Insurance industry feels the effects of climate change
December 30, 2007
Posted in Business
There were 950 natural disasters in 2007, up from 850 in 2006, according to this year’s annual disaster report of Munich Re, the world’s second-biggest re-insurer.
This is the highest number since the group started compiling its report in 1974.
The total cost of 2007′s disasters was $75-billion; 2006′s bill was $50-billion.
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Update: Trans-Sahara expedition powered by chocolate
December 29, 2007
Posted in Transport
The chocolate-powered truck that left the UK in November in an attempt to drive to the Malian town of Timbuktu in a carbon-negative trip across the Sahara desert reached its destination on December 22. Well done, BioTruckers.
Help make gaming greener
December 29, 2007
Posted in Lifestyle
Earlier this month, Treevolution wrote about how to make a greener gadget choice and how poorly games consoles fared in the rankings of Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics. Well, Greenpeace has taken things a step further now with its “Clash of the Consoles” website. This is where you can check out how your favourite game heroes stand up against their rivals, and how you can help battle the boss monsters to green their game. Watch the video, take action and make saving the world your New Year’s resolution!
Go to Clash of the Consoles
World’s greenest building
December 27, 2007
Posted in Lifestyle
The Aldo Leopold Legacy Centre in Wisconsin is the world’s first carbon neutral building. It was certified by the US Green Building Council this year.
The centre produces more energy than it consumes. About half the 12,000-square-foot building’s energy saving comes from low-tech solutions such as using natural light, insulating the walls and ceilings and allowing air to flow freely.
The centre generates its own electricity with a photovoltaic system on its roof. The 198 panels and can generate 60,000 – 70,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year. The system is connected to the power grid so extra electricity produced in summer can be credited towards any electricity the building may need to buy during the winter.
The building also uses geothermal energy and a system of earth tubes are used ventilation.
Visit the Aldo Leopold Legacy Centre website for a virtual tour.
Plan to export African solar power to Europe
December 26, 2007
Posted in Renewable energy
The European Union is considering spending £5-billion (R70-billion) on a solar power scheme that could provide up to a sixth of Europe’s electricity needs.
The electricity would be generated by hundreds of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants situated in desert regions of North Africa and the Middle East and then transmitted by undersea cable to Europe, The Observer reports.
The project envisages that up to 100-billion watts could be generated by the desert stations. Two-thirds would be kept for local needs and the rest exported to Europe. The CSP plants will also act as desalination plants to provide fresh water for the host countries.
CSP technology is being assessed by Eskom for a large-scale, grid-connected solar project in South Africa.
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Bali Roadmap agreed, but what does it mean?
December 21, 2007
Posted in Green News
From all accounts, it was a tense, emotional and exhausting conference that had to go into extra time to get a result. Two weeks of talking produced an agreement to launch a two-year negotiating process – the “Bali roadmap†– aimed at securing a binding climate deal at a UN summit to be held in 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The new deal will replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. But what is this roadmap and how does it affect us in South Africa?
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Make a change: Green tip #4
December 19, 2007
Posted in Green tips, Lifestyle
Before you go out and spend vast amounts of money on reams of wrapping paper decorated with the same-old Santas or snowmen that appear every year, take a look at Wrap Art. This site is full of illustrated ideas on how to wrap your gifts creatively using bits and pieces that you’ve got lying around the house. Your friends and family will be astonished at your creativity and your Christmas will be that little bit greener.
Make a change: Green tip #3
December 19, 2007
Posted in Green tips, Lifestyle
Recycle. You’ll save 1 100 kgs of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste. Every bit counts.
Source: ClimateCrisis.net
Consumers willing to pay more for green energy
December 19, 2007
Posted in Lifestyle, Renewable energy
Australians are the most willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly energy, a new survey has found. And when it comes to purchasing “green” energy, two-thirds of consumers surveyed across the globe are willing to pay more for power that could be definitively shown to have lower emissions of greenhouse gases. Read more
Low-power portable computing
December 16, 2007
Posted in Lifestyle
Living in Africa we have abundant sun, a power source we rarely consider when we buy yet another gadget. Now there is the Aleutia E1, an ultra low power computer setup that can be run from a roll-up solar panel or car battery and uses just 8W of power.
The Aleutia E1 is also small (3.5cm high and 11.5cm long) making it easy enough to lug along on field trip. Adding an external monitor adds about 12W to the equation, still fairly respectable. Read more
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