The benefits of wind power

We live in an energy conscious world today and more and more people are seeking ways to reduce carbon emissions and help protect the environment. Cutting down on fossil fuels and the use of renewable energy is a key part of protecting our planet.

Wind power has emerged as one of the most effective ways of harnessing the Earth's natural resources to produce a clean form of energy that doesn't damage our environment.

As oil prices continue to rise and pressure mounts to cut down on carbon emissions, the benefits of wind power and other alternative energy sources are becoming more and more apparent.

According to experts, wind power could meet 10 per cent of the world's electricity within 20 years, even if the amount of electricity used doubled. At present, the annual growth rate of wind power is more than 40 per cent and it should soon supply electricity to 100 million people worldwide. Europe is currently the world leader when it comes to wind power with Germany and Spain providing the most electricity through wind power. The United States is third on the list, followed by India and Denmark.

Wind power is the fastest growing source of alternative energy in the United States and around the world. Every year, more an more households get their electricity through wind power. However, this cheap and clean source of energy is still only being used to a fraction of its potential. However, this is likely to change in the next few years for a number of reasons.

Wind power is clean

The chief advantage of wind power is that it is clean. There is no smoke, no fumes, no smog and no dirty air for us to breath. A turbine simply harnesses the energy of the wind and produces electricity without producing any waste whatsoever.

Wind power can produce electricity that can be fed directly to homes and factories, replacing the power supplied by major power plants. Today, power plants are among the biggest polluters in the United States. However, a single 1-MW wind turbine can save on 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide in one year. This is the same of planting one square mile of forest. And that is just from one turbine, imagine what one hundred turbines will do to help save our environment.

Wind power is cheap

Wind is free so wind energy is cheap. In fact, it is the most competitive of all the renewable energy sources when it comes to cost and can easily rival the cost of other more tradition fuels like gas or oil.

Wind power is a relatively new technology and at the outset it was quite an expensive source of power. However, developments in the technology means that costs have reduced drastically and are continuing to fall. Meanwhile, the cost of power provide by fossil fuels is going up so wind power is likely to become the cheapest for of electricity in the near future. And once it becomes the cheapest, we can expect to see a significant rise in the number of wind farms in the United States.

Wind power is local

Wind is everywhere so there is the potential to build wind farms anywhere. Of course, some areas are better than others for harnessing wind power but the ability to have wind power as a local source of energy is a real plus. It can save on miles and miles of cabling, provide jobs and investment in local areas, and generally boost local economies.

Wind power also benefits society on a wider level. It makes for a cleaner environment which means healthier people and fewer air pollution-related medical problems. It can also be put in place quickly, cheaply and easily to deliver a reliable source of energy in a relatively short space of time.

Wider issues

The future of wind power is affected by any number of larger, global environmental and geo-political issues. With world leaders currently developing a new agreement on how the world is going to tackle climate change, a number of major changes can be expected in the world's energy supply. A move to greener, cleaner sources of energy is inevitable.

This signals a busy future for wind power. At the moment we have barely scratched the surface of this valuable resource. In the United States, wind power supplies less than 1 per cent of the country's total electricity needs. However, there is the potential to have 60 per cent of electricity supplied by wind power, and the figures are similar on a global scale.

So, in the coming years we are likely to see the number of wind farms around the world rocket as more and more countries harness this clean and cheap source of electricity.

Endangered species act stirs strong feelings

Efforts in the U. S. Senate to update and modernize the 33-year-old Endangered Species Act (ESA) are an emotional topic for many. Opinions range from completely repealing the act to not changing a single word.

Yet, it seems clear to many that sensible improvements-particularly those that focus on the recovery of species and not just habitats-are long overdue.

Biologists say the ESA has not seen meaningful change since it was passed in 1973. As a result, of the nearly 1300 species listed as threatened or endangered, only 10 have recovered sufficiently to be delisted. During that same period of time, over 30 species have been found to be extinct. It can be argued that even those species that have recovered over the last three decades have done so with little help from ESA.

For example, the bald eagle, which is recovered and about to be delisted, is often cited as an ESA success story. In fact, it recovered due to a ban on the use of the pesticide DDT and hunting restrictions that preceded passage of ESA. ESA specified critical habitat for the bird but, as it turned out, eagles are not particularly fussy about habitat.

After a bad hurricane season destroyed critical habitat in Florida, the birds moved into residential neighborhoods where they thrived.

The same is true of the peregrine falcon that recovered primarily due to a privately funded captive breeding program and now lives on the plentiful pigeons in the country's largest cities.

Yet, the designation of areas as "critical habitat" are the primary tool of the old ESA. These designations do not require scientifically developed recovery plans-even though recovering species is the Act's stated goal.

That is why Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo designed the House-passed, bipartisan Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act to require recovery plans rather than simple, arbitrary designations of critical habitat.

Such plans would be peer reviewed using best available science. Should such plans find some kind of habitat protection necessary, such protections would be put in place. If habitat proves irrelevant to recovery of a species, other, more effective means would be used.

If the Senate enacts similar legislation, we might recover considerably more than 10 species over the next 33 years.

Sea turtles in north cyprus

These fascinating creatures come ashore on the deserted beaches of North Cyprus between May and August to nest and Alagadi Beach is classified as a special protected area.

