Category: Design Matters

Categories
Acid Ocean Be Prepared Big Number Big Picture Big Society British Sea Power Climate Change Climate Chaos Climate Damages Dead End Design Matters Disturbing Trends Eating & Drinking Energy Change Energy Revival Energy Socialism Engineering Marvel Extreme Weather Floodstorm Food Insecurity Freak Science Freshwater Stress Geogingerneering Global Warming Hide the Incline Human Nurture Incalculable Disaster Major Shift Near-Natural Disaster Neverending Disaster Paradigm Shapeshifter Rainstorm Realistic Models Science Rules Screaming Panic Solar Sunrise Solution City The War on Error Water Wars Wind of Fortune

The Storm

On my Christmas journey, on the train from Brussels, Belgium, to the Dutch border, besides the wind turbines, I counted the number of solar electric rooftop installations I could see. My estimate was that roughly 300 kilowatts of solar could be seen from the track.

There has been an explosion of deployment. The renewable energy policies that are behind this tide of photovoltaics in Flanders seem to be working, or have been until recently.

On my journey back from Holland to England, I pondered about the polders and the low-lying landscape around me. I don’t know what river it was we crossed, but the river was only held in place by narrow banks or dikes, as it was higher than the farmland around it – waterlogged fields in some places – where parcels of land were divided by stillwater ditches instead of hedges or fences.

“Oh no, we don’t have “Mary Poppins” on Dutch TV any more at Christmas every year like we used to. We’re going to see the film “The Storm”…” said my host. Curiouser and curiouser. “De Storm” is a film that harks back to an actual historical event, the major North Sea flooding in 1953. “I remember what it was like afterwards,” says an older English relative, “I visited Belgium and Holland with my aunt and uncle just after the flooding – he wanted to visit the family war graves. We stayed in Middelburg. You could see how high the water reached. There were tide marks this high on the side of the houses, and whelks left stuck on the walls.”

The film attempts to nail down the coffin casket lid of bad weather history. By telling the narrative of major, fearful floods of the past, people are distracted from the possibility that it may happen again. History is history, and the story tells the ending, and that’s a finish to it.

However, for some people, those people who know something of the progress of the science of global warming, this film is like a beacon – a flare on a rocky landing strip – lighting the way to the future crash of the climate and the rising of sea levels, which will bring havoc to The Netherlands, Dutch engineers or no Dutch engineers.

We have to be prepared for change, major change. If you or anyone you know has Dutch relatives and friends, think about whether you can invite them to live with you in future if things get really bad. One or two really bad storms combined with excessive tides and a few centimetres of sea level rise could be all it takes to wreck the country’s ability to organise water and destroy a significant amount of agricultural land.

“I’ve been studying Climate Change science”, I told another host. “You believe in Climate Change ?”, he asked, somewhat incredulously. “It’s 200 years of science”, I replied, smiling, “but we probably shouldn’t discuss it. I don’t think it would be very productive.”

Categories
Assets not Liabilities Design Matters Economic Implosion Political Nightmare Solar Sunrise

Solar FIT To Bust #10

Part 1 : 29th November 2011
Part 2 : 1st December 2011


On Tuesday, Jeremy Leggett of the company SolarCentury alerted the Twitterati to the recording of the UK Parliament House of Commons joint committee meeting of the Environmental Audit Committee and the Energy and Climate Change Committee, so I snapped on over and took a gander.

I was treated to a marvel of confusion over numbers, figures and viewpoints. The spectacle of Greg Barker MP’s performance in committee was wildly entertaining, probably not the kind of effect he intended. He seemed to treat the discussion as an opportunity to keep insisting on his one precious ultimatum – to cut the solar photovoltaic feed in tariff subsidy in half, several months early, with only a few weeks’ warning, on 12th December 2011.

As I was taking in his presentation, I suddenly became aware that I’d seen something very similar to this before – a Minister seemingly somewhat jokingly pushing for something indefensible. I suddenly realised I was watching what could easily have been scripted as a scene in the film “In the Loop“.

