The global calculator tool has just been launched. A free and interactive tool for decision-makers, politicians and individuals, you can 'see' the link between our lifestyles, the energy we use, and the consequences for our climate. Explore what a low carbon world would look like in 2050.
A French and Dutch design firm called The Cloud Collective has come up with an amazingly innovative and creative way to extract damaging Co2 from busy roadways and convert it into oxygen, using algae. The algae absorb the CO2 emissions, and combined with the absorption of sunlight, converts it into oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. The benefits don't end there. Their superb design allows for the algae to be even more useful once it has matured.
For the most part, we humans are visual creatures. We have a great ability to conceptualize, but there’s no denying the power of imagery when it comes to ‘seeing’ the aggregate impacts of our activities on the environment. NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office has developed a computer simulation model, GEOS-5, that provides a striking visual description of the movements of an invisible gas like carbon dioxide, as it is blown by the winds.
While it is important to remember that the climate change agreement between the United States and China should be viewed as only a first step in combating what is a very global issue, we must remember to keep a positive momentum surrounding this hot bed issue. It has become a part of our nature to be cautious and analytical when it comes to the workings of our governments and the promises they make.
As more solar and wind electric generating capacity is added in California, the electric grid operator for the state is seeing an increasingly different net load shape. Utility-scale solar now represents more than 10% of the system’s 2014 year-to-date hourly peak demand, more than two-thirds higher than the peak hourly solar output level in 2013. Check out this article for further information.
I recently participated in the Trudeau Foundation Conference in Toronto, Weathering Change Pathways to Sustainability in Canada. There were a number of very interesting panels, mainly because they exposed critical dialogue on key public policy issues for Canada. The panels are available here, including the key note speakers. I encourage you to watch them, it is almost as good as being there.
2014 is on track to break records as being the hottest year yet. Global temperature readings indicate that we’re on track for the warmest worldwide temperatures since we started keeping records in 1879. September 2014 has been the warmest to date, with an average temp of 15.7 C. Though it may come at a great cost, in the form of expected worldwide drought and severe weather patterns, this is a very important piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting the world to recognize and address climate change.
Car sharing co-operatives are a wonderful way to reduce greenhouse emissions in both urban and rural areas, and as well build more social capital in your neighbourhood or community. The movement has been steadily growing in popularity and participation in recent years. Most companies in the industry have an environmental motivation, and employ the most efficient vehicles they can. Still, many question the low numbers of electric vehicles in their fleets.
With all the new information we now have, one must wonder at the motivation behind an increase in deforestation in the Amazon. The Guardian reports that satellite imaging has revealed a 190% increase in land clearance in August and September of this year, in contrast with last year’s findings. The cause of these actions is individual farmers and logging companies are able to exploit loopholes in protective regulations for their own personal benefit.
The Bonn climate change conference is currently underway, a crucial opener for the Lima talks, which will in turn affect the outcomes made in Paris in 2015. This conference is a real opportunity for delegates to discuss the legalities behind the pact, and the details of how it will be enforced. Decision-makers will also have the opportunity to address the best way to share the responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions now before future options are foreclosed.