iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--Britain goes nuclear for Net Zero

Britain goes nuclear for Net Zero

The UK government is considering funding Sizewell C , a new nuclear reactor plant in Suffolk .
Most of Britain ’ s nuclear reactors are due to shut down in the next ten years .
A Chinese state company which has a 20 per cent stake in Sizewell C is reported to be pulling out , increasing the need for new investors .
More nuclear reactors are now likely to be built in Britain in coming years .
Nuclear power developers are refreshing plans for new reactors in the U.K. after speculation that the government could be willing to support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been expecting .
A little-noticed paper issued by the Treasury on Nov. 25 said it is important that the U.K. can “ maintain options by pursuing additional large-scale nuclear projects , ” assuming they can be done in a cost-effective way .
That wording , with a notable plural on the word “ projects , ” went beyond a recommendation made two years ago that Britain should build only one more major atomic facility .
After years of waiting for a signal , the document was read by nuclear industry executives as evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way .
They anticipate the government may soon look more favorably on nuclear after more than a decade of tilting toward renewables .
Electricite de France SA , Hitachi Ltd. and China General Nuclear Power Corp are looking at ways to revive designs that were shelved in the past few years .
“ Large-scale projects have a bright future in Britain if the government backs a financing model to cut the cost of capital , ” said Tom Greatrex , chief executive officer of the Nuclear Industry Association .
“ There are a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low-carbon power that we can count on to fill the gaps when the wind is down.
” For its part , government insists its policy on nuclear hasn ’ t changed — even with all the debate about exiting the European Union .
It ’ s allowing EDF to seek planning permission for the Sizewell plant in east England , but ministers have been quiet about what , if any , further plants might win favor .

The UK government is considering funding Sizewell C, a new nuclear reactor plant in Suffolk. Most of Britain’s nuclear reactors are due to shut down in the next ten years.
A Chinese state company which has a 20 per cent stake in Sizewell C is reported to be pulling out, increasing the need for new investors. More nuclear reactors are now likely to be built in Britain in coming years.
Nuclear power developers are refreshing plans for new reactors in the U.K. after speculation that the government could be willing to support building more plants than the industry had been expecting.
A little-noticed paper issued by the Treasury on Nov. 25 said it is important that the U.K. can “maintain options by pursuing additional large-scale nuclear projects,” assuming they can be done in a cost-effective way. That wording, with a notable plural on the word “projects,” went beyond a recommendation made two years ago that Britain should build only one more major atomic facility.
After years of waiting for a signal, the document was read by nuclear industry executives as evidence that energy policy could be shifting their way. They anticipate the government may soon look more favorably on nuclear after more than a decade of tilting toward renewables. Electricite de France SA, Hitachi Ltd. and China General Nuclear Power Corp are looking at ways to revive designs that were shelved in the past few years.
“Large-scale projects have a bright future in Britain if the government backs a financing model to cut the cost of capital,” said Tom Greatrex, chief executive officer of the Nuclear Industry Association. “There are a number of viable sites. We need low-carbon power that we can count on to fill the gaps when the wind is down.”
For its part, government insists its policy on nuclear hasn’t changed — even with all the debate about exiting the European Union. It’s allowing EDF to seek planning permission for the Sizewell plant in east England, but ministers have been quiet about what, if any, further plants might win favor.


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--HERE’S A REAL LIFE EXPERIMENT WITH 750000 PPM CO2

It is interesting to find that there are some areas of the world where CO2 bubbles up into the atmosphere @ @ @ @ @ which has an extremely high level of CO2 of up to 75 % .
At @ @ @ @ @ impossible to breathe , so I expect there are warnings to keep people out .
@ @ @ @ @ explain the effect of such conditions on the local temperature .
Surprisingly the effect is @ @ @ @ @ a nearby area with levels which are at the normal value of around 400 ppm @

It is interesting to find that there are some areas of the world where CO2 bubbles up into the atmosphere naturally creating a local atmosphere which has an extremely high level of CO2 of up to 75%. At this level it would be impossible to breathe, so I expect there are warnings to keep people out.
Here is an article to explain the effect of such conditions on the local temperature. Surprisingly the effect is zero – no difference from a nearby area with levels which are at the normal value of around 400 ppm.
via climate science
https://ift.tt/2Kikghc
December 14, 2020 at 01:30AM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--Yesterday’s Eco-complaints; Today’s ‘Planet of the Humans’

