Monday, July 23, 2007
posted by Sarah Krasley @ 6:52 PM
Charley Harper, one of my favorite artists died last week. Not only has he made some of the
most beautiful images ever used by the US Park Service or the
Audubon Society, he also created my favorite bit of global warming propaganda. I'm a big fan of injecting some humor into situations where people learn things, so it goes without saying that Charley has brought me lots of broad smiles while I learned about different ecosystems. Since our focus on
GreenBase is climate change, I thought the best picture to share with you was this one (circa 2002):
Labels: art, climate change, sarah
Monday, July 2, 2007
posted by Sarah Krasley @ 9:37 PM
My neighbors have started celebrating Fourth of July.....it's intense. I mean, it's usually pretty noisy as perfectly captured in
Curtis on the Corner by Sonny Smith, but this is ((((next level)))).
Because I like to geek out on environmental footprints, I sometimes think about the footprint of my neighboorhood. Plenty of hobos recycling cans, a hippie commune across the street, and families who generally live in small efficient apartments (myself included). Not to mention the
renewable energy certificates I buy to offset the emissions that come from my electricity use.
On the other hand, there are SUVs, muscle cars doing donuts in the parking lot--OK, you get the picture. Because fireworks have become...how do I put this?..... such a neighborhood fixture, I thought it would be good to figure them in, too. Luckily, Umbra of grist.org solves the mystery of the environmental impact of fireworks:
Repost from
grist.orgDear Umbra,
Our family has always lit a fair amount of fireworks for our 4th of July celebration. I would like to encourage my family and friends to find other ways to celebrate due to the CO2 emissions that will result. However, I don't really know how much carbon is emitted. I already have to deal with the fact that many in my family are not taking climate change seriously, so I want to be knowledgeable when I state my case.
Donna
Elk Grove, Calif.
Dearest Donna,
Can one change a family tradition given only a few days of warning, let alone change it at all? Intra-family fireworks may result from your efforts to limit celebratory incendiary devices. But personal fireworks may be avoidable if your main concern is -- as it should be -- climate change. Although fireworks do give off carbon dioxide, they aren't known for their greenhouse-gas impacts. They do have other potentially toxic components, and pollute air and water. Toxic enough to stop once-annual use? I'm ambivalent.
The cons bursting in air.
Photo: iStockphoto
The basic ingredients of a firework seem fairly simple: a powder and a fuse will make a loud bang, just as they do with a gun, and
that's called a firework. If the firework is physically designed to rocket, the explosion propels the rocketing element. There may be a delayed fuse, too, which will ignite various metals embedded in the rocketing firework in the form of "stars." The stars burn up, sparkling as they fall to the ground. Or maybe in your home fireworks there are no "stars," just one chunk of metal dust filled with colorant that lets off a nice sparkle. As for that whistling sound -- yes, that is caused by our friend carbon dioxide. Who knew?
The more serious concerns, however, are things like the potassium perchlorate used as an oxidant in fireworks. Perchlorate, which messes with our thyroid glands, falls to the ground as the firework performs, and may fall into water, where it was recently studied by the folks at the National Risk Management Research Laboratory. Perchlorate in the lakes they studied rose precipitously after fireworks displays, but dissipated to background levels in about 80 days. Still, they are worried about aquatic life and need to look further into this, they concluded. I concluded, do not drink the water after the fireworks display.
The Disney Company has developed aerial fireworks that use
compressed air in place of gunpowder, but those aren't for backyard celebrations. Of course, the NRMRL wasn't studying backyard fireworks, either.
The other small trouble with fireworks is the additives used to get nice colors. They're usually heavy metals (lead and barium are two examples) with various human health risks attached. They are powdered and fall from the sky as the firework explodes. A few of the additives, such as copper salts, cause fireworks to produce
small amounts of dioxins. And, of course, even if the dust weren't all heavy metal, dust itself is difficult for those with asthma.
For your own family celebration, please consider that fireworks studies are usually done on large aerial displays, not backyard shindigs, so the bad should be taken with a grain of saltpeter. I'll get in trouble for this, but I'm not sure your family needs to ban fireworks. It's your decision, of course. If you do decide that the potential heavy-metal pollution is worth the family fight, my best suggestion for you is to bring a noise-sensitive dog or baby into the family, have everyone fall in love with it, and then plead no fireworks on its account come next year.
Independently,
Umbra
Labels: climate change, fireworks, Grist, sarah
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
posted by Sarah Krasley @ 7:02 PM
Almost all the biggies joined together today to make a huge announcement: they're working together to make computers more efficient--the new initiative will support computers that use less energy and save the energy they currently waste. The group is also expanding the effort to improve efficiency in servers. Here's the press release from Google, Inc.
Conspicuously missing is Apple.....anyone know why?
Intel and Google Join with Dell, EDS, EPA, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, PG&E, World Wildlife Fund and Others to Launch Climate Savers Computing Initiative
Broad Effort Organized to Drive Energy-Efficient Computing; Goal to Save $5.5 Billion in Energy Costs and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 54 Million Tons Per Year*
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jun 12, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Intel Corporation and Google Inc. joined with Dell, EDS, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, PG&E, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and more than 25 additional organizations today announced the Climate Savers Computing Initiative ( www.climatesaverscomputing.org). The goal of the new broad-based environmental effort is to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting aggressive new targets for energy-efficient computers and components, and promoting the adoption of energy-efficient computers and power management tools worldwide.
"Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power, and the average server wastes one-third of its power," said Urs Holzle, senior vice president, Operations & Google Fellow. "The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is setting a new 90 percent efficiency target for power supplies, which if achieved, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year -- and save more than $5.5 billion in energy costs.
"We are asking businesses and individuals throughout the world to join with us to institute better power management of their computing equipment and purchase energy-efficient computers," Holzle added.
Initial companies who intend to participate in the initiative represent both the demand and supply side of the computer industry, including computer manufacturers and chip makers, as well as environmental groups, energy companies, retailers, government agencies and more. The group will formalize its membership in coming weeks.
"By 2010, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative will cut greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equal to removing more than 11 million cars from the road or shutting down 20 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants -- a significant step in reducing the emissions affecting our planet," said Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group.
"Computers have helped us make huge strides toward a more efficient world today, with reduced travel, more productivity, online transactions and more," Gelsinger added. "But with today's latest energy-efficient technologies, we can do even more. The commitment of the member companies that are here with us today is a firm statement to the collective resolve to make an enormous impact."
Computer and computer component manufacturers who support the initiative are committed to building energy-efficient products that meet or surpass the EPA's Energy Star(R) guidelines. Businesses must also commit to requiring high efficiency systems for the majority of their corporate desktop PCs and volume server purchases, and to deploy and use power management tools on desktop PCs.
Individual consumers can also support the Climate Savers Computing Initiative by signing up at www.climatesaverscomputing.org, where they will be able to pledge to purchase an initiative-certified system. The Web site will also help consumers learn how to take advantage of their existing computer's power-saving capabilities such as sleep and hibernate modes, which can reduce the amount of energy consumed by up to 60 percent.
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative licensed its name from the WWF Climate Savers program, which involves several leading companies working to reduce their carbon footprint.
"This is the first time our Climate Savers program has been applied to an entire sector, engaging manufacturers, retailers and consumers," said John Donoghue, senior vice president for the World Wildlife Fund. "We are pleased to join these industry leaders to provide solutions to address climate change."
The initiative's energy efficiency benchmarks will initially follow the EPA's Energy Star guidelines; but with increasing requirements during the next several years. For example, 2007 Energy Star specifications require that PC power supplies meet at least 80 percent minimum efficiency. The initiative would require a minimum of 90 percent by 2010. In addition, the initiative sets a higher efficiency target in the power supply for volume servers (1U and 2U single-socket and dual-socket systems): an increase from 85 percent to 92 percent efficiency by 2010. For a complete description of the requirements, see www.climatesaverscomputing.org.
