Arizona is the definition of insanity

Arizona shares a rare and enviable place in the USA list of  ‘states with highest insolation.’   Arizona is also a state with few water resources. These two facts combined make Arizona the perfect candidate state for solar PV energy generation. Arizona is also the perfect place for concentrated solar energy production. This idea as described in DeserTec’s outline will help the world to move away from oil and nuclear power.

So why has Arizona passing laws that discourage solar PV on houses?

Why has Arizona just passed a law that calls nuclear energy renewable?

The full article from Clean Technica is here. Re-posted below:

February 6th, 2015 by James Ayre

Who would ever consider nuclear power to be a “renewable” means of power generation?

Well, the Arizona Senate Committee on Water and Energy, for one — there might be someone else, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other person or entity….

Not a solar panel in sight!

The aforementioned bill that the Senate Committee on Water and Energy just passed (narrowly) is SB 1134 — a bill classifying “nuclear energy from sources fueled by uranium fuel rods that include 80% or more of recycled nuclear fuel, and natural thorium reactor resources under development” as renewable energy sources.

The approval is especially funny considering the fact that Arizona is fast approaching some serious water-sourcing issues, and nuclear power plants require huge quantities of water in order to function.

Someplace like coastal Texas or California, you could kind of understand (despite the other issues with nuclear — such as very long-lived, hard to clean up pollution), but Arizona? Right in the middle of a desert, and almost completely reliant on just a few small river systems and fossil groundwater laid down during the last ice age? Hmm…

Regardless of the water issues, though, how does one go about classifying nuclear power as a renewable energy source anyway?

This difficulty in conceptualizing nuclear power as a renewable power source was actually shared by many of the senators on the committee, though — which is why the bill passed by only one vote. One vote — that right there sums up one of the primary issues with democracy (to my eyes). All that it takes is a one-vote disparity to discount the opinions of the losing half of a near 50–50 split…

The senator behind the bill, Senator Steve Smith, didn’t really address these issues, having merely stated (while referencing “recycling” fuel rods): “Basically we just want to burn that energy twice.”

“Burn the energy twice” doesn’t sound to me like someone talking about a renewable energy resource. Perhaps that’s just me, though.

While the bill was passed by the committee, it still has to make its way through: the rules committee, the Senate, and the House of Representatives — which a similar bill last year was unable to do.

One last comment from the bill’s backer, Senator Smith, before ending this article: when asked about the differences between nuclear and renewables, he stated that when it comes to nuclear material, “we have so much that can be reused that it’s almost renewable.”

What? Do the bill’s supporters/backers really not have a better argument than that?

Image Credit: Public Domain

Scotland’s biggest power source is renewables

WIND BEATS NUCLEAR, COAL, AND GAS!

Scotland’s renewable energy generators have moved into 1st place. Scotland produced more energy from renewables than any other source including nuclear power. This is another milestone on the road to 100% sustainable renewable energy generation in Scotland. It will be how we in England will respond to this obvious challenge.

BBC article:

Renewable power has overtaken nuclear to become the main source of electricity in Scotland, the latest figures have suggested.

Wind and hydro power produced 10.3 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in the first six months of this year, UK government statistics showed.

Meanwhile, National Grid figures showed nuclear power stations generated 7.8TWh over the same period.

Environmental campaigners said it was a “significant landmark”.

National Grid said 5.6TWh of electricity came from coal-fired power stations in the first half of this year, with a further 1.4TWh from gas-fired stations.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said the figures showed that the country was continuing to make “good progress” towards its target of generating the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s electricity demand from renewable sources.

‘Vast potential’

He added: “The fact that energy from renewables has exceeded that from nuclear in the first half of 2014 highlights the vast potential of renewable generation to provide a safe, secure and cost-effective means of electricity generation for this country, together with appropriate levels of thermal generation.

“It is vital that appropriate support for renewables in Scotland is maintained following the introduction of electricity market reform in the UK.”

Niall Stuart, chief executive of the industry body Scottish Renewables, said there was still “plenty of potential” for more to come from renewable power, with offshore wind and marine energy still in the early stages of development.

Mr Stuart added: “This important milestone is good news for anyone who cares about Scotland’s economy, our energy security and our efforts to tackle climate change.

