There are technology solutions to energy resources and political considerations, but all the money, planning and implimentation is meaningless without the cooperation of China and India. The big problem is coal fired electric plants. Cnet news has something to say Electric power worldwide is over 40 percent of total global carbon dioxide releases, and it is the fastest-growing portion (in terms of human-released greenhouse gases). India, China and other countries are rapidly industrializing and bringing basic electric power services to their peoples. Their development, like U.S. electric power, follows least-cost options.
Our least-cost electric power options--coal-fired power plants--are by far our most destructive and dangerous ones. Coal burning directly kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in particulate, sulfate and mercury releases, thousands of tons of radioactive emissions yearly, and emits over twice as much carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as any other form of power generation. The coming costs from worsening droughts from Africa to Indiana, intensified storms, and rising sea levels will bring misery to billions.
To achieve these goals, we must provide services that consumers want and prefer over their non-sustainable fossil competitors, while at the same time be profitable for business.
Nevertheless, U.S. utilities and their banking partners are planning to build about 150 new coal-fired power plants in the U.S. over the next five years, and China is building roughly 60 large plants every year. (The recent TXU settlement is a step in the right direction but will probably not make a dent.) Electric power is an engine of economic growth, bringing light, cooling, and communication to billions, but every coal-fired power plant is a ticking slow bomb.
More here
If solutions DO get adopted in India and China, global warming control efforts are futile.
ReplyDeleteMoron Gorons call for 80% reduction in C02.
Har de har.
Meanwhile, the Earth does as it pleases.
Environmental Pollution is a problem (quickest "solution:" eliminate China) Global Warming is a Socialist Plot.
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Miniter Meets Chalabi
He remains deeply critical of the CIA, which is one of the reasons he remains a controversial figure. He criticizes the American intelligence bureaucracy for failing to examine information that is offered to them by outsiders. First, they are not open to information that does not filter down through the bureaucracy. Second, he says, “They evaluate the source, not the information itself.”
This is a well-documented weakness of the CIA. The agency fails to realize that trusted sources can lie or mislead and even enemies can provide useful intelligence. The answer is to analyze the information itself, to test it for internal contradictions and see if it fits with other established reports. Yet somehow, six years after the 9-11 attacks, the agency seems unable to adapt.
Plus, the agency cannot forgive Chalabi for telling it the truth in 1996; its coup attempt against Saddam had been penetrated. His timely warning could have saved many lives. Instead, it was held against him.
While he talks, I think that Chalabi has won. He persuaded the most powerful nation on Earth to free his country. Now the exile is home. Once derided as an outsider with no Iraqi support, he has proved to be an adept political leader who regularly asked to resolve local conflicts. When he lost America’s favor, he became even stronger. Not yet ready to rest, he will be a force in Iraq for years to come.
It would be foolish and dangerous to make an enemy of him, like Sadr.
Close your ears Habu:
ReplyDeleteHere comes the Trish Tirade.
Coal fired plants put uranium and other bad stuff in the atmosphere too.
ReplyDeleteBut then reading the post more closely I see that it says that.
ReplyDeleteThe entire article is a very worthy read especialy for those interested in the investment opportunities in energy resources and technology.
ReplyDeleteAnthopmorphic global warming is a transnational plot to redistribute wealth and consolidate power. It sure would be satisfying to decorate trees with these bastards.
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