Weekly angst

We need new technologies to stop Global Warming

The British challenge to the European Union to cut carbon emissions 30% by 2020 and 60% by 2050 is an admirable goal for the industrialized world, but even that won’t be enough.

With a likely 2.5 billion (40%) increase in population worldwide by 2050, mostly in developing countries with fast-growing economies, the technologies available today won’t be sufficient to prevent a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – and thus a catastrophic rise in temperature – by the end of the century.

Much more funding needed for R & D
So one of the most important points in the British Global Warming report last week was it’s call for a worldwide doubling of funds for research and development of non-carbon energy sources. U.S. government funding for energy has been cut by more than half in the past 25 years, to $3 billion from an inflation-adjusted $7.7 billion. At the same time, federal funding for drug research went up four times, from $7B to $28B, and money for military research grew 260% to $75B, according to the New York Times. The Bush administration is asking for $4.2 billion in 2007, but many scientists agree that’s nowhere near enough.

Both the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (1997) and the bipartisan National Commission on Energy Policy (2004) called for a doubling of R&D spending for energy. Author Daniel Kammen, in Scientific American’s special September issue on Global Warming, calculated a need for $15B to $30B a year – something on the scale of the Manhattan Project or Apollo space program.

Others, including Science magazine’s State of the Planet (2006-07) report, agree on the need for innovation. Major climate change can only be avoided by reducing carbon emissions to a tiny fraction of current levels, the report said. But efforts so far have focused on affordable technologies such as wind, biomass fuels and improved efficiency, which cannot cut emissions enough, the report said.

Many alternatives to explore
“There are many promising candidates – solar thermal, hydrogen, carbon sequestration and nuclear fusion among them. Which will become most cost-effective is hard to predict, so research needs to proceed on many fronts,” the State of the Planet report said.

Other energy sources to be explored include waves and tides, high-altitude wind, space-based solar, nanotech solar cells, designer microbes and a global supergrid, according to Scientific American.

We must make carbon expensive
Now, how do we get industry to increase its funding for research on renewable sources? A tax or a cap on CO2 emissions will likely be required.

“Perhaps the most important step toward creating a sustainable energy economy is to institute market-based schemes to make the prices of carbon fuels reflect their societal cost,” said author Kammen in Scientific American. “A fee on carbon emissions would provide a simple, logical and transparent method to reward renewable clean energy sources over those that harm the economy and the environment.”

The president, many congressmen and much of industry oppose a carbon cap or tax. But when you realize that the world is adding a new carbon-emitting coal-fired power plant each week (mostly in China), it’s clear there needs to be a strong incentive to wean the world away from its 90% dependence on fossil fuels for energy. And America, the biggest polluter, needs to show some leadership.


News update

1. Californians vote Tuesday on oil drilling tax
On the California ballot Nov. 7 is a measure to tax oil drilling to fund alternative energy sources. Proposition 87, known as the Clean Alternative Energy Act, would raise up to $4 billion for alternative energy investments. If the measure passes, a tax on oil drilled in California, the fourth largest oil-producing state, would fund a state agency that would sponsor research and projects in solar, wind, ethanol and other alternative energy sources. (Source: Time.com)

2. U.S. West to be hit by droughts, heavy rain, long heat waves
The Western United States, Brazil and the Mediterranean countries will be hot spots for extreme weather over the next century, according to a new study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Because of Global Warming, these areas in particular will suffer extreme droughts, heavy rainfalls and long heat waves with high nighttime temperatures. These spots will be hardest hit because of a predicted change in airflow caused by an increase in rain in the tropical Pacific. The Pacific Northwest will see longer dry spells as well as heavier rainfalls, the study says. (Source: Associated Press)

3. Two senators challenge Exxon to stop funding denial
U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) have sent a letter to Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, asking that the company stop funding groups spreading word that Global Warming is a myth and trying to influence policymakers. The huge oil company has spent more than $19 million in support of such groups since 1990. (Source: ABC News)

4. Bush names former Exxon chief to chart energy future
President Bush has asked Lee Raymond, the retired chief of Exxon Mobil, to head up a study to help the U.S. chart a cleaner course for its future energy needs. Raymond heads the National Petroleum Council (NPC), a powerful lobby. The study will look at the supply and demand of oil and "assess the potential contribution of conservation, efficiency, alternative energy sources and technology advances," said Samuel Bodman, U.S. Energy Secretary. Under Secretary David Garman said the NPC is "well qualified to provide a balanced and informed perspective on strategies and action affecting the energy future for both the U.S. and for every country on Earth." (Source: BushGreenWatch)

5. Industrial countries cut GHG emissions 3%, says U.N.
Industrialized nations cut greenhouse gas emissions 3.3% between 1990 and 2004, according to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. But much of the decrease was due to a nearly 37% drop in the Eastern Bloc countries following the collapse of the Soviet economy. The other industrialized countries actually increased emissions 11%, though countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol managed to reduce theirs by 15%. Germany was down 17% and Britain 14%. The U.S., on the other hand, increased its emissions nearly 17% in the 14-year period. Turkey was up the most, at 79%, followed by Spain, 49%, and Portugal, 41%. Canada saw an increase of nearly 27%. (Sources: Greenwire and Reuters Planet Ark)

6. Next “Kyoto” phase is topic in Nairobi this week
The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet in Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 6-17 to discuss the next phase of climate control after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Some backers suggest extending talks until 2010, to allow for a new, more sympathetic, U.S. administration to participate. President Bush pulled the U.S. out of the Kyoto agreement, which calls for industrialized countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions 5%-7% by 2012. Only the U.S. and Australia failed to sign on. Australia said this week it would push for a “new Kyoto” that would include the U.S., Australia, China, India, South Korea and Japan, six of the largest polluters. China, not a party to the first Kyoto Protocol, is asking for agreement on a second phase by 2008 so there will be plenty of time for comment before ratification. (Sources: Greenwire and others)


Do something

Join the Virtual March against Global Warming
Add your name to half a million others protesting Global Warming by going to www.stopglobalwarming.org and signing up. And while you’re there buy one or more Stop Global Warming wristbands by clicking on “take action” at the top of the home page. They’re only $5 and the money goes to stopglobalwarming.org, the organization started by Laurie David, producer of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” and wife of Larry David of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Seinfeld.” The wristband can be a conversation-starter and give you an opportunity to tell others about the climate crisis facing our planet.

Canadian film on warming playing in some theaters here
“The Great Warming,” an acclaimed film from Canada, just opened in Regal Cinemas in the United States. To find out if it’s at a theater near you, go to www.thegreatwarming.com/comingsoonustheatres.html
The film was shown on Discovery channel in Canada but not in the United States. This is the first opportunity to see it here.

Did you miss “An Inconvenient Truth”? Buy the DVD
The DVD of Al Gore’s landmark movie is coming out Nov. 21. Go to www.climatecrisis.org and advance-order a copy at a reduced price. There is also a paperback book version on sale in most bookstores. This a world changer. If you haven’t seen it or read it, here’s your chance.