The 2018 National Climate Assessment

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 […]

California Reeling from Record Wildfire

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 […]

Wind Turbine Electricity Powers Western Washington

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 […]

What’s A Full-time Renewable Energy Resource?

CaliforniaGeo 7-2-18 All renewable energy sources aren’t created equal, sometimes even the most popular ones.  Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences once we understand what renewable really means. A renewable resource is something that doesn’t run out, ever.  Our sun, the center of our solar system is the main source of all […]

Renewable power and geo heat pumps—a marriage of more than convenience

CaliforniaGeo 6-21-18 (Happy solstice!) What’s the most efficient thermal technology for space heating, cooling, and water heating?  It’s a geothermal (or ground source) heat pump (GHP).  Long ago recognized  by the EPA as holding this title, the heat source’s / heat sink’s thermal energy available to a GHP is free, renewable, sustainable, and available everywhere […]

Renewable electricity’s affect on markets’ levelized costs of energy (LCOE)

CaliforniaGeo 6-20-18 Market reality is continuing to shred the policy defenses of certain industries and government officials as renewables continue to chew into domains previously considered sacrosanct.  In the chart above, an acronym titled LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) is used to compare solar photovoltaic generation with nuclear generation. Costs are dropping- As explained by […]

The Importance of Bi-National Industry Standard CSA 448 – Series 16

CaliforniaGeo 8-15-17  An Operational Roadmap- The importance of recognized standards in every organized business or industry is the only way to ensure that outcomes fall into what we would refer to as norms, or acceptable performance.  Consistent results are what matters.  The U.S. Public Health Service Telegraphic Code of 1915, (shown at right), made the […]

Soldiers in combat against climate change

CaliforniaGeo 8-5-17 A growing army of citizens, institutions, corporations, governments and cities (on multiple continents) are fighting climate change.  Their efforts grow from previously planned commitments to the Paris Accord of December, 2015.  Many of these soldiers have accelerated their efforts as an antidote to the Trump Administration’s official U.S. withdrawal from scheduled efforts.  The U.S. […]

A municipal complex gets GeoExchange® via a pond

CaliforniaGeo 8-3-17 Worn out infrastructure? Struggling with an HVAC system composed of various technologies of ages up to 25 years in their main municipal headquarters building, the City of Fort Collins, Colorado installed a complete geothermal heat pump retrofit.  The new system will provide a carbonless heating and  efficient cooling system for over twice that […]

Carbon auctions ruled legal in California

State Supreme Court says auction of carbon credits is constitutional Sacramento Bee 6-29-17 BY DALE KASLER dkasler@sacbee.com Californians pay more for gasoline and other goods to finance the state’s war on climate change. The state Supreme Court decided Wednesday they’ll continue paying for at least three more years. The court declined to hear a lawsuit […]