The urgent need to combat climate change (part 2)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

MANAGING FOR SOCIETY, THE MANILA TIMES BY EVELIO G. ECHAVEZ The urgent need to combat climate change (Part 2)

(Continued from last week) Some national leaders of developed and fast developing countries are afraid that big cuts in the greenhouse gases’ emission would cause reduction in their respective countries’ gross domestic product (GDP ) due to reduced production and the high-cost of acquiring green technology. This is expected to lead to reduction in the quality of life of their citizens. Developing countries contend that the developed countries should curtail their greenhouse emissions because they have contributed much more to the global warming phenomenon over the years. Some developed countries, particularly the US, would like high-growth countries, such as China and India, to also make commitments because their emission levels at the present time are simply high. This is where the problem lies in getting an agreement to which everybody commits. During the last US presidential elections, the issues of climate change and the use of alternative energy were debated on by the two presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, highlighting their primacy and importance. A man who made his wealth from the oil business, T. Boone Pickens came up with what is known as the Pickens Plan on how America will reduce its dependency on oil coming from the Middle East. While the presidential campaign was going on, he bought TV time to promote the Pickens Plan. Part of his plan is to maximize the use of wind power, which we can also adopt in this country more aggressively. Power is generated using wind mills/turbines without the emission of greenhouse gases. A 2005 Stanford University study showed that there is enough wind power worldwide to satisfy global demand 7 times over—even if only 20% of wind power is captured. Recently, RICOH, a company that has a big advertising board in Times Square in New York City, installed a wind turbine that supplies the power of the said advertising board. Along the highway southeast of San Francisco in California, there are several giant wind mills. In the Philippines, there is already a wind farm in the Ilocos region and several other areas in the different islands where the wind is abundant and strong for a long period in a year, are being considered as possible sites. Geothermal power is another way the Philippines can generate power without producing greenhouse gases. Of the “smaller” and developing countries, Iceland leads in the use of geothermal power at 5,603 gigawatt-hours-a-year (GWh/yr) as of 2000 (compared with the Philippines’ 7 GWh/yr). We also lagged behind Indonesia, which has 12 GWh/yr. With the presence of volcanoes and hot springs in our country as a plus factor, and the availability of competent technical people, geothermal is definitely an option which can still be expanded. We can contribute in combating climate change in our own small way by doing energy conservation practices. When we use power unnecessarily, the power generating companies burn more fuel resulting in the production of more greenhouse gases. We should encourage people to take the mass-transport system rather than use their vehicles especially if they take the trip alone. There is thus a challenge for the government to speed up building the light and regular railway systems, particularly in Metro Manila, which has slowed down of late. Use of car pools, use of bicycles in some areas (which may be encouraged by building bicycle lanes especially in Metro Manila) and use of air-con units judiciously are other things we can personally implement. The government should also provide incentives to companies that are willing to invest in the generation of clean power, such as wind power. In the end, the Lord’s admonition for man to have dominion of the earth also has the corresponding responsibility for man to be accountable for its growth and sustainability.