<div dir="ltr">Full report at first website... New York Times story on this report pasted in below:<br><div><br><a href="http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/07/f2/20130710-Energy-Sector-Vulnerabilities-Report.pdf">http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/07/f2/20130710-Energy-Sector-Vulnerabilities-Report.pdf</a><br>
-----------------------------------<br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/us/climate-change-will-cause-more-energy-breakdowns-us-warns.html?_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/us/climate-change-will-cause-more-energy-breakdowns-us-warns.html?_r=0</a><br>
<h1 class="">Climate Change Will Cause More Energy Breakdowns, U.S. Warns</h1>
<h6 class="">By
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<a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/john_m_broder/index.html" rel="author" title="More Articles by JOHN M. BRODER"><span>JOHN M. BRODER</span></a></span></h6>
<h6 class="">Published: July 11, 2013 </h6>WASHINGTON — The nation’s entire energy system is vulnerable to
increasingly severe and costly weather events driven by climate change,
according to <a title="A link to the report." href="http://energy.gov/downloads/us-energy-sector-vulnerabilities-climate-change-and-extreme-weather">a report from the Department of Energy</a> to be published on Thursday.<br>
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The <a title="Live tracker for possibly disruptive storms." href="http://www.eia.gov/special/disruptions/">blackouts and other energy disruptions</a>
of Hurricane Sandy were just a foretaste, the report says. Every corner
of the country’s energy infrastructure — oil wells, hydroelectric dams,
nuclear power plants — will be stressed in coming years by more intense
storms, rising seas, higher temperatures and more frequent droughts.
</p><p>
The effects are already being felt, the report says. Power plants are
shutting down or reducing output because of a shortage of cooling water.
Barges carrying coal and oil are being delayed by low water levels in
major waterways. Floods and storm surges are inundating ports,
refineries, pipelines and rail yards. Powerful windstorms and raging
wildfires are felling transformers and transmission lines. </p><p>
“We don’t have a robust energy system, and the costs are significant,” said <a title="More about Mr. Pershing." href="http://energy.gov/pi/office-policy-and-international-affairs/contributors/jonathan-pershing">Jonathan Pershing</a>,
the deputy assistant secretary of energy for climate change policy and
technology, who oversaw production of the report. “The cost today is
measured in the billions. Over the coming decades, it will be in the
trillions. You can’t just put your head in the sand anymore.” </p><p>
The study notes that 2012 was the <a title="Times article." href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/science/earth/2012-was-hottest-year-ever-in-us.html?_r=0">hottest year on record</a> in the contiguous United States, and <a title="Times article." href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/science/earth/july-was-hottest-month-ever-recorded-in-us.html">last July was the hottest month</a> in the United States since record keeping began in 1895. </p>
<p>
The high temperatures were accompanied by record-setting drought, which
parched much of the Southwest and greatly reduced water available for
cooling fossil fuel plants and producing hydroelectric power. A study
found that roughly 60 percent of operating coal plants are in areas with
potential water shortages driven by climate change. </p><p>
Rising heat in the West will drive a steep increase in demand for air
conditioning, which has already forced blackouts and brownouts in some
places. The Energy Department’s Argonne National Laboratory found that
air conditioning demand in the West will require 34 gigawatts of new
electricity generating capacity by 2050, equivalent to the construction
of 100 power plants. The cost to consumers will exceed $40 billion, the
lab said. </p><p>
Mr. Pershing, who joined the Department of Energy this year after
serving for several years as the State Department’s deputy special envoy
for climate change, said much of the climate disruption was already
baked into the system from 150 years of rising levels of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere. He said that the nation must continue efforts to
reduce climate-altering emissions, but that the impact of those efforts
would not be felt for years. In the meantime, Mr. Pershing said, cities,
states and the federal government must take steps to adapt and improve
their resiliency in the face of more wicked weather. </p><p>
President Obama referred to these vulnerabilities in his <a title="White House transcript." href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/25/remarks-president-climate-change">speech on climate change</a>
at Georgetown University on June 25. He said Hurricane Sandy, which
devastated the Northeast in October, had provided a wake-up call, if one
was needed after the run of climate-related disasters in recent years.
</p><p>
“New York City is fortifying its 520 miles of coastline as an insurance
policy against more frequent and costly storms,” Mr. Obama said. “And
what we’ve learned from Hurricane Sandy and other disasters is that
we’ve got to build smarter, more resilient infrastructure that can
protect our homes and businesses, and withstand more powerful storms.
That means stronger sea walls, natural barriers, hardened power grids,
hardened water systems, hardened fuel supplies.” </p><p>
After Sandy, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York commissioned a study
of how to protect the city against storms. The report called for nearly
$20 billion in investments to enhance resilience, roughly equivalent to
the costs of responding to the hurricane. The study said that unless
the city took precautions, the next storm of similar magnitude could
cost the city $90 billion. </p><p>
The new Department of Energy report does not provide any firm estimates
of expected costs and provides no specific recommendations for immediate
action, much of which would be the responsibility of the companies that
produce and transport all forms of energy. </p><p>
But the authors do suggest a series of steps to reduce vulnerability.
Power plants and oil drillers should use less water and recycle what
they use. Electricity providers should harden their transmission grids
and build emergency backup systems. Operators of hydroelectric dams
should improve turbine efficiency. And residential and commercial energy
users should find ways to reduce demand. </p>
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<h6 class="">A version of this article appeared in print on July 11, 2013, on page <span>A</span><span>12</span> of the <span>New York edition</span> with the headline: U.S. Warns That Climate Change Will Cause More Energy Breakdowns.</h6>
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</div>------------------------------------------<br></div><div>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<br></div></div>