tagged w/ CO2 Emissions
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According to this scientific report, CO2 has been increasing by 2.3 % yearly doubling every 30 years since its first recording in 1958 (it actually increased 3% between 2006/2007.) Pre-industrial levels were at 280 PPM. Now, we are at 385 PPM inching ever closer to 450 PPM. At the current rate of CO2 emissions should they continue unabated (which I don't even know if that includes rates of deforestation) by 2050 the planet will likely surpass 500 PPM. And this is according to actual scientists who know what they are talking about and take these readings.
There are those scientists (James Hanson for example) who claim that to surpass 450 PPM will lead us into territory we do not want to visit. And while some scientists are hesitant to now use the term "tipping point" as they fear it will generate a lack of apathy towards action (which I can understand on one level,) should we not be trying to make people understand what is truly at stake here and that we still have time to head this off if we do what is necessary?
This is why when I read articles stating that governments including our own are still touting the 80% emissions cut by 2050 line I now have to shake my head. This is the same goal that was mentioned five years or more ago... and still we are waiting for action. With such an exponential rise in CO2 emissions as has been recorded and predicted taking into account deforestation, ocean CO2 saturation, and yes, natural cycle forcings, I do not see how continuing to tout that same goal is going to get us anywhere.
This is a moral crisis that now challenges the human species to answer this question: Just how much do you really care for this planet and your future on it? What are you prepared to do to not see these tipping points be reached? Reaching a higher level of consciousness about this is indeed necessary. I think about Carl Sagan and his wisdom in understanding the pale blue dot we live on and that it is the only home we have to sustain us. Does that really not matter? Have we become so blinded by politics, apathy, distractions, and lets face it, hatred for others that it blinds us to the issue at hand?According to this scientific report, CO2 has been increasing by 2.3 % yearly doubling... more
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Even if you do not believe in anthropogenic climate change, the effect of rapidly melting ice in the Arctic is not only about CO2. What is even more urgent is the amount of methane released from the melting ice caused by higher GHG emissions that is being released into the atmosphere. By not working to decrease GHG emissions that cause the greenhouse effect now we are essentially setting up a catastrophic scenario of runaway warming due to methane emissions from melting permafrost.
This article comprehensively lays out what we are doing and the consequences of it if we do not get serious THIS YEAR to address this. That means politicians not playing any more games and holding subcommittee meetings and hearings simply to continue the empty debate of whether this is natural or not. By doing so and continuing to ignore getting down to action they are pushing this planet closer to a tipping point that much faster. This isn't only about CO2 (or political partisanship and grandstanding,) but about the methane being released due to increasing fossil fuel emissions and deforestation and other positive feedback loops.Even if you do not believe in anthropogenic climate change, the effect of rapidly... more
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If we were to look back in the years to come, what would we say of this time in mans short history.
Might we say we changed the future - might this be what it will look like?
We can't change the past - so will this be the letter I will write to those of you who are able to receive it?
Bob Williamson
Greenhouse Neutral Foundation
Author of ZERO Greenhouse Emissions - The Day the Lights Went Out - Our Future World
www.greenhouseneutral.netIf we were to look back in the years to come, what would we say of this time in mans... more
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Is it any wonder that policy makers and world leaders are not thinking or agreeing on vital climate change policy? Agreeing on emissions reduction targets or how and where we are right now?
In scientific papers, journals, reports, policy documents and even newspaper article and magazine stories we are repeatedly confusing everyone by comparing ‘CO2 apples with Global Warming oranges’.
We had better clear up this issue. We had better start comparing and talking same and same. The oranges are growing faster than the apples.
Bob Williamson
Greenhouse Neutral Foundation
www.greenhouseneutral.net
Author of ZERO Greenhouse Emissions - The Day the Lights Went Out - Our Future World
www.strategicbookpublishing.com/ZEROGreenhouseEmissions.htmlIs it any wonder that policy makers and world leaders are not thinking or agreeing on... more
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Is it any wonder that our politicians are making completely the wrong decisions on Climate Change policy when they are so totally confused about where we are right now?
