Is this the near-future of aviation, since peak oil production is coming sooner than expected?
MIT-Designed Futuristic Airplanes Use 70% Less Fuel Than Current Models
What will the airplanes of the future be like? This is the question that the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT tried to answer for NASA. The goal was to look 3 generations ahead of the current planes (that’s around the 2035 timeframe) and improve substantially on current tech in the areas of fuel-efficiency, noise, NOx emissions, safety, etc. Two plane designs came out of the research project; one to replace the current Boeing 737, and the other to replace the 777. Read on for more details.
180-Passenger D Series [image below, from MIT]
The smaller of the two designs, the 180-passenger D “double bubble” series plane would be used for domestic flights. Built with current conventional aluminum and current jet technology, it would burn about 50% less fuel than a 737. But if it used more advanced materials and jet tech, fuel savings could be as high as 70%. That’s very significant, especially if oil-based fuel is replaced with advanced biofuels made without fossil-fuel inputs.350-Passenger H Series [image at top, from MIT]
The bigger of the two planes is the 350-passenger H “hybrid wing body” series that would replace the 777 for international flights. One interesting result from using the flying-wing approach: “The large center body creates a forward lift that eliminates the need for a tail to balance the aircraft.” The H would also meet NASA’s 70% fuel reduction target, as well as the 75% NOx emission reduction goal.
Using Ice to Cool Down the Grid
Over the next few weeks, a consortium of municipal utilities in California will begin retrofitting government offices and commercial properties with systems that use ice made at night to replace air-conditioning during the day. It’s part of a pilot program for the devices, which are built by Windsor, CO-based Ice Energy. If widely deployed, they could reduce fuel consumption by utilities by up to 30 percent and put off the need for new power plants.
The first devices will be installed on about two dozen city-owned buildings in Glendale, CA, under the plan being coordinated by the Southern California Public Power Authority. Over the next two years, the 11 participating utilities will install 1,500 of the devices, providing a total of 53 megawatts of energy storage to relieve strain on the region’s electrical grid. The project is the first large-scale implementation of Ice Energy’s technology.
Each Ice Energy device is designed to make ice overnight, when demand for electricity is low, using a high-efficiency compressor to freeze 450 gallons of water. Around midday, the cooling mode kicks in, and the device shuts off the building’s regular air conditioner for a six-hour cycle. It pipes a stream of coolant from the slowly melting block of ice to an evaporator coil installed within the building’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning blower system. Once the ice is melted, the air conditioner returns to normal operation. Brian Parsonnet, Ice Energy’s chief technology officer, says the Ice Bear can cut a building’s power consumption by 95 percent during peak hours on the hottest days.
Cutting demand for electricity during peak hours reduces the need to build new power plants. It also allows utilities to rely on their most efficient power plants, says Ronald Domitrovic, a senior project manager for electric utilization at the Electric Power Research Institute. He says that when utilities fire up their “least efficient, oldest, and least desirable” generating resources to meet peak demand, every increment of increased power on the grid sends costs surging, whether one is talking fuel costs, greenhouse gas emissions, or service reliability. However, at night, utilities draw on their most efficient power plants, which use less fuel than power plants used only during peak hours. The utility also saves energy at other points in the grid–for example, cooler power lines at night transmit electricity more efficiently.
Mighty River Plans More Investment in U.S. Geothermal Projects
Mighty River Power Ltd., operator of the world’s largest single-turbine geothermal generating unit, has increased funding to help identify and build power projects in the U.S. and Chile.
The company today announced a $107 million investment in a $400 million, 49.9 megawatt geothermal power plant in Southern California, its first in the U.S. The New Zealand government- owned generator said it has also more than doubled to $250 million a fund available for projects identified by its Denver, Colorado-based associate GeoGlobal Energy LLC.
