MISSION STATEMENT
As conversations of weather occurrences and suggested anomalies become
more frequent and mainstream in the scientific community, as well as at
the grass-roots-level, the need to embrace and index substantive
information into an authoritative conduit to encourage more research and
development~~~IS IMPERATIVE.
Pertinent themes as Global Warming, Climate Change, and Melting Ice Caps
has stimulated discussions, seeded forums, and spawned additional
research, all to foster consensus, and recommend courses-of-action.
The intent of CLIMATE; THE CONVERSATION, is to be The Bulletin Board,
The Platform, The Podium, and The Credible Source & Bibliography
for such astute, sincere, and scholarly considerations.
Sincerely;
Administrators:
Andrew M. Marconi
Lou Marconi
""""""Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could soon gain ground on electric cars in the race to develop zero-emission cars, according to a new report.
ReplyDeleteThe auto industry is seeing a convergence of factors that make fuel cell cars more viable, according to the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis.
Major automakers are pushing the technology. Hyundai began leasing its Tucson fuel cell crossover in Southern California earlier this year, targeting the handful of communities that have hydrogen fueling stations. Toyota and Honda plan to bring out their first mass-market fuel cell vehicles next year.
UC Davis transit experts say the key to this rollout is building clusters of hydrogen stations in urban and regional markets.
“We seem to be tantalizingly close to the beginning of a hydrogen transition,” said Joan Ogden, a UC Davis environmental science professor and director of Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways. “The next three to four years will be critical for determining whether hydrogen vehicles are just a few years behind electric vehicles, rather than decades.”
The researchers calculated that a targeted regional investment of $100 million to $200 million in support of 100 stations for about 50,000 fuel cell vehicles would be enough to make hydrogen cost-competitive with gasoline on a cost-per-mile basis. And that investment is poised to happen in at least three places: California, Germany and Japan. California, for example, plans to spend $46 million to build 28 hydrogen fuel stations.
Also helping pave the way for the zero-emission cars are the continually declining expenses for the development of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen station components, the report says. Ample low-cost natural gas for making hydrogen also helps.
Once people get the chance to see and drive the cars, consumer acceptance should be good, Ogden said.
“Hydrogen fuel cell cars offer consumer value similar or superior to today’s gasoline cars,” Ogden said. “The technology readily enables large vehicle size, a driving range of 300 to 400 miles, and a fast refueling time of three to five minutes.”
Other factors powering adoption of the hydrogen cars include:
Hydrogen cars can become a realistic option if all the people who have wind turbines, use existing technology to produce the hydrogen in a cheap and eco-friendly way. Certainly, in the UK, we could power the cars throughout England, Wales and Scotland. It would also provide additional income...
mountstamper
—Consumer incentives such as vehicle purchase subsidies, tax exemptions, free parking and access to freeway carpool lanes.
—Global public funding of $1 billion a year for research and development of hydrogen cars and infrastructure. Moreover, UC Davis calculates that automakers have spent more than $9 billion on fuel cell development.
Near-term prospects for plentiful, low-cost hydrogen are good because of the boom in natural gas. The researchers said that cost effectively producing low-carbon hydrogen from renewable sources holds promise for greater greenhouse gas emission reductions.
But Ogden said fuel cell vehicles still face many bumps in the road.
“Hydrogen faces a range of challenges, from economic to societal, before it can be implemented as a large-scale transportation fuel,” Ogden said. “The question isn’t whether fuel cell vehicles are technically ready: They are. But how do you build confidence in hydrogen’s future for investors, fuel suppliers, automakers, and, of course, for consumers?”
Follow me on Twitter (@LATimesJerry)"""""""""
It is important to show and discuss the viable considerations that are manifesting themselves in the arena of ALTERNATIVES to the internal-combustion-engine. These are not periphery theories. This is very very near mainstream implementation. Its impact on the economy, pollution, and the focus on Climate; The Conversation---makes this worthy of continued enthusiasm.
Lou Marconi
Posted by The Dignified Writer at 9:32 AM
Lou Marconi Recommended: Climate change: Is your opinion informed by science? Take our quiz! Featured in: THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR part III
ReplyDelete17. Since 1978, the annual minimum of Arctic sea ice has decreased by how much?
30 percent
40 percent
50 percent
60 percent
1978 was the first time satellites were used to observe ice at the Arctic. Since then, the yearly minimum sea ice extent during the summer melt season has decreased by 40 percent. This has increased the amount of open water (lower albedo than ice) available to absorb sunlight and return it to the atmosphere later as heat. This change in albedo has has amplified the warming in the Arctic. [Editor's note: The question has been updated to specify "annual minimum" of Arctic sea ice.]
.
