Brazilian beef industry blamed for Amazon deforestation

From: Merco Press
Published June 1, 2009 09:52 AM

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Boots and training shoes are not the first things that spring to mind when you think about the causes of rainforest destruction and climate change, but just because the connection isn’t obvious doesn’t mean it isn’t realm, says Greenpeace in a new report, "Slaughtering the Amazon".

But it's not only shoes. Products as diverse as handbags and ready meals, and companies as big as Tesco, BMW, IKEA and Kraft also rely on Amazon leather. Practically all Western world consumers have some by-product of Amazon destruction in our homes somewhere, whether we like it or not. Effectively, these brands are driving this destruction by buying beef and leather products from unscrupulous suppliers in Brazil points out the Greenpeace report.

The report says the cattle industry is the single biggest cause of deforestation in the world as trees are cleared to make way for ranches. And the Brazilian government is also fuelling the process by offering billions of dollars in loans to support the expansion of the cattle industry. President Lula de Silva has pledged to double his country's share of the global beef market by 2018. The report contrasts these investments with Lula da Silva's recent promise to cut deforestation by 72% by the same date and to set up an international fund for protecting the Amazon.

Three Laws of Car Fuel Economy

Okay, the price of car fuel is going through the roof. What are we going to do about it? Drive less?--That's a very good way to stop global warming. Not a good way to be at Aunt Martha's picnic this weekend.

We could get a super-efficient car (like mine--gets 65 mpg) or get a super-efficient engine (like the one under development--see the full theory at http://www.ernsblog.com/), but you would probably miss the picnic. How about some ways to really cut the cost of gasoline TODAY?

That brings me to a new set of rules. You might say they are Rogers' Laws of Car Fuel Economy. These were mostly known before. They may not actually work for everybody's car, depending on how the car was engineered. A well-engineered car should follow the rules to a "T."

Here are the rules. By following them, you should be able to cut your fuel costs by 20% or more, starting today!

Three Laws of Car Fuel Economy
Ernest Rogers May, 2008

1. In highway driving, for each 5 mph that you slow down, your mileage will increase by 10%.
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2. For any trip with a present average speed of (mph) and fuel consumption of (mpg), if you speed up to save time, the extra fuel you will use can be estimated by—

Extra gallons = (mph /mpg) x (minutes saved /35)

In words, if you divide your normal speed by your usual mpg, then multiply by minutes you want to save (by speeding up) and divide by 35, that’s the amount of extra fuel you can expect to use. It is a handy rule to see the fuel cost for speeding to save time.
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3. Very efficient drivers use pedals less and can get 30% better mileage than inefficient drivers.

New engine cycle is 60% efficient

Analysis of a new engine design is complete! Here are some facts about it:


1. Utilizes a new thermodynamic cycle

2. Will run on most fuels interchangeably with very low emissions

3. Initial design is a compact engine, 130 hp

4. Over 60% efficient over most of its operating range

5. Which means it can help to stop global warming!


We are now looking at ways to fund construction of the small prototype engine. Any suggestions or offers of assistance are welcome. I may be reached at Ernsdesk@aol.com


The engine design is built around a new "thermodynamic cycle." This is a simplified model of how the engine works, which ignores all the messy details of a real engine such as friction, heat loss, and inertia. The cycle is described as a sequence of operations on a captive ideal gas. The new engine cycle is a combination of two old cycles, the Atkinson (or Miller) cycle and the Diesel cycle: the Atkinson-Diesel cycle.

Oh, no, you can't use this ideal cycle formula to design the exact engine and determine its efficiency, but it gives direction to the analysis. A separate program is used for the actual engine design.

I wanted to post the complete description of the cycle and derivation of the cycle efficiency here, but the equations didn't come over in the document. Send me an email if you would like a copy of the complete Atkinson-Diesel cycle description.