Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Martyn1981

ABrass wrote: »

Tesla model 3 was UK's third best selling car in August.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/05/tesla-model-3-was-uk-third-best-selling-car-in-august

The pent up desire for electric cars seems quite substantial. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out over the next year to see what the ongoing demand is like.

I think you've hit the nail squarely on the head there regarding pent up demand. If the TM3 (plus of course all BEV's) can maintain a significant percentage of sales each month, and yes I do think 1-4% is significant as the disruption gets closer, then attitudes will adapt quickly.

Same story here, just another version for news hogs:

“Other” (aka Tesla Model 3) = 3rd Best Selling Vehicle In UK In August

Martyn1981

Don't know what to say about this one, good, bad or ugly. But the article has at least made me think, and it'll be interesting to see if 'science' is going to get more vocal going forwards. Perhaps [STRIKE]angry[/STRIKE] mildly irritated hordes of clipboard wielding scientists roaming the streets.

We scientists must rise up to prevent the climate crisis. Words aren’t enough

It was this realisation that incited us both to embrace activism, and to take to the streets and engage in non-violent civil disobedience as members of Extinction Rebellion. The refusal to obey certain laws has a long and glorious history: from the suffragettes to Rosa Parks and Gandhi, many of the 20th century’s greatest heroes engaged in non-violent civil disobedience to win their rights.

Today, civil disobedience is again on the rise. And it is working. The protests that shut down four sites in London in April raised the climate crisis rapidly up the political agenda, and into the public consciousness. The environment is now the third most pressing issue for British voters, above the economy, crime and immigration: the UK parliament and half the country’s local councils have declared a climate emergency, and a zero-carbon target has been enshrined into law. We don’t know what policy change will follow, but it is an encouraging start.

Alternatively, scientists may be reluctant to rise up because there are “proper” channels for influencing policy: you can vote, you can write letters and sign petitions, and if things get really desperate you can walk from A to B on a sanctioned march. The trouble is, these avenues aren’t working, and lobbyists for fossil-fuel industries have far greater access to political decision-makers. In 2018, for example, oil and gas lobbyists alone spent more than $125m (£100m) lobbying politicians in just one country, the United States.

Worse, these lobbyists and the corporations they work for have invested heavily in an anti-science agenda, all with the aim of convincing the world that we can carry on as normal. They are endangering our very survival in pursuit of profit, and undermining the faith in truth, rationality and the scientific method that – surely – will be critical to surviving these crises. This is why we have taken a break from our usual areas of research to publish an article in the prestigious journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, urging our fellow scientists to rise up and embrace rebellion.

As scientists we have spent years telling policymakers that we must change course, but they haven’t taken action. They may be starting to now, but only because people have engaged in open rebellion, making it clear that we will no longer accept inaction. Surely scientists have a moral duty to join the masses, and rebel for life.

Martyn1981

Hydrogen Could Replace Coke In Steelmaking & Lower Carbon Emissions Dramatically

Industry depends on steel to make the cars, appliances, and other consumer goods that are at the heart of the global economy. It is also used to construct the buildings that define many world cities and the bridges that connect those cities. But making steel accounts for about 9% of all carbon emissions, according to the World Steel Association.

Climate activists have been hammering the steel industry for years to clean up its emissions. Now a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance claims hydrogen could replace coke in 10 to 50% of all steelmaking my the year 2050, given the right carbon pricing. Using hydrogen instead of coke — a process known as direct reduction — could lower the carbon emissions from steel mills significantly.

10-50% by 2050 seems like good news and bad news to me. :think:

JKenH

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Don't know what to say about this one, good, bad or ugly. But the article has at least made me think, and it'll be interesting to see if 'science' is going to get more vocal going forwards. Perhaps [STRIKE]angry[/STRIKE] mildly irritated hordes of clipboard wielding scientists roaming the streets.

We scientists must rise up to prevent the climate crisis. Words aren’t enough

Maybe the scientists might be better turning off the heating or the aircon in their labs before they go glue themselves to the pavements.

Edit: ... and while we are on the subject of saving the world maybe Mart should go off line.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/4217055/Two-Google-searches-produce-same-CO2-as-boiling-a-kettle.html

Googling has 'a very definite environmental impact' according to research conducted by a physicist from Harvard University

A typical search through the online giant's website is thought to generate about 7g of carbon dioxide. Boiling a kettle produces about 15g.
The emissions are caused both by the electricity required to power a user's computer and send their request to servers around the world.

Solarchaser

Lol yeah you are right Ken, Martyn is definitely baiting you, definitely mentioning you all the time etc etc.

As someone who is in and out of labs most days I can tell you the heating and aircon is used to maintain temperature for very sensitive equipment needed for experiments.

I assume you will now go off line as your post suggest?

Or is it just any pedantic dig will do....

silverwhistle

EricMears wrote: »

Are you sure they were really small turbines or could they have been a bit further away than you realised ?

LOL. You'd better watch out with these current HRT shortages...


The turbines are only about 3MW each, which is fairly small compared to what is available.

silverwhistle

Solarchaser wrote: »

Or is it just any pedantic dig will do....

Yes, that latest post is a bit sad, isn't it? It's interesting to note how server farms have been some of the most enthusiastic adopters of RE.

Google purchased 100% RE in 2017 and like others have, where possible, directly installed their own.

JKenH

Solarchaser wrote: »

Lol yeah you are right Ken, Martyn is definitely baiting you, definitely mentioning you all the time etc etc.

Pleased we agree on something.

JKenH

silverwhistle wrote: »

Yes, that latest post is a bit sad, isn't it?

And there I was thinking you were a mate of Sloarchaser

silverwhistle wrote: »

Google purchased 100% RE in 2017.

Just like me then in 2019.

JKenH

Sorry about the last two posts, guys; thought I would try the sort of selective quoting that Mart gets up to that gets up my nose.