SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I imagine it is worse than that: self-serving R politicos will try to manufacture economic failure. After all, why would people vote out a successful administration ? Politics is a zero sum game.
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Climate Change / Global Warming Discussion
- Thread starter Raffy.Roma
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- Energy Environment Policy
The Gov of W V is claiming that we should have renewables with coal and fossil fuels. I think we should have the renewables in place before we start banning fossil fuels. If we are going to do away with Coal then we need to find an environmentally friendly way to power foundries that make steel first.
Making steel without coal
Can the world produce steel without using coal?
Download Graphic
The short answer to this question is no, not at scale, at the present time.
The issue
Steel is an alloy of iron with carbon (0.002% - 2.1% by weight), and with other metals as needed. Typical additives are: nickel, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, titanium, vanadium, or tungsten, depending on physical properties sought, e.g., anti-rust, light, tough, heat resistant, elastic, or cheap. As a material, steel combines high tensile strength with low cost. It is one of the building blocks of civilisation.
For an idea of scale, the world produces around 1.6 billion tonnes of steel every year, half of this in China. Other major producers are: Japan, India, the US, Korea, and Russia. This is an energy- intensive business, in which technology advances have reduced the energy requirement by 60% over the last 50 years.
Today, around 0.8 tonne of coal is used and 2.1 tonnes of CO2 emitted from the raw materials to produce every tonne of steel (separate from any coal or gas used to generate the electricity also required). The International Energy Agency estimates that the global iron and steel industry accounts for 6.7% of world CO2 emissions. This is a significant figure, and will need to improve as the world transitions to a low-carbon future. This will be challenging.
Making steel using traditional methods
First, iron is smelted from its mineral ore. This is usually an iron oxide such as haematite or magnetite. A furnace temperature exceeding 1600C will release the iron, in the form of "pig iron", so called for the shape of the ingots. This is a brittle material containing as much as 4.5% carbon. Historically the first fuels used to heat the smelters were wood and, later, charcoal (which is made from wood).
The earliest steels appeared in Anatolia (from 1800 BCE), East Africa (from 1400 BCE), South India (from 600 BCE), and in China (from 400 BCE). The Roman military used steel weapons. The production of steel from pig iron requires a reduction in carbon content, to produce a useful metal.
The change to using coal in steel-making dates from the 11th Century in the Yellow River region of China, where trees were sparse. Specifically, the coal was converted into "coke" by heating it in oxygen-starved conditions to drive off embodied water and volatile organic chemicals. This produces a hard, grey, porous material composed mainly of carbon. This has a much higher energy value than coal, and is better geared to producing high temperatures for smelting.
Coke came into use in Great Britain in the 1700s, partly because of its superior crushing strength to that of coal. Blast furnaces for making iron and steel could be built taller and bigger, to improve economies of scale. The growing demand for steel as the Industrial Revolution progressed far exceeded the ability of forests to provide the fuel and source of carbon.
Now, nearly all new steel globally is produced using iron oxide and coking coal. Coking coal is usually bituminous-rank coal with special qualities that are needed in the blast furnace.
While an increasing amount of steel is being recycled, there is currently no technology to make steel at scale without using coal.
New Zealand exports of coking coal provide jobs, much needed export revenue and do not contribute to New Zealand's carbon emissions account. New Zealand coking coal has certain special qualities and is in high demand internationally. If we don't supply our coking coal, customers will purchase elsewhere, often from producers with lower environmental standards.
That means the still will still be manufactured, there would be no net gain for the global environment but New Zealand jobs would be lost. Sadly, this reality appears lost on Wellington's policymakers.
Making steel in New Zealand
New Zealand Steel uses a titano-magnetite ironsand at their Glenbrook plant, and exports the same ironsand to be used as a minor contribution in conventional steel plants. The plant uses a direct reduction process to make iron from the ironsand before this is turned into steel. No other operation in the world makes steel in the same way. Major improvements have been made in energy efficiency through co-generation (using waste heat) where New Zealand Steel produces up to 70% of its own electricity requirements.
