recent surge in weakened and malnourished sea lions found along the Northern California coast is mystifying scientists and keeping workers hopping at the newly expanded Marine Mammal Center here.
“We’re way ahead in the numbers this year. We have twice as many animals as we should,” marine veterinarian Bill Van Bonn said after examining Charcoal, a sick harbour seal.
Experts at the non-profit centre, located on wind-swept Marin headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, believe the perplexing spike in malnourished sea lions along several hundred miles (kilometres) of coast could be due to a decline in populations of smaller fish that young seals and sea lions eat while developing.
“It’s likely a problem with the food web, something lower in the food chain that is affected, but we are not sure what it is yet,” said Van Bonn.
For 35 years, the seaside hospital has treated and studied ailing elephant seals and other coastal mammals in bath tubs and makeshift facilities. On Monday, as more and more sick animals are needing attention, a new $32 million building will be unveiled that expands the centre’s capacity and technical ability at a crucial time.
On a recent afternoon, centre staff decked out in rubber boots and yellow slickers busily tended to about 130 marine mammals lolling in the centre’s new pens, which are shaded by solar panels and feature pools with freshly filtered water.
The centre treats an average of 600 marine mammals a year, but last year more than 800 were rescued. In a recent week, staff rescued 10 more sea lions a day than usual.
“It’s concerning,” said Jeff Boehm, the centre’s executive director.
The only bright side, Boehm said, is that the centre is now better equipped to help solve the riddle.
They have “a state of the art lab, a state of the art suite for performing science and doing that pathological work which helps us understand diseases,” Boehm said. The centre also has surgeons to repair broken flippers or remove cataracts.
Elephant seals, harbour seals and California sea lions make up the bulk of the patients, but the centre also is called upon to help untangle whales caught in fishing nets, or to perform necropsies on dead animals that wash ashore.
Only about 50 per cent of the animals rescued make it out alive, but all of them help in the centre’s scientific mission: more than 14,000 genetic and tissue samples have been stored.
The new building allows for more public access, which is free. Visitors can view the animals in their pens, watch a necropsy or attend classes.
The Marine Mammal Center has also sought to have a lighter environmental footprint in its new home: ceiling tiles are made of seaweed and structural beams are composed of partially recycled materials. The solar panels used to shade the pens also provide about 10 per cent of the electricity consumed.
These days, as the ocean’s acidity rises due to climate change, much of the centre’s work will be focused on studying how this changing sea chemistry is affecting the mammals that live within its 600-mile (965-kilometre)-reach. Only about eight per cent of the centre’s patients are injured by hazards like fishing nets, tackle or boats.
On a recent sunny afternoon a group of the malnourished California sea lions barked as two volunteers held one of them down so a feeding tube could be inserted.
The staff force-fed the sea lion, known as Robin, with a yellowish mash of herring, water and salmon oil, hoping to bolster Robin’s strength so she can eventually return to the sea.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Paul McCartney Calls for Meat-Free Day to Cut Cow Gas
Paul McCartney, the former Beatle and vegetarian pop star, asked fans to go meatless on Mondays to help slow global warming by reducing the amount of gaseous emissions from farm animals.
Cows, pigs and sheep bred for human consumption discharge millions of tons of methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Livestock accounts for about 18 percent of greenhouse gases, more than all the world’s cars, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has said.
“If you want to fight climate change, it’s not only about electricity and coal-fired power plants: Agriculture is a huge contributor too and meat consumption is a big problem,” Jan van Aken, a biologist and agriculture campaigner for the Greenpeace environmental group, said today in a telephone interview from Hamburg. It’s “mainly burps” and animal flatulence, he said.
Supported in his cause by celebrity chefs and Hollywood actors, McCartney said in a statement today that skipping meat a day a week is a “meaningful” change everyone can make to their lifestyles to help the environment. Less consumption may lead to fewer animals reared, and so emissions would fall.
Maureen Strong, who represents the U.K. meat industry, said in an interview that while McCartney’s idea wasn’t bad, his campaign is “unfortunate” because of the wider implication that eating meat is bad for people.
‘Banner of Negativity’
McCartney, who once posed with his fellow Beatles band members and chunks of raw meat for an album cover, became a vegetarian while married to his wife Linda, the founder of a vegetarian food company who died of cancer in 1998. The couple appeared in “The Simpsons” television show in the 1995 episode “Lisa the Vegetarian.”