“GGE’s capability in identifying potential projects in the U.S. as well as Chile has really started to bear fruit,” Mighty River Chief Executive Officer Doug Heffernan said in a phone interview from Auckland today. “We think there are some other prospects that they may well bring to the table in the U.S. over the next two or three years.”
Mighty River is among the world’s 10 largest operators of underground steam fields. It’s investing internationally to profit from its experience building large-scale geothermal power projects, its relationships with bankers and plant manufacturers, and increasing global demand for non-polluting energy.
Geothermal plants tap heat from the earth to power turbines and generate electricity 24 hours a day with minimal emissions. New Zealand, Chile and the west coast of the U.S. lie on the 40,000-kilometer (25,000-mile) chain of active volcanoes that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. The zone, known as the Ring of Fire, also includes Japan and Indonesia.
Obama proposes $800M fund to clean, redevelop shuttered GM plants
The Obama administration announced plans today to create an $800 million fund to clean up and redevelop more than 90 former General Motors Co. plants shuttered during the automaker’s restructuring.
The plan still needs approval from state officials and the bankruptcy court overseeing Motors Liquidation, the “Old GM” that was broken off during the bankruptcy process, but the administration said it hopes to have the trust up and running by the end of this year.
The fund would include roughly $530 million for environmental cleanup with another $300 million available for other costs, such as demolition of unwanted buildings, property taxes and plant security. It would be paid for with money set aside during the restructuring process, which was overseen by President Obama’s auto task force, and is not expected to require additional federal cash.
The cleanup fund will be overseen by U.S. EPA and the White House Council on Auto Communities and Workers.
“We are making a significant investment in better health, a cleaner environment and a brighter future in communities that need our support,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said. “Supporting the restoration of polluted sites not only protects human health and the environment, it also fosters new economic possibilities, makes these communities more competitive and opens pathways to long-term success.”
The fund is only for former GM plants and does not cover shuttered sites owned by Chrysler Group LLC, which also received billions of dollars in federal aid to undergo massive restructuring.
Google searches for smart, green energy investments
Google is looking to expand into the energy smart meters business and to invest in renewable generation projects in Europe, the head of green business operations at the internet giant said on Tuesday.
The aim of smart metering technology is to let customers view real-time electricity and gas consumption and allow them to optimize usage and therefore cut energy waste and save money by using energy during low demand periods.
Through Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the internet firm, the company has developed a free web-based application called PowerMeter which collects data from smart meters and displays the data on a customizable customer webpage.
“We’re looking at getting more utility partners and more device partners. We’re always looking for a broader reach and we’re talking to utilities in all the major markets,” Ben Kott told Reuters on the sidelines at a news briefing in London.
In partnership with British independent energy retailer, First Utility, Google is providing an opt-in service to the utility’s 30,000 smart meter customers.
“I think in the UK, people are relatively open to this, not only focusing on cost but also efficiency. It is also a highly liberal energy market, so there are opportunities for companies like First Utility who wouldn’t be able to operate in other markets,” Kott said.
He said there were no plans to charge for the PowerMeter web application.
“There’s no money going backwards and forwards,” First Utility chief executive Mark Daeche said.
Google is also looking at investing in renewable power generation projects in Europe, following a $38.8 million U.S. wind farm investment in North Dakota in early May.
Malaysia Spearheads Clean Energy Bank for Islamic Nations
Malaysia is prepared to spearhead the creation of a clean energy development bank for Islamic countries, Prime Minister Najib Razak today.
Clean energy and security of energy supply are “becoming a priority for countries with few, if any, hydrocarbon resources,” Najib said in a speech at the World Islamic Forum in Kuala Lumpur today. “There is tremendous potential for the development of alternative energy sources.”
The so-called Clean Energy Development Bank would accelerate the development of clean energy-related industries in developing countries of 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, he said, adding that the initiative will be further discussed at the forum tomorrow.
The Kyoto climate-protection treaty expires in 2012 and negotiators are trying to work out new mechanisms to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. The Copenhagen summit last year failed to lead to a binding agreement, with negotiators settling for a more limited political accord.
Previous in TP Climate Progress
Using ice to cool down the grid is a cute way to describe the development, but the real story is that energy storage is starting to take off.
California is looking at legislation which would require utilities to incorporate energy storage in their distribution networks. Utilities would be mandated to create storage equal to 2.25% of daytime peak power by 2014 and 5% of daytime peak power by 2020.
PG&E is building the country’s second CAES facility and another CA utility company is creating a third CA pump-up hydro storage site.
Storing cold for hot afternoons is part of the package, and something that individual businesses can do to cut their personal utility bills.
Arctic sea ice extent reached the daily level of record-setting-year 2007 today. And the ‘melt slope’ has been unusually steep compared to 2007 and average 1979-2000 melt rates.
Thin ice melts quickly.
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_stddev_timeseries.png
The British explorers to the North Pole encounter unusual conditions.
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/41335
This summer may shock even the Anti-Science faction.
Tomorrow’s Nature will publish an article by NOAA scientists summarizing the heat buildup in the oceans from 1993 to 2008. A comprehensive study on OHC will be very helpful, although it is unfortunate the study period started in a year just after Pinatubo impacts, and ended in a La Nina year during the minimum phase of the solar cycle. Josh Willis was a key participant in this work.
Here is a NOAA press release announcing the paper publication.
The NASA future airplane study also included GE aviation, Northrup Grumman, and Boeing teams.
Presser here (includes links to expansive .pdf presentations by each team):
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/features/future_airplanes.html
Batman had smaller version of that plane years ago …
This is only meaningful in the reaction the approach to this moment has caused over at WUWT, where Steven Goddard – after a couple of months of claiming “sea ice has recovered!” – has just discovered that ice extent numbers in winter and spring are very poor predictors of the minimum extent in September.
However …
This is very interesting, I’ve been watching it the past month, and everything points to continued rapid melting for at least the next month. The ice area anomaly is higher than in the last two years at this time, and we all know that ice volume is greatly diminished.
Could be an interesting summer …
That ice-making plan reminds me somewhat of a process apparently now being used in Europe where cold-storage facilities are “over-cooled” at night, allowing their refrigeration plants to coast during daytimes. This idea was suggested by an outsider neophyte and turned out to be essentially free to implement. Keep those thinking caps screwed on…
Following Leif’s link:
Martin Hartley, a member of the team, said the condition of the ice was unpleasantly bad.
“We spent a couple of days walking on ice that was three or four inches thick with no other thicker ice around, which was a big surprise to us,” he told the news conference.
“On more than one occasion we came across enormous areas of very thin ice, which is quite stressful to travel on. We came across open water which we had to swim across.”
At one point an ice floe the team’s tent was moored on broke apart, although no one was injured.
Last month explorers at the team’s ice base some 680 miles further south reported a three-minute rain shower, which they described as a freak event.
Arctic team reports unusual conditions near Pole
The sort of anecdotes on which Goddard normally thrives…
A few years ago (6-8) I was at a house where a grid tie solar system was being installed. It was a trial site for PG&E, they were giving the homeowner some nice rebates and testing some of their gear.
One device was a clock run thermostat for the deep freezer. It was programmed to take the freezer low at night and to not switch it on during peak hours unless a maximum temperature threshold was hit. They also furnished a thermal blanket to go over the freezer. (Not a big inconvenience since freezers are not often opened.)
Smart grid, version 1.0….
Cyclone Laila Hits Andhra Pradesh Coastal Areas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmwzmfRnwJs
Cyclonic Storm Laila (JTWC designation: 01B) is the first cyclonic storm to affect southeastern India in May since the 1990 Andhra Pradesh cyclone.
