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Monday, July 27, 2015

Scientist from Columbia University about climate change in Central Asia

Climate change may promote cooperation in Central Asia because it will pressure countries to find solutions.  Central Asian republics differ from each other not only in adaptation techniques but also in mitigation issues.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Scientists consider volcanic eruptions as a reason of pause in climate change

International team of scientists published results of the study which lays responsibility of recent climate change slow down on volcanic eruptions, whose particles it has found reflect twice as much solar radiation as previously believed, serving to temporarily cool the planet in the face of rising CO2 emissions. Combining and analyzing data from the two sources led the scientists to conclude that, while the impact of volcanic eruptions was small between 1999 and 2002, between 2005 and 2012 they had a big influence.

Friday, July 10, 2015

U.S. government announces new initiative to increase solar access for all Americans

New initiative will help to scale up solar for all Americans, including those who are renters, lack the startup capital to invest in solar, or do not have adequate information on how to transition to solar energy. The key components of the initiative  include install of 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in federally subsidized housing, creation of  a National Community Solar Partnership to unlock access to solar power for the nearly 50% of households and businesses that are renters, expanding solar energy education and opportunities for job training, and others. 

Thursday, July 9, 2015

2015 Climate Summit of the Americas kicks of in Toronto, Canada

On July 8th Ontario officially opened the Climate Summit of the Americas and welcomed more than 300 delegates from 20 states and regions who came to Toronto to work towards commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and discuss opportunities to invest in a global low carbon economy. States and regions attending the summit have a combined GDP of $6.6 trillion, what, for example, exceeds combined GDP of UK and France

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

High-efficiency transformers allow to save enormous amount of energy

Small increases in efficiency can result in substantial savings because power transformers typically operate continuously. According to power management company Eaton, over the next 30 years, meeting  U.S. Department of Energy's  new efficiency standards for distribution transformers will eliminate the need for 3.63 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy, which is roughly equivalent to the energy consumed by 40 million American households in one year.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Сlimate change and dams are among biggest threats facing Himalayan rivers in India

Himalayan rivers account for nearly two-thirds of India's national river flows, and 43 per cent of India's population depends on just the Ganga for their water needs. India has 4,857 large dams (more than 15 m in height or 10-15 m if it fulfills some other conditions) in operation and 314 under construction. While nine out of 10 dams in India have irrigation as their main purpose, in the Himalayan region, which accounts for 70 per cent of hydro power potential. 

Friday, July 3, 2015

Solar cookers in Tajikistan help to survive blackouts and reduce CO2 emissions

Tajikistan suffers blackouts during winter due to the declining capacity of its domestic energy infrastructure, yet hosts strong potential for renewable energy with over 200 sunny days during the average year and significant hydro resources. In  December 2014, the village of Roshorv, located at an altitude of more than 3000m in the Bartang Valley of Tajikistan was presented with a solar cooker by Tajik environmental organization Little Earth.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

U.S. federal government and states are taking significant actions against climate change

Despite 41 percent of Americans say global warming has more to do with natural causes than human activity, and Congress doesn’t want to pass a cap-and-trade bill to reduce carbon emissions, President Obama has made climate change a focus of his second term agenda.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Nuclear power -- a major source of emission-free electricity?

The are robust arguments for nuclear energy, especially in the context of climate change - nuclear fuel is among the most energy-dense fuels known to humanity, and because of its limited pollution and the ample amount of electricity it produces, nuclear energy is also the safest power source on a per-kilowatt basis.