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Rhine water levels set to rise later this week, easing logistics

Water levels on the Rhine are likely to rise to above one meter in some places later this week, temporarily easing navigation and enabling oil product importers in Germany and Switzerland to restock, traders said Wednesday. Rhine levels have been low since July, hampering the normal circulation of barges laden with oil products on the river and forcing operators to load less volume than usual by as much as several thousand mt. "We’re expecting big improvements on the Rhine. There’s a lot of rainfall expected this week and over the weekend," one trader said. "We should see Rhine levels back up to around one meter in some parts, which means you can start loading around 1,200 mt on a barge again." Water levels at Kaub — a key transit hub along the middle Rhine — will reach one meter by 7:00 local time on Saturday, up from just 57 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Solar Air-Conditioning: The Next Big Step for Solar Energy

Air-Conditioning (AC) has become an essential part of modern society as it enables a productive and comfortable life style in hot and humid climates. The amount of installed AC systems is expected to dramatically increase in the coming decades, largely driven by economic growth in developing countries. Since many of these countries, such as China, India, Indonesia and Brazil are in hot climates their AC use will be larger than in most Western countries [1] . Out of the 30 metropolitan areas with the highest demand for AC, all but two are in developing countries [2] . Air-conditioning is a very energy intensive activity. In the USA 5% of the electricity produced is used for AC, and up to 40% of the electricity demand for households in warm climates is due to AC. The rise of air-conditioning will cause a significant increase of fossil fuels. It is difficult for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EPA intends tougher downwind air-pollution rule in 23 states

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency proposed tougher new limits on Tuesday on smokestack emissions from nearly two dozen states that burden downwind areas with air pollution from power plants they can’t control. At the same time, the EPA moved to remove two states -South Carolina and Florida – from the "good neighbor" rules, saying they don’t contribute significant amounts of smog to other states. The EPA’s proposal follows a federal appeals court ruling this summer that upheld the agency’s right to impose the clean-air standards, which block states from adding to air pollution in other localities. Some states and industry groups had argued that the rule was overly burdensome. The rule applies mostly to states in the South and Midwest that contribute to soot and smog along the East Coast. Under the EPA’s proposal, states would have to comply with air quality standards for ozone, or smog, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Groundwater is mostly non-renewable

Less than 6% of groundwater is replenished within 50 years The water that supplies aquifers and wells that billions of people rely on around the world is mostly a non-renewable resource that could run out, a new Canadian-led study has found. While many people may think groundwater is replenished by rain and melting snow the way lakes and rivers are, underground water is actually renewed much more slowly. In fact, just six per cent of the groundwater around the world is replenished within a “human lifetime” of 50 years, reports University of Victoria hydrogeologist Tom Gleeson and his collaborators in a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience today. That water tends to be mainly found within a few hundred metres of the surface, where it is most vulnerable to being contaminated by pollution or depleted by higher temperatures and reduced rainfall as a result of climate change, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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By one measure, this wicked El Niño is the strongest ever recorded: What it means

NOAA visualization of El Nino. The El Niño event of 2015-2016 is making history, wreaking weather havoc around the world and forecast to unleash many weather surprises through the coming winter. As of today, the warm ocean temperatures that define El Niño have surged to a stunning three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal in the central tropical Pacific, the highest level ever measured. Many global impacts already El Niño events, while simply descriptions of ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific and not storms, have ripple effects on weather patterns all over the world. “Severe droughts and devastating flooding being experienced throughout the tropics and sub-tropical zones bear the hallmarks of this El Niño, which is the strongest for more than 15 years,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Michel Jarraud in a news release . According to the World Meteorological Organization, the El Niño of 2015-2016 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Warm weather worsens glut of U.S. gas, heating oil: Kemp

Unusually mild weather across the United States this autumn has sharply reduced heating demand and contributed to the substantial oversupply of both natural gas and heating oil. Heating demand has been 27 percent lower than the long-term average so far this heating season according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Temperatures have been above normal every week since the beginning of September and heating demand has been correspondingly lower than usual ( tmsnrt.rs/1X1Y1WK ). The heating season runs from July 1 through until June 30 of the following year. NOAA estimates heating demand by comparing the temperature in each area with a baseline of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and then weighting the differences by the population. Mild weather has coincided with strong growth in supply of both natural gas and heating oil this year and contributed to a big rise in the amount of both fuels in storage. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Syria, climate change and the horror in Paris

As the world mourns those who died in Paris last week in a killing spree for which the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility , reporters and commentators have been discussing the motivations behind the attacks. I’m not sure that any so far has considered whether one can draw a straight line from a severe drought in Syria to these mass killings. My own answer is that the if the line is there–and I think it is–then it has taken many twists and turns before arriving in Paris. Even so, it might be worthwhile for those who will soon be gathering in this bereaved city in order to negotiate a new worldwide climate treaty to understand any such connection. For in the background behind these events, there is a Syria starved of water almost surely because of climate change. A study released earlier this year […]

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US, France debate whether Paris climate treaty would be ‘legally binding’

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by phone Friday with French President Francois Hollande to discuss the upcoming Paris climate conference — with both leaders emphasizing their personal commitment to reach an “ambitious and durable” treaty to avert the worst effects of global warming, the White House said. The call came a day after Hollande and France’s foreign minister responded to comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who said Wednesday that the December agreement in Paris was “definitely not going to be a treaty.” Kerry also said the text would not set “legally binding reduction targets.” Leaders from nearly 200 countries are set to meet on Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in the French capital to formalize national pledges to cut carbon emissions and plans to transition to renewable energy. The meeting is meant to culminate in the signing of a global climate treaty that would phase out […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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New EPA Rules Could Raise Energy Prices

Critics of the Environmental Protection Agency ’s Clean Power Plan say the new regulation will cost up to $292 billion and potentially raise electricity prices in 47 states. “States should be braced to pay higher costs,” said Laura Sheehan , senior vice president for communications for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity . “Consumers only lose in the Clean Power Plan.” The numbers came from NERA Economic Consulting , a firm based in Boston that said it used state-of-the-art economic modeling to get its results. In an email to Watchdog.org, EPA officials disagreed with the NERA study, which was funded by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, which is dead-set against the Clean Power Plan. “EPA has not reviewed this report,” the agency email said. “EPA’s extensive analysis shows that the CPP is effective, achievable and affordable.” The EPA has estimated that the CPP will cost $8.4 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple