Natural Gas, Coal, and Climate Change

An Associated Press article in the NY Times titled,

Natural Gas Overtakes Coal in U.S. Electric Generation 

caught my attention, as I was not aware of the total magnitude of natural gas in U.S. electric generation. Natural gas has a distinct advantage over coal in electric generation, namely only about half the amount of carbon dioxide is emitted (1). But it also has drawbacks, such as methane leakage, and disruption of local communities. For a very thorough analysis of natural gas' role in averting climate change, read Joe Nocera's analysis in the NY Times Opinion Pages titled,

Shale Gas and Climate Change

The Allam Cycle - An efficient way to Capture and Store CO2 (aka CCS)

Thermodynamic principals work strongly against the efficient (read economic) capture and storage of CO2 from conventional fossil fuel power plants. Dilution of the CO2 by nitrogen in the flue gas from the air used for combustion is a primary issue.

But, if we can burn the carbon containing fuels with pure oxygen, then the effluent is mostly CO2 and water vapor, which can be easily separated, and the CO2 compressed for efficient, and hopefully safe, underground storage.

So see what you think about the Allam Cycle. I am glad to see a major project going forward to determine future economic feasibility. Technology can do a lot, but technology can not override the laws of thermodynamics.

Food Choices and Climate Change

...... or why eating plant based can significantly help save our World.

The following links were my primary sources of information for my Oct 28 presentation on Food Choices and Climate Change at Dorothy Greets’ class for Osher Lifelong Learning.

National Academy of Sciences report:
Land, irrigation water, greenhouse gas, and reactive nitrogen burdens of meat, eggs, and dairy production in the United States
http://www.pnas.org/content/111/33/11996.abstract

The Environmental Working Groups, Meat Eater’s Guide:
http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/reducing-your-footprint/

NASA Global Climate Change - Vital Signs of the Planet:
http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/

J. Morris Hicks web site: Tearing Down the Single Biggest Road Block to Sustainability
http://hpjmh.com/2014/10/23/tearing-down-the-single-biggest-roadblock-to-sustainability/?utm

How Global Warming Works

If you are an OLLI student of Bill's Climate classes, you should know the correct answer.

Want to check your interpretation, or find a concise explanation to send to others, visit:

HowGlobalWarmingWorks.org  My preference among their videos is the under 3 minutes video.

Climate Change Tipping Points from Wake Up, Freak Out

We will be watching the linked video in our upcoming class, but it is well worth watching two or more times to grasp all the concepts presented. The video link is HERE.

Want more information about the creators, go to wakeupfreakout.org

And please note that this video does not portray the forecast changes as inevitable, so to Judy Hendricks (who was seeking some optimism at the end of our last class) and to all of our Class, lets hear from you about some of your optimistic ideas to avert catastrophic climate change. This will be our main subject in class 5, and lots of class time will be available for discussion of ideas, new info, etc. I am usually optimistic, so lets see what we can come up with. Bill

Feeding the World....while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Cattle release methane, and lots of it. Methane is a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than CO2. Plus with a World population over 7 billion and still growing, we are running out of resources to feed our World.

So do we really need to eat beef, chicken and pork to get our protein? Absolutely not!!!! Look at some of the earth's largest animals - Elephants, Hippopotamus, Rhinocerus, they are all vegetarians, but still very big and strong. In the US, 13% of the population is vegetarian or vegan. In India 31%. In OLLI, I am estimating significantly more than 13%. (A more precise survey would be welcome.)

From a global perspective, it boils down to more efficiently using our limited resources, which are fertile land and fresh water. Consuming crops is far more efficient than consuming animals which have been fed crops. This is due to limited ecological efficiency in converting energy from one trophic level to another. A rough approximation is that the conversion is only 10% efficient. See Wikipedia for more details.

So what are your plant-based eating resources. In OLLI there is an excellent class, Plant Based Eating 101 taught by Dorothy Greet. On the internet, there are an almost infinite number of resources, such as Marc Gunther on Reinventing Meat, or John McDougall's web site dedicated to improving your health through plant based eating.

At the very least, take a look at the health benefits You will gain, and the benefits to the World through better utilization of limited resources, and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Sally and I both both do it.

