Year in review: Green tech - CNET News

Year in review: Green tech - CNET News

Even after an environmental disaster as big as this year's Gulf oil spill, green-technology innovation saw a patchy 2010. While advances were made in certain areas, the year has been highlighted by a growing concern that the U.S. is falling behind in the global economic race around cleaner energy.

Electric cars were all the rage. Tesla Motors had a splashy initial public offering, signed a partnership with Toyota to produce an electric RAV4, and bought the NUMMI factory in California to make its Model S electric sedan, which is due in 2012.

Read more: http://tiny.cc/6l599

Is Wi-Fi killing trees? Maybe. Maybe not | Wireless - CNET News

Is Wi-Fi killing trees? Maybe. Maybe not | Wireless - CNET News:
by Edward Moyer"
Wi-Fi may not be a tree killer after all.

Or it might be.

In any case, recent headlines about a connection between Wi-Fi signals and an increase in tree sickness were apparently not the place to look for an answer.

According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, Dutch researchers have called into question data that prompted the widespread reports that Wi-Fi signals were to blame for a jump in poor-health indicators among urban trees in the Netherlands and perhaps elsewhere.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/3a7tooq

Interesting Facts related to the Environment

• If just 25% of U.S. families used 10 fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 BILLION bags a year.

• On the average, the 140 million cars in America are estimated to travel almost 4 billion miles in a day, and according to the Department of Transportation, they use over 200 million gallons of gasoline doing it.

• Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass. Leaves alone account for 75% of our solid waste in the fall.

• Over 100 pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause birth defects, cancer, and gene mutations.

• Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil.

• About 1% of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose.

• Energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a TV set for 3 hours, and is the equivalent to half a can of gasoline.

• Glass produced from recycled glass instead of raw materials reduces related air pollution by 20%, and water pollution by 50%.

• Americans use 50 million tons of paper annually -- consuming more than 850 million trees.

• Homeowners use up to 10 times more toxic chemicals per acre than farmers.

• By turning down your central heating thermostat one degree, fuel consumption is cut by as much as 10%.

• Insulating your attic reduces the amount of energy loss in most houses by up to 20%.

• One ton of carbon dioxide that is released in the air can be prevented by replacing every 75 watt light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs.

• The human population of the world is expected to be nearly tripled by the year 2100.

• A three percent annual growth rate will result in the doubling of consumption and production of food and other products in 25 short years.  The amount of motor vehicles that are expected to be operated will increase 15 million a year until at least 2015.

• The world's per capita grain production has been on the downfall since 1985 despite the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

• Already a train system has been developed (back in 1987) which is based on magnetic levitation and causes minimal pollution. These versions of a train are already in use in several countries.

• Fibre optics, made of glass, are being used to replace copper cables throughout the world.

• The uncontrolled fishing that is allowed has reduced the amount of commercial species. Some species, up to one-tenth of their original population.

• Every day 50 to 100 species of plants and animals become extinct as their habitat and human influences destroy them.

Source : http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/facts.htm

Learn More about Environment Conservation

The Environment & Conservation (Videos/PPoints)

http://environmentvideos.blogspot.com/

This page showcases videos and PowerPoint presentations to help with teaching and learning about the environment, conservation and pollution ...




One Planet, Many People (free PowerPoints)

http://www.na.unep.net/OnePlanetManyPeople/powerpoints.html


A collection of 405 Powerpoint slides divided into Regional and Thematic sets covering 11 contemporary and dynamic themes - Introduction to the Planet, People and Planet, Atmosphere, Coastal Areas, Urban Areas, Water and Lakes, Forests, Cropland, Grassland, Tundra and Polar Areas and Extreme Events - and 6 geographical regions - Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America and Polar Regions - can now be downloaded free of charge.




Improving the environment

http://www.standards.dfee.gov.uk/schemes/geography/geo8?version=1

This is a 'long' unit. In it, children use the school buildings, grounds and immediate locality to investigate environmental issues and improvements. It encourages children to become actively involved in improving their local environment. The unit may also be shortened to a medium unit by retaining the work on litter in the classroom and omitting the work in the school grounds. Guidance on how to link the Geography Scheme of Work with other areas of the curriculum can be found in the section about Links with other areas of the curriculum. This particular unit offers links to literacy, mathematics, IT and environmental education.

Do Your Bit

We need to act. So we should start working from our homes & offices.
please add this as a signature in your mails & do your bit to save paper :

Please consider the environment and don't print this e-mail( or any other e-mail for that matter) or any attachments unless you really need. SAVE PAPER SAVE EARTH!