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Se vorbeste mult despre despre gazele cu efect de sera emise din fabrici, restaurante sau de masini, dar v-ati gandit vreodata cat dioxid de carbon emit femeile sau barbatii?
Daca nu, iata rezultatele a doua studii care demonstreaza ca barbatii emit cu 7 kilograme, intr-o zi, mai mult CO2 decat femeile, potrivit site-ului neo-planete.com.
Unul dintre studii a fost facut de Centrul Interprofesional de Studii asupra Poluarii Atmosferice, care a prezentat, de curand, rezultatele unui raport al Consiliului de strategie climatica si dezvoltare durabila.
Studiul sustine ca barbatii din Franta emit 39,3 kilograme de dioxid de carbon pe zi, in timp ce femeile nu emit decat 32,3 kilograme, ceea ce presupune o diferenta zilnica de 7 kilograme intre cele doua sexe.
Acest lucru este determinat, potrivit cercetatorilor, de diferentele semnificative de comportament sau obiceiuri ale celor 2 sexe.
Rezultatele obtinute de specialistii francezi vin sa le completeze pe cele ale unui alt studiu alcatuit in 2009 si publicat de Institutul de Cercetari suedez, FOI, ale carui rezultate au demonstrat ca in Suedia, Germania, Grecia si Norvegia, barbatii sunt mai „energofagi” si, in consecinta, mai „poluanti”.
De exemplu, barbatii mananca mai multa carne, iar consumul, in restaurante, de alcool si tutun, este cu 30% mai mare decat cel al femeilor.
Diferente semnificative se intalnesc si in cazul transportului, deoarece barbatii consuma mult mai mult pentru masina lor, in comparatie cu femeile, fie pe benzina sau pe reparatii.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Isra-Mart srl : Chicago could free of carbon emissions by 2030, architects say
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Downtown Chicago could be 100 percent free from carbon emissions by 2030, if architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill have their way.
Their plan outlines specific ways for old buildings in the Loop to become completely energy efficient. Aging office buildings, for example, would be converted to residential apartments, which tend to use energy at night and even out energy demand during the day. And that residential energy could come solely from locally generated wind power.
Existing underground tunnels would be repurposed as a cleaner waste disposal system to transfer waste in closed tubes to a central collecting point. And bike and pedestrians pathways in the city would be extended over the next 20 years.
Speaking at Northwestern University recently, Smith and Gill outlined their "Central Area Decarbonization Plan" for the Loop.
The pair said they are enthusiastic about making Chicago a more environmentally friendly city.
Smith and Gill are behind an ongoing plan to retrofit the Willis Tower, built in 1973, and make it energy-efficient. They also created a designed a plan for a future Willis Tower Hotel to operate solely on the energy saved from the Tower.
“After we did [the plan for] Willis, we saw shared energy and Chicago as a beautiful pairing,” Gill said. “So we thought about how we could take the concept city wide and said, 'let's draft a strategy'.”
Chicago has its own citywide action plan to create more energy efficient buildings and improve transportation options by 2030. But Smith and Gill, partners in Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture LLP, said theirs is the only firm that has conducted an actual study far to move forward with a decarbonization project and help the city meet its goals.
Known for designing large-scale, sustainable and energy-efficient buildings around the world, Smith and Gill are the architects of the One Dubai tower, one of the world’s largest projects ever designed.
As far as the decarbonization plan for Chicago goes, Smith and Gill completed an initial study evaluating all major buildings in the Loop. Private or city funding would be needed to carry the proposed decarbonization plans forward.
Gill said he has gotten a lot of questions about the Chicago plan and designs and he hasn’t met anyone who opposes them because they are cost effective.
“Why don’t we all drive energy efficient cars?” Gill asked. “Because no one has come up with a cost effective model. But we are making buildings that make economic sense for investors.”
Gill said his buildings almost pay for themselves, because their existing stock leverages out after energy savings are taken into account.
Two urban studies students from Northwestern who were in the audience said they remain skeptical about a carbon neutral city, however.
“I think decarbonization is a good goal,” senior Janice Levy said, “But I think their plan is not realistic because they aren’t taking into account how dense the Loop is.”
Senior Christina Blackston added that she is disappointed how many of Smith and Gill’s designs are for buildings that look identically futuristic.
“This takes away how pleasing it is to look at buildings built from different time periods,” she said. “Who would want to look at a city where every building is identical?”
Isra-Mart srl news:
Downtown Chicago could be 100 percent free from carbon emissions by 2030, if architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill have their way.
Their plan outlines specific ways for old buildings in the Loop to become completely energy efficient. Aging office buildings, for example, would be converted to residential apartments, which tend to use energy at night and even out energy demand during the day. And that residential energy could come solely from locally generated wind power.
Existing underground tunnels would be repurposed as a cleaner waste disposal system to transfer waste in closed tubes to a central collecting point. And bike and pedestrians pathways in the city would be extended over the next 20 years.
Speaking at Northwestern University recently, Smith and Gill outlined their "Central Area Decarbonization Plan" for the Loop.
The pair said they are enthusiastic about making Chicago a more environmentally friendly city.
Smith and Gill are behind an ongoing plan to retrofit the Willis Tower, built in 1973, and make it energy-efficient. They also created a designed a plan for a future Willis Tower Hotel to operate solely on the energy saved from the Tower.
“After we did [the plan for] Willis, we saw shared energy and Chicago as a beautiful pairing,” Gill said. “So we thought about how we could take the concept city wide and said, 'let's draft a strategy'.”
Chicago has its own citywide action plan to create more energy efficient buildings and improve transportation options by 2030. But Smith and Gill, partners in Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture LLP, said theirs is the only firm that has conducted an actual study far to move forward with a decarbonization project and help the city meet its goals.
Known for designing large-scale, sustainable and energy-efficient buildings around the world, Smith and Gill are the architects of the One Dubai tower, one of the world’s largest projects ever designed.
As far as the decarbonization plan for Chicago goes, Smith and Gill completed an initial study evaluating all major buildings in the Loop. Private or city funding would be needed to carry the proposed decarbonization plans forward.
Gill said he has gotten a lot of questions about the Chicago plan and designs and he hasn’t met anyone who opposes them because they are cost effective.
“Why don’t we all drive energy efficient cars?” Gill asked. “Because no one has come up with a cost effective model. But we are making buildings that make economic sense for investors.”
Gill said his buildings almost pay for themselves, because their existing stock leverages out after energy savings are taken into account.
Two urban studies students from Northwestern who were in the audience said they remain skeptical about a carbon neutral city, however.
“I think decarbonization is a good goal,” senior Janice Levy said, “But I think their plan is not realistic because they aren’t taking into account how dense the Loop is.”
Senior Christina Blackston added that she is disappointed how many of Smith and Gill’s designs are for buildings that look identically futuristic.
“This takes away how pleasing it is to look at buildings built from different time periods,” she said. “Who would want to look at a city where every building is identical?”
Isra-Mart srl : German Power for 2014 Rises as EU Carbon, Natural Gas Advance
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German power contracts for 2014 rose as European Union carbon permits and U.K. natural gas prices climbed, boosting costs for utilities.
German power for 2014 gained 0.4 percent to 60.50 euros ($88) a megawatt-hour, according to prices from brokers compiled by Bloomberg as of 9:24 a.m. Berlin time. EU emission allowances for December 2014 advanced 0.2 percent to 20.37 euros a metric ton on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London, the highest level since April 5.
U.K. gas for the six months through March 2014, the winter contract, rose 1 percent today compared with the close on April 19. It didn’t trade yesterday.
Isra-Mart srl news:
German power contracts for 2014 rose as European Union carbon permits and U.K. natural gas prices climbed, boosting costs for utilities.
German power for 2014 gained 0.4 percent to 60.50 euros ($88) a megawatt-hour, according to prices from brokers compiled by Bloomberg as of 9:24 a.m. Berlin time. EU emission allowances for December 2014 advanced 0.2 percent to 20.37 euros a metric ton on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London, the highest level since April 5.
U.K. gas for the six months through March 2014, the winter contract, rose 1 percent today compared with the close on April 19. It didn’t trade yesterday.
Isra-Mart srl : UK sees greater adoption of low carbon vehicles
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UK motorists are more receptive to buying low carbon vehicles, new transport figures show.
Statistics published by the Department for Transport reveal that last year there were 57,000 registered vehicles that emitted less than 100g/km of CO2.
This is a significant rise on the 28,549 recorded in 2009 and could be down to the fact that cars with emissions below this level can qualify for the lowest Vehicle Excise Duty.
What's more, these cleaner cars are better for the environment and can be more fuel efficient.
In total, there were 34.1 million vehicles licensed in the UK by the end of 2010, 0.5 per cent more than the year before.
The figures showed that the average CO2 emissions of new cars bought in 2010 fell to 144g/km, a four per cent drop from the year before.
Last year, the number of hybrid electric cars increased, surpassing 20,000. This is likely to rise significantly over 2011 as more electric vehicles are brought onto the market and the government's Plug-In Car Grant is offered to drivers.
Isra-Mart srl news:
UK motorists are more receptive to buying low carbon vehicles, new transport figures show.
Statistics published by the Department for Transport reveal that last year there were 57,000 registered vehicles that emitted less than 100g/km of CO2.
This is a significant rise on the 28,549 recorded in 2009 and could be down to the fact that cars with emissions below this level can qualify for the lowest Vehicle Excise Duty.
What's more, these cleaner cars are better for the environment and can be more fuel efficient.
In total, there were 34.1 million vehicles licensed in the UK by the end of 2010, 0.5 per cent more than the year before.
The figures showed that the average CO2 emissions of new cars bought in 2010 fell to 144g/km, a four per cent drop from the year before.
Last year, the number of hybrid electric cars increased, surpassing 20,000. This is likely to rise significantly over 2011 as more electric vehicles are brought onto the market and the government's Plug-In Car Grant is offered to drivers.
Isra-Mart srl : Pay to offset your carbon footprints this Earth Day
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So you want to be green, but have already installed energy-efficient light bulbs and are biking to work as often as possible. Now what?
Well, Colorado residents looking to make the state more environmentally friendly can offset their annual carbon emissions the week of Earth Day — April 18-24 — by going online.
Using a virtual calculator created by the Colorado Carbon Fund, people can tabulate their carbon footprint by plugging in estimates of their annual household, air and automobile energy consumption.
People and businesses can leave behind carbon footprints, which are estimates of how much carbon dioxide is produced to support a particular lifestyle.
And while some aspects of a carbon footprint are uncontrollable — it’s sometimes necessary that someone fly cross-country or drive to a doctor’s appointment — Colorado Carbon Fund’s Program Manager Hillary Dobos said her organization’s Earth Day campaign can help people pay to lessen the impact of those steps.
For each metric ton of carbon dioxide a person produces annually, the Colorado Carbon Fund, an arm of the state Governor’s Energy Office, recommends that $20 be donated. This money goes back to the fund that in turn heads up green projects across the state.
In October 2010, Arvada’s Apex Park and Recreation District started use of a solar thermal energy collection system atop its 168,500-square-foot recreation center on 72nd Avenue.
Warmed previously by natural gas, the recreation center will see a 30 percent reduction in its annual heating costs, Mike Miles, executive director of Apex Park and Recreation District, said in a press release.
Isra-Mart srl news:
So you want to be green, but have already installed energy-efficient light bulbs and are biking to work as often as possible. Now what?
Well, Colorado residents looking to make the state more environmentally friendly can offset their annual carbon emissions the week of Earth Day — April 18-24 — by going online.
Using a virtual calculator created by the Colorado Carbon Fund, people can tabulate their carbon footprint by plugging in estimates of their annual household, air and automobile energy consumption.
People and businesses can leave behind carbon footprints, which are estimates of how much carbon dioxide is produced to support a particular lifestyle.
And while some aspects of a carbon footprint are uncontrollable — it’s sometimes necessary that someone fly cross-country or drive to a doctor’s appointment — Colorado Carbon Fund’s Program Manager Hillary Dobos said her organization’s Earth Day campaign can help people pay to lessen the impact of those steps.
For each metric ton of carbon dioxide a person produces annually, the Colorado Carbon Fund, an arm of the state Governor’s Energy Office, recommends that $20 be donated. This money goes back to the fund that in turn heads up green projects across the state.
In October 2010, Arvada’s Apex Park and Recreation District started use of a solar thermal energy collection system atop its 168,500-square-foot recreation center on 72nd Avenue.
Warmed previously by natural gas, the recreation center will see a 30 percent reduction in its annual heating costs, Mike Miles, executive director of Apex Park and Recreation District, said in a press release.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Isra-Mart srl : EU carbon trading fully reopened
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THREE months after the European Union shut down spot trading in emission certificates following cyber thefts in several countries, the last of the bloc's national carbon registries will reopen today.
The European Commission, the EU's executive, said yesterday that Lithuania's registry — which like the other national registries manages companies' and traders' carbon accounts — will reopen this afternoon, meaning emission certificates can again be moved between accounts in all 30 states participating the EU's cap-and-trade scheme.
However, market participants say that huge problems remain in the market, where spot volumes are down more than a third since January.
The Commission on Jan 19 suspended all spot trading in emissions certificates after thieves hacked into accounts in five national registries and stole some two million allowances valued at about euro30 million. It has been readmitting registries that have upgraded their security standards over the past months.
The cyber raids revealed massive security holes in some registries and showed how the fragmentation of the carbon market made it almost impossible to track down the stolen certificates or decide who owned them after they were found.
The closure was also an embarrassing setback for the EU, which pioneered the so-called cap-and-trade system, its main tool in the fight against climate change.
The system limits the carbon dioxide emissions of power plants and big factories in the EU by issuing permits for each ton of carbon they can emit. Companies can trade these certificates, providing an incentive to cut emissions. Over time, the number of allowances will be lowered, thus cutting overall emissions in the EU.
Isra-Mart srl news:
THREE months after the European Union shut down spot trading in emission certificates following cyber thefts in several countries, the last of the bloc's national carbon registries will reopen today.
The European Commission, the EU's executive, said yesterday that Lithuania's registry — which like the other national registries manages companies' and traders' carbon accounts — will reopen this afternoon, meaning emission certificates can again be moved between accounts in all 30 states participating the EU's cap-and-trade scheme.
However, market participants say that huge problems remain in the market, where spot volumes are down more than a third since January.
The Commission on Jan 19 suspended all spot trading in emissions certificates after thieves hacked into accounts in five national registries and stole some two million allowances valued at about euro30 million. It has been readmitting registries that have upgraded their security standards over the past months.
The cyber raids revealed massive security holes in some registries and showed how the fragmentation of the carbon market made it almost impossible to track down the stolen certificates or decide who owned them after they were found.
The closure was also an embarrassing setback for the EU, which pioneered the so-called cap-and-trade system, its main tool in the fight against climate change.
The system limits the carbon dioxide emissions of power plants and big factories in the EU by issuing permits for each ton of carbon they can emit. Companies can trade these certificates, providing an incentive to cut emissions. Over time, the number of allowances will be lowered, thus cutting overall emissions in the EU.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Isra-Mart srl : Copacii din orase valoreaza milioane
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Pentru a cuantifica beneficiile aduse de copaci, atat ecosistemului cat si bugetului local, a fost realizat, anul trecut, un studiu in orasul Torbay din Marea Britanie.
Obiectivul final al acestui studiu a fost stabilirea valorii in bani a fiecarui copac si a vegetatiei urbane, precum si a eficientei copacilor privind capacitatea acestora de absorbtie a carbonului si a altor substante poluante, iar rezultatele studiului au fost facute publice anul acesta.
Metoda folosita de catre britanici are la baza un software revolutionar, numit i-Tree, care a fost dezvoltat de catre Serviciul Forestier al SUA (software-ul este gratuit) si una din cele mai importante informatii furnizate de catre acesta a fost legata de capacitatea copacilor de absorbtie a carbonului, in functie de specia din care fac parte, relateaza The Ecologist.
Astfel s-a constatat ca specii de copaci precum frasinul, platanul, fagul, stejarul, chiparosul sau alunul, au o importanta majora in cadrul ecosistemului din regiune datorita capacitatii superioare de absorbtie a materiilor poluante din atmosfera.
Folosind tehnologia i-Tree, studiul a relevat ca cei aproximativ 818 mii de arbori ai orasului Torbay reprezinta un activ in numerar in valoare de peste 300 de milioane de euro.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Pentru a cuantifica beneficiile aduse de copaci, atat ecosistemului cat si bugetului local, a fost realizat, anul trecut, un studiu in orasul Torbay din Marea Britanie.
Obiectivul final al acestui studiu a fost stabilirea valorii in bani a fiecarui copac si a vegetatiei urbane, precum si a eficientei copacilor privind capacitatea acestora de absorbtie a carbonului si a altor substante poluante, iar rezultatele studiului au fost facute publice anul acesta.
Metoda folosita de catre britanici are la baza un software revolutionar, numit i-Tree, care a fost dezvoltat de catre Serviciul Forestier al SUA (software-ul este gratuit) si una din cele mai importante informatii furnizate de catre acesta a fost legata de capacitatea copacilor de absorbtie a carbonului, in functie de specia din care fac parte, relateaza The Ecologist.
Astfel s-a constatat ca specii de copaci precum frasinul, platanul, fagul, stejarul, chiparosul sau alunul, au o importanta majora in cadrul ecosistemului din regiune datorita capacitatii superioare de absorbtie a materiilor poluante din atmosfera.
Folosind tehnologia i-Tree, studiul a relevat ca cei aproximativ 818 mii de arbori ai orasului Torbay reprezinta un activ in numerar in valoare de peste 300 de milioane de euro.
Isra-Mart srl : Preţul electricităţii s-ar putea dubla până în 2020
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Preţul energiei electrice s-ar putea dubla în 7-8 ani, fiind posibilă chiar o majorare mai mare, din cauza costurilor implicate de schemele de sprijin pentru energii regenerabile şi a eforturilor producătorilor de reducere a emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră, potrivit unei asociaţii a furnizorilor.
"Preţul ar putea creşte cu 40-60 euro în 7-8 ani, de la un nivel de 40 euro pe MWh în prezent, ca urmare a costurilor privind certificatele verzi, a bonusurilor pentru energia produsă în cogenerare şi a achiziţiei certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră", a declarat marţi preşedintele Asociaţiei Furnizorilor de Energie Electrică din România (AFEER), Ion Lungu, la o conferinţă pe teme energetice. El a adăugat că nu pot fi emise previziuni clare privind preţul energiei, dar că trebuie tras un semnal de alarmă că energia nepoluantă este scumpă.
"Cineva trebuie să plătească la capătul liniei, dar acel plătitor nu are cum să îşi dubleze bugetul pentru energie în următorii şapte ani", a declarat la rândul său, la aceeaşi conferinţă, Mihai David, membru în Consiliul de Administraţie al Hidroelectrica.
În luna aprilie Autoritatea Naţională de Reglementare în domeniul Energiei a anunţat că schema de ajutor de stat pentru energia regenerabilă, cu un buget total de 10,5 miliarde euro până în 2031, ar putea determina în acest an o creştere a preţului de producţie a electricităţii de 5-7%.
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Preţul energiei electrice s-ar putea dubla în 7-8 ani, fiind posibilă chiar o majorare mai mare, din cauza costurilor implicate de schemele de sprijin pentru energii regenerabile şi a eforturilor producătorilor de reducere a emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră, potrivit unei asociaţii a furnizorilor.
"Preţul ar putea creşte cu 40-60 euro în 7-8 ani, de la un nivel de 40 euro pe MWh în prezent, ca urmare a costurilor privind certificatele verzi, a bonusurilor pentru energia produsă în cogenerare şi a achiziţiei certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră", a declarat marţi preşedintele Asociaţiei Furnizorilor de Energie Electrică din România (AFEER), Ion Lungu, la o conferinţă pe teme energetice. El a adăugat că nu pot fi emise previziuni clare privind preţul energiei, dar că trebuie tras un semnal de alarmă că energia nepoluantă este scumpă.
"Cineva trebuie să plătească la capătul liniei, dar acel plătitor nu are cum să îşi dubleze bugetul pentru energie în următorii şapte ani", a declarat la rândul său, la aceeaşi conferinţă, Mihai David, membru în Consiliul de Administraţie al Hidroelectrica.
