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10 Powerful Public Awareness Ads About the Environment

May 22, 2012 By 2 Comments

When you are trying to get a message across, there are many ways to do so. When it comes to nonprofits, they tend to use a form of advertising that really catches your attention. Some are shocking, some emotive and others just really cool. Some are even controversial, such as this commercial by a British environmental group that had to be pulled due to graphic violence.

However you feel about shock tactics, it can’t be denied that public awareness ads are pretty effective, at least at sticking in your mind. That is their ultimate purpose: to make you remember the message as a first step to making a change.
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Underwater Videos of the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

June 9, 2010 By 17 Comments

BP Oil Spill

BP Oil Spill

Before we move on to the underwater videos, here is one that explains what actually went wrong in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This comes from Al Jazeera:

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Is the Water Powered Car Too Good to be True?

November 13, 2008 By 8 Comments

Water Powered CarIs a Water powered automobile too good to be true? Well, not according to Japanese company Genepax. They claim to have built a car that runs on water and air alone.

The system can generate power just by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes, respectively, the company said at the press conference, which took place June 12, 2008, at the Osaka Assembly Hall.

The basic power generation mechanism of the new system is similar to that of a normal fuel cell, which uses hydrogen as a fuel. According to Genepax, the main feature of the new system is that it uses the company’s membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which contains a material capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.

Though the company did not reveal the details, it “succeeded in adopting a well-known process to produce hydrogen from water to the MEA,” said Hirasawa Kiyoshi, the company’s president. This process is allegedly similar to the mechanism that produces hydrogen by a reaction of metal hydride and water. But compared with the existing method, the new process is expected to produce hydrogen from water for longer time, the company said.

With the new process, the cell needs only water and air, eliminating the need for a hydrogen reformer and high-pressure hydrogen tank. Moreover, the MEA requires no special catalysts, and the required amount of rare metals such as platinum is almost the same as that of existing systems, Genepax said.

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Get Rich. Save the Environment. Save the World.

August 4, 2008 By 6 Comments

Last Tuesday I was in Chicago, and all was going well until a seemingly unlikely event started a chain reaction that would lay me up in bed for nearly three days… It rained.

View of Chicago from Navy Pier

Yep. It didn’t rain very hard, or very long, but it just so happened that I was walking about a mile or so through the city back to my hotel during the light rain. I could have caught a cab, but instead I ducked into a Walgreen’s and got a baseball hat and kept walking.

I know what you’re thinking. But no, I didn’t catch a cold!

I was taking my time, even stopping to snap photos of skyscrapers in the rain, when about halfway back to the hotel I started having difficulty catching my breath. Now I don’t have asthma, and I can generally out walk anyone I know, so it took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on. I was having an allergic reaction to something.
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Independent Comparison of Democratic vs. Republican Platforms

March 25, 2008 By 64 Comments

Republican vs DemocratFolks, I’m neither a Democrat, nor a Republican. But my mom asked me to give her an unbiased, factual rundown on the political platforms – so what my mother wants, my mother gets! Here you go Mom…

I’m making the presumption that the two candidates who are going to actually be running for President are Barack Obama, and John McCain. So, below I’ve taken the liberty of narrowing down all the data to these two guys. What you need to do is line up as many of your political ideal matches and then you can rationally choose who you are voting for.
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Filed Under: Environment, Health & Fitness, Philosophy, Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Vectrix Electric Scooter

March 2, 2008 By 12 Comments

Vectrix ScooterThe Vectrix is a brand new battery powered maxi-scooter capable of carrying two adults around town all day in silence without burning a single drop of gasoline.

Here are a few stats:

  • This sucker weighs a whopping 462 lbs (Holy bloat Batman)! That is as much as my old 160 MPH Sprint ST!
  • The electric motor produces 48 lb ft. of torque (65 nm) and 27 horsepower (20.2 kw)
  • Accelerating the big scooter to 50 mph takes 6.8 seconds.
  • Top speed is 62 MPH, with a max range of 68 miles at 25 MPH. (Range decreases with higher speeds.)
  • The battery pack has a rated battery capacity of 3.7Kwh and is designed for up to 1,700 full charging cycles.
  • The 1.5 kW on-board charger plugs into a standard outlet and provides an 80% charge in just over 2 hours.
  • Effective cost of operation should be 10% of the equivalent cost of gasoline.

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The Crying Indian Commercial

February 11, 2008 By 8 Comments

The Crying IndianThis classic 1971 public service announcement featuring the fictional Chief Iron Eyes Cody is one of the most famous commercials from the 1970′s. Also known as the “Crying Indian” commercial, this Keep America Beautiful public service announcement features the chief shedding a tear after some trash is thrown from a speeding car and lands at his feet while the announcer states “People start pollution; people can stop it.”

This commercial made such an impact in it’s day that it almost single handedly eliminated what, at the time, was a major ecological problem. Younger people today can’t really imagine it, but decades ago people would drive down the street and just throw their trash out the windows. Trash was everywhere, and it was disgusting.
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Filed Under: Environment, Videos Tagged With: , , ,

A Video Collection of Reasons to Quit Smoking

January 9, 2008 By 10 Comments

Smoking KillsI’ve written about smoking several times in the past because “…a billion people will die this century from tobacco-related illnesses….” And everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, so why is it that smokers just don’t give a crap?

Sorry, but as a sidebar… I know this person who is a smoker and also a die-hard environmentalist. Can someone please tell me how you can complain about me driving a gas guzzling vehicle when the production of cigarettes is causing massive deforestation along with the production of waste from consumption (including paper and plastic packaging and cigarette butts)? I mean seriously, if you smoke you don’t give a damn.

Quotes from a report by Environmental Health Perspectives.

Globally, tobacco curing requires 11.4 million tons of solid wood annually, according to Geist’s study. Adding insult to injury, tobacco plants may replace the trees cut down and leach large quantities of vital nutrients from the soil.

Worldwide, an estimated 5.5 trillion commercially produced cigarettes were consumed in 1995 (the last year for which statistics are available) and 83% of cigarettes were filter-tipped. Filters and plastic wrap from packages remain in the environment for long periods. Cigarette filters contain cellulose acetate, which persists under normal environmental conditions for 18 months or longer. Moreover, cigarette butts pose a health hazard to children and animals if they eat them.

Anyway, back to the point at hand. I’ve assembled a nice little collection of videos from around the Web that focus on the effects of cigarettes. If you’re a smoker, feel free to go ahead and ignore these. It’s always better not to know whats coming…
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Pollution Kills 750,000 Chinese Each Year

December 17, 2007 By 8 Comments

Chinese PollutionSixteen of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in China, according to World Bank research. Yet a report sponsored by the Chinese Government which uncovered potentially scary information was edited to “prevent social unrest”.

Missing from this report are the research project’s findings that high air-pollution levels in Chinese cities is leading to the premature deaths of 350,000-400,000 people each year. A further 300,000 people die prematurely each year from exposure to poor air indoors, according to advisers, but little discussion of this issue survived in the report because it was outside the ambit of the Chinese ministries which sponsored the research.

Another 60,000-odd premature deaths were attributable to poor-quality water, largely in the countryside, from severe diarrhea, and stomach, liver and bladder cancers.

The mortality information was “reluctantly” excised by the World Bank from the published report, according to advisers to the research project.

Sepa and the health ministry declined to comment. The World Bank said that the findings of the report were still being discussed with the government.

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