SELAMAT DATANG DI SITUS KAMI SEMOGA BERKESAN DAN BERMANFAAT.TERIMA KASIH

Sabtu, 22 Agustus 2009

Dari Rumah Menahan Pemanasan Global

KOMPAS. Denmark adalah negeri dengan penduduk paling bahagia di dunia. Awal Juni empat wartawan Indonesia diundang untuk melihat dari dekat bagaimana Pemerintah Denmark memberikan pelayanan prima kepada warganya, termasuk isu lingkungan.

Di Denmark juga ada pernyataan: Bersatu Kita Tegak Mengalahkan Tantangan Iklim (United We Stand in Tackling the Climate Challenge). Mirip slogan pemerintahan Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono? Memang. Namun, dalam praktiknya sungguh berbeda. Di Denmark, kebijakan menahan laju pemanasan global dilakukan hingga tingkat grass root, tingkat rumahan.

Lebih dari separuh emisi karbon Denmark berasal dari konsumsi pribadi untuk pemanas, listrik, transportasi, dan barang- barang konsumsi. Warga Denmark pada umumnya sadar dan tahu akan pemanasan global, perubahan iklim, dan perlunya penghematan energi. Namun tidak semua menerapkannya dalam hidup kesehariannya. Kampanye lalu dilakukan oleh Kementerian Lingkungan dan Kementerian Transportasi dan Energi secara nasional. Akhirnya sekitar dua tahun lalu muncul ide yang sungguh pintar dan luar biasa dengan membentuk Kementerian Iklim dan Energi—dua kubu yang biasanya bertegangan tinggi soal lingkungan dan emisi karbon!

Kampanye yang dilakukan berisi hal keseharian yang menyentuh langsung kegiatan kehidupan sehari-hari, yang dengan itu warga juga dapat langsung menghitungnya dalam bentuk berapa pengeluaran dan berapa besar investasi jangka panjang yang menyertainya jika mereka mengurangi emisi karbon. Mengurangi emisi karbon lantas menjadi topik keseharian di ”warung kopi”.

Contoh yang amat nyata adalah ketika Pemerintah Denmark mengeluarkan peraturan tentang aturan membuat rumah, semacam syarat-syarat izin mendirikan bangunan (IMB) di Jakarta. Agar semua bergerak ke arah yang dikehendaki—hanya jika pemerintah benar-benar menghendaki(!)—maka harus keluar peraturan yang ditegakkan, bukan hanya dituliskan yang proses pembuatannya pun mahal. Maka, keluarlah peraturan tentang Kode Etik Bangunan.

”Rakyat tidak akan bisa melihat apa keuntungan dari efisiensi energi. Pemerintah yang bisa. Harus mulai dari pemerintah, jadi masyarakat lalu tahu, dan kemudian semua baru bisa berjalan. Tidak bisa diserahkan ke publik begitu saja,” ujar Konselor Menteri pada Kementerian Luar Negeri Denmark Claus Hermansen dalam perjumpaan dengan sejumlah wartawan Indonesia awal Juni lalu.

Prinsip pertama yang diterapkan yaitu prinsip hukuman dan ganjaran (stick and carrot) menyangkut penggunaan energi. Mereka yang boros energi dikenai biaya tinggi dan sebaliknya mereka yang menggunakan energi dengan amat efisien mendapatkan insentif.

”Kami menerapkan pajak energi yang amat tinggi. Kalau energi tidak ada harganya, orang tak akan menghargainya. Mereka akan membuangnya begitu saja dari jendela,” ujar Hermansen mengibaratkan. Dengan cara itu, orang mulai selalu ingat untuk mematikan lampu, memasang AC di suhu sedang sekitar 25° celsius, dan dengan itu mereka bisa menghemat pengeluaran secara signifikan,” ujarnya. Sebagai contoh, harga listrik di Denmark untuk 1 kilowatt jam (kWh) yaitu 250 krone atau sekitar Rp 450.000.

Dengan Kode Etik Bangunan yang baru, pemerintah menargetkan pengurangan penggunaan energi—dikonversi ke minyak bumi—hingga 25 persen-30 persen ketimbang tahun 2006. Bangunan yang ada rata-rata butuh 14 liter minyak per meter persegi (lt/m2). Tahun 2006 penggunaan energi untuk rumah setara 5,5 lt/m2 Target tahun 2010 adalah 3 lt/m2. ”Setelah tahun 2010 peraturan akan kami perketat,” tutur Hermansen. Peraturan itu bersifat wajib. Berangsur semua bangunan harus memiliki sertifikat ”rumah hijau” atau bangunan ”hijau”. Sertifikat diterbitkan oleh Danish Energy Authority.

