Gas from Sewage Waste Runs City Power Plant
The article below is from the magazine Popular Science, the March 1922 issue, with some additional comments by yours truly.
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SEWAGE that costs large cities tremendous sums each year can be turned into a source of power equivalent to thousands of tons of coal! The waste now dumped into rivers or shipped to sea may be used to run factories or to light buildings!
That conversion of sewage into power is possible has been proved conclusively by the city of Birmingham, England. There a suction gas engine of 20 brake horsepower has been successfully driven by the gases given off by sewage sludge.
On the basis of the Birmingham experiments, an American city that must now pay for the disposal of 400,000 tons of sewage sludge a year might produce 320,000,000 cubic feet of gas suitable for heat and power, or, in terms of energy, 16,000,000 horsepower hours at 20 cubic feet per brake horsepower.
The apparatus for producing gas from sewage consists of two sludge digestion tanks in which the sewage is allowed to ferment. The gases given off are composed of from 25 to 75 per cent of methane, or marsh gas.
A gas engine of the usual type will run on sewage gas without adjustment of the valves. Sewage gas has a higher calorific value than some illuminating gas, averaging about 650 thermal units to the cubic foot, as against 550.
The Birmingham engine runs about six hours a day and is used to operate a centrifugal sludge pump that moves the wet sludge from the gas-generating tank to the drying grounds. In this process a small proportion of the waste material produces enough power to run the pumps of the sewage disposal plant. If all the material were used, there would probably be enough gas available to light the city.
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What has taken us that long and we still have not got any sewage gas powered electricity generating plants in operation proper. We are, however, flaring off tons and tons of methane gas, what sewage gas, after all is, off from sewage works day in, day out.
Not far from where I live this is happening all the time and it is a shame to see the waste of a perfectly good gas that, though volatile when handled incorrectly, could produce energy and reuse the effect of this gar, if it at all is a contributor, as claimed, with regards to “climate change”, the new word for what was once called “global warming”.
Then there are the landfill sites, the refuse dumps, that are vented to get rid off the methane gas that is produced in them. Further contribution of greenhouse gases?
Why then, though, are we looking to grow grains from which to produce bio-fuel, and other crops, while, at the same time, we are being told that agriculture cannot grow enough food for a growing world population. Somewhere there is more than one paradox here, methinks. Maybe it is time we all sat down and thought about what we are being told and then began wondering what the truth is behind the claims and then why we are not doing the things that were already being successfully toyed with in the beginning of the last century.
Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
David Bellamy - An environmentalist with his head screwed on
Why do I say this? Because he does not ape along with the others but is prepared to speak out against the accepted line and view, even to the extent of being asked to leave the boards of a number of organizations.
David Bellamy first came to public prominence as an environmental consultant at the time of the 1967 Torrey Canyon disaster. He has written and presented some 400 television programmes on botany, ecology, and environmental issues. Few of us, I should think, old enough to have seen some of his programs of years back, will ever forget the “peat bog incident”. This caused David Bellamy to be firmly stuck in my mind.
David Bellamy is the originator, together with David Shreeve and the Conservation Foundation (which he also founded), of the Ford European Conservation Awards and has published over 80 scientific papers and many books.
He is Britain's most prominent campaigner against the construction of wind farms in undeveloped areas. This is despite appearing very enthusiastic about wind power in the educational video Power from the Wind produced by Britain's Central Electricity Generating Board.
His views on global warming are more likely seen as rather controversial.
In 2004, he wrote an article in the Daily Mail in which he described the theory of man-made global warming as "poppycock".
A letter he published in New Scientist (16 April 2005) asserted that a large percentage (555 of 625) of the glaciers being observed by the World Glacier Monitoring Service were advancing, not retreating. Mr. Bellamy has since admitted that the figures on glaciers were wrong and came from unsubstantiated sources, and announced in a letter to The Sunday Times on 29 May 2005 that he had "decided to draw back from the debate on global warming" . However he has not withdrawn his assertions about the causes of global warming, to which this writer can only say “thanks”.
His opinions have changed the way in which some organisations view Bellamy. In 2005 a spokesperson for Plantlife, where Bellamy has been president for 15 years, said it "would be wrong to ask him to continue [as president]".
