Hype, Realism, Convergence
Since a few years we are bombarded by media-attention for Climate-change, and especially the “Fight against Climate-change”, but what is actually the reality of this?
Fighting climate-change sound as if we have an influence on what is happening, which we don”t, and as if we can “Stop Global Warming”, which is even more ludicrous and misleading.
The Global warming-issue has effectively been reduced to the sloganism of reducing CO2, which is the least harmful of all the emissions (NOX for example is 296 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2) and we are made to believe that when we just reduce our CO2-emissions, all will be all right.
Of course this is not true.
Not only is it now surfacing that our global emissions are effectively rising beyond the “worst-case
scenario”, due to persistently excessive energy-usage of the developed world and ever increasing energy-needs
of the emerging economies, but also that biofuels, as they are being promoted now, are emitting more CO2, NOx and
other emissions than when we would continue burning oil. In the process of growing the crops, using fertilizer
(mainly made from gas or oil), processing and burning, the total emissions go beyond traditional
(transport-)fuels.
Some are already speaking about a “Biofuels-hoax”.
Some commentators are now pushing for a “quantum-leap” in technology for the emerging economies, to try to convince for example China and India not to use coal. Although it sounds reasonable, and these countries are also taking overdue action, the arrogance of these comments is in a way staggering.
Looking at the fact that the biggest polluter on the planet, the biggest user of energy and, by a factor 3, also the biggest importer of oil, is getting over 60 % of its power still from coal (USA), and that it is not too long ago that the term “smog” was invented in the UK to explain the mixture of smoke from coal and the everlasting fog, one can ask “who (or what) is talking?
It is always much easier to point the finger to others, and, these days, direct the media-attention to others, but
fact is that the energy-usage in the Western/developed world is in most cases 6 to 10 times higher per person than in
the emerging economies. And at the same time we are exporting our “way of life” of consumerism and
“waste-full” living as the holy grail of development to many parts of the world.
Somehow it doesn”t fit together.
So is there a solution? Well, yes and no.
As written before in the column; whilst you are reading this, the planet is turning with a speed of well over 1600 km per hour (of which we do not notice anything apart from a moving sun), whizzing through space by a good 100.000 km per hour within our solar system. This in itself is moving with much greater speed within our “local environment” of the Milky Way. How can we expect that change will not happen? And do we really think that anything is waiting for us to decide to “stop global warming” or “fight climate-change?
At the same time it is clear that we have polluted this planet beyond recognition, and to be fair: with not even 20 % of the global population, we have caused well over 80 % of the “residue”. So where could we look for reduction of energy-usage and subsequent pollution?
Of course we need urgently find solutions, simply because especially oil and gas will have reduced availability in the not too distant future, and because the emissions are, or seem to be, a major factor in the destabilization of the climate. But until now the solutions that have been found seem in quite some cases worse than what they are meant to replace, which isn”t really helpful.
But one of the major sources of energy-usage reduction is so easily passed by: the person looking at you in the
mirror, pointing at you and saying:
Your planet needs YOU.
Let”s not forget our individual and personal responsibility, who-ever you are, where-ever you are.
Stay tuned to the future,
Alexander
Responses are always welcome at: Alexander@gas-oil-power.com
