Re: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer
I just reprocessed this last batch using 100ml of methanol and 5.5g KOH. It turned darker and there are little cooties floating around in it. Also, nothing settled out. Upon doing the wash test, it immediately formed an emulsion, although the methanol test yields a nice clear phase with no settle material. I am confused. I'm going to move on and make another batch, but I'd like to know what went wrong so I can at least learn something. Any ideas? On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 10:10 AM, Ian and Jubilee Miller [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've let the BD separate for over 24 hours, which I thought should be enough time. My method for separating could be suspect. I'm decanting out of a settling bottle and tried to be careful, but it is possible that some glycerine sneaked past. I think getting a better set up going is going to make it a lot easier to be consistent. I just put my third batch through the methanol and wash tests and this time I've got some settling in the methanol so I think I'm going to reprocess it. The wash test turned out the same. Here's a link to a picture: https://picasaweb.google.com/ianandjubilee/Biodiesel?authuser=0authkey=Gv1sRgCNSD4sbwsfyjYAfeat=directlink I also was wondering it our water softener could have an effect. Could softened water create more of a problem? Thanks for the help, Ian On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 8:44 AM, Jan Warnqvist [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello C Pinelli. Did you check the FFA and water contents on your raw material before processing ? FFA levels above 5 mg KOH/g (2,5%) will produce a lot of soaps, making the processing bad and the separation even worse. The water content will promote the soap production and will also compete with the methanol. The highest acceptable water content is around 1,5% and the lower the better. - Original Message - From: C Pinelli [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2011 3:26 PM Subject: Re: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer I am having a similar problem, I have experience making ethanol successfully, but I'm new to biodiesel. I've been trying to get it right for some time with many many test batches, without too much success. I've followed the instructions as closely as possible, but still can't quite get it right. I use 90% KOH Flakes, a scale thats accurate to the hundreth of a gram, and am incredibly meticulous in my measurements. I've had mixed (but mostly good)results with the methanol test, but have never consistantly passed the wash test. Sometimes I get a very thick separation line between the two, sometimes I get clear water on the bottom with a yellowy mayo like substance on top. Sometimes it seems to have the reverse result, where it appears to be clear biodiesel on top, with very murky white water underneath. I've tried various amount of KOH and methanol, and varying my processing times, but I can't seem to get it down. As soon as my schedule permits, I'm going to try to get some new chemicals, because im worried that my lye might be water contaminated. Any help deciphering these results would be really appreciated. Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2011 12:51:30 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Subject: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer Hello to all. I've made two test batches of biodiesel using new oil using the instructions on the JTF site, which I've read and re-read, along with many of the mailing list posts. I'm enjoying everything I'm learning, but still have a ton to learn. I also have a question. In both my test batches I've performed the quality tests recommended. The fuel passes the methanol test fine, with no glycerine settling out. When I come to the wash test, I have perhaps an eighth of an inch of white foam between the water and the biodiesel. It separates quite well though. I've tried to follow all instructions to the letter and I ordered my chemicals from DudaDiesel, so I assume they are a good quality. I assume the foam is soap. It could be that my measurements aren't precise enough, but if they aren't it's because of my instruments. I have been very meticulous in my measurements. I've gone ahead and washed the biodiesel from both batches, and they also have a lot of white foam, although they also separate very quickly. With both batches I've just kept washing until there's no more white junk and the water is clear. Does this take care of the soap (if that's what it is), or is there still something to be concerned about? Also, any suggestions on how to get that paper thin white layer instead of the thicker one I have now? I'm using new oil, what I think are quality chemicals, and I'm being as meticulous as I know how to be. As far as I know, I'm following your instructions to the letter. I thank you for your help,
Re: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer
You've made only three test batches so far? At this stage, I think you'd do better to make more test batches than trying to rescue a failed batch by reprocessing it. Keep trying! You'll get there. Best Keith I just reprocessed this last batch using 100ml of methanol and 5.5g KOH. It turned darker and there are little cooties floating around in it. Also, nothing settled out. Upon doing the wash test, it immediately formed an emulsion, although the methanol test yields a nice clear phase with no settle material. I am confused. I'm going to move on and make another batch, but I'd like to know what went wrong so I can at least learn something. Any ideas? On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 10:10 AM, Ian and Jubilee Miller [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've let the BD separate for over 24 hours, which I thought should be enough time. My method for separating could be suspect. I'm decanting out of a settling bottle and tried to be careful, but it is possible that some glycerine sneaked past. I think getting a better set up going is going to make it a lot easier to be consistent. I just put my third batch through the methanol and wash tests and this time I've got some settling in the methanol so I think I'm going to reprocess it. The wash test turned out the same. Here's a link to a picture: https://picasaweb.google.com/ianandjubilee/Biodiesel?authuser=0authkey=Gv1sRgCNSD4sbwsfyjYAfeat=directlink I also was wondering it our water softener could have an effect. Could softened water create more of a problem? Thanks for the help, Ian On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 8:44 AM, Jan Warnqvist [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello C Pinelli. Did you check the FFA and water contents on your raw material before processing ? FFA levels above 5 mg KOH/g (2,5%) will produce a lot of soaps, making the processing bad and the separation even worse. The water content will promote the soap production and will also compete with the methanol. The highest acceptable water content is around 1,5% and the lower the better. - Original Message - From: C Pinelli [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2011 3:26 PM Subject: Re: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer I am having a similar problem, I have experience making ethanol successfully, but I'm new to biodiesel. I've been trying to get it right for some time with many many test batches, without too much success. I've followed the instructions as closely as possible, but still can't quite get it right. I use 90% KOH Flakes, a scale thats accurate to the hundreth of a gram, and am incredibly meticulous in my measurements. I've had mixed (but mostly good)results with the methanol test, but have never consistantly passed the wash test. Sometimes I get a very thick separation line between the two, sometimes I get clear water on the bottom with a yellowy mayo like substance on top. Sometimes it seems to have the reverse result, where it appears to be clear biodiesel on top, with very murky white water underneath. I've tried various amount of KOH and methanol, and varying my processing times, but I can't seem to get it down. As soon as my schedule permits, I'm going to try to get some new chemicals, because im worried that my lye might be water contaminated. Any help deciphering these results would be really appreciated. Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2011 12:51:30 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Subject: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer Hello to all. I've made two test batches of biodiesel using new oil using the instructions on the JTF site, which I've read and re-read, along with many of the mailing list posts. I'm enjoying everything I'm learning, but still have a ton to learn. I also have a question. In both my test batches I've performed the quality tests recommended. The fuel passes the methanol test fine, with no glycerine settling out. When I come to the wash test, I have perhaps an eighth of an inch of white foam between the water and the biodiesel. It separates quite well though. I've tried to follow all instructions to the letter and I ordered my chemicals from DudaDiesel, so I assume they are a good quality. I assume the foam is soap. It could be that my measurements aren't precise enough, but if they aren't it's because of my instruments. I have been very meticulous in my measurements. I've gone ahead and washed the biodiesel from both batches, and they also have a lot of white foam, although they also separate very quickly. With both batches I've just kept washing until there's no more white junk and the water is clear. Does this take care of the soap (if that's what it is), or is there still something to be concerned about? Also, any
Re: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer
One suggestion is that if you have a lot of methanol in excess, the wash test will form an emulsion, since the methanol is soluble both in water and in biodiesel. But it will pass my test. And it did ? - Original Message - From: Ian and Jubilee Miller [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Friday, September 16, 2011 8:55 PM Subject: Re: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer I just reprocessed this last batch using 100ml of methanol and 5.5g KOH. It turned darker and there are little cooties floating around in it. Also, nothing settled out. Upon doing the wash test, it immediately formed an emulsion, although the methanol test yields a nice clear phase with no settle material. I am confused. I'm going to move on and make another batch, but I'd like to know what went wrong so I can at least learn something. Any ideas? On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 10:10 AM, Ian and Jubilee Miller [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've let the BD separate for over 24 hours, which I thought should be enough time. My method for separating could be suspect. I'm decanting out of a settling bottle and tried to be careful, but it is possible that some glycerine sneaked past. I think getting a better set up going is going to make it a lot easier to be consistent. I just put my third batch through the methanol and wash tests and this time I've got some settling in the methanol so I think I'm going to reprocess it. The wash test turned out the same. Here's a link to a picture: https://picasaweb.google.com/ianandjubilee/Biodiesel?authuser=0authkey=Gv1sRgCNSD4sbwsfyjYAfeat=directlink I also was wondering it our water softener could have an effect. Could softened water create more of a problem? Thanks for the help, Ian On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 8:44 AM, Jan Warnqvist [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello C Pinelli. Did you check the FFA and water contents on your raw material before processing ? FFA levels above 5 mg KOH/g (2,5%) will produce a lot of soaps, making the processing bad and the separation even worse. The water content will promote the soap production and will also compete with the methanol. The highest acceptable water content is around 1,5% and the lower the better. - Original Message - From: C Pinelli [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2011 3:26 PM Subject: Re: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer I am having a similar problem, I have experience making ethanol successfully, but I'm new to biodiesel. I've been trying to get it right for some time with many many test batches, without too much success. I've followed the instructions as closely as possible, but still can't quite get it right. I use 90% KOH Flakes, a scale thats accurate to the hundreth of a gram, and am incredibly meticulous in my measurements. I've had mixed (but mostly good)results with the methanol test, but have never consistantly passed the wash test. Sometimes I get a very thick separation line between the two, sometimes I get clear water on the bottom with a yellowy mayo like substance on top. Sometimes it seems to have the reverse result, where it appears to be clear biodiesel on top, with very murky white water underneath. I've tried various amount of KOH and methanol, and varying my processing times, but I can't seem to get it down. As soon as my schedule permits, I'm going to try to get some new chemicals, because im worried that my lye might be water contaminated. Any help deciphering these results would be really appreciated. Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2011 12:51:30 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Subject: [Biofuel] How do I get the paper thin white layer Hello to all. I've made two test batches of biodiesel using new oil using the instructions on the JTF site, which I've read and re-read, along with many of the mailing list posts. I'm enjoying everything I'm learning, but still have a ton to learn. I also have a question. In both my test batches I've performed the quality tests recommended. The fuel passes the methanol test fine, with no glycerine settling out. When I come to the wash test, I have perhaps an eighth of an inch of white foam between the water and the biodiesel. It separates quite well though. I've tried to follow all instructions to the letter and I ordered my chemicals from DudaDiesel, so I assume they are a good quality. I assume the foam is soap. It could be that my measurements aren't precise enough, but if they aren't it's because of my instruments. I have been very meticulous in my measurements. I've gone ahead and washed the biodiesel from both batches, and they also have a lot of white foam, although they also separate very quickly. With both batches I've just kept washing until there's no
[Biofuel] Wall Street protesters inspired by Arab Spring movement
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/16/tech/social-media/twitter-occupy-wall-street/index.html Wall Street protesters inspired by Arab Spring movement By Michael Saba, CNN September 17, 2011 (CNN) -- It worked in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Now, taking their cue from social-media fueled uprisings in places like Egypt and Iran, a band of online activists hopes it will work on Wall Street. Kalle Lasn, co-founder of the counterculture magazine AdBusters, has taken to Twitter and other websites to help organize a campaign encouraging tens of thousands of Americans to hold a nonviolent sit-in Saturday in Lower Manhattan, the heart of the U.S. financial district. This past spring and summer saw a massive groundswell of populist demonstrations against authoritarian regimes in North Africa and the Middle East -- the Arab Spring of 2011. In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Syria, protesters took to the streets and occupied public spaces to protest stagnant economies, lack of freedom of expression and regimes that seemed more concerned with consolidating power than addressing the needs of the people. Each of these revolutions began differently, but they all were organized and fueled by tech-savvy social media users, particularly on Facebook and Twitter. Lasn now wants to use the Internet for a protest in the United States. There's a very visceral anger against the financial community, Lasn said. Many people feel that these people who are financial fraudsters, who basically got away with it, have yet to be brought to justice... It seems like we the people now have to congregate on Wall Street and other financial districts around the world and force the global economic system to move in a better, more just direction. Adbusters' protest campaign -- with the hashtag #occupywallstreet -- began in July with the launch of a simple campaign website calling for a march through the streets of Lower Manhattan and a sit-in at the New York Stock Exchange, just as demonstrators did in Tunis' November 7 Square and Cairo's Tahrir Square. The campaign got a sizable boost in August from the hacktivist group Anonymous, which released a short video urging its supporters to participate in the sit-in. Since then, the movement has seen the addition of planned protests in other countries, including Japan, Israel, Canada and a half-dozen European nations. The aim of #occupywallstreet is to draw 20,000 protestors to New York's financial district, although Lasn hopes for as many as 90,000. In Tunisia and in Egypt, the Internet was used to organize surprising numbers of people to get out into the streets and start a radical, democratic movement for regime change, Lasn said. Of course, the situation here in America and many European countries is quite different. We're not living under a torturous dictatorship, for one. Nonetheless, there's a feeling that the global financial system, the heart of which is in the U.S., in New York, that this system is somehow having its way with us, he said. There's a feeling that we need a revolution in the way that our economy is run, the way that Washington is run. This isn't, Lasn stresses, an excuse for rioting and looting like the world recently witnessed in the United Kingdom. It's a call for radical change, but in the tradition of nonviolent protesters like Mahatma Gandhi, he says. If protests turn violent, he fears the message will be lost. What we are hoping for is to have a very large number of people turn up in Lower Manhattan and start walking toward Wall Street peacefully, signs in hand, Lasn said. If we have peaceful assemblies and debates about what our demands to President Obama should be, then bit by bit we can create a situation that will rival what happened in Egypt. That would be a wonderful, energizing and positive moment to feel like we the people are in charge, he said. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] #OCCUPYWALLSTREET
https://occupywallst.org/article/telephone-help-line/ Call (877) 881-3020 for Help Directions Posted 2011-09-16 05:30:46 UTC by OccupyWallSt We've just set up a toll free number so people attending the occupation can receive simple directions and help. There's no pesky robots or queues at the moment, your call will go directly to a volunteer. If you can't get through or it hangs up, it probably means all volunteers are busy so try again five minutes later. This service is also anonymous-your caller id will not appear on our volunteers' phones. The number is: (877) 881-3020 For general inquiries, please email the NYC organizers at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I'd like to thank our volunteers and a recent generous donor to the telecom fund for making this service possible. From: Adbusters Magazine [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: 3493, ,0 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: #OCCUPYWALLSTREET orientation guide Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:20:31 -0700 http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/occupywallstreet Good news culture jammers! The http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=10004weather forecast for tomorrow is partly cloudy skies and highs of 68°F. Nighttime temperatures will reach a low of 52°F. There is a small chance of rain later in the week. Bring, at