I work in a very weird environment: say no more

The Park Runneth Over

I had the pleasure of having lunch with the inquisitive and beautiful Ms. Noelie yesterday (mom's not too shabby either). The Levy Park is blooming like I've never seen it and is overflowing with fruits and veggies. I just hope they're not going to waste... photos of the abundance to follow

One of the first positive reports I've read on Ethanol production...Charles must have been hired by GM

Corn-Based Ethanol: The Energy Answer? By Charles Stillman, May 2006

General Motors has a new advertising campaign called "Live Green, Go Yellow" commercial. The TV commercials show young people running around handing out yellow shirts to passersby as an announcer asks "What if we could turn the whole world yellow? We'd have cleaner air and an energy source that grows back every year. Yellow is the color of corn, refined into E85 ethanol. A fuel that lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and can reduce our dependence on oil."

E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Ethanol is a renewable fuel produced by fermenting and distilling crops or other vegetation into a high grade alcohol. About 90 percent of ethanol produced in the United States comes from corn kernels grown in the Midwest. Ethanol has been used as an automotive fuel for over a century. Henry Ford designed his Model T in 1908 to run on an ethanol/gasoline mixture. Over the years its popularity has waxed and waned. Ethanol was banned during Prohibition unless combined with gasoline as a mixture. Its use increased following the end of Prohibition. During World War II it helped supplement scarce oil resources.
The skyrocketing oil prices brought on by the oil embargo of the 1970s forced the United States to look to alternative fuels, like ethanol, to help power vehicles. When the oil began to flow again, ethanol was shelved and not seriously considered again until several years ago when refiners began looking for a substitute for MTBE. After several states, including New York and California decided to ban MTBE, refineries voluntarily began replacing MTBE with ethanol, fearing lawsuits brought on by MTBE’s contamination of groundwater.

The average car in the United States can run on gasoline containing up to 10 percent ethanol. Flexible-fuel vehicles, or FFVs, can run on E85, pure gasoline, or any combination of these. Phillip J. Lampert, executive director of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, estimates that there are up to six million FFVs on American roads today, though only about 2 percent of them are driving on E85. A number of companies including Ford, Dodge, Mercedes, Chevrolet, and Mazda, manufacture FFVs for the U.S. market. (For a full list of Flex-fuel vehicles, click here.)
Despite the growing number of flex-fuel vehicles, there are relatively few filling stations outside the Midwest that carry ethanol. In the entire state of Texas there is just one E85 pump available to the public, located in San Antonio. This summer, Kroger supermarkets plan to install E85 pumps at 10 filling stations in Houston. Dallas area residents will be able to fill up at eight of their local Kroger stores. To aid in the promotion of ethanol, the federal government is offering a 30 percent tax credit to fueling stations that add biofuels, like E85, to their selections. Across the country, the number of places to fill up on E85 is expected to more than quadruple to 2,600 fueling stations by year’s end. A slight drawback to filling up on E85 gas is that it provides about 30 percent less energy than unleaded gasoline, translating into 5 -15 percent decreased efficiency in miles per gallon.

Researchers used to debate over ethanol’s net energy yield. Net energy yield refers to the amount of energy that is needed to produce the fuel- i.e the energy that goes into growing, harvesting, transporting and finally converting the corn into ethanol- in relation to the energy that the ethanol itself then provides as a fuel. The overwhelming majority of recent studies on the subject have concluded that corn-derived ethanol has a positive net energy yield, generating 25 to 35 percent more energy than is needed to produce the fuel. Also, corn-based ethanol actually requires less fossil energy (i.e. energy derived from diesel fuel, natural gas or coal) for its production than does gasoline. The Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model, (highlighted by U.S. Department of Energy in its assessment of ethanol), indicates that .74 million British thermal units (Btu) of fossil is used to produce 1 million Btu of corn ethanol. The production of gasoline requires 1.23 million Btu of fossil energy to produce 1 million Btu of gasoline. Scott Sklar, president of The Stella Group, a national strategic marketing and policy firm for clean energy in Washington, DC, estimates that in some cases the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil is used for every two barrels of oil extracted, and that figure does not include the energy needed to then transport or refine the oil.

The American Coalition for Ethanol reports that there are 97 ethanol production facilities in operation in the U.S. with the capacity to produce 4.5 billion gallons of ethanol. An additional 33 ethanol facilities are under construction, and at least a dozen existing plants are expanding their operations. Texas’ first ethanol plants are currently being built in the state’s panhandle. Panhandle Energies of Dumas, LP is the first to begin construction. Company officials estimate the plant will produce at least 30 million gallons of ethanol a year. The second plant is being constructed by Dallas-based Panda Energy International, Inc. Its projected yield of 100 million gallons of ethanol per year will make it one of the biggest producers in the nation. The facilities will be located in Hereford, Texas, just south of Amarillo to take advantage of the town’s massive free energy source. Hereford is home to one of the largest cattle herds in the world. Panda plans to utilize about a quarter of the 6,300 tons of daily manure produced by the cows to fully power the production plant.

