Global Climate Change Science News

[Sean Hayden]

I'm trying to find a good place to move to. Houston's going to be a nightmare in 30 years.

C'mon up here. As the climate warms, our summers will be nearly snow free, and Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will be able to grow bumper crops. The States will be coastally challenged and the wheat growing regions will turn into hot deserts.

--bumper crops you say?

[cronus]

Whatever happens in the coming years it is more than about having the right location for a last stand movie. We are in a real 'let's roll' moment regarding climate and resources etc...humans need to kick the oil/coal habit and the larger nations need to be unanimous, exerting real political force towards those nations not keeping a rain-check. Perhaps two or three decades and we can swing a curve-ball with climate change towards safety or witness the full collapse of this planets biosphere/the oceans boiling into steam etc. (imagine bad and it'll be worse than that...)

[pErvinalia]

Without a technological revolution, two or three decades is too late. It's too late already. Only a technological revolution will keeps us under 2C. More likely we'll bust through 4C without really raising a sweat.

[Alan B]

I think there is only one chance as far as power generation is concerned but that could be just a pipe-dream.

I'm talking about Fusion Power...

All other 'sustainable' power sources are weather, geography and geology dependent.

[mistermack]

I think there is only one chance as far as power generation is concerned but that could be just a pipe-dream.

I'm talking about Fusion Power...

All other 'sustainable' power sources are weather, geography and geology dependent.

Geothermal offers the prospect of 24/7 energy supply, if and when the fossil fuels begin to get expensive.
Especially in areas of high population concentration and cold winters.
It's district heating that will become viable, in big cities in the North. And you can combine it with heated greenhouse agriculture, which will be big in the colder parts of the world in the future.

In areas close to the edges of the tectonic plates, it's becoming economic to generate electricity from geothermal. And the technology is improving all the time.

It's not necessarily the future for energy supply, but it's going to become a bigger and bigger factor in it.
It's actually a viable backstop, for when and if energy gets a lot more expensive.

There is unlimited energy down there. It's 24/7 energy. And it's only price that stops it being used right now.

[pErvinalia]

A former neighbour of mine worked for a geothermal company in Australia investigating the viability of it. There's a number of test sites around. I'm not sure how viable they have proved. Given I haven't heard much about geothermal for a number of years here, I assume it hasn't amounted to much yet.

[Scot Dutchy]

My old office was heated by a geothermal pump. A pipe was sunk for 30 metres. Winter cold water was pumped down and warm water came up and summer the revere happened. It worked fine.

[mistermack]

A former neighbour of mine worked for a geothermal company in Australia investigating the viability of it. There's a number of test sites around. I'm not sure how viable they have proved. Given I haven't heard much about geothermal for a number of years here, I assume it hasn't amounted to much yet.

Since Australia doesn't use a high amount of energy on heating, I'm surprised they even looked.
You need much higher grade heat reserves to generate electricity.

New Zealand is heavily into geothermal, being colder and having hotter reserves.
What they don't have is big cities, that could exploit the hot water byproduct.

[pErvinalia]

No, it was for electricity generation, obviously. It is cold in certain parts of Australia, but the electricity use in summer is higher due to fans and aircon than in winter due to heaters.

[Alan B]

Has any geothermal power station been able to provide 3.62 Gigawatts?

[Scot Dutchy]

Geothermal should run at street level. Big stations are inefficient. An over dependence on a large station is still of this age. Almost every house or a row of houses should have their power source including solar power. People would only pay for a maintenance contract.

[pErvinalia]

That will only work if your geothermal is just under the surface. In Australia you've got to drill down 5kms to find any.

[Scot Dutchy]

That will only work if your geothermal is just under the surface. In Australia you've got to drill down 5kms to find any.

It depends on the system. My old office had a geothermal pump that went down 10 metres and that was enough for a difference of 5C which was more than enough apparently.

Here is a video about heat pumps. They are very efficient. The electricity for the pumps can be (partially) supplied from solar panels.

[pErvinalia]

That's not really what geothermal is when talking about energy production. It's concerned with accessing rock that is extremely hot and will cause water to turn to steam which will in turn drive a turbine to produce electricity.

[Scot Dutchy]

That's not really what geothermal is when talking about energy production. It's concerned with accessing rock that is extremely hot and will cause water to turn to steam which will in turn drive a turbine to produce electricity.

It is here. Geothermal only needs a few metres. You dont need hot geysers just temperature difference. You only need energy to warm houses. Electricity can be produced in many other ways. The idea here is to have completely sustainable districts. They are also separating the water and reusing bathroom and kitchen water in the toilets as "grey" water. This water can be treated in the house or at district treatment plants. It is ridiculous that water of bottled water quality is used to wash shit away or to clean the car or porch.

Heat pumps are the alternative for central heating which is here almost 100% gas. In 2020 the Groningen gas field will be turned off.