Developing Leaders for Sustainable Development

Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) is a global network of individuals and non-governmental organizations, committed to sustainable development. LEAD is an independent, not-for-profit organization, established in 1991 by The Rockefeller Foundation. The LEAD network is coordinated through an international secretariat based in the campus of Imperial College London.

In Pakistan, this organization has been successfully conducting a Leadership Development Program for the past many years and has established itself as one of the leader in the area itself. Through its Climate Change Program and Public Policy Program, the organization is aiming to strngthen the institutions working in the area of environment and sustainable development. For more information, please visit http://www.lead.org.pk/index2.htm.

How to buy a Green PC?

Probably not what we want to discuss... :)

PCs and information-technology equipment consume $8 billion in annual electricity costs each year in the United States. The price is even greater when you factor in carbon emissions caused by this power use, which contribute to global warming. With such high economic and environmental costs, energy efficiency has become unavoidably vital. In other words, it's time to take your PC green.

If you've been thinking about buying a PC that's less harmful to the environment, you're not alone. A recent survey found that more than half of PC buyers in nine countries were willing to spend more for green machines. The survey also found that consumers believe that tech manufacturers should be held more accountable for the impact of their products on the environment, a fact that PC makers are slowly accepting.

The perfect green computer does not exist yet—and may not for some time. But if you're shopping for a new PC and want to lessen its impact on the environment, there are ways to create a greener computing experience. Here's how.

Read more:

Go Small

Avoid Hazardous Materials

Look for the Energy Star

Pick a New PSU

Go Multicore

Set it for Savings

Recycle It

Courtesy: Jasmin Malik Chua ; http://computershopper.com/feature/how-to-buy-a-green-pc

Antarctica hit by climate change

In its landmark Fourth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared in 2007 that human influence on climate "has been detected in every continent except Antarctica". Now a paper inNature Geoscience says that our impact can be found even in the last wilderness1.
Didn't we already know that human activity was warming the Earth?

While some specific climate changes have been linked to human activity, especially in the Arctic, it has not yet been possible to conclusively demonstrate a link to actual surface temperature changes at both poles. When they made their statement on Antarctica, the IPCC cited "insufficient observational coverage to make an assessment".

"The scarcity of observations in the Antarctic makes it harder to identify and attribute temperature trends, but it does not make it impossible," says climatologist Nathan Gillett of Environment Canada, lead author of the new study.

Ref: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/38541

UN Secredtary General commutes to work on a Solar Taxi

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday touted his commitment to promoting alternative energy sources by commuting to work aboard a fully solar-powered taxi.

"I hope that this Solartaxi, one of the alternate sources of energy, can give some good messages to the people around the world that we need to be creative, we need to be practical," he told reporters as he arrived at UN headquarters.

"This is a fantastic experience. I hope I can enjoy another ride," he added, noting that he waved at passersby on New York streets from a Solartaxi during his 10-minute trip.

The green commute was part of Ban's efforts to raise awareness about climate change and to promote environmentally-friendly technologies.

The Solartaxi, the brainchild of 37-year-old Swiss engineer Louis Palmer, is currently in New York as part of a worldwide tour that included a stop in Bali, Indonesia, last December for the landmark climate change conference.

The journey, an initiative backed by Switzerland, is slated to wrap up in the Polish city of Poznan in early December to coincide with the next phase of international talks on steps needed to respond, mitigate and adapt to global warming to be held in the Polish city.

"This Poznan conference should serve as a very successful bridge to the Copenhagen meeting (on climate change) next year so that we will be able to agree on a globally accepted, a very efficient, balanced, effective and ratifiable treaty replacing the Kyoto Protocol by 2012," Ban said.

Palmer, the Solartaxi's driver and developer, said he was on a mission to show that solutions exist to tackle the effects of climate change.

Courtesy: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hemGhVxJ2Go-COdJkT8cG9NLVPTA

Image courtesy: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/science_technology/Solar_taxi_lights_up_Big_Apple.html?siteSect=511&sid=9702019&cKey=1221234906000&ty=st

Global Warming Cartoons

Courtesy: http://content1.clipmarks.com/image_cache/earthshine/512/63BCFDDA-E52D-4E79-9EF1-1991C7F3E8BD.gif

SOLAR ENERGY IS THE WAY TO GO for UAE

Abu Dhabi: Solar energy is the way to go for the UAE, an expert on renewable energy has advised.

Ray Noble, Director of BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) and a former UK government advisor on renewable energy, was addressing developers and members from the construction industry at a seminar titled "Global warming and its solutions".

"The planet is a very clever thing. It can repair itself, provided you don't go too far," he said, pointing out the critical need to act now against global warming. Many people believe that the burning of fossil fuels causes global warming. Analysing this, together with the fact that over two billion people worldwide have no access to electricity, leads to the conclusion that fuel needs are in some way related to global warming, Noble explained, adding that the future is for renewable energy and gases, predominantly hydrogen.

While wind and marine energy are not the right answer for the UAE, solar energy is the ideal option, he said. "The UAE gets some of the highest amounts of light from the sun compared to anywhere in the world."

There are two ways of tapping into solar energy. By using Photovoltaic (PV) or solar cells to directly convert sunlight into electricity or by using solar energy to heat water and then to use the steam to generate electricity.

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Environment/10241148.html

Friendship for a cause - can it materialize?

NEW DELHI: While bilateral relations between Pakistan and India may not be very cordial at the moment, businessmen across the border have found a new area for collaboration - alternate energy.

About 30 Pakistani companies sent representatives to Delhi during the Renewable Energy Expo 2008 that ended on Saturday to scout for new technology and expertise to skirt over chronic energy shortage in that country.

"We had 38 businessmen from Pakistan with various business interests," said Waqar Ahmed, managing director of Business Horizons, the trade promotion group that brought the Pakistani delegation to India.

Ahmed said Pakistani business houses were either looking at setting up of power plants to feed into the national grid, or set up captive plants for their own units.

Making the visit were some of Pakistan's top companies that included Sapphire group, which runs 13 textile weaving and spinning mills, travel company Sitara that also has subsidiaries in Canada and Uzbekistan, the Crescent Group with multiple business interests such as oil exploration, financial services and textiles, and Pakistan's second largest textiles group Gulistan.

Interestingly, the day the Delhi expo was inaugurated, leading Pakistani financial paper Business Recorder had published a two-page supplement on event.

Reports in the Pakistani media say the electricity shortfall was as high as 7,000 MW this summer after 24 power generating units stopped operations due a severe shortage of furnace oil.

Pakistan has a target to generate at least 9,700 MW through renewable energy by 2030, or about five percent of its installed capacity.

"The government has already issued 93 letters of intent to private companies for setting up wind power projects," said Ahmed.

The 93 projects will have a generation capacity of about 4,600 MW.

Sitara Chemicals Industries, which operates the largest chemicals complex in Pakistan, has ambitious plans that hinge on the ability to secure a reliable source of energy.

"We are already running a 80 MW plant, which supplies electricity to the complex and the state power board. We need to generate 50 MW at least, which may go up to 200 MW," Sitara Chemicals chief executive Muhammad Adrees told IANS.

The head of the Rs 140 crore company is keen to import Indian technology, as he felt "there was an affinity to the ground conditions in Pakistan".

Preliminary talks have been held with several companies, including Tata BP Solar. "We have not yet decided to set up a renewable energy power plant, but still exploring our options," said Adrees.

The Sitara group already has an Indian connection, having sourced two chemical plants from here. "Right now, we have 20 Indians working in our complex in connection with setting up these two plants," said Adrees.

It is still logistically a challenge to import equipment from India. "When we had to get our machinery from Delhi, it had to be routed through Mumbai to reach Karachi port. If we could have transported directly by road from Delhi, it would have saves costs," he said.

India has been ranked third on the Ernst and Young Renewable Energy attractiveness model. The country has an installed capacity of 12,600 MW, out of which about 8,700 MW is generated through wind power.

By 2011, it hopes to increase the total generation from renewable energy to 14,000 MW. As per government targets, renewable energy will account for 10 per cent of total power generation by 2012 and 20 per cent by 2020.

Reference: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Pakistan_looks_to_India_for_green_energy_know-how/articleshow/3407664.cms