Environmental scientists are now certain that global warming poses a threat to mankind. Which means massive climate change will cause rise in sea levels, chaotic weather patterns like cyclone and hurricanes, catastrophic droughts in some places and torrential rains in other places — all caused by small increase in global temperature.
Climatologists believe that this warming is mostly the result of human activity such as burning of fossil fuels. Because populations, economies and use of technology are all growing, global average temperature is expected to rise by 1 to 3.5 degrees Celsius by 2100. The effect will be complex, varying considerably from place to place. Of particular interest are the changes in regional climate, local weather and especially extreme events — record temperatures, heat waves, very heavy rainfall or drought — which will have staggering effects on populations, agriculture and ecosystems.
We know what it will take to save the world from the greenhouse effect; cutting emission of carbon dioxide. One would therefore need to shut down the heater in winter and replace 100 watt bulbs by compact fluorescent lamps, which could nearly halve global demand for electricity, according to World Watch Institute (WWI). In affluent countries, people are trading in the dishwasher and clothes dryer for a dish drainer and laundry line.
We need commitment and motivation to avert the disaster that is waiting in the wings. When we build a house, we must work out ways to optimise the use of energy. At the same time we have to go for using fuel efficient cars, because for every gallon of petrol consumed, about 4 kg of carbon dioxide gas get injected into the atmosphere. We must walk and not drive if we go short distances, because car exhaust is a major source of heat-trapping gases that produce global warming.
In the global perspective, one way to meet the world’s energy needs is to develop cheaper and cleaner sources. In India, there has been a boom in wind energy because the government has made it easier for entrepreneurs to get the necessary technology and has instructed the national grid to purchase the power that wind systems produce. Wind is now the world’s fastest growing power source. Experts say that that wind could provide about 12% of the earth’s electricity within just a decade from now.
More than a decade ago, Denmark told utilities to purchase any available renewable energy and pay a premium price. Today, the country gets 18% of its electricity from wind. Germany and Spain have offered incentives for renewable sources. Europe today accounts for 70% of the world’s wind power.
In Japan hundreds and thousands of households have installed solar roof panels since the government offered generous subsidies in 1994. Consequently, Japan has displaced the US as the leading manufacturer of photovoltaic. India established a fund that has lent $1.1 billion to alternative energy projects. The country is now the world’s fifth largest generator of wind and solar power.
Other technologies can work their own miracles. Micro-hydroelectric plants are already operating in many countries. The systems divert water from streams and rivers and use it to run turbines without complex dams and catchment areas. Each plant can produce as much as 200 KW — enough to electrify 200 to 500 homes — and lasts for about 20 years.
Along with the efforts to develop alternatives, every individual has to shun energy profligacy in tday-to-day work. We must turn computers off when not in use. We must switch off the lights and fans when the office closes down and especially the lights while sleeping. We must use public transport to go to office or markets instead of using car.
While doing house hold chores or farm activities, we must use either sprinklers or drip irrigation services for watering gardens, lawns or crop fields. Water is going to be a scarce commodity if we haven’t learnt to conserve it now.
Moreover, offices, business houses and homes are indulging in energy profligacy with indiscriminate use of air conditioners, which use hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) as the cooling fluid. This causes ozone depletion. Moreover, HCFCs release carbon dioxide when the generators are run to produce electricity. A model patented in the recent past by Albers Technologies Corp. of Arizona in the US cools air to 54 degrees Fahrenheit, dehumidifies it and removes contaminants. Most importantly, it uses water, not HCFCs, as coolant and draws half the electricity in conventional units.
Scientists are concerned because the will to forestall the greenhouse effect is yet to take root in people all over the world. Even in America surveys have shown that only about one fifth of the Americans questioned would keep homes warmer in summer and chillier in winter to help the environment.
We have got to take concrete actions because the World Resource Institute (WRI) revealed new data that suggest the greenhouse threat is more serious than has been realised. About fifty million acres of tropical forests are disappearing every year, said WRI. Deforestation is second only to burning of fossil fuels as a source of carbon dioxide.
Most people agree that conservation is the fastest and cheapest way to minimise emission of carbon dioxide until solar and wind power, which emit no carbon dioxide, are widely available. This calls for planting trees because trees are the best sinks for carbon dioxide. Efficiency, conservation practice and commitment could cut global carbon dioxide emission to 3 billion tonnes a year from 9.28 billion tonnes now, said Christopher Flavin, of the World Watch Institute (WWI).
All countries can meet their energy needs without fouling the environment. “But that won’t happen,” asserts Thomas Johansson, an adviser to the United Nations Development Programme, “without the political will of the governments of the countries involved.” To begin with huge government subsidies for fossil fuels must be dismantled to level the playing field for renewables. Policy makers must factor in the price of pollution; for example, coal plants are more expensive than renewable power. Factoring in all the disasters like cyclone, hurricanes, tsunami, flood and drought, renewable energy is necessary for the assurance of life on earth.
The Writer Is A Columnist Of The Daily Star. E-mail: [email protected]
Source: The Daily Star