minimum, warm clothing, sleeping bag, food, water and a tarp. Saturday's occupation begins at noon in Bowling Green Park. The first people's assembly will start at 3 p.m. at One Chase Manhattan Plaza and continue until our http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/hey-president-obama-our-one-demand.htmlone demand is agreed upon by all. Check out the full http://www.nycga.net/?p=275schedule of events. A leaked bulletin from the New York Police Department reveals that they expect at least 5,000, and maybe even 20,000 people to swarm Wall Street tomorrow. That just might be enough for us to pull this off! A telephone support line has been set up by https://occupywallst.org/article/telephone-help-line/occupywallst.org. For directions or help call (877) 881-3020 to speak with a local activist. For legal advice, or to report an arrest, call the National Lawyers Guild at (212) 679-6018. http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/16/headlines/hundreds_expected_for_occupy_wall_st_protestDemocracy Now!, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-16/wall-street-protesters-vow-to-occupy-lower-manhattan-for-months.htmlBloomberg News, the http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/us-day-of-rage-planned-for-saturday--an-arab-spring-in-america/2011/09/15/gIQAd6uKVK_blog.htmlWashington Post and http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/16/tech/social-media/twitter-occupy-wall-street/index.htmlCNN covered #OCCUPYWALLSTREET today. The CNN article is a good summary. When asked about the occupation, the mayor of New York City http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-16/wall-street-protesters-vow-to-occupy-lower-manhattan-for-months.htmlresponded, People have a right to protest, and if they want to protest, we'll be happy to make sure they have locations to do it. As long as they do it where other people's rights are respected, this is the place where people can speak their minds Anonymous says they will http://www.itworld.com/security/203799/anonymous-launch-more-effective-site-attack-tool-saturday-when-it-occupies-wall-strerelease their new hacktivism tool at 7 a.m. in solidarity with #OCCUPYWALLSTREET. While Michael Moore and the rest of the mainstream left continues to be largely silent about #OCCUPYWALLSTREET, American rapper Lupe Fiasco has been vocal in his support. Lupe has vowed to donate 50 tents to the occupation and has written a http://www.lupefiasco.com/news/ad146c-to-the-sep17-occupiers-moneyman/poem celebrating our efforts. President Obama will be in New York City at a private $38,500 per person fundraising event on Monday, September 19th starting at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/president-barack-obama-sale-505:30 p.m. at 820 Park Avenue. Maybe we can go there and invite him to join our people's assembly? For those who cannot attend one of the many solidarity events happening in https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=157612984319938Milan, https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=198140810249335Madrid, https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144273062327693Valencia, http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/actions/692London, https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=267827133244022Lisbon, https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=183280815077438Athens, https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=234168159960214San Francisco, http://www.15msantander.org/829/accion-masiva-acampada-de-2-dias-en-los-jardines-de-pereda-17-s-18-s/Santander, https://takethesquarewi.wordpress.com/Madison, https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=229631190420571Amsterdam, http://www.usdayofrage.org/public-announcements/110-us-day-of-rage-los-angeles-sept-17-2pm-usdorlosa-usdor-sept17-usdayofragelosa.htmlLos Angeles and now
[Biofuel] What Wall Street doesn't want us to know about oil prices
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-wall-street-doesnt-want-us-to-know-about-oil-prices/2011/09/14/gIQAiOodVK_story.html What Wall Street doesn't want us to know about oil prices By Bernie Sanders, Published: September 16, 2011 The top six financial institutions in this country own assets equal to more than 60 percent of our gross domestic product and possess enormous economic and political power. One of the great questions of our time is whether the American people, through Congress, will control the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street, or whether Wall Street will continue to wreak havoc on our economy and the lives of working families. I represent Vermont, a rural state where many workers drive long distances to jobs that pay $12 an hour or less. Many seniors living on fixed incomes heat their homes with oil during our cold winters. These people have asked me to do all that I can to lower outrageously high gasoline and heating-oil prices. I intend to do just that. Why have oil prices spiked wildly? Some argue that the volatility is a result of supply-and-demand fundamentals. More and more observers, however, believe that excessive speculation in the oil futures market by investors is driving oil prices sky high. A June 2 article in the Wall Street Journal said it all: Wall Street is tapping a real gusher in 2011, as heightened volatility and higher prices of oil and other raw materials boost banks' profits. ExxonMobil Chairman Rex Tillerson, testifying before a Senate panel this year, said that excessive speculation may have increased oil prices by as much as 40 percent. Delta Air Lines general counsel Richard Hirst wrote to federal regulators in December that the speculative bubble in oil prices has concrete detrimental consequences for the real economy. An American Trucking Association vice president, Richard Moskowitz, said, Excessive speculation has caused dramatic increases in the price of crude oil, which harms end-users like America's trucking industry. After I released records last month that documented the role of speculators, I was criticized on this page last week by two former members of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. I put the information on my Web site for three reasons. First, the American people have a right to know why oil prices are artificially high. The CFTC report proved that when oil prices climbed in 2008 to more than $140 a barrel, Wall Street speculators dominated the oil futures market. Goldman Sachs alone bought and sold more than 860 million barrels of oil in the summer of 2008 with no intention of using a drop for any purpose other than to make a quick buck. Wall Street, of course, wants to hide this information. They don't want the American people to know the extent to which speculators keep oil prices artificially high and the great damage that does to our economy. After the information became public, it was suggested that some on Wall Street may stop trading in the oil futures market. Good! Second, Congress recognized last year that excessive oil speculation must end. The Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation required the CFTC to eliminate, prevent or diminish excessive oil speculation by Jan. 17, 2011. Months after that deadline, the commission still has failed to enforce the law, and speculators still are making out like bandits. Third, the commodity regulators' claim that they cannot end excessive oil speculation because they lack sufficient data is nonsense. As the information I released makes clear, the commission has been collecting this information for more than three years. The time for studying is over. It is time for action. I agree with former commissioners James E. Newsome and Fred Hatfield in one respect. Trust in government is at an all-time low. That's not because Washington is too heavy-handed with Wall Street. Quite the contrary! The American people are angry and disillusioned because they see our government act boldly to protect Wall Street CEOs but not ordinary Americans. When Wall Street needed a $700 billion bailout, the government was there for them. When working families need an end to excessive oil speculation and real relief at the gas pump, the government has failed to act. The same Dodd-Frank bill that required commodity regulators to limit speculators included my amendment calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve from Dec. 1, 2007, to July 21, 2010, the period of the financial crisis. What we learned was that the Fed provided $16 trillion in secret, low-interest loans to every major American financial institution and to other central banks, large corporations and wealthy individuals. The audit provision was vigorously opposed by the Federal Reserve chairman. It was right, however, that the veil of secrecy at the Fed was lifted and the American people learned about its actions. Now it is appropriate to lift the veil of secrecy
[Biofuel] Famine Ravages Somalia in a World Less Likely to Intervene
http://www.truth-out.org/famine-ravages-somalia-world-less-likely-intervene/1316182711 Famine Ravages Somalia in a World Less Likely to Intervene Friday 16 September 2011 by: Jeffrey Gettleman, The New York Times News Service | News Analysis Dolo, Somalia - Is the world about to watch 750,000 Somalis starve to death? The United Nations' warnings could not be clearer. A drought-induced famine is steadily creeping across Somalia and tens of thousands of people have already died. The Islamist militant group the Shabab is blocking most aid agencies from accessing the areas it controls, and in the next few months three-quarters of a million people could run out of food, United Nations officials say. Soon, the rains will start pounding down, but before any crops will grow, disease will bloom. Malaria, cholera, typhoid and measles will sweep through immune-suppressed populations, aid agencies say, killing countless malnourished people. In a way, this is all déjà vu. In the early 1990s, Somalia was hit by famine, precipitated by drought and similarly callous thugs blocking food aid and producing similarly appalling images of skeletal children dying in the sand. In fact, the famine back then was in the same area of Somalia, the lower third, home to powerless minority clans that often bear the brunt of this country's chronic troubles. But in the 1990s, the world was more willing to intervene. The United Nations rallied behind more than 25,000 American troops, who embarked on a multibillion-dollar mission to beat back the gunmen long enough to get food into the mouths of starving people. Contrast that with what happened last week. At a lackluster famine summit meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, proposed to forcefully establish humanitarian corridors, so that food aid could be delivered to Shabab-controlled areas. Few Western donors were enthused. There's no mood for intervention, said one American official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. People remember what happened in the 1990s. 'It doesn't work' was the conclusion. Foreign military force, analysts say, has never succeeded in solving Somalia's problems and it is not going to solve them now. This famine is not just about the Shabab's blocking food aid. It is about a broken state and the human wreckage it is causing. Take Mogadishu, the capital. The Shabab more or less pulled out in August, leaving Somalia's transitional government in control of large swathes of the city, including the sprawling camp for displaced refugees. But government control - and that term seems more aspirational than meaningful - does not translate into a smooth aid operation. Instead, government soldiers have looted aid trucks and shot starving people. Somalia's politicians have been too busy squabbling with one another to build institutions like a functioning health ministry or a sanitation department that would help drought victims. Some of the informal clusters of people in Mogadishu camped out for aid are already breaking up, and it is not clear where the displaced people are trudging to. Many aid agencies - and Western militaries - are justifiably wary of this environment, and so far the response to the famine has been well short of what is needed to stem the crisis. I don't think that there's a case to be made that the famine can be mitigated through military intervention, said Bronwyn E. Bruton, a democracy and governance expert who wrote a provocative essay published by the Council on Foreign Relations urging the West to withdraw from Somalia. The African Union, which has 9,000 peacekeepers in Mogadishu, isn't able to safeguard the delivery of aid in Mogadishu, Ms. Bruton said. How could they possibly extend their reach outside the capital? Theft, corruption and violence are endemic, she added. The problem extends past Al Shabab to anybody with a gun. In Somalia, there are many of them. This was the problem in the 1990s. The United Nations urged American forces to disarm the warlords and their flip-flop-clad militias, but the Pentagon did not want to risk many American lives to do that. Instead, the United States opted for a narrowly scoped intervention and then hastily withdrew after 18 servicemen were killed in an epic street battle immortalized in the Black Hawk Down book and movie (and video game). According to a study by the Refugee Policy Group, the American-led operation and the attendant relief effort saved around 110,000 lives, while 240,000 were lost to the famine. It is grim math, especially considering how enormous the aid operation was. The Refugee Policy Group study has a graph showing famine casualties, which tend to come in two spikes: one at the onset of the crisis, before the bulk of aid arrives; the other when the rains come. For the current famine, analysts are now bracing for possibly hundreds of thousands of deaths. We've lost
[Biofuel] Honduras: Wealthy Landowners Attempt to Quash Farming Collectives
http://www.truth-out.org/honduras-wealthy-landowners-attempt-quash-farming-collectives/1316109207 Honduras: Wealthy Landowners Attempt to Quash Farming Collectives Friday 16 September 2011 by: Andrew Kennis, Truthout | News Analysis The Bajo Aguán region of Honduras is a rich, fertile valley that comprises land that is worth nothing less than millions upon millions of dollars. It was not even two months ago that Secundino Ruiz, 44, proudly boasted to Truthout: this valley is numero uno for agriculture in Central America; there's corn here, beans, rice, fantastic African palms and everything that a human being would need. Hospitable and friendly, Ruiz extended a personal invitation to Truthout: I'm going to propose you something, I would like for your colegas and you to all come to Bajo Aguán to see for yourselves just how beautiful it is here. Several masked men prevented Ruiz's offer from ever being realized, as they shot him to death on August 20, and also seriously injured Eliseo Pavon, who suffered head wounds. Ruiz's killers approached the taxi that he and Pavon occupied shortly after they had exited a bank with $10,260 of organizational funds in their possession. The government and authorities have painted the event as nothing more than a robbery, but local farmers, researchers and activists do not agree with that perspective. Given Ruiz's position as the vice president of the Authentic Peasant Protest Movement of Aguán (MARCA) and Pavon's role as its treasurer, they argue that the killing was just one of many politically motivated killings that have been occurring on a regular basis in the region throughout the year. Marcelino Lopez, a fellow MARCA activist and friend of Ruiz's, described the loss: He was a very accessible and dedicated activist filled with solidarity, who was a fantastic representative of the movement, who is going to be a tremendous loss to the movement. While 2011 has been a year filled with killings of activist farmers in the conflict-ridden region, August was an exceptionally violent month during what has been an exceptionally violent year. Just one day following Ruiz's murder, Pedro Salgado of the Unified Movement of Campesinos of Aguán (MUCA) and his wife were both shot and killed in their own home. Teenagers have been among the August victims as well: 17-year-old Javier Melgar was killed in the Rigores community on August 15, while 15- year-old Roldin Marel Villeda and 18-year-old Sergio Magdiel Amaya were slain just three days later in the municipality of Trujillo. Marel's and Magdiel's deaths occurred in the same incident that brought an end to the life of Victor Manuel Mata Oliva, aged 40. All were part of the Campesino Corporation of San Esteban, one of the two dozen cooperatives that form the base of MUCA. Examples of more teenager victimization included 17-year-old Lenikin Lemos Martinez and 18-year-old Denis Israel Castro, who were beaten by police, arrested and charged with murder (which residents claim were trumped-up charges). The beating occurred in the community Guadalupe Carney, which is home to the Campesino Movement of the Aguán and located near the eviction-riddled Rigores community (earlier this past summer, police evicted Rigores farmers by burning down well over 100 homes, as reported by Honduras-based journalist, Jesse Freeston and confirmed by international human rights observers). Why is this violence occurring? What is the root of the conflict? Is the depiction of the situation in Aguán given by the Honduran government - only recently recognized internationally by the Organization of American States - an accurate reflection of what is going on? Bajo Aguán campesinos, as well as researchers and activists who have been visiting the region for decades worth of collective time, provided Truthout first-hand testimony in an effort to shed light on an otherwise largely overlooked, underreported and ongoing human and land rights catastrophe. Plantation-Like State of Affairs Long Existent in Bajo Aguán Annie Bird has been visiting Honduras for the last dozen years and is the co-director of Rights Action, a nonprofit and non-governmental organization, which funds community efforts in Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador. Bird explained to Truthout that the campesinos first started organizing farming collectives and cooperatives back in the 1960s and '70s. Those same groupings form the bedrock of most of the organized collectives in the region today. By the 1990s, however, a temporary change to a previous law preventing land purchases of over 300 hectares devastated the farming cooperatives of the region. Among those that pounced on the opportunity to take advantage of the law was one of the wealthiest businessmen of Honduras, Miguel Farcusse, owner of Exportadores del Atlantico (Atlantic Exporters). The 1990s land grab was shrouded in corruption and violence, according to Bird:
[Biofuel] Oil Wars? Not a Chance
Also: The Terrorism Issue That Wasn't Discussed by Gareth Porter Published on Monday, September 12, 2011 by CommonDreams.org http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/12 All the Countries the US is at War with after 9/11 September 11 Remembered, US at War Against the World, and the Ongoing Campaign Against Israeli Occupation. by Phyllis Bennis Published on Friday, September 16, 2011 by Institute for Policy Studies http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/16-9 --0-- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/16-2 Published on Friday, September 16, 2011 by TomDispatch.com Oil Wars? Not a Chance by Tom Engelhardt Way back then, the signs out on the streets read: No Blood for Oil, How did USA's oil get under Iraq's sand? and Don't trade lives for oil! Such homemade placards, carried by deluded antiwar protesters in enormous demonstrations before the Bush administration launched its invasion of Iraq in March 2003, were typical -- and typically dismissible. Oil? Don't be silly! True, Undersecretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz spoke admiringly about Iraq floating on a sea of oil, but that was just a slip of the tongue. President Bush was so much more cautious. Despite his years in the energy