Oops. Who hates “the environment”? Green lobbyists keep revealing how little they care. Friends of the Earth want to categorically rule out one of the most cost effective ways to reduce our carbon emissions. New supercritical hot burning coal plants can reduce emissions by an amazing 15%. But Friends of the Earth and The Guardian hate coal more than they care about CO2.
The green climate fund (GCF) refused an explicit ban on fossil fuel projects at the contentious meeting in Songdo, South Korea, last week.
“It’s like a torture convention that doesn’t forbid torture,” said Karen Orenstein, a campaigner for Friends of the Earth US who was at the meeting. “Honestly it should be a no-brainer at this point.” — The Guardian
Poor old solar and wind power are so useless that the debate is about whether they achieve any reductions at all. Their intermittent power means some kind of back-up base load power source has to run on standby to pick up the pieces when they collapse. The more wind power you have, the less CO2 you save. Solar Power provides “cheaper” electricity to the rich at the expense of everyone else, and potentially destroys thousands of square kilometers of wilderness, as well as zapping birdlife. We can use precious funds to help the environment, or we can waste them…
Apparently what matters most to environmental campaigners is knee-capping independent industry and cheap energy. Judging by what actually happens, the primary aim is increasing the government sector. Every industry dependent on big-government is a friend a socialist can count on.
The EU has burned $100 billion on badly managed renewable subsidies (that’s just the waste, not the total budget). That money ended up in someone’s pocket, and you can bet they have an incentive to donate to Friends of The Earth to keep the junket-gravy flowing.
If the Guardian and Friends of the Earth want us to believe they care about CO2 levels, they need to stop choosing the worst ways to reduce CO2 as their preferred option. Perhaps they are scared that if we actually reduced our CO2 emissions people might realize that it makes no difference to the weather?
The Guardian lobbying rag didn’t ask any hard questions, do an Internet search, or speak to critics. But they did provide a free “Ad” ticker counting the barrels of oil used by the world while we read their unresearched, careless, and innumerate “report”. The oil ticker the most insightful piece on the page. So far 1.5 million barrels of oil have been used while I write this. We are an oil-powered world; 80% of our total electricity comes from fossil fuels. Thank goodness for the independent free market that provides it.
H/t Sally.
* Or both.
The Guardian, David Marr and Associates ………. why would we bother to read their rants?
190
Dennis
Because you need to know how the black hatted guys ‘think’.
George Bush used the concept of Axis of Evil to describe three of the world’s most despicable regimes.
When it comes to despicable regimes in supposed man made climate change, we all know that the Guardian, the BBC, the ABC, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace all vie furiously with each other to be the champions of bad science and purveyors of scary, unsubstantiated, fantasy tales.
The problem is there is no public forum in which to take these organisations to task for the unremitting rubbish they spout on imminent Thermageddon. In fact, no discussion is allowed whatsoever, as in their eyes their Cause is holy and sceptics (usually brighter and always much better informed than the alarmists) are an heretical abomination – kind of like a less beheading-obsessed version of ISIS.
211
Dennis
This take might help
“I’d prefer to put it this way: Republicans show their innate superior intelligence by challenging global warming orthodoxy. Democrats are more inherently lazy thinkers because the political left are takers, not givers. They prefer any work to be done for them by somebody else.
All of which explains why Democrats simply swallow whatever a tendentious bore like Al Gore tells them and then repeat it without question. That’s easier than going to the effort of thinking for themselves.”
More at
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/03/30/the-numbers-have-it-questioning-climate-change-is-the-smart-thing-to-do/
111
Listening to the greenies is torture….
40
I wonder if it will turn all female coal plant workers into prostitutes? ( i.e. the latest howler from the US Democrats… )
60
The Guardian is torturous.
20
Here’s a wonderful interview on 2 GB today with Matt Ridley. This is a celebration of fossil fuels and a condemnation of the idiocy of solar and wind energy.
http://www.2gb.com/audioplayer/97726
241
After listening to Matt Ridley today and Ted Cruz yesterday I think there is some hope that good science and common sense will prevail over the green sickness. Once public figures start speaking out can the MSM continue to ignore the sceptical side of the debate? Rhetorical question, I don’t really want to know the answer!
271
This in via Breitbart: ExxonMobil tells the Guardian where to stick it
A very pointy stick indeed.
270
Don’t worry about newspapers.
The kneecapping of cheap energy will result in even more deaths when the elderly expire during weather extremes. This appears to be a cost-saving measure. Pensions and hospitals will benefit, as the many baby-boomer ‘useless eaters’ meet their maker.
The UK follows the agenda:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11501235/No-one-is-talking-about-our-utterly-mad-energy-policy.html
90
Maybe we need to flag this policy as being a renewed New Age T4 program?
When you see the vulnerable being bumped off due to energy poverty….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_T4
Action T4 (German: Aktion T4, pronounced [akˈtsi̯oːn teː fiːɐ]) was the postwar designation[2] for a programme of forced euthanasia in wartime Nazi Germany. Under the programme physicians were directed to judge patients “incurably sick, by critical medical examination,” and then administer to these patients a “mercy death” (German: Gnadentod).[3] In October 1939 Hitler signed a “euthanasia decree” backdated to 1 September 1939 that authorized Reichsleiter Philipp Bouhler, chief of Hitler’s private chancellery,[4] and Dr. Karl Brandt, Hitler’s personal physician, to carry out the programme of euthanasia (translated into English as follows):
Reich Leader Bouhler and Dr. med. Brandt are charged with the responsibility of enlarging the competence of certain physicians, designated by name, so that patients who, on the basis of human judgment [menschlichem Ermessen], are considered incurable, can be granted mercy death [Gnadentod] after a discerning diagnosis. — Adolf Hitler [5][6]
Various other rationales for the programme have been offered, including eugenics, natural selection, racial hygiene, cost effectiveness and welfare budget.[7][8]
The programme officially ran from September 1939[9][10] to August 1941, during which 70,273 people were killed at various extermination centres located at psychiatric hospitals in Germany and Austria.[1] After the official termination of the programme physicians in German and Austrian facilities continued many of the practices that had been instituted under the program right up until the defeat of Germany in 1945.[11][12] This “unofficial” continuation of the Action T4 policies led to more than 200,000 additional deaths. In addition, technology that was developed under Action T4, particularly the use of lethal gas to perform mass murder, was transferred to the medical division of the Reich Interior Ministry, along with transfers of personnel who had participated in the development of the technology.[13] This technology, the personnel and the techniques developed to deceive victims were used in the implementation of industrial killings in mobile death vans, and in established extermination camps with stationary facilities for mass murder.[14]
20
Thank goodness for the independent free market that provides it.
Oh Jo you are funny,a free independent market indeed!
01
Oops wrong place,sorry!
00
Writing in the WSJ Lomborg backs up Ridley’s point on S&W energy.
He also shows why the CAGW scare is a load of nonsense. S&W today supplies just 0.4% of world energy and this will increase to just 2.2% by 2040.
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/the-alarming-thing-about-climate.html
140
No coal, and there’s no steel.
290
About 1.2 billion tonnes of coal is required for 70% of steel production worldwide each year.
240
Bingo, and think of how steel in it’s many forms has positively impacted our lives (err excluding wars) with technological advancements.
I love working with the stuff (when there’s work) and finding new ways to use it.
160
Hey Tom, why so negative? I’m sure they can smelt ore with big magnifying glasses aided by wind and solar.I believe that carbon in some form is required as a reducing agent, but I’m sure they’re having “a conversation” about greener solutions.
120
You need coke made from coal reduce iron ore (iron oxide) into iron and hence to steel.
Celebrate coal.
R-COO- K+
50
OOpps
….to reduce iron ore………..
20
Wind turbines are made using energy from coal at about 4 cents per kWh and provide energy thought to cost of the order of 10 cents per kWh.
In effect, they are machines for taking cheap, stable and reliable energy from coal and giving it back in the form of an intermittent and unpredictable dribble at more than twice the price. That is one thing.
But what stops wind turbines from being renewable is that the making of wind turbines can’t be powered using energy from the wind turbines themselves.
