Global Warming – Let’s Stop Discussing It

Why?

Well, to be blunt. We aren’t going to achieve anything by creating more hot air.

There are various theories about global warming; ranging from the view that it doesn’t exist to the view that the world is going to end in the next 25 years.

There are views that global warming is a natural cyclic phenomenon which is going to happen irrespective of man’s intervention. If global warming is cyclic then man can do nothing about it as the natural energy involved will far exceed anything man can generate.

There are views that the energy emitted by the sun, were it to penetrate the magnetosphere, would cause global warming on an unimaginable scale.  If one considers that a little 600 Watt microwave oven can boil water in a minute, just imagine what happens when Giga Giga watts of microwave energy heats up the oceans. Maybe the impending magnetic pole flip will offer the sun’s radiation a way in?

There are all sorts of theories and views, the most of which we can spend large amounts of time and money discussing and all of which will not change the situation.

Frankly, all this talk is in order to find a way in which to save the Human species, not the planet!  How arrogant! Were some catastrophic natural phenomenon to occur, we simply would not have the means to do anything about it.

So let’s stop talking about it.

Let’s rather start talking and doing things which are immediately doable, the other more esoteric things will follow.

What?

We should be addressing Global Pollution, not warming. Minimize pollution and many, if not all, the goals looked for in addressing global warming will be achieved.  By addressing global pollution rather than warming we will remove much of the confusion. There will be no need to spend trillions trying to define what we are talking about.

There are a few areas which can be easily addressed and I feel that by initially addressing three areas in we achieve many of the short term goals.

Pollution

In order to discuss Global pollution we need to look at the earth in a global fashion. This means that we must look at energy as a global resource, so, if a specific country/region were to reduce pollution then we all would benefit. 

We need to understand that we are all living in the same cess pool, so we need to work together in order to clean it up.

The Three Areas of Pollution are:

                      Energy Generation

                      Overpopulation

                      Deforestation

Energy Generation

Electricity is de facto our most useful source of energy. Electricity can be created in many various ways, electricity is easily transported to the place where it is to be used, electricity can be stored in many forms and released on a just in time basis and electricity can be used in tiny or huge amounts; so one must conclude that electricity is by far the best source of energy.

When electricity generation is discussed, the emphasis most often tends to be that of alternatives. Obviously alternatives need to be invented, after all this is a natural challenge to man’s curiosity, but most alternatives are too expensive, too dangerous or have worse side effects than those currently existing. A further problem is that alternatives can’t replace carbon or nuclear based generators as they do not provide sufficient output.

So let’s not concentrate on alternative ways of generating electricity.  Let’s rather consider on using less electricity.  Probably one of the largest consumers of electricity is heating water. Hot water can be used in many ways, ranging from electricity generation, to washing, to air conditioning. Reduce the use of electricity for the heating of water and we will save electricity.

In many locations we can use solar heat to carry out this heating. If we live in a hot area with many hours of sunlight, we can use the sun to warm water.  Further, in this type of environment, there is no need for esoteric heat collectors, a piece of black tube can do good job! Further, by using local labour to assemble simple collectors, many otherwise unemployable people will have a source of income.

So, by using sunlight for water heating, we can free up the electricity which would have been used, for other things and create jobs.

In other words, by using sunlight, we will have generated that amount of electricity!

How can we achieve this? To start with, let’s take a few of the billions which have been set aside for conferences, talks, research and use the money to install solar heating into every building where the climate suggests it. The money is available; all we need do is to spend it so that there is a global benefit.  And, when this impacts on the energy sources used for current electricity production, those areas which do not have sufficient natural heat will benefit by the lower prices and greater availability of those energy sources. Win, win.  

Overpopulation

We currently have upwards of seven billion people living on this planet.  Never mind that the number of people is growing at an unsustainable rate, our current resources are not catering for the current of population.  Maybe we should be looking at the quality rather than quantity of life?

If we are serious about addressing pollution, the first area to be addressed is that of population. 

Simply, if mankind does not do something to address it, nature will. Whether by way of catastrophic events in which millions at a time are killed or whether it’s because there is insufficient food and millions starve to death, it is going to happen. 

By the way, with people migrating to cities and thus creating massive population densities, even a relatively minor event has a good chance of wiping out millions at a time.

Deforestation

Earth uses forests to breath. 

Plants eat carbon dioxide and defecate oxygen.

Remove the plants and we are left with the carbon dioxide and man is left suffering all the bad effects caused by the carbon dioxide excess.

In the global scheme of things, forests, like oil, uranium and other minerals, are not the possessions of a particular person or country, they are global resources and need to be treated as such.