Archive for the 'The environment' Category

Scarce resource conservation optimization

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

There is a catch-22 involved in some forms of resource planning. Take, for example, helium (as discussed recently). As of now, we only know of one place from which to get it - certain natural gas deposits. We have no idea where, or if, it might be found elsewhere.
One perspective is to say: “For all [...]

Green bonds in Canada

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

Emily Paddon, one of my friends and classmates from Oxford, is involved in a scheme to create green bonds in Canada. The initiative, which is part of the Action Canada Fellowship, aims to create a “government-backed financial instrument designed to engage the public by raising capital to accelerate renewable energy production.” The aim is to [...]

Wall-E

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

The Wall-E trailer did not impress me. It made the film look cute and trite. Nonetheless, I was convinced to see the film by strong recommendations in various news sources and ongoing debates about its environmental messages.
The film is definitely well done: engaging and entertaining, emotive without being sappy. Some of the messages are [...]

Consider helium conservation

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

All the helium on Earth arose from natural fission of uranium and thorium in the planet’s crust and mantle. We can access it only through certain natural gas deposits - many of them in Texas - which contain enough of the gas to make it possible to isolate. This is the helium of every high-voiced [...]

Al Gore’s solutions

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

Al Gore recently gave a highly interesting speech on the future of energy in the United States. None of the points made in it are especially new, but he does a good job of tying together a great many important themes.
Here are some key points:

Because of climate change, “the future of human civilization is [...]

Carbon junkies and nicotine addicts

Saturday, July 19th, 2008

The comic in the July 12th issue of The Economist is quite a good one. It shows an American eagle, mouth crammed with cigarettes and a cigarette package labelled ‘Greenhouse’ in its talon, telling a tiger labelled ‘India’ and a dragon labelled ‘China’ that it is: “Time to cut back.” Both the tiger and the [...]