DVDs of Mass Denial!

Posted by Page on December 29th, 2007

So, we’re coming to the end of another year. We’ve learned a lot about our world this year, and not all of it is good news. Scientists are predicting that it will only be 5-6 years before Arctic summers are ice-free. 2007 was the second-hottest year on record. Climate change is resulting in more natural disasters, and affecting wildlife and humans alike. Through his movie An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore did his damndest to sound the alarm about climate change, and get us to realize that we can take action.

Predictably, his movie was barely out before big oil-funded free market think tanks were scrambling to refute everything the movie - and the science - was saying. “AL GORE IS A NAZI!” they screamed on Fox News. “DON’T BELIEVE HIM!”.

There were even documentaries made to present a “balanced” view to the public, parroting James Inhofe (R-Exxon)’s famous babble that climate change is a hoax. Glenn Beck hosted “A Climate of Fear” on CNN (with hilariously dismal ratings). And, in the UK, “The Great Global Warming Swindle” was aired on ITV’s Channel 4. The makers trotted out the usual suspects, “scientists” who are prominent members of the Global Warming Deniers Hall of Shame, like Patrick Michaels (”[Gore’s movie is a] riveting work of science fiction”) and John Christy (co-author of Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths).

Despite all of this, the truth still prevails (even on the cover of Newsweek); despite the fact that the US federal government is abysmal at reducing carbon emissions and admitting the truth about climate change, a number of governors around the nation have decided to take matters into their own hands, including several Republicans. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one; Charlie Crist, the Republican governor of Florida, is another (read about his climate initiatives here).

So Crist’s cabinet must have been scratching their collective heads and saying “Um, thanks. Really, you shouldn’t have… really!” when they received a very special holiday gift from Florida Attorney General (and former Republican Congressman) Bill McCollum:

Attorney General Bill McCollum isn’t buying Gov. Charlie Crist’s belief that global warming is a threat to Florida and the world. Shortly before Christmas, McCollum sent a memo (Word file) to Crist and the other Cabinet members, advising them that “the science is not all in” on the subject and urging them to view the enclosed DVD, a British television documentary called The Great Global Warming Swindle. (It costs $19.99, and this is not exactly “It’s a Wonderful Life.”)

The letter is short:

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in our recent climate change workshops.

While many believe the science of global warming is undisputed, I would encourage you to view the attached DVD documentary.

Your leadership on this important issue is appreciated.

Dude, let me repeat: your own governor gets it. He was the first Florida governor to get it. He’s even a Republican. The rest of his cabinet gets it, so why don’t you?

No offense, but I’m sure those DVDs will make nice coasters or Frisbees.

(Hat tip to dailyKos diarist kansasr.)

Who has the most gas?

Posted by Page on November 14th, 2007

CO2 emissions, that is.

Countries with highest CO2-emitting power sectors (tonnes per year). Click to enlarge.

A very short article in Nature news tells all:

The city of Taichung in Taiwan is home to a power plant that emits more than 37 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, the highest of any plant in the world. Australia produces more carbon dioxide per capita through electricity generation than any other nation. But the US power sector still produces the most carbon dioxide in terms of sheer volume.

The data come from a soon-to-be public database established by the Center for Global Development, who argues that such emission data be made public because:

We cannot wait for national policymakers to break this deadlock [regarding emissions limitations], because many are hamstrung by powerful, organized constituencies that fear the cost of adjusting to a low-carbon future. At the same time, a potentially-dominant constituency awaits mobilization in developed countries, as well as in China, India and other developing nations. Hundreds of millions of concerned global citizens can promote climate-friendly products and technologies as consumers, investors, shareholders, managers and workers. All they need to act is timely, accurate, publicly-available information about the choices they face. To meet this challenge, CGD will launch a global, web-based initiative that will promote carbon emissions reduction using public disclosure techniques that have significantly reduced conventional pollution in both developed and developing countries.

The Carbon Monitoring for Action website is not yet available for perusal. [Update: yes, it is. Click here.] According to the Nature article, the database it provides will “[contain] emissions and energy data from more than 4,000 power companies and 50,000 power plants around the globe”. I’m looking forward to seeing the site, and am hoping that my Greenpeace friends will be able to decipher how “legit” it is. It’s not a climate change denier haven, but at the same time, I’m wondering how much of a free market leaning they have. I hope the database is accurate. At first glance, it sure looks like the stats are at least qualitatively right. [Another update: see Kevin Ummel’s comment below for more on the site.]

I like transparency. I wish we had more of it. And I love action, so… take some! Click the little guy, and join the energy [r]evolution.

Non-Treehuggers Criticize the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

Posted by Page on November 5th, 2007

Nuclear power´s [international] prominence as a major energy source will continue over the next several decades, according to new projections made by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)…

That’s from the IAEA press release for their new report, Energy, Electricity and Nuclear Power for the period up to 2030 [pdf]. The report’s ultimate goal is “…not so much to predict the future but to prepare for it,” and describes relative nuclear power use by a number of countries (flash presentation).

Regarding the US, the report found that, as of the end of 2006:

President Bush sits in the control room at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, Ala. Thursday June 21, 2007. Unit 1 of the Browns Ferry plant was restarted in May 2007, after being shut down for over 20 years. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The US had 103 reactors providing 19 percent of the country´s electricity… Altogether three-quarters of the US reactors either already have license renewals, have applied for them, or have stated their intention to apply. There have been a lot of announced intentions (about 30 new reactors´ worth) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is now reviewing four Early Site Permit applications.

Since the beginning of Bush’s first term, his administration has been a strong advocate for a nuclear renaissance, pushing especially hard over the past several years, with strong economic incentives and government loan guarantees for new plant construction, investment protection for unforeseen plant construction delays, etc. . One sentence buried deep within a massive energy bill can go a long way.

But more nuclear plants means more nuclear waste; in the US alone, there are approximately 55,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel in temporary storage at about 120 sites across the country, with no permanent storage solution in sight [pdf]. And other countries, with far more nuclear plants, have a similar problem. Spent nuclear fuel storage poses many problems (security, potential public safety hazards, etc.).

So, back in the beginning of 2006, the Bush administration announced its Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) proposal. The program is ambitious. Under the slogan of “Accelerating Clean and Safe Nuclear Energy”, it advocates worldwide expansion of nuclear power via nuclear fuel-recycling technology, with (theoretically) less nuclear waste. In short, build more nuclear plants, and…reduce, reuse, recycle!

The general GNEP nuclear fuel supply/demand/waste relationship. (Click to enlarge.)

[The GNEP proposal] will use a nuclear fuel cycle that enhances energy security, while promoting non-proliferation. It would achieve its goal by having nations with secure, advanced nuclear capabilities provide fuel services — fresh fuel and recovery of used fuel — to other nations who agree to employ nuclear energy for power generation purposes only. The closed fuel cycle model envisioned by this partnership requires development and deployment of technologies that enable recycling and consumption of long-lived radioactive waste.

One noteworthy GNEP-related partnership was forged with Russia in 2006 “…that would pave the way for Russia to become one of the world’s largest repositories of spent nuclear fuel…”. (The important implications and details are discussed here.)

The program is billed as a technological panacea for all things climate, energy, proliferation, and environment-related; it sounds like prime nerd bait as well as a prime target for anti-nuclear power nongovernmental organizations.

So guess who’s criticizing it? Well, my title gave it away: it’s the nerds.

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