ENERGY: Pipe Dream or Nightmare?

Posted on April 3, 2024April 3, 2024 by Building The World

**Fossil fuels like oil and gas are carried around the world by pipelines**. Image: “Vortex street animation gif” by Cesareo de La Rosa Siqueira, 2006. Dedicated to the public domain, Creative Commons0 1.0, by the designer and included with appreciation.

Pipelines carry energy in a distribution system that is one of the most complex in the history of civilization. But the energy pipeline had humble beginnings. In 1821, William Hart of Fredonia, New York, saw something bubbling on the surface of Canadaway Creek. He ran home, grabbed his wife’s washtub, placed it over the bubbling area, drilled a small hole in the tub, stuck a barrel from an old gun (disconnected) and let the gas rise up. He’d seen kids playing around with the bubbles and lighting them on fire. So, when the gas bubbled out of his make-shift tube, he lit it: it burned.

**William Hart discovered natural gas bubbling up from Canadaway Creek. He dug nearby and fashioned what may be one of the first energy pipelines**. Image: “Canadaway Creek in New York” by photographer Schetm, 2022. This image is dedicated to the public domain, Creative Commons0 1.0. It is included with appreciation.

Realizing that this substance was a kind of fuel, Hart dug nearby, rewarded by a modest flow. Looking around for a few hollow logs that he could bind with rags and tar, Hart built a primitive pipeline and sold the energy source to a local tavern, perhaps giving new meaning to the bar quip “fire water.”

Image: “HDPE Pipeline in Australia” by photographer GordonJ86, 2013. This image is licensed under Creative Commons 4.0. It is included with appreciation.

Globally, there are so many energy pipelines that, if laid end to end, they could circle the globe 30 times. In the United States, there may be over 190,000 miles (approximately 305,000 kilometers) carrying crude oil from field to refinery to terminal. There are even more natural gas pipelines: 2.4 million miles (3.8 million kilometers). With all that volatile fuel coursing night and day, what could go wrong?

Image: “Pipeline Leak” photograph by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1972. Image is from National Archives NWDNS-412-DA-3515. Public Domain and included with appreciation.

Fatigue can wear us all down: even more so for pipelines that never get to sleep or take a vacation. In April 2023, Canada’s TC Energy spilled 14,000 barrels of oil in Kansas, USA, because of a fatigue crack that began as a construction imperfection and gradually worsened until it spilled. As a result, the whole pipeline, normally conveying 622,000 barrels-per-day, shut down for three weeks. Mill Creek in Kansas suffered longer.

**Nigeria suffered over 600 pipeline leaks in 2020.** Image: “Nigeria as seen from space” by NASA, 2015. This image is licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 and is included with appreciation.

Unfortunately, pipeline leaks are not unusual. Nigeria suffered over 600 pipeline leaks in 2020. Every leak is deadly to wildlife, harmful to land and water, and costly. In four years (2015-2019), energy pipeline failures cost over $1 billion in property damage. What’s the remedy? While fossil fuel pipelines are still in use, detection and repair remain critical: half of the failures are due to corrosion.

**Smart pigs are robotic devices traveling pipelines to detect cracks or leaks.** Image: “Ancient drawing by unknown artist.” This fascinating image is in the public domain and included with appreciation.

Enter the “smart pig.” Invented in 1961 by Shell Development, this early form of mobile AI robotic devices launched commercially three years later by Tuboscope. How did “smart pigs” get their whimsical name? When first sent on a test mission, gears on the devices made a squealing sound that sounded like baby pigs. It is known that pigs are intelligent, and these devices certainly were, and are, smart.

Trans-Alaska Pipeline used smart pigs. Image: “Trans-Alaska Pipeline International” is licensed under Creative Commons 2.5 and is included with appreciation.

When Canada and the United States built the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, smart pigs were inserted into the infrastructure to measure flow and detect problems. Magnetic flux tools track metal loss: ultrasonic tools measure pipe wall thickness and look for cracks. Smart pigs enter via a “pig launcher” that then closes to let the pipe’s normal pressure carry it along, measuring and checking for problems, before arriving at a receiving station where it can be retrieved for data download. Pigs are not an afterthought to be deployed upon presentation of a problem: pipelines must be built to accommodate pigs before the energy system begins operation.

**Line 5 affects the Chippewa, other Tribal nations who hold sacred the environment the pipeline traverses.** Will the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy guide the way? The U.S. States of Michigan and Wisconsin are also affected, and the lawsuits also Canada’s Enbridge. Image: “Flag of the Sokaogon Chippewa” by graphic designer Xasartha, 2014. Creative Commons 3.0, and included with appreciation.

Even when pipelines do not have technical problems, they cause legal problems. Transboundary issues are common: by definition, pipelines go the distance. For example, in the United States, “Line 5” traverses the lake bed of the Straits of Mackinac, a water passage connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Michigan, Wisconsin, and more than 20 Tribal Nations are affected. And then there’s Canada, where Enbridge, pipeline owner, receives 540,000 barrels of crude oil and natural (should we change the name to “methane gas?”) gas. The Tribal Nations raised concern bout their environment. The Wisconsin Chippewa filed a suit challenging the trespass on their land. Michigan opened a law suit concerning the section of Line 5 that traverses the Straits. There is now a judgement requiring Enbridge to reroute the pipeline and pay a $5 million fine (an appeal is in progress). Claiming Canadian rights granted by a 1977 treaty, Enbridge countered with an appeal and a proposal: they want to invade the Strait even more by building a tunnel made of concrete below the lake bed. While a pipeline may be difficult to remove, even more so a concrete tunnel.

**How can we bridge a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy?** Image: “Nénuphars et Pont japonais,” by Claude Monet 1899. This image is in the public domain and included with appreciation.

As we phase out coal, the world may continue to taper off oil and then, gas. In that transition, there are many issues of justice, environment, resource management, and transition strategy. Some energy advisors advocate keeping at least some fossil energy options available, as a bridge. Then, if a renewable energy source failed, and back-up energy storage also failed, we could “open the tap.” As Professor Emily Grubert warned, during a presentation at the Harvard Kennedy School in April 2024, in order to keep a system reliable, it has to be run periodically even when not needed. And, while we have tested the maximum flow volume for energy pipelines, have we yet tested the minimum? What is the right way to balance transition to renewable technology while still making sure there is backup? Phasing out fossil fuels may need more planning.

**What can we do with all those pipelines?** Image: “Animation of a capacitor using flow analogy in a pipe” by KDS4444, 2014. This image is licensed under Creative Commons 4.0, and included with appreciation.

