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I just wanted to wish you all happy holidays. I will be going away for a couple of days, so if I will post, it will be intermittent. So, enjoy your holidays!
For those wondering when I will continue my series on hydrogen power, please be sure that I will add a second part shortly.
However, before that, there has been news today that food prices might go ever higher in the coming years because of higher demand. This higher demand is caused for the most part by the demand for biofuel.
Biofuel is made from many different kinds of plant material, among others corn. Such plants are usually also used as foodstuff. Since more and more governments demand a certain amount of fuel to be biofuel, the price has been rising steadily. Now, we must wonder, if this is a good thing.
On the plus side, this decreases carbon emissions, and lessens dependence on foreign oil. Because biofuel is added to petrol, less petrol is needed for the same mileage on your car. This doesn’t, however, change the price of the fuel itself, because biofuel is expensive as well.
On the negative side, much more land is needed to grow biofuel, and this can lead to food shortages, or the creation of more areable land from nature reserves and such. Besides that, we could never grow enough biofuel to provide in all our needs, there is just not enough room on Earth to grow all that.
What do you think of biofuel? A useful addition to the green energy arsenal, or a waste of precious resources?
December 20, 2007
To the right, you can see a picture of the house of the Champion of the Greenhouse Effect, Nobel laureate Al Gore.
He recently told an AP reporter that renovations are almost complete to make this a “green home”. I certainly believe that the house is very well-isolated, but where are the solar panels on the roof?
I think it’s a nice illustrations of the priority the environment has for us. Sure, it’s a nice idea, but when it is possible to get a bigger house, a bigger car or a bigger TV, we go for it right away. And while I understand that it’s a problem for the environment, I would do the same thing! That’s just the value the environment has for us.
December 19, 2007
Today, the European Union has announced that all government organizations will have to use computers with the Energy Star label. This label shows a certain product is energy efficient. This new regulation, the Union hopes, will force producers to design ever more efficient machines.
On the same day, the news has come forth that car makers in the EU still have not reached the wanted average of 120 grams of CO2 production per kilometer. The progress has been slow, and unfortunately, there is no way of ‘fining’ the car companies. This, because major car producing countries like Germany and France have blocked such regulations.
This shows one of the major problems with environmental policy in international politics, especially in the EU. The ideas are always quite good, and ideas like the Energy Star policy which the EU wants right now is quite good. However, as soon as major producers are hurt by a new policy, the country which this producers does its business in halts the policy.
What such climate policies need, is a overarching government agency, which makes sure the rules are fair and achievable, but also that one country cannot prevent new policies solely because of an industrial lobby.
December 16, 2007
The Bali Climate Conference has finally finished, a day overdue, and it’s been quite a spectacle. After initially not willing to participate, the US representatives decided to “join the consensus” at the last possible moment. It was quite the joyous occassion, especially after the dramatic call of the Papua New Guinea representation for the US “either lead, follow or get out of the way.” See a video of these events here.
The final agreement calls for a final agreement in 2009, until which negotiations will have to be carried out. Those negotiations will surely be hard, but with this agreement, all countries at least agree that something needs to be done. As UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon said: “This is just a beginning and not an ending. We’ll have to engage in many complex, difficult and long negotiations.”
The agreement which has been reached has lost much of the strenght the EU and other countries had wanted. They wanted the agreement to state clear goals, which could be measured. These have now all gone, although the agreement does mention that the IPCC advice will be followed.
The White House, however, said in a statement that it still has “serious concerns” about the agreement, keeping a nice opening to come back on any previous agreements.
