Johnny Rogers reminded me that today is Blog Action Day when we are supposed to blog about the environment. I wish this wasn’t such a depressing subject, but my understanding is that this is the big frog in warming water problem that everyone knows about but noone will do anything about. The problem goes something like this:
We can have clean energy (coal with scrubbers) or we can have energy that doesn’t produce greenhouse gases (nuclear) but we don’t seem to be able to have both in the quantities we need. The amount of energy we need is growing with countries like India and China adding plants at a rate that will wipe out any improvements in North America and Europe. (See New Coal Plants Bury ‘Kyoto’.) Running out of oil may not cure us because there is lots of coal (under Alberta among other places) that can be converted into energy or oil. Biofuels won’t solve much as there just isn’t enough biomass unless we clear cut in a way that doesn’t replenish the soil. Solar and the other forms don’t seem viable replacements yet.
What is depressing is the politics (everyone agrees it is a problem, but no politician is willing to risk drastic solutions) and the the economics (to cut back on greenhouse gases significantly may mean serious economic disadvantage that is not sustainable politically.) In short we are watching ourselves warm the planet. Time to buy beachfront property in Winnipeg.
Which brings me back to Blog Action Day. What will BAD do to change this tragedy? How can the blogosphere contribute, or will it just give the wealthy (who can afford to have blogs) a “feel good” way of doing nothing other than vent? The only way to really change the outcome may be to relinquish the high-tech life style that includes blogging. Look at the energy consumption table for computers – Barrie Hydro estimates that two computers left on at night waste $100.00 per year. Now look at some of the highlights of Computers and the Environment. Computers are part of the problem.