It’s Jam Band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezHlu9rUAW0

So here is the governments thought for you renters out there.

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.es_at_home_tips_renters10

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http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/apartments/index.cfm/mytopic=10010

Apartments

Simple energy conservation measures can lower your utility bills while increasing the comfort of your apartment. Although your landlord or management company is ultimately responsible for your building’s energy efficiency, you make dozens of energy decisions every day.

Electricity

Many ways for cutting electricity costs in houses also apply to apartments. See our section on reducing electricity use for ways to lower these costs.

Heating and Cooling

Here are some ways to reduce your heating and cooling costs. They can also make your apartment more comfortable. You might need your landlord’s or management company’s permission for some of the suggestions.

• Caulk and weatherstrip windows and exterior doors.
• Carefully select, install, and use window treatments or coverings.

Water Heating

If you have your own water heater in your apartment, see our section on energy-efficient water heating. If you don’t have your own water heater, you can still save energy by reducing your hot water use. You may need your landlord’s or management company’s permission for some of these energy conservation measures.

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More next week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysiT0P6OtvU&feature=related

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I know it sounds sorta dumb but if you talk to the landlord about your interest in saving energy…you may find out that he shares your beliefs or is at least neutral about it. If on the other hand he makes rude comments or says something like, “I ain not treehugger”, then you to drop it. If he seems neutral or somewhat interested. DO NOT ask him to DO anything right away. Follow the tips I have posted here and that are widely available on the web. Then you should causally mentions some of the things that you have done. Look for things that might interest him. Just as an example if you have access to the water heater and he pays the bills…tell him you turned it down and ask if he notice any savings….

http://e-conserve.blogspot.com/2009/04/renters-delight-low-energy-bill.html

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Exploring ways to save energy, money and the environment

Join Dominion in sharing ideas about how to save energy and money while helping the environment. Learn more about energy conservation from our Energy Experts.

Authors

	Alison Kaufmann Energy Conservation Specialist
	Tom Jewell Energy Conservation Coordina

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Renter’s Delight, low energy bill

Even while renting, you have more control over your resources than you think.

• Buy a water filter and use reusable water bottles instead of buying plastic water bottles.
• Use CFLs in your light fixtures
• Stop the junk mail by visiting http://www.donotmail.org/
• Control your thermostat setting
• Ask your landlord about making energy efficient improvements for all rental properties
• Get a green shower curtain, made of organic cotton, like these
• Use a low flow shower head

Let us know what you do in your place to conserve and don’t forget to share this page with others.

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As has been reported the Energy Star Program has some fraud going on.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_10153_12605_NB_showPledge?adCell=W4

See official rules See what you can win

I pledge to…

Switch out at least one energy-inefficient light in my home with an ENERGY STAR qualified one. I plan to replace
lights (max. 50)

learn more >

If every American home replaced just one light with an ENERGY STAR light, we would save about $700 million in annual energy costs while preventing 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to the emissions from about 800,000 cars.

Switch out my energy-inefficient appliances with ENERGY STAR qualified appliances for my kitchen and laundry (select all that apply):

Clothes Washer

Dishwasher

Refrigerator

learn more >

Sears has the largest selection of ENERGY STAR qualified appliances. If every refrigerator, dishwasher and clothes washer purchased in America this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save $640 million in energy costs while preventing 4.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to the emissions of 385,000 cars.

I plan to switch out the above appliance(s) within the next (select one):

1 year or less	1 – 2 years
2 – 5 years	5 years +

I will recycle the above old appliance(s) properly.

I will recycle any second energy-inefficient refrigerator that I might currently be using.

learn more >

Sears is the first national retailer that is recognized as part of the Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Refrigerators and room A/C units contain freon and are recycled through the RAD program. If every refrigerator being replaced was recycled properly, Americans would prevent 8 billion pounds of GHG emissions, equivalent to the emissions of 700,000 cars.

Switch out my energy-inefficient electronics with ENERGY STAR qualified electronics (select all that apply):

TV	DVD	Home Theater in a Box
Computer	Ink-Jet Printer	Multi-Function Device

learn more >

Sears also has a large selection of ENERGY STAR qualified electronics. If all electronics purchased in America this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save more than $300 million in annual energy costs while preventing 4 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to emissions from more than 350,000 cars.

Optimize the energy-efficiency of my home heating and cooling. I will:

Set or program my thermostat to save energy while I’m asleep or away from home

Have my heating and cooling equipment tuned-up by a professional and change my       air filter

Seal obvious leaks in my home’s outer walls, ceiling, windows, doors, and floors with       caulk, spray foam, or weather stripping, and add insulation to the attic

Seal obvious leaks and repair disconnections in my home’s duct system

Switch out my energy-inefficient heating and cooling equipment with ENERGY STAR qualified equipment (select all that apply):

Gas storage water heaters

Electric heat pump water heaters

Room air conditioners

Central air conditioners

learn more >

Sears provides both a wide variety of ENERGY STAR qualified heating and cooling equipment as well as servicing. If every American home optimized the energy efficiency of its heating and cooling system, sealed all obvious leaks and added insulation, we would save more than $15 billion in annual energy costs and prevent more than 75 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to the emissions from more than 15 million cars.

Find more savings and rebates available in my state on my new ENERGY STAR qualified appliance purchase.

learn more >

Sears will help you find and submit rebates available in your state to make sure you get the most money back on your purchase. Check out the Rebate Map on our website or ask a Sears Blue Crew Associate for information.

Make environmentally conscious decisions with the 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year.

learn more >

Thanks to customers like you, Sears received the EPA’s 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award. Everyday more people choose a Sears ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED product and join millions of Americans, who prevented 45 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 alone with the help of ENERGY STAR qualified products. With more ENERGY STAR qualified appliances than anyone, the Responsible Appliance Disposal program, and hassle-free rebates, Sears makes going green easy.

Tell Us About Yourself

(Required) indicates a required field.

First Name

Last Name

Zip Code

Email

Confirm Email

Would you like to receive quarterly emails from ENERGY STAR with energy savings tips?

Yes
No

Would you like to receive offers, updates and sale alerts from Sears?

Yes
No

Take the Pledge for a chance to win a suite
of Kenmore ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances.
See official rules See what you can win

By taking the Pledge, you acknowledge and agree that: 1) Your personal information submitted as part of the ENERGY STAR Pledge will be shared with both the EPA and with SEARS and 2) that EPA’s use of your personal information shall be governed by the EPA’s Privacy Policy, and Sears will handle your information in accordance with the Sears Privacy Policy.

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More tomorrow.

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It’s Jam Band Friday - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RupUECcyVow

What ever happend to a great innovative idea. In Early 2008 everyone was a twitter about this story. Why?  Because half to one third of the energy we generate is wasted. Then:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GadgetGuide/story?id=4173214&page=1

7 comments

Scientists are developing a new device that could have a profound impact on global energy supplies by converting wasted heat into electricity. It could potentially have an impact on everything from power plants to cell phones, and it came about because of a serendipitous discovery that had eluded scientists for half a century.

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have found a way to use ordinary silicon to convert heat to electricity. The technique could mean that some day you will be able to recharge your cell phone with electricity produced by your own body heat, and enormous amounts of energy that is now wasted could be recycled.

“We feel that this is a breakthrough,” said Arun Majumdar, a mechanical engineer and materials scientist with joint appointments at the Berkeley lab and UC Berkeley. “I’m very excited about this.”

Astonishingly, Majumdar and his colleagues didn’t set out to achieve what they have done.

“It was serendipitous,” he said. “We never planned for it.”

And perhaps even more surprising, they did it with a material that most scientists thought would never work for this purpose — ordinary silicon, a cheap, abundant material that is the foundation for the multibillion-dollar semiconductor industry.

Majumdar and his fellow researchers, including chemist Peidong Yang, a noted leader in the rapidly growing field of technology at the incredibly small “nano” scale, reported on their work in the Jan. 10 issue of the journal Nature. It’s not clear yet why the device they have created works.

“We don’t have all the answers at this point,” Majumdar said. But laboratory experiments show that it does, indeed, work. At least on a small scale. The device, placed between a hot plate and a cold plate, produced enough electricity to power a light bulb, although they didn’t do that demonstration. Instead, they measured the current flowing from the hot plate toward the cold plate, and it was sufficient to claim success, he said.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PenutnCkyx8&feature=related

or this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAF-cEThNWU&feature=related

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NoW:

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/silicon-heat-cheap-energy-gets-1-million/

‘Silicon + Heat = Cheap Energy’ Gets $1 Million

Exotic waste heat startup Alphabet Energy gets more fun

Alphabet Energy, which says it can make electricity for around $1 a watt out of waste heat in factories or data centers, has raised $1 million from Claremont Creek Ventures and the CalCef Clean Energy Fund.