Energy for Development - References from Curt Davis

Following is the list of books, web site links, and Youtube videos that Curt promised in his OLLI presentation on Nov 5, 2012. Many thanks again to Curt for a fascinating and informative presentation of his hands-on experiences helping provide clean, renewable energy to low income people in remote regions around the world.  Bill

OLLI Energy for Development presentation by Curt Davis, November 5, 2012

-Here are the names of the books mentioned in class:

Kamal, Sajed (2011). The Renewable Revolution: How We Can Fight Climate Change, Prevent Energy Wars, Revitalize the Economy and Transition to a Sustainable Future. London: Routledge (Earthscan)

Owen, David (2012). The Conundrum: How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse. Short Books

-Here is a link to how to build the solar cooker demonstrated in class:

http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/CooKit

-Organizations that I work with:

Flexera Solar and Wind

http://www.flexera.net/

The Pan Himalayan Grassroots Development Foundation

http://www.grassrootsindia.com/

Grupo Fenix

http://www.grupofenix.org/

ICSEE / Maasai Solar Project

http://www.maasaistovessolar.org/

-Here is a list of interesting videos of small-scale renewable energy or small-scale that has been scaled up to meet larger demands.

Solar Cooker in the snow: (2:45)

(posted from http://www.youtube.com/user/solarwindmama)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddd8RUtv9VU&feature=plcp

Grassroots India household biogas overview. (8:03)

(posted by https://www.youtube.com/user/GrassrootsIndia)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQrr4KhP4Dc

Micro Hydro Power Animation

(posted by http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenpeaceUK)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4B2gODY3Mk

Micro hydro Archimedian screw animation

(posted by http://www.youtube.com/user/bigbrother1970E)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLEA3FF83DC8D9FCA0&feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=ka5174hVhbg

Turning Green in Oxford, England

(posted by http://www.youtube.com/user/alunhill)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Q1-iAExPo&feature=rellist&playnext=1&list=PLEA3FF83DC8D9FCA0

Micro hydro in Indonesia

(poster by http://www.youtube.com/user/AshdenAwards)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm-PaJNlRp8&feature=plcp

ARTI India: Biogas from food waste. (5:26)

(posted by http://www.youtube.com/user/AshdenAwards)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSl72xZHNk&feature=relmfu

China; domestic biogas for cooking and light. (4:47)

(posted by http://www.youtube.com/user/AshdenAwards)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=ZMreH1YUs90

Industrial-scale liquefied biogas in Sweden. (4:07)

(posted by: https://www.youtube.com/user/Goteborgenergi )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Vsk6AnilIfs

Husk Power Systems: Bihar (5:53)

(posted from http://www.youtube.com/user/AshdenAwards)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0XcoeqVoaI

Grupo Fenix. (6:35)

(posted by https://www.youtube.com/user/elgrupofenix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ILxrFVc34

Tanzanian sawdust stoves. (5:53)

(posted by http://www.youtube.com/user/AshdenAwards)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIlOamR9wAg&feature=plcp

Aprovecho Rocket Stove; Malawi (5:15)

(posted by http://www.youtube.com/user/AshdenAwards)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSQOIVKgWbY&feature=plcp

Rice husk gasifier in Bihar (2:56)

(posted by http://www.youtube.com/user/acumenfund)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MpTmckocYQ

The roles of wind and natural gas in US energy

On Ezra Klein's Wonkblog in the Washington Post, Brad Plummer writes, The rise-and possible fall-of wind power, a very concise summary of wind power growth in the US, and a cautious prediction of reduced future growth due to incentives being eliminated.

Also from Wonkblog Brad Plummer presents an excellent summary of how cheap natural gas is displacing coal for electricity generation, which in turn is reducing CO2 emissions, BUT is not necessarily reducing global warming significantly. Why? Two main reasons - one, natural gas production releases methane to the atmosphere, and methane is 23 times more potent as a greenhouse gas, and two, cheap electricity from natural gas reduces incentives to convert to wind, solar and other forms of renewable power generation.

Flatulence, Climate and Dinosaurs

Methane released by cattle, and other ruminants accounts for 50 to 100 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, and methane is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide at warming our planet. This knowledge prompted some British scientists to hypothesize what large herbivorous dinosaurs might have released. Their calculations came up with about 520 million tons of methane per year, a quantity large enough that it could have accounted for the earth's relatively warm temperatures back in the age of dinosaurs 140 million years ago.

This news has been widely publicized, so maybe it is not new to you. What surprised me is that after reading about it from 4 or 5 different sources, I found by far the best and most accurate summary in the Wall Street Journal article, Dinosaur Gas Emissions May Have Warmed Air.

