Excessive Irrigation has led to a Decrease in Monsoon Rainfall in Northern India
Human actions on the environment and generally all land-use decisions can drastically influence climate change. Recently, a scientist from Purdue University have proved that these actions have affected Indian monsoon rains. His research shows that in the last 50 years monsoon rainfall decreased dramatically in rural areas because irrigation was excessively used to increase agriculture. “In the rural areas, we’re seeing premonsoon greening occurring two weeks earlier than what it did 20 years back as the demand for agricultural intensification to feed India’s people increases”.
Green Treasure – Algae Being Used For Making Ultra-Thin Batteries
Algae come in great variety and are one of the most abundant life forms on the planet, so it would be very unpractical, not to find a use for them, even in today’s technologized world. But people have acknowledged the great potential of this organism, and after trying to develop a algae-based biofuel or building solar cells out of single-celled algae its time for the algaes to get involved in creating biodegradable batteries.
AirPod – The Car That Runs On Compressed Air – Has Some “Air Leaks”
In the last days of the gasoline-powered vehicles, the competition for the car of the future is harsh and open for surprises. There is still no definitive winner, although the electric car has won some important “battles”. Yet other technologies await recognition and some attention from the public. For example, the pneumatic-propelled engine technology has taken some major steps towards the big stage.
How Forests Improve Human Health
We talked in some older posts about forest influences on global warming and the influence of vegetation on climate evolution.
Today I will present some special qualities of forests, and more specifically, the role of forest on human health (health role).
So I will continue to list some of these special qualities:
Charge Your Electronics With Voltaic Backpacks Made From Recycled PET Bottles
The invention of the solar cells, those devices that convert the energy of light into electrical energy, was really a bliss to mankind. The first solar cells were created in 1954 by three American researchers, Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin, out of very thin stripes of silicon capable of about six percent conversion efficiency. After more than 50 years, today’s highest solar cell conversion is 22%. They were also the first ones to create solar panels.
Nissan LEAF – An Affordable New Electric Car
We are living some incredible times. Big changes are about to take place in the way we think of electric vehicles. With worlds oil reserves much lower than evaluated, an alternative solution is needed more than ever and it’s becoming clearer that the electric car is one of the answers.
Many Islands from Pacific Could Disappear in Only Few Years
Global warming is a phenomenon that frightens increasingly more countries, several organizations and many more people. Polluting gases, greenhouse gases, in large quantities can cause an increase in global temperature up to 6 Celsius degrees. This thing could lead to dramatic changes of our planet.
Nissan’s New Electric Car
The Japanese car manufacturer, Nissan, announced today it’s latest electric car prototype, a model similar to the existing car, Tiida, with improved performances. The car’s design will be made public on the second of august, at the company’s HQ from Yokohama.This zero-emission car will be available in the USA and Japan next year, with plans for the European market for 2012. It will be a five-seat family hatchback with four doors .
Green Car Made Of Potatoes and Cashew Shells runs 150Mph
Even if it sounds impossible at first, there are cars in existence today that defy common conceptions. Eco One, the car seen in the picture, has tyres made of potatoes and brake pads out of ground cashew shells. The car body is compressed of hemp and rapeseed oil. Also, this “green wonder” is running on fuel created from wheat and sugar beet.
Anti-Desertification 6000 Km Wall Around Sahara Desert
We all know the largest building on the planet, but when it comes to stopping a natural disaster, people are able to do impossible things.For example, desertification problem in Africa has no solution until now.Magnus Larsson,an architect, presented his project this year,about how desertification in Africa could be stopped,at the anual Oxford Conference.To stop this natural disaster the architect was thinking about building a huge wall around Sahara desert.This anti-desertification wall should be 6000 km long, and should be built between Mauritania and eastern Africa in Djibouti.
Green News – Exxon To Invest $600M Into Algae-Based Biofuels
Finally some green tendencies from oil companies. Despite opposing for years the idea of renewable energy, the oil giant Exxon Mobile Corporation, with a 2008 revenue of $442.9 billion and the distinction of “the most profitable company in the world” acquireing $45.2 billion last year, announced a $600M “injection” into algae-based biofuel research.
Wind – capable of powering the entire world
The solution to planet’s energy problems is right at hand. Although this might come as a surprise to some, according to a study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, if the world turned to wind for it’s energy demands, there would be so much of it available, that would make the search for other sources seem senseless.
