Waymap’s Post

💡💭 A worthwhile read from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and we're always delighted to see the Reimagined Degree Map receive a mention! Check out the article in full below and download the Map here: https://lnkd.in/enjncTWp

Interesting conference on climate smart engineering coming up in 2025 RMIT Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering RMIT Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

We heartily agree with Dr Simon Bullock's assessment: He said the results showed the "major and immediate benefits of wind-assist technologies" and urged other shipping companies to take note. "To tackle climate change, the shipping industry needs to cut its use of fossil fuel rapidly.” With thanks to Tom Singleton and the BBC #sustainability #windpropulsion #shipsandshipping #engineering #navalarchitecture https://lnkd.in/dxCDDnHe

This reckless lye-dumping experiment is a testament to the desperation and shortsightedness that often accompany geoengineering proposals. Instead of turning to such high-risk strategies, we should focus on realistic and evidence-based environmental practices, ensuring a healthier and more stable environment for future generations.

Congratulations to School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment Professor Klaus Lackner, who was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors! Lackner is a pioneer in direct air capture, or DAC, which successfully removes carbon from air and can help combat the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere to mitigate global warming. Lackner has been exploring DAC systems and the materials used in them since the 1990s. One such device based on DAC with Lackner’s involvement is the MechanicalTree, located at ASU and being commercialized by Carbon Collect. “The atmospheric carbon situation has become critical, and we need to start doing something about it,” said Lackner, founding director of the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions. “Our device can recycle it, bringing it out of the atmosphere and either bury it or use it as an industrial gas. “Being recognized by the NAI is flattering,” Lackner added. “It gives me pause, because I am simply trying to find a way to help all of us out of what is a thorny situation on climate. Necessity certainly is a driver of invention, and this is a good example of that.” https://ow.ly/SbF350UC0em 🎉 #ASUEngineering #ASUResearch #climatechange

It’s easy to criticise CCS, many do, cost, viability, but the word I hear is ‘myth’. While I’m no scholar of Classics, I know what the term myth means, and CCS is not a figment of imagination, but a tangible and proven technology. Perhaps certain business interests see CCS and nuclear as a threat? Far from it, it’s one of the essential tools to combat rising CO2 concentrations, albeit just 0.04%. Coincidentally, one of Australia’s CCS projects is called Gorgon, don’t let that sway you.

The recent CCS funding announcement in the UK has reignited debate about the role of CCS in meeting global climate goals and whether the technology has been sufficiently 'proven at scale'. This might be a good moment to highlight CATF's recent report 'Carbon capture and storage: What can we learn from the project track record?', which takes a detailed look at what we can really say about the technical performance of this technology to date: https://lnkd.in/eQUGJwMV Key takeaways: 1. The much-scrutinised 'large-scale' CCS projects represent a fraction of the many commercial technologies actively capturing, transporting and storing CO2. 2. Several of these large-scale projects have consistently met high levels of technical performance. Others that have fallen short of design targets have demonstrably improved over time as technical challenges are overcome - this is what technology demonstrations in new sectors or at larger scales are for. 3. Most 'large-scale CCS projects' are not designed or incentivised to maximise their climate performance. They are mostly enhanced oil recovery projects driven by commercial motives, or the demonstration of new technologies. 4. The right policies and regulations can ensure that new CCS projects are designed and operated to maximise their climate impact. We know society will need to permanently dispose of CO2 and we have shown that the technology can work well. Let's work to ensure future projects meet a high standard.

According to the calculations presented here and the depiction of the results in Figure 24, the contribution of CO₂ to the greenhouse effect is 4% – 5%. Human CO₂ emissions represent 4% of the total, which means that the total human contribution to the enhancement of the greenhouse effect is 0.16% to 0.20% —a negligible effect. https://lnkd.in/ehTKfji2

🛳 ‘Inadvertent geoengineering’ 🌡 A sweeping regulatory change in 2020 to slash air pollution from the world’s ships could have played a role in boosting global average temperatures, according to the findings of a controversial study. Described at the time as the “biggest change in oil market history,” the International Maritime Organization (IMO) enforced new standards on Jan. 1, 2020, to cut their fuel sulfur content to 0.5%, down from 3.5%. The rule change resulted in an 80% reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions, a team of scientists said in a paper published by the Communications Earth & Environment journal on May 30, and may help to explain why last year’s record-breaking heat was so extreme. Scientists, who were not involved in the paper, broadly welcomed the study as timely but some said the research might exaggerate the impact of the IMO’s regulations. Take a look at the full story here: #shipping #climatechange #geoengineering https://lnkd.in/e8cMRuyR

I’ve been saying this for some time but this paper provides some detailed modelling. Policy can both work and produce unforeseen consequences. But what is the lesson to take here? We are already ‘geo engineering’ by emitting ghg pollution, but does pollution control need better understanding of ‘geophysiology’. https://lnkd.in/emKvm4eA