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development. Germany, e.g. has set a good e --Apple-Mail-154-291363916 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi DAve, On 16-May-12, at 10:20 PM, David & Alison Webster wrote: > Hi Chris & All, May 16, 2012 > Thanks for bringing us up to date on these matters. Good > article; it may be too late to correct it but if not, I noticed one > typo in penultimate paragraph: images instead of imagines. Thanks - corrected! > I have long been in favor of $5.00/litre gas ($10 now) and > comparable hikes on all fossil fuels but I don't think the > electorate will ever be ready for the High Fossil Fuels Party. > Stephaine Dion ran on a carbon tax but not far. I doubt that any > party or coalition of parties would dare shut down the Tar Sands or > stop using tax money to promote petrochemical exploration and > development. > > But I don't think the situation is hopeless, provided enough > informed people keep pushing for alternative energy and/or remedial > action. Unfortunately, uninformed people pushing the wrong way are > partly responsible for the mess; e.g. the current opposition to wind > farms in Kings Co. Just tonight I heard Andrew Nikiforuk deliver a lecture entitled "The energy of slaves: oil and the new servitude." This will be the title of his new book (available in September) and it was the first time he'd given the lecture. It's spellbindingly brilliant, but it doesn't deliver a lot of hope. If you read one book this year, I recommend you get a copy of this. > At least twice since 1970, when oil prices have spiked, > alternative energy approaches have become prominent and then been > abruptly undercut by lower oil prices. More support from government > to keep such technology afloat, during oil price slumps, would help > maintain continuity of development. Germany, e.g. has set a good > example by guaranteeing prices over 20 years for solar energy power > some 3-fold (?) above current market. They have really excellent feed-in tariffs in Germany, not only for photo-voltaics, but also for wind and bio-gas. It's radically changed the energy picture there, bringing a large spectrum of renewable power developments online. They have development banks in Germany that do nothing but provide funding for renewable energy projects, and towns, municipalities, co-ops, etc, are all involved in developing such projects. They provide a role model to emulate. > I have lost track of the details (and may have some incorrect) > but about 15 years ago a small Ontario company developed a superbug > that, by excreting suitable enzymes, could convert organic waste > (such a sawdust, straw...) directly to ethyl alcohol. The lab-scale > process worked and they wanted to build a pilot-scale prototype. > After being unable to get funding from Ottawa they intended to seek > funding in the US and Germany. > > In 2008, Plasco Energy Group contracted to convert 300 tonnes of > Red Deer garbage per day into electricity; each tonne being expected > to power a typical household for 2 months. Also by 2008 a small > American company (LS9 Inc) developed another superbug to convert > organic waste directly to ester-diesel. > > If in fact sea floor Methyl Hydrate is starting to release > significant Methane then I think every effort should be made to > exploit this resource ASAP; CO2 being many times better than Methane. The problem is that methane is so generally distributed in sub- permafrost and subsea sediments (as opposed to being pooled like oil deposits are that finding ways to collect it (in time) could be very challenging. > Methyl Hydrate is the most scary part of potential warming; once > warming by Methane release got sufficiently underway, the positive > feedback effect would be unstoppable. Exactly. This is the great fear amongst climatologists. That once methane emissions begin on a large scale, it could easily lead to a positive-feedback situation and runaway, unstoppable climate change. It's a genuinely frightening scenario. Consequently, groups like the Arctic Methane Emergency Group are proposing geo-engineering approaches to try cool the arctic environment. There are some innovative ideas for doing this, namely ships (or this could also be done from land-based facilities) with large cooling towers that would spray a fine mist of saltwater into the air. The fine droplets of seawater provide a nucleus for condensation ,creating clouds that increase the earth's albedo in the arctic, thereby cooling the region. Latham and Salter who proposed this idea have calculated that something on the order of 100 such towers would be required, each of which would cost in the vicinity of $320,000 to construct (this sounds optimistically inexpensive to me, given how expensive it is to construct anything in the arctic). Ships would give you more flexibility in terms of positioning but might cost on the order of $32 million a piece to construct. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17400804 Cheers! Chris Christopher Majka Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 2G5 c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones. - John Cage --Apple-Mail-154-291363916 Content-Type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi DAve,<div><br><div><div>On = 16-May-12, at 10:20 PM, David & Alison Webster wrote:</div><br = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; = font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; = line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: = 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: = 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div = bgcolor=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: = space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><font size=3D"2">Hi = Chris & All, = May 16, = 2012</font></div><div><font size=3D"2"> Thanks for = bringing us up to date on these matters. Good article; it may be too = late to correct it but if not, I noticed one typo in penultimate = paragraph: images instead of = imagines.</font></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Thanks= - corrected!</div><br><blockquote type=3D"cite"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; = font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; = line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: = 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: = 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div bgcolor=3D"#ffffff" = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style=3D"font-size: = medium; "><font size=3D"2"> I have long been in favor = of $5.00/litre gas ($10 now) and comparable hikes on all fossil = fuels but I don't think the electorate will ever be ready for the High = Fossil Fuels Party. Stephaine Dion ran on a carbon tax but not far. I = doubt that any party or coalition of parties would dare shut down the = Tar Sands or stop using tax money to promote petrochemical exploration = and development.</font></div><div style=3D"font-size: medium; "><font = size=3D"2"></font> </div><div style=3D"font-size: medium; "><font = size=3D"2"> But I don't think the situation is = hopeless, provided enough informed people keep pushing for = alternative energy and/or remedial action. Unfortunately, uninformed = people pushing the wrong way are partly responsible for = the mess; e.g. the current opposition to wind farms in Kings Co. = </font></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Just = tonight I heard Andrew Nikiforuk deliver a lecture entitled "The energy = of slaves: oil and the new servitude." This will be the title of his new = book (available in September) and it was the first time he'd given the = lecture. It's spellbindingly brilliant, but it doesn't deliver a lot of = hope. If you read one book this year, I recommend you get a copy of = this.