Article in Times of India, Mumbai on 25th March, 2008

Green Ventures ropes in European companies
25 Mar 2008, 0033 hrs IST,Namrata Singh,TNN

MUMBAI: The Green Ventures Carbon Fund has tied up with a few major European financial partners and are actively looking for Indian strategic partners and project developers either for carbon credits or to jointly set up environment friendly projects.

Though names of the partners was not revealed, Green Ventures India MD Krish R Krishnan told TOI : "We can leverage this strategic relationship to effectively become more aggressive investors and assimilate a larger carbon credit portfolio in India now and for a much longer term."

TOI had reported in its edition dated January 14, 2008, that the New York-based Green Ventures International has dedicated its first Asian fund of $300 million to India. The objective is to monetise carbon credits from clean development mechanism (CDM) projects across the country.

"We continue to make significant strides in our mission to serve as India's carbon commerce catalysts. In particular, we continue to both sponsor as well as initiate our own slew of renewable energy Initiatives," said Krish R Krishnan.

The plans include development of a 5mw wind farm in the wind corridor in the Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.

Further, based on the latest incentives announced by the Centre on new and renewable energy to support solar power, Green Ventures is exploring the option of setting up a 5 Mega Watt solar farm in the next quarter in Tamil Nadu.

There is also continued activity supporting development of a 120mw run of the river hydro plant in Indo-Nepal border, which is the largest independent power project currently in Nepal and a 100% export oriented site with the power slated for the Indian grid.

Green Ventures will source carbon credits from Indian projects, which have adopted cleaner methods of manufacturing to reduce emission of greenhouse gases, and in turn sell them to other global buyers.

Futures Trade in Carbon Credit

Indian companies implementing clean development mechanism (CDM) projects to earn carbon credits have till now been conservative about entering the forward market to sell the credits.

The forward market was thus practically non existent. However, a fresh beginning is being made by certain companies entering into forward contracts to sell carbon credits.

According to carbon market consultants, the price in the forward market ranges between Euro 10 to Euro 14, depending on the nature of the project and as to whether it is registered with the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) or is in the process of being registered. The price in the forward market is lower than the prevailing prices at which carbon credits are being sold, i.e. around Euro 17.

"Companies entering into forward contracts are those who feel that prices may fall in the future. Those who feel there is room for further appreciation in prices, are not entering forward contracts,"

While names of companies which have entered into such contracts were not forthcoming, companies like Konark Power, Amrit Biotechnologies, Yash Paper, to name a few, are understood to have entered into such deals with foreign buyers.

Since these are largely bilateral deals, there is a confidentiality factor attached to such deals. However, as per rules the ministry of environment is informed about every transaction taking place in the carbon market, be it in the forward market or current market.

Indian companies have been shy of entering the forward market in anticipation of appreciation in prices of carbon credits. However, consultants are advising clients to follow prudent strategies and adopt a more balanced portfolio of carbon credits, in which nearly 2/3rd of the portfolio is hedged in the forward market.

In its primary stage, certain prototype carbon projects which required funding had, in 2001-02, entered into forward contracts which were then securitised with banks to raise funds. After that, however, as activity on CDM projects gathered momentum, and prices appreciated, the forward market took a backseat.

Now, there seems have been a revival with fresh funding requirements on the rise for CDM projects.

Sources said that banks are open to lending to companies in need for funds against forward contracts. "Companies are entering into forward contracts even when the project is not registered, because there are takers for carbon credits from Indian projects. Some buyers are even willing to enter into contracts till 2012," said sources.

While currently prices of certified emission reduction (CERs) are stable, certain factors such as global political uncertainty and the quantum of emission reduction units (ERUs) from the joint implementation (JI) market, are some of the factors which could impact prices.

