Dueling Banjo’s: Dueling Energy Report and Giant Oil’s Response
ICSUSA Article November 2023 - The 1972 movie, “Deliverance”, written by James Dickey, was based on his own novel from 1970 with the same title. The movie opens with the tuneful music of Arthur Smith, “Dueling Banjos”. And now, according to a review in the Guardian on 30 Jul 2022, 50 years after the movie was released, the banjo and acoustic guitar that dueled in the music featured in the film, in part symbolizes the conflict and opposing views of many aspects of our society today. And so it is, with a recently released energy and fossil fuel report, and news of large mergers and acquisitions by Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

Climate Chaos: Climate Anxiety and the S-Curve
ICSUSA Article October 2023 - This and That; Climate Chaos Has Many Fronts September 2023 was the month that was. Or was that August? Or July? It is getting hard to remember with extreme weather events of all kinds; fires, floods, and temperature extremes happening so frequently. In late September in New York City people turned out by the tens of thousands to put pressure on the UN, its representatives, and political leaders to take stronger action on climate change and climate chaos. Indeed, it is estimated that some 2 million people around the world were protesting at the same time the lack of action by responsible adults in combatting climate chaos. But look at the front lines of some of the protestors as seen in the image [Sarah Blesener for The New York Times]. The people are all young. Most of them probably are not even able to vote.

This and That; Climate Chaos Has Many Fronts
ICSUSA Article September 2023 - A man named Cedric Ringenbach, a Frenchman, an engineer, and an energy transition consultant has developed materials for a workshop titled, Climate Fresk. His concept, or idea, is that with global warming, or climate chaos, we first need to understand the problem and then develop solutions. Thus began a series of workshops in France that starts with 42 cards to recreate the chain of events that lead to global warming as well as solutions. The cards and charts have information on the Sun’s radiation, greenhouse gases [GHG], their sources and concentrations, deforestation, floods, wildfires, loss of sea ice, ocean acidification and more. Many charts dealt with renewable energy, nuclear power, consumerism, energy- hungry air travel, carbon capture and storage, and other aspects of how we got to where we are today and how do we deal with our planet’s heating. The game is played in nightclubs, bars and other public spaces and with the aid of a facilitator, the participants are asked to arrange the cards in a logical sequence on a table or sheet to represent the causes and consequences of climate change. More than one million people have participated in these events.

The “Out of the Mouth of Babes” Proverb Shows the Wisdom of Youth and Helps in Our Fight Against Climate Chaos
ICSUSA Article August 2023 - This move towards a charging station standard will help the transition from ICE’s [internal combustion engines] to EV’s and address the largest source of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions in the U.S. This is in line with the national objective to stop producing new internal combustion vehicles by 2035. And, reducing carbon dioxide emissions is a critical objective as recent ‘climatic chaos’ events have demonstrated. Phoenix, Arizona had an unprecedented 31 days in a row of temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit and one daily high of 119 degrees this summer. A new record. Its’ average high for July was 102.7 degrees, also a new record.

Geologists Say We Are in the Holocene Epoch; Others Call it “Anthropocene,” Some, “Pyrocene”
ICSUSA Article July 2023 - Let us review a recent “climate” event we all shared to some degree. It illustrated the urgency of many climate scientists and some policy makers for the need to take faster and stronger action on reducing carbon emissions. Experts agree that significantly hotter temperatures and severe drought enabled more than 10 million acres of this northern [boreal] forest in Quebec, Canada to burn. It was a wildfire. Then, the counterclockwise rotation of the weather system brought to the U.S. the smell of smoke … and haze consisting of tiny particles … lots of them. In early June New York City had the worst air quality in the world! That includes Delhi, Beijing and all other cities normally viewed as having polluted air. Approximately 80 - 100 million Americans were living under a “Red” air quality alert. The air was considered dangerous to breathe for people with asthma, pulmonary [lung] and heart conditions.

Solar: Reducing Carbon Emissions from Transportation and Power Generation
ICSUSA Article June 2023 - The combustion of fossil fuels still accounts for most of the electrical energy the world uses but renewables are growing rapidly. See the graph labeled, “EU Solar Farms Now Produce More Power Than Coal Plants.” For the first time “the EU transition to clean energy hit a milestone in May, solar panels generated more electricity than all of the bloc’s coal plants for the first time.” The graph [by EMBER] from a recent article in Bloomberg New Energy Finance [BNEF] shows the two lines converging with solar [the orange wavy line] ahead of coal [the black curvy line.] The declining amount of coal power over the past 8 years and the growing contribution of solar is a significant milestone. The generated amount of solar power of ~26 TWh [TeraWatthours] is enormous.

Perspective: The Nations Clean Power Goals Will Require Changes In Our Views
ICSUSA Article May 2023 - All aspects of a particular install have certain costs associated with the choices made. Trackers are more expensive than fixed mounts, lower ground mounts are cheaper than the taller pole mounts, etc. And then we have agrivoltaics whose definition is the use of land for both agriculture and solar photovoltaic energy generation. It is also called agrisolar, dual use solar, low impact solar, together with solar grazing which is a variation where livestock graze in and around solar panels.

Connectedness, The Recent Climate IPCC Report, and More
ICSUSA Article April 2023 - IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] Sixth Assessment Report [AR6], Summary for Policymakers. It was released on March 20, 2023. See cover photo of report consisting of a landscape with two curving bridges in misty clouds. This AR6 report summarizes and integrates the recent climate data, impacts and findings since AR5 was issued in 2014. In the very first Paragraph A.1 the report states: “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.”

In Time?: Globally, The World Invested $1.1 Trillion in 2022 on Renewables
ICSUSA Article March 2023 - Their plan is to plant some five million seeds of seagrass over the next few years that will absorb carbon from the atmosphere. It will also create fish habitat and restore “really valuable and important marine habitat.” Ms. Thomas goes on to say, “we have got very short time windows. We have to wait for the tide to go out. Once the tide has gone out, we can lay out our equipment and then we can get set up.” The group will continue to move up the coast and go on to Anglesey, Wales next year.

In Time?: Globally, The World Invested $1.1 Trillion in 2022 on Renewables
ICSUSA Article February 2023 - And then we have: “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the Earth.” — Henry David Thoreau

A Distant View of Earth: “Earth Set” from Beyond the Moon
ICSUSA Article January 2023 - Geopolitics appears to make politicians see the benefits of renewables. With Russia turning off most of the natural gas supply to Europe the leaders there responded. The amount of solar power in the European Union [EU] soared by almost 50% in 2022. Indeed, the EU installed a record 41.4 GW of solar last year “enough to power the equivalent of 12.4 million homes.” Germany installed the most solar power of any other country in the block [8 GW], followed by Spain with 7.5 GW installed.

Antarctica: A Birthday of Sorts, The Antarctic Treaty
ICSUSA Article December 2022 - What they are finding is that the warmer ocean waters are circulating under the seaward edges of this 74,000 square mile glacier, named Thwaites, and melting it from underneath or the bottom. It is loosening it from its contact with the ocean floor. The forward portion is no longer “pinned” or anchored to the sea floor. This work was published April 9, 2022 in the journal “Scientific Advances.” And its speed of flow into the ocean is increasing.

