In August last year the winner of the eVolo’s 2011 Skyscraper Competition was announced and it couldn’t have gone to a more worthy project. The LO2P is one of the most forward thinking buildings ever designed, aiming to cleanse one of the worlds most polluted cities – Delhi.

By combining a recycled materials form with a carbon conscious function the skyscraper acts like an enormous bio-lung. And that’s not all; the depth of LO2P’s genius is three fold. Firstly, it’s a recycling center for all the waste and heat of Delhi. Secondly the building is a power plant, producing its own energy and then some extra too. Last but not least, it’s a gigantic air filter, purifying the thick air pollution that hovers above Delhi in dense smog.

This futuristic recycling center is the brainchild of Atelier CMJM and chief designer Julien Combes and Gaël Brulé of France. The outer ring of LO2P, which resembles a Ferris wheel, is made up of large scale greenhouses, these structures filter the air. On top of these there are photovoltaic panels that generate clean energy for the city. In the center of the Ferris wheel a set of rotation filters capture the suspended particles in the air and pump fresh air back into Delhi. The base of the tower houses a recycling center, which produces heat and carbon dioxide; these are then used by the greenhouses to generate food and bio-fuel.

As if all those sustainable credentials weren’t green enough, the LO2P will be constructed from recycled cars, of which there are numerous in Delhi. The incredible congestion and subsequent pollution from cars is a huge problem for India’s metropolis and although CNG buses for public transport are slowly becoming more popular it is not enough to significantly improve emissions. As these forms of public transport and more fuel efficient vehicles are introduced the previous cars are made redundant. These cars are that Atelier CMJN wants to recycle and use to build the looping skyscraper. It is enough to say the LO2P has caused excited ripples through both the world of architecture and sustainable living.

And there’s a myriad of other major cities that could benefit from the giant lung. Air pollution is a serious problem in capitals all over the world. In 2008 the Chinese government had to make a massive effort to clean Beijing’s air for the Olympics, traffic was reduced, emission standards were increased and industrial construction halted. As London fails air quality objectives again for many of its boroughs with the congestion charge not having enough of an impact on pollution and strict guidelines coming into play, the city could really do with an LO2P circular skyscraper. Similar to a vertical garden the revolutionary building is an eco-factory easily imaginable in different locations over the globe.

Once it’s erected in Delhi we will have a better idea of how easy it will be to construct elsewhere. The recycled materials and car parts won’t be difficult to find as every city worldwide boasts armies of obsolete and out-dated vehicles.

Author Bio:

Zac Colbert is a freelance copywriter living in Brighton. He covers a wide variety of digital and technology related subjects. He’s written on a diverse range including eco-design, mobile workforce management solutions and the hyper-mediated human being.

Related posts:

1. Capturing carbon dioxide from air
2. Eco friendly vehicles
3. Why do we need plastic bags recycling

Wind and solar energy, in particular, are touted as the energy sources of the future. But entrepreneurs have tried to harness both for centuries. Their limited utility and obstacles, documented since the 1800s, explain why wind and solar make up just a tiny portion of our energy supply today despite a quarter-century of highly preferential taxpayer and ratepayer subsidy.

The problem concerns the vicissitudes of weather, which makes wind and solar inherently unreliable and unsuitable for today’s energy-intensive economy.

Wind turbines produce at maximum capacity during a range of wind speeds — typically 50 to 90 kilometers per hour. At slower speeds, electrical output falls dramatically. If wind speeds fall by half, production decreases by a factor of eight.

Therefore, turbines scarcely produce at capacity. In fact, the annual output of a turbine averages just 20% to 30% of capacity. And about 10% to 15% of the time, turbines produce virtually no power at all.

Solar energy is equally dependent on weather — it doesn’t work at night without a storage device, and even during the day, cloud coverage can make the technology stall.

A general solar panel will produce 100 to 120 watts of energy per square meter. That’s during periods of direct sunlight, which is about five hours per day.

