Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been just the wisp or filament of an idea for so long; and never really taken on a bodily form. It’s still ectoplasmic, in the worst of ways. Despite the various attempts around the world to drag it kicking and screaming into a corporeal existence.
Category: Burning Money
Burning Money : Wasting chances. Spending real value on expended ideas. Diversionary activities.
I had a very brief exchange with Dr Alan Knight of the Sustainable Development Commission today at the UK Aware 09 “Ideas for Greener Living” exhibition today at Olympia 2 in London.
The green figleaf is well and truly fluttering off into the windy landscape for Royal Dutch Shell. They’re an oil and gas company, with some petrochemistry on the side, and to prove it, they announced on 17th March 2009 that they were pulling their last tiny percentage points out of Renewables :-
https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/26/fred-pearce-greenwash-shell-exxon
“Greenwash: Shell betrays ‘new energy future’ promises”
Shell’s Day in Court
I’ve just been to a very nice little shindig with refreshments at the offices of Amnesty International in London.
We were treated to speeches and wine and Nigerian poetry and rap. And there was dancing.
What was it all for then ? And what does it have to do with Climate Change ?
A question repeatedly occurs to me. “Why are the cigarette manufacturers still in business ?”, I ask myself, when I look at how much effort, money and time goes into helping smokers become non-smokers.
This week has seen a flurry of “Yes, We Can” news articles about the Carbon Capture and Storage technology, or CCS.
“Solution to the carbon problem could be under the ground : Hope for the fight against climate change as study finds greenhouse gas can be buried without fear of leaking : By Steve Connor, Science Editor : Thursday, 2 April 2009 : Carbon dioxide captured from the chimneys of power stations could be safely buried underground for thousands of years without the risk of the greenhouse gas seeping into the atmosphere, a study has found.”
1st Apriil 2009
SPACE 1
2pm : Trading our way into Trouble – How carbon trading hasn’t worked so far, why it’s not going to work and the problems it’s causing in the Global South (CarbonTradeWatch).
3pm : Plenary (all together session) – “Their solutions / our solutions” – with starting contributions on “their solutions” and an open discussion on “our solutions”.
STOP PRESS : Just received a text “Big Brother is turning off CCTV for the day. Don’t forget to bring your own. Please forward this text.” What can go on when nobody is watching ?
I’ve just been at one of several G20 Climate Camp convergence spaces this evening to get the full briefing.
I expected Police presence on the door, and yes, once again they were illegally photographing people coming and going from a public meeting.
LONDON 22:30 – The Man on the Clapham Omnibus reacted strongly to a chickpea curry he ate at lunchtime today. At hand to assist with his sufferings was a comfortably recognisable news sheet.
But all was not as it seemed. This publication was no ordinary newspaper, oh no. This was from a print run far, far away, way into the future, in fact. From 2020, in fact.
Reclaim the Sheets
STOP PRESS: News from the future
This week, we’re printing a special publication, urging journalists
and big business to put people first. With 2020 hindsight, we’ll show
how action today made the future possible.
Without radical change, the world will soon be a hostile environment,
unleashing weather of mass destruction on our Age of Stupid. So what’s
stopping us? In simple terms: the economy, stupid.
Barack Hussein Obama is not having a good 48 hours.
He utters a disablist gaffe on big time telly, then has Iran shut the door on him in a chiding huff when he proffers a hand of friendship.
But his biggest mistake of the last week is to throw money at the failing car industry.
Nobody’s buying cars. And the automobile manufacturers are not making many electric models, you know, the personal vehicles of choice for the Low Carbon future. So, what are the car companies going to do with the bailout ? Host cocktail parties ?
Five billion dollars. That’s a lot of good money being wasted.
What ? It will protect some jobs ? But what will the workers do if there are no cars to weld together ?
And Michelle cannot make up for this pointless splurge by planting a kitchen garden, really, noble and right though that is, to Dig for Victory.