Heating, Cooling and HVAC

Fuel cell electric vehicles can now use Honda’s solar hydrogen charging station prototype to recharge for the daily commute, approximately 10,000 miles per year.

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Designed to fit in a garage, the charger can refuel a fuel cell electric vehicle eight hours overnight with around 0.5  kilograms of hydrogen.

Conventional solar hydrogen chargers required both an electrolyzer, a device that gathers hydrogen molecules from water, and a separate compressor unit to create high pressure hydrogen. The compressor is said to be the most expensive component in the device and also reduces system efficiency.

For its new charging station, Honda re-engineered the electrolyzer to eliminate the compressor and drive down costs and size while improving system efficiency by more than 25 percent.

Users can refill their vehicle overnight using less expensive off-peak electrical power, eliminating the need for hydrogen storage. During daytime peak power times, the smart grid-compatible charging station can export the electricity produced from its 6-kilowatt solar panels to the grid.

The array utilizes thin-film solar cells produced by Honda Soltec Company, a subsidiary of Honda.

In addition, the new charging station complements Honda’s FCX Clarity electric vehicles. With fast public charging stations for longer trips and the prototype’s nighttime slow charging for homes, the fuel cell vehicle will be more flexible on the road.

The solar hydrogen station is housed at Honda R&D Americas Inc. in Los Angeles.

Source:ECOSEED; jAN.29.2010

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Taiwan has recently finished  construction of    a Solar- Powered Stadium  that will generate 100% of it’s electricity from Photovoltaic Technology  Designed by Toyo Ito, the 50,000 seat arena.See the pictures below:-

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Sarasota County schools in Florida saved over $8 million in energy costs and received over $4 million in utility incentives in 18 years through Calmac Corporation’s thermal energy storage technology.
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To date, around 12 megawatts of energy has been used to produce ice equivalent to 11,000 tons of cooling used to cool schools during daytime.
Calmac’s IceBank thermal energy storage uses energy generated in off-peak hours to produce ice that can be used to cool buildings and houses during periods of peak demand.

To date, around 12 megawatts of energy has been used to produce ice equivalent to 11,000 tons of cooling used to cool schools during daytime.

The school district saves roughly 408,960 pounds of carbon dioxide per year for every 500 tons of cooling made. In 2008, the school district saved $729,000 alone with their energy storage systems.

The Sarasota County School system covers 50 public elementary, middle and high schools, as well as other facilities throughout the county.

Source:    Eco Seeds: Jan 22. 2010

The United States Environmental Protection Agency recognized one of the largest landfill gas-to-liquefied natural gas facilities in the world, along with seven other landfill methane capture projects for renewable energy generation and emissions reduction innovations.
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The winning projects will avoid the emission of 546,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually..

The agency gave out the awards under the Landfill Methane Outreach Program, which has assisted over 450 landfill gas energy projects for the past 15 years.

The program is a voluntary assistance and partnership that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by supporting landfill gas energy project development. It also assists countries throughout the world in developing landfill methane reduction projects through the International Methane to Markets Partnership.

The winning projects will avoid the emission of 546,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. This figure represents annual greenhouse gas emissions from almost 100,000 passenger vehicles.

“These projects, and others like them, are helping us transition into a clean energy economy and make important greenhouse gas reductions,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for the agency’s unit for air and radiation.

Three categories comprised the awards – Projects of the Year, the State Partner of the Year and the Community Partner of the Year.

Altamont Landfill Resource and Recovery Facility in Livermore, California, one of the largest in the world, led the Project of the Year awardees.

Other winning partners are the University of New Hampshire’s EcoLineTM project in Rochester, New Hampshire; Jefferson City’s Missouri Renewable Energy Project in Missouri; Ox Mountain Landfill Gas Energy Project in Half Moon Bay, California; the Sioux Falls Landfill and Poet Landfill Gas Pipeline in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and the Winder Renewable Methane Project in Winder, Georgia.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment received the State Partner of the Year award, while the Kent County Department of Public Works in Byron Center, Michigan was declared the Community Partner of the Year.

At present, the United States has about 509 operational landfill gas energy projects with a capacity of 1,563 megawatts. These projects provide energy equivalent to powering over 920,000 homes annually.

Meanwhile, direct-use projects produce an additional 304 million standard cubic feet of landfill gas daily and provide energy equivalent to heating over 715,000 homes annually. Direct-use landfill gas energy projects use landfill gas as an alternative to replace another fuel, such as natural gas or coal, to produce electricity.

Methane is a primary component of landfill gas. At the same time, it is a greenhouse gas over 20 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide due to its greater global warming qualities.

Using landfill gas, therefore, capitalizes on methane as a significant energy resource, while preventing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing odors and other hazards associated with emissions.

Source: ECOSEED   January 14. 2010

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The U.S. government is encouraging farmers to spread a chalky waste from coal-fired power plants on their fields to loosen and fertilize soil.
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The material is produced by power plant “scrubbers” that remove acid-rain-causing sulfur dioxide from plant emissions.

The substance is a synthetic form of the mineral gypsum, and it also contains mercury, arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.

The Environmental Protection Agency says those toxic metals occur in only tiny amounts. But some environmentalists say too little is known about how the material affects crops, and ultimately human health.

Resources:
Washington Post December 23, 2009
Wall Street Journal January 9, 2010

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Marine biologists break out in a cold sweat when they think about the impact of greenhouse gases on the oceans. It’s not just the fact that global warming raises the temperature of the sea. Scientists are also worried about acidity. The burning of fossil fuels pumps carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and when it gets absorbed by seawater, it turns into carbonic acid and makes the oceans more acidic.
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Warmer waters are stressful for marine life, making organisms like coral more vulnerable to disease. A lower ocean pH–i.e. a more acidic environment–makes it harder for marine invertebrates to construct their shells. But there has been little work looking at the combined effects of warmer waters and stronger acidity.

