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How Social Media used for going to "GREEN WORLD" ?
10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media
1. Take Social Actions
2. Twitter with a Purpose
3. Visit White House 2.0
4. Claim your Zumbox
5. Host a Social Media Event
6. Travel the World
7. Build It on Drupal
8. Green Your iPhone
9. Unite the World Through Video
10. Rate a Company
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management of resource use. In ecology, sustainability describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time, a necessary precondition for the well-being of humans and other organisms. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems.
Healthy ecosystems and environments provide vital resources and processes (known as "ecosystem services"). There are two major ways of managing human impact on ecosystem services. One approach is environmental management; this approach is based largely on information gained from educated professionals in earth science, environmental science, andconservation biology. Another approach is management of consumption of resources, which is based largely on information gained from educated professionals in economics.
Human sustainability interfaces with economics through the voluntary trade consequences of economic activity. Moving towards sustainability (or applied sustainability while keeping the quality of life high is a social challenge that entails, among other factors, international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from controlling living conditions (e.g., ecovillages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), to reappraising work practices (e.g., using permaculture, green building, sustainable agriculture), or developing and using new technologies that reduce the consumption of resources such as renewable energy technologies.
Bright Green Environmentalism
Bright green environmentalism is an ideology based on the belief that the convergence of technological change and social innovation provides the most successful path to sustainable development.
The term "bright green", first coined in 2003 by writer Alex Steffen, refers to the fast-growing new wing of environmentalism, distinct from traditional forms.
Its proponents tend to be particularly enthusiastic about green energy, electric automobiles, efficient manufacturing systems, bio and nanotechnologies, ubiquitous computing, dense urban settlements, closed loop materials cycles and sustainable product designs. "One-planet living" is a frequently heard buzz-phrase.
What is Waste Management???
Waste management is a collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is a distinct practice from resource recovery which focuses on delaying the rate of consumption of natural resources. All wastes materials, whether they are solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive fall within the remit of waste management.
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Waste management practices can differ for developed and developing nations, for urban andrural areas, and for residential and industrial producers. Management for non-hazardous waste residential and institutional waste in metropolitan areas is usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator subject to local, national or international controls.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was set up in 1945 as a specialized agency of the UN. Its aims are to raise levels of nutrition, increase standards of living, improve agricultural productivity and to better the conditions of rural populations. The FAO recognizes the importance of biotechnology in achieving its aims, particularly in increasing productivity for food security. However, it also recognizes potential risks to humans, the environment and biodiversity from biotechnological applications.
The FAO administers many international treaties, of which the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) is just one.
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The FAO has 188 member states (as of 29 November 2003) and the European Union is its only member organization.
Land Degradation
The planting of tress also checks the erosion. The control on grazing and the terracing of lands which decrease the speed of water also keeps a check on the erosion. The contour bunding has an ability to hold the rain water and control erosion. The burn agriculture along with the slash is quite common in the tribal areas. It occurs in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa and Asia. The tress is cut and is burnt and the crops are raised on the ash formed. This phenomenon is known as jhuming and it occurs in the jhum forests in the north east India. The process is not useful as the jhuming is done frequently. The water jhuming is done in less than a decade and it destroys the forest and lead to soil erosion.
Soil erosion affects farming in detrimental ways. Physical damage is the most visible form of soil loss, and most likely to be remedied. Gravity pulls constantly at soil, nudging it down hill, causing soil slips, earth clips, cracks, creep and slumps. Ironically, the most damaging of rainfall is the impact with which water droplets hit the soil. From there on, the flow of water causes sheet-wash, rilling, surface gullying, tunneling and in rivers it scours banks. In dry climates, wind blow is the main cause of erosion. Soil Conservation is a set of methods and procedures which are adopted for prevention of soil being eroded from the earth’s surface or becoming chemically altered by overuse or salinization or acidification. The main methodology of soil conservation are improvement of the choice of vegetative cover, soil erosion prevention, salinity management, to augment the health of beneficial soil organisms and stopping of soil contamination. Soil conservation if of utmost importance for a country like India which is mainly has an agricultural economy. A large part of India’s population depends on the soil for their livelihood and hence soil erosion and the measures of soil conservation taken up to prevent Soil erosion are of key concern for the Indian government.