The first tropical cyclone of the 2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Laila developed in May 17 in the Bay of Bengal from a persistent area of convection. Strengthening as it tracked northwestward, it became a severe cyclonic storm on May 19. It is currently approaching landfall in southeastern India, having already caused flooding and damage along its path.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Laila
World’s Largest Forest Protection Deal Signed in Canada
http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100519/worlds-largest-forest-protection-deal-signed-canada
Did Deepwater Methane Hydrates Cause the BP Gulf Explosion?
http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100519/did-deepwater-methane-hydrates-cause-bp-gulf-explosion
The Deepwater Horizon rig was drilling in Block 252 of an area known as the Mississippi Canyon of the Gulf, thought to contain methane hydrate-bearing sediments, according to government maps. The platform was operating less than 20 miles from a methane hydrate research site located in the same canyon at Block 118.
From the sea floor a mile down, the Deepwater Horizon rig had penetrated another 18,000 feet — almost another five miles down — into the earth’s crust with pipe.
Although public discussion of damage from methane hydrate accidents appears to be minimal, the danger is well-recognized within the industry. Last November, one Halliburton executive gave a presentation before a meeting of the American Association of Drilling Engineers in Houston, titled “Deepwater Cementing Consideration to Prevent Hydrate Destabilization.”
It recognizes that the cementing process releases heat which can destabilize methane hydrates, and presents something called Cement System 2 as a solution to the problem. One of the graphs shows that the system doesn’t achieve gel strength for four hours.
Yet according to an eyewitness report broadcast on Sunday on 60 Minutes, BP managers made the decision to decrease pressure in the well column by removing drilling mud before the cement had solidified in three plugs Halliburton had poured.
When a surge of gas started shooting up the well, a crucial seal on the blowout preventer at the well head on the ocean floor failed. It had been damaged weeks before and neglected as inconsequential by Transocean managers, according to the CBS news broadcast, even after chunks of rubber emerged from the drilling column on the surface.
According to the Associated Press, the victims of the Deepwater Horizon explosion said the blast occurred right after workers “introduced heat to set the cement seal around the wellhead.” It is not known if Halliburton was employing Cement System 2, and testifying before the Senate last week, a Halliburton executive made no mention of methane hydrate hazards associated with cementing in deepwater.
A Promising Substance
Professors Koh and Sum are concerned that a focus on the dangers of methane hydrates in deepwater drilling will obscure their promise as an energy solution of the future. They are conducting research in the laboratory to create methane hydrates synthetically in order to take advantage of their peculiar properties. With their potential to store gas (both natural gas and hydrogen) efficiently within a crystalline structure, hydrogen hydrates could one day offer a potential solution for making fuel cells operate economically. Still at the fundamental stage, their work on storage is not yet complete enough to apply to commercial systems.
At the same time, there is an international competition underway to develop technology to harvest the vast deposits of methane hydrates in the world’s oceans. Japan has joined the US and Canada in pursuit of this energy bonanza, motivated by the $23 billion it spends annually to import liquefied natural gas.
According to a Bloomberg News article called “Japan Mines Flammable Ice, Flirts with Environmental Disaster,” the Japanese trade ministry is targeting 2016 to start commercial production, even as a Tokyo University scientist warned against causing a massive undersea landslide that could suddenly trigger a massive methane hydrate release.
The U.S. has a research program underway in collaboration with the oil industry, authorized by the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 1999. The National Methane Hydrates R&D Program is housed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) of the Department of Energy.
The National Academy of Sciences provided a briefing for Congress last January on the energy potential of methane hydrates based on its report which asserts that “no technical challenges have been identified as insurmountable” in the pursuit of commercial production of methane hydrates.
http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100519/did-deepwater-methane-hydrates-cause-bp-gulf-explosion
France Plans Group to Lay Solar Power Net
France is forming a group of companies to lay an undersea power network that will bring electricity from North Africa to Europe, Handelsblatt reported.