Tom Hollander and Greg Barker – twins, separated at birth ?

On a more serious note, during the second part of the committee meeting, held today, 1st December 2011, Her Majesty’s Treasury admitted that the tax revenue from the solar feed-in tariff scheme equated to the level of funds made available; although there were questions about whether the FiT should be considered public spending or not; questions about whether the FiT would contribute overall to the Economy; and a total absence of concrete figures yet again.

But’s let’s go back and look at what the real problem is. The solar electric industry was given to understand that the full feed-in tariff would run until April 2012. Thousands of individiuals, communities and companies borrowed money and signed contracts on that basis – and companies had order books that were very healthy. Equipment was ordered and partly or fully paid for. Goods were in transit. Scaffolders, roofers, fitters, electricians and designers were all busy as bees in Spring, buzzing all over roofs, countrywide.

Everybody thought they had until April to get their solar installation done. Then, suddenly, they didn’t. They had less than two months. Panic on the streets of London, and everywhere else, too. It would be impossible to get everybody’s solar system up before the deadline.

So, the race to complete solar installations was on. The number of completions started to rise exponentially. And suddenly, the Department of Energy and Climate Change got the justification that they needed to confirm pulling the rug out from under the scheme. The very high levels of solar installations in the weeks preceding the full feed-in tariff cut-off date suddenly made it look very, very expensive.

Meanwhile, a number of people have had to be made redundant, many deposits have been withdrawn, and many people must be facing anxieties about whether they can pay back the money they have borrowed if they miss the FiT deadline.

Despite all the confusion, there is one fact that is clear – there will be vastly fewer solar photovoltaic installations in January 2012 than there were in November 2011.

Because of the long period from survey to completion, cutting the scheme short with six weeks notice effectively cut the heart out of the solar PV industry.

So that’s a bust, then.

Categories
Bait & Switch Big Society Dead End Design Matters Direction of Travel Divide & Rule Economic Implosion Energy Change Fuel Poverty Green Investment Green Power Low Carbon Life Major Shift Money Sings National Energy National Power Social Chaos Solar Sunrise

Death of the Solar Salesman

Poor dear Greg Barker MP. As he attempted to answer questions in the House of Commons today on his disastrous decision to cut the solar photovoltaic feed in tariff, his face became progressively redder. His temper clearly became frayed as he got quite cross, and asked female Labour Members of Parliament to calm down, and even asserted that one question from a female opposition MP was “hysterical”, which I think was borderline sexist.
For some reason, nobody asked the Department of Energy and Climate the basic question – why don’t you increase the Feed in Tariff budget, instead of trying to whittle down the pence paid per kilowatt hour produced ? The Feed-in-Tariff scheme is working really well at the moment. It’s preventing the country having to subsidise the construction of several new power stations, and it has been providing, until now that is, new jobs and economic productivity.

Continue reading “Death of the Solar Salesman”
Categories
Big Number Big Picture Biofools British Biogas Carbon Capture Coal Hell Design Matters Direction of Travel Drive Train Energy Change Energy Revival Engineering Marvel Fossilised Fuels Fuel Poverty Green Investment Green Power Hydrocarbon Hegemony Major Shift Marvellous Wonderful National Energy National Power Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Optimistic Generation Peak Emissions Policy Warfare Realistic Models Renewable Gas Renewable Resource Solar Sunrise Solution City The War on Error Tree Family Unnatural Gas Wasted Resource Wind of Fortune

Renewable Gas #5 : Beyond Biogas

I was speaking to a nuclear power “waverer” the other day. They said that George Monbiot or Mark Lynas was saying that since Germany has cancelled its nuclear power programme, Germany’s Carbon Dioxide emissions will increase, because they will be using coal and Natural Gas power stations :-

https://www.davidstrahan.com/blog/?p=1130
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20665-germany-will-use-fossil-fuels-to-plug-nuclear-gap.html
https://www.marklynas.org/2011/06/germany-italy-greens-nukes-and-climate-change/
https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/jun/15/italy-nuclear-referendum
https://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/04/nuclear-industry-stinks-cleaner-energy
https://www.monbiot.com/2011/07/04/corporate-power-no-thanks/

I explained that this was a common misconception, and that Germany is still planning to meet their carbon targets, and that it can be done even with coal and gas power plants because in a few decades’ time the coal and Natural Gas power plants will only be used a couple of weeks a year in total to back up all the renewables, such as wind power and solar power, that Germany is building.

