Starbucks to fuel cars?

Coffee is well known for being able to power the economic engine that is the global workforce.  It might fill the tank of an individual but certainly won’t fill your car.  Beyond compost are there any alternative uses for coffee grounds?

New research at the University of Nevada shows used coffee grounds can be repurposed into biodiesel to power vehicles, trains, and even airplanes.  The waste from Starbucks alone could turn into 3M gallons of fuel and $8M in profits.

One of the main limits to the acceptance of biodiesel as an alternative fuel is its price premium above regular diesel. To bring the price of biodiesel down, the industry uses as much waste material from other industries as possible to make it — such as used fryer oil and animal fats from poultry processing.

Coffee grounds are actually about 15% oil.  The research team said that it concludes that the coffee-ground oil feedstock would cost between $0.45 to $1.84 less than feedstocks such as corn or soy, is more stable than comparable feedstock oils, and the grounds can be further processed into fuel for pellet stoves.

Given that Starbucks (NasdaqGS: SBUX) generates 210 million pounds of spent coffee grounds per year in the US, the researchers calculate that it could amount to almost 3 million gallons of biodiesel and 89,000 tons of fuel pellets.   Should gas prices reverse direction and move back over $4 per gallon then the researchers estimate as much as $8M in profits from Starbuck’s waste alone.

One of the main drivers for adoption of biodiesel is energy security. This means that a nation’s dependence on oil is reduced, and substituted with use of locally available sources, such as coal, gas, or renewable sources.

Biodiesel production capacity is growing rapidly, with an average annual growth rate from 2002-2006 of over 40%. For the year 2006, the latest for which actual production figures could be obtained, total world biodiesel production was about 5-6 million tons (over 80% of this production comes from Europe).

Sources: Gas 2.0, Wikipedia, Ecogeeek, Biofuels Digest

Secret Santas spread cheer in three states

At a suburban Goodwill store on Friday, Theresa Settles selected a large, black comforter to warm her family until she can raise the money to turn the gas heat back on. A petite woman approached, her face obscured by dark sunglasses and a wrapped winter scarf, and handed Settles two $100 bills stamped with the words “secret Santa.” “The only condition,” she said, “is that you do something nice for someone. Pass it on.”

“I will,” Settles said, the only words she could get out of her mouth.

The secret Santa was a protege of Kansas City’s undercover gift giver, Larry Stewart, who died of cancer nearly two years ago. Stewart roamed city streets each December doling out $100 bills to anyone who looked like they might need a lift.

Before his death in January 2007, Stewart told a friend how much he would miss his 26 years of anonymous streetside giving, during which he gave away about $1.3 million. Stewart, from the city suburb of Lee’s Summit, made millions in cable television and long-distance telephone service.

The friend promised Stewart he would be a secret Santa the next year. “He squeezed my hand and that was it,” said the Kansas City Santa, who would say only that he was an area businessman and investor. “I honored a promise.”

Two secret Santas, one from the Kansas City area and the other from the St. Louis area, descended on thrift stores, a health clinic, convenience store and small auto repair shop to dole out $20,000 in $100 bills, hugs and words of encouragement to unsuspecting souls in need.

In this economy, they weren’t hard to find.

Cynthia Brown, 40, was laid off three weeks ago from her food service job. Santa found her at the St. Louis County health clinic and gave her $100, exactly what she had asked to borrow from her mother a night ago to buy food.

“I have three daughters, and I can’t get unemployment yet. I was down in food,” she said.

Leotta Burbank, 50, of West Frankfurt, Ill., was at a thrift store Friday to buy decorations for her sister-in-law’s room at a St. Louis hospice, where she is dying of pancreatic cancer.

When Santa gave her money, Burbank collapsed into his arms and wouldn’t stop hugging him.

Read Full Story - Secret Santas

Holiday gift idea - adopt a Koala

They’re cute, they’re cuddly and, in these times of financial woe, they make an affordable festive gift that’s also good for the soul — adopt a rescued koala.

The “Adopt a Wild Koala Program” has been in operation for 15 years and is a major source of funding for The Koala Hospital, the world’s only medical facility dedicated to the care and preservation of the animals.

