Air Capture in the Royal Society Geoengineering Report

The UK Royal Society committee on geoengineering has put out a report (PDF) that reads, well, like it was put together by a committee. But it does say some very interesting things about air capture:

Air capture is an industrial process that captures CO2 from ambient air producing a pure CO2 stream for use or disposal. There is no doubt that air capture technologies could be developed . . .

The Committee expresses considerable ignorance about the costs of air capture, simply calling them "high." Somehow the Committee was either unaware of or chose to ignore (I'm not sure which option is worse) the only peer-reviewed paper that compares to costs of air capture to other approaches to mitigation (i.e., as expressed by IPCC and Stern):

Pielke, Jr., R. A., 2009. An Idealized Assessment of the Economics of Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide in Mitigation Policy, Environmental Science & Policy, Vol. 12, Issue 3, pp. 216-225.

Funny how that sort of thing seems to happen a lot in climate science., but I digress. The report then has this very interesting nugget:

Proposals for new methods [of air capture] are still appearing (confidential submissions received) and it is very likely that substantial cost reductions are possible in future.

So let's summarize what the Royal Society report says: Air capture is undoubtedly technologically feasible, it is "very likely" that "substantial cost reductions are possible," and "with relatively low environmental impacts and low risk of unanticipated consequences."

So then why hasn't air capture occupied a more central role in climate policy discussions? The Royal Society report suggests an answer to this as well:

Already, the politics of geoengineering are complex and contested, and the positions taken by scientists and other analysts may interweave policy preferences with technical judgements. . . Differences in professional and personal values may therefore play a significant role in the evaluation of geoengineering options relative to conventional mitigation and adaptation. The very discussion of geoengineering is controversial in some quarters because of a concern that it may weaken conventional mitigation efforts, or be seen as a ‘get out of jail free’ card by policy makers . . .

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A Reader Request

Please provide any pointers to the peer reviewed literature in the comments:

I am a regular reader of your blog, though I have not commented once since your switch over from Prometheus. I am the author of my own blog, The Scholar's Stage, a site that focuses on various issues within the realms of security and international affairs. One of the common themes on my blog is the investigation of the links between climate change and security issues.

It seems to be a rather well known fact that most mitigation proposals would do nothing to change world temperatures until 2050 or so. I see statements like these all the time, (most recently in Tol's report on Mitigation for the Copenhagen Consensus), but I have yet to see the original scientific literature that supports this view.

Do you know where I could find this? I am interested on creating a post on the "sunk" effects of climate change and their ramifications for the security debate, but have been so far unable to find a concise quote from an authoritative source on the subject.

Thank you for your time,

~T. Greer

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Post-Mortem on IOC Voting for 2012 Olympic Games

Four years ago, the IOC awarded the 2012 Olympic Games to London over Paris, by a vote of 54-50. In the first round, four cities -- London, Paris, Madrid and New York -- were separated by a single vote. Madrid, which finished third overall, was actually the top vote getter in the second round, after Moscow was eliminated on the opening ballot. Round-by-round tallies suggest that the lion's share of Moscow's supporters migrated to Madrid, probably owing to the fact that IOC patriarch and stalwart behind Madrid's bid -- Juan Antonio Samaranch -- previously served as Spain's ambassador to Moscow. In round 3, however, London clearly came out ahead of Paris in splitting New York's supporters. Going into the last round, London already enjoyed a six-vote lead over Paris, which was the cushion it needed to emerge victorious, because Madrid's votes were closely split between Paris (17) and London (15).

London: 22-27-39-54

Paris: 21-25-33-50

Madrid: 20-32-31

New York: 19-16

Moscow: 15

For 2016, there are just four cities in the running -- Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo -- and since IOC voting is subject to all the vagaries of palace intrigue, it is impossible to know which city will prevail after three rounds. One thing for sure is that it will go down to the wire, and for Chicago's sake the result may hinge on whether IOC members are smitten by President Obama's charm offensive. That is, if he even makes it to Copenhagen.

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Milan Bars (Alcohol-Free)

When most people think of Milan bars, they probably picture something like this:

[image: venere.com]

But these are the ones I had in mind:

The Velo Orange Milan Handlebars have now replaced the drop bars on my mixte. I picked her up from Open Bicycle today after the surgery. The bars are missing grips, but already looking beautiful. They are not nearly as wide as the distorted perspective of the shots makes them seem, but I can't get a better photo right now.

I replaced the drop bars and brake levers on Marianne after injuring my hands using the original set-up. Let's just say I am talented when it comes to injury. With the new set-up, the braking power is superb and the hand position is sporty (similar to holding the top of the drop bars) yet comfortable. The stem has been replaced with a taller and longer Nitto Technomic. The brake levers are Shimano mountain bike levers. I have some nice dark green cork tape for the wraps, which will be shellacked and twined. Will post updates once the makeover is complete.

Oh and they also removed the "pie plate" from the back wheel. It couldn't be snapped or cut off, because there was a stiff metal ring holding it together that needed to be removed as well. Marianne was very happy to get this procedure done, because all the hipster bikes in Boston were making fun of her. Now she is looking nicer than ever!

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President Obama

The last time a sitting US President visited New Zealand was President Clinton in 1999 for APEC, when he was met by huge crowds.

It was one of the biggest regrets of my life, that I could of been there while he was giving a speech, but decided not to get tickets due to other things going on in my life.

Well never again. If President Obama does come to New Zealand I suggest every Kiwi goes, its not very often that you will get to see the President of the USA.

America bashing seems to be a sport with some people here, personally I don't think they get enough credit for all the good they have done in the world through the decades and all the achievements they have created for mankind.

In 2010 we will have a chance, so if your left wing or right wing, if your christain or Muslim, I suggest you head on down and see President Obama, it's something you will be able to tell your grandkids about.

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Very boring entry ...

There is not a lot happening around here really. The grass is starting to grow, the horses are moulting buckets (and all, except Reilly, naked now), Strawberry and Queenie have gone back home and Libby is now grazing up the road and across the race from Hamish in preparation for their introduction in the coming weeks. Robbie has settled in back at home well and is loving his twice daily hard feeds - the trip home knocked him quite badly and he lost a lot of weight - and while he puts the kgs back on, I am back on the weight loss wagon (5kg down - 15kg to go *sigh*) in preparation for the coming season.

I had a wee email in my in-box today from the lady who has Hooty at the moment showing a tummy that is very clearly carrying a foal. Too cute! Cannot wait to see what she produces to Reilly and so excited that she will be foaling here.

I still haven't finalised plans for this breeding season but, at this stage, it looks as though most of my girls will have a year off unless I find breeding lease homes for them. Right now I plan to breed Libby to Hamish and that is the only definite. I would LIKE to breed Twinkle to Hamish (she's four now, time to start having babies!) and Maude also back to Hamish (she's 21 now, needs to KEEP having babies) and then there is Hooty (time running out agewise with her to breed using frozen) and Bella (who would have such a gorgeous baby to Robbie) but with the uncertainty of the economy and the current economic climate, I am really hesitant to breed horses to sell (Libby's foal is a keeper).

Robbie's first mare is ready to roll so, once he has gained a few more kgs I will tell her owner to bring her over and we'll get the season underway.

Hoots says 'Hi, got any food?'

Caution, W I D E load!

Foal is due 17 October

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This Man is not a Genius

This man won't be a SOCIALTST
Or a Commomunst
Or a Liberall
Or a Democat
He won't vote for Orama
Or watch Oparl

I love people like this guy, he makes my spelling look good.

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