Monthly ArchiveFebruary 2007
Uncategorized 22 Feb 2007 12:15 pm
it’s up to you..
nuevo york. in town to pitch long lead outlets on the green man theme. first up today, lunch with larry smith, cause everybody’s got a story and we wanted to hear his. not surprisingly, it was good.
tomorrow:
treehugger
men’s journal
popular science
portfolio
national geographic adventure.
a full boat, more to follow on monday.
Entry Keywords:
Uncategorized 18 Feb 2007 04:51 pm
Is it too late?
Front page of the Guardian, why isn’t this on the front page of the New York Times?
Climate change: scientists warn it may be too late to save the ice caps
David Adam, environment correspondent
Monday February 19, 2007
The Guardian
A critical meltdown of ice sheets and severe sea level rise could be inevitable because of global warming, the world’s scientists are preparing to warn their governments. New studies of Greenland and Antarctica have forced a UN expert panel to conclude there is a 50% chance that widespread ice sheet loss “may no longer be avoided” because of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.Such melting would raise sea levels by four to six metres, the scientists say. It would cause “major changes in coastline and inundation of low-lying areas” and require “costly and challenging” efforts to move millions of people and infrastructure from vulnerable areas. The previous official line, issued in 2001, was that the chance of such an event was “not well known, but probably very low”.
The melting process could take centuries, but increased warming caused by a failure to cut emissions would accelerate the ice sheets’ demise, and give nations less time to adapt to the consequences. Areas such as the Maldives would be swamped and low-lying countries such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh, as well as coastal cities including London, New York and Tokyo, would face critical flooding.The warning appears in a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which assesses the likely impacts of global warming and will be published in April. A final draft of the report’s summary-for-policymakers chapter, obtained by the Guardian, says: “Very large sea level rises that would result from widespread deglaciation of Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets imply major changes in coastlines and inundation of low-lying areas, with greatest effects in river deltas.
“Relocating populations, economic activity and infrastructure would be costly and challenging. There is medium confidence that both ice sheets would be committed to partial deglaciation for a global average temperature increase greater than 1-2C, causing sea level rise of 4-6m over centuries to millennia.” Medium confidence means about a five in 10 chance.
The revelation comes as a new report points out that greenhouse gas emissions running into hundreds of millions of tonnes have not been disclosed by Britain’s biggest businesses, masking the full extent of the UK’s contribution to global warming. According to a report by Christian Aid, only 16 of Britain’s top 100 listed companies are meeting the government’s most elementary reporting guidelines on greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, almost 200m tonnes of damaging CO2 is estimated to be missing from the annual reports of FTSE 100 companies. The figure is more than the annual reported emissions of Pakistan and Greece combined.
This month the IPCC published a separate study on the science of climate change, which concluded that humans are “very likely” to be responsible for most of the recent warming, and that average temperatures would probably increase by 4C this century if emissions continue to rise. Even under its most optimistic scenario, based on a declining world population and a rapid switch to clean technology, temperatures are still likely to rise by 1.8C.
The new report is expected to say this means there is “a significant probability that some large-scale events (eg deglaciation of major ice sheets) may no longer be avoided due to historical greenhouse gas emissions and the inertia of the climate system”. Scientists involved with the IPCC process cannot talk publicly about its contents before publication. But a senior author on the report said: “It’s not rocket science to realise that with the numbers coming out from the IPCC [science report], the warming by the end of the century is enough to do that.” The report’s conclusion poses a conundrum for governments of how to address a problem that is inevitable but may not occur for hundreds or thousands of years. “That’s for the policy makers to decide but it really is a very difficult question,” the source said. “Those are moral questions and the answer you give will depend very much on which part of the world you live in.”
Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona, said the key question was not whether the ice sheets would break up, but how quickly. Some models suggest rapid melting that would bring sea level rises of more than a metre per century. “That would be much harder for us to cope with,” he says.
The IPCC science report predicted sea level rises of up to 0.59m by the end of the century. But that does not include the possible contribution from ice sheets, because the experts judged it too unpredictable to forecast over short timescales.
Entry Keywords:
Uncategorized 12 Feb 2007 07:34 pm
Step It Up, Ya’ll.
Bill McKibben is starting a movement and we are working together to invite your support and participation. Bill wrote early and often about the perils posed by climate change and we both feel it is the single greatest threat to civilization. So far, save for one march last year, there have been no mass protests, no large-scale gatherings of humanity to signal this dilemma and call for its prevention.
On April 14, a new organization called Step It Up 2007 is inviting organizations to hold rallies and events across the country. So far, over 300 events are planned in 39 states. Please go to Step It Up and join one or create an event in your community. It can be as humble as a sign, as entertaining as theater, or as bold as a mass demonstration.
This National Day of Climate Action could be an unparalleled event, drawing together people of every creed, color, and background. If we can create events in every town and city in the U.S., nothing could say more to our Congress and President.
We have all the tools in place to address climate change and avert a disaster, all except one: the resolve and voice of the American people willing to form a movement. That’s us. April 14, 2007 is the day. Your community is the place. Step It Up is the hub. And we are so grateful.
