Information Overload Mastered_Renewable and Alternative Energy Sources Ranked_Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, energy security

This post follows the previous one, "a short definition of Sustainable Development (SusDev.) with good reference links for more background reading but first please read on.

The Sustainability "Science and Engineering" theme with it's highly complex ramifications have undoubtedly lead to information overload, much confusion and therefore, in all probability, inadequate and ineffective responses to the many, inter-related challenges raised. (exponentially increasing resource waste?)

Here I wish to present, what I feel could become, one of the most important theoretical approaches to alleviate current misunderstandings in what is emerging as mankind's most important challenge(s), namely, climate-change and specifically energy - related solutions to global warming, air pollution mortality, and energy security. [It compliments and clarifies the earlier Pacala and Socolow Wedge Approach widely commented].

Mark Z. Jacobson of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA , in this "Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security" is a substantial, much needed, contribution to alleviate this situation.

The study deserves equally wide echo, comment and debate to reap the sustainability benefits owed to future generations, through present and future co-operation, co-ordination, leadership to attain anticipatory action-investment(s).

Mark justifies his work as follows:
"Air pollution and global warming are two of the greatest threats to human and animal health and political stability. Energy insecurity and rising prices of conventional energy sources are also major threats to economic and political stability. Many alternatives to conventional energy sources have been proposed, but analyses of such options have been limited in breadth and depth. The purpose of this paper is to review several major proposed solutions to these problems with respect to multiple externalities of each option. With such information, policy makers can make better decisions about supporting various options. Otherwise, market forces alone will drive decisions that may result in little benefit to climate, air pollution, or energy–security problems."

His approach is one of weighting and ranking renewable and alternative energy sources and resources.

Fuller post 21Feb 2009 my blog[Link-html]

Source and Acknowledgement:
Energy Environ. Sci., 2009, 2, 148-173, DOI: 10.1039/b809990c – Reproduced by permission of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Definition of Sustainable Development Recalled for Memory_ time for a break

Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. The term was used by the Brundtland Commission which coined what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Environmental Sustainability Summarised:

Source:

Wikipedia. One point entry,but many references and links...

Link_Link_Innovation and Creativity from a recent blog source via EntreCard

Taking one's self too seriously is not good policy for Creativity and Innovation.

One remedy:

Link_Innovation and Creativity from a recent blog source via EntreCard

Link_New Video Embeded: Mars "Explorer" Revolutionary Wind Power Generator shows Wind Power that is Good for the Neurons

This post link on my video dedicated weblog pages, "This-Above-All", is particularly relevent to "Conversations." Take a squint.

New Video Embeded: Mars "Explorer" Revolutionary Wind Power Generator shows Wind Power that is Good for the Neurons

Link_Mineral Extraction powered by Geothermal Energy- Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

This link is concerned more with OTEC - Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Investors, partners applications than extractive metallurgy per say. Check it out

Mineral Extraction powered by Geothermal Energy- Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

Official Google.org Blog:"Sharpening our focus in global development"

"Sharpening "my/our?" focus in global development"

I must admit this theme has been bugging me too, for quite some time, especially since I am a bilingual guy with reasonable experience, including, technology transfer - adequation with developped and developing countries. Note the site referenced does not use the term "On Global Development". I read this as an important distinction, ie they Google are not alone in such endeavours.

Reference:
Official google.org Blog: Sharpening our focus in global development

No_Holds_Bard: Innovation and Creativity from a recent blog source via EntreCard

No_Holds_Bard: Innovation and Creativity from a recent blog source via EntreCard: "Creativity, Fear or Humour?, Innovation, prose or poetry?"

Taking one's self too seriously is not good policy for Creativity and Innovation.

I am most indebted to David Farrimond for his links and introduction to his non-vulgar humerous approach and work. Follow this link

Innovation in Coal Gasification, Australian Pilot Plant produces energy for Transportation

Australian company Linc Energy Ltd has announced the first production of diesel from its demonstration coal to liquid (CTL) facility at Chinchilla, Queensland. The firm claims this is the first time underground coal gasification has been combined with CTL, reducing the cost and life-cycle carbon emissions of the fuel.

Full news report and company link: Underground coal gasification
ref. Materials World Magazine, 01 Jan 2009.

More later.

NB.
In my Venn Diagramme "logo" I did distinguish between Energy for use in situ, eg.homes, factories, fixed machines as opposed to energy for transport (gas, petrol, diesel, kerosene..) This certainly requires a short post of explanation with acknowledgement to the origins and implication of this very important distinction. I shall come back to this in a later post.

Most of my posts on Coal Mining - Power Generation - Materials Processes Markets with a focus on Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) are concerned, implicitly, with power generation to produce the more efficient combined heat and electricity for classical non-mobile, not for transportation uses. Of course when electric powered vehicles reach a significant level in reducing CO2 emissions in road transport this distinction will, in the future, disappear.

Alternative Energy CO2-GHG reduction_BEAT 2_A Biomass Environmental Assessment Tool free software for UK and UK-based companies

This post results from following a lead on combined Coal and Biomass use in power generation. ref1.

Ground-breaking technology that enables companies and organisations to measure their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) was unveiled for the first time (13 November 2008) at Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire.