Making steel without coal
This is a holy grail for emissions chasers and there has been considerable international research on ways of reducing or eliminating CO2 emissions.
Recycling steel
Around 500 million tonnes of steel is recycled every year from scrap, or 31% of total global steel production. This is a very high percentage of recycling for any material. When claims are made that steel can be made in electric-arc furnaces (instead of emissions-intensive blast furnaces), this is what is being talked about.
To highlight the importance of recycling in steel production, the World Steel Association says that the average blast furnace needs 800kg of coal to produce a tonne of steel while the average electric arc furnace (using mainly recycled steel) needs just 16kg of coal.
Download the fact sheet here
Of course, to manage CO2 emissions from steel recycling, the electricity input would have to be renewable.
In general, recycling is done as economics, or regulations or conscience dictates. As to claims that 80% of steel could be recycled, this will depend on the sector. NZ Steel has estimated that for buildings, the level of steel recycling could reach as high as 85% 1.
Use bio-carbon in steel making
Bio-carbon is made from wood, or wood waste. Importantly, this source of carbon for steel-making can only qualify as renewable if wood is being created more quickly (by growing trees) than it is being chopped down and burned.
To the extent that charcoal could be used in steel-making (or cement-making) around the world to replace coal, it is questionable whether this use of wood would be considered environmentally sustainable, especially if this huge shift in land use displaced food production.
In New Zealand, NZ Steel 2 has trialled 9000 tonnes of bio-carbon supplied by Carbonscape, as a method of making low-emissions steel. To put this into context, NZ Steel uses around 800,000 tonnes of New Zealand or imported coal each year to make iron and then steel at its Glenbrook mill. As yet, the jury is out on the success of this trial as a commercially-viable method.
Smelt iron using electrolysis
An intriguing way of separating iron from its ore at MIT was reported in Scientific American 3 (May 2013) There was a flurry of media interest at the time but a promised commercial-scale demonstration is yet to appear.
The method is to use a receiving environment of molten metal oxides, in which the iron ore would dissolve, and then pass an electric current through it, to precipitate the iron out onto positively- charged electrodes. To date very expensive platinum or iridium has been used as an electrode, because these metals can withstand 1600C. The breakthrough has been to create much cheaper chromium alloys that can also do the job. A 30% increase in energy efficiency is also claimed.
So while research continues in New Zealand and around the globe, there is currently no viable alternative to using coal in large-scale production of steel.
References
As far as Natural gas/Propane for heating and cooking. Maybe the government could provide grants to homeowners and businesses to convert over to electric. However Propane may be needed in emergencies where electric is not available It's just my opinion that we should have the renewables in place before cutting off fossil fuels There should also be a backup plan for times when renewables are not available or practical. The gas, coal and oil companies could just shut off the spigot next week since their demise is coming soon.
Making steel without coal
Can the world produce steel without using coal?
The short answer to this question is no, not at scale, at the present time.
The issue
Steel is an alloy of iron with carbon (0.002% - 2.1% by weight), and with other metals as needed. Typical additives are: nickel, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, titanium, vanadium, or tungsten, depending on physical properties sought, e.g., anti-rust, light, tough, heat resistant, elastic, or cheap. As a material, steel combines high tensile strength with low cost. It is one of the building blocks of civilisation.
For an idea of scale, the world produces around 1.6 billion tonnes of steel every year, half of this in China. Other major producers are: Japan, India, the US, Korea, and Russia. This is an energy- intensive business, in which technology advances have reduced the energy requirement by 60% over the last 50 years.
Today, around 0.8 tonne of coal is used and 2.1 tonnes of CO2 emitted from the raw materials to produce every tonne of steel (separate from any coal or gas used to generate the electricity also required). The International Energy Agency estimates that the global iron and steel industry accounts for 6.7% of world CO2 emissions. This is a significant figure, and will need to improve as the world transitions to a low-carbon future. This will be challenging.
