Heal Earth Now

The Smog and other pollutants affecting the Beijing Olympics have been as news worthy as the games themselves. Pollution really is serious fact that can give direct negative effects on all of us. Olympic officials have said that if the smog is becomes too strong during the Olympics then some outside events will be postponed.

China is working to reduce the smog in the area by reducing the amount of traffic in the area. Chinese officials have said that the smog in the area is much better than it was one year ago.

Olympic athletes have been trickling into Beijing, but are expected to begin arriving in larger numbers this week. Some, though, were headed to training sites in South Korea, Japan and other places to avoid the Beijing air until the last possible minute.

Source: cnn.com

Going green in not just for smaller cars anymore. Sales of larger vehicles and SUVs have seen a downward turn. More and more people are trading in their gas guzzlers for smaller more fuel efficient vehicles. Not to be outdone auto manufacturers having been working to improve the fuel economy of its SUVS. GM has added flex- fuel to many of its vehicles. GM flex- fuel vehicles can run on gasoline and E85 ethanol. E85 ethanol is fuel mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

Cadillac Escalades are one of the latest GM cars to have flex fuel. Although the flex- fuel is gives an option for vehicle owners, the amount of filling stations are the country that actual offer E85 to public is currently limited. So, although you may purchase a flex- fuel vehicle you may not be able to purchase E85 fuel close to home.

For a list of E85 fueling stations closing to you visit: http://www.e85refueling.com/locations.php

Source: GM

Toyota hybrids are in high demand, but many consumers will have to wait because there is a short supply of its batteries. Toyota will be increasing its supply of batteries next year. The demand for hybrids really is no surprise when we look at the huge increase in gas prices. People are looking for relief where ever they can find it and having a hybrid is more fuel efficient that having a standard gasoline car.

The purchase price of a hybrid is usually thousands of dollars more than buying the non-hybrid gasoline version, but consumers are now considering how much they will save in the purchase of gasoline over the lifetime of the vehicle. As the cost of gasoline continues to rise, the savings in using a hybrid will continue to grow.

Toyota, seeing how many are frustrated with the price of gas, expects to see continual increase in its sale of hybrid vehicles. Over 1 million Toyota Prius vehicles have been sold since its release in 1997. Toyota hopes to be selling 1 million of its hybrids annually by 2010.

Source: Toyota.com and Toyota hybrid battery outpaced by demand

An aquarium in Japan has harvested a new source of alternative energy. The energy released from the eel has been used to power the lights on a Christmas tree.

“Two aluminum panels inside the eel’s tank work as electrodes to catch its power. Cables attached to the panels supply the lights on the nearby tree with electricity.”

The human imagination is definitely a powerful thing . With the inventiveness and application there is no doubt that we can all work together to help create cleaner and cheaper sources of energy.

Source: MSNBC.com

Energy Star Washers can save you time ,water, and energy . Energy Stra washers are aimed to save money in power and water use. Energy star washer use less water than regular washing machines and they also have a spin cycle the is supposed to get more water out of the clothes than other washing machines . Reducing the amount of water in the clothes during the end of the spin cycle will reduce the drying time and the amount of energy it takes to actually dry the clothes.

This is one way in which technology is helping to cut down on the use of our natural resouces.

Purchasers of enery star appliances can get rebates from manufacturers. Before purchasign an energy star appliance you can do som research on energystar.gov. They have lists of some manufacturer rebates and a lot of information on energy star appliances.

Al Gore traveled to Norway this weekend to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to fight global warming.

The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded in October to 59-year-old Gore and to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body of 3,000 scientists, for their work in highlighting global warming.

The film “An Inconvenient Truth”, showed Al Gore as he highlighted many of the dangers of global warming and what damage had already been done by mans disregard for the world in which we live. He also wrote the book by the same name that became a New York Times Bestseller.

Source: Yahoo News

Across the world protesters have been showing their distress and about the way the Earth’s environment is going. Global Warming is becoming less of some “tree hungers” anthem and more of what mainstreamers are seeing as a serious problem. When the environment and climate starts to have some dramatic changes people need to take notice and they have. Protesters on about every continent joined in the world climate protest and are determined to have their voices heard.

In Taipei, Taiwan, about 1,500 people marched through the streets holding banners and placards saying “No to carbon dioxide.” Hundreds marched outside the conference center in Bali. At a Climate Rescue Carnival held in a park in Auckland, New Zealand, more than 350 people lay on the grass to spell out “Climate SOS.”

Source: Yahoo News

The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid has been named the 2008 Green Car of the year by greencar.com. This is a huge accomplishment in the area of automobiles. We all know that SUV are huge consumers of gas. The less fuel that an automobile will use during it its’ lifetime is good for the environment and for the wallet.

According to the EPA’s 2008 estimated fuel economy ratings, Chevrolet’s achievement is even more apparent during city driving where a large percentage of SUVs spend their time every day. In this environment, the 6.0-liter two-mode hybrid Tahoe achieves 50 percent better fuel economy than a Tahoe powered by a standard 5.3-liter V-8. What’s equally eye-opening is that the Tahoe’s 21 mpg city fuel efficiency rating is the same as that of the city EPA rating for the four-cylinder Toyota Camry sedan.

 

Soure: prnewswire

The movie “Titanic” catapulted Leonardo Dicaprio into one of the biggest stars on the earth and he is now using his stardom to help save the earth in his new documentary,” The 11^th Hour”. “The 11^th Hour” was produced and narrated by Dicaprio. He has been making the talk show circuits promoting this movie. This movie aims to inspire and encourage people to make changes that will help our environment.

11^th hour web page

Happy Feet is one of those funny movies that you do not forget. The movie has a Penguin that tries to find his identity and winds up helping to make the world aware of the dangers of commercial over- fishing around the Antarctic. According to an article from National Geographic News,” Scientists warn that increased harvesting of Antarctic krill and fish could trigger a catastrophic collapse in the entire marine ecosystem.”

As a part of AMC’s free summer movie series you can see Happy Feet for free at participating AMC theaters this Wednesday at 10 a.m.

 

Source:

AMC theaters

National Geographic News