Pandas No More...

I have always been a fan of panda bears and how exotic these species are in the bear family. With their black and white fur, you just can't stop yourself cooing these adorable asian bears.

Sad to say, these animals are facing extinction because of climate change. A recent study done by York University shows that climate change is actively redistributing plant and animal life.

A joint study done by York University and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, with Sichuan University and the Kunming Institute of Botany in China focused on the effect climate change in bamboos, which is the main source of food of these giant pandas.

Researchers found out that while some species of bamboos decreased in number due to global warming, other types significantly increased. The findings will help safeguard these endangered animals and hopefully determine sustainable action steps to conserve this type of bear specie.

Professor Steve Blackmore, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh said: "Pandas spend 14 hours a day eating, and bamboo forms 99% of their diet, so they are completely reliant on the right bamboo species being present in order to survive".

Pandas No More - click for full report.

Climate Change May Drown Cities

Is this photo familiar? Yes, you got it right! It is a scene from the movie, A Day After Tomorrow - a horrifying version of the world drowning because of sudden climate change.

This movie made me realized how valuable the environment is and how we should focus our attention in downsizing the effect of greenhouse gasses. Erratic thunderstorms and rising of sea levels are some of the signs that there is indeed a shift in our temperature and it's not good. More obviously, it is not good when it comes to cities that are near the ocean or are residing near the sea.

According to a recent study, half of Asia will suffer if a rise in sea level happens. This will force third world countries to evacuate their sea-residing cities and move it somewhere high which in return will cause another problem of overpopulating these areas.

The people of Dhaka, main city of Bangladesh, are now aggressively using CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) in their vehicles in order to battle global warming. This alternative is producing less greenhouse emissions and way more environmentally cleaner than petrol. Dhaka is one of the 3,000 cities identified by UN Habitat's State of the World Cities 2008/2009 as cities that are faced with the possibility of sea-level rise and induced-flooding. A very alarming situation since what the photo above is showing is most probably will happen in the near future if we do not act today.

Now looking at the demographics of these cities, Asia will cater 50% of the cities facing this "possibility" while 27% comprises Latin America and the Caribbean, 15% in Africa, 2/3 in Europe and 1/5 of all cities in North America are in the low elevation coastal zone.

Just think, if ever this world faces the tragedy depicted in "The day after tomorrow" - no policy or legislation will ever save us then... Only Action can spare us from this and only Action can minimize the effect of global warming... So ACT now! Stop Global Warming!

Solution To Climate Change - Virtual Assistants

The Internet surely changed the way we see things. Started as a military device, it was cropped down to consumer levels in order to build a whole new sector in the market place. Today, you can almost do anything with it. You can surf for information, see places in just a few clicks, shop on an online store open 24/7, and now you can even let someone do your job or personal things for you - ONLINE!

Virtual assistance is now an in thing for most people specially the younger generation. It offers a lot of benefits since the only money the person has to shell out is his/her electric consumption and provisions for high-speed Internet connection. One can accept jobs literally from all over the world. Like me for example, I live in the Philippines but I have a part-time job doing Marketing Research for a US based company and we only communicate through my web messenger account. We negotiate through an online website that host this kind of activities so that both parties are ensured when it comes to the output work.

Some say it's a solution to climate change since majority now will only have to stay at home to do work cutting down the usage on oil when commuting towards their offices. Since renewable energy is a hit thing today, most power providers are now looking for cheaper and more Eco-friendly alternatives therefore one can now assure himself of the electric consumption are now being produced from renewable sources.

In the long run, I can see that this can be an additional aid in lessening greenhouse emissions since majority can now stay at home with their families. Virtual assistants can go beyond limits when you look at it at a bigger perspective and I hope that someday, we can all start telecommuting and start being productive where we are.

Stop global warming! Start acting! Help the environment heal itself by lessening the chances of potentially increasing dangerous climate change.

To Slow Global Warming, Install White Roofs

If you ask an architect or a civil engineer regarding cost-efficient roofs, they will normally tell you to paint it white. Obviously for two reasons - white colored roofs will reflect heat, meaning lesser chances of using the air conditioning unit, and it's cheaper to paint it white (since you only need one color unlike other colors, which needs white as a primer or initial color before applying it). But scientist today found one more benefit - slowing global warming.

According to a data released during the Fifth Annual California Climate Change Research Conference, if the 100 biggest cities installed white roofs and change their pavements from asphalt-based materials to reflective materials, the global cooling effect will be massive.

Since 2005, the Golden State has required all flat commercial infrastructures to have white roofs. Next year, new and retrofitted residential and commercial establishments, whether flat or sloped roofs, will have to install heat reflecting materials in compliance of the energy-efficient building code. But still, there are no provisions or legislation pertaining to heat-absorbing asphalt pavements, which is a cheap byproduct of oil refining.

According to Hashem Akbari, a physicist with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a 1,000 square-foot roof - the average size of an American home - offset 10 metric tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere of dark-colored shingles or coatings are replaced with white material.

According to recent statistics, Globally - roofs account for 25% of the surface of most cities, and pavements account for 35%. Considering these data, if all major urban cities shifted to these kind of materials, an estimated 44 metric gigatons will offset the production of greenhouse gasses, which have been trapping heat in the atmosphere and altering the climate for a potentially dangerous scale.