18. What part of the world is observing increases in sea ice?
Arctic
Greenland
Alaska
Antarctica
In June 2014, scientists recorded the largest Antarctic sea ice extent ever. The sea ice covered about 15.26 million square kilometers. This surpassed the previous record, set in 2010, by 260,000 square kilometers. Some scientists see evidence that the air around Antarctica is warming, and warmer air can hold more moisture. That moisture leads to more snow falling on the ocean around Antarctica, which makes the ocean less salty and dense. Less salty water is able to freeze at a higher temperature.
19. By how much has the average global sea level risen in the last century?
6.7 inches
1.9 feet
1.5 feet
2.2 feet
The average global sea level has risen 6.7 inches, or 17 centimeters, in the past century. However, the rate of change has doubled in the last decade. Between 1870 and 2000, the sea level rose at an average of 1.70 millimeters a year. From 1993-present it has risen at an average of 3.17 millimeters a year. This is caused by thermal expansion caused by warmer ocean water and the melting of glaciers and the polar ice caps. Sea-level changes vary widely by location. The East coast of the US is a hot spot for sea-level changes, which could impact major US cities.
20. Which sector of the economy accounts for the largest source of US greenhouse gas emissions?
Electricity
Industry
Transportation
Residential
Agriculture
Electricity accounted for 32 percent of total US greenhouse gas emissions in 2012. The majority of that came from burning coal. Transportation is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. [Editor's note: This response has been updated for clarification. Electricity accounted for 32 percent of total US greenhouse gas emissions in 2012. For just carbon dioxide emissions, the sector accounted for 38 percent of US emissions. In either case, it was the largest source of emissions in 2012.]
21. If there were no natural greenhouse effect, what would the average temperature on Earth be?
20 degrees F.
0 degrees F.
50 degrees F.
75 degrees F.
Without greenhouse gases the temperature on Earth would be 0 degrees F. With the greenhouse effect, the average temperature on Earth is 59 degrees F.
August 30 at 3:04pm · Like
22. Do volcanoes emit more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than humans?
Yes
No
Lou Marconi Land and submarine volcanoes emit about 260 million metric tons of CO2 per year, researchers estimate. Human use of fossil fuels and CO2 emissions through land-use changes deliver more than 30 billion metric tons of the gas a year to the atmosphere – more than 100 times the annual emissions from volcanoes.
23. What term is used to describe a periodic trend of warming air from the Pacific?
La Niña
During El Niño events, global average temperatures tend to be warmer than normal, while during La Niña events, temperatures tend to be cooler than normal. Since 1950, both the cooler-than-normal La Niña periods and the warmer-than-normal El Niño periods have been warming over time. This shows that this natural cycle appears to be superimposed on a longer-term warming trend.
Lou Marconi
Lou Marconi Recommended: Climate change: Is your opinion informed by science? Take our quiz! Featured in: THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR part I
ReplyDelete1. What is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere?
Carbon dioxide
Methane
Water vapor
Oxygen
Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, but temperature determines the amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold. Carbon dioxide plays a key role in regulating long-term temperature trends. Scientists are concerned about rising CO2 levels, which have been increasing since the Industrial Revolution as humans burn coal, oil, and gas.
2. Greenhouse gases absorb which type of radiation, trapping heat in the atmosphere?
Visible light
Ultraviolet
X-rays
Infrared
The Earth's surface absorbs the sun's visible light and emits infrared radiation back toward space. Greenhouse gases absorb and re-emit the infrared radiation in all directions, including back toward Earth.
3) Which of the following is the most potent greenhouse gas?
Methane
Carbon dioxide
Ozone
Argon
Methane is more efficient than carbon dioxide at trapping heat. But the atmosphere contains much less methane than CO2, which stays in the atmosphere much longer. It takes about a decade for a fresh methane molecule to leave the atmosphere. A fresh CO2 molecule can stick around for millenniums.
4) Who first wrote about the connection between Earth’s temperature and heat-absorbing gases?
Martin Lowry (1874-1936)
John Tyndall (1820-1893)
Al Gore (1948-present)
Jacobus Henricus 't Hoff (1852-1911)
Tyndall's paper On the Absorption and Radiation of Heat by Gases and Vapours, and on the Physical Connexion of Radiation, Absorption, and Conduction in 1861, was the first to establish, if shakily, that CO2, water vapor, and other gases had radiative properties, although others had speculated similarly before.
5) What percent of the sun's energy is reflected by Earth?
20
30
40
50
About 30 percent of the sun's visible light is reflected by clouds, atmospheric particles, snow, and ice. That leaves 70 percent to be absorbed by the oceans, land, and plant cover to be returned to the atmosphere as heat. This relative reflectiveness, or albedo, also plays a role in keeping cities warmer than the surrounding countryside as dark roofs and large areas covered with asphalt – surfaces with low albedo – contribute to what is called the urban heat-island effect.
