Smart meters to monitor and provide real time info on the power you consume have been in the news for some time now. Some hitches here and there. But still, there is progress.
If energy should be conserved, should water be neglected? How about water smart meters? Something that can detect leaks, tell you the water going down the drain as you have bath, and even allow utilities to collect info remotely.
But even in an economy like the US, a survey found that 64 percent have no plans to install smart water meters, however smart they be. The reason was money. With most water providers being public agencies, many short on funds, who will underwrite the costs?
Will it make any difference to have a gadget reeling numbers of gallons/litres? Probably, it will be just another energy drwaing unit! Guess, the push will have to come with a realistic pricing of water.
Friday, January 29, 2010
The good, bad and ugly
The recent environment performance index compiled by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities places Iceland, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Sweden, and Norway in the top, US somewhere in the middle, India and China near the bottom, with African nations at the bottom.
The Index ranks countries based on 10 main categories such as environmental health, air quality, water management, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, and climate change. Iceland ranked at the top because of its excellent environmental public health and reliance on renewable sources of energy such as geothermal and hydropower. (Of course population counts!) Although national income was a key factor in the rankings, other factors such as good governance and natural resource management were important.
While the U.S. was placed high in categories such as safe drinking water and forest sustainability, it ranked 61st overall because of its massive greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution problems. The low rankings of India and China are cited as being due to the severe environmental strain brought about by overpopulation and rapid economic growth.
The Index ranks countries based on 10 main categories such as environmental health, air quality, water management, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, and climate change. Iceland ranked at the top because of its excellent environmental public health and reliance on renewable sources of energy such as geothermal and hydropower. (Of course population counts!) Although national income was a key factor in the rankings, other factors such as good governance and natural resource management were important.
While the U.S. was placed high in categories such as safe drinking water and forest sustainability, it ranked 61st overall because of its massive greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution problems. The low rankings of India and China are cited as being due to the severe environmental strain brought about by overpopulation and rapid economic growth.
Crucial role for businesses
A recent Mckinsey analysis on how businesses can play the climate challenge brings out several points of concern.
The author is hopeful that there will be a portfolio of policy interventions aimed at broad economic considerations under the present climate. A number of them will “prove to be, frankly, pretty inefficient. But they will be there, and they will create, in effect, very strong signals to shift and reallocate capital over time.”
It is a time for transition whether one subscribes to the climate change theory or not. There are going to be big opportunities during the transition and this will “create winners and will create losers. We are going to enter a phase of creative destruction that will cut across multiple sectors.”
He advocates that businesses should pay particular attention to getting the timing right on their portfolio choices. To go slow and just wait until the policies have fully matured before making capital reallocation positions or risk going too fast?
But above all, the point of concern he raises, which increasingly is becoming evident is that as policy interventions play out, they will translate into the risk of real protectionism. Some of that protectionism will be very overt, as he says, in the form of trade protection masquerading as climate action. Other forms of protectionism will be much more implicit, through highly differentiated local standards that benefit local players.
So what’s the big deal? Will that not be good for local players? Yes, but it will, frankly, raise the costs of the transition. And it will raise the costs for businesses who want to play globally. Is that good?
Can businesses take actions to encourage efficient policy action and to discourage the voices of protectionism?
The author is hopeful that there will be a portfolio of policy interventions aimed at broad economic considerations under the present climate. A number of them will “prove to be, frankly, pretty inefficient. But they will be there, and they will create, in effect, very strong signals to shift and reallocate capital over time.”
It is a time for transition whether one subscribes to the climate change theory or not. There are going to be big opportunities during the transition and this will “create winners and will create losers. We are going to enter a phase of creative destruction that will cut across multiple sectors.”
He advocates that businesses should pay particular attention to getting the timing right on their portfolio choices. To go slow and just wait until the policies have fully matured before making capital reallocation positions or risk going too fast?
But above all, the point of concern he raises, which increasingly is becoming evident is that as policy interventions play out, they will translate into the risk of real protectionism. Some of that protectionism will be very overt, as he says, in the form of trade protection masquerading as climate action. Other forms of protectionism will be much more implicit, through highly differentiated local standards that benefit local players.
So what’s the big deal? Will that not be good for local players? Yes, but it will, frankly, raise the costs of the transition. And it will raise the costs for businesses who want to play globally. Is that good?
Can businesses take actions to encourage efficient policy action and to discourage the voices of protectionism?
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Cars vs. food
The 107 million tons of grain that went to U.S. ethanol distilleries in 2009 was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels. More than a quarter of the total U.S. grain crop was turned into ethanol to fuel cars last year. With 200 ethanol distilleries in the country set up to transform food into fuel, the amount of grain processed has tripled since 2004.
The hungry crossed 1 billion mark. When the growing demand for corn for ethanol helped to push world grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008, people in low-income grain-importing countries were hit the hardest.
The amount of grain needed to fill the tank of an SUV with ethanol just once can feed one person for an entire year. The average income of the owners of the world's 940 million automobiles is at least ten times larger than that of the world's 2 billion hungriest people.
That is a clear indictment against food crops being turned into biofuel.
The United States is the world's leading grain exporter. The automotive hunger for crop-based fuels is increasing. The Earth Policy Institute has noted that even if the entire U.S. grain crop were converted to ethanol (leaving no domestic crop to make bread, rice, pasta, or feed the animals from which we get meat, milk, and eggs), it would satisfy at most 18 percent of U.S. automotive fuel needs.
Truly a funny world we inhabit today, where cars can take away the food from a hungry populace. There seems to be nothing much that will change, at least in “Corporate America’ which has just seen the Supreme Court giving more powers to corporate entities to use money power and influence political decisions.
Should we be looking at other ways to fuel our vehicles? Like EVs? True, the electricity that drives them comes at present from fossil fuel plants. But as the shift to renewables happens, that could be a better option. If only the subsidies were in the right place, things can shift. Look at how a Danish island is totally powered by renewable energy.
