Climate Climate & Energy

Solar that doesn’t need direct sunlight

Solar that doesn’t require direct sunlight: [G24i] uses nano-sized titanium crystals, which turn sunlight into electricity in a process similar to photosynthesis (the method plants use to store the energy from sunlight in sugars). Because G24i’s technology is more powerful than other solar cells, it does not need direct sunlight to generate electricity and can […]

Breaking news on Fox

This is one of the most torturous cable TV segments I’ve ever seen: (via Hugg)

The Amish dig it

The Amish affinity for solar says something essential about the difference between fossil and renewable fuels. Not quite sure I know how to put it into words, though.

Some guy on CNBC

There’s plenty of oil. We’re swimming in it! What I don’t get is, why does he think production-capacity limitations and geological limitations are mutually exclusive? (via Hugg)

Not exactly

Wondering what to make of this? President Bush responded to a Supreme Court environmental ruling by settling on regulatory changes that don’t need congressional approval, the White House said Monday. Bush is announcing the steps he is directing his administration to take in a Rose Garden appearance later Monday. Read on down a little bit: […]

Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Not Talk About

U.S. negotiators edit climate out of G8 climate draft Here’s a comforting thought for a Monday: your future is being played like a poker hand. Next month, the leaders of the G8 nations will meet in Germany along with the heads of China, India, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil. With hopes of agreeing on climate-change […]

Yeah, that’s running out too

A few weeks ago I mentioned a study showing that coal reserves are not nearly as extensive as the "200-year supply" invoked by coal boosters. Now Richard Heinberg brings word of another study that reaches substantially similar conclusions. The main thrust is that the quality of easily accessible coal is declining and that prices are […]

Why must global-warming science produce certainty?

I wonder what would happen if the same amount of skeptical attention paid to global warming science were paid to the other disciplines that inform policymakers: economics, opinion polling, covert intelligence, diplomacy, history, ethics, etc. Do those other areas of analysis produce models and predictions free of uncertainty? Of course not. And yet we use […]

It’s bad

The WWF has a new briefing out called "Are the costs of using coal higher than the cost of cleaning it up?" It contains the standard "coal is the enemy of the human race" statistics, and concludes with six recommendations for how to reduce coal’s impact on global warming: 1. Emerging economies need access to […]

Will it be adaptation, mitigation … or neither?

Despite a lot of talk, this nation has done little to restrain global warming, either in terms of mitigating carbon emissions or adapting to the climate changes that will come.

Some nations around the world -- wealthy nations such as Australia and the Netherlands -- are beginning to adapt, while poorer nations -- such as Malawi and India -- can't afford to.

In a superb piece of reporting last month in The New York Times, four writers reported on "the climate divide," elegantly laying out the issue. Andrew Revkin followed up this week with a look at an ensuing dispute over what to do about it -- a debate between rich and poor nations at the U.N. Revkin quietly watches the delegates debate over cheesecake with raspberry sauce. It's an emblematic image, and a must read.