Happy Thursday!!!
I'm turning my StumbleUpon gaze to two very important tags: Global Warming and Climate Change. You'll find a wealth of links on those two pages on the science, politics, personalities of one of the biggest challenges to face humanity- the warming of our climate. We're not going to win the fight if we don't equip ourselves with knowledge,-here are a few links gleaned from Global Warming and Climate Change. If you are just joining in on the Stumble fun and have no idea what I am talking about, a quick click over to the first post I wrote about StumbleUpon might be a good use of a few minutes.
• Video: Al Gore at TED: 15 ways to avert a climate crisis
With the same humor and humanity he exuded in An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore spells out 15 ways we can address climate change, from buying a hybrid car to inventing a hotter brand name for global warming. First, though, comes a hilarious set of stories from The New Gore, who turns out to be a stand-up comedian. The former Vice President has plenty of joke material, and he's funnier than you've ever seen him. Then he gets down to grittier matters with a list of actions ordinary people can take to stem the tide of global warming. His message: Doing something is easier than you think.
• Light bulb may be on its way out
NEW YORK — The light bulb, the symbol of bright ideas, doesn't look like such a great idea anymore, as lawmakers in the U.S. and abroad are talking about banning the century-old technology because of its contribution to global warming.
But what comes next? Compact fluorescent bulbs are the only real alternative right now, but "bulbs" that use light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are quickly emerging as a challenger.
LEDs, which are small chips usually encased in a glass dome the size of a matchstick head, have been in use in electronics for decades to indicate, for example, whether a VCR is on or off.
Those LEDs were usually red or green, but a scientific breakthrough in the 1990s paved the way for the production of LEDs that produce white light. Because they use less power than standard incandescent bulbs, white LEDs have become common in flashlights.
• Clean Energy Spending Can Curb Climate Change, WWF Says
GENEVA — The world can avoid the worst effects of climate change with investments in clean energy so long as the wholesale shift from fossil fuels starts within five years, the environmental group WWF said on Tuesday.
In its Climate Solutions report, the Swiss-based body argued that solar, wind and other "benign" power sources could satisfy the world's growing energy needs and keep temperature increases below the critical two-degree Celsius (3.6 F) threshold.
Scientists believe that global warming beyond that point will trigger dangerous storms, floods and droughts that could devastate areas that are home to millions of people.
The WWF said that renewable energy sources, though not yet operating on a large-enough scale to replace petroleum, coal and other carbon-emitting fuels, could do so if governments agree by 2012 to set targets and coordinate investments to develop them.
"In five years it may be too late to initiate a sustainable transition which could avert a breach of the two-degree threshold for avoiding dangerous climate change," it found.
• Deforestation: The hidden cause of global warming
In the next 24 hours, deforestation will release as much CO2 into the atmosphere as 8 million people flying from London to New York. Stopping the loggers is the fastest and cheapest solution to climate change. So why are global leaders turning a blind eye to this crisis?
The accelerating destruction of the rainforests that form a precious cooling band around the Earth's equator, is now being recognised as one of the main causes of climate change. Carbon emissions from deforestation far outstrip damage caused by planes and automobiles and factories.
The rampant slashing and burning of tropical forests is second only to the energy sector as a source of greenhouses gases according to report published today by the Oxford-based Global Canopy Programme, an alliance of leading rainforest scientists.
Figures from the GCP, summarising the latest findings from the United Nations, and building on estimates contained in the Stern Report, show deforestation accounts for up to 25 per cent of global emissions of heat-trapping gases, while transport and industry account for 14 per cent each; and aviation makes up only 3 per cent of the total.
"Tropical forests are the elephant in the living room of climate change," said Andrew Mitchell, the head of the GCP.
• Giving Up On Two Degrees
The rich nations seeking to cut climate change have this in common: they lie. You won’t find this statement in the draft of the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was leaked to the Guardian last week. But as soon as you understand the numbers, the words form before your eyes. The governments making genuine efforts to tackle global warming are using figures they know to be false.
The British government, the European Union and the United Nations all claim to be trying to prevent “dangerous” climate change. Any level of climate change is dangerous for someone, but there is a broad consensus about what this word means: two degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels. It is dangerous because of its direct impacts on people and places (it could, for example, trigger the irreversible melting of the Greenland ice sheet(1)and the collapse of the Amazon rainforest(2)) and because it is likely to stimulate further warming, as it encourages the world’s natural systems to start releasing greenhouse gases.
• Will Your State's Tree or Flower Continue to Grow in Your State?
Plants across the nation are affected by global warming. You have probably seen that many plants in your backyard are blooming earlier. Global warming will mean that many native and iconic plants may no longer find suitable climate conditions in major portions of their historic range. Click on your state to see if your official State Trees or State Flowers may be affected.
• Murdoch sets emissions goal
THE world's top media company, News Corporation, will slash its global carbon footprint to zero under a bold plan revealed by its chairman, Rupert Murdoch. Saying the global media empire produced 641,150 tonnes of greenhouse gas last year, the News chairman and CEO last night pledged to go green.
"We could make a difference just by holding our emissions steady as our businesses continue to grow, but that doesn't seem to be enough," Mr Murdoch said.
"We want to go all the way to zero," he told News Corp's worldwide employees.
"This is about changing the DNA of our business to re-imagine how we look at energy."
Under the plan, all News Corp businesses, including News Limited, publisher of the Herald Sun, will be carbon neutral by 2010.
• Bird migration patterns shifting, an early warning of climate change
BONN, Germany (AP) _ migrating-birds.gifLike the canaries that once warned of danger in mine shafts, migrating birds are becoming harbingers of another risk _ climate change.
Confused and disoriented by erratic weather, birds are changing migration habits and routes to adjust to warmer winters, disappearing feeding grounds and shrinking wetlands. Failure to adapt risks extinction, experts say.
This weekend, bird watchers and conservationists in dozens of countries staged events to mark World Migratory Bird Day with concerts, films and children's drawing contests to attract attention to the rising threat of global warming.
• Fair Trade: Transparency
This is the first in a series of posts that will explore the stated principles of Fair Trade and the requirements for certification.
The first of the major components of fair trade we will look at is transparency. In order to obtain Fair Trade certification, the producer must, among other requirements, be “organized into cooperatives or associations that are transparent, accountable and democratic.” IFAT defines transparency and accountability as “transparent management and commercial relations to deal fairly and respectfully with trading partners.” Transparency appeals to me as a consumer. If you need to cover your operations you have something to hide, right?
If you like any of the links above think about dropping a thumbs up on them. Make sure to swing by (and join) my page on Stumble and check out the Green Options and Green Stumblers StumbleUpon Groups.
Happy Stumbling!
Scania has been working on this bus drivetrain for three years. The Swedes are particularly fond of ethanol as a fuel and Scania is claiming that running this bus on ethanol will reduce ethanol CO2 emissions by up to ninety percent.