The EcoWho RSS News Feed

Model Climate Sensitivity Calculated Directly From Model Results

Watts Up With That — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:50:50 +1000

Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach In a couple of previous posts, Zero Point Three Times the Forcing and Life is Like a Black Box of Chocolates, I’ve shown that regarding global temperature projections, two of the climate models used by the … Continue reading →...

From Watts Up With That

Stop global warming, get paid $12-13 per hour

Watts Up With That — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:36:44 +1000

…plus benefits if you work more than 350 hours… Spotted on the Orange County Craigslist by WUWT reader “Roy”, you’d think with a €236.9 million (2011) budget, they could afford something other than Craigslist. See the ad: http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/edu/3819536847.html Tagged: Craigslist, … Continue reading →.

Spotted on the Orange County Craigslist by WUWT reader “Roy”, you’d think with a €236.9 million (2011) budget, they...

From Watts Up With That

Amazon River produces monster levels of “pollution”. The dilemma. Should we stop the river?

Jo Nova — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:33:46 +1000

The mouth of the Amazon is the worst source of “pollution”. Bad news for fans of The Amazon River. A new study shows that while the Amazon rain forest is the Lungs of The Planet, pulling down gigatonnes of CO2, the river undoes all the good the trees do, and pours all the CO2 back into the sky. Damn that river eh? Lucky it only discharges one fifth of the worlds freshwater. Apparently most researchers thought bacteria couldn’t digest the tough woody lignin of tree debris fast enough...

From Jo Nova

Lewandowsky invents new pseudo-science of psycho-climatology™

Australian Climate Madness — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:15:45 +1000

Pseudo-science rules!

Stephan Lewandowsky knows nothing about climatology, meteorology, geology, atmospheric physics or thermodynamics, but that trivial obstacle does not prevent him believing the alarmist consensus with such fervour that he uses his own “discipline” (if you can call it that) of psychology to label those who question said consensus as suffering from some kind of mental condition, his favourite label being “conspiracy theorist”.

If...

From Australian Climate Madness

Lateral thinking

Bishop Hill — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:00:27 +1000

The Institute of Directors has issued a report on shale gas , saying that it could create tens of thousands of jobs in areas that desperately need them.

From Bishop Hill

Senator Whitehouse apologizes for inciteful tornado remarks

Watts Up With That — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:24:39 +1000

Recall this story from yesterday: US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse From Rhode Island Provides Erroneous Information To American Public in Global Warming Rant .

From Watts Up With That

Widespread evidence of cosmic impact documented – likely cause of the Younger Dryas cool climate episode

Watts Up With That — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:41:13 +1000

From the University of California – Santa Barbara some paleoclimatology without the need to see hockey sticks. Comprehensive analysis of impact spherules supports theory of cosmic impact 12,800 years ago (Santa Barbara, California) –– About 12,800 years ago when the … Continue reading →.

From the University of California – Santa Barbara some paleoclimatology without the need to see hockey sticks.

The researchers studied the impact spherules in 18 sites in nine...

From Watts Up With That

OsmoBlue Discovers a New Way to Turn Waste Heat into Electricity

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:54 +1000

The heat emitted from waste incinerators, refineries, and data processors could soon become much more useful, thanks to a discovery by the startup OsmoBlue. The Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne Laboratory of Microsystems startup has found a way to convert waste heat over 30 degrees Celsius into electricity that could be used to heat buildings and even power the machines that produce the heat in the first place, .

From INHABITAT

Oklahoma tornado officially an EF5 – wind speeds still less than 1999 Moore tornado

Watts Up With That — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:51:44 +1000

The map below shows ‘Tornado Tracks Streak Across Oklahoma’ as measured by doppler radar.

From Watts Up With That

Infographic: Where Are All Our Carbon Emissions Being Stored?

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:30:04 +1000

Last week the world reached a grim milestone: Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide passed 400 parts per million for the first time in human history. It’s widely understood that this is the result of human carbon dioxide emissions. But did you know that without the help of the oceans, plants and soils this figure would already be well above 500 ppm? By analyzing where our carbon emissions come from and where they go we know that less than half of human emissions since the industrial...

From INHABITAT

Scientists See a Negative Outlook Despite a Recent Stabilization in Global Warming

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:00:48 +1000

When it comes to global warming, things may not be quite as bad as we thought. According to a recent study in Nature Geoscience, global warming seems to have leveled off over the past decade, meaning that some of the most dire climate change predictions could be a thing of the past. But while the news is good, it doesn’t mean that we are out of the danger zone. Global warming is still changing life on the planet as we know it.

From INHABITAT

NASA Backs Star Trek-Style Replicator That Could 3D Print Pizza In Space!

