One small feeble positive step...


Energy crisis: MPs call for 'war effort' on {home} insulation
wrote:

A cross party group of MPs have called for a "war effort" to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes.

In a far-reaching report, the Environmental Audit Committee says a "window of opportunity" was missed last summer to get more homes insulated.

The report also recommends a faster move away from fossil fuels, with greater focus on tidal power and wind turbines onshore.

78% of the UK's energy needs are still being met by burning fossil fuels.

"We must fix our leaky housing stock, which is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and wastes our constituents' hard-earned cash,"...

Similarly, we need a "War Effort" to drag our cheap shonky dilapidated builders upto modern day standards that instead work well for the home owners... As opposed to "cheapest way to maximize profits" for the builders...

Really!... Why are we needing to retrofit even brand new build homes?!


All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

While not a total solution this may form one part of a multi-technology system:
Could floating solar farms survive out at sea?

While much of the UK coastline is fairly inhospitable to such a system there are a few areas where the waves are quite small so installation may be feasible (e.g. The Wash? or Cardiff Bay?). Modern solar cells do not require very bright sunlight to be productive so our generally lower levels of sunlight are less of an issue than even ten years ago. However come nightfall and the energy output drops very rapidly to zero, thus one has to consider either storing energy (batteries) or additional sources of energy (wave, wind, tide?).

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Hmmmm...
Crikey! Aussie Beer Drinkers Lectured to ‘Give a XXXX’ for the Environment

The campaign was launched by XXXX lager mid-last year and is now in full swing.

The advertisement laments how the end of the world would lead to the end of beer, encouraging people to think before they drink and “Give a XXXX” for the future of the planet.

It further compels people to “live life like beer depends on it” as beer’s survival ultimately depends on how we treat the planet.

A continuing effect of politics and natural causes?


China's population falls for first time since 1961
wrote:

China's population has fallen for the first time in 60 years, with the national birth rate hitting a record low - 6.77 births per 1,000 people.

The population in 2022 - 1.4118 billion - fell by 850,000 from 2021.

China's birth rate has been declining for years, prompting a slew of policies to try to slow the trend...

... In comparison, in 2021, the United States recorded 11.06 births per 1,000 people, and the United Kingdom, 10.08 births. The birth rate for the same year in India, which is poised to overtake China as the world's most populous country, was 16.42.

Deaths also outnumbered births for the first time last year in China...

Gaia in action to bring back some semblance of balance?

All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Slowly, all painfully slowly, we may make a start to go to cleaner steel making:


Government to offer £600m for green steel switch
wrote:

The government is expected to announce hundreds of millions of pounds of support to help Britain's two biggest steelmakers go green...

... Central to the offer of support are the companies' blast furnaces. These use vast quantities of coking coal, a treated form of coal, to smelt iron from ore-bearing rock. As a result they produce huge amounts of carbon dioxide, which drives global warming...

... One industry expert said an offer to cover 10% of the [upgrading] costs may not be sufficient...

... There are two main options for the production of low-carbon or "green steel". A plant in Sweden is already making iron using hydrogen instead of coal. But to do so in the UK would require a huge investment in green hydrogen to ensure supplies of the gas from renewable sources.

The more likely option for the two UK plants is a switch to electric arc furnaces. These could recycle the large amount of scrap steel the UK produces and could be powered by electricity from renewable sources.

Both options would mean the future of British steel won't involve coal, says Tata's Henrik Adam. That raises questions about another aspect of the government's industrial policy, the viability of a proposed new coal mine in Cumbria...

Way to go much more cleanly!

All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

It may not be the best solution, but for transitioning purposes (especially in developing nations) it has a place. It's also productive at the same time.

New technique from U.S. national lab promises to strip carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and factories at record-low cost.

Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Lab have developed a technique that is able to pull carbon dioxide out of the exhaust flue of a power plant or factory for $39 per metric ton, the cheapest cost every reported in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

To construct a factory to pull carbon dioxide out of the factory exhaust flue with this technique and at this price would cost $750 million.

In an effort to provide economic incentive for companies to install such a system, PNNL researchers have developed a way to generate methanol, which is a commonly sought after ingredient on its own right, during the process....