This is not the end of the story, however.

Continue reading “Renewable Gas #5 : Beyond Biogas”
Categories
Bait & Switch Big Picture Biofools British Biogas Conflict of Interest Corporate Pressure Dead End Design Matters Direction of Travel Drive Train Efficiency is King Energy Change Energy Insecurity Energy Revival Energy Socialism Engineering Marvel Freemarketeering Human Nurture Incalculable Disaster Libertarian Liberalism Low Carbon Life Major Shift Mass Propaganda National Energy Neverending Disaster Non-Science Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Nudge & Budge Oil Change Optimistic Generation Policy Warfare Political Nightmare Public Relations Realistic Models Renewable Gas Science Rules Scientific Fallacy Social Change Solar Sunrise Technofix Technological Fallacy Technological Sideshow Technomess The Myth of Innovation The Power of Intention The War on Error Transport of Delight Unutterably Useless Utter Futility Vain Hope Vote Loser Wind of Fortune

George Monbiot : New Clear

It is a newer, clearer tone that George Monbiot uses in his piece “The nuclear industry stinks. But that is not a reason to ditch nuclear power“. He seems to have lost his dirty annoyance with filthy anti-nuclear activists and moved onto a higher plane of moral certitude, where the air is cleaner and more refined.

He is pro-technology, but anti-industry. For him, the privately owned enterprises of atomic energy are the central problem that has led to accidents both of a radioactive and an accountancy nature. “Corporate power ?”, he asks, “No thanks.” The trouble is, you can’t really separate the failings of nuclear power from the failings of human power. It’s such a large, complex and dangerous enterprise that inevitably, human power systems compromise the use of the technology, regardless of whether they are publicly or privately owned. For a small amount of evidence, just look at the history of publicly-managed nuclear power in the United Kingdom. Not exactly peachy. And as for those who claimed that a “free” market approach to managing nuclear power would improve matters – how wrong they were. In my view, on the basis of the evidence so far, nobody can claim that nuclear power can be run as an efficient, safe, profit-making venture.

Continue reading “George Monbiot : New Clear”
Categories
Design Matters Efficiency is King Wasted Resource

The Waste of Power #2

Image Credit : Sun Sentinel

CONTINUED FROM Part 1

The production and supply of electricity can be very wasteful. In industrialised countries, electricity generation is usually done on a “centralised” model, using large power plants, often remote from urban populations.

The inefficiencies in this kind of network are such that it matters where new power stations are sited. For example, in the UK, because of the unequal grid load between Scotland and England, it is more efficient to put a new power station on the South Coast, rather than North of the Border :-

https://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/sys_09/dddownloaddisplay.asp?sp=sys_Table7_5

Making more, more locally

Developing new Renewable Energy technologies could actually increase the efficiency of the electricity grid – because they could be sited more locally to where electricity is used :-

https://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/report/IPCC_SRREN_Ch08
“As [solar photovoltaics] PVs are installed predominantly locally, there is the possibility of reducing grid losses to the extent that the production coincides with demand (Wenger et al., 1994; Chowdhury and Sawab, 1996).”

Also, crucially, because they can bypass having to feed the main high voltage power grid, they can avoid losses from low-to-high and high-to-low voltage transformation. In which case, you don’t need heaps of new pylons ! Oh, let’s have a diagram :-

https://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/report/IPCC_SRREN_Ch08
“In some locations, adding solar PV to the system near demand centres may avoid the need to expand the transmission network. Kahn et al. (2008) illustrates a case in California where adding PV near coastal load centres would negate the need for significant transmission investments when compared with other renewable sources, in particular the transmission built to access solar PV, CSP, and geothermal in the desert”

Not only can new local power plants reduce the loss of power from the grid and rationalise demand; because they are new, they are likely to be more efficient than the old, remote power plants we currently have.

