Archive for category General

Get a little from the earth

Have you ever head about eco-friendly iPhone 4S cases?  Hope you have. These cases have very beautiful modern look and  made with vegetable-tanned Australian leather with the using only organic elements  produced by  PROUD Concept .  There are many models (patterns) and colors you can choose from to pick the combination of pattern and color you like. So it’s perfect choice for all those who prefer environmentally-friendly style life.

 

Today’s so wide range of  very stylish things by any styles and color helps you  on the way to get a little from the earth but gives back  in countless ways. 

 

As bad as Chernobyl

Reported that Japan raised the severity level from 5 to 7 that is the highest level on an international scale overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency — after new assessments of radiation leaks from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant since it was disabled by the March 11 tsunami.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdbitRlbLDc&w=640&h=390]

“This reconfirms that this is an extremely major disaster. We are very sorry to the public, people living near the nuclear complex and the international community for causing such a serious accident,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen Replies

Montreal Gazette: Analysis: Copenhagen was based on false premise
In total, 192 countries came to the table. But only about 50 – rich countries, the oil nations and the emerging giants like China – had something to give. The rest were irrelevant to the process. The sad irony was that they were the ones that are and will continue to suffer the worst effects of climate change.

Copenhagen failed for a number of reasons. Lack of political will; a reluctant population not truly understanding or accepting the tremendous risk mankind faces now and in the future are only two of them. But overall, the pure process of the United Nation’s negotiations was based on a false premise.

Negotiations require a give and take. For that to happen, each party must have something to offer. In Copenhagen, 140 countries had nothing to offer but their moral outrage and pleas for justice and that has rarely proved to move the West.

New Zealand Herald: Copenhagen called climate ‘crime scene’
The United Nations process at Copenhagen was slammed as “appalling” by New Zealand’s climate change ambassador yesterday, in comments to international media.

Adrian Macey’s strong words were overshadowed only by those of the Sudanese ambassador, who compared the deal to the Holocaust and said it would condemn Africa to widespread deaths from global warming.

The Prague Post: Czechs expected more from Copenhagen conference – minister
Czech Environment Minister Jan Dusik expected more from the U.N. Copenhagen climate conference, and he views the states’ final agreement, in which they take key countries’ efforts against global warming into account, as an intermediate step, he told CTK today.

Dusik said a legally binding document on fighting climate changes could be signed in Mexico next year, after the planned negotiations of experts as well as politicians.

“It is a wasted chance. The positive aspect is that agreement of the important players has been achieved and also a result for us to base our further work on,” Dusik said.

He said the Czech delegation did not expect a legally binding agreement to be achieved in Copenhagen. Nevertheless, the Czechs expected the summit’s final talks to touch on more issues, and “mainly to be supported by all delegates,” Dusik (nominated by the Green Party) said.

He said the Copenhagen conclusions change nothing in the Czech Republic’s commitment to reduce green house gas emissions by 20 percent.

Saudi Gazette: Climate talks a halting step toward goal
The Copenhagen climate conference “failed” long before it even opened. It may not “succeed” until long after it ends. For the moment, then, negotiators must satisfy themselves with something in between, an “outcome,” one whose shape Thursday was in the hands of the United States and China.

A pivotal meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2007 set a two-year timetable for the world to produce a grand new agreement to cut even deeper into the greenhouse-gas emissions largely blamed for global warming.

Every one of the thousands attending that UN conference saw the problem, however: The US administration of President George W. Bush had blocked progress on climate change for seven years, and would do so for one more.

When President Barack Obama took charge last January, he had just 11 months to work with international partners to negotiate a successor agreement to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which had imposed modest emissions cuts on industrialized nations, and which the US had rejected.

With time so short, the new US leadership needed a long run of luck. But its luck ran out with this year’s drawn-out and distracting US health care debate.

The Economic Times (India): Investors give cautious thumbs up to climate deal
Businesses and investment analysts cautiously welcomed a climate deal struck in Copenhagen on Friday, but complained that it was unclear how its commitments would be translated into law.

The private sector is expected to supply most capital to drive a global shift to a greener economy away from burning fossil fuels.

Businesses and in particular the energy sector say they need clear carbon targets so that they can invest appropriately – for example in power plants which may last for more than 40 years.

New York Times: U.N. Climate Talks ‘Take Note’ of Accord Backed by U.S.
With the swift bang of a gavel on Saturday morning, a prolonged fight between nations small and large over an international pact to limit climate risks that was forged the night before by the United States and four partners came to a somewhat murky end.

The chairman of the climate treaty talks declared that the parties would “take note” of the document, named the Copenhagen Accord, leaving open the question of whether this effort to curb greenhouse gases from the world’s major emitters would gain the full support of the 193 countries bound by the original, and largely failed, 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Washington Post: Climate talks end without real agreement

After two weeks of rancor and uncertainty, the U.N.-sponsored climate talks ended Saturday morning with negotiators choosing to “take note” of an agreement brokered by the United States but failing to adopt it as an official decision of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The anti-climactic ending to an intense final round of negotiations underscored the incomplete nature of the accord, which provided for monitoring emission cuts in individual countries but set no overall global target for cutting greenhouse gases and no deadline for reaching a formal international treaty.

