Sammy loves electric vehicles

http://www.zeva.com.au/

Added a link to the electric vehicle website for Australia. Check out Clarckson's review of the Telsa. Imagine if he got hold of a wrightspeed!

200km/h all electric road bike + an emissions free moto GP.

http://www.gizmag.com/the-worlds-first-125-mph-electric-road-legal-motorcycle/10459/

Blogging

On nights

Well I'm on nights again after a long stint on the surgical wards in Alice Springs which left me with no time for doing anything including writing down my interesting internet discoveries.

So for tonight I have found "better place" the Electric Vehicle companies who wants to rent the world batteries for their cars. It sounds fantastic.

http://www.cnet.com.au/how-better-place-plans-to-revive-the-electric-car-339294851.htm

and

http://australia.betterplace.com/

Also I found people who make hybrid drive for a yacht (but I can not afford it. No way.)

http://www.hybrid-marine.co.uk/9.html

Ahh internet. What would I do without you?

Half of it! eek

According to the CIA the worlds GDP is 54.62 trillion. Therefore the below clearly off the wall plan would cost approximately half of the worlds GDP. Bummer. 

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/xx.html

Carbon sequestration algae

27 500 000 000 / 1 200 000 000

= 23 x worlds military budget.....

okay what is the worlds GDP?

It's 1.2 trillion. 

http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending

economic issues

Okay. I think i read $50 a Tonne.

So 50 000 000 hectares x 110 tonnes per hectare + 50 per tonne = 27 500 000 000 million dollars per year.....

What is world expenditure on arms?

50 000 000 hectares

Only half the size of south Australia (approx 100 000 sq kilometres)

So not that much really....

now I know I didn't calculate ongoing emissions. But there are alot of other techniques. We don't have to rely on just sequestering algae..

There are a "few" logistical/technical/economic issues with producing that much algae. But there is alot of non-ariable land out there... and if your just dumping it in the ocean the algae could be transported as sludge.

I wonder what the economic issues are?

50 million hectares

That is the same amount as currently planted with GM crops! 

www.europabio.org/articles/article_111_EN.pdf

South Australia is 100 000 000 square kilometers, and mostly desert. So if you grow algae and pump into into the ocean sediments you can sequester the amount of CO2 that humans produced historically in 100 years.

And hooray for that.

(they maybe a few other consideration outside of land....) 

Tonnes per hectare

using that CSIRO paper mentioned ealier algal ponds produce 110t/ha/yr

Okay. Lets aim to have all historical human emissions out of the atmosphere in 100 years (ignoring ongoing emissions at this stage; eggh)

So 780 billion tonnes X 1/1.5 = 520 billion tonnes

520 billion / 110  (tonnes/hectare) x 100 (years)= 50 000 000 hectares. 

Alot....

how much?

Algae sequestration

I have been looking around for how much CO2 algae sequestors per unit.

Best info so far is 1.25-1.75 tonnes of CO2 per of tonne of algae. Which is good. Less mass of algae than for pure CO2 (presumably because photosynthesis produces oxygen and stores carbon).

So we need to bury 1.00/1.5 (middle) X 780 X 10^15 = 520 billion tonnes.

How about in the sediments at the bottom of the ocean? plenty of room!

How much CO₂ can be utilized by growing 1 tonne of algae?

This ultimately depends on the algae strain and available nutrients, however, 1 tonne of algae can sequester about 1.5-1.75 tonnes of CO_2. CO₂ consumption is based on the overall lipid-protein-carbohydrates balance of the final algae. CO₂ incorporation is ultimately based upon the overall algae composition that results in the macromolecule composition of the harvested algae. These macromoleculesmolecules are between 40 and 80% carbon with an average composition of 50% carbon.

http://www.dynamicbiogenics.com/page1.html

How to make algal ponds

http://www.csiro.au/files/files/poit.pdf

de-acidifying the ocean?

The water treatment facilities worldwide "would remove hydrochloric acid from the ocean by electrolysis and neutralize the acid through reactions with silicate minerals or rocks," according to a statement from the American Chemical Society. "The reaction increases the alkalinity of the ocean and its ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The process is similar to the natural weathering reactions that occur among silicate rocks but works at a much faster rate." 

http://news.mongabay.com/2007/1120-geoengineering.html

But I have to ask again. How much of these rocks are available? It would want to be a lot!

how to sequestor carbon?

Well if we had to trap it using chemical weathering (the most stable way) it would probably weigh a lot more

Using this ideal case, one ton of serpentine can dispose of approximately one-half ton of CO2. Reaction 3 illustrates the transformation of forsterite, which is the end member of the common silicate mineral olivine. One ton of olivine can dispose of approximately two-thirds of a ton of CO2. Again, the reaction is exothermic and releases 90 KJ/mole of CO2

and there wouldn't be enough raw material available to do it....

Vast Capacity - Raw materials for binding the CO2 exist in vast quantities across the 

globe.  Readily accessible deposits exist in quantities that far exceed even the most 

optimistic estimate of coal reserves (~10,000 × 109 tons) (5). 

 (http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/carbon_seq/6c1.pdf). 

not to mention mining all that rock would chop up the environment fairly badly (on the scale that coal is now)

What mass of CO2 have humans put into the atmosphere?

Wikipedia: Carbon dioxide [has] an average concentration of 385 ppm by volume or 582 ppm by mass. The mass of the Earths atmosphere is 5.14x10^18kg, so the total mass of carbon dioxide is 3.0x10^15kg (3,000 gigatonnes).

