eco-union

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Real time fancy chart with the % of electrical power coming from wind turbines.
Spain is on the leading country on Wind Power!

Wind power in Spain reached a new record, providing at its peak 53.7% of Spain's total electricity demand

Americans are living in a parallel world. For Spanish or French people, it's very hard to understand the fact that 50 millions of Americans do not have the RIGHT to dry their cloths outside in their garden.

Because it looks UGLY !!!!

Look at the picture

is a free online tool to quantify, track, compare and understand the total amount of energy needed to support all of the facets of your lifestyle

23 mars 2009
Particules dans l'air ambiant : la réduction des émissions doit passer avant le dispositif d'information et d'alerte sur les pics

L'Afsset publie ce jour un rapport et un avis d'expertise sur la pollution de l'air par les particules fines et son impact sur la santé.

L'avis conclut qu'on ne peut trouver de seuil de pollution au-dessous duquel il n'y aurait pas d'impact sanitaire. De plus les expositions fréquentes à des niveaux modérés de pollution ont plus d'impact sanitaire que les pics, en France.
L'agence recommande donc de donner la priorité à la réduction des pollutions à la source (combustion du bois, du charbon et du fioul, industries, transports, agriculture…).

La mise en œuvre de seuils d'information et d'alerte relatifs aux particules ne présente globalement pas de bénéfice sanitaire substantiel. Elle permet toutefois d'informer les populations sensibles (femmes enceintes, enfants, personnes âgées, personnes souffrant de pathologies cardiovasculaires ou respiratoires) et de les inviter à adapter leurs comportements lors de pics.

Cette expertise de l'Afsset a été commanditée en août 2007 par les ministères chargés de l'écologie et de la santé. La mise en place d'une nouvelle méthode de mesure à partir du 1er janvier 2007, prenant en compte la fraction volatile des particules, avait conduit à une augmentation des concentrations mesurées.

Ces épisodes ont amené les ministères à mettre en place un dispositif d'information du public - notamment des personnes sensibles - en cas de pics de pollution. Une circulaire ministérielle du 12 octobre 2007 fixe des seuils d'information et d'alerte, respectivement à 80 µg/m3 et 125 µg/m3 en moyenne sur 24 heures.

Kamal Meattle used three just three indoor plant species to increase oxygen, filter air, and boost general health at a a New Delhi business park. You too can use them to freshen your indoor space.

Meattle's presentation at the TED 2009 conference details a large-scale success, using thousands of plants for hundreds of workers. In any living or working space, though, the three plants-Areca palm, Mother-in-law's Tongue, and a "Money Plant"-can be used to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, remove organic compounds, and generally fil

Worldwide, grid-based electric lighting consumes 19% of total global electricity production, slightly more electricity than used by the nations of OECD Europe for all purposes.

Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States
C. Arden Pope, III, Ph.D., Majid Ezzati, Ph.D., and Douglas W. Dockery, Sc.D.

ABSTRACT

Background Exposure to fine-particulate air pollution has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality, suggesting that sustained reductions in pollution exposure should result in improved life expectancy. This study directly evaluated the changes in life expectancy associated with differential changes in fine particulate air pollution that occurred in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s.

Methods We compiled data on life expectancy, socioeconomic status, and demographic characteristics for 211 county units in the 51 U.S. metropolitan areas with matching data on fine-particulate air pollution for the late 1970s and early 1980s and the late 1990s and early 2000s. Regression models were used to estimate the association between reductions in pollution and changes in life expectancy, with adjustment for changes in socioeconomic and demographic variables and in proxy indicators for the prevalence of cigarette smoking.

Results A decrease of 10 µg per cubic meter in the concentration of fine particulate matter was associated with an estimated increase in mean (±SE) life expectancy of 0.61±0.20 year (P=0.004). The estimated effect of reduced exposure to pollution on life expectancy was not highly sensitive to adjustment for changes in socioeconomic, demographic, or proxy variables for the prevalence of smoking or to the restriction of observations to relatively large counties. Reductions in air pollution accounted for as much as 15% of the overall increase in life expectancy in the study areas.

Conclusions A reduction in exposure to ambient fine-particulate air pollution contributed to significant and measurable improvements in life expectancy in the United States.


Source Information

From the Department of Economics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT (C.A.P.); the Harvard School of Publi