“It’s misguided in trying to boost the guilt factor for the 97 percent of the population who enjoy red meat as part of their diet,” said Milton Keynes, England-based Strong, nutrition manager for meat services at the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, which is funded by farmers. “It hangs a banner of negativity over red meat.”
The singer, who will turn 67 this week, is bringing to the U.K. a campaign that started in the U.S. and Australia. Skipping meat on Mondays may encourage people to eat less on other days too, said Greenpeace’s van Aken.
“If you have a meat-free Monday and that can reduce our emissions from cattle by 10 to 20 percent,” van Aken said.
Weekend Excesses
Celebrity backers of the campaign include Hollywood actors Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey, the British comedian Ricky Gervais, singers Chris Martin of the band Coldplay and Sheryl Crow, artist Jeff Koons and chefs Yotam Ottolenghi and Giorgio Locatelli, the statement said.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year said altered human lifestyles including giving up meat consumption at least one day a week can contribute to climate change. Greenpeace estimates every kilo (2.2 pounds) of beef eaten represents about the same greenhouse-gas emissions as flying 100 kilometers (62 miles).
“This is something you could do for the environment,” McCartney said in a video on his Web Site. “It’s kind of easy to do. You’ve had too much over the weekend anyway and you’re all running down to the gym to try and work it off so just have a meat-free Monday.”
Cows, pigs and sheep bred for human consumption discharge millions of tons of methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Livestock accounts for about 18 percent of greenhouse gases, more than all the world’s cars, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has said.
“If you want to fight climate change, it’s not only about electricity and coal-fired power plants: Agriculture is a huge contributor too and meat consumption is a big problem,” Jan van Aken, a biologist and agriculture campaigner for the Greenpeace environmental group, said today in a telephone interview from Hamburg. It’s “mainly burps” and animal flatulence, he said.
Supported in his cause by celebrity chefs and Hollywood actors, McCartney said in a statement today that skipping meat a day a week is a “meaningful” change everyone can make to their lifestyles to help the environment. Less consumption may lead to fewer animals reared, and so emissions would fall.
Maureen Strong, who represents the U.K. meat industry, said in an interview that while McCartney’s idea wasn’t bad, his campaign is “unfortunate” because of the wider implication that eating meat is bad for people.
‘Banner of Negativity’
McCartney, who once posed with his fellow Beatles band members and chunks of raw meat for an album cover, became a vegetarian while married to his wife Linda, the founder of a vegetarian food company who died of cancer in 1998. The couple appeared in “The Simpsons” television show in the 1995 episode “Lisa the Vegetarian.”
“It’s misguided in trying to boost the guilt factor for the 97 percent of the population who enjoy red meat as part of their diet,” said Milton Keynes, England-based Strong, nutrition manager for meat services at the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, which is funded by farmers. “It hangs a banner of negativity over red meat.”
The singer, who will turn 67 this week, is bringing to the U.K. a campaign that started in the U.S. and Australia. Skipping meat on Mondays may encourage people to eat less on other days too, said Greenpeace’s van Aken.
“If you have a meat-free Monday and that can reduce our emissions from cattle by 10 to 20 percent,” van Aken said.
Weekend Excesses
Celebrity backers of the campaign include Hollywood actors Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey, the British comedian Ricky Gervais, singers Chris Martin of the band Coldplay and Sheryl Crow, artist Jeff Koons and chefs Yotam Ottolenghi and Giorgio Locatelli, the statement said.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year said altered human lifestyles including giving up meat consumption at least one day a week can contribute to climate change. Greenpeace estimates every kilo (2.2 pounds) of beef eaten represents about the same greenhouse-gas emissions as flying 100 kilometers (62 miles).
“This is something you could do for the environment,” McCartney said in a video on his Web Site. “It’s kind of easy to do. You’ve had too much over the weekend anyway and you’re all running down to the gym to try and work it off so just have a meat-free Monday.”
Plan targets fallout from mountaintop mining
The Obama administration on Thursday announced steps to reduce the environmental destruction caused in six states by mountaintop coal mining.
The government will seek to eliminate the expedited reviews that have made it easier for mining companies to blast off Appalachian mountaintops and discard the rubble into valleys where streams flow.
The agreement among three federal agencies also includes changes to tighten federal oversight and environmental screening of mountaintop coal mining in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Nancy Sutley, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers will set clear standards, ensuring that communities in coal-mining regions have clean streams and drinking water.
Mining waste dumped into waterways can diminish water quality for fish and other aquatic organisms, and taint sources of drinking water.
Mountaintop mines in the states where the practice is most used - West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee - produce nearly 130 million tons of coal each year, or about 14 percent of the coal that produces electricity, and employ about 14,000 people.
"The Obama administration has serious concerns about the impacts of mountaintop coal mining on our natural resources and on the health and welfare of Appalachian communities," Sutley said. "Within this plan the Obama administration is doing at all it can under existing laws and regulations to curb the most environmentally destructive impacts of mountaintop coal mining."
Just a handful of permits had been issued for Appalachian mines since a federal court decision in 2007 found that the Corps of Engineers was not doing enough to protect water resources from mountaintop projects. That ruling was reversed earlier this year, and mine operators had hoped it would lead to the approval of long-delayed permits.
Now they are concerned the administration's action will again make it difficult to get permits.
"The whole permitting process has become much more complicated, more uncertain, and it is clearly going to take longer," said Carol Raulston, a spokeswoman for the National Mining Association.
Hours before the announcement, Obama administration officials called regulators in the affected states to deliver a much different message.
DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration on Thursday announced steps to reduce the environmental destruction caused in six states by mountaintop coal mining.
The government will seek to eliminate the expedited reviews that have made it easier for mining companies to blast off Appalachian mountaintops and discard the rubble into valleys where streams flow.
The agreement among three federal agencies also includes changes to tighten federal oversight and environmental screening of mountaintop coal mining in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Nancy Sutley, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers will set clear standards, ensuring that communities in coal-mining regions have clean streams and drinking water.
Mining waste dumped into waterways can diminish water quality for fish and other aquatic organisms, and taint sources of drinking water.
Mountaintop mines in the states where the practice is most used - West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee - produce nearly 130 million tons of coal each year, or about 14 percent of the coal that produces electricity, and employ about 14,000 people.
"The Obama administration has serious concerns about the impacts of mountaintop coal mining on our natural resources and on the health and welfare of Appalachian communities," Sutley said. "Within this plan the Obama administration is doing at all it can under existing laws and regulations to curb the most environmentally destructive impacts of mountaintop coal mining."
Just a handful of permits had been issued for Appalachian mines since a federal court decision in 2007 found that the Corps of Engineers was not doing enough to protect water resources from mountaintop projects. That ruling was reversed earlier this year, and mine operators had hoped it would lead to the approval of long-delayed permits.
Now they are concerned the administration's action will again make it difficult to get permits.
"The whole permitting process has become much more complicated, more uncertain, and it is clearly going to take longer," said Carol Raulston, a spokeswoman for the National Mining Association.
Hours before the announcement, Obama administration officials called regulators in the affected states to deliver a much different message.
"The purposes stated today was to actually make (the permit process) more effective, make it more efficient, make it more transparent. And say yes more quickly and no more quickly," said Len Peters, Kentucky's energy and environmental secretary.
President Barack Obama, as a candidate, expressed concern about the mountaintop mining although he stopped short of calling for an outright ban.
His administration has cast a more critical eye on the process than did the Bush administration, which was accused of granting permits with little scrutiny. In March, the EPA announced it would more take a closer look at about 150 mountaintop mining permits pending before the Army Corps to ensure the projects would not harm streams and wetlands.
The agency objected to some projects, but has said dozens probably would be allowed to go ahead.
In April, the Interior Department asked a federal judge to vacate a Bush rule that makes it easier to dump mining waste near waterways.
The expedited reviews, in place since 1982, allow mining companies proposing similar projects to get a general permit under the Clean Water Act, rather than being evaluated on a case-by-case basis. About 30 percent of mountaintop removal projects are approved under the general permit to discharge waste into streams, according to administration officials.
A federal judge in late March barred the Army Corps of Engineers from granting permits for valley fills in West Virginia using the streamlined permitting process. The Obama administration earlier this week filed a notice to appeal that decision. On Thursday, Sutley described the filing as procedural and said no policy decisions had been made.
Environmentalists pressing to end mountaintop mining said Thursday that little could be done to lessen its environmental toll.
"The administration's current plan is a good first step. ... We would like leaps," said Janet Keating, executive director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.
___
"The purposes stated today was to actually make (the permit process) more effective, make it more efficient, make it more transparent. And say yes more quickly and no more quickly," said Len Peters, Kentucky's energy and environmental secretary.
President Barack Obama, as a candidate, expressed concern about the mountaintop mining although he stopped short of calling for an outright ban.
His administration has cast a more critical eye on the process than did the Bush administration, which was accused of granting permits with little scrutiny. In March, the EPA announced it would more take a closer look at about 150 mountaintop mining permits pending before the Army Corps to ensure the projects would not harm streams and wetlands.
