Change in Climate

Climate Change Bill

27th November 2008 saw the passing of the Climate Change Bill in the UK which aimed to see significant cuts in the UK CO2 emissions in order to tackle climate change. There were three main points in this bill. Firstly to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, this is the level that scientists believe is required if we are to see a turn in the tide of the current climate change. Secondly the bill included changes that mean that international aviation and shipping – that fastest growing source of emissions – emissions are now included in the targets. Finally, the bill also laid out that there be annual budgets for spending on carbon in order that the emission cuts could be more measurable and kept on top of.

Climate effects on the poor

Climate change is something that is talked about mostly in the context of the developed world. This is because most of the contribution and consequently, the ability to reduce, climate change is from the western world. However, the other side to the story is that it is the developing world that, despite contributing very little, is bearing the brunt of climate change.

The main reasons for this unbalanced impact are because people living in poorer areas of the world are more likely to live in fragile housing, to rely on agriculture for a lot of their income and have no back up of insurance or savings in the event of disaster. All of these factors make them very susceptible to changes in climate.

Every year, 150,000 people die from health-related effects of climate change. For example, crops can be ruined by drought or flooding from heavy rain or rising sea levels and this can mean significant food shortages which means loss of livelihood and malnutrition. This often leads to people being forced to leave their homes in order to find food and shelter elsewhere; by 2050 there will be an estimated 150 million refugees due to this.

A further significant effect is that the spreading of floodwater and changing weather mean that malaria carrying mosquitoes are spreading to highland areas that were previously unpopulated by them. Malaria is one of the biggest causes of death in the developing world especially in children, with much of the control of disease being focused on elimination of the vector mosquitoes. This spread caused by climate change is undoing much of this.

Gordon Brown, Prime Minister in the UK, said in June, that $100 billion needed to be contributed to poorer nations by developed countries in order to help them cope with climate change. As of yet, it is unclear exactly where this money will come from.

The World Bank

Unfortunately, a controversial contribution of the World Bank to developing countries has just been uncovered. The World Bank, who is funded by developed countries including the UK, has a goal of reducing poverty and is spending billions of pounds helping developing countries to build new coal-fired power stations. The World Bank has made several statements regarding it’s stance in trying to reduce emissions and protecting the developing world who are worst effected by climate change. Critics say that by giving this money to build new power stations they are not acting in the long term interests of the poor and that this money should instead be given to supporting renewable energy.

 

How about a Energy Star HDTV vs. A regular HDTV?

What will the effects of climate change be in the upcoming years?
Will there be new contributors?
How do we help stop it?

Futurama extracted from Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” documentation! Its HD and has English Subtitles. It plays in English too. Watch in Blu Ray quality: www.youtube.com

I am organising a short conference on climate change and energy at work. How best do I ignite people’s interest? Can you think of any interactive elements that I can use? Any ideas (however wild) are welcome.

I also want to minimise the carbon footprint of the event. Can you recommend any caterers that offset their energy expenditure?
Reply to D S – Yes I am a cult leader, but only in my spare time. This conference is being organised in my other capacity as a bureaucrat.

Ideas required – 10 points guaranteed

I’m pricing french doors and yesterday, at Home Depot, the ones I like have the Energy Star approval, but it costs a lot more for the Low-E glass. The sales person said the Low-E probably wouldn’t make a big difference.

What do you think the two most significant contributions that mankind is making to climate change and why?

A campaign is a series of planned activities with a particular social, commercial or political aim.

Campaigning is done against nuclear weapons and war.

Similarly, advertisement, election, empowerment of women and many more activities are promoted by campaigns organized by concerned people.

Nowadays, climate change is one of the fears all living and non-living on earth face.

Crying for the climate change is a campaign active all over the world.

We are very much concerned about our future generation.

Therefore, campaigning on climate change has become popular and sometimes fashion around the world.

Realizing the importance of climate change, the Nobel Foundation awarded Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore, the ozone man, former Vice-President of the US and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

They were responsible to bring out the truth that disastrous climate change is caused by global warming for which human activities contribute a lot.

No one believed the statement, but later on the scientists of IPCC calculated the human activities which influence the changes in earth’s climate.

This calculation could make the countries to wake up and think.

A documentary film “An Inconvenient Truth” produced by Al Gore opened the eyes of many politicians, planners and people from all walks of life.

In fact, the film won Oscars award for best documentary and best song.

At any cost, the man-made climate change has to be counteracted.

The bad effects of climate change on the Globe over time have been known even before two or three decades.

The green house gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, halocarbons – are responsible for global warming.

