10 Ways the World Could End.

From a TED talk in 2002… Stephen Petranek reviews 10 possible dooms-day scenarios and some possible solutions.  While some generate snickers and chuckles from the audience, there wasn’t one of these scenarios which is DEFINITELY not going to happen.  I think it’s interesting that these problems are just as relevant today as they were in 2002.

Solar Panels for the home?

It’s a great idea, but the upfront costs are too high…  I visited the Sun Power website and they have a calculator that can help you estimate the cost savings and approx cost of the project.  For me they seemed to estimate about $20,000 for the panels minus a $2000 Fed Tax credit.  Plus my electric bill would be about the same.

I wish more R&D would go towards funding technological advancements of this technology.

Rechargeable Batteries - free recycling

Everybody’s got them… cell phones, cordless home phones, PDAs, rechargeable tools, portable vaccums, etc.  They all have one thing in common… rechargeable batteries.  Did you know that these batteries can be easily recycled?  Check out this ZDNet video, then visit the website for the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC).

Tons of major retailers have collection boxes… and it doesn’t cost you a thing!  Find a recycling drop off point near you.

Put in just an ounce of effort, and help preserve the environment.  Plus, it just feels good to do the right thing!!

Maybe not my house in the near future, but we need…

Take a look at these futuristic designs and experimental “tree houses”.  While you may think those designs are pushing the limit, it’s that extreme push which helps us have progress.  It’s why we don’t live in straw huts anymore.

The major problem I would see with building a permanent residence in the trees is the irreplaceable nature of a living tree.  What happens if you get termites in one of those trees?  What if someone crashes a car into one of your supporting trees.  You can’t simply go buy a new tree in that particular shape with that particular strength that can thrive in that particular type of soil and climate… which makes replacing those trees extremely difficult.

It’s a good thought however…

I wish more companies would take this first step…

I’m not a total tree hugger.  I do care about our environment, but I also value today’s modern conveniences and having things at a reasonable cost.  It’s a balance…

Still, it’s nice to see some companies taking at least a first step towards environmental responsibility… such as Apple.  It’s also nice to see my company joining groups such as The Green Grid.

If you work in IT too, why not try and suggest that your company also join The Green Grid?

Every little bit helps.

Happy Earth Day 2007

I just made a pledge to switch out an additional 10 lightbulbs to CFL’s this year.  I think that’s pretty conservative and hope to go beyond just 10.

I encourage you to do the same…

Dear Friend,

I just made my pledge to replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs as part of Earth Day Network’s Project Switch!  Join me in effecting change and you will:

> Save money on electricity bills
> Use less energy
> Reduce your carbon footprint
> Help stop global climate change!

Visit the campaign to learn more and make your pledge to switch today!

Sincerely,

WorldMapper

WorldMapper creates maps of the world based on various statistics.  The stats enlarge or shrink territories of the map based on whether something is large or small.  There are hundreds of interesting maps to check out…

Isn’t technology cool!?!?

Carbon Emissions Map

Al Gore Makes His Case to Congress

Thanks for speaking up, Al… for all of us.

He’s getting a lot of flack for his personal use. Clearly a political BS scheme. What have YOU (the reader) done to help with the problem of global warming? For starters, I’m actively changing all the lightbulbs I can in my house to be compact-fluorescents. 8 down, several more to go. We have a lot of “non-standard” light fixtures, so that’s posing a problem.

I hear from others that they can’t just broadly change all their lightbulbs. They’re waiting for the ones they have to burn out before they change them. Let me propose an alternative…

MY IDEA:

Skip your morning Starbucks once a month (hey, I’m a shareholder) — only ONE time a month! Instead, spend that $4 or $5 to buy a compact fluorescent lightbulb and install it. Afraid of wasting that “good” lightbulb? You probably spent less than $2 on that lightbulb… it’s not as if the existing lightbulb is really valuable. In this small way, you can help fix global warming by reducing your energy usage.

Read a little more on CFL’s (compact fluorescent lightbulbs) here and here.

I guess all the effects of Global Warming aren’t bad…

… we get to make some scientific discoveries in Antartica afterall.

CNN.com - Antarctic ice melt reveals exotic creatures

Dell Helping the Climate Crisis

I’m sure this isn’t news to some, but I wanted to post it here so I don’t forget it…

From the Dell site article…

Carbon Neutral
We share your interest in minimizing the climate and environmental impact of the products we sell. In the next few weeks, we will make our Plant a Tree for Me program available to a much wider audience – the program enables customers to contribute to a tree planting program to offset the carbon associated with the production of electricity to run their system. Some early work you might be aware of includes our efforts to make our products as energy-efficient as possible, which can help cut emissions associated with power generation - you can read more at www.dell.com/energy.