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Wed, Mar 23, 2016
from New York Magazine:
New Paper Suggests Catastrophic Climate Shifts May Be Decades Away
Using computer models, evidence from ancient episodes of climate change, and modern observations, Hansen and his team arrived at one essential conclusion: The melting of the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets will set off a vicious cycle that dramatically accelerates the pace of climate change. The key concept here is ocean "stratification," a process by which cold, fresh meltwater rises to the ocean surface while warmer salt water is pushed beneath. (The Washington Post notes that an "anomalously cold 'blob' of ocean water" has been detected off the southern coast of Greenland.) That warmer salt water would eventually reach the base of the ice sheets, melting them from below, thus spurring more stratification, which would then spur more melting, which would then spur more stratification, which would spur more warming, until our grandchildren are all swallowed by the sea.
But that's not all! Hansen's paper also projects that the influx of cold meltwater in the North Atlantic region, combined with warmer equatorial waters, would drive midlatitude cyclones so strong, the waves would be capable of thrusting gigantic boulders ashore. ...
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All Systems Are Pointing. Any Solutions Are Prerequisites. Atlantic Seaboard Aquatically Plundered. Awkward Statements Acronyming Panic: A.S.A.P.!
ApocaDoc
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Sun, Aug 16, 2015
from Christian Science Monitor:
World Resource Overdraft: Planet Earth crosses into ecological red
Planet Earth crossed into the ecological red Friday.
Thursday marked Earth Overshoot Day - the day when the world's population officially exhausts all the natural resources the Earth can generate in a single year, as defined by the sustainability think tank, Global Footprint Network....
GFN estimates that the current population demands the resources of 1.6 Earths.
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Humans have always been overachievers.
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Mon, Jul 20, 2015
from UGA, via DesdemonaDespair:
Continued destruction of Earth's plant life places humankind in jeopardy, says UGA research
Unless humans slow the destruction of Earth's declining supply of plant life, civilization like it is now may become completely unsustainable, according to a paper published recently by University of Georgia researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"You can think of the Earth like a battery that has been charged very slowly over billions of years," said the study's lead author, John Schramski, an associate professor in UGA's College of Engineering. "The sun's energy is stored in plants and fossil fuels, but humans are draining energy much faster than it can be replenished."...
Scientists estimate that the Earth contained approximately 1,000 billion tons of carbon in living biomass 2,000 years ago. Since that time, humans have reduced that amount by almost half. It is estimated that just over 10 percent of that biomass was destroyed in just the last century.
"If we don't reverse this trend, we'll eventually reach a point where the biomass battery discharges to a level at which Earth can no longer sustain us," Schramski said....
"I call myself a realistic optimist," Schramski said. "I've gone through these numbers countless times looking for some kind of mitigating factor that suggests we're wrong, but I haven't found it." ...
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The iHome battery only lasts how long?
ApocaDoc
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Mon, Sep 8, 2014
from Guardian:
The similarity between circular economy and water stewardship
How will the new fad - these circular models - improve a company's water management?
Circular economies, the theory says, produce virtually no waste, as all raw materials are re-used and recycled continuously to form a closed loop. It's a dramatic shift from our current linear economy, in which we take, make, consume and dispose, drawing regularly on our natural resources to create products that eventually end up as trash.
From a conservation perspective, a closed loop system is obviously better for the environment. But is that it? Does it really have the potential to transform business markets?
It might. When circular economy thinking is applied to business operations, it is surprisingly synergistic to water stewardship.
For both water stewardship and circular models, efficiency isn't the end game. Yes, it's important to reduce the water required to make and dispose of products. Water efficiency also tends to carry additional benefits, such as increased profits and energy savings. But from a natural resources management perspective, there's much more to do.
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I'm more accustomed to circular reasoning, like "there's no point in trying to save the planet, because we're utterly screwed, so let's use it up faster."
ApocaDoc
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Fri, Jun 27, 2014
from MSNBC:
EPA's Gina McCarthy calls for all hands on deck in climate fight
In a speech to George Mason University's Washington Youth Summit on the Environment, she argued for a society-wide mobilization to soften the blow of climate change.
"It's going to need everybody at the table," she said, addressing an audience of 250 high school students from around the country. "We're going to have to roll up our sleeves."...
Yet McCarthy's remarks on Thursday sounded an awful lot like incitement to further grassroots activism, particularly when she discussed the rapid change in federal environmental policy which took place in the '60s and '70s.
"It changed as a result of Congress stepping up and saying we can't do this anymore," said McCarthy. "They only stepped up because the people that they served demanded it. Because everybody could see the problems we were facing."
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Ecoterrorists.
ApocaDoc
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Sat, Jul 27, 2013
from New York Times:
Power companies wake to 'existential threat'
For years, power companies have watched warily as solar panels have sprouted across the nation's rooftops. Now, in almost panicked tones, they are fighting hard to slow the spread.
Alarmed by what they say has become an existential threat to their business, utility companies are moving to roll back government incentives aimed at promoting solar energy and other renewable sources of power. At stake, the companies say, is nothing less than the future of the American electricity industry. ...
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Beware any entity fighting for its very life.
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Thu, Apr 25, 2013
from Stanford, via EurekAlert:
New battery design could help solar and wind power the grid
... Currently the electrical grid cannot tolerate large and sudden power fluctuations caused by wide swings in sunlight and wind. As solar and wind's combined contributions to an electrical grid approach 20 percent, energy storage systems must be available to smooth out the peaks and valleys of this "intermittent" power - storing excess energy and discharging when input drops....
When discharging, the molecules, called lithium polysulfides, absorb lithium ions; when charging, they lose them back into the liquid. The entire molecular stream is dissolved in an organic solvent, which doesn't have the corrosion issues of water-based flow batteries....
"In initial lab tests, the new battery also retained excellent energy-storage performance through more than 2,000 charges and discharges, equivalent to more than 5.5 years of daily cycles," Cui said....
A utility version of the new battery would be scaled up to store many megawatt-hours of energy.
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Warning: Carbon industry crash ahead!
ApocaDoc
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Fri, Apr 19, 2013
from Science Now:
Could Wood Feed the World?
The main ingredient of wood, cellulose, is one of the most abundant organic compounds on Earth and a dream source of renewable fuel. Now, bioengineers suggest that it could feed the hungry as well. In a new study, researchers have found a way to turn cellulose into starch, the most common carbohydrate in the human diet....
For instance, every ton of harvested cereals is often accompanied by 2 to 3 tons of cellulose-rich scrap, most of which goes to waste....
Though the process works, it's expensive. Zhang estimates that, given the current price tag of the enzymes that his team used, it would cost about $1 million to turn 200 kilograms of crude cellulose into 20 kilograms of starch, about enough to feed one person's carbohydrate needs for 80 days. Still, after 5 to 10 years of further research, Zhang says companies could do the same thing for just $0.50 per person per day. "We do not see big obstacles to the commercialization of this process." ...
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Let them eat pulp.
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Fri, Apr 5, 2013
from HSBC, via GoFossilFree:
Oil & Carbon Futures Revisited
The IEA(s World Energy Outlook
(2012 edition) estimated that in order to have a 50 percent chance
of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees C, only a third
of current fossil fuel reserves can be burned before 2050.
The balance could be regarded as "unburnable."...
In a low-carbon world, defined as
limiting future CO2 emissions until 2050 to 1,440Gt, oil
demand would fall post 2010. Gas demand would continue
to grow but at a slower rate than currently. This means some
potential oil and gas developments would no longer be needed. ...
Price risk a material threat: Although not directly related
to 'unburnable' carbon, a greater risk to the [oil] sector would be
if lower demand led to lower oil and gas prices. In that case,
the potential value at risk could rise to 40-60 percent of market cap.
Low costs are the key: Because of its long-term nature, we
doubt the market is pricing in the risk of a loss of value from
this issue. ...
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This bottle is half-full of risky value. Or is that half-empty of valuable risk?
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Sun, Mar 24, 2013
from Guardian:
Real market forces now drive action on climate change
Fifteen years after the Kyoto protocol was signed and just months after being extended, a true global carbon trading marketplace may finally be within the world's grasp.
It is as though a line of dominos has suddenly appeared, awaiting the slightest push to set off a chain reaction. When the dominos begin to fall, the world will suddenly have a powerful and effective tool to reduce carbon emissions, one of the most environmentally destructive aspects of modern human activity....
Oil is losing its place as a preferred fuel. The discovery of vast reserves of natural gas in the US is sparking a shift in the power generation industry. As more power plants convert from coal and oil to cleaner burning gas, emissions trading is losing its downside. With affordable alternatives in the wings, the reluctance among regulators and governments to impose emissions limits is easing.
A signal moment in the cap and trade debate has arrived in the US. In winning a supreme court decision as to its right to impose emissions standards, the current administration has the power - and many think the inclination - to flip a major domino by setting standards for existing power plants (so far it has limited itself to new facilities). Such a move would make Kyoto ratification much less important. ...
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"Falling dominos," alas, sit right beside "tipping points."
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Tue, May 22, 2012
from InsideClimate News:
Gas Industry Aims to Block 2030 Zero-Carbon Building Goal
The natural gas industry and some allies are working behind the scenes in Washington to block a green building rule that was expected to be a national model for carbon-neutral construction.
The rule, called Fossil Fuel-Generated Energy Consumption Reduction, would zero out fossil-fuel use -- coal, fuel oil and natural gas -- in all new and renovated federal buildings by 2030.
The natural gas industry says the policy would harm its image as a more environmentally friendly fuel than coal. ...
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By all means, let's put at the top of our priority list preserving the image of natural gas!
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Thu, Mar 29, 2012
from RTCC:
SEI: Scarcity of metals could hamper low-carbon development
The world's transition to a low-carbon economy could be seriously hampered by a scarcity of key metals, a new report from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) has warned.
The study, produced in partnership with the business leaders' initiative 3C (Combat Climate Change), analysed known resources and locations of five metals -- indium, tellurium, neodymium, lithium and cobalt.
These are vital raw materials for wind turbines, solar panels and hybrid and electric cars.
The SEI says production could be affected in the future if business and policy-makers fail to create a framework for their use now.
Demand for thees resources is huge. Globally installed wind capacity soared from 24,322 megawatts in 2001 to nearly 240,000 megawatts in 2011. Last year was a record year with 42,000 megawatts installed. ...
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All we need to do is... plan ahead!
ApocaDoc
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Sat, Sep 10, 2011
from Charles Eisenstein, via The Oil Drum:
Weekend Read: Peak Oil, Peak Debt, and the Concentration of Power
Both the energy system and the money system are based on accumulation and the concentration of power. Not only our energy infrastructure, but our dominant yet invisible way of thinking about energy, presupposes a centralized system of distribution based on a highly concentrated energy source. Many alternative energy technologies have made little headway, not because they are technologically unfeasible, but because they don't fit into our present physical, financial, and psychological infrastructure.
There is a causal as well as a metaphorical parallel between the concentration of power in oil and in money. A concentrated power source that can be stored allows social and political power to concentrate in the hands of those who control it. It generates very different social dynamics from an energy source that is universally distributed and constantly renewed. For one thing, the profit potential of the latter is intrinsically less. Once you have sold the geothermal pump or the PV array, the buyer is self-sufficient, unlike the electrical power consumer who has to pay the metered rate in perpetuity. Energy dependency and economic dependency are closely linked. ...
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My corporate masters want me to listen, but that elephant over there keeps distracting me.
ApocaDoc
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Want more context?
Try reading our book FREE online:
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
More fun than a barrel of jellyfish!
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Tue, May 31, 2011
from London Daily Telegraph:
Wind farms: Britain is 'running out of wind'
According to government figures, 13 of the past 16 months have been calmer than normal - while 2010 was the "stillest" year of the past decade.
Meteorologists believe that changes to the Atlantic jet stream could alter the pattern of winds over the next 40 years and leave much of the nation's growing army of power-generating turbines becalmed.
The Coalition has drawn up plans to open more wind farms in an effort to meet Britain's European Union target of providing 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. More than 3,600 turbines are expected to be installed in offshore wind farms over the next nine years.
But statistics suggest that the winds that sweep across the British Isles may be weakening. ...
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Frankly my dear all we are is dust in the wind.
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Wed, Mar 23, 2011
from Telegraph.co.uk:
A global energy war looms
HSBC has calculated what would happen to energy consumption by 2050 given plausible forecasts for economic growth and assuming no constraint on resources, or that humans carry on using energy in the "taken for granted" way they do at the moment.
As you can see, demand in China, India and other emerging markets soars, but there is also quite considerable growth from advanced economies too. The big picture is that with an additional one billion cars on the road, demand for oil would grow 110pc to more than 190 million barrels per day. Total demand for energy would rise by a similar order of magnitude, doubling the amount of carbon in the atmosphere to more than three and a half times the amount climate change scientists think would keep temperatures at safe levels.
It scarcely needs saying that regardless of the environmental consequences, energy industries would struggle to cope, and more likely would find it impossible. We may or may not already be perilously close to peak oil - or maximum productive capacity - but nobody believes the industry could produce double what it does at the moment, however clever it becomes in tapping previously uncommercial or inaccessible reserves.
If something can't happen, then it won't, so is all that forecast growth in the developing world just a question of wishful thinking that will soon be dashed by the constraints of finite energy? Not necessarily, says HSBC's economics team. The world can still accommodate high growth, but only if there is a collective change in behaviour, including much greater energy efficiency, a big change in the energy mix, and urgent development of carbon capture technologies so as to limit the damage of fossil fuel usage. ...