As we free transition from fossil fuel sources, what will we do with all those pipelines: above ground, buried beneath, and those snaking lake and sea floor? Do you have ideas for reusing or repurposing pipeline infrastructure?

Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy. https://tribalcleanenergy.org

Baker, Michael Jr. Inc. and Raymond R. Fessler. “Pipeline Corrosion,” November 2009. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety, U.S. Department of Transportation. https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/technical-resources/pipeline/gas-transmission-integrity-management/65341/finalreportpipelinecorrosion.pdf

Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke. “Trans-Alaska Pipeline,” Building the World, Volume Two, pages 681 – 709. Greenwood: 2006. ISBN: 0313333742. Note: contains the original contract for the pipeline.

Grubert, Emily. “Planning the Mid-transition for Just and Sustainable Decarbonization.” 1 April 2024. Harvard Kennedy School. Please see recording on Belfer Center YouTube.

Grubert, E and S. Hastings-Simon. 2022. “Designing the mid-transition: A review of medium-term challenges for coordinated decarbonization in the United States. WIRE’s Climate Change. https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcc.768

Halleck, Rebecca and Dionne Searcey. “A Great Lakes Pipeline Tangles Politics in Two Battleground States.” 27 March 2024. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/climate/line-5-pipeline-michigan-wisconsin-swing-stage.html

Hussein, Mohammed. “Mapping the world’s oil and gas pipelines.” 16 December 2021. Al Jazerra. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/16/mapping-world-oil-gas-pipelines-interactive

Lacroix, Karine, et al., “Should it be called ‘natural gas’ or ‘methane’?” 1 December 2020. Climate Communication, Yale University. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/should-it-be-called-natural-gas-or-methane/

Lindner, Jannik. “Pipeline leak statistics.” 20 December 2023. https://gitnux.org/pipeline-leak-statistics/

Tuboscope. https://www.nov.com/about/our-business-units/tuboscope

Williams, Nia. “TC Energy says Keystone oil spill caused by fatigue crack,” 21 April 2023. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/tc-energy-receives-findings-root-cause-keystone-pipeline-oil-spill-2023-04-21/

U.S. Congress and Government of Canada. “Agreement Concerning Transit Pipelines,” 1977. https://www.congress.gov/treaty-document/95th-congress/6?s=1&r=22

U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, “Fact sheet: Inspections (smart pigs).” https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/factsheets/fssmartpig.htm

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY: Would you give 3% to get 30%?

Posted on March 8, 2024March 9, 2024 by Building The World

**Peatlands occupy just 3% of Earth yet contain 30% of land-based carbon – more than all the world’s forests combined.** Image: “North Liscups, Firth above old peat banks” by photographer John Comloquoy, 2005. CC2.0. Included with appreciation.

Just 3% of global land but holding 30% of its carbon, peatlands sequester more than all the world’s forests. Yet peatlands don’t often make news, and can go by many local names: bogs, fens, marshes, moors, swamps. By any name, they are part of our climate future.

Peat is home to microorganisms that help to generate more peat, and to sequester even more carbon. Image: “Testate amoebae common in peat bogs” by Katarzyna Marcisz, et al., in doi.10.3389/fevo.2020.575966. CC4.0. Included with appreciation.

Peat grows in wetlands. When plants wither, the watery environment prevents them from decomposing completely. They become home to microorganisms that produce – more peat. Peat is very valuable to our future because it can regenerate, retain increasingly scarce water, serve as wildlife habitat, and hold carbon.

Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney wrote about Ireland’s peat bogs. Listen to the poet read “Bogland.” Image: Seamus Heaney in 1982 by photographer Goffryd Bernard. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate in Poetry, wrote: “They’ll never dig coal here/Only the waterlogged trunks of great firs, soft as pulp.” (Heaney, “Bog,” 1969.) There are two hemispheric types of peat: northern and tropical. In northern climes, especially in lands without coal or oil, like Ireland or Finland, peat was cut for use as fuel. All that carbon flames cheerily in a hearth. But peat burns less efficiently than coal while releasing higher carbon dioxide emissions. In tropical locations like Indonesia and Malaysia, peatlands may be cut to clear land for agriculture, especially palm oil, or to meet food shortages by growing rice.

GLOBAL PEATMAP by Jiren Xu, et al., https://doi.org/10.5518/252. Creative commons 4.0 Included with appreciation

But harvesting peat does more than reduce peatlands. Cut peat leaves holes in connected peatlands, triggering a process in which peat dries and becomes vulnerable to wildfires that pollute the atmosphere, devastate habitat (in some locations, as many as 900 species call peat bogs home), and release greenhouse gases that drive climate change.

When cut, peat dries out the surrounding bog that is then vulnerable to fire. Image: “Borneo fires and smoke from burning peatland, 2002.” by Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team of NASA/GSFC. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Peatlands are only 3% of the landmass on Earth yet hold 30% of land-based carbon. Can we find ways to keep these climate-essential treasures undisturbed, and restore those that have been damaged? Irelands’s Bord na Móna, owner of vast expanses of peatlands, began a transition strategy in 2020 called “Brown to Green” to move from a peat-based business to a climate solutions enterprise with a strategy to store 100 million tons of carbon in perpetuity. England’s Paludiculture (term for wetland agriculture) Exploration Fund) launched CANAPE (Creating a New Approach to Peatland Ecosystems) in the North Sea region. Cumbrian Bogs LIFE aims to regenerate peat bogs in a short time frame.

**Scotland’s estate manor houses may host eco-tourism that preserves peatlands.** “Taymouth Castle” by James Norie, 1733. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

In Scotland, Anders Holch Polvsen bought up 200,000 acres of peatlands near noble estates to welcome eco-tourists who will sip tea in the manor house while watching the fields of peat bloom undisturbed. The program is part of Polvsen’s company Wildland; one of the grand hotel homes is Glenfeshie, familiar to Netflix viewers as site of “The Crown.” Japan’s Suntory whiskey brand acquired Jim Beam and set up peat restoration projects as part of a strategic plan to use peat sustainably to flavor spirits while regrowing the same amount to achieve a modern-day equivalent to the Biblical “ever-normal” granary.

**Peatlands can yield carbon credits**. Image: “Euro coins and backnotes” by Avij, 2023. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Peatlands hold carbon; they can provide carbon credits. That’s why some countries like Scotland and the Netherlands are offering carbon credits. 80% of the cost of rewetting and regenerating peat may be reimbursed. When the regeneration process is verified, carbon credits are issued. Germany’s Moor Futures was the first carbon credit exchange for peatland rewetting. CarePeat and CarbonConnects are other trading systems. While some worry that carbon credits will slow progress on climate response, peatlands may benefit.

Fenway Park reminds us that Boston was built on fens. Image: Fenway by photographer Kelly , 2013. CC2.0. Included with appreciation.

Fenway Park reminds us that Boston’s heralded fens, preserved by Frederick Law Olmsted whose “Emerald Necklace” surrounds the city with parks now extended by the Central Artery’s Greenway, may be part of a trend. While usually rural, peatlands can be restored in some cities, too. Peatlands may help us reach our climate goals: that is a home run.

Born na Móna. “Bord na Móna announce formal end to all peat harvesting on its lands.” https://www.bordnamona.ie

Creating a New Approach to Peatland Ecosystems (CANAPE). “Intereg North Sea Region.” European Regional Development Fund. https://northsearegion.eu/canape/

Cumbrian Bogs LIFE. https://youtube.com/watch?v=m45HYe_cxkM&feature=shared

Global Peatlands Initiative. “COP28 Virtual Peatlands Pavillion.” 2023 https://storage.net-fs.com/hosting/61470bb/18/

Heaney, Seamus. “Bogland.” Listen to audio while reading the poem at https://www.ibiblio.org/ipa/poems/heaney/bogland.php

In Defense of Plants.com “Saving Bornean Peatlands is a Must for Conservation.” 5 February 2018. https://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2018/1/29/saving-bornean-peatlands-is-a-must-for-conservation-1

International Peatland Society (IPS) https://peatlands.org

O’Grady Cathleen. “Scotland’s billionaires are turning climate change into a trophy game.” 20 May 2022. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/o5/scotland-climate-change-land-use/629835/

Segal, David. “The Climate Profit Buried in Scotland’s Bogs.” 5 May 2022. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/05/05/headway/scotland-peatlands-climate-change.html

United Nations. “Convention on wetlands of international importance.” 2 February 1971. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20996/volume-996-I-14583-English.pdf

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Global Peatlands Assessment: The State of the World’s Peatlands.” 12 November 2022. https://www.unep.org/resources/global-peatlands-assessment-2022

WildLand Limited. https://wildland.scot

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY: Does Life Blush?

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Building The World

Does life blush? Pink may be the color of nascent energy.

Stanley Miller, in 1951, came to the University of Chicago to study with nuclear physicist Edward Teller who had worked on the Manhattan Project, and later established Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (where recent success in fusion energy was achieved). While Teller’s student, Miller attended a lecture by Harold Urey, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, on the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis, on the possible origin of organic life from inorganic compounds. After the lecture, Miller approached Urey with an idea for an experiment to test the hypothesis. Urey was skeptical – no one had ever proven the mystery of how life began – but intrigued. The professor granted Miller one year of funding.

Stanley Miller in 1999. Image courtesy of NASA. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Using water (H2O), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH2), and hydrogen (H2) in a mixture – and stimulating them with an electric arc that acted like lightning to produce fast intense heat and then applying a condenser to cool – Miller repeated alternation of heat and cold to see what might happen. The mix of components has the acronym WHAM (water, hydrogen, ammonia, methane).

“Miller-Urey Experiment” by NASA. ImageP public domain. Included with appreciation.

Soon, water droplets began to form and then a watery solution dripped into what started to look like a tiny pond. Miller left the lab for the night. The next day, he awakened with curiosity and dashed to the lab. The pond was now turning color – a pale pink. Encouraged, he ran to tell Urey. The two watched and waited. In a week, the pink pond turned a reddish brownish black. What was happening?

**Miller’s experiment turned pink. Examination revealed the presence of amino acids, building blocks of organic life.** Image: TBurnArts, 2016. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Miller identified five amino acids that had formed: aspartic acid, glycine, a-aminobutyric acid and two forms of analine (Australian Earth Science Foundation, 2024). This was significant because previous to that moment, all of science avowed that amino acids, molecules of life, could only be built inside living bodies. That belief was traditionally expressed in the phrase “Omne vivum ex vivo“ (All life comes from living things). But now living energy had appeared from inorganic compounds in Miller’s lab. “Primordial soup” – the parlance given to Oparin/Haldane’s hypothesis and picked up by Miller/Urey – was now served. And it was pink.

**Nobel Prize Laureate Harold Urey in 1934. Later, a crater on the Moon was named for him: Urey Crater.** Image: Nobel Foundation, public domain. Included with appreciation.

Professor Harold Urey urged Miler to publish the findings but refused to put his name on the paper for two reasons. First, the idea and experiment was totally Miller’s and the professor was just the verifier. And, Urey worried – with reason – that the journal editors would give him all the credit because of his Nobel status. As predicted, the journal turned down the paper. But Urey wrote them a very clear note about Miller, attached his name as verifier, and they immediately published the findings. Eventually, the experiment became known as Miller-Urey. Harold Urey is also known from discovering deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, and the process of enriching uranium. Later in life, Urey became interested in space, participating in examination of lunar rocks brought back by Apollo NASA astronauts. A crater on the moon is now named Urey Crater.

**Last Chance Lake in British Columbia, Canada, has been noted as a candidate for conditions similar to those described by Miller-Urey.** Image: ‘British Columbian Lundbom Lake Rogaine” by photographer Murray Foubister, 2011. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Miller-Urey’s demonstration that organic life can spring from inorganic, under certain conditions, recently made news when scientists noted that Last Chance Lake – a shallow body of water in British Columbia – has the highest concentration of phosphate ever found in any natural pond or body of water on Earth. Why is this interesting? Phosphate contains phosphorus, a life-related molecule found in DNA, RNA, and, well, life. Last Chance Lake also has dolomite that triggers reactions among calcium, magnesium, and carbonate. In the geology of the volcanic soil around the lake, phosphate may have been part of how life originated. In geological circles, it’s called a “soda lake;” some say it is just the kind that Darwin envisioned when he wrote to his colleague in February 1871 about a hypothetical “warm little pond.” But as Miller-Urey proved, it is the stimulus and alternation of heat energy that sparked those components to organic life in that pond and in the lab.

Alternation of intense heat energy proved to be the spark of organic life, in the Miller-Urey experiment. Image: “Animated lightning” by Kunal Sen and TIsha Pillai, Wikimedia Foundation, 2021. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Tesla also placed importance on alternating current. But the idea is not new. Tantra, a philosophy arising around 500 ce in India, proposed that “Spanda” (from Sankrit Spadi “to move back and forth, to vibrate”) was the original energetic force that gave forth life.

