Global Warming » Emissions http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com Weblog Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:17:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Carbon dioxide and ammonia emissions during composting of mixed paper, yard waste and food waste http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/carbon-dioxide-and-ammonia-emissions-during-composting-of-mixed-paper-yard-waste-and-food-waste/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/carbon-dioxide-and-ammonia-emissions-during-composting-of-mixed-paper-yard-waste-and-food-waste/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:08:17 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/carbon-dioxide-and-ammonia-emissions-during-composting-of-mixed-paper-yard-waste-and-food-waste/

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This digital document is a journal article from Waste Management, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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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 >>

Carbon dioxide and ammonia emissions during composting of mixed paper, yard waste and food waste

]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/carbon-dioxide-and-ammonia-emissions-during-composting-of-mixed-paper-yard-waste-and-food-waste/feed/ 0 Tracking Your Carbon Footprint: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Inventorying Greenhouse Gas Emissions http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/tracking-your-carbon-footprint-a-step-by-step-guide-to-understanding-and-inventorying-greenhouse-gas-emissions/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/tracking-your-carbon-footprint-a-step-by-step-guide-to-understanding-and-inventorying-greenhouse-gas-emissions/#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:20:56 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/tracking-your-carbon-footprint-a-step-by-step-guide-to-understanding-and-inventorying-greenhouse-gas-emissions/

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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 >>

Tracking Your Carbon Footprint: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Inventorying Greenhouse Gas Emissions

]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/tracking-your-carbon-footprint-a-step-by-step-guide-to-understanding-and-inventorying-greenhouse-gas-emissions/feed/ 2 UAE’s carbon emissions under fire – 12 Dec 09 http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/uaes-carbon-emissions-under-fire-12-dec-09/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/uaes-carbon-emissions-under-fire-12-dec-09/#comments Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:05:16 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/uaes-carbon-emissions-under-fire-12-dec-09/
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.

]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/uaes-carbon-emissions-under-fire-12-dec-09/feed/ 8 How to reduce your carbon footprint (carbon emissions) at home http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/how-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-carbon-emissions-at-home/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/how-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-carbon-emissions-at-home/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:30:21 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/how-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-carbon-emissions-at-home/
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

]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/how-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-carbon-emissions-at-home/feed/ 18 What’s The Latest From the White House On The Green Economy? http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/whats-the-latest-from-the-white-house-on-the-green-economy/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/whats-the-latest-from-the-white-house-on-the-green-economy/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:54:37 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/whats-the-latest-from-the-white-house-on-the-green-economy/ 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.

Terrell McSweeney is Domestic Policy Advisor for the Vice President.

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]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/whats-the-latest-from-the-white-house-on-the-green-economy/feed/ 0 Why Is Peat Important For Global Warming? http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/why-is-peat-important-for-global-warming/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/why-is-peat-important-for-global-warming/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:49:32 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/why-is-peat-important-for-global-warming/ 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.

But when peat is dug up, the peat starts to decompose. It releases the CO2 back into the atmosphere again, increasing greenhouse gases.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) found in 2007 that the Earth’s estimated 988 million acres of peatlands are capable of storing about two trillion tonnes of CO2. That’s about a century’s worth of fossil fuel emissions. But peatlands are relatively small compared to their importance to the Earth’s eco-system. They only account for about 3% of the planet’s total surface.

The Head of UNEP, Achim Steiner observed that, “just like a global phase out of old, energy-guzzling lightbulbs or a switch to hybrid cars, protecting and restoring peatlands is perhaps another key ‘low-hanging fruit’ and among the most cost-effective options for climate change mitigation”.

Peat is also important because it supports many different types of flora and fauna. For example, plants like the sundew thrive in these conditions. It traps insects and digests them.

But the peat bogs are under threat, but not only from their destruction for commercial purposes. Researchers at the University of Wales, Bangor found that the world’s peat bogs are haemorrhaging carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The problem is that as more CO2 is released, it stimulates further releases.

Repairing peat bogs has become more vital. For example, the National Trust in England, used a helicopter to spread heather seeds across the Bleaklow peat bog in the Peak District. It was hoped that the heather would return the bog to its previous lushness, thus turning it into a carbon storer again.

So next time you’re at the garden centre, think how amazing peat is and buy a peat-free compost.

]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/why-is-peat-important-for-global-warming/feed/ 0 Could More Efficient Green Energy Result In More Fossil Fuel Use? http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/could-more-efficient-green-energy-result-in-more-fossil-fuel-use/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/could-more-efficient-green-energy-result-in-more-fossil-fuel-use/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:55:02 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/could-more-efficient-green-energy-result-in-more-fossil-fuel-use/ 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”.

So how does the rebound effect work? Say a manufacturer makes fuel efficiencies and saves costs. This enables the manufacturer to pass on these cost savings to its customers with reduced prices. But this gives the customers more money to spend, thereby increasing production. And using more energy.

This might be simplistic. People might save the extra money, for instance. With the severe effects of the economic downturn, conspicuous consumption is rapidly becoming unfashionable. This might continue as the world’s economies recover.

But the politicians would do well to heed the Centre’s warnings. Nobody really knows what will happen.

]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/could-more-efficient-green-energy-result-in-more-fossil-fuel-use/feed/ 0 How Is Motorcycle Racing Helping Global Warming? http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/how-is-motorcycle-racing-helping-global-warming/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/how-is-motorcycle-racing-helping-global-warming/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:53:09 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/how-is-motorcycle-racing-helping-global-warming/ 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.

Seventeen teams with 23 entries are taking part. They come from as far afield as India, Austria, Germany, Italy, the US, the UK and the Isle of Man itself. But the American teams that are the favourites. In particular, one US entry, Mission One, is well funded. It was founded by an engineer at Tesla and is promising 150mph top speed with 150 mile range.

It will be interesting to see how the race goes. Foe more information, go to www.ttxgp.com.

]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/how-is-motorcycle-racing-helping-global-warming/feed/ 0 Will The UK Hit Its Targets For Renewable Energy? http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/will-the-uk-hit-its-targets-for-renewable-energy/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/will-the-uk-hit-its-targets-for-renewable-energy/#comments Sun, 31 May 2009 23:10:06 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/will-the-uk-hit-its-targets-for-renewable-energy/ Probably not. Internal forecasts from the UK‘s Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) are gloomy.

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.

The proposals should make interesting reading when they’re published.

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]]> http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/will-the-uk-hit-its-targets-for-renewable-energy/feed/ 0 Can Coal-Fired Power Plants Be Made Green? http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/can-coal-fired-power-plants-be-made-green/ http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/can-coal-fired-power-plants-be-made-green/#comments Sun, 31 May 2009 22:00:27 +0000 admin http://www.greenquestionsandanswers.com/can-coal-fired-power-plants-be-made-green/ The viability of Carbon Captures and Sequestration (CCS) technology for coal-fired power stations took another step forward on 29th May 2009.

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.

Scottish Power hope to learn from the test unit how to improve the efficiency of the CO2 ‘scrubbing’ chemicals. More efficient chemical reactions would increase the commercial viability of CCS.

If this trial is successful, then the consequences for global power generation could be enormous.

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