Our Impact on this Earth Lasts for an Infinity
Ever wondered what impact your footsteps have upon the Earth? Watch this video of people running in a park for 5 days.
Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
Enjoy Your Ozone Polluting Fireworks this Fourth of July
Fireworks displays create surges of pollutant ozone in lower levels of the atmosphere, where it is a respiratory irritant, greenhouse gas, and plant toxin. Some scientists believe fireworks are an “insignificant source of pollution”, because they occur infrequently; however, no source of greenhouse gases is insignificant considering our current climate crisis, not to mention the heavy metals and potassium perchlorate in these grand patriotic displays.
Via: www.abc.net.au & Grist
Image: dcJohn on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
Related posts on fireworks, ozone, and the environment:
Fasting to Death to Save the River Ganges
The River Ganges is provides spiritual and physical sustenance for 400 million people. Raw sewage and industrial waste contaminate the river at every city along its banks (fecal contamination is thousands of times above the safe limit for bathing). The glaciers that feed the river are melting due to global warming, and dam/hydro-electric projects are altering the upper reaches of the river to feed India’s massive demand for energy. Dr.G.D.Agrawal, India’s pre-eminent environmental Scientist, will “fast-unto-death” for the conservation of River Bhagirathi/Ganga. Dr Agrawal explained his decision in a letter to close friends:
As you are aware, R. Bhagirathi Ganga has a very special place in Indian culture, thought and tradition. In the past few years, however, the continuity, quantity, quality and regime of flows are being disrupted for generation of hydro-electricity like all other rivers. Already in the reach downstream of Maneri, long stretches of Bhagirathi remain waterless for long periods. In the near future this may become the state of the entire river. As a serious student of environment sciences and as a faithful Hindu, this is hard for me to swallow. I strongly believe that at least Bhagirathi upstream of Uttarkashi should be spared of any works that disturb its natural flow-regime, ecology, purity or piety and, after brooding over it for several months, I have decided to oppose such works with all the might I have……. So after deep deliberation I have decided to “fast-unto-death” to oppose the destruction of this ecological marvel and the epitome of Hindu cultural faith.
Image: jonrawlinson on flickr under a Creative Commons license
Recycling Soon to be Mandatory in San Francisco
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom is proposing a law that would make recycling mandatory in the city. The law would require:
- All landlords to provide adequate recycling and composting for their tenants;
- Businesses that sell items (e.g., takeout food) to allow the public to deposit small amounts of recyclables, compostables and trash in their receptacles;
- Event organizers to site and manage sufficient groups of recycling, composting and trash receptacles; Read the rest of this entry »
ZapRoot: Mad Max Switches to Wind Power
It’s been a while since we republished a video from ZapRoot, but this is a good one: wind turbines in Road Warrior country, and the new feature on greenwashing (appropriately titled “These Guys are Full of **it!”). Enjoy!
Drought Causing Old Faithful to be Less Faithful
A new study suggests that geysers, like Old Faithful, are affected by climate conditions, such as droughts. Shaul Hurwitz, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey, Ashish Kumar, a Stanford University statistician, and two National Park Service scientists have discovered that changes in the supply of underground water to a geyser can influence the amount of time between eruptions. “Coupled with this decrease in precipitation, we see an increase in eruption intervals with all the geysers we analyzed,” explained Hurwitz.
Image credit: tiarescott at Flickr under a Creative Commons license
Via: Casper Star-Tribune
Will Peak Water Replace Peak Oil?
The scarcity of fresh water may drive up prices and fines around the world. Already in Barcelona, Spain, you can be fined €9,000 ($13,000) for watering your flowers. According to Truthout, just like oil:
Developed nations have taken cheap, abundant fresh water largely for granted. Now global population growth, pollution, and climate change are shaping a new view of water as “blue gold.”
Dan Nees, a water-trading analyst with the World Resources Institute warns, “Water scarcity may be one of the most underappreciated global political and environmental challenges of our time.” Even Dow Chemical Chairman Andrew Liveris called water “the oil of this century.”
Check Out how Carrot Mob is Getting Businesses to Go Green!
I had the pleasure of attending Carrot Mob’s first event in San Francisco a few months ago. They’ve got a unique approach to incentivizing local businesses to go green. Watch their video and check out Paul Smith’s post about Carrot Mob on Triple Pundit.
Shades of Green: Global Warm-Ups
Hey, we should all laugh at ourselves once in a while, right? Thanks, as always, to Brad and Peter…
Safe Sex with Amazon Rainforest Condoms
Last month, the Brazilian government began producing condoms using rubber from trees in the Amazon in an effort to preserve the world’s largest rainforest and cut dependence on imported contraceptives to fight AIDS. Brazil’s first government-run condom factory will produce 100 million condoms a year from latex harvested in the Chico Mendes Reserve, named after a conservationist and rubber tapper killed by ranchers.
Image: The Guardian
