Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

2nd_time_buyer

Martyn1981 said:

Talking of energy demand, always worth remembering how much of the FF energy is actually wasted (on top off all of the energy consumed/lost in extracting and transporting it). So whilst we need to replace one hell of a lot of energy consumption, it is at least much smaller than the gross amount of FF energy we 'release' since most of that gross figure is actually wasted.

This is a popular illustration for the US, that pops up a lot on other forums and in the BTL comment sections for many articles. It shows that roughly 2/3rds of the FF energy is wasted, which is good news from a replacement standpoint:-

Interesting that transportation energy efficiency is only 21%. 

Martyn1981

michaels said:

Do we know where the energy to extract the energy is in that diagram?

My assumption was that it was before (to the left) the diagram. I've looked at the 2020 report, (which is interesting as it shows a significant drop in energy due to Covid), but it doesn't clarify it (to my understanding) but looking at how the gross figures on the left, reach the processes in the middle/right, such as petroleum, and still add up to the original total, I'd still assume that the inputs on the left are net of losses in their supply chain.

Martyn1981

Just remembered a useful vid looking at the energy that goes into getting energy ........ so to speak.

EV or Gas, What Pollutes More?

It gives an estimate for the amount of leccy consumed in the US just to power all of the pumpjacks (nodding donkey's) that extract oil. The figure is 4,300GWh per month, which is ~51,600GWh pa, or 51.6TWh. For scale, in the UK we generate/import about 300TWh's of leccy pa.

Another 'fun' stat is that offshore oilrigs are typically powered with diesel generators. The vid shows that an average rig consumes 20 to 30m3 of diesel per day. [The voice over (Robert Llewellyn) says 20 to 30 tonnes per day, but that would actually 'only' be about 17-26 tonnes per day!]

Martyn1981

Today's the day that Congress 'chat' to the oil execs about the lies and misinformation that the industry spread regarding AGW after their own science confirmed that the impacts would real and significant.

This is really a repeat of an article I posted a week or so back, so may not contain anything new(ish), but a timely reminder of what could be a significant day in history ........ but probably won't be. 

Oil executives face ‘turning point’ US congressional hearing on climate crisis

The heads of major oil companies will make a historic appearance before Congress on Thursday to answer accusations that their firms have spent years lying about the climate crisis.

For the first time, the top executives from the US’s largest oil company, ExxonMobil, as well as Shell, Chevron and BP will be questioned under oath about the industry’s long campaign to discredit and deny the evidence that burning fossil fuels drove global heating.

In 1979, a study by Exxon’s own scientists concluded that burning fossil fuels “will cause dramatic environmental effects” in the coming decades. It called the issue “great and urgent”.

Exxon’s response to that and similar warnings was to shut down research into global heating and to go on a public relations offensive to discredit climate science as no more than a theory, and to shift responsibility on to consumers.

In 2019, Martin Hoffert, a professor of physics at New York University, told a congressional hearing that his climate modelling for Exxon in the 1980s showed that burning fossil fuels was “increasingly having a perceptible influence on Earth’s climate”.

Meanwhile the company was pushing a different narrative.

“Exxon was publicly promoting views that its own scientists knew were wrong, and we knew that because we were the major group working on this. This was immoral and has greatly set back efforts to address climate change,” said Hoffert.
Other oil firms face similar accusations alongside trade groups and thinktanks they funded to deny climate science.

EVandPV

Old Nissan LEAF Batteries Being Used For Grid-Scale Storage In California

That is what entrepreneurs Freeman Hall and Michael Stern are doing. They have created B2U Storage Solutions, which uses old Nissan LEAF batteries to store electricity from the grid when there is an excess and then sell it back to the grid when it is in short supply. Batteries typically get swapped out of cars when they get down to around 80% of their original capacity, but are still capable of storing energy for uses other than driving. B2U has been operating its first facility in Lancaster, California for about a year, and is making a profit doing so.

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/10/25/old-nissan-leaf-batteries-being-used-for-grid-scale-storage-in-california/amp/

Coastalwatch

Thanks for posting EV, great to see theory being put into practice, further enhancing the useful life and cleanliness of Renewables over other increasingly polluting forms of energy generation.

If climate change is to be avoided then surely we must learn to live by the opportunities the elements provide to us on a daily basis. Harvesting and making use of excess is what mankind has been doing for generations and B2U are happily applying it to energy.

shinytop

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10146089/Daily-Mail-poll-shows-strong-support-PMs-bid-curb-climate-change-public-fears-Cop26-flop.html

I think this sort of news is just as important as the latest RE technology or CO2 level analysis.  These are the people who need to be convinced to change, not the few who post on these boards. 

I heard someone on the radio this morning calling for a referendum on these sorts of changes.  Great idea, what could possibly go wrong?

QrizB

shinytop said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10146089/Daily-Mail-poll-shows-strong-support-PMs-bid-curb-climate-change-public-fears-Cop26-flop.html
I think this sort of news is just as important as the latest RE technology or CO2 level analysis.  These are the people who need to be convinced to change, not the few who post on these boards.

I agree, it's all very well having activits onboard but you need the proverbial "man on the Clapham omnibus" to think it's a good idea before you get any chance of real change.

Verdigris

As Johnny Rotten, or somebody, said, "I've met the man in the street and he's a ****".

shinytop

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59107805

Good to see some alternative (to batteries) technologies being invested in.  Eggs, baskets. etc.  A UK company too.