COP15 - Message sent to Ed Miliband - 11 Dec 2009
Written by Monty Halls (Senior) on 11/12/09
From: Monty Halls Senior
To: news@channel4.com
Cc: Isobel Harper
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 9:13 PM
Subject: Questions for Ed Miliband - Restitution of the natural carbon reservoir cycle and balance
Dear Mr Miliband,
I am at a loss to understand why there is not more pressure at COP15 to enforce Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) measures. The attached paper (Jellyfish and Chips)was written a year ago for the Open University and published on their Platform Intranet, ( and designed to promote discussion on this subject) .
Even more importantly, I am at a total loss to understand why the combustion of hydrogen (the only exhaust from such combustion is water) is not used to replace the rapidly-dwindling and CO2-releasing combustion of fossil fuels in power stations (USA 544 coal-fired, China 601 coal-fired (with another 600 planned), UK 18 coal-fired) and allied to the other 'renewables' - wind, tide and wave action. In essence, we are using coal, natural gas and oil resources 1,000,000 times faster than they are being generated (my grandchildren will see their expiry) and fuelling global warming and ocean acidification at unprecedented rates. Hydrogen can be used (via photovoltaic cells, electrolyzers, hydrogen storage and fuel cells) to generate electrical power directly from the sun's radiant energy. I know that there is substantial industrial and commercial manufacturing interests (and investment) which have developed from, and heavily dependent upon, fossil fuel combustion (power stations, car, household appliance manufacture, transport etc) and that changes to hydrogen-based combustion technology would be very expensive indeed. However, the cost of not doing so (particularly for our children and grandchildren) is even greater.
All this (global warming/climate change) amounts to overwhelming evidence that the atmospheric/oceanic carbon reservoir cycle and balance has been thoroughly anthropogenically disturbed since the industrial revolution. The only way to redress this is to put the carbon back where it belongs (CCS) in gas-tight depleted gas/oil/coal fields and saline aquifers in such locations as those existing beneath the North Sea bed (BP is doing this at present between the Miller North Sea Gas field and their Peterhead refinery). This is the practical CCS way forward. This must be allied to massive global development of the technology needed to utilise hydrogen (the most plentful element in the universe) combustion to progressively replace fossil fuel combustion to provide electrical power for both the emerging industrial nations and the more advanced Western nation technologies. Given sufficient international resources to this hydrogen combustion development may, in time. override the obvious time-related disadvantages and limitations of wind/wave/tide turbines and redress the carbon cycle imbalance. It would also address the thorny problem of the storage of waste from nuclear power stations.
Our website www.sharkandcoralconservation.com is dedicated to 'spreading the word' to the general public on the impacts of a failure to redress the carbon cycle imbalance (ocean acidification) on both benthic and pelagic marine life. We are watching the political and diplomatic machinations of COP15 against a background knowledge of the national self-interest and industrial/commercial pressures on the participants. Their response to date has been interesting and predictable.
In summary, I am reproducing questions posed on the 'Latest News' menu item of our website:
Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change -Dec 2009 - Questions
Written by Monty Halls (Senior) - 27th Nov 2009
In the interests of our children, I am wondering whether the delegates will have:
a. The courage to subordinate their own national interest and commercial and industrial pressures.
b. The tenacity to enforce Carbon Capture and Storage
c. The foresight to introduce a hydrogen-based combustion global energy economy to replace the almost-depleted fossil fuel-based combustion energy economy.
Yours sincerely,
Monty Halls (Senior)
Secretary
Shark and Coral Conservation Trust (SCCT)
e-mail: montaguhalls@btinternet.com
website: www.sharkandcoralconservation.com
Tel: 01935-825488 |
