Month: October 2018

How Extreme Weather Events Can Cause Energy Prices to Skyrocket

How Extreme Weather Events Can Cause Energy Prices to Skyrocket

10/22/18

“How can extreme weather events cause energy prices to go out of whack?”

When the weather gets too hot or too cold, people will turn on HVAC systems to compensate. This will cause greater demand on the electricity system, which in turn will lead to more constraints and therefore higher costs for everyone. This is How Extreme Weather Events Can Cause Energy Prices to Skyrocket. The advent of climate change will only exacerbate this, as extreme weather events will become far more frequent. So in the end, it will pay in the long term to upgrade critical infrastructure systems to more resilient standards.

Image credit Bigerna, S. (2018). Estimating temperature effects on the Italian electricity market. Energy Policy, 118, 257-269.

Why We Need to Expand Coastal Barriers for Climate Change Resilience

Why We Need to Expand Coastal Barriers for Climate Change Resilience

10/21/18

“Why should we expand coastal barriers to withstand against climate change?”

As the global average temperatures and sea levels continue to rise, the world will need to adapt in response. Part of this will include expanding coastal barriers to prevent against widespread destruction as seen in New Orleans and Houston.

Image credit images.arcadis.com

How Climate-Induced Coastal Flooding Will Harm Power Generation

How Climate-Induced Coastal Flooding Will Harm Power Generation

10/20/18

“How will coastal floods make worse by climate change harm power generation?”

As the average temperature of the Earth rises, so will its sea-levels. This will spell major trouble for areas with large amounts of coastal power generation, as they may soon become flooded. As many as 100 of such facilities in the US are at risk for this phenomenon. Passive sea level rises will not be the only problem facing generation facilities, but also climate exacerbated storms could rip apart infrastructure in the same way as Fukushima. This is How Climate-Induced Coastal Flooding Will Harm Power Generation.

How Climate Change Will Exacerbate Fires

How Climate Change Will Exacerbate Fires

10/19/18

“How will Climate Change make fires worse?”

As more and more greenhouse gasses are sent into the atmosphere, the Earth’s climate will become more and more extreme. Dry areas such as California, Portugal, Palestine, Israel, and Punjab are becoming drier with each passing year. This will lead to a greater risk of not only fires breaking out but also makes them more difficult to control due to a lack of moisture. This is just a small example of How Climate Change Will Exacerbate Fires.

Fuel-Limited Fire

Fuel-Limited Fire

10/18/18

“How does a basic open-air fire develop?”

Depending on environmental conditions, fires develop in many different ways. The one that firefighters are first taught is often the simplest case. In this scenario, a couch is burned in an open lot, and the temperature curve can be seen by the image above. First, the object combusts, and the temperature begins to rise. It eventually reaches a maximum temperature and stays that way until the fire becomes less potent and cools off. This is known as a Fuel-Limited Fire and is one of the most famous fire curves in the world.

Image credit aemstatic-ww1.azureedge.ne

How Recontouring the Baylands can Make the Bay Area More Resilient

How Recontouring the Baylands can Make the Bay Area More Resilient

10/17/18

“How can making the sediment in the Baylands help protect the Bay Area against climate change?”

The Bay Area has a problem. Decades of infill developments in the Baylands have changed its sediment runoff cycle and left it exposed to flooding from rising sea levels. However, a consulting group has found that by reversing things to its natural order through softening its edges, tidal wave energy can be dissipated and upgradings the Bay’s safety by an order of magnitude. This is How Recontouring the Baylands can Make the Bay Area More Resilient!

[Image: Public Sediment/courtesy Resilient by Design]

Why Rooftop Solar Could be Greatly Beneficial for India

Why Rooftop Solar Could be Greatly Beneficial for India

10/16/18

“How could India greatly benefit from rooftop solar initiatives?”

India’s urban population is massive. Totaling over 300 million people, It is nearly equal to that of the entire United States! This in turn will lead to a massive consumption of energy, which could result in further air pollution and carbon emissions. However, this can be challenged by implementing rooftop solar. This will result in locally generated, clean power that will bright up the cities. As a result, Rooftop Solar Could be Greatly Beneficial for India.

The World’s First Electric Monster Truck

The World’s First Electric Monster Truck

10/15/18

“What is the best way for Americans be green and sustainable?”

I have to admit something. As an American, I love monster trucks. I think its glorious how these big over-sized pieces of machinery can move around and crush puny smaller cars. It’s the perfect amalgamation of art and science, and is really really fun to watch. But as a Californian, Renewable Energy Engineer, and Climate Hawk I am worried about the climate emissions that these vehicles have.

Luckily, American ingenuity has no boundaries. Introducing the ODYSSEY Battery BIGFOOT No. 20 Monster Truck, or E-BIGFOOT. The E-BIGFOOT is the world’s first fully electric monster truck, powered by 36 ODYSSEY PC1200 car batteries, of which 30 are dedicated custom-built DC electric motor. With absolutely zero petroleum usage, this vehicle will not emit any harmful pollutants into the atmosphere during its operation. Whether you like monster trucks or not, this is an amazing step forward for implementing sustainability in entertainment.

Image credit newatlas.com

How Microgrids Can Help Indigenous Communities

How Microgrids Can Help Indigenous Communities

10/14/18

“How can indigenous communities benefit from the deployment of microgrids?”

The freedom brought by Distributed Energy Resource technologies such as microgrids can benefit almost anyone. But one group which can greatly reap the rewards are indigenous communities. By being able to generate their own non-pollutive energy independent of any outside regulator, they will be able to develop more resource independence and greatly enhance their quality of life.

Photo credit http://www.pembina.org