Article in Mint, Mumbai on 29th January, 2008

Article in Times of India, Mumbai on 14th Jan, 2008

US co to invest $300m in Indian carbon market

Namrata Singh | TNN

Mumbai: New York-headquartered Green Ventures International, an emissions commodity fund management company, has dedicated its first Asian fund of roughly $300 million (around Rs 1,150 crore) to India, with the primary objective of monetising carbon credits from clean development mechanism (CDM) projects across the country.
This comes at the onset of the second phase of Kyoto Protocol (the UN treaty regulating the reduction of global greenhouse gases) which lasts up to 2012. India—a signatory to the protocol—is expected to generate carbon credits of a larger proportion during the year as compared to 2007. This is attracting a number of global buyers of carbon credits to the Indian market.
“Green Ventures has adopted a different approach to the whole business of carbon. To meet the global demand, we decided to go to the source of certified emission reductions (CERs), or carbon credits, rather than accessing the same from the general markets,’’ Green Ventures, managing director, Krish R Krishnan told TOI. The objective is to source carbon credits from India and sell them to other global buyers. Since the process does not involve intermediaries, Green Ventures feels that this will enable the buyers to get a better price realisation.
Green Ventures also plans to assist in developing and funding initiatives that reduce carbon emissions, in addition to accessing technology from its global network. As part of its business plan in India, the firm is exploring setting up an integrated renewable energy project on its own.
Green Ventures is in the process of building a global carbon trading enterprise in Asia, with the India fund being the first to be launched.
The expected average annual CERs from India is currently at over 28 million, which is 15% of the overall CERs generated globally.

Article in Economic Times, Mumbai on 11th Jan, 2008

BREATHE EASY

People’s car not that polluting

Going by evidence & maths, environmentalists can relax

Shishir Prasad & Ashish Kumar Mishra

IN SPITE of what Ratan Tata might say, Sunita Narain and RK Pachauri would have spent an uneasy night. The prospect of hundreds and thousands of Nanos trundling down the roads of various Indian cities spewing carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide would have been nightmarish for them. Are their worries justified? Not really, if the evidence and maths are taken into consideration. But that is getting ahead of the story.
For some experts, Tata Nano is actually a good thing. After all, had the Tata Nano not come along, there would have been another car to take its place. “India is a growing economy and so people will buy cars. It is a good thing that they will perhaps be buying a smaller car which is complying with more stringent norms rather than a much larger car or a two-wheeler that follows less stringent norms,” says Krish Krishnan, managing director, Green Ventures, a venture fund that invests in green initiative. Mr Krishnan has been an entrepreneur in sustainable environment development.
But let us get to the heart of the argument and look at it clinically. After all, how much pollution will the Nano cause? Automobiles produce many pollutants: carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons and nitrous oxides. To
make things simple, all of these
have to be converted into equivalent amounts of carbon dioxide
(CO₂ ) — the Mr Evil of environment today. Now Euro IV compliant cars, which the Tata Nano is,
produce one (1) gramme of carbon monoxide and 0.08 gramme
of nitrous oxide. To convert them
into CO₂ equivalent, a conversion factor recommended by IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) of which Mr Pachauri is chairman) is applied. It is 3 for carbon monoxide and 310 for nitrous oxide. Once all the maths is done, we get 30 grammes per kilometre.
So each time the Tata Nano moves a kilometre, it will release 30 grammes of CO₂ equivalent material into the atmosphere. This is 40% less than what all others cars produce (50 grammes/kilometre or more) — and there are more than 5 million cars in India today. But let us take the argument into a zone where the naysayers would be comfortable: on the total amount of CO₂ equivalent that Tata Nanos will produce over the next five years. This involves a bit of some assumptions.
So assume that Tata will from the next year sell 1,00,000 cars a year for five years and reach a total of 5,00,000 — half the size Mr Tata thinks a car at one-lakh price point may sell. Now let us take a range that the Tata Nano runs between 1,000 kilometres and 8,000 kilometres a year. If all those half-a-million cars run 1,000 kilometres then the total CO₂ produced will be 15,000 tonnes annually. If they all run 8,000 kilometres then the total CO₂ equivalent will be 1,20,000 tonnes. In reality, the figure should be closer to 25-30,000 tonnes because our assumptions of car sales and annual mileage are on the higher side.
So are these numbers large? Taking the worst case — 5,00,000 on roads and each running 8,000 kilometres annually — the total CO₂ equivalent will be less than 8% of India’s total CO₂ emission. And if we take a more realistic assumption then it will be less than 1% of India’s total CO₂ emission. Environment guys would do well to go after the other 99%.

