Climate Change Issue and Monitoring Progress

Global Warming Videos

2008-09-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sep 13, 2008 in Gallery

Video tentang pemanasan global, efek yang mengerikan dan solusinya.
Harap sebarkan informasi ini ke teman-teman Anda juga.

The Ways to Save the Planet in 30 Minutes or Less

2008-04-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

From Larry West,
Your Guide to Environmental Issues.

Invest half an hour to protect the environment by changing how you live each day

You may not be able to reduce global warming, end pollution and save endangered species single-handedly, but by choosing to live an earth-friendly lifestyle you can do a lot every day to help achieve those goals.

And by making wise choices about how you live, and the amount of energy and natural resources you consume, you send a clear message to businesses, politicians and government agencies that value you as a customer, constituent and citizen.

Here are five simple things you can do—in 30 minutes or less—to help protect the environment and save Planet Earth.

Drive Less, Drive Smart
Every time you leave your car at home you reduce air pollution, lower , improve your health and save money.

Walk or ride a bicycle for short trips, or take public transportation for longer ones.

In 30 minutes, most people can easily walk a mile or more, and you can cover even more ground on a bicycle, bus, subway or commuter train. Research has shown that people who use public transportation are healthier than those who don’t. Families that use public transportation can save enough money annually to cover their food costs for the year.

When you do drive, take the few minutes needed to make sure your engine is well maintained and your tires properly inflated.

Eat Your Vegetables
Eating less meat and more fruits, grains and vegetables can help the environment more than you may realize. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products contributes heavily to global warming, because raising animals for food produces many more greenhouse gas emissions than growing plants. A 2006 report by the University of Chicago found that adopting a vegan diet does more to reduce global warming than switching to a hybrid car.

Raising animals for food also uses enormous amounts of land, water, grain and fuel. Every year in the United States alone, 80 percent of all agricultural land, half of all water resources, 70 percent of all grain, and one-third of all fossil fuels are used to raise animals for food.

Making a salad doesn’t take any more time than cooking a hamburger and it’s better for you—and for the environment.

Switch to Reusable Shopping Bags Producing plastic bags uses a lot of natural resources, and most end up as litter that fouls landscapes, clogs waterways, and kills thousands of marine mammals that mistake the ubiquitous bags for food. Worldwide, up to a trillion plastic bags are used and discarded every year—more than a million per minute. The count for paper bags is lower, but the cost in natural resources is still unacceptably high—especially when there is a better alternative.

Reusable shopping bags, made of materials that don’t harm the environment during production and don’t need to be discarded after each use, reduce pollution and save resources that could be put to better uses than making plastic and paper bags. Reusable bags are convenient and come in a variety of sizes and styles. Some reusable bags can even be rolled or folded small enough to fit into a purse or pocket.

Change Your Light Bulbs
Compact fluorescent light bulbs and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are more energy efficient and less expensive to use than the traditional incandescent bulbs invented by Thomas Edison. For example, compact fluorescent light bulbs use at least two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and they last up to 10 times longer. Compact fluorescent light bulbs also generate 70 percent less heat, so they are safer to operate and can reduce energy costs associated with cooling homes and offices.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, if every U.S. household replaced just one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road. On top of that, for every incandescent bulb you replace with an approved compact fluorescent light bulb, you will save consumers $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.

Pay Your Bills Online
Many banks, utilities and other businesses now offer their customers the option of paying bills online, eliminating the need to write and mail paper checks or to keep paper records. By paying your bills online you can save time and money, lower the administrative costs of companies with which you do business, and reduce global warming by helping to prevent deforestation.

Signing up for online bill paying is easy and doesn’t take much time. You can either choose to have certain bills paid automatically each month or elect to review and pay each bill yourself. Either way, you will receive outstanding returns on your small investment of time.

Why Online Bill Paying is Good for the Environment

Climate Change Issue and Monitoring Progress

Bali Action Plan

2008-02-17T02:00:00.001-08:00

Due to climate change issue, Bali has initiate a conference. Belows is the action will take after the conference.

