There’s more pressure than ever for organizations to reduce their carbon footprint. Whether climate change is at the top of organizations ‘ agendas or not, measures to reduce CO2 emissions can significantly cut costs and improve staff, partner and customer relations, making business as well as environmental sense.
Posts Tagged ‘carbon’
Awesome Tips for reducing your organisation’s Carbon Emissions Posted By : loganpelle0468
December 20th, 2010 |
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Olam may enter carbon credits market on African timber project
December 16th, 2010 |
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Olam International, a commodity supplier backed by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte, may enter the carbon credits market based on the acquisition of a timber project in the republics of Congo and Gabon.
The company will review building a power plant fueled by biomass and ways to restore degraded forest areas at the tt Timber International AG operations it agreed to buy this week, Robert Hunink, Olam’s global head of wood products business, said today on a conference call. The power plant may cost about 12 million euros ($21 million) and save burning 3 million liters of diesel, he said.
Bacteria and climate change: Invisible carbon pumps
September 9th, 2010 |
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A group of oceanic micro-organisms just might prove a surprising ally in the fight against climate change
UNDERSTANDING how the oceans absorb carbon dioxide is crucial to understanding the role of that gas in the climate. It is rather worrying, then, that something profound may be missing from that understanding. But if Jiao Nianzhi of Xiamen University in China is right, it is. For he suggests there is a lot of carbon floating in the oceans that has not previously been noticed. It is in the form of what is known as refractory dissolved organic matter and it has been put there by a hitherto little-regarded group of creatures called aerobic anoxygenic photoheterotrophic bacteria (AAPB). If Dr Jiao is right, a whole new “sink” for carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has been discovered.
The main way that carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean is through photosynthesis by planktonic algae. These algae are the basis of most food chains in the sea—being eaten by tiny animals that are, in turn, eaten by larger ones. When all these creatures die, their remains (those bits that are not immediately eaten, anyway) sink to the sea floor, where some are eaten and some are buried indefinitely. These remains are known in the jargon as particulate organic matter. …
Manufacturing electric cars: The lighter drive
July 8th, 2010 |
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Electric cars made from carbon fibre will be safer and go farther
MARK WEBBER has a lot to thank tiny strands of carbon for. When his Formula 1 car cartwheeled in a spectacular 306kph (190mph) crash at the recent Valencia Grand Prix, what helped him to escape unscathed was the immensely strong carbon-fibre “tub” that racing drivers now sit in. Carbon fibre is an expensive alternative to making things in steel or aluminium, but besides being extremely strong it is also very light. It is found in high-performance parts, like aircraft wings, bits of supercars and the frames of pricey mountain bikes. But if work by Germany’s BMW proves successful, it could also become the material of choice to mass-produce electric cars.
The Bavarian carmaker plans to launch a new plug-in electric car in 2013. It will be one of the first designed from scratch to use an electric motor rather than being converted from an existing model. Reducing the weight of this four-seater car, known as the Megacity concept, will be crucial to improving its performance and range. So BMW is planning to use no steel at all. The Megacity will be built as two modules: an aluminium chassis will contain the electric drive-system and battery, and a body made almost entirely of carbon fibre will be fitted onto it. …
Ocean acidification: The other carbon-dioxide problem
July 1st, 2010 |
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Acidification threatens the world’s oceans, but quantifying the risks is hard
IN THE waters of Kongsfjord, an inlet on the coast of Spitsbergen, sit nine contraptions that bring nothing to mind as much as monster condoms. Each is a transparent sheath of plastic 17-metres long, mostly underwater, held in place by a floating collar. The seawater sealed within them is being mixed with different levels of carbon dioxide to see what will happen to the ecology of the Arctic waters.
As carbon dioxide levels go up, pH levels come down. Acidity depends on the presence of hydrogen ions (the H in pH) and more hydrogen ions mean, counterintuitively, a lower pH. Expose the surface of the ocean to an atmosphere with ever more carbon dioxide, and the gas and waters will produce carbonic acid, lowering pH on a planetary scale. The declining pH does not actually make the waters acidic (they started off mildly alkaline). But it makes them more acidic, just as turning up the light makes a dark room brighter. …
Cap and Trade: A Gigantic Scam
May 22nd, 2010 |
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As I pointed out in December:James Hansen – the world’s leading climate scientist fighting against global warming – told Amy Goodman this morning that cap and trade not only won’t reduce emissions, it may actually increase them: The problem is that th…
E.ON to move SE Asia carbon team to Singapore
April 7th, 2010 |
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German utility E.ON (EONGn.DE) will move its carbon team from Malaysia to Singapore this month and aims to ramp up investment in clean-energy projects in Southeast Asia, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The firm sees the region, and particularly Indonesia, as offering strong opportunities in projects that yield U.N.-backed carbon offsets and already has a “full pipeline” of prospective investments, said Frederic Boeuf, regional director of project development for E.ON Climate and Renewables.
Harrison Ford uses jet to buy cheeseburger!
February 25th, 2010 |
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Harrison Ford has revealed that he often makes jet journeys to buy a cheeseburger.
