Transition Towns brace for climate change

By Simon Crump

PEOPLE are being urged to help make Shipston and its surrounding villages resilient against the effects of climate change and a predicted worldwide decline in oil production.

Residents, organisations and groups from the Shipston area are invited to attend a public meeting at Shipston High School, Darlingscote Road, at 7.30pm on Wednesday, April 29 to discuss joining Transition Towns, a worldwide grassroots movement working to build local resilience against the effects of climate change and peak oil.

Peak oil will be the time when the maximum rate of global oil extraction is reached, after which the production rate will enter terminal decline.

This concept is based on observed production rates of individual oil wells and the combined production rate of a field of related oil wells.

There are more than 150 Transition Town initiatives in Britain and hundreds more in Japan, Chile, America, Australia and other countries.

These work to encourage local food production, produce renewable energy and boost the local economy.

They devise practical solutions, including shop-local schemes, installation of renewable energy production and grow-your-own fruit and vegetable projects. …

Shipston urged to brace itself against climate change

Technorati Tags: climate change

Singapore scientists say can turn CO2 into biofuel

 

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists in Singapore say they have found a way to turn planet-warming carbon dioxide into clean-burning methanol using a process that uses less energy than previous attempts.

The scientists at the state-backed Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology said on Thursday they used non-toxic organocatalysts to make ethanol, a biofuel that is also used as an industrial feedstock.

In a statement, the institute said the team, led by Yugen Zhang, used N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), an organocatalyst in the chemical reaction with carbon dioxide.

NHCs are stable and the reaction between NHCs and carbon dioxide can take place under mild conditions in dry air, the statement said, adding only a small amount of the catalyst was needed.

The process also used hydrosilane, a combination of silica and hydrogen.

"Hydrosilane provides hydrogen, which bonds with carbon dioxide in a reduction reaction. This carbon dioxide reduction is efficiently catalyzed by NHCs even at room temperature," Zhang said in the statement.

"Methanol can be easily obtained from the product of the carbon dioxide reaction," Zhang added. …

Singapore scientists say can turn CO2 into biofuel

Technorati Tags: carbon dioxide,biofuel

Paris using ultracapacitors in buses

Much has been made of the potential of ultracapacitors in electric cars. Many start-up companies are hoping to make the big breakthrough that changes the future of EVs by creating lighter, cheaper and better energy storage, but so far we haven't seen the results.

German company MAN has decided to look beyond small electric vehicles and has outfitted a hybrid bus with an ultracapacitor. Paris's public transport system RATP is currently testing a few of these models called Lion's City Hybrids in the city without passengers to see if they're worth permanently adding to their transportation fleet.

The bus is being tested on four different bus routes to gauge its performance under various demands like longer distances or more frequent stops. The ultracapacitor allows the bus to start without turning on the engine. Once the bus is moving, the diesel engine starts running.

MAN claims that the hybrid bus reduces fuel use by 20 to 25 percent compared to the currently-used models. If these test go well, this could be the beginning of ultracapacitors finally making their way onto the road instead of just being an exciting prospect.

via Autoblog Green

Paris Using Ultracapacitors in Buses

Technorati Tags: alternative energy

Louisiana begins wetland repair with Mississippi River sediment

BELLE CHASSE, Louisiana, April 14, 2009 (ENS) - The first project in state history designed to mine sediments from the Mississippi River and transport them by pipeline to rebuild eroding coastal wetlands was announced today by Governor Bobby Jindal.

The $28.3 million project, known as The Mississippi River Sediment Delivery System at Bayou Dupont, will build and restore nearly 500 acres of marsh in Lower Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes using sediment from the Mississippi River.

Governor Jindal said, "The Bayou Dupont Project breaks new ground for coastal restoration in our state because it is the first time we have carried out a project to transport sediments from the Mississippi River through a pipeline to build wetlands outside the river's levees."

"This project is a great example of the ways the state and Environmental Protection Agency are pushing to use available sediments in the Mississippi River to build land rather than dredging them and dumping them in a wasteful way," Jindal said. "The path forward in rebuilding our coast is capturing and using sediment transported in our waterways to rebuild and strengthen our coasts."

The wetlands being restored have been destroyed by hurricanes and saltwater intrusion.

Louisiana has about 40 percent of the nation's wetlands and experiences 90 percent of the coastal wetlands loss in the entire lower 48 states.