At a symposium here yesterday, physiologist Gretchen Hofmann of the University of California, Santa Barbara, reported that the combination can be deadly for the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, that she works on. DNA studies are also revealing details about how the urchins battle the stress. “This is cutting edge,” says marine ecologist Jane Lubcencko of Oregon State University in Corvallis.

The first step in the research was to see what damage is caused by simply altering acidity alone. Hofmann has several tanks that contain water with varying acidity. Some are filled with normal seawater, while others have the stronger acidity that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts will plague ocean waters in 2100. In the more acidic tanks, it became harder for sea urchin larvae to build their skeletons, Hofmann reported. DNA microarrays by postdoc Anne Todgham showed that genes involved in constructing calcium carbonate skeletons were 3 times more active than normal. “The larva is desperately trying to make its body,” Hofmann said.

The effort takes a toll on the larvae. Those in the most acidic water grow “short and stumpy” skeletons, according to unpublished work by graduate student LaTisha Hammond and postdoc Mike O’Donnell. Other students in Hofmann’s lab are modeling how those deformities might affect the distance larvae travel before settling down. It’s not clear what the impact might be on adults, but Hofmann suspects they could end up smaller than usual. That could hurt the valuable fishery for urchins, which are harvested for their eggs.

In other experiments, Hoffmann’s team added the additional stress of heat to the acidic water. Postdoc Nann Fangue found that larvae survive brief stints in warmer water just fine if they live in normal temperature or high acidity. But subject them to water 9 degrees warmer and about 7% of the larvae in higher acidity water die, compared to 2% of those with normal acidity. Double the temperature and roughly 29% of larvae in acidic waters keel over, compared to 16% of controls.

Although average ocean temperatures aren’t expected to rise that high, they can rise about that much in tidepools, for example. And the results show that even greater mortality can result from the effort to cope with greater acidity. “Gretchen has the story dead on with the urchins,” says Andrew Baker of the University of Miami in Florida, who is studying the effects of temperature and acidity on corals. “Clearly the effects are worse together than separate.”

Hofmann is now working with Victoria Fabry of the California State University, San Marcos to study the impact of acidity and temperature on another organism, Limacina helicina. This pteropod, roughly the size of a peppercorn, is a key part of the food web in the southern ocean. Hofmann and Fabry did experiments in Antartica last month, and the frozen samples are being flown back to her lab for DNA analysis

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Beautiful But Deadly: Marine Life is Best Untouched

The impact of ocean acidification on marine organisms

Source : The Science Magazine News Blog. dated:Jan 18th.2010

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RiskyChemicalsThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released its latest assessment of the chemicals people are carrying around in their bodies.
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The biomonitoring study is the most comprehensive in the world, measuring 212 chemicals in the blood and urine of 8,000 Americans.

The CDC highlighted a few chemicals because they are both widespread — found in all or most people tested — and potentially harmful.

Here’s a look at what they are and how you can try to avoid them:

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers

Better known as “flame retardants“, PBDEs are used widely in all sorts of goods to reduce fire risk. They also accumulate in human fat, and some studies suggest they may harm your liver and kidneys as well as your neurological system. Some states have restricted the use of certain PBDEs, but short of such bans, avoiding them is difficult because the chemicals are integrated into so many products.

Bisphenol A
BPA, which is found in many plastics, in the lining of cans, and even coating many sales receipts, was found in more than 90 percent of Americans tested. The health concerns about BPA are many and growing. While BPA-free products are available, it can be difficult to find them unless you do research ahead of time.

PFOA

PFOA and other perfluorinated chemicals are used to create heat-resistant and non-stick coatings on cookware, as well as grease-resistant food packaging and stain-resistant clothing. Studies have linked these chemicals to a range of health problems, including infertility in women, and to developmental and reproductive problems in lab animals. Avoiding products that contain them is a first step towards avoiding them.

Acrylamide
Formed when carbohydrates are cooked at high temperatures, acrylamide and its metabolites are extremely common in Americans. High-level exposure has caused cancer and neurological problems in lab animals and workers, respectively. Avoiding it in food comes down to food choice, storage and preparation.

Mercury
The main source of mercury — a potent neurotoxin that can lead to permanent brain damage if young children or fetuses are exposed — continues to be contaminated fish. I do not recommend eating most fish for this reason.

MTBE
This gasoline additive has been phased out of use in the U.S. in favor of ethanol, but it still can be detected widely in American’s bodies; it has contaminated many drinking water supplies. Studies have linked it to a variety of potential problems, including neurological and reproductive damage.

Source: The Daily Green December 15, 2009

From a carbon emissions point-of-view, is it better to buy products online or in a store? You probably guessed the former — and if so, you’re right, according to a new study.

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The National Retail Federation conducted a survey late last month in which it asked consumers about their anticipated spending over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The results showed that, on average, consumers would spend $343 inside stores and $104 through online purchases. Researchers used these numbers to calculate that the negative environmental impact of an in-store purchase made on Black Friday is 50 times that of an online purchase made on Cyber Monday.

In more general terms, the study found that carbon emissions related to purchasing an item inside a store represents an increase of more than 15 times that of an online purchase.

Source: Triple Pundit December 14, 2009

A burst oil pipeline in north China has spewed thousands of gallons (litres) of diesel into a major tributary of the Yellow River, state  media said.
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The spill occurred on Wednesday last week on the Chishui river in Shaanxi province when a pipeline operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) ruptured, a statement on the Weinan city government website said.

Emergency measures have been taken to stop the leak, with 23 containment belts set up downstream from the spill and up to 700 people scrambling to clean up the mess, the statement said.

Local government officials refused to reveal how much diesel had spilled into the river or comment on the spill when contacted by AFP.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that up to 150,000 litres (40,000 US gallons) had leaked into the river about 70 kilometres (42 miles) from the Yellow River, one of China’s longest watercourses.

Oil has already been detected 33 kilometres downstream from the spill, the report said.

