Earth Hour

Well, it's that time of year again, Earth Hour. This year's Earth Hour is this Saturday, March 26, 2011 from 8:30 PM to 9:30PM.

Here in Toronto, the WWF-Canada is taking a "Grassroots" approach and the events are all comminity based.

Hope you can find an event near you or create one for yourself.
There's a million things to do in the dark.

http://earthhour.org/

How a 2-degree climate change would hit Canada

Ongoing climate change means that summer Arctic sea ice could be halved, runoff in the South Saskatchewan River basin reduced and the cost of shipping through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway could rise due to lower water levels, according to a compilation of research published Tuesday.

Billed as the first comprehensive illustration of expected climate impacts in Canada, the report is a joint project of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), which publishes Canadian Geographic and Géographica magazines.

More here, http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/101005/canada/technology_science_round_table_canadian_geographic_climate_change

Seven things you didn’t know about light bulbs (but should)

Lighting is a significant expense for many of us, and it also affects how we work, play, and feel. The good news is that new advances in technology are providing more comfort, flexibility and efficiency.

Read here, http://www.getwithgreen.com/2010/09/24/seven-things-you-didn%e2%80%99t-know-about-light-bulbs-but-should/

Earth Hour 2010

Just a reminder that Earth Hour is tomorrow, March 27, 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm, your local time. Visit http://www.earthhour.org for more info

Earth Day Guest Blogger

Todays post is from a guest blogger, Dan Grifen, http://everythingleft.wordpress.com/

Thanks Dan.

3/24/2010


Green Infrastructure, Earth Day and Global Awareness

Spring 2010 is approaching and there’s a lot of buzz around topics like the economy, taxation, global poverty, restoration in Haiti/Chile, and lastly, green awareness. With spring, Earth Day also draws nearer (April 22nd); as individuals, we must remember and realize the importance of global warming and all of its implications. Subsequent topics discussed as of late include space travel/burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and green building. As nations like Haiti and Chile prepare for rebuilding and new construction, there are many things to consider when advancing. Moving towards cleaner, greener infrastructure is vital in ensuring a successful restoration campaign.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a 501(3)(c) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everybody. It’s one of the many organizations playing its role in green progression. Heavy discussion lies on green topics, especially the more recent ones like space travel; others include deforestation, green crops, clothing, energy, and much more. It’s important that we as individuals/citizens stay up-to-date on important global topics like warming. As organizations like the CGI (Clinton Global Initiative), AFH (Architecture for Humanity), and the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) conducts sustainability campaigns and enforce strict green constraints, our world will continue to become a better, cleaner place. Machines behind the CGI, Doug Band and Former President Clinton have been pursuing an emission reduction plan in the San Francisco Bay area. Meanwhile, GEC (Globetrotters Engineering Corporation) is underway with green building projects in Chicago, IL. Despite these few national examples, green infrastructure, particularly in places like Haiti, has become an integral part of restoration and construction.

This aligns with the implications of "economic viability" and long term sustainability, posing the questions, "Can Haiti really make it through all the costs of repair and reconstruction?" Infrastructure can take a toll on any economy, especially if the funds aren't there. This goes hand in hand with meeting modern day LEED standards and approaching this in a "greener" sense. Organizations like Architecture for Humanity will make this possible. Architecture for Humanity (1999) is a nonprofit design services firm building "a more sustainable future through the power of professional design." It was formulated through a group of building professionals whose overwhelming passion for construction drove them to provide a way for underdeveloped, suffering countries to rebuild. Through their dedication and hard work, these people will be able to not only create new buildings and infrastructure, but make them bigger, better, and greener.

To touch on just some of the things that AFH covers:

• Alleviating poverty and providing access to water, sanitation, power and essential services
• Bringing safe shelter to communities prone to disaster and displaced populations
• Rebuilding community and creating neutral spaces for dialogue in post-conflict areas
• Mitigating the effects of rapid urbanization in unplanned settlements
• Creating spaces to meet the needs of those with disabilities and other at-risk populations
• Reducing the footprint of the built environment and addressing climate change

As polluters continue to buy their way out of Carbon Cuts globally, and large organizations continue to dump their waste into lakes, ponds and rivers, communities and must play their role in ensuring sustainability. Organizations like the CGI, AFH, and USGBC provide repercussion and policy change for acts such as. Most of the results from warming and climate change are miniscule and unnoticeable now, but our youth and earlier generations will experience firsthand the effects of pollutants and unsustainable efforts. Feel free to visit http://www.earthday.org/ to learn more about what you can do to support your world.

Hi all,
Earth Hour will be held March 27, 2010 8:30PM - 9:30PM
Hope you can make it.

http://earthhour.org

Freight Transportation’s Hidden Cost to Health and the Planet

Freight—nearly everything we buy, eat, manufacture, or build with is carried to us by a complex system of shipping routes, rail lines, highways, ports, and rail yards.
West Coast ports are expected to see a 138% increase in container traffic by 2035. Source: Port of Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, pollution from moving all this freight is significant and growing. Truck, locomotive, and ship engines spew greenhouse gases, toxic diesel soot, and other dangerous pollutants. These emissions contribute to global warming and are responsible for serious health problems. This is the first in a series of posts about how to address the huge environmental and public health costs of moving goods around the country.

