Posted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
This seems to be mentioned in the papers almost every day recently. When you buy a holiday or even car insurance, carbon offsetting is available. What exactly is carbon offsetting and why do we need it? Well, basically carbon offsetting helps you to offset the carbon dioxide that you use when flying or driving etc by planting trees or installing solar panels and thereby removing your contribution to global climate change. You contribute to pollution by driving; you reduce the pollution by planting trees! You are carbon neutral! Carbon Dioxide is an inevitable product of the way we all live...
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
There is an emissions trading scheme in operation internationally but many people arent aware that this is perceived to be the cornerstone of the climate change policy in the EU and USA. Firms are set quotas on how much carbon dioxide they can produce per year, if they produce more than this allowance, then they buy an allowance from another firm that has not reached its quota on how much it can produce in one year! Get it? Emissions Trading is particularly suited to the emissions of greenhouse gases, the gases responsible for global warming, which have the same effect...
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
Whether you are in the local market or a supermarket, it says South African apples, Israeli pears and peppers from Chile. You would think that the UK and USA does not produce any food, if this is the ... Whether you are in the local market or a supermarket, it says South African apples, Israeli pears and peppers from Chile. You would think that the UK and USA does not produce any food, if this is the case then where has the billions of pounds gone that our two governments pay in farmers subsidies? By buying food from abroad, developing...
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
As China and India home to over 2.5 billion people begin to catch up with the development and industrialisation of the West, water consumption is going to reach unprecedented levels. On TV recently you have Indian villagers complaining that coca cola had built a bottling plant in their region and were using all the water from the underground aquifer, leaving the farmers and local population without water. Only the local bureaucrats that collected the taxes seemed happy with the situation. Water infrastructure in the developing world is either non-existent, or has not begun to keep pace with rapid population growth....
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
The growth of air travel is growing at an unprecedented rate. The low cost of air travel and the growth of budget airlines means that millions of passengers are flying abroad more than ever before, but at what cost to the environment? The UK government is aiming for a 60% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 but we will not be able to meet our goals on climate change without curbing the demand for air travel. At present the experts predicts that only 5.5% of the UK carbon emissions is due to air travel and that the government should...
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
Most of us feel guilty if we do not take the trouble to wash and sort all those reusable plastics, papers and tins. We do this to avoid throwing them in the bin which then ends up in the landfill sites around the country. But how useful is recycling and can it really solve the waste crisis? UK households generate a staggering thirty million tonnes of rubbish a year, of which sixty per cent comes from packaging. There has been a lot of publicity recently about waste that has been put out for recycling ending up in landfill sites. It...
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
Once a distant technology that just sat on roofs that a few green minded people used, solar power has become a trendy tool we can hold in our hands. Sunlight - solar energy - can be used to generate electricity, provide hot water, and to heat, cool, and light buildings. A typical solar system will reduce the need for conventional water heating by about two-thirds. Often the plumbing from a solar heater connects to a houses existing water heater, which stays inactive as long as the water coming in is hot or hotter than the temperature setting on the indoor...
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
Well .. The greenhouse effect is the natural process by which the atmosphere traps some of the Sun's energy, warming the Earth enough to support life as we know it! When humans cut down trees or burn fossil fuels, they release extra carbon into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect. Mass deforestation around the world at an unprecedented rate is making the problem worse year by year. Unfortunately, due to this climate change the earth is getting warmer as temperatures at the Earth's surface have increased by an estimated 1.4°F (0.8°C) between 1900 and 2005. The past decade was the...
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
You cant turn on the TV or open a magazine these days without reading about the rise of China and how they will be the next economic superpower within the next few decades. China has 1.3 billion people living within its borders and an economy growing at over 10% per year. For energy consumption to keep pace with economic growth China will have to harness every fuel source available including renewable energy and nuclear power. There is not enough gas and oil in the world to satisfy China, not with its neighbour India with 1 billion people also having a...
Continue ReadingPosted on: 20 April, 2007
Author: Davinos Greeno
If you have evergreen shrubs and trees - to make sure you have an annual supply of eco-friendly Christmas decorations why not do some of your pruning just before Christmas and use the choice bits for inside? If Christmas tree Christmas Decorations Christmas tree ornaments · Make homemade ornaments from (painted) pinecones, painted eggshells, crushed (colored) aluminum foil, paper chains, paper snowflakes, old CDs and more! · Decorate a doll as an angel. · Do an online search for recycled or homemade tree ornaments for numerous ideas or purchase these recycled or eco-friendly tree ornaments if you cant be bothered...
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