Good vibrations

Need a word to describe how positive you feel? Maybe a word from this list will help:

AFFECTIONATE compassionate friendly loving open hearted sympathetic tender warm ENGAGED absorbed alert curious engrossed enchanted entranced fascinated interested intrigued involved spellbound stimulated HOPEFUL expectant encouraged optimistic

CONFIDENT empowered open proud safe secure EXCITED amazed animated ardent aroused astonished dazzled eager energetic enthusiastic giddy invigorated lively passionate surprised vibrant

GRATEFUL appreciative moved thankful touched INSPIRED amazed awed wonder JOYFUL amused delighted glad happy jubilant pleased tickled EXHILARATED blissful ecstatic elated enthralled exuberant radiant rapturous thrilled

PEACEFUL calm clear headed comfortable centered content equanimous fulfilled mellow quiet relaxed relieved satisfied serene still tranquil trusting REFRESHED enlivened rejuvenated renewed rested restored revived

Source: Centre for NVC (Non-violent communication).

If you're not feeling this way now, maybe you could say 'I want to feel amazed; I want to feel fulfilled' etc.

291 mph electric vehicle

Street Legal?

Ohio State University claims another electric speed record with the battery powered Buckeye Bullet. 291 mph. Source: Autoblog Green

What do I need?

Here's a list of possibilities:

CONNECTION acceptance affection appreciation belonging cooperation communication closeness community companionship compassion consideration consistency empathy inclusion intimacy love mutuality nurturing respect/self-respect

CONNECTION safety security stability support to know and be known to see and be seen to understand and be understood trust warmth PHYSICAL WELL-BEING air food movement/exercise rest/sleep sexual expression safety shelter touch water

HONESTY authenticity integrity presence PLAY joy humor PEACE beauty communion ease equality harmony inspiration order AUTONOMY choice freedom independence space spontaneity

MEANING awareness celebration of life challenge clarity competence consciousness contribution creativity discovery efficacy effectiveness growth hope learning mourning participation purpose self-expression stimulation to matter understanding

From the Non-violent communication (NVC) website.

Hmm, I think I might be happier labelling these as 'wants' rather than 'needs'. Maybe they're interchangeable? Or desirable without being necessary? Maybe I don't want to be labelled as a 'needy' person? :)

500-mile EVs by 2020

Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster runs on laptop batteries. Lots of them. Martin Eberhard, co-founder of Tesla, is predicting that EV's will have a 500 mile range by 2020.

Eberhard says that five years ago Tesla were using 1.4 amp-hour cells. Now the same size cell is available in 2.9 amp-hours with 3.4 amp-hours coming soon. This is amazing progress, driven by global sales of 2 billion laptop batteries a year.

Some biomass numbers

Miscanthus harvesting

Energy crops and wood chips/pellets can be burnt for heat or to generate electricity. Miscanthus yields about 15 tonnes per hectare and 4,200 kWh/tonne gross or 1,680 kWh/tonne net (at 40% efficiency). This is 25,000 kWh per hectare per year. According to David MacKay's Hot Air, each person in the UK uses approx 18 kWh (of electricity) per day or 6,570 kWh per year. Therefore each hectare of Miscanthus provides enough electricity for about 4 people.

The area of the UK is approx 24M hectares so we would need about 58% of the UK planted in Miscanthus to provide current electricity use.

Update: primary energy consumption per person in the UK is about 125 kWh/day (MacKay again). This includes all fossil fuels + wind + hydro. But not electricity generated from fossil fuels? NB: this would need 2 hectares of Miscanthus per person or 500% of UK land area!

Update 2:
Google's data browser has the World Bank showing UK electricity consumption at 6,122 kWh per person per year, or 16.8 kWh per day.

We are dreaming the world into being

More from Gill Edwards:

... does this mean that you don't have to do anything? Just sit back and dream, peel a few grapes and wait for your gifts? On the contrary, you are here to revel in being alive! To fill your days with wondrous experiences and stimulating conversations and loving relationships and sensual pleasures. To create the lifestyle of your dreams. To follow any joyful impulses, and throw yourself passionately into projects that feel exciting or visionary. To contribute to the world in whatever way feels delightful or inspiring to you. Open yourself fully to live and love...

