A new study revealed that the oldest and thickest Arctic sea ice is disappearing at a faster rate than the younger and thinner ice at the edges of the Arctic Ocean’s floating ice cap.
What if we could cheaply and efficiently detect a potent new energy source, while also monitoring for environmental safety? Physicists are using the symphony of sound produced in the ocean to do just that.
Rising sea levels are likely to change Southern California beaches in the coming century, but not in ways you might expect. While some beaches may shrink or possibly disappear, others are poised to remain relatively large — leaving an uneven distribution of economic gains and losses for coastal beach towns, according to a new study.
Rising sea levels are likely to change Southern California beaches in the coming century, but not in ways you might expect. While some beaches may shrink or possibly disappear, others are poised to remain relatively large — leaving an uneven distribution of economic gains and losses for coastal beach towns, according to a new study.
Next-Gen Weather Satellites to Improve Tornado Warnings
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NASA Science News for Feb. 29, 2012
NOAA and NASA are working on a series of next-generation weather satellites called “GOES-R” that will improve warnings of deadly tornadoes and other severe weather.
This is science at its best, illustrated, and a powerful read for understanding the predicament we have created. Mass extinctions in the history of Earth occurred when the atmosphere-ocean-land carbon and oxygen cycles, on which the biosphere depends, have been perturbed at rates to which species could not adapt. Rising atmospheric greenhouse gas levels above 330 ppm CO2 at rates of ~2 ppm/year and mean temperature rise of ~0.016oC/year since 1975-1976 are driving the fastest climate change trend recorded since about 34 million years ago, representing a critical climate threshold leading into uncharted territory and threatening the biosphere and human civilization. It is suggested the arrest of carbon emissions may not be sufficient to halt the current trend, except if accompanied with global efforts at down-draw of atmospheric CO2 using a range of bio-sequestration, organic and chemical methods.
This item is very controversial/ The writer does not know the true facts
Mining gas in NSW is viable if it’s controlled
John Williams
March 1, 2012
Opinion
Important role … NSW has the potential to build its economy on inexpensive, gas-based electricity. Photo: Ben Rushton
The transition from coal-based electricity generation to gas-based electricity, which emits less carbon dioxide, has become a fraught issue in NSW.
The NSW economy was built over the past 50 years on relatively cheap, coal-based electricity. Like Queensland, we have the opportunity to build our economy over the next 50 years or more on low-carbon, relatively inexpensive, gas-based electricity.
Queensland has taken the lead in developing its coal seam gas resources and is now well advanced to move from coal into large-baseload, combined-cycle gas turbines. And Queensland is moving into gas even though it already has the lowest carbon dioxide-emitting coal-based power stations in Australia.
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By comparison, NSW is lagging, with no clear direction as to where our future baseload electricity generation will come from.
The development of the coal seam gas industry in NSW obviously requires much closer co-operation between the government, the gas industry and land owners.
The recent protests by communities directly affected by the potential development of coal seam gas are testimony to the lack of consultation. In the Hunter Valley, for example, winemaker Bruce Tyrrell and others are campaigning for the area to be ”ring fenced” from the industry to protect the wine and tourism industries.
Our natural heritage of land and water and its ecology must indeed be protected and a way of mining gas found that is in complete harmony with this heritage. I am a member of the NSW Greens and opposed their policy of ”blanket” opposition to coal seam gas.
Of course some strategic areas of prime farming land and national or state parks should be preserved. But as an engineer, I don’t accept that the problems of water contamination and treatment, and of gas leakage, are insurmountable. These are engineering problems and can be resolved at a cost. If the cost for any gas mine is too high, it won’t be mined.
There has been a lot of publicity about the development of shale gas in the US – particularly in recent days with an ABC Foreign Correspondent story and an international conference happening now in Canberra – but its experience is of little relevance to Australia. The mining of shale gas is technically different and the legislative framework of American states is of no relevance in NSW.
Tapping the resource safely in NSW is all a matter of stringent regulation combined with excellent engineering, irrespective of the cost.
Our Asian neighbours in China and India are planning for a future fuelled by lower carbon emissions by continuing with coal-based electricity from advanced technology power stations and moving into gas and nuclear, with a minor component of renewable energy.
