"Global Warming is, obviously, a good thing because it is one of the signs of the End of Times." - Andrew Bolt
"The arrogance of man to believe that we can have an impact on God's creation." - Andrew Bolt
"Environmentalism = Evolution = Heresy" - Andrew Bolt
Examining the Scientific consensus on Climate Change
Rep. Barton: Climate change is 'natural,' humans should just 'get shade'
With all due respect...
SEEA/ARC Study: Efficiency Measures Can Save Billions in Energy Costs
UCS: Renewable electricity standard will create jobs and lower consumer energy bills
Among Climate Scientists, a Dispute Over 'Tipping Points'
Diving Into Building Water Management
Aquascape, Inc. Launches RainXchange Rain Barrel Rainwater Recycling System
Water quality trading likely to grow - WRI
Hour of darkness: Cities and landmarks across the world turn out the lights in campaign for action on climate change -Pictures
Green Building in the Face of the Economic Downturn New -Video
Great music video (!) on energy efficiency -Video
EDF's Krupp assesses Democrats' strategy on cap-and-trade -Video
Tesla Takes Wraps Off the Model S.
Smith Electric Vehicles to Assemble Zero-emission Commercial Vehicles in Kansas City, Missouri.
Mother Nature's Dow
American Birds Sending Troubling Message About The Environment
New Breakthrough In Global Warming Plant Production
Introducing Vico Office:
EPA mountaintop removal decision update
White House Announces International Meetings to Address Energy and Climate Issues
Refiners turn to cogeneration to fulfill climate obligations
HSBC makes 'green' insurance push
Examining the Scientific consensus on Climate Change
According to a recent article in Eos (Doran and Zimmermann, 'Examining the Scientific consensus on Climate Change', Volume 90, Number 3, 2009; p. 22-23), about 58% of the general public in the US thinks that human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing the mean global temperature, as opposed to 97% of specialists surveyed.
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Rep. Barton: Climate change is 'natural,' humans should just 'get shade'
In a hearing Wednesday on adapting to climate change, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) denied the consensus on man-made climate change, saying it is "natural." His solution to the warming planet? Just get some "shade"
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With all due respect...
New study quoted by Cato Institute deniers concludes "warming over the 21st century may well be larger than that predicted by the current generation of models"
RealClimate has an excellent post on the Cato Institute's efforts to get signatories for its new global warming denial ad. But they missed one especially ironic point - a key study Cato uses to argue we may see much less warming than the models predict comes to exactly the opposite conclusion.
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SEEA/ARC Study: Efficiency Measures Can Save Billions in Energy Costs
A new study commissioned by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) concludes that implementing energy-efficiency measures in Appalachia has the potential to help create tens of thousands of jobs and save billions in energy costs to Appalachian consumers over the next 20 years. Conducted for ARC by SEEA, Energy Efficiency in Appalachia also finds that a bold energy efficiency initiative could cut projected energy use in the Region by up to 24 percent by the year 2030.
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UCS: Renewable electricity standard will create jobs and lower consumer energy bills
A new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists makes a clear, convincing case for a strong nationwide renewable electricity standard (RES). Any renewable standard, of course, should be accompanied by an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard.
The UCS analyzed the economic benefits of a national standard requiring utilities to obtain 25 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025, in addition to assessing the environmental benefits.
Their study finds that such a standard would create:
297,000 new jobs from renewable energy development
$263.4 billion in new capital investment
$9.9 billion in income
$7.3 billion in U.S. gross domestic product
$11.5 billion in new local tax revenues
$64.3 billion in lower electricity and natural gas bills, by 2025
A quick look at some of the potential savings on the state level:
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia would all save over $1 billion
Louisiana would save over $5 billion
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio would each save between $2 and $4 billion
Texas would save a whopping $21.13 billion
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Among Climate Scientists, a Dispute Over 'Tipping Points'
"The climate is nearing tipping points," the NASA climate scientist James E. Hansen wrote in The Observer newspaper of London. "If we do not change course, we'll hand our children a situation that is out of their control."
The resulting calamities, Dr. Hansen and other like-minded scientists have warned, could be widespread and overwhelming: the loss of untold species as ocean reefs and forests are disrupted; the transformation of the Amazon into parched savanna; a dangerous rise in sea levels resulting from the melting of the mile-high ice sheets in West Antarctica and Greenland; and the thawing of the Arctic tundra, which would release torrents of the greenhouse gas
methane into the atmosphere.
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Diving Into Building Water Management
by Jim Sinopoli
Next to the global financial situation and its effect on construction, most of the public, market focus, and attention regarding buildings is on energy; alternative energy sources, smart power grids, and energy use of HVAC and lighting systems in buildings. Somewhat lost in all that attention is water and specially water use in buildings. Water is a different resource. It may be our most precious resource. Where alternatives exist for energy sources, the alternatives to water are none. If you don't think water is a critical resource, consider that people can survive longer without food and certainly without energy than they can without water; that's not surprising considering that two thirds of the human body by weight is composed of water.
Water also has a direct connection to energy use. Every gallon or liter of water used may require some pumping or treatment which uses energy. Reducing potable water uses reduces energy consumption.
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Aquascape, Inc. Launches RainXchange Rain Barrel Rainwater Recycling System
Aquascape launches new rainwater recycling product for rainwater harvesting, storage, and reuse.
St. Charles, IL (PRWEB) March 30, 2009 -- Aquascape, Inc. is proud to announce the launch of its new, decorative, urn-style RainXchange™ Rain Barrel, which can be incorporated into existing gutter and drainage systems. Made in the U.S.A., the barrel's 75-gallon capacity allows for greater rainwater storage than most rain barrels on the marketplace today.
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Water quality trading likely to grow - WRI
London, 26 March: Growing problems over water quality means more trading programs are likely to be introduced, according to a study from the World Resources Institute. But, to be effective, they must have strong drivers to create demand for credits.
Trading programs work alongside water quality regulations to improve water quality, providing flexibility in how regulations are met and potentially lowering the cost of compliance. They are most commonly employed to control the flow of nutrients into watersheds, for example from waste treatment works or agricultural land, since an excess of nutrients degrades water quality.
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Hour of darkness: Cities and landmarks across the world turn out the lights in campaign for action on climate change -Pictures
From an Antarctic research station to the Great Pyramids of Egypt, illuminated patches of the globe went dark yesterday for Earth Hour, a campaign to highlight the threat of climate change.
Time zone by time zone, nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries joined the event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund to dim non-essential lights from 8:30pm to 9:30pm
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Green Building in the Face of the Economic Downturn New -Video
Jerry Yudelson of Yudelson Associates, one of the leading green building consultants in the United States, describes how green building may thrive in the face of the worldwide economic downturn.
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Great music video (!) on energy efficiency -Video
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EDF's Krupp assesses Democrats' strategy on cap-and-trade -Video
Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, assesses the Democrats' strategy for moving an emissions bill through Congress this year.
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Tesla Takes Wraps Off the Model S.
The all electric family sedan that carries seven people and travels 300 miles per charge. It will likely be world's first mass-produced, highway-capable EV.
The Model S, which carries its charger onboard, can be recharged from any 120V, 240V or 480V outlet, with the latter taking only 45 minutes. By recharging their car while they stop for a meal, drivers can go from LA to New York in approximately the same time as a gasoline car. Moreover, the floor-mounted battery pack is designed to be changed out in less time than it takes to fill a gas tank, allowing for the possibility of battery-pack swap stations.
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Smith Electric Vehicles to Assemble Zero-emission Commercial Vehicles in Kansas City, Missouri.
The new assembly plant will be located at a portion of an airline overhaul base at Kansas City International (KCI) Airport and is expected to create 120 jobs by 2010. Production of the first zero-emission commercial trucks is scheduled to begin third quarter of 2009.
