Engines Can Turn Waste into Value

Commercial customers all over the world are discovering the new ways to capture and use gas to meet energy needs through onsite power generation, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One prime example is General Electric's Jenbacher gas engines.

In Australia, the Jenbacher gas engine business has contributed to several of the country's largest coal mine methane projects, including a power plant commissioned in 2008 operating on Jenbacher coal mine methane gas engines. The methane-rich gas coming from the mine is used to generate onsite power at Anglo Coal's Moranbah North mine in the state of Queensland, helping to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas that escapes into the atmosphere. Through the capture and use of mine gas, the Moranbah North project will deliver significant environmental benefits, reducing about 1.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year.

In Mexico, Jenbacher engines are at the heart of a newly expanded landfill gas-to-energy project, hailed by President Felipe Calderón as “a model renewable energy project” for Latin America. The 12 MW project converts gas from the Simeprode landfill near Monterrey into electricity, which is used to support the solid waste facility's operations as well as Monterrey‘s light-rail system during the day and city street lights at night.

In a sprawling commercial tomato greenhouse outside of Amsterdam, the world's first commercial 24-cylinder gas engine is in operation. The Royal Pride Holland project is made possible by two Jenbacher units, which were installed in a pilot project to demonstrate the engine's commercial viability for the horticultural industry. It highlights the increased emphasis on combined heat and power in Europe as the region increases its focus on energy efficiency.

Thousands of miles to the east, Jenbacher gas engines are at work in a far different way, using biogas created from chicken manure to generate power and heat at a large chicken farm north of Beijing.

The plant is the first of its type in China, and could pave the way for similar applications in the future. Providing 14,600 MWh of electricity per year, the project is designed to help reduce suburban electricity shortages. By using the biogas for power generation instead of coal, the new project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 95,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year.

Harnessing the Earth's Resources Efficiently and Equitably

“Environmental issues have the power to unify groups with seemingly irreconcilable differences. Shared concerns about resources and conservation can help resolve even bitter conflicts.”
Environmental Scientist Saleem H. Ali believes “the environment itself can be a powerful force in resolving conflicts, even between groups who seem diametrically opposed over how the world’s limited resources should be used.” Moreover, Ali says natural resources can be a positive force in alleviating poverty. Read more about this remarkable “emerging explorer” who argues we can manage our desire for resources while safeguarding the environment and alleviating poverty!

2010 Is the International Year of Biodiversity: This Is Good News for the Planet

The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, a celebration of life on Earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. This is good news for the planet, highlighting steps that have already been taken and those that can yet be taken to safeguard the variety of life on earth: biodiversity.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, “restoring lost and damaged ecosystems - from forests and freshwaters to mangroves and wetlands - can trigger multi-million dollar returns, generate jobs and combat poverty.” It maintains that “far from being a tax on growth and development, many environmental investments in degraded, nature-based assets can generate substantial and multiple returns.” These include restoring water flows to rivers and lakes, improved soil stability and fertility vital for agriculture and combating climate change by sequestrating and storing carbon from the atmosphere.

And governments worldwide are already taking action. For instance, initial studies compiled by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity indicate that restoration of grasslands, woodlands and forests offer some of the highest rates of returns. Examples include:

• The Turkish city of Istanbul has increased the number of people served with wastewater treatment over 20 years from a few hundred thousand to over nine million ‑ 95% of the population ‑ by rehabilitating and cleaning river banks, relocating polluting industries, installing water treatment works and re-establishing river-side vegetation.


• In Vietnam, planting and protecting nearly 12,000 hectares of mangroves has cost just over $1 million but saved annual expenditure on dyke maintenance of well over $7 million.


• In Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, strict law enforcement has helped restore the critically endangered mountain gorilla population back to a slight increase in the Virungas National Park ‑ and is generating large revenues from tourism.


• Restoration of over 500 hectares of mangroves in India's Andhra Pradesh region has increased the population of edible crabs and fodder for livestock thereby boosting local incomes while increasing biodiversity such as otter and birds, at a cost of only $3 million over seven years.