The state is losing 25 to 35 square miles of wetlands each year, nearly a football field every 30 minutes. The highest rates of loss are occurring in the Barataria and Terrebonne basins at a rate of 10 and 11 square miles per year. The Barataria basin is located immediately south of New Orleans, with the Terrebonne basin located further south and west.  …

Louisiana Begins Wetland Repair with Mississippi River Sediment

Technorati Tags: wetland

EPA evaluates ocean acidification as a threat to water quality under Clean Water Act

 Action Marks First Step Toward Regulation of Carbon Dioxide Emissions Under the Clean Water Act

The United States Environmental Protection Agency announced steps to protect U.S. waters from the threat of ocean acidification under the Clean Water Act. Today, EPA issued a notice of data availability to be published in the Federal Register that calls for information and data on ocean acidification that the agency will use to evaluate water-quality criteria under the Clean Water Act.

The notice responded to a formal petition and threatened litigation from the Center for Biological Diversity that sought to compel the agency to impose stricter pH criteria for ocean water quality and publish guidance to help states protect American waters from ocean acidification. EPA’s notice marks the first time that the Clean Water Act will be invoked by the agency to address ocean acidification.

“Ocean acidification is likely the greatest threat to the health of our oceans and is occurring at a frightening rate,” said Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity’s oceans program. “The federal government has finally acknowledged that ocean acidification is a threat; now it must take the next step and fully implement the Clean Water Act to protect our nation’s waters from ‘the other CO2 problem.’ ”
EPA’s water-quality criteria are relevant to preventing ocean acidification because they are the measure against which many states gauge the need to impose regulations on pollution. The notice states that EPA’s “recommended criteria provide guidance to States and authorized Tribes in adopting water quality standards that ultimately provide a basis for controlling discharges or releases of pollutants.” Here, that could eventually translate into controls on CO2. …

EPA Evaluates Ocean Acidification as a Threat to Water Quality Under Clean Water Act

Technorati Tags: ocean acidification,carbon dioxide

Urgency of climate change, new research emerges at MIT forum

By Noah Spies

A sense of urgency pervaded Monday’s clean energy forum, which was sponsored by the MIT Energy Initiative and featured a who’s who of energy and climate change policy. The forum was moderated by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who is co-authoring legislation designed to tackle technologically and politically difficult global warming and clean energy issues.

The forum featured a presentation by John Holdren ’65, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Holdren noted that the rate of global warming continues to outpace predictions, including those made within a 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

As a student at MIT in the 1960s, Holdren was inspired by the race to put a human on the moon. However, he said that the U.S. and the world face a far greater task in reducing human greenhouse gas emissions to levels that would avoid catastrophic climate changes.

In his presentation, Holdren outlined a number of cost-effective measures that could reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.

Markey noted that his bill would support the realization of many of these measures by spurring energy-efficient retrofits of existing buildings and increasing efficiency in energy utilities.

Markey also emphasized the role research would play in further achieving these goals and highlighted the MIT spinoff company A123 Systems, which aims to dramatically improve the efficiency of existing batteries.

The forum also featured Daniel Yergin, Chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, as well as Prof. Ernest Moniz, Director of the MIT Energy Initiative. …

Urgency of Climate Change, New Research Emerges at MIT Forum

Technorati Tags: climate change,MIT

A cure for honey bee colony collapse?

(Wiley-Blackwell) For the first time, scientists have isolated the parasite Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) from professional apiaries suffering from honey bee colony depopulation syndrome. They then went on to treat the infection with complete success.

A cure for honey bee colony collapse?

Technorati Tags: insect decline

Dramatic decrease of pelagic carbonate production by nannoplankton across the Early Toarcian anoxic event (T-OAE)

“Nanno-“? The spelling is correct, I checked. 

In this account we present estimates of nannofossil fluxes in four sections and one borehole all belonging to the Early Jurassic western Tethys. This study aims to map the distribution of pelagic carbonate production across the Early Toarcian anoxic event (T-OAE), and to understand which environmental parameters did control such production. Our results indicate important changes in carbonate production by nannoplankton occurring within the western Tethys and its variations through time. Nannofossil fluxes (specimens per m2 per year) are extremely low during the T-OAE in all the studied settings. Higher fluxes are encountered in the westernmost part of the Tethys Ocean before the T-OAE, whilst pelagic carbonate production shifted towards the northern margin of the Tethys after the recovery from anoxic conditions. The dramatic decrease in nannoplankton production during the T-OAE has been interpreted in previous works as a biocalcification crisis related to high pCO2 in the atmosphere/hydrosphere system. Although a high pCO2 may have lowered the carbonate saturation state of Early Jurassic oceans and finally hampered biocalcification, we speculate that the most important effects of CO2 increase were indirect, and affected pelagic producers via changes on climate and sea-level. Namely, it seems that precipitation/evaporation budgets and continental runoff that controlled nutrient levels and salinity in surface oceanic waters were important factors for pelagic biocalcifiers.

Mattioli, E., Pittet, B., Petitpierre, L. & Mailliot, S., 2009. Dramatic decrease of pelagic carbonate production by nannoplankton across the Early Toarcian anoxic event (T-OAE). Global and Planetary Change 65(3-4): 134-145. Article (subscription required).

