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Third airline shutdown in a week
2008-04-05 23:29:00
Skybus airlines, another airline not being able to deal with the soaring fuel prices.
More About: Aviation , Week , Airline , Shutdown

Klimax hit the streets of Uppsala
2008-04-05 21:15:00
Today the local climate action group Klimax performed their first traffic obstruction event.It was a rather peaceful and cheerful demonstration. The sun was shining and people were happy. A middle aged man was encouraged to jump rope. Even the bicycle repair man showed up.The police had blocked off the chosen street in advance several hundred meters away in both directions and smoothly redirected the traffic flow, so the street was unfortunately empty of cars before the event began. I had sort of hoped for some angry honking by frustrated car drivers trapped by the obstruction.The Klimax ice bears were there to please the crowd.Buses were allowed to pass through and they were happily cheered upon. One of the bus drivers responded with a happy honk. Passer byes were given information pamphlets by the penguin man.This guy had to answer the phone.The penguin man and the bike man had a cordial chat.The car people missed out on a great happening, perhaps they will leave their dirty car...
More About: Streets , The Streets

Collective stupidity
2008-04-05 07:29:00
clipped from www.guardian.co.ukEnergy companies are planning to revive a polluting technology developed by the Nazis to replace dwindling supplies of oil with synthetic fuels derived from coal.Senior industry figures told a high-level conference in Paris this week that coal-to-liquids (CTL) technology could fuel cars and aircraft for decades to come. More than 270 people from 28 countries attended the two-day Paris meeting, reflecting growing worldwide interest in the technology. China will open its first large-scale CTL plant later this year, and similar projects are under way or planned in the United States, India, Botswana, Australia, Germany, Poland, Germany and Indonesia. clipped from www.guardian.co.ukCTL has been more expensive than using oil, but analysts suggest it could become viable if the oil price stays above $25-$40 (£13-£20) a barrel.Gary Kendall, a senior energy analyst with the green group WWF, said the CTL push was a backward step. "If the oil price gets high enoug...
More About: Stupidity , Collective

I achieve better under stress
2008-04-04 23:27:00
In his book The Upside of Down, Thomas Homer-Dixon points out a handful of major stressors that are currently threatening our civilization: energy stress, demographic stress, economic stress, environmental stress and climate stress. The effect of the five stresses is multiplied by the rising connectivity and speed of our societies. These stresses and multipliers can potentially lead to some sort of systems collapse. To avoid this human society will have to undergo major changes. Either we crumble or we evolve. The crisis may be an opportunity for a renewal of institutions, social relations, technologies, and entrenched habits of behavior. Perhaps the collectivity of our societies could also be what saves us. The internet may help us harbor the collective intelligence of many people which may hopefully lead to some smart solutions to our collective and global problems. I read somewhere that the total biomass of ants is greater than that of humans. Maybe we could learn something from ...
More About: Stress

Six steps to hell
2008-04-04 21:35:00
See the documentary version of Mark Lynas' book Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet. It gives you a hint of what each degree has in store for us.Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5
More About: Hell , Steps

New paper from James Hansen
2008-04-03 23:27:00
James Hansen , chief climatologist at NASA?s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has published a new paper entitled Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim? Here are a couple of grim statements from it:"If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.""If the present overshoot of this target CO2 is not brief, there is a possibility of seeding irreversible catastrophic effects."
More About: Paper , James

We can't sit around waiting for the future to come
2008-04-03 21:00:00
The carbon emissions have to peak, really soon they say. In the transportation sector interesting projects are being launched. Shai Agassi's battery recharge grid for electric cars is one example, but it will take years before it will be ready for use and we don't know if it will gain wide spread use in many countries. We can't afford sitting around waiting for the future to come. We have to act and change now. Purchasing a trailer for your bike or a human powered trike is a good start. At OneLessVan you can explore a wide range of them. Below you can see some trikes. Human powered trike with multi task construction. A true family vehicle.This 24 volt electric assist pedal trike uses a cyclone 500 watt centerdrive motor system to climb hills, carry a cargo, and go fast!A solar powered trike. Perfect for commuting to work. This is not a trike. I don't know what it is.
More About: Future , The Future , Waiting

More good aviation news
2008-04-03 20:28:00
ATA Airlines shuts down after filing for bankruptcy, stranding customers. I wonder which one will be the next to follow.
More About: News , Aviation , Good

Agassi's electric car grid spreads to Denmark
2008-04-02 22:57:00
Shai Agassi's innovative grid of battery supply for electric cars is now set to be launched in Denmark as well. This is a leap forward for electrical cars. In Sweden emissions from cars and trucks increased by nearly 3% last year even though more people tend to buy cleaner cars. To reduce the emissions significantly we probably need to go electric.clipped from www.iht.comCOPENHAGEN, Denmark: Denmark's DONG Energy A/S and a Silicon Valley-based startup firm on Thursday said they would install an electric car network in the Scandinavian nation with some 20,000 recharging stations.The grid, which is set to be in place by 2011, will be operated by Project Better Place, an initiative by Israeli-American entrepreneur Shai Agassi, using excess power from DONG Energy's wind turbines.A fleet of battery-driven electrical vehicles will be introduced in Denmark after the recharging stations are built at parking lots and outside homes, Agassi said.French car maker Renault will provide the ve...
More About: Grid , Spreads , Electric , Electric Car

Magnified solar power
2008-04-02 22:19:00
clipped from www.businessweek.comIsraeli energy startup Zenith Solar is pioneering a "concentrated solar power" method that is up to five times more efficient than standard technologyZenith Solar, based in Nes Ziona near Tel Aviv, is a pioneer in a new type of solar energy that uses mirrors and lenses to focus and intensify the sun's light, producing far more electricity at lower cost. Compared with traditional flat photovoltaic panels made of silicon, this so-called concentrated solar power technology has proved in tests to be up to five times more efficient. That puts it on the verge of being competitive with oil and natural gas, even without government subsidies. clipped from www.businessweek.comTested over the past few years at Israel's National Solar Center in the Negev desert, the prototype achieved astounding results: A concentration of solar energy that was more than 1,000 times greater than standard flat panels.One of the biggest advantages of Zenith Solar's approac...
More About: Power , Solar Power

Shut'em off
2008-04-02 21:04:00
More than 30 billion kilowatt-hours of energy is wasted because many of us simply forget to shut down our computers when we aren?t using them. If we could just improve the efficiency of how we use our PCs, the savings in energy costs would be over $3 billion dollars! The CO2 emissions from just 15 computers are equivalent, in energy terms, to the gas consumption of one car. Download a power management tool, from Uniblue Research Labs, that allows users to optimize their energy savings in minutes and as a result reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Truck outside my window
2008-04-02 20:40:00
From my window at work I see this big white truck idling annoyingly as the cargo gets unloaded by the ignorant driver. I feel like opening the window and holler at the guy but I restrain myself, after all I am Swedish.
More About: Truck , Window

Suffering from disruption
2008-04-01 21:36:00
Finally I stumble upon an appropriately describing label for what is going on with the climate. Professor John Holdren prefers to use the term "global climate disruption". The terms "global warming" and "climate change" give you the impression that the process is slow and gradual, something we can deal with or even enjoy. But the change is rapid and devastating in relation to how ecosystems and societies are able to respond and adapt. The process is nonlinear with tipping points in store to cause major disruptions. Another term Holdren ads to the discourse is the word suffering: mitigation, adaptation and suffering. In most discussions on climate change, or climate disruption, we hear about mitigation and adaptation responses. I don't think I have ever heard anyone mention suffering as a response before. Perhaps it is more common to mention the symptoms or causes of the suffering: drought, famine, disease etc. An important measure to minimize the suffering will be to put a price ...
More About: Suffering

