Reuse Reduce Recycle

Here is an interesting example.  I'm not sure if it qualifies as reuse, or recycle.  Carbon fiber is a hot commodity.  Composits are light weight and strong. The rear fuselage of Boeing's Dreamliner 787 is made from carbon fibre.  The construction process reminds me of the paper mache objects we made when I was a child - newspaper infused with a paste of watery flour laid up over a balloon.  The balloon is popped when the newspaper dries and voila! a ovoid object..  The carbon fiber is infused with epoxy and laid over a mold.  After baking, the mold collapses and voila! an airplane.  Or in the reuse/recycle case, an 80 foot long racing yacht made by America's Cup winner Oracle Team USA.  The mast and hull have been cut into 4 foot segments and shipped to the maker of stand up paddle boards.  It used to be fashionable to find an old barn whose weathered timbers could be salvaged for an upscale interior.  The yacht pieces will be fired in high heat and repurposed in new molds - unrecognizable as salvage from a sleek racing machine.  Is this good?  It is different.

Fog

We have had fog for over a week. We live near salt water. The wet fog air smells of the sea  The fog is caused by a temperature inversion with warm upper air trapping the still, cold air rising from the land. There is no wind. Many complain. They would be well to consider the fog that fell on London on December 5, 1952 and be thankful for our grey mist. London's fog fell in the winter when coal burning furnaces  were working full time. The emissions were enveloped in the fog, engulfing  London in thick yellowing smog. Visibility fell to one foot. Those with the weakest lungs suffocated quickly. 400 on the first day. Four thousand before the air cleared on December 9. Many thousand more whose breathing was compromised beyond recovery died in the months following. We are expecting sunshine tomorrow.

Why is This News Not Front Page?

Several weeks ago the IPCC issued its Fifth Assessment Report about climate change. Although the report was a compilation and summary of already published research, and therefore not new analysis, it garnered headlines refueling anxiety and alarm about carbon dioxide levels.  "Climate change is a fundamental threat to sustainable development and the fight against poverty" intoned the World Bank.  Every media outlet carried the news.  Yesterday, The United States Energy Department issued a report of their own.  Their analysis showed that the United States has cut its energy-related carbon dioxide emissions by 3.8% since last year.  Their report concludes that the reduction is not related to the recession, but to the efficiency of newer cars and the on-going shift from coal to natural gas in energy production.  Read the report for yourself. You won't find any headline stories about it.  In our paper, it received a very short mention in a "newsline" summary.