“ The people who build wind farms are not environmentalists .
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Business is a delicate balancing act , and chief executives are always walking a tightrope between the needs of the community , their employees , and the marketplace.
” [ Paul Gipe , Wind Energy Comes of Age ( 1995 ) , p .
454 . ]
“ Planet of the Humans ‘ expose is long overdue.
” [ below ] Big Green , Inc. has been challenged by Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs ’ s “ Planet of the Humans.
” Importantly , the multi-million-view @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( politically correct ) renewable energies , as well as batteries for electric vehicles .
In a recent post for the Institute for Energy Research ( IER ) , “ Long-standing Eco-warnings Against Renewables Reinforce ‘ Planet of the Humans ’ , ” I documented how many mainstream eco-authors forthrightly talked about these problems .
I noted : This current post adds to this documentation with selected quotations below .
Paul Gipe in Wind Energy Comes of Age revealed many of wind power ’ s problems , particularly concerning “ avian mortality.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the wind industry calls it , came to light over a three-year period in the late 1980s when the California Energy Commission tallied reports that as many as 160 birds had been killed or had died in the vicinity of the state ’ s wind power plants , including a protected and highly valued species : the golden eagle .
After surveying the Fish and Wildlife Service , the California Department of Fish and Game , wildlife rehabilitation centers , and wind plant operators , the CEC learned that 99 dead birds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9 in Tehachapi , and 40 in the San Gorgonio Pass from 1984 to 1988 .
These birds had been killed either by the wind turbines or by the transmission lines serving the wind plants , or else they had died from some unknown cause.
” – Paul Gipe , Wind Energy Comes of Age ( New York : John Wiley & Sons , 1995 ) , p. 343 .
“ This is the question that Rich Ferguson wants answered .
How many dead birds , specifically eagles , are too many ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sierra Club , is the environmental community ’ s point man on the bird-wind energy issue .
He is trying to mediate an internal debate within the club ’ s powerful California contingent , which is fueled by charges from a local activist that a 50-MW wind project in Solano County proposed by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District will kill golden eagles and should therefore be stopped .
Ferguson , who calls the situation in the Altamont Pass ‘ tragic and unacceptable , ’ nevertheless believes that the issue is less than black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a split within the nation ’ s largest environment group like that of the deep division over nuclear power that [ split ] the Sierra Club during the 1960s , when an antinuclear faction gained supremacy over a group led by famed photographer Ansel Adams .
Ferguson , a former physics professor , hopes to head off just such an all-or-nothing battle over wind energy , which would certainly damage the wind industry but could potentially damage the Sierra Club ’ s authority as a proponent of renewable energy as well.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Alameda , and Contra Costa , sponsored the most extensive study of bird deaths near wind farms ever undertaken [ beginning ] in early 1989. .
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The study found 182 dead birds , two-thirds of them raptors .
Red-tailed hawks headed the list , followed by American kestrels and golden eagles .
BioSystems , the consortium ’ s contractor , estimated that wind turbines and related facilities in the Altamont pass were killing 160 to 400 birds per year , most of which were birds of prey , including up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
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Two-thirds of the golden eagles were killed after colliding with wind turbines or their towers .
The powerful visual imagery of graceful hawks soaring into the ‘ Cuisinarts of the air , ’ as one former Sierra Club lobbyist termed wind turbines , lends itself to blaring headlines and self-styled investigative reports revealing the ‘ true story ’ behind one green technology.
” “ The [ wind ] industry must control erosion or it will certainly suffer further at the pen of activists such as Audubon ’ s Steve Ginsberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of many egregious examples of how wind energy is ripping up the Tehachapis , and its [ the industry ’ s ] lack of true environmental concern.
” “ At the height of the Gorman hearing , an old man took the podium .
Suddenly the television news crews switched on their Klieg lights .
Something was afoot .
They had been alerted that a suitably newsworthy ‘ sound bite ’ was on its way .
Tension in the room mounted .
The old man proceeded to lovingly describe the beauty of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grace , how they had become a part of his family , and then with perfect timing and dramatic flair , pleaded with the planning commission to protect his pigeons from ‘ the Cuisinarts of the air.
’ The arrow went straight home , sending up a roar from the audience .
A new image had been created and the cameras flashed it across the country .
Although often credited to staging by Cerrell and Associates , the term was conceived by the Sierra Club .
The club ’ s Los Angeles area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a Washington lobbyist that he coined the infamous expression .
Hattoy knew how to turn a phrase .
He brought the 1992 Democratic national convention and a television audience of millions to tears with his story of contracting AIDs .
Wind energy had made one powerful energy.
” “ The people who build wind farms are not environmentalists .
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Business is a delicate balancing act , and chief executives are always walking a tightrope between the needs of the community , their employees , and the marketplace.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths at Tarifa [ Spain ] .
It can not be kept quiet and it will not go away of its own accord [ since ] .
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Tarifa is on a major bird migration route.
” “ By and large environmentalists around the world support wind power and in Spain , despite dead birds , they are still supporting it .
Their trust in the wind industry is vital .
Breaking it would be tantamount to signing wind energy ’ s death warrant.
” “ There are parallels between the problems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Californian wind industry has been working to solve for a number of years—and the Tarifa controversy .
People could argue that the industry , with its experience of bird kills in America , should have known better .
But there is a difference .
In Altamont Pass the raptors are mainly residents , while at Tarifa those most at risk just pass through the area.
” “ The wind community could again point out that over five million birds are killed in America each year after collisions with bridges , buildings , communications @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is missing the point .
Unlike most other industrial development , wind power takes place in the open countryside which has far more chance of being an important bird habitat.
” “ Citing a dearth of applicable wind-generation modifications , Dick Anderson of the California Energy Commission suspects that current bird fatality levels in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area ( WRA ) will mirror those revealed by a 1991 CEC study .
‘ Very little has been done by the wind companies to effectively change the situation , ’ Anderson recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ better understanding ’ of avian causalities , few measures appear to be reducing avian impacts.
” “ ‘ A condor Cuisinart , that ’ s what it ’ d be , ’ says Dan Beard , senior vice president of the National Audubon Society .
Preferring to avoid a showdown with conservationists , Enron , which is based in Houston , agreed to relocate the windmills at considerable delay and expense.
” – Jim Carlton , “ An Electricity Crunch May Force the Nation Into Tough Tradeoffs , ” Wall Street Journal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A1 .
“ Two golden eagles that were radio-tagged by University of California researchers have been killed by Altamont Pass windmills , raising questions about a proposal to radically revamp the sprawling wind farm.
” “ An ongoing study of bird kills in California ’ s Altamont Pass has found that the wind farms there are causing more bird deaths than was previously thought .
Undertaken by BioResource Consultants for the National Renewable Energy Lab , the study has found a fatality rate of 0.23 birds per turbine per year , more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wind farm .
Extrapolated to the 5000 turbines at Altamont Pass , the total could be as high as 1150 birds , though study author Carl Thelander conservatively estimates ‘ a minimum of 400 to 500 birds , no doubt.
’ Previous studies of bird deaths in the area have estimated between 200 and 300 kills a year .
About half of the birds killed are raptors , Thelander believes , including about 50 golden eagles a year .
These are not classified as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US by the Bald Eagle Protection Act.
” “ ‘ Kill the condor ’ is the eye-catching message emblazoned on two huge roadside billboards erected last month in Houston and Los Angeles .
The billboards show a California Condor—one of America ’ s most endangered species of birds—flying towards wind turbines .
The advertisements are part of a major month-long campaign launched in September by the National Audubon Society ( NAS ) , a leading bird conservation group , to halt a wind farm proposed in the north of Los Angeles County by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based in Houston .
Not surprisingly , the campaign has prompted wide media attention.
” “ Fish and Wildlife Service .
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officials have expressed concern .
‘ We do know that wind farms cause bird mortality , ’ says Robert Mesta of the condor program in California .
‘ Our highest source of mortality is condors colliding with manmade structures , such as power and communication lines , ’ he explains .
‘ We definitely have a concern .
We don ’ t have many birds out there .
If we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ” “ The National Audubon Society launched a campaign to stop the proposed wind farm .
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in the Tehachapi Mountains , north of Los Angeles .
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Audubon and other environmental groups are upset because the site is only a few miles from one of the last nesting pairs of California condors .
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‘ It is hard to image a worse idea than putting a condor Cuisinart next door to critical condor habitat , ’ Audubon ’ s David Beard told the press.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts toward research that mitigates bird collision impacts .
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So far , no single approach has resulted in a simple , effective solution .
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We expect current bird fatality levels in the Altamont Pass [ wind resource area ] to be very similar to the 1991 study results .
Very little has been done by the wind companies to effectively change the situation , and the eagle population has not changed significantly.
” “ Radio-tagged and non-radio-tagged golden eagles continue to die at the Altamont Pass [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Preliminary results from CEC work at Tehachapi and San Gorgonio Pass WRAs show that wind turbines also kill birds in those locations , but the number of birds killed does not appear to be at a significant level .
There are fewer raptors using the Tehachapi and San Gorgonio Pass WRAs and , therefore , fewer raptor deaths .
There are also smaller birds being killed by wind turbines at the various developed sites , and depending on the location and legal status of the birds involved , these also could result in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best strategy to avoid bird fatalities at future facilities is to develop new wind parks in low bird-use areas .
Unfortunately , in existing areas , we do not have mitigation measures or alternative turbine designs that have been tested in the field and proven effective in reducing bird fatalities.
” “ Avian fatality at wind turbines is probably universal .
Whether this is a significant issue legally or biologically is a site-specific and species-specific determination .
There are differences in bird use and in the resulting fatality numbers at different WRAs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ turbine site-specific , and species-specific problem .
The problem has not been corrected .
The issue is being studied at numerous locations throughout the nation to better understand how birds are being killed .
The information resulting from these studies should help identify differing bird risk situations and lead to specific measures tailored to mitigate specific situations .
It is clear that no one measure will resolve the issue .
Instead , it is likely a number of specific measures targeting specific situations will be needed to reduce avian fatalities to an acceptable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , much more will be known about this issue and hopefully some effective reduction measures identified and tested .
However , this will only happen if research continues at a sustained level.
” “ An unexpected impact of widespread wind turbine development in California has been the deaths of birds from collision with turbines .
These deaths have generated controversy about the potential impacts of wind turbine facilities on bird populations .
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The potential impacts of windfarm developments and their supporting network of transmission lines include mortality from collision with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in foraging or migratory patterns , habitat reduction , and prey base changes .
Of particular concern is the impact of windfarms on raptors ( birds or prey ) , which are protected by both state and federal laws.
” – California Energy Commission , Wind Turbine Effects on Avian Activity , Habitat Use , and Mortality in Altamont Pass and Solano County Wind Resource Areas , 1989-1991 , Final Report , March 1992 , p. ix .
“ Our estimate of the number of raptors killed by windfarm-related injuries within the entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first year of the study to 164 during the second year .
Of these raptor deaths , we conservatively estimated that 39 golden eagles were killed each year .
Sixty-nine percent of all golden eagle deaths were attributed to collisions with turbines .
These estimates have a large potential for error because of the number of variables involved and the small number of fresh carcasses found .
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Nevertheless , we believe our estimates are cause for concern , especially for golden eagles which are federally protected under the Bald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ species of special concern .
Furthermore , the Altamont Pass WRA is considered an important wintering area for golden eagles.
” “ Since the 1980s the Altamont Pass has hosted the world ’ s largest concentration of [ wind ] turbines .
In 1991 it boasted almost 7000 units , though this has dropped to a little over 5000 as old projects have failed .
Three factors have been seen as important in drafting the [ environmental ] plan , noise , visual impact , and birds .
It is the bird problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concern of planners .
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Bird kills in the Altamont Pass have become highly controversial—in part because the 35,000-acre area has the greatest concentration of nesting golden eagle pairs anywhere in the world .
As a result it has had the unenviable role of being on the cutting edge of knowledge on bird deaths in wind farms.
” “ Preparation of the environmental management plan [ for Altamont Pass ] comes as local newspapers are releasing new information on bird kills in an effort , presumably , to sway the planning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between January 1995 and March 1998 , out of a total of 679 avian kills , reports the Contra Costa Times .
Thirty-six of the eagles were killed in 1997 , says the newspaper , which analyses wind industry figures reported to Alameda County .
About 100 golden eagle pairs nest in the Altamont Pass area .
Golden eagles are protected under the migratory bird Treaty and Bald Eagle Protection Act .
The paper also reports that wind turbines may be killing as many eagles in the areas as those that die from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 179 golden eagles radio-tagged in January 1994 by biologists studying the phenomenon of wind turbines and bird kills , only 80 are still alive .
An estimated one-third to one-half of the 99 deaths are attributed to collisions or electrocutions on wind farms , according to biologist Grainger Hunt with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.
” “ Within a couple of years after wind , biomass , and geothermal power projects began rising off drawing boards , conflicts arose between project sponsors and the environmental advocates they expected to support them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energy sources are breaking up old alliances , ’ reported the San Francisco Examiner , ‘ pitting pragmatists who want to make development livable against purists who ’ ve had enough of compromise.
’ ” – Robert Kahn , “ Siting Struggles : The Unique Challenge of Permitting Renewable Energy Power Plants , The Electricity Journal , March 2000 , p. 28 .
“ Wind power is currently the environmentalists ’ favorite source of renewable energy and is thought to be the most likely renewable energy source to replace fossil fuel in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Hydropower has lost favor with environmentalists because of the damage it has done to river habitats and freshwater fish populations .
Solar power , at least when relied on for central-station or grid electricity generation , is not environmentally benign on a total fuel cycle basis and is highly uneconomic , land intensive , and thus a fringe electric power source for the foreseeable future .
Geothermal has turned out to be “ depletable , ” with limited capacity , falling output , and modest new investment .
Biomass is also uneconomic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bradley Jr , “ Renewable Energy : Not Cheap , Not ‘ Green ’ ” Cato Institute Policy Analysis , No .
280 , August 27 , 1997 , p. 2 .
“ In testimony before the California Public Utilities Commission ( CPUC ) , Ralph Cavanagh of the Natural Resources Defense Council argued against opening the electricity industry to competition and customer choice because of the ‘ development of significant new transmission and distribution lines to link buyers and sellers of power ’ .
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Yet Altamont Pass ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s San Francisco office ) have a record of sizable avian mortality , large land-use requirements , disturbing noise , and ‘ visual blight.
’ ” “ The argument that the actual space used by wind towers is much smaller than the total acreage of wind farms ( as little as 1 percent of the land is actually occupied ) is the ‘ footprint ’ argument that eco-energy planners refuse to consider for petroleum extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
” “ Why have so many eco-energy planners clung to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , noisy , and wildlife-unfriendly source of energy that accounted for only 1/10 of 1 percent of total U.S. power generation in 1995 ( 3.2 of 3,365 billion kWh ) , and 1/5 of 1 percent of the total U.S. electricity capacity of 770 GW ?
The answer is that if wind power joins hydroelectric power ( and other troubled renewables ) on the no-longer-preferred list of renewable energy sources , there are really few , if any , realistic alternatives , to fossil-fuel-fired generation in the foreseeable future.
” “ If wind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fish test , or if wind becomes economically unsustainable in the United States , solar power will have to shoulder a greater load .
Economic , environmental , and scale problems , however , limit solar ’ s potential as an electric utility power source despite improving technology.
” “ The growing [ wind ] industry has caused a kind of identity crisis among people who think of themselves as pro-environment , forcing them to choose between the promise of clean , endlessly renewable energy and the perils of imposing giant man-made @ @ @ @ @

