Simon

Dell is the first PC manufacturer to achieve Energy Star 4.0 requirements with its new Inspiron 531. Some of its features are a 80% efficient power supply and a paperless owners manual. The computer is also pre-programmed to switch to a low-power sleet state after 15 minutes of inactivity. Dell Inspiron 531 comes with an AMD Athlon-64 X2 dual-core processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, 160GB hard drive, CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, nVidia integrated graphics and Windows Vista Home Basic as operating system. EPA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, estimates that with the latest update of Energy Star requirements only the top 25% of energy-efficient computers will qualify Energy Star 4.0.

Aviation is the fastest growing cause of climate change, it destroys ancient forests and woodland, wiping established communities off the map and airport expansions destroys important heritage sites and causes illegal levels of nitrous oxide pollution. Today’s aviation industry is unquestionably an awful way of transporting people and goods. With a well funded public transportation system nationally and globally most flights can stay on the ground, especially the domestic flights. In a global perspective high-speed railways can easily connect and transport people between different countries fast, easy and cheap. Europe is an excellent example where this can easily be implemented. Swissmetro, a huge railroad project in Europe is already taking form. The idea is that high-speed trains will travel across Europe with a speed of over 500 kilometres per hour in tunnels and tubes, similar to small subway systems in large cities. If you want, you can with today’s technology build a railroad tunnel under the water in the Atlantic Ocean. It will then be possible to travel between London and New York with high-speed trains in less than two hours. But of course railroads doesn’t work everywhere. This is where airships come in. The Forum for the future, FFF, has launched aproject that shows how we can live in 2022 in a much more environmental friendly way than we do today. One of the many ideas presented is airships. According to FFF airships emits about 80% - 90% less carbon dioxide than a jet aeroplane. The airships would also be much more pleasant to travel in than today’s flights: On holiday routes, passengers are treated to 360 degree views, a lounge area, gym, restaurant and bar. For business passengers, airships are equipped with open-plan office space and state-of-the-art virtual windows, so that they can have meetings with people anywhere in the world, and carry on working efficiently and comfortably throughout the journey. George Monbiot, an environmental and political activist in the United Kingdom, has praised airships and says it will take less than 48 hours to travel between London and New York with an airship. So, as you can see, we have all the technology and knowledge we need. We just need political and financial will to see the world and all the different options we have in a new, more modern, greener light.

This post is a continuation on Artemis post about overfishing. Seafood is a healthy diet that you shouldn’t stop eating. Instead, you should take some time to read what kind of fishes you can buy that will make as little damage as possible. This can be hard when the result varies between different regions. But luckily WWF have made 12 different seafood guides for consumers from around the world. Together with the Seafood Choices Alliance, WWF has developed a consistent methodology to assess the sustainability of seafood species. Based on this, different WWF offices around the world have created consumer guides with information on which fish to buy. You should also start to buy (or demand) sustainable seafood with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ecolabel. Please note however that some countries don’t use this symbol but their own label, so again, labels like these may vary between different regions. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent, global, non-profit organization which was set up in 1997 to find a solution to the problem of overfishing. It has developed an environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. Environmentally responsible fisheries management and practices are rewarded with the use of its blue product ecolabel. Do you like Sushi, Fish & Chips, Seafood Paella or another seafood dish? Probably you do but do you know what kind of problems comes with them? Over at WWF you can learn more on how much destruction and problems your favourite fish dish has contributed to. They will also give you several tips and ideas on how to solve the problems. Image credit: Harris Graber. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works license.

