Climate Capitalism

Peter Henderson of Reuters reports on Microsoft futurist Craig Mundie.  Mundie promotes conservation but also predicts that nuclear power will play a major role in meeting 21st century “green” energy needs.

Mundie mentions traveling wave reactors which is a sub type of breeder reactors.  Also see Adam Smith’s December, 8th, 2008 post: IFR Technology, the Holy Grail of Clean Energy? about the related Integral Fast Reactors (IFR.)  Breader reactors are still largely theoretical, but do promise to help solve another 21st Century problem… what to do with all that 20th century nuclear waste.

I was curious to learn a little more about the state algae as a sustainable source for bio-diesel.   I’d heard it was very efficient source of oil, especially compared to agricultural mainstays like corn and soybeans. I’d also heard claims that it could grow in places less desirable than Iowa such as raw sewage or even space.

A few things I did learn:

Problems

There are some challenges using algae as a economically viable fuel source.  Here is a quick summary of what I found:

From: http://www.oilgae.com/blog/2006/10/three-big-problems-with-algae.html

• Energy intensive to harvest
• Naturally occurring (less-oil rich) species of algae will crowd out preferred species in open-pond systems
• Cost of mitigating potential ground-water contamination

• In a open pond design, since only the top 1/4 in of water in a pond will receive enough light, algea production, like any other land based crop, is limited by surface area.
• Optimum production requires consitent tempatures. Even sun-rich locations like New Mexico had problems due to low night-time temperatures.
• Lab cultures did not always grow in outside ponds.

We here at ClimateCapitalism.com are all for investing in clean energy, but we’re also for common sense.  Here’s an article from the Corvallis, OR Gazette Times that puts both concepts into perspective.  According to a study performed by an advocacy group in nearby Vancouver, WA, old-fashioned investments like installing insulation can often result in more energy savings than more expensive “green” investments like solar systems.  The moral of the story: a combination of energy efficiency and new technology is the best clean energy strategy.

A guest submission by our friends at: ProgressiveKid. This article was originally published on Oct, 29, 2008 at: http://www.pkonaledge.com/2008/10/29/clean-coals-dirty-little-secret/

By Sarah Lane, ProgressiveKid

Both President Obama and his former opponent John McCain endorsed “clean coal” as an important element of their energy plans. But “clean coal” is a fairy tale with a very bad ending, as in the Big Bad Wolf eats and digests Little Red Riding Hood and belches out a black cloud afterward. (continue reading…)