All it requires is the will.
The hungry crossed 1 billion mark. When the growing demand for corn for ethanol helped to push world grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008, people in low-income grain-importing countries were hit the hardest.
The amount of grain needed to fill the tank of an SUV with ethanol just once can feed one person for an entire year. The average income of the owners of the world's 940 million automobiles is at least ten times larger than that of the world's 2 billion hungriest people.
That is a clear indictment against food crops being turned into biofuel.
The United States is the world's leading grain exporter. The automotive hunger for crop-based fuels is increasing. The Earth Policy Institute has noted that even if the entire U.S. grain crop were converted to ethanol (leaving no domestic crop to make bread, rice, pasta, or feed the animals from which we get meat, milk, and eggs), it would satisfy at most 18 percent of U.S. automotive fuel needs.
Truly a funny world we inhabit today, where cars can take away the food from a hungry populace. There seems to be nothing much that will change, at least in “Corporate America’ which has just seen the Supreme Court giving more powers to corporate entities to use money power and influence political decisions.
Should we be looking at other ways to fuel our vehicles? Like EVs? True, the electricity that drives them comes at present from fossil fuel plants. But as the shift to renewables happens, that could be a better option. If only the subsidies were in the right place, things can shift. Look at how a Danish island is totally powered by renewable energy.
All it requires is the will.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Small and reliable
We have been saying it all along but would like to hear what you think. Is distributed decentralized generation the way to go in developing nations? Instead of setting up new costly infrastructure aimed at generating and distributing power across vast distances, does it make better sense to look at local options and off grid energy that are more workable and can happen sooner?
Even the developed nations are realising this. Perhaps it is better to learn from them and skip a few steps?
Just as with a BRT that does away with the need for more flyovers and road expansion, so also with power? With 600 million outside the grid and even the rest having to contend with unreliable supply, should the focus be on building local units?
Already a few companies have set shop in India and are catering to the rural need through a hybrid combination of sources. It could be LEDs powered by solar or even mobile phone chargers, or biogassifier kitchens that are used by a community. People are buying the gadgets not because they are worried about climate change, but because it makes sense to them.
Write in to us on what you think.
Even the developed nations are realising this. Perhaps it is better to learn from them and skip a few steps?
Just as with a BRT that does away with the need for more flyovers and road expansion, so also with power? With 600 million outside the grid and even the rest having to contend with unreliable supply, should the focus be on building local units?
Already a few companies have set shop in India and are catering to the rural need through a hybrid combination of sources. It could be LEDs powered by solar or even mobile phone chargers, or biogassifier kitchens that are used by a community. People are buying the gadgets not because they are worried about climate change, but because it makes sense to them.
Write in to us on what you think.
Cheers to Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad has done Gujarat and India and developing nations proud again. This time by winning the 2010 Sustainable Transport Award. By adopting eco-friendly transit solutions like the Bus Rapid Transit, it has helped increase mobility for residents while reducing emissions and pollution.
The five other nominees were Cali, Colombia; Curitiba, Brazil; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Johannesburg, South Africa.
City residents have embraced their new BRT system; 18,000 daily passengers use Janmarg to commute to work, to school and elsewhere. In just a few months of operation, Janmarg has transformed the delivery of transit in Ahmedabad.
Bus stations feature passive solar design, an inexpensive way to keep stations naturally cool. The city is making continued efforts to be a leader in sustainable transport, including incorporating high-quality pedestrian facilities in some corridors, as well as bicycle lanes. Ahmedabad has initiated car-free days and recently announced more. Three cheers!
While on cycling, let us hear what Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (seen in the picture above) has to say. “The perception that cycling is a slow way of commuting is bogus and the idea that increased car ownership is a sign of progress is silly.”
The Nobel laureate's only vehicle has just two wheels. "I get to exercise every day, regardless of whether I take time out to exercise or not... You get up in the morning and you go on a bicycle; [when you get] to work, you are awake and not stressed out. At the end of the day, by the time you go home, you are fully relaxed. It is a great lifestyle."
"The whole world is running out of gasoline. There is global warming and all sorts of reasons that you need to be concerned about. Apart from that, people are stressed out; you always have to be alert [when driving]... Cycling is enjoyable and it is fun. But unfortunately, it cannot co-exist with so much traffic."
Read more on the link attached on reasons why the scientist advocates cycling, and what he thinks the Indian government needs to do, but here’s a question for you: Is owning a car a status symbol for you or not?
Would you take a bus if your city had a lane dedicated for buses alone? (Imagine buses zooming along as you remain stuck in the car lane!) Any ideas on why a BRT succeeds in Ahmedabad and fails in a Delhi or Pune?
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Business as usual
The US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook says that economic recovery means US carbon emissions will rise over the next two years, so forget meeting the target of cutting emissions by 17 per cent on 2005 levels by 2020. Increased use of coal in the electric power sector and continued economic growth, along with the expansion of travel-related petroleum consumption, leads to a 1.7 per cent increase in CO2 emissions in 2011.
The good news is that UK is on course to over-achieve on its carbon reduction target of 34% and cut emissions by 36% on 1990 levels by 2020, according to the Government. No new coal power stations will now go ahead in the UK without carbon capture and storage, investment is being made in the electricity grid to bring online new renewable energy sources and the Government’s draft National Policy Statements covering a low carbon energy infrastructure has been published.
Meanwhile, scientists have recorded a massive spike in the amount of a powerful greenhouse gas seeping from Arctic permafrost. Experts say methane emissions from the Arctic have risen by almost one-third in just five years, and that sharply rising temperatures are to blame.
Previously frozen boggy soils are melting and releasing methane in greater quantities. Such Arctic soils currently lock away billions of tonnes of methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
The new study, published in the journal Science, shows that methane emissions from the Arctic increased by 31% from 2003-07. The increase represents about 1m extra tonnes of methane each year.
