iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--Enough is Enough: Time to Pull the Plug on Endless Wind & Solar Subsidies

No subsidies .
No wind and solar industries .
It ’ s that simple .
Back in 1983 the American Wind Industry Association claimed that solar and wind would be “ competitive and self-supporting on a national level by the end of the decade if assisted by tax credits and augmented by federally sponsored R & D ” .
That was 36 years ago .
And there was no lack of assistance in the form of tax credits and federally sponsored R & D , along with a whole bunch of other punitive mandates and targets designed to cripple conventional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solar .
Now , as then , claims from renewable energy rent seekers that wind and solar are truly competitive with nuclear , coal or gas evaporate the instant policymakers start talking about removing subsidies to wind and solar .
With their 40th birthdays approaching , the wind and solar ‘ industries ’ are a pair of perpetual infants who – like Peter Pan – are determined to never grow up .
Robert Bradley is as keen as we are to help provide them with an opportunity to , finally , stand on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Note : Renewable energy subsidies have supported an industry that is completely uneconomic and unsustainable and the time is past to end them . ]
Four years ago , after the election of Donald Trump , I contacted the head of the editorial page of the Houston Chronicle requesting a visit with the editorial board to introduce myself , the Institute for Energy Research ( IER ) , and the classical-liberal worldview applied to energy .
I got no response .
I then resent the request and got a curt no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t-have-time-for you .
I then responded with the fact that IER was a go-to Trump think tank , and my being the founder and from/in Houston would add interest .
His final response : ‘ we can ’ t take all comers.
’ Subsequently , several attempts to publish op-ed ’ s in the Houston Chronicle were unsuccessful , a story for another day .
And in the last four years , the hometown paper has gone militantly anti-fossil fuels .
I wrote this 18 months ago : During the day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the oil and gas capital of the world .
The daily business fare , as reported by the hometown Houston Chronicle , is a new offshore project here , new refinery or petrochemical plant there , new onshore production plays elsewhere .
And then there is a whole new industry within an industry , LNG exports from Texas and Louisiana to distant ports–and even LNG tank cars crossing into Mexico .
But on the Chronicle editorial page , an alternative reality plays out .
Some years ago , as documented by former Chronicle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has gone Left–hard Left .
The no-conservatives-no-libertarians-allowed editorial board delights in sticking it to the fossil-fuel industry .
Given the gap between reality and Green New Deal fantasy , it is worth remembering the exceptions to the Chronicle ’ s bias .
This brings me to an op-ed by Bill Peacock , then with the Texas Public Policy Foundation , in late 2018 , Is it time for the political fall of renewable energy ?
This piece by Peacock , a principal here at MasterResource , follows in its entirety .
At the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and wind industry representatives teamed up to ask the Public Utility Commission of Texas to impose an electricity “ tax ” on Texas consumers of up to $ 4 billion a year in order to increase their revenues .
Their reason for asking for this new tax ?
They don ’ t think they make enough money .
Rather than pushing the PUC and the Texas Legislature to eliminate one of the main reasons that some of them are taking a revenue hit , renewable energy subsidies , they decided to ask for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is happening , let ’ s back up a bit .
In our new paper , “ The Economic Fall & Political Rise of Renewable Energy , ” Robert Bradley , Jr. points out that from the beginning of history , renewable energy held a market share of about 100 percent .
But over the last 300 years , that market share dropped to nearly zero in the developed world , except where water was abundant .
This happened because renewables like wind and solar are unreliable , inefficient , and expensive sources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came along , i.e.
, fossil and nuclear fuels , the market all but eliminated them from the fuel mix .
This began to change in the 1970s when politicians and energy experts became ( wrongly ) convinced that we were running out of oil and gas .
So , they started to pour billions of tax dollars into synthetic fuels , electric cars and renewables .
Yet , as Bradley writes , “ despite a four-decade effort , wind power , solar power , and ethanol are still not competitive against conventional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uneconomic on a stand-alone basis compared to the internal combustion engine.
” Renewables will never catch up to modern , efficient sources of energy .
But this hasn ’ t stopped federal , state and local governments from continuing to force consumers and taxpayers to subsidize renewable energy companies , making energy in American less affordable and reliable in the process .
Unfortunately , Texas is a national leader in this effort .
Texas built $ 7 billion worth of “ CREZ ” transmission lines to benefit wind and solar farms located far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay down this debt every month , with interest , on their electric bills .
Mandates to purchase renewable energy have added another $ 500 million .
We ’ ve also paid close to $ 1 billion more to connect renewable generators to the grid .
Local tax abatements ( Tax Code Chapters 312 and 313 ) have reduced property tax revenue by more than $ 500 million .
And the cost of federal subsidies ( stimulus payments and the Production Tax Credit ) to renewable generation in Texas have topped $ 6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ renewable energy generators in Texas have reaped close to $ 18 billion since 2006 , all of it coming out of the pockets of taxpayers and consumers .
It is impossible to track which businesses benefit from all these subsidies .
But we can track which companies benefit from the tax credits offered through PTC .
NextEra Energy leads the list , being eligible for $ 5.7 billion of tax credits since 2008 .
Also , on the list are NRG Energy ( $ 1.1 billion ) , BP ( $ 913 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) million .
These companies have a combined market cap of $ 278 billion .
Despite all the money we ’ ve been forced to pay these and other companies , it still is not enough , as witnessed by the energy generators operating in Texas — most generators have both conventional and renewable assets — going to the PUC to ask for another $ 4 billion per year .
They claim that if Texas doesn ’ t force consumers to pay them higher prices for electricity , the lights will go out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back in 2012 .
These companies seem to hope that a sympathetic PUC may force this electricity tax on consumers .
But this should not be the PUC ’ s decision to make .
If Texas is going to abandon its world-class competitive electricity market and force consumers to pay generators another $ 4 billion a year , that decision should be made by the Texas Legislature and the governor .
But it need not come to that ; the way to improve our tight — though sufficient — electricity reserves is through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more .
The PUC should end operating procedures that favor renewable generation , such as subsidizing their transmission and allowing them to fail to dispatch electricity when needed without penalty .
The Texas Legislature should end local 312 and 313 tax abatements for renewable generation and mandates for purchasing electricity from renewable sources .
And it should tell the PUC to eliminate the distortions caused by the PTC .
Markets have already declared renewable energy outdated .
It is time for policy makers to do the same .
Has Peacock ’ s op-ed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to answer it .
Politically correct wind and solar remain government dependent and a bane to consumers and taxpayers .
Wind and solar are crony industries , an unsavory aspect of American capitalism today .
And , factoring in the environmental drawbacks of wind and solar , the question must be asked : when will Big Environmentalism notice and concede to the grass-root environmentalists who must live with all the land , steel , concrete , motion , and noise of dilute , intermittent energy .
Natural Gas Now

No subsidies. No wind and solar industries. It’s that simple.
Back in 1983 the American Wind Industry Association claimed that solar and wind would be “competitive and self-supporting on a national level by the end of the decade if assisted by tax credits and augmented by federally sponsored R&D”. That was 36 years ago. And there was no lack of assistance in the form of tax credits and federally sponsored R&D, along with a whole bunch of other punitive mandates and targets designed to cripple conventional generators and favour chaotically intermittent wind and solar.
Now, as then, claims from renewable energy rent seekers that wind and solar are truly competitive with nuclear, coal or gas evaporate the instant policymakers start talking about removing subsidies to wind and solar.
With their 40th birthdays approaching, the wind and solar ‘industries’ are a pair of perpetual infants who – like Peter Pan – are determined to never grow up.
Robert Bradley is as keen as we are to help provide them with an opportunity to, finally, stand on their own two feet.
Renewable Energy Is A Losing Proposition: End the Subsidies
Master Resource
Robert Bradley
19 November 2020
[Editor’s Note: Renewable energy subsidies have supported an industry that is completely uneconomic and unsustainable and the time is past to end them.]
Four years ago, after the election of Donald Trump, I contacted the head of the editorial page of the Houston Chronicle requesting a visit with the editorial board to introduce myself, the Institute for Energy Research (IER), and the classical-liberal worldview applied to energy. I got no response.
I then resent the request and got a curt no caps reply from the gentleman as in don’t-have-time-for you. I then responded with the fact that IER was a go-to Trump think tank, and my being the founder and from/in Houston would add interest. His final response: ‘we can’t take all comers.’
Subsequently, several attempts to publish op-ed’s in the Houston Chronicle were unsuccessful, a story for another day. And in the last four years, the hometown paper has gone militantly anti-fossil fuels. I wrote this 18 months ago:
During the day, Houston, Texas, bustles as the oil and gas capital of the world. The daily business fare, as reported by the hometown Houston Chronicle, is a new offshore project here, new refinery or petrochemical plant there, new onshore production plays elsewhere. And then there is a whole new industry within an industry, LNG exports from Texas and Louisiana to distant ports–and even LNG tank cars crossing into Mexico.
But on the Chronicle editorial page, an alternative reality plays out. Some years ago, as documented by former Chronicle reporter Bill Dawson, the Houston Chronicle has gone Left–hard Left. The no-conservatives-no-libertarians-allowed editorial board delights in sticking it to the fossil-fuel industry.
Given the gap between reality and Green New Deal fantasy, it is worth remembering the exceptions to the Chronicle’s bias. This brings me to an op-ed by Bill Peacock, then with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, in late 2018, Is it time for the political fall of renewable energy? This piece by Peacock, a principal here at MasterResource, follows in its entirety.
At the end of October, several electricity generators and wind industry representatives teamed up to ask the Public Utility Commission of Texas to impose an electricity “tax” on Texas consumers of up to $4 billion a year in order to increase their revenues.
Their reason for asking for this new tax? They don’t think they make enough money.
Rather than pushing the PUC and the Texas Legislature to eliminate one of the main reasons that some of them are taking a revenue hit, renewable energy subsidies, they decided to ask for subsidies themselves.
To understand why this is happening, let’s back up a bit.
In our new paper, “The Economic Fall & Political Rise of Renewable Energy,” Robert Bradley, Jr. points out that from the beginning of history, renewable energy held a market share of about 100 percent. But over the last 300 years, that market share dropped to nearly zero in the developed world, except where water was abundant.
This happened because renewables like wind and solar are unreliable, inefficient, and expensive sources of energy. And when something better came along, i.e., fossil and nuclear fuels, the market all but eliminated them from the fuel mix.
This began to change in the 1970s when politicians and energy experts became (wrongly) convinced that we were running out of oil and gas. So, they started to pour billions of tax dollars into synthetic fuels, electric cars and renewables.
Yet, as Bradley writes, “despite a four-decade effort, wind power, solar power, and ethanol are still not competitive against conventional carbon-based energy. Electric vehicles are also uneconomic on a stand-alone basis compared to the internal combustion engine.”
Renewables will never catch up to modern, efficient sources of energy. But this hasn’t stopped federal, state and local governments from continuing to force consumers and taxpayers to subsidize renewable energy companies, making energy in American less affordable and reliable in the process.
Unfortunately, Texas is a national leader in this effort.
Texas built $7 billion worth of “CREZ” transmission lines to benefit wind and solar farms located far from population centers; Texas electricity customers pay down this debt every month, with interest, on their electric bills. Mandates to purchase renewable energy have added another $500 million. We’ve also paid close to $1 billion more to connect renewable generators to the grid.
Local tax abatements (Tax Code Chapters 312 and 313) have reduced property tax revenue by more than $500 million. And the cost of federal subsidies (stimulus payments and the Production Tax Credit) to renewable generation in Texas have topped $6 billion.
Add it all up and renewable energy generators in Texas have reaped close to $18 billion since 2006, all of it coming out of the pockets of taxpayers and consumers.
It is impossible to track which businesses benefit from all these subsidies. But we can track which companies benefit from the tax credits offered through PTC.
NextEra Energy leads the list, being eligible for $5.7 billion of tax credits since 2008. Also, on the list are NRG Energy ($1.1 billion), BP ($913 million), and Exelon ($528) million. These companies have a combined market cap of $278 billion.
Despite all the money we’ve been forced to pay these and other companies, it still is not enough, as witnessed by the energy generators operating in Texas — most generators have both conventional and renewable assets — going to the PUC to ask for another $4 billion per year.
They claim that if Texas doesn’t force consumers to pay them higher prices for electricity, the lights will go out. But they made the same claim back in 2012.
These companies seem to hope that a sympathetic PUC may force this electricity tax on consumers. But this should not be the PUC’s decision to make.
If Texas is going to abandon its world-class competitive electricity market and force consumers to pay generators another $4 billion a year, that decision should be made by the Texas Legislature and the governor.
But it need not come to that; the way to improve our tight — though sufficient — electricity reserves is through the market with less subsidies, not more.
The PUC should end operating procedures that favor renewable generation, such as subsidizing their transmission and allowing them to fail to dispatch electricity when needed without penalty. The Texas Legislature should end local 312 and 313 tax abatements for renewable generation and mandates for purchasing electricity from renewable sources. And it should tell the PUC to eliminate the distortions caused by the PTC.
Markets have already declared renewable energy outdated. It is time for policy makers to do the same.
Final Thought
Has Peacock’s op-ed aged well? To ask the question is to answer it. Politically correct wind and solar remain government dependent and a bane to consumers and taxpayers. Wind and solar are crony industries, an unsavory aspect of American capitalism today.
And, factoring in the environmental drawbacks of wind and solar, the question must be asked: when will Big Environmentalism notice and concede to the grass-root environmentalists who must live with all the land, steel, concrete, motion, and noise of dilute, intermittent energy.
Natural Gas Now


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--Peter Ridd: It’s the science that’s rotten, not the Great Barrier Reef

Reposted from Paul Homewood ’ s NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT The International Union for Conservation of Nature has released its latest report on the state of the Great Barrier Reef .
It has turned up the volume by one notch , claiming the threat to the reef has gone from “ significant concern ” to “ critical ” .
It blames climate change , agricultural pollution , coastal development , industry , mining , shipping , overfishing , disease , problematic native species , coal dust — you name it , it is killing the reef .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of old , mostly wrong or misleading information produced by generally untrustworthy scientific institutions with an activist agenda and no commitment to quality assurance .
It is remarkable that the world has been convinced that one of its most pristine ecosystems is on its last legs .
Part of the problem is that , being underwater and a long way from the coast , very few people visit the reef .
The truth is hidden .
Those of us in North Queensland living adjacent to the reef , and tourists from elsewhere , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blue and totally unpolluted .
The fish and coral are fabulous .
The reef occasionally conspires to give the impression it is dying .
An area of coral the size of Belgium can be killed by cyclones ( hurricanes ) , native starfish plagues or bleaching .
All these events are entirely natural and are part of life on the reef .
In fact , each of the 3000 individual reefs , along the entire 2000km length of the Great Barrier Reef , is a 50-100m high plateau of dead coral rubble that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live coral lives on the surface of this pile of dead ancestors .
Sixty years ago , when these cycles of death and destruction were first being discovered by scientists , it was legitimate to be concerned about whether they were unnatural .
But there is now abundant evidence , almost totally ignored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature , that the reef is fine .
The coral always recovers vigorously after major mortality events .
Coral remains abundant on all 3000 reefs .
The amount of coral , while fluctuating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the same today as when records began in the 1980s .
The coral growth rates have not declined — if anything they have increased , as would be expected from the slight increase in temperature over the past century .
Corals like it hot and grow faster in warmer water .
Ignoring evidence of the obvious good condition of the reef is not the least of the problems with this IUCN report .
It also uses evidence that is patently false .
For example , the report claims that coal dust blowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reef , which is 100-1000km from the ports .
This ridiculous claim is based on a report that was discredited by unquestioned experts on this subject , Dr Simon Apte and other scientists from the CSIRO , who showed that the results were in error by 3000 per cent .
It is also highly doubtful that the original scientists were actually measuring coal dust .
They were measuring poly-aromatic hydrocarbons , which are common , naturally occurring molecules not specific to coal .
It is not surprising that the IUCN report made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dust report .
Other major Australian reports on the reef also quote it .
It is notable that when Apte tried to get the scientific journal and the Australian Institute of Marine science , which was responsible for the coal dust data , to correct the mistake , they refused to do anything .
The science institutions have become untrustworthy .
The IUCN makes other equally scandalous mistakes .
It claims that agricultural pollution is a problem despite all the measurements showing concentrations of pesticides so low they are generally undetectable with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of mud washed from farms is equally negligible .
The fundamental problem with the IUCN report is that it is based upon scientific evidence that is poorly quality assured .
The scientific foundations are rotten and none of the science organisations want to remedy the problem — partly because the science organisations , and the IUCN , stopped being scientific long ago .
They have recognised their political power .
We must recognise they have become political .
Until genuine quality assurance measures can be put in place at the reef science institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , reported and repeated ad nauseam , will continue .
The only good news is that the next IUCN report on the reef in 2023 will not be worse than “ critical ” because this seems to be the worst category they have .

Reposted from Paul Homewood’s NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
DECEMBER 7, 2020 tags: coral
By Paul Homewood
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has released its latest report on the state of the Great Barrier Reef. It has turned up the volume by one notch, claiming the threat to the reef has gone from “significant concern” to “critical”. It blames climate change, agricultural pollution, coastal development, industry, mining, shipping, overfishing, disease, problematic native species, coal dust — you name it, it is killing the reef.
But the report is just a rehash of old, mostly wrong or misleading information produced by generally untrustworthy scientific institutions with an activist agenda and no commitment to quality assurance.
It is remarkable that the world has been convinced that one of its most pristine ecosystems is on its last legs. Part of the problem is that, being underwater and a long way from the coast, very few people visit the reef. The truth is hidden. Those of us in North Queensland living adjacent to the reef, and tourists from elsewhere, can report the water is iridescent clear blue and totally unpolluted. The fish and coral are fabulous.
An aerial view of the world-famous Heart Reef in the Whitsundays. Picture: Brooke Miles/Riptide Creative
The reef occasionally conspires to give the impression it is dying. An area of coral the size of Belgium can be killed by cyclones (hurricanes), native starfish plagues or bleaching. All these events are entirely natural and are part of life on the reef. In fact, each of the 3000 individual reefs, along the entire 2000km length of the Great Barrier Reef, is a 50-100m high plateau of dead coral rubble that has built up over millennia. The live coral lives on the surface of this pile of dead ancestors.
Sixty years ago, when these cycles of death and destruction were first being discovered by scientists, it was legitimate to be concerned about whether they were unnatural. But there is now abundant evidence, almost totally ignored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, that the reef is fine. The coral always recovers vigorously after major mortality events. Coral remains abundant on all 3000 reefs. The amount of coral, while fluctuating dramatically from year to year, is about the same today as when records began in the 1980s. The coral growth rates have not declined — if anything they have increased, as would be expected from the slight increase in temperature over the past century. Corals like it hot and grow faster in warmer water.
Ignoring evidence of the obvious good condition of the reef is not the least of the problems with this IUCN report. It also uses evidence that is patently false. For example, the report claims that coal dust blowing from ship-loading facilities is a risk to the reef, which is 100-1000km from the ports. This ridiculous claim is based on a report that was discredited by unquestioned experts on this subject, Dr Simon Apte and other scientists from the CSIRO, who showed that the results were in error by 3000 per cent. It is also highly doubtful that the original scientists were actually measuring coal dust. They were measuring poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, which are common, naturally occurring molecules not specific to coal.
It is not surprising that the IUCN report made the error of using this discredited coal dust report. Other major Australian reports on the reef also quote it. It is notable that when Apte tried to get the scientific journal and the Australian Institute of Marine science, which was responsible for the coal dust data, to correct the mistake, they refused to do anything. The science institutions have become untrustworthy.
Dr Peter Ridd at the Quoin Island Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. Picture: Rodney Stevens
The IUCN makes other equally scandalous mistakes. It claims that agricultural pollution is a problem despite all the measurements showing concentrations of pesticides so low they are generally undetectable with the most sensitive scientific equipment. The effect of mud washed from farms is equally negligible.
The fundamental problem with the IUCN report is that it is based upon scientific evidence that is poorly quality assured. The scientific foundations are rotten and none of the science organisations want to remedy the problem — partly because the science organisations, and the IUCN, stopped being scientific long ago. They have recognised their political power. We must recognise they have become political.
Until genuine quality assurance measures can be put in place at the reef science institutions, the problem of untrustworthy scientific evidence, reported and repeated ad nauseam, will continue. The only good news is that the next IUCN report on the reef in 2023 will not be worse than “critical” because this seems to be the worst category they have.
https://www.thegwpf.com/peter-ridd-its-the-science-thats-rotten-not-the-great-barrier-reef/
Like this: Like Loading…
Related