There is debate among environmentalists as to how eco-friendly a fuel ethanol really is. Using E85 corn ethanol helps reduce human effects on global warming by lowering greenhouse gases like CO2 by 18-29 percent. E85 also helps reduce sulfur dioxide emissions and particle matter pollution by some 50 percent. It also provides money to farmers and strengthens the domestic economy while decreasing the need for oil from foreign, often volatile regions of the world. On the other hand, Midwest corn farming is the most chemical-intensive of all U.S. farming- requiring massive amounts of fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides. While gasoline reformulated with ethanol may reduce the emissions of some pollutants, it may actually increase tailpipe emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Advanced catalytic converters can be installed to drastically reduce these emissions. In the past there were also some pollution issues related to byproducts of ethanol production. VOCs, including formaldehyde and acetic acid, both known carcinogens and methanol, a hazardous pollutant are released when the fermented corn mash is dried to provide feed for livestock. Thermal oxidizers have recently been installed in plants to burn off these pollutants.

Corn-derived ethanol is not the panacea to the United States’ long-term energy woes. In the years to come, it can help minimally reduce our petroleum imports and limit large amounts of pollution. A better answer to our energy problems lies with cellulosic ethanol derived from crop refuse like corn stalks and grasses like miscanthus and switchgrass. Cellulosic ethanol requires considerably less fertilizers, provides a greater yield per acre, possesses a higher energy content, and has significantly lower emissions than ethanol produced from corn. The problem is cellulosic materials are costly to convert into ethanol which has limited production. Despite its drawbacks, corn-derived ethanol is a renewable fuel that provides a cleaner, more environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline. Ultimately, in our efforts to become a more sustainable society, we will need to transition to clean, renewable energy sources that do not pollute our land, air and water.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Holly Ann Van Ness

You were always so full of life, love and happiness. I wish I had been there for you more. I wish I'd known how desperately you needed a friend.

We'll all miss you, sweetie.

We'll always love you.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day should have been a normal Sunday; yard work, fixing dinner, laundry, grocery shopping, but my mind and my heart were elsewhere. It wasn't a good day. But life goes on and kids still manage to have fun: This smile's for you, Memaw.

Feliz Cumpleaños, Andresito!

Were we watching the birthday boy open his gifts, or oohing and ahhing at the hunky Cirque Du Soleil acrobats? Meanwhile, Super Marv was fixing everyone quadruple-strength amaretto sours. What was it we were playing? Snap? Spoons? Some version of Rummy? Whatever it was it was fun, while I was winning that is. Darn that Jeff! Next time...

While we were having fun at David's (thanks again for your hospitality), the Three Musketeers where posing for the camera...Great shot, girls : )

I spent the morning cleaning out my gutters (there were some weird bugs up there I can tell you), admiring my live oak and discovering poison ivy/oak in my back yard (confirmation, someone?). What fun... CDVN plans to go on a shopping spree with the dollar he earned giving Lauren a massage. And I can't seem to master the macro setting on the old CoolPix.

The Great, The Great and The Ugly

The Great(1): Had a rip-roaring good time at the very swanky Haynes Whaley open house. Amy, Kim, you girls deserve a big fat raise. What a great event; I heard several people thank and congratulate Larry. He owes you ladies BIG TIME!!!

It was wonderful to catch up with Andrea; I encourage you to keep on doing what you're doing. It will pay off.

Kim, who knew a couple of martinis could go to such good use :p We'll be proud to call you a member, sign up immediately, girl!!!

The Great(2): Unexpected deadline extension. No work this weekend! Yahoo!

The Ugly: My subdivision newsletter describes us as "A family community in FAR WEST Houston". That makes me livid! I'm an urban dweller by nature. I feel like a hamster in a llama pen. I need to get out of the sprawl, any ideas, anyone?

In no particular order

Matt, attempting a sexy pose, but looking like, well, Matt. Sorry dude, we love you anyway...



The band. Don't know who they were but they sounded darn good. They even sang my favorite: Satisfied by Ian Moore, who'd ever have thunk it!


Don't ask; you had to be there....


Here are the stragglers several margaritas later. A little worse for wear after tripping over uneven paving and armadillo tails...


Sara, attempting to do a sexy pose, caught by the camera pre-pucker looking like a playboy centerfold. New marketing award for 2007: Sexiest Marketer of the Year. You hot babe, you!

Milk, no sugar

Well, it looks like this weekend won't be so much fun... duty calls, again. It gets kind of frustrating when you have to put work before everything else for an extended period of time(including the last weekend you get to spend with your son for four weeks). After the $hitty week I had last week I was looking forward to a break from the stress of deadlines and those who thrive on last minute preparations, but I don't think that will be happening. All that makes me smile was not lost from my day however, I did get to visit with the always frank, genuine and helpful Councilmember Brown in none less than Mayor White's cloakroom! Fancy that. We had to extract Mr. Brown from his council meeting, which meant a trip to the depths of City chambers, and the only meeting space available was ol' Bill's green room :) FYI those of you who've never visited City Hall, it's decorated in a very weird art-deco fashion. Not that art-deco is weird, it just doesn't seem like the style one would choose to adorn a public building for years and years. Not my cup of tea at all. In fact, it's kind of like adding two spoons of sugar; why would anyone do that?