It’s unlikely that people would accept new nuclear power stations close to home, nor traditional thermal coal combustion plants, but there are still a number of acceptable technologies for new local power stations. Besides the no-noise, no-waste solutions such as slowly rotating wind turbines and solar photovoltaics, there are also new efficient biomass solutions.

The golden rule about combustion technologies is – the cleaner the fuel going in, the safer the flue gases coming out – which is why gasification to pre-treat mixed wastes before combustion is likely to be a favourite for urban biomass plants. Too many people have rightly complained about plain vanilla “incineration” plants. With gasification, it is possible to trap contaminants and stop them from flying into the sky :-

https://cgpl.iisc.ernet.in/site/FAQ/MostFrequentlyDiscussedIssues/CombustionvsGasification/tabid/163/Default.aspx
“…In doing all these, the emissions – (a) gaseous – NOx, CO, HC, and SOx can be shown to meet international norms, (b) liquid effluents – can be treated by water treatment processes that are standard and the disposal of the sludge meeting international norms and (c) solid residues – like ash and char used for landfill after further treatment that would be not be necessary in most cases [except when one uses old wood (altholz)]… it is Clean Biomass Technology.”

There has been a lot of discussion about Combined Heat and Power (CHP), which makes better use of the energy that’s input to the plant by using the heat that would normally have been sent up a cooling stack chimney. The heat is delivered locally, with District Heating pipe grids. The main problem with deploying CHP/DH is that nobody is quite clear where money would come from to fund this kind of development, especially since CHP would probably have to be managed, and possibly owned and invested in, by local authorities, such as town councils, whose budgets are not always bulging. And then there’s the cost of digging the ground to lay the district heating pipe network.

Micro Combined Heat and Power – basically CHP stations you can run in your kitchen – are currently still being trialled and developed, but they are likely to be too expensive for most household budgets :-

https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/assets/_files/documents/jun_11/pnw__1307447761_CHP.pdf
https://www.microgen-engine.com/
https://www.microchap.info/
https://www.disenco.com/html/overview-2217.htm
https://www.delta-ee.com/downloads/Microgen.pdf
https://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/blog/index.php/2011/02/07/honda-launches-new-combined-heat-and-power-home-system/

https://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/report/IPCC_SRREN_Ch08
“The commercialization of highly efficient, small-scale fuel-cell-based CHP systems (with 80 to 90% overall efficiency) could contribute to a more energy efficient and cost effective use of existing and new gas grids in the longer term (DeValve and Olsommer, 2006; Zabalza et al., 2007).”

More efficient “backbone” power plants

To improved the efficiency of the main spine of the centralised electricity supply grid, having more efficient power plants is a definite bonus. As the Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD) of the European Commission shuts down old coal-powered stations, companies see the economic sense in building new highly efficient technologies, some of the best advances coming from Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) technology, burning Natural Gas.

They can also be built quickly, relative to options like new coal or new nuclear power plants, and can be more flexible in operation, which can contribute towards grid energy efficiency.

As another benefit, burning Natural Gas, Biogas (from digestion of Biomass) and Bioyngas (from gasification of Biomass) produces much less carbon dioxide than burning coal in the full lifecycle analysis (although there are questions still hanging over the total greenhouse gas impact of some Biomass supply chains).

Creating Syngas from Biomass to be used for electricity generation means that a range of Biomass feedstocks can be drawn into the supply line. Plus, making Syngas from Biomass reduces the energy demand of tranporting the energy from the source of the Biomass to the power plant – it’s virtually fuel-free to feed gas down a pipe – but it takes convoys of trucks to transport wood.

