Global Warming Tips

Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan battle over solar panels

Wednesday, October 15th 2008 at 12:02 pm

When Carter had become president three months earlier, the nation was still recovering from the "oil shock" of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, and scientists were realizing our nation was just then hitting the point of domestic peak oil production predicted more than a decade earlier by scientist M. King Hubbert. (The rest of the world is hitting the Hubbert Peak right now.)

As Carter noted in his speech, "The oil and natural gas we rely on for 75 percent of our energy are running out. In spite of increased effort, domestic production has been dropping steadily at about six percent a year. Imports have doubled in the last five years. Our nation's independence of economic and political action is becoming increasingly constrained." Hubbert had predicted that the peak of oil production for the USA would come in the 1970s, and it did, hitting us with a shock.

"The world has not prepared for the future," said Jimmy Carter. "During the 1950s, people used twice as much oil as during the 1940s. During the 1960s, we used twice as much as during the 1950s. And in each of those decades, more oil was consumed than in all of mankind's previous history." Hubbert said we must begin to conserve. Carter agreed.

"Ours is the most wasteful nation on earth," he said, a point that is still true. "We waste more energy than we import. With about the same standard of living, we use twice as much energy per person as do other countries like Germany, Japan and Sweden." Carter directly challenged the fossil fuel and automobile industries. "One choice," he said, "is to continue doing what we have been doing before. We can drift along for a few more years.

"Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. Our cars would continue to be too large and inefficient. Three-quarters of them would continue to carry only one person -- the driver -- while our public transportation system continues to decline. We can delay insulating our houses, and they will continue to lose about 50 percent of their heat in waste. "We can continue using scarce oil and natural gas to generate electricity, and continue wasting two-thirds of their fuel value in the process." More.

Economic worries trump global warming worries

Monday, October 13th 2008 at 11:38 am

The economic free fall gripping the nation may bring down one of the main environmental objectives: capping the greenhouse gases that are blamed for global warming.

Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate, and both presidential candidates, continue to rank tackling global warming as a chief goal next year. But the focus on stabilizing the economy probably will make it more difficult to pass a law to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. At the very least, it will push back when the reductions would have to start.

As one Republican senator put it, the green bubble has burst. "Clearly it is somewhere down the totem pole given the economic realities we are facing," said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Duke Energy Corp., an electricity producer that has supported federal mandates on greenhouse gases. Duke is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, an association of businesses and nonprofit groups that has lobbied Congress to act.

Just months ago, chances for legislation passing in the next Congress and becoming law looked promising. The presidential candidates support mandatory cuts and a Democratic majority is ready to act on the problem after years of the Bush administration's resisting federal controls.

But the most popular remedy for slowing global warming, a mechanism know as cap-and-trade, could put further stress on a teetering economy. More.

Bush says companies get to decide if they're harming animals

Sunday, October 12th 2008 at 3:47 pm

A Bush administration plan to let U.S. agencies decide for themselves whether their actions put wildlife at risk is drawing fire from environmental groups, which say this is like letting a fox guard a henhouse.

The Interior Department, one of two federal agencies pushing for this policy change, rejects the environmentalists'critique, saying the new rule would cut bureaucratic red tape and free government scientists for more important work.

But a coalition of conservation groups sees the move as an attempt to gut the Endangered Species Act.

"This is exactly the fox guarding the henhouse," Michael Daulton of the National Audubon Society said. "It's a scary proposition to think about agencies with no wildlife expertise at all making decisions about the fate of species, potentially leading to extinction."

The 35-year-old Endangered Species Act is meant to protect threatened wildlife by relying on the best available science, the environmentalists noted. Government scientists must now consult with agencies on projects that could put species at risk. More.

New air-powered cars in America by 2010

Sunday, October 12th 2008 at 12:47 pm

I guess that's what MDI (the company who has been pioneering, or at least attempting to pioneer, the compressed-air-powered car for the last 20 years) was thinking when they created the AirPod. This new concept is going to roll off the production line in 2009.

The car will be powered by MDI's compressed air system, which uses electricity to compress huge amounts of air in small tanks. The air is then slowly released from the tanks, driving pistons that move the car. This system is hopefully going into American cars by 2010, and was licensed by Tata Motors for use in India and Europe.

The AirPod seats three (one facing backward) and the "playful and futuristic" design allows for an extremely light-weight and inexpensive vehicle. The top speed of the thing is just over 40 miles per hour and it has a range of only 130 miles before a refill is needed, so...obviously it will be just for city use.