We can solve it!
2008-04-01 07:00:00
clipped from www.bizjournals.com Al Gore is launching one of the biggest public advocacy ad campaigns in history to convince Americans that the government needs to act on climate change. The former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner is helping to fund a $300 million campaign from the Alliance for Climate Protection aiming at pushing for action on climate change from Washington. clipped from www.bizjournals.com "The simple algorithm is this: It's important to change the light bulbs, but it's much more important to change the laws," Gore tells the Post. "The options available to civilization worldwide to avert this terribly destructive pattern are beginning to slip away from us. The path for recovery runs right through Washington, D.C." While Gore told the Post that he's encouraged the three remaining major presidential candidates all back some form of cap on carbon emissions, he added that follow-through on such proposals is dependent on broad-based public support.

Restructuring the energy economy
2008-03-30 21:11:00
Lester Brown on restructuring the world energy economy.Related: Plan B 3.0
More About: Economy , Energy

Self-imposed blackouts across the globe
2008-03-28 21:57:00
Tomorrow is Earth day. At 8 pm (local time) millions of people around the globe will turn off lights and electrical appliances. This will send a powerful SOS message to world and corporate leaders, urging and encouraging them to take serious and committed action on climate change.
More About: Globe

Cancellations infuriate flyers
2008-03-28 20:30:00
This week there have been some good news in the media about aviation: canceled flights en masse in USA, airport chaos at Heathrow and low cost airline suffers from high fuel costs.Hundreds of planes in USA grounded as a consequence of a safety audit.Some more planes staying on the ground, this time at Heathrow airport because of a dysfunctional opening of a new terminal.Ryanair suffers from high fuel costs.clipped from www.reuters.com O'Leary said on Wednesday that he expected Ryanair's profitsto halve this year and he would freeze pay for top executives asthe airline faces high fuel costs.(Reporting by Andras Gergely; Editing by Mike Elliott)
More About: Aviation , Flyers

Move it!
2008-03-27 22:17:00
Ice shelves are cracking up in Antarctica but the masses carry on as if there was nothing to worry about. The politicians are semi-paralyzed and don't dare take the necessary action. They will remain in this stupor as long as they don't have a strong public backing. Broad based public coalitions need to be formed across the globe to put irresistible and unified pressure on the governments to put in place the radical policies so desperately needed to stop the planet from burning. In Sweden a coalition of this sort is presently being formed. It is called Klimataktion.nu. The role model for this mass movement is British Stop Climate Chaos.
More About: Move

Earth
2008-03-26 21:19:00
Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund and journalist Miriam Horn have just published a fascinating book called Earth : The Sequel - The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming. The book tells the story of scientists and businessmen working on the front lines to solve the climate crisis, turning our planet's greatest threat into our greatest economic opportunity. The book also explores breakthroughs in solar, wind, and biomass technologies, in addition to examining how we must reinvent everything from cars to concrete and replace our current outdated centralized electrical grid with a smart, multidirectional energy network.Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn @ Google talksYou can buy your copy of Earth The Sequel by clicking here.

The great surf
2008-03-26 21:10:00
The past decades we have had a really comfortable and steady surf ride, especially us in the rich northern hemisphere. It is just recently that we have started to realize that the wave underneath us is growing dangerously big. We can hardly sense the danger because we are on top and the sea is so wast. But then when the wave starts to break we begin to actually feel the deadly powers involved. On the brink of panic we know that we need to keep balance and ride it through, to the end, or we will be crushed by the enormous masses of water coming down. The adrenaline pumps hard in our system and our senses peak. The paralyzing fear of death vanishes and serene calmness follows as we slice through the magnificently beautiful pipe of water. Afterwards when we return to shore and lay down on the warm sand we experience the sweet feeling of utter exhaustion and we fall asleep like a pleased baby, reborn.
More About: Surf , Great

