Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary
November 16, 2009Steven L. Hoch
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
Melting Glaciers
Melting Ice Could Aid in Offsetting Global Warming
If so, shouldn’t we be melting more?
The melting ice in Antarctica has opened a new area of sea where tiny marine plants have bloomed and are absorbing extra carbon from the atmosphere. When the ice melts, carbon-absorbing phytoplankton begin to take up extra amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, becoming what scientists describe as a carbon sink. According to the results of their research, the phytoplankton absorb an estimated 3.5 million tons of carbon, which is equivalent to 12.8 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Journal of Global Change Biology at: http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1354-1013
Scientists Connect Loss of Arctic Sea Ice to Drought in California
Maybe the drought is really caused by the phytoplankton.
Periodic thawing of ice caps in the Arctic and warmer global temperatures tended to coincide with long stretches of drought in California as the Earth adjusted to various fluctuations over the past 20,000 years, according to a recent study. The results, if accurate, could point to continued periods of drought in California as the planet continues to warm.
Published in Earth and Planetary Letters http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/homepage.cws_home
In Kenya, a Melting Ice Cap Prompts Religious Turmoil
If we move the phytoplankton to Kenya will we help preserve the status quo?
Melting ice on Mount Kenya means more than dry riverbeds for locals. It has triggered a crisis of faith for those who still practice tribal religions that revere Mount Kenya as the home of God. “This is where our God lives, and it is being destroyed,” said Mwangi Njorge, 95, who still makes sacrifices to the deity he believes resides on top of the ice cap. He attributes the vanishing glacier to God’s fury. “God is very angry, and if things don't change, I fear he might abandon us forever.” Locals worry that the loss of the ice cap may mean the end of their traditional customs, as well. Published 11/10 in the LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-climate-mtkenya10-2009nov10,0,3451662.story
Litigation
Plaintiffs in Alaska Climate Nuisance Case File Appeals Notice
The Court giveth, the Court taketh away.
Plaintiffs in a recently dismissed climate change nuisance suit alleging that a group of energy companies are responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that have contributed to the erosion of their coastal Alaska village filed a notice of appeal of their case Nov. 5 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Native Village of Kivalina v. Exxon Corp., was dismissed Sept. 30 by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Interestingly, utility defendants in a separate case, State of Connecticut, et al. v. American Electric Power Company Inc. (AEP), et al., are citing the Kivalina decision in urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to rehear its ruling in the suit holding power plants liable under tort law for the impacts of their GHG emissions. Kivalina – Case No. 4:08 –cv-01138-SBA
Carbon Sequestration
Carbon Sequestration Pilot Project at Coal-Fired Plant in West Virginia
Makes coal squeaky clean?
A pilot carbon sequestration project at a coal-fired power plant in W.Va. has been commissioned. The $120 million demonstration project is designed to capture at least 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from a portion of the 1,300-megawatt coal-fired plant and store it underground. The slipstream of flue gas is chilled and combined with a solution of ammonium carbonate, which absorbs the carbon dioxide to create ammonium bicarbonate. The ammonium bicarbonate solution is pressurized and heated in a separate process to produce a high-purity stream of carbon dioxide that is then compressed and piped into storage about 1.5 miles beneath the plant surface. Roughly 90 percent of carbon dioxide from the slipstream will be captured and permanently stored. Funds for expansion to apply the technology to the entire plant are being sought. See: http://www.aep.com/environmental/climatechange/carboncapture/docs/MountaineerPlantProject.pdf
Agriculture
The Green Revolution is Coming to Local Wineries
Let’s drink our way to carbon neutrality!!!
