Why ForceChange Has Been Quiet Lately
We’ve been getting a lot of emails from readers lately asking why our daily postings have slowed down. The answer is that the ForceChange team has been hard at work on a new website. Similar to ForceChange, the new site will be environmentally related. While we can’t disclose the details of the project yet, in the near future we will be offering ForceChange readers the exclusive ability to sign-up for the new site before it is open to the public. Please stay tuned and thank you for your continued interest!
China Pushes Forward on Cleaner Coal Technologies
NYT has an interesting analysis of the development of cleaner coal technologies in China. Although China burns more coal than the US, Europe and Japan combined, and sits on the world’s third largest coal reserve (after the US and Russia), that country is becoming a leading developer of new cleaner coal technology. By using extremely hot steam in the generation process, their modern plants are able to dramatically increase efficiency and lower emissions (by potentially more than one-third).
However, despite these advancements, more than half of China’s coal plants are still antiquated and don’t even have emissions controls to remove sulfur compounds that cause acid rain. Additionally, of China’s new plants, only 60% are being built with the new and efficient, yet more expensive, technology.
But as the Times notes, “China’s improvements are starting to have an effect on climate models. In its latest annual report last November, the [International Energy Agency] cut its forecast of the annual increase in Chinese emissions of global warming gases, to 3 percent from 3.2 percent.”
While these incremental steps are not going to halt climate change alone, it is a sign that China is getting serious about developing clean technologies. Whether it is in order to save the environment, or to master this new and lucrative market, it should be a wake-up call to the US. If we don’t get our act together and begin leading the world in clean technologies, the world will quickly be leading us.
New York City-Sized Ice Block Breaks Off Antarctic Ice Shelf
Reuters reports that a giant chunk of an Antarctic ice shelf almost the size of New York City has broken into icebergs this month. Nine other ice shelves have receded or collapsed around the Antarctic peninsula in the past 50 years, which scientists widely attribute to climate change.
Gore To Congresswoman: If You Think It’s About Greed, “You Don’t Know Me”
Is Rep. Barton (R-TX) Confused by Plate Tectonics?
The nonsense coming out of Congress lately on climate and energy policy continued on Wednesday when Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the ranking member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, apparently failed to grasp the concept of plate tectonics in a hearing with Energy Secretary (and Nobel Prize in Physics recipient) Steven Chu.
Congressman Barton, after an exchange (copied below) with Secretary Chu, sent out a twitter message stating:
Tweet 1: Participating n climate change hearing. I asked energy secretary where oil in alaska came from. answer puzzles-from continental plate shift
Tweet 2: I seemed to have baffled the Energy Sec with basic question – Where does oil come from? Check out the video: http://bit.ly/O4m0p #tcot
Here is a video of the testimony. While Barton is right that Chu was baffled, it seems to have more to do with the inanity of his question rather than its complexity.
And a transcript:
Barton: Dr. Chu, I don’t wanna leave you out, you’re our… you’re our scientist. I have one simple question for you in the last six seconds. How did all the oil and gas get to Alaska and under the Arctic Ocean?
Chu: [Nervous-sounding laughter] This is… this is a complicated story, but, but oil and gas is the result of hundreds of millions of years of geology, and in that time also the plates have moved around, and so it’s the combination of where the sources of the oil and gas are…
Barton (interrupting): Well, I mean, isn’t it obvious that at one time it was a lot warmer in Alaska and on the north pole? It wasn’t a big pipeline that we created in Texas and shipped it up there and put it underground so we could now pump it out and ship it back.
Chu: No. There are… there’s continental plates that have been drifting around throughout the geological ages…
Barton (interrupting): So it just drifted up there?
Chu: That’s certainly what happened. And so it’s the result of things like that.
Transcripts via ScienceBlogs
EPA Announcement Pits Two Failing Industries Against Each Other
On Thursday the EPA announced that it is seeking comments on a proposal to increase the permitted amount of ethanol in regular gasoline to be increased from 10% to 15%. This debate will pit the army of lobbyists from two struggling industries against each other. On one side we have the corn industry, which has been struggling mightily since their market became saturated last year. Currently one-quarter of all corn produced in the U.S. is used to make ethanol. Increasing the gasoline blend limits would help prop up this highly subsidized industry.
