Project Jatropha wins the 2009 Presidential Environmental Youth Award

2009 Regional Winners

EPA Region 9

Callie, Apoorva, Lisa P. Jackson, Adarsha, and Sharon Jang (Region 9 Coordinator)

The Project Jatropha Team

The PEYA Award Winners with President Obama and Lisa P. Jackson

We would like to thank PEYA and all it's staff for giving us the opportunity to meet President Barack Obama and Lisa P. Jackson, the administrator of the EPA, on May 21, 2010.

President’s Environmental Youth Award Winners Welcomed by Congressman Garamendi’s Staff - Honorable John Garamendi

Chief-of-Staff, Gary Cohen, speaks with local high school students
about BioFuel Initiative, before they meet President Obama

From left to right: Adarsha Shivakumar, Gary Cohen,
Callie Roberts, and Apoorva Rangan.

WASHINGTON, DC–The DC office of Congressman John Garamendi (D-Walnut Creek, CA), a member of the House Science and Technology Committee, welcomed and congratulated the President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) winners for the southwest region. Since 1971, PEYA is award annually to young Americans for demonstrating excellence in protecting our country’s air, water, land, and ecology. Adarsha Shivakumar, Apoorva Rangan, and Callie Roberts, high school students at The College Preparatory School in Oakland, who live in Pleasant Hill and Martinez, earned the PEYA by founding Project Jatropha. Project Jatropha is a biofuel venture that seeks to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate global climate change.

As described by the students, "The Project Jatropha Team promotes the cultivation of Jatropha curcas, a perennial shrub with oil-rich seeds, as an ecologically friendly and economically sustainable source of alternative fuel production. To date, the work of Project Jatropha has supported the planting of 13,000 seedlings by more than 50 farm families in Southern India."

On Wednesday May 19th, Adarsha, Apoorva, Callie, their family members, and their EPA liaison were given a tour of the Capitol complex and Congressman John Garamendi’s office. Chief-of-Staff Gary Cohen spoke with the students about their project, the COMPETES bill to fund scientific research, and the Joint BioEnergy Institute. The Joint BioEnergy Institute is a partnership project that includes Lawrence-Livermore and Sandia National Labs and aims to develop the next generation of biofuels.

"I want to commend Adarsha, Apoorva, and Callie for their ongoing work on Project Jatropha. Unhindered by their young age and the scale of the problem, these students are courageously working to combat global warming. They approach this serious challenge with humility and youthful excitement," Gary Cohen said.

"This generation’s students enter a globally competitive labor market. Their success depends on the ability to work hard, think creatively, and adapt to quickly evolving market conditions," Mr. Cohen added "These three Bay Area students display these qualities in spades and serve as an inspiration to the many talented young students of the 10th District."

On Friday May 21st, the students joined other PEYA winners in meeting President Barack Obama.

More information about Project Jatropha is available at http://projectjatropha.com/
Contact: Adarsha Shivakumar at adarsha@projectjatropha.com
More information about the President’s Environmental Youth Award and the 2009 winners is available at http://www.epa.gov/peya/winners.html.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

We wish You All a Very Happy Earth Day

Project Jatropha Team

What about Nuclear Power?

Dear readers of our blog,
I'm reposting Adarsha's blog post from the blog "Hot and Bothered". I think this post is particularly interesting because it details the pros and cons of using nuclear power. I always used to associate nuclear power with war. This is a new insight that will make us look at nuclear power from a different perspective.
~Apoorva

According to nuclear power advocates, this picture will be the true representation of nuclear power. According to people who hate nuclear power, this will be the epitome of the propaganda used by the pro-nuclear side. Which side do you think is correct, if either?

One of the most hotly contested alternatives to fossil fuel based power is nuclear power (primarily fission). The debate over whether nuclear power should be included in a cleaner energy infrastructure has been going on for decades, and is becoming an ever greater topic as the energy needs of our nation grow along with our emissions.

Recently, Obama passed a bill that gave additional funding for nuclear power plants. The bill was highly controversial, and the issues about nuclear power plants once again became prominent. I myself support nuclear power with certain conditions. I believe that it is necessary to not dismiss, and preferably develop nuclear power technology as it can help supplement the clean energy given by various, more conventional renewables such as solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind power.

