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Burning Money Carbon Capture Energy Revival Pet Peeves Technological Sideshow Unutterably Useless Utter Futility Vote Loser

The Carbon Capture Begging Bowl

Colin Challen MP [Member of the United Kingdom Parliament], the author of “Too Little, Too Late : The Politics of Climate Change” has told the nascent Carbon Capture industry to stop bleating for funding, effectively a bailout for the Coal industry :-

https://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=3178&section=Carbon

“CCS industry should support itself, claims MP : Wednesday 04 November 2009 : Labour MP Colin Challen believes the CCS industry should fund itself : A Labour MP has called on the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) industry to stop giving a “sob story” about needing government investment and instead fund new projects itself. Colin Challen, the MP for Morley and Rothwell, made the comments at today’s (November 4) Energy and Climate Change Committee meeting at Westminster, which was held as part of its inquiry into low carbon technologies. Responding to calls from industry body representatives for more government help in developing CCS plants, Mr Challen said: “It seems to me that research and development (R&D) has plummeted to a fraction of what it was. This industry has had billions of pounds out of the consumers’ pockets but yet we get this sob story about needing more money.” However, the director of technology and external affairs at Alstom – which builds integrated power plants – Philip Sharman, argued that utility companies have been investing in CCS, but said that the larger scale projects would need government help…”

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Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Climate Change Energy Revival Pet Peeves

Copenhagen Is All Wrong

Many people around the world are praying and crossing their fingers for some kind of Climate Change treaty to be signed at Copenhagen.

Practically all the nations of the world will have their United Nations delegations in Denmark’s capital this December, and many governments are hoping for a breakthrough of one sort or another on the form of words, the financial commitments and the political drive to get things done.

Trouble is, the nations can promise and sign and agree all they like, but nothing will happen, because the wrong players are in the room.

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Big Picture Energy Revival Peace not War Peak Energy Pet Peeves

The Sun Shines Bright

A truly epoch-changing story is evolving underneath the radar of the mainstream media, and out of sight of the Internetistas.

For some years now, Peak Oilmen (and women) have been trying to draw attention to the problems with the subsiding gushers in Saudi Arabia.

The Oil Drum, who confidently assert they know everything to cast accurate future projections for oil production, say that Saudi Arabia peaked in 2005 :-

https://www.theoildrum.com/node/5154

Apparently the wells are pumping more water than crude these days.

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Big Picture Carbon Rationing Climate Change Energy Revival Pet Peeves Renewable Resource

If It’s That Good, Why Aren’t They Doing It Already ?

When discussing Renewable Energy technologies with associates, acquaintances and relatives, I often hear tones of scorn and the invariable question : “If it’s that good, why aren’t they doing it already ?”

This anti-sense meme from Classical (Neoliberal, Chicago School) Economics boils down to a perception problem. The obvious reason why Renewable Energy technologies are not already widely in use is due to the first-mover problem – it takes time to establish and roll out new technologies. People just don’t like change. And they have to get over the “investment bump” – spending the money to install new technologies.

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Big Picture Carbon Capture Energy Revival Peak Energy Peak Oil Pet Peeves Renewable Resource Technological Sideshow Toxic Hazard

A Path to True Enlightenment

One of my relatives takes the Scientific American magazine on subscription, postal strike notwithstanding, so I was privileged to be able to read an article in the November 2009 edition even before it hits the shelves in WH Smith at the major train stations in London, or Waterloo at least, where I looked for my own copy yesterday evening.

An uplifting, positive plan to green the world’s energy, composed by two Marks, one Delucchi, one Jacobson, both in American academia, yet not dreamers; their practical brains fully switched on and their souls engaged.

https://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/susenergy2030.html

“A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030” contains some excellent mythbusting material as well as practical proposals for turning over all our Energy supply to truly sustainable sources.

A full-colour PDF is available online :-

https://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/sad1109Jaco5p.indd.pdf

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Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Pet Peeves

Engineering the Return of Nuclear Power

Image Credit : Quiet Corners

Despite the continuing list of problems with existing Nuclear Power plants, a committed group of highly-financed representatives from mining and construction companies carry on plugging away with the public relations for a new global fleet of Atomic Energy.

The crisp, tinted, glossy promotion packs from the Nuclear industry lobbyists pop up at every conference, meeting and ministerial intray, and certain public persons continue to preach the glow-in-the-dark gospel, glossing over the cracked history of this nightmare Energy industry to date.

The diagrams depicting the “next generation” technologies are always full four-colour, precise, attractive. The propagandists always well-dressed, well-remunerated and clean-shaven.

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Carbon Capture Pet Peeves

Carbon Capture : Over-run, over-budget, over-rated

[ UPDATE : Extra links at the end. ]

Looks like some people are waking up to the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) spin : it’ll be late, costly and still nobody can promise it will all work…but it’s a superb opportunity to ask for handouts from the State :-

https://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2009/s2727172.htm

“Clean coal more costly than first thought : Bronwyn Herbert reported this story on Thursday, October 29, 2009 : TONY EASTLEY: The vision of clean coal powering our future electricity has copped a blow, with new costings revealing that the technology won’t be viable for 20 years. The Federal Government’s own global carbon capture and storage institute says clean coal power generation won’t be commercially worthwhile unless the carbon price hits at least $60 a ton and that’s not expected until 2030. Clean coal advocates want the Government to lend a hand to make the first commercial size plants affordable…”

Extra links :-

https://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2252191/ccs-coal-fired-plants-nearly

https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=aFWr9zH1ETM8

https://www.wwf.org.uk/news_feed.cfm?3403/Carbon-capture-wont-stop-tar-sands-threat

Categories
Climate Change Energy Revival Pet Peeves

The Great Miliband Brothers’ Flying Circus

It’s like they say on tee-shirts : “Look busy, Jesus is coming !”

The Great Miliband Brothers’ Flying Circus has come to town and told us to look sharp and get active :-

https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6886363.ece

“From The Times : October 23, 2009 : Foreign Secretary David Miliband accuses public of climate change apathy : Hannah Devlin : The Foreign Secretary accused the public yesterday of lacking a sense of urgency in the face of the potentially devastating consequences of climate change. David Miliband said that people had grown apathetic about the issue when they needed to be galvanised into action before the Copenhagen climate change summit in December. “For a lot of people the penny hasn’t dropped that this climate change challenge is real and is happening now,” he said. “There isn’t yet that feeling of urgency and drive and animation about the Copenhagen conference.” Mr Miliband and his brother, Ed Miliband, the Climate Change Secretary, were opening an exhibition at the Science Museum in South Kensington designed to illustrate the potential impact of world temperatures increasing by 4C. Current models predict that this could happen by 2060 if no action is taken. Mr Miliband warned of water and food shortages, mass migration and conflict. A map unveiled at the exhibition showed temperatures increasing by up to 15C in the Arctic, storm surges hitting the East Coast of Britain and forest fires and droughts in Europe. Ed Miliband said that only 18 per cent of people believed that climate change would affect their children…”

La, la, la, fingers in our ears.

I mean, if you show us a Government-funded TV advertisement with cartoon tearful bunnies and drowning dogs, how exactly are we supposed to take you seriously ?

Categories
Climate Change Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Pet Peeves Political Nightmare Protest & Survive Renewable Resource Technological Sideshow Unutterably Useless

New Nuclear Is Not A Climate Policy

The rumour mill about the propsects for new Nuclear Power is quite active, a kind of underground semaphore.

About a year ago, the idea that the United Kingdom would be burdened with eleven new Nuclear Power stations entered the mill and popped out all over the shop, being greeted with ridicule, dismissiveness, anger and despair.

When the Energy Supply companies started going into “free capital” meltdown over new investments, owing to issues concerning insurance and the general Economy, there was concern that they wouldn’t come along with the new Nuclear plan.

The Government kept pumping out the information that we should have at least four new Nuclear Power stations. How critical this project was ! How bright and shiny new Nuclear would be ! The unwritten back room understanding that any new Nuclear Power plant could expect State support in one form or another. However, the public statements were that there would be no Public Money for new Nuclear build.

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Behaviour Changeling Climate Change Pet Peeves Social Change

Keep the (Green) Peace

Where will I be on 24th October 2009 ? What will I be doing on 24th October 2009 ?

Ssh ! It’s an open secret.

It won’t be violent. It won’t be terrorism. It won’t be breaking and entering. It won’t be dropping banners. It won’t be Climate camping. It won’t be marching in the streets. It won’t be leafletting. It won’t be organising a rally. It won’t be taking part in a stunt.

I’ll be doing the most radical thing that anyone can do given the prevailing cultural winds : not consuming. I’ll eat and breathe, but I won’t shop.

I’m not buying into the system that built all those cars, that flew all those planes, that logged all those trees, that spilled all that oil, that flared all that gas, that heated all those buildings, that chilled all that food, that poisoned all those minds, that sold us all that non-essential land-filling plastic-coated stuff.