business and those of his vice-president (not to speak of the double-hulled tanker that had been named after his national security advisor while she was on the board of Chevron), he almost never even mentioned oil. When he did, he didn't call it oil, but Iraq's patrimony. Back then, of course, everyone who mattered knew that whatever the invasion of Iraq was about -- freedom, possible mushroom clouds rising over U.S. cities or biological and chemical attacks on them, the felling of a monster dictator -- it certainly wasn't about oil. An oil war? How crude (so to speak), even if Iraq, by utter coincidence, happened to be located in the oil heartlands of the planet. And it wasn't just the Bush administration. You wouldn't have found the New York Times speaking about oil wars either. Not much has changed, actually. As in last weekend's eight-year-late modified mea culpa for the Iraq war that former liberal war hawks conducted in that paper's magazine section, you could find some breast-beating, testosterone-dissing, and even regret for past positions, but not a mention of oil. And -- who would expect anything else -- never a mention either of the ignorant hoi polloi who carried such oily signs, demonstrated against war, and are best forgotten, or any stray experts who genuinely opposed Bush's wars before they were launched. (Here's a little tip for those who want to make it into the Rolodexes of high-powered Washington reporters: being wrong is helpful, and wisdom is a platonic ideal not to be dented by evidence or the lack of it.) As for our most recent (definitely not oil) war in Libya where American and NATO planes are still bombing the you-know-what out of the remnants of Muammar Gaddafi's forces, the explanations in the news pages have generally focused on preventing massacres, humanitarian intervention, and the felling of evil dictators. For oil, you have to head for section D (the business pages) where, under the headline The Scramble for Access to Libya's Oil Wealth Begins, you could indeed finally read a comment like this: The resumption of Libyan production would help drive down oil prices in Europe, and indirectly, gasoline prices on the East Coast of the United States. Western nations -- especially the NATO countries that provided crucial air support to the rebels -- want to make sure their companies are in prime position to pump the Libyan crude. Of course, despite the best attempts of Bush's men in Baghdad, we never did get Iraq's oil. But that's the lumps you take when, as an imperial power, you don't actually win your oil war. And there are more lumps when you can't win any war, oil or otherwise. Michael Klare, author of Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet, is an expert on both war and oil. In his latest piece, America and Oil, Declining Together?, he suggests that, on and off the battlefield, both the United States and oil are now on the downhill slope. © 2011 TomDispatch.com Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project, runs the Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com. He is the author of The End of Victory Culture: a History of the Cold War and Beyond, as well as of a novel, The Last Days of Publishing. His most recent book is The American Way of War: How Bush's Wars Became Obama's (Haymarket Books.) His latest book, The United States of Fear (Haymarket Books), will be published in November. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com here. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever:
[Biofuel] Coral Reefs 'Will Be Gone by End of the Century'
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/09/11-1 Published on Sunday, September 11, 2011 by the Independent/UK Coral Reefs 'Will Be Gone by End of the Century' They will be the first entire ecosystem to be destroyed by human activity, says top UN scientist by Andrew Marszal Coral reefs are on course to become the first ecosystem that human activity will eliminate entirely from the Earth, a leading United Nations scientist claims. He says this event will occur before the end of the present century, which means that there are children already born who will live to see a world without coral. The claim is made in a book published tomorrow, which says coral reef ecosystems are very likely to disappear this century in what would be a new first for mankind - the 'extinction' of an entire ecosystem. Its author, Professor Peter Sale, studied the Great Barrier Reef for 20 years at the University of Sydney. He currently leads a team at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. The predicted decline is mainly down to climate change and ocean acidification, though local activities such as overfishing, pollution and coastal development have also harmed the reefs. The book, Our Dying Planet, published by University of California Press, contains further alarming predictions, such as the prospect that we risk having no reefs that resemble those of today in as little as 30 or 40 more years. We're creating a situation where the organisms that make coral reefs are becoming so compromised by what we're doing that many of them are going to be extinct, and the others are going to be very, very rare, Professor Sale says. Because of that, they aren't going to be able to do the construction which leads to the phenomenon we call a reef. We've wiped out a lot of species over the years. This will be the first time we've actually eliminated an entire ecosystem. Coral reefs are important for the immense biodiversity of their ecosystems. They contain a quarter of all marine species, despite covering only 0.1 per cent of the world's oceans by area, and are more diverse even than the rainforests in terms of diversity per acre, or types of different phyla present. Recent research into coral reefs' highly diverse and unique chemical composition has found many compounds useful to the medical industry, which could be lost if present trends persist. New means of tackling cancer developed from reef ecosystems have been announced in the past few months, including a radical new treatment for leukemia derived from a reef-dwelling sponge. Another possible application of compounds found in coral as a powerful sunblock has also been mooted. And coral reefs are of considerable economic value to humans, both as abundant fishing resources and - often more lucratively - as tourist destinations. About 850 million people live within 100km of a reef, of which some 275 million are likely to depend on the reef ecosystems for nutrition or livelihood. Fringing reefs can also help to protect low-lying islands and coastal regions from extreme weather, absorbing waves before they reach vulnerable populations. Carbon emissions generated