Heal Earth Now

An aquarium in Japan has harvested a new source of alternative energy. The energy released from the eel has been used to power the lights on a Christmas tree.

“Two aluminum panels inside the eel’s tank work as electrodes to catch its power. Cables attached to the panels supply the lights on the nearby tree with electricity.”

The human imagination is definitely a powerful thing . With the inventiveness and application there is no doubt that we can all work together to help create cleaner and cheaper sources of energy.

Source: MSNBC.com

Energy Star Washers can save you time ,water, and energy . Energy Stra washers are aimed to save money in power and water use. Energy star washer use less water than regular washing machines and they also have a spin cycle the is supposed to get more water out of the clothes than other washing machines . Reducing the amount of water in the clothes during the end of the spin cycle will reduce the drying time and the amount of energy it takes to actually dry the clothes.

This is one way in which technology is helping to cut down on the use of our natural resouces.

Purchasers of enery star appliances can get rebates from manufacturers. Before purchasign an energy star appliance you can do som research on energystar.gov. They have lists of some manufacturer rebates and a lot of information on energy star appliances.

Al Gore traveled to Norway this weekend to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to fight global warming.

The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded in October to 59-year-old Gore and to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body of 3,000 scientists, for their work in highlighting global warming.

The film “An Inconvenient Truth”, showed Al Gore as he highlighted many of the dangers of global warming and what damage had already been done by mans disregard for the world in which we live. He also wrote the book by the same name that became a New York Times Bestseller.

Source: Yahoo News

Across the world protesters have been showing their distress and about the way the Earth’s environment is going. Global Warming is becoming less of some “tree hungers” anthem and more of what mainstreamers are seeing as a serious problem. When the environment and climate starts to have some dramatic changes people need to take notice and they have. Protesters on about every continent joined in the world climate protest and are determined to have their voices heard.

In Taipei, Taiwan, about 1,500 people marched through the streets holding banners and placards saying “No to carbon dioxide.” Hundreds marched outside the conference center in Bali. At a Climate Rescue Carnival held in a park in Auckland, New Zealand, more than 350 people lay on the grass to spell out “Climate SOS.”

Source: Yahoo News

The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid has been named the 2008 Green Car of the year by greencar.com. This is a huge accomplishment in the area of automobiles. We all know that SUV are huge consumers of gas. The less fuel that an automobile will use during it its’ lifetime is good for the environment and for the wallet.

According to the EPA’s 2008 estimated fuel economy ratings, Chevrolet’s achievement is even more apparent during city driving where a large percentage of SUVs spend their time every day. In this environment, the 6.0-liter two-mode hybrid Tahoe achieves 50 percent better fuel economy than a Tahoe powered by a standard 5.3-liter V-8. What’s equally eye-opening is that the Tahoe’s 21 mpg city fuel efficiency rating is the same as that of the city EPA rating for the four-cylinder Toyota Camry sedan.

Soure: prnewswire

The movie “Titanic” catapulted Leonardo Dicaprio into one of the biggest stars on the earth and he is now using his stardom to help save the earth in his new documentary,” The 11^th Hour”. “The 11^th Hour” was produced and narrated by Dicaprio. He has been making the talk show circuits promoting this movie. This movie aims to inspire and encourage people to make changes that will help our environment.

11^th hour web page

Happy Feet is one of those funny movies that you do not forget. The movie has a Penguin that tries to find his identity and winds up helping to make the world aware of the dangers of commercial over- fishing around the Antarctic. According to an article from National Geographic News,” Scientists warn that increased harvesting of Antarctic krill and fish could trigger a catastrophic collapse in the entire marine ecosystem.”

As a part of AMC’s free summer movie series you can see Happy Feet for free at participating AMC theaters this Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Source:

AMC theaters

National Geographic News

A record $37 million pollution fine against a well-known fleet of oil tankers is expected to pump $2 million into marine conservation efforts in the Gulf of Maine.

The company paying the fine, meanwhile, says the employees responsible for the pollution violated its policies and were fired.

Overseas Shipholding Group pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges that several of its tankers dumped oily wastes into the ocean during the past five years instead of going through the time and expense of proper disposal, and that crews tried to cover up the violations by falsifying logbooks. Part of the $37 million penalty is intended to be restitution for the environmental damage, and Maine’s share of that is $2.06 million.

Source:Portland Press Herald 

Rutgers University is searching for a few good men and women interested in helping the environment.

Beginning Jan. 15, Rutgers will hold its environmental steward volunteer training program at the Rutgers EcoComplex on Florence-Columbus Road in Mansfield.

Now in its third year, the 60-hour program features one three-hour lecture per week until May and is designed to provide training and experience to those interested in solving environmental problems in New Jersey.

Source:Burlington County Times 

There has been some talk about fuel cell vehicles.  Fuel cell vehicles show a lot of promise because the by product of fuel cells are electricity and water.  The electricity is used to power the vehicle and the water can just be released as waste.  This would certainly cut down on pollution.

All in all it seems like a great deal.  The only problem is that fuel cell vehicles are powered by oxygen and pure hydrogen.  Oxygen is easy to find because it is in the air, but pure hydrogen is another story.   The cost of creating pure hydrogen is probably the biggest obstacle in the development of fuel cell vehicles.

I’m no fuel cell expert but there are several resources on the web that can describe fuel cells a lot better than I can.   Nova on Pbs.com has a 14 minute video that  explains fuel cells and fuel cell vehicles.   This a great resource to use to get started in learning about fuel cells.