Climate and Veganism - a major opportunity

Why is being a vegan good for our planet? It is actually very simple. Our foods growing energy comes from the sun. Plants (including phytoplankton in the sea) contain the largest amount of food energy per unit of solar energy delivered to Earth. Farm animals fed on plants we grow loose a large amount of the initial solar energy delivered to Earth due to conversion inefficiencies...and adding to climate woes, animal wastes release large amounts of methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, all potent greenhouse gases.

Want to pursue further? Start with Marc Guenther's vegan posts. There are a multitude of issues eating less meat addresses, your health probably being #1.

Am I a vegan? Almost, and my wife Sally is a full vegan. My deviation from being a full vegan is because I still consume some fish, preferably caught by me on hook-and-line, but also some commercially caught in the wild, like sardines and wild Pacific Salmon. My consumption of hoofed animals and poultry and dairy is zero.

Meatless Monday and Meat the Truth

Meatless Monday is a global movement to help our climate be healthier......and to help YOU be healthier!!!

From the title link:
"If everyone in the US went meatless one day a week: The carbon savings would be the same as taking 19.2 million cars off U.S. roads for a year."

Meatless Monday is a big web site, so explore the other pages as well as the linked page.

What have I done? I have gone from a weekly average of eating meat 2x per day to eating meat less than 1x per day, or more than a 50% reduction in meat consumption.......and the meat I eat is 99% fish. What has Sally done? She is 100% meatless....a vegan.

Methane vs CO2, which is more to be feared

A very thoughtful article from David Archer, author of one of my favorite books on impending climate change, The Long Thaw. His synopsis of methane vs CO2 is so revealing:

"CO₂ is plenty to be frightened of, while methane is frosting on the cake. Imagine you are in a Toyota on the highway at 60 miles per hour approaching stopped traffic, and you find that the brake pedal is broken. This is CO₂. Then you figure out that the accelerator has also jammed, so that by the time you hit the truck in front of you, you will be going 90 miles per hour instead of 60. This is methane. Is now the time to get worried? No, you should already have been worried by the broken brake pedal."

Smile if you can, or better still, read the whole article which concludes with:

"For methane to be a game-changer in the future of Earth’s climate, it would have to degas to the atmosphere catastrophically, on a time scale that is faster than the decadal lifetime of methane in the air. So far no one has seen or proposed a mechanism to make that happen."

Class 5 Tipping Points

Title link takes you to Powerpoint program in the cloud.

Artic Tundra Tipping Point?

                                                                                                         Arthur Max / Associated Press

"Scientist Sergey Zimov says Siberia's total carbon storage is equivalent to all the world's rain forests."

Have you been to Chersky, Russia? I haven't, but it is a fascinating place where Russian scientist Sergey Zimov is studying methane release from the frozen, but thawing arctic tundra. Bottom line? This really does look like a potential climate change tipping point, as methane is more than 20x as powerful a greenhouse gas compared to CO2. Fortunately, methane is also relatively short-lived compared to CO2.

Methane, 20x more potent than CO2

This article in the Guardian.co.uk seeks to put in perspective the role of arctic methane in future climate change. The article has many links, so you too can become methane-supersaturated, just like the ocean waters above the East Siberian Arctic Shelf.

If you just wish their conclusion, it is:

"For methane to be a game-changer in the future of Earth's climate, it would have to degas to the atmosphere catastrophically, on a time scale that is faster than the decadal lifetime of methane in the air. So far no one has seen or proposed a mechanism to make that happen."

My opinion? I think methane may be a bigger player than the above quote implies. If you have an opinion, please add it under comments.

Capture Methane as a first priority

This link is to a Wall Street Journal article entitled "A Fast, Cheap Way to Cool the Planet". The gist of it is that methane is a much more potent greenhouse than CO2, it is relatively short-lived, so what is already in the atmosphere will disappear quickly, AND it is relatively easy to capture  methane with existing technology of modest cost. The approach certainly makes sense, and is presented by two authors with excellent credentials. A recommended article, which you may need to log in to read.

"Scientific studies, such as the EPA's June 2006 report, "Global Mitigation of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases," conservatively indicate that we could eliminate 1.3 gigatons of annual CO2 equivalent emissions—that's half the U.S. power industry's emissions—just by targeting landfills, coal mines, and oil and gas leaks."