Image: “Yantra with Om symbol” said to be the vibratory sound of the universe in Tantric philoophy. From photographer Tomoaki Inaba, 2011. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

The world’s future depends upon energy in clean, renewable, sustainable forms. Solar, wave and wind (caused by thermal alternation), and advances in fusion energy, may lead the way. Interestingly, plasma fusion energy from hydrogen radiates a series of colors from red to aqua, but when they combine, they often produce pink. (Eurofusion 2024). What is it about pink?

**“Hydrogen spectrum”** graphic by OrangeDog. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Australian Earth Science Foundation. “Origin of Life: Miller-Urey.” https://ausearthed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Origin-of-Life-Miller-Urey-Reading.pdf

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Energy: Darwin’s Big IF and the Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis.” 1 February 2024. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2024/02/01/energy-darwins-big-if/

Center for Chemical Evolution (CCE). https://centerforchemicalevolution.com

Darling, David. “Oparin-Haldane Theory: Chart on Differences in Theories of Oparin and Haldane” https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/O/OparinHaldane.html

Eurofusion. “Where does the plasma colour come from?” 2024. https://euro-fusion.org/faq/where-does-the-plasma-colour-come-from/

Forsythe, Jay G., et al., “Ester-Mediated Amide Bond Formation Driven by Wet-Dry Cycles: A Possible Path to Polypeptides on the Prebiotic Earth.” 15 July 2015. Angewandte Chemie, Volume 127, Issue 34, pages 10009-10013. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ange.201503792

Gronstal, Aaron. “Origins of life in a drying puddle.” 10 August 2015. National Science Foundation and NASA. https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/origins-of-life-in-a-drying-puddle/

Horn-Muller, Ayurella. “A shallow lake in Canada could point to the origin of life on Earth.” 17 February 2024. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/17/world/last-chance-lake-origin-of-life-phosphate-scn?cid=ios_app

Mitnick, Michael. “The Current War.” Film starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla, and Michael Shannon at George Westinghouse. Premiered 2017. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140507

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “Atomic Spectra Database.” Version 5.11, December 2023. https://www.nist.gov/pml/atomic-spectra-database

Stated Clearly. Narrated by Jon Perry. “What was the Miller-Urey Experiment?” Center for Chemical Evolution, National Science Foundation, and NASA. https://youtu.be/NNijmxsKGbc?si=iHSgQ0wK5ZoHP_g

Thomas, Jeremy. “Igniting the Future.” 15 May 2023. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). https://www.llnl.gov/article/49786/igniting-future-hundreds-gather-celebrate-historic-fusion-achievement

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

TRANSPORT: Super Bowl Sustainability

Posted on February 10, 2024February 11, 2024 by Building The World

“Taylor Swift at 2023 MTV Video Music Awards,” image by iHeartRadioCa. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Taylor Swift hopes to attend the Super Bowl in Las Vegas but must take a private jet from Japan where she is on tour. Her fans, “Swifties,” quip that the superstar’s flight finally forced a certain news network to actually mention the words: “climate change.” Swift’s previous attendance at the AFC championship game in January resulted in three tons of carbon emissions – and that flight was just from New Jersey to Maryland. Flying over 5,000 miles will require a lot more jet fuel, and result in even more emissions. Joining her plane circling Las Vegas will be an estimated 1000 private jets. Swift is flying to see her boyfriend Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs play versus the San Francisco 49ers in the football contest.

“Cole Hollcomb and Travis Kelce football in action” All-Pro Reels 2021. https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeglo/51616124289/

Sports fans with private planes are not the only winged emitters. World Economic Forum attendees jetted into Davos, Switzerland in over 1,000 private jets. That’s the same emissions that would be generated by 350,000 cars driving for seven days. Worldwide, in 2022, private jets emitted carbon dioxide totaling 573,000 metric tons.

Can we improve aviation emissions? Image: NASA, 2013. Public Domain. Creative commons. Included with appreciation.

Commercial aircraft emit carbon dioxide reaching levels of 1 billion tons every year. That is more that the entire country of Germany. If aviation were a country, it would come just after China, USA, India, Russia, and Japan in emissions levels.

“Dutch Roll” animation graphic by Pacascho, 2021. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Is there a solution? How about flying on leftover sugar, fat, and corn waste? Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from biofuels produced from renewable crops or collected waste offers advantages. SAF produces 85% less emissions over its lifecycle. And, importantly, SAF can use the same delivery infrastructure and personnel systems as traditional kerosene-based jet fuel. In 2021, United Airlines flew from Chicago to Washington, DC, using 100% SAF in one of its jet engines. In 2023, Emirates claimed the honor of being the first aircraft to fly an Airbus A380 using 100% SAFs in one of the plane’s engines. Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787 flew from London to New York. Gulfstream led private aviation in a flight from Savannah, George to Farnborough Airport in England using 100% SAF.

“Types and Generation of Biofuels,” by Muhammad Rizwan Javed, et al., 2019. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Leading innovators producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel include Engine Alliance, Neste, Pratt & Whitney, and Virent. Investors are interested. But it should be noted that growing enough crops for biofuels in the UK would consume one half of all available agricultural land.

Logo: Brightline West Logo, 2023. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

In 2028, stars attending Las Vegas festivities might change the game by riding the coming high-speed electric train Brightline West that will run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in two hours with almost zero emissions.

Las Vegas – bright lights, bright future. Image: “Fremont Street, Las Vegas, 2010,” by User: Jean-Cristophe Benoit, 2010. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Brooke, K. Lusk. “TRANSPORT: New ‘Wingprint’ for Aviation.” 29 November 2023. Building the World Blog.

Department of Energy (DOE), United States. “Sustainable Aviation Fuel.” https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/sustainable_aviation_fuel.html

Narciso, Gerald. “It’s a big weekend for football. And for fancy jets.” 7 February 2024. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/07/climate/super-bowl-private-jets.html

One Monroe Aerospace. “Why airplanes use kerosene rather than plain gasoline for fuel.” 29 April 2023. https://monroeaerospace.com/blog/why-airplanes-use-kerosene-rather-than-plain-gasoline-for-fuel/

ENERGY: (Re)Vision for Coal

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Building The World

**Coal-fired power plants, repurposed, may offer great innovation opportunities.** Image: “Coal burning” by Diddi4, 2017. Creative Commons CC0. Included with appreciation.

