In a news release by Agence France-Presse, a study has found that Arctic soil contains 60% more trapped Greenhouse Gas than previously thought. American scientists discovered the increase, via extensive testing of 117 sample sites from North America, taken at depths of one metre.

This GHG is presently trapped inside a blanket of frozen permafrost covering one fifth of the world’s land mass.

The Nobel Prize-winning UN panel of climate change scientists project temperature increases by century’s end of up to six degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Arctic region, which is more sensitive to global warming than any other part of the planet.

Commenting on the research, Christian Beer of the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany, pointed out that the climate change models upon which future projections are based, do not include the potential impact of the gases trapped frozen Arctic soils.

“Releasing even a portion of this carbon into the atmosphere, in the form of methane or carbon dioxide, would have an significant impact on Earth’s climate,” he noted in his commentary, also published in Nature Geoscience. 

ShareThis

The city of London, Ontario has banned the sale of water in plastic bottles, at all municipal facilities. This will include city hall, golf courses, hockey arena and swimming pools. Additional drinking fountains, with refill taps, will be installed where required.

For the past year, the London Aquatic Club stopped selling water at it’s swim meets, advising the teams from invited cities to bring refillable bottles. Water refilling stations were provided by the city at these meets.

This is obviously a step in the right direction, though not everyone has grasped the concept. A picture in the local paper announcing the ban, showed a young lady from a city golf course,  proudly displaying a pitcher of water with DISPOSABLE PLASTIC CUPS!

For more info on the 7 types of recyclable plastic: Recycle Plastic

ShareThis

The USA could cut it’s projected GHG emissions in HALF by 2030, WITHOUT major lifestyle changes or new technologies, if it would legislate efficiency programs.

California is one state that has been setting an excellent example through programs such as it’s “demand response system” for reducing electricity demands at peak periods. This policy alone, has prevented the construction of several new power plants.

All products that consume energy should be required to post consumption rates to allow a consumer to comparison shop.

Where the person who makes a purchase is not the end person responsible for paying the electrical bill, minimum standards need to be passed into law. For example, Builders should be required to state the operating cost for the homes they build. It is much cheaper in the long run, to install additional installation when building a house, than to pay for the heating cost throughout the life of the building that has poor insulation. Yes, this becomes a bit tricky given “lifestyles” can vary the average bill, but standards can still be developed.

Similar for Landlord - Tenant issues. Landlords need to be forced to install proper insulation, caulking, energy efficient appliances… or utility bills need to be included in the rent. Average operating costs to be born by the tenant need to be listed in writing for All rental units.

Cars/Vehicles offer one of the largest opportunities. In 2007 the average European made car got 44.2 mpg, while the average mileage for Japanese made cars was 45.0 mpg. In 2007 the US Congress passed a law to force American made cars to meet 35 mpg by 2020! What is wrong with this picture!

The USA needs to LEAD, not LAG. 

ShareThis

Some lobbyist would tell you that “clean coal” is just as good as burning Natural Gas in electrical generating stations. They may talk of test sites and government support.  In virtually all cases, the companies involved in “clean coal” have given up on these unproven technologies.

To quote Eric Redman on the use of pulverized-coal plants, a lawyer who represents several companies working on technologies to “gasify” coal, from Fred Krupp’s recent book, EARTH: THE SEQUEL, “It’s almost immoral. It’s like telling someone you can keep smoking because we might come up with a cure for cancer.”

 China makes 80% of it’s electricity from coal and is adding a new 500-megawatt plant every four days.

USA and the developed countries need to lead the way, with massive greening of the electrical grid. China, as in the past, will follow suit once it is evident that coal stations will not be tolerated.

ShareThis

Who spews more CO2 into the air, USA or China? The dubious honour of being #1 is now in debate. At 23% of the world’s CO2 production EACH, it doesn’t really matter who’s #1, as the earth can not handle this continued level of CO2 production. Add India into the picture and you have over 50% of all man-made CO2 production via these 3 countries.

There is no question, CO2 production levels must be reduced. But how do we allocate this “resource” (CO2). Most articles on CO2 and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) list the production “per country”. Is this fair? If we support the idea that all people are created equal, then we must look at CO2 production on a per person basis. A person living in the USA, Europe, China, India or Russia.. each has the same “right” to the resources of the planet, including clean air to breath and a comfortable standard of living.

Looking at CO2 production “per person”, puts the USA far ahead of the rest of the world. Yes the people of China and India are now producing huge, unsupportable levels of CO2. But at 2.4 BILLION people, do they not have the “right” to this current production level - to this current “Standard of Living” that is still 5 times below the standard of living for the average American.

Something must be done and soon. But we must look at our own backyard first. It’s unlikely that the developed nations will ever reduce their standard of living to equal the remaining people of the world. We must however, start the equalization process. Technology can help us reduce our footprint, but can not get us there on it’s own. We must reduce our consumption!

