Recent scientific discoveries have revealed the true fragile state of our world and its environment. Unfortunately this knowledge did not have much effect on the human populace until very recently, when famous individuals like Al Gore brought brutal facts to the public’s attention. His facts and the facts of many others revealed that the mistakes made by the earth’s population were taking a devastating toll on the earth and our environment.
As a result, many companies have pledged to become more environmentally friendly, an action which has come to be known as ‘going green’. One such company is Energy Star, which is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy designed to help “us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices”. Energy Star has proven to be very effective in its endeavor. In 2007, it was able to reduce a great percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, an amount which would have resulted from 27 million cars, just by the amount of energy it saved. In addition this ’save’ also resulted in a financial save of about 16 billion on utilities.
Energy Star products can save a family a great deal of money on their energy bill, while also saving the environment from increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions. This does not mean that families will have to sacrifice on style or features, but they are able to save a lot of energy with these newer Energy Star approved models. By buying products with the Energy Star label, one will be guaranteed energy effecient products as well as a ‘fatter’ wallet.
In mid March, EnergySolutions pushed to import about 20,000 tons of low-level nuclear waste from Italy, to be buried in Utah on a site owned by the company. This move was met by great resistance by Utah Radiation Control Board and other members of the Utah community. On Thursday May 8, 2008, eight Western states moved to stop EnergySolutions’ decision to import nuclear waste from Italy and bury at their Utah landfill. Members of the Northwest Compact on Low-level Radioactive voted to change the company’s contract with the Salt Lake City nuclear waste company so that foreign waste will no longer be permitted. In addition they moved to close a loophole which had allowed the company bury processed waste from Tennessee, in Utah as well.
Even Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. has said that he will use his power to block Italian waste import until a national policy can be set.
All this is happening while the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering the company’s desire to import 20,000 tons of waste to processing plant near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company would then sell the recovered metal it produced after processing, for shielding, while also disposing of 1,600 tons of waste at the company’s landfill in Utah.
However, a problem arose when EnergySolution declared that the decision made on Thrusday was irrelevant, saying that the decision does not apply to their private facility. Of all the sites, the one in Utah is one of three which is not owned by the government. Thus, because the site in Utah is privately owned, EnergySolutions feels that the decision will not affect them. The general counsel for EnergySolutions has promised to continue to limit importing of foreign waste to 5%, even though the site can handle far more.
It seems that a fight is still ahead, though it is clear that Utahans are not excited about the idea of foreign waste being buried in their ‘back yard’. John Urgo of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah thanked all those who have fought against burying foreign waste in Utah, saying that their resistance has confirmed “that it was never the intent of state or federal law to open up Utah and the U.S. to the world’s nuclear waste,” thus, he said “we can all breathe a sigh of relief that someone was finally willing to reign in their global nuclear ambitions.”
Though it may seem like a shocking idea, high fuel prices may actually have some benefits for our society as a whole. This is because high gasoline prices have turned many individuals off of SUVs and other cars that require a lot of gas. Also, in many cases individuals are also choosing to ride public transportation, which in the long run would also decrease carbon emissions. In addition, high gas prices have also lead individuals to cut down the amount that they drive. All together, less SUVs on the road, more gas efficient cars and less driving, can really reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions and in turn reduce global warming.
The record high gas prices in the US, have increased more than 20% since January and by the end of April the average gas price was around $3.65. Until recently, however the high prices did not seem to have much of an effect on the American populace, this could be the result of the fact that gas consumption has been increasing every year since 1991.
It is important to note that studies have been made which show that on 1.4 million car purchases made over the last 10 years, the least fuel efficient cars, including SUVs, trucks and so forth, fell by about 13% for every $1 per gallon increase. While at the same time every $1 increase has led to a 17% increase in the amount of gas efficient vehicles being bought, these efficient cars include compact cars and hybrids. The studies have also said that these buying habits could in fact cut the amount of gasoline used by about 7% for every $1 increase.
It is clear that people are noticing the soaring gas prices and are taking actions that will help their wallet. Non fuel efficient cars are losing their appeal, while fuel efficient cars have grown increasingly popular. High gas prices are certainly taking their toll, but not all is lost and not all is bad. The high prices have lead many individuals to take stronger precautions about how much gas they are consuming and though their wallet may be the reason they cut down gas comsumption, this decrease will have a very positive impact for our environment.
There are many ways to decorate your home, art being the most popular form. So, go ahead and hang some art throughout your home but spice things up and do in an atypical way, let your lights be your art. Surprisingly and unexpectantly, lights can be excellent forms of art, especially as designs have become more unique and colorful. Lights, in fact, are not just mere lighting forms they can be excellent focal points of a room, as well.
Pendant lights, for example, have become very popular and accessible and they are such a great way to both light and embellish a room. Pendant lights come in many different colors, shapes and forms and are great, fun lighting.
Wall Scones are an attractive way to light your home. They allow you to light only the areas, you would like lit as well. They come all sorts of styles, and various finishing options.
Ceiling Mounted Lights are less dramatic than pendant lighting, but similar to wall scones. They are an excellent way to only light they areas you feel need lighting. Ceiling mounted lighting, can come in many forms, they can come in the cylinder form of lighting as well as various forms of bowl lighting.
Interior Metal Wall Lights are beautiful and effective, and also serve as an ideal form of lighting. They can be placed wherever you would like lighting to be placed, they come in many different varities and include many different finishes and forms.
Lighting structures can go so far beyond just the simple role of lighting your home, they can be forms of art, as well as focal pieces of a room. There are so many forms of indoor lighting, consisting of various colors, shapes, sizes and finishes. There’s a style for everyone. When picking interior lighting one needs to consider: the area that need to be lit, style of the room, style of the light and so forth. So go ahead and decorate and hang some art!
April 22, 1970 was the first Earth Day and 20 million people celebrated. 38 years later it is estimated that 1 billion people around the world are expected to do something to observe Earth Day.
“Earth Day is all things to all people. It’s a symbolic representative of the desire for everything we need to do to respect how we treat the earth,” says Frank Maisano, an energy-industry spokesman in Washington.
Celebrate, get involved, let’s enjoy and take care of the earth where we live. Here are some easy ways to help you get started…
Exchange your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. Twenty percent of the electricity consumed in the United States is for lighting. Using fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent lights reduces energy and saves you more money than an ordinary bulb over the course of its lifetime.
Adjust your exterior lights so that they only light the ground beneath them and never shine across onto a neighboring property or into the night sky.
Recycle, recycle, recycle.
Turn off the lights before leaving a room, home or office. This simple task will save energy and save you money.
Help wildlife and turn off or at least lower your exterior lights for the sake of all creatures that frequent the night. Light pollution—the luminous orange glow that haloes cities and suburbs—threatens wildlife by disrupting biological rhythms and otherwise interfering with the behavior of nocturnal animals.
The most important step to becoming a good environmental steward is to keep your momentum going. Small, everyday actions can contribute to a more “green” life for you and your family and can encourage others to follow your footsteps.
Many producers have led us to believe that the resources we depend on for our energy needs are in abundance and that once an area is depleted of its resources we can simply find more in a new area. This “fact” however, is extremely misleading. The amount of these resources available is declining and finding new resources is becoming increasingly difficult. Any new locations where these resources are found are areas that are considered to be environmentally sensitive. These areas include; deep ocean, under national parks, polar regions, offshore and other sensitive areas. These producers are deliberately misleading us so that they can continue to charge excessive amounts of money and lead us to think that these resources will remain abundant forever.
These fossil-fuel moguls seek to overstate fossil-fuel reserves. As a result of their disinformation campaign, the efforts that are gravely needed to develop alternative energy sources have not been given enough priority. This limited supply will make prices higher, especially as the amount of resources lessen. This will allow the fossil-fuel moguls to make even more money with the lessening resources.
Even the quotas describing the amount of natural resources, like coal and oil, which can be found in the US are actually based on estimates made decades ago. Thus, we do not really know the exact amount of fossil-fuels that exist today. But what we do know is that even if we do tap reserves in national parks, and under the ocean, eventually all these resources will run out. It is only a matter of time.
If steps are not made to stop our dependency on these fossil-fuels, greenhouse gas emissions will continue to be high and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere will continue rise, making it impossible to live on this Earth with the conditions we have grown accustomed to. If we want to continue to live comfortably in this world, we must find other sources of energy that will not negatively affect our environment.
We at Starry Night Lights are strong supporters of environmentally friendly energy sources and appliances. We have made it our goal to help reduce global warming, by providing lights that are energy efficient and suggesting that these be used with efficiency in mind. Checkout our outdoor lighting guidelines to see how you can save money, energy and the environment.
For more information on this topic go to : http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=10657
Today President Bush announced a new national goal to reduce the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. According to whitehouse.gov, “If we fully implement our strong new laws, adhere to the principles the President outlined, and adopt appropriate incentives, we will put the United States on an ambitious new track for greenhouse gas reductions. The growth in emissions will slow over the next decade, stop by 2025, and begin to reverse thereafter, so long as technology continues to advance”. Bush’s statement has received a lot of rebuke from environmental activists, who feel that this statement is coming too late and that it will not do any real good. According to Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen, Bush’s annoucement is merely “an empty, face-saving gesture”, that he made merely because of pressure and humiliation.
Noppen, believes that Bush’s statement was made too late and that it is the consequences of not facing this problem, which has forced him to face it now. This does not mean that America’s governors and other world leaders have followed Bush’s way of dealing with this problem. In fact, most of them have abandoned Bush’s policy and have struck out on their own to deal with this growing concern.
Bush’s decision comes at a time when the Major Economies Meeting will take place in Paris, this meeting will lay the groundwork for the world leaders’ climate meeting which will take place sometime in July. Also, congress is scheduled to have a meeting on legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in the next week. When taking these two factors into consideration, it is possible that Noppen’s statement is correct. Perhaps, President Bush is only discussing this issue now, because of these two important meetings which are going to take place soon. These two meeting and Earth Day which will take place in less than a week, has placed some pressure on President Bush to make a statement, which could demonstrate his ‘concern’ for our environment.
It is wise to be aware of how our leaders are taking steps to help our environment. Many leaders have not made strong efforts to help us create a safe and environmentally friendly Earth, these are important issues and we should all take these factors into consideration, for the Presidental Election of 2008.
April 22nd of this year marks a very important day, Earth Day! Earth Day is especially important to those who love nature and want to see our environment improved and saved for future generations to enjoy. This year is expected to be bigger than all other previous years. Cities all over the world are participating, from Tokyo to Togo, people are coming together to call for change. Millions of people all over the world are rallying around a Call for Climate, which has become the global warming action theme.
Earth Day events are happening all over the globe, with the goal of encouraging individuals to push their government to make significant action on climate change. In the US, the Earth Day event produced by Green Apple Festival, will include: musicians, actors, environmental and community leaders, and many exhibits. Most of these events are scheduled on April 20, right before Earth Day. In Washington, DC the guests will include: Jordin Sparks, The Roots, O.A.R., Toots and the Maytals, Warren Haynes. The speakers scheduled to appear are: Ed Norton, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Rep. Ed Markey, Rep. Jane Harman, Tom Friedman, Russell Simmons and many others. On April 22nd, participating individuals are aiming to generate 1 million phone calls to lawmakers, to encourage change.
We at Starry Night Lights want to encourage you to get involved and to participate in Earth Day. It’s a great way to get involved in the community and to do something good for yourself and for our Earth. Do not miss out on the excitement, get ready for Earth Day.
Environmental law is broad and covers many topics, from stealing bird eggs to selling rare animal parts. Many of these crimes are investigated by the Environmental Agency, while others can be handled by local police and other enforcement bodies. Environmental crimes can affect both individuals and companies, it effects all those who become involved in illegal activities against the environment.
Though it may not seem like it, many crimes against the environment are actually done to gain profit. Crimes like fly tipping or dumping waste in unauthorized landfills, can bring criminals who organize such efforts great profits. Also, poachers can make large amounts of money by selling animals or animal parts on the black market. For example, elephant tusks or leopard skins, are considered valuable items and thus they will sell for great deals of money.
In 2005, the Environment Agency prosecuted 317 companies, and a third of them had to pay fines over £10,000. A little more than half of these companies were fined over £5,000, because of illegal waste breaches and regulations, or illegal waste activities. The majority of the remainder of the environmental charges were because of water pollution. According to sources, the fines for environmental crimes are growing larger, the fines of 2005 were a 16 percent increase of the fines of 2004.
Many environmental crimes come from improper waste disposal, this is because disposing of waste correctly requires time and money. Thus many individuals and companies try to dispose of their waste illegally by dumping the waste at illegal landfill sites. This however is a crime and can lead to heavy fines and even prison time, this crime not only hurts the environment it can cause serious health concerns for individuals living nearby. We have all seen, through the incident at ‘Love Canal’, how waste can affect people living near waste sites. At Love Canal, individuals suffered from all kinds of health concerns, some of which led to death. It is very important for all business and individuals to make sure that their waste is disposed of safely and legally.
Every year millions of birds die from collisions with man-made structures, such as artificial lighting structures and communication related buildings. Not much has been done to curb this negative effect of urbanization, however recently some steps have been made to improve the decline of bird populations, who suffer most from these problems. A US Federal Court has issued a ruling pushing the Federal Communications Commission to create safeguards to protect the millions of birds killed each year by colliding into radio, cellular, telephone and similar communication towers. It was decided that those who seek to build such towers must comply with federal laws like the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
This has greatly excited individuals of the American Bird Conservancy, who are pleased that the FCC will have to consult wildlife experts before permitting decisions are made. The hope is that this will save the lives of many birds each year, exciting both wildlife specialist and bird watchers.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has estimated that between 5 to 50 million birds are killed each year, this is especially severe for birds that migrate and are more likely to come into contact with these buildings. The FCC has been rebuked by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for refusing to consult them, when constructing such structures. Though at this point, such structures will be regulated to fulfill the appropriate wildlife standards.
Birds also frequently suffer from bright artificial lights, which can daze them and cause them collide into buildings. Bright lights can temporarily blind birds, and they can cause them far more severe consequences as a result of the temporary blindness, which can lead to death. According to FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program), “Birds migrating at night are strongly attracted to sources of artificial light, particularly during periods of inclement weather. Approaching the lights of tall buildings or other brightly lit structures, they become vulnerable to collisions with the structures themselves. If collision is avoided, birds are still at risk of death or injury. Once inside a beam of light, birds are reluctant to fly out of the lighted area into the dark, and often continue to flap around in the beam of light until they drop to the ground with exhaustion.” Thus, outdoor lighting which faces downward instead of up aimlessly into the sky, is the best choice when lighting outdoor areas, in order to protect birds. Therefore Starry Night Lights encourages you to pick safe wildlife friendly lighting when you light your outdoor areas.