The network, called Transgreen, will transport electricity from the Desertec solar power project, which France fears is too dominated by Germany, the newspaper said, citing unidentified people in the industry. Siemens AG, already part of Desertec, plans to join Transgreen as well, the newspaper said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=adGS0TaK3ET0
AREVA in Niger: the human cost of nuclear power (video)
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/nuclear-reaction/2010/05/areva_in_niger_the_human_cost.html
Urinary tract infections are becoming increasingly hard to treat because of emerging resistance to current antibiotic drugs, experts warn.
They say the problem is spawned by the overuse of antibiotics in the farming industry which enter the food chain.
Scientists from the University of Hong Kong found evidence suggesting resistance genes are being passed from animals to humans in this way.
Dr Ho said: “With the international trading of meats and food animals, antibiotic resistance in one geographic area can easily become global.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8687512.stm
Oil self-regulates around globe
The U.S. government is not alone in ceding responsibility to the oil industry for the design of key safety features on offshore rigs, a trend coming under scrutiny worldwide following the deadly blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
Across the globe, industry-driven regulation is the norm, not the exception — and critics are calling for a re-examination of a system that puts crucial safety decisions into the hands of corporations motivated by profit.
An Associated Press investigation shows other nations harvesting oil and gas from offshore fields, including Britain, Norway, Australia and Canada, have moved in the same direction: Governments set the general safety standards that must be met, but leave it to rig operators to work out the details.
The shift away from more heavy-handed regulation started about two decades ago and was based on the notion that oil companies best know the risks of offshore operations — and how to minimize them.
But the Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20 and another platform incident in the Timor Sea off Australia last year have raised concerns that Big Oil has been given too much leeway to police itself.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hV9lgiFKDavNAn7HnNPIwBcDXOvgD9FQG4E00
Climate Change Hits the Oceans
To get a measure of what’s truly going on, scientists look to the oceans — slow to heat up, slow to cool down, and thus less prone to short-term variations. Indeed, says John Lyman an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii, “about 80 or 90 percent of the extra heat absorbed by the planet is absorbed into the oceans.” That being the case, Lyman and several colleagues set about trying to see how the ocean’s heat content has changed over the past couple of decades. The result, appearing in the current issue of Nature, will give little comfort to climate change deniers: the oceans have been warming inexorably since at least 1993, at a rate broadly consistent with what you’d expect from the buildup of greenhouse gases.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1990544,00.html
Unprecedented Warming in Lake Tanganyika and its impact on humanity
http://www.skepticalscience.com/Unprecedented-Warming-in-Lake-Tanganyika-and-its-impact-on-humanity.html
Report points to climate change in Champlain Valley
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=12503410
2010 Warmest on Record So Far
The combined April global land and ocean average surface temperature was the warmest on record at 58.1 F (14.5 C), which is 1.37 F (0.76 C) above the 20th century average of 56.7 F (13.7 C).
· The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature was the warmest on record for January to April at 56.0 F (13.3 C), which is 1.24 F (0.69 C) above the 20th century average.
· Separately, the global ocean surface temperature was 1.03 F (0.57 C) above the 20th century average of 60.9 F (16.0 C) and the warmest on record for April.
· The global land surface temperature was 2.32 F (1.29 C) above the 20th century average of 46.5 F (8.1 C) — the third warmest on record for April. The most prominent warmth was in Canada, Alaska, the eastern United States, Australia, South Asia, northern Africa and northern Russia.
http://www.livescience.com/environment/2010-warmest-year-so-far-100519.html
Heatwave kills 230 in Mandalay
Heatwave kills 230 in Mandalay
A near unprecedented heatwave in Burma that has pushed temperatures as high as 47C over the past fortnight continues to claim lives across the country.
China-based Xinhua news agency said that temperatures in central Burma from late April to mid-May were at a 40-year high, while in Rangoon and Bago division, current temperatures are five to eight degrees Celsius above average.
http://www.dvb.no/news/heatwave-kills-230-in-mandalay/9091
Now put in the prospect of temperature rise over the next years/decades.
