On-line παιχνίδι ενεργειακής εξοικονόμησης

H ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ, 21 Μαΐου 2011


Ποιος είναι ο καλύτερος τρόπος να αλλάξoυμε τις «κακές» συνήθειες των παιδιών; Το παιχνίδι, φυσικά! Δεδομένου, μάλιστα, ότι τα δημοφιλέστερα παιχνίδια είναι πλέον τα ηλεκτρονικά, καταλαβαίνουμε, πώς το διαδικτυακό παιχνίδι enercities κέρδισε τις καρδιές πολλών μαθητών. Η διαδικτυακή εκπαιδευτική πύλη enercities πρόκειται για ένα παιχνίδι που απευθύνεται σε παιδιά με στόχο να τους μυήσει στα μυστικά της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης. To ζητούμενο είναι οι παίκτες να οικοδομήσουν μια βιώσιμη πόλη, προκειμένου να ανέβουν επίπεδα δυσκολίας, να συλλέξουν πόντους και εν τέλει να κερδίσουν! Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Το πρώτο απόλυτα «πράσινο» κτίριο έφτιαξαν Νοτιοκορεάτες

Ελευθεροτυπία, 20 Μαΐου 2011

Το πρώτο επαγγελματικής χρήσης κτίριο με μηδενική εκπομπή ρύπων και λειτουργία βασισμένη απόλυτα σε ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας, παρουσίασε σήμερα η Νότια Κορέα. Το έκτασης 2.500 τετραγωνικών μέτρων κτίριο που φιλοξενεί επιχειρήσεις, στο Ίντσιον, έξω από την πρωτεύουσα Σεούλ, κόστισε οκτώ εκατομμύρια δολάρια και εκμεταλλεύτηκε κάθε είδους τεχνολογία αιχμής προκειμένου να έχει το μίνιμουμ δυνατό αποτύπωμα στο περιβάλλον. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

First Pipeline-Fed Hydrogen Refueling Station Opens in the United States

ENN, May 11, 2011


May 10, Toyota celebrated the opening of the first pipeline-fed refueling station in the US. Located in Torrance, California, it is the first hydrogen station to be directly connected to an active industrial hydrogen pipeline. It will provide fuel for Toyota's as well as others fuel cell vehicle fleets in the Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA, Inc, and operated by Shell. The hydrogen pipeline is maintained by Air Products. Read more...

Climate change has spurred food prices

ENN, May 06, 2011



Climate change cut global wheat and corn output by more than 3 percent over the past three decades compared to growth projections without a rise in temperatures, a study found on Friday. The impacts translated into up to 20 percent higher average commodity prices, before accounting for other factors, according to the paper published in the journal Science. Read more...

Germany’s Unlikely Champion Of a Radical Green Energy Path

Yale 360, May 09, 2011

The disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan convinced German Chancellor Angela Merkel that nuclear power would never again be a viable option for her country. Now Merkel has embarked on the world’s most ambitious plan to power an industrial economy on renewable sources of energy. Read more...

Facing the Dirty Truth About Recyclable Plastics

Yale 360, May 05, 2011

The recyclable plastic bags you get at the green grocer are not biodegradable. But product life-cycle assessments, which are about to become more prominent in the marketplace, fail to consider whether those bags will break down in landfills or just end up as litter. Read more...

Ο Αµβρακικός κινδυνεύει να µετατραπεί σε «νεκρή θάλασσα»

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 09 Μαΐου 2011

«Συστηµατικές υποβρύχιες µετρήσειςµας στον Αµβρακικό έδειξανότι ο κόλπος κινδυνεύει να γίνει νεκρή θάλασσα. Κάτω από τα 35 µέτρα βάθος δεν υπάρχει καθόλου οξυγόνο τους καλοκαιρινούς µήνες, ενώ και στα 25 είναι ελάχιστο, µε µεγάλες συγκεντρώσεις µεθανίου. Το βαθυσκάφος µας έφερε στην επιφάνεια εφιαλτικές εικόνες του πυθµένα...». Τα νέα από τον βυθότου Αµβρακικού είναι ανησυχητικά. Επιστήµονες του Πανεπιστηµίου Πατρών είναι ξεκάθαροι γιατη διαφαινόµενη οικολογική καταστροφή. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Rhinos in Nepal increase in number

ENN, April 27, 2011

Nepal's rhinos are on the increase, according to recently released data from a three-week National Rhino Census in Nepal by WWF. There are now 534 rhinos in Nepal, marking an increase of 99 rhinos from the 435 recorded in the last census in 2008. Read more...

Πρωτάθλημα Εξοικονόμησης Ενέργειας (ΠΕΞΕ)

Intelligent Energy Europe

Το Πρωτάθλημα Εξοικονόμησης Ενέργειας (ΠΕΞΕ) είναι ένας διαγωνισμός νοικοκυριών από όλη την Ευρώπη, με στόχο τη μείωση των εκπομπών CO2. Μπορείτε να λάβετε και εσείς μέρος στο Πρωτάθλημα Εξοικονόμησης Ενέργειας (ΠΕΞΕ)! Η συμμετοχή είναι εύκολη και δεν απαιτεί καμία ειδική γνώση. Δημιουργήστε τώρα τον δικό σας Λογαριασμό Εξοικονόμησης Ενέργειας, κάνοντας κλικ εδώ .

Wolves Taken Off the US Endangered Species List

ENN News, April 14, 2011

For the first time ever, the US Congress has removed an animal from the Endangered Species List, a process typically done by a federal, non-political, science-based agency. The action by the US Congress sets a new precedent for altering the Endangered Species List based on political influence, enraging environmental groups. The removal would take effect in two western states that have known issues with wolves: Montana and Idaho. Wolves would now be managed by each state's wildlife agency, inevitably leading to commercial hunting. Read more...

