You must reply to at least three colleagues in a manner that extends the discussion. A simple “I agree/disagree” will not be accepted. respond in a manner that further extends the discussion.

post 1

Climate change is a serious problem for many areas of the World, and it threatens our energy infrastructure in many ways. No one can deny that there is a risk factor associated with the environment on Earth and its climate patterns like hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, wind-storms, ice-storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and even risk due to gravity but not all areas of our country face the same threats from climate change. By breaking them down region-by-region this article from the Department of Energy, identifies the most vulnerable spots in the U.S. energy infrastructure according to the climate-related impacts they are likely to face.

I found it quite fascinating that the United States is affected by so many different climate hazards in many different areas. Some of the examples from the article included:

Disruptions to oil and gas operations in the Southeast, Southern Great Plains and Alaska caused by more intense, frequent storms, hurricanes, and higher temperatures.
Reduced hydropower from changes in snowpack and melting patterns in the West.
Disruption of fuel transportation in every region due to impacts like increasing heavy precipitation, heat waves, drought, hurricanes, and storm surge.
Increasing electricity demand due to higher temperatures in nearly every region.
Electric grid impacts across the U.S. caused by a variety of sources, from heavy rainfall to wildfires (U.S. DOE, 2020).
The biggest climates threats to the energy structures where I live in Colorado are due to wildfires that can destroy transmission lines. There were at least three fires this summer in Colorado and one of them was so big that it was only contained because the weather changed to rainy and cold. Perhaps there are climate problems that are too big for us to handle but we should not give up on them.

Have a safe holiday season everyone, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. I enjoyed working and speaking to all of you.

Ramona

References

U.S. DOE (2020) How Climate Change Threatens Americas Infrastructure. United States            Department of Energy. Web. Retrieved on Dec. 1. 2020 from      <https://www.energy.gov/articles/map-how-climate-change-threatens-america-s-energy-    infrastructure-every-region>

post 2

Throughout the last nine months, we have seen the oil markets fluctuate wildly as the coronavirus continues to bring forth uncertainty for future demand. As a result, OPEC and allies had agreed to reduce production to keep prices more stable. However, as vaccine news seems increasingly promising, the markets are predicting that there will be increased demand for oil in the beginning of 2021 as vaccines are able to be distributed.

          Just today, OPEC and some Russian producers decided that they were going to increase their output by 500,000 barrels per day starting next month. This tells us that these groups believe the worst of the pandemic has passed already. Even though this is good news if demand for oil increases next year, many companies, like Exxon and Royal Dutch have announced and starting layoffs. In addition, other companies, Shell and BP reduced their dividend payouts to prevent lay offs.

    Despite the promising news, this translates to a half percent of demand before the pandemic hit in March. This agreement includes a contingency clause to gauge further increases in production on a monthly basis to adjust for increasing, or decreasing, demand for oil.

Faucon, B., & Said, S. (2020, December 3). OPEC, Allies Agree to Increase Output by 500,000 Barrels a Day in January. https://www.wsj.com/articles/opec-allies-near-agreement-for-small-production-increase-11606987819?mod=hp_lead_pos4.

post 3

The article that I chose talked about the pros and cons of hydropower. Hydroelectric energy has always been one of my favorites, Ive always just found it interesting. Even though its one of my favorites, Im still not the most knowledgeable of it. After finding this article, it really helped me understand this type of energy a little more than I already did. Obviously, hydropower is a renewable resource, so that is already a good thing. The actual first pro I found is hydroelectricity helps guarantee energy and price stability. The river water is a domestic resource which, unlike fuel or natural gas, is not subject to market fluctuations. Another pro would be hydroelectricity helps fight climate change. The hydroelectric life cycle produces very small amounts of greenhouse gasses, so because of that, the climate wont be affected as much as other forms of energy.