CO2 levels already in danger zone

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have entered the danger zone and must be reduced if climate disasters are to be averted,
according to researchers.

US, British and French scientists, including two from Yale, said in a study that optimum CO2 level should be less than 350 parts per million (ppm) - a dramatic change from most studies that have pegged the danger level for CO2 at 450 ppm or higher.

Atmospheric CO2 is currently 385 ppm and is increasing by about two ppm every year from the burning of coal, oil, gas and forests.

"This work and other recent publications suggest that we have reached CO2 levels that compromise the stability of the polar ice sheets," said author Mark Pagani, Yale professor of geology and geophysics.

"How fast ice sheets and sea level will respond are still poorly understood, but given the potential size of the disaster, I think it's best not to learn this lesson firsthand," he said.

The statement is based on improved data on the earth's climate history and ongoing observations of change, especially in the polar regions, said an Yale University release.

The authors use evidence of how the earth responded to past changes of CO2 along with more recent patterns of climate changes to show that atmospheric CO2 has already entered a danger zone.

Coal is the largest source of atmospheric CO2 and the one that would be most practical to eliminate. Oil resources already may be about half depleted, depending upon the magnitude of undiscovered reserves, and it is still not practicable to capture CO2 emerging from vehicle tailpipes, the way it can be with coal-burning facilities, note the scientists, the study said.

These findings have been published in Open Atmospheric Science Journal.
Source : The Times of India

College focuses on Green Technology

New Delhi: Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi, presented Convergence 2008, on Innovating Change, at India Habitat Centre from October 31 – November 1, 2008. The event was focused on the use of Green technology in corporate sector.

Each year the college adopts a highly relevant topic to broaden the horizon of knowledge. This year the theme of seminar was Innovating Change. The innovation is about generating new ideas that will prevent the company from stagnation by giving its product and services a competitive edge.

Mr. N.K. Khosla, Exec, Director, IOC and Mr. Raj Dutta, Exec, Director, Quatrro inaugurated the seminar with the lamp lighting ceremony with Dr. Poonam Verma , Principal, SSCBS. Mr. Pradeep Gupta, Chairman- SSCBS and Prof. Dinesh Singh, Director, South Campus, Delhi University were also the part of the opening ceremony.

The first day of the seminar was on Green technology. In the first session, Dr. Bhure Lal, Chairman, Environment and Pollution Authority, focused on the need to utilize Solar Energy to save the earth from environmental crises. The other eminent panelists were Mrs. Nimisha Garg, Director, SolarIndiaOnline.com and Ms Livleen Kahlon, EEA TERI. They discussed about environmental problems like Global Warming and its impact.

In the second session, speakers from Crisil, EVI and Nokia focused their views on the opportunities that lie in using the green technology and the ‘Need of Green Technology in India’. This session was followed by the session on hurdles where speakers from industries like Tata BP Solar, Mahindra and Niesbud spoke on the hurdles, which companies face in going green. However the most appreciated event of the day was the Big Fight on “Are we comprising on long term sustainable development for short term growth?” among industrialist, academicians, environmentalist with the help of a moderator.
JK Tyres was the title sponsor for the event and the other partners were Pepsi, NDTV.com and Fever104. SolarIndiaOnline.com was the online partner for the event.