Word Snapper Articles

A Life Threatening Environment

Lord Thompson Manor Environment By: Reed Langdon

Environment is a very broad subject, and something during my life, I have always been at least aware of what is going on around me . Just over the past year though, one topic really got my attention in todays environment, things are in fact physically changing on a global basis, that will affect everyone in some way.

I know you have heard this, and it is standard stuff, but on the contrary, it is happening right now, and this my friends is Global Warming. You may hear it in the daily news, but I have never been more sensitive to this before, since I have personally encountered some events that got my attention.

Global Warming : Another broad topic one might say, just listen to the environmentalists talk about all the theory, etc. Well I have news for you, I live in a foreign country, worked all around many countries world wide, including most of Asia, and all areas of Japan.

Todays Environment: Sometime within the last year, the automakers in Japan announced facts about global warming by an increase of 1 degree. Now, at that point I listened, but later just kind off pass it off as standard news. Well, traveling through Japan, I have many professional friends, who I have a lot of respect for, running major factories, and they are very sensitive to environmental conditions.

I know the culture and basic way of living probably better than the average person just from travel experience, friends, working with many factories.
So, when this announcement was made, it triggered a prior agreement , basically requiring reducing emission control in automobiles.

Now, you have to understand, its like turning yourself into the local police station, a confession. I was very impressed with the automakers, and Japan, actually taking initiative, which will probably be very costly. Lets call this a mild wake up call, which got my attention.

More Global Warming: I was watching discovery channel, and noticed a brief segment I recall on the cook islands, and how tidal flooding had occurred across the entire island. Villagers had never experienced this every before. I thought this was very unusual circumstance.

I live in the tropics, and have been in a drought over the past 4 years, until this year, and now, way to much water, tropical down pours, and here in Thailand, they call it the 60 year storm, mudslides, the works. Well, coming from California, this is quiet common, along the ocean, and we call it the 100 year storm.

Changing Environment: Well, living in Thailand I was here during the Tsunami. Just over a year or so ago. Now this was very unfortunate act of nature, but from California, I am use to earthquakes, and went through some big ones. Time has passed, people move on in life, but last month, I came across a situation that I will call my real wakeup call, and I wanted to share with readers everywhere.

I was traveling south to a large industrial area called Rayong. Many factories, ocean on one side, Cambodia on the other. This was just a get away weekend. I was driving along the Oceanside by a city near Rayong I have passed many times over the years, but this was a very unique situation, which I have seen on Thai news reports many times .

Some of the area is very low to sea level. Miles out,
I could see telephone poles in the ocean, following the streets, all under water now, six feet deep and more in some areas, and this wasnt just a rare high tide.

The locals I spoke with were just bewildered as best described, dont know why, and a bit scared . It had been this way for quiet some time, approximately 1 year or so, and many homes were either under water, dismantled and moved miles inland on higher ground. Just to understand the magnitude of the situation, and area, the Thais say over 11,000 Rai, which is about 5,000 thousand acres, now underwater, did that get your attention ? It certainly got mine.

Side note, telephone poles are made from cement/steel rebar, so they stand like statues in the ocean. This was quiet a wake up call. Now, this probably didnt show on BBC, or CNN, but when you phsically experience something like this, it leaves you with a very empty feeling, and the reality hits hard.

Changing Environment/ Global Warming: I dont have all the answers, but in general wanted to share some of my experiences, as the indicators noted. I am very proud of the Thais for making major changes from oil, to NGV on all taxis, city buses.

You could say this is cost driven, but Bangkok is the most crowded traffic in the world, with many improvements in the works, you can probably imagine the emissions as a result, and now cleaner air is in fact happening rapidly. A very strong effort by all to improve these conditions. Now my concern is Bangkok, and how close to sea level the entire city of 12 million is. How many years until all is under water?

Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor

Hydrogen Fuel Cells And The Effects On The Environment

Lord Thompson Manor Fuel Cells By: Mirko von Anken

There is no doubt that the development of hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative fuel is good for the environment, but how does that work? It is easy to say that we should use hydrogen fuel cell technology to save our environment and prevent global warming. Finding facts about it and embracing those facts can be two very different things.

First, let us consider the fact that hydrogen fuel cells are good for the environment because they are the cleanest burning fuels ever developed. Hydrogen is taken out of water and then put into fuel cells as a gas that can power a vehicle. The only emission that comes out of a fuel cell powered vehicle is water vapor. It is like having a humidifier for the whole world!

There are, however, some drawbacks that are associated with hydrogen fuel cells and the environment. A completely efficient system of producing, storing and transporting hydrogen should, in principle, lead to no unwanted emissions of the gas.

But the researchers point out that such a system would be expensive, and that in reality around 10-20% of the hydrogen would escape into the atmosphere. They say that if hydrogen fuel cells replaced all of today is oil and gas-based combustion technologies, such losses would double or even triple the total hydrogen deposited into the atmosphere at the Earth is surface.

Other researchers say that the hydrogen would be oxidized when it reaches the stratosphere, which would cool the stratosphere and create more clouds. This would delay the break up of the polar vortex at the north and south poles, making the holes in the ozone layer larger and longer lasting. They estimate that the extra hydrogen will lead to a 5-8% rise in ozone depletion at the North Pole and between 3 and 7% at the South Pole.

The exact scale of this additional ozone depletion, however, depends on a number of unknown quantities. In addition to uncertainty over the extent of hydrogen emissions in the future, little is understood about how soil absorbs hydrogen from the atmosphere. The researchers say it is conceivable that this process could compensate for all new anthropogenic emissions.

The truth is, however, that using hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative fuel is actually good in the long run very good for the environment.

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As Commercial Strategist for Space Exploration, Paul Eckert develops strategies to strengthen global business relationships and explore new commercial markets.  Paul Eckert has become increasingly active in writing and speaking about the importance of industrial cooperation to encourage innovation.  Since joining Boeing in 2003, Paul Eckert has played a variety of roles, facilitating space exploration planning, infrastructure design, Earth observation, space science, government relations, and communications. 

In 2001 and 2002, Paul Eckert served as a Technology Policy Analyst in the Office of Space Commercialization, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., helping to develop policies promoting growth of the commercial space industry, both domestically and internationally.  From 1999 through 2000, he was a Legislative Affairs Specialist at NASA, with responsibility for liaison with the U.S. Congress involving space and aeronautics, information technology, systems engineering, and technology transfer to industry.  In 1997 and 1998, Paul Eckert was science and technology advisor to U.S. Senator John Breaux, a prominent member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, having received a Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  From 1986 through 1997, he gained expertise in productivity enhancement, as Director of Quality Improvement for a division of Henry Ford Health System. 

Paul Eckert holds a bachelor’s degree with high honors in history from Harvard University, and a doctoral degree in psychology from Michigan State University, supplemented by postdoctoral training in organizational development. He is fluent in French and active in promoting international public-private partnerships to stimulate economic growth.