España segundo país que "compra" más CO2

El otro día escuché una noticia muy interesante en la radio. Mencionaba el Tratado de Kyoto cuyo principal  objetivo es reducir las emisiones de CO2 de cada país (hasta aquí todos lo sabemos).
Pero, me quedé sorprendido que pagando podemos emitir más CO2 a la atmósfera. Entonces ¿quién tenga dinero puede contaminar? ¿Este es el mundo que queremos? Creo que deberíamos tomar medidas al respecto.
Pero lo peor no es eso.... ¿sabéis qué país es el que compra más derechos de emisión de CO2 después de Japón? Sí, España.
A veces, la excusa para no hacer nada es que "como a nosotros no nos afecta", pasamos.
Pero.... esta vez es nuestro país el que más contamina... hay que retomar la campaña a lo grande.
Ya estamos concienciados.... ahora hay que concienciar a El Palo. De ahí a Málaga, y, ... poco a poco, espero que se unan más personas a nuestra iniciativa y consigamos reducir esta cantidad de CO2 que emitimos.

Así fue la hora del planeta (España)

You Can Start Now: Little things that make BIG changes

 - turn off the lights when you're not in the room, or use them less
 - shower instead of taking a bath, shower for less time, and shower together!
 - unplug appliances when you're not using them
 - ride a bike!
 - use public transportation
 - walk somewhere!
 - change your lightbulbs for fluorescent ones
 - if you want to keep your car, use it less or use it responsibly
 - trade in your car for a smart car, or an electric
 - eat less meat (this seems pretty drastic to me, but some people swear it'll work)
 - recycle things! be it plastic, glass, cardboard or paper
 - plant a tree; you can plant one yourself, with your friends or donate money for someone to plant it for you
 - buy organic products, or ones from a farmer's market
 - stop using (or use less) aerosols and sprays
 - try to throw away less things, reuse them or set up a garage sale!
 - go camping instead of staying in a hotel
 - go do something outside!
 - start your own garden

 - finally, share this list with others and educate them about climate change

Do You Know About Carbon Offsets?

What are carbon offsets?
Carbon offsets are literally reductions in carbon dioxide and other harmful gases that you pay for.

Who buys carbon offsets?
Mainly the people who buy carbon offsets are large companies. This happens a lot in countries that have limits on how much CO2 emissions one company can have each year. In order to make up for over-stepping their limit, the company buys carbon offsets instead of paying the government or breaking their contract. Also normal people and small business buy too, just to help the environment and reduce their environmental footprint.

What exactly does a carbon offset do?
There are several types of carbon offsets. One way the money for carbon offsets is used is by investing and funding green energy. These investments include solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power and biofuel. This can help offset the cost difference between non-green and green energy sources. Another way is in collecting and burning methane. Although burning methane released CO2, methane has 23 times the greenhouse effect of CO2 and when burned reduces the global warming effect by 96%. You can also "purchase" carbon offsets by making your company or workplace more energy efficient. One of the most popular ways to purchase carbon offsets is in destruction of industrial pollutants (HFCs and PFCs). Because they have a greenhouse effect several thousand times more than CO2 and are easily destroyed, this is a very simple way to buy carbon offsets. Another way that carbon offsets are used is in land-use and land-use change. Forests and soil are natural carbon sinks, and yet deforestation and habitat damage continue. When you buy this type of carbon offset you either directly pay for forest conservation so that the forest stays protected, or you fund projects that replace forest produced products with products that don't need deforestation for production.