Permafrost Regions: What is Happening There?
ICSUSA Article November 2022 - The quick answer to this question is: we really don’t know all that we need to know. The temperatures in these 15 boreholes across Alaska are all increasing with some approaching 32 degrees F. The open boxes are data from “Northern Alaska” while the solid boxes are from “Interior Alaska.” The methane and huge amount of organic matter trapped in the soil, along with any carbon dioxide present, will be released into the atmosphere as this melting permafrost adds significantly to the GHGs in the atmosphere.

Science and Research: Understanding the Workings of Our Planet
ICSUSA Article October 2022 - The ocean as we know, plays a huge role in our planets’ climate system. It absorbs about 50% of our carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions, and about 90+% of the excess amount of infrared heat brought about by the greenhouse gases [GHG] we emit. Much of that CO2 is taken up by phytoplankton which are microscopic marine algae or microscopic plants. And, these plants contain chlorophyll, and in sunlight take up the dissolved gas, lives and grows. Of course, as part of the food chain we also have zooplankton, small animals that just love to browse on the phytoplankton. And then, in turn, they become food for still larger organisms. You get the picture. As these creatures die the carbon in their bodies is released and much of it falls, like rain, down through the water column to the ocean floor. Here it can be stored for long periods of time effectively removing it from the climate system. The overall process, amounts, storage times and more are not known with clarity and this is where the Alvin comes in. Experiments and dives are planned to better understand this process, its significance, and how it impacts and influences Earths’ climate complexities.And then we have things happen which are hard to explain and understand; war and human actions that are disasters for Earth’s climate. And this is not easily predictable.

Transportation and the Transition Revolution
ICSUSA Article September 2022 - The data [FuelEconomy.gov] and image [Karin Kirk] titled “Gasoline powered vehicle: …” is from Yale Climate Connections. The car and arrows show that about “80% of the energy is lost [wasted] to various inefficiencies.” Only about “16-25% of original [fossil fuel] energy goes to wheels” to move the car forward. And, hopefully, this transition and reduction in carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions will be in time to make a serious and positive impact on the planet’s “climate crises.” And this transition is none too soon. See photo of female scientist by Crispin Hughes, courtesy by www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01461-y. This scientist in a lab coat with her sign says it very clearly; “Fossil Fuels are Choking Humanity.” One can read in the woman’s face a mix of emotions; concern, worry, empathy and more. She is one of many hundreds of scientists in recent weeks protesting the use of fossil fuels and the resulting climate impacts from the CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere.

Time for a Refresher: Basic Climate Change Science and Current Trends
ICSUSA Article August 2022 - Some of our leaders are beginning to step up to the plate and address the climate crises by displacing fossil fuel use as has Governor Dan McKee of Rhode Island. In July 2022 he signed into law historic legislation requiring that his state provide 100% of its electricity needs by renewable sources by 2033. Next, look at the bar chart titled, “Operating and planned generating capacity additions (2022)”. The vertical axis is in gigawatts and the horizontal axis is months of 2022. This chart is from cleantechnica.com, August 4, 2022 with data from EIA. The first portion is for the first 6 months of 2022, installed capacity, and the second portion is for the second half of 2022, planned additions. Developers and project planners indicate that the U.S. will add 29.4 gigawatts [GW] of new capacity in the second half for a total of almost 45 GW for the year. This is an enormous amount of power with the bulk of it coming from solar and wind.And yes, NIMBY [not in my backyard] is an issue as more and more renewables are installed. So, entrepreneurs and planners are looking at some creative solutions.

It’s All About Time, Do We Need a New Name for Earth’s Condition Today?
ICSUSA Article July 2022 - The Holocene, which began about 11,800 years ago at the end of the Pleistocene, is the current geological epoch we live in today, as defined by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. According to Wikipedia, the Holocene is the most recent Epoch and corresponds to “the rapid proliferation, growth and impacts of the human species worldwide, including all of its written history, technological revolutions, development of major civilizations.” And now, according to some scholars, a new third division within the Quaternary, the Anthropocene, has begun. It is the present time “in which many geological significant conditions and processes have been profoundly altered by human activities,” [Holocene, Wikipedia]. Indeed, a free, new Weekly Science Dispatch, titled “Anthropocene Magazine” is being published.

Let’s Talk About Biomass: Is It Really Part of the Climate Solution?
ICSUSA Article June 2022 - The science and understanding of using biomass have progressed significantly in the last decade. In Forests Adrift the author writes,” there is little question that leaving the biomass in the forest is more effective than converting it to biomass energy. Wood has a very low energy density and it’s wet.” Hegoes on to state “that more carbon is released per unit of useable energy from wood than from even inefficient fossil fuels like coal.” We get a barrage of information directed towards us every day but much of it is “soundbites without context” with little in the way of perspective, interpretation and summary. But when we see a horizontal bar chart titled, “Power Plants Opening and Closing” by Paul Horn of Inside Climate News, the information and status becomes more clear. It cuts through a lot of news items and summarizes clearly where we are in the messy, complicated, and prolonged transition from fossil fuel energy generation to renewables.

PPM Means a Lot in Climate Science: Just Like in Wine or Cooking
ICSUSA Article May 2022 - We may hear about parts per million [ppm] of methane, or carbon dioxide, or some other component in our environment but how can we relate to this? What does it mean? It doesn’t sound like much in quantity; but its impacts may be anything but. One way to try and get a handle on and understand what is one ppm, is this example: go 16 miles in one direction, turn around, and come back one inch. That is about 1 ppm. This is calculated as follows: 12 inches/foot x 5280 feet/mile x 16 miles = 1,013, 760. Thus one inch = approximately one ppm in this example. Recent analytical equipment has looked at the aroma and flavor molecules in wine and results show that many chemical agents are at the ppm level, and sometimes even less, and are a powerful contributor to the desirability, flavor and character of a wine. The same applies to cooking where a small amount of a particular spice enhances significantly the flavor of the food.

Energy of all Kinds: Plans for Change do Change
ICSUSA Article April 2022 - The early drafts of the plans had nuclear energy as a major source of power generation but as the disaster unfolded in Japan, and the extent of radiation contamination became known, the plans changed. And changed significantly. The ensuing nuclear reactor meltdowns caused by the earthquake-generated tsunami forced the initial evacuation of more than 150,000 people from about 140 square miles of land. The overriding German concern was that if a nuclear disaster could happen in a highly advanced nation like Japan, it could happen here [in Germany]. Many people and many politicians thought this might be an unacceptable price to pay. Indeed, in a survey 3 years later only 5% of the public would accept a nuclear power plant in their neighborhood

Doomsday Vault, the Black Box and Renewables: Quite A Mix
ICSUSA Article March 2022 - As we grapple with climate change with all of its implications., some far sighted countries and individuals have interesting projects underway. While some of our leaders can’t seem to “lead” us out of this situation, other groups are taking the initiative to “do something.” There are vaults and then again, there are vaults. This one is not the kind one puts money into, and that has a massive metal door to keep the bad guys out. Nor is it a gymnastic routine. No, this vault is designed for storing something extremely valuable: seeds and the precious germ plasm and DNA contained therein. This is the “Seed Vault” built in and by Norway. As it so happens many countries around the world collect seeds for storage against manmade and natural disasters. These seeds are literally the results of thousands of years of genetic selection by us for characteristics that enable mankind to grow the food we require. Free of charge, countries can store samples from their own collections in this Global Seed Vault safely.

