Better Climate Information Seen Aiding U.N. Pact

A push to improve climate information for everyone from farmers to investors in solar power will help a planned U.N. treaty to combat global warming, the head of the U.N.'s meteorological agency said on Tuesday.

Michel Jarraud told Reuters that a 150-nation World Climate Conference in Geneva this week, seeking to boost collection and sharing of climate information, would assist the world to cope with droughts, wildfires, sandstorms, floods or rising seas.

Agreement in Geneva would help set the stage for a planned new U.N. climate treaty, due to be agreed in December in Copenhagen.

"It will support whatever decisions are going to be made in Copenhagen," said Jarraud, who is Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Investors, for instance, want to know about future climate to decide where to site a dam, wind farm or solar panels, he said.

Cyprus, for instance, had suffered four consecutive years of summer drought -- forcing water imports by tanker because it had built dams and reservoirs sufficient to store winter rainfall only for three years.

"The dams were based on the best rainfall statistics from the past. With climate change the probabilities are changing," he said.

A planned "Global Framework for Climate Services" to be agreed in Geneva at the August 31-September 4 talks would also include investments in monitoring levels of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels.

The framework, mainly to help developing nations, would bolster monitoring of the climate -- places such as the Congo basin need far more weather stations. Jarraud declined to estimate how much the framework would cost.

He said that it would require cultural changes to get people to act on climate information -- often viewed with skepticism by planners even though forecasts have become far more reliable.

About 70,000 people more than normal died in a 2003 heatwave in Europe, partly because of inadequate preparations. Even so, meteorologists had predicted a likely heatwave months in advance, he said.

Farmers in Africa, for instance, in some cases have to ditch traditional knowledge about signs from nature that help decide when to sow or harvest crops. Climate change, perhaps affecting the timing of monsoon rains, was making such knowledge less valuable.

"Cultural changes are tricky, they take time. It was very solid traditional knowledge but now we can do better than traditional knowledge. But it will take time," he said.

Source : REUTERS

India Says Greenhouse Gas Pollution To Jump

India said it expects its greenhouse gas emissions to jump to between 4 billion tons and 7.3 billion tons in 2031, a report said on Wednesday.

Per capita emissions are estimated to rise to 2.1 tons by 2020 and 3.5 tons by 2030.

The report is the nation's most sweeping emissions summary, highlighting India's growing role as a key player in U.N.-led climate negotiations aimed at winning agreement of all nations to curb the growth in planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

"The results should set at rest any apprehensions that India's GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions are poised for runaway increase over the next two decades," the government report said. One environmentalist said that the figures had to be put in global context.

In a 2004 report to the United Nations, the last time India published detailed emissions data, the government said total greenhouse gas emissions were 1.228 billion metric tons, or about 1.3 tons per person, in 1994.

A government report in August said India contributes around five percent to global carbon dioxide emissions, but was still only about a quarter of the emissions of China and the United States.

Source : REUTERS

France Sees Initial Carbon Tax At 14 Euros Per Tonne

France plans to set a proposed carbon tax at 14 euros ($19.9) per tonne of carbon dioxide starting from next year, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said in an interview to be published by Figaro magazine.

A special advisory panel, headed by former Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard, had recommended billing 32 euros for every tonne of carbon dioxide emitted in 2010 and lifting the levy gradually to 100 euros per tonne by 2030.

"We have decided to apply the tax in a progressive manner. Starting with the price per tonne on the market, that is to say 14 euros," Fillon said in the article set to appear in the magazine's Saturday edition.

The proposed tax has sparked heavy criticism from intensive users of fuel such as farmers and fishermen who will see the cost of a liter of petrol rise as a result.

The impact of a new carbon tax would be offset for companies through provisions to reduce the tax burden related to investment and the government was studying ways to soften the blow for the country's poorest households.

"It is out of the question that we will apply this uniformly to those French people that have choices and those who don't," said Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

Source : REUTERS

Facts, Impacts, Savings From Cutting UK Energy Usage

Over 40 percent of Britain's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the main greenhouse gas causing climate change, come from the energy we use at home and in traveling.