Making steel using traditional methods
First, iron is smelted from its mineral ore. This is usually an iron oxide such as haematite or magnetite. A furnace temperature exceeding 1600C will release the iron, in the form of "pig iron", so called for the shape of the ingots. This is a brittle material containing as much as 4.5% carbon. Historically the first fuels used to heat the smelters were wood and, later, charcoal (which is made from wood).
The earliest steels appeared in Anatolia (from 1800 BCE), East Africa (from 1400 BCE), South India (from 600 BCE), and in China (from 400 BCE). The Roman military used steel weapons. The production of steel from pig iron requires a reduction in carbon content, to produce a useful metal.
The change to using coal in steel-making dates from the 11th Century in the Yellow River region of China, where trees were sparse. Specifically, the coal was converted into "coke" by heating it in oxygen-starved conditions to drive off embodied water and volatile organic chemicals. This produces a hard, grey, porous material composed mainly of carbon. This has a much higher energy value than coal, and is better geared to producing high temperatures for smelting.
Coke came into use in Great Britain in the 1700s, partly because of its superior crushing strength to that of coal. Blast furnaces for making iron and steel could be built taller and bigger, to improve economies of scale. The growing demand for steel as the Industrial Revolution progressed far exceeded the ability of forests to provide the fuel and source of carbon.
Now, nearly all new steel globally is produced using iron oxide and coking coal. Coking coal is usually bituminous-rank coal with special qualities that are needed in the blast furnace.
While an increasing amount of steel is being recycled, there is currently no technology to make steel at scale without using coal.
New Zealand exports of coking coal provide jobs, much needed export revenue and do not contribute to New Zealand's carbon emissions account. New Zealand coking coal has certain special qualities and is in high demand internationally. If we don't supply our coking coal, customers will purchase elsewhere, often from producers with lower environmental standards.
That means the still will still be manufactured, there would be no net gain for the global environment but New Zealand jobs would be lost. Sadly, this reality appears lost on Wellington's policymakers.
Making steel in New Zealand
New Zealand Steel uses a titano-magnetite ironsand at their Glenbrook plant, and exports the same ironsand to be used as a minor contribution in conventional steel plants. The plant uses a direct reduction process to make iron from the ironsand before this is turned into steel. No other operation in the world makes steel in the same way. Major improvements have been made in energy efficiency through co-generation (using waste heat) where New Zealand Steel produces up to 70% of its own electricity requirements.
Making steel without coal
This is a holy grail for emissions chasers and there has been considerable international research on ways of reducing or eliminating CO2 emissions.
Recycling steel
Around 500 million tonnes of steel is recycled every year from scrap, or 31% of total global steel production. This is a very high percentage of recycling for any material. When claims are made that steel can be made in electric-arc furnaces (instead of emissions-intensive blast furnaces), this is what is being talked about.
To highlight the importance of recycling in steel production, the World Steel Association says that the average blast furnace needs 800kg of coal to produce a tonne of steel while the average electric arc furnace (using mainly recycled steel) needs just 16kg of coal.
Download the fact sheet here
Of course, to manage CO2 emissions from steel recycling, the electricity input would have to be renewable.
In general, recycling is done as economics, or regulations or conscience dictates. As to claims that 80% of steel could be recycled, this will depend on the sector. NZ Steel has estimated that for buildings, the level of steel recycling could reach as high as 85% 1.
Use bio-carbon in steel making
Bio-carbon is made from wood, or wood waste. Importantly, this source of carbon for steel-making can only qualify as renewable if wood is being created more quickly (by growing trees) than it is being chopped down and burned.
To the extent that charcoal could be used in steel-making (or cement-making) around the world to replace coal, it is questionable whether this use of wood would be considered environmentally sustainable, especially if this huge shift in land use displaced food production.
