Smaller cities get startup-style sustainability incubator | GreenBiz.com

Smaller cities get startup-style sustainability incubator | GreenBiz.com:

Sustainable Green Incubators sounds very cool.  (July 23, 2013 article).

There area all kinds of cool things that can be done -- especially energy efficiency-wise -- that will have huge saving (and great environmental reductions as well). !:-)

Here's the incoming incubators (or accelerators).
The inaugural 2013-14 accelerator class includes these cities:

• Waco, Texas
• Wichita, Kan.
• Portland, Maine
• Louisville, Ky.
• Tucson, Ariz.
• Sacramento Council of Governments and member cities Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova, Calif.

Ceres Monthly Newsletter - Flaring of Gas/NatGas

Ceres Monthly Newsletter:
Ceres Monthly Newsletter - Flaring of Gas/NatGas
This report starts to document the amount of gas (nat gas) that is flared in the production of oil/gas.

In the US we can't get the nat gas to market, so it is imply flared in many cases. The oil (wet particulates) are much more valuable so that is shipped by pipe if possible, but by truck or train if not.

One statement from a CEO in the oil patch has commented that half of the nat gas produces in the US is being flared. Safety, of course is critical. But this is a humongous waste of energy and environmental waste as well.

Check out the article and then look at the report here: http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/flaring-up-north-dakota-natural-gas-flaring-more-than-doubles-in-two-years/view

Basic economics is one approach to this issue. If NatGas were more valuable, then there would be very little flaring. Right now it is about $3.50 (per ... unit) in the USA. So Nat gas is a byproduct of the production of oil unless it can be readily distributed to market (pipeline).  But for the world markets, NatGas is very valuable, let's say $10. If we can bridge the gap from domestic only to world, then the price would jump and the flaring would, well, burn out. :-)

The key is liquefied natural gas (LNG). Not coincidentally, LNG is the trading symbol of Chaniere Energy, one the the leading players in infrastructure for exporting LNG.

'via Blog this'

Rising levels of acids in seas may endanger marine life, says study | Environment | The Guardian

Rising levels of acids in seas may endanger marine life, says study | Environment | The Guardian

Ouch!

This has been a growing concern. The rapid increases in the CO2 levels -- blasting past 400ppm as we speak -- that has several scary consequences.

First, there's the greenhouse gas (GHG) thing and the rising temperatures of the air and land.

Second, the excess CO2, at least some of it, is absorbed into the oceans. This increases the acidity of the oceans. Higher acid levels could wipe out shell fish, coral reefs and other things/animals that are critical for the health of the oceans (and of the planet).

Here's what the article and the scientists said:

Hans Poertner, professor of marine biology at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, and co-author of a new study of the phenomenon, told the Guardian: "The current rate of change is likely to be more than 10 times faster than it has been in any of the evolutionary crises in the earth's history."
Seawater is naturally slightly alkaline, but as oceans absorb CO2 from the air, their pH level falls gradually. Under the rapid escalation of greenhouse gas emissions, ocean acidification is gathering pace and many forms of marine life – especially species that build calcium-based shells – are under threat.

Ouch!

It Keeps Getting Cheaper To Install Solar Panels In The U.S. | ThinkProgress

It Keeps Getting Cheaper To Install Solar Panels In The U.S. | ThinkProgress:

The cost of solar is dropping and the install capacity is quietly on the rise.

Prices are down to $.30 to $.90 per watt.

Plus the market is starting to be healthier. China is no longer allowed to dump their (artificially cheap) over capacity on the US and EU.

Even the White House is jumping onto sun power.

Very cool.

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Why the World Bank Is Taking On Climate Change - NationalJournal.com

Why the World Bank Is Taking On Climate Change - NationalJournal.com: "w­w­w.K­E­P­2.c­o­m"

Caral Davenport of the National Journal spoke with Rachel Kyte, the World Bank's vice president of sustainable development, about the economic impact of climate change.

The world bank is taking some rather aggressive action. 
(Also watch the debate on global warming that follows. Hmmm?.)

Some of us would argue, that if you don't want governments to take more active roles in sustainability, then we all should start to be more sustainable ourselves. We have to eventually, right? 

Why not start now, and start with the "low lying fruit": energy efficiency, telecommuting, etc.  Those initiatives not only pay for themselves, but can be implemented immediately.

Or we can continue to debate if there really is global warming, is it primarily man-made, etc. 

For the latest info on the science and the concepts of sustainability visit: www.TinyURL.com/SharedStuffZ/
The intro document there provides the outline of the WikiBook with hyperlinks to the live pages in Wikipedia. If you think that Wikipedia is wrong, please offer corrections and provide sources and links to the proof. But, before you offer corrections, read some of the section, especially read the nexus of energy, water, and food.

Even if there were no global warming, we all should start to take aggressive action now, today, ahora. The global warming issue simply adds a level of urgency to our steps.

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Holding back the oceans... The Cost of Energy... Compounding and getting worse.

Holding back the ocean (via The Cost of Energy)

The inevitability of sea level rise (emphasis added): Small numbers can imply big things. Global sea level rose by a little less than 0.2 metres during the 20th century – mainly in response to the 0.8 °C of warming humans have caused through greenhouse…

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