Fewer penguins survive warming Antarctic climate

ENN News, April 12, 2011

Two of the most well-known penguin species in Antarctica -- chinstraps and Adelies -- are under pressure because a warmer climate has cut deeply into their main food source, shrimp-like creatures called krill. Fewer of the juvenile penguins survive what scientists call their "transition to independence" because there isn't enough krill to go around, according to a study published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academic of Sciences.
The study found only 10 percent of young penguins survive the first independent trip back to their colonies from their winter habitat. Read more...

Motor boat turbulence kills zooplankton in estuaries

BBC News, April 19, 2011

Turbulence generated by speeding motor boats kills significant numbers of zooplankton, a study has revealed for the first time. Experiments on copepods, tiny crustaceans that live and float in water, show that a third die in waters frequented by propeller-driven boats. That is significantly more than in bodies of water not used by boats.
Zooplankton play a crucial role in water ecology and their death may have hitherto unknown impacts. Details of the discovery are published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. Read more...

Reversing roles, farmers sue Monsanto over GMO seeds

Grist, March 31, 2011

Genetically modified seed giant Monsanto is notorious for suing farmers [PDF] in defense of its patent claims. But now, a group of dozens of organic farmers and food activists have, with the help of the not-for-profit law center The Public Patent Foundation, sued Monsanto in a case that could forever alter the way genetically modified crops are grown in this country. But before you can understand why, it's worth reviewing an important, but underreported aspect of the fight over GMOs. Read more...

Call on Romanian politicians to vote against killing stray animals.

Call on politicians in Romania to vote against the draft bill which would legalise the extermination of stray dogs.
Unless something is done quickly a new law, due to be voted on in the Romanian parliament in the next few days, would clear the way for thousands of Romanian dogs to be destroyed over the next few months.
FOUR PAWS urges you to act now and help save the lives of thousands of stray animals! Send your letter of protest today! The bill will be discussed, debated and possibly even passed in the Romanian parliament on 12 April 2011.

https://www.secureconnect.at/4paws.org.uk/protest/110407/index.php 

World Bank proposes to limit funding to coal plants

ENN, April 5, 2011


Following years of criticism from environmentalists and some governments the World Bank has proposed new rules regarding carbon-intensive coal plants, reports the Guardian. The new rules would allow lending for coal-fired plants only to the world's poorest nations and would only lend after other alternatives, such as renewable energy, had been ruled out. Read more...

Garbage: To Burn or To Bury

 Renewable Energy World.com, March 29, 2011

Europe burns heaps of garbage, getting lots of electricity and some heat. The United States does not. Proponents say incineration shrinks the waste and produces heat and electricity while reducing the need for landfills and the diesel-drinking trucks tasked with taking trash to often-distant burial grounds.

These folks acknowledge that incinerators were rather dirty 25 years ago, but note that current air emissions are below Environmental Protection Agency standards. In a modern garbage incinerator, a complex set of filters removes heavy metals and other pollutants; high-temperature operation reduces the output of ultra-toxic dioxins.
On the other side, opponents say incinerators create global warming gases, still release toxins, divert money and attention from recycling, and tend to excuse extreme extravagance on the grounds that we can always turn our trash into energy. Read more...

Forget ‘Dark Green’ Shoppers – ‘New Consumers’ Will Drive Sustainability, Report Says

Environmental Leader, March 25, 2011

Brands can no longer rely on “dark green”, hyper-ethical consumers to drive the growth of sustainability, but must engage a broad swathe of consumers making up 30 percent of the market, according to new research.
Brand consulting firm BBMG said a group of 70 million shoppers branded “New Consumers”, making up 30 percent of the U.S. population, will help sustainable brands to enter the mainstream while forcing large brands to accelerate their adoption of environmental initiatives.
These shoppers are “values aspirational” because they are as interested in sustainability as the hard-core “dark green” consumers. But they are also “practical purchasers” because they are forced to make pragmatic trade-offs every day, according to the BBMG report, Unleashed: How New Consumers Will Revolutionize Brands and Scale Sustainability. Read more...

Google HQ Installs First Wireless Electric Car Charger

GreenTechies, March 23, 2011

The system is the first to offer consumers a simple way to charge their EVs with the ease of hands-free, automatic technology. Google is famous for giving the digital generation what it wants, so it only makes sense that the search giant would branch out into other technologies it feels are worth of its attention. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they would already be dabbling in smart grid technologies, and positioning themselves to be a leader in the future of both energy creation and distribution. Read more...

Expanding Forests in the Northern Latitudes

ENN, March 23, 2011


According to a recent United Nations report, forested areas in Europe, North America, the Caucasus, and Central Asia have grown steadily over the past two decades. While tropical areas have steadily lost their forests to excessive logging and increased agriculture, northern areas have seen increases caused by conservation efforts. However, the long-term health and stability of northern forest lands may be imperiled by the effects of climate change. Read more...

Brussels wants no oil-fuelled cars in cities by 2050

EurActiv.com, March 23, 2011


The European Commission plans to step up its battle against oil- and gas-fuelled cars, and is drawing up strict targets to halve their urban usage by 2030 and "phase them out by 2050," according to an EU road map on transport to be published on Monday (28 March) and seen by EurActiv. These objectives will play an instrumental role in achieving the more comprehensive target of cutting CO2 emissions from transport by 60% by 2050. Currently, a quarter of EU greenhouse gas emissions come from transport.
The Commission is therefore proposing an ambitious plan which eyes significant reductions of emissions especially in road transport, while it intends to increase rail traffic, on the grounds that is by far cleaner and more environment-friendly.  Read more...