Imports, exports and emissions
February 25, 2009
Posted in Green News
China may have overtaken the United States as the world’s biggest carbon emitter, but a significant amount of its emissions are a result of producing goods for consumers in western countries.
China’s carbon dioxide emissions increased by 45 percent from 2002 to 2005, but half was due to the production of exports, 60 percent of which went to western countries, according to a new report, “Journey to world top emitter”, to be published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Electronic products, metals, chemicals, and machinery were the export products contributing largely to the increase.
Only 7 percent of the emissions increase was triggered by household consumption in China, researchers from the University of Cambridge, the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (CICERO), Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Leeds found.
Rich countries are contributing to the emission increases in developing nations, but this is not accounted for in international negotiations, CICERO says in a statement.
International climate agreements do not account for how emissions cross national borders because of imports and exports. In the Kyoto Protocol, every country is responsible for emissions on its own territory, it adds.
“It is important to take at least some responsibility for problems that we cause indirectly in other countries,” says Glen Peters, a researcher at CICERO.
“We do not need to completely redesign Kyoto, but we could include incremental changes that address carbon leakage [the process where a country reduces emissions on its own territory but increases imports] and competitiveness concerns.
“Climate policy could be designed in similar ways to existing tax policy. For example, we could design carbon taxes in a similar way to value-added taxation which covers imported products. In that way the consumer would pay for the emissions caused by his or her consumption,” says Peters.
Source: CICERO
Stern’s warning: Act now or consequences could be disastrous
February 23, 2009
Posted in Green News
What do you do if bad weather leaves you stranded in a Cape Town hotel? You discuss climate change, obviously. Well that seems to be what Sir Nicholas Stern, the former World Bank economist and author of the British government’s oft-cited Stern Review – on the economics of climate change – and a select group of environment ministers, climate negotiators and experts from 16 countries did this weekend while they waited for their flight to Antarctica to get the go-ahead.
According to AP, Stern told the party that if the world doesn’t deal with climate change decisively we could be looking at an “extended world war”.
He said that if global average temperature rise is to be contained to 2 degrees Celsius this century country’s needed to act responsibly and … to quote the AP report …
… achieve “zero-carbon” electricity production and zero-carbon road transport by 2050 – by replacing coal power plants with wind, solar or other energy sources that emit no carbon dioxide, and fossil fuel-burning vehicles with cars running on electric or other “clean” energy.
But if emissions reductions are not made soon and deep, the severe climate shifts and sea-level rises projected by scientists would be “disastrous.”
It would “transform where people can live,” Stern said. “People would move on a massive scale. Hundreds of millions, probably billions of people would have to move if you talk about 4-, 5-, 6-degree increases”. And that would mean extended global conflict, “because there’s no way the world can handle that kind of population move in the time period in which it would take place.”
Stern and the group were reportedly scheduled to fly to Antarctica to learn what melting polar ice might do to the world’s sea-levels. Read full report here
[Via Huffington Post]
Climate change: snow, fish, flights and food crops
February 13, 2009
Posted in Green News
A garden in London in early February
If you’re wondering how there can possibly be “gobal warming” when you see images on the news of snow storms in Britain and we’ve hardly seen the sun in Jo’burg for what seems like weeks, well, it’s probably La Niña’s fault, say the experts. But read this article on Scientific American for an explantation of what global warming means.
