2014 was hotter than 1998. 2015 data in yet?

And then there was the suppression of information\methods that were against corporate profit systems ... see Tesla system for free broadcast energy. Perhaps some of that can be revisited. What would make it a blind alley would be something that would negate, or render obsolete, current installations. I don't see this happening as what I see is more of a dispersed generation of power integrated with the current grid to transform it into more of an interconnected web where electrical energy can travel either direction over different sections.Maybe Tesla broadcast energy would render the grid obsolete, but not the generation points. What is scalability other than just increasing the size amount of array of solar panels. If they are modular (which they are) then there is theoretically infinite scalability, limited only by transmission and connection to the grid\end users (at which point it is like any power plant).One has only to look at large installations by power companies to see that they are scaling the installation to their demand for new power. Some of them are massive. It becomes a matter of real estate occupied, and that is where residential roof-top installations excel -- less than half (say 40%) of my roof-top is covered with panels and my house occupies ~25% of my lot, so ~10% of my land area is all that is necessary to provide 100%+ of my electrical needs ... without restricting the living area of the lot at all.Enjoy

And yet curiously, in those underdeveloped societies today the installation of solar (in india and in africa) is the best way to bring electrical technology to the people, because they don't need transmission lines or expensive to operate noisy generators, so the standard of living is improving there. The same applies to rural US and Canada where land is available and powerlines are scarce.Frankly, we don't need big cities to provide intelligent solutions to problems -- university towns do as well a metropolitan ones. It is. We just don't know how fast it is going to happen. So far the predictions have been either on target or underestimated the changes. I am. But I am also angry and hopeful. Angry at the institution of denial and the interference by corporations with even discussing the problem. Hopeful that things will change, that obstructionist denial republicans will be replaced by rational representatives, and that significant programs can be implemented. Well, I don't think it will happen overnight, but it could happen in 10 years if a dedicated program was initiated to replace fossil fuels with alternative energy and reduced demand via higher efficiency.I think we are on the cusp, and that continuing to plan on fossil fuels will only cause a larger more deadly end result.Enjoy.

Curiously I don't see how it is a lie or a selling gimmick. It is real, it is happening. Kenya is a developing country with very little infrastructure for electrical transmission. It makes sense to use solar because (a) there is plenty of it and (b) it is cheaper to install near where it is used than to build big plants and transmission lines. They are freed from that fossil fuel paradigm and can develop a solar based energy economy from the start. And again, that power is not getting to the remote and rural areas and solar provides electricity at those locations. India is also a developing country, and the cities are overcrowded. Using solar in the rural and remote areas allows for future development in those locations without having to go to the cities to use electricity. With solar energy developing nations do not need to copy and paste the paradigm of western "civilization" production and distribution to energize new economic growth, but can develop one based on localized production and use, scaling up as needed.Enjoy

And then we have to ask the question: which is better for people, low density suburbia (with distributed systems) or high-density urbia (with concentrated systems)?One of the reasons high density urban systems exist is because of the concentration of energy distribution. Energy is concentrated and people cluster around it to take advantage of it. This is why energy costs are less when concentrated: it is the distribution, not the generation -- more concentration means less transmission lines.With a more open system and energy disbursed across the area there is less need to clump people.Enjoy

