Minimising the global temperature increase

A team of scientists has done some computer modeling to determine how much industrial emissions must be limited in order to avoid exceeding a 2°C increase in global temperatures. The results are:

“A 100% reduction of emissions saw temperature change stabilise at 1.5°C above the pre-industrial figure. With a 90% reduction by 2050, the computer model predicted that temperature change will eventually exceed 2°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures but then plateau.”

A warming of 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures is frequently cited as the limit beyond which the world will face “dangerous” climate change. So basically humans need to reduce their industrial emissions down to zero to avoid dangerous climate change. Anything less and the result will be dramatic ecological changes, including widespread coastal flooding, reduced food production, and widespread species extinction. And that DOES NOT sound good!

Space solar

This sounds like a pretty amazing idea and it has even been supported by the US military. The idea is to launch kilometre-sized solar panel arrays into space to gather sunlight. The sunlight would then be beamed down to Earth in the form of microwaves or a laser, which would be collected in antennas on the ground and then converted to electricity.

Some people say that space-based solar power has the potential to provide more energy than fossil fuels, wind and nuclear power combined. Sounds like the answer to our increasing energy demands … maybe.

If your REALLY interested in this technology read more here.

Supercell

Sounds like a really great battery doesn’t it. Nup. A supercell is a severe thunderstorm, in fact they are the largest, most severe class of thunderstorms. A supercell thunderstorm just went through Lismore in NSW. Residents experienced hail stones as big as tennis balls which, understandably, broke a whole bunch of windows in the town. Read more here, here, here or here. And this is a great video of the storm!