Global Warming: Predictions for 2008 Equals Wild Weather

We can expect some very wild weather in 2008 and you can be assured that if it is hot or cold, wild or mild it will be the fault of America and human caused by global warming. Certainly it is all our fault and if that asteroid happens to slam into Mars that will be the fault of human beings on planet Earth. Everyone except Al Gore of course, who has purchased carbon credits to offset his massive use of fossil fuels in the American state of Tennessee.

That seems to be the message from John Tierney of New York Times. Of course if he is talking this type of nonsense he must be in the pocket of Big Oil. That always seems to be the argument that is put forward to debunk any debunker, no matter how light.

Al Gore spoke earlier and declared from his throne that the "Debate is over." Looks like some people missed the memo. The crowd that is pushing global warming as the end of the world as we know it always sees the answer as giving them control over other people's lives with taxes and changes in behavior. They usually exempt themselves from any behavior modification, though.

Global warming may soon leave the language lexicon as frigid temperatures make it the butt of jokes. But don't worry, the "Chicken-Little" crowd won't go away. They have already started using "Climate Change" so that when the patterns don't fit their view of Armageddon they can move their behavior modification agenda forward under the new umbrella.

Global Warming - The Inconvenient Truth - Al gore

Working with developing countries to tackle climate change

Global Climate Change (Part 2)

Global Climate Change (Part 1)

The Myth about Global Warming

Two Warm

Both India and China will suffer significantly from the consequences of global warming. But will both have an incentive to contribute to the global effort in checking it?

As the climate change debate gets louder, India and China are firmly on centre-stage. In fact, they have almost come to be regarded in hyphenated terms. This fierce scrutiny is more than apparent in the UNDP’s Human Development Report 2007, released on Tuesday.

China has long figured on the radar. A decade ago, environmentalists like Lester R. Brown, had flagged changing consumption patterns in China as potentially a major environmental threat. The arguments have since got far more persuasive and proven. But what’s new in the debate is the presence of India in the big league of polluters — which includes Japan, Russia and the US.

There are striking similarities between the two Asian giants that lend themselves to hyphenation. While China is the world’s fastest growing economy, accounting for one-fifth of the world’s population, India is also now firmly on the growth trajectory, with its 1.1 billion people. Although in per capita terms, emissions by both countries are much lower than the others in the big league, by 2015 per capita emissions from China and India are projected at 5.2 and 1.1 tonnes (America’s stand at 19.3 tonnes), there can be no denying the rising levels. Between 1990 and 2004, India’s emissions increased by 97 per cent, one of the highest in the world.

The other common feature both countries share — along with the US, incidentally — is a dependence on coal for power generation. Coal happens to be the world’s cheapest, most widely dispersed and most carbon-dioxide intensive fossil fuel: for each unit of energy generated, coal generates about 40 per cent more carbon-dioxide than oil, and almost 100 per cent more than natural gas. In 2006, China was building an estimated two new coal-fired power stations every week, while India over the next 10 years is planning to increase its coal-fired electricity generation capacity by over 75 per cent. Power generation, of course, is seen as the main source of carbon-dioxide emissions, and accounts for four of every 10 tonnes of carbon-dioxide despatched into the atmosphere.

There is the hope expressed in HDR 2007, that since both India and China will suffer significantly from the consequences of global warming, both will have an incentive to contribute to the global effort in checking it.

