Act now, Save lives

Well, the conference of the decade has finally arrived after months of anticipation. Let's hope that the gathered representatives from 192 countries actually roll up their sleeves and get down to some serious talking. The cynic in me wonders just how many of the representatives and their hangers-on are really needed and did they think about the environmental impact of travelling to the conference.
One item from the coverage that caught my eye was the climate activist from the Maldives, Mohamad Shinez, who submerged himself in a tank of water outside the conference centre, in an act to recreate flooding in the Maldives. He held a sign saying 'Act Now, Save Lives'.  This reminded me of two images that we have in the Ecoscene collection taken in the Maldives. The photographer, Paul Thompson, took both photos, standing on the same beach five years apart. Its not difficult to see the effect of rising sea levels in such a short period of time. No wonder the Maldivian people are very worried. 

The Conference will be considering four main issues:
1. The commitment to cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by the developed nations, especially the United States.
2. The commitment of developing nations, such as China and India, to reduce the rate at which they increase their greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Funding by developed nations to provide clean energy technology to developing nations.
4. Monitoring and enforcing of the agreement.
I will be watching with interest.

China's CO2 Cuts

As governments ready themselves for next week’s Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, China announced that it would cut its CO2 emissions for each unit of GDP by up to 45% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels. That is significant. The Chinese government always takes a long time to come to a position on policy, but once a decision is taken implementation follows swiftly.

Not a moment too soon for China’s gasping and spluttering population who have lived in one of the most polluted parts of the planet since its largely coal-based industrialization took off. All 10 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are now in China, according to a recent survey published in Forbes Magazine. Air pollution accounts for almost 0.7 million premature deaths in China each year, according to the World Health Organization.

China is the world’s largest consumer of coal. It is third in the world in term of coal reserves, behind the United States and Russia. As coal fired power plants produce cheaper electricity in terms of dollars and cents than the greener alternatives, they are not going away anytime soon.

Construction work on China’s first clean coal plant, employing carbon capture and storage, started this summer. Reportedly, the plant will cost about $1billion. Four CCS plants are being discussed for Britain and an experimental plant, using an oxyfuel boiler, started operation in Germany last year. The International Energy Agency estimates that 100 CCS plants will be needed by 2020, up to 850 plants by 2030 and 3,400 plants by 2050. CCS technology is a priority for China and India who have made it clear they are not going to sacrifice their economic development for a greener planet. The good news is they are willing to collaborate with the rich countries on bringing their CO2 emissions down.

Just where the money will come from for CCS and the other measures needed for the survival of the species will be hotly debated at Copenhagen. Meantime, we can be certain that coal fired power plants, like this one in Datong, China, will be around for a very long time.

Dilemma of flying

With the Climate Change Conference at Copenhagen just three months away, we will be focussing some of our blogs on this very important issue.

Today, we are focussing on air travel. Headlines on the BBC today warned that emissions would have to be cut by 90 per cent by 2050 to compensate for the increasing emissions of airplanes. Why? Because this means of travel is becoming increasingly cheaper and accessible to more people, especially in the less developed countries of the world, and secondly, carbon kicked out of engines at altitude is far more damaging than that at ground level. Hopefully this means that plans for the proposed new runway at Heathrow will be kicked into touch. I also heard a very sensible suggestion that we should do away with domestic short haul flights. I have never understood the desire to travel for 40 mins by plane, with all the hassle and cost of airport parking, security checks and delays, when you can jump on the much improved rail network and travel in reasonable comfort to one's destination. Doing away with the really short, unecessary flights, say between London and Birmingham, or even London to Paris would go some way to reducing emissions.

I was reading the newsletter of one of our contributing photographers, Peter Cairns, regarding air travel and the dilemma facing the environmental and wildlife photographer. I quote, "Photographers have an annoying habit of justifying their extravagant global travel by claiming that their endeavours will somehow save the planet. To be fair, a small minority are helping to do exactly that, but in the main we go where we want to, when we want to ... just like everyone else. If photographers are really going to initiate behavioural change, they (and I include myself) might care to take a look in the mirror now and then." [see http://www.northshots.com/imagemonth.asp]

I know I think long and hard before travelling. I'm off to New York next month for Picturehouse NY, and the only way to get there is by plane. For me, I justified it as it was the first and only flight I will make this year. However, I have carried out a carbon audit with the World Land Trust and will be offsetting our carbon emissions.

On a brighter note, the incoming Japanese prime minister has announced that he wants to cut Japan's emissions by 25% by 2020 - thats a good start and puts the pressure on the rest of the world. Now I'd like to see some measurable targets - for example, to see the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere come down to 350 ppm, or to replace x number of coal-fired power stations with nuclear power plants etc.

