http://www.jasmine-energizerbunny.blogspot.com/
I really like Jasmine's blog a lot. It is very professional looking; there's not a lot going on, just a simple layout with a lot of interesting information. At the beginning of my blog I found the energy drinks very interesting, so reading what she had to say about them was really cool. We have that common ground that energy drinks are just unhealthy for the human body and eating healthy will substitute it. The post that really caught my attention was the post about the U.S. postal services. "The USPS would save 800,000 dollars in electricty and natural gas cost over the 5 1/2 year contract term." WOW! That is a lot of money!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Henry David Thoreau--Where I lived and What I lived for
Henry David Thoreau was the kind of person to use every little resource around him to survive. He believed in regulation; using only enough to get you through. Hence, the quote "Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one..." This would definitely be a good ethic to live by in the terms of energy use. Instead of using the incandescent light bulbs, use fluorescent. Instead of buying frozen food, buy fresh food. There is all these little ways of saving energy, and Thoreau is a perfect example of how to do it. People take for granted the technology and just want to create more and more machines because it will make life easier. However, even though this essay was written hundreds of years ago, it can very much still be applied today. For example, Thoreau used the railroads as an example, but if he was alive today he would most likely use vehicles. The problems he addressed are still around, and actually have increased.
Wendell Berry--The Use of Energy
In this essay, Wendell Berry says, "Our technology is the practical aspect of our culture." This quote pretty much sums up his essay. He describes how much we waste energy through our technology by using the four basic elements: sun, earth, water, and fire. These four elements have been used since the cavemen days, but how they are used has changed significantly. Maybe we should go back to the basics for the Earth's sake. Or at least find a way of use of energy that is reusable, or maybe just regulate it so people cannot use as much. Berry states that there will be a time when the energy will be gone; it is not infinite.
However, relating this to my topic of global warming, by the time the energy begins to run out, the world will already be crumbling because of what happens during the use of energy. How we get energy is burning the fossil fuels which releases the CO2 in the air. I went over in my previous blogs the effects of CO2 and what scientists expect to happen. People can learn a lot from Berry's essay and maybe it will change these predictions.
However, relating this to my topic of global warming, by the time the energy begins to run out, the world will already be crumbling because of what happens during the use of energy. How we get energy is burning the fossil fuels which releases the CO2 in the air. I went over in my previous blogs the effects of CO2 and what scientists expect to happen. People can learn a lot from Berry's essay and maybe it will change these predictions.
Global Warming Graph
The chart on the left represents the amount of CO2 produced. As you can see, it was pretty stable back in the 1700's and going into the 1800's. However, around 1950 it began to significantly rise. Well what happened in 1950? Actually beginning in 1900, the amount of fossil fuels that people were burning had began to double. So by 1950, it really started to show, however, people weren't worried about how much CO2 was being released. Over the years we have increased the use of technology and power so therefore we have hugely increased the amount of fossil fuels.
The chart to the right represents the temperature. Obviously, the more CO2 that is being released, the warmer it is getting. However, this is when it comes controversial because the increase in CO2 could just be a coincidence. I personally don't think it is just a coincidence. The charts and graphs are so similar when comparing it is very hard to not agree with the data.
http://www.ways-to-stop-global-warming.com/global-warming-charts.html
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Opposing view
Global Warming is controversial; there is one side that doesn't believe in global warming, and another that does. However, both sides do believe in climate change. There is significant evidence that there has been changes in the climate. How they are changing is a variety and how they are changing is up for a debate. In this article, Jacoby describes how it is global cooling at times and global warming at other times. He doesn't pick a side, but rather gives both sides reasons to contradict. The main example was the year 2008. That year had the coldest temperatures recorded around the world in the past decade. Snow had fallen where it hadn't fallen in 5 years, and some 20 years. This article also points out that people need to understand the Earth works as an organism and it is forever changing and evolving. Once scientists begin to understand the complexity of planet earth, it changes.
Jacoby, Jeff. (2009, March 8). Where's Global Warming? The Boston Globe. Retrieved on April 8 from: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/
articles/2009/03/08/wheres_global_warming/.
Geoengineering
Title: We all want to change the world. Economist, 00130613, 4/3/2010, Vol. 394, Issue 8676. Database: Academic Search Premier.
Back in the 1970's, scientists came up with genetic engineering, which is transfering genes from one species to another. Today, scientists came up with geoengineering. Geoengineering is a way to fight climate-change by doing regulatory framework on the oceans and the atmosphere. They believe that this would be a more effecient way than by reducing greenhouse emmissions. There are two main ideas of geoengineering. One is to reduce the amount of incoming sunlight that the planet absorbs. The other is to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and put it somewhere else. How would they be able to control the sun? Two ideas: one is to send plumes of various sulphurous fluids in the stratosphere, to find out which would best produce a haze of small particles similar to those that cool the planet after a large volcanic eruption. So when they figured out which fluids would get the job done the best, they would then store them for further use. The second idea is to send tiny salt particles into the clouds; this would whiten the clouds which would make them produce smaller droplets. Apparently the smaller the droplets, the less light can be emitted.
Though these are thoughtful, scientific ideas, the scientists believe that people will not trust these ideas and therefore will not be able to experiment. Hopefully they will be able to at least experiment before it is too late.
Back in the 1970's, scientists came up with genetic engineering, which is transfering genes from one species to another. Today, scientists came up with geoengineering. Geoengineering is a way to fight climate-change by doing regulatory framework on the oceans and the atmosphere. They believe that this would be a more effecient way than by reducing greenhouse emmissions. There are two main ideas of geoengineering. One is to reduce the amount of incoming sunlight that the planet absorbs. The other is to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and put it somewhere else. How would they be able to control the sun? Two ideas: one is to send plumes of various sulphurous fluids in the stratosphere, to find out which would best produce a haze of small particles similar to those that cool the planet after a large volcanic eruption. So when they figured out which fluids would get the job done the best, they would then store them for further use. The second idea is to send tiny salt particles into the clouds; this would whiten the clouds which would make them produce smaller droplets. Apparently the smaller the droplets, the less light can be emitted.
Though these are thoughtful, scientific ideas, the scientists believe that people will not trust these ideas and therefore will not be able to experiment. Hopefully they will be able to at least experiment before it is too late.
What can we do to help prevent global warming?
Petrone, Maurizio. (2009, February 5). Top 50 Things to do to Stop Global Warming. Retrieved on April 8 from: http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html.
Many of us see commercials about going green or hear about going green and how important it is. Most of these ideas do not require a lot of money, in fact, they help you save money. All it takes is for you to put some effort into it; IT IS WORTH IT. This person had a good point when he said, "We don't need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things." Here are just a few things from his list, that to me seem like the easiest:
1) Of course, my favorite, Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl).
--GO SWIRLY
2)Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer. (How easy is that?!)
--Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling.
You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple
adjustment.
3)Take showers instead of baths.
--Most people do take showers way more than baths but just for those of you who do
take baths more often, think about how much energy you are wasting.
4)Buy fresh food instead of frozen
--Frozen food takes 10 times more energy than fresh.
Like I said in my previous blogs, there is always a substitute and it is usually
better for you!!!
Many of us see commercials about going green or hear about going green and how important it is. Most of these ideas do not require a lot of money, in fact, they help you save money. All it takes is for you to put some effort into it; IT IS WORTH IT. This person had a good point when he said, "We don't need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things." Here are just a few things from his list, that to me seem like the easiest:
1) Of course, my favorite, Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl).
--GO SWIRLY
2)Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer. (How easy is that?!)
--Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling.
You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple
adjustment.
3)Take showers instead of baths.
--Most people do take showers way more than baths but just for those of you who do
take baths more often, think about how much energy you are wasting.
4)Buy fresh food instead of frozen
--Frozen food takes 10 times more energy than fresh.
Like I said in my previous blogs, there is always a substitute and it is usually
better for you!!!
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