Way to go:


Stephen Fry and Aisling Bea urge UK banks to stop financing fossil fuels
wrote:

Stephen Fry, Aisling Bea and Emma Thompson are among celebrities calling on the five of the UK's biggest High Street banks to stop financing new oil, gas and coal projects.

It follows criticism that HSBC, Barclays, Santander, NatWest and Lloyds are funding "fossil fuel expansion" despite making green pledges.

Businesses and charities like Greenpeace also back the campaign...

... between 2016 and 2021, HSBC, Barclays, Santander, NatWest and Lloyds funnelled almost $368bn (£298bn) towards the fossil fuel industry.

It added that in the same time period, the lenders financed the 50 companies making the biggest investments in oil and gas projects to the tune of $141bn...

That is a vast amount of money... More than enough to forever go completely green and clean?...


Meanwhile, for a hopeful push:

Electric to be 100% renewable by 2035, say Welsh ministers
wrote:

More heat pumps in homes and community energy projects are part of the Welsh government's target to meet 100% of its electricity needs from renewables in 12 years time.

The latest estimates show renewables cover 56% of our energy consumption but Climate Change Minister Julie James called the new target "ambitious but credible", even with energy demand set to soar with the move towards electric cars and away from gas boilers.

It is considerable scaling up of ambition, as the previous target was to reach 70% by 2030....

Here's hoping for our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Is this a better clean way to clean steel?

UK scientists discover method to reduce steelmaking’s CO2 emissions by 90%
wrote:

... their technology aims to convert this carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide that can be reused in the iron ore reaction...

... And that can be used without rebuilding the existing furnaces and without the huge investments needed for that...

Is our Government being taken for a profitable ride for grants for new furnaces using fossil fueled hydrogen?...


All on our only one planet...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

There's golden prospects for going cleanly green:


Green projects are boosting UK growth...
wrote:

The transition to a greener economy is worth £71bn and has brought jobs and investment to parts of the UK experiencing industrial decline...

... Scotland and English regions, such as Tyneside, Teeside, Merseyside and the Humber, had all done better than average, with the green economy being stronger and contributing more to growth than in London and the South East.

Green jobs also pay significantly more...

... a government spokesman said the UK was leading the world on tackling climate change.

"Our plans will support up to 480,000 jobs by 2030," they said. "We are driving an unprecedented £100bn of private sector investment by 2030, backed by around £30bn in funding from the government since March 2021 to achieve our aims."

There is hope yet...

Yet more needs to be done sooner rather than ever too late...

All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

This is long overdue for naming and shaming and prosecuting and cleaning up:


GHGSat: Commercial satellite will see CO2 super-emitters
wrote:

The world's first commercial satellite dedicated to monitoring carbon dioxide from orbit will launch later this year.

It will be put up by the Canadian company GHGSat, which already flies six spacecraft tracking methane emissions.

The new platform will use the same shortwave infrared sensor but be tuned to CO2's specific light signature in the atmosphere.

The satellite will have a resolution at ground level of 25m, meaning it will be able to see major individual sources.

"We expect to see things like refineries, steel mills, aluminium smelters, cement plants, and, of course, thermal power stations,"...

A similar NASA satellite was (in my view suspiciously,) lost on launch in the 2000's. The then "oil baron" USA President killed off all further NASA observations of the Earth's climate... Until a following President years later funded launching a replacement.

We've suffered an awful lot of pollution since then...


Can we open our eyes fully and soon enough?

All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Now there's just the sort of battery needed for power grid stability.

Vanadium redox flow batteries can provide cheap, large-scale grid energy storage. Here's how they work.

The trend continues unabated:


Wind, solar power outstrip fossil fuel generation for EU
wrote:

Take that, energy crisis: Wind and solar power generation rose to record levels in the EU last year (2022), overtaking natural gas as an electricity source for the first time and preventing a wider return to coal...

... wind and solar power generated 22 percent of the EU's electricity last year, marking the first time the renewables surpassed natural gas, while also maintaining a lead over coal-fired power despite a slight increase in that manner of generation last year.

When Russia cut off supplies of natural gas in response to sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, the report said, the EU's response was to "accelerate its electricity transition". "The shocks of 2022 only caused a huge wave of support for renewables." That acceleration saw solar power generation in the EU rise by a record 39TWh in 2022 - a 24 percent YoY increase. Solar installations in the EU rose by 47 percent last year...

... A warm winter meant that the coal plants reactivated in the EU went largely idle...

... Collectively, all these numbers mean that any fear - or possibility - of a rebound for coal-fired electricity generation should be considered dead...

... the past winter proved one thing: reliance on fossil fuels as a fallback isn't sustainable. Gas and coal "cause skyrocketing electricity prices and energy insecurity," Ember said, urging EU policymakers to "step up to ensure the right policies, investments and infrastructure are in place" to enable a shift away from dependency on coal and gas.

Way to go, sooner rather than too late!

... All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

We have all the required elements and resources needed, but why send it all offshore when it can be done here?

Australia urged to boost clean energy spending over claims 'mammoth' US green subsidies bill a threat.

Batteries galore.

[edit] It would be nice to get an Aussie made battery hooked up to my solar system in 4.5yrs.

Hallelujah!


All major road building projects in Wales are scrapped
wrote:

All major road building projects in Wales have been scrapped over environmental concerns.

The planned third Menai bridge will not go ahead and neither will the controversial "red route" in Flintshire...

... The Welsh government said all future roads must pass strict criteria which means they must not increase carbon emissions, they must not increase the number of cars on the road, they must not lead to higher speeds and higher emissions, and they must not negatively impact the environment...

... Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters told the Senedd the approach of the last 70 years was not working. "We will not get to net zero unless we stop doing the same thing over and over," he said. "None of this is easy but neither is the alternative."...

... The deputy minister insisted new roads would be built in future, but said the government was "raising the bar" to ensure any new road was "the right response to transport problems"...

... The Welsh government will not consider new projects unless they reduce carbon emissions and support a shift to public transport, walking and cycling, improve safety through small-scale change and help the Welsh government adapt to the effects of climate change...

... Environmentalists have welcomed the announcement, calling it "world-leading"...

... But the construction industry is worried jobs will be cut and are calling for the Welsh government to give clarity on future investments...

A good way to go!

Aside: Note that phrases including the word "clarity" are developer's code words demanding unrestrained and unrestricted 'developing', and people and the landscape be damned... Damnable.


Here's hoping the Welsh Government stands firmly for a brighter more healthy future!

... All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Slowly shifting to a cleaner greener future:


US will see more new battery capacity than natural gas generation in 2023
wrote:

... This year, the grid will add more power (just under 55 GW), and solar will be over half of it, at 54 percent. In most areas of the country, solar is now the cheapest way to generate power, and the grid additions reflect that...

... Another trend that's apparent is the reversal of the vast expansion in natural gas ... Last year, natural gas generation accounted for 9.6 GW of the new capacity; this year, that figure is shrinking to 7.5 GW. And, strikingly, ... 6.2 GW of natural gas generating capacity is going to be shut down this year, meaning that there's a net growth of only 1.2 GW. Should current trends continue, we may actually see a net decline in natural gas generating capacity next year...

... The last big trend is the rapid growth of batteries. While these don't generate electricity, they are increasingly providing the equivalent function of a power plant, in the sense that they send power to the grid when it's needed. However you want to view them, they're booming ... At 9.4 GW of new batteries, the additions have nearly doubled in just a year...

... The other major source of additions, wind power, appears to have entered a period of stagnation ... Only six gigawatts of new wind are expected this year...

... The final piece of the story is the continued decline in coal plants. No new ones will be completed this year, and none are in planning. By contrast, nearly nine gigawatts of existing coal facilities will be shut down. Even without the environmental problems it creates fully incorporated into the cost of coal power, the economics are simply brutal for existing operators, and they're rapidly exiting the market.

So... For the USA for this coming year at least, we have:

• Dirty old coal and polluting gas are going out;
  
• Solar and batteries are coming in big;
  
• And wind is on pause until new winds blow.
  

Can we also improve energy usage to be less wasteful?...


All on our only one finite planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Sadly:


Why World Bank head’s resignation is good news for climate crisis fight
wrote:

The resignation of David Malpass, president of the World Bank, was greeted with relief and joy on Wednesday evening by climate experts and campaigners, who said it should open up a new era for financing the global shift to a low-carbon economy.

Malpass, who was appointed to the role by the then US president Donald Trump in 2019...

Hopefully we can now quickly move onwards to undo his disaster of "Ideology" over and above and beyond that of physical real world reality.


All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Another small start that the dirty old polluting fossil fuels industries claimed was impossible:


The race across Europe to build green steel plants
wrote:

... Steel is usually made in a process that starts with blast furnaces. Fed with coking coal and iron ore, they emit large quantities of carbon dioxide and contribute to global warming. The production of steel is responsible for around 7% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

But in Boden, the new plant will use hydrogen technology, designed to cut emissions by as much as 95%.

Although the first buildings have yet to go up on the remote site, the company behind the project, H2 Green Steel, believes it's on course to roll out the first commercial batches of its steel by 2025...

... The centrepiece of the new steel plant will be a tall structure called a DRI tower (DRI means a direct reduction of iron). Inside this, hydrogen will react with iron ore to create a type of iron that can be used to make steel. Unlike coking coal, which results in carbon emissions, the by-product of the reaction in the DRI tower is water vapour...

... The electricity used to make the hydrogen and power the plant comes from local fossil-free energy sources, including hydropower from the nearby Lule river, as well as wind parks in the region...

... "a crucial window of action" between now and 2030, with around 70% of steelworks around the world in need of repair and reinvestment during this period.

Blast furnaces could be replaced or relined to extend their lifetimes, but a smarter long-term strategy, argues Ms Lund Waagsaether, would be to invest in switching to carbon-cutting production processes instead. "The next eight years are crucial for making sure that companies and investors globally make decisions towards green steel production... which is going to 'lock us in' for another few decades."...

Can a big dirty old industry be 'persuaded' to go clean and green rather than flog to death their dirty old ways?

All on our only one planet...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Our new federal government is on the move with a 2nd offshore wind farm being proposed.

Offshore wind farm proposed for Hunter coast, Chris Bowen calls for community feedback.

The federal government has announced a plan to develop an offshore wind farm zone off the New South Wales Hunter region that would have the capacity for hundreds of turbines.

A 5,000-square-kilometre area near Newcastle has been proposed as the location.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen was in Newcastle on Thursday to ask for community feedback.

"The zone has the capacity to create up to eight gigawatts of power — enough to power six million homes," he said....

With all the coal powered power stations being slowly closed down in that area it's a perfect fit with the rest of the power infrastructure already in place.

Come on U.S., fix your national grid problems and get ahead.

Wind and Solar Energy Projects Are Overwhelming America’s Antiquated Electrical Grids.

Plans to install 3,000 acres of solar panels in Kentucky and Virginia are delayed for years. Wind farms in Minnesota and North Dakota have been abruptly canceled. And programs to encourage Massachusetts and Maine residents to adopt solar power are faltering.

The energy transition poised for takeoff in the United States amid record investment in wind, solar and other low-carbon technologies is facing a serious obstacle: The volume of projects has overwhelmed the nation’s antiquated systems to connect new sources of electricity to homes and businesses.

So many projects are trying to squeeze through the approval process that delays can drag on for years, leaving some developers to throw up their hands and walk away.

More than 8,100 energy projects — the vast majority of them wind, solar and batteries — were waiting for permission to connect to electric grids at the end of 2021, up from 5,600 the year before, jamming the system known as interconnection.

That’s the process by which electricity generated by wind turbines or solar arrays is added to the grid — the network of power lines and transformers that moves electricity from the spot where it is created to cities and factories. There is no single grid; the United States has dozens of electric networks, each overseen by a different authority.......

Is it so hard to get everyone together with a big map showing all the current projects that are approved and go from there instead of taking on each project 1 by 1 and likely winding up doing 1 upgrade on top of another?

If we can do it you can too. ;-)

That’s the process by which electricity generated by wind turbines or solar arrays is added to the grid — the network of power lines and transformers that moves electricity from the spot where it is created to cities and factories. There is no single grid; the United States has dozens of electric networks, each overseen by a different authority.......

Is it so hard to get everyone together with a big map showing all the current projects that are approved and go from there instead of taking on each project 1 by 1 and likely winding up doing 1 upgrade on top of another?

If we can do it you can too. ;-)

Think ERCOT who is not interconnected to any other of the grids. Fifedoms. Lots of little big man. Every one a separate corporation in "competition" with each other. After all the more the more places to TAX! Cooperation is for commies and liberals not for maximizing PROFIT!