(FOUR MINUTE READ)

I recently came across this app that sums up where we are with – CLIMATE CHANGE.

Let’s calculate your Carbon Footprint. Climate Hero.  Pay x to offset your climate foot print.

God knows how many meeting we now have had of world leaders when it comes to Climate Change. From the UN to the Gs’ and Climate Summits, and it still remains beyond their comprehension that to reduce Carbon Emissions we must put a halt to producing energy with fossil and gas resources.

Instead:

We have are unenforceable Promises,  Declarations,  Proposals Agreement,  Accords, Groups and Organisations under ever letter of the alphabet turning a blind eye to the raw fact that carbon has being turned into a product to be traded.

This is a trading system through which countries / corporations can buy or sell units of greenhouse-gas emissions in an effort to  either meet their national limits on emissions or off set their emission’s  while they continue will – nilly to pump carbon into the atmosphere.

. The Kyoto Protocol assigned a unit of emissions payment to equal to 1 metric tonne of CO2 equivalent.

This TRADING comes with labels like Carbon Free, Net Zero, Offset, Mitigation

All ways of  (COP) out of  doing any think.

Like REDD:  Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation with Cop 27introduced Sovereign Carbon Credits paving the way for private trading and financing of nature.

You dont have to be a genius to understand that temperature rise is only the beginning of the story.

The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity, mass migration by both animals and humans  that will eventually led to more wars.  Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others.

There is no doubt that  Climate action requires significant financial investments by governments and businesses. But climate inaction is vastly more expensive.

So instead of worthless invisible funds why not give non repayable grants to every house hold to install solar panels.

To get to net zero emissions by 2050 it is not by giving Earth Shot millions to projects that deserve recognition in their innovative  to tackle Climate Change but to arm the peoples of the world to do something positive by converting to Green energy,  starting now.

Why not because the capitalist system is still between two stool profit for profit sake or profit for sustainability.

Progress is a metaphor

For benefitting man;

We know exactly what it’s for

But wonder if it can.

The next best thing to knowing a fact is said to be where to find it;

But more than that, its how to act, once you have truly defined it.

SO WE ALL KNOW THAT it is critical that all mitigation and adaptation policy are underpinned by not burning fossil fuels that are generating greenhouse gas emissions and methane even it there are offset by paying a few dollars more for your Flight or breathing.

Of course one would be naïve to think that Government’s who’s revenue comes from the use of energy are going to cut themselves off from this revenue by converting the production of energy to free for all. The primary source of revenue is taxation.

THIS IS WHERE THE  PANDORA  BOX.OPENS.

The problem is that these renewable sources aren’t super reliable and at present there is no way of storing the energy other than directing it into the Grid or private batteries that need to be attached to the grid.

There is no problem (in principle) with building enough solar panel arrays, wind farms, tidal, wave and geothermal energy plants to power our planet. There is nothing here that we don’t already know how to do. The only problem is with funding it and getting people to accept it.

We at the moment except.

Nuclear power plants: Highly stable and reliable. They are “dirty” because of the nuclear waste hype. There is also problem with uranium mining and processing as well.

Coal power plants: Operable and reliable. Their huge footsteps are mining processes, CO2 emissions, NOx, SOx, dust pollution, heavy metal pollution…

Gas/oil powerplants: Operable, reliable. Their drawbacks are mining process, CO2 emissions and political compromises.

Biomass powerplants: Low scale source. Extremely low power density (MW output per km2 needed for supply).

Water powerplants: very fast, reliable. Their drawbacks are huge or humongous dams for high-power ones or low power output; disruption of the stream.

Wind turbines: Power-grid disruptor #1, unpredictable source. Unrecyclable blades. High risk in bad weather (too windy)

Solar heat powerplants: Huge area consumption for mirror fields plus tower in the sky. Suitable only for scarcely populated areas.

Photovoltaics: Power-grid disruptor #2 (only because it does not disrupt after sunset). Unpredictable power source. Extremely low power density (MW per km2 of ground consumed). Extremely toxic production. Unrecyclable.

HOWEVER ITS NAIVE TO THINK THAT WE CAN HAVE GREEN ENGERY TOTAL FREE OF EMMISIONS.

Where are we?

World Climate Summits have become a key platform for connecting investment markets not policies to avert disaster.

With the last one in Egyptian promising trillions to countries that can claim Punch’s Pilot absolution that its not their fault.

Energy is there and all we can do about it is change the forms. It is a direct follow of the conservation of energy.

There is no thermal engine that produces more (mechanical) energy than it consumes. Even solar and wind need raw materials.

Solar panel takes a little less than a decade to produce as much energy as was used to make it.

Anytime one is using energy, they are using it on the environment’s behalf.

IN A IDEAL WORLD WE COULD CONVERT tracts of unusable desert that has no significant ecological value and which gets uninterrupted sunshine for 300+ days of the year that could be covered in solar panels.

I have advocated that to tackle Climate change Governments must impower their people to do so.

Non Repayable grants to insulate their homes and install solar power would be a good start.

You have to start on time as nothing in the universe will produce more energy.

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks and abuse chucked in the bin.

Contact: bobdillon33@gmail.com