The Daily Five: Saturday, 24 May, 2008
The Bush Administration contemplates creating the planet’s largest nature reserve; the Farm Bill finally becomes law; and Sylvania introduces a truly compact Compact Fluorescent Bulb. Welcome to the Memorial Day Weekend — and the Saturday edition of The Daily Five.
Green Bush? Administration May Declare More Undersea Oil Off Limits: George W. Bush — an environmental president? NPR and the WSJ are reporting that the Bush Administration is considering the creation of vast new marine reserves. Several “maritime monuments” are under consideration, including a massive 600,000 square mile area around Palmyra, Howland, and Baker Islands in the Central Pacific. The move could prove controversial, forever closing large sections of sea floor to oil exploration. But the President has the authority to bypass Congressional approval under the 1906 Antiquities Act. (WSJ.com)
Farm-Bill Veto Overridden Despite Glitch: Despite a major clerical glitch which sent the President an incomplete version of the bill earlier in the week, Congress has resoundingly overridden his veto and made the massive 2007 Farm Bill law. Some Republicans cried foul, citing constitutional concerns, but their objections were voted down on party lines. The $307 billion measure is really more than a farm bill, containing generous subsidies and incentives for alternative energy development. (Washington Post)
Ethanol vs. Indiana Jones?: If you’re heading to the refreshment counter at the movies this summer, be prepared for sticker shock. The already outrageous price of that gooey tub of popcorn is likely to be quite a bit higher by year’s end, due in part to record demand on corn stocks for ethanol production. Up to 40 percent of next year’s corn crop has already been tapped for biofuel contracts. It could be worse, of course: you could depend on corn tortillas to fill your family’s stomachs. (Earth2Tech)
Compression Could Reduce Data Center Energy Use by 95%: You’ve probably already heard of the trend toward virtualization by data centers looking to squeeze more energy efficiency from racks of computer servers. Here’s a new angle — data compression. California-based Storwize Inc. has developed an on-the-fly compression process that slims down 100 terabytes of storage to a svelte 10 terabytes. The data diet means fewer hard drives and, ultimately, fewer servers. It’s estimated that data centers use as much power each year as 5.8 million average American households. (EcoGeek)
Honey, I Shrunk the CFLs: Crazy-Small New Bulb from SYLVANIA: CleanTechnica has shots of an amazingly compact Compact Fluorescent Bulb (CFL) just put on the market by Sylvania. The tiny twist light trumps one of the CFL’s nagging problems: compatibility with standard light fixtures. The familiar spiral lighting element is no wider than its streamlined base, but the bulb emits light equivalent to its bulkier CFL cousins. (CleanTechnica)
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