In New Zealand, NZ Steel 2 has trialled 9000 tonnes of bio-carbon supplied by Carbonscape, as a method of making low-emissions steel. To put this into context, NZ Steel uses around 800,000 tonnes of New Zealand or imported coal each year to make iron and then steel at its Glenbrook mill. As yet, the jury is out on the success of this trial as a commercially-viable method.
Smelt iron using electrolysis
An intriguing way of separating iron from its ore at MIT was reported in Scientific American 3 (May 2013) There was a flurry of media interest at the time but a promised commercial-scale demonstration is yet to appear.
The method is to use a receiving environment of molten metal oxides, in which the iron ore would dissolve, and then pass an electric current through it, to precipitate the iron out onto positively- charged electrodes. To date very expensive platinum or iridium has been used as an electrode, because these metals can withstand 1600C. The breakthrough has been to create much cheaper chromium alloys that can also do the job. A 30% increase in energy efficiency is also claimed.
So while research continues in New Zealand and around the globe, there is currently no viable alternative to using coal in large-scale production of steel.
References
- Steel Product Recycling | New Zealand Steel
- Leading Manufacturer Of Quality Steel In New Zealand | New Zealand Steel
- Cleaner, Cheaper Way to Make Steel Uses Electricity
As far as Natural gas/Propane for heating and cooking. Maybe the government could provide grants to homeowners and businesses to convert over to electric. However Propane may be needed in emergencies where electric is not available It's just my opinion that we should have the renewables in place before cutting off fossil fuels There should also be a backup plan for times when renewables are not available or practical. The gas, coal and oil companies could just shut off the spigot next week since their demise is coming soon.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Open letter to world leaders
You must stop pretending that we can solve the climate- and ecological crisis without treating it as a crisis Here are our demands of this open letter: These are some first steps, essential to our chance of avoiding a climate- and ecological disaster. Effective immediately, halt all investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction, immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies and immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels. Advocate to make ecocide an international crime at the International Criminal Court. Include total emissions in all figures and targets, including consumption index, international aviation and shipping. Starting today – establish annual, binding carbon budgets based on the current best available science and the IPCC’s budget which gives us a 66% chance of limiting the global temperature rise to below 1.5 °C. They need to include the global aspect of equity, tipping points and feedback loops and shouldn’t depend on assumptions of possible future negative emissions technologies. Safeguard and protect democracy. Design climate policies that protect workers and the most vulnerable and reduce all forms of inequality: economic, racial and gender. Treat the climate- and ecological emergency like an emergency. We understand and know very well that the world is complicated and that what we are asking for may not be easy. The changes necessary to safeguard humanity may seem very unrealistic. But it is much more unrealistic to believe that our society would be able to survive the global heating we’re heading for, as well as other disastrous ecological consequences of today’s business as usual
You must stop pretending that we can solve the climate- and ecological crisis without treating it as a crisis Here are our demands of this open letter: These are some first steps, essential to our chance of avoiding a climate- and ecological disaster. Effective immediately, halt all investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction, immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies and immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels. Advocate to make ecocide an international crime at the International Criminal Court. Include total emissions in all figures and targets, including consumption index, international aviation and shipping. Starting today – establish annual, binding carbon budgets based on the current best available science and the IPCC’s budget which gives us a 66% chance of limiting the global temperature rise to below 1.5 °C. They need to include the global aspect of equity, tipping points and feedback loops and shouldn’t depend on assumptions of possible future negative emissions technologies. Safeguard and protect democracy. Design climate policies that protect workers and the most vulnerable and reduce all forms of inequality: economic, racial and gender. Treat the climate- and ecological emergency like an emergency. We understand and know very well that the world is complicated and that what we are asking for may not be easy. The changes necessary to safeguard humanity may seem very unrealistic. But it is much more unrealistic to believe that our society would be able to survive the global heating we’re heading for, as well as other disastrous ecological consequences of today’s business as usual
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Trump's assault on the environment is over. Now we must reverse the damage | Jonathan B Jarvis, Gary Machlis
