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Activists announce their intention to shut down the UK’s largest power station

Under the shadow of the Drax coal-fired power station, activists at the Camp for Climate Action began civil disobedience training yesterday. This is part of preparations for Thursday’s mass action which plans to shut down Drax. The training (and the camp itself) are open to the public, and people are urged to come down and participate. “We are already feeling the destructive effects of a climate which is in crisis, and the time for action is now. I urge people to come to the camp, learn more about climate change and ways to live sustainably. And perhaps even to help shut down Drax!” added Emma Pegg, 29, who just arrived at the camp from Leeds. Yesterday’s training focussed on “tools and tactics for blockading”, and groups met throughout the day to plan their contribution to the big day of mass action. Other workshops included “Climate science for kids”, and “How to count and cut your carbon”.

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The emergence of windcrofting

Farmers are signing up to “plant” rows of mini-wind turbines in their hedgerows and on wasteland as part of an innovative new project to harness wind power without the usual objections over “unsightliness”. Personally I think that large wind turbines look graceful and beautiful on the horizon and account some of this opinion to the fact that I know that they are making good, renewable energy. But the issue of erecting these large structures has divided communities and remains one of the biggest obstacles to the development of wind power in the UK.

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Rethinking retreads

Our family car needs new back tyres and the quote from our local tyre dealership for a set of two run-of-the-mill type tyres was surprisingly expensive. My husband labours under the impression that retreads are of inferior quality and for… Read More »Rethinking retreads

U.S. power plants to control mercury emissions

The push is on to find a technology that will reduce mercury emissions 90% by 2015 in the state of Michigan – a regulation more stringent than the national standard, which calls for a 70% reduction. They’re hoping a big part of the solution will be Toxecon, a new sysem designed to keep gaseous mercury from escaping wth the rest of the power plant pollutants. While there are still bugs to be worked out, researchers are optomistic about the technology.

Toxecon injects activated, powdery carbon into the superheated gas from coal incineration. The carbon absorbs the mercury and flows into a newly constructed building called a “bag house,” where it’s trapped inside the network of fabric bags.

As a bonus, designers hope the process also will remove up to 70 percent of the sulfur dioxide and 30 percent of the nitrogen oxide from the gas, along with the 1 percent of fly ash from coal combustion that isn’t captured earlier.

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