Energy Flashes

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TERMITE POWER: Termites—the homeowner's bane—produce nearly half of all of the methane in the earth's atmosphere . . . according to a biologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It seems that micro-organisms in the insect's gut—in the process of breaking down ingested plant matter—release methane and carbon dioxide, two gases that help trap the earth's heat. And it's a safe bet that we won't experience a shortage of atmospheric methane in the near future, since an estimated 240 quadrillion termites are busily munching away on one-third of the planet's organic plant materials!

HYDRONOMICS: The restoration of small, nonfederal dams for use in the generation of electricity is only "mar ginally feasible" economically, according to a recent Tennessee Valley Authority report. Those people who'll have the most success with hydropower projects, says the TVA, are developers who can minimize construction costs, secure low-interest financing, and take advantage of tax benefits. A copy of the study—entitled Small Hydro Feasibility Reports —is available, for $12, from the TVA Division of Water Resources, Dept. TMEN, 141 Evans Building, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902.

THE SUN BIRD: An Ohio State University zoologist has discovered that birds far surpass humans when it comes to efficient personal use of solar energy. The professor notes that seagulls, during hot weather, face directly into the sun to expose the least possible amount of body surface area : . . and that the birds actually shift position to track the sun across the sky. Conversely, on cold days the gulls turn their backs to the sun, exposing more of their bodies and (not coincidentally) their darker wing feathers to the warming rays.

KILOWATT INTERRUPTUS: Large manufacturing facilities—hard-pressed to find ways to lessen their utility costs—are now turning to interruptible electricity rates. Under such a system the utility, in return for a reduction in charges, reserves the right to stop delivery of electric current in case of emergency or maximum demand on the system. The plan, according to firms that have adopted it, is especially suited to plants in which the workdays have already been shortened because of decreased product demand.

STACK SCRUBBER: The Argonne National Laboratory has unveiled a new pollution-control device that—it's said—permits generating plants to burn high-sulfur coal and still comply with federal air emissions standards. The world's first dry stack scrubber employs a mixture of water, fresh lime, and recycled lime, which reacts with the sulfur oxides in stack gas to form a calcium sulfate/sulfite dust. The waste produced by the scrubber is a fine, dry powder.

ACID RAIN EXPLAINED: U.S. Energy Secretary James B. Edwards—on a visit to Akron, Ohio—dismissed the environmental hazards posed by acid precipitation. "All rain is acid," the energy czar mused. "When you say `acid rain', it's a horrible-sounding thing. We burned more coal in the 20's and 30's—tenfold to one-hundredfold, I'm not sure about the numbers—and it didn't kill our lakes .... Other things have to be taken into consideration when you see a dead lake."

SOLAR ONE , a $141 million pilot solar-powered generating plant, is beginning to produce electricity for consumers in southern California. The Mojave Desert facility uses a principle that should be familiar to almost any former fire-starting scout: 1,818 racks of mirrors, rotated by computers, focus sunlight on a 45-foot boiler atop a 250-foot tower. The resulting steam is then routed to a turbine generator.

PULVERIZED WOOD: The Weyerhaeuser Company—which now owns millions of trees that were damaged during the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption—is funding a Penn State research project to salvage the "volcanized" lumber. Scientists are testing a pulverized wood product that could be used interchangeably with oil in the organization's timber-processing burners, without requiring changes in the combustion guns or chambers.

SOLAR COLLECTOR ADVANCEMENT: The Brookhaven National Laboratory has developed a plastic film/laminate solar panel for residential use that can be installed for about 75% less than can existing collectors. Furthermore, the new design reportedly achieves temperatures of 150° to 200°F, making it suitable for applications such as solar cooling and installation in northern climes. The panels could be commercially available by late 1982.

LAND THAT'S BEEN STRIP-MINED FOR COAL will return to its natural state faster if the topsoil removed during the operation is replaced as soon as the mining is complete, instead of being stored for up to two years as many companies now do .... The Rural Electrification Administration reports that ELECTRICITY USE BY RURAL PEOPLE rose only 1% in 1981, the smallest increase ever recorded in the program's 47 years of operation .... In Weld County, Colorado, residents report AN UNUSUALLY DANGEROUS WATER CONTAMINANT: METHANE, which has leaked into the local water supply from surrounding natural gas wells. Such oddities as flaming water, exploding toilets, and livestock deaths have occurred because of the seepage .... Scientists at the Solar Energy Research Institute report finding a BACTERIUM—WHICH LIVES NATURALLY IN A HOT SPRING IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK —that can make industrially useful chemicals from woody materials at relatively high temperatures .... Amoco Oil Company claims to have developed a catalyst-containing cobalt, molybdenum, and chromium oxides—that's CAPABLE OF UPGRADING WHOLE SHALE OIL INTO JET FUEL IN A SINGLE STEP. It's speculated that the process could make shale oil more attractive for the production of other fuels as well.

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