Home/Posts Tagged ‘water’
Posts Tagged ‘water’
Green living, Health, Politics, Videos & Documentaries, Mar 22nd, 2010,
In 1993 March 22nd was declared World Water Day by the United Nations. World Water Day is an opportunity for UN member states and NGOs to bring attention to issues surrounding water – primarily the availability of clean water to all people and the sustainable use of the world’s water resources. Our conceptions of ‘clean’ or ‘healthy’ water may not always be based on facts. Issues surrounding the use of bottled water, for example, are complicated by misinformation, wastefulness, pollution and environmental damage. Those of us who live in locations where clean water is readily and cheaply available from our…
Tags: bottled, clean, water, World Water Day
Uncategorized, Feb 27th, 2010,
A British government adviser has warned that major changes in land management are necessary to deal with the effects of climate change and a growing population over the next 50 years. Professor John Beddington, who is chief scientific adviser to the UK government, warned of ‘competing issues’ that without proper management – including an integration of policies – could cause problems such as water shortages and a decrease in biodiversity. Principal issues named in terms of quality of life for Britons were the preservation of urban green spaces and the availability of affordable housing. Other pressures on land use include…
Tags: British, Climate change, government, green spaces, Guardian, land management, population, pressure, UK, water
Climate Change, Politics, Feb 9th, 2010,
In some Asian countries clean water is an increasingly scarce and politically charged resource – and climate change will only make things worse. Pakistan and India, both reliant on the shared waters of Indus River for irrigation and hydroelectric power, face problems including floods, water shortages, chronically high levels of unsafe drinking water as well as conflicts between and within both nations. Unsafe drinking water in urban centers remains a huge problem for Kamal Nath and the Indian Urban Development Ministry. The countries of the Amu Darya basin – Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – experience similar problems and conflicts…
Tags: adaptation, Afghanistan, Asia, central-south Asia, Climate change, glaciers, hydroelectric, India, Indus, Michael, power, Renner, water
Climate Change, Green living, Science & Technology, Feb 1st, 2010,
Statkraft, Norway’s state owned electricity company, has opened the world’s first osmotic power station in the Norwegian municipality of Hurum. The process at the plant is conducted by salty seawater drawing fresh water through a permeable membrane which increases pressure on the side with the salt water. According to an article from the website Nordic Energy Solutions, ‘the increased pressure is used to produce power.’ The plant is only a prototype and not yet capable of generating very much power, but Statkraft has high hopes for the future of the technology. It could one day supply up to 10% or…
Tags: electricity, Norway, osmosis, osmotic power, plant, power, salt, sea, Statkraft, water
Climate Change, Uncategorized, Jan 16th, 2010,
‘Qatar Airways announced yesterday it plans to develop new sources of biofuels in partnership with aerospace and energy firms.’ –The National (Qatar) The Arab emirate of Qatar has the highest per-capita level of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. It sometimes shares this dubious honor with Australia, another big exporter of natural gas. But despite Qatar’s massive energy and water consumption, enormous burning of fossil fuels and resultant king-size carbon footprint, the emirate’s flag carrier airline, Qatar Airways, is embracing biofuel technology. Since Qatar’s per-capita emissions are so high and largely uncommented upon, the Guardian‘s Fred Pearce considers this greenwashing,…
Tags: australia, biofuel, biofuels, consumption, emirate, emissions, energy, Fred Pierce, gas, Green, greenwash, Guardian, per-capita, Qatar, Qatar Airways, water
Climate Change, Videos & Documentaries, Dec 14th, 2009,
NBC Nightly News continues their series ‘A Perfect Storm’ about those who suffer most from climate change – this time with a report on the melting glaciers in Peru. Melting glaciers mean a future shortage of fresh water for Peru, which may lead to ‘water wars’. Those on the front lines of Peru’s melting glacier crisis are naturally poor farmers, who are on the losing end of the South American country’s human geography, in terms of water. In other words, the overwhelming majority of Peru simply doesn’t live near fresh water sources and so it has to be pumped in…
Tags: Climate change, melting glacier, NBC, perfect storm, Peru, water, water wars
Science & Technology, Nov 18th, 2009,
The controversial NASA project that involved crashing the LCROSS satellite on the moon’s surface last October was intended to confirm if there is water on the moon. Initially seen as a big failure since there was no visible lunar dust or any other substances that resulted from the impact of the crash, NASA has just confirmed otherwise and stated that there is substantial water supply on the moon. Researchers hope that the information gathered from this mission to the moon will enable them to harness resources such as oxygen and water for the benefit of humankind in the near future….
