Papers by Peter Schwartzman
Science & Society, Jul 1, 2006
arXiv (Cornell University), Dec 5, 2020
Assuming the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emi... more Assuming the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emissions, our modeling study supports the conclusion that it is still possible to meet the 1.5 deg C warming target even with current wind/solar energy technologies, if the creation of a global 100% renewable energy transition of sufficient capacity begins very soon, coupled with aggressive negative carbon emissions.
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2021
Assuming the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emi... more Assuming the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emissions, our modeling study supports the conclusion that it is still possible to meet the 1.5 deg C warming target even with current wind/solar energy technologies, if the creation of a global 100% renewable energy transition of sufficient capacity begins very soon, coupled with aggressive negative carbon emissions.
arXiv: Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, 2020
Assuming the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emi... more Assuming the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emissions, our modeling study supports the conclusion that it is still possible to meet the 1.5 deg C warming target even with current wind/solar energy technologies, if the creation of a global 100% renewable energy transition of sufficient capacity begins very soon, coupled with aggressive negative carbon emissions.
AIMS Energy
First, we recognize the valuable previous studies which model renewable energy growth with comple... more First, we recognize the valuable previous studies which model renewable energy growth with complete termination of fossil fuels along with assumptions of the remaining carbon budgets to reach IPCC warming targets. However, these studies use very complex combined economic/physical modeling and commonly lack transparency regarding the sensitivity to assumed inputs. Moreover, it is not clear that energy poverty with its big present impact in the global South has been eliminated in their scenarios. Further, their CO2-equivalent natural gas emission factors are underestimated, which will have significant impact on the computed greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, we address this question in a transparent modeling study: can the 1.5 ℃ warming target still be met with an aggressive phaseout of fossil fuels coupled with a 100% replacement by renewable energy? We compute the continuous generation of global wind/solar energy power along with the cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent emissions ...
A transition to a fully global renewable energy infrastructure is potentially possible in no more... more A transition to a fully global renewable energy infrastructure is potentially possible in no more than a few decades, even using current wind/solar technologies. We demonstrate that at its completion this transition would terminate anthropogenic carbon emissions to the atmosphere derived from energy consumption in roughly 25 years as well as double current global energy production. This result would provide all human energy needs worldwide and additional energy required for climate adaptation as well as carbon sequestration from the atmosphere to bring down the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration to safer levels. The implementation of this energy transition in the near future would maximize the probability for achieving a less than 2 deg C, with a potential 1.5 deg C limit, increase to global temperature over the pre-industrial level by 2100. Our best case scenario utilizes less than 3% of current annual global energy consumption per year with an annual reinvestment of 10...
The Earth is Not for Sale
Journal of Labor and Society
Thesis University of Virginia Source Dai B 58 06 P 2937 Dec 1997 350 Pages, Dec 1, 1997
African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2013
Catastrophic climate change (C3) is inevitable if carbon emissions to the atmosphere are not rapi... more Catastrophic climate change (C3) is inevitable if carbon emissions to the atmosphere are not rapidly reduced and the now unsafe atmospheric level (395 ppm) CO 2 (and rising) is not brought down by sequestration technologies to below 350 ppm. C3 prevention is possible with the replacement of global fossils fuel supplies by wind, concentrated solar power and photovoltaics, with the main obstacle being the political economy of global capitalism, specifically the "Military Industrial (Fossil Fuel, Nuclear, State Terror) Complex". There are three critical requirements for the "other world that is possible": demilitarization, agroecologies replacing industrial/GMO agriculture, and solarization. Expanding democratic, bottom-up governance is necessary to achieve these objectives. Energy poverty in the global South must end, reaching a rough minimum of 3.5 kilowatt/person. Our simulations show this solar transition is achievable in no more than 30 years with the consumption of less than 40% of the proven reserves of conventional petroleum, while supplying sufficient energy to sequester CO 2 from the atmosphere using a combination of global agroecologies increasing soil carbon storage and solar-powered-industrial-burial of carbonate in the crust. This approach would maximize the possibility of reaching a safe atmospheric CO 2 level before the tipping points to C3 are reached.
Geophysical Research Letters, 1998
We analyzed the record of hourly dewpoint data from 92 climatological stations in North America. ... more We analyzed the record of hourly dewpoint data from 92 climatological stations in North America. The data were centered with respect to sunrise and sunset and divided into four geographic regions of approximately equal area in an attempt to uncover regional trends. Few statistically significant regional trends in mean dewpoint temperatures were found. However, the within-day variations were very well behaved and consistent across regions. They showed a relative decline in dewpoints in the late aRemoon at most stations, and small declines just after sunrise. The results are consistent with urbanization signals described by Oke [1987]. An observed rise in midday dewpoint, followed by a fall in late aRemoon, indicates some regional enhancement of convection, which may in part be from the urban effect, but other causes are possible. Our dewpoint changes are somewhat consistent with precipitation changes that have described by other researchers. 1991]. These studies, however, have generally assessed changes in moisture levels in the lower-to-mid-troposphere and have not focused on near surface moisture amounts. In addition, they have been limited to one or two observations per day. A direct determination of the diurnal variation in near-surface moisture characteristics will help the furthering understanding of these observed tendencies for change. In an earlier work [Knappenberger et al., 1996], we examined the temporal changes observed in the diumal profile of temperature and dewpoint at 15 climatological stations within the contiguous United States. Here, we extend that analysis by expanding the number of stations to 92, expanding the region of study to include Canada and Alaska, and focusing primarily on the temporal changes in the diurnal moisture (i.e., dewpoint) cycle. Changes in the diumal temperature profile will be presented as well for the purpose of assisting in the understanding of the observed dewpoint changes. ß Eastern ß ß High Western ß Latitudes High • Latitudes ß ß ß ß '' Westem United •••j•••Eastern United States States
Geophysical Research Letters, 1996
We analyzed hourly coterminous U.S. airport data, beginning in 1948, for changes in daily tempera... more We analyzed hourly coterminous U.S. airport data, beginning in 1948, for changes in daily temperature and dewpoint regimes. We found an ubiquitous phase shift in the daytime cycle of warming, towards later in the day. Overall day and night temperature changes were very consistent with the results of {ital Karl} {ital et} {ital al}. [1993] even though this is an
Social Epistemology, 1995
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Papers by Peter Schwartzman