Western Australia cops heat & wildfires this year

William P. Hall on February 13, 2022

Despite La Nina, widespread lightning has started many fires in with the loss of homes in the southern part of Western Australia

By Liam Croy 11/02/2022 in the Albany Advertiser
Fire alarm: Homes feared lost as lightning sparks bushfire emergencies across southern WA: The entire region — including Jerramungup, Lake Grace, Newdegate and Hopetoun — was under a storm warning on Friday afternoon with damaging weather expected. Wind gusts of 137km/h was recorded in Jacup at 2.27pm.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

Southern California’s NB4 record high winter temps

William P. Hall on February 13, 2022

Record high mid-winter temps from 28 to 31 °C and wildfires hit Southern California suggesting drought may continue for another year

By Jan Wesner Childs 11/02/2020 in The Weather Channel:
Homes Burned, Evacuations Ordered Amid Southern California Wildfires: Southern California is experiencing unusually hot weather, combined with Santa Ana winds and an ongoing drought. Temperatures soared into the mid- to upper 80s in some areas Thursday with daily record highs noted by the National Weather Service in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles counties.

See also:
By Madeline Scheinost 09/02/2022 in The Weather Channel
Does California’s Dry Start to 2022 Mean the Drought Is Locked in Until Next Winter?: California started the year with a dent in a multi-year drought thanks to a wet December, but a dry spell to start the year threatens to counteract the progress that was made and prolong the drought well into 2022.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

$101 million would help fight climate emergency

William P. Hall on February 13, 2022

Time’s up for the COALition that spent more than $500,000 per person last year to incarcerate less than 200 unwanted refugees on Nauru Island

by Ben Doherty & Ben Butler 12/02/2022

Nauru detention centre operator makes $101m profit – at least $500,000 for each detainee: Canstruct International’s holding company has more than $340m in cash and investments, according to accounts filed with regulator

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

Biden’s climate incentives may show us how it’s done

William P. Hall on February 13, 2022

Biden’s new climate incentives have a good chance to pass Congress, to work in practice, and to give great value for money

by Robinson Meyer 10/02/2022 in The Atlantic

Biden’s Biggest Idea on Climate Change Is Remarkably Cheap: It’s one of the most cost-effective climate policies the U.S. has ever considered, according to a new analysis…. The researchers’ study, which has not been peer-reviewed, finds that the policy’s benefits will be three to four times larger than its costs, creating as much as projected $1.5 trillion in economic surplus while eliminating more than 5 billion tons of planet-warming carbon pollution through 2050.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

New liquid-based CO₂ capture tech for industrial emissions

William P. Hall on February 13, 2022

Shows capacities for high CO2 capture under power plant operating conditions, minimizing energy-intensive temperature swings of other techs

by Mohen S. Yeganeh, et al. 11/02/2022 in Science Advances
Solid with infused reactive liquid (SWIRL): A novel liquid-based separation approach for effective CO2 capture: Economical CO2 capture demands low-energy separation strategies. We use a liquid-infused surface (LIS) approach to immobilize reactive liquids, such as amines, on a textured and thermally conductive solid substrate with high surface-area to volume ratio (A/V) continuum geometry…. [The technology] shows stable, high capture capacities at power plant CO2 concentrations near flue gas temperatures, preventing energy-intensive temperature swings needed for other approaches.

VC1 Editor’s comment: The science behind this technology appears to be valid, but implementing it will be too costly and engineering intensive for applications other than mitigating already concentrated carbon emissions from power plant flue gases and other large-scale industrial emitters. However, in this application the technology described here would seem to have significant advantages over other proposed technologies.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

Wrapping ice and snow to slow/stop melting

William P. Hall on February 13, 2022

Amazing breakthrough technology: cover ice and snow with ‘green’ radiative cooling foil to slow/stop melting and even help freezing

by Jinlei Li et al. 11/02/2022 in Science Advances
Protecting ice from melting under sunlight via radiative cooling: Here, we demonstrate that a hierarchically designed radiative cooling film based on abundant and eco-friendly cellulose acetate molecules versatilely provides effective and passive protection to various forms/scales of ice under sunlight. This work provides inspiration for developing an effective, scalable, and sustainable route for preserving ice and other critical elements of ecosystems.

VC1 Editor’s comment: The cost-effectiveness of this technology remains to be proven in practice. However, the the science appears to be sound, cooling effects of ultra-white paint have been proven in shopping center-scale commercial application, and the acetate film is made from renewable materials and should be safely biodegradable in application.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

Global warming sets Australia for worse NB4 bushfires

William P. Hall on February 12, 2022

ANU experts say continuing climate change increases bushfire threats of more than ‘worst case’ scenarios to never before (NB4) seen levels

by Michael Mazengarb 10/02/2022 in Renew Economy
Australia’s bushfire threat already beyond worst-case scenarios, thanks to climate change: Australia will continue to experience more extreme impacts of climate change, with the bushfire threat already exceeding the ‘worst case’ scenarios, experts have told the Australian National University’s 2022 Climate Update event.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

Global warming sets Australia for worse NB4 bushfires

William P. Hall on February 12, 2022

ANU experts say continuing climate change increases bushfire threats of more than ‘worst case’ scenarios to never before (NB4) seen levels

by Michael Mazengarb 10/02/2022 in Renew Economy
Australia’s bushfire threat already beyond worst-case scenarios, thanks to climate change: Australia will continue to experience more extreme impacts of climate change, with the bushfire threat already exceeding the ‘worst case’ scenarios, experts have told the Australian National University’s 2022 Climate Update event.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

What’s in a name? Natural gas is mostly methane!

William P. Hall on February 12, 2022

Marketing gurus know that ‘natural’ is healthy, clean, and good for you. Actually methane is bad and nasty — especially for global warming.

by Rebecca Leber, 10/02/2024 in Vox
The end of natural gas has to start with its name: The oil and gas industry didn’t invent the name. But it invented the myth of a clean fuel.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.

What’s in a name? Natural gas is mostly methane!

William P. Hall on February 12, 2022

Marketing gurus know that ‘natural’ is healthy, clean, and good for you. Actually methane is bad and nasty — especially for global warming.

by Rebecca Leber, 10/02/2024 in Vox
The end of natural gas has to start with its name: The oil and gas industry didn’t invent the name. But it invented the myth of a clean fuel.

Views expressed in this post are those of its author(s), not necessarily all Vote Climate One members.