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:30:13 +1000

In preparation for Star Trek: Into Darkness, we have been rewatching all of the old Next Generation episodes. One of the series’ most memorable moments is when a crew member casually walks over to a replicator and orders up dinner. Pudding, Klingon delicacies, and yes, even Picard’s “tea, Earl Grey, hot” is just a millisecond away. Now, NASA has announced that it will provide a $125,000 grant to a young mechanical engineer who’s working on a 3D printer that...

From INHABITAT

Rice University Students Create Energy-Generating PediPower Shoes

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:00:37 +1000

A group of Rice University mechanical engineering students recently created a pair of energy-generating shoes that are able to create and store electricity with every step. The team’s kinetic energy-harvesting PediPower shoes could be used to power portable electronics and medical devices.

From INHABITAT

Action needed to stop 'climate deniers' from winning the information war

Tom Nelson — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:59:00 +1000

rabble.cathe environmental movement is seriously losing the battle with the climate change deniers...Disinformation appearing in mainstream media about the science surrounding climate change must be stopped! This unfounded propaganda, much of it funded by the energy industry, is a major reason why not enough progress is being made in attacking the causes of global warming.Thousands of environmental networks and organizations need to divert some of their attention away from their normal work and focus...

From Tom Nelson

Today's ray of hope: In a six-minute video, a young person explains in detail why she doesn't believe in the global warming hoax

Tom Nelson — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:36:00 +1000

Phallyn Says Global Climate Change is the Hottest Hoax Around. - YouTubeListen as Phallyn explains how a broader look at the history of global temperatures puts the current crisis in its proper perspective..

From Tom Nelson

Minnesota Lakes Are Contaminated with Cocaine and Antidepressants

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:30:57 +1000

Photo via Shutterstock Lake Superior and other bodies of water around Minnesota have been found to contain a disturbing amount of chemicals, including prescription drugs and even cocaine. A recent study by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has found .

Photo via Shutterstock

Lake Superior and other bodies of water around Minnesota have been found to contain a disturbing amount of chemicals, including prescription drugs and even cocaine. A recent study by...

From INHABITAT

ONDU Wooden Pinhole Cameras Bring Craftsmanship Back to Photography

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:43 +1000

Digital cameras have revolutionized the art of photography. Gone are hours in a darkroom, film, and treasured cameras passed down from one shutterbug to another. Slovenian industrial designer and artist Elvis Halilović has created a series of six wooden pinhole cameras in an attempt to bring photography back to its roots. Working to create a simple, attractive, and affordable camera, Halilović recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the production of his ONDU Pinhole...

From INHABITAT

UK Met Office: "It is currently not possible to make a link between climate change and tornado activity"

Tom Nelson — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:34:00 +1000

What are tornadoes? | Met Office News BlogHow will climate change affect tornadoes? - It is currently not possible to make a link between climate change and tornado activity. Climate change may have a number of effects on atmospheric conditions that may or may not favour tornado formation, the relatively short and unreliable record of tornado activity makes it difficult to determine a definite trend in this. Climate models are currently unable to resolve small-scale phenomena such as tornadoes, and...

From Tom Nelson

Stunning ignorance on display from Senator Barbara Boxer over Oklahoma tornado outbreak

Watts Up With That — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:27:04 +1000

Via POLITICO’s Morning Energy – May 21, 2013: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif. – Chair of Senate Environment & Public Works Committee) took to the Senate floor and invoked the Oklahoma tornadoes in her speech on global warming. “This is climate … Continue reading →.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif. – Chair of Senate Environment Public Works Committee) took to the Senate floor and invoked the Oklahoma tornadoes in her speech on global warming.

“This is climate change....

From Watts Up With That

The Best Green Designs From ICFF 2013 Day Two

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:22:13 +1000

This year the International Contemporary Furniture Fair during New York Design Week featured over 500 exhibitors, and there was far too much green design goodness to pack into just one post – so we’re bringing you a second serving of the best sustainable furnishings, products and lights from this year’s show...

From INHABITAT

Climate change will push up New York's heatwave deaths

New Scientist - Environment — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:10:00 +1000

There will be more deaths in summer and fewer in winter as climate change begins to bite in New York City. The net effect is not good news .

The Big Apple is cooking: climate change will increase the number of temperature-related deaths within decades.

A warmer climate means more extremely hot days in summer , and fewer extremely cold days in winter, meaning people are more likely to die in summer than they used to be, and less so in winter.

Radley Horton of...

From New Scientist - Environment

Raw, Unprocessed Cotton Can Be Used to Clean Up Oil Spills

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:00:37 +1000

As long as industry and infrastructure relies on oil to function, there will be spills. Cleaning up such disasters, like the recent Mayflower, Arkansas rupture, can be costly and time consuming. Even the chemicals that are used to disperse and absorb the crude can be dangerous to the environment, and researchers have long been looking for greener alternatives. A new study finds that raw, unprocessed cotton may be a cheaper and safer way to soak up oil than synthetics.

