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Michael Hayes

May 30, 2015
04:29

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The below is a copy of a comment offered to Jim Baird on his proposal found at: https://www.climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/1301501/phaseId/1306817/planId/1317203/tab/COMMENTS Hello Jim, Your proposal hits on a large number of important technologies and your writing is clear. I would like to offer a few technical points which may fit into the scenario you're proposing. 1) Up-welling of electrolized H2 will produce significant pressure within the up-welling pipe head and thus the pressurized H2 (kenetics) can be used to energize a sizable desalinization operation. It is a 2-for-1 opportunity. In brief, up-welling of gas within a pipe creates an 'air lift pump'. As I'm sure you recognize, this will create a head pressure which can be used for multiple cultivation and processing/refining operations. See below link. https://www.google.com/search?q=air+lift+pump&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=PflpVYTIIYH7oQSU04HQAw&ved=0CCYQsAQ 2) The 'perpetual salt fountain' concept is related to this overall up-welling issue and offers important insights about up-welling. See link below. https://www.google.com/search?q=perpetual+salt+fountain&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=CPppVaLXM5DfoASEnYHYDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg And, it has been found that the above form of up-welling will cause CO2 out-gassing and production of CO2 via dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) reacting with surface dynamics. 3) The up-welling of artificially warmed fluids, if not within an a well insulated pipe, will warm the local water column and thus create an external (un-confined) up-welling of CO2/DIC rich water. Thus, the final carbon foot print may be larger than what is accounted for within the process. 4)Shunting the out-gassed/produced CO2 into sealed chemosynthetic cultivation tank farms will allow for the utilization/sequestration of much of the generated CO2. The excess CO2 not used bythe cultivation effort can be sequestered through multiple paths. However, it is important that we utilize the CO2 to the fullest extent possible with sequestration being the last option. 5) Further, electrolysis of saltwater produces significant amounts of chlorine gas which will need to be captured and properly used/stored. The upper atmospheric chemistry is highly sensitive to chlorine and unchecked chlorine production/release can devastate the ozone layer in short order. 6) Electrolysis of seawater to create 'Biorock' is a good reference when working in this overall field. Dr. Wolf Hillbertz foresaw much of the 'Multi-Purpose OTEC' potential back in the 1970-1980s. A link to one of his papers is included below. http://www.wolfhilbertz.com/downloads/1979/hilbertz_IEEE_1979.pdf (Please see Fig. 30) 7) You have speculated that "It would take therefore a full war time effort the rest of this century to reach OTEC’s full potential.". Many in the OTEC field have the same view. However, it may be possible to see robust OTEC usage in far less time if the focus of the OTEC development is first applied to off-shore biomass production, which can produce carbon negative portable biofuels/biochar, food, feed, etc., with on-shore grid support as a secondary priority. 8) The oxyhydrogen reaction in algae (chemosynthesis) uses hydrogen to replace the need for photosynthesis in some species of micro-algae and thus production of hydrogen is a needed component to a vast scale carbon negative biofuel/biochar scenario. Currently, many who are waking up to the value of chemosynthesis are calling for liberating the H2 from the biomass via hydrothermal conversion of the biomass. I, however, recommend the use of an advanced perpetual salt fountain which uses heat and electrolysis for many of the reasons you have detailed. 9) By focusing solely upon feeding the on-shore electrical grid, the OTEC operations profits, and thus operations, are dependent upon high $bbl prices. It is possible that fracking will keep energy prices far below what typical OTEC needs as a competitive price for the foreseeable future. In conclusion, I enjoyed reading your well informed proposal and found your focus upon the existential threat of deep ocean thermal inertia to be spot on. Also, thank you for the 'Solomon et al' paper (I thought I had read all of her works!). Part of the work I'm pulling together under the IMBECUS Protocol attempts to address the ocean thermal problem set through the deployment of vast scale ocean biomass production platforms which can also function as vast scale surface cooling platforms in association with other cooling methods such as Marine Cloud Brightening. In short, deep-welling cold pH adjusted water while up-welling nutrients, CO2 for use in the production of carbon negative biofuels/biochar hits on the majority of the critical key issues which are critical to our survival. Thank you for your work, Michael

