(Source: quantumlotus)
(Source: quantumlotus)
Astonishing: By 2050, solar could meet all the world’s electricity needs using <1% of the world’s land.
University Stops Sales of Bottled Water
The Univ. of Vermont will become one of the first institutions nationwide to end the sale of bottled water on campus and mandate that one-third of drinks offered in vending machines be healthy options. The decision marks the advent of a long-awaited systematic sustainable beverage policy after years of lobbying by students and the greater campus community.
The announcement comes five months prior to the end of a ten-year contract with Coca-Cola of Northern New England that allowed the company to provide 100 percent of beverages in vending machines and 80 percent of bottled beverages served in retail, residential dining and catering, totaling more than 1.1 million bottles per year.
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/01/university-stops-sales-bottled-water
Figure 1.—Six species of endangered whales. From top to bottom: northern right, southern right, humpback, blue, fin, sei, and sperm whale. P. Folkens.
Source: The Great Whales: History and Status of Six Species Listed as Endangered Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973
(via just-breezy)
Pennsylvania Fracking Law Opens Up Drilling on College Campuses
Today in What the Frack.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2012) — Expanding production of palm oil, a common ingredient in processed foods, soaps and personal care products, is driving rainforest destruction and massive carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study led by researchers at Stanford and Yale universities.
Plantation expansion is projected to contribute more than 558 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2020 — an amount greater than all of Canada’s current fossil fuel emissions.
The north and the south pole are haunting and awe-inspiring in equal measure – the icebergs bathe in blues of all hues, constantly sculpted by fierce winds. Polar bears stalk the ice sheets, and underneath, ancient creatures, some still undiscovered, swim in deep dark waters.
Dave Walsh’s photographs show what it is like to be truly on the edge. The images taken during Greenpeace expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica, between 2007 and 2010, question our romantic relationship with remote, harsh and pristine environments of the polar regions. See the full gallery here
Photographs, clockwise from top left: Alejandra Parra/Getty; Theo Allofs/Corbis; Pete Oxford/NPL/Rex Features
An alliance including national governments, regional councils and film stars has agreed to pay Ecuador not to exploit oil in its rainforest - but is the project working?
1) By 2016 solar PV could be producing electricity at less than $0.50 a watt, 2) Germany is producing more and more solar power solar power, 3) solar power generating windows, 4) Britain keeps expanding offshore wind power, 5) as does Japan, in the wake of Fukushima, 6) the massive solar power potential of the US, 7) Desertec! 8) Three quarters of a million homes in Australia with solar panels, 9) China’s massive solar power push, 10) Chinese investment in Middle East solar power.
If we’re talking about huge national pushes for solar power, India’s National Solar Mission ought to be included as well.
Read more @ Will Falling Renewable Energy Costs Do In Fracking?