Green Options

A major new survey has revealed that nearly 50% of all US consumers would consider buying a ‘green’ cell phone, but only if key factors such as the price, features, and performance were equivalent to other phones.

According to the poll of 1,000 American adults carried out by ABI Research, just 7% would be willing to pay a premium to go green, a figure that may cause cell phone companies to think deeply before investing heavily in environmentally friendlier models.

Speaking about the findings, industry analyst Michael Morgan said, “These survey results mean that almost half of those surveyed were at least committed in principle to use of a green handset. However the public is largely uninformed about their availability: only 4% said they were ‘very familiar’ with green handsets.”

So-called “dead zones”–patches of ocean lacking aerobic (oxygen breathing) life–will most likely increase due to a rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations.

Because of CO2 build up in the atmosphere, its level of concentration in the oceans also increases. There, some of the CO2 converts to a simple acid called carbonic acid. (H2CO3).

What is becoming a much-studied phenomenon in recent years, these dead zones of depleted oxygen (02) - typically found at depths between 300 and 600 meters–are the result of several factors working separately and in combination: lower sea surface 02 levels, less heat exchanging (”ventilation”) with mid-level ocean depths due to over-all warming, and “euthrophication events” (an over-growth of a species due to excess nutrients).

According to a recent survey, more than three quarters of African Americans would back federal policy action on climate change.

An astonishing new survey has revealed that more than 60% of Americans would refuse to stop using their iPods, even if they knew it was seriously damaging the environment.

The survey, which quizzed more than 1,000 people across the US, found that, whilst the majority of Americans are making efforts to buy greener products, most wouldn’t do so if it meant compromising on convenience or comfort.

World wide, 75 percent of human exposure to mercury is  from the consumption of marine fish and shell fish. In the U.S., about 40 percent of all human exposure to mercury is from tuna harvested in the Pacific Ocean, according to Elsie Sunderland, a coauthor of the recent US Geologic Survey study.

Data used in this study comes from one of 15 (so far) research cruises that are part of a much larger, international project called CLIVAR; the Climate Variability (CLIVAR) Repeat Hydrography/CO2 research   program.

Data analysis of the water samples indicated that total mercury levels in the North Pacific Ocean water have risen about 30 percent over the last 20 years.

A new survey by the Rasmussen Group reveals a huge disconnect between the American people and the Obama administration’s proposed cap-and-trade climate change legislation.

More people than ever are now using mass transit in the United States. Ridership on trains, buses, ferries and subways is at record levels, according to a survey just released by the American Public Transportation Association. Their study reports that, “despite falling gas prices and an economic recession, increasing numbers of Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation in 2008, the highest level of ridership in 52 years and a modern ridership record”, and a 4% increase from [...]

Poll results released by General Motors today clearly indicate that the majority of Americans think the government should provide bailout loans to the auto industry and that without those loans the “Big 3″ (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) will go bankrupt.

In a random survey of 804 American adults conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and commissioned by General Motors (PDF), there is broad support for bailing out the the American auto industry — and even broader support of President-elect Obama’s plans to make sure “the American automobile industry continues to be able to operate.”

Almost a third (28%) of South Africans have not heard about global warming or climate change while over a half considered their knowledge as “hardly anything” or less.

The Human Sciences Research Council, a South African parastatal, conducts human sciences research in support of the growth and development of the country. Their 2008 South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) collected information from a representative sample of over three thousand people. One of the modules of the survey explored issues such as knowledge and concern about climate change, perceived causes and impacts, where responsibility for action lies, and the level of support for interventions.

The results show that South Africans are poorly informed about climate change and its implications. They lack a full understanding of the impacts it is likely to have on their lives over the next few decades. This hints at difficulties that will be encountered as South Africa addresses climate change.

Respondents identified food security (15%), temperature (13%), disease (13%) and the standard of living (11%) as issues that would be effected by climate change. Issues with less direct impact on the individual, such as storms, floods, and loss of biodiversity, were not identified as frequently.

Global sustainable development consulting company SustainAbility and KPMG released a report earlier this year detailing the results from a survey conducted of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Readers’ Choice members.

Conducted from October 2007 through the end of January 2008, the Readers’ Choice Survey looks for the first time at the readers, their preferences and behaviour. Nearly 2300 readers and non readers from around the world answered the survey questions.

And some of their answers may surprise you.

As many as 80% of Chinese think protecting the environment should be made a priority, even if this results in slower growth and a potential loss of jobs. The new data suggest the Chinese people may be struggling with some of the consequences of economic growth.