The annual cost of adopting a koala is A$40 (US$26) within Australia and A$50 (US$32) from overseas, which the hospital said goes toward the rescue and treatment of sick and injured koalas, the release of treated animals back into the wild, as well as the preservation and expansion of their habitat.

Adopters receive a certificate, a photograph of the animal, the story of how it ended up in the hospital as well as stickers and booklets about koalas and the hospital.

“It’s an ideal gift, and particularly these days when kids have everything,” Anne Walsh a volunteer at the Port Macquarie-based hospital told Reuters by telephone.

“I had a phone call from a lady in Singapore today who wanted to adopt five koalas for her relatives for Christmas.  I’ve been delighted with the amount of people wanting to adopt.”

Walsh said the rescued koalas are usually named after the area they were found in and the person who helped rescue them.

“We’ve got Westhaven Barry, Kempsey Carolina and Bonny Fire, she was caught up in a bushfire,” she added.

Once they have recovered from their injuries or ailments, and are able to live in their natural habitat, the koalas are released back into the wild.

The Koala is found in coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia, from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula. Populations also extend for considerable distances inland in regions with enough moisture to support suitable woodlands. The Koalas of South Australia were largely exterminated during the early part of the 20th century, but the state has since been repopulated with Victorian stock. The Koala is not found in Tasmania or Western Australia.   Their staple diet is eucalyptus leaves.

Sources: -

Forget Stocks, Adopt a Koala (Reuters), Wikipedia, Youtube, Australian Koala Foundation

Starbucks saved his life

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Michael Gates Gill didn’t learn to savor life until he began serving coffee to others.

He shared his riches-to-rags story in the 2007 book, “How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else.”

The author of the bestseller — soon to be a Tom Hanks movie — spoke Monday at The Economic Club of Grand Rapids to a crowd of about 600 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

The club tapped the New Yorker for its December luncheon, which is traditionally reserved for an inspirational story. The event also included a standing ovation for executive director Lorna Schultz, celebrating her 20th anniversary with the organization.

Gill says he appreciates hard workers such as Schultz after landing an hourly job as a bartista at age 63.

By the time he wandered into the Starbucks that was hiring, his life had hit rock bottom after he was downsized from a six-figure job, divorced and diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Despite a Yale University degree and a 26-year career as an advertising executive, Gill had few practical skills. Everything had been given to him from his education to his career, he said. He even needed help filling out his Starbucks application.

At Starbucks, Gill said he was taken under the wing by his new boss Crystal and later Kester, his training coach.

He credits some of his biggest lessons to Crystal’s tutelage. Crystal grew up in the projects and worked hard for everything she earned.

“She treated me with loving kindness that I had never thought to offer anyone I worked with in my 26 years,” he said.

Crystal could overlook his less-than-stellar skill in making lattes, but she called him in her office when she saw him refusing to let a homeless use the restroom he had just cleaned.

“The last thing that gentleman needed was to be disrespected by you,” she told him. “This is the one place you shouldn’t decide who to respect or not.”

It took a while for his “old habits of arrogance” to die, but Gill says he is happy with transformation. He didn’t realize how much he changed until Kester complimented him on the quality of his work cleaning restrooms and closing the store, and Gill felt pride for the first time.

“I realized for many years I didn’t have a sense that I had value — that I contributed to something,” Gill said.

The book is based on the journal he kept at his daughter’s suggestion.

From Mlive.com - read full story

Related Story - Life Changes, with a latte to go (NY Times)

Three Americans head to China to lose weight

Three American men have taken the unusual step of moving to China in an extreme attempt to shed huge amounts of weight at a fat reduction clinic — and have become surprise local celebrities.

Alonzo Bland, 33, and brothers Walt and David Anderson, 56 and 50, have lived in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin since the middle of this year as part of an effort to break away from their unhealthy lifestyles back home.

Together, they have lost a combined 192 kilogrammes (427 pounds) and are aiming to shed over 100 more.

“The reason why I think it works here is that China is away from everything, all the stuff that I’m familiar with,” said Alonzo, who has lost 103 kilogrammes from the 291 kilos he weighed when he first arrived in Tianjin.

