CrashingBashley's Blog

The CO2 problem no one is talking about.

CrashingBashley — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:50:59 EST

As atmospheric CO2 concentration increases, its solubility into the earth's oceans also increases. The increase of CO2 concentration in the surface sea water is making the oceans more acidic, by reacting with the water to form carbonic acid. Also, the abundance of protons in the water is decreasing the carbonate saturation of the water. Many creatures, including coral reefs and, well anything that lives in a shell, uses the carbonate ions in the water to precipitate calcium carbonate which makes up their skeletal structures. Ocean acidification is a major problem with devastating effects that are happening right now. The major differences between this problem and global warming are, first, the acidifying effects of atmospheric CO2 rely on BASIC chemistry to produce the hypothesis, not models or projections; second, the changes may happen so suddenly that adaptive tendencies of a species may not have time to cope with a changing environment. This means that when the ocean pH reaches the calcification threshold, these species would be lost, forever. I have been surprised at how little attention this problem has been given. I found one group working towards a solution. An open source project called Cquestrate has an idea that would, potentially, reduce atmospheric CO2, actually turning back the clock on climate change, while, at the same time, mitigating ocean acidification. This slide show explains the process http://www.cquestrate.com/the-idea/slideshow-presentation
It seems to me that without communication from all disciplines of science with industry and policy making, solving climate change will never happen, and, disturbingly, we may make a mistake that would make matters worse.

Pelosi Softens Offshore Drilling Stance By IAN TALLEY August 16, 2008 12:28 p.m.

CrashingBashley — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:32:51 EDT

WASHINGTON -- In one of the clearest signs yet that the Democratic leadership is softening its stance towards expanded domestic oil production, the U.S. House Speaker outlined an energy bill Saturday that includes new offshore exploration.

The policy shift follows a similar move in recent days by Democratic leaders in the Senate and by presidential candidate Barack Obama in the face of a public angered by high energy prices.

In remarks prepared for the Democratic Radio Address Saturday morning, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said a new "bipartisan effort... will consider opening portions of the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling, with appropriate safeguards."

Just a few weeks ago, the Speaker said Republican calls for a vote just on drilling was "a hoax on the American people."

According to people familiar with the Speaker's proposal, Ms. Pelosi's plan borrows from a bipartisan plan proposed by a "Gang of Ten" senators -- five from each party -- that allows several east-coast states to opt into drilling off their shores. It doesn't allow drilling off the California or eastern coast of Florida, the people said.

In a teleconference Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) also indicated he would allow a drilling vote -- possibly a version of the "Gang of Ten" proposal -- though his highest priority is implementing long-term tax credits for renewable energy production and investment.

While Ms. Pelosi's proposal may offset frustration by voters who've made a pointed statement in recent polls supporting more offshore drilling, the Speaker is likely dooming the election-year effort to failure by including a number of provisions Republicans have balked at, such as tax increases for oil companies.

In her attempt to outmaneuver Republicans, Ms. Pelosi may be using some of the same tools that Mr. Reid used in the recent Senate energy bill debate. Before the August recess, the majority leader offered the Republicans a vote on drilling, but conditioned it on Republican support for renewable energy tax credits, and the chamber failed to pass any energy legislation. Neither side appears to want to actually reach a compromise, but are simply using energy as an election-year bat with which to beat their opponents.

"Raising taxes will ultimately hurt consumers by forcing them to pay even higher gas prices, and Republicans will oppose them," Kevin Smith, spokesman for House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R., Ohio) said in an email.

Mr. Smith said Ms. Pelosi's plan was "largely more of the same failed proposals they've been trotting out for months," and is "designed to give political cover to vulnerable Democrats who are losing ground," he said.

Ms. Pelosi had already signaled the new tack in the battle over energy policy earlier this week, saying in a CNN interview she may allow a vote on drilling if it was tied to renewable energy incentives.

The Speaker's new comments make her planned energy bill explicit, though aides say discussions over the final package are continuing. The draft proposal includes several measures that Republicans have already blocked in Congress: releasing oil from the strategic petroleum reserve and a renewable electricity standard that would require a rising percentage of power to come from sources such as wind and wave generation.

The biggest "poison" provision for the GOP is the proposed repeal of tax breaks to Big Oil, such as the manufacturing and foreign-earned income credits.

