BDPollution-Pollution and its effect to the environment

Reason for businesses going green

2012-01-15T10:54:00.005+06:00

When going green started out couple of years back, businesses were very reluctant not to go towards that. There was a myth that going green was a waste of money and just a business-killer. However over time becoming more environmental-friendly became an investment to companies in the long run.

I worked on some technical aspects on renovating businesses/industries into green industries in Dhaka and found certain things why it’s worth it:

When it came to energy auditing, generally the entire energy flow would be mapped. Then after mapping that, you know where you are losing extra energy. So if you plug that portion of energy down, you save energy. So what’s the benefit of saving energy? Firstly you spend less fuel (with fuel prices increasing, you would be definitely glad if fuel was saved), you save electricity are just some places where you save. However the strongest motivation is money, and trust me you save a lot of money. For businesses

Saving Money = Profits

Anyways I got an article from The Economist on as to why firms go green.

Link courtesy @Julika Niehaus- Global Campaign Manager at 10:10

Pushing Toxic Water Uphill: Chevron's Losing Battle in Ecuador Pollution Case

2012-01-11T11:10:00.008+06:00

Chevron is back up against the ropes after a United States federal court judge denied a bid made by the corporation to stop Ecuadorian plaintiffs from collecting a damages award of $18 billion. Federal court judge Lewis Kaplan was asked to freeze assets owned by the plaintiffs until the result of a fraud lawsuit against the Ecuadorians was known. Unfortunately for Chevron, the bid was denied.

Adding to that, just a few days before the bid to freeze assets was made, Chevron was hit with one more nail in the coffin. An Ecuadorean appeal court upheld the $18 billion judgement over the oil damage in the county’s Amazon region. If the fraud lawsuit against the Ecuadorian plaintiffs fails, the oil giant has just one more option left, and that’s to make an appeal to Ecuador’s Supreme Court.

What caused the polution?

The exact circumstances of the pollution in question happened under Texaco, which has been part of Chevron Corporation since 2000. Texaco developed and operated the Lago Agrio oil field in the country from 1972 up until 1993, and during that time it is alleged that they did not dispose of industrial waste safely. It has been claimed that Texaco released up to 18 billion gallons of produced water into the Amazon rainforest, leaving a toxic trail that damaged vegetation, killed wildlife, and caused a variety of sicknesses in the local indigenous population. An environmental audit of the area pressured Texaco and Petroecuador, the two companies that extracted oil from the Lago Agrio oil field, to fund a $40 million remediation program from 1990 onwards. In 1998 a scientific team took water and soil samples only to find that around half of the samples analysed still had unsafe levels of petroleum hydrocarbon in them.

Action taken against Chevron

After years and years of campaigning, the Ecuadorian people finally managed to bring a case against Chevron in 2003. 30,000 Ecuadorean people were responsible for creating enough pressure and finding enough money to take on the multi-national corporation, and it paid off 8 years later. On the 15th of February 2011, an Ecuadorian court fined the oil company $8.6 billion for polluting the Amazon rainforest and the consequences of the damage. It was claimed during the lawsuit that local cancer rates increased, and crops and livestock were lost to the pollution.

The penalty rose to $9.5 billion dollars once an additional 10 per cent for reparations was included, but the total sum requested by Ecuadorian plaintiffs ended up being $27 billion. The court granted $18 billion, and the result of the case set a precedent, because it was the first instance of indigenous people suing a multinational corporation in a court located within the country the pollution actually happened in. Environmental activists celebrated and saw it as a start to charges being brought against other companies that pollute developing countries without punishment.

Chevron fights back

Chevron has opposed the fine since it was imposed, and filed a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian plaintiffs for fraud. The corporation believes that they have cleaned up their part of the damage to the rainforest, and they are being charged too much for the damages that have been claimed against them. Chevron has claimed that fraud and corruption have been used by the Ecuadorian plaintiffs, and the racketeering lawsuit they filed in New York in 2011 has yet to be decided.

This is not the first time that Chevron has been accused of illegal pollution, and they have even broken laws in America concerning pollution, namely the Clean Air Act. Other notable incidents were the 2002 oils spills in Angola that resulted in a claim for $2 million by the government of Angola for the damage. Only last year Chevron were prohibited from activities in Brazil after over 400,000 litres of oil were leaked into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The legal act that is being brought against Chevron in the Brazil case is demanding that $10.6 billion is paid in damages.

The controversy over Chevrons actions in Ecuador and whether they have been treated unfairly has been debated many times, but perhaps this new ruling is the beginning of the end to the case. What is certain is that no amount of money can turn the clock back and make good the damage done to the Amazonian rainforest.

--
This is a guest post.

Olivia Lennox is a green freelancer from London. Normally she'll be extolling the virtues of tempurpedic products or the latest organic soaps, but she has her finger on the pulse of international environmental law too.

GreenMyParents- Parents taught to save the planet

2012-01-04T16:17:00.011+06:00

A program launched on Earth Day 2010, GreenMyParents is a concept developed by young people to teach their parents and their peers to help the economy, earn money at home and to save the planet through simple everyday actions. When it started it targeted 100 kids to save $100 and spread through more kids so that through Earth Day 2011, it was intended to save $100 million.

Its actually simple! By following household efficiency and conserving energy it will take you a long way ahead in savings. They have also launched a book to give you tips on how to manage and be efficient. You can grab a copy at Amazon. Anyways to get a starter kit head down to their website.

Blog Update 2012

2012-01-04T16:17:00.006+06:00

Happy New Year to all you! Although I doubt it this will be last New Year I will be wishing considering the fact that 2012 is supposed to be the end. Anyways no more about the impending doom,let me go on with my updates. I have been out for over a year and ever since I had the recent realization, it was time I came back. Although I have become much busier than I was, the fight must go on. So with that in mind, I have actually decided to expand my horizon.

Firstly I have moved back to my domain again, BDPollution , and will shift to that completely soon. I am going through a transition period where I will be posting duplicate posts one on Blogger and on BDPollution. Eventually once work on BDPollution is complete and is stable, I will probably close down Blogger.

Secondly when I began this blog I considered the international viewer ship, although over time, I have been meaning to consider local news and now that I now broadening my horizon, So I will be having a dedicated section on Bangladesh, which will be covering on Bangladesh's environmental issues.

So hopefully have a lot of things to do and now back to regular posting..

Disappointed..but back again...

2011-12-14T20:28:00.006+06:00

I begin this post more than a year apart with great disappointment and a recent experience which reminded me how things might look like in the future. Why disappointed? The recent outcome of COP17 at Durban just makes it clear that even though with such visible changes about the environment, countries are still willing to fight over petty things. Although some say that this conference did somewhat have a positive outcome but nonetheless it reminded me of a similar conference that was held two or three years before where all the countries were in a rush to come up with a decision and in the end a three-page document was created containing absolutely nothing solid about proper climate change mitigation targets.

For rich countries, climate change sure does not seem like a big issue considering the current economic crises, and I understand that but for LDCs its a major dilemma. Least to say that they are the worst affected; such countries are stranded in the middle of a ping-pong court, just bouncing from one side to another. Hence I come to the point that reminded of a personal experience that I had recently.
I live in a supposedly posh area in Dhaka, and in such an area it is expected to get continuous water, electricity and gas supply or just to say the basic utilities. I never had complains about any of these issues unlike places in Dhaka where you would to wait in line to get water from the water authority.

So I was having this water shortage at my place and I remember that every time I would wake up from sleep to head to office, I knew if i was lucky that I could get a nice proper shower but that was not the case. I remember when I switched on the tap, it was clear only drops of water would fall, so I would quickly find a bucket to save as much as I could. From whatever water I saved, I would brush my teeth and manage to have a shower.

When I would get back from office, I could not even wash my hands, since there was no water. It became more than a necessity to me than anything, and not for lavish purpose of taking a nice long bath, but doing the basic things, like brushing your teeth, having a shower, washing your clothes, all of these things. Later eventually we bought water bottles, so that we could at least manage the basic necessities. It then popped in my head that buying water was cheap in Dhaka, hardly less than a dollar, if I consider a 5 liter water bottle. I know abroad that water is expensive.
For Bangladesh, water crisis is a norm, where a majority of people are used to it. Although not many rich countries are accustomed to such situations, with the effects of climate change, things will change.

So I started to imagine that the water shortage I had in a week, not having enough water to do the basic necessities will become a usual activity in the future. Water will become an expensive commodity and the people rich enough will have money to buy whereas for those who are poor would not be able to afford it. It might begin first with water territory issues then slowly will lead to war and so many more issues, and water is just of many problems we will face with climate change.

Hence with all of this disappointment and rabbles going on inside my head, I came to a realize that I almost gave up on the fight for climate change and with such outcomes at COP17 just made it clear that, the fight must go on and should never give up…

The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October as annual World Habitat Day.

2010-09-24T00:42:00.004+06:00

On Oct. 4, 2010, in recognition of World Habitat Day, Habitat for Humanity will raise awareness of the need for improved shelter and highlight Habitat’s priorities: the worldwide connection between human health and housing, and, in the United States, neighborhood revitalization. These themes echo the United Nations’ chosen theme for 2010 for events in the host city of Shanghai, China and the rest of the world: “Better City, Better Life.”

Every week, more than a million people are born in, or move to, cities in the developing world. As a result, the urban population of developing countries will double from 2 billion to 4 billion in the next 30 years. (Kissick, et al: 2006)

By the year 2030, an additional 3 billion people, about 40 percent of the world’s population, will need access to housing. This translates into a demand for 96,150 new affordable units every day and 4,000 every hour. (UN-HABITAT: 2005)

Habitat for Humanity hopes that by raising awareness and advocating for universal decent housing we can dismantle and alter the systems that allow for poverty housing and make an affordable, decent place to live a reality for all.

Habitat for Humanity World Habitat Day events

Around the world, many Habitat for Humanity local offices have organized World Habitat Day events. Habitat for Humanity’s 27th annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project is a World Habitat Day event this year. It will be held Oct. 4 – 8 in six cities in the United States. Held in a different location each year, Habitat’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project is an annual, internationally-recognized week of building that brings attention to the need for simple, decent and affordable housing. This year, the Carters will work alongside volunteers in Washington, D.C.; Baltimore and Annapolis, Md.; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.; and Birmingham, Ala. to build, rehabilitate and improve 86 homes.

UK kicks off one of the world's largest wind farm

2010-09-23T23:52:00.003+06:00

As UK leads one of the largest coordinated global event 10:10:10, the Global day of Doing, this news sounds great. UK embraces renewable energy to a whole new level.

Details, basically this wind farm is one of the world's largest offshore wind farm situated off the Thanet in Kent. The project was at a cost of £780m ,and is expected to generate enough electricity to power 240,000 homes.

Read more about it.

