Starting this week, United Nations climate change talks are set to take place in Durban, South Africa. And as the discussions begin, the spotlight is on strange weather patterns the world has seen so far this year. From widespread wildfires to disastrous tsunamis, we've undoubtedly experienced some rare conditions in 2011.

In a statement released by Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), he asserts that our extreme weather is linked to global warming. "Our science is solid and it proves unequivocally that the world is warming and that this warming is due to human activities," Jarraud said.

It therefore comes as no surprise that 2011 will go down as one of the hottest years on record.  The Huffington Post reports that "2011 was tied as the 10th hottest year since records began in 1850. Arctic sea ice, a barometer for the entire planet, had shrunk to a record low volume."

An important issue at the climate conference will be to build a new strategy that will contain greenhouse emissions and manage global warming.  The current treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, was created in 1997 and features binding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the agreement expires next year, at which point all participating nations should have reduced levels by 5.2% from 1990.  If temperatures rise in excess of 2 degrees Celsius each year, the world will see irreversible alterations, catastrophic events and mass extinctions, reports the Los Angeles Times.

It's great that international climate negotiators are meeting in order to address the issues at hand, but is it too late?  According to R.D.J. Lengoasa, Deputy Director for the WMO, "Climate change is real, and we are already observing its manifestations in weather and climate patterns around the world."

We've got a little construction going on at the Motivators office in New York, and to prevent coughs and sneezes a lot of us have relocated to the conference room temporarily.  It's OK to be a little overcautious when it comes to your health; after all, you only get one body!

So when I stumbled upon an article about concrete that can help save your lungs, it immediately piqued my interest.  According to Good.is, "Researchers in the Netherlands have recently tested a special type of concrete that has the potential to absorb nitrogen oxides, which are a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide." What this means is that the material has the potential to reduce the amount of smog and acid rain caused by vehicle exhaust. 

Here's how it works:  the concrete absorbs nitrogen oxides from the atmosphere at a rate of 25 to 45%.  If roads and other structures were repaved with the special cement, our air could be cleaned up significantly.

While it's certainly a clever idea, it still doesn't fix the root of the problem.  But, as stated by Good.is, "if city dwellers decide to walk, rather than drive, on this NOx-hungry concrete, then maybe we're on to something."

Many of us who suffer from allergies, headaches, and fatigue attribute our chronic symptoms to the outdoor environment.  But according to an article on EarthEasy.com, a Web site dedicated to bringing people practical eco-friendly giveaways and solutions, many of these illnesses can be caused by indoor pollutants.  Thankfully, as reported in the article, there are natural ways to help defeat these impurities.

EarthEasy.com lists 10 plants that can help remove toxins such as formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide from the air inside of our houses.  From palms, such as the Areca palm and the Bamboo palm, to the Boston fern, these plants can remove chemicals from the rooms in our houses.

However, not all of these plants are easy to care for.  The custom imprinted plant guide wheel, which features instructions on how to grow and care for the 56 most popular house plants, will help to keep these air-purifying plants healthy. 

So if you're suffering from a number of ailments but cannot seem to determine the cause, you might want to consider bringing in some of these chemical-removing houseplants.  They can clean pollutants in offices, homes, factories, and more! 

Somewhere deep down we all know that we should limit our intake of red meat and fatty cheeses.  Many of us realize that these high-fat sources of protein can't be good for our bodies.  Some go as far as to suggest that too much meat can increase the risk of disease and some cancers.

But what might come as a surprise is that eating less meat and cheese can help lessen our impact on the environment.  According to a Huffington Post article by Lynne Peeples, a recent report released by the Environmental Working Group asserts that "if each American cuts meat and cheese from their diet for one day a week it would be equivalent to taking 7.6 million cars off the road."

This estimate is incredibly shocking.  And although cattle are necessary for keeping soil nutrient rich for crop fertility, the fact remains:  "During the digestive process, the ruminant animals naturally generate methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide."  Less consumption of red meat would decrease our need to breed cattle, and therefore help limit the release of the harmful methane gas.

The report certainly gives everyone something to think about.  How willing are you to cut back on your daily intake of lamb, beef, pork, and cheese in order to help the environment?

Earlier this week, Adweek Magazine's Web site featured an article about a new eco-friendly billboard. According to the article by Tim Nudd, "Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Fund have unveiled a new 60-by-60 foot billboard in the Philippines that's covered in Fukien tea plants, which absorb air pollution."  This exceptional ad does not only promote environmental friendliness, but helps to actually clean our Earth's air. 

Each of these plants, as reported by Nudd, will absorb up to 13 pounds of carbon dioxide every year. Nudd reports that the billboard can therefore absorb a total of 46,800 pounds of CO2 from the Earth's atmosphere, according to botanist Anthony Gao.

However, the billboard's designers didn't stop there. According to Nudd, the rest of the billboard is equally as eco-friendly. "The plants are contained in 3,600 pots made from old Coke bottles and designed to help the plants grow sideways. The potting mixture was made from industrial byproducts and organic fertilizers. And a drip irrigation system was installed, which saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of the plants, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters," said Nudd.

According to Nudd's article, the goal of the billboard is to inspire Filipinos to incorporate sustainability into all that they do. Hopefully the message will be well-received, and Filipinos as rest as the rest of the world's citizens will begin to display an increase in environmental responsibility.

Most people think the only way to drive your car in an eco-friendly way is to drive a hybrid or electric vehicle. But even those of us who drive cars fueled by gasoline can take steps toward more efficient driving. Let's go over a few ways through which we can all start eco-driving.

