Dec 30, 2008

Popular posts of 2008

This blog started from a discussion I had with Nari early this year. We wanted to see where the blog would be headed, and I am happy to report that our posts have generated meaningful discussion and interest. In this year, we have blogged on topics ranging from clean coal, coal-to-liquids, underground coal gasification, solar PV, biofuels, cement, and GHG emissions. The following posts have more than 50 unique pageviews, starting July 2008:

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Dec 25, 2008

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to our readers. Thanks for your support and comments! Look for my (Pradeep's) guest post on the short-term outlook for U.S. biofuel industry to appear online tomorrow on the The Big Biofuels Blog.
Update: My article on The Big Biofuels Blog is: U.S. Biofuels : Near-term challenges and prospects

Dec 19, 2008

X-Algae: Mutant algae for biofuel production?



Chlorophyll A structure showing the central magnesium atom in green, nitrogen in blue, oxygen in red, carbon in black and hydrogen in white. Image credits: Wikipedia


Researchers have found that genetic truncation of the size of chlorophyll arrays in algae leads to higher photosynthetic algal yields, by increasing light absorption/mass of algae. This article is available online. M. Mitra and A. Melis, "Optical properties of microalgae for enhanced biofuels production," Opt. Express 16, 21807-21820 (2008).

"Abstract: Research seeks to alter the optical characteristics of microalgae in order to improve solar-to-biofuels energy conversion efficiency in mass culture under bright sunlight conditions. This objective is achieved by genetically truncating the size of the light-harvesting chlorophyll arrays that serve to absorb sunlight in the photosynthetic apparatus."

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Dec 18, 2008

Opinion: Are win-win solutions to our energy and environmental problems possible?




Image credits: Apollo Alliance
Folks at the Environmental Economics blog have a great ongoing discussion on whether "green policies" would create additional jobs in the long run. John Whitehead thinks that "Green government fiscal policy doesn't create jobs in the long run", whereas Mark Thoma thinks that green policies would create jobs in the short run and help stabilize the economy. Mark also argues that the lack of empirical evidence for green policies creating additional jobs does not apply to the current state of the economy.

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Dec 8, 2008

Water, water everywhere.....

How is water related to energy?
For a start, the sun's energy sets the water cycle into motion. Perhaps more important is that climate change will likely lead to accelerated melting of glaciers which feed many of the Himalayan rivers such as the Indus, Ganges-Brahmaputra and the Yangtze. The Gangotri glacier shown in the figure to the left is the source of the Ganges. Therefore, climate change (greenhouse gas emissions) would directly affect ~1.3 billion people who live in the drainage basin of these Himalayan rivers. The first figure shows regions of the world which are currently facing water scarcity. As defined by the "Water for food Water for life" study, economic water scarcity occurs when human, institutional and financial capital limit access to water even where water is available locally. Physical water scarcity occurs when more than 75% a region's river flows are withdrawn for agriculture, industry, and domestic purposes. I am particularly interested in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and China, as these are the major population centers where water scarcity is prevalent. (An interesting way to visualize this is shown on the worldmapper site).


My perspectives: Economic water scarcity is another dimension of the "Water, water everywhere.." problem. Low-cost means to treat water and responsible aquifer management are required to overcome economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity will need similar measures, and various end-users (farmers, industry, households) must be encouraged to conserve and recycle where possible. Farm subsidies for water-intensive crops (ex: sugarcane, paddy), will likely have significant impacts on water conservation and scarcity. Balanced policy planning is therefore required to manage local, regional and national water resources. Finally, regional cooperation, as outlined in an earlier post will be necessary to ensure equitable distribution of water resources among different stakeholders.

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Dec 4, 2008

Graphic of the week: U.S. CO2 sources and regional cap-and-trade agreements



Here is a map of U.S. CO2 sources (from the NETL carbon sequestration atlas) overlaid with the states which are participants/observers in) various regional GHG reduction initiatives. More information from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Briefly, the abbreviations in the figure are:
  1. WCI: Western Climate Initiative
  2. MGGA: Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord
  3. RGGI: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
In addition, through House Bill 7135, pending legislative approval, Florida's EPA will develop a GHG cap-and-trade program.
Note: Some provinces of Canada also participate in these agreements, however, they are not shown here.

Dec 3, 2008

2007 US greenhouse gas emissions: cement, limestone, natural gas, and other industries

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released a report on U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2007 (Note: ftp link).

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