Maldives Mandates At Least 60% Its Electricity Must Be From Solar Power By 2020

Written by Matthew Dermott, New York, NY
Published 9/22/11

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/09/maldives-mandates-at-least-60-percent-electricity-solar-power-by-2020.php?campaign=th_rss

The Maldives is one of the most low lying nations in the world, and therefore is one of the first to feel the changes of global warming. Because of this, they are trying to change to renewable energy as quick as possible. So, by 2020, the energy usage of the Maldives must be at least 60% solar energy. Also, the renewable energy investment framework says that 80% of electrical power can come from renewable energy, as long as it does not increase the price of power. There are multiple sources that can be used for electrical energy. These sources include solar power, wind power, batteries and biomass. By 2020 the Maldives are attemping to be the world's first carbon neutral nation.

Opinion: I think that this is a great goal for the Maldives, it will be extremely beneficial to the world. There are already a large amout of people that are environmentalists who are saving earth, and adding this nation to the amount of environmentalists makes an even bigger dent in glabal warming.

Questions:

1. Is the renewable energy alternative more or less expensive than what they're using now?

2. What is the population of the Maldives?

3. Will this be an easy transition for the citizens of the Maldives?

Remote Island Paradise to Be Powered By Coconuts and Sunshine

Written by Bryan Nelson, MNN
Published on September 16th, 2011
http://earth911.com/news/2011/09/16/remote-island-paradise-to-be-powered-by-coconuts-and-sunshine/

Summary:

In the chain of the Tokelau islands, they have planned to use coconuts and sunshine for 100% of their energy. It is predicted that at the end of the century their islands will be uninhabitable because the sea is rising and it is only 16 feet above sea level. The only way to slow and stop the water rising is to stop global warming. They won’t completely stop using fossil fuels, they plan to still use it for certain household appliances and cars, but everything else will be used by the coconuts and sunshine. They are hoping that they will be the example for other places around the world so other countries will start to cut down on fossil fuels and help stop global warming.

Opinion:

I think that everyone should start to convert to eco friendly ways to power our needs. Global warming is just going to keep getting worse if we don’t try to stop it so I think that this would be a good way to start.

Questions:
1.) Will they ever run out of coconuts?
2.) How much does this cost, is it cheaper?
3.) Is this reliable? Does it ever not work in certain conditions?

Vertical Farms for London are Lovely Green Eye Candy

Author: Lloyd Alter
Publication: Toronto on September 13, 2011
Link: http://www.awrcompetitions.com/competition/2/loft-london-farm-tower#!prettyPhoto
Summary: The vertical farms may be a pie in the sky but architects like to make them in their free time. This could possibly be made, but not right at this moment in time. These vertical farms are a new type of skyscrapers. Some benefits of the vertical farming is that agriculture is protected by the building from natural disasters. Also this provides us with all year round planting seasons. These buildings could help reconstruct ecosystems by the reduction of cultivated land. This would cut down on the CO2 pollutant because you do not need to transport the food long distances to get to the city because they could be placed right in the heart of a city. Also these buildings could create new jobs, like educating kids on how to construct these buildings, actually constructing them, and tending to the vegetation. This will also lower the cost of some foods because we would have more of it thanks to the vertical farms.

Opinion: I think that this would be a great idea. It has so many benefits for the environment and the cities. I think one of the biggest benefits is the reduction of the CO2 gas because you do not need to make long distance travels to ship foods.
Questions: How soon would we be able to create these buildings?
                 How do all of the plants get enough sunlight?
                 How much would it cost to create on of these vertical farms?

Giant red crabs move into Antarctic abyss, threatening ancient ecosystem

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20876-giant-red-crabs-invade-the-antarctic-abyss.html

Picture: This picture shows the huge crabs that are invading the Antarctic abyss. They are more than three feet across.

Summary: As the deep waters of the Southern Ocean warms, these giant crabs are moving to the Antarctic. Three years ago, researches predicted this happening in the next 100 years. But already, more than a million specimens of Neolithodes yaldwyni are colonizing Palmer Deep. It has also been found that these crabs are laying waste to the landscape. They "prod, probe, gash, and puncture" delicate sediments with their legs. Craig Smith of the University of Hawaii at Manoa says, "This is likely to alter sediment processes, such as the rate at which organic matter is buried, which will affect the diversity of animal communities living in the sediments,". Not only that, the crabs are eating many of the echinoderms in the area, causing the number of species in colonized areas to be just a quarter of that in areas that escaped the invasion. Richard Aronson of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne also said that these crabs will probably have a huge impact on the bottom communities. The only way to stop the crabs from continuing to wipe out the local wildlife and ruin ecosystems that evolved over 14 million years, is to slow the rate of global warming.

Opinion/Reflection: It's scary to think that this is happening already when scientists predicted this to happen over the next 100 years or so. It's even scarier to think that all this is happening because of global warming, which means that in the end, this is mostly our fault. Because of the temperature of the water rising a teensy bit, ecosystems that took millions of years to build are in danger.

I personally love eating crab legs so maybe I could help the environment by eating more! I think that that could be another way to stop (or at least slow down) these crab invasions - by fishing them.

Questions: 1. Would this have still happened without human activities contributing to global warming?
2. How long will it take for these crabs to completely ruin the ecosystem?
3. Are there any other ways to stop this from happening other than slowing down global warming?

E-Waste Not: Recycling Our High-Tech Cast-Offs

http://www.emagazine.com/magazine/e-waste-not

Picture: This picture shows hundreds of computers, monitors and televisions in a landfill. As of 2007, there are about 2.25 million tons of electronics in landfills.

Summary: In short America is not disposing of electronics properly. There are millions of tons of electronics sitting in landfills and all of them contain toxins that could have negative effects on humans. One toxin that each electronic contains is lead, in which the size of a pinhead can cause brain damage to children. The USA only recycles about 15-20% of electronics correctly. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that one million recycled cell phones translates to“35,274 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium.” A lot of electronics are also just thrown into the ocean where they are washed up on shores of other countries. To get rid of the excess electronics, they could be burned and release harmful chemicals into the air. Stores like Staples and Best Buy have programs that safely and correctly recycle used or unwanted electronics.

Opinion: I think that this should be something that should have more attention brought to it. If it continues it could destroy our earth and the oceans. I knew that trash in the ocean was a big deal but I never heard of electronics in the ocean being a problem.

Questions:
1 - Why am I just hearing about this now? It seems like it should be on the news.
2 - Can big electronics like ovens or refrigerators be recycled as well?
3 - Why doesn't the school have some sort of recycling project like this?