You wish. Your claims get more and more ridiculous and blind to reality. My personal use is far from subsistence -- it is doing so well that I am looking at expanding my use of electricity so I can cut down on other energy.The systems being installed in India and Kenya are lifting people OUT of subsistence living.Nor do I envisage removal of the grid wiring, but converting it to a web network with billions of generation locations distribute in a way that the energy is shared as needed.I produced more energy than I used in December, when days were short and sunshine limited. That surplus is out there on the web for others to use. So I expect to be producing more than I need for some time.For little cost ($3,000.00-$5,000) you can buy off the shelf power backup that would allow you to power your peak-load time usage and replenish during low load times. This market is just beginning ... because solar power panels are creating a demand for it. The price will come down as the technology is developed -- and there is a LOT of activity in developing energy storage systems.Solar and wind and tidal energy generation are developing more and more, and efficiencies are increasing while costs are dropping.Remaining glued to fossil fuels is unrealistic.One of the last "frontiers" is powering vehicles with renewable systems, and there are several approaches that are undergoing further development.For example compressed air car technology is being developed into a practical system. This would be amazing for public transportation -- where the vehicles recharge at stations (and use air compression for brakes) -- no high voltage subway rails or trolley\trolly-bus overhead wires.Of course you need compressors, but they can be powered by any energy. This is a common element of all new powering systems -- hydrogen, fuel cells, etc -- but I think compressed air is (a) the easiest for infrastructure (most garages have compressors ...) (b) the safest as there is nothing there to cause fires in a crash. One of my new projects is to work with my town so that it can go fossil fuel free by 2020 (the "2020 vision project") by installing solar panels on town properties ... with co-op funding: people "buy" panels to be installed, the town gets the electricity and the panel "owners" get credit against their property taxes. This is working with the existing way solar power is structured with the utility company. Co-op members could buy and sell shares (panels). The town gets cheaper electricity without having to fund the panels, the members get cheaper taxes -- both because they get a rebate but because town costs are lowered - win-win.There is no reason that you couldn't have a company provide solar power and you could sign up to use their power -- you can already choose different utility companies to provide your electricity over the existing grid system.Now I live -- intentionally -- in a small town in RI, and it is very very feasible to provide all the electricity that the town needs by this system.I don't need to focus on your unrealistic extreme scenario cases (NY city may take a while but that doesn't mean the small town can't get started on it).There is also more interest each year.Enjoy

The furnace is only needed for part of the year. Without it hot water becomes 18/58=31% of usage. I have heard other sources say it is 40% of energy use.I use hot water radiant floor heat, and water heaters are hot enough, so this summer I will be installing a large electric water heater for hot water and heat. It will be powered by the excess power I have been generating. This will double my savings from my panels.In addition I will be adding solar hot water to "precondition" the water entering the water heater, reducing the energy demand. And I can take my house system and place it anywhere in rural America and not be reduced to a "Kenyan economy ... constrained by the availability of reliable energy." There is absolutely no reason everyone else cannot do this -- even if you have to "rent" panels half-way across the continent and access it through the energy web.Every existing generation plant can be replaced with solar power and you would not even notice it.It is your misconception that is your problem.EnjoyEdited by RAZD, : lost some of that

Put your dishwasher and clothes washer on timers. And the best place to store energy is as local as possible -- thus the Tesla Wall for homes and small businesses. This technology is just beginning to be practical, and it is one of the growing endeavors: competition will lower costs, technology improvements will improve efficiency. Which is a cultural thing, and this can change. Personally I think Americans wash too much (and are unhealthy as a result).Enjoy

And 2015 was higher than previous records for each month of the year.But that is only part of the story: Scientists are floored by what’s happening in the Arctic right now

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New data from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest that January of 2016 was, for the globe, a truly extraordinary month. Coming off the hottest year ever recorded (2015), January saw the greatest departure from average of any month on record, according to data provided by NASA.

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But as you can see in the NASA figure above, the record breaking heat wasn’t uniformly distributed it was particularly pronounced at the top of the world, showing temperature anomalies above 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the 1951 to 1980 average in this region.

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Indeed, NASA provides a zonal mean version of the temperature map above, which shows how the temperature departures from average change based on one’s latitude location on the Earth. As you can see, things get especially warm, relative to what the Earth is used to, as you enter the very high latitudes:

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Global warming has long been known to be particularly intense in the Arctic a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification but even so, lately the phenomenon has been extremely pronounced.

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This unusual Arctic heat has been accompanied by a new record low level for Arctic sea ice extent during the normally ice-packed month of January, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center over 400,000 square miles below average for the month. And of course, that is closely tied to warm Arctic air temperatures.

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More ...

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If there is a tipping point to sudden extreme change we could be approaching that.