Are carbon offsets a good thing?
In many ways carbon offsets are a good thing. They help offset the huge amount of CO2 many big businesses use every year. When talking about the combustion of methane, the destruction of industrial pollutants, and the funding of land-use change, we are talking about immediate changes that work against climate change. And in the world we live in now, everything can't be reduced and changed to green power immediately. In the mean time, why not offset the gases you emit? But some argue that carbon offsets just let companies use as much carbon as they want and then pay it off later. In an ideal world everyone would do both.


sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/carbon+offset 


http://www.carbonfund.org/

Enough is Enough: Getting started stopping climate change

The problem with climate change is no longer that we don't know how to combat it, so much as people don't care enough or don't believe that it can be a problem.
To start making real changes, we need to make everyone aware of the causes and the effects of climate change. There are many ways of doing this; presentations, songs, organizations, speeches, posters. But what we want should be clear: to teach as many people as we can the dangers of climate change.
Right now most people who are concerned about the changing climate are only worried about doing something about it themselves, they aren't trying to spread the word around. But the more people who actually care about doing something, the more people who will actually do something!
Therefore, I propose that while we are working against negative climate change, we warn other people and teach them about  it's risks.

Your Water, Our Planet: Stop drinking bottled water today

Every bottle of water you drink takes a certain amount of CO2 to produce, and it´s not small. It is estimated that “the manufacturing and transport of one kilogram bottle of Fiji water consumes 26.88 kilograms of water, 0.849 Kilograms of fossil fuel, and emits 562 grams of greenhouse gases.” Bottled water has a huge effect on our environment, and there isn´t much proof it´s any better for you.

Bottled water affects:

Water sources: Bottled water actually uses MORE water than in the bottle to produce and transport it. Meaning that you are wasting water by buying bottled water.

Communities: Bottled water companies take massive amounts of water from the same place. Consistently. This often leads to the community having water shortages and increasing the imbalance of water on our planet. Coca Cola’s draining of groundwater resources in Plachimada, India has caused riots in the street.

CO2 emissions: Every bottle of water needs to be produced and transported, emitting CO2 into the air. Drinking tap water instead, causes almost no CO2 emissions.

Landfills: There is not enough space for all of the plastic. You can recycle your bottled water, but most people do not. It is estimated that over 50% of the bottles still end up in the landfill.

So why is bottled water so popular? Most people believe it is better for you than tap water, but often that is not true. In fact, most tap water is CLEANER than bottled water.

So please, switch to tap water. Buy a filter. Take a rewashable water bottle with you for the day instead of buying it. And if you must drink bottled water, buy from a company in your country and please recycle your bottles.


sources:
http://www.canadians.org/water/documents/factsheetJune13-08.pdf

http://west40.hubpages.com/hub/bottledwaterclimatechange

Eat Less Meat to Stop Climate Change

There are a lot of things you can do to reduce the amount of CO2 you put into the atmosphere. One of the lesser known ways you can reduce your CO2 emissions is by eating less meat.

Not many people know what an impact the food they eat has on the environment. Much of our food is shipped from another place to the grocery store, which in and of itself emits quite a bit of CO2. You can always reduce your impact by eating things grown or made close to home. But what few people know is that meat has the biggest impact on our environment. Specifically beef.

The meat industry emits an amazing amount of CO2. A lot of which is in the actual transport of the meat to the store near you. If you want to emit less CO2, simply eat less meat. There are a lot of movements for people to make simple changes in their diet to help the environment, like not eating meat one day a week. Here is what a handful of common foods cost us in CO2 emissons (all figures in grams of CO2 per kilogram of food)

Beef	13'300
Raw sausages	8'000
Ham (pork)	4'800
Poeltry	3'500
Pork	3'250
Milk- and dairy products
	Hard cheese	8'500
	Cream	7'600
	Eggs	1'950
	Quark (curd)	1'950
	Farmer cheese	1'950
	Margarine	1'350
	Yogurt	1'250
	Milk	950
Fruits	Apples	550
	Strawberries	300
Baked goods	Brown bread	750
	White bread	650

So everytime you go to Burger King to get a burger, think about the environmental impact you are making. Here are a few ways that you can reduce the CO2 that you emit from the food you buy:

Buy food produced and grown locally
Buy food that is less processed (also is healthier)
Buy food with as little packaging as possible
Don´t run out to the grocery store several times a week, make one large trip
Buy less meat
Buy less fruit out of season
Stop eating meat one day a week
Eat more meat that isn´t beef



sources:

http://timeforchange.org/eat-less-meat-co2-emission-of-food

youtube.com

http://www.meatfreemondays.com/helptheplanet/

10 Easy Ways to Save Gas, and Our Planet

1) Drive Less

Ride your bike, your skateboard, rollerblades, or walk. It's better for you AND the environment!

