Archive for January, 2012

EPA and U.S. Department of Energy to Develop Renewable Energy on the Price’s Pit Landfill

Release Date: 11/21/2011Contact Information: John Martin (212) 637- 3662 martin.johnj@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory are evaluating the feasibility of developing solar power production on the Price’s Pit Landfill in Pleasantville and Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The assessment is part of the RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative through which EPA will help revitalize abandoned sites, clean up the environment and lay the groundwork for renewable energy and job creation.

“America faces serious environmental and economic challenges caused by our over reliance on fossil fuels,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “Part of the solution is to use previously contaminated land to generate clean energy. This strategy will revitalize communities, cut air pollution and create new jobs.”

The Price’s Pit Landfill property consists of 26 acres that had functioned as a sand and gravel excavating operation from the early 1960s until 1968. In 1969, the site became a commercial solid waste landfill and it began accepting both drummed and bulk liquid waste. Landfill operations were stopped in 1976. As part of an ongoing Superfund cleanup, EPA and DOE will assess the potential for solar power production at the site. Because the site will be level with sparse vegetation once the cap is installed, it may be a good candidate.

EPA and DOE selected 26 sites across the country where wind, solar, biomass, or geothermal energy production may be possible. EPA and DOE will determine the potential energy generating capacity of the sites, the optimal location for placement of the renewable energy technology on the sites, the return on the investment, and the economic feasibility of the renewable energy projects.

For more information about these projects of about the RE-Powering America’s Land initiative, visit: http://www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland/.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2/.

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Quinn on January 31st 2012 in Agriculture

May 24, 2011 – Green Power Leadership Awards Nomination Period Open

Published by: United States Environmental Protection Agence (EPA) (yosemite.epa.gov)

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Quinn on January 31st 2012 in Agriculture

July 27, 2011 – Webinar on Converting Food Waste to Energy, August 17

Published by: United States Environmental Protection Agence (EPA) (yosemite.epa.gov)

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Quinn on January 30th 2012 in Agriculture

Three stress relief techniques

Not all stress is created equal. Good stress can propel a person to excel, to reach new heights or to complete a big project on time.

Bad stress is not so good. Stress that stems from conflict or worries. Stress that keeps a person from sleeping and happiness. Stress that calls for relief. Here are three stress-relief techniques you can follow.

Meditation for stress relief.

Can there be a more obvious stress relief strategy than to bring your entire physical being to a calm? Meditation techniques often involve visualization of something calm, like a blank screen or clouds. Or it can mean clearing your mind entirely.

If stress is caused by how we allow our minds to captured by worries and fears, then replacing those worries and fears with calmer images is the obvious way to reduce stress.

You can sign up for a free online meditation techniques course at my website.

Exercise to reduce stress.

If relaxing to a state where even your blood vessels are almost still is the ultimate in stress relief, surely exercise, which gets even your blood pumping at breakneck speed, must be the ultimate stress demon.

Not so. Exercise is a big stress reliever. In fact, the bigger the muscles you exercise, the more less stress you will bear. That’s because exercise releases physical tension in the muscles.

Here’s another tip: exercise in water to reduce stress even more. Why? Because you are more buoyant on water; gravity takes a much gentler toll on your body, so the tension created in your muscles just by holding you up gets released. For the ultimate stress release, exercise in water. Or meditate in water. Or laugh in water.

Laughter reduces stress, too.

Yes, laughter also relieves stress. The muscles we use to laugh are those tense ones in our faces. When we loosen them, we release tension from our faces. We also allow more blood to flow to the pleasure centers of the brain (which might be why someone with a ‘good sense of humor’ is considered more attractive).

I think I will close with this excerpt from my newsletter, A Daily Dose of Happiness, which shows the value of a little creative humor:

“Little Lady was guarding the space between the trees, as I tried to kick her little ball past her.

“Then an idea struck me. Off to the side lay a large, purple fit ball that the kids like to be bounced on. A rushed over, rolled it into the clearing and kicked it toward Little Lady. ‘Giant Blueberry Soccer!’ I shouted. She laughed.

“For the next ten or fifteen minutes, we rolled and licked and laughed and shouted, “Giant Blueberry Soccer!”

“What a great family moment, stress relief, joy-injector, fun and more. My formula was simple, and you can do it too. Look around and find something that just would not belong, like a too-big ball. Then imagine what it might be, like a blueberry. Then thrust it into your situation with all the gusto you can apply.

