… will be the focus of next week’s posts, which seems appropriate for Earth Day week. [Note to self: Write a post explaining why that is a lousy name for a "Day" -- it really should be called "Self-preservation Day."]

If you are a visiting here for the first time because of Time magazine, then the first thing you should do is read the “Most Popular Posts,” on the sidebar, which should tell you whether or not this is the website for you. Read the comments on those posts, to give you an idea of the vibrant community we have here. I hope you’ll join in.

You might also read some of the posts under the “Humor” Category — I try to inject as much humor and snarkiness into the blog as possible, since otherwise the self-destruction of human civilization as we know it can be a somewhat downbeat subject, I’ve been told.

And you are in luck, because next week I am going to lay out the solution to global warming — yes, there really is only one. I was going to do it this week but McCain’s lame gas tax holiday (see here) and Bush’s lamer climate speech (see here) sucked up too much of my time. I did, however, discuss “Concentrated solar thermal power — a core climate solution,” and that is worth reading since I think CSP maybe the single biggest provider of new carbon-free electricity this century, certainly bigger than coal with carbon capture and storage.

Thanks for stopping by!

One of biggest debates about climate solutions is whether coal generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS) is going to be practical and affordable on the timescale needed to avoid catastrophic outcomes. And, of course, there are many who don’t CCS is coal should be saved at all.

I am not in the second camp, but I doubt coal with CCS is likely to exceed one wedge (I’ll discuss this more next week). And we probably need 14 wedges to stay below 450 ppm. I have no doubt concentrated solar will delivery far more power than coal with CCS (see here) — two or three wedges are possible.

The coal industry has long been in denial about the reality of human-caused global warming, so they are woefully unprepared for what is to come. And the administration has botched Futuregen (see here), the centerpiece of its CCS effort.

Can Congress do a better job? The answer can be found in a new analysis by Bob Sussman and Ken Berlin for the Center for American Progress, “Maximizing Carbon Capture and Storage Under the Lieberman Warner Global Warming Bill.” Here is a summary:

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