Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

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  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,713
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    theboylard wrote: »
    Sources please? Actual, real, proven cases of "pollution and minor earthquakes".

    I'm ambivalent regarding fracking, but only because I've not seen any actual proven UNBIASED data.

    Hi. Minor quakes from fracking lubricating the ground seem quite common, though not necessarily that serious.

    New Scientist article - How fracking caused earthquakes in the UK
    When and where did the earthquakes happen?
    A magnitude-2.3 earthquake occurred on 1 April, followed by a magnitude-1.5 quake on 27 May. Both occurred close to the Preese Hall drilling site, where Cuadrilla Resources was using fracking to extract gas from a shale bed.

    Initial studies by the British Geological Survey (BGS) suggested that the quakes were linked to Cuadrilla's fracking activities. The epicentre of the second quake was within 500 metres of the drilling site, at a depth of 2 kilometres. Less information was available on the first quake, but it seems to have been similar.

    The link with fracking has now been confirmed by an independent report commissioned by Cuadrilla, Geomechanical Study of Bowland Shale Seismicity, which states: "Most likely, the repeated seismicity was induced by direct injection of fluid into the fault zone."
    Are these earthquakes dangerous?
    Not particularly. Magnitude-2.3 earthquakes can shake the ground enough for people to notice, especially if they occur close to the surface, but damage is normally limited to objects falling off shelves.

    Pollution is a trickier issue. Videos of tap water (from local wells) containing methane gas may be due to fracking, but this does happen anyway sometimes.

    Also pollution of drinking water aquifers from the chemicals released at depth are controversial, as drilling may be far deeper than those aquifers. However, poor standards in the US mean that the drill casings are often below standard, and when they crack, the pumped chemicals can pollute areas not from the deep fracking, but simply from shallower leaks.

    Pollution in the US is hard to prove as the companies don't have to reveal what cocktail of chemicals they use. But in the UK they will have to, so if pollution occurs (or is suspected) then it should be possible to see if there is a link.

    So why frack? - If most of Europe bans fracking. Polish attempts at fracking have failed (one of the most promising areas in Europe). And vast quantities of 'normal' methane are available from Europe and LNG from the middle east and N. America, then British frack gas will have little to no affect on the European gas price, and will probably save us nothing.

    There is one positive. Buying gas from ourselves will at least improve our balance of trade.

    Probably not of the same scale, but one way to store excess renewable electricity generation is P2G (power to gas). This is currently of low efficiency, but manufactures methane for storage, which can then be used for leccy generation or heating.

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,713
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    UK hits 5GW offshore
    The UK’s offshore wind capacity has surpassed 5GW, according to RenewableUK.

    The threshold was crossed when Gwynt y Mor wind farm, off the coast of North Wales, was officially inaugurated last week, with a total of 5.054GW now installed in UK waters.

    R-UK deputy chief executive Maf Smith said: “This is an important landmark, which no other country is anywhere close to equalling, as we have more offshore wind installed than the rest of the world put together.

    It’s further evidence of how much the UK has achieved in developing the offshore wind industry in a short space of time - and there’s a healthy pipeline of projects still to come, as long as government policy remains supportive.”

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • lstar337
    lstar337 Posts: 3,440
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    The UK's decision to stop subsidising new onshore wind farms will make it harder to meet renewable energy targets, the EU's climate chief says.

    They said onshore wind was by far the cheapest way to hit the target of 15% of all energy from renewables from 2020.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33254059
  • silverwhistle
    silverwhistle Posts: 3,776
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    theboylard wrote: »
    I'm ambivalent regarding fracking, but only because I've not seen any actual proven UNBIASED data.

    In which case the precautionary principle applies.
    Plenty of evidence for pollution in the US - one I saw yesterday: http://www.bioscienceresource.org/2014/12/health-and-environmental-harm-from-fracking/
  • lstar337
    lstar337 Posts: 3,440
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    In which case the precautionary principle applies.
    Plenty of evidence for pollution in the US - one I saw yesterday: http://www.bioscienceresource.org/2014/12/health-and-environmental-harm-from-fracking/
    But that is the US, and we already know they have cut corners for the fast buck!
  • zeupater
    zeupater Posts: 5,353
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    In which case the precautionary principle applies.
    Plenty of evidence for pollution in the US - one I saw yesterday: http://www.bioscienceresource.org/2014/12/health-and-environmental-harm-from-fracking/
    Hi

    There've been a few discussions on this, most of which at sometime reference biased science ... here's one from a while back ... http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=63333679#post63333679 ... have a read through - my own input was based on multiple discussions with a friend regularly involved in utility-scale borehole water extraction schemes along with unbiased research to verify claims when I was trying to form a view on what all the fuss was about ...

