'Human Achievement Hour vs Earth Hour

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Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF when everyone is asked to turn off their light as a call to action on the climate change issue. An alternative celebration called Human Achievement Hour has been proposed by CEI.

Aruba Valero Refinery Closed

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Valero anounced it would close the Aruba refinery indefinately. Bloomberg reports that the impact could be 13% of GDP. The Valero facility is ~800 acre on the southern part of the island near San Nicolas and previously employed more than 700 individuals. The refinery is near "Baby beach" and "Rodgers beach" ideal for swimming, and snorkeling.

Earthhour at 8.30PM local

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The global movement "Vote Earth" is asking everyone to switch off your lights for one hour tonight at 8:30-9:30pm local time (wherever that may be)
They are calling this EARTH HOUR

The goal is to have 1 billion people switch off as part of the global vote.


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Food vs. Fuel

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The global food supply crisis is causing many countries to rethink the biofuel mandates. Crop production for bio-fuel means reductions in grain and soy growing, which (along with market speculation) leads to an increase in prices.
New attention is being given to affordable grains versus the need for renewable energy from biofuels.

Cost of air travel

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Greenhouse gas emissions from international air travel are not restricted under the Kyoto Protocol. Yet air travel is a large carbon dioxide producer.

Terrapass is one of the carbon offset companies funding clean energy and other projects designed to decrease carbon emissions in other industries. It funds projects throughout the U.S., including wind farms, biomass energy, and electricity from animal and plant material.

Record prices for gasoline

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Crude-oil inventories, growing demand and refinery capacity are driving the market. Refineries always perform maintenance in the spring which is compounding the problem .

Biofuel

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We have hit a few bumps during the race for alternatives to fossil fuels. First generation biofuels have limitations including threatening food supplies and biodiversity.





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Lifecycle analysis of the production of ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soy shows only modest net energy gains when you subtract the energy costs of fuel production, pesticide use, transportation, and by-products that remain.

Second generation biofuels are being developed to attempt a transition to producing more sustainable feedstocks. Cellulosic ethanol made from grasses like switchgrass, prairie grasses, or Sugarcane bagasse waste is emerging as the favorite to overcome the environmental and economic challenges.