09 July 2015

75% of Perth homes could have solar by 2035: IMO | Business Spectator

75% of Perth homes could have solar by 2035: IMO | Climate Spectator:
"Western Australia's energy market operator has forecast that, under a high-case scenario, there could be much as three out of four homes with solar power in Perth by 2035 with saturation of the business market of 90%, The West Australian reports. According to the newspaper, the Independent Market Operator report found under a mid-case scenario the South West grid's solar capacity could rise from 435MW in 2014-15 to 1405MW by 2024-25, with it reaching 2400MW under the high-case scenario. The IMO also said home battery installations could be financially viable by next year with thousands taking up the systems by 2020. It forecasts a take-up of 16,000 systems by 2025 in its mid-case scenario and 26,000 under the high-case predictions."

The people in parliament better listen to what's going on!
'via Blog this'

29 June 2015

Underwater Noise Destructive to Environment

What does 280dB mean?

That is 120 dB x 10^16; or in other terms: 10,000,000,000,000,000 times louder than a starting jet air plane!
This incomprehensible amount of noise is produced under water where oil and gas companies explore new resource fields.
While ships' sonar devices have been linked to whales beaching themselves, this situation is untenable. Hope to illustrate it with a graph:
Destructive decibels harm underwater fauna
Can't stand that noise!
For the tech heads, some detailed info on decibels can be found on MISCELLANY and the UNSW website.

G7 Leaders Agree On Action To Limit Global Warming To 2 Degrees

G7 Leaders Agree On Action To Limit Global Warming To 2 Degrees

Group of Seven (G7) leaders agreed to limit global warming to 2°C at a meeting in Germany on Monday 8th June 2015, a feat they hope to accomplish by reducing their carbon emissions, mobilizing $100 billion a year for climate change mitigation, and facilitating more investment in developing nations.
...
The G7 declaration did call for “binding rules” that would “enhance transparency and accountability” as nations work toward achieving their carbon-reduction targets. But, experts say, violating those mechanisms – if ultimately included in any agreement in December – would not result in any sort of “enforcement sanctions,” explains Jennifer Morgan, global director of the climate program at the World Resources Institute.
...
The final agreement offered “support” for 40 to 70 percent reductions by 2050, compared to 2010 levels.
Read the full story on Climate Progress and on U.S.News.