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Greenedia Climate Change Group Blog

Greenedia Climate Change Group Blog
If you're looking for expert news and opinion in the ever-growing debate surrounding climate change, you'll find it at the Greenedia Climate Change Blog. This unique group blog, focused on climate change, combines the top green space bloggers' scient

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Tri-Nation Plan to Harness Solar Market
2007-07-01 18:45:00
Business leaders from three continents are teaming up to manufacture and sell lower-cost photovoltaic solar panels. Signet Solar is a renewable energy startup based in Palo Alto, CA. It already has a R&D facility located in Dresden, Germany because of that nation's global leadership and market-friendly policies towards solar and wind power. Earlier this month, Signet also announced plans to build three manufacturing plants in India (where the future market for solar power will likely be huge). With this breadth of expertise, resources, and geography, combined with thin solar manufacturing equipment from Applied Materials (Silicon Valley's semiconductor tools giant), Signet hopes to build global partnerships to secure more of the solar power market share. Signet is betting that solar power will soon be as inexpensive to produce as traditional fossil fuels, either because of continued government incentives and subsidies or because of new costs applied to fossil fuels that ref...
More About: Market , Nation , Plan , Harness

How's That For Recycling?
2007-06-28 00:09:00
So, what do you do with an old, decommissioned paper mill in the middle of New Hampshire? Why, turn it into a power plant, of course. Seems a little odd, but on second thought, maybe it's also a little obvious, especially if that power plant is going to be biomass-fueled. Paper mills specialize in taking in biomass (wood) and turning out a usable product, only this time the transportation will be one-way, and out will come nice, mostly clean electricity. The nice thing about biomass, of course, is that it's fairly renewable and most often comes from the waste of other biomass products like, you know, food. Using, say, leftover cornstalks after harvest, or the chips and shavings and such from a lumber mill, the plant could end up producing 60-70 MW just on leftovers. And they're even promising emissions capture! The other, huge upside is that little extra energy is going to go into making the plant over for its shiny new role in the New Hampshire economy. Whereas the c...
More About: Recycling

EcoTalk Off The Air
2007-06-26 03:35:00
Okay, so the news is a little old, but I just got wind of it and I have to say I'm a little bummed. EcoTalk, a very popular green podcast/broadcast radio program, has gone off the air for the time being in the face of uncertain finances. Apparently they're looking for about $50,000 in donations and sponsorships/partnerships to get themselve back to stability and a regular production schedule. One of the biggest downsides to this citizen journalism/citizen activism type movements--be they blogs, podcasts, or what-have-you--is that so often they're not, themselves, economically sustainable. They're often labors of love, and so often the sources you count on the most for your information and informed commentary are in this chaotic connected world are as fickle as the fortunes of their owners. That's one reason these group blogs are nice, since you not only have a variety of voices, but a sort of team that can keep each other motivated and make up for any lapses. The big thing ...
More About: Cota , The A

Eye On China: China Passes United States as Largest Annual Global Warming P
2007-06-22 23:20:00
China's annual greenhouse gas emissions seem to have passed the United States '. The U.S. will long remain largest cumulative contributor to global warming though. [From the Guardian (UK):] China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, figures released today show. The surprising announcement will increase anxiety about China's growing role in driving man-made global warming and will pile pressure onto world politicians to agree a new global agreement on climate change that includes the booming Chinese economy. China's emissions had not been expected to overtake those from the US, formerly the world's biggest polluter, for several years, although some reports predicted it could happen as early as next year (see previous post). But according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, soaring demand for coal to generate electricity and a surge in cement production have helped to push China's recorded e...
More About: Global Warming , China , Global

Bush Wants More Nuclear Energy to Slow Global Warming
2007-06-22 04:01:00
World leaders rejoiced at the G-8 summit earlier this month when President Bush finally discussed human-caused global warming and possible solutions. Now hes expounding on those solutions. He announced today that there can be no solution [to global warming] without nuclear power.” Specifically, he claimed that three new nuclear power plants are needed each year beginning in 2015 to keep up with demand. I didn't hear anything about energy efficiency being the first step to deal with demand. No new licenses have been filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission since 1973. The U.S. currently gets 20 percent of its power from 104 nuclear power plants. We're beginning to make some progress, Bush said. That's good news for the American consumer. He added that nuclear plants are a good fit because they dont release global warming emissions like coal plants. The U.S. isnt the only world power wanting to ramp up nuclear power, of course. Check out Wattheads piece on China...
More About: Global Warming , Nuclear Energy , Energy

So, The US Senate Ignored Me
2007-06-22 02:00:00
Can you believe they didn't listen? Yeah, me either. In case you hadn't heard, the Senat e passed their energy bill today, increasing CAFE standards, which will require automakers to field more efficient models of their cars and trucks. Of course, as I said before, the auto industry is already moving in this direction, and it will be interesting to see if the industry will have gotten ahead of the standards on their own. Perhaps not, and perhaps this aspect of the legislation is most important, but with strapped, knocked around, and discarded Chrysler clearly seeing their salvation in hybrid and other high-efficiency vehicles, it continues to look like the Feds are chasing after market trends, rather than boldly dictating a change. If this legislation had come at the height of SUV sales, if they had taken on Detroit when there were only a few hybrids on the roads, and no waiting lists, and no high speed electric vehicle start-ups, I would be more impressed. Is it a case of...
More About: The U , Nate