For the amount of energy that solar and wind produce, their start-up and ongoing operating costs are exorbitant.

Wind farms, for example, can only be built in a limited number of remote places. They are generally found in wide open, rural areas or offshore, where long-distance transmission adds costs for consumers.

In many regions, attractive areas have already been exploited, leaving only less favorable sites that require significant investment in transmission and additional infrastructure, including new substations and access roads.

Wind power facilities, depending on the ruggedness of location and other factors, cost between $2 million and $6 million per Megawatt of capacity.

The starting rate for power from the Cape Wind project, America’s first offshore wind project with 130 wind  turbines, is set at 18.7 cents per kilowatt — almost double the average U.S. retail rate for electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Alternative energy sources fail the cost, reliability, and scalability tests, says the founder of the Institute for Energy Research, Robert Bradley.

On the Cape Wind project we can see for example few pros and cons of construction of such alternative energy facility.

As mentioned, biggest disadvantage of project in the star is of course price which is estimated to $1 – $2 billion. Among others are possibilities to disrupt marine life and endanger birds in Cape Cod; probably alter or even ruin certain seaside spots.

Considering such huge price and other obstacles for wind farm in Cape Cod one may take in consideration fact that those wind turbines could provide three-quarters of the power to more than 200,000 residents and could already start generating power in 2012. It will also create green jobs in the area with no chance of the wind turbines polluting the water. The closest turbine to the shore would be 8 kilometers offshore so it won’t disrupt local people fishing or sightseeing.

With the example above, obviously there is almost no one project regarding green energy and current issues with fossil fuels that can be considered to have only advantages for us and future generations. However, we must insist to new technologies and new fuel sources, to be prepared for years that will come when fossil fuels and some other resources like water, food or wood will significantly deplete.

Related posts:

1. Japan’s new energy plan
2. Wind turbine pioneers
3. First offshore wind farm

With gas prices on the rise, the race is on for cheap alternative fuel sources, including solar power.

The major criticisms against solar power facilities, such as wind farms, are unreliability and inefficiency. Solar power depends on some environmental factors that can’t be controlled by humans so that’s the main reason potential investors are bit anxious. Not only money makes a problem but investments need to be followed by large areas with high and effective sunlight during the day.

When we are looking back to the past, around 50 years ago, group of scientists gave a proposition of solar powered satellites (SPS). Such satellites would have almost perfect and most wanted conditions if we compare it to the earth’s facilities because those satellites would be able to gather energy 24 hours a day and of course there is a larger amount of solar energy in Earth’s orbit than on Earth’s surface (144% of maximum solar energy on surface). One more, big advantage for SPS would be a satellite’s mobility and ability to transfer energy to areas of higher necessity.

Now is the question do we have enough will and money to build such state of the art power plant and do humanity has knowledge to do it?

The last projections, from 1980s, put the cost of launching an SPS at $5 billion, or around 8-10 cents/ kWh. Nuclear power plants for example cost a minimum of $3 billion to $6 billion, not including cost overruns, which can make a plant cost as much as $15 billion.

It is questionable how long SPS would survive in orbit due to threat from solar winds and space radiation. As for adding to the ever-expanding satellite graveyard in Earth’s orbit, most solutions to satellite pollution remain theoretical.

One of the major shortfalls in the design of SPSs is simply in getting the power from point A to point B. This remains the most controversial aspect of SPSs: the use of microwaves to transmit power from high orbit to the ground.

Critics often cite the dangers of microwave radiation to humans and wildlife, however, the strength of the radiation from these beams would be equal to the leakage from a standard microwave oven, which is only slightly more than a mobile phone.

For the sake of the future, expediency must take a back seat to longevity and longevity may just be found in outer space.

Related posts:

1. Solar energy collecting as an alternative energy source
2. Two sides of renewable energy
3. Private rockets take off

Glacial ice is formed from highly compressed snow. In areas of the world where more snow falls each year than can melt or evaporate, the snow builds up and its structure gradually changes. After that, the compressed snow, known as firn is transformed to glacial ice.

One of the key facts about gaciers is that around 80 percent of the world’s fresh water is locked up inside glaciers, mostly around the poles (ice sheets on Antarctica and Greenland). When summer temperatures bring about the rapid melting of a glacier, the meltwaters that flow downhill release the stored fresh water, replenishing the overall water supply.

The glaciers in the Himalaya are not just sliding downhill, they also appear to be melting faster than they can be replenished. The ice is critical for Nepal because it feeds many of the rivers which are Nepal’s primary source of drinking and irrigation water. If these ice fields and glaciers disappear, Nepal and India will have to depend on the unreliable monsoon rains for water.

Glaciers are also affected by seasonal changes in climat, melting in hot summers or refreezing in cold winters. In fact, this determines whether a glacier is in the process of advancing (moving downhill) or retreating (melting). Glaciers have an impact on weather, too. The sharp contrast between the frigid air around the poles and the warmer air around the equator sets up a temperature differential that results in the giant jet streams of wind that circle the planet, and also relalates to storm development.

One of Mount Everest’s most-visited glaciers is continuously melting into a growing lake which now threats villagers and trekking tourists, scientists have warned few days ago.

A study of glacial melting in the high Himalaya found that the Imja glacier has melted from solid ice in the mid-1950s to a almost two and a half kilometers long lake today.

Scientists from Nepal’s International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said the lake is growing by just under 50 meters per year. Such increasing growing rate poses a danger of bursting lake’s banks – a 31 meters high dam mostly of rocks and stones – and flooding nearby villages and trekking routes.

There are some scientists’ predictions that more than 7,500 people would be affected by the floods.

The study compared photographs taken from the 1956 Swiss Everest expedition, which showed no evidence of a lake on the glacier, to later pictures and revealed the creation of a large lake.

“Photographs taken in the 1950s demonstrate that, except for several small melt ponds, no lake existed at that time. By 1984 a lake of approximately 0.4 square kilometers had formed,” the report said.

A series of maps drawn from photographs “demonstrate the progressive evolution of 1956 melt ponds to a potentially threatening lake by 1984,” the authors added.

They urged the authorities in Nepal to install early warning systems to sound imminent flood alerts.

The three lakes in the study had all become tourist attractions, they said.

One of the authors, Pradeep Mool, a leading Himalayan glacier expert, said the study had been aimed at establishing which of the region’s “potentially dangerous” glacial lakes could burst in the future.

Global warming was the cause of the glacier’s rapid meltdown and transformation into a lake.

“Without the warming the ice will not melt. The rate of melt has increased because of exposure to atmospheric warming in the last few decades. It’s a very beautiful lake but it is one of the lakes in potential danger of an outburst [of water],” he said.

The research, including scientific photography and the use of remote sensors, was conducted in one of the most dangerous parts of the high Himalaya and one of the researchers was killed in an accident while collecting the data.

Related posts:

1. More facts you wanted to know about global warming
2. Five global warming myths
3. Tanganyika lake is heating up fast due to global warming

After nuclear catastrophe in Northeastern Japan, that country may have a bit different shaped energy policy investing more in solar power technology, alternative energy of biomass and wind turbines. Previous plan to increase the number of nuclear power plants across the Japanese mainland is very likely to be abandoned paving the way for cleaner and probably much expensive green energy. Now it is questionable if it will be expensive more than damage caused by earthquakes with high Richter magnitudes this year. Those earthquakes triggered deadly tsunamis and destructed coastal power plants, towns and cities.

Shakes with recent terrible events, Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan has recently said that all renewable energy sources, among them mostly wind power will play much more important role in near future to the world’s third largest economy.

Wind turbines, solar power and biomass should become a new pillar of Japan’s energy policy while recent plans to increase the number of nuclear power plants operating in the nation should be now be dismissed, Kan said last Tuesday.

Prime Minister also suggested that the entire nation needs to do more on creation and implementation of energy saving society.

A statement from his office noted that existing nuclear energy facilities and fossil fuels — currently two major energy sources in island — would continue to be used to create electricity for the nation of almost 130 million residents.

Until the three related disasters struck Japan in February and March, Japan’s government had planned to increase the number of operating nuclear power plants doubling the contribution of nuclear power in total power produced, by 2030s. Nuclear power plants give 24% of total electricity in Japan today.

I would like to add natural energy and energy saving as two major pillars and to exert further efforts to achieve them, while promoting safety on nuclear energy and reducing CO2 on fossil fuels. Based on these thoughts, I would like to accelerate the discussion on reviewing the overall energy policy, Kan was quoted as saying.

Japanese Wind Energy Association (JWEA) wants to increase capacity of wind farm plants scaled up to 50 GW by 2050, from the current capacity of 2.3 GW. Onshore and offshore wind farms would have eventually same contribution – about 25GW each.

JWEA Director Yoshinori Ueda reportedly said he personally believed an expanded wind power sector could provide 50GW before 2040. He added, however, the wind power sector requires a feed-in-tariff in order to attract investment that will drive rapid expansion.

Japan is not the only country reassessing its position on nuclear power in the past two months.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ordered no new nuclear plants be built, temporarily closed seven facilities and demanded security reviews of the nation’s remaining 10 plants. She also established an “ethics committee” to look further into the question, which recently said a phase-out of all the country’s nuclear capacity was possible by 2021.

Related posts:

1. Pursuing Alternative Forms of Energy
2. Two sides of renewable energy
3. Developing nuclear power as alternative energy

Here is a list of the 10 strongest earthquakes recorded in the last century, according to their magnitude:

May 22, 1960 – Chile – An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale struck Santiago and Concepcion, triggering tidal waves and volcanic eruptions. Some 5 000 people were killed and 2 million homeless.

March 28, 1964 – Alaska – An earthquake and ensuing tsunami claimed 125 lives and caused about $ 311 million in damage. The quake, measuring 9.2 was felt over a large area of Alaska and parts of western Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada.

March 9, 1957 – Alaska – An earthquake of 9.1 hit the islands Andreanof. On Umnak Island, Mount Vsevidof erupted after being dormant for 200 years, generating a tsunami 15 meters high that continued to Hawaii.

December 26, 2004 - Indonesia – An earthquake measuring 9.0 struck the coast of Aceh province on the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed thousands in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and India .

November 4, 1952 – Russia – An earthquake of magnitude 9.0 generated a tsunami that struck the Hawaiian islands. There were no fatalities.

January 31, 1906 – Ecuador – A 8.8 earthquake recorded off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia, generating a strong tsunami that killed up to a thousand people. He felt along the Pacific coast of Central America to San Francisco and as far as western Japan.

February 4, 1965 – Alaska – 8.7 magnitude earthquake degrees, the quake generated a tsunami reported to be about 10.7 meters high on Shemya Island.

August 15, 1950 – Tibet / India – 2000 houses, temples and mosques were destroyed in an earthquake of 8.6 Richter. Hardest hit was the Brahmaputra Basin in northeast India. At least 1,500 people died.

February 3, 1923 – Russia – Kamchatka was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 8.5.

February 1, 1938 – Indonesia – An earthquake with magnitude 8.5 in the Banda Sea generated several tsunami caused extensive damage in Banda and Kai, volcanic islands in eastern Indonesia.

January 12, 2009 – Haiti – at 16:53:09 local time with epicenter at 15 km from Port au Prince, Haiti’s capital. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake would have had a magnitude of 7.0 degrees and would have been generated at a depth of 10 kilometers.