În luna aprilie Autoritatea Naţională de Reglementare în domeniul Energiei a anunţat că schema de ajutor de stat pentru energia regenerabilă, cu un buget total de 10,5 miliarde euro până în 2031, ar putea determina în acest an o creştere a preţului de producţie a electricităţii de 5-7%.
Isra-Mart srl : Recesiunea a dus la scaderea emisiilor de carbon in UE
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In urma recesiunii economice, emisiile de CO2 in statele Uniiunii Europene au scazut pana la un nivel record, in 2009, se afirma intr-un raport publicat in aceasta saptamana de catre Agentia Europeana de Mediu (EEA).
Emisiile de gaze cu efect de sera in Europa au scazut cu 7,2 la suta, de la 4,96 miliarde in 2008, la echivalentul de 4,6 miliarde de tone de dioxid de carbon in 2009, relateaza Reuters.
"Punctul culminant al recesiunii atins in 2009 a afectat toate sectoarele economice in UE", se arata in raportul institutiei cu sediul in Danemarca.
Scaderea de 7,2%, ceea ce reprezinta aproape la fel de mult ca emisiile anuale din Spania sau Polonia, a fost mult mai mare decat orice alt declin din 1990, cand natiunile bogate au inceput realizarea de statistici privind emisiile de CO2.
Raportul nu a semnalat insa cum au evoluat emisiile de carbon odata cu revenirea pe crestere economica in 2010 a unor tari puternic industrializate din UE. Cifrele arata ca evacuarile de CO2 in sistemul UE a crescut cu 3,5% in 2010.
In documentul EEA nu se precizeaza daca emisiile de gaze cu efect de sera vor creste in 2010, dar se subliniaza ca "recesiunea din 2009 a accelerat, temporar, tendinta descendenta a emisiilor".
Isra-Mart srl news:
In urma recesiunii economice, emisiile de CO2 in statele Uniiunii Europene au scazut pana la un nivel record, in 2009, se afirma intr-un raport publicat in aceasta saptamana de catre Agentia Europeana de Mediu (EEA).
Emisiile de gaze cu efect de sera in Europa au scazut cu 7,2 la suta, de la 4,96 miliarde in 2008, la echivalentul de 4,6 miliarde de tone de dioxid de carbon in 2009, relateaza Reuters.
"Punctul culminant al recesiunii atins in 2009 a afectat toate sectoarele economice in UE", se arata in raportul institutiei cu sediul in Danemarca.
Scaderea de 7,2%, ceea ce reprezinta aproape la fel de mult ca emisiile anuale din Spania sau Polonia, a fost mult mai mare decat orice alt declin din 1990, cand natiunile bogate au inceput realizarea de statistici privind emisiile de CO2.
Raportul nu a semnalat insa cum au evoluat emisiile de carbon odata cu revenirea pe crestere economica in 2010 a unor tari puternic industrializate din UE. Cifrele arata ca evacuarile de CO2 in sistemul UE a crescut cu 3,5% in 2010.
In documentul EEA nu se precizeaza daca emisiile de gaze cu efect de sera vor creste in 2010, dar se subliniaza ca "recesiunea din 2009 a accelerat, temporar, tendinta descendenta a emisiilor".
Isra-Mart srl : Gaura din stratul de ozon, vinovata de seceta din Australia
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Gaura din stratul de ozon reprezinta una dintre cauzele episoadelor de seceta cu care s-a confruntat in ultimul timp Australia, spun oamenii de stiinta.
Ei au conchis ca gaura de ozon a dus la o schimbare a directiei curentilor de aer si a precipitatiilor in Emisfera Sudica, chiar si la Tropice, au scris expertii in revista Science. Modelele climatice realizate de ei arata ca efectele sunt foarte puternice in Australia.
Multe zone din aceasta tara s-au confruntat in ultimii ani cu seceta, orasele au fost nevoite sa investeasca in tehnologii de desalinizare a apei, iar mai multe ferme au fost desfiintate.
Oamenii de stiinta care au realizat studiul au adaugat gaura de ozon in modelele climatice standard, pentru a vedea cum ar putea afecta curentii de aer de mare inaltime si precipitatiile. Rezultatele arata ca atat precipitatiile, cat si curentii de aer s-au deplasat spre sud.
Dar exista si diferente regionale, in special in ceea ce priveste Australia.
Schimba radical vremea
"In medie, in zona respectiva, (gaura de ozon produce - n.red.) o schimbare cu circa 10% a vremii - dar in cazul Australiei este de circa 35%", a explicat unul dintre autorii studiului, dr. Sarah Kang, pentru BBC.
Modelele climatice realizate arata si ca incalzirea globala, provocata de emisiile de gaze cu efect de sera, reprezinta un factor care sta la baza episoadelor de seceta din Australia. Insa si ciclurile climatice naturale au un rol important, in conditiile in care continentul s-a mai confruntat cu astfel de fenomene inainte de formarea gaurii de ozon si a incalzirii globale din secolul al XX-lea.
"Studiul ilustreaza un punct important, faptul ca diferite mecanisme ale schimbarii globale contribuie la impactul climatic pe care il constatam in toata lumea", a explicat profestorul Myles Allen, de la universitatea Oxford.
"Este important sa le luam in calcul pe toate, in loc sa presupunem ca impactul pe care il vedem tine doar de incalzirea globala provocata de gazele cu efect de sera", a adaugat el.
Gaura din stratul de ozon a fost provocata de reactii chimice in stratosfera. Substantele chimice implicate sunt derivate din familia clorofluorcarbonilor, care erau la un moment dat standard pentru aparatele de aer conditionat, frigidere si sprayuri.
Desi Protocolul ONU de la Montreal a permis reducerea semnificativa a emisiei acestor substante, ele persista decenii la rand in atmosfera, asa ca efectele lor sunt resimtite in continuare.
Stratul de ozon blocheaza o parte dintre razele ultraviolete ale soarelui, ce provoaca diferite boli, precum cancerul de piele.
La inceputul acestei luni, Organizatia Mondiala de Meterologie a dezvaluit ca zona arctica se confrunta cu cea mai grava subtiere a stratului de ozon inregistrata vreodata - o consecinta a conditiilor meteorologice neobisnuite. Insa, potrivit previziunilor, chiar si gaura de deasupra Antarcticii - mai severa decat cea de deasupra zonei arctice - ar urma sa se repare pana in 2045 - 2060.
Sarah Kang a avertizat, insa, ca numai acest lucru nu va fi suficient pentru a reface conditiile climatice din Australia si din restul Emisferei Sudice. "In timp ce gaura de ozon se repara, va lucra in sens invers acestei tendinte; dar exista si o crestere a nivelului dioxidului de carbon, iar acesta actioneaza in aceeasi directie ca gaura din stratul de ozon", a spus ea.
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Gaura din stratul de ozon reprezinta una dintre cauzele episoadelor de seceta cu care s-a confruntat in ultimul timp Australia, spun oamenii de stiinta.
Ei au conchis ca gaura de ozon a dus la o schimbare a directiei curentilor de aer si a precipitatiilor in Emisfera Sudica, chiar si la Tropice, au scris expertii in revista Science. Modelele climatice realizate de ei arata ca efectele sunt foarte puternice in Australia.
Multe zone din aceasta tara s-au confruntat in ultimii ani cu seceta, orasele au fost nevoite sa investeasca in tehnologii de desalinizare a apei, iar mai multe ferme au fost desfiintate.
Oamenii de stiinta care au realizat studiul au adaugat gaura de ozon in modelele climatice standard, pentru a vedea cum ar putea afecta curentii de aer de mare inaltime si precipitatiile. Rezultatele arata ca atat precipitatiile, cat si curentii de aer s-au deplasat spre sud.
Dar exista si diferente regionale, in special in ceea ce priveste Australia.
Schimba radical vremea
"In medie, in zona respectiva, (gaura de ozon produce - n.red.) o schimbare cu circa 10% a vremii - dar in cazul Australiei este de circa 35%", a explicat unul dintre autorii studiului, dr. Sarah Kang, pentru BBC.
Modelele climatice realizate arata si ca incalzirea globala, provocata de emisiile de gaze cu efect de sera, reprezinta un factor care sta la baza episoadelor de seceta din Australia. Insa si ciclurile climatice naturale au un rol important, in conditiile in care continentul s-a mai confruntat cu astfel de fenomene inainte de formarea gaurii de ozon si a incalzirii globale din secolul al XX-lea.
"Studiul ilustreaza un punct important, faptul ca diferite mecanisme ale schimbarii globale contribuie la impactul climatic pe care il constatam in toata lumea", a explicat profestorul Myles Allen, de la universitatea Oxford.
"Este important sa le luam in calcul pe toate, in loc sa presupunem ca impactul pe care il vedem tine doar de incalzirea globala provocata de gazele cu efect de sera", a adaugat el.
Gaura din stratul de ozon a fost provocata de reactii chimice in stratosfera. Substantele chimice implicate sunt derivate din familia clorofluorcarbonilor, care erau la un moment dat standard pentru aparatele de aer conditionat, frigidere si sprayuri.
Desi Protocolul ONU de la Montreal a permis reducerea semnificativa a emisiei acestor substante, ele persista decenii la rand in atmosfera, asa ca efectele lor sunt resimtite in continuare.
Stratul de ozon blocheaza o parte dintre razele ultraviolete ale soarelui, ce provoaca diferite boli, precum cancerul de piele.
La inceputul acestei luni, Organizatia Mondiala de Meterologie a dezvaluit ca zona arctica se confrunta cu cea mai grava subtiere a stratului de ozon inregistrata vreodata - o consecinta a conditiilor meteorologice neobisnuite. Insa, potrivit previziunilor, chiar si gaura de deasupra Antarcticii - mai severa decat cea de deasupra zonei arctice - ar urma sa se repare pana in 2045 - 2060.
Sarah Kang a avertizat, insa, ca numai acest lucru nu va fi suficient pentru a reface conditiile climatice din Australia si din restul Emisferei Sudice. "In timp ce gaura de ozon se repara, va lucra in sens invers acestei tendinte; dar exista si o crestere a nivelului dioxidului de carbon, iar acesta actioneaza in aceeasi directie ca gaura din stratul de ozon", a spus ea.
Isra-Mart srl :Tribunalul UE suspenda procedura in cazul plangerilor formulate de Romania impotriva CE
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Procedura in cazul celor doua plangeri depuse de statul roman impotriva CE, in 2007, la Curtea Europeana de Justitie (CEJ), este in prezent suspendata, in asteptarea rezolvarii unor cauze similare, potrivit NewsIn. Scopul Romaniei este sa conteste cotele repartizate pentru emisii de dioxid de carbon si modul lor de calculare.
Romania a contestat la sfarsitul anului 2007, la Tribunalul de Prima Instanta al Comunitatilor Europene, doua decizii ale Comisiei Europene referitoare la reducerea cotelor pentru emisiile de gaze poluante, un demers pe care l-au facut si alte state membre UE, printre care Polonia, Estonia sau Bulgaria.
Prin prima decizie a Comisiei contestata de Romania a fost redus cu 10% plafonul de emisii pentru Romania pentru anul 2007, iar prin cea de-a doua a fost redus cu 20% plafonul de emisii pentru Romania in perioada 2008-2012.
Romania a contestat si modul de calcul utilizat de CE, sustinand ca a fost unul "netransparent", modificat in 2007, care a fost aplicat doar in cazul Romaniei si Bulgariei.
Astfel, Romania a depus doua plangeri impotriva Comisiei la data de 22 decembrie 2007. Acestea au fost inregistrate de catre serviciul de grefa al Tribunalului de Prima Instanta si au primit numerele T-483/07 si T-484/07.
Departamentul pentru Afaceri Europene (DAE) a precizat, la solicitarea NewsIn, ca procedura in fata Tribunalului UE in cauzele T-483/07 si T-484/07 este suspendata pana la pronuntarea Hotararilor Curtii de Justitie a Uniunii Europene in cauzele C-504/09P si C-505/09P aflate pe rolul acesteia. Aceste din urma cauze reprezinta recursuri formulate de Comisia Europeana impotriva hotararilor pronuntate de Tribunalul UE in cauzele T-183/07, Republica Polona versus Comisia Europeana, si, respectiv T-263/07, Republica Estonia versus Comisia Europeana.
In prima instanta, Tribunalul UE de hotarat anularea deciziilor Comisiei Europene privind planurile nationale de alocare a cotelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de sera notificate de Republica Polona si respectiv de Republica Estonia, pentru perioada 2008 - 2012.
Respectivele hotarari au creat o jurisprudenta favorabila celorlalte state membre, care au introdus astfel de actiuni in anulare a deciziilor Comisiei Europene, printre care si Romania, arata DAE.
"Avand in vedere cele doua recursuri aflate pe rolul Curtii de Justitie si faptul ca prin acestea se pot invalida concluziile Tribunalului UE, acesta a decis suspendarea cauzelor similare cu care a fost sesizat, inclusiv cauzele T-483/07 si T-484/07, Romania in contradictoriu cu Comisia Europeana, pana la pronuntarea hotararilor Curtii de Justitie in cauzele C-504/09P si C-505/09P", potrivit DAE.
Romania va actiona, in continuare, in conformitate cu instructiunile Tribunalului UE cu privire la demersurile procedurale viitoare in cauzele T-483/07 si T-484/07, da asigurari DAE.
Inainte de suspendarea celor doua cauze, fusese incheiata faza scrisa a procedurii in fata Tribunalului UE, urmand sa fie organizata, daca este cazul, o faza orala.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Procedura in cazul celor doua plangeri depuse de statul roman impotriva CE, in 2007, la Curtea Europeana de Justitie (CEJ), este in prezent suspendata, in asteptarea rezolvarii unor cauze similare, potrivit NewsIn. Scopul Romaniei este sa conteste cotele repartizate pentru emisii de dioxid de carbon si modul lor de calculare.
Romania a contestat la sfarsitul anului 2007, la Tribunalul de Prima Instanta al Comunitatilor Europene, doua decizii ale Comisiei Europene referitoare la reducerea cotelor pentru emisiile de gaze poluante, un demers pe care l-au facut si alte state membre UE, printre care Polonia, Estonia sau Bulgaria.
Prin prima decizie a Comisiei contestata de Romania a fost redus cu 10% plafonul de emisii pentru Romania pentru anul 2007, iar prin cea de-a doua a fost redus cu 20% plafonul de emisii pentru Romania in perioada 2008-2012.
Romania a contestat si modul de calcul utilizat de CE, sustinand ca a fost unul "netransparent", modificat in 2007, care a fost aplicat doar in cazul Romaniei si Bulgariei.
Astfel, Romania a depus doua plangeri impotriva Comisiei la data de 22 decembrie 2007. Acestea au fost inregistrate de catre serviciul de grefa al Tribunalului de Prima Instanta si au primit numerele T-483/07 si T-484/07.
Departamentul pentru Afaceri Europene (DAE) a precizat, la solicitarea NewsIn, ca procedura in fata Tribunalului UE in cauzele T-483/07 si T-484/07 este suspendata pana la pronuntarea Hotararilor Curtii de Justitie a Uniunii Europene in cauzele C-504/09P si C-505/09P aflate pe rolul acesteia. Aceste din urma cauze reprezinta recursuri formulate de Comisia Europeana impotriva hotararilor pronuntate de Tribunalul UE in cauzele T-183/07, Republica Polona versus Comisia Europeana, si, respectiv T-263/07, Republica Estonia versus Comisia Europeana.
In prima instanta, Tribunalul UE de hotarat anularea deciziilor Comisiei Europene privind planurile nationale de alocare a cotelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de sera notificate de Republica Polona si respectiv de Republica Estonia, pentru perioada 2008 - 2012.
Respectivele hotarari au creat o jurisprudenta favorabila celorlalte state membre, care au introdus astfel de actiuni in anulare a deciziilor Comisiei Europene, printre care si Romania, arata DAE.
"Avand in vedere cele doua recursuri aflate pe rolul Curtii de Justitie si faptul ca prin acestea se pot invalida concluziile Tribunalului UE, acesta a decis suspendarea cauzelor similare cu care a fost sesizat, inclusiv cauzele T-483/07 si T-484/07, Romania in contradictoriu cu Comisia Europeana, pana la pronuntarea hotararilor Curtii de Justitie in cauzele C-504/09P si C-505/09P", potrivit DAE.
Romania va actiona, in continuare, in conformitate cu instructiunile Tribunalului UE cu privire la demersurile procedurale viitoare in cauzele T-483/07 si T-484/07, da asigurari DAE.
Inainte de suspendarea celor doua cauze, fusese incheiata faza scrisa a procedurii in fata Tribunalului UE, urmand sa fie organizata, daca este cazul, o faza orala.
Isra-Mart srl : Peste 38.100 de utilizatori ai bicicletelor ”I’Velo” in tara, in doar cateva saptamani de la lansarea proiectului
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Bicicletele ”I’Velo” din tara au fost inchiriate, pana azi, de peste 38.100 de ori, de la lansarea editiei din 2011 a proiectului, la sfarsitul lunii martie. Doar luni bicicletele s-au inchiriat de peste 1.600 de ori, iar in ultima saptamana, centrele de bike-sharing din intreaga tara au inregistrat peste 17.400 de inchirieri.
Bicicletele pot fi inchiriate si online
Raiffeisen Bank si Asociatia Green Revolution au lansat recent www.i-velo.ro, pagina de internet a celui mai mare program de bike-sharing din Romania - I Love Velo. Pe site, pasionatii de ciclism pot rezerva biciclete pe care le pot folosi exclusiv pe o perioada de pana la doua zile.
,,Vrem sa ii incurajam pe oameni sa foloseasca bicicleta in loc de masina. Acest lucru inseamna inclusiv ca bicicleta nu este doar mijloc de agrement, in week-end ci chiar mijloc de transport la si de la serviciu. Prin inchirierea pe internet, ai la dispozitie bicicleta mai mult timp. Tentatia de a o folosi si in afara parcului va fi cu atat mai mare”, a declarat Corina Vasile, director Comunicare Raiffeisen Bank.
,,Site-ul www.i-velo.ro are tripla functionalitate. In primul rand, este cartea noastra de vizita, a proiectului si a partenerilor nostri. In al doilea rand, este locul in care iubitorii de biciclete si utilizatoriii nostri, in special, pot gasi informatiile de care au nevoie, pot gasi comunitatea cu care se identifica. In al treilea rand, site-ul aduce o gama noua de servicii , cel mai important fiind sistemul de rezervari online”, a explicat Raluca Fiser, presedinte Green Revolution.
Sistemul de rezervari online functioneaza incepand din 19 aprilie pentru centrul H2 din Bucuresti (zona Expoflora, parcul Herastrau). Urmeaza centrele H1, Tineretului si Izvor din Capitala, si centrele din Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi si Constanta.
Utilizatorii pot rezerva din orice centru 1-4 biciclete pe o perioada maxima de doua zile. Taxa pentru o ora de pedalat I’Velo este 3 lei/bicicleta iar pentru o zi, 15 lei/bicicleta. ,,In felul acesta utilizatorii I’Velo ne pot ajuta sa sustinem dezvoltarea proiectului I’Velo atat in orasele in care suntem prezenti cat si in alte orase din tara”, a adaugat Raluca Fiser.
“I Love Velo” este cel mai important program de bike-sharing gratuit din Romania, desfasurat sub patronajul Ministerului Mediului si Padurilor, in parteneriat cu Primariile Bucuresti, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Constanta si Administratia Lacuri, Parcuri si Agrement Bucuresti.
Actualul sezon este deschis din martie pana in noiembrie 2011, in fiecare zi, de la 10 la 20 si are un parc de biciclete de 1.100 unitati. Centrele I Love Velo pot fi gasite in Bucuresti - parcul Herastrau, Tineretului si Izvor, Cluj Napoca - Sala Sporturilor, Iasi - zona Rapa Galbena, Brasov – b-dul Eroilor/Primaria Municipiului Brasov, Constanta - Parcul Tabacariei.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Bicicletele ”I’Velo” din tara au fost inchiriate, pana azi, de peste 38.100 de ori, de la lansarea editiei din 2011 a proiectului, la sfarsitul lunii martie. Doar luni bicicletele s-au inchiriat de peste 1.600 de ori, iar in ultima saptamana, centrele de bike-sharing din intreaga tara au inregistrat peste 17.400 de inchirieri.
