Earth Sky Stars » Environment http://earthskystars.net/blog blog for earthskystars Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:35:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Nature Conservancy’s State of the Birds report http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/03/22/nature-conservancys-state-of-the-birds-report/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/03/22/nature-conservancys-state-of-the-birds-report/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:37:05 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=160 I don’t know about you, but one change I’ve seen in my environment is a reduction in birds in my backyard. Whether it’s domestic cats (hopefully not, I have two!), habitat destruction, or climate change something is causing a steep decline in our avian friends. There is good news and bad news in the report. Download (4mb PDF) the report and read it for yourself.

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/03/22/nature-conservancys-state-of-the-birds-report/feed/ 0 Earth Hour 2009 http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/02/22/earth-hour-2009/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/02/22/earth-hour-2009/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:56:51 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=135 Last year (2008) Earth Hour went global. This year Earth Hour 2009 is even larger, with more cities and more countries. The premise is simple — turn out your lights, your TV, and any other appliances for 60 minutes as a symbol of your commitment to control climate change. Yes, it is a simple step of symbolism, but at least it is a step to control a problem that every nation on earth will soon face. On March 28th lets all turn out the lights!

Logo for Earth Hour 2009

Logo for Earth Hour 2009

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/02/22/earth-hour-2009/feed/ 0 How long can Global Warming last? 100,000 years if you’re an ocean! http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/27/how-long-can-global-warming-last-100000-years-if-youre-an-ocean/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/27/how-long-can-global-warming-last-100000-years-if-youre-an-ocean/#comments Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:27:06 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=115 An interesting post on Wired.com’s science blog states that Global Warming could be around a lot longer than we first thought — about 100,000 years longer! If the planet continues on a “business as usual” path (no change in greenhouse gases) recent studies indicate earth’s oceans could be compromised for as long as 100,000 years. Read the report for the full details.

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/27/how-long-can-global-warming-last-100000-years-if-youre-an-ocean/feed/ 0 Not the Shrub’s energy and environment plan … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/25/not-the-shrubs-energy-and-environment-plan/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/25/not-the-shrubs-energy-and-environment-plan/#comments Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:20:30 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=113 What difference a change in administration makes! President Obama’s energy and environment plan is a quantum leap from President Bush’s lack of a plan!

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/25/not-the-shrubs-energy-and-environment-plan/feed/ 0 The oceans are warming, not cooling — a climate skeptic myth dispelled … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/18/the-oceans-are-warming-not-cooling-a-climate-skeptic-myth-dispelled/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/18/the-oceans-are-warming-not-cooling-a-climate-skeptic-myth-dispelled/#comments Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:48:13 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=99 A study published in 2006 by John Lyman at Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Josh Willis of NASA reported a surprising finding, the world’s oceans were cooling rather than warming as would be expected with global climate change. This report was immediately hailed by climate change skeptics as proof that global warming was a myth, just a normal aberration in the earth’s climate cycle. Unfortunately, for the skeptics, it wasn’t true.

Josh started to see disturbing errors in his data, and like all scientific data, his data was subject to review and correction. Josh found the largest problem in his data came from a robot floating sensor called Argo. A chunk of the temperature data was from Argos with defective temperature sensors. With the defective readingswarming removed from the data the cooling almost disappeared. A second piece of sensor data, readings from a expendable thermometer called a XBT, made the early readings of ocean temperature appear to warm. Read the full tale of Josh Willis’ scientific sleuthing at the NASA Earth Observatory.

Sorry skeptics, better luck next time!

Bill Clugston, a Climate Change believer

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/18/the-oceans-are-warming-not-cooling-a-climate-skeptic-myth-dispelled/feed/ 0 Want to save laser printer toner? Try this typeface … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/want-to-save-laser-printer-toner-try-this-typeface/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/want-to-save-laser-printer-toner-try-this-typeface/#comments Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:50:21 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=73 The Ecofont is a typeface with tiny holes in the characters. The holes don’t reduce legibility, but they do reduce the amount of toner/ink used. The fonts are True Type, so they should work on almost all recent operating systems.

One other thing — they’re free!

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/want-to-save-laser-printer-toner-try-this-typeface/feed/ 1 What’s good for the Group is good for the Environment … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/10/whats-good-for-the-group-is-good-for-the-environment/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/10/whats-good-for-the-group-is-good-for-the-environment/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:55:15 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=68 A new study suggests that following the crowd is the way to influence sustainable behavior. When hotels changed their re-use your bath towel info tag from a “save the environment theme” to a “everyone is doing it theme” they saw a much higher rate of compliance! Talk about “herd” mentality …

The story is at the Human Factors International site.

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/10/whats-good-for-the-group-is-good-for-the-environment/feed/ 0 Solar Power System Installer chosen … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/30/solar-power-system-installer-chosen/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/30/solar-power-system-installer-chosen/#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:24:30 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=47 The winner is Brothers Electric & Solar ! Quite frankly either of the two solar installers I talked with were fine. The other installer, Puget Sound Solar, also has excellent references and competitive prices. I chose Dave Cozine (owner of Brothers Electric) because he’s nearby and had excellent “word of mouth” from the recent Tacoma Solar Home tour ( a great way to check out existing installs).

The system itself will be 10 Sanyo 200 watt modules (a single panel is a module), 10 Enphase 32vdc inverters, an Enphase energy management unit, and Unirac mounting hardware. More details on the system in upcoming posts …

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/30/solar-power-system-installer-chosen/feed/ 0 The Home Owners Association approves the solar install! http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/22/the-home-owners-association-approves-the-solar-install/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/22/the-home-owners-association-approves-the-solar-install/#comments Sun, 23 Nov 2008 06:24:02 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=44 The Lakeland Hills Architectural Review Committee approved the solar project! Maybe being “Green” is getting easier :-) Next I need to get some final quotes from the solar contractors. After that it’s time to select the contractor, order the system, and have the contractor install it. Might be pumping power into the Grid before Christmas! The next post should have details on the system (it’ll be 2kw).

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/22/the-home-owners-association-approves-the-solar-install/feed/ 0 Hot, Flat, and Crowded — a new book from Thomas Friedman http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/10/05/hot-flat-and-crowded-a-new-book-from-thomas-friedman/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/10/05/hot-flat-and-crowded-a-new-book-from-thomas-friedman/#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:59:48 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=39 It’s about time someone told Americans the hard truth – the age of oil is coming to an end. It’s as simple as that. Whether you believe in climate change or not, Friedman lays out a multitude of reasons why we need to create a new economy based on clean power and a renewed environmental ethic. Failure to act now will compromise our future and our children’s future. Read Thomas Friedman’s book and you will demand changes in our “business as usual” economy.

Link to “Hot, Flat, and Crowded”

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