Refilling an air car can be extremely quick (if you happen to have an aircar fueling station nearby) or quite slow (if you have to charge using an inexpensive home compressor.) But these cars are never dirty. Even if the power used to compress the air is pure-coal-fired power, these things are way cleaner than gasoline, and even cleaner than electric vehicles. More.

Is global warming past the tipping point?

Monday, October 6th 2008 at 6:33 pm

The basic proposition behind the science of climate change is so firmly rooted in the laws of physics that no reasonable person can dispute it. All other things being equal, adding carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere'by, for example, burning millions of tons of oil, coal and natural gas'will make it warm up.

That, as the Nobel Prize'winning chemist Svante Arrhenius first explained in 1896, is because CO2 is relatively transparent to visible light from the sun, which heats the planet during the day. But it is relatively opaque to infrared, which the earth tries to reradiate back into space at night. If the planet were a featureless, monochromatic billiard ball without mountains, oceans, vegetation and polar ice caps, a steadily rising concentration of CO2 would mean a steadily warming earth. Period.

But the earth is not a billiard ball. It is an extraordinarily complex, messy geophysical system with dozens of variables, most of which change in response to one another. Oceans absorb vast amounts of heat, slowing the warm-up of the atmosphere, yet they also absorb excess CO2. Vegetation soaks up CO2 as well but eventually re releases the gas as plants rot or burn'or, in a much longer-term scenario'drift to the bottom of the ocean to form sedimentary rock such as limestone. Warmer temperatures drive more evaporation from the oceans; the water vapor itself is a heat-trapping gas, whereas the clouds it forms block some of the sun's warming rays. Volcanoes belch CO2, but they also spew particulates that diffuse the sun's rays. And that's just a partial list.

Because including all these factors in calculations about the effects of CO2 increase is hugely difficult, it is no surprise that climate scientists are still struggling to understand how it all will likely turn out. It is also no surprise, given his track record as something of a climate change agitator, that James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has been circulating a preprint of a journal paper saying that the outcome is likely to turn out worse than most people think. The most recent major report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007 projects a temperature rise of three degrees Celsius, plus or minus 1.5 degrees'enough to trigger serious impacts on human life from rising sea level, widespread drought, changes in weather patterns, and the like. More.

Norway is installing electric car pumps across the country

Tuesday, September 30th 2008 at 11:24 pm

Norway has been making a big push to go green over the last decade, and recently they made another huge jump for themselves. They are installing over 400 electric recharging stations all over the country, so you can take your hybrid car everywhere you need to go, even long distance trips.

They work much like a gas pump with a few big differences. First and most obvious, they don't pump gas, but electricity into your car battery. Second and most important, they're free for anybody to use.

They first started putting these pumps right next to freeway entrances and exits, but now they're installing them on the side of their highways so you're never too far from recharging your car. Not only is it easy to install new units almost anywhere they want, it's also extremely cost effective. Each unit is estimated at $35 dollars to build and install. That's less than the cost of one take of gas for one car, in exchange for a unit that will give energy to hundreds of thousands of cars.

Not only are they totally free to use, you get to park for free while your car is recharging. With all these perks, it's (hopefully) only a matter of time until everybody is driving a nice electric car that costs nothing to fuel.

Volvo's new eco-friendly green bus

Tuesday, September 30th 2008 at 11:18 pm

Volvo's new Hybrid green buss is the first of its kind, and is expected to hit the market by 2010. What gas prices going through the roof and more people depending on public transportation, this could be a huge improvement for our environment.

The new bus uses a combo diesel and lithium ion battery, it decreases CO2 emissions by 30%, doesn't idle at stop lights, reduces particle and nitrous oxide emissions by 40-50%, carries more passengers, and runs quieter than normal diesel buses.

The cost of the new 7700 Hybrid could add to profits for fuel savings over its diesel version after 6 years of operation. Even with the addition of their heavy rechargeable batteries, the new buses only weigh 100 kilograms. They can also fit seven extra people in the new hybrid bus.

Even cooler, but battery charges using the energy produced by the bus during breaking. Of course this doesn't fully power the bus, but it keeps it charged throughout the day so buses don't have to keep coming back to the station to recharge.

