Environmental Groups can do more Harm than Good. Help US Wind Farms.
June 25, 2010 No comments »
Image from capewind.org
The Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, off the coast of Massachusetts, has been stuck fighting to exist for the last 9 years. Residents that didn’t want turbines in their back yard (NiMBYs) have been engaging every group that may have any legal grounds to halt the project involved, using various tactics like new claims of tribal ground that were not granted. The most recent lawsuit, brought by PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), claims that the environmental impact studies did not pay enough attention to birds and their migration habits.
The Mass Audubon Society, one of the most prominent organizations that focuses on Massachusetts environmental issues, initially felt that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was lacking and did its own study. Their own independent study found that the environmental risks of not moving forward with the wind farm far outweighed the environmental impact of going ahead. Rising sea levels from CO2 emissions would do more damage to local beaches, putting bird species more at risk because of destroyed nesting grounds.
I believe PEER is acting more in the interests of previous project opponents than it is the environment. The DEIS came out 4 years ago, and the project has been going on for 9. More than enough time has passed to do a meaningful impact study, and they are speaking up only after the project was approved. Some quotes include:
“As a result of these failures, there is no reliable information on how many birds will perish in the huge turbine blades despite requirements that the best scientific information must be used”
To paraphrase Saul Griffith, previously involved with Makani Power, the number one killer of birds in the United States is Chicken Farming. The danger to birds from wind turbines pale in comparison. Any death at all is tragedy, but inaction will lead to more death.
The delays have gone on for too long, and failure to implement the first major off shore wind project in the US could have dire consequences for the environment and sustainable energy initiatives. You should contact PEER to let them know what you think, and ask them to drop the lawsuit.
Underwater Video of BP Oil Spill – Toxic Sludge
May 27, 2010 No comments »This video is worth spreading. The reason there has not been widespread outrage over the BP oil spill is that the imagery has not been graphic enough. The following YT video shows the toxic sludge underneath the surface:
Don’t forget that fish swimming through the sludge will not only be covered, they will be breathing it. There will undoubtedly be toxic buildup in the wildlife, if not immediate death. Don’t plan on eating seafood from the Gulf of Mexico any time in the foreseeable future.
CCS: Investing in Transitional Technology is not the Same as Compromising
January 10, 2010 No comments »I will first state for the record that I believe there is no such thing as clean coal. I would be incredibly happy if there were no new coal fired powered plants ever built. Even if I believed it were true, which I don’t, I would still believe that investing in Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is worthwhile. In an ideal world, not only would no new coal fired power plants be built, existing plants would be shut down.
However, we do not live in an ideal world, and we need to do something productive until we get there. There are still many problems with CCS, including expense and lack of storage locations large enough. Despite the fact that renewable technologies are the best choice for new development, it will be a very long time until there will be enough production or the necessary infrastructure changes will be in place to support it. There are so many hurdles to wide scale renewable adoption, it would be in our best interest to invest in parallel efforts to reduce the impact of current technologies, even if only temporary.
The belief of many is that coal fired power plants will continue to be a widely used energy source until the renewable alternatives are cheaper per kilowatt hour overall. My personal belief is that it will take decades for renewable energy to be cheaper than coal on its own. However, subsidy of renewable energy technologies, coupled with legislation requiring coal companies cover the external costs to society of burning coal, then there may be cost parity sooner. Even if production became cheaper than coal tomorrow, the necessary changes to the grid would take years to implement, not to mention the time it would take to build the generation capacity necessary to meet current demand.
Coal has so many problems, but the sad fact is that we are stuck with it for the foreseeable future. While CCS is only a transition technology, embracing its development is not the same thing as abandoning the belief that coal is extremely bad. Some may say that adoption of CCS may lead to the use of coal for longer, but that’s a separate discussion.
CO2 + Bacteria + Sunlight = Fuel
December 11, 2009 No comments »http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210162222.htm
UCLA has genetically engineered bacteria to eat CO2 and turn it into isobutanol, taking energy from sun light. Isobutanol cannot readily be used in gas tanks yet, but the process of turning CO2 directly into a hydrocarbon can be much cheaper and easier than technologies like algae or cellulose into biofuel because there are no expensive intermediate steps.
If this technology can be *cheaply* scaled to high volumes and converted to something conventional engines can use, then I would personally suspect to see it displace a lot of other biofuels. Hopefully we’ll find out soon.
Re-post: Don’t Let the Americans Know They are Killing the Globe
December 10, 2009 No comments »http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/12/09/dont-let-the-americans-know-theyre-killing-the-globe/
This editorial on Climate Change runs in 56 Papers Worldwide, but Only 2 in the US – and with Key Edits.
via Reddit.com
Again, Clean Coal is Anything but Clean
October 13, 2009 No comments »http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/us/13water.html?_r=1&hp
“Clean Coal” is still not clean. Even when everything is scrubbed from the air, the pollutants have to go somewhere. Pollutants from coal fired power plants usually get put in pools, which eventually leak and get into the waterway. Repeat after me, “there is no such thing as clean coal.”
Re-post: How Will the Smart Grid Work?
September 25, 2009 No comments »http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=smart-grid-nist-standards-commerce-department
The Commerce Department has started releasing smart grid standards, but we’re still waiting for the NIST and FERC to weigh in. They both see the importance of changes to the grid, and final comments are expected by the end of the year.