Blogs

Tailpipe power :Generating electricity directly from wasted heat looks more promising

There is something unusual about the exhaust pipe on the test car driven by Rainer Richter, leader of a research group at BMW in Munich. The vehicle is fitted with a device to capture some of the heat normally lost through an exhaust and convert it into electricity. Car engines waste a lot of heat. According to some estimates around 60% of the potential energy contained in petrol can be expelled or radiated as heat by an engine. Although some of this may be blown into the car to warm the occupants on a cold day, much of it is lost. This is why BMW has fitted a thermoelectric generator in the exhaust system of the test car. ...
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Tuesday,11 August, 2009 | Hits: 188

Countries agree to spend big to save world's forests

Oslo conference attended by 52 nations produces first concrete sign of global action on climate change since Copenhagen Rich and poor countries today agreed on guidelines for releasing aid to save forests, in the first concrete sign of global action on climate change since Copenhagen.Norway, which chaired this week's climate conference, said aid pledges to save forests had risen by $500m (£345m) since the UN climate conference in Copenhagen last December.But this is less than was expected just weeks ago – showing the limits of more state funding amid economic crises and unrest in the financial markets.Some experts say the modest increase in state aid for forests, whose conservation is seen as the cheapest way of lowering carbon emissions, underlines the need for private sector engagement. ...
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Wednesday,26 May, 2010 | Hits: 294

Can Small Lifestyle Changes Lead to Huge CO2 Cuts?

Behavioral economists think big savings in carbon emissions can be gained by nudging people to make small changes that increase energy efficiency and cut waste.A couple of weeks ago President Barack Obama stopped by OPOWER, a small Arlington-based energy company, to talk about green jobs and clean power. The White House doesn't schedule just any company for a Presidential visit, so you might wonder why OPOWER made the cut. ...
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Tuesday,16 March, 2010 | Hits: 143

Environmental sustainability index for Indian states 2009

The Concept and Rationale of State Level Environmental Sustainability Index Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) is a comparative analysis of environmental achievements, challenges and priorities among Indian states. It indicates a state’s general environmental conditions, including both the state’s innate resources and the achievements of its policies, by aggregating indicators that track a wide range of sectors such as water, air, land, forest, as well as measures of the impact of environment on human health and ecosystem, policy response and society’s efforts to preserve the environment. It maps the various dimensions of each state’s environmental policies and provides insights into priority areas for states to act towards protecting their environment in the coming years.{xtypo_rounded1}Latest comparative analysis of environmental achievements , challenges and priorities among Indian states. Provides overall picture of state-level sustainability by aggregating data on states’ initial endowment and resource use trajectory, magnitude of pollution and its impact on human health & ecosystem vitality, policy, etc into a composite index . Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) is a comparative analysis of environmental achievements, challenges and priorities among Indian states. It is designed to sensitize, inform and empower citizens and policy makers. It aggregates quantitative data on states’ initial endowment and resource use trajectory, magnitude of pollution and its impact on human health & ecosystem vitality, policy & societal response to maintain and improve present environmental conditions into a composite index that provides the overall picture of state-level sustainability. ESI is developed with the objectives of: Promoting information and evidence based policy making, Prioritization in policy and budget allocation within the state, and Measuring and monitoring sustainable development at the state level.{/xtypo_rounded1} Since a state’s long term sustainability is a combination of the stock (resources that a state is historically endowed with) and flow (environmental services and resource extraction leading to depreciation of the stock), ESI is constructed as a composite index from 40 key environmental indicators selected based on the Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework. These 40 indicators capture the present state of the environment (State), depletion and pollution (Pressure), resulting impact on ecosystem and human health (Impact), policy and societal efforts to reduce such impacts and protecting the ecosystem (Response) and the driving forces that affect the environment (Drivers). The 40 indicators can also be grouped into nine thematic subindices for interpretation from a policy perspective. The nine sub-indices are: Air Quality and Pollution, Water Quality and Availability, Land use and Agriculture, Forest and Biodiversity, Waste Management, Energy Management, Health Impact, Population Pressure and Environmental Budget. Data are compiled from published government sources for all indicators across 28 states and are converted to a comparable scale through a series of statistical operations so that they can be aggregated into a single point index. As discussed later in this chapter, the indicators are first normalized to be on a comparable scale and then grouped into the policy-related sub-indices, which are then added to form the aggregate ESI. The DPSIR categorization is used to select a comprehensive set of variable and as a framework for comparative analysis of states’ challenges and priorities, but it does not play a role in the calculations to aggregate the data. The ESI ranking is designed to compare Indian states with their peers rather than indicate an absolute level of achievement. Although there are no clear normative benchmarks or thresholds for “good” performance on many of the aggregate ESI, states are categorized into five groups: most sustainable (top 20 percentile), more sustainable (within 60-80 percentile), medium sustainable (within 40-60 percentile), less sustainable (within 20-40 percentile). A higher ESI for any given state indicates that the state has the benefit of better environmental quality at present and that the state has been able to create the potential to maintain its environment over the long run. A low ESI for a state is a sign of greater pressure on the ecosystem, higher pollution and degradation, vulnerability to environmental predicaments and/or non-responsive institutions and government. {xtypo_rounded1}View Full Report In PDF{/xtypo_rounded1} {xtypo_info}Rupanwita Dash{/xtypo_info}...
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Sunday,04 April, 2010 | Hits: 259

