An LED That Mimics an Old Standby
The ubiquitous 40- and 60-watt incandescent light bulbs are supposed to be in their last few years of existence; a phase-out of incandescents mandated by the federal government begins next year with the 100-watt model and works its way down to the smaller bulbs in 2014.
Bulb manufacturers are working on a variety of replacements, including halogens, which, like incandescents, make light by letting current flow through a filament. Others will be replaced by compact fluorescents.
But in August, Osram Sylvania will introduce another lamp it hopes will take a share of the market, using light-emitting diodes, or LEDs….
The device (which the lighting industry calls a lamp, not a bulb) uses 12 watts, 80 percent less electricity than the standard 60-watt incandescent, and emits nearly as much light. (Watts are a unit of power; light is measured in lumens.) It’s supposed to last 25,000 hours, which is about three years of continuous use, or about 11 years if used for six hours a day.
The company has not announced the price, but LED’s meant to replace 40-watt bulbs are expected to be in the $20 range.
MIT Study Says Natural Gas Use Likely to Double
Natural gas will provide an increasing share of America’s energy needs over the next several decades, doubling its share of the energy market to 40 percent, from 20 percent, according to a report to be released Friday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The increase, the report concluded, will come largely at the expense of coal and will be driven both by abundant supplies of natural gas — made more available by shale drilling — and by measures to restrict the carbon dioxide emissions that are linked to climate change.
Dire climate change warning to Australia
A dire warning will be delivered to Australia when almost 1000 delegates from around the world arrive on the Gold Coast next week for the country’s first international conference on the science of climate change, and how to adapt to it.
Co-chair of the three-day conference and director of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Professor Jean Palutikof, warns Australia will be one of the hardest hit developed countries in the world when climate change starts to bite.
“The science tells us climate change is happening faster than we thought and that the window for us to adapt and prepare is smaller than we thought,” Professor Palutikof said.
JPMorgan Refits EcoSecurities for Carbon Takeovers
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is reorganizing EcoSecurities, the carbon-emissions company it bought for $206 million, to pursue further takeovers even as the market for greenhouse gases shrinks.
“It is possible that EcoSecurities will be in a position to make additional acquisitions in this area over the next few years,” said Mark Nicholls, an independent director for the Dublin-based investor in carbon credits. Nicholls served as its chairman from 2005 until the takeover by JPMorgan last December.
“This was not a trading play, not a one- to three-year plan, but a long-term plan by JPMorgan to get into this space and we are delivering on that plan,” he said in a written response to questions.
Boosting its wager may help JPMorgan strengthen its role in a market that the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission says has the potential to be worth $2 trillion. Before that, EcoSecurities Chief Executive Officer Paul Kelly must ride out a slump in emissions trading after the U.S., the European Union and Australia reined in plans to build carbon markets.
Is biomass really a “green” energy source?
The Devil is in the Details. If a pulp and paper factory has a lot of biomass produced as a byproduct of production, should it be encouraged to burn that stuff to generate electricity? In aggregate could such alternative energy sources help us to rely less on coal fired power plants? As discusseed here, environmentalist critics are worried that too much of this activity will be triggered by well meaning subsidies for renewable power generation.
The environmentalists are worried that toxic air emissions will rise as all of this biomass will be burned. They point out that coal fired power plants produce two dimensions of “bads”. They produce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution (particulates and sulfur dioxide). Thus, there are “co-benefits” of reducing our % of power from coal power plants because we get two benefits from swapping out solar or wind for coal.
If we switch over to producing more power using biofuels, how much local health damage does this create? This depends on several factors including; 1. how many people live in the airshed near where the biomass would be burned? 2. how sensitive is their health to elevated toxics levels? 3. how much are they willing to pay to avoid this marginal increase in sickness?
Another U.S. Clean Energy Generator Finds a Home Abroad
A decade ago, Americans were fascinated with the idea of a hydrogen-powered economy. The George W. Bush administration projected images of millions of cars zipping down the highway, pumping out nothing but water for exhaust from their fuel cell engines. That future is still a long way off, but the technology for high-efficiency fuel cell power plants could be here today, if only the right policies were in place to bring it to the mainstream.
