Recent Readings: Rainforest Capture Wind Datacenter Train
December 12th, 2007 | Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Government, Recent Readings, Technology, Transportation
’sup? [speaker makes obligatory head bob] Quite a variety of information today, and as always, really good stuff.
Climate Change | The Playbook for Bali | “My guess is that we still don’t emerge with a solid funding mechanism to deal with this huge opportunity — just including deforestation in the existing “clean development mechanism” won’t begin to do the job. We need some serious global commitment to ending the illegal timber trade and paying all rainforest nations annual rent for the carbon they are storing for the rest of us. But getting the issues on the table will tee them up for a post-Bush world in which, if public pressure continues to build, we will finally see climate chaos for what Stern calls it — the greatest market failure in human history, but one we can fix through intelligent redesign of the global energy economy.” | Carl Pope, Sierra Club
This is a bold piece by Pope, and I recommend reading it in its entirety. Emissions is always the number one topic when environmental progress is discussed but irresponsible deforestation is a big problem also, and fewer trees makes negating the ill effects of humanity’s collective flatulence even harder that it already is. You may not be able to stop massive clear cutting individually but print double-sided at work and join organizations (like GreenDimes) who plant trees.
Energy | Peabody to help develop near-zero emissions coal plant | “Peabody Energy announced Tuesday it is an equity partner in China’s $1 billion “GreenGen,” the first near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage which is currently under development. The GreenGen project will use coal-based technologies to generate electricity for Chinese families and businesses. It will be capable of hydrogen production and will advance carbon dioxide capture and storage, providing a clean energy prototype to address carbon dioxide concerns, the company said in a release.” | St. Louis Business Journal
Why in China of all freakin’ places? Why not in the U.S.? Grrrr. Of course I’m still skeptical of clean coal but if these guys can make it work, more power to them. China’s pollution is raging, so a project like this, if it delivers as promised, will help. According to the article, Peabody is the only non-Chinese equity investor in the project. I’m cautiously optimistic that it will succeed. I’m confidently pessimistic the technology will make it’s way into the U.S. in the near future. Of course, if all new coal plants are banned altogether in the U.S. we won’t need to invest in this technology.
Government| Britain wants wind farms to power all its homes | “Britain unveiled plans to generate enough electricity through offshore wind farms to power every home in the country by 2020, increasing production more than 60-fold and changing the look of its coastlines. Britain’s wind-swept coasts and shallow waters are ideal for offshore turbines, but wind generated power currently accounts for less than 2 percent of its energy generation.” | Satter, Raphael G., AP
I suppose this article could have been filed under “Energy” like the last one but what stuck out to me was the commitment from Britain’s government to make this a reality - something we haven’t come close to seeing in the U.S. This initiative is truly form following function, as the island is well poised to benefit from its geography. At least a few states are spitting in the face of the federal government and exploring initiatives like this.
Technology | AMD Releases Study Detailing Datacenter Energy Use in Five Regions across Globe; Calls on Industry Partners to Hasten Efficiency Efforts | “AMD today released a study revealing shifting patterns in worldwide datacenter energy use at regional levels. The study, which was conducted by Jonathan Koomey, Ph.D., using data from industry analyst firm IDC, documents energy use across five regions: the United States, Western Europe, Japan, Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) and the rest of the world. This new study forecasts datacenter energy consumption, estimating that by 2010 U.S. consumption will decline relative to consumption worldwide.” | TMCnet
Technology uses a tremendous amount of energy, and while going digital saves paper it requires more fuel, which is usually of the dirty variety. That a company is studying the energy use of worldwide datacenters is encouraging. For once, the U.S. is actually declining in relative contribution to the world’s problems, but only because certain areas of the world are growing so rapidly. Pope talked about the lack of participation from China and India in regards to carbonization of the planet in his article (above), and they should be looked to in this arena for leadership as well.
Transportation | Public transportation ridership continues to grow | ‘The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) today announced that Americans took nearly 50 million more trips on public transportation during the third quarter of 2007, compared to the third quarter of 2006, representing a 2 percent increase in ridership. Noting that more and more Americans are choosing to ride public transportation as gas prices remain high and traffic congestion remains a problem, APTA President William W. Millar said, “The greater use of public transit in the third quarter of 2007 demonstrates the importance of a community having a good public transportation system to help its residents save time and money.”’ | APTA
The release also said bus used dropped slightly across the country, but I for one used the St. Louis bus system for the first time since my move into the city - I used to commute downtown via bus when I lived out in the ‘burbs. The website did note: “Bus ridership throughout the country showed a slight increase of 0.1%, although in communities with a population below 100,000, bus ridership showed a 7.5% increase.” Go small town America! An email I received from Citizens for Modern Transit noted the St. Louis transit system, called MetroLink “is averaging about 82,000 rides each weekday. This compares to Denver with 60,000 rides, Baltimore with 27,000, Minneapolis 29,500, Portland 108,000, Dallas 62,000 and Houston 41,000.” Not too shabby.
Sphere: Related ContentRelated Posts