Related posts:

1. Earthquakes explained
2. Tsunami explained
3. Toba, supervolcano in Indonesia

If we consider that the total energy consumed worldwide, 85% is non-electric, and consists mostly of fossil fuel applications, foremost among them oil, we understand the magnitude of the task of replacing primary energy sources from fossil fuels, and therefore not renewable, renewable alternatives.

For clarification purposes we consider a question of terminology: when we include the electricity or hydrogen from energy sources, we must bear in mind that these are two different sources. On one side is the primary energy. There is only one primary source of external energy on this planet: the sun, and two internal: the gravitational and nuclear forces inside the Earth. And after the transformation process, human action or time or physical-chemical phenomena, there are others that we call “secondary” such as electricity, hydrogen, fossil fuels, energy mechanics.

What is possible is to find alternatives and solutions that solve specific problems. The sum of all these solutions will lead to a new stage. In order to deepen the study of possible measures should be organized and classified, to avoid looping on the same or overlook important facts. Overall we rank the alternatives or possible solutions in three sections:

Until about two centuries, mankind lived without fossil fuels. In the early nineteenth century the population of the planet was around 1000 million people, only 3% of which lived in cities, and its energy base was the human and animal power, supplemented by the use of renewable energy tamed. And it was not until the early twentieth century, the use of fossil fuels (mainly coal, then, even dawned and the use of oil) shifted the global importance of the energy matrix after (renewable). In 1900, the human population had undergone a discrete jump (although very important in historical terms) to exceed 1600 million inhabitants and the urbanization rate had increased by 5 (up to 15%). Urbanization broke out where it was producing the industrial revolution, especially in Western Europe, appearing the first cities millions (though London had exceeded this threshold by the end of the century). Today, on the threshold of the new century and millennium, world population is over 6,600 million people, more than half of which live in cities (for the first time in history), over a hundred times more than in 1800 ( especially in big cities), the base is clearly residual renewable energy (6%), and the bulk of the needs in this area (80%) is guaranteed by fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas), although oil the main source that keeps an increasingly industrial, urban, metropolitan and motorized operation. 40% of global energy needs is ensured by the “black gold” (in the last fifty years the demand has multiplied by seven). Without him and without coal and gas (rising) too, the increasingly globalized world, and highly consuming natural resources that we know (not just energy) simply would not be viable.

However, this urban-industrial world faces two enormous challenges. One is the change of the energy mix, because as we see the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era, which will occur as a result of reaching the roof of the extraction of oil. The other is how they can cope with feeding a growing population, whose growth and nutrition has been very feasible until now largely thanks to fossil fuels, especially oil (due to industrialized agriculture and animal husbandry) although the extent of malnutrition (and starvation) to more sectors of humanity.

Related posts:

1. How fossil fuels are affecting global warming
2. Fossil fuels – from the past to present
3. New technology could turn ground heat into cheap alternative to fossil fuels

Ecotourism is one of the two fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry. Second one is ethnic tourism. Ethnic tours encounters visitors with the forms of native peoples, cultures and arts.

Ecological tourism or ecotourism depends on universal appeal of the wonders of nature and can be potentially a more prospective than ethnic tourism. The main advantage o ecotourism is preserving the environment and natural resources by ecotourists and all other friends of nature.

Demand is particularly extensive in the tropics and in biodiversity hot spots like the rainforests in Central and South America. Costa Rica, Venezuela and Belize are among countries that have successfully implemented ecotourism programs offering only limited access to some areas of wilderness.

In South Africa there is increaseing local involvement in safaris and expanding economic development in parks and wildlife habitat preserves. Nature reserves and games parks have become popular tourist destinations and ecotourism is the most rapidly expanding tourism category in South Africa.

Kenya is good example that provides model of development with its well established scientific community working in cooperation with tourism bureaus and management of eco parks.

Here is list of few popular ecotourism locations around the world:

• Swaziland and Kenya in Africa are very popular spots for ecotourists offering variety of deserts, national parks (very popular is Serengeti national reserve), rain forests and lakes each with unique ecosystem and rich wildlife.

