Justin Hall-Tipping CEO of "Nanoholdings" Explains how nanotechnology is set to change the future of energy and replace fossil and nuclear fuels
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Science behind new developments in free energy!
The Future of Nano-Electric Power Generation
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Air Pollution: Bad For Health, But Good For Planet? (NPR)
LISTEN to the whole story here
Emerging studies on a very pressing issue today: global warming. As NPR reports,
There are new studies which show that reducing pollutants may actually hurt efforts in reducing global warming. Specifically, aerosols, which although make humans sick, also add nutrients to the environment and cool the atmosphere by increasing the CO2 absorbed by Earth.
Listen to the full story HERE
Emerging studies on a very pressing issue today: global warming. As NPR reports,
"Cleaning up the air, while good for our lungs, could make global warming worse. That conclusion is underscored by a new study, which looks at the pollutants that go up smokestacks along with carbon dioxide."
There are new studies which show that reducing pollutants may actually hurt efforts in reducing global warming. Specifically, aerosols, which although make humans sick, also add nutrients to the environment and cool the atmosphere by increasing the CO2 absorbed by Earth.
Listen to the full story HERE
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Starting Off on the Right Foot...
The Amity Environmental Club has taken off with the new school year with five projects.
The first is to create a sculpture out of trash, old metal, and/or scraps of wood. The "art" section of the club will be collecting these materials and creating the sculpture in the courtyard of Amity. Any ideas on what the sculpture should be of?
The next project is a garden/compost. We're planning on having a small patch of land dedicated to a garden with a compost. They can be used along with science classes in environmental studies or ecosystems.
Another project is reading environment-related books to children ages 3-10 to inform them on ways they can be more Eco-efficient. What are some good books that have to do with the environment?
The Amity Environmental Club is also attempting to make the cafeteria even more "green". We've made progress in the past by eliminating Styrofoam trays and this year we plan on changing the plastic utensils to more environmentally-friendly options (perhaps sporks?).
Lastly, we're having a recycling campaign to promote recycling at Amity. We're hoping to add more recycling bins, put up posters, and maybe have presentations? We'll see.
Stay tuned with updates on these projects and more info on the Environment!
The first is to create a sculpture out of trash, old metal, and/or scraps of wood. The "art" section of the club will be collecting these materials and creating the sculpture in the courtyard of Amity. Any ideas on what the sculpture should be of?
The next project is a garden/compost. We're planning on having a small patch of land dedicated to a garden with a compost. They can be used along with science classes in environmental studies or ecosystems.
Another project is reading environment-related books to children ages 3-10 to inform them on ways they can be more Eco-efficient. What are some good books that have to do with the environment?
The Amity Environmental Club is also attempting to make the cafeteria even more "green". We've made progress in the past by eliminating Styrofoam trays and this year we plan on changing the plastic utensils to more environmentally-friendly options (perhaps sporks?).
Lastly, we're having a recycling campaign to promote recycling at Amity. We're hoping to add more recycling bins, put up posters, and maybe have presentations? We'll see.
Stay tuned with updates on these projects and more info on the Environment!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Solar panels on the Earth?
"As Japan continues to struggle with the fallout of its Fukushima nuclear disaster, its government is steering the country's energy policy toward solar and other renewable sources. Some Japanese firms are being very aggressive in their application of that vision. Researchers at Shimizu Corp., a construction powerhouse, are proposing to build a 6,800-mile-long, 248-mile-wide ribbon of solar panels around the light side of the moon. The panels would beam enough energy back to Earth to power much of the globe. Is this a serious plan, and could it work?"
Japan is hoping to place a large ribbon of solar panels built from materials indigenous to the Moon as to absorb energy from the sun and send it back to Earth. Right now, this initiative is set to launch 2035, built by robots on the moon.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
If I had it my way
Hey check out this"If I had it my way" vid. Its pretty interesting- makes one think that in this country with such a seemingly endangered population of environmentalists, there is still hope.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Less oil- less of a problem?
It might be hard to decipher still what the heck state of function Louisiana is in after the BP oil spill- a lot of sources just say the situation looks better. As environmentalists, its hard to see someone saying that the damage is actually being remediated- our first reaction seems to be to just think of the headhunters of BP as men with devil horns with grins on their faces. Obviously, they aren't... but this whole oily mess has stirred outcrys from BP sympathizers, environmentalists, and people on the middle ground alike. Truly what is the situation now? Even when the reps from BP spoke to the world about the situation when it happened, it was hard to hear a clear answer- now that the oil is somewhat less visible, its easier to fantasize that the situation's all clear.
Check out these videos, they give a couple of different P.O.Vs on what state the coastline is in now: http://www.takepart.com/newstagthe-bp-oil-spill-one-year-later
"Oil and wildlife don't mix"
Pic: http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/06/02/alg_bp_aquaman_horz.jpg
Check out these videos, they give a couple of different P.O.Vs on what state the coastline is in now: http://www.takepart.com/newstagthe-bp-oil-spill-one-year-later
"Oil and wildlife don't mix"
Pic: http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/06/02/alg_bp_aquaman_horz.jpg
Thursday, April 7, 2011
OUR LETTER TO THE BUSINESS MANAGER, SUPERINTENDENT, HEAD OF CAFETERIA
SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK AT AMITYENVIRONMENTAL@GMAIL.COM, we will be sending this out soon!
