Plastic…The Latest News…Week 7… Climate Change and renewable Energy…

 

There has been so much in the news about Climate change that I thought I would break it down and explain how it comes about…

green foot prints eco system

Climate change is bought about by Global Warming which is characterized by a general increase in average temperatures of the Earth, which modifies the weather balances and ecosystems for a long time. It is directly linked to the increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, worsening the greenhouse effect.

Although the greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon the increase in greenhouse gases is linked to human activities.

The massive use of fossil fuels is obviously the first source of global warming, as burning coal, oil and gas produce carbon dioxide – the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere – as well as nitrous oxide.

I have previously mentioned how everything I talk about in my blogs is interlinked one has an effect on another…and so it goes…

Fossil fuels are used to produce PET…( Polyethylene Terephthalate)

recycling-294385_1280

This is the most commonly used plastic for consumer products which include:- Water bottles, soda bottles and some food packaging.

It is intended for single use only….One time usage…as reusing increases the risk of leaching and bacterial growth. It may leach carcinogens and should NOT be reused.

Still confused about the numbers on plastic bottles then click here for a guide

So to the solution...The first way to prevent climate change is to move away from fossil fuels. What are the alternatives? Renewable energies like solar, wind, biomass and geothermal.

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The German government realise what a problem this is and plan to close all 84 of their coal-powered power plants.

https://www.latimes.com/…/la-fg-germany-coal-power…

Roughly 27 % of Germany’s electricity is from renewables; the goal is at least 80 % by 2050. Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Germany has permanently shut down eight of its 17 reactors and pledged to close the rest by the end of 2022. It sounds to me like Germany are serious about using renewable fuel.

Update 2021…Germany’s plan was a brave one and as more Nuclear and coal-burning power stations are due to close there are concerns that renewables will not meet business and consumer needs…An operation like this does have many variables and also relies on outside factors so setbacks are inevitable but no pain no gain as they say…This is one of the recent updates.

Italy voted overwhelmingly to keep their country non-nuclear. Switzerland and Spain have banned the construction of new reactors.

Update 2021…In Europe, some countries stand out for renewable energy conversation, and Italy is one of the top players. For 2018 and 2020, respectively, Italy beat its renewable energy targets. The total energy produced by hydroelectric, solar, wind, bioenergy and geothermal power in Italy for 2018 reached 17.8% of final gross consumption, going past the 17% target set for 2020.

However, electricity in Italy is expensive.

Update 2021...Switzerland it was due to intense public pressure in Switzerland that the construction of new reactors was banned. Over the years intense public opposition has scuppered several nuclear power plant projects. This was the case in 1975 when plans to build a nuclear power plant in Kaiseraugst (canton of Aargau) had to be abandoned as the result of public protests.

At present, Switzerland is in the midst of an energy transition. One of the aims of the country’s ‘Energy Strategy 2050’ is the phase-out of nuclear power.

However, statistics show China and the USA are the largest users of fossil fuels which makes for scary reading…https://www.statista.com/statistics/263455/primary-energy-consumption-of-selected-countries/

This brings me to the conclusion that all these demonstrators do have a point…Governments need to be made to take notice particularly the ones at the top of the list as they are certainly making a huge contribution to Global Warming.

It is heartening to read about towns that are making their own efforts to combat Global Warming like the Finnish town of  Li in Northern Finland

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=980637838806635  

Globally is it going to be enough? I do hope so…but Finland is still leading the way on conservation in many ways as its people are on board and that my friends is the only way to ensure that we go forward and tackle this Climate emergency…

China who are top of the list for burning fossil fuel and it seems their answer is to deploy the army to plant trees…All is well and good but is it addressing the true problem?

Thank you for reading and I do invite your comments what do you think about the most polluted country planting trees????

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week  xx

 

29 thoughts on “Plastic…The Latest News…Week 7… Climate Change and renewable Energy…”

  1. D. Wallace Peach

    I’d love to hear one day that the US is leading some sort of global effort besides war. So depressing, Carol. I hope that as other countries show how it’s done, the US gets on board. At this point, as the US drowns and burns, half of the country (and government) still thinks climate change is a hoax.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      That is so sad, Diana I’m wondering where it all started going wrong… Wars are definitely not always the answer and as for the rest I don’t get it… It must be truly awful for you.. Hugs x

      Liked by 1 person

      2. CarolCooks2 Post author

        I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you as well..it sounds like a nightmare there was enough of a who- ha over the last election I suppose this is the fall out…x

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

    A lot of excellent links Carol.. and commonsense. More could be done, less talk and more action might be a start. As Pete says, if a hotel in the UK can make such a difference… why is that not being rolled out to major establishments such as hospitals, schools, universaties etc where the expanse of roof would allow for extensive installation of solar panels which at least in the summer months would provide a proportion of the energy required..xxx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Sally.. I agree what that hotel ower has done is great and obviously works so yes it should be rolled out.. It does beg the question as to why it isn’t? xxx

      Like

  3. robertawrites235681907

    HI CArol, I do know some of this and know that there are also some issues with renewable energy sources and they require very expensive machinery with a life span. I also wonder where the machinery and parts are made? Is it in China where there is little regard for pollution and global warming? It’s a bit like the Ghanaian cocoa beans and there are no easy solutions.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I understand that, Robbie the easy solution would be for manufacturers to stop producing certain plastics and find alternatives they are the ones making money out of us and they are the ones causing many of the problems there would then not be a mad scramble to build expensive equipment…We should be in charge…smile..

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  7. Jim Borden

    as you note, planting trees is good, but pardon the pun, China needs to address the root cause of its pollution. nice to see that progress is being made elsewhere…

    Like

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  10. beetleypete

    Last week on holiday, we stayed in a wooden cabin in the grounds of an old hotel in Lincolnshire. Each cabin has solar panels which power everything in them. The hotel has so many solar panels on the roof, the owner sells electricity to the National Grid and receives almost £2,000 a year back, with no bills to pay at all. He has also had 40 bore-holes sunk into the ground to supply additional ground-heated hot water, and his total carbon footprint for a 30-room hotel and 5 cabins is less than 20% of the 100% it could be. One man, changing a small part of Eastern England for the better.
    Best wishes, Pete.,

    Liked by 2 people

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  16. Sue Dreamwalker

    Absolutely Excellent post Carol, yes I agree lots of the natural effects of green house gases are proven to happen periodically we have have ups and downs in temperatures over the millions of years. But our own carbon footprints will escalate what happens now more dramatically than we have seen in our earth-core or ice-core records.
    We as consumers have a responsibility to our planet and we HAVE to begin to change our habits and ways of being.
    I too feel very passionate about our Earth Mother and those of us who look after our earth, grow our own crops etc, know how it will affect the food chain in the future.
    A great post to begin my week back here in WP Carol..
    Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your heart in making others aware.. ❤
    Much love ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you so much Sue for your encouraging words we grow as much as we can and if I do buy producew I use farmers markets and local farmers but that is very much the way of life here so I am lucky…Enjoy your week…Hugs 🙂 xx

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