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Simon

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  1. Simon

    Glossary

    Glossary from ClimateBiz - The Business Resource for Climate Management. If you wan't to add more things please send me a PM. Glossary Activity data: Information that quantifies an action in units so that one may calculate emissions generated by that action. One example of activity data for business travel is miles flown on commercial airlines. (Source: Adapted from WRI's Working 9 to 5 on Climate Change) Biomass: Organic nonfossil material of biological origin which may be used as a renewable energy source (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration) Carbon cycle: The flow of the Earth's carbon through four main reservoirs (atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere, oceans, and sediments) interconnected by pathways of exchange. (Source: Adapted from Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) Carbon dioxide: A colorless, odorless noncombustible gas with the formula CO2 that is present in the atmosphere. It is formed by the combustion of carbon and carbon compounds (such as fossil fuels and biomass), by respiration of animals and plants, and by the gradual oxidation of organic matter in the soil. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Energy) Carbon dioxide fertilization: The acceleration of plant growth by CO2 enrichment that can occur in natural or agricultural systems as a result of an increase in the atmospheric concentration of CO2. (Source: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) Carbon equivalent: A measure used to compare the emissions of the different greenhouse gases based upon relating their global warming potential to that of carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are most commonly expressed as "million metric tons of carbon equivalents (MMTCE)." (Source: Adapted from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Carbon offset: A compensation for the impact of a company's emissions by avoiding or sequestering an equal amount of greenhouse gases at another site. Carbon sequestration: The uptake and storage of carbon. Trees and plants, for example, absorb carbon dioxide, release the oxygen and store the carbon. Fossil fuels, which were at one time biomass, release stored carbon when burned. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Carbon sink: A pool (reservoir) that absorbs or takes up released carbon from another part of the carbon cycle. (Source: Adapted from Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): A provision in the Kyoto Protocol that enables industrialized countries to finance emissions-avoiding projects in developing countries and receive credit for doing so. Climate change: The long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and all other aspects of the Earth's climate. Also a popular term for current changes in the Earth's climate commonly attributed to the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations since the start of the industrial revolution. (Source: Adapted from Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) Cogeneration: The generation of electricity or shaft power by an energy conversion system and the concurrent use of rejected thermal energy from the conversion system as an auxiliary energy source. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Energy) Conference of Parties (COP): The supreme body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change . It comprises more than 170 nations that have ratified the Convention. The COP's role is to promote and review the implementation of the Convention. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Direct emissions: Emissions that are produced by a source controlled by a company. Examples include operations within a company-owned factory, or gasoline burned in a company car. See also "indirect emissions." (Source: Adapted from WRI's Working 9 to 5 on Climate Change) Distributed generation: A popular term for localized or on-site power generation. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy) Emissions factor: A unique value for scaling emissions to activity data in terms of a standard rate of emissions per unit of activity (e.g., grams of carbon dioxide emitted per barrel of fossil fuel consumed). (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Emissions credit: Under a cap-and-trade emissions trading system, an allowance received by an organization for avoided emissions that may be sold or traded to another organization, allowing the second organization to exceed its emissions level. Emissions intensity: A level or amount of emissions per some unit of economic output, such as GDP, sales revenue, or goods produced. Emissions trading: A system in which a regulatory agency specifies an overall level of pollution that will be tolerated (a cap) and then uses allowances to develop a market to allocate the pollution among sources of pollution under the cap. Emissions permits or allowances become the currency of the market, as pollution sources are free to buy, sell, or otherwise trade permits based on their own marginal costs of control and the price of the permits. In no case can total emissions exceed the cap. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Energy Information Administration) Fossil fuel: Any hydrocarbon deposit (such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas) that can be burned for heat or power. (Source: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) Fuel cell: An electrochemical device that converts chemical energy directly into electricity. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Energy) Geothermal energy: Energy derived from heat transferred from the earth's molten core to underground deposits of dry steam (steam with no water droplets), wet steam (a mixture of steam and water droplets), hot water, or rocks lying fairly close to the earth's surface. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) GHG: See "greenhouse gas." GHG protocols: Generally accepted sets of rules for measuring greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming: A popular term used to describe the increase in average global temperatures due to the greenhouse effect. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy) Global warming potential (GWP): The index used to translate the level of emissions of various gases into a common measure in order to compare their relative effect on climate change. GWPs are calculated as the ratio of the change that would result from the emissions of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas to that from the emission of one kilogram of carbon dioxide over a period of time (usually 100 years). The GWP of CO2 is defined to be 1.0. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Greenhouse effect: A popular term used to describe the roles of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases in keeping the Earth's surface warmer than it would be otherwise. These gases are relatively transparent to incoming shortwave radiation, but are relatively opaque to outgoing longwave radiation. The latter radiation, which would otherwise escape to space, is trapped by these gases within the lower levels of the atmosphere. The subsequent re-radiation of some of the energy back to the surface maintains surface temperatures higher than they would be if the gases were absent. (Source: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) Greenhouse gases (GHG): Those gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, nitrous oxide, and methane, that are transparent to solar radiation but opaque to outgoing longwave radiation. Their action is similar to that of glass in a greenhouse. (Source: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) Green power: A popular term for energy produced from renewable energy resources that are commonly considered environmentally preferable. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Energy) Green tags: A kind of currency used in the energy trade to represent the environmental and social benefits of renewable energy. Also called renewable energy credits. Indirect emissions: Emissions that result from a company activity, but are produced by a source external to the company. One common example is use of electricity provided by a commercial utility. The company uses the electricity to run lights or office equipment, but the electric utility is producing the power and the emissions. (Source: Adapted from WRI's Working 9 to 5 on Climate Change) Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC): The organization established jointly by the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization in 1988 to assess information in the scientific and technical literature related to all significant components of the issue of climate change. Leading experts on climate change and environmental, social, and economic sciences from some 60 nations help the IPCC to prepare periodic assessments of the scientific basis for statements on global climate change and its consequences. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Kyoto Protocol: An international agreement struck by 159 nations attending the Third Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (held in December of 1997 in Kyoto, Japan) to reduce worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases. If ratified and put into force, signatory countries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by pre-specified amounts. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Landfill gas: Gas generated by the natural degrading and decomposition of municipal solid waste by anaerobic microorganisms in sanitary landfills. The gases produced, carbon dioxide and methane, can be collected by a series of low-level pressure wells and can be processed into a medium Btu gas that can be burned to generate steam or electricity. (Source: California Energy Commission) Megawatt (MW): A standard measure of electric power plant generating capacity; a megawatt equals one thousand kilowatts or 1 million watts. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy) Methane: A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas composed of one molecule of carbon and four of hydrogen. Highly flammable, it is the main constituent of "natural gas," which is used as a fuel and for manufacturing chemicals. The global warming potential of methane is 21. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Energy) Net metering: The practice of using a single unit of measurement to quantify consumption and generation of electricity by a small generation facility (such as a house with a wind or solar photovoltaic system). The net energy produced or consumed is purchased from or sold to the generator, at the same price. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy) Nitrous oxide: A powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 310. Major sources of nitrous oxide include soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Offsets: See "carbon offsets." Perfluorocarbons (PFCs): A group of human-made chemicals composed of carbon and fluorine only. These chemicals (predominantly CF4 and C2 F6 ) were introduced as alternatives, along with hydrofluorocarbons, to ozone-depleting substances. In addition, PFCs are emitted as by-products of industrial processes and are also used in manufacturing. PFCs do not harm the stratospheric ozone layer, but they are powerful greenhouse gases: CF4 has a global warming potential (GWP) of 6,500 and C2 F6 has a GWP of 9,200. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Portfolio standard: The requirement that an electric power utility generate or purchase a specified percentage of the power it supplies/sells from renewable energy resources, and thereby guarantee a market for electricity generated from renewable energy resources. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy) Renewable energy: Energy derived from resources that are regenerative or for all practical purposes cannot be depleted. Types of renewable energy resources include moving water (hydro, tidal and wave power), thermal gradients in ocean water, biomass, geothermal energy, solar energy, and wind energy. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is also considered to be a renewable energy resource. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy) Sequestration: See "carbon sequestration." Sink: See "carbon sink." Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6): A very powerful greenhouse gas used primarily in electrical transmission and distribution systems and in electronics. The global warming potential of SF6 is 23,900. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change (UNFCC): The international treaty unveiled at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, which commits signatory countries to stabilize anthropogenic (i.e., human-induced) greenhouse gas emissions to "levels that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." The UNFCCC also requires that all signatory parties develop and update national inventories of anthropogenic emissions of all greenhouse gases not otherwise controlled by the Montreal Protocol. (Source: Adapted from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
  2. From Coal Executive Attacks Global Warming With His Miners Trapped Below[/url:71489]. We have called Robert Murray of Murray Energy a jerk before here[/url:71489] and here[/url:71489], but now we can add "insensitive and heartless fool" to our description. Six of his miners are trapped underground after an accident and he holds a press conference; and attacks global warming and restrictions on coal mining. We are certain that gave great comfort and solace to the families of the six.
  3. Thanks So keep the ideas coming! Good link Daim, thanks.
  4. I am not so sure that was me. But check this out, I am not 100% of it's correctness but still: http://flood.firetree.net
  5. - Don't take the flight if possible. Take the train or even the car to your destination instead of flying. - Don't shop any Apple products. Keep the ideas coming. Im planning on adding all of these ideas in an PDF that people can download.
  6. Don’t know where to fill up your car that runs on the new cleaner fuels like BioDiesel, LPG, Hydrogen etc? Well don't worry, Earth Comber is here to help you. Earth Comber is a mobile application that can run on any web enabled phone or PDA. The application is free and simple to use. Earth Comber can even tell you how far away the nearest location for each fuel is. You can find the following alternative fuels on Earth Comber: BioDiesel E85 (Ethanol) LPG (liquified petroleum gas) CNG (compressed natural gas) Hydrogen Electric (hookups to recharge electric cars and hybrids) Earth Comber is pretty nice, if you live in the USA. Yes, Earth Comber only works in USA so all you European, Asian and other worldwide users is left out.
  7. From http://www.newstarget.com/021814.html
  8. Here comes a few more "secrets": - Don't shop at supermarkets outside the city. - Shop more things online. - Buy "green" energy.
  9. From New Orleans Will Never Be Safe.
  10. What a bunch of id***s... US soldiers throw 'flashbang grenade' at Iraqi sheep herd[/url:405cb] http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=63d_1186556230
  11. Greenpeace in India have in the last two weeks been working hard with their climate change campaign “with a series of protests set to the backdrop of massive flooding across South Asia”. Greenpeace especially try to convince the government in India to ban the ordinary energy wasting incandescent light bulb. If India were to ban energy wasting incandescent light bulbs “it would save at least 12,000 MW of electricity and over 55 Million tonnes of CO2 per year”. Greenpeace activists have for example protested outside one of India's historical landmarks, the Mysore palace. Activists have also placed a 20-metre (66ft) life ring in the harbour of the capital of India warning about rising sea levels that “would render most of Mumbai's low-lying areas uninhabitable”. They have also blockaded the entrance to one of the country's leading lightbulb manufactures demanding the company to shift its production to CFLs. Now it’s your turn to help convince the government of India to ban energy wasting incandescent light bulbs by signing the India ban the bulb petition. - Sign the petition! - Climate Protests in India
  12. You can't solve a problem by wasting money on it for a small period of time... Well, the best thing would be to shut down all the coal plants, dirty factories etc etc... Maybe they haven't thought of that? I hear you! And Russia got to hold the winter OS... It's a crasy world.
  13. This is a great idea to a thread! - Eat local produced food. - Eat organic food. - Eat less meat. And when you eat try to eat meat from chickens or pigs. - Don't take long and hot showers. - Do not buy plastic bags or paper bags when you shop. Use one bag made out of fabric all the times instead. - Do not drive a car. - Do not buy a Hummer or a SUV. - In your garden you should plant things that belongs to your countries flora.
  14. Olympic chief Jacques Rogge says air pollution could lead to some events at the 2008 Beijing Games being postponed. Speaking a year to the day before the start of the 2008 Games, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said: "It is an option. "Sports with short durations would not be a problem, but endurance sports like cycling are examples of competitions that might be postponed or delayed." Billions have been spent in an attempt to reduce pollution without success. Read more over at Pollution risk for Olympic events[/url:070bd].
  15. The Delft University of Technology is currently testing out a computer mouse that is powered by solar. It’s basically a mouse with a transparent top where the sun light can shine through. They are testing the "willingness of the user to adapt his behaviour to favourable light conditions by regularly charging the unit with daylight from the window, and the computer usage pattern. With solar energy, under ideal circumstances charging can occur a factor of five times quicker than in the current situation. Over time it is estimated that several hundred million batteries could be saved annually on a global scale." It’s a cool idea. But I think this mouse is more for the casual computer user. They need to come up with some sort of chargestation for the mouse so that people can use the mouse even when it’s dark outside. - Minister Cramer tests first solar-powered mouse
  16. In Sweden it's mostly too cold to swim in the ocean in other months than june-august, so you can'y really swim elsewhere than inside. Ohh Sweden got forest and the archipelago.. Ahh you gotta love the archipelago!
  17. Well Sweden do have a strong environmental background and it helps when your city is a member of SEkom: You can find more information about SEkom over at http://www.sekom.nu
  18. A freshwater dolphin found only in China is now "likely to be extinct", a team of scientists has concluded. The researchers failed to spot any Yangtze river dolphins, also known as baijis, during an extensive six-week survey of the mammals' habitat. The team, writing in Biology Letters journal, blamed unregulated fishing as the main reason behind their demise. If confirmed, it would be the first extinction of a large vertebrate for over 50 years. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6935343.stm
  19. How can you support companies that tries to do little or a lot to help solve the climate crisis? Which companies have a plan to reduce their CO2 emissions? That’s two hard questions. But thankfully ClimateCounts.org has rated over 55 companies that are being used by households in the USA and the UK. These are well known brands across eight consumer sectors, ranging from electronics to apparel. You can use the Climate Counts Company Scorecard to see how serious companies are about stopping climate change - and how they compare to their sector competitors. The annually updated scorecard reflects the self-reported efforts of companies to address climate change - or avoid it altogether. Did you know that Amazon hasn’t scored any points yet? That the big company giant Microsoft has a green score of 31 compared to innovative Apple that only has a 2 point score. But Microsoft on the other hand get beaten by Yahoo! Who scores a total of 36 points. The list goes on and you can find all the scores over at ClimateCounts.org/scorecard.php.
  20. Here comes more information about the weather effects: Computer models of how our world will react to climate change have long predicted extreme and shifting weather patterns. More heavy rains in some areas, crippling drought in others. A new study, published this week in the journal Nature, compared recorded precipitation to predicted precipitation - and confirmed we're changing our weather. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/ne...ate-study-flood
  21. Ohh I used to swim when I was younger. But my skin got all dry and frakked up because of all the chlorine in the water.
  22. Yeah there is a lot more you can do than what I have posted in that list.
  23. I just did a quick google search on it: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/a0 ... drcrd.html
  24. Ohh thats a shame. We recycle pretty much everything. We even compost our food. In my city: Around 95% of people living in houses and about 80% of people in apartments recycle and compost their food. Thanks to this the un-sorted waste has gone down from 5000 tons (year 2003) to 1701 tons (year 2006).
  25. It's true that we will still overfish the seas as long as there is a market for it. But we also waste a lot of fishes to feed our pigs, cows etc...
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