    HTH
    Z
    "We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit. " ...... Aristotle
    B)
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,713
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    I thought this article/story was interesting, and quite funny. Given that the Aussie prime minister hates windpower (loves coal), some of the local's comments are interesting:

    Minimal sound and almost no fury: life in the shadow of Australia's windfarm 'hell'
    There is no objective measure for visual awfulness but it’s hard to find anyone in Merredin who thinks they’re ugly. People certainly think they are less ugly than Muja power station, the coal-fired generator that sits at the Collie end of the industrial power corridor, and preferable to fracking, the other energy source farmers have come to associate with their land.

    Once you get into the Davies family’s house, the noise of the heat pump takes over. Bryan, in his 80s and in remission from “a fair whack of cancer”, feels the cold, and it gets below 4C on Monday night.

    Eyes twinkling as his wife scolds him for calling the prime minister “Tony Rabbit”, Bryan says the fuss about the negative effects of windfarms is “crap”.

    “Any ill health effects?” he asked, cracking open a second can of bitter before answering his own question. “Yes, it gives me more money so I can buy more beer.”

    Bryan says he can barely hear the modern turbines, which hum at a steady 14 revs per minute. Older turbines, like the single turbine on Rottnest Island that so appalled Tony Abbott, make much more noise.

    “All that stuff about the row is just crap,” he said. “The fridge makes more of a row [than the turbines]. The transformer, just out there [about 30 metres from the house] makes more row.”

    Bernice is more fascinated than most about the turbines, which she says are beautiful. She plied contractors with scones to get the inside track on the construction process and can tell you how much each component part weighs. Two tiny model wind turbines sit among a nest of picture frames on the sideboard that showcase their 15 great-grandchildren.

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,713
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    A news article discussing the European Commission's plans/thoughts following the conference on decarbonising road transport.

    On The Road: EU Goes For Efficient & Electric, Ponders Biofuels
    The European Commission’s strategy for decarbonising the road transport sector is finally taking shape: Brussels wants efficiency first, electrification second. But it doesn’t know what to do about biofuels. “There is no appetite for [new] targets”, says Commission Director Marie Donnelly. Sonja van Renssen takes us on the bumpy road to a climate-friendly European transport sector.

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,713
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    Benefits far outweigh costs of tackling climate change, says LSE study
    The economic benefits for a country from tackling climate change easily outweigh the costs, according to a study that seeks to highlight the incentives for individual nations to take urgent action to cut emissions.

    Countries stand to gain more than they would lose in economic terms from almost all of the actions needed to meet an agreed global warming limit of no more than 2C above pre-industrial levels, according to the paper published by two research institutes at the London School of Economics.

    It is the latest research to underscore the apparent economic gains from limiting emissions, which include new jobs and improved health, even before the benefits of preventing dangerous climate change are taken into account.
    Furthermore, investments in low-carbon energy are likely to be more than paid back by the falling cost of renewable sources, such as solar and wind, and by reduced spending on fossil fuels, Green predicts.
    “The findings of this research suggest that the traditional assumption that action on climate change is net-costly is false. Those who think there is an incentive for countries to ‘free-ride’ on the climate protection provided by others are very much mistaken,” says Green.

    So, even if you don't agree with AGW, the economics of tackling it are net beneficial. :smiley:

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • EricMears
    EricMears Posts: 3,230
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    Martyn1981 wrote: »
    So, even if you don't agree with AGW, the economics of tackling it are net beneficial. Mart.
    Very much what I've always said.

    Using more renewables will mean that it will be even longer until our (great.... ) grandchildren exhaust the planet's resources. Who knows, we may even get reliable fusion generation and can make plastics from e.g. straw before all the fossil fuels run out.

    You don't have to believe in the AGW 'religion' to appreciate those benefits.
    NE Derbyshire.4kWp S Facing 17.5deg slope (dormer roof).24kWh of Pylontech batteries with Lux controller BEV : Hyundai Ioniq5
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