Bicicletele pot fi inchiriate si online
Raiffeisen Bank si Asociatia Green Revolution au lansat recent www.i-velo.ro, pagina de internet a celui mai mare program de bike-sharing din Romania - I Love Velo. Pe site, pasionatii de ciclism pot rezerva biciclete pe care le pot folosi exclusiv pe o perioada de pana la doua zile.
,,Vrem sa ii incurajam pe oameni sa foloseasca bicicleta in loc de masina. Acest lucru inseamna inclusiv ca bicicleta nu este doar mijloc de agrement, in week-end ci chiar mijloc de transport la si de la serviciu. Prin inchirierea pe internet, ai la dispozitie bicicleta mai mult timp. Tentatia de a o folosi si in afara parcului va fi cu atat mai mare”, a declarat Corina Vasile, director Comunicare Raiffeisen Bank.
,,Site-ul www.i-velo.ro are tripla functionalitate. In primul rand, este cartea noastra de vizita, a proiectului si a partenerilor nostri. In al doilea rand, este locul in care iubitorii de biciclete si utilizatoriii nostri, in special, pot gasi informatiile de care au nevoie, pot gasi comunitatea cu care se identifica. In al treilea rand, site-ul aduce o gama noua de servicii , cel mai important fiind sistemul de rezervari online”, a explicat Raluca Fiser, presedinte Green Revolution.
Sistemul de rezervari online functioneaza incepand din 19 aprilie pentru centrul H2 din Bucuresti (zona Expoflora, parcul Herastrau). Urmeaza centrele H1, Tineretului si Izvor din Capitala, si centrele din Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi si Constanta.
Utilizatorii pot rezerva din orice centru 1-4 biciclete pe o perioada maxima de doua zile. Taxa pentru o ora de pedalat I’Velo este 3 lei/bicicleta iar pentru o zi, 15 lei/bicicleta. ,,In felul acesta utilizatorii I’Velo ne pot ajuta sa sustinem dezvoltarea proiectului I’Velo atat in orasele in care suntem prezenti cat si in alte orase din tara”, a adaugat Raluca Fiser.
“I Love Velo” este cel mai important program de bike-sharing gratuit din Romania, desfasurat sub patronajul Ministerului Mediului si Padurilor, in parteneriat cu Primariile Bucuresti, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Constanta si Administratia Lacuri, Parcuri si Agrement Bucuresti.
Actualul sezon este deschis din martie pana in noiembrie 2011, in fiecare zi, de la 10 la 20 si are un parc de biciclete de 1.100 unitati. Centrele I Love Velo pot fi gasite in Bucuresti - parcul Herastrau, Tineretului si Izvor, Cluj Napoca - Sala Sporturilor, Iasi - zona Rapa Galbena, Brasov – b-dul Eroilor/Primaria Municipiului Brasov, Constanta - Parcul Tabacariei.
Isra-Mart srl : Angajatii unor companii britanice, rasplatiti cu prime daca recicleaza si economisesc energia
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Cei care lucreaza la o companie britanica si vin la birou cu masina, uita sa-si inchida computerele si nu isi recicleaza materialele de la munca, vor pierde primele salariale care fac parte dintr-o schema menita a reduce amprenta lor de carbon.
Veolia este o companie din Marea Britanie care se ocupa chiar cu reciclarea si are mii de angajati. Conducerea acesteia a pus in practica ambitiosul plan eco, impreuna cu trei importanti operatori de telefonie mobila si Scoala de Afaceri Ashridge.
Un program de calculator denumit Sustainability Momentum (sau Sumo) este instalat pe computerul fiecarui angajat, astfel incat compania poate monitoriza daca angajatii sai urmeaza procedurile de economisire a energiei, scrie The Telegraph. Fiecare echipa este incurajata sa ofere informatii referitoare la cantitatea de materiale reciclate si daca isi inchid computerele si luminile atunci cand pleaca de la birou.
Si, la sfarsitul anului, informatiile vor fi centralizate pentru a calcula primele anuale ale angajatilor. Masura are ca scop reducerea amprentei de carbon a companiilor.
"Oricine foloseste Sumo trebuie sa nu uite ca practicile risipitoare de la munca sunt un lux pe care afacerile nu si-l pot permite", a declarat Peter Grant, CEO la Cloud-Apps, compania care a dezvoltat programul Sumo. El a precizat ca angajatii vor putea vedea in timp real cata energie folosesc, cu ajutorul acestui software.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Cei care lucreaza la o companie britanica si vin la birou cu masina, uita sa-si inchida computerele si nu isi recicleaza materialele de la munca, vor pierde primele salariale care fac parte dintr-o schema menita a reduce amprenta lor de carbon.
Veolia este o companie din Marea Britanie care se ocupa chiar cu reciclarea si are mii de angajati. Conducerea acesteia a pus in practica ambitiosul plan eco, impreuna cu trei importanti operatori de telefonie mobila si Scoala de Afaceri Ashridge.
Un program de calculator denumit Sustainability Momentum (sau Sumo) este instalat pe computerul fiecarui angajat, astfel incat compania poate monitoriza daca angajatii sai urmeaza procedurile de economisire a energiei, scrie The Telegraph. Fiecare echipa este incurajata sa ofere informatii referitoare la cantitatea de materiale reciclate si daca isi inchid computerele si luminile atunci cand pleaca de la birou.
Si, la sfarsitul anului, informatiile vor fi centralizate pentru a calcula primele anuale ale angajatilor. Masura are ca scop reducerea amprentei de carbon a companiilor.
"Oricine foloseste Sumo trebuie sa nu uite ca practicile risipitoare de la munca sunt un lux pe care afacerile nu si-l pot permite", a declarat Peter Grant, CEO la Cloud-Apps, compania care a dezvoltat programul Sumo. El a precizat ca angajatii vor putea vedea in timp real cata energie folosesc, cu ajutorul acestui software.
Isra-Mart srl : Mancam plastic fara voia noastra? Cum sa evitam acest lucru
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Isra-Mart srl news:
Plasticul este inseparabil de mancarea noastra; hrana este procesata in containere de plastic, transportata, depozitata si chiar incalzita sau servita in recipiente facute din acelasi material. Studiile recente arata ca acest fapt iti poate da motive de ingrijorare.
Procesul prin care particule mici de material intra din recipiente in mancare se numeste "scurgere". Aproape in cazul tuturor recipientelor din plastic se intampla acest lucru, fiind recunoscut si de industria chimica, dar cantitatea variaza si este considerata inofensiva de catre marii producatori, dupa cum arata ApolloLife .
Scurgerea este mai accentuata in cazul in care plasticul este incalzit sau atinge grasimi, mancare sarata sau mai acida.
Doua dintre substantele continute de plastic reprezinta un risc real pentru sanatate, acestea fiind bisfenolul si ftalatii.
Bisfenolul A (BPA)
Bisfenolul este intalnit in multe dintre produsele confectionate din plastic pe care le folosim in mod frecvent. Acesta este un perturbator endocrin, ceea ce inseamna ca are capacitatea de a interfera cu buna functionare a hormonilor, in special cu estrogenul. Acest lucru poate duce la probleme de reproducere.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Plasticul este inseparabil de mancarea noastra; hrana este procesata in containere de plastic, transportata, depozitata si chiar incalzita sau servita in recipiente facute din acelasi material. Studiile recente arata ca acest fapt iti poate da motive de ingrijorare.
Procesul prin care particule mici de material intra din recipiente in mancare se numeste "scurgere". Aproape in cazul tuturor recipientelor din plastic se intampla acest lucru, fiind recunoscut si de industria chimica, dar cantitatea variaza si este considerata inofensiva de catre marii producatori, dupa cum arata ApolloLife .
Scurgerea este mai accentuata in cazul in care plasticul este incalzit sau atinge grasimi, mancare sarata sau mai acida.
Doua dintre substantele continute de plastic reprezinta un risc real pentru sanatate, acestea fiind bisfenolul si ftalatii.
Bisfenolul A (BPA)
Bisfenolul este intalnit in multe dintre produsele confectionate din plastic pe care le folosim in mod frecvent. Acesta este un perturbator endocrin, ceea ce inseamna ca are capacitatea de a interfera cu buna functionare a hormonilor, in special cu estrogenul. Acest lucru poate duce la probleme de reproducere.
Isra-Mart srl : Conservarea dunelor de nisip din Spania, afectata de parcarile auto si infrastructura defectuoasa
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Isra-Mart srl news:
Ecosistemul dunelor de nisip este unul mai neobisnuit, fragil si protejat de directiva internationala Natura 2000. Insa conservarea sa este foarte vulnerabila din cauza extinderii parcurilor auto, a cladirilor din apropiere si a barierelor de protectie instalate pentru accesul pe plaje.
Cercetatorii de la Universitatea din Sevilla (UoS) au facut public un studiu al impactului uman asupra dunelor de nisip din doua zone situate in Golful Cadiz, in special din ariile protejate ale litoralului La Flecha din El Rompido si Enebrales din Punta Umbria, ambele aflate in provincia Huelva, relateaza Science Daily. Expertii au aratat ca ambele sisteme de dune de nisip sunt expuse presiunilor umane.
"Studiul nostru a incercat sa identifice factorii care influenteaza vulnerabilitatea dunelor. Pe de o parte, aceste ecosisteme sunt expuse fenomenelor naturale precum furtunile, insa observam de asemenea si ca impactul uman are consecinte negative chiar si in zonele greu accesibile", a explicat Sara Muñoz Vallés, autorul principal al studiului si cercetator la UoS.
"In special parcarile auto construite in zona dunelor de nisip, designul defectuos al zonelor de acces si controlul slab al turistilor au contribuit la aceste vulnerabilitati", a precizat cercetatorul.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Ecosistemul dunelor de nisip este unul mai neobisnuit, fragil si protejat de directiva internationala Natura 2000. Insa conservarea sa este foarte vulnerabila din cauza extinderii parcurilor auto, a cladirilor din apropiere si a barierelor de protectie instalate pentru accesul pe plaje.
Cercetatorii de la Universitatea din Sevilla (UoS) au facut public un studiu al impactului uman asupra dunelor de nisip din doua zone situate in Golful Cadiz, in special din ariile protejate ale litoralului La Flecha din El Rompido si Enebrales din Punta Umbria, ambele aflate in provincia Huelva, relateaza Science Daily. Expertii au aratat ca ambele sisteme de dune de nisip sunt expuse presiunilor umane.
"Studiul nostru a incercat sa identifice factorii care influenteaza vulnerabilitatea dunelor. Pe de o parte, aceste ecosisteme sunt expuse fenomenelor naturale precum furtunile, insa observam de asemenea si ca impactul uman are consecinte negative chiar si in zonele greu accesibile", a explicat Sara Muñoz Vallés, autorul principal al studiului si cercetator la UoS.
"In special parcarile auto construite in zona dunelor de nisip, designul defectuos al zonelor de acces si controlul slab al turistilor au contribuit la aceste vulnerabilitati", a precizat cercetatorul.
Isra-Mart srl : Europe Ends Three-Month Curbs on Carbon Registries After Hacking Thefts
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Isra-Mart srl news:
The European Union allowed the Lithuanian carbon registry to reopen tomorrow, bringing back to normal all emission registries in its cap-and-trade system after a string of thefts triggered three months of restrictions.
The European Commission, the EU regulatory arm, closed the registries that track the ownership of emission permits on Jan. 19 after thieves stole more than 2 million permits valued at about 34 million euros ($49 million) at today’s prices. The national carbon trackers were required to demonstrate that their systems were secure from hacking attacks before getting permission to reopen.
“Tightening the security of the registries system has been the top priority,” EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in a statement in Brussels today. “All registries are now up and running with enhanced security measures in place.”
The closure of registries in January drove spot carbon markets to a halt for 15 days before the first centers were allowed to reopen. The European emissions trading program, known as the ETS, includes 27 EU nations as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The registry in Iceland is not yet active.
EU permits for delivery in December rose 1 percent to 16.84 euros as of 5 p.m. on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. They have gained 18 percent so far this year.
Damaged Reputation
Even though the allowances stolen in January accounted for only 0.1 percent of the European Union average annual cap in the 2008-2012 trading period, the attacks hurt the reputation of the ETS and sparked criticism from some analysts that the supervision of the system is not adequate.
The thefts followed instances of “carousel fraud” involving value-added tax collection and password “phishing” in previous years. Jos Delbeke, director general for climate at the commission, said on Jan. 28 that some member states and firms neglected security rules and national authorities are working with Europol to catch the fraudsters.
While the countries attacked by hackers in January managed to locate some of the missing permits, legal questions about how to prevent recirculation of the stolen allowances are keeping investors at bay from spot trading. The recovery of any allowances transferred illegally has not been harmonized in the 27-nation bloc and is a matter for national law and local enforcement authorities.
Know Your Customer
The commission and national registries would immediately boost confidence in the market by isolating stolen allowances, installing a mandatory four-hour delay for every transaction and requiring strict “know-your-customer” tests for all traders, said Simone Ruiz, European policy director at the International Emissions Trading Association.
IETA urged yesterday that EU nations and the commission ensure that the arrangements for the next phase of the ETS from 2013 “stop any recurrence of these unnecessary and frankly embarrassing problems.” It also renewed calls on the commission to reveal more information about the minimum security measures that national registries had to implement, requests that the EU has said could mean “educating the gangsters.”
The ETS imposes pollution limits on more than 11,000 companies including Germany’s biggest steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG and Italy’s biggest utility Enel SpA, allowing those that emit less than their quota to sell surplus permits. One permit gives the right to discharge one ton of CO2. EU-wide solutions would require backing from member states.
Improving Security
The commission has already demanded that national registries implement additional identification checks and is now drafting regulatory changes that may be presented as soon as this or next month. The EU is also examining improved oversight rules for spot carbon trading.
“We are working on a set of measures to further improve security on all fronts such as a delivery delay mechanism, improved management of registry accounts and detection and quick response mechanisms,” Hedegaard said. “With these measures and a more unified approach for the third phase of the ETS due to start in 2013, we have definitely strengthened the integrity of the European carbon market.”
Isra-Mart srl news:
The European Union allowed the Lithuanian carbon registry to reopen tomorrow, bringing back to normal all emission registries in its cap-and-trade system after a string of thefts triggered three months of restrictions.
The European Commission, the EU regulatory arm, closed the registries that track the ownership of emission permits on Jan. 19 after thieves stole more than 2 million permits valued at about 34 million euros ($49 million) at today’s prices. The national carbon trackers were required to demonstrate that their systems were secure from hacking attacks before getting permission to reopen.
“Tightening the security of the registries system has been the top priority,” EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in a statement in Brussels today. “All registries are now up and running with enhanced security measures in place.”
The closure of registries in January drove spot carbon markets to a halt for 15 days before the first centers were allowed to reopen. The European emissions trading program, known as the ETS, includes 27 EU nations as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The registry in Iceland is not yet active.
EU permits for delivery in December rose 1 percent to 16.84 euros as of 5 p.m. on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. They have gained 18 percent so far this year.
Damaged Reputation
Even though the allowances stolen in January accounted for only 0.1 percent of the European Union average annual cap in the 2008-2012 trading period, the attacks hurt the reputation of the ETS and sparked criticism from some analysts that the supervision of the system is not adequate.
The thefts followed instances of “carousel fraud” involving value-added tax collection and password “phishing” in previous years. Jos Delbeke, director general for climate at the commission, said on Jan. 28 that some member states and firms neglected security rules and national authorities are working with Europol to catch the fraudsters.
While the countries attacked by hackers in January managed to locate some of the missing permits, legal questions about how to prevent recirculation of the stolen allowances are keeping investors at bay from spot trading. The recovery of any allowances transferred illegally has not been harmonized in the 27-nation bloc and is a matter for national law and local enforcement authorities.
Know Your Customer
The commission and national registries would immediately boost confidence in the market by isolating stolen allowances, installing a mandatory four-hour delay for every transaction and requiring strict “know-your-customer” tests for all traders, said Simone Ruiz, European policy director at the International Emissions Trading Association.
IETA urged yesterday that EU nations and the commission ensure that the arrangements for the next phase of the ETS from 2013 “stop any recurrence of these unnecessary and frankly embarrassing problems.” It also renewed calls on the commission to reveal more information about the minimum security measures that national registries had to implement, requests that the EU has said could mean “educating the gangsters.”
The ETS imposes pollution limits on more than 11,000 companies including Germany’s biggest steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG and Italy’s biggest utility Enel SpA, allowing those that emit less than their quota to sell surplus permits. One permit gives the right to discharge one ton of CO2. EU-wide solutions would require backing from member states.
Improving Security
The commission has already demanded that national registries implement additional identification checks and is now drafting regulatory changes that may be presented as soon as this or next month. The EU is also examining improved oversight rules for spot carbon trading.
“We are working on a set of measures to further improve security on all fronts such as a delivery delay mechanism, improved management of registry accounts and detection and quick response mechanisms,” Hedegaard said. “With these measures and a more unified approach for the third phase of the ETS due to start in 2013, we have definitely strengthened the integrity of the European carbon market.”
Isra-Mart srl :Construction industry 'working towards low-carbon projects'
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Isra-Mart srl news:
The construction industry appears to be working towards low-carbon projects, which could have an impact on commercial property developments in the future.
Director of practice standards and technical guidance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) Gary Strong noted that the body has a pivotal role to play in backing the sector in its bid to meet the challenges posed by the low-carbon agenda.
He added that the Rics has been working with companies to gain an understanding of carbon measurement, as well as addressing the concerns surrounding costs and the provision of data.
Discussing the Low Carbon Construction Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) report, Mr Strong observed: "Rics is keen to make sure that consumers accessing the scheme are receiving effective and independent advice about the most appropriate measures for their homes."
Published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, the IGT paper emphasises that the government must concentrate on small business opportunities, which could drive property development.
Isra-Mart srl news:
The construction industry appears to be working towards low-carbon projects, which could have an impact on commercial property developments in the future.
Director of practice standards and technical guidance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) Gary Strong noted that the body has a pivotal role to play in backing the sector in its bid to meet the challenges posed by the low-carbon agenda.
He added that the Rics has been working with companies to gain an understanding of carbon measurement, as well as addressing the concerns surrounding costs and the provision of data.
Discussing the Low Carbon Construction Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) report, Mr Strong observed: "Rics is keen to make sure that consumers accessing the scheme are receiving effective and independent advice about the most appropriate measures for their homes."
Published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, the IGT paper emphasises that the government must concentrate on small business opportunities, which could drive property development.
Isra-Mart srl: School District No. 33 reducing its carbon footprint
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Isra-Mart srl news:
The Chilliwack school district's carbon footprint is shrinking, but it will still pay for carbon offsets this year.
According to a recently completed Carbon Neutral Action Report (CNAR), the district's gas bills and hydro bills dropped by $102,053 and $150,113, respectively, from 2009 to 2010.
While the improvement in natural gas consumption is most likely the result of mild weather, according to district energy manager George Pede, who prepared the report, the drop in hydro consumption is a promising sign.
"That's good," he said. "We're reducing our usage, which also reduces our carbon offsets, and overall we're looking pretty good."
The district is required to complete a CNAR for the 2010 calendar year by the end of this month as part of the province's Greenhouse Reduction Targets Act and the Carbon Neutral Government Regulations.
According to the act, this is the first year school districts (and other government and public institutions) will be on the hook for carbon offset payments if they didn't achieve carbon neutrality in 2010.
Despite the drop in utility usage, the Chilliwack district did not reach carbon neutrality last year, but its carbon offset costs, calculated by Pede to be about $19,000 are also much lower than the $52,000 projected last spring.
"That's really quite good when you think about the amount of carbon tax and materials that we use on a day-to-day basis," said Pede.
Isra-Mart srl news:
The Chilliwack school district's carbon footprint is shrinking, but it will still pay for carbon offsets this year.
According to a recently completed Carbon Neutral Action Report (CNAR), the district's gas bills and hydro bills dropped by $102,053 and $150,113, respectively, from 2009 to 2010.
While the improvement in natural gas consumption is most likely the result of mild weather, according to district energy manager George Pede, who prepared the report, the drop in hydro consumption is a promising sign.
"That's good," he said. "We're reducing our usage, which also reduces our carbon offsets, and overall we're looking pretty good."