Building new efficient central power stations will have a real impact. Here’s an example of why – power consumption, as part of overall energy consumption in the United States is projected to rise by small percentages between now and 2030 – so demand will remain firm, and not highly variable – so swapping out coal plants for gas plants will really change things :-

https://byrned.faculty.udmercy.edu/2007Vol/2007VolIssue1.htm

At the level of the major transmission network, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cables have been proposed for parts of the new infrastructure being planned, which should improve efficiency, and there are plans for a better grid, with “smart” systems in play to load balance and manage demand, including having take-back contracts with large businesses running non-critical power applications.

Any Natural Gas that doesn’t need to be burned in power stations can be diverted to the gas grid, where it can be burned with 85% or higher efficiency to produce heat at home. The systems of electricity production and use would be made more efficient and for the UK this would also mean lower import levels of both Natural Gas and electricity.

Ending End User Waste

There is waste at the end user end of the electricity network too – partly due to poor infrastructure choices. The use of electricity as power for lighting, heating and cooling at public and business buildings, such as hospitals, schools, colleges, town halls, and offices is of concern, as there are often problems arising from architectural design and work space layout, and frequently not sufficient monitoring from facilities managers. Simple things can still change the situation – such as substituting lighting with low power LED options, and organising cooperatively in offices for the best ventilation and heating arrangements for all working there. Democracy can mean power savings. Democracy can mean power.

The problem is also partly due to the hyper-consumption of electrical and electronic goods – although in Europe, legislation in the form of a range of Directives are moving on this issue – regulating for greater efficiency and less waste in and from manufactured products.

The carbon dioxide content of the grid network – which represents the overall efficiency of the grid network – can be high, so it is useful to consider management options that take into account using power when demand is not so high :-

https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/energy-independence/uk-grid-live
https://www.owningelectriccar.com/national-grid-electric.html

Heat pumps could also be a more efficient option than current electrical heating and cooling systems.

The Generation Gap

It is important to address electricity waste issues with a variety of low carbon means. In the UK, a “generation gap” is still a possibility :-

https://www.iea.org/papers/security/uk_2010.pdf

Economic interests

The drive for energy efficiency is not anti-growth. In the short term an efficiency drive stimulates the economy to new investment. In the longer term, it provides a greater energy resource at lower cost and with lower emissions.

Categories
Bad Science Bait & Switch Big Picture British Biogas British Sea Power Conflict of Interest Delay and Deny Demoticratica Design Matters Direction of Travel Divide & Rule Emissions Impossible Energy Change Evil Opposition Fossilised Fuels Freak Science Green Investment Green Power Hide the Incline Hydrocarbon Hegemony Major Shift Marvellous Wonderful Mass Propaganda Media Non-Science Not In My Name Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Obamawatch Peace not War Peak Energy Peak Oil Public Relations Realistic Models Renewable Gas Renewable Resource Scientific Fallacy Solar Sunrise Solution City Sustainable Deferment Technofix Technological Fallacy Technological Sideshow Technomess The Data Unqualified Opinion Wind of Fortune

Steve McIntyre : Plan Beak

[ UPDATE : SKEPTICALSCIENCE HAVE DEBUNKED STEVE McINTYRE. ]

Steve McIntyre, probably the only person on the planet who might grumble about the cost of Barack Obama’s suit rather than his all-American wars, has suddenly become an expert energy engineer, it seems.

This month, he’s taking aim at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, regarding their special report on Renewable Energy, questioning the contributions of an engineer, Sven Teske, and basing his objections on the fact that Teske works for Greenpeace :-

https://climateaudit.org/2011/06/14/ipcc-wg3-and-the-greenpeace-karaoke/
https://climateaudit.org/2011/06/16/responses-from-ipcc-srren/
https://climateaudit.org/2011/06/18/lynas-questions/
https://climateaudit.org/2011/06/20/the-carbon-brief-a-first-coat-of-whitewash/

