Climate Change NYC

THE HEAT IS ON: FACTS FROM THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Changing Climate = Changing Atmosphere + Changing Oceans

Between the years 1600 and 2007, Earth's population grew to 6.07 billion people and fossil fuel use became widespread, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) from an estimated 274 parts per million to 385.

CO2 traps heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming, because it absorbs radiation from Earth's surface that would otherwise escape into space.

Earth's average temperature has risen about 1.8°F over the past 100 years and it will rise much more as long as CO2 emissions continue to increase at current rates.

Even if emissions were to stabilize today, temperature would continue to rise for several decades due to the delayed response of the climate system.

The years 1998, 2005, and 2007 are the warmest ever recorded according to historical weather data.

Over the past 50 years, the top 2,300 feet of the ocean has warmed about 0.18°F. The ocean's response to climate change has been slower than the atmosphere. Therefore, because the ocean stores most of Earth's heat, ocean temperature and sea level will continue to rise for several decades due to past greenhouse gas emissions, even if emissions are curbed today.

Climate change means more extreme weather. Over the last 60 years, heavy rain and snow storms have become 24% more frequent in the U.S. Warmer ocean waters also may make strong hurricanes even more powerful.

The ocean is acidifying. About 30% of the CO2 released by human activities over the past 200 years has already been absorbed by the ocean. Ocean acidification is expected to make it harder for corals, plankton and other shell-forming organisms to grow shells.

Deforestation contributes to global warming. Trees benefit the environment by absorbing CO2, but they return it to the atmosphere upon decaying or burning. Nearly 40% of Earth's land surface has been converted for human use; as a result, large quantities of CO2 have been released into the atmosphere-at the same time, fewer trees are left to absorb it.

Changing Climate = Changing Ice + Changing Land

Today, ice sheets are melting much faster than they were only a couple of decades ago. Greenland, for example, is losing about 50 cubic miles of ice per year. If the Greenland ice sheet was to melt completely, for instance, global sea level would increase to 23 feet because the transfer of ice from land into the ocean makes sea level rise. Although sea level rise of this size may take centuries or longer to complete, hundreds of millions of people would eventually feel the impact.

Ice shelves are massive platforms of ice floating on the ocean, especially around Antarctica. Scientists have learned that floating ice shelves act as dams to glaciers, which are actually flowing rivers of ice. After Antarctica's Larsen B ice shelf broke up in 2002, glaciers behind the shelf began flowing into the sea much more quickly.

Sea level has risen about 7 inches over the last 100 years, mostly due to the expansion of water as it warms. Every foot of sea-level rise translates to 100 feet of shoreline loss on the Eastern U.S. coast. Predictions vary, but future sea-level rise could range from 7 inches to more than 40 inches by 2100.

The primary effects of sea-level rise are increased flooding during storm surges and coastal erosion and submergence. Some of the world's largest, most densely populated cities are located in these regions; indeed, 634 million people live within 33 vertical feet of sea level.

Of all the energy reaching Earth from the Sun, about two-thirds is absorbed by land, ocean and atmosphere, and one-third is reflected back into space. Most of the absorbing takes place in the tropics, where dark, plant-covered land and dark ocean predominate. Much of the reflecting happens at the poles, with their bright coverings of snow and ice.

The last few decades have seen larger areas of the world enduring longer—and drier—droughts. One reason is that warmer soils lose their moisture faster, intensifying drought conditions. Also, warming tends to cause more intense but less frequent rain storms and changes local weather patterns.

Many regions around the globe have seen a sharp increase in the number of wildfires over the past several decades because of climate change. In the American West, spring-summer temperatures averaged 1.6°F higher between 1987 and 2003 than in the previous 15 years. That same span saw four times as many wildfires, many at higher elevations.


www.amnh.org/exhibitions/climatechange

Be Green film festival

3 minutes pour aimer la planète !