“We must take thorough measures to handle the spill and the pollution and strictly prevent it from entering the Yellow River, while ensuring the safety of drinking water,” the Chongqing Evening News quoted Vice Premier Li Keqiang as saying.

Local environmental departments have warned residents not to use the river water as it may be polluted, the report said.

A preliminary investigation showed that the pipeline rupture was caused by a local construction project, CNPC, one of China’s biggest state-owned oil and gas companies, said in a statement.

The pipeline is used to transport diesel from northwest China’s Gansu province to the central parts of the nation, it said.

Around 30 years of unbridled economic growth have left most of China’s lakes and rivers heavily polluted while the nation’s urban dwellers also face some of the world’s worst air pollution.

More than 200 million Chinese currently do not have access to safe drinking water, according to government data.

In November 2005, a major oil spill on the Songhua river in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province resulted in a cut off of water supplies to up to four million people in the provincial capital of Harbin before flowing down river into Russia, causing a diplomatic crisis.

Source: The Times Of India. January 3,  2010

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) is to study the impact of meat output on climate change in the light of debate about meat’s  contribution to greenhouse emissions, the Paris-based body said .
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The initiative, which will be the OIE’s first on an environmental issue, follows requests from its member countries to look at a question that has prompted calls to eat less meat.

Meat production is estimated to account for 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, and some scientists have cited lower meat consumption as a way of tackling climate change.

A campaign led by former Beatle Paul McCartney to get people not to eat meat one day a week has also drawn attention to the issue.

But OIE Director-General Bernard Vallat warned against oversimplifying the issue, stressing factors such as the carbon-stocking role of pasture land would have to be evaluated.

“It’s a question that needs to be studied with a lot of distance,” he told a news conference. “We want to make a modest and independent contribution.”

People also needed to be aware that livestock production generated milk and eggs as well as meat and so could not be sacrificed at a time of fast-growing protein demand among the world’s population, he said.

“There is not yet a scientific model that can prove that our planet could do without milk, eggs or meat.”

The study would thus likely recommend further research to find ways of limiting the direct effects of meat production on the environment, such as methane emissions, Vallat added.

Another focus for the OIE this year would be reducing cases of rabies, which kills 50,000 people worldwide annually, mainly following dog bites.

The body was notably calling for developing countries to devote more money to vaccinating dogs rather than just treating infected people which was much more expensive, Vallat said.

Source: The Times Of India

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Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s largest wind turbine company, is set to ship out 48 wind turbines to German wind farm developer Prokon which is building projects in Poland.
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The Danish wind giant will deliver 2-megawatt turbines from 2010 to 2012 to Schleswig-Holstein, Germany-based Prokon.

Prokon has been developing wind energy projects over 15 years, and has 32 wind farms in Germany. The company has previously worked with Vestas for German wind projects.

In July 2009, Prokon announced plans to sign up Vestas for the 105-meter-high V90 wind turbines for eight power plants it will erect in Poland.

The total capacity of Prokon’s initial venture into the Polish wind market will be 96 MW.

Copenhagen Stock Exchange-listed Vestas said the order will not affect its expectations for 2009 and 2010. In October, Vestas said it expects revenues for 2009 to reach around 7.2 billion euros ($10.4 billion).

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Source:EcoSeeds :5Th. Jan.2010

West Bengal is planning to generate 115 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2013 from solar power, a thrust that would cost the Indian state 15 billion rupees ($320 million), reported Newkerala.com.

Around 110 MW of the power capacity will be sourced from land-based solar power plants while 5 MW will be produced through rooftop fixing, according to S.P. Gon Chaudhuri, managing director of West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation.

At present, the state produces only 15 MW of electricity from the sun.

The government has submitted a comprehensive proposal to the Indian New and Renewable Energy Ministry for the 15 billion rupee funding needed for the projects.

India has a 20,000-MW goal of solar power generation by 2022 set forth in its National Solar Mission. Of this, West Bengal aims to produce 2,000 MW, said Mr. Chaudhuri.
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The state also plans to make 500 MW of solar modules out of the 5,000 MW output expected in India by 2013.

West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation, Moser Baer, Reliance Industries Limited, Synergy Solar Limited, Astonfield and Videocon are said to have shown interest in making solar modules in the state.

Separately, West Bengal is also planning to light 100,000 homes through solar power by 2013 to the tune of another 20 billion rupees ($427.9 million). The solar mission aims to provide solar home lighting for 20 million homes in remote areas by 2022, with the state accounting for two million homes.

The program would cover areas including Sunderbans, West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, part of Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri districts.

The West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation was formed by the state government to boost private investments in nonconventional renewable energy sources.

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Source:EcoSeed 30Th. Dec.2009

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Bangalore’s Eko Vehicles has launched the world’s first hybrid motorcycle in partnership with United States-based Emerging Vehicle Technologies Inc.

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The new Eko ET-120 motorcycle is fitted with a high power electric motor with a 70 cubic centimeter four-stroke petrol engine that charges a battery while running.
The new Eko ET-120 motorcycle is fitted with a high power electric motor with a 70 cubic centimeter four-stroke petrol engine that charges a battery while running.

The motorcycle has a mileage of 120 kilometers per liter and can reach a top speed of 65 kilometers per hour, while reducing carbon emissions by half compared with its gas-powered counterparts.

The ET-120 is priced at 40,000 rupees ($854) with a five-year warranty and is expected to be on sale in the first half of 2010.

The company is also planning to launch a hybrid scooter called the Strike. The scooter costs 22,000 rupees ($427.3) and does not come with a road tax. The scooter’s batteries can also be customized to suit the specific needs of the commuters.

Source:http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/green-business-news/green-business-news/5674-Indian-company-first-to-make-world’s-first-hybrid-motorcycle

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Far from Copenhagen’s turbulent climate talks, the sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters reposing along the shoreline and kelp forests of Monterey  Bay National Marine Sanctuary marine area, stand to gain from any global deal to cut greenhouse gases. These foragers of the sanctuary’s frigid waters, flipping in and out of sight of California’s coastal kayakers, may not seem like obvious beneficiaries of a climate treaty crafted in the Danish capital. But reducing carbon emissions worldwide also would help mend a lesser-known environmental problem: ocean acidification.

