With no cars and little electricity, emissions of carbon dioxide (the main heat-trapping gas linked to global warming) from any small Indian village, are near zero. But soot — also known as black carbon — from millions of villages in developing countries, is emerging as a major and previously unappreciated source of global climate change. While carbon dioxide might be the top contributor to rising global temperatures, scientists say, black carbon has emerged as an important second, with recent studies estimating that it is responsible for 18 percent of the planet's warming, compared with 40 percent for carbon dioxide. In Asia and Africa, stoves produce the bulk of black carbon, although it also emanates from diesel engines and coal plants there. The environmental and geopolitical implications of soot emissions are enormous. Many studies point out that at the current rate of emissions, Himalayan glaciers are expected to lose 75 percent of their ice by 2020,which could dry up rivers resulting in not only human suffering but potential new Geo-political conflicts.
Story of Stuff
This is a great video, with an interesting story of the faulty economic model and how its linear model is destroying the environment and people.
Whats Next in Innovation
Management Guru C.K. Prahalad examines the technique of tapping individual consumers to help develop products and create appealing experiences.
Turn a Blind Eye
If global warming is the biggest problem humans have ever caused and the sole civilization-a challenging trial the modern world has ever faced, what do most of us do- just watch the slow-motion horror unfold . So far, the planet’s temperature has gone up little more than 1 degree F. But Earth is more finely balanced than we’d realized and that 1 degree has been enough to knock it off-kilter. Hydrological cycles have been destabilized—we see massive increases in both droughts and flooding because warm air holds more water vapor than cold. We see increase in intense storms. And in the last 2 years we’ve seen a jaw-dropping sight: the runaway melt of Arctic sea ice. This is a sign that the global warming human beings kick-started has begun to take on a life of its own; the open Northwest Passage not only proves that the planet is heating up but, because blue water absorbs sunlight that the white ice once reflected, amps up the warming
1 degree so far, but the consensus suggests that, without truly dramatic action very soon, Earth’s temperature will rise by something on the order of an additional 5 degrees within this century. And if anything like that happens? Picture this: monsoons shifted off their historic paths. Sea levels will rise so high and so fast that you can pretty much forget the coastlines where civilization developed. In fact, we may well end up losing much of civilization. That strikes you as overblown, right? Yet the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s James Hansen, our foremost climatologist, wrote in 2008 that “if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that carbon dioxide will need to be reduced” 2 to no more than 350 parts per million.
The key word in that sentence is the last one: reduced. Almost all climate policy work has focused on the idea that we’ll eventually need to cap the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, at 550 parts per million, say, or 450 parts per million. But the melt of the Arctic should kill those cozy plans. We’re at 385 parts per million of carbon dioxide right now, up from 275 before the Industrial Revolution. Hansen says that any number above 350 parts per million will push us past all the tipping points
The world comes together in Copenhagen, in December 2009, to strike a new climate deal, a successor to the Kyoto treaty. We have just one last chance to get it right.
Sustainability at Low Cost
LifeStraw – Fifty year old Swiss firm Vestergaard Frandsen, which specializes in disease control products, created LifeStraw for developing countries where safe water is scarce. Presented at the Sustainable Brands conference, LifeStraw is powered by sucking no electricity or batteries to create 99.9% purified water instantly, screening out disease-causing microbes.
World Energy Outlook - 2009
The annual WEO series is the flagship publication of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and has gained a reputation as the most authoritative source for Energy Analysis and Projections. Each year it provides a quantitative outlook for energy supply and demand in the medium term (2010-2015) & longer-term (2015-2030) and draws lessons for energy security, investment and the environment
In a year that is so crucial for securing a new global deal to address climate change, the IEA has taken unprecedented step to release a special early excerpt of WEO 2009 climate change analysis so as ensure incorporation of the detailed understanding of the energy sector in the UNFCC negotiations in Copenhagen in Dec’09.
The 2008 report highlighted that preventing catastrophic and irreversible damage to the global climate ultimately requires a major de-carbonisation of the world energy sources. On current trends, energy-related emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases will rise inexorably, pushing up average global temperature by as much as 6o C in the long term. The projected rise in greenhouse gases puts us on a course of doubling the concentration of those gases by the end of this century. CO2 emissions will rise from 28 Gt in 2006 to 41Gt in 2030.The five largest emitters of energy-related CO2 are China, USA, European Union, India and Russia.
The report predicts that world primary energy demand will grow by 1.6% per year on average in 2006-2030, from 11,730 Mtoe to 17,010 Mtoe – an increase of 45%. China and India will account for just over half of the increase in this demand, what is most worrying is the rising share of coal in global energy demand, 269% in 2030 with these two nations again contributing to 85 % of this increase.
The summer of 2007 was one of the hottest years, ever since measurement of temperature started in mid 1880’s. The record-breaking loss of Arctic sea ice is a glaring symbol of continuous rise in global temperatures. Move the slider to see the change in perennial sea ice. (Based on satellite imaging since 1979)
Promoting Energy Efficiency in the developing world
Big gains await developing countries If they raise their energy productivity, research by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has found: they could slow the growth of their energy demand by more than half over the next 12 years—to 1.4% a year, from 3.4%—which would leave demand some 25% lower in 2020 than it would otherwise have been
Companies that pioneer energy efficiency in their home markets will be well placed to carve out a leading position in the global market for “green” products and services before it matures. Indeed, 65% of available positive-return opportunities to boost energy productivity are located in developing regions.
Many companies, insulated from the true price of energy, have relatively little incentive to identify and invest in the fragmented energy savings opportunities that are available.For energy policy, there are adjustments that developing countries can make. MGI identifies 4 priority areas:
The first is to reduce energy subsidies, as they tend to lower energy productivity. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that in 2005, these subsidies totaled more than $250 billion a year in developing countries—more than the annual investment needed to build their electricity supply infrastructure.
Second, governments should provide incentives for utilities to improve energy efficiency and encourage their customers to do the same. Policy options include revenue incentives and certification programs that measure and reward progress toward achieving efficiency targets and also encourage the adoption of technologies such as smart metering that help households better manage their energy use.
Implementing and enforcing Energy Efficiency Standards is a third area for action. Such standards boost production of more efficient appliances and equipment and reduce their cost.
A fourth priority is encouraging public–private partnerships, such as collaborations between governments, energy service companies, utilities and mortgage companies, to finance higher energy efficiency in buildings.
|Why React | Gaia Energy | 
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With no cars and little electricity, emissions of carbon dioxide (the main heat-trapping gas linked to global warming) from any small Indian village, are near zero. But soot — also known as black carbon — from millions of villages in developing countries, is emerging as a major and previously unappreciated source of global climate change. While carbon dioxide might be the top contributor to rising global temperatures, scientists say, black carbon has emerged as an important second, with recent studies estimating that it is responsible for 18 percent of the planet's warming, compared with 40 percent for carbon dioxide. In Asia and Africa, stoves produce the bulk of black carbon, although it also emanates from diesel engines and coal plants there. The environmental and geopolitical implications of soot emissions are enormous. Many studies point out that at the current rate of emissions, Himalayan glaciers are expected to lose 75 percent of their ice by 2020,which could dry up rivers resulting in not only human suffering but potential new Geo-political conflicts.