The technology exists. Now. Off the shelf.All it takes is implementation, not any new science or engineering of systems.Also see Here's how to get solar power if you don't own a roof - VoxCommunity based systems sharing installation costs.Enjoy

Actually that is a "it is being done, it uses available technology" proof, while your denial is just hand-waving. Wow: The U.S. Built More Solar Than Natural Gas Last Year

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It’s another record for the rapidly growing solar industry.

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For the first time there were more new solar energy systems installed in the U.S. last year than new natural gas plants built.

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The stat is according to a new report from the industry group the Solar Energy Industry Association and analysts at GTM Research. The report says solar supplied 29.5% of the new energy sources built in 2015.

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Much of the growth in solar panels over the past few years has been from the large solar panel farms built in rural areas for utilities. Still, at least half of the solar panels installed last year were for utility-scale solar.

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To date, there are now 25 gigawatts worth of solar operating in the U.S. That’s enough power for over four million average American homes.

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Outside of the U.S., countries around the world are embracing clean energy, both solar and wind. According to a report from Bloomberg earlier this year, investors and governments around the world put $330 billion into clean energy last year. The bulk of that funding (about $200 billion) went to industrial-sized projects that provide clean power to utilities.

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About a third of that funding happened in China as the Chinese government has been aggressively committing to clean energy to meet rising electricity demand and reduce pollution problems. Investors in the U.S. and European countries spent about half compared to China’s clean energy funding last year.

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China plans to retire most of their coal plants in favor of solar.Scalable. Doable. Being done. No further proof necessary. Here's how to get solar power if you don't own a roof

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Americans love solar power, but most aren't in a position to get it. You can't install rooftop solar if you rent, own a condo, have poor credit, or have a rooftop that's shaded or faces the wrong way. In fact, it's a fairly small slice of Americans who can take advantage of rooftop solar:

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That 15.8 million near the right end there is the current "addressable market" for residential rooftop solar. (Obviously that's not a fixed number it can and will rise.) According to a new report by GTM Research, roughly one-fifth of that addressable market will have rooftop solar by 2020, and rates of installation will still be rising. One can see saturation of the market, if not in our immediate future, at least on the horizon.

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So how can all those households that don't have suitable rooftops participate in the solar boom?

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One answer is community solar. That's when a group of utility ratepayers get together and agree to purchase electricity from a solar PV project they "subscribe" to its power and pay a monthly charge that appears on their utility bill. That way they can help new solar projects get funded, feel good about consuming clean energy, and, sometimes, save money on their home power bills. It's a way to support solar PV power when you can't put it on your own roof.

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And I am in the initial stages of working with my town to install a solar farm that would initially provide 100% electricity for town buildings and lights in a joint venture with co-op ownership of panels\shares to fund it and get credit against taxes. The plan is that this would grow from such an initial program to one that supplies electricity to subscribers.The town provides the land and gets free energy, and that reduces the tax load to residents. The coop members get a return on their investment, first against taxes and later possible dividends as their market expands.Again, doable with existing technology and existing political economic constraints. Just walk forward and you will reach the goal.Enjoyps -- I'm in the 0.5% Edited by RAZD, : rEdited by RAZD, : 5

Making solar power an affordable reality in rural Kenya | CGTN Americafilling the power void in rural areas, moving step by step.Your "kenyan economy" is shifting towards a new world without having to go through fossil fuel use on the way.Enjoy

I use a solar clothes dryer ... Enjoy

Solar Glass From NexPower is Available to Anyone

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NexPower’s solar glass, also known as BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic), has, in fact, been used just recently at the Building Research Establishment in Watford in the United Kingdom. Also known as Two Houses One Concept, this 2-unit housing project is a joint-effort by Switzerland’s Userhuus and the UK’s Tigh Grian, and it is bringing affordable, energy-efficient, volumetric housing solutions to the market. With its integration of modern green technologies and materials, the project has caught the eye of professionals in the green industry as well as housing decision-makers, in particular, all across the UK.