I’ll be keeping the (green) peace.

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Big Picture Burning Money Carbon Capture Climate Change Energy Revival Pet Peeves Political Nightmare Social Change

E.On Is Stalking Me

Image Credit : Baby Creative

Over the last couple of years, almost everything I have been involved with, the E.On Energy supply company has sought to get its big coal-dust grubby hands on. It seems. The latest twist in this saga involves the Claverton Energy Research Group.

Categories
Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Carbon Capture Climate Change Cost Effective Energy Revival Low Carbon Life Nuclear Shambles Pet Peeves Renewable Resource Social Change

The Investment Bump

Image Credit : Bankside Press

The big problem with re-tooling for the new Low Carbon world is not so much about changing Energy consumption behaviour, although that plays a part.

It’s not even really Energy supply behaviour, although that is probably more significant.

No, the key to the door to the greener future is investment behaviour.

Categories
Bad Science Big Picture Climate Change Media Non-Science Pet Peeves The Data Toxic Hazard

Superfreakonomics – Ooh Baby !

“The headlines have been harrowing to say the least. “Some experts believe that mankind is on the threshold of a new pattern of adverse global climate for which it is ill-prepared.” one New York Times article declared. It quoted climate researchers who argued that “this climate change poses a threat to the people of the world.” A Newsweek article, citing a National Academy of Sciences report, warned that climate change “would force economic and social adjustments on a worldwide scale.” Worse yet, “climatologists are pessimistic that political leaders will take any positive action to compensate for the climatic change or even to allay its effects.” Who in his or her right mind wouldn’t be scared of global warming ? But that’s not what these scientists were talking about. These articles, published in the mid-1970s, were predicting the effects of global cooling…”

And so, in just a few short paragraphs from Chapter 5, in the new Superfreakonomics book from the Freakonomicsts Levitt and Dubner, the authors show they’ve been taken in by a Climate Change sceptic Trojan horse.

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Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Climate Change Pet Peeves Political Nightmare Social Change

It’ll All End In Tears

https://video.aol.co.uk/video-detail/actonco2-bedtime-stories-tv-advertisement-october-2009/3118847956

Tears Before Bedtime

The UK Government’s latest infommercial on Climate Change is appallingly bad. It has been aired on television for millions of unsuspecting soap opera addicts.

Categories
Big Picture Burning Money Carbon Capture Climate Change Energy Revival Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Peak Energy Peak Oil Pet Peeves Renewable Resource Technological Sideshow

Claverton Energy Conference 8

The Claverton Energy Group will be holding its 8th Conference from 23rd to 25th October 2009 at the headquarters of Wessex Water, Claverton Down in Bath, England.

Advances in Energy technologies old and new will be presented amongst a wide-ranging and influential forum of engineers. The focus, as ever, will be the development of new infrastructure, within the context of the urgent need to de-Carbonise Energy supply.

https://www.claverton-energy.com/8th-claverton-energy-group-conference-2325th-october-wessex-water-bath-ba27ww.html

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Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Carbon Commodities Carbon Rationing Climate Change Media Pet Peeves Political Nightmare Social Change

Time To Stop Playing Along

When I was asked to review a chunk of the 2008 Climate Safety report from the Public Interest Research Centre, I was less than positive about the social movement building outlined in the recommendations for “mobilisation” of the public (see below).

Tim Holmes, one of the people involved in the Climate Safety report, has started a new web log critiquing the very same issues :-

https://convenientlies.wordpress.com

https://convenientlies.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/greenwashing-government/

Categories
Big Picture Carbon Capture Climate Change Geogingerneering Pet Peeves The Data

All Shook Up

Image Credit : A Sound of Thunder Movie

Students of Chaos Theory well know what is known as the Butterfly Effect – apparently small changes in system forcings result in major outcomes.

We’ve heard repeatedly about rising sea levels resulting from Global Warming, but there are more bugs crawling out of the woodwork now.

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Bait & Switch Burning Money Media Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Pet Peeves Technological Sideshow

A Subsidy By Any Other Name

There’s the real world. And then there’s “Daily Telegraph world”, a fantasy mindscape, it seems to me.

In yet another piece that seems to be written for the sole purpose of attacking wind power, massaged in under the banner of standing up for the fuel poor :-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/6236920/Taxing-the-fuel-poor-to-bolster-subsidised-companies-is-a-waste-of-energy.html

is this outstanding piece of reporting about Atomic Energy in the United Kingdom :-

“Nuclear, by contrast, is unsubsidised.”

