Ecoscraps

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In his own words, on the environment.

He will be missed.

I don’t post much for GO (some publisher I am), but I was just doing a little morning news browsing over coffee today, when I came across this gem in one of the infinite useless articles about oil prices:

Concern about high oil prices led Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest producer, to call a weekend summit between oil producers and oil consumers to address the issue before high prices can permanently damage demand.

Um, correct me if I’m wrong, but is “permanently damaging demand” exactly what everyone in America is so intensely desperate to do, now that they realize that 99 cent/gallon gas is little more than a fantasy? On one hand, we get told every day that wind and solar and biofuels are great, but there’s no way we can ever get away from gas… But if that’s true, why are major oil producers calling summits about the danger that such a thing might happen?

If I’m reading this wrong, correct me in the comments. I just feel like the disconnect between normal people and the industrialists we depend on is growing wider and wider with each passing day…

From CNN Money

Window washers dressed as Spiderman have caught the attention of guests at the Shanghai Sheraton. The hotel thought dressing window washers as a movie star would be less traumatic for guests, and it’s worked. Now guests want their pictures taken with Spiderman.

Source: Ananova

The strength of nature is something never to be forgotten. I watch this clip, the only distraction apes talking, diesel engines revving.

I know now why I write for Green Options. Hope and the lessening of fumes, just nature being nature.

All is resolved. Hierarchy restored. Me the observer of something more. Something to be treasured.

Reducing the amount of water you use is good for the environment, and good for your wallet. Better yet, you don’t have to sacrifice water pressure to do it. Check out the best water faucet aerators of 2008.

Source: MetaEfficient.com

Video Courtesy of Google Videos

Under Senate Bill 327, lawmakers sought to strip the authority of the Kansas health and environment secretary, who turned down the $3.6 billion project last year because it would have produced more carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.

Read the rest of this entry »

The plumbing and fixture manufacturer, Zurn, is promoting its new one-pint-per-flush urinals in conjunction with this Stand Up for the Earth campaign (guys should pee standing up to reduce water consumption).

Many older urinals use a gallon of water per flush. The one-pint urinals represent a significant reduction in water use. While one pint per flush is one pint more than waterless urinals require, for various reasons, not everyone is willing to embrace waterless urinals as of yet.

Zurn does make some waterless urinals, though, in addition to the ultra low flush models.

via: EcoGeek.org

This advert has been making the rounds here in the UK for a few weeks now. A haunting song with haunting imagery.

A radio-collared wolf from Idaho has made her home in Northeastern Oregon rekindling hope for a future wolf population in the state. The area was once home to a thriving population of wolves that was eradicated in the 1930s.

A maximum efficiency rating of 98.5 percent for photovoltaic inverters has been achieved by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in a test using prototype silicon carbide-based MOSFETs manufactured by CREE, Inc., USA. These are the highest efficiency results reported for photovoltaic inverters to date…

Inverters transform direct current generated by photovoltaic systems into alternating current and feed it into the public grid. The higher the efficiency rating of the inverter, the greater is the energy yield of the entire photovoltaic system. To achieve the highest energy output over time, the efficiency rating should remain high over a wide range of power levels. During testing, the inverter with Cree SiC components also set a new performance precedent across a wide range of power output values.

(More on this at http://www.solarserver.de/solarmagazin/news-e.html#news107)

(Image Courtesy of http://www.solarserver.de/solarmagazin/news-e.html#news107)