The Atlantic turns lime green as lava and gas billow from an underwater volcano off the coast of Hierro island on Monday.
About 10,000 earthquakes have hit Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Islands, since July 19-a sign of the volcano’s rising magma, according to the European Pressphoto news agency.
(via theearthcharity)
by Alex Davies, Paris, France
on 07.16.11
Images Courtesy of Florent Bouhey FayolleSpace and water heating are responsible for about two thirds of energy use in American homes. Considering that the conventional choices for home heating are oil and gas, it’s not easy to find a sustainable way to keep warm in the winter months. But if you’re not up for the move to a passive house, don’t worry; there’s a green solution for your heating woes. It’s the Sun Container, a solar powered radiator.
The design is the work of Florent Bouhey Fayolle, a student at the University of Art and Design (ECAL) in Lausanne, Switzerland. An array of pieces of slate sit under a glass bell that both traps the heat absorbed by the slate and increases the temperature in the Sun Container. The design sits on an aluminum base that allows heat to ventilate out.
“Climate change is one of the most serious public health threats facing the nation, but few people are aware of how it can affect them. Children, the elderly, and communities living in poverty are among the most vulnerable. Click on a state on the map for more information on climate-health threats, actions being taken to prepare communities, and what you can do.” - NRDC/Climate/Health (Click through for interactive).
(via emergentfutures)
soss:
If you really want to be the envy of your locavore friends, tell them you sourced dinner from a ditch or gully. While not every weed is an epicurean delight, plenty of free-range flora can be used to prepare recipes that won’t taste like dirty dishwater. Mother Nature’s pantry will provide, if you know where to look.
Urban foraging recipesYes!!!
Because the planet is being destroyed. Each day 200 species go extinct, Jensen writes in the preface. And if you can’t wrap your head around that number, how about “90 percent of the large fish in the ocean are gone, there is ten times as much plastic as phytoplankton in the oceans, 97 percent of native forests are destroyed, 98 percent of native grasslands are destroyed …” and Jensen continues with the bad news from there.
With all the attention paid to the technological breakthroughs involved with some of the emerging energy fields (e.g. solar, wind) we don’t hear enough about some of our tried-&-true accomplishments, like hydroelectric energy. Anyways, I was pretty thrilled to read about this green news.
RCS Highlights:
An international team of scientists has amassed the largest data set to date on greenhouse gas emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs. Their analysis… posits that these human-made systems emit about 1/6 of the carbon dioxide and methane previously attributed to them.
Prior studies based on more limited data cautioned that hydroelectric reservoirs could be a significant and large source of both carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere…
“Our analysis indicates that hydroelectric reservoirs are not major contributors to the greenhouse gas problem,” comments Dr. Jonathan Cole, a limnologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and one of the paper’s authors. “But there are some caveats. To date, only 17% of potential hydroelectric reservoir sites have been exploited, and impacts vary based on reservoir age, size, and location.”…
When rivers are dammed to make the reservoirs needed for hydroelectricity, flooding creates lake-like conditions that generate carbon dioxide and methane. Emissions are the highest following reservoir construction, due to decomposing vegetation and soil organic matter. As reservoirs age, emissions decline, with cold-water systems stabilizing more rapidly than their warm-water counterparts.
Lead author MSc. Nathan Barros, of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora further explains, “The bottom line is that per unit of energy, hydroelectric generation produces much less carbon dioxide and methane emissions than previously thought, but impacts are not equal across all landscapes.”…
Hydroelectricity supplies an estimated 20% of the world’s electricity and accounts for more than 85% of electricity from renewable sources. Future development is expected globally.
The paper’s authors urge careful consideration of site location and design. “During the environmental impact phase, it should be a goal to minimize the amount of carbon dioxide and methane emitted per unit of energy generated,” Cole notes…
46 smart uses for salt
Put this versatile, nontoxic mineral to work around your home.
The tattered economy has a silver lining for conservationists. With developers and speculators on the sidelines, desirable property is on the market for a fraction of its former price.
Photo: Sierra Buttes is reflected in Upper Sardine Lake at sunrise. Credit: Rich Reid / The Trust for Public Land
(via climateadaptation)
Jellyfish keep U.K. nuclear plant shut
Global warming and increased fishing activity allow jellyfish to flourish in oceans.