Blue Hydrogen, Green Hydrogen; What’s with these Colors and Their Connection to Climate Change?
ICSUSA Article February 2022 - Let’s take a look at a little bit of chemistry first. Don’t worry, please stay with this and there are no tests. Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic chart and its atomic number is 1. It is a clear, colorless, odorless gas and is highly combustible. Also of note, hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe and comprises about 75% of all matter. It exists as a molecule of two hydrogens and is a potent source of energy. The equation here (1) shows that when hydrogen [H2] is combined with oxygen, a large amount of energy is released [kj/mol] along with a byproduct, water [H2O]. This energy can then be used in a variety of ways including generating electricity

Greenwashing? What Does This Have to do With Climate Change?
ICSUSA Article January 2022 - No, this is not an article about the local laundromat, or special detergents that will perform magic on ones soiled items. This is about an attempt by some companies spending millions of dollars in advertising, to project a “clean” and responsible image. This takes various forms. It is done in an effort to promote technologies that either don’t exist yet, or are unproven, or are decades away from possible widespread use. Or, another approach is to suggest that they are recycling materials to minimize waste. The idea seems to be to convince people, and enough policymakers, that we can continue on with business as usual and that there are solutions to address environmental concerns. Then we can continue to consume and burn fossil fuels, and oh yes, continue to buy their product[s].

Oceans: Our Buddy for Ameliorating Climate Change; But There Are Limits
ICSUSA Article December 2021 - TGFTO. An internet search does give a few hits for this acronym but most involve astrology and or obscure references to ancient languages. But, in its use here it means, “thank goodness for the oceans.” Before we dive into that let us take a look at where the primary greenhouse gas [GHG], carbon dioxide, comes from. The pie chart titled “Greenhouse Gas Sources,” curtesy of CLIMATE CENTRAL, illustrates this. According to the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] these GHG emission sources can be broken down into five categories. Construction began in September 2021 for this 800 megawatt project and will deliver energy to the Northeast grid in 2023. It is part of a larger 2,500 megawatt project planned over the next few years in that general area.

Artists See Climate Change in Paintings; They Do Not Need a Thermometer
ICSUSA Article November 2021 - “Climate change is so amorphic and hard to grasp for many of us,” said Ms. Hedin who directed and produced a film that looks at climate change through art, “Rockies Repeat”, on this collaborative effort. The film did not start out as a climate change project at all but the impact of climate change was so profound it became the center of their efforts. “What’s powerful about this is we’re able to combine art and science and go back to places people really care about and are really inspired by.” These ‘old’ and ‘new’ paintings will be exhibited at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies by the Bow River, Alberta, starting in January 2022.

Oceans, The Twilight Zone, its Wonders and Importance
ICSUSA Article October 2021 - Fortunately, for us, oceans absorb or remove about a quarter of all carbon dioxide in the atmosphere each year but what happens to it and how that process works has not been completely clear. This “twilight zone affects carbon cycling and global climate says WHOI marine radiochemist Ken Buesseler.” [www.whoi.edu/press]. He goes on to state, “Plankton – tiny plant–like organisms at the surface remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. When animals from the twilight zone migrate up at night to feed on that plankton, and then return back to deeper waters, they take that carbon with them.” On another note our planets’ youth, led by Greta Thunberg and other young people from around the globe, are continuing with their “Fridays for Future” movement. See photo [by Sven Gorlich] of Greta leading tens of thousands of protesters in front of the German parliament in September 2021 asking for stronger action on the climate issues.

Weather Happenings and Some Peoples Response
ICSUSA Article September 2021 - Mother Nature sure has been busy recently. Flexing her muscles she has let us know who is in charge. Feeding off the carbon emissions [i.e. carbon dioxide] we human have provided, and the associated heat trapped by those emissions, she has set some astonishing temperature and rainfall and other weather records. It does appear that the “climate crises” is happening. Let’s start with some of the “bad stuff” and then move on to what some people are doing in this new environment. It is hard to imagine that, Syracuse, a city in Sicily, Italy reached a temperature of 120 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded, in the entire continent of Europe. Then we have wildfire battles in the American West on-going. Thousands of firefighters, 25 helicopters, more than 400 fire engines and 70 water trucks working on getting control of just the Caldor fire near Lake Tahoe. This does not include the Dixie fire and others as part of the overall effort there nor the extensive fires in Greece, Turkey and the Russian Arctic. The exceptional drought continues in the southwest and in many places globally.

Domes, the Climate Crises and the Energy Transition
ICSUSA Article August 2021 - There are domes and then there are domes. How about the Astrodome? It was opened in 1965 as the first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium and housed the Houston major league baseball and football teams. Or the geodesic dome built for Expo 67at the Montreal World’s Fair as part of the American Pavilion and still in use today. Popularized by Buckminster Fuller, the geodesic dome is extremely strong for its weight, inherently stable and enclosed the greatest volume for the least surface area. The four major sources of power generation are natural gas (40%), renewables – includes hydro, solar, wind, biomass and geothermal (21%), nuclear (20%), and coal (19%). The data here for solar includes both utility-scale solar [>1 megawatt] and small-scale solar, such as grid-connected rooftop panels. The growth in 2020 was 26% for utility-scale and 19% for small-scale solar compared with 2019. These growth rates are particularly impressive considering that COVID-19 forced an economy-wide lockdown in 2020.

An Artist and Science Look at Sea Level Rise, Drought and More
ICSUSA Article July 2021 - The installation is titled, ”On the Horizon” and was intended to celebrate summer solstice [June 20] while illustrating the danger of climate change. The artist, Ana Teresa Fernandez, said “You can pull up all the stats and figures (about climate change) and you go numb.” But one number in particular that caught her attention was the estimate that the sea level will rise 6 feet by the year 2100. . . The enormous emissions of carbon dioxide and other GHG’s are a direct cause of the warming, and show no signs of abating. The past year with COVID and the lockdown, slowed up emissions somewhat but we are back on track with business-as-usual to resume global emissions to pre-COVID levels.

Maya Lin, Ghost Trees and Sea Level Rise
ICSUSA Article June 2021 - The major portion of the die-off occurred after a five-year drought, which was then followed by a hurricane [Irene] in 2011 that inundated the land under a six-foot wall of sea-water. This combination of extreme events, according to Dr. Emily Ury from Duke University, was “not normal. Large patches of trees are dying simultaneously … and it is not just a local issue.” Rising sea-levels, and salinity, can penetrate well inland and can lead to dramatic die offs and loss of coastal forests. So what we have is a confluence of factors that further complicate, intensify and contribute to climate change; these include sea level rise, salt water intrusion, storm surge, dead trees no longer fixing carbon and taking carbon dioxide [CO2] out of the atmosphere, and then as they decay putting CO2 back into the atmosphere which results in more warming and round we go again.

Climate Crises: The New Clock is Ticking, and it’s in Union Square, NYC, No Less
ICSUSA Article May 2021 - The financial markets appear to have begun to wake up to the risk of these climate crises. The Federal Reserve [FED] in March 2021 declared that “climate change increases financial stability risks.” The FED also established a Climate Committee to assess and manage this systemic climate risk. In addition the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] named its first ever Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and ESG [environmental, social, and governance] matters. Let’s look at one country that is aware of the “Climate Clock” and its implications and is doing their part to address these climate crises. See photo of Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, [Credit: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images] on a boat outside Copenhagen, on April 22, 2021, with wind turbines in an off-shore wind farm in the background. She had just given a talk [YouTube] on Denmark’s plans for meeting its energy needs with renewable energy.