Researchers have known for years that the Arctic landscape is being transformed by rising temperatures. Now, scientists are amassing growing evidence that major events precipitated by warming are leading to the loss of tundra in the Arctic.
Much of the Arctic has experienced temperature increases of 3 to 5 degrees F in the past half-century and could see temperatures soar 10 degrees F above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
In a new book, The Rising Sea, the authors build the case for how governments and coastal managers should assume the inevitability of a seven-foot rise in sea level. This number is is the most prudent, conservative long-term planning guideline for coastal cities and communities, especially for the siting of major infrastructure.
Among research used is how scientists now believe that the main drivers of sea level rise in the 21st century will be the melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (a potential of a 16-foot rise if the entire sheet melts) and the Greenland Ice Sheet (a potential rise of 20 feet if the entire ice cap melts).
Any way out? Most of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases is in the ocean, so can this be tapped some way? Can the rising waters be used to irrigate deserts? Or can the heat be tapped through ocean thermal energy conversion, which is a method of generating electricity using the temperature difference between deep ocean water, and shallow ocean waters?
The good news is that UK is on course to over-achieve on its carbon reduction target of 34% and cut emissions by 36% on 1990 levels by 2020, according to the Government. No new coal power stations will now go ahead in the UK without carbon capture and storage, investment is being made in the electricity grid to bring online new renewable energy sources and the Government’s draft National Policy Statements covering a low carbon energy infrastructure has been published.
Meanwhile, scientists have recorded a massive spike in the amount of a powerful greenhouse gas seeping from Arctic permafrost. Experts say methane emissions from the Arctic have risen by almost one-third in just five years, and that sharply rising temperatures are to blame.
Previously frozen boggy soils are melting and releasing methane in greater quantities. Such Arctic soils currently lock away billions of tonnes of methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
The new study, published in the journal Science, shows that methane emissions from the Arctic increased by 31% from 2003-07. The increase represents about 1m extra tonnes of methane each year.
Researchers have known for years that the Arctic landscape is being transformed by rising temperatures. Now, scientists are amassing growing evidence that major events precipitated by warming are leading to the loss of tundra in the Arctic.
Much of the Arctic has experienced temperature increases of 3 to 5 degrees F in the past half-century and could see temperatures soar 10 degrees F above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
In a new book, The Rising Sea, the authors build the case for how governments and coastal managers should assume the inevitability of a seven-foot rise in sea level. This number is is the most prudent, conservative long-term planning guideline for coastal cities and communities, especially for the siting of major infrastructure.
Among research used is how scientists now believe that the main drivers of sea level rise in the 21st century will be the melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (a potential of a 16-foot rise if the entire sheet melts) and the Greenland Ice Sheet (a potential rise of 20 feet if the entire ice cap melts).
Any way out? Most of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases is in the ocean, so can this be tapped some way? Can the rising waters be used to irrigate deserts? Or can the heat be tapped through ocean thermal energy conversion, which is a method of generating electricity using the temperature difference between deep ocean water, and shallow ocean waters?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Change more than bulbs
That is the transformation sought by Erik Assadourian, senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute and project director of a new book called 2010 State of the World: Transforming Cultures from Consumerism to Sustainability.
The culture of consumerism “has taken root in culture upon culture over the past half-century ... [and] become a powerful driver of the inexorable increase in demand for resources and production of waste that marks our age,” says the report. But consumer cultures are unsustainable and are driving the planet toward a “great collision between a finite planet and the seemingly infinite demands of human society.”
Global consumption has grown dramatically since World War II, reaching $30.5 trillion in 2006, up sixfold since 1960. This is, in part, good as it brings in wealth and employment for many (the premise of capitalism!) but today’s prevailing consumption patterns are, quite simply, unsustainable.
Not only the rich but even the poor earning around, $5,000 or $6,000 per person per year, are consuming at rates that will deplete the earth’s resources and cause catastrophic change.
The report sees danger as people in developing nations aspire toward the same consumer lifestyles as their peers in the West.
But how feasible is the“wholesale transformation of dominant cultural patterns” that the report calls for? How will things change to mean “machismo is not about the size of your car, but the fact that you don’t have one at all.”
True, there is more agreement that consumer culture is not only causing environmental havoc, but also failing to deliver the well-being that it promises. Look at the stressed lives around, and you know! But how can such a change happen? Can advertising and media, the very tools that sell consumerism, be used to sell a sustainable culture?
The developing world that has just discovered the heady brew of consumerism will be most reluctant to let go. Even the developed world that has had its time in the sun is most reluctant to abstain from consumerism. What will it need for the world citizens to say 'enough'?
The culture of consumerism “has taken root in culture upon culture over the past half-century ... [and] become a powerful driver of the inexorable increase in demand for resources and production of waste that marks our age,” says the report. But consumer cultures are unsustainable and are driving the planet toward a “great collision between a finite planet and the seemingly infinite demands of human society.”
Global consumption has grown dramatically since World War II, reaching $30.5 trillion in 2006, up sixfold since 1960. This is, in part, good as it brings in wealth and employment for many (the premise of capitalism!) but today’s prevailing consumption patterns are, quite simply, unsustainable.
Not only the rich but even the poor earning around, $5,000 or $6,000 per person per year, are consuming at rates that will deplete the earth’s resources and cause catastrophic change.
The report sees danger as people in developing nations aspire toward the same consumer lifestyles as their peers in the West.
But how feasible is the“wholesale transformation of dominant cultural patterns” that the report calls for? How will things change to mean “machismo is not about the size of your car, but the fact that you don’t have one at all.”
