The greenhouse sector currently has extremely high energy overheads, so finding ways of reducing energy consumption is of great economic and climatic interest. In the longer term the aim is for greenhouses to actually produce energy themselves.
“By altering the climate control system at Hjortebjerg Nursery to a dynamic climate in which optimum use is made of natural light, we can reduce the whole nursery’s energy consumption by around 20 percent. In specific terms, the concept is to accept slightly higher temperature and humidity variations, so the idea is relatively easy to implement once you have developed the model,” explains Project Manager Anker Kuehn of AgroTech, which is involved in developing the new greenhouse concept.
The next step in the project has already been taken, with energy depots established underground in which surplus energy from the summer can be stored and reused during the cold months.
A greenhouse functions like an efficient solar collector, and on an annual basis receives twice as much solar energy as is used for a whole year’s heating. On an annual basis the energy consumption for heating the glasshouse area is an average of approx. 400 kWh per m², while annual insulation is approx. 1020 kWh pr m².
“For eight months of the year the energy input is higher than energy consumption. By collecting and storing the summer’s surplus heat and using it in the heating season, the greenhouse can become self-sufficient on energy – and even supply the nursery’s six other greenhouses. For a large part of the year heating requirements are limited to night-time,” explains Anker Kuehn.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Greener grass without water or fertiliser
A new clover type much smaller than ordinary clover is the result of ten intensive years of breeding trials. The clover is called microclover and gives greener and more attractive lawns while reducing the need for water and fertiliser.
“Microclover lies under the grass like a carpet, and helps to keep the grass green all the year round – even in dry periods. The clover also produces nitrogen, which the grass needs in order to grow to a healthy green colour. Consequently a considerable reduction in water and fertiliser is possible,” explains Mogens Toft Jensen, Head of Marketing at DLF Trifolium, which is the worlds largest producer of clover and grass seeds.
<_p22_ />Microclover is already a success on golf courses, football pitches, at festivals and with landscape gardeners, who appreciate the little clover which makes grass healthy and green without taking over.
“We already use as little nitrogen (fertiliser) as possible on our football pitches. But on the pitches where we use microclover, we can further reduce consumption by more than 40 per cent,” says Carsten Petersen, Parks Department, Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark.
“Microclover lies under the grass like a carpet, and helps to keep the grass green all the year round – even in dry periods. The clover also produces nitrogen, which the grass needs in order to grow to a healthy green colour. Consequently a considerable reduction in water and fertiliser is possible,” explains Mogens Toft Jensen, Head of Marketing at DLF Trifolium, which is the worlds largest producer of clover and grass seeds.
<_p22_ />Microclover is already a success on golf courses, football pitches, at festivals and with landscape gardeners, who appreciate the little clover which makes grass healthy and green without taking over.
“We already use as little nitrogen (fertiliser) as possible on our football pitches. But on the pitches where we use microclover, we can further reduce consumption by more than 40 per cent,” says Carsten Petersen, Parks Department, Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark.
A quarter of a million climate signatures handed in to UN
Energy company Vattenfall is the first company of its type in the world to set itself the goal of being CO2-neutral by 2050. As it pursues its goal, the company wishes to remind politicians of the need to negotiate a just settlement at COP15 in Copenhagen in December.
“Through its climate manifesto, Vattenfall has given the public a chance to influence decision-makers at a global level. In this way, we want to give our backing to decision-makers in taking necessary actions to make it easier for companies and private individuals to slow the process of climate change”, says Vattenfall CEO Lars G. Josefsson.
The number of signatures reflects the enormous popular interest in the climate issue. The UN’s worldwide campaign “Seal the Deal” has the same purpose as our initiative – to achieve a positive decision on climate at COP 15 in Copenhagen – and we have therefore chosen to combine the two. That is why we are delivering almost a quarter of a million signatures to the UN climate summit in New York, where two thirds of the world’s heads of state and government are meeting.”
So far close to a quarter of a million people have signed Vattenfall’s climate manifesto, which demands:
1. A global price for CO2 emissions
2. More support for climate-friendly technology
3. Climate requirements on products
“Through its climate manifesto, Vattenfall has given the public a chance to influence decision-makers at a global level. In this way, we want to give our backing to decision-makers in taking necessary actions to make it easier for companies and private individuals to slow the process of climate change”, says Vattenfall CEO Lars G. Josefsson.
