Why complain about the cost of climate change measures?

There is one part of the arguments used by those against climate change measures that I do not understand. I can understand many of their arguments and many arguments have force, but the one area which leaves me puzzled is that those against climate change measures often most vociferously complain about is that of cost.

Greenhouse gas emission statistics for the UK

Today I shall tell you about the good news and the bad news. First, there is the good news. According to the methodology accepted by the Kyoto Protocol for calculating greenhouse gas emissions of the six greenhouse gases recognised by Kyoto, the United Kingdom has reduced is greenhouse gas emissions between 2007 and 2008.

 Now the bad news; I regret to report that the reduction was only “nearly” 2%, which is probably the margin for error in these calculations.

The latest UK energy figures

The United Kingdom has for the past ten years used fairly consistently the same amounts of energy each year. The government when it publishes the figures adjust them for the average temperature in the UK between 1971 and 2000. In each of the years the adjustment has led to a higher theoretical use of energy – in other words temperatures have risen for the period 2000 to 2007 compared with average temperatures from 1971 to 2000, thus making us in the United Kingdom need less energy.

Do the wheels on the bus go round and round?

Ignorance is a thing that wastes everyone’s time. I learnt of a solar panel company that exclusively used Genersys solar panels that were asked by the Advertising Standards Authority to prove that the solar panels that they use “worked in cloudy conditions”.  To a layman this might at first sound reasonable enough, but to anyone in the thermal solar industry it is a bit like proving that the wheels on the bus go round and round. I shall explain.

The UK needs immediate constitutional reform

There is a great deal of talk in the United Kingdom about a new constitution; we have been shaken out of our lethargy and belief that our unwritten constitution provides us with the best possible system of government by a terrible scandal in which it has been revealed that the majority of our elected representatives and some of the appointed representatives have been taking from the public purse for their own enrichment.

Confound those politics

It is quite astonishing. Dr Chu, Nobel Prize winning physicist whom Mr Obama appointed as US Energy secretary (presumably on the grounds that he knew something about eh topics of energy and climate change) has come out with two statements which perhaps sum up the reaction of wealthy nations to climate change. 

Is Chile the barometer of the planet?

Chile is a prosperous, sophisticated country, abundant in many natural resources. It produces half of the world’s copper, high quality fruit and in its Central Zone, where most people live, Chile enjoys a moderate and comfortable climate which enables Chileans to grow some of the finest wines in the world and export some of the world’s best fruits. It has almost every natural resource and the resources that it does not have, it can trade with the rest of the world that needs Chile’s copper.

Look at the world and look at the numbers

If you are curious about our planet you will, no doubt, look at plants and animals around you, when you can. You will look at landscapes and at the cities, towns and villages that we build. You will see the roads and railways; watch the planes in the skies, all as part of your curiosity. And you will in all probability, think about the numbers.

Solar grants for not for profit organisations

I have been very critical of the United Kingdom’s solar thermal grant programme, especially when it was announced by Lord Truscott, in that it was poorly designed and conceived. I corresponded with Lord Truscott, (who was Energy Minister at that time) pointing out the serious deficiencies in the subsidies, particularly in what is called Phase 2 Low carbon Buildings Programme.  You can read the correspondence on the Genersys website at www.genersys-solar.com. Unfortunately, even though my comments and suggestions were supported by most of the solar industry, the Government Leviathan could not change its course.

Biofuels and their environmental effects

Minnesota was the first state in the USA to pass a law requiring ethanol to be mixed with vehicle fuel. It has a large agricultural industry, so it was logical to tie its own industries with a fuel source that was thought to be environmentally positive. It environmental record on other matters is good – the state features fourth on the list of high producers of electricity from wind turbines.

In the past few years scientists studying ethanol production from corn reached the conclusion that when you take into account the whole life cycle, ethanol from corn actually produces more carbon dioxide than the normal process of refining oil. It is not surprising then, that scientists in Minnesota have been studying the environmental benefits of ethanol from agriculture.