of the technique’s effect on drinking water supplies. The results are expected in 2012.

Tigers and Bears. With major reports on biodiversity all showing an accelerating loss of species on land and in the oceans, attention was focused most closely on polar bears, whose sea ice habitat is melting for longer periods almost every year. A team of climate scientists and biologists is promoting the idea of setting aside a “sea ice refuge” — a swath of the Arctic from northwest Greenland west through northern Canada where the ice remains thickest. Another study predicted that polar bears would breed with grizzlies, creating hybrids that are less resilient. Meanwhile, fears of the extinction of the wild tiger prompted a summit of sorts in Moscow, at which officials agreed to a goal of doubling the number of wild tigers — now about 3,200 — by 2022.

Source: National Geographic

Addressing the Energy and Environmental Issues in the Philippines

With the environmental concerns over fossil fuels government units and industries in the Philippines are now seeking alternatives that would support and provide solutions to the growing demand of energy and ecological issues. One of the environmental companies in the Philippines, Spectrum Blue Steel Corporation (SBSC) came up with a brilliant idea and that is to “de-carbonize” the production of energy through the Biosphere Technology, a waste management breakthrough.

The Biosphere Technology is a waste to energy system wherein waste materials undergo thermal decomposition at elevated temperature and limited oxygen environment. This process is known as “gasification”. Waste materials ranging from household wastes to industrial wastes can be recycled, destroyed or converted into marketable end products like electricity, inert ash, carbon black and high alloy steel wire.

This technology is just one of the renewable energy resources being explored to address environmental issues and the growing demand on energy in the country. Other renewable energy being developed includes hydropower, geothermal, wind, biomass, solar and ocean energy. Based on the study of DOE, our country has huge potentials in exploring the development of geothermal, gas and coal resources. However many environmentalists oppose the coal mining/ burning industry since it brings adverse effects to natural environment. The good thing is that the national government is now campaigning for the enhancement of energy efficiency and environment conservation to address these issues. SBSC and its affiliate companies are advocates of such campaigns. This is why they endeavor to deploy the biosphere technology in various cities and municipalities of the Philippines to empower our environment and provide green solution to energy problems in the country.

The Greenest Solution for Environmental Problems

The Biosphere 6MW-MK-V Turbine

Though there are various solutions available for environmental concerns, like the use of biofuels, and other researches on science such as capturing of energy from yeast and genetically engineered bacteria, but the probably one winning solution and most interesting one is the use of wastes to generate electricity like what biosphere process do.The Biosphere Process or Biosphere Technology is a form of gasification wherein it destroys traditional and non-traditional waste materials to generate electricity. Imagine, it help clean up the environment at the same time it generates green energy. A single biosphere facility can recycle up to 720 tons of garbage and destroy up to 172 tons of non-recyclable garbage per day. It also operates on a Zero Waste Philosophy wherein it recycles all feedstocks back into nature or the marketplace in a way that protects both public health and our environment. Unlike other standard gasification processes biosphere process it does not pollute the environment since it uses a limited-oxygen process that limits atmospheric emissions.

However, critics say that it would fail to replace oil within a reasonable time. But come to think of it, we will only remain dependent on oil for as long as we use it. What SBSC (Spectrum Blue Steel Corporation) suggests and continues to inculcate is to consider the valid benefits from biosphere process. Aside from the environmental benefits, it also offers a great investment opportunity. The entire process itself produces not only electricity but other by-products as well including gallons of distilled water, Pozzolanic ash, fertilizers/composts, high alloy steel wire and carbon black. The Biosphere can produce $85,000,000/yr. with an overhead of $250,000 excluding a workforce of 25 people, and this profit estimation is increasing with every new innovation.What more we could ask for?

Undeniably this technology is set to change the future and can make true changes in energy. What every country needs to do now is to invest heavily on renewable energy such as this instead of exhausting their resources just to target oil reserves thereby risking our environment.