Filed under: Uncategorized
The world’s largest water storage facility, the Three Gorges Dam in China, has been significantly polluted by pesticides, fertilizer, sewage, and passenger boats. Not only has the Three Gorges Dam reservoir been polluted by the above listed causes, but also over 600 kilometers of the Yangtze River in China is “critically polluted.” This comes out after a study done by the Chinese Academy of Science, WWF organization, and the Yangtze RIver Water Resources Commission. Along with the dam and the river, about 30% of the major tributaries to the river are “seriously polluted.”
Three Gorges along the Yangtze River, Photo Credit: www.wikipedia.org
Ever since the rapid economic growth, the condition of the environment in China has been decreasing. Approximately 14.2 billion tons of waste a year are put into the Yangtze River, which is 35% of China’s freshwater resources. China’s aquatic products in the 1950s were 427,000 tons, but in the 1990s they were down to 100,000 tons. Let’s see. 427,000 tons – 100,000 tons = 327,000 tons decrease in the amount of aquatic products in China.
The article discussed the pollution problems that are going on, but it didn’t discuss the possible solutions or if China has any plans to disrupt this pollution. I wonder if it is illegal to dump the pesticides, fertilizer, and sewage into the water. If it isn’t, the government should regulate the dumping. I don’t understand why the people would be dumping all of that stuff into the river, if it makes up 35% of their freshwater resources. Maybe it is not really having an impact now and they aren’t really looking to the future.
Article: China’s Yangtze River Extensively Polluted, Study Says By: Reuters http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12582
Filed under: Uncategorized
Hugo Chavez
Photo Credit: www.wikipedia.org
A week from today 12 leaders of South American countries will meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to discuss the building of a 5,000 mile natural gas pipline. This pipeline would take OPEC nation’s gas reserves to South American nations, such as Argentina and Brazil. This meeting comes at a time when tensions are high with Brazil. Brazil has been cooperating with the United States to promote the use of ethanol. Chavez claims that an increase in use of ethanol will make world hunger increase. Chavez says that ethanol is not needed and that the countries participating in the conference should look for ways to reduce energy consumption. He is putting down the US calling for regional support for “anti-US politics.” Venezuela has the hemisphere’s largest oil reserves and is the 5th leading exporter of oil to the United States.
I agree with Chavez that new ways need to be developed to reduce energy consumption, but I am not sure that the way to go about it is by going against the United States. In my opinion, he is just trying to coax the regional South American countries into hating the US by offering them a natural gas pipeline to their countries. The article did not discuss much about why Chavez said that world hunger will increase with the use of ethanol and I am not quite sure what he means by that.
Article : Venezuela’s Chavez Challenges US with Energy Summit by Brian Ellsworth http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12580
Filed under: Uncategorized
I am sure that we all remember watching Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” in class. It was a very interesting movie, but how many times does someone want to watch the same movie, pointing out the same facts and numbers. Well, beginning this week there are going to be tv shows about “earth justice.”
Photo Credit: www.wikipedia.org
Next year on cable tv, there will be a network called Discovery PlanetGreen wich is aimed at helping to educate people on living a green lifestyle. “The Green” on the Sundance Channel is going to start this Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. It will be during primetime hours every Tuesday. It will not only cover issues facing the earth, but also solutions to these problems that humans are creating. Some topics that will be discussed include: global warming, pollution, and energy depletion. Although I am sure that they give you facts, they also take you to different towns accross the United States and do different experiments. One in particular is a race between a car fueled by vegtable oil and one that is fueled with gasoline. The gasoline powered car obviously wins the race, but the experiment proves that a vegtable oil powered car does work and is sufficient.
I think that this is a great idea. I don’t know how many people will tune in to see, but they may get some channel-surfers that become interested. I like that they are not just giving you facts, but they are going around, talking to different people, taking you to different towns, and actually showing you something (rather than just explaining it to you).
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18078524/ Cable Channel Plants Seeds for “The Green” by Frazier Moore
Filed under: Uncategorized
Pictures from: www.wikipedia.org
Nissan Motor Co. and NEC ( an electronics maker) have indicated that they will be partnering to make lithium-ion batteries for hybrids and electric cars, known collectively known as green vehicles by the year 2009. The lithium ion is most commonly found right now in laptops and cell phones. The corporations are investing 490 yen or 4.1 million dollars in this project. Nissan plans to release their version of the hybrid car in 2010 and electric car sometime early in the next decade. Toyota and Honda have been in the market for green vehicles for many years using the nickel-metal hydride batteries.
Researchers are making the battery based on cost, performance, safetly, and reliability. When the battery is released it will be available to all automakers.
I think that it is great that Nissan is finally coming out with a more ecologically friendly car; however, I am not sure how much money they will make from it. I feel like people who are serious about buying environmentally friendly cars have already done so, buying a Honda or Toyota. But, maybe by the time Nissan’s new cars come out, there will be more an urgent reponse to global warming. I wonder what the difference is between the nickel-metal hydride batteries and the lithium-ion batteries are as far as which is better for the environment, or even if one is.