And on the other side we have the even more vulnerable automotive industry. While carmakers, like GM, have been touting their green “flex-fuel” capabilities (read: boondoggle), they argue that if 15% blends are used in their older models that it could damage those vehicles’ fuel lines. Alan Adler, a GM spokesman disclaimed that “we want to be sure that we’re not on the hook for vehicles” that end up having problems with higher blends.
Of course, it is unclear in this debate which policy is actually in the public’s interest. We have two industries that are so thoroughly dependent on government subsidization for survival that anything they say or do must be viewed in that light. This is just one of many examples of how government mandates can distort the noble goal of improving the environment and decreasing our use of foreign oil. However, as see with this current debate, comprehensive subsidies and mandates are a clunky and inefficient solution to an incredibly complex problem.
Smoke From Wood Burning Stoves Pose Major Climate and Health Problems
Another potent climate change driver has been on the radar of many scientists lately. The problem is soot emissions from wood fired stoves used extensively throughout the developing world. The soot emissions are believed to be so potent that they are considered by some to be the second biggest driver of climate change after CO2.
The NYT reports:
While carbon dioxide may be the No. 1 contributor to rising global temperatures, scientists say, black carbon has emerged as an important No. 2, with recent studies estimating that it is responsible for 18 percent of the planet’s warming, compared with 40 percent for carbon dioxide. Decreasing black carbon emissions would be a relatively cheap way to significantly rein in global warming – especially in the short term, climate experts say. Replacing primitive cooking stoves with modern versions that emit far less soot could provide a much-needed stopgap, while nations struggle with the more difficult task of enacting programs and developing technologies to curb carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.
[And] unlike carbon dioxide, which lingers in the atmosphere for years, soot stays there for a few weeks.
In order to minimize soot emissions, wood stoves must be outfitted with basic smoke stack technologies such as filters and scrubbers. Retrofitting home burners with filters would not only mitigate climate change, but it would provide locals with much safer breathing air, as particulate pollution is extremely unhealthy for human lungs. Whether this can be accomplished will depend on whether the international community can come together to fund a widespread program. This will be necessary since some of the worst particulate polluters are often some of the world’s poorest people.
Mammoth Ski Area Cabin Receives LEED Platinum Rating
The ski industry is particularly vulnerable to climate change. So it is nice to hear when they take the lead in addressing greenhouse gas emissions, as they have in Aspen. Not to be left out, Mammoth Mountain ski area has received LEED Platinum certification for one of its lodges. The 1336 square foot cabin is a part of the mountain’s Tamarack Lodge which is tucked away in the forest near the ski area. Some of the environmentally friendly features include:
- Environmental Friendly Hardwood Flooring
- Recycled Carpeting
- Recycled Decking Material
- Local Masonry Rock from Randsburg
- Local & Pest Resistant Siding
- Recycled & Local Drywall
- Energy Efficient Windows
- Local Concrete Aggregates
- Recycled Fiberglass Insulation
While it is terrific that ski areas such as Mammoth are joining the effort to be more environmentally friendly, a single cabin is not going to change the world. However, it will hopefully set the tone for more transformative environmental action in the near future.
Energy Giants Ignore Their Own Greenwashing Campaigns
NYT had an interesting article this week about Big Oil’s resistance to developing renewable energy sources. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big surprise– as Big Oil is naturally in the business of producing big oil. However, given the nearly ubiquitous marketing campaigns run by the energy giants touting their newfound green credentials, their failure to live up to these claims is hypocritical and deceptive. For example:
- BP has been shrinking its renewables program since 2007, despite the continued claim that it is moving Beyond Petroleum.
- Royal Dutch Shell announced last month that it was freezing research and investments in wind, solar, and hydrogen power (although it will continue its biofuels research). While Shell claims to have spent $1.7 billion since 2004 on alternative energy projects, it has spent $87 billion in that same timeframe on oil and gas projects.
- Exxon Mobil’s CEO Rex Tillerson notes, “In my view, nothing has really changed. We don’t oppose alternative energy sources and the development of those. But to hang the future of the country’s energy on those alternatives alone belies reality of their size and scale.” Exxon’s own long-term forecast predicts that by 2050, oil, gas, and coal will account for 80% of the world’s energy supplies– which is the same as today.
