Global Climate Change

Last updated 11 Dec 2007

UPDATE (4 Dec 2007): Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, signs the Kyoto Protocol !

One of the most significant problems the world will face in the next 50 years is global warming driven by the increasing production of the so-called "green-house gases" by industrialised societies (primarily carbon dioxide). The results of this could include major changes in rainfall patterns and temperatures making some parts of the world effectively uninhabitable, rises in global sea levels caused by melting of polar ice, increasingly wild and unpredictable weather, the extinction of many animal and plant species, and dramatic changes to our way of life. We are already seeing changes which are probaby a result of global warming.

Australia is one of the biggest per-capita producers of greenhouse gases in the developed world. So what is the Australian Government doing about reducing global warming ? And is it doing enough ?

A recent development which may mean that the Australian government is finally taking the issue seriously is the report of the Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions Trading.

Here's some other links:

The Australian government (like the US) has so far avoided signing the Kyoto protocol. In my opinion Mr Howard should do the right thing and sign the Kyoto protocol and then pressure the US to do likewise. The cost to our society of not acting will be far greater than the cost of compliance with CO2 reduction targets. If you feel the same way, please write a letter to a politican today, and vote with your conscience at the next federal election and choose the party that is going to do the most to reduce emissions.

However at least our government is now part of an Asia-Pacific pact to share greenhouse gas reducing technologies. This pact includes countries such as the US, India, China, and Japan. Some of the technologies include geo-sequestration, increasing the efficiency of coal power stations, and nuclear power. Whether this agreement results in many positive outcomes or is just an excuse to ignore the Kyoto protocol is unclear.

Global warming is shrinking the size of glaciers all around the world and melting ice at the poles which may lead to significant sea level rises over the next 100 years. In addition, climate change may lead to more droughts and extreme weather events.

What we can do to help

Electricity production is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases in Australia (because most comes from burning coal) so save electricity wherever possible. Turn off lights and appliances when they're not needed. Avoid using air conditioning and heating as much as possible. Also check what green options your electricity provider has, some of these can be quite cheap or even free (if you sign a fixed-term contract) - but you won't know unless you look into it!

Walk, cycle, or catch a train instead of driving your car whenever you can. Try to live close to your workplace, and avoid air travel. Apply pressure on industry and the government to find ways to cut greenhouse emissions. Support political parties with environmental policies like the Greens.

Is the problem solvable ?

When you talk to people about reducing CO2 emissions, their answer often is that there's no viable alternative to burning coal and petrol, so its all too hard and therefore not worth worrying about.

In fact, there are already starting to become alternatives and if more focus is put on developing new alternatives and finding ways to reduce wasteful energy usage, then the planet will be much better off in the long term.

Sure, we probably can't rely entirely on the standard "green" energy sources yet - solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind, wave, tide and hydro - but with some creative thinking we may find new energy sources, better ways to use existing known energy sources, and more efficient ways to save energy. For example the use of highly efficient gas powered devices decreases the overall greenhouse gas emissions (compared to coal or petrol).

Governments and industry (particularly energy utilities) have a big role to play in converting Australia from our current wasteful ways to more efficient energy usage. Click here for some examples.

Compact Fluorescent Lights only use 25% as much energy as that used by old incandescent globes for the same light output! Energy saving IRC halogen downlights which use 30% less power than standard ones are also starting to become available.

What you can do now

Sign up for a "green energy" program with your electricity company. This can cost as little as $1 per week and will make a big difference to the environment.
Use heating and/or air conditioning sparingly. Dress for the season when indoors.
Increase your house's insulation by covering windows with curtains and installing bats in the roof.
Buy energy efficient appliances and lights.
Turn off lights and appliances when they're not in use.
Set your PC to go into standby and/or hibernate mode when you're not using it. (Click here for details).
Drive your car less - walk or catch public transport when possible. You'll feel better for it!
Fly only when absolutely necessary. Jet travel is really bad for the planet, so take holidays closer to home.
When buying a new car choose the one with the smallest and most efficient engine for your needs. Large 4WDs are amongst the worst cars to buy - they're not as aerodynamic as other cars and they usually have big engines.
When your electric water heater needs replacing consider upgrading to a solar water system. Or even if your water heater is fine, you can still retrofit a solar collector to it. Rebates are available from the federal government through the RECs scheme.
Consider installing solar panels on your roof. These can either feed into the electricity grid or run an independent battery-based system. Government rebates are available when panels are installed by appropriately qualified tradesmen.
Write a letter to a politician voicing your concerns about climate change! While individuals can do their part, only changes in government policy will make a big difference.

Click here for top ten ways to reduce your contribution to climate change

Installing insulation batts in your ceiling can keep your home up to 10 degrees cooler in summer, and warmer in winter, reducing the need for air conditioning or heating

Why nuclear is not the answer to all our problems

Nuclear power may seem an appealing alternative to coal, but there are two things to consider - it would take many years to design and build enough safe nuclear power plants to make a difference (and at enormous cost), and we only have limited uranium reserves. Apart from this, the risks of leaks, nuclear weapons proliferation, and radioactive material falling into the wrong hands are always present. You can read more of my thoughts about nuclear power here.

However, that said, nuclear does have its merits and some prominant environmentalists have called for new nuclear power plants to be built to stem the growing concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere. Most people think of the Chernobyl disaster when nuclear power is mentioned. If we start using more nuclear power how will we ensure that this never happens again ??

Australian author Dr Helen Caldicott has recently finished writing a new book on just this topic. She has been an anti-nuclear campaigner for many years, and she has a lot of interesting facts to share about the hazards of nuclear power.

My opinion is that nuclear power certainly has a place in reducing global warming - Europe and the US already derive considerable amounts of electricity from nulcear power plants. But I think it would be foolish for Australia to go down the nuclear path when energy efficiency and alternate technologies have such a big potential to slow down global warming - and in a much shorter time frame. Australia has absolutely enormous amounts of solar energy - and we should be using some of it!

Solar panel technology has improved dramatically over the past 20 years, the price per watt is coming down fast, and the efficiencies are going up.

Renewable Energy - what's already being done

In one of the most promising developments I've read about so far, Australian solar expert David Mills is taking his technology to the US power market, and even claims that it can provide base load power. This is a solar thermal system rather than photovoltaic. It generates steam and stores hot water for use after dark. I think solar thermal will be the way of the future because its so much cheaper than photovoltaic systems.
A promising new thin-film technology has been developed. This technology has the potential to reduce the cost of solar electricity to one quarter of its current cost!
The largest wind farm in Australia and one of the largest in the world is going to be built in South Australia. When finished the plant will have the capacity to generate 159 MW of power.
There is a very informative government web page here with ways to save and generate your own energy.
The CSIRO has announced the opening of a National Solar Energy Centre at Newcastle.
A novel solar energy collection and storage device is being developed here. This may have huge potential!
Solar cities is an interesting government initiative to trial solar power technologies.
There is an interesting experimental solar power station at White Cliffs, NSW. There is also a solar farm at Singleton, NSW which produces 400kW of power.
An experimental wave energy power station is being tested at Port Kembla
Tasmania is largely dependent on hydro-electricity, and with the completion of Basslink will also be able to provide electricity to the mainland.
The Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme provides about 5% of NSW's electricty needs.
The Dept of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability, NSW (formerly SEDA) also has some interesting info on their web page.
There's some info about wind farms in NSW here.
Another possible future source of energy is the heat of hot rocks deep in the Earth's crust. However, the practicality of harnessing this still needs to be proved.
Vegetable oils could provide another renewable source of energy. These are carbon-neutral since the carbon released by burning them is the same as that absorbed while the plants are growing. It is already possible to drive a diesel vehicle on vegetable oil.
The Rocky Mountains Institute advocates measures such as increased energy efficiency to reduce climate change.
The SunCube and SunBall

Solar water heaters are a practical way to significantly reduce your personal contribution to climate change and slash your electricity bill too.

My proposed solution to the climate change problem

The main thing that is needed is to think differently from the traditional mentality to energy production and use.

My proposed solution to the problem of green house gas emissions is:

Reduce energy usage as much as possible. There are huge potential energy savings that can made with minimal cost. e.g. insulate your roof properly before install air conditioning or heating, using more energy efficient lighting. Use more public transport. (The retail industry and other industries can also make enormous power savings if they try).
Invest in developing more efficient "alternate" energy sources. There are many potential candidates - solar, wind, wave, tide, geothermal, etc.
Decentralise energy production where possible. For example install solar panels on buildings which face the sun and feed this energy into the grid. The roof area of most houses is perfectly adequate to generate all the power they will need for lighting and most appliances (but not a conventional stove or heating probably).
Investigate the so called "base load" of heavy industry and see if heavy users can run from their own highly efficient gas turbine power plant instead of power from the grid.
Develop storage technology to provide minimal base load for periods when renewables are not available. One promising technology I read about stored a huge amount of energy in a tank containing a super-hot salt solution. Things like flywheels and batteries can also be used for smaller applications. There are also new technologies like fuel cells and flow batteries which may eventually become more economic.

Click here for one idea on how to store enough energy to run a city on solar power.

What I'm doing personally

You should practice what you preach, so here's what I'm doing:

I have insulated my ceiling with roof bats. This makes a big difference with the house staying 5-10 degrees cooler than outside on hot summer days if the doors, windows, and curtains are shut. (Cost $480)
I have installed ceiling fans rather than air conditioning. (Cost $200 - much cheaper than air con)
I have signed a contract with my energy provider to receive a percentage of my electricity from renewable sources. (Cost - free)
I limit the use of my car wherever possible, including walking and catching public transport. I also limit my air travel.
I have progressively fitted compact fluoro lights in most light fittings in my house. (Cost about $100)
I have bought a small solar panel, 12V battery and LED downlight to install as a solar porch light - this is more for experimental purposes than any direct climate change benefits (Cost $260). I also run a small boat bilge pump off this system to water my garden from my rainwater tank!
I try to turn off appliances rather than leave them in stand-by mode. I've fitted a "Power Genie" to my home computer setup so that when both the PCs are off, all the accessories like printers, screens, and network routers are also switched off automatically.
I send occasional letters and emails to Australian politicians.
I have set up this web page to encourage others to take whatever measures they can.

Click here for my analysis of the pay-back period for solar panels

Feedback

If you have any great ideas for ways we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions or conserve energy, please email me, and I may add your idea to the bottom of this page.