Science Fiction or Science Fact?

There was a surreal feel about the week just past. A political thriller, combined with some pages from the latest novel in the trilogy by Steig Larsson. Computer hackers. Politicians in denial and damage control. Scientists pleading their case to save the world from a certain dismal fate. Ken Hickson takes his considered look at another week that was.

 

And we had businesses, like Oliver Twist, asking for more (concessions). We had a country’s climate policies in freefall and a world getting ready for the decade’s most important summit on climate.

It was a week which saw the Australian Government fail (once again) to pass into law its Carbon Pollution Reduction scheme and when the leader of the opposition effectively nailed his demise on his climate change stance. We also saw that the hacking into a UK climate research centre gave climate skeptics more ammunition in their co-ordinated campaign to discredit climate change advocates.  All this in the lead up to the major Copenhagen climate summit starting December

So let me go over some of the things we came across in the week – in media read/watched, as well in conversations with people who matter.

This article by Michael Brooks in New Scientist (27 November 2009) grabbed my attention:

CARBON is a dirty word. We burn too much of it, producing billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide that threatens to wreck our planet’s climate for generations to come. Before that it was the villain of the piece in the guise of the soot that poured from factory chimneys and turned cities black. It has a lot to live down.

Now our long-time enemy could be on the brink of becoming our high-tech best friend. As we learn to shape carbon on the nanoscale – into tubes and sheets, balls and ribbons – entirely new and unexpected vistas are opening up. The carbon atoms that were forged in the furnace of the universe’s stars can be woven together into materials that may help gather energy from our own star. Similar materials promise to make our electronic world run with unprecedented efficiency, and may even hold the secret to eking out precious reserves of oil.

As we learn to shape carbon on the nanoscale, new and unexpected vistas are opening up

Carbon’s potential stems from the fact that it is multitalented. Collections of carbon atoms will happily assemble themselves into a multitude of structures, from diamond to graphite, but these familiar forms are just the beginning. In the past few decades we have learned about the soccer-ball-shaped spheres called buckyballs, soon followed by the microscopic rolls of chicken wire we know as carbon nanotubes. Now they have been joined by graphene, sheets of carbon that are just one atom thick.

Of these many intriguing structures, graphene is causing the biggest stir. This is partly because of its unusual combination of properties: its two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms combines fantastic electrical conductivity with a strength tens of times that of steel in a material that is transparent to visible light. Best of all, we have finally learned how to make it.

www.newscientist.com

Which sounds very like something I put in my book “The ABC of Carbon”, where I called for the acknowledgement of the Age of Carbon:

 

What becomes apparent when exploring climate change is the enormous and central role played by carbon in the past and well into the future. It is like discovering gold. Suddenly, everyone is talking about it, discovering what carbon dioxide is all about, and measuring and reducing their carbon footprints.

 

So much has carbon come into vogue and into the world’s vocabulary that it warrants recognition. This century could well be acknowledged as nothing less than the ‘Age of Carbon’, just as we have acknowledged in the past the Iron Age and the Space Age. There is no other time in history when carbon was so important. Carbon has been always present — it is essential for life — but now it’s on the loose and out of control, with the potential to damage the earth for all time.

 

We are talking about carbon as a product and as a fuel, as well as carbon dioxide, the gas, which is in over-abundance in our atmosphere. To be aware of its power — carbon’s contribution to global warming and consequential climate change — is to wake up to how we can better manage the resources that we have at our disposal. Human activity — our misuse of available energy, resulting in excessive carbon dioxide emissions — has undoubtedly changed our climate and damaged our environment.

 

But there is hope. However, it is the responsibility of all of us to grasp the opportunities we have to change things for the better — and to do it now. Carbon can be our friend.

 

It is good to hear/see that the Government is prepared to acknowledge both the importance of voluntary action by households (and businesses) to cut their emissions. This, along with a revised and sensible new National Carbon Offsets Standard, will be enshrined in new laws. We can’t wait!

 

Voluntary Action: The Government will ensure the CPRS takes into account voluntary action by households.  Voluntary action by households will now allow Australia to go beyond our 2020 emissions reduction target. In addition, the CPRS will be amended to ensure that all existing and future purchases of GreenPower will be counted, and allow Australia to go beyond our 2020 national targets.

The National Carbon Offset Standard provides guidance on what constitutes a genuine, additional voluntary offset in the context of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.  It sets minimum requirements for the verification and retirement of voluntary carbon credits and provides guidance for calculating the carbon footprint of an organisation or product for the purpose of achieving ‘carbon neutrality’. 

The National Carbon Offset Standard provides Australian businesses, particularly farmers, with the opportunity to develop offset credits for voluntary carbon markets.  These opportunities include offsets from increased soil carbon and from other land-based emissions sources.The National Carbon Offset Standard also provides a voluntary standard for businesses to use in becoming carbon neutral or developing carbon neutral products. 

A logo will be made available so that consumers can have confidence that organisations and products bearing the logo have achieved carbon neutrality in a way that complements the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and achieves genuine emissions reductions. The National Carbon Offset Standard applies to the voluntary carbon market, which is complementary to, but operates outside of, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

24 November 2009

Source: www.climatechange.gov.au

The Lowy Institute has launched three publications – two relating to China and the third and potentially the most far-reaching – “Comprehending Copenhagen: A Guide to the International Climate Change Negotiations”

In this Lowy Institute Analysis, Dr Greg Picker and Fergus Green aim to demystify the negotiations and deepen public understanding of this important process. 

Source: www.lowyinstitute.org

And news from Brisbane consulting engineer, David Hood, who is adamant that the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen next week should set the world on a strong course to reduce global carbon emissions.

David, also an Adjunct Professor at QUT, was trained in 2007 by former US vice president Al Gore as a Climate Project Ambassador, and assisted Mr Gore train an additional 200 international presenters at the Asia Pacific Summit in Melbourne last July.   David now wants Australia to play a leadership role in securing strong global climate change outcomes at Copenhagen.

David, who will be attending the Copenhagen talks, says COP15 presents the best possible chance to keep the impact of global warming below a 2ºC rise threshold – the widely accepted level at which to prevent unbearable climate impacts.

Source: www.acfonline.org.au/climateproject

This article by Michael Brooks in New Scientist (27 November 2009) grabbed our attention:

CARBON is a dirty word. We burn too much of it, producing billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide that threatens to wreck our planet’s climate for generations to come. Before that it was the villain of the piece in the guise of the soot that poured from factory chimneys and turned cities black. It has a lot to live down.

Now our long-time enemy could be on the brink of becoming our high-tech best friend. As we learn to shape carbon on the nanoscale – into tubes and sheets, balls and ribbons – entirely new and unexpected vistas are opening up. The carbon atoms that were forged in the furnace of the universe’s stars can be woven together into materials that may help gather energy from our own star. Similar materials promise to make our electronic world run with unprecedented efficiency, and may even hold the secret to eking out precious reserves of oil.

As we learn to shape carbon on the nanoscale, new and unexpected vistas are opening up

Carbon’s potential stems from the fact that it is multitalented. Collections of carbon atoms will happily assemble themselves into a multitude of structures, from diamond to graphite, but these familiar forms are just the beginning. In the past few decades we have learned about the soccer-ball-shaped spheres called buckyballs, soon followed by the microscopic rolls of chicken wire we know as carbon nanotubes. Now they have been joined by graphene, sheets of carbon that are just one atom thick.

Of these many intriguing structures, graphene is causing the biggest stir. This is partly because of its unusual combination of properties: its two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms combines fantastic electrical conductivity with a strength tens of times that of steel in a material that is transparent to visible light. Best of all, we have finally learned how to make it.

www.newscientist.com

Which sounds very like something I put in my book “The ABC of Carbon” where I called for the acknowledgement of the Age of Carbon:

What becomes apparent when exploring climate change is the enormous and central role played by carbon in the past and well into the future. It is like discovering gold. Suddenly, everyone is talking about it, discovering what carbon dioxide is all about, and measuring and reducing their carbon footprints.

So much has carbon come into vogue and into the world’s vocabulary that it warrants recognition. This century could well be acknowledged as nothing less than the ‘Age of Carbon’, just as we have acknowledged in the past the Iron Age and the Space Age. There is no other time in history when carbon was so important. Carbon has been always present — it is essential for life — but now it’s on the loose and out of control, with the potential to damage the earth for all time.

We are talking about carbon as a product and as a fuel, as well as carbon dioxide, the gas, which is in over-abundance in our atmosphere. To be aware of its power — carbon’s contribution to global warming and consequential climate change — is to wake up to how we can better manage the resources that we have at our disposal. Human activity — our misuse of available energy, resulting in excessive carbon dioxide emissions — has undoubtedly changed our climate and damaged our environment.

But there is hope. However, it is the responsibility of all of us to grasp the opportunities we have to change things for the better — and to do it now. Carbon can be our friend.