While the damage is profound, the Biden-Harris administration can reverse these harms, restart fundamental environmental policies and programs, and restore the federal commitment to environmental protection and lands and waters stewardship. What is needed is a tactical plan for restoration. Ten months before the November 2020 election, we convened a team of diverse environmental leaders with government, nonprofit, private sector, and academic experience. They were from both coasts and the heartland, the north-west and the south-east, rural America and large cities. Meeting virtually as The Restoration Project, they worked over several months to create a carefully researched and prioritized list of the top 100 important actions to be taken to restore the nation’s environment. The plan was delivered to the Biden-Harris transition team in November, and we are releasing it today to the public here
The Restoration Project
While the damage is profound, the Biden-Harris administration can reverse these harms, restart fundamental environmental policies and programs, and restore the federal commitment to environmental protection and lands and waters stewardship. What is needed is a tactical plan for restoration. Ten months before the November 2020 election, we convened a team of diverse environmental leaders with government, nonprofit, private sector, and academic experience. They were from both coasts and the heartland, the north-west and the south-east, rural America and large cities. Meeting virtually as The Restoration Project, they worked over several months to create a carefully researched and prioritized list of the top 100 important actions to be taken to restore the nation’s environment. The plan was delivered to the Biden-Harris transition team in November, and we are releasing it today to the public here
The Restoration Project
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations?
Our economies, livelihoods and wellbeing all depend on our most precious asset: nature. We are part of nature, not separate from it.” These are the opening lines of a newly published landmark review of the economics of biodiversity. Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history and the review aims to create a new economic framework, grounded in ecology, that enables humanity to live on Earth sustainably. “Our demands far exceed nature’s capacity to supply us with the goods and services we all rely on. We would require 1.6 Earths to maintain the world’s current living standards,” says Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta in the review, which was commissioned by the UK Treasury.
Our economies, livelihoods and wellbeing all depend on our most precious asset: nature. We are part of nature, not separate from it.” These are the opening lines of a newly published landmark review of the economics of biodiversity. Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history and the review aims to create a new economic framework, grounded in ecology, that enables humanity to live on Earth sustainably. “Our demands far exceed nature’s capacity to supply us with the goods and services we all rely on. We would require 1.6 Earths to maintain the world’s current living standards,” says Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta in the review, which was commissioned by the UK Treasury.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
How Biden is reversing Trump's assault on the environment
Faced with an unfolding climate crisis that is fueling more powerful storms, enormous wildfires and scorching heatwaves in the US, Donald Trump unapologetically set about dismantling policies to cut planet-heating emissions, mocked or ignored climate science, and threw openvast tracts of American land and water to fossil fuel development. The systematic reversals in environmental protections pose a challenge to Joe Biden, Trump’s successor as US president, who has called climate change the “existential threat of our time”. Biden has set about the task of undoing Trump’s legacy with hyperactive zeal, through a flurry of executive actions. In all, about 100 Trump-era environmental policies are being targeted, although some may take several years to reverse. Here’s how Biden is doing it.
Faced with an unfolding climate crisis that is fueling more powerful storms, enormous wildfires and scorching heatwaves in the US, Donald Trump unapologetically set about dismantling policies to cut planet-heating emissions, mocked or ignored climate science, and threw openvast tracts of American land and water to fossil fuel development. The systematic reversals in environmental protections pose a challenge to Joe Biden, Trump’s successor as US president, who has called climate change the “existential threat of our time”. Biden has set about the task of undoing Trump’s legacy with hyperactive zeal, through a flurry of executive actions. In all, about 100 Trump-era environmental policies are being targeted, although some may take several years to reverse. Here’s how Biden is doing it.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
This Climate Deal Is Good for Earth and the Economy Opinion | This Climate Deal Is Good for Earth and the Economy
More than 100 nations have approved an accord phasing down a planet-warming coolant. The U.S. isn’t among them.HFCs are used mostly as refrigerants in refrigerators and air-conditioners, but also in a variety of other commercial applications, such as insulating foams, cleaning solvents and fire suppression systems. These chemicals were commercialized some 30 years ago as substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons, which were found to be depleting the atmosphere’s ozone layer. HFCs don’t affect the ozone layer, but their effect on the climate is pronounced.