Solar paint
2008-03-26 07:00:00
clipped from www.inhabitat.comInstalling solar panels on the roof of every new building in the world would go a long way towards solving our energy needs, but as we all know, solar panels are costly and often difficult to install. But what if the solar panel was an integral part of every building? What if solar cells could be painted on building products? Well, according to a team from Swansea University this type of technology will soon be coming to a hardware store near you.If the Solar Paint project gets off the ground, it is expected that they would be able to press around 30 to 40m2 a minute. This may not sound like much, but put it into perspective: according to Dr. Worsley, if all the steel cladding produced by just one manufacturer was produced to be energy generating, at a very conservative energy exchange rate of 5%, it would be the equivalent of 50 wind farms, or roughly 4,500 gigawatts of electricity, per year. If you ask us, this is a project that might be worth looking...

Huge Antarctic ice chunk collapses
2008-03-26 06:54:00
clipped from edition.cnn.com WASHINGTON (AP) -- A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday. Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica , which started February 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years. This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.
More About: Huge

A British Homer
2008-03-25 22:25:00
If Homer Simpson was to be transfered from the 2D world to our world, perhaps this is what he would come out like.
More About: British

Corporate child abuse
2008-03-24 23:37:00
Cradle to cradle-man Michael Braungart accuses toy company Mattel of terrorism and likens their products with chemical weapons. "The worst company I can imagine."
More About: Abuse , Corporate , Child , Child Abuse

The big picture
2008-03-24 00:16:00
The Guardian has a slide show with some gripping pictures of our feverish planet.
More About: Picture , The Big Picture , Big Picture

Peak oil and aviation
2008-03-23 23:54:00
There is a man aiming to open a new airport in my hometown Uppsala. Considering the oil situation I wonder if his operation is a wise one.
More About: Aviation , Peak Oil , Peak

Peak oil meets climate change
2008-03-23 00:13:00
Jeremy Legette gives a lecture about peak oil and climate change. In the first part of his talk he gives a straight forward summary of why we should fear climate change. See all segments here. Related:Crude: the incredible journey of oil. Superb documentary on oil and its link to global warming. A must see.
More About: Climate Change , Climate , Change , Peak Oil , Peak

Reincarnatable products
2008-03-22 21:22:00
Every single day of our lives we produce waste and a lot of it is never reused, ending up in incinerators or landfills. The products we use in our daily lives are designed to be used and then thrown away. This way of producing and consuming stuff generates enormous amounts of waste. It doesn't have to be this way. Products can be designed and manufactured in a way that makes them beneficial and resourceful also after they reach end of use. When they "die" they become food or building blocks for new industrial or natural processes. This design concept has a name: cradle to cradle.Here is a documenatary called Waste=Food.

We can solve it- petition from Al Gore
2008-03-22 00:10:00
Solutions to global warming exist and we -- already more than 800,000 strong -- are calling on leaders to make them happen. By coming together, we?re showing overwhelming support for leadership on this critical issue. Add your voice now and help make climate change a priority.Here Al Gore discusses climate change and poverty with Bono at Davos.
More About: Petition

Crude-the incredible journey of oil
2008-03-21 23:54:00
Another documentary on oil but this one stands out from other oil films I've seen so far. It connects dots from various fields and provides a superb big-picture view of oil. Most importantly it gives a deeper understanding of how oil and global warming are intimately connected. The light sweet crude, to which we are so highly addicted, is a liquid linked to death and mass extinction. It was formed during periods of global warming when deep layers of sea became anoxic, so called oceanic anoxic events. The mass extinction taking place due to the extreme warming provided a lot of organic matter to be preserved in these anoxic conditions. The sad irony of this story is that as we are burning ourselves to the end oil, the emissions involved will create anew the conditions required for the formation of new oil deposits. One may wonder if there will be any humans around when the new oil is ripe and ready to burn. The sound is poor the first 4 minutes in the segment below. The entire film...
More About: Journey , Incredible