Considering recycled energy will politically facilitate a national clean energy plan 12

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1. 

   Alex 77 Posted 8:29 am
   18 Jun 2008

   I know that Grist has to pay it's bills......but it is pretty painful to see both a Chevy and a Caterpillar ad at the bottom of this page.
   The environmental and energy crimes of these two corporations are difficult to overstate.

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2. 

   David Roberts Posted 9:27 am
   18 Jun 2008

   AlexI look forward to your donation!
   
   grist.org

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3. 

   hapa Posted 9:52 am
   18 Jun 2008

   nice line on that wind mapi notice you left off the extensive near- and offshore resources (mostly class 5+) in the great lakes, chesapeake bay, and the whole atlantic seaboard, that are shown on the actual NREL wind map (pdf).
   also notice you used a 50m hub map, instead of the now-standard 80m hub, as was installed in rock port, missouri.
   where would you draw your line on this map of 80m resources?

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4. 

   Gar Lipow Posted 10:07 am
   18 Jun 2008

   Wind Resource QueryHapa, do you know where to get the raw data for that map? I'd love to play with it.
   Thanks
   Gar

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5. 

   hapa Posted 10:13 am
   18 Jun 2008

   it's the archer/jacobson thingthey did it up for every continent, i adjusted the colors and faded out the low classes for readability.
   original study web site.
   
   

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6. 

   hapa Posted 10:39 am
   18 Jun 2008

   SEAN: SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYi should have realize if your map included only onshore resources you were working from another map. this one, right?

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7. 

   hapa Posted 10:49 am
   18 Jun 2008

   another wind mapalso: windnavigator!
   lets you pick hub height (60/80/100m). googlemaps controls. onshore only.
   i got it from clicking around on the NREL site a couple days ago after the union of concerned scientists' greentip on small wind.

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8. 

   MAD MAC Posted 10:32 pm
   18 Jun 2008

   Sean great article - but the morons persistVery insightful, well thought out. This is indeed the way forward. Have you sent this to your representative. Someone like you should be helping to draw the bill up.
   Now, describing Caterpillar or Chevy's business practices as "crimes" is, at a minimum, a very poor usage of the English language. A crime is something that is against the law. If it does not violate a law in the territory which the event took place, it's NOT a crime - usually. There are exceptions, but not concerning the environment.
   
   Victory in Pattani

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9. 

   Sean Casten Posted 10:46 pm
   18 Jun 2008

   HapaYes, it was based on on-site data for wind.
   And more broadly, there are of course error bars innate to all of these maps - such is the nature of data aggregation.  (And perhaps much greater on figures 2 and 3 than 1, given the lower resolution of the data that went into those maps.)  One could also make a plausible case that I've understated the renewable potential by not also showing hydro & geothermal.
   But none of that changes the basic electoral calculus that a policy based only on traditional renewables induces a westward wealth transfer.  The problem here is not one of data integrity, but one of political realities.  

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10. 

    Sean Casten Posted 10:49 pm
    18 Jun 2008

    MAD MACYes.  It's framing a lot of our activities and conversations on the Hill right now, and with the Presidential candidates, within the limited access that we have.

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11. 

    timbuktu Posted 6:17 am
    19 Jun 2008

    Geothermal too?Great article. Very illuminating about the geopolitical dynamics of renewable energy initiatives. I wonder if geothermal energy, specifically heat mining might also help "balance the map?" There was a cool study by an MIT panel that found widespread potential for heat mining. Check it out.

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12. 

    hapa Posted 7:39 am
    19 Jun 2008

    things definitely not knowna. how much longer RPS will be how we look at this, compared to fossil phase-out
    b. whether governors and business leaders faced with phase-out would rather act more separately or together
    c. how much federal assistance will be involved and how that will shape regional planning?
    d. demand efficiency's faster out the door and will be a big job; meantime how long will it take us to figure out a new reliable grid given the extent of fuel-switching and diversity of new inputs?
    e. are we really going to play a game of "competitive advantage"?

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