Flinging any kind of pseudo-mud he can construe at the IPCC is not Steve’s newest of tricks, but it still seems to be effective, going by the dance of the close cohort of the very few remaining loyal climate change “sceptics” who get published in widely-read media :-

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/18/lynas_greenpeace_ipcc_money_go_round/
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/18/lynas_greenpeace_ipcc_money_go_round/page2.html
https://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/Lost+desmog/4968296/story.html
https://thegwpf.org/the-climate-record/3231-ipcc-used-greenpeace-campaigner-to-write-impartial-report-on-renewable-energy.html
https://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100092809/greenpeace-and-the-ipcc-time-surely-for-a-climate-masada/

He even pulled the turtleneck over Andrew Revkin’s eyes for a while :-
https://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/a-deeper-look-at-an-energy-analysis-raises-big-questions/

And Mark Lynas has been joining in, in his own nit-picky way :-
https://www.marklynas.org/2011/06/new-ipcc-error-renewables-report-conclusion-was-dictated-by-greenpeace/
https://www.marklynas.org/2011/06/questions-the-ipcc-must-now-urgently-answer/
https://www.marklynas.org/2011/06/new-allegation-of-ipcc-renewables-report-bias/
https://www.marklynas.org/2011/06/the-ipcc-renewables-controversy-where-have-we-got-to/

The few comebacks have been bordering on the satirical, or briefly factual, with the exception of Carbon Brief’s very measured analysis of the IPCC’s communication expertise :-
https://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2011/06/the-ipcc-and-the-srren-report
https://www.jeremyleggett.net/2011/06/mark-lynas-questions-hether-greenpeace-expert-should-be-an-ipcc-author/
https://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/06/16/246665/ipcc-renewables-2/

Leo Hickman’s being bravely evenhanded :-
https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/jun/21/peace-talks-climate-change-sceptics

It’s not a total surprise that New Scientist and The Economist wade in deep :-
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20583-conflict-of-interest-claimed-for-ipcc-energy-report.html
https://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/06/ipcc-and-greenpeace

Sven Teske’s explanation has not been accepted by Mark Lynas, although it seems really OK to me :-
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/climate/the-ipccs-renewables-report-finds-a-clean-ene/blog/35322

The Daily Mail digs out the usual emotive terms :-
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004440/Leading-climate-change-group-used-Greenpeace-campaigner-write-impartial-report-renewable-energy.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Steve McIntyre is playing out the “Princess and the Pea” narrative, complaining about a few wrunkles in a process of international collaboration, and distracting us from looking at the actual report, which I would encourage you most warmly to do :-

https://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/
https://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/report

It is full of the most incredible case studies and intriguing engineering discoveries. It makes cautious, conservative calculations, and looks at conditions and caveats in a very transparent manner. For a work that relied on the contributions of over 120 people and managed to compose a document so helpful and illuminating, I’d say it’s a work of profound achievement, and should be read in every school and university. Four scenarios from a collection of 164 are studied in depth to compare their strengths and weaknesses – and the conclusion of the SRREN team is that :-

https://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/press/content/potential-of-renewable-energy-outlined-report-by-the-intergovernmental-panel-on-climate-change

“Close to 80 percent of the world‘s energy supply could be met by renewables by mid-century if backed by the right enabling public policies…”

Somehow, though, Steve McIntyre believes otherwise. I suppose it’s not completely fair to berate him, because he might be suffering from a delusion, given that he seems to believe his opinion trumps that of over a hundred of the world’s authorities on what is possible in Renewable Energy technologies; and I’m the last person who would criticise somebody for having a mental illness.

I’m wondering, however, since he often sticks his nose up at IPCC matters, and since the world is suffering from stress in the supply of fossil fuels, whether he has a “Plan Beak” for the world’s energy crisis ?

Come on Steve McIntyre, tell us what your plan is to provide energy for humanity. Don’t tell me you believe that Nuclear Power is the way forward. I just won’t believe you, and a large number of the citizens of the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and help us all, even Switzerland, would share my doubts.