Waste heat — which is one of our favorites sources of energy here — essentially revolves around capturing heat from engines and machinery and using it to run things like water heaters or converting it into electricity. The U.S. consumes around 100 quads (100 quadrillion BTUs) of energy a year, and 55 to 60 quads get dissipated as waste heat, according to Arun Majumdar, the UC Berkeley professor who came up with a lot of the technology behind Alphabet (he now runs ARPA-E, the advanced projects group inside the Department of Energy). Thus, there is a lot of waste heat out there and it could be cheaper than solar. Alphabet estimates it could be a $200 billion market.

Heat-to-electricity can be accomplished in two ways. Companies such as Recycled Energy Development (RED) and Ormat have successfully retrofitted factories to capture waste heat, but these systems largely rely on mechanical engineering. Heat is captured and then channeled into productive uses. One of RED’s showcase projects — coming next year — is a system at West Virginia Alloys, a silicon manufacturer, that will generate 45 megawatts of electrical power from the waste heat generated by factory operations. The company uses 120 megawatts at the current time, but the waste heat system will effectively allow Alloys to recover about one-third of the power it now buys but wastes. Fuel cells can also be used to harvest waste heat.

Semiconductors could potentially be the next wave for the industry, and this is where Alphabet comes in. Traditional waste heat chips — heat goes in one side, electricity comes out the other — cost around $20 a watt and are made out of bismuth telluride. Alphabet won’t say what its semiconductor is made from, but sources say the chief material is silicon nanowires.

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More next week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nTcDU73gLs&feature=related

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-energy-to-unveil-worlds-first-of-its-kind-see-thru-glass-solarwindow-capable-of-generating-electricity-2010-07-20?reflink=MW_news_stmp

BURTONSVILLE, Md., Jul 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — New Energy Technologies, Inc. /quotes/comstock/11k!nene (NENE 0.53, +0.03, +6.00%) is pleased to announce that researchers developing its proprietary SolarWindow(TM) technology have achieved major scientific and technical breakthroughs, allowing the Company to unveil a working prototype of the world’s first-ever glass window capable of generating electricity in the upcoming weeks.

Until now, solar panels have remained opaque, with the prospect of creating a see-thru glass window capable of generating electricity limited by the use of metals and various expensive processes which block visibility and prevent light from passing through glass surfaces.

New Energy’s ability to generate electricity on see-thru glass is made possible by making use of the world’s smallest working organic solar cells, developed by Dr. Xiaomei Jiang at the University of South Florida. Unlike conventional solar systems, New Energy’s solar cells generate electricity from both natural and artificial light sources, outperforming today’s commercial solar and thin-film technologies by as much as 10-fold.

Click here to view press release, announcing test results which show New Energy’s see-thru SolarWindow(TM) cells surpass thin-film and solar in artificial light: http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/NENE20090624.html

New Energy’s SolarWindow(TM) technology is under development for potential application in the estimated 5 million commercial buildings in America (Energy Information Administration) and more than 80 million single detached homes.

“We’re always keen to see innovations in our laboratories turn into meaningful commercial products,” stated Valerie McDevitt, Assistant Vice President for Research, Division of Patents and Licensing, University of South Florida. “We very much look forward to the commercial development of New Energy’s SolarWindow(TM) technology, which, if successful, could literally transform the way in which we view the use of solar energy for our homes, offices, and commercial buildings.”

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More tomorrow.

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Everybody wants to be green but nobody wants tell you what that means exactly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_offset

Carbon offset

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wind turbines near Aalborg, Denmark. Renewable energy projects are the most common source of carbon offsets.

A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO₂e) and may represent six primary categories of greenhouse gases.^[1] One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.

There are two markets for carbon offsets. In the larger, compliance market, companies, governments, or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit. In 2006, about $5.5 billion of carbon offsets were purchased in the compliance market, representing about 1.6 billion metric tons of CO₂e reductions.^[2]

In the much smaller, voluntary market, individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources. For example, an individual might purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by personal air travel. Many companies (see list^[3]) offer carbon offsets as an up-sell during the sales process so that customers can mitigate the emissions related with their product or service purchase (such as offsetting emissions related to a vacation flight, car rental, hotel stay, consumer good, etc.). In 2008, about $705 million of carbon offsets were purchased in the voluntary market, representing about 123.4 million metric tons of CO₂e reductions.^[4]

