GLOBAL WARMING

THE COLD HARD FACTS

"If we continue with ‘business as usual’, by 2030: world energy demand will be 50 per cent higher than today with 80 per cent of this for fossil fuels … and global carbon dioxide emissions will have risen by almost 60 per cent." UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Nov 2007.

"Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or even earlier." National Geographic News.

"For every ton of coal burned, almost three tons of CO₂ are created." Alleghany Group Global Warming Committee.

"Globally, power generation emits nearly 10 billion tons of CO₂ per year." Science Daily, Nov 2007.

"Each year we pump at least 6 billion tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere." Ross Gelspan, Author, ‘The Heat is On. The Climate Crisis’.

"China is building a new coal-fired power plant every 10 days." The Australian, Mar 17, 2008 .

Things we can do to help

Switch off lights, appliances and equipment when they're not needed.
Install energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps.
Divert garden and food wastes from landfill to composting (either at home or through a Council scheme).
Make your home more comfortable by insulating, draught-sealing and shading windows in summer.
Manage home heating and cooling by setting thermostats appropriately - a couple of degrees up in summer and a couple of degrees down in winter.
Cut hot water usage by installing a water-efficient showerhead, taking shorter showers and using cold water clothes washing.
Switch off your second fridge except when it's really needed.
Switch to low greenhouse impact transport options like bicycle or public transport - or use phone or email.
Minimise waste of packaging and materials - refuse, reduce, re-use, recycle.
Use solar power - dry your clothes on the clothes line outside, not in a dryer.

Reference: Nicholls, T (ed) 2007. Fundamentals of Carbon Capture and Storage Technology.
The Petroleum Economist Ltd: London.

The longer we delay, the more CO₂ will build up in the atmosphere. If we wait too long before acting, we will pass a point of no return and lock ourselves into centuries of global warming.

Jim Dipeso, Republicans for Environmental Protection,
America. May, 2003.

THE WEDGE THEORY

According to two professors from Princeton University in the United States, we already have the fundamental scientific, technical, and industrial know-how to solve the carbon and climate problem for the next half-century. A portfolio of technologies now exists to meet the world's energy needs over the next 50 years and limit atmospheric CO₂ to a trajectory that avoids a doubling of the preindustrial concentration.

Each of these technologies has passed beyond the laboratory bench and demonstration project; many are already implemented somewhere at full industrial scale. Although there is no single solution for the entire job (or even half the job), the portfolio as a whole is large enough that not every technology has to be used.

The Wedge Theory
Download PDF or Click here to view online.

Based on “Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies” by Steve Pacala & Rob Socolow in Science, August 13, 2004, v. 305, p. 968.

We're already having to cough up for global warming.

China’s medical bill for respiratory illnesses has been estimated at $100 billion. Pollution from coal plants in America causes the premature deaths of 24,000 people a year.
(Source: World Bank, 1997)

GOOD DECISIONS FOR THE FUTURE

When buying a car, buy a fuel-efficient one. Alternatively, consider buying a transport pass or bicycle.
When building, renovating, renting or buying a home, aim for high energy-efficiency and install energy-efficient appliances and lighting.
When replacing an electric hot water service install a high efficiency gas or solar unit.
Buy energy-efficient appliances with low standby power usage.
When choosing a home location, consider the time and cost of travel from there to work, school, shops and leisure activities.