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Middle East/Med Region Could Solar Power World

Middle Eastern and North African countries, often referred to under the umbrella term MENA countries, have the potential to create more than 3 times the world’s power needs, according to a new study reported in the Dubai-based Khaleej Times. Countries that move fast, the study suggests, could have the competitive advantage. Who could take the lead: MENA countries, especially ones located on the Arabian Peninsula, as well as others like Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel could be

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Middle East/Med Region Could Solar Power World

Nanoparticles Used in Common Household Items Shown to Cause Genetic Damage

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to toothpaste to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The TiO2 nanoparticles induced single- and double-strand DNA breaks and also caused chromosomal damage as well as inflammation, all of which increase the risk for cancer.

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Nanoparticles Used in Common Household Items Shown to Cause Genetic Damage

Geoengineering Being Discussed in Washington

Dr. Ken Caldeira, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington provided a balanced look at the potential benefits and also the costs and possible harm that geoengineering techniques could offer in our quest to find a “Magic Bullet” to counter global warming.

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Geoengineering Being Discussed in Washington

Ohio State Glaciologist Team Gets Important Ice Cores in Andes

Ice cores are important tools to identify Earth’s past climate. They enable us to peer back in time to identify species of insects trapped in ice as well as isotopes oxygen and dust particles that were deposited at various time in the past. The ratio of oxygen isotopes in the ice allows researchers to determine whether temperatures were warmer or cooler when the snow that eventually turned to ice was deposited on the glacier

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Ohio State Glaciologist Team Gets Important Ice Cores in Andes

Acidic Clouds Nourish World’s Oceans

Scientists at the University of Leeds have proved that acid in the atmosphere breaks down large particles of iron found in dust into small and extremely soluble iron nanoparticles, which are more readily used by plankton.

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Acidic Clouds Nourish World’s Oceans

Analysis Finds Elevated Risk From Soot Particles in the Air

A new appraisal of existing studies documenting the links between tiny soot particles and premature death from cardiovascular ailments shows that mortality rates among people exposed to the particles are twice as high as previously thought.

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Analysis Finds Elevated Risk From Soot Particles in the Air

Making Small Changes and Going Green

As far as reducing the damage on the environment is concerned, there are a lot of things you can do, both as a household and as a person. The biggest changes you can do in your lifestyle are those done in your own house, and they aren’t that difficult to do. The biggest impact would be to simply use less energy than before. You can do this in a number of different ways and the simplest one is to unplug everything after you use it. If you leave it in standby it will still consume energy. Less, but the consume is still there and it’s pointless. You can also spend less energy by switching off the lights once you exit a room. No point in the lights staying on if you’re not there.

Another way to save energy and water is to boil only the quantity you need. Do that by filling the mug you will use with water and pouring into the vessel as many times as necessary. This way, you will boil only the water you need, not more. Another way to be eco friendly is to take baths instead of showers, as this saves water.

You can take a number of other measures in order to reduce your energy consume. You can use less heating, lowering the temperature by just a few degrees. Keep it enough for you to be comfortable, but reduce it, so you save on energy. You can also check and see if the bank offers the option of electronic payments and paperless billing (sent to your email). This is another thing that saves money.

The largest contribution you can make is to recycle everything you can. Don’t throw anything away if it can be recycled. Put every type of garbage in the right places, so use different bins for each type of garbage.

Green Household Cleaning

Most of the energy that people use will be spent while they are in their own house. Around two thirds of all the energy consumed by a person is from their own house, before they even get in their car. A huge part of it is the consume of the appliances from the house. In most cases you can easily save money in this department without buying new electronics.

For example, there are Machine balls that you can purchase and use in your laundry. They allow you to wash everything without putting washing powder inside. They are composed out of a number of salts and minerals and they do a job as good as any normal powder. Their advantage is that they don’t have chemicals inside. You can also find them in a variety that can be used during the winter in tumble drying, that helps with the fabric separation and lets the clothes dry faster. You will also spend less money on these products.

You can also find a number of products that can be used for regular cleaning. You can find substitutes for normal products that are based on chemicals. These substitutes are safer on the environment. Just by searching for these products online you should find them with ease. You can find products to polish furniture for example, and the difference in price is very small. There are also many other advances in the cleaning products industry.

If you want to keep your house clean and be environmentally friendly, make sure you only get cleaning products that are based on natural substances. If they biodegrade fast, that’s a bonus, as they will not disrupt the life in the waters when they get into them. In the last few years, companies have observed the increase in demand for these natural products, and they are developing new products of these type.

Green Gadgets

Gadgets and green aren’t exactly words that most people would associate. When people hear gadget they immediately think of little boxes that help them do things easier, by starting their TV or stereo equipment. People love stuff that makes their life easier in some way and they rarely stop to think how those gadgets will influence the environment. Even if they do think, they rarely do anything about it, as they’re not willing to give up their electronic toys.

But, there is a certain synergy between ecology and what is convenient, and it’s summed up pretty well in the “saving energy” phrase. The user of the gadget benefits from performing their task without much fuss and the resources are not used up, so the environment benefits. Bye Bye Standby for example, is a motherboard that you can use to plug in all the gadgets from your house. With a simple remote you can power down all the appliances connected to it. Whenever you don’t use them, you can shut them down with the push of a single button, without having to take the plugs out. The standby feature that so many gadgets have is cancelled this way and the appliance consumes zero electricity.

Or, you can choose to use a solar recharger, which lets you power some gadgets that can be recharged or run on batteries. If you see someone that keeps their mobile phone plugged in all the time, tell them that it consumes a lot of energy this way, even though it’s so small. That period of time when you keep a mobile phone plugged in to charge, can easily be done with the help with a solar recharger. There are a lot of other gadgets that you use on a regular basis and can benefit from using a solar recharger to power them up.

Carbon Footprint

Transport is a huge part of any calculation of someone’s carbon footprint. Your carbon footprint tends to be huge if you use your car every single day. Since most people commute to work, a big carbon footprint is a logical result. If you want your carbon footprint to be smaller, public transportation is the logical answer. However, it doesn’t work for those that work during the night or if they live in an area that is remote. In this cases, the next best thing is an eco friendly car.

Obviously, I’m talking about electric cars here. There are a number of different types of electric cars. Some use rechargeable batteries to run, which either charge during use or while the car is used. The popular choice is the hybrid, which combines an electric system with conventional propulsion. They look somewhat the same as a regular car and the price is similar, so a lot of people use them. Electric cars that have no alternative power system are more difficult to use and their speed is smaller.

But, the hybrids have their own problems. While close, the design is not exactly the same as a regular car and the price isn’t as good. However, they are improving all the time, so they are a good alternative to a regular car if you want to be environmentally friendly.

If you don’t have the money to invest in a new car, you always have the option of transforming your current vehicle into one that uses natural gas as fuel. The carbon emissions will be reduced considerably and the money you spend on fuel will be fewer as well. You can also convert a diesel car to a bio-diesel system, which is also cheaper and more friendly to the environment. This option is available for those cars that were made after 1992.

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