Sustain the World's Environment

Michigan Technological University students have invented their own mini- smokestack scrubbing carbon dioxide from emissions. as an end product it creates a solid material that could have applications as a material useful in construction. On the university site, the announcement states: "An 11-foot bench-model smokestack packed with glass beads is percolating away in a lab. Near the top, a proprietary liquid dribbles down. From below, carbon dioxide bubbles up. By the time the gas reaches the top, fully half of the CO2 has been gobbled up by the liquid. The process not only captures carbon , it binds it in a solid form, making an undisclosed product that can be used as a construction material . The liquid itself can be recovered and used again. The group has applied for a patent and hopes to build a pilot plant in cooperation with an industry partner, Carbontec Energy Corp." The students are planning to improve on their invention so as to capture even more CO2. Hope

Image via Wikipedia According to the respected International Energy Agency , China 's use of coal , oil , wind and other sources of power more than doubled in the past decade to reach the equivalent of 2.26bn tonnes of oil in 2009, creeping past the US total of 2.17bn tonnes. This fact is no doubt linked to China's economic growth of almost 9% in GDP last year. Its also the reason why its carbon emissions is growing by around the same amount, at a time when most other nations was static or falling. As to what's driving China's energy use up, well its the same thing that drove up that of the US, UK , Japan and Germany etc. Consumption. More cars, more air conditioning , more electronic consumer products (TV's, Hi-Fi, computers and the like). China's population has a long way to go in order to catch up to the lifestyles that we have enjoyed in the West for so long, but with 1.3 Billion people aiming for the same standard of living , its a worrying tho

The UN Climate Change Summit is 26 days away. Greenpeace has an online petition for everyone to sign. You can sign the petition at http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change/take_action/leaders-go-to-copenhagen-climate-summit?0 The world needs to change from its addiction to coal and other fossil fuels , preserve forests and agree sustainable targets on reducing carbon emissions . Sign the petition and help persuade world leaders to make real progress, before its too late. Powered by ScribeFire . Related articles by Zemanta Agency Says Emissions Pact Would Ease Fossil-Fuel Use (nytimes.com) Carbon budgets are 'fair' says Lord Smith (telegraph.co.uk) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Is Hurting U.S. Competitiveness (blogs.harvardbusiness.org) Fast-Track Plans For Nuclear Power Stations (news.sky.com) Plenary 1 (Part 2) (slideshare.net) Senate Global Warming Bill Is Seeking to Cushion the Impact on Industry (nytimes.com) Burning The Future: C