Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Climate change could have a dramatic impact on every area of life in the South East, from work to health, leisure, gardening, holidays and farming, a booklet has warned.
Thousands of businesses could be hit by flooding, while hot summers will mean buckled rail tracks causing problems for commuters and soaring temperatures in offices - with rising fuel prices making air conditioning unfeasible.
The higher temperatures could lead to an increase in the death rate and more instances of food poisoning, according to the booklet - Our Changing Climate, Our Changing Lives - The South East.
Farmers might have to change from traditional crops such as raspberries and gooseberries to sunflowers, soya, olives and figs as warming temperatures and hotter, drier summers take hold.
Apple orchards grown for cider will struggle but the wine industry in the South East could be flourishing by mid century, the report by the Government-funded Tomorrow's England coalition said.
The coalition of groups, including the Woodland Trust, the Women's Institute, National Trust and WWF-UK, said sports including cricket at Lords, golf, fishing and horseracing could be affected by drier weather while wetter winters could halt matches at the South East's football grounds.
Heritage sites including the region's Martello Towers and stately homes could be damaged b
y flooding and rising sea levels, while gardeners could be forced to learn how to grow more exotic, drought resistant plants.
For the South East's nature, things don't look good if measures aren't taken now to lessen the impacts of climate change, the booklet warned.
Early springs will cause problems for much-loved flowers such as the bluebell, which will have less time to gather the energy needed from the sun before trees overhead begin to leaf, while trees such as the beech will themselves be at risk from the warmer, drier weather.
Animals such as the otter and the hedgehog are at risk, with predictions the latter could disappear altogether from the South East's gardens and countryside by 2025 as a result of scarcity of slugs because of the dry weather, as well as disrupted hibernation and rising pollution.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2008, All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 0
Monday, February 25, 2008
India and China need to chart a different path to develop low carbon economies to combat global warming, Nobel Laureate and chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri said.
"In per capita terms, India and China are way below the US and North America. But a quite apart from that, China and India have to chart a new path. The developed country experience has proved disastrous for variety of other reasons energy security for one thing, local pollution another," Pachauri said in an interview to a news magazine.
In both India and China, there is now a serious debate. "In India I can see it for sure because the prime minister is quite concerned about this issue. He set up the advisory council on climate change," he said.
"Similarly in China, there's a China council for international cooperation on the environment and development, of which I am a member. There's now a serious effort to look at a low carbon economy in China," Pachauri said in an interview in Newsweek.
Pachauri said he is "very optimistic" that world is ready to tackle the climate change because of awareness has increased in the last 8 or 9 months ever since Panel's reports have started coming out.
He did not endorsed the view that the US administration is still a laggard and said, "I would say there is clearly a very detectable shift on the part of this administration.... Irrespective who's in the White House, I think the next administration will have to be far more proactive on climate change than we have seen so far."
In a write up, Newsweek noted that when Pachauri was named to head the panel, former US vice-president and climate change activist Al Gore had criticised him as "let's-drag-our-feet candidate".
But crusading Gore was quickly proven wrong as Pachauri has loudly campaigned for changes in environmental policies, and the series of voluminous IPCC reports released this year have essentially put an end to the scientific debate over global warming, the magazine said.
Debunking the contention of high cost involved, Pachauri said, the cost to global economy in 2030 will be less than three per cent if concentration of greenhouse gases is to be stabilised at the level that would limit increase in temperature to 2 to 2.4 degrees Centigrade.
"Now, that really means that the level of prosperity that we are going to reach in 2030 may, at best, be postponed by 8 or 9 months. That's certainly not a high price to pay. If you're going to translate this into annual cost, it's only 0.12 percent of the GDP," he told the magazine.
As far as coal is concerned, he said, technological innovations are needed, like the gasification of coal that could improve the efficiency of the whole society.
"And, as you know, even the US is now spending money on this technology that will essentially allow capture of carbon dioxide and storage. I think what we really need much more is expenditure on research and development," he added.
He said he expects the private sector would invest in these things if there is a price on carbon. "In our findings, we have clearly highlighted the importance of keeping a price on carbon. If one were to do that, then you would see the world moving towards a low carbon economy without any disruptions in the economic system."
Monday, February 25, 2008 0
Interestingly what relates PC with Atmosphere, according to localcooling.com - More than 30 billion kilowatt-hours of energy is wasted because many of us simply forget to shut down our computers when we're not using them. Even with a screen saver on, when you're not using it, it's STILL using up to 280 watts/hour of completely wasted power this power pumps out 1.5lbs of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere for every KWh. For very 24 hours that's 9lbs of CO2 every day and 3,285lbs per year. That's more than 1.6 tons of CO2 thrown up into the atmosphere just to keep one single PC working.
Unilabs is offering free desktop application to PC users to adjust their power settings of their PCs, which can also be seen in any Windows OS as Control Panel > Power Options, under which PC users can define as when to turn off Monitor, Hard Disk and Hibernate the PC etc., what different is its shows the power consumption of each your PCs major components like monitor, hard disk, graphics cards, CPU processor, other fans, sound etc. and estimated power usage of your PC.Other options you could customize your power settings is, never to shutdown your PC when so and so (iexplorer.exe, winamp.exe etc.) application is running and never shutdown before your own timings of a day in AM/ PM.
