Forum for the Future – a UK charity promoting sustainable development, recently ran a competition sponsored by the Financial Times – the FT Climate Change Challenge.

In their own words, the aims of the competition were:

• to raise the profile of green innovation and demonstrate that there are solutions and money can be made from them
• to find the best low-carbon innovations from around the world and help them find funding by showcasing them to a global business audience
• to help the winner immediately with a $75,000 prize to develop its project and bring it to scale.

With more than 300 entries, the final 5 products were the following:

• A feed additive reducing the methane produced by cows and sheep
• Hollow ceiling tiles with water circulating through them which cools rooms through evaporation rather than air conditioning
• Fabric covers for truck tires that can reduce fuel costs by 2% by reducing aerodynamic drag
• A giant portable industrial microwave which can transform biomass into burnable charcoal
• A solar powered cardboard oven, capable of cooking food and boiling water in, easily produced at a cost of 5€, about US$7

The competition was won by the cardboard oven, named the Kyoto Box by it’s inventors.

This extraordinary development enables families in the tropics where the sun is high in the sky, to boil water making it safe to drink, and to cook food. Crucially, this can be done without burning wood or other natural resources to make fires, or having to buy fuel.

It is this kind of very simple but revolutionary technology that is the key to positively transforming countless lives worldwide, while at the same time contributing significantly to reducing environmental destruction and damage to the atmosphere.

Read more about the solar powered oven at the competition website here.

This report on the Global impact of the ICT (Information and communications technology) industry on it’s contribution to Global CO2 emissions still makes for surprising reading.

Although the technology involved in the survey is quite extensive – all computers, office IT equipment, servers, mobile and fixed telephony etc, the report suggests that the combined contribution is 2% of global CO2 emissions – about the same as the airline industry.

The airline industry is an obvious object of blame, with travellers being encouraged to find alternative means of transport, or if travelling by air, to offset the emissions of their journey, but there are far fewer concerned voices being heard discussing this issue.

Some practical measures detailed within the article to help reduce this include:

• Become aware of and start measuring power consumption of your IT devices
• To use fewer servers and printers by increasing utilization – virtualizing servers (More info on virtualizing servers here…)
• To stop over-privsioning – plan capacity requirements more efficiently
• Improve the efficiency of cooling – wasting energy with servers overheating, then wasting this energy by cooling with expensive and high energy air conditioning
• To use the power managemement features on devices, and to turn power off when devices are not in use
• Extend the life of hardware assetts by re-using within the business, or to pass on to be used outside of the business after use
• Ensure and validate the correct disposition of all electrical equipment ensuring no energy is being wasted un-necessarily
• Become aware of and analyze all waste

A connected article was published in The Times of London, detailing the estimated environmental cost of Google searches. Estimated, because no one is quite sure of the size of Google operations for commercial reasons.

It’s important to be aware that all of our actions have an impact int his world, whether it be good, bad or indifferent – even just cruising around on the web…

Here’s a great article from the New York Times.

What amazes me about this is the numbers involved – 5% of human caused emissions of CO2 are coming from concrete production! Who knows this? -We talk about switching light bulbs off, taking the train instead of flying if possible, but who thinks twice when laying foundations for a new home…?

Really great also to see science attempting to rise to the challenge, and even better to see companies like Carbon Sense Solutions in Canada working on not only reducing, but sequestering – locking away CO2 in wet cement – these sorts of revolutionary but simple solutions have to be the most constructive and positive ways forward. Not increasing the problem, not being ‘neutral’ in the problem, but actually countering the problem.

Let’s look at “Planet Earth” as our society. To obtain and sustain joy and quality of life it is essential that all people, irrespective of nationality, race, religious beliefs or sex be aware of the effects of our cumulative actions. When each “one” of us becomes conscious of what we do that either diminish or improve the whole “one”, then healing or optimizing this amazing manifestation of Planet Earth begins.

For sustainable success to be realized we need to trust that it is possible to live in a clean environment free of the following:

• harmful air pollutants
• poisonous food additives
• altered, contaminated and exploited water resources
• careless energy generation that depletes and damages our environment
• and toxic medicines made for profit instead of to support our quality of life

Believing is the first step in creating a change.

Humanity has the power to create simply by making choices that has every “one” be taken care of. This occurs the instant accord is established amongst government and corporate leaders rooted in values that support the whole specifically truth, caring and understanding. It is simple to see that these values support long term economic and environmental stability.

As a leader reading this message, you can allow this possibility and awareness to enter your thoughts. It is freeing. You will still be a leader if you do this. You will be a great leader. There is endless information available that explains the actions needed to correct what society has created. The conversation on the “health impacts of air pollution” is one place to begin to open your eyes to alternatives that are possible.

YouTube – A New World Awakening – Health Impacts of Air Pollution & Solutions