Initial Supporters
Intel Corporation ( www.intel.com), Google Inc. (www.google.com), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ( www.amd.com), Canonical Ltd. (www.canonical.com), Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society ( www.citris-uc.org), Coldwatt, Inc. ( www.coldwatt.com), Dell Inc. (www.dell.com), Delta Electronics, Inc ( www.delta.com.tw), eBay (www.ebay.com), Electronic Data Systems Corporation ( www.eds.com), EMC Corporation (www.emc.com), Fujitsu Limited ( www.fujitsu.com), HP (www.hp.com), Hipro Technology Inc. ( www.hipro-us.com), Hitachi, Ltd. (www.hitachi.com), IBM Corporation ( www.ibm.com), LANDesk Software (www.landesk.com), Lenovo ( www.lenovo.com), Linux Foundation (www.linux-foundation.com), Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( web.mit.edu), Microsoft Corporation ( www.microsoft.com), Natural Resources Defense Council (www.nrdc.com), NEC Corporation ( www.nec.com), One Laptop Per Child (laptop.org), PG&E Corporation ( www.pgecorp.com), Power-One, Inc. (www.power-one.com), Quanta Computer Inc. ( www.quantatw.com), Rackable Systems (www.rackable.com), Red Hat, Inc. ( www.redhat.com), Starbucks Corporation (www.starbucks.com), Sun Microsystems, Inc. ( www.sun.com), Supermicro Computer Inc. (www.supermicro.com), Ubuntu ( www.ubuntu.com), Unisys (www.unisys.com) United States Environmental Protection Agency ( www.epa.gov), University of Michigan (www.umich.edu), Verdiem Corporation ( www.verdiem.com), World Resources Institute (www.wri.org), World Wildlife Fund ( www.worldwildlife.org), Yahoo! Inc. (www.yahoo.com).
About Intel
Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom. Information on Intel's environmental programs and policies is available at www.intel.com/intel/other/ehs/.
About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.
* Based on IDC projections of desktop and server volumes between 2007 and 2011. Emissions savings in mid-2010, and savings are annual starting in 2010.
* Climate Savers (R) is a trademark or registered trademark of WWF used under license.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
SOURCE: Google Inc.
Labels: climate change, computers, efficiency, Google
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
posted by Sarah Krasley @ 6:13 PM
Bush gets it from all sides
Posted by
David Roberts at 7:40 AM on 03 Jun 2007 -from
Grist.orgPoor Bush, he just can't get a break. He announces a
shiny new climate-change strategy, and what does he get? Nothing but grief.
Nancy Pelosi
called it "the same stale proposals he has repeatedly put forward to the international community."
Al Gore
called it "purely and simply smoke and mirrors [that] has the transparent purpose of delaying the efforts that could start now."
Dan Froomkin
called it an "attempt to muddy the debate about the issue and derail European and U.N. plans for strict caps on emissions."
Britain and Germany are
not amused:
Britain and Germany yesterday joined forces to warn President George Bush that talks on climate change must take place within a United Nations framework and not in an ad hoc process floated last week by Bush....'For me, that is non-negotiable,' the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the need to ensure that climate change negotiations take place within the existing UN framework.
And what about the right? What's the reaction from Bush's eternally faithful base? Mark Levin
says this to the president:
You expanded the federal role in education, and we held our nose because of the war. You signed McCain-Feingold in the dead of night, and we held our nose because of the war. You expanded Medicare by adding prescription drugs, and we held our nose because of the war. You increased farm subsidies, and we held our nose because of the war. Today you disparage us for opposing a massive amnesty program that endangers our economy and national security. Today you even embrace the religion of global warming, a stunning shift from prior policy (your administration even went to the Supreme Court and argued correctly that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant). What's a conservative to do?
I won't answer that last question.
Labels: Bush, climate change, greenhouse gas, Grist
Thursday, May 31, 2007
posted by Sarah Krasley @ 10:39 PM
Damien Rice: Singing Green
It's not easy being green when you're touring the country on planes and in buses, but Damien Rice is facing the challenge head-on.
By
Kate SheppardFolk-rocker
Damien Rice might sing sad tunes about lost love, but his wistful heart is in the right place when it comes to climate change. The environment is an issue that's been near his heart since his childhood in Ireland and has informed his work in many ways.
Rice puts his eco-sympathies into action every way he can. He and his band tour on a biodiesel-powered bus, and they offset the emissions of all their travel as well as the emissions created by audiences. They're also slated to play the United Kingdom leg of the Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007, and they recently joined the Virtual March at Laurie David's Web site, stopglobalwarming.org.
Though his music has become almost ubiquitous in American coffee shops since his debut album, “O,” was released in 2003, the singer is not one to make a public spectacle of his good deeds. Notoriously mum on his personal life, it's a rare opportunity to get the modest Rice to sit down for an interview. I caught up with him before an Earth Day concert put on by Seattle radio station, 103.7 The Mountain, to talk about the environment, his music and the growing movement to stop global warming.
Kate Sheppard: How did you become interested in the environment?
