Ceiling Fans: A Green, Eco-Friendly Choice

Chances are that this summer you're running your air conditioning to keep cool -- but frustrated, and maybe even a little afraid, of the electric bill that results.

You could be cooling your home with Ceiling Fans instead. A typical ceiling fan draws less energy than a 100-watt light bulb.

An Energy Star-rated Ceiling Fan could save you even more -- they are more than 300 percent more energy efficient than other ceiling fans. Several well-known manufacturers, including Hunter Ceiling Fans, Casablanca Ceiling Fans and Emerson Ceiling Fans provide such Energy Star models.

Ceiling fans, including the Energy Star models, also represent a chance to "go green," as they say because the less energy you use, the smaller your carbon footprint, which means you are contributing less to climate change -- and the other environmental degredations that often come as a result of electricity production (such as coal).

Interested? Want to know more? Click on these links because the website for Hansen Wholesale Ceiling Fans not only provides a wide inventory of fans for sale, but offers an informative -- and actually interesting -- frequently asked questions page that provides much more detail on ceiling fans.

This was a sponsored post.

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Earthquake Mudslides Emit Greenhouse Gas

Mudslides that followed the May 2008 Wenchuan, China earthquake, ranked by the US Geological Survey as the 11th deadliest earthquake ever recorded, may cause a carbon-dioxide release in upcoming decades equivalent to 2 percent of current annual global carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion, a new study shows.

Mudslides wipe away plants and topsoil, depleting terrain of nutrients for plant regrowth and burying swaths of vegetation. Buried vegetable matter decomposes and releases carbon dioxide and other gases to the atmosphere.

The expected carbon dioxide release from the mudslides following the Wenchuan earthquake is similar to that caused by Hurricane Katrina's plant damage, report Diandong Ren, of the University of Texas at Austin, and his colleagues, who used a computer model to predict the ecosystem impacts of the mudslides.

What's more, the vegetation destruction will lead to a loss of nitrogen from the quake-devastated region's ecosystem twice as large as the loss of that nutrient from California ecosystems because of the October 2007 wildfires there, Ren says. And, as the biomass buried by the China quake rots, 14 percent of the nitrogen will be spewed into the atmosphere as nitrous oxide, a pollutant typically released from agricultural operations, automobiles, and other sources.

The team will publish its findings in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Although landscapes devastated by the Chinese earthquake may re-green soon, the recovery will be cosmetic, says Ren. "From above, the area will look green in a few years, because grass grows back quickly, but the soil nutrients recover very slowly, and other kinds of plants won't grow," he says.

The magnitude-7.9 Wenchuan quake was followed by many aftershocks in the Sichuan Basin, an area that, because of its geological features – deep valleys enclosed by high mountains with steep slopes – is already prone to landslides. May is also the rainy season in Sichuan, and the combination of aftershocks and major precipitation events in the days following the earthquake caused severe mudslides. The avalanches killed thousands, destroyed roads and blocked rivers and access to relief, and shredded water and power stations, among other facilities. To predict ecosystem impacts of the mudslides, Ren and his collaborators applied a comprehensive computer model of landslides that incorporates several physical parameters, such as soil mechanics, root mechanical reinforcement (the root's grip of the dirt, which mitigates erosion), and precipitation.

Ren's model also shows that the primary mudslides following the earthquake removed large areas of nutrient-rich topsoil, leaving behind deep scars in the land that will take decades to recover, preventing the re-growth of vegetation.

The researchers write in their paper that, although being able to predict the location and timing of a mudslide is essential to mitigate its impacts, current mudslide models are not accurate enough.

"Previous approaches, which are mainly based on statistical approaches and empirical measures, have no predictive ability of where mudslides are going to happen," Ren says. His model, he claims, could be applied to forecast under what circumstances a landslide would occur at a specific location. He points out this would be particularly useful for places such as Southern California, where global warming predictions call for an increase in the frequency of these events.
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Video: U.S. Outsourcing Emissions, Too, Resarchers Say

Increased trade with other nations over the last decade, including China, has caused the United States to outsource more of its greenhouse gas emissions, according to two Carnegie Mellon University researchers.

"We've seen that although our consumption level has gone up considerably over the last decade, our greenhouse gas emissions have not gone up accordingly, which is mostly due to the fact that these emissions have been outsourced to the other countries who are making all the goods we are consuming here," says Christopher Weber, Carnegie Mellon researcher, Civil & Environmental Engineering.

The percentage of emissions from imports has nearly doubled over about the last decade, says H. Scott Matthews, associate rofessor, Civil & Environmental Engineering/Engineering & Public Policy.

Emissions from international trade, therefore, need to be better taken into account in global negotiations over climate, they say.

Watch a quick, five-minute video clip of Weber and Matthews describing their work on demand on Energy Policy TV. Visit the Climate Change Channel and click on "Trade Emissions."

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Calculate Your Carbon Emissions On Your Big Day

If your idea of getting hitched without a hitch includes limiting your emissions of greenhouse gases, a magazine for the environmentally and socially responsible bride and groom has the site for you.

In partnership with NativeEnergy, Portovert magazine is launching a Web site on Feb. 14 that will allow you to easily calculate the carbon emissions produced by the principal wedding-related carbon sources: guest travel, lodging, and venue power and heat.

"Weddings are a special way to announce a lifetime commitment," says Portovert magazine's editorial director, Meghan Meyers. "But the truth is, even the most eco-savvy couple will create carbon emissions on their wedding day."

By helping build new renewable energy projects with NativeEnergy, couples can take a proactive, responsible step towards a brighter,better future, the magazine says. For as little as $12 per ton of carbon offsets, brides and grooms can make a quick, easy investment in renewable energy by choosing one of three options: helping build new wind power projects, new family farm methane energy projects, or a combination of both.

Meyers urges couples to tackle today's weighty issue of global warming in manageable increments. "Every effort counts," says Meyers, who suggests couples not focus on the financial feasibility of offsetting their entire wedding but instead suggests making a manageable percentage of the wedding carbon-neutral.

For tips on ways to reduce your wedding carbon footprint, check out thefeature article in Portovert magazine's March issue (online on March 1).

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