We are approaching tipping points that will send the world into a tail spin, but they just don't understand the basics.
They are looking at an apple but what we have is an orange.
Bob Williamson
Greenhouse Neutral FoundationIs it any wonder that our politicians are making completely the wrong decisions on... more
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We are currently at 385PPM. At 450PPM, we enter a world where the tipping points begin to come one by one. It won't take long to get there now, and scientists are relatively sure we will reach even 600PPM by mid century. My child and his children will still be here. Heck, I may even be here still if I somehow live into my nineties. So why aren't more people truly concerned about this even with all we know and with all scientists are saying?
Well, I think the reason is obvious. It is because it is the human species that is entrusted with doing the right thing. Right there I believe there could be evidence to dispute the presence of a higher power. How could any such higher power think to place humans as stewards of anything? We seem to only destroy all we touch. I have stated many times that I have faith in humans and that we will do the right thing to save ourselves. I don't feel that way today.
I think about the future a lot. I think about the world our children will live in... and then I cry. I sign petitions, I speak out, I blog, I post, I scream, I support environmental organizations, I speak out to politicians, and I live my life in a way that I walk as lightly on this planet as I possibly can. Is it to be all for naught because of the selfish, apathetic, ignorant ones who think this is just some political game?
We must cap CO 2 emissions NOW. Not in five years, or ten years, or by 2050. NOW. So considering that scenario along with the fact that we are dealing with a system built on greed that blinds man to all that is important, I think it is safe to say we are screwed. Our procrastination for the last thirty years has brought us to this point, and STILL politicians play footsy with the sustainability of this planet as if we have time to sit and waste another thirty years. And people are still arguing over whether humans even cause it. All over the voices of the scientists speaking the truth to us and saying, you are failing morally in your duty to preserve this planet for your existence.
Shame on us all for still not paying attention.We are currently at 385PPM. At 450PPM, we enter a world where the tipping points begin... more
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FYI: 300 football fields worth of trees are destroyed every hour. The wildlife and native peoples have no 'claim' to the land. The animals are simply killed or sold into the wildlife-trade as pets, meat, or as laboratory research specimens.
PLEASE BE A RESPONSIBLE CONSUMER!
Look at ingredients when you purchase food. You'll be surprised to see how many products contain some form of palm! PLEASE call or write the manufacturer and let them know that you do not support palm derived from unethical or unsustainable methods (ex. destroying rain-forest for palm plantations!).
Efforts to slow the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations at the expense of natural forests across Southeast Asia are being hindered by industry-sponsored disinformation campaigns, argue scientists writing in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. The authors, Lian Pin Koh and David S. Wilcove, say that palm oil may constitute the "single most immediate threat to the greatest number of species" by driving the conversion of biologically rich ecosystems — including lowland rain-forests and peat-lands.
"Why have efforts by conservationists failed to halt the expansion of oil palm plantations at the expense of tropical forests? We contend that part of the reason could be the aggressive public relations campaigns undertaken by the oil palm industry to promote public acceptance of palm oil and to dismiss the concerns of conservation biologists and environmentalists," Koh and Wilcove write. "It is not unlike the campaign that some energy companies waged against efforts to curb global climate change."
Under fire from environmental groups, which are now pushing for consumer boycotts of products containing palm oil in some markets, industry groups have launched marketing campaigns to depict palm oil as a environmentally benign — or even ecologically beneficial — product. Despite substantial scientific evidence to the contrary, the industry claims that expansion has not occurred in natural forest areas and that oil palm plantations sequester more carbon than rain-forests.
Ultimately, pressure on the industry to improve environmental performance will hinge on whether environmentalists can overcome this propaganda to convince consumers and governments on the merits of eco-friendly palm oil. Until then, biodiversity will continue to be at risk from the palm oil industry, conclude Koh and Wilcove.
"To effectively mitigate the threats of oil palm to biodiversity, conservationists need to persuade consumers to continue to demand both greater transparency in land-use decisions by governments and greater environmental accountability from oil palm producers."
