Coke's Planet-Friendly Vending Machines

The kingpin of soda, Coca-Cola, is changing the face--and footprint--of the refrigeration industry by replacing its conventional fleet of vending machines with a climate-friendly model. Most vending machines rely on refrigerants known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a chemical hodgepodge that has an incredible power to cool the air. HFCs can also be 1,430 times more harmful to the climate than global warming's main culprit, carbon dioxide.

Paradoxically, Coca-Cola's new refrigerant of choice is carbon dioxide.
"We talk about fighting fire with fire," says Bryan Jacob, director of energy and climate protection for Coke. He notes that carbon dioxide is nonflammable, nontoxic, comparatively inexpensive and readily available. "In the right application, CO2 can be a solution to climate change."

About 10 years ago academic research emerged on how HFCs affect global warming. Yet it took the publication of the Velders Report in 2009--which predicted a dramatic rise in HFC use due to steady growth in the refrigeration industry--for HFCs to join the list of other infamous greenhouse gases : carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The report's silver lining is its mention of natural alternatives, including CO2, ammonia and hydrocarbons (including propane and isobutene).

"The proof that natural refrigerants work is our grandparents had refrigerators charged with ammonia, propane and carbon dioxide," says Kert Davies, director of research for Greenpeace, which has been promoting natural refrigeration technology since 1992 as an alternative to methods that harm the ozone layer and climate systems. Natural refrigerants have been successfully used abroad for decades.

Like most refrigerants, CO2 works by removing heat from the air. As it evaporates, it absorbs the heat, chilling the air inside the machine. The main difference between CO2 and other refrigerants is that CO2 must be used at a much higher pressure, which necessitates stronger pipes.

Coke and others are phasing out use of ozone-depleting refrigerants to keep drinks cool.

The trend is catching on.

PepsiCo installed 35 new HFC-free vending machines in Miami just in time for the Super Bowl. These utilize hydrocarbons--propane and butane--refrigerants that are already popular in Europe. Ben & Jerry's ice cream company (a unit of Unilever) is launching its own version of this technology at stores in the Washington, D.C., and Boston areas. Meanwhile General Electric is seeking approval to sell home-use refrigerators in the U.S. using a hydrocarbon refrigerant.

"We expect to continue using both technologies--CO2 and hydrocarbons," says Coke's Bryan Jacob. "We also hope new technologies will emerge with the ultimate goal being the elimination of HFCs."

2010 is Warmest ever in Recorded History

The year 2010 is turning out to be the warmest ever in recorded history, with the first four months reporting an average temperature of 13.3 degrees Celsius which is 0.69 degrees above the 20th century average.

The combined global land and ocean surface temperatures for the period between January and April were the warmest on record, and April was the warmest individual month ever, America's climate agency has said in its latest report. The combined April global land and ocean average surface temperature was the warmest on record at 14.5 degrees Celsius (58.1 degrees F). This is 0.76 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average of 13.7 degrees Celsius, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said.

Warmer-than-normal conditions dominated the globe, with the most prominent warmth in Canada, Alaska, eastern US, Australia, South Asia, northern Africa and northern Russia.

Cooler-than-normal places included Mongolia, Argentina, far eastern Russia, the western contiguous United States and most of China.

Arctic sea ice was below normal for the 11th consecutive April, and 2.1 per cent below the 1979-2000 average extent. It was, however, the largest April Arctic sea ice extent since 2001.
Further, satellite observations showed snow cover extent was fourth-lowest on record since 1967.