Latest from Al Gore

In this 3 page Op-Ed article in the NY Times, Al Gore does not present a lot of new material, but he does a good job bringing all the climate issues, and difficulties, into a unified perspective. A few of my favorite quotes from the article are:

1. In reference IPCC errors and ClimateGate - "....the scientific enterprise will never be completely free of mistakes. What is important is that the overwhelming consensus on global warming remains unchanged."

2. About the U.S. Gov. - "The political paralysis that is now so painfully evident in Washington has thus far prevented action by the Senate — not only on climate and energy legislation, but also on health care reform, financial regulatory reform and a host of other pressing issues."

3. What lies ahead in preventing catastrophic global warming - "The pathway to success is still open, though it tracks the outer boundary of what we are capable of doing. It begins with a choice by the United States to pass a law establishing a cost for global warming pollution............Later this week, Senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman are expected to present for consideration similar cap-and-trade legislation." - It will be very interesting to see exactly what this contains and how it is received.

Thanks Roz for flagging this article.

Antarctic Satellite Photos - Mertz Glacier

A very short post about something you have probably read about, but with amazing NASA satellite photos you may have not seen. Also, click on link at bottom of article to see details about possible wildlife and climate impact due to changes in ocean circulation.

Searching Fin Bliz Climate Blog

Just a quick note to point out that you can now scroll to the bottom of this page and search any of the 'Labels', such as sea level, IPCC, etc. The search will bring up all past posts with that label. Also added is a quick comments check box below each post, which obviously now (2/26) are empty, but you can go back and add your input, and if you make some entries, we will use that to perhaps design a fall SDALL climate/green energy course.  Bill

Lewes Sea Level Trend

Since most of us reading this blog live in or near Lewes, DE, I thought you might like this link to see "how fast we are going under". And yes, I still stand by my statement that sea level is our best indicator of global warming, or lack thereof, if that becomes the case.

While at this site, I recommend that you also check out some other coastal locations, such as Grand Isle, LA. There is quite a bit of variation, presumably a lot of which is due to land subsidence.

The Bloom Box: breakthrough or hype?

This sounds like an amazing breakthrough in generating electricity. It is a new fuel cell technology that can convert most hydrocarbons to electricity, and in a way that generates much fewer emissions than current power generation from fossil fuels. And, when the fuel is methane from human activities, the net benefit is even greater. The Bloom Box's other major advantage is that in negates the need for elaborate power distribution grids, because the Boxes can be located locally where the electricity is needed.

Don't believe all this? I too was very skeptical, but watch the video produced by 60 Minutes (at bottom of link), and note who some of the first customers are: FedEx, Google, eBay, Walmart, all with sizable Bloom Box installations.

Thanks to Keith Kiernan for pointing this technology out. It will be fun to track how it advances, and if GE jumps in as forecast. I also really wonder what is in the "magic ink" used on the cell surfaces.

Mojave desert solar update

The U.S. is backing this project by BrightSource Energy with $1.4 billion in federal loan guarantees. This is the same project as discussed in the earlier post about the Desert Tortoise.

The heliostat technology being used is made possible by sophisticated computer tracking of the sun by each of the thousands of mirrors used to concentrate the sun's energy.

In the article, Energy Secretary Steven Chu points out that one key to major expansion of solar and wind energy is large scale energy storage......such as most vehicles being electric powered with a major cumulative battery storage capacity.

More on why skeptics are good

This link is to a very well written and concise article in the WSJ pointed out by Keith Kiernan. Following is a quote from the article:

"Skeptics don't doubt science—they doubt unscientific claims cloaked in the authority of science. The scientific method is a foundation of our information age, with its approach of a clearly stated hypothesis tested through a transparent process with open data, subject to review.

The IPCC report was instead crafted by scientists hand-picked by governments when leading politicians were committed to global warming. Unsurprisingly, the report claimed enough certainty to justify massive new spending and regulations."

Global warming advocates ignore the boulders

This link is to a George Will op-ed column in the Washington Post. It contains lots of details, many presented in a sarcastic way that made me smile. It also contains lots of links for those who wish to delve deeper into his details.

The link I found fascinating is the admission by Phil Jones, former director of Britain's Climatic Research Unit, that there has been NO statistically significant global warming from 1995 to the present.

And as if things aren't bad enough for global warming advocates, read the NY Times analysis of why Yvo de Boer resigned as UN Climate Chief.

Penguins to jelly fish in Antarctica?

The referenced article cites studies that predict krill populations declining due to loss of sea ice accompanying global warming. The study states that krill will be replaced by tiny copepods, too tiny for penguins to feed on, but excellent for jellyfish. Hence penguins (and whales) will decline, and jellyfish will thrive.