As everybody can clearly see from the Columbia University graph at the top of this post, the IPCC are right about emissions, and the global warming data shows they’re right about that too. Why should they be wrong about Renewable Energy ?

I mean, I detect there are a few issues with the way the IPCC organises itself, and the style of its reports, but hey, where’s the viable alternative ? I don’t see one, anywhere. And don’t go pointing me to groups with pretensions.

We may just have to get used to complex international bodies, formed of complex, intelligent people, and learn how to read their complex, intricate reports with care and attention. And not get distracted by grumpy semi-retired mining consultants.

Categories
Advancing Africa Animal Kingdoom Bad Science Bait & Switch Big Society Dead End Demoticratica Design Matters Divide & Rule Engineering Marvel Environmental Howzat Evil Opposition Foreign Interference Foreign Investment Freak Science Genetic Modification Human Nurture Libertarian Liberalism Mass Propaganda Media Non-Science Pure Hollywood Resource Curse Scientific Fallacy The War on Error Unqualified Opinion Unutterably Useless Utter Futility

Adam Curtis : Daft Punk

[ UPDATE : BRILLIANT DECONSTRUCTION OF ADAM CURTIS’ WORK FROM BEN WOODHAMS ]

The final part (I really hope it is the final part) of Adam Curtis’ trilogy on “Evil” Computers and “Devillish” Enviromentalists – “All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace” – a title drawn from a poem written by what would appear to be a madman – has now been uploaded to YouTube, allowing me to view it without taking part in the memory-eating public monitoring disappointment that is BBC iPlayer :-

Adam Curtis certainly reveals himself as a little monkeyish in this episode, throwing overarm and underhand javelins at “liberals” of all hues and cries, particularly environmental ones; and throwing in liberal references to primates wherever he can, seemingly to suggest that mankind has un- or de-evolved by adopting computing tools and studying the natural world.

Continue reading “Adam Curtis : Daft Punk”
Categories
Big Number Carbon Capture Coal Hell Design Matters Direction of Travel Emissions Impossible Energy Change Energy Insecurity Energy Revival Fossilised Fuels Green Power Growth Paradigm Low Carbon Life Methane Management Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Optimistic Generation Peak Emissions Policy Warfare Realistic Models Regulatory Ultimatum Renewable Gas Renewable Resource Resource Wards Technological Fallacy Technological Sideshow The Power of Intention Unnatural Gas Wind of Fortune

George Monbiot : Wrong Choice

Data Source : IEA via ESDS

This chart shows why George Monbiot, Mark Lynas and Stephen Tinsdale have all plumped for the wrong choice – new Nuclear Power cannot deliver more electricity or reduce carbon dioxide emissions for us at the time when we need it most – the next few years :-

0. Massive energy conservation drives – for demand management – are clearly essential, given the reduction in UK generation.

1. It is impossible to increase new Nuclear Power capacity in less than ten years, but total UK generation is falling now, so now and in the next few years is the timeframe in which to add capacity. We cannot go on relying on Nuclear Power imports from France – especially given the rate of power outages there.

2. The fastest growing generation sources over the next few years will be Wind Power, Solar Power and Renewable Gas – if we set the right policies at the government and regulator levels.

Continue reading “George Monbiot : Wrong Choice”
Categories
Big Number Big Picture Design Matters Energy Change Energy Revival Feel Gooder Green Power Major Shift Marvellous Wonderful Optimistic Generation Peace not War Renewable Resource Solution City Stirring Stuff The Power of Intention Wind of Fortune

The answer, my friend

Curiouser and curiouser…

Continue reading “The answer, my friend”
Categories
Bait & Switch Be Prepared Big Picture Carbon Capture Coal Hell Corporate Pressure Design Matters Direction of Travel Energy Change Energy Revival Engineering Marvel Genetic Muddyfixation Low Carbon Life Major Shift Methane Management Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Oil Change Peak Energy Peak Oil Petrolheads Renewable Resource Technological Sideshow Transport of Delight

Ride the Future

Video Found At : Energy Bulletin

The Earth keeps turning, the Sun keeps burning, and the future will look a lot different than today as we drag down Carbon Dioxide emissions “by hook or by crook”.