Japan’s whaling fleet has once again sets sail for Antarctic, on a mission to brutally slaughter whales. Let’s call it what it’s actually is and not "scientific research", like Japan calls it. But this time it’s a little different. This year they have decided to go big and brutally murder around 1000 whales. That’s the largest whaling mission Japan has ever done. Included in that amount are 50 humpback whales. That means that Japan will break a 44-year ban on hunting humpback whales. This decision has already sparked loud protests from environmental groups and governments around the world. Especially the UK, Australia and New Zealand have sharply criticised Japan. Labor, the opposition party in Australia has suggested that if they are elected in the Australian federal election this Sunday they will track down Japans whaling fleet using their military. Greenpeace will, once again, try to track down the whaling fleet and disturb their hunt as much as possible. Karli Thomas, expedition leader onboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza says that "the whaling fleet must be recalled now. If it is not, we will take direct, non-violent action to stop the hunt". Sea Shephard has also set sails to try and track down and stop the whaling fleet. Captain Paul Watson says that they “need to find and intercept these vicious killers as soon as possible. Every day of searching will cost the lives of whales”.

When shopping you should never ever waste money or the nature’s recourses on plastic or paper bags. Instead you should use an environmental friendly reusable bag. This is where Flip & Tumble’s 24-7 reusable bags come in. Like other reusable bags it’s made of low-density and high strength nylon. But this bag is actually far more different than the ordinary ones. The bag is designed so that you can easily “transform” the bag to a little “ball” the size of a tennis ball. That way you can bring it with you at all time. The price for one bag starts at $15 and you can choose from four different colours. Shipping starts from $4, if you are outside the USA shipping starts at $9. http://www.flipandtumble.com

Greenpeace in Spain recently released a book with pictures that show how Spain will be affected by climate change. The book also shows what kind of affects climate change already has on Spain. It’s a rather grim world that is being portrayed in the book. The different photos shows how tourist paradises sinks down in the sea, how huge wildfires destroy the forests and how severe droughts turns everything to a desert. The book has produced strong emotions and been the top story on several newspapers and news stations the following days after the release in Spain (example in El Mundo). You can see examples of the photos on the Greenpeace Spain website.

Just a few days ago activists from Greenpeace made a rather remarkable visit to the World Energy Congress in Rome, Italy. Now they have done it, again. A total of four remote controlled banners unrolled during Fulvio Conti’s speech, he is the director of ENEL, with the text: "ENEL: Do Not Export Nuclear Risk". Now how did the old saying go? "Fool me once Shame on you. Fool me twice Shame on me." More after the jump (+Video)! Here's a report from the scene by Jan, one of Greenpeace's energy campaigners: "Be the change you want to see in the world" - that is the quote that appeared on huge screen during opening of the last day at the World Energy Congress. Well then, we will try to follow this wise advice. During the speech of Fulvio Conti, director of ENEL utility, a banner suddenly dropped out from the ceiling, saying "ENEL: do not export nuclear risk". Police immediately surrounded my colleague Francesco and I, asking us to leave the hall. We decided not to, because we had paid for registration and had not do anything bad or illegal. When the first wave of alarm cooled down, an ordinary rank and file policeman tried to explain me in Italian that he is happy that we raised our message, repeating " grazie, grazie!". On Sunday, Romano Prodi praised the next generation of supposedly safe, clean and cheap nuclear power. We do not agree with him. Today we see ENEL - controlled largely by Prodi's government - investing money into building old style, unsafe Soviet reactors in Slovakia. What a way to make money. While in one corner of European Union, in Finland, construction of another reactors has been delayed because it was not able to prove that its double containment can withstand impact of large airplane, in Slovakia ENEL wants to build and run reactors that have no containment at all! After our intervention, organizers announced a coffee break and fenced off the main hall while they removed our banners. They blocked it for half an hour. Sorry for next speaker, Pachauri, the head of IPCC, who was to present the IPCC findings. But I am guessing he appreciates our messages urging a change of direction. When I grabbed the today's edition of the World Energy Council newspaper, the headline on first page was, "COAL TO STAY KING". Yes, there are still the same energy giants here sponsoring the congress, pushing on us their same old dirty coal and nuclear. The message is clear, and we raised it: Energy revolution now!

