PDA

View Full Version : Cop21



Rheghead
12-Dec-15, 13:53
Who here is celebrating that we seem to be on the eve of an international agreement to tackle climate change? And who here has decided to not believe in climate change because they don't like the look of a wind farm?

Alrock
12-Dec-15, 14:05
Celebrate all you like, not enough & even then it will all fall apart, especially when Donald Trump is in the Whitehouse.

Rheghead
12-Dec-15, 14:16
I've learnt over many years that having a negative attitude will find a way for things not to happen for the best. So I am hoping that this draft agreement will happen and that Bernie sanders will accept the presidency. :)

Alrock
12-Dec-15, 14:23
Not being negative, just realistic...

Shaggy
12-Dec-15, 14:42
The conniving governments are stealth taxing us by claiming its "global warming" "carbon emissions" and "climate change", whilst i don't dispute the fact that global warming is occuring, how about they get off their backsides and start pointing the finger at countries like India, Tiawan, China etc who burn through massive amounts of fossil fuels and contribute to air pollution and global warming on a far higher scale than we do yet nothing is done about it. Oh and remind me again why we were supposedly on course for the coldest winter on record here in the UK come the end of the month??

Rheghead
13-Dec-15, 12:43
The conniving governments are stealth taxing us by claiming its "global warming" "carbon emissions" and "climate change", whilst i don't dispute the fact that global warming is occuring, how about they get off their backsides and start pointing the finger at countries like India, Tiawan, China etc who burn through massive amounts of fossil fuels and contribute to air pollution and global warming on a far higher scale than we do yet nothing is done about it. Oh and remind me again why we were supposedly on course for the coldest winter on record here in the UK come the end of the month??

That the thing where you are going wrong. Per capita, they are burning far less than we do.

Rheghead
13-Dec-15, 15:55
There seems to be a lot of talk about 100% renewables by 2050 and here in Caithness we are blessed with resources of tidal, wave, wind and even a little solar. clearly we can play a major part in making the UK achieve its low carbon ambitions.

How can we, as individuals, help to make that ambition come into fruition? Well I suppose we can start talking about it to our friends. We can support local schemes by letter to planning and to our MP. We can also reassure others of the benefits of renewable energy and dispel misinformation and scaremongering on topics like windfarm syndrome, flicker, bird deaths and noise.

We can either feel proud of our contribution to the transition to a low carbon future or we can just be selfishly be insular and negative about the whole thing. I know that our councillors only hear the negatives and do what is popular rather than the right thing out of political manouvring but we need a groundswell of public support and we need them to hear it.

Alrock
13-Dec-15, 16:08
....or we can just be selfishly be insular and negative about the whole thing....

That's human nature for you, good luck with trying to change it, you'll need it.

Rheghead
13-Dec-15, 16:23
That's human nature for you, good luck with trying to change it, you'll need it.

Thanks, I also think that feeling good about being a part of nature, looking forward to a great future, helping others and the environment can also be a part of human nature. :)

Gronnuck
13-Dec-15, 21:19
There seems to be a lot of talk about 100% renewables by 2050 and here in Caithness we are blessed with resources of tidal, wave, wind and even a little solar. clearly we can play a major part in making the UK achieve its low carbon ambitions.

You might get a more positive response if people could see the more immediate financial benefits in their pockets. For instance, instead of donating money into a ‘community fund’ controlled in the main by the energy company, why not just cut the cost of energy to those living within that community? I suspect many communities would be falling over themselves to have a wind farm near them.


How can we, as individuals, help to make that ambition come into fruition? Well I suppose we can start talking about it to our friends.

Most talk between friends on the subject in usually negative because of the unfairness of the whole system. Why are the poorest in our community paying to support feed in tariffs being paid to our neighbours? Surely it can’t be right that the poorest and often most vulnerable pay to support the better off?