Renewable installations usually look impressive because the capacity to produce energy is quoted rather than the actual energy produced.
The cost of renewable energy is very high because these resources have limited availability of wind and of sunlight over the course of a year – about 20 per cent.
A claim by the Beyond Zero Emissions report that Australia has the opportunity to have a totally renewable-based electricity system within this decade lacks economic and technical credibility. It is extremely unlikely to be a reality this century. Renewable energy is simply not the best economic development strategy for NSW or Australia.
A low-carbon, sustainable-energy future for the world is possible, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2011 report. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can be stabilised at 450ppm in 2035 by both a reduction in the use of energy and a primary energy mix in 2035 of coal (16 per cent), oil (25), gas (22), nuclear (11), hydro (3), biomass and waste (16), and modern renewables of wind and solar (8).
There will be an economic penalty for NSW if it does not develop its gas resources. And there is no need to incur such a penalty from a global atmospheric perspective. I have as much interest as anyone in protecting the home of humanity, planet Earth. It is possible to protect our shared home with a low-carbon sustainable-energy future, and gas is an important part of that future.
John Williams is a former executive in the NSW electricity industryand a PhD student with Charles Sturt University researching climatechange, energy and its impact on the earth. Paul Sheehan is on leave.
Israeli Minister of Energy and Water Uzi Landau, who is visiting India, met with Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Jaipal Reddy to discuss the possibility of Indian government energy companies taking part in developing Israel’s massive offshore Mediterranean natural gas fields, Leviathan and Tamar. According to an Israeli energy specialist familiar with the negotiations, “During his visit, Minister Landau held many important meetings with key Indian government figures. They included meetings with the minister of petroleum and natural…
The British government announced that overall energy production last year was down 14 percent from the previous year. Oil and natural gas production both declined while low-carbon energy production grew. While the United Kingdom is making gains in the renewable energy sector, the crude oil numbers suggest there’s still work to be done in decarbonizing the regional economy. The British government released statistics for all sectors of the energy market for 2011. The provisional data showed overall petroleum production was down 17 percent and…
Which of the following can we count on to act as a “bridge fuel” to a renewable energy economy? A. OilB. Natural GasC. CoalD. None of the above The correct answer is: D. None of the above. Mark Twain is reported to have said: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” What most environmentalists think they know for sure is that oil, coal and natural gas are all abundant—so abundant, in fact, that many environmentalists believe they are forced to…
As foreign energy companies increasingly circle Africa seeking energy deposits, it would seem that the Magreb countries of northern Africa have the most developed natural gas deposits and western Africa, particularly Nigeria, the most exploitable oil reserves. Eastern Africa, which has suffered through chronic energy shortages, now has reason to celebrate, as both Norway’s Statoil, and U.S. energy firm Exxon have announced finding natural gas in energy-starved Tanzania’s Indian Ocean waters in their Zafarani exploration well in…
War against Iran seems imminent as both the US and UK military commands ask for more funding to increase the preparation and deployment of military arms and personnel in the Persian Gulf. The US has already added to the number of aircraft carriers it has stationed in the area, sending both the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Carl Vinson, along with a number of warplanes and tens of thousands of troops. The warships will be modified with antitank weapons and rapid fire machine guns, all specially designed for dealing with the Iranian fast attack…
So far on Do the Math, I’ve put out a lot of negative energy—whatever that means. Topics have often focused on what we can’t do, or at least on the failings or difficulties of various ambitious plans. We can’t expect indefinite growth—whether in energy, population, or even growth of the economic variety. It is not obvious how we maintain our current standard of living once fossil fuels begin their inexorable decline this century. And as I’ve argued before, achieving a steady-state future implies approximate equity…
This week the Energy Department’s program for long-shot technologies, ARPA-E, is hosting a convention in Washington where teams of inventors can display their ideas to potential investors and government officials. The technologies are not currently market ready, merely prototype ideas hoping to intrigue the right person and receive funding for more research. One of the most interesting prototypes shown was a flying wind turbine being developed by Makani Power of Alameda, California. The machine resembles a wing made from black carbon fibre…
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