Let There Be Light

Energy Efficient Lighting

   After recently calculating my carbon footprint, it became apparent that a large factor of my wastefully created carbon was due to my lack of utilization of the most efficient types of lighting. And, honestly, I found myself fairly ignorant on the subject. What types of lights are the most efficient, and is it possible for me to achieve energy efficiency without burning a hole in my wallet? As it turns out, there are several options for efficient lighting, and many types can even save money over time in comparison with traditional incandescent bulbs.

   The main alternatives to incandescents are Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights. Both of these present large advantages over incandescent bulbs, reducing the electricity used for lighting by a factor of ten or more. LED lights appear to be the light of the future, boasting watt usage "1/3rd to 1/30th of incandescent or CFL." Though, the initial investment for LED lights is high. Thus, for many, CFL's present the most effective option to reduce one's carbon footprint through efficient lighting.

  For such a pressing issue, it seems like a small task to replace lightbulbs with more sustainable alternatives, and, in many cases, the initial cost will be returned several times over.

Make it Rain

Firing laser beams into the sky could make it rain, say scientists

   It does not seem immediately plausible that we, as mere humans, could possess the ability to control the weather. For millennia we have attempted to do so, but not until recently has it appeared to exist as a potential reality. The lasers fired by the Swiss scientists acted to condense water vapor into very small droplets by creating "nitric acid particles in the air that behaved like atmospheric glue, binding water molecules together into droplets and preventing them from re-evaporating." This appears to be quite an innovation. We could control when, where, and how hard it rains? Breathtaking. While the science is not complete enough to start a downpour in the drought-ravaged eastern Africa and southern United States, the findings are a start upon which incredible advances in weather control could be achieved, and, with any hope at all, the new methods will be much more eco-friendly than the Chinese strategy of blasting chemicals into the sky to alter weather patterns.

   Additionally, these new advances could have an incredibly practical use as our planet's atmosphere is further adulterated with heretofore unseen amounts of greenhouse gasses. As the impacts of climate change develop, our planet will see increasing drought, amplified weather disasters, and a modicum of other affects to boot. Though, if these discoveries translate into practical weather-altering methods, perhaps our newfound abilities will slightly mediate the harsh droughts and torrential rainfalls that are bound to extend in their respective extremes. While we cannot count on our "do nothing" policies to sustain our planet, hopefully such advances as these will reduce the catastrophic effects that we have brought upon ourselves when we finally realize the severity of our current situation.