Life is a Gift, page 144.

Gill Edwards: the emotional ladder

The emotional ladder, as described in  Gill Edwards'  book, Life is a Gift (page 44):

• Love, joy, passion, trust, gratitude, vision, enthusiasm, clarity, intuitive knowing, freedom, empowerment
• Optimism
• Hope, contentment
• Pessimism, boredom
• Frustration, irritation, impatience
• Overwhelm, worry, disappointment, doubt
• Blame, anger, self-righteousness
• Hatred, rage, envy, jealousy, need to control
• Guilt, insecurity, feeling unworthy, self-sacrifice, feeling trapped or controlled
• Fear, grief, dis-empowerment, depression, despair

Gill says it's unrealistic to go from  the bottom of the ladder to the top in just one step; we may need to go one step at a time...

Powering the world via solar CSP: a map

How much land would it take to produce the world's total electricity? According to this article, using CSP (concentrated solar power = mirrors + steam turbine) then the map would look like this:

What are we waiting for?

Labour questions government cuts

From the Guardian today:

Ed Balls, the shadow education secretary, said: "These warnings show why it is so risky for the government to be cutting public sector contracts now when the recovery in Britain is so fragile and people around the world are worried about a double-dip recession. David Cameron is misguided and wrong to say the most urgent priority for Britain is to slash the deficit. The most urgent priority should be to secure Britain's economic recovery by boosting jobs and growth."

I agree with Ed.

State of the Carbon Market

Point Carbon has just produced a report on the state of the carbon market. Here are some points from the first page:

• Point Carbon’s fifth annual survey shows general dissatisfaction with the Copenhagen outcome. Seventy percent of the 4,767 respondents were either “very dissatisfied” or “dissatisfied” with the outcome. This sentiment was evenly shared across major countries.
•  For the first time, an outright majority of respondents say the EU ETS has caused emission reductions in the companies they represent. Forty-three percent of all respondents think the EU ETS is the most cost-effective instrument for reducing emissions in the EU, against 20 percent who disagree with this notion.
•  More EU ETS companies appear long in phase 2, based on the survey results. This year, 28 percent of respondents said their company had an EUA surplus in 2008-12, up from 24 percent in 2009 and 15 percent in 2008. The cement/lime/glass and pulp/paper sectors had the highest reporting of surpluses.
•  EU ETS companies know little about their phase 3 allocation. Twenty-four percent of EU ETS respondents said they were “very uncertain” and 13 percent said they had “no idea” how many free EUAs they would get in phase 3. However, 68 percent thought they would be short EUAs in phase 3. Furthermore, one-quarter will bank at least part of their credit limit into phase 3.
•  Fifteen percent of respondents have seen fraud, embezzlement or corruption in connection with a CDM or JI project. We further see that 28 percent of respondents in China have reported improprieties in connection with CDM projects, whereas respondents based in Brazil reported seeing the least fraud.
•  Expectations for a global deal are down. Among our respondents, 37 percent expect a global deal in Cancun, against 59 percent for Copenhagen in last year’s survey. Only 27 percent of respondents based in the US expect a Mexico deal, while Japan (47 percent) and Brazil (58 percent) have the highest shares of respondents expecting a deal in Cancun.

•  Expectations for US cap-and-trade by 2015 are down to 61 percent of respondents. This is the lowest in three years, and down from 81 percent in last year’s survey. But among respondents in Japan, the share expecting a Japanese ETS is up from 61 to 80 percent.
•  Respondents expect a global carbon price of $35 or €31 in 2020. This is down from $39 and €35 in 2009.

So can we say the EU ETS is working?  I am encouraged that more than twice as many respondents believe the ETS is the most cost-efficient way of reducing CO2 than those who don't. The price of CO2 (EUA) on the ETS market is currently just over 14EUR per tonne.