• Costa Rica in Central America is one of the most visited tourist location in America and it is practically synonymous for ecotourism with huge rainforest areas in the countryside, mountain ranges and volcanoes. Large variety of creatures live in national parks and surrounding areas including Monkeys, crocodiles, sloths and poison dart frogs.

• Southeast Asia – Thailand and Indonesia are one of the hottest destinations in Asian region, mostly popular for its rainforests, mountain peaks and beautiful natural beaches on its coasts. In recent period more and more tourists are attracted to visit Nepal, Laos and Cambodia offering the same variety of natural sites and interesting wildlife in mountain regions like Nepal’s Mount Everest.

• Europe – continent that offer some kind of different attractions to ecotourists like medieval historical sites across the continent, interesting countryside village life, hiking and cycling through the preserved nature and forests. Norwegian fjords are very exciting to see and experience its preserved nature, fresh air, clean water and beautiful waterfalls.

Related posts:

1. Serengeti National Park in danger
2. 5 incredible breath taking forests you must see
3. Eco-friendly travel ideas

1. Koh Samui, Thailand

Koh Samui (also known as Ko Samui) is an island located in eastern Asia, Thailand. Island was pretty unknown to backpackers and foreign visitors till 1970s but later it became a important tourist destination in Thailand and Asia. First airport was built in 1989 and that was year when golden tourist era of Koh Samui started. Before tourist boom island’s economy was based around agriculture and fishing with coconuts as a main crop.

Koh Samui is surrounded by more than fifty other islands which are all part of Ang Thong Marine National Park. Islands itself is roughly circular in shape (around 15 kilometers across).



2. Roatan, Honduras

Roatan (also known as Rattan and Ruatan) is largest and most popular island of Honduras’ Bay Islands, located north of the Honduras’ coast. Roatan is kind of elongated island, 60 kilometers long and almost 8 kilometers wide at its widest point.

Coral reefs off the unspoiled Bay Islands are an extension of Belize’s barrier reefs, worldwide famous as the largest after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The reefs fringing Bay Islands are home to the greates diversity of corralc, sponges and invertebrates in the Caribbean.



3. Unguja, Zanzibar

Unguja is the largest island of Zanzibar, an autonomous part of Tanzania, about 50 kilometers off the coast of mainland. Zanzibar consists of two large (Unguja and Pemba) and numerous small islands. Unguja is 85 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide hilly island.

Capital of Zanzibar archipelago iz Zanzibar city located on Unguja island. Once the largest slave market on Africa’s east coast, now center of capital known as Stone Town is a World Heritage Site.

As you can guess, most important business on the island is tourism, just about agriculture and fishing. Main industries here are spices and raffia, producing cloves, cinnamon and pepper. This is reason why Zanzibar islands together with Tanzania’s Mafia island are called the Spice Islands.

Source: Online Classes

Related posts:

1. Socotra – alien like planet in Indian ocean
2. Ecotourism – fastest growing tourism sector
3. 10 strongest earthquakes in modern history

Ecosystems consist of co-ocurring organisms, their connections to each other and to surrounding environments. We consider ecosystems to be natural, localized dividions of the biosphere where interacting populations are connected in network of compartments representing the different organisms.

Sorts of ecosystems

The simplest classification of local ecosystems involves unique environments – a biogeographic classification. An ecosystem inhabiting the floor of a submarine trench is much different from temperate forest system in example.

A more general classification is based on function and development shaped by extrinsic forces – a classification emphasizing controls. For example, the ecosystem of a mountain spring, which must endure dramatic changes in water availability and quality, harsh climate would be environmentally controlled.

Ecologists have been interested mostly in the function and development of local systems and they have paid little attention to the birth and death of larger ecosystems.

Source: Online Schooling

Related posts:

1. Ecotourism – fastest growing tourism sector
2. Biodiversity on Earth