The average British home emits around five and a half tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, twice the amount of a car.

Homes could save 1.5 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to 300 pounds a year, by insulating, improving their heating system and being energy efficient. Businesses could save over 2.5 billion pounds a year through carbon reduction measures, such as replacing oil boilers or installing new lighting.

HOUSEHOLDS

Leaving appliances and gadgets on standby wastes as much electricity as the annual output of two 700 megawatt power stations.

We waste over 600,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, equal to 170 million pounds, by leaving lights on unnecessarily.

Over 700,000 tonnes a year of CO2 is wasted by people overfilling their kettles. If people boiled only the water needed each time, we could save enough electricity in a year to run Britain's street lighting for nearly 7 months.

Britain could save 180 mega liters of water a day - enough to supply nearly 500,000 homes, by turning taps off while brushing teeth.

If we stopped wasting food which could have been eaten, we could save 18 million tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of taking one in five cars off our roads.

If everyone reduced their thermostat by one degree centigrade we could save 5.5 million tonnes of CO2, the same reduction as taking 1.8 million cars off the road.

Installing cavity wall insulation could cut CO2 by nearly 4 million tonnes. That's enough to fill Wembley stadium 500 times.

Drying clothes outside in the summer, rather than using tumble driers, would save as much CO2 as taking 240,000 cars off the roads.

Upgrading fridges and freezers to energy saving recommended products could save over 700 million pounds of electricity every year. This could power UK street lighting for three years.

BUSINESSES

Air conditioning can increase a building' energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 100 percent.

Switching off lights in corridors and rooms not being used could cut lighting costs by 15 percent.

A seven-day timer on shared equipment such as printers, vending machines and water coolers could save up to 70 percent on energy costs.

A single computer and monitor left on for 24 hours a day could cost over 50 pounds a year. Switching it off out of hours could reduce this to 15 pounds.

Upgrading IT can bring substantial CO2 reductions.

Maintaining boilers regularly could save firms 10 percent on annual heating costs.

Source : REUTERS

United Nation Chief Calls For Urgent Action On Climate Change

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders on Monday to take urgent action to combat climate change for the sake of "the future of humanity."

Ban, on a tour of Svalbard, the remote Norwegian-controlled Arctic archipelago, said the region might have no ice within 30 years if present climate trends persisted.

He is trying to drum up support for a comprehensive accord to limit emissions of greenhouse gases at a U.N. summit in Copenhagen in December. The accord will be a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.

"I would like to draw the attention (of) the world, for urgent action to be taken at Copenhagen ... We do not have much time to lose," Ban told reporters aboard a Norwegian coastguard vessel.

Ban said he wants leaders "to agree a global deal that is comprehensive, equitable and balanced for the future of humanity and the future of planet Earth."

The Copenhagen talks aim to agree tough limits on emissions, to keep climate change at a manageable level, and a mechanism by which technology to reduce emissions is efficiently transferred from rich to developing states.

Ban said that Arctic ice was disappearing faster than glaciers in other parts of the world, quickly removing the reflective white shield that prevents the earth's north and south polar regions from absorbing more of the sun's energy.

If Arctic sea ice disappears, the darker water underneath will absorb more solar energy, accelerating climate change, "The polar ice caps are the world's refrigerator, helping to keep us cool because they reflect so much heat," Lars Haltbrekker, head of environmental group Friends of the Earth Norway, told Reuters.

"Some scientists believe that we are already at a tipping point, that the concentration of man-made (heat trapping) gases already in the atmosphere will melt the Arctic sea ice during the summer by 2050," he said.

The area covered by Arctic sea ice fell to its lowest recorded level in summer 2007, increased slightly last year, and will probably be the third lowest on record this year, scientists say.

Source : REUTERS

Vancouver Cruise Ships To Plug In To Cut Pollution

Cruise ships docking in Vancouver, a popular hub for tourists bound for Alaska, can now plug into the city's electricity grid - cutting their engines and their diesel air emissions.

