The end of coal/oil/nuclear/(most) gas power generation?!

 

Okay not quite yet, but this kind of blue-sky thinking is the answer to ending our insane reliance on using fuel (usually through combustion) to heat water which in turn turns turbines to generate electricity. Now wind (and wave/tidal when they are more commercially viable), hydro and other forms of direct turbine generation (like natural gas) and solar voltaic are realistic options in generating power for our future needs.

Coal-fired plants currently operate at about 31% efficiency – as in less than a third of the stored energy in the coal is converted to electricity – and that figure doesn’t acount for transmission losses.  Euractiv.com
Even if experimental coal gasification plants were to come online, they would still only  operate at around 50% efficiency. DOE

Some modern fossil fuel plants could operate at up to 48% efficiency already, but this is the maximum owing to the laws of thermodynamics. Nuclear cannot operate at more than 30-32% efficiency at present, though designs currently at the experimental stage could get closer to that of fossil-fuel  turbines Wiki, but again no higher because in both cases the temperatures involved prevent greater efficiency.
Now wind (30 to 59%) and solar (up to circa 30% and even 50% in the future)[ Livestrong ] efficiencies using current technologies don’t seem to compete in terms of energy conversion, but there is the added bonus that once the generating capacity is installed, the energy source is free and does not require a transport or massively industrialised infrastructure to supply it. Wave and tidal power, which are currently still in development, have the potential to be up to 99% efficient USAF  and 80% NWE respectively.
Of course the decommisioning costs of renewable turbines and PV arrays are negligible when compared with the clean-up costs for fossil fuel and nuclear power stations – it seems to be quite difficult to find out what the estimated costs of decommissioning defunct power stations might be, which suggests that it will be high – especially with coal ( and all the toxic chemicals that don’t get burned like mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic and other heavy metals Wiki) poisoning the land and nuclear which produces 10000 metric tonnes of fuel waste per year worldwide, but also huge quantities of low-level radioactive waste (but still less than and less radioactive than coal fired power stations), for which there is still no reliable disposal method even after 60 odd years. Therefore, one can safely assume that the clean-up costs of decommissioning nuclear and fossil fuel plants woud run to (probably) hundreds of billions of dollars.
Step forward Donald Sadoway, Professor of Materials Chemistry at MIT giving a short talk  at TED on the new liquid metal batteries that he has developed with his students (video below).

For the more scientifically minded amongst you, here is the PDF link for Sadoway et al  (published January 2012) in the Journal of the American Chemical Society

One Magnesium-antimony (Mg-Sb) battery about the size of a 40ft shipping container has a capacity of 2MWh – about enough for 200 homes. The technology is scalable (so smaller batteries could be used for individual houses, offices, workshops) and it is capable of dealing with the high temperatures that are associated with electrical surges (from rapid charging over a [relatively] short period of time). The metals, as the description “liquid metal”  suggests are kept in a fluid state in order that the Magnesium can migrate down through the electrolyte when discharging (forming a MgSb alloy) and back up when charging (returning to ions), thus the battery has an operating temperature of around 700°C and is therefore only really practical for stationary use.

This battery which of course has no moving parts to wear or break or that need replacing, could spell the end of antiquated power generation – steam turbines (which coal, gas (mostly), oil and nuclear power stations all use) could be a thing of the past, using [relatively] common materials that are inexpensive, ( Sadoway et al [2012] give Antimony (Sb) = $7/kg and Magnesium (Mg) = $5.15/kg ). It is worth noting that there are massive discrepancies in available data for price of the minerals used in these batteries, but nonetheless it is apparent that their cost and availability are not in question.  Indeed, they are very common and readily available.  Lawmakers ought to start to take the remediation and clean-up costs in mind when considering commissioning new power stations, because then they would be far more likely to opt for batteries such as this combined with a varied and multi faceted renewables portfolio.

Another great thing is that the batteries have low internal resistance,  so do not age nor do they decay through multiple cycles in the way that many modern batteries using rarer elements do, thus they have a good lifespan.

