Posted by Petah Marian on October 31st, 2008
Human influence on our climate is now apparent on every continent, including Antarctica. The first ever detection and attribution study of the Antarctic, published in Nature Geosciences, confirms rapid warming in this region.
In a report delivered in 2007 the IPCC concluded that the human fingerprint could be detected in an average temperature rise over each continent except Antarctica. However, this new study of almost 60 years of temperature records showed this is no longer the case and that Antarctica has warmed due to human influence.
It was led by Nathan Gillet, then working at the Climatic Resarch Unit at the University of East Anglia, who also performed the world’s first detection and attribution study in the Arctic. Rapid warming is caused by positive feedbacks within the climate change, and is entirely consistent with computer simulations of the climate.
Peter Stott, head of climate monitoring and attribution at the Met Office said:
“In both polar regions the observed warming can only be reproduced in our models by including human influences, natural forcings alone are not enough.”
Posted by Petah Marian on October 31st, 2008
Swansea University is launching a Centre for Climate Research, which will responsible for research into fast flowing glacers and ice streams as well as glacier instabilities.
Underpinning this research is a super-computer called blue ice. As one of the most powerful supercomputers in Wales, it could be a match for Derek Zoolander’s blue steel as it is also one of the most energy-efficient.
The centre aims to measure past and predict future contribution from glaciers and ice sheets to sea-level rise and in turn the reprecussions such sea level rise will have.
With time of the essence in discovering the effects of these drastic changes lets just hope that it’s a bit larger than the Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can’t Read Good.
Posted by Greenbang on October 31st, 2008
UK consumers believe Tesco is the top brand taking a lead in tackling climate change. Tesco tops the UK Climate Brand Index for the second year running.
The index is compiled by The Climate Group and retailers fared this year’s index with Marks & Spencer coming second, followed by E.ON, the Co-operative and British Gas. Regular readers of Greenbang might well raise an eyebrow at those names on the index and we think it says more about the size of green marketing budgets the big corporations have.
Interestingly, respondents were asked which brands they regarded as taking a lead in battling climate change and two-thirds (66 per cent) were unable to name a single company.
But the research shows the wider general public and consumers continue to look to mainstream brands and not niche green specialists when it comes to fighting climate change.
Other findings of the research show more than half (53 per cent) of Brits think tackling climate change will boost the economy.
The results also show that as people tighten their belts they are more prepared to make changes to their lifestyle and spend extra time to fight climate change. But they do not want to pay a premium to go green, with only 13 per cent prepared to spend extra money.
David Hall, campaign director of The Climate Group, said:
“Clearly commitment to tackling climate change has strengthened for Britain’s cash-strapped consumers. The firm belief amongst individuals that fighting climate change will boost the economy suggests that people will expect business and government to stick to their climate change commitments through the current economic downturn and make it easier and cheaper for everyone to do their bit. It’s vital that, in the current situation, we seize the opportunity to tackle economic and climate issues together.”
The research questioned 1,000 UK adults and was commissioned by The Climate Group, in conjunction with brand strategy and design consultancy Lippincott and broadcaster Sky.
You can find the full report here.
Posted by Greenbang on October 31st, 2008
Businesses will be able to more accurately measure the carbon footprint of their goods and services with a new standard launched by BSI British Standards, the Carbon Trust and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The standard - which has the catchy title PAS 2050 - will count CO2 emissions of products throughout their entire life cycle, from sourcing raw materials to manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. The aim is to help businesses identify opportunities for reducing emissions in the design, making and supplying of products.
The Carbon Trust has already trialled PAS 2050 with 75 product ranges across a wide range of companies, including the likes of Boots, Cadbury, Coca Cola, Halifax, Innocent, Sainsbury’s and Tesco among others.
The trials have been hailed as a success and resulted in Boots redesigning its logistics network for the Botanics shampoo range so that products could be delivered direct to stores, reducing road miles and packaging - cutting the carbon footprint of making the shampoo by 10 per cent.
Carbon Trust chief exec Tom Delay said:
“For the first time, businesses have a robust, consistent standard for measuring the carbon footprint of their goods and services. This exciting development will help businesses to really understand the carbon impact of their products and to follow this up with tangible ways to cut carbon emissions across the supply chain.”
Posted by Petah Marian on October 30th, 2008
My mum always told me to set a good example for the other children, so too it seems for the Australia’s Victoria state government department, Sustainability Victoria.
The government agency, responsible for environmental sustainability, said in its annual report:
“It is critical that our operations exemplify our values and we are held to account on our own environmental performance. Our environmental sustainability policy commits us to implement an accredited environmental management system to manage our environmental footprint.”
But that hasn’t been translated into action, with the agency reporting an 18 per cent increase in paper use and a nine percent jump in water consumption in the 12 months to June.
Staff in the agency have also been getting around with the report detailing a 49 per cent increase in the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated through air travel, according this article by the ABC (the Oz version of the BBC only without the shenanigans of Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross).
Posted by Petah Marian on October 30th, 2008
Would you turn off the light just because Jenny did it? Apparently so, according to a YouGov poll.