Of course, none of these facts should come as a surprise. Without a comprehensive carbon policy from Washington, the most profitable thing these companies can do is to sell hydrocarbons. Unless and until we more accurately price the real cost of burning fossil fuels via a carbon tax or cap-and-trade, these companies will have no reason to change their behavior (and nor should they be expected to). But in the meantime, the public needs to recognize that their big green marketing campaigns are nothing more than a distraction. Real change will only come when our “leaders” in Washington can do what’s needed and pass a meaningful climate bill.
Biogas From Landfill to Fuel Power Plants
Methane released from landfills is an exceptionally powerful greenhouse gas. However, recent efforts by some companies to harness this gas have proven a valuable source of energy as well as climate change mitigation. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced on Monday that it would be selling up to 6000 MMBtus of biomethane per day generated and captured at its McCommas Bluff landfill in Dallas to Shell Energy North America. Shell will then burn the gas as a source of electricity generation.
“This gas sale agreement validates selling renewable biomethane as a valuable, low carbon fuel. It provides Clean Energy with a sound, long-term revenue stream and also supports expansion of the plant’s production capacity for additional gas sales, including potential use as vehicle fuel,” said Andrew J. Littlefair, Clean Energy president and CEO. “Many of our largest customers are showing interest in biomethane for their fleet vehicles as it is one of the best alternative fuels to meet new Low Carbon Fuel Standards coming in California and other states.”
Congressman: God Decides When ‘The Earth Will End’
This clip shows Congressman John Shimkus’s (R-Ill) introductory remarks at a House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing last week.
Supreme Court: Power Plants Not Required to Use State-of-the-Art Water Cooling Process
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the EPA can balance business costs against environmental benefits when deciding whether to impose closed-cycle cooling requirements on power plants.
The case was originally brought before the Court last year by the Bush Administration, which had argued that business interests must be properly considered. Environmentalists opposed this idea, claiming that the Clean Water Act required the use of closed-cycle cooling technologies. The harm at issue stems from the process by which power plants take water from surrounding sources to cool the plant’s operations. Without closed-cycle cooling, very hot water can be released back into the environment, thereby doing harm to the surrounding aquatic life.
While the Court’s ruling will allow the EPA to take into account business interests, the Obama Administration will have leeway in how it crafts future rules.
Democrats to Propose Greenhouse Gas Emissions Bill
House Democrats will propose a new bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on Tuesday. The legislation, co-sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who chairs the panel’s Energy and Environment Subcommittee, aims to cut emissions by 20% from 2005 levels by 2020 and to increase energy efficiency in order to reduce electricity demand by 15% by 2020. The bill targets an overall 80% reduction in emissions by 2050.
Although Democrats have a majority, any emissions bill is expected to face a tough road given the current economic situation and political opposition. Even Sen. McCain, who was an early supporter of cap-and-trade recently described current proposals derisively as “cap-and-tax“. Additionally, Congresspeople from large coal producing states will likely oppose any emissions legislation across party-lines. Whether the U.S. can put together a meaningful greenhouse gas bill this year will be key to the success or failure of the international climate change conference to be held in Copenhagen in December of this year.
Looming Water Shortages Cut in Favor of Renewable Energy
WSJ has an interesting article today about the influence that dwindling water resources is having on the trend towards developing more renewable energy sources. Water is commonly overshadowed by greenhouse gas emissions in the discussion about dirty power versus renewable power. However, consumption of water by traditional power plants is a gigantic environmental issue. In fact, as the WSJ notes, “the electric-power industry accounts for nearly half of all water withdrawals in the U.S., with agricultural irrigation coming in a distant second at about 35%.”
Although most of this water is eventually recycled back into nearby lakes or streams, 2-3% is lost by evaporation, and the heat from the water released back into the natural environment can be detrimental to surrounding life. READ MORE
U.S. Offers $535 Million Loan Guarantee to Solar Panel Manufacturer
Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced on Friday that the federal government would be offering a $535 million loan guarantee to solar panel manufacturer Solyndra. The California based company will use the funds to widely expand its photovoltaic panel manufacturing capacity.
The loan guarantee is the first to be offered under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. During the Bush Administration the program was bogged down by Energy Department bureaucracy, as well as congressional foot dragging.
The money for this loan guarantee comes from appropriations from the Obama stimulus package. “The leadership and actions of President Barack Obama, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and the U.S. Congress were instrumental in concluding this offer for a loan guarantee,” said Solyndra CEO and founder, Dr. Chris Gronet.
Solyndra’s new facilities will eventually produce solar panels capable of producing 500 megawatts a year.