Resolving to urgently enhance implementation of the Convention in order to achieve its
ultimate objective in full accordance with its principles and commitments,
Reaffirming that economic and social development and poverty eradication are global
priorities,
Responding to the findings of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change that warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and that delay in
reducing emissions significantly constrains opportunities to achieve lower stabilization levels
and increases the risk of more severe climate change impacts,
Recognizing that deep cuts in global emissions will be required to achieve the ultimate
objective of the Convention and emphasizing the urgency1 to address climate change as
indicated in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
1. Decides to launch a comprehensive process to enable the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action, now, up to and beyond 2012, in
order to reach an agreed outcome and adopt a decision at its fifteenth session, by addressing, inter alia:
(a) A shared vision for long-term cooperative action, including a long-term global goal for
emission reductions, to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention, in accordance
with the provisions and principles of the Convention, in particular the principle of
common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and taking into
account social and economic conditions and other relevant factors;
(b) Enhanced national/international action on mitigation of climate change, including,
inter alia, consideration of:
(i) Measurable, reportable and verifiable nationally appropriate mitigation
commitments or actions, including quantified emission limitation and reduction
objectives, by all developed country Parties, while ensuring the comparability of
efforts among them, taking into account differences in their national
circumstances;
(ii) Nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties in the
context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology,
financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable
manner;
(iii) Policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and
1 Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, Technical Summary, pages 39 and 90, and Chapter 13, page 776.
Advance unedited version
2
the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of
forest carbon stocks in developing countries;
(iv) Cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions, in order to enhance
implementation of Article 4, paragraph 1(c), of the Convention;
(v) Various approaches, including opportunities for using markets, to enhance the
(UNCCC)

Other Articles :

# Climate Change Conference Result, not followed experts

# Barack Obama Plan for Energy and Environment

# Save The Earth

# Bali Action Plan

Save the earth

2008-01-09T01:44:00.000-08:00

Publised on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 13:18 in Environment.
Tags: CO2, global warming, green, listrik, transportasi

Yuhuu… Bumi kita sudah semakin tua. Dan belakangan ini semakin cepat tua lagi karena emisi CO2 yang berlebihan dari para makhluk yang menghuninya. So, apa yang membuat emisi CO2 itu semakin bertambah tiap harinya? Trus apa yang bisa kita lakukan?

Mari kita lihat daftar penghasil emisi yang ada di bawah ini:

* Setiap hari jumlah kendaraan bermotor semakin bertambah. Di Jakarta sendiri, jumlah kendaraan bermotor khususnya yang beroda dua bertambah secara signifikan setiap tahun. Selain mengkonsumsi bahan bakar fosil, kendaraan bermotor dalam jumlah yang berlebihan akan menimbulkan kemacetan di mana-mana. Kemacetan ini sendiri tentu akan meningkatkan konsumsi bahan bakar kendaraan yang digunakan.
* Penggunaan listrik yang berlebihan. Kadang kita meninggalkan rumah atau kamar tanpa mematikan peralatan listrik yang ga digunakan. Alasan yang umum adalah “males nyalain lagi nantinya”. Listrik ini sendiri dihasilkan di pembangkit listrik. Di Indonesia sendiri, pembangkit listrik yang paling banyak berkontribusi dalam menyumbangkan tenaga listrik dan emisi CO2 adalah PLTU alias Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Uap yang menggunakan batu bara. Yup, batu bara merupakan salah satu penghasil emisi karbon yang paling tinggi dibandingkan dengan bahan bakar lainnya walaupun di sisi lain juga merupakan salah satu penghasil energi tertinggi. Yah, seimbanglah antara positif dan negatif. Dengan pemborosan dalam penggunaan listrik, maka jumlah pembangkit listrik ini sendiri harus ditambah untuk menyuplai para pelanggan agar beban di pembangkit tidak berlebihan. Tentu ini akan menambah jumlah batu bara dan juga kontribusi dalam menghasilkan karbon dioksida.
* Penggunaan AC dan pendingin serta pemanas air berlebihan. Memang masih berhubungan dengan listrik, tapi dalam kasus ini, elektronik yang khusus menghasilkan atau menyerap kalor atau panas merupakan elektronik yang mengkonsumsi listrik cukup banyak. Mari kita lihat perhitungannya. Kita seringkali mendengar yang disebut AC 1 PK atau 1/2 PK. Tahukah anda apa arti dari PK itu sendiri. PK bisa juga diartikan HP atau Horse Power yaitu perhitungan listrik di mana 1 HP = 745 Watt listrik. Jadi AC 1 PK mengkonsumsi 745 Watt. Bila sebuah rumah memiliki 3 AC 1/2 PK dan semuanya dinyalakan secara bersamaan, maka akan digunakan 1122 Watt di mana jumlah ini hampir sama dengan jumlah listrik yang digunakan dalam sebuah rumah sederhana. Hal ini juga berlaku pada pemanas air listrik yang digunakan dalam setiap kamar mandi.
* Penggunaan air secara berlebihan. Terkadang kita melupakan bahwa penggunaan air juga dapat meningkatkan jumlah CO2. Hal ini berhubungan erat dengan penggunaan listrik dalam pemrosesan air tersebut. Air panas yang digunakan untuk mandi seringkali dihasilkan oleh pemanas air sesuai pada poin sebelumnya. Selain itu juga terkadang menggunakan pompa untuk mengalirkan air ini, yang tentu juga akan menggunakan listrik. Selain itu juga berkaitan dengan krisis air yang terjadi di banyak belahan dunia saat ini, penggunaan air secara berlebihan tidak akan membantu penyelesaian masalah ini.
* Penebangan pohon dan jalur hijau. Khususnya untuk ibukota kita Jakarta, banyak pohon yang ditebang untuk dijadikan jalan raya. Padahal pepohonan yang rimbun justru dapat membantu mengurangi jumlah CO2 yang ada di udara. Ditambah pula penebangan liar di hutan-hutan yang ada di luar Jawa.