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“We’re having a change in water chemistry, so 20 years from now the system we’re looking at could be affected dramatically but we’re not really sure how. So we see a train wreck coming,” said Andrew DeVogelaere, the sanctuary’s research director.

Nothing in the treaty negotiations specifically addresses the effects of carbon absorption in the oceans on marine life, which studies show is damaging key creatures’ hard shells or skeletons. Oceans absorb about 25% of the world’s greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere from human activities each year, says a new UN report released at the Copenhagen talks this week. That helps slow global warming in the atmosphere, the focus of the Copenhagen talks.

But carbon dissolving in oceans also forms carbonic acid, raising waters’ acidity that damages all manner of hard-shelled creatures, and setting off a chain reaction that threatens the food chain supporting marine life, including the lumbering sea mammals along the 276-mile coast of the California sanctuary and the rest of the US West Coast.

By 2100, the report said, some 70% of cold water corals — a key refuge and feeding ground for commercially popular fish that also are food for the seals and otters — will be exposed to the harmful effects. Ocean acidity could increase 150% just by mid-century, according to the report by the secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. “This dramatic increase is 100 times faster than any change in acidity experienced in the marine environment over the last 20 million years,” it said.

Source: The Times Of India

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Prices of everyday goods such as clothing and food will barely rise if rich nations slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a study that concludes green lifestyles are affordable.
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The study, in New Scientist magazine based on data for Britain from consultancy Cambridge Econometrics, said prices of only a few consumer goods dependent on fossil fuels would rocket, such as fuel-guzzling air travel.

“These results show that the global project to fight climate change is doable,” the report quoted Alex Bowen, a climate policy expert at the London School of Economics, as saying. “It’s not such a big ask as people are making out.”

The model, assuming cuts in greenhouse gas emissions of 80 percent by 2050 in line with goals by major developing states, projected that prices of food, clothing and cars would rise by 1 percent by 2050 and tobacco, alcohol and electronics 2 percent. Phone bills would be unaffected.

But energy prices would jump, with a shift to renewable energies such as solar and wind power. Electricity prices would be up 15 percent and a return flight from London to New York would soar 140 percent.

“We can afford to go green,” New Scientist said of the findings. “Electricity and other forms of energy make up only a fraction of the price of most goods,” it said. “Other factors – raw materials, labor and taxes – are far more important.”

“The energy that goes into producing food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco, for instance, makes up just 2 percent of the consumer price,” it said, noting there were many uncertainties about the projection.

Source:http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/features/green-living/5399-Green-future-affordable-with-deep-carbon-dioxide-cuts-–-study

Ocean Power Technologies Inc. has tapped Clackamas-based Oregon Iron Works to construct its first commercial wave energy station in North America.
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The construction of the PowerBuoy system is the first phase of an expected 1.5-megawatt wave power station located off the Oregon coast near Reedsport.

The Reedsport wave energy station will utilize 10 PowerBuoy systems, with the nine remaining PowerBuoys to be constructed and installed under the second phase of the project.

Ocean Power expects the project to generate approximately 4,140 megawatt-hours annually based on the wave resource of the site, which is enough to power about 375 homes. Clean electricity generated by the device will offset 2,110 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The Reedsport wave project will be financed by funding from the Department of Energy, federal and Oregon state tax credits and investment from Ocean Power Technologies and other companies.

Both Ocean Power and Oregon Iron expect the construction of the 150-kilowatt PowerBuoy P150 wave energy device to create approximately 30 jobs over the next nine months.

The device uses the rise and fall of waves to move the buoy up and down, which then powers an electric generator inside. The electricity is then transmitted ashore via an underwater cable.

Power purchase
PNGC Power, a regional generation and transmission public electric power cooperative, has signed an agreement with Ocean Power to purchase some of the electricity generated in the second phase of the project for its northwest customers. The cooperative also provided partial funding for the first phase of the project.

The completion of the two-phase project will create more than 150 jobs in fabrication, assembly, installation and maintenance of the Reedsport power station.

The Reedsport wave project springs from Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski’s commitment to the development of wave energy as a commercially viable renewable energy source.

Mark Draper, chief executive of Ocean Power Technologies, said they have identified the Oregon Coast as one of the world’s top sources for future wave energy development.

Ocean Power is also in the advanced stages of completing its first PB150 wave device in Britain, which is scheduled for deployment in the Orkneys, Scotland in mid-2010.

Ocean Power Technologies is traded on the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market.

Source: http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/renewable-energy/water-power/wave-and-tidal-energy/5431

Wind energy alone could help attain up to 65 percent of the emission reduction pledges by industrialized countries, states a report by the Global Wind Energy Council, an international forum for the wind energy sector.

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The council calculated that global wind energy alone could contribute 34 percent of a 25 percent emissions reduction and 21 percent of a 40 percent emissions reduction.

The pledges, which include that of the United States, European Union, Norway, Japan and Russia, total 13 percent to 20 percent of aggregate emissions reductions by 2020. These developed countries must reduce their emissions reductions by 25 percent to 40 percent below 1990 levels to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

The council calculated that global wind energy alone could contribute 34 percent of a 25 percent emissions reduction and 21 percent of a 40 percent emissions reduction.

According to the council’s most ambitious scenario for wind energy development, the sector could produce 2,600 terawatt-hours of electricity and save 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2020, representing between 42 percent and 65 percent of pledges by developed countries.

The report also outlines emissions reductions potentials from wind power in Europe, the United States, India and China. If properly deployed, the wind sector could help these regions meet their climate goals.

Steve Sawyer, the council’s secretary general, pointed out that while the figures show that wind sector alone could contribute greatly to the emissions reduction targets, it also show how inadequate and lacking in ambition the pledges are to date.