So, The US Senate Ignored Me
2007-06-22 02:00:00
Can you believe they didn't listen? Yeah, me either. In case you hadn't heard, the Senate passed their energy bill today, increasing CAFE standards, which will require automakers to field more efficient models of their cars and trucks. Of course, as I said before, the auto industry is already moving in this direction, and it will be interesting to see if the industry will have gotten ahead of the standards on their own. Perhaps not, and perhaps this aspect of the legislation is most important, but with strapped, knocked around, and discarded Chrysler clearly seeing their salvation in hybrid and other high-efficiency vehicles, it continues to look like the Feds are chasing after market trends, rather than boldly dictating a change. If this legislation had come at the height of SUV sales, if they had taken on Detroit when there were only a few hybrids on the roads, and no waiting lists, and no high speed electric vehicle start-ups, I would be more impressed. Is it a case of...

Senate Energy Bill Update: Coal-to-Liquids Amendments Go Down in Flames
2007-06-20 01:18:00
Senate rejects both Republican and Democrat-sponsored amendments to support the expanded use of coal-to-liquids synthetic fuel. As the Senate continues debate today on the comprehensive energy package today (see previous posts here and here), two controversial amendments that would have supported the expanded use of coal-to-liquids fuels were voted down by a hefty margin. The first proposal, submitted by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Jim Bunning (R-KY) offered an coal industry-backed proposal that would create a national coal-to-liquid fuels standard that reaches 6 billion gallons by 2022. Aiming to quell debate about the environmental impacts of coal-to-liquids (CTL) fuel (see previous post), the Domenici/Bunning plan (Amendment 1628) would have required a 20% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional gasoline. The amendment died on a 39-55 vote with several moderate/greener Republicans joining every Senate Democrat in opposing the amendment....
More About: Energy , Senate , Update , Coal , Bill

Warnings From A Warming World: Spring Arriving in the Arctic Weeks Early
2007-06-19 00:30:00
A team of Danish researchers have documented spring's rapid advance in the Arctic : regional ecoystems, species strained to adapt, at risk of extinction [From BBC News:] Ice in north-east Greenland is melting an average of 14.6 days earlier than in the mid-1990s, bringing forward the date plants flower and birds lay eggs. The team warned that the observed changes could disrupt the region's ecosystems and food chain, affecting the long-term survival of some species. The findings have been published in the journal Current Biology. The scientists assessed how a range of species' behaviour was affected by the changing climate in Zackenberg, north-east Greenland, between 1996 and 2005. Observation of 21 species - six plants, 12 arthropods and three birds - revealed that the organisms had brought forward their flowering, emergence or egg-laying in line with the earlier ice melt. We were particularly surprised to see the trends were so strong when considering that the entire summer is v...
More About: World , Spring , Early , Ving

Eye On China: China May Ban Ethanol Production From Foodcrops, Halt Coal-to
2007-06-16 23:38:00
Chinese officials indicate that China may turn away from corn-based ethanol and coal-to-liquids synthetic fuels over concerns about the sustainability of these alternative fuels China may halt the production of grain-based ethanol and coal-to-liquids synthetic fuels, a Chinese official told a seminar on China's fuel ethanol development held in Beijing last weekend. The official, a deputy director with China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the nation's top economic planning agency, told seminar attendees that the country no longer approve any ethanol projects designed to produce fuel from edible feedstocks, including corn. Xu Dingming, vice director of the Office of the National Energy Leading Group, echoed these comments saying, Food-based ethanol fuel will not be the direction for China. The Office of the National Energy Leading Group is responsible for energy planning and is an office of the NDRC. China may also put an end to projects which are des...
More About: Ethanol , Production , Coal

Warnings From A Warming World: Study Finds Global Warming Causing Hundreds
2007-06-16 21:47:00
Glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula are accelerating their flow into the sea, contributing to faster sea level rise; a separate UN report finds that the amount of snow and ice, especially in the Northern Hemisphere has dramatically decreased. [From Green Car Congress:] Hundreds of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) are flowing faster, further adding to sea level rise according to new research published this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Global warming, which is already causing increased summer snow melt and ice shelf retreat of the Antarctic Peninsula, is the most likely cause. Using radar images acquired by European ERS-1 and -2 satellites, scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) tracked the flow rate of more than 300 previously unstudied glaciers. They found a 12% increase in glacier speed from 1993 to 2003. These observations, echoing recent findings from coastal Greenland, indicate that the cause is the melting of the lower glaciers, which flow direct...
More About: Global Warming , World , Study , Warnings

