Green Options

Over the past few years we have sadly had to watch the Arctic ice concentrations drop significantly. Focus has been primarily centered on the Arctic Circle, but Greenland is also suffering from the increased global temperature. And now, thanks to researchers from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the Center for Space Research (CSR) in America, a new and accurate picture of Greenland’s shrinking ice cap has been formulated. Subsequently, the researchers have found that Greenland is currently responsible for an annual increase of sea levels of up to half a millimeter.

Scientists from the University of Calgary in Canada have created a method to efficiently capture carbon dioxide directly from the air around us. The device, which is built on near-commercial technology, was built by Uof C climate change scientists David Keith and his team. “At first thought, capturing CO2 from the air where it’s at a concentration of 0.04 per cent seems absurd, when we are just starting to do cost-effective capture at power plants where CO2 produced is at a concentration of more than 10 per cent,” says Keith, Canada Research Chair in Energy and Environment. “But the thermodynamics suggests that air capture might only be a bit harder than capturing CO2 from power plants. We are trying to turn that theory into engineering reality.”

I think that there really has to be some regret amongst some Americans that Arnold Schwarzenegger is legally unable to become an American President, because at the moment he seems to be one of the few politicians in all of America willing to do anything about the environment. When Schwarzenegger took the stage Friday in San Francisco at a Commonwealth Club event, celebrating California’s success in its global warming fighting leadership, the once-action star did not pull his punches. "We know that Washington is asleep at the wheel. We cannot look for leadership there,” so "We are not waiting for the federal government."

With predictions pointing to a global rise in sea levels over the next century, many countries are beginning the first stages of planning to deal with such increases. For Asia, a land where population density is the least of their problems, but a major problem nonetheless, this foresight could save millions of lives.

One of the countries that is proactively attempting to find solutions is Vietnam. No longer willing to rely on foreign non-governmental organizations, Vietnam is looking to find solutions for themselves.

There is almost nothing quite as intriguing and interesting as learning of a new experiment. And while Bunsen burners and the like may be OK for some of you, for me, get me outside and in some dirt any day. A new experiment, being conducted at Imperial College London’s Silwood Park campus in Berkshire, will attempt to determine how the British plant ecosystem will be affected by future changes to climate and biodiversity. With this experiment, however, there will be no computer simulations. Instead, scientists and researchers will be conducting the experiment outside, with 168 plots of grassland ecosystem at their fingertips. This will give a clear insight into how the ecosystems will hold up under a variety of different situations.

It is not a hard proposition to imagine that the continent of Africa has a large potential for being a generator of solar power. Just the ads from eager humanitarian organizations would shed a measure of light on the apparent vast stretches of nothing being drenched in sunlight. Similarly, I do not think it is a hard proposition to imagine that Africa’s actual solar generation is miniscule, compared to the rest of the planet. But rather than trying to focus blame within Africa, I think the blame must, as it does with much of the anthropogenic global warming, be laid at the feet of western nations for not doing more for Africa. Because while Africa may see the Sun create an average of 5 to 7 kilowatts per hour for every square meter across its surface, the money is simply not there for governments to spend on solar technology.

Local Indian governmental officials have announced that a new 100-million liter per day desalination plant is nearing completion. Located on India’s southeastern coast, the plant is currently 80% complete, and expected to begin operations January 2009.

The plant will process a hundred million liters per day, the equivalent to 26-million US gallons.

With so much of our planet covered in the stuff, it is a surprise that water does not receive the attention that renewable technologies like wind and solar do. Nevertheless, with renewable energy being the catchphrase of many countries at the moment, advancements are being made towards a future where our oceans will provide us with electricity. After two years, an oversized yellow buoy floating five miles off the southern tip of Long Beach Island has definitely proved its technology feasible. With the rise and fall of each wave, pistons slide up and down inside a cylinder within the buoy, generating electricity.

According to a new study published in Restoration Ecology, the use of large experimental tests in the field of environmental restoration has been limited, at best. The study posits that, for restoration to proceed as a science as well as a practice, large scale experiments will have to be conducted on whole ecosystems. “Very few restoration ecologists are taking advantage of large restoration sites by conducting large-scale experiments,” says Joy B. Zedler of the University of Wisconsin- Madison. “Most people wouldn’t buy a new shirt without trying on several different kinds to see which fits best and looks right. It’s similar with restoration; we want to find the best fit between the methods we use and the outcomes we want.”

The South African government has announced plans to increase spending into the research of hydrogen and fuel cell technology over the next three years. They believe that, with the country’s metal rich resources, an increase in research could create more manufacturing and more income for the country.

The government announced to spend ZAR 400 million, which equates to roughly $49 million USD.