Setelah melihat beberapa hal penyebab emisi CO2, maka kita akan lihat bagaimana cara menguranginya. Ingatlah jangan menyepelekan hal ini. Mungkin bila hanya satu orang saja mungkin tidak berefek banyak pada lingkungan, tapi bila anda bisa mempengaruhi yang lainnya maka efek dari emisi akan dapat dikurangi secara besar-besaran.

* Menggunakan transportasi publik. Di Jakarta sendiri sudah mulai dibangun transportasi publik massal semisal Bus Transjakarta. Dapat juga menggunakan bus umum atau angkutan umum. Apalagi melihat jumlah biaya yang digunakan untuk bahan bakar mobil pribadi, bukankah lebih menguntungkan menggunakan kendaraan umum? Terkadang karena gengsilah yang membuat orang enggan beralih dari kendaraan pribadi ke kendaraan umum. Ingatlah kalau suatu saat anda menyelamatkan dunia dari emisi karbon yang berlebihan, harga diri anda juga akan diselamatkan. :p Tapi ini serius koq. Bahkan jalan kaki lebih baik karena selain membuat tubuh lebih sehat, bisa juga mengurangi emisi karbon sebanyak 100% pada jarak yang sama.
* Selain menggunakan transportasi publik, bisa juga mengganti kendaraan pribadi dengan kendaraan yang berbahan bakar hibrid untuk menghemat penggunaan bahan bakar fosil. Kemudian berkendaralah dengan baik di jalan raya karena berkendara secara ugal-ugalan akan mengkonsumsi lebih banyak bahan bakar fosil. Selain itu selalu cek kesehatan kendaraan anda secara berkala, dan jangan lupa memeriksa tekanan ban karena tekanan ban yang sesuai akan mengurangi penggunaan bahan bakar.
* Matikan perlatan listrik bila ga diperlukan.
* Ganti lampu di rumah dengan lampu hemat energi.
* Ganti peralatan listrik tua dengan peralatan listrik baru yang lebih hemat energi.
* Pasang AC dengan suhu yang tidak terlalu berlebihan. Selain itu matikan AC pada saat tidak digunakan.
* Jangan menggunakan air panas secara berlebihan, khusus ketika mandi dan mencuci. Bila mungkin, ganti pemanas yang digunakan dari pemanas elektrik menjadi pemanas tenaga matahari (solar cell).
* Gunakan shower daripada bathtub karena konsumsi air jauh lebih sedikit.
* Menggunakan bahan-bahan daur ulang, misalnya kertas atau plastik.