When the bus is stopped or in the idle position, the engine is completely off. When the bus driver accelerates, the electric motor pushes it to 30 mph before the diesel engine takes control. This means less pollution for passengers getting on and off the bus.
We can only hope that these buses are cost effective and efficient enough for companies to adopt them quickly, but by the sound of it, this is the first green bus that will meet those specifications.

Turning Sunflowers into fuel

Saturday, September 13th 2008 at 5:26 pm

Sunflowers are already used for oil production and to make biodiesel' now scientists want to look into their viability as ethanol.

Over the next few years, University of Georgia scholar Steve Knapp will study silverleaf and Algodones dune sunflowers. The species have the ability to produce significant amounts of cellulosic biomass, which can be converted into ethanol.

But both the silverleaf and Algodones dune sunflowers are wild species, and domestication takes time. Knapp plans to tackle the problem by studying each of the sunflower's 40,000 to 50,000 genes to determine what they control in the plant.

Whether or not the sunflowers emerges as a serious contender in the ethanol race remains to be seen, but its commercial use could easily provide some extra income to Georgia farmers. More.

Honda's new hybrid - The Honda Clarity

Friday, September 12th 2008 at 1:15 am

Honda's new fuel-cell hybrid is turning a lot of heads. It's run by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in a fuel cell, the vehicle's only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile and two times that of a gasoline-powered hybrid vehicle.

The fuel cell combines hydrogen with oxygen to make electricity. The electricity then powers the electric motor, which in turn propels the vehicle. Water is the only byproduct the FCX Clarity leaves behind.

"The FCX Clarity lease program is one more step toward meeting the societal goals of climate stability, renewable energy supplies and zero-emissions transportation," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "With this key step, we are advancing toward the goal of broader commercialization".

Visit the official Honda Clarity website here.

Going green for college

Sunday, September 7th 2008 at 4:04 pm

It's back to school season again, and time to jump back into school and classes. But while you're getting back into that schedule, try to do a few things to make your college (or at least your dorm) greener.

1. Skip the single serving snack-packs. Get a big bag and make your own single-serving portion in a small plastic bag when you're on the go. Wash the bag out when you’re done and do it again the next time. It’s that easy.

2. Chill out with the AC. Tons of college students keep their AC's running just because they can. That's not cool! (Note: yes, the pun was intended.) Don't act like a monkey when it comes to the environment. Leaving your AC running while you're out hurts the planet regardless of whether or not you’re paying the bill.

3. Turn off your computer. I know, I know. It’s so tempting to leave your AIM on all day long so your friends can leave you little messages and see which classes you’re in, etc. BUT (there is always a "but"), it’s better for the planet and your computer if you just shut it off when you leave.

Read the entire list here.

The 65 mpg car the United States can't use

Saturday, September 6th 2008 at 11:20 am

Ford is pushing out a new car that gets a whopping 65 miles per gallon. A sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system and much more. This new car is made by American darling "Ford", but it won't be available to purchase in the Unitd States.

Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC) in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.

Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel.

Ford says they're going to start making gas-powered versions of this car in Mexico, to sell to the United States. More.

Another reason to drive 55

Sunday, August 3rd 2008 at 7:35 pm

I've written about the benefits of driving 55 miles per hour, but I just got another good one. And if you're feeling the crunch and the gas pump, it's a good reason.

Each 5 miles per hour you drive over 60, you're paying .30 cents more per gallon of gas. So if you're paying $4.00 per gallon for gas, but cruise 70 down the freeway, you're really paying $4.60 per gallon. That really puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

In 1974, Richard Nixon imposed a nation-wide 55 mile per hour speed limit law. A congressional study showed that the 1974 law resulted in a savings of 167,000 barrels of petroleum a day, and the volume would be even greater now that there millions more cars on the road.

How freelance writers can go green

Wednesday, July 16th 2008 at 11:34 am

It's time for all of us to do our part to help the environment. Being "green" or environmentally friendly is not only for naturalists or those "nutty earth people." As a freelance writer, I want to do my part. Following are four green tips for freelance writers that are relatively easy to follow.

It's the little efforts that we all put forth that will help Mother Earth. If you're a freelance writer who is or wants to be environmentally conscious, this is for you.

1. Recycle Electronics. Did you know that electronics equipment is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation's waste? It's called e-waste, and consists of popular electronics we all use, eg, copy machines, fax machines, computers, televisions, etc.

