14. Carbon Credits A carbon credit is a certificate or permit that allows the emission of one ton of carbon dioxide or other equivalent gas in the atmosphere. There's a whole market dealing with carbon trading at both national and voluntary levels. The idea is based on giving an incentive to reduce CO 2 emissions and then use the carbon credits to finance the development of various “green” projects.
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17. Step 1: Calculate Your Carbon Footprint If you want to buy credits to offset the greenhouse gases your lifestyle is producing, then you need to calculate your carbon footprint. Step 2: Research Carbon Credit Companies There are dozens of companies that offer the ability to buy carbon credits. Because there is no one organization that certifies these companies, doing research to find out how much the credits cost and how they offset your greenhouse gases can be a good way to make sure that your money is truly going towards reducing emissions How to Buy Carbon Credits ?
18. Step 3: Purchase The Credits Once you select a company, you then buy the credits. Most companies offer online purchasing of carbon offset credits. You can choose to make a one-time purchase of the credits, buy them on a yearly basis, or give them as eco-conscious gifts to friends. Conclusion Although carbon credits can be a useful tool in reducing pollution and fighting global warming, most experts also strongly suggest that individuals try to reduce their carbon footprint as well. In addition to buying credits, simple things such as using compact fluorescent lights, driving less and buying local produce can help reduce your carbon footprint.
19. National Level Carbon Credit Trading Carbon credits can be purchased either by commercial users, companies, countries or individuals. In a national level, countries such as New Zealand and Ireland have used this approach to offset their CO 2 emissions and develop practices such as farming, planting trees, and investing in wind power generation infrastructures. Nations that participated in the Kyoto meeting in 1997 (Kyoto Protocol) are allowed to emit certain amounts of CO 2 as long as they manage to offset this emissions with “green” actions. In case a nation is producing more CO 2 than it can absorb, it must purchase carbon credits from another nation to offset its carbon production balance.
20. Carbon credit in India At last count in March 2006, India had 310 ‘eco-friendly’ projects awaiting approval by the UN. Once cleared, these projects can fetch about Rs 29,000 cr in the next seven years. India’s carbon credit market is growing, as many players (industries) are adopting the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), said S K Panigrahi, Director(Environment and Forest), Planning Commission.
27. What Is Supercritical CO 2 ? Carbon dioxide is in its supercritical fluid state when both the temperature and pressure equal or exceed the critical point of 31.1°C and 72.9 atm. (see diagram). In its supercritical state, CO 2 has both gas-like and liquid-like qualities, and it is this dual characteristic of supercritical fluids that provides the ideal conditions for extracting compounds with a high degree of recovery in a short period of time .
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40. Treatment of toxic waste Many organic compounds are soluble in scCO 2 , and this can be exploited to remove toxic materials from waste.
43. What is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)? Carbon is emitted into the atmosphere (as carbon dioxide, also called CO 2 ) whenever we burn any fossil fuel, anywhere. The largest sources are cars and lorries, and power stations that burn fossil fuels: coal, oil or gas. To prevent the carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere (probably causing global warming and definitely causing ocean acidification), we can catch the CO 2 , and store it. As we would need to store thousands of millions of tons of CO 2 , we cannot just build containers, but must use natural storage facilities. Some of the best natural containers are old oil and gas fields, such as those in the North Sea.
44. The diagram on the left shows a conceptual plan for CCS, involving 2 of the common fossil fuels, methane gas (also called natural gas) and coal. Methane gas is produced from offshore gas fields, and is brought onshore by pipeline. Using existing oil-refinery technology, the gas is 'reformed' into hydrogen and CO 2 . The CO 2 is then separated by a newly-designed membrane, and sent offshore, using a corrosion-resistant pipeline. The CO 2 goes to an oilfield. The CO 2 is stored in the oilfield, several km below sea level, instead of being vented into the atmosphere from the power station . What might Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) look like?
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48. How and where is CO₂ stored? The UK is in a very advantageous position as we have access to offshore CO₂ storage locations, under the North Sea. CO₂ can be stored within two types of geological formations; deep saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas fields. The British Geological Survey has estimated that storage capacity in UK oil and gas field’s amounts to at least 7. 8GT. Storage capacity in UK aquifers is much less certain, and could range from about 24GT to an optimistic maximum of 240GT. All this equates to approximately 100 years of storage capacity (at UK current rate of emissions from power generation) available to the UK to store CO₂.
51. Eco-Friendly route: tree-planting activities Thirty hectares will be designated as "environmental groves" and trees in these areas will not be cut down. Since these forested sites are located near the head waters of an irrigation dam, we can expect them to have a recharging effect on the head waters, as well as mitigate global warming by absorbing CO2 as they grow.
52. When essential oils are extracted from plants through the process of steam distillation, wastewater is produced and subsequently released into rivers and streams. Finding new uses for these unused by-products could benefit essential oil crop growers and processors as well as the environment. A team of researchers has found that the residual distillation water of some aromatic plant species has a beneficial effect on yields and can increase essential oil content of peppermint and spearmint crops. Using Wastewater to Enhance Mint Production
53. Agricultural Aromatherapy: Lavender Oil As Natural Herbicide Could essential oils extracted from lavender be used as a natural herbicide to prevent weed growth among crops? Research carried out in Italy and reported in the current issue of the International Journal of Environment and Health suggests the answer may be yes.
55. Biomass Energy Development A discussion of biomass energy, environmental impacts associated with biomass energy development, and mitigation measures to avoid or reduce biomass energy development impacts