2) Avoid Rush Hour

Try to wake up earlier to avoid traffic, or find a route where there is less.

3) Combine Errands

Instead of going out on multiple trips, go out and buy everything you need all at once. It saves you time AND money!

4) Remove Excess Weight

What you have in and on your car affects your gas mileage! The more the car weighs, the worse your mileage can be.

5) Tune-up Your Car

Make sure your car is in good shape, if not you could be using more fuel.

6) Drive Intelligently

Don't accelerate too often, turn off the motor while waiting at stoplights, etc.

7) Carpool/Rideshare

Drive with your friends! The more the merrier, you get to drive in the carpool lane (less traffic,) and saves money as well as the environment.

8) Ride the Bus

It's cheaper, relatively comfortable and environmentally friendly!

9) Use the Terrain

If you´re going downhill don't accelerate, if you're going up hill change to a lower gear so the car works less.

10)  Sell Your Car

If you sell your car, not only will you have more pocket money but you can buy a more environmentally friendly one, or invest in a bicycle.


List taken from this site: http://sustainability.duke.edu/campus_initiatives/transportation/conservegas.html

ECOMUNIDAD

Vivimos en un mundo cada vez con más tecnologías, en el que la tecnología cada vez está al alcance de más personas, sería un grave error no utilizarla para nuestro beneficio, y en este caso, para el beneficio del planeta. Ecocomunidad nos da la oportunidad de ser en grandes reporteros ecológicos. En FuturoEcologico.org nos invitan a convertirnos en colaboradores través de un sencillo proceso de registro, en el que se solicitaran datos básicos y una foto, es un pequeño perfil de cada una de las personas que quieran unirse a la lucha por un planeta mejor.

Tu aporte es vital para todos, esta comunidad tiene un único fin que es lograr un cambio en nuestras mentes, comportamientos, practicas y formas de vida. Tips ecológicos, artículos que tienen que ver con cualquier tema con respecto a ecología, eventos que se van a celebrar y que han sido celebrados, nuevas tendencias, proyectos ecológicos, y todo un universo referente al cuidado del planeta, que en definitiva es la misión de cada uno de nosotros.
¡NO DUDES EN COLABORAR CON EL PLANETA, CON NUESTRO PLANETA, CON TU PLANETA, APÚNTATE!

http://futuroecologico.org/ecomunidad/

editado por Berta.

Un barco que fabrica nubes

Seguramente dentro de unos años en nuestros mares haya barcos que se encarguen de crear nubes para asi luvhar contra el cambio climático.
En este momento todo el mundo estamos amenazados por el cambio climático y todas sus horribles consecuencias que pagaremos en unos años, debido a este miedo por nuestro planeta, han surgido grandes ideas como por ejemplo la creación de nubes a partir de barcos que estarán en las aguas de nuestros mares y océanos, otras grandes ideas para luchar contra la salvación de la tierra son la plantación de bosques que funcionen con robots o el lanzamientos de espejos al espacio.

Te preguntarás, ¿Un barco que fabrica nubes?

la idea de este proyecto la han dado dos científicos británicos, Stephen Salter y John Latham de la Universidad de Edimburgo, han sido los que han inventado este barco controlado vía satélite y por lo tanto sin tripulación, de diseño futurista y que funcionará con energía eólica. Este barco convierte en vapor gotas de agua que son absorbidas del mar, a través de sus chimeneas.
Estas gotas, son lanzadas a casi 1 kilómetro de altura sobre la superficie del agua, esto aumentaría la densidad de las nubes, que al hacerse más grandes frenarían parte de la luz solar que llegan sin obstáculos ni filtros, sobre los océanos.

editado por Berta.

