A new survey indicates that voters are more likely to support candidates who support clean energy legislation, when the survey links clean energy with job creation. The poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling for the National Resources Defense Council, covering 23 key Congressional districts that are locked in close races. The outcome in these districts could set the stage for crucial energy legislation in the future, so let’s take a closer look at one of them, the much-watched VA-5 race in which freshman incumbent Congressman Tom Perriello is facing a challenge from Virginia Senator Robert Hurt, who opposes climate legislation and favors oil drilling off the Virginia coast.

Clean Energy Legislation and VA-5

If Perriello wins his race, it could provide a clear measure of how strongly clean energy issues resonate with voters, even in the face of aggressive and well-funded campaigns against it. VA-5 is shaping up to be a textbook case: the lobbying group Americans for Prosperity has girded up for all-out battle to defeat Periello including buying  ads, staging a bus tour featuring Dick Morris with a Fox News tie-in, and setting up a website that provides individuals around the country with access to voter phone lists in order to phone bank from out-of-state. AFP set the groundwork for the campaign as far back as the summer of 2009 by providing signs to “grassroots” protesters to disrupt Periello’s town hall meetings. As for why AFP is dead set against clean energy legislation, it probably goes back to AFP’s founding by major players in the oil industry. Ironically, along with clean energy Perriello also supports a soup-to-nuts energy policy that includes the continued promotion of fossil fuels, but apparently even this inclusive approach is not a good fit for AFP.

Clean Energy, Green Jobs

NRDC notes that a “clear majority” of voters in 21 of the 23 districts surveyed supported clean energy legislation, and the two remaining districts were in a dead heat (Public Policy Polling, by the way, has a solid reputation for accuracy). The survey also found that voters were more likely to support clean energy candidates by a 20-point spread. NRDC concludes that the results clearly  illustrate the effect of spin on voter preferences. When clean energy legislation is presented as a job-creator, people like it. If the same legislation is  presented as something that will raise taxes and eliminate jobs, naturally people don’t like it so much. That might seem like a point so obvious it almost kills, but that’s exactly what is playing out in California, where the oil industry, including the founders of Americans for Prosperity, has poured millions into an effort to neutralize AB 32, the state’s landmark clean energy legislation, by portraying it as a job eliminator.

Image: Solar energy installation courtesy of Wayne National Forest on flickr.com.

Scientists at the University of Utah have developed a new bubble-based technique for cleaning up polluted soil, especially soil contaminated with metals. The new technique may also work on polluted water. Testing is under way at a site at  Lake Taihu in China, which takes in polluted runoff from a heavily industrialized region. The system, called heightened ozonation treatment (HOT), uses pressurized ozone gas microbubbles to break down pollutants.

Ozone and Remediation

HOT has been lab-tested, so this demonstration marks the first time the technology will be tried in real life circumstances.  The key component is the reactor, which produces ozone microbubbles under pressure. In this test, the reactor will take in contaminated soil, which will be subjected to repeated pressurizing and depressurizing. The process creates microbubbles that break down hydrocarbons, and additives are used to precipitate metals and other contaminants out.

Green Remediation

The HOT system represents a sort of middle ground between the old method of remediation, in which contaminated soil was simply dug up and trucked to a landfill, and newer methods in which soil is decontaminated while still in place. In this pilot demonstration, apparently the idea is to take the decontaminated soil off site and use it to plant trees on public lands, though it’s also possible that the system could be used to return the cleansed soil to its original location.

A Step Beyond HOT

In either case, the HOT system does require soil to be excavated. In other new remediation methods under development, the idea is to save time, energy and expense by treating the soil without even excavating it. Some areas under exploration include the use of microorganisms to break down perchlorate. Scientists are also discovering how to use natural additives such as lactate to boost microbial activity. Another green option is to use renewable energy to power pumps and other remediation equipment, as is being done with solar energy at Altus Air Force Base.

Remediation and Green Jobs

The HOT system, if it can be developed commercially, will add another tool to the remediation toolkit, and enable more sites to be cleaned up and reclaimed. Along with other new remediation methods, it dovetails nicely with the EPA’s new Re-Powering American Lands program, which is designed to put abandoned industrial sites back to work as locations for new clean energy installations that create new jobs, so you get the sustainability twofer of reclaiming land and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, too. If you’d like to see federal funding continue for the Re-Power program and other green jobs initiatives, that’s another good reason to participate in the upcoming midterm elections and check your candidate’s position on global warming before you vote.

Ozone and Sustainability

Cleaning up polluted soil or water is just one role that ozone is taking on in the sustainable future. At North Carolina State University, biofuel researchers have found that exposing biomass from woody plants to gaseous ozone can break down the matter in a single process that produces no liquid waste, in contrast to conventional methods that involve multiple steps and produce a copious amount of waste. If developed commercially, the new method could significantly lower the cost of producing biofuel from woody material.