If power from wind turbines costing 10 cents per kWh was used to make more wind turbines, then the wind turbines so produced would make power at something like 25 cents per kWh. The cost would compound away and any society that attempted to run itself on wind energy would collapse.
Wind energy as a component of a power system relies upon transfer of energy at its inception from another source.
It is not renewable energy.
It is no consolation that solar power from photovoltaic panels is much worse in this respect.
Via wattsupwiththat – Guest essay by David Archibald
131
The ultimate aims of the Green Blob are, World Government and reducing the population by 90%. No facts or reasoning are allowed to get in the way of these aims.
322
You forgot one more thing they want: Destroy Capitalism.
210
Destroying corporate and state capitalism and replacing them with free market capitalism is the ideal.
00
Similar to a point I have tried to make on Bishop Hill: WE are constantly being told that we should be “doing something” about CO2 emission, but the “we”, of course, does not mean, “We, the people”, it means, “the government”, while everyone else can carry on with their lives as normal, until told what to do by “the government”, as it creates more and more restrictive legislation. Who can argue that this is not a Socialist dream?
71
If anybody doubts the Green’s One World Government agenda they should refer to the last luncheon address former Greens leader Senator Bob Brown made at the National Press Club in Canberra. During his speech he mentioned that he has a dream about a “world parliament” and no sovereign borders. The end to sovereign borders was mentioned recently by federal Labor Deputy Leader Plibersek and earlier Leader Shorten commented that Labor would again open our borders if returned to government.
The Weekend Australian reported last year a discussion with former Treasurer Peter Costello when he returned from a trip to Europe, while in Germany he met with a former German Minister for Foreign Affairs who is a Green. Costello would not repeat the conversation they had regarding the Australian Greens but did say that the German Green referred to them as being way out to the left of international green politics.
41
Kevin, your post is short and states the essential truths of the goals of leftists and watermelon radicals everywhere. Thank you.
30
Yes well you can understand then why they want everyone disarmed then…..
31
Well with 90% less people on the planet- renewables could work! The chosen ones.
20
I know I sound like a broken record every time I mention the Load Curves for actual power consumption, but it seems I’m one of very few who do actually mention them.
If there’s just one thing in all this electrical power generation debate which is of signal importance, it’s that ever so simple looking diagram, totally and utterly ignored by everyone.
They haven’t changed since the dawn of power consumption. They are the same for a small Country town, a local region, a regional city, a Capital city, a State, a Country, anywhere where there is a reliable and constant supply of electricity.
What they show is that no matter what, 60% of every watt of power which is actually being generated is required ABSOLUTELY for 24 hours of every day of the year. (24/7/365)
You have to have power to cover that, and as you can see, because it is required for the full 24/7/365, then you need power plants which can actually deliver that.
Not ONE renewable of any type can do that.
Without Nuclear Power Generation, then the only power generation method which can do that on the huge scale required is coal fired power, and here I’m talking large scale power generation in the one place, a typical 2000MW+ power plant.
What we currently have here in Australia are plants which are now, virtually all of them, 30 years old plus.
There are no new plants of this nature even on the far horizon.
Let’s just hope the existing ones don’t fail before we come to our senses.
Tony.
520
Britain and Germany are much further along the green energy path than Australia. I do not wish suffering on the people of either country but it is hard to see how Britain and Germany can avoid a power crisis in the near future, with all the suffering that will bring. If it happens, perhaps Australia will be able to learn from their misfortunes and pull back before we suffer our own power crisis.
230
Indeed they appear to be, but there apparently remains some further work to do /sarc
30
Here’s an interesting Site Tony showing the UK daily/weekly/monthly consumption. Looks best on a large screen. 🙂
http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/
70
If you notice it now does France too.
France has become the nuclear powerhouse of Western Europe. It frequently supplies Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Italy.
You don’t hear much about Greens from France yet they are one of the countries most in touch with their environment
90
And this is why I want to stay in France… admittedly they have some painfully convoluted bureaucracy (oh dear god, it can be painful), and are not without political controversy and associated loonies, but I still marvel at the fairly ‘common sense’ approach to government and life. With exceptions, and occasional blunders, they do generally live up to their motto of “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”.
20
I think the France/Dutch reference is the power being supplied by France and the Netherlands.
20
Not the Dials. Click the New! Gridwatch France in blue in the extreme top left corner of the page to jump to the French Grid and see the total French output.
French demand peaks over 60GW compared to Britain’s 40GW
10
It does France to. The powerhouse of Western Europe
40
The RET really beggars belief; why would you have a target, 20% or whatever, when it literally will only light a few light bulbs about 30% of the day and only in the daytime when the sun shines. But that is the political reality. The Greens have been pretty successful with public opinion, as most of the public believe that it is possible to have industrial power 24/7 without coal, dams for hydro and nuclear is a no no. It’s lucky for Germany, Denmark etc. that the neighbours, France with nuclear, and Norway/ Sweden with hydro, can help out. We haven’t any neighbours in Aust.
100
France produces more or less 80% of its power from nuclear, and the other 20% is hydro (rounded figures). Some of the hydro dams and areas around them in the Pyrenees are incredible in spring/summer, I mean, sure various occasional pipelines aren’t all that pretty, but have less visual impact compared to wind turbines. Flying back to Paris from Frankfurt a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t help but look out the window and notice just how ugly those wind turbines are – even from the air.
40
Yeah wait until one of joe publics aged parents or kids dies when the power drops out every week…the tune will change then.
This is one of the reasons I wanted my parents new house to have extra solar power capacity, so it can run stand-alone off grid.
And yes, I know it will require a few fiddles to allow the solar to generate power when no mains voltage is sensed….but the greenies care not who dies, as long as many do.
50
A good point, Tony… but what year has 365 weeks in it? Unless Aussie years are different from the UK’s, perhaps you meant 24/365, or 24/7/52, or (to be truly pedantic) 24/7/52.142957.
31
It’s the new “post-modern” calendar, they are VERY short weeks.
20
24 hours (a day)
7 days (a week)
365 days (a year)
24/7/365
00
To tell the truth, BruceC, I prefer Robert’s reply… and I think you have missed my point, too.
00
TonyfromOz’s Jonova post:
A nation still drawing 18,000MW in it’s sleep can’t go solar…
Used this link again the other day. It is invaluable.
Bookmark it!
80
Christopher Booker paints a grim picture of UK energy policy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11501235/No-one-is-talking-about-our-utterly-mad-energy-policy.html
00
“It’s like a torture convention that doesn’t forbid torture,” well this depends on the context of ‘convention’, for instance a large gathering of people who share a common interest in torture would consider the described convention a success.
The real torture is watching all that money go to waste on useless projects ran by equally useless people, the upside is watching the insane tantrums as the spoilt children’s obscene allowances are taken away, I predict peak stupidity is going to be like nothing we can imagine, oh the antici………….pation.
150
In view of the fact that the satellite measurements show no significant rise
in global temperature since 1998 despite a large increase in human emissions
could it be that the green lobby’s obsession with CO2 leading to excessive
use of immature alternative technologies has led to worse environmental
degradation that would have occurred with continuing reliance on fossil
fuels?
i) Wind farms kill birds by impact and bats by generation of subsonic sound
waves and solar panels focusing their reflections on a central tower fry
birds in flight. The reflections from solar panels attract birds who think
it is an area of water.
ii) Both technologies make excessive use of rare Earth materials which we
can ill afford to waste.
iii) Mountain and sea floor environments are being devastated by
construction works.
iv) Vast amounts of non recyclable materials are being created.
v) Subsidies are causing a huge transfer of wealth from the many to the few
and making it harder to counter global poverty by raising energy prices.
Will we, in future years, find that the current dash to so called renewable
energy was a misguided policy that was completely counter productive in
terms of the original intention ?
361
Without a doubt, what the Klimatariat and green blob have created is criminal, but the precautionary principle should keep them out of gaol.
Historians will look back and be amazed at the power of mass delusion, exacerbated by millenarian fever.
161
Stephen Wilde,
You’ve made all of the most critical observations needed to prove that the solutions being promoted to solve the non-problem of AGW are just as ludicrous as AGW itself. That being so, . . .
. . . it’s clear that we have already found that the current policies are misguided and counter productive.
I would ask, “How long will it take for this knowledge to sink in among the wider population so that the nonsense can finally stop?”