The district is required to complete a CNAR for the 2010 calendar year by the end of this month as part of the province's Greenhouse Reduction Targets Act and the Carbon Neutral Government Regulations.
According to the act, this is the first year school districts (and other government and public institutions) will be on the hook for carbon offset payments if they didn't achieve carbon neutrality in 2010.
Despite the drop in utility usage, the Chilliwack district did not reach carbon neutrality last year, but its carbon offset costs, calculated by Pede to be about $19,000 are also much lower than the $52,000 projected last spring.
"That's really quite good when you think about the amount of carbon tax and materials that we use on a day-to-day basis," said Pede.
Isra-Mart srl :Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence commences operations
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Isra-Mart srl news:
DCCE unveils board of directors to drive economic reduction of carbon emissions in Dubai
Dubai, UAE, 19 April 2011: The Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE) announced today at Dubai Global Energy Forum 2011, that it has now commenced operations and introduced its portfolio of board members. Under the directive of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, the DCCE was launched in 2011 through an agreement between the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Waleed Salman is Chairman of DCCE, with a highly-qualified and experienced board of directors drawn from Dubai Electricity and Water AuthorityDubai Electricity and Water AuthorityLoading... (DEWADEWALoading...), ENOCENOC
Emirates National Oil Company
ENOC
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, DUBALDUBALLoading... and Istidama: Wahdah Al Ghanim, Abdulmunim bin Brek and Ivano Ianelli. DCCE will focus on opportunities created by global carbon-emission reduction projects, while simultaneously working to stimulate a carbon-efficient economy in Dubai by developing carbon incentives for the Emirate's society, businesses and the public sector.
Waleed Salman, Chairman of the DCCE, said, "The most effective means of reducing carbon emissions today is, quite simply, economics. By treating carbon emissions reduction as an economic opportunity, the DCCE aims to act as a catalyst for carbon reduction amongst organisations in Dubai and support government entities in improving their environmental efficiency in the Emirate. As such, we aim to promote the development and competitiveness of Dubai's carbon credit strategies in ways that can result in sustainable environmental and economic gains."
Commenting on this partnership, Dr. Elissar Sarrouh, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in the UAE said, "UNDP and the Dubai Supreme Energy Council share the same objectives, assisting Dubai in sustaining its development through integrating climate change strategies and becoming the lowest-carbon economy in the region. The Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE) will make this vision come to life and we are very proud to be part of this partnership."�
"We are confident that, by the end of the project, DCCE will establish itself as a regional centre of excellence, offering its expertise in carbon finance and sustainable energy to stakeholders in the Middle East region, and across the globe," she added.
"We are now actively increasing the capacity of our operations. Along with another initiatives, we are looking to implement Emiratisation as a core means of building awareness of the importance of carbon reduction within our nation's perspective. We are looking to the new generation of UAE Nationals with greater interest and involvement in creating a sustainable environment and society to make a positive contribution to our society," added Salman.
The Centre was formed as a Public-Private Partnership, between DEWADEWALoading..., DUBALDUBALLoading..., ENOCENOC
Emirates National Oil Company
ENOC
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and Istidama, to fast-track project development in the last years of the Kyoto protocol. DCCE is the first centre of its kind in the region and aims to leverage the Emirate's carbon potential through the Clean Development Mechanism and other carbon-emission best practices. The DCCE represents a key component of the Supreme Council's efforts to develop a sustainable-energy economy for Dubai.
The DCCE plans to offset five million tonnes of carbon annually, by selling carbon credits on the international market. DEWADEWALoading..., DUBALDUBALLoading..., and ENOCENOC
Emirates National Oil Company
ENOC
UAE | Oil and Gas
News | Profile | Officers
» Research
are considering carbon-emission reduction quotas as part of a joint voluntary initiative. This has the potential to generate carbon credits, which can be sold to international markets. Carbon credits can be generated on any project, not just industrial projects. The DCCE will provide support and assistance to any entity that wants to learn more about carbon reduction and monetise their carbon-reduction programs.
According to the DCCE, the UAE currently hosts four registered Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and five are undergoing validation. Of the nine advanced CDM projects hosted in UAE, a biogas steam generation project at a papermill is situated in Dubai. The DCCE aims to have 5 million CERs by 2015 and twice as much by 2020, with an annual incremental value of one million tons from current projects.
With the Kyoto Protocol reaching its conclusion in 2012, the DCCE takes the view that there are well known short-positions ripe for development within the Middle East. An example of this is the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), which will affect the aviation industry globally from 1 January 2012 onwards. In the European aviation sector alone, Aviation Allowances are expected to face a gap between the 18 M-tCO2 emissions to all inbound and outbound flights to the EU and the available 15 M-tCO2 available for auction.
Isra-Mart srl news:
DCCE unveils board of directors to drive economic reduction of carbon emissions in Dubai
Dubai, UAE, 19 April 2011: The Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE) announced today at Dubai Global Energy Forum 2011, that it has now commenced operations and introduced its portfolio of board members. Under the directive of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, the DCCE was launched in 2011 through an agreement between the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Waleed Salman is Chairman of DCCE, with a highly-qualified and experienced board of directors drawn from Dubai Electricity and Water AuthorityDubai Electricity and Water AuthorityLoading... (DEWADEWALoading...), ENOCENOC
Emirates National Oil Company
ENOC
UAE | Oil and Gas
News | Profile | Officers
» Research
, DUBALDUBALLoading... and Istidama: Wahdah Al Ghanim, Abdulmunim bin Brek and Ivano Ianelli. DCCE will focus on opportunities created by global carbon-emission reduction projects, while simultaneously working to stimulate a carbon-efficient economy in Dubai by developing carbon incentives for the Emirate's society, businesses and the public sector.
Waleed Salman, Chairman of the DCCE, said, "The most effective means of reducing carbon emissions today is, quite simply, economics. By treating carbon emissions reduction as an economic opportunity, the DCCE aims to act as a catalyst for carbon reduction amongst organisations in Dubai and support government entities in improving their environmental efficiency in the Emirate. As such, we aim to promote the development and competitiveness of Dubai's carbon credit strategies in ways that can result in sustainable environmental and economic gains."
Commenting on this partnership, Dr. Elissar Sarrouh, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in the UAE said, "UNDP and the Dubai Supreme Energy Council share the same objectives, assisting Dubai in sustaining its development through integrating climate change strategies and becoming the lowest-carbon economy in the region. The Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE) will make this vision come to life and we are very proud to be part of this partnership."�
"We are confident that, by the end of the project, DCCE will establish itself as a regional centre of excellence, offering its expertise in carbon finance and sustainable energy to stakeholders in the Middle East region, and across the globe," she added.
"We are now actively increasing the capacity of our operations. Along with another initiatives, we are looking to implement Emiratisation as a core means of building awareness of the importance of carbon reduction within our nation's perspective. We are looking to the new generation of UAE Nationals with greater interest and involvement in creating a sustainable environment and society to make a positive contribution to our society," added Salman.
The Centre was formed as a Public-Private Partnership, between DEWADEWALoading..., DUBALDUBALLoading..., ENOCENOC
Emirates National Oil Company
ENOC
UAE | Oil and Gas
News | Profile | Officers
» Research
and Istidama, to fast-track project development in the last years of the Kyoto protocol. DCCE is the first centre of its kind in the region and aims to leverage the Emirate's carbon potential through the Clean Development Mechanism and other carbon-emission best practices. The DCCE represents a key component of the Supreme Council's efforts to develop a sustainable-energy economy for Dubai.
The DCCE plans to offset five million tonnes of carbon annually, by selling carbon credits on the international market. DEWADEWALoading..., DUBALDUBALLoading..., and ENOCENOC
Emirates National Oil Company
ENOC
UAE | Oil and Gas
News | Profile | Officers
» Research
are considering carbon-emission reduction quotas as part of a joint voluntary initiative. This has the potential to generate carbon credits, which can be sold to international markets. Carbon credits can be generated on any project, not just industrial projects. The DCCE will provide support and assistance to any entity that wants to learn more about carbon reduction and monetise their carbon-reduction programs.
According to the DCCE, the UAE currently hosts four registered Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and five are undergoing validation. Of the nine advanced CDM projects hosted in UAE, a biogas steam generation project at a papermill is situated in Dubai. The DCCE aims to have 5 million CERs by 2015 and twice as much by 2020, with an annual incremental value of one million tons from current projects.
With the Kyoto Protocol reaching its conclusion in 2012, the DCCE takes the view that there are well known short-positions ripe for development within the Middle East. An example of this is the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), which will affect the aviation industry globally from 1 January 2012 onwards. In the European aviation sector alone, Aviation Allowances are expected to face a gap between the 18 M-tCO2 emissions to all inbound and outbound flights to the EU and the available 15 M-tCO2 available for auction.
Isra-Mart srl : Case on Carbon Emissions Before U.S. Supreme Court
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Isra-Mart srl news:
Who has the authority to order utilities to cut their carbon emissions? That's what the U.S. Supreme Court will hearing arguments about Tuesday, in a case that pits the Obama administration against environmentalists.
Environmentalists like the Audubon Society want courts to be able to order emissions reductions at plants in 20 states.
But the Obama administration is siding with utilities in urging the High Court to throw out the case. They say the Environmental Protection Agency, and not a federal court, has the power to make rules about climate change.
Only eight justices will hear the case, which means it could end up in a 4-4 tie.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor recused herself because she was on the federal appeals court that heard the case.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Who has the authority to order utilities to cut their carbon emissions? That's what the U.S. Supreme Court will hearing arguments about Tuesday, in a case that pits the Obama administration against environmentalists.
Environmentalists like the Audubon Society want courts to be able to order emissions reductions at plants in 20 states.
But the Obama administration is siding with utilities in urging the High Court to throw out the case. They say the Environmental Protection Agency, and not a federal court, has the power to make rules about climate change.
Only eight justices will hear the case, which means it could end up in a 4-4 tie.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor recused herself because she was on the federal appeals court that heard the case.
Isra-Mart srl : Xiamen to build more wetland parks for low-carbon city construction
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Isra-Mart srl news:
In order to promote the pilot program of building a low-carbon city, Xiamen has recently established a leading group to embark on the construction of a low-carbon city, including building more wetland parks in the city, according to Strait News report.
Wetlands, along with forests and oceans serve as the three ecosystems in the world. Wetlands are also called the "Kidney of the Earth", which can adjust climate, control pollution and maintain ecological balance.
The pilot program will mainly promote the low-carbon development of industries, urban construction, and transportation system, build up mechanism to reduce carbon dioxide and promote a low carbon life style and consuming habits.
Definite tasks and responsibilities will be distributed to different districts and relative departments later.
Isra-Mart srl news:
In order to promote the pilot program of building a low-carbon city, Xiamen has recently established a leading group to embark on the construction of a low-carbon city, including building more wetland parks in the city, according to Strait News report.
Wetlands, along with forests and oceans serve as the three ecosystems in the world. Wetlands are also called the "Kidney of the Earth", which can adjust climate, control pollution and maintain ecological balance.
The pilot program will mainly promote the low-carbon development of industries, urban construction, and transportation system, build up mechanism to reduce carbon dioxide and promote a low carbon life style and consuming habits.
Definite tasks and responsibilities will be distributed to different districts and relative departments later.
Isra-Mart srl : Swiss water firm taps Kenya’s carbon market
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Isra-Mart srl news:
A Swiss water treatment firm is seeking a piece of Kenya’s carbon market through distribution of water purifiers to reduce the use of firewood and kerosene for water treatment in western Kenya.
Vestergaard Frandsen said in a statement it will from next week distribute 900,000 free water filters in the area at a cost of Sh2 billion in a project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
It hopes to recover the cost by earning two million credits annually.
The credits, which will be sold at the international carbon markets or recently launched Africa Carbon Exchange (ACX) in Nairobi, are estimated to earn the firm $13 million (Sh1 billion), making it the biggest carbon deal in the Kenyan market in what could boost the country’s credentials as a clean economy.
“This is a positive development for Kenya because it means the ACX will have more liquidity in terms of number of credits available for buyers,” said Tsuma Charo, the CEO of ACX.
Carbon trading involves the purchase of carbon credits from firms that emit less carbon dioxide, mainly from Europe and Asia, and which have exceeded their emissions limits.
The company said the revenue generated, in large part, will be re-invested into the programme to make it sustainable over a 10-year period as low income households benefit from clean drinking water.
The water purification project will enable an estimated four million Kenyans to drink safe water and is being done in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation.
Distribution of the water purifiers will take place over a six week period from next week, and will be installed in homes without access to safe municipal water sources.
Monitoring by an accredited independent auditor will take place every six months to verify use of the filters and emissions reductions once the initiative is operational.
The auditor will verify that the emission reductions are accurate, and carbon credits will be issued after verification.
The project signals growing interest by foreign companies to participate in Kenya’s carbon finance market, which got a boost in May with the launch of ACX—which is the stock market for environment assets, where buyers bid for and buy carbon credit certificates on offer.
The ACX is the first carbon emission reduction units trading platform in Africa.
Kenya has already attracted several global carbon credits projects and trading consultants including the JPMorgan Climatecare, Standard Bank of South Africa and Bea International that will provide skills and knowledge to drive the exchange.
ACX says European power companies that uses coal to produce power have already signed up to buy carbon credits in Kenya.
Isra-Mart srl news:
A Swiss water treatment firm is seeking a piece of Kenya’s carbon market through distribution of water purifiers to reduce the use of firewood and kerosene for water treatment in western Kenya.
Vestergaard Frandsen said in a statement it will from next week distribute 900,000 free water filters in the area at a cost of Sh2 billion in a project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
It hopes to recover the cost by earning two million credits annually.
The credits, which will be sold at the international carbon markets or recently launched Africa Carbon Exchange (ACX) in Nairobi, are estimated to earn the firm $13 million (Sh1 billion), making it the biggest carbon deal in the Kenyan market in what could boost the country’s credentials as a clean economy.
“This is a positive development for Kenya because it means the ACX will have more liquidity in terms of number of credits available for buyers,” said Tsuma Charo, the CEO of ACX.
Carbon trading involves the purchase of carbon credits from firms that emit less carbon dioxide, mainly from Europe and Asia, and which have exceeded their emissions limits.
The company said the revenue generated, in large part, will be re-invested into the programme to make it sustainable over a 10-year period as low income households benefit from clean drinking water.
The water purification project will enable an estimated four million Kenyans to drink safe water and is being done in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation.
Distribution of the water purifiers will take place over a six week period from next week, and will be installed in homes without access to safe municipal water sources.
Monitoring by an accredited independent auditor will take place every six months to verify use of the filters and emissions reductions once the initiative is operational.
The auditor will verify that the emission reductions are accurate, and carbon credits will be issued after verification.
The project signals growing interest by foreign companies to participate in Kenya’s carbon finance market, which got a boost in May with the launch of ACX—which is the stock market for environment assets, where buyers bid for and buy carbon credit certificates on offer.
The ACX is the first carbon emission reduction units trading platform in Africa.
Kenya has already attracted several global carbon credits projects and trading consultants including the JPMorgan Climatecare, Standard Bank of South Africa and Bea International that will provide skills and knowledge to drive the exchange.
ACX says European power companies that uses coal to produce power have already signed up to buy carbon credits in Kenya.
Isra-Mart srl : Oil prices doing the job of carbon tax
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Isra-Mart srl news:
The upcoming July carbon tax increase should be axed.
I was a big booster of the carbon tax when it was first announced. My theory was that it is a good tax for the environment to fight climate change and for it to change people’s attitudes. They did – but mostly due to the market increase in gas prices. People bought hybrids, cut down on driving by consolidating trips.
Also, it was a bad coincidence that fuel prices had hit all time high (around $1.50/litre) at the time the tax took effect. Any impact of the tax itself was overshadowed by the market increase in gas prices.
Over the last couple of years, I have wondered about the impact B.C. is having on climate change. I think it is immeasurable except for perhaps keeping local air cleaner. On a macro basis, major countries continue to dither on real action.
I would have supported continuing the carbon tax increases had the gas price not shot up already. The current run-up may be a blip due to Libya situation, but I submit high gas prices will be the rule. Why? Because the world economies are still in doldrums and thus the world demand for oil is not at a peak. Even before the Libya-related run-up in price, the price was already around $1.30/litre and that is with our loonie flying high at par with the U.S. dollar.
As the world economies recover, the price of oil will go up for sure and thus the cost of gas.
I believe the high gas prices will continue and will be the norm. Any further increase in carbon tax will be more salt in the wound for the motoring public.
Madam Premier, you have already shown willingness for change by reversing some past government decisions. This too will bode well for the government.
Isra-Mart srl news:
The upcoming July carbon tax increase should be axed.
I was a big booster of the carbon tax when it was first announced. My theory was that it is a good tax for the environment to fight climate change and for it to change people’s attitudes. They did – but mostly due to the market increase in gas prices. People bought hybrids, cut down on driving by consolidating trips.
Also, it was a bad coincidence that fuel prices had hit all time high (around $1.50/litre) at the time the tax took effect. Any impact of the tax itself was overshadowed by the market increase in gas prices.
Over the last couple of years, I have wondered about the impact B.C. is having on climate change. I think it is immeasurable except for perhaps keeping local air cleaner. On a macro basis, major countries continue to dither on real action.
I would have supported continuing the carbon tax increases had the gas price not shot up already. The current run-up may be a blip due to Libya situation, but I submit high gas prices will be the rule. Why? Because the world economies are still in doldrums and thus the world demand for oil is not at a peak. Even before the Libya-related run-up in price, the price was already around $1.30/litre and that is with our loonie flying high at par with the U.S. dollar.
As the world economies recover, the price of oil will go up for sure and thus the cost of gas.
I believe the high gas prices will continue and will be the norm. Any further increase in carbon tax will be more salt in the wound for the motoring public.
Madam Premier, you have already shown willingness for change by reversing some past government decisions. This too will bode well for the government.
Isra-Mart srl : Carbon tax a risk to LNG exports, warns Woodside Petroleum
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Isra-Mart srl news:
WOODSIDE Petroleum chairman Michael Chaney has told shareholders that the Gillard government's plan to introduce a carbon tax on liquefied natural gas could lead to international customers looking past Australia for cheaper gas supplies or turning to dirtier energy sources such as coal.
Addressing the company's annual meeting in Perth today, Mr Chaney said LNG was regarded as a lower-emissions conventional fuel with a major role in the transition to a lower carbon future.
"Woodside does not support the application of a carbon price to our trade-exposed exports at a time our competitors do not face such costs," he said.
"Placing a carbon price on Australian LNG risks two outcomes. Customers either look past Australia for cheaper supplies of LNG produced by countries which do not have a carbon price, or they continue to use higher-emitting energy sources such as coal."
Mr Chaney ended speculation that he may announce a replacement for chief executive Don Voelte at today's meeting.
He said the Woodside board had yet to decide on a replacement for Mr Voelte, who is attending his eighth and final Woodside AGM after announcing last year that he would retire during 2011.
The board hoped to announce a successful candidate before June 30, Mr Chaney said.
Mr Voelte told shareholders that joining Woodside seven years ago was "one of the great decisions of my life".
But he took a swipe at the East Timor government over its opposition to a Woodside-led floating LNG development for the Sunrise LNG project in the Timor Sea.
Mr Voelte came close to tears as he farewelled shareholders and described how he had helped build Woodside's "can do" culture.
He said Woodside was "proudly Australian" and he hoped it would remain that way - a reference to speculation that the Perth-based explorer could be taken over by a multinational when key shareholder Royal Dutch Shell sells down its remaining 24.3 per cent stake in the company.
Mr Voelte received a rousing reception from 200 shareholders at the end of his address.
Mr Chaney said Woodside continued to see a robust market for LNG for at least the next 15 years, with the global market to grow from about 210 million tonnes in 2010 to total demand of up to 460 million tonnes by 2025.
Growth would be underpinned by global population growth and improved standards of living especially in key Asia-Pacific markets.
"While the markets of Japan and South Korea will continue to be the core of the region's LNG market, growth will come from Taiwan, China, India and new entrants such as Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam."
"Malaysia and Indonesia, better known as suppliers of LNG, will also become customers in the next few years."---
Isra-Mart srl news:
WOODSIDE Petroleum chairman Michael Chaney has told shareholders that the Gillard government's plan to introduce a carbon tax on liquefied natural gas could lead to international customers looking past Australia for cheaper gas supplies or turning to dirtier energy sources such as coal.