Your thoughts…

ShareThis

Five years ago today, 50 million people where given the chance to live without electricity when the northeastern region of the USA and Ontario lost power.

Since that day, very little has been done to improve the electrical grid’s stability. Plans are in place to add new transmission lines and generating capacity, but these additions take years to implement. Thankfully, the new additions to the grid will permit several Wind Turbine projects in the area to added to the generating system.

Many people pledged to reduce their electrical consumption during the Blackout. But their resolve faded quickly once the power was restored. Only recently has this resolve started to return as people become more aware of the impact of their actions. A group of individuals from Mississauga have created a website to remember BlackoutDay and offer suggestions.

You can make a difference! What are you doing to reduce your electrical usage?

Suggestions for electrical conservation: Conserving Energy

Chart of how much CO2 is produced to make 1 kilowatt/hour of electricity: CO2 By State/Province

Greening the Electrical Grid: Options to Green the Green - Solar Thermal

ShareThis

Fred Pearce, in a blog for Yale Environment 360,  points out that population growth has dramatically decreased over the past few years.

 ”A generation ago, the world fertility rate was around six kids per woman. Today it is 2.6, which is getting close to the level needed just to maintain the current population long-term. Allowing for girls who don’t make it to adulthood, that is around 2.3.”

This trend to slower population growth is indeed good news. But we still need to focus on CONSUMPTION. As countries increase their standard of living, consumption of the earth’s resources increases at an alarming rate. And who are we, (the “developed nations”) to tell those people living in poverty, that they can not improve their quality of life.

The earth can not support a universal standard of living, equivalent to what is now enjoyed by the developed nations. We must make significant reductions in our carbon footprint, reduce our standard of living - return to a simple, slower pace of life. Technology alone, will not solve this issue.

ShareThis

Green Roofs and Green Walls have been common place in Europe for centuries. Now North America is starting to catch on. A living roof or wall not only adds beauty to a building but has many additional benefits for the owner and the environment.

Benefits include:

• longer lifespan for the roof through reduced exposure to the sun’s UV rays and reduction of extreme temperature ranges
• the plants remove pollutants and greenhouse gases from the air improving the environment for everyone
• reduced costs for heating and cooling

Additional benefits are listed here: Benefits of Green Roofs

ShareThis

A traditional garden can be a great provider of food. But what are your options if you don’t have the space? Try a “green wall” or “vertical garden“.  

Growing a few herbs in a pot or planter can add freshness and flavor to your meals. But why not expand this small garden patch. Many vegetables will do very well in soil or hydroponics. 

Plant tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, carrots, beets, etc., in pots and planters which can be set on the floor, shelves or hung from above.  

Climbing plants such as peas, beans, cucumbers, melons, etc., can be started at the base of a wall and given support via a trellis, cables/wires, and fences. Tie them loosely as they grow. The fruit of melons will need additional support - make a ledge under the fruit or tie it in a sling.

Pay attention to sunlight and plant your veggies based on the direct light or shade that you have available. A bit of light and water works miracles. Enjoy!

ShareThis

Can we officially put a steak in the SUV and 4-Wheel Vehicles? Hybrids are coming on strong and happily, the number of pure electric plug-in vehicles that will be available in the next couple of years is steadily increasing.

VW have shown interest in the  Oscar (Open Systems CAR), a demonstration unit. Tesla has finally started to deliver their high-end electric sports car and Think have announced plans to import their Think City car to California.

Aptera, Miles Electric Vehicles and Mitsubishi are also in the field…. all good signs of what’s headed our way. Now we just need the patience to wait…..

ShareThis

Ok, so Al Gore wants the electrical grid to be 100% Renewable within 10 years. What are the options?

Renewable options include:

Water - hydro electric dams, tidal current, ocean waves

Wind - farms of wind turbines

Biomass - natural gas from composing manure and other waste products

Solar - photovoltaic, thermal

What’s NOT renewable? - fossil fuels (diesel, gasoline), coal, natural gas, nuclear.

What’s Questionable? - ethanol and bio-diesel. These two fuels, and possibly biomass gases,  may be considered renewable but they still produce carbon dioxide when consumed. If manufactured correctly, using cellulosic ethanol or algae bio-diesel, they can produce much more energy when consumed, than required in their production. The carbon dioxide that is released on their consumption is also “recycled” during their production, thus stored carbon (fossil fuel) is not added to the atmosphere.

Nuclear power is also a toss-up in the minds of many people. On the positive side, it does not produce greenhouse gases. On the negative side, the radioactive waste is a huge concern.

In part 1, let’s look further at Solar Thermal Electrical Production.

