MORE NEWS, 1-28 (THERE’S CLIMATE CHANGE. IT’S SERIOUS. REALLY; VENTURE $$$ GO TO SUN; DEFENSE GIANT PARTNERS ON WAVE ENERGY; CCS VIABLE?)

THERE’S CLIMATE CHANGE. IT’S SERIOUS. REALLY.
Long Droughts, Rising Seas Predicted Despite Future CO2 Curbs
Juliet Eilperin, January 27, 2009 (Washington Post)
and
Global Warming Is Irreversible, Study Says
Richard Harris, January 26, 2009 (NPR)

LISTEN TO THE NPR REPORT

"Greenhouse gas levels currently expected by mid-century will produce devastating long-term droughts and a sea-level rise that will persist for 1,000 years regardless of how well the world curbs future emissions of carbon dioxide…Top climate researchers from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Switzerland and France said…

"…carbon dioxide will remain near peak levels in the atmosphere far longer than other greenhouse gases, which dissipate relatively quickly…carbon concentrations in the atmosphere stand at 385 parts per million…climate scientists and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have set a goal of stabilizing atmospheric carbon at 450 ppm, but current projections put the world on track to hit 550 ppm by 2035, rising after that point by 4.5 percent a year…"

click for more info on 350.org

"…if carbon dioxide concentrations peak at 600 ppm, several regions of the world -- including southwestern North America, the Mediterranean and southern Africa -- will face major droughts as bad or worse than the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Global sea levels will rise by about three feet by the year 3000, a projection that does not factor in melting glaciers and polar ice sheets that would probably result in significant additional sea level rises.

"Even if the world managed to halt the carbon dioxide buildup at 450 ppm, the researchers concluded, the subtropics would experience a 10 percent decrease in precipitation…That level is still akin to mega-droughts such as the Dust Bowl. The already parched U.S. Southwest would probably see a 5 percent drop in precipitation during its dry season…while societies can try to adapt to reduced precipitation with better farming techniques and other measures, there is a limit to the ability to cope with severe drought…"

click to enlarge

"The rising sea levels anticipated under a conservative projection…would cause "irreversible commitments to future changes in the geography of the Earth…"

"…the world's oceans are already absorbing an enormous amount of carbon, but over time this will reach a limit and they will no longer absorb as much. As this happens, the atmospheric temperature will remain nearly constant.

"Most previous scientific analyses…have assessed climate change impacts on a 100-year time scale. A few researchers…have argued that it makes more sense to look at a time scale of at least 500 years…Carbon dioxide emissions account only for about half of human-induced global warming, but the several other gases that play a role, including methane, dissipate more quickly…

"A separate study in the same journal yesterday suggests that the iconic emperor penguins of the Antarctic could be headed to extinction by 2100 if the sea ice shrinks by the predicted amounts…Emperor penguins would have to migrate or change the timing of their growth stages to avoid extinction…"


VENTURE $$$ GO TO SUN
Solar energy startup companies raked in venture capital investments in 2008
Victor Godinez, January 26, 2009 (Dallas Morning News)

“The venture capital industry is getting a bit skittish -- investments in startup companies fell eight percent from 2007 to $28.3 billion in 2008, the National Venture Capital Association reported…

“But even with VC firms tightening their belts in the face of the recession, there is still one type of technology that is scoring big investment bucks: solar energy…"clean tech" companies received 50 percent more venture money in 2008 than they did in 2007…"

click to enlarge

“… the list of 10 biggest venture investments of 2008 was dominated by solar startups…it eventually means cheaper energy that's not reliant on coal or some other petroleum product…

“The 10 Largest Venture Capital Investments in the U.S. in 2008…

“Nanosolar Inc…Produces solar electricity through solar-cell technology…

Solyndra Inc…Designs and manufactures photovoltaic technology for solar energy…

SolarReserve Inc…Develops utility-scale renewable energy solar power plants…

OptiSolar Inc…Manufactures photovoltaic modules and produces power…

Range Fuels Inc…Develops cellulosic ethanol production technology…

BrightSource Energy Inc…Develops utility-scale solar power plants…

AVA Solar Inc…Manufactures thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules…

Pocket Communications Northeast…Provides wireless communications services…

Rearden Commerce…Provides on-demand assistants for business management…

Pacific Biosciences of California…Develops a DNA sequencing platform.”


DEFENSE GIANT PARTNERS ON WAVE ENERGY
Lockheed, OPT partner on utility-scale wave energy; Power plant off Pacific Coast of North America is expected to be the pair's first joint effort in utility scale projects.
January 26, 2009 (Cleantech Group)

“Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Pennington, N.J.-based Ocean Power Technologies (Nasdaq: OPTT) said today they plan to co-develop a utility-scale wave power project in North America.

“It's the first time the two companies have worked together on a utility-scale project, but Lockheed and OPT are already co-developing systems for the U.S. homeland security and maritime surveillance using OPT's wave energy system and Lockheed's acoustic sensors, signal processing and communications systems…

“The utility-scale project is planned for the coasts of California or Oregon using OPT's PowerBuoy wave energy system. OPT plans to provide the technology, develop the site, and build the power take-off and control systems. Lockheed plans to build, deploy, operate and maintain the project, as well as integrating systems."

OPT wave buoy. (click to enlarge)

“It's not Lockheed's first foray into renewable energy projects. In November 2007, Lockheed and Starwood Energy Group announced plans for utility-scale solar projects…

“In December 2008, Lockheed Martin broke ground for construction of a solar power test bed to support these efforts…”

"In December, OPT said it was operating with an $8 million backlog of orders as it focuses efforts on bringing its 150 kilowatt PowerBuoy into production for the utility-scale power generation market during the next year…with components manufacturers expected to begin production before the end of 2009.

"The company's 40 kW PowerBuoy is capable of providing autonomous power for deepwater use… "


CCS VIABLE?
Carbon-Capture Projects Are Viable at $50 a Ton, Stern Says
Alex Morales, January 19, 2009 (Bloomberg)

“Permits to release a ton of carbon dioxide into the sky need to cost about $50 each, or three times Europe’s current price, for companies to invest in experimental technology to trap the greenhouse gas, Nicholas Stern said.

“Projects that capture and safely bury CO2 underground must be developed to play a role in controlling global emissions of the global-warming gas during the next 20 to 30 years, the London School of Economics professor said…

“Power-plant operators, scientists and economists worldwide are investigating the unproven technology to determine whether it could safely and economically store the greenhouse gas below ground…"

CCS: Capturing gas with a net. (click to enlarge

“Under European laws that set emissions limits and carbon trading rules, industrial polluters are required to own permits to release each ton of CO2 they produce. European emissions permits for 2009 currently trade at about 12 euros ($15.) At that price it would be cheaper for a coal-burning plant to buy an allowance than invest in devices to bury CO2, the main global-warming gas…

“Carbon capture and storage will be vital to the United Nation’s goal to halve global emissions by 2050, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency…Stern backs a mix of renewable energy technologies as well as carbon capture…

“The 27-nation European Union plans to subsidize as many as 12 demonstration plants for carbon capture to test the feasibility of catching emissions from power plants and pumping them underground.”