Transcript Climate Change - Westview Press

Climate Change
The Yale Project on Climate Change
Communication
• 63 percent of Americans believe that climate
change is occurring, though many do not
understand why.
• 66 percent correctly understand that the
greenhouse gas effect refers to “gases in the
atmosphere that trap heat.”
• 45 percent understand that carbon dioxide traps
heat from the earth’s surface.
• 25 percent have heard of coral bleaching or
ocean acidification.
Respondents also recognized their own
limited understanding of the issues.
• 10 percent say they are “very well informed”
about climate change, and 75 percent say they
would like to know more.
• 75 percent say that schools should teach our
children about climate change, and 68 percent
would welcome a national program to teach
Americans about the issue.
Ethical Dilemma?
The most vulnerable and most at risk from
climate change are least responsible for it!
Should all countries work to reduce their
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, even
those who clearly need to emit more to
develop?
If yes, should all countries work to
reduce their GHG emissions equally?
Climate Change Refugees
Indonesia: Roughly 85 percent of population of about 300
million people lives within just a few miles of the coast.
Bangladesh: A country of 160 million people living
essentially at sea level.
Dietz et al. 2009
• A 20 percent emissions reduction can be achieved in the
US household sector within 10 years through some welltargeted policies aimed at changing behaviors.
• That’s slightly larger than the total national emissions of
France and greater than cutting to zero all emissions in
the United States from the pollution-intensive sectors of
petroleum refining and iron, steel, and aluminum
manufacturing.
“Choosing” the Automobile…
How do we (society, government, taxpayers)
incentivize “choosing” the car over other modes of
transportation?
The car’s impact on public, community
and environmental health?
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Social capital
Community severance
Habitat fragmentation
Obesity
Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)
Fundamental Law of Highway
Congestion
New roads met with a proportional increase in driving
~ The American Road and Transportation Builders
Association : adding highway capacity is key to helping to
reduce traffic congestion.
~ The American Public Transit Association: without new
investment in public transit, highways will become so
congested that they will no longer work.
“Our results do not support either of
these claims.”
(Duranton and Turner, 2009)
Peak Car
Car use has either flattened out or declined
in high-income countries.
Generation Y (aka Millennials)
In 2009, China became the world’s number
one consumer of energy.
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While the country consumes more energy in
absolute terms, it comes nowhere close to
outconsuming the United States on a per capita
basis.
More than four times the population of the United
States
Maximum power consumed globally at any given
moment: roughly 12.5 terawatts (TW).
By 2030: 16.9 TW
If planet were powered entirely by wind, solar,
geothermal, tidal, and hydro power something
interesting occurs….
Global power consumption would
presently be only 11.5 TW.
If we invest heavily in wind power won’t
world be blanketed with windmills?
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Footprint of the 3.8 million turbines needed to
supply over half of the total future global energy
demand is less than 50 square kilometers.
• Roughly half the size of Denver!
• Stick with fossil fuels, demand by 2030 will rise
further than with renewables, which require some
13,000 new coal plants (and additional mining).
Wind Doesn’t Blow All the Time
• Smart mix of renewable energy sources will ensure
something is always blowing, shinning, turning, etc.
• Coal plants are not online all the time either.
– Average US coal plant offline 12.5 percent of the
year for scheduled and unscheduled
maintenance
– Newest-generation wind turbines: 2 percent on
land and 4 percent at sea
– Photovoltaic systems: about 2 percent of the
year
Clean Coal
• According to industry-sponsored American
Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, “Clean coal
technology refers to technologies that improve
the environmental performance of coal-based
electricity plants. These technologies include
equipment that increases the operational
efficiency of power plants, as well as
technologies that reduce emissions.”