Port Metro Vancouver, Canada's biggest port, on Monday unveiled a shore power facility for cruise ships while in harbor, a first in Canada and only the third of its kind in the world.

Cruise ships can now plug into the electrical grid of the provincial utility, BC Hydro, which says that its mostly hydroelectric-generated power is 90 percent nonpolluting.

Long-term exposure to diesel engine exhaust likely causes lung cancer in humans and can trigger other lung and respiratory ailments, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Princess Cruises and Holland America Line have outfitted several of their fleet with onboard shore power equipment. Four Princess ships and one Holland America ship will use shore power in Vancouver during the 2009 Alaska season, which runs from May to September.

Source : REUTERS

Hoarding Energy-Guzzling Bulbs Ahead Of EU Ban

Germans, who sometimes see themselves as guardians of the environment, are hoarding energy-guzzling incandescent light bulbs ahead of a looming European Union-wide ban, the GfK market research agency said.

The Nuremberg-based GfK reported sales of incandescent bulbs had soared about 35 percent in the first half of the year ahead of a ban that starts Tuesday -- even though it was proposed by German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel in 2007.

Some German retailers said they have seen sales of 100-watt incandescent bulbs soar 600 percent since the end of July.

The EU is planning to phase out use of the incandescent bulbs as part of its push to save energy, cut greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. From Tuesday the light bulbs above 75 watts can no longer be produced or imported in the EU.

The ban will be expanded each year and by 2012 production and importing of all incandescent bulbs will be prohibited.

The EU Commission projects the ban on the energy-inefficient bulbs will save about 40 terawatt hours of energy in the EU per year -- enough to meet the energy demands of a small country.

The idea to ban incandescent bulbs came from Gabriel in 2007 when Germany held the EU's rotating presidency. The German said the switch to energy saving bulbs could save about 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Source : REUTERS

As Toyota's Hybrid Cars Prius Gobble Rare Metals, Shortage Looms

The Prius hybrid automobile is popular for its fuel efficiency, but its electric motor and battery guzzle rare earth metals, a little-known class of elements found in a wide range of gadgets and consumer goods.

That makes Toyota's market-leading gasoline-electric hybrid car and other similar vehicles vulnerable to a supply crunch predicted by experts as China, the world's dominant rare earths producer, limits exports while global demand swells.

Worldwide demand for rare earths, covering 15 entries on the periodic table of elements, is expected to exceed supply by some 40,000 tonnes annually in several years unless major new production sources are developed. One promising U.S. source is a rare earths mine slated to reopen in California by 2012.

Among the rare earths that would be most affected in a shortage is neodymium, the key component of an alloy used to make the high-power, lightweight magnets for electric motors of hybrid cars, such as the Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Focus, as well as in generators for wind turbines.

Close cousins terbium and dysprosium are added in smaller amounts to the alloy to preserve neodymium's magnetic properties at high temperatures. Yet another rare earth metal, lanthanum, is a major ingredient for hybrid car batteries.

Production of both hybrids cars and wind turbines is expected to climb sharply amid the clamor for cleaner transportation and energy alternatives that reduce dependence on fossil fuels blamed for global climate change.

Toyota has 70 percent of the U.S. market for vehicles powered by a combination of an internal-combustion engine and electric motor. The Prius is its No. 1 hybrid seller.

Jack Lifton, an independent commodities consultant and strategic metals expert, calls the Prius "the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world."

Each electric Prius motor requires 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of neodymium, and each battery uses 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum. That number will nearly double under Toyota's plans to boost the car's fuel economy, he said.

Toyota plans to sell 100,000 Prius cars in the United States alone for 2009, and 180,000 next year. The company forecasts sales of 1 million units per year starting in 2010.

As China's industries begin to consume most of its own rare earth production, Toyota and other companies are seeking to secure reliable reserves for themselves.

Reuters reported last year that Japanese firms are showing strong interest in a Canadian rare earth site under development at Thor Lake in the Northwest Territories.

A Toyota spokeswoman in Los Angeles said the automaker would not comment on its resource development plans. But media accounts and industry blogs have reported recently that Toyota has looked at rare earth possibilities in Canada and Vietnam.