The Beta version application after installation predicts how much will you save based on past users data and stats.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Though we call them "lights," traditional incandescent bulbs are actually small heaters that produce a little light — and waste a lot of energy making heat. (You know this if you've touched one that's been on for a while!) In the 1880s, they revolutionized the world. But today, we can do better.
Better alternatives use more efficient technology
Once dismissed as buzzing tubes in offices, fluorescent lights have gone compact and upscale. Energy-saving compact fluorescents (CFs) now rival the cozy, warm light of traditional bulbs. They use a fraction of the electricity, which means lower electricity bills and millions of tons less global warming pollution. And in the summer, because they don't burn as hot as incandescent bulbs, they'll lower your cooling bills.
If every household replaced just three 60-watt incandescent bulbs with CF bulbs, the pollution savings would be like taking 3.5 million cars off the road!
If you were disappointed by CF bulbs in the past, it's time to try again. Today's energy-saving bulbs can be used just about anywhere—as reading lights, in vanities and wall sconces. Some are dimmable; others work in three-way lamps. All are cheaper and more attractive than earlier models. It's easy to start saving money and electricity today. Here's how to make the switch:
1. Start with one bulb.
There are lots of choices, so before switching all the bulbs in a room, try just one to make sure it gives the kind of light you want. Look for bulbs with a color temperature between 2650 and 2850 degrees or labeled "warm white."
2. Know your watts.
Incandescent bulbs are known by how much power it takes to light them—a 40-watt bulb is on the dim side and uses less power; a 100-watt bulb is bright and uses a lot of juice. Energy-saving CFs provide much more light per watt.
Look for a CF bulb whose wattage is about one-quarter of the incandescent you're replacing. For example, a CF bulb in the 15-watt range replaces around a 60-watt incandescent.
3. Check the shape and size.
Both the CF bulb and its ballast (the bulb's "engine" in between the glass and the screw-in part) can be bigger than standard incandescent bulbs. Inspect your lamp shade, the harp and the socket to ensure that your lamp can accommodate the CF bulb.
4. Be careful choosing CF bulbs to use with dimmers.
In order for a CF bulb to work in a dimmer, it must be specially designed to do so.
5. Look for Energy Star.
The most energy-efficient CF bulbs carry the Energy Star label, the imprimatur of the government-backed energy efficiency program.
6. Dispose of burned-out bulbs properly.
All fluorescent lights contain trace amounts of mercury. But don't worry — there is far less mercury in CFs than in thermometers or old thermostats. Plus, using these bulbs helps prevent mercury from being released into the air from coal-powered power plants. When they burn out years down the road, recycle them.
7. See if your utility offers rebates.
Energy-efficient bulbs help utility companies lessen their load at peak times, so sometimes they run special programs or rebates to encourage you to make the switch.
Sunday, February 24, 2008 0
There are some easy ways you can help fight global warming. Become part of the solution!
Energy saving tips to reduce global warming effects at home:
* Use energy-saving light bulbs - they don't heat up like old style light bulbs.
* Let the sun warm your rooms in winter, and keep shades drawn in summer to help cool your home.
* When you turn off an appliance, it's still on if it's still plugged in. Plug-in air fresheners, toasters and cell phone chargers drain your electric meter. Think about using power strips which allow you to turn off everything at once. The result is that a lot of energy is conserved.
* Easing up on your thermostat when you're asleep or not at home also helps reduce global warming pollution.
* Using energy saving settings on your dishwasher and washing machine to help improve your family's energy efficiency, too.
Fight the global warming problem when you're on the road:
* Reduce weight in your car to combat global warming. Extra weight impacts fuel efficiency by burning more fuel.
* Choose to drive an energy-saving hybrid car. You'll directly address environment concerns while saving a lot of money on gas and maintenance, too.
* Go easy on the air conditioning; your cool car directly affects the global climate.
* Combine trips when you can, and carpool to conserve energy.
* If available depend on public transport system rather than your own car.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Carbon Dioxide builds up in the atmosphere from fossil fuels, industry, transport etc. The percentage of carbon dioxide in the air is very small but since the Industrial Revolution at the start of the Twentieth Century, millions of tons of this greenhouse gas have been released into the atmosphere.
It is odourless and colourless so why the problem?
As the Sun's rays travel through space, they hit the Earth and are reflected back by the Earth's oceans. It then sits in the atmosphere where trees and plants absorb it for photosynthesis, creating a balance. But with increased deforestation and more 'concrete jungles', carbon dioxide is increasing without any sign of diminishing. It gets trapped in the atmosphere and the Sun's rays, reflected back by the oceans, hit the molecules and bounce back to Earth instead of disappearing into space. This then causes the Earth's surface temperature to rise.
This is the considered opinion and is very valid. Although not much publicised, it is the interior of the Earth that is warming up as well. The Earth's inner core could expel heat via volcanoes but with the surface heating up, the Earth has to balance itself so there will be an increase in volcanic activity. As with everything in life, the warmer it gets, it expands in size and the Earth is no exception - more earthquake activity will also appear. Diseases will appear more frequently.
Coupled with the melting polar ice caps, Global Warming is having a more disastrous impact on the Earth and our lives than we can possibly imagine.
If the forests of the Earth are not protected and allowed to rejuvenate so they can reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, then the Earth will not recover. Sombre thought really, considering it is our actions that have brought this about.
Saturday, February 23, 2008 0