Many are terming COP28 as the “beginning of the end.” While the desired wording of “phasing out” degraded into “transitioning,” still it was the first time directly naming and targeting “fossil fuels in energy systems.”

Of the three primary fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), coal is the most polluting. And it is also very expensive to mine: digging enormous holes in the ground, hauling up heavy materials, crushing, washing, transporting coal to plants that themselves are both expensive to run and in need of repair, replacement, or retirement. More than 80% of U.S. coal plants cost more to keep running than to replace with new forms of energy generation. Regulations will accelerate closings: the 2028 laws concerning protecting drinking water from coal ash and other toxins may make compliance prohibitively costly. Duke Energy announced intention to close 11 coal-fired power facilities earlier than expected, at the same time declaring a move to renewable energy investment. Georgia Power stated it would close all of its 14 coal plants (by 2035) while pivoting to solar and wind. Peabody Coal, largest private company in the coal business in the world, recently announced investment in solar and storage. (Marcacci, 2022).

Coal is the most polluting of the fossil fuels. Image: “Close up of smoke from coal stack” by John L. Alexandrowicz, 1975, National Archives and Records Administration, USA. Public Domain Creative Commons CC0. Included with appreciation.

Even if soon becoming obsolete in their original purpose, repurposed coal plants offer a valuable asset: they are already wired to the grid. That’s why repurposing rather than decommissioning coal-fired power plants may be a great opportunity. And, it should be noted that repurposing plants will keep jobs, taxes, and revenues in the community. Here’s two examples of advantageous repurposing of coal-fired power plants.

Brayton Point went from coal to wind. Image: “Aerial view of Brayton Point Power Station,” circa 1990, from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. CC2.0. Included with appreciation.

Brayton Point Power Station was once the biggest coal-fired power plant in New England, generating 1600 MW of electrical power for more than half a century. In 2017, the plant closed. One year later, Commercial Development Company, Inc., (CDC) bought what was left and started the process of clean-up, needed demolition, site re-grading, and preparing for a new vision. With 300 acres (121 hectares) on a spacious waterfront with a 34-feet (10 meters) deep water port, the site was advantageous. Brayton Point offered access to the powerful winds of the Atlantic Ocean. When partner Prysmian Group signed on to acquire 47 acres for construction of a subsea cable manufacturing facility, coal-to-wind transition was born with a planned energy capacity of 30GW. Partner Mayflower Wind will also take a role, bringing 1,200 MW to Brayton Point from its wind farms 30 miles (48 kilometers) off island Martha’s Vineyard and 20 miles (32 kilometers) off Nantucket. Brayton Point will serve as a valuable nexus for wind energy because it has legacy grid connections. A National Grid substation will bring power to one million homes. Further benefits are construction jobs (325) and area revenues ($250 million). More opportunities will open for tenants on the newly designed site.

Space Solar Power, wirelessly beamed to Earth, could use retired, repurposed coal-fired power plants as receiving and transmission stations. There are over 8,000 on the planet – offering an instant global distribution network. Caltech demonstrated success in 2023. Image: “Solar Power Satellite Concept” by NASA, 2011. Public domain image included with appreciation.

A powerful possibility is using former coal-fired power plants as land stations to receive and transmit space solar power. In 1971, visionary Peter E. Glaser filed US patent application US00165893A for “Method and apparatus for converting solar radiation to electrical power.” NASA started work on Glaser’s idea, but at the time space technology was not developed sufficiently to realize the potential. In 2023, the dream became vision with demonstrated proof. Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) and its Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment (MAPLE) sent a space solar power prototype into orbit, and wirelessly transmitted to a receiver on Earth – March 3, 2023 was the exact moment. The success was designed by a Caltech team led by Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering, co-director of SSPP, Ali Hajimiri. It was with the help of Donald Bren, chair of Irvine Company. Bren had read an article in Popular Science as a young person and never forgot the concept. A series of donations launched the Caltech project. Northrop Grumman also donated. It might be noted that when space-based wireless power arrives on earth, the energy source may need receiving stations. Rather than build a whole new network, repurposed coal-fired plants, already connected to the grid, might stand at the ready to realize a new power system. With over 8,000 coal-fired power plants already in place, coal-fired power plants may be the ideal, already-built, global network for reception and distribution of space solar power.

California Institute of Technology (Caltech). “In a first, Caltech’s space solar power demonstrator wirelessly transmits power in space.” 1 June 2023. Caltech. Includes VIDEO. https://www.caltech.edu/about/news-in-a-first-caltechs-space-solar-power-demonstrator-wirelessly-transmits-power-in-space

Commercial Development Company, Inc. “Case Study: Repurposing New England’s Largest Coal-Fired Power Plant for Offshore Wind Energy.” 2023. https://www.cdcco.com/brayton-point/

Glaser, Peter E. “Method and apparatus for converting solar radiation to electrical power.” 1971. United States Patent application US00165893A. https://patents.google.com/patent/US3781647A/en

Hajimiri, Ali. “How wireless energy from space could power everything.” TED2030. https://go.ted.com/67UN

Marcacci, Silvio. “So much for coal’s rebound – plant closures come roaring back. It’s time to unlock a just transition.” 15 March 2022. Forbes. (Audio available). https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2022/03/15/so-much-for-coals-rebound-plant-closures-come-roaring-back-smart-policy-must-unlock-a-just-transition/

United Nations. Framework Convention on Climate Change. “First Global Stocktake,” 13 December 2023. FCCC/PA/CMA/2023/L.17. https://unfcc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2023_L17:adv.pdf

World Bank Group, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program. “Coal plant repurposing for ageing coal fleets in developing countries.” Technical report 016/21. License: Creative Commons 3.0 https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/144181629878602689/pdf/Coal-Plant-Repurposing-for-Ageing-Coal-Fleets-in-Developing-Countries-Technical-Report.pdf

Yale Environment 360. “Canadian Coal-Fired Power Plant Transformed into Solar Farm.” 8 April 2019. Yale E360 Digest. https://e360.yale.edu/digest/canadian-nanticoke-coal-fired-power-plant-transformed-in-solar-farm

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

TRANSPORT: New “Wingprint” for Aviation

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Building The World

“Dutch roll” animation by Piaschol, 2008. Creative Commons 0, public domain. Included with appreciation.

Flying on leftovers, sugar, fat, and corn waste – recipe for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) – Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787 flew from London’s Heathrow to New York’s JFK, joining Emirates and Gulfstream in demonstrating a new “wingprint” for aviation. In some ways, it was just a proof-of-concept: there were no passengers or cargo. But nevertheless, it is a significant milestone for an industry that seeks climate-sensitive solutions to air transport emissions.

