The aim according to the London Mayor is to reduce the city's emissions by 20.2 million tons by 2025.
The plan?
Hit it where it hurts. Impose a $16 (Rm56) charge for cars traveling in the busiest sections of the London and charge vehicles according to their emissions levels. Zero-emission vehicles travel free while the highest-polluting cars pay $49 (Rm172) a day.
Will KL ever do the same some day?
Read more here.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Five US governers cooperate to cut emissions (26th Feb)
Fed up with the inaction of the US federal government, the governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington state have agreed to work together to develop a plan targeting a reduction in the emission of their states' greenhouse gases.
It's nice to see that environmentally friendly leaders really do exist.
Read the rest of it here.
It's nice to see that environmentally friendly leaders really do exist.
Read the rest of it here.
Gore's inconvenient electricity bill
What: Gore mansion's electricity bill
Where: Nashville, Tn
How much: About USD 1,300 a month
Many of Al Gore's detractors were quick to jump on this new revelation to accuse him of hypocrisy, of lecturing other people to reduce their energy consumption at home while he spends 20 times the US national average on the same.
Responding on his behalf, his aide said that Gore and his wife Tipper works at home and hence use more energy than the average home. To play his part in reducing carbon emissions, he buys his energy from a green energy supplier and he is in the process of installing energy savers like solar panels and energy-saving light bulbs.
To balance out other carbon emissions, the Gores are said to invest money in projects to reduce energy consumption.
The group that's accusing Gore, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, disputes that global warming is a serious problem.
Read more here and here.
Where: Nashville, Tn
How much: About USD 1,300 a month
Many of Al Gore's detractors were quick to jump on this new revelation to accuse him of hypocrisy, of lecturing other people to reduce their energy consumption at home while he spends 20 times the US national average on the same.
Responding on his behalf, his aide said that Gore and his wife Tipper works at home and hence use more energy than the average home. To play his part in reducing carbon emissions, he buys his energy from a green energy supplier and he is in the process of installing energy savers like solar panels and energy-saving light bulbs.
To balance out other carbon emissions, the Gores are said to invest money in projects to reduce energy consumption.
The group that's accusing Gore, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, disputes that global warming is a serious problem.
Read more here and here.
CO2 emissions of Malaysia
Here's where we stand according to Earthtrends:
(Source: EarthTrends Country Profiles)
And this is what the graph tells us.
1. We overtook the world average in Co2 emission per capita sometime before 1998.
2. Our Co2 emissions more than tripled since 1975 (105 million metric tons in 1999).
3. By 1999, electricity generation, transportation and manufacturing & construction contributed nearly 80% of the total Co2 emission of the country.
It should be a relief to us that Malaysia is a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol (2002), UNFCCC (1994) and the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer (1989).
Bear in mind that these statistics are 8 years old. If anyone knows where to find newer data, please let me know.
(Source: EarthTrends Country Profiles)
And this is what the graph tells us.
1. We overtook the world average in Co2 emission per capita sometime before 1998.
2. Our Co2 emissions more than tripled since 1975 (105 million metric tons in 1999).
3. By 1999, electricity generation, transportation and manufacturing & construction contributed nearly 80% of the total Co2 emission of the country.
It should be a relief to us that Malaysia is a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol (2002), UNFCCC (1994) and the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer (1989).
Bear in mind that these statistics are 8 years old. If anyone knows where to find newer data, please let me know.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
CO2 emissions by country
Here's an interesting table of carbon dioxide emissions by country from UNFCCC.
Are you surprised at the top country at the rightmost column? I was.
Read this report to understand how much CO2 emission is too much.
Are you surprised at the top country at the rightmost column? I was.
Read this report to understand how much CO2 emission is too much.
YTL's Climate Change Week, 6-9 March
YTL is organizing an event called Climate Change Week on 6-9 March in KL. Its apparently a business conference aimed at promoting companies to go greener, I presume as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan. For details go to their website here.
I took the trouble to enquire at their call center for details. I was told it will be held at the Ritz Carlton KL, will cost RM200 per participant and there will be no public gallery or exhibition.
I took the trouble to enquire at their call center for details. I was told it will be held at the Ritz Carlton KL, will cost RM200 per participant and there will be no public gallery or exhibition.
The Inconvenient Truth - March 15
This much awaited movie, starring Al Gore, is coming to a theater near you starting March 15.
The movie-documentary bagged 2 Oscars recently. I promise it will be an eye opener for those trying to comprehend the situation.