All of this can be recycled, reused and/or refurbished. To learn more, visit epa.gov and look for information on recycling. They have info on where to donate your old equipment, links to local organizations that participate in e-waste programs and a general FAQ section about recycling electronics. If you're in California, an excellent site to visit is erecycle.org.

2. Go to a Paperless Office. I've had a paperless office for years. It had nothing to do with being green, just being practical. It turns out though that it's one of the best moves I could have made to help the environment.

Creating a paperless offices is easier than you might think. In 2001 when I lived in NY, I moved my business from an office space into my one-bedroom apartment. As space was limited, I wanted to eliminate the need for a file cabinet. So, I started scanning and storing files electronically. I used email as much as possible instead of a fax machine and I only printed when it was absolutely necessary.

As I ran a staffing agency at the time, I had to keep all kinds of document son file, so you'd think it would have been difficult. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to go - and remain - a paperless office.

3. Unplug Equipment. The carpenter on HGTV, Carter Osterhouse, said in one of his commercials about going green that appliances use as much as 40% of their energy when they are plugged in, even if they're turned off.

So, in addition to logging off, unplug your office equipment at the end of each day. While it may seem to be inconvenient to constantly plug and unplug it, think of the huge savings to the environment - we all share this planet. It's time for us to contribute even though it may be just a tad inconvenient.

Osterhouse also reminded us that we should routinely unplugged all appliances around the house when they're not in use, eg, the coffeemaker, toaster, microwave, etc.

4. Use Recycled Paper. Using recycled paper should become the norm. It's easy to find and does so much for the environment.

Consider this: Some experts say that recycling one ton of newspaper saves about 4,000 KWh of electricity. This amount of electricity can provide power to a 3-bedroom European house for a whole year, and/or enough energy to heat and air-condition the average North American home for almost six months. [Source: Wikipedia.com (look for entries on paper recycling)]

When you buy recycled paper, purchase the brand that has the highest recycled content as possible. For a product to carry the recycle logo, it has to meet federal standards which mandate that it be at least 30% pre-consumer content.

Going Green Adds Up

There are just a few green tips for freelance writers. With a little thought, I'm sure you could come up with many more. And, while a few of these may seem nominal, they add up.

Green tips for freelance writers are easy to follow, if being environmentally friendly is important to you.

Yuwanda Black is a freelance writer and the author of How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple, 500-Word Articles found here. Ms. Black says, "You can work from home as a freelance writer in your PJs, getting assignments via the internet. I do it every day. All you need is a computer and an internet connection to get started." Click here for more green tips for freelance writers.

Will all the ice in the North Pole melt soon?

Wednesday, July 2nd 2008 at 10:17 pm

Last year the North Pole had an extremely thin ice cover and now, for the first in recorded history, all the ice in the North Pole could vanish completely in about a year.

Some people still question whether global warming is happening at all, but the melting of the North Pole represents a sharp indicator against voices of doubt.

And now, scientists are predicting that this major milestone will be reached either this or next summer. The disappearance of the North Pole's ice cover during the Arctic Summer.

The prediction comes from the U.S.'s top climate researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. They predict that in September, there is a good chance that the ice will be gone on the pole.

www.enn.com

Are scientists really arguing about climate change?

Wednesday, July 2nd 2008 at 1:41 pm

It turns out the majority of British people think they are. But this debate (among scientists) was settled a long time ago, and the current debate is over how bad it's going to get, and how long it's going to last.

Like the tobacco lobbyists who spent years denying the links between smoking and cancer, global warming denialists don't have to win the debate � they simply have to confuse the public indefinitely to successfully undermine any political action which might hit the interests of their backers in the fossil fuel industries.

So just keep that in mind when you see people arguing about global warming on CNN or Fox News, they aren't scientists, and their beliefs don't always reflect the facts or reality. The debate among real scientists is over.

www.guardian.co.uk

Green ways to travel

Monday, June 30th 2008 at 4:56 pm

With gas prices hitting new record highs every day, it seems like everybody is looking for a cheaper way to get around. Maybe you really care about the environment! Whatever the reasons, here are a few eco-friendly ways to travel.

Electric Scooter. One one battery charges, you can travel about 50 miles. This is perfect for running to the grocery store, the post office, and other local things you have to do. You won't use hardly any gas, and you can find some shortcuts and back roads to get you there faster!

Electric Scooter. It might not sound as appealing as a scooter, but it might be a lot more convenient. You won't be able to travel as far, but if you use it to get to a bus station, subway or light rail, you can travel long distances (thanks to public transportation) with this small gadget.

