Archive for March, 2008
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Climate Change and Health: Brace Yourselves
When the Bush administration redacted a report from the CDC last October to change it from focusing on the health risks of climate change to focusing on the health benefits, I think a lot of us were left asking what those health risks might be. Actually, that’s not true. Most of us could more easily […]
No Comments » - Posted in Global Warming Science, Health by Leslie Berliant
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Algae Biofuels Making Headway
 Algae — is this the fuel of the future? |
Sounding like a virtual re-run of everything we’ve ever written on biofuels on Celsias, Time recently posted an excellent overview on the topic, appropriately titled The Clean Energy Scam. It’s great to see this subject getting some mainstream exposure — may it continue, and may policy-makers begin to take notice and recognise that crop-based biofuels do not benefit the environment — quite the opposite in fact — or mankind, but just a minority elite in farming and agribusiness industries, who under a green guise are further promoting and embedding the destructive monocrop farming systems that have been the largest contributor to global warming and environmental degradation to date.
But, there is a type of biofuel that may actually have a sustainable future. Over a year ago I made mention of the potential for algae biofuels in a post titled As Corn Ethanol Threatens, Algae Makes Promises. Biofuels produced from algae do not have the enormous land use requirements of crop-based biofuels, so resting land and rainforests do not need to go under the plough to produce them, and they don’t put human mouths into competition with vehicles for food (I mean, when did you last have an algae salad?). In addition, the technology has the potential to help deal with municipal waste.
1 Comment » - Posted in Bio-fuels, Politics, Industry by Craig Mackintosh
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Smug
Thankfully Paddington Bear wasn’t
travelling this last weekend!
(he still has his suitcase, and sandwich)
We have been away for a few days to attend a friend’s wedding.
In that time it has been hard to avoid news of Heathrow’s Terminal 5.
According to the airport’s marketing, the experience enjoyed at the new terminal can be described as follows:
At […]
No Comments » - Posted in Transport by Joe Turner
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Norway’s Eco-Prison
Here’s an island prison that’s about as distant in principle from Alcatraz as is it in location. Bastoey Island, about 45 miles south of Oslo, hosts some of Norway’s worst offenders in what is effectively an eco-village working holiday camp. Instead of the traditional barred cells, prisoners, including murderers, rapists, drug dealers and thieves, live in separate, unlocked houses on the island. Although only one and a half miles from the mainland, prisoners are reluctant to escape, lest they get returned to the typical maximum security unit and lose the privilege of serving their time where they’re learning valuable skills, as well as gaining respect for themselves, each other, and the environment.
The island prison uses solar panels, is almost self-sufficient with food from its own organic garden, and operates a strict recycling system. This is an interesting experiment in eco-therapy — where reconnecting offenders with nature may well also help develop a noble sense of purpose, that in turn helps them reconnect with society.
No Comments » - Posted in General by Craig Mackintosh
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
Fears of Unrest as Rice Prices Surge 30%
Joe Turner and Lester Brown have previously written about rising food prices and the connection to biofuel production. In January, rising corn prices led to protests in Mexico City with 75,000 demonstrators taking to the streets. According to U.S. News & World Report, protests have also taken place this year in Italy over rising pasta […]
No Comments » - Posted in Agriculture & Food, Bio-fuels by Leslie Berliant
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
An Hour for Planet Earth
At 8pm yesterday, my family and I joined the world for an hour as we turned off the lights as part of Earth Hour, an initiative launched last year by World Wildlife Fund Australia in Sydney. A relatively small event in 2007, it has kick started a global phenomenon that has become far larger than […]
No Comments » - Posted in Global Warming Action by Prof. Chris Turney
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
Sustainable Transport – Shrinking Your Environmental Tyreprint
by Stephen Pollard, hybrid car specialist and owner of The Clean Green Car Company
For years, we have been encouraged to choose “sustainable transport” — carpool, ride a bike, walk, use public transport — for the sake of future generations. Now, thanks to Internet technology, we are being asked to consider working and shopping from […]
No Comments » - Posted in Transport by Stephen Pollard
Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Trouble in the Bat Cave
First the bees, then the bats in Australia and now the bats in the Northeast United States are dropping dead for reasons that scientists do not yet understand.
The New York Times reports some pretty bizarre behavior from these natural pest controllers and pollinators; bats flying out of caves during daylight hours in the middle of […]
No Comments » - Posted in Agriculture & Food, Environment & Wildlife by Leslie Berliant
Saturday, March 29th, 2008
My Quest to Be Free of Junk Mail
As far as I’m concerned, regardless of recyclability, junk mail is environmentally irresponsible. It turns up in my mailbox, only to be tossed out; it ends up blowing down the street when it escapes the refuse collection truck; and it generally advertises environmental tragedies like fast food joints and chain supermarkets.
When I moved from Australia […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Consumerism, Industry by Kristy Arbon
Friday, March 28th, 2008
Don’t Forget - Earth Hour 8pm Tomorrow Night!
Courtesy: Throbgoblins
Please don’t trip over in the dark tomorrow night.
Further Reading:
Earth Hour 2008
Earth Hour 2007 Video Clip
No Comments » - Posted in Alerts - Events, Global Warming Action by Throbgoblins
Friday, March 28th, 2008
$11.35 a Gallon Gas
We all know that gas and oil are subsidized commodities, but what does that really mean? According to Gal Luft, Executive Director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security in a recent Op Ed in the Miami Herald, it means that the actual cost of a gallon of gas is actually $11.35.
1 Comment » - Posted in Coal & Oil, Consumerism, Politics, Peak Oil, War by Leslie Berliant
Friday, March 28th, 2008
Friday Linkfest - Edition 37
Here is a fresh new edition of the Friday Linkfest, your weekly environmental digest. We have good news and bad news.
Good News:
UK’s emissions have dropped 2% in 2007, due to energy companies burning less coal because it became more expensive. Overall, emissions are down 18% since 1990. Let’s hope they don’t spoil it by building […]
No Comments » - Posted in Friday Linkfest by Alina Beloussova
Friday, March 28th, 2008
Run Your Car on Coal? Maybe Not
By Peter Montague of Rachel’s Democracy & Health News
As the price of oil rises, coal company executives smell a huge opportunity: they are planning to ramp up a new global industry to turn coal into liquid fuels (diesel, kerosene and jet fuel), plus basic feedstocks for the chemical industry […]
No Comments » - Posted in Coal & Oil, Politics, Transport, Industry, Energy by Peter Montague
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Electric Cars: Getting Off Oil - Fast!
As you know I am a proponent of electric vehicles. I always thought that as a society we would adopt them because despite the draw back of range we would see the fact that we get 10x the Miles Per Dollar (MP$).
Now look at this presentation, then continue reading.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6115647726887047092
Drag slider to 4:15 […]
