Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Top Scientists Voice Support for Climate Legislation
A group of U.S. climate scientists is urging Congress to quickly pass a strengthened version of the House global warming bill, saying the legislation would provide a basis for stronger federal policies.
The letter [pdf] signed by 20 scientists says strong U.S. leadership is needed to avert a "rapidly developing global climatic catastrophe." The House climate and energy bill proposed by Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts offers a "powerful advance and must be enacted this year," it says, as a first step toward strong U.S. action.
"We're very encouraged that Congress is moving on legislation," said Michael MacCracken, chief scientist for climate programs at the nonprofit Climate Institute. "But a lot of what's happening in the discussions is that adjustments are being made, which is understandable, but in order to have an effect on climate we need to have really strong actions, and we don't want to just keep having it nibbled away."
The scientists also rebuked a widely held view that nations should strive to limit atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to 450 parts per million and limit the rise of global temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius.
"We and many others are of the view that these objectives are inadequate to sustain the integrity of global climate and to hold the risk of ruinous climatic change to an acceptably low level," the letter says.
Some scientists, including NASA climatologist James Hansen, have suggested that the world should cut atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to 350 parts per million -- below today's level of 385 ppm (ClimateWire, April 15). Hansen was not a signatory to this letter.
To achieve necessary cuts in greenhouse gas emission levels, the Waxman-Markey bill must be strengthened wherever possible and certainly not weakened before being passed into law, the letter says. And as Obama works to advance his health care reform agenda, the scientists are calling on the administration "to initiate an effort at least comparable in the area of climatic change."
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Climate Change Already Affecting America: Government Study June 17, 2009
Climate change is already being felt across the United States, from the shifting migration pattern of butterflies to heavier downpours in the Midwest and East. At this point, no matter what we do, we’ll still continue to see some worsening effects in the coming years.
That’s the conclusion the United States Global Change Research Program, a joint scientific venture of 13 federal agencies and the White House, has reached after a study on natural and human-caused effects on the environment.
From The New York Times:
Some of the effects being seen today and cited in the report are familiar, like more powerful tropical storms and erosion of ocean coastlines caused by melting Arctic ice. The study also cites an increase in drought in the Southwest and more intense heat waves in the Northeast as a result of growing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other climate-altering gases in the atmosphere.
Reduced mountain snowpack means earlier melt-offs and reduced stream volumes across the West and Northwest, affecting residential and agricultural water supplies, habitats for spawning fish and reduced hydroelectric power generation, the study found.
But the speed and severity of these effects in the future are expressed with less certainty in the report and will depend to some extent on how quickly the United States and other nations move to reduce emissions.
Climate change skeptics will be singing a different tune when their own families and homes are being affected. Why is it that so many of us aren’t fired up to act until the damage is clear in our own backyards?
Link [The New York Times] Photo credit: Flickr user Tidewater Muse
Related Ways to Take Action:
Friday, June 12, 2009
Clean Energy Economy Poised for Explosive Growth
Green jobs are hot and getting hotter, according to a new study by Pew Charitable Trusts. Green collar workers currently constitute a tiny but fast-growing sector of the U.S. economy, and that growth is going to explode in the coming months.
From The New York TimesThe “clean-energy economy” grew 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007 to 777,000 jobs. While that is just half a percent of all U.S. jobs, the clean-energy economy is poised to grow significantly with financial support from the public and private sectors, the Pew (pdf) concludes.
“The nation’s clean-energy economy is poised for explosive growth,” said Lori Grange, the Pew Center on the States’ interim deputy director. “The trends include surging venture capital investment … a critical growth rate in clean-energy generation, energy efficiency and environmentally friendly products.”
About 80 percent of venture capital investments in 2008 were in the clean energy and energy efficiency sector, broadly known as “cleantech.” And while cleantech slumped with overall venture capital in the first quarter of 2009, the sector outperformed telecommunications, media and other sectors, according to an analysis of Thompson Reuters data by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.
The Pew report cites Obama’s $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as the driving force behind the clean energy economy.
Oregon has the nation’s strongest clean energy economy on a per-capita basis, but California, the nation’s most populous state, had the most clean energy jobs last year with about 125,000.
The report’s lead researcher even says that the numbers are on the conservative side. Growth may be even bigger.
Clean energy jobs FTW!
Link [The New York Times]
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Carbon Sciences - News
Carbon Sciences - News
Carbon Sciences Announces Development Breakthroughs Shortening Path to Commercialization of Its CO2-to-Fuel Technology
Company's Recent Prototype Results and Computer Modeling Allow for Full Scale Pilot Design without Mini-Pilot Phase
Santa Barbara, CA - May 19, 2009 - Carbon Sciences, Inc. (CABN), the developer of a breakthrough technology to recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into gasoline and other fuels, today announced significant technology development breakthroughs that shorten the path to commercializing its CO2-to-Fuel technology.
Previously, the company had planned on developing a mini-pilot plant as the next scale up of its CO2-to-Fuel technology, where additional performance data would be obtained in order to design a full scale commercial pilot plant. However, recent breakthroughs in the
Dr. Naveed Aslam, the company's CTO, explained, "Current state-of-the-art computer aided process engineering (CAPE) tools allow system designers to design industrial scale plants with a high degree of confidence, with respect to its real-world performance. However, CAPE tools require very good input data for the performance of proprietary processes, such as our biocatalytic CO2-to-Fuel process. In traditional chemical engineering, the performance data of a prototype, or bench top system, vary dramatically from that of the pilot plant. Therefore, engineers were required to build a medium scale, or mini-pilot plant, to fine-tune the process before gaining confidence in the performance of a full-scale design. Because our CO2-to-Fuel biocatalytic process is optimized as a
Commenting on this exciting development, company president, Byron Elton, said, "This breakthrough saves us the time and the capital required to develop a mini-pilot plant. We are honored and fortunate to have Dr. Aslam, an expert in molecular modeling and CAPE tools, leading our development effort. We believe this will shorten our original go-to-market timeline by at least a year. The recent media coverage of Carbon Sciences, has resulted in partner inquires from all over the world. The interest in our proprietary CO2-to-Fuel technology is significant, and we look forward to working with qualified strategic partners in the near future."
Carbon Sciences was featured in recent articles in USA Today, New York Times, Newsweek Magazine, as well as being recognized during a Congressional hearing on carbon recycling.
About Carbon Sciences, Inc.
Carbon Sciences Inc. is developing a breakthrough technology to recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the basic fuel building blocks required to produce gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and other fuels. Innovating at the intersection of chemical engineering and bio-engineering disciplines, we are developing a highly scalable biocatalytic process to meet the fuel needs of the world. Our solution to energy and climate challenges is to enable a sustainable world of fuel consumption and climate stability by recycling CO2 into fuel. For example, Carbon Sciences' breakthrough technology can be used to recycle CO2 emitted from fossil fuel power plants into gasoline to run cars and jet fuel to fly aircraft. To learn more about the Company, please visit our website at http://www.carbonsciences.com.
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