The United Nations’ top climate official, Yvo de Boer, acknowledged that the agreement, known as the Copenhagen accord, has yet to bind large and small nations to either definitive emission reductions or financial commitments.

“The challenge for the coming year will be to capture that, and to turn it into something real, measurable and verifiable, in every sense of those three words, a year from now in Mexico City,” he told reporters.

Describing what it means “to take note” of the accord, de Boer added, “That is a way of recognizing that something is there, but not going so far as to associate yourself with it.”

Is There Asbestos in My Home?

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 the guest post by
Barbara O’ Brien

Longest Total Solar Eclipse of the Century

2009, July 22
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rip5kCa8ph8"]

Best Country for Business

It looks that today when the economic downturn and everything is crashing there is no counties for good business:-) but…

Well, last month the Forbes magazine published the list of the “best country for business in the world” ranked at business conditions in 127 economies. The “best country for business in the world” — for two years running — is uber-green Denmark” and that is no wonder I guess.

The U.S. is up two spots to No. 2, Canada is up four spots to No. 3, Singapore is up four to No. 4 and New Zealand is up seven to No. 5.

Big movers included New Zealand (No. 5, up seven spots), followed by Jordan (No. 33, up 28), Australia (No. 8, up five), United Arab Emirates (No. 46, up 28) and Malaysia (No. 25, up 13).

I just wonder why I don’t see Sweden here which sets climate goals example for EU! Sweden’s Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said that his country now aims by 2020 for renewable energy to comprise 50 percent of all energy produced, for the Swedish car fleet to be independent of fossil fuels 10 years later and for the country to be carbon neutral by 2050.

“We think it is fantastic that the government recognises the important role that eco-efficiency plays in improving the economy,” Lasse Gustavsson, Secretary general of WWF in Sweden said.
“If the Swedish government can convince other industrial countries to adopt Sweden’s ambitious climate package, the world would be better suited for combating destructive climate change,” he said.

Sweden, which now plans to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from its 1990 levels within the next 11 years, was asked to cut CO2 output by just 17 percent.

Besides that the most sliding this year was indicated in Ireland (No. 14, down 12), which even saw plans for a Guinness mega-brewery shelved by parent Diageo as exports slowed. Uruguay (No. 66, down 22), Armenia (No. 94, down 31), Paraguay (No. 99, down 29) and Latvia (No. 45, down 13) rounded out this year’s losers.

Unusual Earthquakes in Yellowstone

According to Associated Press Yellowstone National Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger to come. Swarms of small earthquakes happen frequently in Yellowstone, but it’s very unusual for so many earthquakes to happen over several days, said Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah.

There are a lot of unusual things scientists and not only are watching today.

everything must change
nothing stays the same’
And no doubdt that’s right, but you must admit that not to change so inexplicable and globally!

“Could it develop into a bigger fault or something related to hydrothermal activity? We don’t know. That’s what we’re there to do, to monitor it for public safety.”

Climate Change Conference in Poznan

A statement notifying about the world’s economic downturn and rising greenhouse-gas emissions in rich and emerging nations have been made On UN climate change conference that began in Poznan, Poland, on Monday, Dec. 1.

“The need for real progress on tackling climate change has never been more urgent,” said Yvo de Boer, the UN’s top climate official. “The effects of climate change that science has identified are already weighing upon those most vulnerable.”

Global efforts are focused on finding a deal that sets legally binding emissions rules for both rich and poor countries after the Kyoto pact expires in 2012.

The Deficiency of Clean Water

According to to a UN-backed report more than half the world’s population is living in without access to clean water. Everybody knows that water is life and life is water. The deficiency of clean water is global problem and without controlling the process can brig a lot of troubles like wars, military conflicts and mass people death. For instance if this winter will be dry then Israeli government is ready to take strong measures next summer such as termination of the watering of city gardens, street-flushing and more, and toughening of water consumption by inhabitants of Israel as well.


photo: Arctic is in blossom

The Culprits of the Catastrophe

I’m singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin’
I’m happy again

“The romance of the rain forests has fascinated a large number of us for a long time. The sheer bio-diversity and natural beauty of these gifts of nature has had an alluring involvement for many who have read, studied and experienced them”, writes Kavlam Mayer in his article “We all are the culprits of the catastrophe” on 4ecotips.com and who could not agree with that?

But it appears that that like other natural resources that have been gifted to mankind, we have been constantly looting these mines of survival.

From huge areas that covered nearly 15% of earth’s surface the rainforests are today spread over just 5 % of the planet! Latest studies have revealed that an acre and half of the rainforests is lost every second to depletion. So picture this, every second an area almost double the size of a football field gets moved down!