Bangunan yang bersertifikat dengan berbagai tingkatan harganya memang lebih tinggi daripada bangunan tua yang tidak mengikuti kaidah-kaidah efisiensi energi. Namun, biaya operasionalnya lebih rendah. Tujuan akhirnya, tegas Hermansen adalah, ”Rumah pasif (passive house) yaitu rumah yang tidak menggunakan bahan bakar fosil, rumah tanpa emisi gas rumah kaca (GRK). Suatu saat di masa depan nanti. Kami belum tetapkan kapan.”

Rumah hijau Charlotte

Menyusul kode etik tersebut, pemerintah menunjuk perumahan di daerah Stenløse, kira-kira 30 menit dari Kopenhagen, ibu kota Denmark, untuk menerapkan kaidah-kaidah rumah hijau. Di antaranya yaitu rumah kediaman keluarga Peter Hans Jensen-Charlotte Hjelm. Keluarga muda ini membangun rumah pertamanya sesuai dengan arahan pemerintah. Pasangan ini didampingi penasihat teknis dari pemerintah setempat. Mereka, Mona Dates dan Jens Lemche, mendampingi kami saat mengunjungi rumah Charlotte.

Keluarga dengan dua anak ini memasang insulasi yang menjadi bagian penting dari sebuah rumah dengan efisiensi energi. Insulasi berfungsi menyerap udara panas dan udara dingin dari luar sehingga suhu di dalam rumah tidak terlalu panas atau dingin. ”Kami tidak membutuhkan banyak gas untuk memanaskan rumah,” tutur Charlotte. Gas pemanas rumah pada bangunan baru telah ditanam sebagai instalasi di bawah rumah sehingga tak ada lagi batang-batang besi di dalam rumah.

Selain itu, penempatan jendela dengan kaca besar-besar juga menyebabkan penggunaan listrik bisa ditekan karena rumah selalu terang. Insulasi dari jendela dibuat maksimal dengan import kaca jendela dengan daya insulasi tinggi dari Swiss.

Penghematan air tanah dilakukan dengan menampung air hujan dengan penampung di bagian bawah halaman rumah. ”Air itu kami gunakan untuk mencuci baju, menggelontor WC, dan mencuci piring. Karena tak ada chlor-nya, hanya perlu detergen sedikit, mencuci juga lebih cepat sehingga listrik yang digunakan lebih sedikit,” jelas ibu dari Andrea dan Jonas ini.

Dengan membangun rumah sesuai standar pemerintah seperti itu, Charlotte dan Mona mengakui biaya pembangunannya lebih tinggi sekitar 5 persen daripada membangun rumah biasa. Dia menghabiskan dana sekitar 3,15 juta krone (sekitar Rp 6,3 miliar) untuk rumah di atas lahan sekitar 400 m2 itu. Untuk biaya pemanas dia hanya membayar 6.000 krone per tahun (sekitar Rp 12 juta), lebih murah 25 persen dari bangunan biasa. Demikian juga untuk penggunaan listrik.

”Kalau kita mau bumi kita tetap lestari ini harus kita jalani. Ini semua untuk kepentingan kehidupan di masa depan, kita harus mempertahankan bumi,” tegas Charlotte, potret wajah Denmark itu, tanpa ragu.

PEMANASAN GLOBAL ANCAM 900 SPESIES TERUMBU KARANG

Pemanasan global akan mengancam keberlangsungan hidup sedikitnya 900 spesies terumbu karang di segitiga terumbu karang terbesar di dunia. ''Ini bukan masalah lautnya yang parah. Kalau kena global warming suhu air laut akan naik dan terumbu karang bisa mati,'' ujar Ketua Panitia Nasional World Ocean Conference 2009, Indroyono Soesilo, di Jakarta, pekan lalu.

Indroyono mengatakan, keberlangsungan segitiga terumbu karang terbesar dunia atau coral triangle merupakan hal penting. Ini karena lokasi tersebut dapat dikatakan sebagai 'Hutan Amazon' dasar laut terbesar di dunia.

