CO2 Carbon removal machine. Capturing CO2 from air
The Center for Negative Carbon Emissions (CNCE) at Arizona State University mission is to advance carbon management technologies that can capture carbon dioxide directly from ambient air in an outdoor operating environment. Our aim is to demonstrate systems that over time increase in scope, complexity, reliability and efficiency while lowering the cost of carbon dioxide capture from air. We also consider the economic, political, social and environmental ramifications that will arise with the availability of an affordable air capture technology. It is our long-term goal to make the CNCE the intellectual leader in this new field of sustainable energy infrastructure design critical to achieving a carbon negative energy economy.
Dr. Klaus Lackner is the director of Center for Negative Carbon Emissions and professor at the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University.
This segment was brought to you by Clearview Energy. They provide 100% renewable energy plans. visit them at https://www.clearviewenergy.com/
Discover how Earth’s intricate climate system is changing. Airing April 18, 2018 at 8 pm on PBS
Program Description
Disastrous hurricanes. Widespread droughts and wildfires. Withering heat. Extreme rainfall. It is hard not to conclude that something’s up with the weather, and many scientists agree. It’s the result of the weather machine itself—our climate—changing, becoming hotter and more erratic. In this two-hour documentary, NOVA will cut through the confusion around climate change. Why do scientists overwhelmingly agree that our climate is changing, and that human activity is causing it? How and when will it affect us through the weather we experience? And what will it take to bend the trajectory of planetary warming toward more benign outcomes? Join scientists around the world on a quest to better understand the workings of the weather and climate machine we call Earth, and discover how we can be resilient—even thrive—in the face of enormous change.
In 2017, 79 percent of climate change coverage on broadcast television networks was about one topic: Donald Trump.1 Not the latest climate science. Not the extreme weather events already happening all around the world. The vast majority of coverage focused only on Trump’s climate change denial and his steps to drag us backwards into the coal age.
Thanks to this terrible coverage, almost 90 percent of Americans don’t know that there is a scientific consensus on global warming.2 When news programs don’t inform Americans about the climate, we all lose.
Until the media starts doing its job, we won’t be able to build the political will to win the fight against climate change. Politicians at every level will be free to continue ignoring the issue and continue with the destructive policies that created this crisis.
Tell broadcast television networks: No more climate silence.
The media accountability group Media Matters for America recently published a study looking at climate coverage in 2017 on broadcast television networks ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and Fox. Not only was 79 percent of the total climate coverage about Trump, but Trump dominated virtually all of the coverage on Sunday news shows – 94 of 95 minutes.3
News programs regularly mention that Trump rejects the reality of climate change without discussing the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is not only real, but that it is an urgent problem driven by the burning of fossil fuels. Programs also ignore the links between climate change and extreme weather events, public health and national security.4
The climate crisis is getting worse, and it’s happening frighteningly fast. Sixteen of the 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001.5 Last year was the third year in a row that scientists recorded a record winter low in Arctic sea ice, and scientists also found record low sea ice in the Antarctic. 6 Carbon dioxide emissions are increasing again after being flat for three years.7
The news media has a responsibility to report accurately on the biggest environmental threat facing the planet. Having a climate change denier in the White House is no excuse to ignore the issue. In fact, Trump’s dangerous policies make accurate climate coverage more critical than ever.
Tell broadcast television networks: No more climate silence.
Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) will take over control of the space agency after seven-month standoff.
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), a former Navy pilot with no scientific credentials and who doesn’t believe humans are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis, to lead NASA.
Bridenstine will become the first elected official to hold the NASA administrator job. He joins a Cabinet already loaded with people who question the near-universal scientific consensus that climate change is real and that human activity is the primary cause.
The final vote ― which was 50-49 along party lines ― came one day after the Senate narrowly advanced Bridenstine’s nomination, thanks to an about-face from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and a key vote from Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). Rubio, who in September told Politico that he worried about Bridenstine’s nomination “could be devastating for the space program,” said in a statement Wednesday that he decided to support the nominee in order to avoid “a gaping leadership void” at NASA.
Today, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Jim Bridenstine as our 13th administrator. Once sworn in, he will oversee our ongoing mission of exploration and discovery. Welcome to the NASA family! pic.twitter.com/r1Eiyb13PY
Much like the procedural vote on Wednesday, which was temporarily deadlocked at 49-49, Thursday’s confirmation ultimately hinged on Flake, who voted in favor only after a bit of drama that included a long discussion with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and stepping out for a phone call, as CNN’s Manu Raju reports.
Bridenstine will replace Robert Lightfoot Jr., who has been serving as acting administrator since previous NASA administrator, Charles Bolden Jr., resigned from his post in January.
Climate Change News
Published on Apr 19, 2018
More than 95% of Earth’s population breathing dangerously polluted air, finds study.
Annual deaths from poor air have increased by 20 per cent since 1990
More than 95 per cent of the world’s population are breathing dangerously polluted air, with those in developing countries at considerably greater risk, facing a double whammy of breathing unsafe air both inside the home and out.
The air quality crisis has gained greater recognition as the impact of air pollution has been better quantified. Total air pollution was responsible for 6.1 million deaths in 2016, with ambient (outdoor) air pollution being the largest contributor, accounting for 4.1 million deaths, according to a large-scale study by the Health Effects Institute.
The problem is getting a lot worse as the Earth’s population has rapidly urbanised. Global deaths linked to ambient air pollution are estimated to have increased by 19.5 per cent from 3.3 million in 1990.
It means air pollution has become the 4th highest cause of death among all health risks, exceeded only by high blood pressure, diet, and smoking.
The report used new technology including satellite data in conjunction with greater levels of pollution monitoring, to assess the impact of air pollution across the globe.
Air pollution is a complex mixture of particles and gases which differs from region to region and even within cities, but fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is the measure used as the chief indicator of pollution levels.
It report says an estimated seven billion people, 95 per cent of the earth’s population, live in areas where (PM2.5) exceeds the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines, and that 60 per cent live in places where fine particulate matter exceeds even the least stringent WHO air quality targets.
The problem is most acute in Asia, with India and China accounting for over half (51 per cent) of all global deaths from ambient air pollution.
The report includes studies to identify the major sources of air pollution in these two countries.
Researchers found in China that coal-burning in industry, for power and for residential heating was the largest contributor to outdoor air pollution, followed by transport, residential biomass (solid fuel) burning, non-coal industry and open burning of agricultural land.
In India, the largest overall source of outdoor air pollution is from residential biomass burning, followed by coal-burning.
The report separately assesses levels and impacts of household air pollution, and points out that over a third of the planet’s population is exposed to pollution in the home where fine particulate matter can exceed air quality guidelines by as much as 20 times.
Despite the grim overall picture, China’s ambient air pollution has begun to see declines in recent years, as the government moves to tackle coal combustion. But in contrast, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India have experienced the steepest increases in air pollution levels since 2010.
“Air pollution takes a huge personal toll worldwide, making it difficult to breathe for those with respiratory disease, sending the young and old to hospital, missing school and work, and contributing to early death” said Bob O’Keefe, Vice President of HEI. “The trends we report show real progress in some parts of the world – but serious challenges remain to eliminate this avoidable affliction,” he added.
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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