While I don't question the science, I do wonder what time frame we are talking. Antarctic sea ice extent has been quite stable from what I have read. Yes, it is forecast to decline more rapidly as the ozone hole over the Antarctic disappears over the next 2 decades, but I also have faith in the krill adapting during any prolonged change in sea ice extent.

 

Above: Gentoo Penguin feeding krill to her young. Photo by Bill Fintel

Guess What, Global Warming Results in More Snow

Contrary to global warming skeptics the increased snowfall that we have had in the past few weeks is indicative of the increase in ocean temperatures in addition to the stronger than usual El Nino this winter. Check out the link to the NPR news story for a closer look and don't be fooled by nay sayers when it comes to global warming.

Latest in Photovoltaic Solar

The title link is to a very optimistic article in Scientific American. It describes several new breakthroughs in photovoltaic cell design, and includes some cost figures as well.

Remember, "Enough sunlight bathes Earth's daytime half in an hour to meet all human energy needs for a year."

And while we are on solar, it looks like the endangered Desert Tortoise and solar-thermal developments are working out their issues, at least at a large site in the Mojave desert of northern California. Photo by USGS.

From on high

If you had been in a satellite recently, here's what our situation looked like from above.

Hope you are all well. Bill

www.climate.gov

You have probably already viewed this new site, but in case not, click above.

In skimming through it, I found one of the most interesting articles was about the expected international conflicts concerning the probable NW passage shipping route and access to mineral resources of the Arctic Ocean seafloor.

Making light of the recent snow

Roz Troupin thought we would enjoy this NY Times article. Of course the heavy snowfall is proof that global warming forecasts are all wrong.........as well as clear evidence that climate change is indeed generating more severe storms.........or of neither.

My favorite was: "........the family of Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, a leading climate skeptic in Congress, built a six-foot-tall igloo on Capitol Hill and put a cardboard sign on top that read “Al Gore’s New Home.”

A close second was:  ".......the announcement of the creation of a new federal climate service on Monday had to be conducted by conference call, rather than news conference, because the federal government was shuttered by the storm."

I hope no one had any serious consequences from the 2 blizzards. Bill

Clouds Appear to Be a Big, Bad Player in Global Warming

As posted in "Climate Progress," there is strong evidence that cloud changes are exacerbating global warming. This has been a bone of contention for quite some time, but what is certain is that climate models have not been adequately accounting for clouds in predicting climate change, either current or future. "Feedbacks involving low-level clouds remain a primary cause of uncertainty in global climate model projections." The positive, low-level cloud feedback strongly suggests that a doubling of the atmospheric carbon dioxide level could well result in a mean global warming of 4.4 degrees centigrade, the upper range of predictions, further raising the red flag. This link will take you to the posting of this important study in "Climate Progress."

Renewable Energy Technology (RETECH) 2010

One topic at this conference, held Feb 3-5, was national competitiveness. The US position in terms of green energy scale-up did not stand out favorably.

" 'We're still pretty good at invention or discovery but in terms of deployment, we're losing ground. In fact, you could say we suck,' said Mike Davis, the assistant director for energy and environment at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, during a session on national lab research. 'Our ability to throw sand in the gears in terms of development in this country is just phenomenal. We've perfected it.'....

Germany and Spain have become the two largest markets for solar because (their) energy policies ensure that project developers can get a premium price for renewable power, an approach many U.S. investors and entrepreneurs say is more simple and predictable than the U.S. system."

Boom in distributed solar

Very interesting article from the NY Times highlighting the boom in small, localized solar installations, even during the recession. Reasons for this? Combination of fewer regulatory hurdles, lower cost materials via Chinese manufacturing, and easier connection to existing electric grid. I'll let you know when I firm up plans for our rooftop here in Lewes. Bill

Models quantify predicted storm intensity increase

Whether the model predictions are correct, we will have to wait and see, but at least some scientists are now going way beyond the simplistic - warmer seas mean more intense hurricanes.

".......scientists have now used a modelling approach capable of capturing storms of category-3 or higher intensity, enabling them to simulate twenty-first-century storms realistically....... the ensemble-mean of 18 global climate models and 4 regional models.............

In the simulations, the number of category-4 and category-5 storms in the Atlantic Ocean rose 81 per cent by 2100......increasing numbers of the strongest storms could drastically raise the cost of storm damage."

Increased Atmospheric CO2 Caused Tree Growth Spurt

The attached link to a recent NY Times article discusses an increased level of tree growth in the Chesapeake Bay area directly attributable to the increased level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Factors, such as soil nutrients and available moisture suggest that this higher level of tree growth may not be sustainable.