The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension is getting in line for $150 million of those federal stimulus package dollars. Habib Balian, the extension project CEO, has a letter on posted online explaining the politicking that went into convincing the LA County Metropolitan Transit Authority to seek federal funds for the Gold Line.
You'd think it'd be a no-brainer, with all the talk about how the stimulus money is supposed to favor so-called "shovel-ready" projects. But nothing is simple with the MTA, whose board includes a number of members, including Zev Yaroslavsky, who don't want the Gold Line leap-frogging over other projects like the LA Expo Line.
In any event, the MTA board gave in at a February 26 meeting after some lobbying by Duarte City Councilmember John Fasana and LA County Supervisors Gloria Molina and Michael Antonovich, all of whom are on the MTA board. At the February meeting the board was considering a motion to seek $300 million in stimulus package money for the Foothill Extension and the Expo Line. Habib Balian's update explained:
During the debate on the motion, an amendment was made to remove the section regarding the Gold Line. Proponents argued that the Federal Transit Administration had yet to issue funding guidelines for rail projects, so the item containing the Foothill Extension should be removed from the motion. Board members Fasana and Antonovich protested, arguing the board should support the Gold Line because it is ready to go and could leverage the Measure R funding to secure additional federal money. Measure R is the county’s half-cent sales tax that goes into effect on July 1.
LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy countered if the motion was supported as it was written the Foothill Extension could “leapfrog” other rail lines for federal funding, adding that the board’s support for the measure would be tantamount to giving permission to the Foothill Extension Construction Authority to apply for federal funds. Supervisor Molina stood up in support of the Foothill Extension, saying the effort to remove the Foothill Extension from the spending proposal was “payback” for the San Gabriel Valley’s vote on Measure R.
Molina’s argument immediately shifted the debate, forcing proponents of the amendment to retreat and support the staff proposal, with some minor amendments that allow the board to alter its recommendation depending on the federal guidelines for rail projects.
It turns out that your morning cup of Joe may be good for more than merely getting you brain revved up. The Original Skrip had a post yesterday about the potential for coffee to fuel cars. Skrip found an article from The Economist magazine that explained how coffee grounds can be converted to biodiesel fuel.According to The Economist article:
The researchers found that coffee biodiesel is comparable to the best biodiesels on the market. But unlike biodiesels based on soya or other plants, it does not divert crops or land from food production into fuel production.
A further advantage is that unmodified oils from plants, like the peanut oil used by [German engineer Rudolph] Diesel in the 19th century, have high viscosity and require engine alterations. Diesel derived from coffee is less thick and can usually be burned in an engine with little or no tinkering.
The diesel-extraction method for coffee grounds is similar to that used for other vegetable oils. It employs a process called transesterification, in which the grounds react with an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. The coffee grounds are dried overnight and common chemical solvents, such as hexane, ether and dichloromethane, are added to dissolve the oils. The grounds are then filtered out and the solvents separated (to be reused with the next batch of coffee grounds). The remaining oil is treated with an alkali to remove free fatty acids (which form a soap). Then the crude biodiesel is heated to about 100ºC to remove any water, and treated with methanol and a catalyst, so that transesterification takes place. When cooled to room temperature and left to stand, the biodiesel floats up, leaving a layer of glycerine at the bottom. These layers are separated and the biodiesel is cleaned to remove any residues.
Although some people make their own diesel at home from leftovers and recycled cooking oil, coffee-based biodiesel seems better suited to larger-scale processes. Dr Misra says that a litre of biodiesel requires 5-7kg of coffee grounds, depending on the oil content of the coffee in question. In their laboratory his team has set up a one-gallon-a-day production facility, which uses between 19kg and 26kg of coffee grounds. The biofuel should cost about $1 per gallon to make in a medium-sized installation, the researchers estimate.
Does this mean Starbucks can now enter the energy business?
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