True, there is more agreement that consumer culture is not only causing environmental havoc, but also failing to deliver the well-being that it promises. Look at the stressed lives around, and you know! But how can such a change happen? Can advertising and media, the very tools that sell consumerism, be used to sell a sustainable culture?
The developing world that has just discovered the heady brew of consumerism will be most reluctant to let go. Even the developed world that has had its time in the sun is most reluctant to abstain from consumerism. What will it need for the world citizens to say 'enough'?
Germany takes the reins
As nations plan to dilute or backpeddle on greenhouse gas reduction commitments made at Copenhagen, Germany has shown it is made of sterner stuff. According to Reuters the world's sixth largest carbon emitter will be standing by its target of 40% emission reductions by 2020, regardless of what other nations do!
Initially Germany had a target of 30% by 2020, but raised it, hoping that it would increase chances of getting a strong global agreement signed in Copenhagen. That didn’t work but now Germany has decided to go it alone.
To see beyond short-term industry and geopolitical interests and stand by the action science demands calls for strong political will and vision. Hopefully, some others will follow. As to how Germany takes action and stands by its resolve will have to be seen.
BASIC nations, which include Brazil, China, India plan to meet this month to decide on their course of action. It will be a revisiting and tweeking 'pledges' offered at Copenhagen.
Initially Germany had a target of 30% by 2020, but raised it, hoping that it would increase chances of getting a strong global agreement signed in Copenhagen. That didn’t work but now Germany has decided to go it alone.
To see beyond short-term industry and geopolitical interests and stand by the action science demands calls for strong political will and vision. Hopefully, some others will follow. As to how Germany takes action and stands by its resolve will have to be seen.
BASIC nations, which include Brazil, China, India plan to meet this month to decide on their course of action. It will be a revisiting and tweeking 'pledges' offered at Copenhagen.
India seeks MIT battery
India aims to generate 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022 as part of its ambitious solar energy mission. The government has initiated talks with the US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to use its prototype 1 MW-capacity rooftop storage battery to meet the country's growing energy demand and its ambitious solar energy plans.
The 1 MW rooftop storage batteries will come in handy in supplying electricity to homes, offices and villages across the country.
With the help of solar panels a rooftop battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy and stores up to 1 MW, or one million watts, for supplying uninterrupted power to cities, an entire district or even a cluster of villages across the country.
Initially, the ministry will fund a pilot project that will be implemented jointly by the state-run BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd) and NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) at select sites to evaluate the cost and the quality of energy generated to ensure uninterrupted supply to low-tension power users.
“We can supply power from storage battery directly through a local grid on stand-alone basis or pool it with national grid to rationalise its generation cost with that of thermal or hydro power, which are cheaper to produce," said power secretary H S Brahma.
Local grids could well be the way to address the unmet needs of 400 millions and more with no access to electricity. But 20 GW by 2022 could be a tall order unless private players enter the arena in a big way. What do you think? Are the inducements enough?
The 1 MW rooftop storage batteries will come in handy in supplying electricity to homes, offices and villages across the country.
With the help of solar panels a rooftop battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy and stores up to 1 MW, or one million watts, for supplying uninterrupted power to cities, an entire district or even a cluster of villages across the country.
Initially, the ministry will fund a pilot project that will be implemented jointly by the state-run BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd) and NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) at select sites to evaluate the cost and the quality of energy generated to ensure uninterrupted supply to low-tension power users.
“We can supply power from storage battery directly through a local grid on stand-alone basis or pool it with national grid to rationalise its generation cost with that of thermal or hydro power, which are cheaper to produce," said power secretary H S Brahma.
Local grids could well be the way to address the unmet needs of 400 millions and more with no access to electricity. But 20 GW by 2022 could be a tall order unless private players enter the arena in a big way. What do you think? Are the inducements enough?
250 m tons of carbon for all that talk!
A report from Bell Labs has pointed out the high ineffeciencies in communication networks. “Networks could be 10,000 times more energy efficient,” says the report and notes that “today’s networks are optimized for capacity not energy.”
That goes for all networks that run our cell phones and broadband connections, and deliver us voice, video and the web. A 1,000-fold reduction in energy use is roughly equivalent to being able to power the world's communications networks, including the Internet, for three years using the same amount of energy that it currently takes to run them for a single day.
The global network and technology required to run mobile telecom produce 250 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, roughly the same as is produced yearly by 50 million automobiles. It would take a forest the size of the U.K. to absorb 250 million tons of CO2.
As the report notes, the contribution of information communication technology to global energy consumption will double over the next decade.
Driven by increasing Internet traffic, telecom networks have scaled rapidly over the past decade to accommodate growth and this growth has called for more computers to run the software that new handsets and Web sites require.
Much of networks' inefficiencies today come from wireless, because its signals are not broadcast toward anyone in particular (unlike traditional wired broadband signals). Last year, Bell Labs researchers turned their attention to this problem and set out to calculate the minimum amount of energy required to power today's global networks.
The big question is whether there is need for research to improve efficiencies or if the technology is already with us. Is it the focus alone that needs to be put in place?
That goes for all networks that run our cell phones and broadband connections, and deliver us voice, video and the web. A 1,000-fold reduction in energy use is roughly equivalent to being able to power the world's communications networks, including the Internet, for three years using the same amount of energy that it currently takes to run them for a single day.
The global network and technology required to run mobile telecom produce 250 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, roughly the same as is produced yearly by 50 million automobiles. It would take a forest the size of the U.K. to absorb 250 million tons of CO2.
As the report notes, the contribution of information communication technology to global energy consumption will double over the next decade.
Driven by increasing Internet traffic, telecom networks have scaled rapidly over the past decade to accommodate growth and this growth has called for more computers to run the software that new handsets and Web sites require.
Much of networks' inefficiencies today come from wireless, because its signals are not broadcast toward anyone in particular (unlike traditional wired broadband signals). Last year, Bell Labs researchers turned their attention to this problem and set out to calculate the minimum amount of energy required to power today's global networks.