UN Secretary General endorses 10/10/10

2010-09-18T21:11:00.005+06:00

Its great to hear that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has endorsed 10/10/10, the Global Day of Doing. As he quotes

“It’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and get to work on building the clean energy future that will generate economic opportunity and provide a better, safer, healthier world for our children. On October 10, I encourage everyone to do his / her part to be part of the solution to the climate challenge.”

He further said

“It’s time to roll up our sleeves.” Let’s get to work pulling in those 35 remaining countries and signing up even more work parties for 10/10/10. Together, we’ll show our nations what unity is all about.

Why the rest 35 countries? Apparently in 350.org website, 25 countries are still not active about 350 as in no activities relating to 350 have taken place. If they did last year, probably not this year. Just before posting this article, I was going through the list of the countries at 350.org website.

Read more about it.

An American setting an example

2010-08-25T00:48:00.004+06:00

Mr. David Sandalow served in the State Department and at the National Security Council during the Clinton administration. Mr.Sandalow also have helped the Obama administration to up speed the development of electric cars and offer incentives for consumers and communities to begin taking steps to make transitions off conventional vehicles.

He travels on a Prius, which he converted to the latter models which allows you to plug it at an electric outlet and charges the battery. He fills his Prius will gasoline only once or twice a month. Just imagine the amount of CO2 emissions he saves!

Hats off and its great that officials like him are setting the example.

Get the full article here.

10:10 Bangladesh in action at the enviro fair

2010-08-24T00:36:00.007+06:00

The enviro fair was held as mentioned in the previous post on August 19th-21st, 2010. When I arrived at the fair, I was wondering if I was at the right place, it just did not feel right.

Well I got out of the car, and walked all the way ( it was quite some distance) to our 10:10 stall and was awed. As you can see from the pictures, the stall was truly amazing. A great start to the 10:10 campaign in Bangladesh.

Before I began the tedious task to go around signing up people, I thought why not walk a bit, understand the people who are there. So I adventured, peeping through the different stalls, some to be quite impressive. An eco-resort, a company selling solar panels while other products being powered by solar.

Then few of our team at 10:10 got their guns loaded( giving them their sign-up sheets and a pen) and we began approaching people about 10:10.

The enviro fair turn-out was not high being a festive month and I just cause of the downpour, overall a successful 10:10 event.

More pictures can be seen at 10:10 flickr page here.

Congrats Bangladesh!!

2010-08-18T22:11:00.004+06:00

Well, as I was keeping my fingers crossed over the last 3-4 weeks, finally looks like I wont be needing to. I have been in talks with 1010Global Team in signing Bangladesh as an official participant of the 10:10 campaign and finally it has been done. I recently signed an MoU with them and today had a wonderful skype conference call with the 10:10 team.

It was quite delightful honestly. Anyways updates so far

News;

TERM Magazine is now the country hub for 10:10 Bangladesh while I have assigned country coordinator.

We are working on to get a 10:10 Bangladesh website shortly.

Event update:

There is going to be a three day Environment Fair from August 19th-21st 2010, from 10am-8pm. We will be there campaigning about 10:10, while TERM Magazine will be displaying there arrary of solar lamps, a perfect way of cutting CO2 emissions in Bangladesh. We will be signing up people also!! To know more about the fair, please visit http://www.digtef.com/

Yamaha's zero electric scooter

2010-08-13T23:18:00.004+06:00

Yamaha has announced, actually last month that it has added a zero-emission electric scooter to its arsenal. The scooter is a 50cc and apparently can travel five times farther than its gasoline counterpart.

The scooter, EC-03, can travel 43 kilometers on a single 6-hour charge from a normal household power outlet .The model will be launched in September 1st,2010 with a price tag of $2,800.

Courtesy of Physorg.com

Bangladesh and India part of PutSolarOn.it without knowing it

2010-08-08T20:15:00.005+06:00

In my last post, I mentioned about the campaign on PutSolarOn.it, a campaign targeted towards world leaders, so that they also start by getting to work. The objective, placing a solar panel on top of all head buildings.

Bangladesh and India have recently powered their head buildings with solar power. Bangladesh Prime Minister office was lighted by solar power something earlier this year. Soon after the Prime Minister's office, the Bangladesh Bank was also powered by solar. Looks like in Bangladesh, the politicians are a bit ahead in fighting climate change compared to the West but there a still a lot of work that needs to be done.

Governor of West Bengal in India, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, installed solar panels on the Kolkata Raj Bhavan, the Governor's Residence, in December of 2009.

Even before the PutSolarOn, leaders have taken action and this shows that you too as an individual can do so much without waiting for someone do it for you. Anyways, the people at 350.org were quite excited when they found out. Get it here.

Put Solar On it

2010-08-02T22:24:00.005+06:00

Another campaign initiated by my favorite group 350.org in light of the 10/10/10 Global Work Party called the Put Solar On It, there aim to target world leaders on installing solar panels on the roof of where the leaders work. Like the US, the White House, India the Rashtrapati Bhavan; in Mexico they call it Los Pinos.

We all know that installing solar panels will not solve the climate crisis, but will send a strong message, setting an example. This is a perfect opportunity for leaders to get involved on the 10:10 goal.

Top 10 Countries utilizing solar energy

2010-08-02T21:47:00.002+06:00

As countries make strong decisions on cutting their CO2 emissions, I came across a list of the top 10 countries using solar power and to tell you the truth, its quite fantastic.

1. Germany (9,785 MW)
2. Spain (3,386 MW)
3. Japan (2,633 MW)
4. United States (1,650 MW)
5. Italy (1,167 MW)
6. Czech Republic (465 MW)
7. Belgium (363 MW)
8. China (305 MW)
9. France (272 MW)
10. India (120 MW)

Courtesy of 1bog.org

10:10:10 Climate Campaign in Bangladesh

2010-07-29T00:32:00.004+06:00

Ok, drum-roll or not, I do not know how to begin. BDPollution have been working with TERM Magazine- a concern of Bangladesh Information Gateway Limited(BIG) to roll out the 10:10:10 campaign in Bangladesh. Now we are not working alone and have no intention to work alone.

Our motto is "Realizing the consequences" and our plan is to create an awareness on sustainable living for the adaptation to climate change. Our aim is to reach out to:

• Educational institutions and students
• Businesses and working communities
• Governments
• Concerned dignitaries

We plan to build a movement till the main event October 10,2010 when an information seminar will be organized.

We need all the help we can get and would need volunteers. If you are interested then please sign-up with us.

Our action map on 350.org website

World Ocean Day Reminds Us To Protect Our Future

2010-07-16T00:21:00.007+06:00

The month of June marks World Environment Day, World Ocean Day, and Global Wind
Day - three environmentally conscious days whose main purpose is to spread awareness of environmental issues taking place in today's world. The Gulf oil spill is a huge reminder that now is the time to invest, innovate, and utilize specific renewable energy technologies that can reduce our dependency on oil consumption and preserve our environment.

•Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition (OREC) is a national trade association that is "dedicated to promoting marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies from clean, renewable ocean resources." They incorporate over 40 members, some of which are literally "turning the tide" when it comes to renewable energy by using the known green technique of harnessing ocean waves and currents to produce energy.

• Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) is doing this is via their PowerBuoy 40 that acts as a "wave energy converter" while submerged.

• The Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) is installing power systems all along the Gulf Stream's ocean currents (which has 21,000 times the energy of Niagara Falls). With the constant flow of the Gulf Stream, if ORPC harnesses just 1/1000 of the Gulf's renewable energy that would still be enough to power up to 7 million homes.

Wave power technology, while underused, has been a known technology, for years. However, a future green source with a lot of potential can be found in algae within the ocean. Using algae as a source of energy is a new ideology but many believe them to be "the ultimate in renewable energy". Half of algae's weight is based off of oil, which can be made into bio-fuel that could be used on anything from cars to airplanes. Considering that there over 65,000 known algae species this could potentially be a big time future energy source.

The future of green energy depends upon the ability to use it efficiently. This means that everything from cars to building structures would need to be much more efficient to require less consumption. Nissan set the benchmark in the auto industry by skipping the gasoline engine altogether and going straight to the fully electric LEAF. Companies like Globetrotters Engineering Corporation (a Chicago based architecture company founded by Niranjan Shah known for their custom LEED solutions), Wells Fargo (which built an office tower that is not only LEED approved but saves up to 5 million kWh a year), and Kubala-Washatko Architects & Boldt Construction (which actually built the first ever LEED-platinum certified, carbon neutral building) are setting the standard for LEED design.

Since the inception of LEED certification, it took several years for the first building to reach platinum certification. Now, it is something that architects strive for. For many projects government incentives are available for businesses that reach LEED certification. Niranjan Shah realized that the LEED benchmark is the future of architecture and that creating structures that benefit from renewable energy just makes common sense. He proves that success can coincide with environmental friendliness. Hopefully, in upcoming years we’ll see LEED platinum certification become the standard.

After the oil spill in the Gulf it's clear to see that now, more than ever, protecting our oceans stands for something much greater. By saving our oceans, we are making a commitment to the preservation of our natural resources, our wildlife, and our humanity. Through the promise and development of a sustainable, renewable energy future, we can follow a new path which will redefine the meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Written by Marcus Reyes
Marcus Reyes studied public policy with a focus on energy research and environmental
sustainability. He is an advocate of clean energy technology and contributes written work to the blogosphere related to energy conservation and environmental preservation. PowerBuoy 40 – CNN Editorial Feb 26, 2010
Algae: “The ultimate in renewable energy” – CNN Tech Editorial Globetrotters Engineering Corporation Niranjan Shah – GEC CEO Niranjan Shah Twitter Feed
First LEED Platinum Certified Carbon Neutral Building Niranjan Shah – Live Journal

10 Biggest Health Dangers behind the US Oil Spill

2010-07-16T00:01:00.003+06:00

Nursingschools.net was kind of enough to provide me the link to one of their posts on the dangers associated with the US Oil Spill. Their post talks about the present dangers and the future problems.

Such problems are

1) Sickness among the clean-up workers
2) Danger to marine life
3) Aggravation of existing illness
4) Pregnancy risks
5) Smoke fallout
6) Neurological disorder
7) Food contamination
8) Oxygen depletion
9) Dispersion of oil
10) Lung disease

Read the full article at their website.

Blog update

2010-07-15T23:15:00.002+06:00

Its been a long time since my last update. I am hoping to get back to the usual posting.Over the last 1 month a lot of things have been going on with the climate change front. One of the largest oil spills have caused a major ecological disaster in the US. I have two posts that deals with the oil spill and the problems associated with it.

In the mean time, don't forget about this year's climate campaign 10:10 organized globally by 350.org.

Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

2010-05-16T21:04:00.003+06:00

The recent escalation of attacks on the science of climate change and on scientists working in this field by the small number of climate deniers and their political supporters has drawn a sharply worded response from 255 members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, including at least 11 Nobel laureates. In an essay published in the May 7th issue of the journal Science as the Lead Letter, the scientists say:

"We are deeply disturbed by the recent escalation of political assaults on scientists in general and on climate scientists in particular."