by human activity, especially our heavy use of fossils fuels, are the biggest cause of the anticipated rapid decline, impacting on coral reefs in two main ways. Climate change increases ocean surface temperatures, which have already risen by 0.67C in the past century. This puts corals under enormous stress and leads to coral bleaching, where the photosynthesising algae on which the reef-building creatures depend for energy disappear. Deprived of these for even a few weeks, the corals die. On top of this comes ocean acidification. Roughly one-third of the extra carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere is absorbed through the ocean surface, acidifying shallower waters. A more recently recognized problem in tropical reef systems, the imbalance created makes it harder for reef organisms to retrieve the minerals needed to build their carbonaceous skeletons. If they can't build their skeletons - or they have to put a lot more energy into building them relative to all the other things they need to do, like reproduce - it has a detrimental effect on the coral reefs, says Paul Johnston of the University of Exeter, and founder of the UK's Greenpeace Research Laboratories. An important caveat to the book's predictions is that the corals themselves - the tiny organisms largely responsible for creating reefs - may be lucky enough to survive the destruction, if past mass extinction episodes are anything to go by. Although corals are ancient animals and have been around for hundreds of millions of years, there have been periods of reefs, and periods where there are no reefs, explains Mark Spalding, of the US-based environmental group Nature Conservancy, and the University of Cambridge. When climatic conditions are right they build these
[Biofuel] The Food Movement: Its Power and Possibilities
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/16-0 Published on Friday, September 16, 2011 by The Nation The Food Movement: Its Power and Possibilities by Frances Moore Lappé Editor's Note from The Nation: Frances Moore Lappé's essay below kicks off The Nation's forum on the food movement. Raj Patel, Vandana Shiva, Eric Schlosser, and Michael Pollan have contributed replies. For years I've been asked, Since you wrote Diet for a Small Planet in 1971, have things gotten better or worse? Hoping I don't sound glib, my response is always the same: Both. As food growers, sellers and eaters, we're moving in two directions at once. The number of hungry people has soared to nearly 1 billion, despite strong global harvests. And for even more people, sustenance has become a health hazard-with the US diet implicated in four out of our top ten deadly diseases. Power over soil, seeds and food sales is ever more tightly held, and farmland in the global South is being snatched away from indigenous people by speculators set to profit on climbing food prices. Just four companies control at least three-quarters of international grain trade; and in the United States, by 2000, just ten corporations-with boards totaling only 138 people-had come to account for half of US food and beverage sales. Conditions for American farmworkers remain so horrific that seven Florida growers have been convicted of slavery involving more than 1,000 workers. Life expectancy of US farmworkers is forty-nine years. There is, however, another current, which is democratizing power and aligning farming with nature's genius. Many call it simply the global food movement. In the United States it's building on the courage of truth tellers from Upton Sinclair to Rachel Carson, and worldwide it has been gaining energy and breadth for at least four decades. Some Americans see the food movement as nice but peripheral-a middle-class preoccupation with farmers' markets, community gardens and healthy school lunches. But no, I'll argue here. It is at heart revolutionary, with some of the world's poorest people in the lead, from Florida farmworkers to Indian villagers. It has the potential to transform not just the way we eat but the way we understand our world, including ourselves. And that vast power is just beginning to erupt. The Work In a farmworker camp in Ohio, a young mother sat on her bed. She was dying of cancer, but with no bitterness she asked me a simple question: We provide people food-why don't they respect our work? That was 1984. She had no protection from pesticides, or even the right to safe drinking water in the field. Twenty-five years later, in Immokalee, Florida, I walked through a grungy, sweltering 300-foot trailer, home to eight tomato pickers, but what struck me most was a sense of possibility in the workers themselves. They are among the 4,000 mainly Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, formed in 1993-more than two decades after Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers' victorious five-year grape strike and national boycott. In the 1990s, CIW's struggle over five years, including a 230-mile walk and hunger strike, achieved the first industrywide pay increase in twenty years. Still, it only brought real wages back to pre-1980 levels. So in 2001, CIW launched its Campaign for Fair Food. Dogged organizing forced four huge fast-food companies-McDonald's, Taco Bell, Burger King and Subway-to agree to pay a penny more per pound and adhere to a code of conduct protecting workers. Four large food-service providers, including Sodexo, were also brought on board. Beginning this fall, CIW will start implementing these changes at 90 percent of Florida tomato farms-improving the lives of 30,000 tomato pickers. Now the campaign is focused on supermarkets such as Trader Joe's, Stop Shop and Giant. The Land In Brazil, almost 400,000 farmworker families have not only found their voices but gained access to land, joining the roughly half-billion small farms worldwide that produce 70 percent of the world's food. Elsewhere, calls for more equitable access to land in recent decades have generally gone nowhere-despite evidence that smallholders are typically more productive and better resource guardians than big operators. So what happened in Brazil? With the end of dictatorship in 1984 came the birth of arguably the largest social movement in the hemisphere: the Landless Workers Movement, known by its Portuguese acronym MST. Less than 4 percent of Brazil's landowners control about half the land, often gained illegally. MST's goal is land reform, and in 1988 Brazil's new Constitution gave the movement legal grounding: Article 5 states that property shall fulfill its social function, and Article 184 affirms the government's power to expropriatefor purposes of agrarian reform, rural property that fails to meet this requirement. Well-organized
