Microgrid systems, an alternative approach for integrating small scale distributed energy resources, are becoming a reality on the U.S. east coast. The microgrids are viewed as a way to improve energy resiliency in the face of future impacts related to climate change, as reported by the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force. Bill Howley, in today’s “The Power Line” blog, points…
Colorado’s Front Range September Storm Event
The northern Colorado Front Range area was hit with flooding and hundreds of landslides that were triggered by record rains that fell throughout this area from September 9 through 13, 2013. U.S. Geological researchers from the Landslide Hazards Group in Golden, Colorado, presented their findings to-date on landslide hazards associated with this storm event at…
Montana Dueling Dinosaurs – No Sale For Now
A few days ago, Bonhams auction house in New York City hoped to sell a fossil specimen dubbed the “Montana Dueling Dinosaurs”. I say “hoped” because the Dueling Dinosaurs did not sell. The highest bid was $5.5 million which did not clear the reserve. Bonhams had estimated the Dueling Dinosaurs to be worth between $7…
AWG 2014 Canadian Rockies Field Trip
I thought that I’d give some advance notice for a geology field trip that is being sponsored by The Association for Women Geoscientists. The field trip will go through a part of the Canadian Rockies and the Alberta Badlands, and anyone can sign up for a spot on the field trip. Here’s the trip information…
Human Influence On The Climate System Is Unmistakable
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‘s (IPCC) much awaited report, the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), concludes that scientists are 95% certain that humans are the “dominant cause” of global warming since the 1950s. A policy makers’ summary for AR5, IPCC’s latest report on physical evidence for climate change, was released today. The full report will be released…
A Question of Firsts – Grass or the Teeth to Eat It?
I thought that I’d post a link to really interesting work being done by Burke Museum researchers that revolves around this question: which came first – grass or the teeth to eat it?? Link to the study information at: Grasslands Evolution
The Continuing Saga of the Utilities’ Death Spiral
For those of you who are fighting numerous proposed high-voltage (HV) transmission projects, take some solace in the idea that “time is on our side”. There are lots of reasons for that, but one of them has always been that technology and the market would unfold and develop in ways that would, and should, make HV transmission largely…
The Anthropocene Is Here
The last 250 years of human history have vastly changed out planet. During this time, human activities have greatly transformed geologically significant conditions and processes. The change is so immense that many geologists now refer to our current time as the Anthropocene – a word coined in 2000 by Eugene Stoermer and Paul Crutzen, a Nobel-winning Dutch chemist. The word…
A Geological Field Trip in Cuba
The Association for Women Geoscientists sponsored yet another of their remarkable geological field trips. This time it was a March 2013 trip to Cuba. I detail the trip in the August 2013 issue of Earth magazine (published by the American Geosciences Institute), in “Travels In Geology: Journeying Through Cuba’s Geology And Culture”. As I explained…
Power Companies Losing Out To Rooftop Solar??
—by John Vincent, former Montana Public Service Commissioner America’s utility industry, “Big Power,” is, by their own admission, scared. Made up of large corporations with huge and profitable investments in centralized generation and long distance, high voltage transmission (profits mostly guaranteed by monopoly status and government regulation), they are facing what their own industry calls…
Energy Conservation And Efficiency….. Good For People, Business, And The Environment
– By John Vincent, Former Montana Public Service Commissioner It’s recently become all too clear that “big power” is “waging war” on energy efficiency and conservation because it reduces the amount of power they sell and cuts into their profits. But for others (residential consumers, private businesses – both large and small, and corporations), energy…
Energy Efficiency and Small-Scale Solar Power Threaten Utilities’ Bottom Lines
Power company revenue is under siege by energy efficiency and small-scale solar power, says a Fitch ratings analyst. Rooftop solar power and energy-efficiency programs will eat into utility revenue and profit margins and discourage investment in new transmission projects within five years, a Fitch Ratings analyst said. Utilities in stagnant or low-growth markets in the…
The Uber Grid Push Is Back
The push for the uber grid raised its head again in the New York Time’s 7.12.13 edition. Matt Wald plugs the new EIPC (Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative) “hypothetical” nationalized grid as a “step forward”. As Mr. Wald reports, When President Obama presented his plans last month for executive action that would cut emissions of greenhouse…
Energy Efficiency Can Save Big Money And Greenhouse-Gas Emissions In Urban Transport Systems
The International Energy Agency just released a new report that shows how energy efficiency of urban transport systems could facilitate savings of up to USD 70 trillion that would be spent on vehicles, fuel and transportation infrastructure from now until 2050. The report, A Tale of Renewed Cities, draws on examples from more than 30…
Siberian Cave Climate Records Indicate Permafrost Melt
Climate records from Siberian caves suggest an impending permafrost thaw and a resulting global warming acceleration. Permafrost regions cover 24% of the northern hemisphere land surface, and hold an estimated 17,000 Gt of organic carbon. Thawing releases CO2 and CH4, creating positive feedback during greenhouse warming. The researchers, led by Gideon Henderson at the University of…