"A prohibition on the conversion of primary or secondary forests to oil palm is urgently needed to safeguard tropical biodiversity. Until that happens, oil palm might well be the single most immediate threat to the greatest number of species."
* Lian Pin Koh and David S. Wilcove. Oil palm: disinformation enables deforestation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution Vol.24 No.2FYI: 300 football fields worth of trees are destroyed every hour. The wildlife and... more
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Barack Obama was today expected to begin the process of reversing George Bush's policies on climate change by allowing individual US states to set their own, stricter standards for vehicle emissions.
The new president will instruct the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to look again at a request from California to be allowed to impose tougher limits on the emissions.
He could even instruct the agency to allow state opt-outs, according to reports in the US press. Obama's predecessor, George Bush, denied states this authority, prompting California and several others to sue.Barack Obama was today expected to begin the process of reversing George Bush's... more
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A corn crop to be used just for ethanol? Wasn't it already proven that ethanol does not reduce CO2 emissions effectively and is actually wasteful in its processing? Well, we now know that Tom Vilsack will have a smooth confirmation hearing to be Sec of Agriculture. I am sure he is for the deregulation of this industrial corn crop. Transgenic contamination of corn for human consumption however, will be at risk, and the proper EIS has not of yet been done on this particular GE crop. Once again, Monsanto, Syngenta, and the industrial agriculture lobby wins out over the consumer.
Attached to this link is a form you can fill out and a letter attached regarding the USDA's actions regarding this industrial GE crop. This is not only a threat to human health because it is not designed for human consumption, it is a waste of land that could be used to grow traditional corn to feed people. We now can pretty much access that the lies coming from chemical companies like Monsanto that their GE crops are to feed the hungry world are just that, lies. Profit and now taking advantage of the climate crisis instead of finding ways to mitigate it are what this is all about.
And it would appear that these companies with the help of the Obama administration will now continue to seek profits over fair access to traditional food and alternate methods of producing energy that do not take valuable land away that could be used to grow real food. That is why we must be heard.
You can express your opinion on this at the link and also send any comments you may have on this as well. Comments are being accepted at the USDA until January 20th.A corn crop to be used just for ethanol? Wasn't it already proven that ethanol... more
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Back in September, when the presidential election seemed up for grabs, a group of more than 60 Nobel Prize-winning scientists endorsed Barack Obama. One important reason: his plan to increase federal funding for research, which they argued would result in "new ways to provide energy ... and improve our economy." Fund science, goes the logic, because basic research always yields economic benefits.
Now, with the economy in tumult and a deficit that could reach $1 trillion this year, the question is not whether research and development should be a priority but whether Obama will be able to deliver. And even if he can still manage to increase funding, simply putting more cash into the same old research priorities won't help invent the future. Obama will surely aim to spend more than George W. Bush (but not enough to make everyone happy). More important, he'll have to create policies that ensure good ideas make it out of the lab.Back in September, when the presidential election seemed up for grabs, a group of more... more
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lvp
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3 years ago
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Motorcycles are by definition efficient machines, but their Prius-like fuel economy often is accompanied by emissions that make a Hummer look clean. As regulators get wise to that fact and go after two-wheelers, the motorcycle industry is embracing alternatives ranging from battery power to hydrogen fuel cells.
The pace of development in recent years is remarkable considering motorcycle design hasn't changed much since the first Hildebrand & Wolfmuller appeared in a showroom 114 years ago. Materials have advanced alongside technology, but motorcycles are still an internal combustion engine between two wheels. Motorcycles may deliver 70 mpg or more, but they can be 10 times more polluting per mile than passenger cars. That has the United States and European Union pushing motorcycles to run cleaner and greener.Motorcycles are by definition efficient machines, but their Prius-like fuel economy... more
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lvp
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3 years ago
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The Arctic is the climate regulator for the rest of the world. If the ice goes, so goes our climate balance. We are precariously close to a tipping point in the Arctic now with some scientists stating that we have already reached it. So what do we do now? Do we continue to sit and wait for politicians to take the next step? Can politicians actually take the pervasive and urgent steps necessary to meet this crisis as it must be met? Those steps do not include 80% reductions in greenhouse gases in another 42 years.