The essay continues:

"There is compelling, comprehensive, and consistent objective evidence that humans are changing the climate in ways that threaten our societies and the ecosystems on which we depend."

In recent months, a small minority of vocal climate deniers have been emboldened by minor errors identified in some of the international scientific assessments of climate change and by the publication of private email exchanges from some in the climate community. A recent independent commission in the UK, chaired by Lord Ron Oxburgh to review this debate, concluded that, "We found absolutely no evidence of impropriety whatsoever." The Science essay explicitly and strongly addresses these issues, saying:

" there is nothing remotely identified in the recent events that changes the fundamental conclusions about climate change:

* The planet is warming due to increased concentrations of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere. A snowy winter in Washington does not alter this fact.
* Most of the increase in the concentration of these gases over the last century is due to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
* Natural causes always play a role in changing Earth's climate, but are now being overwhelmed by human-induced changes.
* Warming the planet will cause many other climatic patterns to change at speeds unprecedented in modern times, including increasing rates of sea-level rise and alterations in the hydrologic cycle. Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide are making the oceans more acidic.
* The combination of these complex climate changes threatens coastal communities and cities, our food and water supplies, marine and freshwater ecosystems, forests, high mountain environments, and far more."

The essay also includes a sharply worded rebuke to politicians who have recently threatened climate scientists whose scientific conclusions disagree with their political inclinations.

"We also call for an end to McCarthy-like threats of criminal prosecution against our colleagues based on innuendo and guilt by association, the harassment of scientists by politicians seeking distractions to avoid taking action, and the outright lies being spread about them."

It is hard to get 255 members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to agree on pretty much anything, making the import of this letter even more substantial. Moreover, only a small fraction of National Academy members were asked to sign (the signatories are all members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences but were not speaking on its behalf). Because of a desire to produce a statement quickly, the coordinators of the letter focused on those sections of the NAS most familiar with climate science and the ongoing debate. But the NAS (and Academies of Sciences and other professional scientific societies from dozens of other nations) has previously published a long set of assessments and reviews of the science of climate change, which support the conclusions laid out in the Science essay.

And in the concluding paragraph of the essay, this group of leading scientists argues for taking action to deal with the risks of climate change:

"Society has two choices: we can ignore the science and hide our heads in the sand and hope we are lucky, or we can act in the public interest to reduce the threat of global climate change quickly and substantively."

In the end, we have only three choices: we can act to mitigate the risks of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we can expand efforts to adapt to a changing climate, or we can suffer the consequences of doing nothing. The only real question is, what is the balance among these three options.

Are the climate deniers going to go away? No. Nothing will convince them, since science hasn't. There are still people -- a lot of people -- who do not believe in evolution, or plate tectonics, or the Big Bang theory. But the longer that policymakers hesitate to act, the more the balance will shift to suffering. I believe that history will prove those delaying action to be dangerously wrong, at a time when it is urgent that society be courageously right.

This article has been from the Huffington Post

Source: Huffington Post.

Local Climate Meetup in April

2010-04-20T20:29:00.003+06:00

2010 is the year where we get to work, a plan designed by our favorite climate group 350.org. So to get your organized, 350.org are asking people to organize local Climate Meetup this April from the 22nd to 29th. Globally communities are organizing and planning for the big day. For those of you do not know, book your calendar cause October 10 2010 is the Global Work Party 10/10/10

They also have come up with their own site 1010global.org. Individuals, businesses, organizations, Educations are all involved, the plan to cut everyone's carbon footprint by 10%. Last year we saw the largest coordinated movement on climate change in human history however even though the output of the Copenhagen was not up to the mark, people still have not given up hope and this year its about getting into the grunt work and bringing results.

Anyways good luck with the Climate Meetup!!

World's People Conference on Climate Change

2010-04-20T20:03:00.004+06:00

For the first time a World's People Conference on Climate Change and the Rights to Mother Earth began yesterday in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Their call reads

"Considering that climate change represents a real threat to the existence of humanity, of living beings and our Mother Earth as we know it today; Noting the serious danger that exists to islands, coastal areas, glaciers in the Himalayas, the Andes and mountains of the world, poles of the Earth, warm regions like Africa, water sources, populations affected by increasing natural disasters, plants and animals, and ecosystems in general;

Making clear that those most affected by climate change will be the poorest in the world who will see their homes and their sources of survival destroyed, and who will be forced to migrate and seek refuge;

To know more about their activities you can go through their website here.
To see the live feed of the conference please visit here.
The conference is due to end on April 22,2010 celebrating Earth Day 40th Anniversary also.

Earth Day- April 22 2010

2010-04-17T18:10:00.003+06:00

This year, Earth Day turns 40 and the only thing you can do is TAKE ACTION!. This year, the climate movement is about getting to work and doing something. Last year we saw people taking action.So what can you do? Actually a lot of things,and small things can make a difference. There are some organizing tools for you to check you if you want to organize an event for Earth Day. Other than that the Earth Day Network has a list of events taking place, so if you live nearby drop by.

Biodegradable packaging for McDonalds

2010-03-27T00:30:00.004+06:00

Students have designed biodegradable packaging for McDonalds. As a school assignment, Andrew Millar has visited McDonalds's, talking to customers about what they think about his packaging. This is nothing new for McDonalds, as they have been becoming environment-friendly for quite some time. Now the packaging is made from grass paper, which has grease-resistant properties. Read the article here.

Earth Hour becomes official in Bangladesh

2010-03-26T23:59:00.003+06:00

As I was preparing for the seminar on Energy Savings, I have been talking to WWF Australia to see if I could establish Earth Hour officially. As I was conversing with them, they referred me to a local organization, the Centre for Coastal Environmental Conservation (CCEC) in Khulna. Mr. Mowdudur Rahman, Founder Director of Centre for Coastal Environmental Conservation (CCEC)& IUCN-CEC (Bangladesh) talked to the Mayor of Khulna, and the Mayor has given his full support for establishing Earth Hour. Mr.Rahman is the anchor man for the event. If you wish to participate in this event please let me know. They have also an Earth Hour leaflet in Bangla, which they are distributing. To receive that also please email me.

We only have a few hours left for Earth Hour, just to let you know, it starts at 8:30pm-9:30pm local time. For those of you in Bangladesh, owing to regular power cuts, you are already participating Earth Hour on a daily basis. Anyways for other countries, best of luck with the event.

Centre for Coastal Environmental Conservation(CCEC)
Takdir Mohal,
House # 93 Road # 2 Sonadanga R/A,
Khulna-9000, Bangladesh
Website: www.ccecbd.org

Earth Hour- Seminar on Energy Savings

2010-03-23T23:49:00.002+06:00

Now with March 27th 2010 just round the corner, preparations for Earth Hour are in full swing. Over the last couple of days, I have been conversing with WWF Australia to get Bangladesh aboard as another country to the list of 88 countries who have signed for celebrating Earth Hour. I am still in discussions however in the mean time, IEEE AIUB Student Branch and I have organized a Seminar on Energy Savings, keeping that the theme.

Event Details

Day: Thursday, 25th 2010
Time: 12:30pm
Venue: AIUB Auditorium, Campus 1&5
Address: 58/B, Road-21, Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Banani,Dhaka

Event Speakers

!) Engr. A.H.M Mohiuddin
Chairman of Power & Energy Society

2) Engr.M.Omar Faruq
CEO & Consultant
Faruq M&E Consultant

3) Syed M.S. Zafar
Managing Director
TERM Magazine- A business monthly

4) Muhammad Faheem Faruq
Local Supporter of Earth Hour

Incandescent lamps put to grave by Toshiba

2010-03-17T21:02:00.006+06:00

Photo courtesy: ecolights

Over 120 years of use of this technology, Toshiba has finally ended the production of its incandescent lamps, shifting to more environmental-friendly lightning. This will reduce about 430,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions assuming that the CO2 emission coefficient is 0.39kg/kwh. They have shifted to LED lightning and have been promoting it ever since.

via Asahi.com

Ecouterre- Your needs to eco-fashion

2010-03-16T23:44:00.002+06:00

I came across this eco-fashion website, Ecouterre, and it has some really cool ways to become fashion friendly. The picture for example is jewelry made from discarded rubber bands and paper clips and was made by a NYC architect. It has a wide range of eco-clothes and it not restricted to women but also have a section for men.

I saw a picture of Pop Singer Lady Gaga where she used old cans to curl her hair (i am not sure if curls is the right word, but girls would know better what I am talking about).

Earth Day will reach it's 40th anniversary

2010-03-14T22:01:00.003+06:00

For those, who are getting ready for Earth Hour this March 27th don't forget above April 22nd 2010. Earth Day reaches it's 40th anniversary this year and with eyes on Mexico this December, big plans are on for store. With almost 50 events registered and many more already in the planning stage, Earth Day will seem like another large climate movement. Sign for actions near your place or create an event.

100 great Green tweets to follow

2010-03-14T21:40:00.002+06:00

Becoming a Computer Technician, compiled a list of Green tweets. As I saw the under-ending list, I noticed that I only follow only a few of the tweets and came across some that I never heard off. Anyways if you follow green tweets then check this post out. Thanks to Carolyn Friedman for sending me the post.

Run 350

2010-03-14T21:22:00.003+06:00

For those of you living in Singapore or will be flying to Singapore before the 20th March 2010, in order to spread the word about 350, a massive event has been organized by RUN350 to promote 350. Although all tickets have been sold out, they request people to participate by telling friends and family to promote it.

The details are

About the Run

Date 20 March 2010 , Saturday
Venue Pulau Ubin, Singapore
On the Day
Assembly Point Basketball Court in front of Ubin Volunteer Hub
Assembly Time 3.30pm (10 km participants); 4.30 pm (5 km participants)
Flag-off Time 3.50pm (10 km participants); 4.50 pm (5 km participants)
Boat Timing 2.00pm till 7.30pm

There are many sites which you can visit to keep yourself updated about environmental activities in Singapore.

Eco-Singapore
E2Singapore
Young NTUC

Deepa Gupta Poem on the climate movement

2010-03-11T22:07:00.001+06:00

Deepa Gupta, cofounder of the Indian Youth Climate Movement came up with a wonderful poem and I read it from 350.org website and I thought I also share it with you.

The morning that followed
Our message was echoed.
A failure! A failure!
My heart in despair.

The science lost, funding tossed,
No commitment in sight.
A stench of injustice,
The result: A failed plight.

“What more did you expect?”
Accusing voices chimed,
“Your efforts are a waste
Of carbon, cash and time”.

Is it a failure?
Were we mistaken?
How will we remember
Copenhagen?

How will we remember
Copenhagen?

I will remember the:

Forming of three fifty
In hundreds of states.
The Hundred thousand
Who marched till late.
Millions worldwide that stood,
And more that signed
In protest for the rights
For all Human Kind.

I will remember the:

Largest mobilisation
In world’s history.
Working in unity.
Despite culture or country.
Rising above divisions
In the “social order”;
Be religion, gender
Or a political border.

