Good Job FEMA

FEMA Is Faulted on Aid After Hurricane Ike

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: February 8, 2009

FEMA is credited for the fault of Hurricane IKE. They denied 650,000 applicants for housing aid which means that 90% of people were ineligible.

Good job FEMA! Now we just need you to take the fall for a crappy job for Katrina. We all know how that turned out. Looting, Crime, and just overall chaos. One thing it did do was bring in work... but even today, New Orleans and Eastern Texas are not what they are.

Saving No More

Ethanol, Just Recently a Savior, Is Struggling

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

Published: February 11, 2009



The ethanol industry, once considered our savior in alternative energy is in grave danger. Because of our economic turmoil, driver's are driving less, which limits the use of gas and ethanol. Plans for factories to convert biodegradable items into ethanol are lagging, and might not even go into production.


That's a terrible shame! Another thing this economy has ruined, and it might actually save our planet. Good job banks and the real estate market, if it wasn't for you and your loans to unqualified people, we wouldn't be in this big of trouble. Now I have to smell Carbon Monoxide isntead of french fries.

Devil Went Down To Georgia... And He Isn't Leaving

Georgia legislator introduces bill that would restrict coal-fired power plants

By JMG
Feb. 7

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009/2/4/161635/7429?source=rss

An Atlanta legislator was to make a proposal to stop the kind of coal that the state is burning. It could possibly help utilities meet the air-quality standards.

I don't know what the fuss is all about. If Georgia gets coal that has less emissions, then they will be able to appease everyone... except themselves. But it's not like the coal is far away, it is just a coupl hundred miles to the north.

I Love Cooking

Turning Cooking Oil Into Fuel for the County

DIANA MARSZALEK
February 5, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/nyregion/westchester/08greasewe.html?_r=1

Westchester, New York has decided to take all of the cooking oil from their 3,500 restaurants and turning them into a cleaner alternative fuel source. Every 10,000 gallons of cooking oil obtained, Westchester could save around $25,000.



It's great that Westchester is doing this, as long as restaurants want to participate. Imagine, a car driving down the road, and instead of the exhaust smelling like carbon monoxide, it smells like someone is cooking in the kitchen. I want to know how cooking oil is cleaner. And what the process it takes to convert it into fuel. Do you just dump it in the gas tank? Or does it take a machiene to convert it?

Sounds Good

CO2 at $3 per ton in 2020?

Ken Johnson
Dec 5

In California, The Air Resource Board is finalizing a Scoping Plan for global warming. The Scoping Plan relies on "cap-and-trade in the tradition of the U.S. acid rain program, in combination with existing programs and traditional command-and-control mechanisms, to achieve most of the requisite emission reductions."

Even though this plan might be good, their still seems like something might be bad about it. Oh, Yeah, The threat of a catastrophic global climate change still looms. It is still great that they want to reduce the emissions to the levels it was in in 1990. The trouble is (as stated in my last post) is that even though they have hybrids, their famed Sunday driving that seems to be endless will doom them.

It Starts With One

In Westchester, Learning to Save the Planet by Starting at Home

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/nyregion/01bedford.html
Jan 31
Ray Rivera


Two years ago, New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, made a speech about an environmental vision to help the planet. From then on, the trickle down effect has feed into small cities all over the country across America who want to try and reduce their carbon footprints.

It is great that small towns with populations of 1 to 10,000 people are trying to cut back on emissions. What we really need to try and do (which will be nearly impossible), is reach out to the major cities. Cities like Chicago, Miami, and Houston, need to be informed. The cities that needs it the most are cities in California. Yes, they drive foreign hybrids that get 48 MPG, but with all of their endless Sunday driving in the sun, does it really matter? The smog over LA on some days reminds me of Mexico City, or even China.