Offsets are typically achieved through financial support of projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the short- or long-term. The most common project type is renewable energy, such as wind farms, biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams. Others include energy efficiency projects, the destruction of industrial pollutants or agricultural byproducts, destruction of landfill methane, and forestry projects.^[5] Some of the most popular carbon offset projects from a corporate perspective are energy efficiency and wind turbine projects.^[6]

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http://ezinearticles.com/?Carbon-Neutral—What-Does-It-Mean?&id=339090

Recently, there have been a lot of environmental buzzwords floating around. It can be difficult to find a clear definition. I’ll explain what the term “carbon neutral” means, and why it’s important.

You might think that carbon neutral simply means that something does not release any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is true to an extent, however it is too simple a definition. It is possible to release CO2 into the atmosphere and still be carbon neutral, so long it is balanced by a CO2 reduction elsewhere.

Biofuels are carbon neutral, even though burning them releases CO2. How can this be? Well, the carbon in the biofuel comes from photosynthesis, where CO2 is captured from the atmosphere by a plant and turned into glucose. The glucose can then be turned into more complicated molecules such as sugars, starches, oils and proteins. Sugars and starches can easily be converted into bioethanol, while oils can be converted into biodiesel. Carbon is removed from the atmosphere, stored in plants for a few months, then released when the biofuel is burned. For every gram of CO2 released by burning a biofuel, there was a gram removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis just a few months ago. This perfect balance is why biofuels are carbon neutral.

Alternatively, the term carbon neutral can be used to describe energy that does not cause the release of any CO2 at all. For instance, solar cells, wind turbines and hydroelectric turbines generate electricity without releasing CO2. Nuclear power does not release CO2 during the generation process either.

There is a problem with this, however. Currently, virtually all forms of carbon neutral energy actually involve the burning of fossil fuels. The crops for biofuels are harvested using machinery that burns fossil diesel. This is because fossil fuels are a great deal cheaper than biofuels. Some ways of producing biofuels are controversial because so much fossil fuel has to be used in the production process. Some sources of bioethanol are in this grey area. Solar cells, wind and hydroelectric turbines are all produced and transported using fossil fuels to some extent. The technology exists to make these things truly carbon neutral, but it is hopelessly uneconomic at this time. Nuclear power involves the burning of fossil fuels in the mining and transport of uranium, the building of power stations, and the disposal of waste. When uranium becomes scarce, mining it will consume even more fossil fuels:}

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http://www.leonardo-energy.org/meaning-zero

‘Zero energy building’ and similar terms

Picture by Ian Britton on FreeFoto.com

You would think that no word has a more unambiguous meaning than ‘zero’: nothing is nothing. Not so in today’s world of green building. Labels like ‘zero energy building’, ‘nearly zero energy building’, and ‘zero carbon building’ are frequently used, but lack any standardised or official definition. The same can be said of the expression ‘bâtiment à énergie positive’ that is used in France.

‘Zero energy’ might play well commercially, but it is a clumsy label from a scientific point of view. No house or building can be built and maintained without energy. Strictly speaking, even manpower should be considered energy, and it brings along carbon emissions via food production and by the simple act of breathing. This illustrates that the meaning of ‘zero’ depends entirely upon where you draw the system’s boundaries.

The most narrow and also the most deceptive definition is to take only the electricity consumption of the building into account. The annual electricity production of the PV cells on the roof equals the annual electricity consumption of the building, and hey presto, you have a zero energy building. Who cares about the natural gas boiler in the basement?

Nearly zero energy

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Nearly zero..ha..haha…more tomorrow.

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OK I am burned out on the Gulf Oil Spill. Houston Neal offered to let me post his piece on the Cash For Caulkers Bill. Normally such offers are from scammer links and such. Houston is involved with a software company so it is clear that he has advertising intents BUT it is such a damn fine article that I will post part of it so you can see for yourself and then you can go there and read it for yourself.

http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/construction/cash-for-caulkers-the-definitive-guide-to-the-home-star-bill-1061110/

Cash for Caulkers – The Definitive Guide To The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010

“Cash for Caulkers” is nearly here. Last month the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5019 – also known as the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 or “Cash for Caulkers” – to kick-start construction, create jobs and cut back carbon emissions. While the bill still needs to clear the Senate, supporters predict it will pass this summer.