More than 100 nations have approved an accord phasing down a planet-warming coolant. The U.S. isn’t among them.HFCs are used mostly as refrigerants in refrigerators and air-conditioners, but also in a variety of other commercial applications, such as insulating foams, cleaning solvents and fire suppression systems. These chemicals were commercialized some 30 years ago as substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons, which were found to be depleting the atmosphere’s ozone layer. HFCs don’t affect the ozone layer, but their effect on the climate is pronounced.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Balloon test flight plan under fire over solar geoengineering fears
In the letters, seen by the Guardian, organisations including the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Greenpeace Sweden and Friends of the Earth Sweden said that while the balloon flight scheduled for June does not involve the release of particles, it could be the first step towards the adoption of a potentially “dangerous, unpredictable, and unmanageable” technology.
In the letters, seen by the Guardian, organisations including the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Greenpeace Sweden and Friends of the Earth Sweden said that while the balloon flight scheduled for June does not involve the release of particles, it could be the first step towards the adoption of a potentially “dangerous, unpredictable, and unmanageable” technology.
SmartElectric
Active Member
I am seeing more articles and videos on CO2 replacement as per:
http://www.hydrocarbons21.com/files/pdf_513.pdf
Advantage is that CO2 will work at far lower temperatures in heat pumps for Canadian climate, obviously why I am so interested. ;-)
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
Yah ... but those heat pumps work at *much* higher pressures. That makes the parts more expensive and reliability more of an issue; and specific to my interest, a lot trickier to install correctly. The good news is that a leak is not a pollution catastrophe. Perhaps industry will start selling them unpressurized so that we can pressurize on site, gradually while monitoring for leaks.
This problem of flourine based chemicals has also popped up for me due to a desire to use polyurethane spray foam. Some of the 'foaming agents' have GHGp of 1000x CO2. Replacement agents are now coming to market but it is tricky to get the same desired performance the original chemicals offered.
Last edited:
mspohr
Well-Known Member
I have a small refrigerator that uses butane. Works great.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
State-owned fossil fuel firms' plan to invest $1.9tn could destroy climate hopes
The world’s state-owned fossil fuel companies are poised to invest about $1.9tn (£1.4tn) in the next decade in projects that would destroy any prospect of meeting the Paris agreement climate goals. A large proportion of these investments are likely to become stranded assets, with at least $400bn unlikely to be profitable if the world sticks to its promises to hold global heating to less than 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels, according to a report from the Natural Resource Governance Institute thinktank.
National oil companies (NOCs) produce about two-thirds of the world’s oil and gas and own about 90% of reserves. They are rarely scrutinised, however, as their state ownership means they can operate secretively, without publishing much detail on their finances or operations, as publicly listed oil companies such as Exxon, BP and Shell must.
The world’s state-owned fossil fuel companies are poised to invest about $1.9tn (£1.4tn) in the next decade in projects that would destroy any prospect of meeting the Paris agreement climate goals. A large proportion of these investments are likely to become stranded assets, with at least $400bn unlikely to be profitable if the world sticks to its promises to hold global heating to less than 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels, according to a report from the Natural Resource Governance Institute thinktank.
National oil companies (NOCs) produce about two-thirds of the world’s oil and gas and own about 90% of reserves. They are rarely scrutinised, however, as their state ownership means they can operate secretively, without publishing much detail on their finances or operations, as publicly listed oil companies such as Exxon, BP and Shell must.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
A Surprise in Africa: Air Pollution Falls as Economies Rise A Surprise in Africa: Air Pollution Falls as Economies Rise
LAGOS, Nigeria — Rapidly growing countries generally see sharp increases in air pollution as their populations and economies expand. But a new study of air quality in Africa published on Monday has found the opposite: One of the continent’s most vibrant regions is becoming less polluted.