Electric Car. You've probably heard of electric cars by now. They've been very well developed the last few years, so even the lazier and less eco-caring among us can still benefit from an electric car. With gas prices this high, anybody can benefit.

Walk or Bike. You might think "that's so last century", but you would be dead wrong. Biking doesn't take any gasoline and it's very healthy for you. So is talking obviously, but it will take you longer to get where you're going. If you do bike, make sure to invest in a bike lock so you don't lost that bad boy.

Think outside the box. If you work close to somebody you work with, carpool. Even if it's just one of two days a week you will both (or all) save money. If you live far away from work, offer to pickup people on your way if they chip in a little bit for your gas. Times are tough so anything with help

How to green your garden

Sunday, June 29th 2008 at 11:34 pm

It's summertime again, and for some people there's no better way to kill an afternoon than to spend time in the garden. Flowers, plants, animals, sun, you've got it all! But when you're in your garden, you should do your best to help keep it green. Here are some tips.

Water in the morning. "Like it or not, some of the water meant for your plants will evaporate before it reaches the soil. This is compounded on a hot day. Watering in (or setting your sprinkler timer for) the morning can save 50 gallons of water a week".

Reuse your pots. "Plants die, but pots rarely do. Save the pot and soil if one of your plants expires. You can even create your own pots by drilling a hole in old butter containers or flipping over a drum. If a pot breaks, you can usually glue it back together with no loss of quality".

You can get more great tips from Live Science by clicking the link below.

www.livescience.com

San Francisco approved their municipal solar program

Monday, June 16th 2008 at 9:46 pm

The Solar Energy Incentive Program is finally going to happen in San Francisco. They have been given the green light for 10 years, with an annual budget of $3 million dollars. The money will be used at tax incentives for companies and families that install solar panels. The SEIP could be active as soon as July 1st of this year.

Local solar installers also approved of this plan because it will continue to create jobs in the coming years, as well as cleaning up a smoggy city. The rebates and tax incentives will also be applicable to these local installers, allowing them to cut the cost of solar installation by 20%.

Families and individuals are granted between $3,000 and $6,000, and businesses will receive a $10,000 rebate. The city is estimating in the first 10 years, roughly 15,000 rooftops will be covered in solar panels. Currently there are less than 700 rooftops in San Francisco with solar panels.

San Francisco also passed a separate measure granting 1.5 million to helping low-income and non-profit corporations to get their rooftops filled with solar panels as well. This is fantastic news, but it's no surprise a California city is out in front on this initiative. It's not enough anymore to "let the hippies try it first" and if it works, let it spread to the rest of the nation. More local governments need to start providing incentives to people for using power. I know lots of people who aren't against the idea, it's just too expensive up-front to make that leap. We just need more progressive local (and federal) governments like San Francisco's.

How to run your car on vegetable oil

Wednesday, June 11th 2008 at 4:51 pm

The average price of gasoline in the United States surpassed $4 a gallon this week, and it doesn't look like there's any relief in site. I've read a few estimates that by this time next year, the price of gas could be about double what it is now. Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to worry about gas prices anymore? Well if you convert your car to run on vegetable oil, the price of gas won't bother you anymore.

I found a great article that details exactly how you can make the leap away from oil. And what the gas companies don't want you to know is, this process is extremely easy.

These guys lay out the process in 8 easy steps. "This will not happen overnight. Nor will it work if you just want something for nothing. There are some up-front costs, but more importantly, it�s the dedication of your time and energy that puts the money back in your pocket. You�re going to give up the quick convenience of the express station, so you have to truly believe in the value of what you�re doing. But once you make this determination, the hardest part is already done." So if you're ready, take the jump into the green!

Global warming is good for jellyfish

Saturday, June 7th 2008 at 11:57 pm

If you're a fan of jellyfish and don't care about global warming, today we have some great news for you! While some species are being threatened from global warming, jellyfish are thriving from it. But for how long isn't so clear.

Today, off the coast of Alaska, jellyfish are about 40 times more abundant than they were in 1980. In the 1990's, scientists and fishermen saw a huge increase in the number of jellyfish. They also saw jellyfish living in places they've never been able to live before. This is due to warming oceans.

