Environmental Science – Sustainable Balance

A Post-Carbon Energy Transition

Thu, 27 Nov 2014 16:00:43 +0000

For reference, I’m taking the following as given: climate change is real, it is caused by fossil fuel emissions, and the goal of a post-carbon energy future is an admirable one. At this point in the 21st century, I believe most well-informed people would agree with the above, but there are nuances to each of … Continue reading →

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Energy is Awesome

Thu, 28 Aug 2014 14:00:04 +0000

Energy is not an abstract concept, but it can be hard to visualize. Energy comes in many forms such as heat, movement, electricity, and can be stored in many forms for future use. When thinking about high-quality lifestyles, which is the focus of Sustainable Balance, I often come back to our consumption of energy. As much … Continue reading →

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Sunlight Series: Part 6 – Ozone Depletion vs Global Dimming

Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:51:27 +0000

Featured photo courtesy of Nasa Goddard Space Flight Centre. Introduction: Earlier in the Sunlight Series I wrote about electromagnetic energy being radiated by the sun, and how it’s mostly infrared, visible light,and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. From my last post, we know that the atmosphere absorbs electromagnetic radiation before it hits Earth’s surface. This radiation absorption differs depending … Continue reading →

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Sunlight Series: Part 5 – Solar Irradiance and Earth’s Atmosphere

Wed, 26 Mar 2014 04:29:06 +0000

Featured image courtesy of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Introduction: I began this series by opining that using sunscreen is a misguided approach to protecting yourself from the sun’s radiation (unless under extreme circumstances), and that we should, in fact, be exposing our bare skin to unfiltered sunlight regularly. By the end of this series (still … Continue reading →

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