Sergio Pena

Jun 12, 2015
11:25

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Dear Contributor, kindly take a look on the Proposals for India and your general Proposal. You can find some question there. Best regards. Sergio Peña. Connector Catalyst

Michael Hayes

Jul 1, 2015
03:48

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Dear Sergio, I could not find the suggestions. Best, Michael

Michael Hayes

Jul 17, 2015
06:26

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Google Doc reflecting final submission form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16xC-3NXB9xCt91IbkanFNX57L_3md0aHv1QldPtHKl0/pub

Michael Hayes

Aug 4, 2015
04:47

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Hello Maruf, The WENN Protocol and technology suite is highly relevant to....any....region. As I tried to explain in my writings, the WENN Protocol is an attempt to standardize and coordinate actions across all regions so as to create an equal opportunity for all nations to participate in an advance mitigation and adaptation effort. The technologies being proposed can be used in all sectors (i.e. urban, rural, distant rural and marine environments). Thus, the technology is 'Universal' in its nature and use. The overall protocol is an attempt to bring coordinated funding opportunities to...all..nations, cities and even the smallest communities. The Green Bond market can reach trillions of dollars yet there is a need to bring high levels of coordination to the wide spectrum of issues to insure the best use of the funds and to also insure that the climate change mitigation/adaptation technologies being paid for through the Green Bonds are used to their greatest abilities. Currently, we have many technologies available to help us mitigate and adapt to climate change. What we do not have is a widely coordinated means of funding and managing those critical technologies. The WENN suite of technologies can provide a 'Universal' base upon which coordinated funding and management can be achieved. Without a strong and coordinated 'Universally' coordinated funding and management regimen ...nothing....on the scale needed to aggressively mitigate or adapt to climate change....can...emerge. The problem is too vast for uncoordinated/piecemeal efforts to solve in the time available. The WENN Protocol is an effort to coordinate actions, funding and possibly even mitigation/adaptation governance between all nations, regions and even the smallest villages. The multiple problem sets we currently face (and will face for generations) is so complex and vast that nothing short of a full trans-regional/global scale coordinated effort will prevent the climate disruption which is already baked into the system. Maruf, thank you for your comment and suggestions. I value any opportunity to clarify my work as it is rather complex and...yes...ambitious. Climate change mitigation and adaptation will need both ambitious and even bold ideas and actions. It will also need many important actors willing to step outside their own comfort zone as what we, as a species, are currently and comfortably doing today is simply not working in our collective interests. Warmest wishes, Michael

Michael Hayes

Aug 12, 2015
09:03

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The limited space provided within the CoLab form makes addressing the suggestions and concerns of the Judges extremely difficult within that limited space. Also, the time and effort spent in simply trying to work in such a limited space needs to be better spent. Thus, I've transferred the CoLab format to a Google Doc (link below). This allows for expanded text, better graphics, more complete explanations at multiple levels (i.e. non-technical, policy centric, funding centric and STEM centric etc.). This link will also allow the reader to follow the conceptual development of the U.S. Plan: Chemosynthetic Management of the Water/Energy/Nutrient Nexus (WENN) even after the CoLab competition is complete. The link is below and you may need to copy and paste it into your browser as links to such 'work-arounds' many times become broken. https://docs.google.com/document/d/16xC-3NXB9xCt91IbkanFNX57L_3md0aHv1QldPtHKl0/pub Best regards, Michael