To whom this may concern,
We are writing on behalf of the Environmental Club at Amity High School. This winter, we conducted a campaign promoting the use of environmentally friendly materials in our school cafeteria. Our purpose was to minimize plastic waste and increase awareness about the negative effects of disposable plastics.
To make "Green Lunch Week" possible, we partnered with Principal Charles Britton and Cafeteria Head Joan Conant. With sponsorship from Amity’s administration, we were able to purchase two weeks’ worth of environmentally friendly products for our cafeteria. These products included biodegradable sporks, trays, and knives, as well as recycled napkins, compostable salad containers, and paper boats.
Following GLW we surveyed the student body to gauge support for change. Although we did not survey everyone in the school, we received 956 responses, which we believe is an accurate representation of the student body as a whole.
§ 67% of those surveyed buy lunch from the school cafeteria.
§ 69% of those who buy lunch do so on a weekly to daily basis.
§ 52% of voters responded that they had no opinion on GLW, 33% responded that GLW as satisfactory and 15% of voters responded that GLW as dissatisfactory.
Students then responded on their willingness to pay extra for the green materials. From the results we gathered, slightly more than half of all voters who buy lunch are willing to pay extra.
Within all voters who buy lunch, 52% were willing to pay at least 10 cents while 48% were against paying any extra.
§ 40% of buyers willing to pay extra buy lunch on an everyday basis
§ 26% of buyers willing to pay extra buy at least every week
§ Remaining 34% of buyers willing to pay extra buy once per month.
The willingness of students to pay extra may be disputed over different causes during GLW.
We link this to several factors, one of which was the issue of sporks. As a rail splitting idea to reduce costs and plastic, the spork incited many students to vote against any extra costs solely based on the inconvenience of the spork.
This brings us to the point that while the survey does reflect the student opinion, Project Green Lunch is still in its trial stages. If implemented, experience with the utensils can shift costs so that for example, less napkins can be bought in place of separate forks and spoons. Switching the cafeteria to the materials from GLW is subject to changes for improvement.
When a new policy is introduced to students, the student body's first reaction is to reject change. This phenomenon is reflected in last year’s 8-period schedule proposal. As our data collected immediately after the change reflects dissatisfaction among students, we expect the number of actively opposed students to decrease as time goes on.
Therefore, as Amity Environmental Club, we encourage the switch to eco-friendly materials in the cafeteria.
We believe that not only is the change a better move for the environment, but by implementing the utensils we can raise awareness in the student body of their impacts on the environment. Students may seem to have lukewarm interest in the project but if implemented the project will benefit the Amity environment.
We have attached a copy of our GLW survey.
Sincerely,
Amity Environmental Club
To whom this may concern,
We are writing on behalf of the Environmental Club at Amity High School. This winter, we conducted a campaign promoting the use of environmentally friendly materials in our school cafeteria. Our purpose was to minimize plastic waste and increase awareness about the negative effects of disposable plastics.
To make "Green Lunch Week" possible, we partnered with Principal Charles Britton and Cafeteria Head Joan Conant. With sponsorship from Amity’s administration, we were able to purchase two weeks’ worth of environmentally friendly products for our cafeteria. These products included biodegradable sporks, trays, and knives, as well as recycled napkins, compostable salad containers, and paper boats.
Following GLW we surveyed the student body to gauge support for change. Although we did not survey everyone in the school, we received 956 responses, which we believe is an accurate representation of the student body as a whole.
§ 67% of those surveyed buy lunch from the school cafeteria.
§ 69% of those who buy lunch do so on a weekly to daily basis.
§ 52% of voters responded that they had no opinion on GLW, 33% responded that GLW as satisfactory and 15% of voters responded that GLW as dissatisfactory.
Students then responded on their willingness to pay extra for the green materials. From the results we gathered, slightly more than half of all voters who buy lunch are willing to pay extra.
Within all voters who buy lunch, 52% were willing to pay at least 10 cents while 48% were against paying any extra.
§ 40% of buyers willing to pay extra buy lunch on an everyday basis
§ 26% of buyers willing to pay extra buy at least every week
§ Remaining 34% of buyers willing to pay extra buy once per month.
The willingness of students to pay extra may be disputed over different causes during GLW.
We link this to several factors, one of which was the issue of sporks. As a rail splitting idea to reduce costs and plastic, the spork incited many students to vote against any extra costs solely based on the inconvenience of the spork.
This brings us to the point that while the survey does reflect the student opinion, Project Green Lunch is still in its trial stages. If implemented, experience with the utensils can shift costs so that for example, less napkins can be bought in place of separate forks and spoons. Switching the cafeteria to the materials from GLW is subject to changes for improvement.
When a new policy is introduced to students, the student body's first reaction is to reject change. This phenomenon is reflected in last year’s 8-period schedule proposal. As our data collected immediately after the change reflects dissatisfaction among students, we expect the number of actively opposed students to decrease as time goes on.
Therefore, as Amity Environmental Club, we encourage the switch to eco-friendly materials in the cafeteria.
We believe that not only is the change a better move for the environment, but by implementing the utensils we can raise awareness in the student body of their impacts on the environment. Students may seem to have lukewarm interest in the project but if implemented the project will benefit the Amity environment.
We have attached a copy of our GLW survey.
Sincerely,
Amity Environmental Club
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