writeaboutwarming

March 5, 2017 - China's coal consumption dropped for the third year in a row in 2016.  This, coupled with the country's shift away from heavy industry, could well portend cleaner air and water. As you know, cleaner air in China means cleaner air everywhere. With a population of 1.35 billion people, China currently produces twice as much carbon dioxide in the form of emissions as the United States. Given that the US has a population less than 1/4 the size of China's, their emissions would quadruple our own, if their standard of living matched ours. Thank goodness it doesn't. Be aware, however, that the government of China is transitioning to an economy based on consumer spending. That could spell trouble. In the meantime, China's National Bureau of Statistics indicates that China's coal consumption fell by 4.7 percent in 2016. Coal's share of total energy consumed fell to 62% in 2016, from 64% in 2015. In the United States, by contrast, the government ple...

May 23, 2013 – China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has proposed a cap on greenhouse gas emissions produced by the world’s largest emitter.   Experts say the NDRC is extremely influential (would that the EPA could say the same!), and is now working with a government whose views regarding climate change have made a sudden and dramatic shift.   In order for the proposal to be adopted, it must be approved by the government’s cabinet, known as the State Council.   It would appear that is likely to happen.   Furthermore, the NDRC said it now expects China’s greenhouse gas emissions to peak in 2025, five years sooner than expected. This announcement has been received with great excitement, particularly by those who have struggled long and hard to bring about a global agreement regarding a reduction in emissions.   Doug Parr, Greenpeace’s chief scientist, acclaimed the NDRC’s proposal as a “big shift” capable of unblocking negotiations between...

March 22, 2011 – An article entitled “Green growth: Time to grasp the green future,” published yesterday in The London DailyTelegraph, a British newspaper, has me wondering whether to laugh or cry. Its approach is upbeat, and its source of information – Lord Stern, author of The Stern Review – would strike most as impeccable. Skeptic that I am not (believe me, I’m very easily swindled), the article strikes even me as pretty naïve. “For some of the biggest global companies, the debate about climate change is over.” Well, *&$^#@!, that only took 30 years!! “The world’s big insurers, retailers and miners are all taking seriously the threat that severe, man-made climate change will heat the atmosphere to catastrophic levels unless radical action is taken.” Notice who’s listed first? Big insurers. Munich Re, Germany’s largest insurance company, has been lobbying that government for decades, because of the endless payments they’ve had to make due to extreme weather. Amazing what being in...

October 29, 2010 – China is in the news lately becau se of its planned u se of alternative energy. Something tells me their latest five year plan may have taken the past summer’s flooding, which displaced 38 million people, into account. In developing the country’s plan for 2011-1015, Beijing has committed to supplying whatever is necessary to put China in the lead in developing electric cars. (Meantime, the Obama administration has earmarked $5 billion in stimulus funds for the development of alternative vehicles, and the installation of charging stations in test markets. The United States intends to produce 40% of the world’s advanced vehicle batteries by 2015. More “power” to us!) China ’s goal is to have 5 million electric cars on the roads by 2020. That’s not very many, when you consider China ’s total population; on the other hand, I don’t know how many Chine se can reasonably expect to own any kind of car by 2020. Chances are, it will be a small percentag...