Chemically Green
Hey Lady, I Think You’re Infected with the Fat Bug!
Scientist find new cold-like virus that causes fat cells to multiply, leading to obesity.
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According to scientists, the common cold (though your symptoms may tell you differently) may not even be a cold.
The U.S., along with other countries, is plagued by an obesity issue that can be attributed to a nasty little virus which mimics the common cold.
As many as one-in-three obese people can direct much of the blame for being overweight to the highly infectious cold-like virus AD-36.
It is known to cause coughs, sore throats, diarrhea and conjunctivitis. However, now, it has also been found to make fat cells multiply, leading to unexpected weight gain.
This shocking revelation adds to evidence that Britain’s own obesity epidemic is not simply the result of the populous maintaining unhealthy diets or its inability to exercise.
From the U.K.: Daily Express UK News
OBESITY can be “caught” as easily as a common cold from other people’s coughs, sneezes and dirty hands, scientists claimed today.
Researchers believe that an airborne “adenovirus” germ could be causing the fat plague that is blighting Britain and other countries. Studies on humans show that 33 per cent of obese adults had contracted AD-36 at some point in their lives, compared with only 11 per cent of lean men and women.
Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar, of Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Louisiana, US, who led the research, said AD-36 continued to add weight gain long after those infected had seemingly recovered.
His studies indicated that the virus lingers for up to three months, during which time it multiplies fat and is contagious to others.
Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar said: “When AD-36 goes to fat tissue it replicates, making more copies of itself and in the process increases the number of new fat cells, which may explain why people get fat when they are infected with this virus.” The findings were welcomed by some medical experts, although others sounded a note of caution.
Dr Shahrad Taheri, clinical director for obesity at the Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, said: “Most people believe obesity is caused by environmental factors.
“But there is a lot of information about how things like the furring up of arteries could be linked to infections. It is not beyond reason to think about various different factors, including infections, adding into the mix about what causes obesity.”
NAIAS 2009: Green Technology Finally Embraced by Detroit’s Big 3
Detroit’s 2009 North American International Auto Show: Big 3 says they are going to survive with their new green technology.
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Kicking off the most important auto show of a crucial year, Detroit’s Big Three automakers unveiled stylish, fuel-efficient and high-tech vehicles aimed at winning back customers from import brands and countering doomsayers and critics in Washington and across the country.
With Wall Street, Washington and many on Main Street questioning their long-term status, Detroit’s automakers are under immense pressure to demonstrate at the show that they can become viable companies, able to compete with the world’s strongest players on every level.
GM rolled out 16 new models — including an angular Cadillac Converj electric concept and a redesigned Buick LaCrosse sedan — during press previews for the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center. Ford Motor Co. outlined a new electric car strategy and introduced a stylish new Taurus sedan. Chrysler LLC showed off a concept electric performance sedan, the Chrysler 200C.
Video Sneak Peak at GM’s NAIAS 2009.
Chrysler and GM are the most vulnerable players financially and have already received a dose of government aid. But all the major players are struggling in a treacherous environment as the industry copes with the deepest downturn in decades.
GM’S Vice Chairman, Bob Luz, said at the NAIAS, “a person cannot look at our extensive line up of new offerings and say we don’t know what we are doing (in green technology) and say these cars are ugly”.
However, news reports coming out today report, “GM official says money will run out by March 31st as Toyota takes over world’s #1 auto maker from General Motors.”
By contrast with past Detroit shows, where auto executives typically outlined their sales forecasts and set market share targets, nearly all the companies are declining this year to predict how the industry will fare. Last year, U.S. auto sales fell to 13.2 billion from 16.1 billion in 2007. A more realistic forecast would be market share targets of the 11-11.5 billion range. The current state of the US economy is going to contribute heavily to these figures.
Based on the high prices of fuel last summer, the car industry has finally got the message about better mileage vehicles as executives pledge to redouble their efforts to produce better, safer and greener vehicles. Will these executives live up to their pledges in the current economic conditions or forget that people really do want quality, green, higher mileage cars?