Marin Debris
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human created waste that has deliberately or accidentally become afloat in a lake, sea,ocean or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and oncoastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack. Deliberate disposal of wastes at sea is calledocean dumping.
Some seeming forms of marine debris, such as driftwood, occur naturally, and human activities have been discharging similar material into the oceans for thousands of years. Recently however, with the increasing use of plastic, human influence has become an issue as many types of plastics do not biodegrade. Waterborne plastic poses a serious threat to fish, seabirds, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, as well as to boats and coastal habitations.Ocean dumping, accidental container spillages, litter washed into storm drains, and wind-blown landfill waste are all contributing to this problem.
Researchers classify debris as either land or ocean-based; in 1991, the United Nations Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution estimated that up to 80% of the pollution was land-based.
The Indian Ocean Garbage Patch, discovered in 2010, is a gyre of marine litter suspended in the upper water column of the central Indian Ocean, specifically the Indian Ocean Gyre, one of the five major oceanic gyres.The patch does not appear as a continuous debris field. As with other patches in each of the five oceanic gyres, the plastics in it break down to ever smaller particles, and to constituent polymers.
Ocean Dumping
Pollution of the open seas by human activities has become a serious problem. Ocean dumping is the dumping or placing of materials in designated places in the ocean, often on the continental shelf. A wide range of materials is involved, including garbage, construction and demolition debris, sewage sludge, dredge material, and waste chemicals. In some cases, ocean dumping is regulated and controlled, while some dumping occurs haphazardly by ships and tankers at sea, or illegally within coastal waters. Incineration at sea of organic wastes, with subsequent dumping, has been allowed as a viable disposal process, both in the United States and in Europe.
An important, but little recognized source of ocean dumping is the elimination of bilge water from tankers carrying oil and other products. Bilge water can contain a number of toxic chemicals, as well as biological agents that can affect marine ecosystems and marine organisms, some of which are subsequently consumed by humans. Dumping of radioactive wastes and soil from contaminated nuclear defense sites has periodically been suggested as a viable disposal method, and canisters of nerve gas have been disposed of at sea. In addition to permitted ocean dumping, there is always the possibility of collisions, groundings, and accidents that result in de facto ocean dumping, often of materials not otherwise allowed.
At one time, drums containing hazardous waste were dumped, but the disintegration of canisters caused sufficient concern to halt this process. Some of the drums containing hazardous chemicals were dumped in shallow seas, such as the North Sea, that are intensely fished, creating a potential risk to humans from the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish.
There are three main direct public health risks from ocean dumping:
(1) occupational accidents, injuries, and exposures;
(2) exposure of the public to hazardous or toxic materials washed up on beaches; and
(3) human consumption of marine organisms that have been contaminated by ocean disposal.
Periodically, medical and other wastes from both legal and illegal dumping have washed up on beaches, resulting in exposure to beachgoers and, in some cases, the closure of beaches until the wastes could be removed. Consumption of fish and shellfish contaminated from radioactive wastes may pose a serious problem worldwide because of nuclear waste dumping in the oceans.
Water Crisis
The water you drink today has likely been around in one form or another since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, hundreds of millions of years ago.
While the amount of freshwater on the planet has remained fairly constant over time—continually recycled through the atmosphere and back into our cups—the population has exploded. This means that every year competition for a clean, copious supply of water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and sustaining life intensifies.
Water scarcity is an abstract concept to many and a stark reality for others. It is the result of myriad environmental, political, economic, and social forces.
Freshwater makes up a very small fraction of all water on the planet. While nearly 70 percent of the world is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh. The rest is saline and ocean-based. Even then, just 1 percent of our freshwater is easily accessible, with much of it trapped in glaciers and snowfields. In essence, only 0.007 percent of the planet's water is available to fuel and feed its 6.8 billion people.
