Methane gas powered VLCC oil tankers

Tanker Operator

http://www.tankeroperator.com/news/todisplaynews.asp?NewsID=2402

Gas-powered VLCC on the horizon?
(Dec 9 2010)

More than half the vessels ordered from 2020 could be powered by natural gas, a leading class society forecast.

DNV CEO Henrik Madsen said: “I am convinced that gas will become the dominant fuel for merchant ships. By 2020, the majority of owners will order ships that can operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG). As a leading class society, DNV has an important role to play in finding more environmentally friendly solutions for the shipping industry.”

He was speaking at the launch of an environmentally friendly VLCC design powered by LNG. The conceptual design project – Triality – has a hull shape that removes the need for ballast water, thus eliminating ballast water treatment systems, will almost eliminate local air pollution and will also recover hundreds of tonnes of cargo vapours (VOCs) per voyage, he claimed.

Triality has been developed through a DNV innovation project. As its name indicates, DNV said that it fulfils three main goals: It is environmentally superior to a conventional crude oil tanker; its new solutions are feasible and based on well known technology and it is financially attractive compared to conventional crude oil tankers operating on heavy fuel oil.

DNV compared its concept with a conventional VLCC. Both ships will have the same operational range and can operate in the normal spot market.

Compared to the traditional VLCC, the class society claimed that the Triality VLCC will:

- Emit 34% less CO2.

- Eliminate entirely the need for ballast water.

- Eliminate entirely the venting of VOCs.

- Use 25% less energy.

Less harm will also be caused to the health of people living close to busy shipping routes and ports as NOx emissions will be reduced by more than 80%, while emissions of SOx and particulate matter (PM) will fall by as much as 95%.

The new concept tanker has two high pressure dual fuel slow speed main engines fuelled by LNG, with marine gas oil as pilot fuel. The next phase of the Triality concept development will review the use of dual-fuel medium speed engines and pure gas engines, DNV said.

Two IMO type C pressure tanks capable of holding 13,500 cu m LNG - enough for 25,000 nautical miles of operation - are located on the deck in front of the superstructure. The generators are dual fuel (LNG and marine gas oil) while the auxiliary boilers producing steam for the cargo oil pumps operate on recovered VOCs.

A traditional tanker on a ballast voyage needs ballast water to obtain full propeller immersion and sufficient forward draft to avoid bottom slamming. The new V-shaped hull form and cargo tank arrangements completely eliminate the need for ballast water in the VLCC version. There will also be much less need for ballast water on other kinds of crude oil tankers, such as Suezmax, Aframax and smaller vessels.

The new hull shape results in a reduced wetted surface on a round trip and has a lower block coefficient and thus a more energy efficient hull, DNV claimed.

A VLCC in ballast will normally carry between 80,000 and 100,000 tonnes of seawater containing organisms that can cause damage when released into foreign ecosystems. In addition, a lot of fuel is needed just to transport this extra water. And finally, the initial coating and later maintenance of ballast tanks during operations are among a shipowner’s main concerns, DNV said.

The Triality VLCC can collect and liquefy more than 500 tonnes of VOCs during one single round trip. These liquefied petroleum gases will then be stored in deck tanks and up to 50% will be used as fuel for the boilers during cargo discharge, while the rest can be returned to the cargo tanks, or delivered to shore during oil cargo discharge.

When it comes to the additional cost of building a vessel such as the Triality and the reduced cost of operating it, Madsen’s conclusion was clear: “It is possible to develop an environmentally superior ship and be profitable at the same time. Our best estimate is an additional capital expenditure of 10-15% for a Triality VLCC newbuilding compared to a traditional VLCC. Even with this extra cost included, we estimate a reduced life cycle cost equal to 25% of the newbuilding cost for a traditional VLCC.