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Big Picture Climate Change Emissions Impossible Energy Revival Pet Peeves Political Nightmare Social Change Technological Sideshow

An Irritating Truth

An Irritating Truth

An Irritating Truth
by Jo Abbess
17 September 2009

Essay to answer the question : ‘Which technical solutions offer the best potential for decreasing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions over the next 50 years?’ based on the key text, Chapter 4, entitled “Energy Supply” of the mitigation volume of the Working Group III (WG3) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) published in 2007.

https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg3/ar4-wg3-chapter4.pdf

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Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Climate Change Pet Peeves Social Change

Tesco Town : Worship the Blue Stripes

Sometimes a plan is just so wrong that it has to be resisted.

Tesco want to build a rather large retail store in my very local area, implanting a supermarket that looks more than twice the size of any other building here, and shoehorning in over 200 “residential units” to boot.

It may be legal, and it may even pass some of the planning guidelines and strategies, but it’s clearly a resource grab – trying to put as many profit-generating assets as possible into a limited space.

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Bait & Switch Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Climate Change Contraction & Convergence Geogingerneering Media Meltdown Pet Peeves Political Nightmare Renewable Resource Social Change Technological Sideshow The Data

Everybody Dance Now !

Dancing with Bicycles

Whenever you hear government ministers or public figures telling the people that technology will save us, remember this : the word “technology” is synonymous with the word “business”.

“Technology” is Big Engineering, and this is what is done by large companies and corporations. Large organisations that make profit by selling manufactured products and Energy always have a surplus set aside for their communications budgets, and that includes persuading government people that their business is invaluable and needs promoting.

Categories
Behaviour Changeling Climate Change Pet Peeves Social Change

A Tale of Two Rivers

My August Bank Holiday weekend camp of choice was Greenbelt this year, as I had been invited to contribute to a workshop on campaign activism entitled “Hatching a plot” :-

https://www.greenbelt.org.uk

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Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Carbon Army Carbon Commodities Carbon Rationing Climate Change Contraction & Convergence Emissions Impossible Energy Revival Low Carbon Life Pet Peeves Political Nightmare Renewable Resource Social Change Vote Loser

Poor People Gonna Rise Up

Talking About a Revolution : Tracy Chapman

When are the intellectual and political ranks going to stop trying to apply universal guilt ? The real question to ask is not, “how are we going to get average emissions down ?” You can’t treat all the people in the United Kingdom as one blurred lump. Around 20% of consumers are conscious. Another 20% to 30% are going to be hit directly by any measure designed to put an environmental tax on Carbon, and will have no choice about responding.

Climate Change worldwide is affecting the poorest first and hardest – an expression used by everyone from Nicholas Stern through to Christian Aid. But it’s a stratification of impact that isn’t just global. The poorest in the industrialised countries are suffering hardship too : people who cannot get their homes renovated after floods, people who have to apply for Fuel Poverty assistance.

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Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Carbon Army Climate Change Emissions Impossible Low Carbon Life Pet Peeves Political Nightmare Social Change Technological Sideshow

Pushy, Positive, Persuasion Pitfall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unNZDByYHzw : The Power of Persuasion
https://evelynrodriguez.typepad.com/crossroads_dispatches/clear_and_resonant_marketing/
“Not Converts, But Consorts”

Despite what the psychologists evidence and the psychotherapists cogitate, there’s no getting through to some people, and I really think we just ought to accept that, stop with the guilt trip and the navel-gazing and admit it : the people with leadership authority have got to start telling people that things will change, whether they come along with it or not.

Everybody knows that there’s no secret to persuasion, no “how to win friends and influence people” magic techniques : you just need to have enough money to guarantee yourself the widest possible audience and the dominant narrative, and your product gets all the sales it needs, and overrides “what if” critique. TV was made for it. The Hollywood film industry is its highest and finest embodiment.

Categories
China Syndrome Energy Revival Peak Energy Peak Oil Pet Peeves Renewable Resource Toxic Hazard

A Very Crude Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or-TyPACK-g
“A Crude Awakening – Trailer”

I watched the film “A Crude Awakening” for the third time this week with the good people of Transition Waltham Forest.

Several people in the room were strongly affected by the footage of the deserted oil fields of Texas, Baku and Venezuela.

In the discussion after the film I challenged the Green Party activist in the room (hopefully without hurting anyone’s feelings), asking where Energy is in the list of electoral campaign policy priorities. I said I don’t hear strong concern from any political party. It’s a subject that’s just not there.