To see a selection of images on climate change from Ecoscene, click on this URL: http://www.ecoscene2.captureweb.co.uk/lbshow.php?lightboxid=8581505383044

Can Britain be self sufficient in food?

Food security is back in the news and that's a good thing. I have long been concerned that the Government has done nothing to address the issue of food supply. Over the last 30 years, valuable farmland have been lost to development, leaving us with less space to grow our own food. Farmers have seen their incomes slashed and to make matters worse they are swamped with paperwork. On top of that there are the global issues of climate change, energy and water supplies, and the rapidly rising human population. More food is going to be needed and producing it is not going to be easy.

As a country we produce less food in the UK that we did in the 1980s, especially fruit, vegetables and beef. Its all very well saying we can import food, but crop failures caused by drought, or flood can easily change that. Countries will soon stop their exports if there is a shortage of food for their own people, as seen by the shortage in rice last year. Variabilities in oil price can push the price of cereals and fertilisers sky high and this is reflected in the rising costs in the shops.

So can the UK be self sufficient in food by 2030? At the moment about half the food we eat is home-grown. Of the rest, about two-thirds comes from the EU, the rest is sourced elsewhere. Reversing the trend is going to be a tall order and I think its going to mean changes in our attitude to food. For starters, we are so wastful of food - and thats the whole food chain - not just the consumer. As much of 40 per cent of the crops in the fields does not get to the shops because of damage, spoilage in storage, or failure to meet quality standards. Then there is wastage at the processors, distributors and in the shops. Finally the consumer comes along and throws away as much as one-third of the food they buy. That's a massive 6.7 million tonnes worth more than £10 billion.

One way forward is to improve the consumer's connection with their food and this is where the wonderful trend to 'grow your own' is going to help . I'm lucky as I have a small organic farm and we are self sufficient in eggs and meat, and for most of our vegetables. I know that I use all the veg I grow, even the mis-shaped carrots and nibbled cabbages, and all of the vegetable waste goes into the wormeries or the pig pens. Raising your own animals changes your attitudes too. Having cared for them for many months, you don't like the killing, but you are determined to make sure their meat is put to good use, otherwise you feel you have let them down. Consequently we have learnt new skills to process their meat into bacon, ham, pate etc, while the vegetable gluts are frozen, dried, or processed into chutney and the like. Then you discover that food excites you again and you want to experiment with new recipes, and grow more! It is addictive. So hopefully the great stories that I read about people growing veg on every available space, about community supported agriculture, pig-sharing and villages becoming self sufficient in eggs etc., mean that we will reduce our dependency on imported foods.

Low carbon transition plan

The morning news is full of low carbon stories in advance of the UK Govenment publishing their Low Carbon Transition Plan to meet the ambitious 34% carbon reduction targets by 2020 . The aim is to reduce the country's dependency on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas which produce a lot of carbon dioxide, and to switch to renewables such as wind, solar, water and biomass. This switch is not going to be easy in a country that is so hooked on oil and coal. Renewables are not such a convenient source of energy, being much smaller in scale and by necessity being located in places that are generally away from the end consumer. Although the efficiency is getting better, the cost per unit of energy from these sources is much higher than the conventional energy sources, so the cost of electricity may rise . Other measures will probably include financial incentives to improve insulation, smart meters in every home, cycling and electric vehicle initiatives.

Several of the BBC news items featured the village of Ashton Hayes, a village near Birmingham with the ambitious plan to become Britain's first carbon neutral community. I have been following since the project was set up in 2006 and will watch the news items from the village today with interest. For more on the scheme visit their webpage http://www.goingcarbonneutral.co.uk/. If more communities follow their lead, the transition to a low carbon economy may be much easier. And mention of the word 'transition' leads me to the Transition Towns movement. The movement want to encourage communities to move towards a more sustainable future by reducing their carbon footprints and becoming more self-reliant on food, energy, health care, jobs and economics. The leading light in the UK is the town of Totnes in Devon. There websiteis an interesting read: http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org

Another energy source is nuclear - always contentious but probably a necessary evil. Although our own nuclear energy stations are being wound down, we are still dependent on nuclear energy to meet the demands. Many people are unaware that we buy in electricity from France, a country that generates about 90 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power stations.

As usual Ecoscene has a fabulous selection on images to illustrate any story on low carbon initiatives and a light box of images can be found here : http://www.ecoscene2.captureweb.co.uk/lbshow.php?lightboxid=173521027109

Watch out for updates on this story once the white paper is published.

