- If just 25% of US families used 10 fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 billion bags a year.
- One ton of carbon dioxide that is released in the air can be prevented by replacing every 75 watt light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs. Deserts are advancing and taking over the land. In Mali the desert has taken over about 220 miles in as few as 20 years.
- 63,000 square miles of Rainforests are being destroyed each year and already over half of the world’s tropical forests have been lost.
- While the US makes up only 5% of the world’s population, it produces 72% of all hazardous waste and consumes 33% of the world’s paper.
- 80% of the world’s forests are gone.
- 2000 trees a minute are cut down in the Amazon alone. That is 7 football fields a minute.
- Every day 50 to 100 species of plants and animals become extinct as human activities destroy their habitat.Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades.
- The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century’s last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia.
- Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting — for example, Montana’s Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910.
- Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier.
- Increasing global temperatures affect levels and seasonal patterns of both man-made and natural air-borne particles, such as plant pollen, which can trigger asthma. About 300 million people suffer from asthma, and 255 000 people died of the disease in 2005.
- Even if CO2 emissions stabilize at 450 ppm in the next few decades, the Earth’s temperature will still continue to increase, causing dangerous climate events. Some ecosystems will be permanently and irreversibly damaged.
- Cars and light trucks account for 40% of US oil use and contribute about as much to climate change as the entire Japanese economy — the world’s fourth-largest carbon emitter.
Quick Facts November 10, 2009
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch November 5, 2009
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Eastern Garbage Patch or the Pacific Trash Vortex, is agyre of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135° to 155°W and 35° to 42°N and estimated to be twice the size of Texas. The patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of suspended plastic and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. Despite its size and density, the patch is not visible from satellite photography because it consists of very, very small pieces, almost invisible to the naked eye and most of its contents are suspended beneath the surface of the ocean.
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India : a hot spot for Renewable Energy October 31, 2009
India is fast emerging as a frontrunner in terms of harnessing renewable energy resources. It has been ranked No.1, on par with the US, in annual solar power generation, while it claims the fifth spot in wind power generation. India also makes it to a credible fourth position for scope, space and facilities allotted for renewable energy expansion.
In its survey (ended May 2009), Mc Kinsey & Company has stated that India has an annual solar energy yield of between 1,700-1,900 kWh/KWp of installed capacity, one of the world’s highest solar intensities.
As per the BP statistical review of world energy, India has been ranked No. 5 in the world, contributing about 8% of the total global wind energy. The other top contenders include the US (20.7%), Germany (19.6%), Spain (14%), China (6%) and Denmark (3%).
India again makes it to the fifth spot, in the Ernst & Young renewable energy country attractiveness indices. A survey which rates countries as per their regulatory environment, fiscal support, unexploited resources, suitability to different technologies among other factors that facilitate the growth of renewable energy in a country.
India’s index for development of renewable energy resources in hydropower sector makes it to the fourth spot in the global order behind the US, Germany and China. Similarly, the country’s development index in biomass is ranked third in the world after US and Germany, and ahead of countries like Italy, UK, France, Canada and Australia.
Source: [+]
Image source: [+]
amount of energy saved using various recycled metals September 22, 2009
Recycling scrap metal reduces greenhouse gas emissions and uses less energy than making metal from virgin ore. The amount of energy saved using various recycled metals compared to virgin ore is up to:
– 92 percent for aluminum
– 90 percent for copper
– 56 percent for steel
How much energy is saved by recycling? September 9, 2009
The amount of lost energy from throwing away recyclable commodities such as aluminum cans and newspapers is equivalent to the annual output of 15 power plants. The energy savings applies to all recycling sectors:
- Aluminum. Recycling of aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from its virgin source. One ton of recycled aluminum saves 14,000 kilowatt hours (Kwh) of energy, 40 barrels of oil, 238 million Btu’s of energy, and 10 cubic yards of landfill space.
- Newsprint. One ton of recycled newsprint saves 601 Kwh of energy, 1.7 barrels of oil (71 gallons), 10.2 million Btu’s of energy, 60 pounds of air pollutants from being released, 7,000 gallons of water, and 4.6 cubic yards of landfill space.
- Office Paper. One ton of recycled office paper saves 4,100 Kwh of energy, 9 barrels of oil, 54 million Btu’s of energy, 60 pounds of air pollutants from being released, 7,000 gallons of water, and 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
- Plastic. One ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 Kwh of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million Btu’s of energy, and 30 cubic yards of landfill space.
- Steel. One ton of recycled steel saves 642 Kwh of energy, 1.8 barrels of oil, 10.9 million Btu’s of energy, and 4 cubic yards of landfill space.
- Glass. One ton of recycled glass saves 42 Kwh of energy, 0.12 barrels of oil (5 gallons), 714,000 Btu’s of energy, 7.5 pounds of air pollutants from being released, and 2 cubic yards of landfill space. Over 30% of the raw material used in glass production now comes from recycled glass.
Extreme Days – II September 7, 2009
- Seattle economist Jeffrey Morris estimated that manufacturing one ton of office and computer paper with recycled paper stock can save nearly 3,000 kilowatt hours over the same ton of paper made with virgin wood products.
- A ton of soda cans made with recycled aluminum saves an amazing 21,000 kilowatt hours by reducing the virgin bauxite (bozite) ore that would have to be mined, shipped, and refined. That’s a 95% energy savings.
- A ton of PET plastic containers made with recycled plastic conserves about 7,200 kilowatt hours.
- The San Diego County Office of Education has figured out that recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for four hours.
- The Steel Recycling Institute has found that steel recycling saves enough energy to electrically power the equilvalent of 18 million homes for a year.
Extreme Days I August 28, 2009
- Image by ocean.flynn via Flickr
- UK plans to generate one third of electricity from renewables by 2020 [+]
- India: 16% of humanity but less than 3% of global fresh water resources. [+]
- The Rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) increases a child’s chance of surviving leukemia by 10 to 95%. But this plant is increasingly threatened for a host of reasons, and as they disappear so do our life saving resources. [+]
- Climate change already is claiming more than 150,000 lives each year, with causes ranging from heat waves to respiratory illness. [+]
- Thermal expansion has already raised the oceans 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters). [+]
- India’s total GHG emissions stood at 1,853 million metric tons equivalent of carbon dioxide, about 4.9% of global emissions in 2005, according to the World Resources Institute. [+]
August 26, 2009
- Image by kaneda99 via Flickr
the energy sector contributed 61% of total emissions in India, pegged India’s per capita emissions at only one-twentieth of the United States and about one-tenth of western Europe and Japan.
source: http://su.pr/4TiMqg
August 25, 2009
- Image via Wikipedia
A separate government report said India’s forests are absorbing about 11.25 % of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) every year at 1994 levels – or about 24 billion tonnes of CO2 -a potential market worth $120b
source: http://su.pr/4TiMqg
Power To Change! June 20, 2009
HP estimates that 100,000 users shutting down their work computers at the end of each day would be the equivalent of eliminating about 105 cars from the road each day.
Source : HP
