The Weather Man
Posted by Ruth Ann Angus
John Lindsey was born in Santa Rosa, spent 4 years in the Navy, attended
Cal Poly, currently works at the Diablo Power Plant and writes column
for the Tribune. He's married and has two children, Chloe and Sean.
Starting off, John showed us some statistics for weather in SLO County.
Our wettest season on record was back in 1969 with a staggering 54.45
inches of rain, conversely, our driest year was in 1990 with 7.89
inches. We've had some pretty cold weather here as well, in December of
1987 it got down to 12 degrees and snowed on the grade, and the hottest
day was just recently in June 2008 at 113 degrees.
He estimated that we are in for some wet weather this week and into the weekend and to expect between 1 to 2.5 inches of rain in the next few days. Currently we are at about 118% of the snow pack this year, which is great coming out of the drought.
Looking towards the energy side, he then discussed changes in global weather patterns. Our oceans make up 97% of all the water on the planet. Tide gauges showing an average rate of 1.8 mm increases per year. If we look backward: 1850-1920 - .08 mm, 1920-1980 - 2.0 mm, 1980- now - 3.2 mm .
Environmental Impact:
Sea ice melting doesn't impact water levels because it's already floating in the water. Land ice melts DO impact water levels by adding to the ocean's volume. This causes coastal erosion and thermal expansion. When water warms, it expands. Water levels are expected to rise by 1 meter over the next 100 years. If we have significant melt of glaciers in Greenland would add 7 meters or the Antarctic would add another 60 meters. For example at an increase of 163 meters there would have to be a full evacuation most low lying Middle East countries, we would loose up to 1/3rd of Florida and most of southern Louisiana.
Financial Impact:
Oil imports were 38% of total consumption 38 years ago, its 70% today. At $60 per barrel that works out to about $300 Billion, at $140 per barrel that's $700 Billion.
Moral Impact: Look at all the lives lost in Iraq, Iran, and other oil producing countries.
Where does our energy come from: 22% Nuclear - (France uses 85% nuclear by recycling used fuel) 17% Large Hydro 14% Renewable 44% Natural Gas 2% Coal 1% Other.
Where is it headed? Solar thermal energy is where things are going. Topaz Solar Farm produces 550 Megawatts on 6.5 miles of property. Sunpower produces 225 Megawatts on 2 miles of property.
What's next? Solar panels in space. Back in college they studied Cow Power to harness daily dairy methane to combustion engines! Wind power is small, but growing, and more prevalent in other areas of the world like China and Denmark where 85% of their energy comes from wind. Wave generation is being studied right now on a 3-year evaluation for environmental impact.
He estimated that we are in for some wet weather this week and into the weekend and to expect between 1 to 2.5 inches of rain in the next few days. Currently we are at about 118% of the snow pack this year, which is great coming out of the drought.
Looking towards the energy side, he then discussed changes in global weather patterns. Our oceans make up 97% of all the water on the planet. Tide gauges showing an average rate of 1.8 mm increases per year. If we look backward: 1850-1920 - .08 mm, 1920-1980 - 2.0 mm, 1980- now - 3.2 mm .
Environmental Impact:
Sea ice melting doesn't impact water levels because it's already floating in the water. Land ice melts DO impact water levels by adding to the ocean's volume. This causes coastal erosion and thermal expansion. When water warms, it expands. Water levels are expected to rise by 1 meter over the next 100 years. If we have significant melt of glaciers in Greenland would add 7 meters or the Antarctic would add another 60 meters. For example at an increase of 163 meters there would have to be a full evacuation most low lying Middle East countries, we would loose up to 1/3rd of Florida and most of southern Louisiana.
Financial Impact:
Oil imports were 38% of total consumption 38 years ago, its 70% today. At $60 per barrel that works out to about $300 Billion, at $140 per barrel that's $700 Billion.
Moral Impact: Look at all the lives lost in Iraq, Iran, and other oil producing countries.
Where does our energy come from: 22% Nuclear - (France uses 85% nuclear by recycling used fuel) 17% Large Hydro 14% Renewable 44% Natural Gas 2% Coal 1% Other.
Where is it headed? Solar thermal energy is where things are going. Topaz Solar Farm produces 550 Megawatts on 6.5 miles of property. Sunpower produces 225 Megawatts on 2 miles of property.
What's next? Solar panels in space. Back in college they studied Cow Power to harness daily dairy methane to combustion engines! Wind power is small, but growing, and more prevalent in other areas of the world like China and Denmark where 85% of their energy comes from wind. Wave generation is being studied right now on a 3-year evaluation for environmental impact.