I really do see this as a fantastic breakthrough, this could be comparable to the invention of the internal combustion engine or the television for the massive way it could alter how we generate and use electricity. And it gives us the ability to store electrical potential for when it is needed, rather than ramping up the power at the ‘conventional’ power stations, as happens at the moment.

Tell your friends about this:

It’s crazy that action on ACC is dependent on anyone’s belief, given that it is empirical (and an awful lot of statistical/probabilistic) evidence of global warming that has led to the international consensus. Unfortunately, in a country so dominated by religious zealots and television, belief is king and proof one of many princes.
People have been conditioned to think that science and the logical processes that it instils in one are no more than another creed rather than an alternative or complementary behaviour, which encourages individualism and cognitive free-thinking (rather than emotional or volitional [both of which are often led by the will of others]).
The mass of droll television programmes, many of which convince people that science helps prove things, have a lot to answer for given that they have led people to (wrongly) believe that science functions as a judge or arbiter of truth – a role that many believe once was (or still is) the domain of (their) God alone.
Personally, I have struggled with and now largely reject tv shows that portray scientists, because as far as I have seen they do not talk in probabilities or weight of evidence, but in absolutes, which are for the most part absent from science.
Like many scientists (I have a Masters, though at present I do not work in a scientific field), were I to be presented with clear and convincing evidence of the existence of a supreme being (or even aliens, UFO’s, Bigfoot or anything else where belief or faith are essential for their propagation) or clear and overwhelming evidence that the current warming of the climate was entirely natural and beyond our control, I would happily proclaim it to the rooftops. Some scientists are religious, but even then they are aware of the distinction between their faith or belief system and their science. For them the two are not mutually exclusive. It’s a shame that so many others cannot appreciate this.

This is Not Cool

Brookings Institution:

As 2012 begins, a growing number of Americans believe global warming is occurring. This is one of the key findings from the latest National Survey of American Public Opinion on Climate Change (NSAPOCC).

• More Americans than ever are pointing to experiences with warmer temperatures as the main reason they believe global warming is occurring.
• For Americans who believe that climate change is occurring, factors beyond weather (such as: declining polar species) appear to be having the greatest effect on convincing an individual that the planet is warming.
• Nearly 80% of Democrats believe in global warming, while Republicans are almost evenly split with 47% seeing evidence of increasing global temperatures.Download paper here

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Tell your friends about this:

The GOP Wingnuts and their kin the Tea Party fanatics seem to have persuaded most of the rest of the Party that anthropogenic climate change, energy conservation and plans for mass-transit infrastructure development are symptoms of a Socialist/ Communist/ UN plot to seize power and impose a New World Order of Global Governance.

I hope beyond hope that the American people are alert to the arrogant imbeciles who would bring a new era of ignorance and irrationality to the Oval Office and to the Capitol, were they to be given the chance.

This is Not Cool

The Tea Party is now telling us that sustainability is a plot to sap our precious bodily fluids. At what point does this just become too embarrassing for sensible human beings?

New York Times:

Across the country, activists with ties to the Tea Party are railing against all sorts of local and state efforts to control sprawl and conserve energy. They brand government action for things like expanding public transportation routes and preserving open space as part of a United Nations-led conspiracy to deny property rights and herd citizens toward cities.

They are showing up at planning meetings to denounce bike lanes on public streets and smart meters on home appliances — efforts they equate to a big-government blueprint against individual rights.

—

In Maine, the Tea Party-backed Republican governor canceled a project to ease congestion along the Route 1 corridor after protesters complained it was part of the…

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ACTA: They kept this one quiet…

…By distracting us with worrying about laws within our borders that will limit internet freedom, when behind the scenes they were introducing a plurilateral law that made any internal laws moot anyway. This has clearly been happening  with the assistance of the mainstream media, who have not been publicising it. We have to try to stop it.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a plurilateral agreement for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement. The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet, and would create a new governing body outside existing forums, such as the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, or the United Nations. Wikipedia

Thought Police

It creates a new (probably unelected) governing body to interfere and oversee our everyday lives, make sure we are not doing, listening to or watching something we shouldn’t be.It will also prevent generic drugs being

Who get’s to decide that?  Well they do, of course! Who will police it?  They will make the ISPs do it. Existing law enforcement will be able to search your ipod or phone and find a track on it that you downloaded or got from a friend who did and charge you with copyright infringement.

