Tag: global warming

bookmark_borderDesalination

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by Daniel Brouse

San Diego County — As drinking water becomes scarcer, desalination will become a rising trend. California is experiencing an extended drought. San Diego County is building a $1 billion desalination plant.

Fresh drinking water will become a larger battle ground as it becomes shorter in supply. Global warming is causing contamination in large fresh water supplies. For example:
Flooding causes sewage treatment plants and other toxic spills to be dispersed.
Droughts cause an obvious shortage of water.
Rising sea water causes salinization. Salt destroys the soil and the drinking water.

San Diego has already seen the need for drinking water. “It was not an easy decision to build this plant,” said Mark Weston, chairman of the agency that supplies water to San Diego County. “But it is turning out to be a spectacular choice. What we thought was on the expensive side 10 years ago is now affordable.”

Since much of the world’s fresh water problems are becoming more severe due to global warming, it is ironic that the plant will use huge amounts of electricity adding to the problem. There is also concern over what the plant will do to sea life. What happens to plants and animals in the 50 million gallons of water a day? “Fish and other marine organisms are killed on the intake screens (impingement); organisms small enough to pass through, such as plankton, fish eggs, and larvae, are killed during processing of the salt water.” [Heather Cooley, Newsha Ajami, Matthew Heberger, The Pacific Institute December 11, 2013]

“Our position is that seawater desalination should be the option of last resort,” said Sean Bothwell, an attorney with the California Coastkeeper Alliance, an environmental coalition that has battled California’s turn toward the technology. “We need to fully use all the sustainable supplies that we have available to us first.”

As the sea level rises, more fresh water sources will become brackish at the same time as extreme weather events will cause extraordinary droughts. It’s a fresh water double whammy.

Reference: The New York Times 2015/04/12

UPDATE:

Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_%22Bud%22_Lewis_Carlsbad_Desalination_Plant

The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is a desalination plant that opened on December 14, 2015 in Carlsbad, California, adjacent to the north end of the Encina Power Station. The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), the recipient of the fresh …. “$1-billion desalination plant, hailed as model for state, opens in Carlsbad”.

bookmark_borderPermafrost

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For a longtime researches at The Membrane Domain have been conducting R&D on the exponential properties of climate change.

The melting of the permafrost has become a good example of the problem. A recent article in Nature Climate Change reports:

Decomposition of organic carbon from thawing permafrost soils and the resulting release of carbon to the atmosphere are considered to represent a potentially critical global-scale feedback on climate change. The accompanying heat production from microbial metabolism of organic material has been recognized as a potential positive-feedback mechanism that would enhance permafrost thawing and the release of carbon. This internal heat production is poorly understood, however, and the strength of this effect remains unclear3. Here, we have quantified the variability of heat production in contrasting organic permafrost soils across Greenland and tested the hypothesis that these soils produce enough heat to reach a tipping point after which internal heat production can accelerate the decomposition processes. Results show that the impact of climate changes on natural organic soils can be accelerated by microbial heat production with crucial implications for the amounts of carbon being decomposed. The same is shown to be true for organic middens5 with the risk of losing unique evidence of early human presence in the Arctic.

bookmark_borderAntarctica High

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The Weather Underground reports Antarctica hit a record high temperature. Antarctica may have experienced its warmest day ever recorded on Tuesday, with the temperature reading of 63.5°F, reports The Weather Underground.

Tuesday’s record high temperature follows another high reading of 63.3°F set just the day before. Until this week’s heat wave, the highest-known recorded temperature on the continent was 62.6°F back in 1976.

The Antarctic Peninsula where the readings were made “is one of the fastest warming spots on Earth,” reports The Weather Undergound. The website cites studies from 2012 that show the world is warming at a quickening pace.

Five nations and territories have tied or hit all-time high temperature records so far this year.

bookmark_borderSave the Monkey Puzzle Tree

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Wildfires in Chile are threatening the Monkey Puzzle trees (Araucaria araucana) some of which are over a thousand years old. Chile has been in an 8 year drought that is largely blamed on global warming.

“Faced with this critical situation, there is no choice but to assume that the lack of water resources is a reality that is here to stay and that puts at risk the development of important regions of our country” President Bachelet said.

The BBC reports, “Scientists in Chile say they are expecting rainfall to drop significantly by 2050 as the country is increasingly affected by climate change. ”

bookmark_borderChina And Climate Change

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In a unique statement, the ranking weather official for China has come out publicly about global warming.  The BBC reports:
Climate change could have a “huge impact” on China, reducing crop yields and harming the environment, the country’s top weather scientist has warned, in a rare official admission. Zheng Guogang told Xinhua news agency that climate change could be a “serious threat” to big infrastructure projects.

