A Critique of Climate Change
The entire article has been Published in the Lancashire Magazine and is available on request to norman@normanharris.co.uk
Introduction
I believe that engineering and science are mitigating climate change and that it should be more recognised and encouraged. I have been banging the drum for more than 2 years with examples of Engineering & Science mitigating climate change, which is much better than banning normal human activities. So far I have posted 335 examples, now a group of scientists are calling for a steering body to prioritise the cost/benefits of such research. GREAT!!
As the recent, but temporary, drop in atmospheric CO2 content during the first pandemic lockdown shows, climate change may not be such an intractable problem as its protagonists claim. Fuel changes to surface transport (e.g., hybrid, electric, a different petrol mix available in September and hydrogen) are already gaining pace and will keep the growth in UK CO2 output lower than in the past. But note the electric power still has to be generated by one means or the other. I am not convinced that we need high speed trains to take 15/20 minutes of the journey to Birmingham or Manchester. As we are always told for cars, higher speed means more fuel used. Believe it or not the same is true for trains. Like electric cars they transfer the carbon emitted into the atmosphere to non-renewable power station sites.
Even the big polluter of marine transport is also addressing the issue of their emissions, long thought improbable as it is largely out of the sight and control of individual Governments.
Be in the Lead but not too far Ahead.
It is great that the UK can be leader in this subject, but we must be sure that the economic gains are realised and not sacrifice the economy on the altar of climate change. We produce about 1% of the world output of Green House Gases (GHG). The US and China dwarf our output in the range of 35% each and whilst the US under President Biden will now be active in the quest for reductions, China has stated that they will lag 20 or 30 years behind the West. India’s GHG output is still growing, and they have just recently rebuffed Biden and the world on the topic. Clearly India has more urgent issues at this time. There are many small “oil rich” states where oil costs extraordinarily little and they top the rankings in harmful outputs per capita. The UK can lead but cannot solve world problems alone as we could in the days of gunboats.
Great news for Governments, Marketeers and Extremists
Climate Change has been good news for Governments because it gives another avenue for taxation. Governments can tax for it, marketeers can promote for it, the believers can scoff the disbelievers.
But there is more! We must stop eating beef, in fact it could turn into a luxury food to rival Beluga caviar so only the super-rich can have it and not you and me. The environmentalists may even score the Coup de Grace and stop all power station building and shut down the dirty ones, returning us to the Middle Ages. Germany is in a bind, shutting down its nuclear stations after Fukushima, then its coal and now more reliant than ever on Russian gas.
The full article is available on request
Except perhaps in the USA, few doubt that we must save resources, but many such mandatory measures are counterproductive and add cost not value. Householders have to sort it, needing multiple bins to be collected to help the economics of the process. How much does that cost the Council Taxpayer? And the times of opening of Recycling Centres are one of the restrictions. There are often lines of traffic with a lone driver in their small SUV (engine running of course) waiting to gain entry to take 2 bags of green waste, which in my youth I would have composted.