One of the major problems facing nuclear power plants is cost: it can take upwards of several billion dollars to build or retrofit a reactor that meets all the required safety guidelines. Another problem is the state of current reactors: many are several decades old (in America) and consequently are degrading, which does pose a safety hazard. Yet, both of these problems are fixable.

France is an example country where nuclear power is being successfully used on a large scale. The biggest problem facing nuclear power is the disposal or storage of waste. Spent nuclear fuel remains radioactive for thousands and thousands of years, and must be packaged in special, expensive containers that still leak small amounts of radiation. Storing these containers and the thousands of tons of new waste produced every year has proven to be incredibly difficult. The Yucca Mountain in Nevada, which was going to be the main storage site of spent nuclear fuel in the US, was ruled out due to its proximity to fault lines (among other issues). This inability to safely store spent nuclear fuel for lengthy periods of time is the primary criticism leveled against expanding nuclear power. New breeder reactors are being developed that can turn spent nuclear fuel back into usable fuel that cannot be weaponized. This process kills two birds with one stone by eliminating fuel storage concerns and providing reactors with more fuel. Breeder reactor technology seems to hold great promise for the future of nuclear fission based power, and I believe that more funding for it would help enable its implementation.

There are still BIG hurdles nuclear power faces, such as the admittedly prohibitive costs of building and maintaining reactors, as well as the general condition of the plants. But, considering all sides of the issue, I feel that it is unfair to not even consider nuclear power when it offers so many benefits and its shortcomings can be solved.

The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Alliance for Climate Education

Our Sponsor Michelle Lacourciere was honored with an ‘Unsung Heroine’ award in recognition of their work with orphans and families in H

Dear Blog Followers,
I am reposting an article published in FogCityJournal.com. We are very proud to inform you all that Michelle was one of the six San Francisco women who received the award on International Women's Day. Congratulations Michelle! You totally deserve it!

~Apoorva

Six San Francisco Women Honored
on International Women’s Day

Posted By admin On March 10, 2010 @ 12:08 am In Events, Human Interest, Politics |

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Global Arts and Education (GAE) honored six outstanding San Francisco women Monday, March 8, at the Civic Center Holiday Inn. International Women’s Day has been celebrated since 1911. In 1975 the United Nations designated March 8 an official holiday.

As many as 200 guests attended the International Women’s Day Awards Breakfast
held at the Civic Center Holiday Inn, March 8.Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, recipient of the Extraordinary Public Service Award, was introduced by her brother, Michael Ma, who joked about following in his sister’s shadow. He spoke seriously of her drive for education and lifelong commitment to improving the lives of others. Assemblywoman Ma set the tone for the morning with a passionate speech about her commitment to service.

Former Mayor Willie Brown presented the Unsung Heroine Award to Farah Makras and Michelle Lacourciere of the Sirona Cares Foundation (SCF). For years before the devastating earthquake in Haiti, SCF has been working on the ground in Haiti to help children and their families. Michelle said there was a desperate need for fingernail clippers in Haiti to prevent disease.

“There is no sanitation no running water and they must eat with their hands,” GAE Executive Director Bradford-Bell shared with the crowd. “I think we should pledge right now to donate 1,000 clippers to Sirona Cares.”

Willie Brown raised the challenge to 50,000.Walgreens, a corporate sponsor of the event, immediately jumped on board and is sending the first 1,000 pairs of fingernail clippers to Haiti. According to Lacourciere, each pair of fingernail clippers can save as many as 5 lives. Reaching the 50,000 goal will save one quarter of a million lives. BART and Yerba Buena Engineering and Construction also provided generous sponsorship for the event.


The good people at Walgreens, pictured with Farah Makras and Michelle Lacourciere,
pledged to send 50,000 nail clippers to Haiti.San Francisco City Administrator Ed Lee presented San Francisco Human Rights Commissioner Zula Jones with the Community Advocate of the Year Award. In the tradition of International Women’s Day, Lee presented Zula with a gift and said it’s “about time” Zula was honored and recognized for her work.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty presented BART Director Lynette Sweet with the Annie M. Powell Community Service Award. Annie Powell, who feared she would not make it to age 25, was gunned down in the Bayview just twelve days after her twenty-third birthday. Supervisor Dufty and BART Director Sweet have vowed to help find ways and create policies to bring an end to the senseless loss of our youth.

Marily Mondejar moved the crowd with an emotional speech after accepting the award for Organization of the Year on behalf of the Filipina Women’s Network. Mondejar was presented the award by San Francisco Entertainment Commissioner Al Perez who sits on the board of the Filipina Women’s Network. The organization received the award for its fight against domestic violence with Mondejar offering that she was a survivor of domestic violence.

Reese Isbell, District Representative for Senator Mark Leno, brought Certificates of Recognition from the Senator. Each honoree and GAE received commendations from the Senator.

“I’m thrilled,” said Bradford Bell. “Senator Leno is a very special person whom I admired greatly.”Isbell brought his niece, Mariah Isbell-Becerra, to the awards breakfast. Typical of a sixteen-year-olds, Mariah wasn’t thrilled to be up so early during spring break, but it was clear she was having a great time.

“Get use to it. You’re going to attending lot of breakfast events when you get into politics,” Bradford Bell teased from the podium.

“I could not have dreamed of a better event,” added Bradford Bell. “Everybody gave above and beyond what I asked for. The Holiday Inn chef created a special frittata just for us and the guests had only good things to say about the food.”

Plans are now underway for the March 8, 2011, International Women’s Day Summit. In the coming weeks, GAE will be looking for volunteers and organizations who wish to participate. Anyone interested in volunteering for a committee should contact Shelley Bradford Bell at sbb@globalartsandeducation.com. To received updated information on the 2011 Summit, send an email to info@globalartsandeducation.com and type “IWD Update - Subscribe” in the subject link

Article printed from Fog City Journal: http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress

URL to article: http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/2010/03/10/six-san-francisco-women-honored-on-international-womens-day/

The Haitian earthquake and how it relates to climate change

Dear Readers of our blog,
I'm reposting Adarsha's blogpost from the blog "Hot and Bothered." I love this post because it details the relationship between the devastating Haiti earthquake and climate change.
Sincerely,
Apoorva

The Haitian earthquake and how it relates to climate change

February 3rd, 2010 by Adarsha

When the earthquake struck Haiti, hundreds of thousands of people died, were injured, or were displaced. Millions more lost family, and the country, even now, is in a state of ruin. The loss of life and devastation to the infrastructure of the previously-poor country will take years, if not decades to recover from. Experts had predicted the Haitian earthquake sometime beforehand, yet they were unable to know when exactly the earthquake would strike. Earthquakes are a kind of natural disaster that we do not have the power to predict, let alone stop (yet). However, there are things that we can do-not build buildings on fault lines, and reinforce the ones that are so that they are less prone to falling or being structurally compromised if an earthquake does happen. Anthropogenic climate change is different as it is a large issue that has been primarily caused by man. Although its effects are not immediately as big-and it is a problem that CAN be mitigated we are not taking this issue seriously. We can see the effects of climate change, and though we may not be able to exactly determine the tipping point, we know general indicators of the status of the situation (polar ice caps, permafrost, etc.). Humans need to realize that like earthquakes, the consequences of climate change are devastating. Hundreds of thousands dead due to famines and changing weather patterns, plus the hundreds of millions displaced due to rising sea levels are staggering consequences.

Climate change will be a disaster if we don’t start mitigating it right now. Unlike earthquakes, we can change our actions to help mitigate climate change (by adopting cleaner technologies and making our lifestyles more sustainable).The important thing to note is that although there ARE natural disasters which we CAN’T prevent, like the Haitian earthquake, we CAN help prevent or mitigate climate change if we all come together and work towards it. Finally I urge every one of you choose your own DOT (Link to what a DOT is here: http://www.acespace.org/dot) and join us against the fight against climate change.

Adarsha

EDIT: Well, it seems that climate change may indeed have an effect on tectonics after all, according to this link: which, if proven true, further demonstrate the Pandora’s box we might be opening.