Political Posturing
2007-06-15 23:11:00
So when is the federal government going to get its act together? Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all have renewable energy goals, for crying out loud, yet the feds continue to drag their feet and refuse to make any substantive policy changes, even though the Democrats were elected to Congress on the promise of sweeping change and positive action, they've yet to deliver on the subject of energy and climate. Supposedly that's all going to change soon, according to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada). Opening debate on sweeping legislation, Reid offered criticism of the current administration's policies and promised hope for the future, for energy independence and greatly reduced emissions in the proposed bill. The throny issue is going to be CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards, and that's the one that gets most people's attention. For some reason, home electricity bills just don't get quite the attention that gas prices do. It's probably all the neon signs. At any rate, ...
More About: Political

Leapfrogging to Cleantech
2007-06-14 05:04:00
It's one thing to get an industrialized nation to go green. Sure, it's a tough, uphill climb, but things will eventually even out. If Moore's Law, currently applied to computer processor power and cost, could be applied to photovoltaic solar panels, the West would literally be facing the possibility of electricity too cheap to meter in the next decade or so. Sure, that's a dream at the moment, but with the current intensity of interest and vast amounts of money being poured into the effort, it's only a matter of time before some progress is made. And once you get that snowballing of technological progress, adoption becomes a no-brainer for industrialized nations. Can you imagine a business these days working without e-mail, or a website, or at least a computer to keep track of the books? They're still out there, of course, but have become a dying breed. In a decade or two, the pressures of climate change aside, it's almost certain that the business of energy will be add...
More About: Cleantech

Senator Obama Yields to Grassroots Pressure, Says No to Dirty Coal-to-Liqui
2007-06-14 02:22:00
Apparently yielding to consistent grassroots pressure chastising Barack Obama for his long-held support for coal-to-liquids (CTL) technology as a way to reduce American oil dependence, the Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate issued a statement today backing off of his support for coal-to-liquids synthetic fuels. Environmentalists and progressive groups have been hitting Senator Obama with petitions and letters recently, arguing that coal would produce a dirty alternative fuel and exacerbate global warming pollution at a time when we cannot afford to adopt a more carbon-intensive replacement for gasoline. Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for CTL synthetic fuels are up to twice as high as gasoline if emissions at CTL plants are not captured and sequestered. Even if carbon capture and storage technology is utilized at a CTL plant, the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of CTL synthetic fuels range from only moderately better to slightly worse than gasoline. In ...
More About: Dirty , Grassroots , Coal

Low gas prices or the environment: choose one
2007-06-12 04:12:00
The days get longer. Trees grow heavy with leaves. And politicians yammer about high gas prices. Ah, it must be silly season again. The goofiness of legislative proposals to lower gas prices is such that normally staid environmental economists foam at the mouth whenever this topic comes up. In an effort keep my own mouth-foaming at a minimum, I'll present a simple bulleted list of non-controversial (to me) propositions: Gas prices should be higher, not lower. No one is gouging consumers. The problem is oil consumption, not oil companies. This is pretty simple. You can't simultaneously fight for low gas prices and fight climate change. These are opposing policy objectives. The whole idea behind the various climate change bills presently haunting the halls of congress is to raise the price of energy consumption. Although none of these bills propose a direct tax on gasoline, all of them will lead to an increase in downstream costs for consumers. As they should. I missed t...
More About: Environment , Gas Prices , The Environment , Choose , Iron

G8 Global Warming Talks a Success...Sort of
2007-06-11 04:22:00
Late last week, leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations agreed to seriously consider cutting emissions 50 percent by the year 2050. They also affirmed the importance of developing nations to cut missions and plan to develop a global framework on emissions by the end of 2008. This outcome is a far cry from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's initial plan to get the G8 to limit global temperature rise this century to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) and to cut emissions 50 percent by 2050. In an interview before the G8 meetings, she had told the German Magazine Der Spiegel that her 3.6 degree proposal was ?non-negotiable as far as I am concerned.? But Bush Administration officials flat-out rejected mandatory emissions targets. So is it a success that world leaders have agreed to seriously consider cutting emissions? Depends who you ask. British Prime Minister Tony Blair called the agreement a major, major step forward. Yvo de Boer, head of the United N...
More About: Global Warming , Success , Global , Sort

Sweden Targets 30% Cut in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2020
2007-06-07 20:47:00
Scandinavian country sets strong targets exceeding EU goal Sweden is targeting at least a 30% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, beating the European Union goal of a 20% reduction (see previous post), according to Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren. Carlgren told the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, that since Sweden had pushed hard in the recent EU negotiations on the reduction target, that it would be unacceptable for the country to accept a lower goal. Sweden has already cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 7% from 1990 levels in it's efforts to meet Kyoto Protocol targets. The country's willingness to self-impose even more aggressive emissions reductions targets than those discussed by the EU contrasts with the positions of China (see previous post), India (see previous post) and the United States (see here) who remain opposed to mandatory reduction targets. Sweden has previously pledged to try to eliminate all fossil fuel use by 2020 (see previous post), ...
More About: Emissions , Greenhouse , Greenhouse Gas

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