We know the Earth is getting warmer.
The International Panel on Climate Change predicts a global temperature rise of about 5C by the end of this century. That’s enough for major changes. Like in rising seawater levels, in food production and rainfall.
Knowing why we are in this fix is the first step to doing something about it. Yes, that’s you and me.
There are four levels at which to understand the cause of global warming.
* The mechanics of global warming
* What we do
* Our beliefs and values, and
* Natural cycles, involving the sun
The mechanics of global warming are simple. There’s too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
The Earth absorbs heat from the sun and radiates much of it back into space or else we would cook. But presently the Earth retains more warmth from the sun, about 0.85 per square metre, than it radiates back into space. It is mainly CO2 that hinders solar radiation back into space and this creates the greenhouse effect.
Currently the atmospheric CO2 content is about 380 ppm (parts per million), up from about a thousand years ago at a level of 280 ppm. Predictions are that it may go up to 500ppm by the end of this century.
And CO2 hangs around for a long time. It takes about 100,000 years for atmospheric CO2 to reduce by about 63% through natural processes.
What we do contributes to so much CO2 in the atmosphere. It got there because of massive amounts of fossil fuels that humanity has been burning since the start of the Industrial Revolution, some 300 years ago.
Coal and oil are the mainstays in power generation and to power our transport. Of course a growing world population needs more energy for food, clothing, housing and comforts. But when there are 8 billion of us, all wanting a big house, the latest electronic playthings, a car, and access to world travel, we’re in trouble.
We’re in trouble because the Earth cannot physically support all those needs and wants and because the energy emissions needed to meet them would choke us.
Our beliefs and values have much to do with why we want so many more things than we really need.
It is to do with ideas about “progress” that started before the Industrial Revolution, during the period known as the “Enlightenment”, starting in the 16th century.
It generated ideas about the importance of the individual, about the use of reason and material wellbeing. Rene Descartes was one of this period’s foremost philosophers. You know his famous quote: “I think therefore I am.” Recently I saw an advertisement using that quote like this: “I think, therefore I shop”.
Funny? Yes, and getting to the heart of the problem. The way we think, about ourselves and about the world is the problem.
Does our consumer world leave room for nature, for things we can make and maintain ourselves, for “slow” and natural growth, for each other and our environments? Not much.
So, it’s our values and our beliefs that continues to put CO2 in the air and are cooking us.
Natural cycles, involving the sun have something to do with global warming too. That’s true.
The Earth is now receiving 30% more solar radiation than it did 4.6 billion years ago. And there have always been cycles of ice ages and warmer “interglacial” periods, depending on the Earth’s orbit, solar radiation strength and changes in ocean currents.
The last “Little Ice Age” was between 1400 and 1840 with significantly lower temperatures. And such events are part of 1,500 year cycles.
Presently the Earth is at the end of an interglacial, warmer time and is due for a cooling down. But it seems that we are not going to let that happen. The steep increase in CO2, particularly over the last 45 years, does not fit into any natural cycle.
We cannot blame the sun. It’s us.
What to do is the question. The facts are that global warming will be with us for a long time, whether we stop putting CO2 into the air today or not. It will get worse as fast developing economies involving billions of people in the USA, China and India will rely on fossil fuels for decades yet. Renewable energy is only at the start of making any inroads.
You can only change what you do by changing how you think. If we don’t figure our way out of our consumerist addictions we will eventually have to go cold turkey. Or is that hot turkey?
There is a need for re-valuation of living well with an interdependent, connected and unpredictable world. One with limits.
What better way to change your thinking than by getting close to people who do live – and some do so very well - with high levels of vulnerability and dependence, like people with disabilities or those who are frail aged.
Giving a hand to those who live in your street or come on your path, is a way to get reconnected with what life is all about.
Whether or not alternate energy sources will be used in time to make global warming tolerable, getting on with each other, in all our diversity, is good for planet Earth.
And for you.
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Senin, 14 Mei 2012
Selasa, 01 Maret 2011
Power Cells As Alternative To Oil
As oil and gasoline prices rise, much hay is being made regarding the possibilities of power cells as a solution to our oil addictions. Here’s a basic primer on power cells.
Power Cells As Alternative To Oil
More than a few politicians have argued that power cells have the potential to cure all our energy problems. They argue power cells offer clean, efficient alternatives to the gasoline and oil burning combustion engine we all use in our vehicles. They also argue that switching to power cells will go a long way to dealing with global warming issues since this form of power does not produce the greenhouse gases seen with oil products. Instead, they produce water and heat. For once, the politicians may just be right for once.
Power cells use hydrogen or hydrogen derived sources to create electricity. Much like a single solar cell is not particularly good at producing power, a single power cell produces a fraction of the energy required to power most things of consequence. Like solar, the cell must be combined with others to get the necessary production. Temperature and the pressure of the hydrogen are also factors. To really make things work, such as a car, most power cells are actually a combination of hundreds or thousands of sub-cells. This, of course, results in problems of storage and stability. The more cells there are, the more space they take up. The more cells there are sitting next to each other, the hotter they get.
The current problems with these hydrogen power cells are numerous. They do not produce power on a cost-effective basis. They have not proven to be particularly durable, which means the need to replace them fairly frequently runs up the cost of owning them. A practical, but significant, problem is how to store and provide the hydrogen to users on a daily basis. Hydrogen can be unstable, which makes for big, pretty and expensive bangs. Most of these problems, however, will be overcome as technology progresses.
Once technology advances, the applications power cells can be used for are nearly endless. They can be used to run your laptop or your car. They can be used to provide electricity and heat in your home as well as your business. In our technology crazed society, they will even power your cell phones. If it can be run on electricity, power cells should be able to make it work.
Power cells aren’t the current answer to our oil problem, but that may change in the relatively short future.
Power Cells As Alternative To Oil
More than a few politicians have argued that power cells have the potential to cure all our energy problems. They argue power cells offer clean, efficient alternatives to the gasoline and oil burning combustion engine we all use in our vehicles. They also argue that switching to power cells will go a long way to dealing with global warming issues since this form of power does not produce the greenhouse gases seen with oil products. Instead, they produce water and heat. For once, the politicians may just be right for once.
Power cells use hydrogen or hydrogen derived sources to create electricity. Much like a single solar cell is not particularly good at producing power, a single power cell produces a fraction of the energy required to power most things of consequence. Like solar, the cell must be combined with others to get the necessary production. Temperature and the pressure of the hydrogen are also factors. To really make things work, such as a car, most power cells are actually a combination of hundreds or thousands of sub-cells. This, of course, results in problems of storage and stability. The more cells there are, the more space they take up. The more cells there are sitting next to each other, the hotter they get.
The current problems with these hydrogen power cells are numerous. They do not produce power on a cost-effective basis. They have not proven to be particularly durable, which means the need to replace them fairly frequently runs up the cost of owning them. A practical, but significant, problem is how to store and provide the hydrogen to users on a daily basis. Hydrogen can be unstable, which makes for big, pretty and expensive bangs. Most of these problems, however, will be overcome as technology progresses.
Once technology advances, the applications power cells can be used for are nearly endless. They can be used to run your laptop or your car. They can be used to provide electricity and heat in your home as well as your business. In our technology crazed society, they will even power your cell phones. If it can be run on electricity, power cells should be able to make it work.
Power cells aren’t the current answer to our oil problem, but that may change in the relatively short future.
Rabu, 06 Januari 2010
10 Alternate Energy Sources To Live Well With Global Warming.
Feeling hot under the collar?
Glaciers and polar ice are melting, ocean levels are rising, hot, dry weather, huge forest fires, water restrictions, crop failures...
You name it, if these don't feature in your life yet, they soon will. Global warming and climate change are facts of life now, according to the International Panel on Climate Change, and many scientists.