Rivers of Air, Rivers of Water: Major Parts of our Changing Climate System
ICSUSA Article April 2021 - The major concern at this time is when, and at what point, there may be a tipping point where the system cannot recover. It would then lock in those big changes in climate for an extended period of time with impacts all around the world. Meanwhile we still have a divided public opinion on whether global warming even exists. The denial campaign funded largely by the fossil fuel industry has deliberately confused people on the issue. A recent survey by Yale’s Climate Change Communication program produced the following results: see “Global Warming’s Six Americas, December 2020”. The responses are grouped into six categories: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful and Dismissive. The highest belief in global warming [two circles on left] totals about 55%, while the lowest belief in global warming [two circles on right] adds up to 20%. About 25% of the respondents fall in the center. The 55% number shows some improvement over earlier surveys but we have more work to do in providing factual, clear scientific information to the public.

Greenland: A World Apart is Changing
ICSUSA Article March 2021 - All across the Arctic 2020 was an exceptionally warm year. Record high temperatures were recorded in Svalbard, an archipelago north of Norway that reaches as far north as 81 degrees North Latitude, some 900 miles from the North Pole. A new temperature record of 71 degrees F was set there and it was the highest temperature ever recorded in the European part of the Arctic. Ellesmere Island, in the Canadian Arctic, saw its last remaining ice shelf collapse, Siberia had record heat along with widespread fires, and a new record was set for low sea ice extent for July. In the 33 years since that warning was made to the body politic and public, it has been pretty much business-as-usual. Except for the fact that renewables can compete pricewise with fossil fuels, the amount of carbon dioxide [CO2], the primary greenhouse gas, emitted to the atmosphere continues to increase each year.A clear example of global warming and changes in the Arctic occurred this February 2021, when a Soviet natural gas tanker, accompanied by a nuclear-powered Soviet icebreaker, delivered its cargo to China in a never before round trip across the Arctic Ocean. Previously, shipping along this northern route stopped in November and did not resume until July!

Transitions, Transitions and More Transitions
ICSUSA Article February 2021 - Let’s look at the plans for renewable energy for 2021. These are known projects and forecasts that have been announced at this time and the numbers may increase, or not, as the year moves along. Now, let’s look at another bar chart labeled, “Renewables Dominate New 2021 Power Plants.” What is remarkable is not only the generation capacity planned but the sheer number of projects. Solar with 358 projects, and Onshore wind with 76, dominates the new power generation scene. The saying “it is hard to pluck a flower without troubling a star” is certainly true in the energy generation field. Bird fatalities associated with wind farms is no exception and this has been a concern for many. While the actual numbers of bird [and bat] deaths from wind turbines are not known exactly, and the numbers are thought to be small, they do occur. The takeaway is that wildlife and wind generation can coexist.

We Have a Climate Emissions “Gap” Problem but Solutions Exist
ICSUSA Article January 2021 - A classic phrase, “Mind the Gap” has a new meaning according to a recent meeting of the UN Environment Program [UNEP]. The three word phrase was first used on the London Underground [subway] in 1968 [Wikipedia] and is still used today. It was intended as a safety announcement for passengers to watch out for the gap between the door of the railway car and the station platform when entering or exiting the train. The phrase is now used in transit systems worldwide. In the recent context the phrase is used to highlight the “emissions gap” between commitments to reduce carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions by the nations who signed the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and what is actually needed to keep global temperatures from exceeding +1.5 degrees Celsius. These are called Nationally Determined Commitments [NDC’s], and are voluntary.

Climate Change: Banks Are a Major Source of the Problem ... and the Solution
ICSUSA Article December 2020 - The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement was a landmark in cooperation between nations. It asked the 195 countries that signed the agreement [194 now that the U.S. has withdrawn] to make non-binding pledges to reducing carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions. There was no enforcement provision, however, and the pledges were not sufficient to meet the goal of not more than [NMT] a 3.6 degree Fahrenheit global temperature increase [2 degrees Celsius], or the stretch goal of NMT 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit [1.5 degrees Celsius]. But it was a start!

Transitions, Disruptions, Problems and Possibilities
ICSUSA Article November 2020 - The word is finally out! And in front of over 70 million Americans no less. For the first time a responsible, senior, political leader told it straight. Former Vice-President Joe Biden said in the recent October debate that we had to “transition away from the oil industry.” He was acknowledging the science that climate change was real, happening now, and that carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas [GHG] produced from the combustion of fossil fuels, was a primary culprit. Mr.”Biden’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas contributions by 2050 cannot be achieved without significantly curtailing the burning of oil and gas. Indeed, his proposal does not call for a ban on fossil fuels...” [The Washington Post October 27, 2020].

Pandemic or Not, Large Renewables Projects are Moving Forward
ICSUSA Article October 2020 - Let’s take time for the moment to review the science: the science of climate change and the fact that it is happening today and is mostly caused by “us.” It really comes down to the fact that Nature just follows certain chemical and physical laws or processes. It is in Nature’s DNA and we can’t change that. The chemical equation illustrated here shows the chemical process that occurs with the combustion of methane, the principal component of natural gas, with oxygen. The result is the production of carbon dioxide [CO2], water [H2O] and energy [heat].

Pandemic or Not, Large Renewables Projects are Moving Forward
ICSUSA Article September 2020 - Exxon Mobil [XOM], for the first time in 90 years, will drop out of the S&P 500 Index’s 10 biggest companies. According to Tom Sanzillo, director of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis ‘”the oil sector has gone from being the leader of the world economy to a laggard.” In the last decade the energy sector’s share of the S&P 500 has fallen about 12 percent to 3 percent today. Recent polling data suggests that 2/3rds of Americans are beginning to recognize that our weather is changing and that global warming is responsible. See linear box chart titled, “Two out of three Americans ... . “ This was a joint study by the groups Climate Change Communications and Center for Climate Change Communication.

Pandemic or Not, Large Renewables Projects are Moving Forward
ICSUSA Article August 2020 - We are dealing with a lot these days. From the pandemic now claiming the lives of about 1,000 people/day [over 155,000 Americans have died so far, with more than 4.6 million infected], to climate change/climate emergency with heat waves, fires, floods and drought at the moment. Then we have massive unemployment, over 45 million Americans have filed for unemployment, a dysfunctional government in D.C. where recently a Republican representative in Congress used foul language to describe a female colleague, and more I am sure. There are some bright spots, however, but whether they will shine bright enough to dispel those dark clouds remains to be seen. But the clean energy disruption continues as fossil fuel consumption is lower and some very large renewable projects [wind and solar] are either on schedule or close to it.

Transitions and Disruptions of the Status Quo
ICSUSA Article July 2020 - We are seeing a perfect storm of events happening simultaneously: COVID-19 reducing demand for energy, cheaper wind and solar ramping up significantly and displacing fossil fuels, technological advances in the form of cheaper electric storage batteries, heightened public awareness of the “climate emergency,” the engineering efforts underway to electrify everything, and more. No more sitting on a bus with stinky diesel fumes for these students in the Estrie and Monteregie regions of Quebec. [See photo of buses courtesy of Transdev Canada/Lion Electric]. Twenty-seven more of these electric school buses will be phased into the fleet starting in September 2020 adding to the four already in service. Plans are in place to electrify 100% of the Quebec school buses by 2025.