That was part of the message at a technology workshop hosted earlier this week by the U.S. Energy Association and its executive director, Barry Worthington. USEA is a collection of interested groups ranging from oil companies and power utilities to universities and federal agencies.
In Whaling Wars, Resources vs. ‘Beings’
High-stakes international negotiations in Morocco over the future of whaling collapsed this week, with anti-whaling nations like Argentina unwilling to accept compromise proposals that Japan reduce, but not eliminate, its killing of whales in Antarctic and Pacific waters.
That this latest meeting of the International Whaling Commission produced a stalemate is hardly surprising. For years, the commission’s 88 member nations have been split along an ideological divide no less profound than the one over abortion in the United States.
Pro-whaling nations like Japan, Norway and Iceland say that opposition to modern-day whaling is illogical, as the species of whales being hunted are no longer endangered. “Japan supports the realization of the management, conservation and sustainable utilization of whale resources based on the best scientific information available,” that country said in its opening statement at the Morocco meeting.
Are Antarctic Crustaceans in Peril?
As I wrote in The Times on Wednesday, the Marine Stewardship Council has come under fire for certifying as ‘‘sustainable’’ the Antarctic krill of AkerBiomarine, a Norwegian company that turns the tiny crustaceans into omega-3 dietary supplements and feed for farmed fish such as salmon.
Suburban life gets hot, hot, hotter
Suburban living has long been identified as a less green choice than city life, for many reasons, but a recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle suggests these suburban communities might already be feeling the effects of climate change more sharply than their metropolitan neighbors.
According to the article, a study conducted at Georgia Tech found that suburbs see a higher number of “very hot days” per year when compared to the compact cities nearby, regardless of “climate zone, population size, or rate of growth.
The average number of very hot days increased by about 15 days per year in the most sprawling areas and by about 6 days per year in the other suburbs where the houses and businesses are closer together. The environment might not even be the only victim of the changing climate. The article quotes the study’s lead author, Brian Stone, saying that the temperature differences could pose a “significant health threat” to humans since “severe heat kills more people on average per year than other type of dangerous weather.”
The school bus rattled across the Elgin County back road, kicking up a trail of dust and baking its passengers inside on a recent hot summer day.
Creaking to a stop in front of the towering wind turbine on the Lake Erie shoreline, its passengers spilled out on this tour of the Erie Shores Wind Farm near Port Burwell.
Jim Wilgar, site consultant with International Power Corp. Canada, stepped out and recalled the early days, less than 10 years ago, when he was one of those working to assemble the land for this wind farm.
They made a pitch to farmers to lease land, “and we heard a lot of ‘what are you talking about?’ ” he said with a laugh.
That conversation has changed.
“Now there is a great awareness around potential economic impact. I have had people say to me, ‘thank God we can do something other than watch the top soil blow away.”
The potential economic impact, like the dialogue around green energy, is about to change in Southwestern Ontario.
Because of the sustainable energy sector, in recent years wind turbine farms have been growing like a new crop popping up on farmland around Southwestern Ontario. Solar panels adorn rooftops and plans are underway to bring larger solar farms to the region.
Climate change debate to get radical overhaul
World leaders will give final approval on a plan to radically overhaul the global climate change debate at summit meetings in Toronto this weekend in the hope of breaking the deadlock in talks for an international emissions-reduction deal, the Toronto Star has learned.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has tried to downplay any talk of climate change at the meetings, preferring to focus on the economy.
But environmental stalwarts Brazil and Germany are forging ahead with the creation of a high-level panel made up of heads of state, government ministers and eminent individuals to advance troubled negotiations to cut the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and halt global warming.
The panel was to have been launched Sunday at the end of the G20 meetings in Toronto but has now been delayed, Janus Pazstor, the secretary general’s top climate change advisor, said in an interview Thursday.
