Whats going on in the UK and around the world
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16/12/2021
With the huge
tornados that brought disaster to 6 States happened last week we were shocked
to find out that these tornadoes didn't occur in tornado alley, wondering if
climate change had anything to do with it
It turns out that
there are more tornados outside tornado alley than in! We discuss how does
climate change impact tornadoes, as well as other things which such as the
distinct line that separates the arid from the humid zones of America, this was
described John Wesley Powell the famous geologist and explorer. this sharp
climatic Boundary is slowly shifting east and we have seen this this week with
the devastating tornadoss in Kentucky and other states.
The famous tornado
alley now has moved a couple of hundred miles east. This change is solely due
to climate change and it is also seen in the Sahara desert as that has grown by
10% over the last 30 years. The US boundary which was on the 100th Meridian now
sits well and truly on the 98th meridian and it will continue to move east as
the global warming temperatures increase the evaporation from the soil and the
precipitation patterns across United States continue. So states like Kentucky
can expect more tornadoes in the near future.
8/12/2021
How do we
grow More food with Less space. With the an estimated 9 billion people to be
living on this planet by 2050, 100% more food will be required to feed them,
but we limited on space or arable land so what can we do.
currently
Food production make up 26% of our CO2 equivalent emissions already and we
really do not want to increase it, so we -as a species- got get more efficient.
whether that is with more organic farming techniques such as crop rotation or
just better policies such as wild areas amongst the crops to prevent as much
pesticide and herbicide being used.
Another
way to help feed more people is to change our diets, introduce more efficient
calories such as pulses rather than beef...
A cheap
way of growing more food of course is to use space that plants could never
habitat, this is the idea of vertical farming, by using space above the plants
more plants can be grown and therefore more food!
3/12/2021
For years Gas companies and suppliers, have been telling us
to cook with gas, because cooking with gas is FASTER, CLEANER, and CHEAPER than
Electricity. Except cooking with gas produces lots of harmful pollutants, and
recently has become more expensive. But electricity has been becoming cheaper
due to the new renewables coming online. so they only thing the gas companies
can say is that gas stoves is faster than electricity except with induction
hobs, gas is now one of the slowest ways of cooking. In this episode Paul and
Philip discuss why influencers are taking pictures of themselves with their gas
stoves, electrification of home and cities, and why it is best to convert to
induction hobs over gas. #gas #renewables #renewables #cookingwithgas
#podcast #climatechange #climatecrisis #climateemergency #sustainability
#cleanenergy
26/11/2021
In this episode
Philip and Paul look at eco holidays.
The
last couple of years have really decimated the holiday industry, and now may be
a good time as you think about next year's holiday to do something a little
different and a little greener. Perhaps instead of flying somewhere then maybe
taking the train and making a second holiday of taking the train somewhere
might be a better idea. Using the train is a much more green approach than
driving or flying. Choosing a different type of holiday can help. If you fly
then you can hire an electric car to go around the places. Some countries like
Switzerland have loads of car charging points to enable you to see all the
scenery. You might like to hire an e-bike and cycle around places like Belgium
sampling local produce, or visit the Loire valley and taste all the wines on a
bike. You can now take a more eco-friendly ferry to Brittany to save on that
Carbon Footprint. Eco friendly holidays are found all over the place now -
check which ones are approved. The National Trust offers many in the UK with
electric charging points. Eco friendly holidays don't have to be sleeping in a
tent or in a eco built house but instead can be sailing around the
Mediterranean using up on fuel in a luxury yacht. #podcast #climatechange #climatecrisis #climateemergency #sustainability
#cleanenergy
"https://www.freepik.com/vectors/travel"
Travel vector created by pikisuperstar
18/11//2021
In this episode
Philip and Paul look at SailGP and its Sustainability Impact League. As well as
being Powered by Nature, the organisers have gone one stage further by
introducing a Green aspect to the competition. There is an additional prize for
the most green team.
A second leader board, which runs alongside the
Season Championship, has been created to monitor the performance of the teams
in the Impact League, with each team's score at each SailGP event being added
to the overall Impact League leaderboard.At the end of the season it is
proposed that there will be two podiums, with the winner of the Impact League
crowned alongside the Season Champion and earning funding for its purpose
partner, who supports and advises them throughout the season and is visible on
the team’s livery. SailGP's Impact League has been set some sustainability
critera - social and environmental - to operate against with each team awarded
points based on its fulfilment of these criteria. The criteria range from
pioneering new technologies focusing on clean energy solutions and removing all
single-use plastics, to diversity and inclusion and using the team's voice for
good. Each team will be externally audited and an overall leader board created
after each event. Philip and Paul look at this and look at whether this could
be inserted into other sports to improve their sustainability and perhaps
including all the spectators to earn extra points for their team. We have seen
Formula One with formula-E coming along - but this would be so much better if
all the factories also became eco-friendly. #podcast
#climatechange #climatecrisis #climateemergency #raceforthefuture
11/11//2021
In this week's podcast, We discuss the expected outcomes of
COP26. go through what has been agreed at COP26 and how those outcomes will
help prevent or decrease global warming to 1.5 degrees of pre industrial
levels. We talk about what isn't expected but need by others and how current
Goals don't meet the outcomes of previous COP's. The Major Agreements are; More
than 100 world leaders promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, The
US and the EU announced a global partnership to cut emissions of the greenhouse
gas methane by 2030 More than 40 countries committed to move away from coal
Some new pots of money were announced to help developing countries adapt to
climate change and deal with the damage and loss it brings. #podcast #climatechange #climatecrisis #climateemergency
5/11//2021
Philip
and Paul look into fireworks and the chemicals that they use in their
propellants such as Sulfur Carbon and Potassium Nitrate and the toxic chemicals
like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide that they produce. They also look at the
toxic chemicals that make the pretty colours. When these fireworks explode they
leave behind microscopic particulates in the air. The largest of these called
PM10 stay around for up to five days and the smallest stay around for several
years in the air we breathe. Every year in every country where there are
fireworks days after the events there is a rise in the number of hospital
emissions with sufferers of Asthma and other breathing problems directly
related to the firework displays. Some of the chemicals in the fireworks are
toxic like copper and this can get into the topsoil and be taken up by plants
and enter the food chain. So what are the alternatives - really there is no
such thing as eco friendly fireworks - the ones labelled so just have slightly
less nasties in them. Home fireworks are usually the worst culprits, so if is
often best to go to a professional display but better still go and watch a
laser display or a drone show.
29/10//2021
What
is meant by Carbon Neutral and how can we get there is a common question.
Philip and Paul discuss how they can get to carbon neutral or better. My
company buys in Power. Much of this is made via solar panels, but at night we
need to get the power from the grid, which is up to 50% renewably generated.
Our hot water is supplied during the summer by solar thermal, but in the winter
not enough heat is generated so we need to buy in green house unfriendly
methane gas. We need water and this also has a greenhouse content to it. Our
vehicles are not electric but we don't use them much for the company only going
out a short distance every few weeks. To offset these emissions we need to buy
some carbon credit in some form by planting some new tree of finding some other
form of carbon sequestration.
22/10//2021
There are becoming
more options available as Gas prices soar and the Government stop new
installations of Gas boilers. New homes will be banned from installing new gas
and oil boilers by 2025 and the government wants to see no new gas and oil
boilers sold after 2035. So what are the options and what are the costs
involved. Philip and Paul find out.
There are just a few
choices you can make. Air /Ground source, hydrogen and district heating. Of
these only one is really available. Many people think solar panels making
electricity - but these are not the best for heating. They can be used as a
power source for Air source pumps and powering other capture devices. The most
effective seem to be
Solar Thermal Two types, traditional air or water filled
tubes. New alternatives are not necessarily placed in the sun but capture heat
from the air. Ground Source Dig a deep hole and this means as deep as possible
- at least 6metres deep
A ground source heat
pump is a central heating and/or cooling system that pumps heat to or from the
ground. It uses the earth as a heat source (in the winter) or a heat sink(in
the summer). This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground
to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling
systems Ground source heat pumps harvest heat absorbed at the Earth's surface
from solar energy. The temperature in the ground below 6 metres (20 ft) is
roughly equal to the mean annual air temperature around 9°C -11°C in the UK
depending on location. This is the minimum distance the pipes should really be
buried. It is not using geothermal energy.
