Promising Test Results In Algae Use For Cleaning Wastewater From Oil and Gas Operations

While OriginOil’s main focus is extracting oil from algae for use in making biofuels and other products, the company has just announced promising test results for a chemical-free process of using algae for the cleanup of “produced water” from oil and gas operations.

Algae bags at test site. Photo courtesy of OriginOil.

To understand it a little better, the U.S. Department of Energy explains that, “Produced water is water trapped in underground formations that is brought to the surface along with oil or gas. It may include water from a reservoir, water injected into the formation, and any chemicals added to the production and treatment processes. Produced water is also called brine or formation water.”

Produced water is considered an industrial waste and a hazard to people if it gets into the drinking water. Besides a high salt content, the energy department says that produced water can containing varying degrees of:

• Oil and grease.
• Chemical additives used in drilling and operating a well.
• Naturally occurring radioactive materials.
• Various natural inorganic and organic compounds.

OriginOil said that its researchers have been able to clarify water samples from a Texas oil well carrying heavy concentrations of dissolved organics, known as frac flowback.

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Green Festival 2012 Coming to New York City This Weekend

If you’re looking for a good time this weekend, listening to great music, films, eating, going to sustainability lectures, and checking out over 100 businesses showing off their eco-friendly products, then you should definitely stop by the Green Festival 2012 at the Jacob Javits Center this weekend – April 21-22.

Photo courtesy of greenfestivals.org.

Among those bringing music and education to the festival will be Aaron Ableman, whose been on stage with such performers as Somali Canadian rapper K’NAAN, and folk singer Joan Baez.

Ableman is also executive producer of the Clean Energy Tour, which provides a stage to organize and empower young people and diverse communities to “be the change” needed for social, environmental and economic reforms.

The Clean Energy Tour brings the arts, activism, education, and voters together to show them that they have the power to decide the future of their communities. From Haiti to India, Ableman has implemented co-arts programs and also worked with at-risk teens.

Also at the festival will be Penelope Jagessar Chaffer, who is director/producer/writer/editor of the upcoming film Toxic Baby, which focuses on the health effects on children when daily exposed to common chemicals found in the environment, clothing, toys, and the care products.

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Agreement Reached To Protect Sierra Nevada Land From Home Building

The Sierra Nevada mountain range. Photo courtesy of the Sierra Nevada Alliance.

An agreement has been reached that will protect the forests in the northern Sierra Nevada from being parceled off and developed for commercial purposes.

Sierra Nevada northern forest. Photo by Sierra Forest Legacy.

In an effort that has been about four years in the making, an agreement has been reached between the Truckee Donner Land Trust, The Trust For Public Land, and the forest products company Sierra Pacific Industries will allow the company to continue logging the land near Jackson Meadows Reservoir north of Truckee, but the conservation agreement will prohibit property from being subdivided for development into homes.

The conservation agreement will mean permanent protection for the land, which includes streams, meadows, and a variety of plants and wildlife.

“These lands straddle the headwaters of four major rivers systems, which are the very heart of California’s water supply,” said David Sutton, The Trust for Public Land’s director for Northern California and Nevada.

“To get clean plentiful water out of the tap, the whole system has to be working right, but without healthy forests at the top, the water is threatened before it even begins to run downhill,” added Sutton.

The area will also still be available for recreation, including hiking, snowmobiling, and other uses. 

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Obama Progress Report Shows Success In Clean Energy Development and Foreign Oil Reduction

This month the Obama administration published a report highlighting its accomplishments over the last year in developing domestic clean energy and reducing foreign oil reliance. 

Image courtesy of environmentallysustainable.info.

In its “all-of-the-above” policy approach to reducing reliance on foreign energy, the Obama administration’s one-year progress report runs the gamut from advances in renewable energy projects, increasing domestic oil and natural gas production, and cutting imports on foreign oil.

In renewable energy, the administration said that the first solar project on public land will be a 50 megawatt facility in Nevada that is anticipated to be fully operational and delivering power to the grid by May 2012.

Since 2009, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has approved 29 onshore renewable energy projects, including: 16 solar projects, five wind farms, and eight geothermal facilities.

In 2010, the DOI also issued a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee to support the financing of a new nuclear power plant in Burke, Ga. – the first new nuclear power plant in over three decades.

The Georgia nuclear power plant received regulatory approval last month, and will bring online two Westinghouse AP 1000 reactors. “When built, the plant will provide clean electricity to nearly 1.4 million people,” said the administration’s report.

The administration also said that, “To support the continued manufacture, development, and deployment of clean energy technologies, the president’s FY (Fiscal Year) 2013 Budget includes $5 billion in tax credits” that are expected to stimulate investments in those clean energy technologies.

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Eggs Test Positive For Salmonella In Farm From Washington State – Hens Eat Rodent Droppings

The Washington State Department of Agriculture warned this week that people stop eating any eggs produced by Daizen Farms of Burlington, Wa.

Photo by whatscookingamerica.net.

“The eggs were produced by hens that ate feed contaminated with rodent droppings. Laboratory testing confirms that the feed contained Salmonella,” said the WSDA.

Agency inspectors also said that they saw rodent droppings inside an egg-washing machine during use, and that the eggs on the farm were also packaged under unsanitary conditions.

The WSDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cooperated on a joint investigation of Daizen Farms after becoming aware of heavy rodent activity during a recent routine FDA inspection.

To prevent exposure to the public, on March 8, 2012, the WSDA placed an embargo on the sale of all current eggs from the farm. The agency also placed embargoes on all future eggs produced from the farm.

Both agencies fear that the Salmonella-contaminated chicken feed increased the likelihood of the hens laying contaminated eggs.

Salmonella can exist both on the outside and inside of an egg that appears perfectly normal, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which adds that, “The larger the number of Salmonella bacteria present in the egg, the more likely the egg is to cause illness.”

Public health officials – so far – haven’t linked anyone to becoming sick from the eggs, but consumers are being reminded to thoroughly cook all eggs, regardless of the source to reduce the risk of food borne illness.

Daizen Farm eggs are sold in 15-dozen flats and one-dozen consumer cartons. None of the egg packages contain any date. The WSDA warning applies to all eggs produced by Daizen Farms.

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