The agency objected to some projects, but has said dozens probably would be allowed to go ahead.
In April, the Interior Department asked a federal judge to vacate a Bush rule that makes it easier to dump mining waste near waterways.
The expedited reviews, in place since 1982, allow mining companies proposing similar projects to get a general permit under the Clean Water Act, rather than being evaluated on a case-by-case basis. About 30 percent of mountaintop removal projects are approved under the general permit to discharge waste into streams, according to administration officials.
A federal judge in late March barred the Army Corps of Engineers from granting permits for valley fills in West Virginia using the streamlined permitting process. The Obama administration earlier this week filed a notice to appeal that decision. On Thursday, Sutley described the filing as procedural and said no policy decisions had been made.
Environmentalists pressing to end mountaintop mining said Thursday that little could be done to lessen its environmental toll.
"The administration's current plan is a good first step. ... We would like leaps," said Janet Keating, executive director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.
The government will seek to eliminate the expedited reviews that have made it easier for mining companies to blast off Appalachian mountaintops and discard the rubble into valleys where streams flow.
The agreement among three federal agencies also includes changes to tighten federal oversight and environmental screening of mountaintop coal mining in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Nancy Sutley, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers will set clear standards, ensuring that communities in coal-mining regions have clean streams and drinking water.
Mining waste dumped into waterways can diminish water quality for fish and other aquatic organisms, and taint sources of drinking water.
Mountaintop mines in the states where the practice is most used - West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee - produce nearly 130 million tons of coal each year, or about 14 percent of the coal that produces electricity, and employ about 14,000 people.
"The Obama administration has serious concerns about the impacts of mountaintop coal mining on our natural resources and on the health and welfare of Appalachian communities," Sutley said. "Within this plan the Obama administration is doing at all it can under existing laws and regulations to curb the most environmentally destructive impacts of mountaintop coal mining."
Just a handful of permits had been issued for Appalachian mines since a federal court decision in 2007 found that the Corps of Engineers was not doing enough to protect water resources from mountaintop projects. That ruling was reversed earlier this year, and mine operators had hoped it would lead to the approval of long-delayed permits.
Now they are concerned the administration's action will again make it difficult to get permits.
"The whole permitting process has become much more complicated, more uncertain, and it is clearly going to take longer," said Carol Raulston, a spokeswoman for the National Mining Association.
Hours before the announcement, Obama administration officials called regulators in the affected states to deliver a much different message.
DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration on Thursday announced steps to reduce the environmental destruction caused in six states by mountaintop coal mining.
The government will seek to eliminate the expedited reviews that have made it easier for mining companies to blast off Appalachian mountaintops and discard the rubble into valleys where streams flow.
The agreement among three federal agencies also includes changes to tighten federal oversight and environmental screening of mountaintop coal mining in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Nancy Sutley, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers will set clear standards, ensuring that communities in coal-mining regions have clean streams and drinking water.
Mining waste dumped into waterways can diminish water quality for fish and other aquatic organisms, and taint sources of drinking water.
Mountaintop mines in the states where the practice is most used - West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee - produce nearly 130 million tons of coal each year, or about 14 percent of the coal that produces electricity, and employ about 14,000 people.
"The Obama administration has serious concerns about the impacts of mountaintop coal mining on our natural resources and on the health and welfare of Appalachian communities," Sutley said. "Within this plan the Obama administration is doing at all it can under existing laws and regulations to curb the most environmentally destructive impacts of mountaintop coal mining."
Just a handful of permits had been issued for Appalachian mines since a federal court decision in 2007 found that the Corps of Engineers was not doing enough to protect water resources from mountaintop projects. That ruling was reversed earlier this year, and mine operators had hoped it would lead to the approval of long-delayed permits.
Now they are concerned the administration's action will again make it difficult to get permits.
"The whole permitting process has become much more complicated, more uncertain, and it is clearly going to take longer," said Carol Raulston, a spokeswoman for the National Mining Association.
Hours before the announcement, Obama administration officials called regulators in the affected states to deliver a much different message.
"The purposes stated today was to actually make (the permit process) more effective, make it more efficient, make it more transparent. And say yes more quickly and no more quickly," said Len Peters, Kentucky's energy and environmental secretary.
President Barack Obama, as a candidate, expressed concern about the mountaintop mining although he stopped short of calling for an outright ban.
