Environmental Articles » Global Warming

Investing In Green Businesses To Help The Environment

Earth News Media — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:57:12 +0000

For many years, money that was used for good will was called charity and money used to make more money was called investing. Not anymore.

Today, the two concepts are forming into a financial arena called socially responsible investing. Both investors and mutual fund companies are implementing this new idea and discovering that they can be profitable and at the same time do some good for the environment and society.

“Socially responsible investing means you don’t have to compromise your own personal beliefs to make money on Wall Street — whatever those beliefs are,” said Bob Guthrie, an investment broker with A.G. Edwards in Burlington, Vt.

Even back in the early 1900’s the idea of choosing investments for social reasons occurred when church members formed together and refused to invest in tobacco or alcohol companies. Guthrie also says that the trend has continued with investors dodging corporations associated with the Vietnam War or companies investing in South Africa. And that trend continues today with investors selecting companies that are more environmentally friendly over those that are not.

But growth in this form of selective investing has skyrocketed during the past couple of years as more and more individuals and corporations have moved social and environmental consciousness into the mainstream of their investments. And this impact is being felt worldwide.

With help from stockholders, business practices concerning the environment are starting to change, said Rob Kruger, vice president of portfolio management at Progressive Asset Management. While the issues may vary, he said companies are realizing they will suffer if they aren’t viewed as being socially responsible.

Kruger said, “As this investing community continues to grow, a lot of proposals are being addressed by investors at annual shareholder meetings. A whole spectrum of issues and activities is now being put forward.”

As part of its operation, Progressive Asset Management conducts research for socially responsible mutual funds. The firm screens companies for environmental problems or nuclear involvement — whatever issues their clients want investigated.

“As the clock ticks, companies are becoming more and more cooperative with us,” Kruger said. “A lot of them are now very anxious to talk about these social and environmental issues.”

Guthrie agrees that business practices are changing and says American companies are aware of shareholders who are concerned with the environment.

“Make sure your hard-earned capital is not invested in companies with little concern for the environment,” he advises. “Keep these things in mind when you invest and corporations will, too.

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Alternative Energy Solutions Can Save You Money.

Adriana Noton — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:28:06 +0000

If you want to save money on your electricity bills then you may be looking for alternative energy solutions. Fluctuating energy prices and a difficult economic climate are leading many people to look for savings on their household costs. There are several ways to change your energy supply and save money.

Besides saving on energy costs, another concern for many people is environmental damage and climate change. If you are looking for a way to reduce your carbon footprint then there are two main areas to look at with regard to your house. Energy conservation is important. This can be achieved by using wind power or having quality insulation so that you can turn your boiler down. The other consideration is installation of a green energy technology.

It is difficult to produce figures for the possible savings when changing electricity supply as house size and location change the figures immensely. There really is no reliable average. However you can use an online energy calculator do a home energy check. You will input information about your house and the website can calculate how much money you are likely to save by using different sustainable energy technologies. This is a great way to decide which type of technology to use and it will help you to figure out how much you can afford to invest.

Wind and solar power are the most used forms of renewable energy in homes. The weather is usually the deciding factor when deciding between the two. It is a rare place that has as much sun as wind and so you need to choose the one which will generate the most power.

Solar panels are made from a series of photovoltaic cells these are what change the sunlight into electricity. They have to be placed in the best place to capture sunlight which is usually on the roof of your house. Many people are avoiding solar power because they have heard that it is very expensive to install. This used to be true but competition among green power companies and the changes in technology which have taken place have lowered prices significantly.

The same was true for wind turbines for a long time too. They were expensive to buy and then often did not produce much electricity. In recent years developments in the technology have lead to lower prices and more efficient turbines. You still need to live in a place with strong winds to make the investment pay.

Many people are not aware that it is possible to build both these technologies at home. Except for large turbines you will not need any specialist experience and the knowledge is easily available on the internet. Solar panel can be constructed using products from hardware stores. The process is fairly simple and for an average size panel could be completed in a weekend. If you do not want to build one from scratch the other option is to use a self-assembly kit. Turbines can be a little more complicated as there are more safety considerations. If you are building a large turbine it is advisable to get advice from an expert. However micro turbines are easy to make and install.