From various sources I know that pre-industrial CO2 was around 285 ppm by volume. The ratio won't change if I use volume rather than mass, so;

(100/385) X 3000 x 10^15 = 779 X 10^15kg.

If you read this, and no-one does, please correct the above in the comments

Cheers

Sam.

Carbon Capture

http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13174375

Sailing Plans

Sam,

Thank you for contacting me and I sure can help you achieve your dream.

In July 2008, I sailed with a Doctor who was achieving his dream, by sailing
to New Caledonia on his new yacht (Island Packet) and then he and his wife
sailed back themselves. They had previously undertook sailing training with
me.

If you and your partner want to undertake courses together, then I can
arrange this - I will take you from beginning to wherever (even Celestial
navigation if you want). The courses need not necessarily follow a strict
regime but I would incorporate all the curricula for RYA/YA to satisfy the
course requirements - only personalise it to suit you both, and provide the
certification which is recognised globally.

There are a number of texts that I supply as part of the courses but in the
meantime, here are some other suggestions...

Introduction for Boat Handling for Sail and Power by Rob Gibson
Weather Handbook by Chris Tibbs
Navigation Handbook by Tim Bartlett

(all the above published through the RYA and available from Yachting
Australia or Boat Books, Australia).

Another good collection of information is published by Jim Murrant -
available on CD or books (see my website)

When you are back (closer to the coast than Alice Springs) I would suggest
you begin with a Competent Crew course which can be run over a number of
weekends or 5 days straight - staying aboard the yacht for the 5 days.

I am booked out until May and all of August so if you can let me know dates
(as best as you can) and if you still want to proceed, I can 'pencil' some
time in that will suit us all.

I can provide a Navigation and Safety course via correspondence and this
might help you with some 'idle' hours (if there is such a thing) in Alice.
Let me know!

If you want the above books and have any trouble in getting them, just let
me know and I will arrange it for you.

In the meantime, thanks again for your email and I look forward to helping
you both achieve your sailing dream.

Regards

Chris Griffiths
Master Class
0418 442755
www.masterclass-sailing.com

Letter to Ministry of Climate Change

Ministry for Climate Change
info@coomatechcentre.com.au
1800057590

Dr Samuel Maloney
samuel.maloney@gmail.com
0413496725

To whom it may concern

Re: Video link to Alice Springs

As a follow-up to the session, an I hope I haven't sent this already.

1) What measures are being used to provide price surety for Australian CO2 sequestration/reduction processes under the CPRS? Will the government consider a floor price for carbon permits?

3) Will the government consider a floor price on petrol to give the manufactures of fuel efficient transport certainty in the Australian market place?

2) What other legislative measures are being provided to enhance Australia's resilience to a carbon price? Has the government considered for example:
a) Mandatory efficiency standards (eg transport, buildings, industrial and home appliances)?
b) a "Smart Grid" (to facilitate a better electricity market, allowing renewable and distributed energy to compete)?
c) Changing the regulatory frame work to reward electricity producers to for reducing demand?
d) Expanding MRET?
e) Expanding public transport?
etc?

3) What does the ministry think about Denmark's experience from a carbon tax? Will the government consider putting the money raised from the CPRS into power infrastructure (a smart grid DC high voltage lines, etc) efficiency, and innovation? Would that create a situation where while fuel and electricity prices go up, high cost usage goes down, and creates jobs are created? Would this decrease the impact on vulnerable individuals more than tax cuts?

Thank you for taking the time to look at these questions.

Yours


Dr Sam Maloney.

Solar Panels and such

I am waiting to meet with the ED director in Alice Springs to see about orientation tomorrow.

In the mean time I had a hunt around on the Internet to see if there was a portable way to decrease my coal (diesel in Alice, yikes) powered electricity emissions.

and I found this http://solaronline.com.au/page/solar_trailer_systems.html

Looks nearly workable. Most of the electricity that we are using is during the day to power the air conditioner (although, there is a terrible fridge, which I am sure is not helping at all. Tempted to just turn it off!)

Complicated issues, and hard to hand over the money when we move around so much and plan to move on to a Yacht so soon; Might be more cost efficient to wait.

anyway...

Sam.

Alice Springs nights

Alice Springs, ED department star date Jan 2009 ;

Day one evenings. Orientatation: Nil. Not much happening. Alice Springs triage is a seat with no screen. There is no seclusion room. Seems agitated people are sat on then sedated. Drunk people are discharged.
Day two nights: Orientation nil: Still not alot happening. Apparently I also cover the wards to, excellent, where is surgical??

Alice Springs Post No 2

George Monbiot "Bring on the Apocolypse"
Thomas Friedman's "Hot, flat and crowded"

I really enjoy pop politics books. I really do.... both of these were excellent.

Where to next?

Alice Springs etc

G'day

I'm in the Alice now and enjoying the heat. We have been here for a couple of days, and it is great to be back. Trip up went well, and we had a good time in Melbourne.

I am having a good time with wedding organisation. Still haven't managed to get Sara's ring yet.....

Managed to get out for a climb at the horseyard crag, led a grade 10 called tunnel vision which went well for a first climb back. We've been swimming at the pool a bit. We're staying at Ghan's place in Gillen, which is good.

I've been running around getting all the "sign on" paperwork sorted out and writing a bunch of letters. I'll be starting a new blog with Sara to keep a record of our movements and goings on. I'll keep this blog though for bits and pieces....probably post on both.

Cheers