This is Planet Earth

Global Warming Statistics

2006-10-15T15:07:00.000-07:00


Produced to educate individuals about the relationship between energy and climate change due to global warming

Recycle

2006-05-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

Consider the growing implications of Ozone Depletion and Global Warming and their affect on Planet Earth. What action can resolve this. As someone once said, 'Rome was not built in a day'. It is good advice to take heed of. Consider that a problem of such magnitude will take a long time to repair! It may even take longer than our lifetime to rectify. There are no simple solutions or quick fixes to this problem. It sounds like a bleak future awaits us all. We need to stay strong and hopeful, that there is still time ahead of us to do something about it. So our Children can grow up safe in an unpolluted world. It is the most important things that matter the most, but usually are the hardest to achieve. Although we haven't all the answers yet. It doesn't mean we won't get there in the future!

To begin with, let us think smaller. After all large oak trees grow from small acorns to begin with. One way we can all help, which doesn't require you to be a politician, to be rich or to be a Scientist or a scholar is to 'Recycle'. This is an excellent way of helping the environment around us.

What is Recycling?

In the past one hundred percent of our rubbish would end up on a landfill site and have to be either buried for a very long time or burnt, which had the potential to pollute the air or the soil of our Planet. By recycling we are reusing part of that waste to create new products. These can be recycled into the same type of product or other products from its material and can also be used to create energy or to help rebuild things, such as our road surfaces. Presently our Council supplies us with different coloured wheelie-bins or crates for the collection of our household or garden waste. Recently you may have seen the adverts on the Television or been asked to collect materials for recycling through your schools or work place. As the information tells us practically anything can be recycled in today's world. Some examples are:-

* Old newspapers and magazines.
* Glass and plastic bottles.
* Tin cans.
* Compact Discs along with their jewel cases.
* Cardboard.
* Garden Waste.
* Mobile phones.
* Computers and Monitors.

Where do you go to Recycle?

I mentioned previously that a large amount of our rubbish is collected by the Council, but for those items not collected, it is best to contact your Local Council or Authority for information on the whereabouts of collection areas within your town or city or to visit the internet. Below I have included links to various web sites, which cater for the recycling of waste. Each gives extensive details into how recycling is done and some you will find have postcode or area searches, to advise you of where you can find the collection points near to where you live.

Links to Recycle Websites

United Kingdom Websites

Bag 2 School - http://www.bag2school.com/about.php

environmental Business Products - http://www.inkagain.co.uk/index.shtml

Planet Ark UK - http://www.planetark.com/index_uk.cfm

Recoup - http://www.recoup.org/business/default.asp

Recycle-IT! - http://www.recycle-it.ltd.uk/

Recycle-more.co.uk - http://www.recycle-more.co.uk/

Recyclenow - http://www.recyclenow.com/

Recyclezone - http://www.recyclezone.org.uk/home.aspx

Sita UK - http://www.sita.co.uk/what-we-do/recycling

The Recycling Consortium - http://www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk/index.htm

Waste Online - http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/index.aspx

Wasteconnect - http://www.wastepoint.co.uk/default.asp

Waste Watch - http://www.wastewatch.org.uk/

United States Of America and Canada Websites

FREE GEEK - http://www.freegeek.org/mission.php

Earth 911 - http://www.earth911.org/master.asp

Metro - http://www.metro-region.org/

Ohio Department Of Natural Resources. Reycle Ohio - http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/recycling/default.htm

Recyclecity - http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/

RecyclePlus - http://www.recycleplus.com/index.shtml

Australia Website

Planet Ark Australia - http://www.planetark.com/

Other ways to Recycle

Some work places also have containers for recycling. At my place of work there are different coloured bins for the recycling of tin cans, paper and food waste. The colour of the bins denotes which items can be thrown into which bin. This allows items to be recycled where otherwise they would have ended up on a landfill site to pollute the Earth. We also have a collection point for our empty printer toner cartridges. Instead of these been thrown in the bin, they are returned to an organization which refills the cartridges to allow us to reuse them. Again this cuts down on potential waste.

There are other ways of reducing waste. Sometimes when your printing out documents you may make the odd mistakes. Instead of throwing the paper away into the bin, you could use the other side first as scrap paper, for jointing ideas down or doing simple calculations. Also when using an internal memo system, instead of printing out a hardcopy of all your memos and having to file them somewhere on your desk to gather dust. Why not create folders on your memo system or on the hard disk of your computer. These could then be stored under folder names such as, 'Business', 'Personal', 'Forms', 'Charity Events' or 'Work Procedures', until such a time when you need to access the information.

I have also found in whilst doing my work that certain documents print off with blank pages in between due to the format of the document. People usually throw these pages away thinking it is a waste, but if you collect these together and leave the pages to cool down in a pile. Once cool you can reuse them in the printer. Again cutting down on wastage. There any many other ways to reduce waste or reuse items. Think about it and contact me if you have any suggestions or ideas, which you have used before either at school or at work. The potential for recycling is basically up to your imagination. So why not have a go and see what you can do to help the environment.

Arrival of the Eco-Warrior

2006-04-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

This is Planet Earth. Our home! This famous picture below entitled, 'The Blue Marble' shows our Earth viewed from space, as it was taken in 1972 by Apollo 17. If you take a couple of minutes to look at this picture I am sure you'll agree she is a beautiful site to behold.

