The U.S. Environmental Information Administration website hosts a page entitled "Energy Kids" which is designed to convey energy topics in a way that is meaningful and interesting for kids.  The mascot of this initiatie is the "Energy Ant" who tours various energy facilities and posts write-ups of his various field trips.  The Energy Ant recently visited the Covanta Alexandria waste-to-energy facility in Virginia and posted a very nice report on his field trip on the EIA Kids page.  Please read more here. 

Lois Jackson, Chair of Metro Vancouver board of direcors and Mayor of Delta, wrote an op-ed published by straight.com which rationally laid out the merits of waste-to-energy and why it is the logical choice for Metro Vancouver to pursue.  Ms. Jackson does an excellent job of outlining the waste management challenges faced by Metro Vancouver and the economic and environmental factors that must be considered.  When all is said and done, Ms. Jackson concludes that waste-to-energy is the right choice for Metro Vancouver.  The entire op-ed may be read here or by clicking "read more" underneath this text.

The Energy Recovery Council joined with other renewable energy and energy efficiency groups today in sending a letter to President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urging that the Senate quickly consider energy legislation upon its return from recess on July 12.  It is critical that this legislation is enactly quickly to promote energy independence, stimulate jobs, and reduce carbon by promoting clean energy.  At a minimum, the signatories of the letter believe that the following fundamental elements will be critical to a successful package: 1) a strong renewable energy standard, 2) robust and predictable tax and other financial incentives, 3) energy efficiency codes and standards, and 4) renewable energy infrastructure provisions.  Other groups signing the letter include the American Wind Energy Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Biomass Power Association, the Geothermal Energy Association, the Alliance to Save Energy, the National Hydropower Association, the Business Council on Sustainable Energy, and Growth Energy. 

Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed into law this week legislation (HR 7243) that would promote recycling in Florida and provide waste-to-energy an important opportunity to contribute toward that goal. Under the new law, each county must implement a recyclable materials recycling program that shall have a goal of recycling recyclable solid waste by 40 percent by December 31, 2012, 50 percent by 2014, 60 percent by 2016, 70 percent by 2018, and 75 percent by 2020. In order to promote the production of renewable energy from solid waste, each megawatt-hour produced by a waste-to-energy facility shall count as 1 ton of recycled material and shall be applied toward meeting the recycling goals. If a county creating renewable energy from solid waste implements and maintains a program to recycle at least 50 percent of trash by a means other than creating renewable energy, that county shall count 2 tons of recycled material for each megawatt-hour produced.

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote a story on entitled "Turning Trash into Treasure" about Covanta’s Delaware Valley waste-to-energy facility in Chester, PA. “This is where it ends, all the trash, waste, rubbish and garbage, the stinky effluvia of material abundance, the broken, unwanted, discarded relics of consumerism. It ends here, on the tipping floor of Covanta Energy’s trash-to-steam plant on the Delaware River in Chester, Pa.” The article does a great job of educating the public on how the area’s trash becomes energy.  It describes the tipping floor, the combustion process, metal recovery, steam production, and emissions control. The article notes that “trash is commonly viewed as a problem,” but waste-to-energy facilities “regard trash as treasure, a renewable source of sustainable energy.”