Watch the trailer here.
The movie-documentary bagged 2 Oscars recently. I promise it will be an eye opener for those trying to comprehend the situation.
Watch the trailer here.
Don't buy Beachfront Property
(This post is reproduced from my other blog Bryan's Cafe)
Unless it's perched high up on a granite cliff or you enjoy snorkeling in your living room.
It seems that an ommission in earlier reports on global warming painted a misleading picture of the crisis. To quote this Guardian article "Climate change: scientists warn it may be too late to save the ice caps",
"The revelation comes as a new report points out that greenhouse gas emissions running into hundreds of millions of tonnes have not been disclosed by Britain's biggest businesses, masking the full extent of the UK's contribution to global warming."
An earlier IPCC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is now seemingly erroneous as only 16 of Britain's FTSE 100 companies met disclosure guidelines of CO2 emissions, meaning that about 200m jaw-dropping tonnes of damaging CO2 is estimated to be missing from earlier estimates, an amount more than "annual reported emissions of Pakistan and Greece combined."
This discovery pretty much lobbed a grenade into the kitchen. Forecasts are now more onminous with the prospect that "there is "a significant probability that some large-scale events (eg deglaciation of major ice sheets) may no longer be avoided due to historical greenhouse gas emissions and the inertia of the climate system"."
"Areas such as the Maldives would be swamped and low-lying countries such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh, as well as coastal cities including London, New York and Tokyo, would face critical flooding...Such melting would raise sea levels by four to six metres, the scientists say. "
Would island nations like Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Singapore lose precious land mass to the water and see their countries shrink dramatically? It would pose a national defense issue like no other, something no missile or warship could avert.
"New studies of Greenland and Antarctica have forced a UN expert panel to conclude there is a 50% chance that widespread ice sheet loss "may no longer be avoided" because of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.... The previous official line, issued in 2001, was that the chance of such an event was "not well known, but probably very low"."
That's what happens when politics stands in the way of scientific objectivity and countires thumb their noses to the cries of panic in the name of economic sustainability. We do get what we deserve.
But there is an opportunity in every disaster.
"...average temperatures would probably increase by 4C this century if emissions continue to rise. Even under its most optimistic scenario, based on a declining world population and a rapid switch to clean technology, temperatures are still likely to rise by 1.8C."
Maybe I should invest in companies that build cooling systems and tree nurseries?
"Very large sea level rises that would result from widespread deglaciation of Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets imply major changes in coastlines..."
I'll avoid investing in beachfront property and in companies building beachfront resorts. But mountain resorts like Genting should be ok.
The IPCC report which assesses the likely impacts of global warming and will be published in April. I will be anxiously waiting.
Unless it's perched high up on a granite cliff or you enjoy snorkeling in your living room.
It seems that an ommission in earlier reports on global warming painted a misleading picture of the crisis. To quote this Guardian article "Climate change: scientists warn it may be too late to save the ice caps",
"The revelation comes as a new report points out that greenhouse gas emissions running into hundreds of millions of tonnes have not been disclosed by Britain's biggest businesses, masking the full extent of the UK's contribution to global warming."
An earlier IPCC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is now seemingly erroneous as only 16 of Britain's FTSE 100 companies met disclosure guidelines of CO2 emissions, meaning that about 200m jaw-dropping tonnes of damaging CO2 is estimated to be missing from earlier estimates, an amount more than "annual reported emissions of Pakistan and Greece combined."
This discovery pretty much lobbed a grenade into the kitchen. Forecasts are now more onminous with the prospect that "there is "a significant probability that some large-scale events (eg deglaciation of major ice sheets) may no longer be avoided due to historical greenhouse gas emissions and the inertia of the climate system"."
"Areas such as the Maldives would be swamped and low-lying countries such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh, as well as coastal cities including London, New York and Tokyo, would face critical flooding...Such melting would raise sea levels by four to six metres, the scientists say. "
Would island nations like Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Singapore lose precious land mass to the water and see their countries shrink dramatically? It would pose a national defense issue like no other, something no missile or warship could avert.
"New studies of Greenland and Antarctica have forced a UN expert panel to conclude there is a 50% chance that widespread ice sheet loss "may no longer be avoided" because of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.... The previous official line, issued in 2001, was that the chance of such an event was "not well known, but probably very low"."
That's what happens when politics stands in the way of scientific objectivity and countires thumb their noses to the cries of panic in the name of economic sustainability. We do get what we deserve.
But there is an opportunity in every disaster.
"...average temperatures would probably increase by 4C this century if emissions continue to rise. Even under its most optimistic scenario, based on a declining world population and a rapid switch to clean technology, temperatures are still likely to rise by 1.8C."
Maybe I should invest in companies that build cooling systems and tree nurseries?
"Very large sea level rises that would result from widespread deglaciation of Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets imply major changes in coastlines..."
I'll avoid investing in beachfront property and in companies building beachfront resorts. But mountain resorts like Genting should be ok.
The IPCC report which assesses the likely impacts of global warming and will be published in April. I will be anxiously waiting.
Global warming: My perspective
(This post is reproduced from my other blog Bryan's Cafe)
Now that the silly season that is valentine has passed, I can safely move on to more down-to-earth things.
I was intrigued by a discussion on lowyat.net forum about the international debate on global warming. As with any worthwhile issue, there are 2 strongly opposing camps - countries that signed the Kyoto agreement and countries that didnt. One side says that humans are to blame for the warming while the other insists there is no proof to support that.
Okay, there is a 3rd school of thought - that the earth is being terraformed by aliens. Being a Trek fan myself this theory is my favourite but apparently it hasn't gained much of a following.
But regardless of whether man, mother nature or aliens are to blame, I do share the view that we are sliding down an irreversible path to climactic doom. The awakening of developing nations to the dangers of uncontrolled pollution, particularly China, comes too little too late as my recent trip to Guangzhou tells me. The US's lethargic response to its own CO2 emmissions is also very telling. Just how do you tell a red-blooded American that driving a gas-guzzling Hummer is a bad thing?
Quite frankly, even if everyone signed on Kyoto today, what difference would it make when the horse has bolted from the barn.
What does remain today are these facts.
- The arctic icecap is melting.
- Strange unseasonal weather patterns have beset the world.
- Storms and droughts are getting more intense.
- Deserts are expanding.
- Sea water levels are rising.
- Ocean temperatures are rising.
And that's not all. Other non-climatic events are also jumping into the fray.
- Noticeable increase in earthquakes and tsunamis.
- An environment struggling to cope with rapid population growth.
- The emergence of new fatal diseases like H5N1.
- The onset of "mass insanity" - world conflicts beckoning ppl to kill each other in large numbers.
So not only are we killing each other with our own industrial garbage and ideological differences, nature is kindly giving us a hand by throwing at us new incurable diseases, moving earth's crust around and cranking up the thermostat. With luck it might even throw in a couple of asteroid our way to make things merrier.
If I sound a little pessimistic, its due to the fact that out of 6.6 billion people on the planet, I estimate not even 1% has the capacity to understand much less do anything about global warming. Most don't have any choice but to go back to their air polluting vehicles, their strip-farmed land or consume products that disproportionately strip the planet of its resources. To convince the other 99% to take heed and actually do something will take a thousand years too many. We've started on the wrong foot. We've built entire civilizations on self-destructing habits like slash and burn farming and unbridled consumerism. If destroying and rebuilding cultures on a global scale is as easy as what Al Gore thinks, we would have it by now but we don't.
So am I being a little fatalistic in saying we're headed for a climactic armageddon? I don't think so. I believe only total rebirth and regeneration can save the planet. But to be reborn, the planet has to die first. All indications are that this is well under way.
Science is already predicting the arrival of a new ice age resulting from the melting of the polar ice cap. Great. Nature is defrosting the fridge before laying down some new ice, except this defrost cycle might last a million years. I'm not putting any hopes or money that man will survive it.
I've long shrugged off the world's petty bickering because of all this. All the opinions and beliefs, the rights and wrongs, none of it will change how our story ends. The way I see it, the most humane thing we can do today is to make sure the next generation can make their own exit as comfortably as possible. In fact, try not to have kids. Why have them and then leave them on a desert island. Even if you believe the situation is not as dire, deep down you know that the world is not likely to change in this lifetime or in your children's lifetime. What you can do is reduce future suffering by reducing the number of its recipients. The other thing is to consume less today so that there's a little more to go around tomorrow.
But who am I kidding. Isn't our greatest motto "its every man for himself?" Doesn't the attention span of the average human go only as far as his next meal, his next paycheck or his next shag? Will anyone listen if there's no bread on the table? On that score alone I'm convinced that as humans, we are pretty much screwed.
