Saving the world from fossil fuels.

We have all heard of global warming. Most of us understand that the primary culprit for causing global warming is the burning of fossil fuels. The science is simple: whenever carbon based fossil fuels are burnt, carbon dioxide is produced. This is a greenhouse gas – that is, a gas which helps trap heat, in the atmosphere and prevent it leaving into space. Carbon dioxide acts as a kind of blanket on the Earth, warming it up.

Now, we live in challenging times. All around the world developing countries such as India and China, Indonesia and Brazil, are racing to “catch up” with the West, specifically America, in energy consumption and “lifestyle”. There seems to be the belief that the best way to live, the only way to live, is to somehow adopt the extraordinarily energetically wasteful lifestyle of the modern American. Everyone wants to be an “American”. They even style their cities after American ones (that is filling them with skyscrapers, “freeways” and shopping malls).

Yet, there is a problem with this. The Earth cannot support several new Americas. In fact, if the truth be known, the Earth cannot support even ONE America. The American way of life is a destructive one. It is a way of life which opposes and undermines life on Earth. To live like an American, is to destroy the world. If the world’s developing economies continue to attempt to emulate the American way of life, the world is headed for complete disaster, in a very short order. It is impossible for the billions of people, in the developing world, to start using the amounts of energy and resources that Americans do, without hastening an environmental disaster that threatens life on Earth. Quite simply: for the developing world to “catch up” with America, it would have to burn enormous quantities of fossil fuel: oil, coal and natural gas, to furnish the energies for this lifestyle. Or at least, that would be the most obvious way of doing it. The problem with this, is that the CO2 concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere would rise rapidly, pushing up global temperatures, changing weather patterns, causing desertification, crop loss, flooding and an untold number of changes, all of which would make life more challenging on this Earth, not only for humans, but for all life.

The developing world needs to learn a lesson that America, itself, has yet to learn: a wise use of energy and resources. The developing world needs to look at the American way of life and society and realize that America is one big mistake. The developing world needs to look at America and understand, by its example, how NOT to structure a society and an economy. These are the kinds of lessons that could save the world.

It is perfectly possible to have a very high standard of life, without using American sized energies. Typical Europeans, for instance, use about half the energy of Americans. As an example, the average UK citizen, uses 3,918 kilogrammes of oil equivalent, per annum. The average American uses 7,795 kilogrammes of oil equivalent, per annum. Now, the lifestyle of the typical UK citizen is more than adequate enough. It is needless to pursue an American path, with twice the energy, to attain a decent life. Presently, China is using 1138 kilogrammes of oil equivalent, per capita, per year. (All figures from 2003). Again, the Chinese lifestyle is pretty good and there seems no need to seek American sized energies, for its populace. It is both unnecessary, and would be too damaging for the Earth.

Instead of all the world’s economies racing to maximize development and become as alike the USA, as they can, by digging the world’s fossil fuels up, as fast as possible, there should, instead, be a different kind of race, underway: a race to leave the fossil fuels in the ground. That is right. A wise world would be racing AWAY from the use of fossil fuels – all of them – as fast as possible. In a wise world, governments would be racing to developing 100% renewable energy infrastructures, dependent on hydroelectricity, wind, solar, geothermal, primarily, along, perhaps with biomass and waste reprocessing. A 100% renewable energy infrastructure is one that is minimally polluting. It is also one that may be sustained indefinitely. Renewable energy infrastructures, will not only save the planet from global warming – but they will also save economies from collapse, when fossil fuels run out.

Thus, the world’s economies should now be competing to be as unlike the United States as possible. The world should be competing to be as free of fossil fuels as possible. That would be the wisest path. It is also the ONLY path that leads to a survivable Earth future.

To achieve this proposed alternative renewable economy, the world’s nations should be racing to implement a fully renewable alternative energy infrastructure as FAST as they can. This will protect them from rising fossil fuel prices and at the same time, will reduce the rate of global warming. The ultimate aim should be to wean the world’s economies off fossil fuels as early as possible and to end up LEAVING billions of tons of fossil fuels IN THE GROUND, NEVER TO BE USED.