1903, December 17 – Take Off! Wright’s first flight. Historic photograph, public domain, Included with appreciation.

1903 to 2023 – just over a century after the Wright Brothers made the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air craft, aviation has begun to transition to sustainable and renewable fuel sources. Recently, Emirates claimed the honor of being the first airline to demonstrate flight of an A380 with 100% SAF. But the aircraft used SAF fuel in only one of the plane’s four engines. Other aviation industry leaders including Airbus, Engine Alliance, Pratt & Whitney, Neste, Virent and others joined the quest. Just days earlier, Gulfstream Aerospace, leader in business and private air travel, completed a transatlantic flight from Savannah, Georgia to Farnborough airport in England. using 100% SAF. Using Pratt & Whitney PW815GA engines, flight fuel was composed of hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (neat HEFA) biofuel.

“Types and generation of biofuels” by Muhammad Rizwan Javel, et al., 2019. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)? It is a fuel produced from non-petroleum based , renewable “feedstocks” that may include food and yard waste from landfills, fats and greases from leftovers in commercial kitchens, and woody biomass. Suppliers include Neste and World Energy. In the United States. the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, and other agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding termed the “SAF Grand Challenge” to produce 3 billion gallons (ll billion liters) per year by 2030 and 35 billion gallons (132 billion liters) per year by 2050.

When the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) met, this week, for the Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels, Emirates’, Gulfstream’s, and Virgin’s achievements served to accelerate progress towards the goal of making all aircraft capable of flying with 100% SAF by 2030. Presently, commercial airlines can use only 50% SAF while safety tests continue.

Aviation’s new wingprint – dawn of a era. Image: “Flying through the sunrise” by Lenny K. Photography, 2015. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

SAF could reduce air travel’s carbon “wingprint” by 70%. How? SAF does emit the same amount of greenhouse gases when airborne, but it is made from plants like corn that have already absorbed CO2 before they were cut. So in a sense, SAF is considered cleaner. SAF does not come cheap: it costs 6 times more than regular jet fuels like kerosene. Another factor is land use. Growing enough plants for biofuels would use a lot of land: in the UK, it would consume half of available agricultural land. Instead of traditional biomass SAF, environmental advocates advise development of synthetic fuels made by blending green hydrogen with carbon captured energy. Innovators in what is termed “synthetic kerosene” include Shell, KLM, and start-up Twelve Corporation. The global SAF market, including synthetic kerosene, is predicted to grow by 47% from 2023 to 2030.

Austin, Katy. “Groundbreaking transatlantic flight using greener fuel lands in the US.” 27 November 2023. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67548961

Department of Energy (DOE), United States. “Sustainable Aviation Fuel.” https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/sustainable_aviation_fuel.html

Emirates. “Emirates world’s first airline to operate A380 demonstration flight with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel.” 22 November 223. https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/emirates-worlds-first-airline-to-operate-a380-demonstration-flight-with-100-sustainable-aviation-fuel/

General Dynamics. “Gulfstream completes world’s first trans-Atlantic flight on 100% sustainable aviation fuel.” 20 November 2023. Cision/General Dynamics. https://www.prnewswire.com/new-releases/gulfstream-completes-worlds-first-trans-atlantic-flight-on-100-sustainable-aviation-fuel-301993029.html

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). https://www.icao.int/

Prisco, Jacopo. “Plane will fly from London to New York with 100% sustainable aviation fuel. Experts say it’s not a fix.” 28 November 2023. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/28/travel/first-transatlantic-flight-saf-climate-scn-spc

Shell. “World first – synthetic kerosene takes to the air.” https://www.shell.com/business-customers/aviation/100years/flying-together/synthetic-kerosene.html

Twelve Corporation. https://www.twelve.co

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY/CITIES: Are You in a Circle of Danger?

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Building The World

**If you live within 1/2 mile (0.8 kilometer) of a fossil fuel processing plant, you may be in a circle of danger**. Image above shows air pollution as it circles the globe. “Air Pollution Earth” by NASA, 2001. Public Domain.

Air pollution is a serious problem worldwide. Burning of fossil fuels, excess vehicular traffic, and lack of green spaces to absorb emissions, are causing clogged skies and public health dangers. Case in point, this month: India.

“Taj Mahal” from a photograph circa 1900. Image source: U.S. Library of Congress. Creative Commons Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Those who visited India’s famed Taj Mahal may not have been able to see the iconic monument this month. Air pollution fogged India’s skies. New Delhi, home to 35 million people, closed schools and warned residents to stay indoors if possible. NASA’s satellite images showed dense smoke over the landscape. But more troubling was the cause: particulate matter toxins and pollutants so tiny they can pass into human (and animal) airways to cause illness and chronic conditions.

“Air pollution in India from burning of rice residues in SE Punjab, India, prior to wheat season.” By Neil Palmer, CIAT. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Seasonal – in November, farmers clear straw after the rice harvest: it’s known as “stubble burning.” That practice increases normal pollution levels caused by domestic fires for heating and cooking, as well as smog from industry and vehicles.

**Diwali fireworks may add to air pollution.** “Diwali fireworks, India” by Urbanurban_ru, 2013. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Fireworks: Added Danger – add to present air problems the joyous feast of Diwali, occasion for sky-illuminating, but also air-polluting, fireworks and air pollution becomes more serious. After Diwali, transport authorities are considering calling for an alternation of traffic days, allowing certain vehicles on the road every odd/even day. In some global locations, during seasonal festivals, many cities opt for aerial drone displays rather than traditional fireworks.

Regional – as New Delhi experiences air quality issues, Lahore, Pakistan, home to 13 million people, has also recommended schools, shopping malls, and some businesses, close temporarily. The air quality index (AQI) reached a hazardous level. Air pollution is a transboundary problem.

“Comparison of footprint and transboundary air pollution.” Nansai, Keisuke, et al., https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26348-y. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Pollution Effects Worldwide – 1 in 5 deaths worldwide can be traced to illnesses initiated or worsened by air pollution from fossil fuel combustion. Researchers from the University of Birmingham, University of Leicester, University College, London, and Harvard University found that 8 million people died from causes linked to air pollution in 2018; since then, things have gotten worse.

**If you live near a fossil fuel processing plant, you may be in the circle of danger.** Image: “Jamnagar Refinery at Night” by Reliance industries, 2006, from *Forbes India*. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Circle of Danger – the closer you live to a fossil fuel production facility, the more pollutants you may encounter. Toxins entering the air, and your lungs, include benzene, carbon dioxide, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, methane, toluene, and xylene. The term for some of these substances is Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). In the United States, there are over 1 million active production wells, natural gas compressor stations, and processing plants, with 12 million people living within 1/2 mile (0.8 kilometer) – the circle of danger.