According to scientific speculation the Earth began around 4.5 to 4.6 billion years ago, well before our meager existence, old as time itself. It was a product left behind from the big bang theory, when the universe was first formed. It was in its' infant years around the time of the Dinosaurs. Survived through the Ice Age, and countless ages after, decade after decade and in our own time and history has lived beyond two world wars.

But our present Earth is under attack from an advancing new threat. For centuries Mankind has made the little blue planet its' home. We have learnt new ways to travel, expanded on our intelligence, inventing new forms of energy and seeking opportunities to explore our galaxy and go beyond. But whilst Mankind has strived to improve its' sciences and technology, it has also lived in the dark. Unaware that its' own potential growth has endangered the very existence of the Planet we live on.

Most of us have heard about the Ozone Layer, via our schools and work, through education, books and magazines. By keeping track of the latest news stories relayed on our Televisions or on the Internet. The Ozone Layer is within the Stratosphere of our planet. The protective shield, which keeps out harmful ultra-violet light from the Sun, which otherwise could kill us or at the very least alter our genetic DNA. The ultra-violet light also has the potential to destroy plant life, plankton in our oceans, animals and other living organisms and species, which we hold dear to us hearts.

It is already apparent that skin cancer and cataract problems are on the increase and climate changes appear to be affecting our polar ice caps and water levels and if things continue without been assessed further and fixed, then the situation will certainly grow a whole lot worse.

The Ozone Layer is formed by Oxygen molecules (O2) coming into contact with the ultra-violet rays emitted from the Sun. When ultra-violet light is absorbed by the Oxygen molecules (O2), they split into two separate Oxygen atoms (O). When one of these Oxygen atoms (O) comes into contact with an Oxygen molecule (O2) it joins with it to make Ozone (03). It is this Ozone (O3) that makes up what we call the Ozone Layer. It is already known that through a natural cycle the sun light eventually breaks down the Ozone (03) that is made. However the Ozone Layer is capable of repairing itself naturally, so where one Ozone is destroyed, another one forms to take its place.

However in the 1970s it was believed that the Ozone Layer was depleting due to the use of Chlorofluorocarbons or commonly known as CFCs. Chlorofuorocarbons (CFCs) were used in refrigeration units and the propellants within aerosols and also foam packaging. They are compounds, which are a mixture of Chlorine, Fluorine and Carbon atoms and though they are stable and inert within our part of the atmosphere, once they reach the Stratosphere they reacts similar to the Oxygen molecules under ultra-violet light. When the CFC gases degrades and releases one pure Chlorine molecule, this single Chlorine molecule can destroy around 100,000 Ozone molecules. This is very bad, as the Ozone Layer needs a long time to fix itself and the lifespan of the Chlorine molecule is far greater than the Ozone molecule, which means it can cause a lot of damage to other Ozone within its lifespan.

Halons were also responsible for the depletion of the Ozone Layer and can be found mainly in fire extinguishers, propellants and solvents. These contain Bromine and like the CFC gases they have a long lifespan, but are capable of causing more damage.

In 1985 the Vienna Convention created an agreement between countries that would look at the protection of the Ozone Layer. This would entail research into emissions, uses of CFCs and Halons and their effects on the Ozone Layer at the time and information would be shared between them. Further studies in 1985 witnessed the Ozone Hole above the Antarctic, which lead to the Montreal Protocol in 1987 which concerned substances that depleted the Ozone Layer and the phasing out of them. This agreement was signed and implemented by 24 countries and the European Economic Community. The Montreal protocol has been amended several times. On the Globelaw Website you will find a copy of the Vienna Convention of 1985 and The Montreal Protocol of 1987 can be viewed on the UNEP Website. Links to the relevant pages are given below:-

Vienna Convention 1985 - http://www.globelaw.com/Climate/vienna.htm

The Montreal Protocol of 1987 - http://hq.unep.org/ozone/Montreal-Protocol/Montreal-Protocol2000.shtml

Currently HCFCs or Hydrochlorofluorocarbons are used in products to replace previous CFCs and Halons. These are compounds which are made from Carbon, Chlorine and Fluorine similar to the CFCs, but Hydrogen has also been added. By adding the Hydrogen to the compound, this make it less stable and therefore less destructive to the Ozone Layer. It should be noted however that HCFCs can still deplete the Ozone, so will eventually be phased out and an alternative found.

Other Websites for further reading on the subject of the Ozone Layer.

Many resources can be found on the internet to obtain further understanding of the Ozone Layer. I've included links to those Websites which I personally found useful, which you will find below for your reference:-

Centre for Atmospheric Science. Cambridge University - http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/cas/

Health Polictics with Doctor Mike Magee - http://www.healthpolitics.com/archives.asp?previous=ozone&spg=PPC

SEDAC (the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center - http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/ozone/

Stratospheric Ozone - http://www.ec.gc.ca/ozone/docs/UO/faq/en/faq.cfm

U.S. environmental Protection Agency - http://www.epa.gov/ozone/

Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_layer

WiseGEEK - http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ozone.htm (click on Multimedia Ozone Layer Tour)