Monthly Archives: February 2015

The Climate Change Conundrum

One of the most interesting things about the recent study released on climate change was the different headlines the different media sites put on the article.  Here are just a sample:

Scientists Recommend More Research on Geoengineering

Anti-‘Geoengineering’ National Academy Report Opposes ‘Climate-Altering Deployment’

US scientists say ‘climate intervention’ strategies are unlikely to work

Man-made climate change may need man-made remedies, science panel says

Here is the link to the actual study:

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=02102015

To my eyes – this article didn’t break much new ground  – as you might expect the message was somewhere in-between what the headlines read into it.

However, after reading the paper, there were a couple points of contention I have with it:

1.  Ethical, political and social issues are not limited to climate intervention.

This quote caught my eye:

If society ultimately decides to intervene in Earth’s climate, any actions should be informed by a far more substantive body of scientific research, including ethical and social dimensions, than is presently available, the committee said.

Umm.. – even if society ultimately decides to implement worldwide carbon reduction or deforestation mitigation – there are ethical and social dimensions to be considered (Should carbon reduction be based per capita consumption, or size of economy?  Can the world intervene on sovereign country (i.e. Brazil) land practices?  Also, doing nothing will also result in ethical and social dimensions – who bears the responsibility for the loss of land in low lying countries such as Bangladesh and Pacific Islands?

So I agree that there are ethical and social dimensions to the solutions, but are they more serious than the alternatives?

2.  Are they resigned to the fact that albedo-modification techniques (AKA GeoEngineering)  are the only viable political solution (other than doing nothing)?

(The Committee) opposed deployment of albedo-modification techniques, but recommended further research, particularly “multiple-benefit” research that simultaneously advances basic understanding of the climate system and quantifies the technologies’ potential costs, intended and unintended consequences, and risks.

They oppose albedo-modification techniques, but want to move forward with further research.  That kind sends a mixed message, which perhaps is how the media headlines were able to slant it so many ways.

We have hacked the planet before

 It surprises me that nobody mentions we have used (unwittingly)  albedo-modification techniques before. One of my first posts back in 2011 (Our First Nuclear Winter) discusses a Japanese paper showing the correlation between the nuclear testing in the 1950’s and reduction in global temperatures.  So this isn’t totally new ground.  Perhaps the fear is that if this is widely known, there will be a greater push to use this to solve the problem.

I encourage everybody to read the paper and make their own conclusions.  While I am not pro-geo engineering, given the dollar cost will make it easy for one country to unilaterally deploy, I think we should prepare for it.  I have said this before – ‘The moment waters start lapping the door of the New York Stock Exchange, America will lead the charge for geo-engineering’.

 

Ode to Radio Shack

When I saw the news that Radio Shack is closing over a thousand stores,  I assumed our neighborhood Radio Shack was on the list.  Sure enough, when I saw it on the list, I was not surprised, but felt a bit of nostalgic sadness.

Not that I am an avid Radio Shack customer, But Radio Shack has held a peculiar place in American retail.  Our local radio shack opened when I was in Jr. High, and I thought it was a cool store with all sorts of oddball applicances, toys and cables.  I even was a card carrying member of the battery-of-the-month club.  But as I got older, the Radio Shack appeal faded – and Radio Shack was known for having low quality stereo equipment and components.

Over the last 30 years, Radio Shack has been kind of my store of last resort.  If I can’t find a cable or electronic component anywhere else, I will try Radio Shack.  Even then, its usually not a pleasant shopping experience – not so much to blame Radio Shack – but to find unique electronic components amongst the array of stuff is nearly impossible without the help of a salesperson.  Also, I don’t know if they still do this, but they used to always ask you for your name and address whenever you bought something – and I think that creeped a lot of people out.

To be honest I am surprised Radio Shack has lasted this long – I think my brand impression is shared by most.  I think Radio Shack finally fell victim to online shopping – its much easier to plug a part number into a browser and buy it online.  Perhaps its ironic that Amazon is rumored to be in talks to buy Radio Shack stores.

So I don’t know if I will miss Radio Shack, but like Blockbuster and the local record store, it appears to be another American icon falling victim to the 21st century.

The Robotic Hotel

At first I thought this news about a theme-park hotel staffed with robots was just a gimic:

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/asia/worlds-first-robot-staffed-hotel-to-open-in-japan/

But if you think about it, if you were a company wanting to start automating basic hotel functions, this would be a great place to start  (on the other hand, I take it nobody in this company ever saw Westworld).  Assumedly this first version will be rough – I doubt the robots will be much more than show pieces – but it provides a good training ground for seeing how robots could be integrated into human customer service industries.

Sure, I don’t think I want to be one of the first people to stay at this hotel – I think I would wait til the bugs get worked out.  However, I was interested to see this:

Room rates will vary depending on demand. Instead of being presented with a fixed price, guests will bid for rooms during peak season. The highest bidders will secure rooms, though there will be a price cap on bidding.

The hotel says room fees at opening will be from 7,000 Yen (USD 60) for a single room to 18,000 Yen (USD 153), the highest possible price after bidding, for a triple room.

An interesting booking model, and pretty low prices.   Of course I’ll bet the prices at Westworld were pretty cheap too..

Scotland Power

What caught my eye on this story about Scotland renewable energy is that they had success with wind more than solar power.

http://ecowatch.com/2014/11/27/renewable-energy-powers-scotland/

I guess it shouldn’t surprise me too much, since no doubt that Scotland has more wind than sun,  but it was interesting to see that they have had success with wind on such a large scale.  I understand the argument in the article about people who oppose windmills, which is why I think the growth in wind power will slow, and switch to other renewables.   Tidal power is the choice that I am surprised hasn’t moved forward faster for Scotland, but  Scotland is moving with tidal power projects.  There is big money behind tidal power also, German conglomerate Siemens has a company specializing in marine turbines, Marine Current Turbines.

Regardless of which renewable technology wins out it seems clear that improving technology will enable at least one renewable to eventually displace oil as the primary energy of choice, and this will continue to put downward pressure on oil.