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One of the most noticeable elements of the Building Research Establishment in Watford is its stylish, fully-integrated photovoltaic roof. This roof, which was created by NexPower, features Photovoltaic (PV) Thin-film, delivering a solar panel like no other in the world, since it can be installed just about anywhere. Without a doubt, this breakthrough innovation can enable anyone to go green.

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In addition to being multifunctional, NexPower’s products are also very flexible when it comes to implementation. They can be placed on the ground, on rooftops, or on the exterior of buildings. They can even replace the windows in cars. Although they are lighter than other solar products, they generate more energy from the sun and can withstand most natural disasters, including typhoons.

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One of the most noticeable elements of the Building Research Establishment in Watford is its stylish, fully-integrated photovoltaic roof. This roof, which was created by NexPower, features Photovoltaic (PV) Thin-film, delivering a solar panel like no other in the world, since it can be installed just about anywhere. Without a doubt, this breakthrough innovation can enable anyone to go green.

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In addition to being multifunctional, NexPower’s products are also very flexible when it comes to implementation. They can be placed on the ground, on rooftops, or on the exterior of buildings. They can even replace the windows in cars. Although they are lighter than other solar products, they generate more energy from the sun and can withstand most natural disasters, including typhoons.

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All those vertical sides of the towers are potential sites for a photovoltaic panel that you can see through.EnjoyEdited by RAZD, : .

And here is another tid bit based on an old Ted Talk:

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How to Power the USA Using Only Clean Energy!

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Here is a video, a Tedtalk from several years ago that describes a concept that is still valid today, namely how we could power the entire USA using a fraction of the solar resources just from the state of Arizona. The physics behind concentrating the power of the sun combined with modern advances in solar photovoltaic technology will allow a very cost effective clean energy solution.

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Concentrated solar pv is a scalabe technology, that when brought together as a system only requires one to be online. This means that unlike a nuclear power plant or even a coal power plant you do not have to wait years ( decades) for the project to be completed before you see the first electron generated. It also means that you do not have to finance it all at once as you would construct a project like this in stages.

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Now I think that would be impractical as it puts all your eggs in one basket. But it would be easy to divide the project up into many smaller projects and achieve the same resulting power capacity.Enjoy

My brother Xongsmith proposed a new topic on this, so I thought I would add it in here

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Empirical / Tests Myths
The key test of a hypothesis is whether it can stand up to real world observations. Real observations reveal that the "CO2 is a major cause of global climate change" hypothesis is FALSE!

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... with charts from 1990 and 1999 ...Meanwhile the real scientists move forward with the latest data:

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2016 Was the Hottest Year on Record, and Humans Are to Blame
Damian Carrington Science Date of Publication: 01.18.17. 2:15 pm

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2016 was the hottest year on record, setting a new high for the third year in a row, with scientists firmly putting the blame on human activities that drive climate change.

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The final data for 2016 was released on Wednesday by the three key agenciesthe UK Met Office and NASA and NOAA in the USand showed 16 of the 17 hottest years on record have been this century.

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The new data shows the Earth has now risen about 1.1C above the levels seen before the industrial revolution, when large-scale fossil fuel burning began. This brings it perilously close to the 1.5C target included as an aim of the global climate agreement signed in Paris in December 2015.

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The three temperature records are independent but reached very similar conclusions. The datasets are all singing the same song, said Arndt. The data from NOAA showed a run of 16 successive months from May 2015 to August 2016 when the global average temperature broke or equalled previous records, while no land area experienced an annual average temperature in 2016 that was cooler than 20th-century average.

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NOAA also found Arctic sea ice fell to its lowest annual average extent on record and Antarctic sea ice to the second smallest extent on record. The warming in the Arctic in 2016 was astounding, Schmidt said.

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Prof Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University, said: The spate of record-warm years that we have seen in the 21st century can only be explained by human-caused climate change. The effect of human activity on our climate is no longer subtle. It’s plain as day, as are the impactsin the form of record floods, droughts, superstorms and wildfiresthat it is having on us and our planet.

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Past time to do something.Enjoy