The big question is whether there is need for research to improve efficiencies or if the technology is already with us. Is it the focus alone that needs to be put in place?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
View your city's emissions
Scientists from the JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) have made it possible to visualise the distribution of GHG emissions all over the world at local level through an add-on layer to Google Earth. Data used in the visualisation come from JRC and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency's (PBL) Emission Database for Global Research (EDGAR), and its dataset released in May this year (EDGAR v4.0).
This application brings environmental information closer to the world's citizens, though it takes a bit of technical knowhow to understand the data presented. Guess this one is more for analysts!
By simply entering a city name, the amount of greenhouse gases released since 1970 can be visualized. In addition, the main sources of GHG emissions in the year 2005 can be identified: industries (fuel combustion, process and waste emissions in energy and manufacturing industries); transport (road, rail, shipping); residential fuel combustion and waste handling; and agriculture.
On a large scale, the visualisation shows how emissions are unevenly distributed over the globe, even within countries and the different evolution of emissions in the world over time.
For instance, it is highlighted that in large parts of the globe, global man-made emissions in areas of 10x10 kms is less than 1 kton of CO2 equivalents (in Siberia, for instance), while in some countries the combination of high density population and large industries results in area values of more than 250 kton per year (e.g. Netherlands, Japan or Singapore).
This set of visual data provides a unique history of 35 years (1970-2005) of emissions by area and sector, covering not only carbon dioxide (CO2) but also GHGs: methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
The application was recently presented during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, at the EU Pavilion.
For more information, see: http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu
This application brings environmental information closer to the world's citizens, though it takes a bit of technical knowhow to understand the data presented. Guess this one is more for analysts!
By simply entering a city name, the amount of greenhouse gases released since 1970 can be visualized. In addition, the main sources of GHG emissions in the year 2005 can be identified: industries (fuel combustion, process and waste emissions in energy and manufacturing industries); transport (road, rail, shipping); residential fuel combustion and waste handling; and agriculture.
On a large scale, the visualisation shows how emissions are unevenly distributed over the globe, even within countries and the different evolution of emissions in the world over time.
For instance, it is highlighted that in large parts of the globe, global man-made emissions in areas of 10x10 kms is less than 1 kton of CO2 equivalents (in Siberia, for instance), while in some countries the combination of high density population and large industries results in area values of more than 250 kton per year (e.g. Netherlands, Japan or Singapore).
This set of visual data provides a unique history of 35 years (1970-2005) of emissions by area and sector, covering not only carbon dioxide (CO2) but also GHGs: methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
The application was recently presented during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, at the EU Pavilion.
For more information, see: http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu
Smart buildings
Agilewaves is developing a system that monitors electric, gas and water usage from energy sensors and links them through an integration panel within the building.
It’s one of a number of startups in the US, designing systems to integrate energy monitoring devices and sensors with data acquisition software and, in some cases, smart meters in order to measure and manage power use.
One of the distinctions of the company is that they are not going to the utility, but directly to the building owner. The strategy can be deployed quickly and easily and provide highly accurate, targeted, intelligent info as opposed to just data. That information can be sent to computers, mobile devices or third party monitoring services.
Products like the Agilwaves system allow users to recognize where there are problems in a building, for example:
· HVAC systems that are simultaneously cooling and heating a building
· Systems that are on 24 hours a day that don't need to be on 24 hours per day
· Pumps that dont need to be runnning all the time
· Lights that don't need to be on at night
Building owners can see savings of 15-25% in the first year, according to the company.
Looks like software and IT will play a major role in the transition to a global clean economy.
It’s one of a number of startups in the US, designing systems to integrate energy monitoring devices and sensors with data acquisition software and, in some cases, smart meters in order to measure and manage power use.
One of the distinctions of the company is that they are not going to the utility, but directly to the building owner. The strategy can be deployed quickly and easily and provide highly accurate, targeted, intelligent info as opposed to just data. That information can be sent to computers, mobile devices or third party monitoring services.
Products like the Agilwaves system allow users to recognize where there are problems in a building, for example:
· HVAC systems that are simultaneously cooling and heating a building
· Systems that are on 24 hours a day that don't need to be on 24 hours per day
· Pumps that dont need to be runnning all the time
· Lights that don't need to be on at night
Building owners can see savings of 15-25% in the first year, according to the company.
Looks like software and IT will play a major role in the transition to a global clean economy.
Nuclear energy parks
India will set up five energy parks by 2032 to raise the generation of nuclear energy. The selected sites for the energy parks are Haripur in West Bengal, Mithi Virdi in Gujarat, Jaitapur in Maharashtra, Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh and Kudamkulam in Tamil Nadu, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Srikumar Banerjee has indicated.
The country plans to have 35,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020 and 60,000 MW by 2032, Banerjee said. Out of this, 40,000 MW to 45,000 MW would come from energy parks and the balance from the other installations. The current generation level was around 4500 MW.
He said going by the present economics, nuclear power was more competitive than other sources of energy like thermal. But is price alone to be the deciding factor, as we have been asking? What about the waste? What about the long gestation time? How can the generation be raised over eight times in a decade? What about security concerns in transporting the fuel across the country? And the fuel imports required? According to Banerjee, India can generate at most 10,000 MW of nuclear energy from its assured uranium reserves.
Are the people willing to have nuclear plants dotting the countryside?
The country plans to have 35,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020 and 60,000 MW by 2032, Banerjee said. Out of this, 40,000 MW to 45,000 MW would come from energy parks and the balance from the other installations. The current generation level was around 4500 MW.
He said going by the present economics, nuclear power was more competitive than other sources of energy like thermal. But is price alone to be the deciding factor, as we have been asking? What about the waste? What about the long gestation time? How can the generation be raised over eight times in a decade? What about security concerns in transporting the fuel across the country? And the fuel imports required? According to Banerjee, India can generate at most 10,000 MW of nuclear energy from its assured uranium reserves.