We came across what law firm Norton Rose (formerly Deacons) has come up with. They produced the results of a new survey analysing the perceived consequences to business from the UNFCCC (COP 15) negotiations in Copenhagen: 

The main startling outcome: An unsuccessful outcome at Copenhagen will have a detrimental impact on business.

 Over three quarters of business respondents involved in aspects of environmental, sustainability and climate change issues believe if Copenhagen fails it will have a detrimental impact on their business

Success or failure

·     79% think an unsuccessful outcome at Copenhagen will have a detrimental impact on business

·     70% believe the US government’s position on negotiations is the most significant barrier to an agreement being successfully negotiated at Copenhagen

·     72% believe the negotiations will be a ‘compromised success’

Source: www.nortonrose.com

And what about some TV stars of the week:

On the Kerri Anne Kennelly show this week with ace skeptic Ian Plimer, was Ben McNeill, author of The Clean Revolution. He acquitted himself well, even though Professor Plimer had equipped Kerri Anne with a marked and underlined copy of the report which she proceeded to draw on in Plimer’s favour. A bit of a stacked show, but Ben took it gracefully.

The most skeptical of skeptics also threw into the discussion his delight at having email ammunition from the hacked computers. He wasn’t asked how it came into his hands, or who paid for the hacking!

Ben McNeil, for those who don’t know, is a senior research fellow at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales. Dr McNeil holds a Master of Economics and a PhD in climate science and is on the executive of the prestigious Federation of Australasian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS).

In 2007, he was chosen as an expert reviewer for the United Nations Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, and was invited to present his research to the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He speaks regularly at corporate and scientific events and to media. Ben lives in Sydney.

Source: www.thecleanrevolution.com.au

On another TV show – Sunrise on Seven – climate expert Nick Rowley clearly and concisely answered viewers’ queries on climate change issues of note, asked by Koch and Mel.

A regular at conferences and media, Nick specialises in advising on new policy and practice to achieve emissions reduction for business and government. He has a deep knowledge of the policy and other drivers required to achieve low emissions growth. Over the past twelve years he has worked at the centre of government on sustainability, climate change and broader policy and political strategy in Australia and the UK.

From March 2004 to January 2006, Nick worked at 10 Downing Street as an advisor to Tony Blair. In this role he was part of a small team advising the Prime Minister on climate change prior to the G8 Summit at Gleneagles in July 2005 and worked closely with the likes of Nicholas Stern and the Prime Minister’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir David King. From 1995 to 2004 Nick was advisor to Bob Carr, Premier of NSW, working primarily on policy on the environment, urban development and medical research.

Nick is also Strategic Director to the Copenhagen Climate Council working with senior global business CEOs and climate experts to help achieve a new global climate treaty at the crucial UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December 2009. He is a regular commentator on climate issues in the Australian and international media, and is a Fellow of the Australian New Zealand School of Government.

Source: www.kinesis.net.au

Received a message this week from ace photographer and friend Trevor Thrum. He’s thinking – and it must be obvious – that my newsletter does lean quite heavily in favour of climate change science and the predominant view of how things are panning out. He did ask politely:

“Perhaps Ken, you could put this link into your newsletter in order to ’air’ both sides of the debate.”

So who am I to refuse. See and hear for yourselves. 

http://2gb.com/index2.php?option=com_newsmanager&task=view&id=5268

Which brings me to the final and very relevant conversation for the week. Don Norton and I were chewing the fat on Friday. Of course, we discussed the political upheavals and the difficulty the Government is having to bring an emission trading scheme to the table.

We also realised that a lot of people listen to the skeptics, deniers and doubters on the subject of climate change. And admittedly such alternative viewpoints seem to be gathering a lot of interest and support. Maybe because the messengers are doing a better job than some others, namely Government.

We did agree that the powers that be seemed to have failed miserably to explain what CPRS is all about and – for that matter – have not effectively communicated climate change and its impacts on Australia.

Maybe what’s needed – the two of us suspected – is an “independent” agency, peopled by effective communicators who can put out the facts and figures of climate change and who can explain the impact for householders and business.

It could also provide reliable information on what’s offering from local, state and Federal Government on energy efficiency, renewable energy and ways to reduce our respective carbon footprints. We’re very conscious of the fact that there’s a lot of duplication of effort involved in what the three levels of Government are saying and offering, leading to a lot of confusion in the marketplace.

Maybe what we’re proposing is something like a Choice for the climate.

What do other people think?

Let me know.

Ken Hickson

Source: www.abccarbon.com