Contributing Member of the Energy & Industrials Councils

All News Analyses by this Author

Chicago Pols Demonstrate Science Illiteracy

June 17, 2009

Analysis of:City of Chicago Bans BPA | chemweek.com

Bisphenol A is a major commodity chemical.  Total demand has been more than 2 Billion lbs. in recent years.  By banning this important commodity chemical, seemingly without necesary quantities of alternatives readily available "in the pipeline", is a mistake.

Nuclear is the Answer!

June 1, 2009

Analysis of:Nuclear, Low-Carbon Platform Solutions To Climate Change - G8 | online.wsj.com

The G8 has come to the realization that nuclear energy and mitigation of the expected undesired aspects of climate change are not mutually exclusive.  More than 70% of the electricity requirement in France is produced by nuclear power.  The benefits are significant in that France is much less dependent on the importation of petroleum and that issues with carbon dioxide are much less severe than elsewhere.

The Usual Suspects Are At It Again

June 4, 2008

Analysis of:Scientists call on US to heavily cut carbon emissions | www.guardian.co.uk

1. There is still substantial doubt about whether Global Warming is occurring. 2. There is even more doubt regarding whether human activity is even partially responsible for Global Warming. 3. We are in a "world of hurt" when our young people tout Al Gore as "one of the top living scientists."

Thinking Green Benefits Both the Bottom Line and the Environment

August 13, 2007

Analysis of:What's Green and Is Both New and Old? | www.forbes.com

In the past when people like me thought "green", we thought about client services/solutions that generated monetary value.  As we forward, thinking "green" also reflects the best practices regarding the use of limited resources while maintaining living systems in accord with citizen expectations.

Why Basic Research into Bio-Fuels Is Important

July 11, 2007

Analysis of:U.S. Is Creating 3 Centers for Research on Biofuels | www.nytimes.com

Matt Wald of the NY Times has written that the US DOE will support basic research at three laboratories in order to obtain biofuels from plants.  The number of biologists, chemists, and engineers at these locations should enable valuable test data to be generated. The chemistry associated with converting cellulose (a starch) to simple sugars must be developed.  Simple sugars (e.g., glucose) can then be converted, via fermentation, to ethanol. The cost of thermal methods (heating) to breakdown cellulose is high.  By having biologists working with microbes (small organisms; like bacteria), we should learn on the benchtop or micro-quantity level whether this process is feasible.  Chemists can determine what is actually occurring on the molecular level and then engineers can determine efficient methods for scaling these processes to levels that are practical for full-scale production.

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