Text 28473, 171 rader
Skriven 2007-04-30 22:26:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
     Kommentar till en text av John Hull
Ärende: Global Warming
======================
JH> JB> The mechanism at work on Mars appears, however, to be different
JH> JB> from that on
JH> JB> Earth. One of the researchers, Lori Fenton, believes variations
JH> JB> in radiation
JH> JB> and temperature across the surface of the Red Planet are
JH> JB> generating strong winds.

JH> JB> In a paper published in the journal Nature, she suggests that
JH> JB> such winds can
JH> JB> stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planets
JH> JB> temperature.

JH> JB> Fentons team unearthed heat maps of the Martian surface from
JH> JB> Nasas Viking mission in the 1970s and compared them with maps
JH> JB> gathered more than two decades
JH> JB> later by Mars Global Surveyor. They found there had been
JH> JB> widespread changes,
JH> JB> with some areas becoming darker.

JH> JB> When a surface darkens it absorbs more heat, eventually
JH>radiating that heat
JH> JB> back to warm the thin Martian atmosphere: lighter surfaces have
JH> JB> the opposite
JH> JB> effect. The temperature differences between the two are thought
JH> JB> to be stirring
JH> JB> up more winds, and dust, creating a cycle that is warming the
JH> JB> planet.

JH>That tracks right along with the increased solar radiation and
JH>increased gamma radiation that has caused changes in cloud formation
JH>and wind here on Earth.

JH>Our sun is going through a cycle of increased solar flare activity,
JH>which when added to the increases recently reported in gamma
JH>radiation from space, easily accounts for any rise in average
JH>temperature.  Of course, the Chicken Little Brigade attributes all
JH>that to man.

Make no mistake, this is all about power and money.  The left doesn't 
care about the planet.


http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2068397,00.html

EasyJet slams 'snake oil sellers' in offset market and goes it alone


Poll: do you trust carbon offsetting? 

Dan Milmo, transport correspondent
Monday April 30, 2007
The Guardian 


EasyJet has warned that the carbon offsetting market is riddled with 
"snake oil salesmen" determined to make excessive profits from green-
minded air passengers.

EasyJet slams 'snake oil sellers' in offset market and goes it alone


Poll: do you trust carbon offsetting? 

Dan Milmo, transport correspondent
Monday April 30, 2007
The Guardian 


EasyJet has warned that the carbon offsetting market is riddled with 
"snake oil salesmen" determined to make excessive profits from green-
minded air passengers.
The low-cost airline has delayed the launch of an offsetting scheme for 
customers because of concerns over its cost. Instead, easyJet will go it 
alone by acquiring credits in UN-accredited schemes and selling them 
back to customers.

Carbon offsetting is one of the most popular means of atoning for CO2-
generating activities such as flying or driving to work. It allows 
consumers to contribute to projects such as tree planting to negate the 
effect of their flight or commute.


Article continues

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

Toby Nicol, easyJet's communications director, said the company had been 
shocked by how much money carbon offsetting firms wanted for their 
service. "We have been quite surprised at the percentage that the 
offsetting companies would like to take out of the scheme for 
administration costs. Between 25% and 30% of every pound put in by 
consumers would go into administrating the company and that was simply 
too expensive," he said.
"There are a lot of people who have dived into the market who are 
desperate to make a margin from it. There are too many snake oil 
salesmen in the business."

Mr Nicol said buying the UN-backed carbon credits on the open market and 
selling them to passengers was better than turning to brokers. "It gets 
rid of the expensive middleman and it addresses the valid concern about 
whether it will make any difference to carbon emissions," he said. 
Carbon credits cost up to £7.50 per tonne. "It's a fledgling industry 
with high demand and yet there are no standards over the carbon credits 
themselves. There is no regulation in the business."

However, some carbon intermediaries have recognised companies' concerns 
by establishing the voluntary carbon standard, set up by the 
International Emissions Trading Association, the Climate Group and the 
World Economic Forum.

There is also debate about the efficiency of such schemes. Scientists 
warned recently that one of the most popular offsetting investments, in 
planting trees, could contribute to global warming if the trees were 
planted outside the tropics because they would trap heat and absorb 
carbon.

Rival airlines have disputed easyJet's claims. A spokeswoman for British 
Airways, which launched an offsetting scheme in 2005, said it was "not 
aware" of offsetting firms charging excessive fees. BA uses one of the 
best known offsetting companies, Climate Care, for its scheme.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said it was still considering whether to 
launch an offsetting programme but it was in talks with two "bona fide" 
companies. "As in most industries there are a lot of companies that are 
not very good but you do get one or two that are worth their salt."

Virgin had doubts over offsetting products, he said, because its 
passengers already contributed to green causes through the £2bn Air 
Passenger Duty, proceeds from which, the government says, will be 
invested in environmental projects and public transport. He said the 
company was also investing its profits in biofuel research as part of 
Sir Richard Branson's pledge to invest $3bn (£1.5bn) in green 
technology. Virgin plans to run trial flights of a biofuel-powered 
Boeing jumbo jet next year.

The easyJet carbon offsetting scheme will be launched this summer. The 
aviation industry has been heavily criticised by environmental groups 
because it is one of the fastest-growing generators of carbon emissions, 
accounting for 5.5% of the CO2 generated in the UK. British airlines, 
including easyJet and Virgin Atlantic, recently set up a sustainable 
aviation body to combat the criticism and to give the industry some 
green credentials.

Low-budget airlines in particular have been targeted by 
environmentalists because they have driven a boom in air travel. The 
environment minister Ian Pearson labelled Ryanair the "irresponsible 
face of capitalism" this year after the airline criticised the European 
emissions trading scheme. Ryanair and easyJet say financially successful 
airlines are the greenest because they can afford to invest heavily in 
new aircraft, which burn fuel more efficiently and therefore produce 
less carbon than their predecessors. Andrew Harrison, easyJet chief 
executive, has called on the European Union to ban nearly 700 of the 
"oldest and dirtiest" jets.

Not just trees

The embryonic carbon offsetting industry has come up with several 
ingenious ways for individuals and companies to make up for the impact 
of their actions on the world's climate. While planting trees may be one 
of the most popular, other schemes use donors' money to reduce emissions 
from elsewhere. Climate Care, for instance, supplies farmers in 
developing nations with man-powered treadle pumps to replace polluting 
diesel pumps. One pump saves about 0.65 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. 
Other schemes involve capturing methane generated by farm animals or 
landfill sites.

 * Origin:  (1:226/600)