The number of signatures reflects the enormous popular interest in the climate issue. The UN’s worldwide campaign “Seal the Deal” has the same purpose as our initiative – to achieve a positive decision on climate at COP 15 in Copenhagen – and we have therefore chosen to combine the two. That is why we are delivering almost a quarter of a million signatures to the UN climate summit in New York, where two thirds of the world’s heads of state and government are meeting.”
So far close to a quarter of a million people have signed Vattenfall’s climate manifesto, which demands:
1. A global price for CO2 emissions
2. More support for climate-friendly technology
3. Climate requirements on products
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Climate change happening faster than predicted, new report says
Climate change is happening faster and on a broader scale than the world's scientists projected in 2007, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations Environment Program.
The new overview of global warming research, aimed at marshalling political support for a new international climate pact by the end of the year, highlights the extent to which recent scientific assessments have outstripped the predictions issued by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change two years ago.
That report declared that evidence of human-generated warming in the last half-century was "unequivocal" and would change the planet dramatically by 2100 unless greenhouse gas emissions drop sharply by 2050.
Achim Steiner, the U.N. environment agency's executive director, said at the National Press Club on Thursday that the new report aims to update the intergovernmental panel's finding to reflect both new physical evidence and a more sophisticated understanding of how earth systems work.
"With every day that passes, the underlying trends that science has provided is ... of such a dramatic nature that shying away from a major agreement in Copenhagen will probably be unforgivable, if you look back in history at this moment," Steiner said. Copenhagen is the site of major international climate conference in December.
Steiner noted that since 2000 alone, the average rate of melting at 30 glaciers in nine separate mountain ranges has doubled from the rate during the previous two decades.
"These are not things that are in dispute in terms of data," he said. "They are actually physically measurable."
Other findings include the possibility that sea level will rise by as much as six feet by 2100 instead of 1.5 feet, as the intergovernmental panel had projected.
Robert Correll, who chairs the Climate Action Initiative and contributed to the new U.N. report, said that even if all the pledges industrialized and developed countries have made to cut their greenhouse gas emissions are taken into account, global temperature would probably rise by 8 degrees Fahrenheit. That's two times higher than what scientists and world policymakers have identified as the upper limit of warming the world can afford to avert catastrophic climate change.
"We don't want to go there," Correll said, adding that global carbon emissions are still on the upswing. "It's accelerating, We're not going in the right direction."
The new overview of global warming research, aimed at marshalling political support for a new international climate pact by the end of the year, highlights the extent to which recent scientific assessments have outstripped the predictions issued by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change two years ago.
That report declared that evidence of human-generated warming in the last half-century was "unequivocal" and would change the planet dramatically by 2100 unless greenhouse gas emissions drop sharply by 2050.
Achim Steiner, the U.N. environment agency's executive director, said at the National Press Club on Thursday that the new report aims to update the intergovernmental panel's finding to reflect both new physical evidence and a more sophisticated understanding of how earth systems work.
"With every day that passes, the underlying trends that science has provided is ... of such a dramatic nature that shying away from a major agreement in Copenhagen will probably be unforgivable, if you look back in history at this moment," Steiner said. Copenhagen is the site of major international climate conference in December.
Steiner noted that since 2000 alone, the average rate of melting at 30 glaciers in nine separate mountain ranges has doubled from the rate during the previous two decades.
"These are not things that are in dispute in terms of data," he said. "They are actually physically measurable."
Other findings include the possibility that sea level will rise by as much as six feet by 2100 instead of 1.5 feet, as the intergovernmental panel had projected.
Robert Correll, who chairs the Climate Action Initiative and contributed to the new U.N. report, said that even if all the pledges industrialized and developed countries have made to cut their greenhouse gas emissions are taken into account, global temperature would probably rise by 8 degrees Fahrenheit. That's two times higher than what scientists and world policymakers have identified as the upper limit of warming the world can afford to avert catastrophic climate change.