Air source heat
pumps absorb heat from the outside air. Even when it is cold outside there is
usually enough heat in the air to heat the house. Heat pumps supply more energy
than they consume, by extracting heat from their surroundings. This heat can
then be used to heat the house and this is generally by warm air convectors as
sold by many of the companies out there in the business. An air source heat
pump extracts heat from the outside air in the same way that a fridge extracts
heat from its inside. It can get heat from the air even when the temperature is
as low as -15° C. Heat pumps have some impact on the environment as they need
to use electricity to run but the heat they extract from the air is constantly
being renewed by the sun naturally. Therefore the electricity is being used to
power the pump not create the heat. Therefore it seems that you can get more
out of the system than you put in. This is because the sun is providing the
rest of the energy.
These systems do not
provide enough energy to heat the house as they often work at a much lower
temperature than conventional boilers but they do provide lower
background heat, and the only real way of using this is to have loads of
insulation.
15/10//2021
There are five
categories of prizes to projects that might change the world. This Sunday the
prizes are to be given. Philip and Paul take a look at some of the finalists
and given their opinion on which prizes they think should win. All these
projects look good even ones that are not the finalists since we all need to
our bit to improve the world we live in.
There are five prize
areas the first is to try to protect and restore nature, the second is to clean
our air, the third is to revive our oceans, the fourth is to build a waste free
world and finally the fifth prize is to fix our climate.
All the projects are
worthwhile and many are innovative.
The Prize aims to
turn the current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism, by
highlighting the ability of human ingenuity to bring about change, and
inspiring collective action.
The Royal Foundation
of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge unites people to tackle some of today’s
biggest challenges, delivering impact on a range of issues that matter to Their
Royal Highnesses and to society.
8/10//2021
The PM announced UK
to move to all renewable energy by 2035. Much of this power will come from Wind
Turbines, which over the past 4 years have nearly doubled in capacity from 19GW
to 35GW. But the easy installations of the offshore wind farms have been done,
so now it is more likely to have to be floating
wind farms further out to sea or just in deeper waters. It is not just
these wind farms that we need, because although this year we have more capacity
to produce wind power, the total was less due to less wind than over the past
few years. Solar was also down due to a cloudier year. So what else can we use
and how can we store the electricity made in windier and sunnier times. One
method is to use liquified air. Air is cooled and compressed using surplus energy. When not enough electricity
is around the compressed liquified gas is allowed to warm producing very large
amount of air to drive a turbine and make electricity.
More wind farms may
not be enough and so additional sources like wave power that is being used in
the Orkneys may need to be deployed around the coast of the UK.
1/10//2021
We
watch Extinction Rebellion climbing on trains and the protestors pulled off by
the passengers, and we see Insulate Britain, blocked the main motorways of the
UK bringing hundreds of people to a standstill preventing them going to work.
Do these protests work. They certainly upset many of the people nearby, but
they do make the headlines. Do people the think about insulating their house
because insulate Britain blocked the M25. Do people use less Plastic because
someone tries to superglue themselves to the roof of a train? Are there better
ways to protest of change the way that people think. Episodes of the Blue
Planet have had far more success in making people aware of plastic in the
Oceans than school strikes every Friday. Strikes and rhetoric may not be the
most effective way to persuade people
and Governments to change. What do you think. Philip and Paul look into
the matter and come up with their own ideas.
24/9/2021
Power
in the UK is either made from electric or gas and a small amount of Oil and
LPG. the power then get to the people through the National Grid. (for an
explanation on how that works check out https://youtu.be/P0j5VeRtGKo)
Gas widely used for Heating and Cooking both domestically or industrially.
