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Yesterday I had a talk with my dad and at a certain moment the topic changed to "the future". Ten years ago I saw the future as something exciting: internet and mobile phones were on the rise and all sorts of new technologies popped up. Nowadays I don't think of the future the same way anymore. As a matter of fact, I'm afraid of the world my children will grow up in. Exciting things have made place for fundamental questions and worst case scenarios.
No, I'm not talking about the threat of terrorism, I'm talking about a far more serious threat: global warming and pollution in general.
Minimalising the effects
For years governments (whether under pressure of the oil industry lobby or not) have been minimalizing the effects of global warming and even the phenomenon itself. It took for example five years to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol, another eight years before it entered into force and a first commitment period from 2008 to 2012. In the mean time hardly any fundamental measures have been taken to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses. "But since the Kyoto objectives have to be met in 2050, we still have time", some say.
The timebomb is ticking
Wrong! Reports already released in 2004 (Pentagon report: link) stated that already in the next 20 years the climate change will have disastrous consequences. "So we still have 20 years...", some say.
Wrong again! On November 30th Sir Nicholas Stern, a former chief World Bank economist, presented a report on the effects of global warming on the economy to Tony Blair (see below for full info). Some key findings:
Further reading:
Interview with Al Gore on fighting global warming
The Bush administration's approach to global warming
Kyoto Protocol (Wikipedia)
Climate Change Science: An analysis of some key questions
Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change (full report, presentation, speaker notes and comments)
Shared responsability
To all these projected doom scenarios, people generally react in two ways: either they panic or they become apathic. Neither of the two will help us to avoid our self destruction. Stopping the climate change is a shared responsability, so if our politicians don't have the courage to implement measures, it's up to us all to do something about it. By taking a few simple measures or changing your habbits a bit, we can all make a difference. And even if the effect of this is minimal, at least we can look our children in the eyes within a few decades. We don't have the time to wait and see while pointing at the government.
Want tips on what to do?
US Department of Energy: Energy savers at home
Dominion: Energy Efficiency at home
Energy Savers for professionals (industry managers, contractors, fleet managers, ...)
You might want to look at the website of your power supplier too. Most of them have energy saving tips too.
As for myself, I'm taking the following measures in my daily life:
- turning off all electrical equipment when I don't use it (rather than leaving it on stand-by);
- turning down the heating a few degrees and wear a sweater when I get cold or cuddle up under a fleece blanket when I'm watching TV (cosy
);
- I have a class A fridge (maximum energy efficiency and insulation);
- turning off the lights when I'm not in the room;
- using a single bulb lamp on my desk in my study instead of switching on the three bulb ceiling lighting;
- using energy efficient light bulbs;
- taking less baths, but more showers;
- rinsing my razor and wash my face with cold water after shaving;
- closing the curtains during the summer to keep out the heat and during winter to keep the warmth inside;
- when it gets really hot during summer, I put tin foil on the windows that get direct sunlight;
- I try to avoid plastic packaging and go for paper/cardboard and glass bottles;
- I use a shopping bag or a crate instead of plastic bags when I go to the supermarket;
- I've stopped speeding and cruise along at 100 km/h (62 mph) on the highway;
- when I go out partying with friends, we carpool instead of driving each with our own car;
- I've put a brick in the water collector of my toilet to save water;
- instead of putting tin or plastic foil over the stuff I put in the fridge I use tupperware pots with a lid.
- I always cook with a lid on my pots and pans (reduces the cooking time with an average of 30%);
- ...
I'm also implementing a few measures while renovating my new house to consume less energy and resources:
- I've put an extra layer of isolation against the roof of the attic.
- Heat reflecting screen behind the stove in the winter garden.
- Programmable timer thermostat connected to a energy efficient central heating burner.
- Heat reflecting foil in the convector pits (some rooms have heating elements placed beneath ground level to optimize the available space).
- Double layered windows (thermopane) everywhere.
- Trimming the hedges and bushes around the house to a lower height to get more sunlight inside.
- Adjustable sunscreens on the roof of the wintergarden and veranda (both roofs are in plexiglass and glass).
- All the drain pipes will be connected to an underground collector. The water stored there can be used afterwards to wash the cars, clean the floors inside, water the lawn and the garden, ...
- Dimmers instead of light switches.
- Thinking of installing solar panels on the roof.
- Thinking of installing heat pumps.
- Garden lighting with LED instead of normal light bulbs
So what does everybody else here do to save energy and resources?
No, I'm not talking about the threat of terrorism, I'm talking about a far more serious threat: global warming and pollution in general.
Minimalising the effects
For years governments (whether under pressure of the oil industry lobby or not) have been minimalizing the effects of global warming and even the phenomenon itself. It took for example five years to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol, another eight years before it entered into force and a first commitment period from 2008 to 2012. In the mean time hardly any fundamental measures have been taken to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses. "But since the Kyoto objectives have to be met in 2050, we still have time", some say.
The timebomb is ticking
Wrong! Reports already released in 2004 (Pentagon report: link) stated that already in the next 20 years the climate change will have disastrous consequences. "So we still have 20 years...", some say.
Wrong again! On November 30th Sir Nicholas Stern, a former chief World Bank economist, presented a report on the effects of global warming on the economy to Tony Blair (see below for full info). Some key findings:
- The level in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, stood at 280 parts per million by volume (ppm) before the Industrial Revolution, in about 1780. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere today stands at 382ppm.
- ?200bn ($382bn/?290), or 1 per cent of global GDP, must be spent every year to get carbon dioxide levels to "stabilise" at 550ppm. This figure will rise as world GDP increases, and could be three to four times as large by 2050.
- 40 per cent of the world's species would face extinction if temperatures rose by 2?C.
- 200 million people are at risk of being driven from their homes by flood or drought by 2050.
- 6?C is a "plausible" estimate of how much world temperatures could rise by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions are unchecked.
- 60 million more Africans could be exposed to malaria if world temperatures rise by 2?C.
- 35 per cent drop in crop yields across Africa and the Middle East is expected if temperatures rise by 3?C.
- 200 million more people could be exposed to hunger if world temperatures rise by 2?C.
- 550 million more people could be at risk of hunger if world temperatures rise by 3?C.
- 4 million square kilometres of land, home to one-twentieth of the world's population, is threatened by floods from melting glaciers.
- 35,000 Europeans died in the 2003 heatwave, an event likely to become 'commonplace'.
- 4 billion people could suffer from water shortage if temperatures rise by 2?C.
- Global warming could shrink the global economy by 20 per cent.
Further reading:
Interview with Al Gore on fighting global warming
The Bush administration's approach to global warming
Kyoto Protocol (Wikipedia)
Climate Change Science: An analysis of some key questions
Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change (full report, presentation, speaker notes and comments)
Shared responsability
To all these projected doom scenarios, people generally react in two ways: either they panic or they become apathic. Neither of the two will help us to avoid our self destruction. Stopping the climate change is a shared responsability, so if our politicians don't have the courage to implement measures, it's up to us all to do something about it. By taking a few simple measures or changing your habbits a bit, we can all make a difference. And even if the effect of this is minimal, at least we can look our children in the eyes within a few decades. We don't have the time to wait and see while pointing at the government.
Want tips on what to do?
US Department of Energy: Energy savers at home
Dominion: Energy Efficiency at home
Energy Savers for professionals (industry managers, contractors, fleet managers, ...)
You might want to look at the website of your power supplier too. Most of them have energy saving tips too.
As for myself, I'm taking the following measures in my daily life:
- turning off all electrical equipment when I don't use it (rather than leaving it on stand-by);
- turning down the heating a few degrees and wear a sweater when I get cold or cuddle up under a fleece blanket when I'm watching TV (cosy
);- I have a class A fridge (maximum energy efficiency and insulation);
- turning off the lights when I'm not in the room;
- using a single bulb lamp on my desk in my study instead of switching on the three bulb ceiling lighting;
- using energy efficient light bulbs;
- taking less baths, but more showers;
- rinsing my razor and wash my face with cold water after shaving;
- closing the curtains during the summer to keep out the heat and during winter to keep the warmth inside;
- when it gets really hot during summer, I put tin foil on the windows that get direct sunlight;
- I try to avoid plastic packaging and go for paper/cardboard and glass bottles;
- I use a shopping bag or a crate instead of plastic bags when I go to the supermarket;
- I've stopped speeding and cruise along at 100 km/h (62 mph) on the highway;
- when I go out partying with friends, we carpool instead of driving each with our own car;
- I've put a brick in the water collector of my toilet to save water;
- instead of putting tin or plastic foil over the stuff I put in the fridge I use tupperware pots with a lid.
- I always cook with a lid on my pots and pans (reduces the cooking time with an average of 30%);
- ...
I'm also implementing a few measures while renovating my new house to consume less energy and resources:
- I've put an extra layer of isolation against the roof of the attic.
- Heat reflecting screen behind the stove in the winter garden.
- Programmable timer thermostat connected to a energy efficient central heating burner.
- Heat reflecting foil in the convector pits (some rooms have heating elements placed beneath ground level to optimize the available space).
- Double layered windows (thermopane) everywhere.
- Trimming the hedges and bushes around the house to a lower height to get more sunlight inside.
- Adjustable sunscreens on the roof of the wintergarden and veranda (both roofs are in plexiglass and glass).
- All the drain pipes will be connected to an underground collector. The water stored there can be used afterwards to wash the cars, clean the floors inside, water the lawn and the garden, ...
- Dimmers instead of light switches.
- Thinking of installing solar panels on the roof.
- Thinking of installing heat pumps.
- Garden lighting with LED instead of normal light bulbs
So what does everybody else here do to save energy and resources?
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