"We don't want to go there," Correll said, adding that global carbon emissions are still on the upswing. "It's accelerating, We're not going in the right direction."
Strong earthquake rocks Peru
A strong earthquake struck southeastern Peru on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The earthquake, which struck about 48 miles from Juliaca, Peru, had a preliminary magnitude of 5.9, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It was initially reported as a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. It struck about 160 miles deep, making it a deep earthquake. Shallow earthquakes often tend to cause more damage.
There was no immediate report of damage or casualties following the tremor, but a spokesman for the USGS said he would not expect any significant damage as the epicenter was located very deep.
The quake follows a series of powerful earthquakes in just 24 hours. On Tuesday, a powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Samoa, creating deadly tidal waves that devastated Samoa and American Samoa.
On Wednesday, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia, leaving possibly up to 1,000 people killed.
The earthquake, which struck about 48 miles from Juliaca, Peru, had a preliminary magnitude of 5.9, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It was initially reported as a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. It struck about 160 miles deep, making it a deep earthquake. Shallow earthquakes often tend to cause more damage.
There was no immediate report of damage or casualties following the tremor, but a spokesman for the USGS said he would not expect any significant damage as the epicenter was located very deep.
The quake follows a series of powerful earthquakes in just 24 hours. On Tuesday, a powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Samoa, creating deadly tidal waves that devastated Samoa and American Samoa.
On Wednesday, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia, leaving possibly up to 1,000 people killed.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
More Corporations Are "Greening" Supply Chains
business sometimes requires only a flip of a lid.
When Stonyfield Farm switched from plastic to foil lids six years ago, the organic yogurt company avoided 16 percent of the energy costs associated with producing its containers.
Similar savings have been discovered throughout Stonyfield's manufacturing, transportation, and packaging divisions since the company began measuring its carbon footprint in the early 1990s, according to Chairman Gary Hirshberg.
"Our carbon footprint is everywhere we look. It's our transportation. It's our waste," Hirshberg told a conference of business executives in Boston, Massachusetts, earlier this month. "We're sending our money into the dark sky. That's clearly dollars to be reclaimed."
For many companies, sustainability improvements such as energy and water efficiency were at first reactions to public criticism. Nowadays, as rising energy costs, water scarcity, and climate change threaten the affordability and availability of global inputs, corporations are recognizing that a more sustainable product has a better chance of remaining competitive in a resource-constrained world.
But a product's environmental or economic sustainability rarely depends on the actions of a single company. As a result, many corporations are pressuring their suppliers to become more efficient as well.
"Everyone is scrutinizing for higher sustainability efforts because companies are asking for it," said Paul Baier, a vice president with the consulting firm Groom Energy. "Clearly, it's become mainstream business."
Walmart represents the most dramatic example of efforts to "green" corporate supply chains. The world's largest retailer announced in July that many of its suppliers would need to assess and report on the environmental and social sustainability of their products. The responses may eventually be combined into an index of a product's lifecycle impact, the company said.
Since Walmart notified its suppliers about the request - asking whether the companies had evaluated environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and product recyclability - several suppliers have increased their investments in measuring carbon emissions and energy efficiency, Baier said.
The motivation for corporations like Walmart to improve the efficiency of supplier industries is in part financial. Improved efficiency can be an important component of business deals between suppliers and retailers. Depending on the agreement, the avoided energy costs are shared between the two companies. Both supplier and buyer increase profits while the overall supply chain becomes more efficient.
"When you're speaking sustainability with business people, you have to speak the language," said Richard Goode, head of climate change programs for Alcatel-Lucent, a global telecommunications company. "The language has always been profitability."
David Newman, a sustainability director for Millipore Corporation, said the Massachusetts-based bioscience manufacturer has reduced its energy consumption 12 percent since it started measuring emissions in 2006. Still, Newman questions whether the additional sustainability push from outside businesses and organizations will boost profits for his company.
"The vision...can't just be to reduce the environmental cost of our supply chain," Newman said. "That's an admirable goal, but it's not the best goal from a business perspective."
