globalbriefs
News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.
Resilient Communities Volunteerism Remains Strong in America
More than 60 million Americans volun- teered 8 billion hours of their services in 2010, holding steady with the previous year, according to the latest report by the Corporation for National and Com- munity Service (CNCS), released late last year. Communities are benefiting from their work in mentoring and tutoring youth, fundraising and providing food, transportation and general labor, includ- ing disaster relief.
“Every day, volunteers of all ages are giving their time and talents to solve
problems and make our country stronger,” says Robert Velasco II, acting CEO of CNCS. He observes that civic involvement increases as people become more deeply rooted in their communities through family, work and school ties. The members of Generation X (born 1965 to 1981) are volunteer stars, having
contributed 2.3 billion hours in 2010, 110 million more than the year before. Teen volunteer rates were also up from 2002 through 2010, compared to 1989. A Vol- unteering in America report attributes this to emphasis on service-learning in high schools, the influence of parents that volunteer, social networking and the ease of finding opportunities via the Internet.
To find local volunteer opportunities by category, visit
Serve.gov or
AllForGood.org.
Future Fuels U.S. Renewable Energy Surpasses Nuclear
Beginning in 2011, renewable energy produc- tion in the United States surpassed nuclear pro- duction in overall quantity and percentage. As a percentage of total U.S. energy generation, renewables are steadily, if modestly, gaining. California’s leadership goal targets the utiliza- tion of 33 percent renewable energy sources by 2020.
Hydroelectric, geothermal, solar/photovol- taic, wind and biomass combined make up a
growing segment of the mix: 11.7 percent as of June 2011, surpassing nuclear at 11.1 percent. For the same period in 2010, nuclear was 11.6 percent, and renew- able was 10.6, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Forbes reports that many environmentalists, however, think that the two
prominent technologies that currently make up much of the renewables sector—hy- droelectric power, at 35 percent, and biomass, at 48 percent—are the least attrac- tive. (Wind is the third-largest, at 13 percent of renewable, 1.5 percent of the total.) Large-scale hydroelectric power production has harmful impacts on river ecosystems and has become less popular in the developed world. As for biomass, each of the many types of feedstock must be evaluated individually for its emissions profile, water footprint and other considerations, such as whether farm fields or forests need that material to decompose in place in order to retain soil or ecosystem function.
14 Rockland & Orange Counties
naturalawakeningsro.com
Going Out Green New Mortuary Practices Reduce Mercury Pollution
Resomation, Ltd., in Glasgow, Scotland, has invented a new alkaline hydrolysis unit as a green alternative to crema- tion. Founder Sandy Sullivan plans to install the first one in America at the Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mercury from dental fillings vapor-
ized in crematoria has been blamed for up to 16 percent of British airborne mercury emissions, and many facilities there are fitting costly mercury filtra- tion systems to meet reduced emission targets. The device dissolves the body in
heated, pressurized, alkaline water. Makers claim the process produces one-third less greenhouse gas than cre- mation, uses one-seventh of the energy and allows for complete separation of mercury-laden dental amalgam for safe disposal. Sullivan, a biochemist, says tests
have proven the effluent is sterile, contains no DNA and poses no envi- ronmental risk. He believes it can rival cremation for cost. The technology has been legalized in seven states to date. Another green alternative, Promes-
sion, is under development by Swed- ish Biologist Susanne Wiigh-Masak. It involves a fully automated machine that removes the body from the coffin and freezes it with liquid nitrogen. Vibrating breaks the corpse into fragments, which are then dried, refined and filtered to remove dental amalgam and other met- als. The remains are then automatically poured into a biodegradable container for shallow burial. Wiigh-Masak likens the process to
composting, in which organic materials convert to soil within weeks. She says that 60 countries around the world have expressed interest in the technology.
Source: BBC News
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