Now, it is clear that the world’s oil companies will fight hard to persuade people to buy their oil – and so too the coal miners and the natural gas purveyors – however the world should resist. There should be no burning of fossil fuels. The only use of fossil fuels should be in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, plastics, fertilizers and the like. It should no longer be used as fuel.

What is needed is a 100% renewable energy infrastructure around the world with electric cars, trains and buses for transport. In no part of this system, should fossil fuels be used for energy.

Some will object that this is too difficult an aim to achieve. However, it must be realized that fossil fuels are running out, so the proposed system will eventually be the ONLY real possibility, if we are to sustain a semblance of the present way of life. It is better to implement this system, now, whilst the fossil fuels remain and ensure that much of the remaining fossil fuels are never burnt. This will reduce global warming and make it more likely that humanity will survive the inevitable climate changes to come.

So: leave the fossil fuels in the ground – and ensure that all the energy used, in society, is from a renewable source. That is the simple recipe for saving the world from fossil fuels – and global warming.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

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On being young, in a dying world.

A few days ago, I asked Ainan to consider his place in the world, a few decades hence.

He gazed headlong within, at that unborn future.

He pursed his lips a little.

"A few decades from now, there will be no more humans left," he opined unmournfully. There was in him an acceptance of the inevitable.

He looked up at me, as if knowing I would need an explanation.

"Because they are depleting the world's resources."

So bleak was the future he had painted, in so few words, that I felt I had to argue against him.

"Ainan, it won't happen so soon...", I began, but then petered out as I noted his expression.

He looked completely unmoved, not because he didn't want to be moved, but because of his certainty about the futureless future. He had judged the stupidity of Mankind and found it vast. He also knew, in that helpless way of children everywhere, that there was nothing in his range of influence, that he, personally, could do, at this time, to forestall that future, to make it into a better one. He could only stand by and watch, whilst the "adults" destroyed the world in which he lived.

The thing is, of course, he is right. Unless Mankind does change its ways, Ainan's apocalyptic future, will be the only one Mankind will know. The remarkable thing about Man, is that although individually, people can be very bright, collectively, nothing is more stupid than Mankind. The reason for this is clear. Most of us pursue immediate gain, in our daily actions, and never consider the long-term consequences of what we do. We only consider what we can get NOW. Very few of us consider what that means for tomorrow's world. So, collectively, we all act to destroy that tomorrow for a better today.

One day, too, too, late to do anything about it, Mankind will awaken from this self-deluding delirium and see that the consequences of its actions, are irreversible. Sadly, however, a hung man, cannot be unhung - and Man is busily hanging himself and his world with him.

I hope that wise boys, like Ainan, might grow to be wise men, who influence the mass actions of others, so that Mankind might change its collective ways, before our world is at an end. Otherwise, what is the point of bringing children into the world, who will have no adult world to live in? Do we really want to build an abyss for them to fall into?

So, do what you can, each and every day, to ensure that Ainan's dark future, never sees the light.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.htmlI also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Towards a greener Malaysia.

Malaysia is a green and beautiful country. It is also one which aspires to be green in the modern sense of the world: its politicians speak of leading the world in creating a green society. Now, this is most admirable, but is it true of Malaysia on the ground? Is there anything not being done that should be done?

Well, yesterday, I saw something I have frequently seen in Malaysia: a vehicle spewing black clouds of smoke out the back of its exhaust. In this case it was a bus, WAJ 5268, if I remember correctly. The clouds of smoke were so thick as to threaten to obscure the vehicle itself. I found myself disgusted with the vehicle's owner: how could they drive such a polluting bus around? Why didn't they service the engine? This bus alone must be producing the equivalent pollution of hundreds or thousands of other vehicles. It was obscene. Yet, it is not alone. Malaysia is defiled by tens of thousands of such vehicles. That is something which must change.