Due to geography, climate, engineering, regulation, and competition for resources, some regions seem relatively flush with freshwater, while others face drought and debilitating pollution. In much of the developing world, clean water is either hard to come by or a commodity that requires laborious work or significant currency to obtain.
Rising Sea-Level
Rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human-induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.
ndian Ocean sea levels are rising unevenly and threatening residents in some densely populated coastal areas, particularly those along the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Java. This image shows the key player in the process, the Indo-Pacific warm pool, in bright orange. This enormous, bathtub-shaped area spans a region of the tropical oceans from the east coast of Africa to the International Date Line in the Pacific. The warm pool has heated by about 1 degree Fahrenheit, or 0.5 degrees Celsius, in the past 50 years, primarily because of human-generated emissions of greenhouses gases.
The key player in the process is the Indo-Pacific warm pool, an enormous, bathtub-shaped area of the tropical oceans stretching from the east coast of Africa west to the International Date Line in the Pacific. The warm pool has heated by about 1 degree Fahrenheit, or 0.5 degrees Celsius, in the past 50 years, primarily caused by human-generated increases of greenhouse gases, said Han.
Ocean Acidification
"Ocean acidification is a global environmental issue caused by the man-made release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Ocean acidification is often called the "evil twin" to climate change, because both issues are rooted in carbon dioxide emissions. "
The oceans absorb almost 30 percent of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but the rising amount of carbon dioxide emissions being created by human activity has surpassed what the oceans can healthfully absorb, changing ocean chemistry and making them more acidic.
The current rate of change in the ocean's pH is 100 times faster than any time in the last few hundred thousand years and is most likely unprecedented in the Earth’s history. This shift in the natural balance of the ocean’s chemistry will have major adverse effects on tropical as well as cold-water corals, and the loss of many coral species will negatively impact a variety of marine life and ocean-dependent economies, such as fishing and tourism.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Ocean acidification may have negative impacts for many other marine species, especially those that produce shells. In some cases, these impacts are already occurring, and they have the potential to disrupt entire ocean ecosystems and disrupt food webs.
The only truly effective way of combating ocean acidification and climate change is to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions. If action is not taken now, ocean acidification may cause widespread disruption to marine ecosystems and a massive decline of corals within this century.
Oceana is working to reduce the cause and effects of ocean acidification by promoting government policies to cap CO2 emissions, eliminate offshore drilling, and by advocating for energy efficiency and alternative energy sources such as wind power and more.
Environmental Impact of the coal Industry
Coal is the only natural resource and fossil fuel available in abundance in India. Consequently, it is used widely as a thermal energy source and also as fuel for thermal power plants producing electricity. India has about 90,000 MW installed capacity for electricity generation, of which more than 70% is produced by coal-based thermal power plants. Hydro-electricity contributes about 25%, and the remaining is mostly from nuclear power plants (NPPs). The problems associated with the use of coal are low calorific value and very high ash content. The ash content is as high as 55-60%, with an average value of about 35-40%. Further, most of the coal is located in the eastern parts of the country and requires transportation over long distances, mostly by trains, which run on diesel. About 70% oil is imported and is a big drain on India's hard currency.
In the foreseeable future, there is no other option likely to be available, as the nuclear power programme envisages installing 20,000 MWe by the year 2020, when it will still be around 5% of the installed capacity. Hence, attempts are being made to reduce the adverse environmental and ecological impact of coal-fired power plants. The installed electricity generating capacity has to increase very rapidly (at present around 8-10% per annum), as India has one of the lowest per capita electricity consumptions. Therefore, the problems for the future are formidable from ecological, radio-ecological and pollution viewpoints. A similar situation exists in many developing countries of the region, including the People's Republic of China, where coal is used extensively. The paper highlights some of these problems with the data generated in the author's laboratory and gives a brief description of the solutions being attempted. The extent of global warming in this century will be determined by how developing countries like India manage their energy generation plans. Some of the recommendations have been implemented for new plants, and the situation in the new plants is much better. A few coal washeries have also been established. It will be quite some time before the steps to improve the environmental releases are implemented in older plants and several coal mines due to resource constraints.
