[Apneaman]

planty, you have many climate/energy issues close to home.


Study: Big North Slope tundra fire sparked long-term permafrost thaw




The biggest wildfire to burn on treeless Arctic tundra triggered a dramatic permafrost thaw that unfolded over several years, new research finds.

A study published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports examines the effects of the 2007 Anaktuvuk River fire, which burned about 400 square miles of land on the North Slope, more than all previous North Slope tundra fires combined.

Long after the flames were extinguished on the surface, ice locked in the frozen earth below continued to melt, the study found, causing the land to slump and a pattern of angular ridges to emerge, said the study. "

more

http://www.adn.com/article/20151106/stu ... frost-thaw

[Hawkcreek]

I never understand how some look at minor reductions in FF use as a victory, when major ones could easily be made with conservation. If all homes and businesses were made anywhere near energy efficient, we could shut down a LOT of power plants. How come no one pushes that.
At least half of the power we use is wasted.
I still have a couple of ex-wives with $400-500 a month power bills while I can live perfectly comfortably on about $50 (equivalent - in battery replacement costs and an occasional bottle of propane for cooking).
I know everyone can't live like that, but I would like to see local opposition to Mc-mansions, and inefficient homes.

[Plantagenet]

I never understand how some look at minor reductions in FF use as a victory, when major ones could easily be made with conservation. If all homes and businesses were made anywhere near energy efficient, we could shut down a LOT of power plants. How come no one pushes that.

Yup. Exactly right.

Thats just what I've been saying. Duke Energy Corporation is spending 5 BILLON dollars to build a huge new natural gas pipeline to bring NG 500+ miles south from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to North Carolina to power huge fossil fuel power plants, and we're supposed to ignore the increase in CO2 emissions from the new FF power plants and hail it as some kind of a "win"?

How about skipping the pipeline megaproject and the new FF power plants and encouraging more conservation and building more wind and solar power plants? The coastal parts of North Caroline are famously windy, and studies show North Carolina could generate up to 1000 GIGAWATTS in wind energy just from the coastal regions.

north-carolina-offshore-wind-energy-1000-Gigawatts


Offshore wind energy farms have ZERO carbon emissions

[GHung]

Living in an all-or-nothing world ain't going to happen, but if folks don't want to be informed of small, incremental changes, brought about in part by local action, I'll stop. Few here have taken as many steps to reduce their fossil fuel use than I have, and being preached to by the likes of Plant is like sitting in church on Sunday listening to some guy I know is sodomising the Choir Boys preach celibacy and restraint.

Hawkcreek has a leg to stand on. The Plant keeps talking about things irrelevant to the post, as if it's coming from a position of having divested entirely from fossil fuels. It (the Plant) burns more fossil fuels on one of its plane trips than my family does in an entire year. I can smell a hypocrite a continent away.

Plant, your comments are transparent, exposing your own guilt, and nothing more than deflections. Burn it baby, burn it. Duke energy is transitioning to natural gas because it is being held accountable for its dismal record utilizing coal. Whatever the reason, I consider that to be an improvement, no matter how small. Maybe you can do a post on your transition away from fossil fuels so others can follow your leadership, tell us about your activism and sacrifices, and what you do to move your consumption to alternatives. Otherwise, I suggest you STFU.

[ROCKMAN]

Damn it Ghung...you done it again: make me sound like I'm on the plantmeister's side. LOL. At least just a little. There has be slow and so far minor shift to transport NE NG to the SE...especially to FL. A natural progression given how much Marcellus production has increased over Gulf Coast volumes. Still a long way to go but in 15 or 30 years most of the NG consonsumwd in the east will flow from north to south.

[GHung]

Sure, Rock, and how is this related to the root of my post? Those pipeline expansions were happening anyway; not related to the Asheville case as Plant continues to imply. Duke is building other natural gas plants in other areas, as are many utilities. Their original intent was to keep this coal plant open for an indefinite time-frame. The locals didn't like that. Duke had planned to use eminent domain to build an entire new transmission corridor. The locals didn't like that. Got Duke to change its plans.

That's what the post was about. Sorry you and plant are so ADD you can't focus on that. My point is that local organisations can foment change, not whether transitioning to natural gas will or won't change the world. I think you both know what my overall world view is.

I confronted plant with:

You ignore that there are net benefits to this change-over.

You ignore that Duke isn't building new electrical transmission corridors for this project.

You ignore that Duke isn't going to build a new pipeline for this project, only increasing capacity of the existing pipeline.

