I read an article recently which stated that scientists recently discovered that a huge global warming event took place about 635 million years ago. It was caused by the sudden release of methane into the atmosphere, a gas which is about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming capabilities. 635 millions years ago, this release led a cold, stable climate to suddenly become a warm, stable climate, with little time in between the two states.
Scientists are now looking for the trigger or tipping point which caused this to occur. It’s important since the current global warming trend may have a tipping point as well. For example, with current warming trends, are we near the tipping point at which melting ice will cause an increase in the rate polar ice caps are melting, resulting in huge amounts of greenhouse gases being released in the air? If there is methane and other large amounts of trapped greenhouse gases in the Arctic permafrost and ice caps, reaching this tipping point may cause the planet to warm up by tens of degrees.
I won’t go into the details of what an ugly situation this will be if it happens, but I will tell you this is one heck of a scary thought. Even for those who don’t believe in global warming, it’s like playing Russian Roulette to me. Do you really want to take the “small” chance the chamber you’re betting on isn’t loaded? If you can avoid the risk in the first place, why not I say!
Hey did you hear the news that Utah is implementing a 4-day work week for most of their state workers? The reason? To cut energy costs in governmental buildings.
Instead of a 40 hour work week over 5 days, workers are being asked to work 10 hours a day, 4 days a week.
It is estimated that 1000-3000 state buildings will be closed on Fridays, resulting in a reduction of about 20% in energy costs.
What do you guys think? Good idea? Bad idea?
Refusing to be outgreened by Honda’s announcement of three new hybrids, Toyota recently confirmed that it will be introducing two new hybrids, in addition to a plug-in version of the Prius and a new third generation Toyota Prius due out next year.
Toyota’s executive vice-president of R&D, Masatami Takimoto, confirmed the new Toyota hybrid will be larger than the Prius. In addition, Toyota’s Lexus line of vehicles will have a new hybrid only model, which is rumored to be Lexus’ new entry level vehicle. Both of these cars are expected to debut in the Detroit Auto Show.
All of this comes on top of Toyota’s announcement late last year that it will be coming out with a Toyota iQ model. It’s Toyota’s attempt to answer red hot Mini Cooper sales and the new SMART car. The iQ concept, seen here in a comparison with the sub-compact Toyota Yaris, will be over 2.5 feet shorter than the Yaris. It’s expected to be powered by a 1-liter engine and will have room to sit four people. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but this car looks tiny! If we still have all those large SUVs on the road, I’m not sure how safe I will feel in one of these.
The hybrid and sub-compact battles will only get more heated as gas prices continue their endless climb upward. It’ll be exciting to see all the innovation and new cars over the next few years. Perhaps this is finally the time we will start seeing a real move towards smaller cars with less power… whenever I go to the gas pump, less (size and power) definitely will mean more (money in my pocket)!
McKinsey’s Global Institiute released another study recently discussing what it would cost to reduce carbon emissions. As it turns out, not that much. I mean, yes, it does cost something, but according to their calculations, just 0.6-1.4% of GDP to get to managable levels, which is less than the 3.3% we pay as a society for insurance. And as they have noted before, many of the reductions can actually increase GDP! So in other words, we have no excuse for stronger leadership and more action. Money quote:
The microeconomic changes needed to increase carbon productivity at the levels required will not occur without the active leadership and collaboration of governments and businesses globally. We need new policies, regulatory frameworks, and institutions focused on four areas: creating market-based incentives to innovate and raise carbon productivity; addressing market failures that prevent abatement opportunities from being captured profitably; resolving issues of allocation and fairness, in particular between the developed and developing worlds and between industry sectors; and accelerating progress to avoid missing critical emissions targets.
Thanks to Climate Progress for pointing this out.
Hello readers - today I dedicate this post to our fellow blogger GreenHL. Since he blogged about green weddings yesterday, I’m going to continue with the wedding theme and focus on the most important part of the wedding - the honeymoon! Why is it the most important? Because it’s the most fun part (in my opinion) - especially for those who love to travel, like moi.
I might have mentioned to you all awhile back that I, too, am getting married. Being the girl, I have gotten stuck taking care of all the details (bo-ring! I hate this stuff) around the “big day.” I’d much rather plan the honeymoon! We’ve been talking about going to Europe, but I’m feeling bad about going so far away because of the environmental impact of flying and such.
A NY Times article was published recently that talked about the growing trend of green honeymoons. The article features a few websites which help couples plan their green honeymoons, such as Elevated Destinations.
Some of the trips sound pretty cool - how does staying in a handmade yurt in Spain (and in a camp that runs on solar power, no less) sound? Or going on a luxury safari trip to the Masaai Mara, and having a portion of your trip be donated to nonprofits which help to preserve the local resources?
I was totally drooling when reading about all of these amazing trips. Oh to have more time and money to travel the world… but until then, I’ll live vicariously through our readers. Are any of you planning an green honeymoon of your own? Or an eco-friendly trip? If so, tell us about it!