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When there's wars, there'll be big profits!
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Wed, Jan 19, 2011
from Guardian:
What exactly are green bonds?
Few people have heard of "green bonds", yet they could be a way of raising the huge amounts of capital needed to tackle climate change and protect our natural world.... This lack of clarity is understandable and is a direct result of all the different types that have been recently proposed. They could, in fact, be all of the following: green gilts, green retail bonds and green investment bank bonds. But, there are many more being proposed as well, including: green infrastructure bonds, *multilateral development bank green bonds, green corporate bonds, green sectoral bonds, rainforest bonds and index-linked carbon bonds.
All of these different (and sometimes confusing) classes of green bond have an important role in helping to raise finance for different parts of our low-carbon transition. ...
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I'd rather invest in debt-as-collateral endless-growth-forever bonds, just like I was always taught.
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Wed, Jan 19, 2011
from PhysOrg:
Study claims 100 percent renewable energy possible by 2030
New research has shown that it is possible and affordable for the world to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, if there is the political will to strive for this goal.... Achieving 100 percent renewable energy would mean the building of about four million 5 MW wind turbines, 1.7 billion 3 kW roof-mounted solar photovoltaic systems, and around 90,000 300 MW solar power plants.... Jacobson said the major challenge would be in the interconnection of variable supplies such as wind and solar to enable the different renewable sources to work together to match supply with demands. The more consistent renewable sources of wave and tidal power and geothermal systems would supply less of the energy but their consistency would make the whole system more reliable. ...
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"Political will?" Didn't that go extinct in the 70's?
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Thu, Dec 30, 2010
from Guardian:
China's green gift to the world
In a mostly dismal year for US and international climate policy, China's coal imports are skyrocketing to record levels. The environmental community and policy pundits have rushed to decry this new development, arguing that China's expanding imports undermine global climate efforts, and even that countries should block coal exports to China.
But the conventional wisdom has it backwards. In reality, record Chinese coal imports are better for global CO2 emissions than any climate policy to come out of Washington or the United Nations this year - because they strengthen incentives for the rest of the world to switch to less polluting fuels.... As a result, the entire globe is now rushing to figure out how to sell more coal to China. Environmentalists have balked, suggesting that coal sales to China should be blocked and that China's imports are evidence that it isn't taking real steps to fight global warming.... Because burning natural gas emits roughly half the CO2 per megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity compared to coal, the possibility of switching to natural gas generation when coal becomes expensive is one of the most significant opportunities to reduce emissions globally. ...
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The economics of supply and demand have worked out great for the world so far!
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Tue, Dec 7, 2010
from New York Times:
Britain Aims for Radical Power Market Reform in Push for Low-Carbon Energy
The U.K. power market is about to face the most radical reform in decades as it becomes increasingly clear that progress toward decarbonizing its energy system in the face of climate change is moving at a snail's pace when it really needs to move like the wind, experts say. Next week, the government will produce a consultation paper on what needs to be done to bring forward the new low-carbon power plants the country urgently needs as many old ones face closure and with emission reduction targets that ministers say, with increasing signs of desperation, are seriously challenging.
Today, the Committee on Climate Change -- set up under the 2008 Climate Change Act to monitor government progress toward the 80 percent carbon emission cut from 1990 levels by 2050 stipulated in the legislation -- issued its most urgent call for action to date.... Fuel poverty is defined as a household's having to spend 10 percent or more of its income on power. The government is known to favor a full system of feed-in tariffs for low-carbon energy, extending the current household scheme that came in nine months ago to cover utilities, as well, offering an attractive price for producing electricity to the grid, but at the same time pushing up prices for consumption. There is no ducking the dilemma. ...
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Here in the States, we're champeen dilemma-duckers.
ApocaDoc
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Sun, Nov 7, 2010
from PhysOrg:
Urine for sale? South African city wants to buy
Get paid to pee. That's the deal on offer in the South African city of Durban, where the city is looking to buy liquid waste to encourage residents to use dry toilets.... Aiming to improve hygiene and save money, the port city has installed in home gardens about 90,000 toilets that don't use a single drop of water.
Now Durban wants to install 20-litre (quart) containers on 500 of the toilets to capture urine -- rich in nitrates, phosphorus and potassium, which can be turned into fertiliser.
A municipal worker would collect the jerry cans once a week and could pay around 30 rands (four dollars, three euros) to the family -- not a small sum in a country where 43 percent of the population lives on less than two dollars a day.... "If we can turn the toilets into a source of revenues, then they will want to use the toilets," said Neil MacLeod, Durban's head of water and sanitation.... "South Africa is a water-stressed country," said Teddy Gounden, who heads the project. "With the increase in demand for drinking water, we cannot afford to flush this valuable resource down the sewer." ...
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The business opportunities in a high-demand, low-supply world are astonishing!
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Wed, Oct 20, 2010
from PhysOrg:
Biodegradable foam plastic substitute made from milk protein and clay
Amid ongoing concern about plastic waste accumulating in municipal landfills, and reliance on imported oil to make plastics, scientists are reporting development of a new ultra-light biodegradable foam plastic material made from two unlikely ingredients: The protein in milk and ordinary clay. The new substance could be used in furniture cushions, insulation, packaging, and other products, they report in the ACS' Biomacromolecules, a monthly journal.
David Schiraldi and colleagues explain that 80 percent of the protein in cow milk is a substance called casein, which already finds uses in making adhesives and paper coatings. But casein is not very strong, and water can wash it away. To beef up casein, and boost its resistance to water, the scientists blended in a small amount of clay and a reactive molecule called glyceraldehyde, which links casein's protein molecules together.
The scientists freeze-dried the resulting mixture, removing the water to produce a spongy aerogel, one of a family of substances so light and airy that they have been termed "solid smoke." To make the gossamer foam stronger, they cured it in an oven, then tested its sturdiness. They concluded that it is strong enough for commercial uses, and biodegradable, with almost a third of the material breaking down within 30 days. ...
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Consumers will probably complain about it being too noisy.
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Fri, Oct 15, 2010
from Jerry Mander, in the Guardian:
Climate change v capitalism: the feast is almost over
So, while Obama talked climate change in Copenhagen, he pushed for accelerated growth and consumption, emphasising such climate-deadly industries as private automobile production, new road construction, nuclear power generation, and continued coal extraction (including horrendous "mountain top removal") while extolling an entirely theoretical "clean coal".... Whether it's the political left or right, Obama, or Cameron, or Sarkozy, or Putin, or Wen, or Harper or Miliband or Gingrich or Palin, or any political candidate for any office, they're all talking about the necessity to stimulate growth. The media does, too, whether it's the Guardian or the Murdoch press, the Financial Times or the New York Times. They all agree on the one thing: growth, growth, growth. That's the lifeblood of the system. Everyone is hunting the magic elixir to revive rapid growth. How to build and sell more cars? How to increase industrial production, from computers to heavy equipment to industrial agriculture? How to increase exports?
But there's a missing link in the discussion, ignored by nearly everyone in the mainstream debate: nature. They speak about our economy as if it were a separate entity, its own ever-expanding universe, unconnected to any realities outside itself, not embodied within a larger system from which, actually, it emerged and can't escape. Nature cannot be left out of the discussion. It may be the most important detail of the entire conversation. Leaving it out of consideration is, well, suicidal. Here's the point: never-ending growth on a small planet with finite resources is a profound impossibility. It's an absurdity. A fantasy. It's time to wake up. ...
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Just so's you know, that fantasy has been makin' me rich.
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Thu, Sep 16, 2010
from Guardian:
An alternative to the new wave of ecofascism
It is time to acknowledge that mainstream environmentalism has failed to prevent climate catastrophe. Its refusal to call for an immediate consumption reduction has backfired and its demise has opened the way for a wave of fascist environmentalists who reject democratic freedom.
One well-known example of the authoritarian turn in environmentalism is James Lovelock, the first scientist to discover the presence of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. Earlier this year he told the Guardian that democracies are incapable of adequately addressing climate change. "I have a feeling," Lovelock said, "that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while." His words may be disturbing, but other ecologists have gone much further. Take for example Pentti Linkola, a Finnish fisherman and ecological philosopher. Whereas Lovelock puts his faith in advanced technology, Linkola proposes a turn to fascistic primitivism. Their only point of agreement is on the need to suspend democracy.... Humanity can avert climate catastrophe without accepting ecological tyranny. However, this will take an immediate, drastic reduction of our consumption. ... Only by silencing the consumerist forces will both climate catastrophe and ecological tyranny be averted. Yes, western consumption will be substantially reduced. But it will be done voluntarily and joyously. ...
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I bet Wall Street gets behind this plan!
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Sun, Aug 22, 2010
from Guardian:
Peak oil alarm revealed by secret official talks
Speculation that government ministers are far more concerned about a future supply crunch than they have admitted has been fuelled by the revelation that they are canvassing views from industry and the scientific community about "peak oil".
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is also refusing to hand over policy documents about "peak oil" - the point at which oil production reaches its maximum and then declines - under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, despite releasing others in which it admits "secrecy around the topic is probably not good".... a letter in response to the FoI request written by DECC officials and dated 31 July 2010 says it can only release some information on what is currently under policy discussion because they are "ongoing" and "high profile" in nature.
The letter adds: "We recognise the public interest arguments in favour of disclosing this information. In particular we recognise that greater transparency makes government more open and accountable and could help provide an insight into peak oil.
"However any public interest in the disclosure of such information must be balanced with the need to ensure that ministers and advisers can discuss policy in a manner which allows for frank exchanges of views and opinions about important and sensitive issues." ...
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Cheney-riffic!
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Sat, Jul 3, 2010
from SolveClimate:
IEA: $46 Trillion Roadmap for Halving Global Emissions a "Bargain"
Memo to the planet from the International Energy Agency: Buckle down and speed up the nascent low-carbon revolution.
Top thinkers from the energy watchdog presented an ambitious 40-year pathway to halve the world's carbon emissions during a Thursday rollout at the National Press Club.
Indeed, weaning the globe of its fossil fuel dependency will require ingenuity, cooperation and tens of trillions of dollars. But IEA maintains that bumping up investments in renewables, nuclear power and a smart electric grid, and perfecting technologies such as carbon sequestration are the most reasonable and reachable course available to keep Earth's temperature stable and arrest the severe impacts climate scientists agree are imminent--and already occurring.... In addition, the plan counts on the rather rapid maturation of a technology still in the test phases--carbon capture and sequestration.
The catch is that IEA's proposal calls for constructing 30 new nuclear plants and outfitting 35 coal-fired plants with the technology to capture carbon emissions and bury them underground every year through 2050. ...
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Some days these "all it would take to save the world is..." stories are the saddest of all.
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Thu, Jul 1, 2010
from SciDev.net:
Algae trials test 'wonder food' status of spirulina
A blue-green algae rich in protein could help curb global malnutrition if a US$1.7 million cultivation project in Chad -- due to end in December -- proves successful.
Dubbed a "miracle food" this cyanobacterium -- known as spirulina -- has been eaten around the world for centuries.
Analyses by industry and university laboratories reveal that almost 70 per cent of its dry weight is protein. It also has a small environmental footprint, needs little water, and can be cultivated in salty conditions harmful to other crops.... "It might seem bitter at first, but you get used to it," said Hereta Taher, a spirulina grower from Chad. Another reason could be the lack of political interest.
In Chad people drive up to six hours to buy spirulina 'cakes' from more than 1,500 women involved in its cultivation. Ousmane Issa Mara, a village chief in the north of Kanem region said the food is a miracle, giving energy and restoring appetites. ...
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Soylent Blue-green is..... ALGAE!
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You're still reading! Good for you!
You really should read our short, funny, frightening book FREE online (or buy a print copy):
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
We've been quipping this stuff for more than 30 months! Every day!
Which might explain why we don't get invited to parties anymore.
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Mon, Jun 14, 2010
from New York Times:
U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan
The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. The previously unknown deposits -- including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium -- are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries.... The vast scale of Afghanistan's mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.... The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan's minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced. ...
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See? Whenever we need something, Nature provides.
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Wed, Jun 9, 2010
from Chatham House / Lloyd's of London:
Sustainable Energy Security: Strategic Risks and Opportunities for Business
# Businesses which prepare for and take advantage of the new energy reality will prosper - failure to do so could be catastrophic
# Market dynamics and environmental factors mean business can no longer rely on low cost traditional energy sources
# We are heading towards a global oil supply crunch and price spike
# Business must address energy-related risks to supply chains and the increasing vulnerability of 'just-in-time' models
# Investment in renewable energy and 'intelligent' infrastructure is booming. This revolution presents huge opportunities for new business partnerships ...
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Like I should listen to the oldest insurance company around's thinktank. Why would they care?
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Tue, Apr 13, 2010
from New Scientist:
Skip the hard cell: Flexible solar power is on its way
So, the sceptics say, solar cells are only ever likely to be a small, disproportionately expensive part of our future energy mix. In the temperate, oft-cloudy climes of much of Europe and North America, satisfying the population's electricity needs with photovoltaics alone would mean plastering something like 5 to 15 per cent of the land surface with them.
