Climate Climate & Energy

Kristof speaks

Nicholas Kristof, one of the few genuine moral authorities in the pundit class today, points out a brutal truth: If we need any more proof that life is unfair, it is that subsistence villagers here in Africa will pay with their lives for our refusal to curb greenhouse gas emissions. When we think of climate […]

BASF CEO questions whether climate change is a problem

Interesting interview with BASF CEO Jürgen Hambrecht in today’s Der Speigel, in which the leader of the world’s largest chemical company questions the whole “climate change is a problem” thing. He’s also one of Angela Merkel’s “key advisers,” though we’re hoping it’s on topics other than climate policy. An excerpt: Spiegel: You say that what […]

A professor of History and Science Studies explains

For those interested in why the scientific community is so certain about climate change, take a look at this presentation and this book chapter, both by Naomi Oreskes.

She does a great job explaining how science reaches conclusions, and why we can be pretty sure that humans are indeed warming the climate.

Come and read it

I’ve got an op-ed on the Guardian‘s opinion site about — what else? — liquid coal. Here’s how it starts: They say the first thing you should do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging. But if there’s one thing the coal industry loves, it’s digging. Generating electricity by burning coal […]

Especially for dermatologists

Those who argue that increasing carbon dioxide is good because it's "plant food" should consider this article from the WSJ about poison ivy. It says:

Poison ivy, the scourge of summer campers, hikers and gardeners, is getting worse.

New research shows the rash-inducing plant appears to be growing faster and producing more potent oil compared with earlier decades. The reason? Rising ambient carbon-dioxide levels create ideal conditions for the plant, producing bigger leaves, faster growth, hardier plants and oil that's even more irritating.

Although the data on poison ivy come from controlled studies, they suggest the vexing plant is more ubiquitous than ever. And the more-potent oil produced by the plants may result in itchier rashes. "If it's producing a more virulent form of the oil, then even a small or more casual contact will result in a rash," says Lewis Ziska, a plant physiologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Md.

Better than the redhead

So you want to get in on the solar boom, but don't have the cash to buy a manufacturing plant. What to do, what to do ... I know! Why not try the same place that got you a date with the redhead on the bus, your last apartment, and your '79 Mercedes that you'd run on biodiesel if you could ever get the damn thing to turn over?

Yes, Craigslist. They are having a sale on triple junction thin-film amorphous PV manufacturing plants.

Give it a shot. Maybe it will work out better than the redhead.

A Ruckus in Caracas

ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips leave Venezuela over oil dispute Say what you will about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the guy knows how to keep things interesting. Tired of multinational oil companies having all the fun in his resource-rich country, he has pushed for state control of the Orinoco Belt, the largest energy reserve in the Western Hemisphere; […]

Because Encouraging Efficiency Is Too Hard

Department of Energy creates cellulosic ethanol research centers Cellulosic ethanol continues inching toward its time in the sun: the U.S. Department of Energy announced plans yesterday for three bioenergy research centers to open by the fall of 2009. Hoping to market new technologies within five years, the centers will focus on identifying microbes that can […]

Accuses us of ‘green imperialism’

More or less echoing what I said here, China is telling the West to shove its climate hectoring where the sun don’t shine: Asian business and government leaders have accused rich countries of hypocrisy, saying they run polluting industries with cheap labour in China and then blame the country for worsening climate change. “This is […]

Ethanol: the drunkard’s scourge

OK, ethanol, come on! You effed up the tortillas, you effed up the beer … now you’re effing up the tequila? Is nothing sacred?