His administration has cast a more critical eye on the process than did the Bush administration, which was accused of granting permits with little scrutiny. In March, the EPA announced it would more take a closer look at about 150 mountaintop mining permits pending before the Army Corps to ensure the projects would not harm streams and wetlands.
The agency objected to some projects, but has said dozens probably would be allowed to go ahead.
In April, the Interior Department asked a federal judge to vacate a Bush rule that makes it easier to dump mining waste near waterways.
The expedited reviews, in place since 1982, allow mining companies proposing similar projects to get a general permit under the Clean Water Act, rather than being evaluated on a case-by-case basis. About 30 percent of mountaintop removal projects are approved under the general permit to discharge waste into streams, according to administration officials.
A federal judge in late March barred the Army Corps of Engineers from granting permits for valley fills in West Virginia using the streamlined permitting process. The Obama administration earlier this week filed a notice to appeal that decision. On Thursday, Sutley described the filing as procedural and said no policy decisions had been made.
Environmentalists pressing to end mountaintop mining said Thursday that little could be done to lessen its environmental toll.
"The administration's current plan is a good first step. ... We would like leaps," said Janet Keating, executive director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.
___
"The purposes stated today was to actually make (the permit process) more effective, make it more efficient, make it more transparent. And say yes more quickly and no more quickly," said Len Peters, Kentucky's energy and environmental secretary.
President Barack Obama, as a candidate, expressed concern about the mountaintop mining although he stopped short of calling for an outright ban.
His administration has cast a more critical eye on the process than did the Bush administration, which was accused of granting permits with little scrutiny. In March, the EPA announced it would more take a closer look at about 150 mountaintop mining permits pending before the Army Corps to ensure the projects would not harm streams and wetlands.
The agency objected to some projects, but has said dozens probably would be allowed to go ahead.
In April, the Interior Department asked a federal judge to vacate a Bush rule that makes it easier to dump mining waste near waterways.
The expedited reviews, in place since 1982, allow mining companies proposing similar projects to get a general permit under the Clean Water Act, rather than being evaluated on a case-by-case basis. About 30 percent of mountaintop removal projects are approved under the general permit to discharge waste into streams, according to administration officials.
A federal judge in late March barred the Army Corps of Engineers from granting permits for valley fills in West Virginia using the streamlined permitting process. The Obama administration earlier this week filed a notice to appeal that decision. On Thursday, Sutley described the filing as procedural and said no policy decisions had been made.
Environmentalists pressing to end mountaintop mining said Thursday that little could be done to lessen its environmental toll.
"The administration's current plan is a good first step. ... We would like leaps," said Janet Keating, executive director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.
Millipore Unveils Its First Single-Use Bioreactor For Process Development
Millipore Corporation (NYSE:MIL), a Life Science leader providing technologies, tools and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, introduces its new Mobius CellReady 3L Bioreactor. Co-developed under an agreement with Applikon Biotechnology, this ready-to-use three liter bioreactor requires no incremental capital investment, eliminates downtime and increases efficiency during process development.
“With the Mobius CellReady Bioreactor, process development scientists have a benchtop, single-use bioreactor that eliminates the time spent cleaning, sterilizing, and assembling glass bioreactors,” said Andrew Bulpin, Ph.D., Vice President, Upstream Processing, Millipore Corporation. “Unlike other products on the market, our disposable bioreactor works with most existing controllers so there is no new capital equipment or large bag systems to purchase.”
Millipore and Applikon Biotechnology announced an agreement in November 2008 to co-develop and distribute a disposable bioreactor solution. Designed to replace traditional glass benchtop bioreactors, the CellReady 3L Bioreactor has a standard stirred-tank format for use in development and optimization of cell culture processes. This vessel design provides a higher degree of predictability during process scale-up when compared to formats utilizing alternative vessel designs and agitation methods.
“The CellReady Bioreactor is the first and only single-use bioreactor that truly mimics the characteristics of conventional bioreactors,” said Arthur Oudshoorn, Managing Director, Applikon Biotechnology B.V. “Together with Millipore, we are delivering on the promise of stirred-tank, single-use bioreactors to increase the efficiency of process development scientists in the laboratory by eliminating downtime and making disposable bioreactors easier to use.”
About Millipore
Millipore (NYSE: MIL) is a Life Science leader providing cutting-edge technologies, tools, and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. As a strategic partner, we collaborate with customers to confront the world’s challenging human health issues. From research to development to production, our scientific expertise and innovative solutions help customers tackle their most complex problems and achieve their goals. Millipore Corporation is an S&P 500 company with more than 5,900 employees in 30 countries worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.millipore.com.