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--18 US States file against 4 corrupt States that failed to hold fair elections

If this isn ’ t a Constitutional Crisis , what is ?
Eighteen US States are now so convinced of election fraud they are filing against Pennsylvania , Michigan , Wisconsin and Georgia for their failure to hold free and fair elections as demanded by the Constitution .
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt led his colleagues from Alabama , Arkansas , Florida , Indiana , Kansas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Montana , Nebraska , North Dakota , Oklahoma , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Utah , and West Virginia in filing the amicus brief to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amici “ have a strong interest in ensuring that the votes of their own citizens are not diluted by the unconstitutional administration of elections in other States , ” says the 30-page brief , adding that when other bodies in those states encroach on the authority of their legislatures – the only ones constitutionally entrusted with elections – “ they threaten the liberty , not just of their own citizens , but of every citizen of the United States who casts a lawful ballot in that election.
” Even Arizona has joined in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the four so named ) .
The seed of Civil War 2.0 was fertilized by overt , in-your-face obvious corruption .
No one needs a [ … ]

If this isn’t a Constitutional Crisis, what is?
Eighteen US States are now so convinced of election fraud they are filing against Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia for their failure to hold free and fair elections as demanded by the Constitution.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt led his colleagues from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia in filing the amicus brief to the US Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The amici “have a strong interest in ensuring that the votes of their own citizens are not diluted by the unconstitutional administration of elections in other States,” says the 30-page brief, adding that when other bodies in those states encroach on the authority of their legislatures – the only ones constitutionally entrusted with elections – “they threaten the liberty, not just of their own citizens, but of every citizen of the United States who casts a lawful ballot in that election.”
Even Arizona has joined in. (It has different legal issues than the four so named).
The seed of Civil War 2.0 was fertilized by overt, in-your-face obvious corruption. No one needs a […]
Rating: 9.7/10 (3 votes cast)
via JoNova
https://ift.tt/3gAmmoS
December 9, 2020 at 10:09PM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--Anthropocene: human-made materials now weigh as much as all living biomass, say scientists

Jan Zalasiewicz , University of Leicester and Mark Williams , University of Leicester Our deficiencies have always driven us , even among our distant ancestors , back in the last Ice Age .
Having neither the speed and strength to hunt large prey , nor sharp teeth and claws to tear flesh , we improvised spears , flint knives , scrapers .
Lacking a thick pelt , we took the fur of other animals .
As the ice receded , we devised more means of survival and comfort – stone dwellings , ploughs , wheeled vehicles .
All these inventions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrested from a natural wilderness that seemed endless .
The idea of a natural world that dwarfed humanity and its creations long persisted , even into modern times – only to run , lately , into concerns that climate was changing , and species were dying through our actions .
How could that be , with us so small , and nature so large ?
Now a new study in Nature by a team of scientists from the Weizman Institute in Israel upends that perspective .
Our constructions have now – indeed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same mass as that of all living organisms on Earth .
The human enterprise is growing fast , too , while nature keeps shrinking .
The science-fiction scenario of an engineered planet is already here .
It seems a simple comparison , and yet is fiendishly difficult in practice .
But this team has practice in dealing with such impossible challenges .
A couple of years ago they worked out the first part of the equation , the mass of all life on Earth – including that of all the fish in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , trees on land , birds in the air and much more besides .
Earth ’ s biosphere now weighs a little less than 1.2 trillion tonnes ( of dry mass , not counting water ) , trees on land making up most of it .
It was something like double that before humans started clearing forests – and it is still diminishing .
Now , the team has delved into the statistics of industrial production and mass flows of all kinds , and reconstructed the growth , from the beginning of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ anthropogenic mass ” .
This is all the things we build – houses , cars , roads , aeroplanes and myriad other things .
The pattern they found was strikingly different .
The stuff we build totted up to something like 35 billion tonnes in the year 1900 , rising to be roughly double that by the middle of the 20th century .
Then , that burst of prosperity after the second world war , termed the Great Acceleration , and our stuff increased several-fold to a little over half a trillion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In the past 20 years it has doubled again , to be equivalent to , this year , the mass of all living things .
In coming years , the living world will be far outweighed – threefold by 2040 , they say , if current trends hold .
What is this stuff that we make ?
It is now of extraordinary , and exploding , diversity .
The number of “ technospecies ” now far exceeds the estimated 9 million biological species on Earth , and counting them exceeds even the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But our stuff can be broken down into ingredients , of which concrete and aggregates take a gargantuan share – about four-fifths .
Then come bricks , asphalt and metals .
On this scale , plastics are a minor ingredient – and yet their mass is still greater , now , than that of all animals on Earth .
It ’ s a revealing , meticulous study , and nicely clear about what the measurements include and exclude .
They do not include , for instance , the rock and earth bulldozed and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nor all of the waste rock generated in mining the ingredients : currently , nearly a third of a trillion tonnes of such material is shifted each year .
Add in the Earth material that we use and abuse in other ways , in ploughing farmland , and letting sediment pile up behind dams , and humans have cumulatively used and discarded some 30 trillion tonnes of Earth ’ s various resources .
Whichever way that you cut the cake , the team ’ s final point in its groundbreaking study hits home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent analysis we both worked on .
Since the mid-20th century , the Earth has been set on a new , human-driven trajectory – one that is leaving the stable conditions of the Holocene Epoch , and is entering the uncertain , and rapidly changing , new world of the Anthropocene .
The weight of evidence , here , seems unarguable .
Jan Zalasiewicz , Professor of Palaeobiology , University of Leicester and Mark Williams , Professor of Palaeobiology , University of Leicester This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Jan Zalasiewicz, University of Leicester and Mark Williams, University of Leicester
Our deficiencies have always driven us, even among our distant ancestors, back in the last Ice Age. Having neither the speed and strength to hunt large prey, nor sharp teeth and claws to tear flesh, we improvised spears, flint knives, scrapers. Lacking a thick pelt, we took the fur of other animals. As the ice receded, we devised more means of survival and comfort – stone dwellings, ploughs, wheeled vehicles. All these inventions allowed small oases of civilisation to be wrested from a natural wilderness that seemed endless.
The idea of a natural world that dwarfed humanity and its creations long persisted, even into modern times – only to run, lately, into concerns that climate was changing, and species were dying through our actions. How could that be, with us so small, and nature so large?
Now a new study in Nature by a team of scientists from the Weizman Institute in Israel upends that perspective. Our constructions have now – indeed, spookily, just this year – attained the same mass as that of all living organisms on Earth. The human enterprise is growing fast, too, while nature keeps shrinking. The science-fiction scenario of an engineered planet is already here.
It seems a simple comparison, and yet is fiendishly difficult in practice. But this team has practice in dealing with such impossible challenges. A couple of years ago they worked out the first part of the equation, the mass of all life on Earth – including that of all the fish in the sea, microbes in the soil, trees on land, birds in the air and much more besides. Earth’s biosphere now weighs a little less than 1.2 trillion tonnes (of dry mass, not counting water), trees on land making up most of it. It was something like double that before humans started clearing forests – and it is still diminishing.
Ancient General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park, California. This tree is the largest known living single stem tree on Earth.
Now, the team has delved into the statistics of industrial production and mass flows of all kinds, and reconstructed the growth, from the beginning of the 20th century, of what they call “anthropogenic mass”. This is all the things we build – houses, cars, roads, aeroplanes and myriad other things. The pattern they found was strikingly different. The stuff we build totted up to something like 35 billion tonnes in the year 1900, rising to be roughly double that by the middle of the 20th century. Then, that burst of prosperity after the second world war, termed the Great Acceleration, and our stuff increased several-fold to a little over half a trillion tonnes by the end of the century. In the past 20 years it has doubled again, to be equivalent to, this year, the mass of all living things. In coming years, the living world will be far outweighed – threefold by 2040, they say, if current trends hold.
Most of the weight is in concrete.
What is this stuff that we make? It is now of extraordinary, and exploding, diversity. The number of “technospecies” now far exceeds the estimated 9 million biological species on Earth, and counting them exceeds even the formidable calculating powers of this team. But our stuff can be broken down into ingredients, of which concrete and aggregates take a gargantuan share – about four-fifths. Then come bricks, asphalt and metals. On this scale, plastics are a minor ingredient – and yet their mass is still greater, now, than that of all animals on Earth.
It’s a revealing, meticulous study, and nicely clear about what the measurements include and exclude. They do not include, for instance, the rock and earth bulldozed and landscaped as foundations for our constructions, nor all of the waste rock generated in mining the ingredients: currently, nearly a third of a trillion tonnes of such material is shifted each year. Add in the Earth material that we use and abuse in other ways, in ploughing farmland, and letting sediment pile up behind dams, and humans have cumulatively used and discarded some 30 trillion tonnes of Earth’s various resources.
Whichever way that you cut the cake, the team’s final point in its groundbreaking study hits home, and chimes with that of another recent analysis we both worked on. Since the mid-20th century, the Earth has been set on a new, human-driven trajectory – one that is leaving the stable conditions of the Holocene Epoch, and is entering the uncertain, and rapidly changing, new world of the Anthropocene. The weight of evidence, here, seems unarguable.
Jan Zalasiewicz, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester and Mark Williams, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Like this: Like Loading…
Related