Corporations are also pushing sustainability to mitigate the environmental risks associated with their products. The growing scarcity of arable land, clean water, and cheap energy may threaten the availability of products ranging from t-shirts to soft drinks, especially as climate change shifts agricultural patterns.
"If climate change takes place as many scientists are projecting and parts of the supply chain will no longer be available, companies want to know whether suppliers are recognizing this and taking action to ensure for the survival of their products 30 years from now," said Dan Kreeger, executive director of the Association of Climate Change Officers, an organization for corporate sustainability officers.
"Cadbury's is worried about where it'll get its chocolate and Coca-Cola is worried about where it'll get its water," said Gwen Ruta, vice president of corporate programs at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Peer pressure has also led more companies to volunteer emissions data through the independent Carbon Disclosure Project, which reports corporate emissions from electricity usage as well as the direct burning of fossil fuels. The group announced last week that a record 409 of the world's 500 largest companies responded to its latest request-an increase from 383 last year.
"If you're not doing CDP, I strongly recommend it," Hirshberg told the conference. "If today [reporting emissions] is not mandated, tomorrow I guarantee it will be."
Beginning this year, the Carbon Disclosure Project has attempted to expand its inventory to smaller companies that supply many of the world's largest corporations. While many of these companies remain unsure of how to analyze their emissions, the quality of responses is improving, said Chrystina Gastelum, U.S. account manager for the group's supply chain inventory.
"It requires a lot of technical data," Gastelum said. "There is not a lot of expertise [among the companies]."
Corporations are also instructing suppliers to validate all sustainability improvements through outside auditors. Large companies are increasingly sensitive to being perceived as "greenwashing," the notion that environmental improvements are advertised disproportionately to distract from other, polluting, activities.
"If we are going to communicate to the public, you need to have someone standing behind you, saying you did it the right way," said David Walker, director of environmental sustainability for PepsiCo.
When Stonyfield Farm switched from plastic to foil lids six years ago, the organic yogurt company avoided 16 percent of the energy costs associated with producing its containers.
Similar savings have been discovered throughout Stonyfield's manufacturing, transportation, and packaging divisions since the company began measuring its carbon footprint in the early 1990s, according to Chairman Gary Hirshberg.
"Our carbon footprint is everywhere we look. It's our transportation. It's our waste," Hirshberg told a conference of business executives in Boston, Massachusetts, earlier this month. "We're sending our money into the dark sky. That's clearly dollars to be reclaimed."
For many companies, sustainability improvements such as energy and water efficiency were at first reactions to public criticism. Nowadays, as rising energy costs, water scarcity, and climate change threaten the affordability and availability of global inputs, corporations are recognizing that a more sustainable product has a better chance of remaining competitive in a resource-constrained world.
But a product's environmental or economic sustainability rarely depends on the actions of a single company. As a result, many corporations are pressuring their suppliers to become more efficient as well.
"Everyone is scrutinizing for higher sustainability efforts because companies are asking for it," said Paul Baier, a vice president with the consulting firm Groom Energy. "Clearly, it's become mainstream business."
Walmart represents the most dramatic example of efforts to "green" corporate supply chains. The world's largest retailer announced in July that many of its suppliers would need to assess and report on the environmental and social sustainability of their products. The responses may eventually be combined into an index of a product's lifecycle impact, the company said.
Since Walmart notified its suppliers about the request - asking whether the companies had evaluated environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and product recyclability - several suppliers have increased their investments in measuring carbon emissions and energy efficiency, Baier said.
The motivation for corporations like Walmart to improve the efficiency of supplier industries is in part financial. Improved efficiency can be an important component of business deals between suppliers and retailers. Depending on the agreement, the avoided energy costs are shared between the two companies. Both supplier and buyer increase profits while the overall supply chain becomes more efficient.
"When you're speaking sustainability with business people, you have to speak the language," said Richard Goode, head of climate change programs for Alcatel-Lucent, a global telecommunications company. "The language has always been profitability."
David Newman, a sustainability director for Millipore Corporation, said the Massachusetts-based bioscience manufacturer has reduced its energy consumption 12 percent since it started measuring emissions in 2006. Still, Newman questions whether the additional sustainability push from outside businesses and organizations will boost profits for his company.