Abe
210
“How long will it take for this knowledge to sink in among the wider population so that the nonsense can finally stop?”
It could happen overnight if the temperature plateau fells sharply, but apart from that there is nothing to stop the gravy train continuing on its merry way.
40
Once the rich and the upper-middle class are on board it doesn’t matter about the rest of the population because the politicians only listen to those in the upper classes,always have always will.
The upper-classes have been the writers of history and have done a very good job of writing themselves out of it as the cause of all wars poverty and misery,in their place they have blamed religion,disaffected anarchists/communists, warlords and generals and climate change as the cause,but the reality is that it is money and the power that money provides that is the cause of these ills and it is the lust for money and power that is behind the entire carbon/climate change problem.
00
As S
America’s reinvigoration as a net fossil fuel exporter with its development of its shale reserves has killed the oil exporter’s cartel (OPEC)for now, and petroleum prices have dropped accordingly. Oops. Sorry, only two Ferraris this year, not ten. Only one new Rolls for the shopping and the second butler and two of the chauffeurs will have to be `let go.’
Now we see a call for `divestment’ in fossil fuel companies. Who will be picking up those `divested’ shares? Those calling for `divestment,’ who else? If Coal and oil can be left in the ground, it creates scarcity, thus becoming ever more valuable and can be sold for ever higher prices. An artificial scarcity is far better than a real scarcity as it lasts longer giving more room for more exorbitant profit, as we have seen. The OPEC monopoly has been broken for now, so expand vertically from production through transport, refining, distribution and retail to re-extend it. That means buying bulk shares. If their value can be lowered and those holding them can be stampeded away from them … opportunity exists.
I remember the 1970s: “We’re all gonna freeze!” (Global Cooling)
Then in the 90’s it was “We’re all gonna fry!” (Global Warming)
Now it’s “We’re all gonna be blown/washed/flooded/fried/frozen/think-of-another-big-disaster away!” (Climate Change)
Interestingly, the proposed cure for each of these was and is the same: ever Bigger and more intrusive Government to regulate and control every facet of our lives, and ever more centralised control (monopoly!) of energy resources.
Who stood and stands to gain? Follow the money.
Ok, let’s see. Ummm. The `greenest’ public medium is Al Jazeera. Who stands behind/owns/funds that? Qatar? What’s the source of AJ’s funds, Qatar’s source of wealth? Oil.
That’s just one example. I’m sure you can find others. (eg: the Beeb. UK Government owned. UK resource: Brent Crude.)
I’ll let You connect the dots.
We need plentiful, continuous and cheap electricity. Forget solar panels — they’re only good for half a day (the middle half) when there’s no cloud. Forget wind (it’s been so calm so far this year that I’m noticing the wind when it does get around to blowing! Maybe two or three windy days a month!). Far too intermittent. Same with Tidal: peaks four times a day (three hours per peak), stops four times a day (three hours for each pause).
The recent research into molten-salt reactors has shown we can dispose of the waste from the present Uranium reactors without having to re-refine (expensive) and inter (wasteful, expensive and potentially dangerous) by burning their by-products in MS reactors to ash. There is enough thorium and yellow cake (uranium ore) to last mankind maybe a couple of thousand years. As a convenient side effect, MS reactors are much safer than the common ones in use at present. Investment should be going into this area for electricity generation instead of continuing to waste our fossil reserves. I note China is not hanging around. They’ve picked up the MSR data with an eye to further development while patenting everything they can.
Moving onto nuclear releases coal, which can then be converted into liquid fuel to supplement oil and gas (Fischer-Tropsch process) for essential fuels eg Diesel and continue to provide the present feed stock for the organic chemical industries (it’s not all oil based). With plentiful nuclear power, electric city vehicles become much more viable as daily transport. EV Battery technology is improving with intense research making rapid progress and cost is dropping rapidly.
This way, we can preserve our technological civilisation and maintain reasonable lives.
By continuing to squander our fossil fuels for power generation when a more efficient means now exists is not sensible.
I for one, want to preserve our technological civilisation. I would not want to see a return to the days when one woman in six died in childbirth, and two or three children out of six made adulthood. Without plentiful reliable electric power, caesarian sections could too easily become a thing of the past and drug manufacturing would suffer with mass vaccines and cheap efficient contraception disappearing.
Those days are in our past and should stay there.
10
We’re doing our part to support the coal industry by tossing in a few briquettes every so often to supplement the wood burning in our fireplace. Mmmm,coal.
110
I expect Karen is excellently qualified on the subject of “no-brainers”. She’s lived with one all her life….
120
Rick Bradford,
Sorry Rick, no offence, but . . .
“I expect Karen is excellently qualified on the subject of “no-brainers”. She’s lived with[out] one all her life….”
There. Fixed it for ya. 😉
Abe
100
am presuming everyone is having a bit of a laugh at this latest anti-coal hysteria, so i’ll post the funniest stuff i found today:
29 March: Gulf News: Dubai Police officers attend carbon awareness training
Dubai Police nominated 35 officers to attend a three-day carbon footprint awareness training programme by Dubai Carbon as part of Dubai Police’s Zero Carbon Police Force initiative.
The training programme is an important step in realising the memorandum of understanding that was signed between Dubai Carbon and Dubai Police to jointly develop initiatives for energy efficiency, fuel saving, and carbon
offsetting.
The Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence was launched by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2011 as a public-private partnership to fast-track clean
energy development in the last years of the Kyoto Protocol…
“It is unheard of for a police force to try and lower its carbon footprint and, hence, we will spare no effort in helping the local authority accomplish their goal,” he (Waleed Salman, Chairman of Dubai Carbon) said…
The partnership between Dubai Police and Dubai Carbon is going to effectively contribute to the sustainable and green growth of Dubai and the UAE’s economy.
https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/dubai-police-officers-attend-carbon-awareness-training-055829845.html
***a whole year to discover Spaniards eat less meat than Americans & Brits!
27 March: CTV News: Mediterranean diet has low carbon footprint: study
In the study, the Spanish research team analyzed the carbon footprints of daily menus based on a diet they describe as being the rough equivalent to the Med diet.
They compared them with the daily menus of diets consumed in the U.S. and the U.K…
***Over the course of one year, the research team analyzed a total of 448 lunches and 448 dinners, all of which were based on a 2,000 calorie-per-day diet…
On average, the daily carbon footprint was 5.08 kilograms of carbon equivalent (CO2e), according to the study.
Diets in the two English-speaking countries, however, presented a carbon footprint considerably higher, of between 8.5 kg and 8.8 kg of CO2e in the U.S. and an estimated 7.4 kg of CO2e in the U.K…
“The differences between the average value of the Mediterranean diet and that of English-speaking countries is due to much less beef being eaten in Spain (a food item with a larger carbon footprint) and more vegetables and
fruit being eaten, which have a lower carbon footprints,” says (Rosario Vidal, a researcher in the Mechanical Engineering and Construction department at the Valencian institution SINC). “Therefore, it is not only healthier, but our diet is also more ecological.”…
The study was published in the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy (a SAGE Publication).
http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/mediterranean-diet-has-low-carbon-footprint-study-1.2300190
61
Ha Ha Ha! Ski Dubai operates indoors when there are temperatures of 45C+ with very high humidity outside in the summer. I wonder if the police ‘carbon’ usage would top that?
120
Absolutely. Ski Dubai – yes.
One of the few good experiences available in Dubai; and the ice sculptures are nearly as good as Cottesloe’s “Sculpture by the Sea”.
Cottesloe, of course, has the added benefit of being able to have a beer in public, in a cold glass, at the OBH rather than in a coffee mug in some hidden dive on the mezzanine where no lift (elevator) stops, in Dubai.
http://www.sculpturebythesea.com/Home.aspx
http://obh.com.au/
50
ahhh, the OBH… those were the days… well, i think they were, there seem to be quite a few gaps in my memory, perhaps I was suffering from carbon pollution?
20
Preferred Beatlemania….
00
They’re not interested in any solution, they only want humanity to suffer.
That’s why at heart they are anti-human and look at us as a cancer to be eradicated.
90
In another universe, coal might be described like this:
Coal is an entirely natural form of captured and concentrated solar energy, a true gift from nature.