In the study, the Earth was divided into surfaces of 3,300 square kilometers (1,274 square miles) to be able to appreciate the wind power capability, while monitoring wind velocity every six hours. Excluded from the calculations were “areas classified as forested, areas occupied by permanent snow or ice, areas covered by water, and areas identified as Read more
Passive and Active Solar Systems for Buildings
The adaptation of urban buildings to the specific environmental conditions of cities in order to incorporate efficiently solar and energy-saving measures and couterbalance the radical changes and transformations of the radiative, thermal, moisture and aerodynamin characteristics of the urban environment is a major priority.This incorporates appropriate sizing and placing of the building openings, to promote solar energy utilization, enchance air flow and natural ventilation and improve daylight aviability, integration of photovoltaics and also the use of passive cooling tedhniques to decrease cooling energy consumption and improve thermal comfort. Read more
2009 Urban Environmental Problems
Environment is one of the three pillars of sustainable development.Human activity has accumulated problems that have left increased pollutants in the atmosphere, vast areas of land resources degraded, depleted and degraded forests, biodiversity under threat, increasingly inadequate freshwater resources of deteriorating quality and seriously depleted marine resources. Read more
Zero-emission buses from Mercedes
Companies seem to care more about the environment. Following the rising trend of hybrid vehicles, the German car manufacturer, Mercedes, announced the new Citaro G Blue Tec Hybrid. The new model will be more environmental-friendly and brings improvement to fuel efficiency, thus reducing the energy consumption up to 30 percent. Coming after the great success of the Citaro series, the new model promises to bring hybrid technology to a whole new level, never before seen in the European arena.
The Profitability of renewable Energy and Resources
An immediate and comprehensive transition to solar energy must talke priority over all other economic considerations.Any further delay will cost society more than it would to make the transition.The quicker and more comprehensively fossil energy and resources can be supplanted by their solar counterparts, the greater the cost saving to society and the less the strain on government budgets threatened by ever higher clean-up costs in the wake of fossil-fuel-induced catastrophe, be it storm od flood damage or regional wars over energy, the growing cost of waste disposal or the cost of maintaining an ever more bloated environmental protection bureaucracy. Read more
The Higher Productivity of Biological Materials
The long road from extraction of oil, coal or gas, through refining and complex industrial processes to finished chemical feedstocks is matched in the case of solar resources by planting, harvesting, storage, cleaning, drying, separation andtransport.In many cases, transport costs can be held to a minimum by growing the materials near the production plant.
The only disadvantage as far as productivity is concerned is the considerably greater need for personnel, although this also represents a significant social benefit.Giuliano Grassi has calculated that, for each terawatt of energy, natural gas requires 250 employees, crude oil 260, coal 270 and nuclear power 70, whereas producing solid fuels from crops requires 1145 employees and 1000 employees in the case of woodlands.The greater labour input probably also applies to the use of solar materials in the manufacture of chemical products in place of the equivalent fossil feedstocks. Read more
Ocean Pollution Catastrophe Could Happen in 2050
This year in June(1-12) will be hold a meeting in Bonn and will participate 70 members from all largest faculties in the world to discuss about oceans pollution and how we can quickly remove the effects of this environment pollution.Studies made until now shows that climate changes produce a high acidity that affects all living creatures from oceans, and these effects could be removed only in thousands years.Researchers learned from the experiments made until now, that if we want to save the oceans, CO2 emissions should be reduced by 50% in a very short time.
America Painted in White to Prevent Global Warming
Nowadays,global warming is a big problem, a problem that is more seriously discussed in order to reduce as much as possible it’s negative effects.Recently, Steven Chu, U.S. Energy Secretary, proposed to all Americans to paint their homes with white colors, and roads to be decorated also with cold colors.The purpose of this proposal is to prevent global warming.Solar Powered Nano Sensors-Pollution Detector System
Pollution is a process that is present today in many places on earth.People have tried and still trying to reduce as much as possible this pollution process and the effects of this global phenomenon.But how people will know where they have to intervene most? Until now this thing was done statistically or with many previous studies and analysis.
Recently Queensland University of Technology has been awarded a $ 1.3 million for the invention of a solar powered nano sensors system, able to detect and monitor environmental pollution.The main advantage of this system is represented by a lower energy consumption,perfectly adjusted for high performances.Another similar system is named GIS(Geographic Information System).”GIS use geographical coordinates of various locations on the planet, store them in special tables in order to be analyzed.This program is very useful in many fields: transportation, real estate, planning, public safety, ecology, environmental protection, environmental events.” – http://www.mygreentreasure.com/2009/04/gis-environmental-monitoring-system/
Solar powered nano-sensors: “The sensors are contained in self-contained boxes which could be placed where needed. The devices are tiny carbon tubes with a diameter of a few millionths of a millimeter, which will be covered with hair-like sensing modules. This unique structure increases the sensitivity of the detector, since it increases the exposed surface area. The energy-efficient sensors will be powered by a new kind of solar cell developed in Australia by Dyesol that would transmit data to monitoring stations using radio or a UMTS system.” – www.ecofriend.org