May

DOE Announces Wind Power Grants: The Department of Energy has issued $2.7 million in grants that will be primarily used to educate state lawmakers and regulators about using more wind power in the United States. "The 11 grants… are the first to be awarded under the Wind Powering America program launched last year by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson." UPI, 5/2/00

NOAA Weather Satellite Launched Successfully: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES-L weather satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. "The satellite, designed to monitor hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods and volcanoes, will give meteorologists [the ability] to better forecast weather across the United States [in a timely manner]. " Robinson Shaw, ENN, 5/3/00

Soaring Sea Temperatures Destroy Belize Coral: "The highest sea temperatures ever recorded, which scientists suspect were caused by global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon, have destroyed coral in Belize for the first time in 3,000 years." Reuters, 5/3/00

China Coastal Province Successfully Controls Pollution: According to Li Jianxin, deputy director of the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Oceanography,"due to intensified pollution reduction measures, [s]ubstantial improvement has been reported in the ecological environment of the Bohai Sea and polluted waters of all shade have basically disappeared." Xinhua News, 5/4/00

BP Amoco Invests Substantially in GreenMountain.Com: BP Amoco is buying an initial 18.5 percent shareholding in GreenMountain.Com, the "leading marketer of cleaner electricity to consumers in three deregulated states where households can choose their energy supplier… Formed in 1997, GreenMountain serves more than 100,000 households in California, Pennsylvania and New York… 'GreenMountain has built a powerful environmental brand by showing people their energy choices can and do make a difference.' Said Anne Quinn, group vice president of BP Amoco's Gas and Power business in the Americas." PRNewswire, 5/4/00

Honda to Increase Production of Hybrid Car: "Honda plans to increase production of its gasoline-electric hybrid car, the Insight… to 6,500 vehicles in the next year. 'Consumer interest and demand has far exceeded our expectations,' said Tom Elliott, executive vice resident of American Honda." The Insight has an EPA rating of 61 mpg in the city and 70 mpg on the open road. ENN, 5/5/00

Ford Tests Low Pollution Propane SUV: Ford has begun testing 24 propane powered Excursions in 20 cities for a two-year study. The nearly 19-foot, nine-passenger SUV has emissions that are 62% lower than legally required. "The nationwide test… will determine whether there is a market for cleaner alternative fuel technology in a heavy duty SUV." UPI,5/5/00

New Car Sharing Program in San Francisco Area: San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit and Hertz have implemented a car-sharing program for commuters using the Fremont BART station. Vehicles will be made available for use between the BART station and local business during the day, and between the station and commuters' home in the morning and at night. "The fee for the program is $400 a month, which includes guaranteed parking near the Fremont station entrance and full maintenance of the car, including refueling up to 1,000 miles a month." ENN, 5/9/00

People Dying in Drought-Ravaged Pakistan: "127 people have died amid blistering temperatures and a severe water shortage… "General Pervez Musharraf asked people to pray for rain." S.M. Quereshi, AP, 5/9/00

Sandstorms Bring Serious Damage to Inner Mongolia: "Recent frequent sandstorms in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have resulted in devastation of farmland as well as losses of tens of millions of yuan." Xinhua News, 5/9/00

New Anti-smog Fuel Due in Houston Area: A new gasoline mixture intended to reduce smog will be the only fuel available in the greater Huston area from June 1 to September 15. Due to short supplies, problems with refining and an ongoing patent dispute, it may be more costly (2-5 cents) "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says use of the new fuel will be comparable to pulling 6 million cars off the nation's roads, including more than 2 million in Texas." David Ivanovich and L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle, 5/10/00

Iacocca's E-Bike Gets New Distributor: "Total EV, a distributor of electric bicycles and scooter will [soon sell]… Lee Iacocca's E-Bike." Iacocca expressed pleasure at the partnership. "By putting electric bicycles in every garage, we'll improve our quality of life, help clean up the environment and have a little fun… [W]e share a commitment to a clear safer more enjoyable future." ENN, 5/11/00

Goddard Space Flight Center Switches to Landfill Gas for Heat: "NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center will soon heat its buildings by burning landfill gas under a contract awarded… to Toro Energy of Maryland. The contract provides for modification of two Goddard boilers in the space center's central heating plant, installation of a pipeline to transport landfill gas and construction of a gas-treatment facility at Sandy Hill landfill in Bowie, Maryland." ENN, 5/11/00