Badan-badan dunia dan LSM dunia pun menyadari bahwa inisiasi Indonesia untuk menyelenggarakan WOC 2009 pada 11 hingga 15 Mei mendatang di Manado merupakan event penting. Bahkan, United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) akan mengawal pelaksanaan konfrensi kelautan pertama di dunia tersebut sehingga menghasilkan draft kebijakan terkait kelautan.

''UNEP bahkan akan membuat 'Ocean Day pada Pertemuan Tingkat Tinggi terkait Pemanasan Global, Teknologi, dan Penghijauan di Copenhagen bulan September 2009,'' ujar Indroyono. Matinya terumbu karang di kawasan segitiga terumbu karang terbesar di dunia, akan mengancam sumber daya ikan dunia. Negara-negara yang termasuk dalam kawasan ini adalah Indonesia, Malaysia, Filipina, Papua Nugini, Timor Leste, dan Kepulauan Solomon.

Karena itu, WOC 2009 yang mengambil tema Ocean and Climate Change dengan topik 'Ocean Impact to Climate Change and The Role of Ocean to Climate Change' diharapkan mampu menghasilkan rancangan strategi yang akan tertuang dalam Manado Ocean Declaration(MOD). Hasil dari WOC 2009 akan ditindaklanjuti dengan Rencana Aksi dan Implementasi, yang akan diusulkan pembentukan World Ocean Forum.

Untuk pelestarian terumbu karang di kawasan segitiga terumbu karang, telah terkumbul dana hibah senilai 250 juta dolar AS. Dari hibah tersebut berasal dari negara maju termasuk Amerika dan Australia serta Global Environment Fund (GEF). Dari total dana hibah tersebut, Indonesia berharap bisa mendapatkan proporsi terbesar yakni lebih dari 50 persen. Hibah tersebut nantinya sebagai modal bagi rencana aksi nasional penyelamatan terumbu karang di kawasan Nusantara. ''Kami berharap bisa mendapat proporsi cukup besar,'' ujar Menteri Kelautan dan Perikanan, Freddy Numberi.

Indonesia memiliki luas total kawasan terumbu karang sebesar 85.707 kilometer persegi. Jumlah tersebut terdiri dari jenis penghalang 50.223 kilometer persegi, jenis atol 19.540 kilometer persegi, jenis tepi seluas 14.542 kilometer persegi, dan jenis landas oseanik 1.402 kilometer persegi.

Hasil penelitian Pusat Penelitian Oeseanografi LIPI pada 841 lokasi kawasan terumbu karang di Indonesia, dari jumlah tersebut, sekitar 33,17 persen mengalami kerusakan parah. Dari penelitian tersebut, diketahui pula bahwa 37,34 persen dari total terumbu karang itu juga mengalami kerusakan dengan kondisi buruk. Sedangkan kawasan terumbu karang yang masih dalam kondisi baik tercacat 24,26 persen dan kondisi sangat baik tinggal 5,32 persen saja.

Perancis Danai Program Perubahan Iklim

Badan Perancis untuk Pembangunan (Agence Francaise de Development/AFD) memberikan pinjaman kepada Indonesia sebesar 300 juta dolar AS yang merupakan pembayaran tahap kedua Program Pinjaman Perubahan Iklim (Climat Change Program Loan/CCPL).

Keterangan tertulis Departemen Keuangan (Depkeu) di Jakarta, Selasa, menyebutkan, Dirjen Pengelolaan Utang Depkeu Rahmat Waluyanto dan Country Director AFD di Indonesia, Joel Daligault, menandatangani perjanjian pinjaman itu pada Senin kemarin.

Pinjaman lunak itu ditujukan untuk mendukung Indonesia dalam program melawan perubahan iklim. Pinjaman lunak jangka panjang ini akan sepenuhnya dicairkan dalam beberapa pekan mendatang sebagai anggaran pendukung dalam anggaran Pemerintah Indonesia.

Dalam kerangka CCPL, pada tahun 2008 AFD telah mengucurkan pinjaman tahap pertama sebesar 200 juta dolar AS kepada Pemerintah Indonesia. Hal itu dalam kerangka pembiayaan bersama dengan Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

CCPL merupakan pinjaman tiga tahun (2007-2009) yang bertujuan untuk mendukung reformasi kebijakan yang sedang berjalan untuk menghadapi berbagai perubahan iklim. Matriks kebijakan tersebut mencakup bidang mitigasi (kehutanan, energi), adaptasi (pertanian, air), dan isu-isu lintas sektoral.