The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts stated in 2005 "We are not happy with his line on climate change", and Bellamy was succeeded as president of the Wildlife Trusts by Aubrey Manning in November 2005.
It is rather amazing that, as soon as one has slightly controversial views that one then no longer can be accepted to be serving in this or that capacity. I am actually surprised that no one is, as yet, trying to suppress David Bellamy from actually making his comments and have stopped his books being published and sold.
While I may now digress a little we do see this again and again in matters relating to the Romani People, the history of our People, and other such aspects, for as soon as we, such as the Romani Institute, put forward ideas as to origin, time of Gypsies in Europe, and the fact, and it is a fact, that while we are all Romani we, the Romani People are not all part of the Roma. The Roma are but one part of the Romani and not the other way round. However, we must not publish that. It meets with violent reactions by the established Gypsyologists.
And as the readers of this journal will know, David Bellamy and I share views similar as far as “global warming”, now called, more correctly “climate change”, especially as to it being the result of man's activities. I arrived at my conclusion before I even knew that David had arrived at the same. While we humans and our actions and our abuse of nature may have sped it all up a slight bit climate change has always been a part of the Earth's cycles and no one can change that. We must learn to live with it and work with it and we must do that now while, at the same time, continuing to balance our life with the environment. While I am no scientist I know a little about physics and chemistry and anyone who paid attention in the relevant lessons at school may also remember that CO2 is, so it was taught (this may have changed by now), heavier than air and therefore, when, say, a silo is opened the CO2 present therein actually is pressed down. How then, can CO2 from motor vehicles, etc, reach the atmosphere and the upper atmosphere at that. Also, forgive me, but as said, I am no scientist, is it not carbon monoxide (CO) that is, amongst other things, in car exhaust fumes, and not carbon dioxide (CO2)?
While we can all see that something is happening to the climate in the same way as David Bellamy I too do not believe that it is man-made.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
100 Years Daily Mail Ideal Home Show
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
On Friday, March 14, 2008, the 100th Daily Mail Ideal Home Show opened its doors at Earls Court with a birthday fanfare. Yours truly had the opportunity to attend this gala opening as Editor of Green (Living) Review.
The members of the press, like myself, were then taken for a whistle stop tour around the show to the main attractions, ending up, finally, at the Eco House and the grand opening of it by David Bellamy.
The Eco House is indeed a most interesting concept and I shall, hopefully, cover it in more detail, in an article all on its own.
The first stop of the tour, though, was the Innovation Nation, and it must said that Britain always was one of the cradles of innovations, sometimes though our inventors and innovators go unnoticed, like it was the case with Trevor Baylis and the wind-up radio. While he got himself noticed no one wanted to know that radio, at the time, and now everyone wants to copy it in one way or another.
The next stop on the tour was “Century Street” and, without even having had the time to look at the exhibits inside the houses themselves, alone seeing the children's play and toys in the “play grounds” outside and having seen some of the exhibits in photos, one can but say that we have come a long way in those 100 years that the Ideal Home Show has been bringing the latest innovations for the home and garden, etc. to the consumer.
The Eco House, already mentioned, was the final stop of the press tour and it was this that obviously, amongst some other green and environmental living ideas, that caught my attention.
The Eco House, in my view, but then I am biased, is well worth a visit as well as the display of No1, Lower Carbon Drive. Anyone interested in ideas of how to reduce not just one's carbon footprint – and you know me and my view on the likelihood of climate change being man-made – but also one's general impact on the environment, which I entirely support, and also how one can reduce one's heating and other energy costs, would be well advised to pay a visit to No1, Lower Carbon Drive (use the front door though rather than the back door, as I did by accident – but hey, it was open) and have a word with the experts at hand. You will find this in the DIY and Home Improvement section of the show.
There is still enough time for everyone to visit the Ideal Home Show. It is on until April 6th, 2008 at Earls Court 1 & 2.
To book tickets or view a full list of exhibitors and attractions at the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show, visit www.idealhomeshow.co.uk or call the ticket hotline on 0844 415 4144.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
The Queen Goes Green
In her annual Commonwealth Day Message on Monday, March 10, 2008, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, called on all the 53 nations and the 2 billion people that comprise the Commonwealth to join hands in defense of the environment – with the richer and more affluent people and nations helping those facing higher risks with fewer resources.