The 200C concept uses the next-generation platform for Chrysler’s large rear-drive cars, the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, but the design has short overhangs to offer a glimpse of what the smaller Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger might look like.
Chrysler LLC has shut down all their production plants from 12/19/08 to 1/19/09. Employees received 95% of their pay during this shutdown period. Good for the employees, but how does this help Chrysler’s cash crisis?
The Big Question For The Big 3?
There are a lot of questions that will have to be answered in 2009. The bailout money will only last a few months, and if drastic management measures are not implemented, how much longer will the government keep throwing money at these companies? The auto companies need to cut spending and get the unions off their backs.
Will GM, as well as Ford and Chrysler, make the grade with these new green cars and stay in business?
Will the Big 3 eliminate the Bank Jobs Program? Auto workers getting paid not to work? In the recent bailouts, did GM or Chrysler mention doing away with this problem they’ve created? How can they expect to be competitive with foreign automobile companies when having such a monstrosity hanging over their heads?
Automotive Bank Jobs Program in Further Detail: Thousands of laid-off auto workers get paid $31 an hour to sit around and do nothing all year under a controversial program that could continue even if American taxpayers bail out the American auto industry. The program, called “Jobs Banks,” has been around for 24 years. Some of the employees at jobs banks choose to do community service, but others do crossword puzzles and watch TV all day — or just stare at a wall. If you’re a laid-off auto worker, it’s what comes with your pink slip, thanks to a deal struck in 1984 between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three automakers. There should be no bailout money given to the Big 3 if they continue to support the Bank Jobs Program.
A gigantic factor that is having a major impact on the car producers is the Economy! How long will it take to produce jobs for the unemployed that pay decent enough wages for Americans to buy a new car? I plan to drive my 2002 vehicle for another 160 thousand miles. Are you planning to buy a new car in 2009? Please leave your comments.
5 Most Environmentally Friendly Cars
We’ve been waiting years for environmentally friendly cars that are cheap, reliable, smart, and ‘future proof’. The automotive industry is unlikely to dive in until they are convinced that people are really going to put their money where their mouths are and invest in futuristic technology. The electric car may not have arrived in its expected form, but the success, reliability, monetary, and environmental cost of these cars will decide whether or not the future is here, now.
Pornography Kings Gone Wild — Seeking Sexy Bailout!!
Picture Credit: Bsivad
Smut Kings and Bailouts Gone Wild as Bailout Money Cannot be Accounted For!
Well, what do Porn Kings seeking bailout money have to do with being green?
First of all, bailout money which could be used to fund additional biofuel research would instead be spent on an industry that fuels the flesh. Would someone please tell me how porn bailout money is a green cause? Internet sales of pornographic DVD’s dropped 22% in 2008 and are expected to continue decreasing. This has much to do with the the current economic crisis (forcing consumers to shy away from unnecessary purchases, even porn) and that fact that consumers are accessing more pornographic content by way of the internet. The availability of food and alternative fuel research are far more important than the smut these institutions produce. Perhaps a new marketing strategy, focusing on internet sales and streaming vidoes, would be a better option than utilizing much-needed bailout funds for an industry that does humanity little good in the way of survival.
Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis and “Hustler Magazine” publisher Larry Flynt have said they will petition Congress for financial aid along the lines of what the Big Three auto makers are receiving.
This is difficult fact for Flynt to come to terms with, insisting:
“Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation’s most important businesses; we feel we deserve the same consideration.”
“With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind… It’s time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America.”
Francis takes it a step further, arguing that porno production and automotive production are not that different from one another as he suggests. (Source: Politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
Francis said that he and Flynt are seeking $5 billion and that they have sent letters outlining the proposal to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and their local Congressman, Henry Waxman (D-California). Representative Waxman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If this bailout goes through, we the taxpayers will be getting into the smut and adult entertainment business, whether we like it or not. This is something I, and many others, are not prepared to do. As taxpayers we have a right to express our opinion about the usage of our hard earned money. These funds, with America so close to the brink of a total economic disaster, should be preserved for the real needs of Americans.