“Have fun.”

David Leonhardt is the author of two happiness self-help books.

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Quinn on January 22nd 2012 in Health Care

EPA Provides $1.5 Million for Clean Diesel Upgrades in Massachusetts; Clean diesel projects reduce early deaths and asthma attacks, boost local economy

Release date: 09/19/2011

Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – Sept. 19, 2011) – The U.S. EPA is providing over $1.5 million for four projects in Massachusetts to improve air quality through rapid deployment of clean diesel technologies. The EPA funds are part of a larger collaborative effort between EPA and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and several other organizations, to leverage significant resources to reduce diesel emissions, improve public health, and promote clean diesel technology.
Diesel engines contribute significantly to air pollution, especially in urban areas. The fine particles in diesel exhaust pose serious health risks, including aggravated asthma and other respiratory symptoms. Children are especially vulnerable to these effects. The Northeast has some of the highest asthma rates in the nation, including a childhood asthma rate above 10 percent in all six New England states.
"Reducing diesel emissions is a proven and effective way to improve air quality. Investing in Clean Diesel projects here in Massachusetts will protect peoples’ health, improve air quality and help our economy by keeping jobs here in our communities," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England Office. “Reducing diesel emissions means cleaner air for everyone, which is especially important for people who suffer from asthma and other respiratory problems.”
"As part of Gov. Patrick’s ongoing commitment to protecting public health and the environment, these upgrades will reduce pollution and keep our air cleaner in many communities across the state,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. “Retrofitting this heavy duty transportation fleet will lower harmful diesel emissions and provide air quality benefits for years to come.”
The projects include a $500,000 EPA grant to the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) that will help improve air quality in South Boston, as truck owners upgrade diesel engines to new low-polluting models that will drastically reduce diesel exhaust. The EPA funding for Massport will replace 20 trucks operating at the Conley Container Terminal in the Port of Boston which are 15-25 years old, with new trucks that comply with 2007 emission standards. The particulate matter emissions from each new truck will be more than 20 times cleaner when compared to the highly polluting models currently in use; in terms of nitrogen oxides, the new trucks are 3 times cleaner than the trucks that they are replacing.
“We are proud to partner with the EPA on this important program,” said David S. Mackey, Interim CEO of Massport. “The funding will allow us to implement a Clean Truck initiative at Conley Container Terminal aimed at reducing port-related emissions, and producing significant air quality benefits for residents in South Boston and other nearby communities.”
Other related projects announced today to reduce diesel emissions in the greater Boston area include:
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection: EPA is providing $373,750 to Mass DEP. This project will install diesel particulate filters on heavy-duty wheeled loaders owned and operated by the Mass. Dept. of Transportation (MassDOT), reducing PM by 0.18 tons per year, volatile organic compounds (VOC) (a precursor to ozone), by 0.21 tons per year, and carbon monoxide (CO) by .75 tons per year.  The retrofitted equipment will reduce emissions on or near roadways spanning several communities across the state. 
“This grant will allow MassDEP and MassDOT to continue our successful collaboration to significantly reduce diesel emissions from the state fleet. The grant will clean the air that we breathe and improve the environment in our communities,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. “I want to thank the EPA for this important funding and for its support of our diesel emission reduction efforts.”
Chelsea Collaborative, Inc.: EPA is providing $280,000 to the Chelsea Collaborative’s Green Space and Recreation Committee to repower Transport Refrigeration Units (TRU) on 11 produce delivery trucks operating in Everett and Chelsea, Mass.  The diesel operated TRUs will be replaced with all electric TRUs powered by main engine-driven onboard electric generation/battery storage systems.  The TRUs will also be able to plug-in directly to docking stations at the owner’s, Don Shapiro Produce, shipping dock in Everett.  Eliminating the need to idle, the project directly benefits the densely populated communities of Everett and Chelsea, both considered environmental justice communities.  The project follows a Recovery Act-funded project through which the Chelsea Collaborative replaced 90 TRUs at the New England Produce Center.
CLF Ventures, Inc.: EPA is providing $391,500 to CLF Ventures.  This project will repower four “tier 0” (pre-regulated) marine engines in two marine vessels: The Atlantic Queen II, an 80-foot marine fishing/excursion vessel out of Rye, N.H.; and The Captain’s Lady II, a 90-foot charter fishing and excursion vessel operating out of Newburyport, Mass.  The project demonstrates a cost-effective approach to removing NOx emissions while also achieving an estimated 14 percent reduction in fuel consumption.
"This EPA funding will allow CLF Ventures, Inc. to work with Atlantic Fishing Fleet, Inc. and Captain’s Fishing Parties to reduce their impacts on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while also reducing fuel costs during hard times," said Dr. JoAnne Shatkin, CEO of CLF Ventures, Inc., the non-profit consulting arm of the Conservation Law Foundation.
In addition to helping to create and retain jobs, the clean diesel projects would reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year.
More information:
- EPA clean diesel work in New England (epa.gov/region1/topics/air/dieselexhaust.html)
# # #
Learn More about the Latest EPA News & Events in New England (http://www.epa.gov/region1/newsevents/index.html)
Follow EPA New England on Twitter (http://twitter.com/epanewengland)

Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases

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View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.

Published by: United States Environmental Protection Agence (EPA) (yosemite.epa.gov)

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Quinn on January 22nd 2012 in Agriculture

Air Duct Cleaning – A Key to Healthy Environment

The Earth – Our Planet

 

The Earth is our planet and it is our responsibility to keep it clean. Air pollution has become one of the major causes of climatic changes globally. The air pollution can be both, inside a house as well as the deteriorating air pollution in the urban areas. There are several factors that result in air pollution. Industrial chemicals, hazardous biological matter, toxic gases emitted from countless vehicles running on the roads are liable to cause grievous harm to not only the natural environment but also the general health of human beings. The emission levels of toxic gases and smoke are on the rise every day in metropolitan cities across the globe. 

 

Cleanliness of Air

 

Since it is our responsibility to keep a clean environment, there are various methods through which we can create a clean environment. The first step involves maintaining a clean and a healthy atmosphere in our own homes. It is the air that we breathe in our homes that requires to be cleaned since it helps the residents to inhale clean air. Good health emanates through a clean and healthy environment. Everyone wishes to lead a happy and healthy life and one makes every effort to keep the house clean. One of the methods is through air duct cleaning which can be done by professionals who provide air duct cleaning services. Filters and air ducts not maintained properly result in bacteria, injurious pollutants, bacteria and viruses that flow in the house. There is a drastic reduction in the pollutants that a person breathes in his own house if one makes an effort to get the air ducts cleaned properly and maintains them regularly. A person is sure to breathe in clean and healthy air if one gets his house inspected for polluted air ducts and vents. One of the greatest health predicaments is the indoor air pollution which leads to fatal and dangerous diseases spreading over. Dryer vents in homes also pose a serious health hazard as clogging of the dryer vents also breeds bacteria and viruses and it is advisable to get the dryer vent cleaning done at regular intervals. It is all the more imperative that an inspection by a professional agency is carried out in homes and their services availed at a nominal charge. On an average, a person spends the maximum time in the house where the flowing air is far more polluted than outside the house.

 

Healthy Environment

 

In conclusion, it is pertinent that a healthy environment is a key to good health and a long happy life. It would be necessary that environmentalists join hands with civic agencies and endeavor to move industrial units far off from the urban areas to the suburban areas. Further, there should be a decrease in the number of vehicles plying on the road and these vehicles use cleaner fuel to reduce the emission levels of toxic gases into the atmosphere. The origin of all health hazards and diseases occur from polluted air and it is mandatory that immediate action is taken towards maintaining a clean and tidy home free from pollutants and smoke. A little effort on everyone’s part goes a long way in maintaining a healthy and clean environment thereby saving the earth.

frennyduffin -
About the Author:

Dr Air duct cleaning is a professional air cleaners from Colorado area providing air duct cleaning, Attic Clean up, Dryer Vent cleaning Los Angeles. 

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Quinn on January 21st 2012 in Health Care

Why Buy from a Specialized Handicap Vans Dealer?

You may be able to buy handicap vans from your local car dealership. Do not do so. The fact is, these companies have very limited availability to actually provide you with the services that you need and want. Most offer a very limited selection of products for you to buy, too. This limits not only what you can buy but also the overall effectiveness of any product that you could buy. For example, if you buy a van that is okay but does not make getting into and out of it easy, the van may still not be used often. You have very limited benefits from it, then.

 

What Does a Specialized Dealer Offer?

 

A specialized handicap vans dealer will do what it takes to provide you with the resources you need when buying your vehicle. For each person this is different. However, look at some of the things you should be looking for in these companies.

