Posted on 12/7/2009 at 9:24:11 AM
The long awaited conference on climate changes is to open today in Copenhagen. Representatives from 192 countries will be there to discuss how we can reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases that are widely excepted are responsible for rise in temperature of global climate.
The two week conference will see 15,000 delegates and 100 world leaders attend the conference. Some scientists are describing the conference as the most important the world has ever seen. Many pledges have been made and these are intended to supplant the 1997 protocol on climate change which will run out in 2012.
In particular discussions will centre on:
- greenhouse gas emission targets and especially those of developed countries.
- financial support for developing countries to make changes
- carbon trading scheme with the aim of ending the destruction of the World’s forest.
Posted on 12/2/2009 at 4:50:13 PM
The use of photovoltaic solar panel for electricity production is set to become cheaper, not because of any change in technology but rather the lifetime of existing panel makes them more economical. Allowing the cost of use per year to decrease.
Solar panels were believed to have a working lifetime of around 20 years. However, 90% of the solar panels that were installed 10 years ago are still working well and are expected to go on working for another twenty years. In addition to the longer than expected life time of solar panels, in Europe there are incentive programmes which have brought down the cost by 30%. The measure of how viable solar panels are is measured by the grid parity condition. This is when the cost of owning solar panels is equal to the cost of buying the electricity from the power companies.
In the UK we have long way to go before that happen because of the poor weather but solar power is becoming more important in generating clean electricity.
Posted on 12/1/2009 at 4:33:10 PM
A detailed analysis concludes that the average temperature rise across the world will be 6 deg C if action is not urgently taken to reduce the emissions of CO2. From 2000-2009 there was an increase in emissions by 25% and all of this increase came from developing nations with a quarter coming from production of goods for industrialised nations.
These finding should add to the urgency surrounding the discussions on climate change at the next UN summit in Copenhagen.
Corinne Le Quere, a Professor in climate change at the University of East Anglia and the British Antarctic Survey said,
“Based on our knowledge of recent trends and the time it takes to change energy infrastructure, I think that the Copenhagen conference next month is our last chance to stabilise at 2C in a smooth and organised way,”
“If the agreement is too weak or if the commitments are not respected, it’s not two and a half or three degrees that we will get, it’s five or six – that’s the path that we are on right now.”
The Global Carbon Project (GCP) is made of a network of scientists. Data is considered from many sources from atmospheric observations to business inventories to build a picture of overall CO2 emissions.
The results show an increase in emissions from 2002. Before 2002, CO2 emissions were increasing as at rate of 1% per year. After 2002 the emissions increase to around 3% a year which is a result of the emissions of China’s increase in industrial output. The global recession of 2008 caused a slight decrease in the rate of increase but it is hardly noticeable.
Carbon sinks are absorbing CO2 at a lower rate than they were 50 years ago . Emissions from land use have remain constant. Industrial emissions are increasing.
Posted on 11/30/2009 at 5:29:26 PM
Ethanol is a kind of alcohol that is found in alcoholic drinks but it is also great for running your car. What makes it so attractive is that it is a renewable fuel and can be produced from many agricultural products such as potatoes, manioc, corn or sugar cane. Much research is centred on the production from cellulose also.
Cellulosic ethanol, is made from the cell walls of plant material, which is attractive because it can be produced without putting food supplies in jeopardy.
Ethanol is already being used in Brazil and in some part of the United States so it seems like it is really a viable fuel of the future.
Posted on 11/26/2009 at 10:31:32 AM
A UK team is attempting a 1000 mph land speed record in a hybrid car (tenuous eco link). However, this is no ordinary hybrid. Bloodhound as it is known, has a V12 engine, a Eurofighter EJ2000 jet engine and a 400kg hybrid rocket engine to give it the power required to reach the 1000 mph. Travelling at such speeds on land the major problem with the car is the stability and extensive computer simulation work has been completed to test the design.
With the design work completed the car assembly will take place in Bristol. If everything runs smoothly it is estimated that a record attempt could take place as early as 2011 on the Hakskeen Pan, Northern Cape Province, South Africa.
Posted on 11/17/2009 at 10:20:55 AM
The UK has just set the world record for the fastest steam powered car when it reached 148mph during its record attempt in the Mojave desert, California smashing the previous record of 127 mph.
The car is actually very simple in its operation. The water for the steam is carried in two resivoirs on either side of the cockpit and is heated in six micro-boilers which super heat small quantities of the water at high pressure to power a turbine which drives the back wheels.
The driver of the car is Don Wales who comes from an illustrious pedigree of world speed record holders. He is the grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, a racing driver in the 1920s and is the nephew of Donald Campbell, the famous landspeed and water speed record holder of the 5os.
As with most record attemps, there were problems. There was a danger that the car would overheat in the dessert heat. The electronics had to be cooled using dry ice. The record was broken on the last days of their time in the dessert. They nearly ran out of time.
Posted on 11/11/2009 at 4:52:50 PM
The science museum has been put in charge of a single tonne of anthracite coal. They will keep it until the total emission of carbon dioxed released into the atmosphere reaches, in their best estimate, a trillion tonnes.
It has been done to raise awareness of how much carbon dioxide has been released since the start of the industrial revolution. When the coal will be used depends on how well we are doing to cut back on the use of fossil fuels.
Incidently, as an individual, if you were able to cut your carbon emissions to zero for the rest of your life (which you can’t), it would delay the process of global warming for around two seconds so it is important that everyone works together to reduce the total quantity of carbon dioxide released in the future.
At present, we are around the half-way stage. Since 1750 to the present researchers estimate that around 0.5 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere raising the temperature of the atmosphere by around 1 degree Centigrade.
At our present rate of emission of CO2 the science museum will keep the coal until sometime between 2020 – 2050. By the time we reach 1 Trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide, we will have crossed the threshold of temperature change which many scientists consider to be a dangerous level for climate change on the Earth. If we are to keep below this threshold the science museum must keep the coal forever.
Posted on 11/10/2009 at 12:03:20 PM
One way that has been suggested to increase fuel efficiency of cars travelling on the motorway is to make them travel in close proximity in ‘trains’ of cars. This reduces the amount of fuel used because each car is benefiting from reduced drag. Fuel savings could be as great as 20%.
The lead car, handled by a professional driver, would monitor the status of the road train and collect up to eight cars. Sensors on each vehical would monitor the distance and control the throttle and brakes to ensure that the distance between each car was kept constant.
Research is being conducted by a number of universities in the US. While in Europe, a research project funded by the European Comission is aimed at a system for commuters that travel long distances to work and commercial vehicals. Road trials will be held on test tracks in the UK, Sweden and Spain and even public road trials in Spain.
Posted on 11/9/2009 at 4:52:16 PM
The government has given the locations where 10 new nuclear powerstations are to built. These power stations are required to prevent power shortages in the future as fossil fuel power stations are used less frequently. The majority of the new sites are already home to nuclear power stations. The ten sites seen as suitable for future power stations are:
Sellafield in Cumbria, Hartlepool, Heysham in Lancashire, Hinkley Point in Somerset, Oldbury in Gloucestershire, Sizewell in Suffolk and Wylfa in North Wales. Only Dungoness in Kent was seen as unsuitable on environmental grounds.The new sites are Braystones, Kirksanton are new sites while Bradwell in Essex was a former site in the past.
The Infrastructure Planning Commission, will make the decissions after national and local consultation. However it is expected that the propossals will be fast tracked so that some stations will be producing power by as early as 2018.
Posted on 11/4/2009 at 3:04:26 PM
This is a very exciting and danagerous time for the environment. The activities of man, through business and growing food for the ever increasing population, are having a measurable effect on the planet. Finite resources are being used up quickly and the atmosphere is changing because of release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
This is providing new economic motivations to persue alternatives for fuel and renewable energy resources. It is also driving research into improving existing technologies such as solar power, wind power and wave power as well as driving us to reconsider nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy can produce large quantities of power and it can impact on the emission of carbon dioxide. Fission reactors produce large quantities of energy for the amount of fuel they use but the waste and safety are a concern.
Nuclear Fussion, the process which is most abundant energy producing process in the universe, holds great promise for limitless quantities of clean energy. However, at present, there are still technical problems which need to be overcome before a commercially viable power station is up and running.
This blog aims to look at all aspects of producing power in an environmentally sensitive way.
greenfuelconversion.com