Finding alternative energy solutions is important for all of us so that we can mitigate the effects of climate change and reduce energy costs for our households.

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The Great Lakes And Global Warming Will Result In Drastic Environmental Changes

Adriana Noton — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:02:49 +0000

Climate change is a hot button issue, but even without playing a blame game, there is weight to the data that has been collected. The Earth will warm as it has in the past, but the repercussions will be far reaching. Within North America, the Great Lakes and global warming will interact in a way that could change the region vastly.

Already dealing with the onslaught of invasive species, global warming will only add additional pressure to the Great Lakes region. These vast reservoirs of fresh water account for twenty percent of the total amount of fresh water on the planet, a resource that will become scarcer in the future.

The importance of the region cannot be downplayed. Outside of the manufacturing of drinking water, it is also a huge producer of hydroelectric power, is a thoroughfare for shipping routes, as well as being a tourist attraction. A variety of species, both plant and animal, make their home along the shore and within the lakes themselves.

With all of these positives, there is a flipside to use and land development including air and water pollution and urban encroachment into habitats. Because of these issues, the region is more susceptible to being affected by global warming. Something as innocuous as climate change can reap disastrous results.

Warming temperatures will increase the melting away of the ice cover that is already quite thin upon the lakes. This melting will result in an increased evaporation of the lakes themselves, bringing the water level down.

As recently as last year, the lake level of Lake Superior was at its lowest in seventy seven years and predictions for the future are estimating another three foot decrease. The effects of low water levels include restrictions to shipping and a concentration of pollutants which will damage the water quality greatly, as well as the industry for travel, leisure, and cruises.

At the present, there are preliminary measure being discussed to restore the grandeur to the Great Lakes, but it will require billions of dollars over a number of years. Updating antiquated sewage treatment systems and cleaning up the already polluted sediment will be coupled with a natural buildup of wetlands that will act as a natural filter and barrier from invasive species.

Climate change is not just increased temperature and decreased water levels, it can wreck havoc on weather systems. It is proposed that within the region there will be more storms, as well as more drought seasons. This will increase pollution run off, it will act as a viral incubator and the lakes could be littered with dead zones. Dead zones are the result of algae overgrowth that creates oxygen free zones.

The predicted future statistics are not encouraging. The temperature itself will be increased two to four degree centigrade with lake levels falling anywhere from 1.5 to 8 feet! Weather wise, the increase in storms may be 25%.

The future may seem to hold a number of destructive elements, but they can be tempered by being proactive in the present and working to make the Great Lakes as great as they once were.

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Why Should You Care About Global Warming?

Sverre Philips — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:36:38 +0000

Global warming is real, the fact that ice are melting faster and faster each year in the North and South pole are no doubt a warning message to us human about the rate that the temperature is rising with each passing year. With that said, it is still one of the things which none of us would like to deal with, but like it or not it will most likely extinct us human if nothing is being done on our part.

So exactly what sort of dangers that global warming pose?

One of the first thing that will quickly hit us is a shortage of food. With the rising in sea level and causing a shift in the temperature, many marine animals will find it difficult to adapt to that habitat and will soon face extinction themselves. This is important because marine life is part of the food chain and when you take that out of the equation there will be a huge disturbance in terms of having enough food to eat.

With that in mind, can you imagine if the ice do not stop melting and the sea level just continue to rise? Within a short period of time, it’s not hard to predict that countries and island that are situated on lowly lands will be completely covered in sea. Currently, there are countries that are already reporting a rise in their sea level, as well as island sinking a couple of inches each year.

Severe hurricanes and thunderstorms are also predicted to happen as a result of that, and unfortunately not every country or every where are equipped with state of the art technology that can handle and take precaution against such happening, casualties will be inevitable.

With a change in climate and temperature, it could very well affect the chance of spreading new disease that were evolved from this climate change. Diseases and viruses evolves, can our technology and scientist keep up to combat them?