Liang Yang

Aug 14, 2015
05:46

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Thank you for submitting your proposal to this Climate CoLab contest. Because you had submitted it before July 18th, the contest Judges were able to review your proposal and provide you with some feedback, which we have included below. We hope that you will use it to further develop your work before the August 31 deadline. On that date at midnight Eastern Time, your proposal will be locked and considered in final form. The Judges will then select which proposals will continue to the Finalists round. Finalists are eligible for the contest’s Judges Choice award, as well as for public voting to select the contest’s Popular Choice award. The Winners will receive a special invitation to attend selected sessions at MIT’s SOLVE conference and showcase their work before key constituents in a workshop the next day. A few select Climate CoLab winners will join distinguished SOLVE attendees in a highly collaborative problem-solving session. In addition, if your plan is included in one or more winning global plans, you will receive Climate CoLab Points, and the top point-getters will receive shares of a cash prize of $10,000. Thank you for your great work and good luck! 2015 Climate CoLab Judges & Fellows Your name: CJ Guo Your feedback: The proposal does present a grant idea but there is a lack of evidence as to its viability with a reasonable time frame. It is also not clear how this idea would be best applied to / deployed in China – I am not sure if the table showing the proportion of China’s biomass production in the context of the rest of the world is correct. It would be better is the authors can present a clear, at least semi-quantitative, analysis as to how this grant option would compete with existing energy/water supply options, and if not competitive short term, what technology improvement / breakthrough and policy support from the government would be needed to enable a material deployment of the technology suite over time, and again, how / why would they be better suited to China. Again, grant idea is great but any idea to be materially deployed have to be economically more competitive over incumbent solutions. Policy support does help in the initial stage, but how much support is needed is associated with interplay between the new options and existing ones, which should be addressed in a proposal like this. Fellows’ name: Angela Yeh, Liang Yang Fellows’ feedback: - Comment to title: The proposal shows an interesting idea, but it is generally adoptable. The author may specify it for China in this contest. - Comment to pitch: the pitch could be a more direct proposal - starting with a more active, straightforward explanation. For example: chemosynthesis has great potential to mitigate emissions through a, b, and c. also - the pitch should be china relevant. why is chemosynthesis a particularly attractive solution for China, and no other regions. - Comment to summary: 1. this whole section needs to be restructured for better ease of understanding; I would also selected only a few graphs/figures to support your statement (the sources and purpose of the figures can be more focused and refined). 2. structure of WENN: start with definition, then the different elements of WENN, then implementation stages (where economies of scale, deployment, inter-government efforts etc come in) - it should follow a more logical flow. the summary is too long at this moment. I would suggest to move some contents to later sessions, for instance, details of the mentioned projects/technologies could be put at the following session. - Comment to pictures: Some of the figures may not be necessarily included in this proposal. And the remain ones would need to be introduced and explained with texts. - Comment to ‘Be universally applicable…’: sure - but it is recommended that you add how it can be tailored to China - Comment to ‘be fundable…’: specifically, how to tap into those multi-development fund? - Comment to ‘Green bond/grant programs list’: the list includes grant programs mostly in the US or other world regions. How could them be available for China? - Comment to ‘The list of proposals are early, less refined, versions of the WENN Protocol...’: Supper idea to have one proposal that fits to all regions and sectors. But I guess the author would have to specify them for each of the sectors/regions.

Michael Hayes

Sep 2, 2015
04:40

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Dead Zones in red, black dots are of un-known size

Robert Simmon & Jesse Allen - NASA Earth Observatory

Red circles on this map show the location and size of many of our planet’s dead zonesBlack dots show where dead zones have been observed, but their size is unknown. It’s no coincidence that dead zones occur down river of places where human population density is high (darkest brown). Darker blues in this image show higher concentrations of particulate organic matter, an indication of the overly fertile waters that can culminate in dead zones.


Michael Hayes

Sep 12, 2015
03:38

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Greetings,

There has been further refinement of the Water, Energy, Nutrient Nexus (WENN) Protocol in the area of authorship and organization.

The link to that work is:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16xC-3NXB9xCt91IbkanFNX57L_3md0aHv1QldPtHKl0/pub

However, there still is the need to address each nation's/region's ability to use the WENN Protocol per the competition(s) mandate.I'm working my way through the information found in the World Resource Institute database: http://cait.wri.org/ and hope to be able to make clear linkage between the national pledges and the WENN Protocol within the revision time frame allowed within the Finals stage of the competition.

Your continued patients with the development of the WENN Protocol proposal and further support would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Michael 


Michael Hayes

Dec 2, 2015
05:50

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The following is a copy of a comment added to the 'Global Plan' which evolved from this proposal.

Response to Judge’s Remarks

(Judges Comments 1) “iWENN Management Protocol has several commendable features -– especially its scale of vision. However, we have hesitations about this proposal. The Protocol as outlined here is not realistic under current socio political conditions. Neither public nor private sector actors are ready to pursue this model. Green minded fund managers (almost an oxymoron) are extremely unlikely to invest in the high cost, high-risk ventures described in the sub-proposal.”

(Response 1) As the Pope succinctly noted in a recent statement seen here in Rueters:

"I am not sure, but I can say to you 'now or never.' Every year the problems are getting worse. We are at the limits. If I may use a strong word I would say that we are at the limits of suicide.".

The Pope is not the only leader to realize the urgency which we now face and there is a growing number of leaders in the financial community which have also awaken to the need for strong new measures which inherently will be somewhat risky during initial development.

Business as usual is simply suicidal and going beyond business as usual will require some degree of risk.

One excellent example of financial leaders realizing this existential need for moving beyond business as usual is found within CERES’s Clean Trillion Initiative.

(Response 2) As to the comment concerning “high cost, high-risk ventures described in the sub-proposal” and or the previous comment of "BECCS is not proven at large scales:

It is well understood at the IPCC (WG3) level that the only limiting factor in establishing vast scale BECCS operations is the availability of sustainable low cost upstream biomass. The technical aspects of marine biomass production are also well understood and the use of the Oxyhydrogen Reaction in Algae is well understood as well and is, in fact, currently used at the industrial level.

Please read this relevant patent:

Use of oxyhydrogen microorganisms for non-photosynthetic carbon capture and conversion of inorganic and/or c1 carbon sources into useful organic compounds

4HwtZSY3B1z8yQkMm_BHpwXtCc9Xp_YQ660iy1oGanqNsJEDoTyLMTJFUU5JlkAEXzE0YkX_PH9IkHG3sqVZI1dqzDcwD-1gWo7PwocChl4MiEjWL0x9RR6iwuqF7qFKZpmpy5-d3qB_3iODqpV2x4N3sE4wvWXl7ebMuZ9ksIoljfEelPQzUP-vbJRw_QtKvDM_CWOmOhYBnxnw4lTEC-dlP6AFnlX7KAlulf8JNr9h9BAiKYSdsqlr6BpCnAXDm8SnNj0YK-wwa-mJfeL0Jml6VSzyP6e4RUSdTVacgsdePSEURz-LK_Sfsih5CESSK3rSAfOHaRRt9icw7sTxrjNK2rnu8Pi2Ig2kwi0wTVCjIQJkBgItgfuuZreICxwXaG9a7GPP0CRdoUy8hs5ce_LVa6x6H2ICYZq5snAMnsduqAjpxO_JZW26IvIjU6_j8Q3XDwOkWS1c0bZG0R8cUUD5Rz-eL78nfQgtx7VQuIm8Qj_d3cComkIS_Mpf9QaQCGOMl5N1dFX5OmPv6tf4XeV6v0-Yeq1Ehoh8aJUDg_c=w977-h389-no

In brief, the judges who discredited the use of the above biotechnology, used in the previous national/regional proposals, simply did not understand the science!!!!

I ask this panel of judges to not make that same mistake. Stating confidently that the Oxyhydrogen Reaction in Algae is not 'feasible' is much like that professor who 'proved beyond all reasonable doubt' that heaver than air flight is impossible...3 months after the first flight at Kitty Hawk!!!!

Finally, the position that high level investors are not inclined to aggressively fund new technology is problematic as current developments seem to show the opposite view.

Please see: Breakthrough Energy Coalition

“The existing system of basic research, clean energy investment, regulatory frameworks, and subsidies fails to sufficiently mobilize investment in truly transformative energy solutions for the future. We can’t wait for the system to change through normal cycles.”

As such, the Global Plan, A Carbon Negative Infrastructure and Economy: A Systems Design/Mngmt Approach should be viewed as being within a reasonable, although advanced, spectrum of near term options as the science is well understood (by those that bother to read the science) and the technology is fundable as the science is currently...in use at the industrial level.

To conclude, this proposal attempts to stretch the envelope as far as STEM and socially responsible global scale business development using components which are, in fact, in use today and can be rapidly scaled up to global significance. This proposal, however, is also a volunteer effort which is not meant to be a fully developed business plan and should be judged in that regards.

With proper resources, a fully detailed business plan/proposal can be developed for those executives who actually understand the need for large scale and globally coordinated advanced mitigation/adaptation near term actions using state-of-the-art STEM and a socially responsible business model (as this proposal offers).   

Respectfully,

Michael 


Michael Hayes

Dec 2, 2015
06:27

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Please watch this brief message from B. Gates as it helps address the judge's concern over initial risk.

The Breakthrough Energy Coalition