Image: Bubbles by Jeff Kubina on flickr.com.

The California based solar power financing company SunRun has leaped front and center into the fight against Proposition 23, the upcoming ballot measure that would effectively dismantle the state’s thriving alternative energy sector. At last week’s Solar Power International conference, SunRun joined with other alternative energy companies to urge voters to take action against Prop 23, with “No on Prop 23″ booth signs and voter information, and by organizing phone banks and donating thousands of dollars to the No on Prop 23 Committee.

Out-of-State Money and Proposition 23

Out-of-state oil companies have poured millions of dollars into California in order to promote Proposition 23, and little wonder about that. If California was a country it would have one of the world’s biggest economies, and it recently enacted legislation (Assembly Bill 32) that would help make alternative energy the driving force behind its economy, in direct competition with oil. Quite simply, Proposition 23 protects out-of-state oil companies from competition in this major market.

Chambers of Commerce and Proposition 23

In contrast to Proposition 23, AB32 was designed to promote California businesses and create more jobs in the state, so one would imagine that the California Chamber of Commerce would be among those leading the charge against Proposition 23. However, though some local Chambers have been vociferous in opposition, the California Chamber officially declared itself neutral on Prop 23.  The president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spoke at a recent clean energy summit and seemed to imply that the U.S. Chamber is also neutral, but if you’ve been following the U.S. Chamber’s position on climate change and its partisan political activity attacking candidates who are likely to support alternative energy you’d have to take that with a giant-sized grain of salt. The U.S. Chamber has launched attack ads against the incumbent senator in California, who is opposed to Proposition 23, and endorsed the challenger, who supports Prop 23.

Alternative Energy Companies and Proposition 23

SunRun’s “No on Prop 23″ fundraising effort is small potatoes compared to the oil money and U.S. Chamber of Commerce financing behind the ballot measure, but of course they are not alone.  Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, is urging industry members to join the group and contribute to its political action committee. Meanwhile, leading utility companies and other major corporations are quitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its climate change activities, and state chambers are also starting to see their membership bleed over partisan political endorsements. It’s an interesting shift for the environmental movement, which back in the day used to consist of fights between citizen groups and corporate polluters. Now it’s an inter-business battle and Proposition 23 is only the beginning.

Image: California sun by *-Dawn-* on flickr.com.

In honor of Blog Action Day on the topic of water, here is a bit of good news about a new low-cost, energy efficient method for purifying drinking water without the use of chlorine. Scientists at Stanford University have developed a new kind of water filter that uses a combination of silver, cotton, and electricity to kill up to 98 percent of E. coli bacteria in contaminated water. The system was recently described in the American Chemical Society journal.

Killing Bacteria without Chlorine

Exposure to either silver or electricity are known to kill bacteria, so the researchers decided to see what would happen if they combined the two. The new system uses a coating of silver nanowires on cotton, which is then layered with carbon nanotubes. The carbon provide the extra electrical conductivity. Compared to other types of filters, the cotton membrane has fairly large pores, which allow water to flow rapidly through, without the use of energy-intensive pumps. The membrane also resists clogging, which could also help reduce operating costs by reducing down time for cleaning and maintenance.

Chemical Free Water Treatment

Aside from safety concerns and environmental factors, the use of chlorine and other chemicals in whater treatment became extremely problematic for water utilities during the commodities boom that preceded the economic bust of 2008, as prices spiked and shortages cropped up. The search was stepped up for water treatment methods that are not bedeviled by the vagaries of the commodities markets. The silver-cotton filter is just one example. Ultra-violet light is another example, though the reduced use of chemicals is offset by the increased need for energy. Other recent developments include the use of ultrasound for water treatment, a kinetic energy “bomb” that destroys bacteria, and a combination of salt and electricity.

Green Remediation and Water Treatment

Green remediation refers to cleanup methods that rely on natural processes and sustainable sources of energy. It’s most often associated with cleaning up hazardous materials sites, but some of these methods may also apply to drinking water treatment. For example, solar power is being used to run water treatment equipment at a Superfund site, and plants such as vetiver grass are being studied for their ability to absorb contaminants from water.

Image: Silver by tanakawho on flickr.com.

The U.S. military is undertaking a massive shift away from petroleum and other fossil fuels, and into a new clean energy future that relies on solar power, geothermal power, and other sustainable sources. Much of the activity is focused on large installations at  military bases, such as a new solar array at Pearl Harbor and new geothermal facilities at Fort Drum. However, some of the most interesting stuff is portable solar power, designed to for the high mobility, energy-scavenging fighting force of the future. It can’t come a moment to soon, as witnessed by the logistical nightmare of trucking in conventional fuel to troops in Afghanistan. Here are five new portable solar technologies to look out for:
(Soldier by U.S. Army on flickr.com)