This is great news for homeowners and contractors alike. The bill provisions $6 billion for energy-efficient or “green” retrofits. It is expected to fund renovations for 3 million families, create 168,000 new jobs and save consumers $9.2 billion on energy bills over the next 10 years.

But in order to cash in on upcoming rebates, homeowners and contractors will need to do their homework. There are 13 types of retrofits eligible for funding. Each retrofit has unique eligibility requirements and set rebate amounts. You can read the full text here.

We made it really easy to wade through the legalese. Below is a table that breaks down the 13 retrofits of the bill, along with the requirements and rebate amount for each. In addition to the requirements we listed, each retrofit must comply with Building Performance Institute (BPI) standards or other procedures to be approved by the Secretary of Energy.

We also decided to combine these retrofits into three packages that will help homeowners get the best bang for their buck. But first, let’s review the program details.

Who is Eligible and How to Qualify?
The Home Star bill offers two rebate programs, the “Silver Star” program and “Gold Star” program. Here are details for each:

• Silver Star – Unless another amount is specified in the “Rebate Amount” column above, homeowners will receive a $1,000 rebate for each retrofit listed in our table. The maximum amount of rebates paid out will be $3,000 or 50% of the total cost, whichever is lower. For example, if a homeowner spends a total of $4,000 on eligible retrofits, they will get $2,000 or 50% back as a rebate. If they spend $8,000 on eligible retrofits, they would only receive $3,000 in rebates instead of $4,000 (which would be 50% of the cost).
• Gold Star – To qualify for the Gold Star program, homeowners must reduce their total home energy consumption by 20%. A $3,000 rebate will be rewarded for this reduction. Homeowners can receive an additional $1,000 for each additional 5% reduction, up to a total rebate of $8,000 or 50% of the total retrofit cost. Rebates may be provided for any of the retrofits listed under the Silver Star program, or for any other energy-saving measure, including: home energy management systems, high-efficiency appliances, highly reflective roofing, awnings, canopies, and similar external fenestration (window) attachments, automatic boiler water temperature controllers, energy-efficient wood products, insulated vinyl siding, and mechanical air circulation and heat exchangers in a passiv

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Please go to this article read the rest of it….Conservation is in the air.

More tomorrow.

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It’s jam band Friday -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkGE-kNRUN4

In the mid 90s British Petroleum decided to change its image. They “initialized” their name. Up dated their brand by changing their color schemes to yellow and green and they announced that their gas stations would be energy efficient and included solar panels. They infact set up a solar division and I believe make and sell solar panels. All that to cover up for the fact they were one of the most dangerous businesses in the world. So when people say why are you talking about greenwashing now?  It’s because it is a problem that can lead to the oil spew in the gulf.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkLCRMT-sdE&feature=related

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http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/greenwashing-report-2009/

Greenwashing Report 2009

Greenwashing Report 2009 Low-resolution PDF 3.1 MiB

Greenwashing Report 2009 (French) Low-resolution PDF 2.9 MiB Greenwashing Report 2009 High-resolution PDF 9.5 MiB

Some Notable Findings from the 2009 Report…

A NEW Sin has emerged

98% of products committed at least one of the Sins of Greenwashing. Greenwashing is so rampant that a Seventh Sin has emerged.  The Sin of Worshiping False Labels is committed by a product that, through either words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists.

Kids (Toys and Baby Products), Cosmetics and Cleaning Products

Greenwashing is most common in three household categories: Kids (toys and baby products), Cosmetics (beauty and health), and Cleaning Products.

More products are claiming to be ‘green’

The average number of ‘green’ products per store almost doubled between 2007 and 2008.  Green advertising almost tripled between 2006 and 2008.

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What you say matters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcKdNV2ep7I&feature=related

Oh and these people asked for links:

http://www.solarhotusa.com/

http://www.facebook.com/FoodIndependenceDay

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OIL Wash

http://www.leanweb.org/

We have had numerous fisherman, that have been hired through BP’s Master Vessel Charter Agreement to work on the oil spill response, tell us that their BP “bosses” have told them that if they use a respirator or any safety equipment not provided by BP that they would be fired.

http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-01/efforts-to-end-oil-flow-from-bp-s-leaking-well-are-over-coast-guard-says.html

Efforts to End Oil Flow From BP Well Over Until Relief Wells Are Finished

By Jim Polson – Jun 1, 2010

BP Plc has decided not to attach a second blowout preventer on its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico and efforts to end the flow are over until the relief wells are finished, according to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Thad Allen, who spoke at a press conference today.