Dont miss our new contest where you can win two award-winning games from Steam! I love games and so does almost everyone I know. So there is no wonder that the game industry these days generates more revenue than Hollywood does. But getting your hands on your game isn’t the easiest or safest way, and it’s far from "green". First you must take your gas guzzling car to the local super mall. But somehow that super mall isn’t so local because you have to travel by car to the areas outside your city. If you are lucky some cities have a good public transportation system but you will still need to spend time, money and oil to get there. When you have arrived to the store you quickly search and find the game you want. You pay for the game and put it in a plastic bag marked with the stores logo. Then your hurry back home, the same way you got to the store. Once home you take out the game from the plastic bag, unwrap the plastic around the plastic case (much plastic here indeed) so you can open it up and get that CD/DVD-ROM that contains the install files for your game. Once installed you play the game the whole day and you enjoy every second of it. The next day you get up early to play the game. But oh no! The game won’t start! Somehow you have managed to scratch the CD/DVD-ROM so that the computer can’t read your disc. "What a bummer, oh well, let’s head back to the store", you think for yourself. You could have done it that way. Or if you had the knowledge needed you could have downloaded, "Arrrrr", the game from a torrent tracker or another file sharing site or program. That way is way better for the environment but unfortunately it’s illegal and some say it’s even morally wrong. ImagesSo what should you do if you want to get your games the safe and green way? The easiest, safest and most effective way is to get them from Steam, from the folks over at Valve. Steam is an application that lets you easily browse through hundreds of new, older and even free games. Once you have decided to buy a game you easily pay for it with your credit card, PayPal or ClickAndBuy. After you have paid you head over to the "My Games" section where you can download you newly purchased game. Don’t worry; the download process doesn’t take forever. I recently downloaded three games, the Orange box, and it took about one hour until all the games were finished downloading. While you are playing the game you can easily interact with other Steam users via the game community. But maybe the best thing with Steam, from my own perspective, is that you can access all your games all the time, no matter where you are. Think about it like this: You are far away from your home and you feel the urge to play some games. If you had bought your games the ordinary way you wouldn’t be able to play them. But because the games are linked to your Steam account you can easily login and download the game you want to play. So to sum everything up, why should you use Steam? Well, in short it’s cheaper, better, has a neat user community and its more environmental friendly than buying the games at your "local" store. So head over to Steam and create a user account and maybe we’ll meet in a Team Fortress 2 match someday. And no, you won’t be able to beat me. CONTEST: Win two award-winning games from Steam!

Just today, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Nobel Prize winner said: The effects of climate change are being felt already... Climate change will hit hardest the poorest and most vulnerable countries. Its overall effect, however, will be felt by everyone and will in some cases threaten people's very survival. Failing to recognize the urgency of this message and acting on it would be nothing less than criminally irresponsible. Source: The Times of India

The famous Sherwood Forest is no longer what it used to be during the days of Robin Hood. The forest once covered about 100,000 acres but today the forest is merely 450 acres spread out through the county. If Robin Hood lived today he would have a hard time finding a place to hide in the Sherwood Forest. The collection of ancient oaks in Sherwood is said to be one of the greatest in Europe. But unfortunately farms, mines, towns and logging have destroyed huge amounts of forest acres and now it seems that the remaining famous oaks will fall due to the increasingly warmer weather. And with the ancient oaks the wildlife that the oaks support will go down the same path. “Now, the ravages of age — and, some fear, climate change — are taking their toll. On average one veteran oak per year would fall; this year seven have come down and the rate seems to be accelerating”, said Izi Banton, the forest's chief ranger in a recent AP interview. But can the wildlife and the forest be saved? Austin Brady, the regional director of the East Midlands Conservancy Forestry Commission, thinks so. His plan involves planting 250,000 trees that can weave the different parts of the forest back together. The problem is they need money to be able to plant these trees. While the UK government is busy doing far more important things the hopes are pointed towards BIG Lottery, a national lottery that gives out money to good causes. The Sherwood and four other projects have been listed to compete for $100 million. "This lottery project is the biggest one that there's ever been," Brady said. "It's almost a once in a lifetime opportunity to get the forest back on track." Image credit: Soylentgreen23. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution license.