 

  • Does the company provide you with customized help in choosing a van that fits your specific needs? Sometimes, you need a van that is designed for you rather than just choosing one off the lot.
  • You often need a van that has the ability to provide service to you for years to come but also maintains its value long term. Only the best vans can do this for you.
  • These dealers often have on staff professionals to help you to determine what type of driver modifications may suit you. If you want to get behind the wheel again, these vehicles can do that for you, when you get specialized help to make it happen.
  • Choose a dealer that has the means to provide you with financing. Some of these vans need financing that covers not only the purchase price of the vehicle but also modifications made to it afterwards.
  • You need a dealer that knows what it is talking about. Can you trust the salesperson down the street to know exactly what you need and what is best in your situation? If not, turn to a trusted dealer.

 

A handicap vans dealer works with you, hand in hand to get the job done. These professionals are able to help you to find the handicap vans that are right for your specific need. Moreover, they can help you to locate whatever it is you need, even if it is not available locally.

Bob Lundin -
About the Author:

MobilitySales.com is a premier provider of new and used handicap vans and mobility equipment. Visit MobilitySales.com today to find a wheelchair van in your area.

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Quinn on January 21st 2012 in Health Care

Do Female Adults Need Vitamin Supplements?

The second group is on me nutritionally compromised for a large percentage of the U.S. population. This group is very stressed, and often live on auto-pilot. They have a coffee and roll the way we work, eat in the car, eat lunch, they are often sitting on their phone and computer, dinner is often something from the drive-thru, or microwave. Rarely is a person to sit really embrace and enjoy the food they consume. This individual and the population mentioned above, vitamin supplements would be good to water bodies. I suspect that will never happen. However, I would like training in the field of health and welfare a priority.

Everyone should take Jack3d supplements, even those who protest that they “eat healthy”. While watching what you eat is a great idea, and crucial to the overall weight and health, you can not get everything you need for food today.

The reason is simple: our food is less nutritious than the 40 and 50. When his grandfather ate a peach, got amazing amounts of vitamins and minerals from it. With our General Manager, pesticides in controlling processes in recent years, we have changed: today, you need to eat 35 peaches to equal the nutritional value of their catch of 50 years ago. The same is true of many grains, including wheat. This plant has gone through so many crosses on a quest to be “better” than the wheat plant of origin, as God created it is no longer in existence. As a result, many people have trouble digesting this fact by the man of power. The same can be said to produce other pesticides should be washed (and vitamins), or processed milk (if you drink milk fed a cow to her baby, who would die in two weeks, which is missing as nutrition).

The Olympic runner and world record holder Asafa Powell takes an incredible daily vitamin / mineral called Double X. Here are some facts about nutrition from a daily dose, and equivalent amounts of food you should eat.

Let’s face it, most of the food we eat in the Western diet, processed, and depletion of nutrients and vitamins, causing the body is deficient in one nutrient or another we are open to disease. We are out of the trap of a healthy lifestyle and some people do not know or understand. Even if you just ate a burger and fries once a week still damage our cells and reducing the strength of our immune system, which forces us to be affected by a number of diseases that now seem so common. We have options to read Jack3d reviews and help restore balance in our body and allows us to live a healthy and happy.

Zyzz -
About the Author:

I dont workout for chicks, I workout to create an aura. when I walk into a room, introduce myself to someone, go for a job interview, I love looking dominant, in charge, and in control. I love walking past and having people point and talk about me. I love the fact that when I go somewhere with thousands of people, almost all of them will remember who I am when it is over, and I didnt even have to say a word.

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Quinn on January 21st 2012 in Health Care

Diabetic Children’s Camps

As any sufferer knows, there are two types of Diabetes, type I and type II. The latter is sometimes called adult onset diabetes, and over 90% of diabetics suffer this type.

It therefore takes no great leap of imagination to realize that the vast majority of diabetics are adults. But children can also suffer from diabetes, and for such kids, there are problems to face that are very different to those of their diabetic seniors.

For example, a child with diabetes will obviously need close monitoring, and a great deal of constant care and attention from parents. This in itself is not a problem, but it may mean that the child may never spend a night away from home, and it is not uncommon in these circumstances for a child to have never met another child of their own age with diabetes.

Effectively, this is a very isolating period in a diabetic child’s life.

For theses reasons, many countries are now establishing special camps for diabetic children, to address these problems, by bringing a higher degree of normality to the life of diabetic children.

Such camps provide 24 hour professional medical supervision and care to all the children, and are an extremely effective way to give young people living with diabetes a chance to be independent and learn about their condition with the support of their peers and trained health professionals.