“Every unit of power generated from renewables means less carbon emitted from the burning of fossil fuels, decreases our reliance on imported energy and supports jobs and investment in communities across Scotland.”

He added: “The renewables industry has come a long way in a short space of time but there is still plenty of potential for further growth.

“Offshore wind and marine energy are still in the early stages of development but could make a big contribution to our future energy needs if they get the right support from government. That support includes the delivery of grid connections to the islands, home to the UK’s very best wind, wave and tidal sites.”

Sense of perspective

Lang Banks, director of the environmental group WWF Scotland, said: “Last month, while nuclear reactors were forced to shut because of cracks, Scotland’s renewables were quietly and cleanly helping to keep the lights on in homes across the country.

“Wind turbines in Scotland alone generated enough electricity to supply three millions homes in the UK – equivalent to 126% of the electricity needs of every home north of the border.”

But Paul Younger, professor of Energy Engineering at the University of Glasgow, said it was important to keep a sense of perspective.

He added: “It’s true that we’ve seen an increase in both the installed capacity and output of wind generation over the last year or so, but the 2013 closure of the coal-fired power station at Cockenzie and the downgrading of the gas-fired power station at Peterhead have had a much more dramatic effect on the percentage balance of generation sources.

“What we are seeing is a loss of capability in Scotland to generate on demand. Basically, nuclear generates steadily, 24/7 and we can increase generation from coal and gas as and when we need it. We desperately need not to lose sight of that.

“Otherwise, we will be relying on importing power from England, or else facing blackouts. That would bring a backlash against renewables which I do not want to see.”

A Fracking video you must watch.

Stop fracking or we will die

Here is a fracking video you must watch: From an article in ProPublica.  For years, environmentalists and the gas drilling industry have been in a pitched battle over the possible health implications of hydro fracking. But to a great extent, the debate — as well as the emerging lawsuits and the various proposed regulations in numerous states — has been hampered by a shortage of science.

A video that explains the unbelievable truth about fracking effects on the people of Colorado is HERE.

A Fracking video you must watch.

The industry, by and large, has regarded the studies done to date — a number of which claim to have found higher rates of illness among residents living close to drilling wells — as largely anecdotal and less than convincing.

“The public health sector has been absent from this debate,” said Nadia Steinzor, a researcher on the Oil and Gas Accountability Project at the environmental nonprofit, Earthworks.

Studies performed have found damaging chemicals in humans

1.    An Exploratory Study of Air Quality near Natural Gas Operations. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 2012.

The study, performed in Garfield County, Colo., between July 2010 and October 2011, was done by researchers at The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, a non-profit organization that examines the impact of low-level exposure to chemicals on the environment and human health.

In the study, researchers set up a sampling station close to a well and collected air samples every week for 11 months, from when the gas wells were drilled to after it began production. The samples produced evidence of 57 different chemicals, 45 of which they believe have some potential for affecting human health.

In almost 75 percent of all samples collected, researchers discovered methylene chloride, a toxic solvent that the industry had not previously disclosed as present in drilling operations. The researchers noted that the greatest number of chemicals were detected during the initial drilling phase.

The second part of this video is HERE.

This is the most disturbing truth about fracking I have seen so far.

While this study did catalogue the different chemicals found in air emissions from gas drilling operations, it did not address exposure levels and their potential effects. The levels found did not exceed current safety standards, but there has been much debate about whether the current standards adequately address potential health threats to women, children and the elderly.

The researchers admitted their work was compromised by their lack of full access to the drilling site. The air samples were collected from a station close to what is known as the well pad, but not the pad itself.

The gas drilling industry has sought to limit the disclosure of information about its operations to researchers. They have refused to publicly disclose the chemicals that are used in fracking, won gag orders in legal cases and restricted the ability of scientists to get close to their work sites. In a highly publicized case last year, a lifelong gag order was imposed on two children who were parties to a legal case that accused one gas company of unsafe fracking operations that caused them to fall sick.

Clearly more research is need. We should not allow fracking in the UK. We must start building the renewable energy systems of the future now.

No fracking in the UK is winning

From Friends of the Earth email to me today.

Dear Mark

I emailed you only hours ago I know, but something surprising just happened and I wanted you to know. It means more than ever that your action could help swing things.

