Heal Earth Now

According to an article from the Associated Press, we are in the warmest decade (2000-2009).

The last few decades are the warmest period in at least 400 years and probably 1,000 years, based on evidence from tree rings, retreating glaciers and other scientific methods to track climate before record-keeping, according to a 2006 report by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Although temperatures have fluctuated, the causes were natural. The difference now is that they are being driven up by human activity, that modern civilization has many more coastal cities and needs to feed far more people, and that scientists believe humans can head off such dangerous warming.

Many parts of the world are already feeling the effects of global warming. Melting polar ice caps are causing sea levels to rise in some places, as result people in many countries losing their homes and businesses close to the coastline. Since what one country does affects the whole world, developing countries are paying for the waste and huge carbon emissions that other countries have released into the air.

Although we are seeing the warmer decades, that does not mean that all is over. We can work to reduce our carbon emissions. Most people and cities are trying to go green and hopefully going green continues to be cool and be just what we need to slow down global warming.

We know that carbon emissions are affecting climate change. A change in our environment is bound to affect the plants, animals and humans. Researchers are putting a number of live saved if we can reduce the amount of carbon emissions.

The calculations of lives saved were based on computer models that looked at pollution-caused illnesses in certain cities. The figures are also based on the world making dramatic changes in daily life that may at first seem too hard and costly to do, researchers conceded.

Some possible benefits seemed highly speculative, the researchers conceded, based on people driving less and walking and cycling more. Other proposals studied were more concrete and achievable, such as eliminating cook stoves that burn dung, charcoal and other polluting fuels in the developing world.

And cutting carbon dioxide emissions also makes the air cleaner, reducing lung damage for millions of people, doctors said.

“Here are ways you can attack major health problems at the same time as dealing with climate change,” said lead author Dr. Paul Wilkinson, an environmental epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The calculations are based on proposals that would cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050. To accomplish that, industrialized countries have to cut emissions by 83 percent. Obama’s proposal, also unveiled Wednesday with his Copenhagen announcement, is in sync with that.

Source: Associated Press

The Dalai Lama on Wednesday appealed to China to take action to stop Tibet’s glaciers melting, saying the environmental crisis was more urgent than a political solution over Tibet’s future.

Attending a U.N. summit on global hunger in Rome, the exiled Buddhist leader warned rivers from Tibet’s glaciers and snow-covered mountains may dry up in 15 to 20 years and asked China to study the problem together with Tibetan experts.

There have been several talk be between the Dalai Lama and Chinese officials about the melting glaciers. No word on what steps, if any, will be taken to remedy the problem.

Source: Rueters

Biogas produced from cow manure is warming many homes in the Netherlands. Biogas is produced by the fermentation of cow manure and other biological material. Biogas is a biofuel that can be used as power. The Netherlands and many other European countries have been using biogas as a power source for some homes.

A new plant opened in the Netherlands this past Friday.

Manure from cows at a nearby dairy farm will be fermented along with grass and food industry residues, and the biogas released during the process will be used as fuel for the thermal plant’s gas turbines.

The heat generated will be distributed to around 1,100 homes in the area around Leeuwarden in the north of the Netherlands, the plant’s operator Essent said in a statement.

Source: Reuters.com

The Kyoto Protocol is an international environmental treaty with the goal of combating global warming due to greenhouse gases. The protocol gets its name from Kyoto, Japan where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convened on December 11, 1997. The plan is to stabilize greenhouse gas levels by reducing emissions, particularly by developed countries, and to create new techniques to manage the current damage on the environment.

The Kyoto Protocol’s goal is to reduce collective greenhouse emissions to 5% below the levels from 1990. The time frame is five years, from 2008 to 2012. Each country that ratifies the accord is primarily responsible for adjusting its emissions nationally by their own measures. These greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and sulfur dioxide as well as hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons. In order to accomplish the national goal, a country has additional options through flexible mechanisms. These include a credit system which allows countries to buy emission reduction credits from other countries, who have lower greenhouse emissions, or through emission reducing projects.

Many nations have signed and ratified the Kyoto protocol; for example, Russia ratified it in February of 2005. Each country has committed to its own specific emission reduction goal and must nominate a national authority. This official will oversee the regulation of greenhouse emissions, monitor the emissions with precise records, as well as keep track of trades and credits, and provide an annual report. The United States has not signed the Kyoto Accord, but individual cities in the USA have signed climate change agreements.

CNN wants you to go a vote for the 2009 Hero of the Year. It is a difficult choice because all these individuals have made significant contributions to world around them. Each person has sacrificed time, and money to help improve the lives of others. You can read all their stories on cnn.com. One woman, Betty Makoni, started an organization in Zimbabwe to help women and girls that have been victims of sexual abuse. Another man is a veteran that provides help to other veterans that are homeless and battling addiction. You can vote for the 2009 hero at cnn.com. On Thanksgiving night CNN will air a special from the Kodak Theater in Hollywood to honor the top 10 heroes of the year.

