On December 19, the City of New York unveiled plans for the Freedom Tower, which will be the centerpiece of new construction at the World Trade Center site. The Freedom Tower will be the world’s tallest building and will incorporate wind turbines that will generate 20% of the building’s electrical power needs. The Freedom Tower will include a 60- story base of offices and a 1,500- foot structure of lacy tension cables, which will house the wind turbines.
The Freedom Tower will be the world’s first building integrated wind farm and will produce over 2.6 million KWh (kilowatts) of green electricity annually – enough to power 1,000 homes. Projected average wind speed is 21 MPH and the prevailing wind is from the Northwest, which means the wind will be unimpeded as it travels across the Hudson River. The height of the Freedom Tower should negate the fact that wind turbines are not usually suited for urban environments because of the turbulence created by nearby buildings.
GLOBAL WARMING MAY CAUSE 1 MILLION SPECIES TO BECOME EXTINCT
An international study has recently concluded that more than one-third of all species in several regions of the world are at risk of extinction by 2050 if global warming isn’t controlled. Nineteen international scientists working for the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International, a non-profit, U.S. based, conservation organization presented their findings in the journal – “Nature”. Using widely accepted models that predict Earth’s temperatures will increase by 2.5 degrees to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, the scientists found that 15% to 37% of the studied species will be extinct or nearly extinct by 2050.
Air pollution has caused the climate to warm, meaning some plant and animal species must move to higher, cooler ground. At the same time their natural migratory paths have often been blocked by development trapping them in an environment that no longer supports their life. “Climate change is asking species to move when there is no place to move to,” Lee Hannah, climate change biologist for the Center states. Hannah concludes that two things must begin to happen immediately if massive specie extinction is to be avoided; First, greenhouse gases like car exhaust and power plant emissions must be reduced to halt global warming and secondly, conservation areas must be established “not only where the species is now, but where it will be in the future.”
TOYOTA ANNOUNCES NEW HYBRID SUV’S
Toyota Motor Sales announced production of two gas/electric hybrid SUV’s that will be available for consumers in 2005. Toyota will produce a hybrid version of its 4- wheel drive Highlander and a hybrid Lexus – which is part of Toyota’s luxury division. Both vehicles will get the same mileage as a compact sedan and reduce their harmful emissions by over 50%.
COURT OF APPEALS BLOCKS CHANGES TO CLEAN AIR ACT
On December 24, 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals blocked the Bush Administration’s changes to the Clean Air Act that would have weakened the New Resource Review section of the Act. The Court stated that the proposed Bush initiatives would cause “irreparable harm” to the public and significantly increase air pollution. The New Resource Review currently requires old power plants, which are exempt from the Clean Air rules, to adopt current environmental standards if they are making any effort to upgrade or repair their facilities.
BUSH ALLOWS THE USE OF SEWAGE SLUDGE AS FERTILIZER TO CONTINUE
The Bush Administration has denied a petition to put a moratorium on the practice of using sewage sludge as fertilizer. Sewage sludge may contain hazardous and dangerous chemicals that can run off into nearby streams, other surface waters, and enter groundwater sources when it is applied to the land as fertilizer. At the same time the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that at least 15 more hazardous pollutants have been found in sewage sludge and these may have to be regulated.
ENERGY TIP
Get involved at work – your company can save money by joining EPA programs such as Green Lights, ENERGY STAR Buildings, and Waste Wise recycling programs. Check out www.epa.gov for more information.