“The people who build wind farms are not environmentalists. . . . Business is a delicate balancing act, and chief executives are always walking a tightrope between the needs of the community, their employees, and the marketplace.” [Paul Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age (1995), p. 454.] “Planet of the Humans‘ expose is long overdue.” [below]
Big Green, Inc. has been challenged by Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs’s “Planet of the Humans.” Importantly, the multi-million-view documentary brought together the inconvenient truths of (politically correct) renewable energies, as well as batteries for electric vehicles.
In a recent post for the Institute for Energy Research (IER), “Long-standing Eco-warnings Against Renewables Reinforce ‘Planet of the Humans’,” I documented how many mainstream eco-authors forthrightly talked about these problems. I noted:
Moore/Gibbs memorialized what had long been recognized by the environmental intelligentsia. A review of the eco-literature reveals ample recognition and warning about the downsides of industrial wind turbines and solar arrays as grid electricity. But it was as if mentioning the problem was enough to just move on. After all, there has to be some supply-side replacement for fossil fuels (not to mention nuclear) given the political barrier to deindustrialization and negative growth.
This current post adds to this documentation with selected quotations below.
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“Environmental organizations generally support the development of ‘renewable’ energy resources . . . but reserve judgment on specific projects until site-specific impacts are known. Depending on local conditions, environmental criticism of renewable plants can be every bit as scathing as for fossil plants, much to the dismay of policy advocates.” – Rich Ferguson, Electric Industry Restructuring and Environmental Stewardship.” The Electricity Journal, July 1999, 27–28.
“[This] is not to say [non-oil] energy regimes would have been environmentally neutral. One based on muscle and biomass (the Haitian model) would have stripped the world of combustible vegetation. One based on coal (the Polish model) would have markedly increased air pollution. One based on nuclear energy (anyway not available before 1954) would have run greater risks of meltdowns and committed the world to millennia of management of more lethal wastes. As for one based on photovoltaics, wind power, and fuel cells—we don’t know (yet) what that might entail.” – J. R. McNeil, Something New Under the Sun (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000), p. 306.
Paul Gipe in Wind Energy Comes of Age revealed many of wind power’s problems, particularly concerning “avian mortality.”
“The ‘bird problem,’ as the wind industry calls it, came to light over a three-year period in the late 1980s when the California Energy Commission tallied reports that as many as 160 birds had been killed or had died in the vicinity of the state’s wind power plants, including a protected and highly valued species: the golden eagle. After surveying the Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Game, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and wind plant operators, the CEC learned that 99 dead birds had been recovered in the Altamont, 9 in Tehachapi, and 40 in the San Gorgonio Pass from 1984 to 1988. These birds had been killed either by the wind turbines or by the transmission lines serving the wind plants, or else they had died from some unknown cause.” – Paul Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995), p. 343. “This is the question that Rich Ferguson wants answered. How many dead birds, specifically eagles, are too many? Ferguson, energy chair for the national Sierra Club, is the environmental community’s point man on the bird-wind energy issue. He is trying to mediate an internal debate within the club’s powerful California contingent, which is fueled by charges from a local activist that a 50-MW wind project in Solano County proposed by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District will kill golden eagles and should therefore be stopped. Ferguson, who calls the situation in the Altamont Pass ‘tragic and unacceptable,’ nevertheless believes that the issue is less than black and white. Ferguson wants to avert a split within the nation’s largest environment group like that of the deep division over nuclear power that [split] the Sierra Club during the 1960s, when an antinuclear faction gained supremacy over a group led by famed photographer Ansel Adams. Ferguson, a former physics professor, hopes to head off just such an all-or-nothing battle over wind energy, which would certainly damage the wind industry but could potentially damage the Sierra Club’s authority as a proponent of renewable energy as well.” – Paul Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age, p. 353. “The CEC and the counties of Solano, Alameda, and Contra Costa, sponsored the most extensive study of bird deaths near wind farms ever undertaken [beginning] in early 1989. . . . The study found 182 dead birds, two-thirds of them raptors. Red-tailed hawks headed the list, followed by American kestrels and golden eagles. BioSystems, the consortium’s contractor, estimated that wind turbines and related facilities in the Altamont pass were killing 160 to 400 birds per year, most of which were birds of prey, including up to 40 golden eagles per year. . . . Two-thirds of the golden eagles were killed after colliding with wind turbines or their towers. The powerful visual imagery of graceful hawks soaring into the ‘Cuisinarts of the air,’ as one former Sierra Club lobbyist termed wind turbines, lends itself to blaring headlines and self-styled investigative reports revealing the ‘true story’ behind one green technology.” – Paul Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age, pp. 344-45.
“The [wind] industry must control erosion or it will certainly suffer further at the pen of activists such as Audubon’s Steve Ginsberg, to whom erosion ‘is just one of many egregious examples of how wind energy is ripping up the Tehachapis, and its [the industry’s] lack of true environmental concern.” – Paul Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age, p. 414. “At the height of the Gorman hearing, an old man took the podium. Suddenly the television news crews switched on their Klieg lights. Something was afoot. They had been alerted that a suitably newsworthy ‘sound bite’ was on its way. Tension in the room mounted. The old man proceeded to lovingly describe the beauty of his racing pigeons, their speed and grace, how they had become a part of his family, and then with perfect timing and dramatic flair, pleaded with the planning commission to protect his pigeons from ‘the Cuisinarts of the air.’ The arrow went straight home, sending up a roar from the audience. A new image had been created and the cameras flashed it across the country. Although often credited to staging by Cerrell and Associates, the term was conceived by the Sierra Club. The club’s Los Angeles area representative, Bob Hattoy, later bragged to a Washington lobbyist that he coined the infamous expression. Hattoy knew how to turn a phrase. He brought the 1992 Democratic national convention and a television audience of millions to tears with his story of contracting AIDs. Wind energy had made one powerful energy.” – Paul Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age, p. 450. “The people who build wind farms are not environmentalists. . . . Business is a delicate balancing act, and chief executives are always walking a tightrope between the needs of the community, their employees, and the marketplace.” – Paul Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age, p. 454. “There is a real problem with bird deaths at Tarifa [Spain]. It cannot be kept quiet and it will not go away of its own accord [since] . . . Tarifa is on a major bird migration route.” – Lyn Harrison, “Never Again,” Windpower Monthly, February 1994, p. 4. “By and large environmentalists around the world support wind power and in Spain, despite dead birds, they are still supporting it. Their trust in the wind industry is vital. Breaking it would be tantamount to signing wind energy’s death warrant.” – Lyn Harrison, “Never Again,” Windpower Monthly, op cit. “There are parallels between the problems of raptors in the Altamont Pass—which the Californian wind industry has been working to solve for a number of years—and the Tarifa controversy. People could argue that the industry, with its experience of bird kills in America, should have known better. But there is a difference. In Altamont Pass the raptors are mainly residents, while at Tarifa those most at risk just pass through the area.” – Lyn Harrison, “Never Again,” op. cit. “The wind community could again point out that over five million birds are killed in America each year after collisions with bridges, buildings, communications towers, and the like. But this is missing the point. Unlike most other industrial development, wind power takes place in the open countryside which has far more chance of being an important bird habitat.” – Lyn Harrison, “Never Again,” Windpower Monthly, ibid. “Citing a dearth of applicable wind-generation modifications, Dick Anderson of the California Energy Commission suspects that current bird fatality levels in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (WRA) will mirror those revealed by a 1991 CEC study. ‘Very little has been done by the wind companies to effectively change the situation,’ Anderson recently said. Though studies have yielded a ‘better understanding’ of avian causalities, few measures appear to be reducing avian impacts.” – Staff Article, “Altamont Avian Mortality Continues; Improvements Grounded,” California Energy Markets, January 23, 1998, p. 2. “‘A condor Cuisinart, that’s what it’d be,’ says Dan Beard, senior vice president of the National Audubon Society. Preferring to avoid a showdown with conservationists, Enron, which is based in Houston, agreed to relocate the windmills at considerable delay and expense.” – Jim Carlton, “An Electricity Crunch May Force the Nation Into Tough Tradeoffs,” Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2000, p. A1. “Two golden eagles that were radio-tagged by University of California researchers have been killed by Altamont Pass windmills, raising questions about a proposal to radically revamp the sprawling wind farm.” -Jonathon Weisman, “Two Dead Eagles Fuel Altamont Debate,” Tri-Valley Herald, September 12, 1995, p. A1. “An ongoing study of bird kills in California’s Altamont Pass has found that the wind farms there are causing more bird deaths than was previously thought. Undertaken by BioResource Consultants for the National Renewable Energy Lab, the study has found a fatality rate of 0.23 birds per turbine per year, more than twice as high as any other California wind farm. Extrapolated to the 5000 turbines at Altamont Pass, the total could be as high as 1150 birds, though study author Carl Thelander conservatively estimates ‘a minimum of 400 to 500 birds, no doubt.’ Previous studies of bird deaths in the area have estimated between 200 and 300 kills a year. About half of the birds killed are raptors, Thelander believes, including about 50 golden eagles a year. These are not classified as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, but they are specifically protected in the US by the Bald Eagle Protection Act.” – Bentham Paulos, “Study Shows Higher Bird Kill Rate,” Windpower Monthly, July 2000, p. 31. “‘Kill the condor’ is the eye-catching message emblazoned on two huge roadside billboards erected last month in Houston and Los Angeles. The billboards show a California Condor—one of America’s most endangered species of birds—flying towards wind turbines. The advertisements are part of a major month-long campaign launched in September by the National Audubon Society (NAS), a leading bird conservation group, to halt a wind farm proposed in the north of Los Angeles County by Enron Corp, the large energy company based in Houston. Not surprisingly, the campaign has prompted wide media attention.” – Ros Davidson, “Condor Campaign Blows Ill Media Wind,” Windpower Monthly, October 1999, p. 29. “Fish and Wildlife Service . . . officials have expressed concern. ‘We do know that wind farms cause bird mortality,’ says Robert Mesta of the condor program in California. ‘Our highest source of mortality is condors colliding with manmade structures, such as power and communication lines,’ he explains. ‘We definitely have a concern. We don’t have many birds out there. If we lose one, it’s significant.’” – Ros Davidson, “Condor Campaign Blows Ill Media Wind,” p. 30. “The National Audubon Society launched a campaign to stop the proposed wind farm . . . in the Tehachapi Mountains, north of Los Angeles. . . . Audubon and other environmental groups are upset because the site is only a few miles from one of the last nesting pairs of California condors. . . . ‘It is hard to image a worse idea than putting a condor Cuisinart next door to critical condor habitat,’ Audubon’s David Beard told the press.” – Jonathan Adler, “The Problem with Wind Power,” The Weekly Standard, October 25, 1999, p. 17. “The wind energy companies have directed their efforts toward research that mitigates bird collision impacts. . . . So far, no single approach has resulted in a simple, effective solution . . . . We expect current bird fatality levels in the Altamont Pass [wind resource area] to be very similar to the 1991 study results. Very little has been done by the wind companies to effectively change the situation, and the eagle population has not changed significantly.” – California Energy Commission, memo from Dick Anderson, biologist, to Tom Tanton, “Wind Energy/Bird Interaction Questions,” December 29, 1997, p. 1. “Radio-tagged and non-radio-tagged golden eagles continue to die at the Altamont Pass [wind resource area or WRA]. Preliminary results from CEC work at Tehachapi and San Gorgonio Pass WRAs show that wind turbines also kill birds in those locations, but the number of birds killed does not appear to be at a significant level. There are fewer raptors using the Tehachapi and San Gorgonio Pass WRAs and, therefore, fewer raptor deaths. There are also smaller birds being killed by wind turbines at the various developed sites, and depending on the location and legal status of the birds involved, these also could result in legal and biological concerns.” – California Energy Commission, memo from Dick Anderson, biologist, to Tom Tanton, “Wind Energy/Bird Interaction Questions,” December 29, 1997, p. 2.
“The best strategy to avoid bird fatalities at future facilities is to develop new wind parks in low bird-use areas. Unfortunately, in existing areas, we do not have mitigation measures or alternative turbine designs that have been tested in the field and proven effective in reducing bird fatalities.” – California Energy Commission, memo from Dick Anderson, biologist, to Tom Tanton, p. 2. “Avian fatality at wind turbines is probably universal. Whether this is a significant issue legally or biologically is a site-specific and species-specific determination. There are differences in bird use and in the resulting fatality numbers at different WRAs. Avian fatality is a WRA location-specific, turbine site-specific, and species-specific problem. The problem has not been corrected. The issue is being studied at numerous locations throughout the nation to better understand how birds are being killed. The information resulting from these studies should help identify differing bird risk situations and lead to specific measures tailored to mitigate specific situations. It is clear that no one measure will resolve the issue. Instead, it is likely a number of specific measures targeting specific situations will be needed to reduce avian fatalities to an acceptable level. In two to five years, much more will be known about this issue and hopefully some effective reduction measures identified and tested. However, this will only happen if research continues at a sustained level.” – California Energy Commission, memo from Dick Anderson, biologist, to Tom Tanton, p. 3. “An unexpected impact of widespread wind turbine development in California has been the deaths of birds from collision with turbines. These deaths have generated controversy about the potential impacts of wind turbine facilities on bird populations. . . . The potential impacts of windfarm developments and their supporting network of transmission lines include mortality from collision with structures or wires, electrocution, changes in foraging or migratory patterns, habitat reduction, and prey base changes. Of particular concern is the impact of windfarms on raptors (birds or prey), which are protected by both state and federal laws.” – California Energy Commission, Wind Turbine Effects on Avian Activity, Habitat Use, and Mortality in Altamont Pass and Solano County Wind Resource Areas, 1989-1991, Final Report, March 1992, p. ix. “Our estimate of the number of raptors killed by windfarm-related injuries within the entire Altamont Pass WRA varied from 403 in the first year of the study to 164 during the second year. Of these raptor deaths, we conservatively estimated that 39 golden eagles were killed each year. Sixty-nine percent of all golden eagle deaths were attributed to collisions with turbines. These estimates have a large potential for error because of the number of variables involved and the small number of fresh carcasses found. . . . Nevertheless, we believe our estimates are cause for concern, especially for golden eagles which are federally protected under the Bald Eagle Protection Act and are a California species of special concern. Furthermore, the Altamont Pass WRA is considered an important wintering area for golden eagles.” – California Energy Commission, Wind Turbine Effects on Avian Activity, pp. xi-xii. “Since the 1980s the Altamont Pass has hosted the world’s largest concentration of [wind] turbines. In 1991 it boasted almost 7000 units, though this has dropped to a little over 5000 as old projects have failed. Three factors have been seen as important in drafting the [environmental] plan, noise, visual impact, and birds. It is the bird problem, however, which is the overriding concern of planners. . . . Bird kills in the Altamont Pass have become highly controversial—in part because the 35,000-acre area has the greatest concentration of nesting golden eagle pairs anywhere in the world. As a result it has had the unenviable role of being on the cutting edge of knowledge on bird deaths in wind farms.” – Ros Davidson, “New Rules for the Altamont Pass,” Windpower Monthly, July 1998, p. 35. “Preparation of the environmental management plan [for Altamont Pass] comes as local newspapers are releasing new information on bird kills in an effort, presumably, to sway the planning process. Eighty-five golden eagles were killed between January 1995 and March 1998, out of a total of 679 avian kills, reports the Contra Costa Times. Thirty-six of the eagles were killed in 1997, says the newspaper, which analyses wind industry figures reported to Alameda County. About 100 golden eagle pairs nest in the Altamont Pass area. Golden eagles are protected under the migratory bird Treaty and Bald Eagle Protection Act. The paper also reports that wind turbines may be killing as many eagles in the areas as those that die from all other causes combined. Of the 179 golden eagles radio-tagged in January 1994 by biologists studying the phenomenon of wind turbines and bird kills, only 80 are still alive. An estimated one-third to one-half of the 99 deaths are attributed to collisions or electrocutions on wind farms, according to biologist Grainger Hunt with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.” – Ros Davidson, op cit., p. 37. “Within a couple of years after wind, biomass, and geothermal power projects began rising off drawing boards, conflicts arose between project sponsors and the environmental advocates they expected to support them. ‘Wind power and other alternative energy sources are breaking up old alliances,’ reported the San Francisco Examiner, ‘pitting pragmatists who want to make development livable against purists who’ve had enough of compromise.’” – Robert Kahn, “Siting Struggles: The Unique Challenge of Permitting Renewable Energy Power Plants, The Electricity Journal, March 2000, p. 28. “Wind power is currently the environmentalists’ favorite source of renewable energy and is thought to be the most likely renewable energy source to replace fossil fuel in the generation of electricity in the 21st century. Hydropower has lost favor with environmentalists because of the damage it has done to river habitats and freshwater fish populations. Solar power, at least when relied on for central-station or grid electricity generation, is not environmentally benign on a total fuel cycle basis and is highly uneconomic, land intensive, and thus a fringe electric power source for the foreseeable future. Geothermal has turned out to be “depletable,” with limited capacity, falling output, and modest new investment. Biomass is also uneconomic and an air-pollution-intensive renewable.” – Robert Bradley Jr, “Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not ‘Green’” Cato Institute Policy Analysis, No. 280, August 27, 1997, p. 2. “In testimony before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Ralph Cavanagh of the Natural Resources Defense Council argued against opening the electricity industry to competition and customer choice because of the ‘development of significant new transmission and distribution lines to link buyers and sellers of power’. . . . Yet Altamont Pass’s 7,000 turbines (located near Cavanagh’s San Francisco office) have a record of sizable avian mortality, large land-use requirements, disturbing noise, and ‘visual blight.’” – Robert Bradley Jr, “Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not ‘Green’”, p. 20. “The argument that the actual space used by wind towers is much smaller than the total acreage of wind farms (as little as 1 percent of the land is actually occupied) is the ‘footprint’ argument that eco-energy planners refuse to consider for petroleum extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.” – Robert Bradley Jr, “Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not ‘Green’”, p. 22. “Why have so many eco-energy planners clung to wind power, a land-intensive, unsightly, noisy, and wildlife-unfriendly source of energy that accounted for only 1/10 of 1 percent of total U.S. power generation in 1995 (3.2 of 3,365 billion kWh), and 1/5 of 1 percent of the total U.S. electricity capacity of 770 GW? The answer is that if wind power joins hydroelectric power (and other troubled renewables) on the no-longer-preferred list of renewable energy sources, there are really few, if any, realistic alternatives, to fossil-fuel-fired generation in the foreseeable future.” – Robert Bradley Jr, “Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not ‘Green’”, p. 26. “If wind fails the bird test as hydropower fails the fish test, or if wind becomes economically unsustainable in the United States, solar power will have to shoulder a greater load. Economic, environmental, and scale problems, however, limit solar’s potential as an electric utility power source despite improving technology.” – Robert Bradley Jr, “Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not ‘Green’”, p. 28. “The growing [wind] industry has caused a kind of identity crisis among people who think of themselves as pro-environment, forcing them to choose between the promise of clean, endlessly renewable energy and the perils of imposing giant man-made structures on nature.” – Katherine Seelye, “Windmills Farms Sow Environmentalists’ Identity Crisis,” New York Times, June 5, 2003, p. A22.
Solar


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--Familiar Territory: Chief Minister Busted Lying About Staggering Cost of Renewable Energy Roadmap

Shamelessly promoting unreliable renewable energy is one thing , but barefaced lying about its cost , is quite another .
Wherever wind and solar make up any significant proportion of a power supply , retail power prices soon rocket .
Rising power prices are the guaranteed consequence of duplicating capital costs ; additional system costs – including the greater need for frequency control services ; running conventional generators inefficiently and switching to highly inefficient fast start gas and diesel generators to compensate for the total and totally unpredictable collapses in wind and solar output .
[ Note to Ed : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that sunset is fairly predictable ] .
Tacked on top of the wholesale price is the cost of the subsidies , tax credits , mandated wind and solar targets and guaranteed over the market contract prices .
All ultimately born by taxpayers and/or power consumers .
There is not a single case in the world where the increased penetration wind and solar has resulted in lower retail power prices .
Which makes the promises and claims made by the Northern Territory ’ s Labor government in the run-up to the August 2020 last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When pitching his – all solar – renewable energy roadmap Labor leader , Michael Gunner went all in – asserting that his plan was guaranteed to reduce retail power prices .
As Amos Aikman details below , at the same time as Gunner was making his pitch to voters , he was sitting on a detailed report which concluded that Gunner ’ s plan would not only leave Territorians out of pocket , but was likely to leave them sweltering in the dark after sunset or during cloudy weather .
Consumers will have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will have to fork out at least $ 1bn extra if the Northern Territory is to meet Labor ’ s ambitious green energy target , according to modelling that contradicts politicians ’ claims the target will cost nothing .
The modelling was produced by the public utility Territory Generation and warns that reaching 50 per cent renewable power by 2030 will likely push up system costs by 20 to 30 per cent and leave about $ 1.9bn worth of prepurchased gas “ stranded ” .
“ Reaching the 50 per cent renewable target @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of $ 1.1bn to $ 1.3bn — $ 600 to $ 700m in new generation , $ 300m to $ 350m to augment the network … and $ 200m to $ 250m in battery storage , even assuming technology costs decline over time , ” a summary of the modelling says .
“ Capital costs will replace fuel costs as the key driver for electricity prices … if real retail electricity prices are maintained at the current level , the value of this investment … would be borne by the government through incremental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summary was produced in June 2017 , shortly before Chief Minister Michael Gunner released his government ’ s Roadmap Renewables report .
It raises questions about whether he misled voters by claiming the 50 per cent target would be cost-neutral .
“ We see this very much as about substitution rather than additional costs … the cost of renewables is coming down , and so this provides a much smarter , better way of providing reliable and affordable electricity for Territorians , ” Mr Gunner said that November when asked to guarantee that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more .
“ The advice we ’ re getting from the renewables committee is that an investment in renewables will actually put downward pressure on household prices.
” The Securing the NT ’ s Energy Future report The Australian has obtained represents the first public airing of the government ’ s internal cost estimates .
The material is understood to have been circulated to ministers , and the government is believed to have several other reports also showing transitioning to 50 per cent green power will not be free .
Labor has fought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its climate change mitigation plans .
The Territory Generation document endorses the government ’ s green energy push but warns it will inevitably be expensive and could also cause blackouts if mismanaged .
“ Depending on the approach that the NT government takes , a poorly co-ordinated transition to renewables might not reach the renewables target , or in the worst case could lead to significantly higher costs and system security issues , ” it says .
The government ’ s solar tsar , Alan Langworthy , warned in March that lousy preparation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk .
After an outage last month , he said the system was “ running on luck ” .
The Territory has only one source of renewable power , solar .
Increasing its penetration means duplicating generation capacity to cope with cloudy days and night-time .
“ Under the business-as-usual approach , uncoordinated small investments in solar generation will continue to contribute to overcapacity , negatively impact reliability and security … and put upward pressure on overall system costs , ” the report says .
“ The current supply contracts between TGEN and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retailers to underwrite renewables investment that will actually increase total energy cost , strand TGEN assets and blur the traditional boundaries between generation and retail.
” Territory Generation did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday .
The Australian

Shamelessly promoting unreliable renewable energy is one thing, but barefaced lying about its cost, is quite another.
Wherever wind and solar make up any significant proportion of a power supply, retail power prices soon rocket.
Rising power prices are the guaranteed consequence of duplicating capital costs; additional system costs – including the greater need for frequency control services; running conventional generators inefficiently and switching to highly inefficient fast start gas and diesel generators to compensate for the total and totally unpredictable collapses in wind and solar output. [Note to Ed: you should correct that to point out that sunset is fairly predictable].
Tacked on top of the wholesale price is the cost of the subsidies, tax credits, mandated wind and solar targets and guaranteed over the market contract prices. All ultimately born by taxpayers and/or power consumers.
There is not a single case in the world where the increased penetration wind and solar has resulted in lower retail power prices.
Which makes the promises and claims made by the Northern Territory’s Labor government in the run-up to the August 2020 last election look all the more courageous.
When pitching his – all solar – renewable energy roadmap Labor leader, Michael Gunner went all in – asserting that his plan was guaranteed to reduce retail power prices.
As Amos Aikman details below, at the same time as Gunner was making his pitch to voters, he was sitting on a detailed report which concluded that Gunner’s plan would not only leave Territorians out of pocket, but was likely to leave them sweltering in the dark after sunset or during cloudy weather.
Energy report reveals Labor knew about renewables cost
The Australian
Amos Aikman
10 December 2020
Consumers will have to pay higher electricity bills and taxpayers will have to fork out at least $1bn extra if the Northern Territory is to meet Labor’s ambitious green energy target, according to modelling that contradicts politicians’ claims the target will cost nothing.
The modelling was produced by the public utility Territory Generation and warns that reaching 50 per cent renewable power by 2030 will likely push up system costs by 20 to 30 per cent and leave about $1.9bn worth of prepurchased gas “stranded”.
“Reaching the 50 per cent renewable target by 2030 will require a total investment of $1.1bn to $1.3bn — $600 to $700m in new generation, $300m to $350m to augment the network … and $200m to $250m in battery storage, even assuming technology costs decline over time,” a summary of the modelling says.
“Capital costs will replace fuel costs as the key driver for electricity prices … if real retail electricity prices are maintained at the current level, the value of this investment … would be borne by the government through incremental CSO (subsidy) payments.”
The summary was produced in June 2017, shortly before Chief Minister Michael Gunner released his government’s Roadmap Renewables report. It raises questions about whether he misled voters by claiming the 50 per cent target would be cost-neutral.
“We see this very much as about substitution rather than additional costs … the cost of renewables is coming down, and so this provides a much smarter, better way of providing reliable and affordable electricity for Territorians,” Mr Gunner said that November when asked to guarantee that the policy would not cost a dollar more.
“The advice we’re getting from the renewables committee is that an investment in renewables will actually put downward pressure on household prices.”
The Securing the NT’s Energy Future report The Australian has obtained represents the first public airing of the government’s internal cost estimates.
The material is understood to have been circulated to ministers, and the government is believed to have several other reports also showing transitioning to 50 per cent green power will not be free.
Labor has fought hard to hide the true costs of its climate change mitigation plans.
The Territory Generation document endorses the government’s green energy push but warns it will inevitably be expensive and could also cause blackouts if mismanaged.
“Depending on the approach that the NT government takes, a poorly co-ordinated transition to renewables might not reach the renewables target, or in the worst case could lead to significantly higher costs and system security issues,” it says.
The government’s solar tsar, Alan Langworthy, warned in March that lousy preparation was already putting the electricity network at risk. After an outage last month, he said the system was “running on luck”.
The Territory has only one source of renewable power, solar. Increasing its penetration means duplicating generation capacity to cope with cloudy days and night-time.
“Under the business-as-usual approach, uncoordinated small investments in solar generation will continue to contribute to overcapacity, negatively impact reliability and security … and put upward pressure on overall system costs,” the report says.
“The current supply contracts between TGEN and retailers have led to distorted incentives for retailers to underwrite renewables investment that will actually increase total energy cost, strand TGEN assets and blur the traditional boundaries between generation and retail.”
Territory Generation did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
The Australian


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--Bernie Sanders Announces Support for Climate Wrecking Consumerism

Bernie Sanders has just announced an amendment which would hand over vast quantities of free money to ordinary consumers .
@ @ @ @ @ Bernie reconcile handing people free money with his opposition to climate wrecking consumerism ?
Bernie @ @ @ @ @ to capitalist excess , yet at the same time he supports a universal basic income @ @ @ @ @ funding of consumerist excess .
There is a solution to this dilemma which avoids planet @ @ @ @ @ the value of the US dollar drops to zero , as happened with the Venezuelan @ @ @ @ @ looting the economy to fund unsustainable social programmes , then Bernie gets to hand out @ @ @ @ @ actually be used to purchase anything .

Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Bernie Sanders has just announced an amendment which would hand over vast quantities of free money to ordinary consumers. My question – how does Bernie reconcile handing people free money with his opposition to climate wrecking consumerism?
Bernie Sanders says he is opposed to capitalist excess, yet at the same time he supports a universal basic income, a recipe for government funding of consumerist excess.
There is a solution to this dilemma which avoids planet wrecking consumerist excess. If the value of the US dollar drops to zero, as happened with the Venezuelan Bolivar when the government started looting the economy to fund unsustainable social programmes, then Bernie gets to hand out free money which cannot actually be used to purchase anything.
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iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--UN Climate Ambition Summit Falls Flat

UN Climate Ambition Summit Falls Flat

Lots of ambitious promises of action by 2050 , but not a lot of detailed plans .
World is in danger of missing Paris climate target , summit is warned Minister tells more than 80 world leaders that not enough is being done The world is still not on track to fulfil the 2015 Paris climate agreement , the UK ’ s business secretary Alok Sharma warned , after a summit of more than 70 world leaders on the climate crisis ended with few new commitments on greenhouse gas emissions .
He said progress had been made at the Climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the UN and France , marking five years since the Paris accord was adopted .
More than 80 world leaders including China ’ s Xi Jinping , the European commission president Ursula von der Leyen , and Pope Francis urged swifter action on the climate crisis .
But while Xi reaffirmed China ’ s target of net-zero emissions by 2060 , he gave few new details of reductions in the next decade .
India also disappointed observers when the prime minister , Narendra Modi , vowed to “ exceed expectations ” in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indian independence in 2047 , but made no pledge on coal production .
The US was not represented , as Donald Trump ’ s administration shunned the meeting , but president-elect Joe Biden issued a statement promising to hold a major event on the climate in his first 100 days in office .
Countries including Australia , Brazil , Russia and Saudi Arabia were excluded from speaking at the summit as they failed to come forward with strong new commitments .

Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Lots of ambitious promises of action by 2050, but not a lot of detailed plans.
World is in danger of missing Paris climate target, summit is warned
Minister tells more than 80 world leaders that not enough is being done
Fiona Harvey
Sun 13 Dec 2020 06.30 AEDT
The world is still not on track to fulfil the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the UK’s business secretary Alok Sharma warned, after a summit of more than 70 world leaders on the climate crisis ended with few new commitments on greenhouse gas emissions.
…
He said progress had been made at the Climate Ambition Summit, co-hosted by the UK, the UN and France, marking five years since the Paris accord was adopted. More than 80 world leaders including China’s Xi Jinping, the European commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and Pope Francis urged swifter action on the climate crisis.
But while Xi reaffirmed China’s target of net-zero emissions by 2060, he gave few new details of reductions in the next decade. India also disappointed observers when the prime minister, Narendra Modi, vowed to “exceed expectations” in curbing carbon dioxide by the centenary of Indian independence in 2047, but made no pledge on coal production.
…
The US was not represented, as Donald Trump’s administration shunned the meeting, but president-elect Joe Biden issued a statement promising to hold a major event on the climate in his first 100 days in office.
…
Countries including Australia, Brazil, Russia and Saudi Arabia were excluded from speaking at the summit as they failed to come forward with strong new commitments.
…


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--Stealth Green New Deal language being slipped into take-it-or-leave-it House spending package

AEA Urges Senate and House Leaders to Reject “ Sense of Congress ” Nonsense .
WASHINGTON DC ( December 14 , 2020 ) – The American Energy Alliance ( AEA ) , the country ’ s premier pro-consumer , pro-taxpayer , and free-market energy organization , sounded the alarm today on a proposed Sense of Congress resolution that if adopted , could cause a major disruption of America ’ s energy system .
AEA has obtained a page from a discussion draft dated December 13 at 5:28 PM that appears to include a provision from the Green New Deal-like energy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it a “ Sense of Congress ” to call for 100 % of power demand to come from “ clean , renewable , or zero-emission ” energy sources .
Information around these terms , or how they would be implemented , appears to be left intentionally vague .
Putting Congress on record supporting 100 % renewables is a major statement of policy and it should not be tacked onto a massive spending bill with no discussion or debate warns AEA .
To make matters worse , this provision appears to give the Secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress to impose 100 % renewables .
Thomas Pyle , President of the American Energy Alliance , issued the following statement : “ While most Americans are eagerly looking for news about access to a COVID-19 vaccine , or juggling their expenses and schedules this holiday season , some unnamed Members of Congress are making a last-minute attempt to to sneak bad energy policy into a take-it-or-leave it spending bill before checking out for the year .
It ’ s shameful and should be rejected outright .
“ Members of the House of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed doors to jam a a stealth Green New Deal provision into a massive year-end bill to fund the entire federal government .
Language uncovered in a “ discussion draft ” would give the Secretary of Energy the authority to effectively change the Department of Energy into the Department of Climate Policy .
A major policy shift and resulting disruption of America ’ s energy system should never occur as the result of a backroom deal to secure a legacy legislative item for an outgoing chairperson .
It should be fully transparent , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s no wonder that Americans are losing faith in their government institutions.
” For more information , see our latest blog : The Stealth Green New Deal

AEA Urges Senate and House Leaders to Reject “Sense of Congress” Nonsense. WASHINGTON DC (December 14, 2020) – The American Energy Alliance (AEA), the country’s premier pro-consumer, pro-taxpayer, and free-market energy organization, sounded the alarm today on a proposed Sense of Congress resolution that if adopted, could cause a major disruption of America’s energy system.
AEA has obtained a page from a discussion draft dated December 13 at 5:28 PM that appears to include a provision from the Green New Deal-like energy legislation, H.R. 4447, making it a “Sense of Congress” to call for 100% of power demand to come from “clean, renewable, or zero-emission” energy sources. Information around these terms, or how they would be implemented, appears to be left intentionally vague. Putting Congress on record supporting 100% renewables is a major statement of policy and it should not be tacked onto a massive spending bill with no discussion or debate warns AEA. To make matters worse, this provision appears to give the Secretary of Energy a blank check authorization from Congress to impose 100% renewables.
Thomas Pyle, President of the American Energy Alliance, issued the following statement: “While most Americans are eagerly looking for news about access to a COVID-19 vaccine, or juggling their expenses and schedules this holiday season, some unnamed Members of Congress are making a last-minute attempt to to sneak bad energy policy into a take-it-or-leave it spending bill before checking out for the year. It’s shameful and should be rejected outright.
“Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are negotiating behind closed doors to jam a a stealth Green New Deal provision into a massive year-end bill to fund the entire federal government. Language uncovered in a “discussion draft” would give the Secretary of Energy the authority to effectively change the Department of Energy into the Department of Climate Policy. A major policy shift and resulting disruption of America’s energy system should never occur as the result of a backroom deal to secure a legacy legislative item for an outgoing chairperson. It should be fully transparent, debatable, and subject to amendment. It’s no wonder that Americans are losing faith in their government institutions.” For more information, see our latest blog: The Stealth Green New Deal


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--The moon controls the release of methane in Arctic Ocean

It may not be very well known , but the Arctic Ocean leaks enormous amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane .
These leaks have been ongoing for thousands of years but could be intensified by a future warmer ocean .
The potential for this gas to escape the ocean , and contribute to the greenhouse gas budget in the atmosphere , is an important mystery that scientists are trying to solve .
The total amount of methane in the atmosphere has increased immensely over the past decades , and while some of the increase can be ascribed to human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well constrained .
A recent paper in Nature Communications even implies that the moon has a role to play .
The moon controls one of the most formidable forces in nature – the tides that shape our coastlines .
Tides , in turn , significantly affect the intensity of methane emissions from the Arctic Ocean seafloor .
“ We noticed that gas accumulations , which are in the sediments within a meter from the seafloor , are vulnerable to even slight pressure changes in the water column .
Low tide means less of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ methane release .
High tide equals high pressure and lower intensity of the release ” says co-author of the paper Andreia Plaza Faverola .
“ It is the first time that this observation has been made in the Arctic Ocean .
It means that slight pressure changes can release significant amounts of methane .
This is a game-changer and the highest impact of the study.
” Says another co-author , Jochen Knies .
Plaza Faverola points out that the observations were made by placing a tool called a piezometer in the sediments and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It measured the pressure and temperature of the water inside the pores of the sediment .
Hourly changes in the measured pressure and temperature revealed the presence of gas close to the seafloor that ascends and descends as the tides change .
The measurements were made in an area of the Arctic Ocean where no methane release has previously been observed but where massive gas hydrate concentrations have been sampled .
“ This tells us that gas release from the seafloor is more widespread than we can see using traditional sonar surveys .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gas in the water .
Gas burps that have a periodicity of several hours won ’ t be identified unless there is a permanent monitoring tool in place , such as the piezometer.
” Says Plaza Faverola These observations imply that the quantification of present-day gas emissions in the Arctic may be underestimated .
High tides , however , seem to influence gas emissions by reducing their height and volume .
“ What we found was unexpected and the implications are big .
This is a deep-water site .
Small changes in pressure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ methane will still stay in the ocean due to the water depth .
But what happens in shallower sites ?
This approach needs to be done in shallow Arctic waters as well , over a longer period .
In shallow water , the possibility that methane will reach the atmosphere is greater.
” Says Knies .
High sea-level seems thus to influence gas emissions by potentially reducing their height and volume .
The question remains whether sea-level rise due to global warming might partially counterbalance the effect of temperature on submarine methane emissions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ways that we are still deciphering , and our study reveals one of such interconnections in the Arctic : The moon causes tidal forces , the tides generate pressure changes , and bottom currents that in turn shape the seafloor and impact submarine methane emissions .
Fascinating !
” says Andreia Plaza Faverola The paper is the result of a collaboration between CAGE , Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate , Environment and Climate at UiT The Arctic University of Norway , and Ifremer under the project SEAMSTRESS – Tectonic Stress Effects on Arctic @ @

UIT THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY
Research News
IMAGE: FULL MOON IN TROMSØ, NORWAY. PHOTO: MAJA SOJTARIC view more CREDIT: MAJA SOJTARIC
It may not be very well known, but the Arctic Ocean leaks enormous amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane. These leaks have been ongoing for thousands of years but could be intensified by a future warmer ocean. The potential for this gas to escape the ocean, and contribute to the greenhouse gas budget in the atmosphere, is an important mystery that scientists are trying to solve.
The total amount of methane in the atmosphere has increased immensely over the past decades, and while some of the increase can be ascribed to human activity, other sources are not very well constrained.
A recent paper in Nature Communications even implies that the moon has a role to play.
Small pressure changes affect methane release
The moon controls one of the most formidable forces in nature – the tides that shape our coastlines. Tides, in turn, significantly affect the intensity of methane emissions from the Arctic Ocean seafloor.
“We noticed that gas accumulations, which are in the sediments within a meter from the seafloor, are vulnerable to even slight pressure changes in the water column. Low tide means less of such hydrostatic pressure and higher intensity of methane release. High tide equals high pressure and lower intensity of the release” says co-author of the paper Andreia Plaza Faverola.
“It is the first time that this observation has been made in the Arctic Ocean. It means that slight pressure changes can release significant amounts of methane. This is a game-changer and the highest impact of the study.” Says another co-author, Jochen Knies.
New methods reveal unknown release sites
Plaza Faverola points out that the observations were made by placing a tool called a piezometer in the sediments and leaving it there for four days.
It measured the pressure and temperature of the water inside the pores of the sediment. Hourly changes in the measured pressure and temperature revealed the presence of gas close to the seafloor that ascends and descends as the tides change. The measurements were made in an area of the Arctic Ocean where no methane release has previously been observed but where massive gas hydrate concentrations have been sampled.
“This tells us that gas release from the seafloor is more widespread than we can see using traditional sonar surveys. We saw no bubbles or columns of gas in the water. Gas burps that have a periodicity of several hours won’t be identified unless there is a permanent monitoring tool in place, such as the piezometer.” Says Plaza Faverola
These observations imply that the quantification of present-day gas emissions in the Arctic may be underestimated. High tides, however, seem to influence gas emissions by reducing their height and volume.
“What we found was unexpected and the implications are big. This is a deep-water site. Small changes in pressure can increase the gas emissions but the methane will still stay in the ocean due to the water depth. But what happens in shallower sites? This approach needs to be done in shallow Arctic waters as well, over a longer period. In shallow water, the possibility that methane will reach the atmosphere is greater.” Says Knies.
May counteract the temperature effects
High sea-level seems thus to influence gas emissions by potentially reducing their height and volume. The question remains whether sea-level rise due to global warming might partially counterbalance the effect of temperature on submarine methane emissions.
“Earth systems are interconnected in ways that we are still deciphering, and our study reveals one of such interconnections in the Arctic: The moon causes tidal forces, the tides generate pressure changes, and bottom currents that in turn shape the seafloor and impact submarine methane emissions. Fascinating!” says Andreia Plaza Faverola
###
The paper is the result of a collaboration between CAGE, Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and Ifremer under the project SEAMSTRESS – Tectonic Stress Effects on Arctic Methane Seepage
From EurekAlert!
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iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--NYTimes: JunkScience.com ‘promotes false information on climate’ — but we quote him anyway!

The New York Times reports today that California air chief Mary Nichols will not be Joe Biden ’ s EPA chief because she is apparently an environmental racist .
Too bad for Nichols , but keep reading .
Here ’ s how I tried to help : Note that , according to the New York Times , JunkScience.com promotes “ false information on climate change ” — yet I am apparently reliable enough to be quoted in the “ paper of record.
” The NYTimes has never pointed out a single piece of false climate information from JunkScience.com .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I am a “ public figure ” per NYTimes v. Sullivan , giving the paper license to libel without liability .
And speaking of promoting false information , the New York Times erroneously reports that I “ led ” the Trump transition team .
Sorry , but I was just one member of the EPA part of the transition team .
Lastly , look at what the Democrats have just done to new to their best soldiers — sacrificing and disparaging Mary Nichols on the bogus altar of environmental racism .
Imagine what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you .
UPDATE : Late this afternoon after I informed them of their error re the transition team , the NYTimes issued the following update to its piece : Obvisouly , the NYTimes has no interest in retracting its libel of JunkScience.com .

The New York Times reports today that California air chief Mary Nichols will not be Joe Biden’s EPA chief because she is apparently an environmental racist. Too bad for Nichols, but keep reading.
Here’s the bad news for Mary Nichols:
Here’s how I tried to help:
Note that, according to the New York Times, JunkScience.com promotes “false information on climate change” — yet I am apparently reliable enough to be quoted in the “paper of record.”
The NYTimes has never pointed out a single piece of false climate information from JunkScience.com.
But the NYTimes is shielded from liability because I am a “public figure” per NYTimes v. Sullivan, giving the paper license to libel without liability.
And speaking of promoting false information, the New York Times erroneously reports that I “led” the Trump transition team. Sorry, but I was just one member of the EPA part of the transition team.
Lastly, look at what the Democrats have just done to new to their best soldiers — sacrificing and disparaging Mary Nichols on the bogus altar of environmental racism. Imagine what they will be willing to do to you.
UPDATE: Late this afternoon after I informed them of their error re the transition team, the NYTimes issued the following update to its piece:
Obvisouly, the NYTimes has no interest in retracting its libel of JunkScience.com.


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--Ben Pile: How the CCC turns 10 opinions in 66 million.

Watch this excellent seven minute video and read the twitter thread here by Ben Pile .
The climate change committee @ @ @ @ @ citizen ’ s assemblies ’ to justify their highly questionable ideas about how we should @ @ @ @ @ your MP you won ’ t be voting for any party whose manifesto is driven @ @ @ @ @

Watch this excellent seven minute video and read the twitter thread here by Ben Pile. The climate change committee is using soviet style ‘citizen’s assemblies’ to justify their highly questionable ideas about how we should live to government.
Promise your MP you won’t be voting for any party whose manifesto is driven by the green blob.
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December 14, 2020 at 02:21PM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--Dominion Voting System intentionally and purposefully designed “to create systemic fraud and influen

“ We conclude that the Dominion Voting System is intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results.
” “ The allowable election error rate established by the Federal Election Commission guidelines is of 1 in 250,000 ballots ( .0008 % ) .
We observed an error rate of 68.05 % .
This demonstrated a significant and fatal error in security and election integrity.
” “ The lack of records prevents any form of audit accountability , and their conspicuous absence is extremely suspicious since the files exist for previous years using the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violates state law and prevents a meaningful audit , even if the Secretary wanted to conduct an audit .
We must conclude that the 2020 election cycle records have been manually removed.
” WHO WE ARE My name is Russell James Ramsland , Jr. , and I am a resident of Dallas County , Texas .
I hold an MBA from Harvard University , and a political science degree from Duke University .
I have worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and have run businesses all over the world , many of which are highly technical in nature .
I have served on technical government panels .
I am part of the management team of Allied Security Operations Group , LLC , ( ASOG ) .
ASOG is a group of globally engaged professionals who come from various disciplines to include Department of Defense , Secret Service , Department of Homeland Security , and the Central Intelligence Agency .
It provides a range of security services , but has a particular emphasis on cybersecurity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of networks .
We employ a wide variety of cyber and cyber forensic analysts .
We have patents pending in a variety of applications from novel network security applications to SCADA ( Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition ) protection and safe browsing solutions for the dark and deep web .
For this report , I have relied on these experts and resources .
The purpose of this forensic audit is to test the integrity of Dominion Voting Systemin how it performed in Antrim County , Michigan for the 2020 election .
We conclude @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results .
The system intentionally generates an enormously high number of ballot errors .
The electronic ballots are then transferred for adjudication .
The intentional errors lead to bulk adjudication of ballots with no oversight , no transparency , and no audit trail .
This leads to voter or election fraud .
Based on our study , we conclude that The Dominion Voting System should not be used in Michigan .
We further conclude that the results of Antrim County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Larrabee and Michele Selover for these links The post Dominion Voting System intentionally and purposefully designed “ to create systemic fraud and influence election results ” appeared first on Ice Age Now .

“We observed an error rate of 68.05%.”
_____________
“We conclude that the Dominion Voting System is intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results.”
“The allowable election error rate established by the Federal Election Commission guidelines is of 1 in 250,000 ballots (.0008%). We observed an error rate of 68.05%. This demonstrated a significant and fatal error in security and election integrity.”
“The lack of records prevents any form of audit accountability, and their conspicuous absence is extremely suspicious since the files exist for previous years using the same software.”
“Removal of these files violates state law and prevents a meaningful audit, even if the Secretary wanted to conduct an audit. We must conclude that the 2020 election cycle records have been manually removed.”
____________
Here’s a partial copy of the report:
Allied Security Operations Group
Antrim Michigan Forensics Report
REVISED PRELIMINARY SUMMARY, v2
Report Date 12/13/2020
Client: Bill Bailey
Attorney: Matthew DePerno
WHO WE ARE
My name is Russell James Ramsland, Jr., and I am a resident of Dallas County, Texas. I hold an MBA from Harvard University, and a political science degree from Duke University. I have worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among other organizations, and have run businesses all over the world, many of which are highly technical in nature. I have served on technical government panels.
I am part of the management team of Allied Security Operations Group, LLC, (ASOG). ASOG is a group of globally engaged professionals who come from various disciplines to include Department of Defense, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, and the Central Intelligence Agency. It provides a range of security services, but has a particular emphasis on cybersecurity, open source investigation and penetration testing of networks. We employ a wide variety of cyber and cyber forensic analysts. We have patents pending in a variety of applications from novel network security applications to SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) protection and safe browsing solutions for the dark and deep web.
For this report, I have relied on these experts and resources.
PURPOSE AND PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this forensic audit is to test the integrity of Dominion Voting Systemin how it performed in Antrim County, Michigan for the 2020 election.
We conclude that the Dominion Voting System is intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results. The system intentionally generates an enormously high number of ballot errors. The electronic ballots are then transferred for adjudication. The intentional errors lead to bulk adjudication of ballots with no oversight, no transparency, and no audit trail. This leads to voter or election fraud. Based on our study, we conclude that The Dominion Voting System should not be used in Michigan. We further conclude that the results of Antrim County should not have been certified.
Here’s the full report:
https://www.depernolaw.com/uploads/2/7/0/2/27029178/antrim_michigan_forensics_report_[121320]_v2_[redacted].pdf
Thanks to Larrabee and Michele Selover for these links
The post Dominion Voting System intentionally and purposefully designed “to create systemic fraud and influence election results” appeared first on Ice Age Now.
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December 14, 2020 at 02:10PM


iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--The geothermal energy revolution

The geothermal energy revolution

There is a revolution coming in geothermal energy .
How big it will be and how fast it can grow remains to be seen , but the revolutionary technology is here now .
We already know about the new technology by name — fracking .
But that is fracking for oil and gas , the energy revolution we are already living on , that the greens hate .
The geothermal revolution is fracking for heat .
Here is the technical bit .
The Earth ’ s crust we live on is just a thin film wrapped around an 8,000 mile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the deep ocean this crust is estimated to be just 3 miles or so thick .
It is somewhat thicker under the continents but the point remains ; it gets hot fast as you drill down into the crust .
That heat is geothermal energy .
We have used geothermal energy to make electricity for a long time , but only in tiny amounts .
California does the most in the US and its entire generating capacity is about the size of a single large coal fired power plant , about 3000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to just have a minuscule 15,000 MW .
The obstacle to doing more has been that useful energy sources are hard to find .
You need a confined reservoir of hot water in fractured crust rock .
The reservoir size , location and temperature of the water are all determined by nature .
Suitable sites have been very few .
Now all of this has suddenly changed .
With hydraulic fracturing ( or fracking ) we can make these geothermal reservoirs where we want them , the size we want them , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want , especially very hot .
This includes the so-called “ supercritical ” water at 400 degrees C , which is now used in the most advanced power-plants .
It is like the difference between living on wild edibles , if and when you find them , and farming .
Fracking for heat is literally a whole new world .
Of course there are still pesky things like cost , feasibility and regulation , but the principal is clear ; the technology of revolutionary thermal energy has arrived .
The greens are in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Geothermal juice looks like the ideal renewable .
Unlike wind and solar , geothermal electricity is constantly available and it is not a land hog .
But the greens despise fracking and have labeled it evil .
Some States and even whole Countries have banned fracking for oil and gas .
Whether this applies to fracking for heat remains to be seen , since the fracturing processes are rather different .
How this dichotomy will play out is anybody ’ s guess .
As they say here in the mountains : “ What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , don ’ t start trouble lest it bite you someplace soft .
The greens desperately need geothermal fracking , they just don ’ t know it yet .
The US Energy Department has a Geothermal Technologies Office and they are understandably optimistic .
They project something like 60,000 MW of advanced geothermal juice capacity by 2050 .
Mind you this is still small , given that our present generating capacity is around a million MW .
The amount of geothermal generating capacity installed by 2050 could be much larger , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the only way to make wind and solar work .
A number of analysts , including me , have pointed out that electricity storage on the scale needed to power America with intermittent renewables is impossible .
But many States have mandated a high level of renewables , even 100 % in extreme cases .
This makes geothermal the perfect renewable , because its power can be available whenever the intermittent generators can not provide the power we need .
The more power we want from renewables , the more geothermal capacity we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We could be talking about many hundreds of thousands of MW .
If the technology works cost wise it might actually be better than unreliable , land grabbing renewables .
Happily there is a massive frenzy of geothermal research going on , much of it aimed at reducing the obvious obstacles .
Searching the engineering and scientific literature for the last five years on the word combination “ geothermal ” and “ research ” yields over 100,000 technical articles .
That is a lot of research .
So there it is .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ revolution .
No question the heat is there , thanks to the big molten ball we call Earth .
And now we suddenly have the technology to create the infrastructure needed to tap into it .
How practical it is , and how acceptable , still remains to be seen .
Interesting times lie ahead .
David Wojick , Ph.D. is an independent analyst working at the intersection of science , technology and policy .
For origins see For over 100 prior articles for CFACT see Available for confidential research and consulting .

Reposted from CFACT
By David Wojick |December 14th, 2020|Energy|
There is a revolution coming in geothermal energy. How big it will be and how fast it can grow remains to be seen, but the revolutionary technology is here now.
We already know about the new technology by name — fracking. But that is fracking for oil and gas, the energy revolution we are already living on, that the greens hate. The geothermal revolution is fracking for heat.
Here is the technical bit. The Earth’s crust we live on is just a thin film wrapped around an 8,000 mile diameter molten ball. In some places under the deep ocean this crust is estimated to be just 3 miles or so thick. It is somewhat thicker under the continents but the point remains; it gets hot fast as you drill down into the crust. That heat is geothermal energy.
We have used geothermal energy to make electricity for a long time, but only in tiny amounts. California does the most in the US and its entire generating capacity is about the size of a single large coal fired power plant, about 3000 MW. The whole world is said to just have a minuscule 15,000 MW.
The obstacle to doing more has been that useful energy sources are hard to find. You need a confined reservoir of hot water in fractured crust rock. The reservoir size, location and temperature of the water are all determined by nature. Suitable sites have been very few.
Now all of this has suddenly changed. With hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) we can make these geothermal reservoirs where we want them, the size we want them, and where the heat is the temperature we want, especially very hot. This includes the so-called “supercritical” water at 400 degrees C, which is now used in the most advanced power-plants.
It is like the difference between living on wild edibles, if and when you find them, and farming. Fracking for heat is literally a whole new world. Of course there are still pesky things like cost, feasibility and regulation, but the principal is clear; the technology of revolutionary thermal energy has arrived.
The greens are in a bit of a bind here. Geothermal juice looks like the ideal renewable. Unlike wind and solar, geothermal electricity is constantly available and it is not a land hog. But the greens despise fracking and have labeled it evil. Some States and even whole Countries have banned fracking for oil and gas. Whether this applies to fracking for heat remains to be seen, since the fracturing processes are rather different.
How this dichotomy will play out is anybody’s guess. As they say here in the mountains: “What goes around, comes around.” That is, don’t start trouble lest it bite you someplace soft. The greens desperately need geothermal fracking, they just don’t know it yet.
The US Energy Department has a Geothermal Technologies Office and they are understandably optimistic. They project something like 60,000 MW of advanced geothermal juice capacity by 2050. Mind you this is still small, given that our present generating capacity is around a million MW.
The amount of geothermal generating capacity installed by 2050 could be much larger, for one simple reason. It is probably the only way to make wind and solar work. A number of analysts, including me, have pointed out that electricity storage on the scale needed to power America with intermittent renewables is impossible. But many States have mandated a high level of renewables, even 100% in extreme cases.
This makes geothermal the perfect renewable, because its power can be available whenever the intermittent generators cannot provide the power we need. The more power we want from renewables, the more geothermal capacity we will need. It is that simple. We could be talking about many hundreds of thousands of MW. If the technology works cost wise it might actually be better than unreliable, land grabbing renewables.
Happily there is a massive frenzy of geothermal research going on, much of it aimed at reducing the obvious obstacles. Searching the engineering and scientific literature for the last five years on the word combination “geothermal” and “research” yields over 100,000 technical articles. That is a lot of research.
So there it is. Geothermal energy is potentially the second fracking revolution. No question the heat is there, thanks to the big molten ball we call Earth. And now we suddenly have the technology to create the infrastructure needed to tap into it. How practical it is, and how acceptable, still remains to be seen. Interesting times lie ahead.
Author
David Wojick, Ph.D. is an independent analyst working at the intersection of science, technology and policy. For origins see
http://www.stemed.info/engineer_tackles_confusion.html
For over 100 prior articles for CFACT see
http://www.cfact.org/author/david-wojick-ph-d/
Available for confidential research and consulting.
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iowaclimatescienceeducation--2020-12-14--The only day that matters in the Constitution is Jan 20th

“ We have more than enough time ” .
“ If you cure just three constitutional flaws Donald Trump wins @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t see the video here , perhaps watch it here .

“We have more than enough time”.
“If you cure just three constitutional flaws Donald Trump wins this election.”
If you can’t see the video here, perhaps watch it here.
Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
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December 14, 2020 at 01:18PM