Source : REUTERS

Decline in Wheat Prices,Demand for Bioethanol- Lead to more of the grain being turned into motor fuel

A sharp decline in wheat prices driven by a supply glut is set to lead to more of the grain being turned into motor fuel in the European Union.

Demand for bioethanol, a renewable substitute for petrol normally made from either grains or sugar crops, is increasing in the EU. It is seen as a way to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases believed to contribute to climate change.

Wheat is now in pole position to help meet the demand with the price of alternative feedstock sugar rising to the highest levels in nearly three decades earlier this month and sugar-derived bioethanol imports from Brazil on the wane.

"Those plants that are flexible in the processing could switch to wheat and get a very cheap feedstock," said Rob Vierhout, secretary general of the European Bioethanol Fuel Association (eBio) in Brussels.

Wheat futures have fallen sharply to contract lows in Paris during the last few weeks, depressed by larger-than-expected harvests in both France and Germany.

Wheat was the most important feedstock for bioethanol production in the EU in 2007, the most recent year for which a breakdown is available, with a 39 percent share. Grains (including barley, maize and rye) accounted for two-thirds, according to eBio statistics. That total should rise significantly.

Ensus should bring on-line later this year the largest biorefinery in Europe in north-east England which will use about 1.1 million tonnes of wheat to produce about 400 to 450 million liters of bioethanol.

In 2010, Vivergo is due to bring on-line a similar size plant in eastern England which is also expected to use wheat as its main feedstock.

Ensus is owned by two U.S. private equity funds, the Carlyle Group and Riverstone, while Vivergo is a joint venture owned by British Sugar, BP and DuPont.

EU biofuel demand is driven mainly driven by political targets rather than the price of oil.

The European Union had directed that 10 percent of transport fuel must come from renewable resources by 2020 and several member states have set interim targets.

Brazilian shipments to the EU are falling partly due to strong domestic demand which cut the amount available for export. There has also been a switch in

Brazil toward using more sugarcane to produce sugar, rather then bioethanol, sparked by a sharp jump in prices for the sweetener.

Brazilian ethanol exports to European countries from January through June this year totaled 557,000 liters, down from 726,000 liters in the same period lastyear.

For the EU's bioethanol industry to continue to thrive it will not, however, only have to compete on price. It must also prove it can contribute to the fight to stem climate change.

Brazilian bioethanol has been shown to substantially reduce emissions of greenhouse gases as compared to mineral oil and has set a standard the European industry must seek to match.

Source : REUTERS

Watermelon Juice - Next Source of Renewable Energy

A new study finds that the juice from these watermelons could easily be used to create the biofuel ethanol and other helpful products.

According to a new study to be published in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels, 20% of the watermelon crop doesn't go to market every year due to imperfections, bad spots, or weird shapes. These watermelons are left in the field and then ploughed right back into the ground.

According to the authors of the study (Benny Bruton and Vincent Russo from the USDA-ARS, South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, and Wayne Fish), these watermelons could be used to produce the biofuel ethanol.

The watermelon juice can be fermented and used directly or it can be used as a "diluent, supplemental feedstock, and nitrogen supplement" with other biofuel crops. If it is used as a supplement to other crops, it could first be used in neutraceutical production and serve an economic and health purpose in that capacity as well.

Watermelons could be used to produce the neutraceuticals lycopene (found to be important to prostrate health) and L-arginine (an amino acid that is critical for the production of nitric oxide). After being used to produce these, the waste juice can be used for ethanol production.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of watermelons are lost every year. They are grown and then left in the ground because of superficial imperfections. The authors of this new study show that they could be very useful as a renewable energy source.

"The results of this investigation indicate that watermelon juice as a source of readily fermentable sugars represents a heretofore untapped feedstock for ethanol biofuel production. The 8.4 t/ha of unmarketable watermelons left in the field at harvest would produce about 220 L/ha of ethanol for on-farm use or as an additional revenue stream for the grower."

Fuel your next car with watermelon juice.

Source : REUTERS