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Biofuel is all about blue skies and clean water, a world with less pollution. An ideal like so many, which turns foul when the commercial world gets hold of it. Once the chase for profit comes primary, even the cleanest biofuel turns out to be a culprit to nature.

When the Black Warrior River in Alabama got covered with an oily, fetid substance, the source of the pollution was traced to the Alabama Biodiesel Corporation plant, the state’s biodiesel plant, a refinery turning soybean oil into earth-friendly fuel. The spills, resembling Italian salad dressing, were 450 times higher than permit levels allow and are similar to others that have come from biofuel plants in the Midwest.

According to the National Biodiesel Board, a trade group, biodiesel is nontoxic, biodegradable and suitable for sensitive environments, but scientists say that position understates its potential environmental impact: As with most organic materials, oil and glycerin deplete the oxygen content of water very quickly, and that will suffocate fish and other organisms. And for birds, a vegetable oil spill is just as deadly as a crude oil spill.

Proof of the matter: in the summer of 2006, a Cargill biodiesel plant in Iowa Falls improperly disposed of 135,000 gallons of liquid oil and grease, which ran into a stream killing hundreds of fish.

Iowa leads the US’s biofuel production, with 42 ethanol and biodiesel refineries in production and 18 more plants under construction. The US biodiesel plants doubled in numbers over the span of a year: from 90 plants in 2006 to 160 plants in 2007. (Full)

To put things into perspective:
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster off the coast of Alaska spilled 10.8 million gallons of crude oil. If one biodiesel plant – like the Iowa Falls plant – is able to dispose 135,000 gallons of waste, the current US biofuel plants have a “capacity” to release 21,600,000 gallons, having potentially at least twice the impact of the Exxon Valdez disaster. On a repetitive basis…
The potential impact: The Exxon Valdez spill covered 11,000 square miles (28,000 km²) of ocean, killing an estimate of 250,000-500,000 seabirds. Almost twenty years later, 26,000 gallons of crude oil remain in the sandy soil of the contaminated Alaska shoreline, declining at a rate of less than 4% per year. (Source)

Without proper legislation regulating the pollution caused by the biofuel plants, biofuel will do more harm than good.

More posts on The Road about biofuel, pollution, global warming and the environment.

Thanks to Elizabeth for the link.
Pictures courtesy Nelson Brooke (New York Times) and our-energy.com

It would be hard to think of Italy without coffee. “Caffè” (with the accent on the last part and with the ‘è’ pronounced as in the English “head”) is part of the national heritage, much like the Colosseum or Pisa’s tower.
Italy is home to a range of coffee drinks which took the rest of the world by storm. Without Italy, Starbucks or Second Cup probably would not exist.
Without coffee, Italy would grind to a halt. A day can not start without coffee, and a good meal often ends with it. Many companies have their own inhouse coffee bar including waiters and all. So just to make sure you understand: The Italians do take their “Caffè” seriously.

History:
The coffee culture arrived from the Middle East via Istanbul to Venice, in the 1570′s. Coffee would remain a luxury and mostly medicinal drink until the 17th century saw the opening of the first European coffeehouse in Venice. This new fashion statement quickly spawned over two hundred other similar establishments along the Venetian canals and into the major cities of Italy.

Brewing coffee at home
While in many parts of the world, we perculate coffee (pouring hot water onto the grind), in Italian homes the Mama’s use a “Moka” (or caffettiera). Coffee is put into a grind holder (needs to be full, right “E”? – That is not “E” but the “other E”, ha!) which fits onto the part holding the water. After the top is screwed onto it, the whole is put on a stove. As the water starts boiling, steam from the bottom is forced through the grind into the top part. Work of a genius, this is.

Commercial espresso machines
Once we found an original espresso maching in Venice: a large complicated copper and brass complex set of boiler and pipes which works in principle the same as the caffettiera.
The modern version of the espresso machine has gone through a number of changes. Lately, it has all kinds of sensors and computing power combined with the “steam engine” to ensure the water holds the right pressure and temperature. Technology in function of traditions aside, it does feel strange to see espresso machines with digital displays on it.

Italian coffee etiquette
In most places in the world, you would go and take a table in a coffee bar, and patiently wait… to be waited upon. This is not the habit in Italy. Most people here drink their coffee standing at the bar on their way to work. Tables are mostly used in the weekends, when you go and have your coffee with the family. In most busy coffee bars you need to pay for your coffee at the cashier before proceeding to the bar to show your receipt before ordering. This confuses tourists who queue up at the bar before paying. I have seen many an American turned back direction of the cashier after queueing up politely for five minutes.