“Industrialized countries can and must review their pledges for reduction targets and raise them very substantially, as well as assisting developing countries‘ often ambitious programmes to decarbonize their electricity systems with both public finance and private investment through the carbon markets,” he said.

Achim Steiner, United Nations under secretary general and United Nations Environment Programme executive director, stressed the importance of a serious and significant deal in Copenhagen to encourage more countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, generate clean energy and boost employment.

“The economics and the benefits of renewables, and in particular, wind power, are becoming increasingly convincing. Copenhagen is the moment for governments and world leaders to match this reality with convincing decisions on emission reductions, financing and technology,” he concluded.

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Source:http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/renewable-energy/wind-energy/large-wind/5591

Researchers from the University of California in Los Angeles found a way to create genetically modified bacteria called cyanobacterium, which consume carbon dioxide and produce the liquid fuel isobutanol, reported Science Daily.
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The research originally published on Wednesday in the journal Nature of Biotechnology states that consumption of carbon dioxide is directly powered by the sun, a process similar to photosynthesis.

The new method has two major advantages: it recycles carbon dioxide which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and it uses solar energy to convert carbon dioxide to liquid fuel which can be used in automobiles.

James C. Liao, team leader of the researchers, said the new process will avoid biomass deconstruction which is a major economic barrier for biofuel production. The newly discovered process can lessen expenses and speed up the creation of an alternative fuel.

Biofuels are derived from plants or algae, and the process involves several phases before fuel is produced.

Mr. Liao and his group discovered the process by genetically increasing the quantity of the carbon dioxide-fixing enzyme RuBisCO in cyanobacterium Synechoccus elongates. They merged the genes from other microorganisms and created a strain that processes carbon dioxide and sunlight to produce isobutyraldehyde gas.

The bacteria can instantly produce isobutanol. However, Mr. Liao admitted that currently, it is easier to use the existing method of isobutanol conversion since the new method needs further testing.

The perfect use for this system is in a power plant that emits carbon dioxide as it will allow greenhouse gases to be confined and reprocessed into liquid fuel.

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Source:http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/greentech-news/greentech-a-science-news/5551-Enhanced-bacteria-transform-carbon-dioxide-to-biofuel

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New Mexico will be drafting a statewide plan to turn itself into a leader in the United States biofuel industry, a renewable energy area where the state’s officials see huge potential.
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The plan, to be presented in April next year, will be a comprehensive biofuels roadmap for the state. It will get input from an advisory panel made up of the state’s biofuels industry.

An initial meeting held on Wednesday gathered over 50 national and state experts in industry, science, education, agriculture, nonprofit organizations and government to begin drafting the plan.

“New Mexico is already a leader in developing next-generation biofuels like algae and we have tremendous expertise within our state’s business sector, universities, and national laboratories to expand on our success,” said state Senator Tom Udall.

“This initiative will create a statewide plan to grow both the jobs of the future right here in New Mexico and home grown fuel for the American economy,” he added.

Until April, the planners will work to finalize a strategy for areas such as sustainable feedstocks and energy markets, with a particular stress on biofuels research and development. Workgroup sessions will be opened to the public.

“The advanced biofuels of tomorrow depend on research and technological entrepreneurship in states like New Mexico, known for our wealth of opportunities for renewable energy development,” Representative Martin Heinrich pointed out.

Governor Bill Richardson and another state Senator Jeff Bingaman were also joined by Representative, Harry Teague in inviting experts to contribute to the plan.

Mr. Teague introduced the Biofuel Engineering Training Act and the Algae-based Renewable Fuel Promotion Act earlier this year to support the growth of the biofuels industry in New Mexico.

The plan will be made public at the Southwestern Biofuels Association biofuels policy summit in Albuquerque.

Source:http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/Renewable-Energy/Biofuel/Algae-Fuel/5542

Worried you haven’t been green enough in life? Don’t let death come in the way of a more eco-friendly you.

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From coffins made of recycled cardboard to saying no to embalming chemicals that seep into the soil, people are increasingly searching for ways to make their final resting place a more environmentally-friendly one.

Now cremation, the choice today of a third of Americans and more than half of Canadians, is getting a green make-over. A standard cremation spews into the air about 400 kilograms of carbon dioxide — a greenhouse gas blamed for global warming — along with other pollutants like dioxins and mercury vapor if the deceased had silver tooth fillings.

Enter alkaline hydrolysis, a chemical body-disposal process its proponents call “bio-cremation” and say uses one-tenth the natural gas of fire-based cremation and one-third the electricity.

C0² emissions are cut by almost 90% and no mercury escapes as fillings and other metal objects, such as hip or knee replacements, can be recovered intact and recycled.

Matthews International Corp, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company that makes caskets and other funeral products is planning the world’s first commercial launch of human alkaline hydrolysis in January at a funeral home in St Petersburg, Florida.

In alkaline hydrolysis the body is submerged in water in a stainless steel chamber. Heat, pressure and potassium hydroxide, chemicals used to make soap and bleach, are added to dissolve the tissue. Two hours later all that’s left is some bone residue and a syrupy brown liquid that is flushed down the drain. The bones can be crushed and returned to the family as with cremation.

Source: The Times Of India.Dec.3′09

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According to the Met Office, man-made climate change will be a factor and natural weather patterns would contribute less to 2010’s temperature than they did in 1998, the current warmest year in the 160-year record.

………………

El Niño effect, the cyclical heating of the Pacific Ocean, is much weaker than it was in 1998, but the Met Office expects the warming effect of greenhouse gas emissions to more than make up the difference, ‘The Times‘ reported.

It predicts that the global average temperature next year to be almost 0.6 C warmer than the 1961 to 1990 average, and forecasts an annual average of 14.58 C.

The Met Office has also said that it expects half the years between 2010 and 2019 to be warmer than 1998. It sounded a note of caution, saying that a record year in 2010 was not a certainty, especially if the current El Niño began to decline earlier than normal or there was a large volcanic eruption.