That is more than all the countries emit in a year. Installing these heat-reflective materials will induce cooler atmospheres thus offsetting 10 years of emission growth even without slashing industrial pollution.

"I call it a win-win" Akbari said. "First, a cooler environment not only conserves energy but induce comfort. Second, cooling a city by a few degrees dramatically reduces smog. And third, is offsetting global warming."

Climate Change Triggered Human Evolution?

Climate change triggered human evolution - some scientists believe that ancient climate changes acted as powerful evolutionary drivers for human beings forcing our ancestors to stand tall on two legs, grow large brains and develop other human traits. (for related reading: "was Darwin Wrong")

When you look at the environment section of the newspaper (global or local), climate change is mostly the central issue everyone is focused on. Whether rightist or leftist, both groups agreed that there is a movement of dangerous climate change all over the world that needs immediate attention.

Now deviating to a lighter side - I realized that there are also positive side effects of climate change (according to some scientist). And I want to discuss the aspect of human evolution as a byproduct of climate change.

According to a recent study posted by National Geographic, the early human species, so the theories go, was concentrated in periods marked by fluctuating environmental changes. Other theories suggests humankind emerged independently of climatic swings, with adaptations arising, for example, out of competition between or within species.

While more evidence is needed to settle the debate, experts say that the answer may lie at the bottoms of ancient African lakes. Now the challenge for researchers is to prove and find out that prehistoric shifts in climate coincides with key stages of development in the early human fossil record.

Records of ancient global climate change come mainly from ocean sediments. These suggest cooler, drier, and more variable conditions kicked in some three million years ago.

Did climate change trigger human evolution? some say yes, others no. Just like the people who believe that climate change is either man-made or independently evolving by itself with no contribution from man-kind or whatsoever. Personally, I believe that whether or not we evolved from erratic climate changes, still we should know best on how to mitigate its effects just to make sure that our environment - the world we live in - is still a safe place for our kids and for future generations. That's what we have to thank for during the prehistoric climate changes - it gave us large brains therefore we should use it to the full extent to do what we can today to save what is already at the brink of despair (our environment).

To read more about the topic posted by National Geographic, click here.

Carbon Tax to Solve Global Warming

According to a top US economist last Thursday that in order to fight global warming, carbon taxes and not cap and trade market alone will lead the technological changes the world's energy system needs.

Spending almost $65 billion a year for permits to emit greenhouse gasses, cap and trade has been the dominant choice to slow global warming. The European Union, under the Kyoto Protocol, even adopted the policies as well as other US companies who volunteered for the program which by the way, are the major carbon polluters.

Jeffrey Sachs - a special advisor to the U.N. Secretary General and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University - told a panel last Thursday that it is much more cheaper and simpler to put carbon tax on energy production rather than  putting a cap on tens and thousands of polluters. This carbon tax will somehow focus at an oil wellhead or refinery. 

As the world prepares to form  a successor agreement for the Kyoto Protocol by the end of next year, focus is sharpening on how well is the cap and trade markets are fighting emissions. Carbon taxes will quickly cut emissions across all sectors of the economy, including vehicles and manufacturing, said Sachs. It could be more efficient than spreading the trade of permits across the financial system.  

Clean Energy Act of The Philippines

Manila, Philippines - with the passing of its Renewable Energy Act - the Philippines can save over US $2.9billion according to a recent study by WWF and the University of the Philippines. This legislation took 19 years in the making and now, the senate has reach a decision to push with the bill.

The savings would come from increasing the country's renewable energy share in its power generation mix from 0.16% to 41% from wind, solar, ocean, run-of-river hydropower and biomass. Today 26% of the country's power comes from burning oil. Last year the country has imported 101.4 million barrels of oil alone, costing a staggering US $7.5billion.

In passing this landmark legislation, the senate has paved the way in attaining energy independence and low-carbon growth. By tapping into massive clean energy sources - the Philippines is now moving towards an era of sustainable development while contributing to the global efforts in to prevent dangerous climate change. This will also give the Philippines an advantage in focusing the $3 million rebate into other programs that needs attention.

The landmark legislation aims to accelerate the development and use of the nation's vast renewable energy resources through fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to investors. It also assures investors in wind, solar, biomass, ocean, and run-of-river hydropower of premium rates in electricity generated from these clean sources through feed-in tariffs.

Other incentives include duty-free importation of equipment, tax-credit on domestic capital equipment and services, special realty tax rates, income tax holidays, net operating loss carry-over, accelerated depreciation, and exemption from universal change and wheeling charges.

Schwarzenneger to Host Climate Summit

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger has announced plans to host a climate-change summit in Los Angeles in November in an attempt to form an international climate alliance of local, regional, and world leaders ahead of United Nations climate talks in Poland in December. 

The summit invitees include governors from all 50 states, as well as officials from Australia, Canada, China, Europe, India, Mexico, and more. "The real action for any new ideas is always on the local level. This is how we can push the agenda," Schwarzenegger said. "We are not waiting for the federal government." 

Schwarzenneger announced the summit a day ahead of the second anniversary of California's landmark climate law that aims to cut the state's emissions 25 percent by 2020.