Global Warming - Iceberg Four Times The Size Of Manhattan - By: Asi Shalgi
Once again, global warming reaches headlines with recent news from Greenland reporting a large chunk of ice has broken off the north polar ice caps. While Greenpeace activists claim this to be our own man made global warming's fault, many scientists are urging people not to panic, saying a break like this, besides its size, is a normal occurrence happening on a regular basis in the Arctic.
Still, no one can deny that today, after the big break, Greenland's Petermann glacier is the smallest it has been since 1962. As sea levels continue to rise and ice sheets advance in the Arctic, it is becoming more and more difficult to claim man made global warming is a myth.
Ice sheets, or icebergs, common in the south or north poles on the globe, are large masses of glacier ice covering the surface of the earth. Once ice sheets lose mass due to global warming, giant chunks of ice begin floating in the sea. The term, "tip of the iceberg", was coined to describe the fact that the greater mass of the iceberg is submerged and only a small portion of it is showing above sea level. This might also explain how the crew aboard the Titanic managed to miss one...
The B15 iceberg
The B15 iceberg is noted as being one of the largest icebergs to date. Breaking off from ice shelves in Antarctica on March 2000, it was reported to be larger in size than Jamaica. The iceberg broke into chunks in 200, 2002 and 2003. The largest chunk that broke of it is B15-A, which drifted away into the open sea, 70 Km away from the Drygalski ice tongue, blocking supply routes to Antarctica and causing penguin colonies to starve.
Monitoring Ice Breakages
Founded in 1914, after the Titanic tragedy, The International Ice Patrol monitors ice breakages, tracking the glacier chunks and making sure that further tragedies are avoided as much as possible. As technology progresses, this type of surveillance becomes easier. Yet, as climate changes become chronic, ice breaks, along with rising sea levels, are evolving into an environmental hazard. Fingers are pointed at global warming and greenhouse gasses emitted from industrial plants, cars and other man made menaces.
Global Energy (GEYI:OB) Inc. has made its primary goal to reduce gas emission. With its KDV technology, turning waste into high quality mineral diesel oil, it hopes to help change the future, reducing global warming and maintaining glaciers intact.
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Hawaii Stepping Toward Green Energy Future - By: VacationRentalPeople
Hawaii is currently making some bold steps in to the future with their new green energy incentives. Now there is a great deal of state money being injected in to the cause, encouraging further developments.
Currently heavy on tourism agendas is the notion of green tourism is travelling without leaving such a dent on the planet. Therefore the wise tourist resorts and locations are the ones channelling what is not only a Zeitgeist weighing heavy on travellers minds, but what is also an essential step forward for a more sustainable world.
Recently, Hawaii has been making great progress in the world of sustainable tourism, introducing many green initiatives to curtail damage caused to the world and to hopefully attract the more conscientious traveller. This plight has not gone unnoticed, and their efforts are beginning to get rewarded with extra funding to support the important work that they are doing.
Five green initiatives have been rewarded funding from the US Department of Energy to further develop their projects. Between themselves they split a total of $2.1 million which will help maintain these pursuits and hopefully encourage more green energy initiatives. The money was dispersed by the Hawaii Renewable Energy Development Venture through a competitive bidding process, awarding those most in need of funding with the most to offer.
The five companies awarded funding were:
Concentris Systems
A Manoa based technology company, Concentris Systems, have been developing and demonstrating technology that was in part used by the military. Funding will support the further development of smart meter technology, that will be deployed in all military housing in Oahu. This technology allows residents to observe energy levels remotely, using the web and mobile phone technology. It will also allow the user to deactivate appliances outside the vicinity of the building.
Kuehnle Argosystems
Kuehnle Arogosystems is a Honolulu based life sciences company. The funding will support the construction of a building that will test algae strains as a potential source for sustainable biodiesel production Oahu. The company plans to bring in carbon dioxide from the Tesero refinery in to the system to help facilitate the growth of Algae and hopefully reduce the refinery's CO2 emissions.
Sopogy
Sopogy represents one of the most sustainable sources of energy available to the planet, the Earth's sun. A Honlulu based solar company, they hope to use the grant to help fund the building of solar receptors to receive the rays that are converted in to renewable energy. These collectors shall be built on the top of the Maui Ocean centre.
Better Place
This is a Palo Alto, California based electric vehicle company. The funding will help provide ten charging stations for electric vehicles throughout Hawaii. The company will provide seven vehicles to test the initiative throughout Hawaii in an attempt to change public transport in to a much more environmentally friendly industry.
Satcon
Satcon is an international solar energy inverter company. This funding will help the integration of electric vehicles in to Hawaii, providing charge stations for battery powered cars across the state.
Hawaii is currently one of the biggest tourist getaways in America, with Hawaii rentals providing an excellent opportunity for tourists to take charge of their own carbon emissions.
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