Here, too, the parallels drawn in the Report are striking. While at current rates, two-thirds of China’s glacier, including Tien Shan, will disappear by 2060, and be totally melted by 2100, the Gangotri in the Indian Himalaya is shrinking by 23 metres a year. Such glacier melt has both short-term and long-term consequences. Immediately, they could cause the bursting of glacial lakes, avalanches and floods. In the long term, there will be severe water shortage. Northern China is already one of the world’s most water-stressed regions. In parts of the Huai, Hai and Huang basins, water is being extracted at a faster pace than it is being renewed and this area supports 128 million, accounts for about 40 per cent of the country’s agricultural land area, and generates one-third of China’s GDP. Desertification, too, is a distinct possibility. Events such as the 13 major dust storms recorded in 2005 will become more common. In India, because of the melting of the glaciers, the Ganga — which supports 500 million lives and accounts for one-third of India’s land area — will experience a two-thirds decline in its July-September flow.

So what are the measures that both countries are taking to address global warming? Nothing very significant, it would appear, going by HDR 2007. While the switch to CNG that Delhi effected in its public transport system is referred to as an important step in ‘low-cost mitigation’, China has in its 11th Five Year Plan set goals like reducing ‘energy intensity’ by 20 per cent by 2010 and retiring inefficient power stations.

Yet, there are significant differences between India and China. China is 81 in the HDR ranking, India comes way below at 128. While the Chinese have a life expectancy of 72 years, an adult literacy level of 90.9 per cent, and per capita GDP of $6,757, for India the figures are much lower: 63.7, 61 per cent, and $3,452. What’s also plain is the difference in the emission level of the two countries: China’s is expected to be five times that of India’s by 2015. The average Indian uses 439 kg of oil-equivalent energy, less than one-half of the average for China. While half of India’s population still doesn’t have access to electricity, China has been able to achieve a far wider power distribution for its people.

Given the fact that both countries are at different points on the development/ emissions curve, the facile hyphenation between them may not be quite appropriate. This, however, cannot be an argument for India not taking the issue of climate change seriously, or for not changing policy and taking demonstrable and urgent steps to reduce its own carbon footprint. It should do this in its own best interests.

Climate scientists call for urgent emission cuts

Greenhouse gas emissions must be urgently cut, with reductions of at least 50% by 2050, climate scientists warned today.

More than 200 leading international climate scientists attending the UN climate change conference in Bali called for emissions to peak and decline within the next 10 to 15 years.

If emissions are not limited, millions face extreme events such as droughts, flooding and rising sea levels, the scientists said.

In the "Bali declaration", the scientists say that a new international deal on climate change must ensure global warming does not exceed a 2C rise above pre-industrial levels.

Today's declaration said: "The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now far exceeds the natural range of the past 650,000 years and it is rising very quickly due to human activity.

"If this trend is not halted soon, many millions of people will be at risk from extreme events such as heat waves, drought, floods and storms, our coasts and cities will be threatened by rising sea levels, and many ecosystems, plants and animal species will be in serious danger of extinction."

Negotiations on a new treaty have to begin now and be completed by 2009, with targets of keeping warming below 2C by reducing global emissions by 2050 and ensuring they peak and decline in the next 10 to 15 years, they said.

"As scientists, we urge the negotiators to reach an agreement that takes these targets as a minimum requirement for a fair and effective global climate agreement," the declaration said.

Corinne Le Quere, of the University of East Anglia and the British Antarctic Survey, is one of the scientists who have signed up to the initiative, which is under the auspices of the Climate Change research centre at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

She said: "Climate change is unfolding very fast. There is only one option to limit the damages: stabilise the concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

"There is no time to waste. I urge the negotiators in Bali to stand up to the challenge and set strong binding targets for the benefit of the world population."

The warning comes after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment this year, drawing on work by thousands of scientists, which said that warming was "unequivocal" and was at least 90% likely to be mostly caused by humans.

Green Ventures organises global warming rally in Chennai

Green Ventures India, a sub advisor to Green Ventures International a privately held asset management firm with a fund of $200 million under management, recently organized a rally along with the Lioness club of Madras. Close to 100 students particiapted in the rally in an effort to raise awareness on the issue of global warming and its impact on the planet. School students held placards with messages such as “It is better to be safe than to be funk” and “Be part of the solution and not the pollution.”