Renewable Energy
"The term renewable energy generally refers to electricity supplied from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, geothermal, hydropower and various forms of biomass. These energy sources are considered renewable sources because their fuel sources are continuously replenished."
- Key renewable energy sources:
o Hydropower, hydraulic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of moving water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes
o Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. is becoming increasingly popular and production costs are dropping rapidly, making it increasingly competitive to fossil power production
o Solar power is by far the Earth's most available energy source, easily capable of providing many times the total current energy demand
o Biomass energy is the term used to describe the generation of energy from organic sources. The energy stored in plants can be captured for energy generation by several different methods such as decomposition, combustion or gasification
o Geothermal energy involves using the earth's heat to supply power. Geothermal heat pumps can be used nearly anywhere
- Advantages of Renewable Energy:
o We can use it repeatedly without depleting it
o Can help reserve fossil resources for future generations
o No contribution to global warming or greenhouse effects
o No polluting emissions
o Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced
o Saving on health and its costs
- Disadvantages:
o It is difficult to produce the large quantities of electricity their counterpart the fossil fuels are able to.
Since they are also new technologies, the cost of initiating them is high.
Energy Conservation
Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used. It may be achieved through efficient energy use, in which case energy use is decreased while achieving a similar outcome, or by reduced consumption of energy services. Energy conservation may result in increase of financial capital, environmental value, national security, personal security, and human comfort. Individuals and organizations that are direct consumers of energy may want to conserve energy in order to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. Industrial and commercial users may want to increase efficiency and thus maximize profit.
Energy conservation is the reduction of quantity of energy used. Energy conservation supports the eco friendly lifestyle by providing energy, which saves your money and at the same time saves the earth. When you decrease the amount of energy you use you automatically make efforts to reduce increasing global warming.
What is Energy???
Can you imagine life without lights, fans, cars, computers and television, or of fetching water from the well and river? This is what life would have been like had man not discovered the uses of energy – both renewable and nonrenewable sources.....
"Energy lights our cities, powers our vehicles, and runs machinery in factories. It warms and cools our homes, cooks our food, plays our music, and gives us pictures on television."
Power plant pollution
Is it possible to cut power plant pollution and still have enough electricity?
Yes. First, we must use more efficient appliances and equipment in our homes and offices to reduce our electricity needs. We can also phase out the decades-old, coal-burning power plants that generate most of our electricity and replace them with cleaner plants. And we can increase our use of renewable energy sources such as wind and sun.
Global warming pollution
How can we cut global warming pollution?
It's simple: By reducing pollution from vehicles and power plants. Right away, we should put existing technologies for building cleaner cars and more modern electricity generators into widespread use. We can increase our reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind, sun and geothermal. And we can manufacture more efficient appliances and conserve energy.
Global warming making hurricanes worse
Global warming doesn't create hurricanes, but it does make them stronger and more dangerous. Because the ocean is getting warmer, tropical storms can pick up more energy and become more powerful. So global warming could turn, say, a category 3 storm into a much more dangerous category 4 storm. In fact, scientists have found that the destructive potential of hurricanes has greatly increased along with ocean temperature over the past 35 years.
Earth really getting hotter
Is the earth really getting hotter?
Yes. Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts think the trend is accelerating: the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990. Scientists say that unless we curb global warming emissions, average world temperatures could be 3 to 9 degrees higher by the end of the century.
Global Warming
Causes Of Global Warming
Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution -- they produce 2.5 billion tons every year. Automobiles, the second largest source, create nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually.
Here's the good news: technologies exist today to make cars that run cleaner and burn less gas, modernize power plants and generate electricity from nonpolluting sources, and cut our electricity use through energy efficiency. The challenge is to be sure these solutions are put to use.
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