Now that the silly season that is valentine has passed, I can safely move on to more down-to-earth things.
I was intrigued by a discussion on lowyat.net forum about the international debate on global warming. As with any worthwhile issue, there are 2 strongly opposing camps - countries that signed the Kyoto agreement and countries that didnt. One side says that humans are to blame for the warming while the other insists there is no proof to support that.
Okay, there is a 3rd school of thought - that the earth is being terraformed by aliens. Being a Trek fan myself this theory is my favourite but apparently it hasn't gained much of a following.
But regardless of whether man, mother nature or aliens are to blame, I do share the view that we are sliding down an irreversible path to climactic doom. The awakening of developing nations to the dangers of uncontrolled pollution, particularly China, comes too little too late as my recent trip to Guangzhou tells me. The US's lethargic response to its own CO2 emmissions is also very telling. Just how do you tell a red-blooded American that driving a gas-guzzling Hummer is a bad thing?
Quite frankly, even if everyone signed on Kyoto today, what difference would it make when the horse has bolted from the barn.
What does remain today are these facts.
- The arctic icecap is melting.
- Strange unseasonal weather patterns have beset the world.
- Storms and droughts are getting more intense.
- Deserts are expanding.
- Sea water levels are rising.
- Ocean temperatures are rising.
And that's not all. Other non-climatic events are also jumping into the fray.
- Noticeable increase in earthquakes and tsunamis.
- An environment struggling to cope with rapid population growth.
- The emergence of new fatal diseases like H5N1.
- The onset of "mass insanity" - world conflicts beckoning ppl to kill each other in large numbers.
So not only are we killing each other with our own industrial garbage and ideological differences, nature is kindly giving us a hand by throwing at us new incurable diseases, moving earth's crust around and cranking up the thermostat. With luck it might even throw in a couple of asteroid our way to make things merrier.
If I sound a little pessimistic, its due to the fact that out of 6.6 billion people on the planet, I estimate not even 1% has the capacity to understand much less do anything about global warming. Most don't have any choice but to go back to their air polluting vehicles, their strip-farmed land or consume products that disproportionately strip the planet of its resources. To convince the other 99% to take heed and actually do something will take a thousand years too many. We've started on the wrong foot. We've built entire civilizations on self-destructing habits like slash and burn farming and unbridled consumerism. If destroying and rebuilding cultures on a global scale is as easy as what Al Gore thinks, we would have it by now but we don't.
So am I being a little fatalistic in saying we're headed for a climactic armageddon? I don't think so. I believe only total rebirth and regeneration can save the planet. But to be reborn, the planet has to die first. All indications are that this is well under way.
Science is already predicting the arrival of a new ice age resulting from the melting of the polar ice cap. Great. Nature is defrosting the fridge before laying down some new ice, except this defrost cycle might last a million years. I'm not putting any hopes or money that man will survive it.
I've long shrugged off the world's petty bickering because of all this. All the opinions and beliefs, the rights and wrongs, none of it will change how our story ends. The way I see it, the most humane thing we can do today is to make sure the next generation can make their own exit as comfortably as possible. In fact, try not to have kids. Why have them and then leave them on a desert island. Even if you believe the situation is not as dire, deep down you know that the world is not likely to change in this lifetime or in your children's lifetime. What you can do is reduce future suffering by reducing the number of its recipients. The other thing is to consume less today so that there's a little more to go around tomorrow.
But who am I kidding. Isn't our greatest motto "its every man for himself?" Doesn't the attention span of the average human go only as far as his next meal, his next paycheck or his next shag? Will anyone listen if there's no bread on the table? On that score alone I'm convinced that as humans, we are pretty much screwed.
Why this blog
Everyone has heard of climate change and global warming. Not everyone knows what to do about it.
This space is for me to record selected news as well as my own personal views on the topic of climate change.
While we may not be in a position to make much of a dent on tons of greeenhouse gasses that's already ciculating around the planet, we can still create awareness. That is in my opinion a worthwhile investment for the future.
I welcome any blog contributors, either regular or one-off, who have original things to say about global warming. Just drop me an e-mail.
Bryan.
This space is for me to record selected news as well as my own personal views on the topic of climate change.
While we may not be in a position to make much of a dent on tons of greeenhouse gasses that's already ciculating around the planet, we can still create awareness. That is in my opinion a worthwhile investment for the future.
I welcome any blog contributors, either regular or one-off, who have original things to say about global warming. Just drop me an e-mail.
Bryan.
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