"The vision...can't just be to reduce the environmental cost of our supply chain," Newman said. "That's an admirable goal, but it's not the best goal from a business perspective."
Corporations are also pushing sustainability to mitigate the environmental risks associated with their products. The growing scarcity of arable land, clean water, and cheap energy may threaten the availability of products ranging from t-shirts to soft drinks, especially as climate change shifts agricultural patterns.
"If climate change takes place as many scientists are projecting and parts of the supply chain will no longer be available, companies want to know whether suppliers are recognizing this and taking action to ensure for the survival of their products 30 years from now," said Dan Kreeger, executive director of the Association of Climate Change Officers, an organization for corporate sustainability officers.
"Cadbury's is worried about where it'll get its chocolate and Coca-Cola is worried about where it'll get its water," said Gwen Ruta, vice president of corporate programs at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Peer pressure has also led more companies to volunteer emissions data through the independent Carbon Disclosure Project, which reports corporate emissions from electricity usage as well as the direct burning of fossil fuels. The group announced last week that a record 409 of the world's 500 largest companies responded to its latest request-an increase from 383 last year.
"If you're not doing CDP, I strongly recommend it," Hirshberg told the conference. "If today [reporting emissions] is not mandated, tomorrow I guarantee it will be."
Beginning this year, the Carbon Disclosure Project has attempted to expand its inventory to smaller companies that supply many of the world's largest corporations. While many of these companies remain unsure of how to analyze their emissions, the quality of responses is improving, said Chrystina Gastelum, U.S. account manager for the group's supply chain inventory.
"It requires a lot of technical data," Gastelum said. "There is not a lot of expertise [among the companies]."
Corporations are also instructing suppliers to validate all sustainability improvements through outside auditors. Large companies are increasingly sensitive to being perceived as "greenwashing," the notion that environmental improvements are advertised disproportionately to distract from other, polluting, activities.
"If we are going to communicate to the public, you need to have someone standing behind you, saying you did it the right way," said David Walker, director of environmental sustainability for PepsiCo.
The Politics of Energy & Climate Change: DC Expert Coming to NH
Politics, energy and climate change, and their relationship to national security, is the topic for discussion at a lecture on Wednesday (Sept. 30) at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The keynote speaker, Sarah Ladislaw, is an energy and national security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. She has been looking at this relationship for years, and while some people believe they are separate issues, she says climate change, energy production and U.S. policies all have a direct impact on future availability of energy, as well as our national security.
"If you don't answer the question about what you should do about climate change, whether or not we should be moving to a whole new slate of energy sources going forward, you can't really answer the question about energy security: whether or not those resources will be affordable, reliable and available."
Jan Pendlebury, senior field associate with the Pew Environment Group, says that the realities of climate change are no longer deniable. She says the time to begin using alternative forms of energy is now.
"Sea level rise, wildfires, flood, drought, famine. But the greatest risk is to our national security, our continued dependence on foreign oil from hostile nations."
The event, which is titled "The Geopolitics of Energy, Climate Change & National Security," is sponsored by the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, Pew Environment Group and Southern New Hampshire University and will be held at the Penmen Room, at the Southern New Hampshire University campus, beginning Wednesday at noon.
The U.S. Senate is expected to introduce a climate change bill this week, which is sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts.
"If you don't answer the question about what you should do about climate change, whether or not we should be moving to a whole new slate of energy sources going forward, you can't really answer the question about energy security: whether or not those resources will be affordable, reliable and available."
Jan Pendlebury, senior field associate with the Pew Environment Group, says that the realities of climate change are no longer deniable. She says the time to begin using alternative forms of energy is now.
"Sea level rise, wildfires, flood, drought, famine. But the greatest risk is to our national security, our continued dependence on foreign oil from hostile nations."
The event, which is titled "The Geopolitics of Energy, Climate Change & National Security," is sponsored by the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, Pew Environment Group and Southern New Hampshire University and will be held at the Penmen Room, at the Southern New Hampshire University campus, beginning Wednesday at noon.
The U.S. Senate is expected to introduce a climate change bill this week, which is sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)