From INHABITAT

How to humble a wing nut

Judith Curry — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:51:59 +1000

by Judith Curry A central puzzle of modern American politics is why so many voters can maintain strong political views concerning complex policies yet remain relatively uninformed about how such policies would bring about desired outcomes...

From Judith Curry

Two-Mile-Wide Tornado Devastates Oklahoma City Suburb – Here’s How You Can Help

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:40:31 +1000

A huge two-mile-wide tornado touched down south of Oklahoma City Monday afternoon, devastating a community of 41,000 and killing as many as 51 people. The tornado hit wind speeds of 200mph and scored a preliminary rating of four out of five on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, and eyewitnesses report that its 20 mile journey tossed around cars, crushed homes and ripped apart buildings – including two schools. The tornado is the worst to hit the suburb of Moore since 1999, and officials from...

From INHABITAT

Fallen Tree Wine Rack Holds a Wine Collection of Epic Proportions

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:30:00 +1000

Wood|Stone|Metal Studio’s gorgeous new wine rack is large enough to cover an entire wall. The eight-foot-tall installation is made from a large slab of wood that was cut from a naturally-felled tree. The Canadian studio specializes in transforming reclaimed .

Wood|Stone|Metal Studio’s gorgeous new wine rack is large enough to cover an entire wall. The eight-foot-tall installation is made from a large slab of wood that was cut from a naturally-felled...

From INHABITAT

Timing made Oklahoma tornado toll worse

New Scientist - Environment — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:20:00 +1000

The tornado that struck Oklahoma City in the US on Monday was unusually large and powerful, and it came down at a bad time of day .

The tornado that ripped through Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City, on Monday was not a record-breaker in terms of its size, strength or duration. So why was it so devastating?

The death toll from the Moore twister currently stands at 24 , and experts say the damage could rival the most costly tornado ever, the $2.8 billion tornado that...

From New Scientist - Environment

Deger Cengiz’s Threatening Cactus Terrarium Chair Puts Sitters on the Edge of Their Seats

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:00:53 +1000

According to Cengiz, the Terrarium Chair "is an experimentation in which to investigate the effect of visual data to the user's experience." While it's pretty obvious to most viewers that the barrel cactus is not a real threat because it's contained inside .

Read the rest of Deger Cengiz’s Threatening Cactus Terrarium Chair Puts Sitters on the Edge of Their Seats

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: cactus chair, chair with living plants,...

From INHABITAT

Energy-Generating Bikes Made From Trash Power Film Festival in France

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:28:37 +1000

The initiative was launched in 2012 by students determined to study the electricity production of pedaling. First drawings and design study for the project were made by BP design agency. Two of the five bikes were built using locally sourced waste materials .

Read the rest of Energy-Generating Bikes Made From Trash Power Film Festival in France

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: bicycle, bicycle power, bike design, eco-friendly bicycle,...

From INHABITAT

Alaksan Home Awarded Title of World’s Tightest Residential Building

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:00:45 +1000

Marsik and Donalson are not house builders, but they decided to build their own home in Dillingham, AK. Most homes are heated using heating fuel, but the couple decided to cut out this costly energy resource and build a really energy efficient home that relied .

Read the rest of Alaksan Home Awarded Title of World’s Tightest Residential Building

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: "sustainable architecture", air tightness, alaska,...

From INHABITAT

DR Congo waits on funding for world's largest hydropower project

guardian.co.uk - Energy — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:44:31 +1000

Complete set of Grand Inga dams on the Congo River would generate a massive 40,000MW of electricity.

From guardian.co.uk - Energy

Uh oh: Warmist John Cook claimed that papers by skeptics Craig D. Idso, Nicola Scafetta, and Nir J. Shaviv endorsed CO2-induced global warming?

Tom Nelson — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:44:00 +1000

Popular Technology.net: 97% Study Falsely Classifies Scientists' Papers, "It would be incorrect to claim that our paper was an endorsement of CO2-induced global warming"Their responses are eye opening and evidence that the Cook et al. (2013) team falsely classified scientists' papers as "endorsing AGW", apparently believing to know more about the papers than their authors..

From Tom Nelson

Answers

The Air Vent — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:38:24 +1000

So all you skeptics want answers to how much warming we should expect from adding CO2 to the atmosphere? An interesting new study has been released which matches quite closely to Nic Lewis’s work. The difference is that 14 of the authors are lead-coordinating lead authors of the pending AR5 IPCC report. It is being hosted at Bishop Hill blog and WUWT.

