A marvel of efficiency CaliforniaGeo, 7-10-19 The six pipe simultaneous chiller/boiler (aka heat recovery chiller) is a larger-than-residential heat pump system composed of linked, connectible modules in graduated 20-to-80 ton capacities.  When deployed as five dual scroll modular units, these can throttle back to 10% of their staged full capacity (15% with four linked modules) […]

111 Days at Aliso Canyon CaliforniaGeo  5-25-19 This spring saw the completion of a 258-page third party analysis by Blade Energy Partners of well SS-25 at Aliso Canyon, CA, just north of Los Angeles.  The analysis covered the direct causes and the root causes of this uncontrolled leak of 6.6 billion cubic feet of methane […]

(Will California rules be used to keep on burning gas in homes?) CaliforniaGeo 4-8–19 This week, two California state agencies will begin workshops whose purpose is to achieve de-carbonization in buildings.  The Public Utility Commission is the lead agency and will collaborate with the Energy Commission to enact provisions of SB 1477, the Low-emissions buildings […]

Will politics and obstructive policy prevent climate defense? CaliforniaGeo 2-26-19   Sixty years of sampling at the top of a 13,000-foot Hawaiian volcano show that the upward march of carbon dioxide in the world’s troposphere continues to climb steeply.  But, there are still some who express doubts.            Those doubts are composed […]

(It blossomed long before the U.S. mid-terms of 2018) CaliforniaGeo 2-1-19 Social movements have power.  The best of them use slogans and imagery that captivate a wide public audience to make change.  Currently, this phenomenon has surfaced as a “Green New Deal” (GND).  It borrows a phrase from the 1930s Roosevelt program to rebuild the […]

(Geothermal Can Satisfy Any Building You Want) CaliforniaGeo 12-14–18 When some members of the public first hear about geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) as some sort of thermal efficiency miracle, it’s probably tied to a specific type of building.  And if that type is not one that is likely to serve them in the future, their […]

Transportation still exceeds greenhouse gas limits CaliforniaGeo 11-28-18 California’s dedication to all things green by statute and regulatory policy has been a multi-decade effort but it is faltering.  A November report by the California Air Resources Board  cites the assessment that greenhouse gas reductions are not on track to meet established goals. The state’s landmark […]

Evidence continues to be alarming CaliforniaGeo 11-28-18 Government scientists from eight departments and five agencies released the National Climate Assessment Report on November 23rd, and the news is not good.  These were some of the same organizations that began backing up  decades of acquired data on outside servers after the presidential election of 2016 signalled […]

Deadly “Camp” fire burns after close of normal fire season  CaliforniaGeo 11-19-18 A fire season like no other before it in northern California has lapsed into November and produced a new record for loss of life and property destruction that’s still being tallied.  One town (Paradise) was effectively obliterated by this fast moving fire and […]

It complements the mighty Columbia River’s hydropower CaliforniaGeo 9-28-18  In 2015, hydropower electricity provided 8.6% of our nation’s total requirements.  However, the pace of hydropower construction has dropped to nearly nothing, and increased drought conditions are challenging some of our largest facilities to operate at their capacity.  Puget Sound Energy (PSE) of Bellevue, Washington has […]