A Green Degree Blog: New Angles On Sustainability

October 16th 2012

2 Weeks Into Imperial & Time To Get The Blog Back On Track

Let me start by saying thank you to anybody who actually held out on new content being posted to this blog over the past several weeks, for you harbor some commendable confidence in me and this site, an attribute I doubt the majority of people who stumbled across ‘A Green Degree’ left with, but it was not in vein, I promise you that; I’m back after a massively busy few weeks moving into London and starting my masters at Imperial College, and now it is long overdue that I update my little side project with some real bloody content!

However, this isn’t going to be like the majority of my posts on here, which follow the rule of thumb of collecting stories or articles on news events and forehead-slapping moments in the world of sustainability, putting what I like to think as my personal spin on them, and then tapping them down onto digital paper for the world to see (maybe). This time, as I feel jumping straight into a post about how Romney is bad for more than just energy, or how George Osborne is single-handedly ruining our green policy, I’m going to go for the old-school blog post - one about my recent experiences in the world of a sustainability and environment masters degree.

Coming from a Geography BSc I was pretty surprised to see fellow map-makers and coloring pencil adepts such as myself going for the same thing, and of similar age at that, and it has since been proven that my base foundation in subjects varying from policy to economics, ecology to conservation and beyond give me a slight advantage over many of those who specialized in something crazy like physics or biology. Of course the business graduates slot right in, but then business seems to be applicable to everything these days eh, the science subject that never should have been. Anyway, I’m digressing too far, back on track.

In these first two weeks alone I’ve been introduced to the nitty gritty of pure economics in the form of supply and demand and marginal costs, learnt basic legal law, been taught the ‘philosophies’ involved with understanding knowledge (I thought the same thing…) and had some fascinating guest seminars from people at the top of their game. One of the most notably impressive was a lecture on climate change in the policy and societal frame, by a fellow by the name of Clive Bates, a DECC scientist whose had one hell of a varied career, and one which I was instantly envious of, even if it meant all the handwork involved. In a few days time I will be starting work in a small 6-person seminar with a leading environmental barrister who could talk his way out of a high-security prison if he needed to, focusing on how best to go about creating a post-Kyoto global framework; a massive topic I know, but I sure am relishing the chance to get into the real science and policy of such a hotly debated idea.

It is these few things that make not only studying at Imperial, but studying a masters stick out from the rest of the competition, and anything I’ve experienced prior. Here, we don’t so much get taught ‘stuff’ like in an undergrad degree, but instead we are taught how to think, how to view the world holistically and as critically as we can, and to basically act like the rational, selfless and well-informed monkeys we all really should be. We aren’t being told the history of this, or the importance of that, we’re being given life advice and direction so strong, I’m starting to think the 80% employment rate just months after graduation is not such a ridiculous claim as it seems; and before you think it, that’s employment in relevant sectors, not just part-time behind the local bar.

Not only this, but as quite possibly the first group of generations which really has a stake in the globally apparent climate crisis and all the other bad things associated with it, and a strong responsibility to kick our ancestors hard in the ass before hopefully setting things up nicely for the future, we’re all highly invested in the course, as are it’s directors. Despite the 40+ age of this particular course (Environmental Technology for those interested) I can’t help but feel now is the most important time for this course, and so many others like it popping up around the world, and the fact that they’re thriving is a silver-lining to say the least. In the words of our course manager, we will become the ‘environmental crusaders’ this world so desperately needs; whilst I’m unsure crusader is the best term to be used to be taken seriously, it sure makes us feel good.

Something that really stuck out to me today however, and this is a point that really needs emphasizing, is that I’m frankly not surprised much of the public is neither emotionally or intellectually invested in the green way of life. This occurred to me whilst sitting in a lecture about ‘public perceptions of risk’, in which the ins and outs of environmental risk management, health and safety and security were spelled out, in words about as clear as mud. What’s worrying is that these topics are central to everything us environmental scientists do, as risk governs everything in our society, and yet if I struggled to a) get my head around it, or b) actually bother to pay attention due to boredom, how will the public ever do the same?