Electricity powers everything else. The bulk of our energy needs or demand is
about 30 - 40GW But Where does our electricity come from? Nuclear gives us a
base of 15%, it ranges from 10% - 20% Gas is scaled to fit the variability of
Wind and Solar so on a given day it could power 47% of our demand Biomass and
waste about 5% Wind and Solar vary but we try to use all renewables to help the
climate. Wind 10-50% Solar up to 15% depends on the day Coal is less than 1%
Now we do import/export power from/to Europe depending on how much we are
producing vs how much they are producing to help the National Grid These are
the problems that the national grid is currently facing in an effort to give
power to the people. France not supplying as much electricity No IC1 only IC2
Gas prices rising Lower Wind Lower Solar Colder year so far Met office long
range predictions for a colder winter than last year since last year was milder
than average the website were you can see what and how much power we are
making, it is Gridwatch.co.uk
17/9/2021
I did an experiment
in the classroom yesterday making some hydrogen and it was colourless,
but that isn't what the colours of hydrogen are all about. Most of all our
hydrogen - a safe clean gas to burn for energy is called Brown Hydrogen, made
from Fossils fuels and in the manufacture of this lots of Carbon and other
toxic substances like sulphur are produced and typically these are left as
pollutants into the air. So although you may be using a clean fuel - hydrogen -
its manufacture certainly wasn't clean and green and efficient in any way.
Blue Hydrogen is
made in exactly the same way as the Brown Hydrogen, but some of the Carbon and
Sulphur are recovered and stored, usually in the ground. The exact amount
varies so some hydrogen made this way is very blue and some much less so.
The last type of
hydrogen is Green Hydrogen - made from the electrolysis of water using
electricity from renewable sources - Wonderful - but it still isn't as Green as
it could be because how much Greenhouse gases were using in the manufacture of
the renewable energy machines and for the transport and storage of the
hydrogen. Perhaps we should call this Cyan Hydrogen. Hydrogen is notoriously
difficult to store as being a very small molecule it can escape a solid pipe
and in some gas lines as much as 10% of the Hydrogen escapes.
11/9/2021
Scientists are calling for emissions in Carbon Dioxide to be cut by 7.6% per year. This means that by 2030 the Carbon Dioxide emissions will be cut by half. The scientists are also calling for a 3% a year cut in extracting coal, oil and gas - effectively leaving the reserves in the ground. But at present rather than a drop in production, the production has actually increased worldwide. During the pandemic most people thought that there would be a cut in emissions with few cars and planes travelling, but with people at home more emissions were produced.Philip and Paul also look at "Orca", the name of Climeworks' new direct air capture and storage plant in Iceland. It will take carbon dioxide removal to the next level by combining direct air capture technology with the underground storage of carbon dioxide. Orca will capture 4000 tons of Carbon Dioxide per year - making it the world's biggest climate-positive facility to date. #climatechange #oilandgas #renewableenergy #energy #environment #climateemergency #climatecrisis
3/9/2021
Decarbonising the world isn't about getting rid of the
carbon - that’s impossible, but it all about managing the resource. Carbon
Taxes can be applied to industries to push them in the right direction allowing
the more efficient companies to trades carbon credits with other companies by
setting caps and allowing trade. Carbon Coins are used to reward companies for
not emitting carbon. The systems all come down to money. Either raising money
in the form of taxes for those companies who must make carbon dioxide as part of their business like the
cement industry and paying other
companies who might be investing in wind and solar power. Generating this revenue means that the money can be
spent on research and infrastructure and justice. Changing what we do needs to be done, and it needs to
be done quickly.
27/8/2021
Reduce,
Repair, Rethink, Recycle, Reuse or Reimagine
If you can buy from
a different manufacturer who makes a longer lasting product, perhaps one that
can have parts easily replaced or upgraded, then this helps stop the throwaway
culture we live in. If you can buy a product in recycled packaging, then this
also helps. Slowly manufacturers are
going back to products that can be repaired and upgraded because of
legislation.
Local recycling
depends on your council but it doesn’t have to - much you can do for yourself
Target for recycling
in the UK for 2020 was 50% didn’t make it. The UK as a whole made just over 44%
and that was several years ago then we stagnated. We as a world need to do
better.