He said temperature rises in China were already higher than global averages.

China, the world’s biggest polluter, has said its emissions of gases that cause climate change will peak by 2030. However, the country has not set a specific target for cutting emissions of the gases, mainly carbon dioxide.

‘Emphasise climate security’
Mr Zheng, the head of China’s meteorological administration, said warming temperatures exposed his country to a growing “risk of climate change and climate disasters”. He said temperature rises in China had already been higher than the global average for the past century.

These are rare admissions from a Chinese official, BBC Asia analyst Michael Bristow says. China’s leaders have acknowledged the damage from global warming but they usually do not lay out the full scale of the problems.

 

 

bookmark_borderCalifornia Running Dry

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CALIFORNIA — Jay Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California said, “As our ‘wet’ season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and snowfall have done almost nothing to alleviate epic drought conditions. January was the driest in California since record-keeping began in 1895. Groundwater and snowpack levels are at all-time lows. We’re not just up a creek without a paddle in California, we’re losing the creek too.

As difficult as it may be to face, the simple fact is that California is running out of water — and the problem started before our current drought. NASA data reveal that total water storage in California has been in steady decline since at least 2002, when satellite-based monitoring began, although groundwater depletion has been going on since the early 20th century.

Right now the state has only about one year of water supply left in its reservoirs, and our strategic backup supply, groundwater, is rapidly disappearing. California has no contingency plan for a persistent drought like this one (let alone a 20-plus-year mega-drought), except, apparently, staying in emergency mode and praying for rain.”

bookmark_borderTop Myths Busted

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by Daniel Brouse

1. GMO Foods Are Bad
2. Sandy Hook Was a Drill
3. 9/11 Was a Government Conspiracy
4. Contrails Contain Chemicals (Chemtrails)
5. [Request your myth to be busted.]

1. GMO Foods Are Bad
Humans have been genetically modifying foods for thousands of years. There is no evidence that eating GMO food is more harmful. Recently, GMO plants have been improved significantly and have been purposely modified for increased health benefits. Purple carrots that contain anthocyanins are an example. If you have any concerns about GMO’s, instead of spreading rumors… grow your own food!

2. Sandy Hook Was a Drill
In the aftermath of the Sandy Hill shootings, there was initial oversight by the State Police. This caused some confusion in the mass media with information that was being provided by the local police and the federal agencies. That is not to say that there have not been live action drills in the USA. In 1999, the military lowered armed troops from Blackhawk helicopters into the city of Camden with live ammo. Another example is the coordinated dismantling of Occupy Philly and Occupy Oakland by Homeland Security. The point being — it was obvious to everyone when it was a drill. The eye-witnesses in Sandy Hook make it evident this was not staged by the military.

3. 9/11 Was a Government Conspiracy
The 9/11 conspiracy crowd tends to focus on how buildings in New York collapsed. As far as scientists can tell, they collapsed in ways consistent with the unique event. Those perpetuating the conspiracy myth tend to leave out the other two sites. The plane that came down in Pennsylvania was occupied by the former quarterback of West Chester University. He is the one that yelled “Let’s roll!” before the passengers tried to take the plane back. He has become a local hero. There are also witnesses in Washington at the the Pentagon. If you have a doubt, try explaining Cantor Fitzgerald.

4. Contrails Contain Chemicals (Chemtrails)
The clouds that are formed from air passing through jet engines and being super-cooled are called contrails. They contain only H2O from the atmosphere. That is not to say that chemicals don’t come out of planes. They do. It is known as exhaust and usually can’t be seen with the naked eye. The exhaust comes out of a different part of the plane and is completely separate from the contrails; however, the exhaust from jets is a significant problem and is scheduled to be the first worldwide tax:

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — The aviation sector will attempt to negotiate by 2016 a market-based mechanism (taxes, tradeable permits or carbon offsets) to tackle emissions from flying.

bookmark_borderGreenhouse Gas Levels at Highest Point in 800,000 Years

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The Membrane Domain has been conducting research on climate change since 1999.

Don’t you hate it when this happens? The ABC, Australia’s public broadcaster, is reporting: The world’s top scientists have given their clearest warning yet of the severe and irreversible impacts of climate change.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its synthesis report, a summary of its last three reports.

It warns greenhouse gas levels are at their highest they have been in 800,000 years, with recent increases mostly due to the burning of fossil fuels.

“Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems,” the report said.

“Limiting climate change would require substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions which, together with adaptation, can limit climate change risks.”

IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri said the comprehensive report brings together “all the pieces of the puzzle” in climate research and predictions.

“It’s not discrete, and [highlights] distinct elements of climate change that people have to deal with, but [also] how you might be able to deal with this problem on a comprehensive basis by understanding how these pieces of the puzzle actually come together,” Dr Pachauri said.