Tags: LCROSS satellite, NASA, oxygen, water, Water supply on moon
Green living, Health, Nov 15th, 2009,
I like cold showers. They make me feel good. To be more precise, they make me feel good after I take them, not during. The ‘during’ part can be pretty horrible, actually, especially in the winter months. I therefore have to steel myself before subjecting my tender corpse to every icy barrage I willingly put it through. I convince myself that this builds character and manliness and is somehow equivalent to a bit of robust exercise. My heart rate goes up, my muscles engorge (oh, shut up!) and my skin tingles After having a freezing cold shower last night and…
Tags: cold shower, depression, Health, Shevchuk, water
Climate Change, Nov 11th, 2009,
![]( "<!--:en-->European Space Agency launches satellites to assess climate change impact on Earth")
' src='http://gf2.statico.be/wp-content/themes/greenfudge/thumbnails/1888.jpg' alt='european-space-agency-launches-satellites-to-assess-climate-change-impact-on-earths-water-systems' class='art-teaser' width='95' height='95' /> On Monday, November 2nd, two satellites were launched into orbit by the ESA or European Space Agency in order to give an overall view of the Earth’s water systems and their patterns. Named the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and Proba-2, the satellites blasted off from Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia. SMOS’s mission is the measuring of ‘water retention capacity in soil to help forecast drought and flood risk and calculate the planet’s carbon cycle to determine the amount of CO2 pollution that affects climate change,’ according to an International Business Times article from November 3rd. The probe will…
Tags: Climate change, ESA, European Space Agency, Proba-2, SMOS, water
Science & Technology, Videos & Documentaries, Oct 23rd, 2009,
Villagers in Rajasthan, India are using traditional techniques of rain harvesting to replenish local water supplies. From CNN’s video series ‘Going Green: Eco Pioneers’, this report features Rajendra Singh, aka the Rainman of Rajasthan, who works with water conservation in the largest, but driest state in India. Embedded video from <a href=”http://www.cnn.com/video” mce_href=”http://www.cnn.com/video”>CNN Video</a> By Graham Land Additional resources: CNN Environment – Going Green
Tags: India, Rajasthan, water
Climate Change, Sep 26th, 2009,
Today, the small Australian town of Bundanoon intends to go bottled-water free, as tapped water becomes the latest craze. Earlier this year, the town held a vote in favor of supporting events and businesses, in exchange for removing commercial bottled water from sale. Because such a small town (with a population of around 2,500) was going to take on such a huge industry, they received media coverage and praise from around the globe. And they certainly were not alone in their efforts to change. The environmental organization Do Something provided sponsorship negotiations, while new water stations were donated by Street…
Tags: plastic bottle, Pollution, water
Science & Technology, Sep 24th, 2009,
NASA is expected to announce break-through scientific news today. India’s maiden Moon mission Chandrayaan-1 possibly found water on the moon surface using NASA’s M3 (Moon Mineralogy Mapper) that mapped close to 97% of the lunar surface before the project was aborted due to communication failure. The ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) is currently analyzing this data and is expected to make an announcement soon. Read the full article here
Tags: M3, moon, NASA, water
Climate Change, Videos & Documentaries, Weird Stuff, Aug 12th, 2009,
I’m depressed. I just watched another documentary on The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The world is infused with plastic and marinated in toxins. Our oceans, still largely clean, clear and pristine-looking, are actually a vast plastic soup steeped in poisonous chemicals, which are consumed by sea life and then in turn by humans. Serves them right, I think, and mentally kick a PET bottle into the senseless ocean of futility I currently think of as “life”. Or does it? I for one never wanted tons of plastic bags and I’m sure many others didn’t either, but they were (and still…
Tags: environment, fish, garbage patch, plastic, Pollution, sealife, water
