Why climate change adaptation could make things worse
Because many of the proposals for adaptation to climate change require further extensive release of greenhouse gasses, they will only make climate change worse.
Renewable Energy
Managing the Peak Fossil Fuel Transition: EROI and EIRR
Current renewable energy technologies must be adopted in conjunction with aggressive Smart Growth and Efficiency if we hope to continue our current standard of living and complex society with diminished reliance on fossil fuels. These strategies have the additional advantage that they can work without large technological breakthroughs.
Trolley canal boats
For many centuries, canal boats were propelled by men, horses or mules on the towpath beside the water. Before diesel power took over, engineers developed several interesting methods powered by electricity: trolleyboats, floating funiculars and electric mules. Many of these ecological solutions could be applied today instead of diesel engines.
ODAC Newsletter – Dec 18
As ODAC News went to press, hopes of a deal in Copenhagen were finally rising, after two weeks of chaos and acrimony.
Renewables & efficiency – Dec 17
-Unplugging from the world’s power lines
-How Effective Are Renewables, Really?
-Bringing Hope to Copenhagen With a Novel Investment Idea
Throwing our energy at impossible dreams…
“as mankind proceeded to get bigger and bigger we silently crossed a threshold”
GAO study: Energy-Water Nexus of Biofuels
Three weeks ago the US Government Accountability Office released a 50-page analysis of the nexus between biofuel production and water resources.
Peak oil review – Dec 14
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-Baghdad’s second auction
-Climate change
-The IEA’s peak
-Briefs
Is “Clean Coal” a Dead End?
Many energy experts, politicians on both sides of the aisle, and representatives of the coal industry agree on the need to spend billions to develop technologies to capture and store the carbon from burning coal, thus making coal “clean” from a climate standpoint.
Bad timing
It seems the evil empire will keep chugging along, despite my wishes to the contrary. How long is anybody’s guess. And, despite my record of bad guessing, I’ll toss out some more guesses here.
The UK, millionaires, bankers, and tax – Dec 9
-The millionaires who want to pay more tax
-This tax on the City is a bonus
-Tax rebate plan for ‘green’ drivers and homeowners
These Revolutionary Times
The language of revolution should be used as a last resort and against odds that can be beaten only with radical thought and action. It requires justification or, at the very least, explanation.
