'Tim Flannery, head of the climate council, said last week he was keen to meet Newman to discuss his understanding of climate science because the businessman appeared to have “little regard for science and facts”.
'In other major news, a long needed revision to the 400-year sunspot record was proposed. It’ll be the first change made to the sunspot record since it was first established by Rudolf Wolf back in 1849. The changes will affect long-term climate and other dependent scientific studies.
'One effect of the proposal will be to reduce modern sunspot totals. That will wipe out the so-called “Modern Maximum” and make the current sunspot cycle, Cycle 24, the weakest in 200 years.'
IVANPAH DRY LAKE, Calif. — Aug 18, 2014, 2:15 PM ET
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and JOHN LOCHER Associated Press
Workers at a state-of-the-art solar plant in the Mojave Desert have a name for birds that fly through the plant's concentrated sun rays — "streamers," for the smoke plume that comes from birds that ignite in midair.
Federal wildlife investigators who visited the BrightSource Energy plant last year and watched as birds burned and fell, reporting an average of one "streamer" every two minutes, are urging California officials to halt the operator's application to build a still-bigger version.
The investigators want the halt until the full extent of the deaths can be assessed. Estimates per year now range from a low of about a thousand by BrightSource to 28,000 by an expert for the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group.
The deaths are "alarming. It's hard to say whether that's the location or the technology," said Garry George, renewable-energy director for the California chapter of the Audubon Society. "There needs to be some caution."
The bird kills mark the latest instance in which the quest for clean energy sometimes has inadvertent environmental harm. Solar farms have been criticized for their impacts on desert tortoises, and wind farms have killed birds, including numerous raptors.
"We take this issue very seriously," said Jeff Holland, a spokesman for NRG Solar of Carlsbad, California, the second of the three companies behind the plant. The third, Google, deferred comment to its partners.
The $2.2 billion plant, which launched in February, is at Ivanpah Dry Lake near the California-Nevada border. The operator says it's the world's biggest plant to employ so-called power towers.
More than 300,000 mirrors, each the size of a garage door, reflect solar rays onto three boiler towers each looming up to 40 stories high. The water inside is heated to produce steam, which turns turbines that generate enough electricity for 140,000 homes.
Sun rays sent up by the field of mirrors are bright enough to dazzle pilots flying in and out of Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Federal wildlife officials said Ivanpah might act as a "mega-trap" for wildlife, with the bright light of the plant attracting insects, which in turn attract insect-eating birds that fly to their death in the intensely focused light rays.
Federal and state biologists call the number of deaths significant, based on sightings of birds getting singed and falling, and on retrieval of carcasses with feathers charred too severely for flight.
Larry's comment: A claim that something is 'good for the environment' can be meaningless. Environmental 'health' is a multidimensional concept, which usually involves trade-offs of conflicting environmental goals.
In this case, birds are pitted against the Flying CO2 Monster. I don't know how far South and East the range of the California Condor extends. The state of California has spent tens of millions of dollars in a heroic effort to bring these magnificent birds back from the brink of extinction. It would be a shame if bird-fryers (solar -thermal power plants) and bird-choppers (wind turbines) did them in after all of that hard work.
The leader of the party that controls the senate numbers calls our largest trading partners mongrels and bastards and silly Penny Wong continues to look silly. Wouldn't they scream if it was a member of the Coalition?
A new study shows a reduction in relative humidity since 1870 over the Tibetan plateau. Also there is a stronger relationship to solar activity than GHGs. Much lower now than the average over the last 800 years.,
Disgusting display from another so called indigenous leader. Funding for these people should be removed ASAP. How can anyone expect an improvement in indigenous education and job prospects when their leaders ??? behave like this?
This would be a terrific bout.
'Tim Flannery, head of the climate council, said last week he was keen to meet Newman to discuss his understanding of climate science because the businessman appeared to have “little regard for science and facts”.
Guardian / Taylor
'In other major news, a long needed revision to the 400-year sunspot record was proposed. It’ll be the first change made to the sunspot record since it was first established by Rudolf Wolf back in 1849. The changes will affect long-term climate and other dependent scientific studies.
