Tuesday, August 10, 2010

What life-forms might we expect to find on a water planet?

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10 comments:

  1. There are big changes in the climate world. The international effort is in shambles. Countries are rejecting carbon pricing schemes. There is tribal warfare within the community of scientists.

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  2. Anon,

    There's more than one way to skin a cat, with or without you.

    Europe’s Brisk Energy Transition

    France Launches €1.35 Billion Clean Energy Program

    Blackstone Invests $300 Million in One of India’s Leading Solar PV Companies

    And just so we all can differentiate all y'alls from the anonymous legions who fear to tread these boards, please assign yourself a name, something creative, something like StickEnvy or merely Kimchi will suffice.

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  3. You may know from comments at other blogs that I am an enthusiastic supporter of energy transformation. The first comment was anonymous because I didn't see the name line in the identity profile. A couple years ago I commented at Sciguy and climateprogress as PaulK. Since that time, in addition to my regular job of telling jokes in bars, I've dabbled in alternative energy activism.

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  4. Paul,

    We crossed paths a couple years back on SciGuy & Climate Progress, and, if recollection serves, you were then deeply nestled in denial of what the world's community of climate scientists has learned about the risks and dangers of anthropogenic global warming. Perhaps, your acknowledgement of the science has improved?

    However, we are always willing to call friend any staunch supporter of the aggressive deployment of renewable energy technologies, no matter the politics.

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  5. Oddly enough, I started reading sciguy and CP the same night. I was looking for things about the Fourth of July and Joe had a post about global warming putting an end to fireworks displays. I'd never before been to any climate blogs. A comment by you may have led me to sciguy. I found the repetitive nature of the arguments there fascinating.

    My knowledge of the science improved once I realized that JR was as far off on one side as say Mockton is on the other. For the last year or more, I've taken most of my science questions to stoat and am generally satisfied with Connolley's answers.

    I think it is time to move beyond arguments about science and talk about the best ways to speed deployment.

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  6. Paul,

    Dr Romm is certainly an advocate of clean energy technologies and is right on target with the latest developments in climate science, energy policy, & the need for urgent action to mitigate abrupt climate change. His Climate Progress is recognized as one of the most indispensable energy policy blogs on the English-speaking planet.

    However, Monckton is a vainglorious pimp who's sold his soul to the fossil-fueled powers-that-be, more commonly known as a crank.

    That you put the 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley in the same room, let alone the same league, as Joe Romm reveals a lot about your improved knowledge of climate science, let alone outspoken advocates of clean energy technologies.

    No doubt, the discussion & debates about the magnitude & velocity of anthropogenic climate change will continue, some in earnest, others in denial, but rapid, massive deployment of clean energy technologies while we transition out of fossil fuels is paramount to containing human suffering & death, beginning about today through our sons' & grandkids' lifetimes & beyond.

    Besides Climate Progress, we frequent Real Climate, Open Mind, Deep Climate, Deltoid, Rabbett Run, James Hansen's Website, and a host of others linked in our sidebar; occasionally Stoat, and more recently, In It For The Gold. SciGuy is our playground.

    If memory serves, you were a staunch advocate of nuclear power. Unfortunately, the exorbitant capital costs of new nuclear power make it uncompetitive in the U.S, if not cost prohibitive. Many of our associates, including yours truly, hail from that industry. Some still advocate; others see better solutions.

    Wind, solar, geothermal, & other renewables, along with nat gas as we make the transition, make the most economic sense here, in China, & around the rapidly warming globe.

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  7. One thing I agree with JR is that current technologies are sufficient to make a major dent in fossil fuel use. Solar water heating and ground temperature assisted HVAC are already competitive, as is electricity from excess industrial heat. 60 Minutes had a piece on Bloom Energy solid oxide fuel cell technology that is at the beta stage and looks really promising. I'm not a particular fan of nuclear - waste is the problem - but don't see how to maintain base load without it.

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  8. Paul,

    Sometime back, we did a post, comment rather, on Bloom Energy over at SciGuy. Promising technology, perhaps, but the proof in the pudding is where investment dollars are flowing: wind, solar CSP, PV, & CSPV.

    Like coal burners already are, nuclear will be displaced over the next decade or two (we have friends & family in both industries). Expect nat gas & wind & solar to pick up the load during that same time-frame, esp. in Europe & North America.

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  9. I've settled in at Bart Verheggen's. Over there a lot of numbers for energy usage, population & world GNP in the next 25 to 90 years are being thrown around. These numbers are believed to be necessary to work backwards to find a starting point. I'm not sure anyone can present an accurate figure.

    The investment dollars are certainly going to Bloom Energy which is well past the initial venture capital stage. They are producing one commercial sizes unit per day. They are beta deployed at and invested in by a significant group of corporations. They work real well. The CEO claims residential units for $2,000 will be available within 5 years. I saw it on TV!

    I've also been going to in it for the gold recently. I like the professorial way MT runs his blog, will comment there again at years end.

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  10. Paul,

    Yea, stumbled across Bart Verheggen's view on climate change some months back and added it to our Climate Science links; most recently when Dr. Stephen Schneider left us and Monckton’s attempted censorship of John Abraham and Bart's take on the Judith Curry debacle. Maybe, see you over there sometime.

    Perhaps, you caught our recent link to a very young and already climate savvy Stephen Schneider?

    After that 60 Minutes segment on Bloom Energy, we did some research ourselves and decided to see what the IPO brings. It's still a long shot whether their fuel cell technology can be massed produced cost competitively, and it's just one company. If you think it makes sense & can handle the ride, go for it.

    At this point in the recovery, a chunk of our change feels much safer in volatile wind & solar stocks, more recently, those from China. Lots of government support, lots of investors' cash, & lots of companies. And both technologies are readily scalable to utility scale. Our clients in California are breaking down doors to meet 20% renewables mandate by end of 2010. Gonna be close. Expect 2011 to be even bigger.

    Just got invited to next week's presentation dinner on the proposed Tule Wind Project in San Diego County.

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