The students, under the guidance of the members of Lioness Club and Lions Club International distributed brochures containing information on global warming and how to mitigate its impact.

"Global warming is perceived as some kind of a complicated scientific phenomenon among the general public and they feel it is up to the scientist to come up with the solution to combat it, which is not true. We must create awareness that each and every one of us are a part of the solution and we must work together to combat this self made villain which we have created. Yes, there is still much about global warming we have to learn and research should continue. But the longer we delay, the more CO2 will build up in the atmosphere. It stays there a long time. If we wait too long before acting, we will pass a point of no return and lock ourselves into centuries of global warming. We could pass one of those dangerous tipping points that could make life very difficult. It's a risk we shouldn't take," said Vinay Bharathwaj, Vice President, Green Ventures India.

The company now plans to work with companies to reduce its carbon footprint. "We have also raised a one of its kind $200 million fund, which focuses on investing only in CER’s which are generated out of India. We are also planning to raise more such funds to invest in clean technology and various renewable energy projects. We are also planning to expand our environmental consulting division to a 30 member team to cater to the need of the market. The Indian carbon market is growing at a rapid pace; more and more companies are looking to reduce their carbon footprint and also looking at monetizing the CER’s generated. With the MCX also showing keen interest in setting up a carbon exchange, what we are looking at is the tip of the iceberg. And we believe that in the near future India would set an example to the other countries in terms of the carbon offset and being socially responsible nation," he concluded.

THE 33 FACTS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING

1. The Earth was formed about 4,540,000,000 years ago.
2. In the beginning, the Earth's atmosphere contained very little oxygen (less than 1% oxygen pressure).
3. Early plants started to develop more than 2 billion years ago, probably about 2,700,000,000.
4. Through photosynthesis, plants uptake carbon dioxide into the biosphere as organic matter, and release oxygen as a byproduct.
5. Through geologic time, oxygen accumulated gradually in the atmosphere, reaching a value of about 21% of atmospheric gases at the present time.
6. Through geologic time, surplus organic matter has been sequestered in the lithosphere as fossil organic materials (coal, petroleum, and natural gas).
7. Early animals (the first organisms with external shells) started to develop around 600,000,000 years ago.
8. Animals operate in the opposite way than plants: they take up oxygen, burn organic matter (food), and release carbon dioxide as a byproduct.
9. Early humans (Australopithecus anamensis) began to develop about 4,100,000 years ago.
10. Cool climatic conditions have prevailed during the past 1,000,000 years. The species Homo sapiens evolved under these climatic conditions.
11. Homo sapiens dates back to more than 400,000 years.
12. Estimates for the variety Homo sapiens sapiens, to which all humans belong, range from 130,000 to 195,000 years old.
13. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was as low as 190 ppm during the last Ice Age, about 21,000 years ago.
14. The last Ice Age began to recede about 20,000 years ago.
15. The agricultural revolution, where humans converted forests and rangelands into farms, began to develop about 10,000 years ago.
16. The agricultural revolution caused a reduction in standing biomass in the biosphere and reduced the uptake of carbon dioxide in midlatitudinal regions, indirectly contributing, however so slightly, to global warming.
17. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased gradually from a low of 190 ppm 21,000 year ago, to about 290 ppm in the year 1900, i.e., at an average rate of 0.00478 ppm per year.
18. The industrial revolution, where humans developed machines (artificial animals, since they consume fuels, which are mostly organic matter), began in England about 240 years ago (1767).
19. In October 1999, the world's population reached 6,000,000,000, which is double that of the year 1959 (the doubling occurred in 40 years).
20. The world's population is currently increasing at the rate of about 80,000,000 per year (about 1.2 %).
21. The current world population is 6,575,000,000 (February 2007).
22. The global fleet of motor vehicles is estimated at 830,000,000 (2006).
23. The global fleet of motor vehicles has been recently growing at the rate of 16,000,000 per year.
24. Motor vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, and scooters) account for 80% of all transport-related energy use.
25. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which was at 290 ppm in the year 1900, rose to 316 ppm in 1959, or at an average 0.44 ppm per year.
26. Measurements of the concentration of carbon dioxide since 1959 (316 ppm) have revealed an increase to 378 ppm in 2004, or at an average 1.38 ppm per year.
27. The concentration of carbon dioxide has increased an average of about 1.8 ppm per year over the past two decades.
28. The concentration of carbon dioxide increased 2.87 ppm in 1997-98, more than in any other year of record.
29. The year 1998 was the warmest of record. The year 2002 was the second warmest (to that date). The year 2003 was the third warmest (to that date). The year 2004 was the fourth warmest (to that date). Last year (2005) equaled 1998 as the warmest of record.
30. About 75% of the annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is due to the burning of fossil fuels.
31. The remaining 25% is attributed to anthropogenic changes in land use, which have the effect of reducing the net uptake of carbon dioxide.
32. Anthropogenic changes in land use occur when forests are converted to rangelands, rangelands to agriculture, and agriculture to urban areas.
33. Other patterns of land Other patterns of land degradation--deforestation, overgrazing, overcultivation, desertification, and salinization--reduce the net uptake of carbon dioxide, indirectly contributing, however slightly, to global warming.