Philip and Paul talk
about Mr Trashwheel a googly eyed river trash remover and other in other
countries.
21/8/2021
Should we stop all
oil production. Should we turn to electric cars powered by wind power. Should
we get rid of the coal mines and only use clean wind and tidal power.
Sounds great but …
What would you wear? Plastics are made from Oil. No oil - no clothes, no glue,
no spectacles, no computers, no cars, no phones - no kitchens units, no tea
bags, no batteries!!
We could be stuck in
the 1870's - We might have to go back and use lead pipes for water, Wires would
need hazardous lacquer rather than the plastic, There would be no
semiconductors, and no phones, no toothbrushes, there would be no paint.
So what are the
alternatives to plastics made from Oil. Can we cope with plastics made from
plants in a batch process?
Can we dispose of
plastics in a better way - Wax worms - eat plastics
Some bacteria can
digest plastics and help landfill - even biodegradable plastics take a while.
Now we could use plants as a plastic feed stock - these are not biodegradable
but 57% more energy is needed in the
production. Philp and Paul talk about the alternatives and what we can do.
13/8/2021
The IPCC report comes out the week we get the hottest day ever in Europe. In the week that there are fires in Italy, Greece and Turkey. In the week when floods are also swallowing up Turkey and the USA California fires have been going on for a month. Philip and Paul look at just a few headlines from the report which blames all the current global warming on the people and paint a grim picture for the future it we don't start now. The 1.5 Celsius temperature rise is going to happen whether the world does something or not, it is just too late.
6/8/2021
This week's topics
were wide ranging from Green Games to Concrete. Moss is a wonderful substance
holding up to eight times its weight in water and storing carbon for centuries
as peat. This system is being used to slow down the water that rains in the centre
of the country and releasing it slower so that large towns on rivers are not so
easily flooded. Philip and Paul then talked about the new green games appearing
like Anno 2070 and the soon to be released Anno 1800 expansion which teaches
the gamers the advantages of going green.
Bamboo is one of the
fastest growing plants growing to be able to be used in 14 days to make items
like cutlery. It can be used as paper replacement after growing for a few
years. After 5 years it can be used to replace iron in reinforced concrete -
having similar properties to the metal. Replacing plastic with bamboo can do
similar to mpb.com who by replacing the bubble warp with paper can save up
to 1200 football pitches worth of
plastic.
Lastly Philip and
Paul talked about carbon dioxide in concrete. Much noise is being made by the
press about low carbon concrete but it is just ordinary concrete made using
slightly greener processes, Paul suggested infilling the bamboo with waste
plastic.
31/7/2021
The Changing Pace of
Global Warming
Over the past few
weeks we have seen, Wildfires, Floods, extremes of heat in the Northern
Hemisphere and Snow in Brazil. The Met Office in the UK has confirmed that the
10 hottest years have occurred in the last 20 years. Is climate change already
here? Have we reached the tipping point
already? - The climate has become more chaotic. The Number of methane producing
ruminants (herbivores) is far greater than the number of humans . In Madagascar
there is a food crisis because of back to back droughts with Thousands
starving. So have we reached a point of no return - many scientists as painting
a very gloomy picture with COP26 just 3 months away. Philip and Paul talk
through these points.
23/7/2021
Over the
past few days we have seen extreme temperatures in the USA along with Wildfires
A large Heat Dome bottling in the heat. Canada too has had extreme temperatures
along with Siberia and northern China. These have all been record breaking. In
contrast some of Europe and China have
had record breaking rain leading to vast flooding and loss of life. China's
floods were caused by a once in a 1000 year rainfall when 20cm in one day.
Europe had this in three days.
With the
Heat and the wildfires in Siberia, the Permafrost is also melting releasing
10,000 year old biological matter into methane and Carbon Dioxide.
Much of the world is
experiencing global climate change now. The time to act was yesterday. We don't
need to cut the rise to 1.5 Celsius, we need to reduce by 1.5 Celsius.
