Go Big Green!

The US military sees the benefit of saving fuel and finding alternative fuel sources:

By some estimates, about half of the U.S. military casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are related to attacks with improvised explosive devices on convoys, many of which are carrying fuel. As of March 20, 3,426 service members had been killed by hostile fire in Iraq, 1,823 of them victims of IEDs.

"Every time you bring a gallon of fuel forward, you have to send a convoy," said Alan R. Shaffer, director of defense research and engineering at the Pentagon. "That puts people's lives at risk."

Spurred by this grim reality, the Pentagon, which traditionally has not made saving energy much of a priority, has launched initiatives to find alternative fuel sources. The goals include saving money, preserving dwindling natural resources and lessening U.S. dependence on foreign sources.

My favorite - Put a TiGER in your generator:

Garbage, for example, is a commodity never in short supply when the Army goes to the field. A battalion-size forward operating base generates a ton of trash a day. The Pentagon is developing mobile units -- small enough to fit on a five-ton flatbed trailer -- that use an anaerobic microbial process to convert garbage into oil.

Two prototypes -- known as the Tactical Garbage to Energy Refinery -- were deployed to Iraq in the summer and were initially successful, converting field waste -- paper, plastic, cardboard and food slop -- into biofuel to power a 60-kilowatt generator. "We were able to get oil out of trash," Shaffer said.

But the units were not particularly hardy and soon broke down. The stimulus money includes $7.5 million to develop a more rugged model.

More on the TGER here, here, and here.

[end of taking out the trash]

Comments

[Middle -aged Lurker]

Summer? Would that be last summer? 2008? Hey, who was president then? Oh yah, Bush was.... Well then, I blame Bush.

[PeterUK]

The top secret Bicycle Corps. Green an Mean.

[matt]

It beats latrine duty.

[matt]

maybe we need a camel corps as well.

[PMII]

Seems to fit w/ how Justice Ginsburg thinks or...

Wow how much fuel would be saved if everyone did eat &/o went to the bathroom before driving...

[hit and run]

The GM http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2009/04/pusse.html>PUSS-E

[JM Hanes]

matt:

"It beats latrine duty."

Sounds to me like it may be latrine duty.

[JM Hanes]

Hi hit! Very funny!

[Jane]

OT: Can anyone think of a source or a blog that highlights all the recent (post stimulus) tax hikes?

I plan to spend a lot of time on the radio tomorrow talking about the Tea Parties and I want to be able to cite what we are fighting against. I've got a bunch from my notes from prior weeks but if anyone has a better source I would appreciate it.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

maybe we need a camel corps as well.

Poor camel. What happened to it?

[Sue]

Hit, that was funny.

[clarice]

I see, I leave for a short while and on my return I see you all encouraging that rascal Hit. HMPH!!

[DebinNC]

Jane, The Heritage Foundation is a good source for info on BO's rocketing federal spending: LUN

[PeterUK]

Chiming with the new spirit of conciliation engendered by the Obama Administration,the Taleban. Behold the brave new world of "cephalic attrition".

[PeterUK]

Though I prefer "cranial repositioning".Amazing what sending these chaps to Harvard does.

[matt]

don't forget the massive tax hikes in California, Jane. Sales, Income, and car license taxes all being raised.

[DGS]

Jane,

Are you going to the Tea Party in Boston on Wednesday? If so, I might meet you there. I plan on attending from 4:30 to about 6:00.

[DebinNC]

Interesting but sad story about the Navy Seal awarded the Navy Cross for action against the Taliban recorded in his book Soul Survivor and three very lucky TX miscreants he confronted.

[Bruce]

Small nuclear power plants would be good. If the base is going to fall into enemy hands, press the destruct button.

"This nuclear generator will self-destruct in 30 seconds ... 29 ... 28 ..."

http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/

[Jane]

Thanks Deb and Matt -

DGS, I'm going to the tea party is Worcester. Will you please report back here or at the link under my name what goes on?

Or come out to Worcester.

I'm really glad you are going!

[Sue]

Debbie,

If you didn't read his book, Lone Survivor, I highly recommend it. I wept. Something I rarely ever do.

[PeterUK]

Cure for piracy. This way? or

[PeterUK]

This way?

[DebinNC]

Oh, Sue, thanks for correcting the title. I remember Hugh Hewitt raving about Lone Survivor and wanting to get it. I will now.

And, Jane, while you're talking about tea parties, you might also mention the martini parties taking place in millions of homes, the object of which is getting one's taxable income below BO's $250,000 bar and the economic effects to follow.

[clarice]

PUK--the pukes are already rewriting the plot:

[quote]According to Somalis with knowledge of the discussions, the pirates, who at one time had demanded $2 million for Phillips's release, had grown desperate with their situation — adrift under a searing sun in waters infested with sharks, staring at two massive Navy ships armed with guided missiles, running low on fuel and having spent their ammunition.

A relative of one of the pirates, who said he spoke with the men by satellite phone at about 3 p.m. — four hours before the Navy opened fire — said they "were getting scared" and trying to persuade the Americans to let them go in return for the captain's release.

"They were trying to save their own lives," said the relative, Hassan Mohammed Farah, speaking by phone from Haradheere, a coastal town in central Somalia where pirates are known to operate. "The only thing they could bargain with was the captain, but the Americans would not accept."