I am impressed with the publicly expressed intentions of Malaysia's leaders to move towards a green society, one that other nations might aspire to be like. It is a good aim. However, they are overlooking problems on the ground which could easily be corrected. There should not be thousands of heavily polluting vehicles in Malaysia, there should not even be one. Getting rid of them would be easy to do. Every time a policeman sees such vehicle the driver should be stopped and the vehicle impounded. The owner should then be given a choice: pay for the repairs to the vehicle - upfront - or have the vehicle scrapped and recycled - with no compensation. Furthermore, the owner should be fined for being in possession of such a polluting vehicle. Were this regime to be implemented the air around KL would become a lot cleaner in a matter of weeks.

The first step to the solution of a problem is its recognition. I have have done that. The next step is to structure penalties - and enforce them - to eliminate the behaviour. It is not difficult and would be another good step on the green pathway that Malaysia has, very vocally, chosen for itself. I hope that it is a step that is soon taken, for I tire of breathing clouds of venomous smoke, on KL's roads.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

On considering the future of Mankind.

At times, I consider the future of Mankind, indeed, the future of not only Mankind, but of all life. It seems to me that, if not enough people give this matter due consideration, there may not be such a future, at all.

It doesn't take much observation to see that modern Mankind is a short-term thinker, in general: we are polluting our world, pushing thousands of species to extinction, annually, using up irreplaceable resources, ruining our climate, killing thousands, even millions of people, in far away places as a kind of national hobby, and devoting major portions of national budgets to institutionalized murder (war). We are, in short, a brutish species masquerading as an enlightened one.

Yet, I hope for a better future. I hope for a future with a more enlightened Mankind at its helm. There are, after all, among the people of the world, those who do consider the environment, who do seek to preserve species and prevent their loss. There are people who think ill of war and wish for a more peaceful world. There are those who are careful with resources and decry their waste. There is an environmental movement and there are peacemakers. There are even space programmes which promise a long term future for Man, by allowing us to expand beyond the confines of the Earth. There is, therefore, hope for Mankind, if these nascent positive forces are not drowned out, but come to prevail.

There are many short-term risks which Mankind needs to overcome if it is to survive: the forces of religious conflict, the possibility of epidemic, natural or man made, the spectre of global terrorism. These are all things which could, in the worst possible scenarios, bring the human race to an abrupt end. Beyond that, however, are other matters that are not to do with human actions. There is the aging of the Sun, its eventual swelling and swallowing of the Earth. This will require us to leave the Earth in the distant future for the outer planets, or other stars. Beyond that there is the dying of the stars, and the darkening of the Universe. One day it shall be colder than cold and darker than dark. It shall end as scattered neutron stars and black holes and not a lot else. It is unlikely that we shall be able to endure in such a world. There are, however, possible solutions, as detailed by physicist Michio Kaku. He has listed a number of escape routes that Mankind might use one day: use of naturally occurring wormholes, travel through black holes (using a probe), creation of negative energy, manufacture of baby universes (yes, making our own universe...now who said something about "playing God"), use of multi-light year sized atom smashers/particle accelerators (apparently feasible for a "Type III civilization"), and nuclear powered laser implosion machines. The idea behind all of these schemes is the finding of or construction of, a portal to somewhere else - another Universe, basically. My favourite is making baby Universes, which, according to physicist Dr. Guth, would actually only require: 1089 photons, 1089 electrons, 1089 positrons, 1089 neutrinos, 1089 antineutrinos, 1079 protons, and 1079 neutrons. Apparently, an entire Universe could be built from that - it reminds me of the five loaves and fish of one Mr. Jesus Christ.

Now, I give consideration to the long-term future survival of Mankind, because I value what Mankind is - or what the best of Mankind is. It seems to me that there could be no greater pity than that all of Mankind and His works should be lost, in time, or at the end of time. It would, in a sense, make all of what we do and are, utterly pointless. To let our lives and our race have lasting meaning, something of it must endure, for all time, then beyond time. There should be Mankind at the cold dark end of the Universe, (or his evolved descendants), and there should also be Mankind surviving this era, in other "Universes" if such there can be. All that we are, must not end.