Another notable effect of global warming is the fact that it will affect our crops, higher temperature will make growing crops harder because of the increase in rain fall as well as the decline in snow fall. Crops that depends on cold weather will especially suffer.

Global warming is without a doubt, a real life scenario that are caused by human activities. Release of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere have picked up since the 1970s and we have seen some of our worst disaster happened since then. Therefore, we should definitely do what we can and afford, by cutting down emission of carbon monoxide and stopping the waste of earth resources, we can make a difference.

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Learn How To Make Solar Panels For Your Home

Owen Jones — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:59:03 +0000

Many people are fed up of the escalating cost of electricity, but they do not know what they can do about it. They have switched lights off; they have not turned lights on; they have unplugged devices on stand-by and they have turned the central heating down and the air con up and it has only saved them pennies. Yet still the electricity bills go up on a regular basis. It is very exasperating.

We have all heard of alternative and sustainable sources of energy, but the question is: how can average people implement these technologies into their own homes? One phone call to a professional solar power installation company will convince anyone that solar power is only for the well-off.

Likewise with wind power generation. A single device, which may or may not satisfy the electrical needs of one standard household will cost in the region of $45,000 and it is thought that, if it meets expectations, that it will pay for itself in ten years time. $45,000 is too much money for most people, but having to wait ten years to realize that investment is too long for most individuals too.

So, at first glimpse, it looks like the average person is at the mercy of the oil companies and the electricity generators. However, it does not have to be like that. There are other means of approaching the problem and removing yourself from the clutches of energy providers. The first technique would be to buy the solar power units and install them yourself. That would save you a great deal, maybe up to 50%. But you could go a step further and make the solar panels yourself as well, which would save you a great deal more money.

The fact is that the more of your own labour that you can put into the scheme, the more you will save, because the labour constituent in any task usually comes to about 50% of the costs. We all know how expensive it is to call a plumber in to fix a leaking pipe or a roofer to replace a slate. $100 for a slate? $100 for a dribble of solder? No, it is the tradesman’s time and the same is true of solar panel fitters.

The way out is to learn how to make the solar power units and install them yourself. It is not difficult. Any teenager can learn how to do it and so can you. Take it from me, learning how to assemble and install solar panels is not difficult. Just try it and see for yourself. You will amaze yourself and your friends. You may even turn it into a business!

The thing to do is get a reliable kit or a plan from a trusted source. This could be a neighborhood hardware or hobbyist store or from a specialist website on the Internet. Once you have your plan, you can buy the components. They are commonplace and on hand in most DIY shops. Then it will take you about a day to construct a solar panel that will supply about 100 watts.

This may not seem like much, but it will power many types of small machines or two average light bulbs. The trick is to keep adding to your stock of solar panels until you are entirely free of the electricity grid or even selling electricity back into it.

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Find Out About Hybrid Cars

Larry Wood — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:08:12 +0000

It’s most likely not a news flash that gas doesn’t sound to become getting any cheaper. People all over are wondering just what they can do about the rise in price, and often the answer is to select a different vehicle. That’s easy, right? However what type of vehicle should you select? Just perhaps, you should try out a hybrid car.

The hybrid cars are the talk of the town nowadays. They come in great colors, sleek styles, and they will make your commute less costly. Whenever you look at those characteristics of the hybrid car, how could you not select to operate to the car dealer right now and pick one up? Well, we all wish we could do just that, but before you run out, perhaps you should learn a bit a lot more about these cars.

A hybrid car is a vehicle that is operate on electrical power. A combination of the conventional propulsion system and a rechargeable energy storage system that is onboard the automobile interact to provide the vehicle better fuel economy than cars that run strictly on gasoline.

Hybrid cars are not like battery electric vehicles because the batteries used in hybrid cars don’t have to be charged by an external source. Instead, in order to obtain a charge, kinetic power is produced by way of regenerative braking. Furthermore, some hybrid cars make use of their own combustion engine to produce electricity. The combustion engine really does this by spinning an electrical generator. The spinning does one of two things. It can either recharge the battery or in a a lot more direct way, it can provide power to an electric motor. This motor is what then drives the automobile.

