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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1182)	7/22/2005 12:11:59 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24214

Beijing digs deep in quest for green energy More urban buildings in Beijing, including some facilities for the 2008 Olympic Games, are expected to use environment-friendly geothermal energy by 2010, China Daily reported Thursday. By then, about 20 million square meters of buildings will be using geothermal energy, it quoted Chen Huaiwei, an official with the city's development and reform commission, as saying. According to Chen, the municipal government will encourage more real estate developers to use clean energy by giving them subsidies or easier access to bank loans. The green energy technology is also expected to be adopted in some Olympic facilities, the paper quoted Sun Ji, chief engineer of the Ever Source Science & Technology Development Co. Ltd., a major developer of the technology. Geothermal energy is the heat stored in the earth's crust. In Beijing, most of the energy will come from shallower ground, according to Sun. The top 100 meters of the earth's surface maintain average temperatures of below 25 degrees Celsius and pumps can get it out and use it to heat or cool. "Like a cave, this temperature is warmer than the air above it in the winter and cooler in summer," Sun was quoted as saying. And on top of it, consumption of geothermal energy does not have any impact on the environment. To date, 3 million square meters of buildings in Beijing have adopted the technology, and its use is expected to replace 112,500 tons of coal or 75 million cubic meters of natural gas in winter alone -- sparing 280,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission and 2,640 tons of sulphur dioxide emission. China Daily also said a group of companies founded an industry union in Beijing Tuesday to promote the use of geothermal energy. Source: China Daily english.people.com.cn

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1182)	7/22/2005 12:37:15 AM
From: Bill on the Hill	Respond to of 24214

The opening paragraph of a letter by a geologist: dieoff.org His paper supports a very unsteady entry into our near future. Add a global war over oil into the equation and this 1999 paper becomes even darker. ************************************************************ The Post-Petroleum Paradigm -- and Population Walter Youngquist, Consulting Geologist The use of oil has changed world economies, social and political structures, and lifestyles beyond the effect of any other substance in such a short time. But oil supplies are limited. The peak of world oil production and the beginning of the irreversible decline of oil availability is clearly in sight. This paper examines the role of oil in two contexts: Its importance in countries almost entirely dependent on oil income, and the role of oil in world agricultural productivity. Possible alternatives to oil and its close associate, natural gas, are also examined. Countries almost solely dependent on oil income are chiefly those of the Persian Gulf region. The prosperity which oil has brought to these nations has resulted in a rapidly growing population which is not sustainable without oil revenues. World agriculture is now highly dependent on oil and natural gas for fertilizers and pesticides. Without these, agricultural productivity would markedly decline. As a base for the production of these materials, oil and natural gas are irreplaceable. Lifestyles and affluence in the post-petroleum paradigm will be quite different from today. World population will have to be reduced if it is to exist at any reasonable standard of living. At that time concern will be much more centered on obtaining basic resources, especially agricultural, by which to survive. ************************************************************ And he backs it up with his research. He does not speculate on the eventual outcome. Those speculations are being voiced by Simmons and Kunstler.