He decided to come after winning a contest organised by China Connection, a US firm promoting traditional Chinese medicine, and was being treated free of charge for as long as it took to lose his target weight — like Walt and David.

Alonzo, who had a tracheotomy in 2000 because the fat in his face was pressing down on his windpipe, left a fiancee and two children behind in Wisconsin.

For David, an unmarried dishwasher in a casino in Iowa who sold his car and ditched his job to come to China, the move was a life-saver.

“Before I came over, it got to the point that I couldn’t walk 20 feet without gasping for breath,” said David, who is down to 104 kilogrammes after losing 41 kilos.

“I don’t think I would have made my 51st birthday.”

Every morning, the three lie down in their spartan bedrooms at the Aimin Fat Reduction Hospital for acupuncture, which doctors say increases the metabolism rate and reduces appetite.

“When I sent an email to my friends from here, I think I scared them when I told them how deep those needles go,” said Walt, who has shed 48 kilogrammes off his original 179 kilogrammes.

But the rest of the weight-loss treatment is similar to the West — exercise twice a day and good nutrition, albeit Chinese-style with rice, fried vegetables, tofu, meat and soup the staples of their diet.

Read Full Story from AFP

Couple returns thousands of dollars found on highway

The Martins of Kings Mountain NC were returning home from a shopping trip when they spotted a purse on US ByPass 74. They pulled to the side to retrieve the item, and discovered it had more than $5000 in $100 bills. They had no intention of keeping the money. Here is the story from the Shelby Star:

“I told my wife, ‘Somebody has lost their purse,’ and we turned around to pick it up,” Vance said. “By the time we turned around somebody had run over it and money was lying everywhere.”

As Vance, who is on disability, dodged traffic to retrieve the $100 bills, there was only one thing on his mind.

“We decided we would take it to the police department and turn it in,” he said. “We didn’t think about doing anything else. If I had kept the money, every time I would have bought something I would have felt guilty.”
Shelby Patrol Officer Chris Wilkinson was shocked that in these bad economic times and this close to Christmas that the Martins turned in the wallet.

“I was kind of surprised at that much money,” he said. “There’s still some good people out there.”

The large wallet had a passport in the wallet along with credit cards, business cards, important papers, frequent flyer cards, $1,000 in foreign currency, a recent paycheck and more than $5,000 in $100 bills. The person whose identity was found inside the wallet was a man from Charlotte. He had decided to carry cash because of the uncertainty in the economy and banking industry.

“I have had the opportunity to meet two people who have more character than most of the people I have met in my lifetime,” he said. “Instead of my life being upside down, my life was restored by two people who are honest and love their beliefs enough to live them each day and in each moment. And over time, I hope I can come close to repaying them” said the man whose wallet was returned.

Shelby Star Online

Thanksgiving Day honors American Indian contributions

For the first time, federal legislation has set aside the day after Thanksgiving — for this year only — to honor the contributions American Indians have made to the United States.

Frank Suniga, a descendent of Mescalero Apache Indians who lives in Oregon, said he and others began pushing in 2001 for a national day that recognizes tribal heritage.

Suniga, 79, proposed his idea to a cultural committee that is part of the Portland-based Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. The organization took on the cause of a commemorative day, as did the National Congress of American Indians and other groups.

Congress passed legislation this year designating the day as Native American Heritage Day, and President George W. Bush signed it last month.

The measure notes that more Americans Indians than any other group, per capita, serve in the U.S. military. It also cites tribes’ artistic, musical and agricultural contributions.

“The Indians kept the Pilgrims alive with turkeys and wild game,” Suniga said. “That’s the reason it was attached to the Thanksgiving weekend.”

After the Thanksgiving weekend, Suniga said, he and other advocates plan to lobby to place the Native American Heritage Day on the nation’s calendar annually.

The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. Though the earliest attested Thanksgiving celebration was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida, the traditional “first Thanksgiving” is venerated as having occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621.

Sources: AP, Wikipedia

Turning loss into a new beginning

Robert Rogers lost his wife and four children in a flash flood. Though he could have wallowed in self-pity, he chose to turn this tragedy into a positive. He is trying to start five orphanages on five continents in memory of his heavenly family. They already have one in Russia, and another under construction in Rwanda.

In the past five years, he estimates he has told the story of his loss at least 400 times to more than 120,000 people. The message behind his story is to live life with no regrets by embracing your family and faith.

“People have responded to me that they want to change the way they live their life. They want to have a personal relationship with God and they want to get right with their spouse and children,” he said.

In addition to his speaking tours, Rogers has established a ministry dedicated to serving orphans across the world. Rogers also traveled to Haiti and tsunami-ravaged parts of Asia to minister and deliver aid to orphans.

10,000th wish is on Parade

The Make-A-Wish Foundation and national sponsors International Union, UAW and General Motors Corporation are celebrating a momentous wish milestone this month – granting the 10,000th wish of their decade-long partnership.

To mark this achievement, the 10,000th wish recipient, Brandon, 10, of Rodney, Mich., and his family will ride on UAW-GM’s float in America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27.

“Thanks to their tremendous generosity during the past decade, UAW-GM and GM have made a real difference for the 10,000 children nationwide whose wishes have been granted and countless others who were a part of their wishes,” said David Williams, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America president and chief executive officer. “I want to express our gratitude for their commitment to children such as Brandon in helping make their heartfelt wishes come true.”

Brandon, who was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma and recently finished a difficult regime of chemotherapy, met his all-time favorite player, former Detroit Lions star Barry Sanders, during the Lions’ Nov. 9 home game. He was also the team’s guest at practice Nov. 7, where he received armfuls of autographed memorabilia from the Lions and met several current Lions players and coaches.

“My favorite part of the wish was watching Brandon’s face at his first Lions game – he was yelling and cheering, and you could just tell he was loving it,” said Brandon’s mother, Darlene. “Barry was just so nice. He talked with [Brandon and his dad] about hunting and what kinds of things Brandon likes to do for fun. I just sat back, smiling. I couldn’t believe it was happening.”

As part of the sponsorship, UAW-represented GM workers and GM dealers across the country have participated in fundraising on both national and local levels and committed their personal talents to wish granting – restoring vehicles, building playhouses, planning wish-granting parties and giving families a ride to the airport, among other activities.

“Making a commitment to community and these children, both personally and financially, is something that matters tremendously to UAW-GM people and GM dealers across the country,” said Diana Tremblay, vice president labor relations, GM North America.

“For those who have had the opportunity to share the power of a wish®, it’s a moving experience that will never be forgotten,” said Cal Rapson, UAW vice president and director, GM department. “I have heard it said more than once, you truly get back more than what you give, and it’s been our privilege.”

Some wishes granted through the sponsorship have been quite practical, such as an assistance dog or special equipment to help the child communicate or become more mobile. Other children’s imaginations have taken them to the moon and back, such as Johnny, 11, from Downey, Calif., who visited Kennedy Space Center and had lunch with an astronaut. The first wish granted in 1999 was to refurbish a Chevy truck for a 16-year-old Aliquippa, Pa., boy.

A young man with a big heart

He is just a young boy, but he is looking out for those around him.

He is not old enough to get a job, but he is willing to give up his allowance to feed a homeless man on the side of the road.

Ayden Hobbs of Whitehouse has a heart of gold.

As Kelly Hobbs talked with her son Ayden about his upcoming birthday party, she asked him about an idea that he was quick to say yes to. The idea was to ask his friends and family to bring items for the food pantry in Troup when they came to his party rather than gifts for him.

When asked why it is important to help people in need, Ayden responded, “Because Jesus tells us to.”

Ayden is very familiar with how the food pantry in Troup works. He has spent many hours there himself, along with his dad Blake, helping his “Gigi,” LaDelle Tuley, and the other faithful volunteers stacking cans, emptying boxes and cleaning.

His mother Kelly says it is like a passion for him to help the hungry.

One day as they came to an intersection in Tyler, Ayden spotted a man standing at the corner with a sign. He asked his mother about it. What did that sign say and why was he just standing there? She explained that his sign was that he was homeless and wanted to work for food. Ayden insisted that they get the man some lunch and take it to him. They did.

KLTV will air a segment about Ayden naming him an Everyday Hero.

Read Full Story - Whitehouse youth named Everyday Hero

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