Indonesia Termasuk Rentan Bencana Akibat Perubahan Iklim


Perubahan iklim global yang terjadi dewasa ini, membuat negara-negara di belahan dunia ini termasuk Indonesia rentan terhadap bencana, kata pengamat Lingkungan di Papua, Yunus Paelo, kepada wartawan di Jayapura, Selasa.

Yunus yang juga seorang pengajar di Stiper Jayapura, menjelaskan, kemungkinan pemanasan global itu akan menimbulkan kekeringan dan curah hujan ekstrim yang pada gilirannya akan menimbulkan risiko bencana.

Ia mengungkapkan, selama periode 2003-2005 di Indonesia telah terjadi 1.429 bencana. Sekitar 53,3 persen adalah bencana terkait dengan hidro-meteorologi yakni banjir.

Banjir adalah bencana yang sering terjadi atau sebanyak 34 persen dan diikuti bencana longsor 16 persen.

"Pemanasan global ditandai dengan meningkatnya suhu rata-rata permukaan bumi, sebagai akibat peristiwa efek rumah kaca yaitu terperangkapnya radiasi matahari yang seharusnya dipancarkan kembali ke angkasa luar namun tertahan oleh lapisan akumulasi Gas Rumah Kaca (GRK) di atmosfer,".

Ditambahkannya, tindakan aktif yang dapat dilakukan untuk mencegah terjadinya perubahan iklim dan mengurangi dampak pemanasan global, yakni dengan dilakukannya upaya penurunan emisi GRK.

"Juga telah dilakukan berbagai kebijakan seperti di bidang kehutanan dengan rehabilitasi hutan dan lahan, serta konservasi, penanggulangan ilegal loging, restrukturisasi sektor kehutanan, pemberdayaan masyarakat di sekitar hutan, penanggulangan dan pencegahan kebakaran hutan, reboisasi sekitar daerah resapan air, dan sebagainya

30 Jenis Penyakit Yang Muncul Akibat Pemanasan Global

Staf Khusus Menteri Lingkungan Hidup, Amanda Katil Niode di sela-sela penganugerahan Raksaniyata 2008 di Jakarta, Jumat mengatakan, munculnya penyakit ini karena temperatur suhu panas bumi yang terus meningkat.

"Yang paling jelas kelihatan penyakit demam berdarah, kolera, diare, disusul virus ebola yang sangat mematikan," katanya.

Menurut dia, masalah kesehatan akibat pemanasan global memang sangat dirasakan parahnya oleh negara-negara berkembang yang sebagian masih miskin, karena minimnya dana sehingga tak mampu lagi melaksanakan berbagai program persiapan dan tanggap darurat.

Untuk mengatasi dampak buruk perubahan iklim terhadap kesehatan manusia itu, tidak bisa dilakukan sendiri oleh masing-masing negara.

Upaya itu baru akan berhasil jika dilakukan melalui kerjasama global, seperti misalnya meningkatkan pengawasan dan pengendalian penyakit-penyakit infeksi, memastikan penggunaan air tanah yang kian surut, dan mengkoordinasikan tindakan kesehatan darurat.

"Itu semua penting dilakukan, karena perubahan iklim jelas-jelas akibat dari kegiatan manusia yang tak peduli terhadap keseimbangan alam, yang kemudian berimplikasi serius terhadap kesehatan publik," ujarnya.

Selain menyebabkan gangguan kesehatan, perubahan iklim juga mengakibatkan berbagai bencana alam yang sangat besar. Sepanjang tahun 2006 telah terjadi 390 bencana besar di dunia yang banyak menelan korban.

"Amerika Serikat paling banyak terjadi bencana dibanding negara-negara lain, tetapi untuk jumlah korban paling banyak saat tsunami terjadi di Aceh pada 2004 lalu," jelasnya.

Di Indonesia sendiri, kata dia, bencana alam banyak terjadi akibat kesadaran masyarakat yang lemah, seperti pembalakan liar, kebakaran hutan, dan pembuangan karbon dioksida (CO2). Agar bencana alam dapat diminimalisir diperlukan sinkronisasi antara pemerintah, dunia usaha dan individu.