G20 may punt on fossil-fuel subsidies in Toronto
President Obama and other heads of state are poised to water down a commitment to phase out oil and gas subsidies, a draft declaration obtained by ClimateWire shows.
The new communiqué indicates that eliminating the estimated $250 billion to $500 billion countries pay to make fossil fuels cheaper to buy and produce will now be “voluntary” and “member specific.”
Environmental activists with Greenpeace, which leaked the June 11 draft, argued the changes amount to gutting a promise that was once hailed as a major step in reducing global warming pollution and raising money to help vulnerable countries build low-carbon economies.
“Last year, there was ambiguity around timetables; it was unclear who was going to do what by when — but they did all say they’re going to phase it out. Now they’re going to say — they’ll do it when they feel like it, and everyone can interpret it differently,” said Steve Kretzmann, director of Oil Change International.
Scrubbing Canada clean of dirty coal-powered electricity generation was Environment Minister Jim Prentice’s announced objective yesterday — all part of the Conservative government’s attempt to turn Canada into a “clean energy superpower.” To that end, Ottawa is going to use the blunt instrument of regulation. In early 2011, Environment Canada said it will issue directives to force reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation.
For coal, that means shutting down 33 coal-fired generating units from Alberta to Nova Scotia. “Our regulation will be very clear,” said Mr. Prentice. “When each coal-burning unit reaches the end of its economic life, it will have to meet the new standards or close down.” Coal industry people say this is mostly old news, and may be more related to putting a green face on Canada in the run-up to the G8/G20 summits and to appease activists who portray Canada as a climate change policy laggard.
U.N.’s Departing Climate Negotiator Leaves Optimistic—Somehow
For the past four years, the U.N.’s annual climate talks have been led by a dapper Swiss diplomat named Yvo de Boer. In that time period, the chances of a global climate deal have gone from unthinkable to inevitable and now, seemingly impossible. Through the impossibly long negotiating sessions and the walkouts and the protests and the occasional glimmers of hope, de Boer has been —with a few exceptions—has been remarkably placid and constant. It’s tough to imagine the U.N. talks—perhaps the most important and complicated international negotiations in history—carrying on without de Boer’s reassuring monotone.
They’ll have to, though, because de Boer will be leaving his position as the executive director of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the end of June, handing it over to the Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres. De Boer isn’t leaving on a high note. Last December’s climate summit in Copenhagen was a logistical nightmare, and its outcome—a hastily put together nonbinding agreement called the Copenhagen Accord—was a disappointment to most environmentalists. In the months since Copenhagen belief in climate change has ebbed in many countries, including the U.S., where the possibility of climate legislation with a carbon cap—an essential step if there’s ever going to be an equitable global deal on global warming—remains elusive. Around the world, the cancerous global recession has displaced climate change as a major concern. But in an interview with the New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert, published on Yale Environment 360, de Boer says he’s still optimistic:
Defense Experts Want More Explicit Climate Models
Tell us what you don’t know.
That’s the message military and national security experts gathered here want to send to climate scientists.
While political leaders on Capitol Hill seek definitive answers about how quickly the world’s climate will change, military and national security experts say they’re used to making decisions with limited information.
But as they turn their attention to the geopolitical implications of climate change, they’re pressing scientists to help them understand the risk and uncertainty inherent in forecasts of future environmental shifts.
“Are we going to wait for perfect data? No. Not only the Department of Defense but any successful organization doesn’t wait for perfection,” said Rear Adm. David Titley, who heads the Navy’s Task Force Climate Change. “But we need to understand, how certain are you? And what does that mean?”
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Amazing — Sylvania is making a LED “lamp” that looks just like a light bulb. Almost as silly as the QWERTY keyboard that was designed to keep people from typing too fast and jamming the keys.
Maybe when LED’s are acceptable, some manufacturer will dare put out one in a different shape! Maybe somebody will come up with a new standard connection instead of perpetuating the time consuming screw-in!
I’m wondering how Sylvania handles the light dispersal issue. I’ve LED flashlights — great! the battery hasn’t run down when you suddenly need one — but the beams are too focussed for general lighting.