Parce qu'un engagement durable et responsable ne doit pas rester une simple idée au fond de votre poche, sortez vos téléphones portables, appareils photos, mini-caméra
et participez au BeGreen Film festival, le 1er festival françaisde pocket films pour le développement durable sur le web.
Créatifs, inventifs et sensibles à l'avenir de notre planète exposez vos idées, partagez votre vision sur le respect de l'environnement et déposez votre pocket film d'une durée maximum de 3 minutes sur ce site.

Films documentaires, fantastiques, humoristiques, expérimentaux, parodiques, 2D, 3D…
tous les genres sont appréciés pour traiter au moins l'une des 7 thématiques proposées :

* Eau
* Nature
* Déchets
* Réchauffement climatique
* Energie
* Transports
* L'engagement dans la société

Une sélection des meilleurs films sera diffusée sur :
Canalplus.fr, qui se fait la plateforme d’upload des vidéos
Canal + dans l'émission « Les films faits à la maison »
Canal + Mobile, qui sera le relais mobile du festival
La sélection des meilleurs films sera projetée à Lyon, à l'occasion des 5ème Assises Nationales du Développement Durable, le lundi 19 janvier 2009 suivit de la cérémonie de remise des prix en présence des participants et des membres du jury.

Concrétisez votre engagement éco-citoyen :

Begreenfilms.com

MARDI DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT

Fondation d'entreprise Ricard, le mardi 04 novembre 2008 de 19h à 21h



Fondation / Notre environnement quotidien sous l'influence écologique
MARDI DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT

En partenariat avec le Magazine INTRAMUROS,
L’Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard et la Société Européenne des Réalisateurs de l’Environnement ont le plaisir de vous inviter au Mardi de L’Environnement sur :

Notre environnement quotidien sous l’influence écologique

L’éco-design et l’éco-conception sont maintenant au cœur d’une création architecturale et industrielle plus respectueuse de l’environnement. Mais jusqu’où peut-on aller pour concilier les impératifs économiques avec les critères de l’écologie?

COMMENT LE DESIGN S’INVITE DANS NOTRE QUOTIDIEN
LA RECHERCHE, L’INNOVATION, LA CREATION, L’INVENTION, LA COMMUNICATION

Patricia Ricard recevra :

- Anne Marie Boutin,Présidente de L’Agence pour la Promotion de la Création Industrielle,
- Jean-Marc Huygen, Architecte, auteur de « La poubelle et l’architecte » Editions Actes – Sud,
- Clara Mantica, journaliste fondatrice avec Giuliana Zoppis de BEST UP circuit de promotion « Beau, Equitable et Durable » , www.bestup.it
- Jean-Paul Reti, Sculpteur, Eco Conseil pour le développement urbain de quartier, comme celui de La Grande Bibliothéque du 13eme
- Robert Bradford, Artiste Plasticien , auteur de l’œuvre Foo Foo

fondation-entreprise-ricard.com/evenements

Congo Budders - Harry Axt

A Matter of Scale

For hundreds of millennia, humans connected tightly to the land and the life forms their survival depended upon, because that was how it had to be. Failure to connect was not an option; if you didn’t know how plants grew, how animals bred, how rivers ran, how the seasons and the weather changed, then you did not survive. In some parts of the world – the Native American tribal lands of West Coast USA, the dense forests of West Papua, the deep valleys and jagged mountains of northern India – these connections remain, and cling on despite the best efforts of those who seek to gain more from the land than “mere” survival. This connection has ebbed away from the majority of humanity, in many cases to the extent that people feel nothing for anything humans have not created themselves. But we cannot eat concrete; we cannot breathe television; we cannot drink money.

A Matter Of Scale is a free, online book which you can read here, or download to read whenever you like.

A Matter of Scale > Enjoy it, but don't get too comfortable...

Commitment to Sustainable Computing & Clean Energy 2030

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Hundreds of millions of users access our services through the web, and supporting this traffic requires lots of computers. We strive to offer great internet services while taking our energy use very seriously. That's why, almost a decade ago, we started our efforts to make our computing infrastructure as sustainable as possible.

Today we are operating what we believe to be the world's most efficient data centers.

The graph below shows that our Google-designed data centers use considerably less energy - both for the servers and the facility itself - than a typical data center. As a result, the energy used per Google search is minimal. In fact, in the time it takes to do a Google search, your own personal computer will use more energy than we will use to answer your query.

But sustainability is about more than electricity, so we've gone beyond just reducing our energy consumption. Before the end of 2008 two of our facilities will run on 100% recycled water, and by 2010 we expect recycled water to provide 80% of our total water consumption.

Read more on Google + Clean Energy 2030
Google's Proposal for reducing U.S. dependence on fossil fuels.

> Google green

Champagne Bottle Vase

After the success of the recycled glassware range made from beer and soft drink bottles, the designer turned his thoughts to the more decadent Champagne bottle and came up with this simple and attractive flower vase design.The Champagne bottles are collected from bars and restaurants in the West End of London and then taken to the workshop where they are cut and polished by hand before being transformed into vases.

As the bottles are re-used rather than recycled, the production process is a very energy efficient one saving up to 90% of the energy used compared to when glass is recycled.

Please note: We do not recommend washing the vases in dishwashers.

* Dimensions:
* Height - 175mm
* Width at base - 85mm
* Width at neck - 60mm

For more choices, check out all the eco products in recycled glassware .

Claude VonStroke - "Who's Afraid of Detroit"

Gooda monday + music vid. from Detroit :)

Diesel XXX Live TV

Tune in and watch The Diesel XXX Party - the biggest party of the year. In a totally unique and never before seen online experience, you can select and watch live from 17 different simultaneous parties happening around the world.

Here is the 'Main International' broadcast stream that is going to follow the 'best' moments live.



Visit Diesel.com to follow the individual events and get the enhanced experience.

Via Rich @ theverychronicles.

PASSER A LA VERTICALE

Une fois ne sera pas coutume. Plus fort que les tours de Delanoe. Ci dessous les projets de Chris Jacobs et Gordon Graff pour cultiver en ville.
Emmanuelle, je sollicite tes lumières pour nous commenter les diverses études de vertical farms concoctées dans des cabinets d'archi à travers le monde...

FILLE DES JARDINS

Merci, hvala, gracias pour la verdure exubérante du blog de Delphine Paradis Express
Et double posologie de remerciement à Lauralou B qui nous a mentionnés sur son blog suite à la chronique de Daphné Burki dans la Matinale de Canal en juin. Que l'on loue bien fort.

Hip hip Pitt

Léonardo di Caprio a payé son tribut à la cause en tournant son film: vous avez noté que "la 11eme heure" n'a même pas été projetée en France, ce qui est tout simplement un scandale.
Aujourd'hui, un autre bel homme du ciné US s'engage et s'attaque au problème du relogement des sinistrés de la Nouvelle Orléans après le passage de l'ouragan Katrina en 2005. Son programme, "Make it right" s'est assigné pour objectif de construire 150 logements. Et tous respectent un cahier des charges écolo. Cette zone dévastée était précédemment surnommée le petit Harlem. Et pour attirer l'attention sur la future reconstruction, l'acteur a lancé le PinkProject, soit l'installation de tentes roses fuschia.
L'image ci-dessus propose un des modèles de maison envisagée.
Les dons financeront ce projet. Une partie du prix d'achat d'un savon liquide Kiehls dégradable ( et non bio dégradable...) à partir de novembre sera également reversé à la fondation.
A votre bon coeur sur Make it right
Par ailleurs Brad Pitt se charge également de monter un projet d'hôtel 5 étoiles écolo à Dubaï...on attend de voir avant de critiquer, n'est ce pas...