Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Martyn1981

Australian stories are always interesting, but often depressing. The people seem to have pretty strong pro RE opinions, but the government is pro-coal possibly because they don't want to criticise the product which they export so much of. The Guardian has an Australian edition, so there are lots of Aussie articles, some heartwarming, some heartbreaking.

Now that 20%+ of Aussie households have solar, I'd guess that it's getting harder and harder for the pro-coal/AGW deniers to convince the public that RE is difficult.

Martyn1981

OK, not exactly RE, but an article to show that human caused damage can be addressed if we 'do the right thing'.

Global efforts on ozone help reverse southern jet stream damage

International cooperation on ozone-depleting chemicals is helping to return the southern jet stream to a normal state after decades of human-caused disruption, a study shows.
Scientists say the findings prove there is the capacity to heal damaged climate systems if governments act promptly and in coordination to deal with the causes.

Martyn1981

Good news for UK GHG emissions, especially leccy generation, but transport and domestic emissions fell too. The biggest sector now is transport, so roll on, or should that be roll out those BEV's, and where necessary hydrogen, fuel cells, and bio-fuels - so at least that sector has reasonable solutions available already.

UK greenhouse gas emissions fall for seventh year in a row

The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell for a seventh consecutive year in 2019 after a record year for renewable energy, according to government figures.
The provisional data, published by the government on Thursday, revealed a 3.6% fall in greenhouse gas emissions compared with 2018 and almost 28% from 2010.

The government report:
2019 UK greenhouse gas emissions, provisional figures

This publication provides the latest estimates of 1990-2019 UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions which are presented in carbon dioxide equivalent units throughout.

 • In 2019, total UK greenhouse gas emissions were provisionally 45.2 per cent lower than in 1990 and 3.6 per cent lower than 2018.

 • These figures rely on provisional estimates of carbon dioxide emissions based on UK energy statistics. In 2019, UK net emissions of carbon dioxide were provisionally estimated to be 351.5 million tonnes (Mt), 3.9 per cent lower than 2018 (365.7 Mt). Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas, accounting for 81 per cent of total UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2019.

 • The decrease in carbon dioxide emissions was driven by the continuing downward trend in emissions from power stations, with a 13.2 per cent decrease between 2018 and 2019. This is mainly as a result of changes in the fuel mix used for electricity generation, away from coal and towards renewables.

 • There was also a 2.8 percent fall in carbon dioxide emissions from transport, which fell for the second year in a row following several years of increases. But transport remains the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, accounting for 34 per cent in 2019.

 • Adjusting emissions for external temperature does not change the long-term trend. While actual emissions are estimated to have fallen by 3.6 per cent, temperature adjusted emissions fell by 3.4 per cent between 2018 and 2019. The 2019 annual average temperature was warmer than the long-term 1981-2010 average by 0.5 degrees Celsius.

Martyn1981

At first glance I thought this was going to be a PV article, but it's actually about making artificial leaves to produce CO as part of the process to producing green methanol for fuel.

Solar Fuel: Yep, It’s A Genuine Artificial Leaf

The race to create a genuine artificial leaf has heated up to the boiling point. The latest development is a new device that looks like a greenish tile the size of a stick of gum, but actually contains billions — yes, billions — of nanoscale tubes that react to light and convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. So what, you say? Good question! The carbon monoxide is a first step toward the ultimate goal of producing methanol.

The Berkeley Lab research team makes it clear that they’re taking care of the science part. Scaling up the device and achieving commercial viability for solar fuel is a whole ‘nother can of worms.
That can go horribly wrong on the commercial side, but things have been popping on the research side. A few years back CleanTechnica took note of some other developments in the artificial leaf field, including a “bionic” device that can churn out rubbing alcohol. More recently the solar-sourced fuel concept has broadened to cover renewable hydrogen.

michaels

Martyn1981 said:

Australian stories are always interesting, but often depressing. The people seem to have pretty strong pro RE opinions, but the government is pro-coal possibly because they don't want to criticise the product which they export so much of. The Guardian has an Australian edition, so there are lots of Aussie articles, some heartwarming, some heartbreaking.