Coal is nature’s enviable solution to the problem of large and inefficient energy grids for capturing and storing low energy solar, in that it utilizes very long time scales to store much larger amounts of the very same solar energy, but through the process of chemical energy capture through photosynthesis by living organisms, which have been gradually buried and slowly transformed into concentrated chemical energy.
Solar energy captured and stored from millions of years ago has been captured by the living biosphere itself, and gradually transformed by natural forces within the earth to produce a high-energy rock of abundant and superlative good use, providing much needed energy for industry, lifting people out of poverty, reducing wasteful destruction of low energy woodlands, reducing indoor air pollution, and ushering in a golden age of prosperity, technological advance, and social progress.
Coal and other fossil fuels have stimulated technological and social advance. Trace gases from fossil fuel production has even greened the earth and led to slightly balmier conditions and greater crop yields.
The advances made in the mining and extraction technology alone has led to advances in steam power and locomotion and power generation, as well as a better understanding of the geological history of the earth beneath our feet, paleontological advances and other aspects of biology and evolution, and advances in explosive technology and blasting which also led to founding and funding for the Nobel Prizes. Coal has been a significant factor in propping up our very civilisation since the the Middle Ages.
These near-magical burnable rocks are distributed all over the world in many nations, and give people hope for a better life. They can be mined by all, and utilized for the benefit of all. Side effects are minimal and manageable. Advances in safety has reduced mining related deaths in well managed mining countries to near zero- better than in many other comparable above-ground industries.
The wealth generated from coal supports conservation efforts, education, transport infrastructure, and health. There is a strong relationship world wide between fossil fuel abundance and energy extraction per capita and standards of living, as well as social equity. Fossil fuels are not the panacea of social progress, but they are a major contributing factor.
There is a small chance (perhaps <5%) of more deleterious longer term effects of trace gases associated with production of coal and other fossil fuels on future earth climate, specifically and mainly, global warming, although the exact magnitude and extent of these longer term and future effects is not currently known, nor is the longer term state of the sun and countering effect of the very gradually declining earth temperatures since the early Holocene. Best available evidence suggests a modest positive warming effect from coal and fossil fuel production on world temperatures over the next few centuries, before fossil fuels begin to decline and are naturally and gradually phased out by other technologies and shifting market forces in the distant future.
This truly remarkable rock is a true gift from nature. And we have thousands of years of supply.
In contrast, torture, a relict of misguided and barbaric institutionalized violence, was much more prevalent when there was no coal production, and moreover was largely dispensed by those very institutions which had not yet discovered or utilized the social benefits of coal.
It remains to be seen whether the same sort of relict institutionalized thinking similar to bygone eras has any success in banning coal for future generations.
190
Oh to be in England, now that April’s here (almost)….
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wind+turbines+in+devon&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=RjEZVbm
30
Torture?
They would know. They have been waterboarding the world with their drivel for decades now.
80
Human induced CO2 has been flat for four years.
http://notrickszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Total-Emissions.jpg
41
Yes, just come here from looking at that, gordo. I can recommend the previous post on notrickszone.com; read it and weep – or laugh at the sheer insanity of ‘Greenery.’
30
el gordo,
Two questions that will make you go hmmm. . .
If A-CO2 emissions have flat-lined for four years and the graph of Mauna Loa CO2 shows the same rate of increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, where is all that extra CO2 coming from?
Why is the amount of additional CO2, wherever it’s coming from, just enough to compensate for A-CO2 emissions?
Abe
Also posted these at NoTricksZone.
50
Jo, I am wondering just how much of that 80% of the world’s electricity actually comes from that ‘free market’ you often mention. How much of the world’s coal fired power is not Government owned? Our Lefty friends in China alone would represent a huge percentage of that surely? I am a little surprised that given the topical nature of the privatisation debate at the moment that we have not seen a lot of mention of it here. As Tony has pointed out, many of the stations here in Oz are long in the tooth but there seems to be little or nothing happening to get the next generations of stations going here. At what point will private enterprise step up and build these? Do we just sit back and relax knowing that the free market will meet the demand when needed? Sure there is a lot of talk and posturing going on about carbon and renewables but there is no sign of anything remotely like renewables taking over so we seem to be just using that argy bargy as an excuse for not getting on with building new stations. Are we just waiting for the new China bank to ‘invest’ in building some new stations here. Are we happy for a Government to build them as long as it is not our Government?
50
How can private investors ever build coal powered generating capacity when green government regulations can shut them down at any moment?
10
Only a true believer could think things life solar or wind power do anything more than hurt people, never mind damaging the environment.
https://thepointman.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/the-sun-is-setting-on-solar-power-the-moneys-gone-and-nobodys-asking-any-questions/
Pointman
70
Coal is chocolate sunshine.
70
So sweet it ‘warms’ the heart! 🙂
Abe
30
If they were really ‘Friends of the Earth’, rather than ‘Friends of the Agenda’, they would welcome additional CO2 levels…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2013/07/10/global-warming-no-satellites-show-carbon-dioxide-is-causing-global-greening/
40
Tim,
The Long Winter is approaching, we’re gonna need all the extra green we can get.
Abe
30
If ‘Friends of the Earth’ were fair dinkum about CO2 levels and coal/oil usage, they shouldn’t be applying for, and receiving Grants from the Rockefellers ($877,500).
Rockefeller Bros. Fund;
7 grants since 2003 totalling $777,500
The Rockefeller Foundation;
$100,000 in 2009
00
Old King Coal was a merry old soul. Twas true of him indeed.
But Old King Coal was a patient old soul who waited through any need.
When confronted with derision he laughed and said, “I’ll out wait this screed.”
When the smoke had all cleared he was still the King, a mighty king indeed.
50
Unfortunately he was not a very good poet. But what the heck? Not even a king is perfect. 🙁
60
Mary had a little lamb it’s fleece was black as charcoal,
and every time it jumped the fence it’d scrape it’s little……
Ah childhood memories. 🙂
50
Mary had a little lamb
She kept it in a bucket
Now and again it would jump out
And that bloody old bull would…..
30
And that bloody old bull would what?……i dont get it….is it just me?
Anyway Yonnie i believe the correct interpretation is
Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was black as charcoal,
and every time it jumped a fence sparks flew out is bottom (to defeat the swear word detector), so how is Ballarat Yonnie?
10
It’s ok Crakar24, we didn’t have much of a summer and it’s looking cold already so I predict another day of snow this winter, there’s a definite cooling trend the last 4 years maybe something to look forward to if the LIA predictions come true.
10
Look forward to? a colder Ballarat? could it get any colder? LOL
Its been a few years since i have been down that way (5 i think) for 20 years Geelong did not change a bit then the last time i went to Geelong i did not recognise the place. Went to Sovereign hill and they screwed that up pretty well with the little cars you get into to go into the mine and all that.
I must say we have had a couple of cooler summers here in Adelaide, but we are only one heat wave away from reverting to the norm, time will tell i suppose.
cheers
20
Nantucket?
00
At least King Coal was on topic. 😉
30
Well I did mention charcoal Roy. 🙂
10
Touche! But barely. 😉
10
Why am I not surprised that a ‘Torture Convention’ doesn’t forbid torture? Now an Anti-Torture Convention, that might be a different matter.
30
If it was in the USA, would it be energy waterboarding?
20
When environmentalists try to impress,
By the love for the Earth they profess,
Just pay them no heed,
As it’s part of their creed,
To cause misery,strife and distress.
171
“Poor old solar and wind power are so useless that the debate is about whether they achieve any reductions at all. ”
if it wasn’t for fossil fuels there wouldn’t be enough energy to build them in the first place.
110
Via theconversation today:
Despite decades of deforestation, the Earth is getting greener
And the bonus:
A new doomsday website from CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology called “Climate Change in Australia”.
http://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/
CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology have released climate change projections for Australia that provide updated national and regional information on how the climate may change to the end of the 21st century.
Worst apocalypse. Ever.
80
All your doomsday theories are belong to us!!!!!!!