Do you live within a circle of danger? Image: “Red circle” by graphic designer AmericanXplorer13. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Want to find out if your business, home, or school is within the toxic zone? If you live in the United States, you can track your location on the THREAT MAP.

Atwoli, Lukoye, et al., “Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health.” September 2021. The Lancet, Volume 398, Issue 10304, p939-941, September 11, 2021. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PII0140-6736(21)01915-2/flltext#%20

Burrows, Leah. “Deaths from fossil fuel emissions higher than previously thought.” 9 February 2021. Harvard Gazette. https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/02/deaths-fossil-fuel-emissions-higher-previously-thought

Clean Air Task Force. “Fossil Fumes.” 15 September 2022. https://www.catf.us/resource/fossil-fumes-public-health-analysis/

Mogul, Rhea. “This megacity is the latest to shut down as pollution chokes swathes of South Asia.” 10 November 2023 CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/10/asia/pakistan-india-pollution-new-delhi-lahore-intl-hnk?cid=ios_app

Patel, Kasha. “The smog choking this Indian city is visible from space.” 9 November 2023. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/09/india-air-quality-smog-new-delhi/

Vohra, Karn et al., “Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel combustion: Results from GEOS-Chem.” Environmental Research, Volume 195, April 2021, 110754. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121000487

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY: Climate Conservation Corps

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Building The World

“Many Hands,” by Sharon and Nikki McCutcheon, 2015. Dedicated by the photographers to the public domain. Included with appreciation.

During UN climate week, the U.S. announced creation of an “American Climate Corps” that will combine public service with training for environmentally beneficial professions and technologies. Ali Zaidi, White House point person, may lead the effort to recruit 20,000 young people for the inaugural year. Some Corps areas will also include age-diverse cohorts. Collaborators joining the training and development will feature experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and AmeriCorps, as well as departments of Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and Labor. If we need an energy revolution, this could be it.

**“CCC camps in Michigan, USA”** circa 1930s. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

There are historic precedents. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pulled American youth out of Depression-era joblessness by creating the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). While initially aimed at those suffering poverty. CCC expanded, through the creative leadership of Frank P. Davidson, to include Camp William James in Tunbridge, Vermont, welcoming college recruits.

**Without dikes, the Netherlands would be flooded to this extent.** Image by Jan Arksteijn, 2004. Dedicated by the graphic artist to the public domain, CC 0.1. Included with appreciation.

But the earliest organization of service work might be the Dike Armies of the medieval Netherlands. In 1319, this edict described the corps: “Ende alman sal ten menen werke comen op den dijc, daers hem ie Baeiliu, of die Dijcgrave vermaent” – “Everybody shall come to work at the dike on instruction of the bailiff or dike reeve.” It should be noted that today, with social media like Instagram, X, TikTok, calling up volunteer teams to respond to a climate disaster would have instant effectiveness.

**Look at Earth from space. There are no lines on a map showing states or nations. Our planet is land surrounded by water. Climate is regional and global – so must be our response**. “The Blue Marble” by NASA Apollo 17, enhanced by Degir6328. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

The newly planned American Climate Corps might be the beginning of a new era of job and skills development to respond to climate change. But a broader vision could expand the scope. Climate change will not stop at national borders: San Diego in the USA and Tijuana in Mexico share the same coast and the same need for response to sea level rise. Vermont, site of CCC Camp William James, shared smoke from Canada’s recent wildfires. Look at Earth from space; you see not countries and nations, but land and water. Climate change must be addressed by regional, and global, response. The American Climate Corps could become a regional organization inviting Canada, Mexico, and the USA, together with the original Tribes of the Americas, to share language training, technology development, and regional capability to respond to climate change.

The new CCC can build wind turbines, delivering green electricity. It’s a fast-growing industry with great jobs. Image: “Dual Rotor Wind Turbine” by Deas1. Creative commons. Included with appreciation.

Those trained by the new Climate Corps can serve a dual role of training for climate-ready jobs, and also be ready to respond to climate disasters that affect the region. In the last decade, 85% of natural disasters like drought and fires, storms and floods, were attributed to, and intensified by, global warming. Climate change calls us to work together in ways that can strengthen education, technology, and shared vision through climate justice. As Climate Corps members build green energy technology and plant drought-resistant agricultural grains, perhaps they may also sow the seeds of peace.

Can we plant drought-resistant agriculture as a way to sow the seeds of peace? Image: Logo “Plant for the Planet,” 2015. Public Domain Fair Use. Included with appreciation.

Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke. “Protective Dikes and Land Reclamation: The Netherlands,” Volume 1, page 57. Building the World (Greenwood, 2006). ISBN: 0313333734.

Friedman, Lisa. “Wanted: 20,000 Young Americans to Fight Climate Change.” 20 September 2023. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/climate/biden-climate-corps-youth.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

TRANSPORT: Cargo Ships with Wings

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Building The World

**Will winged ships be the future of cargo transport?** Image: “Pigeons Flying” by Eadweard Muybridge, 1893. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Transportation contributes to global warming by use of fossil fuels. Electric vehicles are increasing in use while decreasing emissions; batteries needed to store and dispense electric power are easier to develop for smaller vehicles like cars or vans, even trucks. Airplanes are improving. Short-haul passenger travel has made some progress with electric aircraft, and United Airlines recently flew from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C. on biofuel. Train travel is clocking faster speeds with lower emissions from innovations like Mag-lev and Hyperloop. But what about shipping?

**Container ship “Ever Given” stuck in the Suez Canal on 21 March 2021,** by Copernicus Sentinel Satellite. Adapted as photo by Pierre Markuse, 2021. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Maritime shipping moves 80% of all the goods manufactured and produced in the world economy. The industry emits one billion tons of CO2 every year – 3% of human-generated emissions. The industry grows every year: in 2021, 1.95 billion metric tons of cargo were shipped via container fleets. The biggest shipping companies include APM-Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, and MSC; each receiving loads of TEUs (acronym for twenty-food equivalent unit, a standard of measure in the shipping industry). When a particularly large container freighter became stuck in the Suez Canal, attention was called to the shipping industry and its role in global transport, and emissions. Behemoth container ships are too large run on batteries, and solar panels are not the answer, either. What about wind?