Stopping Global Warming Pollution

More than 100 members of Congress have already cosponsored the Safe Climate Act, a science-based bill to dramatically reduce U.S. global warming pollution. Introduced in late June by Congressman Henry Waxman, the bill requires the U.S. to reduce its global warming pollution by about 15% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050. To achieve these targets, the bill calls for improved energy efficiency and a greater reliance on clean, renewable energy sources.

A recent U.S. PIRG report, called Rising to the Challenge, provides a blueprint for reducing U.S. global warming emissions by nearly 20% by 2020 by taking six steps to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy. More.

How You Can Help
Call your representative
urging him or her to cosponsor the Safe Climate Act, legislation that will reduce global warming pollution nationwide to levels necessary to prevent the worst impacts of global warming.

Summary
More and more Americans are becoming concerned about global warming. As power plants and cars spew out more global warming pollution, we will see rising sea levels along the Eastern seaboard, more intense storms in the Gulf, droughts in the West, and more dangerous heat waves across the country.

The good news is that if we act now and act decisively we can stop global warming and protect our children and future generations.

Unfortunately, the Bush administration is refusing to act, but we don’t have time to waste. The longer we wait, the more global warming pollution builds up in the atmosphere – and the worse the effects will be.

That is why PIRG is urging Congress to reject ineffectual proposals and set science-based targets for reducing global warming pollution from power plants, cars, and other sources

Geoengineering could stop global warming but carries big risks

Using radical techniques to "engineer" Earth's climate by blocking sunlight could cool Earth but presents great risks that could well worsen global warming should they fail or be discontinued, reports a new study published in the June 4 early online edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Using computer simulations to model the impact of proposed experiments using a solar filter to block sunlight instead of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, an international team of scientists conclude that geoengineering a risky strategy.

"Given current political and economic trends, it is easy to become pessimistic about the prospect that needed cuts in carbon dioxide emissions will come soon enough or be deep enough to avoid irreversibly damaging our climate," said co-author Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology. "If we want to consider more dramatic options, such as deliberately altering the Earth's climate, it's important to understand how these strategies might play out."




Photo by Rhett A. Butler

Scientists have put forward several proposals to reduce the amount of solar radiation that reaches the planet's surface, including the use of light-reflecting sulfate particles in the atmosphere and installing mirrors in orbit around the planet.

The PNAS study shows that geoengineering schemes, even under a scenario of increasing emissions, could cool Earth within a few decades to pre-Industrial Revolution levels, but that failure of the system would result in "a catastrophic, decade-long spike in global temperatures... with rates of warming 20 times greater than we are experiencing today" as carbon sequestered in plants and soils would be quickly released into the atmosphere."

"If we become addicted to a planetary sunshade, we could experience a painful withdrawal if our fix was suddenly cut off," said Caldeira. "This needs to be taken into consideration if we ever think seriously about implementing a geoengineering strategy."

Caldeira and lead author Damon Matthews of Concordia University in Montreal say that their models also show geoengineering would affect global rainfall patterns, with lower levels of precipitation over tropical forests. In their models run with no simulated geoengineering, warmer temperatures resulted in more rainfall over the oceans and less over tropical forests

"Many people argue that we need to prevent climate change. Others argue that we need to keep emitting greenhouse gases," Caldeira said. "Geoengineering schemes have been proposed as a cheap fix that could let us have our cake and eat it, too. But geoengineering schemes are not well understood. Our study shows that planet-sized geoengineering means planet-sized risks."

Caldeira said that proposed geoengineering schemes need to be better understood before they are implemented but that the quick-acting nature of the projects mean that can put off geoengineering decisions until they become absolutely necessary.

"I hope I never need a parachute, but if my plane is going down in flames, I sure hope I have a parachute handy," Caldeira said. "I hope we'll never need geoengineering schemes, but if a climate catastrophe occurs, I sure hope we will have thought through our options carefully.

Jumat, 21 Agustus 2009

Sekjen PBB Minta Langkah Praktis Hadapi Pemanasan Global

Markas Besar PBB, New York (ANTARA News) - Sekretaris Jenderal Ban Ki-moon meminta semua negara, baik negara kaya maupun negara miskin, untuk melakukan langkah-langkah praktis dalam menghadapi dampak pemanasan global.