Solar Thermal Electrical Production

Most of the world’s prime solar thermal sites are located around the equator. The following diagram indicates the prime locations for thermal plants:

 The most promising solar thermal technology is Solar Thermal Parabolic Trough.  Parabolic trough power plants consist of numerous trough-shaped parabolic mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto receivers. This heats a fluid that transfers the heat back to an electrical generator that makes electricity.

Several of these power plants are inuse today. With advanced heat storage systems, these power plants can provide power 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Once built, a thermal parabolic trough power plant continues to produce electricity at a very low cost (3 cents/kwh).

More information on Solar Thermal Power Plants is available here: Solar Thermal Power Plants

A second form of solar thermal electrical power is via Dish/Engine Systems.These systems use a dish of mirrors to focus the sun’s heat on a Sterling Engine. Though each individual system produces a small amount of electricity, thousands of dishes can be setup to create power plants that generate gigawatts of power.

A third solar thermal system is called Power Towers. These plants use a couple thousand mirrors to focus the sun’s heat onto a central tower. Solar One and Solar Two in the Mojave Desert, was a demo projected that created 10 MW of power. A new production system called Solar Tres is presently being constructed in Spain, which will produce 17 MW of power, and will run 24 hours per day.

For more information on these 3 types of Solar Thermal Power plants, please see: Solar Thermal Power Plants

ShareThis

There is no question that Al Gore understands the issue. But can he move “the people” to make a change. His speech, A Generational Challenge to Repower America was specifically aimed at motivating the people.

One common thread runs through America’s issues with security, environment and the economy - carbon based fuels.

“Yet when we look at all three of these seemingly intractable challenges at the same time, we can see the common thread running through them, deeply ironic in its simplicity: our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges – the economic, environmental and national security crises. We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change. But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we’re holding the answer to all of them right in our hand.”

Let’s hope he is successful in moving the people towards “producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.”

For sure the large power utilities will fight this every step of the way. They will lose much of their central control as the government takes control of transmission facilities - put the lines where we can generate the power.. And we decentralize some of the production via millions of household solar PV systems.

We have everything that is required today… except the WILL POWER.

See a list BY STATE, of how much GHG is produced to make 1 KWH of electricity: GHG to Make Electricity

More info on Solar Photovoltaics: Solar PV

Basic Wind Turbine Information: Wind Turbine Facts

Complete, free plans and instructions to build a home sized wind turbine: DIY Horizontal Wind Turbine

ShareThis

Toyota Motor Corp announced July 10th, they will build the hybrid Prius in their new Blue Springs Mississippi plant starting in late 2010. The plant will NOT build their Highlander SUV as originally planned due to changing USA demand.

The American public has finally shifted their purchasing habits from large SUVs and trucks to more fuel efficient cars including hybrids.

Hopefully the next, quicker shift, will be to pure plug-in electric vehicles.

ShareThis

Canada Worst of 8

By Erik Kirschbaum, BERLIN (Reuters)

None of the G8 countries have come close to fulfilling their pledges to fight climate change with the United States, Canada and Russia lagging especially far behind, a study published on Thursday found.

“We’re not going to be able to fathom what the world may be like in 20 years if we aren’t able to reduce emissions,” said Regine Guenther, head of climate policy at the WWF in Germany.

Editor’s Note: We need a combination of Carbon Taxes and Cap & Trade limits, to make a real impact in our GHG emissions.  The Carbon Tax will provide incentive for the average citizen to make intelligent decisions on a day by day basis, while reducing their personal footprint. The Cap & Trade system, properly implemented, will stop all increases in industrial carbon emissions and provide a controlled path for reducing the overall GHG levels. It permits industry to pick the most cost effective and financially rewarding methods to reduce their carbon outputs… without the government imposing specific directives… “use product A”.

We must act now.

ShareThis

Louis Palmer and his team started on a drive around the world in their solar powered taxi on July 1st 2007. As of July 2nd 2008, they have completed 32,245 kms with six months still to go. Pictured here, the solar taxi participates in a Canada Day Parade in Vancouver.

Per Louis:

“On 3 July 2007 I set off on my first journey around the world with a solar powered vehicle. Admittedly, as a regular citizen I cannot change the world but I can demonstrate to the world just how dire the global climate situation has become and how many sophisticated solutions to lower the greenhouse gases already exist, which bring with them many other advantages. So that we can have a better world and a more secure future. The solar taxi should rekindle hope and a zest for life, set an example to counteract resignation and stimulate reflection. And show that every single one of us can take a step towards preserving our planet.”

To follow Louis and his trip around the world in a solar power car, visit his website here: SolarTaxi

We have more info on Electric Plug-in Vehicles such as Oscar, Aptera, click here: Electric Plug-in Vehicles

And for info on Alternative Fuels such as Hydrogen and Propane, click here: Alternative Energy Vehicles

ShareThis