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Climate Science, A sensitive matter |
| 04/08/13 Read full article at The Economist |
| with comments from Kuo Liao |
| The temperature of the world is not as hot as our precious models suggest, but still within the error bars. The article collects different opinions and models that tend to predict the global temperature. It suggests still lots need to be done to understand the climate, even the temperature rise now is somewhat reassuring. |
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California could be next oil boom state |
| 03/17/13 Read full article at cnn.com |
| with comments from Kang Sun |
| Last month, I was in an atmospheric measurements campaign in San Joaquin Valley, which is basically the largest orange area in the first figure. I saw numerous oil wells, but the majority land use is still agricultural. As indicated in the article, an oil boom may have profound environmental impact. |
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Gas Boom Projected to Grow for Decades |
| 03/17/13 Read full article at The wall street journal |
| with comments from Kuo Liao |
| A unduly and most exhaustive study so far, funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and performed by University of Texas indicated the US natural-gas production will accelerate over the next 30 years, and decline only slowly after that. The market price can still maintain around $4/mBtu for large quantities of gas. |
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Study of Ice Age Bolsters Carbon and Warming Link |
| 03/17/13 Read full article at The New York Times |
| with comments from Kuo Liao |
| The paper by Frederic Parrenin from University of Grenoble, France, indicate a strong correlation between warming of the earth and CO2 concentration in atmosphere. The study dissipated, to some extent, the skepticism which claimed a time lag of 800 years for CO2 concentration to tip up after the ice age thawing. The evidence he offered by using a relatively new technology reconstructed the exact timing of events ended the ice age. |
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China deploys uranium enrichment centrifuge |
| 03/17/13 Read full article at Chinadaily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Installation of a domestically produced centrifuge in a uranium enrichment plant in Lanzhou marked a significant progress in development of China’s nuclear power. |
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Natural gas price adjustment in 2013 |
| 03/17/13 Read full article at China News |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| With increasing domestic natural gas consumption and strong dependence on import, adjustment of natural gas price is planned for the coming three years. An increase in natural gas price of 0.2~0.3 yuan/cubic meter is expected in 2013. The need of marketization of natural gas price in China, to some extent, is shaping policy design. |
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Beijing Cough |
| 01/12/13 Read full article at ifeng.com |
| with comments from Kang Sun |
| Beijing Cough", a symptom suffered mostly by foreigners, induced by inhalable particle pollution. |
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China curbs CO2 emissions through industrial restructuring |
| 11/26/12 Read full article at ECF |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| In the 12th five year plan, China sets goals for energy intensity reduction, as a response to combat global climate change. One of the contributors will be Industrial transformation and restructuring, such as switching to low carbon industries. |
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Green economy urged amid restruturing |
| 11/14/12 Read full article at Chinadaily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| In the new industrial and technological revolution, green economy and low carbon sectors are growing, to achieve sustainable development. |
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More support urged for new-energy vehicles |
| 11/14/12 Read full article at Chinadaily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| To build a ‘beautiful China’ proposed by president Hu Jintao, car emission must be reduced, which requires stronger support to new energy vehicles. |
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China boasts huge geothermal resources |
| 10/06/12 Read full article at Chinadaily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Statistic data released by the ministry of land and resources showed that China has a big potential in geothermal energy, with the total amount equivalent to 853 billion tons of standard coal. |
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China taps shale gas through combined efforts |
| 10/06/12 Read full article at Chinadaily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| After the first auction in 2011, China will have a second round of auction for shale gas licenses this October, encouraging players from both state-owned and private enterprises. |
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Shale: can the US experience be repeated? |
| 09/22/12 Read full article at The Economist |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Shale boom in the US has largely affected the US market, reducing the price from $30 to $2.8. However, Europe and Asia may have difficulty exploiting shale gas and oil, due to geological differences. |
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Energy use less, electricity output more |
| 09/17/12 Read full article at Chinadaily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Data from the State Electricity Regulatory Commission showed in the past decade, coal consumption of coal in producing 1 kWh electricity has decreased by about 16%, going from 392 grams in 2000 to 329 grams in 2011. A new standard was designed and released to further promote upgrading and efficiency improvement in power sector. |
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China to subsidize energy-saving appliances |
| 09/17/12 Read full article at Chinadaily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| China plans to subsidize the use of six types of energy saving products. This program will help save billions of kWh of electricity, while lifting consumption during the economic downturn. |
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A Chinese city moves to limit new cars |
| 09/12/12 Read full article at NY Times |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Guangzhou, the third-largest city takes measures such as license plate auctions and lotteries, in order to limit the number of new cars. Such efforts, especially in the middle of the economic slowdown, demonstrate the government’s increasing willingness to balance economic development and environmental conservation. |