Pada saat yang sama, Sekjen PBB juga mendesak negara-negara maju untuk memberikan sumbangan bagi program pendanaan dan program lainnya untuk membantu masyarakat di negara-negara yang harus menanggung dampak perubahan iklim.

Seperti dikutip oleh salah satu juru bicaranya, Farhan Haq, dalam jumpa pers di Markas Besar PBB, New York, Senin, Ban menekankan bahwa adaptasi terhadap dampak pemanasan global merupakan investasi penting bagi masa depan semua pihak.

"Adaptasi harus kita lihat sebagai hal yang serius. Adaptasi merupakan kebutuhan praktis dan juga kewajiban moral," kata Ban dalam pidato yang disampaikannya di Ulaabaatar, ibukota negara Mongolia, Senin.

Berbagai langkah praktis, ujarnya, harus diambil oleh semua negara.

Upaya itu, menurutnya, bisa dimulai dengan mengumpulkan data ilmiah secara rinci tentang dampak perubahan iklim sehingga negara yang bersangkutan dapat mengarahkan berbagai sumber daya mereka untuk melakukan langkah-langkah terbaik.

Ia juga mengimbau agar negara-negara yang rentan terhadap pemanasan global melakukan berbagai upaya untuk mengurangi resiko bencana.

Menanam pohon bakau di daerah pesisir serta meningkatkan pendidikan masyarakat dan menyusun rencana evakuasi, disebut Sekjen sebagai contoh langkah praktis dan cenderung tidak mahal yang dapat dilakukan sebuah negara dalam mengantisipasi dampak pemanasan global.

Ban mengingatkan, kesepakatan dalam pembicaraan global soal kelanjutan Protokol Kyoto yang akan berlangsung di Kopenhagen, Denmark, pada Desember 2009 mendatang, harus membuat ketentuan bagi negara-negara makmur untuk menyediakan bantuan bagi negara-negara miskin dan rentan terhadap perubahan iklim agar mereka dapat menghadapi dampak pemanasan global.

"Miliaran (dolar, red) dana akan diperlukan. Harus ada dana baru, bukan berbentuk bantuan pembangunan resmi yang dirancang ulang," katanya.

Untuk mendorong negara-negara dalam upaya menyelesaikan kesepakatan kelanjutan Protokol Kyoto --yang periode pertamanya akan berakhir pada tahun 2012, Sekjen Ban Ki-moon akan menggelar pertemuan tingkat tinggi di New York pada 22 September 2009.

Pertemuan di New York itu disebut-sebut sebagai pertemuan tingkat tinggi terbesar tahun ini yang membahas masalah perubahan iklim.

Rabu, 19 Agustus 2009

Climate Control Self Storage in California filed under Global Warming

For people who like living in California, it can become very hot very fast and there may be items in your home, business or elsewhere that cannot stand that type of heat. This is part of why California storage centers tend to have climate control storage. Businesses can have food, wine and other items that are delicate to climate turn from priceless treasures into items that have gone bad and have no worth. Wine can turn to vinegar and other food items can melt or even go bad. Storage rental storage unit that is climate controlled your items can be safe guarded through the toughest of heats.

When you think about storage you may have your first thoughts be about boat storage, vehicle storage and RV storage but in all actuality one of the types of storages that are most needed in California are climate controlled. Whether they are long term storage, self storage or mini storage climates being at a specific level can be fairly common and very much needed. California is full on restaurants, wineries, vineyards and all types of other businesses and restaurants. You can find sushi restaurants, Mexican restaurants, Chinese restaurants, family restaurants, specialty restaurants and so much more.

For all of these businesses, they may have supplies that will not stay good overnight if they are left inside due to the heat. This is part of why having a climate controlled storage unit be self storage can be very helpful. This means that you can come and go and put your items in or take items out without having to worry about other people or having to worry about what time you go along with other factors. These factors can even include not having to pay for the help with storage each time that you go for a deposit or withdrawal.

For vineyards, these types of storage can e essential to staying in business. Many vineyards have extensive storage areas on their property but not all of them. In addition, there are factors such as while you are trying to have an item reach its destination if your drivers have to stop for the night and it con not be shipped. Or what would happen if you have a batch that you wanted separate from the rest or even if your storage were to become filled. These are only some of the possibilities that make climate controlled self storage necessary for some businesses.