Smith Electric Vehicles U. S. (SEV U.S.) will initially focus its production on battery-electric-powered vehicles for depot-based predictable-route delivery fleets. SEV U.S. Corp's first zero-emission truck model will be the Smith Newton - the world's largest battery-electric-powered truck. It has a top speed of up to 50 mph, a range on one battery charge in excess of 100 miles and a payload of up to 16,280 lbs. SEV U.S. Corp will utilize the Enova P120 drive system for the Newton, a proven solution currently being used by Smith in Europe. The selection of Torrance, Calif., based Enova Systems, Inc.'s P120 drive system aligns with SEV U.S. Corp's core strategy to build a strong U.S.-based supply chain.
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Mother Nature's Dow
While I'm convinced that our current financial crisis is the product of both The Market and Mother Nature hitting the wall at once - telling us we need to grow in more sustainable ways - some might ask this: We know when the market hits a wall. It shows up in red numbers on the Dow. But Mother Nature doesn't have a Dow. What makes you think she's hitting a wall, too? And even if she is: Who cares? When my 401(k) is collapsing, it's hard to worry about my sea level rising.
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American Birds Sending Troubling Message About The Environment
ScienceDaily (Mar. 29, 2009) - A new report based on 40 years of data analyzed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, state government wildlife agencies, and non-governmental organizations including Audubon (BirdLife in the USA), shows that birds are sending an important and troubling message about the state of the environment.
The report also shows that investment in conservation works, exemplified by the remarkable recoveries of waterfowl after more than 30 million acres of wetlands were restored and managed.
The U.S. State of the Birds report offers heartening evidence that strategic land management and conservation action can reverse declines of birds.
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New Breakthrough In Global Warming Plant Production
ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2009) - Researchers at the universities of Leicester and Oxford have made a discovery about plant growth which could potentially have an enormous impact on crop production as global warming increases.
Dr Kerry Franklin, from the University of Leicester Department of Biology led the study which has identified a single gene responsible for controlling plant growth responses to elevated temperature.
Dr Franklin said: "Exposure of plants to high temperature results in the rapid elongation of stems and a dramatic upwards elevation of leaves."
"These responses are accompanied by a significant reduction in plant biomass, thereby severely reducing harvest yield. Our study has revealed that a single gene product regulates all these architectural adaptations in the model plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana."
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Introducing Vico Office:
Integrated Construction Management for GCs and Owners!
BIM-neutral platform for Revit, Tekla, ArchiCAD
Construction-detailed Quantity Takeoff
4D Scheduling, 5D Estimating/Budgeting
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EPA mountaintop removal decision update
The Army Corps of Engineers reinstated a permit yesterday for a controversial Kentucky coal mining project hours after U.S. EPA had announced a planned review of similar projects' effects on water quality.
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White House Announces International Meetings to Address Energy and Climate Issues
The meetings, to be held in Washington in April and in La Maddalena, Italy, in July, will seek to resolve longstanding issues that have blocked the development of an international climate treaty.
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Refiners turn to cogeneration to fulfill climate obligations
With energy representing up to 50% of operational costs, oil refineries are increasingly looking for opportunities to invest in energy efficiency, with combined heat and power production representing an important part of the solution.
ExxonMobil this week (23 March) inaugurated a new cogeneration unit at its Antwerp refinery, aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 200,000 tonnes per year. This equals taking about 90,000 cars off Europe's roads, and is achieved by using 12% less fuel that a normal refinery would, the energy giant said.
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HSBC makes 'green' insurance push
London, 26 March: HSBC plans to integrate sustainability into its insurance business, launching 'green' insurance products across its global operations this year.
Sunny Sehgal has been appointed as the bank's first senior manager for sustainable insurance. He was formerly head of environmental risks in the bank's insurance brokerage business. Based in HSBC's London headquarters, Sehgal will co-ordinate global strategy for sustainability in the group's insurance businesses and examine how climate and sustainability risks impact the bank.
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