Republican leadership, presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), and President George W. Bush have all made clear the tax issue is a deal-breaker.

"The Democratic leadership should bring up a clean bill, give the members a chance to vote up or down on whether or not we should proceed with offshore drilling, and not insert any legislative poison pills," Mr. Bush said earlier this week after Pelosi indicated she would allow a vote on drilling. "Those would be provisions that they know will never be enacted and are added only for the purpose of killing the effort to open up the...Outer Continental Shelf to drilling," Mr. Bush said.

Patrick Creighton, a spokesman for Rep. John Peterson, R-Penn., a key drilling proponent in the House, said the the plan "rehashes washed-up garbage that didn't have the ability to pass this House, and they're going to try to couple that with limited offshore production."

Pelosi's bill would also include an anti-speculation provision that seeks to rein in what many lawmakers believe is "excessive" speculative trading, giving the commodities futures regulator greater powers to set trading limits, particularly in the over-the-counter markets.

The Speaker also plans to recoup royalties on faulty 1998-1999 leases that many lawmakers believe oil companies should pay, a proposal that a substantial number of Republicans have opposed.

The GOP has been trying to use a swell of public support for increased petroleum exploration -- including in areas currently closed on the Outer Continental Shelf -- and Democrats' prior opposition to lifting a decades-old drilling moratorium as a key election-year strategy. Since Congress recessed at the beginning of August, House Republicans have staged a revolt on the floor of the chamber, demanding the Speaker reconvene to allow a vote on drilling.

Falling oil prices may take steam out of the political pressure cooker with voter outrage over high energy prices tempered by falling prices at the pump. Crude has plummeted around 23% to $113 a barrel from a high in July of nearly $148, and gasoline prices are following suit.

The drilling, taxes and renewables proposal may help to take more of the sting out Republican attacks. Based on her prior history, Pelosi won't likely allow Republicans to amend her proposal, or a straight vote just on drilling.

A Democratic leadership aide said the Speaker hadn't yet decided if she would allow amendments.

Let's get a little more actvie shall we?

CrashingBashley — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:32:11 EDT

I joined the We Campaign hoping that I could meet people actively working towards our goal. I have come to realize that some of us have joined this campaign to 'add' as many 'friends' possible to his or her profile. A Green Facebook/Myspace..

I ask of anyone who reads this post to tell me what he/she is doing to spread awareness of the We Campaign. What actions are being taken to let elected officials know how "WE" feel about our nation's future energy needs/sources. Let us take action, not compete for profile popularity.

DOE to Invest in Grid Integration Systems for Solar Energy

CrashingBashley — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:37:12 EDT

DOE is funding the development of equipment that will allow solar power systems, such as this system atop San Francisco's Moscone Center, to interact more effectively with the power grid.
Credit: SunPower Corporation

DOE announced on August 12 that it plans to invest up to $24 million over a number of years to develop products that connect solar power systems with the electrical grid in an interactive way. DOE has selected 12 industry teams that will receive $2.9 million in current fiscal year funding to develop conceptual designs and market analyses for such Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) projects. The projects will focus on solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and will involve such efforts as developing systems that can communicate with an interactive utility grid and advanced power meters to respond to power price changes over the course of a day, systems that can work with energy storage devices and "smart" appliances to respond to utility price signals, and systems that can interact with building energy management systems.

The goal is to maximize the value of PV systems and offer consumers greater control over their electric consumption and costs. In the future, and subject to congressional appropriations, additional funding will be provided for the projects that achieve the most promising technological advancements while demonstrating a high likelihood of commercial success. The SEGIS projects are integral to President Bush's Solar America Initiative (SAI), which aims to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015. See the DOE press release and the SEGIS information on the SAI Web page of DOE's Sandia National Laboratories.

Democrats: White House must publish 'chilling' climate change document

CrashingBashley — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:55:10 EDT

* Elana Schor
* guardian.co.uk,
* Friday July 25 2008
* Article history

The row over US inaction on carbon emissions reached new heights yesterday after the White House allowed Congress to look at last year's government proposal to officially deem climate change a threat to public health - a plan that aides to George Bush refused to acknowledge or read.

The climate plan was finished in December by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in response to a supreme court ruling that required the Bush administration to state whether carbon emissions should be regulated to protect public health.