ABC news ran a story which documented cases of albino people in the United States and as far as the continent of Africa. People with albinism in America are sometimes made fun of and taunted. People in Africa are suffering even greater harm. In Africa, superstitions and witchcraft has led the killing and mutilation of albino children and adults. Superstition in Tanzania and other countries believe that albinos have specials powers and using their body parts in their witchcraft will cause increase wealth.

As the government works to crackdown on the killing of albinos, albinos are looking for safe havens that will keep them protected. ABC has listed 2 different groups that are working to help albinos in Africa. Under the Same Sun is a Canadian organization that works to help to bring awareness about the killings and support a school in Africa that has become a safehaven for albino children.

Using a rain barrel is not only good for the environment, it is even better for your pocketbook. A rain barrel is exactly what it says, a barrel that collects rain, or holds rain water. These were how farmers watered their crops a long time ago. We are slowly getting back to understanding how convenient and earth friendly it is to use rain barrels for watering our lawns and gardens.

Rain barrels are fairly easy to build and very inexpensive. You can buy a rain barrel that is ready to go, or purchase a plastic food grade barrel for around ten dollars. It is better to have a darker color. A clear barrel will allow in sunlight, which will promote algae growth. There are lots of fancy designs that are more attractive and can match your house if you would like.

The rain barrel collects rain water that falls off the roof of your home. You can use a screen to try and keep out the leaves and other large debris that may fall in. A screen is also useful if you have pets or small children that could potentially fall in the barrel. You can also help prevent any foundation damage that may happen from too much water soaking in. You can attach a pump to the barrel to pump out the water, or simply allow gravity to do its job.

At the bottom of the barrel, you will need to have some kind of fitting that a regular hose can attach to. This hose can be a soaker hose or a regular garden hose. If you would like to regulate the flow of the water, you can buy a restrictor to attach to your hose. A soaker hose is great for keeping flowers and trees watered. If you want to run a sprinkler you will need to purchase a pump to get the pressure needed to run the sprinkler.

Rain water is great for watering gardens. It is clean and free of any chemicals or toxins that may otherwise be in ground water or city water. Recycling the rainwater will help preserve our natural resources.

In hopes of helping our environment from poor disposable of electronic equipment, many people from industrialized nations have recycled their equipment at different facilities.  Proper disposal of electronic equipment is important because electronic equipment contain some toxic material, like high levels of lead and mercury. 

The problems lies in the fact that these hazardous materials are not being disposed of properly by many of these recycling facilities, but are being shipped to developing nations and causing a lot of pollution and environmental problems in those areas. 

60 minutes did story on the way that companies that we believe are helping to recycle and stop pollution are causing more problems.  They are shifting where pollution occurs from wealthy nations ,like the United States, to places like China. Pollution caused by e-waste in China and other nations is not a new thing and the environment that these people live in has gotten worse.

How can you stop e-waste?

One way is to reuse.  Instead of getting the latest gadget, try to keep them longer and use them as long as you can.  That will save money in your wallet and help your earth.  

Another way to prevent e-waste  is to reduce the amount of electronic equipment we purchase in the first place.   We don’t need to every new electronic product that comes on the market.  Sometime we purchase an item and it stays in the closet, in the cabinet or the shelf and collects dust. 

 
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Green Smoothies Help Kids Eat Fruits, Veggies

(NewsUSA) – Americans simply aren’t eating their fruits and vegetables, and that spells poor health for the next generation.

The government recommends that adults eat a minimum of four fruit and five vegetable servings every day. And yet, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 32.6 percent of adults eat enough fruits and only 27.2 percent consume enough vegetables. And because parents aren’t eating fruits and vegetables, neither are their children.

The really bad news? Fruits and vegetables have proven health benefits. The less you eat, the more likely you are to develop obesity, diabetes and cancer. If American children eat donuts and French fries instead of apples and spinach, they will likely develop health problems. Even now, more children are becoming obese, which sets them up for asthma, sleep apnea and type-2 diabetes.

Americans need to eat more fruits and vegetables, but few want to sit down to a plate of raw greens. The solution? Make meals that are delicious and easy — and that just happen to contain fruits and vegetables.

Take green smoothies, which blend fruit and green vegetables like lettuce, kale, parsley, collards, spinach or chard. The smoothies, while bright green in color, taste light and sweet — the fruit completely masks the vegetables’ taste. For best results, make smoothies about 60 percent fruit and 40 percent greens. If a smoothie tastes too bitter, simply add more fruit.

Green smoothies are best when completely smooth, so choose the top blender available to pulverize completely. The Vita-Mix 5200, for example, uses a two-plus peak horsepower motor and stainless steel blades to break down whole foods, including skins, peels and seeds, giving smoothies extra fiber and antioxidants. Vita-Mix provides the following recipe for a delicious, healthy green smoothie1:

Green Smoothie

Serves 3-4

1 cup green grapes

1/2 cup pineapple

2 cups fresh spinach

1/2 cup cold water

1 cup ice

Place all ingredients in Vita-Mix container in order listed. Secure two-part lid. Select variable, speed No. 1. Turn on machine and quickly increase speed to No. 10; then to high. Run for one minute or until smooth. In another type of blender, add all ingredients in the order listed, then blend on the highest setting. Serve immediately.

For more information, visit www.vitamix.com.