“Triality is a concept vessel and a shipbuilder will need to prepare a detailed design before the first Triality crude oil tanker can be constructed. The Triality concept is based on well known and proven components and systems, so in principle a Triality crude oil tanker introducing all or some of the innovative elements in the concept can be designed today. I am convinced that the Triality concept will create great interest among shipbuilders and crude oil tanker operators, so that the first Triality crude oil tanker will leave a shipyard before the end of 2014,” Madsen said.

He also said a few shipowners and at least three South Korean shipyards, plus MAN Diesel had already looked at the concept with interest.

Brazil coastline showing fog moving inland where vegetation is present and an area of desert devoid of fog.

Satellite image of Brazil coastline showing fog moving inland where vegetation is present and an area of desert devoid of fog.

Mabinogogiblog: Fredome symposium on global reafforestation

Mabinogogiblog: Fredome symposium on global reafforestation: "I went up to London yesterday. London was OK in its way, still an awful lot of people there with little means of support, still chaos in mov..."

APPCCG-FREdome Carbon Cycling successful presentation at the Houses Of Parliament 18th November 2010

http://www.box.net/shared/gzqilkibpj

Al list of downloadable documents from our recent presentation of Carbon Cycling introducing the scope of the OASIS Solution to mitigate climate change.


 The meeting was attended by professors, doctors, scientists, environmentalists, politicians, the young and the not so young.

 Emerging from the meeting we now have a panel of experts who have offered their services and support for the concept of returning the waste water from Europe to the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East to reforest the coastline and alter the local climate, causing rain to fall more frequently on land that has inherent water scarcity.


 This was a truly fantastic day for all peoples.

 We are putting together a new website titled http://www.operationoasis.com Watch this space for more exciting news about this application of common sense which solves many emerging serious global problems, including famine, floods and drought.

 Turning excess carbon emissions and a major pollution problem into profitable renewable materials, food, employment, by reclaiming arid waste lands,  while resolving the carbon emissions from shipping, providing shipping owners with a profitable paid return cargo, instead of using sea water as ballast (current practice) must be achieved!
We simply cannot afford to fail!

Greening the Namibian Desert: An African Success Story - South African Institute of International Affairs

Greening the Namibian Desert: An African Success Story - South African Institute of International Affairs

Greening the Namibian Desert: An African Success Story

A determined entrepreneur turns an arid landscape into a burgeoning vineyard
SUN-scorched and starved of rain, Namibia's endless desert and scrubland is an unforgiving place for a determined farmer with a dream. Only 2% of the country receives enough rain to grow crops. Irrigation from rivers is possible only along a few border rivers in the far north and south and borehole irrigation is prohibitively expensive.

Yet Dusan Vasiljevic, a lone entrepreneur with a feel for horticulture and global markets, observed that Namibia's mild coastal climate was perfect for growing table grapes for Europe at times of the year when they are most vulnerable to frost elsewhere in the world. Since first connecting those dots in 1988, Vasiljevic - and those who have followed in his footprints - built a new agricultural industry from scratch on land that received less than 50mm of rainfall a year.


Spreading the benefits

Vasiljevic's market knowledge and contacts paid off handsomely. Fresh table grapes sell wholesale for about $3,800 per tonne (after duty) in Europe, and these good prices allowed Vasiljevic to restructure his debt and start planting new vineyards. Today, about 75% of all Namibian table grape sales are to the EU.

Following his initial success, Aussenkehr Farms planted more vineyards, and currently has 350 hectares under production. Vasiljevic sold some land to the Namibian Government at a reduced price, and the parastatal agency the Namibia Development Corporation has planted more vineyards, as has a black empowerment corporation (the Namibia Grape Company (NGC), supported by the Government Institution Pension Funds of Namibia) on 360 hectares adjacent to Aussenkehr. The government is also developing new production areas on the farm Tandjeskoppie, next to Aussenkehr with assistance from the Arab Development Bank, and plans another 5,000 hectares under irrigation.

'Quite a few other farmers, although not on the same scale, have followed his example and have learned from him how to produce and successfully export table grapes of high quality standards worldwide,' said de Naeyer. 'Namibian grapes are well sought after in the European and Asian markets before and around Christmas time.'

Total Namibian table grape production has grown from 1,000 tonnes produced by Aussenkehr's first 150 hectares in 1991 to more than 12,000 tonnes in 2003. The approximate value of these exports is about N$180 million ($29 million).

Roughly 3,500 new permanent employment opportunities have been created by the table grape industry with another 7,000 workers employed as part-time harvesters for three to four months a year. The industry is the largest employer in the impoverished, underdeveloped Karas Region where Aussenkehr is situated. For every 1,000 tonnes of table grapes Namibia has produced and exported, an estimated 300 new permanent and 600 part-time jobs were created, and these workers earn a total of about N$6,000,000 (about $967,000).

Methane Power in Melbourne Australia

The Eastern Treatment Plant in Melbourne's southeast treats around 41 percent of Melbourne's sewage and services about 1.5 million people in Melbourne's south-eastern and eastern suburbs. It's now partly powering itself by using biogas and it's further reducing the likelihood of odor leaving the plant with a biofilter. http://www.melbournewater.com.au/

Video Link

Anaerobic Digestion News: Did You Know that Thames Water Burns Its Sludge (i...

Anaerobic Digestion News: Did You Know that Thames Water Burns Its Sludge (i...: "Thames Water achieved a saving of £15m on its electricity bill in 2008/9 by generating its own renewable power from its 13.6 million custome..."

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Did You Know that Thames Water Burns Its Sludge (it Also Digests It Too)

Thames Water achieved a saving of £15m on its electricity bill in 2008/9 by generating its own renewable power from its 13.6 million customer created sludge.

Britain's largest water and sewerage company generated a 14 per cent of its power needs from a combination of burning sewage sludge at some locations, and anaerobically digesting it at others, and then burning the methane derived from it.
Thames Water's Climate Change Strategy Manager, Dr Keith Colquhoun, is quoted as saying that their investment in renewable energy plants has been

"good news because we now treat 2.8 billion litres of sewage every day at our 349 sewage works. The solids in sewage have a high calorific content that we use to generate electricity.

"And this isn't a gimmick: as well as helping us to be more sustainable as a company, it also saves money - £15m less spent on energy last year alone, saving money for customers."

"Our goal is to cut greenhouse emissions by 20 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020 - that's about 200,000 tonnes less CO2. By using sludge derived power and other renewable energy sources, we're making significant progress towards this target after cutting emissions by five per cent in the past two years, despite grid energy becoming more carbon-intensive.

"Delegates at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit must face the fact that combating climate change is no longer about talk. It's about all of us taking action - and in our case, that includes sludge power."

Thames Water - which has the largest renewable electricity generation capacity inside the M25 motorway ring, excluding the commercial electricity generators - uses two methods to generate power from sewage:

1. Thermal destruction with energy recovery, where sewage sludge, which is the solid content of the sewage dried into blocks of 'poo cake', is burned to generate power; and
2. Anaerobic digestion, or (with) CHP (combined heat and power) generation, which is where methane derived from sewage sludge is burned to created heat, which in turn generates power.

The following Thames Water sewage works have AD/CHP plants: Maple Lodge (Rickmansworth), Mogden (Isleworth), Rye Meads (Herts), Deephams (Edmonton), Oxford, Reading, Long Reach (Dartford), Slough, Hogsmill (Kingston), Beddington (Surrey), Swindon, Bishops Stortford, Banbury, Aylesbury, Basingstoke, Bracknell, Camberley, Crawley, East Hyde (Luton) and Wargrave (Berks).

And the following two works use thermal destruction:

Beckton, in East London north of the River Thames, Europe's largest sewage works, which treats about 3.5 million people's waste every day; and Crossness, in East London south of the river, which treats the human equivalent of 2 million people's waste.