In forty two years there will be no Bangladesh and many outlying islands and nations with many people will be gone. Florida may well at that point be experiencing sea level rise as well which drowns their coastline, as well as the Northeast United States if current behavior persists or we do not meet this challenge as it must be met now. We need a bold plan to stop GHG emissions now as the Arctic melting is also releasing methane which is 25 times stronger than CO2 in our atmopshere.
There is one truth to all of this regardless of what you believe or how you believe it is occuring.The future of the sustainability of this planet as we now know it is as stake, and as such so is our continued ability to live here. And neither the melting in the Arctic nor the consequences of it distinquish between political party, sex, race, financial disposition, sexual orientation, religion, or whether you even believe in religion. It effects us all. Our planet is speaking to us. It is time for us to answer.The Arctic is the climate regulator for the rest of the world. If the ice goes, so... more
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| Environment | guardian.co.uk
PHOTO: A breaking ice shelf in Antarctica ... many scientists fear the world is close to a tipping point. Jim Elliott/British Antarctic Survey/AP
Sea level rise due to global warming will "substantially exceed" official UN projections and could top 150cm by the end of the century, according to a report from the US Geological Survey on the risks of abrupt climate change. Such a rise would be catastrophic, seeing hundreds of millions of people affected by flooding.
Many scientists now fear the warming world is on the verge of "tipping points", in which climate change and its effects accelerate rapidly. The science is evolving quickly and the new report updates the most recent findings of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was released in 2007.
Some observers have called for an update of the science before the UN talks on a global deal on greenhouse gases emissions reach their finale in December 2009. The US report considers four scenarios for abrupt change, and delivers bad news on two.
On sea level, the report found models used by the IPCC in 2007 do not take into account recent information on how fast glaciers slide into the oceans, particularly from Greenland and the West Antarctic ice sheets. The report says the south western states of the US will enter a "permanent drought state".
But the risk of the ocean circulation in the Altantic shutting down – freezing the coasts of America and Europe, as in the film The Day After Tomorrow – is rated as low by the report. It predicts a slowdown of around 25% to 30%. The chance of a catastrophic release of methane from frozen sub-sea stores at high latitudes is also rated low. The report is part of a series by the US Climate Change Science Program, which collates all US federal research on the subject. It was presented tonight at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
The IPCC predicted that sea level would rise by 28cm to 42cm by the end of the century. ,The authors cite a 2007 study by Prof Stephan Rahmstof at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change Research which predicted a sea level rise of between 40cm-150cm by 2100. But even this much higher estimate will "likely need to be revised upwards" because it does not fully capture the ice flow processes.| Environment | guardian.co.uk
PHOTO: A breaking ice shelf in Antarctica ... many... more
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More destruction to mountains to fill the pockets of those who really do not care about the consequences of their actions. It is time to stand up to them for a cleaner better future. There is no such thing as clean coal and everytime a representative of one of these companies uses that term as if it is available now, they are lying through their teeth. It must be stopped.
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From the article:
Environmentalists are vowing to block a proposed $6 billion coal-fired power plant in Surry County, saying it would increase air pollution, would contribute to global warming and is not needed.
Advocacy groups including the Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Center and Chesapeake Climate Action Network are gearing up for what one activist called all-out war in response to plans announced this week by the project sponsor, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative.
ODEC, a nonprofit utility based in Richmond, said it wants to build the plant on about 1,600 acres in the town of Dendron, about 40 miles west of Norfolk, in order to meet anticipated demand for electricity in the near future in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
The utility has given the plant a name - Cypress Creek Power Station - and said it would burn mostly Appalachian coal to produce 750 megawatts to 1,500 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 400,000 homes. Woody timber wastes, known as biomass, would fuel about 3 percent of the plant.
In comparison, the coal-fired plant under construction in Wise County in Southwest Virginia is expected to produce 585 megawatts and cost about $1.8 billion. That project, led by Dominion Virginia Power, is being challenged in court by environmentalists.
