Global warming is real and terrifying

More evidence that if humans continue to burn fossil fuels at the current rate, we are headed for global disaster. Germany is the only rich country that seems to be serious about minimizing its carbon output:

"Germany is one of the only big countries that has actually tried hard to change its energy mix; on one sunny Saturday in late May, that northern-latitude nation generated nearly half its power from solar panels within its borders. That's a small miracle – and it demonstrates that we have the technology to solve our problems. But we lack the will. So far, Germany's the exception; the rule is ever more carbon."

Who killed the electric car?

I always thought it was consumers who did not create the demand, until I saw this excellent documentary. Consumers are partially guilty, but so are the other major players, including the car companies. But this documentary was made in 2006, and a lot has happened since then. Today I saw a Nissan ad for its hybrids and all-electric. The Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid have been very successful. The end of the documentary, even though it's titled Who Killed the Electric Car, discusses the bright future of electric cars.



Since the federal government took over GM, the company has developed the Chevy Volt, which "is the most fuel-efficient car with an internal combustion engine sold in the United States."

The benefits of oil embargoes

Tonight I learned from Thomas Friedman that Denmark launched its clean tech industry after the 1973 Arab oil embargo.  As a result, today Denmark has the highest energy efficiency in Europe and it is a major exporter of clean tech products.

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Is global warming irreversible?

Listen to this very interesting interview with Professor Stephen Salter at his lab in the University of Edinburgh. Professor Salter invented a system by which wave energy is transferred to electricity.

'Thirty years after inventing a way to turn wave power into electricity, the professor fears it's now too late to rely on renewable energies to help cut global carbon emissions and prevent the melting of the arctic caps.

"We've wasted so much time not getting Ducks built when we could have been doing it properly that renewables are going to be too late," he says, looking out across the giant wave tank that dominates his university laboratory.

The first Salter Duck, created in 1973, was a rather simple teardrop design made from balsa wood. Today, the latest incarnation is a far more complex construction made from steel. But he warns, "I don't think we have time to get them working in big enough numbers in order to prevent something nasty happening to the arctic ice." '

Solar Trees

Cool!

 

This is a great innovation — the streets of Europe could soon be lit by "solar trees". These self-contained streetlights could save cities energy and money too. Unlike regular streetlights, they do not require costly underground wiring to install, and they are immune to blackouts. Designed by Ross Lovegrove, the lights have 10 solar panels arrayed at the top of tree-like branches, which charge built-in batteries. The batteries then power LEDs for illumination. Compared to conventional streetlights, they emit much less light pollution, because LEDs generate a very directed light. The trees also incorporate light detectors! So the lights automatically turn on sunset and off at sunrise.

The solar trees went on display for four weeks in October on a busy street — the Ringstrasse — in Vienna, Austria. They were able to provide enough light during the night-time even when the sun did not show for as much as four days in a row. The director of the program, Christina Werner said. "Someday soon solar trees could well be the main form of street lighting in Europe."

Putting solar powered LED light systems on trees would cut down on the carbon emissions and also slash the bills of local authorities, she said.

Street lighting consumed 10 percent of all the electricity used in Europe in 2006 or 2,000 billion KWh, and resulted in carbon emissions of 2,900 million ton.

The use of more energy-efficient lighting in the Austrian city of Graz, with a population of almost 300,000 saved the city 524,000 KWh of electricity and 67,200 euros [US $96,800] in 2005.

Via: RenewableEnergyAccess

Meanwhile in America, Bush's EPA (the "Environmental Protection" Agency!) told the state of California that it could not raise its own emissions standards! At least we have people like Will Ferrell to make fun of it all: