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Showing posts with label natural resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label natural resources. Show all posts

Monday, December 14, 2009

New Nanotechnology Association Established to Address 21st Century Natural Resource and Energy Security Challenges

/PRNewswire/ -- Senior policymakers and experts in the defense and cleantech industries got a boost today with the announced formation of the NanoAssociation for Natural Resources and Energy Security (NANRES). NANRES is a trade organization designed to advance the research, development, and commercialization of innovative energy and environmental-specific nanotechnologies. Among its founding organizations is Lockheed Martin Corporation.

"The nexus between national security and energy and the environment will become increasingly evident as the effects of climate change limit our access to natural resources and issues stemming from our ongoing addiction to oil and other fossil fuels exacerbate," said Erin Ross, Co-Founder and President for NANRES.

Slated to be a 3.1 trillion-dollar industry by 2015, nanotechnology will continue to influence a broad spectrum of industry sectors with new and innovative science-based technologies. While nanotechnology applications will impact many different fields in the long term, it is the energy sector that stands to benefit the most in the early stages. Industry-specific applications now underway range from the way in which energy is captured and stored to mitigating the effects of climate change and strengthening our defense agility.

The formation of NANRES comes at a time when energy and environmental sectors look to technological innovation to address their pressing needs. The newly formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program and infusion of federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, and the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), indicate a critical demand for energy and environmental specific technologies.

"NANRES understands the national security and environmental concerns associated with our current energy landscape. We are pleased to take a leading role in the advancement and commercialization of groundbreaking nanotechnologies, which provide viable solutions to the natural resource and energy challenges ahead, advancing the nation on a path to clean energy innovation and global competitiveness," Ross added.

NANRES will address the key needs of energy security through focused research, development, and commercialization of nanotechnologies that will bring alternative innovative energy solutions to the domestic marketplace, while also working more specifically to address US military alternative energy needs. It will also focus on accelerating environmental nanotechnologies that will strengthen the nation's resource security by enhancing its access to clean, viable, and domestically available natural resources, at the same time supporting nanotechnologies that will address environmental, health, and safety measures.

With its elite Executive and Scientific Council and expected participation of 200+ organizations, over the next decade NANRES expects to be the leading expert membership organization promoting innovative environmental and clean energy nanotechnologies that will provide a more secure and prosperous society. During this formative stage, NANRES will continue to actively foster key partnerships with academic, research, corporate, and scientific institutions. For more information on NANRES, please visit http://www.nanres.org/

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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

American Clean Skies Foundation Issues Statement On Today's Introduction of the Natural Gas Act of 2009 in the Senate

/PRNewswire/ -- The American Clean Skies Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. whose mission is clean energy and environmental education, issued the statement below in conjunction with the introduction of the historic NAT GAS Act of 2009 in the Senate by U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). A companion House bill was introduced in April 2009 by Congressmen John Larson (D-Conn.), Dan Boren (D-Okla.) and John Sullivan (R-Okla.).

This bi-partisan bill provides incentives that will lead to the greater use of domestically produced natural gas as a transportation fuel. It will replace higher-cost and higher emitting gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles with newer, cleaner, and lower cost natural-gas powered vehicles. This bill, which would increase the manufacturing of natural gas vehicles, will also create American jobs, strengthening the U.S. automotive industry and the overall economy.

Included in the bill are key elements that would: extend the tax credit for natural gas used as a transportation fuel; expand a tax credit for 80 percent of the additional incremental cost when purchasing any dedicated natural gas vehicle and increase the refueling property tax credit from $50,000 to $100,000 per station; create incentives for manufacturers to sell natural gas vehicles in the United States; and require that a percentage of the vehicles the federal government buys over the next five years run on natural gas.

"We applaud U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Orrin Hatch for introducing the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (NAT GAS Act) today. We appreciate their leadership, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, for recognizing the critically important role American-produced, clean-burning natural gas can play in helping reduce carbon emissions. This bill addresses our country's economic and security priorities in a way that benefits all Americans.

The introduction of the NAT GAS Act today in the Senate represents one more major step toward putting one of our most valued natural resources in our country to greater use. The Act proposes that vehicles, especially heavy, medium, and light-duty trucks and buses, run on natural gas.

Natural gas is clean, American and affordable and multiple recent ground-breaking studies have confirmed we have abundant reserves in the United States to power our economy for decades to come. This legislation lays the groundwork to begin reducing our troublesome dependence on foreign oil and puts America on track towards a more promising energy future. No energy source can do more for America's environment and economy in the immediate future than natural gas."

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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Southern Bioenergy Industry Could Create Thousands of Jobs

The South is in a unique position to create thousands of jobs for Southerners through the development of the bioenergy industry, a new report says. The Southern Bioenergy Roadmap, a project of the Southeast Agriculture & Forestry Energy Resources Alliance (SAFER) and the University of Florida, shows that the South has abundant natural resources and intellectual capital to produce electricity and automotive fuel from plants, trees, and waste, also known as
biomass.

The report found that, in 2007, the South:

• Contained 30 percent of the nation’s bioenergy potential in its agricultural and forestry resources;
• Produced 46 percent of the nation’s biomass generated electricity;
• Produced 22 percent of the nation’s biodiesel, but only 6.4 percent of the nation’s ethanol; and
• Hosted bioenergy research centers in every state.

SAFER presented these findings to Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, chairman of Southern Growth Policies Board’s Southern Technology Council, who commented that “this is a key time for the South to lead the nation in new technologies for converting biomass into energy.” Governor Bredesen also said, “The State of Tennessee has shown a commitment to helping the South become the national leader in bioenergy through its support of the Tennessee Biofuels Initiative and the BioEnergy Science Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.”

For the South to become the nation’s leader in the research, production, and distribution of bioenergy, the Roadmap recommends states (1) Improve the supply, demand, and regulatory environment for bioenergy in the South, (2) Invest in the development of commercial biopower and biofuel facilities in the South, and (3) Educate Southern leaders and the public on the economic and environmental benefits of bioenergy.

Liam Leightley, Chairman of SAFER and Executive Director of the Institute of Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia, said, “The Roadmap provides a starting point for building on the region’s assets and addressing the barriers to the bioenergy industry in the South.” “By wisely using our resources we can move closer to energy independence and at the same time create good jobs for our rural communities,” Leightley added.

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Thursday, December 4, 2008

New Ad Campaign Distorts the Reality of Clean Coal Technology

/PRNewswire/ -- (Statement by ACCCE Vice President for Communications Joe Lucas regarding a new advertising campaign sponsored by the RealityCoalition.org - a group comprised of the Alliance for Climate Protection, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club)

"I'm surprised that a coalition of environmental special interest groups has placed ads doubting the existence of clean coal technologies.

"For over 40 years, private industry, academia, and the federal government have been working in partnership to bring new technologies to the marketplace that reduces the environmental footprint of using coal to generate electricity. Those who doubt the existence of clean coal technology need only to look at the 70% improvement in the environmental efficiency of America's coal-based electricity fleet measured by emissions of criteria and hazardous air pollutants regulated by federal and state clean air act laws per unit of energy produced. But this is only part of the story.

"In our America's Power campaign (americaspower.org) we have consistently talked about the need to invest in advanced clean coal technologies to ensure that we can capture and safely store CO2 emissions at coal-based power plants both here at home and around the world. While this remains a complex and challenging task, anyone who is skeptical about the progress that is being made on this front would only need to visit the U.S. Department of Energy's website (Clean Power Initiative) at http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/cleancoal/ to get a better appreciation and understanding of the industry's commitment to this cause.

"We join President-elect Barack Obama in calling for additional funding for advanced clean coal technologies to ensure that we meet the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time enjoying the benefits of relying upon coal, our most abundant domestic energy resource, to meet future energy needs.

"I would have hoped that the environmental special interest groups that are sponsoring this new ad would support such an effort, but they have obviously chosen a different path."

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