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The "rainy day" strategy against climate change (Opinion)

2021-08-11T18:28:53.678Z


Don Lincoln proposes green energy as the most compelling solution to avoid the dire future described in the latest climate change report.


5 keys to the climate crisis in the UN report 1:40

Editor's Note:

Don Lincoln is a Senior Scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

He is the author of several science books for the general public, including the bestselling audiobook "The Theory of Everything: The Quest to Explain All Reality."

It also produces a series of science education videos.

Follow him on Facebook.

The opinions expressed in this comment belong solely to him.

See more opinions here.

(CNN) -

The sixth version of the climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was released on Monday, and it predicts a dire future.

Global warming is advancing dangerously and in a way that will change the lives of our children.

The report consists of 1,300 pages of serious and well-regarded science.

It should be a must read for everyone, or at least the executive summary.

There is no credible argument against the fact that the continued use of fossil fuels, which emit carbon dioxide, is a danger to the Earth.

The data is compelling and has been tabulated by many trusted scientific bodies, such as the National Academy of Sciences and its international analog, the IPCC, as well as many others.

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The shift to greener energy sources is inevitable, as is the need for more energy as the world's population increases and developing countries join the developed world.

However, technical issues remain to be resolved for some green energy sources.

There is disagreement about what constitutes green energy. Although I am personally in favor of increasing nuclear power generation, there are those who consider Fukushima, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island to be worrying enough to reject this nuclear power as "green." I admit that it is necessary to increase security, but for me, nuclear energy is superior to what we have been doing. And enormous power can certainly be drawn from the center of the uranium cores.

But even people who dismiss nuclear power will generally agree that green power includes wind, solar, and sometimes hydro.

However, there is a huge deficiency associated with some of these technologies, easily pointed out by anyone, and that is that the sun does not shine all day, there are cloudy days, and the wind is a questionable thing in many places.

So how do you store all that energy for use at night or on a windless day?

Green technologies literally have to save energy for a rainy day.

One idea is to use excess energy on sunny or windy days to pump water into a reservoir, so that at times when power is needed, the water in the reservoir can be used to turn turbines.

Another option is to convert the water into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be burned when needed, leaving only energy and water as a by-product.

Both options are promising.

However, the most talked about technology is using batteries to store the energy generated by intermittent green sources.

And it's a great idea, but to deploy batteries in large quantities you have to consider practical factors, such as cost and the total amount of energy that can be stored.

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A recent breakthrough from a Boston-area company called Form Energy has come up with a technology that could have a big impact on green energy. It is a new battery that uses iron and oxygen. This technology will absorb energy and convert oxide to iron, releasing oxygen and then when energy is needed, it will convert iron metal to oxide, absorbing oxygen.

It's a very cool trick, if it works. Certainly the science of oxidation and deoxidation (that is, oxygenation versus reduction in scientific jargon) is well understood. After all, we convert iron ore (which is largely rust) to iron, and most people have seen rust develop on their car. Therefore, there is no scientific mystery. The real questions are "how much does it cost?" and "How fast does the battery drain and recharge?" Perhaps an even more basic question is "does it work?"

Form Energy affirms two things. One is that the cost of energy storage with an oxygen-iron exchange battery is less than $ 20 per kilowatt hour. The second is that this battery will last 100 hours, which means that it will supply power for about four days of cloudy or windless sky conditions.

The iron / oxygen battery must be contrasted with the most widely used high-energy storage batteries today, specifically lithium-ion batteries. These types of batteries are very common in today's society. On a small scale, they are used in cell phones, cameras, iPads, and the like. On a larger scale, they are found in saws, drills, sanders, and many construction tools. But it is on the large scale that the competition between iron / air and lithium-ion batteries will take place. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are found in some Toyota Prius, all Teslas, and many other vehicles, motorcycles, advanced power wheelchairs, and even the Curiosity rover on Mars. And, of course, its use in green energy is being considered.

So what is potentially the best thing about iron / oxygen batteries ... if they work?

Well, price is an important factor.

So is the availability of lithium compared to iron.

Iron is very common in the earth's crust.

On average, across the entire Earth, it is the fourth most common element, weighing 5% of the ingredients in the crust.

Lithium is much rarer, at 0.004% of the earth's crust, which means that iron is at least 1,000 times more common.

Lithium's rarity has sparked conversations among strategic thinkers and even the military about where it can be found and how to protect sources for various nations.

If this new iron / oxygen technology works well, it would completely override those concerns.

Of course, some caution must be exercised.

Many unsatisfied battery technologies have been proposed, starting with Thomas Edison's nickel-iron battery, and Form Energy's technology has yet to be proven to the satisfaction of the industry.

In fact, an article in The Washington Post spells out these concerns in great detail.

Aside from the real technology options, it is clear that carbon dioxide released by humans is changing the Earth's climate.

Hurricanes and tornadoes are becoming more powerful, leading to very high recovery costs.

Forest fires are becoming more frequent.

Some crucial water reservoirs are at record lows.

This hydroelectric plant could close due to drought 0:57

The world is in danger.

Humanity must face these consequences before they become serious.

Green energy is the most compelling solution to these problems, but the issue of energy storage is very important.

It's unclear which technology will save the day;

in fact, it is quite possible that a range of energy storage technologies are used.

But we must find a solution, unless humanity chooses to live in a much more chaotic world than we have now.

Climate change Clean energy

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-08-11

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