In the face of an economic recession and mounting threats from climate change, the prospect of introducing an unnecessary $6 billion coal plant is outrageous said Tom Cormons, a lawyer and campaign coordinator for Appalachian Voices, a group fighting the Wise County plant as well.
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How much renewable energy could 6 billion dollars buy? Well, you sure would get more for your money with it besides devastated mountains, black water, black lung and cancer. This is simply insane.
^^More destruction to mountains to fill the pockets of those who really do not care... more
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A coalition of North American environmental groups says the development of Canada-s oil sands region threatens to kill as many as 166 million birds over the next five decades and is calling for a moratorium on new projects in the region.
The coalition-s groups, which include the Natural Resources Defence Council, the Boreal Songbirds Initiative and the Pembina Institute, say petroleum-extraction projects in the oil-rich region of northern Alberta are a threat to migratory birds and the boreal forest they rely on.
Their study concluded that development of the oil sands, would be fatal for 6 million to 166 million birds because of habitat loss, shrinking wetlands, accumulation of toxins and other causes.
The solution, the groups say, is to halt new projects in the oil sands and to clean up existing facilities. They are also calling for strengthened regulations to protect Canada-s vast boreal, or northern, forest and for Alberta, whose government has backed oil sands developments, to prove the resource can be exploited without serious environmental harm.
People need to take a hard look at whether this can be mitigated or if tar sands development is just incompatible with conservation of bird habitat said Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defence Council.
The report estimates about half of North America-s migratory birds nest in the boreal forest and between 22 million and 170 million birds breed in areas that could be subject to oil sands development.
The oil sands contain the biggest oil reserves outside the Middle East but the crude is expensive and difficult to extract. Mining projects strip large areas of land to access the oil-laden soils below the surface.
While the report has not yet been made public, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which represents the country-s big oil firms, said the oil sands industry complies with environmental regulations and dismissed calls for a moratorium.
We need a balanced conversation, supported like a stool with three legs, environment, economy and energy, David Collyer, the association-s president, said in a statement. Calls for a moratorium that consider only one leg of the stool, in a vacuum, are not constructive.
Developments in the region have been criticized for pumping large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, using too much water and being harmful to wildlife.
Indeed, the death of about 500 ducks earlier this year after they landed on a toxic tailings pond operated by Syncrude Canada Ltd, the biggest oil sands producer, brought international attention to the region.
The environmental groups' forecast is based on a big expansion of oil production from the region. The oil sands currently produce more than 1 million barrels a day, but the report is based on an eventual output of 5 million barrels a day, in line with industry forecasts of production in two decades or more.A coalition of North American environmental groups says the development of Canada-s... more
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Marquette, Michigan - The Upper Peninsula Earth Keepers announced several projects for the next year on Thursday night (Nov. 13, 2008) as they received the Michigan Sierra Club prestigious White Pine Award for past projects that included recycling hundreds of tons of hazardous waste, energy conservation programs and the protection of Lake Superior.
Numerous Earth Keeper Initiative (EKI) faith leaders, volunteers and student members accepted the award on Nov. 13 at a meeting of the Sierra Club U.P. Group.
The White Pine Award recognizes "a group outside of the Sierra Club which has been doing things to help protect the environment," said Dr. Jon Rebers, chair of the Sierra Club Central U.P. Group.
The U.P. Earth Keepers, involving the congregations of over 150 U.P. churches and temples, held three annual Earth Day collections at dozens of sites across northern Michigan that removed almost 370 tons of household hazardous waste from the environment.
Earth Keepers collected one ton of pharmaceuticals & $500,000 in narcotics in 2007; 320 tons of computers, televisions & electronics in 2006; and 45 tons of household hazardous waste like pesticides, herbicides, oil-based paint and car batteries. Most of the waste turned in by the public.
Earth Keepers held a 2007 energy summit that helped hundreds of Michigan homes and businesses become energy efficient & helped organize classical musicians to form the Boreal Chamber Symphony for a Lake Superior Day 2007 concert in Marquette that raised funds to protect the world's largest body of freshwater.