The first and foremost effect is the rise in earth’s temperature.

The vulnerable people started dying during summer months in advanced countries like France and Germany.

Once everyone saw such tragic conditions around, they come forward to support the campaign on climate change.

Many organizations interested in the future of humanity cross the world began campaigning against global warming.

Rising temperature affects not only human beings but also animals and plants on Planet Earth.

Prolonged droughts and untimely rain caused crop loss and reduction in food production.

The burning of fossil fuels and large scale air-conditioning are on the increase everywhere in the world.

The commercial interest and political interference do not come forward to support the campaign against global warming.

Those people are not bothered about the far reaching results which are going to be the greatest threat to our future generation who are none other than our own children, grand-children and grand-grand children.

The campaigners caution the policy makers and politicians well in advance to take appropriate measures to reduce or arrest global warming.

In this case, the public at individual level has to cooperate and indulge in action.

The ‘Ten Things To Do” for developed nations was proposed by AL Gore as “Green Agenda”.

They are:

1. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights.

2. Dive less.

3. Recycle more.

4. Check vehicle tire pressure for better mileage.

5. Use less hot water.

6. Avoid products with excessive packaging.

7. Plant a tree.

8. Turn off electrical equipment not in use.

9. Adjust your thermostat.

10. Spread the word.

The options laid out are not new to developing nations like India, because most of the organizations including the Government interested in development was campaigning these ten things for quite some time knowingly or unknowingly.

Adoption of most energy efficient technologies should be followed by everyone whether he / she lives in cities or villages.

Carbon sequestration in the soil is one of the measures by which the productivity of dry land can be increased and reduce the carbon emission according to the Director-General of ICRISAT, Hyderabad.

Incorporation of carbon and availability of organic carbon in soil help increasing the crop productivity.

Dry lands occupy 80 per cent of agricultural land and produce 58 per cent of the world’s staple foods.

Such a vast area should help in sequestration of carbon, provided we incorporate green manure regularly into the soil.

It is not a new concept again, an old one taught to me when I was a student of agriculture during 1960s.

Even today the organic farming campaigners recommend this concept to improve the soil fertility and at the same time sequestering carbon.

In this connection, one has to think of the oxidation of organic carbon in the tropical into carbon dioxide.

We are silent on this aspect.

However, I feel someone has to look into this crucial problem.

Probably, ICRISAT, a world body may think of the sequestration of carbon in tropical soils and its fate in the long run.

Forests are one of the largest ‘sink’ for carbon dioxide.

Deforestation caused by human activities and large scale wild fire brings down the ‘sink size’ and allow the earth to emit more carbon dioxide.

Coal based power plants emit enormous quantity of carbon dioxide.

Therefore, the suggestion is to opt for nuclear and solar power.

Renewable energies such as wind, solar and biofuel were highlighted as important sources to reduce the global warming to 2.0 – 2.4oC, generally recognized as the threshold level.

Report after report stresses the need for controlling the climate change through a number of campaigns all over the world – developed, developing and under develop.

Creating awareness among the people of the world is the ultimate aim of most of the organizations interested in global climate change.

Discouraging deforestation, reforestation, using ethanol based bio-fuels, expansion of conservation tillage to reduce carbon release from farm fields are some of the possible measures put forth by various committees instituted for studying the climate change.

In order to follow these policies, there should certainly be a political will and peoples’ participation.

The probability of human activities causing global warming is now 90 per cent as compared to 66 per cent in 2001 according to Dr. R.K. Pachuri, the head of IPCC.

Therefore, it is obvious that the human activities over years have contributed more and more to climate change.

If the present conditions continue, the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere will be 550 ppm by 2100 as compared to the present level of 280 ppm.

Curbing the carbon dioxide emissions are in the hands of the US, Australia, Europe, China and India.

The threshold of carbon dioxide concentration is 450 ppm for dangerous climate change.

Global warming also causes significant sea level rise which is unavoidable for many countries during 21st Century.

The fear of global warming is felt by only some people and campaign for climate change.

It is the question of survival in the long run.

If we take it easy now then it would be difficult to cope with the problem at later stage.

Therefore, let us follow the green agenda as much as possible to support the campaign on climate change.

I just moved to an apt and installed is an energy star room A/C unit. It gives two options for cooling: Cool and Energy Saver. I figured the energy saver would save me $$ but im worried bec it kicks off when the room gets cool then kicks back on a few mins later. Wont that constant on-off actually cost me more? Should I just leave it on Cool at all times?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy in to climate change? Whatare the contributions of renewable energy to climate change?