Cara-cara ini sebenarnya bisa dilakukan dalam keseharian kita, tapi tergantung dari diri anda sendiri juga. Sebagai perbandingan, di Amerika Serikat, jumlah emisi CO2 yang dikeluarkan adalah 9 ton / tahun per kapita atau per orang. Jadi kalau kita bisa mengurangi sampai setengahnya, hal ini akan mengurangi laju pemanasan global yang telah dapat kita rasakan dampaknya saat ini. Selamat berpartisipasi. ;)

http://etersoul.com/2007/08/10/save-the-earth/

Other Articles :

# Climate Change Conference Result, not followed experts

# Barack Obama Plan for Energy and Environment

# Save The Earth

BARACK OBAMA PLAN FOR ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

2008-01-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama's Plan About Energy and Environment

Reduce Carbon Emissions 80 Percent by 2050
Cap and Trade: Obama supports implementation of a market-based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions by the amount scientists say is necessary: 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Obama's cap-and-trade system will require all pollution credits to be auctioned. A 100 percent auction ensures that all polluters pay for every ton of emissions they release, rather than giving these emission rights away to coal and oil companies. Some of the revenue generated by auctioning allowances will be used to support the development of clean energy, to invest in energy efficiency improvements, and to address transition costs, including helping American workers affected by this economic transition.
Confront Deforestation and Promote Carbon Sequestration: Obama will develop domestic incentives that reward forest owners, farmers, and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands, or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Invest in a Clean Energy Future
Invest $150 Billion over 10 Years in Clean Energy: Obama will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid. A principal focus of this fund will be devoted to ensuring that technologies that are developed in the U.S. are rapidly commercialized in the U.S. and deployed around the globe.
Double Energy Research and Development Funding: Obama will double science and research funding for clean energy projects including those that make use of our biomass, solar and wind resources.
Invest in a Skilled Clean Technologies Workforce: Obama will use proceeds from the cap-and-trade auction program to invest in job training and transition programs to help workers and industries adapt to clean technology development and production. Obama will also create an energy-focused Green Jobs Corps to connect disconnected and disadvantaged youth with job skills for a high-growth industry.
Convert our Manufacturing Centers into Clean Technology Leaders: Obama will establish a federal investment program to help manufacturing centers modernize and Americans learn the new skills they need to produce green products.
Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital Fund: Obama will create a Clean Technologies Venture Capital Fund to fill a critical gap in U.S. technology development. Obama will invest $10 billion per year into this fund for five years. The fund will partner with existing investment funds and our National Laboratories to ensure that promising technologies move beyond the lab and are commercialized in the U.S
Require 25 Percent of Renewable Electricity by 2025: Obama will establish a 25 percent federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources, like solar, wind and geothermal by 2025.
Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology: Obama will significantly increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low-carbon coal technologies. Obama will consider whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology.

Support Next Generation Biofuels
Deploy Cellulosic Ethanol: Obama will invest federal resources, including tax incentives, cash prizes and government contracts into developing the most promising technologies with the goal of getting the first two billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol into the system by 2013.
Expand Locally-Owned Biofuel Refineries: Less than 10 percent of new ethanol production today is from farmer-owned refineries. New ethanol refineries help jumpstart rural economies. Obama will create a number of incentives for local communities to invest in their biofuels refineries.
Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard: Barack Obama will establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard to speed the introduction of low-carbon non-petroleum fuels. The standard requires fuels suppliers to reduce the carbon their fuel emits by ten percent by 2020.
Increase Renewable Fuel Standard: Obama will require 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be included in the fuel supply by 2022 and will increase that to at least 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol by 2030.

Set America on Path to Oil Independence

BARACKOBAMA.COM

Other Articles :

# Climate Change Conference Result, not followed experts

# Barack Obama Plan for Energy and Environment

# Save The Earth

Climate Change Conference Result, Not Followed Climate Expert

2008-01-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

Bali Roadmap Abaikan Kerja Ahli Iklim
(17 Dec 2007

NEW YORK -- Hasil Konferensi PBB tentang Perubahan Iklim (UNCCC) yang dirangkum dalam Peta Jalan Bali (Bali Roadmap) tidak memuaskan kalangan aktivis lingkungan. Penempatan target spesifik penurunan emisi dalam catatan kaki pembukaan, dinilai meremehkan kajian ilmiah ahli iklim untuk melayani kepentingan Amerika Serikat (AS).Direktur Eksekutif Greenpeace International Gerd Leipold menyatakan, Greenpeace yang hampir 15 tahun mengawasi proses negosiasi antarpemerintah untuk melawan perubahan iklim kecewa atas hasil konferensi di Bali.

