Archive for April, 2012
BPEX: Water-saving advice for pig farms
Tuesday, April 24th, 2012Practical steps to save water and money on pig farms have been published by BPEX. There are a number of short-term and long-term measures producers can take to conserve water in this latest Knowledge Transfer (KT) Bulletin.
BPEX environment project manager Anna Davis said: “Both drought and flooding [...]Leia mais
FDA proposes phasing out antibiotics in farm animals
Monday, April 23rd, 2012WASHINGTON — The bacon you had for breakfast is at the center of a 35-year debate over antibiotics.
That’s because the same life-saving drugs that are prescribed to treat everything from ear infections to tuberculosis in humans also are used to fatten the animals that supply the chicken, beef and pork we eat [...]Leia mais
EPA publishes national U.S. greenhouse gas inventory
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the 17th annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory. The final report shows overall emissions in 2010 increased by 3.2 percent from the previous year. The trend is attributed to an increase in energy consumption across all economic sectors, due to [...]
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A new deal to rid Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia of obsolete pesticides
Thursday, April 12th, 2012Twelve countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia will start working with the European Union (EU) and FAO to manage their vast stocks of obsolete pesticides in a partnership that was launched at FAO’s headquarters in Rome.
It is estimated that around 200 000 tons of obsolete pesticides, nearly half [...]Leia mais
FDA Introduces Voluntary Initiative on Antimicrobials
Thursday, April 12th, 2012Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria or other microbes develop the ability to resist the effects of a drug. Once this occurs, a drug may no longer be as effective in treating various illnesses or infections. Because it is well established that all uses of antimicrobial drugs, in both humans and animals, [...]
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Fuel from Chicken Feathers?
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012If we go by the stats, every year 11 billion pounds of poultry industry waste accumulates annually, because we have gigantic appetite for poultry products. They can’t be stuffed into pillows. Mostly they are utilized as low-grade animal feed. Scientists in Nevada have created a new and [...]
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Will Apple Beat Google to Tap North Carolina’s Pig Power?
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012Renewable methane gas produced by North Carolina’s massive hog farms has already attracted the attention of Google, and it looks like Apple could become the next tech giant to join the state’s hog waste “black gold” rush.
Earlier this year, Apple revealed that it would build an enormous 5 megawatt fuel cell installation at its new [...]Leia mais
Agricultural wastes yield biosurfactants for biocosmetics
Monday, April 9th, 2012Surfactants are found in cleaning agents and detergents, also in cosmetics. Shampoos, shower gels and bath additives consist of up to 40 percent surfactants. They reduce the surface tension of water, so that oil can be mixed with water. Annually about 18 million tonnes of surfactants are [...]
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Energy Department announces up to $15 million to research biomass-based supplements for traditional fuels
Monday, April 9th, 2012WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of President Obama’s blueprint for an economy fueled by homegrown and alternative energy sources, the Energy Department announced today up to $15 million available to demonstrate biomass-based oil supplements that can be blended with petroleum, helping the U.S. to reduce foreign oil use, diversify [...]
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Agency approves first applications for registration of ethanol to make e15
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the first applications for registration of ethanol for use in making gasoline that contains up to 15 percent ethanol – known as E15. Ethanol is a renewable fuel that can be mixed with gasoline. For over 30 years [...]
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