Dramatic decrease of pelagic carbonate production by nannoplankton across the Early Toarcian anoxic event (T-OAE)

Technorati Tags: ocean anoxia,ocean acidification,carbon dioxide

Social network for growing your own food

These folks are getting ready for the Great Recession:

Ooooby is...

- food growers and locavores with a goal of food interdependence.
- a place to learn from, connect and exchange with local growers and eaters.
- a social enterprise which pours profits into food growing projects. …

Out of Our Own Back Yards

Technorati Tags: urban agriculture

Scientists demonstrate laser with controlled polarization

Cambridge, Mass. – April 13, 2009 – Applied scientists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) in collaboration with researchers from Hamamatsu Photonics in Hamamatsu City, Japan, have demonstrated, for the first time, lasers in which the direction of oscillation of the emitted radiation, known as polarization, can be designed and controlled at will. The innovation opens the door to a wide range of applications in photonics and communications. Harvard University has filed a broad patent on the invention.

Spearheaded by graduate student Nanfang Yu and Federico Capasso, Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering, both of SEAS, and by a team at Hamamatsu Photonics headed by Dr. Hirofumi Kan, General Manager of the Laser Group, the findings will be published as a cover feature of the April 13 issue of Applied Physics Letters.

"Polarization is one of the key features defining a laser beam. Controlling it represents an important new step towards beam engineering of lasers with unprecedented flexibility, tailored for specific applications," explains Capasso. "The novelty of our approach is that instead of being conducted externally, which requires bulky and expensive optical components, manipulation of the beam polarization is achieved by directly integrating the polarizer on the laser facet. This compact solution is applicable to semiconductor lasers and other solid-state lasers, all the way from communication wavelengths to the mid-infrared and Terahertz spectrum". …

Scientists demonstrate laser with controlled polarization

Technorati Tags: laser,quantum

Slow freight: sail power is actually faster than containerships today

 

 Image credit

The always fascinating Low-Tech Magazine notes that the big container ships are taking it very slow these days, cruising at ten knots instead of their usual 26 knots, to save fuel. They point out that this is actually slower than sailing freighters travelled a hundred years ago.

The German Preussen (picture above), the largest sailing ship ever built, was launched in 1902 and travelled mainly between Hamburg (Germany) and Iquique (Chile)....The best average speed over a one way trip was 13.7 knots. …

Slow Freight: Sail Power is Actually Faster Than Containerships Today

Technorati Tags: alternative energy,wind power

Diatom nanostructure improves solar cell efficiency

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Engineers at Oregon State University have discovered a way to use an ancient life form to create one of the newest technologies for solar energy, in systems that may be surprisingly simple to build compared to existing silicon-based solar cells.

The secret: diatoms.

These tiny, single-celled marine life forms have existed for at least 100 million years and are the basis for much of the life in the oceans, but they also have rigid shells that can be used to create order in a natural way at the extraordinarily small level of nanotechnology.

By using biology instead of conventional semiconductor manufacturing approaches, researchers at OSU and Portland State University have created a new way to make “dye-sensitized” solar cells, in which photons bounce around like they were in a pinball machine, striking these dyes and producing electricity. This technology may be slightly more expensive than some existing approaches to make dye-sensitized solar cells, but can potentially triple the electrical output.

“Most existing solar cell technology is based on silicon and is nearing the limits of what we may be able to accomplish with that,” said Greg Rorrer, an OSU professor of chemical engineering. “There’s an enormous opportunity to develop different types of solar energy technology, and it’s likely that several forms will ultimately all find uses, depending on the situation.”

Dye-sensitized technology, for instance, uses environmentally benign materials and works well in lower light conditions. And the new findings offer advances in manufacturing simplicity and efficiency.

“Dye-sensitized solar cells already exist,” Rorrer said. “What’s different in our approach are the steps we take to make these devices, and the potential improvements they offer.” …

Ancient Diatoms Lead to New Technology for Solar Energy

Technorati Tags: nanotechnology,solar power

Babcock Ranch: 100% solar-powered city

We've heard about ecocities in far away lands, but now there's one planned for the Unities States.  Located near Fort Meyers, Florida, Babcock Ranch will be powered entirely by solar power.  It's a bold and progressive plan, and if Kitson & Partners can secure all the necessary regulatory approvals, construction will begin this year.  The city includes a 75-megawatt, on-site, photovoltaic facility constructed by Florida Power & Light for nearly $350 million.  …

Babcock Ranch 100% Solar Powered City

Technorati Tags: solar power,green construction

Understanding risk to Seattle's high-rise buildings from a giant Cascadian earthquake

Summary: Don’t be downtown when the Big One hits…

(Seismological Society of America)

The Cascadia subduction zone is likely to produce the strongest shaking experienced in the lower 48 states. Although seismic activity in the Pacific Northwest has been relatively low in the past two centuries, there is a growing consensus that this fault zone ruptures in giant earthquakes (magnitude exceeding 9); the last rupture is inferred to have occurred in 1700. What is the risk to high-rise buildings from such a giant earthquake? Although four giant subduction earthquakes occurred elsewhere in the past century, there were no cities with high-rise buildings in the heavily shaken areas for any of these events. Furthermore, ground motions have never been recorded in areas strongly shaken by a giant earthquake.

