Fishery Council Approves Aquaculture in Federal Waters
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted this week to open up ocean waters managed by the federal government to aquaculture expansion with no standards. This ruling still needs to pass through the U.S. Commerce Department before allowing the first offshore farming in federal waters. The public and groups including the Ocean Conservancy are upset at the decision of council to take such actions. There are several concerns that the Ocean Conservancy has with the ruling:
- Whether the council has legal standing to allow permits to be granted to federally managed waters for aquaculture farming.
- Marine and environmental impacts of opening up aquaculture without guidance from organizations and scientists.
- Public outrage over the issue.
Without going further into this issue, I want to go a little into depth as to what aquaculture farming is and it’s environmental impacts.
Aquacultring
Aquaculture is the farming of small fresh and saltwater organisms under controlled conditions. The various organisms including aquatic plants, crustaceans and molluscs. Some specific sea-life includes seaweed, algae, shrimp, oysters and even salmon. This type of fishing has been going on for centuries and many species of aquatic life have been domesticated through the process.
On the surface, aquaculture seems like a safe and effective way to farm these small specifies of sea life. There are however several environment concerns that come along with it:
- Excess Fish Waste: Because of the concentrated levels of fish in the water, high levels of fish waste can collect in the waters where they are farming. This can cause a lack of oxygen in the water and adversely affect the ecosystem.
- Net Contained Farms: Salmon farms are an example where they have huge nets of salmon in the wild. Excess feed and waste can contaminate the environment. Also, escaped fish are more likely to have diseased and spread those to wild species.
The big reason that aquaculture farming has become so popular is the fact that it is so profitable. Sustainable methods need to be put into place to ensure that these types of farm are not adversely affecting the oceanic environment.
Check Me Out on Twitter
If you haven’t already noticed, I am now on Twitter. If you don’t know what it is, Wikipedia does a good job with this brief description:
Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.
Follow my latest updates if your are interested in following me.
If you are not into the idea of tweeting, then you can still follow all my latest articles through my RSS feed or Email Subscription.
Montague SwissBike Releases New TX Commuter Bike
Do you have a small car, house or find it annoying to have a bike rack on your car, then the SwissBike series of bikes is just for you. These bikes can fold so that they can fit even fit in most cars and insides even the smallest of house. No longer do you need a hefty bike rack on your car. What is also nice is along with being able to be folded, they are lightweight while are strong enough to handle even the toughest of conditions.
The People Behind the Bike
Harry Montague, an architect and inventor from Washington DC, realized the lack of any bike on the market that could easily be taken on travel. He dreamed up the idea of this unique set of bicycles that could also allow a comfortable ride for a taller individual such as himself. After many years of selling the first design of his foldable bikes out of his garage, his son, an MIT graduate, joined him in 1987. Together, they have come up with some of the most innovative series of bicycles.
Military Bikes?
Over the past 20 years, Montague has been providing their unique bicycles to the military. In 1997, the company joined forces with the Marines to develop several military models including the Paratrooper. It is a full-size mountain bike that can traverse terrain silently at high speeds with no thermal or acoustic radar signature. Also, it has 500 pounds of load hauling capability, can fold quickly and is accompanied with many of their armored vehicles. As the technology advanced with their military bikes, the company decided to incorporate many of the same principals in their retail bikes.
Bicycle Commuting
In an effort to encourage more people to commute to work using bicycles, Montague developed the Commuter TX bike under the SwissBike line. They want to get people out of the mindset that you need to be close to work to commute using a bike. Since it can stored in almost any for of transportation you would take to work, it allows you the flexibility to ride you bike for part of your commute. The new movement is called Redefining Park and Ride. This is a neat perspective on commuting to work with your bike. It can save money by using less gas while getting a little extra exercise everyday. Even if live far from work, you can drive part of the way to work and rid the SwissBike the rest.
Features
- Aircraft grade aluminum tubing is used to construct every model of their bikes.
- Covered in anti-corrosion finish so that they look better, longer.
- Full size wheels and frame while still be foldable.
- No tools required to fold.
- Lifetime warranty on the frame.
- Weighs at around 30lbs.
Overall, the SwissBike TX Commuter bike is one of the top bikes on the market today. You can fold/unfold it easily, making a car rack the thing of the past. These bikes use top quality materials and were designed to handle all types of conditions.
To find out more information or if you are interested in purchasing the TX Commuter bikes, check out Swissbike. They are also offering a free carrying case along with any of their bikes by simply putting in ecotips when checking out.
If anybody owns a SwissBike or has any experience with one, please share your thoughts on it.
Obama Administration Wants Move to Green Automobiles
President Barrack Obama recently announced that he would like to see automakers move towards making more fuel-efficient cars to combat against greenhouse gases. His administration will issue new fuel guidelines to begin the 2011 model of cars. These new guidelines will help automakers meet a 2007 Energy Legislation that requires that an increase in fuel efficiency of 40% by the year 2020.
This is a tough call by the administration during such a difficult time in our economy. The stock market is struggling to make gains, job loses are at all time highs and the automakers are coming off a near bankruptcy. The biggest concern is that these upgrades could cost consumers anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 per vehicle. Even with these price increases, the auto industry is doubtful that such regulations are even possible with its current condition.
Even with all the negativity towards this legislation, many American automakers are still trying to push for full electric vehicles to hit the showrooms within the next 5-10 years. It’s good to see that they are moving in the right direction regardless of how negative the industry is sounding.
Corn Plastic as Green as Advertised?
It seems that everything we buy is either made of plastic or packaged using plastic. Since plastic is traditionally made from petroleum, it’s extremely harmful for the environment. Some companies are beginning to use a new type of plastic made from corn with claims of being biodegradable and more eco friendly to produce. But, is this new type of plastic really so green as manufacturers are advertising?
How It’s Made
Petroleum based plastics are made from a polymer material that is formed as a by product of refining crude oil and natural gas. The process to get this polymer produced and to turn it into plastic produces large amounts of greenhouse gases and needs approximately 200,000 barrels of oil a day.
A resin known as polylactic acid (PLA) is the base of this new type of plastic that is made only using corn. The kernels are milled and dextrose is extracted from the milled corn. The dextrose is then allowed to ferment, producing lactic acid as a by product. The base of PLA is formed by linking polymers of lactic to create pellets similar to those that are created from petroleum refining.
Benefits
Environmental
PLA is a far more environmentally friendly plastic that the petroleum counterpart. Producing it generates 68% less greenhouse gases and has no toxins since it’s made from corn. One of the biggest marketing points for PLA is that it is completely biodegradable. They are claiming that it will break down into carbon dioxode and water in just 90 days. Though a controlled composting environment is required, it’s exciting to think that plastic could be far less dangerous on the environment that it already is.
Cost
The price of PLA has gone dramatically down since it was created. Just 20 years ago it costs over $200 a pound to make and now costs under a dollar. The main reason for this low cost is that low-grade corn is used produce it. This means that corn is not being taken away from food supplies. With so many people hungry in the world, taking additional food supplies for non-food use would be horrible. With the influx in oil prices over the last few years, PLA could very well be cheaper in the near future. At the moment, larger companies are able to get a comparable price to petroleum based plastics, while retailers are still paying more for it. It could get really interesting if the price of PlA becomes less than PET.
Non-Leaching?
I can’t say for certain that this is truly a benefit as I could not find a definitive answer as to whether or not PLA has leaching properties like certain types of petroleum bases plastic. There are several references as to the fact that it is non-toxic and does not not leach though. If true, this would make PLA far safer for human use and the environment once disposed of.
Drawbacks
Since PLA seems to solve some of the issues that traditional plastic has, why hasn’t it already taken control of the plastic market yet?
Less Versatile
PLA is just not that versatile like traditional plastic. The biggest issue with it is that it can’t go above 114° without melting. This is the main reason you will never see PLA completely take over for traditional plastics like plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Forget making plastic grocery bags or using it for hot foods.
Not Compostable?
After just saying that PLA is biodegradable as a benefit above, I am now saying it’s not? Well, it is technically biodegradable, but as I said above under controlled conditions to speed up the process. There are only 113 facilities nationwide that are able reproduce this controlled compositing environment. If you were to start your own compost and put PLA in it, it just wouldnt’ compost as quickly. Even large composters aren’t prepared to handle large amounts of PLA.
Microbes will consume the lactic acid, but they demand a lot of oxygen, and we’re having trouble providing enough
The biggest concern is that if it does end up in landfills, will it actually break down any faster than traditional plastics?
Hard to Recycle
PLA is actually a problem for recycling facilities as it does not mix well with PET plastic. Recycling plants actually consider it as a contaminant and have to pay to have it sorted out. Some PLA producers are saying that they are willing to buy their product from recycling facilities so that they can properly recycle the material or allow it to compost.
The Verdict
Corn Plastic has come on strong and even being used by some large companies including Newman’s, Wild Oats and even Walmart. It’s uses are limited, but it could really make a huge difference by eliminating tons of greenhouse gases and reducing our dependency on oil. There are also some issues with how biodegradable it really is, but I think this new type of plastic is change from PET plastics.
A big concern by some is that corn plastics are just feeding to our unnecessary over packaging of our products. Even though it is considered to be a “green” product, is it really green that we are justifying our over-packing by lessening it’s impact on the environment. It’s still a move in the right direction and hopefully it will make a difference.
Win a Green Getaway By Saving and Going Green
Green America is hosting a contest to win a free trip to the Green Festival heald in either Denver or Chicago. All you have to do to enter is submit your best strategy for going green on a budget. That’s it. The idea of save money by going green is a part of my site and this promotion fits right into that theme. Some of the things included in the prize include:
- Two passes for the Green Festival
- Airfare for two, including carbon offsets
- Hotel stay in a green hotel
- Dinner at a local and organic restaurant
- Passes to help you get around the city of Green Festival, car-free
- “Behind the scenes” look at the event, meet speakers and the Green America crew
I’m entering this contest and I hope you do as well. The cutoff for this contest is February 28th. Even if you don’t win, at least we are stilling thinking of more ways to save money and go green. Good Luck.
Get Free 250 GB of File Hosting By Going Green
SmashingApps and FileDropper are teaming to provide you with the opportunity to get 250 GB of file storage for free by going green. This seems like it is too good to be true, but all you have to do to get your free account is to make a pledge to go green. This can include making a pledge on Twitter, posting a video on Youtube or even creating a picture and posting it on Flickr. The idea behind this promotion is to try to encourage people to not only make a pledge to make their lives more green, but to also reduce the amount of paper we use. Instead of printing documents, you can just store them on your free account without having to bog down your own computer.
The pledge to go green doesn’t have to be that you you give up electricity usage or stop driving your car, but simple things like:
- I promise to send documents online rather than printing them. Do you?
- I promise to buy recycled paper if printing is really necessary. Do you?
- I promise to avoid miss-printing and if happens I will keep that pages for rough drafts, Do you?
- I promise to start using double sided printing. Do you?
Even though SmashingApps seems to focus on things related to printing, you can take a pledge related to anything including taking a Shorter Showers, conserving energy by turning off electronic devices and eating more natural, organic and local foods. I encourage everyone to make their own pledge and begin living a greener lifestyle. Be sure to visit SmashingApps if you want your free storage space and to make your pledge, but you have to be fast. This promotion ends on Sunday, January 31, 2009.