In 2000 however, jellyfish levels began to even out and stop increasing. This is because ocean temperatures are still rising, and jellyfish can only thrive in certain temperatures. Warm is good, but too warm will kill them off, and that's what has scientists worried. As temperatures near the equator rise, jellyfish will continue migrating north and south into cooler water, until there's no more cool water left.

Mexico plants gardens on rooftops to fight global warming

Saturday, June 7th 2008 at 1:35 pm

Mexico City is one of the most polluted cities in the world, but now they're taking steps to start cleaning up. They are going to start planting grass and gardens on top of public buildings to help absorb carbon dioxide. They're first round of rooftop gardens will be planted over 100,000 square feet around the city.

They are going to replace gas tanks, clothe lines and heat-reflecting asphalt with these gardens to combat global warming. The government is even offering tax breaks to businesses or individuals who plant gardens on top of their office buildings and / or apartments. Mayor Ebrard pledged over $5 billion over five years to help reduce greenhouse gases in Mexico City.

Mexico City is home to over 20 million people, and 4 million cars. Their plan will cut carbon emissions by 4.4 million tonnes per year. Mayor Ebrard also encouraged citizens to use bicycles, and even declared "car-free" roads on weekends.

White House report says global warming is likely caused by humans

Thursday, June 5th 2008 at 5:07 pm

Ever since 1990 the US government has been required to issue a scientific report on climate change every four years. This report is suppose to show the effects climate change is having on our economy, environment and public health. The 2004 deadline for this report was ignored by the Bush Administration, and as a result they were sued by "green groups" for its release. It took the Bush Administration four more years to release the report, but it's finally out.

What was the result of this Bush Administration study? Most of the recent global warming is very likely due to human generated increases in greenhouse gas concentrations.

The climate science behind the report is not new, and neither is the White House spin. The "Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States" report states: Finally, climate change is very likely to accentuate the disparities already evident in the American health care system. Many of the expected health effects are likely to fall disproportionately on the poor, the elderly, the disabled and the uninsured.

The Bush Administration still says these findings aren't bad or negative, just different and changing. You know I feel like I'm the conservative compared to these guys. I know I can live in the environment the way it is now, so I'm going to be conservative and try to stop the environment from drastically changing. Is it me or is the Bush Administration's stance on climate change very liberal?

A winter of reasons supporting global warming

Monday, June 2nd 2008 at 11:13 am

For the last five years, it seems like ever summer is hotter than that last, and "summer" has been extending into Thanksgiving and Christmas! I personally went golfing twice last December in 75 degree weather, and that was the first time I actually didn't resent global warming. But I wasn't the only person that keeps noticing extreme weather "winter". Here is some other crazy stuff that happened in our world last winter.

Starting in Wisconsin, this winter they had over 80 inches of snowfall, which is 14 inches more than has ever been recorded. They also had a few tornadoes in January. There was a storm up north that dumped a foot of rain in a 24 hour period, and had wind gusts of over 130 miles per hour.

It also snowed in Baghdad for the first time in 100 years, and temperatures dropped to below freezing in just as many. Here is a great pictures of some Iraqi kids playing in the snow.

This year's Chinese Ice Festival had no ice because it was too hot to keep it frozen. The Iditarod race in Alaska had to be moved even farther north so they could find snow. Some cities in the United States are making "ice skating ponds" because they don't freeze. And there was a very rare tropical storm, Olga, in the middle of December. Tropical storms and hurricanes aren't usually active until May or June. The wild-fires in California this year is been bigger than any other year, and they've been more frequent as well.

Now of course none of these things by themselves can be linked directly to global warming, but when you look at the frequency and severity of all these things, it can make anybody think something might be going on. And for all your nay-sayers out there, I leave you with a quote from Chip Giller: "So-called 'global warming' is just a ploy by wacko tree-huggers to make America energy independent, clean out our air and water, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, kick-start 21-st century industries, and make our cities safer and more livable. Don't let them get away with it". So eve if you don't believe in global warming, what's wrong with wanting to live cleaner, better and safer?

Restaurant grease is quickly becoming a hot commodity

Saturday, May 31st 2008 at 11:10 am

Just a year ago, most restaurants paid a company to come and take their used fryer grease away. A year later, gas prices are still on the rise and those same restaurants are now selling their used grease, instead of paying to get rid of it. They're even installing security systems to stop thieves from stealing their used grease.