In New York State the Grid [Not Grill] Just Got Cleaner
ICSUSA Article June 2020 - It is a large property in Barker N.Y., some 1,800 acres, on the shores of Lake Ontario near Buffalo. It is the site of the last remaining coal burning power plant in New York State [NYS] and it just ceased operations in April 2020. At one point, employing several hundred workers, the 685-megawatt plant in the last few years was idle a good part of the time and was now down to less than one quarter that number of employees. It could not compete with energy policy changes, environmental regulations and cheaper ways to generate electricity: primarily gas, wind and solar.

Phenology: It’s All In The Timing
ICSUSA Article May 2020 - Yes, Nature has a calendar too. Humans use the Equinoxes [March 21, September 21] and the Solstices [June 21 and December 21] to take a measure of the year, together with Daylight Savings Time and more, in order to mark our celebrations and activities. Nature’s calendar, phenology, is “when cherry trees bloom, when a robin builds its nest and when leaves turn color in the fall” as per the National Phenology Network [NPN]. What is interesting is the fact that this relatively stable climate coincided with the human shift from hunter/gatherer to farmer/animal herder. Over the past 100 years, however, temperatures have risen from near the lowest to the warmest levels in the last 11,000 years. See sharply rising line at the right. This recent 100 year period is also when carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases have increased significantly. This almost 2 degree Fahrenheit increase, or about 1 degree Centigrade, for the whole planet on average is having a profound impact on our climate, weather and also phenology.

Climate Change, Clean Energy Transition, and now COVID-19
ICSUSA Article April 2020 - COVID-19 will extract an enormous toll on lives, economies, politics and the social structures that bind us together. The steps to deal with climate change are still moving forward even in this time of “lockdown” and “social distancing.” The need to move from fossil fuels and reduce carbon dioxide emissions is becoming more recognized and understood by more people. The ideas and solutions to do so illustrate our capabilities and creativity. Renewable energy to power our activities is now embedded in the policies and practices of countless people, hundreds of companies, numerous cities and many governments.

Interview: Ethics in a time of plague: a capsule conversation on public good vs. private good
ICSUSA Interview March 2020 - Climate scientist, Raymond Johnson, PhD. and Ethics Institute senior scholar, Jonathan Slater, PhD. dissuces the "Ethics in a time of plague: a capsule conversation on public good vs. private good"

There are Report Cards, and Then, ... There are Report Cards
ICSUSA Article March 2020 - The first mark or grade is for the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. See graph from InsideClimate News labeled, “A History of CO2 in the Atmosphere.” The graph is current through December 16, 2019. Unfortunately the number of 411.8 ppm is about 2 units more than last year’s which in this case is not good. This graph is telling in that the amount of this greenhouse gas [GHG] in Earth’s atmosphere today is the highest, by far, in the last 800,000 years. Not good; the number should be decreasing. This is a failing grade. With all of the talk recently about “Global Warming,” “Climate Emergency,” “Climate Change,” and “Fridays For Future” Marches and demonstrations [led by Greta Thunberg] where and why is the level of carbon dioxide still increasing?

Small Particles from Combustion of Fossil Fuels Impact Human Health
ICSUSA Article February 2020 - Here’s the problem. Or, at least one of them with regards to climate change and human health. Its particles. Real small ones: tiny ones that penetrate deep into our lungs, pass into our blood stream and then circulate all through our bodies. Most of these particles originate with the combustion of fossil fuels [coal and oil] and contribute to thousands of early deaths in the United States in people with cardiac and lung diseases with damage extending to other organs. Again, the IEA in another recently published graph shown here, titled, “New solar PV Projects are taking off” presents data indicating how the global power capacity by source is changing. Coal and nuclear show no growth but Solar PV, Gas, Wind and Hydro are increasing significantly.

Renewable Energy: Coming of Age, Here and Now, and Perhaps Just in Time [?]
ICSUSA Article January 2020 - Actually, this is the latest item in the solar panel [photovoltaics] renewable power quiver which will increase generation of electricity in a given space. The intent is to capture solar energy reflected off the ground under, and or behind the panel installation, back to the panel undersurface to increase their output. Now we have the WindFloat Atlantic project which will have three 8.4 megawatt wind turbines. The first was just installed [12/31/19] and sent power to the grid via a 12.4 mile long cable. The second unit is on site now for connection in the next few months. See photo [Source: Windplus/Dock90] of the first turbine being towed into place off the coast of Portugal.

Tuktoyaktuk: An Inuvialuit Town at the Frontline of Climate Change
ICSUSA Article December 2019 - Permafrost by definition is land that is frozen for two or more years. The permafrost in the northern Arctic could be up to a thousand feet thick or more in some places; but not where land and sea meet. This photo and others like it across the Arctic are of concern because of the huge amount of decaying organic matter and the resulting release of methane gas from the thawing ground. The issue is that methane is a greenhouse gas [GHG] that is at least 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Unless we reduce our GHG emissions and take steps to address our consumption of fossil fuels, an enormous amount of methane in the permafrost will be released into the atmosphere with significant effects on Earth’s climate system. Experts agree that we must go to renewable energy sources as soon as possible.

Yes, Carbon Dioxide is really the Problem
ICSUSA Article November 2019 - Eunice Foote is not a household name but it sure could, and perhaps should, be. Born in 1819 in CT, she went to school in Troy, NY, and was one of the few women at that time to study chemistry and biology while attending what is now known as the Emma Willard School. Only recently have her experiments on atmospheric gases been recognized as, perhaps, the first study of carbon dioxide [CO2] and its role in warming the earth’s atmosphere. She summarized her findings in a paper that was delivered by Prof. John Henry at a scientific meeting in 1856. Women did not normally give scientific papers in those days. The two page paper titled, “On the Heat in the Sun’s Rays,” is illustrated here and additionally at https://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/happy-200th-birthday-eunice-foote-hidden-climate-science-pioneer .

Climate Change: Climate Crises, What Are We Doing?
ICSUSA Article October 2019 - Eremozoic. [ehre mo ZO ik] Even the pronunciation of this word, or an attempted version of it, sounds sad, even lonely. Indeed that word is one definition of the era we are now entering, the age of loneliness, as considered by some biologists [E.O. Wilson] and other writers and thinkers. Some scientists have argued for the term, Anthropocene, or the age of man, and various geological bodies are still evaluating this proposal. In an attempt to bring about change, Climate Marchers in Montreal came out in huge numbers on September 27, 2019 [crowd estimates are ~500,000] and made a powerful statement about the climate crises. In the lead was Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old climate activist from Sweden who has sparked young people everywhere to pressure those in power to address the climate crises. See photo of marchers in Mount Royal Park area [drone, Radio-Canada].

Climate Change and Losses
ICSUSA Article September 2019 - About 1,000 Icelanders recently took a 2 hour hike to a spot in western Iceland to mourn the loss of a loved one. It was not unexpected but it is always a shock when something as big and impressive as a glacier is gone. At one time this glacier was more than 160 feet thick and covered about 6 square miles. Its name was Okjokull, or “Ok” glacier for short and it is no more. September looks to be a very busy month for climate activists. The Great Climate Walkout on September 20 is one and most will be led by students. In addition, the United Nations has a series of climate relatedmeetings during the week of September 20 to 27. Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old Swedish climate activist, will speak at one of these and elsewhere at that time.

Climate Change: Are Trees the Solution?
ICSUSA Article August 2019 - Unfortunately it is not that simple. Researchers at ETH Zurich, Switzerland recently published a theoretical study, which received wide publicity, which suggested planting trees could offset nearly 2/3rds of the man-made carbon dioxide [CO2] put into the atmosphere over the last two centuries since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. A simple way to mitigate and to avoid climate change is to plant one thousand billion [trillion] trees. This ‘thought’ experiment, and its calculations using satellite imaging, came up with 4.5 billion acres as the required land mass to plant those one trillion trees. It would need land equivalent to the size of China and the U.S. combined. And, if all those trillion tress could be planted quickly, it would still take from 50 - 100 years to begin to have any impact. This amount of time we do not have nor is it sufficient to the task.

Climate Change and the Irony of it all
ICSUSA Article July 2019 - Climate change is a global issue, and all countries and peoples are impacted in some way or another, by decisions made elsewhere. Greenland has had an unusual warm spell in June 2019 with temperatures as much as 40 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. This created a pulse of melting across much of the surface of the Greenland ice sheet. According to Marco Tedesco [Columbia University], this melting impacted about 45% of the ice sheet. A scientific team in Greenland went to retrieve scientific equipment where this photo here was taken on June 13, 2019 [Steffen M. Olsen/Danmarks Meteorologiske Institute].

Climate, Its Complexity and the Clean Disruption
ICSUSA Article June 2019 - The graph “Renewable Energy Costs are Falling” from Lazard tells the story. While coal, nuclear and gas were cheaper 10 years ago, today solar and wind are by far the cheapest source of energy at $43 and $42 per megawatt-hour. The comparable cost for coal is $102. But there is more from FP&L. Eric Silagy, president and CEO, announced a program two months ago called “The 30/30 Plan.” It involves installing 30 million solar panels by 2030 and is the largest community solar program in the country. In addition they are planning to have the world’s largest solar- powered battery bank by 2021 [by a factor of four] which will replace more than 1,600 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation.

Climate Change and the Guard Dog Theory
ICSUSA Article May 2019 - In an earlier era we have one example where a major change happened in just over a decade. Tony Seba in his book, ”Clean Disruption,” uses the example of horse drawn carriages and the transition to automobiles. In one of his talks he shows two photos. The first photo from 1900 in on 5 th avenue in NYC and one can see only one car [circled] in a sea of horses. In his second photo and only 13 years later, this view of 5 th avenue looking north in NYC indicates that this transition is virtually complete. No horses seen here: just automobiles. Just for a moment consider the disruption this had on horse breeders, stables, leather workers, veterinarians, feed stores, farriers and more. In a similar way this kind of a major transition is where we are heading today. The changeover from fossil fuel combustion to renewables is happening regardless of the “guard dogs’.

Convergence: How Climate Change Brought Two Women Artists Together
ICSUSA Article April 2019 - In his inimitable style and articulate fashion, Bill McKibben writes in September 2018, The Guardian, about this meeting between east and west, high elevation and low. Mr. McKibben wrote the first book on Climate Change in 1989, “The End of Nature,” and also co-founded 350.org. The intent is obvious. To get two thoughtful people together, representing two diverse cultures, which are experiencing first-hand, ice melt and sea-level rise caused by climate change, to collaborate on a poem together would make a powerful statement. And they did just that. The excerpt below is from that poem, “Rise.” The whole poem, and a six minute video of the two women narrating it, can be found on-line. It is a worthwhile ‘listen’.

Climate Change and The Power of One
ICSUSA Article March 2019 - Greta Thunberg, who has been in a recent climate article published in this paper, positioned herself in front of the stone edifice of Sweden’s Parliament. Based on her study of climate change, and reports from the U.N. International Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], she is alarmed that the powers that be, both political and business, are not taking the threat to our planet seriously. It is business as usual [BAS]. More than 10,000 youths in Leuven, Belgium have skipped school for the fifth Thursday [2/7/19] in a row. See the AP Photo, [Geert Vanden Wijngaert], with signs in Dutch or English with two that say “What I stand for is what I stand on.” Some climate change deniers claim that these events “are being manipulated by politicians and environmental organizations.”

Climate Change: “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”
ICSUSA Article February 2019 - According to CleanTechnica [2018/12/24], the Renault Group has a project to cut its overall emissions by 6% by 2022. Since it gets 60% of its automobile parts shipped by sea, and many of its finished automobiles are transported by sea, it has partnered “with Neoline to build two experimental rollon/roll-off car carriers powered by sails.” See photo “Groupe Renault”. The ships are capable of carrying 478 cars, can average 12 mph at sea and the propulsion is a hybrid; it will use diesel as an assist and for in-port maneuvering. Compared to conventional freighters it would cut “emissions by 90%” and will begin service in 2020. Other sail-powered ships are also under development. Other “Good News” came from the British Wind industry. In December 2018 it published data that showed both on-shore/off-shore wind turbines met 33% of UK’s energy needs: a new record. Meanwhile, the artist Hara Woltz has on her website, thoughtful free posters such as the two reproduced here created by a number of artists.

Climate Change: People vs. Entrenched Interests
ICSUSA Article January 2019 - Her name is Greta Thunberg. She is 15 years old. As a student, and native of Sweden, she became appalled at the disconnect between what climate science was telling us about climate change and its impacts, and what adults were doing about it. She was able to convince her parents to go vegan, buy an electric car, and stop flying in order to reduce their carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions. But she realized that that was not enough. So, she decided to protest the lack of action by her government on climate change and become a climate activist. Earlier this fall Greta missed school and sat in front of the Swedish Parliament building every day, for a whole month, with her sign, “School Strike for Climate.”

Tapas, Tapas and More Tapas; Some Actions, Good and Not so Good, Impacting Climate Change
ICSUSA Article December 2018 - Having a tapas meal at a Spanish restaurant can be a very pleasant experience. One orders many different dishes containing small quantities of very well prepared foods, the sum total of which is usually better than its parts. This is somewhat like climate change, and climate science, and efforts being made to reduce greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions. There are hundreds of activities ongoing, some positive and some not, but in this case the total may not be better than the sum of the parts.

Climate Reports, Warnings and Progress on Renewable Wind Power
ICSUSA Article November 2018 - ”So, first let’s look at the sky photo taken by the new Parker Solar Probe on September 25th 2018. Earth is the bright spot near the center amidst a field of stars. This image was taken when the space craft was some 27 million miles away. Yup. Nothing has changed here. Our planet is still alone amidst the far-flung stars of our Milky-Way Galaxy with no Planet B nearby. . . . for the U.S. there’s a small bright spot. Let’s look at the second bar chart from the U.S. Energy Information Agency [eia]. Total U.S. fossil fuel emissions fell slightly in 2017. . . . “U.S. wind electricity net generation ...”. The vertical bars start at year 2000 on the left and end on the right at 2018 [first three quarters]. This reflects an enormous amount of new electrical generation, especially in the past 8-10 years, which is cheaper than the power from coal fired plants! This is a very positive trend and indications are that it will continue!

“That thou canst not stir a flower / Without troubling of a star” – Climate and Man
ICSUSA Article October 2018 - This September Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas region with drenching rain in excess of 33 inches. Again, the damage to life and property was extensive. For comparison purposes Tropical Storm Irene in parts of NY and VT in 2011 dumped about 10 inches of rain. As the water poured down the mountainsides into the valleys the devastation to roads, homes, hundreds of bridges and loss of infrastructure in the region was extensive. The cost of fixing those damages took years and tens of millions of dollars.

Summer, Aphelion, Temperature Extremes: Earth's Climate
ICSUSA Article August 2018 - Deniers of human [anthropomorphic] caused climate change have stated that solar sunspot activity could account for the warming of our planet. But, as can be seen from the July 17, 2018 spaceweather.com graph of “Solar Cycle 23” and “Solar Cycle 24,” it doesn’t matter. This graph shows numbers of sunspots over past 18 years, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] dated July 9, 2018. Whether sunspot activity is high [up to 170 in 2000], or low [close to zero in 2009], Earth continues to warm and set annual records. See bar chart of “10 Hottest Years Globally” from Climate Central. Nine of the 10 hottest years have been since 2007. The story is quite simple; the world is hot, on fire and flooding. Climate change is here. Now. With all of the complexity of the science and the many disciplines involved, not including the financial investments still being made and the many powerful forces at work to maintain the status quo, it is refreshing to see the success of recent student activity in Ireland.

Climate Science and Smorgasbord Have a Lot in Common
ICSUSA Article July 2018 - The origin of the term “Smorgasbord” is apparently from Sweden but has come to wide use in many parts of the world. It refers to a food offering where many different dishes, both hot and cold, and are available where one can choose a variety of different food preparations. Norway’s action reflects the view that these fossil fuels will become “stranded assets” and lose value as most nations move towards renewables.On the weather and climate front let’s look at the “Global Surface Temperature ...” graph released by Columbia University on June 18, 2018. The weather data for May 2018 indicates it was the fourth warmest May in the 140 year record; only the years 2016, 2017, 2014, in decreasing order, had warmer Mays. - Three examples, all on used solar panels, are shown here. The first needs no explanation, we have our one and only home, Earth; the third suggests perhaps, a frog leaping out of hot water as the planet slowly warms. The middle panel can be interpreted in different ways and that is for you to decide.

Leadership and Climate Change
ICSUSA Article June 2018 - Recent data published on 30 May 2018 [www.realclimate.org] show that the strength of tropical cyclones have also increased. The global map here illustrates the seven major storm regions on Earth and is titled, “The strongest tropical cyclones ... (since 1979).” Five of those seven regions had storms in the last five years that are the strongest on record with winds up to 170 mph. If we listen, we can hear Nature talking. In a bizarre twist, on April 28 California had a record peak of renewable power generation from solar and wind that met 72.7% of CA’s electrical needs but its carbon dioxide emissions also recently increased. Why? How can this be? It turns out that the forecast is for continued drought in CA, and the water authorities are holding back dam releases and the renewable energy it would normally provide. So it had to turn to fossil fuel burning plants to make up the difference. So here we have the threat of drought, induced by climate change, taking us in the wrong direction emissions wise. In these unusual times, it is interesting to read this quote from George Orwell, the author of “1984”.

“Extra! Extra! Read All About It!”
ICSUSA Article May 2018 - Recently, there should have been a headline that was broadcast, or shouted, loud and clear about a pending court case and it could have gone something like this: “California and Oil Companies agree: The Climate is Warming and Humans are Mainly Responsible: see IPCC report!” The story goes like this. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] issued their fifth assessment report of 1535 pages in early 2014. It represents the work of over 1,000 scientists who reviewed, summarized and interpreted all of the world’s available peer-reviewed literature on the subject of climate science and climate change. The law suit is unfolding now in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The case is brought by the cities of Oakland and San Francisco against the five largest oil companies for “discrediting climate science in general” and “which has delayed regulatory action and left coastal cities to deal with eroding coastlines, property loss and infrastructure damage” [huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-trial 3/30/18].

ERoEI and Climate Change
ICSUSA Article April 2018 - The Bureau of Labor Statistics graph labeled “U.S. coal mining employment...” which indicates the industry had as many as 175,000 workers in 1985 compared to about 50,000 today. The graph also shows that during the Obama era the number of miners was relatively constant: so much for the purported “war on coal.” . . . In the case of solar about 250,000 workers in the U.S. are involved in the solar industry [manufacture, installation, etc.].

Coal: Are We Beating a Dead Horse?
ICSUSA Article March 2018 - In 2000, coal burning plants provided more than 50% of the U.S. electricity needs: in 2018 it will be less than 30%. This is a huge change or disruption in our infrastructure and economy in such a relatively short period of time. See Bar Chart, “U.S. Electricity Generation By Fuel Type”. Many forces are responsible for this transition. The amount supplied by renewables has doubled from 9% to 18%, the need to reduce toxic pollution of our air and water [mercury], and the reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions that contribute to climate change. Additionally, human health agencies want a reduction in small air-bourne particles from burning fossil fuels that cause cardiovascular disease, lung-cancer and childhood asthma. The availability of cheap natural gas and the falling prices of renewables [wind and solar] also contribute to this transition.

Artists Engage the Science of Climate Change
ICSUSA Article February 2018 - Earth’s changing climate, primarily caused by the combustion of fossil fuels and resulting carbon dioxide emissions, has brought artists working in all media to express in their own way what is happening to Earth’s climate systems right now. . . .Artists all over the world are expressing their concern about climate change from their own experiences and in their own individual ways.

The Clean Disruption: Will Help Reduce Emissions Causing Climate Change
ICSUSA Article January 2018 - Technology advances for EVs and the associated advances in battery capacity have been remarkable. Note the graph labeled, “Average battery pack price.” Through 2016 there has been a price drop [in $ per kWh] of 77% since 2010 . . . In October, 2017, GM announced that by 2023 it will have 20 new all-electric models [not hybrids]. Ford announced similar plans. GM is staking its future on this transition. The company sells about 10 million cars per year globally. Its biggest market is in China with 3.9 million sold and about 3 million sold in the U.S. With China’s push to go EVs, GM is focusing to meet that challenge, retain its market share, and the U.S. will be brought along. The clean revolution is coming as EVs will be the car of choice in the near future as ICE are phased out. Other car makers working toward the same goal include Ford, Volvo, Nissan and more; Volkswagon plans on introducing 25 EV models in China alone between 2020 and 2025.

Climate Change: the Clean Disruption Continues
ICSUSA Article December 2017 - So let’s take a look at the illustration labeled “Global Energy Potential.” Inside the largest circle is “SOLAR 23,000 TW” or 23,000 trillion watts. This is the total amount of solar energy received by Earth from the Sun in terawatts [TW]. Just below and to the right is, “World Energy consumption 16 TW.” So, the Sun is sending us over 1,500 times as much solar energy as we currently consume! The six smaller circles within the large circle are all renewable sources of energy. The largest of these six is wind energy, and in some combination, these renewables can significantly reduce our carbon emissions. However, by a large measure, solar is the key. Three of the four circles to the right are fossil fuel reserves [coal, oil, natural gas] and their potential to meet civilizations energy needs. The remaining circle is Uranium, used for generating nuclear power. Clearly, Solar and Wind must become the majority of our power generation, and soon; Very soon.