Such criticisms might be tempered by a new generation of solar cells about to flop off the production line. Slim, bendy and versatile, they consume just a fraction of the materials - and costs - of a traditional photovoltaic device. They could be just the fillip solar power needs, opening the way to a host of new applications: solar-charged cellphones and laptops, say, or slimline generators that sit almost invisibly on a building's curved surfaces or even its windows.... So why the fuss, if these devices are no more efficient than what went before? The key is that although these cells are merely as efficient as conventional devices, they use only about a hundredth of the material. What's more, they are highly flexible: grown on a bed of silicon, Atwater's microrod arrays can simply be peeled off and stuck pretty much wherever you want. "They could even be integrated into buildings, as components that match the shape of roof tiles," says Atwater. ...
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I'd even pay ten times a hundredth of the price.
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Fri, Mar 26, 2010
from Science Daily:
World Oil Reserves at 'Tipping Point'
The world's capacity to meet projected future oil demand is at a tipping point, according to research by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University. The age of cheap oil has now ended as demand starts to outstrip supply as we head towards the middle of the decade, says the report. It goes on to suggest that the current oil reserve estimates should be downgraded from between 1150-1350 billion barrels to between 850-900 billion barrels, based on recent research. ... The report also raises the worrying issue that additional demand for oil could be met by non-conventional methods, such as the extraction of oil from Canada's tar sands. However, these methods have a far higher carbon output than conventional drilling, and have been described as having a double impact on emissions owing to the emissions produced during extraction as well as during usage. ...
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Reserves downgraded? But I thought growth could continue forever!
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Thu, Mar 11, 2010
from SolveClimate:
New Approach to Farming Could Help Solve Climate, Economic Crises
Discussions of climate change keep running head-long into a barrier: China, India, Brazil and the other countries of the global South need to develop.
No leader of an underdeveloped country will ever agree to a climate change proposal that will take away that country's right to develop.... Meanwhile, first-world leaders, mired in economic crisis, can't make the long-run infrastructural investments that would enable them to take the technological lead in a low-carbon transformation -- let alone make the technology transfers or capital grants that are a moral and political imperative.
But there's a partial way out of the crisis, or what the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has christened the "triple crunch," the intertwined crisis of climate crisis, systemic economic malaise, and oil depletion.
The NEF argues that we need a new Green New Deal, culminating in a "great transition" to a new way of structuring production and consumption so as to re-create an ecology in homeostasis -- a sustainable economy, one that doesn't draw down impossible-to-renew natural resources. Food and agriculture will be central to such a transition... ...
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As long as I don't have to get my hands dirty.
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Tue, Feb 23, 2010
from SolveClimate:
Australia Group Rolls Out Plan for 100 percent Renewable Energy by 2020
A report to be released in the first half of this year finds that Australia can use solar and wind power to produce 100 percent of its electricity in 10 years using technologies that are available now.... "We have concluded that there are no technological impediments to transforming Australia’s stationary energy sector to zero emissions over the next 10 years," said Matthew Wright, executive director of Beyond Zero Emissions.
Australia now gets nearly 80 percent of its power from coal plants. Only 1 percent comes from wind power; less than half of 1 percent comes from solar energy.... Wright concedes that the plan is ambitious. At the same time, he says, it is "totally feasible," despite the price tag.
The cost of quitting carbon entirely is estimated at around $36 billion per year, or up to 3.5 percent of Australia's annual GDP. ...
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But what if we have no advancements in the next five years?
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Tue, Feb 16, 2010
from Guardian:
Global collective action is the key to solving climate change
With Copenhagen behind us, it's time for a new discourse, one which acknowledges the majority view on climate science, accepts uncertainties, and encourages debate among scientists over their observations of the world. A debate framed in the language of risk and uncertainty in which economics and societal values will play a central role.
We have to recognise that a global climate deal will be unlike any other previous international agreement. What we are seeking is a radical transformation of the global economy. If we view it as just another agreement that can be achieved with a bit of lobbying and mass mobilisation it won't work.... Perhaps a more global conscience is a distant dream. But dream we must. We have no alternative but to build a global grassroots movement, move politicians forward, and force large corporations and banks to change direction. Civil society needs to sharpen its teeth if it is to win the battle to save the climate. ...
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Egads, rise up and assert our right to a future?
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Thu, Jan 14, 2010
from SolveClimate:
Return to Small Farms Could Help Alleviate Social and Environmental Crises
Indeed, Altieri shows that on a per-hectare basis, small farms are able to strongly out-produce large ones. It's not the first time this claim has been made.
The quick counter is that agricultural labor is onerous and backbreaking, that no one wishes to do it, that freeing up farm labor by using mechanical devices and chemical inputs allows former farmers to move into the cities, raising productivity, contributing more effectively to national GDP, and so on.
That's a reasonable claim, except for the fact that there's now more available labor in the world than the world knows what to do with, so much so that much of the global South, its former peasantry, lives in dilapidated shanties on the peripheries of urban cores. ...
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Farm? I'd rather profit from credit default swaps.
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Tue, Dec 15, 2009
from George Monbiot, Guardian:
This is bigger than climate change. It is a battle to redefine humanity
The meeting at Copenhagen confronts us with our primal tragedy. We are the universal ape, equipped with the ingenuity and aggression to bring down prey much larger than itself, break into new lands, roar its defiance of natural constraints. Now we find ourselves hedged in by the consequences of our nature, living meekly on this crowded planet for fear of provoking or damaging others. We have the hearts of lions and live the lives of clerks.
The summit's premise is that the age of heroism is over. We have entered the age of accommodation. No longer may we live without restraint. No longer may we swing our fists regardless of whose nose might be in the way. In everything we do we must now be mindful of the lives of others, cautious, constrained, meticulous. We may no longer live in the moment, as if there were no tomorrow.... A new movement, most visible in North America and Australia, but now apparent everywhere, demands to trample on the lives of others as if this were a human right. It will not be constrained by taxes, gun laws, regulations, health and safety, especially by environmental restraints. It knows that fossil fuels have granted the universal ape amplification beyond its Palaeolithic dreams. For a moment, a marvellous, frontier moment, they allowed us to live in blissful mindlessness.
The angry men know that this golden age has gone; but they cannot find the words for the constraints they hate. Clutching their copies of Atlas Shrugged, they flail around, accusing those who would impede them of communism, fascism, religiosity, misanthropy, but knowing at heart that these restrictions are driven by something far more repulsive to the unrestrained man: the decencies we owe to other human beings. ...
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Nobody listens to you, George: you're an environmentalist.
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Fri, Nov 13, 2009
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Threat of climate change should be treated like war say engineers
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) said it would be almost impossible for the UK to meet ambitious climate change targets to cut greenhouse gases by 80 per cent by 2050 without drastic action.
The only way to reach the target would be to "go to war" against carbon emissions, its report said. This would mean setting up a Department of Climate Security to act like the War Cabinet and co-ordinate action across every other Government department.
