There are currently over 3,500 USA/Canadian landfills listed by the EPA/EC and like numbers in Europe that are producing methane-rich landfill gas (LFG). This gas is typically made up of 50-percent methane (CH4), 35-percent carbon dioxide (CO2), and 2 to 25% nitrogen and oxygen (N2 & O2), plus dozens of dilute contaminants. LFG is classified as a renewable fuel, because it is generated via biological decay of municipal solid waste, a constant byproduct of human activity. To date, most LFG has been allowed to escape into the atmosphere. On account of its high CH4 content, LFG may contribute to climate change, as CH4 is one of the most harmful greenhouse gases with 21 times the global warming potential of CO2. Of the landfills that collect LFG, most simply flare it. In the past decade, some landfills have begun to use LFG for electricity generation or for direct combustion as low Btu gas. Very few landfills upgrade LFG to high Btu gas. A patented CO2 WashTM process developed by Acrion Technologies Inc., and licensed to Firm Green Inc. shows promise as an economically and environmentally sustainable process to recover energy and prevent pollution from landfills. The CO2 WashTM has already been …

This report discusses the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), a program under which the federal government supports efforts to assess and monitor earthquake hazards and risk in the United States. This report also discusses earthquake hazards and risk in the United States; federal programs that support earthquake monitoring; the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings; and federally supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability.

This report discusses the reasons that Iran is considered a threat to U.S. security, including Iran's nuclear program, involvement with terrorist organizations, and involvement with neighboring countries' local governments. The report also discusses ways which the U.S. hopes to modify Iran's behavior with sanctions, and the effectiveness of these sanctions.

Venting range hoods are important residential ventilation components that remove pollutants generated by cooking activities and natural gas cooking burners. To address the lack of data on range hood installations in California, we conducted a survey by examining photographs of homes for sale or rent listed on a popular real estate web site. The survey was conducted in November 2010 and April–May 2011. Posted photos of the homes were reviewed to determine if a hood was installed, the type of hood, and two installation details that can impact performance, namely the height above the cooktop and the degree to which the hood covers the cooktop burners. We additionally collected information about the homes, including asking price for purchase or rent, type of building (e.g. detached house, townhouse or apartment), building age, floor area, and cooktop fuel type. Listings were first sampled to focus on homes built since 2005, then randomly sampled to include varied prices and locations around the state. Data were obtained for 1002 homes built between 1865 and 2011 (median year built 1989). Homes for sale varied in asking price from $16,000 to $16,500,000 (median $353,000) and homes for rent varied from $500 to $25,000 (median $2125) per …

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This report discusses the diminishment of Arctic Sea ice and concerns about the region's future. This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress.

This report describes the FY2012 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Total budget authority, including appropriations, fee revenues, and trust funds in the Administration's budget request for DHS for FY2012 amounts to $57,079 million as compared to $55,783 million enacted for FY2011.

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Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing a comparison of proposed charter school legislation (H.R. 2218) and current law, in regards to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act's reauthorization. Topics include, a comparison of provisions, changes made to structure, etc..

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This document defines what constitutes an out-of-state political committee and provides information on the regulations on out-of-state political committees.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Spinel containing technetium can be used to prevent Tc volatilization during vitrification of radioactive waste. Spinel dissolves in glass at elevated temperatures. This study focuses on the synthesis of spinel and the retention of rhenium, a nonradioactive surrogate for Tc in the crystals. To produce trevorite, a nickel-iron spinel (NiFe2O4), Fe and Ni nitrates were mixed with alkali nitrates along with Al(OH)3 and heated to 500 to 800°C. The trevorite content in samples (up to 40 mass%) was measured with x-ray diffraction. Viable samples were rerun with KReO4. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy detected that Re became partly immobilized in spinel-forming crystals.

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Project Objective: The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (CEC) will design, construct, and ultimately have responsibility for the operation of the Large Wind Turbine Blade Test Facility, which is an advanced blade testing facility capable of testing wind turbine blades up to at least 90 meters in length on three test stands. Background: Wind turbine blade testing is required to meet international design standards, and is a critical factor in maintaining high levels of reliability and mitigating the technical and financial risk of deploying massproduced wind turbine models. Testing is also needed to identify specific blade design issues that may contribute to reduced wind turbine reliability and performance. Testing is also required to optimize aerodynamics, structural performance, encourage new technologies and materials development making wind even more competitive. The objective of this project is to accelerate the design and construction of a large wind blade testing facility capable of testing blades with minimum queue times at a reasonable cost. This testing facility will encourage and provide the opportunity for the U.S wind industry to conduct more rigorous testing of blades to improve wind turbine reliability.

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