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A Simple Way To Offset the Environmental Effects of Driving Your Car
We all love our cars. They give us the freedom to come and go as we please, to get to work, to visit family and friends, to go shopping...on our own schedule. But automobiles also effect the environment by polluting the air we breathe and, in...
Can sustainable development work? What then will be the impact on business and what will be the impact on the environment?
First we must define sustainable development. Sustainable is to say that something such as resources or an environmental system can be continued indefinitely without depleting any of the material or energy resources required to keep it running. ...
Dear our beloved crying planet…
Dear our beloved crying planet… I read an article last week in “The Gazette”, a local English paper here in Montreal Canada. It was titled “Time is running out” and was written by Peter G. Brown. He is a professor in the school of the Environment...
Happy Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day to everyone! (255 words) What can you do to make a difference - pick up a copy of our book, Trash Talk, & we'll show you a myriad of simple ideas to reduce consumption of resources & new ways to manage your contribution to the...
The New Geocache Craze
I see there is a new adventure sport emerging. It is called
Geocaching.
Geocaching is a real world game that consists of people hiding
caches, then others go to find it. Hide and seek for adults
basically. There are some sites that offer...
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Global Dumbing?
I am beginning to wonder if scientists have been getting it all round. All this time, people have been worried about the Ozone, a giant asteroid, or some breakout of a bio-hazardous agent by a terrorist organization being the doom of mankind. We have spent all this time looking outward instead of inward towards ourselves.
The latest studies have identified to startling facts. 1 - that the whole in the Ozone layer is getter smaller, and 2 – that the brightness levels on the earth our getting dimmer. Does this all mean that Global Warming was all just a sham? That those corporations who continue to abuse our earth with reckless abandon have been right all along? That tree-hugging hippies have had their brains melted from too much LSD?
Scientists seem to be getting dumber in direct proportion to the grants given by governments, which are lobbied by corporate interests, increases. They have looked at the new Global Dimming phenomenon and said, “It can’t be getting warming with less sunlight!” And no doubt that as this new story makes it rounds about the Ozone getting smaller, they will point to the great job done by their benefactors and reducing Green House emissions and say that the Ozone must be replenishing itself.
Statements like those should be judged as criminal, just as tobacco companies should be held accountable for the deaths of all their consumers. The population must be made aware of the truth behind their corporate agenda. We, the working class, are the ones that can control our future, and dictate to those Ozone depleting companies our new terms. We demand clean air. We demand that pollutants stop being poured into our waters. We demand our forests not be cut down faster than we can replant. We demand alternate, safer energy sources to heat our homes, and power our vehicles. We demand all this because our Earth is dying before our own eyes.
The whole in the Ozone layer has gotten smaller, but at the cost of thinner protection worldwide. We are not just talking about a gap over Antarctica. We are talking about more harmful radiation being let in on a yearly, monthly, daily basis. We used to be able to
send out our children to play outside all days. No one needed any sunscreen with special UV protection. Now, one has to only go outside for 20 minutes before feeling the sting of the sun, while sunscreen has become big business. No one will react until research tells us 15 to 30 years from now that cancer has reach epidemic proportions. The warning signs are there already, we are just choosing not to listen.
Global Dimming is the best example yet. Scientists have started to look at how it has become increasing dimmer on the planet. Sunlight is not getting through as it once used to. It is only normal to think that whatever is keeping the sunlight out, must be keeping the heat in. And whatever is keeping the sunlight out is not necessarily providing us with a layer of protection. More likely, it is beginning to coat our planet with more harmful cancer causing radiation.
While I do not profess to hold a degree in science, I do profess to hold common sense. All science has done is identify several situations, but has done nothing to confirm how we got their, and what we need to do to get back to where we were. My belief is that there may be too much corporate interference for any decisive action to be taken. And for the companies who will continue to pollute our environment that is as good as winning. The worst thing that we can do as a population, is not add Global Dumbing to the list. Get smart, take action. You may not be able to make a difference individually, but together, you can effect change. We may always live in a world that separates the rich from the poor, but that does not mean that we have to accept how those in power secure their wealth.
·Take public transit
·By hybrid cars. Create the market and force companies to move away from their alliances with Oil Companies, and forge new ones with alternate energy sources
·Get more active, in physically, with your family, and in your community
·Read labels and ask questions
·Write to your representative
About the Author
Gary Whittaker is the editor of T.E.N Magazine, a webzine with balls. Check out more articles at http://www.tenwebzine.com
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| Department of Energy - Homepage |
| Governmental department whose mission is to advance energy technology and promote related innovation in the United States. |
| www.energy.gov |
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| Department of Energy - Page not found! |
| US Department of Energy information for consumers, business, and communities. Links to many energy pages of the DOE. |
| www.energy.gov |
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| Energy Quest Room |
| California Energy Commission's energy and environmental education site for students, parents and teachers. Includes information, Q&As, projects, ... |
| www.energyquest.ca.gov |
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| The Energy Story - Introduction |
| Detailed guide explains what energy is and where it comes from. |
| www.energyquest.ca.gov |
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| EIA Energy Kids Page - energy facts, fun, games and activities |
| Features various sections about energy including what it is and the forms it comes in. Find out how humans use energy through quizzes and a 'fun facts' ... |
| www.eia.doe.gov |
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| Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy ... |
| Section of the US Department of Energy (DOE) providing statistics, data, analysis on resources, supply, production, consumption for all energy sources. |
| www.eia.doe.gov |
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| Energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Free encyclopedia article explaining the scientific notion of energy. Includes units of measure, energy transformation concepts, types of energy, ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Department of Energy - Homepage |
| U.S. Department of Energy Awards Contract for Management and Operation of Ames ... The Energy Star label is the government's seal of energy efficiency. ... |
| www.doe.gov |
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| Home : ENERGY STAR |
| US EPA Energy Star programs and products help save the environment and save consumers money by using less energy through advanced design or construction. |
| www.energystar.gov |
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| National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Home Page |
| Facility of the US Department of Energy (DOE) for renewable energy and energy efficiency research, development and deployment. |
| www.nrel.gov |
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| European Commission - Energy - Home page |
| Welcome to the European Commission's "Energy" website ... A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy ... |
| ec.europa.eu |
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| DTI - Energy - Introduction |
| The DTI’s Energy Group deals with energy-related matters, ... UK energy statistics are provided, including production, consumption and prices. ... |
| www.dti.gov.uk |
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| U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Home Page |
| US Department of Energy web site for information on energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. |
| www.eere.energy.gov |
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| Energy for America's Future |
| Provides an overview of President Bush's energy policies. |
| www.whitehouse.gov |
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| International Energy Agency |
| Energy Security, Growth and Sustainability through Co-operation and Outreach. |
| www.iea.org |
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| energywatch: Home Page |
| Independent gas and electricity consumer watchdog, providing help to domestic, commercial or industrial energy (gas and electricity) consumers. |
| www.energywatch.org.uk |
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| EnergyAustralia - Home |
| Details of one of Australia's largest and oldest gas and electricity supply companies. Includes information on accounts, energy saving tips, appliance sales ... |
| www.energy.com.au |
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| U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources |
| Has jurisdiction over energy policy, regulation, and research. Also deals with energy and mineral conservation, ports used for energy transport, irrigation, ... |
| energy.senate.gov |
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| bloomberg energy prices |
| www.bloomberg.com/energy/ - Similar pages |
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| Energy Bulletin |
| A clearinghouse of information concerning the peak in global energy such as oil and gas. |
| www.energybulletin.net |
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