Renewables Are the Solution to Global Climate Change

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/home

(scroll down to "recent top stories")

Global climate change can be significantly slowed with the proper economic incentives and technological developments, according to presenters at the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) conference in Denver, Colorado. The presenters spoke Tuesday morning, highlighting the current impacts that carbon (CO2) emissions have on the climate and scenarios projected for the future. Despite the dire predictions, the mood was optimistic as the speakers focused on solutions to the problem of global climate change.

Aggressive renewable energy programs are the solution, said Dr. Frank Kreith, Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado. We have the technological capabilities to produce our energy from solar, wind and biofuels, but there must be more political will and economic incentives.

Kreith outlined the most important tools that will encourage utilities and consumers to invest in alternative energy. System benefits charges, portfolio standards, net metering and national multi-year goals were the top tools that he believed would promote renewables. He pointed out that 18 U.S. states have enacted programs that will collectively produce 29,000 MW of electricity from renewable sources by 2017. And although the U.S. is still very much addicted to fossil fuels, Kreith said that the country could go 20% renewable by 2020. He was optimistic that the goal could be met.

Dr. Donald Aitken, a Senior Consulting Scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists said that an aggressive strategy is necessary now. "We can really pull this off. We can slow or even stop climate change if we face the social, technical and economic factors that drive the problem," he said.

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[pberq]

1. "We can slow or even stop climate change . . ."

Yes. Let's make this happen.

[JohnWxy]

2. This is going to happen. It's just a matter of how long will it take.

"but there must be more political will and economic incentives."

One way everyone can get involved helping bring about this kind of commitment to renewables and more efficient design of buildings and electrical appliances is to go to congress.org and email your congressmen and senators. Tell them we are out of time for debating this issue and need action.

If enough people start speaking up, even the mighty oil industry can be succussfully challenged. IF the GOP see that it might cost them some positions in Congress, even they might start voting for more support for heretical programs such as incentives for renewables and better standards for buildings and electrical appliances.

Maybe, just maybe, we can preclude another Exxon-MObil Iraq-Oil policy from being implemented by Oil industry lobbyists (outside and inside the Government). NOt only would this be good for our national security and our economic strength but we might also save thousands of lives.

[ramapo]

3. Not a magic bullet

Conservation and reducing overall consumption is just as, if not more, important.

Renewables won't be moving your car anytime soon. I'm skeptical of the net energy gained from biofuels.

Worldwide demand for energy and resources is soaring. Something akin to a runaway train.

Moving to lower impact, renewable forms of energy is absolutley critical. It is long overdue. And people should lobby for it. But it will not stop climate change by itself.

I don't think the public mindset is really there yet. For the most part, climate change is just something you see on TV or glimpse in a magazine article. It is not really real to most people. Not real enough to make people change their lifestyles and demand action by their government.

[JohnWxy]

6. OF course it's no magic bullet. There is no magic bullet. But ..

... it's better than the alternative of doing nothing.

Absolutely, conservation and reducing consumption - improvements in efficiency of powered equipment and in the design and construction of buildings and residential housing also important.

Being for development of fuel sources which reduce GHGs and dependence on foreign oil does not imply that these other efforts should not be pursued.

Unfortunately wwe cannnot conserve our way to saving 100% of the energy we use. We will still need energy sources. So we better be developing cleaner, sustainable and more efficient ones.

[bananas]

4. Direct link to the article

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=45403

[IrateCitizen]

5. Social factors are the most pressing in this regard

We've been conditioned to expect a constant-growth economy. The reality is, that is an impossible expectation given future energy and environmental constraints. We need to adjust to a steady-state economy (envisioned by Hubbert in his later years) with much lower consumption rates.

However, there may be some signs of hope in this regard. A recent story by the BBC on a study regarding "national happiness" placed the Pacific island nation of Vanatu #1 out of 178 countries. The highest major industrialized nation was Germany, at #81. The United States was #150 out of 178. That leads me to believe that GDP is hardly a measurement of fulfillment among a country's citizens -- in fact, the two could be inverted, as many trends of industrialization tend to destroy the fabric of the very things in life that give us basic happiness (family and community social ties).

While I certainly believe that technology does have a role to play in our addressing climate change and energy shortages, I believe that the most important factor will be our willingness to re-examine long-held cultural beliefs, and jettison those that impede our success. Otherwise, we'll end up like the Mayans or the Greenland Norse, a footnote in history.

[JohnWxy]

7. Stanford Highlights World Wind Power Potential

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=32617

"Converting as little as 20 percent of potential wind energy to electricity could satisfy the entirety of the world's energy demands."

After analyzing more than 8,000 wind-speed measurements to identify the world's wind-power potential for the first time, Cristina Archer, a former postdoctoral fellow, and Mark Z. Jacobson, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, suggest that wind captured at specific locations, if even partially harnessed, can generate more than enough power to satisfy the world's energy demands. Their report appears in the May Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.

"The main implication of this study is that wind, for low-cost wind energy, is more widely available than was previously recognized," said Archer, now a researcher at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

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The authors found that the locations with sustainable Class 3 winds could produce approximately 72 terawatts. A terawatt is 1 trillion watts, the power generated by more than 500 nuclear reactors or thousands of coal-burning plants. Capturing even a fraction of those 72 terawatts could provide the 1.6 to 1.8 terawatts that made up the world's electricity usage in 2000. Converting as little as 20 percent of potential wind energy to electricity could satisfy the entirety of the world's energy demands. The study, supported by NASA and Stanford's Global Climate and Energy Project, may assist in locating wind farms in regions known for strong and consistent breezes.

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And VRB Power of Canada sells vanadium-based redox fuel cells for of power storage to handle variability of wind power when wind power exceeds 20% of a given power grid.
http://www.vrbpower.com/technology/index.html