Not So Virtual Carbon Emissions

According to a report published by the Climate Group, a think-tank based in London, computers, printers, mobile phones and the widgets that accompany them account for the emission of 830m tonnes of carbon dioxide around the world in 2007. That is about 2% of the estimated total of emissions from human activity. And that is the same as the aviation industry’s contribution. According to the report, about a quarter of the emissions in question are generated by the manufacture of computers and so forth. The rest come from their use.

IBM and Syracuse Working on Ultra-Efficient Data Center

IBM and Syracuse University announced today their plans to build a data center at the university that will use 50 percent less energy than a typical data center.

IBM will supply its most efficient computers and computer-cooling technology, while Syracuse will manage and analyze the data center performance and implement new energy-saving operations as they’re discovered. The project will explore how to increase efficiency in computer hardware and software and in the data center infrastructure itself. The $12.4 million project will include its own electrical tri-generation system that uses natural gas-fueled turbines to power the data center and to cool the servers so that the center is run completely off of the grid.

The electrical tri-generation system includes a liquid cooling system that converts exhaust heat from the turbines into chilled water to cool the servers and will also deliver electricity through a direct current instead of alternating current.

Restoring The Ecology Can Boost The Economy

New research shows that ecological restoration in areas of environmental degradation can help reverse global biodiversity losses, as well as promoting recovery of ecosystem services. However the research also showed that measures of biodiversity and ecosystem services are higher in pristine land, freshwater and marine systems than in restored systems. Examples of ecosystem services include improved water quality and increased carbon storage, services which benefit human well-being…

EU Starts Stamping Out Energy Guzzling Light Bulbs

Europe started eradicating traditional energy-guzzling light bulbs on Tuesday, angering some consumers who had grown attached to their warm glow and cheap price. The move was part of European Union efforts to boost energy efficiency by a fifth by 2020 in the fight against global warming and to cut dependency on costly gas imports for electricity production. Factories must immediately stop producing frosted incandescent bulbs and the least efficient 100-watt clear bulbs, but shops will be allowed to sell bulbs already in stock.

Pumping in Dirty Oil From Canada’s Tar Sands

Today [August 20], the State Department announced that it has okayed a new oil pipeline between Canada and the United States. A press release hails the decision to break ground on the Alberta Clipper Pipeline for sending “a positive economic signal, in a difficult economic period, about the future reliability and availability of a portion of United States’ energy imports” and for providing “shovel-ready” jobs. What it doesn’t mention is that the pipeline between Alberta and Wisconsin will be pumping oil from Canada’s tar sands—some of the world’s dirtiest petroleum.

Canada’s oil boom is exacting a heavy toll on the rural areas surrounding the massive pits that comprise the largest industrial zone in the world. For every barrel of oil produced from the tar sands, another two of toxic waste are left behind.

Protecting Trees, Protecting Our Climate

From the Union of Concerned Scientists: Ten Reasons to Invest in Reducing Tropical Deforestation

Will India be the Key Player at Copenhagen?

Ed Miliband, Britain’s climate change secretary, hailed India as a potential “deal maker” in the forthcoming talks in Copenhagen for an international treaty to tackle global warming, stating that the country would not face targets to cut its emissions in the near future because it “took climate change seriously”.

The UK’s “softly-softly” approach has won plaudits in India, and contrasts with that of US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, whose visit in July resulted in a spat with environment minister Indian environment minister Jairam Ramesh. India has categorically ruled out greenhouse gas cuts, arguing that rich nations caused the problem and must not deny Indians the opportunity to grow out of poverty.