Article from: http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12568 Associated Press, Nissan, NEC To Produce Batteries For Ecologically Friendly Vehicles
Usually for vacations, especially ones that require long plane rides, I buy a couple magazines to read on the way. One of the magazines that I bought this time was Glamour. As I was sifting through the articles, only reading the ones that I have a real interest in, I came to an article entitled “The woman’s guide to saving the planet.” The first thing listed was the top 10 ways to help. This list was very predictable including: changing to flourescent light bulbs, driving fuel efficient cars, conserving water, recycling, etc. The common ones. Then it went on to state that the average American throws away 21 bags of garbage each month. I was amazed at this number. It also said that one of the studies indicated that 75% of things in landfills could have been recycled, mainly plastics and electronic goods.
Next was the discussion about dry-cleaning clothing, microwaving in plastic, and cooking in Teflon pans, all of which may be bad for you and are definitely bad for the environment. The issue with dry-cleaned clothes is that it a chemical used may be linked to cancer and reproductive damage. Not ony could it damage your health, but also air and the producing the plastic that is wrapped around your clothes when you get them from the dry cleaners uses a lot of energy.
Eco-friendly beauty supplies and clothing that is good for the environment is the next topic. Included in the clothing section are: clothes that have been colored with vegtable dyes, organic cotton, washing your clothes in cold water, and buying shoes that can be resoled easily. Eco-gadgets that are do not put a drain on energy and resources including: Water pwered clocks, Eyemax radio, Soldius solar recharger, Vessel Candela lights, and Muji cardboard speakers. Why these products? They are recharged by sunlight, rechargeable batteries, or they are biodegradable.
The magazine also gives some statistics including:
” 10 times as much energy is wasted when you run a computer screen saver instead of using sleep mode.”
“14 plastic grocery bags contain enought petroleum to fuel a car for a mile. Make friends with a cloth tote.”
“20 gallons of water go down the drain daily when you have a drip-drip-drip faucet. Call the plumber!”
“75 percent of energy used to power electronic items is consumed while they’re plugged in but not in use.”
“31,600 planes could be built with the amount of soda cans and other aluminum stuff thrown away every year.”
“100,000,000 trees are made into junk mail every single year. And no, that is not a typo. What a waste.”
What really got me were the statistics at the end. I think that my family is guilty of every thing listed above. The computer that I am writing this on has a computer screen saver not on sleep mode. When my Mom goes to the grocery store she comes home with plastic and sometimes paper bags. In some of the faucets in my house, there is a drip-drip and we leave our electronics plugged, whether they are off or not. We try to recycle our soda cans, but sometimes it doesn’t always happen. And the junk mail we get all the time in the mail. Sometimes we get more junk mail then mail that it actually worth our time reading. This is a real eye-opener.
Article in Glamour April 2007
Filed under: Uncategorized
Malaysian forests have been disappearing for some time being replaced by urban development. Conservationalists and residents of Malaysia are not putting their feet down and developing a trust fund to buy up the land. The groups that are joining together include: 2 residential associations near Central Petaling Jaya city and the Malaysia chapter of the World Wide Fund for Nature. They will protect the land from urban development. The forests will also become national heritage sites.
photo credit: www.wikipedia.com ….the Malaysian capital
Not only is bad to take away the forest for environment reasons, but also landslides are believed to have been caused because of the development of the area.
I think that it is sad that these forests are being destroyed for urbanization. I don’t understand where people get the idea that they can just waltz in and destroy something, thinking that there will be no consequences. This time there have been cocnsequences environmentally and with the people. The article didn’t say that the landsides caused any damage, but I think that it is pretty safe to assume that some sort of damage was done to property, plus if anyone was injured or killed during the landslides.
http://www.enn.com/greenb.html?id=1319 Associate Press
Filed under: Uncategorized
It has been recently estimated that gasoline storage tanks that have been leaking underground will cost at least $12 billion to cleanup. This is a lot more than the $72 million per year that Congress and the Bush Administration have alloted for the clean up projects. In a report in September of 2005, it was estimated that there were 117,000 tanks that still needed cleanups because they were “faulty.”
The General Accountability Office, estimated that it would cost $12 billion to remove 54,000 tanks that have been leaking. Why does the government have to pay for these tanks? Well they are either abandoned or no one can be held accountable for the cleanup. 63,000 tanks removals are going to be paid for by pump stations, storeowners, other operators, insurers, and state funds.
It is important to be noted that this lag in cleanups or removals of these leaking tanks is not due to lack of money.
For every gallon of gas 1/10 of a penny goes to trustfund to remove contamination caused by the leaking tanks. Lets take a closer look into what this means.