The report reiterates that the planet is unequivocally warming, that burning fossil fuels is significantly increasing greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of climate change – like sea level rises – are already being felt.

It also said most of the world’s electricity should be produced from low carbon sources by 2050 and that fossil fuel burning for power should be virtually stopped by the end of the century.

Last month Prime Minister Tony Abbott said coal is “good for humanity” and will be the “world’s main energy source for decades to come” as he opened a new mine in central Queensland.

IPCC vice-chair Jean-Pascale van Ypersele said while Mr Abbott was correct to point out the world could not end its reliance on fossil fuels for energy immediately, change was necessary.

“The continued usage of fossil fuel could damage not only the environment but more substantially even the habitability of the planet and could erode the possibility to keep this planet habitable,” he said.

“He’s right, but the IPCC is right as well, and this is why climate negotiations, where the different bits of information including about the importance of energy in development, need to be taken into account and that’s also why the climate negotiations are so difficult.

“Energy is important for development but clean energy is important for protecting [the] climate.”

Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund – part of its Direct Action climate change policy which passed the Senate last week – will ensure power stations are cleaner.

“The work that the CSIRO is doing is looking at a 30 to potentially 50 per cent reduction in the footprint of coal fired power stations,” he said.

“The world needs to ensure there’s electricity for those that are trying to work their way out of poverty, that’s been the great goal and dream of humanity for centuries.”

Dr Pachauri said in several respects Australia was “very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change”.

“It also has the means by which you can implement several measures,” he said.

“I’ve always admired the amount of work that Australia has done in the field of solar energy, I hope that will be built on because that will have major benefits for society across the globe.”

Australian expert says warming of climate system ‘unequivocal’

Australian oceans expert John Church was in Copenhagen to negotiate the final wording of the report.

Dr Church was the coordinating lead author of the sea levels chapter and said warming of the climate system is “unequivocal”.

“There’s many components – increasing surface temperature, melting glaciers, increasing ocean heat content, ice sheets losing mass, sea level rising,” he said.

“It’s very clear that there’s a human component that’s contributed significantly to that with rising impacts across many regions.”

The document will be an invaluable summary for climate negotiations for emission reduction targets post-2020.

Mr Hunt said increasing ocean acidification also has him concerned.

“All up the best advice that I have is that we’ve seen a 25 per cent increase in acidity over the last 250-odd years,” he said.

“We don’t know what impact these changes will have. We do know that the impact on marine animals with shells is significant, it could have a long-term impact and for me this is one of the most powerful findings of the report.”

bookmark_borderTurning Water Into Electricity

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It is possible to turn water into electricity. Solar energy is one of the cleanest and cheapest ways to convert liquid H2O into steam. The energy in steam is 9 times greater than the energy in the same weight of boiling water. The math suggests that each gallon of evaporated water is equal to running a typical air conditioner for 1 hour:

THE FORMULAS
L = latent heat of evaporation / unit Volume
Q = heat removed
Q = VL
L = 8,094 BTU / gallon

notes:
1 BTU = 1055 Joules
1 BTU heats 1 pound of water by 1 degree F
Lfusion = 80 calories (to freeze water)
Levaporation = 536 calories
1 calorie = 4.2 joules
1 calorie raises the temperature of 1 gm (or cc) of water by 1 degree C
1 US gallon = 3.8 liters = 3800 cc

PROOF
The theory was proven by recycling rain water and household grey water over the roof of a house through drip hoses. On a typical summer day, 40 gallons of water were evaporated. That is the equivalent to running 2 air conditioning units for 20 hours.

More About the Experiment and the Waterfall House

PICTURES AND VIDEOS

bookmark_borderThe Costs of Solar Energy

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A lot of the environmental costs of solar depend on how the panels and batteries are produced, transported and disposed of… and most importantly how the energy is stored. As renewable energy grows, storage will become a greater problem. In general, we would be better off producing energy like the sun (fusion) than trying to capture the sun’s energy. http://news.stanford.edu/…/store-electric-grid-030513.html

The fossil fuel required to build grid-scale batteries…
  • Fusion does not produce any toxic waste, either — http://news.yahoo.com/solar-industry-grapples-hazardous…

    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Homeowners on the hunt…
    news.yahoo.com|By JASON DEAREN
  • One of my main concerns with solar is the cost to the environment if they are not put on already existing impervious surfaces. Solar panel farms have many negative impacts on plants and wildlife, not to mention, robbing the Earth’s surface of the energy being harvested by the panels.

Other than fusion, the only other method to create clean energy has to do with solar and turning water into electricity — The Economics of Turning Water into Electricity.