The Weather Forecast on Your ComputerWritten by David Leonhardt
I use Internet to find just about every type of information. Even weather. Sure, I could just stick my head out window and call out, "Hello. What's weather forecast today?" But if response is "hurricanes, hail and meteor storms", I don't want my head to be on wrong side of window when answer comes down. Plus, that won't help me fine-tune my last minute travel plans. So I turn to Internet. There are three really easy ways to get a good weather forecast over Internet: Weather forecast websites: There are some good weather forecast websites. The one I use most often, because I am in Canada, is The Weather Network, and I also like CNN. CNN gives current conditions and a five day forecast. The Weather Network provides more detail, with a short term forecast ( this evening, tonight, tomorrow morning, etc.) and a longer term forecast over next six days. The Weather Network provides most detail of all options, but it takes longer to download than progress of climate change (so don't do it on a 26K modem!) Both offer forecasts for cities worldwide. Weather forecast software: A second way, which does not even require going to a website, is to get current conditions right on your desktop. There are free weather forecast software downloads that display key data right on your desktop, and even provide a text summary one click away.
| | A Simple Way To Offset the Environmental Effects of Driving Your CarWritten by Debra Lynn Dadd
We all love our cars. They give us freedom to come and go as we please, to get to work, to visit family and friends, to go shopping...on our own schedule. But automobiles also effect environment by polluting air we breathe and, in larger scope of life, by creating unusual climate changes. But there is a simple thing you can do to offset negative environmental effects of driving your car, and It costs less than $100 a year. HOW DRIVING YOUR CAR AFFECTS THE ENVIRONMENT If you drive a standard American automobile, your car emits about 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year. That's three times weight of car! If you drive an SUV, your car emits around 20,000 pounds of CO2 each year. CO2 is a major "greenhouse gas." Back around 1800, before there were cars and industry, CO2-concentration in air was about 280 ppm (1 ppm CO2= one molecule of CO2 per one million molecules of air). Today, as result of human activities, CO2-concentration in air is about 370 ppm, and increasing by 1.7 ppm every year. And we're adding CO2 faster than it decomposes. Every molecule of CO2 we add to atmosphere stays there for about 100 years. Many scientists are warning that this increase in CO2 is raising average temperature of planet, known as "greenhouse effect." The widely respected WorldWatch Institute has warned that severe climate change could include major shifts in weather patterns and agricultural zones, resulting in droughts and floods. A wide range of human and natural systems could be disrupted, displacing long-standing economic and social systems as well as established ecosystems. Twenty percent of carbon dioxide released into atmosphere every year comes from driving cars. That is a significant percentage. This won't be changed by international protocols or government regulations. But each one of us can make a difference by reducing our own CO2 emissions.
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