The pirates had appealed by satellite phone to other pirate groups to sail captive ships and hostages to the scene of the standoff, to put some pressure on the U.S. forces. But Guled Farah, who belongs to another pirate group that had hijacked a German ship last week, said that the presence of the U.S. vessels scared them off.

"Their little boat was surrounded," Farah said by phone from Haradheere. "We couldn't go to help them, and for that we are sorry."[/quote]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/65944.html

[clarice]

Deb--here's one way--In DC the interest on municipal bonds is tax free no matter which municipality has issued them (Normally its tax free only in the state where issued).Of course, you could always just move to a state with no income tax .

[PeterUK]

Clarice,
The kids should have stuck to knocking over liqour stores.Interesting isn't it? Just like street punks here, with hot cars,trainers designer clothes,iPods and cell phones,thse little shits could afford satellite phones.
Mummy will now be saying ,
"He was a good boy really,never got into any trouble. He did bring home the odd container ship,but that was just youthful exuberance.You know what boys are like?".
My bet is the relatives are going for compensation.

[Old Lurker]

"Of course, you could always just move to a state with no income tax"

I told Clarice months ago she should claim Florida rather than DC for that purpose.

[clarice]

Heh, PUK..I may someday claim Fla, OL--but at the moment my husband still works and we'd have a hard time proving we spent more than 6 months a year in Fla--something onew must do to establish residency especially since we've no desire to sell out present home.

[PeterUK]

"I may someday claim Fla,"

All of it? You'll have to change the name ,like Carolina or Maryland.Be easier with California.

[Old Lurker]

Clarice, we are in the same boat re having no desire to sell our present Maryland home. But the current market crash makes it more plausible than ever to sell it to the kids at a very low valuation and rent it back (or to use more exotic grantor trust devices) as one way to move a big chunk out of the line of fire of Obama's as yet undefined estate tax. With your city council's aborted attempt last week (Jim Graham's proposed new tax) to add new layers of taxes on the DC elite, good tax planning might be in order...

[Jane]

Deb,

I love the martini party thing.

[clarice]

It's always a good idea, OL.

I sure as heck wouldn't want this to be my residence at my death.

Very funny, PUK--I'll give you St Petersburgh--pretty and veryyyyyyy old.

[clarice]

No H--just St Petersburg,Fls--if you're looking for your new home on a map, PUK.

[PeterUK]

I quite like this one Looks a good area to do a little frelance privateering.

[clarice]

It's got your name written all over it,Puk.

[centralcal]

PeterUK - you have very good taste. I quite like your choice (she said with fingers crossed because she didn't know exactly where it was located).

[Stephanie]

Looks like a Key West home to me.

Why don't we all move there and enforce that secession from the US that they declared a few years back... I'd rather be in the Conch Republic than the new Banana Republic any day.

[sbw]

I don't see the point of Krugman-bashing. He doesn't care if he's wrong, wouldn't admit to it if he were, and the consequences of his being wrong are negligible.

Similarly for the NY Times, and leftists in general, they don't care, wouldn't admit to it, and the consequences won't be felt until some serious rust causes girders to tumble.

No one is in a position to challenge him in a place so public he can't ignore it. You can't expect sycophants on CNN, NBC, CBS, or ABC to paste the facts on the screen in front of him. Journalistic society is too corrupt.

[sbw]

Oops! ;-) My bad! Wrong thread.

[JM Hanes]

Jane:

"Can anyone think of a source or a blog that highlights all the recent (post stimulus) tax hikes?"

I may be mistaken, but I don't think that there has been much in the way of tax hikes yet. It's my impression that the tea parties are protesting the inevitable. With the skyrocketing deficit & debt, there's no way collecting more tax payer dollars isn't in the cards. In any case, that's what I'll be protesting when I go to the confab here on Wednesday. My own representative in the House is actually on the right side of most the issues, so I've been wondering if I shouldn't show up in a district where more pressure is needed. OTOH, it feels a little like a support-your-local-sheriff kind of thing, so I'll probably check out the home team instead.

PUK:

"All of it? You'll have to change the name ,like Carolina or Maryland.Be easier with California."

St. Jane's sounds pretty good, don't you think?

[mojo]

Couldn't get a Mr. Fusion, huh?

[AL]

Usual crap produced by journalists (technically illiterate and mentally unfit to google and comprehend anything non purely political).

Anaerobic digestion is microbial process consuming mostly cellulosic biomass in wet slurries, producing biogas comprising of about 65% of methane and 33% of carbon dioxide, plus hydrogen sulfide and other nasty staff. It is routinely used to degrade sewage and livestock manure sludges in huge digesters. Substantially lower quality and slower metabolic production biogas is generated inside landfills. Both sources of biogas are used in developing countries to generate some electricity and low-quality process heat.

Some years ago DARPA killed stupid proposal of my affiliates for energy recovery of GI camps organic wastes.

At the conditions of temporary military camp, anaerobic recovery of organic waste is of same value as recovery of methane from GI farts.

[Jane]

JMH,

The tax hikes are in the form of the cigarette tax, sales tax increases, gas tax, and the plethora of fees being passed on.

Are you taking pix?

[JM Hanes]

Jane ~

How could I forget the cigarette tax?

If the electricity doesn't blink, my back up alarm clock doesn't fail me, and my car battery hasn't died of loneliness again, I'll be taking pix.....

[Jane]

Can't wait!