40% of the arctic ice cap will
be gone by 2050 |
Good News:
- Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark developed a refrigerator that uses magnets instead of electricity. The first prototype will not be ready until 2010, and we can expect that when it does become available, not many of us will afford it, but the fact that it is completely silent will probably have a play in the marketing.
- Arizona State University student creates highway wind turbine system. "Average vehicle speeds on the valley highways are approximately 70 mph. Using average annual wind speeds of 10 mph as a baseline, each single wind turbine will produce 9,600KwH of energy, annually (enough to fully power my 700 s.f. apartment).
- A team of international agricultural scientists is investigating precision agriculture to improve the efficiency of corn crops, as well as reducing environmental contamination while maintaining of increasing crop yield. This research can pave the way for lower nitrogen application to the soil, depending on the soil type and landscape features of the fields.
- UK's East Midlands Airport is planning on becoming the first in the country to install a wind farm to cut it's carbon emissions. The turbines will provide 10% of the airport's power and is part of its plan to become carbon neutral by 2012. If only Heathrow would take a hint...
- According to Seattle scientists, 40% of the Arctic ice cap will be gone by mid century. The findings come in a year when the floating ice that usually covers much of the Arctic Ocean year-round has shrunk to the lowest levels ever recorded, due to a combination of natural weather fluctuations and global warming. But don't worry, over the next few decades, the effects of global warming will dominate.
- In Japan, the government's plan to curb global warming is to exchange half-price Big Macs for a "fight global warming" pledge left on the governments website. Apparently, the rush of 'pledges' was such that the website crashed. Haven't they heard that industrial beef production, in fact, causes global warming?
- The WWF alerts us to the fact that the Asia-Pacific coal rush worsens Global Warming. Growing dependence on cheap coal to power rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific could undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is blamed for harmful changes in the world's climate
- And more bad news, seems like EUs well meaning proposals to reduce the impact of flying is not going to fly. Apparently, the said proposal is merely to include aviation in the Emissions Trading Scheme. Climate researchers say the effect will be minimal, and Friends of Earth demand "mandatory efficiency goals for aircraft, tax on aviation fuel and curbs on airport expansion". Yeah, right.
- Tom Philpott of Grist provides an excellent analysis on the impacts of food globalization on US fruit and vegetable farms. As the US administration cracks down on undocumented farm workers, US farms will be unable to provide the unreasonably low prices the market demands, causing production to be outsourced from across the globe.
- The New York Times reports on the uprising of the "Buy American" movement, following the recent import scandals.
- In case you missed it, the 2003 piece by Joel Salatin "Everything I want to do is illegal" is still very much relevant. Joel complains about how the highly bureaucratic regulatory system is slowly choking the life out of the countryside.
- Check out the Local Harvest site to help you find the best CSAs and Farmer's Markets close to you. And if that still doesn't satisfy you, why don't you look at pickyourown.org to find "Pick your own" farms in your area. Hurry up, the Summer season is almost over but the Fall still has much to offer!
- By the way, the Eat Local Challenge for September just started! But you are still in time to join!
