The Global Warming Survival Guide

[A.Rahman]

The Global Warming Survival Guide


1. Turn Food Into Fuel

Are corn husks better than corn for producing energy? Ethanol is the alternative fuel that could finally wean the U.S. from its expensive oil habit and in turn prevent the millions of tons of carbon emissions that go with it. The Department of Energy has doubled its 2005 commitment to funding research into biofuels—any non-petroleum fuel source, including corn, soybean, switchgrass, municipal waste and (ick) used cooking oil. Already, half of the nearly 11 billion bushels of corn produced each year is turned into ethanol, and most new cars are capable of running on E10 (10% ethanol and 90% gas).

Yet the eco-friendly fuel is beginning to look less chummy of late. Some of the 114 ethanol plants in the U.S. use natural gas and, yes, even coal to run the processors. And ethanol has to be trucked. Existing gas pipelines can't carry it because it corrodes iron. Then there are the economics. Producers depend on federal subsidies, and increasing demand for corn as fuel means the kernels keep getting pricier.

That's why researchers are prospecting for more alternatives, preferably ones that don't rely on food crops or a 51 cents-per-gallon tax break. Municipal waste, wood pulp and leftover grain and corn husks are all quite attractive; they can produce something called cellulosic ethanol, which contains more energy than corn. But they don't give up their bounty easily, so for now they're more expensive than corn-based ethanol to produce. Undeterred, researchers at several cellulosic-ethanol plants are developing innovative enzyme concoctions and heating methods to make the process more economic. Nothing like haste to make something out of waste.

 

[A.Rahman]

2. Get Blueprints For a Green House

Reducing your impact on the earth is not just a question of what you drive but also of what you live in. Residential energy use accounts for 16% of greenhouse-gas emissions. If you begin thinking green at the blueprint stage, however, low-tech, pragmatic techniques will maximize your new home's efficiency. Installing those systems from the ground up is cheaper than retrofitting. "Doing simple things could drastically reduce your energy costs, by 40%," says Oru Bose, a sustainable-design architect in Santa Fe, N.M. For example, control heat, air and moisture leakage by sealing windows and doors. Insulate the garage, attic and basement with natural, nontoxic materials like reclaimed blue jeans. Protect windows from sunrays with large overhangs and double-pane glass. Emphasize natural cross ventilation. "You don't need to have 24th century solutions to solve 18th century problems," Bose says. Next, consider renewable energy sources like solar electric systems, compact wind turbines and geothermal heat pumps to help power your home. When you're ready to get creative, GreenHomeGuide.com will help you find bamboo flooring, cork tiles, and countertops made from recycled wastepaper.

 

[A.Rahman]

3. Change Your Lightbulbs

The hottest thing in household energy savings is the compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL), a funny-looking swirl that fits into standard sockets. CFLs cost three to five times as much as conventional incandescent bulbs yet use one-quarter the electricity and last several years longer. They are available virtually everywhere lightbulbs are sold. Most labels don't say "CFL" (GE calls its bulbs Energy Savers), and in some cases the telltale twist is enclosed in frosted glass. The wattage gives them away: many 7-watt CFLs are comparable to a regular 40-watt bulb, 26 watts is the typical CFL equivalent of 100 watts and so on. Or just look for the Energy Star label.

CFLs have come a long way since they were first introduced in the mid-'90s (they don't flicker as much when you turn them on, for one thing), but because each bulb still contains 5 mg of mercury, you're not supposed to toss them out with the regular trash, where they could end up in a landfill. So the bulbs are one more thing for you to sort in the recycling bin.

Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs (see item 4), don't have this problem, but they can require a bit of DIY rewiring. LEDs work great as accents and task lights, and you can also buy LED desk and floor lamps. But if you're just looking to put a green bulb in your favorite table lamp, CFL is the way to go.