This morning I sent an email alerting you to the shocking expose of Government plans to override a decision in Lancashire later this week, if the decision there is not to frack. As I mentioned, this scandal emerged on the same day that MPs debated fracking in Parliament.

I also asked you to share the news to help keep Lancashire – and the rest of the UK – frack free. A massive thank you to everyone who did. Within a few hours the number of petition signatures rocketed – down to all of us working together.

It’s really making a difference. In an unexpected turn, the Government was forced to agree to ban fracking in protected areas for wildlife, areas of outstanding natural beauty, or near drinking water sources.  This is good news and shows that the Government are on the backfoot – a mark that momentum is very much on our side. Our movement is getting stronger every day, and we’re starting to see the results.

However, these changes don’t go far enough, and won’t necessarily stop fracking in Lancashire. Disappointingly, MPs rejected calls for a moratorium – suspension – of fracking.

As so often with campaigning, it’s a step in the right direction, but it’s not over yet. In the short term, it means all eyes on Lancashire for the fracking decisions due there later this week. If you haven’t already, I’m sure you know what to do – keep spreading the word with all your family and friends and ask them to sign the petition too, using the buttons at the bottom of this email.

For over three years, Friends of the Earth has been working alongside people who live in Lancashire who could facing fracking on their doorstep. Now is the time for them to feel the up swell of support from all of us no matter where we live.

We don’t know what will be decided later this week in Lancashire. What we do know is that now is the time for us to all pull together. Today shows that when we do, it makes a difference.

So thank you for reading this email, for your support, and for doing what you can to put a brake on fracking: not here, not anywhere.

With thanks and hope,
Nikki and the fracking team Helen, Rachel, Tony, Donna, Jake, Rose, Teresa, Jamie, Naomi and Jenny
#LancsDecides

___

My email from earlier today

Dear Mark

Have you seen today’s Guardian? The headline: the Government has got secret plans to help frack Lancashire even if locals decide against it.

A letter leaked to Friends of the Earth – sent from Chancellor George Osborne to Cabinet colleagues – shows that while David Cameron recently said local councils and communities should make decisions about fracking, the Government is preparing to override a potential ‘No to fracking’ decision in Lancashire. The Lancashire decision is due to be made this week.

This is a scandalous story that needs to be shared. Please share it with your family and friends to spread the word.

The damning exposé of the Government’s collusion comes on the same day that MPs debate fracking in Parliament. Whether the UK remains frack free is in the balance. Together we can help tip the balance by shining a light on the Government’s dirty fracking secrets.

The leaked letter shows just how worried the Government is that fracking might not go ahead in Lancashire, and they’ve every reason to be, as more and more people say on fracking: not here, not anywhere.

With thanks and hope,

Nikki, Helen, Rachel, Tony, Donna, Jake, Rose, Teresa and Jenny
#LancsDecides

PS You can read more about the leaked letter here. And you can read the Guardian’s report here.

PPS In case you’d like to be in Lancashire when the fracking decisions are made, our friends at Frack Off are organising coaches from around the country.

Environmental Audit Committee

calls for halt to fracking

Fracking protest seals off Cameron’s home

From the Parliament website today:

Shale fracking should be put on hold in the UK because it is incompatible with our climate change targets and could pose significant localised environmental risks to public health.

• Report: Environmental risks of fracking
• Report: Environmental risks of fracking (PDF)
• Inquiry: Environmental risks of fracking
• Environmental Audit Committee

That is the conclusion of MPs on the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee who will attempt to amend the Government’s Infrastructure Bill in Parliament today.

Joan Walley MP, chair of the Committee, said:

“Ultimately fracking cannot be compatible with our long-term commitments to cut climate changing emissions unless full-scale carbon capture and storage technology is rolled out rapidly, which currently looks unlikely. There are also huge uncertainties around the impact that fracking could have on water supplies, air quality and public health.”

“We cannot allow Britain’s national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty to be developed into oil and gas fields. Even if a national moratorium on shale drilling in the UK is not accepted there should be an outright ban on fracking in such special sites.”

“The Government is trying to rush through changes to the trespass laws that would allow companies to frack under people’s homes without permission. This is profoundly undemocratic and Parliament should protect the rights of citizens by throwing these changes out when they are debated later today.”