About Applikon Biotechnology B.V.
Applikon Biotechnology B.V. (Schiedam, Netherlands) is a privately owned leading supplier of bioreactor systems for the pharmaceutical and the biotechnological market. We specialize in novel technologies in cultivation systems, measurement and control for the biopharmaceutical industry. In the past years, Applikon Biotechnology has built up a broad portfolio of unique bioprocessing devices for both cell culture and microbial cultivation, and this has considerably set us apart from the competition. We are definitely a step ahead.
Millipore
For Media:
Karen Marinella Hall, 978-715-1567
Director, Corporate Communications
karen_hall@millipore.com
or
For Investors:
Joshua Young, 978-715-1527
Director, Investor Relations
joshua_young@millipore.com
“With the Mobius CellReady Bioreactor, process development scientists have a benchtop, single-use bioreactor that eliminates the time spent cleaning, sterilizing, and assembling glass bioreactors,” said Andrew Bulpin, Ph.D., Vice President, Upstream Processing, Millipore Corporation. “Unlike other products on the market, our disposable bioreactor works with most existing controllers so there is no new capital equipment or large bag systems to purchase.”
Millipore and Applikon Biotechnology announced an agreement in November 2008 to co-develop and distribute a disposable bioreactor solution. Designed to replace traditional glass benchtop bioreactors, the CellReady 3L Bioreactor has a standard stirred-tank format for use in development and optimization of cell culture processes. This vessel design provides a higher degree of predictability during process scale-up when compared to formats utilizing alternative vessel designs and agitation methods.
“The CellReady Bioreactor is the first and only single-use bioreactor that truly mimics the characteristics of conventional bioreactors,” said Arthur Oudshoorn, Managing Director, Applikon Biotechnology B.V. “Together with Millipore, we are delivering on the promise of stirred-tank, single-use bioreactors to increase the efficiency of process development scientists in the laboratory by eliminating downtime and making disposable bioreactors easier to use.”
About Millipore
Millipore (NYSE: MIL) is a Life Science leader providing cutting-edge technologies, tools, and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. As a strategic partner, we collaborate with customers to confront the world’s challenging human health issues. From research to development to production, our scientific expertise and innovative solutions help customers tackle their most complex problems and achieve their goals. Millipore Corporation is an S&P 500 company with more than 5,900 employees in 30 countries worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.millipore.com.
About Applikon Biotechnology B.V.
Applikon Biotechnology B.V. (Schiedam, Netherlands) is a privately owned leading supplier of bioreactor systems for the pharmaceutical and the biotechnological market. We specialize in novel technologies in cultivation systems, measurement and control for the biopharmaceutical industry. In the past years, Applikon Biotechnology has built up a broad portfolio of unique bioprocessing devices for both cell culture and microbial cultivation, and this has considerably set us apart from the competition. We are definitely a step ahead.
Millipore
For Media:
Karen Marinella Hall, 978-715-1567
Director, Corporate Communications
karen_hall@millipore.com
or
For Investors:
Joshua Young, 978-715-1527
Director, Investor Relations
joshua_young@millipore.com
Ore. project would use manure, tires for energy
An Oregon company is seeking permits for a facility on the Columbia River that would harness methane gas for energy by collecting it from decomposing old tires and cow manure.
Portland-based Northwest Biogas proposes an anaerobic digester project at a large dairy farm and is seeking a permit from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to store waste tires.
The DEQ scheduled an information meeting Tuesday to discuss the permit, which would allow using 40,000 waste tires to help grow micro-organisms for producing the methane.
The company would use the waste tires inside a lined and covered digester lagoon. If the facility ceases to operate, Northwest Biogas will have to clean, remove and recycle the tires.
Bruce Lumper is a permit writer with the DEQ's Solid Waste Program out of The Dalles. He told the newspaper that this will be a new digester and that plans for a previous one at the farms "never quite penciled out."
Threemile Canyon Farms has 16,000 cows that produce about 120 pounds of waste a day each. Threemile flushes the manure along cement alleys and pipes to a lined lagoon, where it releases methane.
Clean methane, the DEQ said, offers an alternative to natural gas. Generators also use methane to produce electricity. And using the tires eliminates the potential for tire fires or the breeding of mosquitoes.
Oregon has similar digesters, Lumper said. In 2003, the Port of Tillamook Bay constructed a centralized methane digester to biologically process the manure from 4,000 of Tillamook County's 30,000 dairy cows. He said it is working and producing energy.
