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Did You Know?
The GEA Blog has been operational since November? We providetechnical briefs, tidbits, news, on the following topics
HVAC Technologies
The Global HVAC Industry
Lean/Flow Manufacturing Technologies
World Class HVAC Factories
Environmental Issues
HVAC Business Effectiveness
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Arab World Vulnerable to Climate Change
By 2015, Arabs will have to survive on less than 500 cubic meters of water a year each, a level defined as severe scarcity, against a world average exceeding 6,000 cubic meters per head.
Climate change will aggravate the crisis in a region where temperatures may rise 2 degrees Celsius in the next 15 to 20 years and more than 4C by the end of the century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
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Warmer Arctic Probably Permanent
scientists found evidence of widespread Arctic warming, with surface air temperatures rising above global averages twice as quickly as the rate for lower latitudes
Conditions in the Arctic are important because of their powerful impact on weather in the heavily populated middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
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NEW REFRIGERANTS
Comments by Larry Butz
 Just when we were getting used to R-404A, 134a, 410A and a few others we decide that that's just too simple. First we get the new HFOs-1234yf and 1234ze that have lower GWPs to meet European carmakers needs to replace R-134a. This seems to have reactivated the "dial-a-blend" concept from the late 1980's from which blends such as R-410A , 404A and 407C emerged.
Today's staggering array of alternatives were partially exposed at the recent ASHRAE Winter Conference with code names such as DR-4 and DR-5 or N-40, l-20 or L-YF, each being a customized combination to yield a specific GWP in a particular application. Obviously all other characteristics vary as compositions change. Capacity, efficiency, flammability, toxicity, high ambient performance, cost, etc all vary as well as our need to remember what the differences are between azeotropic and zeotropic mixtures and how that impacts sytem design, servicing and handling requirements.
With "dial-a-blend" we just optimize for each unique application, part of the world, technology type, etc. The race is on to determine winners and losers in the latest version of refrigerant wars. It should be interesting.
(Read more)
 In related activities the US EPA issued final approval of HFO - 1234yf for AC in cars and light trucks.
And, in response to GE's request EPA has issued a proposed rule approving isobutane for use in household refrigerators, subject to certain conditions
The flurry of activity and alternatives has prompted AHRI to launch the Low GWP Alternative Refrigerants  Evaluation Program , or low GWP AREP to identify and evaluate the new alternatives.
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ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
Global Climate - WMO
*2010 tied for warmest year on record in records dating back to 1880
*the decade 2001-2010 was also the warmest on record
*the La Niña event in progress at the end of 2010 is the strongest since at least the mid-1970s
*for both the northern hemisphere and Africa, 2010 was the warmest year on record
*summer 2010 was Asia's hottest on record for Asia, China, Japan and the Russian Federation
*globally-averaged land precipitation in 2010 was the highest on record
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Ozone Depletion
First North Pole Ozone Hole Forming?
 Preliminary data from 30 ozone-monitoring stations throughout the Arctic show the degree of ozone loss was larger this winter than ever before....Before spring is out, "we may even get the first Arctic ozone hole ... which would be a dramatic development"
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