• Coastal ecosystems in Biscayne Bay, Florida have been restored for annual benefit worth $1.7 million.


• Banning unsustainable fishing methods, reintroductions of native fish species and re-planting of native aquatic grasses have transformed the once highly polluted and degraded Lake Hong in China. Since 2003, water quality has improved dramatically, rare birds like the Oriental White Stork have returned after 20 years and fisher folk have seen incomes triple.

Beyond governments, businesses are also lending a helping hand. Cimpor’s Conservancy in South Africa has eradicated some 65% of invasive plants. In addition, a large portion of this successful clearing exercise has seen the reintroduction of indigenous grasses that serve as a major food source for certain birds. In Brazil, the company’s quarry in Atlantic Forest area, one of the most endangered tropical biomes in the world, and considered as one of the largest biodiversity repositories globally, is being carefully rehabilitated. CEMEX is also doing conservation and restoration in Costa Rica, Mexico and France, among other places, to keep its quarries and surrounding areas healthy. Mondi has a sustainable wetlands program in South Africa, and Syngenta has one in Spain. Lafarge protects onsite wildlife and biodiversity.

And the list goes on. All of these drops in the bucket eventually overflow and the result is a healthier world with greater biodiversity benefitting all inhabitants.

According to Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director: "The ecological infrastructure of the planet is generating services to humanity worth by some estimates over $70 trillion a year, perhaps substantially more.” Due to the impact of biodiversity on all our lives, 2010 is thus THE year to undertake biodiversity efforts and highlight what has already been done.

Eco-tourism Builds Livelihoods and Bolsters Whale Shark Populations

Eco-tourism has changed everyone's life in Donsol, Philippines. It is helping build livelihoods for local residents while bolstering whale shark populations. CNN reports on this shift in nature's balance -- from destruction to preservation -- in this remote area:

"Welcome to Donsol, the home of the gentle giants," Alan Amanse says, smiling broadly at us as we awkwardly scramble onto the traditional fishing boat.

"We have something that must be followed; the rules about whale shark interaction."

He's delivered this speech countless times, but says he never tires of seeing newcomers' eager faces. Donsol in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines, was once a sleepy fishing village; now it buzzes with excited tourists who flock here for what many later describe as a life-changing experience -- swimming with the largest fish in the ocean, the whale shark.

I have to admit, I was filled with childish excitement I hadn't experienced in years.
"If I say 'Ok, let's rock and roll', it's time to get in the water; that's my magic word, 'rock and roll'," Alan tells us, perched on the edge of the boat, a devilish twinkle in his eyes.

He and the crew are experts at whale shark spotting, able to scan what to us looks like a blank horizon for signs of the sharks below the surface. Small boats filled with tourists dot the tricolor waters, the shoreline rolling hills of emerald green.

"Look, look right there," Alan points at what to me initially looks like nothing.

"Wow! Its huge, 3-meters-long, about 20 meters in front of us," I shrieked as I began to make out the dark shape moving alongside our boat.

We jumped in, but only just barely caught a glimpse of the whale shark before it disappeared into the depths of the ocean. I should note at this stage that, despite my initial reaction, 3 meters isn't a "huge" whale shark -- they can grow up to 20 meters in length.

In fact at 3 meters they are still considered young, and seeing small ones is a rarity we are told. The whale shark interactions are closely regulated; 6 tourists per boat, 1 boat per whale shark, and no more than 30 boats in the water at a time. Plus, we're briefed to swim 3 meters away from the head and body, 4 meters away from the tail -- one powerful inadvertent hit can cause serious damage.

We had a professional underwater cameraman, Rico, added on to our crew for the day. I envied his lung capacity, his ability to free dive for minutes alongside these majestic creatures, filming them from all angles while I gasped for air and struggled to keep up.

We end up spotting a total of four whale sharks, the last one huge and right underneath our boat. It stayed close to the surface as if bemused by the attention and splashing.

I managed to dive down and see its gentle eyes, upturned mouth formed into a permanent smile. All I could think was, "Wow". That short moment I had was special, as if nothing existed but me and this graceful animal.

