The White House released this statement which makes interesting reading:
Energy & Environment
“So we have a choice to make. We can remain one of the world’s leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the investments that would allow us to become the world’s leading exporter of renewable energy. We can let climate change continue to go unchecked, or we can help stop it. We can let the jobs of tomorrow be created abroad, or we can create those jobs right here in America and lay the foundation for lasting prosperity.”
Spam email is annoying. An amazing 62 trillion unwanted emails were sent in 2008. But spam’s also contributing to global warming according to a report by ICF international, an environmental consultancy.
The report, commissioned by online security company McAfee, calculates that 33 terrawatts of electricity were used sending this spam. Put another way, that’s enough to provide energy to 1.5 million US homes for a year or the energy consumption of 3.1 million cars during the same period.
As most of the this electricity would have been generated by coal-fired power stations, 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide would have been released into the atmosphere. That works out to 0.2% of the total CO2 emissions.
Around 40% of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions each year come from businesses. That’s compared to 27% from households.
The Carbon Trust calculates that about 21% of businesses’ energy expenditure is wasted. In monetary terms, that’s an incredible £2.4 billion annually.
Take office lights. Not switching the lights off before going home at night in a typical small office annually uses enough energy to power a three-bedroom house’s heating for a nearly five months.
Humans have always dreamed of harnessing the power of the Sun. Whilst we capture more solar energy, it’s not enough to supply our power-hungry world. What if we could replicate the way the Sun produces its energy?
The Sun’s core is hot: 15 million degrees centigrade to be precise. Whizzing around it at great speeds are hydrogen atoms. They collide, fuse together and provide a burst of energy in the form of light. This never-ending process uses around 600 million tons of hydrogen every second. Without this process, life could not exist on this planet.
We’re always being told that train travel is more environmentally-friendly than air travel. But could more be done to make train travel cheaper in Europe?
Until the rise of the budget airlines in Europe during the Nineties, short-haul air travel was an expensive business. For journeys under about 500 miles, trains were cheaper.
As you’re biting into that nice, juicy king-size burger, have you ever thought how much you’re contributing to global warming?
I hadn’t. Cattle, though, are a major problem for the environment. As cows are busy munching away in their pastures, their multiple stomachs are producing methane.
Methane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas, 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide for global warming. According to The Journal of Animal Science, livestock produce between 250 and 500 litres of methane every single day! At the top end of the estimate, that enough to fill 250 large bottles of Coke.
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