Rodney Strong Wine Estates announced last month that it had gone “carbon neutral.” The winery enrolled in PG&E’s ClimateSmart Program. Each month, the winery pays additional on its utility bill, an amount calculated by PG&E to offset the amount of greenhouse gases it generates to produce the electricity and gas used by the winery. That left 750 tons of carbon the winery had yet to compensate for. The winery looked close to home for alternative energy projects to support, but it wasn’t easy. So they turned to a Vermont company called NativeEnergy, which sold the winery carbon offsets for three projects:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091108/BUSINESS/911081051/1350?Title=Green-wines-in-your-future-#
Study Claims Up To $13B in Profits for Farmers in Cap and Trade with Right Incentives
Since cap and trade will be run by the government, its oxymoronic to even assume the “right incentives will fall into line.”
A new University of Tennessee study predicts profits, up to $13 billion a year for agriculture in a cap-and-trade plan, provided the right incentives fall into line. Except for rice, eight of nine major crops, including soy, wheat, and corn, would benefit from the program over the next 15 years, it found. But influential farm groups are aggressively campaigning against climate legislation because they say it will raise fertilizer and fuel prices and force crop acreage out of production. The report is available through University of Tennessee Bio-Based Energy Analysis Group. See:
http://www.agriculture.utk.edu/news/releases/2009/0908BEAGstudy.html
Solar Power
Solar Industry Wary of Proposed Ban on Hazardous Cadmium
As is usually the case, we take one step forward, two steps backwards.
As the solar industry expands, some in the industry are worried that a proposal in Europe to add photovoltaic panels to a law restricting hazardous materials could hamper business and cost jobs. First Solar (Tempe, AZ) is among the top makers of an ultrathin solar panel that is more versatile than conventional crystalline models. But the new panels require cadmium, a hazardous compound, to convert sunlight into electricity. Calyxo, (Germany), uses similar technologies, while GE recently announced plans to market panels that use cadmium. The move also raises questions over the meaning of sustainable energy. Energy efficient products like compact fluorescent lightbulbs, for example, are made using mercury, a potent neurotoxin that is dangerous in large quantities. First Solar is seeking to have the industry exempt from the ban. Others, it would appear, will join in. Published in the New York Times on 11/9.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/business/energy-environment/09iht-green09.html?_r=1
Japan Looks to Harvest Solar Power in Space
Gives a new meaning to “Beam me up Scotty.”
Japan’s space agency has assembled a team of companies and researchers to develop an orbiting technology that could capture the sun’s rays in space and beam them down to Earth using lasers or microwaves. The technology would use photovoltaic dishes several square kilometers in size to capture solar beams in space that are five times as strong as on Earth. Enormous parabolic antennae located in restricted areas at sea or on dam reservoirs would capture the transmitted energy for use. Published in the Brisbane Times on 11/8.
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-world/japan-eyes-solar-station-in-space-20091108-i3ba.html
Communication
Climate Scientists Need to Change Their Public Approach
Nice way of saying, if you’re a geek, chances are no one understands you. This should make the NY Times’ Top Ten List.
A recently published book entitled “The Psychology of Climate Change Communication” asserts that gap in understanding about climate change between scientists and the public stems from a lack of effective communication by scientists. Having information about climate is one thing but how it is presented will determine whether it will resonate with people, and whether it will lead to action. The lessons in the book are not about manipulating people, but “to make credible climate science more accessible to the public.” Research presented in the book found that lots of Americans have a very fuzzy understanding of how climate change works. See: http://www.cred.columbia.edu/guide/
Geoengineering
Turn Deserts into Forests
What are these guys drinking at the local oasis?
A group of scientists is arguing that Transforming large tracts of the Sahara and a string of African nations into lush forests could stem climate change. They also say the cost would be approximately $1.9 trillion per year. Their solution involves planting fast-growing trees like eucalyptus and watering them through a vast irrigation system of desalinated seawater, which they say would be more cost-effective than carbon sequestration. Critics of the plan say that desert regions have their own unique ecosystems, which would be destroyed, but the authors state that the sacrifice is necessary to stem global warming.
Published in the London Guardian on 11/4. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/nov/04/forests-desert-answer-climate-change/print
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