Midwest (USA) Stranded Wind

Most people really do not have the vaguest idea of the wind resource across the U.S. So it should come as little surprise that they always fall for lines such as "wind could do 10% of the US supply by 2020", or maybe 6%, or maybe 2% if you use some of the Energy Information Agency projections. Of course, the answer to "What is the U.S. wind capacity?" is slightly tricky, and it has less to do with the wind resource than most people might suspect.

Synthetic Agrichar?

The Toronto Star reported earlier this month on an interesting new technology that promises cleaner burning natural gas with potentially valuable solid carbon as a by-product.

CarbonSavor is the trademarked name of this new technology privately developed by Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. It uses a "low temperature plasma reactor process" to separate hydrogen gas and solid carbon from the natural gas stream without releasing any carbon dioxide in the process. The gaseous hydrogen is then re-routed back into the natural gas line creating a hydrogen enriched mixture that is about 20% hydrogen gas.

ACTION DIARY: I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

All I want for Christmas is a safe, habitable world for generations to come - the gift that truly keeps on giving - is that too much to ask? If there was a simple and effective way to take action, today, that will help to ensure that, would you do so?

This holiday season, it seems that a lot of my neighbors have festive lights decroating their houses, more than last year - and some of them have absolutely outlandish displays with thousands of lights. As I look at all those bulbs twinkling, I can't help but think about this on a national scale - how many tons of CO2 are being released for this festival of light across the USA? Myself, I pay extra for my electricity to ensure that all of it is generated with renewable resources, but how many of the folks with dazzling light displays were using the same service? I started toying with the idea of an open letter to my decorative neighbors, but I couldn't pin down my thoughts well enough to make sense of it until I saw a DailyKos.com diary from the incomparable Dood Abides the other day.

IPCC Strikes Again

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has released another update (about 2 weeks old now) - available here:
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf