EARTH: Trash-to-treasure

Turning nonrecycled waste into low-carbon fuel

2012-07-31

(Press-News.org) Alexandria, VA – One man's trash is quickly becoming society's new treasure. In the August issue of EARTH Magazine, we explore how materials that were once considered garbage are now being recognized for their true potential as valuable energy resources capable of solving multiple problems at once. If successful, these "waste-to-energy" options could serve as a silver bullet – displacing fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing the amount of trash that winds up in already teeming landfills.

Although several of these options have existed for many years, harnessing energy from solid waste is practiced very sparingly in the United States. Now a research team out of the University of Texas is attempting to make one type of waste-derived fuel – solid recovered fuels (SRFs) – a more appealing alternative energy option in the U.S. Will SRFs eventually overtake coal as a primary energy source? Or will the long road ahead snuff out this potential contender? Read the story and find out.

Hungry for more? Make sure to check out the August issue of EARTH Magazine for more exciting geoscience news! Produce hydrogen from sunlight and sunblock; discover a new T. Rex relative; and learn how the early Earth was bombarded by comets and asteroids for much longer than previously thought.

###Keep up to date with the latest happenings in Earth, energy and environment news with EARTH magazine online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/. Published by the American Geosciences Institute, EARTH is your source for the science behind the headlines.

The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.

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To know a tiger is at least to start tolerating them, study shows

2012-07-31

To protect a dangerous and endangered animal -- be it a tiger in Nepal or a wolf in Michigan - you really do have to ask people "how do you FEEL about your predatory neighbor?" Effective conservation calls for not only figuring out what protected species need – like habitat and food sources. It also requires an understanding of what it takes for their human neighbors to tolerate them. A Michigan State University doctoral student studying tigers in Nepal found that those feelings can provide critical information on how best to protect species. "People have complex psychological ...

Rejected Alzheimer's drug shows new potential

2012-07-31

An international team of scientists led by researchers at Mount Sinai School Medicine have discovered that a drug that had previously yielded conflicting results in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease effectively stopped the progression of memory deterioration and brain pathology in mouse models of early stage Alzheimer's disease. The findings, published July 31, 2012 in Molecular Psychiatry, demonstrate renewed potential for this compound and could lead to clinical trials in patients with early stages of the disease. Latrepirdine, known commercially as Dimebon, was ...

An avian flu that jumps from birds to mammals is killing New England's baby seals

2012-07-31

A novel avian influenza virus has acquired the ability to infect aquatic mammals and was responsible for an outbreak of fatal pneumonia that recently struck harbor seals in New England, according to scientists at the Center for Infection & Immunity (CII) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, New England Aquarium, USGS National Wildlife Health Center, SeaWorld and EcoHealth Alliance. This research is published in mBio. Wildlife officials first became concerned in September 2011, when seals with severe ...

Most with celiac disease unaware of it, others go gluten-free without diagnosis

2012-07-31

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Roughly 1.8 million Americans have celiac disease, but around 1.4 million of them are unaware that they have it, a Mayo Clinic-led analysis of the condition's prevalence has found. Meanwhile, 1.6 million people in the United States are on a gluten-free diet even though they haven't been diagnosed with celiac disease, according to the study published Tuesday in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Researchers have estimated the rate of diagnosed and undiagnosed celiac disease at similar levels prior to this study, but this is the most definitive ...

New University of Houston research focuses on treatment for perpetrator, not victim

2012-07-31

A new UH experiment takes an unconventional look at the treatment for domestic violence, otherwise known as intimate partner violence (IPV), by focusing on changing the perpetrators' psychological abuse during arguments rather than addressing his sexist beliefs. "There is a lot of research that studies the victim of intimate partner violence, but not the perpetrator," said Julia Babcock, department of psychology and co-director of the Center for Couples Therapy, a clinical research center at UH that offers therapy for couples. "The predominant model for IPV intervention ...

Never again a flat vehicle battery: RUB researchers develop early warning system

2012-07-31

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Anxiety and depression increase risk of sick leave

2012-07-31

Long-term sick leave is a burden for individuals and society at large, yet very little is known about the underlying reasons for it. Researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, in collaboration with Australian and British institutes, have identified anxiety as a more important risk factor than previously thought. Common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression will affect 1 of 3 of us at some point in our lives. The core symptoms of mental disorders affect a person's emotional, cognitive and social functioning, which can impact on working ability. ...

Ecosystems reveal radiation secrets

2012-07-31

A new study by Tiina Tuovinen, from the University of Eastern Finland, and her colleagues casts doubt over the validity of models used to assess the impact of radiation on human health. Their work is published online in Springer's journal Hydrobiologia. The Chernobyl accident in 1986 led to a discharge of radioactive compounds into terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Over a period of time, these compounds have been taken up by organisms and have made their way into the food chain. Since the accident, the fall-out from the power plant accident has been ...

Adolescents in substance abuse treatment report using someone else's medical marijuana

2012-07-31

Washington D.C., July 31, 2012 – A study published in the July 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that diverted medical marijuana use among adolescents receiving treatment for substance abuse is very common. Study participants from two adolescent substance abuse treatment programs in the Denver metropolitan area were asked questions about their medical marijuana use.121 of 164 adolescents (73.8%) reported using medical marijuana that had been recommended for someone else, also known as diverted medical marijuana, ...

Mental disorders impair economic success in developed countries

2012-07-31

Philadelphia, PA, July 31, 2012 – Mental disorders that emerge in childhood and adolescence, including attention-deficit disorder, depression, anxiety and substance abuse, constitute significant challenges to cognitive, emotional, and social development. As a result, it is perhaps not surprising that earnings and income are substantially reduced among people diagnosed with mental disorders. Is the association between mental disorders and earnings a correlation, or is low income a consequence of a disorder? Are mental disorders universally associated with reduced economic/social ...

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

EARTH: Trash-to-treasure

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