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Rising sea levels set to have major impacts around the world
Research presented today at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change in Copenhagen shows that the upper range of sea level rise by 2100 could be in the range of about one meter, or possibly more. In the lower end of the spectrum it looks increasingly unlikely that sea level rise will be much less than 50 cm by 2100. This means that if emissions of greenhouse gases is not reduced quickly and substantially, even the best case scenario will hit low lying coastal areas housing one in ten humans on the planet hard.Dr John Church of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and the lead speaker in the sea level session, told the conference, "The most recent satellite and ground based observations show that sea-level rise is continuing to rise at 3 mm/yr or more since 1993, a rate well above the 20th century average. The oceans are continuing to warm and expand, the melting of mountain glacier has increased and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica are also contributing to sea level rise."
New insights reported include the loss of ice from the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets. "The ice loss in Greenland has accelerated over the last decade. The upper range of sea level rise by 2100 might be above 1m or more on a global average, with large regional differences depending where the source of ice loss occurs", says Konrad Steffen, Director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado, Boulder and co-chair of the congress session on sea level rise.
Key Findings from the Copenhagen Congress
Attended by more than 2,500 delegates from nearly 80 countries, the International Scientific Congress Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions preliminary messages were delivered by the Congress Scientific Writing Team. The conclusions, which will be published in full synthesis report June 2009, were handed over to the Danish Prime Minister Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen today. The Danish Government will host the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009.The six preliminary key messages are:
Key Message 1: Climatic Trends
Siemens Wind Blades by Rail
ORLANDO, Fla., March 4, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- When the first train left Siemens Energy's new rail yard at the Fort Madison blade factory earlier this week, it signaled a more reliable, greener and cost-effective method of transporting blades across the U.S. Moving 148-feet long, 12-ton blades on trucks on the nation's roadways has always represented a logistical challenge since delivery routes must be carefully planned and approved to avoid urban rush hours, sharp curves, narrow lanes and weight-limited bridges. By utilizing America's national rail network, Siemens has tapped into an existing infrastructure that will allow the company to move its blades more efficiently across the country.
The first 42 wind turbine blades are now headed to Portland General Electric's Biglow Canyon Wind Farm in Sherman County, Oregon, where they will be combined with nacelles and towers for installation. The turbine blades are expected to roll into Pasco, Washington, by the end of the week. Siemens is supplying 141 units -- each with three blades -- of its 2.3-megawatt turbines for the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm Phases 2 and 3. Once completed, PGE's 450-MW wind farm will produce enough electricity to power 100,000 households.
"This is the first time that Siemens is transporting wind turbine blades via rail to their destination," said Jan Kjaersgaard, CEO, Siemens Wind Power Americas. "Adding rail allows us to expand our transportation capacity and provides significant efficiency and environmental benefits compared to trucking for long-distance transports." In addition to blades, Siemens Energy is also transporting towers and nacelles via rail to various project locations throughout the U.S.
The Siemens Energy Sector is the world's leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas. In fiscal 2008 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of approximately EUR22.6 billion and received new orders totaling approximately EUR33.4 billion and posted a profit of EUR1.4 billion. On September 30, 2008, the Energy Sector had a work force of approximately 83,500. Further information is available at: www.siemens.com/energy.
First Solar sees breakthrough in manufacturing costs
London - 02 March 2009: Solar module manufacturer First Solar Inc. had both bright and subdued forecasts for the emerging solar industry, unsettling investors with suggestions that it expects demand to fall, competition to increase and huge financial challenges for the industry in the near future, as it revealed it had broken the $1/watt price barrier by reducing manufacturing costs to just $0.98/watt.
The company also posted better than expected fourth-quarter profits and revenues.
Scientists claim leap in nanoscale storage
San Francisco, 02 March 2009 Researchers make molecules line up perfectly, boosting capacityTwo nanotechnology researchers say they have achieved a breakthrough that could fit the contents of 250 DVDs on a coin-sized surface and might also have implications for displays and solar cells.
The scientists, Ting Xu of the University of California at Berkeley and Thomas Russell, of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, have discovered a way to make certain kinds of molecules line up in perfect arrays over relatively large areas.
FPL begins work on largest U.S. photovoltaic facility
ARCADIA, FLORIDA - 02 March 2009: Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) has begun groundbreaking on the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center. The 25-MW photovoltaic solar facility will bring commercial scale photovoltaic power to Florida.The plant will be the largest photovoltaic solar facility in the United States when it is complete at the end of 2009. The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center will use 90,000 photovoltaic panels on 180 acres of land and provide enough electricity to power more than 3,000 homes, nearly 20 percent of the population in DeSoto County.
The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center will use SunPower panels and SunPower Tracker technology. The Tracker automatically follows the sun's movement throughout the day, increasing sunlight capture by up to 25 percent over fixed systems.
Motor-head Eric Bana turns car movie carbon neutral
SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Hollywood star Eric Bana and the producers of his new motor-racing movie have teamed up with an Australian environmental group to offset the pollution caused during filming, saying they love cars but love the planet more.Melbourne-based film group Whyte House Productions along with Bana's company Pick Up Truck Pictures are due to release next month "Love The Beast," a film about the Australian actor's obsession with cars and racing.
The comedy, which is 40-year-old Bana's directorial debut, also features a few other celebrity motor-heads including U.S. talk show host Jay Leno, Jeremy Clarkson who hosts the TV show "Top Gear" and TV psychologist Dr. Phil.
Climate solutions don't (just) grow on trees
Emerging climate science suggests that atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are already at dangerously high levels and that the planet is set for significant climate change. We are staring down the barrel of a climate dramatically different from the benign weather patterns that allowed human civilisation to flourish. Australian and global policy responses to climate change assume that using trees to offset carbon pollution is an appropriate and desirable option. But, in fact, use of tree offsets delays the decarbonisation of the economy. So what role do trees have in safe climate stabilisation?
Compromised predictions
"Love The Beast" goes carbon neutral
Two Australian film production companies have taken a leadership position in the film industry by partnering with not-for-profit organisation Climate Positive to calculate and offset the carbon polluting activities associated with the making of the feature film "Love The Beast". Melbourne-based film group Whyte House Productions along with Eric Bana's Pick Up Truck Pictures have recently completed production on the feature film that also stars Eric Bana along with fellow auto aficionados Jeremy Clarkson, Jay Leno and Dr Phil.
Greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy use, transportation and hotel accommodation, were documented and assessed to enable the Producers to account for the majority of the productions emissions.
State rides energy wave
18 Feb 2009, MELBOURNE Australia - VICTORIA is in the running for a $300 million wave power project, with predictions 20 per cent of the state's electricity could be generated by the ocean.
The State Government is in talks with Western Australia's Carnegie Corporation to develop a wave energy plant.