Unemployed people would be trained in making homes more energy efficient, factories would make solar panels and schools would encourage pupils to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. Money would be pumped into wind turbines, nuclear power stations and solar panels as a matter of urgency. ...
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We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the factories, we shall fight in our lifestyles. This is our finest hour.
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Wed, Sep 30, 2009
from Telegraph.co.uk:
'Planned recession' could avoid catastrophic climate change
The report says the only way to avoid going beyond the dangerous tipping point is to double the target to 70 per cent by 2020.
This would mean reducing the size of the economy through a "planned recession".
Kevin Anderson, director of the research body, said the building of new airports, petrol cars and dirty coal-fired power stations will have to be halted in the UK until new technology provides an alternative to burning fossil fuels.... "For most of the population it would mean fairly modest changes to how they live, maybe they will drive less, share a car to work or take more holidays in Britain."... "If we do everything we can do then we might have a chance," he said. ...
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I'm not sure that "recession now instead of collapse later" has the resonance to become a political chant.
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Sun, Sep 13, 2009
from New Scientist:
Better world: Tax carbon and give the money to the people
A universal carbon tax could be far simpler. NASA climatologist James Hansen is a vocal proponent, favouring a variant in which fossil fuels are taxed at source or at a country's port of entry. The most polluting fuels in terms of carbon emissions, such as coal or tar-sand-derived oil, could be taxed more heavily than others. Consumers would not pay the tax directly, but its effect would permeate through to everything from the price of gas to the price of food: the more carbon-intensive goods or services are, the more heavily they will be hit.
That doesn't mean that consumers need be out of pocket. As Hansen envisages the scheme, the proceeds of the tax should not be kept by the government, but instead distributed equally among all citizens in the form of payments into their bank accounts. Those who make greener choices -- flying less, insulating their home, running a more energy-efficient car -- will make a net profit from the tax.... "A carbon tax is honest. It takes one page rather than 1400," [Hansen] says. "That doesn't go down too well in Washington." ...
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Simple and sensible leaves too little room for opportunism.
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Tue, Aug 18, 2009
from Science Daily:
'Killer Spices' Provide Eco-friendly Pesticides For Organic Fruits And Veggies
Mention rosemary, thyme, clove, and mint and most people think of a delicious meal. Think bigger ... acres bigger. These well-known spices are now becoming organic agriculture's key weapons against insect pests as the industry tries to satisfy demands for fruits and veggies among the growing portion of consumers who want food produced in more natural ways.... [S]cientists in Canada are reporting exciting new research on these so-called "essential oil pesticides" or "killer spices."... Some spiced-based commercial products now being used by farmers have already shown success in protecting organic strawberry, spinach, and tomato crops against destructive aphids and mites, the researcher says. ...
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Best of all, no dressing needed for your salad!
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Fri, Jun 5, 2009
from BusinessGreen:
New standards pull plug on energy guzzling vending machines
Vending machines for soda and other beverages would sip energy rather than guzzle it under new standards proposed by the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
The proposed rules set energy conservation standards and consumption thresholds for refrigerated vending machines that dispense bottled or canned drinks.
The measures would cut energy use of glass- or polymer-front machines by as much as 42 per cent compared to current energy consumption of such machines. Energy use in more traditional solid-front vending machines would be cut by about 15 per cent.... Over a 30-year period, the new standards could yield savings of as much as 10 billion kwh of electricity - about enough for 800,000 typical homes for a year, save vending machine property owners $250 million, and eliminate five million metric tons of CO2 emissions, according to the DOE's long-term projections. The 30-year estimate for CO2 reduction is roughly the equivalent of the CO2 emissions produced by a million cars during a year and has an estimated value of $96 million, the DOE said. ...
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Guilt-free junk food? What next, energy-efficient Big Macs?
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Wed, Jun 3, 2009
from WorldWatch Institute:
Farmers Poised to Offset One-Quarter of Global Fossil Fuel Emissions Annually
Innovations in food production and land use that are ready to be scaled-up today could reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to roughly 25 percent of global fossil fuel emissions and present the best opportunity to remove greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, according to a new report by the Worldwatch Institute and Ecoagriculture Partners. As the price of carbon rises with new caps on emissions and expanding markets for carbon offsets, the contribution of land-based, or "terrestrial," carbon to climate change mitigation efforts could increase even further.... Mobilizing agricultural carbon sequestration is therefore an essential tool in the effort to reduce the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases to the 350 parts-per-million level that many scientists argue we must achieve to avoid catastrophic climate change. A recent assessment published by Worldwatch in State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World found that emissions of carbon dioxide will have to "go negative" -- with more being absorbed than emitted -- by 2050 to achieve this goal. ...
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Growing ourselves out of this problem sure has a nice ring to it.
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Fri, May 22, 2009
from BBC:
US CO2 goals 'to be compromised'
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the US will not be able to cut greenhouse emissions as much as it should due to domestic political opposition.
Prof Chu told BBC News he feared the world might be heading towards a tipping point on climate change.
This meant the US had to cut emissions urgently -- even if compromises were needed to get new laws approved.
Environmentalists said Prof Chu, a Nobel physicist, should be guided by science not politics.... "As someone very concerned about climate I want to be as aggressive as possible but I also want to get started. And if we say we want something much more aggressive on the early timescales that would draw considerable opposition and that would delay the process for several years. ...
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I just hate it when scientific reality is hamstrung by political reality.
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Thu, May 21, 2009
from Wall Street Journal:
Peak Oil: Global Oil Production Has Peaked, Analyst Says
Global production of petroleum peaked in the first quarter of last year, says analysts Raymond James, which "represents a paradigm shift of historic proportions. Unfortunately, mankind better get ready to live in a peak oil world because we believe the 'peak' is now behind us."... The contention rests on a simple argument: OPEC oil production actually fell even as oil prices were above $100 a barrel, a sign of the "tyranny of geology" that limits the easy production of ever-more crude.
"Those declines had to have come for involuntary reasons such as the inherent geological limits of oil fields ... We believe that the oil market has already crossed over to the downward sloping side of Hubbert's Peak," the analysts write. ...
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My interest is... piqued.
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Wed, May 20, 2009
from Queen's University, via EurekAlert:
Queen's scientists discover eco-friendly wood dissolution
Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have discovered a new eco-friendly way of dissolving wood using ionic liquids that may help its transformation into popular products such as bio fuels, textiles, clothes and paper.... At present wood is broken down mainly by the Kraft pulping process, which originates from the 19th century and uses a wasteful technology relying on polluting chemicals.... The Queen's researchers found that chips of both softwood and hardwood dissolved completely in ionic liquid and only mild conditions of temperature and pressure were needed. By controlled addition of water and a water-acetone mixture, the dissolved wood was partially separated into a cellulose-rich material and pure lignin.