Flood damage tops $1.9 billion
Private property flood damage in Davidson County has eclipsed $1.9 billion, according to information provided Wednesday by Mayor Karl Dean and top Metro officials who are working on a plan to buy out some homeowners.
The record flood damaged more than 11,000 properties, and many homeowners are wondering whether the government will buy their properties. Dean said the city is working on a buyout plan, but key elements have not been determined, including how many homes might qualify and how Metro would come up with the money to pay its portion of the cost.
“Seeing how the neighborhoods are impacted two weeks later really brings home that, while we have made tremendous progress due in large part to the community spirit of our city and the willingness of neighbors to help neighbors, we have a long way to go,” the mayor said.
“And a lot of the issues are very complicated.”
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100520/NEWS0202/5200342/-1/nsitemapXML/Flood-damage-tops–1.9-billion
Central European Floods Kill Seven, Thousands Forced From Homes
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-19/central-european-floods-kill-seven-thousands-forced-from-homes.html
Indian state braces for fierce storm; 15 killed
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said that the cyclone appeared to be weakening, though it still could cause widespread damage. The state had evacuated more than 50,000 people as it braced for its worst storm in 14 years.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g8JY9em2AC3On6ftaYp5WPANVwpAD9FQFJUG0
Let’s not forget about Massey Energy – Massey stock is down 42% from peak earlier this year.
May 18 – “Preliminary tallies indicate that shareholders cast 49.8% of their shares against Dan Moore, 49.6% against Baxter Phillips Jr., and 48.5% against Richard Gabrys. This razor thin vote casts a cloud over the legitimacy of the current Massey board and is a clear demand for new directors who will make needed changes in company leadership. The opposition votes against the Massey directors were the highest of any this year at an S&P 500 company. Despite demands from shareholders at the meeting today, the Company refused to disclose the actual vote count and that nearly half of the voting shares appear to have opposed these directors’ election.” http://finance.yahoo.com/news/RazorThin-Margins-Cast-Cloud-prnews-3624538009.html?x=0&.v=2
Protesters Gather at Massey
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Protesters-gather-at-Massey-apf-135026572.html?x=0&.v=12
“We reject all accusations that this company is indifferent to safety,” he said during a webcast speech to investors. “I receive a report on every lost-time accident at Massey. We want to know how the injury occurred.”
Blankenship said the result has been a significant reduction in the company’s injury rate during his tenure, which started in 1992. “Last year, the Mine Safety and Health Administration thought so much of our workplace safety record that it awarded Massey three of its prestigious Sentinels of Safety awards,” Blankenship said.
This year, the agency has deplored safety conditions at Upper Big Branch. MSHA and the Department of Justice are now investigating the explosion to determine the cause and whether any crimes were committed.
Blankenship dismissed concerns about the company’s environmental record, which includes a $20 million fine for federal water quality violations in 2008. He said the company reduced citations for environmental violations 22 percent in 2009.
“Massey is proud of its record protecting the environment in Central Appalachia,” Blankenship said. “Environmental stewardship has become part of this company’s DNA.”
Is the U.S. losing its competitive edge to China? (video)
China is throwing a mountain of money into sectors like green energy in the belief that it is laying the groundwork for superpower status. Beijing has already overtaken the U.S. in renewable energy investments. It’s earmarked billions on new airports, rail lines and highways – an ambitious investment in infrastructure that’s an order of magnitude more than anything being committed to rebuild the U.S. Sure, China is starting from a lower base, but it’s moving ahead faster than a speeding bullet train to become a more efficient, competitive rival to America.
In a decade, which country will be the better bet – the U.S. or China?
http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/20/is-the-u-s-losing-its-competitive-edge-to-china/?hpt=C2
Environmentalists have been trying for years to bring public attention to the practice of mountaintop-removal mining, which is annihilating large chunks of the Appalachian Mountains in a manner one doesn’t expect to see outside the third world.