We can support local schemes by letter to planning and to our MP. We can also reassure others of the benefits of renewable energy and dispel misinformation and scaremongering on topics like windfarm syndrome, flicker, bird deaths and noise.

Are you saying that flicker and noise don’t happen? There’s lots of evidence to say that it does. What happens in late winter or early spring when the sun is very low in the sky?
Before the turbine at the back of the Mey Hall was taken down I experienced a distracting flicker while driving east along the A836. I was able to stop safely and then realised what the issue was.
If turbines are not really a nuisance why have they been removed from the grounds of our primary schools?


We can either feel proud of our contribution to the transition to a low carbon future or we can just be selfishly be insular and negative about the whole thing.

Until the population is assured that their concerns are being addressed and they feel more immediate benefits, they are going to view significant change with suspicion and cynicism.


I know that our councillors only hear the negatives and do what is popular rather than the right thing out of political manouvring but we need a groundswell of public support and we need them to hear it.

We need politicians to do what they are elected to do, support the views, wishes and aspirations of their electorate. That’s why I believe in local accountability.

pig whisperer
13-Dec-15, 21:38
how much power is wasted in towns & cities by lights being left on in offices all night

wavy davy
13-Dec-15, 23:56
Given that the economic benefit of renewables to the punter is non existent and the fact that Scotland contributes about 0.2% to global emissions, the desecration of our landscape does seem rather difficult to justify, although I'm sure that someone will put me right.

richardj
14-Dec-15, 01:03
Interesting web page on global CO2 per capita http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC)

China is down as 6.7 against the UK 7.1 so with China's population of 1.41 Billion people and the UK's 64.1 million people they are polluting around 20 times as much in real terms (per country) - I hope I have got the arithmetic correct!

The article in the Telegraph brings a bit of reality to the idea that Scotland or the UK can do much about the global CO2 levels when India and China are planning to continue to pollute the planet http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/paris-climate-change-conference/12047626/At-the-Paris-climate-summit-panic-over-global-warming-finally-collided-with-reality.html

For the rich countries to give 100 billion a year to the poor countries (I assume this will include India and China) is just going to be money down the drain in my opinion, the real problem is over population and until this is sorted and we manage to start to reduce the global population gradually then the use of fossil fuel and the increase in CO2 will not stop rising. Whether this is the cause of Climate Change is another question.

Rheghead
14-Dec-15, 01:04
Given that the economic benefit of renewables to the punter is non existent and the fact that Scotland contributes about 0.2% to global emissions, the desecration of our landscape does seem rather difficult to justify, although I'm sure that someone will put me right.


0.2% of emissions I will grant you, but we have 0.07% of the World's population. The math tells me that we are burning more than our fair share.

wavy davy
14-Dec-15, 01:42
0.2% of emissions I will grant you, but we have 0.07% of the World's population. The math tells me that we are burning more than our fair share.

What has 'fair share', i.e per capita contribution got to do with it?
As a physical, political and economic entity, Scotland's contribution to global emissions is zilch.
So when I contemplate a vandalised countryside, my increasing leccy bill and the huge economic cost for compliance to self imposed targets, I think WHY?
I'm afraid the warm fuzzy feeling of helping to save the planet doesn't cut it, when we (in Scotland) clearly can't do a damn thing about it.

bekisman
14-Dec-15, 11:48
Is Mann's Hockey Stick still relevant? (fundamental mathematical flaw?) http://www.technologyreview.com/news/403256/global-warming-bombshell/

Rheghead
14-Dec-15, 20:42
What has 'fair share', i.e per capita contribution got to do with it?
As a physical, political and economic entity, Scotland's contribution to global emissions is zilch.
So when I contemplate a vandalised countryside, my increasing leccy bill and the huge economic cost for compliance to self imposed targets, I think WHY?
I'm afraid the warm fuzzy feeling of helping to save the planet doesn't cut it, when we (in Scotland) clearly can't do a damn thing about it.

Fairness is an absolute necessity when trying reach agreement, especially if it's a global agreement.