How successful have we been in reducing ozone depletion?

Ozone (O3) is a naturally-occurring, highly reactive gas made up of three oxygen atoms. Ozone is formed by the interaction of solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) and molecular oxygen (O2) high above the earth’s surface. The stratospheric ozone layer extends from about six (6) to thirty (30) miles above the earth and is crucial for limiting (filtering) the UV rays from the sun. As increased UV rays reach the earth, humans sunburn faster and the earth’s surface is warmed above the normal average temperature, therefore adding to the global warming problem. Reports show, on average, that humans sunburn 10% faster today than thirty (30) years ago. Read more …

Is Nanotechnology a threat or an opportunity?

Nanotechnology is the engineering of tiny particles, systems or machines. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, or about the width of three or four atoms. Scientists are developing machines so small that the naked human eye cannot see them.

The theoretical possibilities of nanotechnology were first envisioned in 1959 by renowned physicist Richard Feynman. The word nanotechnology was popularized in the 1980’s by K. Eric Drexler. The US National Nanotechnology Initiative was created to fund nanotechnology research.

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How we generate energy is the question that seems to underlie all others when discussing environmental issues, so this article will focus on just discussing some “facts” about energy usage, as best we know them.

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The World is experiencing a global food price crisis which saw prices of wheat rising by 130% in the year to March 2008, and those of soya and rice rising by 87% and 74% respectively over the same period. The consequences of this are real increases of poverty, global inequality and a reduction in life expectancy. Prices have since declined since March, but are still somewhat higher than levels back in 2000.

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