“The impact of pollution falls unequally: it is often those who pollute the least – notably in the world's least-developed nations – who are closest to the razor's edge: most affected by the impact of climate change and least equipped to cope with it.
And it is important to remember that the environmental choices available in some countries may not be an option for others. In some parts of the world, for example, fossil fuels can be used more sparingly and buildings can be made of more efficient, sustainable materials; but it is far harder to expect someone to adapt if he or she relies on the trees of a local forest for fuel, shelter and livelihood. If we recognise the interests and needs of the people who are most affected, we can work with them to bring about lasting change.
Happily, this approach has always been a strength of the Commonwealth, and awareness of environmental issues is now widespread, with a determination that future generations should enjoy clean air, sufficient fresh water and energy without risking damage to the planet.”
The Queen pointed to the River Nile as an example of the need for environmental action and a metaphor for the global environment.
“The Nile, throughout history, has served humankind in many ways. But for all its impressive size and importance, this river is a fragile eco-system; and its vulnerability grows with the number of people dependant upon it, so that a single incident of pollution upstream may affect the lives of countless numbers downstream.
The example of the Nile illustrates many of the challenges facing the global environment as a whole which cannot alone sustain our lives as once it did. The competition for fresh water by a growing population is itself becoming a source of potential conflict. Our own attitudes to the environment, and the use we put it to, may have consequences for people on every continent and for every ocean and sea.”
At a meeting in Uganda in November 2007, leaders of the Commonwealth nations made tackling climate change a priority, although they stopped short of committing to binding targets for reducing their countries’ greenhouse gas emissions.
Several Commonwealth nations are feeling the effects of climate change and facing more serious threats in the future – from rising sea levels, flooding, desertification and other effects of global warming.
In conclusion of her speech, the Queen said that every person, business and institution in the Commonwealth has a responsibility to help protect and preserve the environment.
“In the Commonwealth, governments, businesses, communities and individuals should each strive to match words and good intentions with deeds. Every contribution has its part to play. Whatever we do, wherever we live, our actions in defence of the environment can have a real and positive effect upon the lives of others, today and into the future.”
God Save The Queen
Now let us hope that governments, as well as people, were listening and, more importantly, that they heed this message by Her Majesty.
Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
The global terror threat in 2008 and beyond
The global “war against terror and terrorism” has seen mixed results in the last twelve months.
You may rightly wonder what an article on the global “war against terror and terrorism” is doing in the Green (Living) Review, but please read it to its end.
Numerous plots have been stopped, leaders arrested and networks disrupted, so we are being told. Whether this is so or not only those that tell us this will know.
Al-Qaeda's violent world view, however, still has many followers and plenty of recruits seem to be available, it would appear, for new attacks.
So, what should we expect in the coming years?
More of the same, I would say, for we are certainly not, in the same way as the USA never managed to do that, winning the hearts and minds of the people concerned; not even those in Iraq. While many Iraqis may, indeed, be happy that they got rid of Sadam Hussein they certainly are not happy with the western military presence in their country. And who can blame them; would we like occupiers in our streets?
Some analysts like to pretend that currently in this seventh year following the attacks of 9/11, al-Qaeda's fortunes are mixed and that Iraq was its biggest setback where relatively small number of hardcore jihadist insurgents had hoped to create an Islamist mini-state in the centre and west of the country.
Partly due, they say, to US General Petraeus's surge in troop numbers, partly due to the controversial US funding of local citizen militias, and partly due to Iraq's Sunni tribes deciding they were fed up with al-Qaeda's extreme violence coupled with its austere brand of Islam, al-Qaeda in Iraq is, for now, on the defensive. But is this truly so? We are seeing, once again, the violence escalating in the last month or so and the ordinary Iraqi calling for security. A security that the western troops, including the US troop surges, has not managed to bring. Most Iraqis today will say that the situation, as far as security is concerned, is as bad as it ever was.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and in fact elsewhere, remains capable, as we have seen, of inflicting high-profile attacks and is unlikely to abandon its cause in a hurry.