Eco-tourism has changed everyone's life in Donsol. Alan tells us how he used to have to take on odd jobs -- driving a tricycle taxi, construction work, playing guitar at bars -- to make ends meet. Now he makes six times what he used to, enough money to put his two children through school, even university.

Like most people in these parts, Alan used to view whale sharks as pests, constantly getting caught up in fishing nets and overturning boats. He says they were also hunted by villagers from other areas.

"Before I am not thinking that we need to save the whale shark because we don't have an idea of the whale shark," he admits.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, whale sharks are coveted in many countries. Their meat can sell for up to $17 per kilo, their fins a staggering $800.

The attitude towards whale sharks here changed nearly overnight. Credited with helping to make that happen is Dave Duran, a charismatic, passionate cameraman turned diver. Twelve years ago he shot footage of the whale sharks and brought it to international spotlight, to the attention of the World Wildlife Fund, marine biologists and scientists.

Suddenly Donsol became a major research destination. Little is known about whale sharks, a major part of preserving the species is understanding their migratory routes and breeding habits. Within three months of Dave going public with his footage, the Philippine government issued a ban on fishing whale sharks.

"If we were just late for about a month or so the story would have been different," he tells us. "Maybe now we would be seeing whale sharks being slaughtered here, right on this beach."

Eco Solutions have covered many stories in the ongoing battle of preservation vs. destruction. Here the balance shifted in favor of nature. "It's just a matter of luck," Dave says. "We gave [the people of Donsol] some sort of hope that eco-tourism could work in Donsol and they believed it."

South Africa Hopes Cup Will Runneth Over

The World Cup has everyone in South Africa excited, the New York Times reports, even people with little to be excited about:

The World Cup begins here on Friday with excitement at so elevated a level that even many of the unhappy are happy. Tshepo Makwala, a laborer, has no job, no prospects, and, worst of all, no ticket to any of the 64 games. Still, it thrills him that soccer’s biggest event is for the first time taking place in Africa. “This isn’t one for the Guinness Book of Records; it’s for the Guinness Book of Miracles,” he said.

A Cape Town native said in Vietnam that he had never seen the country so excited. After all, ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable that Soweto could host a World Cup football match, an announcer said during an otherwise desultory match between the Netherland and Denmark.

The Cup is a watershed moment in South Africa’s long march upward since the end of apartheid and hopefully a much-needed tonic for the country’s economy. Critics have condemned the spectacle of such a poor nation spending billions of dollars it could be using to house the poor and overhaul decrepit infrastructure. But cities rarely host marquee sporting events for the immediate economic impact. In fact, they usually lose money. The hope, rather, is that the event gives the city the kind of exposure ad campaigns cannot buy. Thus did Singapore decide to lure Formula 1. Ditto Abu Dhabi.

There is evidence already that the Cup is help South Africa reach a class of visitors that might not otherwise have put it on their itinerary. Visa reported Monday that South Africa saw a 34 percent increase in inbound tourism spending during the first quarter of 2010. With any luck, they’ll be back even if the World Cup won’t.

An Eco-friendly Family Adventure across the World

One CNN website editor's choice is "An eco-friendly family adventure across the world", the story of Dario Schworer, a 42-year-old climatologist and mountain guide, and his family. Their aim: to promote eco-friendly ways of life. He, his 33-year-old wife Sabine Schworer-Ammaun, and their three children started out seven years ago with the goal of climbing the highest peaks on all continents and crossing the oceans using only non-motorized transport. They have a sailboat and otherwise walk or cycle to their next destination.

"We are collecting good examples of dealing with climate change and living in harmony with nature and spreading such ideas," Schworer told CNN. "We want to help people cope [who are] affected by global warming and inspiring children for the future."

"Great achievements can be done in harmony with nature," Schworer said. "But we must respect nature."

Among other things, they have collected 22 tonnes of trash, taught people in Ecuador to use the sun's rays to purify water and collected trash in the mountains of Nepal with school children, and visited 47 countries. They have also interacted with 45,000 children in South America, Australia and Asia, giving presentations about the importance of recycling and using alternative energy like solar and wind power.