“Hasil konferensi yang tidak mencantumkan target spesifik pengurangan emisi telah mengecilkan kerja keras ilmuwan dan harapan umat manusia,” ujarnya dalam pernyataan yang dirilis kemarin.

Lebih lanjut, Leipold menuding delegasi AS yang dikirim pemerintahan Presiden Bush sebagai biang keladi tumpulnya kesepakatan konferensi. “Sejak awal, Presiden George W. Bush punya rencana buruk di Bali. Karena itu, pemerintah-pemerintah di dunia harus menentukan nasib mereka sendiri dari bencana yang diciptakan Bush,” ujarnya.

Seperti diberitakan, pembahasan kesepakatan akhir di Bali berlangsung alot akibat sikap AS yang didukung Kanada dan Jepang. Mereka menolak target pengurangan emisi bagi negara-negara maju 25-40 persen dari angka pada 1990 yang harus terealisasi tahun 2020.

Hingga menjelang akhir perundingan Sabtu, 15 Desember, ketiga negara industri itu menyetujui kesepakatan untuk menurunkan emisi. Tapi, mereka tetap menolak mencantumkan angka secara tegas.

Alotnya perundingan tersebut menyebabkan jadwal konferensi terpaksa diperpanjang sehari. Kompromi yang dicapai hanya mencantumkan target spesifik tersebut sebagai catatan kaki pada pengantar.

Ailun Yang, eksekutif Greenpeace dari Tiongkok, menambahkan bahwa strategi kotor Bush yang menentang semua bahasan, terutama terkait dengan aturan mengikat soal emisi, membuat jutaan umat manusia menderita akibat perubahan cuaca.

“Pemerintah AS tanpa ragu menyalahkan lemahnya kesepakatan itu kepada negara-negara berkembang. Namun, dunia mengerti apa yang sebenarnya, Amerika-lah yang berperan di Bali,” tuding Ailun.

Meskipun kecewa dengan ditendangnya kesepakatan pengurangan emisi secara spesifik, Greenpeace tetap menyambut baik perjanjian akhir yang mencantumkan suatu mandat untuk merundingkan tahap berikut yang lebih mantap dari Protokol Kyoto untuk tahun 2009.

Mandat itu berisi pendanaan dan penyaluran teknologi bersih bagi negara-negara berkembang serta pembiayaan untuk membantu para korban perubahan iklim.
Kiprah delegasi AS di konferensi iklim di Bali juga disorot di dalam negeri.

Kandidat presiden dari Partai Demokrat Hillary Clinton menyebutkan, delegasi yang dikirim pemerintahan George W. Bush ke UNCCC di Bali telah mempermalukan AS. Dalam konferensi 12 hari itu, Bush ingin menghambat kemajuan pembicaraan di UNCCC, namun akhirnya gagal juga.

“Pemerintahan Bush sekali lagi berusaha menghalangi kemajuan, namun akhirnya tak bisa menahan tekanan konsensus politik dan ilmiah untuk beraksi terhadap perubahan iklim,” kata Hillary.

Istri mantan Presiden AS Bill Clinton itu menambahkan, jika dirinya yang duduk di kursi presiden, proses pembicaraan di UNCCC akan jauh lebih maju. Hillary pun berjanji akan membuat sebuah perjanjian pasca Kyoto jika nanti terpilih sebagai presiden.

“Saya segera memimpin proses membuat sebuah perjanjian baru untuk menggantikan Protokol Kyoto. Pemerintahan saya akan mengadakan pertemuan tingkat tinggi dengan pemimpin seluruh dunia setiap 3 bulan jika dibutuhkan untuk membuat sebuah perjanjian baru,” janji Hillary. (AFP/BBC/kim) and http://www.fajar.co.id

Other Articles :

# Climate Change Conference Result, not followed experts

# Barack Obama Plan for Energy and Environment

# Save The Earth