The disappearing Maldives

The scenic beauty of one the worlds most idyllic and peaceful environment is under threat. The Maldives, a cluster of islands lying in the Indian Ocean, are threatened by rising sea levels. The islands are a popular tourist destination, with their sandy beaches and dive spots attracting more than 600,000 tourists each year. Tourism accounts for 28% of their GDP. The sea levels, which are predicted by the UN to rise 58cm by the year 2100, could see most of the 1,192 islands submerged, as the country has an average height of 1.5m above sea level - the lowest in the world. These projected rises are said to be the result of global warming, and could see most of the country’s 369,000 inhabitants made homeless. The coral reefs surrounding the islands act as a buffer to the sea, but damage to the reefs due to overfishing and too many tourists as well as global warming threatens the islands existence, as well as the two main industries of fishing and tourism. Also adding to the damage is pollution, rubbish dumping and illegal coral and sand mining, which rob the country of some vital resources.

In response to this, President Mohammed Nasheem has pledged to make the islands carbon neutral in ten years time, by moving to solar and wind energy. Nasheed's aim is to install half a square kilometre of solar panels and 155 wind turbines, each generating 1.5 megawatts. The electricity will power vehicles as well. Boats and automobiles with gasoline engines would be slowly replaced with electric versions. The plan will cost US$1.1Billion, but the economy of the Maldives (mainly fishing and tourism), is only worth $800million a year.

It is estimated that the project will pay for itself in another decade, as the country will no longer be reliant on oil imports, so it will be totally energy self-sufficient. However, many locals are against the new plans, as they do not see why the Maldives, who contribute to less than 0.5% of the world’s carbon emissions, should have to waste money on an environmentally-friendly industry, as it is a poor developing country. But many environmentalists don’t agree, saying that if one country can become carbon neutral, then it will encourage other countries to follow; and many see it is something the Maldives can lead the world in, meaning richer countries can’t complain that going green is too expensive.

The Maldives are set to lead the way in renewable energy, and we at Ecoscene hope that this will encourage other nations to follow their lead and embrace green technology in a bid to become carbon neutral.

Save the corals

David Attenborough is the latest name to call for a reduction in carbon dioxide levels before global warming wipes out the world's coral reefs. Speaking at the Royal Society, he said "A coral reef is the canary in the cage as far as the oceans are concerned. They are the places where the damage is most easily and quickly seen. It is more difficult for us to see what is happening in, for example, the deep ocean or the central expanses of ocean."
So why should we be alarmed? These amazing marine habitats, often called the 'rainforests of the sea' are home to more than a quarter of the world's marine life, and this includes 4000 species of fish. The reefs are fish nurseries, supporting local fish populations, as well protecting coastlines from tidal surges and storm damage.

Corals are particularly vulnerable to global warming, as the slightest increase in sea temperatures can upset the fragile balance on the reef. The reef builders, the coral polyps, live with algae in a mutualistic relationship. The algae supply the coral with food while the coral provides the algae with shelter and protection. The slightest rise in water temperature cause the algae to leave the coral, causing it to become white, the so-called bleaching.

Click on this link to see a further selection of coral reef images from Ecoscene.

Splashdown – a sister company of Ecoscene has great footage of coral reefs. Below is just a taster of what is available. (If you can't see the video click on this link)

Two degrees and no more

G8 leaders have called for 80% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
They have also said that human-induced temperature rise must be kept below 2oC. Tony Blair has encouraged rich nations to use ‘clean’ technology, such as renewable energy, while he has also stated that they should pay poorer countries as an incentive to preserve their forests. Blair said that acting on these measures were “urgent”, although progress was being made. He said there was a “general acceptance” of these measures by most people. The ex-Prime Minister added that China has changed its attitude to global warming, and that they are now willing to help.
Mr. Blair also said that "practical policy making" was now needed, and technological solutions to climate change were reachable, saying only political will was needed to implement them. He finally mentioned that it was now time for the people who will have to get the job done to do it. Blair’s report was published ahead of the Major Economies Forum, being held in Italy this week. This sets out seven different policies to cut emissions.
However, critics say that these measures will be scaled back, and many question whether politicians will get the job done in these times of recession.
Also, it is said that the USA is blocking these short-term targets, and US officials have said that they simply can’t cut emissions quickly enough.
Copenhagen will host a UN climate change summit this December. Others have called for investment in "clean" energy sources such as wind and HEP, as well as carbon capture and storage, new generation nuclear plants and electric or hydrogen vehicles.


Ecoscene has prepared a lightbox of relevant images which will be perfect to illustrate your articles on global warming.
http://www.ecoscene2.captureweb.co.uk/lbshow.php?lightboxid=5271536894543

The clean tech revolution

The Carbon Trust (www.carbontrust.co.uk) has published an economic review today showing how investment in offshore wind and wave power technology could make the UK a global leader in clean energy, boosting the economy by £70 billion, creating up to 250,000 jobs and reducing carbon emissions - some pretty good reasons to push forward with green energy.