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--Elon Musk Flees Californian Coronavirus Lockdown, Relocates to Texas

h/t Breitbart ; Would the last Californian please remember to turn out the… oh never mind .
Elon Musk confirms @ @ @ @ @ Texas after a months-long fight with California After months of speculation , Elon Musk on @ @ @ @ @ to Texas .
“ For myself , yes , I have moved to Texas , @ @ @ @ @ We ’ ve got the Starship development here in South Texas where I am right @ @ @ @ @ hopefully going to do a launch later today .
And then we ’ ve got @ @ @ @ @ of Austin for Giga Texas.
” ‘ His move has been months in the making @ @ @ @ @ California began largely this spring , when local coronavirus restrictions forced Tesla to temporarily close @ @ @ @ @ in the San Francisco Bay Area .

Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Breitbart; Would the last Californian please remember to turn out the… oh never mind.
Elon Musk confirms he’s moved to Texas after a months-long fight with California
Graham Rapier Dec 9, 2020, 5:59 AM
After months of speculation, Elon Musk on Tuesday confirmed he has moved to Texas.
…
“For myself, yes, I have moved to Texas,” Musk continued. “We’ve got the Starship development here in South Texas where I am right now. We’re hopefully going to do a launch later today. And then we’ve got big factory developments just outside of Austin for Giga Texas.”‘
…
His move has been months in the making
Musk’s divorce with California began largely this spring, when local coronavirus restrictions forced Tesla to temporarily close its only US car factory in the San Francisco Bay Area.
…


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--Four volunteers who got Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine developed Bell’s palsy

But the FDA denies that the temporary facial paralysis was caused by the shot .
( This is from the Daily Mail , so a bit of skepticism is probably warranted . )
________ Four people who got Pfizer ‘ s coronavirus vaccine in the firm ’ s trial developed Bell ’ s palsy , a form of temporary facial paralysis , according to U.S. regulators ’ report on the shot .
Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) regulators said there wasn ’ t any clear way that the vaccine caused Bell ’ s palsy , but warned that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effect and Pfizer should continue to keep tab on how many people it strikes .
No one knows what exactly causes Bell ’ s palsy , which resolves on its own most of the time .
Bell ’ s palsy is a condition that causes temporary weakness or paralysis of the muscles in one side of the face .
It is a rare condition which is believed to affect around one in 5,000 people each year .
It is is believed to occur when the nerve that controls the muscles in your face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unknown , although it ’ s thought to be because the facial nerve becomes inflamed , possibly due to a viral infection .
Variants of the herpes virus may be responsible .
Around seven out of 10 people with Bell ’ s palsy make a complete recovery , with or without treatment .
The post Four volunteers who got Pfizer ’ s COVID-19 vaccine developed Bell ’ s palsy appeared first on Ice Age Now .

But the FDA denies that the temporary facial paralysis was caused by the shot.
(This is from the Daily Mail, so a bit of skepticism is probably warranted.)
________
Four people who got Pfizer‘s coronavirus vaccine in the firm’s trial developed Bell’s palsy, a form of temporary facial paralysis, according to U.S. regulators’ report on the shot.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators said there wasn’t any clear way that the vaccine caused Bell’s palsy, but warned that doctors should watch for the alarming side effect and Pfizer should continue to keep tab on how many people it strikes.
No one knows what exactly causes Bell’s palsy, which resolves on its own most of the time.
What is Bell’s Palsy?
Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes temporary weakness or paralysis of the muscles in one side of the face.
It is a rare condition which is believed to affect around one in 5,000 people each year.
It is is believed to occur when the nerve that controls the muscles in your face becomes compressed.
The exact cause is unknown, although it’s thought to be because the facial nerve becomes inflamed, possibly due to a viral infection. Variants of the herpes virus may be responsible.
Around seven out of 10 people with Bell’s palsy make a complete recovery, with or without treatment.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9030943/Four-volunteers-got-Pfizers-vaccine-developed-Bells-palsy.html
The post Four volunteers who got Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine developed Bell’s palsy appeared first on Ice Age Now.
via Ice Age Now
https://ift.tt/39W4fZ7
December 10, 2020 at 02:46PM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--The Canterbury Swarm and the Taurids

The Canterbury Swarm and the Taurids

John Michael Godier : An exploration of the concept of the Canterbury meteor swarm and its links to the annual @ @ @ @ @ these sometimes produce very large impacts on the moon and earth .
Papers : “ @ @ @ @ @ 20-KM-DIAMETER IMPACT CRATER ON THE MOON OBSERVED ON JUNE 18 , 1178 ?
” , @ @ @ @ @ : //onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10… “ The Flux of Kilogram-sized Meteoroids from Lunar Impact Monitoring ” Suggs et @ @ @ @ @ //arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/14… Also : https : //www.nasa.gov/exploration/home… “ The Canterbury Swarm : Ancient and Modern Observations @ @ @ @ @ the Solar System ” , Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society ( 16 ) , @ @ @ @ @ “ The structure and evolution of the Taurid Complex ” ( 1991 ) .
Mon @ @ @ @ @ .
Soc .
251 , 632-648 , with D. I .
Steel and D. J.
@ @ @ @ @ : http : //news.nationalgeographic.com/ne… https : //academic.oup.com/mnras/articl..

John Michael Godier: An exploration of the concept of the Canterbury meteor swarm and its links to the annual Taurid meteor shower and how these sometimes produce very large impacts on the moon and earth.
Papers:
“WAS THE FORMATION OF A 20-KM-DIAMETER IMPACT CRATER ON THE MOON OBSERVED ON JUNE 18, 1178?”, J. Hartung, 1976 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10…
“The Flux of Kilogram-sized Meteoroids from Lunar Impact Monitoring” Suggs et al, 2014 https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/14…
Also: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/home… “The Canterbury Swarm: Ancient and Modern Observations of a New Feature in the Solar System”, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society (16), 476, Brecher, 1984
“The structure and evolution of the Taurid Complex” (1991). Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 251, 632-648, with D. I. Steel and D. J. Asher. Napier and Steele: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/ne… https://academic.oup.com/mnras/articl..
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
https://ift.tt/3n7BU5S
December 10, 2020 at 02:45PM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--If the presidential elections fraud succeeds, 74 million citizens will have their votes nullified

Excerpts from “ Bring on 2021 ” in the American Thinker .
If the presidential elections fraud succeeds , 74 million citizens will have their votes nullified .
What would this act of disenfranchisement be other than war by other means ?
Such historic elections theft amounts to a coup d ’ état .
Rigged software and avalanches of phony ballots have replaced bullets as the means of waylaying the people ’ s will .
The rule of law and the democratic process are left strewn along roadsides , victims of war .
There are only two possible results to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden ’ s handlers brazen out their crimes , because GOP legislatures and the U.S. Supreme Court have failed to rectify the offenses .
Or Republican legislators do their duty , and/or the Court ’ s five originalist justices uphold the Constitution , thereby giving the presidency to the rightful winner , Donald J. Trump .
A Trump victory may eventually have a happy ending .
But in righting this most grievous wrong , the road ahead will be rough .
The Civil War ended with the Union holding and slavery abolished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was stiff , and it took a century to dissipate hard feelings and end Democrat-sanctioned apartheid in the South .
We really are two peoples living in one nation .
The divisions are stark .
These disputed elections will drive us further apart .
The criminal enterprise spearheaded by Democrats will resume warfare not only on a victorious president , but on us .
This criminal coalition will seethe in rage that their evil designs were thwarted — but by their logic , only temporarily .
The prize for this unholy alliance remains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gain and to rule over us .
Give these rogues credit : their power-lust makes them relentless .
Meaning , we need to defeat them so thoroughly that reengaging the fight is kamikaze crazy .
Mob violence , which would resume , isn ’ t a “ tantrum , ” as some dainty conservatives have characterized it .
That trivializes billions of dollars in property destruction and violence against innocents , including police , who are becoming scarcer in Democrat-run cities .
You can bet that the mongrels of war will be loosed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keeps on yelling that disallowing the thousands of illegal votes for Biden in Georgia , Wisconsin , Michigan and Pennsylvania would marginalize those particular voters , it ( the media ) ignores the fact that allowing those fraudulent votes to stand would marginalize the 74 million legal voters .
https : //archive.is/cdKaq # selection-851.0-929.1 See entire article on the American Thinker : Thanks to Winston Smith for this link The post If the presidential elections fraud succeeds , 74 million citizens will have their votes nullified appeared first on Ice Age Now .

