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El medio ambiente se empieza a tornar como una opción para generar ahorros económicos. Actualmente el precio de la energía sigue incrementándose, por lo que es importante visualizar de forma más cercana la manera en que la estamos usando al interior de nuestras organizaciones y uno de los lugares donde más se utiliza es el aire acondicionado. A continuación se comentarán algunos elementos para hacer más eficiente el uso del aire acondicionado.

Encender el aire cuando sea necesario. En diversas ocasiones lo primero que se hace al llegar a casa o subir al auto es poner el aire acondicionado. Si nos proponemos en gastar menos, en los días no demasiado calurosos podemos optar por otras alternativas, abrir las ventanas o bajar el vidrio, puede sonar demasiado tonto u obvio pero es otra alternativa, un ventilador también podría servir, también consume energía pero en mucho menos cantidad.

Apagar el equipo un “ratito” antes de salir. Si se deja la habitación o el lugar durante bastante tiempo se podría apagar el aire acondicionado unos 10 minutos antes. El aire fresco seguirá en la habitación durante esos diez minutos, pero si se apaga justo al momento de irse, se habrá desaprovechado esa energía.

With puzzling variability, vast numbers of birds from Canada’s boreal forests migrate hundreds or thousands of miles south from their usual winter range. These so-called irruptions were first noticed by birdwatchers decades ago, but the driving factors have never been fully explained. Now scientists have pinpointed the climate pattern that likely sets the stage for irruptions – a discovery that could make it possible to predict the events more than a year in advance.

The researchers found that persistent shifts in rainfall and temperature drive boom-and-bust cycles in forest seed production, which in turn drive the mass migrations of pine siskins, the most widespread and visible of the irruptive migrants. “It’s a chain reaction from climate to seeds to birds,” says atmospheric scientist Court Strong, an assistant professor at the University of Utah and lead author of the study.

New NASA satellite data confirms what other research has shown, namely that the hole in the ozone layer appears to be getting smaller.

The ozone is crucial for us here on Earth because it shields us from some of the Sun’s most damaging radiation. In the 1980s it was confirmed that a host of chemicals like CFCs that we had been using in manufacturing and, in particular in aerosols, had been breaking down that ozone layer, creating several holes including a worryingly large hole over the Arctic. In the long term our CFC use threatened to destroy this vital shield completely if we did not act.

Started in 2006, Endangered Species Day is “a celebration of wildlife and wild places” intended to promote the “importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions people can take to help protect them”. Every year on the third Friday in May — and throughout the month — zoos, aquariums, parks, botanical gardens, wildlife refuges, museums, schools, community centers, conservation groups and other organizations hold tours, speaker presentations, exhibits, children’s activities and more to commemorate the Day.

Researchers at the University of Houston have determined that climate change -- in the form of a stronger sea breeze, the result of warmer soil temperatures -- contributed to the drop in high-ozone days in the Houston area.

Robert Talbot, professor of atmospheric chemistry, said that also should be true for coastal regions globally.

The researchers describe their findings in a paper published this week in the journal Atmosphere. In addition to Talbot, they include first author Lei Liu, a doctoral student, and post-doctoral fellow Xin Lan.