Pintar las montañas de blanco para disminuir el cambio climatico

Junto a otras 27 personas Eduardo Gold ha ganado el concurso de "100 ideas para salvar el planeta" en el año 2009 y organizado por Banco Mundial.
Él asegura tener la idea contra el cambio climático y la desaparición de nuestros glaciares. Su idea trata en pintar las montañas de blanco.
Parece mentira pero además de ganar el concurso ya nombrado este idea se ha empezado a aplicar en Perú.

editado por Berta.

Panamá comienza a luchar por el cambio climático

El cambio climático es una de las amenazas que tiene que enfrentar la humanidad actualmente. Esta situación afectará directamente a Panamá ya que se pueden producirse tormentas más severas, bajadas de temperaturas y períodos de temporada seca más extensos y calientes; las consecuencias de esto son la pérdida en infraestructuras y producción de materia prima y salud, que luego se convierten en pérdidas económicas.
Por eso el Gobierno de Panamá está convencido de que el calentamiento global debe verse como una amenaza económica y de seguridad que nos afectará a todos. Se han empezado a planear ideas y proyectos para disminuir los cambios climáticos, que ya se empiezan a sentir en el país.

Panamá se ha propuesto dos ideas que son las siguientes: Fortalecer la legislación pública ambiental y contar con una Política Nacional de Cambio Climático.
La República de Panamá ha realizado unas adaptaciones a la legislación ambiental para hacer frente a los nuevos retos ambientales y, en ese sentido, ha desarrollado la Política de Cambio Climático que  fortalece al país para adaptarse al cambio climático.

Panamá ha iniciado la creación de proyectos enfocados a conocer la debilidad de los sectores claves del país como lo es el sector de recursos hídricos, la agricultura y la salud. Por otro lado, existen diferentes iniciativas enfocadas al aumento de las energías renovables y la eficiencia energética, con el objetivo de que la población tenga un conocimiento de cómo contribuir a reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero.

El Gobierno de Panamá sabe que la colaboración y el compromiso de cada uno de los países. Pero como es un país en desarrollo necesita ayuda financiera y tecnológica por parte de los países más ricos del mundo para poder hacer frente a las necesidades de adaptación al cambio climático para que poder contribuir en las reducciones de gases de efecto invernadero.

Editado por Laura.

Granjas Verticales (Vertical Farms)

Las Granjas verticales son un nuevo concepto de la agricultura para cultivar plantas dentro de grandes edificios de varios pisos o rascacielos. En estos edificios, que funcionarían como invernaderos de de gran dimensión y en ellos se utilizarian tecnologías como la hidroponía (método utilizado para cultivar plantas usando soluciones minerales en lugar de suelos agrícolas) para cultivar plantas.

Este nuevo concepto fue desarrollado por biólogo en 1999, Despommier. Una introduccion a gran escala de esta tecnología permitiría multiplicar la superficie cultivable prácticamente sin gasto de superficie, lo que permitiría revertir varios campos a su estado natural. Además, los defensores del concepto argumentan que se reducirían de manera considerable los costos de transporte y logística por el hecho de que las granjas verticales estarían emplazadas en la cercanía directa de los consumidores, una granja vertical de 30 pisos podría alimentar a más de 10.000 personas.

En cuanto al punto de vista ecológico, se emitirían menos cantidades de CO2 a la atmósfera porque como estan instaladas en las ciudades, no habría que transportar las hortalizas y frutas, ahorro de agua, ahorro de energía, evitamos la tala de bosques y se ahorraría espacio. Este nuevo concepto de la agricultura será clave en el futuro. La primera granja vertical se esta construyendo actualmente en suecia.

