Why we are all required to act

This is why we need to act. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

The Climate: From recognition to effective action

Sir Anthony Giddens, a former Director of the London School of Economics, formulated the "Giddens Paradox". It goes like this:

Since the dangers posed by global warming are not immediate or visible to most people, they ignore them; but waiting for them to become visible and immediate before taking serious action will be, by definition, too late. This is a political and not a technocratic problem, he argues, and those in the climate-change lobby who get impatient with politics are wrong. Even the best technocratic scheme has little chance of success unless a way is found to achieve it through politics...

I would like to add a slightly different nuance, referred to as the "Knagenhjelm Paradox":

Each one of us is not equipped to comprehend the effect of the sum of our individual actions. Each person perceives his/her own actions as marginal and does not have a behaviour codex that will guide their decisions consistent with the cumulatively optimal outcome.

To overcome this conundrum I propose that we must create a political movement with a simple to understand objective:

A Carbon Added Tax (CAT) must be introduced. Governments can decide whether it should be a defined component of existing Value Added (Sales) Tax, or a separately identified component. It should reflect the amount of climate gas produced by the product or service in question.

This tax should be introduced by all countries above a certain GDP/Capita. The revenue should be earmarked for climate mitigation measures. Half should be deployed domestically and the other half in Less Developed Countries to save the rainforest, create CO2 sequestration projects and develop sustainable energy resources.

In developed countries the tax revenue should be used for:

• Feed-in tariffs for sustainable energy such as wind, solar, hydro electric and geothermal
• Removal of all tax on zero emission transport and energy solutions
  
• Cheap loans for insulation of the building stock

These measures must be designed to price harmful solutions out of the market.

This is the beginning of the Third World War. The enemy is ourselves - our own behaviour and everyday choices. As footsoldiers in this most dangerous conflict in human history, we must demand of our leaders that they lead from the front with courage and resolve. If not, they will be replaced by those who will.

Onwards and Upwards!

King of the forests

We are approaching the season when hunters and gatherers prepare to secure the energy supply for the cold season. This noble creature is engaged on exactly the same mission. He also needs to make his best eforts to have enough fat on his loins to get him through the winter alive.

Careful wildlife management will ensure that the deer population will remain healthy and robust, whilst offering some of its surplus protein up to us humans to enjoy with gratitude.

This is far better than cattle force fed on antibiotics and hormones!

A proud skipper with his vessel!

Here is the proud owner and skipper of an 1891 Colin Archer designed pilot vessel, faithfully brought back to its original specification in the eighties. We skirted a very dark storm cloud but were swiped by it resulting in a howling gale and a serious test of the rig, ropework and pulleys. She stood up to the test like a true viking lady should!

It is a true privilege to sail such a fine vessel!

Debunking Monbiot

The article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/24/george-monbiot-climate-change-biochar in the Guardian by George Monbiot it did huge damage to the vital build-up of interest and action around biochar. His tendentious article derailed focus on R&D that is necessary to understand how to best deploy this planet-saving substance.

This pulls the carpet under Monbiot's arguments:

http://kanan48.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/biochar-schemes-are-the-best-way-to-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe/

I hope activity going forward can focus on serious research as well as deployment on the ground. The focus now must be to get carbon credits from emitters to pay for deployment of pyrolysis plants in local poor communities. This will reduce the destruction of virgin forest, promote carbon sequestration and increase agricultural productivity and food production.

Lovelock on biochar

Dr. Lovelock has endorsed biochar as a means of mitigating the effects of climate change resulting from excessive emissions of climate gases. The article behind the link also takes issue with the attack on biochar by George Monbiot from the Guardian. His outburst has derailed a productive debate that needs to continue. However, we must keep the debate in perspective.

Here is a quote from the article:

But if we could also extract CO2 we "might" have a shot. And the approach with the most potential, said Lovelock, is to turn organic material into "biochar" and bury it. Lovelock endorsed the approach during his May 26 meeting in Toronto. "I've written before about biochar, or agrichar, or charcoal, or just plain char – it's all pretty much the same. Take biomass, such as wood or municipal organic waste, and bake it at over 300 degrees C in the absence of oxygen. The process is called pyrolysis, and what it does is lock in about 60 per cent of the carbon in the charred biomass."

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/654444

Biochar Workshop

Biochar will take centre stage in Oslo on Friday 26th during a workshop arranged by yours truly and Arvid Solheim of the Norwegian Development Fund.

The objective is to direct focus at this very exciting substance that can contribute to carbon sequestration, soil enrichment and increased productivity as well as serve as a means to build value chains.

Biochar is the subject of many lively debates, but I encourage people to keep their eye on the ball - the the big one - Earth. Photosynthesis harvests CO2 from the atmosphere and produces biomass. Normally the CO2 is released back into the atmosphere when biomass burns or rots. The plan is to take "waste" biomass and use pyrolysis to convert it to biochar, an inert substance that remains stable in the earth for thousands of years. Biochar is porous and hence can act as a "sponge" for water as well as being an excellent habitat for micro-organisms that help produce nutrients that benefit the soil. It also acts as a slow release mechanism for nutrients and moisture.

The plan is not to create giant monoculture plantations, but to use biochar judiciously to improve soil quality and extract CO2 from the atmosphere.