T. Heaton and J. Yang of Caltech simulated ground shaking from an earthquake similar to the giant Sumatran earthquake (M 9.2) that occurred in 2004, and which is hypothesized to be similar to the giant earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest. The simulated shaking lasts for more than four minutes and it is dominated by low frequency motions. While smaller buildings (e.g., wooden houses) are not particularly susceptible to these low frequency motions, tall buildings resonate at the low frequencies contained in these simulations. The Seattle basin exacerbates the situation by significantly amplifying these long-period motions in the Seattle metropolitan area. Heaton and Yang simulated the response of modern steel 6- and 20-story buildings to the hypothetical ground motions. Although there are many unanswered questions about such a future earthquake, they report that severe damage and possible collapse is indicated in many of their simulations. Buildings that were constructed prior to important building code changes that were made as a result of the 1994 Northridge earthquake are especially vulnerable to this long period shaking. Heaton and Yang report that, given the current state of understanding, there is insufficient knowledge of ground shaking and of building response to ensure the integrity of tall buildings in such an earthquake.

Understanding risk to Seattle's high-rise buildings from a giant Cascadian earthquake

Technorati Tags: earthquake

Prize for 'Sun in the box' cooker

A cheap solar cooker has won first prize in a contest for green ideas.

The Kyoto Box is made from cardboard and can be used for sterilising water or boiling or baking food.

The Kenyan-based inventor hopes it can make solar cooking widespread in the developing world, supplanting the use of wood which is driving deforestation.

Other finalists in the $75,000 (£51,000) competition included a device for streamlining lorries, and a ceiling tile that cools hot rooms.

Organised by Forum for the Future, the sustainable development charity founded by Jonathan Porritt, the competition aims to support concepts that have "moved off the drawing board and demonstrated their feasibility" for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but have not gained corporate backing.

"The Kyoto Box has the potential to transform millions of lives and is a model of scalable, sustainable innovation," said Peter Madden, the forum's chief executive.

It is made from two cardboard boxes, which use reflective foil and black paint to maximise absorption of solar energy.

Covering the cooking pot with a transparent cover retains heat and water, and temperatures inside the pot can reach at least 80C.

As many as two billion people in the world use firewood as their primary fuel. …

Prize for 'Sun in the box' cooker

Technorati Tags: solar power

Carbon capture facility to go live

Andrew Donoghue, BusinessGreen, Thursday 9 April 2009 at 16:22:00

A Total plant in France could mark the next step in CCS development

The first power station retro-fitted with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology is due to go live but environmental campaigners and experts claim the technology could be a dangerous distraction.

According to reports, a facility in France owned by power company Total has been equipped with CCS technology and is due to be activated this month.

Located in the Lacq region of south-west France, Total claims the project will essentially work by reversing the action of an existing natural gas plant. Rather than piping natural gas from a rock reservoir to the processing plant, concentrated C02 will instead be pumped the other way down the pipeline into the empty rock formation which used to house the natural gas.

"For CO2 transport, the pilot will take advantage of the existing pipeline used for the past 30 years to export natural gas extracted from the Rousse field to the treatment plant at Lacq. During the pilot, CO2 will simply be piped in the opposite direction," Total claimed in a report on the project. …

Carbon capture facility to go live

Technorati Tags: carbon sequestration,carbon dioxide

Hemp homes offer ‘better than zero’ carbon footprint

Hemp could hold the key to the future of carbon-neutral construction, according to researchers at the University of Bath.

Hemp is a fast-growing, non-intoxicating member of the cannabis family.

Working with a consortium led by the university’s BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, the researchers have embarked on a project to develop the use of hemp-lime construction materials in the UK.

Hemp-lime is a lightweight composite material made of plant fibres bound together with a lime-based adhesive. The material offers a trio of benefits: lime has a low-carbon footprint, hemp-lime is an efficient insulator and hemp stores atmospheric carbon as it grows. The result, researchers say, is a construction material with a “better than zero” carbon footprint. …

Hemp homes offer ‘better than zero’ carbon footprint

Technorati Tags: carbon sequestration,hemp