This process is much more environmentally-friendly than the current method as it uses less heat and pressure and produces very low toxicity while remaining biodegradable. ...
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Breaking up was very hard toooo do.
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Fri, Apr 10, 2009
from BusinessGreen:
Chrysler moves electric car plans up a gear
US car maker Chrysler's electric vehicle range has moved a step closer to reality as the company inked a major partnership with US battery specialist A123Systems.
Under the terms of the deal, A123Systems will provide Chrysler with battery systems for its planned ENVI range of electric vehicles.
First showcased at the North American motorshow in Detroit this year, Chrysler's entry into the electric vehicle market includes the Dodge Circuit EV, Jeep(R) Wrangler EV, Jeep Patriot EV, Chrysler Town & Country EV and the Chrysler 200C EV concept car. The company is expecting its first all-electric model to go into production early next year. ...
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Can I do some sweat equity? Send me the parts and we'll put 'em together!
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Wed, Apr 1, 2009
from International Journal of Exergy, via EurekAlert:
Waste not, want not
Tapping industrial waste heat could reduce fossil fuel demands in the short term and improve efficiency of countless manufacturing processes, according to scientists in Japan writing in the International Journal of Exergy.... The team has investigated three promising technologies for heat recovery: latent heat, reaction heat, and the use of a thermoelectric device. The aim of their study was to find a way to capture the heat from industrial furnaces and other systems without the constraints of time and space associated with simply using the heat to produce steam to drive other processes at precisely the same site. They say their approach can "recuperate industrial waste heat beyond time and space." ...
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We so much need to get "beyond time and space."
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Mon, Mar 16, 2009
from AP News:
Economy spurs home garden boom
With the recession in full swing, many Americans are returning to their roots -- literally -- cultivating vegetables in their backyards to squeeze every penny out of their food budget.
Industry surveys show double-digit growth in the number of home gardeners this year and mail-order companies report such a tremendous demand that some have run out of seeds for basic vegetables such as onions, tomatoes and peppers.
"People's home grocery budget got absolutely shredded and now we've seen just this dramatic increase in the demand for our vegetable seeds. We're selling out," said George Ball, CEO of Burpee Seeds, the largest mail-order seed company in the U.S. "I've never seen anything like it." ...
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I'm not ready to declare "victory [gardens]" just yet.
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Mon, Mar 16, 2009
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Taxes must rise to pay for climate change, MPs warn
But in their report, the MPs expose the timidity of the Government's response to the crisis, revealing that the £535 million package for low carbon measures announced in the PBR was made up of money brought forward from future budgets.
That means that the Government will either have to cut spending or raise taxes to pay for future measures to "green" the economic recovery.
Tim Yeo, chairman of the committee, said: "The Treasury has announced very little new money for green investments.
"Yet meeting our climate change targets will require a step-change in funding for the low carbon energy sector, especially when the financial crisis has led to a shortage of capital." ...
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It's called "paying it backward."
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Tue, Mar 10, 2009
from Scitizen.com:
Jeffrey Brown and the Net Oil Exports Crisis
The genesis of his rather radical views--radical, that is, for a Texas oilman--are a simple question he asked himself several years ago: What happens to oil exports in a world with constrained oil supplies? ... His pondering led to the creation of the the Export Land Model. It goes something like this: A hypothetical oil exporter--let's call it Export Land--has reached its peak in oil production. Assume domestic users consume half of all the oil produced in Export Land at the moment; assume a 5 percent annual decline rate for production; and assume a 2½ percent annual increase in domestic consumption. The result is that Export Land reaches zero exports in an astonishingly short nine years.
...
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The ExportLand Emirates will be so sad to lose their buddies in ImportLand.
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Sun, Mar 1, 2009
from Guardian (UK):
American taste for soft toilet paper 'worse than driving Hummers'
The tenderness of the delicate American buttock is causing more environmental devastation than the country's love of gas-guzzling cars, fast food or McMansions, according to green campaigners. At fault, they say, is the US public's insistence on extra-soft, quilted and multi-ply products when they use the bathroom.
"This is a product that we use for less than three seconds and the ecological consequences of manufacturing it from trees is enormous," said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defence Council.... More than 98 percent of the toilet roll sold in America comes from virgin forests, said Hershkowitz. In Europe and Latin America, up to 40 percent of toilet paper comes from recycled products. Greenpeace this week launched a cut-out-and-keep ecological ranking of toilet paper products.... Those brands, which put quilting and pockets of air between several layers of paper, are especially damaging to the environment. ...
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Here I sit / scarcely trying / while the earth / is busy frying.
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Mon, Feb 23, 2009
from Reuters:
U.S. renewable energy faces weak economy, old grid
People in the industries say the stimulus will help speed the process, but it still may not be fast enough to meet the Obama administration's goal of ramping up renewable energy production and related investments to revive the economy.
The stimulus extends tax breaks for generating electricity from renewable sources. The government also will provide incentives for homeowners and businesses to buy solar power equipment, and will help fund other energy-saving measures.... Even if demand for renewable energy surges, moving those power supplies will pose problems. The electricity grid is little changed from the one that powered the radios that carried President Roosevelt's fireside chats in the 1930s. ...
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Good evening, friends [crackle] -- we must [crackle] remake our energy infrastructure if [crackle] we are to remake our nation.
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Mon, Feb 16, 2009
from BusinessGreen:
Microsoft takes carbon reporting to the mainstream
In contrast, Microsoft is going after the mainstream.... Microsoft's Dynamics AX 2009 business application suite -- to which it has just added a free Environmental Sustainability Dashboard capable of providing execs with access to data on their company's fuel consumption, energy use and carbon footprint, amongst other performance indicators -- is aimed squarely at midmarket firms... And once all executives, regardless of their company's size, know how much carbon their organisation is emitting they are in the perfect position to start doing something about it. ...
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And please, please start.
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Tue, Feb 3, 2009
from CNN Money:
Wind jobs outstrip coal mining jobs
Here's a talking point in the green jobs debate: The wind industry now employs more people than coal mining in the United States.
Wind industry jobs jumped to 85,000 in 2008, a 70 percent increase from the previous year, according to a report released Tuesday from the American Wind Energy Association. In contrast, coal mining employs about 81,000 workers. (Those figures are from a 2007 U.S. Department of Energy report but coal employment has remained steady in recent years though it's down by nearly 50 percent since 1986.) Wind industry employment includes 13,000 manufacturing jobs concentrated in regions of the country hard hit by the deindustrialization of the past two decades. ...
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Does that mean sustainability is winning?