Addressing the company's annual meeting in Perth today, Mr Chaney said LNG was regarded as a lower-emissions conventional fuel with a major role in the transition to a lower carbon future.
"Woodside does not support the application of a carbon price to our trade-exposed exports at a time our competitors do not face such costs," he said.
"Placing a carbon price on Australian LNG risks two outcomes. Customers either look past Australia for cheaper supplies of LNG produced by countries which do not have a carbon price, or they continue to use higher-emitting energy sources such as coal."
Mr Chaney ended speculation that he may announce a replacement for chief executive Don Voelte at today's meeting.
He said the Woodside board had yet to decide on a replacement for Mr Voelte, who is attending his eighth and final Woodside AGM after announcing last year that he would retire during 2011.
The board hoped to announce a successful candidate before June 30, Mr Chaney said.
Mr Voelte told shareholders that joining Woodside seven years ago was "one of the great decisions of my life".
But he took a swipe at the East Timor government over its opposition to a Woodside-led floating LNG development for the Sunrise LNG project in the Timor Sea.
Mr Voelte came close to tears as he farewelled shareholders and described how he had helped build Woodside's "can do" culture.
He said Woodside was "proudly Australian" and he hoped it would remain that way - a reference to speculation that the Perth-based explorer could be taken over by a multinational when key shareholder Royal Dutch Shell sells down its remaining 24.3 per cent stake in the company.
Mr Voelte received a rousing reception from 200 shareholders at the end of his address.
Mr Chaney said Woodside continued to see a robust market for LNG for at least the next 15 years, with the global market to grow from about 210 million tonnes in 2010 to total demand of up to 460 million tonnes by 2025.
Growth would be underpinned by global population growth and improved standards of living especially in key Asia-Pacific markets.
"While the markets of Japan and South Korea will continue to be the core of the region's LNG market, growth will come from Taiwan, China, India and new entrants such as Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam."
"Malaysia and Indonesia, better known as suppliers of LNG, will also become customers in the next few years."---
Isra-Mart srl : Coal industry demands carbon tax rethink
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THE coal industry wants the Gillard government to go back to the drawing board on the proposed carbon tax.
It wants the Gillard government to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan to ensure mines aren't closed as a result of the proposed carbon tax.
Australian Coal Association chief executive Ralph Hillman and other industry leaders met with Climate Change Minister Greg Combet yesterday.
He said the coal industry didn't ask the minister for more compensation.
"It really asked him to go back to the drawing board," Mr Hillman told ABC Radio.
"This (carbon price) is going to impose an $18 billion cost on the coal industry over the next 10 years.
"This is a cost our competitors in other countries like South Africa, Indonesia, Colombia and Mongolia won't have to wear."
Mr Hillman said coal mining should be classified as an emissions intensive, trade-exposed industry, meaning it would be eligible to receive up to 95 per cent of its pollution permits for free.
If that isn't possible he wants fugitive emissions released during the mining process excluded from the carbon price regime for 10 years while new clean technologies are developed.
"If you're objective here in taxing coal mines is to cut fugitive emissions in order to meet your minus five per cent target the only way you're going to do that is by closing mines," he said.
Mr Hillman insists if the coal industry isn't given special treatment there will be a decline in investment and job losses.
But there'd be no reduction in global emissions "because the coal will be mined in those other countries and the emissions will go up just the same".
The coal association chief said he understood the $1.5 billion compensation package offered to the industry under Kevin Rudd's carbon pollution reduction scheme was "the starting point in the government's position" for the carbon tax.
Isra -Mart srl news:
THE coal industry wants the Gillard government to go back to the drawing board on the proposed carbon tax.
It wants the Gillard government to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan to ensure mines aren't closed as a result of the proposed carbon tax.
Australian Coal Association chief executive Ralph Hillman and other industry leaders met with Climate Change Minister Greg Combet yesterday.
He said the coal industry didn't ask the minister for more compensation.
"It really asked him to go back to the drawing board," Mr Hillman told ABC Radio.
"This (carbon price) is going to impose an $18 billion cost on the coal industry over the next 10 years.
"This is a cost our competitors in other countries like South Africa, Indonesia, Colombia and Mongolia won't have to wear."
Mr Hillman said coal mining should be classified as an emissions intensive, trade-exposed industry, meaning it would be eligible to receive up to 95 per cent of its pollution permits for free.
If that isn't possible he wants fugitive emissions released during the mining process excluded from the carbon price regime for 10 years while new clean technologies are developed.
"If you're objective here in taxing coal mines is to cut fugitive emissions in order to meet your minus five per cent target the only way you're going to do that is by closing mines," he said.
Mr Hillman insists if the coal industry isn't given special treatment there will be a decline in investment and job losses.
But there'd be no reduction in global emissions "because the coal will be mined in those other countries and the emissions will go up just the same".
The coal association chief said he understood the $1.5 billion compensation package offered to the industry under Kevin Rudd's carbon pollution reduction scheme was "the starting point in the government's position" for the carbon tax.
Isra-Mart srl : Industry union chief Martin O'Malley wants big carbon polluters jailed
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THE head of a South Australian union representing workers in carbon intensive industries, says major polluters should be taxed and jailed.
Martin O'Malley, state secretary of of the SA branch of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, made the statement addressing a pro-carbon tax rally in Adelaide last month, reported AdelaideNow.
Mr O'Malley told protesters "carbon polluters shouldn't just be taxed they should be jailed".
Yesterday he stood by the comment.
"People who pollute should be jailed," he said. "The biggest polluters are the biggest multi-nationals in Australia."
In South Australia, the CFMEU represents workers at OneSteel in Whyalla and Nyrstar in Port Pirie, two of the biggest carbon-emitting industries in the state.
The CFMEU national branch has previously indicated it would not support a carbon tax if it led to loss of jobs.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday rejected claims by Australian Workers' Union state secretary Wayne Hanson that a carbon tax would wipe out jobs in industry-reliant Whyalla and Port Pirie.
"Strong words don't make it right, and that's completely untrue. We will be protecting Australian jobs as we price carbon," she said.
"We're consulting now on the details. Business and unions are part of that consultation, and then we will announce the full design of the scheme."
The Multi-Party Climate Change Committee, including Labor, the Greens and rural independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott, met yesterday to consider details of the proposed tax, including the pricing mechanisms and a household assistance package.
But Mr Windsor indicated he would wait for a Productivity Commission report on how other nations are tackling climate change expected next month before deciding on his position.
"If the rest of the world is doing nothing I'll probably do nothing," he said.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet fronted mining and steel-producing companies, including BHP Billiton and OneSteel, for industry talks on the tax.
He said the Government "has on the table a very significant assistance package for the steel works".
Isra-Mart srl : Zero carbon U-turn is 'realistic'
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The government's U-turn on its definition of zero carbon homes is more realistic and pragmatic, one housing professional has said.
Writing for the Green Building Press, Richard Baines, head of sustainability at Black Country Housing Group, suggested that the changes seen in the Plan for Growth that accompanied March's Budget is the sensible approach to take in making goals for sustainable construction, which are more likely to be met.
Under the plans, homes will no longer be measured on the energy use from home appliances. Rather, zero carbon will only apply to emissions from energy use in fixed heating and lighting.
Mr Baines noted that this will mean all new homes will have to meet Level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes by 2016 rather than Level 6.
Indeed, he suggested that Level 6 "was always going to be unrealistic" as technology for on-site generation is not yet cost-effective.
"However, the new changes to zero carbon do not remove the imperative to design and build 'super-insulated' homes that are air tight," he remarked, adding that affordable renewable energy systems should still be installed.
Isra-Mart srl news:
The government's U-turn on its definition of zero carbon homes is more realistic and pragmatic, one housing professional has said.
Writing for the Green Building Press, Richard Baines, head of sustainability at Black Country Housing Group, suggested that the changes seen in the Plan for Growth that accompanied March's Budget is the sensible approach to take in making goals for sustainable construction, which are more likely to be met.
Under the plans, homes will no longer be measured on the energy use from home appliances. Rather, zero carbon will only apply to emissions from energy use in fixed heating and lighting.
Mr Baines noted that this will mean all new homes will have to meet Level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes by 2016 rather than Level 6.
Indeed, he suggested that Level 6 "was always going to be unrealistic" as technology for on-site generation is not yet cost-effective.
"However, the new changes to zero carbon do not remove the imperative to design and build 'super-insulated' homes that are air tight," he remarked, adding that affordable renewable energy systems should still be installed.
Isra-Mart srl : Online calculator allows households track and try to reduce carbon footprint
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Tips to reduce your carbon footprint frequently include buying compact florescent light bulbs, taking your own bag to the grocery store or buying local produce. But how much difference do these actions make?
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that who you are and where you live make a big difference in which activities have the largest impact.
"Everyone has a unique carbon footprint," says Christopher M. Jones, lead author of the study and a researcher in UC Berkeley's Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL). "There is no one-size-fits-all set of actions that people should take."
The study by Jones and RAEL director Daniel Kammen, a UC Berkeley professor of energy and resources who currently is on leave at the World Bank, appears in the current issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Carbon footprints are a measure of the greenhouse gases released during the production, use and disposal of products and services. The production phase includes all processes between the time raw materials are extracted from Earth until they reach consumers as finished products in stores. The study considers the carbon footprint of all household economic activity, including transportation, energy, food, goods, services, water and waste.
California vs. Missouri footprint
As an example, the report highlights the carbon footprints of two fictitious households: an upper-income couple living in San Francisco with no children, and a middle-income family with three children living in St. Louis, Mo. Each of these households contributes to the atmosphere about the same amount of greenhouse gases per year, but the sources of those emissions are very different, the study found.
Motor vehicles and air travel are the largest sources of emissions for the San Francisco couple, while electricity and food dominate emissions for the St. Louis family.
As a result, the opportunities to reduce emissions are vastly different. For the West Coast household, improving the fuel efficiency of their motor vehicles from 20 miles per gallon to just 25 miles per gallon would save the equivalent of completely eliminating electricity in their home. In environmentally conscious San Francisco, going further by driving gas-sipping hybrids may also enhance the couple's social status.
The Midwest family, on the other hand, can save over $100 per month, or 5 percent of their monthly net income, by making healthier low-carbon food choices, such as reducing calories and buying chicken, fruits and vegetables instead of red meat, dairy and processed foods. Cutting electricity consumption by 20 percent would save them an additional $30 per month. Driving a slightly more efficient vehicle could save the household $50 per month and much more with ultra fuel-efficient vehicles, but this benefit must be balanced with safety concerns and convenience, given the demands of raising three children.
In all, the study analyzed typical household carbon footprints in all 50 U.S. states, 28 regions, six households sizes and 12 income brackets for a total of several thousand possible combinations of household types.
"Our primary message is simple:If you are concerned about reducing your carbon footprint, or the carbon footprint of others through policy, it is important to focus on the actions that lead to the greatest reductions," said Kammen. "Our online tool can help people do just that."
Users can get a quick estimate of their carbon footprint profile by typing in their location, household size and income, then spend a few minutes answering basic questions about lifestyle for more personalized estimates. They can then compare their results to similar households and get a customized action plan.
"Comparative feedback is very important. People want to know how well they are doing compared to people like themselves," Jones said.
Users also can create accounts and join groups of similar households to share their carbon footprint profiles and reduction strategies. An online competition allows cities, counties, community groups and businesses to compete against each other.
CoolCalifornia.org
With the help of Jones and Kammen, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has launched a similar website, CoolCalifornia.org, designed to be a one-stop-shop to motivate and connect the millions of Californians who are taking action to minimize carbon footprints.
CoolCalifornia.org provides a wide range of tools and resources to help Californians make sustainable choices," said Bart Croes director of research at ARB. "The carbon calculators under development by UC Berkeley are at the heart of CoolCalifornia.org, and are an important tool to help individuals, local governments, schools and community groups reduce their carbon footprints."
For typical U.S. households, the newly published report claims about one-third of emissions are from transportation, a little more than 20 percent are from household energy, and about 15 percent are from food. All other emissions are from goods, services, housing construction, water and waste.
Jones noted that information alone is not enough. Program designers need to understand the motivations behind people's actions and how to design programs to reduce barriers to adopting sustainable behavior and tap into social motivations that move individuals.
"If you want an effective program to reduce emissions, it is essential to recognize that individuals have different values, attitudes, beliefs, habits and abilities," Jones said. The next stage for the CoolClimate Network (CCN), a RAEL project to analyze carbon footprints, is to recruit hundreds of households to systematically measure the effectiveness of various programs based on behavioral science.
These ideas will also be explored at the Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference, which is being coordinated in part by the UC Berkeley team and will be held in Washington, D.C ., from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2.
"Most people are willing and many are actively seeking how to live more climate-friendly lifestyles. The question is whether we can do it fast enough to reduce some of the worst impacts of climate change. Figuring out what makes the greatest impact seems like a good first place to start," Jones said.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Tips to reduce your carbon footprint frequently include buying compact florescent light bulbs, taking your own bag to the grocery store or buying local produce. But how much difference do these actions make?
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that who you are and where you live make a big difference in which activities have the largest impact.
"Everyone has a unique carbon footprint," says Christopher M. Jones, lead author of the study and a researcher in UC Berkeley's Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL). "There is no one-size-fits-all set of actions that people should take."
The study by Jones and RAEL director Daniel Kammen, a UC Berkeley professor of energy and resources who currently is on leave at the World Bank, appears in the current issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Carbon footprints are a measure of the greenhouse gases released during the production, use and disposal of products and services. The production phase includes all processes between the time raw materials are extracted from Earth until they reach consumers as finished products in stores. The study considers the carbon footprint of all household economic activity, including transportation, energy, food, goods, services, water and waste.
California vs. Missouri footprint
As an example, the report highlights the carbon footprints of two fictitious households: an upper-income couple living in San Francisco with no children, and a middle-income family with three children living in St. Louis, Mo. Each of these households contributes to the atmosphere about the same amount of greenhouse gases per year, but the sources of those emissions are very different, the study found.
Motor vehicles and air travel are the largest sources of emissions for the San Francisco couple, while electricity and food dominate emissions for the St. Louis family.
As a result, the opportunities to reduce emissions are vastly different. For the West Coast household, improving the fuel efficiency of their motor vehicles from 20 miles per gallon to just 25 miles per gallon would save the equivalent of completely eliminating electricity in their home. In environmentally conscious San Francisco, going further by driving gas-sipping hybrids may also enhance the couple's social status.
The Midwest family, on the other hand, can save over $100 per month, or 5 percent of their monthly net income, by making healthier low-carbon food choices, such as reducing calories and buying chicken, fruits and vegetables instead of red meat, dairy and processed foods. Cutting electricity consumption by 20 percent would save them an additional $30 per month. Driving a slightly more efficient vehicle could save the household $50 per month and much more with ultra fuel-efficient vehicles, but this benefit must be balanced with safety concerns and convenience, given the demands of raising three children.
In all, the study analyzed typical household carbon footprints in all 50 U.S. states, 28 regions, six households sizes and 12 income brackets for a total of several thousand possible combinations of household types.
"Our primary message is simple:If you are concerned about reducing your carbon footprint, or the carbon footprint of others through policy, it is important to focus on the actions that lead to the greatest reductions," said Kammen. "Our online tool can help people do just that."
Users can get a quick estimate of their carbon footprint profile by typing in their location, household size and income, then spend a few minutes answering basic questions about lifestyle for more personalized estimates. They can then compare their results to similar households and get a customized action plan.
"Comparative feedback is very important. People want to know how well they are doing compared to people like themselves," Jones said.
Users also can create accounts and join groups of similar households to share their carbon footprint profiles and reduction strategies. An online competition allows cities, counties, community groups and businesses to compete against each other.
CoolCalifornia.org
With the help of Jones and Kammen, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has launched a similar website, CoolCalifornia.org, designed to be a one-stop-shop to motivate and connect the millions of Californians who are taking action to minimize carbon footprints.
CoolCalifornia.org provides a wide range of tools and resources to help Californians make sustainable choices," said Bart Croes director of research at ARB. "The carbon calculators under development by UC Berkeley are at the heart of CoolCalifornia.org, and are an important tool to help individuals, local governments, schools and community groups reduce their carbon footprints."
For typical U.S. households, the newly published report claims about one-third of emissions are from transportation, a little more than 20 percent are from household energy, and about 15 percent are from food. All other emissions are from goods, services, housing construction, water and waste.
Jones noted that information alone is not enough. Program designers need to understand the motivations behind people's actions and how to design programs to reduce barriers to adopting sustainable behavior and tap into social motivations that move individuals.
"If you want an effective program to reduce emissions, it is essential to recognize that individuals have different values, attitudes, beliefs, habits and abilities," Jones said. The next stage for the CoolClimate Network (CCN), a RAEL project to analyze carbon footprints, is to recruit hundreds of households to systematically measure the effectiveness of various programs based on behavioral science.
These ideas will also be explored at the Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference, which is being coordinated in part by the UC Berkeley team and will be held in Washington, D.C ., from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2.
"Most people are willing and many are actively seeking how to live more climate-friendly lifestyles. The question is whether we can do it fast enough to reduce some of the worst impacts of climate change. Figuring out what makes the greatest impact seems like a good first place to start," Jones said.
Isra-Mart srl :N.Y. Solicitor General Argues To Uphold Right To Sue Carbon Dioxide Polluters
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The New York State Attorney General’s Office -- represented by state Solicitor General Barbara Underwood -- urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the right of states to sue five polluting power companies to force them to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of climate change. Leading a coalition on behalf of New York, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the City of New York, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s office argued that the power companies are causing a “public nuisance” by releasing greenhouse gases into the air, and can therefore be held accountable in court.
American Electric Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut marks Solicitor General Underwood’s 20th argument before the Supreme Court.
“This lawsuit seeks to protect our States from climate change that threatens our economy, our health and our natural resources. In the absence of federal action limiting carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel power plants -- by far the largest source of greenhouse gases in the country -- States must have the right to ask a federal court for relief from these dangerous emissions. We trust that the Supreme Court will recognize and respect that interest when ruling in this important case,” said Attorney General Schneiderman.
In 2004, New York—along with several other states, New York City, and environmental groups—sued five large electric power companies in federal court in New York to force them to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from their fossil fuel burning power plants. These corporations – American Electric Power Co., Cinergy Corp., Southern Co., the Tennessee Valley Authority and Xcel Energy Inc. – are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the country, accounting for approximately 10 percent of all domestic human-generated carbon dioxide. Together, they own or operate 174 fossil fuel burning power plants in 20 states that emit about 650 million tons of carbon dioxide each year – almost a quarter of the U.S. utility industry’s annual carbon dioxide emissions.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency does not currently regulate these emissions, and the power companies have, by and large, failed to voluntarily take practical, cost-effective steps that would allow them to generate electricity with lower emissions.
In 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the states’ right to bring this lawsuit. The power companies appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which is expected to decide the case by July. Attorney General Schneiderman's office is vigorously defending the appeals court’s ruling to protect New Yorkers from the harms caused by climate change. These harms include causing asthma and other respiratory diseases, eroding beaches and inundating properties on Long Island, increasing heat-related deaths in New York City, lowering water levels in the Great Lakes that harm the shipping industry, and killing off hardwood forests in the Adirondacks.
This is the first case where state and local governments have sued private companies to require reductions in the heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions that scientists say pose serious threats to our health, economy and environment. It was filed under the federal common law of public nuisance, which provides a right of action to curb air and water pollution emanating from sources in other states. Public nuisance is a well-established legal doctrine that is commonly invoked in environmental cases and forms the basis for much of today’s modern environmental law. The defendant companies’ emissions contribute to a harm borne by all members of the public, and the states and City of New York have the right to protect their residents and properties from such widespread harm.
In recent weeks, Attorney General Schneiderman has taken action to protect the air New Yorkers breathe, by filing a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania power plant emitting dangerous sulphur dioxide in violation of the federal Clean Air Act; leading a coalition of attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Massachusetts, against efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to remove critical environmental regulations that protect New York communities from toxic pollution; and calling on the EPA to protect New York's air by implementing a proposed rule that would slash the amount of air pollution currently allowed to cross state lines.