LAGOS, Nigeria — Rapidly growing countries generally see sharp increases in air pollution as their populations and economies expand. But a new study of air quality in Africa published on Monday has found the opposite: One of the continent’s most vibrant regions is becoming less polluted.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
'A very dangerous epoch': historians try to make sense of Covid
Describing herself as “a global historian who thinks in big waves”, Damodaran says what we are living through is “clearly a period of heightened uncertainty where the old ideologies no longer work” – naming liberalism, colonialism and the free market economy. In specific local contexts around the world, she says, small- and large-scale tipping points are being reached, all of which add up to a global sense of crisis, the impact of which, particularly on the environment, is being felt even by those in more prosperous and comfortable societies. “No longer is this happening [only] in Haiti, where you could say, right I’ll send them some money. This is a globally interconnected world, and climate change knows no borders.” But the problem is not new, she says: “There’s this hubris which comes out of the Enlightenment of the 18th century, that humans in some senses can dominate nature” – and we should not claim to be surprised.
“Everything comes back to the climate crisis, because everything is affected by it – the political order, social order, food, water, the migration of people. So we are in a very, very dangerous epoch.”
Describing herself as “a global historian who thinks in big waves”, Damodaran says what we are living through is “clearly a period of heightened uncertainty where the old ideologies no longer work” – naming liberalism, colonialism and the free market economy. In specific local contexts around the world, she says, small- and large-scale tipping points are being reached, all of which add up to a global sense of crisis, the impact of which, particularly on the environment, is being felt even by those in more prosperous and comfortable societies. “No longer is this happening [only] in Haiti, where you could say, right I’ll send them some money. This is a globally interconnected world, and climate change knows no borders.” But the problem is not new, she says: “There’s this hubris which comes out of the Enlightenment of the 18th century, that humans in some senses can dominate nature” – and we should not claim to be surprised.
“Everything comes back to the climate crisis, because everything is affected by it – the political order, social order, food, water, the migration of people. So we are in a very, very dangerous epoch.”
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Bill Gates has a book about climate change. Typical out of touch rich guy. Thinks tech can save us. Likes nukes.
Innovation, Not Trees. How Bill Gates Plans to Save the Planet. Opinion | Innovation, Not Trees. How Bill Gates Plans to Save the Planet.
Bill Gates is publishing a new book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need.” In it, Mr. Gates, the Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist, outlines a path to a zero emissions future. Apparently electric cars, vegan diets and tree-hugging won’t get us there. And neither will rockets.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/15/bill-gates-carbon-neutrality-in-a-decade-is-a-fairytale-why-peddle-fantasies?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
If there is a credibility gap in listening to Gates on this subject, it comes from the suspicion that he lives in a world so far removed from the rest of us as to raise large blind spots. It’s a small thing, but in a 2014 Rolling Stone interview, Gates mentioned a lunch with Charles Koch, the libertarian billionaire who made huge sums from the oil business and for decades lobbied to reduce US environmental regulations. “He’s a very nice person,” Gates said in that interview, “and he has this incredible business track record.” Koch, along with his late brother David, spent decades funding climate deniers. Gates’ regard for him seems vested entirely in his success as a businessman; no matter how philanthropic, at some level the billionaire class is loyal primarily to itself.
Innovation, Not Trees. How Bill Gates Plans to Save the Planet. Opinion | Innovation, Not Trees. How Bill Gates Plans to Save the Planet.