From The Air Vent

Insane $1.93 Billion Artificial Island With Space Hotel and Zero-Gravity Spa Proposed for Barcelona

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:30:54 +1000

A project as ostentatious as soaring zero-gravity space hotel atop a man-made island may sounds fitting for Dubai, but Mobilona and designer Erik Morvan plan to construct just such a resort off the coast of Barcelona...

From INHABITAT

Tûranor PlanetSolar: World’s Largest Solar-Powered Boat Sets Transatlantic Speed Record

INHABITAT — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:02:46 +1000

MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, the world’s largest solar boat, set a new record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a vessel powered entirely by solar energy, smashing its own 2010 record by four days...

From INHABITAT

Alexei Kokorin, head of WWF-Russia Climate Program, on the next IPCC report: "Scientists have realized that today, in the 2010s, man’s impact is being mitigated by natural cycles that are offsetting the impact made on the climate by man. This situation

Tom Nelson — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:56:00 +1000

Climate experts to announce global climate time bomb will go off by 2040, says WWF's Kokorin - BellonaMOSCOW –The upcoming fifth climate change report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is believed to reveal new, and gruesome, scientific data: Natural and anthropogenic factors contributing to global climate change will escalate in the 2040s, causing ever more devastating effects on the planet...

From Tom Nelson

Warmist John R. Talbott suggests that the Oklahoma tornado is a wake-up call from God

Tom Nelson — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:42:00 +1000

John R. Talbott, Huffington Post: Man-Made DisastersNobody is saying that any one weather event like a single tornado has definitely been caused by climate change, but weather patterns are shifting making extreme weather all the more commonplace.Of course, Oklahoma is also home to its senior senator, Jim Inhofe, who is one of the biggest climate deniers in the country. Senator Inhofe often asserts his claim that climate change is a hoax and impossible because "God's still up there." He has compared...

From Tom Nelson

Revkin: "Any influence of climate change on dangerous tornadoes (so far the data point to a moderating influence) is, at best, marginally relevant and, at worst, a distraction"

Tom Nelson — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:39:00 +1000

A Survival Plan for America's Tornado Danger Zone - NYTimes.comI’ll add a final thought about the persistent discussion of the role of greenhouse-driven climate change in violent weather in Tornado Alley.It’s an important research question but, to me, has no bearing at all on the situation in the Midwest and South — whether there’s a tornado outbreak or drought. The forces putting people in harm’s way are demographic, economic, behavioral and architectural. Any influence of climate change...

From Tom Nelson

100-Year-Old Utah Church is Lifted 40 Foot Above Ground Without Moving an Inch

INHABITAT — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:37:00 +1000

A historical treasure and city landmark, the Provo Tabernacle was originally constructed from 1883 to 1898 and has since been used as a gathering place for community meetings and cultural events, most notably an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah...

From INHABITAT

Cook’s 97% consensus study falsely classifies scientists’ papers according to the scientists that published them

Watts Up With That — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:12:19 +1000

When asked about the categorizations of Cook et al, – “It would be incorrect to claim that our paper was an endorsement of CO2-induced global warming” Guest essay by Andrew of Popular Technology The paper, Cook et al...

From Watts Up With That

Missing oil revenue stirs discontent among Chad's poor

guardian.co.uk - Energy — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:02:23 +1000

Despite billions in profits, the problem of poverty remains largely unresolved in one of the world's least developed countries.

From guardian.co.uk - Energy

Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s Ny Anstalt Prison Heals With a Connection to Light & Nature

INHABITAT — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:00:42 +1000

Schmidt Hammer Lassen's winning design for the prison in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland is an 8,000 sq m facility that plays on the contrast of roughness and the beauty of nature. While designing the project, the team focusses on the values of openness, light, .

Read the rest of Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s Ny Anstalt Prison Heals With a Connection to Light & Nature

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: "sustainable architecture", connection...

From INHABITAT

Huge 200mph Tornado Devastates Oklahoma City Suburb, Find Out How You Can Help

INHABITAT — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:13:31 +1000

A huge tornado more than one mile wide touched down in Oklahoma Monday afternoon, flattening a community of 41,000 south of Oklahoma City and killing roughly 91 people. Eye witnesses report that the tornado, which has received a preliminary rating of four out of five on the Enhanced Fujita Scale and reached wind speeds of up to 200mph, tossed around cars during its 20 mile journey, crushed homes and ripped apart buildings – including two schools. Twenty children are among the dead and...

From INHABITAT

Roundup: Alarmists are trying to associate global warming and tornadoes, but there isn’t one shred of evidence to support that idea

Tom Nelson — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:11:00 +1000

Deadly Oklahoma Tornadoes – When CO2 Was Below 320 PPM | Real ScienceDeadly tornadoes happen almost every year in Oklahoma. It is the heart of Tornado Alley1975 : Tornado Outbreaks Blamed On Global Cooling | Real Science1925/1890 Tornadoes Were The Worst In US History | Real Science31 Mar 1890 – TERRIBLE DISASTERS IN AMERICA. TOWNS AND VILLAGE…Oklahoma Having Their Coldest Spring On Record | Real ScienceLast year was the warmest spring on record in Oklahoma and the US, and had the lowest tornado...

From Tom Nelson

Wow: Tyndall Centre and Royal Society hosting a "Radical Emission Reduction Conference" because allegedly "No longer is there a non-radical option"

Tom Nelson — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:58:00 +1000

The Radical Emission Reduction Conference | Tyndall°Centre for Climate Change Research ®Today, in 2013, we face an unavoidably radical future. We either continue with rising emissions and reap the radical repercussions of severe climate change, or we acknowledge that we have a choice and pursue radical emission reductions: No longer is there a non-radical option. Moreover, low-carbon supply technologies cannot deliver the necessary rate of emission reductions – they need to be complemented with...

From Tom Nelson

Hansen at the LSE

Bishop Hill — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:49 +1000

Reader Danny Weston sends this report of James Hansen's lecture at the LSE last week..

On Friday the 17th James Hansen came to speak at the London School of Economics (LSE), on Itinerant farming to White House arrests: A scientist s view of the climate crisis .

The venue was completely packed and I wasn t sure initially if I would even get in. There were hundreds of people, already buzzing with excitement before Hansen began his talk.

As expected, Hansen put the frighteners on, emphasising...

From Bishop Hill

The Baker Stove is a Safer, Energy-Efficient Cookstove for the Developing World

INHABITAT — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:00:01 +1000

Read the rest of The Baker Stove is a Safer, Energy-Efficient Cookstove for the Developing World

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Baker Cookstove, Baker Stove, carbon monoxide, Claesson Koivisto Rune, cookstove, developing world, energy-efficient cookstove, energy-efficient stove, humanitarian design, indoor air pollution, kenya, Recycled aluminum, safer stove, stove, wood-burning stove

From INHABITAT

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse From Rhode Island Provides Erroneous Information To American Public in Global Warming Rant

Watts Up With That — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:00 +1000

Video Credit: Daily Caller/C-SPAN – click for video By WUWT Regular Just The Facts First, I’m sure I speak for everyone at WUWT when I say that our hearts go out to all the families in Oklahoma affected by the … Continue reading →...

From Watts Up With That

California governor Jerry Brown: Trace amounts of CO2 "even more threatening" than war abroad

Tom Nelson — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:59:00 +1000

Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown urges college grads to tackle climate change | State | SanLuisObispo.comBERKELEY - Gov. Jerry Brown told college graduates in a commencement speech today that climate change is a greater threat to their future than any number of other problems, from the home mortgage crisis and student debt to growing inequality and war abroad."All these problems are serious and count as some kind of crisis," Brown said, before calling "even more threatening" the effect of greenhouse gas...

From Tom Nelson

New Green Directory listings

ecowho.com — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:08:02 +1000

New listings in our green directory

From the EcoWho Directory

Solar Power Info

ecowho.com — Sat, 04 May 2013 11:01:44 +1000

Promotes the use of renewable solar power by product promotion and consumer education.

From the EcoWho Green Directory

Solar Power Installers, what to look for..

ecowho.com — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:11:14 +1100

When looking for a solar power installer, it pays to do your homework and double check that you are getting the best.

Given the money to be made from doing solar system installation, both for the installer and the final client. There are a lot of businesses doing solar power system installation. This, of course, means that some are better than others and some are rather worse than others.

So, given you want to have a system which will last for at least 20 years ideally, we provide some straight forward advice on how to find the best at a price point that works for you.

1. Shop around installers

Do not go with the first company you come across. As with most things in life, it will pay dividends to shop around. Not only will you get a better idea of what the price ranges and differences are between the systems being installed; you will also educate yourself on what goes into these system far quicker than just going with the first you find.

BTW you won't go far wrong read some of our articles in solar power anyways, plus they are free..

...

Choosing a water tank

ecowho.com — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:38:16 +1100

Water tanks, they come in so many different sizes and forms, it is often hard to work out what to choose and why, we can help..

A few years back we were having a reno done, and given we wanted to have a 'lush' garden without the water bill to match; we did some extensive research into what sort of water tanks would work for us and how to maximize the rainwater harvesting our roof would offer.

Well I have good news for you, all the research has been written up in an article - The Facts about Water Tanks . I hope you find it a useful read that will really focus your thinking on what you can do with a water tank or two..

Free Green Business Listings

ecowho.com — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:33:39 +1100

If you are running a Green or Eco Business, you can list it for free.

If you are running a business which is green or eco related, you can list it for free in our Company Listings Directory . This is great if you are a small business looking for additional online exposure.

Also if you provide a link back to ecowho.com, we will upgrade your listing for free.