Ford Says SUVs Pose Hazards: "Ford Motor Co... says sport utility vehicles are environmentally unfriendly, chug gas and can be a danger to drivers in smaller vehicles… Ford admits that 'with few exceptions, its products are not industry leaders in fuel economy." AP, 5/12/00

Climate Warms as Black Soot Traps Sun's Heat: "Soot… may be a major contributor to global climate change. Scientist have found that airborne black soot has the capacity to raise regional temperatures far more than carbon dioxide." Cat Lazaroff, ENN, 5/15/00

Tornadoes in Iowa Injure at Least 10: "Tornadoes swept through… northeastern Iowa… The twisters… cut a swath about 10 miles wide… 'Fortunately, it did not go through any densely populated areas,'" said Black Hawk County Sheriff's Deputy Tony Thompson. AP, 5/15/00

Wind Energy Use Up in North Dakota: The use of wind turbines as a source of energy is increasing in North Dakota. According to a 1991 study by the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest Laboratory. "With some of the concerns about the environment and global warming, the nice thing about wind energy is that it' emission-free- there are no byproducts to be concerned about," said Russell Makeeff, former head of the Renewable Energy Association of North Dakota. "Suddenly, the power companies are realizing that wind can be an energy mix… [and] can work well with hydropower [as well as] coal power." AP, 5/15/00

Kennedy Heir Links Ecology to Economy: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., guest speaker at an annual dinner in Pueblo, Colorado, stressed that a strong environmental policy is also good economically. "We can't separate the environment form the economy. Nature enriches us economically-but also aesthetically… spiritually… and culturally… From the beginning of our country, nature has been a unifying theme." Mary Jean Porter, The Pueblo Chieftain, 5/15/00

Bearing Up to Climate Change to Cost UK Billions: "Strengthening coastal and river flood defences tow withstand climate changes could cost 1.2 billion pounds… for England and Wales… Priority areas… are water resources, flood protection, building and infrastructure, habitats and species and planning." ENN, 5/16/00

Water Crisis from India to Morocco: "[A] water crisis now exists from India… The Middle East… Northern Africa to Morocco on [its] west coast… [P]eople are leaving scorched land in search of water and food in cities… The Tigris and Euphrates rivers… dried to 20 percent… of normal flow." ENN, 5/16/00

McCain - Global Warming for Real: "Sen. John McCain expressed concern... about the 'mounting evidence' pointing to global climate change and the potential for harm." During a hearing before his Senate Commerce Committee on global warming, various scientists testified "the surface of the Earth is warming… concentrations of… greenhouse gases have significantly increased… there's plenty of evidence humans have something to do with it." H. Josef Hebert, AP, 5/17/00

Flood Hits Central, Southern Somalia: Heavy rains following a drought in central and southern Somalia have resulted in floods, causing "many river banks to overflow, submerging… villages… [and] washing away livestock and plants." Xinhua News, 5/17/00

Drought Could Cut Polish Grain Harvest by Thirty Percent: "Polish grain crops could be badly affected by the current drought and the grain harvest could be 30% lower than expected… Some central parts of the country have not seen any rain for six weeks. 'If there is no rain in the next week or so, the situation could be dramatic in some regions', said to Agriculture Minister Artur Balazs." Bridge News, 5/17/00

Clinton Administration Moves to Curb Diesel Truck and Bus Emissions: "The Clinton administration… will propose rules to eliminate 90 percent of the pollutants from the diesel smokestacks of 18-wheelers, heavy-duty construction trucks and passenger buses beginning in 2006, the Washington Post reported. The proposed regulations… would require petroleum refiners to cut 97 percent of the amount of sulfur now found in their diesel fuels… The rules would also require new over-the-road truck… to begin using catalytic converters and computerized pollution controls [that are presently required on all cars]." ENN, 5/17/00

Southern California Metropolitan Water District Praised by National Drought Commission for Supply Reliability: In the recently released National Drought Policy Commission report, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California was praised for its "focus on preparedness and efficient resource management strategies… 'Metropolitan has long been involved in climate change research, keeping a watchful eye on scientific developments that… influence future planning decisions,' said Metropolitan General Manager Ronald R. Gastelum." Business Wire, 5/18/00

Floods Kill 93 in Indonesia, Hundreds Missing: "At lest 93 people were killed when floods triggered by two days of heavy rains swept away villages in Indonesia's West Timor… In some areas, the floodwaters were up to seven feet deep." Reuters, 5/18/00

EPA Unveils New Standards: "Under rules unveiled Wednesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, oil refiners are going to be required to produce virtually sulfur-free diesel fuel while engine manufacturers are going to be required to reduce pollutants by more than 95 percent." Diesel engine makers announced at the same time, their willingness to meet these new standards. Melita Marie Garza, Chicago Tribune, 5/18/00

Marine Disasters in China Result in Costly Human Consequences: "[T]idal storms in 1999 caused a total of 600 million dollars in direct economic losses and sank 65 ships," according to Wang Fei, director of the Marine Environmental Protection Department of the State Oceanic Administration. Xinhua News, 5/18/00

Army To Test Clean Fuels: The Army will begin testing cleaner-burning alternative fuels for the National Energy Technology Laboratory this fall. "Under a formal agreement… the Army will equip its fleet of Humvees, tanks and Jeeps with… instruments to monitor how… fuels burn, [and] then send… data back to Lab." Vicki Smith, AP, 5/19/00

Warmest January-April on Record in United States: "The first third of 2000 marked the warmest January-April period in the 106-year-old record of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration… 70 percent of the country experienced much warmer than normal temperatures… less than 1 percent was cooler than usual… [B]oth land and ocean temperatures were well above the 1880-1999 long-term mean for April." UPI, 5/19/00

Wind, Snow and Rain Strike Plains: In a storm pattern that stretched from the Colorado mountains to western New York, snow fell in Colorado and Wyoming, and tornadoes, winds and heavy rain battered the Midwest. "More than a dozen tornadoes were reported across Colorado's northeastern plains… [i]n Wisconsin… flash flood[s]… Deep drifts of hail… in Kasota Minnesota… Mudslides in… steeper terrain closer to Mississippi… gusting winds up to 70 mph in South Dakota." Jessica Fargen, AP, 5/19/00

Thunderstorms Disrupt Air Traffic: "United and Delta canceled or delayed hundreds of flights Friday [due to] thunderstorms stretching from Texas to New England." MSNBC/UPI, 5/19/00

Waste Management and Processors Inc. Facility in Pennsylvania to Produce Aero-Sulfur, Low Particulate Diesel Fuel: The U.S. Department of Energy has authorized funding for the construction of the "nation's first proposed facility to convert coal waste or culm and silt to a clean diesel-like liquid fuel." PRNewswire, 5/19/00

Floods Hurt East Timor Coffee Harvest: "Five days of deadly flooding across Timor island may also have spoiled East Timor's… coffee harvest… [M]ore than 100,000 people are still displaced… Many roads... washed away… bridges… collapsed." AP, 5/20/00

Kuwait Temperature Hits Springtime 115 F Record: Temperatures in Kuwait rose to a record 115 Fahrenheit in the shade… [E]xperts predicted a possible high of 127.4 Fahrenheit in July." Reuters, 5/20/00

First Heat Wave Continues in Southern California: "A strong ridge of high pressure over Central and Southern California is responsible for creating the year's firs heat wave… Additional high temperature records are likely… 'The combination of high temperatures and limited power sources make conservation an absolute necessity if we are to keep everyone's lights on,' said Southern California Edison spokesperson Clarence Brown." MSNBC, 5/22/00

South Dakota Floods Declared Disaster: "President Clinton declared that area struck by a blizzard, flooding, landslides and mudslides in South Dakota… to be a 'major disaster.'… The storm dumped… 2 feet of snow in parts of the Black Hills." AP, 5/22/00

Carbon Dioxide Has Choke-Hold on Coral Reefs: "By 2065, carbon dioxide levels are expected to be twice what they were before the Industrial Revolution." This could have a devastating effect on coral reefs because historically, when carbon dioxide increases, reefs disappear, and when levels drop off, they (reefs) come back. ENN, 5/22/00

GM, Giner Collaborate on Fuel Cell Cars: General Motors is collaborating with technology and electrochemical research company Giner Inc., in order to develop clean and quiet fuel cell vehicles. The joint venture to be called Giner Electrochemical Systems, will be based in Waltham, Massachusetts. AP, 5/23/00

Fuel Cell Company Wins Navy Contract: The U.S. Navy has awarded a $16.5 million contract to FuelCell Energy Inc. to "build and test a diesel-fired fuel cell that can generate electricity for ships or makeshift island bases while emitting very little air pollution… The Navy wants to develop 2.5-megawatt fuel-cell power plants… FuelCell Energy' project has created… newer way to incorporate diesel fuel, which is already used to power non-nuclear ships and submarines." David Hamner, Waterbury Republican-American, 5/23/00