6. Which of the following natural processes removes carbon from the atmosphere?
Photosynthesis
Water cycle
Respiration
Nitrogen Cycle
Plants turn carbon dioxide into sugars and starches during photosynthesis, locking the carbon up in their tissues. On average, during their lifetimes plants return to the atmosphere about half of the CO2 they absorb. When they die and decompose, virtually all of their carbon returns to the atmosphere as CO2. If plants (or animals) are buried before they can decompose on the surface and remain buried, heat and pressure over millions of years turn them into deposits of coal, oil, and gas. CO2 from coal burned in a power plant today represents a return to the atmosphere of carbon long sequestered deep underground, away from the climate system.
Lou Marconi
Lou Marconi Recommended: Climate change: Is your opinion informed by science? Take our quiz! Featured in: THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR part II
ReplyDelete7. From 1800 to 2012, the amount of atmospheric CO2 has increased by how much?
20 percent
30 percent
40 percent
50 percent
Since pre-industrial times, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 40 percent. Half of that increase has come since 1970. Additionally, the amount of methane in the atmosphere has increased by 150 percent.
8. How much has the average global surface temperature increased since 1900?
1 degrees F.
1.4 degrees F.
2 degrees F.
2.4 degrees F.
Since 1900, the temperature of the atmosphere has risen 1.4 degrees F. Each of the last three decades has been warmer than any other decade.
9. Scientists have recorded warming in which of these layers of the atmosphere?
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Ozone
Thermosphere
Over the past 30 to 40 years, as the troposphere (the major layer of the atmosphere closest to the surface), resumed warming after a 30- to 40-year pause, the stratosphere has cooled. The main reason is that fluorine-, chlorine-, and bromine-based industrial compounds have destroyed stratospheric ozone, which is a greenhouse gas. But the stratosphere also has been cooling because greenhouse gases in the troposphere have trapped more heat there.
10. April 2014 was the first month that carbon dioxide concentration levels in the atmosphere went above …
350 parts per million
390 parts per million
400 parts per million
410 parts per million
This is the highest concentration of CO2 the atmosphere has held in at least 800,000 years and more likely in 20 million years. Scientists expect the atmosphere to reach that average level on an annual basis next year. CO2 emissions are exceeding levels that would have provided a 50-50 chance of holding the increase in global average temperatures to about 2 degrees Celsius by 2100.
11. Is global warming the main cause of the hole in the ozone layer?
yes
no
The ozone hole refers to destruction of ozone molecules in the stratosphere, mainly concentrated over Antarctica. A smaller, less dramatic hole appear over the Arctic. Ozone has thinned due mainly to fluorine-, chlorine-, and bromine-based industrial compounds. These were incorporated into widely used products like refrigerants, propellants for spray cans, and foam furniture cushions. The decline in ozone over Antarctic appears to have been arrested in the early to mid 1990s, and its size has been trending smaller since the mid 2000s.
12. About how many pounds of carbon dioxide are released by burning one gallon of gasoline?
1
5
10
18
Even though a gallon of gasoline weighs only six pounds, when it is burned the carbon in the gas combines with the oxygen in the air, producing 18 pounds of carbon dioxide.
13. About how many tons of carbon dioxide does the average American emit annually?
2
10
20
100
Lou Marconi When national emissions are calculated on a per-person basis, the average American consumes goods and services that generate about 19.74 tons of CO2 per year, according to the United Nations Statistics Division. Qatar tops the list of per capita emitters, with the average Qatari spewing more than 55 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. On a national basis, China is the top CO2 emitter, followed by the US, India, Russia, and Japan, based on 2012 emissions estimates.
14. What causes ocean acidification?
The increase in ocean wildlife due to warmer water temperatures.
Carbon dioxide dissolves into water to form a weak acid.
Minerals deposited into the water from the melting Arctic ice.
Increased industrialization means more chemical spills into the ocean.
Oceans have absorbed about a third of the carbon dioxide created from human activities, decreasing the pH level. The ocean holds about 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere. Due to acidification, less calcium carbonate is available for building structures such as shells or coral reefs. Other effects include lower growth rates, reduce the immune responses among some species.
Lou Marconi Recommended: Climate change: Is your opinion informed by science? Take our quiz! Featured in: THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
ReplyDeletepart IV
15. What is the hottest year on record since 1880?
1970
1934
2010
1998
The temperature in 2010 was 1.19 degrees F. above the 20th century average, making it the hottest year since records began in 1880.
16. Out of the top 10 hottest years, how many were in the 20th century?
0
1
2
3
1998 is the only year from the 20th century to be one of the 10 hottest years ever recorded. The other nine are years from the 21st century. Here are the top 10 hottest years on record, starting with the hottest: 2010, 2005, 1998, 2013, 2003, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2007, 2004, 2012.
Lou Marconi