However, experts are divided on the prediction. Ben Stewart of Greenpeace said: “If 2010 turns out to be the hottest year on record, it might go some way towards exploding the myth, spread by the climate conspiracy theorists that we’re experiencing global cooling. In reality the world is getting possibly a lot hotter, and humans are causing it.”

But, the Global Warming Policy Foundation, has accused the Met Office of making a “political intervention” in the international negotiations taking place in Copenhagen.

“Suggestions by the Met Office that a warming trend will resume in the next year or two should be treated with reserve in light of the recognised difficulties in making such confident predictions,” it said.

Source: The Times Of India.Dec.11.’09

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Carbon dioxide indirectly causes up to 50% more global warming than originally thought, a finding that raises questions over targets for  stabilising carbon emissions over the long term, a study said on Sunday.
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In a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, British scientists said a tool commonly used in climate modelling may have badly underlooked the sensitivity of key natural processes to the warming caused by CO2.

As a result, calculations for man-made global warming on the basis of carbon emissions may be underpitched by between 30 and 50%, they said.

The study was coincidentally published on the eve of a 12-day UN conference in Copenhagen aimed at providing a durable solution to the greenhouse-gas problem.

The authors stressed that the more-than-expected warming would unfold over a matter of hundreds of years, rather than this century.

The findings do not mean that the predictions for temperature rise by 2100, established notably by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), should be rewritten, they said.

“We don’t want to be overly alarmist here,” said lead author Dan Lunt of Britain’s University of Bristol.

“But if people are thinking about stabilising CO2 at a certain atmospheric level, or putting together a treaty, or having a debate about what the levels should be, it really is important to know what the long-term consequences of those emissions are going to be, because CO2 hangs around for so long.”

Lunt and colleagues decided to test a widely-used climate model on an epoch called the mid-Pliocene warm period, about three million years ago, when Earth heated up in response to natural processes.

Cores drilled from ocean sediment provide a good idea about atmospheric carbon levels and temperature at the time.

What the team found, though, was that the CO2 levels in the Pliocene — around 400 parts per million (ppm) — were not consistent with the warming, which was around three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than today.

The difference could only be fully explained by the long-term loss of icesheets and and changes in vegetation, says the paper. These changes cause Earth’s surface to absorb more solar radiation, which causes more warming, and so on.

When applied to what awaits us this century, the adjusted model suggests that nothing significantly different will happen compared to what has already been estimated.

“In that time scale, we don’t think the Greenland icesheet is going to melt completely or that East Antarctica will melt. That was what we saw in the model for three million years ago, but it is unlikely to take place in the next century,” said Lunt.

Where it poses a dilemma, though, is how to fix a target for stabilising CO2 emissions so that future generations, centuries from now, are not hit by this long-term warming mechanism.

A popular goal is to limit warming since pre-industrial times to 2 C (3.6 F), a figure that in mainstream climate models typically equates to about 450 ppm. At present, Earth’s CO2 concentrations are at around 387 ppm.

Lunt says that today’s level may already be too high in this context.

“Our work says that at 400 parts per million, you are looking at more than two degrees C [3.6 F].

“To stabilise at two degrees C, you would have to aim for something like 380 ppm. But remember, this is the sort of level that applies if you want a long-term commitment that goes on for centuries, for generations to come.”

Source:The Times Of India. 6th. Dec.2009

The power is yours – don’t waste it! Power up your base station with solar power and take the green path with Eltek Valere.
………………………………
Telecom operators around the world have responded to the growing climate change concerns by setting aggressive carbon emission reduction targets. With the Flatpack2 HE we set a new standard for rectifier efficiency (96,4 %), thus helping the operators to reach these reduction targets.

But being efficient is not enough. Eltek Valere Telecom Solar solutions provide clean and green energy to supplement your power needs. Le the sun power your station, while mains and other additional power sources safeguards the installation on less sunny days.

The heart of this off-grid solution is the new Telecom Solar Charger module. Adapted from the FP2 HE rectifier, this DC-DC converter provides the ideal power interface for using solar panels to run 48v DC loads and charging batteries.

In addition, the Telecom Solar Solution also includes:
*Improved data logging by Smartpack
*Diesel generator optimization function
*Integrated Solar Charger alarm monitoring and control
*Utilization of standard FP2 PR shelves and system components

...

Telecom solar solution…..Flatpack2 48/1500 HE Solar…..Smartpack

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Electric Vehicle Chargers

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Japan is the latest country to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it in deep geo logical formations, oceans or as mineral  carbonates. There is good reason. The Land of the Rising Sun is the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. It faces the weighty task of cutting them by 25% by 2020 against 1990 levels.
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The Japanese project, at Mikawa power station near Fukuoka Prefecture, is a sign of the increasing credibility of CO2 capture and storage. It is the latest in a worldwide foursome: Sleipner field in the North Sea where the Norwegian oil and gas group Statoily captures CO2 and injects it beneath the seabed; The Weyburn-Midale project in Canada; and, Salah in Algeria.

Should India be taking heed? Particularly now, when our cities are reportedly producing less greenhouse gases than Washington, New York and London? Yes and no, says Prabhat Upadhayaya, research associate, climate change division of The Energy and Resources Institute. He says, “Developed countries are supportive of this relatively-new technology. But till concrete results are out, developing countries such as India won’t be comfortable adopting it.”

Cost is obviously a factor but there are safety issues too. What if CO2 deposits from developed countries are sent to the Third World for storage? What if CO2 stored below the surface leaks? Who will take responsibility?

Japan’s unique experiment, called carbon capture and storage (CCS) is being conducted by its Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth. It traps say, 10 tonne of CO2 from flue gas, which is a by-product of the coal that is burnt to produce electricity. Then the CO2 is injected into the ocean using nozzles, pipes and high-pressure chambers.