Japanese Researchers Develop "Flying Train": "Japanese researchers have just developed a "flying train" that promises high-speed train travel at a quarter of the energy cost of other conventional and experimental methods. Using high-speed technology known as magnetic levitation, or "maglev" and a physical phenomenon called the "wing in ground (WIG) effect. Yasuaki Kohama and colleagues at Tohuku University Institute of Fluid Science in Sendai, Japan, have developed a train that rides 5 to 10 centimeters off the ground, and according to Kohama, 'can run at least 10 times less energy that that of maglev, and one third of the conventional high speed train if they [could] go up to 5000 kilometers per hour (300mph).'" Dan Whipple, ENN, 5/24/00

National Weather Service Forecasts No Break In High Temps for Drought-Prone Areas of US: According to the National Weather Service, even though the effects of La Nina are anticipated to fade in the next several months, "above normal temperatures which speed the evaporation and soil moisture, are expected to keep drought-weary states dry for the rest of the spring and into summer… [P]redicted to be hardest hit are southern Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana." Robinson Shaw, ENN, 5/24/00

Hailstorm Injures 100 in Japan: "More than 100 people suffered minor injuries today when hailstones bigger than golf balls fell on two states north of Tokyo… The largest hailstones …2.4 to 2.8 inches in diameter." AP, 5/24/00

Senator Champions "Green Power" Conservation Plan: "U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-Illinois)… announced legislation… to use renewable energy, like solar and geothermal power, to provide electricity in some federal facilities… [A]lso requir[ing] electric utilities to provide information about the sources and environmental impact of their energy." PRNewswire, 5/24/00

Senator Fitzgerald Leads Way for Ethanol Research Funding: At Senator Peter Fitzgerald's urging, the House-Senate Agriculture conference committed has designated $14 million for the ethanol research plant at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. "The ethanol research plant is joint federal and state project that is expected to cost $20 million... 'The national ethanol research facility will provide a place where new ethanol production technologies can be tested and perfected for broad commercial use.' [said] Fitzgerald." PRNewswire, 5/24/00

Killer Seaweed Choking Marine Life Along Florida Reefs: "'Killer Seaweed,' [a] seaweed that feeds on water polluted by agricultural runoff and sewage, [is] crowd[ing] out and smother[ing] coral, invertebrates and other native ocean reef organisms. [It is rampant] along six miles of deep-water reefs off South Florida, where it is choking marine life… [and] fertilized by sewage… pumped into Florida's aquifer by 3,000-feet-deep wells." AP, 5/25/00

Dry Cleaning Goes Green: Two "green" entrepreneurs from North Carolina, Joseph DeSimone and Kirk Kinsell, hope to make the dry cleaning industry eco-friendly through the use of a patented liquid CO2-based cleaning solvent. "Using Micell technology, clothes are washed in liquid CO2 using patented, earth-friendly detergents to dissolve and wash away the dirt. Once the wash is completed, the CO2 and grime are then sucked away, separated and recovered. The greasy residue is hauled back to Micell Technologies, where it is repackaged and used as a fuel. The CO2 is recycled for another load of laundry." Their ultimate goal is to develop a franchise called Hangers Cleaners which will use this technology exclusively. Claude Morgan, ENN, 5/25/00

Storms Pound Southeast, Plains: "[P]owerful storms slammed into the Southeast and Plains, toppling trees and causing flash flooding…" Tornadoes touched down in the Salt Lake City area and Kentucky, hurricane-force winds toppled trees, flooded areas and rained hail in north-central North Carolina, Tennessee, and lightning struck 50 miles east of Oklahoma City and Calico Rock, Arkansas. AP, 5/26/00

Metcalf Energy Center Plans Big Emissions Cut; NOx to be Reduced by Third, Ammonia By Half: "Capitalizing on improved technology and operational refinements, the Metcalf Energy Center (MEC) will have the lowest annual NOx emissions of any plant its size ever licensed in California, Calpine and Bechtel, joint venture partners in the MEC announced today. Annual emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are to be reduced by 33%… Emissions of ammonia are to be cut by half. 'Mindful of concerns in the community, Calpine Corporation and Bechtel Enterprises have been exploring every opportunity to further reduce emissions,' announced Curt Hildebrand, Calpine vice president and MEC project director." Business Wire, 5/30/00

Metro Birmingham to Get Lower-Sulfur Gasoline: "In a joint announcement with Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, BP Amoco Senior Vice President Deb Copeland said that BP and Amoco service stations in the area will offer lower-sulfur BP Super 93 and Crystal Clear Amoco Ultimate premium gasoline year round with a 30 part-per-gallon average sulfur level, 80 percent lower than legally required." PRNewswire, 5/31/00