10
Jo
O/T but another take on earth hour
“Some people have expressed unwarranted fears in the past that experiments at intuitions such as CERN could result in the creation of a miniature black hole that could destroy the planet. If humans are ever going to artificially create a black hole, my theory is that it will be generated by the inward-looking ultra-narcissism and ignorant super-density of the kind of people who “celebrate” Earth Hour and wag their finger at naysayers whilst claiming they are some kind of champions for the planet.
Nothing could be further from the truth.”
More at
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/03/30/earth-hour-is-nothing-but-poseur-hour/
60
Thank you for the link Another Ian. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sheer stupidity of those poseurs. However do they think their everyday life is produced and powered? The astronaut takes the biscuit…unbelievable!
20
Thank you for the link Another Ian. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sheer stupidity of those poseurs. However do they think their everyday life is produced and powered? The astronaut takes the biscuit…unbelievable!
10
Apologies for double post…thought I hadn’t touched the button properly. 🙁
10
[Reposting from WUWT]
The Australian government is currently looking for comment:
https://www.dpmc.gov.au/taskforces/unfccc
In the “Issues Paper”, they use an expression I haven’t seen before – “carbon leakage”.
Anyone seen this anywhere else? Or is it a “first”?
I thought it might be a euphemism for BS.
The next recollection was those occasions when, however well you tried to tie the nappy [diaper] it wasn’t successful.
Either way, it’s appropriate for the context.
30
Tom Harley said
“No coal, and there’s no steel”
I say
“No oil, no plastic”
Even a horse and cart uses steel……………
70
on WUWT Tips & Notes, Bart Tali says –
Weather Underground runs story claiming Antarctica high temp record broken with reading of 63.5 on March 24: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2944&cm_ven=tw-jm
Weather Underground’s own data for the date refutes this:
http://www.wunderground.com/history/station/88963/2015/3/24/DailyHistory.html?req_city=&req_state=&req_statename=&reqdb.zip=&reqdb.magic=&reqdb.wmo=
—
this was not confirmed when Fairfax reported on 27 March:
SMH: Peter Hannam/with Reuters: Record warmth reported in Antarctica as Melbourne shivers
any comments?
51
further to the Weather Underground/Antarctica temp –
out of interest, i checked the following three dates for Base Esperanza, Antarctica, & got:
23 March Max Temperature 3 degrees celcius
24 March Max temperature 15 degrees celcius
25 March Max Temperature 8 degrees celcius
51
Yes, yes, yes and the record breaking Boston blizzards was due to climate change, lets face it Pat its nothing more than a religion now and not a very profound one at that.
Cheers
51
more re Esperanza Base.
the hottest day story was published widely, as Reuters disseminated it. even Time Magazine carried it, in which it is stated –
“Antarctica had reached a new high of 63.3 F (17.4 C) on Monday” 23 March, for which Weather Underground has max temp of 3 degrees celcius!
am i missing something?
was somewhere else in Antarctica supposed to have the high temp on 23 March?
28 March: Time Mag: Eliana Dockterman: Antarctica May Have Just Set a Record for Its Hottest Day Ever
Weather bloggers at Weather Underground report that the continent likely hit a record-breaking high of 63.5 F (17.5 C) on Tuesday…
***Tuesday’s record is all the more impressive considering that it was set just one day after Antarctica had reached a new high of 63.3 F (17.4 C) on Monday. Prior to those two record-setting days, the hottest the continent had ever gotten was 62.8 F (17.1 C) on April 24, 1961.
***But the record is not yet official. The reading was logged on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, which may not be considered part of the continent in weather record keeping.
***The World Meteorological Organization is expected to examine whether the area was indeed in Antarctica or whether it is technically located in Argentina.
http://time.com/3762354/antarctica-temperature-high/#3762354/antarctica-temperature-high/
was this entire story made up?
(from the SMH Peter Hannam/Reuters piece)
Melbourne’s meagre maximum of 15.3 degrees on Tuesday was actually more than 2 degrees cooler than Esperanza Base, an Argentine research station on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
The Victorian capital may be famous for its temperature swings – often within a day – but the 17.5 degree reading at Esperanza was outlandish even by Melburnian standards. That maximum is likely to be the highest ever recorded on the Antarctic continent, according to the Weather Underground blog.
PHOTO CAPTION: ***Esperanza Base, on the Antarctic Peninsula. Photo: Wikipedia
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/record-warmth-reported-in-antarctica-as-melbourne-shivers-20150327-1m9455.html
it’s all about ***Esperanza Base, so what’s the real story?
i have found no followup from WMO.
21
A good example of biased reporting , an unsubstantiated rumour of “hottest Heva ” gets headlines but on the opposite side of Antarctica 9 months earlier , actual data has that it was the coldest June ever recorded at the Météo-France base Dumont d’Urville, the average temperature was -22.4 ° C, which is 6.6 ° C lower than normal and the coldest June day minimum ever set there of -34.9 ° C, besting the previous record of -33.4 ° C . , but no MSM headlines for this .
11
CAGW causes CAGW:
30 March: Science Daily: Direct evidence for a positive feedback in climate change: Global warming itself will likely accelerate warming
Source:University of Exeter
Summary:A new study has confirmed the existence of a positive feedback operating in climate change whereby warming itself may amplify a rise in greenhouse gases resulting in additional warming…
The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that in addition to the well understood effect of greenhouse gases on the Earth’s temperature, researchers can now confirm directly from ice-core data that the global temperature has a profound effect on atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. This means that as the Earth’s temperature rises, the positive feedback in the system results in additional warming…
Professor Tim Lenton from the University of Exeter said: “Our new results confirm the prediction of positive feedback from the climate models, the big difference is that now we have independent data based evidence for it.”
An international team of researchers led by Egbert van Nes from Wageningen University (Netherlands) used a novel mathematical insight developed to have a fresh look at the data. The analysis reveals that the glacial cycles experienced by the planet over the past 400,000 years are governed by strong internal feedbacks in the Earth system. Slight variations in the Earth orbit known as Milankovitch cycles, functioned merely as a subtle pacemaker for the process…
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150330122439.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28Latest+Science+News+–+ScienceDaily%29
31
From that article:
Exactly so, when trying to solve the causality dilemma of CO2 v temperature in the ice core records, so what do they do?
They build a model.
As has been pointed out many times, what the ice core records do show, both in the case of the end of the Eemian interglacial and the emergence from the last glaciation, that if there is a positive feedback in the system vis-à-vis temp. —> CO2(+ other GHGs) —> temp., then it can’t be great because otherwise it would cause a runaway which has never happened in the past 4.5b years.
41
And no natural gas no fertilizer
No fertilizer, unknown millions starve.
50
Burning coal has done wonders for soybean.
https://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/soybean-annual-balance-sheet_12741_image001.gif
20
remember the Lismore man, Steve Posselt, who began a 12-month, 8,000-kilometre kayak journey across the world to raise awareness about climate change:
9 Jan: Lismore man off on global kayak challenge
http://www.echo.net.au/2015/01/lismore-man-global-kayak-challenge/
it appears all is not going according to plan!
27 March: Kayak4Earth: Steve Posselt: Mississippi Blues
Well haven’t there been some changes since my last blog
The route has changed, I am turning right somewhere and going to New York. Canada will be a side trip if I have time.
The way of operating has changed so daily updates will become updates when I can. I will do stretches of the river and then come back for the crew.
No. 1 was big for me. It has been my goal to traverse North America longitudinally for the past eight years. This trip is not about me or my desires, so if it has to go it has to go. Paris is the goal and connecting the Chaotic Climate events on the way will still happen. Maybe, someday I will do North America just for me and just for fun…
Maybe we are starting to see a worldwide revolt against corporations and oligopolies that pretend to be democracies. It will be a long and tough battle though.
On that note, finally GetUp and John Hewson are advocating what I have been advocating for nine years. If you want to do something about climate change buy green energy. When you have done that get your friends to buy green energy. When you have done that get your work to buy green energy. When you have finally done that don’t stop until you have got everyone buying green energy.
That’s what I have been saying and it is a way to keep the grid working. With battery and solar costs coming down people will start to simply go off grid, most likely well before 2020 and what will that do? Who knows but it will be a new paradigm., etc
http://kayak4earth.com/mississippi-blues/
31
Mods,
I see the swear word filter has improved in my absence.
