Happy Holidays

Have a happy holiday, and a great new year from Keep the Planet Green. I will be back in January. Be safe and be green!
~TRP

Proper Octane

With ever rising gas prices, why not get the most bang for your buck? Make sure you are using the proper octane for your car. Using the proper octane listed in your users manual makes sure your car runs as efficiently as possible. All you have to do is read your manual and select the corresponding gasoline.

Bali Climate Talks

On the 15th of December an agreement was reached between delegates from 187 countries at the climate talks at Bali, Indonesia. The agreement is called the Bali Action Plan which does not contain any binding commitments which the European Nations wanted, and the United States lobbied heavily against. The U.S. wanted restrictions on not only developed nations, but developing nations such as China and India as well. Many supporters of global warming talks are waiting for a new administration for the U.S. hoping that it is more environmentally active and cooperative. The Bali Action Plan calls mainly for international cooperation towards the goal of reducing the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and providing a market to improve the cost-effectiveness of achieving that goal. Also an international cooperation towards developing new technologies, and disaster relief for areas affected by climate change. Click here to read the whole Bali Action Plan.

Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus)

The Oceanic whitetip shark currently lives in all tropical to subtropical waters. It is threatened by fishermen in all of its habitats. Asian countries use the sharks' large fins for shark fin soup, but usually the rest of the carcass is discarded. It is also sometimes accidentally caught by fishermen who are looking to catch other fish. Its current state is vulnerable because it was once common in deep, cold water, but now sightings are rare.

United States at Fault for Deadlocked Climate Talks

The European Union threatened to boycott separate talks proposed by the Bush administration in January because of the United States' unwillingness to cooperate with the current negotiations. The current negotiations are taking place in Bali, Indonesia at a United Nations conference on Global Warming. 190 countries sent delegates to the meeting in the hopes of reaching an agreement on a plan to reduce greenhouse emissions. The Bush administration was largely criticized by Mr. Gore for obstructing the progress in Bali. Mr. Gore urged delegates in his speech to agree on an open-ended deal that could be enhanced after the Bush administration leaves office and the United States policy might change for the better. Also Michael R. Bloomberg mayor of New York criticized both the Bush administration and Congress for not being aggressive enough on the subject of global warming. The talks hosted by the Bush administration scheduled for January are supposed to take place in Hawaii. The main deadlock in the negotiations in Bali consist of whether or not the agreement in Bali should contain numerical targets for emission cuts. China and India are also refusing to accept limits of their emissions even though they are projected to be the top contributors to green house gases.

Tips To Save Energy With Days Growing Shorter.

With winter, comes shorter days, and that means longer use of light bulbs. As the sun sets earlier and earlier each day, we have to keep our lights on longer and longer. Here are some tips to save some energy, with smart light use. Start by replacing your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Incandescent light bulbs are inefficient, 90% of the energy used goes toward heat. With CFLs your save 75% of the energy, and the life time of one CFL is equal to 13 incandescent bulbs.
Now with your new bulbs try some lighting controls. Photocells turn on lights when the sun goes down, and turns them back off when the sun comes up. Also try occupancy sensors. They turn on the lights when you enter a room, and turn them back off when you exit. These types of sensors are most frequently used in storerooms and closets. Dimmers are a great way to save energy buy only using as much lights as you need, they can also increase the life of incandescent bulbs.
After acquiring all your new gear, try getting the most out of the light you already have. Clean light fixtures regularly so the light does not have to shine through all that dust. Also just cleaning or repainting walls to a lighter color can allow more light to reflect off the walls, and make the room seem brighter.

The House of Representatives Set Higher Goals for Fuel Efficiency.

The House of Representatives passed an energy bill on the 6th that had many mandates for fuel efficiency. There is set to be a 40% increase in the fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks sold in the United States, and by 2020 vehicles sold in the united states should have a flat average of 35 miles per gallon. There was also a call for a $21 billion dollar tax increase mostly affecting oil companies, and a mandate declaring that electric utilities must use natural energy such as solar or wind to produce 15% of their power. The supporters of the bill say that it will decrease the United State's dependence on foreign oil, jump-start the development of clean-energy, and begin to cut the United State's carbon emissions. But the likely hood of this bill being signed into a law without drastic changes is very small. The President has already threatened to veto the bill, and it is very unlikely the Senate will pass the bill without altering many of its provisions. The bill also calls for an increase in ethanol and biofuel production from 5 billion gallons a year to 36 billion gallons a year which I do not completely agree with. The main component of biofuel in the United States is corn. Which feeds much of the live stock as well as many people. Biofuel can be made from almost any type of plant so I think that if biofuel is made, it should not be derived from a food source base, especially with world hunger today. Also the gathering and processing of the corn produces almost as much carbon dioxide , as the biofuel would benefit. I believe the biofuel industry should be further researched before the government forces it to be mainstreamed.

Worst Oil Spill In South Korea's History.

On December 7, 2007 a barge collided with the oil tanker Hebei Spirit which caused it to begin leaking around 2.7million gallons of crude oil. The tanker was carrying approximately 260,000 tons of crude oil. On December 9th around 6,000 government officials and volunteers worked to contain the massive oil slick around South Korea's coast. Oil spills are one of the worst things to the environment and can destroy whole ecosystems. Oil affects wildlife by coating their bodies, and over time oil gets stickier which makes the coats on animals even worse. Oil floats on the water and attracts fish because it looks like food. This in turn attracts sea birds which can get covered in the oil as they dive through it to get to the fish. The fish also attract marine mammals such as seals and dolphins which puts them at risk. After an oil spill it is typical to see many dead birds and sea animals wash up on shore. Birds are affected the most because oil on their feathers prevents them from flying which makes them easy prey. The oil also causes them to lose body heat faster making their metabolism work harder to keep them warm, and the oil can prevent air from getting in between their feathers which keeps them buoyant as a result it causes them to sink or drown. Click here to learn about the many detrimental effects oil spills have on the environment.