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Sat, Dec 27, 2008
from New York Times:
No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in "Passive Houses"
...Even on the coldest nights in central Germany, Mr. Kaufmann's new "passive house" and others of this design get all the heat and hot water they need from the amount of energy that would be needed to run a hair dryer...The concept of the passive house, pioneered in this city of 140,000 outside Frankfurt, approaches the challenge from a different angle. Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows, the architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a passive house can be warmed not only by the sun, but also by the heat from appliances and even from occupants' bodies.
And in Germany, passive houses cost only about 5 to 7 percent more to build than conventional houses.
...
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And I used to think "passive" was a bad thing!
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Wed, Dec 10, 2008
from New York Times:
Back at Junk Value, Recyclables Are Piling Up
The economic downturn has decimated the market for recycled materials like cardboard, plastic, newspaper and metals. Across the country, this junk is accumulating by the ton in the yards and warehouses of recycling contractors, which are unable to find buyers or are unwilling to sell at rock-bottom prices.
Ordinarily the material would be turned into products like car parts, book covers and boxes for electronics. But with the slump in the scrap market, a trickle is starting to head for landfills instead of a second life. "It's awful," said Briana Sternberg, education and outreach coordinator for Sedona Recycles, a nonprofit group in Arizona that recently stopped taking certain types of cardboard...
"Either it goes to landfill or it begins to cost us money," Ms. Sternberg said. ...
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There's a futures market here that is not paying attention.
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Tue, Dec 2, 2008
from Guardian (UK):
How changes in daily routine may become second nature
Before going out you turn off the master switch for all your appliances. Then you climb into your electric car for the drive to work. The roads are noticeably quieter, and there have been studies showing asthma admissions are falling as petrol and diesel cars are replaced.... David Kennedy, the climate change committee's chief executive, said: "Let's not underestimate the energy efficiency that gives you more [savings] than lifestyle change, but there are things that can really make a difference, such as simply switching lights off when you leave the room and turning the thermostat down."
There would likely be visible and audible changes: quieter streets, more wind turbines on the horizon, but also, as farmers use less fertiliser, more trout and salmon in rivers, while countryside bird populations should flourish. ...
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You mean I can make a difference with my personal life!?
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Mon, Oct 13, 2008
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Climate change targets could end farming as we know it -- NFU
New targets to cut the UK's greenhouse emissions by at least 80 per cent will cripple agriculture in the UK, according to farmers.... The [National Farmers Union] said it would be "nigh on impossible" for farming to make the cuts without a massive reduction in livestock farming -- which produces methane, and cultivating the land -- which produces nitrous oxide.... "We simply do not know how to produce the current volume of food produced using 80 per cent less greenhouse gases," he added. ...
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Obstructionism "as we know it" will also have to end.
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Sun, Sep 28, 2008
from Associated Press:
Scientists think algae may be the fuel of the future
Borculo, Netherlands -- Set amid cornfields and cow pastures in eastern Holland is a shallow pool that is rapidly turning green with algae, harvested for animal feed, skin treatments, biodegradable plastics -- and with increasing interest, biofuel... Experts say it will be years, maybe a decade, before this simplest of all plants efficiently can be processed for fuel. But when that day comes, it could go a long way toward easing the world's energy needs and responding to global warming. ...
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Plus the word "algae" is rich in vowels.
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Sat, Sep 20, 2008
from PC Magazine:
Twelve-Year-Old May Hold Key to Solar Energy
One significant problem with existing solar technology is that it's not terribly efficient at harvesting solar energy and turning it into electricity. Solar technology is improving all the time, but one 12-year-old boy may have the key to making solar panels that can harness 500 times the light of a traditional solar cell. William Yuan is a seventh grader in Oregon whose project, titled "A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UV Light," may change the energy industry and make solar energy far easier to harness and distribute. ...
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Now that's what I call revenge of the pre-pubescent nerds!
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Sat, Jul 12, 2008
from BBC:
Living in a world without waste
"The Mayor of Kamikatsu, a small community in the hills of eastern Japan, has urged politicians around the world to follow his lead and make their towns "Zero Waste"... Kamikatsu may be a backwater in the wooded hills and rice terraces of south-eastern Japan but it's become a world leader on waste policy.
There are no waste collections from households at all. People have to take full responsibility for everything they throw away. ...
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I see trees of green... red roses too... folks take care of their waste... how 'bout you?...And I think to myself... what a wonderful world...
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Tue, Jun 10, 2008
from Guardian (UK):
Small farms are now our best chance of feeding the world
A recent study of farming in Turkey, for example, found that farms of less than one hectare are 20 times as productive as farms of more than 10 hectares. Sen's observation has been tested in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, Java, the Philippines, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay. It appears to hold almost everywhere.... As developing countries sweep away street markets and hawkers' stalls and replace them with superstores and glossy malls, the most productive farmers lose their customers and are forced to sell up. The rich nations support this process by demanding access for their companies. Their agricultural subsidies still help their own large farmers to compete unfairly with the small producers of the poor world. ...
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But small farms won't raise shareholder value for ADM and Monsanto.
To the lobbying barricades!
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Mon, Apr 28, 2008
from Mother Earth News:
Designing Sustainable Small Farms
Conventional agricultural ecosystems (i.e., farms) are inherently fragile: Their productivity can be sustained only if fossil fuel subsidies, in one form or another, are employed as inputs. Most farms entail, as well, other very serious environmental costs. Clearly, we need to create new food raising systems that will conserve soil, water, and nutrients ... minimize the use of fossil fuels, chemical fertilizers, and synthetic pesticides ... and lead to regionally self-reliant food systems.... [I]n the final analysis agricultural production will be maintained only if farms are designed in the image of natural ecosystems, combining the knowledge of science with the wisdom of the wilderness.... The philosophy, as summed up by Mollison, is one "of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation, rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system." ...
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Golden oldies: this originally from 1984. Can we apply permaculture to the suburbs?
A chicken in every backyard!
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Mon, Mar 10, 2008
from Times Online:
Climate czar, Lord Adair Turner, says take off your tie to cut CO2
"Office workers should be allowed to shed their suits and ties and adopt lightweight informal clothing to help cut carbon dioxide emissions, according to Lord Adair Turner, the new climate czar. He believes forcing men to wear suits and women to wear smart skirts raises demand for air-conditioning and discourages them from using sustainable forms of transport such as walking and cycling." ...
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See, people? Saving the earth is going to be fun! Now if only the US would appoint a climate czar ...
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Sat, Dec 8, 2007
from Sydney Morning Herald (Australia):
Academic seeks 100 percent greenhouse target
Nations need to cut greenhouse pollution by 50 per cent by 2025 and 100 per cent by 2050 to avoid climatic disaster, an academic says.
Climate change researcher Ian McGregor said the kind of emissions cuts being discussed at the UN conference on Bali would fail to avert catastrophic climate change. ...
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Wait, you mean we don't get to give this problem to our children?
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