Major problems in the Equatorial regions as the climate heats up. From the Science Daily.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090108144745.htm
Happy Vallentyne's Day
10 years ago
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
6 Reasons Why Nuclear Power Can't Save Us
The following is an excerpt from The Transition Handbook: From oil dependency to local resilience by Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition movement. It has been adapted for the web.
1. Length of time to come on stream
Commissioning and building new plants is a time-consuming business (at least twenty years), so they would have little or no impact on cutting emissions over the next twenty years, nor build any resilience in the face of peak oil.
2. Insurance
The insurance industry refuses to underwrite nuclear power, a gap it looks like the government will have to fill, resulting in a huge invisible subsidy for nuclear power.
3. Waste
Nuclear waste is a huge problem. The UK alone has 10,000 tons of nuclear waste, a pile which will increase 25-fold when the existing plants are decommissioned, with no solution in sight other than deep burial. The disposal of nuclear waste requires a great deal of embodied energy, including that in the materials used to maintain the disposal facilities (i.e. concrete and steel). It is often said that nuclear waste has a half-life of 100,000 years…it is worth remembering that Stonehenge was built only 4,000 years ago.
A society in energy descent, dependent on local, lower embodied energy building materials, will struggle to maintain nuclear waste sites with cob blocks and straw bales.
4. Cost
A new programme of nuclear power would be staggeringly expensive. Amory Lovins has calculated that 10 cents invested in nuclear energy could generate 1kwh of nuclear energy, 1.2- 1.7kwh wind-power, 2.2-6.5kwh small co-generation, or 10kwh of energy efficiency. Also, having sufficient money to invest so unwisely assumes an economy which is still growing, an increasingly unlikely prospect.
5. Peak Uranium
At the moment, there are about 60 years’ worth of uranium left. However, if electricity generation from nuclear grows steadily, this figure will fall, to the point where if all the world’s electricity were generated with nuclear, we’d have around 3 years supply left.
6. Carbon Emissions
Nuclear is often said to be a carbon-free way of generating electricity. While that may be true for the actual generation, it is not when the entire process is looked at. The mining, processing, enrichment, treatment and disposal all have significant impacts, equivalent to around one-third those of a conventional- sized gas-fired generating plant.
1. Length of time to come on stream
Commissioning and building new plants is a time-consuming business (at least twenty years), so they would have little or no impact on cutting emissions over the next twenty years, nor build any resilience in the face of peak oil.
2. Insurance
The insurance industry refuses to underwrite nuclear power, a gap it looks like the government will have to fill, resulting in a huge invisible subsidy for nuclear power.
3. Waste
Nuclear waste is a huge problem. The UK alone has 10,000 tons of nuclear waste, a pile which will increase 25-fold when the existing plants are decommissioned, with no solution in sight other than deep burial. The disposal of nuclear waste requires a great deal of embodied energy, including that in the materials used to maintain the disposal facilities (i.e. concrete and steel). It is often said that nuclear waste has a half-life of 100,000 years…it is worth remembering that Stonehenge was built only 4,000 years ago.
A society in energy descent, dependent on local, lower embodied energy building materials, will struggle to maintain nuclear waste sites with cob blocks and straw bales.
4. Cost
A new programme of nuclear power would be staggeringly expensive. Amory Lovins has calculated that 10 cents invested in nuclear energy could generate 1kwh of nuclear energy, 1.2- 1.7kwh wind-power, 2.2-6.5kwh small co-generation, or 10kwh of energy efficiency. Also, having sufficient money to invest so unwisely assumes an economy which is still growing, an increasingly unlikely prospect.
5. Peak Uranium
At the moment, there are about 60 years’ worth of uranium left. However, if electricity generation from nuclear grows steadily, this figure will fall, to the point where if all the world’s electricity were generated with nuclear, we’d have around 3 years supply left.
6. Carbon Emissions
Nuclear is often said to be a carbon-free way of generating electricity. While that may be true for the actual generation, it is not when the entire process is looked at. The mining, processing, enrichment, treatment and disposal all have significant impacts, equivalent to around one-third those of a conventional- sized gas-fired generating plant.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The Story of a Kiva Loan
Kiva.org is one of my favorite sites on the web. Kiva is a network of micro-finance lenders and borrowers from around the world. Truly the power of the internet can be seen here. If you haven't checked out Kiva please do.
A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.
A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Toxic Alberta
This VBS mini-documentary shines a new light on the oil sands boom in Alberta. Watch it here or go to the VBS site at;
http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=987199110
http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=987199110
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Toyota developing solar-powered car
Just a few years ago a solar powered car would have seen like a dream, the value of the green movement is that it pushes us to think of the possible and get on with it. Bravo for Toyota, bring on the Volt GM.
The second interesting thing about this article is about Toyota's use of solar panels on the factory roof. Shouldn't every flat roof in Canada be covered in solar panels. Not only factories but schools, apartment buildings, hospitals, etc. Instead of Ontario's planned $40 billion dollars for the nuclear industry, why not develop our own solar industry with that money?
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090101.wtoyota0101/BNStory/Business/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090101.wtoyota0101
The second interesting thing about this article is about Toyota's use of solar panels on the factory roof. Shouldn't every flat roof in Canada be covered in solar panels. Not only factories but schools, apartment buildings, hospitals, etc. Instead of Ontario's planned $40 billion dollars for the nuclear industry, why not develop our own solar industry with that money?
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090101.wtoyota0101/BNStory/Business/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090101.wtoyota0101
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