Global Dimming

Planting trees is not the solution to Climate Change. Emitting less carbon dioxide, methane and fluorocarbons is essential. Carbon absorbed by trees is released when they die.

Summary of Policies

1. Climate Change

There is now no controversy (outside the extreme right politicians of the United States) that there is a climate problem, and that it is caused by human activities. See Climate Change

2. Peak Oil
There should be no controversy about whether the amount of oil is limited. See Peak Oil

3. Aim of Policy.
As humans are at present making the planet less easy to live in, the purpose of policy should be to restore conditions to those in which humans have evolved, and in particular to those in which our present civilisations have developed. This should happen as fast as is reasonably possible.

What would be the results of such a policy? We all have to admit and state plainly that many aspects of modern life will have to change. Cheap oil injected into our society caused the growth of low density suburbs; commuting by car long distances; flying long distances for holidays, frequently (several times a year) - something that within living memory was only possible once in a lifetime; and several other habits only possible with cheap energy.

There is no avoiding the fact that all of these are going to be less possible when energy is more expensive. Changing these things is not a punishment inflicted by wicked leftwing politicians (as some of the rightwingers may say). It is only to respond to a politically neutral physical event in the earth's biological systems - the running out of energy mined from the earth and the required transition to solar derivatives.

4. Putting gases into the atmosphere (ceasing).
There needs to be a policy that encourages people and industries to switch to energy sources that do not require emissions of climate altering gases.

a) Stick.
Emitting carbon dioxide and other gases has a cost. The emitters must pay that cost. Carbon exchange systems make it necessary to buy a permit to emit carbon dioxide (and other gases) in the market. People making energy from solar derivatives can sell the carbon they have saved. Gradually, the cost of emitting will rise. The result of this system will be to encourage investment in non-emitting energy systems (e.g. OTEC) and ruthless efficiency in the use of energy. Fortunately, energy is being used so inefficiently at present that there is room for a great deal of energy saving. See Factor Four.

Will this system be enough to change the rate of emissions? Probably not, but it will be aided by the onset of Peak Oil production.

b) Carrot
People and institutions need to be rewarded for carrying out climate policy.

5. Taking gases out of the atmosphere.
There needs to be an industry that removes carbon from the atmosphere. See Sahara project. This will be an industry on a huge scale, capable of handling gigatonnes of carbon per year. Its products will be building materials, to replace cement whose manufacture emits huge amounts of carbon dioxide.

Ê5. Fuel Taxes The air industry was given exemption from fuel (oil products) taxes at a time (1944) when it was very small and apparently negligible. Now that it is very large, the lack of taxes, which have to be paid by its competitors, distorts the market. Airlines should pay the same oil fuel taxes as other modes of transport- perhaps to a world taxation authority. The money raised should be used to invest in non fossil fuels. These taxes should be in addition to the carbon credits the industry needs to buy. The vast increase of air travel in the last two decades is occurring without the industry and its passengers paying the environmental costs of their activities. The rapid growth of carbon and nitrogen oxides in the air causes the general climate change, but the haze that is also produced by the airline industry hinders the replacement of carbon fuels by solar energy because it increases by 10% the capital cost of solar collectors. Thus the industry is causing two aspects of the problem.

Ernest Callenbach - Ecotopia

Ökotopia - Notizen und Reportagen von William Weston aus dem Jahre 1999 Écotopie : Reportage et notes personnelles de William Weston (Étrangers)