The Americans seem just as serious about using CO2 capture as a gloriously ‘green’ measure. In September American Electric Power and its French partner, Alstom, conducted an experiment similar to Japan’s in Mountaineer Plant, West Virginia, which is poised to become the world’s first coal-fired power plant to capture and bury some of its CO2. Here, smoke from the plant’s chimney is mixed with an ammonia-based chemical and heated to release CO2. This is compressed into a liquid-like state and injected into a layer of sandstone 7,800 feet below and then into a layer of dolomite 400 feet below that. The liquid will squeeze into the rock’s tiny pores. It is hoped the gas will stay there for millennia. Nearby monitoring wells will evaluate storage conditions. The project will operate for about five years and can store about 1.5 million metric tons of CO2 annually.

India’s independent power producers would prefer a wait-and-watch policy. Harry Dhaul, D-G, Independent Power Producers Association of India says it’s early days yet for CCS. “There are many questions that need to be answered: what kind of market structure will it have, how much carbon will you capture, who will finance it….Abroad, governments support such initiatives.”

But the developed world is serious about carbon capture. The US is investing $2.4 billion in the technology and hopes to establish it within a decade, its energy secretary Steven Chu recently said. Ten ‘demonstration’ plants will be up and running by 2016. Europe is also aiming for a similar number of coal-fired plants with this technology by 2015.

Source: The Times Of India

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You might find the idea of going without toilet paper a bit shocking, but lots of people around the world do it, and there are good technologies available now to replace your toilet or add on to it. It is cleaner and healthier, and saves a lot of water — making a roll of toilet paper uses 1.5 pounds of wood, 37 gallons of water and 1.3 KWh of electricity.

Many bidet-style toilets or toilet seat add-ons are expensive, but the Blue Bidet is only $69. It can be installed in under half an hour.

Most people find they have no problem using a bidet. Occasionally, a few sheets of paper are needed for drying. To avoid this, you could get an air-drying bidet that would eliminate toilet paper entirely.
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Sources: Treehugger October 1, 2009

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With a handful of parts  you can fix almost any lamp—and make it safe as well.

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STEP-1.When a lamp flickers or doesn’t light up at all, chances are that one of the parts has gone bad. In this article, we’ll show you how to replace all the key parts. But don’t overlook the obvious: no power or a bad bulb. Try a new bulb and plug the lamp into a different outlet before taking things apart.

If that doesn’t work, operate the switch. It should turn on and off without flickering. Next, unplug the lamp and inspect the cord and plug. If you can’t find any obvious problems, replace all the electrical parts. It only takes a few more minutes than replacing just one, and the parts usually cost less than $10.

STEP-2.First replace a Faulty Socket if it is gone bad.

A lamp socket itself can go bad, but more often it’s the switch inside the socket. Either way, the solution is replacement. A new socket costs about $5. Regardless of the existing switch type, you can choose a push-through switch, a pull chain, a turn knob or a three-way turn knob that provides two brightness levels. You can also choose a socket without a switch and install a switched cord instead.

The old socket shell is supposed to pop out of its base with a squeeze and a tug, but you might have to pry it out with a screw-driver. The socket base can be stubborn too. It’s screwed onto a threaded tube that runs down through the lamp’s body. When you try to unscrew it, you might unscrew the nut at the other end of the tube instead. This will allow the parts of the lamp body to come apart, but that isn’t a big problem. Just use a pliers to twist the base off the tube, reassemble the lamp body and screw on the new socket base to hold it all together.

The neutral wire connects to the wide plug blade and is distinguished from the hot wire by ribs, color, printing or indentations in the plastic insulation.

When you connect the new socket, don’t reuse the bare ends of the wires. Some of the tiny strands of wire are probably broken. Cut them off and strip away 1/2 in. of insulation with a wire stripper. Using a wire stripper is almost foolproof, as long as you choose the correct pair of notches to bite through the wire’s insulation. Most wire strippers are sized for solid wire, rather than the slightly larger stranded wire used in lamp cords. You can get around this problem by using the next larger pair of notches. Since most lamp wires are 18 gauge, start with the notches labeled 16. If the stripper won’t remove the insulation, use smaller notches. If the stripper removes strands of wire, cut off an inch of cord and start over using larger notches.

An underwriter’s knot prevents the wires from pulling out of the screw terminals when the cord is tugged.

When you connect the wires to the new socket, the neutral wire must connect to the silver screw. To identify the neutral wire, start at the plug. The wider plug blade is connected to the neutral wire, and you’ll find that the neutral wire is distinguished from the “hot” wire. The two wires may be different colors, there may be printing on one or the other, or there may be tiny ribs or indentations in the plastic covering the neutral wire. If your old plug blades are of equal width, replace the plug and cord along with the socket.

STEP-3. Replace a Cracked Cord
The insulation on cords becomes stiff and brittle as it ages. Eventually, it cracks and might even flake off the wire, creating a shock and fire hazard. Don’t try to solve this problem with electrical tape. Replace the cord. Cord replacement is also the best fix for a bad cord-mounted switch. You can buy a cord that has a switch attached.

Save yourself some time by buying a cord that’s already connected to a plug ($3). Lamp cord sold at home centers and hardware stores is usually 18 gauge. That’s large enough to handle 840 watts of lighting. If you have one of those rare lamps that uses bulbs totaling more than 840 watts, have it fixed at a lamp repair shop. Make sure the cord is protected by a screw-on bushing where it enters the threaded tube and by a plastic or rubber grommet through the lamp body. Without a bushing or grommet, sharp edges can cut into the cord’s insulation. If you can’t find a bushing or grommet the right size at a home center or hardware store, see “Lamp Part Sources,” below.

To replace the cord, you’ll take most of the socket replacement steps shown in the first part of this article. Remove the socket from its base, cut the old cord and pull it out. Feed the cord up through the threaded tube in the lamp’s body. Then connect the new cord to the socket. Most cords come with the ends already stripped, so you won’t even need a wire stripper.

