Tag Archives: Thermodynamics

Coal Intensity & Coal Consumption

Posted on October 30, 2019 by climatechangefork

Today I am continuing my series (which started October 15th) examining the early signs of the global energy transition. In the previous two blogs my emphasis was on use of primary energy and electricity. This week, I’m looking at coal … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Sustainability | Tagged Adaptation, America, Bangladesh, BP, Brazil, Britain, Carbon, carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, Carbon Footprint, carbon intensity, carbon production, China, Clean Energy, CO2, CO2 emissions, Coal, coal intensity, data transmission, electrical power, Electricity, electricity access, electricity intensity, Emissions, Energy, energy intensity, energy transition, France, fuel, GDP, Germany, heat, high income, India, indicator, Indonesia, intensity, IPAT, Japan, low income, Mexico, middle income, Natural Gas, Nigeria, Nuclear, Oil, Pakistan, Physics, power consumption, primary energy, Renewable, renewal, Russia, secondary energy, Solar, solar power, Sustainability, Sustainable, Thermodynamics, Turkey, UK, US, Wind, wind power, World Bank | 4 Comments

Primary Energy: What Fraction Do We Use for Electricity Production?

Posted on October 22, 2019 by climatechangefork

Last week I looked at changes in electricity use (from 2000-2014), as a fraction of primary energy use, specifically as an early indicator of the energy transition to a more sustainable mix. I paid special attention to a group of … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Sustainability | Tagged Adaptation, Bangladesh, Brazil, carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, China, Clean Energy, CO2 emissions, Coal, electrical power, Electricity, electricity access, Emissions, Energy, energy transition, France, Germany, heat, high income, India, Indonesia, Japan, low income, Mexico, middle income, Natural Gas, Nigeria, Nuclear, Oil, Pakistan, Physics, primary energy, Renewable, Russia, secondary energy, Solar, Sustainability, Thermodynamics, Turkey, UK, US, Wind | 1 Comment

Expanding Environmental Impact Statements

Posted on March 5, 2019 by climatechangefork

I use the cartoon above to teach my students one of the most fundamental tenets of physics, unimaginatively called the “Second Law of Thermodynamics.” A quick Google search will tell you that thermodynamics is, “the branch of physics that … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropocene, Climate Change, IPCC, Sustainability | Tagged adapt, Adaptation, alternative, asbestos, bipartisan, business as usual, carbon dioxide, chemical, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Denial, Climate Change Deniers, Climate Skeptics, CO2, CO2 emissions, disorder, Economics, effect, EIS, Emissions, Energy, energy transition, Entropy, Environment, environmental impact statement, EPA, evaluate, FERC, Fossil Fuels, Future, Gas, glass, Global Warming, governance, green new deal, greenhouse gas, impact, IPCC, law, mineral, mitigate, Mitigation, Natural Gas, NEPA, Oil, paper, Physics, pipeline, proposal, RCP, Recycling, regulation, SC-CO2, scenario, Thermodynamics, waste | Leave a comment

Immigration: The Physics

Posted on June 21, 2016 by climatechangefork

Next week I will leave for my summer break. This time we are taking a complicated tour, starting in England a week after the Brexit referendum. Next we will spend a few days in Israel before continuing to Poland, Malta, … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change | Tagged Adaptation, Anthropocene, Berlusconi, BREXIT, Britain, candidate, Climate Change, Climate Change Denial, Climate Change Deniers, Climate Change Fork, Climate Skeptics, CO2 emissions, conservation, Democratization, disorder, Donald Trump, Economics, Education, emigration, Emissions, Energy, England, Entropy, Environment, Europe, France, Global Population, Global Warming, Hungary, immigration, interrupt, Israel, Jacques Chirac, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Le Pen, Lionel Jospin, Malta, Marine Le Pen, Mexico, migration, Mitigation, National Front, Nazi, neo-Nazi, nominee, obstacle, order, Physics, politician, politics, Population, Power, president, refugee, Republican, safe haven, Science, Silvio Berlusconi, Slovakia, social entropy, society, sovereign, Sovereign State, State, Thermodynamics, Trump, US, Vacation, Victor Orban, wall, Water, World Population | Leave a comment

