Wkemp's Weblog

Carp Gone

wkemp — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:37:05 +0000

In Provo, Utah the biggest carp removal project is about to take place. They plan on removing 5 million pounds a year from Utah Lake. This will hopefully save the rare and endangered June Sucker, a native fish. The carp feed upon vegetation which provides important protection to june suckers. They plan on removing 30 million pounds in six years. From online article from MSNBC.

5 ways to save money and energy

wkemp — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:28:52 +0000

1- Be wise with your water- reduce your lawn area by planting flowers and you’ll your water bills.

2-Power down and go out- take a 30 min energy break together.

3- Shop from home- shopping online is a great way to compare prices.

4- Be a lawful driver- driving at the spped limit is not only safer, it is also more energy-efficient.

5-Get more out of your spin cucle- switch from fluffy towels to towels made out of cotton waffle weave.

from parade article (4/26/09)

Angry Grizz Bears

wkemp — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:48:47 +0000

Climate change is forcing grizzly bears at Yellowstone to search for new sources of food due to decrease in supply of their normal food supply. As a result more and more human and bear contact has happened. 48 out of 71 bear deaths were related to humans. This occurrences may just be a blimp on the improved birth/death of the once endangered species or it could be a new trend due to climate change. Environmentalists fear the bears will continue to become angrier and will continue the hopeless challenging of hunters. So environmentalists are urging people to use a mace-like bear spray to fend off bears in friendlier matter and are providing education for ways to prevent these outcomes.

Article from MSNBC .

future cows

wkemp — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:40:26 +0000

I found it really interesting that The U.S. dairy industry wants to engineer the “cow of the future” to pass less gas, which will decrease the amount GHGs by 25% by 2020. The future cow will have a reduced intestinal methane. The main focus will be on altering the dairy cows’ feed so they produce less methane. The man behind the plan is Rick Naczi and said the following, “Right now there is some work being done on fish-oil additives and some other things. The cow is responsible for the majority of the greenhouse gas on the farm itself. We know there are ways that we can find to cut or reduce that production.” Another solution to the methane problem is going after the microorganisms in the cow’s gut. Gallagher, who is very optimistic of the program’s potential success, said, “Cutting the dairy industry’s emissions by 25 percent would be equivalent to removing about 1.25 million passenger cars from the nation’s roads every year.” Online Article from MSNBC.

EPA & GHGs

wkemp — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:33:10 +0000

The Environmental Protection Agency may begin regulating carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases because they have concluded that the gases danger to public health and welfare. This could greatly effect everything, included our electricity and the cars which we drive. Today’s announcement comes two years after the Supreme Court found that EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Examples of it being a threat to the population include Ground-level ozone can make it more difficult to breathe, especially for people who already have asthma or other breathing problems.

Info from NPR.

Spain/Portugal

wkemp — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:39:49 +0000

With the economy seeming to fall apart everywhere in the world, one industry in Spain and Portugal is thriving today. The renewable energy appears to be immune to the global recession. The Iberian Peninsula had limited fossil fuel resources, so it was forced to heavily to invest in alternative sources of energy this past decade. For the past 20+ years, these countries were most likely at a disadvantage. Now their situation appears to be very good. The Iberian Peninsula is the home to some of the world’s largest renewable energy companies and these companies are now taking over the US markets.

Recycling Industry

wkemp — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:55:29 +0000

Due to the economy, the recycling industry is slowing down as consumers are shopping less. John Dryden, who runs the exporting operation of Paper Fiber Americas, says he usually sees money when looks a large pile of trash. Unfortunately, his business has been going downhill as countless numbers of shoppers are deciding to buy less. These small individual choice, which seem harmless, are creating a less amount cardboard and paper to be recycle. Dryden purchases all of the recyclable material and then sells it to countries in Asia such as China. Countries such as China do not have the resources to create a source of fiber supply. So they rely on him in order to create boxes and ect. His business has been going very successful for the past few years, including this past summer; however in Oct. China stopped purchasing his shipments. Since China no longer wants some of the US’s recycling this creates another problem. What do we do with this surplus of recycling? The cheapest solution is not an environmentally friendly one, to build more landfills.

Article from NPR.org

Nascar going green?

wkemp — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:32:38 +0000

I read this little comment by Leilani Muster. She is a professional race car driver and environmentalist who hopes to get nascar to go green for 2009. This got me thinking about nascar. They do have to use a lot of gas most likely because they driving very very fast for a decent amount of time and this isn’t even including all of the practice runs which also occur. However, i think it will be very unlikely for nascar to go green while the mainstream is not fully green yet either. Or this could just be a plan by Leilani Muster to balance out the competition because I do not believe that she is that good(but I really do not know anything about nascar). However, it is a good attempt to help solve environmental issues.

Article from NPR.org

S. Korea

wkemp — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:14:21 +0000

S. Korea today has announced its plans to invest 50 trillion won(38 billion US) over the next four years in environmental projects. This project, or known as the “Green New Plan”, hopes to help stimulate a slumping economy and generate nearly a million jobs. The “Green New Plan” is going to create projects involving energy conservation, recycling, carbon reduction, flood prevention, development around the country’s four main rivers and maintaining forest resources. Furthermore, South Korea has beaten the United States to the punch, for President-elect Barack Obama has promised to help the US economy by creating green jobs. However, no details on how he plans to achieve this have been revealed. South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Seung-soo believes that this plan can create nearly 140,000 jobs this year. Hopefully this “Green New Plan” will be a success and allow other countries to base thier own plans off it.

Article from MSNBC.com

The Sea Cows

wkemp — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:10:11 +0000

Here is a little feel good post. Some fishermen out in the Philippines rescued a Sea Cow, which is an endangered species, by pushing it back into the water after it was stranded off the beach. The Sea Cows are facing a high rick of extinction and these fishermen have done a great service to the environment. The Sea Cows are another example of how mankind has damaged the environment. The Sea Cows once were abundant throughout the Philippine archipelago until hunting and habitat degradation wiped out most of the herds. A reason that it is very hard to help recover the Sea Cow population is that the female Sea Cow gives birth to a single calf which takes nearly fifteen years to raise(they are believed to live up to seventy years).

Fishermen helping the Sea Cow

msnbc.com