Are the people willing to have nuclear plants dotting the countryside?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A vegan car!
Here’s a refreshing news for a change – a nutritious, racing car! Made entirely out of recycled and renewable materials by British researchers, the WorldFirst, an unusual automobile is built using recycled plastic water and juice bottles, potato starch, carrot fibers and other waste materials.
The car reaches a top speed of 238 kilometers per hour and has been driven more than 800 kilometers for testing and demonstrations since it first rolled out of the lab in April.
Engineers at the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Center (WIMRC) at Warwick University in England built the car as part of a larger project to develop new materials for use in the automotive and health care sectors that meet the goals of sustainable development.
Recycled carbon fiber was used for the large parts of the car such as the engine cover. Fibers made from flax and hemp were used for simple parts such as the bargeboard and bib, which are used to improve aerodynamics. The outer part of the steering wheel was made from Curran, a polymer made by CelluComp in Scotland and derived from carrots and other root vegetables. Curran has properties similar to those of glass or carbon fiber-reinforced polymer. The inside of the driver's seat was made from soy-based foam, while the cover consists of a fabric made from flax.
The WorldFirst racing car runs on biodiesel derived from chocolate fat.
Questions of strength and durability need to be worked out but test drives have shown proof of principle.
Biofiber components derived from a variety of plants are already being used in some non-racing car components. Some manufacturers use biomaterials in door panels, consoles, tire covers and floor mats.
Want to book this one, or wait for one with more meat on it? :)
American energy standards too high
A new analysis was published by two California-based think tanks: Searching for a miracle / "Net Energy" limits & the fate of industrial society. The report, written by Richard Heinberg, is a joint initiative by the International Forum on Globalization and the Post Carbon Institute.
For one, Heinberg believes it will be impossible to ever bring the entire world population up to the current American energy standards. Maintaining today’s world average energy use per capita is most probably the only thing we can hope to accomplish, and even that comes at a cost.
As to what the energy of the next generation will be, he sees significant potential for wind energy, solar photovoltaic energy (PV), Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), wave energy, and tidal energy, but even the potential of this 'energy mix of the future' is limited. Wind energy and CSP will have to make up the largest share in any viable future energy mix.
The report also looks at energy carriers and concludes that electricity has the best potential as of now. Hydrogen’s energy density per unit of volume is too low and too much energy is lost in the various conversion steps.
However energy conservation, mitigating population growth, and limiting economic growth are cited as indispensible if we are to develop a sustainable energy economy. Conservation interestingly includes, among other things, the internalisation of the full costs of energy to reflect its true price.
An interesting correlation between annual energy use per capita and the corresponding feeling of well-being shows the two are proportional up to about 100 GJ per capita per year. Above this figure, the feeling of well-being starts to go down again! So for all those quoting per capita figures, some rethink?
In another paper published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Sir Partha Dasgupta shows that the total wealth of a nation can decline even as its GDP is growing. In Pakistan, while GDP per capita grew by an average of 2.2% a year between 1970 and 2000, total wealth declined by 1.4%. All economic activity is accounted as if it were of positive value. Even a train crash – as it generates £1bn worth of track repairs, medical bills and funeral costs, which generate £1bn in ticket sales!
Are we measuring the wrong things? have we got the picture all wrong?
For one, Heinberg believes it will be impossible to ever bring the entire world population up to the current American energy standards. Maintaining today’s world average energy use per capita is most probably the only thing we can hope to accomplish, and even that comes at a cost.
As to what the energy of the next generation will be, he sees significant potential for wind energy, solar photovoltaic energy (PV), Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), wave energy, and tidal energy, but even the potential of this 'energy mix of the future' is limited. Wind energy and CSP will have to make up the largest share in any viable future energy mix.
The report also looks at energy carriers and concludes that electricity has the best potential as of now. Hydrogen’s energy density per unit of volume is too low and too much energy is lost in the various conversion steps.
However energy conservation, mitigating population growth, and limiting economic growth are cited as indispensible if we are to develop a sustainable energy economy. Conservation interestingly includes, among other things, the internalisation of the full costs of energy to reflect its true price.
An interesting correlation between annual energy use per capita and the corresponding feeling of well-being shows the two are proportional up to about 100 GJ per capita per year. Above this figure, the feeling of well-being starts to go down again! So for all those quoting per capita figures, some rethink?
In another paper published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Sir Partha Dasgupta shows that the total wealth of a nation can decline even as its GDP is growing. In Pakistan, while GDP per capita grew by an average of 2.2% a year between 1970 and 2000, total wealth declined by 1.4%. All economic activity is accounted as if it were of positive value. Even a train crash – as it generates £1bn worth of track repairs, medical bills and funeral costs, which generate £1bn in ticket sales!
Are we measuring the wrong things? have we got the picture all wrong?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Cities with digital underbellies
Suddenly the resistance to migration from villages to cities seems to have disappeared. More people are beginning to believe this as an inevitable trend of days to come. Cities are where humankind are going to be concentrated, like it or no. So, the next best thing is to see how cities can become sustainable and cater to the growing numbers. By going digital?
WorldChanging lists "the great digital underbelly" of new and retrofitted sustainable cities by Gordon Feller of Urban Age, green ICT (information and communications technologies) with its promise for increasing the energy and resource efficiency of most aspects of urban development, as one of the trends of tomorrow.
If these technologies can offset their operating and production resource impacts (estimated to use 2-3 percent of total industry energy used, but forecast to double by 2022), the world could benefit from initial increased efficiencies in the 15-25 percent range.
Many companies like IBM, Cisco, General Electric, Siemens are believed to be positioning for implementing new ICT for sustainability in cities, demonstrating applications at the pilot project level. Cities with pilot or operating projects in green ICT include Amsterdam, San Francisco, Masdar City (United Arab Emirates), Seoul, London, Singapore, Beijing, New Delhi, Mumbai, Stockholm and Oslo.
The following are Green Smart City applications and examples of companies involved:
o traffic congestion monitoring and pricing systems: IBM, Capita Group
o water applications (leakage detection, purification): IBM, Siemens
o building applications (sense-and-respond technologies to monitor temperature, light, humidity and occupancy): Johnson Controls, Siemens, IBM
o intelligent public transportation and logistics: PwC, Samsung, Cisco
o public shared offices with telepresence (pictured above): Cisco, Hewlett-Packard
o home and office smart appliances that can tie in with smart grid energy applications: General Electric, AT&T, Whirlpool
o smart grids: General Electric, Schneider Electric, SAP, Oracle, ABB
o data centers for cities: Google, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco
o carbon inventories and carbon accounting: Microsoft, Oracle.
That is quite an impressive list. Have they missed out any area? Can you think of any? One doubt – where it calls for products to be put in place, actual physical ones, what are the energy implications of manufacturing these. For example, smart grids. Even sensors need to be manufactured, right. And chip manufacturing calls for a lot of water. What do you think?
WorldChanging lists "the great digital underbelly" of new and retrofitted sustainable cities by Gordon Feller of Urban Age, green ICT (information and communications technologies) with its promise for increasing the energy and resource efficiency of most aspects of urban development, as one of the trends of tomorrow.
If these technologies can offset their operating and production resource impacts (estimated to use 2-3 percent of total industry energy used, but forecast to double by 2022), the world could benefit from initial increased efficiencies in the 15-25 percent range.
Many companies like IBM, Cisco, General Electric, Siemens are believed to be positioning for implementing new ICT for sustainability in cities, demonstrating applications at the pilot project level. Cities with pilot or operating projects in green ICT include Amsterdam, San Francisco, Masdar City (United Arab Emirates), Seoul, London, Singapore, Beijing, New Delhi, Mumbai, Stockholm and Oslo.
The following are Green Smart City applications and examples of companies involved:
o traffic congestion monitoring and pricing systems: IBM, Capita Group
o water applications (leakage detection, purification): IBM, Siemens
o building applications (sense-and-respond technologies to monitor temperature, light, humidity and occupancy): Johnson Controls, Siemens, IBM
o intelligent public transportation and logistics: PwC, Samsung, Cisco
o public shared offices with telepresence (pictured above): Cisco, Hewlett-Packard
o home and office smart appliances that can tie in with smart grid energy applications: General Electric, AT&T, Whirlpool
o smart grids: General Electric, Schneider Electric, SAP, Oracle, ABB
o data centers for cities: Google, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco
o carbon inventories and carbon accounting: Microsoft, Oracle.
That is quite an impressive list. Have they missed out any area? Can you think of any? One doubt – where it calls for products to be put in place, actual physical ones, what are the energy implications of manufacturing these. For example, smart grids. Even sensors need to be manufactured, right. And chip manufacturing calls for a lot of water. What do you think?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Home energy management
With the domestic sector consuming around 25 percent of a nation’s energy, energy efficient housing should be in the limelight in these days. No wonder the Obama administration is betting its new Home Star “Cash for Caulkers” program is the one with the greenest bang for the buck.
The government will pay up to half the cost to retrofit homes and in the process put a quarter of a million unemployed construction workers back to work lowering your energy costs and carbon footprint. The $23 billion dollar program should retrofit at least 6 million houses, and put a dent in the 17% unemployment rate in the construction industry.
The Home Star program would offer immediate upfront money, making investment into energy efficiency feasible. It will pay up to half for better insulated windows, attics, crawlspaces, more efficient hot water and home heating, white roofing for cooling, etc.
Energy efficient building materials now make it possible to create houses that need virtually no heating, because they are so well insulated. The PassiveHaus idea in Europe uses these concepts to get houses to net zero energy using design as a major tool.
Triple-glazed windows are a basic requirement in Sweden’s building code. Sweden grew its economy 44% while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 9% below its Kyoto targets and buildings played a big role. California’s building code which incorporates Title 22 window codes makes upgrading to efficient windows mandatory.
All it needs is an energy audit that can identify where energy is wasted. Energy auditors are available in most nations. Their services could be used to tighten energy management in homes. How about getting an energy audit of your home? Have you done it? How did it help? Please write in.
Mum's the word
An interesting debate on a website brings to attention the old conspiracy theories! This one is on Peak Oil. Ask people in the energy arena and chances are that 50 percent will blink. They haven’t heard the term!
Why? How can such a serious issue not be heard of? Those of us who know about Hubbert’s bell curve know the world could soon run out of oil, as sson as 2020. After all, fossils are limited, so how can fossil fuel be unlimited?
The author examines if governments the world over are ignorant or hiding the issue from the public. Or worse, as some believe, the world can get along without natural resources!! An unbreakable faith in technology and the market mechanism's capacity to provide substitutes for declining fossil fuel energy services does seem to be the answer. Many officials seem to believe that all the world need is more investment which will translate to more oil production.
Or, is it simply that the human race exhibits certain cognitive biases that prevent us from acting on complex or frightening subjects outside of our day to day realities, including death. Simply by refusing to accept a painful truth, we choose to dismiss it? Sadad al-Husseini (former VP of Saudi Aramco) feels that those “who are not expressing a concern [publicly]... are doing that with a good intention: they feel like somehow this is a reality that the public at large can't handle... ”
Or do we really believe in an abundant future? As Albert Bartlett (1994) noted: There will always be popular and persuasive technological optimists who believe that population increases are good, and who believe that the human mind has unlimited capacity to find technological solutions to all problems of crowding, environmental destruction, and resource shortages.
Should governments aware of the problem speak out, or quietly plan for the future? Do you believe technology will do the rescue act, forever?
