The Four-eyed Journal » Global warming

Flat-screen-TVs can contribute to global warming?

jhay — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:51:37 +0000

For months now, I’ve been seriously thinking, even formulating a budget that will enable me to buy my very first flat-screen TV. But after being alerted by a friend to this news story on The Guardian, I’m having to start second-thoughts:

Environment: Climate risk from flat-screen TVs

The rising demand for flat-screen televisions could have a greater impact on global warming than the world’s largest coal-fired power stations, a leading environmental scientist warned yesterday.

Manufacturers use a greenhouse gas called nitrogen trifluoride to make the televisions, and as the sets have become more popular, annual production of the gas has risen to about 4,000 tonnes.

As a driver of global warming, nitrogen trifluoride is 17,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide, yet no one knows how much of it is being released into the atmosphere by the industry, said Michael Prather, director of the environment institute at the University of California, Irvine.

Ah the self-conflicts of having eco-friendly principles and living in a consumerist, hi-tech world. I’m going to look into this a little further, like when I go out window-shopping again for a flat-screen TV, I’m going to ask the dealers if they have any information about the TVs’ environmental ratings or any relevant information. Of course, I’ll go prowling the web for more information and see which manufacturer is concerned and has done something about this issue.

I’m a techno-geek, but I’m also a green geek, and since nitrogen triflouride is known to remain in the atmosphere for 550 years, I don’t want to dump that stuff up there and help destroy our planet. I just hope Samsung, because I got my eyes on their flat-screen TVs, is concerned and have done something about this issue, positively, instead of downplaying this scientific revelation.

It seems that a dSLR will be my newest gadget this year as getting a flat-screen TV has been pushed down my “to-buy” list of gadgets and stuff.

Join the Earth Hour 2008

jhay — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:12:15 +0000

On 29 March 2008, the Philippines will join countries around the world as we literally “turn the lights out” for Earth Hour – an event that will fuel awareness on climate change and prove that when the people of the world work together, they can make a difference in the fight against global warming.

Earth Hour will take place throughout the Philippines from 8 to 9 in the evening on Saturday night, 29 March 2008. WWF invites you to participate by shutting off lights for 60 minutes, organizing your own “lights-out” event or by forwarding this mail to your friends, workmates and family.

Launched in Australia on the 31st of March 2007, Earth Hour moved 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses in Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour. This massive collective effort reduced the city’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour. With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

YOUR participation will go a long way in spreading the message that we, as individual droplets working collectively – can create an impetus far more powerful than the mightiest of rivers. For more information, log on to the WWF Earth Hour page at: www.earthhour.org.

Will you join?

Try it. It wouldn’t hurt for one hour that you would turn off the lights and everything else in your home. Heck, we Pinoys are used to power block-outs (brownouts as we call it) for hours even days on end. This may not be the solution to combat global warming and our alarming environmental degradation but what’s important is you’ll have something to start on.

Awareness is the first step.

Many bloggers have already blogged about this pledging their support. Kutserong Kulot, Josh Spear, Chemistry for a Sustainable World, Sasha Writes, Sonnie’s Porch and many more.

Of course there are also those who are against the Earth Hour and the anti-global warming movement, called skeptics and right-wing pundits, pseudo-pundits and bloggers who doubt or do not believe in anthropogenic global warming at all.

Samantha Burns has even started an on-line petition to campaign against the Earth Hour. Though she has not substantially explained why she is against it, she’s against it anyways. And some bloggers have supported her as well. More on this side of the Earth Hour movement on a later a follow-up post. I myself has a few thoughts about the methodology of the Earth Hour and will be sharing them until then.

For now, what’s important is that there’s a movement to do something to save the planet and address our worsening environmental situation.

Bush on Global Warming

jhay — Sun, 20 May 2007 03:44:45 +0000

While I struggle to keep things cool in my room this hot humid day, there’s a note on my white-board about the ideas I decided to blog about.

The second item in the list proved to be the most relevant in today’s weather conditions so I decided to visit YouTube.com and searched for a video on global warming. I then found the video below:

Will Ferrel is one of my favorite Hollywood actors and I’m a fan of his work. He may not look a lot like Bush but he sure did accurately portrayed the dim-witted war monger and his views on global warming in this parody. This is an instant classic.

Oh goodie, here’s another one.

A note about the message at the end of the video, you may or may not jive with them, but I sure hope you enjoyed Will Ferrel. hahahaha

Earth Day Special: Oyayi sa Mundo

jhay — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:36:20 +0000

Yesterday was Earth Day, long live Mother Earth! Well, in order for that to happen is for us humans to stop polluting the planet and doing amends with our mother Earth.

What is Earth Day?

Earth Day â€” April 22 â€” each year marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest â€œto shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda. â€ â€œIt was a gamble,â€ he recalls, â€œbut it worked.â€

Earth Day 1970 turned that all around.

On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

Earth Day 1990

As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of environmental issues on to the world stage.Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Earth Day 2000

As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. Earth Day 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. For 2000, Earth Day had the Internet to help link activists around the world. By the time April 22 rolled around, 5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries.

Sonnie’s Porch has a good selection of links to blogs and sites celebrating or giving their share in reminding us that Earth Day has just went by and what have we done in relation to it?

His observation struck me, very few Pinoy bloggers have blogged about celebrating Earth Day. Tsk tsk tsk, we may be up to date with what our friends are doing on Twitter or what they’ve blogged about tru our feed readers but when it comes to being friendly to mother Earth, where are we?

I envy the great Mike Abundo for his blog is hosted on a host that is not only reliable and delivers great service, it is also now carbon-neutral.

For those who still ignore or take the environmental issue, particularly climate change and global warming, think twice, wake up and act now. Why? Well our country is now in danger of loosing much of its coastlines to the seas and oceans if we don’t do anything to take care of our environment. Yes, Metro Manila, well parts of it may soon be underwater in the next few decades. Believe it or not, but you better, read it all here.

More on this in the coming days for now I’ll share a song that has been one of my personal favorites since highschool during the time I turned towards the Left-of-center, with a particular shade of green. I always wanted to physically join Greenpeace but school and other more important things have always taken priority.

This song is quite old, it was composed by Noel Cabangon, the same artist who composed “Kanlungan.’ Of all the songs made by Buklod, this particular one strikes two birds with one stone. At first hearing it is obviously dedicated to Mother Earth, playing it again and paying it more attention, you’d soon realize it’s not just for Mother Earth, it is for everyone who has been tired of being oppressed, taken advantage, has been in struggle for so long, or simply made to suffer. In it’s simple yet profoundly powerful lyrics and soul-touching music, this song will take away all those suffering and heavy burden, at least for the moment.

This song is entitled, “Oyayi sa Mundo” which means a lullaby to Mother Earth.

Oyayi Sa Mundo

Aking mundo, ihimlay ang pagal mong katawan
Sa duyan ng kalawakan
Hayaang maghilom ang mga sugat sa iyong dibdib
Na likha ng mga tao
At itigil ng isang saglit ang iyong paggalaw
Pagkat sa muli mong pag-inog ay may bago nang buhay

At itigil ng isang saglit ang iyong paggalaw
Pagkat sa muli mong pag-inog ay may bago nang buhay
Aking mundo, ihimlay ang pagal mong katawan
Sa duyan ng kalawakan

Listen and I hope the song would inspire us all to do something to save our planet.

Global warming means more super typhoons

jhay — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 15:46:27 +0000

Before I begin to discuss the main topic of this post, I’d like to call on every member of the Lasallian family, particularly from De La Salle University – DasmariÃ±as, and fellow CaviteÃ±os to donate Food (Canned Goods, Noodles and other kinds with long shelf life) and Water for the victims of super typhoon Reming’s rampage over the Bicol region during this past weekend.

Other useful goods like old clothes, blankets, beddings and other basic items still in fair to good condition may also be donated for the relief operations.

Cash or monetary donations are also accepted but please contact and coordinate with the Lasallian Community Development Center for the details of your cash/monetary donations. Food, Water and basic items are the priority as of this moment.

For students, faculty and staff of DLSU-D, kindly bring your donations to the LCDC office located at the 2nd Floor of the SBC Building.

For further details and coordination, please use the following contact information:

Lasallian Community Development Center
De La Salle University-DasmariÃ±as
DasmariÃ±as, Cavite
2 nd Floor, SBC Building

Telephone Numbers:(046) 416-4531 local 3068 (046) 416-4596 (direct line)

Thank you and let us move together in helping our brothers and sisters in need. Animo La Salle!

****

Now on to the main point of this post. This will be short, I assure you. The recent waves of super typhoons that have struck our country, “Milenyo”, “Queenie” and just recently “Reming” one cannot help but wonder that how come typhoons have become more powerful, destructive and hard to predict. It can be aptly said that, ‘nature has really gone nuts!’

Well, there are only two words for it; Global Warming.

The trend in our present times, as well as have been in the last hundreds of years is that global temperatures are on the rise. In a rapid and alarming rate to be precise. Scientists have long observed and voiced this out but we have hardly listened to them until now that we are starting to really feel its effects.

I highly suggest watching Al Gore’s documentary/lecture film, “An Inconvenient Truth” – a concise, compelling and easy-to-digest source on the ins and outs and consequences of global warming. You could watch it online via Google Video, the wait for the whole three-hours’ length of the documentary to fully load is well worth it.

In it, Al Gore showed how the rising global temperatures, rising global ocean temperatures – to be precise – is what’s giving birth to all these super typhoons here in the Pacific, like Milenyo and Reming, and to more powerful hurricanes in the Atlantic, like “Katrina.”

With the rise in the temperatures of the world’s oceans, there is also an increase in the amount of moisture that evaporates from them, more moisture means more rain. Aside from the increase in moisture due to the higher temperatures, winds are now growing stronger than ever before. Combine that with more and more mositure from the warming up oceans, wait for the right conditions and super typhoon will be given birth. Ready to wreak havoc and unprecendented destruction to human lives and property.

Some would say these ‘natural phenomena’ or ‘calamities’ are unavoidable and some would even say these are God’s way of punishing us humans. I don’t know about you, but the God I believe does not want his people to suffer such hardships and tragedies. The God I believe in is the God of love, not hate and destruction. Such typhoons may not be avoidable but it sure is now a fact that we humans have the capabaility to influence it, sadly to our detriment.

Our wanton destruction, over exploitation of the Earth’s resources, unsustainable lifestyles and practices and the lack of political will to address this has given us global warming and it in turn is out to destroy us.

All is not lost for there is hope. We have the means, the resources, the technologies, and the man-power to avert this impending global crisis. What we lack is simply the political and collective will to use all these to face this problem head-on, look around us though. Look at the tragedies in Bicol, look at the sad sad stories in Africa, recall that Polar Bears are now more in danger of extinction than ever before. Do we need more reasons before we would act?