The pressure group Appalachian Voices has a fantastic Google Earth application that lets you see how mountaintop removal works. You can view it in your browser with a plugin, or in Google Earth with a KML file. Mike Lillis of the Washington Independent has also done tireless reporting on this subject, and local activists like Denny Tyler, a former Massey electrician, have set up their own websites. It’s simply bizarre that an advanced country with a strong environmentalist record has been allowing this practice to go on; it was prohibitively expensive until a rules change by the Bush administration allowed companies to dump the waste from blowing tops off mountains into adjoining stream valleys.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/05/energy_disasters
Rescue workers find 28 bodies after Turkey mine blast
Rescue workers on Thursday recovered the bodies of 28 miners trapped underground in a Turkish coal mine following a gas explosion, in one of the worst mine accidents in recent years.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gjkZpR_qRIYE3dR7JtG7zn-GQAxg
New Study Finds Ocean Warmed Significantly Since 1993
The upper layer of Earth’s ocean has warmed since 1993, indicating a strong climate change signal, according to a new international study co-authored by oceanographer Josh Willis of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The energy stored is enough to power nearly 500 100-watt light bulbs for each of the roughly 6.7 billion people on the planet.
“We are seeing the global ocean store more heat than it gives off,” said John Lyman, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, who led the study that analyzed nine different estimates of heat content in the upper ocean from 1993 to 2008.
The team combined the estimates to assess the size and certainty of growing heat storage in the ocean. Their findings will be published in the May 20 edition of the journal Nature. The scientists are from NASA, NOAA, the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom, the University of Hamburg in Germany and the Meteorological Research Institute in Japan.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/mls20100519.html
Climate change attacks followup
I’m not the only one who thinks that. Chris Mooney at The Intersection has quotes and links from a scathing Washington Post editorial, condemning Cuccinelli for his actions. And the Post doesn’t hold back, even calling UVa out, telling them to get a spine and stand up to this attack. Chris put up a second post about how scientists themselves have picked up this banner. Oh, and here’s a third post about the AAAS condemning Cuccinelli as well.
Ironically, Cuccinelli claims his investigation is because he thinks tax money was wasted or that Mann defrauded the tax payers… but it’s Cuccinelli’s investigation that’s the true waste of taxpayer money. This attack by him started after Mann was already exonerated, making Cuccinelli’s motives pretty clear. Oh, did I say “ironically”? I meant Orwellian.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/05/20/climate-change-followup/
I am surprised Climate Progress would give voice to aviation’s future. The aviation industry maintains a hold on the imagination of the modern public. The term ‘jetsetter’ will cause most people to become glassy eyed. A very powerful addition indeed.
Our addiction to the aviation industry is very similar to tobacco addiction in the 1950 – 60’s. We wanted to believe in the goodness of participation. Smart and good people believed in the merits of tobacco, supported of course by high quality tobacco industry PR. Medical doctors advertised their choice of smokes. This Climate Progress piece is aviation PR. Sierra Club and Metropolis magazines have recently fallen for the same PR [aka BS]. How many ways will aviation meet the challenges of global climate change? Biofuels? Lighter weight? These are subject to debate. Should we be air shipping flowers half way around the globe? Does aviation really contribute to the loss of Arctic ice? These are questions that need scientific answers before promotion of future comforts.
Aviation is a very dirty industry. Jets are blast furnaces over our collective heads burning a low grade kerosene in tremendous quantities. General aviation still runs on leaded fuels.
The flying public is a very small group within the Human community. Big carbon footprint / small population. This small community reaps the benefits while the rest of the world suffers from the results of this ‘special’ benefit.
While some express concern about the carbon footprint they leave by flying, they attempt to assuage their respective consciences by offering to plant trees to compensate. While a nice gesture, planting trees in no way reverses the damage to millions of people’s health and happiness.
There are many industries contributing to the destruction of our environment for profit. Time is short. Environmentalists and Scientists everywhere must be clear and stand up to these threats, no matter how important to our lifestyle.