I will remember the:

Youth in the negotiations
Who brought heart and tears.
A champion for the voices,
The leaders needed to hear.
The Indigenous people
In the justice fight,
For our Mother’s Land to
Which we have equal right.

I will remember the:

Largest gathering
Of Heads in one room.
Of countries pleading,
To save them from doom.
Prayer to protect nations.
Have you seen such heart?
In a Global affair, it
Is a hopeful start.

But a start is all it is.

Do not ignore the Truth.
Two degrees is death to
Africa, the islands,
And our generation.
In our success there still
Remains a challenge,
A long way to go, it
Needs our dedication

It will take:

One goal.
Seven continents.
A hundred paths.
Thousands of leaders.
Millions of voices and
Billions of hearts.
To arrive at our
Destination.

Many may call this vision naive.
But perhaps naivety is all we have?
As long as there is love in the world,
We are on the right track.

Where there is love,
There is hope.
Where there is hope,
There is inspiration.
Where there is inspiration,
There is change.
And if there is change,
We can stop climate change.
Share/Save

Earth Hour 2010

2010-03-01T14:43:00.004+06:00

The last Saturday of March has become a global tradition with people all over the world celebrating Earth Hour. For those you do not know what this event is, it started off in Sydney, Australia in 2007. The purpose of this was to make climate change an issue, and they made their voices heard by switching off the lights for 1 hour = 60 minutes. About 2.2 million homes and businesses turned of their lights that day. From then on, this event has spread all over the world, showing how important climate change is an issue and that governments should do something about it. In 2009, over 4000 cities and 88 countries participated with billions of people behind one cause protect the planet. This event is in association with Worldwide Fund(WWF)

This year, March 27th 2010 is the day for Earth Hour and it is expected over billions of people to participate for 60 minutes at 8:30 pm local time. The astronauts will see half the planet plunge in darkness while the other prepares itself.

Those of you who are planning to participate or organize an event check out their website Earth Hour.

100 years for the coral reefs to dissolve

2010-02-24T15:48:00.003+06:00

I know most of you are thinking, "100 years, yeah right!" To tell you the truth, its all about the research. You cant blame the research cause it depends on a lot of factors.

Anyways, the rising acidic levels in the oceans and the warming of the ocean temperature, is causing most of the coral reefs to disappear. Now coral reefs houses and feeds millions of aquatic organisms and fishes. It will kill off millions of species causing a serious chain reaction breaking the eco-system.

Oceans are the greatest carbon sink but due to this it is causing them to become acidic.

E-waste mounts, slowly affecting developing countries

2010-02-23T00:20:00.002+06:00

As technology thrives to make life simpler and easier for all of us, it is also posing a serious threat to us especially to developing nations. There has been a 500% rise in e-waste in India itself and globally a growing rate of 40 million tons per year.

India is not the only country, China also trails behind, old computers and electronics being dumped without proper disposal. The problem with this is that these countries do not have adequate recycling plants to handle such waste. It is expected to increase further as usage of electronics like mobile phones will increase in countries like India, China, Brazil, South Africa.

Newspaper and orange peels could be future's clean fuel

2010-02-22T23:04:00.003+06:00

A team of scientists have been researching on a new technique where orange peels and newspapers could be used to run your vehicles in the near future. Now it is based on the concept of bio-fuel like using these to produce ethanol as fuel. However the ethanol produced by food causes more CO2 emissions.

This technique not only reduces the CO2 emissions compared to ethanol but it would not require food-based products to produce it unlike bio-fuel. This will benefit cause there are no chances of global food shortages or spiraling food costs.Food-based products are not used for this process such as sugarcane, corn, starch etc. It basically reuses waste products. Although research is still been done to verify the findings.

Training on Energy Management in Industries in Bangladesh

2010-02-15T21:56:00.004+06:00

Day one

A two day training session, 15th and 16th of February 2010 organized by GTZ started of with a sleepy morning. I reached GTZ office at 9:10 hoping I arrived in time. The training was supposed to start at 9am,knowing Bangladesh time, the training started at 9:25am with the opening done by Elke Shrestha, Senior Business Advocate,GTZ. Soon after Mike Birks, Team Leader, ESIP project began the training.

Anyways more about the training. Basically GTZ Bangladesh and couple RMG industries in Bangladesh worked together with local and foreign consultants to become more energy efficient over a period of couple of months. So engineers from these RMG industries are been trained to make their industries more energy efficient. I was lucky as I got in as a Trainee for Faruq M&E Consultants. Its interesting, the methods used for energy efficiencies in industries are actually quite simply and the benefits are quite noticeable. The energy savings are quite remarkable. I thought I would be out of my league, dazed and confused about the training and would not understand anything. To tell you the truth, over my years of blogging and reading on different technologies and a 4th year Electrical undergrad, I seemed quite in tune with the real world engineering problems.

So far today's training 15th was good but tomorrow is going to be a bit difficult cause tomorrow is going to be the technical sessions. Anyways Ciao!

Day Two: Tuesday 16/2/2010

The second day was completely a technical session. Professors from BUET went through some of the basics in lighting and power factor correction. Mr. Birks on the other hand went to the details of various problems associated with the RMG sector in Bangladesh and how simple fixes could solve problems saving a lot of money and good pay-back period even if investments are made.

Overall I felt that the training was good but there was some discrepancies between the practical engineers and the theorists from BUET, something neither side would agree on.

Truly unbelievable: Ferarri will add a hybrid in their collection of cars

2010-02-03T15:02:00.006+06:00

As I was browsing through an article on Jaguar creating a turbine-based hybrid,I noticed one of the most shocking headline " Ferarri is bringing the hybrid in Genava Motor Show", I was like WTF?

For some time there were rumors that Ferarri will be coming out with a hybrid(I did not hear any rumors btw) and they seem to have confirmed it while the presentation of this year's F10 Formula One Car. I seriously did not expect this to happen at least not yet. The reason being that Ferarri represents automotive engineering at its best. The innovations used in Ferarri cars are based from the extensive research they put into their F1 cars and these innovations are like the top of anything. These innovations are slowly integrated into road cars nowadays.

The car is based on the Ferarri 599 GTB Fiorano and will be gas-electric powered with the motor at the rear and a V12 at the front. The electric motor will be mounted at the rear transaxle and lithium-ion battery pack for optimal performance. The car will have the KERS (Kinetic energy recovery system) system, a technology introduced in F1 last season. To find the other details we have to wait till March at the Geneva Motor Show.

With the introduction of Ferarri in the hybrid sector, things in the hybrid industry will change forever.

Aviation requires planning to curb emissions

2010-02-02T23:32:00.004+06:00

Nowadays it is said if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, plan before you leave your house so that you not only curb emissions, but save time,fuel and money. There are talks that to reduce emissions in the aviation industry, greener technology is required however a thought is given to in managing aka the control tower at each airport. How? By becoming more efficient in planning their schedules with planes.

It is not only the control tower, the ground people can quicken processes so that planes can land and fly faster. A good air traffic management must be established for both air and ground to make it successful.

Countries pledge to Copenhagen Accord

2010-02-02T02:41:00.002+06:00

After the result of the Copenhagen Accord on December 2009, countries were given a time frame of January 31, 2010 to agree to the accord and the deadline has passed with US renewing vows to reduce CO2 emissions.

Basically the Accord summarized that global temperatures should not exceed more than 2 degrees and that countries affected by climate change were to be compensated by giving them financial support to combat climate change.

UN will announce the list of signatories soon but so far here are some of the pledges made by countries.

China - to reduce "carbon intensity" by 40-45% from 2005 by 2020.

India - to reduce carbon intensity by 20-25% from 2005 by 2020.

US - aim to cut emissions by about 17% by 2020, from 2005 levels.

EU - 20% emissions cut by 2020 from 1990 levels, and 30% if other nations deepen their reductions.

Brazil - to aim for 36-39% below projected levels by 2020.

Japan - 25% below 1990 levels by 2020

United Nations promotes EcoChic Fashion

2010-02-01T22:10:00.002+06:00

The United Nations Trade Group has given 2010, the International year of biodiversity and by naming it this year, they are promoting EcoChics Fashion as one way of spreading the word of biodiversity.

Watch of for this year's fashion weeks, you might see these EcoChics catwalking down the aisle with recycled clothes, organic bamboo or even paper . Read more..

US Top 10 green energy dependent companies

2010-02-01T21:38:00.004+06:00

The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) announced the names of the top 10 green energy dependent companies in the States. When I came across the article, I was told it would be a shock considering the companies present. The list comes from the fact that the Green Power Partners program increased their commitments more than 1.5 billion kilowatts-hours(KWh) in 2009. Being an electrical student, that's a lot of energy.

The program partners are buying 18 billion KWh that putting in comparison to the annual CO2 emissions from electricity usage of about 1.8 million Americans.

The top 10 green energy partners in 2009 were:

1. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) - 51% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (1.4 billion KWh come from green power).

2. Kohl's Department Store (NYSE:KSS) - 100% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (1.3 billion KWh come from green power).

3. Pepsi Co. (NYSE:PEP) - 100% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (1.2 billion KWh come from green power).

4. Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFMI) - 105% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (790 million KWh come from green power).

5. City of Houston Texas - 34% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (438 million KWh come from green power).

6. Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) - 129% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (431 million KWh come from green power).

7. The Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE:PBG) - 100% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (426 million KWh come from green power).

8. Cisco Systems ( NASDAQ:CSCO) - 46% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (400 million KWh come from green power).

9. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - 40% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (400 million KWh come from green power).

10. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) - 34% of its total electricity comes from clean energy sources (386 million KWh come from green power).

Courtesy: ENERGYBOOM

China is on the run for clean energy development

2010-02-01T00:40:00.002+06:00

So far China has shown the the world what they are capable off but it does not get over there. For the past two years they have shown great development in the field of renewable energy surpassing countries like Denmark, Germany, Spain and the US. They are now the world's largest wind turbine maker followed by the world's largest solar panel maker. This will just boom China's economy further but it will benefit their economy more than it will do to the environment.

The Davos World Summit ended will talks ending with the slight ray of hope of countries to come up with deals to sustain climate change. There has been some big issues over the last few days with governments still not showing any interest to the Copenhagen Accord, I think the most disappointing document whether created where the world waited for a REAL DEAL! Well we cannot dwell on the past but have to look ahead.

Greenest car list: Honda takes 4 positions on the list

2010-01-23T20:11:00.004+06:00

The American Council for Energy Efficient Economy's Green Book Online , an environmental guide to cars and trucks recently published that Honda vehicles are the "greenest cars" with 4 of Honda's cars on the list of 12. The title of "greenest vehicle" was given to Honda's natural gas Civic GX which won this title the second time in a row.

The greenest car list are:

1. Honda Civic GX
2. Toyota Prius
3. Honda Civic Hybrid
4. Smart Fortwo convertible/coupe
5. Honda Insight
6. Ford Fusion Hybrid/Mercury Milan Hybrid
7. Toyota Yaris
8. Nissan Altima Hybrid
9. Mini Cooper
10. Chevrolet Cobalt XFE/Pontiac G5 XFE
11. Hyundai Accent Blue
12. Honda Fit

The least greenest cars are:

1. Lamborghini Murcielago/Murcielago Roadster
2. Bugatti Veyron
3. Bentley Azure/Brooklands
4. Maybach 57S
5. Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab
6. Ford F-250
7. Bentley Continental GTC/Continental Flying Spur
8. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
9. Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG
10. Chevrolet Suburban K2500
11. GMC Yukon K2500
12. Mercedes-Benz G550

Hybrids are a quick fix: Jeremy Clarkson

2010-01-19T21:03:00.004+06:00

I was going through the December issue of Top Gear and found Jeremy Clarkson's article on hybrids to be kind of true. Now we all know that Top Gear hates green cars or anything to do with the environment. However over the last two or three seasons there were actually praising green cars such as the Honda FCX Clarity and the Telsa Sports car but this article is different.

I believe that what he mentioned was true, that hybrids are a quite fix and it will not solve the problem. Going through the article also made my realize whether all these car companies introducing green cars are actually saving the environment or creating a similar catalytic converter mentioned by JC for the future, a short fix but some 30-40 years down the line, you end up having the same problem but in a different scenario. So what will you be doing now with the Detroit Auto Show showcasing the future of green cars, will you be buying green cars? Honestly thinking about this is really putting me in a difficult position.

Wind Turbines to stand tall along British coastline

2010-01-10T00:21:00.002+06:00

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has taken one of the largest initiatives by giving major contracts to energy companies to erect thousands of wind turbines along the British coastline of around 7,500 miles.

The total investment of the project is to be likely $120 billion. Get to know more about here.

DHS Motors unveils Honda Hybrid in Dhaka

2010-01-09T23:42:00.004+06:00

On December 6th 2009, DHS Motors Ltd., the local dealership of Honda Motor Cars in Bangladesh have unveiled the Honda Civic Hybrid. I did a review about it some two years back. Anyways let me give a heads up again. The car has a 1.3 litre three-stage i-VTEC engine with integrated motor assist (IMA system) which uses a petrol engine as the primary engine.

The car has some nice nifty features. I drove the 2006 Japanese Honda Civic although it was the 1.8 litre petrol engine, the hybrid is based on that model. The Honda Civic is a very good car overall. Its a very fun car to drive, the ride height of the car is perfect and for some reason, the car wants you to drive it, it just appeals to you. If you are a passenger, its comfortable for long drives, good suspension, you do not notice the bumps and for Bangladesh roads its good.

So far DHS Motors have brought 10 hybrids and are planning to bring more of it. It is cheaper than the standard Honda Civic and DHS Motors will provide after sales service.

China to invest $5bn on solar power farms

2010-01-09T23:22:00.003+06:00

China, the world's largest greenhouse emitter has signed a deal with eSolar Inc. to invest in solar power plants. China has overtaken US as the largest emitter in CO2 and China has pledged that they intend to reduce their emissions.

Solar thermal power farms will generate a capacity of 2000MW. This is a great effort by China as they are still considered as a developing economy so they do not have to agree with global bindings to reduce CO2 emissions. But since they have surpassed US, this project will be many more of green projects to come from China.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Office gets solar charged

2010-01-08T01:12:00.005+06:00

In the effort to promote greener initiatives in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister's office installed a solar power system, the first of its kind in the country. In Bangladesh, the solar industry is basically used in rural regions as electricity is not supplied at those regions due to lack of infrastructure , solar energy is the most feasible option.

Currently it is used on trail basis and has a generating capacity of 21.6 kilowatts. Bangladesh is in the list of most vulnerable countries due to climate change and the government is trying to promote greener solutions.

After allocating Tk.200 crore for low cost revolving fund for greener projects, the Bangladesh Bank has also decided to power their headquarters with solar energy.

The system installed at the Prime Minister's office is done by a private company Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd(RRE). I will do a post on RRE soon.

Portland Fashion Week: Eco-sustainable production

2010-01-07T13:50:00.004+06:00

"Portland Fashion Week is the world's only comprehensive eco-sustainable production of a fashion week featuring both independent and eco-culture urban-casual, street and activewear from all over North America and internationally." This is what Portland Fashion Week (PFW) states about themselves. Time to get to know a bit more.

PSW vision basically focuses on eco-responsible fashion and their objective is to draw as many people through Art, Commerce and Sustainability. The last fashion week was held on October 7-11 2009 bringing in the Spring/Summer 2010 collections. They actually have made a quite a move to sustainability as I seen from their media kit. Most of the paper supplied are made from recycled paper( nothing new about that but still), food being served on corn cups, eco-friendly products being used. An overall green production. Portland is honored as "The Country's No. 1 Sustainable city." PFW is quite old with its inception in 2003, the second longest running fashion week on the West Coast.

ICBEN 2010: 4th Jan

2010-01-05T23:43:00.004+06:00

I continue this from my previous post on ICBEN 2010. For me through out the entire winter season so far, the 4th of Jan was a killer. It was bloody cold. To top that of, I had to wake up early in the morning to grab my second rapporteur session. This session was on "Sustainable Agriculture." I was late for the session by half an hour but I think I did not miss much. It was boring to tell you the truth, did not find anything interesting.

After submitting my rapporteur assignment, I decided to head for another session which I did not have any responsibility, so I went their as a participant. The session was on "Climate Change and Bangladesh Environment." There was talk about Copenhagen and a small argument broke out among the session. It was controlled some insults thrown about but overall it was good.

There was a bit of mismanagement among the organizers but overall the entire conference was a good learning experience and thumbs up!

6 ways to make your house greener

2010-01-03T23:57:00.003+06:00

From the beginning of this year, England and Wales have made new building regulations where buildings have to become more energy efficient. They have come up with six ways you can make your house a bit more greener.

Although most of these are applicable to Western countries the last few can be applied to most people around the world. Check the list here.

ICBEN 2010

2010-01-03T23:09:00.004+06:00

A two day International Conference Bangladesh Environment Network (ICBEN) started today, 3rd January 2010. The organizers were BAPA(Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon) and BEN(Bangladesh Environment Network) and a host of co-organizers which were mainly public and private universities of Bangladesh. The conference was focused on topics based on Climate Change and Bangladesh Environment.

I was assigned as a rapporteur for BAPA for a technical session on Energy, Environment and Policy on the 3rd. On the 4th I am assigned for Sustainable Agriculture. So far the session was good today. I attended a similar round-table discussion on this topic about four months back so it was kind of review for me. Although there were some recommendations made by the speakers which will be proposed to the government.

Hope the session tomorrow 4th will be interesting. I will update you about the session held on the 4th of January 2010. You can more details at the BAPA website here.

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-01T17:08:00.001+06:00

A Happy New Year to all of you and hope that we can look forward to a better decade.

Food security at high alert: Climate change

2009-12-30T00:05:00.002+07:00

Now with Copenhagen over and emission targets set high, melting glaciers in the Himalayas have given people all over that region to worry. Now with every one degree rise in temperature farmers can expect a 10% decrease in wheat, rice and corn yields. An interview of Lester R. Brown, an environmentalist and President of Earth Policy Institure and DNA states why we have to worry.

Christmas waste removal to cost 78 million pounds

2009-12-29T23:42:00.002+07:00

With Christmas gifts already distributed and bought for, to clean all of the fancy packets, it is will cost an estimate of 78 million pounds. Now this is a study done by some local researchers. So during every holiday season remember to purchase items with less wrapping and packaging.

Copenhagen: Failure or A Start

2009-12-28T22:26:00.004+07:00

Its been more than a week since one of the most anticipating summit of all time, a crucial moment in human history, the decision that was supposed to change the way we live. But the outcome of the Copenhagen had mixed reactions.

Failure:

With the inception of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCC) on 1992, almost twenty years down the line, a strong protocol still could not be established. Copenhagen was the moment, the turning point but politicians failed to come up with a strong protocol where all developed countries where to participate especially the major countries US and China.

I have to say, 20 years and yet we still cannot come up with a decision on a strong climate framework. The science is clear. In the ending moments of the summit, politicians scrambled to show the world they could do sometime and salvage the most important climate convention. They came up with the "The Copenhagen Accord." I read the accord and really there is nothing specific mentioned in the accord. No numbers, no figures nothing. No specific commitment only a figure they will pay the LDCs (Least developing countries) an amount of $30bn over the next three years till 2012 when after that, it is expected that the figure will be increased. Even this figure of $30bn is not sufficient for LDCs to sustain. My country, Bangladesh are one of the major victims and our Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina made it clear that we require more money to sustain. Remember total cost for combating climate change is $100bn per year.

Since no solid decision has been made, next year in COP16 at Mexico, it is expected a final decision to be settled. I was watching a debate on BBC on the last day of Copenhagen and I remember Maldives President Mr. Nasheed, that we have a window of 7 years to come up with a protocol and we cannot delay this any further. Yet we have to wait for COP16.

A Start:

Ever since Nasa top climatologist, Dr. James Hansen on 2008 said that 350ppm(parts per million) was the target to be set by countries to maintain a healthy environment, worldwide campaigns were going driven by youths all over the world, which we all know as 350.org. But 350.org were not the only group, organizations like tcktcktck.org, Avaaz, Greenpeace and countless organizations campaigned for a better future. They formed one of the largest movements for climate justice in human history. Honestly as I went through the net and saw how many people were involved for a "Real Deal" is really surprising. In the middle of the summit, 350 Virgils, a campaign by 350 was organized on the weekend of December 11th-13th globally, hoping that world leaders pay attention. A mail I received from 350 that an elephant is moving and an elephant is an under statement. This is A START from the people and their hard work will pay one day, the day a "Real Deal" is made but until that the elephant should become more bigger.

I think the Copenhagen Accord is a start for the politicians but they are very behind and if they not catch up real fast, lets just say we will not have a home to stay. Also China has suggested that it will move into renewable energies and will cut their carbon emissions but no exact figure was mentioned. India has also said that it will shift into renewable energies over the next couple of years and by 2020 it plans to complete some projects on renewable sources of energy.

A friend of mine, Muntasir Muzahid Chowdhury came up with a song for the summit and since I was caught up with other things, I am posting it now. The name of the song is E.A.R.T.H (Elegies, Accusations, Redemption, Truths, Hereafter)

http://www.mediafire.com/?idtgmz0mqnd

You can get the lyrics here.

I salute all the people who participated in this global movement. The people who waited in line at Copenhagen to make their points heard, all campaigners WELL DONE! but its not over. But for now, lets just enjoy the holidays!

Ten most threatened species: climate change

2009-12-15T21:48:00.002+07:00

Here is the list of the 10 most threatened by climate change. From koalas to penguins to snow foxes,the change in ecosystem is hampering with there habitats. Check it out.

The big month has arrived: COP15

2009-12-08T12:39:00.005+07:00

The crucial month of this year has finally arrived. I know I am very late in updating the news but let me give a slight preview of what happened. Just before starting the most important climate summit in human history, a scandal had raised a lot of eyebrows, rumors and specially confusion among people, the Climategate. Hackers leaked out information from emails between scientists from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit that climate change was not caused by human activity. A perfect way to create a row between people,scientists and politicians so that anti-environmentalist, oil companies can gain from this.

The summit started on 7th December with a surprise in the sense that within the first two days, there has been a big contribution from the US. The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) stated that carbon dioxide poses a risk to public health and with this card in hand they are planning to bypass Congress to get a things moving in terms of reducing CO2 emissions. They should have thought of this couple of years ago.

In the mean time, the EU has pledged to give 7bn euros to all developing countries while a $10 billion has been allocated for countries affected by climate change.This $10bn will be given every year till 2012 and after 2012 it will be increased to $30bn. The members of AOSIS and the vulnerable countries at one point decided to walk out, as the adaptation fund was to less for their countries to sustain. My country, Bangladesh has asked for 15% of the total adaptation fund, as we are one of the major victims of climate change. Our Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina has made it clear that Bangladesh requires a large sum of the adaptation fund so that the country can combat against climate change. Bangladesh topped the list of the Global Climate Risk Index. In mist of the failure of proper talks, clashes broke out with over 900 people in trouble with the police.

It is expected that US President Barack Obama will attend the summit on 18th December 2009 and lets hope a decision can be made because time is really short.

In the mean time here are some things you could read.
Climate SOS: A minority report

The Copenhagen Concoction

I will try updating you about the Copenhagen summit.

The result of the workshop on 350 and Climate Change

2009-12-08T12:12:00.006+07:00

Photo Courtesy: Niloy Ahmed Ashraful Haque
Banner Courtesy: Shakib Ahmed

In an effort to get the word out, I organized a workshop on 350 and Climate Change: What it has to do with you? as you can see the previous post. On November 19th 2009, as a local organizer for 350.org, I awed the minds of the audience who attended it. The audience was poor, I was told to expect it but there was another complication. On November 19th, the day of the workshop there were law and order issues and probably why the turn-out was less.

Overall, I managed to open if not everyone's mind about the magnitude of the problems that are expected to happen if there is no deal this December in Copenhagen. By doing this I managed people to step up and show interest in opening a club at the university about the environment.

I introduced a concept in the workshop hoping it would motivate people. We all know the 3Rs- Reduce, recycle. reduce but I came up with another the 4th R - REALIZATION. It is only when people REALIZE the situation, they can take action. A concept I have been working on.

I want to thank IEEE AIUB Student Branch for helping me to get this workshop on its foundation. It was important and they supported me when I needed them. It was a great day and those who could not come, my apologies for setting the date like that.

Workshop on 350 and Climate Change: What it has to do with you?

2009-11-18T22:18:00.003+07:00

In the effort of creating an awareness of 350.org and its goal, I have organized a workshop at American International University Bangladesh(AIUB), a private university in Bangladesh. I will be doing a presentation on "350 and Climate Change: What it has to do with you? The workshop is in association with 350.org, BDPollution and IEEE AIUB Student Branch. As I am an IEEE member and studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering(EEE) at AIUB, I chose IEEE AIUB Student Branch to help me with setting this workshop up.

The details are:

Date: November 19,2009
Time: 11am-2pm
Venue: AIUB Auditorium

Climate Vulnerable Forum: Maldive's President Speech

2009-11-13T20:45:00.003+07:00

With the almost final climate talks in Barcelona, Maldives President Nasheed gave a powerful speech in the opening ceremony of Climate Vulnerable Forum.

Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

We gather in this hall today, as some of the most climate-vulnerable nations on Earth.

We are vulnerable because climate change threatens to hit us first; and hit us hardest.

And we are vulnerable because we have modest means with which to protect ourselves from the coming disaster.

We are a diverse group of countries.

But we share one common enemy.

For us, climate change is no distant or abstract threat; but a clear and present danger to our survival.

Climate change is melting the glaciers in Nepal.

It is causing flooding in Bangladesh.

It threatens to submerge the Maldives and Kiribati.

And in recent weeks, it has furthered drought in Tanzania, and typhoons in the Philippines.

We are the frontline states in the climate change battle.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Developing nations did not cause the climate crisis.

We are not responsible for the hundreds of years of carbon emissions, which are cooking the planet.

But the dangers climate change poses to our countries, means that this crisis can no longer be considered somebody else’s problem.

Carbon knows no boundaries.

Whether we like it or not, we are all in this fight together.

For all of us gathered here today, inaction is not an option.

So, what can we do about it?

To my mind, whatever course of action we take must be based on the latest advice of climate scientists. Not on the advice of politicians like us.

As Copenhagen looms, and negotiators frantically search for a solution, it is easy to think that climate change is like any other international issue.

It is easy to assume that it can be solved by a messy political compromise between powerful states.

But the fact of the matter is, we cannot negotiate with the laws of physics.

We cannot cut a deal with Mother Nature.

We have to learn to live within the fixed planetary boundaries that nature has set.

And it is increasingly clear that we are living way beyond those planetary means.

Scientists say that global carbon dioxide levels must be brought back down below 350 parts per million.

And we can see why.

We have already overshot the safe landing space.

In consequence the ice caps are melting.

The rainforests are threatened.

And the world’s coral reefs are in imminent danger.

Members of the G8 rich countries have pledged to halt temperature rises to two degrees Celsius.

Yet they have refused to commit to the carbon targets, which would deliver even this modest goal.

At two degrees we would lose the coral reefs.

At two degrees we would melt Greenland.

At two degrees my country would not survive.

As a president I cannot accept this.

As a person I cannot accept this.

I refuse to believe that it is too late, and that we cannot do any about it.

Copenhagen is our date with destiny.

Let us go there with a better plan.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When we look around the world today, there are few countries showing moral leadership on climate change.

There are plenty of politicians willing to point the finger of blame.

But there are few prepared to help solve a crisis that, left unchecked, will consume us all.

Few countries are willing to discuss the scale of emissions reductions required to save the planet.

And the offers of adaptation support for the most vulnerable nations are lamentable.

The sums of money on offer are so low, it is like arriving at a earthquake zone with a dustpan and brush.

We don’t want to appear ungrateful but the sums hardly address the scale of the challenge.

We are gathered here because we are the most vulnerable group of nations to climate change.

The problem is already on us, yet we have precious little with which to fight.

Some might prefer us to suffer in silence but today we have decided to speak.

And so I make this pledge today: we will not die quietly.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I believe in humanity.

I believe in human ingenuity.

I believe that with the right frame of mind, we can solve this crisis.

In the Maldives, we want to focus less on our plight; and more on our potential.

We want to do what is best for the planet.

And what is best for our economic self-interest.

This is why, earlier this year, we announced plans to become carbon neutral in ten years.

We will switch from oil to 100% renewable energy.

And we will offset aviation pollution, until a way can be found to decarbonise air transport too.

To my mind, countries that have the foresight to green their economies today, will be the winners of tomorrow.

They will be the winners of this century.

These pioneering countries will free themselves from the unpredictable price of foreign oil.

They will capitalize on the new, green economy of the future.

And they will enhance their moral standing, giving them greater political influence on the world stage.

Here in the Maldives we have relinquished our claim to high-carbon growth.

After all, it is not carbon we want, but development.

It is not coal we want, but electricity.

It is not oil we want, but transport.

Low-carbon technologies now exist, to deliver all the goods and services we need.

Let us make the goal of using them.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A group of vulnerable, developing countries committed to carbon neutral development would send a loud message to the outside world.

If vulnerable, developing countries make a commitment to carbon neutrality, those opposed to change have nowhere left to hide.

If those with the least start doing the most, what excuse can the rich have for continuing inaction?

We know this is not an easy step to take, and that there might be dangers along the way.

We want to shine a light, not loudly demand that others go first into the dark.

So today, we want to share with you our carbon neutral strategy.

And we want to ask you to consider carbon neutrality yourselves.

I think a bloc of carbon-neutral, developing nations could change the outcome of Copenhagen.

At the moment every country arrives at the negotiations seeking to keep their own emissions as high as possible.

They never make commitments, unless someone else does first.

This is the logic of the madhouse, a recipe for collective suicide.

We don’t want a global suicide pact.

And we will not sign a global suicide pact, in Copenhagen or anywhere.

So today, I invite some of the most vulnerable nations in the world, to join a global survival pact instead.

We are all in this as one.

We stand or fall together.

I hope you will join me in deciding to stand.

Geo-engineering, back-up plan for scientists

2009-11-03T12:20:00.003+07:00

As policies fails to meet standards set by scientists, the researchers and scientists are looking into climate engineering or geo-engineering as a back-up plan. Although geo-engineering is quite heard of, its utilization will be put into test if projects are to be implemented. Currently the problem with climate engineering, it is difficult to predict how the earth will react to the changes.

One thought has been researched in cooling the planet and that is using sulfate particles. This is quite common during volcanic eruptions, where sulphates are released into the atmosphere. Although there are side effects to this.

The big day: International Day of Climate Action

2009-10-24T21:24:00.005+07:00

It has finally dawned to us, the great movement to bring change. Today, October 24th 2009, could probably change mankind's future. All over the globe people are chanting the number 350. A number that will be written in history books but that the fact that this number could save our life.

What does 350 represent? This is question I have been getting from people when I first started initiating an action to mark this day. I have initiated an awareness program at American International University Bangladesh (AIUB) firstly but posting the official 350 posters on the notice boards. This will build the hype of 350. Soon after I will be organizing a workshop "350 and Climate Change! What it has to do with you?". Lets hope I can get it approved.

There are over 4000 events spread across 170 countries to show world leaders that climate change is damaging our environment and that we have to do something about it. It is still unclear if any deal with come out from the Copenhagen summit whether if there are going to be any new climate policy.

In the mean time keep yourself updated here about 350.org new actions.

http://twitter.com/350dotorg

There wont be a deal in Copenhagen- US climate envoy

2009-10-20T13:41:00.002+07:00

"Its certainly possible that there wont be a deal in Copenhagen", US climate change envoy Todd Stern told Britain's Channel Four. So what does that mean? Is the US not participating in the summit? I was expecting that with the new US administration's motto of "Change" that tackling climate change was one of its top issues. However from this statement it signifies that US are expecting this Climate talks to collapse as well.

On the other hand Britain's climate secretary,Ed Milliband said he will be going "all out" in this Copenhagen summit. He also said that a new global climate treaty is "do-able".

It is still uncertain if any outcome will come about, but it is important that a treaty be made before the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Maldives cabinet discusses underwater

2009-10-17T23:51:00.003+07:00

In the effort to raise enough awareness about climate change, the Maldives' cabinet have taken an underwater dive to discuss matters. This just shows the magnitude of climate change.

The discussions where done by using a whiteboard and hand signals. Each minister had a diving instructor and a military personnel. A document was signed signifying that carbon emissions to be reduced. As momentum gains on the Copenhagen summit, this is just one more to the movement.

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

2009-10-15T21:33:00.005+07:00

As bloggers all over the globe join in the global movement to make the stance in climate change, Blog Action Day has targeted this year to select Climate Change as this year's topic. Currently there are some 8,872 blogs registered for this movement and 148 countries involved. Also as October 24th nears , the International Day of Climate Action, this is just adds to it.

In Bangladesh, recently they initiated a project to offset climate conference emissions where all outdated brick kilns are to be replaced which will reduce 50,000 tonnes of CO2 hoping to make the COP 15 carbon neutral.

Some southern regions of Bangladesh are losing ground due to the rising sea-levels. Now according to current CO2 emissions of 400-450ppm of C02, it is expected that sea-levels would rise by 25-40m. So that would mean most of Bangladesh would be under-water. For a developing nation which highly depends on its agricultural output, rising sea-levels will reduce agricultural land to a minimum. This resulting in food crisis. As poverty is still a problem, inflation in this sector will create, one of the largest hunger nation.

Aside from the food problem, habitable land will reduce making living for over 162,221,000 people quite impossible. It is quite noticeably that weather patterns in Bangladesh have changed. Our monsoon season has shifted forward by a certain time. In fact this year 2009, our popular Kal Bohshaikh was shifted by more than 15 days. Kal Boishaikh is basically the time when the monsoon season begins which is sometime in April.

Also we hardly have any winters. The winter of 2008-2009 only lasted over a month which started late-December and ended sometime in early February. Surprisingly also before it would not rain in the winters, it would remain dry. However as I noticed it over 12 years starting from 1997 to 2009, there is a tendency of rain in the winters for the last 2 or 3 years.

For us Climate Change is already in motion, we are facing it and in the near future it will become worse. Even though our CO2 emissions are in the thousands, we still need to be prepared. As a low-lying country, floods are really not a big deal. It is kind of a norm and people are used to it. But in the near future, floods will become devastating, even for us it will be difficult. As we lack infastructure it will be very difficult to sustain regular flooding. It is estimated that it would cost $100bn to tackle climate change and most of the money will go into water protection systems but we would require more than that. As it is impossible for our country to generate that much money, we would then become highly dependent on foreign aid, thinking about it we are already dependent on foreign aid.

In order for Bangladesh to avoid from becoming like Maldives, I request all UN officials, diplomats,delegates to make the right decision. This is such a decision, that the fate of the entire world is in your hands.

Grim past of Earth's climate reveals scary message

2009-10-11T12:49:00.005+07:00

History of our Earth's climate reveals some scarier message that our current carbon emissions policies are to die for. According to a study, the current levels of carbon emissions and that of some 20 million years indicate that back then sea levels were about (25-40)m.

So if we were to keep the current CO2 emissions as a target to maintain, then we would be under (25-40)m of water. By current standards CO2 emissions are near 450ppm however countries like Maldives and the Association of Small Island States are backing for the 350ppm as a target of CO2 this December.

Also to support this 350.org has started a global campaign so that governments, head of officials bring the current emissions to 350ppm of CO2. I will be blogging about some of the activities which I will be doing to support this cause.

Bioneers Conference 2009

2009-10-08T13:03:00.004+07:00

2009 marks the 20th anniversary of this premiere sustainability "Thought Leadership" forum on environmental and social justice issues along with scientific and cultural innovations focused around positive solutions inspired by nature and human ingenuity.

Speakers include Andrew Weil, MD, Michael Pollan (Author Omnivore’s Dilemma and Co-Creator of the film Food, Inc.), Annie Leonard (Creator of The Story of Stuff), and many others. The event takes place October 16-18th at the Frank Lloyd Wright Marin Civic Center in San Rafael, California, and at 18 Satellite Beamer Locations. We’re thrilled to also be Webcasting it for the first time.

We'll be featuring these key not-to-be-missed speakers:

The conference starts this October 16 2009 to October 18 2009.

* From Small Steps to the Energy Revolution

Friday October 16, 9am-1pm, Plenary

How do we move rapidly from 1% solar and wind energy in the U.S. to 50%? To 100%? Jack Hidary, co-founder of SmartTransportation.org and chairman of Americans for CleanEnergy.org, explains what we have to do realize this necessary re-evolution.

* Rehydration Revolution

Friday October 16, 2:45-4:15

Water and carbon are two of life’s most essential elements, but managed improperly they can destroy the land. “Keyline” design is a cutting-edge system that harvests and distributes water more evenly for greater fertility, increased root growth and much higher carbon sequestration. With Brock Dolman, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center’s master permaculturalist and land management and watershed expert; and Darren Doherty, renowned Australian permaculturaist, a leading global expert of innovative “broadacre” agricultural system.

* Living Buildings; The Future of Architecture

Saturday October 17, 9am-1pm, Plenary

Jason McLennon, the leading figure in the global green architecture movement challenges us to imagine and demand buildings that operate as elegantly and efficiently as the living structures nature creates. As CEO of Cascadia Green Building Council, author of the Living Building Challenge and co-creator of Pharos (the most advanced building material rating system in North America) he shows breathtaking examples from the worldwide Challenge underway to design building that meet or exceed nature’s ecosystem services.

If your away from California then pack your bags and head for the conference. If you cant make it then keep your self updated by live telecast by dropping by this site again on the 16th.

World Habitat day: October 5th 2009

2009-10-03T00:07:00.005+07:00

The first Monday of each October has been declared as World Habitat Day. This year, the day falls on the 5th of October and Habitat for Humanity has done a great job at providing support for the homeless. They are more than 100 million people who are homeless, according to the United Nations.

What you can do to help? Habitat for humanity have given a head's up about that:

1) Advocate
2) Educate
3) Donate

Let's stand up on World Habitat Day and let it be known that affordable, adequate housing should be a priority everywhere—in our communities, in our towns, in our country, in our world.

Show your support and take action!

Climate Change expensive: $100bn per year to maintain

2009-09-30T22:33:00.001+07:00

A study by the World bank estimates that it would cost $75-$100bn to adapt to climate change per year for developing countries starting from 2010.

Major costs would come from improving coastal protection and protecting transport links. The costing is based on the assumption that temperatures rise by 2C (3.6F).In fact as the temperature rises more than 2C, so will the costing.

Free Runners takes action

2009-09-27T13:13:00.002+07:00

The popular Free Runners who leap, vault and roll have started a climate campaign urging global leaders to take action in the upcoming Copenhagen summit in December.

Global Wake-Up Call - Pictures

2009-09-22T23:10:00.003+07:00

The Global Wake-up Call consisted of 2682 events in 134 countries and Avaaz received some over 3400 photos in their Flickr account. This just shows how many people are really doing something and now its your turn to participate. There are still some 74 days for the COP-15.

Algaeus makes country tour

2009-09-22T23:03:00.003+07:00

Algaeus (Algae+ Prius) has completed a 3750 mile cross-country tour which started in San Francisco and ended in New York. A 2008 Toyota Prius, a modified plug-in hybrid had been altered to run on algae-power gasoline fuel without any modification done on the engine.

This model had an average of 147mpg PHEV( plug-in electric hybrid) mode and 52mpg highway in hybrid mode. The use of algae in fuel has been much talked as it comes from the environment being abundant , but its addition to crude oil making it Green Crude.

The Global Wake-up Call

2009-09-21T19:17:00.003+07:00

Today is the big day, the Global Wake-Up Call. Owing to the festive season of Eid-ul-Fitr I am sure most of you are busy. But those of you who are connected in Twitter follow them at Tcktcktck. I was catch-up on the action when I am back.

Eid Mubarak

2009-09-21T19:16:00.000+07:00

Eid Mubarak to all of you and best wishes!

The Scarlet, Britain’s greenest hotel

2009-09-13T23:03:00.001+07:00

The Scarlet, located at Mawgan Porth Cornwall is called a luxury eco hotel based on completely being green. You’re wondering, a green hotel, it could be boring possibly not luxurious but it looks quite luxurious.

Why is it green? Well the heating comes from a biomass boiler, using timber chips as biomass taken from a local timber firm. The pool is heated by solar panels. The power comes from Ecotricity, generating 100% wind power. So far so good. Read the full review here.

Australia top carbon emitter, pasts USA

2009-09-13T00:14:00.001+07:00

Australia has become the largest carbon emitter per person of carbon dioxide passing USA. It was evident that China was to take this position however, Australia beat them to it. It is obvious with Australia depending on coal, and coal is known for causing more carbon dioxide emissions.

Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit

2009-09-11T01:57:00.001+07:00

Reuters.com held a Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit from September 8-10 2009. A lot has been discussed in the summit including the upcoming COP15. Google has also proposed about there Solar Project in the summit. Other news during the summit was India’s policy to cut renewable costs, Suzlon receiving new orders of 400-500MW.

Update yourself about the summit.

What to do when your date says “Climate Change is fake”

2009-09-11T01:44:00.001+07:00

A way to prove and stand your ground. Seriously I think most people are still in denial about this. I am glad I found this. Its not only if your date says it, it could be your friends, peers, neighbors, you name it. Go through it.

Courtesy: Planetgreen

Google’s solar initiative to reduce Solar costs

2009-09-11T01:32:00.001+07:00

Google has come with the idea of custom solar technology that will hopefully reduce costs of the solar technology by 60%. As there was a lack of innovation in this field, Google decided to take this on.

They are focused on the solar thermal concept. This concept is being under development by China. It is still not sure if they will eventually go through with this but they are looking into alternatives such as gas turbine run by solar energy rather than gas.

Maldives broke – Stance against climate change weakens

2009-09-10T01:34:00.001+07:00

Maldives is the first country to face the affects of climate change quite literally with the country sinking under water every year. When ever there is a global summit about climate change, you would always notice a Maldives representative to be there. However this time, its different.

With the Copenhagen summit nearby, Maldives president will be unable to attend the summit as the country is broke. The country’s population is already termed as climate refugees, as most of them are forced to evacuate the island.

Latest update- Denmark will finance the trip of Maldives representatives.

Age of Stupid- Coming Soon

2009-09-10T00:51:00.001+07:00

Age of Stupid ,a new cinema documentary starring Oscar nominated Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in 2055, a world devastated and watching an archive footage of 2008 and wondering why we did not stop climate change while we had the chance?

The movie focuses on climate change, oil, war politics, consumerism and human stupidity. The budget of this movie has been raised by crowd-funding and the fund-raising started on November 2004. This movie will have its Global Premiere on September 21, the Global Wake-Up Call, so start getting your tickets now.

Global Wake Up call-21st September

2009-09-10T00:07:00.001+07:00

September 21st, is going to be an interesting day. The day is a Global Wake-Up call for world leaders to understand “Climate Change.” As Copenhagen approaches, crucial climate decisions have to be taken. Tcktcktck, have come up with the Global Wake-up Call, a channel through which people can stand united about Climate Change and take action.

