Goal for the day: To weigh which solutions can have the greatest impact on climate change.
We started today with the second half of Episode 6 of Years of Living Dangerously after a quick review of what happened in the first half. Here are some quick takeaways from the two storylines we've been following:
Renewable Energy & Climate Denial (America Ferrera)
Renewable energy is almost at a tipping point where it's competitive with fossil fuels
Many states have passed Renewable Energy Standards for utilities. Colorado passed theirs in 2008.
· Investor-owned utilities: 30% by 2020
· Electric cooperatives serving 100,000 or more meters: 20% by 2020
· Electric cooperatives serving fewer than 100,000 meters: 10% by 2020
· Municipal utilities serving more than 40,000 customers: 10% by 2020
James Taylor, from Heartland Institute, is going around trying to overturn these standards and promote natural gas.
We also met a rancher with the wind farm will go out of business if Kansas standards are rolled back
Natural Gas and Methane Leaks (Mark Bittman)
Many people think natural gas is the answer to climate change because it burns much cleaner than coal and oil
BUT when it leaks its 80 to 105 times as powerful as CO2
Leaks need to stay below 3% for natural gas to be cleaner than coal
A scientist who looked at all the available data maintained the leakage rate is between 3 and 8%
The gas industry says it’s 1% and EPA agrees, but they get data from industry
Bittman meets with one industry official who has a green technology that reduces leakage. This official questions the data, "We’d be crazy to let all those profits leak into the atmosphere."
There are about 35,000 natural gas fracking wells started each year
There are methane leaks around Denver and Northern CO
Gabby Patrone is a NOAA scientist trying to collect data to see what the leakage rate really is
After finishing the video, we had a discussion about takeaways. We talked about whether the film was biased, about the carbon emissions that comes from producing solar panels, and the fate of Colorado's renewable energy standards. I also show the methane hot spot over the Four Corners that has showed up on infrared satellite imagery.
Before break I showed this diagram of the causes of climate change. I walked everyone through this diagram and asked each person to identify what relationships in the diagram have the greatest impact on climate change and which would be the easiest to change and influence. This diagram and the ones that follow are within a second packet that we will use over the next two days finishing study of climate change and starting immigration.
After break, we discussed what relationships in the causes diagram would be most important to change. I then offered a diagram of different strategies that you could use to change these relationship. I asked people to identify two strategies they believe would be effective. The gold boxes on this and diagram of hard solutions are the efforts happening in Durango, La Plata County, or the larger Four Corners region.
We then divided into four groups and I passed out all the actions considered for the Fort Lewis College Climate Action Plan. I asked people to group these into different categories. You can find more detailed descriptions of each of these categories in the appendix of the FLC Sustainability Action Plan.
I then showed a final diagram of hard solutions divided by energy, transportation, waste, and land use. I asked people to pick the category of solutions they think would be most effective.
Tomorrow we're moving on to Immigration Reform.
Homework due Friday, November 14th
Read Not Legal, Not Leaving from Time Magazine and answer the question in packet 2.
We started today with the second half of Episode 6 of Years of Living Dangerously after a quick review of what happened in the first half. Here are some quick takeaways from the two storylines we've been following:
Renewable Energy & Climate Denial (America Ferrera)
Renewable energy is almost at a tipping point where it's competitive with fossil fuels
Many states have passed Renewable Energy Standards for utilities. Colorado passed theirs in 2008.
· Investor-owned utilities: 30% by 2020
· Electric cooperatives serving 100,000 or more meters: 20% by 2020
· Electric cooperatives serving fewer than 100,000 meters: 10% by 2020
· Municipal utilities serving more than 40,000 customers: 10% by 2020
James Taylor, from Heartland Institute, is going around trying to overturn these standards and promote natural gas.
We also met a rancher with the wind farm will go out of business if Kansas standards are rolled back
Natural Gas and Methane Leaks (Mark Bittman)
Many people think natural gas is the answer to climate change because it burns much cleaner than coal and oil
BUT when it leaks its 80 to 105 times as powerful as CO2
Leaks need to stay below 3% for natural gas to be cleaner than coal
A scientist who looked at all the available data maintained the leakage rate is between 3 and 8%
The gas industry says it’s 1% and EPA agrees, but they get data from industry
Bittman meets with one industry official who has a green technology that reduces leakage. This official questions the data, "We’d be crazy to let all those profits leak into the atmosphere."
There are about 35,000 natural gas fracking wells started each year
There are methane leaks around Denver and Northern CO
Gabby Patrone is a NOAA scientist trying to collect data to see what the leakage rate really is
After finishing the video, we had a discussion about takeaways. We talked about whether the film was biased, about the carbon emissions that comes from producing solar panels, and the fate of Colorado's renewable energy standards. I also show the methane hot spot over the Four Corners that has showed up on infrared satellite imagery.
Before break I showed this diagram of the causes of climate change. I walked everyone through this diagram and asked each person to identify what relationships in the diagram have the greatest impact on climate change and which would be the easiest to change and influence. This diagram and the ones that follow are within a second packet that we will use over the next two days finishing study of climate change and starting immigration.
After break, we discussed what relationships in the causes diagram would be most important to change. I then offered a diagram of different strategies that you could use to change these relationship. I asked people to identify two strategies they believe would be effective. The gold boxes on this and diagram of hard solutions are the efforts happening in Durango, La Plata County, or the larger Four Corners region.
We then divided into four groups and I passed out all the actions considered for the Fort Lewis College Climate Action Plan. I asked people to group these into different categories. You can find more detailed descriptions of each of these categories in the appendix of the FLC Sustainability Action Plan.
I then showed a final diagram of hard solutions divided by energy, transportation, waste, and land use. I asked people to pick the category of solutions they think would be most effective.
Tomorrow we're moving on to Immigration Reform.
Homework due Friday, November 14th
Read Not Legal, Not Leaving from Time Magazine and answer the question in packet 2.