Energy and climate change: Complexity, Interconectedness, Scale, Growth

Submitted by Andrew Miall on Fri, 23/10/2009 - 01:22

The developed world is faced with two complex, parallel problems, which interconnect in a way that society has not had to face before. The scale of the problems is much larger than most are prepared to deal with, and in their totality these issues deal a fundamental challenge to the impetus for economic growth, which has been at the heart of Western progress since the eighteenth century.

The two problems are climate change and energy depletion. The problems intersect because of the central issue of greenhouse gas emissions, deriving mostly from the burning of fossil fuels. There is, on the one had, a growing drive to substitute non-polluting, renewable methods of energy generation for oil, gas and coal and, on the other hand, a search for additional fossil fuel reserves to feed the needs of expanding economies, at a time when it appears that the era of cheap, liquid oil may be coming to an end within a generation.
Currently, approaches to the problem fall into two main groups: 1) proposals for renewable, “green” energy, most of which, it is suggested here, are inadequate on issues of scale, and 2) proposals for large-scale development of fossil fuels, and their use by society, which could provide solutions to the energy question for several generations, but which are resisted in many quarters because of their assumed environmental implications.
The main proposals for renewable energy are wind and solar power for the generation of electricity. They are being heavily promoted, but the small scale of the generating units and the irregularity of the driving power means they cannot substitute for base-load fossil-fuel plants. Carbon capture and storage is being promoted as a solution to the continuing use of carbon-based fuels, but the magnitude of the problem is currently three orders of magnitude beyond our capabilities. Meanwhile, nuclear power is criticized as unsafe, despite the availability of reliable generation methods and safe solutions for the disposal of radioactive waste. Oil sands will provide some additional supplies, but are associated with severe environmental problems.

Comments

energy and climate change

I agree that the energy question is presents a huge challenge. It has always puzzled me how the two sporadic forms of renewable energy (solar and wind) have received such high profile, when the two apparently more attractive, constant sources of renewable energy (geothermal and hydro) receive less attention. Carbon capture (also known as burying smoke) is an interesting issue also, which attracts more policy attention than the science behind it would seem to justify. A scientist friend of mine pointed out that the most effective way to store large amounts of carbon underground, is probably in the form of coal. If we extract that carbon, then burn it to make carbon dioxide, then bury the carbon dioxide, all we have really done is put oxygen underground. The core challenge with policy-making on issues that have a scientific side (health, energy, transport, environment...) is how to get a scientist at the table speaking the same language as those developing the policy, to ensure that the final direction is based on sound facts.
Submitted by Alastair McIvor on Fri, 23/10/2009 - 15:00.