Unless we stand against it now this WILL happen. There is a demonstration in London on February 11th (fb group/event) – I have to work, but I’m trying to figure out how I can go.

Norfolk News: County Councillor Phillip Hardy cannot be trusted to represent his electorate.

Philip Hardy, former Green Councillor now Tory Councillor. (Source: Norfolk County Council)

I first saw this case last month and I have finally been asked to sign a petition started by one of his constituents. It only took five weeks.  Better late than never.

I grew up in Thorpe Hamlet. There is no way a Tory would ever be elected here.  I reckon even Tory voters within the seat would attest to that.
In 2009, Phillip Hardy won his seat as a Green county councillor for Thorpe Hamlet with 46% of the vote – taking what was in 2005 a safe Lib Dem seat, who came second with a  measly 21%. The Conservatives were third on 19% ahead of Labour who scraped in with just under 14%. Labour lost 19 seats on the County Council in that ballot, which was the last before the parliamentary elections of 2010 and so the encumbents at Number 10 were punished. The Tories gained  14 seats and the Greens got 7, including of course Thorpe Hamlet. The LDs wobbled and got one gain.

In Thorpe Hamlet in 2005, the Lib Dems had won with nearly 41% of the vote, ahead of Labour’s almost 29%. The Tory candidate got just over 18% and the Greens a little more than 12%. 2009 was a dramatic swing in favour of the Green candidate, but clearly the swing had not come from  the Conservative voters, but from those who were once Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters, disillusioned with the mainstream parties after the MPs’ expenses debacle and seeing positive things from Norwich City Council

As far back as I remember, Thorpe Hamlet had LD councillors. In the 2007 City Council Elections, the LD’s defeated the Greens by one vote and when there was another City Council Election the next year, the Greens took the seat with 46% and have held it since. Hardly surprising then that a Green was elected to the County Council the following year.

But Thorpe Hamlet would NEVER have elected a Conservative candidate.

This man has pissed on those who voted for him, the Green Party and democracy in the UK. If he were confident of the constitiuency’s support, he would call a for a local by-election, but he has not done so.
Someone so dishonest and power-hungry should be prevented from holding public office any further!
To those amongst you who lean towards the right of the political spectrum – you can’t surely desire to have this man standing amongst your ranks?!
Did he not lose all credibility when he changed his party affiliation?
If as it seems, he is capable of reversing his political bias from left to right without regret, hesitation or remorse, what damage might he do if allowed to keep his job?
Who’s to say he won’t do it again, should some new opportunity for self-advancement present itself?
What kind of beast could he become, were such low moral fortitude combined with mercenary Conservativism?

If you are resident in Norfolk (UK), please sign
this petition and any like it. Help end the disdain with which you, the electorate, are held by some of those who seek political office.

Tell your friends about this:

This is Not Cool

NASA:

Nine of the top ten warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000. Last year was another one of them, coming in at 9th warmest since 1880.

The map above shows temperature anomalies, or changes, by region in 2011; it does not depict absolute temperature. Essentially, the map shows how much warmer or cooler each region was in 2011 compared with an averaged “base period” from 1951–1980. The line plot shows yearly temperature variations (from the base period average) for every year from 1880 to now. (For more explanation of how the analysis works, read World of Change: Global Temperatures.)

On January 19, 2012, researchers at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) released their annual analysis of global temperatures, noting that Earth’s land and ocean surfaces continue to experience higher temperatures than several decades ago. The global average temperature for 2011 was…

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Lebanese military shameless in their persecution of human rights campaigners.