A third of employees have been forced by their peers to go green in the office. However, almost half (42 per cent) supported environmental inititatives in the work place because of their own environmetnal beliefs.
Capgemini, which sponsored the study, said it provides valuable guiadance to businesses keen to incentivise staff to reduce energy bills by highlighting how important a factor peer pressure can be.
Wasteful behaviour in office environments increases energy consumption by 20 per cent and costs UK firms over £157m each year and set to climb with increasing energy prices.
Almost one in five (18 per cent) of respondents saw ignorance of environmental issues as a real barrier in green initiatives being implemented in the workplace, according to the survey.
A variety of factors were identified as potential drivers of green behaviours in the workplace. Personal success came closely behind personal beliefs and peer pressure with 16 per cent seeing career benefits from being seen to be green, while 17 per cent expect direct financial rewards.
James Robey, head of corporate sustainability, Capgemini UK said:
“Achieving the necessary change in business culture requires employee engagement and co-operation. From our experience, engaging employees and offering them simple, effective ways of changing their behaviours appears to deliver the most significant level of engagement. This can only be accomplished through strong leadership from the top combined with simple effective systems at the front line.”
Across the nation the West Midlands seems to have the lowest inclination to engage in environmentally friendly initiatives, with 34 per cent versus more than 52 per cent in London.
Posted by Petah Marian on October 30th, 2008
School is back in session, that is if you’re wanting to learn how to improve the sustainability of your facilities. Siemens Building Technologies is offering a sustainability and environmental management course.
With the classes being run out of its headquarters in Buffalo Grove Illinois the course will teach building owners and management about how to improve the sustainability and environmental management of their facilities.
Topics include: sustainability performance improvement, sustainability performance measurement, business implications, green standards including Energy Star and the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System.
Karen Petersen, manager of education services at Siemens Building Technologies, said:
“There is so much confusion about sustainability. This class provides the necessary information to develop a practical sustainability plan.”
You can find out more here.
Posted by Petah Marian on October 30th, 2008
Hungary is putting a stop to any new wind turbines until it finds ways to store excess energy. The country’s Energy Office has decided this because wind generator performance varies depending on the wind and it cannot be stored and other energy producers have to cut back output.
A report by All Hungary News, said:
“The total performance of Hungary’s 63 windmills is 112.075 megawatts, less than one per cent of the country’s electricity consumption, which is still more than in most neighboring countries.”
If excess energy is generated by windmills then production from another power plant, such as the Paks nuclear plant, has to be cut back, according to the Hungarian Energy Office.
The full story is here or, if you want it in Hungarian, here.
Posted by Greenbang on October 29th, 2008
So excuse the dodgy photos, but a massive thank you to those people who came to the Sustainable Technology Group last night.
It was a cozy turnout of high quality folk from all areas of clean tech, green media, sustainable business and even a few finance folk.
Many beers were drunk, a few business relationships blossomed and heads are probably aching a little today, I’d imagine.
We’re busy planning our next gathering now, so I’ll let you what happens for November.
Now moving onto tonight - the much awaited Flackenhack Awards (for media luvvies), organised by the cheeky Mr Peter Kirwan and those monkeys behind the World’s Leading.
Greenbang has made a contribution to the evening in more ways than one… As well as sponsoring the bar (for about five minutes at current PR drinking speed), the Greenbang team has made a couple of trophies for some lucky winner.
As you can see, the trophies clearly resemble the Flackenhack’s high quality luxury logo and are made of the finest recycled materials known to man (cardboard, a cake stand and some Christmas balls).
It should be a good night, although very different to the event of last night as there will probably be a few more cocks at this one.
Posted by Greenbang on October 29th, 2008
Parcel delivery company UPS is to start using hydraulic hybrid vehicles that store energy by compressing hydraulic fuel under pressure in a large chamber.
The technology, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, has been in testing for two years and UPS has now ordered seven of the Navistar hydraulic hybrid delivery trucks.
Based on UPS’ road-testing of the technology in Detroit the prototype vehicle achieved 45 to 50 per cent improvement in fuel economy compared to conventional diesel delivery trucks. UPS says similar fuel efficiency and a 30 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions are achievable in daily, real-world use. The EPA also claims the hydraulic hybrid technology can be used equally well in other forms of transport, including shuttle and transit buses and refuse pick-up trucks.
UPS will deploy the first two of the new hydraulic hybrid vehicles in Minneapolis during the first quarter of 2009. Eaton, which helped develop and refine the vehicle’s hydraulic hybrid power system, will monitor the fuel economy performance and emissions in the Minneapolis area. The additional five hybrid trucks will be deployed later in 2009 and early 2010.
David Abney, UPS’s chief operating officer, said:
“There is no question that hydraulic hybrids, although little known to the public, are ready for prime time use on the streets of America. We are not declaring hydraulic hybrids a panacea for our energy woes, but this technology certainly is as promising as anything we’ve seen to date.”
The technology works by combining a high-efficiency diesel engine with a hydraulic propulsion system, replacing the conventional drivetrain and transmission. The vehicle uses hydraulic pumps and storage tanks to capture and store energy. The diesel engine is used to periodically recharge pressure in the hydraulic propulsion system.
