Speaker #13: Dr Mark Diesendorf

[Deathridesahorse]

Mark,

do you think solar could supply significant base-load power if the storage was de-centralised?

There may be quite a large capacity if electric cars were on the grid.

[debs]

What are your views on traditional light bulbs being banned and the mercury concerns of more eco friendly bulbs?

[greenenergyindustrystooge]

In 'fact sheet 16, The base load fallacy' you discuss using 'wind power as base-load'. A concept which is frequently used, and essentially assumes that wind sites should be developed with the aim smoothing out production from wind generation to appear more like the output of a baseload generator.

Have you considered that this may not be the least cost approach?

An approach in Lamont (2007) argues that wind should be installed to maximize its value in the system, not to smooth out production. In this way, the inclusion of intermittent technologies into the system reduces the optimal amount base-load capacity and replaces it with a mix of intermittent and intermediate capacity.

http://www.energyscience.org.au/FS16%20BaseLoad.pdf

Lamont, A.D., Assessing the long-term system value of intermittent electric generation
technologies, Energy Economics (2007), doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2007.02.007

Cheers

[Deathridesahorse]

Good Stuff GEIS!!!

[macgardener]

(Btw I'm interested in Debs' question re eco friendly lightbulbs too.)

Wandering round the internet I have seen mention of
- bans on azo dyes and pentachlorophenol in textiles
- particle board type products with reduced or no formaldehyde
- bans on aesthetic use of garden pesticides
- non-pesticide methods of weed control by councils in public areas
- compulsory labelling of products containing toxic ingredients
I get the feeling that monitoring progress on these sorts of issues is not a priority in Australia. When will we catch up?

[bruce]

I'm interested in the issue of sustainability. Obviously countries such as Brazil, Mexico, India and China are becoming richer at quite a rapid rate, and as their middle class grows in size, so it seems likely that their carbon footprint will increase. That's the obvious downside, but on the upside they will bring millions more educated minds to the problem.

Do you see the development of developing countries as an opportunity or threat?

[spadlet]

There are people in the UK that are trying to block the human made gulleys in peat bogs in an attempt to prevent further erosion of the peat, raise the level of the water table and hopefully stimulate the bogs into starting to work again.

Do you think that this approach will work?

How quickly and easily do you think that peat bogs that were damaged by humans using unsustainable peat cutting practices can be returned to their former working order?

How much of an impact do you think this would have on climate change?

Reports in the media suggest that the tipping point for the melting of the Siberian permafrost has been exceeded.

Do you agree with this?

Are you aware of any techniques that could be employed to counteract the initial methane release from these peat bogs?

In the long term, assuming the thawing was permanent, do you think that these areas would begin to work as peat bogs again?

Peat bogs can take up land that could be used for other purposes that are currently perceived to have more value (such as farming) and often (in the UK) people think that they have the right to roam freely across areas of former working peat bogs. How would you integrate working peat bogs into a fair and sustainable society?

[Besoeker]

Are there any viable alternatives to fossils an nuclear in the short to medium term?

A quick update on this. I have emailed him a few times recently to enquire about the interview and have yet to recieve a reply, so I'm not really sure what's happening at the moment. Needless to say, as soon as I hear anything I'll post it up here.

Mark emailed me his answers this morning and they're now live

http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/Fo...ic.php?t=11877

Hope you enjoy.