Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of them are at no cost, some other require a little investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!
Archive for August, 2007 Page 7 of 9
Coming Soon to Stores Near You: Compostable Plastic
(Photo Courtesy of Oscar The Goat)
According to World Centric, for a plastic to be called compostable, it needs to be biodegradable (break down into carbon dioxide, water, biomass at the same rate as cellulose), disintegrate, and have no eco-toxicity (meaning it produces no toxic material and the compost supports plant growth). They also state that other materials that can be used to make the plastic is potato, tapioca, cellulose, and soy protein.
Reader Aaron keeps his computer on for easy remote access and for nightly scheduled tasks (like backups and defrags), but didn’t want to waste the energy an always-on computer would. So he hacked together a network setup that uses power-saving settings and Wake on LAN technology to get both energy efficiency AND constant availability. He estimates this new setup saves him almost $200 a year in energy bills and reduces his carbon emissions by 234lbs. (!!) Here’s how he did it:
I used the open source DD-WRT firmware to set up a wireless bridge between my access point and my PC which is in another room. That allowed me to use Wake On LAN (WOL) to power up my computer remotely. I then changed the settings in my computer’s BIOS and in Windows to allow WOL to start my computer from whatever state it was in. Lastly I used a BIOS setting to power my computer on every night at 3AM for scheduled maintenance tasks.
If you want to take the plunge into smart wakeups with Aaron’s setup, be sure to check out Adam’s take on installing the DD-WRT firmware on a compatible router. Power Saving Remote Computing [Instructables]
Reuters – Previously unknown islands are appearing as Arctic summer sea ice shrinks to record lows, raising questions about whether global warming is outpacing U.N. projections, experts said.
Islands emerge as Arctic ice shrinks to record low (Reuters)
Breathing Earth: World-Wide CO2 Levels, Births, and Deaths – In Real-Time
Breathing Earth is a great presentation that shows you the world-wide carbon dioxide emission levels, their birth and death rates – all in real-time.
Ed Hammer, inventor of the compact fluorescent light bulb (the spiral-shaped energy-saving ones that are more expensive and less pleasant than incandescents) looks back on his world-changing invention in an interview with ZDNet news. As is often the case, his employer, GE, paid him to design, develop and perfect the idea, and then sat on it until a competitor beat them to the market after learning of the technology.
“That’s how it became widespread,” Hammer said. Still, “it has been a big hit for GE.” Hammer hasn’t done badly either. He has published more than 40 papers and was awarded the Edison Medal by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2002.
Now a runaway success, this was ready for action as long ago as 1976, according to Hammer, who added that he was told it would never work as an alternative to standard bulbs. Now, thirty years later, the ingenious design is itself under pressure from an even more efficient competitor: panchromatic LEDs.Father of the compact fluorescent bulb looks back [ZDNet]
Reuters – Hundreds of climate change protesters marched near London’s Heathrow airport on Sunday and pledged civil disobedience to draw attention to the impact of aviation on global warming.
Go Google!
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have tossed quite a bit of money at Tesla Motors, but they did so as private individuals. Now there?s word that Google itself could get behind another automotive effort.
Don?t get too excited; the focus of these rumors, a vehicle dubbed the Think, is nowhere near as sexy as the Tesla Roadster, and as admitted by the Think?s official website, its top speed is under 65 mph. The Think is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an electric Ferrari. It?s not even an electric Hyundai. But the Think would fall in line with the sort of environmentally sound thinking that Google supports.
According to Pandia, Dean Kamen (of Segway sorta-fame) ?would like to use the Th!nk as a mobile generator that can draw energy from the power grid when needed and send electricity back during periods of peak demand . . .?
Now, nothing?s decided yet, but ?[f]or that to happen he needs a partner that can handle large amounts of data over global networks. The most obvious choice for that kind work is, of course, Google.? And Google actually had the Think people over for a little sit-down.
I can?t get too excited about this little vehicle, but, even as a car guy, I?ve got no objections to seeing it entering the market. I?d even be interested in seeing Google support the Think – that could bring those electric Ferraris here all the sooner.
