Environment

Renewable energy for climate change mitigation and sustainable development. Ashwani Kumar The continued use of fossil fuels will require a significant amount of carbon dioxide to be removed by either physical capture and storage geologically or in the deep oceans or through biological capture at the source as algae. Renewable energy technologies are being called upon to reduce the release of carbondioxide into the atmosphere through development of a more sustainable energy system, and are expected to play a role in “energizing” the development process for both large and small developing…

Forest degradation is widespread and continues unabated. Starting from 37 percent forest cover in 1947 it has been reduced to 10 percent forest cover at present. Participatory and sustainable forest management offer a way to foster synergies between adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. The approach can contribute to mitigation of climate change by increasing carbon stocks, as well as the avoidance of increasing future impacts resulting from the loss of forest and burning of forest stocks. At the same time, it can help to enhance ecosystem resilience, reduce the social and economic…

A question I get asked alot is "Is humanity the cause of climate change". The short answer is yes, no, or maybe. It all depends upon your point of view. From my point of view, species homo sapiens is as much a part of this world as any other species. Therefore, everything humanity does is "natural", and the impacts and effects are natural. When a beaver creates a dam and floods a small valley, is not his work "natural"? And, isn't the flooded vale just as natural as it was before the beaver built his dam? If you look at the quantity of CO2 being released by our machines, it is much less…

In the somewhat irrational war on incandescent light bulbs, one thing left out is that the current alternatives are not great yet either.   If you break a CFL bulb, you'd better call in a HazMat team (and who knows what the high frequency ballasts are doing to your pets?) but if you break an LED, the lead levels are far too high, according to a new study. Unlike CFLs, light-emitting diodes are marketed as safe, environmentally preferable alternatives to traditional lightbulbs but they actually contain lead, arsenic and a dozen other potentially hazardous substances, according to the…

Green house gas emissions are natural with use of fossil fuel resources and increasing levels of Carbon di oxide are causing great concern. “Scoping meeting on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation From January 21st-25th, 2008, the IPCC workshop on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation was held in Luebeck, The mandate of the meeting was to guide and support decision making by the IPCC on a possible Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation or on the inclusion of this subject in the normal Assessment Report cycle. A Special…

The world survies largely on fossil fuel economy but burning fossil fuel causes green house gas emissions which raise Carbon di oxide levels. Kyoto protocol expiring in 2012 , Copenhagen without consensus , Cancun declarations aparts , the DSDS 2011 brought out some of the important considerations. Rich nations advocated for removal of subsidies on petrol and diesel, developing countries cant afford to do it due to economic disparities. Economy , fossil fuel resources, media are in one basket and those propounding sustainable development are often questioned about validity of claims.…

Any economic growth will have energy inputs as one of the major imperative and equity is increasing in the developing world. A 60 percent growth in GDP will require lot more energy and world economy is based on fossil fuel economy. Any future progress of mankind would entail much more pressure on the existing fossil fuel resources and lead to carbon emissions. With present levels of 390 ppm CO 2, it is already at critical level. Climate change shall also affect world peace. Frequent floods, droughts erratic snow patterns shall be more obvious. Sustainable development at local level and at a…

It is just before dawn. The raft has rotated on its mooring and aligned to the new direction of the tidal flow. The hydro generator has just come on-line again, and its low whine pervades the silence of the surrounding area. Nothing stirs, no fish nor bird, in this barren landscape. The surrounding waters are dead, rank with the accumulation of salts, minerals and the rotting remains of the life forms, that had been so abundant here. The sun raises, and heralds another day of relentless heat. The air-conditioning struggles in a vain, to achieve equilibrium, and the desalination plant begins…

Well here I am again with an Earth-shaking update (for those of you who don't know me well I am extremely humorous). Demeter Design is well on its way to non-profitdom. I am winging this (mostly, I am business savvy) and we will see how well (or poorly) I manage the transition. More importantly I am documenting the transition so that anyone wishing to follow the same path has a bit of a road map.  When my business partner (also my husband) and I started our environmental consulting firm we developed a business model that was essentially a non-profit (NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!) so here…

It seems that every time I open the newspaper there is something awful happening in the world, pollution being the least of our worries. But can the world stand us? Can we continue to break ecosystems with the expectation that our mitigation will be sufficient? My guess is that while the world is resilient there is little we can do to prevent our own demise. Maybe this is another case of the sky is falling but if it isn't then what do we do?Every scientist in the world, working in their tiny corner, contributing their little bit to improving our  understanding of Earth, isn't…