Huge problems beyond our control!
But are you hot under the collar?
If you're not, you probably ...
Feeling hot under the collar?
Glaciers and polar ice are melting, ocean levels are rising, hot, dry weather, huge forest fires, water restrictions, crop failures...
You name it, if these don't feature in your life yet, they soon will. Global warming and climate change are facts of life now, according to the International Panel on Climate Change, and many scientists.
Huge problems beyond our control!
But are you hot under the collar?
If you're not, you probably live in a city where half of the Earth's citizens live now and take much for granted. Because in city living we are far removed from natural processes that deliver our food, clothing and energy.
Does your child even know that milk comes from a cow - or a soya bean if you're that way inclined - and not from a milk carton?
Even in the city you cannot stick your head in the sand (or under the asphalt?) and you are not immune from climate change. Witnesses are the 15,000 mostly elderly people that died in Paris alone in the sizzling hot European summer of 2003. Or the many killed in New Orleans at the 'hands' of cyclone Katrina.
And if you are hot under the collar, do you think perhaps that there will be some miraculous scientific break-through so they ever-responsible 'They' will fix the Earth? The ultimate stem cell technology maybe that can clone a new home for us!
Seriously, for many of us it is just all too hard.
All we want is to live a life where we may raise our children to have a future.
A future of some predictability: of schooling, a job, a family, community, of achievements and an enjoyable life - on a healthy planet Earth.
Is this a fading dream, once a reasonable expectation?
Maybe, maybe not.
Our world is changing. There are great challenges ahead and it is too late to stop global warming. The Earth has changed and the processes it uses to regulate itself are adjusting themselves. And these changes will not suit human life as it is.
But you are not powerless.
Each person alone can change the world, one by one. Let me explain.
Do I say that these problems are under our control then?
Well, yes and no.
We are talking about a severely disabled world really.
And from the experience of disability we can learn how to survive and thrive!
"Come on, get real", you say? Do I hear: "Just show me the right alternate energy sources and we'll get out of this mess."
Yes, we desperately do need to switch to renewable energy sources that do not make a greenhouse out of our home, the Earth. But all the technology in the world will never be enough to survive and flourish.
Renewable energy sources alone will not teach us to accept limits, unpredictability and what it is to lead a rewarding life.
How we have lived collectively, in our billions, for the last few hundred years, has got us to this point. And by changing what we do we can live through climate change as best as we might.
Even now.
It's simple and it's hard work. No way out of that.
Many people with severe disabilities know this. And they report the same or better life satisfaction as anyone else--under highly challenging, vulnerable circumstances.
So, we can learn to live well in a disabled world.
Regardless of what is to come you and I will be well served by the beliefs and strategies that people with disabilities use to - not just to survive - but to live well.
These are true alternate energy sources.
Those that guide us how to use what we have sustainably.
These 'disabled people' believe this:
* Accept that all of us are fragile and vulnerable
* The world is full of limits. We need some of these to live well
* Vulnerability and dependence are an inevitable part of a whole life
* No-one is independent, but interdependent
* Connection with others is our lifeline and our wellbeing
And they do this:
* Engage with others to build positive relationship, where you live, work and play
* Pay attention to other's needs and that of the environment
* Take responsibility for the situation you're in
* Care for others and the environment competently
* Be assertive and use your humour and creativity
Not all people with disabilities act in this way of course. And I'd be the last to portray people with disabilities as heroes. We're just people - trying to get on.
You try that!
Talk to that elderly woman in your street. Offer a hand when someone needs it.
Doing such small things will connect you with others and your environment.
And do also use the 'regular' renewable alternate energy sources, and recycle too.
You can change your local world by acting in these ways.
And if all fails - regardless?
Well, it's the only way to go!
Perhaps your world might be just as hot but it'll be cooler under your collar!
Glaciers and polar ice are melting, ocean levels are rising, hot, dry weather, huge forest fires, water restrictions, crop failures...