An inconvenient truth

Blue Man Group on Global Warming

Top 50 Things To Do To Stop Global Warming

Global warming is a dramatically urgent and serious problem. We don't need to wait for governments to solve this problem: each one of us can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. It's the only reasonable way to save our planet, before it is too late.

Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of them are at no cost, some other require a little investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!

1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
   CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

2. Install a programmable thermostat
   Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.

3. Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
   Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.

4. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
   Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

5. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
   Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models available.

6. Do not leave appliances on standby
   Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.

7. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
   You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C.

8. Move your fridge and freezer
   Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.

9. Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly
   Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.

10. Don't let heat escape from your house over a long period
    When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10ºC or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.

11. Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing
    This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.

12. Get a home energy audit
    Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.

13. Cover your pots while cooking
    Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!

14. Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full
    If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.

15. Take a shower instead of a bath
    A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximise the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.

16. Use less hot water
    It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.

17. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
    You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.

18. Insulate and weatherize your home
    Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.

19. Be sure you’re recycling at home
    You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates. Earth 911 can help you find recycling resources in your area.

20. Recycle your organic waste
    Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.

21. Buy intelligently
    One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

22. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can
    You will also cut down on waste production and energy use!

23. Reuse your shopping bag
    When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.

24. Reduce waste
    Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.

25. Plant a tree
    A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

26. Switch to green power
    In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Green Power Network is a good place to start to figure out what’s available in your area.

27. Buy locally grown and produced foods
    The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.

28. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
    Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

29. Seek out and support local farmers markets
    They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA website.

30. Buy organic foods as much as possible
    Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!

31. Eat less meat
    Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

32. Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
    Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.

33. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
    Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free national service connecting commuters and travelers.

34. Don't leave an empty roof rack on your car
    This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight - removing it is a better idea.

35. Keep your car tuned up
    Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

36. Drive carefully and do not waste fuel
    You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.

37. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
    Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!

38. When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
    You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.

39. Try car sharing
    Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar - offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.

40. Try telecommuting from home
    Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.

41. Fly less
    Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel by investing in renewable energy projects.

42. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
    You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.

43. Join the virtual march
    The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.

44. Encourage the switch to renewable energy
    Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. Take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.

45. Protect and conserve forest worldwide
    Forests play a critial role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on forests and global warming.

46. Consider the impact of your investments
    If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.

47. Make your city cool
    Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. 194 cities nationwide representing over 40 million people have made this pledge as part of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Find out how to make your city a cool city.

48. Tell Congress to act
    The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.

49. Make sure your voice is heard!
    Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!

50. Share this list!
    Send this page via e-mail to your buddies and, if you can, link to it in your blog, website or favourite social network. Spread this resource worldwide and make your voice heard, loud and clear: the more people you will manage to enlighten, the greater YOUR help to save the planet will be (but please take action on first person too)!

Greenland's ice sheet melts as temperatures rise

From the air, Greenland's ice sheet, the second largest on Earth, appears to be perfectly still.

But below the surface, the ice sheet is in constant motion, as ice built up in the interior pushes toward the coast in the form of massive glaciers. During warmer months, ice from these glaciers melts into the ocean.

It's an age-old process that scientists say has speeded up in recent decades because of global warming.

The fear is that melting ice from Greenland and other Arctic areas could cause sea levels to rise enough to flood low-lying cities, such as Shanghai, China, and New York City, displacing millions of people in the process.

A recent report from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of scientists from around the world, estimates the sea level rise by 2100 could be as much as 1½ feet.

"That sea level rise is only based on melt from ice sheets, and does not include a new fast flow of ice we have detected in Greenland that is generating additional icebergs," said Dr. Konrad Steffen, a climate scientist with the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Steffen estimates sea levels could rise three feet over the next century, a stark prediction that could wreak havoc around the world if it comes to pass. Greenland holds enough ice to cause sea levels to rise 23 feet if the entire ice sheet melted, a development few scientists expect to happen anytime soon. But global sea levels have been rising at the rate of three millimeters per year since 1993.

For each of the past 17 years, Steffen has spent one month at a remote research site called Swiss Camp, located 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland. He monitors the changing ice sheet through a network of global positioning systems and weather stations, which have recorded a dramatic rise in temperatures since the mid-1990s.

"When we came here in 1990, the first two, three years were actually colder than normal. Then in 1994, 1995, it started to warm steadily and since then, we've had a temperature increase during the winter months of 4.5 degrees centigrade, 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit, which is very large, the largest temperature increase on earth," he said.

The rising temperatures feed what scientists call a "positive feedback loop." As the air warms, it melts ice on the sea and snow on land. This exposes more water and land to the sun. Those surfaces in turn absorb more of the sun's heat, leading to more snow melt and ice melt.

"When you look at our satellite analysis, we can see the melt area of Greenland over 30 years has increased by 30 percent," Steffen said.

Despite all the changes in Greenland, this is not the first time temperatures have risen on the world's largest island. During the 1920s and 1930s, there was a significant warming trend that occurred without the level of man-made greenhouse gases recorded in our atmosphere today. The majority of scientists say greenhouse gases are the chief cause of global warming.

The fact Greenland has warmed before leads some scientists to question how worried we should be about the current warming trend. Dr. Patrick Michaels, a climatologist, is part of a small group of climate change skeptics. He said Greenland's warm past didn't cause the ice sheet to disappear.

"Well, this happened for 50 years in the early 20th century, and it happened for a millennium after the end of the last ice age," he said. "And the ice didn't shed off it."

But Dr. Jay Zwally, a climate scientist with NASA, said he thinks the latest trend is different.

"The current warming trend in Greenland is very extensive and is not likely to be explained by natural variability alone," he said. Zwally said the warming is consistent with scientific predictions about the effects of man-made greenhouse gases.

Last year, satellite data collected by NASA scientists revealed Greenland is losing 100 billion tons of ice each year, more than it is gaining from snowfall in the interior. Steffen and others have also detected a new, faster movement of the ice sheet, causing the glaciers to dump more ice into the ocean, where it melts and contributes to sea-level rise.

Part of this faster flow is caused by moulins, deep holes in the ice sheet that allow water to flow beneath the surface.

"During the summer months, as the ice sheet melts, large running rivers of melt water snake down through the ice, to the bedrock base below," Steffen said.

Last year, researchers lowered a camera into a moulin to explore the depth and flow of the melt water. Once the melt water from the surface reaches the bedrock below the ice, it can lift the ice sheet and provide a layer of viscosity for the ice to move faster toward the sea, a process that could accelerate as Greenland continues to warm.

Steffen hopes his prediction of a three-foot rise in global sea level by 2100 won't become a reality. But he warned that even if we are able to reduce the world's carbon output from cars and power plants, it will take a long time for Earth's climate to stop warming and seas to stop rising.

"Even if we reduce our carbon dioxide output, the climate will continue to warm," he said. "So even by stopping the increase of carbon dioxide today, we will have a warming, we will have sea level increase."

How to Fight Global Warming

Take these steps and you'll help reduce global warming pollution.

The biggest cause of global warming is the carbon dioxide released when fossil fuels like oil and coal are burned for energy. So when you save energy, you fight global warming (and save money, of course). Here are some easy steps you can take:

1. Raise your voice - We need new laws that will steer our nation toward the most important solutions to global warming -- cleaner cars and cleaner power plants. Send a message to your elected officials, letting them know that you will hold them accountable for what they do -- or fail to do -- about global warming.
2. Choose an efficient vehicle - A car that gets 20 miles per gallon will emit about 50 tons of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. A car getting 40 mpg will emit half that much. When buying your next car, pick the least-polluting, most efficient vehicle that meets your needs. Maybe it's an innovative hybrid that combines a gasoline engine with electric motors (and never needs to be plugged in). Or maybe it's a wagon instead of an SUV. And over the average lifetime of an American car, a 40-mpg car will save roughly $3,000 in fuel costs compared with a 20-mpg car, so compare fuel economy performance before you buy.
3. Drive smart - Get your engine tuned up and keep your tires inflated -- both help fuel efficiency. If all Americans kept their tires properly inflated (and a government study shows that many don't), gasoline use nationwide would come down 2 percent. A tune-up could boost your miles per gallon anywhere from 4 to 40 percent; a new air filter could get you 10 percent more miles per gallon.
4. Drive less - When possible, choose alternatives to driving (public transit, biking, walking, carpooling), and bundle your errands together so you'll make fewer trips.
5. Buy energy-efficient appliances - Use your consumer power when buying appliances by shopping for energy-efficient models. You may spend a little more up front, but you'll save a lot on electricity, and you'll reduce pollution produced by power plants. Look for the Energy Star label, which identifies the most efficient appliances. You can also use the Energy Guide labels to compare the efficiency of specific models. Remember that refrigerators consume the most electricity in the home. Today's refrigerators consume less than one-fourth the energy of models built 30 years ago, so an upgrade could mean huge energy savings for your household.
6. Replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs - While compact fluorescents are initially more expensive than the incandescent bulbs most people use, they last 10 times as long. What's more, a compact fluorescent will lower your energy bills by about $15 a year, and by more than $60 during its life. It will also keep half a ton of carbon dioxide out of the air.
7. Weatherize your home or apartment - For a very small investment, you can cut your heating and cooling expenses and reduce the burning of fossil fuels. Use weatherstripping to seal drafts around windows and doors. If a draft comes through electrical outlets or switches on outside walls, install foam draft blockers behind the cover plates. Use covers (inside or outside) on air conditioners during cold months. And make sure your home has adequate insulation. Many older homes don't have enough, especially in the attic. You can check the insulation yourself or have it done as part of an energy audit, provided by many utility companies. Call your company to see if it offers this service.
8. Choose renewable energy - If you live in a state where you can choose your electricity supplier, pick a company that generates at least half its power from wind, solar energy and other clean sources. Even if you don't have the option to select a supplier, you may still be able to support renewable energy through an option on your electricity bill.
9. Buy clean energy certificates - Another way to help spur the renewable energy market and cut global warming pollution is to buy "wind certificates" or "green tags," which represent clean power you can add to the nation's energy grid in place of electricity from fossil fuels.
10. Join NRDC/use our resources - You can help secure the changes that will stop global warming by joining NRDC, one of the most effective environmental groups in the country. And we can help you be more effective in your own environmental efforts by giving you information and action tools, and by combining your voice with hundreds of thousands of others. So take your pick, or pick them all: become a member of NRDC.