A separate brief was filed by three land trusts: Open Space Institute, Inc., Open Space Conservancy, Inc., and Audubon Society of New Hampshire.
The case is being handled in the Supreme Court by Solicitor General Underwood, Deputy Solicitor General Benjamin Gutman, Assistant Solicitor General Monica Wagner, and Assistant Attorneys General Michael Myers, Morgan Costello, and Robert Rosenthal.
Isra-Mart srl news:
The New York State Attorney General’s Office -- represented by state Solicitor General Barbara Underwood -- urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the right of states to sue five polluting power companies to force them to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of climate change. Leading a coalition on behalf of New York, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the City of New York, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s office argued that the power companies are causing a “public nuisance” by releasing greenhouse gases into the air, and can therefore be held accountable in court.
American Electric Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut marks Solicitor General Underwood’s 20th argument before the Supreme Court.
“This lawsuit seeks to protect our States from climate change that threatens our economy, our health and our natural resources. In the absence of federal action limiting carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel power plants -- by far the largest source of greenhouse gases in the country -- States must have the right to ask a federal court for relief from these dangerous emissions. We trust that the Supreme Court will recognize and respect that interest when ruling in this important case,” said Attorney General Schneiderman.
In 2004, New York—along with several other states, New York City, and environmental groups—sued five large electric power companies in federal court in New York to force them to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from their fossil fuel burning power plants. These corporations – American Electric Power Co., Cinergy Corp., Southern Co., the Tennessee Valley Authority and Xcel Energy Inc. – are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the country, accounting for approximately 10 percent of all domestic human-generated carbon dioxide. Together, they own or operate 174 fossil fuel burning power plants in 20 states that emit about 650 million tons of carbon dioxide each year – almost a quarter of the U.S. utility industry’s annual carbon dioxide emissions.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency does not currently regulate these emissions, and the power companies have, by and large, failed to voluntarily take practical, cost-effective steps that would allow them to generate electricity with lower emissions.
In 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the states’ right to bring this lawsuit. The power companies appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which is expected to decide the case by July. Attorney General Schneiderman's office is vigorously defending the appeals court’s ruling to protect New Yorkers from the harms caused by climate change. These harms include causing asthma and other respiratory diseases, eroding beaches and inundating properties on Long Island, increasing heat-related deaths in New York City, lowering water levels in the Great Lakes that harm the shipping industry, and killing off hardwood forests in the Adirondacks.
This is the first case where state and local governments have sued private companies to require reductions in the heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions that scientists say pose serious threats to our health, economy and environment. It was filed under the federal common law of public nuisance, which provides a right of action to curb air and water pollution emanating from sources in other states. Public nuisance is a well-established legal doctrine that is commonly invoked in environmental cases and forms the basis for much of today’s modern environmental law. The defendant companies’ emissions contribute to a harm borne by all members of the public, and the states and City of New York have the right to protect their residents and properties from such widespread harm.
In recent weeks, Attorney General Schneiderman has taken action to protect the air New Yorkers breathe, by filing a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania power plant emitting dangerous sulphur dioxide in violation of the federal Clean Air Act; leading a coalition of attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Massachusetts, against efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to remove critical environmental regulations that protect New York communities from toxic pollution; and calling on the EPA to protect New York's air by implementing a proposed rule that would slash the amount of air pollution currently allowed to cross state lines.
A separate brief was filed by three land trusts: Open Space Institute, Inc., Open Space Conservancy, Inc., and Audubon Society of New Hampshire.
The case is being handled in the Supreme Court by Solicitor General Underwood, Deputy Solicitor General Benjamin Gutman, Assistant Solicitor General Monica Wagner, and Assistant Attorneys General Michael Myers, Morgan Costello, and Robert Rosenthal.
Isra-Mart srl : EcomNets Announces Earth Day 2011 Release of CliMetrics Carbon Management Software (CCM)
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EcomNets Announces Earth Day 2011 Release of CliMetrics Carbon Management Software (CCM)
EcomNets – CliMetrics Carbon Management (CCM) software is a suite of software products to help companies collect and analyze sustainability data; monitor reductions in energy use and emissions; and automatically create reports complying with various climate registries.
EcomNets, Inc., the Green IT Solutions Provider from the desktop to the data center, announced the release of CliMetrics Carbon Management Software (CCM). Carbon Management (CCM) software is a suite of products designed to help companies collect and analyze sustainability data; monitor reductions in energy use and emissions; and automatically create reports complying with various climate registries. CCM software has necessary tools to help organizations with computing and trading carbon credits and offsets.
“CliMetrics Carbon Management Software helps global organizations manage their environmental data in a standardized, auditable and verifiable manner.” says Raj Kosuri, CEO.
This announcement is another important step in EcomNets’ Green IT Initiative to deliver Carbon Management – components that create a centralized inventory to manage all GHG data, while providing a robust experience that is secure, cost-effective, and easy for IT to manage.
About EcomNets
EcomNets is a privately held company. EcomNets is a Green IT Solutions Provider (GSP) which helps organizations who are committed to climate change. EcomNets develops and markets virtualization-based software and hardware solutions that deliver superior desktop computing. http://www.ecomnets.com
About EcomNets- CliMetrics Solution
EcomNets – CliMetrics Carbon Management (CCM) software is a suite of software products to help companies collect and analyze sustainability data; monitor reductions in energy use and emissions; and automatically create reports complying with various climate registries. CCM software has necessary tools to help organizations with computing and trading carbon credits and offsets.
Isra-Mart srl news:
EcomNets Announces Earth Day 2011 Release of CliMetrics Carbon Management Software (CCM)
EcomNets – CliMetrics Carbon Management (CCM) software is a suite of software products to help companies collect and analyze sustainability data; monitor reductions in energy use and emissions; and automatically create reports complying with various climate registries.
EcomNets, Inc., the Green IT Solutions Provider from the desktop to the data center, announced the release of CliMetrics Carbon Management Software (CCM). Carbon Management (CCM) software is a suite of products designed to help companies collect and analyze sustainability data; monitor reductions in energy use and emissions; and automatically create reports complying with various climate registries. CCM software has necessary tools to help organizations with computing and trading carbon credits and offsets.
“CliMetrics Carbon Management Software helps global organizations manage their environmental data in a standardized, auditable and verifiable manner.” says Raj Kosuri, CEO.
This announcement is another important step in EcomNets’ Green IT Initiative to deliver Carbon Management – components that create a centralized inventory to manage all GHG data, while providing a robust experience that is secure, cost-effective, and easy for IT to manage.
About EcomNets
EcomNets is a privately held company. EcomNets is a Green IT Solutions Provider (GSP) which helps organizations who are committed to climate change. EcomNets develops and markets virtualization-based software and hardware solutions that deliver superior desktop computing. http://www.ecomnets.com
About EcomNets- CliMetrics Solution
EcomNets – CliMetrics Carbon Management (CCM) software is a suite of software products to help companies collect and analyze sustainability data; monitor reductions in energy use and emissions; and automatically create reports complying with various climate registries. CCM software has necessary tools to help organizations with computing and trading carbon credits and offsets.
Isra-Mart srl : Software powers CSIRO’s carbon-neutral target
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Australia’s national science agency hopes to halve its water and waste profile and achieve efficiency gains through greener procurement, behaviour change, and greater use of renewable energy.
CSIRO appointed CarbonSystems to assist its sustainability efforts after considering proposals from several carbon accounting firms and evaluating them against its rigorous decision-criteria.
Increasing regulation and scrutiny by government, customers and investors meant more organisations were obliged to report accurate and verifiable information about their energy, carbon and environmental performance, according to CarbonSystems’ chief executive, David Solsky.
“Sustainability reporting obligations can be onerous and costly,” says Mr Solsky. “Our Enterprise Sustainability Platform addresses these pain points for organisations by reducing the time and cost of managing environmental data while delivering financial grade compliance and business reports.
“The technology is assisting organisations such as CSIRO manage their transition to the low carbon economy by providing a performance management framework to track and assess carbon abatement programs and report on financial return on investment.”
The Energy and Carbon Intelligence System platform will aid CSIRO’s environmental performance reporting under several voluntary and mandatory regimes, including its seven-year Environmental Sustainability Strategy, the federal government’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System and the National Pollutant Inventory.
Members of CSIRO’s environmental sustainability team are using the web-based ECIS platform to automate and streamline the capture and reporting of source data across CSIRO’s 700-plus buildings, including its electricity, gas, fuel, water, waste, fleet and CO2 emissions.
The web-based platform has an intuitive user-friendly interface and dashboards that allow client users to track and manage key energy and environmental data simply and easily. ESP replaces CSIRO’s former system based on utility provider spreadsheets, suppliers’ reports, and data from internal business systems.
“ESP will complement CSIRO’s efforts to track and report on its environmental goals and provide near real time tracking of its energy and carbon performance – from the macro level through to an individual asset or location,” says David Solsky.
“The software platform is being complemented by the installation of energy and water sub-meters in CSIRO’s buildings across Australia. This will enhance staff awareness of consumption trends through increased access to environmental data.
“The platform’s ability to automatically input source data from utilities and suppliers will slash the costs and time associated with data capture, and increases the accuracy and effectiveness of CSIRO’s environmental performance reporting.”
Isra-Mart srl news:
Australia’s national science agency hopes to halve its water and waste profile and achieve efficiency gains through greener procurement, behaviour change, and greater use of renewable energy.
CSIRO appointed CarbonSystems to assist its sustainability efforts after considering proposals from several carbon accounting firms and evaluating them against its rigorous decision-criteria.
Increasing regulation and scrutiny by government, customers and investors meant more organisations were obliged to report accurate and verifiable information about their energy, carbon and environmental performance, according to CarbonSystems’ chief executive, David Solsky.
“Sustainability reporting obligations can be onerous and costly,” says Mr Solsky. “Our Enterprise Sustainability Platform addresses these pain points for organisations by reducing the time and cost of managing environmental data while delivering financial grade compliance and business reports.
“The technology is assisting organisations such as CSIRO manage their transition to the low carbon economy by providing a performance management framework to track and assess carbon abatement programs and report on financial return on investment.”
The Energy and Carbon Intelligence System platform will aid CSIRO’s environmental performance reporting under several voluntary and mandatory regimes, including its seven-year Environmental Sustainability Strategy, the federal government’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System and the National Pollutant Inventory.
Members of CSIRO’s environmental sustainability team are using the web-based ECIS platform to automate and streamline the capture and reporting of source data across CSIRO’s 700-plus buildings, including its electricity, gas, fuel, water, waste, fleet and CO2 emissions.
The web-based platform has an intuitive user-friendly interface and dashboards that allow client users to track and manage key energy and environmental data simply and easily. ESP replaces CSIRO’s former system based on utility provider spreadsheets, suppliers’ reports, and data from internal business systems.
“ESP will complement CSIRO’s efforts to track and report on its environmental goals and provide near real time tracking of its energy and carbon performance – from the macro level through to an individual asset or location,” says David Solsky.
“The software platform is being complemented by the installation of energy and water sub-meters in CSIRO’s buildings across Australia. This will enhance staff awareness of consumption trends through increased access to environmental data.
“The platform’s ability to automatically input source data from utilities and suppliers will slash the costs and time associated with data capture, and increases the accuracy and effectiveness of CSIRO’s environmental performance reporting.”
Isra-Mart srl : Carbon Trade Exchange Moving to Sydney From London Gain From Climate Plans
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Isra-Mart srl news:
Carbon Trade Exchange, an online platform for businesses to trade emission-reduction credits, is moving its headquarters from London to Sydney as the Australian government seeks to introduce a price on carbon.
Efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions are likely to turn Sydney into a regional hub for carbon trading, the exchange said in an e-mailed statement today. The plan will lead to at least 106 jobs in the city over five years, it said.
Australia, the world’s biggest coal exporter, has set a target of generating 20 percent of its power from renewable energy sources like wind and solar by 2020. To encourage businesses to shift from fossil fuels, Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants to start making polluters pay a fixed price for their emissions in July 2012 in preparation for a trading system that may begin as early as 2015.
Carbon markets allow companies and nations to buy and sell credits representing reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. Some buy to comply with binding emission limits set by governments, while others purchase the credits voluntarily to reduce their carbon footprint.
Carbon Trade Exchange allows buyers and sellers to trade voluntary credits, as well as those issued by a United Nations program established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
The fragmentation of that UN carbon market into domestic alternative trading programs “may be unavoidable” because nations haven’t been able to agree on an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, UN chief climate negotiator Christiana Figueres said in September.
London has traditionally been the hub of global carbon trading because of its proximity to the European Union, home to the world’s biggest emissions-trading market and the biggest buyer of UN credits.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Carbon Trade Exchange, an online platform for businesses to trade emission-reduction credits, is moving its headquarters from London to Sydney as the Australian government seeks to introduce a price on carbon.
Efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions are likely to turn Sydney into a regional hub for carbon trading, the exchange said in an e-mailed statement today. The plan will lead to at least 106 jobs in the city over five years, it said.
Australia, the world’s biggest coal exporter, has set a target of generating 20 percent of its power from renewable energy sources like wind and solar by 2020. To encourage businesses to shift from fossil fuels, Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants to start making polluters pay a fixed price for their emissions in July 2012 in preparation for a trading system that may begin as early as 2015.
Carbon markets allow companies and nations to buy and sell credits representing reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. Some buy to comply with binding emission limits set by governments, while others purchase the credits voluntarily to reduce their carbon footprint.
Carbon Trade Exchange allows buyers and sellers to trade voluntary credits, as well as those issued by a United Nations program established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
The fragmentation of that UN carbon market into domestic alternative trading programs “may be unavoidable” because nations haven’t been able to agree on an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, UN chief climate negotiator Christiana Figueres said in September.
London has traditionally been the hub of global carbon trading because of its proximity to the European Union, home to the world’s biggest emissions-trading market and the biggest buyer of UN credits.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Isra-Mart srl : Australian carbon scheme faces growing opposition
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Opposition to Australia's planned carbon tax is swelling with almost 60 percent of voters against the plan and major food retailers, miners, energy and agriculture firms writing to the prime minister criticising the tax.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council said the carbon tax would increase the cost of food and grocery manufacturing, while the Business Council of Australia said it could damage the country's export competitiveness and drive production offshore.
Forty-five mining, energy, agriculture and food firms said in a letter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard they had no capacity to pass on carbon costs, with rising input prices due to supply chain problems after floods in eastern Australia and the strong Australian dollar.
As business executives stepped up their campaign against the tax, voters are also growing increasingly hostile as they fear that the tax would raise the cost of everything from food to electricity.
A poll of 1,400 people, carried out at the end of last week and published in Fairfax newspapers on Monday, found that 59 percent of respondents opposed the plan, up 3 percentage points from the last survey in March.
On Monday, government estimates showed emissions rose 0.5 percent in 2010 over the previous year, when they dipped because of the global financial crisis.
Despite that slight dip, "significant challenges remain in all sectors to reduce our carbon pollution into the future", Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said in a statement.
The Business Council said in a letter a carbon policy without adequate compensation for Australian industries could force production to move offshore to countries with less rigorous climate policies.
It also said a carbon tax would have limited impact on global greenhouse emissions as Australia only accounted for about 1.5 percent of emissions.
"In framing our carbon pricing policy Australia should act in tandem with international action, not ahead of it," said Council president Graham Bradley, in a letter made public on Monday.
"To do otherwise means that important manufacturing, agricultural and resource-based businesses will be disadvantaged."
Gillard's Labor government, which has a one-seat majority, wants the carbon tax to start in July 2012, with a move to an emissions trading scheme three to five years later, in order to curb emissions and fight global warming.
A carbon price has yet to be set, but media reports suggest the government wants a low price of about A$20 ($21) a tonne.
Emissions-intensive exporters such as steel companies BlueScope and OneSteel and the coal industry have already raised concerns that a carbon tax would hurt their international competitiveness and cost thousands of jobs.
Trade unions, traditional supporters of the Labor party, have also voiced growing concern at the tax, warning they would not tolerate job losses.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Opposition to Australia's planned carbon tax is swelling with almost 60 percent of voters against the plan and major food retailers, miners, energy and agriculture firms writing to the prime minister criticising the tax.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council said the carbon tax would increase the cost of food and grocery manufacturing, while the Business Council of Australia said it could damage the country's export competitiveness and drive production offshore.
Forty-five mining, energy, agriculture and food firms said in a letter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard they had no capacity to pass on carbon costs, with rising input prices due to supply chain problems after floods in eastern Australia and the strong Australian dollar.
As business executives stepped up their campaign against the tax, voters are also growing increasingly hostile as they fear that the tax would raise the cost of everything from food to electricity.
A poll of 1,400 people, carried out at the end of last week and published in Fairfax newspapers on Monday, found that 59 percent of respondents opposed the plan, up 3 percentage points from the last survey in March.
On Monday, government estimates showed emissions rose 0.5 percent in 2010 over the previous year, when they dipped because of the global financial crisis.
Despite that slight dip, "significant challenges remain in all sectors to reduce our carbon pollution into the future", Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said in a statement.
The Business Council said in a letter a carbon policy without adequate compensation for Australian industries could force production to move offshore to countries with less rigorous climate policies.
It also said a carbon tax would have limited impact on global greenhouse emissions as Australia only accounted for about 1.5 percent of emissions.
"In framing our carbon pricing policy Australia should act in tandem with international action, not ahead of it," said Council president Graham Bradley, in a letter made public on Monday.
"To do otherwise means that important manufacturing, agricultural and resource-based businesses will be disadvantaged."
Gillard's Labor government, which has a one-seat majority, wants the carbon tax to start in July 2012, with a move to an emissions trading scheme three to five years later, in order to curb emissions and fight global warming.
A carbon price has yet to be set, but media reports suggest the government wants a low price of about A$20 ($21) a tonne.
Emissions-intensive exporters such as steel companies BlueScope and OneSteel and the coal industry have already raised concerns that a carbon tax would hurt their international competitiveness and cost thousands of jobs.
Trade unions, traditional supporters of the Labor party, have also voiced growing concern at the tax, warning they would not tolerate job losses.
Isra-Mart srl : China's low-carbon leadership headlines fail to capture the reality
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There is no doubt that China is emerging as a major economic force, but some claims about technological leadership are premature.
It is now common to hear claims that China has "caught up" with the world's leading economies. Last month, the Pew Environment Group put China at the top of its clean energy investment rankings for 2010. Investment in China reached $54bn, with Germany in second place ($41bn) and the US in third ($34bn). In a similar vein, the Royal Society recently published data showing that China is set to overtake the US in academic publications by 2013 if current trends continue.
But what lies behind these headlines? Do these indicators show that China is really taking the lead so quickly in the clean technology race – or are such claims premature? Our recent research with Tsinghua University on low-carbon innovation in China has spent the past year examining this question. It has found a more mixed picture than the headlines suggest.
China's rapid rise is not in doubt. GDP has been increasing at around 10% a year for more than two decades. Alongside this, the environmental side effects of growth have caused significant concern. This has led to a series of targets for energy efficiency and the development of non-fossil energy sources. The energy intensity target for the 11th five-year plan aimed for a 20% reduction between 2006 and 2010. The target was just about met, but not without panic by provincial officials who implemented power cuts in some areas.
Targets for individual low-carbon technologies have repeatedly been revised upwards as development outstripped expectations. Wind power growth has caught particular attention - with capacity rising from 13 gigawatts (GW) in 2008 to 42GW in 2010 (equivalent to half the power plant capacity in the UK). China is the world's largest user of solar hot water systems, and its subsidies for alternative fuel vehicles are substantial. There are ambitious plans to increase nuclear power capacity from the current 10GW to 80GW by 2020. In the light of the Fukushima accident, this now seems unrealistic – and plans are on hold pending a review.
Discussions of technology deployment can only take us so far in understanding China's low-carbon position. With respect to technology development and manufacturing, the picture is more complex. In some technologies such as wind power, the headlines appear to be broadly right. Homegrown wind turbine manufacturers such as Goldwind and Sinovel are now amongst the world's top five, though questions remain about their ability to move into advanced offshore wind technologies. But wind power policy in China also has some weaknesses. According to the Worldwatch Institute, around one-third of China's wind power projects have trouble connecting to the grid. Developers have rushed to build new capacity, but with insufficient consideration of how their power would be distributed.