Why? How can such a serious issue not be heard of? Those of us who know about Hubbert’s bell curve know the world could soon run out of oil, as sson as 2020. After all, fossils are limited, so how can fossil fuel be unlimited?
The author examines if governments the world over are ignorant or hiding the issue from the public. Or worse, as some believe, the world can get along without natural resources!! An unbreakable faith in technology and the market mechanism's capacity to provide substitutes for declining fossil fuel energy services does seem to be the answer. Many officials seem to believe that all the world need is more investment which will translate to more oil production.
Or, is it simply that the human race exhibits certain cognitive biases that prevent us from acting on complex or frightening subjects outside of our day to day realities, including death. Simply by refusing to accept a painful truth, we choose to dismiss it? Sadad al-Husseini (former VP of Saudi Aramco) feels that those “who are not expressing a concern [publicly]... are doing that with a good intention: they feel like somehow this is a reality that the public at large can't handle... ”
Or do we really believe in an abundant future? As Albert Bartlett (1994) noted: There will always be popular and persuasive technological optimists who believe that population increases are good, and who believe that the human mind has unlimited capacity to find technological solutions to all problems of crowding, environmental destruction, and resource shortages.
Should governments aware of the problem speak out, or quietly plan for the future? Do you believe technology will do the rescue act, forever?
Ties or kurtas?
Well, here’s something that should see some of you open up and speak out!
According to a BBC report, a group of people in Mumbai have launched a unique campaign named as 'No-Tie' to save energy and protect the environment. Wondering?
Most energy experts know that interior design and use of appropriate materials for walls and windows can reduce the AC load and help save energy. Apparently, to maintain temperatures at ‘freezing’ (for the Indian!) 18 to 20 deg C instead of an ideal 24 deg C means consuming 25 percent more energy.
Where does the tie come in? Simple, right? Stuff yourself in a coat and suit and pull your tie up and what do you have – a profusely sweating person, who naturally turns the AC real high!
Currently, in Mumbai air-conditioners consume about 1,000 MW of the 2,700 MW power used daily by the city. This is typical of any Indian city.
The interesting question then is – should we discourage ties and coats? Is it, as the founder of the No-Tie group believes, a British culture? "Their peak summer temperature would be our lowest winter temperature. We should wear clothes that are suitable to Indian climactic conditions like shirts or kurtas," says Dhiraj Shrinivasan, Co-founder of the "No-Tie Campaign".
The campaigners are planning to to organise a "No Tie Day" on May 3, 2010. It will be the peak of summer and it will have an impact then.
According to a BBC report, a group of people in Mumbai have launched a unique campaign named as 'No-Tie' to save energy and protect the environment. Wondering?
Most energy experts know that interior design and use of appropriate materials for walls and windows can reduce the AC load and help save energy. Apparently, to maintain temperatures at ‘freezing’ (for the Indian!) 18 to 20 deg C instead of an ideal 24 deg C means consuming 25 percent more energy.
Where does the tie come in? Simple, right? Stuff yourself in a coat and suit and pull your tie up and what do you have – a profusely sweating person, who naturally turns the AC real high!
Currently, in Mumbai air-conditioners consume about 1,000 MW of the 2,700 MW power used daily by the city. This is typical of any Indian city.
The interesting question then is – should we discourage ties and coats? Is it, as the founder of the No-Tie group believes, a British culture? "Their peak summer temperature would be our lowest winter temperature. We should wear clothes that are suitable to Indian climactic conditions like shirts or kurtas," says Dhiraj Shrinivasan, Co-founder of the "No-Tie Campaign".
The campaigners are planning to to organise a "No Tie Day" on May 3, 2010. It will be the peak of summer and it will have an impact then.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
By mid-century, we will be 9.15 billion
Forty-two years ago, the biologist Paul Ehrlich warned in The Population Bomb that mass starvation would strike in the 1970s and 1980s, with the world's population growth outpacing the production of food. Thanks to innovations and efforts such as the "green revolution" in farming (now gone sour, of course) and the widespread adoption of family planning, Ehrlich's worst fears passed over.
Now the United Nations Population Division projects that global population growth will nearly halt by 2050. By then, the world's population will have stabilized at 9.15 billion people, according to the "medium growth" variant of the UN's authoritative population database World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision. (Today's global population is 6.83 billion.)
Unless a crisis like climate change makes its presence felt, global economic output is expected to increase by two to three percent per year, meaning that global income will increase far more than population over the next four decades. Well, average income. That will not still mean that the rich-poor gap will decrease, will it? Or even international parity/security.
With food production and distribution being a largely global issue, much of world peace will depend on how we manage this. Energy issues will also play a crucial role in deciding who dominates the global scene.
Experts feel that international security will depend less on how many people inhabit the world than on how the global population is composed and distributed. Disparity in incomes is already seeing unrest in many parts of the world where nations are getting split into smaller units. Will the world withdraw into shells or will the century see the coming together of the race?
Now the United Nations Population Division projects that global population growth will nearly halt by 2050. By then, the world's population will have stabilized at 9.15 billion people, according to the "medium growth" variant of the UN's authoritative population database World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision. (Today's global population is 6.83 billion.)
Unless a crisis like climate change makes its presence felt, global economic output is expected to increase by two to three percent per year, meaning that global income will increase far more than population over the next four decades. Well, average income. That will not still mean that the rich-poor gap will decrease, will it? Or even international parity/security.
With food production and distribution being a largely global issue, much of world peace will depend on how we manage this. Energy issues will also play a crucial role in deciding who dominates the global scene.
Experts feel that international security will depend less on how many people inhabit the world than on how the global population is composed and distributed. Disparity in incomes is already seeing unrest in many parts of the world where nations are getting split into smaller units. Will the world withdraw into shells or will the century see the coming together of the race?
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