Natural Environment Blog

A recent article in New Scientist reports that even though carbon emissions are lower than they have been in twenty years, climate change is not slowing down. The price of natural gas has decreased due to hydraulic fracturing, and natural gas has been a preferred source of energy based on its inexpensive price tag. This has caused reduced carbon emissions, but is not likely to have an effect on climate change. Along with people at the grassroots level, those in major corporations, universities, and governments, are making significant advancements in energy conservation and clean energy.

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

Some people see gas as a good transition fuel that can be used in the interim until sufficient wind farms and solar arrays are constructed. Kevin Anderson of the University of Manchester, UK, believes that gas cannot be used as a lesser evil energy while making a transition to greener fuels. He thinks that in order to achieve the 2° C goal, we need to make a rapid transition to low carbon energy.

The Energy Collective has written a humorous article comparing America’s energy consumption behavior to that of someone with an eating disorder, advising that weight loss is healthy when it takes place over the long term and with discipline. In some respects our carbon weight is like real weight, and while we are at a long term low, natural gas is no substitute for clean energy. Utilizing recycling services at republicservices.com will help you contribute to energy and waste reduction.

Heating Things Up

Earthsky.org reported that this past summer was the third-hottest in recorded U.S. history, and a mild winter earlier in the year should have been an indicator that this year was going to heat up. The U.S. is failing to create the necessary choices to adequately reduce carbon consumption. According to The International Energy Agency, gas will cause a disaster if aggressively consumed over the medium-term.

Recent national carbon reduction is an excellent development, but it doesn’t replace adherence to a healthy energy policy. When coal companies can push their product to eager consumers in a multitude of foreign countries, planet Earth is still affected. It is essential to stay on the path of clean energy without distraction by less inferior products.

Stats Speak For Themselves

The 2012 Benchmarking Air Emissions report looked at 2010-2011 data to determine trends in the following power plant pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), mercury (Hg) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). One hundred utilities operating 2,500 power plants were included. These plants produced 86% of electricity generation and 88% of all emissions in the U.S. The good news is that three of the four pollutants studied experienced significant decline.

This improvement was attributed to cleaner energy replacing coal as a result of an increase in natural gas as well as wind and solar energy. Since 2004 utilities have doubled renewable energy sources. Currently 5% of our energy is renewable. Natural gas and coal each provide about 32% of all U.S. electrical generation.

Going Solar

As an example of transition from dirty to much cleaner, Southern Company –a utility in the Southwest with 43,000 MWs of generating capacity– is one of the most intense coal power producers in the country. Southern will increase its natural gas consumption for the first time in its long history. It also owns and operates the largest U.S. biomass plant. In a partnership with media mogul Ted Turner, Southern owns a 30 MW solar PV plant in New Mexico, and they have just purchased yet another solar facility.

This article was contributed by Aubrey Boone. Aubrey studied in Los Angeles with some of the finest chefs. She started documenting her experiences and now contributes to various foodie blogs.

Nowadays, going green is one of the major goals of any modern corporation. This is a well-known aspect of corporate sustainability. A business should take up the strategic approach of being a positive influence in the social, cultural, and environmental sphere. Apart from that, a business entity aiming for better corporate sustainability should practice greater transparency and improve employee development.

One of the more effective initiatives to establish green business practices is to opt for green printing. This is when a business entity chooses to practice better printing management. Not only will it reduce the environmental effect of the business, effective print management can result in various benefits for the business as well. For example, a company that chooses to use managed print services will see a reduction in the total cost of ownership (TCO).

The TCO is defined as the lifetime costs of acquiring, operating, and changing parts of assets. Most of the time, it affects the value of assets that are usually used as a bigger part of the business capital. Moreover, the TCO also covers the costs that are related to the asset. Therefore, in many cases, the long-term cost related to a particular asset displays a great difference; sometimes, it can exceed the cost of the asset itself.

This highlights the importance of managed prints. Most of these services provide printing equipment on long-term lease. Additionally, such services are accompanied by specialised IT support, supervision, and if requested by the company, the vendor supplies paper, ink and other items necessary for printing.

In many ways, these options allow a company to reduce its overhead cost, especially in terms of paper used, energy consumption, and IT personnel that would otherwise be required to oversee such operations, if carried out in-house. In this manner, the company has already begun the journey of establishing its position as a green-compliant company by taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint.