Once the barman holds you in favour as you showed your receipt, to order an espresso in Italy, you simply ask for a “caffe”. You drink it as it is hot, in two or three sips at most.

It is a habit, no, more a culture, strong: a religion, in Italy, not to drink any coffee with milk in it after breakfast. Cappuccino or Caffe Latte orders after 11 am are often laughed at or joked with.
While coffee bar tenders in the big cities will frown when you order a Caffe Latte in the afternoon, and exchange a glance of “Ah, tourists!” with the people standing at the bar, they will still serve you – all be it – reluctantly.

In restaurants, though, you might get occasions where the waiter will simply not serve you a coffee with milk in the afternoon or evening. The more remote the place, the more “mama and papa”-type the restaurant, the more chance of getting accused for “sacrilege”, turning that ‘friendly hospitable waiter’ into a rude tiran who wants nothing better than to see your backside as you walk out of the restaurant, while all you wanted was a “Cappuccino”.

In Italy even just the evil thought of “coffee with milk” is an eternal sin, equal to ask for Parmiggiano cheese to go on your Spaghetti Con Vongole, but more on that later.

Oh, and before I forget: “Coffee to go” is a “no go” in Italy. No such thing as serving coffee in a foam cup with a lid a la Starbucks…
If you ask for a “Caffe Via”, the best you will get is a coffee in a plastic cup, which often melts in your hands as you walk out of the establishment.
Just to give you how foreign the idea of “coffee to go” is in Italy: Laura, my neighbour owns the coffee shop below my appartment. The kids once went to get a “Caffe Latte Via” for Tine, and Laura tried to accommodate them the best she could: She rinced a small plastic fruit juice bottle, poured the “Caffe Latte Via” into it, and put the lid on it.

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee. Which is your vice?
A handful of Italian coffee servings:

• Caffe: Is known as “espresso” in other countries. This is the “normal serving” of coffee in Italy. Caffe, served in a small cup, is strong in taste with a rich bronze froth known as a crema on top.
• Caffe Ristretto (or “Ristretto”, “Stretto”): More concentrated than a regular espresso, as it is made with less water.
• Caffe Lungo (or “Lungo”): An Espresso with more water – opposite a Ristretto. Often referred to as Caffe Americano, not to be mistaken with perculated coffee, which is typically how Americans (and many others for that matter) normally take their coffee.
• Caffe Macchiato (“Macchiato” in short): Espresso “marked” with a dollop of steamed milk on top.
• Caffe Corretto (“Corretto”): Espresso with cognac, grappa, or sambuca liquor.
• Cappuccino (or “Cappuccio”): Espresso partially steamed and foamed milk.
• Cappuccino Chiaro: Cappuccino prepared with more milk (but less than a caffe latte) and is lighter in color.
• Caffe Latte: Espresso made with more milk than a cappuccino but only a small amount of foam. In Italy this is the usually a breakfast drink.
• Latte Macchiato: Steamed milk with a small “dot” of espresso coffee.
• Caffe Freddo: iced coffee
• Caffe Hag (or “Caffe Decaffinato“): decaffeinated coffee
• Caffe Marocchino: Espresso with a bit of hot milk and cacao powder.
• Granita di caffè (con panna): Frozen, iced similar to a slush, with ice shavings make it authentic, often “con panna” (with whipped cream)
• Caffe d’Orzo: barley coffee, a non-caffeine coffee substitute (not actually coffee)
• Caffe Shakerato: An iced and sweetened espresso drink, call it a “Coffee Shake”.

Coffee Adjectives:

• Scuro: (e.g. Cappuccino scuro or Caffe Latte scuro) Cappuccino prepared with less milk and is a darker color.
• Doppio: (e.g. Caffe Doppio, Caffe Latte Doppio) serving with a double shot of espresso.
• Senza Schiuma: (e.g: Caffe Latte Senza Schiuma) is served with no foam.
• Bollente: (e.g. Cappucino Bollente) extra heated refers to the milk in the coffee and not to the temperature of the coffee itself.

So what is my thing, my “Caffe”?
In the morning, I drink a “Caffe Latte Doppio Scuro”, at noon it is time for a “Caffe Lungo Macchiato”, and after-dinner, a simple “Caffe” goes down well.