Such historic elections theft amounts to a coup d’état.
Excerpts from “Bring on 2021” in the American Thinker.
If the presidential elections fraud succeeds, 74 million citizens will have their votes nullified. What would this act of disenfranchisement be other than war by other means? Such historic elections theft amounts to a coup d’état. Rigged software and avalanches of phony ballots have replaced bullets as the means of waylaying the people’s will. The rule of law and the democratic process are left strewn along roadsides, victims of war.
There are only two possible results to the current crisis. Both are incendiary. Biden’s handlers brazen out their crimes, because GOP legislatures and the U.S. Supreme Court have failed to rectify the offenses. Or Republican legislators do their duty, and/or the Court’s five originalist justices uphold the Constitution, thereby giving the presidency to the rightful winner, Donald J. Trump.
A Trump victory may eventually have a happy ending. But in righting this most grievous wrong, the road ahead will be rough. The Civil War ended with the Union holding and slavery abolished. But the price paid getting there was stiff, and it took a century to dissipate hard feelings and end Democrat-sanctioned apartheid in the South. We really are two peoples living in one nation. The divisions are stark. These disputed elections will drive us further apart.
The criminal enterprise spearheaded by Democrats will resume warfare not only on a victorious president, but on us. This criminal coalition will seethe in rage that their evil designs were thwarted — but by their logic, only temporarily. The prize for this unholy alliance remains the same: seize power for their gain and to rule over us. Give these rogues credit: their power-lust makes them relentless. Meaning, we need to defeat them so thoroughly that reengaging the fight is kamikaze crazy. Mob violence, which would resume, isn’t a “tantrum,” as some dainty conservatives have characterized it. That trivializes billions of dollars in property destruction and violence against innocents, including police, who are becoming scarcer in Democrat-run cities. You can bet that the mongrels of war will be loosed with a vengeance. The mainstream media keeps on yelling that disallowing the thousands of illegal votes for Biden in Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania would marginalize those particular voters, it (the media) ignores the fact that allowing those fraudulent votes to stand would marginalize the 74 million legal voters.
https://archive.is/cdKaq#selection-851.0-929.1 See entire article on the American Thinker: Thanks to Winston Smith for this link The post If the presidential elections fraud succeeds, 74 million citizens will have their votes nullified appeared first on Ice Age Now.
via Ice Age Now
https://ift.tt/2IErbRq
December 10, 2020 at 01:06PM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--Two feet of snow in Kalam, Pakistan – Mercury drops to minus 10

ISLAMABAD : The mercury dropped to minus 10 degree Celsius after heavy snowfall in Kalam on Tuesday .
The area received up to two feet of snow , which caused hardships for the citizens .
Snowfall has continued in Shagar , Kharmang , Ghanche and other areas of Skardu region since Monday night .
The plains in the region received up to two inches of snow , while higher areas received up to three inches of snow .
The snowfall affected normal life in the area .
The inter-district transport service remained suspended while vehicles remained trapped at several places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minus 4 Celsius in the plains of Skardu region , while it was gone down to minus seven Celsius in the hilly areas , ” the Met Office said .
Mirpur and adjoining areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir also received rainfall , which brought the temperature down in the region .
Meanwhile , cold Siberian winds from the North and Northeast blew in Karachi to drop the temperature to 15 degree Celsius .
According to the Met Office , more snowfall is expected in Swat , Kalam , Skardu and other areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The weather in Karachi will remain cold and dry and the maximum temperature will likely remain between 28-30 degree Celsius .
Mainly cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country while foggy conditions are expected at a few areas of Punjab and upper Sindh .
Rain with snowfall over the hills is also expected in Gilgit-Baltistan , Kashmir , Chitral , Dir , Swat , Shangla , Buner , Kohistan , Mansehra and Abbottabad .
Thanks to Argriris Diamantis for this link The post Two feet of snow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to minus 10 appeared first on Ice Age Now .

Vehicles remained trapped at several places.
_________
ISLAMABAD: The mercury dropped to minus 10 degree Celsius after heavy snowfall in Kalam on Tuesday.
The area received up to two feet of snow, which caused hardships for the citizens.
Snowfall has continued in Shagar, Kharmang, Ghanche and other areas of Skardu region since Monday night. The plains in the region received up to two inches of snow, while higher areas received up to three inches of snow.
The snowfall affected normal life in the area. The inter-district transport service remained suspended while vehicles remained trapped at several places.
“The temperature was dropped to minus 4 Celsius in the plains of Skardu region, while it was gone down to minus seven Celsius in the hilly areas,” the Met Office said.
Mirpur and adjoining areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir also received rainfall, which brought the temperature down in the region. Meanwhile, cold Siberian winds from the North and Northeast blew in Karachi to drop the temperature to 15 degree Celsius.
According to the Met Office, more snowfall is expected in Swat, Kalam, Skardu and other areas of the northern part of the country. The weather in Karachi will remain cold and dry and the maximum temperature will likely remain between 28-30 degree Celsius. Mainly cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country while foggy conditions are expected at a few areas of Punjab and upper Sindh. Rain with snowfall over the hills is also expected in Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Kohistan, Mansehra and Abbottabad.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/12/08/mercury-drops-to-minus-10-in-kalam-siberian-winds-hit-karachi/
Thanks to Argriris Diamantis for this link
The post Two feet of snow in Kalam, Pakistan – Mercury drops to minus 10 appeared first on Ice Age Now.
via Ice Age Now
https://ift.tt/3m45esr
December 10, 2020 at 12:38PM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--18 states have now joined Texas in its Supreme Court case

That ’ s more than one-third of the states !
Clearly , there are a lot of legal questions hanging over the election .
Meanwhile , mainstream channels are trying to marginalize this .
The filing came a day after Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the Supreme Court for permission to sue Georgia , Michigan , Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over their election results .
The attorneys general of seventeen states filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on Wednesday .
In addition , Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich ( R ) filed a separate brief in support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s Texas , which filed the original suit , bringing the total ( as of now ) to 19 .
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the case late Monday night alleging that unconstitutional changes made to election rules before the vote invalidates the 62 Electoral College votes from the four battleground states .
Associate Justice Samuel Alito has given the states until 3 p.m. on Thursday to file their replies to the complaint .
Thanks to Steven W. Little , Roger A. and many others for these links “ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempting to marginalize this , ” says Steven .
The post 18 states have now joined Texas in its Supreme Court case appeared first on Ice Age Now .

That’s more than one-third of the states! Clearly, there are a lot of legal questions hanging over the election. Meanwhile, mainstream channels are trying to marginalize this.
The filing came a day after Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the Supreme Court for permission to sue Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over their election results.
The attorneys general of seventeen states filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Those 17 states are:
Missouri
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Indiana
Kansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
West Virginia.
In addition, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) filed a separate brief in support of the case.
And of course there’s Texas, which filed the original suit, bringing the total (as of now) to 19.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the case late Monday night alleging that unconstitutional changes made to election rules before the vote invalidates the 62 Electoral College votes from the four battleground states.
Associate Justice Samuel Alito has given the states until 3 p.m. on Thursday to file their replies to the complaint.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/529614-18-states-join-texas-case-seeing-to-overturn-biden-win
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/missouri-joins-texas-taking-election-fight-supreme-court
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/09/states-tell-supreme-court-they-support-texas-bid-to-reverse-biden-win.html
Thanks to Steven W. Little, Roger A. and many others for these links
“The mainstream channels are absolutely deaf and or attempting to marginalize this,” says Steven.
The post 18 states have now joined Texas in its Supreme Court case appeared first on Ice Age Now.
via Ice Age Now
https://ift.tt/3a0LMuf
December 10, 2020 at 12:10PM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--The natural ‘Himalayan aerosol factory’ can affect climate

Large amounts of new particles can form in the valleys of the Himalayas from naturally emitted gases and can be transported to high altitudes by the mountain winds and injected into the upper atmosphere .
The emitted particles may eventually affect climate by acting as nuclei for cloud condensation .
These new findings about particles formation and sources will contribute to a better understanding of past and future climate .
“ To understand how the climate has changed over the last century we need to know as reliably as possible the natural atmospheric conditions before the industrialization , ” says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Helsinki ’ s Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research ( INAR ) .
In order to do that scientists are looking for pristine locations around the world where human influence is minimal .
An international group of researchers has now completed a comprehensive study at the Nepal Climate Observatory at Pyramid station , located in the proximity of the Everest base camp at 5050 m above sea level .
There , they were able to investigate the formation of atmospheric particles far from human activities .
The results were published today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The study shows that up-valley winds bring vapours emitted by vegetation at the Himalayan foothills to higher altitudes .
During this transport , these gases are transformed by photochemical reactions into compounds of very low volatility , which rapidly form a large number of new aerosol particles .
These are then transported into the free troposphere , a region of the atmosphere with very low human influence .
“ You can think of the whole Himalayas as an ‘ aerosol factory ’ that continuously produces a large amount of particles and then directly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ above the Everest ” , says Bianchi .
We calculate from these measurements that the transport of particles may increase present-day particle concentration above the Himalayas by a factor of up to two or more .
It ’ s the first time the scientists consider mountain venting as a big potential source of atmospheric particles in the free troposphere .
Additionally , the freshly formed particles have natural origin with little evidence of the involvement of anthropogenic pollutants .
This process is therefore likely to be essentially unchanged since the pre-industrial period , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major sources contributing to the upper atmosphere aerosol population during that time .
These new observations are therefore important to better estimate the pre-industrial baseline of aerosol concentrations in this large region .
The inclusion of such processes in climate models may improve the understanding of climate change and predictions of future climate .
Future studies shall focus on a better quantification of this phenomenon and investigate it also in other high mountain regions .
Federico Bianchi , Heikki Junninen , Alessandro Bigi , Victoria A. Sinclair , Lubna Dada , Cristopher R. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Lauri R. Ahonen , Paolo Bonasoni , Stephany Buenrostro Mazon , Manuel Hutterli , Paolo Laj , Katrianne Lehtipalo , Juha Kangasluoma1 , Veli-Matti Kerminen , Jenni Kontkanen , Angela Marinoni , Sander Mirme , Ugo Molteni , Tuukka Petäjä , Matthieu Riva , Clemence Rose , Karine Sellegri , Chao Yan , Douglas R. Worsnop , Markku Kulmala , Urs Baltensperger & Josef Dommen .
Biogenic particles formed in the Himalaya as an important source of free tropospheric aerosols .
Nature Geoscience , December 2020 .

UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI
Research News
IMAGE: PRISTINE LOCATIONS LIKE THE HIMALAYAS ARE USEFUL WHEN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURAL ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS BEFORE THE INDUSTRIALIZATION. view more CREDIT: FEDERICO BIANCHI
Large amounts of new particles can form in the valleys of the Himalayas from naturally emitted gases and can be transported to high altitudes by the mountain winds and injected into the upper atmosphere.
The emitted particles may eventually affect climate by acting as nuclei for cloud condensation. These new findings about particles formation and sources will contribute to a better understanding of past and future climate.
“To understand how the climate has changed over the last century we need to know as reliably as possible the natural atmospheric conditions before the industrialization,” says Associate Professor Federico Bianchi from the University of Helsinki’s Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR).
In order to do that scientists are looking for pristine locations around the world where human influence is minimal. An international group of researchers has now completed a comprehensive study at the Nepal Climate Observatory at Pyramid station, located in the proximity of the Everest base camp at 5050 m above sea level. There, they were able to investigate the formation of atmospheric particles far from human activities. The results were published today in the prestigious journal Nature Geoscience.
Particles from natural origin
The study shows that up-valley winds bring vapours emitted by vegetation at the Himalayan foothills to higher altitudes. During this transport, these gases are transformed by photochemical reactions into compounds of very low volatility, which rapidly form a large number of new aerosol particles. These are then transported into the free troposphere, a region of the atmosphere with very low human influence.
“You can think of the whole Himalayas as an ‘aerosol factory’ that continuously produces a large amount of particles and then directly injects them high up into the atmosphere above the Everest”, says Bianchi. We calculate from these measurements that the transport of particles may increase present-day particle concentration above the Himalayas by a factor of up to two or more.
It’s the first time the scientists consider mountain venting as a big potential source of atmospheric particles in the free troposphere.
Additionally, the freshly formed particles have natural origin with little evidence of the involvement of anthropogenic pollutants. This process is therefore likely to be essentially unchanged since the pre-industrial period, and may have been one of the major sources contributing to the upper atmosphere aerosol population during that time. These new observations are therefore important to better estimate the pre-industrial baseline of aerosol concentrations in this large region. The inclusion of such processes in climate models may improve the understanding of climate change and predictions of future climate.
Future studies shall focus on a better quantification of this phenomenon and investigate it also in other high mountain regions.
###
Article:
Federico Bianchi, Heikki Junninen, Alessandro Bigi, Victoria A. Sinclair, Lubna Dada, Cristopher R. Hoyle, Qiaozhi Zha, Lei Yao, Lauri R. Ahonen, Paolo Bonasoni, Stephany Buenrostro Mazon, Manuel Hutterli, Paolo Laj, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Juha Kangasluoma1, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Jenni Kontkanen, Angela Marinoni, Sander Mirme, Ugo Molteni, Tuukka Petäjä, Matthieu Riva, Clemence Rose, Karine Sellegri, Chao Yan, Douglas R. Worsnop, Markku Kulmala, Urs Baltensperger & Josef Dommen. Biogenic particles formed in the Himalaya as an important source of free tropospheric aerosols. Nature Geoscience, December 2020.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-020-00661-5
Like this: Like Loading…
Related


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--Raise your hand if you knew Newfoundland was devastated by a major tsunami in 1929

Only a few months ago , I discovered that the Burin Peninsula on the south shore of Newfoundland in eastern Canada was devastated by a major tsunami in 1929 , which inspired my new short novel , UPHEAVAL .
My story is about an ice tsunami that devastates Cape Breton Island in 2026 ( an ocean wave triggered by an earthquake or underwater landslide becomes an ice tsunami when it travels under sea ice before it comes ashore ) .
Here are the details on that little-known 1929 tsunami event – which even a colleague who is a tsunami advisor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members who had lived in Nova Scotia had never heard of before .
On 18 November 1929 a tsunami struck Newfoundland ’ s Burin Peninsula and caused considerable loss of life and property .
Giant waves hit the coast at 40 km/hr , flooding dozens of communities and washing entire homes out to sea .
The disaster killed 28 people and left hundreds more homeless or destitute .
It was the most destructive earthquake-related event in Newfoundland and Labrador ’ s history and occurred at the beginning of a worldwide depression .
Despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tsunami , no one in Newfoundland and Labrador anticipated the approaching danger .
Large-scale seismic events are rare in eastern North America and virtually non-existent in Newfoundland and Labrador ; in 1929 , the country did not even possess a seismograph or tide gauge which could warn of the tsunami .
Moreover , a recent storm had severed the single telegraph line linking the Burin Peninsula with the rest of the island ; it was not until almost three days after the tsunami struck that the Squires government learned of the disaster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At 5:02 p.m. on Monday 18 November 1929 , an underwater earthquake occurred on the southern edge Grand Banks , about 265 kilometres south of Newfoundland ’ s Burin Peninsula .
It measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and was recorded in locations as far west as New York and Montreal and as far east as Portugal .
On the Burin Peninsula , ground tremors lasted for about five minutes but did not cause any serious damage to houses or other structures .
No one in the area had experienced an earthquake before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what was happening , none imagined the tsunami that would follow .
On the Grand Banks , the earthquake triggered a sizeable underwater landslide , which in turn forced a series of large waves across the ocean ’ s surface .
The tsunami raced towards Newfoundland at speeds of up to 140 km/hr , before slowing to about 40 km/hr in shallower water .
It registered on tide gauges in Bermuda , Portugal , the Azores , and along the United States ’ eastern coast .
Newfoundland , however , had no knowledge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approaching its southern coast .
Tsunami Reaches Burin Peninsula At about 7:30 p.m. , residents along the Burin Peninsula noticed a rapid drop in sea level as the lowest point of the tsunami ’ s first wave , known as a trough , reached the coast .
As the water receded , it exposed portions of the ocean floor that were normally submerged and caused boats docked at various harbours to tumble over onto their sides .
Minutes later , three successive waves hit the shore and water levels rose dramatically .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three to seven metres above normal , but in some of the peninsula ’ s long narrow bays , such as at Port au Bras , St. Lawrence , and Taylor ’ s Bay , the water rose by between 13 and 27 metres .
The force of the waves lifted houses off their foundations , swept schooners and other vessels out to sea , destroyed stages and flakes , and damaged wharves , fish stores , and other structures along the peninsula ’ s extensive coastline .
Approximately 127,000 kilograms of salt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tsunami , which affected more than 40 communities on the Burin Peninsula .
At Point au Gaul , giant waves destroyed close to 100 buildings as well as much of the community ’ s fishing gear and food supplies ; St. Lawrence lost all of its flakes , stages , and motor boats .
Government assessment later placed property damage on the Burin Peninsula at $ 1 million .
Worse than the damage to property , however , was the loss of human life .
The tsunami killed 28 people in southern Newfoundland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documented earthquake-related event in Canadian history .
Twenty-five victims drowned during the disaster ( six bodies were washed out to sea and never found ) and another three later died from shock or other tsunami-related conditions .
The deaths were confined to six communities : Allan ’ s Island , Kelly ’ s Cove , Point au Gaul , Lord ’ s Cove , Taylor ’ s Bay , and Port au Bras .
Fortunately , the tsunami struck on a calm evening when most people were still awake and could quickly react @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to evacuate their homes and flee to higher ground .

Only a few months ago, I discovered that the Burin Peninsula on the south shore of Newfoundland in eastern Canada was devastated by a major tsunami in 1929, which inspired my new short novel, UPHEAVAL. My story is about an ice tsunami that devastates Cape Breton Island in 2026 (an ocean wave triggered by an earthquake or underwater landslide becomes an ice tsunami when it travels under sea ice before it comes ashore). Here are the details on that little-known 1929 tsunami event – which even a colleague who is a tsunami advisor for his area of Alaska and family members who had lived in Nova Scotia had never heard of before.
Summary
On 18 November 1929 a tsunami struck Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula and caused considerable loss of life and property. Giant waves hit the coast at 40 km/hr, flooding dozens of communities and washing entire homes out to sea. The disaster killed 28 people and left hundreds more homeless or destitute. It was the most destructive earthquake-related event in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history and occurred at the beginning of a worldwide depression.
Despite the magnitude of the earthquake which precipitated the tsunami, no one in Newfoundland and Labrador anticipated the approaching danger. Large-scale seismic events are rare in eastern North America and virtually non-existent in Newfoundland and Labrador; in 1929, the country did not even possess a seismograph or tide gauge which could warn of the tsunami. Moreover, a recent storm had severed the single telegraph line linking the Burin Peninsula with the rest of the island; it was not until almost three days after the tsunami struck that the Squires government learned of the disaster and was able to send help.
‘Grand Banks’ Earthquake
At 5:02 p.m. on Monday 18 November 1929, an underwater earthquake occurred on the southern edge Grand Banks, about 265 kilometres south of Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula. It measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and was recorded in locations as far west as New York and Montreal and as far east as Portugal. On the Burin Peninsula, ground tremors lasted for about five minutes but did not cause any serious damage to houses or other structures. No one in the area had experienced an earthquake before, and although a few people understood what was happening, none imagined the tsunami that would follow.
On the Grand Banks, the earthquake triggered a sizeable underwater landslide, which in turn forced a series of large waves across the ocean’s surface. The tsunami raced towards Newfoundland at speeds of up to 140 km/hr, before slowing to about 40 km/hr in shallower water. It registered on tide gauges in Bermuda, Portugal, the Azores, and along the United States’ eastern coast. Newfoundland, however, had no knowledge of the giant waves that were quickly approaching its southern coast.
Tsunami Reaches Burin Peninsula
At about 7:30 p.m., residents along the Burin Peninsula noticed a rapid drop in sea level as the lowest point of the tsunami’s first wave, known as a trough, reached the coast. As the water receded, it exposed portions of the ocean floor that were normally submerged and caused boats docked at various harbours to tumble over onto their sides. Minutes later, three successive waves hit the shore and water levels rose dramatically. In most places, the sea level swelled three to seven metres above normal, but in some of the peninsula’s long narrow bays, such as at Port au Bras, St. Lawrence, and Taylor’s Bay, the water rose by between 13 and 27 metres.
The force of the waves lifted houses off their foundations, swept schooners and other vessels out to sea, destroyed stages and flakes, and damaged wharves, fish stores, and other structures along the peninsula’s extensive coastline. Approximately 127,000 kilograms of salt cod were also washed away by the tsunami, which affected more than 40 communities on the Burin Peninsula. At Point au Gaul, giant waves destroyed close to 100 buildings as well as much of the community’s fishing gear and food supplies; St. Lawrence lost all of its flakes, stages, and motor boats. Government assessment later placed property damage on the Burin Peninsula at $1 million.
Worse than the damage to property, however, was the loss of human life. The tsunami killed 28 people in southern Newfoundland, which is more than any other documented earthquake-related event in Canadian history. Twenty-five victims drowned during the disaster (six bodies were washed out to sea and never found) and another three later died from shock or other tsunami-related conditions. The deaths were confined to six communities: Allan’s Island, Kelly’s Cove, Point au Gaul, Lord’s Cove, Taylor’s Bay, and Port au Bras. Fortunately, the tsunami struck on a calm evening when most people were still awake and could quickly react to the rising water; many managed to evacuate their homes and flee to higher ground.


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--New solid-state battery tech claims 80% charge in under 15 minutes

Critics may struggle to stifle a yawn , as battery ‘ breakthroughs ’ are regularly promised or hinted at , but the actual pace of change in EV battery tech seems quite slow .
On the other hand , solid-state batteries may be the best way forward if tests can be successfully turned into full-scale production .
The original report headline says : ‘ VW and Bill Gates-backed QuantumScape releases performance data… ’ , so plenty of industrial and financial muscle behind the project .
– – – California-based QuantumScape Corp ( QuantumScape ) , a company focussing on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use in electric vehicles ( EVs ) , has released performance data , which it says demonstrates its capability to address fundamental issues holding back widespread adoption of high-energy-density solid-state batteries , including charge time ( current density ) , cycle life , safety , and operating temperature .
Autocar Pro reporting .
– – – The company says a commercially viable solid-state lithium-metal battery is an advancement that the battery industry has pursued for decades , as it holds the promise of a step function increase in energy density over conventional lithium-ion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driving range comparable to combustion engine-based vehicles .
QuantumScape claims its solid-state battery is designed to enable up to 80 percent longer range compared to today ’ s lithium-ion batteries .
Previous attempts to create a solid-state separator capable of working with lithium metal at high rates of power generally required compromising other aspects of the cell ( cycle life , operating temperature , safety , cathode loading , or excess lithium in the anode ) .
QuantumScape says its newly-released results , based on testing of single layer battery cells , show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at very high rates of power , enabling a 15-minute charge to 80 % capacity , faster than either conventional battery or alternative solid-state approaches are capable of delivering .
In addition , the data points out that the new battery technology is capable of lasting hundreds of thousands of miles , and is designed to operate at a wide range of temperatures , including results that show operation at -30 degrees Celsius .
The company says the tested cells were large-area single-layer pouch cells in the target commercial form factor with zero @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cathodes ( > 3mAh/cm2 ) , running at rates of one-hour charge and discharge ( 1C charge and 1C discharge ) at 30 degrees Celsius .
These tests demonstrated robust performance of these single layer pouch cells even at these high rates , resulting in retained capacity of greater than 80 percent after 800 cycles ( demonstrating high columbic efficiency of greater than 99.97 % ) .
Dr. Stanley Whittingham , co-inventor of lithium-ion battery and winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry said : “ The hardest part about making a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simultaneously meet the requirements of high energy density ( 1,000 Wh/L ) , fast charge ( i.e.
, high current density ) , long cycle life ( greater than 800 cycles ) , and wide temperature-range operation .
This data shows QuantumScape ’ s cells meet all of these requirements , something that has never before been reported .
If QuantumScape can get this technology into mass production , it holds the potential to transform the industry.
” Venkat Viswanathan , battery expert and professor of materials science at Carnegie-Mellon University said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ previously thought to be possible in a solid-state battery .
Supporting high enough current density to enable fast charge without forming dendrites has long been a holy grail of the industry .
This data shows the capability to charge to 80 % capacity in 15 minutes , corresponding to an astonishingly high rate of lithium deposition of up to a micron per minute.
” The company says its team of scientists have worked over the past decade to create the next generation of battery technology : solid-state batteries with lithium-metal anodes .

Critics may struggle to stifle a yawn, as battery ‘breakthroughs’ are regularly promised or hinted at, but the actual pace of change in EV battery tech seems quite slow. On the other hand, solid-state batteries may be the best way forward if tests can be successfully turned into full-scale production. The original report headline says: ‘VW and Bill Gates-backed QuantumScape releases performance data…’, so plenty of industrial and financial muscle behind the project.
– – –
California-based QuantumScape Corp (QuantumScape), a company focussing on the development of next-generation solid-state lithium-metal batteries for use in electric vehicles (EVs), has released performance data, which it says demonstrates its capability to address fundamental issues holding back widespread adoption of high-energy-density solid-state batteries, including charge time (current density), cycle life, safety, and operating temperature. Autocar Pro reporting.
– – –
The company says a commercially viable solid-state lithium-metal battery is an advancement that the battery industry has pursued for decades, as it holds the promise of a step function increase in energy density over conventional lithium-ion batteries, enabling electric vehicles with a driving range comparable to combustion engine-based vehicles.
QuantumScape claims its solid-state battery is designed to enable up to 80 percent longer range compared to today’s lithium-ion batteries.
Previous attempts to create a solid-state separator capable of working with lithium metal at high rates of power generally required compromising other aspects of the cell (cycle life, operating temperature, safety, cathode loading, or excess lithium in the anode).
QuantumScape says its newly-released results, based on testing of single layer battery cells, show its solid-state separators are capable of working at very high rates of power, enabling a 15-minute charge to 80% capacity, faster than either conventional battery or alternative solid-state approaches are capable of delivering.
In addition, the data points out that the new battery technology is capable of lasting hundreds of thousands of miles, and is designed to operate at a wide range of temperatures, including results that show operation at -30 degrees Celsius.
The company says the tested cells were large-area single-layer pouch cells in the target commercial form factor with zero excess lithium on the anode and thick cathodes (>3mAh/cm2), running at rates of one-hour charge and discharge (1C charge and 1C discharge) at 30 degrees Celsius.
These tests demonstrated robust performance of these single layer pouch cells even at these high rates, resulting in retained capacity of greater than 80 percent after 800 cycles (demonstrating high columbic efficiency of greater than 99.97%).
Dr. Stanley Whittingham, co-inventor of lithium-ion battery and winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry said: “The hardest part about making a working solid-state battery is the need to simultaneously meet the requirements of high energy density (1,000 Wh/L), fast charge (i.e., high current density), long cycle life (greater than 800 cycles), and wide temperature-range operation. This data shows QuantumScape’s cells meet all of these requirements, something that has never before been reported. If QuantumScape can get this technology into mass production, it holds the potential to transform the industry.”
Venkat Viswanathan, battery expert and professor of materials science at Carnegie-Mellon University said: “These results blow away what was previously thought to be possible in a solid-state battery. Supporting high enough current density to enable fast charge without forming dendrites has long been a holy grail of the industry. This data shows the capability to charge to 80% capacity in 15 minutes, corresponding to an astonishingly high rate of lithium deposition of up to a micron per minute.”
The company says its team of scientists have worked over the past decade to create the next generation of battery technology: solid-state batteries with lithium-metal anodes.
Full report here.
– – –
Battery comparison graphic here.
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
https://ift.tt/37a1mSR
December 10, 2020 at 11:33AM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-10--The Sixth Carbon Budget

The Sixth Carbon Budget

The Committee on Climate Change , the quango headed up by our old friend John Gummer .
has just published its latest cunning plan to bankrupt the UK .
The Sixth Carbon Budget lays out how we should meet our decarbonisation targets , with specific emphasis on the period 2032-2037 .
For the first time they have included estimates of what all of this might cost us in the 2030s .
Dressed up in percentages of GDP , talk of green jobs and claims of the economic growth it will all spawn , the CCC have attempted to obscure how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to fork out .
They reckon that their plan will involve spending around £50bn annually by 2030 , which equates to nearly £2000 for every home in the country .
But , as we shall see , even that figure is based on some highly optimistic ( some would argue unrealistically so ) assumptions .
They say that the £50bn could be marginally offset by savings on electric cars .
But it turns out that these are based on a combination of Enron style accounting , and absurdly fanciful assumptions about falling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , of course , much jam promised tomorrow , or more precisely 2050 , when half of us will be dead .
But it ’ s not what might happen in thirty years time that matters to people , it ’ s the here and now .
But what will all of this mean to the man in the street ?
As we already know , the sale of conventional petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2030 .
According to the CCC , Battery Electric Vehicles ( BEVs ) currently cost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ typically a premium of £6400 .
However , the CCC grandly assume that by 2030 BEVs will cost no more ; all of this on the basis that the cost of BEV batteries will drop by two thirds in the next ten years , for which there is not the slightest evidence .
Of course , if BEVs do become a lot cheaper , drivers will be queuing up to buy them , and the government won ’ t need to ban conventional cars !
The CCC also dishonestly include something called “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for petrol/diesel cars , which amounts to £200 a year per car , or £7bn for the country as a whole .
There is , of course , no such a thing as a “ cost of carbon ” , which is included only to make low carbon alternatives appear more competitive .
When these factors , along with doubts about the second hand value of BEVs , are taken into account , most of the CCC ’ s fictional savings disappear .
All the more significant , because those drivers who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finding their cars to be dearer than petrol ones to run .
We then come to heating our homes , with proposals that sales of gas boilers are banned by 2033 .
For most homes this will mean replacement with air source heat pumps , which typically cost around £10,000 to install and require thousands more to be spent on insulation if they are to work effectively .
Quite where ordinary families are expected to get this money from is not explained !
To make matters worse , because electricity costs five times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of energy , householders will find that their heating bills double as well .
And if we choose to carry on using our old gas boilers ?
Simples – we will have a stonking carbon tax added to our gas bills instead .
Not only are we expected to pay thousands out to meet carbon targets , but we are also told we must eat a third less red meat and dairy produce , drive our cars less and take fewer flights .
Not that we will be able to afford any of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with us .
Eating less meat and dairy will of course cause great damage to British farming , as well as pushing up food bills for poorer families .
And how will we actually power all of these new electric cars and heat pumps ?
By 2035 , we will need nearly twice as much electricity as now , two thirds of which will be coming from wind and solar power , according to the CCC .
This is four times the amount of power they generate now .
And when the wind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not shine ?
We will have to fall back on gas power stations , with the proviso that they can capture and store the carbon dioxide produced , even though nowhere in the world has managed to do this at scale .
Central to the case for wind power , is that the cost of offshore wind has fallen so much that it is now competitive .
However , independent experts , who have looked at the published accounts of companies building these wind farms , maintain that these so-called falling costs are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be triple those of conventional power generators .
If they are right , this would add another £20bn a year to the CCC ’ s plan .
And all for what ?
The UK only accounts for 1 % of global emissions , so whatever we do will have no effect at all on the climate .
Meanwhile , despite COVID , this year China has continued to build new coal power stations , increasing its generating capacity by 3 % .
In the last two year ’ s the rise in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has exceeded our total emissions .
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood
https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/sixth-carbon-budget/
The Committee on Climate Change, the quango headed up by our old friend John Gummer. has just published its latest cunning plan to bankrupt the UK. The Sixth Carbon Budget lays out how we should meet our decarbonisation targets, with specific emphasis on the period 2032-2037.
For the first time they have included estimates of what all of this might cost us in the 2030s. Dressed up in percentages of GDP, talk of green jobs and claims of the economic growth it will all spawn, the CCC have attempted to obscure how much we are all actually going to have to fork out.
They reckon that their plan will involve spending around £50bn annually by 2030, which equates to nearly £2000 for every home in the country. But, as we shall see, even that figure is based on some highly optimistic (some would argue unrealistically so) assumptions.
They say that the £50bn could be marginally offset by savings on electric cars. But it turns out that these are based on a combination of Enron style accounting, and absurdly fanciful assumptions about falling prices of electric cars.
There is, of course, much jam promised tomorrow, or more precisely 2050, when half of us will be dead. But it’s not what might happen in thirty years time that matters to people, it’s the here and now.
But what will all of this mean to the man in the street?
As we already know, the sale of conventional petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2030. According to the CCC, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) currently cost a third more than conventional cars, typically a premium of £6400.
However, the CCC grandly assume that by 2030 BEVs will cost no more; all of this on the basis that the cost of BEV batteries will drop by two thirds in the next ten years, for which there is not the slightest evidence. Of course, if BEVs do become a lot cheaper, drivers will be queuing up to buy them, and the government won’t need to ban conventional cars!
The CCC also dishonestly include something called “carbon costs” in their running costs for petrol/diesel cars, which amounts to £200 a year per car, or £7bn for the country as a whole. There is, of course, no such a thing as a “cost of carbon”, which is included only to make low carbon alternatives appear more competitive.
When these factors, along with doubts about the second hand value of BEVs, are taken into account, most of the CCC’s fictional savings disappear. All the more significant, because those drivers who are forced to use public chargers are already finding their cars to be dearer than petrol ones to run.
We then come to heating our homes, with proposals that sales of gas boilers are banned by 2033. For most homes this will mean replacement with air source heat pumps, which typically cost around £10,000 to install and require thousands more to be spent on insulation if they are to work effectively.
Quite where ordinary families are expected to get this money from is not explained! To make matters worse, because electricity costs five times as much as natural gas in terms of energy, householders will find that their heating bills double as well.
And if we choose to carry on using our old gas boilers? Simples – we will have a stonking carbon tax added to our gas bills instead.
Not only are we expected to pay thousands out to meet carbon targets, but we are also told we must eat a third less red meat and dairy produce, drive our cars less and take fewer flights. Not that we will be able to afford any of these pleasures after the CCC have done with us.
Eating less meat and dairy will of course cause great damage to British farming, as well as pushing up food bills for poorer families.
And how will we actually power all of these new electric cars and heat pumps? By 2035, we will need nearly twice as much electricity as now, two thirds of which will be coming from wind and solar power, according to the CCC. This is four times the amount of power they generate now.
And when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine? We will have to fall back on gas power stations, with the proviso that they can capture and store the carbon dioxide produced, even though nowhere in the world has managed to do this at scale.
Central to the case for wind power, is that the cost of offshore wind has fallen so much that it is now competitive. However, independent experts, who have looked at the published accounts of companies building these wind farms, maintain that these so-called falling costs are illusory, and that the real costs could be triple those of conventional power generators. If they are right, this would add another £20bn a year to the CCC’s plan.
And all for what?
The UK only accounts for 1% of global emissions, so whatever we do will have no effect at all on the climate. Meanwhile, despite COVID, this year China has continued to build new coal power stations, increasing its generating capacity by 3%. In the last two year’s the rise in China’s emissions of carbon dioxide has exceeded our total emissions.
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
https://ift.tt/2K7qGzE
December 10, 2020 at 10:30AM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-11--Boris Johnson Bans (Barely) Affordable Gas Home Heating

h/t Breitbart ; Heating Bills are set to quadruple under Boris Johnson ’ s latest climate brainstorm .
Many people in Britain can not afford heating bills of this magnitude .
Around 10 % of Britons already can not afford their heating bills , even with government handouts and low cost gas heating .
The lie of the ‘ green industrial revolution ’ Boris Johnson ’ s plans to ban gas boilers and rely on hydrogen are beyond crazy .
Following Boris Johnson ’ s 10-point plan to advance the UK ’ s ‘ green industrial revolution ’ , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on gas boilers in new homes from 2025 to 2023 .
The 10-point plan also requires replacement gas boilers to be phased out by 2035 .
This leaves a huge question hanging over each and every home in Britain : how will they be kept warm ?
The fact that this question has no answer reveals the lie at the heart of Johnson ’ s green industrial revolution .
It is an anti-industrial revolution , and it is going to create great hardship .
Some 84 per cent of Britain ’ s homes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It sounds obvious to say that they should just switch over to electricity .
But the retail price of gas is less than a quarter the price of electricity per kWh .
Heating a home with electricity is therefore currently four times more expensive than heating a home with gas .
Moreover , switching simply defers the question of where Britain ’ s energy is going to come from .
Point two of the plan is ‘ to generate 5GW of low-carbon hydrogen-production capacity by 2030 for industry , transport , power and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade ’ .
Unlike natural gas , hydrogen is not an energy source – it has to be produced .
There are two ways to produce hydrogen : electrolysis and steam reforming of natural gas .
Electrolysis at grid scale is simply uneconomic – a highly conservative estimate of the requirements and costs of replacing natural gas with hydrogen produced by electrolysis and powered by wind energy would say that Britain would need 20 times as many wind farms , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Breitbart; Heating Bills are set to quadruple under Boris Johnson’s latest climate brainstorm. Many people in Britain cannot afford heating bills of this magnitude. Around 10% of Britons already cannot afford their heating bills, even with government handouts and low cost gas heating.
The lie of the ‘green industrial revolution’
Boris Johnson’s plans to ban gas boilers and rely on hydrogen are beyond crazy.
BEN PILE
9th December 2020
Following Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan to advance the UK’s ‘green industrial revolution’, the government is bringing forward its proposed ban on gas boilers in new homes from 2025 to 2023. The 10-point plan also requires replacement gas boilers to be phased out by 2035.
This leaves a huge question hanging over each and every home in Britain: how will they be kept warm? The fact that this question has no answer reveals the lie at the heart of Johnson’s green industrial revolution. It is an anti-industrial revolution, and it is going to create great hardship.
Some 84 per cent of Britain’s homes are connected to the gas network. It sounds obvious to say that they should just switch over to electricity. But the retail price of gas is less than a quarter the price of electricity per kWh. Heating a home with electricity is therefore currently four times more expensive than heating a home with gas. Moreover, switching simply defers the question of where Britain’s energy is going to come from.
…
Point two of the plan is ‘to generate 5GW of low-carbon hydrogen-production capacity by 2030 for industry, transport, power and homes, and aiming to develop the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade’. Unlike natural gas, hydrogen is not an energy source – it has to be produced. There are two ways to produce hydrogen: electrolysis and steam reforming of natural gas.
Electrolysis at grid scale is simply uneconomic – a highly conservative estimate of the requirements and costs of replacing natural gas with hydrogen produced by electrolysis and powered by wind energy would say that Britain would need 20 times as many wind farms, and the wholesale cost of electricity would increase tenfold.
…