After it has been used to generate electricity, Thames Water then offers the remaining sewage sludge to farmers to use as fertiliser, or to developers as landscaping material or soil improver. In 2008/09 the firm put 100 per cent of its sewage sludge to beneficial use, sending none of it to landfill and as a result saving millions of pounds in UK landfill tax.

Further details about using sludge to generate power and Thames Water's 100 % win-win utilisation of sludge for renewable energy production can be found in the company's Corporate Responsibility Report

Turning the Horqin Desert into the Timberland Forest

The Hadley cell is growing

The Hadley cell is growing. Its expansion above a larger swath of the American Southwest, along with a shifting of the jet stream and many storms northward, is a worrisome trend, says Seager. It means there is little chance that the Southwest can avoid becoming drier in the coming decades. In fact, when Seager's team analyzed some 49 computer projections of the region's likely future climate, using 19 major climate models, all but three scenarios agreed: drought ahead.

http://www.earthfrenzyradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=956:earth68&catid=46:earth68&Itemid=2

If you're one of the tens of millions of people who live in the southwestern United States, get ready for drier weather. That's the message from Richard Seager, a climate scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The American Southwest, says Seager, is soon likely to experience a "permanent drought" condition on par with the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
That rather frightening prediction is the most likely scenario for the region, given the global warming now underway. "It is a matter of simple thermodynamics," says Seager. "The region will face a considerable increase in aridity over the coming decade."

Massive Fishkill in Louisiana, USA

Drought-Stricken Aussies Forced To Drink Salt Water

Drought-Stricken Aussies Forced To Drink Salt Water
Source: http://twitter.com/ecosphericblog


In Australia, the world's driest inhabited continent, 10 years of drought has decimated fresh water supplies available on land. As a result, Aussies are turning to the salt water ocean that surrounds them for hope, but success could be costly.

Australia's five largest cities have embarked on a massive $13-billion plan to build desalination plants that can remove the salt from seawater and make it potable (Toronto Sun).

Melboure Water, a utility owned by the Victorian Government, serves a population of over 4 million people, the second most populous city in the country. The utility currently reports that their water storage supplies are at 34 percent.

To address their dwindling supply, Melboure Water has been piloting desalination feasibility experiments for over a year.

Water, water everywhere...

Some Australian residents are angry about the desalination projects, especially because they're already seeing higher utility bills as a result. Environmentalists are concerned that the plants, capable of sucking millions of gallons of seawater from the surrounding oceans every day, require too much energy, and will only accelerate climate change.

With the devastation BP's Gulf oil spill is causing on American shores, there are also concerns about whether it's actually safe to drink desalinated sea water.

Most of the Australian plants utilize reverse osmosis, a method that involves pressurization, filtration and chemical treatment at several stages of the process in order to bring the water up to Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

A sign of the times?

Just because Australia is a uniquely isolated country doesn't mean their water supply problems won't be mimicked by other nations in the future. Aussie officials are convinced that the decade-long drought was deepend by climate change, and other countries, including the United States and China, are worried that this looming threat might affect their citizens next.

"We consider ourselves the canary in the coal mine for climate change-induced changes to water supply systems," said Ross Young, executive director of the Water Services Association of Australia, told the New York Times. He described the $13.2 billion pricetag as "the cost of adapting to climate change."

YouTube - Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07

YouTube - Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07
Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07

The greatest battle on Earth has already begun and humans are losing it!

If we are to survive on this planet, we will need the help of all nations pulling together. Those barren lands we call deserts are the key to global warming and without the cooperation of people living in arid lands we are well and truly screwed. Eventually we will realise the need to manage our soils and lands better than we have ever done in the past and convert them into fertile lands to help cool the planet and feed the ever increasing populations. The Sahara Desert covers an area of approximately 3.5 million square miles. Imagine if this was restored to fertility and instead of sand and rocks we had forests, lakes and rivers.