P.S. I won't waste an apology to those of you who think Peter Brown isn't worth a second kipper at breakfast; I happen to like the man.

Power to the people!

Saturday started out very ominously. I woke up to the alarm at 5:30, set up in bed and the power promptly went out. Not wanting to miss any of the activities I had planned for the day I put my best Girl Scout foot forward and showered by candelight (not very romantic when solo). Things were going well until I realized that the power wasn't going to reestablish in time for me to blow-dry my hair (horror!). So at 7:00 I left the house in a semi-frizzy state, only to face the fact that my car was trapped in the garage. Noooooooooo! What would Brown Owl do? Okay, there's a piece of rope attached to the pulley system, maybe if I pull on it it will... break the metal lever that retracts as the automatic opener kicks in. $hit! Stay calm, think, think, oh, maybe I can just lift the door up. Ta-da!

After blow-drying my hair with the car heater on max while driving down I-10, things started to turn around.

I picked KC up and we headed to the George R. Brown for my first Blueprint Houston meeting. I didn't really know what to expect. We were grouped by tables of 9 where we listened to speakers, facilitators and even our wonderful Mayor, and periodically brainstormed about various city issues including flooding, developing successful neighborhoods, transportation corridors and parks. We were lucky to sit at a table with such a great group of people; everyone was already heavily involved with Blueprint or was in the design industry so knew the options and terminology that were being flung around the table. We were asked set questions and given the chance to answer using a key pad (as modeled below by the lovely Miss K), the answers were instantly shown on the screen so we all had a chance to see which way the room was swinging. It was fascinating, I can't wait to go back for more. Even though I got the feeling that the questions were loaded, and the group hired to process the input and ideas given by the public seemed to be angling the previous years answers to suit their desired scenario outcome, I did feel like I was contributing something to this city I love so much, and also learnt a lot from the little effort it took to make it there.



After the meeting KC and I went across to the orchid show. Now, KC is the big orchid fan here, but guess which one of us ended up spending money, hmm? While she didn't see anything that caught her eye, I spotted a hoya plant, which I had to scoop up immediately. My grandmother had a hoya in her sunroom, it produces the most fragrant tiny flowers which develop a nectar that as a kid I used to devour every chance I got. It was so reminiscent that I had to buy it. Luckily it's a pretty hardy plant so I may manage not to kill it. Here are some of the orchids...






After walking around for a while we decided we were famished so headed of for sushi. As always it was incredible; Sushi King is the best...

I dropped K off at home and headed down to the MFAH for a showing of Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. Great Bollywood movie, an incredibly moving tale of faith and courage. It actually made me rethink a very important current news issue, but that's for me to know and keep to myself. Revelation. Thanks to GC for suggesting it and for the company. How about that free beverage!

Sorry to K and M that I was a no-show at Blues on the Bayou. KC, I had a great time with you; your energy and enthusiasm are an inspiration. Thanks : )

Viva Juárez!

After an extremely stressful week at work, some R&R was overdue. May I express my thanks to the Mexican people for Cinco de Mayo! The fun began at WS High, where several dance classes, including Miss L's performed for our entertainment. Included in the line-up was the national competition winning group, Inertia, who were amazing.



After the recital, AP and I took off for a little south of the border celebration of our own. Unfortunately, Lupe Tortilla was not rockin'. I think one of the regulars recently died, so everyone was somber and sober. Fortunately they forgot to mention it to us; we had a heck of a time...

Anyone know what this plant is called?

It came up with a bunch of wildflower seeds scattered in my back yard.
I found both the flower and the leaves to be particularly beautiful.

Crawfish are my friends

When you see me devour a plate of them you'd never guess I have one as a pet.












Here's Jill, a mud-bug virgin, at the Carter & Burgess Annual Seafood on the Bayou Bash.












When it rains, it pours (not very obvious in this picture). We were so grateful to be under such a solid steel structure during a lightning storm. Hmm.











And moments later the sun comes out. We didn't find a pot-o-gold...











but we did come across another cold-one. Cheers!













The Zydeco Leprechauns kept us entertained. Wait, no, that was Jill and her hilarious ghetto mama impersonations, but to give the band credit, they were pretty good too. A good time was had by all. Even Councilman Brown.

Haydn Vitera Band

Listen out for this name: Haydn Vitera. Remember I told you one day he would be a world famous musician...check out his myspace page. He sings, he plays guitar and piano, he trained for 8-years on the classical violin and now plays fiddle for several recording artists. One day, Haydn will make it big, and he's Andres' cousin, that's why we're routing for him...