From the Toronto Star article:
“Climate change progress has also been hampered by revelations that some prominent scientists fudged their calculations to make a more convincing case that greenhouse gases are causing world temperatures to rise.”
I want to know if there is any truth to this statement. I don’t think so and I’m planning to call the paper to complain but I’d like some confirmation.
Scrubbing Canada clean of dirty coal-powered electricity generation was Environment Minister Jim Prentice’s announced objective yesterday — all part of the Conservative government’s attempt to turn Canada into a “clean energy superpower.”
Canada’s policy on electricity generation is making it a clean energy superpower.
At the same time, its production of tar sands is making it a dirty energy superpower.
@Jason, I agree. An independent investigation found no untentional manipulation of data by the CRU and the glacier melt date was equal to a typo. News bias has a lot to do with public opinion.
“G20 may punt on fossil-fuel subsidies in Toronto”
That’s really a necessity which should have happend years ago.
“Around the world, the cancerous global recession has displaced climate change as a major concern.”
The industrial revolution was fueled by fossil energy. Due to peak oil and greenhouse gases from fossil energy combustion a new economy can only be sustained and generated when building a clean energy economy.
“Tell us what you don’t know.
That’s the message military and national security experts gathered here want to send to climate scientists.”
How is atmospheric chemistry – oxygen content, affected from human emissions. How do you prepare for abrupt changes – explosive bubbles?
Bottom line we miss to act and need to start negative carbon action now – on a global scale. We need to acknowledge that we need stable countries for a transition to clean energy. Population scenarios always assume growing fossil combustion. We need to acknowledge that we need to sustain current climate, but we drift to a different climate state – a world in which mass extinction is a major concern.
@purpuleozone I’m always amazed by what I see as silly reasons for not cutting energy use. Lots of people really won’t install a curly bulb or any other “wierd” looking fixture in place of a traditional incandescent bulb, even if you give it to them free and it costs them less to run. Manufacturers are smart to package their products in a way that won’t offend the aesthetic sensibilities of the public. As an engineer, I seldom care what something looks like as long as it works well, but I realize that a lot of people don’t think that way.
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for OCO-2 Mission
PASADENA, Calif. – NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., to launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission. The spacecraft will fly in February 2013 aboard a Taurus XL 3110 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=44434
Can’t we speed this up?
Gloves off in California over greenhouse gas law
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California environmentalists opened fire on Wednesday on a measure approved for the state’s November ballot that would roll back a landmark law regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
“This deceptive dirty energy proposition will be an economic and environmental policy disaster for California, just as the BP oil spill is to the states along the Gulf of Mexico,” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, also the Democratic nominee lieutenant governor, said in the statement. “It simply must be defeated.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65O3Z220100625
Record Number of U.S. Companies Face Shareholder Concerns About Climate Risks
40% Leap in Shareholder Resolutions; Coal Ash Gets Targeted
Investors have filed 95 global warming resolutions with 82 firms in every industry — a 40 percent leap over last year’s 68 climate resolutions — according to data from Ceres, a Boston-based coalition of investors and environmentalists.
Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, said the boost signifies “a very clear knowledge” that climate risk is “not only an environmental or social or natural resource concern, but a major financial risk and opportunity.”
http://solveclimate.com/ blog/ 20100305/ record-number-u-s-companies-face-shareholder-concerns-about-climate-risks
West Virginia Coal Industry $100 Million Budget Drain, Report Says
Mining is costing taxpayers more than it contributes, and trend expected to worsen
Subsidies, Exemptions and Hidden Costs
The biggest expenses came from subsidies, tax exemptions and hidden “legacy costs” that will require hefty payouts far into the future. These include polluted drainage, drinking water contamination and health and safety threats. One of the largest “legacy” costs has been highway repairs from trucks that haul coal and destroy West Virginia’s roads in the process. The total cost required to fix the damage is $4 billion, according to the report.
“The strain on the roads from the heavier truck is 4.5 times greater than that of the lighter truck, so there is a net negative impact on the roads from allowing coal trucks to operate at 120,000 pounds,” it said.