'One effect of the proposal will be to reduce modern sunspot totals. That will wipe out the so-called “Modern Maximum” and make the current sunspot cycle, Cycle 24, the weakest in 200 years.'
GWPF
Emerging Solar Plants Scorch Birds in Mid-Air
IVANPAH DRY LAKE, Calif. — Aug 18, 2014, 2:15 PM ET
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and JOHN LOCHER Associated Press
Workers at a state-of-the-art solar plant in the Mojave Desert have a name for birds that fly through the plant's concentrated sun rays — "streamers," for the smoke plume that comes from birds that ignite in midair.
Federal wildlife investigators who visited the BrightSource Energy plant last year and watched as birds burned and fell, reporting an average of one "streamer" every two minutes, are urging California officials to halt the operator's application to build a still-bigger version.
The investigators want the halt until the full extent of the deaths can be assessed. Estimates per year now range from a low of about a thousand by BrightSource to 28,000 by an expert for the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group.
The deaths are "alarming. It's hard to say whether that's the location or the technology," said Garry George, renewable-energy director for the California chapter of the Audubon Society. "There needs to be some caution."
The bird kills mark the latest instance in which the quest for clean energy sometimes has inadvertent environmental harm. Solar farms have been criticized for their impacts on desert tortoises, and wind farms have killed birds, including numerous raptors.
"We take this issue very seriously," said Jeff Holland, a spokesman for NRG Solar of Carlsbad, California, the second of the three companies behind the plant. The third, Google, deferred comment to its partners.
The $2.2 billion plant, which launched in February, is at Ivanpah Dry Lake near the California-Nevada border. The operator says it's the world's biggest plant to employ so-called power towers.
More than 300,000 mirrors, each the size of a garage door, reflect solar rays onto three boiler towers each looming up to 40 stories high. The water inside is heated to produce steam, which turns turbines that generate enough electricity for 140,000 homes.
Sun rays sent up by the field of mirrors are bright enough to dazzle pilots flying in and out of Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Federal wildlife officials said Ivanpah might act as a "mega-trap" for wildlife, with the bright light of the plant attracting insects, which in turn attract insect-eating birds that fly to their death in the intensely focused light rays.
Federal and state biologists call the number of deaths significant, based on sightings of birds getting singed and falling, and on retrieval of carcasses with feathers charred too severely for flight.
You can read more here.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/emerging-solar-plants-scorch-birds-mid-air-25017031?singlePage=true
Larry's comment: A claim that something is 'good for the environment' can be meaningless. Environmental 'health' is a multidimensional concept, which usually involves trade-offs of conflicting environmental goals.
In this case, birds are pitted against the Flying CO2 Monster. I don't know how far South and East the range of the California Condor extends. The state of California has spent tens of millions of dollars in a heroic effort to bring these magnificent birds back from the brink of extinction. It would be a shame if bird-fryers (solar -thermal power plants) and bird-choppers (wind turbines) did them in after all of that hard work.
This useless, clueless renewable energy garbage is costing the average family an extra $260 a year.
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/you_are_paying_260_a_year_on_useless_green_power/#commentsmore
The leader of the party that controls the senate numbers calls our largest trading partners mongrels and bastards and silly Penny Wong continues to look silly. Wouldn't they scream if it was a member of the Coalition?
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/clive_palmer_calls_partners_chinese_bastards_and_mongrels_wong_silent/
A new study finds the sun is guilty again of climate change and temp etc in Greenland.
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/new-paper-finds-sun-controls-greenland.html
https://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/troll_closet_scr.jpg
I miss Luke.
Following on from that ...
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/its-sun_9.html
A new study shows a reduction in relative humidity since 1870 over the Tibetan plateau. Also there is a stronger relationship to solar activity than GHGs. Much lower now than the average over the last 800 years.,
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/new-paper-finds-solar-activity-more.html
Disgusting display from another so called indigenous leader. Funding for these people should be removed ASAP. How can anyone expect an improvement in indigenous education and job prospects when their leaders ??? behave like this?
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/noel_pearson_is_not_a_god_and_cannot_be_excused_this_behaviour/