"We are moving into our fifth year," said Rev. Jon Magnuson, Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) ex. Dir.
Sponsors: CTI, Superior Water Shed Partnership (SWP), Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and 10 faith communities: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Quakers & Zen Buddhist.
Partners include the EPA, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Earth Keepers are "trying to honor the creation by preserving it," said Dr. Rodney Clarken, a Bahá'í. "One of the Bahá'í principles is that each human being is entrusted and is in some way the image of God. We can't be pure and holy unless...the environment is pure and holy."
The leader of a Marquette Zen Buddhist temple said "your environment is in trouble right now."
"Zen Buddhists tend to believe in the oneness of all - you are part of your environment - that is absolutely inescapable," said Rev. Tesshin Paul Lehmberg, head priest of Lake Superior Zendo.
Member Nancy Irish said her favorite EKI project is the "Adopt a Watershed" program.
"We've had a number of campouts for kids," said Irish of the Marquette Unitarian Universalist church. "There is nothing more wonderful than facilitating the meeting of the natural world with children .. children protect what they love & they love what they know.""
"One of the Quaker basic testimonies is the simplicity of living and of course this ties well into that (the Earth Keeper Covenant)," said David McCowen of Lake Superior Friends (Quakers).
The SWP and the CTI "facilitate what happens with the Earth Keepers," said watershed partnership representative Natasha Koss.
The Northern Michigan University EarthKeeper Student Team goals include an "Eco-Christmas Initiative," said Sarah Swanson, project director. "We are going to encourage people to be more eco-conscious when they are purchasing gifts for family and friends over the holidays."
Students will recycle televisions in February, now that they are switching to high definition television, she said. And "planting a bunch of trees on Earth Day" plus "organize some community gardens."
People have "an inescapable relationship with their environment," said Ben Scheelk, NMU EK student team project coor. from the Student Leader Fellowship Program.
Rev. Jon Magnuson
906-228-5494
Greg
906-401-0109
earthkeeper@charter.netMarquette, Michigan - The Upper Peninsula Earth Keepers announced several projects for... more
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There is energy to be harvested in deserts of Southern California, Arizona, Spain and Africa: Sunlight focused so intensely it can melt salt, vaporize water and run air conditioners from Phoenix to Seville long after the sun has set.
This is concentrated solar power, and it represents the best hope for utility-scale power from renewable energy and the surest way to get energy-sucking Sun Belt cities off carbon.
It’s also a technology you’ve likely never heard of, given the attention and credits lavished on rooftop photovoltaic kits.
Concentrated solar power, or solar thermal, is a world apart from photovoltaic solar, the world’s fastest-growing energy technology. Rather than use silicon-based panels to chemically convert sunlight to electricity, solar thermal uses mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on pipes carrying oil or other heat-absorbing fluid. Sunlight heats the oil to 500° C or more; hot oil flashes water to steam; steam spins a turbine; the turbine makes juice.
Simple? That’s the attraction.
This is big-time electricity. Utilities have inked power purchase agreements for almost 5,000 megawatts from developers building solar thermal plants. Sixty plants worldwide are on the drawing board or being built. The price of power from these plants is competitive with the gas-fired peaker plants keeping the electric grid afloat as demand skyrockets on hot afternoons.
And hot afternoons are precisely when solar thermal plants do their best work.
“This is just so obvious it’s going to be huge,” said Terry Collins, Thomas Lord Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon and director of the university’s Institute for Green Science. “It’s going to completely change the country.”
snip
Yet there are signs solar thermal is about to claim its moment in the sun.
First, prices are converging. A modern solar thermal plant produces power in the 12- to 18-cents-per-kilowatt-hour range. By comparison a photovoltaic system generates juice for about 40 cents a kilowatt-hour, a baseload coal plant churns out power for three to five cents per kilowatt-hour, and wind enjoys a 2.1 cent tax credit on every kilowatt-hour produced, bringing it into coal’s upper range. Natural gas runs between 12 and 20 cents a kilowatt-hour.