The Indiana Jones star began flying when he was 52 and after gaining his licence, he went on to buy several aircraft, which he keeps at Santa Monica Airport in California, reports the Daily Star.
He recently revealed in an interview the extent [...]
Do urban ‘green’ spaces contribute to global warming?
January 20th, 2010 |
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There is some disquieting news about urban green spaces, which instead of mitigating global warming, might actually contribute to it, says a new study.
Turfgrass lawns help remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air through photosynthesis and store it as organic carbon in soil, making them important “carbon sinks”.
However, greenhouse emissions from fertiliser output, mowing and [...]
No UN deal on carbon cuts, last day of talks
December 18th, 2009 |
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Two years of UN climate talks reached their climax in Copenhagen on Friday without a deal on carbon emissions cuts, as world leaders attempted a last push to agree a new global climate pact. “There are deep differences in opinion and view on how we should solve this. We’ll try our best, until
Copenhagen Framework Demands Huge Amounts of Spending, But Allows Enron-Style Accounting Tricks So That Carbon Isn’t Actually Reduced
December 11th, 2009 |
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The UN and other agencies calling for a war on global warming say the price tag will be trillions.But – according to top experts on climate and cap and trade – the regulatory framework being rammed through in America and internationally won’t actually…
Woman Who Invented Credit Default Swaps is One of the Key Architects of Carbon Derivatives, Which Would Be at the Very CENTER of Cap and Trade
December 8th, 2009 |
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As I have previously shown, speculative derivatives (especially credit default swaps or “CDS”) are a primary cause of the economic crisis. They were largely responsible for bringing down Bear Stearns, AIG (and see this), WaMu and other mammoth corpora…
World’s Leading Scientist Fighting Against Global Warming is Opposed to Cap And Trade
December 4th, 2009 |
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James Hansen is the world’s leading climate scientist fighting against global warming.Yesterday, Dr. Hansen told the Guardian:He is vehemently opposed to the carbon market schemes – in which permits to pollute are bought and sold – which are seen b…
Climate change: What lies beneath
December 3rd, 2009 |
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The planet’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide is under investigation
AS THE world gathers in Copenhagen over the coming weeks to discuss how much carbon dioxide people should be putting into the atmosphere, the Benguela Stream will be docking in the Windward Isles to bring bananas to Europe for Christmas, and doing her bit to help ascertain where a large part of that CO2 ends up. The world’s oceans and plants absorb about 60% of the CO2 emitted as a result of human activities, which has helped keep the extent of climate change in check over the past century or so. But exact figures are hard to come by. Estimates of just how much carbon ends up in plants, in soil and in the oceans are frustratingly sketchy.
The oceans suck up CO2 because it is soluble in water. Plants suck it up because they photosynthesise. As CO2 becomes more available, other things being equal, they will photosynthesise more. And a warmer, more polluted, more disrupted world can encourage growth in other ways, too. But none of these things can go on indefinitely. At some point the oceans and plants will have had their fill. …
Climate: We Can ALL Agree On Two Things
November 30th, 2009 |
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Whatever you think about the leaked emails showing that “tricks” were used to “hide the decline” in the climate data, and the fact that the original source data showing historical climate information was destroyed, you should agree on two things.The Ca…
Defects in carbon nanotubes could lead to improved charging for cell phones
November 20th, 2009 |
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Scientists have discovered that defects in carbon nanotubes could lead to supercapacitors that could possibly be used for improving charge and energy storage systems in portable electronic devices such as cell phones.
Mark Hoefer, a University of California San Diego (UCSD) materials science grad student, and mechanical engineering professor Prabhakar Bandaru, made the discovery.
Bandaru, along with [...]
Nanobiotechnology: Seeding the seeds
November 5th, 2009 |
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Carbon nanotubes find an unusual use as fertilisers
MANURE, compost and ash were used as fertilisers for centuries before the 1800s, but people did not understand how they worked until the science of chemistry was developed in the 19th century and it became clear that they supply plants with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Today, something similar may be happening with a different sort of fertiliser altogether. For reasons that are not yet entirely clear, it looks as though exposing seeds to carbon nanotubes before they germinate makes the seedlings that subsequently sprout grow faster and larger.
A carbon nanotube is, as its name suggests, a tiny cylinder of carbon atoms. Such tubes have been proposed for all sorts of fancy uses, particularly in electronics, but they and other nanoparticles (so called because their dimensions are measured in nanometres, or billionths of a metre) have also been objects of concern. The fear is that if they became ubiquitous, they might damage living creatures, people included, by interfering with the way cells work. …
World needs low carbon revolution by 2014: WWF
October 19th, 2009 |
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The world has five years to start a “low carbon industrial revolution” before runaway climate change becomes almost inevitable, a new report commissioned by global conservation group WWF said on Monday. Beyond 2014, the upper limits of industrial growth rates will make it impossible
Double Glazing Is the Environmentally Friendly Choice Posted By : Martin Troughton
October 16th, 2009 |
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If you are looking for ways you can reduce your carbon dioxide emissions, double glazing windows provide an easy option.