Energy Flashes

THE WINDY CITY IS SHOWING US ALL HOW TO GET THE LEAD OUT, now that it has placed a total ban on the sale of leaded gasoline within the city of Chicago's limits. Nationwide, auto emissions account for 95% of all airborne lead, which, studies have shown, passes from the respiratory system into the bloodstream, causing damage to the kidney, liver, and reproductive systems as well as to the brain. Children in urban areas have been found to be particularly vulnerable to poisoning from airborne lead. Other cities are expected to follow Chicago's action.

MEANWHILE, HOWEVER, MANY AMERICANS SEEM INTENT ON KEEPING THE LEAD IN: Although since 1975 the federal government has required that all new American autos be designed to run only on unleaded gasoline, surveys reveal that approximately 13% of all autos in the U.S. are purposely "misfueled." In an apparent attempt to save a few pennies per gallon, many drivers of unleaded-only vehicles run their autos on regular leaded gasoline anyway. The pitfall: Leaded gas causes catalytic converters-the most common antipollution devices in cars—to malfunction. The vehicles' emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and lead can jump as much as 800% as a result.

MOVABLE, GENERATOR-EQUIPPED "HYDROBARGES" MAY BE PRODUCING POWER FOR A WISCONSIN UTILITY BY LATE NEXT YEAR. Approximately 50 dams originally built in the state to aid navigation on the Mississippi River can accommodate the floating electrical plants, the first of which—scheduled to be installed by the fall of 1986—should produce 3.3 megawatts for the Western Wisconsin Municipal Power Group. Three or more hydrobarges could be attached to some of the dams, and the project's total generating capacity is estimated at more than 1,200 megawatts. Before work proceeds, however, the environmental impact of the barges—particularly the effect the series of turbines would have on migrating fish—will have to be assessed.

THE MOST EFFICIENT WOODSTOVE YET was tested recently by Omni Environmental Services in Portland, Oregon. Designed by former MOTHER researcher B.V. Alvarez, the Tech IV by Fisher achieved an overall heating efficiency of 79.5%! The particulate emission rate of Alvarez's fireplace insert amounted to just 2.4 grams per hour, making it one of only seven stoves to qualify for sale in Oregon under that state's particulate emission law. The Tech IV's performance also qualifies it for sale under the more restrictive 1988 standard. The stove is manufactured by Cesco Industries, P.O. Box 7817, Roanoke, VA 24019.

AN EXAMPLE OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH WIND FARMS CAN HELP REDUCE POLLUTION was provided in a study conducted by Zond Systems Inc., one of California's largest wind-energy producers. With the help of the California Energy Commission, Zond's technical staff formulated estimates of the pollution that would be produced by a hypothetical coal-fired power plant equipped with the latest antipollution technology. Zond found that the hypothetical plant, generating the same 30 to 40 million kilowatt-hours produced by Zond's Victory Garden wind farm last year, would emit about 45,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, 21,000 pounds of sulfur oxides, and 1,500 pounds of particulates. The company also noted that each of the 250 turbines at the farm saves the annual equivalent of 85 tons of coal, 370 barrels of crude oil, or 2.2 million square feet of natural gas.

NUKES IN SPACE: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT HAS BEGUN ON A 100-KILOWATT ORBITING NUCLEAR POWER PLANT that apparently would be the first of five to ten fission reactors expected to be launched into service "for military and civilian applications" by the year 2000. Some $13.6 million in funding for the project was appropriated for fiscal year 1984, and a request for an additional $16 million for the undertaking was incorporated in the budget outlined for the Reagan administration's proposed "Star Wars" defense system.

THERE WERE 5,060 MISHAPS AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN 1983, according to a study released by the Critical Mass Energy Project. Of the total, 247 were considered "particularly significant" by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission .... JAPANESE-MADE WIND TURBINES WILL BE SOLD IN THE U.S. for the first time this year. Manufactured by Yamada, the machines are said to generate power in relatively low wind speeds, and cost about $1,250 per kilowatt of capacity .... MONGOLIA'S NOMAD FARMERS CAN CARRY WIND POWER WITH THEM, thanks to British scientists who, in response to appeals from the government of Mongolia, developed a portable wind turbine and rechargeable battery that can be easily transported and used to light a tent, run a radio, and provide heat for cooking ... BACKPACK-MOUNTED PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS are being used by the British Army to recharge field radio batteries .... While some scientists are working to combat the causes of acid rain, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ARE DEVELOPING ACID RAIN-RESISTANT STRAINS OF GARDEN VEGETABLES that will both thrive in low-pH conditions and take in fewer or no toxic elements through their leaves and roots.