But solar won’t ever be baseload, utilities say – what if it rains for a week? – and wind, though cheap, is often most plentiful at night when demand is lowest.
That leaves natural gas, which, conveniently enough, is the fossil fuel solar thermal is best suited to replace. Gas-fired peaker plants are designed to quickly bring juice online as demand spikes throughout the day.
“You essentially take the pressure off the grid system,’’ said Collins, the Carnegie Mellon professor. “We already have much more expensive peak-time electricity…. And that’s smack in the middle of when these things are doing their best work.”
There’s also solar thermal’s trump card: Storage.
The ability to store power for later use is a holy grail of sorts for renewable energy developers. Wind and photovoltaic plants force utilities to use the power on the spot or dump the load. Various batteries and capacitors are in the works for those technologies, but none so far match the smooth efficiency or low cost of solar thermal’s ability to hoard sunlight.
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It is exciting innovations like this that keep me hopeful about the future.There is energy to be harvested in deserts of Southern California, Arizona, Spain and... more
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This is why any pledge to reduce CO2 emissions 80% by 2050 is not enough. That pledge is deceptive as it makes it look as though emissions would be decreased by 80% before 2050. However, it only gives polluting industries more time to conduct business as usual and bring us closer to 450ppm in the interim which we cannot allow to happen. We are already at 385ppm which has now been concluded to already be in the danger zone... that does not leave much room or time to work to bring down CO2 emissions.
We spew 70 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every day and that does not even include the rate of deforestation and other global warming polluting gases. When you then add that to the acidification of oceans which are now at the saturation point, you are looking at a recipe for disaster in our future if we do not get serious about cutting emissions drastically within the next five to ten years.
Pledging to do what every other politician pledges just to appease all sides at the expense of our survival is not going to get us there and is not change. We need a truly bold plan based on a moral not politically expedient principle. We have one if only politicians would embrace it. And the time is fast coming when they must.This is why any pledge to reduce CO2 emissions 80% by 2050 is not enough. That pledge... more
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LONDON – 18th November, 2008 – Verdiem, a leader in network energy management, today announces the availability of Edison, a free energy monitoring application that allows eco-conscious consumers to actively control their PC’s energy consumption – and their household’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. As part of a global campaign against PC energy waste, Verdiem is launching Edison in the UK to help Brits save up to 80 percent of the energy used by their desktop computer, just as Edison users in the US are saving an average of £30 per year and 325 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions per PC.
Made for the Microsoft Windows operating system, Edison enhances existing PC power settings and provides a consumer-friendly interface that is easy to set up and manage.
“PCs are the hidden energy wasters of the home and most users have no idea that they are needlessly throwing away 80 percent of their PC’s energy,” said Allison Cornia, Vice President Product Management, Verdiem. “If just 1 percent of all PCs used Edison we could potentially reduce environmental impacts by 3.2 million metric tons of CO2, which is equal to taking approximately 600,000 cars off the road. By finding ways to embed offsets in our daily life – even something as simple as downloading software – we will create permanent reductions in energy use and have a huge impact on our environment and resource sustainability.”
Power in numbers
Verdiem, Climate Savers Computing Initiative and Microsoft aim to empower individual PC users to understand the energy and environmental impacts of PC power management and take control of their power efficiency. This is part of a larger vision to encourage the UK public to reduce CO2 emissions in both their work and home lives.LONDON – 18th November, 2008 – Verdiem, a leader in network energy... more
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Japan is the world's 5th largest producer of carbon dioxide, and it's emissions increased 2.3% last year to hit record highs in March... a staggering 1.371 billion metric tons.
Unlike the European Union, Japan has hesitated to implement mandatory caps or carbon taxes on companies, stating that such a move would negatively affect their competition with the rest of the world.
Japan now faces humiliating failure to meet its Kyoto target in the next 4 years.
The news comes in the midst of what appears to be a global economic recession, which may divert attention from climate change and the money it requires.Japan is the world's 5th largest producer of carbon dioxide, and it's... more
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islek
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3 years ago
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