How to Win the War on Global Warming

Americans don't like to lose wars—which makes sense, since we have so little practice with it. Of course, a lot depends on how you define just what a war is. There are shooting wars—the kind that test our mettle and our patriotism and our resourcefulness and our courage—and those are the kind at which we excel. But other struggles test those qualities too. What else was the Great Depression or the space race or the construction of the railroads or the eradication of polio but a massive, often frightening challenge that we decided as a culture we ought to rise up and face? If we indulge in a bit of chest-thumping and flag-waving when the job is done, well, we earned it. ...
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Friday,16 April, 2010 | Hits: 138

India seeks global funding for 'Green Mission'

Having unveiled its Rs 44,000 crore 'Green Mission' aiming to enhance its forest cover, India hopes to secure global funding to undertake the ambitious programme to curb greenhouse gas emissions. At a presentation at the Oslo Conference on Climate and Forests yesterday, Environment Secretary Vijai Sharma said, "Since the bulk of India's biodiversity is in forests, there is a need to put REDD (Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and Plus programme on the same footing, as envisaged in Bali Action Plan. ...
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Thursday,27 May, 2010 | Hits: 530

SunnyBag Leather Bags with 3 Watt Solar Panel

The Sunny Bags are the creations of Stefan Ponsold, who runs a company called SunnyBag based in Austria. The bags are a dark brown or black cowskin-leather, designed as a shoulder-bag for laptops and paperwork. The unique aspect of this bag is that it includes a 3 Watt solar panel with a 1600mAh LI-Ion battery pack. The high power solar panel allows the internal battery to be charged, even with cloudy and overcast days. ...
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Friday,28 May, 2010 | Hits: 534

Solar-Powered Neck-Tie

Researchers at the Iowa State University have invented a green gadget, a solar-powered necktie, in the process of inventing fabric that integrates photovoltaic thin film cells both physically and aesthetically into wearable clothing. In terms of aesthetics, it’s a hard job, as solar cells are usually a distinct blue-ish colour and grid-pattern. ...
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Friday,28 May, 2010 | Hits: 432

Solar Ski Jacket – Eco-Friendly, Stylish and Pricey

Of all the places to have a solar panel, a jacket is not exactly my first choice. The solar ski jacket features a neoprene collar with solar panels stitched into them. The solar panels can then be used to charge mobile phones, ipods, and any other usb-connected devices. ...
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Friday,28 May, 2010 | Hits: 448

Recycled Jacket Featuring ‘Tux’ The Linux Penguin

This lightweight jacket is made from recycled materials. Featuring ‘Tux’ the linux penguin used as the logo for Linux it is bound to appeal to all open source eco enthusiasts.The Linux logo of ‘Tux’ the penguin is recognisable to all (or at least all that matter to those who know him!) and the ideals of open source software mesh well with being eco-friendly. ...
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Friday,28 May, 2010 | Hits: 483