So far from their site, there are roughly 1,004,352 global citizens who have pledged for Climate Action and still increasing by the second. They intend to reach the 2,000,000 mark. Tcktcktck have some major partners supporting them in their cause and they are big names some are WWF, Avaaz.org, Christian Aid, GREENPEACE, Global Humanitarian Forum and so on. Get involved and add your name to the petition. A lot of countries are doing different things to start something, so add yourself and find your country and be part of this movement.

They have also started a countdown towards 7th December for the Copenhagen Summit with only 88 days left, things are heating up.

All eyes will be on New York City on September 21st, The world is ready, the time is now!

Ipods to get juiced by the Sun

2009-09-06T21:26:00.003+07:00

In the latest inventions of renewable energy, NovoThink has come up with a solution of charging your Ipods and Iphone via a skin which contains solar cells, so you basically use the Sun's energy to charge your Ipods and Iphone devices.

This brings Apple closer to protecting the environment. They have started giving estimates to customers,telling them how much carbon is used in producing each of their products and how efficiently they produce. They have also removed elements from their products that were present in their previous models.

Electrifying Highways: Alternate to batteries

2009-09-03T20:48:00.001+07:00

A question arises, it is feasible and if so is it sustainable? True that by electrifying highways, you wont need electric batteries for your car, so you save space in the car and could utilize it to increase your leg room. However just imagine the amount of electricity that has to be generated to sustain the vast number of cars on the roads especially at this present day.

Also if for some reason the electric grid fails in one sector, cars would completely stall in the middle of the road. So your going at 100mph and the electric grid fails, your engine loses power and you cant brake properly because the car’s electrics depend on electricity and in modern cars everything is electric. But I am sure there is a backup energy source in case if something was to happen.

Its sound like a good idea, but by increasing the electric consumption, there is a risk of polluting more in the process.

Himalayan Glaciers: Running away

2009-09-01T22:45:00.004+07:00

The Himalayan Glaciers, the largest water source compared to the polar ice caps, and the seven great Asian rivers, is melting fast. What makes it different from the polar ice caps, its a major source of drinking water within the regions surrounding the Himalayan. As a result, lack of fresh drinking water will pose a major health risk in the near future, and not only that, with the glaciers melting fast, raising sea levels will be some of the issues that will be faced in the near future.

As the water level declines (of course after decades), chances of drought happening is for sure, which will have a large affect to the agricultural sectors. Countries surrounding the Himalayan, China, India, Nepal as well as the people far away from this region depend on agricultural, so you get the picture as too why this is serious.

Extreme Engineering could become last resort

2009-09-01T22:17:00.002+07:00

As discussions go on about climate change and with the Copenhagen Summit nearby tension is building as to what the summit could solve, whether if there will be quick decisions made and implemented.

A study by the UK Royal Society indicated that constructing engineering marvels could become the last resort and that such feats are feasible. At this point geo-engineering, engineering the environment we live in is the solution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Projects like using scrubbers to clean the atmosphere, or using mirrors in space to deflect the Sun's rays from entering the atmosphere.

There were talks and I think it is in the implementation stage of trapping CO2 underground. The projects suggested are technically possible already would require decades to get them up but it is feasible.

Copenhagen to become cyclists dream city

2009-08-31T20:02:00.004+07:00

With three months left for the Copenhagen summit, the Danish Government has decided that it will promote more cycling. I did not know this till now that most Copenhageners uses bicycles to move around. In fact it is more common and a habit to put it in simple terms. So in order to make more people cycle, the Danish capital has a vision that by 2015, it will become a dream city for cyclists. Best of luck with that!

“Is There Asbestos in My Home?”

2009-08-31T18:35:00.009+07:00

The short answer to the question, “Is there asbestos in my home?” is “Yes, probably.” How much, where, and whether you should worry, depends mostly on when your home was built and what condition it is in.

In the U.S., if your home was built after the mid-1990s there might be asbestos in roof shingles, floor tiles, cement pipes and boards, caulking compounds, and joint cements. However, this is not necessarily something to worry about.

Asbestos is a mineral that breaks into small fibers. The fibers are dangerous to breathe, because if they settle in the lungs they can cause mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer, and asbestosis, a debilitating disease that interferes with breathing. You should also avoid ingesting asbestos. However, as long as the asbestos fibers are encased in something so that the fibers can’t be breathed, or get into your water — generally the case with newer construction materials — you can safely leave it where it is.

Insulation in Home Built Before the mid-1990s

Homes built between 1920 and 1950 may have asbestos insulation. Also, be aware that homes built after 1950, and possibly as recently as the mid-1990s, may contain an insulation called Zonolite made of vermiculite contaminated with asbestos. The vermiculite came from a mine in Libby, Montana, a community so contaminated with asbestos the EPA recently declared Libby to be a public health disaster.

As long as the insulation is enclosed in a wall where fibers cannot escape, it is not hazardous. However, if walls are damaged, or if your remodeling plans involve cutting into a wall, you must arrange for state-certified asbestos abatement specialists to deal with the insulation. They may either remove it or find some way to contain it. But do not handle the insulation yourself.

Asbestos in Homes Built Before 1980

Here are just some of the other places you might find asbestos in an older home:

Shingles and walls. From the 1920s and until 1978 asbestos cement shingles were a popular choice for housing exteriors. Also until the 1970s, cement sheet, millboard, and paper with a high asbestos content were used around fireplaces and wood burning stoves. Cutting or drilling these materials can release asbestos fibers into the air you breathe.

Soundproofing. Until the 1970s, soundproofing material containing asbestos was sprayed on walls and ceilings. Asbestos also was used in textured paint and patching compounds until 1977. The asbestos in these applications can become loose and release asbestos into the air, if they haven’t already.

Hot water and steam pipes. These may be coated with asbestos or wrapped with asbestos tape.

Oil and coal furnaces and door gaskets. Replacing an old basement furnace in your home can create an asbestos hazard.

Inspection and Abatement

At this point, you may be worried about the cracks, chips, and flaking in your older home. It cannot be stressed enough that if asbestos really is present, you need professional help to deal with it. Deal only with asbestos inspectors and asbestos abatement contractors that are licensed by your state.

The first step is assessing whether there really is an asbestos danger in your home. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that you hire an inspector who is independent from any abatement contractor you might use to avoid a conflict of interest.

Even if there is asbestos in your home, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have it all removed immediately. If the asbestos is in a place where it won’t get into the air or water, it may be left alone. But be aware that renovations or damage to your home might release the asbestos, and then you must call in an asbestos abatement contractor. Don’t try to deal with it yourself.

This is a guest posting by Barbara O’ Brien, an environmental blogger
Her blog
http://www.maacenter.org

Green dictionary

2009-07-24T16:09:00.003+07:00

Planning to go green but do not know what the terms mean? Timesonline have come up with a list of some words that are commonly used in the eco-industry. Get it here.

Coca-Cola aims at reduced carbon footprint

2009-07-24T15:56:00.004+07:00

As I mentioned in one of my previous articles about Coca-Cola, that they will be launching green bottles, well they have set a target to reduce their overall CO2 emissions by 15% by 2020. Although this is just one of their new 5 point program they will be implementing aimed at sustainability. Get the story here.

A Bull by the Horns

2009-06-09T23:36:00.003+06:00

Yes now most of you must be wondering as it to what I am going to talk about? Well it is a little different from my usual topics however is has some similar thoughts. I received a mail from RIPT Apparel, an online tee-shirt retailer who just launched their concepts to the world. They started off with a design focused on the usual traffic gridlock faced by billions of people on this planet.

Now gridlock is really frustrating and this is what the tee-shirt design depicts. The horns, the pollution, the heat, waiting in queues and so on. Now in terms of the environment, by avoiding traffic gridlocks, people can save money, time; it also reduces pollution such as noise pollution, air pollution, and many more.

For tee-shirt fans, who want some uniqueness in what design you want on your shirt, this is a good place to start cause the designs last for 24 hours and after the deadline a new design comes in. Each shirt costs $10 and they ship internationally so get your credit cards and start shopping. Btw to understand the title look at the picture carefully..

Coca-Cola in the process of releasing green bottles

2009-05-17T19:12:00.003+06:00

Coca-Cola Co. is in the works of introducing new green bottles called "PlantBottle". They plan on replacing their plastic bottles which are harmful to the environment as it takes a long time to decompose. Now these new bottles will be made from sugar cane and molasses which are environment-friendly. Get the full story here.

World Ocean Conference 2009

2009-05-14T20:44:00.002+06:00

In my last three posts I have been discussing a lot about the oceans being the fact that the World Ocean Conference is in full swing having started from May 11th,2009 to May 15th,2009. If you want to find out whats happening you can visit the site World Ocean Conference 2009.

The Great Coral triangle is on its last breath

2009-05-14T20:10:00.003+06:00

The Great Coral Triangle shared between Indonesia and five other South-East Asian countries is said to dying out. Already 40% of the coral reefs present within this Coral triangle has been lost and the rest is feared to be lost very quickly if something is not done about it. Its presence can be compared with the Amazon rain-forest biodiversity. It plays a major role in providing biodiversity in the oceans. Read the article published by the BBC.

Over 100M in South- East Asia to be affected

2009-05-14T19:55:00.003+06:00

A climate meet in Indonesia suggests that with climate change and global warming beyond the doorsteps, it will affect over 100 million people in South-East Asia. It will directly affect the coastal regions of SE Asia as they are more dependent on this regions, leading them to poverty and with the consequences of raising water levels they will become homeless. Read the full story here.

Oceans need to be protected

2009-05-14T19:18:00.003+06:00

A climate meet is being held at Indonesia where some of the world's climate problems are been discussed. It is urged that the world's oceans be protected as it will not only damage the marine ecosystem but could also relocate all the coastal communities depending on the oceans to provide for their needs. It is also not to this but with the rising water levels, warming of the waters and the increasing acidity levels of the global waters, pose a great risk not only for us but for our future generations to come. Read more from the source.

Earth Hour still standing strong and growing

2009-03-27T16:48:00.003+06:00

For those of you who have heard about the Earth Hour, well this Saturday 28th March 2009 millions of people are expected to switch of all their lights at 8:30pm (9:30 GMT) for an hour all over the world. It started off two years ago when about 2 million people switched off their lights in Sydney, Australia and after two years it has spread all over the globe. Popular landmarks are expected to remain dark during this hour and many million homes are expected also.

Read more about here.

Visit Earth Hour

Samsung launches world's first solar-powered touch phone

2009-02-14T23:06:00.002+06:00

Since most mobile manufacturers are implementing touch screens, a sudden turn of technology ever since Apple launched the Iphone with its magnificent touch, well one of the largest electronics company Samsung has released a touch screen that is powered not by the ordinary lithium battery but by a solar panel. That's right you heard me, solar panel.The phone is created by recycled plastic water bottles and is called the "Blue Earth". Get the full details here.