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Too small a role for clean coal technology in the 12th five year plan for coal industry |
| 09/05/12 Read full article at China5e |
| with comments from Zhong Zheng |
| Prof NI Weidou of Tsinghua University, Member of the National Academy of Engineering, China, discussed the role of clean coal technology in the 12th five year plan for the coal industry. Clean coal technologies such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and Coal Gasification based Polygeneration technologies were not emphasized enough in the newly released plan, commented by Ni. |
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Laser fusion nears crucial milestone |
| 09/05/12 Read full article at nature.com |
| with comments from Peng Zhao |
| The National Ignition Facility (NIF), which boasts the world’s largest laser, is designed to trigger fusion by imploding a target pellet of hydrogen isotopes, thereby releasing more energy than will go into the shot. NIF’s managers think that the end of their two-year campaign for break-even energy, or ‘ignition’, is in sight. Recalling the first time they presented the concept to magnetic-fusion researchers at a conference a few years ago, the response to it was almost violent: ‘This cannot be.’ They were shocked at the ambition of it for sure. And they still are. |
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Carbon trading market research boosted |
| 09/05/12 Read full article at Chinadaily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Seven pilot regions were selected by NDRC to develop regional carbon trade schemes, among which Beijing and Shanghai have become operational. Accounting methods are being developed for six major industries. These efforts are laying foundations for a nation-wide carbon market that is planned to be built between 2015-2020. |
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China sets target for shale-gas recovery |
| 08/22/12 Read full article at chinadaily.com |
| with comments from Zhong Zheng |
| China has set a goal of producing 6.5 billion cubic meters of shale gas by the end of 2015. U.S. is leading the world with an annual output of 170 billion cubic meters shale gas recovery in 2011. Technology innovation is important to meet the goal, and China is giving policy incentives to help companies explore for and recover the shale gas resource. The Ministry of Land and Resources estimated that China has 25 trillion cubic meters of recoverable shale gas in March, 2012. |
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China’s energy use down 2% in 2011 |
| 08/19/12 Read full article at China Daily |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Government data showed decrease in energy use per unit of GDP. However, regional differences exists. Beijing and Ningxia have reduced energy usage, while some provinces, such as Qinghai and Xinjiang are experiencing an increase. |
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That sinking feeling |
| 08/27/12 Read full article at The Economist |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Ocean is one of the large carbon sinks on earth, but little is known about it. Scientists point out that among the three mechanisms of CO2 absorption by ocean, eddies are often left out in current modeling work, which may cause underestimation of CO2 absorption. However, more researches are required to understand the underlying mechanisms and their implications to climate change. |
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A full life cycle analysis |
| 08/24/12 Read full article at lighting.com.uk |
| with comments from Bin Guo |
| Researchers found that compared with incandescent lamps, CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) and LEDs (light emitting diode) lamps provide the same lumens and consume less energy. In addition, they have longer life cycles and smaller environmental impacts. Given the rapid development in LEDs industry, the next generation is expected to have even better environmental performance. |
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40% U.S. food wasted, report says |
| 08/23/12 Read full article at cnn.com |
| with comments from Zhong Zheng |
| A waste of food also means a waste of water, energy and other resources. There was also a related discussion on Science magazine policy forum in 2009, entitled “beneficial biofuels — the food, energy and environment trilemma”. Biofuel takes land to grow. This action may challenge the food supply, local water and ecological balance. |
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Fracking's Methane Trail: A Detective Story |
| 08/22/12 Read full article at npr.org |
| with comments from Kang Sun |
| Gaby Petron's measurements, which were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, suggest that methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is leaking at at least twice the rate reported by the industry. |
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Shale Gas to the Climate Rescue |
| 08/19/12 Read full article at nytimes.com |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| The prospect of combating global temperature increase seems to be dooming as current CO2 emissions are still high and renewable technologies are not in position of being employed at large scale. Shale gas becomes the critical bridging technology, as its emission of CO2 is only half of that of coal.. However, for shale gas to be widely accepted and extracted, international cooperations are required to share information and know-how, and to suppress usage of coals or to make shale gas more economically competitive. |
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ADB urges China to impose “green” tax vs air, water pollution |
| 08/19/12 Read full article at globaltimes.cn |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Noting the progresses China has made in combating pollution and cutting energy consumptions, the Asian Development Bank recommended Chinese policymakers to take further measures, imposing taxes on pollutant and GHGs emission, and providing economic incentives to cultivate green technologies. |
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Arctic Drilling will begin this year, Shell Official says |
| 08/19/12 Read full article at NYtimes.com |
| with comments from Hang Deng |
| Arctic waters hold large oil reservoirs, whose potential has started to unveil as Shell has put significant amount of money and time preparing for drilling there. This project is faced with many challenges, one of which is to revamp the oil containment barge so that spillage can be controlled efficiently in face of an accident. Regardless of all the holdups, Shell is confident that one or two exploratory drillings will be launched by the end of this summer drilling season. |
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