You hear it all the time, how information and education is the key to putting the developed world on a path which will save us from that rapidly aging phrase ‘climate change’, and I have always believed it to be true, and yet only know do I see what a huge challenge it will be. Sustainability is what I believe to be the future of a harmonized society, and in particular the clean management of energy resources to power our hungry ways, in both developed and developing worlds, so that emissions are kept low (or ‘optimal’ - typical economic view on the system) and our quality of lives nice and high.

This is just me though, and I only have to speak to three or four other coursemates to hear their plans for fixing the future, one bit at a time; some see water as key, others the market or harsher law on the historical polluters, whilst even more are heading for the hands on approach, designing and implementing the very things which will bring about this necessary change. It’s a great working environment to say the least, and gives me confidence that we may actually be able to get some bloody progress made before it’s too late. Then again, ask me in a month’s time, I may not be so happy-go-lucky as I am now!

Anyway, I’ve rambled on romantically and gushingly on the subject of my past several weeks of life, and this isn’t really what my blog was originally for, but I felt like bringing any readers up to speed about it all before getting back into the real-world stuff, and boy is there no shortage of it right now.

So as of this post, ‘A Green Degree’ will be back to its old ways (please write if you had issue with the old ways, always appreciate feedback) and will hopefully be bolstered by this new fangled degree which I’ve just spent 1,000 words praising, and my newfound holistic (they love that word at Imperial) view of the sustainable world.

If you made it this far, you’re either maddeningly bored or far too kind, so whichever one you were, please check back in a couple of days for some proper content!

Love x

Posted at 9:14am and tagged with: blog, imperial, university, life, experience, study, Environment, sustainable, energy, kyoto, geography, clean, green, holistic, lectures, overdue, green degree, student, graduate,.

September 22nd 2012

The Wind Industry Is Booming, But Boy Do Some Bleak Futures Lay Ahead

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Of all the renewable technologies open to us these days, there’s no doubt that wind is the outright winner in the capacity and cost race, and more specifically, onshore wind, those gleaming white towers some countries are lucky (and tolerant) enough to have dotting their countryside and coastal regions.

Global wind deployment was once again up last year, this time by a relatively humble 6%, equating to just shy of 42GW of energy capacity installed, when compared to the average of 23% for the five years leading up to 2010, but is nonetheless signs of rampant and continued uptake the world over. Asia takes the biggest bite, with 52.1% of the global share, most of that in China, in which a recent study undertaken by multiple parties has concluded that Chinese capacity could reach 300GW by 2020, and 400GW by 2030; they are absolutely HUGE numbers, and if achieved, mark a seriously devoted agenda from the communist-cum-capitalist nation.

Closer to home, Europe has fallen in the rankings, taking just 24.5% of new installations for 2011, with again, a large majority of that down to one country, Germany, whose brilliant FiTs and policies allow for cost-effective and quick deployment of wind turbines throughout the country to the tune of almost a 1/3 of all European cumulative additions.

However, a draft government regulation released a few weeks ago in Germany seems to be stifling this growth just as it gets some real pace, or at least in the offshore department. Offshore has unfortunately been a much less avidly followed form of wind energy, due to its high costs, difficult maintenance and installation issues and generally poor policy and regulation worldwide, but Germany has always been one of the leaders. This new announcement would slash incentives for offshore generation prices, from 1 Euro/MWh to 0.75 Euros; whilst this cuts costs slightly for consumers on the renewable section of their bills, it will ultimately put future projects off and may stunt growth of a crucial area for the industry.

On the plus side, the UK achieved a milestone for wind energy generation recently by producing 4.1GW of electricity, over 10% of the country’s needs, using those spinning blades to boil cups of tea and burn toast, beating the previous 3.8GW record set in May. Some decided to lessen this triumph by stating that 4.1GW roughly equals the output of just one single coal and biomass-fired plant, Drax, which is not only more reliable but not as expensive. Surely they can’t be serious? When Germany produced over half their energy needs via solar and wind earlier this year, I don’t remember seeing any rabid comparisons to numbers of coal or gas plants over there, so why here?

Why Germany Should Show Off It’s Dominant Renewable Economy

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Germany’s renewable share for the first half of 2012 has recently been released, and guess what, they’re thrashing the majority of EU nations comfortably, reaching 26% overall, a staggering increase from 20.5% during the same period last year. That means that over a quarter of the energy filling the German grid was produced purely by renewable means, and that is something they should be seriously proud of, and rubbing in our faces, as I’ll explain below.

What is even more interesting about this event, is the specific mix of renewables used in accomplishing this task. Wind sits in gold medal position with 9.2%, with biomass (surprisingly) taking second with 5.7%, whilst solar PV follows closely behind with 5.3%, expanding by over 40% in comparison to last year. That alone is an impressive stat to contend with, and was no doubt bolstered by Germany’s generous FiT, which although was recently slashed to save on funding, has been highly successful in generating consumer interest in solar as a viable energy alternative.

Hydropower boosted 25%, up to 4% in the overall mix, with all other renewables completing the lineup.

It’s no surprise that wind energy takes pole on the list given how perfectly flat, large and windy Germany as a landscape is, and their heavy involvement with the cheapest of all renewable technologies. Many have attributed the extra-impressive results to the weather this region of Europe has been experiencing over the past 6 months, with abnormally high winds spinning up the turbines country-wide, torrential rains over-powering the hydroelectric dams, and in the later parts of the year, intense solar radiations and clear skies bathing the abundant solar panels in beaming energy.

Then again, attempting to diminish the feats achieved by the German renewable grid by stating it ‘was the weather which made it so damn good’ is a tad cheeky, considering the very point of many clean energy sources is that the sun and weather itself drives the production. If we have optimal weather, then they’re working exactly as planned.

What was surprising is the biomass share, which was much more than I thought had been invested in, with this form of energy generally not so high on a country’s energy list. I’m assuming that good recycling programs and clever biomass burning policies mean that Germany’s energy production is relatively high here, although actual year-on-year growth has been the smallest in this sector, just 7.5%.

The Humble Carbon Tax: The Simplest Answer To Our Problems?

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‘Taxes’. It’s a word that tends to strike fear and hatred in many peoples hearts and minds, instilling thoughts of slashed income earnings, costly purchases and the downfall of many a society. When we see it plastered over the news headlines and atop papers, we instantly think that once again, our governments are stepping up their efforts to screw us over financially by taking our rightfully earned money and wasting it away on projet that us as the taxpayers never see the light of.

Tax however is something us in the developed economic world have to deal with, it’s a power we cannot afford to ignore (excuse the pun). Without income tax and VAT, our nations would be without the cash to make our lives as good as they are, and they are good, even if economic downturn and suffering seem so rife at the moment. It’s never so much the idea of the tax itself that angers us, but the level we have to deal with, and its no surprise that us Westerner experience some of the highest in the world. Then again, we also experience the best living standards globally, so it can’t be all that bad can it?

This is why it’s high time the developed world took a long hard look in the mirror (and wallet) and began seriously considering what has become known as the ‘carbon tax’. The concept has been around for decades, and has only grown in potential since its inception. Unfortunately, it has yet to latch firmly onto daily life, always sitting in the background as a mere point for consideration than an actual solution. This stance is well overdue in its updating, and now more than ever, the carbon tax could be the answer to so many of our problems.

In effect, a carbon tax places a price, usually called the ‘social cost of carbon’, on a single ton of CO2, taking into account estimated disadvantages to health, population, the economy and the environment, with a round figure calculated at the end. Once this value has been obtained, the government will then charge any polluter, small or large, for each ton of carbon emitted into the atmosphere, an element we know all too well as a highly damaging pollutant.

This encourages polluters to do many wonderful things, ranging from innovating greener technology, to reducing dirty practices, switching fuel and ultimately curbing climate change. At the same time, a massive stream of revenue is provided to the government which can be directly reinvested back into renewables and cleaner industries. I’ll get to the side-benefits later, but for now, that’s enough to know that carbon taxing has the potential to actually make a solid difference, both to the planet and our wallets.