pulled from google images

China is coming back to the United States to work on the rail road, except for better pay this time.

A department within the Chinese government has pitched a high-speed rail track to the government of California.

They are facing competition from other nations, but China may win out due to their reputation and ability to manufacture and engineer the technology for super cheap.

Check out an article I put together about this very topic on Globe-Net.

The Pine Beetle has been dubbed one of North America's worst environmental disasters, holding a flame for the forestry industry. (photo: Kyle Vinoly)

The Pine Beetle looks pretty unstoppable at this point.

The mean little bastard has been officially named as one of North America’s worst environmental disasters.

Due to the planet’s ever warming climate, they’re only picking up steam.

Put together an article for Globe-Net to tell you all about it.

I like it because it washes away all of the politics associated with being a soldier and the war in Iraq. Regardless of your political leanings, you can not deny the power and joy of this moment. Best of luck to the young family.

And congratulations to John Moore of Getty Images.

Where I spent the majority of my time during GLOBE 2010. Though I did manage to escape long enough to snap a couple photos and put together this video. (photo: Kyle Vinoly)

Here’s a short video I put together for Globe, covering GLOBE 2010. For those who’ve never heard of the thing, check it out and consider yourselves educated.

For those who said Avatar was the greatest film they’d ever seen, you can counter by pointing them to this link.

Environmental and corporate sustainability were the focus of GLOBE 2010, where I ran the Globe-Net exhibition. (photo:Kyle Vinoly)

It’s all over now, but last week was the first time I’d gotten the chance to be a part of a GLOBE event.

The environmentally focused trade show had exhibits displaying services, projects and technologies from around the world. The multi-million dollar affair was my first glimpse inside the world of “green” business.

There were no headbands, Eurovans or any mention of flower power, instead there was a heavy focus on the most ethical and sustainable way to achieve healthy profit margins.

I’ll hopefully be posting some more content for Globe-Net about the event over the week, so come on back.

Technology, like carbon filters, mandatory in North America and Europe save the health of the nation's citizens. Why not give some to developing countries too? (Photo: Kyle Vinoly)

Black carbon is gaining more attention in the media as scientists come to understand its devastating impact on people’s health and the environment.

As they do, it’s becoming apparent that it is a pretty easy fix, when compared to other ecological and environmental problems.

Here’s a story I put together that explores the topic further:

http://www.globe-net.com/articles/2010/march/22/black-carbon-–-the-silent-killer-.aspx?id=4640

One of the workers at International Flag and Banner, puts the finishing touches on a provincial flag for B.C. (Photo Kyle Vinoly)

I spent the afternoon at the flagship shop of International Flag and Banner, at 1615 Powell Street, and spoke with managing director Susan Braverman.

It was pretty interesting to find out about how their flags and banners are manufactured, from 100 per cent recycled material.

Their new product, Echotex, makes them the only company currently manufacturing flags and banners on recycled material.

Great to see a Canadian company raising the bar.

Check out the article on Globe-Net.

No office for the intern, so they stuck me in the conference room. Not a bad view eh? (Photo:Kyle Vinoly)

“Work Experience” would be its official title, but I digress…

This past week I started an internship at GLOBE-net,an online, environmentally focused, business magazine.

They are a subdivision of the GLOBE Foundation,who are hosting the annual Globe Awards, next week.

Should keep me busy and give me an opportunity to flex some multimedia muscle.

As a teaser, here’s the first thing I’ve done for them…

GLOBE-Net (March 16, 2010) – Canadian farmers helped Italian car manufacturer and Formula One legend, Ferrari, secure first and second place at the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix this past weekend.

The cars ran on cellulosic ethanol, a biofuel made from straw grown in Ontario.

What sets cellulosic ethanol apart from other ethanol blends is that it doesn’t compete with food production, since it is made from waste product.

“Once farmers have harvested the grain for food — making bread, for example — we use the leftover straw for ethanol,” said Jeff Passmore, executive vice-president of Iogen Corporation, the Canadian company that produces the fuel, in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen. “We turn that agricultural residue into a high-octane fuel that contains 35 per cent oxygen.”

Iogen Corp., who have been running a demonstration plant producing cellulosic ethanol in eastern Ontario since 2004, partnered with Ferrari’s fuel sponsor, Royal Dutch-Shell, to develop a fuel that would meet Formula One’s new fuel standards.

Since 2008, fuel used in Formula One cars during competition must be made up of 5.75 per cent biocomponents by weight of the gasoline.

“The Iogen ethanol is not competing with the food chain, and has a clear advantage compared to other components for gasoline,” said Rainer Winzenried, spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell in The Hague, in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen.

This past weekend’s race marked the first time cellulosic ethanol has been used in Grand Prix competition but it won’t be the last, because Iogen Corp. will be supplying Ferrari with fuel for the rest of the season.

“This demonstrates once again that a Canadian company is a world leader in this field,” said Passmore, in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen. “The fuel is performing extremely well in a very demanding high-performance application.”

Iogen Corp. claims their fuel can reduce green house gas emissions by 90 per cent and is one of the most cost effective methods of reducing emissions created by transportation.

Passmore said no other manufacturer in the world is producing cellulosic ethanol on the scale that his company is and since Shell owns 50 per cent of Iogen’s energy division, it could be a while before any one else can.

With this partnership in mind, Iogen has announced plans to open a second plant in Saskatchewan.

According to the Ottawa Citizen, 600 farmers have signed up to supply the proposed plant with the straw it will need.

In the same article, Passmore said the new plant will capture the heat generated from burning the straw onsite and use it to generate roughly 80 to 90 per cent of the electricity used in the facility.

There is still no scheduled date for the release of cellulosic ethanol to the public.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the games are definitely here and my classmates and I spent a Wednesday afternoon documenting their effect on the city.

http://www.kwantlenchronicle.ca/2010/02/vancouver-on-the-eve-of-the-winter-olympics/

Check it out

http://www.kwantlenchronicle.ca/2010/02/eagles-basketball-throws-down-back-to-back-barnburners/