FISH ON THE MOVE
Warming seas at the tropics will cause fish stocks to move towards the poles in the next 50 years, a study of more than 1,000 fish species projects. The fish are likely to swim an average of about 200km either north or south to escape warmer water, the study says. Countries in the tropics are likely to suffer the most from reduced catches, William Cheung, the lead author of the study, from the University of British Columbia and the University of East Anglia, was reported as saying. But, he said, it would be more a “reshuffling” of the fish catches in the world’s oceans, the total fish catches would be little changed. Species at high risk of extinction would be those that thrive in cold waters that would have no where to go. [Reuters via Planet Ark]
AIRLINES JOIN CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS
Four airlines – Air France/KLM, Cathay Pacific, BA and Virgin Atlantic – have called for airline pollution to be included in the broader climate change treaty that is being negotiated to replace the Kyoto Protocol, Reuters reports. This is the first time airlines have moved to join the debate and it is a bid to try and steer the debate on an emissions deal rather than having one imposed on them, the report says. The aviation industry contributes about 2 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions. [Reuters via Planet Ark]
HUNGER HOTSPOTS IN AFRICA
A study on the impact of climate change on crop yield and undernutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa has identified regional hotspots where early intervention may avert future hunger and improve food security. The study indicates that while some regions may be able to withstand the most severe impacts of climate change – and South Africa, Uganda and Ghana, may experience increased crop yields – most sub-Saharan countries will continue to experience a decline in per capita food availability. It is critically important that adaptation strategies be developed and implemented soon, particularly in the area of improved crop selection, extending crop area and increasing yield through improved water and fertiliser management, the study says. It suggests that countries such as Congo, Gabon, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique and Sudan may suffer from lower crop yields. But the most important conclusion from this study, says Dr Steffen Fritz of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, is that “although overall crop yields may not decline, due to the projected increase in population and stagnating purchasing power, hunger will remain or even worsen if no drastic adaptation measures are taken”. The research was published in the recent Special Issue of Global and Planetary Change. [Via :: Polity]
Firefighters call for urgent climate change action
February 12, 2009
Posted in Green News
Australian firefighters have written an open letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warning that the country needs to reassess its approach to climate change or risk more devastating bushfires of the type that have claimed at least 180 lives so far in the state of Victoria, ABC News reports. The letter, written by the United Firefighters Union of Australia, which represents the country’s 13,000 firefighters, wants the government to follow scientific advice and halve Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. “Without a massive turnaround in policies, aside from the tragic loss of life and property, we will be asking firefighters to put themselves at an unacceptable risk,” says the letter. Full story
Winning name found for glass recycling mascot
February 12, 2009
Posted in Green News
The Glass Recycling Company has found a name for its mascot – Vusa, which means renew in Zulu. It’s an appropriate choice considering that glass in 100 percent recyclable and infinitely renewable, says the company.
Shabeer Jhetam, the general manager of The Glass Recycling Company, likes the name, which was chosen as the winner after national competition, because it’s fresh, energetic and easy to remember, pronounce and write.
“We hope that all of these qualities will serve as an inspiration and go a long way towards converting South Africans into recyclers of glass. We want their impression of Vusa to be a lasting one and hope his message will help motivate consumers to embrace green routines that put glass recycling on the top of the list,” says Jhetam.
The name was clearly a popular choice because it was submitted not once but four times, says the company. The R5,000 prize money had to be shared between all the winning entrants, so The Glass Recycling Company generously decided to double the prize money so each winner could pocket a more substantial reward for their creative efforts.
The mascot’s role is to be an ambassador for The Glass Recycling Company and ultimately become a symbol that is recognised around the country.
“Despite being 100 percent recyclable, just 26 percent of all non-returnable glass containers produced annually are retrieved for recycling in South Africa, which is relatively poor when compared to international rates,” says Jhetam.
“Vusa will go on glass recycling assignments that will help increase recovery rates. He will be a constant reminder that glass is 100 percent recyclable, it is infinitely recyclable and the use of recycled glass in the glass production process does not affect the quality or integrity of the new product.”
For information on the location of local glass banks, how to get a glass bank installed, to start a glass recycling business or to understand the mechanics of glass recycling, visit www.theglassrecyclingcompany.co.za.
Google tests online home energy monitor
February 11, 2009
Posted in Green News
Google is developing what sounds like an incredibly useful online tool, called Powermeter, that will allow users so see their home energy consumption in near real time online.
Being aware of where in your home you’re using energy makes it easier to reduce your usage. Studies show that people save between 5 and 15 percent of their energy costs when they have access to information about their energy consumption, says the search engine giant.
A Google hardware engineer who was involved in beta-testing the PowerMeter prototype said on the company’s website: “By monitoring my energy use, I figured out that the bulk of my electricity was caused by my two 20-year-old fridges, my incandescent lights and my pool pump, which was set to run more than necessary. By replacing the refrigerators with new energy-efficient models, the lights with CFLs and setting the pool pump to only run at specified intervals, I’ve saved $3,000 in the past year and I am on track to save even more this year! ”
But in order to get this near real-time feedback you first need an advanced electricity meter known as a smart meter installed in your home. Google says there are currently about 40-million smart meters in use worldwide, with plans to add another 100-million in the next few years – 40-million are planned in the US alone over the next three years through President Barack Obama’s stimulus package.
Google idea is to make the information on smart meters available to consumers. “PowerMeter will receive energy consumption information from utility smart meters and energy management devices and provide anyone who signs up access to her home electricity consumption right on her iGoogle homepage,” the search engine giant says.
PowerMeter is currently still a prototype being tested by Google employees, but the company hopes to partner with utilities and smart energy device makers (presumably in the United States) and eventually make the tool available for free to consumers.
Sounds to me like this is something Eskom should be keeping an eye on because it could be a handy tool to help South Africans reduce their electricity consumption by the required 10 percent.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is reportedly about to make available an add-on “Environmental Dashboard” application for Microsoft Dynamics AX. It is geared at business users, to help them analyse and reduce their energy use. It also provides information on greenhouse gas emissions. You can read more about it on CNet
Our man in Africa
February 5, 2009
Posted in Green News
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi urged African leaders at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa this week to nominate a single representative to lead negotiations on behalf of all 53 African countries at the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, Bloomberg reports. If this idea were to fly, could South African environment minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk (pictured right) be the man for the job?
He has made a name for himself at international climate talks as an important voice for developing countries and, thanks to him, South Africa is often described as “punching above its weight” in climate negotiations. But there are doubts about whether he will retain his post in the environment ministry after South Africa’s next elections, which are expected to be held in the next few months. He is said to be highly regarded in international circles and many feel that his skills are needed in the climate negotiations. And, goodness knows, Africa could do with someone who can pack a good punch.
Clean water with less energy
February 4, 2009
Posted in Green News
Photograph by Snap, licensed under Creative Commons licence.
Given the state of the water supply in South Africa (which has been described as a looming crisis) and our electricity shortage, a new water desalination and purification technology that uses significantly less energy to harvest drinkable water from nonpotable sources – sea water and waste water, for instance – sounds like something worth keeping an eye on.
Developed by researchers at Yale in the United States, the system uses “a new twist on an old technology” called forward osmosis. Water naturally flows from a dilute region to one that’s more concentrated when the two solutions are separated by a semipermeable material. The new system “draws” pure water from its contaminants through the membrane to a solution of concentrated salts. This solution has been specially designed to be easy to remove with low heat treatment, which means using less energy.
A company called Oasys has been established to commercialise the technology.
Details of Oasys’s draw solution are apparently a company secret, but it uses ammonia and carbon-dioxide gases dissolved in water in specific proportions, says a report on a Yale website. The solution then can be removed efficiently and reused.
The researchers say their system uses ten times less electrical energy than traditional desalination plants.
A pilot-scale plant to test the technology is producing one cubic meter of water per day, but Oasys aims to raise venture financing to increase output to 1,000 to 10,000 cubic metres of water a day.
The technology has a way to go before it reaches commercial scale, but it may hold hope for affordable water purification in developing countries.
Sources: Ecogeek; Yale; Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science; Water and Waste Treatment
Huge Zambezi shark caught in Breede River
January 28, 2009
Posted in Green News
The South African Shark Conservancy has caught a huge four-metre Zambezi (bull) shark on an expedition on the Breede River this month. The shark is the largest of its kind known to science, the SASC says. The previous known maximum length for Zambezi sharks was 3.4 to 3.5 metres.
The shark also appeared to be heavily pregnant, which, says the SASC, suggests that the Breede River may be a nursery ground for the sharks.
Previously the species was known to occur as far south as Cape St. Francis in the Eastern Cape, so the discovery of the shark in the Breede river is a significant range extension for the species in South Africa, says the SASC.
The shark, which researchers named Nyami Nyami after the Zambezi river god, was caught on the fourth day of an expedition by a professional angler about 5,5km upstream. The shark towed the boat for 2,5km before it was landed on mud banks. The shark was tagged so that researchers could follow her movements.
“We proceeded to track Nyami Nyami for 43 consecutive hours which, as far as we know, is the longest time this species has been tracked. She moved up and down the estuary, following fishing boats and looking for an easy source of food, swimming as far as 15km upriver,” the SASC wrote on its website.
The group is looking to raise funding so it can continue studying the animal on the Breede River.
You can see pictures of the shark on the conservancy’s website.
Olympic pollution controls had marked impact, say scientists
December 21, 2008
Posted in Green News
The efforts of China’s authorities to clean up the air for this year’s Olympics in Beijing had some surprising results, Nasa researchers report.
According to atmospheric scientist Jacquelyn Witte and colleagues from Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, during the two months when authorities temporarily closed some factories and banished many cars in Beijing, the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – a noxious gas resulting from fossil fuel combustion (primarily in cars, trucks, and power plants) – plunged by nearly 50 percent. Levels of carbon monoxide (CO) fell about 20 percent.
“After the authorities lifted the traffic restrictions, the levels of these pollutants shot right back up,” Witte noted.
The steep decline in certain pollutants came as a surprise to the researchers, says a Nasa news release.
The researchers used Nasa’s Aura and Terra satellites to measure the impact of the air pollution controls.
Witte presented the results on December 16 at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
Ultimately, researchers aim to use satellite data to evaluate and refine models to predict how pollution levels respond to changes in emissions. Such models are important for understanding the integrated Earth system and aiding policymakers considering ways to reduce pollution, says Nasa.
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