“The aim of this report is to broaden discussion about the coal industry’s effect on the people and economy of West Virginia. It shows that the while the coal industry does contribute significantly to state revenue and jobs, it also relies heavily on taxpayers for support,”
http://solveclimate.com/ blog/ 20100625/ west-virginia-coal-industry-100-million-budget-drain-report-says
Cranberry passes renewable energy ordinance
Cranberry supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance Thursday evening that sets regulations for wind and solar energy within the township.
The renewable energy ordinance takes effect immediately.
http://www.post-gazette.com/ pg/ 10176/ 1068253-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml
BLASTS PLANNED IN WHALE BREEDING GROUNDS
Russian seismic survey would harm endangered Grey Whales
http://www.goallover.org/whale-conservation/9149
Steps in the right direction on onshore drilling.
Today, Congressman Rahall, the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, unveiled a comprehensive bill to strengthen environmental and safety rules for oil and gas drillers on publicly managed minerals – both onshore and offshore.
http://earthblog.org/ content/ steps-right-direction-onshore-drilling
G20 Protests Focus on Canada’s Mining and Tar Sand Industries
http://www.truth-out.org/ g20-protests-focus-canada’s-mining-and-tar-sand-industries60788
Mass Die Off
This is a sad, yet unsurprising outcome of the spill in the Gulf:
“Fish and other wildlife seem to be fleeing the oil out in the Gulf and clustering in cleaner waters along the coast in a trend that some researchers see as a potentially troubling sign.”
“The animals’ presence close to shore means their usual habitat is badly polluted, and the crowding could result in mass die-offs as fish run out of oxygen. Also, the animals could easily be devoured by predators.”
“A parallel would be: Why are the wildlife running to the edge of a forest on fire? There will be a lot of fish, sharks, turtles trying to get out of this water they detect is not suitable,” said Larry Crowder, a Duke University marine biologist.
http://blog.algore.com/2010/06/mass_die_off.html
Former Oil Worker Says Cleanup Just For Show
http://www.wkrg.com/ gulf_oil_spill/ article/ former-oil-worker-says-cleanup-just-for-show/ 899852/ Jun-24-2010_8-46-pm/
Advances in Oil Spill Cleanup Lag Since Valdez
Two decades after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, cleanup technology has progressed so little that the biggest advancement in the Gulf of Mexico disaster — at least in the public’s mind — is an oil-water separator based on a 17-year-old patent and promoted by the movie star Kevin Costner.
Experts say there have been some improvements in skimmers and other existing technologies since the 1989 Exxon accident in Alaska. Dispersants to break up oil have been far more widely used in the Deepwater Horizon leak in the gulf than in any previous spill, and they have been used for the first time underwater. Controlled burns of oil — only tested in 1989 — have been conducted regularly in the gulf.
But more significant advances have been hampered by a lack of money for research and laws and regulations that make it difficult to test new ideas and introduce improved equipment. In the gulf spill, the laying of boom and the skimming of oil remain a last, and not completely effective, line of defense for coastal areas. Skimming, for instance, cannot be done in rough seas and is often limited to daylight hours because of the difficulties in detecting oil at night.
Even officials with BP, the company responsible for the gulf spill and cleanup, acknowledge that most of the equipment in use represents improvements in old technology, and cite the lack of major spills in the past two decades as one reason.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/us/25clean.html
Toll Of Oil Drilling Felt In Peru’s Amazon Basin
http://www.npr.org/ templates/ story/ story.php?storyId=127992348
New Ad Slams Ethanol Tax Credit Give Away to Oil Companies
http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/ 2010/ 06/ 24/ new-ad-slams-ethanol-tax-credit-give-away-to-oil-companies/
Maker of Controversial Dispersant Used in Gulf Oil Spill Hires Top Lobbyists
http://www.nytimes.com/ gwire/ 2010/ 06/ 25/ 25greenwire-maker-of-controversial-dispersant-used-in-gulf-94328.html
Newspapers Retract ‘Climategate’ Claims, but Damage Still Done
http://www.newsweek.com/ blogs/ the-gaggle/ 2010/ 06/ 25/ newspapers-retract-climategate-claims-but-damage-still-done.html
Gulf oil disaster: Pensacola Beach (click to see all 22 photos)
http://blogs.tampabay.com/ photo/ 2010/ 06/ gulf-oil-disaster-pensacola-beach.html
Red Sea oil spill
http://blogs.nature.com/ houseofwisdom/ 2010/ 06/ red_sea_oil_spill.html
Maybe this will be the year that VU-1 lamps finally reach the market.
