THE GREEN PLANET BLOG - Our World and Environment...

All about conservation, ecology, the environment, climate change, global warming, earth- watch, and new technologies etc.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Reduce Footprints: A Special Thursday Post ...

Reduce Footprints: A Special Thursday Post ...

The new ECO light bulbs contain mercury - how can they be safe...


The new ECO light bulbs contain mercury - how can they be be safe?


Which are safer, the old or the new light bulbs? The former NZ Labour- led government wanted to ban the old ones, but it was reported that the new ECO bulbs contain mercury and should be handled carefully if broken - don't vacuum up the pieces - use cellotape to collect the pieces and put them in a bag and dispose of them in a garbage container.


I have been down to the supermarket and bought more of the old bulbs and disposed of the new ECO bulbs. Safety comes before electricity savings!

However, dimmable eco lightbulbs were revealed on show in London recently by Greenpeace International.


What is your opinion about the old and the new? You are invited to leave a comment here.


What is more important here, electricity savings or safety? Please think about it carefully!

Dimmable eco lightbulbs

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Reduce Footprints: Change The World Wednesdays ...

Reduce Footprints: Change The World Wednesdays ...

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Are we going to an ecosystemic hell in a handcart, maybe not...


Are we going to an ecosystemic hell in a handcart, maybe not...



First published at Qassia:





Many Greenies claim we are all going to an ecosystemic hell in a handcart. Maybe and maybe not! It all depends on who you are talking to at the time.

Some claim we are irreparably damaging or even ruining our world's fragile ecosystems, and the losers will be our grandchildren who will inherit degraded landscapes and empty seas. Maybe and maybe not!

Some claim humankind has ruined the earth in 200,000 years that has taken four billion years to develop. Maybe and maybe not! I don't believe the point of no return has yet been passed - we are listening, watching and beginning to give cognisance to the problems that are not all humankind's. Cyclical weather patterns have caused nature to run rampant as well. We are now making decisions to plan schemes to stop the damage that has occurred. We are becoming green and aware! That in itself is a start!

Some claim it would take centuries or even millenia to rectify the damage to ecosystems and earth itself. There is already evidence that nature, given time, can rectify many of humankind's follies. Jungles can grow back in a few years to where forests were destroyed through clear-felling. There is proof of this in areas such as the Amazon in South America.

This has been confirmed by a couple of researching American scientists from Yale University, Holly Jones and Oswald Schmitz, who have reportedly spent years studying attempts at repairing ecosystems that have been damaged by farming, burning, hurricanes, logging, mining,oil spills,overfishing, building power plants, trawling and polluting waterways(including half a dozen successful examples in my country of New Zealand).

Researchers such as this duo are heartened that things have gone extremely well in some instances. They have found that many ecosystems are not as fragile as some would claim; many are extremely resilient and have been successfully repaired.

About 5% of the 240 ecosystems examined have been irretrievably ruined, but many if not most have been successfully returned to their original state.

It was farming and logging ecosystems that took the longest to recover, averaging about 42 years, but aquatic ecosystems took about half that time.

Dr Jones' and Schmitz' unfashionable takehome message is reportedly that although humans will continue to screw up their environment, most of the damage can be repaired quite quickly, giving hope to humankind to transition to substainable management of global ecosystems. This does, in my opinion, give more time to deal with natural ecosystemic damage through weather and sun effects.

Acknowledgements: Bob Brockie,World of Science, NZ.

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Thursday, June 4, 2009

So you are young, lean, mean and green...





So you are young, lean, mean and green? Good on you. But are you prepared to put your money where your mouth is? Are you prepared to do things personally, at home, at school, at work or at play. Use better lights ie compact fluorescent bulbs. But use these with care too, because they contain mercury.Recycle. Use solar power where possible. Be carbon neutral, go on green holidays. Reuse water bottles by refilling at the tap. Buy or sell products in bulk, and save onshipping costs.





Maybe you want to go green, recycle, ride share, carpool, vanpool, plant a tree, start green shopping, have green pets, experience green travel, curb urban sprawl, ease up on fossil fuels, save forests, remove polluting cars from the road and experience green living without giving up conveniences?





Well, if you can switch from drinking bottled water to drinking water that you put in a bottle we all just might have a chance of decreasing the impacts of global warming because we all need to be Lean, Mean and Green.




So you’re a young and sexy girl or guy…or at least you’re young at heart, you consider yourself an eco-friendly person, you’re concerned about the environment, climate change, global warming, air pollution, ozone depletion, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, deforestation of rain forests, the melting of the polar ice caps and your CO2 / Carbon Footprint?





Maybe you just want to get your head around the causes of global warming before your next class?

Maybe you want to drop out and do your part to save the planet by reducing green house gas emissions through carbon offsets along with the use of green renewable energy like solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, hydropower, biofuels, electric cars, hybrid cars and solar powered cars all to make eco dept day come a little earlier each year instead of later?

www.govtech.com/gt/case_study/101001 "Lean,mean and green"


Earth in Danger

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