A company may also preserve its available resources by using recycled paper. This simple action delays the addition of used paper to landfills and minimises overall water and energy consumption used to produce “new” paper. A company that aims to develop greener business practices is usually highly recommended by and to individuals who care about creating a greener environment. This sets a positive example for employees, which also boosts morale and company loyalty. Moreover, a company that defines this approach as one of its core visions would usually also be the company that aims for better corporate sustainability. In other words, it would produce a better work environment.

Practicing eco-friendly business habits, such as green printing, can improve work efficiency and help to reduce operating costs. It also helps a company gain a competitive advantage by being known as a company that is green compliant. In addition, the company also develops a positive and better relationship with local compliance assessors, which will improve public perception of the company. Going green is an incremental process. A company must take several small steps and focus its efforts in generating a meaningful impact.

Author Bio:

Working as business analyst in Brisbane, Jim is very much interested in environment friendly green printing business solutions. He writes about new challenges coming up in next year’s in the industry which can help new and established green printing businesses in Brisbane. Know more about him: http://gplus.to/jamesforrest

Chris over at Fly.co.uk recently informed me of an infographic on their website. The infographic shows some interesting statistics on world carbon dioxide emissions.

For example, according to the infographic, in 2009, China produced 6,200 million tonnes of CO2 compared to 5,800 for the United States. One only needs to look at the population of these two countries to see that something appears to be out of whack.

China has over 4 times the population of the US and yet, the US emits almost as much CO2 as China. Unfortunately, this gap is bound to widen as China becomes more and more prosperous.

As one would expect, the infographic has an airline/transport spin (no doubt due to the fact that its on a flight website), so there are some interesting statistics in that area.

A copy of the infographic is below. Due to its size, I’ve resized it to fit on this blog.

You can view the full-sized infographic here.

Online colleges are gaining in popularity by the day, not just because they’re more convenient for people who want to work and study, but because they’re offering more comprehensive and accepted degrees as well.

Most of us are aware of the various advantages to studying online as opposed to going to a regular college – we save on commuting costs, we’re able to earn as we learn, and we’re allowed flexible learning schedules.

But how many of us know that an online degree helps in the fight against global warming too? If you’re asking how, read on to find out:

• By minimizing our carbon footprint: When we cut down on commuting costs, we’re also cutting down on the usage of gasoline. And the less gas we use, the lower the impact of fossil fuel on the environment. Even if you were to stay in a hostel or dormitory on campus, it’s a cheaper option to study online because you’re minimizing the use of electricity. Online colleges do not have to use electricity to power classrooms and dormitories because there are no buildings.
• By reducing the effect of construction on the environment: Since there is no need for classrooms, you’re reducing the use of materials, especially the natural ones like wood.You’re also saving the use of fossil fuels in their transportation and in the energy that would be expended to construct the buildings. When there’s no construction, you also minimize the amount of water that’s used.
• By reducing the use of paper: When you study online, your word processor replaces all your notebooks. All your essays and lessons are submitted online in the electronic form, so you don’t have to use paper. When you minimize the use of paper, you’re saving trees in the rainforest from being cut down and are thus contributing to increasing rainfall around the world.Trees play an important role in bringing us rain, holding on to the soil so that the loose earth does not cause landslides, and in providing natural canopies that shade us from the harsh heat of the summer sun. In this way, they reduce the need for air conditioners and provide natural cooling effects.

This post was contributed by Claire Webber, who writes about the best schools online.  She welcomes your feedback at Claire.Webber1223 [at] gmail.com

WWF, the global conservation organization, has just released the 2008 version of their Living Planet Report (as I was anticipating), and things are not looking good for planet Earth - or those of us who reside here.

The report, prduced in conjunction with  the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Global Footprint Network (GFN), is released every two years and is recognized as probably the most authoritative report on the state of the world’s ecosystems. It could be viewed as biennial bank statement for natural resources. 

According to the report, our global footprint now exceeds the world’s capacity to regenerate by about 30 per cent. This has increased from 25% in the 2006 report.

Furthermore, our global footprint is expected to keep increasing unless we do something about it. The report says that if our demands on the planet continue at the same rate, by the mid-2030s we will need the equivalent of two planets to maintain our lifestyles.

WWF International Director-General James Leape said “Most of us are propping up our current lifestyles, and our economic growth, by drawing - and increasingly overdrawing - on the ecological capital of other parts of the world,”

“If our demands on the planet continue to increase at the same rate, by the mid-2030s we would need the equivalent of two planets to maintain our lifestyles” he continued.