You ignore that there are other gains, such as no more waste ponds that leach pollutants into the water sheds, and elimination of heavy metals and sulphur.

You ignore that provably cleaner natural gas teamed with utility-scale solar will make a difference.

...and plant ignored it. Why? Because it's all true and the Plant can't defend that. Plant, instead, either continues to focus on irrelevancies or post things that simply aren't true; repeating lies. Defend that if you will.

[ROCKMAN]

Ghung - Have another cup of solar brewed coffee and read my post again. LOL. I was supporting your statements, you off grid loony: the future of SE electrical generation is NG. And perhaps much coming from PA some years down the road. LOL.

[GHung]

Sorry, Rock,,, and I brew my coffee with propane Very useful stuff that; so useful we use about 80 gallons a year. Yes; I'm guilty of that.

[crawls off to pour another cup]

[Hawkcreek]

This crew is all crazy.
But it is too rainy to work outside today, so yall are the only entertainment I can find.

[Plantagenet]

Plant.....Defend that if you will.

No problemo.

I've linked to corporate documents and academic studies and news reports that support everything I say. Click the links in my posts above and read the facts.

OK--now that I've answered your question, please answer mine---I don't get why you are so upset here.

You think Duke Energy Corporation and their plans to spend billions to build a 500+ mile long new NG pipeline across the Appalachian mountains to bring NG from Pennsylvania to NC along with Duke Energy's plans to build multiple new fossil fuel power plants is a "win" and a "victory" because as part of those plans Duke has dropped their proposal to build a 50 mile power line transmission corridor into the Appalachian Mountains. OK---thats your opinion. I get that. Congrats on your big win there.

I have a different opinion --- I agree with you that it is a good thing that in new plan Duke won't build a power corridor into Asheville. However, if you actually read Duke's plan (its in your own link), you'll see that it calls for building new FF power plants in NC. I think it would be smarter for Duke Energy and North Caroline to build more wind power plants and fewer FF power plants. The potential for wind energy in NC is HUGE!!!! Estimates runs as high as 1000 GW of potential wind power in NC, just at the coast. And unlike FF power plants, wind energy doesn't release any CO2.

The problem with the Duke Energy plan that you support so strongly is that it results in higher CO2 emissions from NC. CO2 production from FF power plants causes Greenhouse warming, dude. Global Warming is changing the Earth's climate and causing sea level to rise and producing droughts, among other bad effects. We need to be decreasing CO2 emissions, not increasing them as you are doing in NC. Think for a bit and consider those facts, if indeed you ever consider the facts.


So Gung...Why do you go ballistic if someone questions Duke Energy's plans to build multiple new FF power plants? Are you an employee of the Duke Energy Corporation ?--- do you own stock in Duke? Why all the anger? Or is this whole thread just a by product of you being over caffeinated as you suggested to rockman in your post above?

Cheers!

[ROCKMAN]

Plant - Watch those caffeine cracks, bud. It’s the only way some of us can function. LoL. In my case with high BP I promise my wide I have only one cup per day at work. Which I do…except I skip the fact that the one cup holds three expresso shots. But it is just “one cup”. Mug, actually. Shhh…don’t tell her.

[Plantagenet]

Plant - Watch those caffeine cracks, bud. It’s the only way some of us can function. LoL. In my case with high BP I promise my wife I have only one cup per day at work. Which I do…except I skip the fact that the one cup holds three expresso shots. But it is just “one cup”. Mug, actually. Shhh…don’t tell her.

lol

Take care of the BP, Rman.

We need you to stay healthy so you can give us that insider's view of the oil biz.

[Apneaman]

ghung, I get ya. I have done many shutdowns on coal fired boilers and that is some nasty shit even with the scrubbers and precipitators running (and a little bird once told me they ain't always running like they are supposed to). Those emissions affect health on a local level and especially with the children. Lungs and brain development. Not too kind to the elderly and sick either. So yes it is a victory, for the local folks. And yes planty is a passive aggressive, hypocritical, game playing attention whore. Her/it's concerns on AGW are valid and I am still going to take credit since I have gone to some effort to show her/it the local consequences and it was not out of concern;) She surely shows much more AGW concern and less FF cheerleading since I been coming round. Anyone can check her comment history if they don't remember or believe me. It's certainly possible that it's just a coincidence, but I don't really care. I just prefer to believe it was me - feels better knowing I pulled plantys roots out.

[Apneaman]

Even Moderate Air Pollution Could Trigger Severe Heart Attacks: Study

New findings link modest particulate pollution to heart risks in people with coronary disease.



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... acks-study