As a person and consumer you have the power to do something about climate change. Never forget or think otherwise. Sure you may wonder how much you’ll actually help by replacing your CFLs, recycling etc but in the end all small things path up to something bigger and more meaningful, especially when many join in. This is part one of a series of posts explaining and giving advice on what you can do to combat climate change from your home, in the store, when you travel and on your spare time. All the things listed are easy to do, some things will take a little longer, but most of them will help save you money (besides all the positive effects on our earth). In the Store It’s all about quality Don’t waste your money on products that has a low life-span. Spend your money wisely and buy products with a good quality that last longer, can be repaired and upgraded. Sure it may cost more in the short run but in the long run you will earn from it. Buy organic and/or fair-trade Today you can easily find organic and fair trade food that can replace your “ordinary” coffee, milk, meat, cheese etc. If your local stores don’t have anything, ask them why. Ask them every time you shop in the store. Don’t take a “no” for an answer. You are the consumer and they need you to run their business. Support your local community Buy products that have been produced in your city or nearby. That way the products haven’t been transported over long distances and you will support your local community. It’s a win-win situation. Less meat Buy less meat and try to replace it with vegetables that are grown after your local seasons. If you can’t stop your “meat love”, try to buy more chicken and pig meat instead of beef. The best option of them all is to become a vegetarian. Refill it! Avoid products that are wrapped in un-necessary packages. Choose refill products that are smaller and uses less packaging. Say no to water Say no to the extremely idiotic bottled water. It’s just stupidity to buy water on bottle instead of using water, with the same (and in some cases better) quality, from the marvellous invention called water tap. Think Think before you buy something. Ask yourself if you really need this new thing? And if the answer is yes ask yourself if you can’t find it in a second-hand store or on similar places? Image credit: -clb-. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works license.

How in earths name did they succeed with this one!? Today Greenpeace activists made a visit to the World Energy Congress in Rome, Italy, to protest about the plans to continue allowing CO2 emissions to increase until year 2030 and the nuclear power expansion ideas. Two activists unfurled a five by seven metre banner reading "Stop Nuclear Madness – Energy Revolution Now" during the actual opening ceremony. Update: Video and more after the jump. The costs of doubling the number of nuclear reactors around the world could exceed one thousand billion dollars. Yet such a move would fail to achieve any significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, investments need to go into increasing renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency. "We have less than a decade to halt and reverse the trend of growing emissions of greenhouse gases if we are to head-off the worst impacts of climate change," said Jan Beranek, nuclear campaigner at Greenpeace International, referring to recent scientific warnings on global warming. "It is time for a true energy revolution not the failed ‘Alice in Wonderland‘ nuclear dream of 'power too cheap to meter'," said Beranek. More about this on Greenpeace.org ">" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355">

It’s time for a new week and a brand new “Question of the Week”. But first, let’s see how you voted on last weeks question "Would you vote for Al Gore in the (USA) presidential election 2008?": Yes (33%) I don’t know? (33%) Yes – If I were a US citizen I would. (22%) No – Even If I were a US citizen I wouldn’t. (11%) No (0%) 55% of the people who voted would vote for Al Gore if they had the option. Note that the result contains votes from people outside of the USA. 11% wouldn’t vote for Al Gore, even if they were allowed to vote in the USA presidential election 2008. Around 33% of the voters didn’t know if they would vote for Al Gore. I personally think that is a good choice because we don’t know where Al Gore stands in other questions like healthcare, education etc. We only know his thoughts about global warming, and politics is more than just the end of the world. The new question of the week is: Do you think your elected officials do enough to combat climate change? Image credit: Will Palmer. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution license.