It's not Hillary's Plan or Hillary's Energy Plan. It's the International Paper Plant's idea to save $1.4 million in energy costs by burning tires. Is it a good plan?
I don't know. It depends on what to do with the by-products of burning tires for energy. We know what the Bushies want to do with the by-products of nuclear energy (aside from dropping DU on civilians), criss cross the nation for the next quarter century with 25,000 trainloads of nuclear waste for Yucca.
Tires are a big problem. Why not suggest that all Republicans WALK instead of riding in cars? Then, the moralistic namby-pambying would have meaning. Bush is keeping the huge tax incentive for gas guzzling Hummers while stopping the one for hybrids. At the very least, Republicans should stop the Bush family from burning coal and using US Taxpayer money to fund more fossil fuel development.
Oh yeah, ANWR oil can't even be used for the US. It will go to Latin America. At best, it gives enough for six months for a country like ours. Wow. That makes a difference for peak oil!
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"Tire Burning: The Controversial Culprit
The International Paper Company's mill in Ticonderoga, New York is hoping to implement a two-week test run of incinerating tires to fuel its burners, which is projected to save them $1.4 million annually. Wind is a carrier of pollutants. This is undoubtedly a controversial method of both energy and waste disposal and has both New Yorkers and Vermonters in a bind. Tire burning raises environmental and health concerns to residents around the area, but at the same time, it rids stockpiles of tires sitting as waste.
Clinton County has been the home of an estimated 1,500 burnt tires according to the State Department of Environmental Conservation. Sites of tire burning can potentially cause fires and an excess of mosquito breeding. The dense black smoke can cause significant air pollution and when tires melt, the oily substance produced can find its way into waterways or seep underground. Experts say tire burning releases emissions of heavy metals such as lead and mercury, which can cause lung damage.
Pile of tires
A tire stock pile in New York
According to Jim Terry, co-owner of Terry-Haggerty Tire Company in Albany, New York, a stock pile of 11 million tires in Waterford, New York is waiting to be disposed of. In the past, tires have been buried, but they can end up resurfacing. However, new technologies have been developed in recent years. The first includes burning and re-burning pieces of tires into a catalytic converter, which has a honeycomb-like structure that can heat so intensely the emissions of rubber byproducts are reduced. Another innovative technique includes freezing the tires under extremely low temperatures and then dropping them from a ten-foot height. This causes the material to shatter into even smaller pieces. Terry also explains a process that involves grinding truck tires into a powder that's is used as artificial grass on university fields.
Most sources of energy, including coal and wood, are also under environmental scrutiny. "When done in a controlled environment under intense heat, tire burning can actually burn cleaner and more efficiently because there are no sulfur emissions," says Terry.
To ensure proper management of tire waste, New York State Legislation has passed the Waste Tire Management and Recycling Act of 2003. This act includes provisions such as an additional charge of $2.50 per new tire sold to contribute to a management and recycling fund. $2.25 of that charge goes to research and development, says Terry." |