Climate Change and the Great Disruption
ICSUSA Article November 2017 - Module costs have dropped in half since 2008. The implication is that if one made a business decision in 2008 to proceed with a nuclear or fossil fuel burning generating plant based on the cost of PV modules at that time, that business plan may have to be scrapped today due to the rapidly falling PV costs. It would not be economical. And, this is exactly what is happening around the world. Hundreds of coal burning plants are being retired, mothballed, and/or construction stopped with China taking the major initiative.

Climate Change: Carbon Diem
ICSUSA Article October 2017 - It is notable that with the data only through July 7, 2017 it does not include extreme weather events since then. Preliminary estimates of the cost of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria exceeds $290 billion [AccuWeather September 12, 2017] and will take us off the chart. Now we are beginning to talk about some real money. This represents about 1.5% of the total annual Gross National Product [GDP] of the United States. These extreme events may be a part of a new “norm.” Earlier this year California and other parts of the West had record breaking rain and snowfall events. But then the drought started along with high temperatures and very dry air. Add in lightning strikes to this mix and this brew has led to an earlier than normal wildfire season across parts of five states; CA, MT, ID, WA, and OR with millions of acres burned.

Climate Change and Y2K
ICSUSA Article September 2017 - If global emissions peak in 2016 [indications are that we may be close], then the world has 25 years to bring carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions to ZERO. If we wait until 2020 for emissions to peak, then we would have about 20 years to bring emissions to ZERO.But if we delay until 2025 for emissions to peak, then we have an almost impossible task. We would have to transform the global economy and bring emissions to ZERO in 10 years to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Climate Science: It’s Carbon Dioxide Silly!
ICSUSA Article August 2017 - Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas [GHG], and the rising level of this GHG in Earth’s atmosphere is causing our planet to warm with major consequences [droughts, rising sea levels, increased global temperatures, extreme weather, etc]. The rapidly rising atmospheric levels of this GHG are anthropogenic in origin: we humans are the cause for this increase. This comes from the combustion of vast amounts of gas, coal, and oil, and land use changes [agriculture, and deforestation tropical forests].

Climate Change: Let’s Cool it and Talk About Ice
ICSUSA Article July 2017 - So what is happening in Antarctica? The story here is a bit different. The air temperatures in this region do not get above freezing [32°F] for any length of time and so surface melt is relatively small. However, most of the ice lost from Antarctic glaciers as they flow off the land is caused by warmer ocean waters that eat away the glaciers or ice shelves from below. As these ice shelves melt and shrink in size, the flow of the massive land ice behind them, literally ice-rivers, accelerates as there is less ice to hold them back

Climate Science: Step Forward and Half Step Back
ICSUSA Article June 2017 - In 1989 the first layman’s book titled, ”The End of Nature,” by Bill McKibben, was published on this subject of a changing climate. During his presidency, President H. W. Bush ultimately took a more active role in international efforts to study and address global warming, which led to the Earth Summit agreement in Rio de Janeiro signed by 154 countries. That was 25 years ago. Today, rather than join the 195 countries that signed the Paris Accords in 2015 to reduce CO2 emissions, the policy of the U.S. is to accelerate its consumption of fossil fuels, the source of most of the increased CO2 in the atmosphere. This policy is condemning our planet, and ourselves, to increased temperatures with all of its attendant effects on extreme weather, species extinction and more.

Climate Change and Earth’s Carbon Budget
ICSUSA Article May 2017 - So it seems we should be taking Will Rogers quote seriously; we should “stop digging.” The primary reason is that we, the citizens on this planet, and the planet itself, have a carbon budget. Just as with our check books and credit cards there is a limit to how much we can spend. The Earth’s carbon budget is how much carbon can we burn and still keep temperature increases below 2 degrees centigrade [3.6 ºF]. Data says we should keep temperature increases below this amount to avoid the worst effects of climate change and the extreme weather events, rising sea levels, droughts and other impacts that will result. And we do actually have a budget. Note the horizontal bar chart with the large numbers associated with it. The top line shows that we have put into the atmosphere 2,103,192,995,039 [trillion] tons of carbon dioxide or 72% of the planet’s budget. We can only place 796,807,004,961 [billions] of tons more of this GHG into our air. At our current rate of consumption we will exceed our carbon budget in less than 20 years.

Climate Change; Whales and Wind Energy
ICSUSA Article April 2017 - New England had about 795 ships of the 900 in the world dedicated to this slaughter. There were tens of thousands of people involved in this industry. With few whales remaining, and voyages lasting up to 2 years or more before returning to port with whale oil, the whole industry collapsed. American business, and the workers in this trade, went through a wrenching transition to a new economy. An industrial era was emerging based on petroleum, gas, and eventually electricity and required workers to learn new skills as opportunities developed elsewhere. Today the U.S. economy is going through major changes again. Robotics used in manufacturing has displaced many workers and now a major transition is happening in the area of energy supply. Automation and robotics used in the production of coal and oil has increased output significantly, at a lower unit cost, and requires far less workers.

Climate Change and An Earlier Energy Transformation
ICSUSA Article March 2017 - In 1900, New York City had approximately 120,000 horses hauling people and goods around the streets of the city as “The Big Apple”, as it is now known, went about its daily business. Based on simple biology the horses in NYC alone delivered over 2 million pounds of manure per day on the city streets; every day. This horse power required livery stables, hundreds of blacksmith shops, wagon sales and repair businesses, wheelwright shops and hundreds more stores dealing in saddles, harnesses, hay, grain and more. . . .When we consider this, it was an amazing transformation to our economy and way of doing business. The dislocations to people, businesses, employees and other aspects of commerce at that time were huge. It was definitely a “climate change” as odors, flies, many diseases and related issues went away. . .

Climate Change: Strawberry or Watermelon Ice?
ICSUSA Article February 2017 - In a peer review paper published in Nature Communications in December 2016, a team of geobiologists from Germany and Britain collected samples from 16 glaciers across the Arctic. They found that the algae was widespread and that the normally green algae turned red upon exposure to ultraviolet rays; a kind of natural sunscreen which also happens to absorb heat . . . This inter-connectness of increasing global temperatures, decreased ice extent in the Arctic, increased amount of open water, algae blooms that absorb solar energy, and more, all work together to change Earth’s climate. And it is changing.

Volcanos and Climate Change: It’s All in the Numbers
ICSUSA Article January 2017 - This science is well understood and accepted by the rest of the world. At the Climate Conference in Marrakesh in November, 2016, 195 nations including the U.S. reaffirmed their commitment to reduce GHG emissions. See photo “We Will Move Ahead” taken at the conclusion of that meeting [courtesy COP22]. The goal is still to try to limit Earth’s temperature rise below 3.6°F [we are already plus 2°F higher than long term average]. So what can be done? There is a lot happening right now to reduce emissions. We are beginning to see a convergence of technologies, business opportunities, cost reductions, and policy leadership at the state and local level that all combine to begin the changeover from fossil fuels to renewables.