I’ve been seeing the word mitigate being used more and more as we expand the dialogue regarding what we can actually do about climate change. For example today, in an article about a UN report on the melting of ice all over the world from the BBC there is this statement:

“Without taking measures to mitigate sea level rise, an estimated 145 million people, primarily in Asia, would be exposed to the risk of flooding.”

Just what exactly do they think this means? With one sentence there is the implication that there are solutions to these kinds of catastrophic changes. We can’t ‘mitigate’ the effects of glaciers melting in the Himalaya. Millions of people will lose their only sources of water. We can’t mitigate the effects of the Greenland icecap melting and raising sea levels several feet. We simply cannot ward off these types of changes. They are too global and too irreversible.
The problem here is political. Saying things like mitigate avoids discussion of the very real and hard choices we will face in the next 40-50 years.
And that’s a conservative estimate. Ask the Alaskan villagers whose towns have been destroyed by melting permafrost about ‘mitigation’. There isn’t any. The ground was solid and now it’s not. How do you mitigate that?

Note: apparently this was covered on Oprah and as a result it is backordered until July. However using these Smart Strip Power Strips is a dead simple way to save a lot of power. Most of today’s electronic devices including TVs, stereos, computers, monitors, microwaves and other kitchen appliances, etc., continue to draw power even when turned off. The net result is a huge waste of energy resources. Putting a strip between the outlet and the device that can sense when the energy flow has slowed and then cuts off the power will not only save you money- it will cut carbon emissions created when that power is generated.

In addition the strips serve as surge protectors. Most of us use surge protectors for our computers but not our other electronics. Practically any device made in the last ten years has chips in it and can be damaged by surges so it makes sense to add them. Given the fragile architecture of our national grid and increasing power demand, surges are going to be a bigger problem going forward.

BTW, I’m not pitching this thing for money- no affiliate links here! (not that there’s anything wrong with that…)

The MIT Tech Review covers this new combination of silicon solar technology and targeted mirroring that combines to make practical residential solar panels. As they point out this isn’t rocket science- Soliant utilizes a combination of proven technologies. What it is is usable tech that can be installed by existing installers without a learning curve + a 50% increase in efficiency. Their next generation model promises 88% improvements, bringing their costs below conventional energy sources. Love it.

China is a huge paradox when it comes to climate change and energy issues. Soon to be the world’s greatest polluter it is also a country whose leaders understand they cannot sustain growth without dealing with energy and environmental issues. This great article from Wired describes an astounding architectural challenge: The design and building of an entirely new city, Dongtan, near Shanghai. The site is the size of Manhattan, the populace will number 500,000 and, because it is a stop for migratory birds, the entire project must be very green, literally.
This is really exciting stuff. And it gets better. When Arup, the UK-based architecture and engineering firm presented their extensive plans they projected that the new city would generate 60% of its energy from renewable sources. They had a staged plan to get to 100% over several years. Their Chinese clients liked the plan but wanted 100% renewable from day one! And that’s what they’re building.