[Vision2020] Princeton University Study: Global Warming Solutions

[Ted Moffett]

Roger et. al.

A few comments on solutions to human induced global warming:

First, given your comment about "drastic" measures to address climate
change, I think we need to re-frame the discussion to view our current
development, resource extraction and energy consumption as "drastic" given
the impacts on the Earth's biosphere.  Our lifestyle is "drastic" to begin
with.  An equation asking what would happen to the Earth's biosphere if all
6 billion plus humans lived as the average US citizen, makes the point.  And
with the Earth's population expected to reach 9 or ten billion... Consider
the fossil fuel use alone this would mandate?  This would also have gigantic
environmental impacts on many other aspects of the biosphere.  China and
India combined are now using more fossil fuel than the USA, and are
drastically increasing this use, though per capita they are far behind the
US.  But if we assume development globally based on the current US system of
resource extraction and energy consumption the environmental impacts would
be massive.

So we need to change to a sustainable system.  No big revelation there.
Global warming is just one very serious consequence of the problem with the
way we think and act regarding our relationship with the environment and all
life on Earth.  We act like the dominators of a system that will bend to our
will without overwhelming "blow back."  This is a serious miscalculation,
that the human race will be facing in the next two centuries.

Solving the human induced global warming problem is greatly a matter of
political/economic/social will.  I think it is possible to have a high
standard of living using 50 percent or less of the energy the US now
consumes per capita.  Even if the technology were available to replace
fossil fuels, which is still unknown, there is great resistance in
governments, business and the decision making of consumers to adopt the
technologies or make the lifestyle changes and economic reorganizations that
will probably be involved to ween ourselves from massive fossil fuel use.
Using mass transit more frequently rather than personal motor vehicles is
just one change in lifestyle that many would resist.  Consider that even
attempting to encourage US drivers to purchase smaller more fuel efficient
cars is a tough sell.  People obviously are choosing to purchase those huge
SUVs, and I don't necessarily blame the auto industry for the fact that
consumers are making these choices.  If consumers stopped buying them, the
auto industry would quit making them.

I have mentioned CO2 sequestration technology, especially for coal energy
generation, so I think the development of this technology should receive
large government funding, and its use mandated for private industry.  Of
course, this will increase the cost of electricity from coal, which makes
sense, given that the eventual economic damage from global warming from coal
plants CO2 emissions is now not being paid for.  We are getting cheap
electricity from coal while the eventual environmental damage and economic
cost of this cheap energy is dumped onto the next generation or further, a
analysis that applies to other "cheap" energy fossil fuels.

We might adopt incredible solutions to stopping global warming like
injecting the stratosphere with sulfur (mimicking volcanoes), solar
umbrellas launched into space, or building atmospheric processors to remove
CO2.  Or another wild idea is dumping huge amounts of iron into the ocean
that would encourage algae/plankton absorbing CO2 in massive amounts which
would then sink!  Article about a NASA study on these solutions:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/307760_climate16.html

Anyway, given your rejection of the Kyoto accords, I thought the following
economic/political analysis from Princeton University, on how to approach
solutions to global warming, which argues in favor of a Kyoto
approach, might be interesting:

For some reason my crummy computer (maybe that's it, a crummy computer with
a sinister and ancient Microsoft ME operating system) could not open the
Wordpad document, so I read the html version.  Links to both are below:

http://www.princeton.edu/~step/people/Chi-Jen%20Yang%20A%20Manhattan%20Project%20for%20Climate%20Change.doc
.

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:HKmj7_uQeDUJ:www.princeton.edu/~step/people/Chi-Jen%2520Yang%2520A%2520Manhattan%2520Project%2520for%2520Climate%2520Change.doc+manhattan+project+global+warming&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

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Ted Moffett
-----------------
Roger wrote:



>  You have presented a lot of information as to the potential problem. What
> are your solutions.
>
> I for one am unwilling to: reduce the human population by stopping
> research on medical advances; Soylent Green type solutions; mandated birth
> control; signing the Kyoto accords(which would hurt the economy of the US);
> government control of all industry; or ridged controls that would bankrupt
> most industries or drive prices though the roof( this would be catastrophic
> to middle income and lower people);ban all animal production( methane is of
> minor significance) Livestock are not the only source of menthane. It is
> produced by plant products also. Six or seven years ago two Soil Science
> Majors I knew were killed by methane in a spud cellar at Pasco. I have
> inquires out  for a listing of products produced from livestock. There are a
> lot of medical and health products that come from livestock. A vast aray are
> also  used in industry. When I get this located I will post.
>
> Things I am willing to do; promote new technology for enery sources in the
> way of tax incentives and research funding.
> This would be for wind geothermal, nuclear energy etc;  promote fuel
> efficiency; car pooling; tax credits for energy saving devices in the home
> and business. there are many other things that can be done to find new
> sources of energy, reduce waste and in general improve the environment. I am
> in favor of any of these with in the free market system . I am not in favor
> of curtailing civilization, imposing overwhelming government controls or
> socializing industry.
> Roger
> -----
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