Don't waste energy going to work

Two MIT graduate student dynamo inventors, James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk, have developed an idea for "crowd farm" whereby the lost energy from the impact of a footfall is captured and converted into electricity. Now that's thinking on your feet.

clipped from www.smh.com.au ENERGY from humans walking through cities would be harvested and converted into electricity as part of an extraordinary renewable energy scheme put forward in the US. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) propose paving major urban areas with blocks that would move slightly under the weight of pedestrians' footfalls, driving dynamos that would then produce power. When a human walks, energy is used to drive muscles and overcome inertia and gravity. When the foot hits an unyielding surface, such as a road, energy can be lost through sound and reabsorption by the leg muscles. The MIT pair propose capturing the energy that would otherwise be wasted. They calculate a single footfall contains enough energy, if harvested, to power two 60 watt light bulbs for one second. The power from 28,527 footfalls, generated by, say, the crowd at a football match, would have enough energy to power a train for one second. Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Rich's carbon emissions doubles the poor's

The more we learn about the impact of global warming, the more it is apparent that the poor are going to bear the brunt of it.

We see that in Bangladesh. And in Australia. New research on carbon footprints across the socio-economic spectrum here, reveals that:

At a relatively low carbon price of $25 a tonne of greenhouse pollution, poor families around Australia would be paying about $558 a year more on their bills, while the wealthiest households would pay around $1446 extra.

But once those extra costs are adjusted to take into consideration income levels, as a proportion of their total spending, poor people could pay almost seven times more than the rich.

clipped from www.theage.com.au Unlike previous studies, the research for the Brotherhood of St Laurence takes into account the indirect greenhouse gas emissions from producing everyday goods and services, from food and clothes to watching television, drinking alcohol and catching a plane. The research found that wealthy, tertiary-educated households had by far the biggest "carbon footprint" in Australia, generating almost 58 tonnes of greenhouse pollution a year. In contrast, poor families were only responsible for 22 tonnes of emissions, with pensioners and people living on welfare also recording the lowest carbon footprints. The national average was 32 tonnes a year. The difference largely mirrors income, with the wealthiest households spending $1900 a week (excluding rent), while poor families spend just $468. The analysis was conducted by the Melbourne-based National Institute of Economic and Industry Research. Global Warning Climate Change Energy

The last word goes to the executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Tony Nicholson, who commissioned the analysis.

"This is a great opportunity, because if we seriously address climate change we can also do a lot to address entrenched disadvantage," Mr Nicholson said.

"For instance, we're advocating a national rental incentive scheme for landlords to make private rental properties more energy efficient, because we know many disadvantaged people have high energy bills because their homes aren't properly insulated.

"Australia has a national roads strategy; why don't we have a national public transport policy? More disadvantaged people tend to have older cars that consume a lot of fuel, and many live on the outskirts of cities and in country towns. So by improving public transport, you address both problems at once."

Companies fighting climate change rated & ranked

The solution to global warming will be marketplace driven. For the market to work, consumers need to know what companies are doing to reduce their footprints. Schemes like Climate Count, and corporate carbon counting systems will be keenly observed.

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Companies Judged for Global-Warming Awareness, Found Lacking Posted by Mark Gongloff A new group is giving consumers a way to evaluate the companies whose products they buy based on their commitment to fighting climate change. The takeaway: There is a lot of room for improvement. A nonprofit group called Climate Counts has come out with a new ranking of 56 companies divided into eight sectors. Each company was assigned a score on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 meaning the company is perfectly committed to fighting global warming. The highest-scoring of all companies was camera maker Canon (part of the “electronics” group), with a score of 77. Second in the electronics group was IBM, with a score of 70. In the apparel group, shoe company Nike topped the list with a 73. Leading the food-products group was Unilever, which makes Dove soap and Lipton teas, with a score of 71. These were the only four companies to score 70 or higher. After that, the scores dropped off dramatically.

It's concrete - China now top CO² emitter

China has officially become the world's largest CO² emitter, months ahead of the most dire warnings.

Estimates on when China would overtake the US on greenhouse gas emissions had varied, but Dr Fatih Birol, chief economist of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, said in April it could happen within months.

The country's economic growth had been so fast in 2006 and 2007 that the historic global shift of climate-changing emissions from west to east, which was previously predicted for 2009 or 2010, could now happen by November, Birol told the Guardian Unlimited site then.

[...]

