Sustain the World's Environment

Image by themactep via Flickr Computers are everywhere, or so it seems! However, what happens to them when they are no longer wanted? Unfortunately, far too many end up being thrown away even when they have some useful life left in them. So, what are the alternatives? 1. Recycle them properly - new EU legislation requires computers and other electronic equipment to be recycled rather than going to landfill. See  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/index_en.htm for more detailed info. Currently, despite the legislation,    only one third of electrical and electronic waste in the European Union is reported as appropriately treated and the other two thirds are going to landfills and potentially to sub-standard treatment sites in or outside the European Union. 2. Re-purpose your old pc - even old computers can find a useful second life as a file server , NAS or even media server (for all your iTunes libraries). You can find cheap (even free) options on the...

Japan is aiming for zero-waste with one town, Kamikatsu , already banning waste bins. The Chritsian Science Monitor web-site has an article " Japan as ground zero for no-waste lifestyle". The article features this pioneering Japanese town and highlights its efforts to profoundly reduce their environmental impact. Its not alone either, with Japan as a whole becoming almost obsessed with reducing waste, maximizing recycling and generating renewable energy . Supported by the government , towns like Kamikatsu are showing the way forward to the rest of the world. Read more here: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1216/p01s04-woap.html Powered by ScribeFire . Related articles by Zemanta 12 Junk Drawer Gadget Projects from Planet Green (momblognetwork.com) A Challenge For Toronto: Go Zero Waste (treehugger.com) Tracking Your Trash Electronically (takepart.com)

In 2010 the UK government will set up a Feed-in Tariff to help promote solar power and reduce carbon dioxide emissions . The Feed-in Tariff will help reduce global warming , boost UK clean-tech jobs andreward people for installing solar power.It is important the Feed-in Tariff is set at the correct rate. If it's too low the potential for a massive increase in the UK's solar energy could be lost, and we could be left behind the rest of Europe . We Support Solar is working to highlight the value of solar PV in the UK and to ensure the Government sets an appropriate rate for the solar Feed-in Tariff to ensure a clean, renewable future for generations to come. You can find out more about the campaign here: http://wesupportsolar.net/ Related articles by Zemanta Green feed-in tariff needs to maximise solar power (guardian.co.uk) Green energy overtakes fossil fuel investment (guardian.co.uk) Laser-based manufacturing can give solar power a boost (energyrefuge.co...

You can use the online tool on the Energy Saving Trust's site to help you identify which home energy generation technologies might be suitable for your own home. So, if you are wondering if solar PV panels, heat pumps, wind turbines etc are the best option, check out this tool. You enter details about what kind of property you have (including rooms and age of property) and details about your current type of heating etc. You then answer a series of questions about space for the various technologies. The tool then comes up with a list of potentially suitable technologies for your property. You can then find out more about each one. The tool also has links to various grants that you may eligible for. Don't forget hat the main site has a wealth of information on saving energy. Visit http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/

The EasySave fixed showerhead saves on water and energy bills by aerating the water flow & reduces the amount of water used by up to 50%!. Its design is ideal for communal use and anti vandal. As well as these they are limescale resistant and protects against MRSA, E.Coli, Salmonella, Pseudamona, Legionella, Mould and Fungi. They are made to the highest quality to ensure a long life and continued savings and are the only aerated showerhead with WRAS approval I f everyone were to install this type of shower-head it would make an enormous difference to how much water we consume. The average shower uses 30 Litres of water (compared to 80 - 90 Litres per bath). In an average household with four people, this could save as much as 9360 Litres per annum (based on 50% saving and each person having 3 showers a week). Quite a saving, especially when multiplied by the number of households - 21,660,475 households in England and Wales; 2001 Census ). For details of cost and where you can buy t...

Image via Wikipedia Mobile phones are an inescapable part of modern life and are constant consumer of energy. They use energy and resources and produce CO2 at all stages of their 'life-span'. So, many of us would like to minimise their impact on the environment. The question is 'how'? Manufacturers don't make it easy to work out the impact of their products and everyone's usage varies so its difficult to know what the total impact is. However, what we do know is that energy that is wasted, such a when phones are left on standby, has a negative impact on the environment. Its been calculated that this wastes enough energy to power 33,000 homes for a whole year in the UK alone! Also, by changing our phones on a frequent basis means that we are probably wasting more energy than we think... after all, each phone we buy has used up energy and resources in its manufacture, distribution, packaging, promotion and design (of publicity, marketing and advertising). As phone...

Economist Jeffrey Sachs said carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology and nuclear will be necessary to avoid catastrophic climate change His comments were made as part of a presentation at the Asia Society in New York Monday night."Carbon capture better work because they [China] are not going to stop using coal," said Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and the author of The End of Poverty and Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet , among other books. He gave a lucid and thoroughly depressing talk on " China's Role in the Global Climate Game ," describing a number of unpleasant options China, the United States, and the rest of the world will have to face in dealing with climate changes already underway. "Any quantitatively realistic path for a fast-growing China will mean a tremendous reliance on coal," he said. "They will have to use growing amounts of coal for decades to come." That leaves the U.S....