Saturday, May 30, 2015

Inside the war on coal

Inside the war on coal:

Wow, this is a very thoughtful and well presented article on Coal.

The real demise of coal is too fold: raising costs of trying to make coal a little cleaner (less dirty); and the increase of cheaper alternatives.

Number 1 in all of this is the dirty cheap costs of NatGas which is a by-product of much oil production. We in the US flair about half of the NatGas we produce because it gets in the way of the valuable oil production process.

NatGas is soooo much cleaner to burn and produces only half the CO2 emissions.

As people and communities realize the real costs of burning (dirty) coal, the political will to back coal simply because it is cheap is seriously waning. As the externality costs start to mount, people are less inclined to have the plants in their back yard.

But, the Sierra club can not take that much of the credit. Basic economics is ruling. The EPA wants cleaner coal, which makes it more expansive at the same time that NatGas, wind and solar are all getting better and cheaper.

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Friday, May 1, 2015

Top 15 Contaminated Fish You Shouldn't be Eating

Top 15 Contaminated Fish You Shouldn't be Eating:

What's the USDA recommendation for Mercury intake?

If you eat some of these fish, you will exceed safe levels if you eat it more than once every couple weeks. Sharks and swordfish I new about, but others in the list are a real eye-opener.

Biomagnification is where toxic chemicals such as mercury build up more and more as it moves up the food chain (to humans).

This is a really good article with lots of good information on sustainability and safe eating levels of fish.

Maybe salmon will move up on many people's list. Sustainable, wild would be best, of course.

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