In other areas, our research found significant gaps. In electric vehicles, Chinese companies complain that they do not have independent capabilities in key technologies and systems. In coal-fired power, domestic manufacturers are rapidly increasing efficiency to international levels. Some independent innovation has been achieved, for example in technologies which produce synthetic gas from coal. But many technologies used in the most advanced plants are still licensed from firms in OECD countries. China's most efficient coal-fired power plant at Waigaoqiao was built using technology owned by two European firms.
China is also experimenting with carbon capture and storage technologies. These technologies are often seen as essential if carbon emissions from China are to be reduced over the long term. The recent Clean Energy Ministerial called for stronger international action to develop these technologies. However, the possibility that China might take the lead here seems unrealistic. In this power-hungry country, most utilities are put off by the 25% loss in efficiency required to power the carbon capture equipment.
China is emerging as a major economic force no doubt, but some claims about technological leadership are premature. They serve as useful warnings to governments and firms in the OECD that the technological gap is closing fast. But they do not adequately capture the current reality. They fail to make a distinction between the deployment of cleaner technologies such as wind power in China, and the extent to which this represents genuine technological leadership. They also fail to account for the vast differences between low-carbon technologies in China – in performance, capabilities and levels of investment.
Isra-Mart srl news:
There is no doubt that China is emerging as a major economic force, but some claims about technological leadership are premature.
It is now common to hear claims that China has "caught up" with the world's leading economies. Last month, the Pew Environment Group put China at the top of its clean energy investment rankings for 2010. Investment in China reached $54bn, with Germany in second place ($41bn) and the US in third ($34bn). In a similar vein, the Royal Society recently published data showing that China is set to overtake the US in academic publications by 2013 if current trends continue.
But what lies behind these headlines? Do these indicators show that China is really taking the lead so quickly in the clean technology race – or are such claims premature? Our recent research with Tsinghua University on low-carbon innovation in China has spent the past year examining this question. It has found a more mixed picture than the headlines suggest.
China's rapid rise is not in doubt. GDP has been increasing at around 10% a year for more than two decades. Alongside this, the environmental side effects of growth have caused significant concern. This has led to a series of targets for energy efficiency and the development of non-fossil energy sources. The energy intensity target for the 11th five-year plan aimed for a 20% reduction between 2006 and 2010. The target was just about met, but not without panic by provincial officials who implemented power cuts in some areas.
Targets for individual low-carbon technologies have repeatedly been revised upwards as development outstripped expectations. Wind power growth has caught particular attention - with capacity rising from 13 gigawatts (GW) in 2008 to 42GW in 2010 (equivalent to half the power plant capacity in the UK). China is the world's largest user of solar hot water systems, and its subsidies for alternative fuel vehicles are substantial. There are ambitious plans to increase nuclear power capacity from the current 10GW to 80GW by 2020. In the light of the Fukushima accident, this now seems unrealistic – and plans are on hold pending a review.
Discussions of technology deployment can only take us so far in understanding China's low-carbon position. With respect to technology development and manufacturing, the picture is more complex. In some technologies such as wind power, the headlines appear to be broadly right. Homegrown wind turbine manufacturers such as Goldwind and Sinovel are now amongst the world's top five, though questions remain about their ability to move into advanced offshore wind technologies. But wind power policy in China also has some weaknesses. According to the Worldwatch Institute, around one-third of China's wind power projects have trouble connecting to the grid. Developers have rushed to build new capacity, but with insufficient consideration of how their power would be distributed.
In other areas, our research found significant gaps. In electric vehicles, Chinese companies complain that they do not have independent capabilities in key technologies and systems. In coal-fired power, domestic manufacturers are rapidly increasing efficiency to international levels. Some independent innovation has been achieved, for example in technologies which produce synthetic gas from coal. But many technologies used in the most advanced plants are still licensed from firms in OECD countries. China's most efficient coal-fired power plant at Waigaoqiao was built using technology owned by two European firms.
China is also experimenting with carbon capture and storage technologies. These technologies are often seen as essential if carbon emissions from China are to be reduced over the long term. The recent Clean Energy Ministerial called for stronger international action to develop these technologies. However, the possibility that China might take the lead here seems unrealistic. In this power-hungry country, most utilities are put off by the 25% loss in efficiency required to power the carbon capture equipment.
China is emerging as a major economic force no doubt, but some claims about technological leadership are premature. They serve as useful warnings to governments and firms in the OECD that the technological gap is closing fast. But they do not adequately capture the current reality. They fail to make a distinction between the deployment of cleaner technologies such as wind power in China, and the extent to which this represents genuine technological leadership. They also fail to account for the vast differences between low-carbon technologies in China – in performance, capabilities and levels of investment.
Isra-Mart srl : Gulf Air picks low carbon leather for seats
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Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has selected the new low carbon leather for its Falcon Gold class seats on its A320 fleet.
The innovative new made-to-order Voyager leather, designed by Scottish leather manufacturer, Andrew Muirhead & Son, is 30 per cent lighter (at approximately 600 grams per sq m) than normal leather and is expected to result in fuel cost savings for the airline.
John Tighe, senior manager at the airline said the decision to select Voyager was based on improving competitiveness, reducing operational costs and offering customers a greener product.
“Gulf Air has a history of being a pioneer in introducing innovative products and services and we are always on the lookout for new products, which help to keep us ahead of our competitors,” Tighe said.
“Voyager offers savings in operational costs due to the lighter weight of the leather. Benefits in operational costs will result in Gulf Air burning an estimated $200,000 less fuel per year in the A320 fleet alone once the fit out is completed. This will also have a knock on effect in reducing our carbon emissions, which is one of our key corporate social responsibility goals.”
“The new leather is easier to dress the seats, cutting down time on refit, and also gives a neater overall look to the seating and cabin” he added.
Archie Browning, sales director from Andrew Muirhead & Son, said: “Our track record in innovation has made us leaders in the field of upholstery leathers in the aviation industry.”
“Voyager is the next step in high performance yet environment-friendly leather. Use of Voyager will benefit the aviation industry; reducing weight helps reduce energy and fuel used, which is hugely important in a competitive industry, where customers are looking for greener options,” he added.
Gulf Air will start dressing up its Falcon Gold class seats in its new A320 fleet progressively with the new leather upholstery and is expected to complete by mid-2012, a company statement said.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has selected the new low carbon leather for its Falcon Gold class seats on its A320 fleet.
The innovative new made-to-order Voyager leather, designed by Scottish leather manufacturer, Andrew Muirhead & Son, is 30 per cent lighter (at approximately 600 grams per sq m) than normal leather and is expected to result in fuel cost savings for the airline.
John Tighe, senior manager at the airline said the decision to select Voyager was based on improving competitiveness, reducing operational costs and offering customers a greener product.
“Gulf Air has a history of being a pioneer in introducing innovative products and services and we are always on the lookout for new products, which help to keep us ahead of our competitors,” Tighe said.
“Voyager offers savings in operational costs due to the lighter weight of the leather. Benefits in operational costs will result in Gulf Air burning an estimated $200,000 less fuel per year in the A320 fleet alone once the fit out is completed. This will also have a knock on effect in reducing our carbon emissions, which is one of our key corporate social responsibility goals.”
“The new leather is easier to dress the seats, cutting down time on refit, and also gives a neater overall look to the seating and cabin” he added.
Archie Browning, sales director from Andrew Muirhead & Son, said: “Our track record in innovation has made us leaders in the field of upholstery leathers in the aviation industry.”
“Voyager is the next step in high performance yet environment-friendly leather. Use of Voyager will benefit the aviation industry; reducing weight helps reduce energy and fuel used, which is hugely important in a competitive industry, where customers are looking for greener options,” he added.
Gulf Air will start dressing up its Falcon Gold class seats in its new A320 fleet progressively with the new leather upholstery and is expected to complete by mid-2012, a company statement said.
Isra-Mart srl : All parties show consensus on carbon pricing, except Tories: survey Read it on Global News: All parties show consensus on carbon p
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart srl news:
A new survey shows that all the main political parties except the Conservatives are committed to setting a price on greenhouse gas pollution - which environmentalists say is crucial in fighting climate change.
The survey by some of the country's largest environmental groups asked each party about their green policies.
The Liberals, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Green party all favour either a cap-and-trade system that would create a market for emissions credits or imposing a tax on carbon.
The Conservatives generally do not respond to such surveys and this one is no exception.
But their position on pricing emissions is well known. They have rejected both a carbon tax and a cap-and-trade system for now, saying Canada would lose its competitive advantage by acting before the United States does.
Instead, they want to regulate individual industries.
Overall, the survey shows consensus among the other parties over how to manage environmental concerns - although they often differ on speed and approach.
"The good news is that there is a fair degree of common ground among the parties that responded on issues that matter to voters, like tackling global warming and getting toxic bisphenol A out of our food cans," said Gillian McEachern, spokeswoman for Environmental Defence, which co-ordinated the survey.
They all want to ban tankers off the Pacific Northwest. They all want to create more marine protection areas. And they all want stronger regulations on harmful chemicals in consumer goods.
On the oil sands, they all want to reduce subsidies to the oil patch and find ways to reclaim tailings ponds. The exception is the Bloc, which believes the federal government should not intervene in an area of provincial jurisdiction.
Still, no party except the Greens has put environmental policy on the front burner during the campaign for the May 2 election. And even the Greens have tended to emphasize the other parts of their platform in an attempt to appeal more broadly to the electorate.
Read it on Global News: All parties show consensus on carbon pricing, except Tories: survey
Isra-Mart srl news:
A new survey shows that all the main political parties except the Conservatives are committed to setting a price on greenhouse gas pollution - which environmentalists say is crucial in fighting climate change.
The survey by some of the country's largest environmental groups asked each party about their green policies.
The Liberals, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Green party all favour either a cap-and-trade system that would create a market for emissions credits or imposing a tax on carbon.
The Conservatives generally do not respond to such surveys and this one is no exception.
But their position on pricing emissions is well known. They have rejected both a carbon tax and a cap-and-trade system for now, saying Canada would lose its competitive advantage by acting before the United States does.
Instead, they want to regulate individual industries.
Overall, the survey shows consensus among the other parties over how to manage environmental concerns - although they often differ on speed and approach.
"The good news is that there is a fair degree of common ground among the parties that responded on issues that matter to voters, like tackling global warming and getting toxic bisphenol A out of our food cans," said Gillian McEachern, spokeswoman for Environmental Defence, which co-ordinated the survey.
They all want to ban tankers off the Pacific Northwest. They all want to create more marine protection areas. And they all want stronger regulations on harmful chemicals in consumer goods.
On the oil sands, they all want to reduce subsidies to the oil patch and find ways to reclaim tailings ponds. The exception is the Bloc, which believes the federal government should not intervene in an area of provincial jurisdiction.
Still, no party except the Greens has put environmental policy on the front burner during the campaign for the May 2 election. And even the Greens have tended to emphasize the other parts of their platform in an attempt to appeal more broadly to the electorate.
Read it on Global News: All parties show consensus on carbon pricing, except Tories: survey
Isra-Mart srl : Carbon Tax Job Losses
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart srl news:
We are told that a carbon tax is needed to reduce Australia’s production of carbon dioxide in the vain hope of producing a miniscule reduction in global temperature for our great-grandchildren.
There are two options for reducing emissions – use less carbon fuels to create the same product, or reduce the activities that produce carbon dioxide.
Record prices for carbon fuels have ensured that they are used efficiently, so option one is out.
Therefore, to reduce carbon emissions, we must produce less steel and cement, export less minerals, use less motor fuel and avgas, raise fewer cows and sheep and use less carbon based electricity.
Every such reduction MUST be accompanied by jobs losses as industries contract or move overseas.
Sunbeams and sea breezes may sometimes run the lights in a few homes, but can the alchemists in Canberra explain how we can sustain our steel, cement, tourism, mining and agricultural industries without carbon fuels such as coal, diesel, petrol and gas?
They need to tell us, otherwise we know that their “science” is a sham and they are just lusting after the revenue and power that comes with a Big New Tax.
Isra-Mart srl news:
We are told that a carbon tax is needed to reduce Australia’s production of carbon dioxide in the vain hope of producing a miniscule reduction in global temperature for our great-grandchildren.
There are two options for reducing emissions – use less carbon fuels to create the same product, or reduce the activities that produce carbon dioxide.
Record prices for carbon fuels have ensured that they are used efficiently, so option one is out.
Therefore, to reduce carbon emissions, we must produce less steel and cement, export less minerals, use less motor fuel and avgas, raise fewer cows and sheep and use less carbon based electricity.
Every such reduction MUST be accompanied by jobs losses as industries contract or move overseas.
Sunbeams and sea breezes may sometimes run the lights in a few homes, but can the alchemists in Canberra explain how we can sustain our steel, cement, tourism, mining and agricultural industries without carbon fuels such as coal, diesel, petrol and gas?
They need to tell us, otherwise we know that their “science” is a sham and they are just lusting after the revenue and power that comes with a Big New Tax.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Isra-Mart srl : Test drive Green Report: Fluence, primul sedan 100% electric disponibil in Romania
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart srl news:
Renault Fluence Z.E. (Zero Emissions) este unul dintre cele 4 autovehicule din gama electrica a Renault, ce vor fi disponibile si in Romania incepand cu anul viitor.
Pentru a vedea cum se comporta o masina 100% electrica, Green Report a testat modelul Fluence pe strazile din Capitala, in cadrul unui roadshow organizat de Renault in perioada 18-22 aprilie.
Primul soc cand conduci modelul Fluence de la Renault este absenta zgomotului. Masina pare ca porneste singura, ca impinsa la vale. Singurul sunet in interior este un suierat aproape imperceptibil, ce ramane la un nivel constant chiar si cand masina accelereaza.
Fluence accelereaza foarte usor, ajungand de la 0 la 100 km/h in 7 secunde. Soferul obisnuit cu turatiile motorului percepe viteza doar cand este proiectat in scaun, pentru ca motorul electric atinge imediat un cuplu maxim de 226 Nm.
Motorul are o putere de 70 kW (95 cp). Accelerarile si reprizele la turatii joase sunt energice. Absenta schimbarii vitezelor si silentiozitatea motorului schimba perspectiva condusului. Totusi, Fluence nu este pentru amatorii de senzatii tari. Viteza maxima este limitata electronic la 135 km/h.
Din exterior, masina este perfect silentioasa. Vazand-o cum aluneca pe sosea, am facut un exercitiu de imaginatie, cu un Bucuresti in care circula doar masini electrice. Imaginea unui oras lipsit de vacarmul motoarelor si in care oamenii se aud fara sa ridice tonul este greu de imaginat, insa Fluence demonstreaza ca acest lucru este posibil.
Sistemul de inchidere centralizata s-a declansat imediat dupa pornire. Fluence s-a descurcat foarte bine in curbe stranse dand senzatia de stabilitate si fiind usor de controlat. Suspensiile au trecut cu bine testul gropilor bucurestene, fara a zdruncina prea mult pasagerii.
Interior spatios si elegantSpatiul interior al Renault Fluence Z.E. este demn de o berlina clasata in segmentul superior, beneficiind de un design prietenos si in acelasi timp elegant, cu finisaje de calitate si tapiteria realizata dintr-o combinatie de material textil si piele ecologica.
Spatiul este generos si ofera acelasi grad de confort ca si versiunea cu motor termic. De asemenea, habitaclul reuneste elementele prezentate pentru versiunea cu motor termic.
Tabloul de bord a fost refacut insa pentru a incorpora instrumente de control si de masurare a modurilor de propulsie electrica. De exemplu, turometrul obisnuit al vehiculelor termice este inlocuit, in acest caz, cu un contor care inventariaza informatiile referitoare la autonomie si la incarcare. In acest fel, soferul stie in permanenta cati kilometri mai poate parcurge.
Renault Fluence Z.E. este un vehicul ecologic, dotat cu tehnologii de varf care se adreseaza atat clientilor persoane fizice, cat si clientilor de flote, aflati in cautarea unui vehicul spatios si cu confort sporit.
Cu o lungime de 4,75 m, versiunea electrica a modelului Fluence este mai lunga cu 13 cm decat versiunea echivalenta cu motor termic. Partea posterioara a masinii a fost reproiectata integral pentru a permite incorporarea bateriilor in spatele banchetei, pastrand in acelasi timp un volum al portbagajului de 300 dm3.
Renault Fluence Z.E. este un vehicul foarte bine echipat care dispune de toate tehnologiile utile, precum sistemul inteligent de navigatie integrat, telefonie Bluetooth, aer conditionat automat bi-zona, aprindere automata a farurilor si declansare automata a stergatoarelor.
Motorizare si autonomie
Renault Fluence Z.E. are o autonomie de 185 de km. Gestionarea acestei autonomii este miza majora a vehiculului electric. Tabloul de bord contine o interfata om-masina, dezvoltata in scopul informarii soferului asupra gradului de incarcare a vehiculului si asupra autonomiei ramase. De asemenea, sunt propuse noi capacitati, precum un sistem de pre-incalzire si pre-ventilare pe durata incarcarii, pentru a nu solicita prea mult autonomia in timpul utilizarii vehiculului.
Motorul este alimentat de o baterie litiu-ion cu o capacitate energetica de 22kWh, avand doua modalitati diferite de reincarcare:
Incarcare standard: este modalitatea de incarcare cea mai uzuala si cea mai practica pentru utilizatori. Prin simpla conectare a masinii la o priza, la domiciliu sau la o borna de incarcare publica (intr-o parcare, de exemplu), se asigura o unei incarcare completa intr-un interval cuprins intre 6 si 8 ore, in functie de puterea disponibila.
Pentru incarcarea la domiciliu exista 2 posibilitati: conectarea la un Wall-Box (borna casnica de incarcare montata pe perete) sau la o priza casnica conventionala cu ajutorul unui cablu EVSE, oferit ca si accesoriu.
Renault recomanda instalarea unei Wall-Box, care prezinta numeroase avantaje, precum ergonomia, viteza, optimizarea costului de incarcare si asigurarea unei instalari conform normelor de securitate.
Sistemul Quickdrop: in anumite tari vor fi instalate borne automate de schimb de baterii. Clientul va putea sa isi inlocuiasca bateria descarcata cu o alta baterie incarcata in doar 3 minute. In prezent, instalarea unor astfel de borne este prevazuta in Israel si in Danemarca, in parteneriat cu Better Place.
Fluence ZE va fi fabricat in uzina Renault din Bursa, Turcia, pe aceleasi linii de productie ca si versiunea termica a Fluence. Masina va fi produsa in culorile bleu, gri si alb.
Renault Fluence Z.E. va fi disponibila pentru rezervari incepand cu data de 30 septembrie si va fi comercializata incepand cu toamna anului 2011 in Europa, la un pret cuprins intre 21 300€ si 26 000 €, in functie de stimulentele fiscale si de nivelul TVA-ului in vigoare.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Renault Fluence Z.E. (Zero Emissions) este unul dintre cele 4 autovehicule din gama electrica a Renault, ce vor fi disponibile si in Romania incepand cu anul viitor.
Pentru a vedea cum se comporta o masina 100% electrica, Green Report a testat modelul Fluence pe strazile din Capitala, in cadrul unui roadshow organizat de Renault in perioada 18-22 aprilie.
Primul soc cand conduci modelul Fluence de la Renault este absenta zgomotului. Masina pare ca porneste singura, ca impinsa la vale. Singurul sunet in interior este un suierat aproape imperceptibil, ce ramane la un nivel constant chiar si cand masina accelereaza.
Fluence accelereaza foarte usor, ajungand de la 0 la 100 km/h in 7 secunde. Soferul obisnuit cu turatiile motorului percepe viteza doar cand este proiectat in scaun, pentru ca motorul electric atinge imediat un cuplu maxim de 226 Nm.
Motorul are o putere de 70 kW (95 cp). Accelerarile si reprizele la turatii joase sunt energice. Absenta schimbarii vitezelor si silentiozitatea motorului schimba perspectiva condusului. Totusi, Fluence nu este pentru amatorii de senzatii tari. Viteza maxima este limitata electronic la 135 km/h.
Din exterior, masina este perfect silentioasa. Vazand-o cum aluneca pe sosea, am facut un exercitiu de imaginatie, cu un Bucuresti in care circula doar masini electrice. Imaginea unui oras lipsit de vacarmul motoarelor si in care oamenii se aud fara sa ridice tonul este greu de imaginat, insa Fluence demonstreaza ca acest lucru este posibil.
