Global Warming – in the pending tray

The thing that people do not readily understand is that greenhouse gas emissions accumulate in the atmosphere. The proportion of greenhouse gas, particularly carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere increases, day by day and year by year. What would happen if we could reduce emissions of greenhouse gas by humans today by 50%?

How to make an earthquake

I have already written about the risk of pollution and the global warming effect of exploiting shale gas. Many dismiss these concerns, but there is scientific evidence that supports the dangers of exploiting shale gas. Recently another unforeseen danger of shale gas exploitation has come to light – the possibility that the fracking process in shale gas collection, which uses underground explosions created by pumping water sand and chemicals at very high pressure into the underground rock to release the gas embedded in the shale, may set of local earthquakes.

Reporting on Climate Change

Nicholas Stern wrote a report a few years ago. Everyone praised it, not because it contained any illuminating insights or great original thinking; environmentalists have been making the points that Mr Stern raised in his report years earlier when Mr Stern was in charge of dishing out money to environmentally damaging projects at the World Bank, but because it was a report made by a member of the establishment about climate change. He was suitably rewarded and hailed as a wise man. That is fine by me; anyone who puts climate change into the minds of the establishment has done well.

Ireland’s climate change error

Ireland has got it seriously wrong when it comes to climate change. It has just published a report which was composed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change jointly with the department of Agriculture Forestry and Food. They want the European Union to recognise carbon dioxide absorbed by forests as part of the climate change emission reduction directive. If this happened Ireland (and other EU states) would not have to work so hard or spend so much to reduce carbon dioxide emissions because they would take into account the sequestrating effect of growing trees.

The Emissions Trading Scheme – a conduit for fraud

One of the disadvantages of the emissions Trading Scheme launched by the European Union (and it is only one of the many disadvantages), is that the provisions of the Scheme has made Value Added tax fraud rather easy. The authorities have tried to clamp down of Value Added tax fraud but it has not been easy. Although the rules of the ETS are the same across the whole of the European Union each member state has different VAT rates and different tax rules, and it is these differences that fraudsters have been exploiting.

Ads on my blog

I have recently noticed that WordPress have taken to placing some advertisements on my blog. They do not appear on very post, but only from time to time. I do not like this.

Ten things that will make no difference to climate change

Ten things that will make no difference to climate change

 1. Carbon offsetting

Keep your money in your pocket.

2. Carbon Trading

You cannot use the principles of the casino to help the climate unless the house wins every time

3. The Clean Development Mechanism

No more than a good opportunity for free money for large corporations

4. Biomass burning

Keep the trees in the ground or use them for building homes so that their carbon stores are maintained

5. Biofuels

Food or fuel – you choose.

6. Carbon Sequestration

The energy output from processes using this technology (once it is invented) will mean that we need to burn more fossil fuel for the same energy equivalence.

7. Carbon Storage

One small leak and all that effort is wasted

8. Politicians

Just too scared to take tough measures; they should visit the climate camp

9.  Consultations

Mostly a waste of time and effort.

10. Geo engineering

Playing around with things we don’t understand, but good fun.

Burning forests around the world and burning coal in Washington

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported that the growth in greenhouse gas emissions over the past forty years has largely been down to increased use of energy. They mean by energy both power and heat, not just electrical energy.

The Committee on Climate Change – Will Mr Miliband try to compromise with the laws of physics?

 

The United Kingdom Committee on Climate Change, an independent body set up by law  under the Climate Change Act has advised the UK government that the United Kingdom ought to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 21% of the 2005 figure for emissions by 2020 – in twelve years time. It sounds such a modest reduction especially when you consider that just to leave carbon dioxide levels the same as they were in 2005 the whole planet will have to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% today. Because the greenhouse gas builds up cumulatively, a future reduction will not do much, especially by such a low figure.

A new eco friendly standard

It is easy to become an eco sceptic because so many firms are claiming an environmental benefit of using their products in an effort to sell more by pricking the public conscience. Until recently the epithet “eco” or “eco friendly” is used with impunity; the Advertising Standards Association is getting complaints and is ruling on whether it is honest to make a whole series of eco friendly claims.

A recent claim by Scottish & Southern Energy under scheme claimed that their tree planting program would “balance out the CO2 that your gas heating and house waste produces.”