Saturday, December 15, 2018

My Approach to Climate Change

1.
My approach to climate change is
100% renewables ASAP
zero emissions economy ASAP
carbon drawdown ASAP
geotherapy (not geoengineering) ASAP

Resources: http://drawdown.org
https://www.crcpress.com/Geotherapy-Innovative-Methods-of-Soil-Fertility-Restoration-Carbon-Sequestration/Goreau-Larson-Campe/p/book/9781466595392
http://bio4climate.org
http://soil4climate.org
http://solarray.blogspot.com

At least as a thought experiment.


2.
I start from Solar IS Civil Defense, which is necessary NOW
in case of weather or other natural disaster, whatever you believe about Climate Change or Sanity Clause.

10 bucks buys a solar light and charger today, just go Internet shopping. That's a personal electric solar civil defense, the basics of light, communications, and extra batteries. 10 bucks is also the price of a hand-crank light and charger. Add a bicycle charger (or electric bike) and you have "free" electricity for as long as the batteries hold a charge and the chargers work.


3.
Simple solar and energy efficiency can be taught, to those who want to know, fairly easily and can be quite effective
A South-Facing Window Is Already a Solar Collector
https://youtu.be/FdGAdEq242M
Solar windowbox air heater
https://youtu.be/lTOe2OYSPlw
Insulating Roller Shade

Six pack of solar
https://youtu.be/KTLBsxI-Xl8
Recycled solar

I used to do workshops on simple solar and broke one down into a series of short videos:
the others are available at https://www.youtube.com/user/gmoke/videos


4.
Simple solar can become an economic lever and non-violent economic practice, a technological adaptation of Gandhi's concept of swadeshi, local production, what he called the heart of satyagraha. I imagine a solar swadeshi (http://solarray.blogspot.com/2005/05/solar-swadeshi-hand-made-electricity.html) that becomes a solar walkaway or an electrical grid boycott to add a little impetus to the growing tide of Extinction Rebellion (anybody else see a resemblance to the Trainites of John Brunner's Sheep Look Up?) and the Sunrise Movement.


5.  Since scientists tell us that we have about a decade to do something to reduce climate calamity, somebody should be scheduling out the next 10 years, 3,650 days, for climate action, month by month, week by week, day by day to do what is ecologically necessary to restore the atmosphere to preindustrial levels of CO2 (270 parts per million) ASAP.

Saturday, December 08, 2018

Zero Net Energy - December 8, 2018

PROJECT HOPE - Biophilic Carbon Negative Residential Design
http://www.greennewworld.org

Technova College opens a nearly net zero energy building
https://www.cepezed.com/messages/680-opening-sustainable-and-collaborative-technova-college
https://inhabitat.com/solar-powered-technova-college-nearly-hits-net-zero-energy-in-the-netherlands/

Glass house working towards net zero in the Spanish desert
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p06nxjlj/the-miraculous-house-in-the-middle-of-the-desert

Canadian Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Initiative
https://www.cagbc.org/CAGBC/Zero_Carbon/Information_and_Resources/CAGBC/Zero_Carbon/The_CaGBC_Zero_Carbon_Building_Program.aspx

Calgary’s MacKimmie Tower to be rebuilt as a zero carbon building
https://transsolar.com/news/redevelopment-mackimmie-tower-calgary
https://canada.constructconnect.com/joc/news/projects/2018/04/calgarys-mackimmie-tower-completely-transformed

Carbon neutral house in Australia using recycled materials
https://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/house-a-whispering-smith.html
http://www.whisperingsmith.com.au/house-a/
https://www.instagram.com/whisperingsmitharchitecture/

Carbon neutral home on the Isle of Man
https://www.fosterlomas.com/#portfolio/sartfell-cottage-isle-of-man
https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/sartfell-rural-retreat-foster-lomas-uk
https://inhabitat.com/stunning-carbon-neutral-home-uses-traditional-materials-to-create-a-synergy-with-its-natural-setting/

Proposed “Tulip” zero combustion, solar-powered high-rise for London
https://thetulip.com
https://www.fosterandpartners.com/news/archive/2018/11/the-tulip-a-new-public-cultural-and-tourist-attraction-proposed-for-the-city-of-london/
https://inhabitat.com/foster-partners-designs-solar-powered-tulip-observation-tower-for-london/

Harvard’s House Zero - net zero energy living laboratory
http://harvardcgbc.org/research/housezero/
http://harvardcgbc.org
https://inhabitat.com/harvard-unveils-snohetta-designed-housezero-for-sustainable-plus-energy-living/

Near net zero ecocity planned for the Maldives
https://www.archdaily.com/906503/caa-architects-reveals-futuristic-eco-city-design-for-the-maldives
https://inhabitat.com/futuristic-eco-city-powered-with-renewable-energy-is-unveiled-for-the-maldives/

"French multinational electric utility ENGIE announced on Thursday that it had signed a 50-year strategic alliance with the city of Greater Springfield in Queensland, Australia, to help transition it to being a zero net energy city by 2038.”
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/12/07/engie-signs-deal-to-develop-net-zero-city-in-northern-australia/

"Medford, Massachusetts partnered with Solect Energy to install a 235 kilowatt (kW) rooftop solar system on the roof of its new Department of Public Works (DPW) building. The new system is comprised of 588 LG solar modules and is expected to cover 100% of the electricity usage over an average year, producing about 300,000 kilowatt-hours per year.”

Friday, October 19, 2018

Zero Net Energy - October 19, 2018

Zero Carbon Race - The first STATE to achieve a NET ZERO CARBON ECONOMY with the BEST QUALITY OF LIFE WINS.

ECO360 - energy positive house in Tel Aviv

One DeLisle - Toronto tower with interesting structure that may (I’m not quite sure) offset all its energy through local district heating system

Online building carbon footprint tools
Editorial Comment:  “[USA] GSA Carbon Footprint Tool  Decommissioned Spring 2017”  

Teenagers from Romania, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Norway design a building of the future combining energy and resource efficiency with vertical gardens

Ask This Old House visits a net zero community, Whisper Valley near Austin, TX - some units available for below market rates

19 cities commit to net zero carbon buildings by 2030

Sustainable City Dubai - "a working model of what the future could look like"
Editorial Comment:  We need to think a little more about what the future could look like

Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment - 38 signatories made up of 12 businesses, 22 cities, and four states and regions from around the world at the Global Climate Action Summit in SF:  "All buildings within direct control of the organisation to operate at net zero carbon by 2030, and all buildings by 2050"

Chinese concept net zero house

This Old House building a net zero house in Jamestown, RI

ZNE Living in Mid-Coast Maine in Falmouth, ME - NESEA tour on Friday, November 9, 2018

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Personal Power Set










$10 solar light and charger










$10 hand crank light and charger











$60 bike charger

A $80 personal power set:  solar, hand cranked, bicycle power electricity for lights, communications, and basic necessities any time anywhere.  All of these are now commodity products produced in mass quantities available globally online.  

Monday, September 03, 2018

First Wind, Solar, Battery Utility Scale Energy Installation: Kennedy Energy Park

"Kennedy Energy Park is a world-first wind, solar and energy storage facility located in Flinders Shire in central north Queensland [Australia]. The project is owned by Windlab and Eurus. Construction has commenced and it will be generating by late 2018."

43 MW wind from 12 Vestas wind machines (67 meter/ 220 foot blade length)

15MW solar
2 MW/4 MWH battery

Kennedy Energy Park will generate around 210,000 megawatt hours of electricity a year, enough to power  more than 35,000 average Australian homes.


https://kennedyenergypark.com.au


Friday, July 13, 2018

Zero Net Energy - July 13, 2018

Carbon Positive Towers for Stockholm
http://www.kjellandersjoberg.se/en/projects/project/nacka-port/

Carbon Neutral Headquarters for Solvay in Brussels

Sendero Verde - Passive House development of 650 affordable housing units in East Harlem, NYC

New Block Sustainable Design concept earns a patent - “live green roof" included

“Ask This Old House” visits a net zero community

Futurology:  the New Home in 2050 from UK’s National House Building Council Foundation

Net positive energy kindergarten in Switzerland

Net positive energy classroom in UK

Net Zero Sawmill House in CA's high desert
Editorial Comment:  there are net zero or near net zero buildings for the Arctic and Antarctic but net zero for deserts may be just as important

American Geophysical Union is rebuilding its headquarters as a net zero energy building

The Spark - net energy positive data center for Bergen, Norway designed by Snøhetta, one of the most advanced designers of advanced buildings today

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Zero Net Energy - May 10, 2018

Design for World’s First Energy Positive Hotel in the Arctic Circle
https://snohetta.com/projects/366-svart
https://inhabitat.com/snohetta-unveils-designs-for-worlds-first-energy-positive-hotel-in-the-arctic-circle/
Editorial Comment:  Snøhetta is doing more and more and more of these ground-breaking projects.  Good for them.

Net Zero Energy retrofit for Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, CA
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/03/07/mynt-systems-inc-cost-effective-net-zero-carbon-retrofit%E2%80%A8/

Disappear Retreat:  zero energy, zero waste, zero water microhouse
https://coulson.co/disappear-retreat
https://inhabitat.com/zero-energy-tiny-home-has-a-near-invisible-footprint/

Charenton-Bercy net zero skyscraper by Skidmore Owings and Merrill in Paris 
https://www.dezeen.com/2018/03/14/paris-garden-skyscraper-charenton-bercy-som-most-sustainable-buildings-europe/
https://inhabitat.com/soms-net-zero-paris-skyscraper-will-be-one-of-the-most-sustainable-buildings-in-europe/

Architecture at zero competition
http://www.architectureatzero.com
https://inhabitat.com/pyramidal-floating-buildings-envisioned-for-a-self-sustaining-city-on-the-sea/
http://www.architectureatzero.com/2018-winners/

Oslo Airport smart city will be the world’s first energy-positive airport city with the capacity to sell surplus energy to surrounding buildings and communities
https://inhabitat.com/oslos-new-airport-city-could-power-the-entire-surrounding-community/

CORE 9 carbon positive house
https://www.archdaily.com/891537/core-9-beaumont-concepts
http://www.beaumontconcepts.com.au

Canada’s first net positive carbon multi-tenant building 
http://www.coragroup.com/project/evolv1/
https://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/heres-first-office-building-certified-under-canadas-zero-carbon-building-standard.html

USA’s first passive house plus, retrofit of a brownstone built in 1900’s
http://www.baxtingui.com/project/passive-house-carroll-gardens/
https://www.archdaily.com/892759/brooklyn-passive-house-plus-baxt-ingui-architects

Self-sustaining modular floating city design
http://www.waya.it

Tidal powered net positive energy hotel for Hainan
https://inhabitat.com/this-futuristic-energy-positive-hotel-will-harness-power-from-the-tides/

Thursday, February 08, 2018

Everyday Solar

There's a lot of solar street furniture that's appeared around town in the last few years.




Like this solar garbage can.



Or this bench with solar phone charger.








And this solar powered pay station for the local bike share.







There are even solar signs.


Increasingly, solar electric installations, big and small, are becoming everyday objects.

The renewables transition is well underway and gaining speed.  Solar is weaving itself into the fabric of this 21st century world.  Soon it will be almost invisible, ubiquitous, and available 24/7/365.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Zero Net Energy - January 19, 2018

Clovis, CA net zero energy development
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/net-zero-energy-community-coming-to-californias-central-valley

The Zero House - Zero net energy, Zero carbon footprint, Zero toxins, Zero construction waste

Transforming the Real Estate Market: Scaling Net-Zero Energy Homes at No Additional Up-front Cost

REACT home produces its own energy and food

Net zero residence built out of recycled materials

Innenco says they can reduce existing buildings' energy use by 58-90% using the buildings’ own thermal mass, heat pumps, and chillers

Oxford, UK plans zero emissions zone for vehicles

Passivhaus for 6,500 people
from the Eco Architect blog about all things Passivhaus http://theecoarchitect.com/#blog-home

Reversible tent design for homeless

Net zero building over-view 2018

More Than Housing in Zurich, Switzerland, with 13 buildings, nearly 400 housing units, 35 retail units and large shared community spaces built to 2000 Watt per person standard where 1,200 residents and 150 employees live and work

Maersk Tower in Copenhagen with "Denmark’s most energy-efficient laboratories"
Editorial Comment:  Living in Cambridge, MA, the energy-efficiency of laboratories is of increasing importance as we work towards becoming a zero emissions city

Tuesday, January 09, 2018

DIY Solar Systems for Puerto Rico and Other Emergencies or Disasters

Jehu Garcia is designing and explaining how to build DIY simple solar systems for Puerto Rico and other emergencies on Youtube: 

$400 solar system https://youtu.be/LI132cvpp2U 


$500 solar system https://youtu.be/m04CXhoQ2jU 

Thursday, January 04, 2018

Checking in with the World's Winds

I like to see the maps of the Arctic Jet Stream every day or so (http://squall.sfsu.edu/gif/jetstream_norhem_00.gif).
They look like dragons and other creatures
chasing each other around the North Pole.

Then I look at the Global Map of Wind, Weather, and Ocean conditions (https://earth.nullschool.net)
which animates the winds and ocean currents in what seems like real-time
in full color
coded according to the speed.
I look for where the rare red winds are.

Usually, last, I pull up the World Cloud Cover map (http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/comp/wv/LATEST_WV.gif)
to see how it relates to the other two images
and make sure the equatorial rainforests are
still making rain.

Sometimes, late at night 
I look at the Northern Lights 
from the Churchill, Manitoba Northern Studies Centre live camera (https://youtu.be/kDWh0ijwCp0).
Even when the Northern Lights aren’t shining,
I’ll often just
listen to the sounds
of that distant wind.

It reminds me where I live.