Environment

City of Anderson to Dedicate Upgraded Water Pollution Control Plant Filtration Facility

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 12:19:19 -0700

ANDERSON, IN - The City of Anderson will dedicate the upgraded effluent filter facilities at the Water Pollution Control Plant, 2801 Gene Gustin Way, at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 6, 2008. Mayor Kris Ockomon will participate in the dedication ceremony. Tours of the plant will be given for visitors following the dedication.

This project to rehabilitate the 30-year-old effluent filters allowed the city to cost effectively meet current compliance requirements to eliminate the plant’s effluent filter bypass, while improving the safety, ease, and reliability of filter operation and maintenance at a much lower capital cost than building new filter facilities at the plant.

Upgrades that were made as part of the $3 million project, which was constructed without a rate increase, include: converting the water-only filter backwash system to a simultaneous air/water backwash; using a more effective coarse sand filter media; replacing hydraulic oil actuators with safer electric actuators; and upgrading the previous controls for the backwash system.

In addition to providing greater operational flexibility and reducing maintenance, the rehabilitated effluent filter facilities will provide more dependable filtration under both dry and wet weather flow conditions to maintain effluent quality to meet NPDES permit limits. The upgraded facilities have also increased filtration capacity, which will allow the city to meet the future needs for its Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Long-Term Control Plan.

Source: City of Anderson Press Release

Letter: New Jobs with Clean Energy

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:54:49 -0700

By Jill Long Thompson

Last month, Indiana lost 17,900 jobs. Our unemployment rate jumped more than any other state in the country.

Those are daunting statistics -- but while our current leadership might accept them, we don't have to.

Yesterday, Dennie Oxley and I announced our new Green Jobs Initiative. Our plan centers on using the skills Hoosiers already have and creating 30,000 new, good paying green jobs across the state.

Visit my website to learn more about the plan -- and to provide your own feedback:

http://www.hoosiersforjill.com/greenjobs

We can make clean technology options a priority in Indiana.

Research shows in our manufacturing sector alone, Indiana has the potential to create as many as 25,180 new jobs from wind turbine manufacturing. We can also create an additional 7,485 new jobs in solar component manufacturing, with even more jobs to be created in geothermal and biomass manufacturing fields.

These jobs use skills many Hoosiers already have. They run the gamut from electricians to welders, carpenters to engineers, mechanics, equipment operators, roofers, iron and steel workers, millwrights and truckers.

Combined with tax rebates for eligible companies that create green jobs, and a clean energy fund to invest in this emerging industry, we can achieve our energy, environmental and economic goals.

Click here to learn more -- and to tell us what you think:

http://www.hoosiersforjill.com/greenjobs

Indiana has the potential to be a national leader in clean energy and simultaneously build its economy. Dennie and I plan to work hard everyday to make this a reality for all Hoosiers.

Sincerely,
Jill Long Thompson

PS. You can read the comprehensive Green Jobs Initiative here:

http://www.hoosiersforjill.com/greenjobs

Bugged by Global Warming

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:54:10 -0700

By Tom Purcell

Bugs. They want us to eat bugs.

I speak of a recent article in Time that explains why eating bugs is good for the environment.

As it goes, bugs require "little room and few resources to grow." Bugs are cold-blooded invertebrates, you see. They are efficient. Much more of the grub they eat is converted into edible bug body parts than is the case with our friends the cows.

Cows are warm-blooded vertebrates. They need to consume lots more food just to keep their body temperature steady. Their food is grown on farms. Fossil fuels must be burned to harvest, process and transport it. Farming requires lots of land and water.

"It takes far less water to raise a third of a pound of grasshoppers than the staggering 869 gal. needed to produce the same amount of beef," reports Time.

True, but a hunk of steak is less likely to hop off your plate while you're trying to eat it.

Better yet, bugs are good for us. A 3.5 oz. portion of caterpillars contains 1oz. of protein. That's more than you'd get in the same amount of chicken -- assuming the caterpillars don't try to crawl out of you.

Water bugs have four times as much iron as beef. Of course, you need to be four times as drunk to consume them.

And bugs are tasty. People in other cultures have been enjoying them for years. We narrow-minded Americans wouldn't know that, though. We wouldn't know that chocolate and waxworm cookies are delicious (and I'm not making that one up).

If you find the concept of bug eating amusing -- if you find it icky -- you might want to think again. The way things are headed, you may be eating plenty of bugs soon.

Look, where global warming is concerned, I'm with syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer -- I'm a global warming agnostic. It can't be good that we're pumping so much CO2 into the environment -- and it may be that our activity is having an effect on the climate.

On the other hand, it may be we're having little or no effect. Despite what many global-warming alarmists are saying, science doesn't know for certain. Science has two speeds: "proven as fact" and "not sure." Like it or not, the scientific theory that humans are causing the Earth to warm is still in the "not sure" camp.

