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Species Disappearing 100 Times Faster Than Ever Before

PARIS, France, January 24, 2005 (ENS) – Species are being lost globally at a rate 100 times faster than the average rate during the Earth’s history, a panel of prestigious scientists today warned an international convention gathered at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. They said tens of thousands of other species are already committed to future extinction because of the recent worldwide loss of their habitats. To halt and reverse the “alarming rate of extinction of living species and destruction of their ecosystems,” more than 1,000 researchers, political leaders and representatives of the private sector opened a five day conference this morning. The meeting is being held under the patronage of French President Jacques Chirac and Kochiro Matsuura, the director-general of UNESCO. One of the main objectives of the International Conference on Biodiversity: Science and Governance is to assess current knowledge and define the needs for research and scientific expertise. Participants will examine public and private approaches to biodiversity conservation and management and look at ways to develop measuring standards and observation systems to monitor biodiversity. “This conference is an important opportunity both to take stock of scientific knowledge and to make it available to all stakeholders, especially to decision makers,” […]

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U.S. Agrees to Accept Australia's Spent Nuclear Fuel

CANBERRA, Australia, January 24, 2005 (ENS) – The United States has agreed to receive Australia’s spent nuclear fuel until 2016, taking some of the pressure off the Howard government to find a homegrown solution to the problem of where to put the unwanted radioactive material. The deal to send the spent fuel rods from the current research reactor as well as from the proposed replacement reactor at the Lucas Heights suburb of Sydney was finalized at ministerial level late last year following talks between the U.S. Energy Department and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). The deal was revealed Thursday in a letter from ANSTO released by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA). But while this interim solution does lift some pressure from the Howard government, there is still intermediate and low level nuclear waste to be handled in Australia. Today, Dr. Brendan Nelson, federal minister for science, education and training, told reporters he will announce “an offshore location” for that waste “in the very near future.” “The Americans are in fact going to store the spent fuel rods which have been used by existing and the replacement reactor at least up until 2016. But […]

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Energy Department Slow to Mandate Efficiency Standards

In the late 1980s, Congress began an effort to mandate better energy efficiency, setting minimum standards for household and commercial appliances, and deadlines for the Energy Department to decide whether to strengthen them. But for more than a dozen products, the department has missed its legal deadlines — in some cases by as much as 13 years. Members of Congress, efficiency advocates and some businesses say the department’s failure to act on a range of products — such as ovens, dishwashers, commercial air conditioners and natural gas furnaces — is costing millions of dollars in higher energy costs, polluting the environment and increasing reliance on foreign energy. Manufacturers, who in some cases oppose higher efficiency standards, saying they would cost too much, also are frustrated by the delays. Energy Department officials said the Bush administration supports the concept of minimum efficiency standards to reduce consumption of electricity, natural gas and fuel oil, but that a complex evaluation process has caused lengthy delays. When setting standards, the department is supposed to establish the highest level of efficiency that it determines to be economically justified and technologically feasible. “It’s a tremendously important program and I’m absolutely determined that we have to make […]

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CO. Begins First Forest Thinning Project to Generate Renewable Energy Credits

The Colorado Governor’s Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC), Aquila Inc., and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announce two measures underway at the W.N. Clark Generating Station, owned by Aquila and located in Canon City, Colorado. First, the plant is replacing part of the coal with biomass from local forest thinning operations. Second, the plant plans to sell the environmental benefits achieved by this project by issuing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). This is the first time that forest-derived biomass is used in RECs that are sold in a voluntary market. Aquila recently received EcoPower certification for electricity produced from forest-derived biomass. The biomass is being co-fired with coal in the existing stoker system. Only that amount of power attributable to the biomass will be certified as EcoPower. Environmental Resources Trust (ERT) issued its approval based on the significant net environmental benefits realized from replacing a portion of coal with biomass in the co-firing process. Replacing coal with biomass as a portion of the fuel mix reduces sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide emissions. RECs represent the environmental attributes of renewable energy generation, but they do not include the actual power generated. Unlike electricity, RECs can be sold […]

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