Daily Green Wrap-Up 9.March, 2012

Geothermal power is one of the United States of America’s most readily accepted forms of alternative energy – and now Ball State University is entering the final phase of a massive geothermal system that will be the nation’s largest. The geothermal ground-source heat pump system, which will replace four large coal-fired boilers, will reduce the university’s operating costs by an amazing $2 million per year.
The percentage of electricity generated in coal-fired power plants fell to its lowest level since 1978 at the end of last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administran reports. The EIA cites warmer weather and cheaper natural gas prices (which led to expanded generation) as the primary reason that coal generation is dropping—though shuttered coal plants, an expanding renewable energy sector, and recession-inspired energy conservation are factors as well.
I don’t need to tell anyone that eggs have cholesterol. That’s a birthright in this era of No-Yolk noodles and Egg Beaters. What might need remembering, however, is that chicken eggs are the most affordable source of pasture-raised animal protein.
The United States is lucky enough to have an abundance of arable farm land spread out across the nation. To some, that means we should be able to grow our own fuel via alternatives like biodiesel or ethanol. But a recent study suggests that 80% of the land currently used for food production would have to be converted to dedicated bioenergy crops in order to meet current government-set targets.
It’s not quite the proverbial butterfly flapping its wings creating a hurricane across the world, but desertification in Mongolia is generating dangerous dust storms thousands of miles away.
Police officers in the Philippines are trading their guns and billy clubs for weapons of mass construction: shovels, watering cans, and gardening gloves. That’s because they’re partnering with the country’s Department of Environmental and Natural Resources to combat climate change and deforestation. Their Green Ops mission? Plant 10 million trees in one year.

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