largest photovoltaic array
Lampreys are fish that attach to other fish or marine mammals with suction-cup-like mouths and feed on their blood. In the Atlantic lampreys are parasites. In the Great Lakes they’re predators. By killing off large predator species, lampreys have completely changed the ecosystem. A team from Michigan State University has developed a perfume from pheromones male lamprey release to attract females during mating season. The team is using this perfume to attract females into traps. Because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spends $20 million annually to control lampreys, this perfume could have the sweet smell of success.
Seventeen previously unknown species of reptiles and amphibians were successfully discovered in the rainforests of eastern Tanzania by Italian and Tanzanian scientists. The region’s ecosystem has been under threat from fire, logging, collection of wood for fuel and land clearance for cultivation. To deter future damage, the government and local villagers have outlined steps to improve conservation. One step is reducing the unsustainable methods of growing cardamom, a cooking spice that’s an important cash crop for the region. Tanzania now has the opportunity to reverse forest loss and environmental degradation by taking outlined steps in the right direction.
By wanting to be the first environmentally sustainable airline, Air New Zealand took steps in the right direction by completing a 2-hour test flight of a Boeing 747-400 that had one engine powered by a 50-50 blend of oil form jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel. Most biofuels freeze at cruising attitudes, but jatropha oil – already used to make biodiesel – has a lower freezing point than jet fuel. Not only can jatropha oil reduce the carbon footprint of jet fuel by 25%, it can be grown on poor land with little water – not competing with land for food production – “plane” facts all airlines should consider.
It’s a fact the glitz of Atlantic City is going green. With 13,321 photovoltaic panels on the convention center roof, Atlantic City has the largest, single-roof, solar-panel array in the U.S. According to authorities, the panels will produce an average of 26% of the convention center’s energy and will save an estimated $4.4 million over 20 years. In greener terms, the panels will avoid the release of about 2,349 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – which is the equivalent of reducing oil consumption by 4,958 barrels annually. Based on this, Atlantic City has made a winning bet.
About the Author:
Knight Pierce Hirst has written for television, newspapers and greeting cards. Now she writes a 400-word blog three times a week. KNIGHT WATCH, a second look at what makes life interesting, takes only seconds to read at http://knightwatch.typepad.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Who Has Environmental Solutions?
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