How can we all buy green energy when there just aint enough to go round?
Here is my alternative when this idiot wakes the hell up, Hewson and all his friends wake the hell up and all there imbecilic work mates wake the hell up then he can stop canoeing to Paris via QF357
Fixed (fingers crossed)
20
Ok last try, i will take the “i” words
Mods,
I see the swear word filter has improved in my absence.
How can we all buy green energy when there just aint enough to go round?
Here is my alternative when this “person” wakes up, Hewson and all his friends wake up and all there “silly” work mates wake up then he can stop canoeing to Paris via QF357
Fixed (fingers crossed)
10
Testing……..
Just checking to see if the word “imbecilic” got caught or the other “i” word
20
Ah so it was I Dont IndicateOn Traintracks that was the naughty word
10
Yes, pls don do dat!! Incompetent is generally more accurate! 🙂
10
If Hewson had been able to bake with renewable energy, he would have been able to explain the GST.
10
novel-length, nasty:
30 March: CarbonBrief: Leo Hickman: The Carbon Brief Interview: Tim Yeo (of the Commons’ Energy and Climate Change (ECC) committee)
In his final in-depth interview before stepping down as the chair of the ECC select committee…
The Fifth Carbon Budget: “I’ll be very surprised if there isn’t quite a high penalty on those companies and industries that have not decarbonised by the 2030s…
The “older, white male” climate sceptic Tories: “To be brutal, they’re going to die off. Very few people under the age of 40 now, I think, seriously question the science.”…
CARBONBRIEF: So, in Paris, what does success look like?
TIM YEO: …I don’t think there’ll be another kind of Kyoto-type all-singing all-dancing treaty, and I don’t think we even need that really. What I would like to see, it something which facilitates the move towards a global cap and trade…
CARBONBRIEF: That, of course, has been a holy grail for probably 20 years or so. Realistically, how is a global carbon price or cap and trade system possible?
TIM YEO: Well, it’s not going to happen in the next 5 years, but we could be facilitating it. I think firstly we can get a broader acceptance that it is desirable. It has been the holy grail, but very, very few people have subscribed to it seriously. I think the science is getting more and more compelling, I think more countries are accepting it…
CARBONBRIEF: CB: You’ve kind of alluded to it, but what is the problem with climate science, with certain proportion or section of the Conservative Party?…
TIM YEO: …I think it’s partly about the age profile. I think in the Conservative Party, perhaps slightly more than the other main parties, UKIP as well, but more than either the Labour or Liberal Democrat ones, there’s a very strong representation of older people, of, I have to say it, of older, white males, actually. Because that’s the groupwho seem to have the most difficulty in understanding the science and accepting the urgency of the case. So, it’s just that that group is a bit more strongly represented. But I think, I mean you know, to be brutal, they’re going to die off. Very few people under the age of 40 now, I think, seriously question the science, and that group is gradually taking over. So, although it’s a frustration, I’m not too alarmed about it, I think it will deal with itself naturally…
http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2015/03/the-carbon-brief-interview-tim-yeo/
51
‘The “older, white male” climate sceptic Tories: “To be brutal, they’re going to die off. Very few people under the age of 40 now, I think, seriously question the science.”…’
Mmmm! I think the “older, any colour, any gender” represented on this blog clearly understands the science. It’s the “younger, any colour, any gender” that do not understand the science because they have been blinded by brain-washing and propaganda of the likes of Yeo.
R-COO- K+
60
“The Guardian lobbying rag didn’t ask any hard questions..”
Speaking of The Gnuidara, it looks like they’re at least waking up to some of the reality of renewables:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/30/truth-behind-costa-rica-renewable-energy-reservoirs-climate-change
50
Thanks for that Dave N. I’d seen an article about it here, but withput the detail, so I wondered how they’d achieved it. At least I am now armed…
Cheers,
Dave B
20
Costa Rica running for 75 days on only renewable power.
Say, that’s impressive eh!
The article mentions this: (my bolding)
you know, giving the impression that they are somehow more responsible power users than those of us who live in real Developed Countries, all of us known wasters of power.
Hmm! Countries! With a population of only 5 Million, Costa Rica actually consumes less power than Melbourne.
Almost 75% comes from Hydro Power.
It seems that the only way they can pad out figures for renewables is to include Hydro.
Pity dams are on the ‘don’t go there’ talking points for greens.
It’s a bit like the greens proudly claiming that the Gemasolar Plant in Spain (Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) or Solar Thermal plant) generated electricity for 36 consecutive days, a shining beacon that solar can do 24/7/365 Baseload Power. (still erroneously using that word as an adjective)
Pity that they cluelessly don’t mention that it’s only 20MW Nameplate and the same power it delivered over those 36 consecutive days, (running for all 24 hours of every day) is delivered by Bayswater in, umm, six and a half hours. Over the whole year this solar plant delivers an impressive amount of power, proving once and for all (well, to them anyway) that CSP can do 24/7/365. That yearly total power delivered from this solar plant is delivered by Bayswater in 41 hours.
Renewables. Who bl00dy cares?
Tony.
130
Our Flim Flam man sure gets around. Here he is on CBC radio in Canada.
40
??? unbelievable:
28 March: Climatic Change: Executives’ engagement with climate science and perceived need for business adaptation to climate change
Martina K. Linnenluecke & Andrew Griffiths (UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia)
Peter J. Mumby (Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia)
Abstract
The business community has been frequently criticized for its lack of engagement with climate change, not just in terms of mitigation but increasingly also in terms of adaptation. One reason why executives may not take more decisive action on adaptation is the type of information they rely on for decision-making purposes. From this perspective, executives who engage more with scientific information sources for decision-making purposes
would be likely to have a more comprehensive understanding of climate change, and would consequently be more concerned about their company’s vulnerability and adaptation needs…
In this paper, we use survey data collected from 125 executives across the top 500 companies on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX-500) to examine the links between how executives obtain information on climate change and their
perceived need for adaptation action. Findings show that executives who report greater engagement with scientific information express greater concern about their company’s vulnerability, which also translates into a
greater perceived need for adaptation action. Making scientific information accessible to executives is therefore important for communicating climate science to a business audience.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-015-1387-1#page-1
31
‘Making scientific information accessible to executives is therefore important for communicating climate science to a business audience.’
At the moment its all one way traffic, Carter and Salby don’t get a look in.
40
i’m not even opening this SMH piece:
Emissions slide began to reverse after the end of the carbon price, data show
Sydney Morning Herald- 13 hours ago
Australia’s greenhouse emissions from the electricity sector jumped in the September quarter, reversing the industry’s declines during the two carbon tax years preceding it, the latest government data shows.
however, surely it is a beat-up since they are talking about Winter!
Data from AGL Energy Ltd (AGL) has found that Australians use more electricity staying warm in winter (daily average 16.4 KWh during winter 2013) than they do staying cool in summer (daily average 14.3 KWh during summer 2013/2014).
http://www.agl.com.au/about-agl/media-centre/article-list/2014/may/keep-energy-costs-under-control-this-winter
For example, if you enter the 7000 postcode for Hobart, Energy Made Easy tells you that the average two-person household in Hobart uses 30.8 kilowatt hours of electricity per day in winter, and that winter is the most electricity intensive time of year for that household.
http://www.aer.gov.au/node/16442
51
Three-quarters of South Africa’s domestic energy comes from coal and the local flora is soaking it up.
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/mar/a23.php
20
Just for interest and I had to look this up all over again after first reading the Venetian, Marco Polo’s fascinating tales of his journey to China in 1271 and then some years later returned to Venice along the Great Silk Road while I was still in school in the 1950’s,
Quoted from;
The Song Dynasty in China
The SONG Economic Revolution
Iron and Steel
During Song times, heavy industry — especially the iron industry — grew astoundingly. Iron production reached around 125,000 tons per year in 1078 CE, a sixfold increase over the output in 800 CE.
Iron and steel were put to many uses, ranging from nails and tools to the chains for suspension bridges and Buddhist statues. The army was a large consumer: steel tips increased the effectiveness of Song arrows; mass-production methods were used to make iron armor in small, medium, and large sizes; high-quality steel for swords was made through high-temperature metallurgy. Huge bellows, often driven by waterwheels, were used to superheat the molten ore.
From Charcoal to Coal
At first charcoal was used in the production process, leading to deforestation of large parts of north China. By the end of the 11th century, however, coal had largely taken the place of charcoal.
According to Marco Polo
The sight of these “black stones … which they dig out and burn like firewood” was something else that amazed Marco Polo:
It is a fact that all over the country of Cathay there is a kind of black stones existing in beds in the mountains, which they dig out and burn like firewood. If you supply the fire with them at night, and see that they are well kindled, you will find them still alight in the morning; and they make such capital fuel that no other is used throughout the country. It is true that they have plenty of wood also, but they do not burn it, because those stones burn better and cost less.
[Moreover with that vast number of people, and the number of hot baths that they maintain — for every one has such a bath at least three times a week, and in winter if possible every day, whilst every nobleman and man of wealth has a private bath for his own use — the wood would not suffice for the purpose.] (1)
50
Bad link correction in post # 40;
Great Silk Road
00
Hi Mods
I posted a copy of a letter, earlier, by Robert Wyndham which I think is relevant to this discussion –it appears to be stuck in moderation.
00
30 March: Platts: Jim Levesque: Coal deliveries to US utilities in January up year over year: EIA
Coal delivered to US utilities for power generation increased in January year over year, according to data released Friday by the Energy Information Administration.
A total of 71.9 million st of coal was delivered to electric utilities and independent power producers during the month, a 7.3% increase over January 2014, the EIA says in its Electric Power Monthly report.
Of the top 10 states receiving coal deliveries, Kentucky saw the largest increase in volumes. The state’s plants received 3.9 million st in January, up 35%, or about 1 million st, year over year. For January, 91.7% of the state’s power was generated by coal.
Indiana plants received 3.6 million st in January, up 24% year over year. For January, 84.9% of the state’s power was generated by coal.
West Virginia plants received 2.8 million st in January, up 19.3% year over year. For January, 96.5% of the state’s power was generated by coal.
Missouri plants received 4.4 million st in January, up 19% year over year. For January, 84.1% of the state’s power was generated by coal.
Illinois plants received 5.7 million st in January, up 8.3% year over year. For January, 40.9% of the state’s power was generated by coal.
Ohio plants received 3.1 million st in January, up 4% year over year. For January, 63.4% of the state’s power was generated by coal…
For the first time in four months, overall coal consumption did not outpace deliveries, as 99.5% of all coal delivered in January was consumed. In October, November and December, consumption was 113.8%, 105.1% and 106.9%, respectively. In September 2014, consumption was 99.9%, according to the EIA.
http://www.platts.com/latest-news/coal/houston/coal-deliveries-to-us-utilities-in-january-up-21221564
there are four states – Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania & North Dakota – at the end of the article where coal deliveries were down (shale states?) but, in Wyoming, 87.4% of the state’s power was still generated by coal, & it was 75.2% for North Dakota.
11
30 March: India.com: Coal Auction crosses Rs 1.93 Lakh Crore: Shining example of Narendra Modi’s policy driven governance for developing graft free and transparent system
By Shikhar Jiwrajka
India has hit a gold mine with the recently concluded auction of 29 coal mines in two phases. The public exchequer continues to swell on revenue from coal block auctions. The total proceeds from the coal mines auctions have crossed Rs 1.93 lakh crore; surpassing CAG’s estimate of Rs.1.86 lakh crore losses on account of allocation of 206 captive coal blocks without auction since 1993. It is estimated that an additional tariff benefit of around Rs 69,300 crore will accrue to the power consumers through the reverse auction of coal blocks.
Moreover greater revenue flows to states from the auctions dovetails with the government’s plans to develop the coal-rich eastern region…
The sale of mines belonging to two categories, those already producing (19) and those ready-to-produce (14), which started on February 14 ended on 9th March. The transparency in the auctions has paid rich dividends…
The government also allotted 38 mines to central and state public sector units including NTPC, DVC and SAIL. Among these are power generating companies of West Bengal, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharastra , Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Gujarat and Telangana. All the mines allotted are for the power sector except Sitanala mine given to SAIL. It is estimated that Rs1.41 lakh crore of likely revenue to States from royalty over 30 years from these 38 coal mines allotments…
http://www.india.com/news/india/coal-auction-crosses-rs-1-93-lakh-crore-shining-example-of-narendra-modis-policy-driven-governance-for-developing-graft-free-and-transparent-system-335409/
31 March: Business Spectator: AAP: Japan persists with climate cash for coal plants
According to the news service, Japan – which owns the technology for higher-efficiency coal-fired power plants – are backing new plants in Kudgi, India and Matarbari, Bangledesh with loans valued at $US630m following revelations in December they had loaned $US1bn for coal plants in Indonesia using climate-cash (monies promised by rich countries under UN guidance to support poor countries limit emissions).
“Japan is of the view that the promotion of high-efficiency coal-fired power plants is one of the realistic, pragmatic and effective approaches to cope with the issue of climate change,” Takako Ito, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, told AP…
https://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2015/3/31/energy-markets/japan-persists-climate-cash-coal-plants
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worth opening to see the photo illustration.
31 March: BusinessToday India: Govt expects Coal India to surpass 1-billion output target by 2020
With the production of thermal coal picking up, the government expects public sector behemoth Coal India to surpass its one billion tonne excavation target by the year 2020.
Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said, “We are expecting the companies to supersede coal production targets, I am hopeful that Coal India would exceed targets set for it by 2020.” The production of thermal coal in the country has increased by eight per cent, the minister pointed out…
Goyal also said that the government is in the process of identifying 15-20 coal blocks to be auctioned in the next round and production from these mines would start soon…
Recently, Goyal had said that importing coal was “unjustified”, especially when the country was sitting on reserves totalling 300 billion tonne…
Goyal also emphasised that the BJP-led government at Centre has accorded a top priority to coal and generation of power, and that an all-out effort is being made to supply coal to electricity generating units across the country.
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/coal-india-may-surpass-2020-target-of-1-billion-piyush-goyal/1/217502.html
31 March: Coal.steelguru: Yanzhou Coal Mining announces 2014 annual results
For the year ended 31 December 2014, sales income of the Group amounted to RMB60.37 billion, representing an increase of 7.0% YoY. Net income stayed flat at RMB 766 million. Earnings per share amounted to RMB 0.16, maintaining at same level as 2013. The Board of Directors proposes to declare a cash dividend of RMB 0.02 per share for the year ended 31st December 2014.
Under the prolonged market downturn and oversupply grim situation, the Group insisted on adopting innovative sales model, expanding sales channels and strengthening efforts on market expansion, thus successfully achieving sale volume growth.
The Group’s total sales volume of coal was 123 million tonnes, up 18.3% YoY. Of which, sales volume of the headquarters was 34.75 million tonnes, sales volume of Yancoal Australia was 15.74 million tonnes, sales volume of ShanXi Neng Hua was 1.50 million tonnes, sales volume of Heze Neng Hua amounted to 3.11 million tonnes, and Ordos Neng Hua contributed a sales volume of 5.79 million tonnes.
The Group continued to expand the business of the sales of externally purchased coal. Sales volume of externally purchased coal reached 57.02 million tonnes, up 44.7% YoY, setting the foundation for the implementation of domestic and international integrated marketing strategy…ETC ETC
http://coal.steelguru.com/australia/19625/yanzhou_coal_mining_announces_2014_annual_results
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Love the comment
“an explicit ban on fossil fuel projects”
“Honestly it should be a no-brainer at this point.” — The Guardian
Yes, it is. Must be a job qualification for writing for the Guardian.
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31 March: Euractiv: German states challenge climate fees on outdated power plants
Sigmar Gabriel’s plans to demand climate fees from Germany’s old power plants faces considerable opposition, especially from regions dependent on lignite, which claim the measure could eliminate thousands of jobs and raise energy prices. EurActiv Germany reports.
The Economic Affairs Minister’s plan to hit coal-fired power plants with a climate fee has been met with considerable resentment from eastern states. Brandenburg’s state prime minister Dietmar Woidke said on Friday (27 March) that “the Economic Affairs Ministry’s plans will create significant insecurity in the energy sector and the entire German industrial sector”.