Sistemul de inchidere centralizata s-a declansat imediat dupa pornire. Fluence s-a descurcat foarte bine in curbe stranse dand senzatia de stabilitate si fiind usor de controlat. Suspensiile au trecut cu bine testul gropilor bucurestene, fara a zdruncina prea mult pasagerii.
Interior spatios si elegantSpatiul interior al Renault Fluence Z.E. este demn de o berlina clasata in segmentul superior, beneficiind de un design prietenos si in acelasi timp elegant, cu finisaje de calitate si tapiteria realizata dintr-o combinatie de material textil si piele ecologica.
Spatiul este generos si ofera acelasi grad de confort ca si versiunea cu motor termic. De asemenea, habitaclul reuneste elementele prezentate pentru versiunea cu motor termic.
Tabloul de bord a fost refacut insa pentru a incorpora instrumente de control si de masurare a modurilor de propulsie electrica. De exemplu, turometrul obisnuit al vehiculelor termice este inlocuit, in acest caz, cu un contor care inventariaza informatiile referitoare la autonomie si la incarcare. In acest fel, soferul stie in permanenta cati kilometri mai poate parcurge.
Renault Fluence Z.E. este un vehicul ecologic, dotat cu tehnologii de varf care se adreseaza atat clientilor persoane fizice, cat si clientilor de flote, aflati in cautarea unui vehicul spatios si cu confort sporit.
Cu o lungime de 4,75 m, versiunea electrica a modelului Fluence este mai lunga cu 13 cm decat versiunea echivalenta cu motor termic. Partea posterioara a masinii a fost reproiectata integral pentru a permite incorporarea bateriilor in spatele banchetei, pastrand in acelasi timp un volum al portbagajului de 300 dm3.
Renault Fluence Z.E. este un vehicul foarte bine echipat care dispune de toate tehnologiile utile, precum sistemul inteligent de navigatie integrat, telefonie Bluetooth, aer conditionat automat bi-zona, aprindere automata a farurilor si declansare automata a stergatoarelor.
Motorizare si autonomie
Renault Fluence Z.E. are o autonomie de 185 de km. Gestionarea acestei autonomii este miza majora a vehiculului electric. Tabloul de bord contine o interfata om-masina, dezvoltata in scopul informarii soferului asupra gradului de incarcare a vehiculului si asupra autonomiei ramase. De asemenea, sunt propuse noi capacitati, precum un sistem de pre-incalzire si pre-ventilare pe durata incarcarii, pentru a nu solicita prea mult autonomia in timpul utilizarii vehiculului.
Motorul este alimentat de o baterie litiu-ion cu o capacitate energetica de 22kWh, avand doua modalitati diferite de reincarcare:
Incarcare standard: este modalitatea de incarcare cea mai uzuala si cea mai practica pentru utilizatori. Prin simpla conectare a masinii la o priza, la domiciliu sau la o borna de incarcare publica (intr-o parcare, de exemplu), se asigura o unei incarcare completa intr-un interval cuprins intre 6 si 8 ore, in functie de puterea disponibila.
Pentru incarcarea la domiciliu exista 2 posibilitati: conectarea la un Wall-Box (borna casnica de incarcare montata pe perete) sau la o priza casnica conventionala cu ajutorul unui cablu EVSE, oferit ca si accesoriu.
Renault recomanda instalarea unei Wall-Box, care prezinta numeroase avantaje, precum ergonomia, viteza, optimizarea costului de incarcare si asigurarea unei instalari conform normelor de securitate.
Sistemul Quickdrop: in anumite tari vor fi instalate borne automate de schimb de baterii. Clientul va putea sa isi inlocuiasca bateria descarcata cu o alta baterie incarcata in doar 3 minute. In prezent, instalarea unor astfel de borne este prevazuta in Israel si in Danemarca, in parteneriat cu Better Place.
Fluence ZE va fi fabricat in uzina Renault din Bursa, Turcia, pe aceleasi linii de productie ca si versiunea termica a Fluence. Masina va fi produsa in culorile bleu, gri si alb.
Renault Fluence Z.E. va fi disponibila pentru rezervari incepand cu data de 30 septembrie si va fi comercializata incepand cu toamna anului 2011 in Europa, la un pret cuprins intre 21 300€ si 26 000 €, in functie de stimulentele fiscale si de nivelul TVA-ului in vigoare.
Isra-Mart srl : Energie din deseuri in Bucuresti, printr-un proiect de 15 milioane dolari
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart Srl news:
Compania americana Adama Technologies va vinde un proiect de productie a energiei regenerabile dezvoltat in Bucuresti, valoarea tranzactiei, inca in negocieri, fiind de circa 15 milioane de dolari, informeaza Mediafax.
Adama a semnat in acest sens, cu o companie specializata in productia de energie regenerabila si reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de sera, un acord neangajant.
Proiectul vizeaza o productie de 2,5 MW de energie din gazeificarea deseurilor menajere, potrivit unui comunicat al Adama.
Cele doua parti negociaza in jurul sumei de 15 milioane de dolari, pretul final fiind conditionat de o evaluare independenta. Procedurile de analiza derulate de cumparator urmeaza sa se incheie pana la 30 iulie.
Compania Adama Technologies a fost infiintata in 2007, in statul american Delaware, si are activitati de reciclare si ecologizare, inclusiv recuperarea de zone industriale sau comerciale contaminate.
In septembrie anul trecut Adama Technologies a anuntat ca intentioneaza sa construiasca patru fabrici de reciclare a anvelopelor in Romania, in parteneriat cu mai multi investitori locali, putand atrage in acest scop fonduri de la Uniunea Europeana si statul roman.
Isra-Mart Srl news:
Compania americana Adama Technologies va vinde un proiect de productie a energiei regenerabile dezvoltat in Bucuresti, valoarea tranzactiei, inca in negocieri, fiind de circa 15 milioane de dolari, informeaza Mediafax.
Adama a semnat in acest sens, cu o companie specializata in productia de energie regenerabila si reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de sera, un acord neangajant.
Proiectul vizeaza o productie de 2,5 MW de energie din gazeificarea deseurilor menajere, potrivit unui comunicat al Adama.
Cele doua parti negociaza in jurul sumei de 15 milioane de dolari, pretul final fiind conditionat de o evaluare independenta. Procedurile de analiza derulate de cumparator urmeaza sa se incheie pana la 30 iulie.
Compania Adama Technologies a fost infiintata in 2007, in statul american Delaware, si are activitati de reciclare si ecologizare, inclusiv recuperarea de zone industriale sau comerciale contaminate.
In septembrie anul trecut Adama Technologies a anuntat ca intentioneaza sa construiasca patru fabrici de reciclare a anvelopelor in Romania, in parteneriat cu mai multi investitori locali, putand atrage in acest scop fonduri de la Uniunea Europeana si statul roman.
Isra-Mart srl : Solar firms sign £52m deal to tap Renewable Heat Incentive demand
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart srl news:
Predictions of soaring demand for solar thermal systems following the launch of the government's Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) have prompted two of the UK's leading solar firms to sign an equipment deal this week worth up to £52m.
The partnership will see Solar Fusion agree to install solar thermal systems manufactured by London-based Surface Power.
Michael Byrne, chief executive of Solar Fusion, said that the two companies were now well positioned to benefit from the RHI, which comes into force in July offering payments for 20 years to businesses producing heat from renewable sources. Households are set to enter the scheme in 2012.
According to government figures, around half the UK's carbon emissions are currently produced through heating, 95 per cent of which is generated by burning fossil fuels.
But by 2020 the government expects the RHI to result in 13,000 renewable heat installations at industrial sites and 110,000 installations in the commercial and public sector, meeting a quarter of the country's heat demand.
Byrne argued that the policy would kick-start the next stage of the companies' developments in the UK.
"As a leading solar hot thermal integration company, it's important that we secure access to the most powerful solar thermal technology in advance of the RHI," he said. "High performance per square metre equals the highest RHI tariff paid per year by the government."
Isra-Mart srl news:
Predictions of soaring demand for solar thermal systems following the launch of the government's Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) have prompted two of the UK's leading solar firms to sign an equipment deal this week worth up to £52m.
The partnership will see Solar Fusion agree to install solar thermal systems manufactured by London-based Surface Power.
Michael Byrne, chief executive of Solar Fusion, said that the two companies were now well positioned to benefit from the RHI, which comes into force in July offering payments for 20 years to businesses producing heat from renewable sources. Households are set to enter the scheme in 2012.
According to government figures, around half the UK's carbon emissions are currently produced through heating, 95 per cent of which is generated by burning fossil fuels.
But by 2020 the government expects the RHI to result in 13,000 renewable heat installations at industrial sites and 110,000 installations in the commercial and public sector, meeting a quarter of the country's heat demand.
Byrne argued that the policy would kick-start the next stage of the companies' developments in the UK.
"As a leading solar hot thermal integration company, it's important that we secure access to the most powerful solar thermal technology in advance of the RHI," he said. "High performance per square metre equals the highest RHI tariff paid per year by the government."
Isra-Mart srl : Fossil fuel firms use 'biased' study in massive gas lobbying push
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart srl news:
Senior executives in the fossil fuel industry have launched an all-out assault on renewable energy, lobbying governments and business groups to reject wind and solar power in favour of gas, in a move that could choke the fledgling green energy industry.
Multinational companies including Shell, GDF Suez and Statoil are promoting gas as an alternative "green" fuel. These companies are among dozens around the world investing in new technologies to exploit shale gas, a controversial form of the fuel that has rejuvenated the gas industry because it is plentiful in supply and newly accessible due to technical advances in gas extraction known as "fracking".
The expansion of shale gas holds out the promise of a glut in gas that is driving down prices and creating a bonanza for the fossil fuel industry. Burning gas in power stations releases about half the carbon emissions of coal, allowing gas companies to claim it is a "green" source of fuel.
Central to the lobbying effort is a report claiming that the EU could meet its 2050 carbon targets €900bn more cheaply by using gas than by investing in renewables. But the Guardian has established that the analysis is based on a previous report that came to the opposite conclusion - that renewables should play a much larger role. The report being pushed by the fossil fuel industry has been disowned by its original authors who referred to it as "biased" in favour of gas.
For the last two months, company lobbyists have been besieging government officials in Europe, the US and elsewhere to push the report. Their efforts are being boosted through alliances with energy-intensive industries, which are joining in the pressure on government in the hope of securing cheap energy.
As the problems with the Fukushima plant in Japan have cast a pall over nuclear power, gas companies sense the chance to brand themselves as the main "green" source of energy. James Smith, outgoing UK chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, one of the leaders in the lobbying effort, said switching to gas would offer the world "a breathing space" in the battle against climate change.
This view was challenged by Prof David Mackay, chief scientific adviser to the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change. He told the Guardian: "You can't reach the [climate] targets like this - there is no way that switching to gas would solve the problem. I don't think it's really credible that gas is the only future."
The lobbying effort by fossil fuel companies has been intense. At a high level meeting on Wednesday, the president of the European parliament hosted a lunch for the gas industry with VIP guests including the EU's energy chief, Günther Oettinger.
It is the latest in a long round of meetings in recent months between gas lobbyists and senior officials in Brussels, including other EU commissioners and prominent MEPs, as part of the industry's charm offensive. Oettinger alone has held at least two other major meetings with gas representatives this year.
At most of these meetings, and at many other formal and informal meetings to discuss EU energy and climate change, officials have been presented with a report commissioned by the European Gas Advocacy Forum (EGAF), an industry lobbying group, based in part on an analysis by consultancy firm McKinsey and called Making the Green Journey Work. This report appears to show the EU could meet its 2050 climate targets €900bn more cheaply using gas than by investing in renewables. A copy of the report has also been presented to the office of José Manuel Barroso, the EU president, who has taken a close interest in EU gas supply with visits to the Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan this year.
Apart from coming to different conclusions about renewable energy, the report also relies on questionable assumptions about the future price of technology to capture and store carbon.
The team at the European Climate Foundation that produced the original report described the EGAF version as "biased to one preferential outcome in support of gas advocacy". They warn that adopting its conclusions would reduce energy security and expose the European economy to the volatile gas price.
A spokesperson for McKinsey said: "It is our long-standing policy not to discuss our clients or the work we do for them."
David Rimmer, Shell's general managed for global gas said, "Shell sees renewables as a major part of the future energy mix but this analysis has shown that increased reliance on gas in the near term saves money and jobs, delivers on climate targets and allows new technologies to be improved before large scale deployment."
Further doubt has been thrown on the industry's claims by a newly released academic study from Cornell University which found that generating electricity from shale gas - because of the difficulty in extracting it from rocks - produces at least as much carbon dioxide as coal-fired power, and perhaps more.
Jenny Banks, climate and energy policy officer at WWF-UK, called on the British government to halt shale gas exploration. "It would be ridiculous to encourage shale gas when in reality its greenhouse gas footprint could be as bad as or worse than coal. We need to reject this source of gas, and have a clear plan to move away from our dependency on fossil fuels and harness the full potential of renewable technologies."
Some in the gas industry are careful to argue that its fuel is complementary to renewables, as it can be relatively easily turned on and off to provide flexible back-up power when the wind is not blowing.
This argument is accepted by Oettinger, who insists that both gas and renewable energy will be needed for flexible low-carbon power generation, and some other senior figures. Nobuo Tanaka, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said: "Gas is potentially a game changer. But it is complementary to renewables, as it can be turned on and off quickly. It could be baseload power and we could turn off coal."
But renewable energy generators are wary, as they fear that cash-strapped governments will ease off on subsidies for clean power, in favour of licensing gas-fired power stations.
A new gas-fired power station would be expected to have a useful life of about 25 to 40 years. So although switching from coal to gas would help countries meet their short term emissions targets, in the longer term they would be left with fleets of redundant, high-emitting fossil fuel power stations - unless they were fitted with expensive technology to capture and store the carbon dioxide underground. However, this technology is still unproven and it is likely to be decades before it can be widely used. The economics of the technology are highly uncertain, and renewable companies argue that the assumptions used by EGAF to show that the fossil fuel is cheaper than renewables do not stand up to scrutiny.
Shale gas is controversial because it requires large amounts of water to release it from rocks, and the use of potentially dangerous chemicals that could leach into the water supply. Numerous cases in the US, which has led the way in releasing gas from shale rocks using fracking technology, have shown evidence of contamination and dangerous leaks of methane.
Prof Robert Howarth, lead author of the Cornell study, said: "My strong belief is that shale gas has been promoted far beyond the objective evidence of what it can and cannot do. It is time to step back, and objectively analyse whether this is a reasonable energy technology for our future. It is also time to analyse how environmental issues associated with the technology might be reduced, and at what cost."
Isra-Mart srl news:
Senior executives in the fossil fuel industry have launched an all-out assault on renewable energy, lobbying governments and business groups to reject wind and solar power in favour of gas, in a move that could choke the fledgling green energy industry.
Multinational companies including Shell, GDF Suez and Statoil are promoting gas as an alternative "green" fuel. These companies are among dozens around the world investing in new technologies to exploit shale gas, a controversial form of the fuel that has rejuvenated the gas industry because it is plentiful in supply and newly accessible due to technical advances in gas extraction known as "fracking".
The expansion of shale gas holds out the promise of a glut in gas that is driving down prices and creating a bonanza for the fossil fuel industry. Burning gas in power stations releases about half the carbon emissions of coal, allowing gas companies to claim it is a "green" source of fuel.
Central to the lobbying effort is a report claiming that the EU could meet its 2050 carbon targets €900bn more cheaply by using gas than by investing in renewables. But the Guardian has established that the analysis is based on a previous report that came to the opposite conclusion - that renewables should play a much larger role. The report being pushed by the fossil fuel industry has been disowned by its original authors who referred to it as "biased" in favour of gas.
For the last two months, company lobbyists have been besieging government officials in Europe, the US and elsewhere to push the report. Their efforts are being boosted through alliances with energy-intensive industries, which are joining in the pressure on government in the hope of securing cheap energy.
As the problems with the Fukushima plant in Japan have cast a pall over nuclear power, gas companies sense the chance to brand themselves as the main "green" source of energy. James Smith, outgoing UK chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, one of the leaders in the lobbying effort, said switching to gas would offer the world "a breathing space" in the battle against climate change.
This view was challenged by Prof David Mackay, chief scientific adviser to the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change. He told the Guardian: "You can't reach the [climate] targets like this - there is no way that switching to gas would solve the problem. I don't think it's really credible that gas is the only future."
The lobbying effort by fossil fuel companies has been intense. At a high level meeting on Wednesday, the president of the European parliament hosted a lunch for the gas industry with VIP guests including the EU's energy chief, Günther Oettinger.
It is the latest in a long round of meetings in recent months between gas lobbyists and senior officials in Brussels, including other EU commissioners and prominent MEPs, as part of the industry's charm offensive. Oettinger alone has held at least two other major meetings with gas representatives this year.
At most of these meetings, and at many other formal and informal meetings to discuss EU energy and climate change, officials have been presented with a report commissioned by the European Gas Advocacy Forum (EGAF), an industry lobbying group, based in part on an analysis by consultancy firm McKinsey and called Making the Green Journey Work. This report appears to show the EU could meet its 2050 climate targets €900bn more cheaply using gas than by investing in renewables. A copy of the report has also been presented to the office of José Manuel Barroso, the EU president, who has taken a close interest in EU gas supply with visits to the Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan this year.
Apart from coming to different conclusions about renewable energy, the report also relies on questionable assumptions about the future price of technology to capture and store carbon.
The team at the European Climate Foundation that produced the original report described the EGAF version as "biased to one preferential outcome in support of gas advocacy". They warn that adopting its conclusions would reduce energy security and expose the European economy to the volatile gas price.
A spokesperson for McKinsey said: "It is our long-standing policy not to discuss our clients or the work we do for them."
David Rimmer, Shell's general managed for global gas said, "Shell sees renewables as a major part of the future energy mix but this analysis has shown that increased reliance on gas in the near term saves money and jobs, delivers on climate targets and allows new technologies to be improved before large scale deployment."
Further doubt has been thrown on the industry's claims by a newly released academic study from Cornell University which found that generating electricity from shale gas - because of the difficulty in extracting it from rocks - produces at least as much carbon dioxide as coal-fired power, and perhaps more.
Jenny Banks, climate and energy policy officer at WWF-UK, called on the British government to halt shale gas exploration. "It would be ridiculous to encourage shale gas when in reality its greenhouse gas footprint could be as bad as or worse than coal. We need to reject this source of gas, and have a clear plan to move away from our dependency on fossil fuels and harness the full potential of renewable technologies."
Some in the gas industry are careful to argue that its fuel is complementary to renewables, as it can be relatively easily turned on and off to provide flexible back-up power when the wind is not blowing.
This argument is accepted by Oettinger, who insists that both gas and renewable energy will be needed for flexible low-carbon power generation, and some other senior figures. Nobuo Tanaka, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said: "Gas is potentially a game changer. But it is complementary to renewables, as it can be turned on and off quickly. It could be baseload power and we could turn off coal."
But renewable energy generators are wary, as they fear that cash-strapped governments will ease off on subsidies for clean power, in favour of licensing gas-fired power stations.
A new gas-fired power station would be expected to have a useful life of about 25 to 40 years. So although switching from coal to gas would help countries meet their short term emissions targets, in the longer term they would be left with fleets of redundant, high-emitting fossil fuel power stations - unless they were fitted with expensive technology to capture and store the carbon dioxide underground. However, this technology is still unproven and it is likely to be decades before it can be widely used. The economics of the technology are highly uncertain, and renewable companies argue that the assumptions used by EGAF to show that the fossil fuel is cheaper than renewables do not stand up to scrutiny.
Shale gas is controversial because it requires large amounts of water to release it from rocks, and the use of potentially dangerous chemicals that could leach into the water supply. Numerous cases in the US, which has led the way in releasing gas from shale rocks using fracking technology, have shown evidence of contamination and dangerous leaks of methane.
Prof Robert Howarth, lead author of the Cornell study, said: "My strong belief is that shale gas has been promoted far beyond the objective evidence of what it can and cannot do. It is time to step back, and objectively analyse whether this is a reasonable energy technology for our future. It is also time to analyse how environmental issues associated with the technology might be reduced, and at what cost."
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