MORE INFORMATION IN THE OFFICIAL WEB SITE OF THE PROJECT: http://www.verticalfarm.com/

FUENTE: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granja_vertical

Lo que opino sobre esta nueva forma de cultivar, es que es una de las principales soluciones del futuro para nuestra tierra, porque con estas "granjas verticales" se ahorrará espacio... Entonces se reducirá la deforestación porque con estas granjas se necesita menos espacio y se cultiva mucho más. También se ahorrará agua y se contaminará menos. Pienso que este tipo de cultivo se tendría que poner a funcionar ya en los países que lo puedan desarrollar para frenar de alguna manera el cambio climático.

Educate Yourself: How much energy do your appliances use?

The most part of energy at home is came from electrical appliance but we can save choosing the kind A+++ . From A to G on the label, A being the most energy efficient, G the least efficient. There are 3 levels in A : A+, A++ and A+++


I think this is a very useful and comfortable way to save energy and also is very economic. In my opinion the government have to make people aware to change the bulbs.

‘There is enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed".Gandhi.

When we think about positive solutions to climate change we have to think about its root causes. We have to face up to the fact that climate change is about resource use and is largely the result of consumerist values and lifestyles in the developed North. True solutions therefore don’t allow for the continuation of high-consumption lifestyles, but relate to profound changes in what we consume and in how we organise our daily lives. No one is saying that this will be easy. We can start by accepting that change must come from us. It's no good waiting for governments to enforce radical change - they simply won't do it. By taking the initiative, we actually reclaim power as inhabitants of our planet and can then begin to create a new world in the here and now.

And why isn't it going to be easy? We live in a system where we are repeatedly told from the day we're born that buying things will make us happy. We're told that we 'need' things which are in reality not needs but wants (and in a time of climate crisis many are actually luxuries). Corporations spend billions upon billions reiterating the message that we will be happy if we just find the right product. And all the time industry continues to exploit and destroy the planet (and its people) to keep churning out the plastic trash that we do not need. And when we buy the advertised entertainment goods, or clothes or even food, so much of which is made and grown on the other side of the world, rather than creating and growing these things ourselves (which is possible), we use a huge amount of resources in transportation. Not to mention losing the joy of creating and providing for ourselves! Instead, we buy, we use, we throw away - forgetting that there is no "away". And while recycling and composting are good and necessary, they are in no way enough as solutions to climate chaos.

So how do we go about changing our high consumption lifestyles? Obviously it would be great if society en masse decided to re-localise agriculture, seriously invest in public transport or pull the plug on the advertising industry - but that's not currently looking too likely, is it? And therefore, as well as struggling to bring about these systemic changes as we do in our campaigning work, we also need to look to our own lifestyles. Look around and see how you live, how you can reduce your resource use in your home, slowly expanding your new ways of living into your local neighbourhoods, communities and places of work. Yes, we've all become attached to things that are not sustainable, and some changes will take grit and determination but on our side is the fact that we can work collectively to create and embrace new lifestyles, and in so doing re-create the hugely valuable sense of community that is being lost from our modern lives.

Below we have created a list of links to various websites that relate to positive solutions. Some will suit you down to the ground, others will not. There is no one answer and all we hope is, given that most of our website is given over to facing up to and confronting corporate climate criminals (something we highly recommend), that some of these sites will help you to think about how you want to start changing your lifestyle too.

There is a global climate justice movement rising up, and it's not just about confronting the root causes of climate change, it's also about creating a new world in the ruins of the old.

If there has ever been a time to do that, that time is now.
3ºarticle:

risingtide.org.uk/resources/positivesolutions

Denial or Hoax?: Theories against Global Warming

It is argued that global warming is a minor issue because of which major issues like HIV/AIDS, Nuclear proliferation and poverty are not being devoted their deserved time and resources.

Global warming is even argued to be merely a vested interest of scientists. It is said that scientists exaggerate the effects of global warming because they receive funds from environmental companies.

Global warming is believed, also, to be the outcome of failed computer climate models. It is argued that these models are not able to predict even tomorrow's weather accurately, so how can they predict long-term climate change?

It is argued that human activities are not the only cause of global warming. There are other factors involved in global warming too.