While climate controlled self storage can be wonderful for businesses, it can also be very helpful for individuals and residents of California. There are many reasons for this all of which any wine collector would be able to understand in an instant. Wine is able to turn into vinegar if it does not stay t the proper temperature whereas if t stays at the correct temperature there is nothing stopping it from lasting longer then any person could. Many people may pass their collections on to their children, to other collectors or simply on to someone that they care about.

When passing on a private collection you will want to have a storage unit for your wine for while the contracts are signed and much more so that you will know that your wine is safe and able to get to who you would lie to have it be in the hands of. When a person passes on everything that they give out in their will needs to be legalized so if your property was going to a different individual then your wine collection having it still be on that property could cause issues for the person who was trying to get it or for legalizing the transaction. In addition, in the mean time while it was being legalized you would not be there to check the temperature and make sure that your wine was safe.

To some wine is simply a drink that you have in a restaurant or in your home. To others wine is a priceless item filled with memories and devotion of makers, collectors and more. Self storage that is climate controlled can help you store your entire collection or even just your most prized wines. Some people enjoy having their favorite wines or most loved ones in storage for a later date. Such as having the wine you had at your wedding on your anniversary years later. This shows a devotion to the piece but more importantly a devotion to the person who you love and the wonderful day that your unity began.

What is Green Tea Extract?

Green Tea Extract is made from green tea leaves. The leaves contain many antioxidant ingredients, mainly green tea catechins. Green Tea has become very popular lately by those looking to prevent free radical damage to their bodies to help them look and feel young and healthy. Green Tea Extract is used for four primary reasons, as an antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, and anti-radiation.

Will Green Tea Extract be used for treating cancer?

The anti-cancer properties of Green Tea Extract have made it very popular among scientific researchers. Green Tea Extract showed inhibitory effects on cancer cells, as well as the ability to block the cell cycle of cancer cells and induce programmed cell death. Green Tea Extract has also seems to have anti-radiation properties. Although Green Tea Extract shows great potential for anticancer capacity it is not used alone as a chemotherapy agent for cancer treatment.



Green Tea Extract as a preservative?

Because Green Tea Extract is so high in antioxidants, scientists have been working on ways of using it as a food additive for preserving a wide variety of foods. Green Tea Extract is already being used as a preservative for what is called a Moon Cake. Green Tea Extract seems to not only increase the shelf life of the cake but also improve the flavor! In other experiments, Green Tea Extract is being tested on its ability to prevent apple juice and other foods from microbial contamination.

What else is Green Tea Extract good for?

Green Tea Extract contains a wide-range of anti-inflammation characteristics, so it may be helpful in treating chronic inflammatory states. Green Tea Extract may also be effective in oral hygiene maintenance.



How much Green Tea should I take?

Green Tea Extract supplements are available by just about everyone now days. Typical supplementation is 300-400mg which is equivalent to about 5 cups of Green Tea. Potency varies quite a bit amongst Green Tea Extract manufactures with some being about half as potent as others, so it is a good idea to check for the percentage of polyphenols it contains. It is also said to be better to take Green Tea Extract between meals rather than during the meal in order to avoid the decrease of iron absorption.

Is Green Tea Extract safe?

Excessive intake of Green Tea Extract containing caffeine has side effects; a too high concentration may act as a pro-oxidant to damage DNA. Caffeine may be excluded in Green Tea extract supplements in order to avoid side-effects; “caffeine-free” Green Tea Extract supplements are available nowadays.

21 Solutions to Save the World: 450 Ways to Stop Global Warming

The most important number on Earth is almost certainly 450. And just as certainly, it’s not a number that means much to most policymakers. Not yet, anyway.

Everyone without a severe ideological kink knows by now that global warming is a looming problem. Even in the United States, two decades of energy industry disinformation is finally wearing off: Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gore have finally blown most doubt away. But many fewer people realize either the real magnitude of the problem or the speed with which it may be bearing down on us.

Here’s the short course. Before the Industrial Revolution, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was roughly 280 parts per million. CO2, by virtue of its molecular structure, regulates how much of the sun’s energy stays trapped in our narrow envelope of atmosphere—Mars, which has very little, is cold; Venus, with a lot, is hellish. We were in a sweet spot, where human civilization developed and thrived. But as we burned coal, gas, and oil, the extra carbon dioxide that combustion produced began to accumulate in the atmosphere. By the late 1950s, when people first started to measure it, atmospheric concentrations were already above 315 parts per million. Now, that number has reached 380 parts per million, and its rise has accelerated: In recent years, we’ve been adding about 2 parts per million annually to the atmosphere. And, predictably, the temperature has begun to rise.