Therefore, because this fuel-economizing vehicle can generate its own electrical power, it is very different from a vehicle that is run totally on batteries. But, there is no waiting while your car charges up outside in the garage before you go to work. All you have to do is get into the car and ride.

It is a fact that some people have experimented with electrical vehicles in the past. However, the introduction of the hybrid car outdid these types of cars when it came on the scene.

Simply because the hybrid car is so impressive in the way it powers itself and the way it is able to save travelers money on fuel, it’s known as the car from the future. At least that’s what some automakers believe, and many consumers recognize with them. The next wave of the automotive market, Hybrid cars remain to become bought by clients as the years go on.

So should you want a car that will save you on gas and will make you the talk of town, maybe you should invest in a hybrid car.

And you might discover yourself tired of just pulling over at local gas stations to fuel up. If that’s the case, you have an additional good reason to think of paying for a hybrid car. So get on over to the car dealer. It could be the best decision of your future.

Lastly, you got to check out the New Technology that save my petrol bill forever. After installing it, which I must say was very easy, I almost double my fuel economy.

Tips To Survive Higher Gasoline Prices

Larry Wood — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:08:52 +0000

Gasoline costs have seen its highs just recently. It seems for a moment that there will be no let up for that recent experience of rising of gasoline costs. It is a good thing that the cost of crude oil may have gone down a bit. But it seems that this might just be for a little moment.

There would be no assurance that the latest rise in gas costs already had reached its plateau and on the way of going down. It would only be some time before the crude oil costs may once again be rising to record levels. Even though the demand for oil within the world has gone down a bit, it does not mean that much less and less people may need it. Actually, the demand for oil is nevertheless great and that this demand may once once again bring a rise in crude oil and gasoline costs.

And with the recent rise in gas prices, car driving has become quite an costly activity. Cars, for that most part, are a necessity for a excellent number of people. Only a few might be considering of giving up Driving because from the higher gasoline costs. A lot more people would instead be thinking of surviving the latest rise of gas prices. Surviving for some might be applying some signifies of saving up on the fuel used when driving. One way that this could be done effectively is by improving the car’s mileage. Besides buying a new car with much better mileage, it can also be likely to increase the mileage of your current car. Here are some tips that may assist you out.

A car’s mileage can be substantially improved by merely becoming a lot more effective at car Driving. Effective car Driving is developing careful but effective Driving skills. Avoiding aggressive Driving might be one. Driving aggressively is handling or Driving the car with sudden accelerations and braking which can waste a substantial amount of fuel. You are able to waste from 5 to 33 percent of fuel of your car. This waste can add up pretty much and can worsen using the rising gasoline prices. Surviving the rising gasoline prices can mean Driving a lot more carefully and avoiding sudden accelerations and stops. Driving this way can assist improve gas mileage.

An additional method to enhance the cars gasoline mileage is by getting rid of accumulated excess weight. Some cars can very easily accumulate a lot of junk inside its trunk over time. Some people may just ignore them, but the excess weight can really lessen the car’s mileage. By merely making the car lighter by removing some unwanted weight, utilizing less gas on every trip may be possible.

Carrying additional weight on the car means that it may require a lot more power and power to move. The additional power required signifies more fuel being used. Just by getting rid of the heavy junk or extra weight inside the car might be a lot more than enough to help enhance gas mileage.

Another method to maintain a cars good mileage is to get it frequently checked. Cars may go through wear and tear every time it’s being used. As time passes, this could accumulate and affect the cars mileage. One way of trying to prevent this is by following a cars preventive maintenance schedule. Most cars follow a certain maintenance schedule that allows them to remain effective as time passes by keeping it properly maintained. A well maintained car can nevertheless enjoy good mileage even after many years on the road. Normal maintenance checks will permit even an aging car to be correctly tuned up can assist it run with great mileage. That can greatly assist car owners survive the increasing gasoline prices along the way.

Lastly, you got to check out the New Technology that save my petrol bill forever. After installing it, which I must say was very easy, I almost double my fuel economy.

Hydrogen Car: The Answer To High Gasoline Prices?