Damien Rice: I've always been interested in the environment since I was a kid, because I lived by a river and I used to go down there fishing. From the age of 5 or 6 I noticed a big change in the number of fish in the river, because I used to take notes when I was a kid. I'd go down there with my little book and go fishing and take a note of the time, date, water level, weather, what kind of bait I was using. I remember noticing that the water seemed dirtier and murkier as time went on. I always felt like I had a connection to nature.
KS: How does your environmental consciousness play into how you tour?
DR: I'm in terrible conflict about it, to be honest. I am responsible for more carbon emissions than any of my friends — than anybody I know, actually. And that's really weird to sit with, because I've always considered myself to be environmentally conscious. I have a real conflict even sitting here talking about the environment, saying, "Oh yeah, I'm an environmentally conscious person." I fly 20 people around the world, and we travel on two buses and two trucks, and we're driving all over the States. But we make an effort — we use biofuel whenever possible, and we offset the fuel we use for flights and buses as well as an estimation of what the audience used to come to the concerts.
KS: Can you tell us a bit about talking to Laurie David and becoming part of the Virtual March?
DR: When I was invited first to join the Virtual March, my natural reaction was, "Yeah, absolutely." And then they were like, "Can you write a piece explaining your reasons for joining?" It took me ages just to write something that I was happy with. Because I wrote this thing that was like, "Oh, global warming. We should all make an effort." And then I sat and thought about it, and I said, "Oh, my god, I'm a hypocrite. I'm flying all around the world traveling."
When I went to meet Laurie in her house in Los Angeles, I had this head full of questions, and I put them to her. I said, "What is your take on this, because I'm confused. I get information here and there. I want to believe, but I really don't know what to think." And she had a simple way of putting it that made me very comfortable with joining the march. She said that everyone she knows enjoys life, enjoys clean air. They like clean beaches, clean water, good food and a healthy lifestyle. And she said if we continue in the way that we're doing, we're going to destroy those beautiful things. But if we take the right steps and make an effort on a global level to change things, then we can preserve some of the beautiful things in life.
KS: What are some things that you do personally to fight global warming?
DR: The electricity that we use in our house now is entirely from wind power, and we want to get our own little windmill as well as solar panels. And we recycle. Myself and a group of friends have been writing songs together, and we're making a record for nature. We're making the record and we're going to release it, and all the royalties and all the money generated from the sales just go to nature, to giving back in some way. It's very weird being a musician, because people think you've got a great job, it's so magical. Whereas I sit down and I think of myself as somebody who manufactures plastic. So we're going to do that album, and I'm very excited about it. I think eventually I'm just going to get a piece of land and farm and live very simply. Who knows?
KS: You're participating in Al Gore's Live Earth concert this summer. How did you get involved with that? What do you hope will be the result of the concerts?
DR: When I heard it was going on, I expressed an interest in it. Again, it's one of these things that I have a little conflict about since people are flying in to play at the concert and flying back out after it. But I hope that it creates a massive amount of awareness among people around the world, so that when there's a push for governments to change the way we do things, the support is there among people. If people know what's going on and they're aware of the consequences of what we're doing, if that becomes spread throughout the world and throughout people's consciousness, that would be a great thing. It's in moments of change that these things are important, because if people just have a little bit more knowledge, if it's a decision for them to push for this or that, I think all the awareness helps.
Labels: climate change, Damien Rice, Live Earth, stopglobalwarming.org
Thursday, May 10, 2007
posted by Sarah Krasley @ 7:14 PM
| BEIJING - China's smog-choked capital and the financial hub of Shanghai have agreed to close their roads for the country's first "no car" day, along with over 100 other cities, the official Xinhua agency said on Saturday. |
| On September 22 private cars will be barred from some roads, forcing people to walk, use public transport or get back on the bicycles for which Chinese cities used to be famous. Officials are struggling to clean up the grey skies of its major cities, as pollution takes a rising toll on health and growth, while supporting an industry key to its booming growth. The country's car fleet has been growing, with an estimated 1,000 new private vehicles hitting the streets of Beijing alone each day, the report said. But for those members of the growing middle class who have been car owners too long to face being crammed into a bus or train, taxis will still be allowed to ply the otherwise car-free streets. |
Source:REUTERS NEWS SERVICE-5-07-07 |
Labels: China, climate change, greenhouse gas
