retherford.org
January 28, 2008 at 12:50 am · Filed under Friction, Tech
In spite of the undeniable improvements that Google brings to this new connected age, I struggle to accept the cost vs. benefit of trusting them with my data.
Even with their recent entries into the renewable energy space, it still worries me that “organizing the world’s data” includes making money off any bread-crumbs I happen to leave in the Google cloud, including but not limited to my private email or RSS reading habits.
This post by Jessica Hagy at Indexed captures my fear pretty succinctly.
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January 2, 2008 at 2:43 am · Filed under Energy, Home
Notice that Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, Tennessee have no plans to enact a Renewable Energy Portfolio standard (REPS).
I’ll try to find a map of clean energy investment to superimpose. My guess is the same white states would be empty.
Update:Here is a link to the DOE version of the map.
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October 12, 2007 at 10:27 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Or it should. Do you ever argue about things that neither you nor the other person have enough information to actually know? Does the act of measuring actually affect change?
-Paul’s random thought of the day
*quote Fred Gleeck
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August 29, 2007 at 7:19 pm · Filed under Energy, Home
At 5P.M. yesterday Mayor Hutton became the 10th mayor in Indiana to sign the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.
I attended and was heartened by the Mayor’s comments that the city will look closely at its energy profile, commit to buying only Energy Star products, reduce environmental footprint of city buildings, support smart development initiatives, and improve the efficiency of the city vehicle fleet.
This is in addition to the stated goal to “Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol — 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012″.
I don’t recall her exact words but Mayor Hutton stated that this is an area where it makes sense for us to invest money because it will pay dividends in the future.
From the press announcement:
The City is already implementing or has plans for implementing most of the 12 items listed in the Climate Protection Agreement through the Indiana CLEAN Community Challenge administered by IDEM (Indiana Department of Environmental Management), the Richmond Comprehensive Plan 2006, and the Richmond/Wayne County Environmental Awareness Council.
This is excellent news because it takes the issue local. In order for this to gain traction it will need to show results.
The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement A. We urge the federal government and state governments to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the target of reducing global warming pollution levels to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012, including efforts to: reduce the United States’ dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate the development of clean, economical energy resources and fuel-efficient technologies such as conservation, methane recovery for energy generation, waste to energy, wind and solar energy, fuel cells, efficient motor vehicles, and biofuels; B. We urge the U.S. Congress to pass bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation that includes 1) clear timetables and emissions limits and 2) a flexible, market-based system of tradable allowances among emitting industries
Stay tuned…
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August 8, 2007 at 9:29 am · Filed under Art, Energy
I saw THE POLICE with David a couple weeks ago. It was great. As Bode says, “REALLY [H]UGE Daddy!” In some ways it was like having my head spun round in a complete circle. Twice.
Don’t get me wrong, this reunion tour thing is monumental. Many many resources going in to organizing, marketing, and ultimately selling it to 30 and 40 somethings like me (and to the corporate sponsors). Not to mention the monumental energy expended with 15-20,000 people traveling to and from the concert, burning $3/gal gas.
It’s not quite the same as piling 6 teens in a 77 Corrolla and driving 3hrs. to watch a show with 150 people. Ahh, nastalgia you say? No, not really. The point is I think it changes you. In the same way it did 25 years ago when you first listened to So Lonely or Bring On The Night. You think a little bit differently today than you did yesterday. And then you do some things differently - like belt out De Do Do Do Do De Da Da Da with your son at the top of your lungs. No harm in passing on perfect pop syncopated rhythms to the next generation…
We clasp the hands of those that go before us,
And the hands of those who come after us.
We enter the little circle of each other’s arms
And the larger circle of lovers,
Whose hands are joined in a dance,
And the larger circle of all creatures,
Passing in and out of life,
Who move also in a dance,
To a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it
Except in fragments
— Wendell Berry
*Title from Synchronicity
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July 6, 2007 at 8:23 pm · Filed under Energy, Home
Funny cartoon by “Fighting Words” author Ben Smith.
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May 22, 2007 at 10:07 pm · Filed under Home
Today is my Mom’s birthday. In a perfect world, I would be escorting her up the ramp of cruise ship leaving on a journey to distant ports. Or taking her out to dinner and show. Or dropping off my son for a stay at Grandma’s.
But I’m sitting in a hotel room in Southfield, MI feeling a little disconnected from the person that brought me into this world. We talked on the phone and it was apparent she was not in a very festive mood. A family illness weighed heavily and tiredness from hosting a big gathering the night before had left her not wanting to celebrate. As I hung up the phone, I wished for her to find a moment of relaxation - some satisfaction with her many accomplishments.
