Staten Island Project Supports Buses

The first time I realized ambulances had the ability to change a red light to green, I had to do a double take. I knew my light had just turned green, but it was already red again. Then I saw a white light flashing and seconds later an ambulance sped past. This was a worthy and truly effective invention – developers had found a way to save more lives.

Staten Island, however, saw more in this invention than its ability to save lives. It had the power to save the world. In an attempt to support public transportation, Staten Island has developed a project that grants buses the same power over street lights as ambulances. If a bus is approaching a light, the light will turn green faster or stay green longer. This project aims to show people that riding a bus is actually a faster and more suitable form of transportation.

Information from: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/20/staten-island-buses-to-control-red-lights.html

Photo taken from AP Images

Fighting Global Warming: Reflective Plants

Ironically, every day that it goes unnoticed global warming makes more of an impact on our surroundings. Solutions to this worldwide crisis have been researched, and finally scientists believe they have found an answer. Researchers at the University of Bristol in England have declared that our earth has the potential to cool 2 degrees Fahrenheit over the summer.

The solution: reflective plants.

Because changing the way crops are planted could cause major disruptions in regards to the availability of food and the well being of the land, scientists have suggested that farmers alter already existing crops. Farmers are encouraged to genetically engineer existing crops to be more reflective, by changing the waxiness and arrangement of their leaves.

Although reflective plants would create great cooling effects in areas with large amounts of arable land, such as central North America and parts of Europe and Asia, less effective results would be seen in the Southern hemisphere. The time needed to genetically engineer crops also poses as a restraint.

Despite the problems associated with this method of cooling, it is still a way to help our environment. Although limiting the use of fossil fuels and changing the way we use energy are the best ways to reduce global warming, creating reflective plants has the potential to be a small step on the road to a healthier world.

Information acquired from:

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/917/reflective-plants-could-cool-the-earth.html

Image taken from AP Images

Vatican City Goes Solar

Pope Benedict has recently carried out the project of having 2,400 solar panels installed on the roof of Nervi Hall. Accumulating to a staggering 1.6 million dollars, this environmentally friendly project will potentially generate an estimated 300 MWh per year. The energy generated will be used to light, heat, and cool Nervi Hall. This building is used when the pope addresses general audiences, so when it is not in use the energy produced will be supplied to Vatican City.The installation of these solar panels will ultimately prevent 200 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted every 2 weeks. When looking at this topic from a much larger perspective, it is comforting to know that our environmental predicament is being acknowledged and dealt with as a global crisis, regardless of politics and religion.

*Image taken from AP Images

The World’s Greenest Family of Notebooks

Apple has recently produced a new MacBook, and surprisingly this new MacBook is not specifically drawing attention for its upgraded features and modern look.

 

Designers and engineers of Apple have not only produced the greenest notebook Apple has ever made, but they have successfully made the greenest “family” of notebooks. Highly recyclable materials that are free from harmful substances have been used to create every single MacBook from Apple’s new line. Each notebook is enclosed by a single piece of recyclable aluminum, using 50% fewer parts than other MacBooks.

 

Another additional benefit to this green notebook is that the hardware works together with the software, increasing energy efficiency. Also, one MacBook has the ability to run on one quarter the power of a light bulb.

 

Apple designers also took packaging into consideration. The result: MacBook packaging is now 41% smaller than previous MacBooks. Due to these smaller boxes, 25% more boxes can be fit on each shipping pallet. Fewer shipping pallets means fewer boats and planes needed for shipment, causing lower amounts of CO2 emissions. In the long run, this idea tremendously helps our environment.

 

Below is the advertisement that you can find on television of the new, green MacBook: http://www.apple.com/mac/green-notebooks/#ad

*Information acquired from: http://www.apple.com/mac/green-notebooks/

*Image taken from AP Images

 

FREE IS GOOD

Your garbage may be another man’s treasure. Think about that the next time you consider throwing something with potential use away. Instead of wasting all of the energy and resources required to either recycle or destroy your unwanted items, join a reuse group!

What exactly is a reuse group? Reuse groups are small organizations that display the items that members of each group are offering to give away. There are over 5000 reuse groups in the world and all of them help to better our environment little by little.

How do you become a member of a reuse group? First of all, find a reuse group in your area and then sign up with “Yahoo! Groups”; membership is free. You will then be able to receive emails about the items that people are offering. Also, these emails will tell you where you can post your unwanted items.

So the next time you see an unwanted item, don’t view it as trash. Look for its potential and give someone else the chance to put it to good use.

*Information acquired from: http://green.yahoo.com/earth-day/find-a-group.html

Graveyards Serve Another Purpose

Now-a-days you don’t specifically have to be living to help the environment. In Madrid, Spain, a new type of force acting against climate change has been established, and it is located in a graveyard.

 

In the small town of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, precisely 462 solar panels have been placed on the tops of mausoleums located in the town’s cemetery. This new establishment has turned what was once a peaceful resting place into a new source of renewable energy. The power generated by these solar panels marks the beginning of the town’s attempt to run off of as much solar energy as possible.

Although many people initially objected to the idea of placing the panels on mausoleums – viewing it as intrusive and disrespectful – they soon began to see the benefits of this environmentally friendly project. Researchers believe the solar panels will keep 62 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year and will only cover less than 5 percent of the cemetery’s surface area. The community leaders do wish to triple the town’s electricity output by establishing more solar panels, but for right now they are focusing on one graveyard at a time.

 

*Information acquired from: http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081123/ap_on_re_eu/eu_spain_solar_cemetery.html

*Image taken from AP Images

James Bond: Ridding the World of Bad Guys and Bad Air

On November 17, James Bond brought the idea of “going green” to theaters. His new movie, Quantum of Solace, includes many eco-friendly ideas that subtly make an impressive statement.

For starters, many of the cars that Bond is found driving are Hybrids. Although we found that Hybrids are ultimately not worth the purchase (described in an earlier post), the movie is still trying to make an environmental statement.

To make the eco-friendly motif even more apparent, Bond’s enemy is named Dominic Greene. At the end of the movie, Bond and his assistant are directed to an eco-hotel powered by hydrogen fuel cells, where Greene is making the final arrangements to his coup. Of course this hotel was run by hydrogen mainly for dramatic purposes (the entire hotel catches on fire and combusts in the end), but the idea of an eco-hotel was cleverly placed into the viewers’ minds.

One last environmental topic that is portrayed in the movie is our nation’s increasing dependence on oil.  I was told that in an earlier Bond movie Bond’s girlfriend is killed by being covered in gold paint. In this movie, one of Bond’s girls dies from being covered in oil. When comparing the two, it can be inferred that our nation views oil as the new gold.  Just as the movie indicates, we have upgraded to a new source of wealth and power.

From car chases to hotels blowing up, Quantum of Solace combines action with environmentally friendly ideas. So if you consider James Bond a hero, follow his example and put a little Green into your life.

*Images taken from AP Images

Saving the Ecosystem One Rock at a Time

Scientists have recently discovered that a certain type of rock, called peridotite, has the ability to soak up carbon dioxide. This is a remarkable discovery because carbon dioxide is a main greenhouse gas. Scientists claim that this rock can soak up the carbon dioxide at a rate that can potentially slow down the process of global warming.

Peridotite is the most common rock found in the Earth’s mantle, but also conveniently appears on the earth’s surface. This type of rock is mainly found in Oman, which is close to a place that produces large amounts of carbon dioxide in order to produce fossil fuels. Although scientists deemed the process of withdrawing the rock and transporting it to power plants that emit greenhouse gases too expensive, they still believe that its presence can benefit our environment.

Klaus Lackner, from Columbia, developed another environmentally friendly procedure that uses synthetic trees to suck carbon dioxide out of the air. Scientists believe that if this technique were combined with the Peridotite procedure, 4 to 5 billion tons of gas could be stored per year.

Unfortunately, this type of rock is not found in the United States, China, or India, which are the greatest greenhouse gas emitters. Alternative techniques would have to be developed in order for this process to work. But if this idea were to be carried out in the future, it is a fact that our atmosphere would greatly benefit.

*Information acquired from:

http://green.yahoo.com/news/nm/20081107/sc_nm/us_climate_rocks.html

*Image taken from AP Images

Prisons Go Green

The Pew Center on the States reported this year that in the year 2007 states spent more than 49 billion dollars on food, housing, clothing, treatment, and supervision for 2.3 million convicts. In order to help cut costs and clean its surroundings, one prison in Littlerock, Washington turned its convicts into environmental saviors.

Robert Knowles, who has been behind bars for 13 years, is one of these convicts that are doing their part in turning their temporary home into a “green” prison. Knowles performs various tasks to help “greenify” the prison, such as planting thousands of pounds of organic vegetables in fertilizer that will modify the soil. Other responsibilities held by the inmates include raising bees, growing organic tomatoes and lettuce, composting 100% of food waste, and recycling shoe scraps that are later made into turf.

According to the secretary of the Washington Department of Corrections, Eldon Vail, “It reduces cost, reduces our damaging impact on the environment, engages inmates as students. It’s good security.” Prisons consume incredibly high amounts of energy and water and administrators believe that turning prisons “green” will help in conserving these resources.

Many of the inmates are finding the responsibilities bestowed upon them to be life changing. By participating in various tasks, they are learning how to better their surroundings and act as leaders. In return, this participation helps them better themselves. Daniel Travatte, the main inmate in charge of caring for his prison’s three beehives, stated, “I’m trying to change myself. A lot of people go through prison with no intention of changing. I love working with the bees. It keeps me busy. I have a lot of responsibility to take care of.” By granting these convicts responsibilities that ultimately change the environment in a beneficial way, they are obtaining the confidence and self-esteem needed in order to change them.

*Photos taken from AP Images

*Information acquired from:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081102/ap_on_re_us/green_prisons;_ylt=AgXUP_BtDOqIPJKa05inMj.zvtEF

Strange Days on Planet Earth: The Need for Wolves in Our Ecosystem

After watching National Geographic: Strange Days on Planet Earth, one topic mentioned still amazes me. In a specific environment, do you think it is possible for the presence of wolves to help encourage the growth of Aspen trees? If you guessed the answer is YES, you guessed correctly. This situation is an example of a ripple effect, and influences numerous species of plants and animals all throughout the ecosystem.

In Yellowstone National Park, wolves were the dominant predators. They had the strength and the agility to bring down large animals, which ultimately regulated the ecosystem as a whole. The US Congress, however, failed to see this ecological connection and, starting in 1914, ordered all wolves to be eliminated in order to save the elk population. The last wolf present in Yellowstone National Park died in 1930.

After the wolf population became extinct, scientists started to notice many changes. Now that wolves were out of the picture, coyotes became the fierce predators. This, however, proved to be a problem because coyotes lacked the capability of overpowering larger animals, such as elk. When wolves had been present in the park, they not only fed themselves by killing elk, but they also fed a countless number of other species. After they were finished with their share, bears, coyotes, raccoons, scavengers, and insects took the remains as well. But because there was no definite top predator in the park anymore, all of the other individual populations were negatively affected. Organisms became weak and started to die off; the whole balance of the ecosystem had been distorted.

Making note of the park’s deterioration, scientists allowed wolves to reenter Yellowstone National Park and looked for the effects of this action. As soon as wolves were brought back, balance began to be restored. One noticeable change was the recovery of Aspen forests in the park, which had significantly declined starting in the early 20^th century.

We should care about ecosystem changes such as this because it influences our lives too. For example, if wolves had not been restored to the park, it might not even be here today. Those who visit the park frequently in admiration of its natural beauty and ecological diversity would be greatly affected if they came to find bare grounds with a few roaming organisms inhabiting the park. This topic is a matter of protecting our fragile remaining wilderness. Yellowstone is supposed to be a place where organisms are protected and encouraged to grow and develop. Although the presence of wolves might frighten some living nearby, they are needed in order to maintain the ecological balance that is resting in the forests of the Yellowstone National Park.

*Information acquired from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Park

*Photos taken from Ap Images