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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------2EA48758FDDBD860BC77FA0D Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit dug it out. -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Climate change and Halifax Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2019 17:36:30 +0000 From: David <dwebster@glinx.com> Reply-To: David <dwebster@glinx.com> To: Voice of the People <letters@herald.ca> CC: Mayor Mike Savage <Mayor@halifax.ca>, David Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> Dear Editor/Mayor: The good news of the day is that Halifax council intends to get serious about climate change (Chron. Hrld., Jan.30, 2019, p. A7). I am not current with conditions or programs in urban Halifax so some suggestions regarding possible approaches to consider may be after the fact. Most of my comments do not apply to the rural areas which I think are part of Halifax regional. Possible ways to combat are as follows. 1) Non industrial sewage could be fermented anaerobically in a closed system so that the resultant methane could be used to generate heat for electricity production. Some dairy farmers generate a good profit by processing cow manure in this way. Any power produced by means other than burning fossil fuels decreases the flow of new CO2 into the atmosphere-earth system. And by using a closed system the methane, bound to be released anyway, will not contribute to the greenhouse effect. 2) Yard waste and other organics, were at one time composted indoors and the final product smelled bad indicating anaerobic fermentation which would result in release of methane. Composting also does not enable energy production. The wet component of this waste stream could be used for methane production in a closed system and the dry could be used for production of electricity and biochar (Google 'The Local Carbon Network' for details). In common with charcoal, the elemental carbon of biochar can not be metabolized so represents carbon that is permanently removed from the carbon cycle; unless it somehow ends up in a fire. It or finely ground charcoal, when incorporated into the soil profile (see terra preta), increases the water and nutrient holding capacity of soil and consequently increases productivity. So it not only ties up carbon but improves soil. 3) Halifax is already doing a good job with respect to trees but putting all wires underground when streets are being repaved would perhaps make larger or more trees possible, the ideal city being a forest with streets and buildings, because trees decrease the need for space heat in winter and for cooling in summer. For maximum cooling by transpiration, an ample supply of water to the potential rooting area is required and this implies ample area of infiltration; frequently absent in typical urban layouts. Use of porous pavement on sidewalks and eventually on streets would increase the cooling efficiency of trees and decrease the need for future increases in storm flow capacity. 4) Transportation is a major consumer of fossil fuels so conversely it represents a potential for major decreases in release of new CO2. The first logical steps would involve an efficient public transit system using electric vehicles run by batteries in conjunction with free parking for private motor vehicles on the outskirts. With city traffic limited to delivery, emergency and public transit vehicles congestion should be relatively low so traffic could move smoothly. Much energy is lost when a moving vehicle has to stop. With suitably designed electric vehicles, it should be possible to divert much of the kinetic energy of motion back into the battery by using a generator as the first brake followed, in emergencies only, by a mechanical brake. For a transit system to work to good effect there should be many small transit vehicles instead of a smaller number of large vehicles. 5) Germany has a climate which is not well suited for solar power but by offering a good carrot, guaranteed 8% income for 20 years on funds invested in solar panel installations, they became a world leader in solar power capture. As one happy homeowner observed "I am being paid to live in my house." By offering some similar incentives, in both urban and rural areas, Halifax could capture much power and perhaps displace the like of power generated by coal. Yours truly, David H. Webster, Kentville 902-678-7824 --------------2EA48758FDDBD860BC77FA0D Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> </head> <body> <p><br> </p> <div class="moz-forward-container">dug it out.<br> <br> -------- Forwarded Message -------- <table class="moz-email-headers-table" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">Subject: </th> <td>Climate change and Halifax</td> </tr> <tr> <th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">Date: </th> <td>Wed, 30 Jan 2019 17:36:30 +0000</td> </tr> <tr> <th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">From: </th> <td>David <dwebster@glinx.com></td> </tr> <tr> <th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">Reply-To: </th> <td>David <dwebster@glinx.com></td> </tr> <tr> <th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">To: </th> <td>Voice of the People <letters@herald.ca></td> </tr> <tr> <th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">CC: </th> <td>Mayor Mike Savage <Mayor@halifax.ca>, David Webster <dwebster@glinx.com></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <br> &