According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency's figures, China's emissions increased by 9.0 per cent in 2006 compared to its 2005 output. In the United States emissions rose 1.4 per cent from 2005 to 2006.

clipped from www.theage.com.au China spewed out more carbon dioxide than the United States for the first time last year, making it the world's biggest producer of the primary gas blamed for global warming. New figures from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency show China produced 6,200 million tonnes of CO2 in 2006, while the US produced 5,800 million tonnes, the Guardian Unlimited news site reports. "China's 2006 carbon dioxide emissions surpassed those of the USA by 8.0 per cent," the agency said in releasing the figures late yesterday. In 2005, China's emissions were 2.0 per cent below those of the US, it said. The agency said the figures were based on its own preliminary estimates derived from recent energy and cement production data. Industrial processes and the burning of fossil fuels - oil, gas and coal - are the main causes of carbon-dioxide emissions. Of the industrial processes, cement production is one of the principal sources of greenhouse gas, the agency said. Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Global warming survival guide

Just in Time.

clipped from www.time.com The Global Warming Survival Guide GLOBAL WARMING 51 Things We Can Do to Save the Environment Can one person slow global warming? Actually, yes. You—along with scientists, businesses and governments—can create paths to cut carbon emissions. Here is our guide to some of the planet's best ideas. Enter the Time Magazine Survival Guide More Stories Graphic: Effects of Climate Change by 2020 A forecast of how climate changes will impact the environment and society by mid century. Graphic: The Earth Friendly Home Are you wasting energy? There are ways you can alter your lifestyle to reduce your carbon footprint, the measure of carbon you produce What Now? On the Front Lines Of Climate Change By Mark Hertsgaard Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Bookmark this page and tell your everyone you care for about it.

Project Andromeda reaches for the stars

Clumsily, I accidentally clicked one of the Google Ad links (I'm not supposed to on my site) but, happily, the action redirected me to The Andromeda Project:

Project Andromeda™ aims to measure, offset and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for large numbers of businesses in Australia at low cost. It is a call to action, an education strategy and a networking opportunity that will help businesses save money, sell more, and make staff proud.

We will provide a detailed explanation of the new rules of business in the climate change era. We aim to help make Australian businesses part of the solution to climate change, not part of the problem; to make Australia a great place to do business, and to set an example to the rest of the world. Project Andromeda™ is a transparent, accountable and authentic business offering real value for money, in partnership with the world‘s best professionals.

I discovered that one of those partners is the ANZ Investment Bank - coincidently my bank - they are providing the carbon credits to businesses participating in the scheme. It is seriously gratifying that the business outreach for global warming mitigation has begun in earnest with projects like Andromeda. All I know about Andromeda is that it is the nearest star to Earth. The long road to success only begins when we reach for the stars. Congratulation to participating companies, and to the sponsors and organisers. My liquid dollar is much biased toward you.

Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Costa Rica to be carbon neutral by 2030

In the early 1893 New Zealand was the first nation in the world to enfranchise women. Look at the revolution this started. Can you conceive that women shouldn't have the vote?

Nobody can take that away from the Kiwis (Even though the Aussies came a close second in 1901). If Costa Rica does achieve their ambition to become the first carbon neutral country, nobody will be able take that from them either. Our future lies in a world where we cannot conceive of not striving to be carbon neutral.

clipped from www.radioaustralia.net.au Green trail-blazer Costa Rica is drawing up plans to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero before 2030, the government says. Environment Minister Roberto Dobles says the tiny, jungle-cloaked Central American nation aims to be the first nation to offset all its carbon. He says the country plans to clean up its fossil fuel-fired power plants, promote hybrid vehicles and increase tree planting to balance its emissions. "The goal is to be carbon neutral," Mr Dobles told Reuters news agency on Thursday. "We'd like to do it in the next 20 years." He said Costa Rica will also eliminate net emissions of other greenhouse gases. Costa Rica is a leader on green issues, with protected areas like national parks and biological reserves covering more than a quarter of its territory. The country generates 78 per cent of its energy with hydroelectric power and another 18 per cent by wind or geothermally. It now plans to cut emissions from transport, farming and industry. Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Where have all the global warming denialists gone?

Now that Rupert Murdoch drives a hybrid and has announced an intention that News Corp. become carbon neutral within three years, strange, strange things are happening on Fox:



Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Revenge is best served old

The Queen had Bush for toast, when she stirred him about his gaff exaggerating her already impressive durability. She also displayed how contemporary she is, by offsetting the carbon emissions caused by her visit.

clipped from www.truthdig.com Queen Elizabeth began a toast on Tuesday by teasing the president: “I wondered whether I should start this toast saying I was here in 1776 but I don’t think I will.” Though she has since departed our shores, the monarch is not done teaching Americans a lesson—her carbon footprint for the trip will be calculated and matched with a donation to an environmental charity. Global Warning Climate Change Energy