More posts on “The Road” about Living in Italy

Pictures courtesy Johnlewis.com, auction.de. Text inspired by espressomakers.biz, Lifeinitaly.com.

What is a typical Italian breakfast? People pass by a coffee shop on the road to work, and get a coffee and a cornetto (croissant). Not necessarily the healthiest of breakfasts, but it surely tastes good.

More posts on the Road about Living in Italy.

I am back in Brindisi for a few days. Stayed an extra day as I can think much clearer while not sitting in a crowded office in our Rome headquarters, allows me to take a distance and re-evaluate some of the stuff we work on…

Despite the fact it is still pretty cold for the time of the year (and certainly at 7:30 in the morning), I had my morning coffee and cornetto outside, on a terrace. I was looking at the building in the picture.

Nothing extraordinary. Just a building, out of the thousands in Brindisi, probably millions similar ones in Italy. Just a window, of just a house, in just a street, of just a town. And yet, that image, at that moment, grabbed me.
I know, when that happens to me, it means something.. It is a sign on the road of life. I sat back, with my coffee and cornetto, at 7:30 in the morning, and let my mind run free for a while.
Different thoughts came up:

- It is strange how there is beauty in ordinary things… This is just a window, just a wall, and yet the colours, shades are so beautiful.
- there is more to life than only work… Let’s just sit here and enjoy this view for a moment.
- We do not enjoy life enough. We do not enjoy the moment enough. We don’t see enough the beauty of simple things around us. And how much beauty there is in simple things. Things we normally just walk past, and don’t even notice…
- And my practical mind. The physical work environment often defines how people work. We lack – chronically lack – space at work, so we start to face issues mainly due to lack of proper work space, which creates disfunctional communications. It is my task as a manager to ensure the proper work space is created.

Before you read this post, a disclaimer: I firmly believe we are grossly raping the environment and make only minimal progress to protect and respect the earth as the soil for our children. Punto. (as they say in Italian: Full stop!).

Last year, “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal,” concluded a report by 600 scientists from governments, academia, green groups and businesses in 40 countries. Worse, there was now at least a 90 percent likelihood that the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels is causing longer droughts, more flood-causing downpours and worse heat waves, way up from earlier studies.

For the first time, “Global Warming” was no longer the “Inconvenient Truth”. It became “The Mainstream Truth”.

And forgive me, but when something becomes mainstream, and certainly when “Green goes Commercial” and “carbon credits” become one of the most profitable investments (covered amongst others in this post), I just *have* to question it, even if the Non-Global-Warmers are all accused of being paid by bad-bad-baaad companies, I want to listen to their arguments.

Sooo, for the sake of “listening to the other side”, eat this:
Lawrence Solomon published “The Deniers”, a book listing “The World Renowned Scientists Who Stood Up Against Global Warming Hysteria, Political Persecution, and Fraud**And those who are too fearful to do so”.

Here are some leading “deniers”:

Dr. Edward Wegman – former chairman of the Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics of the National Academy of Sciences demolishes the famous “hockey stick” graph that launched the global warming panic. Dr. David Bromwich – president of the International Commission on Polar Meteorology – says “it’s hard to see a global-warming signal from the mainland of Antarctica right now.” Prof. Paul Reiter – Chief of Insects and Infectious Diseases at the famed Pasteur Institute – says “no major scientist with any long record in this field” accepts Al Gore’s claim that global warming spreads mosquito-borne diseases. Prof. Hendrik Tennekes – director of research, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute – states “there exists no sound theoretical framework for climate predictability studies” used for global warming forecasts. Dr. Christopher Landsea – past chairman of the American Meteorological Society’s Committee on Tropical Meteorology and Tropical Cyclones – says “there are no known scientific studies that show a conclusive physical link between global warming and observed hurricane frequency and intensity.” Dr. Antonino Zichichi – one of the world’s foremost physicists, former president of the European Physical Society, who discovered nuclear antimatter – calls global warming models “incoherent and invalid.” Dr. Zbigniew Jaworowski – world-renowned expert on the ancient ice cores used in climate research – says the U.N. “based its global-warming hypothesis on arbitrary assumptions and these assumptions, it is now clear, are false.” Prof. Freeman Dyson – one of the world’s most eminent physicists says the models used to justify global-warming alarmism are “full of fudge factors” and “do not begin to describe the real world.” (Full)

Interested in global warming? Check out my other posts about global warming or environment issues.

Cartoon courtesy The Blue State and Cagle Cartoons. Picture courtesy Whittier College.