Please forward this email to your friends and all who care.
With our support and hope,
Bill McKibben
Step It Up 2007
Vermont
stepitup2007@gmail.com
Paul Hawken
Natural Capital Institute
California
info@naturalcapital.org
Glossary 07 Feb 2007 02:40 pm
Global Warming
- Global warming (Réchauffement planétaire)
- Global warming (as well as global cooling) refers specifically to any change in the global average surface temperature. In other words, global warming or cooling is one type of planetary scale climate change. Global warming is often misunderstood to imply that the world will warm uniformly. In fact, an increase in average global temperature will also cause the circulation of the atmosphere to change, resulting in some areas of the world warming more, while other areas warming less than the average. Some areas can even cool. (Meteorological Service of Canada)
Uncategorized 06 Feb 2007 08:39 pm
One Watt at a time: Burning Man, Solar Power, and the Value of Vision
In the last two days, I’ve had two meetings with people where millions of dollars were discussed, and heard someone say with a straight face “well, 14 (million) is actually easier than 2 (million), so let’s see if we can scale this up.”
Scale this up. Hmm. Lessee: two months ago, someone asked me to find a home for a 30KW solar array that M. C. wanted to donate for use at the event this August. Yesterday, we were talking about scaling up from the 300KW they just agreed to the day before to a 2MW install ( half each in Gerlach and Lovelock). That’s almost two orders of magnitude in two days.
How this is coming together is a testament to the power of framing the discussion in big enough terms. Several weeks ago, I started repeating over and over “let’s make Gerlach the first town in the world to generate more energy than it uses, and let’s do it this year.” And there wasn’t anyone whose job or role it was to say no. So no one did.
Instead, people started seeing what they could do to help us get to yes. Which is why the Sierra Pacific energy company is sending teams into “greenlach” in April to do a conservation sweep of town. Net result: 18-40% energy reduction. In a weekend. Cost? Zero. PS-they’ll also sign up low income folks for energy rebates, which will end up covering about $850 per year for about 85% of the town.
Then, the solar guys got on board. How it will work is pretty elegant: Sierra Pacific rebates up to 30KW per meter at $5 per watt, or $150,000. Cost per installed watt is normally $7. 20-30% of that, or $1.40 to $2.10 is labor. Sierra Pacific will provide the technical labor free, as a training exercise. BWB will provide non-tech labor free, just ’cause. With rebates and labor, we’re now down to .60 to -.10$ per installed watt. Schools get free power. Funder works tax mojo to meet their needs. If NV’s legistlature scales up net metering limits from 30k to 1m per meter this year and matches it with incentives, then we’re headed for 1MW in each town, this year. Kubota.
I know this is being repeated from earlier posts. and I feel like I should instead be writing about Jim Mason’s gasifier experiments and how they’re going to change power as we know it. But I want to pause just a moment and reflect. We went from can’t be done to may well be done in just a moment, it seems.
This thing in the desert is transformative. It can move mountains. I’m honored to be in the place I am. I hope I am up to meeting the opportunity for all it’s worth.
Entry Keywords:BWB, gasifier, gerlach, jim mason, lovelock, net metering, renewable ventures, Sierra Power solar
Uncategorized 02 Feb 2007 12:04 pm
Biogass power
This guy wants to bring a 40KW bio genny to the event, the same sort of thing Jim Mason is working on. Time for introductions. Damn, this theme is bringing them out of the woodwork…
Entry Keywords:biomass, gassification jim mason
Uncategorized 02 Feb 2007 07:59 am
Not optomistic, but hopeful
Had the meeting in Gerlach last night, which went well, and another meeting is set for early Monday to work out some details on the solar project, but this report leaves me feeling just a bit doomed, ya know?
And it reminds me of Bill McKibben, who wrote The End of Nature allll the way back in 1989. He’s KNOWN all this time, sat with the sure knowledge over almost 20 years, as people slowly, slowly begin to grok what he’s been talking about.
I take solace in his oft repeated refrain when he’s asked about our species’ chances : not optomistic, but hopeful.
Entry Keywords:Bill McKibben, gerlach solar
Uncategorized 01 Feb 2007 02:39 pm
Gaia Got Bank
Just learned from Ryan at Gaia Development that Bank of America is now folding 100% financing of solar into 2nd mortgages, so with the savings in power you’re cash positive day one. Wow.
Meanwhile, his company is willing to give us some RECs or rewewable energy credits to count against our carbon offset total. And will sell some cheap on the side. And may have VC money to bankroll the Gerlach project.
And Tom Clarke, our man in Reno, has another client who’s willing to kick in some comp wind turbines, to use at the event, and then in Gerlach.
And word is the legislature in NV may scale up the amount allowed to be net metered back into the grid ( that’s when they have to buy back your power if you generate more than you can use ) from 30 KW per meter to 1MW per meter.
1MW. That’s how much juice we need to save or generate to make Gerlach the first town in the world to generate more energy than it uses. By my count, we’ve got soft lock on somewhere between 25-55% of that total. And it’s February 1. Not bad.
Entry Keywords:gerlach, net metering, REC, solar Tom Clarke