Environment Can Sunspots and Solar winds be the cause of Global Warming?
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- Category: Environment
Some scientists point to sunspots and solar wind as having more impact on climate change than human industrial activity?
Sunspots are storms on the sun’s surface that are marked by intense magnetic activity and play host to solar flares and hot gassy ejections from the sun’s corona. Scientists believe that the number of spots on the sun cycles over time, reaching a peak—the so-called Solar Maximum—every 11 years or so. Some studies indicate that sunspot activity overall has doubled in the last century. The apparent result down here on Earth is that the sun glows brighter by about 0.1 percent now than it did 100 years ago.
Can Goats Prevent Forest Fires ?
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- Category: Earth Talk
As wildfires consume parts of California larger than some smaller states, everyone is talking about how we can prevent such disasters from getting going in the first place. One novel approach is to enlist goats. Not as firefighters—although their surefootedness and determination would probably serve them well in such situations—but as grazers to keep the forest underbrush clear of the tinder-like grasses, bushes and small trees that allow flames to jump to the higher forest canopy and get further spread by the wind.
“Goats help prevent forest fires…by eating the dry stuff before the fire season strikes,” says Lani Malmberg, owner of Colorado-based Ewe4ic (pronounced “u-for-ik”) Ecological Services, which uses goats to gradually and naturally remove weeds and return lands to a healthier more natural state.
Recycle Your Old Mattress
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- Category: Earth Talk
- Written by owner
A typical mattress is a 23 cubic foot assembly of steel, wood, cotton and polyurethane foam. Given this wide range of materials, mattresses have typically been difficult to recycle—and still most municipal recycling facilities won’t offer to do it for you. But along with increasing public concerns about the environment—and a greater desire to recycle everything we can—has come a handful of private companies and nonprofit groups that want to make sure your old bed doesn’t end up in a landfill.
Are elephant populations stable these days?
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- Category: Earth Talk
- Written by Earth Talk
Illegal hunting (primarily to obtain ivory) and habitat loss have combined to cause dramatic declines in the numbers of both African and Asian elephants. In 1930, there were between five and 10 million wild African elephants, plying the entire African continent in large bands. Today that number is likely less than 500,000.
While Asian elephants were never as numerous as their African counterparts, their population numbers have also dropped precipitously, from an estimated 200,000 a century ago to less than 40,000 today. Conservationists fear that unless demand dries up for ivory, and people stop moving into prime elephant habitat, the world’s largest land mammal could become just a memory within another hundred years.
Power up Gambia Transforming Healthcare through Solar Energy
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- Category: Solar
- Written by Paul Blore
Whether sustainability is just a fleeting buzzword, or part of a major shift towards a new paradigm, the notion is one that permeates American society. The definition varies from person to person, as does the sincerity behind any effort to ‘go green’. Even so, we as a culture are reassessing our way of life, the steps we took to get here, and what steps to take as we continue to develop.
Greening the Future
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- Category: Solar
The smart fortwo is produced at "smartville" in Hambach, France. Protecting the environment, energy efficiency and preservation of natural resources are hallmarks of smart brand. Only water-soluble paints are used for the smart's three basic colors which are black, white and red. Painting the tridion safety cell is done by the powder-coating process. This removes the need for solvents. The body panels with molded-in color are fully recyclable. The smart fortwo is also classified as an Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) due to its extremely low exhaust emissions. The catalytic converter is positioned close to the engine for a quick response. An electric pump blows fresh air into the exhaust port when the engine is cold to almost completely oxidize the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) and render them harmless.