 

[A.Rahman]

4. Light Up Your City

Cities can save energy—and money—by illuminating public spaces with LEDs, or light-emitting diodes. Last December Raleigh, N.C., turned one floor of a municipal parking garage into a testing ground for LEDs (see the before-and-after photos at http://www.cree.com/LEDcity). The new white, brighter fixtures use 40% less electricity than the high-pressure sodium bulbs they replaced. Although they cost two to three times as much, they can go five or more years without upkeep. Traditional bulbs must be replaced every 18 months. Other types of LEDs are already at work in traffic lights, outdoor displays (like those in New York City's Times Square) and stadiums; airports even use LEDs on their taxiways. If your city is still burning tax money on old lights, ask the mayor why.

 

[A.Rahman]

5. Pay the Carbon Tax

Everyone agrees that it's necessary to reduce carbon emissions around the world. There is less agreement over exactly how nations should go about achieving a more carbon-free planet. Hence, the environmental equivalent of Elvis vs. the Beatles: cap-and-trade carbon emissions, or impose a carbon tax on all users? With cap-and-trade programs, governments limit the level of carbon that can be emitted by an industry. Companies that hold their emissions below the cap can sell their remaining allowance on a carbon market, while companies that exceed their limit must purchase credits on that market. Carbon taxes are more straightforward: a set tax rate is placed on the consumption of carbon in any form—fossil-fuel electricity, gasoline—with the idea that raising the price will encourage industries and individuals to consume less. At the moment, cap-and-trade has the upper hand, since it serves as the backbone of the current Kyoto Protocol, and helped the U.S. reduce acid rain in the 1990s—but don't write off the tax just yet.

Supporters of the tax argue that a cap-and-trade system, especially one that would be global enough to mitigate the 8 billion tons of carbon the world now emits, would be too difficult to administer—and too easily gamed by industries looking to sidestep emissions caps. Cap-and-trade advocates counter that like all other flat taxes, a carbon levy would disproportionately burden lower-income families, who spend a greater percentage of their income on energy than rich households.

So which system will have the largest impact on carbon consumption? A 10% flat carbon tax might reduce the demand for carbon about 5% or less, according to an analysis by the Carbon Tax Center, an environmental advocacy group. That may not be enough. Businesses and governments haven't figured out how the two competing regimes can work together, but in the end, the world may need both.

 

[A.Rahman]

6. Ditch the Mansion

Oversize houses aren't just architecturally offensive; they also generally require more energy to heat and cool than smaller ones, even with efficient appliances. And in the U.S., big houses are becoming the norm, even though a relatively inefficient small house consumes less energy than a greener large house and uses fewer building materials, which expand the carbon footprint. A typical new single-family home in the U.S. is nearly 2,500 square feet today, up from about 1,000 square feet in 1950, even as the average household has shrunk from 3.4 to 2.6 people.

If you really want to live small, visit Jay Shafer. The former art professor dwells alone in a home fit for a hobbit, 100 sq. ft. in northern California that he designed and built himself in 1999. Shafer now runs Tumbleweed Tiny House and sells custom designs for miniature dwellings that range from 70 sq. ft. to 350 sq. ft. He made his move because he felt guilty about the size of his residential carbon footprint, and now prefers life tiny and tidy. "If I throw my jeans down on the floor, I can't get across the room."

 

[A.Rahman]

7. Hang Up a Clothes Line

You could make your own clothes with needle and thread using 100% organic cotton sheared from sheep you raised on a Whole Foods diet, but the environmental quality of your wardrobe is ultimately determined by the way you wash it. A recent study by Cambridge University's Institute of Manufacturing found that 60% of the energy associated with a piece of clothing is spent in washing and drying it. Over its lifetime, a T shirt can send up to 9 lbs. of carbon dioxide into the air.

The solution is not to avoid doing laundry, tempting as that may be. Rather, wash your clothes in warm water instead of hot, and save up to launder a few big loads instead of many smaller ones. Use the most efficient machine you can find—newer ones can use as little as one-fourth the energy of older machines. When they're clean, dry your clothes the natural way, by hanging them on a line rather than loading them in a dryer. Altogether you can reduce the CO2 created by your laundry up to 90%. Plus, no more magically disappearing socks.

 

[A.Rahman]

8. Give New Life to Your Old Fleece

Where do old fleece jackets go to die? Back to the mountain. Outdoor-gear label Patagonia is collecting used clothing (regardless of brand) made from Polartec and Capilene to melt and make into new fabric and clothes. (Some of that fleece is especially virtuous, starting out as fabric made from recycled plastic.) The company estimates that making polyester fiber out of recycled garments, compared with using new polyester, will result in a 76% energy savings and reduce greenhouse gases 71%. To shear your own fleece, visit patagonia.com/recycle.

 

[A.Rahman]

9. Build a Skyscraper

Almost everything about the Bank of America tower, a soaring skyscraper under construction near Times Square in New York City, has been designed to minimize the use of energy. Take the concrete. Making the stuff from scratch is very energy intensive, so the builders are using a mix of 55% concrete and 45% slag, a waste product from blast furnaces. Mixing slag with concrete saves energy and makes the concrete stronger. The tower will save so-called gray water from washrooms and use it to flush the toilets. The building will also generate much of its own electricity from natural gas, a less potent carbon emitter than coal. These features will account for $3.5 million of a total building cost of $1.2 billion, but the owners expect to recoup that in a few years with all the energy they'll save. When it's finished next year, the tower will be the second highest in the city, but it stands alone as the greenest building in New York.

 

[A.Rahman]

10. Turn Up the Geothermal Heat

With clever engineering and an elegantly simple design, Diane von Furstenberg reinvigorated women's fashion in the 1970s with the wrap dress. Can she do the same for a building? Her newest project is a 35,000-sq.-ft. office, showroom and retail store in Manhattan's trendy meatpacking district, all heated and cooled by water pumped from deep underground. This geothermal system taps into water that is a relatively stable 55�F and transfers that heat to warm the building in the winter and cool it in the summer. The building's roof is covered in easy-to-maintain plants and grasses, and has two heliostat mirrors, which track the sun and direct its rays into the building, reducing the use of artificial lights during the day. Who says being environmentally conscious can't be cool—and hot?

 

[A.Rahman]

more next time

 

[niaz]

My daughter is doing post doctoral research in Global Radiation in the University of Reading under a European Union grant.

She is analyzing the data of all radiation including Infra Red since the records
began. Naturally, as a Ph D in Physics, her scientific knowledge is way beyond my understanding. However what I have managed to gather is that while pumping of so much carbon dioxide is definitely harmful, we have not fully understood the reasons for the periodic climatic changes. Since earth is spining along with the sun in the galactic spiral; there could be regions of space containing excessive cosmic radiation. Our earth has gone through periodic Ice Ages and warm climates. This happened when there were hardly any life on earth which could effect the green house gases level. Additionally, there have been strikes by meteors which would have caused a significant change in the amount of radiation earth recieves may be even in earth orbit.

My point is that our knowledge of the causes of a temperature change in the earth atmosphere is still in the embryonic stage and a drastic climatic change may occur in any way. Putting huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is only hastening the process.

 

[kvLin]

anyway Skyscraper is a faulted solution,it does save energy in certain extents but at meanwhile it also pricks up the airflow and may change the geostress in it's grounding patch.

refer to:
"Consequence and countermeasure of skyscraper for city environment".

 

[Adux]

Well, the developed countries should take the brunt on Enviornmental Issue's.
It increases the cost for developing nations to implement Development projects when the new Environmental taps or constraints are put on them. They havent contributed or affected the global warming as much as the developed nations.

 

[TruthSeeker]

My point is that our knowledge of the causes of a temperature change in the earth atmosphere is still in the embryonic stage and a drastic climatic change may occur in any way. Putting huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is only hastening the process.

This is exactly right. The global warming crowd is stampeding the politicians into measures that will worsen the lives of poor people. The models that are being relied upon to make huge decisions are not able to account for past climate changes (when run "backwards") so why should we trust them to predict the future? IF global warming is occurring it is better to assume that we cannot change its course anytime soon and to put our resources into studying and implementing measures that mitigate any bad consequences and take advantage of changes that are beneficial.