I think that is the way to go. If it would just get released in the atmosphere anyway, at least get a benefit out of and use it to reduce use of other polluting fuel sources. Not to mention...its free ;-)
-----Original Message----- From: Robert Munn [mailto:cfmuns...@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2011 11:30 AM To: cf-community Subject: Re: Ooops! Biodegradeable products release methane which is more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas San Diego captures the methane at their landfill. On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 10:11 PM, Eric Roberts < ow...@threeravensconsulting.com> wrote: > > If they were smart, they would capture the methane and use it as a > fuel. I have seen a few municipalities that take their methane from > the landfill and pipe it in to use as a fuel source...think of all the > natural gas they don't have to purchase. Previously, they would just > burn it off...not sure what the by-product of burning methane is, but > I guess if it is going to get released anyway, it is better to get > some use out of it and not have to use other resources as a result > > Eric. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jerry Barnes [mailto:critic...@gmail.com] > Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 10:41 PM > To: cf-community > Subject: Ooops! Biodegradeable products release methane which is more > potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas > > > Ooops! Biodegradeable products release methane which is more potent > than > CO2 > as a greenhouse gas > > Excerpt: > > Research from North Carolina State University shows that so-called > biodegradable products are likely doing more harm than good in > landfills, because they are releasing a powerful greenhouse gas as they break down. > > "Biodegradable materials, such as disposable cups and utensils, are > broken down in landfills by microorganisms that then produce methane," says Dr. > Morton Barlaz, co-author of a paper describing the research and > professor and head of NC State's Department of Civil, Construction, > and Environmental Engineering. "Methane can be a valuable energy > source when captured, but is a potent greenhouse gas when released into the atmosphere." > > And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that only > about > 35 percent of municipal solid waste goes to landfills that capture > methane for energy use. EPA estimates that another 34 percent of > landfills capture methane and burn it off on-site, while 31 percent > allow the methane to escape. > > "In other words," Barlaz says, "biodegradable products are not > necessarily more environmentally friendly when disposed in landfills." > > This problem may be exacerbated by the rate at which these man-made > biodegradable materials break down. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) > guidelines call for products marked as "biodegradable" to decompose > within "a reasonably short period of time" after disposal. But such > rapid degradation may actually be environmentally harmful, because > federal regulations do not require landfills that collect methane to > install gas collection systems for at least two years after the waste > is buried. If materials break down and release methane quickly, much > of that methane will likely be emitted before the collection > technology is installed. This means less potential fuel for energy use, and more greenhouse gas emissions. > Read more here: > > http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/05/31/ooops-biodegradeable-products-re > lease- methane-which-is-more-potent-than-co2-as-a-greenhouse-gas/ > > J > > - > > Ninety percent of politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation. > - > Henry Kissinger > > Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the > tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. - J > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:338631 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
