Lights Out, Green In

Weekend Links

tadams — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:02:35 +0000

The U.S. puts high tariffs on Chinese solar panels (NY Times).

A controversial Brazilian forest bill may be vetoed (NY Times).

Beach erosion is a growing problem for Hawaii (NY Times).

Oil prices have dropped 13% this month (Washington Post).

So far, most airlines are conforming with EU emissions reporting rules (BBC).

A UK climate fix balloon is grounded for a year (BBC).

Flowers in the crosshairs

tadams — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:44:54 +0000

(Posting for Matt)

In case you’re wondering just what climate change is affecting, add two more aspects of every day life: flowers and rice, according to reports released earlier this month.

In the case of rice, the effects are being felt in Southeast Asia:

The countries of South and Southeast Asia are home to more than 30 percent of the world’s population, about half of whom depend on agriculture—mainly rice, but also other crops such as wheat—for their livelihoods. But according to the World Bank, global warming could reduce agricultural productivity in the region by 10 to 50 percent in the next 30 years.

With flowers, the scientists found in many countries that the old timeframe for predicting when plants would flower was wrong:

The study finds experiments had underestimated the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and growing leaves by four times. It says long-term historical records show leafing and flowering will advance an average of five to six days per degree Celsius.

“Future plant and ecosystem responses to warming may be much higher than previously estimated from experimental data,” study author Elsa Cleland said.

Add in the effect of climate change on coffee, chocolate, syrup, skiing … and the list is even longer than just deadly storms or changes to sea levels.

Links- 5/14

tadams — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:49:00 +0000

Coastal erosion threatens RI (NY Times).

The EU struggles to keep leading on climate change (BBC).

The UN adopts land grab guidelines (BBC).

California and Quebec are close to a deal on trading carbon permits (NY Times).

The Interior Department approves new natural gas wells in Utah (Washington Post).

Biodiversity losses add to cultural diversity losses, a study finds (BBC).

Weekend Links

tadams — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:58:56 +0000

Solar power may have a bright future in India (Washington Post). Meanwhile, installation deals are spurring growth in the U.S. (NY Times).

Plastic waste increases in the Pacific Ocean (BBC).

Britain’s Environment Agency head supports fracking expansion (BBC).

Fewer satellites could impede weather forecasting (LA Times).

Oil prices have come down a little (Washington Post).

This is Tap

tadams — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:40:46 +0000

(Posting for Matt).

Remember when it seemed weird to pay $1 for a bottle of water? Now, you’d wonder what was wrong with that bottle, being it only cost $1. Yup, the world of SmartWater and Fiji have upped the market even above Poland Springs. And with the economic pinch we’re all in these days, that makes it even more important to take note of Drinking Water Week. For those who say they can’t afford alternative energy options, just make sure you’re not doling out $1,000 a year on bottled water.

One Massachusetts town – Concord – has gone so far as to ban the sale of bottled water in its town. An interesting move – and one that speaks to how much of a problem bottled water is for the environment.

Drinking Water Week promotes tap water as the best not only for your environment (no plastic bottles!), but also for your wallet. The EPA website promoting the week includes a slew of contests and campaign materials. Please check it out and think before you drink – choose tap water.

Links- 5/7

tadams — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:14:25 +0000

Japan closes its last nuclear reactor (BBC).

The EU hosts a climate change meeting this week (BBC).

An Endangered Species Act truce is in jeopardy (Washington Post).

Proposed new fracking rules give some ground to industry (NY Times).

Signage for electric vehicle charging stations has been tricky (NY Times).

Weekend Links

tadams — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:05:11 +0000

TransCanada will reapply for a Keystone XL pipeline permit (Washington Post).

E-mails show EPA frustration with the White House (Washington Post).

One part of the atmosphere is clouding the consensus on climate change (NY Times).

Green energy helps Nordic countries be more attractive for data centers (NY Times).

Warming affects plants more than originally thought, a report says (BBC).

Spin on wind

mmartinelli — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:00:10 +0000

The headline – “Wind farms are warming the earth, researchers say” – seemed like a gotcha headline, and after further review, it turned out to be true.

Sure, the study does say that the ground near wind turbines is warmer, but it didn’t mean that it is actually contributing to global warming as we’re lead to believe in some articles.

“Researchers used satellite data from 2003 to 2011 to examine surface temperatures across as wide swath of west Texas, which has built four of the world’s largest wind farms. The data showed a direct correlation between night-time temperatures increases of 0.72 degrees C (1.3 degrees F) and the placement of the farms.”

One thing the story mentions is the number of turbines in the Texas region studies has risen from 111 in 2003 to 2,358 last year. That’s a good thing.

Later stories went into more depth on the study. The researcher clarified the comments:

“Very likely, the wind turbines do not create a net warming of the air and instead only re-distribute the air’s heat near the surface, which is fundamentally different from the large-scale warming effect caused by increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.”

And one researcher – in addition to shooting down wind turbines’ negative effect on climate change – found some upside in the findings.

“This is a small, local impact that should not be confused with what is typically thought of as “climate change.” One possible outcome of this local effect is that you would be able to extend growing seasons for crops grown near wind turbines. There might be additional impacts that haven’t yet been anticipated, but it is clear that these impacts bear no resemblance in scope, magnitude or severity to global climate disruption.”

The initial news articles, which were picked up nearly everywhere, would’ve been better served using the “land-surface temperature” term used in the headline for the actual study rather than the generic “Earth” term that caused confusion.

Let’s hope this blip in wind turbine PR turns out to be minor – and that the nearly 20-fold increase can be maintained. Wind turbines might not be THE answer to climate change, but they’re AN answer.

Links- 4/30

tadams — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:44:19 +0000

The International Energy Agency says that significant temperature increases are likely in the coming decades (BBC).

Ford’s electric Focus is the first of its kind to have the same powertrain as a gas-powered car (LA Times).

The British prime minister says green energy will be cheaper in the coming years (BBC).

A new book takes an in-depth look at ExxonMobil (NY Times).

Flooding helped increase the growth of invasive species (Washington Post).

Brazil passes a controversial forest law (BBC).

Weekend Links

tadams — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:12:50 +0000

A BP engineer faces criminal charges (Washington Post).

Extreme weather poses an increased threat, a study finds (NY Times).

Earth’s glaciers are out of balance (BBC).

Consumption levels and population growth are unsustainable, a report says (BBC).

Public opinion is split on eliminating energy subsidies (LA Times).

Indian artifacts complicate a solar project (LA Times).

Does sustainable seafood live up to the hype? (Washington Post).