Sustainable flight

   TAM was the first airline in South America to carry out an experimental flight using biofuel on November 22, 2010. Produced from the oil of 100% domestic nettlespurge, known in Portuguese as pinhão-manso, it reduces carbon emissions by between 65% and 80% compared with petroleum-derived kerosene, according to research. Besides, the plant does not threatens the food chain, as it is not edible for humans nor animals. “Compared with other biofuels, the fuel from this plant is very promising for the Brazilian scenario,” says Paulus Figueiredo, TAM’s fuel manager. The next step in the project is to implement a farming unit, in reduced scale, at TAM’s Technological Center in São Carlos (SP), exclusively to conduct studies and make better cultivation techniques viable. “The objective is to carry out studies concerning technical and economic viability to build a biofuel Brazilian platform based on nettlespurge,” explains TAM’s CEO, Líbano Barroso. The experimental flight was a joint effort between TAM, Airbus, CFM International (joint venture between U.S.’s GE and the French Safran Group) and Air BP. The trip was authorized by Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

(TAM News, January 2011. Adaptado.)

PRISONS AND MOBILE PHONES

Bricking the intruders

If mobile phones can’t be kept out of prisons, can they be made useless?

Oct 14th 2010 | RAIFORD, FLORIDA AND PARCHMAN, MISSISSIPPI

THE striking thing about mobile phones in American prisons is not that they exist—though they do, in great numbers—but the ingenuity used to get and keep them. There are the usual entry methods: from visitors, corrupt guards or in packages hurled over the fence. But phones often take more exotic paths. In South Carolina a potato gun was used to fire phones over prison walls from a distance of a third of a mile. In Mississippi a suspiciously heavy and bounceless basketball in the recreation yard was found to contain 19 phones and chargers. (…)

Available on http://www.economist.com/node/17257847?story_id=17257847, accessed on November 4, 2010

The Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill on the U.S.

www.freewebs.com/mathewstolte/oilspills.html. 21/06/2010

      Although the oil has been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico for months, the consequences of this larger than ever environmental disaster have yet to be fully examined and determined. Scientists and researchers have started to put together some of the puzzle pieces, and the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are likely to be big.

      North Americans will have fewer choices on the store shelves. The Gulf of Mexico is a huge shipping lane through which products of all shapes and sizes come into North America. From toys to clothes to cars to building materials, you may find that the selection at your local store begins to shrink as shipping lanes slow down as a result of the oil spill.

      Whether you’re taking a vacation or hoping to walk along the shore, you may be disappointed. Many beaches in the U.S.A. are now closing as clean-up efforts on removing oil slick from the sands. But the impact may be felt for quite some time as oil continues to wash up on shore.

      Many wildlife animals will be impacted by the oil spill. Oiled birds, otter, bald eagles, pelicans, turtles, fish, and dolphins are already washing up on shore, making the beach sights less than palatable for someone looking to see some pristine nature.

      Over time, molluscs like clams incorporate calcium into their shells throughout their lifetimes. But the heavy metals like nickel and vanadium from the petroleum industry and the resulting oil spill may be incorporated into the shells of these creatures. As other wildlife consumes these clams, they incorporate the toxins into their bodies, and on it goes as the heavy metals bio-accumulate in the food chain. This could have serious, long-term consequences for human health. 

      Environmentalists have been working on restoring the populations of oysters by reseeding certain reefs to boost their numbers. The Gulf of Mexico has been home-working on some of these projects, but with the massive oil spilling into that environment, the oysters could soon become tainted with chemicals, making them unsafe to eat.

      The Gulf of Mexico is also a nursery for species like shrimp that grow up in the estuaries. The oil that is taking over this natural environment will choke out the plants that make the estuaries so nutritious to shrimp. 

      According to the National Weather Service, a hurricane like Hurricane Katrina could have a devastating impact on New Orleans. Researchers expect 15 named storms to develop into 8 hurricanes, and with a well-placed hurricane, the oil could be pushed onto New Orleans shores, further impacting the already devastated region.

Adapted from http://www.thenewecologist.com (21/06/2010)

A TOOL FOR SPIES

When Iran’s opposition protesters used Twitter and other forms of social media last year to let the world know about their regime’s brutal post election crackdown, activists praised Twitter as the tool of revolution and freedom. But now Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has figured out how to twist this tool into one of repression. Though as recently as this past January Chávez was decrying Twitter as a weapon of terrorists, he’s since turned into an avid Twitterer himself ( his account, the country’s most popular, boasted more than half a million followers at press time ), as well as a devoted Facebook user and blogger.

      Far from embracing the democratic spirit of the Web, though, the Venezuelan strongman is using his accounts and blog to exhort people to spy on each other. At the launch of his Twitter account, Chávez enjoined the Boliviarian faithful to use it to keep an eye on state enemies, namely the wealthy. My Twitter account is open for you to denounce them, “ Chávez announced on his television program. El Presidente has hired a staff of 200 to deal with tweeted “requests, denunciations, and other problems,” which have resulted in actions against allegedly credit-stingy banks and currency speculators. He’s now considering going a step further and ruling that all Venezuelan Web sites must move from U.S.- based servers to domestic ones - which would, of course, make them far easier to control. Big Brother would be proud.

              (Newsweek – June 14, 2010. By Mac Margolis and Alex Marin)