MORE NEWS, 2-4 (CLIMATE CHANGE BENDS STEEL; SF PUTS IN BERKELEY PLAN FOR SUN; THE CASE FOR GREAT LAKES WIND; JAPAN FLIES BIOFUELS)

CLIMATE CHANGE BENDS STEEL
Parched: Australia faces collapse as climate change kicks in
Geoffrey Lean and Kathy Marks, February 1, 2009 (UK Independent)

"Leaves are falling off trees in the height of summer, railway tracks are buckling, and people are retiring to their beds with deep-frozen hot-water bottles, as much of Australia swelters in its worst-ever heatwave.

"…Melbourne thermometers topped 43C (109.4F) on a third successive day for the first time on record, while even normally mild Tasmania suffered its second-hottest day in a row, as temperatures reached 42.2C…Adelaide hit a staggering 45.6C…more records are expected to be broken this week.

"Ministers are blaming the heat – which follows a record drought – on global warming. Experts worry that Australia, which emits more carbon dioxide per head than any nation on earth, may also be the first to implode under the impact of climate change."

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"At times last week it seemed as if that was happening already. Chaos ruled in Melbourne on Friday after an electricity substation exploded, shutting down the city's entire train service, trapping people in lifts, and blocking roads as traffic lights failed. Half a million homes and businesses were blacked out, and patients were turned away from hospitals.
More than 20 people have died from the heat…

"'All of this is consistent with climate change, and with what scientists told us would happen,' said climate change minister Penny Wong…

"Most of the south of the country is gripped by unprecedented 12-year drought. The Australian Alps have had their driest three years ever, and the water from the vast Murray-Darling river system now fails to reach the sea 40 per cent of the time. Harvests have fallen sharply…It will get worse as global warming increases…"


SF PUTS IN BERKELEY PLAN FOR SUN
Gavin Newsom continues to push renewable energy
Erin Allday, February 3, 2009 (SF Chronicle)

“…People aren't really investing in solar energy right now. Something to do with the economy tanking, perhaps? … Mayor Gavin Newsom is [not] going to let something like a global financial crisis get in the way of one of his pet projects. On Monday, the mayor's office announced a new program to offer residential and commercial loans for solar and other renewable energy projects."

Mayor Newsom will turn The City's golden sun to gold. (click to enlarge)

“The Clean Energy Loan Program will be privately backed, although there isn't actually a private backer on board yet. The loans will be attached to the home or office building - not the individual taking out the loan - and paid over 20 years as a special tax on the property.

“It's an expensive venture, even with federal and local rebates…a typical residential installation costs about $25,000.

“With rebates, that price can be cut in half, and it can be as low as $7,000 for low-income residents - assuming, of course, that there are low-income residents in these hard times who are making a priority out of $7,000 solar panels."


THE CASE FOR GREAT LAKES WIND
Energy lawyer advocates for Great Lakes wind power
Lynn Stevens, February 3, 2009 (Business Review Western Michigan via MLive)

“David Marvin, shareholder and chair of the Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications Law department at Fraser Trebilcock Davis & Dunlap in Lansing, has been involved in energy and utility law for over three decades. He says it's time for Michigan to move beyond the "Age of Fire -- we dig stuff up and burn it," to developing offshore wind energy in the Great Lakes…because affordable energy is a major factor in where manufacturers site their operations…”

[Marvin:] "According to an economist at Tufts University, a carbon tax of 20 percent would double the cost of coal and increase the cost of coal-generated electricity 40 percent. That's one of the key factors why I think the government should get proactive in developing wind power, especially offshore wind power. "

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[Marvin:] "I believe in free markets, but free markets can be harsh if you wait for a crisis before you act. I think we're headed for a real crisis if we just sit around enjoying the status quo while we wait for a carbon tax to hit. "

[Marvin:] "Is [Michigan offshore wind development] doable? I'd have to say yes. It's already a significant part of the global energy-supply mix…Can we afford it? Another good question is, can we afford not to do it, given the fact we're looking at the significant risk of a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system that would significantly increase the cost of coal-fired systems and rate increases anyway. Why not pursue a source that's free, reliable and doesn't create pollution? There are places where customer costs have decreased where wind is added to the system…In the early 1980s, (wind generation) was 35 cents per kilowatt hour. It's come down now in some installations to 8, 9, 10 or 11 cents per kilowatt hour...it would be competitive with overall generation costs. "

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[Marvin:] "… Michigan is a late comer to wind energy...what we should be focusing on is offshore freshwater development. It would be different from what is being done offshore in oceans…You're talking turbines where blade-to-blade distance is the length of a football field...It's all made in Europe. Who should be building the equipment for manufacturing, fabricating and installing offshore wind? Nobody's doing it here now. There's a niche…Ohio's getting ahead of us...Wisconsin has studied more than we have...in Lake Michigan. So even within the Great Lakes region, though we have the greatest potential, other states seem to be more actively pursuing the opportunity. "

[Marvin:] "Offshore wind in the U.S. is a brand-new, infant industry. It's not an infant in Europe. The good news is, now we have some information and know what works. Those who act quickly can take a leading role. But there needs to be a partnership between business and government for it to work."


JAPAN FLIES BIOFUELS
Greener travel? Japan tests pond scum as jet biofuel
Todd Crowell, February 1, 2009 (Christian Science Monitor)

“The Boeing 747 belonging to Japan Airlines took off from Tokyo’s busy Haneda Airport Friday and circled over the Pacific Ocean…It was the last of four demonstration flights that have taken place over the past year…

“Aviation currently contributes about 3 percent of global carbon emissions, but air travel is growing…jet aircraft do not just give off carbon dioxide but nitrous oxide – which some scientists calculate will have at least double the impact of CO2 – and condensation trails, which also may contribute to global warming."

Camelina - the plant that would be jet fuel (click to enlarge)

“…Capt. Keiji Kobayashi said that the performance of the biofueled engine seemed indistinguishable from the other three engines. That echoed reports from the three previous flights …

“The JAL test used a blend of 84 percent camelina oil [a vegetable oil considered a second-generation biofuel as it has little food value], 16 percent jatropha oil [which produces half the emissions of oil], and less than 1 percent algae oil [the greenest of the biofuels but the furthest from mass production]. The three biofuels were mixed 50-50 with kerosene in one of the aircraft’s four engines. It was the first demonstration flight using camelina oil and the first one to use a blend of three different biofuels…"

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“The aviation industry consumes about 240 million gallons of jet fuel a day…Virgin Atlantic in February became the first airline to demonstrate that a commercial aircraft could fly using a biofuel, flying from London to Amsterdam on a partial mix of coconut and babassu oils. Air New Zealand followed up in December using jatropha plant oil, and Continental in Houston flew a two-engine B737 on a mix of jatropha and algae oil…

“All the demonstration flights were conducted with jets made by Boeing which has been coordinating all of the tests…”