My Voicethread

Hi

This is my Voice thread about Hydrogen cars

http://voicethread.com/share/153314/

Voice thread

Hi every one

I didn't know what to do about Voice Thread

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please make a comment in my voice thread

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http://voicethread.com/share/147482/

>Cool Solutions - My own focus - Hydrogen Cars<

Hydrogen is an energy carrier, and its energy efficient use involves the use of fuel cells and electric motor. Hydrogen reacts with oxygen inside the fuel cells. Electricity is produced, and thus the motor is powered. Hydrogen is produced from a renewable energy source. So cars powered with hydrogen are eco-friendly since they reduce the greenhouse gas emission.

Fuel cell vehicles are expected to achieve energy efficiency of 40 to 45%, while the internal combustion engine of cars uses only 16% of the energy in gasoline. Another interesting feature of hydrogen cars is that they operate with electric motors which have very few moving parts. This will greatly reduce the car vibrations and noise. There will be no need to do routine maintenance like oil changes and spark plug replacement. Fuel cells in hydrogen cars are better than the battery, because they do not need any charging time, allow a wide range of speeds, and operate as long as fuel is supplied.

Petrol cars produce air pollutants like carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, and greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Fuel cell powered cars will not just reduce air pollution, but also noise pollution and groundwater contamination. This will improve public health and safety from reduced exposure to the dangerous emissions.

A fuel cell powered car is an important technology in the fight against global warming which is resulted because about 25% of all human-generated greenhouse gases come from transportation. This technology is still in the experimental phase. I believe the UAE government needs to establish research centers that will work hand in hand with the international research centers to speed up the replacement of the petrol cars with the eco-friendly hydrogen cars.

Cool Cities - Abu Dhabi TDIC project

Hello everyone. I researched the Saadiyat Island of the TDIC project. The TDIC project in Abu Dhabi aims at increasing tourist and business visitor by developing real estate assets. The Saadiyat Island will include a cultural district, beach, Al Marina District, and the South Beach. Further features of this project can be seen in my MS PowerPoint slides. I spent hours trying to upload it here using scribd.com and other ways but there is a problem with the website and I tried other ways but it just didn’t work unfortunately. I will show my presentation in the class this week on Monday or Wednesday.

My Favorite Project:

The Desert Island project is my favorite one because it will reflect the ecotourism vision of the UAE’s late president His Highness Sheikh Zayed. There will an Arabian wildlife part, birds and turtles breeding areas, and maintained archaeological sites in the 8 islands. I find that the Desert Island a good investment since it will create jobs for many people. Also the environmental conservation of the marine life and the heritage sites will encourage people to protect the land and will strengthen their ties with the environment.

My Least Favorite Project:

The least interesting project was Qasr Al Sarab. Although it is a luxury five star Arabian retreat in Abu Dhabi’s Liwa desert, it is far away from the city centre and the main tourist landmarks of Abu Dhabi. Also its location will make it difficult to reach for people attending the conferences or seminars that will take place there. Qasar Al Sarab Hotel is less appealing for the tourists who love the beaches of the UAE and the marine activities like scuba diving and wind surfing. Personally, I prefer a hotel that gives a nice, relaxing view of the beach.

Conclusion:

The TDIC project reflects the vision of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi for the future. I believe that there is a need to conduct a strategic plan that will help in foreseeing the draw backs of such projects, and thus setting plans to accommodate the challenges and to maintain the highest qualities in terms of health and education. It is essential to realize that the increase in the number of residents after completing the projects should not compromise the services offered to people.

Cool City

Cool City Comments

It is in the interest of everyone living in the UAE to enjoy a cool weather during the summer. Children and adults would like to have outdoors activities instead of just staying indoors. Investors also would like to invest in a cool weather. There are several technologies and techniques to mitigate the weather but not all of them are feasible for the UAE.

Good Adaptation:

Placing misters and giant fans at different locations to create a cool, artificial breeze is a very affordable technology, and it can cool the weather by four or five degrees. Another good adaptation idea is increasing the green space which will in turn increase natural shading and lower the green gas effect by reducing CO2 in the weather. In the UAE, there are lots of tall buildings that have concrete walls which absorbs heat. The walls will radiate cooling by shading the narrow spaces between the buildings. This technique is not complex and affordable by the municipalities of the UAE.

Bad Adaptation:

While circulating seawater is a practical idea for cooling, it is difficult to be incorporated in the infrastructure of the populated areas. Also it is not a feasible idea in areas where water is scares. Building mechanical roofs that respond to the temperature is a complex technology that comes at a high cost. I believe that not all buildings owners are willing to afford such a cost. Public transport will reduce CO2 emissions, but we cannot guarantee that all people are willing to use it. There is no law in the UAE that enforces people to use public transport.

In conclusion, weather cooling techniques for the UAE vary in their complexity and cost. There are some very simple, affordable and feasible ones that can make big differences in the weather if implemented in the UAE.

Here is a video related to cool cities:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6PId3HC9c

My Carbon Footprint

People daily lifestyle produces a lot of pollution and specially carbon emissions. These emissions cause what is known carbon footprint. Carbon footprint is a representation of the result of human activities have on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced. Each human has his own carbon footprint because each human produce an emission in a way or another. I did a test which measures my carbon foot print and I was really surprised. It appeared that my carbon footprint is 4.39 which is above the UK average.

This means that I am causing pollution as if we had 4.39 earths. I really should reduce my carbon footprint.

I have three main problems which resulted to my big foot print. The first and biggest problem is that I travel a lot by airplanes. Airplanes pollute the air because of the wasted gases by burning big amount of fuel. My second problem is that I drive a big car for hours and long distances. Cars also pollute the air just like airplanes because both of them burn fuels. The last problem is that I eat a lot of fish and meat and I rarely eat vegetables. This also results in pollution because of the transportation of fish and meat when distributing it and when producing in factories.

I really should start helping my planet and reduce my pollution. First I must reduce travelling by airplane. I can stay in country during vacations. In addition, I have to reduce driving car. I can stop some unnecessary trips and use public transportations instead. Also I have to eat less meat and try to eat more vegetables.

At the end, I think that maybe I am just one person and my carbon footprint is nothing in comparison with all the people footprint, but if I reduced my carbon footprint and every human started to do so, together we can make a big difference and save our planet from global warming. We should start doing something for the future of our children and next generations and the future of earth.

Here is a nice video about reducing carbon footprint :-

The Video Review

I think the video is really interesting and I really liked it.
AL Gore presented it in a reasonable way and he used realistic evidences shows how global warming is really a serious issue. And I liked his jokes during the video.
The video effected on me and I even watched 2 times.
I think Al Gore is a great man because he have a really great goal. I wish he becomes heard and this global issue become heard and people start trying to solve this big global problem.