So, you have nothing to lose, give it a try!

Shale Oil in South Australia, problem or opportunity?

ecowho.com — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:39:48 +1100

Potentially massive amounts of shale oil exist in South Australia, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

According to this article it looks like up to 233 billion barrels of oil might be sitting in shale deposits under South Australia...

Now if that is so, and it looks like it could indeed be, it amounts to a heck of a lot of oil, something to rival the oil rich Middle East. Which in turn equates to billions upon trillions of money to be made from extracting this.

So given the many zeroes sums of money to be made from this - I doubt even the political Green movement will be able to 'bury' this. Sometimes the rewards can be so great to 'leap' over any obstacles, and I think this clearly qualifies on that regard.

Now, of course, if this is going to happen, one wants to see the best outcome for the environment and given the monetary return it should indeed be possible to extract the oil whilst doing proper environmental protection.
...

Sea level rise of 1 meter in Australia unproven

ecowho.com — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:18:12 +1100

The ABC is currently saying that properties on the Australian coast are at risk for a 1 meter rise by the end of the century - where is the proof???

The ABC are currently promoting a blatant lie as concerns proven sea level rises.

The problem with this is that what they say will impact on the property market close to the sea, in the same way that a Greenie fraudulently issued a press release, they are in serious danger of making those who issue or present such false statements legally liable.

As regards the 'threat' of rising sea levels - to rise one meter by the end of the century would require 11.5mm per year. Yet if one looks at the current rate of sea level rise, as recorded since 1850 we get the following graph.

As can be seen, there has been no acceleration on this record since 1850. In fact we would need the rate of sea level rise to be eight times faster than it currently is; i.e. in reality we have a rate of sea level rise of about 9cm per 100 years - a darn sight less than 1 meter. For more information on this read this article .
...

Tasmania Bushfires, lack of hazard reduction burns to blame

ecowho.com — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:13:40 +1100

The Tasmania Bushfires are more a result of a lack of hazard reduction burns and not due to Climate Change.

Miranda Devine has just published an article concerning the fires in Tasmania and how the lack of back burning and hazard reduction burns have in fact contributed massively to the intensity of the fires and that it is NOT caused by climate change.

She has also done a radio interview on the matter.

To be honest, what she says make a lot of sense. If gum leaves, bark, etc are left to accumulate you quickly have a 'fuel load' so high that it is not possible to be managed in the event of a fire. As someone who has pile burnt leaves, sticks, etc to keep my place tidy, there is a very clear reason why you do not pile it all up too high, rather than being a controllable fire it soon turns into an absolute fireball of intense heat. All those oils in the wood create a 'perfect storm' of conditions in high fuel load to create something that is uncontrollable.
...

Mental Maths app Maths Bug updated

ecowho.com — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:27:10 +1100

Maths bug, the app to help teach and improve mental maths skills has been updated.

Maths Bug has been updated as follows:

Several annoying bug fixes
Support for latest version of Android OS
Localized into Chinese and Spanish.

This is a significant update to help users across the globe get more enjoyment from the app.

Its available for free from the Google Play Market here . If you would like to learn more please visit the apps' website .

Enjoy!

Updated Green Directory

ecowho.com — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:21:48 +1100

Our Green Dictionary App has undergone an upgrade.

We have just finished doing some upgrade work to the Green Dictionary App as follows:

Well over 800 definitions and terms covering the green, eco, environment and climate space;
Better support for tablets and latest edition Android (including Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean).
'Live' fetching of related blog posts for each definition, so for instance look up 'solar power' and see the latest blog posts that relate from leading eco, climate and science blogs.

If you have not got the App already you can download it from free from the Google Play market here . Give it a go!

Greenland Ice Sheet Melt

ecowho.com — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:00:45 +1100

We look at reports regarding the rate of Greenland ice sheet melt.

According to recent reports (see CNN & The Australian) it appears that the speed of the Greenland ice melt has been increasing at an 'alarming' rate...

The trouble with this is that this is only a problem if:

The measurements are indeed accurate enough to allow this analysis to stand, and,
The melt water remains as melt water and is not taken up by other parts of the climatic system (i.e. it gets converted back to ice somewhere else) and remains in balance as a whole.

Now, look at the following:

Embracing Data 'Noise' Brings Greenland's Complex Ice Melt Into Focus

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Straw man science: keeping climate simple; watch the pea..

ecowho.com — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:57:10 +1100

The conversation has just published a rather incorrect article claiming that none of the human produced Co2 is absorbed by the natural Co2 cycle, we blow it out the water.

See the offending article here , to quote:

"We produce a modest percentage of all CO2 emissions. But the extra emissions aren’t absorbed by the carbon cycle, so CO2 builds up in the air. A small rise each year has resulted in a 40% increase of CO2."

Wrong, yes Co2 has gone up, but it has been going up for the last 50m years, see here. Although, as noted in the paper, working out the exact source of Co2 and its relationship is very hard to do, as each source does not have a distinct Co2 'fingerprint' - rather there is a lot of overlap as different sources and sinks inject and consume different isotopes of Co2 in different ways.

As for the extra Co2 emissions from man not being consumed in the carbon cycle, it is well know that Co2 is growth promoter in plants. So much so that commercial operations growing plants often inject Co2 into their greenhouses to speed growth. Also it is known that the biosphere is blooming, and that the African Savannah's are turning into forests.
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Methane from waste food an environmental problem?

ecowho.com — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:33:14 +1100

We look at whether methane from waste food is a real problem in our environment.

ABC Radio just ran a feature talking about the impact of methane on the environment from waste food rotting.

Agreed, wasting food is a problem, but the levels of methane produced by this is dwarfed by other sources. For instance:

Natural plant material rotting after it dies;
The poo from animals breaking down..
Animals breaking down after they die...

Methane is a natural by product of normal environmental processes. The fact that food rots and produces methane is nothing new.

Also the '21 times more powerful than Co2' statement is not proven and does not take into account the carbon 'consumed' in the production of said food. For a more detailed discussion on this, see this article.

In all, I consider this a lot of 'hot air' and a desperate attempt to keep the global warming/climate change meme running in the media. Nobody is interested any more, better luck next time.
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BOM 'predicts' a hot Summer in Australia

ecowho.com — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:07:12 +1100

BOM have just announced that due to a three day 'heat wave' we are due a hot Summer...

BOM have just announced on the ABC News radio that they think the upcoming Summer will be very hot with lots of heat waves.

Now, the trouble with all this is that we may indeed have a heat wave on the way; but it is somewhat disingenuous of BOM to mix what are predicted heat waves with what has actually occurred. It's rather like calling the results of a race before it has finished.

There is also the problem of 'which temperature' is being measured - if they are measuring the temperature in the middle of Perth for instance, then the 'Urban Heat Island' effect could be largely to blame for the record more than anything else - e.g. black tarmac and brick buildings trap heat in a location far better than trees and forest - so temperature measurements in such urban locations have an upward bias. This is a well known effect.

By all means warn people that it will be hot in Summer (duh!), but do not fall into the trap of calling highs and record temperatures well before they could happen. The UK Met Office have got caught fowl doing this crystal ball predicting many times before, I would have thought the BOM would have been above this.
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Ballarat museum scaring children with biasless climate propaganda

ecowho.com — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:44:08 +1100

Caring about the environment is one thing, deliberately setting out to scare young children with climate change propaganda in an art gallery is something completely different...

Ballarat Museum is scaring children!!!

Probably not the headline Ballarat Museum wanted, but it fits the bill perfectly in this case.

As Australian Climate Madness and Quadrant Online have found, climate change zealots will stop at nothing to influence children. In some cases taking paintings done many many years ago and spinning the context to make it look like they are referring to climate change.

Enough!

Ballarat Museum - you should be utterly ashamed. You are meant to be a place of education and reflection, not a place where children are spoon fed the latest meme!
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What does Free Range Eggs mean?

ecowho.com — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 08:07:23 +1100

What do you think Free Range Eggs means in Australia? Well, apparently there is no standard definition of what Free Range is...

Free Range Eggs, no standard definition!!!

Yes, that is right, there is no standard definition as to what Free Range means in Australia. Apparently in practice Free Range is applied to anything from 750 to 20,000 chickens per hectare.. Not exactly what you thought it meant is it?

Now given people pay up to $5 more per dozen eggs for it being Free Range, this is recipe for paying over the odds for not what you expected.

There is a voluntary code in place that pegs the density at 15,000 per hectare but there is no mandatory code. The industry is pushing for Free Range to be defined as 20,000 per hectare but only 1% of people that is really 'Free Range'...

Now the current situation is better than Caged chickens which only get 450cm2 each, but if the density of the Free Range chickens is too high you end up with a poorer quality egg. We keep true Free Range chickens who roam over 5 acres, and the quality of the eggs is excellent - lovely flavour, deep orange colour & fresh.
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Reducing Building Waste and Saving Yourself Money

ecowho.com — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:03:28 +1100

Property building is often very wasteful. Old doors, windows, tiles, etc often end being thrown in a skip and going into landfill - we look at the alternatives.

Oh, what a waste!

If you are involved in the building game, you will be familiar with the 'skip of junk' that is required with knock downs or rebuilds. Quite often what were perfectly serviceable windows, doors and fittings just get chucked into the skip.

Now, often this is just how things are and for old buildings with fittings that are really long longer serviceable the tip and being recycled are probably the best way to go. But what about fairly modern houses and properties that are having a renovation?

In this situation you can do one of the following:

1. Leave it in the skip

Okay, this may be the simplest course of action, but its not going to win you any environmental prizes and it will probably cost you money to have it all taken away.

2. Try to get rid of it yourself

Hmm, bit difficult that. You can either try to sell it off to a recycling yard (and get a reduced amount of money) or try to sell it yourself (with no guarantee of a sale).

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Dirty weather is dirty PR

ecowho.com — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 08:08:37 +1100

Al Gore is at it again with his '24 hours of Climate Reality', we call it what it is - BS.

Al Gore has found a new catch phrase 'Dirty Weather' - i.e. weather produced by human pollution; and he is going to inflict on us all 24 hours of video editing tricks and misdirection on us in an attempt to convince us that we are the ones responsible for the 'dirty weather' and not just natural climate variability.

This is basically a last gasp attempt to try sell the snake oil that is man made climate change onto an unsuspecting public. Unfortunately for Al Gore and his supporters they are facing a 'climate' in which:

The public is being increasingly more educated on the actual facts at hand;
The money is drying up, mainly due to the fact that the schemes for solving the 'climate problem' are actually turning up to be expensive white elephants that are actually more harmful than the 'problem';
The climate itself isn't playing ball, no climate model is supported by the actual measured climate.
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Read more and comment
From the EcoWho blog

Fixing a water pump cheaply

ecowho.com — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:53:30 +1000

Our pool cleaner pump just died and I was able to fix it for $14...

Seems to be the week for things electrical to break.
We have a pool with a Polaris pool cleaner, which does a very effective job. Unfortunately I noticed the other day that the 'overload' fuse on the board powering the pump for the pool cleaner was out. I reset it and turned on the pump, was greeted with a loud hum and then the overload fuse reset.. Okay, the pump was not happy.
Now, being okay with fixing basic electrical items, I took the pump out of the system and hooked it up in my garage. Again apply the power and I get a hum, except this time I quickly removed the power to stop it tripping the garage circuit. So the pump was responding to the power just not doing anything.
So I did a little of dismantling - basically taking the fan guard off the back so I could easily spin the motor. Now in order to test the operation of the pump spinning under power I would give the pump a quick spin in the right direction and whilst it was still in motion apply the power - and surprise surprise the pump would run quite happily.
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Fixing a solar hot water controller

ecowho.com — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:28:17 +1000

Fixing a broken solar hot water controller need not be that expensive

We have had a Hills Solar evacuated tube solar hot water heater for a number of years now that provided cheap hot water year round. Recently we noticed that our hot water was not as hot as we were used to it. We put it down to a cold and cloudy winter. Although once we noticed that even on sunny days there was not much hot water available it was clear something was wrong.
So under the house I go, we have a system where the hot water tank is fitted in the crawl space under the house at the end where you can easily stand. Now a quick touch test of the return pipe where it goes into the hot water tank showed there was not much heat.. Hmm, a quick look at the solar controller showed that it thought it was powering the pump, the light was on. The pump must have gone I thought, but these small pumps are very reliable. I wondered if the controller itself was to blame, so I turned it off and turned it on, then when the light came back on I could hear the relay 'click' and the pump started up. So the relay had stuck.
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Cloud feedback wrong in climate models, paper

ecowho.com — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:09:11 +1000

A recent paper by Miller et al 2012 in the AMS Journal indicates that the climate models could be out by a factor of 19 with respect to actual cloud feedback.

For those of us who have been wanting to see more analysis done on the exact role clouds play in the climate and how they relate to the Co2 and feedback, this paper (abstract) and (pdf) will certainly be of interest you.

This is also covered in detail both on Jo Nova and The Hockey Schtick.

Given how much emphasis models place on positive feedback in relation to Co2, without any real solid analysis as to 'how' they proved the positive feedback is there to model - such papers that cast more light on the relationships between different elements of the climate should be encouraged.
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Droughts in the USA, not

ecowho.com — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 08:51:36 +1000

It appears that NASA's James Hansen has been caught out spreading unproven conclusions about droughts in the USA, when in actually it is not the case.

James Hansen has been famous over the years for making pronouncements that are shown later on to be false, from deaths of Polar Bears (more than ever now) to Manhattan being under meters of water within a few years.. He is famous for turning off the air conditioning at a Senate hearing to make the Senators feel a heat that wasn't really there.
His latest erroneous pronouncement is that the odds of droughts & high temperatures occurring in the USA now are 1 in 10... Although in a Watts Up With That that post, Former Virginia State Climatologist Dr. Pat Michaels, says:

Hansen claims that global warming is associated with increased drought in the US. This is a testable hypothesis which he chose not to test, and, because PNAS isn’t truly peer-reviewed for Members like him, no one tested it for him.

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