No Joy in Mudville, Auto Makers Have Struck Out
A Sea of Cars in U.S. Ports, Going No Where Soon, Picture Credit: M G Spiller
Chemically Green’s previous post on the bailout, Don’t Be Duped! U.S. Government Lying About Bailout, is proving to be accurate and, as expected, no one is purchasing new manufactured automobiles. Their numbers continue to multiply in auto lots and shipping ports all over the country. Layoffs becoming synonymous with America, very few people are shopping for new vehicles and I would not expect it to get better anytime soon.
Collapsing Demand from Hybrids to SUVS.
LONG BEACH, California (Reuters) - From pricey luxury sedans to popular hybrid cars, automobiles made overseas are stacking up at ports and parking lots around the United States as supplies far outstrip demand amid the nation’s worst auto market in more than 25 years.At the Long Beach port near Los Angeles, Toyota Motor Corp vehicles including Prius hybrids (Prius sales are down 48% in the U.S. this year), FJ Cruiser sport utility vehicles and Lexus IS 250 luxury sedans are being stored on a vast construction site that will one day be a new container terminal. The port has not counted how many additional cars were being stored, but Wong said Toyota has leased an additional 23 acres of space while Mercedes-Benz has leased about 20 more acres.
Global automakers have been sideswiped by the collapsing demand for new cars and trucks. A market slowdown that began in the United States has spread to Europe and Asia.
Detroit’s embattled automakers have been pushed to the brink of failure by the downturn and are asking the U.S. Congress for a $34 billion rescue package.
But the sharp decline in sales in October and November blindsided even the industry’s better-performing manufacturers like Toyota and Honda. Source: Reuters
What a farce! The feds dupe the poor American public again. Just like the original financial market bailouts, it’s not working and the automotive bailout won’t work either. Let the cards fall the way they should. Don’t enable poorly managed companies to hang on.
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction”. Albert Einstein.
Picture Credit: Michael Ramirez
Well, our save-all Congress decided to assist the Big 2 with enough bailout funds to keep their heads above water for about 3 months. Ford declined the bailout money.
Ford Motor Company is currently offering cars with 0% car loans.
Want to know how they pulled this off? With GMAC, that’s how. It seems that General Motors only has a minority stake (49%) in GMAC, and GMAC is now using bailout money to make these car loans available to Ford buyers. So, what’s wrong with this? Well, if you will remember, Ford said it didn’t need any bailout money. They were going to do this on their own. So now we have Ford competing against the other two-thirds of the Big Three with 0% car loans made possible by government bailout money. In short, the politicians picked a winner here, and the winner was Ford. You didn’t get to pick… the government picked for you. The one company that didn’t need bailout help now has a government-funded advantage over the two companies which did.
To top all of this off, GMAC received a bailout from the feds today!!!
The government will invest $6 billion to prop up GMAC, the auto financing giant, the Treasury Department said last night, expanding its bailout of the troubled U.S. auto industry.
The Treasury said it would use $5 billion from the $700 billion financial rescue fund it oversees to buy preferred stock from the company. It said it would also lend $1 billion to General Motors, which owns 49 percent of GMAC, to allow it to invest further in the firm.
How long will it take for the Big 2 to want another fix? You have got to be kidding! Payback is hell and the UAW wants their just dues for services rendered!
Planning to buy a new automobile anytime soon? Would it not be prudent for U.S. automakers to have a tremendous fire sale and get rid of their existing inventory to raise some cash?
Now for the latest news on the bailout: another bailout maybe in the works for the bailout. What?????? Everyone needs to take their place in line and get their bailout before the banks run dry.
Powering an Airplane on a Bunch of Nuts
An historical moment on December 30, 2008: Air New Zealand makes history via jatropha powered flight while General Motors plans to sign a pact for jatropha production.