I picked this up on Middle East Transparent’s English language website. It reflects a brutality that seems to persist in so many parts of the world, particularly – as we have seen, throughout the Middle East  over the last year or so.

The case has been ongoing since last March. It is clearly in response to “a complaint filed by Amal Movement against The Lebanese Centre for Human Rights (CLDH), following their publication on February 10, 2011 of a report entitled Arbitrary Detention and Torture : the bitter reality of Lebanon.” 

Over sixty pages, the report’s authors detailed systematic abuse, arbitrary detention and torture by the security services, particularly from Amal Movement affilliated officers. The Amal Movement was the military wing of a major Syrian-backed  Shia Faction from the Lebanese Wars. Hizbollah is an offshoot and reluctant ally of this bunch. After the  Taif Agreement brought an end to the Civil War, around 9,000 of their 14,000-16,000 forces joined the new Lebanese Army and security services.

This isn’t the only case of corruption and persecution of human rights campaigners in Lebanon. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Saadeddine Shatila, of the international human rights group Alkarama,  who is claimed by a military court to have “published information harmful to the reputation of the Lebanese Military.”

The general director of the Palestinian Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), Ghassan Abdallah and Hatem Meqdadi have been detained, harassed and interrogated with Meqdadi held for four days and subjected to conditions the US playfully like to call ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ and which the rest of us know as torture.

Of course, such abuses aren’t unique to Lebanon.

While the whole world proclaimed the marvel of  ‘free and democratic elections in Egypt’, the military rulers – who have never released their grip on the reins of power – took steps to silence dissent using Mubarak’s 2002 NGO law (which will likely be amended following the elections) that has amongst it’s restrictions  on operating in Egypt, a ban on receiving funding from foreign countries.

The Saudis meanwhile, seemingly detain Saudis (subjects/citizens) and torture them just because they are disabled.

As for Syria, they are utterly debased – maniacally clinging to power by slaughtering unarmed protestors and arresting journalists, human rights observers and others.  HRW has documented reports of abductions, torture (sometimes to death), executions…

Such corruption of the human spirit seems to be endemic throughout the world, and as the last few decades of conflict and then last year’s Arab Spring have shown us, it is deeply rooted in many Arab societies, in most cases because the military see their role not as protectors and defenders, but as overseers and dicators – the ones who know and decide what is best for everyone. Until the military grasp on the balls of  Middle Eastern politics becomes a gentle cupping, we will continue to see such abuses and the factionalism and petty squabbles that divide otherwise strong nations or prevent the oppressed from making a unified stance shall continue.

Yesterday, Human Rights Watch issued their World Report 2012, which I’ll write about some more in a couple of days, once I’ve read it. Click the link and watch their Arab Spring video and download the PDF, if you are interested. It’s pretty slick and it starkly shows the importance of social media in the political upheavals of  the past twelve months.

In case you were wondering.

Skeptical Science is a blog I like to follow. It’s packed with excellent reviews and a broad overview of the established knowledge base and  developments in Environmental and Climate Change Science. They publish daily essays that are often a fantastically educational read and today’s contribution explains the science and current state of climate modelling. Useful when you need to explain the mechanics to a skeptic.

 

How do Climate Models Work?.

A bane of modern life?

 

Texting while walking and the MP3/iPod thing really get to me when I’m driving. You used to have to keep an eye out for kids and the odd careless person, nowadays it’s everyone.

Euurggh!

Looks like ice-cream - a 99 will never be the same.

This was shared with me on facebook, so I’m sharing it here. (Credit to Deb Mahan – http://www.facebook.com/fitfarmgirl)

This is mechanically separated chicken, though their isn’t much that is separated about it. It’s more like mechanically conglomerated chicken. It’s what chicken nuggets and other processed chicken products are made from.

“The entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve — bones, eyes, guts, and all. It comes out looking like this.”

Because it is covered in bacteria it will be soaked in ammonia to kill everything, but then will taste disgusting  and so will be artificially flavoured and because it looks so weird they’ll add artificial colour

I avoid this stuff anyway,  but now I can point to why it is a good idea.