History tells us that It is politicians who determine whether we are at peace or at war. Soldiers do not want to kill people and risk being killed. They would be equally comfortable with melting down their weapons and turning them into the tools to make this world a far better place.  As a child in the UK, we were all taught that the cowboys were the good guys and the Indians were bad. We were taught that the Zulu’s were savages and our soldiers were brave and outnumbered. As the years roll by we gather evidence to suggest the contrary is reality where cowboys and cavalry are the true invaders commanded by the politicians to grab the land from the indigenous peoples and farm it. The Africans were slaughtered in their tens of thousands to pave way for the “civilised world” to rip the heart out of Africa. Slash and burn mentality impoverishes the soils which are blown away on the wind or washed into the ocean by flash floods. One would think that we might have learned something, given the history of mankinds miserable attempts at soil stewardship. Ancient civilisations have all perished leaving behind their monumental pyramids and stone pillars as epitaphs to their follies, as a warning for all to see. Is Dubai yet another modern version of those follies? Did the dinosaurs overexploit their own environment and initiate global warming just as we are now doing?
Politicians can and have done a great deal of good work, so let us hope that a concerted assault on the worlds impoverished soils will transform them into fertile productive lands for the greatest battle on Earth has already begun and humans are losing it!

Use of Wastewater Sludge for the Amendment of Crude Oil Bioremediation in Meso-Scale Beach Simulating Tanks

 Use of Wastewater Sludge for the Amendment of Crude Oil Bioremediation in Meso-Scale Beach Simulating Tanks
Authors: H. Maki; T. Sasaki; E. Sasaki; M. Ishihara; M. Goto; S. Harayama
DOI: 10.1080/09593332008616857
Publication Frequency: 14 issues per year
Published in: journal Environmental Technology, Volume 20, Issue 6 June 1999 , pages 625 - 632
Subjects: Biotechnology; Environment & the Developing World; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Geography; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies; Hydrology; Industry & Industrial Studies; Physical Geography; Waste Treatment & Disposal; Water Quality & Pollution; Water Supply & Treatment;
Formats available: PDF (English)
Previously published as: Environmental Technology Letters (0143-2060) until 1990

Abstract
We investigated the effects of the application of wastewater sludges on microbial degradation of crude oil. the experiments were carried out in four beach simulating tanks. In each tank, filled with gravel and seawater, crude oil was added on the surface of seawater. Dehydrated-wastewater sludge, liquid-wastewater sludge and synthetic fertilizers were added in tanks A, D and C, respectively. In tanks A and D, sharp increases in the bacterial number and the oxygen consumption occurred immediately while the increases in tank C was slower. The concentration of nitrogen was high during first few weeks and later decreased in tanks A and D. The synthetic nitrogen fertilizer was maintaining the nitrogen concentration above 1 mg l-1 for the whole experimental period. These observations indicated that the effect of the synthetic nitrogen fertilizer was more enduring than those of the liquid and dehydrated sludges. However, higher concentrations of phosphorous were supplied by both the liquid and dehydrated sludges than by the synthetic phosphorous fertilizer. No significant differences were observed between the biodegradation rates of crude oil in each amended tank. Thus, it was concluded that the wastewater sludges are useful as fertilizers for crude oil bioremediation.
Keywords: Crude oil; marine environment; microbial degradation; nutrient supply; wastewater sludge                                                                                

Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico

Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico

An estimated 42,000 gallons of oil per day were leaking from an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico in late April, following an explosion at an offshore drilling rig on April 20, 2010. The rig eventually capsized and sank.
These images of the affected area were captured on April 25 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite (top, wider view) and the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite (bottom, close up).
In the top image, the Mississippi Delta is at image center, and the oil slick is a silvery swirl to the right. The oil slick may be particularly obvious because it is occurring in the sunglint area, where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water gives the Gulf of Mexico a washed-out look. The close-up view shows waves on the water surface as well as ships, presumably involved in the clean up and control activities.
The initial explosion killed eleven people and injured several others, and a fire burned at the location for more than a day until the damaged oil rig sank. An emergency response effort is underway to stop the flow of oil and contain the existing slick before it reaches wildlife refuges and beaches in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The slick may contain dispersant or other chemicals that emergency responders are using to control the spread of the oil, and it is unknown how much of the 700,000 gallons of fuel that were on the oil rig burned in the fire and how much may have spilled into the water when the platform sank.
On April 25, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Emergency Response Division issued the following update on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident in the Gulf of Mexico: “An attempt to control the leaking well using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was not successful, and the well continues to leak.”
Twice-daily images of the Gulf Coast are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in additional resolutions and formats, including a georeferenced file that can be used with Google Earth.

• 
  

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010, April 25). Deepwater Horizon Incident: NOAA Situation Update 25 Apr 10. Emergency Response Division, Office of Response and Restoration Website. Retrieved April 26, 2010.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.

Raw sewage threat to booming Dubai

Raw sewage threat to booming Dubai

By Julia Wheeler
BBC News, Dubai

Down on the beach next to the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club and the fishing harbour there's a stink: raw sewage is flowing into the sea close to prime tourist beaches.
The putrid problem is caused by the illegal dumping of untreated sewage in Dubai's inland storm drain network, as the city's rapid growth outstrips its infrastructure.
At Dubai's only sewage treatment plant there are long queues and serious delays.

Truck drivers who are paid by the lorry load to collect waste from the city's septic tanks wait for several hours to dispose of their foul cargo legally. There simply is not the capacity to deal with all the human waste the city dwellers produce.
After dark some drivers are taking a shortcut and dumping their loads straight into manholes meant only for rainwater.
The result is raw sewage flowing directly into the once-clear blue sea of the Gulf - right next to prime swimming beaches.
This is bad news for a city which depends on the tourists who flock to its shores.
'Within the standard'

“ I have been out in the middle of the night following these tanker drivers. We know what they are doing ”
Keith Mutch, Dubai Offshore Sailing Club

The city's municipality has already closed one beach and says it is trying to catch the culprits. It has imposed fines of up to $25,000 and threatened to confiscate tankers if the dumping persists.
"The municipality has tracked and caught drivers - many over the last few days," said Mohammed Abdul Rahman Hassan, Head of the Marine and Environmental Protection Section at Dubai Municipality.
The municipality maintains that its latest test results show samples of the water are "within the standard".
"Samples were taken from three locations - the harbour, near the outfall and on the beach," explains Mr Hassan. "It is safe according to our report - within the safe limit."
But independent tests arranged by the sailing club show the water to be highly contaminated with bacteria and the human faeces floating in the sea.

"Our tests show the water is not safe," said Keith Mutch, General Manager at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club. "We have had to cancel sailing lessons until further notice - until there is a clean bill of health."
So far there has been no contamination found near the city's five-star hotel strip but that is just a short distance along the beach and if the research done by the Sailing Club is anything to go by the pollution could get worse.
"I have been out in the middle of the night following these tanker drivers," said Mr Mutch. "We know what they are doing, and we know that they are doing it because there is a huge wait at the sewerage plant. This contamination is definitely happening elsewhere in the city."
Only one storm water outlet is currently open but when the first rain comes to Dubai this winter other parts of the system, including those near the smart hotels will also need to be used.
No-one yet knows exactly what those pipes might contain but everyone is hoping that something can be done before there is a need to find out.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7663883.stm

Published: 2008/10/13 09:59:47 GMT

© BBC MMX

Tankers que for sewage plant

 
jaxtif — October 25, 2008 — these are the tankers filled with raw sewage water, and standing for minimum 8 hours to empty their tanks in Al Aweer sewage plant.
people will come to know the reason for the Tankers dumping water illegaly by watching this video. I captured it last week. and trust me this video is not from the starting. I ignored 1km of the que and started shooting from the midway. Enjoy!!! AND GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT

********************************************************************************

Dubai sewage production rising

• United Arab Emirates: Monday, December 10 - 2007 at 17:07

Sewage production in Dubai is increasing by about 25 per cent a year and averages 480,000 cubic metres a day, head of sewage treatment plants in Dubai Municipality Aisha al-Abdooli told MEED's Wastewater Treatment & Reuse 2007 conference in Abu Dhabi.

