We toured a bunch of green properties today. I am pretty sure I want solar panels and radiant floor heat. We were thinking of refinancing, maybe its a good time to look into it.

One of the houses had geothermal. I am still not sure how it stays warm.

So much for the recycling program. What we need is a recycling dumpster with the amount of cardboard this building outputs.

The cardboard that is. I seriosuly canno believe the way people pack stuff. I thought I was getting my new external hard drive in the box and I still thought the box was big. Then it turned out to only be the 2ft firewire 800 cable. Seriously, such a giant box, stuffed with paper for this tiny, indesctructible, no moving parts firewire cable.

If I don't take the box home it will all go in the trash (e:paul,45618)






We all had the same issue when we ordered those flat imac keyboard, they weigh nothing and are tiny but came in boxes twice the size of this box with another box inside, stuffed with those styrofoam peanuts.

Here we have another peek into the garbage dumpster at 901 Washington at Roswell. I seriously can't believe how much cardboard they put in the garbage, it's disgusting. There was a bunch more inside waiting to be broken down. This is just an update to (e:paul,45562)

Is what I hear everytime I look in the dumpster at Roswell Park Cancer
Institute's IT building. The official reason they told me why they
throw out so much cardboard,"they don't have a truck to bring it
somewhere for recycling. "

It so irresponsible. I say hire a service. I hate it when the
cleaning lady asks if she can breakdown my cardboard and throw it
out. I take it home and recycle it.

At Roswell Park's IT building where I work they have laid down wood
styled mulch made of recycled tires. Sounds green but really it
smells toxic like rubber and doesn't the nastiness leach into the
ground. (e:enknot) said that it is used around the electric box to
prevent shocks, is that the case?

Either way who ever invented it is brilliant. Dumping rubber is
illegal in most places and it is expensive to dispose of. Now some
company has convinced people to buy the old tires and dump it all over
their own properties.

That is so hard to believe. I mean pumping billions of gallons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere can't hurt right? It's just those crazy left wing, nut job scientists trying to ruin business for the good companies of america, right?

According to time.com

According to drafts and participants, the document says it is "very likely" - which means at least 90% certain - that climate change is caused by humans burning fossil fuels, and will result in a temperature increase of between 2.5 and 10.4 Fahrenheit by the year 2100.

Some participants apparently want to change that wording to "virtually certain," which connotes a 99% likelihood. "People seem to be feeling, let's make sure that the text actually means something and makes sense to the people it's intended for," Catherine Pearce of Friends of the Earth, who is observing the talks, said Wednesday night. "Some are saying there's no point in having texts that ... don't say anything, that are so watered down," she said.

On a side note I think it is ridiculous that the French turned off the Eifel tower lights for five minutes to call attention to energy conservation. I think it is way past the time when symbolic gesture liek that even matter. Five minutes, couldn't it at least have been an hour, a day or a week. Five minutes almost seems like a joke. Okay, now back to the story.

So what do all you nah-sayers have to say about humans causing global warming now (e:ejtower,31)or (e:joshua,1717)

Sir Nicholas Stern, author of a major report on the economic impact of global warming, says the latest review of the scientific evidence by United Nations' experts has demolished the chief argument of so-called climate sceptics. . . You can read the whole article here .http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/we've-wrecked-the-weather/2007/02/03/1169919583022.html

At this point a huge majority of the worlds climate scientists agree. Humans are greatly accelerating global warming and unfortunately, we are waiting too long to really do much about it. In fact they stated, "Global warming is "unequivocal" and "very likely" - to a 90 percent or more certainty - caused by human activity. "

I tend to believe them. I grabbed this data from an article about the summit

According to an article,

The United States emits the most greenhouse gases of any country - more than 6.5 billion tons per year, or about 22 percent of the world's total. But it will be surpassed in coming decades by fast-growing China, which is now building on average one coal power plant per week. India isn't far behind; like China, its population has surpassed 1 billion and keeps rising at a fast clip.

The scientists suggest the US develop environmentally energy production methods as soon as possible and share those technologies with developing nations. I would liek to see something along the lines of Open Source energy production technologies but you know it will most likely not be like that and devloping nations will not be able to afford the technology resulting in more coal burnig power plants.

FInding in the report
The cause
Global warming is "unequivocal" and "very likely" - to a 90 percent or more certainty - caused by human activity. Fossil fuel consumption has generated much of the global rise in temperatures over the past half-century.

Temperature changes
Average global temperatures could increase by 2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. By comparison, temperatures have risen 1.5 degrees over the past century.

Sea levels
Ocean levels are projected to rise 7 to 23 inches by 2100, and will continue to rise for 1,000 years or more. Projections do not include contributions from melting polar ice.

Water shortages
Heat waves, droughts and other kinds of extreme weather will become more frequent. In California, warmer weather will shrink spring snowpacks in the Sierra, reducing a major source of water in the summer and fall.

We should start making making greenhouse gas emission laws stricter. Liek who the fuck needs an escalade. Maybe we should just illegalize huge SUVs, non-energy efficient light bulbs, and promote forms of cleaners energy. It seems to me like cars must be a huge part of it. All it takes is one visit to LA to see what cars do to the atmosphere.

Imagine how much worse it will get when everywhere is as capable of being as wasteful as we are.

According to fox news

Present Bush has acknowledged concerns about global warming but strongly opposes mandatory caps of greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that approach would be too costly.

I ask too costly for who?