Algae Electricity

In Venice, there is work being done that would capatilize on using algae as a form of alternative energy. Two types of algae would be used, Sargassum muticum and Undaria pinnafitida, both attach to ships and are accessible. The algae would be used in a 40MW power plant and supply 50% of the total electricity of the city. Ecowordly is the organization behin the research and idea. The algae would be treated and burned to turn turbines; CO2 produced can be fed in return to the algae. The Venice Port is support of reducing CO2 emissions, mainly of ships using the port. This is the first I have heard of using algae in this process. The main question I would have is how much is the cost of the process and how effective can it be? If this is successful many marine towns could be able to captilize on using this process.

Small twons vs. Big towns

In a recent trip to New York City, I realized that being "green" is actually easy when traveling. First, I used an amtrack train which was better than driving a car. The train is run through electic and does not have the same gas emissions as my car. The train cars all had recycling and the stations did as well. In arriving in New York, I took a cab. While this may seem bad, most cabs now in the city are using biodiesel fuel which is most better than unleaded gas or diesel. The cab did not say exactly how much fuel is saved but it would be more than my car. Second, the hotel I stayed in had "green" policy. Posted in the room were ways to reduce your waste and what the hotel does. This included changes in heating/cooling systems and reduction/changes in laundry. Lastly, the city was covered in "green" ideology with most stores recycling nad posting ways in which they reduce their carbon footprint. In returning to Chestertwon, I realized that this type of activity was less abundant. I know New York has a larger negative output but they are taking actions to reduce. You do not see that same type of action here. It would seem that implementing change in small towns would be easy, however, there appears to be less support. Therefore, a question of policy is raised: Do all of America's small unregulated towns have more of an impact then cities which have regulations? This would be hard to prove...but it reminds me of a quote a heard in GQ about global warming and SUVs. The author said, "blaming the few big things instead of the thousands of little things is like blaming flyes for having trash."

Plastic and Packages

The use of plastic and packaging is ubiquitous througout society as these items have invaded all aspects of life. Plastics require petroluem which is has numerous environmental impacts and enhances the dependence upon foreign oil. Packaging is used in an excess fashion and is abundant in landfills and trash cans. In a recent article, the author, a former CEO of Terracycle, describes four methods of reducing plastics and packaging. 1)Tax Non-Satndard Packaging-more standarized packaging would allow for more recycablity. 2)Outlaw landfills-this would mandate biodegrable forms. 3)Create a Bottle Bill-this would simply be a tax on different forms of plastic material. 4)Ban single use packaging.
I belive these could be done except number 2. Outlawing landfills would be tough and probaly too drastic to do without any real alternative. Perhaps a higher tax or regualtory measures on waste brought to landfills would provide a postive effect. There is not much current tax or regulation, therefore any measures taken could help reduce waste.