While on your trip in Northern Cyprus, you may be intrigued to know that this is home to some of the most significant turtle housing beaches in the Mediterranean. The two species that live and nest in Northern Cyprus are endangered species. Just about 10% of the loggerhead and 30% of the green turtles in the Mediterranean nest in Northern Cyprus. Bearing in mind that as little as 300-400 green and 2000 loggerhead turtles are likely to live each year in the complete Mediterranean, it is critical that people do all they can to help and protect these near endangered species.

These North Cyprus Marine turtles start their lives on land, where they come out to emerge from eggs, just after 45-60 days of incubation on land and in the sand. When these turtles hatch and emerge they then begin to make the attempt to reach the sea, they swim anxiously out to sea waters where they stay put for the remaining years of their lives, the only break in this would be when a adult female will come to shore and lay her eggs.

It is projected that only one single hatchling out from two thousand will make it and survive to full adult life and maturity. As soon as they are 25-30 years old, and reach 1-2 meters in length, the adult females and males with set out and migrate to waters off nesting beaches to eat and reproduce. For the duration of a nesting season a female lays 3-4 nests, each carrying just about 100 eggs. she will nest every 1-3 years and will always return to the exact same beaches. There is no exact number on how long these marine turtles live but they have been suggested to live up to 160 years old.

They are two species of marine turtles that find themselves nesting in the North Cyprus Mediterranean and they would be the loggerhead, caretta caretta and the green turtle (chelonia mydas) the grand total number of both of these turtles has said to be a estimated 300-400 for the green and 2000 for the logghead females that nest each and every single year. Both of these species of sea turtles are endangered , more so with the green turtles. It has said to be that North Cyprus and Turkey seem to be the only nesting grounds these turtles come to love. There is over 80 beaches along North Cyprus that between may and October and monitored closely for the precious turtle activity.

While on your stay in North Cyprus and wish to see these lovely creatures you may indulge in a boating experience of the shore and see these turtles swimming, and with many places to see at night you might catch a glimpse of these night nesting turtles.

Group of Ecologists and students have been observing and helping to protect these rare animals from extinction for a number of years.

Some general information for you to keep on hand:

Mating time for these turtles is May/June

Hatching time is Aug/Sep

Nesting time is June/July

I hope that by through this article you can take away some general information on sea turtles in North Cyprus. If ever in the area on vacation or stay pay a visit to these wonderful beautiful creatures.

Visitors are welcome to observe this exciting experience!!!

Energy aware and waste wise

Constantly bombarded with negative information about the environment, finances and natural resources? Feeling overwhelmed? Each and every one of us can do something to help our world - starting right where we are, right now. Though not everyone can afford to donate cash or time to a cause, there are endless tactics that will decrease an individual’s contribution to the landfill and their resource consumption.

Mirrors, placed strategically in a room can be used to make use of natural lighting more efficiently, and reduce energy use as well. When placed near indoor plants, mirrors act like a second window creating better growing conditions while giving the illusion of increased space and greenery to the ambiance of a room.

When loading the clothes dryer, fluff the wet and tangled laundry before tossing into the machine. This allows for immediate and more efficient use of dryer energy. Very hot settings (which can actually shrink clothing) can thus be avoided.

Typically, the heated air from a clothes dryer is pumped outside and wasted. Consider purchasing a dryer vent converter - available at most hardware stores. These are little boxes that divert the heated air from the dryer into the house during the cold and dry winter months – making better use of your energy dollar while saving a little on heating costs. Be warned that this air is moist, and this may not be appropriate in all situations. Homes with dry static air or wood heat would benefit from the moisture, but buildings that already have a moisture problem (evident by mould and mildew or sweating and frosted windows) will only have their issues compounded by doing this.

Instead of buying disposable dryer sheets for static control, consider using a liquid fabric softener with a reused rag or sock. Pour a Tablespoon of the liquid on the rag, roll it up and squeeze (to soak up all the softener) and toss in the dryer. Wash the rag periodically by throwing it in with a normal load. Just imagine the number of dryer sheets, the packaging they came in, along with the costs, energy and resources to produce them that can be avoided by this one simple act.

There are many other little things we can do around our home, to save money and reduce waste. Instead of purchasing a plastic drip tray for potted plants, reuse plastic lids from peanut butter or mayonnaise. Often, just the right size of lid can be found for each potted plant, and most of these are dishwasher safe. Foil food trays also serve this purpose.

Plastic containers that fresh herbs are sold in make useful storage packages in the kitchen. Dried herbs and vegetables store well in these containers as long as the seal is airtight. We once bought some very nice fresh ginger in Vancouver’s Chinatown and could not use it all in one recipe. Dave placed the peeled and sliced root in the herb containers covering it with red wine vinegar. Stored in the refrigerator it kept for months this way and made it easy to add fresh tasting ginger to any dish.

These are just a few ideas to demonstrate how easy it is to make a difference while saving some money. Imagine how many other small things you can do around the home or office. Once the ideas have begun to flow, they will cause a ripple effect cascading into other aspects of your life. Then, hopefully, you will think twice before throwing anything into the trash.