---
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska landowners are being urged to apply for federal dollars to conserve grassland, including range and pasture land.
They can apply for some of the $1 million that is available in the Grassland Reserve Program by July 1. Applications can be made at any USDA Service Center.
The goal of the program is to protect and restore existing grasslands for working grazing operations and improving plant and wildlife diversity. Landowners maintain ownership and can sign rental agreements or have a permanent conservation easement.
Priority will be given to land previously in the Conservation Reserve Program, if there is a significant threat of conversion to uses other than grazing.
Portland-based Northwest Biogas proposes an anaerobic digester project at a large dairy farm and is seeking a permit from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to store waste tires.
The DEQ scheduled an information meeting Tuesday to discuss the permit, which would allow using 40,000 waste tires to help grow micro-organisms for producing the methane.
The company would use the waste tires inside a lined and covered digester lagoon. If the facility ceases to operate, Northwest Biogas will have to clean, remove and recycle the tires.
Bruce Lumper is a permit writer with the DEQ's Solid Waste Program out of The Dalles. He told the newspaper that this will be a new digester and that plans for a previous one at the farms "never quite penciled out."
Threemile Canyon Farms has 16,000 cows that produce about 120 pounds of waste a day each. Threemile flushes the manure along cement alleys and pipes to a lined lagoon, where it releases methane.
Clean methane, the DEQ said, offers an alternative to natural gas. Generators also use methane to produce electricity. And using the tires eliminates the potential for tire fires or the breeding of mosquitoes.
Oregon has similar digesters, Lumper said. In 2003, the Port of Tillamook Bay constructed a centralized methane digester to biologically process the manure from 4,000 of Tillamook County's 30,000 dairy cows. He said it is working and producing energy.
---
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska landowners are being urged to apply for federal dollars to conserve grassland, including range and pasture land.
They can apply for some of the $1 million that is available in the Grassland Reserve Program by July 1. Applications can be made at any USDA Service Center.
The goal of the program is to protect and restore existing grasslands for working grazing operations and improving plant and wildlife diversity. Landowners maintain ownership and can sign rental agreements or have a permanent conservation easement.
Priority will be given to land previously in the Conservation Reserve Program, if there is a significant threat of conversion to uses other than grazing.
8 Ways to Green Your Kitchen
So all those gourmet cooking shows have inspired you to spend more time in the kitchen. But between energy use, water use and food/packaging disposal, there’s lots of opportunity to help or hurt the environment in the process. Here’s eight ways to green your time in the kitchen . . . BAM!
1. Set Up Recycling Bins
Over 32 percent of our solid waste is some sort of packaging, and much of this ends up in our kitchen. Depending on your community’s curbside program, you should set up one bin for all recyclables or a different bin for each one. Make sure you are recycling:
Aluminum cans
Glass bottles
Paper (including mail and cardboard boxes)
Plastic bottles
Steel cans
You can find out where to recycle packaging using Earth 911
2. Compost Food Waste
Putting food waste down the garbage disposal is a better alternative than throwing it in the trash. But disposals use lots of water. An even better option is to compost your organic food waste, including fruit/vegetable remains, egg shells and coffee grounds (avoid meat and dairy). Compost bins produce nutrient-rich soil for your backyard.
3. Be Time Sensitive
Most of the appliances in your kitchen are designed to make things hot or cold. Interrupting this process wastes lots of energy. Exposing the inside of your refrigerator/oven to room temperature makes them work extra hard to get back to normal. Here’s a few good suggestions to follow:
Know what you want before going to the fridge so you limit open door time
Use your oven light to check on food instead of opening/closing the door
Cook multiple dishes on the same burner so it will already be warm
4. Reuse Cooking Water
So you’ve just boiled some vegetables on the stove and have a pot full of water left. Instead of pouring it down the drain, use it to water plants (once it has cooled). Nutrients from foods like pasta and veggies will serve your house plants well, and you’re killing two birds with one stone.
5. Save Grease and Oil
Even the newest George Foreman grill creates grease, and you may be tempted to pour it down the drain. The same thing happens with cooking oil. But your kitchen pipes aren’t made to handle these products. In addition to pipe clogs, your sewer treatment center will have a difficult time with them. Save your grease and oil in a coffee tin and it can be reused for future cooking.
6. Be Dish Savvy
You already have a step in the right direction if you’re using ceramic plates instead of disposable ones. The next step is to fill that dishwasher before running a load. This will cut energy and water use, and extend the life of your dishwasher.
To answer the question about which is better, hand washing plates or using a dishwasher, this is going to depend on way too many factors for a clear answer. If you hand wash dishes, try to fill the sink with water and soak them instead of running the faucet the whole time.
7. Think Long-Term for Cooking Utensils
Metal is king when it comes to long-lasting cooking gear. Stainless steel pots and pans, iron skillets and the like will pay off in the long run. Plus, these items can be recycled easily as scrap metal, so you won’t have to worry about where to take a plastic spatula with egg stains for disposal.
8. Recycle Appliances
Inevitably, your appliances will need to be replaced. If it’s an upgrade, donate your old microwave or toaster to a second-hand store (call before bringing a refrigerator). It the old appliance doesn’t work, get the new appliance delivered and see if the store will take the old one for you. Appliances are made of valuable steel and can contain freon, neither of which belongs in a landfill. You can recycle appliances using Earth 911
1. Set Up Recycling Bins
Over 32 percent of our solid waste is some sort of packaging, and much of this ends up in our kitchen. Depending on your community’s curbside program, you should set up one bin for all recyclables or a different bin for each one. Make sure you are recycling:
Aluminum cans
Glass bottles
Paper (including mail and cardboard boxes)
Plastic bottles
Steel cans
You can find out where to recycle packaging using Earth 911
2. Compost Food Waste
Putting food waste down the garbage disposal is a better alternative than throwing it in the trash. But disposals use lots of water. An even better option is to compost your organic food waste, including fruit/vegetable remains, egg shells and coffee grounds (avoid meat and dairy). Compost bins produce nutrient-rich soil for your backyard.
3. Be Time Sensitive
Most of the appliances in your kitchen are designed to make things hot or cold. Interrupting this process wastes lots of energy. Exposing the inside of your refrigerator/oven to room temperature makes them work extra hard to get back to normal. Here’s a few good suggestions to follow:
Know what you want before going to the fridge so you limit open door time
Use your oven light to check on food instead of opening/closing the door
Cook multiple dishes on the same burner so it will already be warm
4. Reuse Cooking Water
So you’ve just boiled some vegetables on the stove and have a pot full of water left. Instead of pouring it down the drain, use it to water plants (once it has cooled). Nutrients from foods like pasta and veggies will serve your house plants well, and you’re killing two birds with one stone.
5. Save Grease and Oil
Even the newest George Foreman grill creates grease, and you may be tempted to pour it down the drain. The same thing happens with cooking oil. But your kitchen pipes aren’t made to handle these products. In addition to pipe clogs, your sewer treatment center will have a difficult time with them. Save your grease and oil in a coffee tin and it can be reused for future cooking.
6. Be Dish Savvy
You already have a step in the right direction if you’re using ceramic plates instead of disposable ones. The next step is to fill that dishwasher before running a load. This will cut energy and water use, and extend the life of your dishwasher.
To answer the question about which is better, hand washing plates or using a dishwasher, this is going to depend on way too many factors for a clear answer. If you hand wash dishes, try to fill the sink with water and soak them instead of running the faucet the whole time.
7. Think Long-Term for Cooking Utensils
Metal is king when it comes to long-lasting cooking gear. Stainless steel pots and pans, iron skillets and the like will pay off in the long run. Plus, these items can be recycled easily as scrap metal, so you won’t have to worry about where to take a plastic spatula with egg stains for disposal.
8. Recycle Appliances
Inevitably, your appliances will need to be replaced. If it’s an upgrade, donate your old microwave or toaster to a second-hand store (call before bringing a refrigerator). It the old appliance doesn’t work, get the new appliance delivered and see if the store will take the old one for you. Appliances are made of valuable steel and can contain freon, neither of which belongs in a landfill. You can recycle appliances using Earth 911
Mexico’s Recycling Advancements
Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. (ARCA) recently announced expansion of refrigerator recycling services to Mexico, the result of a joint venture with Mexican corporation Diagnostico y Administraction de Logistica Inversa SA de CV (DALI).
The companies will partner to provide recycling services to more than 160 appliance retailers and manufacturers that participate in a government-sponsored refrigerator replacement program. The program offers residents a cash rebate and low-interest financing on new energy efficient refrigerators in exchange for turning in an old refrigerator for recycling.
The companies will partner to provide recycling services to more than 160 appliance retailers and manufacturers that participate in a government-sponsored refrigerator replacement program. The program offers residents a cash rebate and low-interest financing on new energy efficient refrigerators in exchange for turning in an old refrigerator for recycling.
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