D.C. Watch » Carbon

My Mandatory Earth Day Post: 2009

Moderator — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:09:29 +0000

This year, the Earth Day Network has launched a campaign called the Green Generation, which is, in my opinion is line with the current administrations efforts to green America. This campaign however attempts to propagate the idea in 2 years (or less), while the Obama team is hopeful of results in 10. What do I think? As someone already benefiting from the green market, I welcome the challenge and so should you. My 2009 promise is to help at least one city or municipality in the US to consider renewable energy and get them off fossil fuel (and eventually the grid).

Happy Earth Day!

Green Christmas Video

Moderator — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:28:53 +0000

We all know how wasteful each of us are, especially here in the US, so letâ€™s try and make this holiday season a Green one. Watch this video for some cool tips.

[gv data="http://www.youtube.com/v/2e1MGStdPtc&rel=1"][/gv]

Global Warming: It’s All About Carbo

Moderator — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:17:08 +0000

As part of the Climate Connection initiative by NPR and National Geographic, Robert Krulwich’s created a five-part cartoon series that’s a really cool way to teach your kids the science of global warming. The videos are not embeddable, so you will have to view them on NPR. I watched all five and I think it’ll help more than just the kids learn a thing or two about carbon!

Reality Check: Carbon Calculator and Eco Footprint

Moderator — Mon, 21 May 2007 00:46:53 +0000

I was speaking to a colleague who is into bio-diesel and he mentioned about a tool that calculate your net “personal carbon emissions”. So I dug into it this weekend and came up with the three sites that offer interesting (and of course useful) insight into how each one of us impact our planet, so without my ado here that are (in particular order):

1) The US EPA Personal Emissions Calculator:

This test estimates the household greenhouse gas emissions resulting from household energy use and waste disposal and takes a good 20 minutes to complete, so get comfy and get started.

2) The Ecological Footprint Quiz:

This actually calculates the number of Planet Earth it’ll take to support you! Takes about 5 minutes.

3) An Inconvenient Truth Carbon Calculator:

The fastest of the three, but I believe the calculator is less accurate as it has less variable to work from. I changed just one parameter in the test (can’t tell you which) and it took me from way below average to close to average, which does not make sense. But overall, a very lightweight calculator nonetheless!

For a suburbanite, my impact was below average for most parts. Let us know how you fared.

China to become the World’s Biggest Polluter

Moderator — Tue, 01 May 2007 21:54:18 +0000

A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that discusses climate economics is objected by the Chinese delegation fearing repercussions that could possible derail their drive to increase manufacturing and jobs creation. The draft, suggests various solutions to mitigate climate change, such as capturing and burying emissions from coal-fired power plants, shifting to renewable forms of energy and more use of nuclear power, which for China that relies heavily on coal could mean the beginning of economic slowdown.

This reminds me of a scene from “The Inconvenient Truth” where Gore points to a 90′s poster that has the earth on one scale of the balance and gold bullions on the other. China now gets the pick, and if any of them have at least half an ounce gray matter up there, they will chose a policy unlike that of our beloved Bush’s administration!

Oil Depletion “Bad” for our Environment

Moderator — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 01:15:19 +0000

Oil depletion has the capacity to worsen emissions and destroy the wealth needed to fight global warming, that is what David Strahan write in his latest book “The Last Oil Shock”.

His argument below:

It is mathematically impossible that peak oil will solve climate change.

Although oil is the biggest single source of energy-related greenhouse gases, coal and gas combined are bigger still, and the expected growth in their emissions would overwhelm any reduction from oil.

As I demonstrate in The Last Oil Shock using the International Energy Agency’s “business-as-usual” forecast, even if oil production peaks in 2010 and immediately starts to fall at 3% a year, total emissions would still rise by 25%, reaching 32 billion tonnes in 2030.

Yet by that time, we need to be well on the way to at least a 60% cut in emissions.

In fact peak oil could even make emissions worse if it drives us to exploit the wrong kinds of fuel.

Burning rainforest and peatlands to create palm oil plantations for biofuels releases vast amounts of CO2, and has already made Indonesia, according to some ways of calculating it, the world’s third biggest emitter after the US and China.

Synthetic transport fuels made from natural gas using the Fischer-Tropsch process emit even more carbon on a well-to-wheels basis than conventional crude; and when the feedstock is coal, the emissions double.

None of these alternatives are likely to fill the gap left by conventional crude – at least, not in time.

But because they are so much more carbon intensive, it is quite easy to conjure scenarios in which we still suffer fuel shortages while emitting even more CO2 than in the current business-as-usual forecast – the worst of all possible worlds.

One common sense solution left out of his equation is the use of electricity, which is not all the time, generated using coal or Uranium. Solar, wind and tidal conversion if implemented can and should be able to generate the required capacity to power our planet. If only we are able to overcome our resistance to change and the relentless pursuit of bigger and more polluting lifestyle.

“Global Warming Is Not a Crisis.”

Moderator — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:22:02 +0000

No, not me, I didn’t say that, but 3 well known people, 2 experts and 1,.. movie maker seem to think! This was the question at the core of a recent Oxford-style debate called Intelligence Squared U.S. Three proponents of the theory that “carbon dioxide causes global warming” faced off three opponents. The debate is worth listening to no matter which side of the aisle you are in, but you better make yourself free for the next hour and half and hopefully you are on a high-speed Internet connection. Enjoy!

Download the MP3. (Source: NPR)

To download, PC users right-click and select “save target as.” Mac users control-click and “save (or download) link as.”

Scientists Agree that Global Warming “Very Likely” Man-made

Moderator — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 21:39:22 +0000

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), consisting of hundreds of scientist form around the world concluded that Global Warming is “Very Likely” due to human activities. Very Likely in IPCC terminology means greater than 90 percent probability. IPCC said the other 10 percent may or may not be due to god, which is closely in line with the Bush administration findings.

China admits to Climate Failings

Moderator — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 21:16:08 +0000

According to a new Chinese government report, China is failing to make progress on improving and protecting the environment. “Compared with social and economic modernization, China’s ecological modernization lags far behind,” said the research group’s director, He Chuanqi.

China in a global sense is still a lot better than the US, but the current administration will continue playing hardball as long as China (and India) commit to tackle global warming.

With that said, China’s current plans call for the opening of a new power station every week, most of them coal-fired!

Source: BBC

Environmental Defense vs.Duke Energy

Moderator — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 04:27:47 +0000

Environmental Defense took Duke energies to the Supreme Court today on charges that the North Carolina power giant failed to comply with the Clean Air Act requirements to add pollution reduction mechanism when they upgraded their plants. For a change, the Bush administered EPA was on the side of Environment Defense. In an earlier appeals court ruling, the judges sided the industry and today, a similar tone was prevalent at the Supreme Court. It makes no sense why Duke would rather throw money at the lawyers than spend it on pollution control, after all, they need to breathe too.