It's called "Yellow grease", and most people thought of it only as trash only a couple of years ago. Today, it's being traded as a hot commodity on the open market for $2.50 a gallon, nearly $1.50 less than a gallon of gasoline. That sounds good, but in 2000 the price was only $.50 per gallon. With a conversion kit, yellow grease can be mixed with gasoline as an additive for your fuel. Yellow grease can also burn on its own, much like a low grade of diesel gasoline.

Because this grease has such great ability to fuel automobiles, it's no surprise thievery is on the rise. A man in California was caught stealing grease from Burger King. When he was pulled over, they found 2,500 gallons of grease in his truck! That's almost $6,000 worth of fuel for your car. And $6,000 restaurants can earn back with no extra work at all.

Wind power could turn Norway into Europe's battery

Wednesday, May 28th 2008 at 10:19 am

Sure, Canada might be American's hat. But a new plan in Norway could turn Norway into the battery of Europe. The thinking is that Norway is lucky to have such big energy resources, and there is a large potential for wind power in Norway. So much in fact, that Europe plans to use 20% of it's energy from the wind farm in Norway by 2020.

The energy generated by Norway would be equivalent to about eight nuclear power plants. Norway pumps about 2.2 million barrels of oil per day. The offshore wind parks, which would stop on calm days, could be supplemented by hydro reservoirs which can be turned on and off to turn them into a battery storing power for the entire European Union.

The StatoilHydro company said it will invest $80 million to build the world's first full-scale floating wind turbine to start up in 2009.

This project could cost around $40 billion dollars. It sounds like a ton of money, and it is, but $40 billion dollars is what it takes to power Europe for half a year. Investing half a year's worth of energy money into this project will pay off within the first it's live.

Don't be so quick to toss out your old computer

Tuesday, May 27th 2008 at 11:14 am

There's some new research out today that shows upgrading to a new computer might be more harmful to the environment than simply upgrading your old computer. This is because it takes more energy to create a new computer than that same computer will consume in 10 years. Here are some things you can do to fix up your current computer instead of buying a new one.

If you've been using the same computer for a few years, you probably notice it running slower than when you first got it. This doesn't mean it's time to get a new computer! Usually the slow-down is because of all the crap you've downloaded throughout the life of your computer. When you get too much crap on your computer, it will start slowing down. There are a few things you can do in this case, to make your computer run faster.

RAM. It's like the temporary memory in your computer. If you don't have a lot of RAM, you can't do very much with your computer's small temporary memory. The more RAM you have the more you can do without your computer slowing down. It's also possible your hard drive is full. If there's no room to put new files on your computer, it will try to store your data in temporary memory which will result in extreme slow down.

If you have a laptop, it might be worth buying a new battery for it. Laptop batteries do wear-out over time, so the 5-hour charge you originally had might only be a 1-hour charge today. Lots of people consider this a good time to get a new computer. Save your money and the environment, and just buy a new battery instead.

Over 220 million tons of e-Waste are generated annually in the USA. e-Waste is the waste generated from computers and other electronic devices. With the world population growing exponentially daily, little things like this will end up helping our environment in the long run.

Coors donates 400 beer-fueled cars to the Democratic National Convention

Monday, May 26th 2008 at 12:22 am

Molson Coors Brewing Company announced that they will be donating 400 cars to the Democratic National Convention that run on beer ethanol. They are using their "waste beer" to fuel these cars, instead of oil. The waste beer is the beer that is deemed "below brewery standards" and is recycled into alcohol automotive fuel. The fleet will be for the use of U.S. House and Senate Leadership, DNC officials and state party chairs, delegates, staff, and members of the media.

Best of all, nobody will be going hungry from the ethanol being used. That's because Coors isn't using any corn-based ethanol, they're using beer-based ethanol. And since that beer is below standards anyway, it would just go to waste. Considering they've been doing this for 12 years, I'm a little surprised more people don't know about it. But with global warming becoming an issue, big companies are looking to take small steps to become more environmentally friendly. Giving cars to the DNC is of course "free" advertising for Coors, but it should also give them a lot of eco-credit among the greener of us.

Coors is the first major U.S. brewer to convert its waste beer into ethanol. Since 1996 Coors has been recycling waste beer, which the company says is beer lost during packaging or deemed below quality standards, and converting it to alcohol automotive fuel. The company says production of ethanol from waste beer also helps it eliminate about 70 tons of harmful volatile organic compounds from its air emissions annually.

