Deforestation is the permanent loss of forests and woodlands. Tree farms are not included in this definition, since they are farmed rather than naturally occurring. Naturally occurring forests and woodlands cover about 21% of the earth’s land mass. Unfortunately, about 1.8 million square feet of natural forest is being destroyed every minute!
Permafrost is defined as soil that has remained at or below 0 degrees C (32 degrees F) for two years or more. There does not need to be ice or snow present to identify permafrost. Most permafrost is located near the North and South Poles and dates back millions of years. The area of the Earth covered by permafrost is constantly shrinking and global warming is credited with the loss of large amounts of ancient permafrost.
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 …
PC power consumption: does it really matter?
More than 30 billion kilowatt-hours (108 petajoules) of energy is wasted because many of us simply forget to shut down our computers when we aren’t using them.
If we could improve the efficiency of how we use our PCs, the value of energy saved would be over $3 billion dollars! What’s more the CO2 emissions from just 15 computers are equivalent, in energy terms, to the gas consumption of one car!
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