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Climate Change Technology

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AndyinPA
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Climate Change Technology

#1

Post by AndyinPA »

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... -your-home
The giant windfarms that line hills and coastlines are not the only way to harness the power of the wind, say green energy pioneers who plan to reinvent wind power by forgoing the need for turbine towers, blades – and even wind.

“We are not against traditional windfarms,” says David Yáñez, the inventor of Vortex Bladeless. His six-person startup, based just outside Madrid, has pioneered a turbine design that can harness energy from winds without the sweeping white blades considered synonymous with wind power.

The design recently won the approval of Norway’s state energy company, Equinor, which named Vortex on a list of the 10 most exciting startups in the energy sector. Equinor will also offer the startup development support through its tech accelerator programme.

The bladeless turbines stand at 3 metres high, a curve-topped cylinder fixed vertically with an elastic rod. To the untrained eye it appears to waggle back and forth, not unlike a car dashboard toy. In reality, it is designed to oscillate within the wind range and generate electricity from the vibration.
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sugar magnolia
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Re: Climate Change Technology

#2

Post by sugar magnolia »

Very cool! After all the trouble with the non-recyclable blades ending up in landfills this could be a game changer for wind energy. The US will get around to using it by 2095 or so.
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Re: Climate Change Technology

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Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

https://www.treehugger.com/what-is-biochar-4860251
What Is Biochar?

Biochar is just charcoal. It's created when organic matter like wood chips, rice stalks or even manure is heated up in the absence of oxygen. Think of a sealed metal drum full of wood chips over a fire. It's simple, can be produced anywhere and could just end up saving the world.

For something as simple as charcoal, biochar — in the right applications — does three pretty amazing things: It takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and locks it into a solid form, improves the health of soil it's plowed into, and creates clean energy, according to the International Biochar Initiative.

When organic matter is turned into biochar, the CO2 contained within the plant is converted into solid carbon. Plowing biochar into soil sequesters the carbon for a long time — biochar fields have been found in South America dating back thousands of years and still full of their carbon solids. Soils augmented with biochar retain nutrients better as the tiny, sponge-like structure of the carbon solids sucks up and holds the fertilizer, reducing the amount needed. The same structure holds water better and has been shown to decrease the emissions of nitrous oxide and methane into the air from the soil.

When former slash-and-burn farmers in the rainforests of South America adopt slash-and-char techniques, they're able to stay and farm the same plot of land year after year instead of having to move on every couple of seasons when the soil becomes depleted. Their path through the rainforest is halted, saving countless acres. The farmers are able to produce a lot more food on the healthier soil and can improve and invest in their land and infrastructure.


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Re: Climate Change Technology

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Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

https://www.treehugger.com/innovative-c ... ia-5208156
This Innovative Company Helps Tackle Wildfires and Drought in California
VGRID Bioservers convert waste biomass to valuable biochar and electricity.


One interesting solution is offered by V-GRID Energy Systems, a company based in Camarillo, California, that's showing how it is possible to switch to renewable electricity, to help with the costs and energy requirements of running irrigation pumps, while reducing wildfire risk and producing biochar, a useful soil amendment, at the same time. Not only does this sequester carbon in the soil, but it provides solutions for arid climate farming—and has potential to improve the health of livestock, as biochar is a natural, organic feed additive.

Waste biomass, from farms or beetle kill trees, is converted into electricity and biochar in VGRID Bioservers through a gasification process. This could have great potential in mitigation and adaptation in California, and elsewhere. Treehugger spoke to the company recently.
There is a video in the article, but, sadly, the person narrating is less than engaging.
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Re: Climate Change Technology

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Post by RTH10260 »

Is the theme about raking the forests? Just asking for a friend... ;)
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Re: Climate Change Technology

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Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

RTH10260 wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 12:22 pm Is the theme about raking the forests? Just asking for a friend... ;)
“No rakes.”
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Mrich
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Re: Climate Change Technology

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Post by Mrich »

Interesting article about cows and methane:
https://time.com/6119791/seaweed-cows-m ... emissions/
A single cow releases around 250-500 liters of methane a day. There are approximately 1 billion cows used in the global meat and dairy industries, and, combined with other animals raised for livestock, are responsible for releasing the methane equivalent of some 3.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. If cows were a country, they would be the world’s third-largest greenhouse-gas emitter, behind China and the U.S., and ahead of India.

...

Scientists have developed multiple approaches for capturing bovine emissions, from masks fitted for cow noses that restrict the amount of methane the animals’ burps release into the atmosphere to ingenious, but misguided, plastic backpacks designed to trap cow farts. (For what it’s worth, most of the methane produced by cows is released through belching, only 5% comes out of the other end).

...

In 2020 Australian researchers found that replacing 3% of a cow’s diet with a type of seaweed native to Australia resulted in up to an 80% decrease in methane emissions. Now researchers in Ireland and the United Kingdom are trying to find out if their local variant does the same. Scientists at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast are launching a €2 million project to monitor the effects of feeding local seaweed to dairy cows. Sharon Huws, a professor of animal science and microbiology, and lead scientist on the project, says she expects to see at least a 30% reduction in methane emissions, and hopes to see more.
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Re: Climate Change Technology

#8

Post by Volkonski »

Reuters
@Reuters
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5m
U.S. to hold record offshore wind auction next month in clean energy push http://reut.rs/3Gq1cWp
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Climate Change Technology

#9

Post by Patagoniagirl »

I asked a person in the energy sector (nuclear) about this recent fusion energy news. The reply was that it's 50 years out, and. As for wind..."They only make power when the wind blows. Every 8 turbines = the same number of maintainable assets as a standard Gas Power Plant. A typical gas plant is = to about 300 wind turbines. Therefore the cost to run is 10x... that equates to much higher utility bills. The amount of energy/carbon required to make those turbines is actually more than what it takes to make a gas plant. You can't just walk up and fix a wind turbine, the breakable parts are 300 feet in the air so the technician to fix it isn't just a mechanic... The circuitry to connect intermittent power isn't built and is very expensive compared to base load (constant power). To make wind and solar usable we will need between 750,000 and 1 M huge batteries causing the need to do more mining than humans have ever done which if people want that mining done responsibly will cost $Trillions.

Not being negative, I am being realistic.

I could go on and on."

Any energy experts have any thoughts?
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