Further adding to biofuel hatred

Just wanted to add the following image which compares the amount of tonnes of CO2 per hectare that is avoided in terms of crop usage and cover. This further puts emphasis that going down the biofuel route will get us nowhere in terms of emissions reductions.

In brief:

"...reforestation would sequester between two and nine times as much carbon over 30 years than would be saved by burning biofuels instead of gasoline."

"You get far more carbon sequestered by planting forests than you avoid emissions by producing biofuels on the same land"


Source: New Scientist

Dinosouar Race

Just have look and see what some researchers have been up to.

The have created a computerised race between five virtual dinouars, a human, an emu and an ostrich. Apart from the fun and curiosity, let me increase that awe to highlight the findings arising from this study:

Top speeds:

3kg chicken-sized compsognathus: 40mph (18m/s)
20kg velociraptor: 24.2mph
430kg crested dilophosasurus: 23.5mph
1½-tonne allosaurus: 21mph
6-tonne T rex: 17.9mph (8m/s)
Emu: 30mph
Ostrich: 35mph
human: 17.7 mph

For the latter, is should be noted that world class 200m sprinters may reach a top speed of 27mph (12m/s).

Sources: The Guardian and BBC

Swansea on the way

In a recent post, Time to blog, I mentioned how I had the chance of going to Swansea, Wales for a 4-day planning workshop. I managed to secure a place and will fly off to Heathrow Airport on Sunday 2nd September. From there, the guys from the planningsummerschool will be there and take care of me for the rest of my stay in Wales.

Excellent.

I shall be coming back the following Saturday mid-afternoon. I shall go home change, grab my bag and drive to Gozo. Baanisuu and all our friends will be there. I shall stay there for I day.

Then Monday, back to work.

Biofuel sucks!

For all those green guys and gals out there who support biofuels (petrol and diesel extracted from plants):

Biofuels switch a mistake, say researchers

In a few words, it transpires that growing biofuels is likely to have a worse effect on the environment than using fossil fuels. Here's and extract from the article posted on The Guardian:

Increasing production of biofuels to combat climate change will release between two and nine times more carbon gases over the next 30 years than fossil fuels...

Biofuel policy is rushing ahead without understanding the implications...

Reforesting the land would be a better way to reduce emissions...

As always we are looking to quick fix methods without realising the implications of such actions. Policymakers and world leaders should take note of such studies since they have set targets on switching to biofuels. So what should we do?

...the emphasis should be placed on increasing the efficiency of fossil fuel use and moving to carbon-free alternatives such as renewable energy...

Recent interesting readings (on climate change and stuff)

Solar power - in the rain

Most of us would love to run our homes on solar power - if only it wasn't so unreliable, cumbersome and expensive. But thanks to a pioneering factory in Wales, those objections may not apply for much longer. Guardian Unlimited

The Earth fights back

Never mind higher temperatures, climate change has a few nastier surprises in store. Bill McGuire says we can also expect more earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and tsunamis. Guardian Unlimited

Tropical storms stepping up with climate change

Major shifts in the number of North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes are due to climate change, not cyclic events, says a new analysis New Scientist

Flying windmills could harness the jet stream

Currently at prototype stage, the novel devices could exploit an enormous resource of reliable, renewable energy New Scientist