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Description: The objective of the work was to provide a method to predict CO”2 and NH”3 yields during composting of the biodegradable fraction of municipal solid wastes (MSW). The compostable p… More >>
Product Description Knowing your carbon footprint is a hot button issue today. Consumers now expect their employers, government, and schools to embrace the notion that one’s style of living can negatively affect the environment today and for future generations. Likewise, homeowners, businesses, and organizations are moving to more sustainable modes of operating, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because sustainability, being “green,” and reducing your carbon footprint h… More >>
The United States is under a lot of pressure to lower its carbon emissions during the Copenhagen summit this week. But the oil-rich Uniated Arab Emirates has an even worse environmental impact, relative to its population. With little public transport, few recycling options, and almost all food and general goods flown into the region, the Gulf nation is under pressure to improve its environmental sustainability. Dan Nolan reports from Dubai.
www.howdini.com How to reduce your carbon footprint (carbon emissions) at home You might think only factories emit pollution, but your home is guilty too. Patty Kim, from National Geographic’s The Green Guide, shows you how to reduce your carbon footprint at home, and save money while you’re helping to save the planet. Keywords: carbon emissions carbon dioxide emissions reduce carbon footprint how to decrease the carbon footprint
Last Tuesday at the Fourth Middle Class Task Force Meeting in Denver, Vice President Biden announced a $500 million green jobs training program designed to connect people to opportunities in the clean energy economy.
Vice President Biden at a meeting of the Middle Class Task Force said for many, small investments in training in new technology can pay off. Tom Fittus was at the Task Force meeting. A licensed electrician, Tom was looking for a new job after his old employer’s business slowed down. He enrolled in a two week solar-specific job training course and was hired by Namaste Solar, a small business in Colorado that builds and designs solar electric systems. Tom’s boss Blake Jones said Tom’s course made him “stick out” when he was considering hiring Tom, and considers specialized green job training as a substantial competitive advantage for both job seekers and businesses. Blake has even increased Namaste’s workforce by 20% this year and plans on increasing it by 40% by 2010- with help from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Roby Roberts of Vestas America, a wind turbine manufacturer, also shared the story of his company. Vestas is investing $1.5 billion in manufacturing facilities in Colorado that will employ 2,500 people when in operation. After it is built, Vestas’s Pueblo plant will be using more than two Golden Gate Bridges of steel to build wind turbine towers every year. A barrier to expanding its operations in the United States is finding skilled workers. That’s why Vestas is training the workforce it will need in Pueblo through a partnership with the local community college.
Garett Reppenhagen, a veteran who served as a sniper in Iraq and in Kosovo, was also at the Task Force meeting. Garett is a member of Veterans Green Jobs, an organization representing veterans of every branch of military who have enrolled in the Veterans Green Jobs Academy, a training and deployment program in energy efficiency and conservation. When these veterans graduate from their green jobs training on June 2nd, they will be leaders in green building, energy and renewable energies. As our troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan, green jobs offer high paying opportunities for veterans that cannot be outsourced.
These are just three examples of why the $500 million green jobs training program is critical – whether to help someone update their skills so they can work on new technology like solar panels or to support the development of a skilled clean energy workforce to attract investment by renewable energy companies – investing in training is the first step toward expanding opportunities for the middle class in our clean energy economy.
Gardeners aren’t usually the first people you’d think would be contributing to global warming. But if they use peat-based compost then that’s the case. According to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, around 2.5 million cubic metres of peat are sold to commercial and amateur gardeners in the UK annually for compost.
So why is peat so important for the environment? Peat consists of decomposing plant material. As the plants were growing, they absorbed carbon dioxide. The CO2 was then ‘locked’ into the plant’s cell structure and stores as the plant turns to peat.
The Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research published some interesting research last week. The Centre predicts that half the carbon emissions savings made from greater fuel efficiencies will be wasted by a corresponding rise in fossil fuel use.
Terry Barker, the Centre’s Director, says that the politicians have not considered what he called ‘the rebound effect’. “The rebound effect is not very welcome to politicians because they have been thinking that energy-efficiency programmes are the answer to climate change”. He continues:” it’s not nearly as good an answer as they thought. Efficiency programmes will have to be ramped up to achieve the same targets”.
Motorcycle racing isn’t usually associated with the fight against global warming. But on 12th June 2009, the world-famous Isle of Man TT races will include the TTXGP – the first ever zero-emissions grand prix races. All the bikes taking part will be electric.
Whilst they might be good for the environment, these bikes aren’t slow. They’re capable of up to 150 mph around the 37.733-mile TT mountain course. They have no gears, just different power settings. If the torque of Tesla electric cars are anything to go by, the acceleration should be phenomenal.
By 2020, the DECC predicts that only 5% of the UK’s energy will be from renewable sources. That’s way down on the 15% legally-binding target agreed with the European Union‘s Commission.
If the UK fails to meet the target, then the Commission will seek to impose substantial fines on the UK.
The DECC will shortly announce it proposals to make up the shortfall. Wind- and hydro-power are likely to be the main renewable resources the DECC hopes to rely on, together with biomass and sewage processing.
Scottish Power started trials of a test CCS unit at its Longannet plant on the Firth of Forth. The coal burnt at the plant produces 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually to produce 1 megawatt of power.
But the test unit is not full size. If it was, then Scottish Power calculate that it would use one third of the plant’s electricity output and would not be commercially viable.