Climate protection can only be executed successfully, he explained, if actions are globally coordinated.
“But a model that eliminates many thousands of jobs in Germany will not be copied internationally,” Woidke said, speaking in the Bundesrat, the legislative body in which Germany’s 16 regions are represented at the national level…
The document includes plans to require the oldest and most inefficient coal-fired power plants to pay a climate protection fee. Operation of these plants is intended to become gradually more costly, cutting down on overcapacities and greenhouse gases from coal power generation.
But without additional measures, Germany is still set to miss its climate target of a 40% CO2 reduction by 2020…
Saxony’s center-right Minister-President, Stanislaw Tillich, (CDU), called the climate fee a “penalty payment for power plants”, during a statement before the Bundesrat.
It is a purely German instrument to reduce CO2 emissions, he said. In light of the existing system of certificate trading at the European level, this will create a double burden for German power plants, Tillich warned, saying it remains to be discussed whether this is compatible with EU law.
He warned against a national solo effort, pointing to the roughly 10,000 jobs dependent on the lignite power plant in Lausitz alone. The document is “well-meaning but badly made”, Tillich said. Numerous power plants would have no more future, he predicted, leading to higher energy prices as a result.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister-President Reiner Haseloff rejected Gabriel’s initiative “with no if’s, and’s or but’s”.
After eastern Germany lost its industry due to reunification, Haseloff said the region has already contributed greatly to reducing CO2 emissions that are harmful to the climate…
The Ministry’s plan was met with massive criticism and rejection from the industry. “Should the German government implement these key points, it would threaten Germany’s security of supply,” explained Wolfgang März, CEO of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Magdeburg.
“A simultaneous exit from nuclear and coal power is simply impossible or else linked to catastrophic effects,” he warned.
***Politicians are forgetting lignite’s significant contribution to the current security of supply, Marz said…
The industry representative also indicated that an increase in the cost of coal power in Germany is more likely to lead to importation of cheaper coal power from Poland and the Czech Republic, rather than drawing from more efficient but more expensive gas power plants.
As a result, Marz said, the proposal would have almost no effect…
(“ENVIRONMENT” GROUPS APPLAUD THE PROPOSAL)
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/energy/german-states-challenge-climate-fees-outdated-power-plants-313391
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As an aside, Ms Nova, and at risk of annoying you by going too far off-topic, should someone like “Radagast” (The 97% Cook Consensus – when will Environ Res Letters retract it?) pester you with the “truth” of SkS, point them to this interesting revelation.
Mind you, given its provenance, I suspect they will immediately discount it without reading.
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I’m at the bottom of the heap again but here goes!
Data from; WORLD COAL ASSOCIATION
COAL;
The second largest source of energy today
1 / Coal-fired power plants generate 41% of the world’s electricity.
This is more than any other fuel.
**
2 / Coal is also a vital resource for industry and is needed to produce 68% of the world’s steel.
**
3 / Global primary energy consumption in 2010 by fuel;
30%___Coal
34%——Oil
24% —-Natural Gas
5% —– Nuclear
6%—— Hydro
1%—— Renewable energy sources
**
4 / GLOBAL STEEL DEMAND IS ESTIMATED TO INCREASE BY 60% THROUGH TO 2035
**
5 / GLOBAL DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY IS LIKELY TO DOUBLE OVER THE NEXT THREE DECADES
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6 / Estimated coal resources (Gigatonnes)
860 Gt Reserves
17,167 Gt Resources
GLOBAL COAL RESERVES ARE ONLY A FRACTION OF GLOBAL COAL RESOURCES WHICH ARE 17 TIMES GREATER
***
One of Tony from Oz’s repeated points–
7 / The IEA estimates that advanced coal technologies, including Supercritical (SC), Ultra Supercritical (USC) and (IGCC) plants, could deliver 7% of the necessary CO2 emissions cuts in the power sector through to 2050.
This is just as much as the estimated contribution of solar photovoltaics (PV) and slightly less than the potential contribution of wind turbines.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) could deliver almost one third of the entire mitigation effort needed in the power sector. [ ??? ]
**
8 / COAL accounts for 41% of the World’s electricity generation
*****
How coal is used in modern infrastructure
9 / 770 Kg’s OF COAL IS USED TO PRODUCE A TONNE OF CRUDE STEEL
2013 ; Crude Steel production ; 1.606 billion tonnes
Requiring 1.2 billion tonnes of Coal
Crude Steel production by process
a / 70% Integrated route based on coal
b / 29% Electric arc furnace route
c / 1% Open hearth route
**
10 / 250 TONNES OF COKING COAL ARE REQUIRED TO BUILD AN OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE.
AND 150 TONNES TO BUILD AN ONSHORE TURBINE.
[ Steel is a key material used to build wind turbines. About 85% of wind turbines globally are installed on steel structures, with steel representing around 80% of all materials used in a single turbine.
The important role of coal in steel manufacturing is reflected in the amount of coal present in a wind turbine, over its lifecycle.]
It is estimated that there are 250 tonnes of coal in an offshore wind turbine and 150 tonnes of coal in an onshore turbine.
ie NZ West wind turbine farm 62 turbines
Foundations: 370 cubic metres of concrete, 48 tonnes of reinforcing steel.
***
11 / COAL accounts for over 50% of the power mix used in Aluminium smelting globally
New cars in Europe use, on average, 132kg of aluminium per car.
***
12 / 200 KG’s OF COAL TO PRODUCE ONE TONNE OF CEMENT.
Close to 90% of the world’s cement is produced with the use of coal as the source of primary energy.
It takes about 200kg of coal to produce one tonne of cement and about 300-400kg of cement is needed to produce one cubic metre of concrete.
Half of the world’s cement is produced in China.
China also holds the world record for
the largest concrete pour in a single project at the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei Province, the world’s largest hydropower station.
The amount of concrete used in the construction of this hydropower station is estimated at 28 million m3 of concrete, requiring almost 2 million tonnes of coal.
**
13 / COAL accounts for 96% of all fuel used in the LIME industry.
**
14 / The IEA estimates that 628KG of COAL is needed to produce 10,000 bricks CHINA
Coal fly ash can be used as a raw material in brick manufacturing.
There are several techniques for manufacturing construction bricks from fly ash. One type of fly ash brick is manufactured by mixing fly ash with an equal amount of clay, then firing in a kiln at about 1000°C.
Another type of fly ash brick is made by mixing soil, plaster of paris, fly ash and water, and allowing the mixture to dry. As no heat is required, this technique
reduces air pollution.
More modern manufacturing processes use a greater proportion of fly ash and a high pressure manufacturing technique, which produces high strength bricks with environmental benefits.
China, where roughly half of the world’s bricks are produced, 42 million tonnes of coal were used to produce bricks in 2005.
The IEA estimates that 628kg of coal is needed to produce 10,000 bricks in China.
In India, 25 million tonnes of coal are estimated to be used annually to produce bricks.
**
15 / Nearly half of the new AIRBUS A350 and BOEING DREAMLINER AIRFRAMES are made of Carbon Fibre Reinforced plastics and other composites.
Carbon fibres are used in the production of advanced composite materials, such as reinforced plastics, which are increasingly used in the automotive and
aerospace industries as a replacement of steel. Coal-tar pitch, a by-product of coal carbonisation or coal gasification, is used to produce carbon fibres via a series of processing steps, including refining, oxidation and carbonisation.
Carbon fibres are a quarter of the weight of steel and ten times as strong. Carbon fibres can therefore reduce the weight of airplanes and cars, improving their energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint.
The new Airbus A350 and Boeing Dreamliner have airframes comprising nearly half carbon fibre reinforced plastics and other composites.
This approach offers weight savings on average of 20% compared to more conventional aluminium designs.
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The Guardian is a cash sink hole gobbling $25 million per year and nothing to show for it.
Media turned soap box. How much of that so called $600 million was actually invested in
Solar panels ,Bird Blenders and other underperforming stocks ?
Maybe they are pumping the global warming tires because they placed big bets on greenie stocks that are tanking .
Dollar cost average as they get out from stock pigs ? There is far more to this than they are admitting .
If I had pension money tied up in the Guardian I would demand to see exactly what stocks what they have invested in over the last five years .
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