STEP-4.Replace a Problem Plug
Plugs on lamp cords often have a weak point where the cord enters the plug. Pulling and flexing can break the wires at this point, leaving you with a lamp that flickers when you jiggle the cord. The cure is to replace the plug. To do this safely, choose a polarized plug ($5). A polarized plug has one blade that’s wider than the other so it fits into an outlet only one way.

Before you buy a plug, take a close look at the cord. Along with other labeling, you should find “SPT-1” or “SPT-2.” This refers to the thickness of the cord’s sheathing, and the plug you buy must have the same listing so it will fit over the sheathing. If you can’t find the SPT listing, replace the entire cord as shown above.

The plug you buy may not look exactly like the one shown here, but installing it will be similar. Be sure to read the manufacturer’s instructions. When you split the two halves of the cord be careful not to expose any wire. If you do, cut back the cord and start over. Strip the wire ends and make connections. The neutral wire must connect to the wider blade. If you’re not able to identify it, replace the entire cord.

Lamp Part Sources:-
Home centers and hardware stores carry basic lamp parts like sockets, cords and plugs. For hard-to-find parts and a wider selection of basic parts, visit a lamp repair shop (in the Yellow Pages under “Lamps & Shades, Repair”) or these Web sites:

•www.grandbrass.com Shop on-line and order on-line or by phone: (212) 226-2567

•www.paxtonhardware.com Shop on-line and order by phone: (800) 241-9741

Source:The Family Handyman

Humming and flickering lights mean the ballast is worn out:-

STEP-1.Snip the old ballast wiring several inches from the end of the ballast with a side-cutting pliers or wire snips. Cut all the wires connected to the ballast.

STEP-2.Unscrew the ballast-mounting nut and drop the old ballast free (the ballast will have either one or two mounting nuts). Hold on to the ballast with your free hand to keep it from falling out.

STEP-3.Mount the new ballast in the fixture. Strip the electrical wiring back 1/2 in. and connect the matching-colored wires with twist-wire connectors

STEP-4. Tip: Take the old ballast to the store with you.

STEP-5. Compare the new and old ballasts to verify that the wiring diagrams, voltage and current match before installing the new ballast.

Source:The Family Handyman

The Arctic ice cap will disappear completely in summer months within 20 to 30 years, a polar research team said as they presented findings  from an expedition led by adventurer Pen Hadow.

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It is likely to be largely ice-free during the warmer months within a decade, the experts added.

Veteran polar explorer Hadow and two other Britons went out on the Arctic ice cap for 73 days during the northern spring, taking more than 6,000 measurements and observations of the sea ice.

The raw data they collected from March to May has been analysed, producing some stark predictions about the state of the ice cap.

“The summer ice cover will completely vanish in 20 to 30 years but in less than that it will have considerably retreated,” said Professor Peter Wadhams, head of the polar ocean physics group at Britain’s prestigious Cambridge University.

“In about 10 years, the Arctic ice will be considered as open sea.”

Starting off from northern Canada, Hadow, Martin Hartley and Ann Daniels skied over the ice cap to measure the thickness of the remaining ice, assessing its density and the depth of overlying snow, as well as taking weather and sea temperature readings.

Across their 450-kilometre (290 mile) route, the average thickness of the ice floes was 1.8 metres (six feet), while it was 4.8 metres when incorporating the compressed ridges of ice.

“An average thickness of 1.8 metres is typical of first year ice, which is more vulnerable in the summer. And the multi-year ice is shrinking back more rapidly,” said Wadhams.

“It’s a concrete example of global change in action.

“With a larger part of the region now in first year ice, it is clearly more vulnerable. The area is now more likely to become open water each summer, bringing forward the potential date when the summer sea ice will be completely gone.”

Doctor Martin Sommerkorn, senior climate change adviser for the World Wide Fund for Nature’s international Arctic programme, said the survey painted a sombre picture of the ice meltdown, which was happening “faster than we thought”.

“Remove the Arctic ice cap and we are left with a very different and much warmer world,” he said.

Loss of sea ice cover will “set in motion powerful climate feedbacks which will have an impact far beyond the Arctic itself,” he added.

“This could lead to flooding affecting one quarter of the world’s population, substantial increases in greenhouse gas emission from massive carbon pools and extreme global weather changes.”

“Today’s findings provide yet another urgent call for action to world leaders ahead of the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen in December to rapidly and effectively curb global greenhouse gas emissions.”

Source: The Times Of India

Replace a faulty socket, cracked cord or damaged plug:-

STEP-1. Cut the cord a couple of inches from the plug. Then split about an inch of cord with a pocketknife and strip off 3/4 in. of insulation.

STEP-2. Wrap the wires clockwise around the terminal screws of the new plug and tighten. The neutral wire must connect to the wider prong

Step-3. Slip the blades into the housing and push the blade holder into place.

Source:The Family Handyman

If your electric oven won’t heat, there’s a good chance the heating element has a bad connection or is burned out. But before you dive into this repair, check to make sure the circuit breaker (double pole for 240 volts) hasn’t switched off. If your oven heats somewhat and the light still comes on, check the receptacle with a voltage tester (about $4 at home centers and hardware stores) capable of testing 240-volt circuits. Call in an electrician if it’s not getting at least 200 volts.
………………..

If the circuit to the oven is good, unplug the oven, then unscrew the heating element and pull the connections into the oven compartment. Coax the wires through the holes carefully to avoid unplugging or damaging the connections. If the wires have tension on them, clamp them with a clothespin to keep them from being pulled back into the hole. (Don’t worry if a wire disappears back into the hole; retrieve it by pulling out the stove and removing the back panel.) Inspect the connections and look for charred, frayed or broken wires. If the terminal connection is bad, replace it. Make sure to buy a special “high-temperature” terminal (available from appliance parts dealers).

If the connections are good, the heating element might be burned out. Test the element with a multimeter (about $15 at home centers and hardware stores) or take the heating element to an appliance parts store for testing.

Installing a new element is straightforward. Simply connect the wires to it, slide them carefully back into the holes and screw the element to the back of the oven.

Source: Th Family Handyman