CNT Fall 2010 Update

Hello fellow CNTers,

I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable (and not too stressful) semester so far. I’m writing with an update on the progress of our work from this past spring and summer. The complete GHG emissions report, which was reviewed by the Chancellor’s Cabinet, was submitted to the Presidents’ Climate Commitment website on 9/15. Since then, Dr. Hale and the Chancellor have been reviewing various options for the most effective way to bring our work to the rest of the campus community. One exciting possibility is that we may do a presentation during a visit to campus of the DNR Secretary!

Andi and I (along with Professors Boulter, Pierson, and Hale) want to open up this opportunity to any members of CNT 2010 who want to participate; it is a wonderful opportunity to “show off” our research and writing, and to begin to make the case for our recommendations. (It is also a nice way to add something to your developing resumes!)

We will be working on the final presentation and an updated PowerPoint in the very near future; if you are interested in helping with any part of this process, please contact me via email as soon as possible.

Laura

CNT10 is Running Again!

Hello, fellow CNT10ers-

The Summer CNTeam met this morning, bright and early, to discuss our summer plans and go over the past reports. We will keep running posts to keep you updated throughout the summer.

If you have any additions to your Data or Legacy documents - or suggestions that have crept into your mind after speaking with the Chancellor, please let Laura or me know via blog comment or UWEC email (Andi: krunnfae; Laura: headrill).

Keep it green,

Summer CNT10

"Water Adds New Constraint to Power"

I just saw this article on NY Times (click the title for a link) and thought it was very relevant to our class.

We've talked a lot about how different kinds of power generation create different amounts of carbon. We've also discussed how one of the major problems of climate change will be water shortages. Those two debates are more connected than I thought - most types of power plants (including thermal solar) use water as a coolant. There are different ways to do this of course, with different considerations. Some methods put warm water back into rivers and lakes, which can kill wildlife, and other types let it evaporate, which doesn't kill the wildlife but wastes the water. It's a really interesting debate - and yet another wrinkle to an already complex issue of trying to generate power. At the same time, however, California has successfully put regulations in place that are encouraging new power plants to put in less water-consuming cooling systems. It remains to be seen how this issue will finally play out, but I'm looking forward to seeing where people go from here.

PowerPoint Presentation

Hi, folks-

I edited the Transportation section of the PowerPoint and altered the background color to a light beige. Feel free to change it back, etc. (Still on W Drive - Final Presentation_Draft2)

Also, if you have any more recommendations or suggestions for the Transportation section, please let me/us know via email or blog.

Just thought I'd let you know...

Thanks,

Andi

eCO2 Emissions

Post the eCO2 emissions for your section here!

Electricity is responsible for 13,278.2 metric tons of eCO2.

Please note that this uses our estimates of the months yet to come. We are going to use this number for now, but it will end up changing sometime this summer when we have all the correct data.

Energy Education Initiatives Stalled

Here's the opening from a NYT "Dot Earth" blog post--click on the title above to read the whole post at "Dot Earth":

"While the political fight over the now-vivid  environmental threat attending offshore oil drilling plays out, it remains clear that the country’s lawmakers are not remotely engaged in the  multi-pronged energy quest that would be required to move the world toward a non-polluting, yet prosperous future.
One vital prong is education. So far, Congress — even with Democrats in control — has refused to support President Obama’s repeated call for a modest investment in education initiatives that could help produce the skilled workforce required to undertake a sustained push on advancing and disseminating promising energy technologies. Last year, Congress largely rebuffed Obama’s request for $115 million for the program, called  Regaining our Energy Science and Engineering Edge. He’s trying again, this time seeking $74 million in the 2011 budget."

Elizabeth Kolbert

Thanks to all for an excellent discussion this morning.  We ran out of time to discuss the "Afterword" for the (late) 2009 paperback edition, so if you have some further thoughts--or thoughts you just didn't get a chance to express this morning--please add them here.  And perhaps you've been thinking about our overall discussion, and realize you have some things you'd like to add.  Here's the opportunity!

Click on Kolbert's name to see an interesting interview with her from 2006.