The flight was the first to use jatropha as part of a biofuel mix.
HONG KONG: Despite plunging oil prices, airlines are intensifying their search for alternative fuels to make flying more affordable and environmentally friendly.
An early test of the commercial and technical viability of one such biofuel took place Tuesday in the skies above Auckland. Air New Zealand, the country’s primary carrier, staged a successful test flight using oil derived from jatropha, a weed which can grow in arid conditions and produces inedible oil. This means it won’t be taking away crops used for feeding the world’s swelling population, like ethanol production.
For two hours pilots tested the oil, a 50-50 blend of conventional jet fuel and jatropha, in one of the four Rolls-Royce engines which powered the Boeing 747-400 aircraft. This flight holds the distinction as being the first test flight of a commercial airline utilizing jatropha oil.
“Today we stand at the earliest stages of sustainable fuel development and an important moment in aviation history,” said Rob Fyfe, Air New Zealand’s chief executive. The project has been 18 months in the works. Hopes are that the test results will lay the groundwork for jatropha to be available in commercially viable quantities as soon as three to five years, executives of the companies said.
More Biodiesel Test Flights to Come in 2009
Other airlines are conducting test flights using biofuel blended jet fuels in 2009:
- Continental Airlines has a scheduled January 7, 2009 test flight using a blend of Jatropha and algae. This will be the first flight that algae has been used in a biofuel blend for a commerical aircraft. Continental to be first carrier in the Americas to conduct biofuel flight in partnership with Boeing, GE Aviation, CFM International, and Honeywell’s UOP
HOUSTON, Dec. 8 — Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced plans for the first biofuel-powered demonstration flight of a U.S. commercial airliner, to be conducted in Houston on Jan. 7, 2009. The demonstration flight, which will be operated with no passengers, will be powered by a special fuel blend including components derived from algae and jatropha plants — sustainable, second-generation fuel sources that don’t impact food crops or water resources, and don’t contribute to deforestation. (Source: Continental Airlines)
- Japan Airlines has a scheduled January 30, 2009, test flight using a biodiesel fuel based on camelina oilseed.
BOZEMAN, Mont., Dec 16, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Sustainable Oils, a producer and marketer of renewable, environmentally clean, and high-value camelina-based biofuels will participate in an historic flight by Japan Airlines (JAL) planned for January 30, 2009. The demonstration flight will make JAL the first Asian carrier to fly on fuel derived from sustainable feedstocks and the first airline to use camelina-based bio-jet fuel. JAL’s feedstock mixture is 84% camelina, nearly 16% jatropha and just under 1% algae. Both jatropha and algae are being tested as primary biofuels for aviation gas as well. (Source: BiofuelsDigest.com)
Flash Back to February 2008: Virgin Atlantic became the first airline to test a commercial aircraft on a biofuel blend, using a 20 percent mixture of coconut oil and babassu oils in one of its four engines. Note: Coconut and babassu oils come from palm trees and are used to make soaps, shampoos and special skin lotions. I would hope that Virgina Airlines considered a jatropha-blend instead of palm products. If large amounts of these oils were used for biodiesel, shampoo and other similar products would increase in price. Additionally, palm oil is already one of the many reasons for excessive de-forestation in South America. Increasing the strain on these forests for the output of additional fuel would be disasterous.
General Motors to Sign MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for Growing Jatropha.
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Ahmedabad: After the successful first phase trial run of biodiesel blended fuel, auto-maker General Motors is likely to sign an agreement with Bhavnagar based Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute (CSMCRI) for Jatropa cultivation, institute officials said.
As part of the General Motors Initivative to use biodiesel blended fuels for its vehicles, GM has signed an MoU for the cultivation of jatropha in wastelands. The corporation has conducted test trials running a biodiesel blend in excess of 25,000 kilometers. The blended fuel contained between 10-20% Jatropha biodiesel and future trials have plans of upping the percentage to 100% Jatropha biodiesel.