Enter Pyxis Ocean. It’s a cargo transport ship, chartered by Cargill, that has been fitted with wings. Two sails made of steel, each 123 feet (37.5 meters) tall, set sail recently. The wing/sails are foldable, allowing passage under bridges. The vessel was retrofitted by BAR Technologies, Yara Marine Technologies, and Mitsubishi. While the ship still uses fossil fuel, wings use wind to reduce fuel consumption by 30%. Launched in China and sailing toward Brazil, Pyxis Ocean is an innovation worth watching. Cargill is an agricultural firm, transporting 225 million tons annually. Could this be the beginning of a new era in shipping?

**The earliest global trade was through ships with sails.** Image: “Two Danish Ships entering Portsmouth Harbour” by J.M.W. Turner, circa 1807-1809. Tate acquisition number N00481. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

The earliest global transport ‘supply chain’ was through ships with sails. Historic great fleets with complex arrays of sails are the stuff of legend, and art. Is past now prologue? Cargill/BAR/Mitsubishi/Yara received support from the European Union’s WindWings project. The aim is to retrofit existing shipping vessels with wings to reduce fuel use and therefore emissions. BAR’s Head of Engineering Lauren Eatwell, a lifelong sailor with Olympic experience as well as education in composite structural engineering, helped to pioneer the WindWing design. Cargill aims to save 1.5 metric tons of fuels per wing per day. With advanced fuels (think methanol), more cost and emission savings are full speed ahead. We are the water planet, and we will continue to traverse the globe with ships. Can the shipping industry take wing?

**Shipping will continue to be a mainstay of global supply chain routes. Can the shipping industry take wing?** Image: “Spinning Globe with one frame/sec = one hour/sec” adapated from public domain images by Wikidao. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

WATCH: Video of Pysix Ocean and WindWings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STlkqiQ62e4

BAR Technologies. “WindWings.” https://www.bartechnologies.uk/project/windwings/

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Supply Chain Reaction.” Building the World Blog 2021 https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2021/10/15/transport-supply-chain-reaction/

Cargill. “Cargill and BAR Technologies’ ground-breaking wind technology sets sail, chartering a lower-carbon path for the maritime industry.” 21 August 2023. Cargill. https://www.cargill.com/2023/cargill-bar-technologies-wind-technology-sets-sail

Lewis, Neil. “Wind-powered cargo ship sets sail in a move to make shipping greener.” 21 August 2023. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/22/travel/wind-powered-cargo-ship-cargill-bartech-climate-c2e-spc-intl

Placek, Martin. “Container shipping statistics & facts,” 31 August 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/1367/container=shipping/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY/WATER – Congratulations! Pause on Deep Seabed Mining

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Building The World

**CONGRATULATIONS and thanks for voicing your support for pausing deep seabed mining**, might be the words of this ‘Dumbo’ Octopus, more formally known as Opisthoteuthis agassizzi. Image: “Dumbo Octopus” by NOAA, 2019. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

If you voted “yes” to pause decisions on deep seabed mining, your voice has been heard. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) agreed to extend discussions on guidelines for deep sea mining, and to develop clearer policy to protect the marine environment, until 2024, or maybe even 2025.

Logo of International Seabed Authority by Anna Elaise, ISA, 2009. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

A proposal by Chile, Costa Rica, France, Palau, and Vanuatu, supported by other member States, overrode the “two-year rule” enacted by Nauru and The Metals Company to begin mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). The matter will advance to further discussion at the twenty-ninth session of the Assembly in 2024; some say debate could extend to 2025. There is time; you can become better informed and more involved.

**Palau is one of the signatories of the measure to pause deep sea mining advancement until further discussion**. Image: “Palau archipelago” by Lux Tonnerre, 2008. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

ISA revealed the decision in an August 2 report entitled “Just and Equitable Management of the Common Heritage of Humankind.” Part 04 of the report reveals the “Status of Contracts for Exploration in The Area.” These areas are the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), the Indian Ocean, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the Northwest Pacific Ocean. The areas are the focus for:

19 contracts for mining of polymetallic nodules (PMN)

7 contracts for mining polymetallic sulphides (PMS)

4 contracts for cobalt-rich ferromaganese crusts (CFC)

Source: International Seabed Authority (ISA) 2023

Deep sea bed mining may involve the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Image: “Location of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone” by United States Geological Survey (USGS), 2008. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

There are two kinds of ISA contracts: exploration and exploitation. Exploration contracts assess minerals present in the area and may include sampling, as well as testing mining technologies and ways to process mined minerals. Advancing to exploitation contracts would commence deep seabed mining. Contracts are sponsored by member states, and may include private enterprise partners. States currently sponsoring contracts include Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Cook Islands, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Nauru, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovak Republic, and Tonga (ISA Figure 12). While exploration may be carried out by presence and probing, as done by Alexander Dalrymple and James Cook using lead lines and sextants on voyages of the “Endeavor;” since the time of COMSAT, the deep seabed may also be mapped by remote sensors and satellites.

“First voyage of James Cook – HMS Endeavor leaving Whitby Harbour” by Thomas Luny, 1768. It should be noted that Cook’s final voyage resulted in actions that may have been better avoided. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

Don’t rest on your votive laurels. The deep sea, and its treasures, are shared possessions of all the world and its many inhabitants including fauna and flora of the deep. You help the world decide what will determine the “Just and Equitable Management of the Common Heritage of Humankind.” (ISA 2023) What are your views? What actions can you take this year, and next?

Brooke, K. Lusk. “WATER/ENERGY: Deep Seabed Mining” 13 July 2023. Building the World Blog. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2023/07/13/water-energy-deep-seabed-mining-part-2/

Greenpeace International. “Petition on Deep Sea Mining.” greenpeace.org/…/act/stop-deep-sea-mining/

International Seabed Authority (ISA). 2 August 2023. “Press Release 2 August 2023.” https://www.isa.org.jm/news/isa-assembly-concludes-twenty-eigth-session-with-participation-of-heads-of-states-and-governments-and-high-level-representatives-and-adoption-of-decisions-on-the-establishment-of-the-interim-director/

International Seabed Authority (ISA). Annual Report 2023 (In English and French). Chapter 4: Status of Contracts for Exploration.” https://www.isa.org/jm/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ISA_Secretary_General_Annual_Report_2023_Chapter4.pdf

Panayotov, Kristiyan. “Mapping the seafloor with remote sensing and satellite imagery.” 19 June 2018. Hydro-International. https://www.hydro-international.com/content/article/mapping-the-seafloor-with-remote-sensing-and-satellite-imagery

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U