Detractors of global warming also hold that newspapers sensationalize global warming in order to sell. They distort the picture of global warming when actually that it is not as severe an issue as they make it out to be.
Detractors also say that since scientists have made wrong predictions before, science and scientists are not always right. Perhaps they have made an error in their calculations or drawn incorrect conclusions on available evidence, thus making global warming a virtual rather than a real problem.

Since we don't have long term historical records of the climate that Earth has witnessed, global warming could well be only a hypothesis.

It is argued that ater vapor plays a major part in global warming. Anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, hydrocarbons and other green-house gases have only a minor role to play. In fact, some people even believe that global warming is a natural phenomenon. Man has no role to play in it. Only our environment is responsible.

The data on temperature increase that scientists keep producing as evidence is nothing to worry about because the increase in the temperature has in fact been gradual, spread over more than hundred years. Also, the earth was warmer before. That did not have harmful consequences on humans. Why will it now? In fact people argue that the increase in temperature will help plants grow in currently cold and uninhabitable areas. The increase in the level of carbon dioxide will also stimulate plant growth.

Another common argument against global warming is that the upsurge in solar activity has caused global warming, not anthropogenic effects of development.

One realizes that most of the arguments against global warming are factually incorrect or far fetched. People advocating these arguments have a vested interest in activities and industries that contribute to global warming. Unfortunately they are able to sway a section of the population into believing that global warming is not a serious issue. Earnest efforts must be taken to dispel these myths and make the earth a better place to live in.

www.buzzle.com/articles/arguments-against-global-warming.htm...

dos aviones alternativos.

 

esta es una idea muy interesante ya que los viajes en avión cada día son más frecuentes por lo que de esta manera se evitaría una gran contaminación al medio ambiente al igual que disminuiría el uso de combustibles fósiles

Destrucción de la Biodiversidad

Una de las consecuencias, quizás de las más duras, es la destrucción de la biodiversidad. 
La situación que vivimos ahora, está haciendo que muchos animales, por ejemplo los osos 
polares, mueran, porque el aumento de la temperatura a causa del calentamiento global está haciendo que se derritan los polos, al igual que muchos bosques están siendo incendiados, 
o mares que están contaminados por el petróleo y la producción descontrolada de basura.
Si no queremos que esto vaya a peor, debemos actuar y pararlo.

 Pienso que es una de la cosas más importante y tenemos que actuar ya antes de que esto vaya a peor.

Esta en nuestras manos frenar el cambio climático

Nosotros estamos cansados ya de escuchar que el cambio climático es culpa nuestra, nos lo han repetido infinidad de veces, y aún así la mayoría de la población se despreocupa de cuidar nuestro planeta, nuestra casa. una vez más hay que decir que estamos a tiempo, y que esto está en nuestras manos.

Hay muchas maneras de frenarlo, además son formas que estan al alcance de todos tanto por comodidas como por motivos económicos como por ejemplo reciclar, ahorrar energía, reducir nuestra cantidad de basura, o intentar de inculcar estas ideas a nuestra familia, amigos o compañeros.

Tierra solo hay una, y en nuestras manos está que siga adelante... ¡No lo dudes y colabora!

creo  que nosotros somos los culpables y al mismo tiempo los que pagamos las consecuencias y con los años este problema va ganando importancia.



editado por Berta.

Bombillas de bajo consumo

El uso de las bombillas de bajo consumo ahorra hasta un 15% en la factura mensual de la luz. 

Pero también hay que tener en cuenta que deben colocarse en habitaciones donde se puedan tener mucho tiempo encendidas para que se note el ahorro , porque de forma contraria éstas gastan mas al encenderlas y apagarlas que una bombilla normal.

Son un poco mas caras que las bombillas normales, el precio normal de una bombilla de bajo consumo ronda los 5 o 6 euros aproximadamente, pero a lo largo del mes, éstas son más económicas.

Pienso que es una manera facil de colaborar y ayudar un poquito más a que el problema sea menor , claramente que cambiemos las bombillas si seguimos haciendo las demás cosas y contaminando etc no servirá de nada