16/7/2021
The water
cycle
There is
loads of water on this planet, but we are starting to run out of fresh
drinkable (potable) water. The water evaporates in the seas and oceans and
condenses to for clouds, made up from small ice particles, that move up and
down within the clouds forming static electricity. The water precipitates onto
the land and the ground. With climate change we are seeing more heavy rain
leading to the leaching of soils, mudslides as happened in Japan and flooding
that we have seen in Europe this week. The Jet stream is amplified this summer
causing more extremes in weather of much heat and drought in some places and
huge deluges of rain in other areas. So much rain that rivers can't cope and
bust their banks. Philip and Paul also talked about the canal systems in
England to move potable water from the wetter regions of the country to the
drier south east area.
9/7/2021
The climate change
is clearly seen in northern USA and Canada as the temperatures nearly reach
50C. Houses in this part of the world are deigned to retain the heat. The
houses and the people within them cannot survive these temperatures as hundreds
die due the heat. We also look at capturing the Carbon Dioxide produced when
making beer, capturing this and growing Algae, which in turn give off oxygen
gas.
The Carbon Dioxide
from the fermentation of just one six pack of beer takes a tree two full days
to absorb.
A craft beer
producer in Sydney Young Henry's has teamed up with a University to help
develop and New system. We talk about how this could be adapted to other
industries. Finally we look at how Climate change can increase the summer
insect season and lead to lots more insects, which as vectors can then transmit
more Malaria and Dengue Fever to more and more people, perhaps as many as 8
Million or more so a year.
1/7/2021
Future
foods
Are there
any alternatives to maize, wheat and rice
Does it
have to be Insects, algae and the more familiar soya
Why do we
need different foods.
Let’s look
at growing Beef and growing an insect and growing Soya
Grass ->
10% turned into beef - 90% wastage
But its not
quite so true Much of the feed would go to waste
Insects
made of chitin. Inedible
We look at a whole range of food which are good to eat
and help save the planet.
Is a
Vegetarian butcher called a greengrocer?
24/6/2021
This week
we are looking a rather damning indictment on the Government that we as a
country are less prepared for global climate change than we were 5 years ago.
The Climate change Risk Assessment is carried out every 5 years and is a
lengthy report that reviews how well the country is prepared for global climate
change. The report is then looked at by the government and its committees and
policies are made that will bear brought into effect on the review date in
2022.
We are
going to have a look into this report and see what we need to do.
17/6/2021
Lithium is
our way out for power. Lithium Batteries are made from Lithium Carbonate and
there are huge deposits in Cornwall and Scotland. The Cornish reserves give us
260mg per litre flowing at a rate of 40-60 litres per second. But we know that
mining is environmentally costly. The World's highest grade Lithium in
Geothermal waters gives us a low environmental footprint that's enough for a
phone battery every few seconds
The Demand
is soaring for batteries for renewables. At the moment most of the Lithium
comes from Australia, Chile and Argentina but is expensive and unfriendly to
extract and uses loads of water, Cornwall may save the World. To give some idea
of the amounts needed for cars the Tesla uses 12kg of Lithium per car and we
know that the demand is increasing exponentially.
10/6/2021
Methane has a bad reputation as a green house gas. It burns well. It stores well, Called Natural Gas Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from livestock and other agricultural practices, land use and by the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills Its a green house gas 25 x as potent as Carbon Dioxide But it lasts on average 9.1 years in the atmosphere compared to Carbon Dioxide 100 years
Carbon Dioxide is the evil green house gas. But it is part of a cycle, taken up by plants and converted into sugars, proteins and fats. These are then eaten by animals and once digested turn either into more animal ( about 10%) or respired directly into Carbon Dioxide. Eventually all the animals are eaten or die and this is then turned back into Carbon Dioxide and the cycle starts all over again.
The problem for us is using all the fossil fuels which take carbon taken out of the system millions of years ago and converts this into Carbon Dioxide.
This is a Green House gas which traps some of the Earths Heat and causes the Global Warming.
Going Green Podcast. Why isn't everyone using solar, we look at some of the reasons.
Going Green Podcast. A conversation on making the conscious decision to go Green