• Doha North ponders sludge incineration
• Abu Dhabi to recycle all treated effluent
• Jebel Ali sewage plant to be built
• KSA pursues gradual water privatisation

She said that about 100,000 cubic metres a day of untreated sewage is being delivered in about 3,000 sewage tankers serving housing, industry and labour camps not connected to Dubai's main sewage system.

"The throughput in the Al-Aweer sewage treatment plant compares with its design capacity of 260,000 cubic metres a day," Al-Abdooli said.

One consequence is a deterioration in the quality of treated sewage effluent, she said. About 75 per cent is used in irrigation in Dubai and the rest is dumped in Dubai Creek.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/141407.html

Sewage Dumping in Desert Results In Jail Sentence?

http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=35679
Sewage dumper gets jail time
Erin Taylor, Miner Staff Reporter

Friday, February 5, 2010

KINGMAN - The manager of a septic pumping company who admitted to dumping raw sewage in the desert has been sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Michael Bray Whitten, 27, also received three years probation and 400 hours community service after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of littering.

Whitten was arrested in February after the Mohave County Sheriff's Office received a tip that employees of All American Septic Pumping were dumping raw sewage rather than taking it to the landfill for disposal.


Another employee of the company, John Evans Dunn, 46, has also pleaded guilty to one count of littering in the case. He will be formally sentenced Feb. 4.

According to court files, Whitten admitted to illegally unloading a 5,500-gallon tanker on a semi-regular basis. The illegal dumping took place in several locations, including along Faith Road in Dolan Springs, in a wash behind the company's business and in the desert on property owned by John Neal.

County Attorney Jace Zack said the state could not find evidence that the owner of All American was involved in the illegal dumping. He said it was the prosecution's belief that the employees were pocketing the cash given to them for landfill fees and then dumping the sewage elsewhere.

Zack asked Judge Rick Williams to sentence Whitten to at least 30 days in jail to serve as a deterrent.

"You can't dump, say you're sorry and not go to jail," he said.

Whitten's attorney, Joseph Carver, described his client as "a good man who did a bad thing." He said the idea that Whitten was pocketing the landfill fees was a convenient theory for the state, but that there was no evidence to suggest that's what actually happened.

Carver said the case was Whitten's first contact with law enforcement and a mistake he would not repeat.

"Here's a guy who will certainly never find himself in this position again," Carver said.

Williams said jail time in the case was appropriate. He cited the recent case of Maricopa County contractor Jeff Inglin, who was sentenced in December to 30 days in jail and 400 hours community service for dumping more than a ton of trash in the desert off of Temple Bar Road, at U.S. 93 mile marker 19.

"While you may live the other 99.9 percent of your life with honor, the court can't help but believe that you would still be out there dumping raw sewage if you hadn't been caught," he said.

Whitten will be allowed to serve his jail sentence in 48-hour increments through January 2011. He was also ordered to pay Neal $2,500. A hearing in March will determine restitution to the county.

Algeria burning the few trees left that enable clouds to cross onto the land?

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8007/Algeria_AMO_2007241_lrg.jpg
Click The image and study carefully this picture from Nasa Earth Observatory.

Those clouds from the ocean have crossed onto the land where the forest meets the ocean.

Look through the fires and see the tiny clouds crossing at the point where the forest abutts the coastline.

Now question why they burn the forests?