World Economical Crisis vs World Ecological Crisis

The 2008 report draws comparisons between the world economic crisis and the “world ecological crisis”.

It says:

The recent downturn in the global economy is a stark reminder of the consequences of living beyond our means. But the current  financial recession pales in comparison to the looming ecological credit crunch.

Whether we live on the edge of the forest or in the heart of the city, our livelihoods and indeed our lives depend on the services provided by the Earth’s natural systems.

The report continues to say that we are consuming the resources that underpin those services much too fast – faster than they can be replenished.

Just as reckless spending is causing recession, so reckless consumption is depleting the world’s natural capital to a point where we are endangering our future prosperity.

ZSL co-editor Jonathan Loh said “We are acting ecologically in the same way as financial institutions have been behaving economically - seeking immediate gratification without due regard for the consequences,”

“The consequences of a global ecological crisis are even graver than the current economic meltdown.”

The report also says that in the past 35 years, Earth’s wildlife populations have declined by a third”

5 Countries with the Highest Footprints

The five countries with the highest footprints per person were:

• United Arab Emirates
• the United States of America
• Kuwait
• Denmark
• Australia 

5 Countries with the Lowest Footprints

These countries were found to have the lowest footprints per person:

• Bangladesh
• Congo
• Haiti
• Afghanistan
• Malawi

Reckless Lifestyles at the Expense of Others

The report says that more than three quarters of the world’s population live in nations that have outstripped their country’s biocapacity. It says:

Most of us are propping up our current lifestyles, and our economic growth, by drawing (and increasingly overdrawing) upon the ecological capital of other parts of the world.

Water Footprints

For the first time the Living Planet Report also includes new measures of global, national and individual water footprints.

It finds that globally, each person consumes about 1.24 million liters of water per year.

But the actual figures vary significantly between countries. The nation with the highest water consumption per capita was United States, with 2.48 million liters of water consumed per year (about the size of an Olympic swimming pool). The nation with the lowest water consumption was Yemen, with 619,000 liters per person. 

The Good News…

Despite the apparent gloom and doom, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

WWF believes that it’s not too late for us to do something about the looming “ecological credit crunch”. 

In order to tackle climate change, the WWF refers to its own “WWF Climate Solutions Model” which outlines a model for achieving reductions in carbon emissions of 60 to 80 per cent by 2050.

The report offers some more advice for dealing with the issue:

Success requires that we manage resources on nature’s terms and at nature’s scale. This means that decisions in each sector, such as agriculture or fisheries, must be taken with an eye to broader ecological consequences. It also means that we must find ways to manage across our own boundaries – across property lines and political borders – to take care of the ecosystem as a whole

Download the Report

The report should be available on the Living Planet Report section of the WWF website very soon.

Alternatively, you can download the report here [PDF File 4.35 MB].

Based on analysis provided by the Australian Greenhouse Office, there are five household activities that stand above the others when it comes to production greenhouse gases.

Five of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the average household are:

• Travel (to work, shopping, recreation etc)
• Water heating
• General electrical devices
• Heating/cooling
• Lighting

Here, I’m going to discuss some of the easiest things we can do to lower the greenhouse gas emissions from our households. To get the biggest “bang for our buck”, we should first target those activities that produce the most greenhouse gas (such as the 5 listed above).

You might find many of my suggestions blatantly obvious. That’s OK. But remember that despite how obvious some these are, billions of people around the world choose not to change - they’re too used to their way of life.

If we really want to reduce our carbon footprint, we need to break some of the habits that have been ingrained in us for so long. Fortunately this is easier than it sounds. All we need to do is make a decision - do we want to make a difference or not? Once that decision has been made, the rest will come naturally.

Anyway, here are the big 5.

Travel

Some estimates have found that 34% of household greenhouse gas emissions comes from travel. Furthermore, a large part of these greenhouse gases come from cars.

By using our cars less, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Try walking or cycling instead. As well as environmental benefits, there are also health benefits from doing this. Next time you do your grocery shopping, throw on a backpack and cycle to the supermarket. Throw all your groceries into your backpack and cycle home. You’ll feel much better for it!