Bill Gates is publishing a new book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need.” In it, Mr. Gates, the Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist, outlines a path to a zero emissions future. Apparently electric cars, vegan diets and tree-hugging won’t get us there. And neither will rockets.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/15/bill-gates-carbon-neutrality-in-a-decade-is-a-fairytale-why-peddle-fantasies?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
If there is a credibility gap in listening to Gates on this subject, it comes from the suspicion that he lives in a world so far removed from the rest of us as to raise large blind spots. It’s a small thing, but in a 2014 Rolling Stone interview, Gates mentioned a lunch with Charles Koch, the libertarian billionaire who made huge sums from the oil business and for decades lobbied to reduce US environmental regulations. “He’s a very nice person,” Gates said in that interview, “and he has this incredible business track record.” Koch, along with his late brother David, spent decades funding climate deniers. Gates’ regard for him seems vested entirely in his success as a businessman; no matter how philanthropic, at some level the billionaire class is loyal primarily to itself.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
mspohr
Well-Known Member
A Glimpse of the Future in Texas: Climate Change Means Trouble for Power Grids
Analysts have begun to identify a few key factors behind the grid failures in Texas. Record-breaking cold weather spurred residents to crank up their electric heaters and pushed demand for electricity beyond the worst-case scenarios that grid operators had planned for. At the same time, many of the state’s gas-fired power plants were knocked offline amid icy conditions, and some plants appeared to suffer fuel shortages as natural gas demand spiked nationwide. Many of Texas’ wind turbines also froze and stopped working, although this was a smaller part of the problem.
The problems compounded from there, as frigid weather knocked out of service power plants with more than 30 gigawatts of capacity by Monday night. The vast majority of those failures occurred at thermal plants, like natural gas generators, as plummeting temperatures paralyzed plant operations and soaring demand for natural gas nationwide appeared to leave some plants struggling to procure fuel. A number of the state’s power plants were also offline for scheduled maintenance in preparation for the summer peak.
At times, the state’s fleet of wind farms also lost up to 5 gigawatts of capacity, as many turbines froze in the icy conditions and stopped working.
But some climate scientists have also suggested that global warming could, paradoxically, bring more winter storms like the one seen this week. There is some research suggesting that Arctic warming is weakening the jet stream, the high-level air current that circles the northern latitudes and usually holds back the frigid polar vortex. This allows the cold air to escape to the South, especially when a blast of additional warming strikes the stratosphere and deforms the vortex. The result can be episodes of plunging temperatures, even in places that rarely get nipped by frost.
Analysts have begun to identify a few key factors behind the grid failures in Texas. Record-breaking cold weather spurred residents to crank up their electric heaters and pushed demand for electricity beyond the worst-case scenarios that grid operators had planned for. At the same time, many of the state’s gas-fired power plants were knocked offline amid icy conditions, and some plants appeared to suffer fuel shortages as natural gas demand spiked nationwide. Many of Texas’ wind turbines also froze and stopped working, although this was a smaller part of the problem.
The problems compounded from there, as frigid weather knocked out of service power plants with more than 30 gigawatts of capacity by Monday night. The vast majority of those failures occurred at thermal plants, like natural gas generators, as plummeting temperatures paralyzed plant operations and soaring demand for natural gas nationwide appeared to leave some plants struggling to procure fuel. A number of the state’s power plants were also offline for scheduled maintenance in preparation for the summer peak.
At times, the state’s fleet of wind farms also lost up to 5 gigawatts of capacity, as many turbines froze in the icy conditions and stopped working.
But some climate scientists have also suggested that global warming could, paradoxically, bring more winter storms like the one seen this week. There is some research suggesting that Arctic warming is weakening the jet stream, the high-level air current that circles the northern latitudes and usually holds back the frigid polar vortex. This allows the cold air to escape to the South, especially when a blast of additional warming strikes the stratosphere and deforms the vortex. The result can be episodes of plunging temperatures, even in places that rarely get nipped by frost.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I read the other day the ERCOT guy pleading with Texans to lower their thermostats to 68F
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I'll bet you do not have to look far to find a Texan who views a sweater as a violation of his constitutional freedoms
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nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Did my part. Brushed the little ice pellets off my panels. Producing ~2kW more now.
Long term goal: upgrade grid
Short-medium term goal: incentives to convert home resistance heating to heat pumps
Short-medium term goal: incentives to convert home resistance heating to heat pumps
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