They provide an enjoyable and safe camping experience in a supervised environment, and often focus, at least to some degree, on increasing the children’s ability to manage their own condition.

Such camping conditions also create an environment which allows the interaction between young people with diabetes that may otherwise be denied through geographic isolation. These diabetes education and recreational camps are, of course, designed to be fun as well as educational.

Generally, they will offer a wide range of sporting facilities, which allow participants to try out new sports and other recreational activities, particularly team based activities, that they may often be otherwise denied. On the medical side, nothing is left to chance. Prior to camp, each participant is normally required to supply a detailed medical history and an indication of the management skills of the child.

Based on this knowledge, the camp can then offer the child the opportunity to learn further self management skills and how to interact with other young people with diabetes under professional supervision. Other people benefit too. Often, many of the “helpers” in such camps are volunteers, with little first hand knowledge of diabetes, and these people will learn a great deal from their exposure on a day to day basis to the children.

Even the health care professionals themselves can gain a valuable insight into the management and lifestyle of young people with diabetes that no textbook can provide.

These people usually report that they do learn a lot, and even the most experienced educators say they are moved by the realities of living day to day with these children And, last but by no means least, the parents enjoy a break from the daily routine of caring for a young person with diabetes, with the real likelihood that their child will gain confidence and increase their self management skills.

To read more on this subject, visit my site at here!”http://webbiz99.com/diabetesdietexercise/”

Steve Cowan is an Asia based businessman and writer, as well as an international racing driver and full time father. To discover more, visit his blog -What’s New Today, Stanley?- at here! “http://webbiz99.com/” or his site at here! “http://webbiz99.com/diabetesdietexercise/”

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Quinn on January 21st 2012 in Health Care

Best Air Purifier For Pets

Do you own pets? Chances are good that you do own one kind of household pet or another. Think about the types of pets you may have. The majority of households own dogs or cats. And unfortunately, allergies develop in many pet owners. Does this sound like your home?

What can you do if you are allergic to your family dog or cat or any other animal? You may be able to alleviate your allergies by doing some research and finding out what would be the best air purifier for pets. Some people make the unfortunate decision to get rid of their pets. This decision will solve the problem completely, but it can’t always be done because some people love their pets too much to part with them.

It’s especially hard to part with your beloved animal if you have children that have grown attached to the family pet. Children get attached so much faster to household pets compared to other members of family. If this sounds like your family, you will want to find an alternative to getting rid of your pet.

Pet allergies are a problem because of the air particles that are created from those pets. Pet hair or pet droppings often cause these problematic air particles and can be dealt with using an air purifier for pets. The best air purifiers for pets reduce or eliminate these nasty air particles, provide cleaner air inside your home, and may make your pet allergies a thing of the past. This is easier to do than it may seem. Just purchase an air purifier.

Congratulations!  Your decision to purchase an air purifier is the easy part. The hard part comes in deciding what air purifier would be best for a household with pets. It is true that all air purifiers are good at getting rid of pet air particles, but all air purifiers may not be the best air purifiers for pets. That is why it is important that you do your research before buying. You can find all the answers you need online. It is a good idea to single out air purifiers that target pet air particle removal on their boxes, in customer reviews, or in their product descriptions.  These air purifiers are specifically designed to remove pet pollutants from the air in your home. 

Aside from getting an air cleaner, you can also try some other things that may help you out. You can try keeping your animals in one specific area of your house. The reason for this is because when your pets move they will leave behind air pollutants and particles. The problem is that most air purifiers are not built to purify the whole house. At the most, high end air purifiers can control the air in about three rooms, but many other air cleaners can only clean one room. So it goes to reason that the fewer rooms you allow your pets to travel in, the easier it will be to clean the air in your home. 

You can also improve other indoor air besides the air in your home. For example, if you have a business centered around pets, it might be a good idea to invest in an air purifier made with pets in mind.  Some professions that would benefit from an air cleaner are vets, pet groomers, or pet sitters. You, as the business owner, would not be the only one to benefit from cleaner air in your office. Your employees and your customers alike may also notice a difference in the air quality.

Ayesha -
About the Author:

So start looking to purchase air purifiers cleaners that are designed to eliminate pet particles. Do some more research for the best air purifier for pets to create a healthier environment for you and your family. Go to http://air-purifiers-cleaners.net for more info.

 

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Quinn on January 21st 2012 in Health Care