Larry Wood — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:34:03 +0000

The recent rise in gasoline prices have given people more reason to look for alternative means of transportation. The rising cost of using gas may have motivated a lot of people to clamor for an alternative form of transportation that would help usher in an age where humans no longer have to depend a lot on a so-called Oil Economy. And with the move to look for alternative sources of transportation, many researchers have begun looking into other forms of alternative fuels in order to run future vehicles. One of the most attractive and in fact the most appealing concept provided is the use of hydrogen to run cars. It would only be time before hydrogen cars would be used as the primary transport in the streets. Btu what exactly is it?

A hydrogen car is a relatively new type of transport vehicle that uses hydrogen as its primary on-board fuel. The hydrogen car is different from conventional vehicles in that it uses a different type of engine to make the vehicle move. There are two ways that this can be made possible. There is one type of hydrogen car can be powered by the burning of hydrogen fuel, much like what happens with a gasoline engine. The hydrogen engine is actually a modified version of the traditional gasoline internal combustion engine. The process used in running both may generally be the same- the force of burning hydrogen provides the explosive power that makes the engine produce mechanical power to make the car move.

A noticeable benefit that a hydrogen powered vehicle provides is that it makes use of a cleaner fuel source for power. This means that using hydrogen as fuel allows lesser polluting substances and chemicals being emitted into the atmosphere. In fact, the hydrogen car concept has been realized because researchers have been looking for a cleaner alternative fuel to be used in the future to replace crude oil. And apparently, hydrogen fits the bill quite nicely. Another type of hydrogen car being develop today makes use of the hydrogen fuel cell for power instead of a specialized internal combustion engine. In this set-up, the hydrogen is used to provide and generate electrical power that can be used to run the cars electric motor. This way emissions are totally avoided unlike a car using an internal combustion engine (ICE) running on hydrogen.

Although the use of hydrogen fuel cells is being eyed to have the best potential to power hydrogen cars of the future, the plan may still face certain obstacles. One, hydrogen fuel cells are too expensive to produce using current technology. Not only that, hydrogen fuel cells also tend to be very fragile and sensitive to vibrations and sudden movements. Engineers today are still trying to come up with a design and develop a type of hydrogen fuel cell that can be strong enough to withstand the vibrations frequent bumps that normally comes with traveling by car. And at the same time, there would be a need for a better and more affordable technology to build the hydrogen fuel cells to make them more affordable to consumers.

But despite the challenges still posed on the development of the hydrogen car, its future still remains very bright. What especially makes hydrogen cars so attractive is that hydrogen is a renewable energy resource. This is unlike fossil fuels which will run out sooner or later and may cause even more serious rise in gasoline prices. The hydrogen car proves to be a more logical alternative to a world looking for a means to move away from too much dependence on fossil fuel.

Lastly, you got to check out the New Technology that save my petrol bill forever. After installing it, which I must say was very easy, I almost double my fuel economy.

Gasoline Prices And Hybrid Cars

Larry Wood — Sun, 23 May 2010 09:08:21 +0000

The appeal and popularity of various hybrid cars have grown especially with the concerns about high gasoline prices as well as a worsening air pollution. Here are some bits of useful information that would help you learn more about hybrid cars and how they may help you save on gas and be somehow protected from worries about rising gasoline prices.

A hybrid vehicle is a type of car that makes use of at least two different fuel sources to make it work. Both fuel sources usually are being used together in some instances to help propel the vehicle more efficiently. There are several different combinations possible for hybrid cars, but the most common hybrid car so far is the gas-electric hybrid. The gas-electric hybrid car, also known as the hybrid electric vehicle or HEV, is known to make use of a gasoline internal combustion engine or ICE and a separate electric motor to help power it. While the ICE makes use of gasoline to make it run, an electric battery is used to store the electrical energy that powers the hybrid car’s electric motor. The HEV usually has a gasoline engine that is smaller than a conventional one used in standard gasoline powered cars. Use of more advanced technology makes this possible and allows the HEV have better running efficiency as well as substantially reduced pollutant emissions.

Aside from the gasoline engine, the hybrid electric car also has a special electric motor built in that not only helps provide added power to the car but also acts as a generator when not being used. The electric motor can act as a generator in situations where it is not being used to help charge the battery for added efficiency. In a common HEV set up, the car uses its electric motor when being propelled at very low speeds. The gasoline engine acts as a secondary power source when the HEV requires much needed power as in the case of climbing up an incline. The gasoline engine also has the ability to compensate the electric motor with power whenever the car needs it in order to go faster. The gas and the electric motor can also work in combo at certain instances if needed.

Because the hybrid electric car makes use of both an electric motor as well as a gasoline motor, a substantial improvement in car mileage is somehow achieved. A hybrid electric vehicle or HEV can run longer distances using the same amount of fuel as compared to a conventional gasoline powered car. Whenever the electric motor is needed, gasoline use is avoided. This results in fewer gas used when running the same distance as a traditional gasoline powered vehicle.

And because the hybrid electric car has a smaller gasoline engine, the hybrid car can also runs more efficiently because of lesser engine weight as compared to the conventional car. The working parts of the hybrid car engine also are smaller and require less energy to move. This efficiency makes the hybrid electric car quite a great option for people concerned with rising gasoline prices. Using the hybrid car can help drivers save a substantial amount of gas when traveling. Not only that, using the hybrid car can also help in reducing pollutant emissions by using less gas while traveling.

Lastly, you got to check out the New Technology that save my petrol bill forever. After installing it, which I must say was very easy, I almost double my fuel economy.

Fuel Economy Vs. Gasoline Prices

Larry Wood — Sat, 22 May 2010 08:54:41 +0000

Rising gasoline prices has become a fact of life. The problem is that there is nothing that most people can really do about it except expect it. The reason for this is because of the total dependence of countries in fossil fuel to keep and maintain their industries.

For so long now, most countries have been dependent on fossil fuel such as gasoline and crude oil to provide the power for industries as well a majority of the transportation needs of the people. It is a fact that most cars running in today’s streets have either gasoline or diesel as fuel. It has been the same situation for several decades now. This dependence on fossil fuel to move the gears of industry and the society makes crude oil exert quite an influence on the economy, lifestyle as well as the future of many countries.

The influence is far reaching. Fossil fuel accounts for a majority of the energy and power needs of countries all over the world. Without it, countries may suddenly fall into chaos. And such events may likely happen in the near future as crude oil supply gets scarce while the demand for it still grows. Fossil fuel such as crude oil is not a renewable resource. At some point in the future, it may run out.

The concern over crude oil someday running out in a world hungry for more and more energy has worried many world leaders as well as future planners. And for this reason, many are trying to preach better fuel economy through research and technology. Aside from looking for alternative sources of fuel to replace fossil fuel in the future, better fuel economy may seem to be the most effective idea to practice in today’s world.

Better fuel economy simply means a better and more improved use of fuel resources to get the most out of it. If being practiced on a worldwide scale, it can help provide a number of benefits- both from a global and individual standpoint. Here are some of those main benefits.

For one better fuel economy translates to money saved. Better use of fuel can help save individuals money in terms of reduced fuel costs. Doing so would mean using more fuel efficient cars, better fuel variety as well as a handful of other factors.

Not only that, fuel economy can also help conserve the resources that the world may still have left. Since fossil fuels are non-renewable resources, it is important that the world learns how to use it more wisely to help avert a possible energy crisis in the future. With fossil fuel such as gasoline still a major and primary energy source for many countries learning to work together to improve general fuel economy can help fossil fuel supply last even a little longer.

Even fuel economy can help protect the environment. Use of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuels aside from other crude oil byproducts have resulted in pollutants emitted into the atmosphere. This has resulted in a polluted environment that may take decades to clean up. But with better fuel economy, these fuels can be burned and used more efficiently and in a way that lesser and lesser pollutants are made to escape into the atmosphere and harm the environment in general. This aside from fuel economy being the most logical option to deal with the high gasoline prices of today.

Lastly, you got to check out the New Technology that save my petrol bill forever. After installing it, which I must say was very easy, I almost double my fuel economy.