Twenty years ago, when global warming first came to public consciousness, no one knew precisely how much carbon dioxide was too much. The early computer climate models made a number of predictions about what would happen if we doubled the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere to 550 parts per million. But, in recent years, as the science has gotten more robust, scientists have tended to put the red line right...

Biofuel production 'is harming the poor'

The production of biofuels is fuelling poverty, human rights abuses and damage to the environment, Christian Aid warned today.

The charity said huge subsidies and targets in developed countries for boosting the production of fuels from plants such as maize and oil palm are exacerbating environmental and social problems in poor nations.

And rather than being a "silver bullet" to tackle climate change, the carbon emissions of some of the fuels are higher than fossil fuels because of deforestation driven by the need for land for them to grow.

According to a report, Growing Pains, by Christian Aid, industrial scale production of biofuels is worsening problems such as food price hikes in central America, forced displacement of small farmers for plantations and pollution of local water sources.

But with 2.4 billion people worldwide currently without secure sources of energy for cooking and heating, Christian Aid believes the renewable fuels do have the potential to help the poor.

The charity highlights schemes such as the growing of jatropha in Mali, where the plant is raised between food crops and the oil from the seeds is used to run village generators which can power appliances such as stoves and lights.

The report argues that talking about "good" or "bad" biofuels is oversimplifying the situation, and the problem is not with the crop or fuel - but the policies surrounding them.

Developed countries have poured subsidies into biofuel production - for example in the US where between 9.2 billion dollars and 11 billion dollars went to supporting maize-based ethanol in 2008 - when there are cheaper and more effective ways to cut emissions from transport, the report said.

The charity said biofuels production needed a "new vision" - a switch from supplying significant quantities of transport fuel for industrial markets to helping poor people have access to clean energy.

The report's author Eliot Whittington, climate advocacy specialist for Christian Aid, said: "Vast sums of European and American taxpayers' money are being used to prop up industries which are fuelling hunger, severe human rights abuses and environmental destruction - and failing to deliver the benefits claimed for them."

He said the current approach to biofuels had been "disastrous".

"Policymakers should urgently rethink their entire approach to biofuels, to ensure that only crops and fuels which will achieve their social and environmental goals receive government backing."

He added: "Christian Aid believes that the best approach to biofuels is to grow them on a small scale and process them locally to provide energy for people in the surrounding countryside.

"This can also increase rural people's incomes and has the potential to actually increase soil fertility and moisture retention, without compromising people's food security."

Soot reduction 'could help to stop global warming'



Governments could slow global warming dramatically, and buy time to avert disastrous climate change, by slashing emissions of one of humanity's most familiar pollutants – soot – according to Nasa scientists. A study by the space agency shows that cutting down on the pollutant, which has so far been largely ignored by climate scientists, can have an immediate cooling effect – and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from air pollution at the same time.

At the beginning of the make-or-break year in international attempts to negotiate a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, the soot removal proposal – which is being taken seriously by experts close to the Obama administration – offers hope of a rapid new way of tackling global warming. Governments have long experience in acting against soot.



In simple terms, global warming refers to an overabundance of carbon dioxide, methane and ozone in our atmosphere. These gases and a few other atmospheric components are known as greenhouse gases. These gases trap heat and act like a blanket warming the earth. Some greenhouse gases occur naturally or at lower concentrations than currently observed and measured. Human activities contribute to the excess amounts of greenhouse gases present in our atmosphere and are expediting their dangerous effects on our environment.

  • The emissions from the cars we drive

  • The pollution emitted from factories used to make everyday items

  • The power plants that produce non-renewable electricity for our every day lives

  • The massive landfills overflowing with our garbage

  • The conversion of forest land into pasture, urban or wasteland areas

All of these things that we rely on and typically take for granted are making the earth a less friendly environment for us... for our children.

Global Warming is not a question of if, but when? How long will it take for the effects of the excess carbon and other greenhouse gases to change the world we know today into something we wouldn't recognize? It is happening now and our actions today have an enormous effect on the answer to that question. Every decision, every purchase, every action you make will either help or hurt the future of life on our planet.