Prokaryote, @ 20: If statistics mean anything at least one on five of those folks pictured is a Palin supporter. Being it is the deep south, we can bump those numbers up a bit in the Palin column. They have got to be thinking about something out on that beach…
Knowing that there is no way to bring the gulf back…
Not in their life time…
But getting paid to think you can…
Are there concepts that the left should be focusing on presenting to those mental explorers?
That offer hope?
Mr. President, Please speak to us…
Solar surge on Cape Cod
http://www.bostonherald.com/ business/ general/ view.bg?articleid=1263966
Haze over Eastern China
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ NaturalHazards/ view.php?id=44448
Wrangling Renewables and the Smart Grid: How Can the Federal Government Change the Future of Electricity?
The commissioner of the federal agency responsible for electricity supply in the U.S. explains the ongoing transformation of the energy sector
Offshore wind turbines will line the Atlantic coast; vast solar arrays will cover swaths of the southwestern desert; transmission towers will cradle high-voltage direct current lines and take electricity from the windy Great Plains to the populated coasts. That is the renewable future for the U.S. that the Obama administration seems to envision and, certainly, what Jon Wellinghoff forecasts. And as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Wellinghoff has a better than even chance of making his vision a reality.
Already, FERC is rewriting the rules for new transmission lines, potentially making it easier to permit new electricity-carrying capacity—and, as a result, unleashing the development of more renewable resources. The commission released a new rule on June 17 that would require that mandates for renewable energy—enacted in 36 states nationwide—be taken into account when determining where and when new transmission lines get installed.
Wellinghoff’s goal is to enable a near total transformation of the electricity sector, allowing for renewable resources, such as the sun, wind and flow of rivers, to meet a greater proportion of U.S. electricity demand. The benefits, according to Wellinghoff, range from “green” jobs to cutting by 80 percent emissions of the greenhouse gases causing climate change by 2050. And, ultimately, electricity harvested from the wind may be the cheapest form of electricity generation, saving money for consumers.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/ article.cfm?id=wrangling-renewables-and-the-smart-grid
wits end….
http://climatesignals.org/ 2010/ 06/ new-englands-oaks-and-hemlocks-falling-to-pests-as-region-warms/
I have definately noticed this locally here in the NW…there seems to be a vague link to airline incidences with hotter years….
Wind storms on the rise in Southwestern U.S.
http://climatesignals.org/ 2010/ 06/ wind-storms-on-the-rise-in-southwestern-u-s/
Dust storms new to Arizona closed down 1-40 10 times so far this year
http://climatesignals.org/ 2010/ 06/ dust-storms-new-to-arizona-closed-down-1-40-10-times-so-far-this-year/
Patrol officials had never closed I-40, but they have shut down the east-west artery 10 times this spring, including twice on May 22-23.
Photo Essay: “What have they done to the earth? What have they done to our fair sister?”
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/ blogs/ news/ chiefeditor/ 2010/ 06/ photo-essay-what-have-they-don.html
Syncrude found guilty in duck deaths
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ business/ Syncrude+found+guilty+duck+deaths/ 3200252/ story.html
PurpleOzone says: June 25, 2010 at 11:54 am
Maybe when LED’s are acceptable, some manufacturer will dare put out one in a different shape! Maybe somebody will come up with a new standard connection instead of perpetuating the time consuming screw-in!
Maybe in a perfect world armies of workers will enter homes and businesses, changing table lamp bulb-supported shade bails, wall fixtures and the plethora of other lighting appliances mechanically dependent on the historically evolved shape of a standard light bulb. Until that army appears, Sylvania et al must deal with reality.
With reference to Australia, here is another chunk of bleakness from Down Under. Dr. Fenner, as I understand, is an important microbiologist who helped subdue small pox.
http://www.physorg.com/news196489543.html
Guatemala says to suspend Goldcorp’s Marlin mine
The Guatemalan government said on Wednesday it would suspend operations at Goldcorp Inc’s (G.TO: Quote) (GG.N: Quote) Marlin mine due to allegations the facility was contaminating water supplies.
http://af.reuters.com/ article/ metalsNews/ idAFN2325995720100624
BP Sends Fake Journalist to Cover the Gulf Spil
http://www.treehugger.com/ files/ 2010/ 06/ bp-sends-fake-journalist-cover-gulf-spill.php
Answer to what ended the last ice age may be blowing in the winds, paper says
http://www.physorg.com/news196687173.html
Jason Szakacs @ 2
The newspaper quote you give is pure trash. It comes from a triumph by the professional deniers, thought of as the great email theft. The real denier trick was quote mining, a well known tactic which they took to a new low. The falsely alleged “fudging” revolved around research that had stung the deniers a decade earlier. They never forgave the scientists, and found a way to get revenge. Bear in mind that the deniers had known for years that they did not have a scientific leg to stand on, on that issue.
Jason, are you aware of this model for climate change denial?
Also go to Real Climate and enter “CRU Hack” in the search box at the upper right.
“If statistics mean anything at least one on five of those folks pictured is a Palin supporter.”
I doubt this, because many of these “folks” are scientist and beside this fact, it’s just pure generalization.
It will be interesting to see how the sea surface oil will affect the storm. I doubt it will have any positive effects.
If speed is slowed – what findings suggest, it might just have more time to soak up ocean heat. And the methane how will this play out?
http://wiki.answers.com/ Q/ Is_there_a_methane_hurricane_on_Jupiter
In waters down to at least 300 feet …
Undersea Forces from Hurricanes May Threaten Gulf Pipelines
The researchers were surprised by how long the destructive currents persisted after Hurricane Ivan passed by. “The stress on the sea floor lasted nearly a week,” says Hemantha Wijesekera, lead author of the study. “It doesn’t go away, even after the hurricane passes.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/ 2010/ 05/ 100526141852.htm
Yet enough reason to stop ocean drill. Specially with more storms fueled from warmer oceans.
In an article on Methane Hydrate Ice you find that: Recent discoveries about the existence of a vast band of Methane Hydrate Ice along the world’s continental Slopes, at approx. 500 meters depth, have revolutionized the theories of the Ice Age and Global Warming Cycles. The accumulation of Methane Ice leads to Ice Ages and the rapid melting and effervescence of this ice and gas leads to an equally rapid Global Warming.
http://just-me-in-t.blogspot.com/
Vast amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas 23-25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, are locked in the deep sea and in the frozen soils of Siberia, Northern Europe, and North America, but warming could trigger rapid thawing that would release billions of tons into the atmosphere.
“The potential consequences of large amounts of methane entering the atmosphere, from thawing permafrost or destabilized ocean hydrates, would lead to abrupt changes in the climate that would likely be irreversible. We must not cross that threshold.
FRACK YOU, Mother Earth!
http://www.dailykos.com/ story/ 2010/ 6/ 26/ 879558/ -FRACK-YOU,-Mother-Earth
Any easy explanation of Henry’s constant.
Is a theory on the amounts of CO2 that can
be absorbed by the oceans and the reasons,
limitations, and outcomes of CO2 absorption.
BP dumps gravel in Alaska sea; gets exempt from offshore drilling ban
http://coto2.wordpress.com/ 2010/ 06/ 24/ bp-dumps-gravel-in-alaska-sea-gets-exempt-from-offshore-drilling-ban/
Do the microbes that eat petroleum pollution in the
Gulf emit CO2 as a by product, and if so, being limited
by the oxygen content of the water column increase the
CO2 content of the water column, thereby, changing the
basic assumption of Henry”s constant of water absorption
of CO2 in the water column because of water mixing.
By having the petroleum in the water column is CO2
Mixed more thoroughly, thereby changing the amount
of CO2 emitted by the ocean or changing it closer to
maximum amount that maybe absorbed,and changing the
value of the oceans as a CO2 sink measurably.
Reusable Bag E.Coli Scare: Industry Exaggeration?
http://www.triplepundit.com/ 2010/ 06/ reusable-grocery-bag-e-coli-scare-an-exageration/
Iwi to dispute permit
Ms Takitimu says of particular concern is the fact that the BP wellhead blow-out occurred in an exploratory well similar to that permitted under the Raukumara consent.
“In the era of climate change New Zealand should be investing in clean technologies not regressing to 19th century extractive industry of dirty old oil and coal,”
Some attending the hui say they were also dismayed by the fact that drilling would take place in an area known to have an active history of earthquakes.
In the last 30 years, there have been more than 120 earthquakes above five on the Richter scale in the Raukumara Basin with six events measuring above six since 1989.
Dayle Takitimu says iwi and hapu have little faith in Petrobras whose environmental safety includes the P-36 oil spill off the coast of Brazil which resulted in the death of 11 employees and the leaking of 300,000 gallons of oil.
http://gisborneherald.co.nz/article/?id=17909
Well water near power plant contaminated: We Energies supplying bottled water to affected residents while seeking source
http://www.journaltimes.com/ news/ local/ article_8df64c80-8197-11df-90a9-001cc4c03286.html
LED 40W bulbs are already available at Home Depot. I was also concerned about the light quality (e.g., directed) but it looks good. A $20 7 Watt bulb seems just as bright as a 40 W incandescent — and none of the slow start up of CFLs (or the mercury).
U.S. promises $136 mln in climate aid to Indonesia
* U.S. pledge of $136 million is spread over three years
* Focus on peatland emissions, oceans, forests
* Greenpeace calls on U.S. to do more at home
http://af.reuters.com/ article/ energyOilNews/ idAFJAK49934220100628
There has been quiet some logging lately.
Indonesia: Journalist living in fear after report on illegal logging
International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has voiced concerns for an Indonesian newspaper reporter in the western province of Aceh who has had to go into hiding after being threatened and beaten by an army officer over a report about illegal logging.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/ en/ news/ indonesia-journalist-living-fear-after-report-illegal-logging
Concerns raised over carbon capture
A new study claims there are unanswered questions about carbon capture and storage (CSS) and the impact of leakage on global warming.
http://www.abc.net.au/ news/ stories/ 2010/ 06/ 28/ 2938732.htm?section=world
The main problem is, that safe deposits are not always at the plant location – so you need transport, which needs energy.
Biochar is far better and gives a lot of different advantages. For example to create an economy, to counter local(better soil properties) & global climate change impacts and increase of crop yields – less petrol/synthetic fertilizer.
A new wind blows between Israelis and Palestinians
http://www.israel21c.org/ 201006288087/ environment/ a-new-wind-blows-between-israelis-and-palestinians
They should make peace and unite to combat climate change and drive each others economy.
Will Planet Earth Mimic the Fate of Easter Island?
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/ my_weblog/ 2010/ 06/ will-planet-earth-mimic-the-fate-of-easter-island.html
Image of the day: Carbon dioxide on the rise
http://www.esa.int/ SPECIALS/ Living_Planet_Symposium_2010/ SEMRJ1MZLAG_0.html
Now Live
Live from Bergen: ESA’s Earth Observation Data Policy
http://www.esa.int/ SPECIALS/ Living_Planet_Symposium_2010/ index.html
NOAA Gulf of Mexico oil spill trajectory forecasts for Monday through Wednesday
http://www.nola.com/ news/ gulf-oil-spill/ index.ssf/ 2010/ 06/ noaa_gulf_of_mexico_oil_spill_35.html