I am conscious that, in thinking of the long-term future of Mankind, in this manner, that I am one of few who do. Dr. Michio Kaku has already given much consideration as to how Mankind could survive the end of the Universe - so there are others out there thinking on this matter - and so there should be, if we are to stand a chance of long-term survival, as a race and civilization. My thinking and concern, is in sharp contrast to those I talked to, a while ago and wrote of in another post, who didn't give a damn about the future of Mankind. So, though not alone in my consideration of this matter, I am probably outnumbered by those who just don't care. Such people should not be allowed to prevail, but those of longer term vision, should be empowered to do so.

In a way, it feels strange to be concerned for unborn people, civilizations and races far beyond my time. For though I am concerned about them, it is extremely unlikely that any of them will ever know of my concern, or care that I was concerned. It is, therefore, a unilateral, unidirectional concern. Those who consider the long-term future of Mankind, will not themselves be considered by that future, should it ever come. We shall, instead, be forgotten and it will be as if we had never been. Yet, though we do what we can to ensure that there is a far future, that far future will not know of us. Nevertheless, we still must do what we can, in whatever way we can, for those we hope shall be, in thousands, millions, billions of years from now. You see, if we are not concerned and do not act appropriately, they are very unlikely ever to be. Then, it is sure, that our civilization will go unremembered and unremarked, for there will be no-one to remember and to remark. If anything of what we are is to survive, we need to ensure that we have survivors, that we have descendants, that there are remote, far future civilizations descended from "modern" Man.

To do so, we must cultivate long-term thinking of our own. The environment should not be harmed. Species must be preserved. Resources must not be squandered. Wars should not be waged. Space must be colonized. Culture, science and technology, should be high priorities and all capable of such work, should be well-supported. If all these things are done, Mankind is likely to have a long-term future. It may be that Man will one day fill the galaxy and perhaps beyond. It may be that Man will watch the darkening of the Universe. It may well be that one day, Mankind may, as Michio Kaku dreams, (and I had pondered on, long before I had ever heard of Michio Kaku) start new Universes and populate them with our kind. Man could endure forever - but only if we take the steps necessary today, to ensure the security of all life on Earth and take the first steps beyond it, in the near future.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Wall-e, Hollywood and environmentalism.

I have just enjoyed Wall-e from Disney Pixar, with my family. What I particularly enjoyed was the underlying message of the film. You see, more than anything else, Wall-e is a comment on the state of the world today.

Children get their education best when they least notice it. A cinema is a pretty good place to educate children on important issues. Thus, I would like to congratulate Hollywood and Disney Pixar in particular, for Wall-e.

I am not about to spoil the film, but I can say this: it preaches a very clear message about the perils of not caring for the environment, of allowing Man to become successively more lazy and dependent on machines and on the probable future of Earth and Man if we continue to do and be as we are. These are important issues for children to confront and understand so that, when they become adults, they might live in a way which does not contribute to these problems.

I would urge every parent to bring their children to see Wall-e, even very young children will be able to understand the film - and let them imbibe the message it has, for the state of our world today. Clearly, the film is an extensive comment on the nature of, in particular, modern America and where not only is it ahead, but where it presently already is. In a way, the film is quite chilling in what it predicts, but is so without making the audience too uncomfortable. In fact, I found myself laughing at things I shouldn't really have been laughing at, while being made aware of how awful such a situation actually would be.

So, if you want your children to grow up environmentally aware, active and protective, I think Wall-e is a good place to begin their education in what will happen if nothing is done.

See it.

Watching the film gave me hope that Hollywood - often seen as an evil force in the world - could actually help the future development of the world by producing responsible films that educate the audience on important matters such as environmentalism and the likely future of Man if we don't change our ways. They serve as powerful warnings and are more likely to be heeded since they won't be perceived as lectures.

Well done, Disney Pixar...I hope to see more of such films, for the future adults of tomorrow to learn from.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)