The EPA concluded that regulation was needed, but whistleblowers have revealed that the White House ordered the agency to scrap its proposal. Democratic attempts to investigate the backroom dealings were stymied until this week, when senators were finally permitted a look at the plan.

The chairman of the Senate environment committee, California Democrat Barbara Boxer, released a summary of the proposal to reporters. Boxer was allowed to take notes on the plan but not given a copy.

"Based on the evidence before him, the [EPA] administrator believes it is reasonable to conclude current and future emissions of greenhouse gases will contribute to future climate change," the proposal stated.

"The US has a long and populous coastline," the EPA continued. "Sea level rise will continue and exacerbate storm surge flooding and coastline erosion … in areas where heat waves already occur, they are expected to be more intense, more frequent, and longer-lasting."

The EPA proposal also predicted that warming temperatures would lead to more wildfires in western US states and "additional strain" on already overtaxed water resources in the dry south-east and western regions.

Democrats asked the EPA administrator, Stephen Johnson, to testify next week at a hearing exploring allegations of White House obstruction on climate change. But Johnson refused, citing executive privilege and forcing the cancellation of the hearing.

"The American people are poorly served by an administration whose head of environmental protection cannot appear before a Senate committee and honestly discuss what he did and why he did it," senior Democrat Patrick Leahy said.

The next step may be holding Johnson in contempt of Congress, which would effectively move the dispute into the judicial system. White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former Bush counsellor Karl Rove were found in contempt last year after refusing to cooperate with a different investigation, but their case has yet to move forward.

Boxer decried the White House's decision not to release the full EPA proposal to the public.

"It is clear. It is chilling. It is detailed," she said to colleagues yesterday. "That information belongs to the American people and we must get it to them. Then they will decide whether we should act to prevent this coming crisis or sit on our hands."

The EPA attempted to downplay the controversy in a statement to the Washington Post that called the proposal "a pre-decisional draft document" and "nothing new".

Coal Burning in Kingsnorth by Ashok Sinha

CrashingBashley — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:10:54 EDT

*
*
o Ashok Sinha
o guardian.co.uk,
o Tuesday July 22, 2008

There's a little village in Kent called Kingsnorth, population 7,000. You probably haven't heard of it. It's got a doctor's surgery, a pub, two primary schools and a part-time post office. Not a place of global significance - until now that is.

Kingsnorth is the proposed site of Britain's first new coal-fired power station for decades. If it goes ahead it will open the door to a new generation of coal-fired power stations. If this happens, then the message will go out across the world that the UK, and probably other industrialised countries too, are going to set fire to their climate change targets and burn more of the stuff that has done most to cause global warming. And where the west leads, the rest will follow; why should the likes of China curb their dependence on coal when we are set to renew ours?

That's why a group of Kingsnorth residents who are opposed to this development invited the leaders of Oxfam, WWF, the Women's Institute, the RSPB, Christian Aid, Greenpeace, Tearfund, People & Planet and Friends of the Earth to visit them to see what's happening.

On their visit today, these representatives of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition (combined supporter base of millions) are calling on the government to halt to its plans to develop new coal-fired power stations like Kingsnorth that have no means of fully capturing their carbon emissions from the outset. The visit coincides with the publication of a report from parliament's influential environmental audit committee, which warns that a new coal programme would "lock Britain into a high level of emissions for many years to come".

Let's be clear what's at stake: without urgent action by Gordon Brown and other world leaders, climate change will have devastating consequences. Hundreds of millions of people, particularly the world's poorest and most vulnerable, will be put at severe risk of drought, floods, starvation and disease. By the middle of the century up to one-third of land-based species could face extinction. That's what we will face if we continue to burn coal as before.

There is an alternative. Instead of supporting the one global industry that does most to cause climate change, we should invest in a strong, homegrown renewable energy industry and send a powerful signal to the international community that the UK is prepared to help lead the transition to a low-carbon future for our world. In making this transition the UK will prove the case internationally that action to tackle the inseparable challenges of climate change and fossil fuel-addiction will protect the environment, create new jobs and increase energy security.

By investing in green energy, energy efficiency and smarter ways of living and working we can meet our climate change targets and keep the lights on. Sounds like a win-win to me. What's needed now is courage from Brown to go out and make that case with the electorate.

Ashok Sinha is director of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition