Eco Slopes

Although it is true that most of the energy beamed to earth from an SPS will be radiated into the environment as heat, it does not at all follow that this will result in more or even significant global warming than fossil fuel. First of all, much of the energy in generating stations is expended as heat directly (about 60% as I recall), while in an SPS system the energy is converted much more efficiently (more like 20% waste or less as I recall). This would allow a much larger amount of useful... more

The amount of energy available from wind is limited by the sites suitable for major wind installations. Think of this as being like hydroelectric power. Hydro plants can only be usefully located where there’s a significant water flow across a significant drop. Generally, a dam has to be built to create such a situation; Niagara Falls is one of the few exceptions. In the U.S., most of the good sites were developed decades ago. The wind resource maps estimate the resource in terms of... more

“Warming of the global environment could lead to major disputes that the Security Council might help resolve”  British U.N. representative Crispin Tickell. “If global warming does take place and…environmental degradation follows, there will be great risks of dispute between states about food…the use of productive land…the supply of fresh water…people who are maybe fleeing from particular environmental problems,” he said. “And all these problems... more

Global Change Research Program, under which a number of federal agencies cooperate on a major study of the Earth’s climate and global warming. “Evidence is increasing on the scientific table that change is occurring,” said Robert Corell, Assistant Director of Geological Science at the National Science Foundation (NSF), one of the agencies which participates in the program. Other agencies besides NSF which will be working on the program include the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),... more

While carbon dioxide receives most attention in discussions of global warming, methane, another greenhouse gas, is also building up rapidly in the atmosphere as a result of various human activities. USEFUL FACTS: Sources of methane: rice paddies, termites, coal mines, land fills, and digestive tracts of animals.  Estimated shares: Tundra, bogs, swamps          26% Rice                          20 Livestock                     15 Burning of vegetation        ... more

The global warming is due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to (among other things) increased burning of fossil fuels and the depletion of the plant life (rainforests and phytoplankton) that convert that carbon dioxide back into free oxygen and plant material. So what do CFC gasses have to do with global warming? CFCs absorb infra-red radiation in different bands than CO2. The atmosphere is more nearly opaque in the bands absorbed by CO2 than it is in the bands absorbed by CFCs. ... more

For decades the prevailing assumption has been that a fossil-fuel-based economy would be constrained by oil, gas and coal depletion. Logical enough. But global warming has turned that paradigm on its head: It now appears that the atmosphere’s ability to assimilate fossil-fuel wastes will be the limiting factor. The question is no longer how much oil, gas and coal we have, but how much we can afford to burn. A number of institutions and organizations, including Sweden’s Beijer Institute,... more

A friend recently told me of an interesting study done by two geologists. The study was an explanation of why none of the predicted sea coast flooding has occured yet.  This flooding is predicated by those who forsee global warming due to the CO2 and halogen-organics that have been added to the atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution.  The geologists claim that the water added from melting ice has about the same volume as the water that has been impounded in reservoirs by dams et.... more

There are many opportunities for slowing global warming. However, there are many reasons to believe that global warming is ultimately inevitable. Carbon dioxide, once produced, stays in the atmosphere for thousands of years. It takes a long time for the atmosphere to come into equilibrium with the ocean, and even longer for dissolved CO2 to be deposited as carbonate rock. Cutting CO2 production in half will not prevent significant global warming, just delay it. China currently produces 10% of... more

I recently went to a debate at a local American Meteorological Society meeting between two climatologists about the greenhouse effect. Among the interesting points that came out and were agreed on by both the “pro” and “con” are: The physics of CO2 trapping heat are well understood and not a matter of disagreement. The CO2 content of the atmosphere has increased about 20% over the last 100 years. The global temperature has not increased in a statistically significant amount. ... more