Report overview

The report warns that only a very small fraction of our shale reserves can be safely burned if we are to keep global temperatures below 2 degrees. And that considerable uncertainties remain about the hazards fracking poses to groundwater quality, air quality, health and biodiversity. It points out that continually tightening carbon budgets under the Climate Change Act will have significantly curtailed the scope for fossil fuel energy by the time shale gas is likely to be commercially viable on a large scale.

Infrastructure Bill

The Committee is also calling for other changes to the Infrastructure Bill. Proposed changes to trespass law that would grant companies automatic right of access to land at depth should be removed from the Bill because they seriously undermine citizens’ rights and are not supported by the public. Fracking should also be prohibited outright in nationally important areas such as National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, SSIs, ancient woodland.

The Committee is also insisting that:

• Licences and permits must not be issued if commercial operators cannot demonstrate sufficient resources and insurances to cover full liability in event of pollution incidents.
• Venting of methane emissions is unacceptable. Full containment of methane must be mandated in all fracking permits and permissions.
• To protect groundwater a minimum separation distance — between the shales being fracked and underground aquifers — should be defined and mandated.

Monitoring and transparency

Current plans to allow fracking companies to handle the safety monitoring for fracking wells are also unacceptable, the report concludes. Independent monitoring must be conducted to ensure the public can have confidence in the results. Regulators must also conduct regular unannounced spot checks and audits of all fracking sites, and facilitate clear and accessible public disclosure of all monitoring data. Companies must be made to disclose — in an accessible way — all of the chemicals used in shale gas exploration and production, and the potential risks they pose. It is unacceptable that there are currently no monitoring requirements for decommissioned or abandoned wells.

Background

Eight MPs on the Committee have put forward an amendment to introduce a moratoriums, linked to the Bill’s clauses aimed at setting a strategy to maximise fossil fuel extraction

• House of Commons notices of amendments: Infrastructure Bill (PDF 262KB) (see amendments 68 and 69)

Some MPs have also used the opportunity to also put down amendments to give the Strategic Highways Company an explicit legal duty to address air pollution in its work, to reflect a recommendation in another of the Committee’s reports — Action on Air Quality

• House of Commons notices of amendments: Infrastructure Bill (PDF 262KB) (see amendments 70)

 Further information

• EAC inquiry: Action on Air Quality
• Briefing paper: Shale gas and fracking – Library Standard Note
• About Parliament: Select Committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

Image: iStock

New York VS London

In New York VS London we will look at two different ways to deal with fracking.

There are many communities around the world that are against fracking.

Balcombe Fracking Protesters Stop Quadrilla

Countries all over the planet are banning fracking. There are many reasons to ban fracking too. The environmental damage created by fracking alone is reason enough to ban it. Then there is the problem of earthquakes like we had around Blackpool in 2011.

Fracking causes earthquakes

A new report just released in the US has confirmed that fracking caused earthquakes in Ohio. There are other blights upon the landscapes of countries where fracking occurs. Here is a picture of a “flood” reported in the Colorado News.

Colorado Fracking mudslide Kills 3

I put the “flood” in parenthesis as this event happened at the top of a mountain during a dry spell. No rain for days and no source of water to cause the flood. There were several fracking operations ongoing in the area around this site tho.

Then there is the Lapindo mud flow. Lapindo is the largest man made mudflow in the world. Depending on whom you talk to it was the result of some oil drilling that went wrong or an earthquake. The place is named after the oil drilling company, so you decide which one is more likely.

For the last five years, due to drilling by  Lapindo, the volcano has been pumping out boiling hot mud from the ground. More than a hundred thousand people were forced to abandon their homes, without enough compensation to buy new ones.

The never-ending Mudslide from drilling for gas

The volcano that erupted as a result of Lapindo’s drilling operation is still spewing out mud today and will for many years to come. Lusi, the volcano, is located in the Sidoarjo district of the island of Java, and erupted on May 29, 2006 in the middle of a rice field.

It has destroyed 13 villages, dozens of factories and shops and a highway, prompting the government to build dykes 10 metres (33 feet) high to try to contain its spread.

New York has banned fracking. So, here in the UK we have still not stopped fracking yet. But we are getting closer. You can help by contacting your representative in parliament. It is also worthwhile visiting your local council and talking about these important matters with local representatives.