We have to be wary of possible “crooks”. There are still technology “snake oil salesmen” out there, trying to impose Genetically Modified crops on us, or Nuclear Power, or Carbon Capture and Storage (to justify the continued use of Coal), and using the vehicle of science to push their wares :-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/8048917/Climate-change-threatens-UK-harvest.html

“Climate change threatens UK harvest : Climate change could push up food prices by causing large-scale crop failures in Britain, the Met Office has warned. : By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent : Published: 08 Oct 2010 : Rising temperatures could mean events such as the drought in Russia this summer, which pushed up grain prices, hit countries like the UK. But they said the worst effects of climate change could be limited by investment in better farming and the development of new drought resistant or heat tolerant crops. This could be done by aid money, breeding and new technologies like genetic modification (GM)…”

https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/908/crop_failures_set_to_increase_under_climate_change

Look out for terms like “new crops”, “crop development” or “modified crops” :-

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101007092817.htm
https://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/5/3/034012/

See the use of the word “biotechnology” in the actual research paper :-

https://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/5/3/034012/pdf/1748-9326_5_3_034012.pdf

But, as everybody can probably guess, most farmers in the world will not be able to afford Genetically Modified crops, and anyway, nobody really yet knows if GM crops confer the benefits claimed – there is some evidence that “life scientists” don’t know the full range of effects on organisms from gene splicing.

Continue reading “Ride the Future”
Categories
Advancing Africa Advertise Freely Corporate Pressure Design Matters Disturbing Trends Energy Change Energy Revival Fossilised Fuels Low Carbon Life Major Shift Oil Change Optimistic Generation Peak Energy Peak Oil Public Relations Renewable Resource Resource Curse Social Change Solar Sunrise Sustainable Deferment Wasted Resource Wind of Fortune

Ellen’s Collaboration

Video Credit : Ellen MacArthur Foundation

I can’t decide whether I’m inspired or concerned by this little film from Ellen MacArthur.

It seems to focus quite heavily on cars, and one of the collaborators is Renault.

It also talks a lot about electricity, and another one of the corporate names shown is National Grid.

And then it also talks a lot about waste, and the company that sponsored Ellen’s sail around the world was B&Q, the chain that spawned a thousand home makeovers.

None of these companies appear to want to follow the sustainability principles spelled out in the movie.

Is it just a little bit too high-brow to be talking of “closing the loop”, when most people in the world are simply concerned with finding their next meal or coasting towards their next pay cheque ?

Who is this video designed for ? What’s the intended audience and how are they being asked to respond to it ?

Tell me I’m wrong to be ever-so-slightly sceptical.

Categories
Bad Science Bait & Switch Big Picture British Sea Power Climate Change Climate Chaos Cost Effective Design Matters Divide & Rule Energy Change Energy Revival Engineering Marvel Fossilised Fuels Global Warming Low Carbon Life Non-Science Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Public Relations Renewable Resource Science Rules Social Change Social Chaos Stirring Stuff The Data Unqualified Opinion Wasted Resource Wind of Fortune

Wind Power : Material Fatigues

Image Credit : Cape Cod Living

James Delingpole follows in a long line of commentators with zero engineering experience in pouring scorn on a technology that could quite possibly save our skins :-

https://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100056158/wind-farms-yet-another-brewing-disaster/

I don’t know what he harbours in his heart against wonderful wind turbines, but he seems to be part of a movement who delight in their failure. Just ask the Internet to show you “exploding wind turbines”.

For example :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKkTUY2slYQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nSB1SdVHqQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkGXoE3RFZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOfHxINzGeo

Clearly, you need to be in full protective fatigues when battling this kind of bad press…in fact “fatigue” is exactly the right word to come back at Mr Delingpole’s cracked warning (of cracks in wind turbine bases).

Continue reading “Wind Power : Material Fatigues”