Here are some favorite moments with my mom:
5. When she used words such as “Persnickety” in spite of the puzzled looks on our faces.
4. The expression on her face when my Dad, Mark, and I would return from a long camping trip. First, happiness to see us back safely. Then, the realization that everything we wore or carried with us smelled like smoke from the fire, days without a shower, and other pungeant outdoor odors. “Put those things in the garage. They’re too smelly to be in the house.”
3. When she watched my first soccer “slide tackle” at age 10. She fueled my enthusiasm with hers and was kind enough not mention that it happened in the open field with no one from the opposing team around.
2. When she graduated with a Masters Degree in Education after spending many years at home raising my brother and I (while going back to school).
1. The sound in her voice we when we told her she was going to be a grandmother. “Really? REALLY?!!” she said. It was the sound of pure joy.
Love you Mom.
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February 6, 2007 at 12:15 am · Filed under Energy
On Friday, Feb. 2nd, the fourth assessment report from Working Group I, of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was published. Working Group I is composed of scientists from all over the world who focus on the “Physical Sciences Basis” of global warming. The IPCC was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1988.
You can download the PDF summary report here.
Under the heading “DIRECT OBSERVATIONS OF RECENT CLIMATE CHANGE”:
Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level.
At continental, regional, and ocean basin scales, numerous long-term changes in climate have been observed. These include changes in Arctic temperatures and ice, widespread changes in precipitation amounts, ocean salinity, wind patterns and aspects of extreme weather including droughts, heavy precipitation, heat waves and the intensity of tropical cyclones
And under the heading “A PALEOCLIMATIC PERSPECTIVE”:
Paleoclimate information supports the interpretation that the warmth of the last half century is unusual in at least the previous 1300 years. The last time the polar regions were significantly warmer than present for an extended period (about 125,000 years ago), reductions in polar ice volume led to 4 to 6 metres of sea level rise.
And finally, under the heading “UNDERSTANDING AND ATTRIBUTING CLIMATE CHANGE”:
Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.
It’s seems like the time of debating whether global warming is real and caused by humans (anthropogenic) is over. Whether there is political will and political leadership at the national level is still to be seen. And just because we’re confident about the causes of the problem, doesn’t mean we have a plan to mitigate it.
There are some good ideas floating around. One of the more interesting ones I’ve read is by Oliver Tickell, in the article, “Climate change: Time to get serious.” Tickell addresses the sticky issue of a cap-and-trade system by proposing that carbon rights be allocated and sold globally. He also suggests controlling greenhouse gases at the point of production rather than where they are emitted:
1 impose a series of global caps on annual greenhouse gas production
2 set aside the country-based approach, replacing it with a unified global approach
3 control greenhouse gases at point of production, not of emission; in the case of fossil fuel emissions, control the production of the fuel itself as close as feasible to the mine or well-head, based on the global warming potential of the fuel in question when burnt
4 sell greenhouse gas production “Rights” at a global auction open to all bidders
5 limit the fossil fuel production of any company in any year to the level for which they have obtained Rights
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January 31, 2007 at 1:46 am · Filed under Energy, Tech
Google Trends show world wide search for “global warming” is heavier than the search for “climate change.” Interesting. Unfortunately, we don’t know the actual number of searches so its hard to draw real conclusions from this. It’s probably safe to say that people are becoming concerned. Link
Blue=Global Warming
Red=Climate Change
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December 16, 2006 at 2:34 am · Filed under Energy
Computer models of tree planting to offset carbon dioxide show that care must be taken not to plant too many trees in mid-latitude or high altitude locations. [BBC article]
Computer modelling indicates that trees only really work to cool the planet if they are planted in the tropics. The research has been discussed at an American Geophysical Union meeting.
Planting more trees in high latitudes could be counterproductive from a climate perspective Dr Govindasamy Bala “What we have found is in the so-called mid-latitude region where the United States is located and majority of European countries are located, the climate benefits of planting will be nearly zero,” said ecologist Govindasamy Bala of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
“[In] the seasonally snow-covered regions [at even higher latitudes], planting new trees could be actually counter-productive,” he told BBC News.
The basic idea is that trees absorb CO2 during photosynthesis. They can also evaporate water into the atmosphere causing clouds to form, reflecting incoming solar radiation. This works well in the tropics but not so well here in the U.S. More forest cover means more darker, heat absorbing, regions. And in areas that are covered by snow during part of the year, planting trees could actually be counterproductive, due to decreased reflection of solar radiation.
This new study highlights the importance of getting our facts right before we plunge ahead with solutions. On one hand we have an immense problem (climate change global warming) and increasing personal and political will to do something about it. On the other hand, even though the severity of problem is generally agreed upon, we aren’t yet sure which solutions will actually work.
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