Time to drive 55 miles per hour again

Thursday, May 22nd 2008 at 10:46 pm

Did you know during the 1970s, the United States Congress adopted a nationwide 55 mile-per-hour speed limit law. They even withheld highway funding from any state that failed to comply with the federal law. That law was repealed over 12 years ago, but with the rising cost of fuel and global warming concerns, some people are asking Congress to re-adopt the law of the 1970s.

One of those groups is Drive 55 who is helping lobby Congress to re-pass this law. They also encourage people to donate, get bumper stickers and encourage other people to drive 55 miles per hours. "Sheer physics tell you lower speeds equal better fuel economy, fewer injuries and lower emissions" said Justin McNaull, director of state relations for AAA.

But The American Heritage Foundation claims 12 years of 55 mile per hour speed limits cut fuel consumption by just 1 percent. After Congress repealed the National Maximum Speed Law and 33 states raised their speed limits, the Cato Institute said traffic deaths dropped to a record low. So there might be more at stake than just saving a little gas.

I personally don't believe Congress should pass this law again. The states have spend plenty of time and money determining the proper speed limits for every road in their states. If drivers can drive faster than 55 miles per hour while not endangering other people, they should be allowed to.

The drawbacks aren't measured just in terms of minutes lost. The SF Times reports there's the feeling of inadequacy that comes from being flipped off by a little boy in another car. From being tailgated by little old ladies and pickup trucks. From being passed by 830 vehicles, including an AC Transit bus, on a drive from the Bay Area to deep into the San Joaquin Valley.

Stop global warming from your computer desktop

Wednesday, May 21st 2008 at 5:44 pm

In a non-commercial project from Uniblue Research Labs, a computer program called LocalCooling can help cut into the problem of global warming. LocalCooling is a free power-management program you can download here, and it allows you to configure and optimize your computer's energy management settings.

More than 30 billion kilowatt-hours of energy are wasted because many people just forget to shut down their computers when they aren't using them. If we could just improve the efficiency of how we use our computers, the savings in energy costs would be over $3 billion dollars. The CO2 emissions from just 15 computers are equivalent, in energy terms, to the gas consumption of one car.

Obviously this isn't going to solve the global warming problem, but small steps might just be the best way to cut into this problem and ultimately eliminate it. Computers are always going to be a part of our world, so the best thing we can do is make them as green as possible.

10 things you can do around your house to reduce your carbon footprint

Saturday, May 10th 2008 at 2:21 pm

Change a light bulb. Replace at least 1 light bulb in your house (preferable the one that is used most often) with an energy star light bulb which uses about 75% less energy than standard light bulbs. With how much energy they save it almost makes you want to replace every bulb in your house. Find a store near you that carry these bulbs.

Recycle. Recycling is a big step towards helping fight global warming. Only about 30% of Americans recycle, and with each family who doesn't recycle wasting about 2500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, this percentage has to change. Even if you don't have a recycling program at home, work or school then start one! Remember it's all up to you.

Plant a tree. If you have the means to plant a tree, start digging. During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.

Join a carpool. Instead of driving alone in your car, join a carpool, take mass transit, walk, or ride a bike -- anything that reduces the amount of gasoline you burn.

Sell your old car. A car that gets 20 miles per gallon will emit about 50 tons of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. A car getting 40 mpg will emit half that much. When buying your next car, pick the least-polluting, most efficient vehicle that meets your needs. Maybe it's an innovative hybrid that combines a gasoline engine with electric motors (and never needs to be plugged in).

Cut the AC, get a fan. Sure your AC keeps your frost cold, but it also uses a lot of energy. If you replace your AC with a fan (and they do sell strong fans) you will cut your energy bill and CO2 emissions by at least 500 pounds a year.

Buy Food from local growers. It usually doesn't cross your mind, but the food you buy at the grocery store usually travels thousands of miles to get there, which is a lot of fossil fuel burned. Supporting your local growers and helping the planet, a win win.

Unplug your TV when it's off. Most electronics (even your cell phone charger) still use energy when everything is off or disconnected from it, so just because you turn your TV off, it's still eating away at the planet, and your wallet. Just move your power strip to a reachable positions and switch that off to save that extra energy.

Leave the thermostat alone. During the winter it can get cold, but try to stay away from the thermostat, instead wrap up in a blanket and get a nice sweater, you'll stay warm and it's free.

Air dry your clothes. When it's nice out setup a clothes line and dry your clothes that way. Dryers use a lot of energy, plus your clothes will have that fresh air smell.