Reflection on today's seminar:
ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FOR A GREENHOUSE GAS CONSTRAINED FUTURE
演講者，Haroon S. Kheshgi 是 ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company 的研究員，主要的工作是分析新能源的使用對氣候變遷的影響。研究中分析了過去的能源使用與溫室氣體的測量數據，以及未來使用新能源、新技術到底可以改善多少溫室效應，提供業界作為將來投資的參考。
基本上，這是相當有實用價值的研究，然而結果卻不是很樂觀：目前溫室氣體的最大排放源並不在美國，所以美國再怎麼改善效果也是有限。
或許是結果並不符合「科學家」們的道德期待，也或許是因為工學院的 approach 不同，現場砲聲隆隆。有人問說：「為什麼要用 IEA （International Engineering Agency）的資料而不用 IPCC的？這樣的資料可靠嗎？」
也許吧，工學院跟你用不一樣的資料就不可靠，真是具有執著的科學精神。
當然，MIT剛做出來的生化太陽能發電（菠菜電池）離可以量產還有很遙遠的路，不可能在已經完成的評估報告裡，所以報告裡頭對太陽能發電效率 2% 的估計，也被評為跟不上最新的研究。
最後，我覺得唯一有道理的問題，是「這類的評估報告對於產業決策的實質影響是什麼？能否列舉這十年來的一兩個例子？」答案是：舉不出例子，"I am just a researcher, not the decision maker"。
所以，科學家，到底在做什麼呢？
2004/09/30
2004/09/29
ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FOR A GREENHOUSE GAS CONSTRAINED FUTURE
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES SEMINAR
ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FOR A GREENHOUSE GAS CONSTRAINED FUTURE
Haroon S. Kheshgi
Corporate Strategic Research, ExxonMobil
Research & Engineering Company, USA
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
ABSTRACT
What technologies will be necessary to satisfy both people's demand for affordable energy, and mitigate the risk of climate change? Energy demand is forecast to double within the next half century, even with improvements in energy efficiency at historic rates. It may be found that the risk of climate change justifies, over the same time, the reduction of net CO2 emissions worldwide to a fraction of current levels. In a recent review (Hoffert et al., 2002), we survey the status of emission-free energy technologies that could be deployed globally to provide the massive energy demand of the future. Possible candidates for primary energy sources include terrestrial solar and wind energy, solar power satellites, biomass, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, fission-fusion hybrids, and fossil fuels from which carbon has been sequestered. Non-primary power technologies that could contribute include efficiency improvements, hydrogen production, storage and transport, superconducting global electric grids, and geoengineering. All of these approaches currently have severe deficiencies that limit their readiness for global deployment. A broad range of intensive research and development is needed in the near-term to produce technological options that could, in the long-term, both address the risk of climate change and provide affordable energy for economic development. Yet over the past decades, funding for energy R&D has declined worldwide.
The development of low-emission energy technology is only one component of an overall response to climate change. Research to assess the risk of climate change and to better plan society's response remains a critical pursuit. Some near-term reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases can be accomplished economically through many actions including improvements in efficiency, fuel switching, protection of forests and agricultural soils, and addressing emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases and soot that might also be a strong warming agent. With growing markets come ever more opportunities for global deployment of existing and new efficient technologies that address one priority of the developing world. Significant improvements in energy technologies are an essential component of future world development and an essential component of society's response to climate change and should be encouraged. Through innovative improvements in energy technology, there is reason for optimism, but only if effective efforts to improve energy technology get underway.
ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FOR A GREENHOUSE GAS CONSTRAINED FUTURE
Haroon S. Kheshgi
Corporate Strategic Research, ExxonMobil
Research & Engineering Company, USA
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
ABSTRACT
What technologies will be necessary to satisfy both people's demand for affordable energy, and mitigate the risk of climate change? Energy demand is forecast to double within the next half century, even with improvements in energy efficiency at historic rates. It may be found that the risk of climate change justifies, over the same time, the reduction of net CO2 emissions worldwide to a fraction of current levels. In a recent review (Hoffert et al., 2002), we survey the status of emission-free energy technologies that could be deployed globally to provide the massive energy demand of the future. Possible candidates for primary energy sources include terrestrial solar and wind energy, solar power satellites, biomass, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, fission-fusion hybrids, and fossil fuels from which carbon has been sequestered. Non-primary power technologies that could contribute include efficiency improvements, hydrogen production, storage and transport, superconducting global electric grids, and geoengineering. All of these approaches currently have severe deficiencies that limit their readiness for global deployment. A broad range of intensive research and development is needed in the near-term to produce technological options that could, in the long-term, both address the risk of climate change and provide affordable energy for economic development. Yet over the past decades, funding for energy R&D has declined worldwide.
The development of low-emission energy technology is only one component of an overall response to climate change. Research to assess the risk of climate change and to better plan society's response remains a critical pursuit. Some near-term reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases can be accomplished economically through many actions including improvements in efficiency, fuel switching, protection of forests and agricultural soils, and addressing emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases and soot that might also be a strong warming agent. With growing markets come ever more opportunities for global deployment of existing and new efficient technologies that address one priority of the developing world. Significant improvements in energy technologies are an essential component of future world development and an essential component of society's response to climate change and should be encouraged. Through innovative improvements in energy technology, there is reason for optimism, but only if effective efforts to improve energy technology get underway.
2004/09/25
Beauty and Body Image in the Media
Beauty and Body Image in the Media
"We don’t need Afghan-style burquas to disappear as women. We disappear in reverse—by revamping and revealing our bodies to meet externally imposed visions of female beauty."
Robin Gerber
"We don’t need Afghan-style burquas to disappear as women. We disappear in reverse—by revamping and revealing our bodies to meet externally imposed visions of female beauty."
Robin Gerber
2004/09/21
Journal of Mathematical Fluid Mechanics
Journal of Mathematical Fluid Mechanics
Publisher: Birkhäuser Verlag AG
ISSN: 1422-6928 (Paper) 1422-6952 (Online)
Subject: Engineering , Mathematics , Physics and Astronomy
Publisher: Birkhäuser Verlag AG
ISSN: 1422-6928 (Paper) 1422-6952 (Online)
Subject: Engineering , Mathematics , Physics and Astronomy
Fluid Mechanics
The Journal of Fluid Mechanics exists for the publication of theoretical and experimental investigations of all aspects of the mechanics of fluids. It is published by the Cambridge University Press semimonthly in 24 volumes each year. It was founded in 1956 by George Batchelor, and in 1996 David Crighton took over as Editor until his death in April 2000. The present joint Editors are Steve Davis and Tim Pedley, who head a team of associate editors.
2004/09/18
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