Maintaining Speed

Gas is guzzled more often when we are accelerating from a low speed to a high one. Maintaining a constant speed as often as possible means that your vehicle won't need to struggle to accelerate to a faster speed. According to Roads.Maryland.gov, "For every 10mph you travel over 60mph, your fuel economy drops by
approximately four miles per gallon." Keeping a consistent speed will save on gas, which in turn will save you money! Additionally, accelerating and breaking too harshly can waste fuel and also wear out brakes, leaving your car less efficient. If road rage has you accelerating past slower-moving vehicles, try slowing down and giving one of these fun custom imprinted tire shape stress relievers a squeeze. It'll reduce your stress and remind you to save gas! 

Inflate Tires

According to Milwaukee's official city Web site, "Improperly inflated tires result in 3-4% higher fuel usage." It's therefore important to remember to keep your tires at a proper inflation level at all times. This will help prevent your tires from wearing out, overheating, and experiencing tread separation. To keep track of your tires' air pressure level, listen for a squeal when rounding corners. If your car does make a noise while turning corners, it might be time to add some air.

Lighten Your Load

Another way to save on gasoline is to avoid transporting heavy cargo around in your vehicle. Especially heavy items, such as bulky athletic equipment, tools, and unnecessary office supplies, can add a significant amount of weight to your car. Carrying an additional 100 lbs. in your car will reduce your MPG by up to 2%. So if your car has recently become a storage unit for your family members' things, it's time to clean out!

As you can see, the choices we make every day affect how much gas we burn through while driving. We realize not everyone can afford a hybrid or electric vehicle, but it's good to know that everybody can save money on gas. If you make these changes, you will spend less money on gas while also having less of a negative impact on our Earth.

We all know by now how harmful greenhouse gas emissions can be to our environment and to our health. Our current energy systems in place do not fully take advantage of renewable sources of energy. And according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we as a global society could potentially reduce our reliance on greenhouse gasses substantially by the year 2050. That is, as long as governments can afford to invest more in renewable forms of energy, such as solar and wind power.

Right now, the IPCC is reporting that only 13 percent of the world's energy supply is coming from renewable sources. Therefore, a jump to 77 percent is quite drastic. Ramon Pichs Madgruga, a member of the IPCC, said "The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource, but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades."

According to a New York Times article on the topic, "To reach the goal of generating nearly 80 percent of the world's energy from those same sources would require investments by governments and the private sector amounting to $5.1 trillion through 2020, and nearly $7.2 trillion between 2021 and 2030." To many individuals, these figures may seem insane; this is a very large amount of money. How well governments across the globe will be able to meet these expectations is unclear. However, the benefits are much more obvious.

If the world's countries were able to achieve this goal, the results would be quite honestly amazing. The biggest advantage to switching over to these renewable forms of energy would be cleaner air for everyone. Cleaner air would mean overall better public health. Additionally, with less greenhouse gasses being emitted into the air, the increase in global temperature would be held to below two degrees Celsius. This would have a huge impact on the slowing and prevention of global warming.

Just knowing that these results are achievable from an environmental standpoint is phenomenal. However, from a political standpoint things do not look as bright. According to Ottmar Edenhofer, who serves as a member on the IPCC, a "substantial increase of renewables is technically and politically very challenging." To make such huge progress on this issue would require worldwide responsibility and cooperation-- every country would have to take steps toward cleaning up.

Being eco-friendly can get you pretty far. For one, it's empowering to the individual. Living a sustainable life is something to be proud of. Besides making you feel good about your decisions, living eco-friendly can just make you, "feel good." Eating organic is healthy and walking to work instead of driving will keep you in shape. Lastly, we think you should live an eco-friendly life, not just to stay healthy and be empowered, but to get prime parking on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus.

The program first began as an outlet to the faculty and staff as seen above but quickly the students wanted in on the eco-friendly fun. Parking services manager, David Gregory, said that the Student Government was a major player in making this sustainable incentive come to light. He is proud of the program and said, "Students save gas money, there's less congestion on campus and less wear and tear on vehicles. Every day that one or two [student commuters] don't drive, it saves everybody money. All these things come together to help the University."

Both of these are awesome ways to reduce the carbon foot print of your college of university. NCSU even has an arboretum, adding to their sustainability. Now we've just got to incorporate some

This week, leaders from around the world met at the international summit building for carbon emission discussions in Copenhagen, Denmark. Government leaders are hoping to make agreements that will help us all move towards more sustainable societies.

The United States, who when joined with China account for 50% of the entire earth's emissions, is feeling the pressure. President Barack Obama plans on joining the committee towards the end of the week when more leaders are present and more brainstorming has been done.

It's likely that Australia will have a strong presence in Denmark as well. An environmentally focused group from Australia recently created the first ever world-wide community dedicated to fighting carbon emissions with fun. They provide packages to help you spread eco-friendly practices in your workplace.

Their latest promotion uses the ever popular promotional stickers. Each sticker displays a carbon fighter slaying the "C" shaped carbon. The stickers urge people to recycle and conserve energy. One sticker reads, "Go for the Stairs," and depicts the carbon "C" as an elevator being violently shaken. Another urges you to turn off the lights and one more to promote car pooling. 

                             
Each has a twisted illustration, a clever hook and an awesome message. We're got to make every aspect of our lives more sustainable.To my surprise they even have a promotional sticker about promotional mugs. It reads, "Use a mug, not a plastic cup." It shows swords all piercing through the carbon "C" but only sticking out of the custom mugs. Like our promotional eco-friendly mugs, they're durable and long lasting.

Indoor air pollution is a common problem in today's world. Even in the cleanest homes and offices, numerous synthetic toxins can be released from paints, carpeting, furniture, and even cleaning products, and they can actually pose a great threat to you and your family's health.

Though the options for purifying your indoor air are numerous, one of the greenest ways to rid your home or office of indoor air pollutants is by placing various houseplants every 100 sqare feet. Be sure to keep some of these living greens around to limit the benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene you're breathing in every day.