Yes We Can! :(

Posted on November 11, 2014 by climatechangefork

Yesterday (November 4th) was Election Day in the US. It ended in a big victory for the Republicans, with a matching defeat for the Democrats and President Obama. It will be much more difficult for the President to push an … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change | Tagged Adaptation, CCS, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Denial, Climate Change Deniers, Climate Skeptics, democracy, Democrats, Desalination, DNNer, Economics, Efficiency, Election, electrical power, Electricity, Energy, EROI, ethanol, Fatalists, Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, IPCC, John Morgan, Mitigation, Natural Gas, Nuclear, Nuclear Energy, Obama, Physics, Power Plants, Renewable, Republicans, Science, senate, Sequestration, Sustainability, Technology, Thermodynamics, threshold | 7 Comments

Guest Blog: John Morgan: The Catch-22 of Energy Storage and EROI

Posted on November 4, 2014 by climatechangefork

As I mentioned in my blog on October 21st, I have invited John Morgan to post a guest blog about EROI. This week, he has generously agreed to re-post the article that I mentioned, with an added postscript addressing questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change | Tagged Adaptation, Australia, Battery, Brave New Climate, buffered, Carbon, Chemistry in Australia, civil engineering, Clean Energy, Economics, electrical power, Electricity, Emissions, energetic needs, Energy, energy return on investment, Energy Saving, Energy Sources, Energy Storage, EROEI, EROI, Fossil Fuels, Germany, Guest Blog, Hydropower, Investment, John Morgan, Mitigation, Oil, Peter Lang, Power, Power Plants, RMIT, Science, Solar, Solar Energy, Technology, Thermodynamics, unbuffered, US | 5 Comments

Income Inequality – Science Magazine

Posted on September 2, 2014 by climatechangefork

Science Magazine is addressing inequality; on May 23rd, they came out with a special issue dedicated to the science of the topic (not exclusively – there is other stuff in the issue as well). Other special issues of Science this … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change | Tagged 1%, 99%, Agriculture, Income, Income Inequality, Inequality, Physics, Piketty, Science, Science Magazine, Thermodynamics, Thomas Piketty | Leave a comment

Income Inequality – Piketty

Posted on August 19, 2014 by climatechangefork

Summer is about to end and school will start soon. In a few days I will be going on a short trip to Israel to give two talks – one at the Weizmann Institute about water management and climate change, … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change | Tagged 1%, 99%, America, Australia, Books, Canada, Capital, Capitalism, Climate Change, Congress, Data, de Blasio, Discipline, Economics, Election, France, Free Speech, Fundamental Law, Global Population, Hawking Index, Hillary, Hillary Clinton, Income, Income Inequality, Inequality, Interdisciplinary, Jordan Ellenberg, Joseph Stiglitz, New York, NYC, Physics, Reading, Science, Science Magazine, Stephen Hawking, Supreme Court, Thermodynamics, Thomas Piketty, UK, US, Water | Leave a comment

Desalination: The Science

Posted on October 8, 2013 by climatechangefork

I discussed the effects of climate change on the water cycle in a previous blog (September 3). I focused on the fact that while the water cycle is not a perfect cycle, our planet, whose surface consists of 70% water, … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change | Tagged Desalination, Energy, Entropy, Evaporation, Fresh Water, Reverse Osmosis, Salt Water, Science, Seawater, Technology, Thermodynamics, Water, Water Cycle, Water Stress | 7 Comments

Tag Archives: Thermodynamics

Coal Intensity & Coal Consumption

Primary Energy: What Fraction Do We Use for Electricity Production?

Expanding Environmental Impact Statements

Yes We Can! :(

Guest Blog: John Morgan: The Catch-22 of Energy Storage and EROI

Income Inequality – Science Magazine

Income Inequality – Piketty

Desalination: The Science

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