New Tax For Coal Announced

A new tax for cal fired plants is in parliament right now. David Cameron wants to give up to £2 billion to energy companies to fund future coal burning. Is Cameron serious? He campaigned on a promise to create the greenest government ever. Has he done this?  Not hardly!

Today I received an email from Greenpeace about this plan. I am shocked and amazed that this government can be so ignorant about the nature of our energy crisis.

The UN has made the problem of climate change abundantly clear. I covered this report in a previous blog post. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) clearly states that we must act now before it is too late to stop global warming.

Since 1979, the size of the summer polar ice cap has shrunk more than 20 percent. (Illustration from NASA)

David Cameron has cut the FIT payment for solar energy by more than half.

David Cameron has supported fracking even though the UK people do not want this.

Cameron wants a new nuclear power station at Hinkley that will cost billions to build and cost you too much in electricity bills.

 New tax for coal is a disaster

Now Cameron wants to give the big energy companies billions more to keep aging coal power stations open longer. This is just insane! Cameron could be putting this money towards building the renewable energy systems we desperately need. Instead he is helping his friends in the energy industry by giving them more money.

You can help stop this now.

Greenpeace has a petition to stop this new tax. Sign this petition now please.

Scottish Power 50% Renewable

Scottish power 50% renewable! 50% of all Scottish electricity is produced from renewable energy now. Here is a BBC article about this amazing new development.

The full article re-posted:

25 September 2014 Last updated at 12:41

Wind farms in Scotland saw a 20% rise in output last year

Related Stories

Almost half of the power generated in Scotland now comes from renewable sources, according to official figures.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change said renewables achieved 46.4% of gross electricity consumption in 2013 – up from 39.9% in 2012.

It also found the amount of power generated from renewable sources in Scotland in the first half of this year was 30% up on a year ago.

The period saw wind output rise by 20%, while hydro generation climbed by 50%.

Renewable heat generation accounted for 3% of Scotland’s non-electrical heat demand – up from 2.7% in 2011.

The figures were welcomed by environmental group WWF Scotland.

However, industry group Scottish Renewables warned that Scotland’s 2020 renewable heat target remained “worryingly out of reach”, despite progress in the sector.

Energy efficiencyThe Scottish government said Scotland was on track to meet its interim target of achieving 50% of its electricity demand from green power by 2015.

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing claimed renewable generation continued “to go from strength to strength” in Scotland.

He said: “Scottish renewable electricity made up 32% of the UK’s renewable energy generation in 2013 and we continue to be a net exporter of electricity.

“Energy efficiency sits at the top of our energy hierarchy and the progress being made is welcome.”

Mr Ewing added: “We are committed to making Scotland a leading low carbon investment destination, delivering growth from the growing low carbon sector and ensuring communities across Scotland can benefit from the opportunities that the transition to a low carbon economy brings.”

‘Record year’WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: “Coming off the back of recent calls by the UN for more action on climate change, it’s fantastic to hear that Scotland is continuing to generate record amounts of clean, renewable electricity.

“Even more encouraging is the fact that this looks like being yet another record year for renewables in Scotland.

“This is good news for all those concerned with cutting carbon emissions, creating jobs and keeping the lights on.

“However, if we’re to meet our aim of generating 100% of our electricity needs from renewables by 2020 then we’ll need to see continued government support in both Holyrood and Westminster.

“This is especially the case for offshore wind power, where we need to see a major roll-out of sites in Scottish waters in the next few years.”

‘Left behind’Scottish Renewables said the figures showed that 3% of the country’s warmth came from biomass, solar thermal panels, energy from waste and heat pumps in 2012.

But it claimed that, with a target of 11% by 2020, the sector had been “left behind”.

Solar PV panels contributed to a small rise in renewable heat figures

Scottish Renewables policy manager Stephanie Clark said: “While Scotland has made great strides towards its 100% 2020 renewable electricity target, our objective of generating 11% of heat from renewables remains worryingly out of reach.

“Renewable heat has been left behind.

“Half the energy we use goes on creating warmth, but a sector which has such an important role to play in combating climate change and reducing fuel poverty is not even considered important enough to be included as one of the Scottish government’s national indicators of progress.

“Currently we just do not see the capacity coming forward which will allow us to hit the 2020 target and capitalise on the reductions in fuel poverty and carbon emissions which achieving it would bring.”