But while Iraq has certainly been the front line in the physical conflict between the West and its allies on the one hand, and global jihadism on the other, it is only one of many arenas in which al-Qaeda's affiliates are active.
New targets abound
If, as some have been predicting, though the signs recently are against this, the violence in Iraq continues to subside, then retreating non-Iraqi fighters are likely to seek new targets in neighbouring countries, especially Jordan and the Arab Gulf states.
Many analysts are rather surprised that liberal Dubai, with its high concentration of Western tourists, shoppers and expatriates, has so far escaped attack.
In Pakistan, al-Qaeda's core leadership has spent the last year consolidating its presence in the thinly governed tribal territories next to the Afghan border, cementing its ties to the Taleban and setting up new training camps to teach bomb-making, kidnap and assassination. Despite the fact that they may have lost one or two of their leadership in attacks recently, if indeed this is not just a ruse by the Pakistani authorities who often seem rather reluctant to act against the those islamist terror cells and battle groups, Al-Qaeda in Pakistan is hardly going to give up the fight either. We do know how the Madrassas in that country, and especially in those tribal areas, are a training ground for jihadist fighters from all over the globe.
Both al-Qaeda and the wider Islamist movement there have benefited from Pakistan's unstable political climate, and any new attempts to exert military control over the tribal areas will most likely be met with fierce resistance.
In Somalia, the defeat of the Islamist militias a year ago has not brought stability, and there are signs al-Qaeda may be tempted to boost its presence in the Horn of Africa.
Here there have been a number of alleged plots disrupted in 2007 - in Germany, Denmark and Belgium – and the stress must be with the word “alleged”, as I already said in the beginning.
Those accused may be behind bars, if they ever were real, but European governments and their citizens are firmly in al-Qaeda's sights for their perceived role in Afghanistan and the wider Middle East.
I know, and so do many of the readers, I am sure, that I am a cynic and also someone who does not trust any government, whether ours or those of other countries, as to whether this “war on terror” is actually real or not just something that has been made up in order to be able to exert more and more control over there citizens of the various countries, namely us.
Media war
On the media front, both al-Qaeda and the Taleban have been prolific in broadcasting their messages over the internet, and are likely to continue this part of their campaign against the West and its allies.
Two of the FBI's most wanted fugitives - Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri - have delivered over a dozen audio and video messages in the past 12 months.
The latter, who is effectively al-Qaeda's chief strategist, has taken to appearing against a cosy-looking backdrop of a library of Islamic texts, implying that wherever he is currently in hiding, he is secure and comfortable.
Al-Qaeda's media arm, known as al-Sahab, has increased its annual output of audio and video messages from just 6 in 2002 to a record 94 in 2007, according to the US-based research institute, the IntelCenter.
In the coming months, this media campaign will likely intensify as al-Qaeda tries to reverse its setbacks in Iraq, and the Taleban maintain their campaign to regain territory in Afghanistan.
When it comes to the media war then we must also remember that it is being fought on both sides. Therefore, we must take everything with a pinch of salt and lots of discernment. Either sides would like to pull the wool over our eyes. The “enemy” to convince us that he is stronger than the measures that we can put in place and our own governments that the “enemy” is that strong and stronger so that they can put in place more control methods which, in the end, are there to monitor us, the ordinary citizens of the individual nations rather than the “enemy”.
That said we must be ever vigilant just in case that there are real terrorists out there too.
The greatest threat to our infrastructure, however, is not the possibility of terrorist attacks, whether ordinary or chemical, biological or even nuclear, as in the form of a dirty bomb. The greatest threat is from the environmental changes today.
We have abandoned, it would seem, now the term “global warming”, simple, methinks, because it might also have a different effect in some places, in favor of the word “climate change”. Still, however, the authorities try to tell us that it is all man-made and that, if be but stop using the motorcar, aeroplanes, and stop cows and other livestock belching too much, we can reverse this. But what if, as it would appear to me, this “climate change”, and this term is the best one for it, is a repetition of the changes in climate that the Earth, our blue planet, seems to be going through every thousand or so years. Then there is not much we can do to stop it. We then will have to learn to live with it, and the sooner we started to put measures in place to do just that the better.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
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