I know that when I fill up my car, a Honda Element, with gas it takes up about 15 gallons of gas. I usually fill up my tank of gas completely about one a week.
1/10 of a penny/gallon * 15 gallons = $.015.
$.015 * 52 weeks/year = $0.78/ year/car.
It seems like a really small amount of money, but it could potentially be a lot of money if you multiple how many cars are on the road in a given year. This trust fund has now reached $2.6 billion since it was started in 1986 and is expected to reach $3 billion by the end of 2008.
Why are the leaking tanks such a big issue? Well, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and carcinogens have contaminated water supplies causing 150+ lawsuits.
I think that it is a good idea to clean up these underground leaks. I am interested in seeing the outcome of the lawsuits and the evidence presented that the contaminated water supplies were contaminated by the leakages. I really like the trustfund, but I also think that something needs to be done to ensure that the government does not get stuck with the bill again for abandoned gas leakages.
Information from: www.enn.com/today.html?id=12281. Assocaited Press. Cleanups of Leaking Fuel Tanks Lag; Job Could Cost $12 Billion.
Filed under: Our Oceans
The Joint Ocean Comission Initiative recently released that the United States is received a “C-” for 2006. This grade is not nearly where it should be; however, it is slightly improved from 2005’s grade of a “D+.”
President Bush and his administration have promised an eight percent increase in the federal budget for coastal and marine conservation programs in 2007. The budget previously was 1.75 billion dollars and now an additional $143 million will be added. The majority of this money will go to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; however, approximately 8 million will go the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument which spands about 14, 000 miles.
At this point the states themselves have been doing better than the federal government at giving money for coastal and marine conservation programs. The cities doing particularly well in this area include: Washington and New York.
I think that it is very sad that we received a grade of a “C-”, although it is an improvement from the year before. I guess that politicians don’t really think of this as a serious issue when soldiers are being killed in Iraq and around the world. Although this might not seem like that important of a thing now, the federal government will regret it if the states don’t continue the funding. I don’t understand if it is the budget/money issue or what it is, but at least it has brought to the administrations attention and they are trying to get it under control.
http://www.enn.com/anim.html?id=1583 Associated Press
I guess you could say that having a test on global warming inspired me to write on this particular subject. In the short answer part of the test, I was amazed at the article Mr.McKinley gave us on the Chicago Tribune writer. When I saw this article, I knew that it was one topic I should write on.
On Friday, hundreds of scientists and representatives from 113 countries released a 21 page report on global warming. This article ”only discusses how and why the planet is warming, not what to do about it.” The report says that there is “little doubt” that global warming is attributed to humans. It also says that temperature and sea levels will rise for centuries regardless of if people control pollution or not.
Some of the facts that it pointed out include:
- a 2-11.5 degree Farenheit temperature increase by the end of the century
- a best estimate for temperature rises from 3.2-7.1 degree Farenheit
- 7-23 inch rise in sea level by 2100
The scientists have been observing and recording data to come up with these calculations since the 1960’s, even before the UN Environmental Program was founded. (That is who they work for)
This report is the first in a series of 4. Another report will address what to do about the global warming.
Achim Steiner, executive director of UN Environmental Program, stated, “It is critical that we look at this report…as a moment where the focus of attention will shift from whether climate change is linked to human activity, whether the science is sufficient, to what on earth are we going to do about it.”
I completely agree with Mr. Steiner. I know that some people are going to deny that global warming is occuring and is going to get worse, but they will probably never realize that they are wrong. I figure why not move forward with the people who do believe that it is true. This report proves that it is not just one part of the world that feels that global warming is occuring. Scientists from 113 countries all came the conclusion and agreement on what is going to happen. I would say thats a pretty good number. I am curious to see when the next report comes out.
So I am almost positive that most of us have been on an airplane at least once in our lives. If not, think of all of your family and friends that have flown before. With hundreds of thousands of planes hitting the skyway each day, greenhouse gases can easily accumulate.
A modern day airplane (Photo credit: www.wikepedia.com)
Norway and Britian have decided to “buy emissions quotas to combat global warming.” Most concerning is the rise of fuel burnt on international flights releasing emissions. The airlines are exempt from “fighting climate change” under the U.N.’s Kyoto Protocol, but not for that long. The protocol expires in 2012. Athough that may seem like not too far away, again think about how many airplanes take off and land at O’Hare in just one day.
Norway has recently stated that they will “buy quotas for the emissions caused by the trip” when state employees travel abroad by plane.
Not only are governments doing this, but companies are too. They include: Avis Europe (car rentals) and Statoil (Norwegian oil group).
Hopefully, this will help reduce the amount of emissions, although I am still not completely sure of how this works. I don’t understand how paying for emissions is going to reduce them, but maybe the government is doing this as an incentive. I do know one thing for sure; greenhouse gases need to be lowered to prevent global warming.
Norway, UK Try to Tackle Planes’ Greenhouse Gases By: Alister Doyle http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11960
