Read the book, or chapters, or synopsis, here. This remarkable book sets out, with enormous clarity and objectivity, the various alternative low-carbon pathways that are open to us. Sir David King FRS Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, 2000-08 For anyone with influence on energy policy, whether in government, business or a campaign group, …
Continue reading Sustainable Energy – Without The Hot Air
Category:4 Energy
Can we go “cold turkey” on fossil fuels?
Scientists now warn that we must effectively halt fossil fuel use if we are to avoid global climate warming of 2 degrees C by 2050. That’s probably a realistic estimate. But we are unlikely to do it. In fact we probably won’t even try. (See previous post.) But we could take a big step in …
Continue reading Can we go “cold turkey” on fossil fuels?
A sober perspective of the ecological crisis
In Bound to Burn, an article copied here, Peter Huber lays out a realistic perspective of the challenge of redirecting our energy consumption patterns. It is very sobering. He outlines the seemingly intractable and growing demand for carbon based fuels, comparing them with an insignificant impact of alternative fuels, concluding that carbon sequestration is the …
Continue reading A sober perspective of the ecological crisis
Shell dumps wind, solar, hydro
Shell oil company which has made a big deal out of its commitment to alternative energy for the past decade, has decided to deemphasise its investment in wind, solar and hydro technologies. Their rationale is economic and we may therefore conclude that the drop in consumption symptomatic of the economic recession is driving this decision. …
Continue reading Shell dumps wind, solar, hydro
Batteries as good as petrol.
Researchers have come up with a battery design that appears to have the charactistics required for rapid charging, thus allowing fast refuelling at refuelling stations. There may remain issues of weight and recycling but in the balance they are looking like a good energy replacement for petrol in the transport industry. Clean too. (Though humanity …
Continue reading Batteries as good as petrol.
Oil companies must be making loads of money
The price of oil has dropped to $73 a barrel. Pump prices have hardly moved in the past few months. Demand is virtually constant. Oil companies are profiting from that wide margin.
Home, green home
It seems that the wave of sustainable initiatives is growing. As we accelerate our eco-village development, it appears to dove tail with a growing demand for green homes. In the latest Technology Quarterly by The Economist the subject is covered in Home, green home and Another green revolution. This article highlights the trend to new …
Continue reading Home, green home
Go greased lightning – car crosses Europe on cooking oil.
A converted old Peugeot has just completed a journey across Europe fuelled by waste cooking oil scavenged from restaurants along the way. The statistics of the odyssey are impressive. The distance travelled was more than 3,200 km, using about 200 litres of chip fat. The car did more than 40 miles to the gallon. And …
Continue reading Go greased lightning – car crosses Europe on cooking oil.
Understand the energy that goes in to putting food on your plate
This article discusses the energy required to put food on our plates, comparing industrial production and distribution (aka agribusiness and supermarkets) with sustainable models (traditional small holding and organic style systems). Its an easy read to understanding the economic dynamics and consequences for our living planet of industrialised food systems based on fossil fuels. It …
Continue reading Understand the energy that goes in to putting food on your plate
A very worrying World Oil Outlook 2008
OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2008 is a realistic but very worrying analysis of the global energy picture. It discusses the recent gyrations of the price of oil and its underlying drivers, in particular the growth of speculation, and outlines demand and supply parameters. While it projects a sufficient supply for the coming decades, whether or …
Continue reading A very worrying World Oil Outlook 2008