Now that 20%+ of Aussie households have solar, I'd guess that it's getting harder and harder for the pro-coal/AGW deniers to convince the public that RE is difficult.

In a way this story and the next are about the same issue - domestically people may 'do their bit' but if they are also maintaining their national income by exporting coal or consuming cheap goods where the carbon input is abroad a country can appear to be green but actually overall co2 is not as good as it looks.

For example if most of those clean Bev's and their batteries are manufactured abroad then they do wonders for UK co2 emissions....

Martyn1981

michaels said:

Martyn1981 said:

Australian stories are always interesting, but often depressing. The people seem to have pretty strong pro RE opinions, but the government is pro-coal possibly because they don't want to criticise the product which they export so much of. The Guardian has an Australian edition, so there are lots of Aussie articles, some heartwarming, some heartbreaking.

Now that 20%+ of Aussie households have solar, I'd guess that it's getting harder and harder for the pro-coal/AGW deniers to convince the public that RE is difficult.

In a way this story and the next are about the same issue - domestically people may 'do their bit' but if they are also maintaining their national income by exporting coal or consuming cheap goods where the carbon input is abroad a country can appear to be green but actually overall co2 is not as good as it looks.

For example if most of those clean Bev's and their batteries are manufactured abroad then they do wonders for UK co2 emissions....

Yes, every little helps, but national and international policies addressing all CO2e emissions are the only way to address the problem. Aus is a great example as their emissions are terrible and they support coal burning abroad, and the government is trying to use every trick, dodge and accounting loophole to minimise their actions. BEV's are a good example, they have a lot of support with the people, and are starting to gain momentum, but there is no government support for them at all, and Aussie transport regs are poor allowing for cheaper, but 'dirtier' ICE sales compared to many countries.

Using the 'team denial' argument, Australia doesn't need to worry about their emissions as they are only about 1% of global emissions (just like the UK), but per capita they are about 3x the UK, and roughly equal to the US as one of the worst countries in the World.

Just a thought about BEV's and batts, I suppose we will see a bigger gain, especially if the saved fuel is from UK oil production. But globally, BEV's will be reducing oil production, and since about 50% of FF emissions result from exploration, extraction, transport and refining (prior to their actual consumption), then any nation's move to BEV's will have an international impact on CO2e emissions too.

Martyn1981

No idea how promising this is, nor if it might be an energy source, but thought it worth posting:

Scientists find bug that feasts on toxic plastic

A bacterium that feeds on toxic plastic has been discovered by scientists. The bug not only breaks the plastic down but uses it as food to power the process.
The bacterium, which was found at a waste site where plastic had been dumped, is the first that is known to attack polyurethane. Millions of tonnes of the plastic is produced every year to use in items such as sports shoes, nappies, kitchen sponges and as foam insulation, but it is mostly sent to landfill because it it too tough to recycle.

silverwhistle

By the time I get rid of my sports shoes I'm sure they've already been attacked by the bacterium..

Joking aside, how do you restrict such a bacterium from working where it is _not_ wanted? I seem to recall reading an SF story in my youth on such a theme..

Martyn1981

silverwhistle said:

By the time I get rid of my sports shoes I'm sure they've already been attacked by the bacterium..

Joking aside, how do you restrict such a bacterium from working where it is _not_ wanted? I seem to recall reading an SF story in my youth on such a theme..

Brilliant, so not just me that had that thought then ...... about the sci-fi stories, not your specific sports shoes ...... I mean! 

Martyn1981

Give me an 'S', give me a 'C', ..... [just realised how long the name is] ...... what does it spell .... 'SCOTLAND' 

Renewables surge to 90% of Scottish power demand

New figures show the equivalent of 90% of Scotland's electricity consumption now comes from renewable sources - an increase of 14% year-on-year.
Trade organisation Scottish Renewables welcomed the figures and said the country’s 100% by 2020 could still be met but that policy uncertainty over recent years had limited deployment.