Carbon Footprint News Blog @newzblogz.com

BY JASON WALKER - SUN NEWSPAPERS

(Created: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 10:42 PM CDT)

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The 2007 energy bill clearly was driven by pork. While the tip of the hat to wind power deserves praise, most of the provisions set lame benchmarks. While Congress pushed for higher fuel efficiency standards (which the bill has), the benchmarks were set no higher than existing ones for California. Where is the leadership, Madame Speaker?

American ethanol is treated as a panacea to our energy problems, but it offers few benefits. E-85 ethanol leaves a larger "carbon footprint" than petrol. It requires enormous amounts of water if it is made from corn. Because corn cannot derive nitrogen from the air, farmers have to dump huge amounts of nitrogen into the soil. That eventually becomes runoff, which feeds algae blooms. The miles per gallon decrease significantly while running on corn mash. All that baggage, and the best a...

The Brazilians make ethanol from sugar cane and produce it for half the price of the corn-mash. It uses less water and does not require nitrates. Sounds great to me. So why did Congress slap a 47-cent-per-gallon tariff on Brazilian E-85 in the energy bill? If they're going to go after Detroit for making gas hogs, why not go after the Midwestern farmers who are slurping at the trough?

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Greg Whitmore isn't saving time by going green at home. But it's all right with him.

"We spend about three hours a week on recycling alone, probably. Maybe about 15 hours overall on things like that," says the resident of Martha's Vineyard, Mass.

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Fewer chartered planes, more train trips and a royal Jaguar that runs on cooking oil have helped Prince Charles achieve a carbon-neutral household, an annual review said Tuesday.

The review by the prince's office said Charles cut his annual carbon emissions by 9 percent, to 3,775 tons, between April 1, 2006, and March 31 of this year. The prince offset those emissions by investing in an agency that promotes tree planting and sustainable energy projects.

Plans also are being discussed to convert the royal train to biodiesel fuel, said the prince's private secretary, Michael Peat.

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Rodale Books of Emmaus on Tuesday released ''The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook,'' the official companion to the Live Earth concerts taking place July 7 around the world.

The book, which outlines ''77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change -- Or Live With It,'' according to the book's subtitle, was written by David De Rothschild, the 28-year-old heir to one of the world's biggest banking fortunes.

De Rothschild is the founder of Sculpt the Future, an independent initiative that aims to raise awareness about the environment. A June 2006 profile in ''Outside'' magazine described him as an explorer and world traveler who uses ''the romance of adventure and the power of the Internet, to unite the world's schoolchildren in the fight against global warming and environmental degradation.''

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