Nonetheless, we're racing ahead in an anti-global-warming frenzy. Some global-warming advocates have turned the issue into a religion -- the believers shall be exalted and the deniers shall be burned at the stake.

Many in the media -- folks who are supposed to be skeptical about things -- are as enamored of the "humans-are-destroying-the-Earth" story-line as they are of Barack Obama. They love to report doomsday scenarios that scare the bejesus out of us.

Corporations have jumped on board. They don't want bad press for denying or contributing to warming, and the better-run corporations are exploiting the frenzy to make dough.

As more folks embrace a religious conviction that humans are the cause of warming, the politicians are right with them. There aren't many votes in second-guessing the global warming gods. Both presidential candidates are in the global warming camp.

And the do-gooders, who love to control what the rest of us do, believe they've finally landed an issue that will give them the power they seek -- the power to make the rest of us sacrifice on a global scale to save Mother Earth.

The do-gooders are making tremendous headway. That's why I recommend you bone up on your cooking techniques.

You especially might want to master the use of garlic and butter and other spices and herbs that will effectively mask the taste of those crunchy critters we usually step on or swat.

You might want to invest in a good-quality blender, too ("bugamole," anyone?). Because the global-warming frenzy is picking up intensity. And that means one thing.

Bugs. They want us to eat bugs.

©2008 Tom Purcell.

Storm Damage Brings Longer Hours to Recycling Center

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:37:59 -0700

ANDERSON, IN - Storm damage on June 6 and June 9 which brought a federal disaster declaration into effect in Madison County also brought about increased hours at the City of Anderson’s Yard and Garden Recycling Center, located at the former Emge location at 2000 West 8th St. Downed trees, limbs, and other natural debris such as wood chips, grass, and leaves can be brought to the recycling center from 8am to 5pm, Monday through Saturday for the rest of the month of June.

Fees for the Yard and Garden Recycling Center are as follow:

Minimum charge: $10.00
Pick-up truck: $15.00
1-ton truck: $20.00
Single-axle truck $25.00

The recycling center also offers for sale the following items:

Organic Product Line

Compost AAA $10.00 per yard (grinded and screened)
Compost AA $ 5.00 per yard (grinded only)
Mulch $10.00 per yard

Anderson Spring Open Burning Season April 1st – May 31st, 2008

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:57:50 -0700

ANDERSON, IN - The Spring Open Burning Season for the City of Anderson will begin on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 and will end on Saturday, May 31st, 2008. Residents of the City of Anderson are allowed to burn wood products in a non-combustible container on their personal property when the following guidelines are followed:

Only clean dry wood or leaves are to be burned.

All burning is done in a non-combustible container with solid enclosed sides and ventilation near the bottom edges of the container. Note: A metal 55-gallon drum with holes drilled near the bottomedge of the drum is an acceptable container.

The fire must be attended at ALL times.

A means to extinguish the fire must be readily available.

All burning must be extinguished by 6 PM.

If the burning creates a nuisance or hazard, it must be extinguished.

Violations of the city’s open burning regulations can carry a civil penalty of up to $2,500.00 per violation. If there are any questions regarding the open burning regulations, please contact the City of Anderson Air Management Division at (765) 648-6158.

Source: City of Anderson Press Release

Brighten your Home with LED Lights and Have a Green Holiday

kpaul.mallasch — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:56:28 -0800

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Do you love to string holiday lights but worry about conserving energy? Find comfort and joy this holiday season with energy-saving LED (light emitting diode) lights.

"LED string lights use much less energy than incandescent string lights, and I hope all Hoosiers who decorate with lights will choose LED," said Thomas W. Easterly, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

"Because lowering our energy consumption directly reduces emissions from power plants, energy conservation is one of the most important ways that we, as individuals, can protect air quality and our environment."

LED lights offer these advantages over incandescent lights:

They use a fraction of the energy-LED lights use only 0.04 watts per bulb, 1/10th the energy of mini-lights, which use .4 watts per bulb, and 1/100th the energy of standard (C-7) bulbs, which use 4 watts per bulb;
They are long-lasting-LED lights last up to 200,000 hours used indoors (20 years continuous use); and,
They are safer around combustible materials-LED lights produce little heat; remain cool to the touch; and, are resistant to impact.

When the holiday lights come down, remember that Christmas trees don't need to go to the curb for trash pickup. Public and private composting facilities can chip trees for mulch. Trees also can be used in conservation projects, such as stabilizing the banks of streams and ponds or creating underwater habitats.

After packages are opened, remember to donate or recycle those unwanted electronics: you'll be keeping lead, cadmium and chromium, commonly found in electronic components, out of the environment. And keep holiday parties and office get-togethers greener this year by recycling as much as possible. Manufacturers can conserve energy and raw materials by reusing recycled aluminum, steel, glass, plastic, paper and electronic components in making new products.

For more "green" holiday tips, visit IDEM's holiday recycling Web page at http://www.idem.IN.gov/holidays.

Source: Indiana Department of Environmental Management Press Release