Water Heating

Water heating is a high producer of greenhouse gas. This highlights the need to really be mindful of how much hot water we use. Maybe we should ask ourselves some questions like:

• “Do I really need to spend 15 minutes under a hot shower every day?”
• “Do I really need to use hot water when washing my clothes?”
• “Do I really need to fill the sink up to the brim each time I wash the dishes?”

Electrical Devices

Electrical devices are high greenhouse gas producers too. Devices such as TVs, stereos, computers, printers, scanners etc all produce loads of greenhouse gas.

The sad thing about this is that, up to 13% of household greenhouse gas is produced while our electrical appliances are turned off. When turned off, these devices still consume electricity and produce greenhouse gas.

As well asking ourselves “Do I really need this device…”, we should also remember to pull the plug out at the wall when finished with these devices.

Another thing to do is, when purchasing electrical appliances, try to look for the most energy efficient appliances. Depending on where you live, your government might require all electrical appliances to be rated for their energy efficiency. This type of system will make it easier for you.

Heating/cooling

Again, an obvious question to ask is “Do I really need the heater on all the time”. Or if you live in a warmer climate “Do I really need the air conditioner on all the time?” .

In cooler climates, try keeping your body warm - not the room. What I mean by this is, instead of putting the heater/radiator on, wear warm clothing instead (or just move around a lot more!). And if you’re sitting on the couch at home and you’re getting cold, wrap a bed sheet around you, or place it over your legs. You’ll be amazed how soon you warm up.

In warmer climates, opening windows and letting air through can often cool you down significantly. A cold shower or swim is always refreshing too!

Lights

We should get into the habit of turning lights off when we don’t need them. Or even better, don’t turn them on if we don’t need to.

We could also make sure we buy energy efficient light bulbs. They use far less energy than traditional light bulbs and produce much less greenhouse gas. Although, if you do buy energy efficient light bulbs, just make sure you dispose of them properly.

Have you ever wondered how much greenhouse gas you were producing every time you threw your laundry into the washing machine?

Same thing with the clothes dryer. Have you ever wondered how much your clothes dryer was contributing towards your carbon footprint?

Well, here are some statistics the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) has come up with:

• Washing machine: Each year, the energy used to run an average washing machine produces 90 kilograms of greenhouse gas.
• Warm water: If you wash your clothes using warm water, add another 475 kilograms of greenhouse gas to this. This works out to be around 4 kilograms of greenhouse gas produced per wash.
• Dryer: If you use a dryer, add another 150 kilograms to that.
• Detergents: For top loading washing machines, the production of washing detergent generates around 0.3 kg of greenhouse gas per wash. For front loaders, it’s around half of that.

What surprised me is the amount of greenhouse gas produced by using warm water. I knew clothes dryers used up a lot of energy but I wasn’t expecting the hot water to produce more than 3 times the greenhouse gas compared to the dryer. I’m glad I only use cold water to wash my clothes!

If you combine the 90 kg (from running the washing machine) with 475 kg for the water, you end up with 565 kilograms of greenhouse gas produced each year - just from washing your clothes!

If you use warm water and a dryer, you could be producing a staggering 715 kilograms of greenhouse gas just from doing your laundry!

What to do about this?

By doing the following, you can help reduce your carbon footprint:

• Use cold water to wash your clothes. As seen above, using cold water can significantly reduce the greenhouse gases produced from washing your clothes. By using cold water, you can reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 4 kilograms per wash!
• Don’t waste washing detergent. Production of washing detergent contributes to greenhouse gases.
• Buy washing detergents made from natural substances. They will contribute much less to your carbon footprint.
• Avoid washing clothes that don’t really need to be washed.
• Another thing we can do is, when clothes shopping, look for clothes with self cleaning properties. Some clothes available today come with a self-cleaning textile finish called NanoSphere.
• Avoid using the clothes dryer. Hang your clothes on the clothes line if you can. With a good breeze, your clothes will be dry in no time!

The Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) recently produced a publication called Global Warming - Cool It!. In it, they provide an outline of the various household activities that produce greenhouse gases.

Some of the biggest producers of greenhouse gas include:

• Traveling to work
• Traveling for other activities (shopping, recreation etc)
• Water heating
• Various electrical appliances/devices

Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

For those of use looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, this gives us a good indication of where to start. In particular, by concentrating on those areas that produce the most greenhouse gas, we can make a bigger difference.

In my post about reducing greenhouse gas, I discuss some of the things each of us can do to reduce our carbon footprint.