Peak oil educator Richard Heinberg challenges “binary thinking” Straight.comBy Matthew Burrows, February 9, 2012 When he scans the current geopolitical lay-of-the-land, California-based peak oil educator and author Richard Heinberg can only reach one conclusion. “We’re fighting over the crumbs,” Heinberg told the Straight via … See all stories on this topic » Straight.com Peak Oil Continue Reading →
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures as he deliver his speech at a rally to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that toppled the country’s pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamic clerics to power, Tehran, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Research says storms that hamper the exploitation of Arctic reserves may halve by 2100, but experts warn against oil rush
A reduction in storms may open up some Arctic regions, but they would simply move to other areas. Photograph: Mark Peterson/Corbis
Global warming could halve the frequency of Arctic hurricanes – extreme storms that strike the north Atlantic during winter – by 2100, according to a new study, potentially encouraging exploitation of the region’s oil reserves.
“Our results provide a rare example of climate change driving a decline in extreme weather, rather than an increase,” says Matthias Zahn at the University of Reading. His study, published in the Nature journal, is the first to use a global climate model to assess how Arctic hurricanes may behave in a warmer world.
The results of his study may provide encouragement to oil and gas companies that currently consider drilling in the northern north Atlantic very risky, he says. “As the likelihood of hurricanes destroying oil rigs declines, drilling in the region may become a more attractive option.”
Washington, DC, United States — Recent data and analyses have made it clear that the emissions savings from adding wind energy to the grid are even larger than had been commonly thought. In addition to each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of wind energy directly offsetting a kWh that would have been produced by a fossil-fired power plant, new analyses show that wind plants further reduce emissions by forcing the most polluting and inflexible power plants offline and causing them to be replaced by more efficient and flexible types of generation.
At the same time, and in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the fossil fuel industry has launched an increasingly desperate misinformation campaign to convince the American public that wind energy does not actually reduce carbon dioxide emissions. As a result, we feel compelled to set the record straight on the matter, once and for all.
Maine — As more wind projects are developed closer to communities in densely populated areas, a number of homeowners within close range are complaining about noise. This often raises the question: “When does wind become an unacceptable source of noise pollution?”
The question isn’t easy to answer. While states and local communities set objective decibel standards for highways, airports and wind projects, “noise” is very subjective. Some people are not at all troubled by the low-frequency sound of an operating wind turbine. Others are extremely sensitive to the sound and report being in a constant state of agitation.
Business, China, Climate & Energy, energy, geothermal power, North Dakota, renewable energy, solar power, Texas, wind power
As fossil fuel prices rise, as oil insecurity deepens, and as concerns about climate change cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new energy economy is emerging. The old energy economy, fueled by oil, coal, and natural gas, is being replaced by one powered by wind, solar, and geothermal energy. Despite the global economic crisis, this energy transition is moving at a pace and on a scale that we could not have imagined even two years ago. And it is a worldwide phenomenon.
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