</div><br><blockquote type=3D"cite"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: = 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; = font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; = orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: = none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: = 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div bgcolor=3D"#ffffff" = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style=3D"font-size: = medium; "><font size=3D"2"> At least twice since 1970, = when oil prices have spiked, alternative energy approaches have become = prominent and then been abruptly undercut by lower oil prices. More = support from government to keep such technology afloat, during oil price = slumps, would help maintain continuity of development. Germany, e.g. has = set a good example by guaranteeing prices over 20 years for solar = energy power some 3-fold (?) above current = market.</font></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>They = have really excellent feed-in tariffs in Germany, not only for = photo-voltaics, but also for wind and bio-gas. It's radically changed = the energy picture there, bringing a large spectrum of renewable power = developments online. They have development banks in Germany that do = nothing but provide funding for renewable energy projects, and towns, = municipalities, co-ops, etc, are all involved in developing such = projects. They provide a role model to emulate.</div><br><blockquote = type=3D"cite"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: = separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; = font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; = letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: = -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: = normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: = 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div bgcolor=3D"#ffffff" = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style=3D"font-size: = medium; "><font size=3D"2"> I have lost track = of<span class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span></font> <font = size=3D"2">the details (and may have some incorrect) but about 15 years = ago a small Ontario company developed a superbug that, by excreting = suitable enzymes, could convert organic waste (such a sawdust, straw...) = directly to ethyl alcohol. The lab-scale process worked and they wanted = to build a pilot-scale prototype. After being unable to get funding from = Ottawa they intended to seek funding in the US and = Germany.</font></div><div style=3D"font-size: medium; "><font = size=3D"2"></font> </div><div style=3D"font-size: medium; "><font = size=3D"2"> In 2008, Plasco Energy Group contracted to = convert 300 tonnes of Red Deer garbage per day into electricity; each = tonne being expected to power a typical household for 2 months. = Also by 2008 a small American company (LS9 Inc) developed another = superbug to convert organic waste directly to = ester-diesel.</font></div><div style=3D"font-size: medium; "><font = size=3D"2"></font> </div><div style=3D"font-size: medium; "><font = size=3D"2"> If in fact sea floor Methyl Hydrate = is starting to release significant Methane then I think every effort = should be made to exploit this resource ASAP; CO<font = size=3D"1">2</font></font><font size=3D"2"><span = class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span>being many times better = than Methane. = </font></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>The problem = is that methane is so generally distributed in sub-permafrost and subsea = sediments (as opposed to being pooled like oil deposits are that finding = ways to collect it (in time) could be very = challenging. </div><br><blockquote type=3D"cite"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; = font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; = line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: = 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: = 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div bgcolor=3D"#ffffff" = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style=3D"font-size: = medium; "><font size=3D"2">Methyl Hydrate is the most scary part of = potential warming; once warming by Methane release got = sufficiently underway, the positive feedback effect would be = unstoppable.</font></div><div style=3D"font-size: medium; "><font = size=3D"2"></font></div></div></span></blockquote><br></div>Exactly. = This is the great fear amongst climatologists. That once methane = emissions begin on a large scale, it could easily lead to a = positive-feedback situation and runaway, unstoppable climate change. = It's a genuinely frightening = scenario.</div><div><br></div><div>Consequently, groups like the Arctic = Methane Emergency Group are proposing geo-engineering approaches to try = cool the arctic environment. There are some innovative ideas for doing = this, namely ships (or this could also be done from land-based = facilities) with large cooling towers that would spray a fine mist of = saltwater into the air. The fine droplets of seawater provide a nucleus = for condensation ,creating clouds that increase the earth's albedo in = the arctic, thereby cooling the = region. </div><div><br></div><div>Latham and Salter who proposed = this idea have calculated that something on the order of 100 such towers = would be required, each of which would cost in the vicinity of $320,000 = to construct (this sounds optimistically inexpensive to me, given how = expensive it is to construct anything in the arctic). Ships would give = you more flexibility in terms of positioning but might cost on the order = of $32 million a piece to construct. See:</div><div><br></div><div><span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space:pre"> <a = href=3D"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17400804">http://www= .bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17400804</a></span></div><div><br></di= v><div>Cheers!</div><div><br></div><div>Chris</div><br><br><div> <span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; = font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; = line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; = text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: = 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div style=3D"font-size: = 14px; ">Christopher Majka</div><div style=3D"font-size: 14px; ">Halifax, = Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 2G5</div><div style=3D"font-size: 14px; "><a = href=3D"mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca">c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca</a></div><= div style=3D"font-size: 14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"font-size: 14px; = "><span style=3D"color: black; "><i>I can't understand why people are = frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old = ones.</i><i> </i></span><span style=3D"color: black; = "><i>- </i>John Cage</span></div></div></div></span> = </div><br></body></html>= --Apple-Mail-154-291363916--
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