You name it, if these don't feature in your life yet, they soon will. Global warming and climate change are facts of life now, according to the International Panel on Climate Change, and many scientists.
Huge problems beyond our control!
But are you hot under the collar?
If you're not, you probably ...
Feeling hot under the collar?
Glaciers and polar ice are melting, ocean levels are rising, hot, dry weather, huge forest fires, water restrictions, crop failures...
You name it, if these don't feature in your life yet, they soon will. Global warming and climate change are facts of life now, according to the International Panel on Climate Change, and many scientists.
Huge problems beyond our control!
But are you hot under the collar?
If you're not, you probably live in a city where half of the Earth's citizens live now and take much for granted. Because in city living we are far removed from natural processes that deliver our food, clothing and energy.
Does your child even know that milk comes from a cow - or a soya bean if you're that way inclined - and not from a milk carton?
Even in the city you cannot stick your head in the sand (or under the asphalt?) and you are not immune from climate change. Witnesses are the 15,000 mostly elderly people that died in Paris alone in the sizzling hot European summer of 2003. Or the many killed in New Orleans at the 'hands' of cyclone Katrina.
And if you are hot under the collar, do you think perhaps that there will be some miraculous scientific break-through so they ever-responsible 'They' will fix the Earth? The ultimate stem cell technology maybe that can clone a new home for us!
Seriously, for many of us it is just all too hard.
All we want is to live a life where we may raise our children to have a future.
A future of some predictability: of schooling, a job, a family, community, of achievements and an enjoyable life - on a healthy planet Earth.
Is this a fading dream, once a reasonable expectation?
Maybe, maybe not.
Our world is changing. There are great challenges ahead and it is too late to stop global warming. The Earth has changed and the processes it uses to regulate itself are adjusting themselves. And these changes will not suit human life as it is.
But you are not powerless.
Each person alone can change the world, one by one. Let me explain.
Do I say that these problems are under our control then?
Well, yes and no.
We are talking about a severely disabled world really.
And from the experience of disability we can learn how to survive and thrive!
"Come on, get real", you say? Do I hear: "Just show me the right alternate energy sources and we'll get out of this mess."
Yes, we desperately do need to switch to renewable energy sources that do not make a greenhouse out of our home, the Earth. But all the technology in the world will never be enough to survive and flourish.
Renewable energy sources alone will not teach us to accept limits, unpredictability and what it is to lead a rewarding life.
How we have lived collectively, in our billions, for the last few hundred years, has got us to this point. And by changing what we do we can live through climate change as best as we might.
Even now.
It's simple and it's hard work. No way out of that.
Many people with severe disabilities know this. And they report the same or better life satisfaction as anyone else--under highly challenging, vulnerable circumstances.
So, we can learn to live well in a disabled world.
Regardless of what is to come you and I will be well served by the beliefs and strategies that people with disabilities use to - not just to survive - but to live well.
These are true alternate energy sources.
Those that guide us how to use what we have sustainably.
These 'disabled people' believe this:
* Accept that all of us are fragile and vulnerable
* The world is full of limits. We need some of these to live well
* Vulnerability and dependence are an inevitable part of a whole life
* No-one is independent, but interdependent
* Connection with others is our lifeline and our wellbeing
And they do this:
* Engage with others to build positive relationship, where you live, work and play
* Pay attention to other's needs and that of the environment
* Take responsibility for the situation you're in
* Care for others and the environment competently
* Be assertive and use your humour and creativity
Not all people with disabilities act in this way of course. And I'd be the last to portray people with disabilities as heroes. We're just people - trying to get on.
You try that!
Talk to that elderly woman in your street. Offer a hand when someone needs it.
Doing such small things will connect you with others and your environment.
And do also use the 'regular' renewable alternate energy sources, and recycle too.
You can change your local world by acting in these ways.
And if all fails - regardless?
Well, it's the only way to go!
Perhaps your world might be just as hot but it'll be cooler under your collar!
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