The BEAT2 – Biomass Environmental Assessment Tool – computer program funded by UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the UK, Environment Agency, measures the impact on the levels of greenhouse gas emissions when biomass is used in a variety of energy generating processes.

Drax is the first major industrial installation in the UK to pilot the software.

More...

Drax Power Limited ("Drax") has announced that it has signed a £10 million ($18 million) Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") contract with Doosan Babcock Energy Limited ("Doosan Babcock") to supply direct injection biomass co-firing systems to all six coal-fired generating units at the 4,000MW Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire.

Co-firing involves the mixing and burning of renewable biomass materials with coal and, given the carbon neutral status of biomass, is a recognised carbon abatement technology that has significant potential to reduce carbon dioxide ("CO2") emissions from coal-fired power stations. The direct injection firing systems represent a major component of the new co-firing facility at Drax and are designed to receive and transport processed biomass materials to the power station’s coal-fired boilers.

On completion, the biomass co-firing facility will be the largest of its type in the world, which alongside Drax’s existing co-firing capability will provide a total of 500MW of renewable electricity, or the equivalent output of over 600 wind turbines. The biomass co-firing facility will reduce Drax Power Station’s emissions of CO2 by over two and a half million tonnes per annum supporting Drax’s commitment to tackling climate change by reducing its CO2 emissions.

More...

Sources:
1. Materials World print edition Dec 2008.
2. The BEAT2 – Biomass Environmental Assessment Tool – computer program
3. Drax press release 13Nov. 08
4. Drax press release 1 Oct. 08

NB.1. BEST 2.

The aim of this tool is to provide the user with a means for assessing the potential benefits, as well as associated environmental impacts, of bioenergy technologies. It takes into account the diverse nature of possible bioenergy feedstocks and conversion technologies and also identifies a variety of potential environmental impacts. BEAT2 is a UK-based tool and cannot be used to assess bioenergy options outside the UK or to assess the impact of internationally sourced feedstocks.

NB2. Back-ground comment by Sophie Stammers

Coal Jobs- Editorial News Feb 2009 from The Institute of Mining Minerals and Materials

Coal news up dates from IOM3:

Celtic Energy re-opened an existing railroad line to carry output from the East Pit opencast site
to the coal washery. Each traiload can carry 1,400t of coal, equivalent to 70 lorry loads! The pit returned to full production in Sept. 08 due to growing demand for coal.

The investment will be in East Pit (Gwaun Cae Gurwen), where the company has already spent a total of £4 million in gearing up for production. This includes a £1.4 million spend alone on a new excavator and the introduction of a double shift in order to meet growing demand for Welsh coal. In total the number of jobs provided at the site will rise from 23 to 86, with 38 staff moving from other Celtic Energy sites. A major recruitment drive was launched to attract local people to fill the remaining positions.

Further investment will provide a £100 million boost to the local economy over 7 years.

The Institute hails such news in the face of current hesitations and job losses.

Let me add once more that almost all serious observers and one in particular the OECD Observer consider that "the focus on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) seems particularily promising. cf. OECD refs 3,4, 5. below. I do indeed trust that OECD will finalise credible economic and financial instruments necessary to ensure that miners faith will turn into fact rather than fiction and greenhouse gas (GHG) friction.

More...

Celtic Energy Coal Video

Menace and Opportunity

There are, of course, opponents to Fossil Fuel, and coal in particular. I have included one such LINK, the first I came across on UK mining operations.

Remark

I am afraid that much persuasion (carrot)clout(stick) and some disaster will be necessary before such major bad-play as one has seen to-date from the big two China and USA. (Coal and Power generation).

Strangely, CCS inertia, appears more prevailant in "dematerialised fields" partly in Economics (excepting the Stein Report) and more so in Financial issues than in strictly scientific, engineering and technological fields, or are the latter simply better qualified to understand the physical mechanics and dynamics of climate change?

References.

1. Celtic Energy

2. Celtic Energy Coal Video


2. OECD Observer

4. Climate Change, Growth and Stability Highlights of the OECD forum 2008. Observer Suppliment Nov. 2008.

5. More articles : OECD.org

Record Breaking Pittsburg Steelers from well-named US Coal Mining and Steel Town win US-Football’s Super Bowl_Bigger CCS Records need Breaking!

Link to full post Record Breaking Pittsburg Steelers of famous well-named US Coal Mining and Steel Town win US - Football’s Super Bowl_Bigger CCS Records need Breaking

Will Pittsburg be Bull's (New York) or Bears (Chicago) in CO2-CCS and not just Steal-Off into the shadows?Pittsburg Steelers of the famous well-named and one time booming US Coal Mining and Steelmakers (Carnegie) Town win Super Bowl for a record 6th time.Mind you, other more important record are at stake, global ones. Here as indicated above, I have chosen once again CO2-CCS and more precisely carbon storage and sequestration (CSS).The following key words "Pittsburg", "Super Bowl", "Chicago Bull's supported by President Obama". To crown it all the headline Steel Curtain Call shed dread to many, if not all metallurgists provided the chemical spark to write.

Link to full post: Record Breaking Pittsburg Steelers of famous well-named US Coal Mining and Steel Town win US - Football’s Super Bowl-Bigger CCS Records need Breaking