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GREEN Wash

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwash

Greenwash

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Greenwashing (green whitewash) is the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly, such as by presenting cost cuts as reductions in use of resources.^[1] It is a deceptive use of green PR or green marketing. The term green sheen has similarly been used to describe organizations that attempt to show that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment.^[2]

[edit] Usage

Greenwashing was coined by New York environmentalist Jay Westerveld^[3][4][5] in a 1986 essay regarding the hotel industry’s practice of placing green placards in each room, promoting reuse of guest-towels, ostensibly to “save the environment”. Westerveld noted that, in most cases, little or no effort toward waste recycling was being implemented by these institutions, due in part to the lack of cost-cutting affected by such practice. Westerveld opined that the actual objective of this “green campaign” on the part of many hoteliers was, in fact, increased profit. Westerveld hence monitored this and other outwardly environmentally conscientious acts with a greater, underlying purpose of profit increase as greenwashing.

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NIGHT Wash – This is just too cool not to post it and ask people to pass it around…A new and improved Night View of planet Earth.

http://benhennig.postgrad.shef.ac.uk/?p=507

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The night view of the earth has become a very popular depiction of this planet. Although the NASA itself says that “The brightest areas of the Earth are the most urbanized, but not necessarily the most populated” many people mistake this view as a representation of the inhabited places on the globe. Our gridded population cartogram can help to get a better understanding of the relation of people and light. The following map is a reprojection of the earth at night that shows the nightview in relation to the population distribution. The gridlines are kept in a light colour and thus allow to identify those areas where the lines converge (representing the unpopulated regions). In contrast, the populated areas are given the most space, so that one can easily see which populated areas are literally illuminated at night – and where there are people living in darkness. The resulting map is an impressive picture of an unequal world, with large parts of Africa living in darkness, and the affluent countries in Europe and North America glowing in the dark:

(click for large image)

This map has recently been used by Danny Dorling in the Monday night lecture at the Royal Geographical Society. The following link leads to an online version of the lecture which allowes you to watch and listen to this lecture about inequality and the environment.

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PB Has huge holdings in Aluminum, Lubricants, and Financial Services it would take the whole world to make it work..Go to:
http://www.bp.com

and click on Products and Services. You will be amazed at the things that they own and the things that they sell. These folks really are too big to fail. So:

Repower America

Dear doug, It’s now been over a month since the Deepwater Oil Disaster began — and not only has BP failed to stop the flow of oil so far, but we still don’t even know how big the spill is — because BP won’t allow anyone else to investigate the extent of the problem. The secrecy must stop. BP is refusing to share information — data it’s already tracking — that would assist in the response and public understanding of the scope and severity of the Deepwater Oil Disaster. And they have every incentive in the world to keep doing so — news reports say that the smaller the official estimates of the spill, the lower BP’s liability could be in court.1 We don’t let criminals investigate their own crimes, and this shouldn’t be any different. It’s time for BP to get out of the way and allow access for independent scientists and engineers to determine the real size of this catastrophe. Sign the petition today calling on BP to provide full access to all their data to the government and independent scientists. Independent reviews by scientists across the country are suggesting that the oil leak may be as much as 19 times worse than the original estimates — but BP refuses to provide them with the data required to make their estimates more precise. All we know for sure is that the oil just keeps on gushing. BP is extremely sensitive right now to public pressure — so let’s tell them that we won’t stand for them hiding the truth. We’ll deliver copies of the petitions and any comments you submit to the CEO of BP, as well as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Demand full access to BP’s data and real answers about the Deepwater disaster. Thanks for joining this fight, Maggie L. Fox Chief Executive Officer Climate Protection Action Fund P.S. This disaster is a painful reminder of how dangerous our addiction to oil really is – and how critical it is that our elected officials in Washington pass strong climate and clean energy legislation that weans us off of dirty fossil fuels as soon as possible. We must make sure that Americans and our leaders understand the true cost of oil. We simply can’t afford a BP coverup. Sign the petition now demanding full transparency. ___________ 1. Marisa Taylor, Renee Schoof and Erika Bolstad, “Low oil spill estimate could save BP millions in court,” McClatchy Newspapers, May 20, 2010. http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100521/pl_mcclatchy/3511770 RepowerAmerica.org | Facebook | Twitter | Unsubscribe

Paid for by the Climate Protection Action Fund

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Maybe this is the best we can do.

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