"Since our belief is the need to respect nature, we travel only when conditions are good," Schworer said.

Read the full article on CNN's website at http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/06/09/family.travel.adventure/index.html?hpt=Mid

More Good News from Africa

More good news came out of Africa on Sunday, with South African President Zuma saying that the upcoming World Cup hosted by his country is uniting South Africa.

Zuma spoke in a press conference on Sunday, five days before the tournament opens, and said "The enthusiasm, joy and excitement that has engulfed the entire nation in recent weeks has not been witnessed since president Nelson Mandela was released from prison [in 1990]."

"The explosion of national pride has been a priceless benefit. It's clear that millions of our people look upon this tournament with hope, pride and sense of belonging.

"The South African flag has become the most popular item on the shopping list of South Africans and this augurs well for our nation-building," he continued.

The country appears ready to take on the challenge of hosting such a huge and historic event.

Business Solutions to Energy Poverty

Energy is a key driver for economic development and social progress, yet access to sustainable energy services remains a challenge for low-income communities in developing countries. To reach communities that do not have energy access today, new business models, supported by appropriate policy frameworks, are needed.

GDF SUEZ believes that the private sector has an important role to play in designing and delivering innovative solutions to bridge the “energy divide” and support a transition to a low-carbon energy future in the developing world.

The company is active across the entire energy value chain, in electricity and natural gas, upstream and downstream. GDF SUEZ is also helping local communities to access energy through tailor-made solutions and investment in dedicated projects to support access to energy for low-income populations.

In Brazil, the company inaugurated the São Salvador dam in 2009, which will generate enough electricity to supply a city of one million people. 54% of the 10,000 direct and indirect jobs the project created have been filled by local workers and more than 10% of the total investment was dedicated to social and environmental programs, which included relocating displaced populations and protecting fauna and flora. In Estreito, where the company is building a large hydroelectric plant, GDF SUEZ has committed EUR 130 million to social and environmental programs, including access to energy, which will be implemented in collaboration with the local communities.

In Morocco, GDF SUEZ has developed an initiative, through the Group's subsidiary LYDEC, to support electrification in several dozen shantytowns in Casablanca. Prior to the initiative, inhabitants resorted to illegal leaks and network connections, often leading to serious accidents. In the late 1990s, LYDEC set up an innovative partnership with local authorities and communities to provide legal access to a safe and reliable electricity supply system.

The electrification program has allowed more than 30,000 households (amounting to some 200,000 inhabitants) to connect to the electricity supply system under a management approach that uses “street representatives” from the local community to manage and coordinate daily operations and provide technical support to users.

The program has been incorporated into an extensive national project to fight poverty where the aim is to connect more than 145,000 households to essential urban services, including water, waste and electricity, by the end of 2009.

GDF SUEZ is integrating energy poverty issues into its sustainable development strategy, with a declared ambition to “redefine the relationship between people and energy, to make energy a source of progress and sustainable development (energy accessible to as many people as possible, more reliably, consumed more efficiently, and showing greater respect for human beings and their environment).”

Progress Undented by Financial Crises

With the US-led crisis just behind us and another unfolding in Europe, one could be forgiven for becoming pessimistic about our prospects. But at the World Economic Forum’s Global Redesign Summit in Doha last week participants were asked to cast their gaze back over the last 60 years and ask, “How are we doing?” The answer: fantastically well. Sixty years ago, after all, Europe and much of Asia were still struggling to emerge from the ashes of the second world war. China has in the past 20 years achieved what the leaders of the Long March never could have imagined. And in just the past decade, Africa has emerged from decades of turmoil, famine and epidemics to become a promising new centre of growth. Incomes are more evenly distributed than ever. Fewer people proportionately live in poverty, hunger or the darkness of illiteracy than ever before. They have more choices than ever before. And now we stand on the threshold of a revolution in health brought about by bioengineering and nanotechnology. Times may be tough, but we have undoubtedly come a long, long way.