Read here, http://blogs.edf.org/transportation/2010/03/01/we-gotta-clean-up-freight-transportation%e2%80%99s-hidden-cost-to-health-and-the-planet/

Norway Reveals Stunning Plan to Cut CO2 Emissions 30% in 10 Years

The Scandinavian nation announced some of the boldest goals for curbing carbon emissions during the run-up to Copenhagen. And today, it released its plans outlining exactly how it will cut 30% of its emissions by 2020--some of the deepest emissions cuts of any nation ever. And that plan includes infrastructure for electric cars, using more biofuels, creating more bike paths, carbon capture, and more. The cost of this massive, far-reaching, forward-looking plan? Norway predicts its clean economy of 2010 would be a teensy 0.25% smaller than its projected oil dependent economy at the same time.

More here, http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/norway-reveals-plan-cut-emissions-30-10-years.php

What will you do?

For the past 2 1/2 years, I've been pushing news, events and my personal options on the globing warming trend.

I originally began by describing the changes I've been making to reduce the impact that our household makes. Changing light bulbs, reducing waste, recycling, choosing environmentally responsible energy options, eating locally produced food and spreading the word to anyone that wants to know. In the end, this blog was created.

Of course, there are only so many things we can do. I quickly ran out of things to post about. The blog became a board to post other news, information and events from around the world. This relied on finding relevant articles either from my sources or those referred to me.

This year, I began trying to post more personal items but I've been having a hard time. My support of other networks takes a lot of my time but I believe they have a far greater reach.

There are a lot of things I still need to do but my current budget will not allow. I'd love to put in a solar hot water and electrical system. I'd love to produce as much electricity during the day that I use at night. But, these will have to wait a bit longer.

I've been hoping for more comments and emails from readers but, I'm not sure I have many. A few of you have contacted me in some way, so I know I have a couple of followers.

Well, today is Blog Action Day and this is my contribution.
What I want to know is, What are you going to do?

Visit www.blogactionday.org

Four degrees of warming 'likely'

In a dramatic acceleration of forecasts for global warming, UK scientists say the global average temperature could rise by 4C (7.2F) as early as 2060.
More here, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8279654.stm

Don't be fooled by a cool summer.

Steve Kramer spent an hour and a half swimming in the ocean Sunday - in Maine. The water temperature was 72 degrees - more like Ocean City, Md., this time of year. And Ocean City's water temp hit 88 degrees this week, toasty even by Miami Beach standards.
Kramer, 26, who lives in the seaside town of Scarborough, said it was the first time he's ever swam so long in Maine's coastal waters. "Usually, you're in five minutes and you're out," he said.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/living/health/story/822072.html

Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food

Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a confined pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won't bite one another. To prevent him from getting sick in such close quarters, he is dosed with antibiotics. The waste produced by the pig and his thousands of pen mates on the factory farm where they live goes into manure lagoons that blanket neighboring communities with air pollution and a stomach-churning stench. He's fed on American corn that was grown with the help of government subsidies and millions of tons of chemical fertilizer.
Continue reading here, http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458,00.html

Monaco's Prince Albert on Antarctic global warming mission

PUNTA ARENAS, Chile - Monaco's Prince Albert II was leaving behind the sunny shores of the Riviera for some of the planet's coldest reaches on Monday in a voyage to the South Pole to raise awareness about global warming. Read more, http://green.sympatico.msn.ca/canadianpressarticle.aspx?cp-documentid=823441

Human Caused Wind Changes Drying Southwest

Since the late 1970’s, the winter storm track located above the western US has slowly been sliding north. The combination of global warming and the ozone hole have forced this change, making for fewer winter storms in the American Southwest. Read more here, http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/19/human-caused-wind-changes-drying-southwest/

Solar Car: Around the world in the Solartaxi

The Solartaxi will be the first completely solar-powered car to drive around the world. It’s the creation of Louis Palmer, a Swiss educator and adventurer whose goal is not to make it in 80 days, but to raise awareness that global warming can be stopped and that solutions exist to lower greenhouse gas emissions. More here, http://greenupgrader.com/3146/science-fact-around-the-world-with-the-solartaxi/

Bay Area Passes Carbon Tax - First of Its Kind in the U.S

On Wednesday the Bay Area Air Quality Management District board of directors voted 15–1 to charge companies 4.4 cents per ton of carbon emitted. Set to go into effect on July 1st for the nine Bay Area counties, the carbon tax will be the first of it’s kind in the country. Read here, http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/bay-area-passes-carbon-tax-fir-003161.php

Future Not Bright for Arctic Ice

"When you look in detail at the science behind the recent Arctic changes it becomes painfully clear how our understanding of climate impacts lags behind the changes that we are already seeing in the Arctic," warned Martin Sommerkorn, one of the authors of a new report from conservation group the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Read the rest here, http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/04/26/future-not-bright-for-arctic-ice/

Arctic and Antarctica Polar Opposites

There’s nothing quite as nice as a really catchy title that perfectly sums up your story. If you want to leave it at that, then you’ve probably got the whole of the story. However if you want to know just a bit more about how climate change is affecting our planet’s poles, then keep reading. Here.. http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/05/04/arctic-and-antarctica-polar-opposites/

The Day After the Decade After Tomorrow

Here's a good read,
The movie The Day After Tomorrow saw the planet globally affected by the cessation of the ocean conveyor belt, or, more precisely known as the thermohaline circulation (THC). The northern hemisphere suffered massive drops in temperature, rises in sea level and a variety of other climate conditions. Read the rest here, http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/05/10/the-day-after-the-decade-after-tomorrow/

In Pictures: The World's Biggest Clean-Energy Projects

The Middle East is hardly known as the capital of clean energy, but Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are trying to change that. Read the story here, http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/28/energy-electricity-power-biz-energy-cx_wp_0428greenpower.html
Or see the pics here, http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/28/energy-electricity-power-biz-energy-cx_wp_0428greenpower_slide_4.html?thisSpeed=15000